DisplayLink (Windows) v6.3 M1 not balancing GPU / CPU usage well
 

Just bought my first DisplayLink USB Monitor (AOC e2251FWu) yesterday, and installed it together with a driver upgrade to Version 6.3 M1. Very disappointed with the Internet browsing and 720p video experience - I believe this to be a driver issue.

When browsing sites with rich content like Yahoo News or Facebook, there is a very bad lag when scrolling. With "Optimize for Video" off, there is an occasional problem of text going blur and then clearing up after a few seconds. With "Optimize for Video" on, 720p video (e.g. from Discovery Channel @ YouTube) is still skipping frames very badly.

While doing all of the above, I hit Alt+Ctrl+Delete and found my CPU and RAM to be under-utilised even with all the lag going on. The monitor is connected to an on-board USB 3.0 controller - have tried switching ports but no difference. Statistics and my system specifications can be found below.

My guess is that the current DisplayLink Windows driver relies heavily on the GPU for processing even if there's a lot of CPU and RAM headroom. Is something going to be done to address this issue in upcoming driver releases?

Or do we still have to buy high-end, power hungry graphics cards to improve video playback experience - despite the driver being able to make use of the main CPU for rendering?

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3590893/Disp...RAMLoading.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3590893/DisplayLink_SYS.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3590893/DisplayLink_GFX.jpg

Can you post your log files, as described here. This will give me the system information I need.

Does the same problem happen on USB 2.0?

Wim

Yes the issue happens on USB 2.0, but I can use the same port to transfer files to a USB 2.0 external hard disk without problems. The DisplayLink monitor is currently set as my main monitor.

Log file here, link will be disabled after 24 hours: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3590893/ESS...805_193508.zip

I am intending to do a few Mini-ITX (Small Form Factor) PC builds and using 2 AOC e2251FWu each. Not sure if I will be able to achieve smooth 720p video playback on both monitors, if I just use the Intel Core i7-3770k with its on-chip integrated graphics.

Hi Wim,

Any update on how should I go about resolving the issue?

Sorry - I was waiting for the log file to appear, as it wasn't available when I first read the thread.

I suspect you will be having problems on USB 3.0, as you have an old AS Medis driver which had bugs in it, which affected DisplayLink:

Asmedia ASM104x USB 3.0 Host Controller Driver (1.10.1.0) installed on 2011-12-11 Status is Installed

You should update this to the latest version here:

http://kb.displaylink.com/315

Nothing else leaps out as causing the issues you are seeing. I'm seeing if we have a similar machine as most of our test machines are Intel based.

Wim