Laptop Hard-Freezes Under Load Only When Plugged In
Asked by
MellowQuartz47
My ASUS G752VS has developed a full system freeze whenever it is plugged in and running a demanding game or workload. The screen becomes completely unresponsive and I have to hold the power button to shut it down.
The laptop worked normally after I bought it in 2017. The freezes first appeared around 2020 while playing GTA V, then gradually began happening in other games. I also had overheating problems for a while, but after properly cleaning the laptop, idle temperatures are around 40–50°C and gaming temperatures are roughly 60–70°C, so overheating does not seem to be the cause.
The issue is present in both Windows and Linux Mint, with Linux installed alongside Windows on another SSD. It can happen in Minecraft, other demanding games, and occasionally even web pages. System usage is only around 70–80% before the freeze, and the RAM is nowhere near full.
The strange part is that the laptop does not freeze when running on battery. However, it can freeze if a game is already running on battery and I connect the charger. I have updated the drivers and BIOS, and the BIOS version matches the latest version listed for the laptop. The hardware is an i7-6700HQ, GTX 1070 Mobile, and 64 GB of RAM.
Could this be caused by the charger, power-delivery circuitry, motherboard, or another component that is only used at full power?
Answers
Power profiles can behave differently on AC and battery, so try switching from maximum performance to a balanced or efficiency profile as a diagnostic step. The fact that efficiency mode delays the freeze slightly suggests that reducing power draw may be affecting the problem, but it does not prove the profile itself is the cause. It is more consistent with a marginal charger, power rail, or board component failing when the system draws more power.
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The charger or the laptop's power-delivery circuitry is the first thing I would investigate. Since the system is stable on battery but locks up when AC power is connected, the power adapter may be faulty or unable to provide clean power under load. If possible, test with a known-good charger that has the exact same voltage, amperage, connector, and wattage rating. Do not use an underpowered or merely compatible-looking adapter.
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Run controlled stress tests instead of testing everything at once. Test the GPU and VRAM separately, then the CPU, and finally system memory. A tool such as OCCT can help identify whether one component reports errors or crashes only when the charger is connected. If the GPU and CPU tests pass individually but a combined test fails, that points more toward the charger, motherboard power circuitry, or another shared power-delivery problem.
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MellowQuartz47: I’ll try the separate GPU, VRAM, CPU, and memory tests. If none of them reports errors, I’ll focus more on the charger and motherboard power circuitry.