Optimus XI Full system crash issue

[digital_infinity]

Followed the instructions linked by Fevieira and it appears to have stabilized.

I did attempt CK2 with the integrated graphics before and got the same crash but i think that test may have been hampered by Geforce experience getting in the way.

I have locked the voltage curve to a max of 1V and a clock speed max of 1860MHz. Launched CK2 in borderless full screen which before was a guaranteed crash and it loaded perfectly. Looks like the in built limits of my GPU where a bit optimistic haha.

Thank you everyone for your help. Wouldn't have gotten there without you. If i encounter any futher crashes will play around a bit with the voltage curve and if that doesn't help will return for repair.

Thank you again

 

[FerrariVie]

That is still not the expected behavior, it should run well straight out of the box without tuning. At least we know it has something do it with power.

I would start asking PCS for a replacement of the PSU, just to rule that out. If it still doesn't work, then it might be something on the mobo or GPU

 

[SpyderTracks]

That is still not the expected behavior, it should run well straight out of the box without tuning. At least we know it has something do it with power.

I would start asking PCS for a replacement of the PSU, just to rule that out. If it still doesn't work, then it might be something on the mobo or GPU

I would personally just request an RMA and get it in for in depth analysis now rather that waiting for something to crop up in the future.

There's something not right there.

Even if the power supply was putting out irregular voltages, the laptop BIOS and regulator should still be limiting what's fed through.

 

[digital_infinity]

I contacted their tech support the day before posting this thread. Once they get back to me will ask about an RMA. given the current situation its understandable they are taking a few days to get back to me.

your right it is strange that its like this out of the box. The original voltage curve had it going up to 1.075 volts which given it crashed at 1.05 it had no chance of reaching.

 

[digital_infinity]

Nevermind. Reducing the curve lowered the frequency of crashes but they still occur. and this time voltage didn't get near 1.05V. will request an RMA as at this point seems the best course of action.

 

[Gib_uk]

Hi

I bought the Optimus XI about 2 months ago, my spec is virtually exactly the same and I am having the same issue. I am not playing anything graphically taxing(World of Warcraft) but after 2 seconds of gameplay my laptop will just go to a black screen and I need me to hold power button to restart the laptop. I originally thought it was a problem with the game but I have just tried something else(two point hospital) and it has done the same. After a few hard resets I can get the game to run fine and can play for hours without a problem, but then another day I will load up and it will do the same. For the first month the laptop ran fine and for everything else - web browsing/Netflix/media I do not have a problem, just as soon as I load these games, it will crash after about 2 seconds.

Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen™ 7 Eight Core Processor 4800H (2.9GHz, 4.2GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2060 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 3 in 1 Card Reader (Full Size SD / SDHC / SDXC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 180W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
Optimus Series Integrated 46WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND

 

[digital_infinity]

Hi

I bought the Optimus XI about 2 months ago, my spec is exactly the same and I am having the same issue. I am not playing anything graphically taxing(World of Warcraft) but after 2 seconds of gameplay my laptop will just go to a black screen and I need me to hold power button to restart the laptop. I originally thought it was a problem with the game but I have just tried something else(two point hospital) and it has done the same. After a few hard resets I can get the game to run fine and can play for hours without a problem, but then another day I will load up and it will do the same. For the first month the laptop ran fine and for everything else - web browsing/Netflix/media I do not have a problem, just as soon as I load these games, it will crash after about 2 seconds.

I've got mine going in on RMA. Undervolting the GPU helped massively but the crash would still rarely occur. I think its some games occasionally run the GPU up to max performance on engine initialization and this causes too large a power draw for the board.

Hopefully its just a case of either we have been unlucky on parts or maybe a bios update is needed. Will update if I get to know more but you might want to talk to PCSpecialist and maybe consider an RMA as well.

 

[digital_infinity]

Also note I'm not an expert so I could be completely wrong on the cause. The issue could be elsewhere and undervolting the GPU could just help alleviate it.

 

[Gib_uk]

ok thanks, Ill try get in touch with support as well.

cheers

 

[digital_infinity]

My RMA has just been updated to say that they cannot replicate the issue.

I am unsure what to do at this point as it happened every time with the game I told them to test unless they are running the undervolt profile.

If I get the laptop back and it still has the issue what would be my options at that point?

 

[digital_infinity]

Final update

I got the laptop back. Tested it and the problem happened again immediately. This has occurred across multiple extension sockets in multiple wall sockets.

Plugged it directly into a wall socket and it stopped happening.

Plugged it into a surge protected extension and stopped happening.

