Broken Asus K56CB GT 740M i7 3537U 4GB RAM Worth Repairing?

AlienC on 30/08/2017 - 10:51

So I have a currently not working 4 year old mid range Asus "gaming" laptop with these specs.

Asus K56CB bought from MSY for about $799 AUD some time around mid 2013

2013 "mid range gaming laptop"

15.6" 1366 x 768

i7 3537U @ 2ghz (ivy bridge)

4gb ram ddr3

GT 740M

256gb HDD + 64gb SSD (yeah this probably needs upgrading)

Windows 8.1

(I know shocking specs compared to now but it used to run games like black ops 2 and dota and a few other older games on low to medium settings 1366 x 768 just fine)

Battery died on me about 2 years back and I used to run it pretty hot for long periods of time so maybe motherboard is affected to.

Right now doesn't really boot up. When it last did I got a few minutes out of it before it blue screened after trying to do something more intensive than browsing Windows explorer like opening a video file.

I am thinking it needs a new battery and possibly some sort of motherboard fix.

Even when plugged in however to wall outlet it doesn't currently turn on.

I don't think I did any permanent damage to it other than maybe running my battery 24/7 while connected to a power outlet.

Can anybody confirm whether extreme heat damage can occur in laptops and of what kind and what should I look for.

I was wondering to ask you guys

1) do you think I should try to fix it and spend how much maximum as it is getting old but it is basically like a good old console that can still definitely get some life out of it and at the very least just play some older games.

2) using ultra slim laptops in the Australian summer heat what other potential damages could I have done to or taken to my laptop.

I found an eBay listing for the battery for only $27.50 AUD free shipping.

Do you think I should repair this old laptop I could definitely use it.

If a battery replacement doesn't work then what other things could I try or look out for.

I have already purchased an extra charger as the original one ended up having frayed wires.

I saw there is an Asus service repair centre in lidcombe would it be wise to try send it there since it used to be under warranty from asus awhile ago but not anymore so I am only wondering if they would be able to troubleshoot the problem much easier and faster.

I can't remember how much Asus repair charges but if it is below $100 I might give it a go.

Computing

Comments

  • KaTst3R on 30/08/2017 - 13:29

    1) If it is a motherboard fix you can considering dumping the whole laptop. It wont come cheap.

    2) 720p OMG please upgrade.

    3) If you are plugging the system 24/7 at home, you can consider getting a pc instead which is much more value for money.

    • AlienC on 30/08/2017 - 14:54

      1) damn was thinking it could suffice for a Windows machine of some sort for m until I build my pc

      2) I know but it beats 0p

      3) I am looking into this.

      The main reason for a laptop is of course portability (I move around a lot and my current place really doesn't have many set places for a table believe it or not but lots of floor space and bedding) that and I game in bed for the most of it (don't ask it's just super comfortable and it beats having to forgo stuff like a nice 1080p screen or tv something which is also why I switched to an android tablet but now I want to game back on the Windows to relive some old warcraft 3 bnet nostalgia among others and try some new 2016/2017 games so I am looking at either a Windows tablet, 1060/1070 laptop or equivalent pc with streaming of some sort to a touchscreen handheld device (so I can keep gaming in bed).

      Also my very poor eyesight means up close and personal tablets is a world of difference to say even a large screen monitor up close because I can adjust it myself on the fly instead of me having to move around it. (Major pro)

      If Android had more better quality titles I would never change but at the rate that we are going it might be another five years before we get some quality games.. needs diversity only a handful of games really to choose from worth playing the rest are still what is considered "extreme garbage" or "mobile trash".

  • scrimshaw on 30/08/2017 - 16:10

    The motherboard itself sells for $130 US dollars on eBay and Aliexpress. So to replace the motherboard, that is a spend of 162.82 AUD plus possibly an hour or more worth of your time to try and fix it yourself (which is kind of tricky if you do not have access to the service manuals).

    To me, that's not worthwhile, you can buy a refurbished working laptop with Haswell processor on feebay for about $300~400 dollars.

    $550 dollars gets you a Intel Kaby Lake Inspiron from the Dell Outlet.

    $830 dollars gets you a Lenovo E470 with dedicated 940MX graphics and full HD IPS screen…

    In any case, if you are tight on budget, you would look first on the Dell Outlet and see if there are any laptops with a half decent CPU and a minimum of 8GB of RAM. There are lots of options, like DFO-4DD9L72IP which has a low-to-mid range AMD APU with somewhat below average graphics chip @ 469 dollars.

    Also if you have a gaming desktop, you can just stream your games to a laptop via Steam Streaming. It's easy to do with any old laptop that has good wifi. Preferably your network should be wired to improve streaming performance.

    • AlienC on 30/08/2017 - 20:17

      Know if it is possible to stream to an android tablet or Windows tablet?

      Long term I'm going to buy some sort of 4k TV and stream or plug directly into that.

      Short term I have this broken 2013 laptop and an android 2016 tablet.

  • alvian on 30/08/2017 - 17:40

    A laptop works on AC without a battery. It runs cooler too as it does need to charge the battery. It is highly unlikely that the battery caused the blue screen.

    At the moment you don't know what is faulty. The battery/charging circuit, the mainboard, the RAM, the disk, or Windows installation? You need to identify the problem(s). Remove the battery and put the laptop on AC. Run basic hardware diagnostics. Install an OS on a spare disk and test for stability.

    It may be as simple as a corrupted Windows install, or dried out thermal compound, or clogged fan. Or it may be more serious like a bad disk, or faulty mainboard components. No one can answer for certain whether the laptop is worth repairing until we know what's wrong with it.

    • AlienC on 30/08/2017 - 20:15

      Any place I can get this quickly checked over in the sydney area?

      • alvian on 30/08/2017 - 21:55

        Don't know. Try looking in the classifies section of your free local newspaper. One of those no fix no charge tech perhaps. If it is as you described a dead MB, s/he won't be fixing it on the first visit.

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