Intel HD 4000 Graphics (i7-3770K) occasional flicker

[idata]

I have an i7-3770K on an Asus P8Z77-V PRO and am using the on-board Intel HD 4000 Graphics to drive two displays.

My displays are a Dell 3008WFP at 2560x1600 on DisplayPort, and a Dell 2407WFPHC at 1200x1920 (rotated 90 degrees to portrait) on DVI.

Running the latest drivers (8.15.10.2761) on Windows 7 Ultimate N x64.

32GB memory, water cooling, Intel 240GB SATA3 SSD and a 750W Corsair PSU round out the box.

When working (writing code, web surfing, watching video) on the machine, the video will quickly cut out on one monitor or the other and then come back. The 24" Dell on DVI handles this [in a small fraction of a second] like a champ and I hardly notice. The Dell 30" looses the signal, goes blank and then takes a couple seconds to reacquire the signal before showing the desktop again... it's REALLY annoying!!

Anyone seen something like this before, or have ideas?

I've changed the DisplayPort & DVI cables, tried a different motherboard of the same model, tried a motherboard from a different manufacturer (Gigabyte), hooked it up to a Dell 3011WFP (which re-acquires the signal much faster than the 3008WFP btw), reset monitors to factory defaults, and installed the latest drivers. To no avail.

Help?!?

[ROBERT_U_Intel]

Hi All

We are closing ion on a cause for this issue and I need a bit of information from those seeing the flickering. Would it be possible for someone to remove all but one memory stick from their system and see if the behavior changes?

Thanks

Robert

[idata]

Hi Robert,

Thanks a lot for the input.

I removed one of my two 8gb memory sticks and the problem seems to have gone away. Do you know any solution where both memory sticks can be used?

John

[ROBERT_U_Intel · Accepted solution]

Hi All

This issue is a BIOS issue specifically with the Memory Reference Code (MRC) version 1.4.0.0 or older. Please contact your system or motherboard manufacturer for a system BIOS update for your system or motherboard that includes MRC 1.5.0.0 or newer.

If you have a system with 2 or more memory modules and are comfortable with removing all but one of them so that your memory is in single channel mode, try and remove all but one of them and the issue will go away. This can be used as a workaround until you are able to update your system BIOS from your system or motherboard manufacturer that includes MRC 1.5.0.0 or newer.

[EZoha]

Robert,

I'm having the same flickering issue, but for a different reason.

Here's my setup:

Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H rev1.0, BIOS F16c mod3 includes the latest and greatest Intel stuff

Intel MEI FW v8.1.40.1416 + MEI driver v9.5.3.1520

2x 4GB Kingston HyperX Blu DDR3 @ 1629MHz, 9-9-9-24-1T, 1.65V, Dual ch mode [previous]

2x 8GB Kingston HyperX Beast DDR3 @ 2240MHz, 11-12-12-24-1T, 1.6V, Dual ch mode [current]

Core i5-3570K @ 4.17GHz (1C & 2C), 4.07GHz (3C & 4C), BCLK 101.9MHz

Stock Intel CPU fan + one front chassis fan 

HD4000 GPU running at 1.35GHz (default is 1.15GHz).

Win7 Pro SP1 x64 eng running on Intel 520 120GB SSD

WD 500GB 7.2K HDD SATA3 - mainly used for video storage

2x LG IPS236 23" LCD monitors, one via DVI, the other via HDMI, both running at 1920x1080.

Intel HD 4000 driver: v9.18.10.3186

The F16c BIOS consists of the following components:

Intel Legacy RAID for SATA - v12.7.0.1936

Intel UEFI RAID SataDriver - v12.7.0.1936

ME Firmware 8.1.30.1350

Atheros PCIE Ethernet Controller v2.0.6.6 (05/16/12)

Intel PCI Accelerated SVGA BIOS 2158 PC 14.34 (11/23/2012)

Intel Boot Agent GE v1.5.35 PXE 2.1 Build 092 (WfM 2.0)

Marvell 88SE91xx Adapter - ROM Version 1.0.1.0025

Ivy E1(06A9) CPU-MicroCode Rev.17

NOTE: I live in Israel, a 50Hz country (if it makes any difference).

Just to give you some understanding, I consider myself a computer expert, and worked as a laptop, desktop and server technician for many years.

Now to the flickering issue:

I'm experiencing flickers that occur for a fraction of a second, at a frequency of about once every 30 sec or so (it seems random, actually), mainly when watching video footage, but not only. A flicker might appear on one monitor and then on the other...nothing that seems systematic, anyway. Everything continues to work as normal, except for these split-second flickers/glitches.

I have been watching HD, Full-HD and 4K footage (in various frame-rates) on both my monitors simultaneously for the past year without any issue what-so-ever. The HD4000 graphics has been rock-solid and I always update to the latest driver and/or BIOS firmware. As you can see from my PC specs, I'm over-clocking the CPU, GPU and RAM to eke-out as much performance as possible from this system.

Temps were monitored through HWinfo, GPU-Z and other apps - all temps are in check and well under the limit (up to 75° Celsius in most cases).

