Laptop GTX 960M GPU dead or faulty RAM?

I need a bit of help with my laptop guys, it's 2 years old and it's already experiencing some hiccups.

Specs:

ASUS G501JW
GTX 960M
Intel HD 4600
i7- 4720HQ
12GB RAM
Windows 8.1 Pro

Summary of the problem:

- Random system crashes
- Right clicking on a file takes 20-30 seconds before it shows the action e.g "open, properties"
- Opening Nvidia control panel can take up to a minute and sometimes it crashes
- Can't open the "Adjust image settings" in NCP and it gives me an error "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered"
- CPUZ sensor monitoring for the GTX 960M shows this: http://prntscr.com/gtxgu4 and GPUZ constantly not responding

GPUZ summary: http://prntscr.com/gtxh5t

- HWInfo64 does not monitor the GPU: http://prntscr.com/gtxj0k (I used the portable version and everything is in default)
- Running a game will play for a minute then crash

Troubleshooting steps that didn't work:

- Uninstalled Nvidia driver using DDU and installed a newer version
- Uninstalled Nvidia driver using DDU and installed a older version
- Uninstalled Nvidia driver using DDU and installed a older version from the manufacturer's site
- Reinstalled Windows 8.1 Pro w/supporteddrivers
- Changed the storage driver and installed Windows 10 Pro w/supported drivers

Temporary fix:

- Disabling GTX 960M in Device Manager/Display Adapter and using just the integrated Intel HD 4600 seems to restore the system in workable performance.

Minor issue: Some random freeze occurs during browsing even with the GTX 960M disabled.

CPU temps seems fine ranging from 55-60C.

 

Edit:

I reinstalled Windows 8.1 Pro but this time it's "MBR partition for UEFI" instead of "GPT partition for UEFI" and everything is fixed now, all in good working condition. A strange finding but I think @Phoenix did mentioned this in his Windows 10 clean installation guide over at his YouTube channel that he also experienced a problem with "GPT parition for UEFI", maybe same problem as this?

 

Win8.1Pro is dead. Can I ask why you haven't upgraded to Win10? You have all the negatives of Win10 (and more...) with none of the benefits.

I haven't seen this issue MBR vs. GPT issue myself. I'll keep it in mind next time I see a platform that is not running 'right'. Thanks.

 

I'm not really sure what to think honestly. Maybe @D2 Ultima or @Mobius 1 can help.

 

Today I reinstalled Windows 10 Pro with "GPT for UEFI" and I see if I can reproduce the problem and alas it did. Again, I tried reinstalling Windows 10 Pro with "MBR for UEFI" and there was no problem at all. I guess the former is the culprit.

I'm not sure either, there seems to be a big difference choosing between "MBR for UEFI" or "GPT for UEFI" the later is causing the issue to this particular laptop.

 

Thanks for doing that test for us. Did you notice any driver differences between the two installs? How long does it take to see an issue under GPT?

 

I tested the drivers from the manufacturer and the drivers from Nvidia but the issue occur right after the Nvidia driver installation unde "GPT for UEFI".

 

This is why I hate a notebook with a GPU inside.

For my workloads; waste of battery and TDP requirements And issues such as you found.

iGPU all the way (CPU+RAM forever!).

Thanks for the added notes.