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I bought this Dell 3007WFP 30" monitor in 2006/2007 and am trying my best to repurpose it, but I'm having a very hard time. First I tried to get my Xbox 360 to go through it, but apparently that's never going to happen unless I buy a hardware video scaler. So I thought I could use it as a second display for my laptop since I know my laptop can scale video. However, when I run an HDMI cable from my laptop to a DVI-D dual-link adapter to my Dell monitor, the only resolution the monitor advertises is 1280x800 and I can't get my laptop to display any other resolution on it. Is there anything else I can try to get this to work? My laptop's video adapter is a GeForce GTX 860m.

Update

I found this post on Tom's Hardware and bought the StarTech USB3-to-DisplayPort adapter, and the active DisplayPort-to-DVI cable. The result was the same as when I tried HDMI; it displayed fine at 1280x800, but not at 2560x1600. There were just a bunch of thin lines on the screen. Some where scrolling down and some were stationary. I contacted StarTech support numerous times to troubleshoot. I tried the setup with another computer and had the same result. I tried a new adapter and a new cable and got the same result. StarTech told me it might be that the USB port might not be providing enough power and recommended I add to this setup a DisplayPort-to-DVI dual-link active adapter converter. That would take up another USB port on my laptop.

If power is the issue, I'm investigating just buying a powered USB 3.0 hub and plugging this DisplayPort adapter into that instead of my laptop's USB port. However, in reading the specs of new USB 3.0 hubs, I see that there are often warnings that some devices require a direct connection to the host's USB port. See this Anker hub as an example:

Additional Notes: • Some USB 3.0 devices require a direct connection to host ports. • 2.4Ghz wireless devices (keyboards, mice, etc.) may not work around USB 3.0 ports. Try using a USB 2.0 connection instead.

How do I know if a device requires a direct connection to the host's USB bus?? It seems like this is extremely variable and doesn't affect all USB devices of a given class, such as all external hard drives or audio interfaces. Very frustrating when I'm trying to find a definitive answer on these things. :-) Particularly when by all accounts (confirmation from manufacturers, technical specifications) what I've tried so far should work.

So now I'm evaluating my options and pricing these things out. I'll update when there's more info.

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  • Some drivers allow you to specify non-reported resolutions. When you say your monitor only reported the one resolution, did you look into over-riding that manually?
    – Yorik
    Mar 20, 2015 at 19:09
  • @Yorik, I already returned the HDMI 1.4 cables so I couldn't test that port. I just tried what you suggested with the USB-to-DisplayPort adapter's driver and there was no output on my monitor, not even the lines scrolling down the screen as before.
    – hourback
    Mar 20, 2015 at 20:13
  • What is the model of your laptop? Have you updated the BIOS to the current version? Have you updated the video driver to the current version (347.88)? Does your laptop even have USB 3.0 ports? Are you using nVidia Optimus (i.e. you might be using your integrated graphics for all these tests)?
    – Jason
    Mar 21, 2015 at 18:56
  • @Jason , I haven't updated the BIOS. (I bought it brand new in July from System76.) The video driver is current and not beta. I have four USB 3.0 ports. I've manually configured the resolution through nVidia Control Panel, even trying to force a manually defined resolution (2560x1600, progressive & interlaced). nVidia Optimus does not appear to be running when I plug the monitor into my HDMI port or the external DisplayPort adapter.
    – hourback
    Mar 23, 2015 at 1:59
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3 Answers 3

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Took me hours to resolve this, so posting for others in the hope they find it quicker. From here.

The only resolutions officially supported on the 10 year old 3007WFP-HC are 1280x800 60Hz and 2560x1600 60Hz. But you must be using a DVI-D DL out port on the computer and DVI-D DL to DVI-D DL cable. Using HDMI, DP, or mDP outs from a computer with any combination of converters or cabling will not get 2560x1600 60Hz. They might get 1280x800 60Hz but Dell never tested them.

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  • Please do not post the same answer to multiple questions. If the same information really answers both questions, then one question (usually the newer one) should be closed as a duplicate of the other. You can indicate this by voting to close it as a duplicate or, if you don't have enough reputation for that, raise a flag to indicate that it's a duplicate. Otherwise tailor your answer to this question and don't just paste the same answer in multiple places.
    – DavidPostill
    Dec 17, 2016 at 12:16
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You didn't state the model of your laptop, or what graphics adapter it has, but earlier versions of HDMI (previous to HDMI 1.3) can't support anything above 1920x1200. Even if the graphics adapter supports higher, the HDMI port will limit it.

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  • Thanks, @Jason. I'm in the middle of updating my question with more information about what I've tried since I originally posted it and other things I've learned. From what I can see, my laptop's HDMI port supports 1.4, but only displays on my monitor at 1280x800, not 2560x1600; my monitor only supports those two resolutions.
    – hourback
    Mar 20, 2015 at 17:37
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Dell BIZLINK DisplayPort to DVI Dual Link works with the Samsung 305T which is essentially the same monitor as yours. I am using it with various Dell laptops and their docking station which has a DisplayPort output. Obviously there is no way for me to tell whether it will work on your Laptop end. But it's worth trying that one out because it most probably will work with your monitor.

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