Desperately in need of help with GPU/monitor issue

[Joshua_Weiss]

hey all, so this post is going to be quite long so I can list the problem properly and what I have tried. Skip over what you dont need.

Specs:
i5 4670k
MSI 980
16 gigs ram

primary display: BenQ 1080p 120hz Uses DP cable
secondary: Dell U2711 1440p 60hz Uses DVI-D cable

Problem: so I got a new pc case and transplanted my computer inside it. I also cleaned the dust out very carefully, trying not to short anything.
When I turned my pc on my dell secondary monitor went straight into sleep mode. My dell also has a problem where the OSD doesnt work sometimes so I cant change the input sometimes, when it was working it was on DVI-D.

What Ive tried: First I tried the cable, the OSD on my dell was working so I changed it from DVI to hdmi and it still doesnt work when I boot with 2 monitors.
When I plug the display port into the dell using 1 monitor it works fine. So the DP works fine all the time. I plugged in the HDMI cable again.
At this point my OSD stopped working so now I am stuck on HDMI for the time being.
IF I only plug in the dell using HDMI the system boots into bios then goes into sleep once it gets to windows startup.

What I think is wrong: Since both screens have shown that they are working it must be the graphics card? maybe I shorted the DVI and HDMI while cleaning so the only thing working is the DP.
I still dont understand why the dell goes into sleeping once getting into windows when it is the only monitor? Is it a driver issue then maybe?

Solutions? Is there a cable out there that is HDMI to DP that can handle 1440p? that would be the easiest short term solution
Else maybe its a driver issue?
Or it could be a graphics card issue.
Or the screen itself.

Any help or feedback would be appreciated. If Someone could give insight into how the display outputs on the graphics cards are soldered? is the HDMI and DVI on the same connection which is separate to the DP?

 

[The Janitor]

Bring everything to my place and we can test stuff .

 

[Joshua_Weiss]

Bring everything to my place and we can test stuff .

I might have to hey. The size of this u2711 though

 

[souljazk]

Sounds like a HDMI handshake issue. Boot without the Dell LCD, once in the OS , plug it on and see. If issue persists boot from a Ubuntu USB and see if it persists.

 

[Dom]

It sounds silly but maybe try switching them on in a specific order every boot - this worked for my old dual screen setup.

 

[rinners]

What did you use to dust with?

 

[wmdvanzyl]

It helps to drop your assertions (or things you have discovered or know for sure) about a problem once in a while during troubleshooting. I would advise you to approach the issue again and completely ignore the "shorting" option. The chances of firstly shorting your GPU and secondly "shorting" only those ports are highly unlikely.

 

[SCHUMI4EVER]

Erm....why are we discussing a possible GPU issue when we have a monitor that's clearly hinkey? The OSD doesn't always work...that means the source detection doesn't always work and the scaler (if there is one) doesn't always work and who knows what else doesn't always work....exactly how we are seeing?

If it worked fine before you were just lucky.



The rest of this is just conjecture
For some reason with HDMI every time there is a full-screen change it has to re-acquire the source, this isn't the case with DVI-D and DP (well, it happens with them too but is a lot faster for some reason)...my old monitor would also take a while to reconnect, usually some game logos had already passed when launching a game for instance. In that moment the PC is getting the message that there is no HDMI screen and looks for DP or DVI-D and in that same moment the Dell gets the message that it's HDMI connection isn't needed/off so it goes to sleep and because it's a bit hinkey never tries to get out of that again. Basicallty the HDMI connection is permanently asleep. Until a reboot when the Dell notices there is someone new looking for it and comes out of sleep only to go back in and endless cycle when the fullscreen change happens again.

The point you are talking about is when a system will change from the monitor it is happiest booting on (still not quite sure what determines that) to how you have primary and secondary monitor set, at that moment there is a source loss which never recovers because the Dell isn't quite right anymore.
The Dell isn't sending the message "Hey im still here on HDMI" but asks the GPU whether it wants an HDMI screen and the GPU says sorry my HDMI connection isn't available right now so the Dell goes to sleep.

 

[Joshua_Weiss]

I can't reply to all of you on my phone, I'll be on my PC later today when I can properly reply. I am looking at your answers though and seeing if I can test for them. Thanks a lot guys. This is really helping.