Curse

murasamenobunaga · Aug 19, 2007, 08:18 PM // 20:18

While I am playing guild wars, I get a very annoying glitch in the graphics. This is a relatively new system (late May) and this problem started around the end of July. I guess this would either be called tearing or "artifacts" appearing, but since I can't explain it all that well I will just post some screen shots.

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/219/gw520lm0.jpg
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/3203/gw525dl3.jpg
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/9284/gw513gf7.jpg
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5651/gw5222vf4.jpg
(^blocked out some "inappropriate" text

)
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/5382/gw385kx2.jpg
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/807/gw450lo2.jpg
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/4425/gw449dn4.jpg

Ok, well I think those sufficiently show the problem that I am having. If anyone could give me a possible cause and/or a solution to this I would be very grateful as this is making it very hard to play GW.

System:
Alienware 5790 Laptop
Processor: 2 GHz Intel Core 2
Video Card: ATI Mobility Radeon X1800
Memory: 2GB RAM
Operating System: Vista Home Premium

Tachyon · Aug 19, 2007, 08:45 PM // 20:45

That looks very much like the graphics card is on it's way out. Good luck with getting Alienware to do anything about it.

Mork from Ork · Aug 19, 2007, 09:08 PM // 21:08

What kind of power supply do you have?

The ATI x1xxx line absolutely needs an adequate psu with at least 22A on the 12v rail - they recommend 30A. If you play to long with too little power it will give the kind of glitches you are looking at and will eventually damage the card.

Edit: wait - sorry didn't see that it was laptop.

murasamenobunaga · Aug 19, 2007, 10:55 PM // 22:55

I have been doing a bit of research online and it seems that this problem maybe caused by a heating issue. I have looked at a few tech support forums on various sites and it seems the the appearance of a glitch like this maybe attributed to overheating. Any1 have any thoughts/suggestions?

lordpwn · Aug 19, 2007, 11:06 PM // 23:06

The glitches look like the video card's either broken or overheating.

Try cleaning the laptop's airways of any dust to make sure it's not just overheating because of bad cooling. If that doesn't help you should probably find its warranty papers.

Malice Black · Aug 19, 2007, 11:14 PM // 23:14

Get some compressed air and give your laptop a good spray. Take off all the panels underneath and give them a good spray of air as well.

kvndoom · Aug 20, 2007, 12:16 AM // 00:16

If you just got it in May, you should still be under warranty. Don't open it if doing so would void your warranty. But definitely, your video subsystem is toast. You could try canned air, but seriously, if you've only had it 3 months and this is already happening, then not sending it back for repair now is a big mistake. It will likely only get worse in the future.

murasamenobunaga · Aug 20, 2007, 03:19 AM // 03:19

I contacted the alienware support again today and they had me remove the cooling system, the video card, and the memory sticks and then place them back in and reassemble it. The tech guy on the phone said that if this was due to overheating I should take a can of compressed air and go through and clean out everything. He also said that if that doesn't work I can get some thermal gel (?) and place some on the gpu and the processor. After that he said that they would have to replace the card if it continues. Since I moved everything around a few hours ago, it seems to be fine. The temperatures are still a bit high, which is why I am going to do the air thing anyway. The only thing I have seen so far is a glitch in the display of the text in the chat box. I don't have a screen shot of what just happened but I have one that can help explain.
http://img388.imageshack.us/img388/1559/gw507gv7.jpg
In this u can see how the chat bow is a rainbow of colors. Now see how the upper right corner of the bow looks? That is what replace a couple of colons and the bottoms of a few letters earlier. Any other thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks^^

Tachyon · Aug 20, 2007, 04:02 AM // 04:02

Send the thing back to Alienware, demand a refund and buy a real laptop! Alienware are nothing but shit!

murasamenobunaga · Aug 20, 2007, 04:30 AM // 04:30

Can posts please be, idk, more productive than Alienware hate mail? Thx

Malice Black · Aug 20, 2007, 09:48 AM // 09:48

Ignore the AW hate, anyone who builds there own system hates on AW...most can or never will be able to afford one.

You might need to reapply your thermal paste. Massed produced laptops sometimes get thin or uneven coats of paste. You can buy the paste from any decent computer store or send back to AW and tell them to do it.

Personally I'd send back to AW. You will be without your laptop for a week or 2 if you do.

murasamenobunaga · Aug 22, 2007, 03:47 PM // 15:47

Just to give a little update, I just got an email from alienware saying that they are going to replace my video card. YAY! Thanks for the help guys.