Nyx 1712 and 670MX artifact problem

Back in January of 2013 I bought this laptop from Mythlogic and it has been working flawlessly since. Yesterday I was playing Portal 2 and near the end I started seeing strange triangular artifacts of various sizes all over the screen which changed color depending on what was onscreen at the time. I thought the game might have somehow gotten corrupted because it kept crashing whenever I ALT-Tabbed out of the game. I played another (much older and less demanding game) later that night and didn't have the same issue. Regular laptop use is also unaffected. Then today I played some Diablo III and the problem is there again. Obviously something is wrong with the graphics card but I'm not quite sure what. Any ideas what could be wrong? Laptop details below:

Mobile Chassis: MYTHLOGIC Nyx 1712 Chassis (Clevo P170EM) with backlit keyboard

Mobile Display: 17.3" Full HD (1920x1080) Glossy LED Backlit LCD

CPU: Intel Core i7-3740QM 2.7GHz, 6M L3 Cache, 22nm, DDR3-1600MHz, Quad-Core Mobile Processor

System Memory: 16GB (2 x 8GB) , PC3-12800, 1600MHz SODIMM

Video Adapter: NVIDIA 670MX 3072MB GDDR5 DX11 Compliant Video Card

Hard Drive: Samsung 128GB 840 PRO Series SATA III 6Gb/s Solid State Drive

Operating System: Windows 7 Professional

 

Have you cleaned the vents? It could be overheating.

Sometimes drivers can also become corrupted so it wouldn't be a bad idea to clean them and reinstall.

 

just a thought but that sounds something like it could be using your intel HD4000 instead of your dedicated card as thats the sort of artifacts ive had with only 2 games in the past, ghosts and titanfall. optimus wasnt auto switching when game started.
just to iliminate this idea can you check both them games in your nvidia control panel that they are set to use the high performance (not auto switch) nvidia card.

as mentioned could also be high temperatures so when was the last time you cleaned the vents and fans out with compressed air. also what cpu/gpu temps are you getting during games.

 

The first thing I'd try is an external monitor and see if those artifacts are still there. That can tell you whether it's the GPU or an LCD cable gone bad.

 

Yes, n=1 has a point, I forgot to mention connecting to an eternal first to make sure it's not your LCD/Cable. Keep us updated!

 

Thanks for the replies.

I popped open the case and looked at the fans/heatsinks. A bit dusty but nothing ridiculous and all the fins of the heatsink are clear. I listened for the fan and it was running as well. I don't have a can of duster around at the moment otherwise I would have shot them just to be sure. And I would be more inclined to think the problem would happen after running for a bit. From a cold boot straight into the game it's a full-on party for triangles on my screen. It should be noted that any intro movies are unaffected. Only actual gameplay and some menus in-game- for instance in Portal 2 two the "new game, Load game, options" screen will have artifacts while the surrounding static image has none.

I connected the laptop to my TV via WiDi and HDMI (tried both because why not?) and the problem persists.

I switched a couple games over to the high performance settings in the Nvidia control panel and it still happens. Also tried playing a couple more games like Terraria, Bioshock, Civilization 5- they all have the problem. The only game so far that is unaffected is an old point and click from 2004 called Broken Sword 3. I'm assuming it's running on the integrated chip. That's just a guess though.

I checked device manager and it says the device is working properly, for what that's worth.

I've opened a ticket with Mythlogic and I'm going to let them handle this. Their awesome warranty program should hopefully take care of me in case the card needs to be replaced. If not it wouldn't be a bad opportunity to upgrade just to future-proof myself a little.

 

Well good luck with getting it all sorted out! It does sound like your GPU may be the problem.

Also, my thinking leads me to ask: Have you attempted forcing any other games on the iGPU and seeing if they artifact at all? Instead of making sure you're using the nVidia card all the time, try NOT using it and making sure the nV card is the definite problem.

 

That wasn't a bad idea at all. Tried it with Portal 2, and while the game looked like something from the late 90's there were no artifacts. Thanks for the idea.

