Computer died

from Stardock Forums

Ok, not to be so overdramatic, but the computer I use for gaming just had a major issue. I only bring this up here because I had just loaded an autosave from Elemental 1.08b when the issue began. It is unlikely that the game is the cause of the problem, but anything that could cause the graphic card of a computer to have major issues is worth noting.

Anyway, the following is what I wrote on another website and I didn't want to type it all again.

My comp is an HP laptop with a nvidia 8400m graphics card. It's running windows vista ultimate 32. I was running with the laptop screen "disabled" and using a monitor instead. Connected through HDMI to an HDMI-DVI converter to the monitor.

Anyway, I was playing a game when all of a sudden the whole system seemingly locked up except the mouse would cycle movement after several seconds (so wasn't a complete freeze) but I couldn't even get to the task manager launch. So I turned off the computer using the 8sec power button press. When it came back on, the laptop screen in the bios load up was partitioned into 4 horizontal (and squashed) segments.

Basically it is 4 repetitions of the screen layered from top to bottom of the screen. It is the strangest behavior I have seen for a computer. Windows wouldn't load normally at first, so I went into safe mode (its tough to read anything when the total desktop is taking up 1/4th of the total screen). I eventually uninstalled the drivers for the graphics card and that allowed me to boot into windows normally, but the screen was/is still squashed. Reinstalling the drivers causes windows to not boot normally again.

Other details, each of the 4 "screens" are separated by 4-5 pixels of black bars. I ran memory and hard drive diagnostics in case those were the culprits. The HDMI and VGA ports on the laptop are not picked up by the software at all. It's like they are disabled or broken. Windows otherwise acts normally, including network connections and loading all of my regular startup programs.

Does this sound like the graphics card is simply shot? (which would suck because HP integrated it into the mainboard) Or is there something I could be missing that would be causing this? It seems to me that, because the bios screens are consistent with this problem, that it's not software related, but I figured I'd ask to see if anyone has experienced this problem and verify that I am SoL.

Thanks

End of quote

If anyone here has some thoughts on the problem and how to correct it, I would be much obliged. As it stands, I wont be able to play any PC games for a long time as I simply dont have the funds for a new machine.

Thanks

elemental
19,754 views 19 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

Well this sounds similar to something that happened to me with my laptop.  I can't remember all the details but basically I was playing a game a then it froze.  I restarted and it couldn't load windows properly, all the graphics were screwy in various ways (lines, blocks, blank spots, etc...).  I took my laptop in to a computer shop after trying assorted things and was informed the graphics card was shot and that playing lots of high-graphics games on a laptop was a big no-no.

Laptops just aren't designed to run high-end games for long periods of time and eventually the graphics card will burn out, even in a high end laptop with above recommended requirements for the games your playing like I had.

I sincerely hope for your sake that isn't your problem because if it is that's the end of your laptop since the graphics card is on-board.

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the on board graphics card is shot. I got a good almost 3 years out of that computer specifically for games, though I will likely never buy an HP machine as long as I live (the comp had a host of problems even before this latest one). Anyway, I'm not surprised or mad. Just more in a state of 'what should I do for games now?'. Luckily I have this laptop (the one I'm typing on) so I didn't lose anything truly important. Further, the HDDs in the 'dead' computer are still intact so I can get the info from them in the future when I finally get a new machine.

Does anyone have any suggestions for an inexpensive replacement (not a laptop) that can play most modern games at a respectible level? I just don't have the time currently to do massive amounts of research.

Anyway, happy gaming all. It might be a while before I am able to join you again!

CursorFX - Customize your Windows cursor
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

You might want to call HP, get a techie on phone and describe the problem to him. Chances are he already encountered that and knows what is broken/how to fix it. Nothing to lose asking.

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

Yeah, I'd be willing to bet your graphics card is fried. I also have an HP laptop, with an Nvidia 8600m. The 8600 has a known overheating problem, poor manufacturing causes it to overheat and eventually damage its self. Sadly, HP and Nvidia refuse to acknowledge this, even though Dell and Apple both replaced laptops for free that had the card. AFAIK, the 8400 doesn't have the defect (or it's not well known). I wouldn't expect any support from HP, in short.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

It's 100% safe to say that Elemental had nothing to do with this.  Three years of gaming is actually really good for a laptop.  They tend to burn out long before that if you're using them for advanced gaming, unless it is a laptop designed specifically for that purpose.  These tend to be much larger and have much more sophisticated/optimized cooling systems, because the major issue with laptop life span is heat.  Sounds like you pushed yours pretty hard for a number of years--its no surprise that the graphics card blew out.  Unfortunately, with a laptop using an onboard card, the only way to fix it would be to replace the entire motherboard, which is sometimes more expensive and always harder to do than simply purchasing a new one.

