Temporal Dithering Sensitivity - My Solution

si_edgey thanks so much. Is the Optimus feature good to allow me to do this or have I made a mistake? I specifically went for a gsync one based on previous comments.

It also says the following. Would the following be the case even if I’ve selected the discrete mode only? Ie will this disabling only work if my laptop is plugged in? If I disable intel in device manager would that help things or be unnecessary?

‘The display will not switch to discrete GPU in the following scenarios -

• The display will not switch to discrete GPU if the application in allow list is a DirectX9 application.

• The display will not switch to discrete GPU if there is a DirectX9 application already running.

• The display will not switch to discrete GPU if the system is running in battery mode (DC)

• The display will not switch to discrete GPU if there are any external monitors connected to the system

• The display will not switch to discrete GPU if an external-GPU (eGPU) is connected to the system.

JonnyT

Edit: This was incorrect information.

You will know the laptop is in Discrete GPU (Nvidia-only) mode because the Intel graphics will not be present in the device manager. There will be nothing to disable if it’s set up correctly.

Those conditions you posted are only valid when in the Automatically Select mode. When in “Nvidia GPU only” mode, the Nvidia GPU is always used.

Go into the Nvidia Control panel, then to Manage Display Modes, then select “NVIDIA GPU only”. If you do this the Intel graphics will not appear in the device manager.

si_edgey

That is my memory of using the Lenovo Legion 5, that using the Nvidia control panel to discrete mode was like using the switch in BIOS. You’re right though, I can’t be 100% sure. I hope I didn’t give bad advice.

@JonnyT

I am wondering how you set up your display mode settings in the Nvidia control panel, and what is the result in the device manager. Did you change to Nvidia GPU only in the Nvidia Control Panel? Are both Intel and Nvidia present in the device manager, or just Nvidia?

JonnyT

degen

si_edgey

So it has arrived!

I managed to set it as Nvadia GPU only in the Nvadia display settings. However, in control panel it still has the Intel UHD graphics listed and enabled. With it like this I can change brightness still.

Do I need to disable the Intel UHD there as well? Doing so means I can't change brightness . Is it necessary for me to disable it in device manager as well or can I trust that selecting is in nvadia will do the job ?

JonnyT My statement about it being removed from the device manager is incorrect!

If you want to make 100% sure you are using the Nvidia graphics, you can boot into the BIOS and set it there. I read your machine has the option to do that (hopefully I’m not wrong on that count!).

Turn this off. According to Dell manual it’s in the Display subsection.

JonnyT I guess the machines are configured differently by the manufacturer. On the Lenovo Legion 5, Intel graphics is removed from the device manager completely when disabling hybrid graphics in the BIOS (this still didn't make the machine usable for me, but this is a different story). I remember that clearly.

I also remember that in the Nvidia control panel in Display Modes, when Advanced Optimus is enabled (I believe you have disabled it now), you can see which display adapter "drives the laptop display" (as in the Nvidia link si_edgey posted). It will say:

Current Status: [Depending on settings, Intel or Nvidia GPU here]

That the machine is noisier is a good sign that you are set to the Nvidia graphics.

The display output is different when in Nvidia vs Intel graphics mode. With experimentation, I think you will be able to feel it. For me, Nvidia output wasn't the cure, but it was definitely different. Since you have the machine, spend some time in each mode.

Edit: For posterity. One of the interesting things about the Lenovo Legion 5 I briefly owned is that the Intel graphics could be completely disabled from the BIOS by switching to Discrete graphics mode (MUX switch). This had the advantage of allowing me to install the Nvidia graphics adapter in Windows 8 with no need to install the Intel adapter (which would not install in Windows 8 or older versions of Windows 10 anyway), and have full control over the brightness, etc. The Intel graphics adapter was not present in the device manager, at all, when in this mode.

I am wondering if dithering on PCs would be limited to laptop chips and not desktop ones? Is there any merit in that thought?

My understanding is Intel has specific chips for laptops and different ones for desktops. There would be no need for dithering to occur on a desktop chip.

Sunspark It appears that on the Windows drivers for Broadwell that I use, when the HDMI cable is set for YCbCr w/ IT Content off (I have not tested if the combo of both is required or just one or the other, will have to test this out later on) dithering is actually DISABLED by default in the Intel drivers and ditherig is not needed.

I found something very interesting:

"YCbCr w/ IT Content off" (in the intel settings) does give banding (so, probably, no TD) on my external monitor! Ditherig.exe alone does not.

Until now, I had thought I could never cure TD on my external monitor.

I wonder why this combo gives banding (and what "IT Content" does in the first place).

Edit: Found a great explanation of "IT Content":

This option enables the display to use its own video quality processing algorithms, instead of the Intel® Graphics Driver, for movies played in full screen mode to ensure videos quality. The user can enable or disable IT Content.

Note that this option is only visible if you plug a HDMI monitor (or HDMI adapter cable) to your laptop.