G73JW Graphics problem?

Hi, as the title suggests, I'm having (weird) problems with my G73JW The other day as I started it up, a horrible, horrible flickering green screen came up as the background for the Windows boot up logo. It was sort of a green tv static if you will. I freaked out immediately, and watched horrified as it logged into my account, displaying patches of green, pixel-like patterns. Also, when I opened Firefox, the screen started displaying some pink, horizontal lines... ? This issue comes and goes. Right now everything's fine (except maybe for occasional reappearances that last half a second). So I called Asus, and they said to download the latest Nvidia drivers (267.something, I believe.) (was running on stock). It *seems* to have lessened, but still reappears now and then. I showed it to a few friends who are pc technicians and a few of them said it was probably the graphic card. They suggested that it maybe overheated, yet I highly doubt this to be the case. Could it maybe have gone loose or something? What do you guys suggest/think it is?

Attached some pics for reference...

 

Is this the 3DE version?

The fact that its doing it during boot is not good and to me that looks like a hardware problem good ol Asus advice for everything update the drivers

Have you checked the temps using GPU-z / HWINFO32? make sure they are all ok during IDLE and LOAD if it comes and goes this could be the problem it could be the screen, a bad paste, the heatsink might not be seated properly, shifted thermal pad, its just quess work as the GTX 460 should not really run that hot from what i've heard its a pretty cool card compared to the 5870m.

If its new or within warranty its best you send it in for repair or take it back to where you bought it from.

EDIT: Someone on this page has a similiar green screen problem the answer was its a memory/controller issue and it needs to be RMA'd

 

Does it happen during boot or does it happen during the windows load screen? If it happens when windows loads the video drivers, then it's a driver problem. Your pictures seem to indicate it's more than that though.

 

I think the best option for you is to have an RMA. You can try HWMonitor to check if the graphics card is running too hot. Since yours is a G73JW, it has the same graphics card as the G73SW. I can confirm that the 460m is a rather cool card. Even if I play Crysis 2 at extreme settings, the temp does not go past 70C. The room temp I usually have is around 35C.

 

@Dallers
Nope, mine is just the regular G73JW (xt1 version). I am currently checking the idle temp and the max is at 45C (currently laying on bed btw, so this might be a factor). Will get back to you on the load temps. Also, yes, I just bought this thing on November So I can always RMA it... Btw, where in that page does it say it's a controller problem? His issue looks a lot like mine though...

@DCx I actually haven't noticed if it also does it during boot up... Since it hasn't done it again, I can't test to see...

@Vergil_Sparda Yeah, and from my experience, this thing rarely gets hot... Which only makes it more baffling

One last thing: Can I still send my laptop back to Asus even though it's not doing it now? I thought the driver update had fixed it, but sometimes the thing pops up for half a second like I said.

ATTACHED: Current IDLE temps.

EDIT: Whoa, scratch that. The GPU temps seemed to rise for a moment. It was 51C and went down to 47C.

 

Have you tried an external monitor? If you take a screenshot, does the image itself contain the artifacts?

 

Try that, i had a similar problem once with my N50 and it turns out the cable between the LCD and the GPU was the culprit. Everything worked normally on an external monitor. Boot into the bios settings and see if you can't replicate the problem, this should rule out the driver issue for good.

 

Hmm... that's a great idea. I didn't think of that when it was happening unfortunately, so I can't try that

@Tijo
That's also a great idea. See above reply

I guess there's not much left to be done, seeing as how I can't make it appear at will... Just have to wait when it happens again and try all this... I'm starting to think it is a loose cable. Sometimes, I could recreate it by tilting the screen back so it put a some pressure on the back vents.

ATTACHED: Temps on load. Everything seems to be in order IMO. (Btw, crysis 2 rocks).

 

Okay, so it's doing it right now and I did what some of you told me. I took a screencap and the image itself does not contain the artifacts. So... It's a driver/video problem? Like I said, I'm more inclined to believe it's a loose monitor cable...

 

In that case it's the LVDS cable or the LCD itself. If it's not showing in the screenshot it's not a GPU or driver problem.

 

Gah, that's what I meant. Well, I'm glad it's not as horrible as I thought, then. I'm guessing I still have to RMA it, though...

 

You wouldn't need to break warranty stickers to get to the LVDS cable but it'd be safest to RMA it. If you're comfortable with laptop repair, see http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...475907-asus-g73-series-disassembly-guide.html

Basically take off the keyboard and top chassis and reseat the cable.

If the cable is bad though, RMA is your only real option.

 

Here's the cable: ASUS Laptop Part: 1422-00PQ0AS - G73 series (G73JH, G73JW)lcd cable for 17.3" LED displays

You should also be able to get it from:

Asus Spare Parts - the Greatest Spare Part Site in the World

My advice is if it's still under warranty, then RMA it.

If you're a do it yourself, disassembly isn't too bad. It looks daunting at first when you check the video, there's a disassembly guide somewhere on the forums as well (for everything but lcd panel disassembly, follow the video though). You'll have to cope with the evil double sided tape under the keyboard to remove the lvds cable though.