Weird pink haze at bottom of screen

[Animal_79]

Hi every one.

I have a 5 year old Definance III

It has served me pretty well but I currently have a couple of issues.

First CPU heavy applications/games result in eaerything running very hot. I have never repasted and so assume that this will help, or at the very least is my first step. I've ordered some noew paste and will do this this week.

Second, I occassionally (but becoming more common) get a weird pink haze over the screen. It starts from the bottom and is hard to describle but looks like lots of horizontal pink (some green) lines which flicker and move up and down over the lower potion of the screen.

The proportion of the screen affected varies from just a pixel or two at the bottom to 30-45% of the screen.

The normal dsiplay can be made out behind the haze and the computer otherwise continues to work.

I tried to take a screenshot but it doesn't doesn't show up on the screenshot - which makes me think it is probably a hardware issue with the screen?

It is an intermittent proble and shutting down closing the lid before opening and rebooting usually clears it, but not always.

Could it just be a loose connection? If so what sort of connector am i looking for when I open everything up?

Many thanks in advance and sorry that this is a bit of a rambling question...

Ben


Specs:

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor 6700HQ (2.6GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
8GB HyperX IMPACT 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 - 6.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1, G-SYNC
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 600p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 1775MB/sR | 560MB/sW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Defiance Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (60WH)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Def. Audio + MIC/Headphone + SoundBlaster X-Fi MB3
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN + WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8260 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) + BLUETOOTH li
USB/Thunderbolt Options
3 x USB 3.1 Type A, 2 x USB 3.1 Type C AS STANDARD
Keyboard Language
DEFIANCE SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Promotional Item
FREE HOLIDAY SEASON BUNDLE with select GTX 10 Series GPUs!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Have you ever repasted it since you've had it?

The pink haze is likely the GPU overheating due to the extra temps from the CPU. You really need to repaste once a year to keep temps optimal.

If you're getting those symptoms I would strongly suggest not using it until you've repasted as you run the risk of frying the GPU.

 

[Animal_79]

I've never ever repasted and until recently didn;t know that repasting was even a thing...

I know better now.

I don;t think that it can be the gpu over heating as if it is going to occur then it will do so on startup. It everything starts up without the haze then it won't kick in mid session.

 

[Animal_79]

Or at least, it has never started mid-session up to now

 

[Animal_79]

It may do so in the future

 

[SpyderTracks]

It may do so in the future

That's how GPU errors occur, they're fine until the card hits a certain temperature and that's when the artifacts or colour shift appears. It's because a trace on the circuit board expands to the point it disconnects, or a cap heats to the point the side vents. Heat equals expansion.

The other way to be sure is when it's next showing, take a screenshot. If the pink shows in the screenshot, it's the GPU, if not then it's the display.

 

[Animal_79]

Thanks SpyderTracks.

I took a screenshot (intending to upload it here), when the issue occurred earlier today and the haze wasn’t on the screenshot.

On that occasion I had just turned the laptop on after well over 12 hours on being off and having had no issue the last time it was in use.

I’ve also noticed that closing and reopening the lid whilst the laptop is shut down in required to clear the problem. If I just restart then the issue will persist.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I took a screenshot (intending to upload it here), when the issue occurred earlier today and the haze wasn’t on the screenshot.

Ah, that does suggest it's a panel defect then rather than GPU. That's actually a good thing, it's a lot easier to get a replacement panel than a GPU.

I’ve also noticed that closing abs reopening the lid whilst the laptop is shut down in required to clear the problem. If I just restart then the issue will persist.

That's really odd, it's likely temp related and closing the lid turns off all the backlights and instantly reduces temp.

 

[Animal_79]

Ok, so I think first things first - I’ll do the repaste on Monday or Tuesday.

If anything is obviously lose when I open the laptop up then I assume I’m unlikely to cause any damage with a gentle nudge back into place (?)

After the repaste then wait and see if it happens again. If it does I’ll try taking a photo with my phone and take it from there.

Is there anything else I should in the interim?

Thanks again SpyderTracks

 

[Animal_79]

One final question...

Should i be repasting the cpu and the gpu or just the cpu?

 

[SpyderTracks]

One final question...

Should i be repasting the cpu and the gpu or just the cpu?

Depends what your temps are and how the chassis is configured.

On quite a few thinner laptops, the GPU and CPU heatsinks are worked together through the same heatpipes, so you have to do both at the same time.

But if they're separate, do the CPU first, then test temps again and see if the GPU needs doing. You want the GPU to be under 80 max. CPU around 85 to 90.

You have to stress both with a proper stress test, so Prime95 for CPU and heaven benchmark for GPU or Furmark.

 

[Animal_79]

I have completed a re-paste - which was definitely needed (old paste hard and crusty on both CPU and GPU) but was easier than I thought.

The laptop definitely runs cooler now (although I forgot to run a temperature monitor before I di the re-paste, which is a shame).

My issue with the screen didn;'t re-occur for a while but came back last week.

Defiantly not due to temperature at the time of operation as the laptop had been off for a couple of days and was very cool room.

I have noticed that the plastic at the corners of the monitor have some cracks from the corner of the screen, diagonally to the corner of the laptop (through the black plastic edge around the screen) - which I guess could be related to this issue, although I think that they have been there for some time.

I could also be that the GPU as sustained damage from not being re-pasted earlier?

 

[Scott]

Could you reboot the PC in safe mode and see if the issue follows?

Click the Start button, click the Power button, hold the shift key and then click restart. When it boots up, click "Troubleshoot" then "Advanced Options" then "See More" then "Startup Settings". Click restart and then you will be given the option to boot into safe mode on the next boot.

 

[Animal_79]

I will give safe mode a try next time the problem occurs but it is intermittent and a restart often clears it (even not using safe mode), provided that I also close and reopen the lid...

 

[barlew]

Something else to try. Next time it happens take a screen shot, If the haze shows in the picture then your GPU is most likely on the way out fault if not then its the screen.

 

[Animal_79]

Right, it didn't reoccur for a while but has now done so...

I took a screenshot - which doesn't include the haze, suggesting the screen as the issue.

I have however randomly stumbled across a solution...

If I use the display settings in windows to change the monitor from 60Hz down to 44Hz (the only other option), it clears the problem. I can then switch back to 60Hz and carry on with using the laptop.

When turning the lap top on again the issue may or may not reoccur so this isn't a permanent fix but it does deal with the problem.

No idea what the root cause would be though...

Thank you to everybody for their suggestions

 

[barlew]

Right, it didn't reoccur for a while but has now done so...

I took a screenshot - which doesn't include the haze, suggesting the screen as the issue.

I have however randomly stumbled across a solution...

If I use the display settings in windows to change the monitor from 60Hz down to 44Hz (the only other option), it clears the problem. I can then switch back to 60Hz and carry on with using the laptop.

When turning the lap top on again the issue may or may not reoccur so this isn't a permanent fix but it does deal with the problem.

No idea what the root cause would be though...

Thank you to everybody for their suggestions

I think the root cause is your screen is knackered and you need a new one.

 

[Scott]

Screens on laptops definitely seem to have a limited life IME. I've changed many a panel over the years.

Depends on usage of course.

It could actually be the ribbon cable between the panel and the GPU at fault though. It's probably worth investigating but would require a full teardown of the laptop.