Very low WoW performance on new Laptop

[doxq]

Hello,

I just recently bought a new laptop specifically for school in the fall but mostly for gaming. The only game I really play is World of Warcraft, and I do raids so I wanted a computer that could handle intense graphics without giving <25ish FPS.

This is the laptop I got, after a friend's recommendation: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834131117&cm_re=rf711-_-34-131-117-_-Product

Reviews on Newegg as well as what I've heard from a few other people say that this computer should be able to blow WoW out of the water and run very smooth with even the highest settings, but I currently am getting EXTREMELY low performance (maybe 30 FPS just sitting in a major city on the lowest possible settings). If I even try to set it to "good" settings (the middleground) it goes sub 10 FPS and I can hardly move. This just doesn't make sense. My desktop computer gets much better performance and has worse parts than this laptop, especially when it comes to the graphics card and processor, which are what matters with WoW from what I've heard.

Does anyone know what could be wrong? I downloaded the graphics driver right after receiving it in the mail today off of Samsung's website (the one dated February 25th of this year), which i think is the most recent one but maybe I was wrong. Additionally it only comes with 4GB ram which I haven't upgraded yet but I don't think that could cause such a drastically bad performance. The only other thing I can think of is that instead of installing WoW, I simply copied the program files onto an external harddrive from my desktop, then copied those files into my new laptop. Would that cause bad performance in any way?

Thanks in advance, any help is appreciated.

 

[Supernova1138]

Try going to nvidia's website and see if they have more recent drivers for the GT 540m. If you have other games or graphically intensive applications try running those and see what performance you get.

Download HWMonitor and take a look at your load temperatures for your CPU and GPU. It is possible that one of them may be overheating, and is throttling to protect itself from damage, though this is unlikely with a new laptop unless you have some defective fans. You may want to also check out your power profiles, and maybe try disabling some of the power saving features. Another possibility is that either your CPU or GPU aren't increasing their clockspeed when you enter WoW.

If the problem is isolated to WoW, reinstalling the game would also be a good idea.

 

[cbrunnem]

no driver needed. WoW is running off the intel HD 3000 i suspect. go to nvidia control panel, then manage 3d settings, then set the game to run on your gt 540m.

 

[doxq]

From talking to a few of my friends it seems as if the cooling fan isn't activating as it should be. WoW will be fine when I first open it up, but then as time progresses it will slowly get worse and worse FPS wise (60 - 25 in less than a minute). The entire computer feels pretty warm constantly, with a few areas especially hot, and I can't feel any air coming from where the vent is. I'm considering returning it, but before I do I wanted to know if there's anything on my end that can be done to get this working without having to return it. Thanks.

 

[cbrunnem]

have you monitored your temps like Supernova recommended? try msi afterburner. it has options that can display your gpu temp on screen while playing then use real temp or some other program to monitor your cpu temps. as of right now it is only speculation.

 

[doxq]

MSI Afterburner is reading my GPU temp at about 58 degrees Celsius, which I assume is extremely high since my desktop normally runs at around 40. It also has the "Fan Speed" bar completely greyed out. I think it's just a faulty fan.

 

[Supernova1138]

If 58 degrees is your idle temp, then yes you definitely have a fan problem. Since it's under warranty, best to send it back for repair/replacement.

 

[cbrunnem]

thats not high at all. on a gt 540m 95* is hot. you cant control fan speed on a laptop. your gpu temp is fine and if your gpu temps are fine chances are the cpu is fine cause i believe they use the same fan.

what is your cpu temp.

 

[doxq]

you realize that's celsius right? Which translates to about 136 fahrenheit? I'm surprised it isn't melting my case. maybe you aren't mistaken and that really is low, but I doubt it.

 

[cbrunnem]

i have the same laptop but its the 15 inch so if im not having a problem when my gpu reaches 90* celcius you shouldnt either. it is idling at 38* and i have it running everything and the intel HD is doing nothing. i would make sure in the nvidia control panel you have the graphics card set to run wow cause 58* c is not hot enough. make sure you have nvidia driver 275 installed to. that will be shown in the nvidia control panel too.
your temp is fine.

btw that gpu overclocks very well. i can run stable at 800/1025 from stock speeds of 672/900. that adds about 5-7 fps in most games.

also you have yet to tell us what your cpu temps are. it could be overheating and throttling bad.

 

[doxq]

It says I have the 266.72 driver installed, could you possibly link me to the 275 one you're talking about?

I don't see CPU temp in MSI Afterburn, only GPU. This is what it looks like:

http://i.imgur.com/evxpF.png

 

[cbrunnem]

you have to use like real temp or cpuid.

i now HIGHLY believe that you havent even gone into nvidia control panel and set you computer to use your gt 540m. the picture shows that the gpu is not even being used. it has a max usage of 4%?

ill walk you through it to make it easier.

- right click on the desktop and select nvidia control panel(if its not there just search for it in the search menu)

- once open, click on manage 3D settings

- for now click on the down arrow selection under global settings and select high performance nvidia processor then play the game and see if there is a difference.

 

[cbrunnem]

heres the driver. i dont think it will solve your problem as it didnt affect performance for mine.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook-win7-winvista-64bit-275.33-whql-driver.html

cpuid http://www.cpuid.com/downloads/hwmonitor/1.18-setup.exe

 

[doxq]

I had the checked to begin with (since I booted up the computer several hours ago). Maybe it's using the integrated graphics instead because that 275 driver isn't installed or something? I still can't find that though.

 

[cbrunnem]

did you go to nvidia control panel?

 

[doxq]

Yes...It already had that one selected. After installing that driver there is a slight increase in performance but still very subpar considering the quality of the laptop at least in my opinion.

 

[cbrunnem]

did your gpu usage go up and what are your cpu temps. it doesnt matter how fast your gpu is if your cpu is overheating and throttling back thus not feeding your gpu anything

 

[doxq]

http://i.imgur.com/f9nR9.png

My GPU usage seems to be going up drastically when I tab into WoW, I assume that's a good thing?

I also overclocked a bit as you can see.

 

[cbrunnem]

is it high like that when you are playing then drops when you tab out? how are your frame rates?

also im surprise your computer hasnt shut off cause cpuid says your max gpu temp is 108*c. try knocking down that overclock or go back to stock settings and see where your temps go.

you might have a thermal problem as you didnt state your temps where that high.

your cpu temps are fine and actually really good. max safe temp for that cpu is 100*c

 

[doxq]

Yeah both the GPU temp and usage spike up a ton when I tab in and drop almost instantly to very low levels when I tab out. My FPS is great when I first tab in because the temp is low but then it heats up and goes back down to pretty low levels (and this isn't even in graphic intensive situations).

 

[cbrunnem]

yeah drop the gpu back to stock 672/900 and see what happens to the temps. you where prolly right originally.

 

[doxq]

I am still getting quite low frame rates on the lowest settings possible...anyone have any idea if I could improve it further?

Oh and the GPU temp is averaging around 100 celsius while playing the game, something definitely isn't right with this computer.

 

[cbrunnem]

luck of the draw maybe? like i said i have the 15 inch version and i dont have problems playing any game like you.

 

[doxq]

Guess so, that sucks :/ I'm just going to ship it back and hopefully get a good one in return. Thanks so much everyone (especially cbrunnem) for your help.

 

[americanbrian]

The single most important factor when gaming on a laptop is to ensure that windows has the power setting at PERFORMANCE. otherwise the OS just underclocks EVERYTHING!

Generally you need to be plugged in to the wall socket too for the best results.

This is the first check you should do.

Also, good luck shipping back a laptop that you overclocked.... Stupid to do that first IMHO.