XL2420TE = Out of Range Errors

[Aye]

Earlier in December, I purchased a VG248QE because of good reviews. I was mostly satisfied with the monitor except the colors were too washed out. I discovered later on, may have been this website, that the XL2420TE uses the same panel but has better colors. I went ahead and exchanged my VG248QE for a XL2420TE and have been using it for months now. The colors are indeed better and I do not suffer from eyestrain after long hours because of their flicker-free lighting. So all is good in my world except for one problem. Occasionally, I will get a "Out of Range Error" from my monitor. This only happens at certain times, with certain games. For example, with CS:GO and L4D2, I want to say it happens 40% of the time after launching my game. It's happened 2-3 times during the Windows boot up process also. It's never happened while launching BF4, Metro: Last Light or any other games though, so far.

This "error" is easily fixed by pushing the input button on my monitor, and selecting DVI. The picture is restored momentarily. I don't know why I have to choose DVI considering I'm using a DisplayPort cable. If I push the input button and then DP, it does nothing. I guess selecting DVI forces the monitor to cycle through inputs until my refresh rate is properly initialized through DP. I use 144 Hz refresh rate for my desktop and all games.

I'm considering RMA'ing my monitor but would like some input on what you guys think. I have tried two different DP cables and a dual-link DVI cable, so I don think it's the cable. I've also tried two different video cards, a 770 then 780. Happens on both. That's why I'm leaning towards the monitor.

[Chief Blur Buster]

This is sometimes caused by tweaked timing settings.
Tweaking the numbers in NVIDIA Control Panel -> Custom Resolution (e.g. CVT, Auto, etc) helps.

If you installed the very old LightBoost EDID tweaks from more than 12 months ago, this can cause the "Out of Range" errors on certain monitors; try removing them and using ToastyX Strobelight instead.

Are you using ToastyX Strobelight?
Which refresh rates are you using?
Are you enabling or disabling LightBoost?
Have you reinstalled your graphics drivers at any point in the past?

[Aye]

Thanks for the reply. My monitor is literally plug-and-play. I haven't tweaked anything. I'm using 1920x1080 @ 144 Hz. I've have not tried Lightboost or Strobelight yet. The only time I've reinstalled graphics drivers is when upgrading my video card.

[Chief Blur Buster]

Thanks for the reply. My monitor is literally plug-and-play. I haven't tweaked anything. I'm using 1920x1080 @ 144 Hz. I've have not tried Lightboost or Strobelight yet. The only time I've reinstalled graphics drivers is when upgrading my video card.

You may need to reinstall the drivers for your monitor, as the 144Hz timings used by the BENQ may be slightly different from your VG248QE. The 144Hz timings are more finicky, and this error is common with a slight difference in timings. Try going into Device Manager and deleting the monitor driver, and letting it detect again.

Failing that, install Strobelight and add the 144Hz mode, and the other non strobed refresh rates. It will install a compatible flickerfree 144Hz. See what happens. If you need to uninstall, rerun StrobeLight setup again.

[Aye]

You may need to reinstall the drivers for your monitor, as the 144Hz timings used by the BENQ may be slightly different from your VG248QE. The 144Hz timings are more finicky, and this error is common with a slight difference in timings. Try going into Device Manager and deleting the monitor driver, and letting it detect again.

I will try that, thanks. I've always assumed installing monitor drivers were a thing of the past. I don't think I've ever installed drivers for a monitor before actually. I've always connected the cables, turned everything on and that's it.

[Chief Blur Buster]

I will try that, thanks. I've always assumed installing monitor drivers were a thing of the past. I don't think I've ever installed drivers for a monitor before actually. I've always connected the cables, turned everything on and that's it.

True, for the most part -- monitors are very mature.
However, 144Hz is a special exception; it is extremely finicky because it pushes the limits of the dotclock of many GPUs and monitors. It is still a very rare refresh rate. It's easy; just go into Device Manager, find the monitor, right click on the monitor and select "Uninstall". Reboot, and let it detect it again.

If that doesn't work, try reinstalling your graphics driver. It will wipe the EDID's clean and let you start things over again.

[Aye]

Alright so I went to Device Manager and under Monitor it says "Generic uPnp Monitor". Which makes sense cause like I said, I never installed monitor drivers before. I uninstalled the generic driver, restarted, and it came back. So I went to Benq's website to grab the newest monitor driver and surprise, my monitor is DISCONTINUED! I wonder why? And there was no driver, just a manual and data sheet. So I read the manual, it says to insert the CD, go to device manager and click Update Driver. So I did all that and now my monitor properly displays as "Benq XL2420TE". So hopfully now the .inf file is installed, it will resolve my issues. I never knew 144 Hz monitors were that special and needed drivers.

Thanks again for your help. I'll check back with the results. If it persists, I'll try reinstalling my video card drivers.