Feeling burned after Y550p GPU fried after 2 years. Any ideas? Do I even risk another Lenovo?

This is my second fried GPU in a laptop and the wife is getting quite angry with my "disposable laptops" as she calls them.

I bought the Y550p 2 years ago, and have been a happy Lenovo customer until this weekend, when I suddenly felt ripped-off. When I power up the computer everything is black (including the BIOS screen) yet I still hear all the bells and whistles that announce a successful windows start-up. I took it in to a repair shop who checked the screen and promptly told me it was a bad GPU and I was out of luck. Their diagnosis sounds spot on and I have no reason to believe otherwise.

The laptop was purchased as a gaming machine used to play Diablo 3, Portal 2, Skyrim (briefly. I grew bored), and Team Fortress 2. I don't play on the highest settings, but haven't gone out of my way to lower them either. The specs on the machine were impressive for the time, and are still quite impressive today, which makes me even more bummed out:

Core i7: Q720 @ 1.6 Ghz
GeForce GT 240m
500Gb @ 5400rpm HD
4Gb Ram @ 1066
DVD RW

Bear in mind I bought this 2 years ago under the impression Lenovo would sell me a laptop capable of lasting much more than 2 years. Here I am, two years later with egg on my face and a wife trying to use this as an excuse to waste $500 on shoes every year. "At least I can wear my shoes after two years where you have a very expensive paper weight."

She has a point.

Question #1
Is there anyway to salvage this paper weight?

I'm typing this on said computer hooked to my desktop monitor, so something is still useable (the desktop's been with us since 2002, for reference). Does this offer any hope as to a possible repair? Ok, so it's a bit better than a paper weight as long as I'm permanently attached to a monitor, but you get the idea.

Question #2
Should I even consider a Lenovo in my replacement options?

I already know what the answer is going to be for this, but even though I know this can happen with any manufacturer, the fact of the matter remains that this has happened to me with Lenovo and none of the others. I feel burned by the experience and, rationally or not, I just don't trust the name anymore.

Question #3
Should I just buy a budget laptop for surfing and leave gaming to a new desktop?

Not ideal since the portability of the notebook combined with the gaming power is exactly what I want, and what I had for 2 years. Is this as long as gaming laptops will last with the excessive GPU heat? Is the technology not there yet to have gaming laptops that can last more than a couple years? As sarcastic as that sounds, it's an honest question.

I appreciate any feedback or comments, particularly if they help me fix the problem.

 

I'd contact Lenovo first and see what they can do for you. Maybe it's a defect and they'll fix it for free. That's what happened with my T61 after my 3 year warranty expired; turns out there was some kind of recall and they fixed it for free. It was because of this that I ended up deciding on a Y570.

I kinda wonder if it's really a bad GPU or if the screen went bad. You would think that a bad GPU would prevent an external monitor from working. Can you play the games with the external monitor?

 

You could try taking it apart and re-seating the cables, mainly for the screen.

If you're able to use it with a desktop monitor then there is a small chance that the GPU is not faulty.

I did once have a faulty GPU that would still allow me to use an external screen (and play games on it too). But there is still a chance you could have a different problem.

If you're sure it's the GPU at fault, then it would cost you $200 to get a new motherboard (with GPU): http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Lenovo-Y...2?pt=UK_Motherboards_CPUs&hash=item4166e420d2
Also you could just sell the notebook as is on ebay, ebay prices for faulty items are usually higher than they should be. Then you could put the money towards a new notebook.

 

They swapped the screen out at the repair shop with a new one and had the same problems. According to him, the only thing left to consider was a fried GPU. Makes sense to me, but I am posting here because I trust your opinions as well. Regarding your suggestion that the GPU may not necessarily be at fault if the external screen still works, yeah, that occurred to me too. It does seem odd that one would work and not the other, but then again it's just as odd that one of them wouldn't work anyway. It's a question of which rarity I choose to believe.

I will try giving Lenovo a call, and am a bit embarrassed to admit I haven't already. I bought the machine through newegg, which didn't come with any factory warranty other than the 30-day return policy, so shame on me, I suppose.

I'm a bit skittish at replacing a laptop motherboard, but am intrigued to try just to see if I can. That has to be the worst reason ever to do computer repairs.

Is there any quick diagnostics you can think of that will help me determine exactly what the problem is? FWIW, no errors show up in my device manager.

 

Replacing the motherboard isn't really that hard.

You can try taking apart the notebook and putting it back together several times just to get confident, before you buy a new motherboard.

BTW I updated my link to the correct motherboard (I believe).
You may find it cheaper if you look around. That was just the first one I could find.

I would even make an offer to the ebay seller, he may lower the price a bit for you.

 

Thanks, although I think you may have convinced me that the GPU isn't the problem. I just spent the last 20 minutes playing Diablo 3 on my original settings but through the external monitor. That would certainly suggest the GUP is intact, right? In fact to me, that would prove it. There might be something fried on the motherboard between the GPU and the screen, or the limey repair guy wasn't telling the truth, but the GPU is certainly GPU-ing.

 

Take your own advice and get a desktop for gaming,. Use a cheap laptop or tablet for surfing the net and other apps on the go. I learned my lesson from laptops. They still do not have the tolerance for heavy tasks or hardcore gaming. I would guess a laptop lasts no more than 3 years with heavy gaming. Cant speak for everyone but when i pay $1100 for something I dont expect it to poop out in two years. My last desktop lasted 7 years. I hope the new one I ordered yesterday lasts as long.

Plus also think of it this way a desktop is highly upgradable whereas a laptop still is not, also you get a better performing machine for the same price...... better processor, graphics card, memory for the same price as a laptop.

Most serious gamers will tell you that Laptops are not ideal for gaming, no matter how they are marketed. They just dont cut it like a desktop.

 

Well, it could also be that the connection from the GPU to the on board screen crapped out too. So your worst case scenario is that your laptop turned into a desktop.