GeForce 980M graphics corruption on brand new NP9377-S (P377SM-A), how screwed am I?

So I just got a brand new Sager NP9377-S (P377SM-A) with the GeForce GTX 980M 8GB card, and after about a day and a half of light usage, it's crazy corrupted. This is a photo of the glitched display:



Edit: I have no idea why that picture is upside down. I wasn't when I took it.

So far, I've tried several different versions of the Nvidia drivers between 344.24 and 344.75, all with the same effect. The drivers from the sager site for the NP9377 say they don't detect a compatible device.

This happens during the bootup process, right after the Sager logo, before even the login screen, so it's not an issue related to usage. It happens on cold boot with everything room temperature, so it's not a heat issue.

How screwed am I? Is this a software or hardware problem?

Naturally I will contact Sager about it right away, but if there's something I can do on my own that would be a lot faster and less hassle for sure.

Thanks for any advice!

 

Perhaps I should add that the Nvidia driver on the Sager site is the same one that's on the driver DVD that came with it (332.60). I also found copies of two other driver versions on the DVD, 333.04 (also doesn't detect a compatible device), and 344.00 (installs, does not resolve the problem).

 

WHOT IS THIS SORCERY? It looks like you either have broken GPUs or a broken connection to the screen. I would suggest RMAing it... right now. Like, right this second. You bought that thing with 24/7 tech support, use it.

Edit: Actually... have you attempted a clean install of drivers, and does this happen without drivers installed? Boot into safe mode, run 344.75 driver installer as administrator, select "clean installation" and let it run. When it asks to restart the PC, make sure you set windows 8 to restart in normal mode, then reboot. It should finish the installation afterward. That SHOULD fix corrupted leftover data by drivers that don't get changed when you do an install while a previously broken driver is loaded. Safe mode prevents it being loaded.

Next, does it happen with SLI turned off? I.E. when you reinstall drivers, only 1 GPU should be active. Does it do it in this state? Or ONLY when SLI is on? If that's the case it might just be the SLI cable which may be an easier do-it-yourself fix than a flat out RMA.

Anyway, I still say RMA if the safe mode install does not fix it. That's definitely not normal in the slightest.

 

Not as far as I know; their site says they are only open 7:30am - 5:30pm Pacific time M-F.

Yes. Even a (cringe) full Windows reinstall.

It does not. When the Nvidia driver is installed on a fresh Windows 8.1 x64 install, corruption starts immediately after the screen flashes during the display driver install process. (The handoff from "Windows Basic Display Driver" or whatever it's called, which works fine at the same resolution and everything.)

No SLI on this thing, just the one 980M.

That looks like the direction it's headed if I can't figure this out. Sadly, the huge delay associated with an RMA is going to eat up a lot of holiday gaming time. :-(

Thanks!

 

You can get it done faster by claiming it's a "DOA" machine, I'm sure.

Also, you have a 24/7 number to call. Check XoticPC tech support page for the 24/7 number. All their highest end models have that 24/7 number.

 

This one did not come from Xotic; I really didn't like their site. This was bought from Sager Midern.

 

You bought from... Sager? Directly? Oh god, you might be screwed.

Seriously? I would tell you to claim "DOA" for the machine, get a refund, then buy it from a reseller. ANY RESELLER. LPC-Digital, XoticPC, Powernotebooks, ANY ONE. Sager's support is awful and it's cheaper from resellers as well as you may get better options there. It may actually take longer for you to get the machine, but... no. We don't buy from Sager directly.

 

that was exactly my reaction: wuuut, directly from sager???? noooooooooooo..........

refund, reseller, renessaince (of gaming happiness)!

 

Well, that's not encouraging.

Based on some research suffering through the Xotic website, it doesn't really look like getting a refund and ordering from someone else would be cheaper once shipping fees (and any fees they decide to assess because I tore open the Windows recovery CD shrink-wrap and threw out the 800 bits of clear plastic sheeting they covered basically the whole thing with) are taken into account. Fees aside, the same model I ordered is $0.01 more at XoticPC.

Nor is it likely to be faster since I doubt Sager would refund my money until they have the machine back in their hands, plus however long they choose to delay it after that. So if I have to wait that long, plus however long it takes to clear and ship and order from a reseller, it could hit 2015 pretty quick. Certainly won't be getting any Black Friday deals.

So I am probably stuck giving their support a try, but if it gets to be too much to bear, I'll certainly keep the refund option in mind.

Still, it would be much better to find a fix that doesn't require an RMA, since it does look a lot like a software problem.

Thanks!

