Gaming Laptop Graphics Card Faulty - Screen Tearing?

tomandad

Member
Hi guys,

Little Backstory
I'm new to forums I normally spend time reading them and trying to find an answer to my problems.
However, it appears I can't find anyone with a similar problem.

So I bought my Laptop second hand and I didn't realise how much of a pain it would be. The person I have bought the laptop from for some reason refuses to transfer the warranty so in PC Specialists eyes, they still own it. So sending it off for a service is unfortunately out of the question.

I don't believe they sold me a faulty laptop, as it was working for a good month perfectly. It was only till went I went abroad and returned these errors appeared. However, the laptop was with me at all times and handled with care (As I'd just purchased it)

The problem
I believe I am facing an issue called Screen Tearing? I am in no means a tech person and don't have the technical term. I've only got photos.
screenshot-bpconcjcammlapcogcnnelfmaeghhagj-2019.10.22-09_59_12 - 2020-01-13T163644.124.jpg
screenshot-bpconcjcammlapcogcnnelfmaeghhagj-2019.10.22-09_59_12 - 2020-01-13T163646.174.jpg

screenshot-bpconcjcammlapcogcnnelfmaeghhagj-2019.10.22-09_59_12 - 2020-01-13T163648.282.jpg
screenshot-bpconcjcammlapcogcnnelfmaeghhagj-2019.10.22-09_59_12 - 2020-01-13T163650.612.jpg


Once this happens the laptop will crash and restart. I had thought that this happens only when the power cable is connected but it now happens when the battery cable is disconnected.

There little heat coming out of the fans and no signs of the laptop struggling. The only part that does heat up would be around the centre of the keyboard.
I have cleaned all the fans. One thing I did notice, is the fan on the left the wrong way round? (The one on the right has an arrow pointing to the vents)
screenshot-bpconcjcammlapcogcnnelfmaeghhagj-2019.10.22-09_59_12 - 2020-01-13T170507.098.jpg


I've read up that I might need to replace all the thermal paste, however, I didn't want to go down this route yet because of my lack of experience.

A few specs.
GTX 1070
64gb Ram
i7 processor

If anyone can help this would be much appreciated
Thanks
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
I believe I am facing an issue called Screen Tearing? I am in no means a tech person and don't have the technical term. I've only got photos.
You'd probably want to refer to that as artifacting - screen tearing is different thing that isn't a fault, it's 'normal' during gaming when you're not using something like vsync, and what you've got certainly isn't normal :)

I suspect the answer will be yes, but the first thing I'd ask is whether that happens with an external monitor? You can use a TV with an HDMI input if you don't have an actual computer monitor.

I'd use software e.g. HWinfo or Realtemp to monitor CPU and GPU temps.
 

tomandad

Member
Thanks for getting back to me. Least I know what to Google :)

So, I've done some tests while being hooked to up the TV.
screenshot-bpconcjcammlapcogcnnelfmaeghhagj-2019.10.22-09_59_12 - 2020-01-13T183435.986.jpg

screenshot-bpconcjcammlapcogcnnelfmaeghhagj-2019.10.22-09_59_12 - 2020-01-13T183442.337.jpg


Any of these help? I did run a benchmark test and the artifacting did appear on the TV. Laptop soon crashed and restarted

Thanks again
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
That is the sort of experience you have when you OC your GPU too far. I'm guessing it hasn't been overclocked that you know of? Could you check for overclocking software?

You get those issues, generally with the GPU, when it is overheating or underpowered for the clock.

When you bought the laptop, did you perform a completely clean install? Format etc?
 

tomandad

Member
Hi there,

To my knowledge it hasn't been overclocked.
When I bought the laptop I did a reset by going into the settings on the laptop. Looked a bit like this
1579019665521.png


Would doing a complete re-install from the Bios and a USB make a difference?

It might be worth noting that after the "artifacing" the Laptop will either crash and reboot or if i'm lucky will sort it's self out after 2 minitures or so. Only to happen again.

Thanks
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Would doing a complete re-install from the Bios and a USB make a difference?
Hopefully. If you still get it after a clean install, there's a good chance it's a hardware issue.

You can make a Windows 10 installation media here:

The licence key will be embedded in the BIOS (assuming the original owner didn't do something like tie it to their MS account and use it on another system of course...) so no activation / key entry would be needed.

During the install it will give you the option for a custom / advanced install. Choose that, and delete every partition on the drive that has the OS. Obviously back up your data first, as this will make you lose everything on the disk.

The drive you are installing the OS to should then just be 'unallocated space'

Proceed with the installation, letting Windows install all drivers by itself. Don't install any drivers yourself or any software. See if the problem appears, giving it a generous amount of time based on its regular habits.
 

tomandad

Member
Quick update,

Did a clean install and followed your guides.

Booted up fine (Zoomed in resolution), then I restarted it
Once restarted I guess the drivers installed or the graphics card was working because I had better resolution. 5 minutes later the laptop crashes and I get this screen when it tries to reboot.

screenshot-bpconcjcammlapcogcnnelfmaeghhagj-2019.10.22-09_59_12 - 2020-01-14T203259.753.jpg


Soon faced its self and I was back with the zoomed-in resolution.

Any other ideas? :)

If it helps the laptop was puchased May 2017. I believe Nvidia have 3 years warranty however I contacted them and they only make the chipset? No idea who makes the graphics card? I did orginally think is was Clevo however I believe they are a PC Specialist competitor?

