High Res external display using HDMI/VGA

[thecoolnessrune]

Oh man that would be outrageous in my opinion! That would be like selling a motherboard with 4 PCI-e x16 slots without saying that each one is only x4 electrically. I would feel a bit cheated!

Modern USB 3.0 hub chipsets mux the USB signals together individually, so that there isn't a performance hit mixing USB 2.0 devices with 3.0 devices on the same port. I hope if they are pulling that move that they are at least using a modern hub chipset!

 

[ABramley]

Arrived.

It's very good. Not quite perfect, but certainly very good.

No installation issues - it clearly says to make sure you've installed the drivers before you plug it in, did this and no problems.

Easily runs 2560x1440 on the desktop, and no problems with small embedded videos either. The whole experience is like you're very slightly stressing the CPU and RAM - there's a very subtle feeling of 'this isn't quite as lightning as when you've just reformatted your PC', but it's very, very close.

For video I've had a bit of a play around. There's an 'optimise for video' setting which adds some extra compression, and I've also tried duplicating the main screen (1920*1080) and running some 1080p vids. Is there jerkyness? Yes - probably, if I'm really, really looking for it. On the whole though, no, and once I stopped looking for it it disappeared. I ran a couple of 1080 snowboarding videos from itunes and after 5 minutes stopped looking for issues and started wishing it was winter again.

Running stuff less demanding than 1080p video there doesn't seem to be much point in dropping down res - there's a slight increase in smoothness, but not much.

I can certainly see where the less positive reviews are coming from, but I'd be fairly satisfied.

As it happens though, this is probably all now academic - I've realised that I've been sent the wrong model of zenbook and it's going back! Will most likely take the refund and put it towards something with a displayport.

Anything out there that matches the specs of my Zenbook with a displayport? Was thinking Macbook Pro Retina 15"...

 

[jacktesterson]

I'm at work right now - Using a Dell E4310 with a Dell Ultrasharp 1920x1200 Monitor 24 Inch on VGA without issue. Just some reassurance

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Arrived.

It's very good. Not quite perfect, but certainly very good.

No installation issues - it clearly says to make sure you've installed the drivers before you plug it in, did this and no problems.

Easily runs 2560x1440 on the desktop, and no problems with small embedded videos either. The whole experience is like you're very slightly stressing the CPU and RAM - there's a very subtle feeling of 'this isn't quite as lightning as when you've just reformatted your PC', but it's very, very close.

For video I've had a bit of a play around. There's an 'optimise for video' setting which adds some extra compression, and I've also tried duplicating the main screen (1920*1080) and running some 1080p vids. Is there jerkyness? Yes - probably, if I'm really, really looking for it. On the whole though, no, and once I stopped looking for it it disappeared. I ran a couple of 1080 snowboarding videos from itunes and after 5 minutes stopped looking for issues and started wishing it was winter again.

Running stuff less demanding than 1080p video there doesn't seem to be much point in dropping down res - there's a slight increase in smoothness, but not much.

I can certainly see where the less positive reviews are coming from, but I'd be fairly satisfied.

As it happens though, this is probably all now academic - I've realised that I've been sent the wrong model of zenbook and it's going back! Will most likely take the refund and put it towards something with a displayport.

Anything out there that matches the specs of my Zenbook with a displayport? Was thinking Macbook Pro Retina 15"...

I'm glad it seems to be working for you

If you're doing that, I'd recommend opening a new thread over in the Notebooks forum. I currently have a 15" MBPr (typing on it now) and its been great! But I hate the thermals of it! Now its way better than the 2011 MBP (those didn't have intake vents like the rMBP), but for a laptop, its hardly lap friendly. Being aluminum its either really hot or really cold, and the laptop is not nearly as cool running as my Thinkpad T530. On that though, while the 1920x1200 screen is nice, its still not nearly as good as the rMBP's screen.

I will say that my rMBPr has no issues running its own screen, as well as my 27" Dell U2711 MBPr, nor does my T530. Of course, the discrete GPU is used in both cased, not just the built in HD4000 like your laptop is doing.

If you want a Windows laptop, you might consider the KIRAbook from Toshiba (but its only 13.3")

I sincerely *wish* there was a laptop that had as much focus on the screen and the experience as the rMBP. My solid favorite laptop is the my Thinkpad T530 because its build quality, keyboard, and ergonomics are by far the best of any laptop I've ever used (even coming from a T510 before that). But the speakers are absolutely crap (I know not to expect a lot but they can do better than that!), and that darn TN panel makes having a 1920x1200 resolution an insult! I won't prattle on, but I'd recommend making a Notebook forum post