Confused about what Graphics card I have...

[domino66]

I'm troubleshooting an issue where my new 4K monitor only displays at 30Hz (at the 4K resolution), and hence has terrible lag; I've been told to make sure my graphics card can support the 4K resolution, but here's where I'm getting confused: I bought this relatively advanced ASUS laptop whose specs say "Graphics Coprocessor: Nvidia GTX 960M 2G". And in the Device Manager for Display Adapters, I see 2 entries: (1) Intel HD Graphics 530 and (2) GeForce GTX 960M.

BUT in the W10 Diagnostics tool (and in the W10 Display Properties settings), it seems to be telling me that the graphics for the monitor are being run through the HD Graphics 530 adapter(?). Or am I misunderstanding how this works. I just want to be sure that:
(a) my laptop shipped with the graphics card the specs said it had (On previous laptops, the "Adapter Type" field would display my Graphics Card, but this one just says "Intel HD Graphics 530", which is just the crappy integrated base version, right?); and
(b) that the graphics card is properly configured(?)...

 

[Barty1884]

A laptop (generally) will auto-switch between the HD530 and 960M, depending on what's required.

What you're seeing noted is what's currently being used (I believe). Desktop etc, will use onboard HD530.

 

[domino66]

@Barty1884: what do you mean "what you're seeing noted"? Are you saying that my laptop is indeed NOT using the souped-up Nvidia GTX 960M for the 4K monitor? Isn't that...problematic / could it be the reason I can't get it to run at 60hz (only 30hz, which is basically unusable even for basic tasks; terrible lag)

 

[BadAsAl]

Do you have power cord plugged into the laptop when you are trying to run 4K?

 

[domino66]

Yes.

 

[Barty1884]

I mean, I assume your laptop isn't requiring the power of the 960M at the time you took screenshots.
It's using HD530, so that's what it's detecting. You should be able to force it to use the GPU.

The 960M is only HDMI 1.4...... so 4K @ 30Hz is the best you can do.
4K @ 60Hz is only supported (via HDMI) from v2.0
See the table about 3/4 of the way down the page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI


Is your laptop equipped with DispalyPort? I assume you can take the Thunderbolt III to Displayport 1.2.
The desktop class 960 had DP1.2, so I assume the 960M does also.
DP1.2 can achieve 4K @ 60Hz (and 75Hz FWIW)
See the table about 1/3 of the way down the page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisplayPort

 

[domino66]

I mean, I assume your laptop isn't requiring the power of the 960M at the time you took screenshots.

The 960M is only HDMI 1.4...... so 4K @ 30Hz is the best you can do.
4K @ 60Hz is only supported (via HDMI) from v2.0
See the table about 3/4 of the way down the page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI


Is your laptop equipped with DispalyPort?:
The desktop class 960 had DP1.2, so I assume the 960M does also.
DP1.2 can achieve 4K @ 60Hz (and 75Hz FWIW)
See the table about 1/3 of the way down the page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisplayPort

Thanks for reply -- I've learned a lot today and got most of my answers from another thread I created trying to figure out why I couldn't get 4K @ 60Hz. Turns out only ONE of the Samsung monitor's two HDMI ports was capable of 4K @ 60hz (the other only 30hz)...HOWEVER my Laptop's HDMI port is only v 1.4 so the only way I was able to get 60Hz was by running an HDMI cable from the monitor's 60Hz-capable HDMI port into my laptop's USB Type-C port (using a $20 HDMI>USB-C adapter).

I can't tell whether the 960M is or is not HDMI 2.0 compatible...there seems to be conflicting opinions on that, even though it would seem to be a pretty straight-forward questions. It would certainly be odd if it WERE 2.0-capable but Asus had dropped it into a machine with a port that only does HDMI 1.4...(?)

 

[Barty1884]

The 960M is not 2.0 capable. I'ts 1.4.

 

[dontlistentome]

The 4k outputs you want are a feature of the new Pascal based GPUs, I'm surprised anyone would say the 960m is HDMI 2.0 and not 1.4.

 

[domino66]

Got it, thank you. There are handful of reviews of my laptop -- the Asus UX501VW -- at reputable(ish) websites (eg: http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/asus-zenbook-pro-ux501-v) claiming that it comes with an HDMI 2.0 port...but if the 960M card that it comes with is only 1.4 compatible then...what's the point of the 2.0 port? Or perhaps I'm just confused about WHAT makes an HDMI port v2.0...is it the port's hardware itself, or the card that's driving it? Could my laptop actually have an HDMI 2.0 port but a graphics card only 1.4 compliant?

 

[Barty1884]

Yeah, that is very strange. The card driving it needs to be 2.0...... both the 960M and the HD530 are HDMI 1.4, so there's no HDMI 2.0 capability in that laptop.

I don't believe running Thunderbolt to HDMI will give you 4K @ 60Hz either. Thunderbolt to Displayport (assuming your monitor accepts DP) will work, but there's no HDMI 2.0 support in that laptop full stop.

 

[domino66]

Oh, well I *did* manage to get 4K @60Hz as described above by running what I presume to be an HDMI 2.0 cable (it came with the monitor) from the monitor's HDMI 2.0 port to my laptop's USB-C port (using a $20 HDMI > USB-C adapter). So looks like I'm OK for now...I suppose I'll simply never get 4K@60Hz out of the laptop's HDMI port, which may be an annoyance down the line but for my one current 4K monitor I should be ok.

 

[Colif]

Connect two 4K 60 Hz displays with astonishing resolution, contrast, and color depth to see your photos, videos, applications, and text with amazing detail.

https://thunderbolttechnology.net/blog/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-does-it-all

You can connect 2 4k screens, whether cards can run them is another question.

though Asus web site doesn't say what type of Thunderbolt you have, i found it via a search