Surface Laptop 3 and 1 4K60 with gigabit speed

Hello,
I have a TBT3-UDC1 on the way from Amazon - but wanted to check with you to see if you have tested this setup.

I have a Surface Laptop 3 - similar to the Surface Pro 7, which have the Intel 10th gen Core i7(in mine) and I have 16GB of RAM along with specs that support the USB 3.1 Gen 2 USB-C as well as DP1.4.

From what I’ve read, this dock ‘should’ support 4K60 AND the gigabit speed ethernet as well as USB C and A with 3.1 Gen 1 speed(5GBps), is that correct?

Thank you!

Mitchell,

If you read the spec closely, here is what it says:

*USB-C only host systems will have reduced functionality:

Compatible Multi-function DisplayPort over USB Type-C (MFDP USB-C) Windows systems without Thunderbolt 3 will be limited to 5Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) performance and:

2x Extended Displays up to 4K 60Hz (DP 1.4 host with Display Stream Compression (DSC)

2x Extended Displays up to 4K 60Hz + 4K 30Hz (DP 1.4 host, no DSC)

2x Extended Displays up to 1080P 60Hz (DP 1.2)

The Surface Laptop 3 is a 10th Gen Core i7 part, so it support USB 3.1 Gen 2 and DP 1.4. Even without DSC it should support 1@4K60.

Can you check with the engineering team on this? The information above is taken directly from the page you reference.

Hi,

Thanks for posting!

Apologies for the confusion, I sent a reply to you initially but realized I provided incorrect information, it seems you still received that reply even though I deleted it! :slight_smile:

The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 does indeed support both DP 1.4 and DSC so we expect that you should be able to drive at least one 4K 60Hz display.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 does indeed support both DP 1.4 and DSC, however our dock does not support DP 1.4 hosts. Through our TBT3-UDC1 docking station, the Surface Pro 3 supports a single 4K 30Hz display or two 1080p 60Hz screens.

If for some reason you run into issues with this, please do let us know.

Thanks!

Mitchell

Thanks for the follow up and the offer to assist with any problems! You guys are always helpful!

I am looking forward to trying it out!
Dave

Hi Dave,

Thank you and of course.

I look forward to hearing back from you once you’ve received the dock!

Thanks!

Mitchell

Hey Mitchell,

I got the dock and it is working in general - although it isn’t completely functioning like I would expect.

  1. the monitor is only driving 4k30 - a U3219Q from Dell - it drives 4k60 when I plug it directly into the Surface Laptop 3.
  2. I do get gigabit speed, but I think I saw that this should be an Intel controller and it appears to come up as Realtek.
  3. I really want to be able to keep this, but it isn’t giving me much different performance than my old HP G2 dock.

There is an interesting error in my Device Manager - SurfaceUcmUcsiHidClient Device is giving me error Code 43 - and then I get a message that ‘Display connection may be limited’. The computer sees the U3219Q as a DP 1.4 HDR connection, but with only 30Hz, I can’t select HDR.

PS - I was able to fix the SurfaceUcmUcsiHidClient error - I just uninstalled the driver and rebooted.

Unfortunately, that didn’t fix the problem with the 30Hz and HDR.

I am, however, still getting the error - ‘Display Connection may be limited’. I have the Dock connected to the Surface Laptop 3 - with the USB C cable - the dock then connected to the primary DisplayPort connector on the dock and then one of the USB C ports on the back of the dock is connected to the USB C port on the monitor.

The only thing that seems to be not working is HDR and 60Hz on the monitor.

Thanks for the update, Dave.

Just to confirm one detail, are you using the original Thunderbolt 3 cable that came with the dock to connect to your Surface Laptop 3?

Next, I’d like to review some monitor information to better understand the current state of the monitor. To do this, please follow these steps:

  1. Keep the dock connected to your computer (with the monitor still attached), then right-click on your Desktop, then choose Display settings
  2. Scroll down to the bottom and click on Advanced display settings
  3. Under “Select a display to view or change the settings for it.”, choose your Dell U3219Q monitor (likely Display 2)
  4. Click on Display adapter properties for Display 2
  5. Click on List All Modes. What is currently selected as the option? Do you see a 60Hz option?

The Ethernet controller in the dock is indeed a Realtek controller – not an Intel one. Could you please let me know where you saw this on the product page? We want to make sure this information is accurate.

Thank you!

Mitchell

Mitchell,

Yes - I am using the Plugable Thunderbolt dock cable with the SL3 - BTW, I used one of your cables with my HP G2 dock - excellent cable.

If I List all Modes - it shows several 60 Hz options, but not 3840 x 2160 @ 60Hz.

3840 x 2160 @ 29Hz and same @ 30Hz. Oddly, above that is 2560 x 1440 @ 60Hz is listed.

If I plug the monitor directly into the SL3, I DO get 3840 x 2160 @60Hz as an option - and HDR can be turned on - so the DP 1.4 altmode DOES work on the PC - but that, of course, limits me to USB 2.0 speeds on the monitor side.

I will get you the link to the Intel 201 or 210 info I saw.

*Update - I have a mid 2019 Macbook Pro 13" that I also hooked up - same configuration - and it works - 3840 x 2160 @60Hz. So, the connections and cables seem fine - it may be something with the Intel driver on the Surface Laptop 3.

Here you go:
“In addition the dock offers a gigabit wired Ethernet connection using the integrated 1Gbps i210 Intel network adapter”

From this page: https://plugable.com/products/tbt3-udc1/

Dave, thank you for the additional information.

I’m working closely with our team on this topic to fix this incorrect information. Since the DisplayPort (DP) outputs on the dock support DP 1.2 only, DP 1.4 is not supported and unfortunately what we’re seeing with the Surface Laptop 3 is expected behavior.

I understand that this incorrect information misled you to purchase a dock with unexpected functionality, so I’d like to help in whatever other way we can.

Currently, our only dock that sounds like it could support what you’re looking for is our UD-ULTC4K dock which can drive up to two displays at 4K 60Hz via DP (plus one 4K 30Hz via HDMI) but please note that this is a USB-C DisplayLink-based docking station. DisplayLink graphics are great for general office or productivity purposes, but we wouldn’t recommend it for gaming or other graphics intensive use. If you’re interested, we’d be glad to send you a courtesy unit for you to try.

Lastly, we’d like to offer you a refund for this purchase, with no return necessary. Please contact us at support@plugable.com with your Amazon Order ID and we can take the next steps from there.

I’m sorry about all the confusion here, but thanks for giving us a chance to help.

Mitchell

Mitchell,

Thanks for the fast support! Yeah, that is a bummer - I sent an email.

I appreciate the assistance! Everything works great except for the DP ports. Darn.

Dave

Dave, thanks again for your patience and for letting us know of these issues.

We’ve issued a refund and I’ll be closing this thread, but please feel free to open a new post or reach out to us at support@plugable.com if you have any other questions or concerns. We’re glad to assist.

Best wishes,

Mitchell