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

Its not Elemental me thinks... more your labtop.

I would suggest getting a desktop for gaming isntead of a labtop (:

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

Yeah, I'm not upset or anything about the comp dying. I knew when I bought it that it would probably die after a time due to heavy graphics use. I mainly got that computer when I started school and wanted something portable. As it turned out, it was not good at being either. The battery life on that comp was horrible (half hour at most fully charged and minimum power settings). I sort of rushed to get that laptop to replace my old desktop which had died a few months prior. My next gaming computer will certainly be a desktop. At this point I'm going to scrimp and save for parts for a new comp. I still have HDDs, PSU, and optical drives so I can get away with a new mainboard/processor/ram/graphics card. But decent ones are still spendy, so I'm going to be gameless for a while (I guess not entirely due to 360 and Wii, but still).

Any suggestions for components for a new rig would be beneficial. Keep in mind very tight budget (sub $300-500), but only the components mentioned above needed. My PSU is 550W and have both EIDE and SATA drives. Thanks

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

Buy a decent desktop. I use laptop at work but can't imagine that could be my game machine. I'm using 4 yers old machine with just one major upgrade (CPU) and it handles all current games in HD res.

Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top

Wow, I've never purchased a laptop for gaming since I like to build my own computers, but I was looking into it. This kinda makes me not want to buy one, that is, if the gfx card fries easily. Sounds like those graphics cards are running way hotter than the manufacturer's recommendations. You would think that with the advent of cooler running CPUs that this would not be an issue. (example: my p4 used to idle at 60C on air, my i7 idles at 34C on air)

As for a comparably priced PC, you could look at AMD's line of pre-builds, and buy a used video card like a 8800 GTX. I never had issues with that card, but I heard of people having issues with nvidia's 260. I don't know much about ATI's lineup though, and I know they are a lot less expensive than nvidia, with the exception of the 5970.

As for space, I would suggest a 1TB 7200rpm HDD. They are around $100 range.You could always go for 250GB 7200rpm drives if you plan on wapping them out later, but want to cut corners on the initial price.

RAM I would suggest a non-gaming grade RAM, no fancy heat sink or fan, if DDR3 you will want 3GB Like: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148147

It has low CAS and 1.5V it also has good feedback from buyers.

If you want you could go through a company website, see what they offer, do some research on the components and see if you can build the same system for less, in almost all cases you will. Computer building is way easier nowadays than in the past. motherboards are labeled, and you no longer have to worry about jumper settings since most issues are fixed via the BIOS, etc.

Good luck and happy shopping! :)

Reply #10 from Elemental Forums Top

I would just go to NCIX.com or Newegg and order some parts!

Never again will I buy a laptop! Learned my lesson years ago! hehe

Reply #11 from Elemental Forums Top

I built a friend for a computer, and here are the parts we got (2 months ago, off of Newegg. $640.92 including tax and shipping at the time and for a whole rig. It's pretty decent but it's not gonna set records either (: and the videocard could easily be replaced with something better in a year or whatever). 

ASUS M4A77T/USB3 AM3 ATX Motherboard ($80)

Western Digital Cavial Black 1 TB 7200 RPM SATA Drive ($90)

AMD Athelon II X4 635 Propus 2.9 GHz 95W Quad-Core CPU ($100)

G. Skill 4 GB (2x 2 GB) DDR-1333 RAM ($95)

XFX Radeon HD 5670 Video card ($110)

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower case ($55)

LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner ($20)

Corsair 650W Power Supply ($90)

 

If you ditch the hard drives, the DVD drive and the power supply, and get a few things on sale on Black Friday, I'd say that would run ~$350-400.

4 GB is good enough and the mobo has four slots so you can upgrade later on when you have the money (if you need to. Right now 4 GB is enough, in a few years it might not be).

The CPU is somewhat weak (lacks an L3 cache). But it's cheap for a quad core and I imagine it is even cheaper now. The mobo does support AMD's latest hexacore CPUs so in a few years you could drop in a bargain-bin AM3 hexacore CPU and call it a day. (AMD is dropping support for AM3 next year once they release their 'bulldozer' line. But any CPUs released for the next few months will still be on AM3).

