Power Delivery issue crippling Laptop underload.

[Brookes_117]

Laptop: IONICO 15, RTX 3070 (140w), R 5900HX, 16GB 2933MHz RAM. (full specs below)

Had the Laptop since May 2021 everything has been perfect. However, two days ago my laptop has started behaving abnormally.

The Issue:

The GPU is not receiving the standard power draw of 140watts. Instead it only draws 30-50watts with GPU utilisation at 20-30% making frame rate very unstable in all games. Light load games (Halo CE Evolved etc.) will stutter and choke (fps fluctuates 7-60 maximum) and anything very demanding the GPU and CPU drop in wattage to around 10watts the game will freeze and the display will go black (off) and wont come back on until after a hard restart. The RTX 3070 usually gives me very good performance in all titles at ultra settings.

I believe it to be a power delivery issue and perhaps a faulty power supply/charging cable not being able to provide the power draw the hardware requires?

The connection on the charger into the power port feels strong and firm (no wiggle, no damage) the Laptop recognises it is plugged in (the windows battery icon changes to "on battery" and "plugged in", respectively.

Nothing has been flagged in the device manager for any hardware related issues to battery or GPU or any other piece of hardware.

Running HW Monitor I can see the "current voltage" whilst on wall power is only 16.9Volts and the 230watt power supply is rated at 19.5Volts. could this be the issue?

The Laptop I use for work and gaming, hence the powerful hardware specification. and i always game plugged in on AC wall power with dGPU enabled. additionally using MSHyrbrid mode still displays the same problems.

OS: Windows 10, 64 bit
Version : 20H2
Build: 19042.1348

Nvidia graphics drivers (497.09) are fully up to date.

Any Advice is welcome

Many thanks.

Harry

Specification:

Chassis & Display
Ionico Series: 15.6" Matte QHD 165Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1440)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen™ 9 Eight Core Processor 5900HX (3.3GHz, 4.6GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3070 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Ionico Series Integrated 62WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.2 PORT (Type C) + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Keyboard Language
IONICO SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Promotional Item
Get Outriders with qualifying GeForce RTX Powered Laptops
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland

 

[SpyderTracks]

You'll need to apply all windows updates including optional, does t sound like your windows is configured yet if you're on 20H2 which is a year old now.

First thing we need to do is get in windows fully configured and then we can do some troubleshooting.

 

[Brookes_117]

You'll need to apply all windows updates including optional, does t sound like your windows is configured yet if you're on 20H2 which is a year old now.

First thing we need to do is get in windows fully configured and then we can do some troubleshooting.

Cheers for that and apologies.

Just ran windows update until they stopped appearing.

Edition Windows 10 Home
Version 21H2
Installed on ‎18/‎05/‎2021
OS build 19044.1387
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.3920.0

 

[SpyderTracks]

Cheers for that and apologies.

Just ran windows update until they stopped appearing.

Edition Windows 10 Home
Version 21H2
Installed on ‎18/‎05/‎2021
OS build 19044.1387
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.3920.0

Have you installed all optional updates?

Could you take a screenshot of the windows update page?

 

[Brookes_117]

Have you installed all optional updates?

yep all done, some bluetooth, USB and drivers all installed.

Update:

So GPU works fine in benchmarks. Unigen Heaven at ultra and max tessellation in windowed mode for 10minutes. GPU 120-130 watt power draw, 1560-1900MHz clock speed. 99% utilization and 170-200fps.

but it just won't work in games.

 

[SpyderTracks]

yep all done, some bluetooth, USB and drivers all installed.

Update:

So GPU works fine in benchmarks. Unigen Heaven at ultra and max tessellation in windowed mode for 10minutes. GPU 120-130 watt power draw, 1560-1900MHz clock speed. 99% utilization and 170-200fps.

but it just won't work in games.

So next.

Is Control Center installed correctly and what power setting is it set on in there?

Are you testing on battery or plugged in? Best to test plugged in.

Have you reset windows or anything since you got it, or is it as it was delivered?

 

[Brookes_117]

Yeah all testing is done plugged in to the wall.

So in Control Panel under power options it's set to AMD balanced mode.

in NVIDIA Control panel power management mode is set to prefer maximum performance.

over the battery slider down in the bottom right "Plugged in" is set to the middle (Best Performance).

On PCSpecialist control centre, power modes. I'd typically switch it into gaming mode before launching a game and the fans would instantly spin up and clockspeeds and power draw would shoot up (no longer power limited). I tend to be in office mode most of the time and gaming for gaming. However, changing this doesn't seem to change the GPU performance anymore. it's just not drawing the power that it needs unless running a benchmark for some reason.

so the GPU is obviously working if it can perform in the benchmark but when i launch into a game the GPU isn't recognising it needs to increase its performance and that's true even if i switch into gaming or turbo mode. GPU Clock speed is also locked at 1560MHz with zero fluctuation whilst in a game regardless of in a menu or playing. However, in the benchmark the clock speed changes as you'd normally expect.


when I got the laptop I ran windows update as many times as it took before it said it was fully up to date. installed all the latest graphics and chipset drivers until everything was up to date and then went about using the computer as normal. I didn't buy a fresh windows 10 key online and then install that. just used that was paid for and provided with the system when you select OS in the purchase options.

 

[SpyderTracks]

so the GPU is obviously working if it can perform in the benchmark but when i launch into a game the GPU isn't recognising it needs to increase its performance and that's true even if i switch into gaming or turbo mode. GPU Clock speed is also locked at 1560MHz with zero fluctuation whilst in a game regardless of in a menu or playing. However, in the benchmark the clock speed changes as you'd normally expect.

The dGPU is activated based on application. It's not just on or off, it intelligently switches based on load.

It sounds like it's remaining on the igpu on the game.

TBH, we could troubleshoot for hours but I'd just do a clean windows install, that way you know you're starting from a clean state

 

[Brookes_117]

The dGPU is activated based on application. It's not just on or off, it intelligently switches based on load.

It sounds like it's remaining on the igpu on the game.

TBH, we could troubleshoot for hours but I'd just do a clean windows install, that way you know you're starting from a clean state

Thanks I will do.

Another thing i've just noticed. when I load up a game and the benchmark actually the laptop went from being "plugged In" to being "on Battery" because the screen dimmed as it changes into battery power plan. and then came out of the game to find it saying on battery, despite being plugged in to the wall.

Which is another reason i think it's something to do with the battery/power supply.

I will get a fresh windows key online and install it. see if it changes anything.

Cheers for the advice.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I will get a fresh windows key online and install it. see if it changes anything.

Urm, you don't need to do this? You've already bought windows, there's nothing wrong with your license? Unless you didn't buy it and your specs are different to what you posted?