Intel Iris XE monitor support

[Prithvi18]

Hi, I have a Lenovo Thinkpad T14 with Intel Iris XE integrated graphics. My Samsung Odessey Ark Gen 2 monitor flickers and blurs when on multiview with 4 displays in the same screen. This doesn't happen all the time though. The same laptop works very well when I have separate ASUS monitors connected.
The Samsung advisor insists that the issue is with the laptop and to check with Intel support. In my understanding a laptop that supports upto 60Hz should work with the monitor with 165Hz but with refresh rate capped at 60Hz? I get 30Hz on each screen as I connect 2 outputs from the laptop to the monitor although I would've expected 60Hz on each screen based on specs. Will that be an issue with the graphics card?

Graphics card specs:
Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics[1] Integrated Shared DirectX® 12.1
Monitor Support[1] Supports up to 4 independent displays (native display and 3 external monitors via Thunderbolt™ and HDMI®)
• Thunderbolt™ supports up to 5K@60Hz
• HDMI® supports up to 4K@60Hz

[MUC]

What cables did you use to connect the Samsung monitor or the ASUS monitors? If possible, please provide a link to these cables.

[Prithvi18]

The first reason when troubleshooting in the Samsung website was to change the cables to high speed ones. I've tried a few cables and now I am using the below mostly. One is connected from USB-C to HDMI and the other is HDMI to HDMI. The HDMI to HDMI is an old cable but I think it has support but I've also tried a different one for which I don't have a link. It came with one of the 144Hz gaming monitors.

Amazon Basics Premium Aluminum USB-C (Source) to HDMI (Display) Cable Adapter (Thunderbolt 3 Compatible) 4K@60Hz, 1.8 metres, Black https://amzn.eu/d/2GHZpPN

Amazon Basics High-Speed HDMI Cable 6.5 Feet / 2 meters Supports Ethernet, 3D, Audio Return https://amzn.eu/d/b3cxCOk

[MUC]

Lenovo ThinkPad T14 has an HDMI 2.0 connector. For this you need a "Premium High Speed ​​HDMI Cable".

The USB-C > HDMI cable probably has a Protocol Converter (PCON) chip integrated into the HDMI connector housing. This technology sometimes causes compatibility issues. The Samsung Odyssey ARK (2023) G97NC gaming monitor also features a DisplayPort version 1.4 connector for the HBR3 protocol. I would try one of these cables to connect to the laptop's USB-C/Thunderbolt port.

• Zeskit MAYA 8K Bi-Directional USB-C to DisplayPort 1.4 Cable
• Club 3D USB Type C Cable to DP 1.4 (CAC-1557)
• Cable Matters USB-C to DisplayPort Cable - 8K Ready (201036)
• Cable Matters Premium Braided USB C to DisplayPort 1.4 Cable (201336)

[Prithvi18]

Thanks. I will give these options a try and come back in a few days.

[Prithvi18]

So I got these ones below and it is still flickering every few minutes. Is it not obvious that the problem is with the Samsung monitor if the laptop works with separate ASUS Gaming Monitors? Or does the laptop behave differently for different monitors? Also I am getting 60Hz on all screens. Although it has happened before, I haven't been able to replicate this issue when on single screen mode but there are several videos been posted in Reddit. Looks like a widespread issue with the monitor but how do l figure out the root cause? The Samsung Customer Service are being rubbish in dealing with this. It feels like a known issue that cannot be sorted as they keep asking me the same questions and video proofs again and again like delaying for no reason and they don't want me to send it for repair.

Ubluker 10K 8K 4K HDMI Cable 48Gbps 2M, Certified Ultra High Speed HDMI® Cable 4K 240Hz 144Hz 8K 60Hz 0.01ms HDR10+ ARC eARC HDCP2.3 Netflix Roku TV PC Monitor Projector PS5 4 Xbox https://amzn.eu/d/2bZ9U16

Silkland USB C to DisplayPort 2.1 Cable 2M [VESA Certified] 16K@30Hz 8K@120Hz 4K@240Hz, Thunderbolt 5/4 to DisplayPort, Compatible MacBook Pro, Odyssey G8, Not for Portable Monitor https://amzn.eu/d/dIGDaeH

[MUC]

Yes, the graphics card only delivers what a monitor reports as maximum. For the Samsung, please activate "Input Signal Plus" in its settings for all inputs you are using on this display device.

Please also switch this setting to "ON":

With this setting, the monitor should report to the graphics card that it can do 3840 x 2160 @ 165 Hz. However, due to the bandwidth of the ThinkPad T14, this is only possible via USB-C/Thunderbolt > DisplayPort.

[Prithvi18]

Most of the settings including Input Signal Plus and Game Mode seem to be disabled when on multiview. I've also noticed that if I just use 2 screens in multiview (in the monitor) the refresh rate seems to be 120Hz each and the laptop screen is at 60Hz. More than 2 screens in the monitor drops to 60Hz on all screens.

[MUC]

Intel Iris Xe itself has these maximum 4K capabilities:

• HDMI 2.0 TMDS (18 Gbps): 4K @ 60 Hz
• USB-C/Thunderbolt with DisplayPort 1.4a HBR3 (32.4 Gbps): 4K @ 120 Hz | 4K @ 165 Hz with DSC. 

I'm not entirely sure what happens if you connect BOTH video outputs to the SAME physical display.

Please also refer to page 93 in the document "BN81-24349B-450_EM_SMGOPNEUC_EU ASIA AFRICA_ENG_240213.0.pdf" I've attached above:

page 24 in the document "BN81-25142B-01_WEB_G97NC_EU_ENG_231116.0.pdf":