Force custom refresh rate

Hi. I am very new to the Linux world but after tinkering I finally can play Warframe om steam :slight_smile: the issue I am having is a bit different. My monitor is weird and in windows we boiled it down that we who own this monitor need to go from refresh rate 100hz which is max on monitor to the custom refresh rate of 99. This fixes alot of stuttering. I am unable to force monitor to 99hz in zorin. I use xrandr and trying to create a new mode but when coming to --addmode I get an error. Is it possible to set a refresh rate to anything else than the list of compatible? It is very easy in windows but seems very hard in zorin

Hi and welcome to the forum :slight_smile:
Are you using NVidia or Radeon?

Nvidia GTX 1080. I don't have the exact error here but quick Google and it's similar to this but other values

user@box:~$ xrandr --addmode DVI-D-0 "1920x1080_60.00"
X Error of failed request: BadMatch (invalid parameter attributes)
Major opcode of failed request: 140 (RANDR)
Minor opcode of failed request: 18 (RRAddOutputMode)
Serial number of failed request: 33
Current serial number in output stream

Someone mentiones bad edid and links here

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NVIDIA/Troubleshooting#xrandr_BadMatch

I will ask other members who know NVidia better than myself.
@Michel @Aravisian

What does

xrandr --output DVI-0 --rate 99

Yield?

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This is my xrandr without anything:

Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 3440 x 1440, maximum 32767 x 32767
DVI-D-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-3 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-4 connected primary 3440x1440+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 819mm x 346mm
   3440x1440     59.97 +  99.98*   30.00  
   3840x2160     59.94    50.00    29.97    25.00    23.98  
   2560x1080    100.00    59.94  
   1920x1080     99.90    60.00    59.94    50.00    29.97    25.00    23.98  
   1680x1050     59.95  
   1600x900      60.00  
   1280x1024     75.02    60.02  
   1280x800      59.81  
   1280x720      60.00    59.94    50.00  
   1024x768      75.03    60.00  
   800x600       75.00    60.32  
   720x576       50.00  
   720x480       59.94  
   640x480       75.00    59.94    59.93  
DP-5 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
VGA-1-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-1-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-1-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-1-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-1-3 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-1-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-1-3 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

and doing

xrandr --output DP-4 --rate 99

does nothing

Reading a bit someone says

Ohhhhhh, you don't want to be using the TESTED driver, I had nothing but issues with that driver, not being able to utilize my GPU at all.

Also someone mentioned that something with EDID and newer nvidia drivers are locked. So we manually have to add custom stuff in an EDID? I have no clue what I am talking about :slight_smile:

This is the driver I use

cvt 3440 1440 99

shows

3440x1440 98.93 Hz (CVT) hsync: 151.06 kHz; pclk: 720.25 MHz
Modeline "3440x1440_99.00"  720.25  3440 3728 4104 4768  1440 1443 1453 1527 -hsync +vsync

Yes, the 470 proprietary Tested driver has shown itself to be problematic...

ok, so do I just switch according to image above?

Yes, I recommend doing so. @michel recommends the 495 driver.

I must point out, that I doubt that switching the driver will resolve the immediate issue.

Yup i do, that is because the 495 is the new features branch and 470 is the production branch. All the new stuff in 495.xx are not included yet in 470.xx

Production Branch Production Branch drivers provide ISV certification and optimal stability and performance for Unix customers. This driver is most commonly deployed at enterprises, providing support for the sustained bug fix and security updates commonly required.

New Feature Branch New Feature Branch drivers provide early adopters and bleeding edge developers access to the latest driver features before they are integrated into the Production Branches

Updated the driver and no problem with getting it to work. But I still cannot force to 99Hz. This is how it looks:

patrik@patrik-desktop:~$ xrandr --output DP-4 --rate 99
patrik@patrik-desktop:~$ xrandr --newmode "3440x1440_99.00"  720.25  3440 3728 4104 4768  1440 1443 1453 1527 -hsync +vsync
patrik@patrik-desktop:~$ xrandr --addmode DP-4 3440x1440_99.00
X Error of failed request:  BadMatch (invalid parameter attributes)
  Major opcode of failed request:  140 (RANDR)
  Minor opcode of failed request:  18 (RRAddOutputMode)
  Serial number of failed request:  66
  Current serial number in output stream:  67

I saved a xorg.conf inside nvidia settings and it looks like this:

Section "Monitor"
    # HorizSync source: edid, VertRefresh source: edid
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "BenQ EX3501R"
    HorizSync       155.0 - 155.0
    VertRefresh     48.0 - 100.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "Stereo" "0"
    Option         "nvidiaXineramaInfoOrder" "DFP-6"
    Option         "metamodes" "3440x1440_100 +0+0"
    Option         "SLI" "Off"
    Option         "MultiGPU" "Off"
    Option         "BaseMosaic" "off"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

I read somewhere on the nvidia forum a user had this issue too and got fixed using some commands. I have to dig into this for you.

Thanks, I am guessing that it's locked in some way and need to be forced via other commands or in a file. Looking a bit myself

Something like this:

Another reason could be that per default current NVidia drivers will only allow modes explicitly reported by EDID; but sometimes refresh rates and/or resolutions are desired which are not reported by the monitor (although the EDID information is correct; it's just that current NVidia drivers are too restrictive).

If this happens, you may want to add an option to xorg.conf to allow non-EDID modes:

Section "Device"
Identifier "Device0"
Driver "nvidia"
VendorName "NVIDIA Corporation"
...
Option "ModeValidation" "AllowNonEdidModes"
...
EndSection

This can be set per-output. See NVidia driver readme (Appendix B. X Config Options) for more information.

But I also see my xorg.conf is read-only. I don't know if I am supposed to just open it and change settings

Also, beware of the XY problem.
It may seem that setting the refresh rate to 99 has worked, but that may not be the fix either.
Let's remember that the actual issue you are trying to fix is Stuttering on the Monitor.

I am just thinking this is the problem as it was solved that way in windows. Other users with same monitor gave this "hack" and it made so much difference

They are talking about frame skipping at 100Hz

Checking this link it might not actually be a problem any longer. I just perhaps was stuck on the info regarding 99Hz. But still an interesting experiment to be able to force to 99Hz if I wanted to

Why not use a supported lower frequency? 72 or 60. Unless you are gaming or editing graphics/ movies this week not have a huge impact on your experience.

Using an unrecommended frequency can damage the screen (though your card supports it your screen does not) and reduce the lifespan of your screen.

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It's for gaming :slight_smile: Just tried turning g-sync on in settings and tested rocket league and it feels smoooth at 100Hz, so I guess I was looking for a problem that was not there.

I have ran 99Hz on windows on this monitor for over 1.5 years and was only better.

But I think I will keep current settings and let the system do it's job. Thanks alot for taking the time and hopefully something here is informative for others :slight_smile:

I'm glad it's something you aren't going to have to force. For future reference, though certain settings can work fine for long periods, unsupported refresh rates can cause screen burn in, operation at higher temperatures, even lcd/led failure (per pixel, portions of the screen and complete screen failure). I would be cautious of forcing configurations that aren't supported by your hardware.

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