P670RG display upgrade search

Hi,

I have had my clevo P670RG (I7-6700hq, 16gb DDR4, GTX980M) for a couple of years now and I have recently started looking at display upgrades for this machine. I am simply looking for something compatible with 30pin eDP that has a better response rate than 25ms at FHD and better colors as this LG LP173WF4-SPD1 that I currently have installed. I am not looking for 1440p (if available, would gladly accept) but FHD upgrades mostly.
I know the laptop is dated, but it still manages to fulfill my gaming needs and I am not looking at the machine upgrade any time soon.
I have been looking but cannot find anything that would even list the response rate, only resolutions everywhere and refresh rates.
If a 30pin eDP displays don't exist for specific model, would it be possible to find a matching 40pin eDP and do a conversion with say, something like this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/1640057689...MIn7Xhz4v85wIViLHtCh2OGgM6EAQYAiABEgJSq_D_BwE
?

I know this probably was answered a bajillion times here, but I cannot find any definitive answers as to whether somebody actually managed to change a display in their P67xRx machine.

Another question is that the service manual list of parts for the LCD lists upgrade cables to get the displays, but if my machine has 30pin eDP leading to the display, but there are options for a 40pin LVDS would that mean that my motherboard is not compatible with the LVDS standard? If not, would the converter enable me to look for 40pin eDP displays? Would buying a signal converter be reasonable at all to get eDP to LVDS?

Any upgrade options on this LG LP173WF4-SPD1 would be a very welcome thing to consider.

Also, this display I have currently installed, the service manual says it has G-Sync, but I don't have any options to turn it on. A guide on how to get it working would be welcome.

Many thanks for your advice.

 

You can see if they list the response times in the panel spec sheets but even then they are not going to tell you loads.

 

Would the options available to me only be the ones listed in the service manual? also, does it matter that the official service manual only lists display for P670SG, not -RG, is this significant at all?

 

I noticed that the g-sync option could be off due to an off edid. I'm posting the dumps here. If somebody have an idea how to enable g-sync on this display, please let me know.

I have been using this software: https://www.entechtaiwan.com/util/moninfo.shtm




whole file dump available here:
http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=94472235292987529581

@t456 Would you be able to assist me with this? I saw that you were responding with linux flashing tools in the past, but the list of displays says that only the -SPF3 is g-sync, or the -SPD1 but 75Hz version, but I do not know what the indicator of the 75Hz would be as it does not seem to differ in the monitor id

 

Panels can support g-sync but it had to be sold with the right motherboard and bios.

 

On some of those models you need to have it in discrete mode for g-sync to be an option. If it's in mshybrid it won't even show up.

 

So if I switch to discrete it doesn't detect the graphics card settings straight away, I have to manually launch nvidia control centre for resolution to kick in as it starts in 800x600. Could this be an indicator that this option is not available on my laptop?
The option for the g-sync does not appear i nvidia control panel in discrete mode anyway.

I also updated the bios recently to latest 1.05.18 I think from the official clevo distribution ftp.

 

Having to launch NCP every time you boot isn't normal for discrete mode. While it might be correct that G-Sync isn't available on that particular one, the other behavior when it's in discrete mode sounds like there's something else going on.

 

I agree, every time I switch to a discrete mode I literally have to go to device manager to get the resolution up to 1600x900 and then launching NCP brings it back to native 1920x1080, which I found very weird. I will try restarting the machine with discrete setting on and see if it is the same after restart.
I will attempt the CMOS reset tomorrow as well to see if it will potentially cause any improvement.

 

They a re-install of the video drivers too.

 

Hi,

I did a clean install of graphics card drivers, reset the CMOS.

This has not allowed the display to be detected as G-Sync.

After turning on DISCRETE gpu, only the first time I need to configure the resolution, but after restarting, the resolution is retained, NCP launches automatically, but no option to turn on G-Sync. Have you got any other ideas about what could be the issue here?

 

Maybe turn off fast boot, if restarting allows things to launch, whatever startup image it has saved might not be loading something correctly.

 

Hey, if you mean the hybernation to be turned off, I did that long time ago. Don't really see the option to disable fast boot anywhere where any guide tells me to look for it.

I pretty much have every other option in NCP available, apart from the damn G-Sync.

I also noticed that in Aida it tells me that the video bios version is from 08/10/15, would that have any bearing on the whole thing? Would I need to update that at all for the card to support G-Sync? I understand that the whole EDID flashing thing would be a no-go? Since I have not heard anything from @t456 in this thread.

 

Fast boot is a bios feature on newer machines.

 

well, it does not seem to appear in my bios options anywhere so I will assume it's not present. I am turning my head more and more towards @t456 EDID flashing, but my display does not seem to accept his version of the lubuntu image, so I am looking through the forums for an updated version.

 

If it's not in BIOS, Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Power Options\System Settings > Shutdown settings > Turn on fast startup (recommended)

It will be grayed out, there's a UAC link at the top that says Change settings that are currently unavailable, it will make them selectable.

 

Hey @t456 or @Mr. Fox I have been trying to get G-Sync working on my laptop for a couple of days now. According to your correct EDID repos there are two versions of my display LGD046C - LP173WF4-SPD1 60Hz non-gsync and 75Hz gsync. How do I determine which one do I have? Or are they one and the same only on a different configuration?

EDIT: It shows as 75Hz for me now once I enabled DISCRETE gpu, but still no G-Sync option for me so your help will be more than appreciated now.

Would you be able to determine if my panel is configured correctly, please, looking at the below dumps?

