Is it true that 970 GTX can't do higher than 85hz on 2560x1440 monitor?

[Celador]

I bought 2560x1440 144hz G-Sync Dell S2716DG monitor few days ago and so far been unable to use any refresh rates past 85Mhz with my Asus Strix 970GTX. Couple of times i've managed to switch on 144hz by playing with nvidia settings and switching g-sync on and off but i can't replicate it any more and it was unstable anyway - kept flickering and turning itself off upon reboot. On official dell forums a moderator insist that you need at least 980GTX with at least 586Mhz pixel clock (whatever that is) to use 144hz and doesn't know why 100 or 120hz won't work. I do understand that even if i was able to switch it on i won't get stable FPS in games (even getting 60 is kinda hard on that resolution with highest settings) but i am curious if what he said was true.

 

Also coming from a 22 inch NEC TN monitor - i now keep seeing individual pixels and patterns on this monitor when moving in games or playing videos. Is that normal and basically means i should sit further away or something i should be worried about? My old NEC was much more darker and had lower resolution so im thinking it could be the reason i never paid attention to those patterns, but now it's kinda hard to forget about them after seeing them. 

[themctipers]

MHz? you mean hz  

what are you using? HDMI? DP? DVI? 

 

seeing individual pixels is just the nature of having a large monitor with a small resolution. Probably just normal. 

edit: try seeing in your monitor's settings and change the displayport version to 1.2 from 1.1, my monitor has it at 1.1 by default and that only gives me 30hz instead of 60hz at 4k. 

[SimplyChunk]

Go into the nvidia control panel and select 'Change Resolution'  First, in section one, check the display has it's correct model number written underneath it.  If not you need to install display drivers.  Second, check the connector (and note this for later) then make sure the resolution selected has (Native) written beside it.  If not, select your 'Native Resolution'  If so/Now, click the 'Refresh Rate' drop down box then come back and tell us what options you have available

[aisle9]

85 million frames per second, what are you complaining about?!

[SimplyChunk]

1 minute ago, aisle9 said:

85 million frames per second, what are you complaining about?!

lol

[Glenwing]

85 Hz at 2560×1440 is the limit of DisplayPort 1.1. Most likely the monitor needs to be set to DP 1.2 mode in the monitor's menu.

[Snipergod87]

How are you connecting the monitor to the GPU? I assume displayport?  Are you using the DP cable that came with the monitor?

[ShredBird]

I have the exact same monitor and I was able to get it to work just fine with a GTX 970 SLI setup.  They were ASUS Strix 970s as well.

[ARikozuM]

Has 85MHz fps, still sucks at CS:GO. 

[Celador]

I am using displayport connection. With hdmi it wont it even let me select any other settings besides 60hz

 

2 hours ago, YouSirAreADudeSir said:

Go into the nvidia control panel and select 'Change Resolution'  First, in section one, check the display has it's correct model number written underneath it.  If not you need to install display drivers.  Second, check the connector (and note this for later) then make sure the resolution selected has (Native) written beside it.  If not, select your 'Native Resolution'  If so/Now, click the 'Refresh Rate' drop down box then come back and tell us what options you have available

This is how those settings look:

Spoiler

 

1 hour ago, Snipergod87 said:

How are you connecting the monitor to the GPU? I assume displayport?  Are you using the DP cable that came with the monitor?

Yes its displayport cable which came with the monitor. I did read that you can somehow select 1.1 or 1.2 modes for displayports but i have no idea how to do it and never found that setting. I also read that that setting might not actually exist and all cables support highest mode by default.

2 hours ago, themctipers said:

seeing individual pixels is just the nature of having a large monitor with a small resolution. Probably just normal. 

edit: try seeing in your monitor's settings and change the displayport version to 1.2 from 1.1, my monitor has it at 1.1 by default and that only gives me 30hz instead of 60hz at 4k. 

27 inch monitor is too big for 2560x1440 resolution? I mean i had 22 inch monitor with 1680x1050 and i guess if im literally an inch away from the monitor i can barely notice some pixels in moving images but on this its pretty noticeable. Does that mean that with 4k 27 inch monitor it would be less noticeable?

[themctipers]

6 minutes ago, Celador said:

I am using displayport connection. With hdmi it wont it even let me select any other settings besides 60hz

 

This is how those settings look:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Yes its displayport cable which came with the monitor. I did read that you can somehow select 1.1 or 1.2 modes for displayports but i have no idea how to do it and never found that setting. I also read that that setting might not actually exist and all cables support highest mode by default.

27 inch monitor is too big for 2560x1440 resolution? I mean i had 22 inch monitor with 1680x1050 and i guess if im literally an inch away from the monitor i can barely notice some pixels in moving images but on this its pretty noticeable. Does that mean that with 4k 27 inch monitor it would be less noticeable?

Depends. For me, I know I want more than 4k at 27", as I do have 4k at 27", and it is slightly annoying when pecking out the pixels. I sit very close to my monitor

Now that I have moved over from a 4k 27" to a 4k 40" (150ppi -> 100ppi), and now I have to sit further back from my monitor, I can say that I can't peck out the pixels anymore.

Wouldn't say 27" is too big for 1440p, would be good enough for most people. 

 

That also happens to me I guess, I can't see the pixels on a 15.6" 768p panel but I can on a 27" 4k panel.

[Celador]

3 minutes ago, themctipers said:

Wouldn't say 27" is too big for 1440p, would be good enough for most people. 

