The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    AMD-s 6000 series GPUs faulty?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by DH48, Apr 11, 2012.

  1. DH48

    DH48 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    342
    Messages:
    610
    Likes Received:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    31
    I have a question for Dell user and the ppl who have 6000series GPU. How many times have you had to replace the GPU or had problems with it not working /not detecting, artifacts on screen etc./

    Asking as my M17x R3 is going to the dell service again. My 6970m dies in 1-2 weeks after i got the notebook. After that i got the mobo and GPU swaped. Also the thermal pads on the old heatsink were not the best so i had the heatsink swaped to. Well yesterday they replaced it and tested it for 30 min. All temps good and after i got it home i had blue lines in one corner and blue spots all around shadows and other objects in games and on desktop. On intel no artifacts. With the ATI GPU enabled the system boots up in 3-4 min. Intel takes about 30-40 sec.
    This however is not my first dead GPU. I have had five 6970m-s that have all died. The longest it has lasted was about 2 months and thats the one i OC a few times.( died after repaste). First 6970m died the first day, Others have lasted a week or two ( No oc on these GPU.s)

    I have swaped GPU in the past on M17x many times but this is the first time i have had so faluty GPU-s

    Crapy parts?

    The shop that does work for dell said that they will call Dell and see if they can resolve this in any way as they have swaped the mobo and GPU many times already. Should i ask for a Nvidia GPU ? :confused: as ATI seems to not work.
     
  2. Liopleurodon

    Liopleurodon Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    24
    Messages:
    108
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    31
    I just have my m17x r3 for a month too, and sometimes the HD6990M works, sometimes not. With not working, I mean not being detected by either the BIOS or Windows. They're coming to replace it tomorrow.
     
  3. svl7

    svl7 T|I

    Reputations:
    4,719
    Messages:
    3,758
    Likes Received:
    134
    Trophy Points:
    131
    Seriously... did it ever cross your mind that your GPUs are dying because you put them in the G73 and mabye also because of careless handling (key word ESD)?
    If you're really wondering about all the defects you should mention what you're doing with your video cards...
    How many GPUs did you kill while running them in the G73? And how of the failed cards run at least for a while in the G73?

    And you even mention in the G73 thread that you might have killed two of them due to careless handling.

    I worked with several 69xxm cards and not a single one failed on me They're not easy to kill, provided you handle them properly and put them in an MXM-compliant system (which the G73 isn't, for several reasons).
     
  4. DH48

    DH48 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    342
    Messages:
    610
    Likes Received:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    31
    svl7 Jep 2 in the G73 might have died of my fault but i did the swap like on all the previous ones i have done only dif was the IC7 and room temp was low.
    The G73 is MXM.

    Its not like i did the swap in a sandbox and used sandpaper to clean the core :D

    Yes i did say where i put the first GPU. Thats when i got the reply that the 6000 series should be able to boot to windows without a heatsink...wich to me sounds a bit extreeme. Compared to some mods my mod on the G73 were not destructive. (used the R3 heatsink and backplate)


    Well i put a brand new 6970m in the M17 and it died in a week. Heatsink was the right one thermal past was IC7 also used a anti staticband . Then the shop took it in. I did not swap it the last time and they gave it back saying it was OK but it (died) started acting up the same day. Cant be that they die so easy in the right machine.

    The 5870 series better to swap. We swaped two 5870m.s in a M17x R2. Also have repasted and no problems.
     
  5. B4n6k3

    B4n6k3 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    176
    Messages:
    300
    Likes Received:
    18
    Trophy Points:
    31
    I have one replaced along with my Mobo after 3-4 month used..... My problem is it keep me getting solid white screen everytime I move or open close my lid screen panel. And finally it doesn't detected in BIOS. Just disappear.....
     
  6. bigtonyman

    bigtonyman Desktop Powa!!!

    Reputations:
    2,377
    Messages:
    5,040
    Likes Received:
    277
    Trophy Points:
    251
    Haven't had any issues with mine and its an ES version not an OEM. :)
     
  7. DH48

    DH48 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    342
    Messages:
    610
    Likes Received:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Well the first attempt on my M17x r3 started out OK. Temps were 54c at idle and it worked as it should. I did not OC and played mostly skyrim. Problem started after Alan Wake had random not detected and then detected. Did a repaste from IC to MX-2 and i got it working for a few hours then got white lines on desktop and then white screen. After that no detect at all. Dell service tested and was not able to get it to work and so they order a new mobo and GPU.

