first Dell Precision Mobile to support 3840x2160 desktop screen on HDMI ?

Dual mode DP was designed as to mitigate all this gobbledegook. Look for the DP ++ symbol. If it has it, then you know it can display UHD video.

 

To report success and details:

I am writing this post on a 2013 Seiki Digital SE39UY04 38.5" 4K Ultra HD display connected to a 2009 (2008 line) Dell Precision M6400 (w Nvidia Quadro FX 3700M) running Linux (RHEL 6.4 derivative) connected via dock Dell part 331-7947 (giving that old notebook a new DisplayPort 1.2) and DisplayPort to HDMI adapter Dell part 330-1271 and cable Dell part A5802058. Nice, very nice, and I can continue using this notebook.

That specific dock (331-7947), better than Dell's published spec (1 DisplayPort) has like its older sibling "VGA / 2 x DVI / 2 x Display Ports / Serial / Parallel / 2 x PS/2 / 5 x USB / 1 x eSATA/USB port". Why Dell isn't advertising its full capabilities beats me, but I got one.

The M6400's Nvidia Quadro FX 3700M w 1G video RAM in the M6400 has an older DisplayPort. With this 331-7947 connected is now has a DisplayPort 1.2, which allows it to drive a 3840x2160 screen (and my notebook screen is working too, and I haven't tried using the second DisplayPort because I don't need it right now). Also, I am not into 3D, I do more 2D kind of engineering.

It was finicky and took me hours, but that was my fault: I am running Linux (RHEL 6.4 derivative, Nvidia driver 325.15), and years ago I had set the machine to use minimal power and underclock the GPU, per Nvidia specific xorg.conf options. I had to remove that, apparently a throttled GPU wasn't able to keep up the high resolution signal. Also, for Linux, now I had to put in an Nvidia specific xorg.conf option:

Option "ModeValidation" "NoExtendedGpuCapabilitiesCheck, NoMaxPClkCheck"

Also I think that high resolution screen for me maybe only works reliably in the dock's first DisplayPort, maybe not reliably in its second port. But let's remember we are talking 3840x2160, and I was messing with an underclocked GPU, different cables, etc, I am not sure when it started working. I am typing this on a beautiful, large, stable display, it works.

I got a notebook introduced in 2008 to drive a year 2013 introduced 3840x2160 screen. Good engineering, Dell, Nvidia, etc!

And thank you @adm7 for your detailed report in September.

 

That's good to hear. This is the reasons someone would want to buy a machine of this caliber.

 

One more point, to make this workable I had to tell the operating system never to put the display to sleep. Else it was obnoxious about repositioning the screen in wrong relative position when coming back from sleep, not just in a simple way but being quite difficult to get back to workable after coming back from sleep, involving different steps at various times, unpredictable behavior. But, as I am saying, telling the operating system never to put the display to sleep fixed it. Now coming back to it, logging in past screensaver, it is where I left it off. Which you think is normal, but wasn't for me the last couple of days.

To sum it up in one post, here:

Dell Precision M6400 (similar to M6500, M6600, M6700, etc) with Nvidia Quadro FX 3700M (1GB video RAM), connected to a Seiki Digital SE39UY04 38.5" 3840x2160 via Dell dock 331-7947 (giving that old notebook a new DisplayPort 1.2) and DisplayPort to HDMI adapter Dell part 330-1271 and cable Dell part A5802058. Running Scientific Linux 6.4 (derivative of RHEL 6.4, similar to CentOS 6.4) 64 bit. At Nvidia driver 325.15. To make this work:

In /etc/X11/xorg.conf:

Code:

# Xorg configuration custom rolled

Section "Files"
        ModulePath   "/usr/lib64/xorg/modules/extensions/nvidia"
        ModulePath   "/usr/lib64/xorg/modules"
EndSection

Section "Device"
        Identifier  "Videocard0"
        Driver      "nvidia"
        #
        Option     "MetaModeOrientation" "Above"
        #
        Option     "ModeValidation" "NoExtendedGpuCapabilitiesCheck, NoMaxPClkCheck"
EndSection

On the monitor (sold as TV) tweak some settings. Such as Zoom Mode to Just Scan. And Sharpness to 0. Color and brightness to your liking.

There was an issue left with after some time the screen going to sleep and being difficult to deal with when coming back, and this was resolved:

System menu → Preferences → Power Management → On AC Power tab → Put display to sleep when inactive for: Never

Also I had to undo whatever I had done previously to underclock the GPU. I don't think anyone else did that, no point describing that detail.

Awesome to work on.

As an engineering guy with a lot of text and 2D graphics (no 3D), a high end 2008 machine works for me in 2013.

 

I own a M6600 with AMD M8900 ... Do we share the same version of display port? Mine on the right side of the chassis has the DP++ logo... I connected it directly to the the tv with a hdmi 1.4 cable + the DP>HDMI converter you have. I can't get anything other than 1080p/60hz. Did you have to setup a custom resolution or anything?

 

The DP logo is your assurance of compatibility. If you have DP++ then your ports supports the same output.

You also don't need a converter as a simple inexpensive adapter will do. Not only does DP speaks fluent HDMI, but the process is designed to be automatic. If you're not getting the intended resolution, then the breakdown is someplace else.

 

I used the dell PN that notebookvet listed above. Which is...
Amazon.com: Dell DisplayPort (Display Port) to HDMI Video Adapter, Connect or Cable - TK041 / 0TK041: Electronics

Here is something I wrote on another forum:

UPDATE
I set a resolution of 3840x2160@15hz to keep it under the limit and it worked... I can get up to 18hz before it stops working. However, patching the drivers to increase the 165mhz limit and doing 3840x2160@19-30 doesn't work.

UPDATE2
StarTech.com DP2HDS came today. Same results as above. I know for sure that this is an active adapter.

UPDATE3
The bizlink TK041 I believe is a passive adapter. When I view edid information in CCC switching between the two shows adaptive and passive. Still doesn't seem to want to go past the 165mhz clock speed, even with the patch. Makes me wonder if it's a Raedon vs FirePro issue... would that affect the amd patcher you created at all?

More Info...
I tried plugging directly in through my hdmi out port, thinking it wouldn't work, but it did, 3840x2160@18 ... I even tried using the docking station + DP>HDMI both adapters, same results...

More research... from displayport wiki
In January 2013, a new VESA specification was released called DisplayPort Dual-Mode Standard version 1.1, which brings dual-mode capabilities on par with HDMI 1.4, allowing a TDMS clock rate of up to 300 MHz... -and- A notable limitation of Type 1 dual-mode is that it can only transmit single-link DVI (and HDMI), as the number of pins in the DisplayPort connector is insufficient for dual-link connections. Also, it is limited to a TMDS clock rate of 165 MHz. As a result, an active converter is needed for Dual-Link DVI, HDMI 1.3+, and analog component video such as VGA.

Well I have both passive and active, neither go above the 165mhz clock rate.

FINAL UPDATE
I just recieved Accell B086B-003B which is a Type 2 active adapter. Everything works perfectly!

http://www.amazon.com/Accell-B086B-...=8-10&keywords=accell+active+displayport+hdmi