Help with G-sync!!! [refresh rate problem; 680 SLI]

[Crispy BOOM]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum and site so let me start by saying hello and I'm glad to have found you! I recently purchased a modded ASUS VG248QE with G-sync. I have encountered many problems and since the tech is new there are not many outlets to get support available yet. I have yet to have a really spectacular experience with the monitor in games so far. I was hoping you guys with some hands on experience can help me. I'll start from the beginning to give as much info as possible. After I unboxed the monitor and got it all put together (Note: the G-sync was already installed by http://www.digitalstormonline.com/) I plugged it in and reinstalled my Nvidia drivers. After the driver was reinstalled it noticed the g-sync right away and configured itself. Seemed like it was going to be hassle free at that point. So I eagerly fired up the titanfall beta to try it out. Titanfall actually did pretty well with the monitor but there were still many instances where about 70% of my screen would go black for a few seconds randomly while playing. I know that Titanfall was locked to 60fps but my monitor wont do anything but 60fps in any game. When I go through the nvidia control panel to try to adjust the monitors refresh rate it will not cooperate. There also isn't an option for 144hz at all in the nvidia control panel or in windows display settings. When I do try to change it to say 120hz the screen will flash and the prompt will come up asking if I want to keep the changes but it will have changed it self back to 60. The only option that seems to work at all is 85hz and it only sort of works. The screen gets flashy and weird. I thought this might all be because I had my original 60hz monitor still plugged in as a second screen. I tried disabling that and unplugging it and there was no change. When the monitor is in "normal" mode everything runs fine and as it should but when g-sync kicks in when I start a game so far it has been significantly worse that just using my old monitor. Any and all suggestions/ideas would be appreciated. Thanks in advance

edit: idk if it matters but windows sees the monitor as generic PnP monitor.

Some of my PC specs:
2x MSI 680 lightning edition in sli
16gb ram
MSI mpower z77 mother board
900w PSU

[Chief Blur Buster]

I recently purchased a modded ASUS VG248QE with G-sync. I have encountered many problems and since the tech is new there are not many outlets to get support available yet. I have yet to have a really spectacular experience with the monitor in games so far.

From what I know, Titanfall isn't yet GSYNC friendly.
In the interim, try out Crysis 3 or Battlefield 4, as the GSYNC smoothing effect is quite strong in those games. These will help give you a reference of what to expect from GSYNC.

When I do try to change it to say 120hz the screen will flash and the prompt will come up asking if I want to keep the changes but it will have changed it self back to 60. The only option that seems to work at all is 85hz and it only sort of works. The screen gets flashy and weird.

Let me get this clear: You have never been able to run the display at the full refresh rate of 120Hz or 144Hz?
If so, that sounds like a defect that merits a warranty claim. But first, upgrade your drivers and test single-card instead of SLI.

[Crispy BOOM]

Thanks for the quick reply!

Yeah I realize that titanfall was kinda a bad example but that runs much better than Splinter cell Blacklist which gets alot of what feels like jumpy input lag even though the frame rate seems to stay constant at 60fps. I'll have to fire up bf4 again later to try it out, think that ran pretty good except for the occasional black screen thing.

That is correct. So far I cant make the monitor do anything other than 60hz with what I have tried and there isnt even an option to set it at 144hz.

[Chief Blur Buster]

That is correct. So far I cant make the monitor do anything other than 60hz with what I have tried and there isnt even an option to set it at 144hz.

That certainly sounds like a defect. But first, try new drivers, and test single-card too.

2x MSI 680 lightning edition in sli

New drivers work better with smoothing SLI with GSYNC. If you're already using the latest drivers, try temporarily removing one 680 and testing with a single card; see if the problems are caused by SLI.

[Crispy BOOM]

Talked to the guys over at digital storm. They seem to think it could be a problem with the display port cable itself. Being a 1.0 and not a 2.0 or some such. Gonna pick one up and see what happens. skeptical of this being the issue as I am using the cable that came with the monitor, but I will try.

[Chief Blur Buster]

Actually, yes -- It could also simply be a bad cable too (regardless of 1.0 or 2.0 stuff).
Where the signal becomes too glitchy once it's above a certain bandwidth.
It can also be a problem at the port level, so try both ports (of your two 680's).

So try that option first -- even a cheap DP cable from Monoprice is often superior to the budget chinese-made DP cables that are included with many monitors. Much cheaper to try that than to ship the monitor.

[GhostOrange]

I thought this might all be because I had my original 60hz monitor still plugged in as a second screen.

This is your issue right here, most likely. Other people have had issues w/Nvidia drivers and identifying available refresh rates when multiple monitors are plugged in at the time of driver install.

Wipe the drivers w/the Nvidia driver removal tool (google nvidia driver DDU). DISCONNECT THE 2ND MONITOR ENTIRELY. Even though you've disabled it, the fact that you have a cable connected that I'm assuming is also non-DVI, may cause the driver to not install for the correct refresh rates and it will never recognize them.

Restart and install w/only the G-sync monitor attached, then report back.

NOTE: You cannot have 2 monitors at two different refresh rates active from the *same* GPU at the same time, even w/the drivers properly installed.

[Chief Blur Buster]

NOTE: You cannot have 2 monitors at two different refresh rates active from the *same* GPU at the same time, even w/the drivers properly installed.

For mirroring, I presume?

Under Windows 8 (and probably 7 too), I am able to run my Geforce Titan at different refresh rates on multiple different monitors -- as long as I'm not using surround mode. It doesn't cause good motion synchronization (e.g. TestUFO stutters badly) but the Windows desktop works. Not recommended, can degrade your fluidity, but it works. If you do try, it is best to use your highest-refresh-rate monitor as the primary.

[Crispy BOOM]

So I received a new cable that I can confirm is 1.2 compatible. I also use the tool ghostorange posted and fully removed my driver and re-installed with only my g sync monitory plugged in. Nothing seems to have changed. What is the process you take to change the framerate cap for your gsync? When you hit the menu button in a game does it say max refresh rate 144hz?

[Crispy BOOM]

Good news! I am officially up and running properly now! It took taking out both my gpu's and putting the one that was my secondary card in alone with just the gsync monitor plugged in. I then uninstalled my video drivers fully again as GhostOrange suggested and reinstalled. Success! I am now able to switch refresh rates and reach 144hz. I then put my other GPU back in and plugged my second monitor back in as well, all with no issues. My main monitor runs 144hz and secondary is 60hz with no problems. I'm starting to think that perhaps the displayport on the 680 that was my primary card wasn't working properly or something. Not gonna look the gift horse in the mouth, just glad to be up and running. Once again thanks for the quick responses and all your help with trouble shooting guys. Much appreciated.