Non surge protected extensions appear to be the issue. Will let pcspecialist know but their testing environment appears to be well surge protected haha.

 

[ubuysa]

Final update

I got the laptop back. Tested it and the problem happened again immediately. This has occurred across multiple extension sockets in multiple wall sockets.

Plugged it directly into a wall socket and it stopped happening.

Plugged it into a surge protected extension and stopped happening.

Non surge protected extensions appear to be the issue. Will let pcspecialist know but their testing environment appears to be well surge protected haha.

That's extraordinary....

 

[FerrariVie]

Final update

I got the laptop back. Tested it and the problem happened again immediately. This has occurred across multiple extension sockets in multiple wall sockets.

Plugged it directly into a wall socket and it stopped happening.

Plugged it into a surge protected extension and stopped happening.

Non surge protected extensions appear to be the issue. Will let pcspecialist know but their testing environment appears to be well surge protected haha.

Wow, who could have guessed? If you want to go deeper in the issue and really identify the root cause, maybe it's worth looking at the amperage of those extension sockets and how many devices you have plugged into the same extension.

 

[digital_infinity]

Wow, who could have guessed? If you want to go deeper in the issue and really identify the root cause, maybe it's worth looking at the amperage of those extension sockets and how many devices you have plugged into the same extension.

Was investigating it in another thread. The number of devices is a possible issue but i have found that if i start it on the wall socket, launch the game and close it, and then move it back onto the extension and launch the game again it will work fine. Even if i reboot the laptop. However if i allow power to leave the power brick (unplugged long enough for all the capacitors to discharge) and then try it plugged into the extension, it will happen again. (see edit)

It's making me think the issue may actually be the power brick. Though i'm not sure how to test that.

Edit:
Unplugging the power brick and leaving the laptop on and running the game: No crash

Restarting the laptop and running the game on battery: no crash

Plugging the power brick in after about 5 minutes and restarting the laptop: no crash

It seems to require the laptop to be off for a while. so maybe its the power on the laptop. I think given it will seemingly always happen as long as it is cold booted on an unprotected plug it might be enough for pcspecialist to replicate now. But will keep using it over the weekend testing and see if i can find a definite trigger. Have notified Pcspecialist due to the other users laptops being sent in so that they can hopefully have it replicated but given its more temperamental than it first seemed it could be a pain to figure out.

 

[ubuysa]

Are there any dumps written when it crashes? Look for Minidumps in C:\Windows\Mindumps or a kernel dump in C:\Windows\Memory.dmp and upload any to the cloud and post a link to them here.

 

[digital_infinity]

Are there any dumps written when it crashes? Look for Minidumps in C:\Windows\Mindumps or a kernel dump in C:\Windows\Memory.dmp and upload any to the cloud and post a link to them here.

First thing I checked. It doesn't blue screen so the system doesn't get a chance to core dump. No crash files exist.

I think you may have sussed it in the other thread and fevieria in this one with the number of items on the extension. I think its going beyond what the extension bar can provide and hard locks.

Thus it works plugged into the wall. And I think continues to work cause it keeps the files stored in ram instead of processing them.

But after a cold boot on the extension the power draw becomes too much. All that's left is to figure out what I can get away with to power this laptop. Still seems strange though that the extension bar failing to provide power isn't handled by the system. Of course I may be horrendously wrong.

 

[ubuysa]

They might just be cheap extensions that can't handle the current. A surge protector is probably a higher quality product all round. Possibly.

 

[digital_infinity]

They might just be cheap extensions that can't handle the current. A surge protector is probably a higher quality product all round. Possibly.

Aye just noticed the power brick pulls 240v. Bet you the extension bars I've been using are only 230v max. Will update if any further issue and should probably let pcspecialist know I was wrong about the surge protection haha.

Thanks for the help everyone. Can't believe I overlooked checking power raitings. I am much better at software haha.

 

[ubuysa]

Aye just noticed the power brick pulls 240v. Bet you the extension bars I've been using are only 230v max. Will update if any further issue and should probably let pcspecialist know I was wrong about the surge protection haha.

Thanks for the help everyone. Can't believe I overlooked checking power raitings. I am much better at software haha.

The voltage won't be the issue it will be the current draw by the power brick. That's hard to measure without specialised kit.

 

[digital_infinity]

The voltage won't be the issue it will be the current draw by the power brick. That's hard to measure without specialised kit.

Yup sorry my mistake. Think I'm just anxious to fix this haha. I'm a decent troubleshooter but I jump to conclusions way too often.

An almost fully loaded surge protector was fine but I'm guessing that's just the quality. Will get a surge protector i can use more often and see if it completely goes away.