New laptop display glitching

[PauAsk]

New laptop arrived on Monday this week. It's a high spec, and is so not worth nearly what I paid. Apart from the generally poor quality, the display keeps glitching as seen in the video. This happens randomly, and has been doing it since day 1. Finally got the phone out in time to capture the video here.

Any ideas what the hell is going on here or if there's anything I can do to fix this? I'm about to box this up and send it back because this is not worth anything close to the €3000 I paid for it.

Spec

Chassis & Display	Elimina Pro Series: 16" Matte QHD+ 165Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1600)
Processor (CPU)	Intel® Core™ i7 14 Core Processor 12700H (4.7GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)	64GB Corsair 3200MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 32GB)
Graphics Card	NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3060 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive	2TB CORSAIR FORCE MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 4950 MB/R, 4000 MB/W)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive	2TB CORSAIR FORCE MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 4950 MB/R, 4000 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader	Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor	1 x 180W AC Adaptor
Power Cable	1 x 1.5 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery	Elimina Series Integrated 54WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste	ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card	2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
Bluetooth & Wireless	GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX210 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options	1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 + 1 x USB 3.2 (TYPE C) + 1 x USB 3.2 + 1 x USB 2.0
Docking Hub	PCS DS200 USB-C Docking Hub + Integrated 512GB M.2 SSD: 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x HDMI, 1 x RJ45, 1 x TYPE-C PD
Keyboard Language	ELIMINA 16" SERIES MULTI COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System	Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language	United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media	Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software	FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus	NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser	Google Chrome™
Portable Monitor	PCS PM151 15.6" Full HD IPS Portable Monitor
Notebook Mouse	INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam	INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty	3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee	1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Delivery	2 - 3 DAY DELIVERY TO REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Build Time	Standard Build - Approximately 2 to 4 working days
Welcome Book	PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland

 

[Steveyg]

That looks like could be either a display or GPU issue mate, unfortunately you'd have to RMA it. I doubt it's something we would be able to help you fix but maybe one of the more laptop knowledgeable folks have seen this before

 

[B4zookaw]

I'd agree with the RMA. If you're having issues with it and not feeling positive about the system in general, best to return within the 14 day window for a refund.

 

[SpyderTracks]

This is just a faulty unit, this isn't how it's supposed to operate. This is why you get a good warranty, it's very normal for items to develop a fault in shipping or component failures. There's no way to protect against this other that offering good warranties.

Just RMA it and get it fixed.

RMA won't entitle you to a refund, RMA will request a fix under warranty. If you wanted a full refund you'd have to cancel the order within the 14 day cool off period

 

[DarkPaladin]

Flickering and artifacting is usually indicative of a faulty GPU. I had a similar issue with my 2nd PCSpecialist laptop (current laptop), where it was quickly identified to have a defective GPU. I issued an RMA and had a replacement within 4 working days if I remember correctly. I'd strongly advise you to either issue an RMA or a refund as soon as possible (which you're fully entitled to).

 

[PauAsk]

Thanks for the replies. I RMA'd the laptop and it's been back with PCS 5 days now with no update on what's happening. To be honest, I'm very dissappointed with the service so far.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks for the replies. I RMA'd the laptop and it's been back with PCS 5 days now with no update on what's happening. To be honest, I'm very dissappointed with the service so far.

RMA will take up to a month, there's a queue to get through.

 

[PauAsk]

Got the laptop back after a complete motherboard replacement. Fully tested and confirmed fixed....
To say I have no faith in PCS or their "quality" control is an understatement. Absolutely worthless.

 

[DarkPaladin]

So just to confirm:

1. They sent you a laptop that had graphical glitches out of the box
2. You issued an RMA
3. They claim to have replaced the motherboard
4. They then claimed to fully test and confirm that the problem was solved
5. The same issue is occurring from the initial RMA out of the box

If I were in your shoes, I'd be rightfully annoyed by this. The fact that your issue occurs on the desktop should have been very quick for an engineer to notice. I can see you have the gold warranty in the first post, so you're entitled to RMA it again or I would personally issue a refund.

Did PCSpecialist ever say what they thought the issue was? In my RMA report, they confirmed the GPU was faulty then replaced + tested it. I'd be curious what they say the issue is/was.

 

[PauAsk]

DarkPaladin, that's correct. Fault report was as follows:

"After I received your system I confirmed the issue you have been experiencing. I found that the motherboard had developed a fault and needed replacing, after I replaced the motherboard I was able to power the system on and load into Windows as normal.
I gave your system a check over to make sure everything was working correctly, once I was satisfied that this was the case I loaded a series of stress tests onto the system and left them running overnight.
I checked your system again this morning and it had passed the tests without issue. It was then cross-checked by a second technician to confirm my results.
I am satisfied that your system is running normally again and it can be returned to you"

On receiving it this morning, I powered up and within minutes could see the same glitch as before so I can't see how their testing missed this. The glitch occurrs every few minutes on the desktop even when not under any kind of load.

I have written with a formal complaint now and told them I'll accept nothing less than a full refund for the entire order, which was €3000, so this is by no means a cheap laptop. Not at all what I expect for that money.

 

[B4zookaw]

Sounds like they did performance stress tests but unless someone was watching the screen overnight, they wouldn’t detect the visual glitching.

A very frustrating experience, if it were me I’d have done what you did and request a full refund. Even if PCS took it back and repaired/replaced I think you’d still feel negatively towards the system. Best to start afresh

 

[DarkPaladin]

DarkPaladin, that's correct. Fault report was as follows:

"After I received your system I confirmed the issue you have been experiencing. I found that the motherboard had developed a fault and needed replacing, after I replaced the motherboard I was able to power the system on and load into Windows as normal.
I gave your system a check over to make sure everything was working correctly, once I was satisfied that this was the case I loaded a series of stress tests onto the system and left them running overnight.
I checked your system again this morning and it had passed the tests without issue. It was then cross-checked by a second technician to confirm my results.
I am satisfied that your system is running normally again and it can be returned to you"

On receiving it this morning, I powered up and within minutes could see the same glitch as before so I can't see how their testing missed this. The glitch occurrs every few minutes on the desktop even when not under any kind of load.

I have written with a formal complaint now and told them I'll accept nothing less than a full refund for the entire order, which was €3000, so this is by no means a cheap laptop. Not at all what I expect for that money.

It's a shame to hear that. PCSpecialist are usually pretty thorough with RMA's but it seems like you've had terrible luck with this process. It's crucially important to get this correct or else you end up with a hugely dissatisfied customer such as yourself. I imagine they'll try to encourage further RMA's but you'd understandably not want to bother it at this point.