[CentOS] Intel Displayport on Centos 7

[Lamar Owen]

On 01/28/2015 03:30 PM, Frank Cox wrote:
> ...
> Having never used DisplayPort before, I'm wondering if this means that
> if I purchase the BenQ monitor above, or something similar, I can then
> reasonably expect to plug it in and have it just-work with my Centos 7
> setup.
>

I like the full-size DisplayPort connector the best of any video 
connector I've dealt with, with my second favorite being the BNC (a 
single BNC running SMPTE 292M HD-SDI is nice nice nice, and expensive 
expensive expensive).  DP is also one of the first with a simple latch 
arrangement that actually works well and is beefy enough to not worry 
too much about bending or breaking the connector by accident.  Far 
better than HDMI, which can partially pull out with no warning, and no 
screws like DVI or VGA to deal with.  Having said that, I feel just 
about the opposite about the mini-displayport connector; I'd much rather 
have an HDMI .  But the miniDP does save space....

My CentOS 7 Dell Precision M6500 laptop (ATI Firepro 7820 graphics with 
the stock CentOS ATI driver, not the Catalyst/fglrx one) is driving 
three 1920x1200 displays (two dell 24 inch 16:10 and the laptop's 
built-in 17.1 inch) very well indeed.  When I take the laptop to the 
conference room, I can plug in the projector after I've already logged 
in through the laptop's built-in (not on the dock) DisplayPort, and the 
desktop is automatically extended.  I also like the new behavior that 
gives a choice as to whether the workspaces apply to the second and 
third monitors; this way, I can switch workspaces in the conference room 
while displaying a presentation and what is displayed on the projector 
doesn't change, without me having to manually set 'Always on visible 
workspace' manually.  I carry an inexpensive active DisplayPort to 
HDMI/DVI/VGA triple adapter with me, and it really does 'just work' when 
it's plugged in.

Now, part of that smooth and convenient operation is of course due to 
the ATI driver; I had previously had an nVidia Quadro FX3800M in this 
laptop, but those cards are problematic in the M6500 (google for 'M6500 
black screen' and see).  The noveau driver didn't allow use of the 
DisplayPort at all, and I had to use the proprietary nVidia driver from 
ELrepo and an underclocking tweak to get DisplayPort to work.  The 
FirePro 7820M isn't very expensive on eBay these days, and I purchased a 
NoS unit and resolved my issues.  So your mileage may vary, depending 
upon which graphics card you have and which driver you use.