Nvlddmkm, BSOD & severe artifacting. Faulty hardware or software issue?

Understanding and Diagnosing GPU-Related Blue Screens and Artifacts in High-End Laptops: A Professional Perspective

Introduction

When it comes to gaming laptops equipped with powerful GPUs like the RTX 4080, encountering system instabilities such as Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) errors, GPU driver faults, and visual artifacts can be both frustrating and concerning. These issues may stem from hardware defects, software conflicts, or driver incompatibilities. This article explores a real-world scenario to offer insights into troubleshooting techniques, diagnostic approaches, and decision-making strategies for similar issues.

Case Overview

A user acquired an ASUS ROG Scar 18 laptop featuring an Intel i9 14900H CPU and an RTX 4080 GPU, initially purchased as an open-box unit. The user experienced crashes and BSODs specifically within certain games—most notably Elite Dangerous and Baldur’s Gate 3—manifesting as nvlddmkm TDR (Timeout Detection and Recovery) errors, Event IDs 13, 14, and 153, alongside severe graphical artifacting.

Remarkably, extensive troubleshooting—including complete Windows 11 reinstallations, driver clean-ups with DDU, and BIOS updates—did not initially resolve the issues. Benchmarking tools and demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake 2, and Resident Evil 4 ran stably, indicating that the GPU hardware was likely capable. However, some titles such as Arkham Knight and GTA V initially experienced crashes but later stabilized, while others like Elite Dangerous continued to crash.

Key Observations

Selective Game Crashes: Only certain titles exhibited persistent issues, suggesting that the fault could be software-specific or related to particular rendering APIs (DirectX 11, Vulcan).
Benchmark Stability: Stress tests such as 3DMark and OCCT passed without errors, indicating that under synthetic heavy load, the GPU hardware appeared normal.
Transient Resolution: Notably, after installing a Visual C++ redistributable during a first launch of GTA V, artifacts and crashes temporarily ceased, raising questions about the influence of runtime components.
System Monitoring: Temperatures remained within safe ranges; no overclocking or undervolting was employed, narrowing down power and thermal issues.