Laptop restarts when gaming only when plugged in!

[sebatasa]

Hello, i have a Toshiba C850 laptop and recently it has started to restart when i play games for 2-10 minutes(Dota 2, Skyrim).

This only happens when the laptop is plugged in. When i am using it on battery, i can game normally for an hour or more until the battery dies.

Also this only happens when playing games. When i am browsing, working in office, watching youtube videos, everything works normal.

This is not a overheating issue, since just days before this started i blew out the dust and replaced the thermal paste in my cpu and gpu.

I have no idea why this is happening, if someone had similar problems or has an idea what could be at fault, please share it, i would really love to use my laptop before uni starts, since i have free time now.

 

[drapacioli]

If the laptop is having issues when plugged in vs on battery, chances are this is a hardware issue (though software is still possible, it's unlikely, and would probably be directly related to power management differences or the motherboard's input power controller). My gut instinct tells me your power adapter may not be strong enough to fully power your laptop, or it may be defective. Does the power brick get very hot when you attempt to play games? What happens when you try to play games when the battery is also charging? Fully charged? Removed?

I had a similar issue, but mine was that a lower-voltage battery was causing the issue, not the adapter (the computer worked fine on the old battery and the adapter, but not the new battery). Swapping out the defective battery from another seller fixed it for me.

Please tell look at the label on the back of your laptop and tell me the exact model number of it, and report the output voltage and amps of the power adapter.

 

[sebatasa]

This is what it says on the back of the laptop: Toshiba satellite C850 - 179 Par no. PSKCEE 01Y00SY4 DC 19V = 3.95A

This is what it says on the adapter : Output : 19V = 3.95A

This is a screenshot of HWMonitor : http/imgur.com/EWo97tu

 

[drapacioli]

That seems awfully low-powered for a laptop with radeon 7610M graphics. At full load, the GPU and CPU can pull a combined 55w, and a typical hard drive at that rpm and size can pull up to 5, and a typical lcd 10w. That's 70w for a 75w charger, and we haven't even gotten to the RAM, DVD drive, motherboard/peripherals, and USB devices. Was this the adapter that came with your laptop? Are you using a lot of USB devices?

 

[sebatasa]

Yes, this is the original one that came with the laptop almost 2 years ago.

I am using a logitech gaming mouse(standard 50$ one) and an external sound card(since i broke the jack on the internal one) and headphones most of times.

 

[drapacioli]

Yes, this is the original one that came with the laptop almost 2 years ago.

I am using a logitech gaming mouse(standard 50$ one) and an external sound card(since i broke the jack on the internal one) and headphones most of times.

Hmm, well it theoretically could be pulling too much power, but I can't say for certain without power readings, which I expect you won't be able to get accurate ones. It's highly unusual for a game to max out BOTH the CPU and GPU at the same time too, usually one or the other hits their limit first and the other has to scale back. Do you have another adapter in the house that is the same size plug as yours and has the same or a higher amperage (but the SAME voltage!)?

 

[sebatasa]

Unfortunately i don't have one at my disposal, i would probably have to buy one to test it, since my friends have different plugs on their adapters(Dells/Samsungs/etc)

 

[drapacioli]

You can continue to try and test if it's software related in the meantime, but if it turns out to be hardware, it's likely the AC adapter or the motherboard. I know which one I would hope it is, one's an easy replacement while the other is a huge nightmare...

If you decide to buy one, I recommend getting the same voltage, but a slightly higher amperage. A 19V, 4.72A adapter would be a good bet, it'll give you an extra 15w to work with if that's the problem, or if it's just a defective unit the replacement will work anyway. (Make sure the polarity matches too!)

 

[sebatasa]

Thank you for your help,

i will give feedback once i get my hands on a new adapter and i try to find one with a slightly higher amperage.

I hope also hope its the AC Adapters fault, i will try to swap it with another one as soon as possible.

 

[drapacioli]

No problem.

Did you ever try the solutions I asked in my first post? Trying to play games with the battery fully charged, and removed? What happens then?

 

[sebatasa]

When the battery is fully charged and the adapter is plugged in, the computer restarts randomly.

When i use only the adapter and remove the battery, the computer restarts randomly.

When i use only the battery there are no problems.

I have not yet tried the situation, when the battery is charging, i will try it soon and report back.

 

[drapacioli]

When the battery is fully charged and the adapter is plugged in, the computer restarts randomly.

When i use only the adapter and remove the battery, the computer restarts randomly.

When i use only the battery there are no problems.

I have not yet tried the situation, when the battery is charging, i will try it soon and report back.

If it takes less to cause the problem with the battery charging, it may definitely be the adapter or the power management circuit in the motherboard

 

[sebatasa]

Long time no hearing from me, i was busy studying, what i noticed, this only happens in my dorm room, when i went back home for 10 days, it didn't happen once?

How can i explain this to the dorm staff what need fixing here? I am afraid the faulty electricity(?) might trash my computer, the touchpad already stopped working.

 

[sebatasa]

Bump

 

[sebatasa]

Bump, please read the update down bottom