G-Sync Crashes Whole PC

[Referi Jerator]

SECOND AND FINAL UPDATE:

 

After thorough testing I've confirmed that this is a software issue with Nvidia which is unfortunately beyond our control. I've found only one workaround and that is to turn off "Extend these displays" and use "Show only on X" (X being whatever your G-Sync monitor's number is) while you play games with G-Sync enabled. I've confirmed that this has completely resolved all issues and crashes for me.

 

I know this isn't the solution you were expecting, especially if you use your second monitor to do other things (e.g. read chat messages) while gaming on your primary, but it's better than nothing as at least you don't have to completely unplug your secondary monitor(s) and can continue to use it as long as you don't run games. Multi-monitor G-Sync will only crash with games running, so you don't need to constantly turn G-Sync off and on while you're doing anything else (e.g. browsing or working). You'll only need to disable display extension while gaming.

 

This solution is mostly aimed at people who use their G-Sync display as their main monitor and primarily for gaming, and only use their secondary monitor(s) for work (for example: if you are an artist and have a pen display connected).

 

Of course, you can always just disable G-Sync altogether and use all your screens as you like without issues, and if you play competitive games (e.g. Valorant), it's recommended that you do turn it off to reduce latency.

 

I hope this thread has helped some of you. Merry Christmas to all and a happy new year.

 

UPDATE FOR ALL G-SYNC MONITOR OWNERS EXPERIENCING THIS ISSUE (READ THE DETAILED LETTER BELOW THE UPDATE):
 

I've made a discovery after many tests. For currently unknown reasons, it was having G-Sync enabled with a second non-G-Sync monitor plugged in at the same time that caused the random Windows 10 crashes/freezes.

 

I am still running further tests to figure out why G-Sync was exclusively causing this with a second monitor plugged in, but if you are having the same issue make sure you have ONLY the G-Sync display plugged in and no other monitor. This should solve any crashing/freezing issues (no guarantees of course, issues vary).

 

It seems this is not a new issue with Nvidia, as I found similar threads for other monitors and PC specs from a few years ago, but they were using G-Sync compatible monitors. Well, seems this issue can apparently appear in native G-Sync as well. I will update this thread again when/if I have further news and/or a solution (so other monitors can be plugged in at the same time too).
-----------

 

Hello,

 

I recently purchased a new monitor, the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM. It's running at 1440p 240Hz and has a native Nvidia G-Sync module. My GPU is ASUS' GTX 1080 Ti Strix OC. Nothing is overclocked. When G-Sync is on, the PC will randomly freeze forever during games until I hard-restart it via the reset button on the case. Here is how the crash proceeds:

 

1. Game image will freeze entirely and permanently.
2. Keyboard and mouse will lose signal and no longer function at all (keyboard caps lock etc. will not register either, so no LEDs). These two will maintain their electricity but if the keyboard is unplugged and replugged during the freeze, it will not get its power back. The mouse will. Though still nothing functions.
3. Sound will keep playing in the background for about one minute but will gradually lose volume until it finally gets distorted and also gets cut off completely.
4. At this point everything is nonoperational.

 

Important notes:

 

