G51J-A1 - Shuts down suddenly when using an external monitor?

Hey, I looked around on this forum if this problem has been brought up yet but couldn't find anything so I made this thread..


When the laptop is connected to an external monitor, after gaming for about 15 minutes it suddenly shuts off (doesn't crash, or BSOD, or anything..the whole thing just shuts off).

This only happens when gaming - I can leave it on for as long as I want if I'm not.

Also, this problem doesn't seem to occur when the lid is open -- only when the lid is closed.

Anyone else having the same problem?

 

I have the G51J and from what I've read on the subject it appears that closing the lid while gaming increases temperatures to a point where the system shuts off to protect itself.

The G51J runs VERY hot while gaming. Without any modding, typical temps for me were in the 92 - 95 range with a cooler and the lid open.

I would assume that closing the lid pushes your temps into the 100's, which is very dangerous.

You could confirm this with a utility such as HWMonitor, but you would need to catch it before the system shuts down by alt tabbing. If you see high 90's, you could assume that the laptop is shooting into the 100's with enough time --> shutdown.

I'm looking into undervolting my GPU, which could help with temps. The undervolting guide here is very thorough, http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/401345-optimization-guide-asus-g51.html, but comes with it's own set of risks. I have not yet been able to get it to work myself, however. Something about GPU-Z does not agree with my laptop. I am looking into a workarround and I will post a guide if I figure it out.

I would advise you only game with the lid open for now (maybe not all the way, but maybe 1/3 open). This should increase air flow over the top of the computer and help keep your temps in the 90s.

Whatever you do, avoid things that make your computer shut itself down. You run the risk of damaging your awesome GPU!

 

As far as has been proven, using an external monitor with the lid closed ALWAYS shuts downs the laptop. This was probably made as a design choice as explained above, since the laptop runs quite hot and closing it only would cause trouble.

Just keep the lid open and it will work fine.

 

By the way, you can monitor your temperatures in-game with something like EVGA precision.

 

Thanks guys. I'll just game with it open then. I plan on getting one of those laptop coolers too (Zalman NC-1000?).

 

the NC-1000 might be a bit small because the G51J chassis is rather large. I recommend either a Zalman NC-2000 or the NZXT Cryo LX.