Is the Thai power outlet ruining my American laptop?

[ev1lchris]

I have my Asus Laptop from America plugged into a surge protector.

However, I notice that when I have the power on and it's plugged in and charging it tends to shut down when I play video games or do anything graphically intensive. In the United States it did not act this way.

Another thing I notice is that when running from battery power video games seem to do okay. But as soon as I draw power from the wall then problems arise.

Also, I notice that my laptop gets remarkably hot.

I had a Toshiba Satellite and I think the Thai power lines might have fried it as well. It no longer functions normally. As soon as I boot into the Windows GUI it would freeze and show distorted graphics after a few minutes.

Am I right that the power outlets are the issue? Is there some accessory I can buy to make sure my laptop isn't getting damaged by the Thai power grid? Am I damaging it just by plugging it in?

[SoiBiker]

Sounds more like a cooling issue to me, exacerbated by the climate here.

[Supaluke]

Check to see if your laptop can run on 22v 50 cycle which is what we have in Thailand.

Countries like USA and Canada run on 120 volt 60 cycles (60hz) and most of the worlds run on 220/240 volt 50 cycles (50hz).

The stepping between 120 and 220 volt is easy enough to handle, but the jump from 50 -> 60 cycle, less so.

[4evermaat]

Usually devices like laptops, smartphones, etc come with plugs/ac adapters designed for int'l use. On the power adapter, it should say "120-220v 50-60hz"

Plus, investing in a quality power strip might help. Is the house main electricity grounded?

Edited November 7, 2015 by 4evermaat

[KunMatt]

If bad mains was going to damage anything it would be your laptop power supply unit and not your laptop. Unless you notice that the PSU stops charging your laptop irregularly then the issue is more like with your laptop and not the power. If your PSU is not compatible with 220v 50Hz then you csn buy a replacement here locally for about 500 baht. Get the heaviest version they sell.

Is your laptop a thin model? If so these do not have great cooling. Do you use a cooling pad?

If it was me I would use a program to monitor the temperature of the CPU and the GPU to see what they are getting up to when your laptop is freeing or shutting down. This was you can be sure whether this is causing the issue or not.

[KittenKong]

When running on battery many laptops will put themselves into an "economy" mode that uses less power. This also makes them get less hot.

All the symptoms described sound like they could be overheating to me. The fans are probably full of dust and crap. A decent technician here should be able to clean them up very cheaply without breaking anything. One of those cooling fan pads might help also, as mentioned.

100-240V 50-60Hz power supplies are almost universally used these days (all my devices have them: big TV, headphones, laptops, powered speakers, router etc) so this should not be an issue, though obviously it should be checked.

[IMA_FARANG]

Sounds more like a cooling issue to me, exacerbated by the climate here.

---------------------

I agree.

The OP should buy him or her one of those fan arrays that run of a USB port on the laptop.

Very few laptops these days run directly of the mains plug-in sockets.

The ASUS laptop I have runs of a plug in power adapter which plugs into the mains power socket.

The laptop actually runs off 16 volt DC from the power adapter

I have a two fan cooling assembly that holds the laptop and blows cool air into the bottom of the laptop.

The one I use was bought here in Bangkok, but was actually made in Taiwan.

It keeps the bottom of my ASUS nice and cool.

Heat is the enemy of a laptop, and keeping it cool is a laptops best friend.

The one I have cost me a mere 350 Baht and it is worth every satang.

Very few computers manufactured in the last 10 years actually still run directly off the mains power, even in the U.S.

Unlike the state when I bought my first computer in 1980, when a mains plug in power adapter was considered a "special order item".

Edited November 8, 2015 by IMA_FARANG

[Chicog]

If you aren't using the battery, remove it.

[manarak]

what a clueless post from the OP... accusing the evil "Thai" power outlets of course.

the other posters are right, it was a heat issue, caused by either the climate OR damaged/clogged GPU fan or fins.

Now the result is that the GPU has been fried.

if the laptop is under warranty, you can get it repaired by ASUS.

If it is not under warranty anymore, the repair cost by ASUS will be ridiculously high because the GPU on laptops is soldered to the mainboard, so the standard procedure is to replace the mainboard.

Instead, go to the nearest "IT mall" such as Pantip in BKK or Tukcom in Pattaya where a notebook workshop might be able to replace the GPU - don't forget to ask them to verify the fan as well, and when the repair is done, you need to run the notebook for 2 hours under heavy load to make sure the repair was successful.

One problem that can happen is that Windows won't recognize your mainboard anymore.

I don't know if ASUS provides their OEM-Windows locked to the mainboard hardware - but if they do, there is no solution for this problem, except getting an official ASUS repair,

OR

fogetting about ASUS Windows and ASUS software and just get your own.

