Very weird power problem with G73JH

The problem is the readings i took were over a few seconds, i'm still not convinced the problem is with my PC, i think i'll order a PSU and check it out for real

 

The PSU has to drop below 18.5 Volts to really appear like its 'off' to the System. Unless of course right when your were testing it happened to perform fine.

How much does the PSU cost? Are you getting off on ebay? The prices are cheap on ebay.

 

yeah it's about 30 to 40$ on ebay...i wish i had a seller in canada in case the PSU is not the problem i can send it back...or maybe i'll try to find a local store where i can buy a PSU, even if i pay double i dont really care at least i can rule out the problem, and in case the problem is my PSU i'll just bring it back for a refund and buy it off ebay.

 

Can somebody do me a favor and check if you have a line that appears about 1/2 in down from the top of the screen when you plug in the AC plug? plug it and unplug it a couple of times and see if you have a line on top that appears...PLZ

 

Yes the flickering line appears and then goes off. Its the Memory clocks of the Mobility 5870 switch between 500 and 1000Mhz.

 

Aren't the power supplied "Smart" and have a controller chip in them that allows them to change the output power according to the computers need?

 

Powerplay profile clocks are set in the vBIOS, we can stop the flickering by forcing clocks to stay 1000Mhz on the memory for all profiles battery/AC.

This is true with the new v93 BIOS that most of have flashed to. The stock BIOS should have memory at 1000mhx on all profiles. v93 has 500Mhz on powerplay profiles for battery mode.

 

Guys watch this:
G73 problems part 2 - YouTube

 

To me it looks like suddenly the GPU is getting less voltage but the clocks don't drop and then it gets into that wired state for a while. When the voltage is back up normal levels it continues behaving normally.

If there was damage for Core or vRAM, once the glitches come in it will never rectify by itself, it would only get worse.

 

Hmmmmmm...i think over the weekend i will do some serious formatting! If issues continue...so will the troubleshooting! Thank you so much for being so fast in responding and helping me! I appreaciate it

 

Was that a flash video? Youtube? Is the issue happening with just flash videos or just about any kind of video?

 

All video, weather on youtube, or the source file played with WMP...here is another video for you.
G73 Problems Part 2-2 - YouTube

 

Ok could you do a dump of your current VBIOS? From Sapphire Trixx or GPUz. preferably from Sapphire trixx as GPUz can be unreliable.

The artifacting seen on your screen is typical of high clocks and not enough voltage. But you have it on stock clocks, so overclocking is not the issue. Its voltage related.

 

Sure, i click on save bios or save report?? and then i put it where, is my dropbox ok for you?

 

Pat if you have RBE you can open the file then attach the screen shot to an existing or new post RBE - Radeon BIOS editor
Note this is Chastity's fix od2 that i am runnning w/o any major issues.

 

Or Zip it up and attach the file here to your post.

 

Its the Save BIOS option.

 

Ok here it is...what are you gonna do?? check the settings or what?

 

Yeah just making sure on AC power mode your card is not being underfed on the voltage.

Nothing wrong in the BIOS, but those artifacts at stock clocks really look like the card is not getting enough juice.

When you are on battery the problem goes yes?

 

yup...i can watch videos, play games and all

 

But the moment you connect the AC power the problem can creep up anytime....

Testing on the PSU revealed nothing faulty about the PSU.

A simple overclock with temps under control can't ruin a card. That's just too hard to consider at this time.

Another thing we could test is to deliberately lower the GPU clocks on the AC mode to 600 and see if that causes the problem to reappear. If it doesn't it wont still conform the card is faulty as it could may well be a voltage supply issue.

GPUz and other software are not accurate in reporting the true voltage thats being supplied as they just read it off the vBIOS.

 

want me to lower to 600/1000?

 

ok so i just underclocked and after about 30 seconds my screen turned black, i couldnt shut it off with power, had to take out battery. i think i will format and see from that points if the problem persists

 

Wow under clocking also giving you problems this is really strange.

 

check back saturday or sunday, ill post results a good 24h after format

 

I have this thread subscribed so I will get the notification the moment someone posts.

 

wth - as I wrote before, the problem is in your DC power jack, and you keep on reformatting.. so good luck with reformat fixing your hardware problem, I am convinced you are wasting your time.

 

I'm sorry my friend but your solution doesnt make any sense. If the Jack was making a bad connection, if you move it around it would make the connection better, or not at all. If the jack was the problem how do you explain the 2 youtube videos i just posted. If the jack was the problem, how would you explain that when i underclock my GPU it crashes...please let the people who wanna help talk.

 

Pat, I reread the thread, and just wondered do you see any issues in event viewer when connected to AC and the flickering happens?

Sorry, Apps or more likely system - Error or warning
I was just thinking if you can pinpoint the time this happens with a specific error.

 

Where exactly should i look?? system, apps? should i look for warning or problems?? can you be any more precise?

 

Sorry guys for not updating the post in a while...with work, school, mid terms and friends, i didnt have time to format or investigate the problem further. But things always happen for a reason...today after the problem discharged my battery, i shut down the computer to recharge it (because closing the pc usually charges the battery) and i realised my orange battery light was flashing from time to time...my laptop if completely off so this rules out any graphic, driver or any other computer related cause and pretty much puts the spotlight on the AC Adapter. Unless i'm a total newb, i think this is correct assumption...what do you think?

I feel like going to buy a new adapter and rule out once and for all the external factors

 

As long as you can return the charger if it doesn't solve the issue, go ahead and give it a shot.

But the multimeter tests showed the voltage was inline with what we would expect to see for that adapter.

 

Ok, final update! Finally decided to purchase a new adapter after problem became so bad i had to juggle working for 1.5hrs and closing the laptop for it to fully recharge. The problem is THE A/C ADAPTER!!!

As it turns out, i should of consulted my dad earlier who was a electrical engineer for the polish army back in the days. He said that adapters are tricky because if you unplug them and test the voltage they will show you 19v, but in fact the problem can be only when its under current. He took a 24v light bulb and plugged it to show me that the light flickered. He then confirmed it was the adapter. I purchased a new one on ebay for 35$ and VOILA!!! problem solved!

I guess we can all add this to our experience book!

 

Good it work out in the end.

Yeah load can't be tested while measuring at the multimeter. Under load it can vary by a lot. I didn't suggest testing it with an external device as if you didn't have the resources on hand buying them is extra cost and hassle. And since you were buying a new adapter anyway, if that solved it it would serve the purpose that way.