1. The PC does not, ever, restart on its own, regardless of how long I wait. If I don't use the reset button to restart the system, it will stay frozen like that forever. In this frozen state, the PC's hardware continues to work normally. There is no throttling or fans stopping or speeding up, everything carries on as usual. Since this is not registered as a crash/bluescreen by Windows, but just an unexpected manual restart, there is zero info on what failed prior to the freeze.
2. If during the freeze the PG279QM is turned off and back on, it will turn on with extremely low brightness and no image (the previous game image that froze will be gone). I will still be able to open the OSD but see it just barely due to the low brightness. However, it will retain all of its settings, as the OSD will still show 1440p 240Hz and G-Sync (the LED on the monitor will also remain red indicating G-Sync is on). Note that the settings include the brightness. The monitor does not drop its setting to low brightness, it becomes dark with the normal brightness setting still there. However, if the PG279QM is unplugged from the GPU and then replugged, just like the keyboard, it will no longer receive signal at all, stating that no input was detected, at which point the brightness of the monitor returns to normal. So whatever causes the darkening specifically at least must come from a massive GPU driver crash.
3. I also have a second monitor connected which is a 1440p 60Hz non-G-Sync one. Unlike the PG279QM, during the freeze, this monitor will retain its brightness even if it's turned off/on and/or replugged, as well as whatever image it was displaying before the freeze. This monitor will not lose signal no matter what. Nevertheless, it also stays frozen.
4. I've used various Nvidia drivers, currently using the latest ones along with Windows 10 64-bit fully updated. If this is somehow a driver issue, it has not been looked into by Nvidia in the past 5 GPU drivers now.
5. This bizarre freeze happens exclusively with G-Sync on and always with a game running. Especially if the game dips to 30 FPS (e.g. cutscenes, pause menus capped by the developers etc.). There has never been a crash with G-Sync off.
6. The G-Sync freeze has almost always happened when a game was either paused or going through a loading screen at a capped 30 FPS.
7. I've run many troubleshooting tests. The PC always runs cool even under 100% load for extended periods of time and passes all tests without errors.
8. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is completely random and therefore impossible to recreate and troubleshoot. It could crash within an hour or go without a crash for days.

 

Does anyone have any idea what might be happening? The monitor is brand new and appears to be working flawlessly. I also ran extensive stress tests on my PC to ensure the GPU isn't failing and got no issues. Is this perhaps a problem with Windows 10? I have not tried Windows 11 with G-Sync in games yet.

After looking around online I also found the possibility that perhaps my PSU is failing. I had a 1080p 60Hz monitor before the PG279QM so it's possible that my PSU can't keep up with the massive specs upgrade.

 

Any insight is welcome.

 

Thank you for your time.

[Referi Jerator]

Still looking for help with this.

[Referi Jerator]

I still need help please.

[Mark Kaine]

i would suggest to rma the monitor, because something obviously seems wrong (also it sounds like the monitor is freezing,  not the pc, possibly) 

[Referi Jerator]

On 11/26/2022 at 3:23 PM, Mark Kaine said:

i would suggest to rma the monitor, because something obviously seems wrong (also it sounds like the monitor is freezing,  not the pc, possibly) 

Hi. As I mentioned, everything freezes. All peripherals stop working and eventually the sound from the speakers/headphones also goes away. Therefore, I don't believe this is a problem with the monitor specifically. Obviously Windows 10 stops functioning entirely and stops sending a signal to all connected devices. Question is why only with G-Sync enabled.

 

It's possible that it's a bug with either Nvidia or Microsoft and G-Sync is crashing Windows 10. It's also possible that my PSU is faulty and can't deal with the fluctuations in power when G-Sync is on. It's even possible that my second monitor was causing this as other people with other monitors reported a similar issue with G-Sync failing if a second monitor is plugged in a while ago.

 

I'm still testing everything but I'm looking for feedback from other people who have had a similar experience.

[Mark Kaine]

4 minutes ago, Referi Jerator said:

All peripherals stop working

ah, ok i missed that, sorry. I'd agree then it's unlikely the monitor  - still suspicious. 

if you could try another gsync montitor that would help confirm this... i mean apparently its something with gsync causing the issues.

 

 

7 minutes ago, Referi Jerator said:

It's possible that it's a bug with either Nvidia or Microsoft and G-Sync is crashing Windows 10. It's also possible that my PSU is faulty and can't deal with the fluctuations in power when G-Sync is on. It's even possible that my second monitor was causing this as other people with other monitors reported a similar issue with G-Sync failing if a second monitor is plugged in a while ago.

yeah, that all seems possible also.

 

 

maybe try DDU and an older driver (from a year ago or so) personally i haven't heard of this specific gsync issue yet, so i can't help much more, sorry and good luck tho!

