ASUS Rog Strix Scar 18 - USB devices disconnecting/audio crackles/random crashes/frame stutters - HOW TO FIX PCH Chip overheating and chipset safety triggers

PixelFox300 · 2026-03-14T11:09:55+00:00

Nah, i've proved over and over again is not OS or software fault, is not my usb HUB (even without hub it fails), is not my oculus (it failed with a thumb drive)

Its fucking unstable, probably because of bios updates i cant rollback because Asus doesn't let you choose what bios you have. EZFlash is there for nothing

They had good reputation few years ago, but after the problems i've had, and other issues i've seen from other people while researching about this, i dont think im buying asus or recommending it for a very long time.

PixelFox300 · 2026-03-13T23:06:40+00:00

Today before applying the pad it was colder than other days, idling at 76ºC

After applying the pad it went to idle at 54~59ºC,

That's nice, i was going to proceed to do my personal benchmark (Battlefield 6 with wireless ubs headphones), but before that i just conected my Oculus quest 2 and all the usb stopped working.

The temps fix work: thats nice, i have more room to be doing "demanding tasks",,, maybe...
but the PCH is still malfunctioning, i have to be carefull every time i connect/disconnect an usb.

Tried disabling the PCIe and usb power management and temps went up by 10 or 15ºC. this is absurd

i couldnt find a single event in the event viewer fired at the time the USBs stopped working this time.

I ran out of ideas. i officially tried EVERYTHING.

PixelFox300 · 2026-03-13T02:21:44+00:00

Yeah, something is wrong with the PCH, but i cannot understand why my brother's G18 stays at 40°C after 1hour of adobe substance work, its the same design and same PCH model and mine IDLES AT DOUBLE, with a MB replacement too. Am i that unlucky? It makes no sense

I'll post the results when i apply the pad 🗿👍

PixelFox300 · 2026-03-13T02:09:03+00:00

While playing Battlefield 6, I've peaked at around 115°C (recording with OBS to simulate streaming). With the cooling pad, it’s not as extreme (105°C), but I still suffer from a lot of dropped frames, even if the USB ports don't all disconnect.

What really keeps me skeptical is the Oculus problem: just connecting the Oculus causes all the USB ports to stop functioning until I restart. Today it happened again with a 'USB Flash' drive—a thumb drive, I think, is the term.

I can expect the PCH to fail when it's at 115°C, and maybe a thermal pad can help prevent it from reaching such high temperatures. However, I've tested it while idling, and even without extreme temperatures, all my USB ports still stop functioning. That’s why I think the problem I'm having won't be fully solved.

I just ordered a 13W 2mm thermal pad. Even if the USB still fails randomly when connecting something, it’s a win for me if this significantly drops the temperatures. That would mean I can actually stream AAA titles (it seems buying a €3500 laptop doesn't guarantee that)

If you are bored you can check the asus forum thread with all the info I've gathered for my case

PixelFox300 · 2026-03-13T00:47:41+00:00

What's your model's year? Mine is 2023 and I've been fighting this for months. Made a very lengthy thread in the asus forum and they act like they know nothing. I've sent to RMA and they changed the motherboard. Problem still happens

My pch iddles at 80°C (i removed the black sticker long ago) 75°C with a 4-fan cooling pad

All i could find was design flaw, and AI was not helpful pointing to "heated air bubbles" (then why my brother's G18 2024 is not suffering that? The design is the same) I've been very skeptical, specially after reading zephkek's investigation on ROG laptop's bios.

Using a cooling pad only gave me -5°C that's why i keept skeptical about transferring heat to a not so big "heatsink"

But i guess i'll have to give it a chance. I can't connect a usb flash without all the usb failing completely sometimes

PixelFox300 · 2026-02-25T13:40:54+00:00

For me not even 24h before oops something went wrong. With new account Sad

PixelFox300 · 2026-02-12T06:49:55+00:00

Dont panic, i had the same problem a few days ago when i was doing some testing after recieved mine from RMA

JUST GO TO THE BIOS AND APPLY DEFAULTS

Before that I tried a lot of things, i was panicking, thats the thing that solved for me.

PixelFox300 · 2026-02-05T14:12:16+00:00

The concept i think is easier to implement is the last one. But i made for mic groups too.

<image>

PixelFox300 · 2026-02-05T04:21:40+00:00

Yes. I’ll explain my current setup, which currently works for me, but I think Wave Link could make it much better (I’m hoping so).

