T520 Nvidia issue (drivers? PSU?)

[danapad]

Hi,

I have a problem with using my laptop's graphics card.

Specs: Thinkpad T520, Nvidia graphics card, quad core CPU, 90W PSU

I first installed Windows 10 and tried using the drivers someone suggested in this thread: viewtopic.php?p=858976#p858976. They installed fine, and I was actually able to run Windows while using the Nvidia -- but the moment I turned on the keyboard light on Thinkpad, the system froze. This happened two times in a row, and the third time it just booted to a black screen.

I then installed Manjaro, chose the free drivers (Nouveau https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Nouveau) since official Nvidia drivers no longer work /w Manjaro, but that too resulted in the system freezing before the login screen appeared.

After poking around these forums, I started to suspect my 90W PSU and quad core CPU are to blame, and that I may need a stronger PSU, especially since turning on the keyboard light on Windows froze the system. Either that, or I'm missing something important with regards to Nvidia drivers.

In any case, I'd appreciate any thoughts or suggestions. Integrated graphics works perfectly fine for what it's worth.

[dr_st]

Welcome to the forum. Indeed the recommendation is to use a stronger PSU (at least 135W) for Quad Core CPU + nVidia, although I am not certain an underpowered PSU would lead to these exact symptoms.

[danapad]

Well, I'm also wondering what other users who have a T520/T420 are using. I'm happy to install any drivers or even switch operating systems at this point. I'll even use Windows if absolutely forced to ...