    Well the second time the service said that they tested it for 30 min and the tech who swaped the GPU said that he had it at idle for 30 min.... did not see the blue lines in the left corner of the screen. Well as soon as i got it home i opened the desktop and the lines were there. At first i thought it was the screen connector as i seemed to fade away when i moved the screen...but that theory was blown away soon as it did not effect it any more. Did all the driver tests....Dell drivers and then 11.10 ...then 12.3 and also the 12.4 beta....result was the same i had a blue blur all over the screen and well opening skyrim the my char had a blue blur glow and some items had small pixel blue lines on it. This was after the tech replace the heatsink with a brand new one. The tech said that temps were ok but 61c at idle ???.

    Well lets see what Dell tells the shop. All the 6970m GPU-s have been the brown ones that i think dell sells.

    Ou and svl7 the first GPUs i bought were from AMD. The the tech said that no matter what machine i had it in it should not had die if it does not have physical damage. The tech support has been nice and i have said most things i have done. I have not damaged the GPU on purpose. I have done all the swaps by the book. Have modded only the heat pipe ...heatsinks, the bracket and screws have been stock.

    The G73 is MXM as so far my 6870m works. Yes full fan speed but works as the mobo does not support all the features the asus GPU does.


    Well the more im using the notebook i have the more i am starting to think i bought a store exibit or the one that they have on display. I was missing the blank SD card. Had some scrahes on it and some one had over tighend the GPUS screws but i had all the stuff you get with a new AW.
     
  8. Liopleurodon

    Liopleurodon Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    24
    Messages:
    108
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    31
    I'm seriously pissed now. Some repair company just called me to tell that the replacement parts are currently not available.
    Does anyone know how long it can take for the parts to be available? Is it in a day or two, or can it take some weeks? (I hope not... )
     
  9. DH48

    DH48 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    342
    Messages:
    610
    Likes Received:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Same here. They do not have the parts in stock. They order them from dell or AMD (dont know exactly) but it usualy takes 2 -3 weeks. I have got all my parts in 2-3 weeks.
     
  10. Liopleurodon

    Liopleurodon Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    24
    Messages:
    108
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    31
    I thought this was how it worked:
    Dell customer contacts techinal support; Dell sends replacement parts overnight to a repair company which works for them and the repair company comes to replace the part(s).
    Or at least that's how it should be... I have next business day in home repair or how they call it, and now I'll have to wait some weeks? That seems not fair to me... I paid them 400-500$ for better and extended warranty and they fail to stock up sufficient amount of replacement parts?
    Sorry, but I'm really upset that I'll have to wait 2-3 weeks. :(
     
  11. DH48

    DH48 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    342
    Messages:
    610
    Likes Received:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Well thats how Dell service works here. Maybe its dif. in Belgium. All the parts i have bought from Dell took 2-3 weeks. The last time i took the notebook in for mobo and GPU replacement under warranty I waited 3 weeks for the parts ( They let me hold/keep the notebook until parts arrives as the integraded GPU worked OK ). The work itself took only a few hours.

    It seemes that i have to wait an extra 2-3 weeks aswell as they changed my notebook repair status to: Waiting for parts :/
     
  12. Liopleurodon

    Liopleurodon Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    24
    Messages:
    108
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    31
    The guy from the repair company just called again and told me the replacement parts had just arrived. So I guess they were in stock after all, but the transport may have taken a bit longer? Either way, they'll come to fix it tomorrow, so there was no need for me to worry.
    I hope you'll get your parts soon too.
     
  13. bigtonyman

    bigtonyman Desktop Powa!!!

    Reputations:
    2,377
    Messages:
    5,040
    Likes Received:
    277
    Trophy Points:
    251
    Sometimes stuff happens. just hang in there and I'm sure everything will workout fine. :)

    Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
     
  14. DH48

    DH48 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    342
    Messages:
    610
    Likes Received:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Thats good to hear Liopleurodon but i do not think my parts will arrive that fast. The manager did say that he will talk to dell personally as they have never had this type of problem were two GPU have to even more that it died after the they had a pro. swap it. will see in a few days if it arrives....if not then its a standard 2-3 week snail mail. :(
     
  15. DH48

    DH48 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    342
    Messages:
    610
    Likes Received:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Here are some photos taken with my camera. Now i know that it GPU related as when i use fraps and the switch back to intel GPU the blue spots are gone :/

    But here is how skyrim look on the ATI GPU.

    [​IMG]



    [​IMG]



    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 6, 2015
  16. nayilalien

    nayilalien Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    125
    Messages:
    472
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    no issues with my 6990m....LOVE IT
     
  17. hteng

    hteng Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    239
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    31
    you might need to reseat your card, i've got those blue lines when i repasted my card and a simple reseating should solve it.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 6, 2015
  18. DH48

    DH48 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    342
    Messages:
    610
    Likes Received:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Well did not do a reset but have no idea what i did as all of a sudden the lines were gone in the game.

    Well Dell will take the notebook in anyway next week and will see if they decide to replace it or not. First time they saw the lines they said defective GPU.