I think I messed up...

So once a while when I'm playing COD4 on my laptop I would OC my graphics card to 590/740 for quick 1hr to 1hr30min sessions, and after I play, and I would revert back to factory clocks.

Today, my laptop has been continually freezing/rebooting/not turning on, and like weird color lines would go across the screen, sometimes horizontally and sometimes vertically.

I think somewhere along the lines...I killed my graphics card.

How do I know if I overclocked the graphics card too much and now its dying? I'm sad, I just bought this laptop late november, and it took me a long time to save money for this.

 

Only way to find out for sure is send it back for repair. You can run a quick test though. Download atitool, then run the 3d furry thing for a while. See if there are any anomalies. Once it's been on for a while to get your GPU nice and warm, click on scan for artifacts and leave it running for a while to see if you get any. If you do it's a good bet that there's something wrong with your GPU.

 

Pretty sure you have killed the card, my friend had similar results after he overclocked it a bit too far.

 

send it back to HP to get it replaced...but don't you ever mention the overclocking part to them xD

 

First off, uninstall any OCing utility you have.
Then run CCleaner to remove all leftovers.
After that,you can safely send it to HP.

 

my worst nightmare.

thank you everyone for your responses. I removed nTune and RivaTuner, did a CCleaner removal of registry files.

I'm scared that this is going to happen to my laptop:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=198900

*shudders*

Hopefully they'll replace the whole mobo, should I leave them a note to replace the whole mobo or what?

 

no then they would know that you messed it up

 

i have approximately 20gigs worth of data/music/homework that I don't want to lose, what's the easiest way to back this up? Connect a CAT5 cable to another laptop and transfer all files over?

Ok, in my email to HP, i told them that my screen flickers and shows weird colors in stripes and stuff (which it really does), what happens if they get it and nothing is wrong? Is there someway for them to physically look at the GPU or GPU heatsink and tell that there is something wrong? I really want it replaced.

 

On a side note, when sending a computer in for repairs. If you can thru the screen problems, back up all data. Wiping OS reinstall might not be the worst idea. This is more for my own opinion on privacy and such but as an added bonus covers tracks. Should not raise suspicions as you were one protecting your privacy or two just trying to resolve your issue before sending in. Remember you are not a computer tech so it does not have to make sense.

Edit I type slow did not see your post.

 

well if they do mess it up, it looks like that dude got a replacement, and a better setup by his EDIT at the end

EDIT
Sounds like ill be getting a replacement! And I must add when I get a confirmation on it, it will be a very nice upgrade from my current setup. Hopefully I wont run into any more speed bumps along the way!

 

I hope you learned your lesson.

 

I did, and I actually stop OC'ed already for a few weeks before this even happened. It was a few weeks ago when I was done playing COD4 for the day, and for some reason, my laptop restarted by itself.

I panicked, and stopped OC'd since then, and then today, all these issues just kept popping up.

 

great idea. seriously. reps for you! +++

What i'm scared is that they won't be able to replicate the problem, say nothing is wrong, and send it back to me with the laptop all screwed up. So I'm hoping there are some kind of physical indicators on the GPU or GPU heatsink that they can take a look and go...wow, this is messed up from overheating, let's replace it!

 

If it shows lines right now, it will also when they get it.
The GPU is close to fried,it just doesn`t magically fix itself

 

Unless it only messes up when you OC. You are over thinking this. If you have lost the ability to OC but works normal. Well as said "I hope you learned your lesson". And yea not good as failure might be in the future maybe just out of warranty.

 

#1 That was an insane overclock... almost +50% on the core... in a 14" laptop. (Nvidia specs are 400core/800shader/600x2 memory)
In a 14" chassis that had to be pretty hot.
Did you test the temps for that OC?

#2 the backup and return to stock sofftware is wise... they will probably do that anyway as a first step, so this is a good idea and if you leave your laptop off for a while will give you an idea what they see. Once done, run through what it takes to reproduce what happens from bootup once you return the stock software. If it isn't one particular thing (just booting up) then more than likely they will see it. If it is after starting something in particular, note that to the techs.

#3 if you did overheat it, the smart ones will KNOW it overheated. They might not know particularly why it did so, however.

#4 while your OC was pretty crazy, it might NOT be the reason for the laptop failure... or not the only reason... did you ever clean out the vents in the past 6 months?

 

Ok, well it really is my fault, I'm not blaming anyone but me.

Someone on the forum said they were able to clock all the way to 600/750, and maintain stable temps, so I took their word for it and did not test it. I was playing COD4 and was getting 30+ fps with everything from medium to high @ 1200x800 resolution. So, this was my fault for overclocking.

I also never cleaned the vents, but I do keep the laptop in a pristine condition and defrag with jkdefrag every other night, so I thought I was doing a good job in terms of maintaining it.

I can still oc, but haven't done so in weeks, since I was paranoid but it seems like an eventual death of my laptop coming soon

 

Ok,I think he got the point, no need to make him any more miserable.
I sugest checking out my guide(link in sig) for ways to clean the laptop and lower temps.
Also,take a 3dmark test with STANDARD clocks. Might be artefacting at high OCes only, which sugests Overheating/insufficient power.

