Intel HD4000 with 4k HDMI output on Linux

Question

I wonder if I can output 4k resolution (3840 × 2160) @ 30Hz with a Intel HD4000 graphics using Linux and a single HDMI output.

I have a Thinkpad Edge E330 with HDMI 1.4. The CPU is an i5-3210M.

I know that there is a problem with the pixel clock (which is limited to 165MHz) which limits the output maximal output power. Now I know, that there are patches for Mac OS X.

Where is the pixel clock limited? In the kernel? In the graphics driver? Can it be removed/fixed in general?

Is the HD4000 powerful enough to be able to drive 4k @ 30Hz in general?

Answer 1

4K output with Intel HD 4000 graphics via HDMI 1.4 works for me. Both under Win10, as well as Ubuntu 15.

In Win 10 you have to force the graphics to use the stock Microsoft driver (graphic card settings - update driver - choose from disk - Microsoft) NOT the Intel driver which gets enabled by default. Intel Corp. is capping the max resolution, forcing you to buy new hardware. That is unnecessary for the usual web browsing / text / pic editing jobs. The stock MS driver has poor performance though, be warned.

In Ubuntu 15 the 4k output via HDMI works beautifully, both with the stock driver and the proprietary Intel driver. I strongly recommend installing Ubuntu system to use Intel HD graphics and UHD / 4K monitor.

Answer 2

I also have intel HD4000, and I am running 3840x2160 at 24p Hz on windows, not sure about 30p Hz.

The tv I'm using as a monitor supports 4k@60hz, but I haven't been able to achieve that with this display card, I'm not sure if it is possible, and according to this guide (search for 2160), if it is possible looks like it might have to be done somehow through display port and not hdmi.

For windows users: user283110 said you need to force the graphics to use the Microsoft driver because you cant use the Intel driver. But you can actually use the intel driver by setting a custom resolution, click on your "search windows" and type: "CustomModeApp". Here are the full instructions

Answer 3

This is just my personal experience, I don't necessarily have any technical data to back it up. I have not had success driving a 4k monitor from a Lenovo. I have tried Lenovo T420, T430, T430s, T440, X1Carbon, T530, and not been able to get a single one of them to push my Samsung 4k display at it's native resolution.

My understanding is that technically the HD4000 graphics should be able to push the resolution, but I have not had much success in Linux (or Windows).

Possibly useful forum: http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/T400-T500-and-newer-T-series/T430S-need-help-outputting-4k-resolution/td-p/1312043

Answer 4

The HDMI 1.4 standards supports pixel clocks up to 340 MHz, and this is what allows it to display resolutions like 2560x1600@60Hz (268 MHz pixel clock) or 3840×2160@30Hz (297 MHz pixel clock). For 4k@60Hz, HDMI 2.0 and a 600 MHz clock is required.

The ThinkPad Edge 300's HDMI port, however seems to be limited to a 165 MHz (HDMI 1.0-1.1) pixel clock, while still offering the other HDMI 1.4 features according to Lenovo. This limits it to 1920x1200@60Hz.

Since HD4000 supports full HDMI 1.4 pixel clocks, the limit is typically caused by the TMDS bus driver chip used by the notebook or board manufacturer for the HDMI port. This information is then stored in the BIOS and used by the graphics driver to limit the resolutions available. In some cases, however, the BIOS limit is arbitrarily set to a low safe speed to avoid trouble with badly wired projectors in conference rooms and similar. People have some luck overriding the limit by using custom videomodes. YMMV.

Answer 5

I was able to get 29hz 3840x2160 on an HD4000 in Windows 10.

1. Click on start, type in custommodeapp and run as administrator.

2. Change the display drop down to your 4k monitor.

3. Click on Advanced and enter the following settings

Front Porch Horizontal: 176 Front Porch Vertical: 8

Back Porch Horizontal: 296 Back Porch Vertical: 72

Sync Width Horizontal: 88 Sync Width Vertical: 10

Active Horizontal: 3840 Active Vertical: 2160

Sync Polarity Vertical: + Sync Polarity Horizontal: +

Scan Rate Vertical: 69.42 (This auto updates with Scan Rate Horizontal being set to 30) Scan Rate Horizontal: 29

Total Vertical: 4400 (This auto updates with settings above set) Total Horizontal: 2314 (This auto updates with settings above set)

Pixel Clock: 295.2664 (This auto updates with settings above set) Color Depth: 32 Bit

Click the Add + sign in the bottom right corner.

Answer 6

The CPU output display data through some Intel proprietary high speed links to the PCH (like H77), then the PCH converts these signals to standard interfaces e.g. VGA/HDMI/DP. Generally the Intel proprietary high speed links is not the bottle neck, so the problem is mostly depend on the mother board spec.

According to https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/datasheets/7-series-chipset-pch-datasheet.pdf

Figure 5-17 in page 274:

How is display signal output

Each digital port is capable of driving resolutions up to 2560x1600 at 60 Hz through DisplayPort and 1920x1200 at 60 Hz using HDMI or DVI (with reduced blanking).

The PCH support HDMI output directly, there is no need for external chips like DisplayPort to HDMI converter chips. But the built in HDMI doesn't support 4K30Hz at all. So many (may be most?) mother board will use the built in HDMI function to get low cost, for these mother boards, the system will never successfully output HDMI 4K30Hz, don't even try anything which only waste your time. If the limitation is a real hardware limitation, then even you get rid of it with some trick, the performance won't be guaranteed. If the limitation is due to commercial considerations, it will not easy to be get rid off (mostly controlled by some firmware/ROM in the chip instead of kernel/driver).

You can only output HDMI 4K30Hz on mother boards that use an external DisplayPort to HDMI converter chips which support at least 4K30Hz signal rate.

So maybe the best idea is to check the spec of your mother board. If it doesn't declare to support 4K30Hz, don't try it.

About HDMI 1.4: even the mother board declare to support "HDMI 1.4", it may not support 4K30Hz. Since according to Wikipedia HDMI page:

Individual products may have heavier limitations than those listed below, since HDMI devices are not required to support the maximum bandwidth of the HDMI version that they implement. Therefore, it is not guaranteed that a display will support the refresh rates listed in this table, even if the display has the required HDMI version.

My environment: i7-3770(with HD4000 GPU), MSI ZH77A-G43, Windows 10 x64 1903(18362.239).

Product page of ZH77A-G43 says it supports HDMI 1.4, but the customer service says it only support 1920120060Hz, not 4K.

Answer 7

I have a Thinkpad E550 that is capable of displaying 4K @60Hz with only a slight stutter so I believe that you should be able to do so if your just using it as a second screen, anything like gaming will be out of the question.