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Random FPS drops on laptop (pretty sure no overheating)

Hi there!

I bought a pretty cool Samsung laptop in january and have been using since then with almost no problem. But a few weeks ago I started getting some several FPS drops when playing games: they start when I've been playing for a while (10/15 minutes) usually last between 20 and 40 seconds. My first though was that my laptop had overheating problems (strange, since it's only 6 months old, but it was worth looking at), so I bought a cooling pad, I tried underclocking the processor from Windows power management and started monitoring the temperatures of the GPU and the CPU.

I found that the FPS drops started usually when the laptop runs pretty hot, but my temps never go over (or even near) the safety mark where my i5 starts the cooldown (81 ºC, IIRC). The GPU usually never goes past the 65 ºC mark, which to my knowledge is also fine.

The last proof I found to discard overheating was that when I play with the battery, the drops never occur. They just happen with the laptop plugged in. So I'm thinking there may be a problem with the AC charger (I really don't know how you say that in English, it's not my native language, hope you know what I mean), or maybe the BIOS voltages and so, but that goes way beyond my IT or CS knowledge.

Already tried clenaing the registry, searching for malware and defragging. Drivers up to date.

I know the best think would be to send the laptop since I still have the guarantee, but the IT services here in Spain are a little bit slow and I don't really trust them. Besides, I have a big paper to finish in September, so this should be the very last option.

Any indsight? Need reports from GPU-Z or CPU-Z?

I'll give you my specs:

CPU: Intel Core i5 3210M @ 2.5 GHz
RAM: 6 GB
Internal GPU: Intel HD Graphics 4000
External GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GT630M
Windows 7 x64

Thanks in advance!

P.S.: I posted this in the laptop subforum but it didn't get much attention, and from what I've been reading there's more people here capable of resolving this.
6 answers Last reply Best Answer
More about random fps drops laptop pretty overheating
  1. Best answer
    Mikelnav said:
    Hi there!

    I bought a pretty cool Samsung laptop in january and have been using since then with almost no problem. But a few weeks ago I started getting some several FPS drops when playing games: they start when I've been playing for a while (10/15 minutes) usually last between 20 and 40 seconds. My first though was that my laptop had overheating problems (strange, since it's only 6 months old, but it was worth looking at), so I bought a cooling pad, I tried underclocking the processor from Windows power management and started monitoring the temperatures of the GPU and the CPU.

    I found that the FPS drops started usually when the laptop runs pretty hot, but my temps never go over (or even near) the safety mark where my i5 starts the cooldown (81 ºC, IIRC). The GPU usually never goes past the 65 ºC mark, which to my knowledge is also fine.

    The last proof I found to discard overheating was that when I play with the battery, the drops never occur. They just happen with the laptop plugged in. So I'm thinking there may be a problem with the AC charger (I really don't know how you say that in English, it's not my native language, hope you know what I mean), or maybe the BIOS voltages and so, but that goes way beyond my IT or CS knowledge.

    Already tried clenaing the registry, searching for malware and defragging. Drivers up to date.

    I know the best think would be to send the laptop since I still have the guarantee, but the IT services here in Spain are a little bit slow and I don't really trust them. Besides, I have a big paper to finish in September, so this should be the very last option.

    Any indsight? Need reports from GPU-Z or CPU-Z?

    I'll give you my specs:

    CPU: Intel Core i5 3210M @ 2.5 GHz
    RAM: 6 GB
    Internal GPU: Intel HD Graphics 4000
    External GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GT630M
    Windows 7 x64

    Thanks in advance!

    P.S.: I posted this in the laptop subforum but it didn't get much attention, and from what I've been reading there's more people here capable of resolving this.


    First off try ticking the setting "Always use dedicated GPU as its possible its switching it out in the middle off a game.
    Second are you running V-Sync in the game if not turn it on Vsync is pretty much essential for the laptop.
    Third I;m pretty sure my temps on my rMBP go over that and its fine when gaming on skyrim Ultra so your laptop shouldn't suffer any significant slow down.
    The Doctor
  2. Hi! Thanks for your answer. But where should I tick that setting? In the power management options? I can't find it...

    Also, note that this happens in almost every game (every 3d game, actually) so I maybe in some of them I've got the V-sync turned on and in some of them it's turned off. Anyways, I'll try. Thanks!
  3. Mikelnav said:
    Hi! Thanks for your answer. But where should I tick that setting? In the power management options? I can't find it...

    Also, note that this happens in almost every game (every 3d game, actually) so I maybe in some of them I've got the V-sync turned on and in some of them it's turned off. Anyways, I'll try. Thanks!


    Yer i got confused with OSX the setting in windows in the Nvidia control panel and you can choose which card you would prefer an application to use.
    The Doctor
  4. Nope, that doesn't seem to be the problem. Turned in V-sync and forced Battlefield 3 to run on the dedicated GPU and I still got the slow-downs.
  5. I've been trying to solve the problem by turning IosBit GameBooster on. If it were some kind of process running in the background, it should have closed it, so that's not the issue either...
  6. Not even playing in Power Saving mode seems to solve anything. I've tried looking around the BIOS but it really has very few configurations available.
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