 

well, I was at school when all this happened, and I tried to avoid using my laptop...well, I just got home, and my laptop won't turn on. I don't even see the BIOS Phoenix screen which leads me to believe, that this mobo is dead.

*sigh*

I had all my school work on it, and I was thinking, at my local frys would they have some sort of external drive kit where I could put in the laptop hard drive in there to pull of the data? I have access to a desktop that has firewire and usb, which is what I'm typing on now.

I'm never overclocking anymore, but I rather have a powerful laptop that fits my needs without anything extra.

 

That or removing the hard drive before sending it in.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817816001

Bought a SATA 2.5" USB 2.0 External Enclosure for $7.89

SWEET.

It's a done deal, I'm just going to stick another hard drive in my laptop and send it in. That way, I don't have to mess with my files or anything.

Thank you to everyone that guided me on what to do, this really is superb forum with fantastic support, something that I could not count on from HP.

I'll update later on what happens (like if I get my laptop all F-ed up and etc from hp.) LOL

 

Your OC might not exactly killed it. The symptoms you had also happened to people that didnt OC. The OC might have contributed though

what were your temps anyway?

 

yeh you most likely killed it, but if uve done CCcleaner all that stuff then they will probably never ever figure it out, will most probably just think the GPU got to warm and snuffed it, one thing though, if ur getting laptops ive learned that paying the insurance costs is always the best way round, i could overclock my laptop to death now if i wanted, and watch it literally melt, send it back to dell and they would have to get me a new one with same specs or better.

 

Just to follow up...

Hp is horrible at repairs. But I originally bought the laptop I believe for a little over $1,000 (taxes included). And after 1 week of playing phone tag with a case manager, as well as speaking with incompetent CSRs on the phone, they offered to refund a partial amount of my money.

I would like to note that, I put back the original 1GB ram, and kept the charger and 12 cell battery the notebook came with when I sent it in to repair (I own an early hp dv2050us laptop as well that I could use the battery and charger for)

They offered to refund me $700 dollars for the notebook (approx. 6 months old).

I just want to know from you guys if this is a good deal? This a good deal in my opinion because they still have the notebook in repair and quoted me a 1 month repair return timeline. Also, it kinda means I lost $300 dollars for the 6 months I had it for which is like I leased it for $50 dollars a month.

I mean, I kinda been having the itch for a new notebook for a while (not related to this) but what is the resale value on the market for buyers in the know for my notebook?

My notebook specs are listed below (minus the 4GB ram, it has 1GB ram)

 

The processor was fine, the RAM (that you added) was great. Everything else was ok, but I'd say pretty good for a 14.1 inch laptop.

Considering the release of Penryn CPUs, slightly bigger hard drives, and small updates to the Nvidia 9000 series, I'd call that $300 worth if you are a glass-half full type.

 

Hmmm, I am torn on this one. If I knew I was to blame for killing the laptop, I would probably be happy getting $700 for it

But lets just say that I was not, and lets say that HP has no idea that you OC'ed. I would still be under warranty. I would expect either a full refund or full repair/replacement period. Regardless of what market vaule is.

 

Well, I am to blame but I wouldn't expect a company to refund the full value of a notebook that's been used for 6 months....30 to 60 days...maybe...then I would expect it.

But $700 is the fair market value for that notebook? If it is, then I'm quite content with the partial refund.

I was thinking about getting a 13 to 14 inch laptop with a graphics card better then the slightly pos 8400m GS I had. Otherwise, I think I'm going to get the dell xps m1330, it has the same graphics card but I believe its 128mb instead of the 64mb one that I had. I also had the ddr3 version so I hope the dell one is also the ddr3 version...does anyone know?

 

Be aware that trying to OC a 8400m GS on a smaller 13" laptop will end up exactly like what happened to your HP

By consumer law, HP has to repair you laptop. If its not repairable then they will have to replace it with something of the same value at your discretion. If they cant replace it, then they will have to give you a full refund or store credit.

They are only giving you a partial refund to bargain and make things easier. I suggest you take the $700 and make a run for it and buy a bigger laptop that can play fully COD4, like a m1530.

 

Actually, I for sure plan on NOT OC'd ever again. Seriously. I'm done. I honestly had no idea what I was doing. What I DO plan on doing is undervolting (is this possible on penyrn CPUs?) and buying a notebook cooler (Still in the process of reading reviews, have no idea which one is the best)

I am probably taking the $700 and "running" like you suggested, and I honestly didn't think I was getting a full refund due to the fact it's been a little less then 6 months with my notebook since I bought it, and I think $700 is fair market value...I think.

I bought the notebook for $$966.99 which is $1,046.77 with tax. So I really am losing $346.77 which ok by me I guess because I actually wanted a more powerful CPU and GPU.

 

Well You did take your OC a little too far.

Yes penryns can be undervolted. they are quite good at it too. As for a notebook cooler, the zalman nc2000 seems to be the most successful

The $700 is an easy way out especially when your at fault. I would sure take it and purchase a different notebook.