[SOLVED] Dual display setup flickering when opening some games

Jan 15, 2022
18
3
15
Hi.
I'm having some problems with my dual display setup since yesterday. Let me provide some background info:

  • I have a dual display setup using 2 LG ultrawide displays, models 29WK600 and 29WL500 (as far as I checked, the only difference between both models is that the K600 one has a DisplayPort input while the L500 only has HDMI, both are 2560x1080, 75Hz, Freesync compatible)
  • I use an AMD APU, Ryzen 4650G as my graphics, and connect both displays using the HDMI and DP ports of my motherboard (an Asus TUF B550M-Plus)
  • I've upgraded to Windows 11 some months ago trying to solve some BSOD issues I was having that turned out to be a BIOS configuration problem
  • The PC and displays were being stored out of use for the last two months, due to some bedroom renovations. The cables were rolled inside a bag in the meantime
  • I've noticed some very weird behavior on the system when I rebuilt it yesterday: the primary display (the WK600 connected through DP) was not getting any video signal. After fiddling some time, I decided to invert the DP cable, and it started working (which is very weird, since AFAIK, DP cables don't have a "right" position to connect them)

Then the weird stuff happened. I tried to download and play Lost Ark through Steam, and the game forces itself on initializing on your primary display. The game not only forced itself into a 1280x720 resolution, but also forced my entire primary display into this resolution, in a way that I couldn't get back even after shutting the game, I had to unplug it and plug it again. I messed around a little, and managed to make the start screen of the game accept the 2560x1080 resolution, borderless window. However, when I choose a server and enter the character selection screen, both displays start flickering and losing signal (it's literally like they were unplugged and then plugged back again on the PC, including the "primary screen" status being passed from one to the other as they did so). After around 20 seconds of this, the system reboots itself.
The first thing I did was to update my graphics drivers through AMD website, since it occurred to me the drivers must be at least 2 months old. I've also updated Windows (and then reinstalled the graphics drivers, because Windows 11 update insists in installing some crappy AMD drivers that override the official ones everytime). The same problem continued.
Then, I did try running the game with only one display attached. I don't have any flickering, and can join a realm, create a character and enter the gameplay part without any problem, but as soon as I plug in the second display everything goes haywire again. I've tried this process with both displays (using only the DP one alone and only the HDMI one alone).

I've tested it in some other games I had here (Terraria, Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen, Code Vein) and nothing of the sort happened, I can play any of those games with both display attached so I can watch some educational videos while smashing critters heads.
Since I was checking the forums and saw some people complaining about dual display problems and issues with ultrawide resolution (although nothing like what I was encountering), I've decided to open an issue ticket with Amazon (the game publisher and tech support for it), and called it a day.

However, today, when I opened up another very simple game that runs in a very modest resolution of 1680x1050 (windowed), and that I regularly played before storing the PC (and that runs even in my laptop), a similar issue happened. Both screens flicker and lose signal for a few instants, with the "primary screen" crown being passed around, and after each screen turning off and on again 2 or 3 times, they stabilize with the game running on the primary screen and the secondary working normally (it doesn't reboot everything like it happens with Lost Ark).

I've tried replacing the HDMI cable, since I have a spare one here, to no avail, so my next culprit would be the DP cable. I'm just checking here to see if there's nothing else I might be missing in terms of tests or configurations I could do before I bother going out to buy a new cable.

I have uploaded a DxDiag file to my Google Drive, if anyone thinks it might help. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vUbgn46T-y3GAeo6iue0YttCPamk1UmD/view?usp=sharing

Thanks.
 
Solution
I've upgraded to Windows 11 some months ago trying to solve some BSOD issues I was having that turned out to be a BIOS configuration problem
Using the info you've linked above, I found this;
BIOS: 1202 (type: UEFI)
when you cross reference your motherboard's support site, here, you have (eight)BIOS updates pending.

Gradually work your way up to the latest non Beta BIOS until you reach BIOS version 2604.

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
I've upgraded to Windows 11 some months ago trying to solve some BSOD issues I was having that turned out to be a BIOS configuration problem
Using the info you've linked above, I found this;
BIOS: 1202 (type: UEFI)
when you cross reference your motherboard's support site, here, you have (eight)BIOS updates pending.

Gradually work your way up to the latest non Beta BIOS until you reach BIOS version 2604.
 
Solution
Jan 15, 2022
18
3
15
I've upgraded to Windows 11 some months ago trying to solve some BSOD issues I was having that turned out to be a BIOS configuration problem
Using the info you've linked above, I found this;
BIOS: 1202 (type: UEFI)
when you cross reference your motherboard's support site, here, you have (eight)BIOS updates pending.

Gradually work your way up to the latest non Beta BIOS until you reach BIOS version 2604.

Well, I'll be damned.
Turns out the latest BIOS update that was released in March apparently solved the problem.

I'll test it a bit more later, but for now I'll mark it as "answered".

Thanks a lot for the help.