Dual external monitor support with docking station on EliteBook 2540p or 2740p

[johnlawr]

Hi

Can anyone tell me whether the Elitebook 2540p notebook or 2740p tablet can support dual monitors simultaneosly when used with a docking station

I would assume that one monitor would be driven from the VGA socket, the other from DisplayPort

If so, what range of screen resolutions are supported?

I am looking to buying one of these models, but I need to know if this functionality is supported.

Thanks

John

[mkuer]

From HP: The key with supporting dual-monitors at the same time is that it requires that the notebook have dedicated graphics in there - which is not an option in the 2540p.  The first and smallest notebook to support this in the EliteBook line is the 14.0" 8440p - or we could look to the ProBook 6450b as another option too now.

In a nutshell HP is being cheap or complacent.  I don’t get why they are sticking with Intel’s castrated graphics solution

and why on the docking stations that do have deticated video like the fore mentioned 8440p they don’t enable 2 DVI-I (that’s Analog + DualLink Digital) instead of a single DVI-D and VGA.

And the thing that really annoys me is that the intel intregated chip is capable of doing according to Intel own docs.

AMD’s fusion can not come soon enough IMO.

[mahrens]

Thanks for the HP clarification. I don't understand how the graphics card can output to the Computer's internal display and an external display, but not connect to 2 external displays - that seems a bit strange.

What about the DisplayPort port, could it work if it is a 1.2 port (http://www.displayport.org/consumer/?q=content/faq) using Daisy-Chaining?

[Fmstrat]

I got a completly different response from HP, here is the transcript:

 Welcome to HP's U.S. Chat Service.

This service is intended for Pre-Sales assistance. If you are in need of any other assistance, please Click here to Contact HPfor the appropriate department regarding your inquiry.

If you are in need of Pre-Sales assistance, please hold for the next available Solution Specialist.

Hello, you are now chatting with Shania.

Shania: Welcome to HP Chat, please tell me the nature of your visit to chat today? (ie: technical support, pre-sales question, purchase, or quote)

Guest: pre-sales, business: Considering the Elitebook 2540p with VU895UT docking station. Will this model support dual external monitors on the docking station? I've seen conflicting information in the HP forums.

Shania: Hi!

Shania: I appreciate your interest in HP!

Shania: While I pull up the details about the product for you.. may I know if you are a Gov, Hospital, College or Private/Reseller & number of employees at your organization?

Guest: employee

Guest: by dual, this can be one on each DVI port, or one on DVI one on VGA, either is acceptable.

Shania: Thank you for the information and your patience.  Please hold a moment while I transfer you to a specialist now.

Shania: **If you are interested in our purchase order or other financing options, don’t forget to ask your chat consultant!**

Please wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited sales specialist.

Hello, you are now chatting with Natasha.

Natasha: Thank you for coming to HP chat! My name is Natasha, chatting with you from Rio Rancho, NM.  Please give me a moment to review what you have already said, please do not repeat yourself.

Natasha: Thank you for your interest in HP notebooks!

Natasha: I'd be happy to see if the 2540p will support dual monitors with the docking station.

Natasha: Just a moment, please.

Guest: Thanks

Natasha: With the docking station you can run dual monitors as it will have a VGA port and a Displayport.

Natasha: Any additional questions today?

Guest: OK, I had heard in the HP forums that the integrated Intel HD video would not support it. I know the docking station itself will, but want to confirm the 2540p will, since posts have said otherwise.

Natasha: Without the docking station it will not.

Natasha: But with the docking station, it will.

Natasha: There just aren't enough ports or space for ports on the actual notebook for dual monitor ports.

Guest: That I get. However, this statement was made in your HP.com forums: "From HP: The key with supporting dual-monitors at the same time is that it requires that the notebook have dedicated graphics in there - which is not an option in the 2540p. The first and smallest notebook to support this in the EliteBook line is the 14.0" 8440p - or we could look to the ProBook 6450b as another option too now."

Guest: Is that statement untrue, then?

Natasha: Yes, that statement is untrue as integrated graphics are capable of supporting dual monitors.

Natasha: They might have purchased a pre-built model with different graphics in place.

Natasha: The key to the pre-built options is to compare all of the features.

Natasha: Because not all pre-built options have the same features.

Guest: This is the pre-built I'm looking at: http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF06b/321957-321957-64295-3740645-3955549-4138624-4138627-43...

Guest: but they all appear to have the same internal Intel HD graphics card.

Natasha: Yes, we used to offer some ATI integrated graphics, but I honestly haven't heard of any issues with dual monitor support.

Natasha: This particular configuration states it comes with a VGA and Displayport located on the notebook.

Natasha: So, it should support dual monitors through that.

Guest: OK, I just wanted to be sure. The user has dual displays, and we will not be able to purchase if that is not supported.

Anyone have one they can confirm one way or another?

Thanks.

[MrPerkasa]

Yes, it does work.

Here is a picture of my study:

- Main monitor: HP 2310t, connected using DisplayPort to HDMI Cable

- Secondary monitor: HP 2209t, connected using VGA Cable

Touchscreens also function perfectly.

Please note that I am not sure which model my 2540p is.  I only know that it is i7 with 160GB SSD.

[cosmicblue1027]

Can the dual monitor set up work without the docking station?

The laptop has both a VGA and display port, so can a monitor be connect to each port directly from the laptop?

[supermerio]

I'm having problems with several of the i7 2540P bought last quarter of last year.

It seems that when using the docking station, in conjunction with a VGA display port adapter, it will prevent the laptop from waking up from sleep or hibernation (until you unplug the display port adapter).

The laptop was sent away last week and arrived back, with the failure information summary indicating they could not recreate my problem. I have since then re-created it fully.

It seems to work OK with a DVI display port adapter, although unfortunately the monitors we stock only have a VGA port.

Has anyone else experienced problems like this? I seem to be getting an awful lot of problems with display ports in general (several machines had motherboard replacements HP 6000 MT desktops).

[joewinograd]

---

@cosmicblue1027 wrote:

Can the dual monitor set up work without the docking station?

The laptop has both a VGA and display port, so can a monitor be connect to each port directly from the laptop?

---

Yes! I have the 2540p with two 27", 1920x1200 monitors. One is connected by VGA and the other by DisplayPort (on the notebook itself, not the docking station). They both work perfectly at full 1920x1200. The only downside is that the notebook can't drive the built-in LCD at the same time. I experimented with it for a while and found that it can handle just two displays at a time, not three. So it can drive either both of the external monitors or one of the externals and the notebook LCD. I happily gave up the 12.1", 1280x800 notebook display for the 27", 1920x1200 monitor. Btw, I don't know if the OS or RAM is a factor in this situation, but for the record, I'm running 64-bit W7 Pro with 8GB RAM. Regards, Joe

[hedtjarn]

Does this work for the 2530p as well? The docking station have a display port and a VGA port.

[joewinograd]

I don't have a 2530p or a docking station, so I can't say for sure, but my guess is yes. According to the datasheet, the 2530p has the Mobile Intel GMA X4500 HD graphics chip, which supports dual monitors. But the laptop itself has just a VGA port, so the question is if the docking station simply passes through the VGA graphics port of the laptop or if it is able to leverage the graphics chip and provide both DisplayPort and VGA capability. Or maybe the dock even has has its own graphics controller with both DisplayPort and VGA support. Let's hope someone with a 2530p and docking station jumps into the thread. Regards, Joe