GTX 1000 GPUs cause boot problems in DVI with high ‘pixel clock’

By admin On Jun 27, 2016

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Nvidia GTX 1000 users who have a 1440p monitor with a refresh rate higher than 90Hz connected through a dual link DVI cable are experiencing system boot issues. The problem does not occur when using other cables.

Systems with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 or 1070 cannot boot correctly when a display is connected via dual link DVI and the pixel clock exceeds 330MHz. The issue is reported on Reddit and appears to have been reported previously on the GeForce forum.

In practice, this mainly concerns users of monitors with a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels and a refresh rate higher than 60Hz. The problem only occurs when the display is connected via a DL-DVI cable. Users who have a display port connection screen will not experience the problem.

Although most monitors with high resolution and refresh rates higher than 60Hz also have a displayport connection, this is not the case with Qnix QX2710, for example. Popular with gamers, this 27″ display has a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels and is known for the ability to overclock the refresh rate to values higher than 60Hz.

Nvidia has not yet responded to the problem and even with the latest drivers the systems do not boot correctly. Users affected by the bug state that the best solution is to reset the refresh rate before shutdown or before restarting to a lower value so that the system can boot correctly.

The pixel clock can be roughly calculated by multiplying the height and width of the resolution by the refresh rate. Thus, a monitor with 2560×1440 pixels and a refresh rate of 60Hz has a value of approximately 221MHz. At refresh rates from about 90Hz at 1440p resolutions, the problem can occur.

Update 3 pm: The problems are most likely caused because the maximum pixel clock of the dl-dvi standard is set at 330MHz. The use of a refresh rate and a resolution that results in a higher pixel clock is therefore outside the specification. Notably, however, this now poses a problem with the GTX 1000 cards. The Qnix monitor in question has long been used by many users with a higher pixel clock in combination with older video cards.