Question Monitors go black but don't turn off.

[Greywolf74]

I have my monitors set to turn off after 15 minutes. Now sometimes it will turn the monitors off no problem, but at least 50% of the time (probably more) the monitors will go black, but they are still on. Meaning the backlight is still on and the monitors are still technically still displaying a picture, it's just an all black picture. If I move the mouse or hit a key on the keyboard they "wake up" and when Windows goes to turn them off again it may actually turn them off correctly, or it may just go back to displaying a black picture. Anyone have any thoughts on how to correct this?

System specs:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
CPU cooler: Phanteks Glacier One 240MP D-RGB AIO
Motherboard: GIGABYTE X570S AORUS MASTER
Ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB)
SSD/HDD: OS drives are WD BLACK SN850 NVMe M.2 2280 500GB PCI-E 4.0 x4 run in Raid 1 + various SSDs/HDDs for storage.
GPU: GIGABYTE RTX 3080 Ti
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G5, 80 Plus Gold 850W
PSU Purchase Date: Jan 2024
Chassis: LIAN LI LANCOOL II MESH RGB BLACK Tempered Glass ATX Case
OS: Windows 10 Enterprise Ed.
Monitor 1: ASUS TUF Gaming 27" 1440P Monitor (VG27AQL1A) - QHD (2560 x 1440), IPS, 1ms, 170Hz
Monitor 2: BenQ 27" VA LCD Monitor 4ms (GTG) 1920 x 1080 GW2750HM
Monitor 3: SAMSUNG 24" LCD Monitor 5ms (GTG) 1920 x 1080 S24A460B-1
Monitor 4: SAMSUNG 24" LCD Monitor 5ms (GTG) 1920 x 1080 S24A460B-1

 

[DSzymborski]

Do you have access to a high-quality PSU to test? While this isn't a junk PSU, there's a very specific issue that people have had with very specific midtier PSUs and the high-end of 30 series due to the transient loads, and this is one of those. The EVGA GQ has also gotten a ton of reports with 30 series GPUs, and just like the G5, it uses the costed down active clamp forward topology that FSP likes to use.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

I have my monitors set to turn off after 15 minutes. Now sometimes it will turn the monitors off no problem, but at least 50% of the time (probably more) the monitors will go black, but they are still on

what setting are you trying to use that you think will turn the displays "off"?

Windows;
Power Options > Turn off the display: #
&
Change advanced power settings > Display > Turn off display after > Setting: #

both only put the display into a low power state, they do not actually power down the displays.

are you using settings within the displays' own onscreen options?

 

[Greywolf74]

Do you have access to a high-quality PSU to test? While this isn't a junk PSU, there's a very specific issue that people have had with very specific midtier PSUs and the high-end of 30 series due to the transient loads, and this is one of those. The EVGA GQ has also gotten a ton of reports with 30 series GPUs, and just like the G5, it uses the costed down active clamp forward topology that FSP likes to use.

Not without buying a new one.

what setting are you trying to use that you think will turn the displays "off"?

Windows;
Power Options > Turn off the display: #
&
Change advanced power settings > Display > Turn off display after > Setting: #

both only put the display into a low power state, they do not actually power down the displays.

are you using settings within the displays' own onscreen options?

I have it set to turn the display off in the advanced power settings. Sometimes it does turn the monitors off like It's supposed to about 40% of the time. More often than not, it just turns the screens black without actually turning them off.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

Sometimes it does turn the monitors off like It's supposed to about 40% of the time

this is not "off".
this is only a low power suspension state that disables input to the screen until awakened.

if you are still seeing some sort of glow effect instead of just the total lack of input it may be an issue within the displays' settings.
you should include images of both instances to show what exactly you are referring to.

and keep in mind;
if the displays were actually turned off rather then just suspended,
then you would have to physically power them back on.

 

[Greywolf74]

this is not "off".
this is only a low power suspension state that disables input to the screen until awakened.

I understand this. I'm only referring to it as "off" because windows refers to it this way.

if you are still seeing some sort of glow effect instead of just the total lack of input it may be an issue within the displays' settings.
you should include images of both instances to show what exactly you are referring to.

Yes, the monitors always turn black, but most of the time, its not the type of black you have when the monitor is in "stand-by", you know when the power light on the monitor is blinking (or on some monitors a different color). It's black, but the monitor is not in stand-by. The monitor is clearly on (solid power light) and if you turn the lights out you can see that the monitors are still backlit.

As for including images, I'm not sure if I understand what you're asking for images of, exactly? Display settings or power settings? If display settings, which one? Nvidia display settings, or windows display settings?

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

I'm not sure if I understand what you're asking for images of

the difference in the screen backlight;
between actually being in stand-by mode
and this plain black but lighted screen you're talking about.

 

[Greywolf74]

the difference in the screen backlight;
between actually being in stand-by mode
and this plain black but lighted screen you're talking about.

I mean, I'm happy to take a picture the next time I'm not on the PC and post it for you, but I don't really understand the purpose of this request. Do you think I don't know what the difference between a screen that's black because it's not receiving a signal and a screen that's black but still being backlit? I ignored your comments about the screen being in stand by and not technically "off" because you don't know me but come on man, you're acting like I've never owned a piece of modern technology.

If there's some point to this request, I'm not fathoming, then please explain, but at this point I feel like you're trying to show me that I don't know what I'm talking about.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

Do you think I don't know what the difference between a screen that's black because it's not receiving a signal and a screen that's black but still being backlit?

appears that way.

If there's some point to this request, I'm not fathoming, then please explain

because if it's an issue that is known for this manufacturer vs a problem with your own set then the image of how the lighting is behaving when it's supposed to be on standby can be of use.

 

[Greywolf74]

appears that way.

Appears that way how exactly? Because I referred to my monitors being "off" in the same way that Windows refers to them as being off?

because if it's an issue that is known for this manufacturer vs a problem with your own set then the image of how the lighting is behaving when it's supposed to be on standby can be of use.

It's 4 monitors from 3 different manufacturers, so it's not the monitors.

Backlit:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FJVilnhsxMGeg1hU4qNIE6j8nuzb1U_3/view?usp=drive_link

Not Backlit, AKA Standby:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ErsPd-_dpj1f0TG7xrHM9Hc2R3lqdSQ4/view?usp=drive_link

 

[Greywolf74]

Since I can't seem to get to the bottom of this, I just wrote a script to put all the monitors in to standby. In case anyone else finds themselves in this situation, here's a workaround.

Add-Type -TypeDefinition @"
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

public class Monitor {
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, uint Msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
}
"@

$HWND_BROADCAST = [IntPtr]0xffff;
$WM_SYSCOMMAND = 0x0112;
$SC_MONITORPOWER = 0xf170;
$MonitorOff = [IntPtr]2;

[Monitor]::SendMessage($HWND_BROADCAST, $WM_SYSCOMMAND, $SC_MONITORPOWER, $MonitorOff)

 

[Greywolf74]

Just FYI for anyone else, even with the script it tends to sometimes not want to go in to standby but at least I can tell if It's going to do right within 30 seconds of clicking it, and it seems to do it a lot less frequently when using the script.