Black screen flash?

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LifesBane

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Dec 26, 2008
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Getting a new issue after upgrading my monitor and video card, so not sure what the culprit here might be. I just got an Acer XB270HU and an EVGA GTX 980ti (SC+/ACX), and I'm using the DisplayPort cable included with the monitor to connect.

Every now and then, I'm seeing a really quick black screen flash. It's not always while gaming either - I've had it happen just sitting on the desktop as well (sometimes even shortly after starting up the computer). Usually it's just one flash, but I've had times where 2 or 3 will happen in fairly quick succession. Here is a video of it happening (at 1 second, and again at 23 seconds) -- ignore the plastic on the monitor, was still deciding whether to keep it ;) :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlLxjztzaw0

I've seen mention of this issue before, but most people were reporting associated driver crashes in the Windows Event Log, and I'm not seeing anything. I'm leaning towards this being a video card thing, as I had this monitor hooked up (same cable) to my old card for a few days before and never noticed this, but I wasn't using it a ton at that point.

Any suggestions of where I could even begin troubleshooting this further? Happy to provide any additional hardware information.

EDIT: So, had a series of these in a row happen while doing some web browsing. Both times it was a series of 3 or 4 flashes. I noticed a little later that my display was at 85hz instead of 144hz -- and that I couldn't even choose above 85hz in the NVIDIA Control Panel anymore. A restart seems to have automatically fixed it. In the meantime, I've put a new DisplayPort cable on order to see if that helps resolve anything...
 
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i'm having this issue too, but rarely and never while gaming, monitor just shuts down for a second and comes back up. i also use DP connections but with a 280X and Dell P2314H. still haven't solved the problem :/
 
I have dual monitors being fed from a single card. The older, flourescent, monitor exhibits this symptom. It's hooked up with a DVI cable. My newer LED monitor, HDMI, does not.

Someone once posted about this and stated it may be a capacitor going out in the monitor's power module. My CRT is about 8 years old and has seen a lot of use and a lot of power surges. (Surge protectors don't solve everything.)

I don't know if any of the above helps.
 
I noticed this happening too when I started using DisplayPort, a quick flash maybe once every couple of days.
 
You could see a momentary black flicker only if GSYNC is enabled. That's a frame rate hiccup. Though I don't understand why the monitor or gpu can't reuse the last known frame.

Wait, just saw your video. That's not a single black frame. I've never seen anything like that on my Acer XB270HU + Titan X card.

What does the Latency DPC Mon tool say? Maybe you have a driver with huuuge latency spikes.
 
63jax said:
yes, i always keep my cell phone near my monitor, is there a relation?
Click to expand...

In my case there was. I had similar blackouts on my monitors moments before an SMS or call arrived or ended. Multiple monitor vendors (HP, Dell, Acer), multiple graphics cards (GTX980, GTX670, GT720), various DP cables.
 
xorbe said:
You could see a momentary black flicker only if GSYNC is enabled. That's a frame rate hiccup. Though I don't understand why the monitor or gpu can't reuse the last known frame.

Wait, just saw your video. That's not a single black frame. I've never seen anything like that on my Acer XB270HU + Titan X card.

What does the Latency DPC Mon tool say? Maybe you have a driver with huuuge latency spikes.
Click to expand...

Just grabbed a tool and I'll check. Everything looks good now but I'll see if it spikes when any flashes occur. What is considered acceptable latency? I actually just had 3 in a row right after turning on my computer just now. It seems like it is getting worse.

Are you using the included DP cable by the way?
 
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Over in the U2515H thread, some of those who are using its USB hub have been seeing blackouts or flickers, while those who do not seem to never have the problem. Are any of you using USB ports on your monitors?
 
evilsofa said:
Over in the U2515H thread, some of those who are using its USB hub have been seeing blackouts or flickers, while those who do not seem to never have the problem. Are any of you using USB ports on your monitors?
Click to expand...

Not using any of the ports unfortunately. Just power and DisplayPort.
 
So, the black flashing has still continued, and this time after a flash, I was left with a screen like this:
http://i.imgur.com/Y85LFjG.jpg?1

Turning the monitor on/off didn't work, and I noticed the OSD looked fine when up. So, I tried dropping the refresh from 144 to 120 in the NVIDIA control panel -- hung at a black screen for a few seconds, then got an Nvidia driver crash report. It came up fine again after that. However I did notice my wireless USB stopped working at the same time, but that could be completely coincidental.

Anyways, I swear I've seen a picture of similar symptoms before. Going to keep searching, but in the meantime, thinking of trying a full wipe with that NVIDIA DDU uninstaller.

Also quick note - no latency spikes correlating to the flashing. Only get low-red spikes very occasionally online, almost wondering if it's the wireless drivers.

EDIT: So, I just found a thread on EVGA's forums with my exact issues, also from a user with this monitor. Some people in the thread have reported swapping out the included DP cable for another one solved it -- really hoping that the cable I have coming in on Thursday takes care of it.
 
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LifesBane said:
So, the black flashing has still continued, and this time after a flash, I was left with a screen like this:
http://i.imgur.com/Y85LFjG.jpg?1

Turning the monitor on/off didn't work, and I noticed the OSD looked fine when up. So, I tried dropping the refresh from 144 to 120 in the NVIDIA control panel -- hung at a black screen for a few seconds, then got an Nvidia driver crash report.
Click to expand...

I'm gonna vote faulty GPU and TDR. Remove all overclocks first, check system ram speed.
 
Following up here in case anyone stumbles on this thread later -- it was the included DisplayPort cable. I ended up switching it out with one from the DP certified list and I've not had a problem since. Here's what I ended up using: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003E2U8EE
 
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