- May 31, 2016
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- 10,510
So, I purchased a cheap laptop to use it exclusively as a personal Plex server. I had an older laptop with an Intel Pentium Gold that worked OK, but I needed something better, mostly Quick Sync to do hardware decoding in case it was needed.
I got a Gateway laptop that Walmart was selling for $250 USD (https://gatewayusa.com/GWTN141-3.html) and the i3-1005G1 with the G1 integrated graphics performs excellent for a Plex server. Basically, this is not my main system; it's just a Plex server 24/7. I also had a spare 1TB NVMe drive and an extra 16GB RAM stick.
The laptop has the following specs:
But here is my problem. The laptop is connected to power always, and the lid is always closed. So, I use an external monitor for when I want to manage the Plex server. The monitor is a Dell S2718D and it has a max resolution of 2560x1440 @ 60Hz. But I can't get the laptop/external monitor to go beyond 2048x1080 (although the recommended resolution is shown as 1920x1080) so the external monitor looks very blurry.
I have tried every possible configuration in Windows: Extended, Mirrored, to only show Display 2... I have changed the refresh rate, I have tried to set custom resolutions in Intel Command Center. Nothing, nada. I already did a clean install (bootable USB) of Windows 10 (have not tried Windows 11 yet).
Of course I have the latest drivers. Even on the Intel Command Center software, the max resolution I get is 2048x1080:
The motherboard is a generic N141B REV 1.1 and it says that it is made by GPU COMPANY. Support is non-existent in both GPU COMPANY and Gateway's website. My older laptop that I used as a Plex server was a Lenovo Ideapad 3 with an Intel Pentium Gold 6405U and didn't have a problem outputting at 2560x1440 via HDMI.
What could be the problem? Any suggestions? Could the motherboard be limited to 1920x1080?
My next step is install Linux or any other OS just to see if the problem is Windows or the hardware, but I would prefer not to.
I got a Gateway laptop that Walmart was selling for $250 USD (https://gatewayusa.com/GWTN141-3.html) and the i3-1005G1 with the G1 integrated graphics performs excellent for a Plex server. Basically, this is not my main system; it's just a Plex server 24/7. I also had a spare 1TB NVMe drive and an extra 16GB RAM stick.
The laptop has the following specs:
- Intel i3-1005G1
- UHD G1 Integrated Graphics
- 4GB of RAM (soldered)
- 128GB SATA SSD (M.2 slot)
But here is my problem. The laptop is connected to power always, and the lid is always closed. So, I use an external monitor for when I want to manage the Plex server. The monitor is a Dell S2718D and it has a max resolution of 2560x1440 @ 60Hz. But I can't get the laptop/external monitor to go beyond 2048x1080 (although the recommended resolution is shown as 1920x1080) so the external monitor looks very blurry.
I have tried every possible configuration in Windows: Extended, Mirrored, to only show Display 2... I have changed the refresh rate, I have tried to set custom resolutions in Intel Command Center. Nothing, nada. I already did a clean install (bootable USB) of Windows 10 (have not tried Windows 11 yet).
Of course I have the latest drivers. Even on the Intel Command Center software, the max resolution I get is 2048x1080:
The motherboard is a generic N141B REV 1.1 and it says that it is made by GPU COMPANY. Support is non-existent in both GPU COMPANY and Gateway's website. My older laptop that I used as a Plex server was a Lenovo Ideapad 3 with an Intel Pentium Gold 6405U and didn't have a problem outputting at 2560x1440 via HDMI.
What could be the problem? Any suggestions? Could the motherboard be limited to 1920x1080?
My next step is install Linux or any other OS just to see if the problem is Windows or the hardware, but I would prefer not to.
Last edited:
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