Videocard isn't amazing but helluva lot better than what your labtop had, probably. (: Again, in a year or two you could throw in the Radeon HD 5850s which run most games right now on High to Very High, and by then it would probably be $100 or something like that.

 

Reply #12 from Elemental Forums Top

If you have the time and not the money then try this...

Store off any data you want to keep first.

0. Use only the laptop integrated screen for now.

1. Format the HDD and reinstall the factory disk image with OS and drivers.

2. Update drivers to modern updates.

3. If this is working so far then try a lower resolution for future gaming. (It may not look good but chances are the gfx chip has some damage but it is still working somewhat given your description. )

Based on your described situation, you have nothing to lose by trying this, if it works great, if not then you are only out the time...

Good Luck!:')

Reply #13 from Elemental Forums Top

One of our desktops has a Geforce 9800 GTX in it.  Runs everything out today on ultra max settings (although my monitor only does 1280x1024).  It's a real bargain these days as well.

Reply #14 from Elemental Forums Top

Just as an oddball little aside, I've been a system builder (among other things) for over 20 years and have recently gotten hooked off buying parts from Amazon.  No tax and no shipping for 2 day (since I have a Prime account).

Reply #15 from Stardock Forums Top

Just as an oddball little aside, I've been a system builder (among other things) for over 20 years and have recently gotten hooked off buying parts from Amazon. No tax and no shipping for 2 day (since I have a Prime account).
End of quote

Huh, never thought about using Amazon. Thanks for the tip! ;)

Reply #16 from Elemental Forums Top

IBuyPower.com has some good deals. I priced a decent gaming rig there for < $1000

Reply #17 from Stardock Forums Top

My comp is an HP laptop
End of quote

Nuff said as HP sucks as much as Dell. You had issues because HP uses the cheapest sorriest crapotola parts of all the systems out there except Dell which uses the same crappy crap.

Reply #18 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting psychoravin, reply 17

My comp is an HP laptop


Nuff said as HP sucks as much as Dell. You had issues because HP uses the cheapest sorriest crapotola parts of all the systems out there except Dell which uses the same crappy crap.
End of psychoravin's quote

Indeed, I bought that HP laptop out of necessity (which it wasn't even useful for what I had originally intended it to be).  HP is one of the brands I steer clear of now (as is dell).

As for all of the suggestions, I really appreciate all the feedback on a new system. I'm going to spend a few weeks virtually building several rigs in my spare time. I think I have decided on a 9800 GTX nvidia card as that seems to be quite problem free in comparison to most other cards that I've read about.  Will probably do a mainboard/processor with an intel i5 or i7 (depending on what I can afford) and 4GB of RAM is fairly inexpensive for 1333 bus speed.  It'll at least get me through the next year or so until I'm done with school and get a job.

Anyway, again thank you for your feedback.  I should ask, how do the ATI cards compare to the nvidia ones. I've only ever dealt with nvidia cards and have only read negatives about ATI ones (mostly due to the driver quality).  But then, I've heard of how much better the 5800 series is in comparison to all video cards out now (granted I dont have $400 for a single graphics card), but I was just wondering how they all compare.

Reply #19 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Verkinix, reply 18
Indeed, I bought that HP laptop out of necessity (which it wasn't even useful for what I had originally intended it to be).  HP is one of the brands I steer clear of now (as is dell).

As for all of the suggestions, I really appreciate all the feedback on a new system. I'm going to spend a few weeks virtually building several rigs in my spare time. I think I have decided on a 9800 GTX nvidia card as that seems to be quite problem free in comparison to most other cards that I've read about.  Will probably do a mainboard/processor with an intel i5 or i7 (depending on what I can afford) and 4GB of RAM is fairly inexpensive for 1333 bus speed.  It'll at least get me through the next year or so until I'm done with school and get a job.

Anyway, again thank you for your feedback.  I should ask, how do the ATI cards compare to the nvidia ones. I've only ever dealt with nvidia cards and have only read negatives about ATI ones (mostly due to the driver quality).  But then, I've heard of how much better the 5800 series is in comparison to all video cards out now (granted I dont have $400 for a single graphics card), but I was just wondering how they all compare.
End of Verkinix's quote

It seems I hear more about ATI graphics cards not playing nice with games than nVidia.

I use a laptop I got through Micro Express. The only things that might be better with my laptop are that they have some sound issues (such as sometimes when I pause a video it will get hung on the last sound and keep playing it) and does not do well with really, really loud sounds. However, the good builds from them maybe more than you want to pay (looking at the pricing of the new models, a basic gaming setup with no extras is about $1700).