[Referi Jerator]

On 11/26/2022 at 7:07 PM, Mark Kaine said:

ah, ok i missed that, sorry. I'd agree then it's unlikely the monitor  - still suspicious. 

if you could try another gsync montitor that would help confirm this... i mean apparently its something with gsync causing the issues.

 

 

yeah, that all seems possible also.

 

 

maybe try DDU and an older driver (from a year ago or so) personally i haven't heard of this specific gsync issue yet, so i can't help much more, sorry and good luck tho!

Yeah, it couldn't be the monitor specifically because this only happens with G-Sync on and suspiciously only when a game is running during pause screens/loading screens, plus the crash is only software level aka only Windows freezes, because the PC continues to work normally in the background (fans spinning normally, all RGBs continue to work etc.). Also this particular PG279QM I received was a total panel lottery win. No backlight bleed, only slight IPS glow, perfect uniformity and no defective pixels.

 

It's essentially a perfect sample. So RMAing this would not be ideal - in fact, it would be a tragedy, especially considering that it's very rarely in stock (my order took a month to arrive) so even getting a replacement would be quite troublesome. Besides, even if I were to send it to ASUS for at least a technical check just in case, they would not be able to test it because like I said this issue is totally random and can't be recreated at will. Especially if it's an issue with my hardware/software (which is the most likely case).

 

However, I also can't blame my GPU because the other people who had crashing issues with adaptive sync enabled were Samsung G9 owners with 3000 series Nvidia GPUs. So it's more likely that this is a driver bug rather than a hardware thing.

 

I am currently testing it without the second monitor plugged in and no crashes so far with G-Sync on, but it's still too early to tell. I will update this thread accordingly whether it crashes again or not.

 

In the meantime, if anyone has any insights to share, please do.

 

Thank you.

[Referi Jerator]

Added an important update to the original post regarding the matter. All G-Sync monitor owners, both compatible and native, should read it if you are experiencing similar issues.

[Mark Kaine]

On 11/25/2022 at 12:04 AM, Referi Jerator said:

but if you are having the same issue make sure you have ONLY the G-Sync display plugged in and no other monitor

yeah, we knew that since years that dual monitor is messed up with nv drivers, no offense,  just saying. this also isn't exclusive to gsync (which is also broken in more than one way btw) just because it appears to be exclusive to gsync for you.

 

dual monitor support is broken, period.

 

also nv will never fix it (they had *years* to fix this common,  well known issue after all)

 

i hope your post helps some people,  but it's *not* the revelation that you make it out to be,  nor is it entirely correct.  

 

+1 for the nVIDIA green... 

 

-1 for the font size and lack of enter key 

 

we at = 0

[Referi Jerator]

44 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

yeah, we knew that since years that dual monitor is messed up with nv drivers, no offense,  just saying. this also isn't exclusive to gsync (which is also broken in more than one way btw) just because it appears to be exclusive to gsync for you.

 

dual monitor support is broken, period.

 

also nv will never fix it (they had *years* to fix this common,  well known issue after all)

 

i hope your post helps some people,  but it's *not* the revelation that you make it out to be,  nor is it entirely correct.  

 

+1 for the nVIDIA green... 

 

-1 for the font size and lack of enter key 

 

we at = 0

Hello again Mark,

 

I see. Thank you for the information that this isn't exclusive to G-Sync, but I never said that it is exclusive to it. I assume that's what you meant by my post not being entirely correct. I only said that to me it only happens when G-Sync is enabled with a second monitor plugged in and that it might help other people with similar issues too.

 

Also, I didn't mean to make this update appear as a revelation at all. I only highlighted it in big letters so that people will see it immediately. It's just a discovery I made for my own specs and through my own testing. It's also a new post, so people will know that it's still a thing in 2022 as opposed to having doubts about threads from years ago. Especially people who don't have prior knowledge of the issue like you do. People with the same specs as mine will also have this post to help them check some boxes off their troubleshooting list.

 

Alas, like you said, Nvidia hasn't done anything after so long so they are unlikely to fix anything now.

