Successfully Getting the LG Ultrafine 5k to work via Thunderbolt 3@5k resultion with a Titan XP

[ShantanuJoshi]

I see posts on the forums and around on reddit etc with mixed info on the LG Ultrafine 5k and thunderbolt 3 and windows support etc etc etc.... so first of all it CAN be done but  I did this thought I'd dispel a few common myths I find online:
 

You can't:
-Run a thunderbolt to dual display port cable adapter to power this guy they aren't bidirectional

-Use DisplayPort to usb c cables all over on amazon and stuff because they again only convert one way from thunderbolt 3-->DisplayPort and not the other way

-Use the thunderbolt or USBc headers on most motherboards because often times they DON'T support TB3 or they aren't able to send the display signal correctly using iGPU

 

As I was desperately attempting to get my monitor to work I discovered the following AIC from ASRock: 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815548003

 

I found an Asus card claiming similar spec but reviews and lack of supporting info on their website led me to believe it wouldn't work at all... 

 

After researching the specifications on the ASRock website I found this line in the manual (manual pdf):

Quote

"Supports Thunderbolt 3 interface with max. resolution of 5K (5120 x 2880) @ 60Hz for one display over a single cable connection"

So at this point I'm thinking whaaaasaaaaaaaa after watching the LTT video on the 5k Ultrafine display techquickie Linus noted that apple does funky proprietary stuff to pass through two DisplayPort signals through the single cable.... BUT ASRock out here claiming they can do the same thing???

 

I HAD TO TEST THIS...

So after looking through the manual for compatible z270 motherboards that had a thunderbolt header I went ahead and picked up the AsRock Z270 Extreme4 and ASRock AIC from newegg. 

 

I threw in my 960 pro, a titan XP, single dim, and a 6700k on the board. Plugged in the AIC with the special cable that plugs the AIC into the thunderbolt header on the mono. Booted into windows and installed the thunderbolt 3 driver from the ASRock website. I shutdown the computer, plugged in the TWO included DP and DP-mDP cables into the GPU and then back into the AIC... booted and plugged in the LG 5k AND BOOM FULL RESOLUTION 60HZ NO TINKERING

 

It just worked seamlessly and I've had no issues. Unfortunately the speakers aren't working correctly (which is weird because my macbook running bootcamp can drive the monitor at 4k with speakers etc...) but it works!

 

I've got a hefty OC on the titan XP and was able to run GTA V at 5k with an average 65 frames very high to ultra settings. The colors look fantastic and the screens way better than the dell 5k IMO. 

 

TL;DR You can drive the 5k ultrafine with an ASRock AIC and a Compatible asrock board its got 10bit color and looks gorgeous

[shadowbyte]

wow

nice job

[ShantanuJoshi]

4 minutes ago, shadowbyte said:

wow

nice job

thanks fam lmk if y'all want pics 

[shadowbyte]

Just now, ShantanuJoshi said:

thanks fam lmk if y'all want pics 

sure, that'd be cool

I'll never use anything in this guide, but it's pretty sweet that you got it almost 100% working

[Glenwing]

4 hours ago, ShantanuJoshi said:

So at this point I'm thinking whaaaasaaaaaaaa after watching the LTT video on the 5k Ultrafine display techquickie Linus noted that apple does funky proprietary stuff to pass through two DisplayPort signals through the single cable.... BUT ASRock out here claiming they can do the same thing???

Well, it's not an Apple proprietary thing, that's just how Thunderbolt 3's display capabilities are set up, it uses 8 lanes of DisplayPort 1.2 (a normal connection is 4 lanes).

 

Anyway, thanks for posting this  It's hard to find any information or testing on Thunderbolt 3 compatibility and hardware.

[Acinity]

On 6/4/2017 at 0:00 AM, ShantanuJoshi said:

I see posts on the forums and around on reddit etc with mixed info on the LG Ultrafine 5k and thunderbolt 3 and windows support etc etc etc.... so first of all it CAN be done but  I did this thought I'd dispel a few common myths I find online:
 

You can't:
-Run a thunderbolt to dual display port cable adapter to power this guy they aren't bidirectional

-Use DisplayPort to usb c cables all over on amazon and stuff because they again only convert one way from thunderbolt 3-->DisplayPort and not the other way

-Use the thunderbolt or USBc headers on most motherboards because often times they DON'T support TB3 or they aren't able to send the display signal correctly using iGPU

 

As I was desperately attempting to get my monitor to work I discovered the following AIC from ASRock: 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815548003

 

I found an Asus card claiming similar spec but reviews and lack of supporting info on their website led me to believe it wouldn't work at all... 