I had the same problem before with a Sony Vaio, their support could not provide me with a solution, so I just installed a "free" Windows on it and it worked.

Edited November 8, 2015 by manarak

[KNJ]

More likely a battery problem ( how old is it? ) typically 200-300 charges and they are less than perfect, or failing that the rectifier is faulty.

Cooling will help, but not overcome either of these problems

[KhunBENQ]

As stated: a laptop has an external universal AC power adapter (100 to 240 V, 50 to 60 Hz) which supplies the laptop with a fairly clean DC voltage (depending on model, about 19 V or so).

Even if there is undervoltage you should not notice anything on a laptop.

Heat is an issue.

You would not be the first whose laptop taken here has given up, showed strange graphics.

Also the batteries suffer from heat.

Some good advice has been given (cooling pad, cleaning the fans etc.).

Monitor the CPU core temperatures with a program like:

Core Temp http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

My laptop (which I watch televison with) currently shows about 86 C with 100 C being the max allowed temp.

So quite hot.

Edited November 8, 2015 by KhunBENQ

[brucegoniners]

All laptops now have power from 110-240, so they are international.

However I would suggest getting a UPS, a battery backup, that will make sure your equipment isn't damaged by power surges, which there are many here in Thailand.

I lost the HD in my laptop and a backup as well due to a surge once. I've had a UPS ever since and have never had an issue.

[sandrabbit]

I agree about overheating, when I first moved to Thailand I had problems with a UK spec acer laptop which had a gaming graphics card and that suffered with overheating until eventually the graphics card wouldn't work at the native resolution and would only boot into safe mode. The replacement Acer bought in Thailand runs hot but not enough to cause damage.

[MILT]

ants.....?

[gjoo888]

I agree that it's probably heat that is causing your problems, especially since you said the laptop gets very hot. Also, gaming is probably the highest resource hog that you can do on a computer. At the very least you should get a laptop fan cooling pad, and if possible use your computer only in a well air-conditioned room. Heat can cause the problems you describe, your motherboard can "instruct" your computer to slow down or even shut down to compensate for overheating. Also, since heat and cold causes parts to expand or contract, you could also be causing damage to your hard drive if you allow it to get excessively hot. You might want to check that your fan is operating properly too.

I use my computer only in an air-conditioned room where the a/c fan blows directly onto my desk and my computer never even gets warm. I've never had any of the problems you've described. Routers can also be adversely affected by heat, and can slow by as much as 30% when overheated. I use a small 5" fan to blow on my router when the a/c is off, and it also stays very cool. I'd be willing to bet that none of your problems are caused by the mains, and are all heat related.

[Kerryd]

Has anyone mentioned overheating yet ? :-D

Just kidding (I've read all the posts). The only issues I've had have been with overheating as well. I run a high end ASUS (Republic of Gamers) laptop that is pretty much maxed out as far as it's specs are concerned. I also run a custom built desktop gaming machine which is also pretty much maxed out (well, as of whatever the standards were a year ago at least).

I can run 3 copies of EVE online on the desktop concurrently while having Chrome and another program running without any issues. If I run a 4th copy of EVE it starts to lag but that is the internet, not the computer, causing the issue. The GPU can handle the load no problem.

(EVE Online is a multi-player, graphics intensive, space game. People from around the world play in a massive universe of planets, moons, wormholes, space stations and of course, space ships so right off the bat the graphics are an issue as they've gone to great lengths to make the environment seem as close to "real" as they can.)

However on the ASUS I can barely run 2 copies of EVE before the GPU starts overheating and things go squirrely. I clean the fans and have one of those "cooling pads" and actually also have a small deskfan blowing at the back of the machine as well. When I had that beastie in Afghanistan (in my luxurious, air-conditioned sea container living space) it would easily run 3 copies of EVE (though the internet was much crappier so it would lag at times as well). The difference there was I had the air-con set to around 26 C constantly while here I rarely run the air-con in my "computer room" (which tends to be considerably hotter than the rest of the house for obvious reasons) ! My thermometers show the room temperature to be anywhere from 30-34 C these days even with the windows/doors open and overhead (and window) fans running. I'm sure if I closed the windows/doors and cranked on the air-con the ASUS would probably purr like a kitten again even with 3 copies of EVE running.

The one thing that has never been a problem is power. I've run my laptops in Thailand (220v), UAE (240v), Bahrain (240v) and Afghanistan (110V because, you know - USA eh !) and never had an issue. However in Thailand I have noticed a minor problem with grounding. Nothing like brushing against your (metal) desktop case and feeling that prickly pain to remind you that you don't have grounded plugs !

I used to use a UPS to get around that but these days I just use a surge-protection (quality) power bar and keep the desktop where I'm not as likely to brush against it too often.

