How do you set an ATI Graphics card to use more than 60Hz?

yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,409
39
91
I have a 5770 and a Sony G520 monitor hooked up. I go to the usual place in the display options to change the refresh rates and only 60Hz shows up. I uncheck hide resolutions not supported by monitor, still only 60Hz.

I dig through the CCC and find a monitor configuration and it was check boxed to use EDID info with max res set at 1600x1200 @ 60Hz by default. I unchecked that box and set max res to 2048x1536 @ 200Hz.

I go back to the refresh rate drop down box and it still shows 60Hz only.
I install the monitor drivers... still only 60Hz.

wat do? My eyes are killing me now...
 

Malak

Lifer
Dec 4, 2004
14,696
2
0
I don't think I've ever seen such a mix of outdated and new technology. You seriously need to upgrade your monitor.
 

yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,409
39
91
First of all, 200 Hz is outside of the spec of the monitor at that resolution. It appears the maximum supported refresh rate for your monitor at 2048x1536 is 60Hz.

Your other option is to try 85HZ at lower resolutions.

Looks like it's time to upgrade to an LCD :)
I guess I should've made myself clear that I was trying to run my monitor at 1600x1200 and at a higher refresh than 60Hz.

And I'm very clear about the specs of the monitor, I just set the max resolution to 2048x1536 @ 200Hz so it'll maximize the settings I could use. I could set the max resolution to anything and it won't let me choose more than 60Hz.
I'm running 1600x1200 and trying to use more than 60Hz. The monitor is capable of running 1600x1200 @ 100Hz. It's actually capable of running 2048x1536 @ 85Hz given the 130KHz horizontal scanning rate(130,000/1536=85Hz), but the specs doesn't list it because the video ramdac at the time doesn't support that high without the screen going blurry due to limitation of bandwidth. Plus it ran fine at that res/refresh when I had an nvidia card.

And I'm only using my sony CRT because my 24" Soyo LCD just died on me.
So does anyone have tips on how to trick this ATI card to letting me run higher than 60Hz?
 
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yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,409
39
91
Seriously.. WTF is up with ATI and having utterly retarded issues? They've been having complaints about it being a bitch to get more than 60Hz since a decade ago. You couldn't simply change the refresh you want, you had to go to the control panel to fiddle with the monitor settings before you could set the refresh you want. And now even fiddling with the monitor settings doesn't allow you to change your refresh to the one you want. WTF is ATI thinking with something as fundamental as a refresh rate setting? Even games allow you to change refresh rates without issues.

I hate to bitch about things.. but seriously.. WTF?! This isn't like it's a random issue with some specific game here.. how do they screw up something so basic?
 
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Ben90

Platinum Member
Jun 14, 2009
2,866
3
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And I'm very clear about the specs of the monitor, I just set the max resolution to 2048x1536 @ 200Hz so it'll maximize the settings I could use.

I'm running 1600x1200 and trying to use more than 60Hz. The monitor is capable of running 1600x1200 @ 100Hz. It's actually capable of running 2048x1536 @ 85Hz given the 130KHz horizontal scanning rate(130,000/1536=85Hz), but the specs doesn't list it because the video ramdac at the time doesn't support that high without the screen going blurry due to limitation of bandwidth. Plus it ran fine at that res/refresh when I had an nvidia card.
First off, that method of forcing something higher and having the monitor/card set itself to the max supported shouldn't be possible with proper drivers. When you set something manually like that, your card *should feed the monitor 2048x1536 @ 200 and it should be rejected, displaying nothing. If it auto-negotiates down to a lower frequency then that means it was never being forced in the first place.

Second, no your monitor does not support 2048x1536@85. You forgot to calculate overhead which puts the theoretical max at around 80hz.

Try doing the DALNonStandardModes registry fix. Its less elegant then Nvidia's method, but it gets the job done reasonably well. Also make sure you have at least Cat 10.4 installed. That fixed a whole bunch of the refresh rate issues.
 

yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,409
39
91
First off, that method of forcing something higher and having the monitor/card set itself to the max supported shouldn't be possible with proper drivers. When you set something manually like that, your card *should feed the monitor 2048x1536 @ 200 and it should be rejected, displaying nothing. If it auto-negotiates down to a lower frequency then that means it was never being forced in the first place.

Second, no your monitor does not support 2048x1536@85. You forgot to calculate overhead which puts the theoretical max at around 80hz.

Try doing the DALNonStandardModes registry fix. Its less elegant then Nvidia's method, but it gets the job done reasonably well. Also make sure you have at least Cat 10.4 installed. That fixed a whole bunch of the refresh rate issues.

Thanks I'm going to try the registry hack.

I'm not gonna bicker about 5Hz with you, even though I remember running it fine on my nvidia card at those settings.

Apparently, I wasn't clear about the "max resolution" setting because it seems like you're still misunderstanding what I'm referring to. That's the setting under monitor configuration in the CCC that allows you to specify the maximum settings possible with the monitor. It doesn't mean that you're telling the video card to feed the monitor those settings. You can have the max settings at 2048x1536@200Hz and run your monitor at 640x480@60Hz because max settings has nothing to do with the actual setting. Setting higher max settings should allow you to have the options to feed your monitor higher settings. At least that's how it worked when I used a radeon 9700.

I'm running cat 10.6
 
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Udgnim

Diamond Member
Apr 16, 2008
3,679
122
106
what kind of monitor does Windows identify your monitor as?
 
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Flipped Gazelle

Diamond Member
Sep 5, 2004
6,666
3
81
Do you have the .inf for the monitor?

