Getting a Dell U2713HM to run 2560×1440@60Hz in Ubuntu

Just a quick post.

I recently did a fresh install of Ubuntu 17.04 on my Ubuntu PC which has an nVidia GTX 1050, and on the fresh install I no longer had 2560×1440 as a display option for my Dell U2713HM monitor. In fact, I was limited to a maximum of 1920×1080

Various searches on the internet have revealed the following key facts, which in the spirit of DataHamster I record here for posterity.

  • The Dell U2713HM has inputs for VGA, HDMI, DVI, and DisplayPort, so you have a lot of choices.
  • You must use a dual link DVI cable if you want 2560×1440, and your graphics card must also support dual link. If not, the most you will get is 1920×1200 (although the maximum I was presented with was 1920×1080). I tried both a Dual Link cable and also a Dual Link DVI to HDMI cable, but neither worked for me. Perhaps the GTX 1050 doesn’t have Dual Link on its DVI output.
  • The HDMI input on the Dell U2713HM is apparently only HDMI v1.3, and although the HDMI specs say that the maximum resolution of v1.3 is 2560×1440, some comments suggest that this is an issue for this monitor. The more expensive Dell U2713H has v1.4 on its HDMI input, apparently.
  • The DisplayPort input worked fine and instantly gave me the full 2560×1440 resolution.

Some comments suggested using xrandr to make a new custom resolution, but this didn’t work for me. Instead I got the dreaded “low graphics memory” error after reboot, both with DVI-to-DVI and HDMI-to-DVI.

So, in conclusion, I would suggest using the DisplayPort input on this monitor. If your graphics card does not have a DisplayPort output, but does have HDMI, then a HDMI to DisplayPort cable might do the trick.

 

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About DataHamster

The Data Hamster stores facts and information in its capacious cheek pouches and regurgitates them from time to time.

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