Page 1 of 2

TestUFO tests failing to sync ONLY with multiple monitors

Posted: 25 Jul 2015, 05:38
by taBoxR
Chief Blur Buster wrote:Edited Update:
See HOWTO: Fix "TestUFO Stuck at 60Hz" FAQ
Got a XL2430T a few days ago and I wanted to run a few tests on it, but none of the tests would work, instead it just says "imperfect sync". After a bit of troubleshooting, I discovered that the problem only occurred when I had my second monitor plugged in as well. With only my XL2430T plugged in all the tests run flawlessly, but with both displays plugged in the tests always fail to sync across chrome and firefox. My XL2430T is running over DisplayPort and my secondary monitor is on DVI, if it helps. Both are plugged into my graphics card.

4790k@stock + HD 7970@stock

Do these tests just not work with multiple monitors? It'd be a shame to have to unplug my 2nd monitor every time I want to show someone the benefits of 144hz.

Edit: Still haven't resolved this, could it be a driver issue or is it some hard limit like graphics card output bandwidth?

Re: TestUFO tests failing to sync ONLY with multiple monitor

Posted: 28 Jul 2015, 15:58
by BlackJesus
exact same situation with me exact same monitor 2 i just want to know if it will ru 144hz i cs with 2 monitors plugged in

Re: TestUFO tests failing to sync ONLY with multiple monitor

Posted: 01 Aug 2015, 15:45
by BlackJesus
Solved it yet?

Re: TestUFO tests failing to sync ONLY with multiple monitor

Posted: 04 Aug 2015, 01:35
by lexlazootin
Yes, testufo doesn't work perfectly with two monitors, this is known.

BlackJesus CS should run 100% fine with two monitors plugged in.

Re: TestUFO tests failing to sync ONLY with multiple monitor

Posted: 01 Feb 2017, 16:16
by kooz
Hey guys, I just joined up. I know this is an old thread, but it seems to be the closest thing to what I'm experiencing.

I just recently purchased three Asus VG248QE monitors and I'm running them all via DisplayPort from a single GTX 1070. They can all hit 144hz without issue, however I've noticed a microstutter occurring every couple of seconds while gaming. In an effort to pinpoint the issue I stumbled on your site.

I am unable to pass the UFO test at ANY refresh rate when all 3 monitors are enabled. It will run green for a few seconds, then give me a yellow "stutter detected (1)" or sometimes (2), then go back to green, etc... This runs contrary to lexlazootin's response about this being an issue specific to TestUFO, as it is EXACTLY the same behavior I am noticing while gaming.

Note that I am not only referring to triple-monitor (surround) gaming. The issue is present when running the game (or TestUFO) on a single monitor while the others are merely enabled and showing the desktop.

When I have only one display enabled, the in-game stutter disappears and TestUFO passes flawlessly at any refresh rate.

Is this really an issue that everyone with a multi-monitor setup is plagued by yet few notice?

Re: TestUFO tests failing to sync ONLY with multiple monitor

Posted: 01 Feb 2017, 17:14
by Falkentyne
This is an issue with the video card driver, not testUFO. Multi monitor setups have had issues like this for years.

Re: TestUFO tests failing to sync ONLY with multiple monitor

Posted: 02 Feb 2017, 02:58
by kooz
Is there any type of workaround that you are aware of? If not, what makes you so certain it's a driver level issue? Is there some discussion elsewhere acknowledging this? It's definitely not listed as an outstanding issue in the latest Nvidia driver release.

Since it is really only a tiny hiccup every couple of seconds, maybe most users simply don't notice it at all. I googled the hell out of this before posting... I've only been able to find examples where people are having severe stuttering/judder issues, most of which seem to stem from mismatched monitor refresh rates, leading to a non-1:1 sync ratio on one of the displays.

I was thinking perhaps there are very minute internal timing differences between each monitor (like hardware design revisions or different internal component manufacturers), and this is the only way they can stay in sync? Maybe it's unique to my hardware. All 3 monitors were purchased as refurbs at newegg, and this model has been around for several years - it seems very unlikely that they were all produced at around the same time.


Edit - SOLVED:
Wow, WTF. Acting on an idea I had while leaving work this morning, I discovered that the problem completely disappears if I put the displays into "surround" mode. I'm getting flawless sync with TestUFO, regardless of what screen the browser is on. I guess that makes sense, since in surround mode they are simply treated as a single display.

Well, I suppose that proves it to be a driver issue. It also seems to reinforce my theory that the problem is rooted in trying to keep "multiple displays" in sync with each other.

Now I guess I'll just need some 3rd party software to make window management a little easier. In this mode, Windows is blind to the two giant 1" wide bezels separating my screens.

Re: TestUFO tests failing to sync ONLY with multiple monitor

Posted: 05 Feb 2017, 17:12
by Chief Blur Buster
Yes, surround mode solves quite a lot of problems with TestUFO on multiple monitors.

Also, TestUFO is also designed to display a sync-fail message if testing on a secondary monitor, because there's no way to detect the refresh rate properly, especially since different monitors can be slightly different in refresh rate (except in surround mode, then refresh rate is always exactly the same on all monitors).

Re: TestUFO tests failing to sync ONLY with multiple monitor

Posted: 07 Feb 2017, 08:37
by kooz
Yeah, surround mode has definitely solved all hiccups that were occurring. Again, this wasn't an issue specific to TestUFO; it just happened to give me a way to identify the issue - games, video playback, browser scrolling... really everything was affected.

Unfortunately, its also a giant pain to make the Windows desktop environment work "normally" - i.e. maximizing windows or snapping to display edges, etc. in surround mode. It also takes like 3 minutes to enable if I revert to standard single/multi-display mode, because for whatever reason it can't remember ANY settings like monitor arrangement, bezel compensation, preferred refresh rate/resolution, etc.

TestUFO's requirement to be on the primary monitor makes sense to me. Your mention of the possibility for monitors to be at a slightly different refresh rate brings back the notion that perhaps one or more of my monitors is somehow at the driver level running at like .0001 Hz off from the others. :?


Edit:
Well I'll be damned... I downloaded a program called Monitor Asset Manager, and here is what the three real-time display profiles show:
Image

Edit #2:
Bleh. I thought I was on to something there... I used CRU to try and force the same frequency on all 3 monitors by creating a custom 120.40Hz resolution and setting it as preferred. Every time I restart the graphics driver with CRU and refresh MonInfo, I just wind up with a similar result to the image I posted above... either one monitor at 136.40kHz/119.20Hz, and the other two at 137.70kHz/120.40Hz, or vice-versa. I can't seem to get all 3 to run at the same rate. :evil:

Re: TestUFO tests failing to sync ONLY with multiple monitor

Posted: 07 Feb 2017, 14:51
by Chief Blur Buster
What happens when you move monitors to different cables/ports?
Does the slightly different refresh rates jump to a different monitor?

If you have 4 ports, maybe try to avoid the problematic port -- see what happens that way. Does the "odd" refresh have a different connector? (HDMI vs DVI vs DisplayPort) If so, happens if you use a cable adaptor? (if you have one lying around)/