Do I need a new Graphics Card, or just a new cable? PLEASE HELP!

Hello,

I will start from the beginning . . .

I have the M570RU rev. #1 (a.k.a. np5790) with the nVidia 7950 GTX.

I recently 'upgraded' from XP professional to Vista ultimate, and had issues with my screen blinking when I would log in, as well as my wireless mouse waking my computer from sleep mode if I bumped it. If I tried to resume my computer from hibernate mode with a flash drive plugged into a USB port it would either hang or ask me to remove the media and then it would start.

Then came the foreshadowing of a larger problem . . .
One day, when doing nothing special on the computer, my screen started to do funky things, such as pulsing and changing color. It lasted a short time and then went away.



This phenomenon would recur now and again, and then it started getting worse. The screen would not revert back to normal without action on my part. If I pressed down against the lower left palm rest the screen would go back to normal.

Then, a few days ago, while playing F.E.A.R. 2 the screen went strange again, and pressing on the palm rest no longer fixed the problem. The screen is now stuck in "strange color mode." It also looks as if every other vertical column of pixels is black.




The only time that the screen looks to have normal coloration is for a brief moment immediately after logging in as the screen transitions from the login screen to the users desktop, and during the same transition when shutting down.

Additionally, this does not only occur once the OS has loaded, it can be seen during the POST screen as the BIOS initializes RAM etc. (which suggests to me that it is a hardware issue, not software).

I called customer service and the tech asked me to re-install my video driver (which I had already tried) and directed me to a specific one on his resellers website. I tried his driver, no dice. When I called back he said that it was my video card for sure. He said that I would need to send in the computer, and he quoted me a price of $670 to replace my 7950 GTX, or a price of $405 to 'upgrade' to the 8700m GT (prices of card alone - my machine is out of warranty, and who knows how much they would charge for labor).

I didn't like how quick the tech was to blame it one the video card, and so I started calling the tech support of other resellers for a second opinion. I didn't get very far, as many of them, after asking for a serial number and discovering that I did not purchase the laptop from them told me they couldn't help me. One guy even told me that they don't make either card anymore and that I was SOL.

However, one place I called was very helpful, the guy I spoke with was nice, and he transferred me to tech support. When the tech answered the phone I recognized the voice of the guy who told me that it was the video card, period. He talked with me about it, and seemed more friendly than when I had talked to him earlier, and told me that it was most likely "the cable." I was curious as to how I was talking to the same person through two different companies, and I wanted to make sure that it was the same guy, so I asked his name. It turns out that it was the exact same technician, and that the company I purchased my machine from sub-contracts their tech support through another company, which this guy works for. Interesting.

The tech said that the cable costs about $45, and I asked if I could buy "the cable" and swap it out myself, seeing as the computer is out of warranty, and he said definitely not.

So now my dilemma is this: what do I do?

The cost to ship my computer to the California service center is >$50 each way (I will have to pay for both ways), and I will be without my computer for a full month. I know both the shipping costs and the turn-around time because I have already sent this computer back twice (both times for the mainboard).

#1]. I need advice as to what you guys think the problem is - the cable, video card, something called the power board which he also mentioned it could be, or something else completely.

#2]. If there is a reasonable chance it is the cable, then:
-Which cable is it, and do you think I would be able to replace it myself, or am I safer sending the computer in to them to replace it.
-Can anyone give me a part no./where I can purchase one?



Thank you for bearing with me through the long post, and I truly appreciate any advice you can give me!

 

Which driver did the tech support told you to try?
Just wanna make sure you followed the right procedure

For the driver, try different one like this:
32bit > http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=23567
64bit > http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=23568

If it's indeed a hardware failure, it's a great time to upgrade since the 8800M GTX only cost ~$450.

 

the 8700gt that he mentioned was 450. not the 8800gtx

 

I followed that procedure exactly, restarting after both the uninstall and after the reinstall. No luck. As the POST screen displayed by the BIOS also has these issues, I believe it to be a hardware problem. Maybe I am wrong here though.

As for the 8800M GTX, I would LOVE to upgrade to that card! Unfortunately it is not supported by my motherboard (I have the np5790 equivalent of the M570RU, and the only two cards compatible with the mainboard are the 7950 GTX and 8700M GT), and I don't think it is worth it to buy a new mobo (which means new RAM, processor, etc. - $$).

 

After viewing this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=234327&page=2, now I am not so sure . . .

When I spoke with the tech support person he told me that there are several versions of the M570RU, and that my specific version cannot support the 8800M GTX. I wonder if sterben or anyone else would be able to comment on this. It seems if sterben was able to upgrade from the the 7950 GTX to the 8800M GTX then I should be able to as well (unless there were different versions of the 7950 with different socket types or some other difference).

This thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=207159, however, confirms what the tech support person said. It states that support for the 8800 was not introduced until the np5792.


All help appreciated!

 

I know. Again 8800M GTX or 9800M GT should be around $450 from Sager now.

