Asus F571/X571: Get more than 56 Hz on a UWQHD monitor in 3440x1440 pixels (GeForce GTX 1650)

[GregHX]

I was very disappointed to discover that at first I would get only 30 Hz refresh rate with my new 21:9 monitor in 3440x1440 px. I did some research and found that the GTX 1650 is well capable of 60 Hz, its max. resolution and refresh rate on HDMI 2.0b is 4096 x 2160 @ 60 Hz. However the specifications for the Asus F571/X571 state that is has HDMI 1.4 which seems to be the bottleneck. Probably because of the mediocre Intel UHD graphics.

I can not get the monitor to work with USB-C, but as far as I know and it's not mentioned in the specifications either, this ASUS laptop does not have video (DP) on USB-C so I am not surprised.
My monitor (Philips 346B) has HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort and USB-C connections and supports up to 100 Hz at 3440x1440.

So at first I got only 30 Hz, because that seems to be the next best refresh rate that will be automatically set when 60 Hz does not work. Then I discovered the great simple tool "Custom Resolution Utility" by ToastyX for Windows which allows to set 56 Hz as highest possible refresh rate at 3440x1440 with HDMI 1.4, or 50 Hz if e.g. some games malfunction with 56 Hz. In Linux I had to create a custom modeline for Xrandr:

"3440x1440_56.34" 300.000000 3440 3488 3520 3600 1440 1443 1447 1479 +HSync -VSync

Anyway. I am looking for a way to bypass the HDMI 1.4 bottleneck, does anyone know if that is possible? It seems there is no way to turn off the Intel graphics completely, or is there? Maybe rewire the mainboard? It would be so great to get DP functionality either with a DiplayPort or HDMI 2.0 connection or DP on USB-C to use the full potential of the Nvidia graphics.

[fran678]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anLY_KKjy_M&ab_channel=GregSalazar

[GregHX]

I knew all this, yes there are different limits for all versions of HDMI and DP. The question is how, if possible, to overcome the limit of the HDMI 1.4 port which the Asus X571 has.

It's nice that I can have 56 Hz with some tricks but it would be awesome to get 100 Hz.

[Raibex87]

There is no way to bypass the HDMI bottleneck. On nearly all laptops, the HDMI port connects directly to the Nvidia GPU, so I don't think the Intel UHD Graphics are your issue. Not to mention that your Intel UHD Graphics supports the same max resolution and refresh rate as the GTX 1650.

It's very unlikely that "rewiring the mainboard" or any other sort of motherboard modification will be able to bypass this limitation (especially on a laptop, where motherboards are not designed with that in mind). I would recommend looking for a used laptop with at least HDMI 2.0a if you want to utilize the full potential of your monitor.

[GregHX]

So the only question remains: Why did Asus build only a HDMI 1.4 port into this notbook and neither DP via USB-C nor HDMI 2.0. It would be great if it were possible to replace the HDMI 1.4 port with a 2.0 port.

[Raibex87]

As far as I can tell, your laptop seems to definitely be a more budget-friendly option. Asus cheaped out on the ports to save some money to lower the overall price. It is lazy on their part, but at the same time, they probably weren't thinking many people would be connecting 1440p ultrawide monitors to a GPU that doesn't even do that well at 1080p (at least on more modern titles). I'm not trying to say that what you're doing is stupid, just that it probably wasn't something Asus had in mind when designing this laptop.

Also, the USB-C port on your laptop is 3.2 Gen 1, meaning even if it had display output, it would still be half the refresh rate of the HDMI 1.4 port due to the bandwidth (5 gbps vs 10.2 gbps on HDMI 1.4).

You cannot upgrade an HDMI port for two reasons (that I am aware of, there might be more). First of all, the port is soldered onto the motherboard, so replacing it would be extremely difficult and risky. Also, the HDMI processor chip is on the motherboard itself, so even if you could replace the port itself, the motherboard wouldn't support the higher speeds.

That being said, my $450 HP laptop from 2019 has an HDMI 2.0 port, so it is unfortunate that Asus really cuts down on even the most basic of features.

[GregHX]

Yes indeed. This one was new in January 2020. I must admit, back then I did not know the difference between HDMI 1.4, 2.0 and above. And so "HDMI 1.4" did not look like a red flag in the specifications…

Well you say it does not well at 1080p but I can even play titles like Cyberpunk 2077 with an acceptable FPS – which my limit is low for because I am just an occasional gamer and when, I prefer slow round-based RPGs anyway instead of fast paced action – so even an average 45 FPS ranging from 20-max.(56) is ok for me.

Which doesn't mean I would not try a lot to make it better. 🙂

[GregHX]

Fact: The internal screen is connected with an eDP (embedded Display Port). Here is a thought experiment: What if I remove the physical HDMI port and connect the internal screen to the HDMI connection, and then extend the eDP connection to the outside and connect my external monitor? 

I think they had designed the board to use the faster connection for the internal screen because the X571 comes in versions with 144 Hz FHD displays, but my version only has a 60 Hz display.

[Raibex87]

First of all, I have little experience with modifications this extreme, so take everything I'm saying with a grain of salt. That being said, I highly, highly doubt you can connect an eDP connector to an HDMI port. They are completely different interfaces and I'm sure they don't have the same pin layout. In addition, according to the Wikipedia page on DisplayPort, it "uses a differential signal that is not compatible with DVI or HDMI." I also couldn't find any adapters, although I didn't do an extremely thorough search.

Here's a thread I found that may be of interest to you: displayport - Wiring Embedded Display Port (eDP) to a full-size Display port - Electrical Engineerin...

Also note that I'm not sure which standard your laptop uses for eDP, and 1080p 144 Hz is significantly less bandwidth than 1440p UW 100 Hz.

Besides that, I can't really give you any more info. If you can't find any adapter from eDP to HDMI, there is no point looking any further (unless you can find an eDP to something else and that thing to HDMI and hook those two adapters together).

Edit: I was actually able to find a single result for an eDP to HDMI adapter, but it only runs at 1080p 30 Hz. Amazon.com: eleUniverse EDP to HDMI Adapter 2lane Support 1080P @30HZ Resolution 4lane Support 2K 4K.... I'd also like to make it clear that this is a very risky thing to do if you do find a way to make this work, so don't be surprised if it doesn't work or even bricks your laptop.