Predator PH315-51-78NP shuts off constantly

DecentPerson

Hello fellow Acer users.

I have a serious issue with my laptop and I'm struggling to find a related topic on this forum so hoping you could share some wisdom with me.

--History

I have my Predator for about 3 years. The very first issues appeared during the first year of use when gaming. Shut downs occured rarely and seemed like a normal computer behaviour due to possible overheating. 

It's important to notice, that laptop would shut down only when plugged. When playing on battery there were no issues whatsoever but as soon as it was plugged, the fans were starting to spin intensively, making a lot of noise and sometimes ending with computer off. 

The computer was never used for gaming too much. I have finished only a few games during the 3 years of friendship. 

--Recent times

But after a few years, It started shutting off more frequently and again, only when plugged. Usually it occured during a more demanding activity like watching a video. So I had to time it right and charge it before doing something more resource heavy. After a while, the frequency started to increase, I was receiving more shut downs - and from now on - even when laptop was unplugged.

When I turn it back on the keyboard and power lights turns on and off several times and then it turns on. It usually takes around 20 mins at the room temperature before I can turn it on back, or less if I put it somewhere cooler. 

I made a decision to bring my laptop to a technician who told me that there was an issue with a videocard that it was literally melting the surrounding transistor and other parts. He changed the transistor, repasted gpu as a temporary solution. The technician suggested the only option to change a video card, which I'm hestitant to do since it's like 1/3 of laptop price and I really don't get why something like that would happen to my videocard. I have never pushed it too much to it's limits and now even when I'm browsing desktop, it is only a matter of time when shuts down. It shuts down sooner when plugged, it takes a little bit longer when it's unplugged. 

So this forum is my last resort before making a bigger decision. I really hope someone could advise me If changing the GPU is the only solution here. 

Appreciate everyone's help!

JackE

>>>>If changing the GPU is the only solution here. >>>

Sorry, no, a laptop video card is considered NOT replaceable. Unlike desktop PCs, the gpu card is in a laptop form of a chip that is soldered to the laptop mainboard. The chip usually can't be replaced without high risk of collateral damage to the rest of the mainboard. So no, changing the GPU is NOT considered a practical solution.

Other than re-pasting and cleaning, which should be done annually and considered normal maintenance, there is little practical repairs that can be done to salvage the GPU and mainboard. And replacing the mainboard for this model usually costs more than half the cost of the original brand new laptop. Sorry again that I can't be more optimistic. 😒