 

The screen goes like that even in BIOS?

We have few members here (zfactor for one) had successfully upgraded from 7950 to 8800 on their 5790. All you need is a BIOS update.

 

You certain they didnt get new motherboard rev.?

 

From 5790 to 5793 there might be two or three different rev due to new Intel platforms, but the graphic cards are interchangeable as last as the BIOS is updated to the latest.

 

Yes, even the BIOS screen appears fuzzy, see below:



*UPDATE*

I was able to find an external monitor and DVI cable, so I hooked up my machine and everything looked normal, including the BIOS screen!

This led me to believe that it is a cable somewhere, and not the video card, correct me if I am wrong. So, I took a look in the service manual (thank you so much theriko!), and I believe it to be the LCD Cable LVDS M570, part no. 6-43-M57R1-010.

All this being said, it looks like that cable would be a nightmare to replace, as everything has to come out of the case, including the mainboard, and the screen needs to be disassembled. I could probably do it, especially because it will save me a pretty penny.

So, where do I get the cable from?

About the video card . . .

What difference would I see if I were to upgrade from the 7950 to the 8800?
Is it really worth it if my current card is fine?

Thanks for the help.

 

Hi Zbuffer08,

If everything worked fine with the external monitor, then most likely you are looking at a cable. From the screenshots you provided (without actual testing) this looks like the most likely problem. Weird colors are usually related to faulty cable. If your card is fine why change it, cable should be available through your reseller.

 

yea i agree, i once i had the same problem with my sager 2090 with a 8600m GT. i had lots of odd colors on my screen but when i hooked up my external LCD all was fine. the problem was just a burnt out cable between the mobo and gpu. i got it repaired for free since it was still under warranty. i know your laptop and my are not the same but all the detail you gave and my problem seem to be 100% exact. when the problem was resolved i called the tech guys back and i was told the total amount not under warranty would have been around $50 including labor minus the shipping cost.

 

It's one of the biggest jump I've seen on video cards. Basically you will get double performance, no joke.

 

Guarantee you its the cable... EXACT thing happened to me... it actually still happens with the new cable... but MUCH much less... i made a thread about this a while ago... it gets worse wen you play something dark. Like, play a movie that is very dark, you'll notice discolored lines go across the screen. As a temporary fix, press on the panel above the keyboard a little to the left (since thats where the cable connects to the mobo.

 

Well, it seems that the consensus vote is for the cable. Thank goodness.

I called Sager with the part no. of 6-43-M57R1-010, and placed an order. The cable only cost $25.00 + ~$10.00 shipping!

We'll see if this fixes the problem, and I will post an update once I have it swapped out.

I would like to thank everyone for their help in solving this. I truly appreciate it.

Also, a huge thanks to theriko for the service manual. I was able to find out everything about the cable including the part no. in the manual.

 

Just a quick and perhaps obvious question..

Did you try reseating your components? I mean, if you didn't.. well, you're going to have to bust the laptop open to put the new cable in, so why not give things good tightening and cleaning now? Get the compressed air in there, reconnect some cabling, blow out your fans and cpu and such for good measure, and just see?

jeff

 

Well, the plot thickens . . .

Yes I did try re-seating the cable to the mainboard with no success.

The cable arrived, and I performed the surgery (for that's truly what it felt like) last night. It took a ridiculous amount of time as I had to completely disassemble the screen, remove the keyboard, protecting plate, and take off the top of the case. There were some fun little surprises as well.

After 6 hrs. I finally had the computer re-assembled with the new cable in place.

I booted it up, and the first thing that I noticed is that the BIOS screen is still fuzzy. *Insert favorite angry expression here*

Sure enough the login screen still looks just like the picture I posted earlier.


Apparently its not the cable after all.


Now what? I don't think its the video card, as images appear completely normal on an external monitor, and its obviously not the cable. This leaves the 'power board' (what exactly is that?) or the screen. I was quoted a price of $570 for a new screen. Maybe I should just buy a nice external monitor and convert it into a desk unit.

One last question: Is it 100% a hardware issue, or is there still a slim possibility that it could be otherwise and re-installing the OS would fix the problem?

 

My guess was the LCD screen or an intermittent short circuit somewhere near the LCD. In my area, Micro-Center will check your laptop for a fault for a fixed fee of like $85 and then give you cost estimate for repair (which you can choose to do yourself if easy ...). Good to know when you have to compare buying a new one or trying to fix the black box.

 

You can test another OS easy enough -- boot up a live CD or an install CD (be it Windows, Linux, Whatever.)

The POST screen is a text mode .. pretty low specs.

Feals like LCD now doesn't it? *sigh*

jeff

 

I called Sager before disassembling the whole thing, and the Tech had to look up how to do it (not a good sign). He came back and said "that's a nasty one, you're going to have to remove a lot of screws." When I asked if there was anything to watch out for he just said "Good luck - don't break the screen."

Ahh, the irony . . .

 

Any news?

jeff