I haven't tried doing a clean install of my drivers but I dread doing that. Such a pain. I might do it tomorrow before I decide to spend the money to ship the laptop back.

 

clean safemode instal of nvidia drivers walkthrough in my sig below.
takes about 5 minutes.

 

Spend the money? Doesn't your warranty cover both-ways USD shipping?

 

Sounds like bad driver install to me at this point. Follow MrDJ's tutorial and it should fix the issues.

 

Used the clean uninstall/install listed above. Still no luck. I don't know why I was dreading it so much- that made it easy. I've just had bad experiences messing with drivers in the past.

And the 2 way shipping is only for a year since I didn't pay for the extra coverage, of course :/

 

Have you tried reseating the GPU as well? Sometimes it could be the oddest of things causing the problem. Try updating your drivers to a newer or stable one you've used before.

 

Worth a try but very likely a failing card.

 

If two way shipping is only for a year, you should not be under warranty anymore; and will have to pay for a new card? You should only be under labour for 4 years, and parts is determined by the length of the warranty you got. Good luck though. I hope they can fix it somehow and not need you to buy a new card.

 

There are upgrade options at least.

 

Just got word back from Mythlogic. The card did actually crap out. I'm getting an AMD 8970Ms to replace it.

 

Despite being AMD-based, that's a serious upgrade power-wise. The 670MX wasn't all that great from my memory.

 

The 670 was decent enough for me. Numbers-wise this new card certainly blows it out of the water. My plan was always to upgrade the graphics card eventually, the decision as to when just got made without any help from me.
I'm curious how much of a difference I'll actually see... For the money I'm certainly hoping at least a little. Either way I'm future-proofed a bit more.

As far as Nvidia vs AMD I've got no opinion really and the decision was based on what Mythlogic had available. As long as it does what its supposed to without causing me problems I'm fine with either. But Nvidia has one black mark against it so far in my book.

 

Why would it have a black mark? And more to the point, what other options did you have?

 

Probably because the card failed in the first place.

The 670mx was pretty cut down. A touch fast erthan the 570m while running cooler.

 

Exactly. Trust me, I've got no allegiance either way, but this has been my first foray into high end laptops, and the Nvidia card has been the first weak link.

And to answer D2 Ultima's question: This new AMD card is the only one that Mythlogic has left for this chassis. I'm perfectly OK with that. My original plan was always to upgrade after I decided whether I wanted to stick with the laptop platform. In this case the decision was made for me. This laptop has been largely discontinued by most resellers. And after a bit of searching around before I gave the go ahead for the new card, it seems that finding a replacement for mobility parts like this is fairly difficult. And the price was on par for the couple I did find. That aside, I'd rather give Mythlogic the business. Really, I should have spent the extra money for a better card to begin with but I was doing more music production than gaming at the time. That has changed a bit so I think this is just a bit of going back in time and correcting a moment of being cheap when I should have known better

 

Well I'm glad things work out! Technically your machine should be able to handle stronger/newer cards, but not under a warranty change I think. Alienware's better in that respect. But anyway, good luck =D. If your machine goes out of warranty and you want an aftermarket upgrade you could hit up Prema for a bios that'll allow you to use newer cards. If you could find a 780M and a 240W PSU you'd be golden methinks.

 

The 17 inch systems already have a larger than 180w psu. The 780m is not worth it for the money. The 8970m is pretty potent and dell would likely have offered a lower card than he got. It is a major upgrade.

 

I more meant it in the sense of "Dell would have been able to give a newer model than what was purchased under a warranty replacement/upgrade" due to the non-restrictive nature of their machines' BIOSes. He's stuck with the 7970M as it's the only card that's really still in production (remember, 7970M, 8970M and R9 M290X are the same card, possibly differing only in BIOS flashes) but Dell would have been able to give him say... a 860M or a 870M at this point, if anything. Not that he *WOULD* have gotten such a card, but that those are what's in production now so that'd be what he'd likely get, and any of the three (7970M, 860M or 870M) would be a substantial upgrade over a 670MX.

 

It makes little difference since all the current cards are re brands. All they could offer is the same gen technology.