[27'' iiyama ProLite B2712HDS] And low screen refresh rate

English Hardware
1

Hello,

Just recently I’ve bought iiyama ProLite B2712HDS along with my new computer. After installing graphic card drivers ( nvidia ) screen resolution was set automatically to 1920/something. But screen refresh rate stays at 50Hz witch is really low. As I’ve heard the more the better and it should go below 75Hz. Can I force higher refresh rate or should I return this monitor to store? Or maybe I shouldn’t be bothered about it and just use it. What do you think?

p.s.
Link I’ve set under the monitors name may be inaccurate since on online shop page of this monitor isn’t any “-1” suffix.

2

Alright I admit it I’m stupid. I haven’t installed drivers for it. But it doesn’t change the fact that I don’t know how to do it… Here is a link for drivers http://www.iiyama.com/pl_pl/produkty/prolite-b2712hds-1/1762.download

3

I have a similar monitor i.e. an Iiyama Prolite E2209HDS and the gui application Display Preferences displays these apparently selectable combinations of Resolutions and Refresh Rates:

1920x1080, 60Hz, 50Hz
1680x1050, 51Hz
1400x1050, 62Hz, 52Hz
1280x1024, 63Hz, 53Hz
1440x900, 61Hz, 54Hz
1280x960, 55Hz
1152x864, 56Hz
1024x768, 65Hz, 64Hz, 57Hz
896x672, 66Hz
832x624, 67Hz
800x600, 72Hz, 71Hz, 70Hz, 69Hz, 68Hz, 58Hz
640x512, 74Hz, 73Hz
640x480, 79Hz, 78Hz, 77Hz, 76Hz, 75Hz, 59Hz
576x432, 80Hz
512x384, 83Hz, 82Hz, 81Hz
416x312, 84Hz
400x300, 88Hz, 87Hz, 86Hz, 85Hz
320x240, 91Hz, 90Hz, 89Hz

The gui application NVIDIA X Server Settings (X Server Display Configuration - Display tab) displays these apparently selectable combinations of Resolutions and Refresh Rates:

1920x1080, 60Hz
1680x1050, 60Hz
1600x1200, 60Hz
1440x900, 75Hz, 60Hz
1400x1050, 75Hz, 60Hz
1280x1024, 75Hz, 60Hz
1280x960, 60Hz
1152x864, 75Hz
1024x768, 75Hz, 70Hz, 60Hz
896x672, 60Hz (DoubleScan)
832x624, 75Hz
800x600, 65Hz (DoubleScan), 60Hz (DoubleScan), 75Hz, 72Hz, 56Hz
640x512, 75Hz (DoubleScan), 60Hz (DoubleScan)
640x480, 60Hz (DoubleScan), 75Hz, 73Hz
576x432, 75Hz (DoubleScan)
512x384, 75Hz (DoubleScan), 70Hz (DoubleScan), 60Hz (DoubleScan)
416x312, 75Hz (DoubleScan)
400x300, 75Hz (DoubleScan), 72Hz (DoubleScan), 60Hz (DoubleScan), 56Hz (DoubleScan)
320x240, 75Hz (DoubleScan), 73Hz (DoubleScan), 60Hz (DoubleScan)

It appears that full EDID information is sent by my Prolite E2209HDS but it is being interpreted differently by different applications. I therefore stick to the validated the display modes listed in /var/log/xorg.0.log

(II) Dec 05 20:38:37 NVIDIA(0): Validated modes:
(II) Dec 05 20:38:37 NVIDIA(0): “1920x1080”
(II) Dec 05 20:38:37 NVIDIA(0): “1680x1050”
(II) Dec 05 20:38:37 NVIDIA(0): “1400x1050”
(II) Dec 05 20:38:37 NVIDIA(0): “1280x1024”
(II) Dec 05 20:38:37 NVIDIA(0): “1440x900”
(II) Dec 05 20:38:37 NVIDIA(0): “1280x960”
(II) Dec 05 20:38:37 NVIDIA(0): “1152x864”
(II) Dec 05 20:38:37 NVIDIA(0): “1024x768”
(II) Dec 05 20:38:37 NVIDIA(0): “800x600”
(II) Dec 05 20:38:37 NVIDIA(0): “640x480”
(II) Dec 05 20:38:37 NVIDIA(0): Virtual screen size determined to be 1920 x 1080

If you try to set something other than a validated mode, you may be greeted with an “Input Not Supported” error message on a black screen. This happens to me when I use the gui application NVIDIA X Server Settings to try and set 896x672@60Hz (DoubleScan). After a brief delay the display returns to its previous valid mode. Thankfully the E2209HDS and the B2712HDS are protected and simply reject potentially damaging mode setting attempts.

