Hi, I found a program that allows you to overclock your monitor refresh rate a few weeks ago and after weeks of successfully running a 60Hz monitor @ 75Hz I have decided to make a guide on how to do this.
I heard that Nvidia has this function built into their drivers and I have not tested this on integrated Intel GPU's so I can only promise that this works on AMD Cards.
Before we start the guide you will need to download the program, it is called CRU or Custom Resolution Utility.
I have uploaded the program to my Google Drive link here - https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByvG-UAyk_VzRXBKQ05lN2t6WkU/edit?usp=sharing
Note - After completing this guide the program no longer needs to be run and after checking running processes I found that it is infact not running. However I am unsure if it can be deleted without putting your refresh rate back to stock which is why I kept it in my main C: drive directory.
This process will take about 10 minutes, as far as I know it is not dangerous and I have tested it on 4 different monitors without any problems, my 2 main monitors have been running successfully overclocked for many weeks with 0 issues... however if anything goes wrong, I am not responsible :P
Step 1 - Run the program and delete all monitors in the drop down list that don't have "(active)" in their name. When I first started the program I had many duplicates of a single monitor. You should be left with something like this -
(Please note that I am running a dual monitor setup which is why 2 monitors on the list say "(active)".
Step 2 - Click "Add..." below the list of "Detailed Resolutions". A window will open. Change the "Timing" to "Automatic - LCD standard". In the top 2 boxes enter your monitor's resolution, in my case this is 1680 x 1060. This is where we get to increasing the refresh rate. In the bottom box - "Refresh rate:" Enter a Refresh rate that is higher than your stock. In my tests a good first increase is 10Hz which took me to 70Hz from 60Hz.
Step 3 - After adding your first custom refresh rate, repeat the process this time going up in steps of 5Hz. You can have a total of 4 Custom settings which took me up to 80Hz
You now how to restart your computer. Click "OK" to close the program first and then restart.
Step 4 - After restarting your computer Right Click on your desktop and go to "Screen Resolution"
Step 5 - Now go to "Advanced settings" (select the monitor you are editing first if you have multiple monitors), followed by the "Monitor" tab. Now when you go to the drop down list of available refresh rates you should see all the ones you have added. This is where you find what your monitor is capable of.
Increase the refresh rate step by step hitting apply each time. If the increase is successful, everything on your monitor should look as normal (Except you are now running at a higher refresh rate). Increase the refresh rate until after clicking "Apply" your monitor no longer displays anything on the screen, don't panic when this happens, Windows will automatically Revert back to your previous setting in 15 seconds. What might also happen is the image on your monitor might not look right and everything on your screen might become blurred. In this case also wait 15 seconds until Windows reverts back to the previous refresh rate.
In my case 75Hz was successful but after applying 80Hz nothing showed up on my monitor until after 15 seconds it went back to 75Hz. This means that 75Hz is the highest my monitor can go.
Step 6 -
Once you find your monitors limit, open up the Custom Resolution Utility again and delete all the Detailed Resolutions you have created except for the highest one that works correctly for you.
You can then click OK and close all the Windows you have opened. As you do so and drag some windows you should notice that everything is smoother because you have now overclocked your monitor :)
I've taken to answering all those types of calls with a george takei voice.
"save 10% on my heating bill?!!?! OH MYYYY WHAT A SAVINGS!!!!!!"
inevitably all those types of calls get into some sort of sales speech that takes a good minute or 2. I usually pretend to be attentive up till then and get them to repeat that big long sales speech as many times as I can.
after speech "I'm sorry can you repeat that again, my pussy walked onto my lap and I missed out on that OH MYYYYYY"
That video was just supposed to be a casual behind the scenes thing for a HardwareHeaven case review, Turns out it's probably my favorite video I've ever done. Kinda wish I'd taken it more seriously and got some watercooled GPUs in there, and maybe lost the cat ears :)
Most painful thing is two days after making that video the rig had to be completely striped down. :(
That's an epic rig you've built, with a very tidy loop. Nice to see you worked Noctua fans in there too, I had to get red fans in there so they had to go. What I would do for that titan.. lol :)
I was recently looking for much the same spec of monitor, and found this Acer 24" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009422 it's 1920x1080 and LED backlit.
Well I have the regular Asus Orion headset (Only difference between mine and pro is the "Spitfire" sound card) and I love it, very comfortable, great sound, and from what I can tell great build quality. :)