I’m trying to connect my Dell XPS 9560 to my Acer XB280HK external monitor (4K, 60Hz, G-Sync, DP 1.2) via Thunderbolt 3 Port.
After I first bought a noname Type-C to DP cable which did not work I decided to look for a better Adapter. I found plugable and was impressed by the amount of technical details that are publicly available.
I’m considering two products at the moment:
the Thunderbolt 3 to two DisplayPort Adapter
the Type-C to DP cable
Both are listed to work well with my laptop and now I am wondering, whether there is any info on the compatibility with the Acer XB280HK, because the noname cable managed to work with any screen I tested, except for the XB280HK (including another LG 4K 60Hz DP 1.2 Screen, without G-Sync tho).
The only two things I consider a possible reason for my setup not working is either a bad adapter or problems regarding G-Sync (because I believe the Thunderbolt 3 port is attached to the Intel HD 630 in my XPS, not the GTX 1050 which actually supports G-Sync. But anyways NVIDIA says the screens should also work with G-Sny incompatible GPUs)
Has anyone used any of the plugable adapters with this monitor?
Thanks for posting. USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 are very complex technologies, so thank you for mentioning your appreciation of the level of technical detail we provide!
We haven’t had any customer feedback on the Acer display you mention, nor any other G-Sync (or Freesync) displays. But since your existing no-name cable is working well on non-G-Sync displays, I agree with your suspicion that G-Sync is likely a factor here.
If that’s the case, I’d expect both of the Plugable adapters you mention will likely behave the same. Though I have sent a request for clarification to our Thunderbolt engineering rep to see if they have any insight to provide.
Hi Gary, thanks for the quick answer.
the LG 4K screen I tested had FreeSync and worked without issues.
I btw also tested another FreeSync Samsung 4K screen yesterday, also without issues.
I actually do suspect G-Snyc, but according to NVIDIA it should not matter…
I have ordered the Type-C to DP cable already and will see if it works, otherwise I might actually check the TB3-DP2X… Unfortunately I don’t see any other chance at the moment since the Thunderbolt 3 Port is the only port that can handle 4K in 60Hz (on my XPS)…
Thank you however for engaging with your engineers, I’m really looking forward to any possible information they could have.
I will of course give feedback as soon as my USBC-DP arrives on monday
Yes I have to agree with your observations regarding public information - Plugable will be my first stop next time, even though I have to use a forwarding agency to get them to Aus from Amazon (please make available in Aus).
Anyhow, I had a similar issue with a brand new iMac 27" not working with USB-C > HDMI cable I got in advance. Had to send it back. Got the Plugable, still didn’t work with a 2013 ASUS VE248.
Tried it with a really old 2009 LG W2353V and it works!
@Dominik, is the USBC-DP cable working properly, including G-Sync functionality? Or is it just allowing it to light the display and work like a “regular” monitor with fixed constant refresh rate?
Regarding the original question: as it stands now, adaptive refresh rate technologies (G-Sync, Freesync) aren’t supported when using Thunderbolt 3 devices like docking stations and dual display adapters.
I never expected gsync to work as the Dell XPS has an NVIDIA Optimus setup. That means even when I use my GTX 1050 to render things, the resulting image is only copied to the Intel GPUs memory which is then read from the monitor, as all ports are connect directly to the Intel GPU.
I do not know whether one can get gsync to work with the adapter and I dont have the hardware here to test it, but I would actually expect it to work if its connected to an NVIDIA Gpu directly.