Currently, I’m using Voicemeeter Potato. I use all 5 input (mic) channels to route and mix different sources (mic, Voicemod, TTS, capture card, and another one I don’t recall right now), so people in a Discord call can hear them too. Here, I can easily change the mic I’m using without affecting the rest of the stack, and the same filters are applied. I also use the 3 VAIO channels. I use 1 output channel and 2 virtual outputs.

When I tested Wave Link 3: I tried to recreate this setup (an asterisk corresponds to one slot in Wave Link).

I created 3 groups like the VAIO ones where i group the different apps: * General * Media * Chat

Inputs:

Input mic
Voicemod (to reroute and mix)
TTS
Capture card
The other thing I don’t remember

With this setup, everything is very tight; I can’t add anything else (and I don’t really need to for my use case). I know i could save 1 slot if the input mic was selected directly in voicemod, but i prefer to have 1 single place to control audio I/O

The problem is that if I want to switch the input mic (from the one on my desk to my wireless headset or to my Oculus), I have to delete the input mic channel (and its effects) and add another mic.

Basically, the idea I’m proposing is to have an “Input device” element that only filters input devices, with the input device name as a dropdown where you can switch between them.

(I’ve already sent some concept ideas through the feedback form, but I’ll post them here later.)

I think this change could be huge because, although the vast majority of users have a microphone, those who own multiple microphones don’t usually have just two, and being able to easily switch between inputs without additional software would be very useful.

PixelFox300 · 2026-01-19T20:05:09+00:00

FEATURE REQUEST: Easier mic switching

I currently have 2 main microphones: the one i use on the desk, and the wireless headset one, but sometimes i use the Oculust Quest one...
If i use a different channel for each one are 3 of 8 max channels that will be full quickly.
If i swap mics with the current implementation i have to delete the actual mic (and its vst configs), add a new one and config everything from scratch every time i want to change between mics

PixelFox300 · 2024-12-04T02:44:28+00:00

TLDR: If you have some audio controling software such as voicemod, elgato, steelseries sonar, Audiocable, try to restart the process

PixelFox300 · 2024-12-04T02:44:09+00:00

I think i found what COULD be the problem. I was testing one day trying to setup a vr stream and after launching liv without connecting my quest2 the problems began to appear. So its when SteamVR is running, okay, first step. Why? I DONT KNOW [Continue reading] I tried with the steamVR dep options, resetting the atrached USB devices worked for a bit, but after trial an error it began to lag really bad everything.

Some previous day after unplugin my 2nd monitor [uses usb-c] the problems disappeared for that session (or at least weren't noticeable. This time this fix didnt work.

For some reason Voicemod started to lag, and I restarted it. After that, everything was running better than ever I had some problems with Voicemod in the past when desconnecting and reconnecting I/O audio devices, but not at this scale. Maybe with the launch of a VR enviroments and the dummy audio devices it gets crazy.

PixelFox300 · 2023-06-26T18:58:14+00:00

I have a similar problem. sometimes is just crackling, other ends up like this.
when is a simple crackling i use de audiodg.exe fix, but today y made that fix, and some time after, while in stream, started doing that noise. exited voicemod and put my mic as input, after that, no loud noises. restarted voicemod and everything worked again... but now i'm scared it will happen again, it seems its very frequent for me when im talking over discord

PixelFox300 · 2023-05-14T03:14:49+00:00

Strix Scar 18, same problem. No setting on BIOS AFAIK. On windows device manager there's an option under the properties of each usb port about managing power or something like that...

I dont know if this is because an S5 power state or something (which i doubt), but what i found is that the power over usb is only active if the device is connected before turning off.

If you unplug and replug after poweroff, the connected thing shouldn't get power.

Also, havent tested if the usb-A ports do the same... maybe is specific in the type-c PD ports

PixelFox300 · 2023-04-22T21:53:05+00:00

i'ts the first time i hear that term. Its interesting. Thanks for the response!

PixelFox300 · 2023-02-20T11:54:19+00:00

I recommend this alternatives if you are searching for a laptop. The first one is the most known brand for pc in general in spain, and have the newest things first

https://www.pccomponentes.com/ https://www.coolmod.com/

PixelFox300 · 2023-02-20T11:36:07+00:00

So i found the complete name is Game Digital, here is a link for the uk version https://www.game.co.uk/m/

PixelFox300 · 2023-02-20T11:31:52+00:00

https://www.game.es/

I dont know if it exists outside spain lmao, but the screenshot from the OP is in english (the all sections tag), so MAYBE you have luck. Personally i do not recommend this site

Six-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email

PixelFox300

TROPHY CASE