 

After researching the specifications on the ASRock website I found this line in the manual (manual pdf):

So at this point I'm thinking whaaaasaaaaaaaa after watching the LTT video on the 5k Ultrafine display techquickie Linus noted that apple does funky proprietary stuff to pass through two DisplayPort signals through the single cable.... BUT ASRock out here claiming they can do the same thing???

 

I HAD TO TEST THIS...

So after looking through the manual for compatible z270 motherboards that had a thunderbolt header I went ahead and picked up the AsRock Z270 Extreme4 and ASRock AIC from newegg. 

 

I threw in my 960 pro, a titan XP, single dim, and a 6700k on the board. Plugged in the AIC with the special cable that plugs the AIC into the thunderbolt header on the mono. Booted into windows and installed the thunderbolt 3 driver from the ASRock website. I shutdown the computer, plugged in the TWO included DP and DP-mDP cables into the GPU and then back into the AIC... booted and plugged in the LG 5k AND BOOM FULL RESOLUTION 60HZ NO TINKERING

 

It just worked seamlessly and I've had no issues. Unfortunately the speakers aren't working correctly (which is weird because my macbook running bootcamp can drive the monitor at 4k with speakers etc...) but it works!

 

I've got a hefty OC on the titan XP and was able to run GTA V at 5k with an average 65 frames very high to ultra settings. The colors look fantastic and the screens way better than the dell 5k IMO. 

 

TL;DR You can drive the 5k ultrafine with an ASRock AIC and a Compatible asrock board its got 10bit color and looks gorgeous

 

Does it really require a new motherboard to go along with the card? Or can I use my MSI motherboard and have some success? If I need the new motherboard as well, can you explain why that is? Thanks

[ShantanuJoshi]

On 6/12/2017 at 9:44 AM, Acinity said:

 

Does it really require a new motherboard to go along with the card? Or can I use my MSI motherboard and have some success? If I need the new motherboard as well, can you explain why that is? Thanks

So basically the AIC Requires your motherboard to have a thunderbolt 3 header. It looks like a 5 pin peripheral connector and I believe the implementation looks similar across Mobo manufacturers. If the mobo doesn't have the header it can't actively support the add in card. I believe there's some really intense standards that intel pushes for which require the thunderbolt header on the mobo to communicate w the card.   EDIT: This is not true you indeed CAN short the header cable it's literally just two pins there's guides around this online. 

 

Unfortunately I have yet to test the AIC with a non ASRock motherboard that has a TB header. I can assure you that without the thunderbolt header the AIC won't work. Part of the process is actually enabling TB3 in bios. 

[Bcat00]

Oooh thats really nice to know. 

So let met get this right

you hook up the monitor directly into the thunderbolt 3 io thats built into the motherboard and not the gpu, correct?

[ShantanuJoshi]

4 hours ago, Bcat00 said:

Oooh thats really nice to know. 

So let met get this right

you hook up the monitor directly into the thunderbolt 3 io thats built into the motherboard and not the gpu, correct?

Not exactly. I basically hook up the monitor to a TB3 add in card and have the GPU plugged in 2 dispalyport cables into that add in card. The card then passes the signals through TB3.

[Bcat00]

Ahhh i see, thats a neat trick. I was considering the 5k monitor a few months back for my next upgrade so it helps knowing its possible to get it to work.

[ShantanuJoshi]

58 minutes ago, Bcat00 said:

Ahhh i see, thats a neat trick. I was considering the 5k monitor a few months back for my next upgrade so it helps knowing its possible to get it to work.

Yeah the dell 5k you could probably run just fine with two DP cables but this display just destroys the dell 5k in my opinion. 

[Homo Sapiens Invictus]

Is there any way to run two (or more) 5K monitors on Windows?