Acer XG270HU - replaced panel, won't do 144Hz now

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djdjukic
Posts: 4
Joined: 25 Nov 2019, 13:14

Acer XG270HU - replaced panel, won't do 144Hz now

Post by djdjukic » 25 Nov 2019, 13:44

Hello,

I have an Acer XG270HU that has worked brilliantly until the screen was broken by accident. I then bought and installed a new M270DTN01.3 panel, which seemed identical to the old one at first glance.

However, the monitor will no longer sync at 144Hz. Additionally, when booted into Windows, my RX580 can't drive the monitor over DisplayPort at all.

DP does work in Linux (up to 120Hz) or in Windows using a different GPU (I tried an HD 7750 and a GTX 760), also up to 120Hz. I think this has something to do with DP 1.2 support. Changing DP 1.2 to 1.1 in the monitor's menu doesn't help anything. The same goes for disabling FreeSync.

I tried making custom 144Hz modelines to no avail; the best I've gotten is 141Hz (CVT - reduced blanking) over HDMI, which runs stably.

The failure mode at 144Hz is rather interesting - only the top active line works, and i can see the top pixel of the mouse pointer when I move it across. This is the case for all resolutions at 144Hz, with GPU scaling off, of course.

I suspect that the scaler in my monitor can't drive the panel properly. The monitor was built in 2016 and the old panel has a date code of 15/27, while the new one is 18/11. When I peeled back the black tape on the new panel and compared the PCB to the old one, I noticed that the new one has 2 additional chips and associated passive circuitry, but is otherwise the same.

Does anyone have a better idea of what could have caused this? I've tried to find new firmware for the scaler to no avail. There's nothing to change in the service menu, it looks exactly like the one from Acer's website (pic attached). Also attached are pics of the labels of both panels.
Attachments
xg270hu_monitor_factoryosd.jpg
xg270hu_monitor_factoryosd.jpg (161.39 KiB) Viewed 2040 times
new panel label.jpg
new panel label.jpg (103.61 KiB) Viewed 2040 times
old panel label.jpg
old panel label.jpg (124.2 KiB) Viewed 2040 times

djdjukic
Posts: 4
Joined: 25 Nov 2019, 13:14

Re: Acer XG270HU - replaced panel, won't do 144Hz now

Post by djdjukic » 21 May 2020, 13:51

If anyone with the same problem stumbles upon this - I have managed to find a newer scaler PCB, manufactured in 2019, and the new panel works brilliantly with it. It has a different, more "gamer" looking OSD menu, but that seems to be the only distinguishing feature apart from the date code sticker from the back of the monitor.

Karli77
Posts: 1
Joined: 16 Jan 2024, 06:46

Re: Acer XG270HU - replaced panel, won't do 144Hz now

Post by Karli77 » 16 Jan 2024, 07:02

Hello, thank you for your post for the repair of this superb screen xg270hu. je wanted advice on replacing the panel, what lcd panel reference should I buy? Do you have a serious supplier at a good price? I would like to take the opportunity to replace the LED, but I don't know where it is.
Also you talk about scaling, what is it, is it expensive?thank you for your help. I am in France.

djdjukic
Posts: 4
Joined: 25 Nov 2019, 13:14

Re: Acer XG270HU - replaced panel, won't do 144Hz now

Post by djdjukic » 16 Jan 2024, 12:13

Hello Karli77, look for a M270DTN01.3 panel manufactured around the same time as your monitor. I got mine from ENLCD (no affiliation - apologies if this is not allowed) because they had it available at the time. It cost 180 USD + 79 USD shipping to Serbia, and then there were the import taxes, around 30% of the previous total. If you are in France, and looking at panels from China, you will pay around the same price. I see there is an eBay auction for such a panel located in France, priced around 280 €. If you really want to fix your monitor, this may be the best option, but in my opinion it's not worth it. You can buy a whole new monitor for the same price.

The "scaler" I am referring to is the main board (PCB) of the monitor, with the chips related to conversion (and, if necessary, resolution scaling) from HDMI or DP or whatever to the panel's native interface. There is usually another printed circuit board inside the monitor - the power supply.

I had to get a new scaler board because the old one didn't work with the new panel, which cost another 50€. So in the end all I had from the old monitor was the power supply.

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