Laptop has Framerate drops in every game. Any Help???!!!

[tallfern]

I recently purchased a Lenovo Y570(i7 2670 QM 2.2ghz, 8GB RAM, GT 555m, max res 1366x768) and it runs games well for minutes at a time and sometimes less then my computer seems to want to just not work and I get fps spikes down from 50-60 to 10-15, but it becomes unplayable when it drops as it flutters between movements. I bought this laptop reading reviews that the GT 555m in this model isnt as strong as the alienware one, but it tested playing most games on medium at 30 fps, I can put the games im having trouble with right now like league of legends, and Star Wars: The old republic on high or low settings and it doesnt change anything. Star wars for instance on maxed out setting will get 45 fps and then drop to 10, and then on low itll go from 100fps to 10 fps! So frustrating, I checking nVidia Optimus and it says its using the GPU not the intel shared one. I downloaded furmark and my scores were on par with everyone else, but when I downloaded MSI afterburner purely for monitoring purposes it showed stable GPU temps at 72-75 celcius while playing, but the GPU usage would go from 70% to 10% and then spike right back up. I have no clue what to try if anyone has any idea what's wrong or anything I can try to fix it please let me know. Other than changing drivers and tinker with the power options I have no options left but to return it! I really like this laptop and i got it 40% from lenovo on sale from their webpage. Thanks for any advice out there

-sincerely. troubledgamer tallfern!

 

[RDGnome]

I have a similar problem to you on my laptop.. So far I haven't found a solution. Are you sure it happens in every game? It only really happens on my laptop in Skyrim as far as I can tell.. My laptop is quite similar to yours as well. I have the GT 555m and i7 2630qm (2.0gz). I have full HD res screen though
I think it may be areas in the game which require more GPU power like a place which has a lot going on in for example.. I'm not sure but I know how you feel, its really frustrating.

Have you tried checking your GPU and CPU temperatures when your frame rate drops. Use SpeedFan and monitor the graphs to see when it peaks. That could shed some light on your problem (thanks 13thmonkey ).

 

[tallfern]

Yeah it's in every game I just played SWTOR for an hour and had framerates in the same area without moving go from 55-60fps-5-10fps XD! I ran speedfan to measure CPU temps the hottest it got was 74 celcius and the average was 70. the GPU got up to 77 celcius and averaged 72. Any ideas if that's too hot? I know for a fact that this GT 555M should be able to play league of legends with steady frames and it can't even do that.

 

[RDGnome]

Yeah on Skyrim for me, I'll be playing at 40-60 fps and then it will suddenly drop to 10-20 in certain places. It gets annoying.
My CPU temperatures go up to 90 degrees sometimes which is okay but a bit high I think. i7 processors are supposed to operate up to 100 degrees so you're probably fine.
My GPU usually is around 55-60 degrees. GPU temperatures at 70 degrees may be a bit high but it might be okay for your laptop. GT 555m is supposed to run quite cool because its made to run at 700mhz+ I think.. (Do you overclock?)
My laptop has a 9 cell battery so it is raised a bit for extra air. I sometimes place a small fan next to it for more air intake. I found this decreased my temperatures by around 10 degrees. You might not be able to do this but have you considered using a cooling pad?

 

[tallfern]

I don't think heats the problem because when I play less demanding games and my GPU gets up to 50 celcius I get the same problems

 

[13thmonkey]

what does your cpu get up to?

 

[13thmonkey]

RDGnome, thanks for the name check.

 

[tallfern]

I just ran furmark for 30 mins and the highest my GPU got was 80 celcius and the CPU got up to 76 at the highest.

 

[tallfern]

CPU temps are from SWTOR, GPU temps from Furmark*

 

[RDGnome]

I just ran furmark for 30 mins and the highest my GPU got was 80 celcius and the CPU got up to 76 at the highest.

I don't know if its just me, but that seems quite high for a GPU temperature, especially for the GT 555m..

