Windows 10: Acer Nitro 5: ClearType ignores secondary display settings

Not sure if this in the right place, since I don't actually know if it's a GPU issue or not.

I have an Acer Nitro 5, model AN515-54, and I'm trying to use it with an external monitor and the laptop screen serving to extend the display. The monitor and the laptop display have the same native resolution (1920x1080), refresh rate (60Hz), and colour settings (RGB). I'm using the Windows-recommended scaling for each (125% for the laptop screen, 100% for the monitor).

The setup mostly works well, except for problems with ClearType. Whichever display I've set as the main one determines the ClearType settings for both. In other words, the appearance of text on the secondary display changes as I calibrate ClearType for the primary one, but does not respond when I calibrate the monitor on which it's actually displayed. ClearType settings for the main display (whether it's the laptop screen or the external monitor) are applied across the board. As you can imagine, this is frustrating as the displays use different values for scaling - it means I have to pick one of my monitors to be "the blurry one".

Strangely enough, no other calibration settings are affected - for instance, I can independently control the colour balance of each. I've also verified that it has nothing to do with the external display itself (the problem persisted with a different monitor), the scaling (setting the laptop to 100% for consistency with the external monitor didn't help), or any drivers (problem persisted before and after updating drivers for all monitors, as well as the Intel UHD and NVIDIA GeForce cards).

This may be a problem in Windows itself, but I also wonder if it has something to do with the GPU's. The laptop display is connected to the internal Intel GPU, but the HDMI port is connected to the discrete NVIDIA card. When I click "Identify displays" in the NVIDIA Control Panel, the number 1 appears on both monitors (although Windows itself correctly identifies them separately). Also, the laptop display disappears from the PhysX configuration when I plug in the external monitor. I'm wondering if the GeForce is somehow treating them as parts of the "same" display, and if this behaviour is somehow influencing that of ClearType?

Any help is greatly appreciated - I've been Googling like crazy, and haven't found anything about this specific issue (beyond re-installing the drivers).

For reference, I am running Windows 10 version 1809.

:)

 

Stop code:0xc000021a on Acer Nitro 5 laptop

Hi TN. I'm Greg, an installation specialist, 10 year Windows MVP, and Volunteer Moderator here to help you.

Go into BIOS/UEFI Setup to see if you can set the onboard chip to default. You can power on while pressing the Acer F1 or ESC key. Older models may use F2. This may be listed on the BIOS splash screen.

If you don't get a display for the BIOS even, then I'd reinstall the Nvidia card and properly disable it in BIOS setup before removing it this time.

More about managing Dual Graphics on Acer Nitro 5 laptop:

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/561750...

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/543584...

https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/acer-...

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/553471...

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and keep me posted. I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

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Acer Nitro 5 AN515-51 laptop display bit depth (6 bit?)

So I'm trying to find out about the bit depth of this laptop's display.

Since this is an IPS display and not a TN one, I was expecting 8 bit depth. But when I checked the settings I got this:





But in the meantime, when I'm searching for the display modes, I get this:





Can anyone tell me what's up with this display? Is it 6 bit indeed?

 

Realtek Audio Console on Acer Nitro 5

Hello all. I recently noticed that my Acer Nitro 5 was no longer detecting any headset devices and I am unable to get any input via the mic (and have also borrowed other headsets from the original one I had, all of which have the single 3.5mm jack which
works with the Acer Nitro 5's single audio input). I am also only getting this when I pull up the Realtek Audio Console:



What steps should I take to resolve this issue?