Easiest way to drive LG UltraFine 4K Monitor with eGPU  

@buick_wong Thank you for sharing this new cable. Also glad to hear it could provide USB-C monitor output and USB data. I could only find one seller on eBay offering it for $75 shipping from Hong Kong/Taiwan.

Sooooo expensive. This cable is sold in China less than 45 USD.

If only it worked with the 5k!

Posted by: Eightarmedpet

If only it worked with the 5k!

It looks as he has even two 5k Ultrafine Displays. @buick_wong could you please tell us more about your setup? How many eGPUs and monitors do you have. Do you have hardware pictures?

Posted by: OliverB

Posted by: Eightarmedpet

If only it worked with the 5k!

It looks as he has even two 5k Ultrafine Displays. @buick_wong could you please tell us more about your setup? How many eGPUs and monitors do you have. Do you have hardware pictures?

Holy cow you’re right. No way the cable works with them though, that would be too good to be true.

Hi @eightarmedpet , I saw the PM. But I don't know why I cannot reply it directly.

For now, this cable is based on DP 1.2, not 1.4 and it based on USB-C DP Alt mode. So, It cannot be used to drive 5K directly. If you want to drive 5K UltraFine, You'd better buy a GC-Titan-Ridge AIC Card to combine two DP 1.2 input to USB-C Thunderbolt 3 Alt Mode output. That's what a 5K's requirements.

I think @itsage have been used the solution above before to drive a 5K UltraFine Monitor.

@oliverb how did you know that I have two 5K UltraFine ? LOL.

Certainly Yes, I have them. I'am now working on driving them through GC-Titan-Ridge AIC Card.

@buick_wong thanks for the reply! You prob need more posts until you can PM... as I assumed reg 5K, such a shame, hopes dashed once again... I do have an alpine ridge TB3 card but struggling find a way to power/connect it (risers are hard to get here in the UK - or at least I don't know where to get the right ones).

Your screen shots show your 2x LG 5K displays... would love to see some pics because its one hell of a set up! What do you use it for if you dont mind me asking?

Posted by: Buick Wong

I am spending much time on looking for a solution to drive LG UltraFine 4K with eGPU. Well, Blackmagic eGPU is fine, but its legacy RX580 is not the one for me . Sunix or GC-Titan Ridge AIC cards can be used in this situation. But it needs extra power and may lose the audio, brightness control. Today I find a cable from Huawei, it called Huawei VR2 cable. It combines USB and DisplayPort to USB-C DP Alt Mode, something like the Virtual Link Alt Mode Cable.

The Sunix UPD2018 card can be placed into a Thunderbolt 3 PCIe expansion box like the Sonnet Echo Express SEL which will allow the USB functions of the display to work correctly (audio, USB ports, brightness control). The Huawei cable seems like a much less expensive solution.

The Huawei cable probably does not support two lane DisplayPort 1.2 with USB 3 because they specifically mention only USB 2.0 and they would not include a USB 3 type A connector in that case. Therefore, this cable is not good for USB-C docks or lower resolution (1080p) USB-C displays. The Huawei cable has a male USB-C connector so it would not be good for USB-C video adapters.

A better adapter cable would have a female USB-C connector and support both modes of USB-C DisplayPort alt mode and provide extra power using an external power supply - basically everything the Sunix UPD2018 in a PCIe expansion box does, except with the USB controller replaced by a USB input.

@joevt3, I also have the Sunix config in my Thunderbolt expansion box. But Huawei provides a better solution at much less price. It doesn't need extra power and configuration, just plug and play. maybe a better cable can provide USB 3.1 connection and DP 1.4 like USB-C VirtualLink Alt Mode.

Posted by: Buick Wong

@joevt3, I also have the Sunix config in my Thunderbolt expansion box. But Huawei provides a better solution at much less price. It doesn't need extra power and configuration, just plug and play. maybe a better cable can provide USB 3.1 connection and DP 1.4 like USB-C VirtualLink Alt Mode.

Does the Sunix have the problem of losing audio and brightness control or did you mean that problem is only with the AIC solution?

The Huawei solution is the best I've seen for the USB-C four lane DisplayPort + USB 2.0 problem of displays like the LG UltraFine 4K but it probably doesn't work for the USB-C two lane DisplayPort + USB 3.x problem of other displays and USB-C docks. The DisplayPort version doesn't matter - DisplayPort 1.4 requires lines that can do 8.1 Gbps (only 50% more bandwidth than DisplayPort 1.2) which means any cable that can do USB 3.1 gen 2 should be good enough. I don't know if the quality of the Huawei cable is good enough for DisplayPort 1.4 but it could be.

VirtualLink Alt Mode is four lane DisplayPort 1.4 + USB 3.1 on the USB 2.0 lines. I think the cable would need to advertise that it's for VirtualLink alt mode, and the USB Type-A connector would need the USB 2.0 pins moved to the USB 3 pins. This would make it unusable for DisplayPort alt mode situations.

@joevt3 Sunix‘s audio and usb works properly if you connect it to TB3 to PCIe expansion box. But Huawei ‘s cable supports only DP1.2. 4096 is its max resolution. On its manual, it said its max bandwidth is 21.6Gbps which means clearly its a DP1.2 4 lanes cable with usb 2.0. This configuration meets UltraFine 4K’s requirement perfect.

Just bought a node lite as one popped up on eBay for a good price and actually in the Uk for once, I’ll Pop my TB3 add in card in it and see how it all works cabling and performance wise. 

If if the results of the above are lack lustre I’ll hold on to the Node Lite and see what Navi brings in the way of ITX size cards.