 

seriously, as much of a hassle as it may be, with such a brand new machine i would not take any risks whatsoever. uve spend a crapload of money on it so please do yourself the favor and act accordingly / responsibly and send it in for an RMA "right this second" as ultima already put it so fittingly it aint worth it just to rush things and take the risk for just being able to keep the machine a tad longer in ur hands. besides, the longer u wait the less chance of a return u have before the holidays

 

I guarantee you that if reinstalling Windows does not fix a problem with a single video card that only shows up when installing drivers, it is not a software problem... unless you are doing something seriously bad.

Also, when I said cheaper I was counting the cash discount. I've never found Sager's website to be cheaper than any reseller I've ever seen O_O.

And lastly, you have a return period which incurs a restocking fee... but not if your machine is DOA. Which it is. It is currently unusable. This is why I'm saying to use this as an "excuse" to do it. I understand what you mean about it taking time, but honestly... I would do it if I were you.

It's up to you though. It's your machine, your money and your time. Good luck!

 

So, if I understand you correctly, you're saying that even if it takes longer and costs more to do a return and then buy the exact same product through a reseller, it's still worth doing that rather than an RMA because Sager's in-house support is that bad?

 

Yes.
10char

Edit: ESPECIALLY if you have a long warranty. When parts are a bit phased out, they can really &#$% with you looking for replacements. Please note, this is the first time in 3,517 posts that I have attempted to convey cursing by bypassing NBR's curse filter.

 

Just return your machine, it's obvious that the VGA card is defectuous .

Do you really thing that a driver problem would do that ^^ ! We're not on AMD card don't forget

 

totally agree with D2
buying directly from sager has always raised eyebrowes and for a good reason as the support feedback weve seen on here has been wayyy below par.

just for example Sager has a rep on here since 2007 and hes made a total of 23 posts to help customers http://forum.notebookreview.com/member.php?u=65571

when something is broken from almost day 1 the best option even though very inconvenient for you is to get a refund and buy from a well known dealer who has reps on here that actually help and give good advice, ie, xoticpc, prostar, power notebooks, mythlogic, lpc digital.
in the long run i think you will see it makes sence.

 

Just... don't buy a Malibal.

 

haha do they even still linger around here at NBR?

 

No, they got off NBR a long time ago. I once (back in late 2013) tweeted saying people should avoid them though, and they instantly (without following me, and without me following them) started yelling at me claiming they were a fantastic company and everything I said was unfounded. Three days later, their tweets were deleted.

 

That's a DOA machine. Send that back straight away!

 

haha that definiteliy sounds like them im surprised they still exist tbh... id say NBR users would make up the lion´s share of north american Clevo resellers/vendors...

 

Yes indeed I would contact them and set up a return. There would potentially be solutions such as looking at the SLI cable, GPU and display cable seating but not out of the box first turn on.

 

This is not out-of-the-box first turn on. It ran fine for testing & installing on Tuesday, several hours of gaming Wednesday night and an hour or two on Thursday before things went sideways.

Weirdly, after I turned it on today to have it ready to go when I called support (just rings, no answer, NOT a good sign!), there were initially no problems. So I finished installing the rest of the drivers off the DVD and things were still fine.

So I pulled down 3DMark and after about 30 seconds the screen froze and after another 30 seconds, the machine rebooted. After the reboot, the white lines in my photo are back.

So maybe it *is* heat related and I just didn't wait long enough the first time.

How modular are these things, really? Is it possible to open it up and check the heatsink & cables without voiding the warranty?

 

Yes. High end gaming notebooks warranty are intact with cleaning, repasting, part swapping... pretty much as long as you don't break it it'll remain intact. But I don't see how heat is what happens, and a machine does not reboot because the GPU is too hot. I've sat there with my CPU running at 95 degrees (overclocked + rendering using x264 in handbrake) and my GPUs going near-full throttle playing COD with my PCB hitting 101 degrees and my GPUs in their 70s from the whole ordeal and NOTHING. And we have basically the same machine too. It's not heat. Your GPU or something on the system elsewhere is screwed up.

PLEASE don't try to think this is a little something you can fix on your own and give up the opportunity for that return. And again, there IS a 24/7 number you can call.

 

I know its a hassle but that REALLY needs sending back.

 

Try it again with the GPU heatsink loose, or with too much or not enough thermal paste.

They do not agree:

custom gaming laptops - Welcome to Sager Notebooks

"Technical Support Department: Monday - Friday 7:30a.m. - 5:30p.m. PST"

Which doesn't even seem to matter as I have been calling all day and their phone just rings and rings. Emails to both support & sales have gone unanswered.

