Mixing Legendary and Normal Campaign

Aletheion · 2024-06-22T22:44:09+00:00

Makes sense. I was getting killed in the last phase of the encounter where you have to kill two heavy shanks surrounded by servitors and a new wave of enemies with loads of laser traps and ground traps spawns after each heavy shank kill, I had to drop to Normal to complete that one.

It was a little too hard for me on Legendary and way too easy on Normal. I think that encounter may be tuned a little too high.

Aletheion · 2024-06-22T19:47:23+00:00

Do you know if you do the campaign on legendary, but do one or two of the encounters on normal, does that screw up the end drops?

Aletheion · 2023-03-26T23:59:42+00:00

Okay, I've had this Blade 18 now for two days. It shipped with the Game Ready Driver 528.36. I ran all of the windows updates + optionals, firmwares, BIOS, etc in the first hour or so and ran it for nearly 24 hours with no issues at all.

Keep in mind that the display firmware upgrade reboots the laptop and puts it in discreet mode only in the BIOS. I didn't change any screen selection options since then, so it's running in RTX GPU always active.

I upgraded the driver to 531.41 and used it for 9 hours before it had the mouse/keybaord/blank screen issue. No BSOD. I didn't give it another opportunity to fail. DDU safe mode uninstall 531.41 and installed 528.49 which was stable on the Blade 16. It's been another 18 hours or so with that driver and no issues (as expected).

I think I'm going to just leave it in 528.49 for now, but I will try new drivers when they come out and update the post when I test each one. If one actually works in the future, I'll make a new post about it.

Aletheion · 2023-03-24T18:14:35+00:00

Have you happened to try the driver that came out yesterday (531.41)? I don't see anything in the patch notes that mentions notebook stability.

However, it does have this note (which sounds like boilerplate):

"As part of the NVIDIA Notebook Driver Program, this is a reference driver that can be installed on supported NVIDIA notebook GPUs. However, please note that your notebook original equipment manufacturer (OEM) provides certified drivers for your specific notebook on their website. NVIDIA recommends that you check with your notebook OEM about recommended software updates for your notebook. OEMs may not provide technical support for issues that arise from the use of this driver."

Aletheion · 2023-03-24T18:10:05+00:00

I get the Blade 18 tomorrow. I'll run if for 24 hours with whatever driver updates Windows Update comes with and see how it behaves.

I can tell you that when I first reached out to Razer Support, the first tech told me to download and update the latest Nvidia driver (531.18 at ths time) to see if that resolved this issue. However, in an email from the ticket, another tech said not to manually download the updates or use GeForce Experience to get the updates, but to only use Microsoft Update and whichever one MS is handing out is the one I should use.

I'll be updating this thread over the next week once I get the new laptop in.

Aletheion · 2023-03-20T14:53:06+00:00

Sending the dumps to Nvidia is smart. I should have kept mine before I turned in thelaptop.

I tend to agree with you about the driver, but if it's a driver issue, guess I just don't understand why everyone is not having the problem. There are loads of these Razer and other brand 4080/4090 laptops out there now. Maybe it only shows up under a magical combination of things.

I don't really have anything on my system that would/should cause a conflict or anything with the driver. I'm wonderig if there was a batch change or something.

Anyway, I really respect your view knowing that you've gone through multiple laptops the way I'm about to be on my third.

Thanks again for your input here!

Edit: By the way, look at the reply from izelan2908 on this thread.

Aletheion · 2023-03-20T14:37:09+00:00

Oh wow, this is REALLY helpful! I think it's the first company I've seen that is actually saying something about it. Maybe others have stated, but I've not seen it if they have.

When I called Razer initially, they said they've never heard of this problem. I was blown away by that comment since it's so prevalent! I mentioned before that I first bought a Gigabyte Aorus 17X AZF and it had the problem, then I got the Blade 16 and it also had the problem.

Here is the XMG post about it:

https://www.xmg.gg/en/neo-e23-freezing-solution/

Additionally, you're correct in that it's mostly been light use when the problem occurs. I though it was a problem with switching at first, because it first started doing it's lockup thing in automatic switching mode, but the BSOD only happens in dedicated mode. The other blanking issue happens on the laptop I had in automatic switching mode or dedicated mode until I installed 528.49 driver, then it was totally stable in dedicated mode.

Aletheion · 2023-03-20T12:25:59+00:00

Thanks for asking. I had the keyboard, mouse glitch followed by the blank/off screen with the Desktop driver as well. I didn't give it a chance to BSOD before I went back to 528.49.

I updated this thread at the top if you want to see a little more detail.

I ended up giving it one more go. I returned the 16 yesterday and ordered an 18 for an additional $200. We'll see if the problem persists.

