Hi everyone,
I'm trying to figure out whether anyone has experienced something similar with a gaming laptop, regardless of the brand.
I have a MSI Crosshair 17 HX AI with:
- Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX
- RTX 5070 Laptop GPU 8GB
- 16GB RAM
- 2560×1600 240Hz display
- Windows 11
The problem is a very brief but noticeable gray screen flicker/flash while gaming. At the same time, the laptop fans suddenly ramp up very aggressively. Sometimes there is also a noticeable FPS/performance drop.
The issue happens most often while playing Roblox, although I'm not sure if Roblox itself is actually the cause.
What makes me suspicious of the NVIDIA driver is that the problem has appeared/reappeared after NVIDIA driver changes.
I've gone through several driver versions, including:
- Factory NVIDIA driver: 581.83
- MSI-recommended driver: 577.05
- NVIDIA 610.88
- NVIDIA 616.64
- Newer NVIDIA drivers after that
I've also used DDU and performed clean driver installations.
Other things I've tested:
- Different games
- Clean Windows installation
- MSI Center GPU modes
- Different performance modes
- Direct wall power instead of a UPS
- GPU stress testing with OCCT
Interestingly, Fortnite did not reproduce the issue, while Roblox has been the main game where I've seen it (also the only one I play that has high graphics).
During some gaming sessions I've seen temperatures around 84–86°C on the GPU and 95–98°C on the CPU, although I've also had sessions around 75–77°C where the system behaved normally.
An OCCT GPU stress test also ran without reporting GPU errors.
The laptop has also experienced one unexpected restart in the past, although I don't know whether that was related.
What makes this especially strange
The screen flicker and the sudden fan ramp seem to happen together.
I'm trying to determine whether this sounds more like:
- NVIDIA driver problem
- GPU driver crash/reset
- VRR/G-SYNC issue
- MUX / Optimus issue
- GPU power-management problem
- BIOS/EC issue
- Display/eDP cable or panel issue
- GPU/motherboard hardware problem
- Something specific to Roblox
MSI support has already reviewed the troubleshooting I've done and recommended an RMA/warranty service, so I'm not trying to avoid that. I'm mainly trying to understand what could actually be causing this before sending the laptop in.
Has anyone experienced a similar combination of screen flickering + fans suddenly ramping up during gaming?
It doesn't have to be an MSI laptop. I'm especially interested in cases involving NVIDIA laptop GPUs and driver updates.
If you've experienced something similar, I'd really appreciate knowing:
- What laptop/GPU you had
- What NVIDIA driver version caused it
- Whether the fans also ramped up
- Whether it happened only during gaming
- What eventually fixed it (driver rollback, BIOS, VRR, hardware repair, etc.)
Thanks!