I am also getting the following error message when opening the MonInfo app






whole file dump available here:
http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=94472235292987529581

I also cannot access the lubuntu as I get black screen, but will keep trying once I get the response from you guys.

 

Thanks, as I say, this option does not exist for me, I believe it may have something to do with turning off hibernation system-wide.

EDIT: On DISCRETE gpu mode, the panel runs in 75Hz, so there is clearly something wrong as it should have detected the G-Sync

I have posted in http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...especially-10-bricking-systems.781467/page-59 this thread to see if these guys would be able to advise me about the EDID dumps.

If you have any other ideas about this issue that can be resolved without the flashing invasion, I will greatly appreciate it.

 

It is, by and large, a non-G-Sync panel:

Spoiler: LGD046C - LP173WF4-SPD1 - non-gsync, checksum 'D0'

Spoiler: LGD046C - LP173WF4-SPD1 - 60 Hz timings only

The 'true' g-sync version for the LP173WF4-SPD1 has an edid with checksum '3D' (and 75Hz timings). There's also an edid with checksum '18' and 75+60Hz timings, but might have created that one myself (administration thingy, ahem ...).

That is not to say it can't do g-sync, but the bios and or vbios won't recognise it as a 'validated' (=premium paid) panel. The driver would recognise the GPU (vbios) and system (bios) are g-sync approved (paid $s to Nvidia) and might even set the default 75Hz mode, but without a valid edid check the buck stops there. The 75Hz change is a nice bonus though and you might still overclock it further with CRU and see how it fares.

Another thing to check is a vbios update; a new version might include the 'D0' edid as a validated panel. Slim chance really, but can't hurt to try. Also check the bill of sale; if it says 'g-sync' under the specifications then you'd be warranted to send it back to your reseller (or ask them to ship you a '3D' version of the same panel).

Flashing the '3D' checksum edid is unfortunately not possible with the linux tools since these can only deal with LVDS panels (plus direct gpu access to the panel, so no Optimus or Enduro). There was one 18.4"+120Hz that might've been eDP and still allowed edid flashing though, but this WF4 won't sail.

Hardware flashing is a possibility, but there's risks involved, more so than with bios and vbios flashing. I'll drop a line in the EVGA thread on that since @MrMogwai is planning something similar.

 

Thanks, good to finally have a definitive answer. Shame it won't work as true g-sync but the bump up in Hz is definitely noticable.
In terms of g-sync enabled panels that would work on this model tho, is there any specific model that you can recommend, @t456?

 

According to the RG's service manual of the four officially-supported models only the SPD1 is a g-sync panel, so that doesn't leave much choice. There's plenty more g-sync panels, but without the bios and vbios being able to recognise them that won't help you much.

You could check the changelogs of all bios and vbios versions of your system; one of them might mention ' added support for panel XYZ'. That would give you another possible upgrade option.

 

Thanks, I don't think update notes for this specific BIOS updates exist per se. My only concern is that even if I would go for a different display, why is this one listed as supporting g-sync but from your looking at it it's not truly doing it and it doesn't appear in NCP under g-sync displays...
Wondering where I could get the vBios for this gtx980m tho as I have not really seen any websites offering them for download. Does it have to be a custom code?

 

G-sync certification is done on a set, motherboard, gpu and panel. It might be certified in another model but really there is no such thing as individual component certification.

 

Would modding Nvidia Drivers to 'certify' this model be an option here? As @t456 said, we could trick the system into thinking it is a g-sync panel.

I don't think there are vBios updates for this specific model, I am stuck with the 2015 version. What would be the implication of tricking NCP into thinking it's a g-sync panel, but vbios not 'validating' it? I simply don't want to break anything in the process, but get most out of the machine while I can. The only vBIOS updates I have seen are on techpowerup repo (here: https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/181023/181023) but these are from 2014 so even older than the one that I have on the machine (mine's from 08/2015 according to Aida).

I apologise for my noob approach to this subject, new to this whole 'back-end' thing, not a dev/engineer in my day-to-day, more of a desk-job analyst.

 

You cant really trick the certification. You would need to generate a valid one which would involve knowing the key.

 

and that would be from? manufacturer? anywhere in the hw info?

 

Nvidia will have it on their secure internal servers and that's it.

 

That is because your particular LP173WF4-SPD1 came with the non-gsync edid (60Hz, checksum 'D0'). If you bought one that has the correct 75Hz/'3D' edid then you'd have g-sync since the bios and vbios would match it to their built-in copies and, hence, conclude it is a validated/certified panel.

Flashing your non-gsync panel with the proper '3D' edid would accomplish the same thing, the panel being otherwise identical. The other way around would work too; insert the non-gsync edid into the bios and vbios would make them think your panel was approved and you'd have g-sync. Mind that this is only because the panel itself can handle the higher refresh rates; many IPS panels are limited to a few extra Hz's, so g-sync wouldn't make a lot of sense.

Easiest option would be to buy a used SPD1 from a known g-sync platform, such as this offer from an Aorus X7 (Pro v5):
Gigabyte Aorus 17.3" X7 OEM FHD LCD Matte Screen LP173WF4 SP D1 GLP*

 

Thank you for this @t456. I am UK-based, so this specific auction would be a no-go, but I will look into these.

On the front of flashing the eDP panel, what would be the procedure for this, since you have mentioned that your linux method would only work on LVDS panels?

 

*Bump* for the eDP EDID flashing guide

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/hack-laptop-panels-through-edid-possible.828015/

First result in google when you type in t456 and edid flash.

 

First result says the only method is to to physically program the panel by desoldering the chip. So I must assume there is no non-invasive way of doing this with software only?