 

And, also no offense, but if you already knew about the G-Sync dual monitor issue "since years" you could have suggested unplugging my second monitor the first time. All the other info I found on the net was indeed from years ago but only for G-Sync Compatible monitors, which are notorious for having issues. Mine is a Native G-Sync one, but clearly it doesn't matter. Seems Nvidia doesn't care either way.

 

I am glad that you noticed my Nvidia green detail though, hehehe. I made the size big and the format like that so that it was more concentrated, but I've edited the format a bit now. I was going to make some adjustments anyway so that it's not so rough on the eyes since I also thought it looked bad. As you can tell, I, too, am an Enter key enthusiast. Gimme that additional +1.

 

P.S: Just out of curiosity, what other factors besides G-Sync have contributed to other people experiencing issues with dual monitor setups? Are you referring to only Nvidia or Windows as well?

 

 

[Mark Kaine]

12 minutes ago, Referi Jerator said:

And, also no offense, but if you already knew about the G-Sync dual monitor issue "since years" you could have suggested unplugging my second monitor the first time.

well, tbh, i usually do that, but then people will say they need 2 or more monitors,  so I probably just didn't think of saying it, sorry.

 

12 minutes ago, Referi Jerator said:

Thank you for the information that this isn't exclusive to G-Sync, but I never said that it is exclusive to it.

it sounded like it to me... anyways as said hopefully this is useful information for some,  this gsync specific issue also isnt something you hear a lot about... but the thing is there's all kinds of issues with dual etc monitors so it's sometimes difficult to single one out.

 

12 minutes ago, Referi Jerator said:

Are you referring to only Nvidia or Windows as well?

that is unclear if its a nvidia or windows issue, or both,  it probably also depends on the feature that's causing it, hdr can also get messed up for example... and generally we're talking about all sorts of graphical glitches that often magically disappear once a single monitor is used. (and i also don't know how widespread this is on amd gpu setups tbh, which would be interesting...)

 

generally people seem to have the least issues when they're using 2 or more of the exact same monitors (which makes sense)

[Cyberat]

When you enable G-Sync on a monitor, it enables G-Sync in your drivers correspondingly.

Now the Drivers apply G-Sync on all connected monitors, regardless of capability.

Works as designed, USER ERROR, nothing broken.

 

[Referi Jerator]

On 12/6/2022 at 6:22 AM, Cyberat said:

When you enable G-Sync on a monitor, it enables G-Sync in your drivers correspondingly.

Now the Drivers apply G-Sync on all connected monitors, regardless of capability.

Works as designed, USER ERROR, nothing broken.

 

I suppose you are being sarcastic with the user error stuff but the first part of your message might be a possible explanation. Because during my tests I also tried powering off my second monitor and Windows still crashed with G-Sync on, indicating that the drivers were potentially forcing G-Sync on the second non-G-Sync capable monitor even though it was powered off, and even though Nvidia's control panel states that only the primary G-Sync capable screen has G-Sync enabled.

 

The total randomness of the crashes, however, complicates matters. It's also unknown why it leads to a total Windows crash as opposed to only crashing Nvidia's drivers and restarting them.

 

You should also keep in mind that people have reported having such issues even if all of their connected monitors are G-Sync capable. This may indicate that the issue lies with Windows' or Nvidia's multi-monitor feature's support of G-Sync rather than G-Sync capability mix-matches specifically.

 

However, I may have found a workaround. It won't work for everyone as specs and issues vary but it may help some people. I am still testing it though so I'm not going to post an update yet. I'll be back once I've confirmed that the G-Sync crashes have in fact ceased.

[Mark Kaine]

Just for the record ive been using a gsync and a non gsync monitor together for a while... no crashes whatsoever.  was gsync dodgy? well yes it was. is gsync dodgy even with just 1 monitor?  well yes it is. but did the pc crash? well no it didn't,  because that somehow doesn't make sense, but i could see it in some rare edge cases.

tldr: i hate gsync,  i hate dual monitors,  lol. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

 

1 hour ago, Referi Jerator said:

However, I may have found a workaround. It won't work for everyone as specs and issues vary but it may help some people. I am still testing it though so I'm not going to post an update yet. I'll be back once I've confirmed that the G-Sync crashes have in fact ceased.

well that could be interesting,  since its really strange gsync crashes your pc... 