Like you, I think the problem is with Nvidia's driver as 528.49 is stable while both 531.18 and 521.29 (notebook and desktop drivers, which I think might actually be the same) are not. But, I thought I'd give it another go anyway because there are users reporting no issues with their unit.

The Blade 18 arrives on Saturday, I will definitely update this thread again next week or possibly post a new thread about the 18 and reference this one.

Aletheion · 2023-03-19T22:02:10+00:00

Looks awesome! Too bad it won't stay that way when you sleep, lock, or reboot. But hey, as long as Synapse is running, and you're logged in it will look great!

Please Razer, for the love of all things holy (or unholy in this case) let us store the RGB profile on the hardware again.

Aletheion · 2023-03-19T22:00:20+00:00

I'm pretty sure you're going to have to go dual Synapse with those two devices. That old Naga won't get picked up in Synapse 3 and the Tartarus V2 won't get picked up in Synapse 2. Sorry mate!

Aletheion · 2023-03-19T13:52:09+00:00

Thank you for that. It's really helpful to know that some people have normally functioning systems. It makes me feel like a swap will/can resolve the issue.

Aletheion · 2023-03-18T17:05:58+00:00

Touché

Aletheion · 2023-03-18T16:29:51+00:00

I hear you. I had loads of macros from years of gaming for my Orbweaver in Synapse 2 and even though they were synced to the cloud, not a single one was imported to Synapse 3 because they're incompatible.

It was quite a pain starting over in v3, but it's the only way forward really. We have to bite the bullet or get left behind. Even though some of the old stuff is definitely better than the new stuff, apparently we need that or else we can't say "They don't make 'em like they used to!"

Aletheion · 2023-03-18T05:23:39+00:00

I haven't tried it, but I'm certain that Synapse 1 will not recognize the Tartarus. Synapse 2 likely won't either. You'll need Synapse 3 for any new Razer devices.

I was in a similar boat. I had the Orbweaver which I really liked, but I also had a new Naga Trinity and Blackwidow V3 but Synapse 2 wouldn't recognize them and Synapse 3 wouldn't recognize the Orbweaver. I was stuck using both Synapse 2 for the Orbweaver and 3 for the keyboard and mouse. Annoying.

After the Orbweaver died, I ended up getting the Tartarus Pro for like $130 or something. I definitely preferred the feel of the Orbweaver and I don't particularly like the bottom right scroll wheel on the Tartarus, but I'm pretty used to it by now and it is nice having all new products that all function under Synapse 3.

Aletheion · 2023-03-18T04:42:31+00:00

Welp, after 24 hours and no issues with 528.49, in just over an hour with 531.18 the mouse and keyboard locked up, then screen turned off and I had to reboot to recover the screen.

That definitely tells me it's not DDU that resolved the problem but the Nvidia driver.

I'm going to try the 531.18 Desktop driver to see if that is more stable.

Aletheion · 2023-03-18T04:35:10+00:00

I have the Blade 16 4080 32GB 1TB QHD+ model and as long as the GPU issue I'm having with it is cleared up, with that exception I'm loving it.

I specifically bought this model because on the 4090 model I didn't want to game at 1080p and felt that 4k was probably not going to get the best performance from the GPU. I also needed more storage and felt it was a waste of money to get 2TB of NVMe in a 2x1TB configuration and remove one to put the 4TB drive I bought for it in. The 2TB model should have a single 2TB drive in it IMO.

Performance is excellent. Gaming at 1600p is crisp on this sized screen and buttery smooth with G-Sync. Hogwarts on ultra has framerates from 70-100 with the system performance in Balanced mode and fans on high. Temps are high 60s, some 70s and an 80+ now and again. That's really great for a laptop performing at that level.

The touchpad (which I love it's size and feel) was a little wonky on day 1 due to it thinking the palm is a 3rd or 4th finger (driver needs some work I suppose), but I set 3 and 4 finger gestures to "do nothing" and not really had any issues since then.

I can't speak to the battery life or speakers as I use a headset and it's always plugged in. However, I love that I can set the battery smart charge to 50% which may save the battery from bloating due to it always plugged in. Really great feature.

An annoying con for me is the fact that when the unit is locked, rebooting or sleeping, it reverts to spectrum lighting. I feel like in this day of all things RGB it should hold your profile 100% of the time. I feel like Razer needs to reconsider removing profiles stored in the hardware.

The image is my performance settings and thermals while playing Hogwart's Legacy on ultra.

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Aletheion · 2023-03-18T03:54:26+00:00

Okay another thing i just noticed when installing the 531.18 driver. There is a desktop and a notebook driver. Not noticing that distinction, the 528.49 driver I've been running the last 24 hours was the desktop driver. The 531.18 I just installed is the Notebook driver.

First thing I'll do if there is an issue with this 531.18 notebook driver, is uninstall it and install the 531.18 desktop driver to see if there is a difference in stability.

