How to change refresh rate for external monitor?

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Spearmint2
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Re: How to change refresh rate for external monitor?

Post by Spearmint2 »

Maybe your graphics chip just can't handle that.
All things go better with Mint. Mint julep, mint jelly, mint gum, candy mints, pillow mints, peppermint, chocolate mints, spearmint,....
loveLM

Re: How to change refresh rate for external monitor?

Post by loveLM »

Hi there,

here are things I've tried so far.
1. install ComPiz Settings Manager from software manager and default plugin, this enabled me to change the refresh rate easily. I changed to 65, however flash and black screen problems remain. I guess perhaps that only applies to my default monitor on laptop but not external one.
NOT WORKING.

2. change the~/.config/monitors.xml . To my surprise the refresh rate for 2560X1440 is already 60 there. But for testing purpose I changed it to 65, but problems remain.
NOT WORKIKNG.

3. Try to install the https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/ ... -os-v2.0.5
But it's for ubuntu 17.04 while Linuxmint is based on Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS (Xenial Xerus).
NOT WORKING.

So right now I'm guessing either kernel or graphic card driver doesn't work well to support an external monitor with a higher resolution than default monitor on laptop.

Do we still have more ways to test and try? Or should I just bear with it and wait for kernel or driver fix later?

@Spearmint2 Perhaps you're right. Perhaps it's just that.
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Spearmint2
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Re: How to change refresh rate for external monitor?

Post by Spearmint2 »

I'm curious. If you turn off the laptop monitor and just use the external monitor, does the same thing happen? Have you tried that yet? Also time to try a different cable, just in case.
All things go better with Mint. Mint julep, mint jelly, mint gum, candy mints, pillow mints, peppermint, chocolate mints, spearmint,....
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Re: How to change refresh rate for external monitor?

Post by loveLM »

@ Spearmint2

All the tests done so far were all performed with external monitor ON and default laptop monitor OFF.

I have three options to choose,
1. both monitors on
2 external on and default off (what I use usually, this has again 2 options, high resolution, or mirror the default monitor which has lower resolution)
3. external as extra working space, on and default on also.

We don't have extra cable yet. But once we do I will for sure give it a try.
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ugly
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Re: How to change refresh rate for external monitor?

Post by ugly »

I see that you're using a Kaby Lake processor. I'm experiencing issues with mine too, but slightly different. Mine isn't a laptop, but a miniPC that I connect to my TV. It generally works fine, but I notice when watching a long video that every 20-40 minutes the audio drops out for a few seconds. The video is fine.

I suspected some type of refresh rate issue because I believe one method HDMI uses to stay in sync is to drop data occasionally. Like you, I've tried to install the latest drivers from Intel, but had no luck with 16.04.

I did pick up a new HDMI cable but haven't had time to test. My PC has a DisplayPort output, so I might try a converter and avoid the HDMI output.

I've done some searching and haven't found an answer. It seems like there are a lot of various issues with new Intel processors and HDMI output. I wonder if there is a deeper issue on Intel processors.
loveLM

Re: How to change refresh rate for external monitor?

Post by loveLM »

@ugly

Hey sounds like that, might very well be intel's issue. One solution might be that Linuxmint upgrades to newer ubuntu so we could try out that intel graphic driver update tool for Linux.

Please try your new HDMI, as well as DP to see if the condition improves! I would be curious to know too. However my laptop only has HDMI output. My old HP has DP output and that didn't seem to have the same issues (but that one has Nvidia graphic card so we can't compare equally...).
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ugly
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Re: How to change refresh rate for external monitor?

Post by ugly »

loveLM wrote:@ugly

Hey sounds like that, might very well be intel's issue. One solution might be that Linuxmint upgrades to newer ubuntu so we could try out that intel graphic driver update tool for Linux.

Please try your new HDMI, as well as DP to see if the condition improves! I would be curious to know too. However my laptop only has HDMI output. My old HP has DP output and that didn't seem to have the same issues (but that one has Nvidia graphic card so we can't compare equally...).
I was also thinking of testing with the latest ubuntu to see if I could get the Intel drivers to work. But I probably won't try that until Christmas.

I did try with the new HDMI cable, and there was no change. Audio still skipped after about 20 minutes.
loveLM

Re: How to change refresh rate for external monitor?

Post by loveLM »

That's a shame. So perhaps ubuntu could be the rescue. Please let me know. I don't have any plan to install ubuntu yet, as I like Mint better. But please keep me updated if you find the driver tool works under ubuntu.
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ugly
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Re: How to change refresh rate for external monitor?

Post by ugly »

Just wanted to give a follow up. I think I have things working, but I'm not really sure why. My TV has a UHD HDMI port that advertises 4k@60fps and the other HDMI ports advertise 4k@30fps. It seems like using the UHD HDMI port solves the problem. I have no audio skipping issues when I use that port (and I occasionally would get a black screen crash on boot, which seems to be fixed on the UHD port). I don't really know why using the UHD port works better, the resolution and refresh rate seem to be reporting the same. And the other HDMI ports seem to work fine with other devices.

Since I seem to be working okay for now, I decided to be lazy and not test anything further like trying the latest Ubuntu. I figure in a few months with Mint 19 I'll have to do a re-install anyway, so I might as well just wait since it is working good enough. It's a frustrating problem to troubleshoot since I can't cause the audio to skip other than playing a video and waiting 20 minutes or so. And my TV seems to inconsistent with what resolutions it wants to display.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.
loveLM

Re: How to change refresh rate for external monitor?

Post by loveLM »

@ugly

thank you very much! I will also just wait until Linuxmint updates to newer version. I've done so far many tests and none seemed to work anyway. I just need to tolerate the occasional black screens for the moment.
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