[Referi Jerator]

26 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

Just for the record ive been using a gsync and a non gsync monitor together for a while... no crashes whatsoever.  was gsync dodgy? well yes it was. is gsync dodgy even with just 1 monitor?  well yes it is. but did the pc crash? well no it didn't,  because that somehow doesn't make sense, but i could see it in some rare edge cases.

tldr: i hate gsync,  i hate dual monitors,  lol. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

 

well that could be interesting,  since its really strange gsync crashes your pc... 

It's strange, yes, but not unique to me. Like I mentioned in my previous posts, G-Sync crashing Windows with a second monitor plugged in is an issue many other people have faced with entirely different monitors and PC specs. So it seems it's a lottery. You might get crashes or you might not. In your case, you didn't.

[Mark Kaine]

12 minutes ago, Referi Jerator said:

So it seems it's a lottery. You might get crashes or you might not. In your case, you didn't.

yeah it does... im just saying im curious if you found a solution and it could be really useful for others with same or similar problems.  

[Referi Jerator]

3 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

yeah it does... im just saying im curious if you found a solution and it could be really useful for others with same or similar problems.  

By the way, what issues are you experiencing with G-Sync and multi-monitor setups if not crashes/freezes?

[Mark Kaine]

23 minutes ago, Referi Jerator said:

By the way, what issues are you experiencing with G-Sync and multi-monitor setups if not crashes/freezes?

Eh, it simply stopped working randomly,  or if it did work (randomly) it just didn't work well... i had the same issues with a single monitor, but it was way worse with two...

 

i dont use gsync anymore... frankly its too slow... like yes it does something but always *too late* it feels laggy... i just play without, i don't need it anyways i just thought it might make gameplay smoother (it did not) but also depends on the games perhaps (a few games it seemed to work well) 

its just not worth the hassle for me at all, and 120 or even 60fps *locked* feels indefinitely smoother than "gsync" to me.

 

[Referi Jerator]

1 hour ago, Mark Kaine said:

Eh, it simply stopped working randomly,  or if it did work (randomly) it just didn't work well... i had the same issues with a single monitor, but it was way worse with two...

 

i dont use gsync anymore... frankly its too slow... like yes it does something but always *too late* it feels laggy... i just play without, i don't need it anyways i just thought it might make gameplay smoother (it did not) but also depends on the games perhaps (a few games it seemed to work well) 

its just not worth the hassle for me at all, and 120 or even 60fps *locked* feels indefinitely smoother than "gsync" to me.

 

Was all that with a native (Nvidia module) G-Sync monitor or a G-Sync compatible (FreeSync) one?

[Cyberat]

Just because multiple users practice the same mistake, does not nullify that it's User Error.

Freesync is for AMD exclusively, just like G-Sync is for nVidia, exclusively.

0 Problems in 1 monitor setups and identical monitors setups.

[Referi Jerator]

On 12/15/2022 at 2:23 AM, Cyberat said:

Just because multiple users practice the same mistake, does not nullify that it's User Error.

Again, there is no mistake or user error. As Mark also explained, there are software issues with multi-monitor setups and adaptive sync which the consumer has no control over and they've been around for years. This is nothing new.

 

On 12/15/2022 at 2:23 AM, Cyberat said:

Freesync is for AMD exclusively, just like G-Sync is for nVidia, exclusively.

You are talking about GPUs and your wording about AMD is false and can easily mislead other users. While it doesn't work flawlessly or in its full range and capabilities, FreeSync is not exclusive to AMD GPUs. Monitors marketed as "G-Sync Compatible" are AMD FreeSync monitors that can also use Nvidia's G-Sync to some degree if you have an Nvidia card and they've been officially certified as such by Nvidia. In any case, this is unrelated to this thread.

