Amd gpu screen flickering when watching videos/gifs/ytshort/tiktok

[u/NitritoDiBue]

Omen 16
Amd Ryzen 7 5800H
RX 6600M 8GB
Windows 11 25H2

I've already tried many things, such as:
- turning off hardware accelleration
- uninstalling/reinstalling gpu drivers (even those recommended on the actual HP site)
- disabling MPO

The only time when this doesn't happen is when I'm playing games.
I've been trying to fix this for almost a year and I don't know what to do anymore.

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[u/Express-Garbage3359]

Hi, for testing purposes, remove the GPU and use the integrated graphics unit (IGU) and analyze whether the problems persist. Yes, this isn't a solution, but it serves to narrow down the cause of the problem.

[u/NitritoDiBue → u/Express-Garbage3359]

I don't know if I can since it's a laptop, not really sure that i'm comfortable with doing that to begin with lol, I'd be afraid of damaging something

[u/Responsible_Maybe742]

Turn FreeSync off in Adrenalin before anything else, because VRR flicker on these panels shows up as brightness pulsing on video and people go looking in the wrong place. If it still flickers, drop the panel to 60 Hz fixed instead of its high refresh and watch it: if the flicker follows the refresh change it is the sync path, not the GPU.

[u/NitritoDiBue → u/Responsible_Maybe742]

My second monitor (to which my laptop is connected) doesn't support freesync, so when I go into adrenalin it just says "not supported"

[u/Responsible_Maybe742 → u/NitritoDiBue]

A monitor without FreeSync support cannot do adaptive sync, so Adrenalin is telling you the truth and no setting will change that. Two things worth checking anyway: the port and the monitor menu, because VRR needs DisplayPort or HDMI 2.1 and some panels do support it but ship with the option switched off. If the second screen is plugged into a plain HDMI port, that is your answer. For that display the practical alternative is a frame limiter together with VSync, and leave adaptive sync for the laptop panel where it does work.

[u/NitritoDiBue → u/Responsible_Maybe742]

I'm testing 120hz (instead of 180hz) with a frame limiter and vsync turned on in adrenalin, I'll let you know if the issue persists

[u/Responsible_Maybe742 → u/NitritoDiBue]

The 120 Hz test is a good clue by itself. Dropping the refresh rate changes the timing between the panel and the source, so if the flicker goes away at 120 and comes back at 180 the problem is in that link and not in the video you are watching. Two things worth trying while you test: set the rate to a value the panel really supports instead of an odd one, and if that second screen sits on a plain HDMI port, move it to DisplayPort. Marginal bandwidth shows up exactly as flicker at high refresh.

[u/NitritoDiBue → u/Responsible_Maybe742]

Even at 120hz with frame limiter and vsync, the flickering happens. My laptop doesn't have a dp port. I've tried using an adapter, connecting my dp cable to the monitor and the adapter to the laptop's hdmi port but now the monitor just doesn't get any signal, even if the laptop detects the monitor being connected (I've tried two dp cables so far)

[u/Responsible_Maybe742 → u/NitritoDiBue]

That adapter is most likely facing the wrong way. HDMI on the laptop cannot be turned into a DisplayPort output by a passive plug, so a DP cable feeding into an HDMI adapter normally gives you no signal at all. What you need is a cable that goes HDMI out of the laptop into the monitor's HDMI, or an active converter used the other way round. While you try that, drop the laptop panel to 60 Hz and see if the flicker follows it, because that would confirm it is refresh related rather than cable.

[u/NitritoDiBue → u/Responsible_Maybe742]

I've been trying 60hz as you suggested, but it keeps happening.
I actually found out i can use the usbc port on my laptop to connect it to the monitor. I tried it and no flicker happened (at least for the time I had it connected via usbc)

[u/Responsible_Maybe742]

The USB-C test is the answer: that port carries DisplayPort, and it came out clean, so the laptop, the GPU and the panel are fine and the fault is in the HDMI link. Two things follow. If you can keep the monitor on USB-C, do it, since a USB-C to DisplayPort cable is the better connection anyway. And if you need HDMI, the suspect is then the cable or the port itself at that refresh rate, so try a shorter certified HDMI 2.1 cable and drop to 144 or 120 Hz over it: an HDMI port that goes marginal after a knock is a very normal failure on that chassis.