IMO an Iiyama driver is necessary for Windows only.

Also IMO unless you have an extremely fast CPU and graphics you will probably find that at 1920x1080 screen resolution, symptoms of processor overloading can be noticeable in fairly common situations. I have set my default resolution to 1440x900 to lessen this effect. The aforementioned common situations include simple window scrolling and video streaming. Symptoms can include jerkiness and scrolling time lag. This is at its most noticeable when multiple displays and/or multiple windows are in use.

One way to make an alternative resolution permanent is to open a terminal and start up the gui application NVIDIA X Server Settings with superuser privileges by entering one of the following commands:

(if you use KDE)

kdesu nvidia-settings

(if you use Gnome)

gnomesu nvidia-settings

(Superuser privileges will enable you to save the changes permanently.)
Next select X Server Display Configuration then select your main display’s preferred resolution and click on Apply. If this does not result in the “Input Not Supported” error message, then you can click on Save to X Configuration File.

As far as the refresh rate is concerned, here is a quote (with hyperlink to the source)

Some users of a CRT may notice a bit of an annoying flicker, which is an inherent trait based on a CRTs physical components. Today’s graphics cards, however, can provide a high refresh rate signal to the CRT to get rid of this otherwise annoying problem. LCDs are flicker-free and as such the refresh rate isn’t an important issue with LCDs.

I suggest that unless you actually observe a problem symptom you may as well leave the refresh rate in NVIDIA X Server Settings set to Auto.

Terry.

4

Wow. Thanks a lot for covering whole subject I really appreciate it.

Well since refresh rate isn’t that important I will fallow your advice and set it to auto. One thing interests me. When I was experimenting and have set RR to 60Hz in nvidia-settings in system display properties it showed me amount of 120Hz. Do you by any chance know why?

And there is also one thing that bothers me a bit. I’ve changed in apparence settings font, but it haven’t affected some things like Google Chrome tabs or left side list inside nvidia-settings panel. Is it possible to set it somehow cause I simply can’t read it. Text is just to small.

Sebastian

5

Sebastian I don’t know exactly why System Display Properties produced such garbage but it did.

Firstly, your monitor cannot do 120Hz (see the Specifications section of the English or Polish version or of the Prolite B2712HDS manual).

Secondly, my experience is that the hexadecimal representation of the EDID data that I can acquire from within the gui application NVIDIA X Server Settings is the same as is reported in /var/log/Xorg.0.log when I start up the X server in a special (more detailed) logging mode. This agreement suggests to me that NVIDIA X Server Settings is more likely to get things right than System Display Properties. However remember the “Input Not Supported” error that I described in my previous post.

If you wish to verify the above for yourself, carry out the following 2 steps.

Step 1

Start NVIDIA X Server Settings normally and within the GPU0 section click on your Iiyama PLB2712HD device and then on Acquire EDID. Save the binary file (its name will default to edid.bin) in the top level of your user directory so that you can later examine it with a hexadecimal editor such as Okteta or GHex (Gnome) and compare it in Step 2 with the raw EDID data section of the more detailed version of the /etc/log/Xorg.0.log file.

Step 2

Reboot to runlevel 3, e.g.at the boot menu (currently a snow scene) press the “3” key and press enter. Log on as a normal user and then enter the command:

startx -- -logverbose 6

When the desktop has finished loading, open a terminal and archive the current /etc/log/Xorg.0.log file to a copy (in the top level of your current user directory) named Xorg.0.log.copy via the command:

cp /etc/log/Xorg.0.log Xorg.0.log.copy

(Note that when you eventually shut down or reboot you will be asked to enter the root password.)
Open the archived file, Xorg.0.log.copy that you saved in the top level of your user directory with an editor such as Kwrite (KDE) or Gedit (Gnome) and search for the section that looks similar to this:

(--) Dec 06 15:19:29 NVIDIA(0): Raw EDID bytes:
(--) Dec 06 15:19:29 NVIDIA(0): 
(--) Dec 06 15:19:29 NVIDIA(0):   00 ff ff ff ff ff ff 00  26 cd 0b 56 da 03 00 00
(--) Dec 06 15:19:29 NVIDIA(0):   22 14 01 03 68 30 1b 78  2a e6 15 a6 55 49 99 27
(--) Dec 06 15:19:29 NVIDIA(0):   13 50 54 bf ef 00 71 4f  81 40 81 80 95 00 95 0f
(--) Dec 06 15:19:29 NVIDIA(0):   b3 00 01 01 01 01 02 3a  80 18 71 38 2d 40 58 2c
(--) Dec 06 15:19:29 NVIDIA(0):   45 00 de 0d 11 00 00 1e  00 00 00 fd 00 38 4c 1e
(--) Dec 06 15:19:29 NVIDIA(0):   53 11 00 0a 20 20 20 20  20 20 00 00 00 fc 00 50
(--) Dec 06 15:19:29 NVIDIA(0):   4c 32 32 30 39 48 44 0a  20 20 20 20 00 00 00 ff
(--) Dec 06 15:19:29 NVIDIA(0):   00 31 31 30 30 38 4d 30  38 30 30 39 38 36 00 a6
(--) Dec 06 15:19:29 NVIDIA(0): 
(--) Dec 06 15:19:29 NVIDIA(0): --- End of EDID for Iiyama PL2209HD (CRT-0) ---

Now open the edid.bin file you saved from Step 1 using Okteta or Ghex and compare the 128 bytes of data from both sources byte for byte.

(**Okteta "View in Plain Text" export**)
0000:0000 | 00 FF FF FF  FF FF FF 00  26 CD 0B 56  DA 03 00 00  22 14 01 03  68 30 1B 78  2A E6 15 A6  55 49 | .ÿÿÿÿÿÿ.&Í.VÚ..."...h0.x*æ.¦UI
0000:001E | 99 27 13 50  54 BF EF 00  71 4F 81 40  81 80 95 00  95 0F B3 00  01 01 01 01  02 3A 80 18  71 38 | .'.PT¿ï.qO.@......³......:..q8
0000:003C | 2D 40 58 2C  45 00 DE 0D  11 00 00 1E  00 00 00 FD  00 38 4C 1E  53 11 00 0A  20 20 20 20  20 20 | -@X,E.Þ........ý.8L.S...      
0000:005A | 00 00 00 FC  00 50 4C 32  32 30 39 48  44 0A 20 20  20 20 00 00  00 FF 00 31  31 30 30 38  4D 30 | ...ü.PL2209HD.    ...ÿ.11008M0
0000:0078 | 38 30 30 39  38 36 00 A6                                                                         | 800986.¦

…and finally…

I have not personally encountered the problem you describe here. Somebody who has actual experience of this (or some guru) may spot this topic extension and come forward but I suggest that a new post with a dedicated title might be more successful.

Terry.

6

Sebastian,

My apologies. I fear I may have overlooked something.

If you are using openSUSE 11.3 and are booting with KMS active then the default screen mode as set by nvidia-settings (NVIDIA X Server Settings) may be completely ignored when your system is rebooted. To be more precise, it is the “PreferredMode” definition in etc/X11/xorg.conf that is being ignored (I assume that by now you have created or modified the xorg.conf file via Save to X Configuration File in nvidia-settings).

The simplest (temporary) way to prevent the KMS overruling xorg.conf’s “PreferredMode” is to reboot and when the boot menu appears just start typing nomodeset and you will observe that it is being added to the kernel parameter command line. Now press return and when the desktop has loaded, observe whether the default screen mode that you set with nvidia-settings has been implemented. Refer to the earlier KMS hyperlink for information about making this permanent.

If you need to continue using KMS you might experiment with

xrandr --output default --mode 1440x900

…or something similar. I am not sure whether it will be overriden by KMS at reboot (I can’t actually check this for the reasons I have given below).

Once again my apologies. I have 1 system running Windows, 3 running openSUSE 11.2 and a 5th was running openSUSE 11.3. Unfortunately the hard drive on the 11.3 system died suddenly about a week ago and delivery of a replacement has been delayed by snow chaos in the UK. Consequently I have been using openSUSE 11.2 for this thread and with no current access to 11.3, I’m afraid that I forgot to cover 11.3 specific issues.

Terry.