 

On 12/15/2022 at 2:23 AM, Cyberat said:

0 Problems in 1 monitor setups and identical monitors setups.

Okay, are you trolling? This is a troubleshooting thread so please take it seriously.

 

This thread is about multi-monitor adaptive sync setups. Furthermore, it is beyond absurd to expect the user to have two identical monitors in order to combat this matter. The majority of users worldwide have mix-matched multi-monitor setups.

 

Not only taking the cost into consideration if it's a high-end product but space as well, as the circumstances of each individual vary and some setups would simply be impossible just to have identical models, or if you simply need to have a separate screen of different capabilities for your work, or if you just don't want to have two screens of the same size so you can alter their positions accordingly. There are many reasons why demanding identical monitor setups is ridiculous and not a solution in any manner. All of this is self-explanatory.

 

Besides, this isn't even correct as people have been experiencing issues with both single monitor setups and identical multi-monitor setups too, and those issues always involve adaptive sync technologies. Crashes, freezes, stuttering/hiccups, flickering etc. The list of issues people have reported experiencing over the years is long. Overall, multi-monitor adaptive sync setups and adaptive sync in general have issues, this is undeniable. Regardless of sync technology, GPU make, OS or anything really.

 

It's a lottery, and if as you say the driver forces adaptive sync on all connected monitors regardless of capability (which makes no sense as the issues persist even with the secondary monitors powered off) and that causes issues, then you've already admitted that this is indeed a software issue and not the user's fault.

 

You can contact any company's customer support you want, be it GPU or monitor manufacturers, and they will all tell you that issues like these are not intended and should not be occurring regardless of what monitor/GPU setup you have.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Referi Jerator]

Alright everyone, I have reached the end of my testing and have confirmed that this is a software issue with Nvidia, so it seems it's beyond our control to resolve. I've updated the original post with the one and only workaround I've found. It's not a complete solution but it's the most painless one. At least you get to keep everything connected.

 

Unfortunately, at this point there is nothing else I can try and/or test so that's the only "solution" I have for you until Nvidia fix their drivers (don't hold your breath as adaptive sync issues have been around for years).

 

I doubt I'll discover anything new at this stage so this is likely the end of the thread, but of course if you have any insights and/or solutions of your own feel free to post them.

 

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a wonderful new year.

 

Take care and stay safe.

[SansVarnic]

On 12/5/2022 at 10:22 PM, Cyberat said:

When you enable G-Sync on a monitor, it enables G-Sync in your drivers correspondingly.

Now the Drivers apply G-Sync on all connected monitors, regardless of capability.

Works as designed, USER ERROR, nothing broken.

 

That is not always the case otherwise this forum would have no reason to exist if everything worked as designed.

On 12/14/2022 at 6:23 PM, Cyberat said:

Just because multiple users practice the same mistake, does not nullify that it's User Error.

Freesync is for AMD exclusively, just like G-Sync is for nVidia, exclusively.

0 Problems in 1 monitor setups and identical monitors setups.

Citation?

[Middcore]

On 12/14/2022 at 6:23 PM, Cyberat said:

Just because multiple users practice the same mistake, does not nullify that it's User Error.

So are there any other companies which make flawless products, or is just Nvidia stuff that's immaculately conceived?

 

 

On 12/14/2022 at 6:23 PM, Cyberat said:

Freesync is for AMD exclusively, just like G-Sync is for nVidia, exclusively.

This is misinformed, at best based on outdated info. Nvidia caved and started supporting FreeSync several years ago, although they still try to brand it as "G-sync compatible."

[Cyberat]

Whatever I do not find 100% Compatible I mark as Incompatible, regardless of back door deals between Corpos..

Just like mixing CPU & GPU brands in a PC build.

Work as designed, maybe use Adaptive Sync instead of Fast Sync for multiple monitors ?

A guy named Referi-Jerator asking if I am trolling ! Cool, cool, I mean real cold...

User errors don't exist because everyone is pro like refrigerator here...