A couple days ago, I've upgraded the RAM from 2x4GB Kingston Blu 1600MHz to 2x 8GB Kingston Beast 2133MHz kit, which not only doubles the amount of RAM, it also runs faster. This was mainly to help the HD4000 GPU achieve better video memory performance, especially when playing-back multiple high resolution videos at the same time.

I've allocated 1024MB in BIOS to the Intel HD4000 GPU - again, to help it as much as possible to achieve high performance.

Windows 7 Pro x64 is updated regularly, and protected by a good Symantec AntiVirus.

<p style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; font-family: intel-neo-sans-1, intel-neo-sans-2, tahoma, helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: #...

[EZoha]

I have an update regarding the flickering issues:

No matter what I tried, I couldn't get rid of the flickers using the 16GB Kingston HyperX Beast 2133MHz kit.

So I decided "what the heck", let's try adding the older 8GB RAM kit in the remaining 2 slots and see what happens.

Since the 8GB RAM kit is rated at 1600MHz @ 9-9-9-24-1T @ 1.65V, that's what I set in BIOS (for the entire 24GB RAM).

Then I booted into Windows 7 x64, and played a few videos....

To my surprise, there are no more flickers!

So, even though I'm running at lower speed RAM right now (1600MHz), it's very stable and I have 24GB total.

CPU & iGPU are still over-clocked.

This is probably the best solution I can think of.

Intel (and Gigabyte) should still be looking at the issue, and offer a fix for the "beast".

I'll be on the look-out...

[ico]

Apparently you passed from dual channel video memory to single channel, I have same issues of flickering in video, with any of the (2) 2gb sticks alone it works, when I use both together (dual channel) it starts flickering.

Motherboard ASROCK H61-U3S3, with most recent BIOS v2.4 (2013/4/10), winXP 32bits, latest v6.14.10.5437 video driver.

[ico]

Apparently you passed from dual channel video memory to single channel, I have same issues of flickering in video, with any of the (2) 2gb sticks alone it works, when I use both together (dual channel) it starts flickering.

Motherboard ASROCK H61-U3S3, with most recent BIOS v2.4 (2013/4/10), winXP 32bits, latest v6.14.10.5437 video driver.

[ico]

Apparently you passed from dual channel video memory to single channel, I have same issues of flickering in video, with any of the (2) 2gb sticks alone it works, when I use both together (dual channel) it starts flickering.

Motherboard Asrock H61-U3S3, with most recent BIOS v2.4 (2013/4/10), winXP 32bits, latest 5437 video driver.

[EZoha]

isidroco,

No, I'm running in Dual channel mode.

Here are screenshots:

http://s15.postimg.org/4uxaag4l7/screenshot_9.png CPU-Z, http://s21.postimg.org/o5t57rbon/24_GB_RAM_config.jpg RAM photo

[WMar1]

Dears,

I have same annoying flickering problem on my Dell Inspiron 17R SE laptop with HD4000 graphics. See first 15 seconds of this video:

I have latest Dell Bios: A15, 2013-05-17

Upgraded new HD 4000 drivers from here: /docs/DOC-21192 http://communities.intel.com/docs/DOC-21192 Didn't help.

Also trying this: http://denis.doublebuffer.net/lablog/2012/11/19/fixing-the-screen-flickering-on-a-dell-inspiron-n5720-and-maybe-many-others/ http://denis.doublebuffer.net/lablog/2012/11/19/fixing-the-screen-flickering-on-a-dell-inspiron-n5720-and-maybe-many-others/

Any ideas how to get rid of this flickering problem?

Below my additional System Information:

------------------

System Information

------------------

Time of this report: 8/23/2013, 23:12:42

Machine name: MARIUSZA-DELL

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.130708-1532)

Language: Polish (Regional Setting: Polish)

System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.

System Model: Dell System Inspiron 7720

BIOS: Default System BIOS

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3610QM CPU @ 2.30GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.3GHz

Memory: 16384MB RAM

Available OS Memory: 16244MB RAM

Page File: 3233MB used, 29251MB available

Windows Dir: C:\Windows

DirectX Version: DirectX 11

DX Setup Parameters: Not found

User DPI Setting: Using System DPI

System DPI Setting: 120 DPI (125 percent)

DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled

DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode

---------------

Display Devices

---------------

Card name: Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000

Manufacturer: Intel Corporation

Chip type: Intel(R) HD Graphics Family

DAC type: Internal

Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0166&SUBSYS_05781028&REV_09

Display Memory: 1696 MB

Dedicated Memory: 64 MB

Shared Memory: 1632 MB

Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)

Monitor Name: Rodzajowy monitor PnP

Monitor Model: unknown

Monitor Id: LGD02DA

Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (60.019Hz)

Output Type: Internal

Driver Name: igdumd64.dll,igd10umd64.dll,igd10umd64.dll,igdumd32,igd10umd32,igd10umd32

Driver File Version: 9.17.0010.2867 (English)

Driver Version: 9.17.10.2867

DDI Version: 11

Driver Model: WDDM 1.1

Driver Attributes: Final Retail

Driver Date/Size: 10/26/2012 06:09:06, 12604416 bytes

WHQL Logo'd: Yes

WHQL Date Stamp:

