ASUS G74SX, I'm guessing my graphics card is dead, but LCD is bad. What now

[Zarski843]

I am the only owner of this laptop, for the most part I barely had any problems since I bought it brand new many years ago. I was playing a game recently (Walking Dead Season 2, not the most graphically intensive game in the world), and I put my computer to hibernate for the night. I turn on my computer today, and all of the colors are distorted. Blacks show up as greens, whites show up as pinks, really strange markings and distortions, and this "static" thing happens mostly on the black colors on the screen (similar to that snow static pattern on TV's). The laptop WORKS fine, I am typing this from the laptop right now, but the colors are totally screwed.

I updated the graphics card driver, didn't fix it. I did a system restore in case it was a corruption, didn't fix it. So to me it looks like its hardware related.

From the bit of research I did, I guess its either the graphics card or motherboard. I don't know the difference and I have no idea how to upgrade them. What is my next step in fixing this? I know the computer uses a GEForce GTX 260M 2GB graphics card. Always worked fine for me, not looking really to upgrade but since its a dated card I might as well do a little better (assuming that is it).

What other steps can I take to figure out what exactly is wrong here? And where do I purchase the parts/how do I even access them? I'm not exactly super computer literate, but I know above average stuff. Or would I just be better off taking it to a small private computer repair shop in town?

Thoughts? Kind of looking to take care of this ASAP.

[Boosted_R]

G74SX uses a GTX 560M 192bit 3GB (less powerful 128bit 2GB version on BB models)....... GPU is part of the MB, and cannot be replaced... I have seen the slower 2GB MB selling on Ebay for around $500 which is a lot personally.......

It could be the screen also... Hook up an external monitor via HDMI..... If the color is good on the external monitor, the GPU/MB is fine, replace the screen (about $80 new I believe)

[Zarski843]

Boosted_R wrote:
G74SX uses a GTX 560M 192bit 3GB (less powerful 128bit 2GB version on BB models)....... GPU is part of the MB, and cannot be replaced... I have seen the slower 2GB MB selling on Ebay for around $500 which is a lot personally.......

It could be the screen also... Hook up an external monitor via HDMI..... If the color is good on the external monitor, the GPU/MB is fine, replace the screen (about $80 new I believe)

Wow, I plugged it into my TV via HDMI cable, and the colors are perfect. I shook the laptop screen a little bit and it works fine now. That being said, it will still need to be fixed.

[Zarski843]

Boosted_R wrote:
G74SX uses a GTX 560M 192bit 3GB (less powerful 128bit 2GB version on BB models)....... GPU is part of the MB, and cannot be replaced... I have seen the slower 2GB MB selling on Ebay for around $500 which is a lot personally.......

It could be the screen also... Hook up an external monitor via HDMI..... If the color is good on the external monitor, the GPU/MB is fine, replace the screen (about $80 new I believe)

Wow, I plugged it into my TV via HDMI cable, and the colors are perfect. I shook the laptop screen a little bit and it works fine now. That being said, it will still need to be fixed because I can't imagine it being a one time thing. What can I do next? I don't think I can replace the screen on my own.

[cl-Albert]

If you're interested, you can contact ASUS support at the page below to send it back for out-of-warranty service, otherwise, you might be able to find other people that can do this too.
http://support.asus.com/Hotlines.aspx?SLanguage=en

If the external display is working fine, sometimes, but not always the problem may just be a bad LCD cable which is cheaper than an LCD panel replacement, so try to get this replaced first before replacing (and charging you for) the LCD panel if you decide to go this route.

Also, you may already know this and everyone's situation may be different, but if the cost for out-of-warranty repair is substantial, consider putting the money into a newer system with warranty instead (and make this one a desktop attached to an external monitor?).

Good luck and feel free to discuss more!

[ImagoX]

I had this exact same issue with the G53 after accidentally dropping my laptop bag - think I jarred the connection between the mobo and the graphics card and/or between the graphics card and the laptop monitor (my display looked fine using HDMI as well, which suggested that the card itself was operating fine) . In my case, I shook the unit a bit just like you did and the issue has not repeated itself (((crossing fingers))), but I've been extra-special careful to not jar the unit, just to be on the safe side. Good luck!

[cl-Albert]

ImagoX wrote:
I had this exact same issue with the G53 after accidentally dropping my laptop bag - think I jarred the connection between the mobo and the graphics card and/or between the graphics card and the laptop monitor (my display looked fine using HDMI as well, which suggested that the card itself was operating fine) . In my case, I shook the unit a bit just like you did and the issue has not repeated itself (((crossing fingers))), but I've been extra-special careful to not jar the unit, just to be on the safe side. Good luck!

Thanks for the feedback ImagoX, and yes, reminds me that I forgot to mention to Zarski843 that just re-connecting the LCD cable might even help sometimes.

[Zarski843]

cl-Albert wrote:
Thanks for the feedback ImagoX, and yes, reminds me that I forgot to mention to Zarski843 that just re-connecting the LCD cable might even help sometimes.

You guys are awesome! I did a few calls in the area and I described the problem, they gave me quotes (based on the price of the materials) from about $75-$150, which is perfectly fine by me. But lets say it is the LCD cable, how exactly do I access that? Or does it take a little bit of advanced knowledge?

[ImagoX]

If it's OK now, just try being careful when transporting it. If it happens again, I'd look up a dissassembly video on YouTube - lots of times shops post videos specific to individual models for themselves and for each other. Try using "[MODEL NAME] screen replacement" as a YouTube or Google search term, watch the entire video, and then you should be able to determine if you can handle it. GL!