Has the graphics-card world gone mad?
Hi all. I made the mistake that I might want to upgrade my video card. I have a Radeon RX 550 that is struggling to drive two 4K screens. It works, but plenty of flickering under both Linux and Windows. I looked at a few sources such as Tom's Hardware to get a good idea of what to buy, and it suggested a card in the $300-400 range. I wish. Canada Computers has the cards (GeForce GTX 1660 Super) listed in this price range but all are out of stock everywhere. Amazon and NewEgg have them listed for more than $1,100. These don't strike me as cards powerful enough to do coin mining. Why are they so rare and expensive? Is it the global chip shortage or something else? And does anyone have an idea how long we'll have to wait this out ... or how I can tune my card to support the screens? Thanks! Evan Leibovitch, Toronto Canada @evanleibovitch / @el56
Over the last few months I have see articles about chip shortages. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/mar/21/global-shortage-in-computer... As for coin mining. I think the hype and optimism has kind of rubbed off cryptocurrencies. To the best of my knowledge ETH can still be mined effectively with GPUs so likely people are still buying GPUs to mine ETH. Possibly there has been a run on people setting up gaming computers with kids being stuck at home a lot of late. On 3/29/21 4:34 AM, Evan Leibovitch via talk wrote:
Hi all.
I made the mistake that I might want to upgrade my video card. I have a Radeon RX 550 that is struggling to drive two 4K screens. It works, but plenty of flickering under both Linux and Windows.
I looked at a few sources such as Tom's Hardware to get a good idea of what to buy, and it suggested a card in the $300-400 range.
I wish. Canada Computers has the cards (GeForce GTX 1660 Super) listed in this price range but all are out of stock everywhere. Amazon and NewEgg have them listed for more than $1,100.
These don't strike me as cards powerful enough to do coin mining. Why are they so rare and expensive? Is it the global chip shortage or something else? And does anyone have an idea how long we'll have to wait this out ... or how I can tune my card to support the screens?
Thanks!
Evan Leibovitch, Toronto Canada @evanleibovitch / @el56
--- Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
-- Alvin Starr || land: (647)478-6285 Netvel Inc. || Cell: (416)806-0133 alvin@netvel.net ||
Over the last few months I have see articles about chip shortages.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/mar/21/global-shortage-in-computer...
As for coin mining. I think the hype and optimism has kind of rubbed off cryptocurrencies. To the best of my knowledge ETH can still be mined effectively with GPUs so likely people are still buying GPUs to mine ETH.
Possibly there has been a run on people setting up gaming computers with kids being stuck at home a lot of late.
Yep, Covid has caused a run on mid / top graphics cards... either gaming or top end pr0n.. I was lucky to get a RX 5600, for 2 X what it was.. mostly gone now I think.. Way over kill for what I need, but no regrets.. -steve
On 3/29/21 4:34 AM, Evan Leibovitch via talk wrote:
Hi all.
I made the mistake that I might want to upgrade my video card. I have a Radeon RX 550 that is struggling to drive two 4K screens. It works, but plenty of flickering under both Linux and Windows.
I looked at a few sources such as Tom's Hardware to get a good idea of what to buy, and it suggested a card in the $300-400 range.
I wish. Canada Computers has the cards (GeForce GTX 1660 Super) listed in this price range but all are out of stock everywhere. Amazon and NewEgg have them listed for more than $1,100.
These don't strike me as cards powerful enough to do coin mining. Why are they so rare and expensive? Is it the global chip shortage or something else? And does anyone have an idea how long we'll have to wait this out ... or how I can tune my card to support the screens?
Thanks!
Evan Leibovitch, Toronto Canada @evanleibovitch / @el56
--- Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
-- Alvin Starr || land: (647)478-6285 Netvel Inc. || Cell: (416)806-0133 alvin@netvel.net ||
--- Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
On Mon, Mar 29, 2021 at 4:35 AM Evan Leibovitch via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:
Hi all.
I made the mistake that I might want to upgrade my video card. I have a Radeon RX 550 that is struggling to drive two 4K screens. It works, but plenty of flickering under both Linux and Windows.
I looked at a few sources such as Tom's Hardware to get a good idea of what to buy, and it suggested a card in the $300-400 range.
I wish. Canada Computers has the cards (GeForce GTX 1660 Super) listed in this price range but all are out of stock everywhere. Amazon and NewEgg have them listed for more than $1,100.
These don't strike me as cards powerful enough to do coin mining. Why are they so rare and expensive? Is it the global chip shortage or something else? And does anyone have an idea how long we'll have to wait this out ... or how I can tune my card to support the screens?
