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tornado99

macrumors 6502
Jul 28, 2013
454
445
I've also tried to build out a 5K display with R1811 Driver board (for a single cable connection with PD).

It worked well for a few weeks of testing, I even connected camera, microphone, speakers and additional USB hub for accessories.

Unfortunately after some time, Macbook usb ports stopped working and i've basically bricked my MBP16. After very expensive repair (out of warranty), I've tested again with the same outcome.

I've tested with my girlfriends Macbook Air and one USB-C port is not working anymore.

I'll try to open up the macbooks and investigate, but most likely r1811 monitor can damage your PC.

Presumably that would be only if using usb PD? I don't think it could damage your PC using HDMI or DP ports on the R1811 board.
 

citivolus

macrumors 65816
Sep 19, 2008
1,217
268
I have ordered the parts for this (R1811 V.4 driver board, LM270QQ1-SDC1 display, and A1419 case) and am looking forward to building one as soon as they arrive in the next week or so. Has anyone considered mounting the driver board externally in some kind of breakout box and routing only the display cable into the iMac? I'm concerned about needing to open the iMac up again in case of any issue down the road as well as removing the need for lots of extension cables and adapters.
 

yaosiang

macrumors member
Jul 3, 2010
57
47
I have ordered the parts for this (R1811 V.4 driver board, LM270QQ1-SDC1 display, and A1419 case) and am looking forward to building one as soon as they arrive in the next week or so. Has anyone considered mounting the driver board externally in some kind of breakout box and routing only the display cable into the iMac? I'm concerned about needing to open the iMac up again in case of any issue down the road as well as removing the need for lots of extension cables and adapters.
The 5K eDP 60pin cable between the LCD panel and driver board is not long enough for the driver board to be mounted externally assuming you plan to route it out of the A1419 case via the RAM access door. Share some photos once you finish the build!
 
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Frapal

macrumors newbie
Jun 19, 2021
3
0
Hello everyone! I built my own diy 5K monitor successfully but I have questions. Why can I not set the resolution to 4K on Windows 10? I use R1811 V.4 driver board with one DP 1.4 and a GTX 1070 with the latest driver. I have uploaded a screenshot with different resolutions that I can choose but there is no 4K on the list. And is it possible to set 4k@144hz as described in the product description of R1811 V.4 or does this depend on the panel(lm270qq1 sd a2)?
 

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joevt

macrumors 604
Jun 21, 2012
6,935
4,237
Also try CRU. https://www.monitortests.com/forum/Thread-Custom-Resolution-Utility-CRU
CRU is necessary for AMD GPUs because Radeon Software custom resolutions don't let you change bpc or chroma sub sampling. I'm not sure about Nvidia's custom resolutions feature.

Use GPU-Z and look at the advanced tab to see if the connection is HBR3 8.1 Gbps or HBR2 5.4 Gbps. Does Nvidia software report DSC mode anywhere? AMD Radeon Software does not.
 
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citivolus

macrumors 65816
Sep 19, 2008
1,217
268
I got the driver board and other parts and am trying things out. Has anyone replaced the cpu fan on the board to make it quieter? Mine is the R1811 V.4 board.
 

Borzab

macrumors newbie
Dec 11, 2020
13
25
I got the driver board and other parts and am trying things out. Has anyone replaced the cpu fan on the board to make it quieter? Mine is the R1811 V.4 board.
I was remove them, but keep radiator. It works perfect without fan.
 

citivolus

macrumors 65816
Sep 19, 2008
1,217
268
Separate question, has anyone hooked up the original iMac speakers directly to the four pin header on the driver board without the use of an amp? If so, is the volume adequate at a normal level? I bought a pair of iMac speakers on eBay and am wondering if it is worth the effort of buying the four T10 10.0mm screws to hold them in plus a 4-Pin PH2.0 connector for the driver board and then wiring the speakers together.
 

yaosiang

macrumors member
Jul 3, 2010
57
47
Separate question, has anyone hooked up the original iMac speakers directly to the four pin header on the driver board without the use of an amp? If so, is the volume adequate at a normal level? I bought a pair of iMac speakers on eBay and am wondering if it is worth the effort of buying the four T10 10.0mm screws to hold them in plus a 4-Pin PH2.0 connector for the driver board and then wiring the speakers together.
Yes I did. The board itself contains an audio amplifier (CSC3110) which can be traced to the four pin header. The volume is more than adequate and can go really loud. I doubt you will set it to anything above 30%.
 

yaosiang

macrumors member
Jul 3, 2010
57
47
Anyone with R1811 v4 noticed that the left and right sides of the screen has slightly different colour?

It appears that the default settings for this board (probably the EDID) has refresh rate of 59.88 Hz which is causing the issue shown in the screenshot below.

IMG_3553.jpg


I used SwitchResX to add custom resolution of 5120 x 2880 @ 60Hz and the problem disappeared.

IMG_3554.jpg


The monitor is connected to the GPU via single DisplayPort 1.4 and running on stock firmware.
 
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citivolus

macrumors 65816
Sep 19, 2008
1,217
268
Anyone with R1811 v4 noticed that the left and right sides of the screen has slightly different colour?

It appears that the default settings for this board (probably the EDID) has refresh rate of 59.88 Hz which is causing the issue shown in the screenshot below.

View attachment 1798145

I used SwitchResX to add custom resolution of 5120 x 2880 @ 60Hz and the problem disappeared.

View attachment 1798146

The monitor is connected to the GPU via single DisplayPort 1.4 and running on stock firmware.

I took a detailed look and I’m not seeing any such artifact with my setup.

