I'm trying to use my new 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pro on macOS Ventura 13.0 with my LG 27GL850 that I bought in 2020. When I set the refresh rate to 144 Hertz, the display flickers to black rapidly. The monitor only stops exhibiting this issue when I set it to a lower refresh rate like 120 Hertz or to the variable refresh rate option. I tried plugging the display to my 2018 Intel MacBook Pro on Ventura Beta 13.1, with the same cable, the display runs perfectly at 144 Hertz, as it did in 2020.
I'm using a USB C to DisplayPort 1.4 Cable from Cable Matters, which has a good reputation. It is directly connected from the Thunderbolt 4 port on my Mac to the display. I also tried other cables, they all have the same effect. I even tried lowering the display resolution to see if this is a bandwidth issue to no avail.
After searching online, I learned that this is a common issue for Apple Silicon Macs in threads like this one. The most frequent suggestion is to turn off automatic brightness, True Tone and Night Shift, which had no effect. Then, I saw a YouTube video saying to change the colour profile to something other than the default manufacture one, like Color LCD. Although it did make the flickering to black go away, it appears to be now flickering to a lower brightness. Additionally, it seems like its running at around 60 Hertz although both my MacBook and monitor say its on 144 Hertz.
Interestingly, my monitor supports variable refresh rate through Adaptive-Sync whilst my 2018 Intel MacBook Pro does not. In System Settings, the variable refresh rate option shows it is between 48 to 120 Hertz, almost as if it knows not to go up to 144 Hertz. I'm not sure if Adaptive-Sync has anything to do with this.
![Screenshot 2022-10-25 at 10.57.58 PM.png]( "Screenshot 2022-10-25 at 10.57.58 PM.png")
![Screenshot 2022-10-25 at 11.53.28 PM.png]( "Screenshot 2022-10-25 at 11.53.28 PM.png")
I'm using a USB C to DisplayPort 1.4 Cable from Cable Matters, which has a good reputation. It is directly connected from the Thunderbolt 4 port on my Mac to the display. I also tried other cables, they all have the same effect. I even tried lowering the display resolution to see if this is a bandwidth issue to no avail.
After searching online, I learned that this is a common issue for Apple Silicon Macs in threads like this one. The most frequent suggestion is to turn off automatic brightness, True Tone and Night Shift, which had no effect. Then, I saw a YouTube video saying to change the colour profile to something other than the default manufacture one, like Color LCD. Although it did make the flickering to black go away, it appears to be now flickering to a lower brightness. Additionally, it seems like its running at around 60 Hertz although both my MacBook and monitor say its on 144 Hertz.
Interestingly, my monitor supports variable refresh rate through Adaptive-Sync whilst my 2018 Intel MacBook Pro does not. In System Settings, the variable refresh rate option shows it is between 48 to 120 Hertz, almost as if it knows not to go up to 144 Hertz. I'm not sure if Adaptive-Sync has anything to do with this.