Sunday, January 5, 2014

Connect a 2560x1440 QHD Monitor over HDMI 1.4 [Windows]

This post is a bit different from my other ones- it is a simple tutorial to connect a 2560x1440 monitor to a laptop with a HDMI 1.4 port. While HDMI 1.4 is capable of outputting to 2560x1440, many laptop graphics drivers artificially limit this to 1200p. I'm posting this because while simple, the process of tricking the GPU to output to 1440p via HDMI took me a few days of googling to figure out.

You will need:
2560x1440 monitor with Dual link DVI input (They sell for around $300 on Ebay)
Spare Monitor (1080p or less) with DVI input
Laptop/Desktop with HDMI 1.4 port running Windows OS (most computers made in the last few years are on 1.4 specs, mine is the HP DV6-6135DX)
Dual Link DVI to HDMI cord (It is important to get a dual link DVI adapter. A single link adapter will not have the bandwidth to output 1440)
The Custom Resolution Utility, a free software by ToastyX at Monitor.com

First, connect the QHD monitor to the computer via the DVI-HDMI cord. You may notice that your graphics adapter refuses to output any sort of resolution to the screen. Don't worry, the monitor's specification is now saved and you can edit the specification to trick the graphics adapter to output in 1440p.

Connect the spare monitor to the laptop via the same cable. This monitor should work at 1080p or whatever the native resolution is.

Open CRU and select the "Active" monitor from the dropdown. Choose "Add" a detailed resolution. Edit the entry to read 1440 for vertical and 2560 for horizontal pixels. Save, and restart your computer.


Now you should have the ability to output in 2560x1440 on this 1080p monitor. Right click the Desktop and go to screen resolution. Select 2560x1440 and apply to test this.


Open CRU again and click "Copy" on the top right corner next to the active monitor. This copies the display settings on the current monitor. "Paste" those settings onto the next monitor on the dropdown- this should be the 1440p monitor we first connected.


Restart your computer and reconnect the 1440p monitor. You should now be able to see the screen output and select the native 2560x1440 resolution.

Note: Some people will need to decrease the screen refresh rate to display at 1440p. Usually 55Hz is okay.

A 2560x1440 monitor is great for things like computer coding, video editing, and multitasking in general. Don't let silly driver restrictions stop you from enjoying life in QHD.

4 comments:

  1. Im following what you're doing but for somereason when I get to this step
    Now you should have the ability to output in 2560x1440 on this 1080p monitor. Right click the Desktop and go to screen resolution. Select 2560x1440 and apply to test this.
    I dont have the option to output at 2560x1440. I am using a sager np6658 laptop attempting to connect my crossover 2795 monitor via an hdmi to dvi cable (dual link) etc

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  2. hi, I have GT330M card on my laptop 13", Nvidia specs tell me 1440 resolution is available in digital, I have HDMI and also DVI-D on dock station, but I'm not sure if at least my old laptop can elaborate 1440 resolution. I want to buy a monitor 1440 but only HDMI/DP or mDP are available. Does CRU can help me to connect laptop and monitor correctly?

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  3. Excellent .. Amazing .. I’ll bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…I’m happy to find so many useful info here in the post, we need work out more techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing.
    HDMI 2.0

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