Solved Cannot increase refresh rate above 60Hz

[Akira181]

I'm using Windows Server 2008 as this computer started out as a backup RAID5 server that I later decided to combine as a HTPC. I know this is a windows 7 forum but as I understand, server 2008 is based on windows 7.

I cannot increase my screen refresh rate above 60Hz. I believe this is causing the screen to flicker somewhat and giving me headaches after some time.

Here's the hardware I'm running:

• Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD 5450
• Monitor: LG 50" Plasma (LG 50pk250) connected via DVI to HDMI cable

CCC reports as the software and driver installed are the latest versions. (Catalyst version 11.12, and Driver Package Version 8.92)


LG site says the TV has a max refresh of 600Hz; CCC panel information says max reported refresh rate of 70Hz. I'm inclined to believe the 70Hz as the 600 is most likely some sort of overdrive.



When I go to the Desktop Properties in CCC, I have resolution at 1080p, 32-bit color quality, and refresh rate of 60Hz with no option to go higher.


In Windows > Display > Screen Resolution options, it says Display: LG TV, Resolution 1080. Then I go into advanced settings > monitor tab; it says Generic PnP Monitor in Monitor Type and Monitor Settings has no option to go above 60 Hz.


Any suggestions as to what I can do?

 

[stormy13]

LG site says the TV has a max refresh of 600Hz

Might want to read what it says again. You are confusing refresh rate with sub field drive rate,

What is 600Hz Sub Field Drive? – Plasma TV Sub-Field Drive Explained

That said maybe try updating the driver as the one you currently have installed is getting close to 3 years old.

 

[Akira181]

Yeah, I didn't expect 600Hz to be a legit refresh rate but I'd hope to be able to get more than 60Hz.

CCC said the driver it was up to date but looking on the website, there is a new one available. I'll give it a shot

Thanks

 

[Akira181]

While installing the New CCC,I got a spp.DLL missing error so I went to msconfig and enabled boot into safe mode to search for malware and such. Now I'm stuck in an endless reboot loop as soon as the logon screen loads

 

[Britton30]

CCC has been very buggy and causes a lot of issues we've seen here. Can you boot into Advanced option and run a system restore? Option Two here: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/700-system-restore.html#post4405

I think, but may be wrong, that a refresh rate is hard wired in the monitor if it is a LCD or LED.

If you lack a disk: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/666-advanced-boot-options.html

 

[Akira181]

I found that if I hit f8 during boot, I could select 'last known good configuration' and then it booted into safe mode. Weird.

Ran spybot search&destroy, superantispyware, and malwarebytes. Slight overkill but wanted to be sure. Didn't find anything of importance, just tracking cookies.

Just finished running sfc /scannow and it didn't find any errors. Still getting the missing spp.DLL message. Going to run a registry cleaner now to see if that helps.

My TV's a plasma so hopefully I can increase the refresh rate but its not looking promising at this point

 

[Computer0304]

Maybe your computer is using VSync or maybe for some reason your graphics card can only handle up to 60hz. Could you try another monitor?

 

[A Guy]

The TV has specific accepted rates for different resolutions. Assuming you are connected via HDMI at 1920 x 1080 the max refresh rate is 66.587Hz, but it is a precise number your video card is unlikely capable of. Therefore it is setting at the closest natural rate.

That 600Hz refresh rate of the plasma is for video, not a PC refresh rate. I don't think you can get the exact accepted rate unless your PC software has such fine adjustments.

A Guy

 

[Britton30]

I would not use Spybot on w7 it will cause freezes or crashes and conglict with other programs.
For the registry clean use only CCleaner from the link in my sig.

 

[The Howling Wolves]

When using CCleaner first analyze the registry.
If your not sure of what to delete then leave it alone as Windows 7 does a good job of keeping things in order.

This is just coming from an old geezer who has not had a BSOD on either computers.
Dennis

 

[Akira181]

thanks for the advice guys. Installed and ran CCleaner. Accidentally deleted my firefox history, not a real problem, just a minor annoyance. Uninstalled spybot S&D and malware bytes.

Thanks for the clarification A Guy, I was thinking that the 60Hz might be a limitation of the TV. CCC reported the max refresh rate of the panel as 70Hz, which gave me false hope.

Finally got the latest CCC and driver installed (latest CCC is absolutely awful and makes me wonder why I need it). Refresh rate is still limited to 60Hz but the flickering seems to be less. Not sure if that's actually the case or a placebo effect of having latest drivers though. Will see if I still get headaches after a while.

Not been able to fix the missing SPP.DLL issue though. Would it work if I found the SPP.DLL file on my Windows 7 computer and copied it to this one?

 

[A Guy]

Oh, keep Malwarebytes, it and CCleaner are perhaps the 2 best freeware programs out there. A Guy

 

[Computer0304]

Maybe its something wrong with the graphics card. Try the interegated graphics and see if it works.

 

[AddRAM]

If your monitor is only 60 Hz that`s all it can do, you can`t raise it anymore.

 

[Boozad]

Try using the PC through a monitor as opposed to a TV and see if the problem persists. TVs aren't aways the best when it comes to PC displays.

 

[logicearth]

Just so you know single-link DVI has a limitation at the max resolutions that it can handle which is at 60Hz, it cannot go beyond this limitation. You either need to use Dual-link DVI or a new revision of HDMI (specifically HDMI 1.3). Of course the display must support those as well.

 

[Akira181]

I've come to the conclusion that my TV cannot go above 60Hz. With the new driver, the flickering is definitely less but still there.

Annoyingly now though, CCC has high memory usage after a while. Got up to 4GB before I killed it yesterday. Appears to be a common problem with CCC version 12+. Do I need CCC or can I get rid of it?

 

[Britton30]

Many of us have confirmed the 60HZ can't be changed since it is part of the built-in electronics. If you notice flickering you may have a bad TV. Most human eyes can't see a flicker above 30HZ.

 

[Computer0304]

Many of us have confirmed the 60HZ can't be changed since it is part of the built-in electronics. If you notice flickering you may have a bad TV. Most human eyes can't see a flicker above 30HZ.

Yes unless you have such good eyes to see the flickering...

 

[Britton30]

Many of us have confirmed the 60HZ can't be changed since it is part of the built-in electronics. If you notice flickering you may have a bad TV. Most human eyes can't see a flicker above 30HZ.

Yes unless you have such good eyes to see the flickering...

You repeated me.