Skull Canyon NUC6i7KYK and Gigabyte Aorus RTX 2070 Gaming Box

[JUtz]

Just received and installed a new Gigabyte Aorus RTX 2070 Gaming Box on a Skull Canyon NUC tonight. Wanted to share the experience, and ask a question.

First off, this is an external Thunderbolt 3 Graphics Box running an Nvidia RTX 2070 card. These boxes are nice, and a little smaller in size than the Razer external graphics boxes and the like, as this box is shorter in depth and tailored to the smaller card size.

Observations:

• I should have predicted this, but in my single monitor setup there is now no graphics/no video in a preOS or pre-boot environment. For BIOS changes and updates, I'll have to reconnect the monitor to the main system to get any video to see what I am doing. It makes sense, as the Thunderbolt driver isn't loaded until Windows is up, but I just didn't foresee this.
• Currently running World of Warcraft at 1920x1080 with all max graphics settings. I'm not a 4k Monitor person yet, but this card is quite an improvement in performance over the integrated graphics on the same monitor I was using before.
• The odd thing, and probably the only question I have, is surrounding the monitor detection stuff in Windows. My only monitor is now connected to the external gaming box (via HDMI), and the Skull Canyon NUC has no monitor connected. Yet, somehow, when I get into Windows, Windows thinks the only monitor is Monitor #2, and there is an entry for a Generic Non-PNP Monitor showing up (as Monitor #1) connected to the Intel integrated graphics controller. It was a challenge to get the monitor configured as the Primary Windows Monitor, as all the controls kept popping up on the non-existent screen. I learned about this handy key stroke - Windows+Shift+Right Arrow. This makes your active window move to the next monitor in a multi-monitor setting. So I right-clicked to get 'Display Settings' then did that keystroke to make the settings window move over to Monitor #2. From there, I could then tell Windows that Monitor #2 is Primary.

So, back to my question: What the heck is the "Generic Non-PnP Monitor" that Windows "thinks" is connected to the Intel graphics subsystem (but really doesn't exist) - and takes over the Monitor #1 position, causing all sorts of downstream usability and setup issues? Cause it's a pain in the butt.

Thanks

[LeonWaksman]

Have you installed Intel's drivers? The most important in your case are those three drivers (install them in the same order):

Chipset Driver: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/26803/Intel-Chipset-Device-Software-for-Intel-NUC-Kit-NUC6...

Management Engine driver: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28219/Intel-Management-Engine-Consumer-Driver-for-Windows-... NUC6i7KYK?product=89187

Graphic Driver: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28210/Intel-HD-Graphics-Driver-for-Windows-10-for-Intel-NU...

All other drivers you may download here: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/89187/Intel-NUC-Kit-NUC6i7KYK

Leon

[JUtz]

I am using all the latest BIOS and Drivers, as per the NUC website.

[JUtz]

By the way, when I search the internet and this forum, I see several references to "Virtual Monitor" and "Generic Non-PnP Monitor" showing up with Intel devices running headless. Here's one thread, with some registry hacks to kill it.

https://forums.intel.com/s/question/0D50P0000490DcwSAE/virtual-display-bug

I'd like to better understand why Intel does this with their graphics driver. What's the purpose in creating a "virtual display" when no monitor is plugged in?

[Wanner_G_Intel]

Hello JUtz, Windows* is basically detecting the onboard (integrated) graphics. Even though you are connecting an external GPU to your unit, the integrated graphics may handle power management, among other features. We have seen this behavior when Hyper-V is enabled. For this reason, we would like to do further research to confirm whether this is expected behavior or a bug that can be fixed. To better assist you, please run the Intel® System Support Utility and attach the report to this thread. We would like to check your system configuration. 1.Download the Intel® System Support Utility and save the application to your system. https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-Windows-?product=91... 2.Open the application and click Scan to see system and device information. The Intel® System Support Utility defaults to the Summary View on the output screen following the scan. Click the menu where it says summary to change to Detailed View. 3.To save your scan, click Next and click Save. You can save the file to any accessible location on your computer. Wanner G. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[JUtz]

Hello Wanner G. - Here's the file you requested.

Thanks

[Wanner_G_Intel]

Hello JUtz, Thank you for your response. We will get back to you soon. Wanner G. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[Wanner_G_Intel]

Hello JUtz, We are still working on the issue you have reported on this thread. Could you please provide your monitor model? If possible, please provide the cables you are using to connect your monitor to your AORUS RTX 2070 GAMING BOX . Wanner G. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[JUtz]

The monitor is a Dell ST2420L. The HDMI cable is a 2 ft. Aurum Ultra HDMI, from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I0ZI9FA/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks,

James

[Wanner_G_Intel]

Hello JUtz, We will get back to you soon. Wanner G. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[Wanner_G_Intel]

Hello JUtz, To continue troubleshooting this issue, please try these steps: 1. Try disabling the virtual monitor in Device manager. Go to Device Manager > Right-Click on it > Disable Device. 2. The report attached is showing two different graphics driver versions. Have you tried performing a clean install of the graphics driver? You can also try installing the latest driver available: For Intel® NUC Kit NUC6i7KYK Intel® HD Graphics Driver for Windows® 10 for Intel® NUC Kit NUC6i7KYK Version: 25.20.100.6519 https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28602/Intel-HD-Graphics-Driver-for-Windows-10-for-Intel-NU... Wanner G. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[Wanner_G_Intel]

Hello JUtz, If you have any further questions, we will be glad to assist you. Wanner G. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation