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Rikki · (Last edited: 02-20-2024, 12:56 AM by Rikki)

I'm trying to use a BenQ Zowie XL2411 as a primary (and only) screen for a laptop, yet I can't seem to be able to get it to run at the maximum 120/144hz at native resolution. After playing around with CRU and doing quite a bit of experimenting I've found out a couple of things:

1. The laptop only has an HDMI port.
2. The laptop is always only utilizing the integrated AMD graphics, despite having a dedicated AMD GPU.
3. I have tried using a pure HDMI connection and a DVI to HDMI connection. The DVI one seems to perform worse, has different default resolutions, yet the problem is exactly the same.
4. The monitor's OSD doesn't seem to recognize resolutions above 60hz when connected via pure HDMI (windows does), and when connected via DVI to HDMI it says "Optimum Resolution 1920x1080@120" despite me not being able to increase it to that. Doing it through the DVI will only show a picture untill 67hz, anything above will make the screen black. Running it at 67hz, the OSD says it's running at 1920x1080@120, despite that clearly not being the case.
5. The monitor supposedly only supports 144hz on the DVI port.

What do I do to run this monitor at its full potential? I've been having this dilemma for about a month already. Even tried using an HDMI cable for 40€, I don't think it did anything. Could it be that I need a better DVI to HDMI adapter?

***ToastyX*** · 02-20-2024, 03:45 AM

The XL2411 only supports higher refresh rates with dual-link DVI, but there are no HDMI to dual-link DVI adapters, only single-link.

There is a way to get 120 Hz with a single-link connection, but the monitor will display an "incorrect cable" message. I don't remember if the XL2411 lets you dismiss the message, but if it does, you can get 120 Hz with the HDMI to single-link DVI connection by adding an HDMI data block in the CTA-861 data block, but AMD's driver might ignore it unless you unplug and plug back in the HDMI connection after every restart. If that doesn't work, you might need to patch the driver to allow it: https://www.monitortests.com/forum/Threa...ck-Patcher

If you're able to get it to work that way, then you might be able to make it work without reconnecting or using the patcher by either flashing the new EDID to the monitor, or using an HDMI EDID emulator like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YMS18T7/?tag=mtests-20#ad

There are also HDMI to DisplayPort adapters (not to be confused with the more common DisplayPort to HDMI adapters), and there are DisplayPort to dual-link DVI adapters (the ones that use USB for power), so you might be able to chain the two to get a proper dual-link DVI connection that supports 120 Hz at least, but I can't guarantee there might not be odd handshake problems when using two adapters like that.

Rikki · 02-20-2024, 08:35 PM

(02-20-2024 03:45 AM)ToastyX Wrote: The XL2411 only supports higher refresh rates with dual-link DVI, but there are no HDMI to dual-link DVI adapters, only single-link.

There is a way to get 120 Hz with a single-link connection, but the monitor will display an "incorrect cable" message. I don't remember if the XL2411 lets you dismiss the message, but if it does, you can get 120 Hz with the HDMI to single-link DVI connection by adding an HDMI data block in the CTA-861 data block, but AMD's driver might ignore it unless you unplug and plug back in the HDMI connection after every restart. If that doesn't work, you might need to patch the driver to allow it: https://www.monitortests.com/forum/Threa...ck-Patcher

If you're able to get it to work that way, then you might be able to make it work without reconnecting or using the patcher by either flashing the new EDID to the monitor, or using an HDMI EDID emulator like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YMS18T7/?tag=mtests-20#ad

There are also HDMI to DisplayPort adapters (not to be confused with the more common DisplayPort to HDMI adapters), and there are DisplayPort to dual-link DVI adapters (the ones that use USB for power), so you might be able to chain the two to get a proper dual-link DVI connection that supports 120 Hz at least, but I can't guarantee there might not be odd handshake problems when using two adapters like that.

Thank you very much, will try that out! Might have to switch from laptop to stationary PC if that doesn't work, but at least it's something. Will give relevant info later on what exactly works or if it doesn't work at all so that others can find a solution. Just to confirm, my cable's not gonna get f'd permanently afterwards, right?