Black Screen after forcing NVIDIA GPU in BIOS?

Framework Laptop 16
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1

Updated my FW16 first gen 7040HS and I cannot force it to only use the NVIDIA GPU. SmartAccess in Adrenaline is greyed out and I keep getting random stutters and hitches in BF6. Tried playing around with the settings but I have had to reduce them heavily. I tried the NVIDIA only option and that just results in a black screen. I’m pretty sure this isn’t expected behavior no?

EDIT: For the record I am running the Gen 1 display with no other external displays. Wanted to see if I could get better performance forcing only the NVIDIA GPU.

2

For advanced optimus, you need the 2nd gen display.

But also, you should be using the gforce app to set settings for the GPU, not adrenaline.

3

So if I am understanding correctly, the only way to only use the NVIDIA GPU is by purchasing another display kit?

4

no.

To use advanced optimus you need the new display. Pretty sure thats also stated on the product page.

Im saying you should tweak your GPU from the Gforce app.. not from AMDs app, as its an NVIDIA gpu.

You can probable enable/disable nvidia low latency or something else to fix the hitching

You also likely need to update your Nvidia GPU driver if you havent been using Gforce

5

Sorry for not being articulate. My issue is that I would like to check if running the discrete card only will fix my problem. I do not see a way to do this.

I understand that NVIDIA card settings are changed from Gforce app.

I have gone through the menus and enabled/disabled settings in almost every possible permutation.

Tested running both the drivers from framework and when the issue persisted the latest update from NVIDIA.

Ultimately, I want to use the BIOS setting that says “Use NVIDIA GPU only”, not hybrid. By default, it says Advanced Optimus and appears to work fine. When I toggle it to “Use NVIDIA GPU only” I get a black screen and it hangs. I assume this is not expeccted behavior and what I am trying to get a better understanding of.

6

AFAIK, the only way to switch with Optimus the display through the 5070 alone is to have the 2nd gen display.

The 1st gen display lacks the firmware to hand over the complete display control to the 5070 the way that it used to on the 7700S (with the all-AMD system, when using Smart Access Graphics the screen would hang and freeze for 0.5s and then a toast notification would tell you that the iGPU successfully turned off and the display was being run by the 7700S alone).

Although,there is something wrong on your side. If I force the 5070 only in the BIOS, I can boot in Windows and the iGPU is properly off. Also, your stutters are not normal.

I recommend reinstalling the BIOS 4.02 and debloating the system uninstalling the nVidia app in favour of nVidia Profile Inspector: it solved some stuttering for me, now buttery smooth in both PC and VR games and finer control over Nvidia driver settings such as smooth motion and DLSS overrides.

Source: just upgraded my 7840HS+7700S machine to 7840HS+5070.

List of features 1st gen is missing out on:

  • G-Sync
  • Nvidia Image Scaling (~Radeon Super Resolution)
  • Advanced Optimus
7

Have you noticed a performance difference?

8

Maybe try a full driver wipe with DDU and reinstall all GPU drivers, including the AMD integrated ones. Stuttering is weird, so is the toggle for dgpu only causing a black screen.

I’ve not had those issues with a gen1 +5070

9

Yes. The new GPU Is 30-40% faster in raw raster power. Quieter too, but that maybe is just the effect of the 2nd gen fans.

After OC, 3200 pts in Steel Nomad.

You can find my results (both 7700S and 5070) on my 3dmark result NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 (notebook) video card benchmark result - AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS,Framework FRANMZCP07

3 Likes
10

Thanks for sharing!

11

Regarding hitches in BF6, have you tried using Fullscreen mode instead of Windowed Fullscreen? Various bios and psu issues aside, I found that for whatever reason I had nearly unplaying framerate issues with BF6 on my FW 16 unless it was in Fullscreen mode.

I also trust that your CPU isn’t having the issue where it toggles between two high and low performance profiles.

12

Regarding the game play.
Is it different if you run the game while on battery? I.e. with the PSU unplugged.

There are certain stuttering that can happen with the PSU/Charger plugged in.

If removing the PSU reduces the stuttering, then the stuttering behavior is most likely to be charger related.
There are some huge long threads on here discussing it, but answering the above question will let you know whether to bother reading up about it or not.

13

That’s a good test to see if you’re encountering one of the bios/psu bugs I had mentioned. That’s a good suggestion, I’ll second it. It’s one of the tests I’ve used personally.

14

I’ve attempted to do a complete reinstall of all drivers in Safe Mode as well as reflashing BIOS to 4.02. Power profiles are set to High Performance and the issue persists even without the charger being plugged in. With that being said, if the original Gen 1 display is supposed to work with just the dGPU active in BIOS, I should not have this black screen issue anyway correct? Should I just go with a support ticket? I have yet to see anyone reporting an issue like this.

In regards to the stuttering, I am seeing high iGPU usage in game with the dGPU active so maybe that could be related?

15

So after leaving it for about 5 minutes, it now functions fine. No usage being reported on the iGPU.

16

No, the black screen should NOT be happening. I would ask support about it ASAP.

As I said, I’m on a similar config (gen1 display, 7840HS, 5070) and I’m able to force the dGPU only mode in the BIOS.

Note: with gen1 display, Hybrid mode and Advanced Optimus are functionally the same. We 1st genners don’t have Advanced Optimus support on the monitor, so it falls back to Hybrid mode.