[Jeffrey346]

It doesn't matter if you are plugged into a surge protector if your power source is not grounded/earth. Check your power source, your laptop is 220/240 certified.

[masuk]

All laptops now have power from 110-240, so they are international.

However I would suggest getting a UPS, a battery backup, that will make sure your equipment isn't damaged by power surges, which there are many here in Thailand.

I lost the HD in my laptop and a backup as well due to a surge once. I've had a UPS ever since and have never had an issue.

Absolutely! Do not rely on the mains voltage being stable, and air cons in the house, even in the street, cause brief surges. Lightning does'nt help a lot.

A UPS filters out these peaks, and also gives you time to shut down properly if there is a total power failure.

[Pib]

I can't remember the last time I saw a laptop power adapter that didn't work on 120 or 220V, 50-60Hz....actually any charging adapter like the ones that come with smartphone, tablets, or many other electronic devices. Sounds like once the OP's GPU kicks into operation it overheats/causes the computer to overheat.

Laptops now days with two GPUs, the one that comes built into the CPU and a separate high horsepower GPU which usually only kicks in for some games, automatically select the GPU to use. Like for my Lenovo laptop the separate high horsepower NVIDA GPU will only kick-in for games; the rest of the time the low horsepower GPU built into the CPU is used.

[IAMHERE]

get a laptop cooler fan you set your laptop on, they cost maybe five or six bucks. clean the dust from you fan inlet.

[SoiBiker]

Laptop coolers are a pain, and you shouldn't need one if your laptop's cooling system works properly. I'd take it to a decent shop and have them sort out the cooling - clean the fans and vents, check the fans are working properly, and replace the thermal paste between your CPU/GPU and the cooling system.

[metisdead]

A non helpful nonsense post has been removed.

[aronp1]

If not using a power converter, I'm surprised it hasn't burned up yet.

[SoiBiker]

If not using a power converter, I'm surprised it hasn't burned up yet.

Why would a power converter be necessary? The power supply is almost certainly capable of handling 220V.

[aronp1]

If not using a power converter, I'm surprised it hasn't burned up yet.

Why would a power converter be necessary? The power supply is almost certainly capable of handling 220V.

I would check the rating. Usually anything made for sale in the US is rated for 110v not 220v.

[ev1lchris]

I have installed a heat monitoring program. I notice that my temperature is 88 - 100 Fahrenheit.

This seems just way too hot? Is this normal? Is there something I can buy that will mete out the electricity in a manner that will not cause my laptop to overheat?

[Pib]

If not using a power converter, I'm surprised it hasn't burned up yet.

What exactly do you mean by "power converter?"

You mean a step down/up transformer? Maybe the power adapter that plugs into the wall and the other end plugs into the laptop? Unclear on what you mean by "power converter."

[SoiBiker]

I have installed a heat monitoring program. I notice that my temperature is 88 - 100 Fahrenheit.

This seems just way too hot? Is this normal? Is there something I can buy that will mete out the electricity in a manner that will not cause my laptop to overheat?

Did you read the thread? There's nothing wrong with 'the electricity'. You need to sort out the cooling system on your laptop.

[schietkop]

what a clueless post from the OP... accusing the evil "Thai" power outlets of course.

the other posters are right, it was a heat issue, caused by either the climate OR damaged/clogged GPU fan or fins.

Now the result is that the GPU has been fried.

if the laptop is under warranty, you can get it repaired by ASUS.

If it is not under warranty anymore, the repair cost by ASUS will be ridiculously high because the GPU on laptops is soldered to the mainboard, so the standard procedure is to replace the mainboard.

Instead, go to the nearest "IT mall" such as Pantip in BKK or Tukcom in Pattaya where a notebook workshop might be able to replace the GPU - don't forget to ask them to verify the fan as well, and when the repair is done, you need to run the notebook for 2 hours under heavy load to make sure the repair was successful.

One problem that can happen is that Windows won't recognize your mainboard anymore.

I don't know if ASUS provides their OEM-Windows locked to the mainboard hardware - but if they do, there is no solution for this problem, except getting an official ASUS repair,

OR

fogetting about ASUS Windows and ASUS software and just get your own.

I had the same problem before with a Sony Vaio, their support could not provide me with a solution, so I just installed a "free" Windows on it and it worked.

And, do make sure they replace the GPU and not just reflow (heat it up), as that ussualy damages the GPU and it will die few month later.... Obviously yuo are always charged for a "replacement"....

[Dustdevil]

Check to see if your laptop can run on 22v 50 cycle which is what we have in Thailand.

Countries like USA and Canada run on 120 volt 60 cycles (60hz) and most of the worlds run on 220/240 volt 50 cycles (50hz).

The stepping between 120 and 220 volt is easy enough to handle, but the jump from 50 -> 60 cycle, less so.

All laptops that I've ever seen support both cycles and voltages.