weird problem with screen

Hi there! I have this really weird bug, I dont know exactly what is the problem.

I have an Alienware m17x r4.
Graphic card is NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M. Device manager shows Intel HD Graphic 4000 as well.

The screen is all fuzzy, with tiny blurried line.
Like this:


Here is a closeup:


I though my screen was the problem... but if I do plug a HDMI cable from the HDMI out to the HDMI in and press Fn-F8 (HDMI In), I have a perfectly working screen.


So... any idea what it could be? Does that mean the videocard is the problem? If the videocard is the problem, is this fixable?

Also, if the videocard is faulty, is there any way for me to boot using the internal graphic (Intel HD 4000) instead of GTX 660M? So I dont have this stupid hdmi wire running from one end to the other on my laptop!

Thx!

 

@sebasdess My guess is GPU issue, but I don't get that HDMI part..

First - Check outputs with both Optimus ON (Intel HD-iGPU + Nvidia) and Optimus OFF (dGPU mode - Nvidia GPU only renders the stuff), IF happens only with OFF then GPU might be the issue, IF happens with both then some prob with cable / display / worst case mobo.

Second - HDMI outputs on each mode..If it shows same with Optimus OFF then it is GPU isse, If It doesn't then the cable might be..

The display problems are the worst IMO. Personal experience, hard to find which component causes it, even RAM can do..Could be LCD cable as I said but only if this happens with Optimus ON also (no HDMI, internal screen) then either the Cable / Display / Mobo (worst case, less likely to happen)

But It's better to have M17x R4 people chime in, I don't have any idea about that machine...

P.S - If your machine has 120Hz then there's only one mode - dGPU mode and the issue might be with GPU then.
Plus yes you can fix if the GPU issue is the case, buy a GTX 980M, 100% worth for a massive boost (with Custom System BIOS and Custom vBIOS you can have Win7,8.1, 10 all in that machine which the Alienware 17 & M18x R2 cannot - these need full UEFI boot - Win8.1 or Win10)

Sorry If that was confusing.. I tried my best to put it in words.
Goodluck

 

Further troubleshotting:

I have opened my alienware and remove the videocard. I rebooted and... still same problem.

My hypothesis is my integrated videocard is broken but my dedicated videocard is okay. Does it make any sense?

 

Intel CPUs are rock stable throughout many years I don't think that's the case, It might be the cable or display or mobo (cable most likely or next would be display and last mobo)

 

I agree with you on the lifespan of Intel processors, but I do believe that the issue may be in the iGPU. The only way to know would be trying another CPU though.

 

And what would be the best way for me to troubleshot this? I dont want to just throw away money trying to change part that are working correctly... :/

Is there any way to just use ONLY my discrete video card and not use the iGPU? I read there is some hidden setup in BIOS, will it unlock this feature if I flash mine?

 

IIRC, the Svl7 sBIOS mod for M17x R4 will unlock the GPU option from the BIOS and you can select the modes - PEG / iGPU from there, but I don't know how to do it or any other approach but try at Techinferno forums, that's where the mod was afaik..Someone should help you who has an M17x R4.

 

That's the way I know ^^

 

try to disable the intel gpu and see what happen

 

Further troubleshooting:

I did install a unlocked bios. I tried to change some option, trying to boot using either discrete card or dedicated card. Nothing work.

Could it be a screen connection which is "bypassed" when connected via HDMI? Not sure if this makes any sense... but that's the only theory that make sense to me at the moment. :|

Cause clearly, the screen CAN work (it does when using HDMI). Dedicated video card is working correctly via HDMI. Removing discrete videocard doesnt change anything (neither trying to run solely on dedicated videocard)... So as using one or the other videocard doesnt solve the problem, I dont think it has anything to do with those.

Anything I could check to troubleshoot this problem? I do have an old working screen (17.3"; 1920 x 1080 FHD LED AUO B173HW01 V.5 72% NTSC Matte Display) from a Clevo P170HM (same as Sager 8170). Can I connect this to test?

 

With Intel also doing the same is not understandable, Mine doesn't do with IntelHD. Only with the GPU output In my case I'm doubting about the LVDS here or Display (unlikely since the iGPU output, HDMI out both work), mobo is worst case.

I don't know about your screens check out the part numbers in the AW owners lounge.

Try to get an LVDS cable and try it out if this doesn't go away then It's either display or the last mobo case.

LVDS for 60Hz / eDP for 120Hz (only Nvidia or AMD chipsets)

 

Have you tried reseating the LVDS cable? I had a similar experience with my M15x and this was the problem.

Sent from my overpriced Galaxy S6 Edge +

 

Yes, it's compatible. That is, provided you have the same panel (or similar) as the LG in NBC's R4 review.

Cable issue is somewhat unlikely; HDMI-in has to pass over the LVDS cable in the end, same as a direct internal connection. Hmm ... you might want check the panel's refresh rate with UFO Test (use a compatible browser) for both direct control and the HDMI workaround. Hooking up hdmi often enables a hard cap to 60 Hz and it might be merely this cap that is 'fixing' the issue. If this is indeed what's happening then running an external monitor, rather than hdmi-in, would have the same effect.

 

Ok so...
LCD panel on Alienware is AUO B173RW01 v.4. My spare LCD Panel is AUO B173HW01 v.5

Is there any adapter or something I could use to make those two panel compatible?

 

Yes, I did. I did unconnect everything and then reconnect. No luck, unfortunately!

 

You shouldn't need to; pin configuration is identical and power specifications are comparable, this ought to be plug-and-play ( B173RW01 V4 vs. B173HW01 V5). Only thing is slightly more watts consumed, which the AW can handle, and running the HW panel on the Alienware would see its lowest-brightness level a little brighter than it did on the Clevo (pwm range is different).

Have you tried it yet? And the frequency tests?

 

Frequency test was showing same result (60hrtz).

Regarding the HW and RW: I will try again tonight/tomorrow. But the lvds was different (see the picture). I have tried to switch the lvds on the HW screen so it fit my alienware... But connector on panel was not fitting perfectly and I didnt want to break anything forcing this. I will try again tonight...

 

Ok, so I was able to switch the panel.

Good news is: I now have a 1920x1080 matte screen instead of a 1600x900 glossy screen.

Bad news is: it didnt change anything regarding the bug!!

I'm seriously running out of idea.
Two things left:
LVDS cable
Motherboard.

I'm buying a LVDS cable now and hopefully, this will solve the problem.

cya in 2 weeks! haha!

 

You said you tried booting without a GPU installed?

 

Yes, I did take off the graphic card and tried to boot from the integrated graphic card: it didnt fix anything.

Received my LVDS cable today. No luck: I do have the same problem.

So... motherboard? Or anyone else got idea?

Even the motherboard problem do not make any sense to me: why the hell would using an HDMI cable would fix the problem?

 

There was a similar type not the weird pattern or broken image, other guy had this problem with lines showing in games, It was his CPU that was at fault.
Tbh these issues are too painful to fix.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/not-sure-whats-going-on-here-artifacts-m18x-r3.789870/page-3

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N915A using Tapatalk

 

The HDMI In overrides some motherboard connections, and what you do is almost the same as connecting to external display... if you did that i'm pretty sure you'd get the same results.

If it was the LVDS it would still have same problem even with hdmi, but on external display it would be ok. same goes for screen, if it was faulty connecting it over hdmi wouldn't help a bit.

I would have pointed fingers to the gpu, but since you've replaced it the only possibile explanation left is that it's indeed the motherboard.