I’m using a TCL tv as an external monitor for my Gigabyte Aero 15 laptop, connected over HDMI. I have Windows 11 and Fedora 37 installed in different partitions. Windows lets me set the TV to 3840x2160p at 60 Hz, but Fedora limits that resolution to 30 Hz. At 30 Hz, the mouse and typing are laggy and awkward. If I drop to a resolution that Fedora supports at 60 Hz, the lag drops, but the dual-monitor coordination is poor due to the difference in size between the laptop main monitor and the external.
Here’s a list of things I’ve tried digging into, but I’m at a loss:
I tried updating to Fedora 37. Originally was on Fedora 35 having the same problems. No change.
I tried Xorg, I was able to get a slightly higher resolution, but not 3840x2160p and the display settings GUI was very buggy.
I tried checking the EDID and it looked like it matched the supposedly correct EDID listed here.
One thing I’m confused about is the EDID in Windows matches that in Fedora and doesn’t seem to say it supports 60 Hz at that resolution. But Windows clearly supports it. When I select it in Windows, the resolution is high and the mouse movement smooth.
Sorry if this is the wrong place for this question, but I’m fairly new to Fedora and very new to monitor debugging so had no idea where to get help with this.
Those are some interesting EDID warnings. (Not sure why everything is prefixed with “12” here?).
I also noticed that you’re using the nouveau driver for your nVidia card. It’s possible that the driver doesn’t support the full resolution where the proprietary one from RPMFusion might.
I would check for secure boot. If the nvidia modules are not signed the user must disable secure boot before they can load.
Quick check for that is dmesg | grep -iE 'secure|nvidia' and if that shows secure boot enabled it explains the driver not loading.
2 factors involved in using nvidia with secure boot.
Modules already installed will not be signed so after the steps shown in #1 are completed, then remove and reinstall the nvidia drivers. dnf remove '*nvidia*' --exclude=nvidia-gpu-firmware dnf install akmod-nvidia xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-cuda
After reinstalling the drivers wait until you get a return on dnf list installed kmod-nvidia*
Once that shows the package installed (it gets built automatically when akmod-nvidia is installed) then reboot and the drivers should load even with secure boot enabled.
Just an FYI, the nouveau driver does not support hardware acceleration but the nvidia driver does. Anything using the nvidia GPU will normally perform better when using the nvidia driver.
Another factor that might impact resolution is the type of connection, HDMI, DP, or other. Some work better than others. Using a docking station also can affect it.
One possibility could be the hdmi cable itself. 4k@30 was the limit of the older hdmi spec. Can you try with the same hdmi cable you used for the windows machine?
You seem to be using a laptop with dual GPUs.
I would suggest you try setting the nvidia gpu as primary as indicated here
I followed that instruction and so far have no problems with my nvidia GPU. Have had mine set primary for more than 4 years.
A few notes to add to the doc.
I added the Option "PrimaryGPU" "Yes" into both stanzas of the nvidia.conf file after copying it over into the /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/ directory.
Adding that file allows the nvidia GPU to manage both the built-in screen as well as the external monitor. By default the eGPU manages the laptop screen and the external monitor is managed by the dGPU.
This process only makes the nvidia GPU primary when logged into the xorg desktop and does not work for wayland.
Having the nvidia GPU as primary basically idles the eGPU (intel) and prevents issues that may arise with 2 different gpus driving 2 (or more) different monitors.
I suspect that the lower refresh rate you are seeing may be affected by the dual GPUs potentially conflicting in some areas.
While there is a slightly higher power usage with the dGPU, I still get more than 2 hours on my battery with the GPU at 100% load (running cuda apps) and the CPUs at about 25% load. I use my laptop as a desktop mostly so I periodically drain the battery and recharge to maintain its life.