• Hardware

  • Intel confirmed no dithering on Intel arc a770

autobot

It's like gold mining: the more sand we sift through, the better our chances of finding something valuable. 🙂

    I tried latest ubuntu with my Intel iGPU 12900K and it was bad, dithering almost instant feeling. Tried with latest Fedora, looks like no issues, i'm still testing.

      madmozg

      I tried latest ubuntu with my Intel iGPU 12900K and it was bad, dithering almost instant feeling

      Try running the command

      sudo cat /sys/kernel/debug/dri/1/i915_display_info

      in the terminal. The command will output a lot of data, but among it, there should be information about the presence of dithering

      dither=true|false

      1 is the device number, which can be obtained through

      inxi -G

      But if there is only one video card, it should be 1.

        moonpie I will try ubuntu. I just loaded to Fedora with my Nvidia 3070 Super, but looks like fedora is in hybrid mode, I can't find any active resolution in i915 file. So currently I have hdmi connected through nvidia gpu and it still not dithering. I'm trying to switch graphics with this tool I found https://github.com/bayasdev/envycontrol

          2 months later

          WhisperingWind i5-12450H , Intel UHD Graphics Xe (driver v. 31.0.101.5537), Windows 11 23H2, 8-bit monitor.

          Hello WW, happy new year!

          Could you pls share extra settings you have in mini-PC: PC model name, ram used? You also mention, it doesnt have "true" HDMI, which connectin you use for your monitor (and whats your monitor)?

              simplex

              Hello simplex, happy new year!

              I have this mini-PC: https://www.tecno-mobile.com/pc-tablets/product-detail/product/mega-mini-m1

              Processor: i5-12450H, Graphics: Intel UHD 48EU (Xe arch), RAM: 2 × DDR4 3200 8 GB Lexar LD4S08G32C22ST. It was connected via type-c (DP) and HDMI. The display used was Sony TV (8+FRC), BenQ BL2711U (8+FRC) and BenQ GL2450 (6+FRC).

              This mini PC has a two true HDMI ports. However, there are two Type-C ports that operate in DP mode. When using a true 8-bit monitor, my eyes felt comfortable.

              Cons:

              • It has a VERY noisy cooling system (IMHO).
              • the processor receives about 38.6 watts maximum (I saw this figure in some reviews), which prevents the CPU from performing at 100% of its capabilities.

              Pros:

              • The absence of dithering in Linux/Windows (tested only on Windows 11).
              • The ability to switch to 6-bit video output mode in both Windows 11 and Linux without enabling dithering. I am visiting relatives, and I brought this mini-PC with me. I'm currently testing it with one of my relatives' monitors, the BenQ BL2420PT (6bit+FRC), in 6-bit video output mode on Windows 11 23H2. For now, this is the only way for me to work with this monitor, as I couldn't switch my relatives' PC (i5-12400, UHD 730) to 6-bit mode without enabling dithering, just like my ARC A770. Later, I will compare it with Ubuntu Linux on the same monitor in 6-bit video output mode.

                  WhisperingWind Processor: i5-12450H, Graphics: Intel UHD 48EU (Xe arch), RAM: 2 × DDR4 3200 8 GB Lexar LD4S08G32C22ST

                  I currently use mini-PC: i7 13700h + DDR5 4800 mhz KVR48S40BD8K2-64 + Iris XE 96UE with benq bl2420z (via HDMI to DVI cable). When I switched memory to KF556S40IB-16, I got strain. I also got strain with mini-PC 8845hz + 780m even with KVR48S40BD8K2-64 modules, but a little lower level comparing to default 5600 mhz modules. After experiments with registers, we with SunnyCove switch off all dithering settings in AMD, but 780m still strain 🙁

                  My hope was, Intel 12..14 gen CPUs works better with DDR5 gen ram, but your config shows it can be perfectly with DDR4 3200 without issues.

                  To be honest, 13700h + IRIS XE good with 4800 mhz DDR5 which have standart, not OC JEDEC timings (CL40). Lowering 5600 to 4800 timings with two different RAMs, didnt helps (only RAM with 4800 CL40 max is good). Your DDR4 also seems to have standart 3200 mhz timings (CL22).

                  The joke is, I tested laptop with same IRIS XE (13900h) but with LPDDR4 with win11 preinstalled, I play with it in 30 min and after leaving shop, got strain. So I dont really know, does lpddr4 matters in this case, or only screen pixel inversion/FRC (keeping in mind, IRIS XE is safe)

                    WhisperingWind my relatives' PC (i5-12400, UHD 730)

                    Could you please check, whats motherboard they use (incl BIOS ver), which DDR4 model names (freq, timings)…? 12400 is okay for your taste, does they use iGPU only?

                        simplex

                        Culd you please check, whats motherboard they use (incl BIOS ver), which DDR4 model names (freq, timings)…?

                        does they use iGPU only?

                        Gigabyte B760M Gaming X DDR4 motherboard, i5-12400 CPU. Samsung DDR4 RAM: inexpensive green modules of 16 and 8 gigabytes at 2666 MHz, with timings of 20-19-19; support for XMP profiles is absent. To connect to the monitor, UHD 730 is used (a discrete graphics card is absent). The BIOS version is F3 (2023).

                        Win10 22H2 2022 Update.

                        Dithering is not present out of the box (I read the video pipeline status register to confirm this).

                        12400 is okay for your taste?

                        When using pc of my relative with the BenQ BL2420PT monitor, eyes strain is noticeable. I think it's because of the monitor's FRC, as I experience the same level of eye strain when connecting the mini-PC in 8-bit mode. However, when switching mini-PC to 6-bit, it becomes more comfortable to work: Windows 11 provides maximum comfort, while in Linux Ubuntu, there's slight eye strain but within acceptable limits.

                        Please keep in mind that I spend about 3 hours a day in front of this monitor, no more than that.

                        At my relatives' place, this is the best monitor; the others are even worse 🙂 Therefore, there's no way to properly test the setup based on the i5-12400.

                            WhisperingWind how did you manage to switch to 6-bit output on Windows 11? I would be glad for such instruction

                                Ivan_P

                                This is an Intel-specific fix. I'm making this switch in Windows 11 by slightly modifying the source code of the ditherig application in Visual Studio. I write a specific value to the hardware register of the video chip, thereby switching it to 6-bit mode. This works in Windows 11 only with my Intel UHD 48EUs, but it doesn't work with Intel UHD630, Intel UHD730, and Intel ARC A770. If you need technical details, I can provide them.

                                P.S. I don't know yet why it doesn't work on the UHD 730 (i5-12400), since the i5-12400 also has the Xe video chip architecture, similar to the Intel UHD 48EUs. It might be an issue with the installed version of the driver or something else.

                                    WhisperingWind Intel UHD730

                                    Can you share the link for "Programmer's Reference Manual For the 2022 12th Generation …" ?

                                    I got only 2021 (tiger lake) and registers works nice with IRIS Xe (13700h), I am wonder if UHD 12 gen has another settings

                                        dev