Thanks!
if you post the output of xrandr, that would be helpful, along with describing the physical cables HDMI/DisplayPort etc. Does it flicker at all with only one monitor or the other? Could this be a cabling issue? What is the current refresh rate set to? Apparently some 4k monitors have problems at 60Hz You could try xrandr -r 30 to lower the refresh rate of each monitor to test this. HTH
Evan Leibovitch, Toronto Canada @evanleibovitch / @el56 --- Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
-- Russell
| From: Evan Leibovitch via talk <talk@gtalug.org> | I have a | Radeon RX 550 that is struggling to drive two 4K screens. It works, but | plenty of flickering under both Linux and Windows. Back to your original problem. I find vieo problems hard to diagnose. That's because the whole stack is complex and non-intuitive. Several layers are willing to lie to others. But, it might be worth a shot figuring out your problem. We all might learn something. What *exactly* do you mean by flickering? Do both screens flicker at the same time? What loads cause flickering to happen? Do they only flicker when you are loading both down? If you force the monitors to a reduced resolution does the flicker go away? Why do I ask? - I hypothesize that some flickering is caused by a small mismatch between refresh rates (eg. 59.5 hz vs 60). I don't know this for sure. Some video cards have fewer clocks to drive outputs than outputs. This forces some monitors to use the same clock. - some kinds might reflect a bandwidth limitation between the frame buffer and the video port. This has nothing to do with how many compute units the GPU has. - some kinds might reflect a lack of power in the compute capabilities or the built in CODECs. --- Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
Sorry, just saw this buried under a whole bunch of crap. Thanks for the offer of help. Here is the config. Once ran Linux and was driving me crazy, now runs Windows. The monitors: Two identical 28" Samsung 4K monitors (model U28E590D), mounted vertically. The video card has one DVI, one Displayport (connected to the right screen) and one HDMI (connected to the left screen). When the system boots up (ie, the motherboard logo and "press DEL for setup") that shows up on the right screen only. OS Login right screen only. Once logged in the second screen comes alive, configured side by side such that the wallpaper is scaled to fit both screens so it looks like one screen (except for the bezel).. I can scale a window across both screens. So far, all driver settings are on default. The Windows app for the Radeon has many settings I don't understand. What *exactly* do you mean by flickering?
The right (displayport) monitor is solid and reliable. The left (HDMI) screen will (randomly to me) do one of a few things: 1. Go off (the monitor reports lost signal) and back on after about 1-2 seconds. 2. Go off (no signal) for 3-4 seconds and then back on, briefly to flat green or static and then normal. Frequency appears random, averaging about 5-10 per hour, slightly more frequent if I am watching video (either youtube on a browser or VLC locally). Scenario 1 above (just blank) happens far more frequently than #2, but #2 happens enough to be noticeable.In the time it's taken me to write this I've had three of #1 and one of #2 I've tried different cables, no difference.
What loads cause flickering to happen?
It will happen when I'm not doing anything. I've just now run a not-too-taxing game using Steam (pinball) on each screen, no difference. If you force the monitors to a reduced resolution does the flicker go away?
TBH, haven't tried that. Is any of this helpful? - Evan
Here's another good test: reverse the monitors. Does the flicker follow the monitor or stay in the same position? Get BlueMail for Android -------- Original Message -------- From: Evan Leibovitch via talk <talk@gtalug.org> Sent: Sat Apr 03 16:54:31 EDT 2021 To: "D. Hugh Redelmeier" <hugh@mimosa.com> Cc: Evan Leibovitch <evan@telly.org>, Evan Leibovitch via talk <talk@gtalug.org> Subject: Re: [GTALUG] flickering [was Has the graphics-card world gone mad?] Sorry, just saw this buried under a whole bunch of crap. Thanks for the offer of help. Here is the config. Once ran Linux and was driving me crazy, now runs Windows. The monitors: Two identical 28" Samsung 4K monitors (model U28E590D), mounted vertically. The video card has one DVI, one Displayport (connected to the right screen) and one HDMI (connected to the left screen). When the system boots up (ie, the motherboard logo and "press DEL for setup") that shows up on the right screen only. OS Login right screen only. Once logged in the second screen comes alive, configured side by side such that the wallpaper is scaled to fit both screens so it looks like one screen (except for the bezel).. I can scale a window across both screens. So far, all driver settings are on default. The Windows app for the Radeon has many settings I don't understand. What *exactly* do you mean by flickering?
