Intel Arc A380 HDMI corruption by Arc drivers on ultrawide monitor

[poptravel]

There have been numerous reported problems using 21:9 resolutions like 2560x1080 resolutions so I'm restarting again a thread to finally get a fix.

Using a monitor like LG 34UM65 (2560x1080) with the Intel driver results in a corrupted HDMI signal with crackling sound and lots of noise-dot stripes for an unusable experience. Why I can be rather sure it is an Intel driver issue? Because the same cable, monitor and PC works with the generic Microsoft Display Driver before the Intel ARC driver is installed. Even the CPU is not officially supported, the card works on a PCIe 3.0x16 slot without problems using Displayport. I bought the card for a dual monitor setup (2560x1440 DP + 2560x1080 HDMI).

1. I'm using the latest graphics driver 31.0.101.5593 and tested 31.0.101.5592 WHQL and several below upto 4502

2. No game or any app is started in Windows 10 22H2: the display on the HDMI output is immediately corrupted after Windows starts. The LG monitor reports and warns the HDMI signal as 2560x1080 @ 26fps instead of the expected 60fps. None of the problems appear with Microsoft generic driver without the Arc drivers. The output is also normal during Windows Safe Mode, so this is an Intel driver bug.

No SSU report is necessary as this is a driver issue only affecting the HDMI port output. There is no problem with a 1920x1080 display nor with the generic Microsoft Display Driver, until Windows updates the graphics driver in the background after a driver cleanup. However, changing the resolution of the display adapter lower only results in a clean image at 640x480 over HDMI. Resolutions above that are corrupted by the ARC driver - and again, not by the Windows generic driver. It seems the Intel Arc HDMI Video/Audio driver do not provide the full bandwidth for 21:9 displays like the generic driver or have problems with audio in the HDMI signal there.

Edit1: Attached a video recording which shows the clean HDMI signal and then the very start of the HDMI signal corruption during the Intel Arc driver installation. In the end this 15s video also shows the monitor warning of the wrong HDMI signal delivery. The DisplayPort signal on the 2nd monitor stays correct.

Edit2: Added details about dual monitor and no issues with DP.

[poptravel]

As I cannot edit my post further:

2024-07-03: I have also tested the latest ARC driver 31.0.101.5594 and see no change in the buggy HDMI behavior. It appears as if the HDMI signal cannot be interpreted correctly on this HDMI 1.4 or HDMI 1.3 limited super-wide monitor. If anyone uses an LG 34UM65 with the ARC380 HDMI port it would be interesting to me to find the source of this problem. Without the ARC driver (also during boot) the HDMI port gives a correct signal to the monitor.

For reference here is the binary EDID file of the LG 34UM65 from CRU extracted with a i5-1135G7 laptop, which also shows 2560x1080 on the same monitor. Using a HDMI-to-DVI adaptor shows a 1920x1080 image without noise though stretched to 2560x1080. The BIOS/driver bug maybe in the widescreen HDMI1.3 handling.

[ShunMnzed]

hmm. Let’s dive into this and see if we can find a solution.

Firstly, you’re not alone in experiencing problems with 21:9 resolutions like 2560x1080. Many users including me have reported similar issues. Here’s what we know. You’ve rightly identified this as an Intel driver issue. When using the generic Microsoft Display Driver, everything works fine. However, once the Intel ARC driver is installed, the HDMI signal becomes corrupted, complete with crackling sound and noise-dot stripes. Not ideal for usability! Interestingly, the problem doesn’t occur in Safe Mode, which points directly to the Intel driver as the culprit. Also I observed that when you lower the resolution of the display adapter, you get a clean image at 640x480 over HDMI. But resolutions above that are corrupted by the ARC driver, unlike the Windows generic driver.

...but since you've already tested multiple versions of the Intel ARC driver without success and confirmed that lower resolutions (like 640x480) work but higher ones are corrupted, it could be a bandwidth or compatibility issue with 21:9 resolutions on HDMI 1.4 or HDMI 1.3.

Here are some steps I recommend that you might consider:

• Check if there are any firmware updates for your LG monitor that might address HDMI compatibility or EDID issues. Also, review monitor settings related to HDMI input and compatibility modes.
• Adjust any advanced settings in the Intel ARC driver control panel related to HDMI output or bandwidth allocation. Sometimes adjusting these settings can resolve compatibility issues.
• Since DisplayPort works fine, consider using an HDMI-to-DisplayPort adapter if your monitor supports it, as a temporary workaround until the driver issue is resolved.

