Laptop Wifi Disconnects When Games Run (ThrottleStop)

[xamplified]

2019 RB 15 Advanced WiFi Disconnect While Gaming

Hey everyone, posting here because quite frankly I’m at a loss. First, specs:

2019 razer blade 15 pro
OS: MS10 home version 10.0.19042 build 19402
System type: 64x
Processor: intel i7-8750H @2.2ghz 6 cores
Memory: 32GB

I’ve been playing a lot of games on this laptop for over 1.5 years now. Warzone lately and maybe 2 weeks ago now the laptop shut down mid game and it sounded/looked like it sparked for a split second beneath the H/J key area. Laptop booted up just fine after that and didn’t have much of a problem until 1-2 days later. However, I was now getting huge FPS drops making the games virtually unplayable. CPU turbo would not kick in during the games and would remain around 790MHz. At this point, I used throttlestop to try and figure out what was going on thinking I was thermal throttling or something. I successfully found some settings to maintain 3200MHz without having any PL or BD PROCHOT errors.

Now, I can browse the internet and download files just fine. I run stress tests on the CPU/GPU with no problem. However, as soon as I try to play MW or destiny 2 within 3-5 minutes of gameplay my WiFi cuts out. It’s not the router/modem as every other device runs on those devices and never drops (including my PS4 with the same games). On the laptop itself, the WiFi interface drops off completely and says WiFi is off and that I have to turn it on manually (however, when I click the button to turn the WiFi on nothing happens). The WiFi interface will then restart by itself automatically within 1-2 mins and locate my home router and automatically join.

My laptop does recognize the charger and does charge to 100% without issue.

Now, I’ve tried multiple things up until this point:

- replaced the laptop battery
- replaced the WiFi adapter card (upgraded to AX200)
- hard resets on the router/modem
- uninstall/reinstall WiFi drivers
- changed WiFi adapter settings so that it cannot power down for power saving
- updated AND rolled back windows 10 updates (tested both ways)
- DNS flushed multiple times

I suppose I'm at a loss now... either a sensor on the motherboard went bad with that spark I saw causing the system to shut down the wifi connection when it heats up/is under stress or my throttlestop settings are causing some power draw/current issue that I'm not picking up.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

 

[unclewebb]

Do you have to clear the BD PROCHOT box in ThrottleStop to get your computer to run at full speed? If yes, that means there is something wrong with your computer. Some sensor on the motherboard is sending a throttling signal to your CPU. Clearing this box tells your CPU to ignore these throttling signals.

The 8750H is a 45W CPU. If Razer built your laptop with a 45W CPU in mind and you are trying to run your CPU at 80W, maybe there is not enough power left over for the network card. Do not get me wrong. Setting your turbo power limits to 80W and 100W is wonderful if your laptop can handle this. If you are having problems, go back to the default settings which is usually 45W for the long limit and somewhere around 60W for the short limit.

On the main ThrottleStop screen you do not need to check the Set Multiplier box. Speed Shift Technology is enabled (SST) so the Set Multiplier setting is not used. If you want your CPU to run at a maximum of 3200 MHz, you can either reduce the turbo ratio limits in the FIVR window or you can reduce the Speed Shift Max value in the TPL window.

It does not make sense that two different wireless cards both have the same disconnect problem. If you saw a spark, some component on your motherboard might have been permanently damaged.

 

[xamplified]

Do you have to clear the BD PROCHOT box in ThrottleStop to get your computer to run at full speed? If yes, that means there is something wrong with your computer. Some sensor on the motherboard is sending a throttling signal to your CPU. Clearing this box tells your CPU to ignore these throttling signals.

The 8750H is a 45W CPU. If Razer built your laptop with a 45W CPU in mind and you are trying to run your CPU at 80W, maybe there is not enough power left over for the network card. Do not get me wrong. Setting your turbo power limits to 80W and 100W is wonderful if your laptop can handle this. If you are having problems, go back to the default settings which is usually 45W for the long limit and somewhere around 60W for the short limit.

On the main ThrottleStop screen you do not need to check the Set Multiplier box. Speed Shift Technology is enabled (SST) so the Set Multiplier setting is not used. If you want your CPU to run at a maximum of 3200 MHz, you can either reduce the turbo ratio limits in the FIVR window or you can reduce the Speed Shift Max value in the TPL window.

It does not make sense that two different wireless cards both have the same disconnect problem. If you saw a spark, some component on your motherboard might have been permanently damaged.

Hi unclewebb, thanks for your response.

Yes, BD PROCHOT box needs to be clear for me to have the computer run at full speed and to maintain appropriate FPS in the games. For example, I just checked the BD PROCHOT box and opened up warzone. FPS dropped by ~50 points and I immediately got BD PROCHOT limit errors in red for both the CPU and GPU. These show in yellow as I closed the game prior to taking this pic. I dropped the turbo power limits but unfortunately, that didn't make a difference. I also cleared the multiplier box. Thank you for that info.

