Surface Book 2 13.5" what external monitor resolution is recommended

Thank you, this narrows the field a little, but I'm surprised that there isn't a clear recommendation for an external monitor specification that delivers crystal clear text like the Surface Book does.

From further research it would appear that the fuzzy text is a known issue to do with scaling.

It still seems to be a process of trial and error, surely someone at Microsoft must have a configuration that provides a crystal clear display with pin sharp text. It would be great to know what is actually recommended if buying a new external monitor.

If purchasing a new 4k monitor will provide pin sharp text then it would be great to know, or is that still a compromise? Thanks

Thank you for your reply - I've returned the monitor, whilst I didn't try with HDMI, I did try a wireless adaptor (purchased for projection to TV), but the fuzziness of text did not improve, it was still fuzzy, the issue would seem likely to do with the resolution of the screen, i.e. being lower than the SB. 

Having done more research (and yes I read through the trouble shooting page - thanks), it seems likely that any external monitor should have a higher resolution, something close to that of the Surface Book i.e. 3000 x 2000. Whilst obviously no manufacturer appears to produces monitors with this spec, a 4k monitor of 3840 x 2160 would seem to be the best bet.

Also, on the SB2 the default is to view at 200%, so 3860 x 2160 on say a 28" monitor would also need to be viewed at say 150%

Sadly this is all trial and error trying to find a monitor that works and that has a high quality, non-fuzzy display is not a great solution!

The trouble shooting guide provides maximum resolutions for the various Surface devices, it would be really helpful if there was a recommended resolution (a minimum below which it is likely that results will be mixed).

Please could you provide a recommended resolution for monitors attached to a Surface Book 2 13.5" screen

Many tanks

For the best picture always use the highest resolution. In the case of the Surface Book that would be 4K at 60 Hz for a single external monitor. Use a USB-C to display port cable (no adapters) not longer than a meter. The Surface Book can have issues with HDMI due to its weak video signal.

Hello David A Willis,

Thanks for keeping us posted. We're sorry for the delayed response.

Surface Book 2 13" or 15" supports a between maximum refresh rate and max resolution of 30 Hz and 4096X2304 and 60 Hz and 2560X1600 when connected to one to two external monitors. That makes it the recommended resolution for Surface Book 2.

Hope this answers your concern.

StevenK

Hello David A Willis,

Thanks for posting your concern here. We're sorry for the delayed response.

Your Philips monitor should work with Surface Book 2. The first thing that we need to consider why this issue has happened would be the cable. For devices with USB-C output such as Surface Book 2, we recommend using  the HDMI adapter with a HDMI 2.0 cable or higher. You may also check Troubleshoot connecting Surface to a second screen  for more info.

Hope this helps. Keep us updated by simply replying on this thread.

StevenK