HP 27xq flickering & blacking out over DisplayPort 1.2

[xLacRoiXx]

Info

• Display : HP 27xq (3WL54AA - 5SQ42AA)
• GPU : MSI GeForce GTX 1060 6GB Gaming X
• Cable : StarTech DISPL2M
• OS : Windows 10 Family N 1909
• GPU Driver : 441.87 DCH Game Ready

Situation

So I purchased a StarTech.com DisplayPort 1.2 cable (model name DISPL2M) 2 meters long with latches (very difficult to plug & unplug) in hope to handle FreeSync over NVIDIA GPUs (they recently enabled it on 1060 & up). It only states it's supporting 4096*2160@60Hz along with HBR2 (so it's technically supposed to support 1440p@144Hz).

When I received, I unboxed it (one of the two pockets were already open for some reason), plugged it into the AC-unplugged monitor first, then I heard electrical crackles. I didn't much worry at first. I then plugged the other end to the GPU which is a MSI GTX 1060 6GB Gaming X. I did some 20th pin tests (plugged 27xq AC - unplugged PC AC cable and trying to turn it on - replugged PC - unplugged 27xq and trying to turn it on), which went negative, the 20th pin wasn't a problem.
So basically at first it was cold-plug, but went into hot-plug.

I turned on both of them. The resolution was at first 1440p@60Hz, so I went to NVIDIA control panel to set it back to 144Hz.
****. The monitor proceeded to flicker and black-out like crazy. I reverted the changes immediatly.

I tried swapping the GPU-end onto two different slots (3 at total), the 2th one seemed to have less flickering, almost no black-outs. I even plugged both DP & HDMI on monitor-to-GPU, nothing yet.
I switched to DP 1.1 mode, went to 120Hz (144 unavailable) and there was no serious problems except blurry text.

I then tried to do a real cold-plug (none of them on), still had flickering & b-os.

I gave up and returned to HDMI as normal, no issues there, but no FreeSync too.

How to recreate :
- Purchase the same cable (DISPL2M)
- Plug cold into monitor while screwing up a bit, trying to get the crackles

- Plug to GPU (GTX 1060 6GB)
- Do the 20th pin test "(plugged 27xq AC - unplugged PC AC cable and trying to turn it on - replugged PC - unplugged 27xq and trying to turn it on)"

- Turn on all of them

- Try to switch to 144Hz/120Hz

Signs

- Pixel flickering (NOT LED BACKLIGHT !)
- Blackouts (the monitor display shuts down, not the monitor itself)

Recent changes

- Optimized NVIDIA control panel using this guide

I'm first gonna post threads on this forum, and sub-reddits, and if there's no solution I will return or refund the cable.
Maybe pick up a different brand next time.

Before I do this, do anybody have an solution ? Or the cause maybe ?

[Riddle_Decipher]

@xLacRoiXx This could be one of the major reasons why we have this issue:

Using a DisplayPort cable beyond 1.8 meters in length may cause data loss and a negative impact to display quality, so please check the same and, reduce it.

Electric crackles isn't a something we should be ignoring, where did this come from? do you still have these issues?

Once a smaller cable is used, the rest should be in place!

P.S: Welcome to HP Community 😉

I hope that answers your query,  

If it did, simply select "Accept as solution", to help the community grow, 

And if you wish to thank us for our efforts, click on the thumbs up for kudos.

Have a great day ahead.

[xLacRoiXx]

Hello Riddle,

for now I returned the cable to the seller.

I should get the same (2m), but it's supposed not to make a difference anyway.

For the crackles, it only happened when I plugged in for the first time in shut off monitor.

Afterwards, I didn't have any of them, even when plugging the rest.

The cable looked used though, it had fingerprints on it and the packaging was already opened.

I hope I'll get a better one.

Have a great day for you too.

[The_Fossette]

@xLacRoiXx

Thank you for keeping us posted.

Please post your results once you get the new cable as I will be looking forward to hearing from you.

Good day!