Performance tanked after "professional" service - ASUS ROG Strix G18 (2023) i7/RTX 4050 - Need Help!
Hi everyone,
I’m reaching out because I’m at a loss. I own an ASUS ROG Strix G18 (2023) with an i7-13650HX and RTX 4050. When I first bought it, everything was perfect. It was quiet and performed exactly as expected.
Recently, I decided to take it in for a routine service (thermal paste replacement and cleaning). That’s where the nightmare started.
The "Service" Story:
The first technician I went to claims he updated the BIOS and replaced the liquid metal. Since getting it back, the laptop is practically unusable for gaming:
- Massive FPS Drop: In games where I used to get a stable 200 FPS, I’m now struggling at 70 FPS with frequent drops to 50.
- Fan Noise: Before the service, "Silent Mode" was actually silent. Now, the fans are constantly loud, even when the laptop isn't doing anything heavy.
- Stuttering: The whole system feels sluggish and "choppy."
The Second Opinion:
I took it to a second technician to see if they could fix whatever the first guy did. They checked it over but said they couldn't find the specific problem, which is even more frustrating.
My Suspicions:
I suspect the first guy might have messed up the liquid metal application (maybe used regular paste or didn't apply it correctly, causing thermal throttling) or that the BIOS update messed with the power limits/voltage.
Has anyone dealt with this after a liquid metal "repaste"? Could a bad BIOS update cause this, or is it almost certainly a hardware/thermal issue? Any advice on what to check in HWInfo or Armoury Crate would be greatly appreciated.