Device Identifier: {D7B78E66-4226-11CF-AB78-7225B7C2C435}

Vendor ID: 0x8086

Device ID: 0x0166

SubSys ID: 0x05781028

Revision ID: 0x0009

Driver Strong Name: oem68.inf:Intel.Mfg.NTamd64:iIVBM0:9.17.10.2867:pci\ven_8086&dev_0166&subsys_05781028

Rank Of Driver: 00E00001

Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C ModeWMV9_C ModeVC1_C

Deinterlace Caps: {BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering

{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch

{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend

{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering

{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch

{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend

{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering

{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch

{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend

{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering

{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch

{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend

{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC1,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering

{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC1,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch

{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC1,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend

{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering

{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch

{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend

{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC3,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=V...

[idata]

Hey all,

Just letting you know that on my system the ASRock beta bios update fixes this. I updated and the flickering went away.

I'd keep checking for updated bios revisions as the intel team suggests.

Andrew

[ROBERT_U_Intel]

I would recommend everyone still experiencing this issue contact their system / motherboard manufacturer and ask for a BIOS update with MRC 1.5 or newer.

Thanks everyone for your feedback and patience.

[rjal]

Thanks for the information.

is Intel planning on releasing updated bios binaries for their boards soon ?

i have a DZ77BH-55K and for bios version 83 it says "Memory Reference Code: Based on SA-RC_1.60" I assume this is higher than 1.5 so it should be fixed in this release ?

(FYI, I still have the issues with that bios version, also release 85)

thanks,

Robert.

[ROBERT_U_Intel]

Hi Robert

BIOS 85 does have the latest MRC (1.6.0).

Please decsribe exactly the issue you are seeing.

On your system, do you still see the issue when you remove all but one memory module?

[rjal]

Hi Robert,

Thanks for the confirmation.

I just got new dimms. I also had a problem with enabling xmp1600, as it turned out the entire kit of 4 dimms was faulty. Although I never had memory problems running them at 1333 and several memtests86 did not cause issues, the flicker I saw is possibly related to the faulty dimms. I had put my old graphics card back and have not tested it with the newly received dimms yet. I'll try that to see what happens.

Running one dimm now is difficult, my entire system is water cooled. taking out 3 dimms is a lot of work. I'll test with 4x8GB.

[idata]

Hi

I experiencing this with a new ASUS UX31A (i7 3517 U) with 8GB of RAM. I've run the CPU test you suggested and it all passed.

I can't find any details of the MRC version for the current 216 ASUS BIOS.Is there a way of finding out what MRC version is in the BIOS?

Many thanks

[idata]

i also have this issue with a new mac mini 2012 model. this model also has an intel hd 4000 built in.

i have a dual monitor setup. both monitors have a dvi in. the mac has one thunderbolt out and one hdmi out. the random "blackouts" - monitor just goes into standby and back on for a second - (happened twice yesterday) occur on the hdmi connected monitor. at first i thought it is an issue with the hdmi out - but after just using only one monitor on that connection for several hours the problem did not happen again.

so it also may be a driver issue in this case.

there is not much to find about this issue on the internet yet - first the mac mini 2012 model is still very young and also i think not many people have a dual monitor setup with a mac mini.

i wonder if other intel hd 4000 users, or maybe even mac mini 2012 users, have the same issue...

[idata]

A whole bunch of Mac Mini users are reporting intermittent blackouts, primarily using HDMI port.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1478837 Random Black Screens - MacRumors Forums

[idata]

@clouding : I also have a dual monitor setup (two Samsung PX2370 LED backlit 23" monitors). The monitor connected through an Apple Thunderbolt/Mini-DisplayPort to DVI adaptor looks sharp and has excellent black levels and color levels. The picture on the monitor connected to the HDMI port looks washed out, with poor black levels and looks like the brightness is turned up too high, but both monitors are set up exactly the same. I haven't noticed the flicker problem though. How does the picture quality compare between the two monitors on your setup?

Thanks

[freze1]

Hi There ,

I am having also this annoying red dots and a blinking screen .

I had a 27" monitor bought it with the PC , connect it to the PC to install the OS , then connected another 23" monitor .... last week I got red dots on my 23" screen , thought it was the screen .. replaced it with the 27" one and I still get the red dots .

I read what people tried to say and I updated my BIOS to the latest version on the web (0060) didn't fix it , also tried to remove one of the 2 memory slots but also nothing worked , re installed the windows OS also didnt help .... HELLLLLPPPPP

Specs :

DZ77RE-75K MO. BO.

3770k

2x4GB corsair vengeance

180 intel SSD

1 TB WD HD

thanks !

[EZoha]

I solved the washed-out problem of the HDMI-connected monitor by going into Intel Graphics settings -> Display -> select the monitor attached via HDMI -> Advanced. Select the option YCbCr in the color section. Then click Apply.

You then might need to set your monitor (the monitor's own settings) to Black Level "High" instead of "Low".