Screen randomly flashes black when the Intel Iris Xe Graphics driver is installed

[xeblackflash]

My entire screen randomly flashes black (and the audio cuts) for 1-2 seconds, mostly when I am playing audio or video.

The issue only occurs when the Intel Iris Xe Graphics driver is installed. If i delete the device in Device Manager and instead use the Microsoft Basic Display adapter, there is no issue at all.

Specs:
ASUS PL64, Samsung 970 EVO Plus, 32 GB RAM, intel i5-1235
Display: Samsung 65" Q80C (firmware up to date)
Connection: HDMI (short, high quality cable)
Windows 11 24H2 build 26100.3194 (up to date)

Driver versions (all up to date):
-PL64 BIOS 1.17.00 (2025-02-20)
-Intel Iris Xe Graphics 32.0.101.6642 (2025-02-27) also tried ASUS reccomended one: Intel Graphics Accelerator Driver V31.0.101.1999 which seems more stable

BIOS settings:
-CEC disabled
-Fast boot: off

Windows settings:
-Resolution 3840x2160, 60 Hz, 8 bit, RGB, SDR, (no HDR), (no Variable refresh rate)
-Link State Power Management: Off

Intel Graphics Command Center settings:
-Text Content: Off
-Quantization Range: Full
-Color Depth: BPC_8
-Color Format: RGB
-Adaptive Sync: Off

TV settings:
-Energy saving: off
-CEC disabled
-Audio output: optical out, PCM

I've tried this so far (all of these things make ZERO difference in how often the black flashes happen):
-Using other HDMI ports on the TV and PC
-Disabling hardware accelleration in the browsers and applications.
-Reinstalling Windows
-Using a USB audio device instead of audio over HDMI
-Enabling Game Mode on the TV
-Changing to 3840x2160, 30 Hz in windows
-Changing to 1920x1080, 30 Hz in windows
-Setting the Minimum processor state to 100% (instead of 5%)
-Disabling HD audio in BIOS
-Changing Quantization Range to "Limited" in Intel Graphics Command Center
-Disabling Multi-plane overlay
-Disabling Audio Out over HDMI in Windows
-Disabling the Modern standby S0 Low Power Idle state
-Removed "Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device" for the SAMSUNG HD Audio Driver for Display audio
-Removed "Allow the computerto turn of this device" for the SAMSUNG HD Audio Driver for Display audio driver

I have other units, and a pc, connected to the same TV. No issues with those.

Any ideas?

[MUC · Accepted solution]

Samsung Q80C - QLED LCD TV
4K @ 120 Hz
4 x HDMI 2.1 FRL

ASUS Mini PC PL64
3 x HDMI 2.0 TMDS

The symptoms indicate a loss of synchronization of the video signal. You have already tried almost everything that could have an influence. I can think of 3 more possibilities:

1. Please check the EDID emulation settings in the BIOS of the Mini PC as described in the user manual on page 32. In general, it is beneficial to activate EDID emulation and perform the Redetect procedure.
2. Please use an HDMI cable that is not too short. It may sound paradoxical, but especially with regard to HDCP, it is sometimes more stable if the cable is at least 2 meters long.
3. The use of the processor seems to have been customized by ASUS with 3 HDMI outputs for this purpose, so I would recommend using the graphics driver that ASUS provides.

If none of this helps, please consider contacting ASUS Support since this i5-1235U implementation seems to be not Intel generic (ASUS specific motherboard).

[xeblackflash]

Holy cow, you solved it, thanks so much. This is what i did

1. Enabled Emulation EDID in BIOS
2. Performed the EDID reset procedure
At this point the issue was gone but the output was limited to 30 Hz.
3. Deleted the display adapter from Device Manager and scanned for hardware changes to let the driver (the ASUS one) reinstall.

It now appears that the issue is solved. I have at least not been able to reproduce the black flashes so far.