 

That also happens to me I guess, I can't see the pixels on a 15.6" 768p panel but I can on a 27" 4k panel.

Well i knew that 970gtx won't cut it for 4k monitor and even 1080 alone would barely be enough for gaming on high settings so it would be pointless. Hence i chose 27 inch one. Im sure ill get to used to seeing those pixels i was simply worried that this isn't a normal behaviour. I don't change monitors often either. Usually only when they break or become way too old.

 

I did confirm that both 970GTX and that monitor got 1.2 displayport, not sure what's the issue then. In monitor on screen settings there isn't even an option to use any other mode or change modes at all. On that particular monitor you can only select between HDMI or DP inputs and switch on ULMB instead of g-sync. Apart from brightness settings - this is everything.

[themctipers]

Just now, Celador said:

Well i knew that 970gtx won't cut it for 4k monitor and even 1080 alone would barely be enough for gaming on high settings so it would be pointless. Hence i chose 27 inch one. Im sure ill get to used to seeing those pixels i was simply worried that this isn't a normal behaviour. I don't change monitors often either. Usually only when they break or become way too old.

 

I did confirm that both 970GTX and that monitor got 1.2 displayport, not sure what's the issue then. In monitor on screen settings there isn't even an option to use any other mode or change modes at all. On that particular monitor you can only select between HDMI or DP inputs and switch on ULMB instead of g-sync. Apart from brightness settings - this is everything.

I'm using a GTX 760 right now..

it works to display the monitor itself. You can play at 4k also, on older games, and with the things turned down low. 

Search around in the manual for any support? Maybe try using the DP cable that was included in the box? I have two DP cables, one that works well with my monitor, and one that doesn't.

[Celador]

20 minutes ago, themctipers said:

I'm using a GTX 760 right now..

it works to display the monitor itself. You can play at 4k also, on older games, and with the things turned down low. 

Search around in the manual for any support? Maybe try using the DP cable that was included in the box? I have two DP cables, one that works well with my monitor, and one that doesn't.

 

I am using the cable that came with the monitor. And read the manual in its entirety. Nothing. Apart from "you have to have at least 980GTX" from a moderator on dell forum i haven't found any other solution so far. I did order another cable which will come tomorrow and just now i found a bios for 970GTX which apparently fixes some issues with displayport. I guess ill try that.

2 hours ago, ShredBird said:

I have the exact same monitor and I was able to get it to work just fine with a GTX 970 SLI setup.  They were ASUS Strix 970s as well.

Did you do anything else besides using sli?

 

Well updating gpu bios didn't do anything. I did find a lot of threads about being unable to run 144Hz on that dell monitor though. And its always 970, 960 or lower gpu's. I guess i do need at least 1070 or higher then.

[ShredBird]

2 hours ago, Celador said:

 

I am using the cable that came with the monitor. And read the manual in its entirety. Nothing. Apart from "you have to have at least 980GTX" from a moderator on dell forum i haven't found any other solution so far. I did order another cable which will come tomorrow and just now i found a bios for 970GTX which apparently fixes some issues with displayport. I guess ill try that.

Did you do anything else besides using sli?

 

Well updating gpu bios didn't do anything. I did find a lot of threads about being unable to run 144Hz on that dell monitor though. And its always 970, 960 or lower gpu's. I guess i do need at least 1070 or higher then.

While owning this monitor, the Windows Creator update broke my SLI setup and so I took one of my cards out.  I can confirm that it worked with a single ASUS Strix GTX 970.  Have you tried installing Dell's driver for the monitor?  It shouldn't be necessary, but it may expose more resolutions / refresh rates if the generic driver isn't working out.

I didn't have any issues getting G-Sync working with my GTX 970 at all, I didn't take any extra steps, just worked out of the box.  SLI or not.

Also, you're on Windows 10, correct?

[Celador]

Well. Mystery has been solved by a new cable - now it switches to any refresh rate without any issues. Surprisingly switching to higher refresh rate also reduced the second issue of noticing pixels - on 100/120/144 they disappear completely and on 60 i can only notice them by being closer to the monitor. The funniest part is that i bought the only cable i could find which was cheap and said "display protocol 1.0".

 

How can an included cable be defective and only work partially is beyond my understanding.

[SimplyChunk]

Duds can happen man, especially with pack-ins.  Don't sweat it.  I'm sure if you wanted to go through that bother, Dell will send you a replacement cable so you got a spare

[ShredBird]

11 hours ago, Celador said:

Well. Mystery has been solved by a new cable - now it switches to any refresh rate without any issues. Surprisingly switching to higher refresh rate also reduced the second issue of noticing pixels - on 100/120/144 they disappear completely and on 60 i can only notice them by being closer to the monitor. The funniest part is that i bought the only cable i could find which was cheap and said "display protocol 1.0".

 

How can an included cable be defective and only work partially is beyond my understanding.

I also notice weird pixels on my monitor.  Usually in darker areas, weird checkered patterns or banding.  I figured it was the brightness setting being Ill configured.  You're saying your new cable fixed that?  What brand did you buy?  I might buy a spare just to see if it affects my display as well.

[Celador]

21 minutes ago, ShredBird said:

I also notice weird pixels on my monitor.  Usually in darker areas, weird checkered patterns or banding.  I figured it was the brightness setting being Ill configured.  You're saying your new cable fixed that?  What brand did you buy?  I might buy a spare just to see if it affects my display as well.

Some no name brand "cablexpert". The only feature it has are the locks on both ends to secure and unsecure connections.