I have a Plugable USB 3.0 Universal Laptop Docking Station for Windows (UD-3900), which I am using with a Lenovo Ideapad L340 Gaming Laptop (81LK00HDUS), and a BenQ 32" LED Backlit LCD 4K Monitor (BL3201PH) via HDMI. I have the monitor settings on the recommended 100% scale and 1920x1080 resolution. With these settings, the display is extremely blurry on the monitor, to the point of causing eye fatigue. If I instead alter the settings to 150% scale (a comfortable size for me) for 2560x1440 resolution (the maximum available), the blur is reduced, but not eliminated.
Is there anything I can do to eliminate the blur, using advanced settings, or possibly a different cable? Or, should I resign myself to poor resolution and eye strain if I continue using the Plugable docking station?
Other devices/cables connected to the docking station include:
Ethernet CAT6
USB keyboard
USB mouse
USB deskpad (RGB)
USB receiver for wireless headset
Thank you as well for the detailed information you provided that is much appreciated.
The UD-3900 docking station has two built-in video outputs. When both outputs are used, the practical maximum resolution of both displays is 1920x1200.
When only a single HDMI display is connected to the docking station’s HDMI video output, the maximum resolution of the HDMI connected display is 2560x1440 at a 50Hz refresh rate, and we do our best to call this information out in our product listings.
The BenQ display you mention is a 4K display with a native maximum resolution of 3840x2160. The UD-3900 does not support this maximum resolution, which is why the maximum resolution option available for this display when connected to the dock is the aforementioned 2560x1440.
That the you are using a display with a native resolution higher than what the UD-3900 is capable of is the cause of the behavior you describe. The only way to affect the image within the BenQ display when it is connected to the UD-3900 would be to adjust the resolution or the scaling factor as you have done already.
While you will be able to lessen the effect by adjusting the resolution and scaling settings, you may not be able to eliminate it entirely.
An alternative would be to consider one of our other docking stations based on DisplayLink technology that can support 4K resolution displays such as our UD-6950Z docking station → https://plugable.com/products/ud-6950z/
** Important note - you mention that you are using a gaming laptop. We only recommend our docking stations based on DisplayLink technology (such as the UD-3900 and UD-6950Z) for basic office application use and web browsing. We do not recommend it for gaming use because their can be compatibility or performance problems **