Asus N76VZ - maximum HDMI output

Since I've solved many problems with my Asus i7 N76VZ (NVIDIA 650M GPU), which were all driver related, I've been a very happy user. I was using it with a 1920*1200 external monitor via HDMI, and now with all the new big high resolution IPS displays available, I've decided to upgrade my display. However, to my absolute horror, I have just learned that HDMI output is limited when it comes to high resolutions and framerates. I wasn't able to find out exactly anywhere about the actual numbers. Only bits and bits and pieces.

So what is the maximum resolution of HDMI output on my N76VZ with 650M GPU?
At what refresh rates?
Which version of HDMI it is on N76VZ? (1.3/1.4?)

If the HDMI cannot go higher than 1920*1200 at 60Hz, is there any other way than HDMI to get the higher resolution out of my laptop? Say at least 2560x1440? If not 4K.

 

This does depend on the way the port is connected physically, as well as the cable, unfortunately.

But most of all, it depends on the driver, and what has been factory set as max resolution/refresh derived from what is apparently known as "pixel speed". This is a lower limit for the intel hd graphics cards, and hazarding a guess would probably be something in the range of that - as underclocking and lower frequency adapters became available with the U-reboot, several manufacturers have ran into issues where the bandwidth is actually too low to provide the picture while the processor (and therefore the internal adapter) is in the lowest state. I don't know if it's still possible to add custom resolutions, though.. It used to be possible to "overclock" the card, lock it to higher performance settings, and get some new resolutions that way. Never really tried all that much, but it seems that this is how things hang together, at least to a degree..

So yeah.. I don't know. By specification, you should be able to at least get to somewhere around double 1920*1200@60hz before croaking. But it's difficult to say if there's something else (than the driver forced recommended resolutions) that's technically stopping that from being possible. Such as bandwidth allocation on the actual intel hd chip, the connector arrangement on the video bus, or somehow the actual ram speed on the graphics card array that deals with rasterisation... *shrug*

Maybe Anandtech can pressure some of their intel sources for information on how the driver actually works!? lol hahaha.

Seriously, though, we'll never really know. "The market" doesn't care about 4k and stable pictures, see.

 

Yeah, the Optimus switching thing, and all the drivers covering it have been an absolute nightmare for me. Only once I managed to remove as much of it as it was possible, has my laptop become stable. The switching doesn't work most of the time, and when it does, it makes more harm than good. And if HDMI output depends on this stuff, than I am abandoning all hope.

So let's say the OCs are out of the questions for me. Providing that there is nothing else hindering the output except for the HDMI port itself; what do you think I can get out of the HDMI port on my N76VZ @60Hz resolution wise? You said double of 1920*1200 @60Hz. What would that be?

By checking the NVIDIA control panel, (Physix setting), I have just found out that the HDMI port is being reported as using 650M, and laptop display using the HD4000. I guess this is good news, right?

Besides, I've also contacted ASUS Support, and my local ASUS Service support. Interestingly, none of them gave me any answers and forwarded those to higher instances. I wonder...

 

If it lets you customise the resolution and even attempt overclocking the panel then the nvidia chip truly has control.

 

^I believe the problem is described about something like that there's a .."frontbuffer" on the intel card (forgive me for not using correct nomenclature here), that has a fixed size on a specific chip. And that even if the nvidia card generates the picture, there's a limitation to how much bandwidth that piece of hardware can process. So that even if the actual link to the cable has a higher bandwidth limitation, and even if the nvidia card (and the intel card) could obviously produce a higher resolution -- there's a limitation in that frontbuffer that actually produces the image.

The problem is that conceptually, this is all a bit... wonky. It shouldn't ...really..have those limitations if it's able to produce an image in a higher resolution at all. Right? That if you could produce one single flashing image at a 2560x1440 map -- then why should the ramdac have a limitation? Makes no sense. Unless you add that the intel card does a certain amount of processing to account for sync and scaling. And that this routine that's being run, in software, at the low level, starts to croak once the resolutions become higher.

This is of course just guesswork. But.. you know..

..about whether they've heard this a million times before? ..about whether they can find their bottom with either hand? ..about whether they can be trusted to sit down the right way on a toilet?

Double would be something like 2560x1440@50-60hz. It should also be possible on a single connector, even if the nvidia card isn't actually processing the signal.. Now that I searched, seems there an article like this further up on this site from a while back: 2560x1440 or 2560x1600 via HDMI - NotebookCheck.net Tech

 

It's the way their software/driver is written more than anything AFAIK.

 

Nvidia has always been better at writing their driver, this is one of their strengths and not just making better hardware.