VRR not working on Core Ultra 9 275HX on Philips Evnia monitor

[Rawi]

Hi,

I have a Tuxedo Stellaris 16 Gen 7 laptop with Core Ultra 9 275HX (same as XMG NEO 16 E25) with latest bios and latest Intel GPU drivers 32.0.101.6987.

My monitor is Philips Evnia 32M2N6800M https://www.philips.ie/c-p/32M2N6800M_00/gaming-monitor-4k-uhd-gaming-monitor/support with also latest drivers installed under Windows.

Monitor is connected with laptop->monitor using USB-C (D P 2.1 or 1.4a) -> Display Port cable. I've tried DP 2.1 through thunderbolt or DP 1.4 via normal usb-c DP which both are hardwired to iGPU.

Intel Graphics Software says VRR is NOT SUPPORTED which is obviously a bug as:

- Windows informs in 'System->Display->Advanced Display' VRR IS supported (48 - 120 Hz)
- VRR works perfectly fine under Linux with the same hardware (dual boot on Fedora 42)
- VRR works also fine when using the same cable+monitor on my MSI GS66 laptop with i9-12900H, also no problem with VRR when connected to iGPU through thunderbolt.

So it looks like Windows drivers have some obvious bug or a blacklist for this monitor even though it works on Intel 12th gen and on current gen under Linux on the same hardware.

[VonM_Intel]

Hi Rawi,

Thank you for posting in our Community and for providing such detailed information regarding VRR behavior on your Core Ultra 9 275HX system with the Philips Evnia 32M2N6800M monitor. From what you’ve described, this does appear to be a driver-related issue in Windows, rather than a hardware limitation. The fact that Windows Display settings recognize VRR support (48–120 Hz), but Intel Graphics Command Center reports “VRR not supported,” suggests a possible misdetection or driver-level compatibility bug. 

To help us investigate further, could you please share a bit more detail?

• Could you provide the Intel® SSU (System Support Utility) logs from this system so we can capture full driver and hardware information?
• Have you tested with multiple refresh rates (e.g., 60 Hz, 120 Hz) to check if VRR behavior changes?
• Does the issue persist if you connect via HDMI 2.1 (if supported by the monitor), or only when using USB-C/DP?
• Can you confirm whether the monitor’s firmware is on the latest version?
• Have you noticed this problem across multiple games/applications in Windows, or only in specific ones?

To better understand your display environment, I would also like to review an EDID report. Please follow these steps to generate EDID analysis using the Intel® Graphics Command Center (IGCC):

1. If IGCC is not yet installed on the Windows system, download and install the "Intel® Graphics Command Center" from the Microsoft Store.

2. Once installed, launch the Intel® Graphics Command Center (IGCC) software.

3. On the left side of the app, click on "Support" and then on top, click "System Diagnostic"

4. To the right, click on "Generate Report," and you will be prompted to save it as a .txt file.

5. Save the report, which can be used for analysis.

Have a nice day!

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Rawi]

Hi,
- Changing to 60Hz or 144Hz doesn't help, simply Windows reports that VRR is supported in either 46-60Hz or 48-144Hz but Intel GCC still says Not supported (so no change here). My laptop has HDMI hardwired to nvidia gpu so I cannot test this one. Only two usb-c ports (with one being DP 1.4 and the other Thunderbolt DP 2.1) are hardwired to iGPU. Both usb-c ports behave incorrectly.
- Monitor firmware is updated using usb cable so it is the latest one. Monitor drivers in Windows are also installed.
- Lack of VRR is visible in Battlefield 4 and 6 as the overlay in the monitor shows explicit 120Hz instead of fluctuating. For example if Battlefield reports around 65 fps and I can see that monitor reports 120Hz I know that VRR is not working. On my secondary laptop monitor shows correct refresh rate that fluctuates meaning VRR is working fine. I tested also in Witcher 3 and under Linux VRR is working fine, under Windows it is not.
- Logs are attached as well as screenshot presenting that IGS reports VRR Not Supported but Windows reports otherwise. I also attached edid from linux where everything works (I'm aware that there are completely different drivers but maybe it will be helpful somehow)

[AlphaTop89]

I had a similar issue. Youve basically proven the hardware path is fine, VRR works under Linux, works with other Intel generations, works with NVIDIA, monitor firmware is updated, drivers are latest etcetera. What’s left is almost certainly a Windows + Intel Core Ultra (Meteor Lake) graphics driver bug in how it parses the Philips Evnia’s EDID or VRR range. Here’s what you can try right now, and what the realistic next steps are:

Force VRR in Windows,

• • Go to Settings → System → Display → Graphics → Default graphics settings

  • Make sure Variable refresh rate is toggled ON.