So, with all this information I suppose it's reasonable to assume that something fried on the motherboard eh....? I guess it's time to build a PC and reserve this laptop for work purposes only lol. Unless you happen to have any other thoughts as to what might be causing this issue. I was reading on some other forums that people were suggesting that the GPU may be pulling too much power draining the motherboard and not providing the wifi card with enough power to perform its function? I find this hard to believe though as I never had this problem prior to the random shutdown/spark incident....

 

[unclewebb]

It sounds like the BD PROCHOT throttling issue just started happening recently. Something has changed. Something on the motherboard might have been damaged.

Clear the BD PROCHOT box, check the Log File option and then go try to play a game, hopefully for at least 15 minutes. When finished testing, exit ThrottleStop, find the log file in your ThrottleStop / Logs folder and attach it to your next post so I can have a look at it.

Your screenshot shows PROCHOT 100°C in red. This indicates thermal throttling. The log file will help show if there are any other problems. If your thermal paste needs to be replaced, perhaps excess heat from your CPU is nuking your wifi card. This is not a typical problem.

 

[xamplified]

It sounds like the BD PROCHOT throttling issue just started happening recently. Something has changed. Something on the motherboard might have been damaged.

Clear the BD PROCHOT box, check the Log File option and then go try to play a game, hopefully for at least 15 minutes. When finished testing, exit ThrottleStop, find the log file in your ThrottleStop / Logs folder and attach it to your next post so I can have a look at it.

Your screenshot shows PROCHOT 100°C in red. This indicates thermal throttling. The log file will help show if there are any other problems. If your thermal paste needs to be replaced, perhaps excess heat from your CPU is nuking your wifi card. This is not a typical problem.

So, I tried playing the game. I couldn't even get into a match without getting the system connection error and noticing the wifi dropped again. That's within the span of 3-4 minutes. Idk if this is enough information, but here is the log you requested.

 

[unclewebb]

At 20:58:19 the log file shows a POWER STATUS CHANGE notice. After this, the Bat_mW column shows a negative number which means power starts being drawn from the battery. If the power adapter can not fully power your computer when gaming then it will have to start drawing power from the battery to make up the difference.

At 20:59:52 there is another POWER STATUS CHANGE notification. At this point you appear to be done testing. The CPU is back to being lightly loaded and the battery is no longer being drawn down. This Bat_mW column is back to 0 where it should be when you are plugged in.

Some laptops are shipped with power adapters that are inadequate and will do the above where they suck power out of the the battery when needed. I will assume that this normally does not happen on this laptop model. If you did not pull the power adapter out and switch to battery power then the problem you are having might be the power adapter that has failed. It can no longer fully power your computer when both the CPU and GPU are active and loaded. This could cause the wifi to disconnect. Find a different power adapter to test your laptop with.

 

[xamplified]

At 20:58:19 the log file shows a POWER STATUS CHANGE notice. After this, the Bat_mW column shows a negative number which means power starts being drawn from the battery. If the power adapter can not fully power your computer when gaming then it will have to start drawing power from the battery to make up the difference.

At 20:59:52 there is another POWER STATUS CHANGE notification. At this point you appear to be done testing. The CPU is back to being lightly loaded and the battery is no longer being drawn down. This Bat_mW column is back to 0 where it should be when you are plugged in.

Some laptops are shipped with power adapters that are inadequate and will do the above where they suck power out of the the battery when needed. I will assume that this normally does not happen on this laptop model. If you did not pull the power adapter out and switch to battery power then the problem you are having might be the power adapter that has failed. It can no longer fully power your computer when both the CPU and GPU are active and loaded. This could cause the wifi to disconnect. Find a different power adapter to test your laptop with.

That makes sense... is that likely the case even though the adapter charges the laptop to 100% when under a baseline minimal load? I may then purchase a new adapter power supply to test this.

So would the logic behind it be that the adapter has gone faulty under heavy loads and can't provide the power needed to supply the CPU/GPU -> throttling -> rapid battery drain which pulls enough juice from the wifi card for it to temporarily shut off?

 

[unclewebb]

even though

Under minimal load the charger is good enough to charge the battery. As soon as you put any significant load on the CPU and GPU, the power starts flowing the other way and the battery starts draining. Run a game for more than 2 or 3 minutes and you will likely see this power drain continue and get worse. Watch the Bat_mW column. If a battery is fully charged and not being drained, this column should continuously show 0 while you game.

If you cannot attach a log file to your post, copy and paste a longer log file while gaming to www.pastebin.com

A power adapter can fail at any time. The only way to troubleshoot this kind of problem is to try using a known good adapter. Replacing a power adapter is cheaper than replacing the motherboard. How many watts is your power adapter rated at? I am assuming that your original power adapter did not have this problem.

When a power adapter goes bad on a Dell laptop, it can send a BD PROCHOT throttling signal to the CPU. A laptop limping along at 800 MHz will get a person's attention and encourage them to bring their laptop in for service.

Your CPU is running below its rated speed. Try setting the Speed Shift EPP variable to 80. Better yet, do not check this option and use the Windows power slider in the system tray to change the EPP variable. As you move the slider back and forth, look in the FIVR monitoring table to see what EPP value the CPU is using. If Windows can manage EPP, there is no need for you to check Speed Shift EPP in ThrottleStop. This option is only there for laptops that do not manage EPP correctly or at all.