Thanks
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Quick update,

Did a clean install and followed your guides.

Booted up fine (Zoomed in resolution), then I restarted it
Once restarted I guess the drivers installed or the graphics card was working because I had better resolution. 5 minutes later the laptop crashes and I get this screen when it tries to reboot.

View attachment 14880

Soon faced its self and I was back with the zoomed-in resolution.

Any other ideas? :)

If it helps the laptop was puchased May 2017. I believe Nvidia have 3 years warranty however I contacted them and they only make the chipset? No idea who makes the graphics card? I did orginally think is was Clevo however I believe they are a PC Specialist competitor?

Thanks
It does point to a faulty GPU. Clevo are the manufacturer and PCS are the supplier who sell Clevo chassis amongst others.

There is a site called Eurocomm where you can buy spare parts including GPU's, but they're not cheap! Be aware, you have to get the same type or else you'd need a BIOS to work with the new card, which you'd only be able to get from a supplier like PCS.


AFAIK the warranty is with the supplier, not clevo directly.
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
With that being a clean install it would definitely suggest the GPU at fault. One last thing to check would be the GPU temperature. If the heatsink wasn't working correctly the GPU could get toasty. This is a complete long shot as the GPU doesn't heat up as much as the CPU with no load but it's the last thing to check.

Other than that it does unfortunately look like a hardware fault.
 

tomandad

Member
Thanks, everyone for your help and advice. Yes, it does look like a hardware problem. I'll get in touch with PC Specialist to see what they recommend. Failing that I'll purchase a new GPU and install it.

Is there any way of preventing this problem happening in the future? Not sure if overheating would have been the cause?

Thanks
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Do check GPU temps as above, in case it's a thermal issue.

It's hard to say what the cause was, as we've no idea how it was treated by the former owner. Maybe they used it for mining or something crazy like that.

Buying a replacement MXM GPU to fit yourself is of course an option.

If that chassis is an Octane it probably has Thunderbolt, in which case an eGPU is possibly an option? That's not a very portable solution, but as you've bought a 2nd hand laptop that has had who knows what done to it, it would be a shame to buy a £600 MXM GPU only for it to not work, or for something else to die in the near future. At least an eGPU could have the GPU salvaged to a desktop, or be used with other devices potentially.

eGPU isn't the best plan, but from a personal point of view I'd be concerned about investing more money into the system, even if it is essentially useless in its current state.
 

tomandad

Member
An eGPU actually looks like a really good option! The laptop will mostly be used in the office to render 3D images/videos. It'll also sometimes be used to visit customers. However, I don't mind taking the eGPU along with.

Before I get too excited about this option. How can I double-check if the eGPU will work with the laptop I have?

With it being external I guess it'll also help with keeping the laptop cool? I had spoken to someone local and they said gaming laptops generally get really hot as they can't cool down fast enough compare to desktops

Thanks again for this option, definitely worth looking into. Gives me the option to upgrade cards in the future too
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
If the laptop has thunderbolt and so does the eGPU enc afaik it should work.

You can check the Clevo chassis model (on the underside of the laptop case) online to check that's what it has but from what I remember most if not all PCS Octanes have had thunderbolt.

With an eGPU you tend to see some performance degradation. Especially in games, due to the limited PCIe lanes and also due to CPU bottlenecks. But 3D rendering can be, I think, less affected by PCIe lanes as it's not the same kind of workload.

For any kind of rendering / video exports where you're reliant on the CPU, the 7700 will probably be a bottleneck anyway, but if it's rendering on the GPU you should at least see decent performance from the added external GPU.

I can't really be more specific than that as I don't own one of these laptops, or an eGPU enclosure, don't do rendering, and have never really researched any of the above, all I know is from some casually-read articles and the odd spot of forum reading.
 

tomandad

Member
I think I'll go down this route. I just need to do some research on the best one I can find. I do believe the 3D software we use does render with the GPU. I managed to find the Thunderbolt logo on the side of the laptop so I'm all good to go.

From reading up you get around 90% of the performance from the card compared to 100% if it was in a desktop.

Again can't thank you guys in the forum enough for the help. If I remember I'll post an update on which eGPU I went with and how it's performing.

Thanks again
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
I've never looked into using an eGPU but one thing that springs to mind is bypassing the GPU altogether. Does the eGPU/Thunderbolt option facilitate this? Just thinking that it'll crash periodically by booting up on the faulty GPU.

If plugging in the eGPU bypasses this anyway then that's gravy, just thought I would mention as it popped into my head.
 

tomandad

Member
I'll have to double-check with PC Specialist to see the best away forward. I've spoken to Clevo and they have said it needs a dedicated GPU inside the laptop for work. Might need to purchase a cheaper GPU for the laptop and then use a eGPU. Hopefully PC Specialist will have the answer.

Thanks
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
I'll have to double-check with PC Specialist to see the best away forward. I've spoken to Clevo and they have said it needs a dedicated GPU inside the laptop for work. Might need to purchase a cheaper GPU for the laptop and then use a eGPU. Hopefully PC Specialist will have the answer.

Thanks

Less exorbitantly priced would be more fitting than "cheaper" to be honest. Even the cheapest options are very expensive. If you're saving the laptop by replacing the GPU, you would be as well fitting the same one as was in previously as there won't be THAT great a deal difference in cost. The expense of buying a GPU, an eGPU enclosure and a second GPU is going to far outweigh the cost of simply replacing the original laptop GPU.
 
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