Solved! Laptop shuts off playing WOW - not heat related

[Dougbateman3212]

Hello everyone,

I have a head scratcher. EVGA SC17 series laptop. The laptop does everything perfectly fine except for the fact that when my customer loads WOW, the laptop shuts off. I have already replaced the a/c adapter with an OEM replacement. Fresh install of Windows 10. All drivers updated. Confirmed fans operating properly. Reapplied a quality thermal paste. New install of WOW (just in case). Ran cpu stress test and GPU stress test, both for over an hour. Temps increased a little but nothing overwhelming as expected during a stress test. Customer sent it back to eVGA for this problem and they basically said nothing was wrong with it. I don’t give up so easily. I have a battery coming to replace the one that’s in it because it reads 65% but not charging and when a/c adapter is disconnected, it shuts off immediately as though there is no battery. I am hoping that the battery is the cause as though it acts like a capacitor for pulling the extra load. Any thoughts? It seems specific to WOW but nothing in their forums beside heat related issues.

 

[COLGeek]

WOW is likely not the issue. Have you tested the memory? Also, do any other games suffer similarly?

Have you tried running a benchmarking app like Superposition to see how the system performs (use the 1080 Extreme settings)?

 

[Dougbateman3212]

WOW is likely not the issue. Have you tested the memory? Also, do any other games suffer similarly?

Have you tried running a benchmarking app like Superposition to see how the system performs (use the 1080 Extreme settings)?

First, to answer your questions.
Yes I utilized both a GPU and CPU stress test apps individually for over an hour each. I thought about the possible damage that may have occurred in relation to the poor thermal paste that was there before I reapplied. Memory tests also passed with flying colors.

2nd to post a resolution in this case.
As I originally figured, this problem was a result of Power issues. We replaced the A/C adapter and this didn’t change the results. I had noticed that the battery showed as 65% but not charging and when the power was disconnected the laptop would shut down immediately. I started thinking (a little outside the box) that maybe this battery might be the problem. My thought process was that the intense load from the game was more than even the A/C adapter could handle and that when that happened, it would pull the extra that it needed from the battery to assist with the load. As it turned out, I was right. Replacing the weak battery allowed for less of a direct pull of power on the A\C adapter and solved the issue. A battery that is weak acts similar to a capacitor for that instant power draw. If anybody is having power problems with their laptops, don’t discount that the battery is there for a reason and often more than just letting you use your laptop without being plugged in.