The right (displayport) monitor is solid and reliable. The left (HDMI) screen will (randomly to me) do one of a few things: 1. Go off (the monitor reports lost signal) and back on after about 1-2 seconds. 2. Go off (no signal) for 3-4 seconds and then back on, briefly to flat green or static and then normal. Frequency appears random, averaging about 5-10 per hour, slightly more frequent if I am watching video (either youtube on a browser or VLC locally). Scenario 1 above (just blank) happens far more frequently than #2, but #2 happens enough to be noticeable.In the time it's taken me to write this I've had three of #1 and one of #2 I've tried different cables, no difference.
What loads cause flickering to happen?
It will happen when I'm not doing anything. I've just now run a not-too-taxing game using Steam (pinball) on each screen, no difference. If you force the monitors to a reduced resolution does the flicker go away?
TBH, haven't tried that. Is any of this helpful? - Evan ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
| From: Evan Leibovitch via talk <talk@gtalug.org> Thanks for the more complete information. What the exact brand and model of your Radeon RX 550? Are you sure that the HDMI port conforms to HDMI 2.x? Remember that I'm not an expert. Jose Dias' experiment seems worthwhile. | The left (HDMI) screen will (randomly to me) do one of a few things: | | 1. Go off (the monitor reports lost signal) and back on after about 1-2 | seconds. | | 2. Go off (no signal) for 3-4 seconds and then back on, briefly to flat | green or static and then normal. I would perhaps call that briefly blanking out. There is probably an accepted term for this but I don't of know one. I doubt that that symptom has anything to do with the compute power of the GPU. It "feels" more like the monitor has been unhappy with something about the signal itself. Some video cards have fewer clocks than outputs. Some outputs were required to share clocks. This could cause mysterious problems. I have no idea if that is the case here. Are you sure that HDMI is driving your left monitor at UltraHD resolution at 60Hz? | I've tried different cables, no difference. That would have been my first suggestion. I once had a mysterious problem fixed by a new HDMI cable. HDMI is complicated and made more so by papering over the complexity. As HDMI bandwiths increase, more marginal cables fail. Are any problems logged by the system about the time of these events? (The few times that I've tried to understand a Windows log have been very unpleasant and not at all useful.) Experiment: shut down the system, disconnect the right screen, and reboot. Does it flicker? Experiment: switch to mirroring (where each display shows the same thing). Does it flicker? Experiment: try running both monitors at a slower refresh rate. Does it flicker? Experiments: try running the monitors at a different refresh rates (if that's possible). Left slower than right. Also left faster than right. Experiments: try the same set of experiments, this time varying the resolution rather than the refresh rate.
On Sun, Apr 4, 2021 at 10:26 AM D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:
| From: Evan Leibovitch via talk <talk@gtalug.org>
Thanks for the more complete information.
What the exact brand and model of your Radeon RX 550? Are you sure that the HDMI port conforms to HDMI 2.x?
Remember that I'm not an expert.
Jose Dias' experiment seems worthwhile.
| The left (HDMI) screen will (randomly to me) do one of a few things: | | 1. Go off (the monitor reports lost signal) and back on after about 1-2 | seconds. | | 2. Go off (no signal) for 3-4 seconds and then back on, briefly to flat | green or static and then normal.
I would perhaps call that briefly blanking out. There is probably an accepted term for this but I don't of know one.
Screen blanking is a feature of dpms, could try turning it off for the monitor.
I doubt that that symptom has anything to do with the compute power of the GPU. It "feels" more like the monitor has been unhappy with something about the signal itself.
I ran into similar problems with a dual monitor setting up IOMMU / Vt-d on intel. Blanking the primary boot screen and no display on the other on boot up.
Some video cards have fewer clocks than outputs. Some outputs were required to share clocks. This could cause mysterious problems. I have no idea if that is the case here.
Are you sure that HDMI is driving your left monitor at UltraHD resolution at 60Hz?
| I've tried different cables, no difference.
That would have been my first suggestion. I once had a mysterious problem fixed by a new HDMI cable. HDMI is complicated and made more so by papering over the complexity. As HDMI bandwiths increase, more marginal cables fail.
Are any problems logged by the system about the time of these events? (The few times that I've tried to understand a Windows log have been very unpleasant and not at all useful.)
Experiment: shut down the system, disconnect the right screen, and reboot. Does it flicker?
Experiment: switch to mirroring (where each display shows the same thing). Does it flicker?
Experiment: try running both monitors at a slower refresh rate. Does it flicker?
Experiments: try running the monitors at a different refresh rates (if that's possible). Left slower than right. Also left faster than right.
Experiments: try the same set of experiments, this time varying the resolution rather than the refresh rate. --- Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
-- Russell
participants (6)
-
Alvin Starr -
D. Hugh Redelmeier -
Evan Leibovitch -
Jose Dias -
Russell Reiter -
steve＠linuxsuite.org