Solved! Alienware 17 R4's screen is getting pixelated every time I play any game

anuragkumar.golu

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Feb 1, 2018
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510
Hi,

I have Alienware 17 r4 with 1070 gtx, 16gb ram, i7 7th gen and 4k display laptop. Whenever I play any game on the laptop (csgo, dota2, forza7, cod ww2) the screen is getting completely pixelated and nothing is working. I have to power shut down the laptop and restart it again. I am not able to play any game on this laptop.

I tried to connect different laptop's monitor running windows 10 through win10 feature and tried the other laptop's screen to play games. Still, the games are crashing and my Alienware is crashing.

Can anyone help me figure out the problem and how to fix this?
 
Solution
That seems rather odd, but it could be a conflict with the charger. Before buying another I would see if there is someone you can borrow one from and test it that way. If it doesn't crash, then you know your charger is the issue. However if it still does, then I would consider having it looked at.

anuragkumar.golu

Prominent
Feb 1, 2018
5
0
510
I uninstalled the nvidia driver and played the game with only Intel graphics. The game was laggy but the laptop didn't crash. One more thing is that it is crashing only when the charger is connected. If on battery, the laptop is not crashing. Then, I installed latest Nvidia driver and started playing game. It was when charger was connected and the laptop again crashed. But on battery, it didn't.
I am using the power cord which came with the laptop, it is US/Canada type power cord which I am using it in India by simply adding one small type converter in the plug of the power cord. Is it normal to use the charger in this way?
https://www.compuindia.com/dell-240-watt-laptop-adapter-alienware-precision.html
This is my charger. Any suggestions?
 
Well it could be a few things. I would start with the power settings. Go into "Control Panel" and then "Power Options". Here click on "Change plan settings". Now you want to click "Change advanced plan settings" next to which ever plan you are using.

In the new window that pops up, go through all the settings and make sure that nothing is set to change when you are on the charger. It could be almost anything listed there that gives the choice. Once you are done, click "Apply" and then "OK". and close those windows. Reboot the computer and see if the problem is resolved.
 

anuragkumar.golu

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Feb 1, 2018
5
0
510
Hi, thanks for the reply. I tried changing the power settings. Currently, everything is on maximum performance. Previously, I was using balanced mode. In both the cases, the laptop is crashing. What else can I try?
 

anuragkumar.golu

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Feb 1, 2018
5
0
510
Yes, I have checked the laptop's temperature many times. None of the graphics processor or Intel processor didn't go above 80 degrees. They are always in the range of 70 to 80-degree Celsius. I even have the logs just before the crash also, I will post them in some time. Is using US/Canada charger is the issue? As crash only happens when it is charging.
 
That seems rather odd, but it could be a conflict with the charger. Before buying another I would see if there is someone you can borrow one from and test it that way. If it doesn't crash, then you know your charger is the issue. However if it still does, then I would consider having it looked at.
 
Solution

anuragkumar.golu

Prominent
Feb 1, 2018
5
0
510
I tried yesterday with a different charger, but it was a 180W charger and Alienware requires 240W. So, after that, the games were not crashing for a long time. Almost for more than 1 hour, the laptop didn't crash. But after like 1.5 hours, the screen went black and nothing was working. Again I did power shutdown to reboot the system. Earlier, with original charger (240W one), the laptop was crashing within 5 minutes of gaming.