The optimistic explanation is that they are closed today because it's the day after Thanksgiving. The pessimistic explanation is that they are every bit as bad as you say and things will be no better on Monday.

So, best case scenario, the earliest I will be able to get ahold of them is Monday.

If there is something I can safely do myself to further investigate this between now and then, even if it is a longshot, why wouldn't I do that?

One point that maybe isn't getting made is that I get a few weeks a year to play games. They started on Wednesday and, regardless of how I handle a refund or RMA, will be over by the time it's done. If I don't find a fix for this by Monday, sending it back for a refund probably is the best bet because whatever's out by next Thanksgiving will be faster & cheaper. So if I seem pretty desperate to find a fix, it's because I am.

Thanks!

 

hang on a minute.
now if my memory is correct im sure there was a post about 6-8 months ago with the same problem and it turned out to be no thermal paste whatsoever on either the cpu or gpu but i cant remember which company it was.

just in case try some temperature monitors from my link below. core temps for cpu and gpu-z for gpu.
theres lots of others as well but these two will do for now to get a baseline reading.
should stay between 50-55c on general use and upto sort of around 80-85 while gaming.

 

GPU-Z is on there, but all the things I have to generate 3D usage are full screen so I can't see what it says when it dies.

Next time I give it a go, I will try the "log to file" option.

This is very much a longshot because it ran for hours doing full-screen 3D on Wednesday. So it would have to be some weird situation where it was almost shot and then went over the edge, rather than something like no thermal paste. I would expect that to have failed right out of the gate.

Does MSI Afterburner or something work on this to jam the fans all the way up and/or de-clock the GPU way way down, just as a test?

And do you know of something really punishing that runs in a window? If this were a Radeon I'd try mining bitcoins.

Thanks!

 

Just run any 3D game in a window and watch GPU-Z.

Fans can be forced to max with fn + 1 on the keyboard.

1-888-773-7821 this is the 24/7 number. I told you to check XoticPC's support page for the number; it's a number for Sager for their higher end models.

 

D2, he didn't order from Xotic, but from Sager directly. Unless you mean that Xotic has a number FOR Sager on their support page - then that makes sense.

If there is graphical corruption during post (pre-windows boot up), it is probably bad graphics card memory. I know this because I just had a 780M die on me doing that with graphical corruption during post, and the drivers would NOT install properly.

Or possibly a loose connection - either the graphics card is contacting something it shouldn't like a cable or thermal grease shorting something out, or the screen cable is loose.

Either way, it shouldn't have issues basically right off the bat - send it back and buy from a re-seller like Xotic PC with their extended warranty and enjoy peace of mind.

 

Display crashed at 51C GPU temp. CPU temps even lower when the screen went dark in the 40's. So, probably not heat related.

Only the display crashed this time. The rest of the system kept going: audio, caps lock, I hit shift a bunch of times and heard the "StickyKeys" tone then hit escape and game music started again. So strange.

That is the number for XoticPC's support, not Sager.

See:

Custom Laptops, Gaming Notebooks, Custom Gaming Laptops | XOTIC PC

See also:

Custom Laptops, Gaming Notebooks, Custom Gaming Laptops | XOTIC PC

Notice how they list the same number for Asus, Sager, and MSI models they sell.

XoticPC is (understandably) not interested in helping me to RMA a machine I did not buy from them.

 

Please stop suggesting this. Due to my circumstances, there is utterly no point in me doing this.

If I need to return it for refund, I will do so if/when Sager ever stops playing "Nobody's home." on Monday. Until then, I would like to exhaust all other possible options that might let me get some use out of this while I can.

 

Well, unless you are going to tear it open and check the MXM video card and the screen connector you are limited to returning it for repair or refund.

Also, if they are not responding to their tech support line at all, you can always initiate a charge back on your credit card - if nothing else, they will either wake up to help you out or else maybe still do nothing at all.

EDIT: It is Thanksgiving week as well, so if their tech support line is U.S. based that may be why they aren't answering today.

 

That's probably not worth the risk; I don't want to do anything that could even possibly create an excuse for them to deny a refund.

So I guess this is the end of the line.

To make an RMA worthwhile, I would have had to send it out today and pay for expedited shipping in both directions and hope they fixed it very very quickly. (Originally I hoped that they could just quickly confirm it was the video card and cross-ship a replacement, but it sounds like that's way too much to hope for.)

When they get around to contacting me, I'll set up a return for refund. There's always next year.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the help and advice.