SAGER NP8173 - Black screen during gaming issue

I've been having my computer for a while since Fall 2016. It's been going well for me and all but I am starting to identify issues during gaming sessions lately.

first thing is with Dishonored 2. I am able to run the game fine and all, and I never had issues for a while (except it stutters like crazy in some levels but that is the game itself from what I read on reviews). Then things started showing issues lately. When I start up Dishonored 2, attempting to change settings or start playing, my screen goes black (before this happens, I see weird chopped colors for a second). I minimize it and I can't see the game anymore, but its still active since I can hear the sounds still playing on the game. I also tried this with Overwatch and DOTA 2, and they are doing the same thing as well but its a 50/50 chance it happens or not.
My Laptop temperature is fine, the only heat build up is with Dishonored 2, but that is only when playing in long sessions. My graphics card is updated but the problem persist.

Does anyone know whats going on? Could this be some power issue?

NOTE: my computer specs is on my signature below


ISSUE RESOLVED: The "Optimal Power" is the cause of the black flickering screen!

- The Nvidia Control Panel. Go to "Manage 3D Settings" then under the Global Settings Tab, find "Power Management Mode" and select "Adaptive". It's hard to say if this will fix everyone, but it certainly did for me. It's worth a shot to use this solution in case anyone gets this issue. (In case this does not solve your issue, try other suggestions mention in this thread.)

 

definitely sounds like a gpu problem. maybe one of the gpu components without a thermal sensor is overheating due to mangled / wrongly placed thermal pads. i had a similar issue a short while ago and solved it by changing and rearranging my thermal pads. it was very annoying and a bit of a hassle, but i finally got it working

 

I honestly don't know what are the thermal sensor (new to me)....is this something I can fix myself inside my laptop? what do they look like?

 

if youre not comfortable doing that yourself, you can always contact your vendor and check if they can help you out with repairs especially since u still seem to be under warranty!

 

too late...I opened up and here it is:


I will assume these are the thermal pads on the heatsink?
Anything I should do on this part?
here is my PC without its heatsink:

 

After a little cleaning and making sure the pads are fine. It seems the issue still occurs. I tried 3Dmark 11 demo to see if any issue brings up. it did and claims that a possible 3rd party software is causing it. The first thing that came to my mind is the Geforce Experience. I stopped the program and now the issue has stopped all of a sudden. So far no issues at the moment. Maybe its finally fixed? I'll update soon.

 

sounds promising. i didnt think of that, cuz basically no one uses geforce experience around here its got a pretty bad rep, for a good reason at that!

Sent from my Huawei Mate 8 NXT-AL10

 

Maybe. Even if it's not, I would recommend avoiding (removing) GeForce Experience.

I don't think you have a thermal problem, at least.

 

I honestly thought I removed Geforce Experience. I guess not. Welp hopefully this fixes the issue. I will test things out if everything is good.

 

It might be your drivers and too much heat

 

I Uninstalled and Reinstalled the Nvidia Drivers. Here are some things that happened.

- DOTA 2: blank/black screen occurs after a while...like 30 minutes. My computer temperature is like 70 during this time.

- Overwatch: It will do the same thing as DOTA 2, except with an error message stating that my "Rendering System is out of memory" and "Rendering System has been lost". Battle.net client is also turns into a blank window. If I switch my battery to High Performance, the issue doesn't seem to appear. This is unusual because I never put it to high performance before as it was able to run Overwatch with ease on balance. The Temperature is also around 70-80.

- Dishonored 2: Same thing. It get's hot but doesn't go black screen as long as I put the power option to high performance.

So...Why does my PC prefer high performance over balanced, all of a sudden?

 

If you were 376.48, there were a few issues with that driver, give the latest hotfix a shot, 376.60 I think.

As a last resort , if you have already tried repasting, there is chance that some thing on the GPU is damaged or faulty.

 

yeah just recently added that version in addition to repasting the thermal compound with IC diamond. Ugh I guess I might have to get RMA on my PC.

 

Sounds like it. But hardware issues happen.
My GPU on the laptop had to be replaced once. Heck my desktops motherboard developed issues after 3 weeks.

 

Have you been gaming on battery this whole time?

 

whoops I meant "Power Option". Thanks for the correction...the RMA in XOTICPC is taking quite long for a response

 

alright guys, I discovered something weird.

So today, I am using 3DMark11 and once again having constant black screen issue....yesterday, I left my laptop in sleep mode by closing laptop and then opened up my laptop, all of a sudden, my games and 3DMark11 didn't get any Black Screen (even on balanced power option). So I did the same thing now, closed it, opened my laptop up, started 3DMark11...and no black screens. Is this a coincidence?

 

I would page @pat@XOTICPC and @Tanner@XoticPC for Xotic PC support questions. They are very helpful here.

 

Oh boy, hmmm.....is there a way to PM them? I don't think I have the option to do so. :|

 

Click on their username and then click on "Start a conversation".

Like dis─

 

Alright guys, In my last effort, I decided to think really hard to figure out my issue. I started googling my GPU and anything related to my issue. I found some people having issues with the GTX 1000 series involving black screen flickering issues. They pretty much describe exactly like my issue stating here. So I been looking for solutions and eventually discovered something having to do with the Nvidia Control Panel. I went to "Manage 3D settings", and under the "Global Settings" Tab, I go to Power Management Mode and Select "Adaptive". It seems I was in Optimal Power by default. I went to check this out and it sounds like "Optimal Power" sometimes would cause rendering issues. I been trying out my games...and so far not a single black screen flickering. Even after powering up, there isn't any flickering either. Did i fix it?!

 

Now that sounds like NVIDIA.
Keep us posted if it comes back.

 

I can safely say I can confirm that I have fixed my issue. I played my games and ran 3DMark11 with ease and no black screens. Played few games up for 2 hours and all went well. In addition, I reverted back to "Optimal Power" to see if my issue returns and it did. The "Optimal Power" is the cause of the black flickering screen! Phew I am so relieved, thanks everyone for the assist.


EDIT: where are my manners. +Rep Points for everyone

 

be sure and update the first post of this thread with the solution, might be easier for others searching for this