Acer Predator Helios 300 - No power, not charging - If you can't fix it, at least do your best

[jonroberts]

I like what he did. He returned a working laptop. Not a gaming laptop, but a working one. I wonder how many repair shops or even other youtubers stop at the point the GPU and VRAM are shorted and call it a no fix then use the board as a parts donor. At least Sorin gave the customer a positive option and the machine works for daily tasks. Some may disagree, but if you are upset the dead components can't be fixed or that the laptop is no longer good for gaming then take it up with manufacturer for offering a "gaming laptop" that essentially is meant to fail just by default design. Remember desktop computers? Yeah they have been banished from existence in lieu of portability. But the desktop design is the true gaming machine and offers SO MUCH more to the experience without dying from heat or shit components. I use a desktop over a laptop 95% of the time. Some I use are over 15 years old and work awesome. Laptops these days are like cars where they die soon and expensively. Good job Sorin!

[Kiburici]

the vram its not shorted, 9ohms its perfectly normal for a samsung gddr6/x, also it gets very hot, in idle they are at 50c with heatsink, please revisit this one, also thats a dual mosfet u have very high chances that 11v/19v was sent to the ground, the 0ohm reading that u had can be a confirmation, also the heat signature on vrams was perfectly normal

[BootedTech]

Please read Sorin:

I doubt the VRAM and GPU were dead, you ended up getting 1.29v on the VRAM (Normal) and a booting laptop with one VRAM mosfet.

I could be wrong, not saying you're wrong either Sorin, just doubtful the VRAM is dead, why?
3:44 - You have a filter getting hot before the mosfet, which is the lowest resistance and to me indicates the mosfet is shorted to ground. The mosfet in question is a dual mosfet, you will find the DRAIN and SOURCE got shorted to ground, meaning the VRAM line got shorted to ground (0ohms) not to 19v and is why your reading went from 0ohms to 9ohms after removing bad mosfet. The fact the VRAM is getting hot is not an indication of a short, GDDR6 gets very hot, it has a low resistance.

I believe if you replaced the bad mosfet, it would have been fine.

[marcosantos]

Clear and fast explained. Thanks for your videos

[ootyguy]

The gpu and vram should be a modular design so we can just remove that module and replace it :)

[coolirc]

why the manufacturer doesn't add a protection to prevent such failure to the Vram circuit like a fuse to prevent high voltage going to the vram or the gpu

[systemofadown]

Sorin, can we re visit this one? 9ohmz on vram is normal in some cases, dual mosfet has a source and drain, most likely battery voltage will have entered and exited the mosfet without damaging vram or gpu

[Timpano_Francesco_Repairs]

Hi Sorin, I belive the GPU can be alive, what about entering in BIOS after remove the shorted MOSFET and see if BIOS recognize the GPU? And if yes try to replace the shorted MOSFET and eventually the VRAM... Maybe you decide so because of the cost for the computer shop? Please let me know your valutation and decision ti teach as even this aspect and not only the tecnical One.. bye Francesco Timpano from Florence Italy

[AlejandroRodriguez-ohry]

Hi. I got exactly the same ACER HELIOS 300 a few days ago. It was not turning on, and I detected that there was no AC DRIVE from the BQ Charger. Nothing seems shorted, and I got a spark while measuring the BQ signals. Now, it's turning on for a while, but goes off after a moment. Should I replace the BQ Charger?
Thank you for your videos. 🙌🏻

[zayaxe]

I just bought the same model with a dead GPU for very cheap price, not a good gaming laptop but use regularly quite good (It even play Genshin Impact low setting 720p with no problems at all)

[jozsiolah]

The coil gave a strange sound during hibernation, sounded like an electric zapper when its connections are isolated. It happened once, and for 1 seconds. It needs high voltage to do that, at least 5000 v.

[Holycurative]

I have the same laptop, i9 and a 3070, and it's pretty good but you gotta keep the temps under control on it...

[Holycurative]

The strange sound on startup is the fans blowing in reverse to clean them out, they still get dusty though and need cleaning every few months..

[Pmr]

I have exactly same laptop with same problem. Local shop is saying to replace the motherboard 😢 which is costly asf.

[LifeChanger_._]

Please revisit this laptop Sorin (replace mosfet and test), do not give it back until you are 100% sure the VRAM and or GPU are dead.

[yeswin]

I have an Asus Tuf f15 (2021) gaming laptop, Spec- i5 10th gen and 1650Ti graphics. Recently I replaced the Thermal paste and pads after this I am unable to use the dGPU all apps are running in the iGPU and the dGPU utilization is 0%. What can I do?

[winlose]

Do you have a video that illustrates the issue with these vrams in more detail Sorin?

[hakimehamdouchi]

Where can I learn the insides and outs of the current inside kf a laptop

[carlosk]

I'd like to try this on one of those old macbooks where the GPU dies...

[somasubzero]

i have a similar issue, tho laptop works fine, it just doesnt charge.... ive looked inside, seems fine. im hoping its just the fuse on the adapter.