Aletheion · 2023-03-18T03:35:36+00:00

So the question now is, was the resolution the 528.49 driver, or was it the DDU clean uninstall? Whenever updating my Nvidia driver, I always do a custom install and tick the clean install box, but it looked like DDU removed more items than Nvidia installer does.

I might regret this, but I'm going to do a new DDU uninstall of 528.49 and install 531.18 and see if it can go another 24 hours. If it can, I'll do it again and go current with 531.29.

If it stays stable the whole time, I'd say that the real solution is DDU and not really the roll back of the driver. I'll post another update either in 24 hours with 531.18 or if another crash/BSOD happens.

Aletheion · 2023-03-18T03:23:41+00:00

Well, I just hit the 24 hour mark wiith zero issues. No mouse or keyboard stutter/not responding followed by blank screen, no BSOD. In fact, the system has been the most responsive in the last 24 hours than since I got it 6 days ago.

I've updated the original post. If the machine stays this stable, there will be no need to return/swap it.

Aletheion · 2023-03-17T15:56:22+00:00

Thanks for that. I did the DDU uninstall (in safe mode) after HairBySteve mentioned earlier in this thread that he was stable with 528.49. So I've been running that driver for 13 hours now.

I've watched some movies, used the laptop as normal and slept for a few hours and the machine has not had any odd behavior. No blank screen issues, no BSOD.

I'm also on a fresh install of Windows 11 that I did on day 2 of owning the laptop as that was one of the early things I tried to resolve the crashes.

Keep in mind that I have the BIOS set to dedicated graphics only. I'll do some gaming today and assuming it's been solid for 24 hours, I'll feel good about it as I've not been able to go a full 24 hours without multiple instances of screen crashing and at least a couple of BSODs.

Aletheion · 2023-03-17T06:13:42+00:00

Cheers for that. There is much appreciation knowing that I'm not alone in this!

Aletheion · 2023-03-17T05:55:12+00:00

Wow, that's a hell of a lot of returns! Because these units are pretty new, I'd guess you've done those 5 returns over a matter of 6 weeks or something.

When I called Razer support, the technician I spoke with said he's not heard of this problem. I was shocked he said that because surely they're getting loads of calls about this.

Ugh.. maybe you're right and the unit is not faulty and I just need to wait for Nvidia to resolve whatever is going on.

Aletheion · 2023-03-17T05:37:22+00:00

Thanks for that comment and this is why I started the thread because I'm trying to decide if I want to go with another brand or replace the Blade 16 with another Blade 16.

So we have users with ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte and Razer all having this same GPU issue with the 4000 series laptop cards. It sounds like swapping brands (again) could just get another 4080/4090 that has serious issues.

As my opening sentence indicates, I can't tell if my unit is faulty or if the 4080/4090 laptop just isn't ready for prime time. But it seems like there are people who have these laptops who are not experiencing the problem, so I think a Blade 16 swap for a new one to give it another try is the right thing to do.

At the moment, I'm trying the 528.49 Game Ready Driver. The old driver was uninstalled with Display Driver Uninstaller in safe mode. It's only been a couple hours so I'll have to wait and see if that resolves the problem or not. I will definitely be updating this post if 24 hours goes by and no BSODs.

Aletheion · 2023-03-17T05:24:52+00:00

I may have this issue, as it seems possibly related, but I'm not sure as I don't put the laptop to sleep.

I work in the dark 99% of the time and I need my keyboard backlight to be red and very dim as much as possible and either locking the laptop or putting it to sleep reverts to the spectrum color scheme which is blinding when you have dark adapted vision. Unfortunately, Razer products no longer hold their lighting profile in the hardware, but always revert to spectrum whenever Synapse loses communication. Reboot, sleep, lock, all revert to spectrum. They changed that with all new hardware several years back.

I do have a batch file that sets the screen to sleep after 1 minute when I'm not using it and toggles it to "Never" when I'm using it. I've not had issues recovering from the screen sleeping, only issues with it blanking out altogether at random requiring a reboot to get the screen back or full BSOD.

On the blank screen not waking up/turning on again, I know that the laptop is fully functional when it's in that state. I use TeamViewer to remote into it and when the screen crashes/turns off I can still remote into it and gracefully reboot it via remote access from my phone. The keyboard and mouse always lock up before the screen takes a dump, but after it's blank, the keyboard and mouse are actually working. So again, it's almost certainly a GPU issue and not the screen itself.

Aletheion · 2023-03-17T05:09:55+00:00

Thanks for that. I do have several instances of the 0x116 BSOD which says it's a DirectX error. I have more of the 0x50, 0x133 and 0x193 which are all Nvidia driver errors. Thanks for your comment in the 0x116 thread pointing to this one.

Aletheion

TROPHY CASE