 

[tallfern]

Well I got the 3 year warranty, should I hit up Lenovo and make them come out here and see if the GPU is seated wrong or if the thermal paste is messed up?

 

[RDGnome]

You could phone them up just to see what they recommend for your particular laptop. I don't know about Lenovo, but Dell were useless when I asked them..
Are you sure its not temperature though, when your frame rate drops, check the temperature of the GPU. Sorry if you've done that already.
Something could be causing your pc to bottleneck though but your processor is good enough to support the GPU I think and vice versa.. Anything over 4GB RAM is usually okay too.. and the resolution shouldn't be a problem..
I wish I knew the answer to this, it would help me out a tonne too.

 

[tallfern]

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/IdeaPad-Y-U-B-V-and-Z-series/Y570-Why-do-games-run-better-off-my-battery-and-choppy-when-its/td-p/466031/page/11

 

[tallfern]

So im pretty sure its my GPU temps because my framerates spike as soon as I shoot over 68-72 celcius, anything below and it's smooth

 

[Rodolfo007]

I have a similar problem to you on my laptop.. So far I haven't found a solution. Are you sure it happens in every game? It only really happens on my laptop in Skyrim as far as I can tell.. My laptop is quite similar to yours as well. I have the GT 555m and i7 2630qm (2.0gz). I have full HD res screen though
I think it may be areas in the game which require more GPU power like a place which has a lot going on in for example.. I'm not sure but I know how you feel, its really frustrating.

Have you tried checking your GPU and CPU temperatures when your frame rate drops. Use SpeedFan and monitor the graphs to see when it peaks. That could shed some light on your problem (thanks 13thmonkey ).

skyrim is havin a lot of fps troubles in pcs (including mine wich can run any gam with atleast 50 fps) so i guess is something else
But laptops always have some power problems so ya should check how much u get

 

[RDGnome]

yeah. my frame rate is all over the place on Skyrim :/
What do you mean power problems?

 

[RDGnome]

So im pretty sure its my GPU temps because my framerates spike as soon as I shoot over 68-72 celcius, anything below and it's smooth

Theres your problem. I thought it was hot because even when I OC my GPU it never reaches 70 degrees and stays around 60. There might be a fault with your laptop or the cooling system just isn't great on your laptop. Have you contacted Lenovo yet, they might help a bit.
I still advise a cooling pad: U3 Cooling Pad
This one is recommended quite highly I believe.
By the way, is the room you play in warm in general because that will increase temps a bit. You should keep the room cool (fans?)

 

[tallfern]

Hey I live in California, but the room I'm in is pretty much freezing all the time except for summer. I'll what I can do about getting Lenovo out here to look at it since I have the in home warranty crap and if I paid for it, they're gonna come out here and reseat the GPU or check the thermal compound since doing it myself would void the warranty. I read somewhere that a guy with a y570 opened his up and they put a HUGE GLOOP of compound and it was ruining his temps. Im hoping that is problem because if i can drop 10 degrees celcius off my temps ill be in the clear!

 

[RDGnome]

Hey I live in California, but the room I'm in is pretty much freezing all the time except for summer. I'll what I can do about getting Lenovo out here to look at it since I have the in home warranty crap and if I paid for it, they're gonna come out here and reseat the GPU or check the thermal compound since doing it myself would void the warranty. I read somewhere that a guy with a y570 opened his up and they put a HUGE GLOOP of compound and it was ruining his temps. Im hoping that is problem because if i can drop 10 degrees celcius off my temps ill be in the clear!

Thats a good idea, hopefully it'll be an easy fix. Good luck with that, let us know how it goes. Sadly, I don't think my problem is to do with heating
Merry Christmas!

 

[DDom]

It could be to do with the game its self, lots of particle effects etc at one point which puts a heavy burden on your processing units.

 

[RDGnome]

It could be to do with the game its self, lots of particle effects etc at one point which puts a heavy burden on your processing units.

I think that may be the problem.. Any way aroumd this. Lower settings?