Meantime I have an issue of my own. I use the multiple inputs to the R1811 board with multiple computers. I have an M1 MBA connected via Apple Thunderbolt 3 cable to the USB-C port and a Dell laptop connected to a Dell D6000 dock connected via a DisplayPort cable. Each one is set up to “Extend” the display. Whenever I switch to another input, the computer thinks the monitor is still connected and so the windows in the “Extended” space are obviously not visible or accessible. I switch inputs constantly all day long. Previously with my other monitor, whenever I switched inputs, both macOS and Windows would think the monitor was disconnected and would automatically gather the windows into the one primary display. Anyone else experience this issue and have a suggestion? The Dell laptop is locked down so I can’t install any kind of helper app. Hope this makes sense.
 
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yaosiang

macrumors member
Jul 3, 2010
57
47
I took a detailed look and I’m not seeing any such artifact with my setup.

Meantime I have an issue of my own. I use the multiple inputs to the R1811 board with multiple computers. I have an M1 MBA connected via Apple Thunderbolt 3 cable to the USB-C port and a Dell laptop connected to a Dell D6000 dock connected via a DisplayPort cable. Each one is set up to “Extend” the display. Whenever I switch to another input, the computer thinks the monitor is still connected and so the windows in the “Extended” space are obviously not visible or accessible. I switch inputs constantly all day long. Previously with my other monitor, whenever I switched inputs, both macOS and Windows would think the monitor was disconnected and would automatically gather the windows into the one primary display. Anyone else experience this issue and have a suggestion? The Dell laptop is locked down so I can’t install any kind of helper app. Hope this makes sense.
Thanks. I am starting to wonder if this is due to different firmware versions or the LCD panel itself. For this set up, I paired the R1811 with the D1 variant.

Screenshot 2021-06-27 at 09.49.21.png


The driver board serial number on mine is demoset-1 0. I will ask the seller if I can have the firmware that supports 2 x DP1.2 for 10-bit in macOS.

The issue that you are facing seems to be common for monitors with multiple inputs. As an interim solution, in macOS you can use SwitchResX to disable the display when it is not in used. In Windows, there is an option to show the desktop on PC only. The settings have to be applied manually each time when you switch input so probably not ideal unless you can bind the actions to shortcut keys.

If you are not using the driver board to charge the M1 MBA via USB-C then you might be able to solve your issue by using a DisplayPort switch (such as https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adapter-CableDeconn-Thunderbolt-Compatible-ChromeBook/dp/B076ZKZLXT/). There is a comment in the customer reviews section that confirmed the monitor completely disconnects from the source (causing all opened windows to be moved) when you switch input. If it works for your set up, this can potentially makes switching input even easier as it is done with a push of a button rather than having to use the buttons on the thin PCB strip or IR remote control to navigate the OSD which takes longer.

I have replaced the stock fan on mine with a slightly quieter Noctua fan. I don't use it for charging laptop so I wonder if I can get away with not having a fan at all.
 

citivolus

macrumors 65816
Sep 19, 2008
1,217
268
Yes I did. The board itself contains an audio amplifier (CSC3110) which can be traced to the four pin header. The volume is more than adequate and can go really loud. I doubt you will set it to anything above 30%.
Thanks, I was able to connect the speaker wires and see what you mean--the amp on the R1811 board is very powerful!
 

citivolus

macrumors 65816
Sep 19, 2008
1,217
268
I am about to order the adhesive strips from iFixit and have read about people's screens falling off. That is terrifying to think about, especially after going through all of this effort. Where did people get their adhesive strips from and have you had any problems?
 

citivolus

macrumors 65816
Sep 19, 2008
1,217
268
Thanks. I am starting to wonder if this is due to different firmware versions or the LCD panel itself. For this set up, I paired the R1811 with the D1 variant.

View attachment 1798406

The driver board serial number on mine is demoset-1 0. I will ask the seller if I can have the firmware that supports 2 x DP1.2 for 10-bit in macOS.
FWIW here's a screenshot of my Display properties from my M1 MBA running Monterey...
 

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citivolus

macrumors 65816
Sep 19, 2008
1,217
268
I replaced default fan from R1811 with Noctua NF-A4x10 PWM because default fan was a very noisy. Also, i added a variable resistor for the fan to lower the RPM to further reduce the noise.
I was remove them, but keep radiator. It works perfect without fan.
Was the Noctua fan still too noisy after using the variable resistor? Which resistor did you use? I am too scared to run without the fan at all :)
 

Borzab

macrumors newbie
Dec 11, 2020
13
25
Was the Noctua fan still too noisy after using the variable resistor? Which resistor did you use? I am too scared to run without the fan at all :)
Hi! Now i'am using it without fan and it works fine. Don't worry, you can remove the fan, but keep radiator.
But if you want to use it with a fan, than Noctua fan is almost inaudible. I was use resistor like this (see image).
 

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citivolus

macrumors 65816
Sep 19, 2008
1,217
268
Hi! Now i'am using it without fan and it works fine. Don't worry, you can remove the fan, but keep radiator.
But if you want to use it with a fan, than Noctua fan is almost inaudible. I was use resistor like this (see image).
Can you post a link to the exact Noctua fan you used? All of the ones I see on Amazon have three or four pin headers and my R1811 board has a two pin header.
 

Borzab

macrumors newbie
Dec 11, 2020
13
25
Can you post a link to the exact Noctua fan you used? All of the ones I see on Amazon have three or four pin headers and my R1811 board has a two pin header.
Noctua NF-A4x10 PWM, you don't need to find 2 pin specially, you can use 3 pin type. Because only 2 pin use for power and 1 pin use for control.
 

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