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Annoying DVI output problem...

StevieP

StevieP

StevieP

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I've just got hold of a 2nd hand Radeon HD5450 to slot into my dad's PC (long story but had to put his 5450 into my mum's machine!) and I'm having a really annoying problem with the output via DVI!

I can get the card working using HDMI but the monitor my dad is using is a 1440p screen and it seemed a shame not to at least try the higher resolution, which I understand you can only get using DVI.

Anyway, if I plug in the monitor via the DVI port the boot splash screen works fine, the BIOS works fine and the Windows 10 logo works fine too - but when Windows itself boots it flicks to a black screen and a "no signal" message comes up on the monitor!?!? :confused:

This is not strictly true as the very first boot using the DVI cable did work momentarily - it started up on a very low resolution but when I went into the display settings to check to see what resolution I could up it to, it was set on 13xx x xxx (can't quite remember which) and then before I had a chance to try and change anything, black screen! (with Windows still running!)

At first I thought it might be a driver issues so I've installed the appropriate ATI drivers but it's made no difference!

My dad can happily use the HDMI connection but he is then restricted to 1080p and I'd like to at least give him the option of the higher res - anyone got any ideas??
 
I think you may need a dual link dvi cable, basically there is 2 different modes for dvi, and dual link is needed for the higher bandwidth resolutions.

I have high confidence in my answer as I currently use 1440p on DVI and had to buy a dual link cable.
 
chrcoluk said:
I think you may need a dual link dvi cable, basically there is 2 different modes for dvi, and dual link is needed for the higher bandwidth resolutions.

I have high confidence in my answer as I currently use 1440p on DVI and had to buy a dual link cable.
Click to expand...

I did wonder whether there were 2 different cables but it still seems weird to me that it wasn't as if I'd selected a higher resolution and then it went to a black screen - it was working, albeit at a low resolution, and then just decided to not output a signal to the monitor without me trying to change anything!

Surely even a single link DVI cable (and I'm not 100% certain which it is I'm trying to use) should work at the lover resolutions?

*edit* just got my dad to describe the connectors on the cable I was using and it is a single link DVI! (although I still don't understand why I got no output at all!)
 
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So windows is sill set to a low resolution?

Well I would try a dual link cable anyway, I dont think you going to get any other ideas. Plus I am pretty sure it will be needed when you switch to 1440p.

My guess is with the dvi cable in place, windows plug and play sees it as a new display and is auto configuring 1440p which is failing on single link DVI and there is no auto fallback to a lower resolution from the failure.
 
chrcoluk said:
So windows is sill set to a low resolution?

Well I would try a dual link cable anyway, I dont think you going to get any other ideas. Plus I am pretty sure it will be needed when you switch to 1440p.

My guess is with the dvi cable in place, windows plug and play sees it as a new display and is auto configuring 1440p which is failing on single link DVI and there is no auto fallback to a lower resolution from the failure.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the display settings screen has never given me an option of a higher resolution!

I'll leave things as-is for now but try a dual link DVI cable if I get one in the future!

Thanks for the advice
 
Dual Link cable issue is what I was going to say.

What can happen also, it's not just resolution but refresh rate. I have a 1080p monitor that worked on a single link but did not have the correct (highest) refresh rate, was resolved when I used a dual link cable.

So when you say the picture worked initially now won't work, it could have been outputting at say 60Hz, then afterwards the Hz was increased and now the single link DVI does not have the bandwidth.
 
I did wonder if it was a refresh rate issue but again I didn't try and change anything so it's still weird!
 
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