M70 Series M70Vm-B1 - Video Card Issues

Hi All,

I just recently got a M70 Laptop but the video card has some issues.
This is the laptop newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220361
(Can't post URL due to Forum Post requirement)


Everything is working fine on this laptop
- Blu Ray plays fine - no stutter
- The Sound is good
- No BSOD so far.

Once I login to Lord of the rings Online and start playing for 30 minutes the laptop freezes within 30 minutes. I set the graphics from High to Low but the issue is there. As for Warhammer online, it would freeze instantly after logging in.
I then decided to install STEAM with Half life 2 deathmatch. Same freezing issue.

What I found so far is using Riva Tuner to monitor the GPU Temp, it jumps to 80 degrees then freezes. I don't do any overclocking on this video card. I play the games on a kitchen table with enough ventilation .

I decided to install XP on the laptop with the latest Nvidia Drivers from laptopvideo2go.com but the issue persists.

So after 4 days of use, I have to RMA this to ASUS for them to take a look at it.
Has anyone else had problems with Video Card and/or Laptop? Did I buy the wrong laptop for occasional gaming? Anyone have any tips for me?

Thanks
Charles

 

80 degrees is an acceptable temperature for a GPU under load, so it shouldn't be the problem. If it's not already in RMA, you could try:

a) different versions of drivers (although the fact that you used two different versions on two different OSes points away from a driver issue)
b) disabling powermizer to make sure it's not buggy and causes problems.

You should perhaps also monitor your GPU clocks and see if the card is not downclocking for some reason.

 

Thanks for the reply EBE.
It's not in RMA yet but ready to send it out tomorrow afternoon. I decided to ask the community before I go the RMA route.

As for your suggestions:
Where do I disable powermizer?

Where can I find information to find out the best clock settings for the 9600m?

 

GPU-Z will give you the default clocks, as well as reading for the current clocks. Make sure the card isn't downclocking during the game, which would cause stuttering.

Powermizer can be disabled in the driver options (may need to switch to Advanced interface), and also using a small program called PowerMizer Switch (google).

 

Thanks EBE. I'll go ahead and try your suggestions.

I'll reply back with my results.

 

Alright! Everything is running smoothly now after overclocking.
I set the following using rivatuner to
400 core clock
800 shader clock ( I set to 1000 but it crashed the games)
400 memory clock


Stats before overclocking (Default)
Date , GPU Core Clock [MHz] , GPU Memory Clock [MHz] , GPU Temperature [°C] ,

2008-10-27 21:19:46 , 169.0 , 100.0 , 49.0 ,


After overclocking (running warhammer and HL2)
WAR
2008-10-27 21:24:50 , 430.0 , 400.0 , 71.0 ,

2008-10-27 21:24:51 , 430.0 , 400.0 , 71.0 ,

2008-10-27 21:24:55 , 430.0 , 400.0 , 70.0 ,

2008-10-27 21:28:09 , 430.0 , 400.0 , 74.0 ,

2008-10-27 21:28:10 , 400.0 , 400.0 , 73.0 ,

2008-10-27 21:28:11 , 400.0 , 400.0 , 72.0 ,

Half Life 2
2008-10-27 21:54:14 , 400.0 , 400.0 , 67.0 ,

2008-10-27 21:54:15 , 400.0 , 400.0 , 67.0 ,

2008-10-27 22:00:34 , 430.0 , 400.0 , 69.0 ,

I went ahead and saved this profile for games.
This is still using the updated drivers from ASUS.

 

Aren't these the default clocks?
400 core clock
800 shader clock ( I set to 1000 but it crashed the games)
400 memory clock

If so, then you have obtained using RivaTuner the same effect as you would have obtained by disabling power mizer. The latter would have been a more elegant solution.

 

I did come across game freezes again but after using power mizer, the issue is not present. I even installed the Unreal 3 Demo which ran fine for 15 minutes.
The temp stayed around 65o with no lag or other issues.

Later tonight I will run all games within a 2 hour window to see if all is well.

 

I'm not sure I follow. Did you disable powermizer? Did you overclock using RivaTuner? Both?

 

I disabled powermizer but no overclocking.

 

Alright. That was one of my original suggestions.

Please note that disabling powermizer is a compromise: it will mean that the card always runs at full clocks, which will heat it up more. Perhaps you should try different drivers and verify whether with those drivers, the card is upclocking correctly under load with powermized enabled (i.e., no freezes).

 

Well, I'm biting the bullet after constant freezes and sending it to ASUS for RMA.

my scenarios so far
1. riva tuner OC with powermizer - asus drivers - game freeze
2. no OC with powermizer - asus drivers - game freeze
3. no OC and no powermizer - new nvidia drivers - 180.42 - game freeze

Thanks again for the help