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    Issues with external display connected to my laptop

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by adrian5683, Dec 23, 2016.

  1. adrian5683

    adrian5683 Notebook Evangelist

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    Hi all, I own a Clevo P650RE3 notebook with a 1080p monitor and a Dell S2417DG 1440p monitor connected to it through HDMI. The laptop's monitor is 60hz while Dell's is 144Hz, both monitors are G-SYNC panels running on an Nvidia 970M card and Windows 7. The issue is that every time I try to show the desktop only on the Dell monitor it turns on and off constantly, as if it's loosing the display signal. This does not happen if I extend or duplicate the display, although I get the occasional flicker once in a while...

    Any idea what could cause this? If it's the cable or connection then why doesn't it happen all the time? Could it be a resolution issue?

    EDIT: Now the option to show the desktop display only on the Dell monitor no longer works, it looses signal and reverts to duplicate displays.
     
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2016
    adrian5683, Dec 23, 2016
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  2. alexhawker

    alexhawker Spent Gladiator

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    Do you have any other cables to try?
     
    alexhawker, Dec 23, 2016
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    tilleroftheearth likes this.
  3. adrian5683

    adrian5683 Notebook Evangelist

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    I'll try another HDMI cable, as well as a mDP to DP connection later. It may be failure to establish the correct refresh rate? Even though the Dell monitor is 1440p/144Hz the options under the display settings are grayed out and stuck on 1080p/60Hz while the monitor attempts to display at native resolution...
     
    adrian5683, Dec 23, 2016
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  4. adrian5683

    adrian5683 Notebook Evangelist

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    When in Duplicate Displays mode the Dell monitor flickers once every few minutes or so, is that also connectivity related? I'm just worried the monitor is defective...
     
    adrian5683, Dec 23, 2016
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  5. D2 Ultima

    D2 Ultima Livestreaming Master

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    it could be either or, really
     
    D2 Ultima, Dec 23, 2016
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  6. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    What GPU driver version are you running? Any 37X.XX set before 375.63 has issues with flickering at 144 Hz refresh rates but seems to be OK at 120 Hz or lower. I have the 27-inch version of your monitor and have no issues with either the HDMI or DisplayPort on my GTX 1070.

    If you've tried both inputs and multiple cables and are still seeing flickering, odds are more likely it's the monitor itself that's defective.
     
    saturnotaku, Dec 23, 2016
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  7. adrian5683

    adrian5683 Notebook Evangelist

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    Just updated to the latest Nvidia driver, flickering is still there at 60Hz refresh rate. I will try a different HDMI cable and mDP as well.
     
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2016
    adrian5683, Dec 23, 2016
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  8. adrian5683

    adrian5683 Notebook Evangelist

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    Does HDMI 1.4 max out at 1080p 60hz? Could explain why the monitor freaks out when I try to run it at native resolution...
     
    adrian5683, Dec 23, 2016
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  9. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    I can get 1440p/60 over HDMI on my display.
     
    saturnotaku, Dec 23, 2016
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  10. smoking2k

    smoking2k Notebook Consultant

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    HDMI 1.4 does not support 120hz officially. It supports 1080p@60hz in 3D, which is sometimes referred to as 120hz in 3D. But in 2D, it cannot. They do this by sending two 1080p images in a single packet, at a rate of 60hz, and splits those two images into two frames on the monitor side. This doesn't work for 2D.

    Jump to 04:00



    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI

    Try the DP output
     
    smoking2k, Dec 23, 2016
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  11. adrian5683

    adrian5683 Notebook Evangelist

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    Tried connecting the monitor to my wife's laptop, an Inspiron 2-in-1 and, sure enough, perfect connection both at 1080p and 1440p at 60hz. Soooo... it's my laptop, either a software or hardware issue, maybe a malfunctioning HDMI port. I will pick up a DP cable tomorrow and try that out.
     
    adrian5683, Dec 23, 2016
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  12. D2 Ultima

    D2 Ultima Livestreaming Master

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    If that's the case I hope you're still under warranty. Your motherboard holds your CPU and GPU; it isn't cheap to replace.
     
    D2 Ultima, Dec 25, 2016
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  13. aw_bln

    aw_bln Newbie

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    I'd definitely try getting a picture from the DisplayPort before worrying to much.
     
    aw_bln, Dec 25, 2016
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  14. TomJGX

    TomJGX I HATE BGA!

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    The 1440p @144Hz will only work through displayport properly.. My P771ZM had similar issues with HDMI as the HDMI port in the monitor was 1.4 whereas on my laptop was 2.0.. So using DP, everything works fine.. This is with an Acer XF270HU monitor which is 1440p@144Hz..

    Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk
     
    TomJGX, Dec 26, 2016
    #14