...let us see your System utility log so other users and Intel technicians can review it for any errors or compatibility issues specific to the drivers.

Shun

[Your Community Buddy]

[poptravel]

This appears to be an LLM answer with several incorrect assumptions so I'm adding a workaround and for the latest Driver 31.0.101.5594 (which may have worked before):

- after installation of the latest driver, start the ARC Control software: in the "Display"  section there are options to reset Settings of displays in the top line

- I used the reset for "Resolution & Refresh Rate". This gave me a correct 1920x1080 display (with black borders left and right) but without noise. The monitor notes that this is not native but I didn't get anywhere with the HDMI corruption on 2560x1080...

- The Windows recommended resolution stays at 2560x1080 and games also attempt to use the full (buggy) resolution though you can work around that by using a window etc. mostly in the graphics settings of the games

For the time being I am able to use 1920x1080 pillar-boxed image on 2560x1080 which is better than noting.

I'm still hoping that Intel fixes that driver-issue. After all older Intel iGPUs (Xe on 1135-G7) display 2560x1080 over HDMI without such problems, though there are numerous reports, that newer Meteor Lake laptops do not support it again.

Come on, Intel driver developers! The ARC GPUs are often just powerful enough for FHD and that includes 1080p and 1440p ultra-wide displays, so please support these ultra-wide HDMI finally!

[AceOfSpades45682]

@poptravel 

let me try to help you..

When a graphics card has some serious problems, it can sometimes exhibit something known as visual artifacts just like the video recording you shared here. These can be strange colored squares, or lines appearing on the screen, or you could see certain in-game elements flickering, or appearing to display incorrectly, or the entire screen can flicker on and off while or after installing the graphic driver. Are you overclocking your graphics card? Try disabling it. You might have just pushed the card too far. Alternatively, reduce the overclock until the artifacts disappear, or increase the voltage if you have some thermal and power headroom. Visual artifacting can be a sign that a graphics card may be on its last legs. Before you toss it out, though, check to see if there are any physical problems. Is a cable blocking a fan from spinning? Are the power cables seated in the socket correctly? Is the card sitting in its PCI-Express slot properly? Have any RAM heatsinks fallen off? Fix any of those problems if you spot them.

...the screen flickers and has lines while updating or installing the graphics driver. For this issue, you can definitely use Intel's article How to Fix a Flickering Screen with Intel® Graphics 

...one more thing you can try the links below:

1. Fix screen flickering in Windows
2. How can I fix this screen flicker issue after windows 11 Quality Update

These link might help in fixing the issue.

Regards,

Perkins...

[poptravel]

Thank you for your help. The issue is driver related for the reason that Microsoft Generic Graphics driver shows a correct 2560x1080 HDMI signal, as does my Intel i5 1135-G7 based laptop.

There are some reasons why I can't use DisplayPort - one being, that one monitor of my dual-monitor setup only shows the full resolution at the DP, so that's where the Arc380 DP goes - and DP shows the image correctly.

By noting this particular HDMI driver problem, sending the EDID of the monitor I hope that motivated Intel engineers can create a fix. Intel has come a long way in driver quality, yet the HDMI super-wide corruption shows that there is still some way to go.

Currently, a usable 1920x1080 resolution is possible in Windows10 resulting in a pillar-boxed display. It's better than nothing. However, many games recognize the monitor, use the windows recommended full-resolution even with lower settings (Metro 2033) which will corrupt the image again.

Driver Bugs like this lower the value of Arc graphics. After all Intel could fix their obvious driver bugs in order to make customers happy and I cannot do more than giving data. I'll keep an eye on driver / vbios updates but even at $/€120 for the ARC380 Low Profile cards I currently doubt the value of my purchase.

[poptravel]

Again I must bump this issue as weeks after the post there is still no solution nor acknowledgement

Intel Arc drivers (A380) output an incorrect HDMI signal for superwide moditors with a resolution such as 2560x1080p. I have sent a video and also an EDID of the monitor 3 weeks ago.

Again, there is no HDMI cable or PC issue as the HDMI signal is correct as 2560x1080 using the Microsoft generic driver on the very same PC. Just after Intel Arc driver installation the HDMI signal gets corrupted and cannot be used. The very same monitor works on an Intel i5-1135G7 laptop with Xe graphics so the problem can be attributed solely to Intel Arc driver bugs.