M17x R4 GTX 1070 Graphical Issues?

[Mikiiiiiii 0]

Hey Y'all! New to Tech Inferno!

 

I recently purchased a GTX 1070m for my Alienware m17x r4 and after going though all the hassle of unlocking the bios (A11), tweaking settings, adjusting the heatsink (not modified as the GTX 1070 fit perfectly) , thermal throttling and driver installing, everything seemed dandy - I ran a 3DMark Firestrike Benchmark and scored 11493, HWiNFO reported the average temperature of the GPU to be around 50C at idle and 60-70 with load,

 

However... 

 

While playing Tower Unite at a crispy 140 FPS, my game suddenly crashed and my system rebooted. After turning back on, the screen was suddenly corrupted, surprisingly it loaded into windows just fine. I checked the GPU in device manager and it said this:

 

"Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)"

 

Shocking.. 

 

Anyhow I tried to reinstall the graphics driver (451.48) with the modded inf but every time I restart my laptop to disable driver signature enforcement, it just blacks out and boots up into windows. 

 

Could this be a corrupted vbios? If so, is there anyway I could get the vbios for the GTX 1070 (ebay listing here for more detail) as well as a guide to resetting it? And also, would this be an issue caused by overheating? As HWiNFO reported 50C idle after the incident - fans were running okay, while I still used the stock 3 pipe cooler without modifying it + Artic Silver 5 thermal paste. I might try replace the heat sink if it is the issue, that is, if I fix the corrupted card first before i refund it. Additionally, what would be the default thermal settings in the BIOS? since now that its unlocked It doesn't have the stock controlled preset.

 

Help would be greatly appreciated! Beers on me if you do! 

 

Thanks! 

 

Edited June 26, 2020 by Mikiiiiiii

[MattyB 38]

vBIOS' are available from TechPowerUp and you'll need to install NVFlash. There are some Youtube videos and written guides on how to use NVFlash. 

 

I'm hoping it's just the vBIOS and not a dead card. 

[Klem 802]

On 6/26/2020 at 4:50 PM, Mikiiiiiii said:

adjusting the heatsink (not modified as the GTX 1070 fit perfectly)

Hi!

I think that may be your heatsink it is problem. Try to read this topic:

 

Edited June 30, 2020 by Klem

[MattyB 38]

Also, just check that the vBIOS is the correct one for your card/laptop combination. To see what your current vBIOS install and run GPU-Z. Uninstall the Nvidia driver before you check this or GPU-Z will probably be missing most of the important information. Without the driver it will show your vBIOS version. 

When you search for the vBIOS' on TechPowerUP make sure you change the GPU Brand dropdown to show Unverified Uploads and you will get a wider selection to choose from. 

You'll need to find one that is compatible with your card and laptop. Be aware that there are g-sync and non g-sync version of the 1070. You need the right one. From memory, the g-sync is 1BE1 and the non g-sync is 1BA1.

To check what your card is you can go to Device Manager - Display Adapters - Right click on your 1070 or Microsoft basic display adapter (with no driver) - properties - Details - Select Hardware ID from the dropdown. Your card ID will be listed and it should have 1BA1 or 1BE1 in the line of code. 

 

When I received the 1070 for my M18x I was greeted with the Code 43 error. After a few late nights reinstalling Windows and Drivers I took a look at the card vBIOS and it had a g-sync version flashed instead of the non g-sync. 15 minutes later after flashing the right vBIOS I had my 1070 working like a dream.