Edit: n/m, just saw that you said you installed the monitor driver
 
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OCNewbie

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2000
7,596
24
81
Is this Windows 7? If so, I believe you need to do a physical modification to a VGA to DVI adapter. Otherwise you're stuck at 60Hz no matter what, I believe.

I'm pretty sure it's a Win7 limitation/issue, not ATI or Nvidia drivers. I had the same issue with an nVidia GTX 260, but didn't discover the physical hack/mod til after I switched back to XP. Still using/loving my CRT, and still using (but not necessarily loving) XP.
 
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toyota

Lifer
Apr 15, 2001
12,957
1
0
I ran my CRT at 85 refresh rate on the desktop and even in some games on Vista/7 so it should be possible.
 

yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,409
39
91
You should try using ATI Tray Tools , from www.guru3d.com

That will allow for the higher refresh rates when you set it up right. GL

I just downloaded ati tray tools. How do I set it up to let me use higher refresh rates? I tried setting 75Hz in refresh rate override and it did nothing. I don't see any other setting in there to change the refresh rate. :confused:
 

OCNewbie

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2000
7,596
24
81
You never replied to my post asking if you're running Win 7 or not. I'm also using a CRT, but it's by choice. I ran into a similar problem. I wanted to run 1024x768 @ 100hz, but no matter what sort of software/driver tweak I tried, I couldn't get it to work. 75 or 85 Hz was not sufficient for my tastes. From my understanding, the mod outlined in the below link should remove ANY limitations as far as what refresh rate you want to run @ a specific resolution. Just be careful not to go over spec of course.

Take a look at this link - http://nookkin.com/content/allowing-any-screen-resolution-on-vista.php

This is for Vista, but it should apply to Win7 as well. I did some searches on Google, and it's not super easy to find info on this issue.
 

yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,409
39
91
You never replied to my post asking if you're running Win 7 or not. I'm also using a CRT, but it's by choice. I ran into a similar problem. I wanted to run 1024x768 @ 100hz, but no matter what sort of software/driver tweak I tried, I couldn't get it to work. 75 or 85 Hz was not sufficient for my tastes. From my understanding, the mod outlined in the below link should remove ANY limitations as far as what refresh rate you want to run @ a specific resolution. Just be careful not to go over spec of course.

Take a look at this link - http://nookkin.com/content/allowing-any-screen-resolution-on-vista.php

This is for Vista, but it should apply to Win7 as well. I did some searches on Google, and it's not super easy to find info on this issue.

Yeah I'm using win7. I didn't reply since someone else came in and said they ran it fine at higher refresh. But even you got it to run at 85Hz. I can't get it to run above 60Hz at ANY resolution, and 75Hz is sufficient for me.
 

Flipped Gazelle

Diamond Member
Sep 5, 2004
6,666
3
81
I just plugged in an old Gateway 19" CRT, and I was able to adjust the refresh rate to 75 hz. This is such a weird situation.
 

Ben90

Platinum Member
Jun 14, 2009
2,866
3
0
I feel for you astroidea. Windows 7's iron fist over drivers coupled with ATi's unwillingness to develop competent drivers can make this frustrating. There is hope however as I was able to use non standard resolutions with my 4890 and FW900.

Your problem seems to lay within the plug and play EDID. I believe you need to find a way to disable the driver from seeing this. I don't understand why ATi can't seem to figure out some functionality Nvidia has had since my first discrete video card, a 7800GTX in 2005 and probably even before that.
 

Martimus

Diamond Member
Apr 24, 2007
4,490
157
106
I have a 5770 and a Sony G520 monitor hooked up. I go to the usual place in the display options to change the refresh rates and only 60Hz shows up. I uncheck hide resolutions not supported by monitor, still only 60Hz.

I dig through the CCC and find a monitor configuration and it was check boxed to use EDID info with max res set at 1600x1200 @ 60Hz by default. I unchecked that box and set max res to 2048x1536 @ 200Hz.

I go back to the refresh rate drop down box and it still shows 60Hz only.
I install the monitor drivers... still only 60Hz.

wat do? My eyes are killing me now...

I had this problem as well. I am trying to remember how to fix it, but I know it is possible. (I have a Mag V700 which runs at 1600x1200 at 100Hz.)

You need CCC to enable it from what I remember, but there were two options you had to change to get it to work. I might go back and reinstall CCC and figure out the settings when I get home for you.
 

yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,409
39
91
I feel for you astroidea. Windows 7's iron fist over drivers coupled with ATi's unwillingness to develop competent drivers can make this frustrating. There is hope however as I was able to use non standard resolutions with my 4890 and FW900.

Your problem seems to lay within the plug and play EDID. I believe you need to find a way to disable the driver from seeing this. I don't understand why ATi can't seem to figure out some functionality Nvidia has had since my first discrete video card, a 7800GTX in 2005 and probably even before that.

So do I basically need to do that VGA cable pin mod listed above? I do see that in the CCC monitor configuration page, it shows that it doesn't detect the EDID info.
 

yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,409
39
91
WOW I just got the official response from AMD after opening a support ticket with them.

"We understand you're not able to force a higher refresh rate other than 60hz with your CRT monitor and the HD5000 series card.
This is a known issue and our engineers are investigating it. There is no ETA on when an update should be available.
As a workaround, you may consider using 3rd party tools such as PowerStrip, ATI Tray Tools, RivaTuner, etc. to create custom resolutions and refresh rates. Please note that the use of 3rd party tools is not supported by AMD.
Also, we would suggest reporting the issue directly to the Catalyst driver team."