VRR not working on Acer B580 nitro and AOC Q27G2E

[SoylentGreen]

Today I installed a Acer B580 nitro connected to a AOC Q27G2E monitor but no matter what I do I can't get VRR working while on a AMD card it has worked perfectly fine.

Already tried three different driver versions including the latest one. Used DDU several times in safe mode. Installed Intel drivers in safe mode.

Tried all ports on monitor and gpu and different cables (both displayport and hdmi). Reset monitor and reset monitor driver information in windows.

Also tried all available refresh rates but it just doesn't work.

HDR also doesn't work while it's supposed to function, but that doesn't matter to me that much.

Does anyone have a possible solution for this problem?

[MUC]

AOC Q27G2E/BK
2560 x 1440 @ 155 Hz 8-bit
2 x HDMI 2.0
1 x DisplayPort 1.2

VRR over HDMI is only supported when the connection is HDMI 2.1. Since this monitor is HDMI 2.0, it must be connected via DisplayPort. Intel graphics cards support the industry standard VESA AdaptiveSync. According to the monitor's manual (see appendix), the monitor must be set to DisplayPort 1.2 and AdaptiveSync must be enabled in the On Screen Display (OSD).

Please set AdaptiveSync to ON.

Unfortunately, AMD FreeSync cannot be used with Intel graphics cards.

[SoylentGreen]

Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately the monitor is already setup with display port cable and version 1.2 is enabled. Also adaptive-sync is enabled but it doesn't work.

[MUC]

It looks to me that AOC actually means AMD FreeSync by "Adaptive-Sync." In the manual on page 11:

[SoylentGreen]

Thanks for all your input, it is appreciated! Since I don't want to part with the monitor I'll have to return the card unfortunately. 

[stevejames]

If your monitor and laptop both have DisplayPort especially DisplayPort 1.2+ via USB-C/Thunderbolt, use that over HDMI. HDMI VRR support on Intel GPUs is spotty.

[MUC]

Video transmission via DisplayPort or HDMI has a parameter called Vertical Blanking. To enable a variable refresh rate, this parameter is varied accordingly. Thus, there is a range of maximum-to-minimum Vertical Blanking. This principle is the basis of all those "technologies" sold under various names:

• AdaptiveSync (VESA DisplayPort)
• VRR (HDMI LA)
• FreeSync (AMD)
• G-Sync (Nvidia)

These implementations differ in their protocols, some of which are proprietary to each manufacturer.

• Generic HDMI VRR was only introduced with HDMI 2.1 and is used by Intel graphics cards with native HDMI 2.1 ports (starting with Arc B-Series Graphics) and HDMI 2.1 gaming consoles such as the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 5. Intel Arc A-Series Graphics don't have native HDMI 2.1 but use protocol conversion on the printed circuit board (DP > HDMI) which doesn't enable HDMI VRR.
• The industry standard is VESA AdaptiveSync via DisplayPort (supported by Intel graphics cards). In this case it fails because the monitor cannot do that.
• Nvidia G-Sync (Ultimate) is only supported by Nvidia graphics cards on monitors that have the appropriate certification. Usually, this is done in conjunction with an Nvidia hardware module that must be built into the monitor. There are also monitors with HDMI 2.0 that support this.
• Nvidia G-Sync Compatible = VESA AdaptiveSync (DisplayPort protocol) or HDMI VRR (HDMI 2.1 protocol)
• AMD FreeSync uses a proprietary message in the property description (EDID) that only AMD graphics cards can (or may) interpret. Accordingly, there are also HDMI 2.0 devices that can do this.

[SoylentGreen]

Thanks for the added replies.

Nowhere does the monitor documentation state that it's a freesync monitor. It only states adaptive sync so it still seems strange to me that it refuses to work.

Maybe the following monitor would work? https://www.lg.com/in/monitors/gaming/27gs60qc-b/

It's got different sync modes and is officially Vesa adaptivesync certified.

[MUC]

Based on the information in the AOC flyer for the monitor, I suspect it's AMD FreeSync only. If in doubt, you should ask AOC whether the monitor explicitly supports VESA AdaptiveSync.

Perhaps we can help by checking which messages the monitor sends to the graphics card. Please connect the monitor and the Arc B580 with a DisplayPort cable and run EDID-test.exe. This will create a file named "edid-test.txt" in the same folder. Please attach this TXT file here.

[SoylentGreen]

This is the resulting file.

[MUC]

Intel Support would need to verify that the EDID you uploaded is compatible with VESA AdaptiveSync in Intel drivers. However, experience has shown that it may take some time for a driver update to be implemented (if at all, as changes require compliance testing, which is time-consuming).

A comparable price to the Arc B580 would be the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB.

Based on TPU test data: "Performance Overview" at 1920 x 1080

In my opinion, the quickest solution would be to return the Arc B580 and get a Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB instead.

[SoylentGreen]

Thanks for the suggestion MUC, but I don't want an 8GB card and I'm pretty impressed with the B580.

Decided to get the LG 27GS60QC-B monitor and adaptive sync works perfectly out of the box on this screen

[MUC]

I can see the FreeSync data block in the EDID:

According to the EDID information, the monitor does NOT support HDR.