Refresh rate locked at 30 Hz on external monitor, but hyprctl monitors indicates 60 Hz

[Aeldit]

Hi, I have seen many people having this issue but none of their fix fixes the issue for me.

I have had this problem for a year and I reinstalled my linux 3 times in the mean time, and this issue happened with all 3 installations

I have an external monitor configured like this: monitor = HDMI-A-1, 1920x1080@60, 0x-1080, 1, and hyprctl monitors outputs the following:

Monitor HDMI-A-1 (ID 1):
	[email protected] at 0x-1080
	description: HP Inc. HP V24e 1CR12816B3
	make: HP Inc.
	model: HP V24e
	serial: 1CR12816B3
	active workspace: 1 (1)
	special workspace: 0 ()
	reserved: 0 0 0 32
	scale: 1.00
	transform: 0
	focused: yes
	dpmsStatus: 1
	vrr: false
	solitary: 0
	activelyTearing: false
	directScanoutTo: 0
	disabled: false
	currentFormat: XRGB8888
	mirrorOf: none
	availableModes: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

However, the screen is "laggy" and when I enable

debug {
    overlay = true
}

in my hyprland.conf file, I have the following displayed:

It should be notted that when I play games using steam and proton, the refresh rate goes back to normal (60 Hz for me) on this external screen.

Here are some of the relevant environment variables and configs I have set, if this can help:

monitor = ,preferred,auto,auto
monitor = eDP-1, disable // Laptop screen, I don't use it when I have the external monitor
monitor = HDMI-A-1, 1920x1080@60, 0x-1080, 1

env = INTEL_GPU_MIN_FREQ_ON_AC,300
env = INTEL_GPU_MIN_FREQ_ON_BAT,100

# Nvidia
env = LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME,nvidia
env = __GLX_VENDOR_LIBRARY_NAME,nvidia
env = NVD_BACKEND,direct
env = __GL_VRR_ALLOWED,0
env = __GL_GSYNC_ALLOWED,1
env = WLR_DRM_NO_ATOMIC,1
env = GBM_BACKEND,nvidia-drm
env = AQ_DRM_DEVICES,/dev/dri/card0:/dev/dri/card1
env = WLR_DRM_DEVICES,/dev/dri/card0:/dev/dri/card1

misc {
    vfr = false // Usually set to true, except for testing with debug mode
    vrr = 1
    disable_hyprland_logo = true
    disable_splash_rendering = true
    force_default_wallpaper = 0
}

cursor {
    no_hardware_cursors = 1
}

[vaxerski]

IMHO this just looks like your iGPU not being able to keep up?

[vaxerski]

we render both on your igpu. Windows might do something else, like render the external on the dgpu.

[Aeldit]

Ah. Is there any way I can force it to use the graphics card ? I did the things from the wiki where it says to set which card we want to use, but it doesn't seem to change anything on my end?

[Aeldit]

And I forgot to mention but sometimes, it is at 60Hz for the external monitor for like 3 seconds after I log in from swaylock, and then goes back to 30Hz

Edit: I checked the intel specification for my cpu here https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/132222/intel-core-i512450h-processor-12m-cache-up-to-4-40-ghz/specifications.html,
And it says the following

So from my understanding it should be powerful enough for 1920x1080@60

[vaxerski]

iGPUs suck. Is there a way to force your dGPU? Yes, with AQ_DRM_DEVICES. However, if your dGPU is NVIDIA, reverse feeding to your internal display will likely not work, unless you have a mux switch in the bios.

[Aeldit]

Ah. NVIDIA moment xD

Well thanks for your time responding to me, I'll mark this as answered :)

[Aeldit]

I did try to do

env = AQ_DRM_DEVICES,/dev/dri/card1:/dev/dri/card0
env = WLR_DRM_DEVICES,/dev/dri/card1:/dev/dri/card0

instead of

env = AQ_DRM_DEVICES,/dev/dri/card0:/dev/dri/card1
env = WLR_DRM_DEVICES,/dev/dri/card0:/dev/dri/card1

and it works for me accross reboots
(even though the wiki says the following "Do not use the card1 symlink indicated here. It is dynamically assigned at boot and is subject to frequent change, making it unsuitable as a marker for GPU selection")

[Aeldit]

For future reference, I found out that this only happens when connecting to a screen using HDMI. When I connect using display port (or display port via usb-c), my iGPU can handle two 4k screens at 60Hz and three 1080p screens at 60Hz.