Screen flickering and flashing while gaming

[FilHasHP]

HP Pavilion Gaming Notebook - 15-ak005np

Hi guys. So while playing games (and I only play Runescape NXT very rarely, not sure why I even bought a gaming PC) the screen occasionally flickers: sometimes totally shuts down for a split second and resumes ok, other times it gets some horizontal black lines...and most times it's a mix of both. Let me reiterate that this is occasional, sometimes it gets really bad, but mostly happens every few minutes.

I already turned VSync on (in-game), and even tried setting it to "half" meaning the graphic card should be "strangled" to output half the screen's max fps (or so I was told)

Now I'm honest, I don't know anything about the graphics configuration, and the Nvidia's control panel isn't "noob-friendly" so I don't even know where to begin changing the settings there... but this issue literally only happens while playing games - regardless of the games' graphic settings (I even tried having them at lowest possible). For instance while im typing this post on chrome and the game is running on the background I still get some flickering/flashing but less often.

Thanks in advance! Looking forward to your replies

PS: I bought it online and it was shipped, but I reckon the computer was fully protected with dampeners (plastic air bags) all over the box. Please only assume the issue is hardware as a last resort cause I really need the computer on a daily basis to work and can't afford waiting weeks for the support 😕

[Riddle_Decipher]

@FilHasHP

Thank you for joining HP Forums. 
I'll be glad to help you 🙂

As I understand the Screen is flickering and flashing while gaming,

Don't worry as I have a few steps to help resolve this concern,

I will need a few details to provide an accurate solution:

When was the last time it worked without these issues (date)?

Which games are causing these issues and are they online games or installed on your PC?

Have you attempted any other steps on your own before posting on HP Forums?
What is the product number of your computer? (Ensure you don't share any personal information such as serial, phone number, email ID, etc..).

In the meantime, you may try the below steps, as even if the game is compatible with your system hardware it may have a slow performance because you are using the windows 8, 8.1 or 10 as the OS uses most of the CPU & graphics card usage, you might want to reduce the visual effects for windows to save the amount of CPU & Graphics card usage required to run your game properly.

Here's how you do it:

• Go to Start Menu > click on Settings.
• Type performance > choose Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows. 
• In the new window, go to the Visual Effects and select Adjust for best performance.
• click Apply and ok...this should do the trick.

Keep me posted,

If you are able to reach some resolution, please click on Accept Solution to help others with similar issues
If you appreciate my assistance, please click on the thumbs up icon. 
Both icons are below this post.

Have a good day, Ahead!