  • Reboot and check in-game.

Override EDID (Custom Resolution Utility – CRU),

• Since Linux detects the VRR range correctly, you can export the EDID from Linux and override it in Windows with CRU.

• Steps:

  • Boot Linux → extract EDID (usually with xrandr --props or edid-decode).

  • On Windows → use CRU to import the working EDID and force VRR range (e.g., 48–120 Hz).

  • Restart graphics driver (Win+Ctrl+Shift+B) or reboot.

This has helped others when Intel drivers misreport VRR capabilities

Try Intel Arc Control Beta Drivers,

• The build you’re on (32.0.101.6987) is WHQL/stable.

• Intel often fixes display bugs faster in Beta drivers. Check Intel’s Beta graphics driver page

Check Monitor OSD Settings,

• Make sure Adaptive-Sync/FreeSync is enabled in the Philips OSD.
• Some Philips Evnia monitors have both “Standard” and “Premium” Adaptive-Sync modes — try toggling between them.
• Set input mode to PC (not console)

likely root cause is this isn’t a hardware limitation (since your MSI GS66 + i9-12900H works with the same monitor and cable). But the VRR  via HDMI is not supported in intel arc control see this -> Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) 'Not Supported' in Intel® Arc™ Control

You can see some useful articles and discussions here

Custom Resolution Utility

VRR does not seem to work, even with the recommended options

[Rawi]

Hi,
- I've updated intel drivers to beta 32.0.101.6989 but problem remains
- I've tried changing EDID via CRU to the one that I got from Linux but absolutely no change - Windows still properly detects VRR as it was originally and VRR doesn't work in games. Intel control center still shows Not supported so it looks like CRU may fix problems where Windows cannot properly detect the monitor but the case here is that Windows detects it properly all the time, just Intel drivers behave incorrectly and CRU has no effect on them.
- "Go to Settings → System → Display → Graphics → Default graphics settings. Make sure Variable refresh rate is toggled ON." - there isn't anything related to VRR here on my end. The only toggable VRR settings are in intel control center which says Not supported.
- On my monitor there is only a switch "Adaptive Sync On"/"Adaptive Sync Off", there isn't anything like "Standard"/"Premium" but as "Adaptive Sync On" works in all other cases I mentioned previously I assume it should work here as well.

So I guess this is definitely a bug in the drivers and the only hope for me is to wait for another driver version to try out.

[Rawi · Accepted solution]

I have found the solution and the root cause. When I installed Windows first I installed GPU drivers from XMG website and then I upgraded to latest intel ones. XMG in their drivers has the following note (I have a Tuxedo laptop but under Windows I'm using XMG drivers):

"For technical reasons, the Mini LED display in the XMG NEO 16 (E25) does not support VESA Adaptive Sync
in conjunction with the integrated Intel graphics unit. This feature is therefore deliberately disabled (greyed
out) in our Intel graphics driver.
After installing our driver, later driver updates will still be possible. This is handled by the ‘Extended INF’
mechanism, which ensures that OEM-specific driver adjustments are retained even after generic driver
updates.
If, instead, you do not use our OEM driver after reinstalling Windows and actively use Adaptive Sync (e.g. in
3D games or benchmarks), this may lead to large-scale image errors (artifacts) on the Mini LED panel.
These artifacts may persist even after a system restart and could only be fixed with a time-consuming
workaround.
If you installed a generic Intel graphics driver after reinstalling Windows, we recommend installing our
driver immediately using the ‘Clean installation’ option. This will remove the generic driver and replace it
with our version."

My laptop doesn't have MiniLED display but regular IPS. It looks like for my IPS panel this permanently disables VRR.
The solution was to:
1. Download Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU)
2. Boot into Safe mode and completely remove Intel + nvidia drivers
3. Install latest original Intel drivers + reboot
4. Install latest nvidia drivers + reboot

And then VRR is detected as expected and it works in games

I hope this may be helpful for someone else with similar problem.

[VonM_Intel]

Hello Rawi,

Thank you for sharing the detailed update and documenting both the root cause and solution. I’m glad to hear that using Display Driver Uninstaller and reinstalling the latest Intel and NVIDIA drivers resolved the problem and restored VRR on your IPS display. 

Thank you for taking the time to share this fix, and hopefully, it may help other community members experiencing similar behavior. Since the thread is now solved, I will proceed to close it. Please keep in mind that this thread will no longer be monitored by Intel

Have a nice day!

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician