Screen flickering after component change
polo -
Hello,
I recently changed my PC:
MB: B450M-A
RAM: 2x8GB 3000MHz
CPU: Ryzen 7 1700X
GPU: GTX 980 Ti
PSU: 500W
To this one:
MB: B450M-A
RAM: 2x8GB 3000MHz
CPU: Ryzen 5 5600X
GPU: RX 6700 XT
PSU: 700W
Once the installation was finished, I updated all my drivers and did not do any overclocking.
My problem is the following:
I have 3 PC screens, 1 27" 60Hz, 1 25" 60Hz, and my main screen 27" 144Hz (Acer ED273A model). Since the PC change, my main screen (144Hz) has white flickering when I am on the desktop, Google, etc., but it does not flicker at all in games or when I open an application like Discord, Spotify, etc.
What I tried:
I lowered the frequency (Hz) of my main screen (144Hz) and there was no flickering between 0 and 120Hz; the problem occurs when the screen is set to 144Hz. I saw that it could come from FreeSync, so I installed Custom Resolution Utility 1.5.1, but it does not display any FreeSync settings on the screen, so I think it is not equipped with it. I have obviously tried reinstalling the drivers for my GPU, and it is still the same.
So there you go, I'm a bit stuck; I don’t know at all how to solve the problem. Although I'm very interested in computers, the reasons for this problem escape me.
Thank you very much, I hope I was precise about the problem in question, hoping that someone will be able to help me :)
Thank you!
18 answers
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The scintillations also occur on Discord and Spotify; I hadn't paid attention, but I get the impression that they only disappear in games.
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I just opened Trackmania, I also have the flickering in this game, so I think that on my main game the flickering isn't noticeable because there are too many colors everywhere. In fact, it's quite mild but very distracting when watching a movie, for example.
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Actually, my main game is capped at 120hz, that's why I don't have the issues, but on any application at 144hz, I have problems.
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Hello
try to run a diag with that, you should have a report that opens in your browser, and you can post the report link on ccm:
https://userdiag.com/
If it finds a problem to fix, don't jump into it alone, I think there are sometimes issues with your motherboard.
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No. I was afraid it would prominently mention that the BIOS needs to be updated to use the new processor, but no, it's fine. It just talks about the memory being a bit slow if your sticks support XMP, but I'm not quite sure how that affects flickering.
No need to do the third test, that's for heavy overclockers with really big coolers. It doesn’t heat up in test 2, so it’s fine, no need to torture it.
>_ Tips and issues encountered (beta)
- ➡️ You can try applying the XMP profile for your RAM in the BIOS to gain performance. (A short explanatory video is available here)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t6J1EiHb_w
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Yes, it's done; I did it after the test, but I still have the same problem: my screen flickers at 144Hz :/
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Well, it's good that you were able to set the RAM frequencies to 3000 MHz; you always gain a bit in performance, and too bad if it didn't help – the chances were slim, but you had to try, and it's done.
I don't have much else in mind other than these 3 other little suspicions:
As Benjamin said, following some modifications, we can forget to reset the refresh rate and screen resolution; I think you've already done that, but even that goes against what seems to improve your games – I can't help but keep coming back to it.
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https://www.justgeek.fr/regler-frequence-de-rafraichissement-ecran-60237/
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Starting Windows in minimal mode to see if it comes from an application; if it works, it won't necessarily be the same as in 2018, and we won't be rolling back Windows either, but it could be a lead.
https://www.malekal.com/ecran-clignote-scintille-apres-mise-a-jour-windows-10/
https://www.malekal.com/demarrer-windows-mode-minimal/
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And finally, they are mentioning driver updates again, and userdiag doesn't really like driverscloud.
It would be good to try others, but I'm a bit overwhelmed on this; we should ask the real specialists at CCM which drivers to use without going through driverscloud or those you've already tried.
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A 4th little one:
Your screen connected via HDMI 1.4 (max 120 Hz) – you could try capping it at 120 Hz or connect it via DisplayPort, DVI, to maintain the 144 Hz, or test another 144 Hz.
You tested FreeSync, but it would do G-Sync; I don't know that.
There are probably other things to try, but I don't know them.
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EDIT: I also have the flickering issue at 120Hz. I installed 5 different drivers from the AMD website as well as the one that Windows installs by default through Windows Update, but nothing works.
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https://manuall.fr/acer-ed273a-moniteur-lcd/
On page 12 of the manual, you can activate the on-screen menu they call OSD.
Under the audio tab in the performance tab, you can set FreeSync to on or off, and a second command called overdrive is linked, which can be extreme, normal, or off.
Under the performance tab, there is the OSD tab where you can display the current refresh rate on screen (8.Refresh rate num).
Note: If FreeSync is set to "Enabled," you can visualize the changes.
Next tab system in 6 and 7 you will find overdrive and keyboard shortcut settings, as well as permissions to adjust the screen via the PC software.
In the next tab, you can save settings and also reset all settings.
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Perhaps the reason you couldn't use FreeSync lies within this screen menu; if everything has reset for any reason, you need to reconfigure everything on the screen to make the PC control software work again.
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At the beginning of the monitor's manual, they mention a battery or a cell; could there be a battery in the monitor like a BIOS battery that maintains memory of the settings and might just be depleted or dead and need replacing? I'm going to bed.
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I no longer have flickering issues with HDMI cable, but I am capped at 120hz, so I don't see the point. My problem persists, and I don't know what to do.
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Hello
Starting Windows in minimal mode didn't remove the issue? Knowing that it's not an application would narrow down the search but I've exhausted my limited knowledge for now.
In the absence of being able to try another 144hz screen, if you declare one of the 60hz screens as the main display, does that change anything? It's really just to test with what you have on hand, I'm not very hopeful but...
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I don't have any flicker when my main screen is at 60Hz, and I've already booted in minimal Windows with the same issue; I've even reinstalled my PC on a brand new SSD.
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Hello
For the installation of the screen, keep it away from strong electromagnetic sources in case of flickering. You can try if the modified tower is too close or a speaker that wasn't there before.
The 230v socket for the screen should not cause interference; try other sockets.
Everything else I see comes back to the same thing:
The screen is sensitive to flickering by its nature, especially due to panel lighting.
Every time a problem is mentioned, it’s related to the deactivation of FreeSync; it could be a setting for inserting black frames on the screen. The latest that I found affects the backlight, and for that, you have to deactivate FreeSync, which makes the screen flicker a lot. The link is clearly made between flickering and the absence of FreeSync; it’s a quality test of the screen by hardware specialists.
I don't know what could have happened during the modifications of the PC for FreeSync to become inaccessible and how to correct it now, other than questionable screen settings and systematically the necessity to reactivate FreeSync. There is nothing new regarding installation or repair of this system.
I'm stuck on the manual I found, which doesn't correspond to what you have and doesn't allow you to reactivate it.
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I have my PC far from the screen, the same goes for the connections. I've tried everything and the screen even has a dedicated port for FreeSync. I tried to disable it, but there's no way to do it. However, my screen shows in the settings that FreeSync is enabled, but there's nothing to disable it in the settings.
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Hello
So if Freesync is properly activated I have no more leads but I'm not very good either.
The screen is demanding, it requires a good graphics card and you've improved this aspect but I have nothing that says it should flicker.
I saw that the screen is capable of "simulating" HD from a lower resolution by creating pixels which gives a softer rendering and a pleasant result even though it's not very good for color fidelity which shouldn't be an issue for gaming. Maybe you shouldn't provide it with Full HD to notice the quality it has.
But it's a matter of resolution, not synchronization or frequency.
It should be fine between 40 and 144 Hz but that's not the case since your modification, although it was before so I don't understand.
I assume you didn't mistreat it, it's not the monitor that was disassembled, it’s the case, no reason for it to break down just at this moment.
There should be automatic recognition of the screen by the system, why would that have changed? The signal goes through the new graphics card but well.
Hello
Upon re-reading everything, I see in your initial post from August 18 that you say:
my main screen (144hz)... it does not display any FreeSync setting on the screen, so I think it is not equipped with it.
And in your very last post from September 1, you say finally:
yet my screen shows in the settings that FreeSync is enabled except that there is nothing to disable it in the settings.
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I don't understand that either.
Either you finally managed to reactivate FreeSync. So you must have ended up fixing everything we already found to correct.
Now we should try to increase the frequencies again, which is the "usual" method when you want to reduce flickering and that you couldn't do at first because it caused flickering. At least up to 144hz, which seems to be the screen's limit that it held without flickering before changing parts in the tower, reinstalling Windows, changing drivers, and maybe the BIOS.
Ultimately, only the motherboard, RAM, and screen remain unchanged.
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Actually, I just noticed a detail and what made me say my screen didn't have FreeSync is that I didn't see anywhere mentioned that my screen supported FreeSync. However, when I am using a DP cable and check the screen information, it says Mode: FreeSync, and when I am using HDMI, which has no flickering, it says Mode: Normal. But there is no way in the screen settings to have a Mode: Normal when I am on DP.
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Hello
OK, thanks for that last detail.
For me, freesync and normal mode should therefore be set correctly via HDMI, but automatically, and the screen works well.
Why, I don't know, automatic detection is possible. We already saw that the HDMI version of the screen is limited to 120Hz, so you should be able to reach 120Hz with this cable.
So it must be the issue with the manual I found online that doesn't apply, which is annoying, and you won't be able to set those two settings, freesync and normal mode, correctly manually for the other cables.
I don't have access to all the sites on my PC, which is normal here, so I can't search where I would like to help you further.
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I also happened to come across this "The Acer ED273A supports AMD FreeSync at 48-144Hz on DisplayPort and 48-120Hz on HDMI" So when I set my HDMI screen to 120Hz, I get a "Mode: FreeSync" only I managed through the AMD application to make my HDMI cable run at 134Hz which is the max I've been able to set so I have the Mode: Normal on HDMI since I exceed 120Hz but I still don't have any flickering issues with the HDMI cable at 120Hz only with DP.
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Problem solved, the Freesync for the DP cable is between 48 and 144hz. I went through the AMD software where I created a custom resolution and set the refresh rate to 144.001, so my screen switched to Normal mode and no longer considers FreeSync, and I have no flickering.