Is my computer running correctly? PC vs Laptop comparison

[John Van Valkenburg]

I wanted to know if my computer is properly using my Nvidia graphics card, I don't believe it is but I'll explain why. I own a alienware laptop with windows 7 and with a i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.40GHz 2.39GHz. (that is what it says in the computer properties screen, but is supposed to be a quad core I believe. When I open the device manager and expand Processors, it shows 8 for some reason if that helps) It also has 12MB ram and a Nvidia GeForce 650M and an onboard Intel HD graphics 4000. With a 2.4 Quad core and this video card, I thought I would be able to get better FPS in Counter-Strike:GO. I run all low/very low settings with optimized nvidia control panel settings for performance. I set it to use my Nvidia Graphics card which I assume it uses for my games. I tried disabling the onboard Intel graphics card to be sure, but when I restart it turns on the intel card again. But, I don't think it's a problem, maybe it is, I don't know, because I tell it to use the Nvidia card. Now, in game I will typically be at around 150-200 fps at good times and drop below 100 fps as low as the 60-70 mark when getting heavy load. That just seems like shit with this setup. The reason why I feel that way is my wife recently got a new computer from our brother in law and it 's way older and runs the game with better FPS and I just don't get it. It is a win7 laptop as well, but it runs a intel i5 cpu 750 @ 2.67GHZ 2.67GHz ( again what it says in the computer properties screen, brother in law said it is a dual core processor ). It has 4MB ram and a Nvidia GeForce GTS 250. My video card is manufactured 3 years later with the same amount of RAM and is DDR5 instead of DDR3 like hers. I setup the same Nvidia control panel setting and in game settings (resolution and everything to be consistent and have a fair comparison) and her computer runs CSGO at around 250-300+ and drops to the lowest I have ever seen around 120. Why is my i7 quad core getting beat by her dual core so hard? Is my laptop honestly just that shitty with slightly slower clock speed on the CPU and a newer video card?

 

[velo3100]

First make sure that it is acually using the dgpu by actually choosing the card rather than putting it in auto select.

Second make sure that you battery power plan is set the max performance.

Third, what are the temps in the game as laptops are smaller which means that they heat up much faster than desktops do.

 

[John Van Valkenburg]

I do have my computer selected to use high performance GPU only in the nvidia control panel. I double checked, it is set on performance in the power options section. I have HWmonitor installed and another CPU monitoring tool and I played CSGO for about 30 mins this morning to get it running and took this screen shot of the results.

 

[velo3100]

Ok there is something wrong here. There should be 4 cores not 2 under the cpu. 63 c is ok while playing games, so maybe its the hdd or the wifi connection as cs:go requires a good ping to play. It could also be that the wifi module is not very good as well.

 

[John Van Valkenburg]

I don't see why wifi would effect anything. And the HDD connection? Is that my HDMI plugin? I have used HDMI and VGA and it hasn't effected the FPS. How do I Make sure I am utilizing all my cores or that they are all installed and working etc.

 

[velo3100]

HDD (hard drive) not HDMI. This can affect fps as the data is being read from the hdd while playing. Also wifi can make a difference as you play online games which require an internet connection. If the wifi module is not good then you will have bad ping even if the wifi router is good.

 

[John Van Valkenburg]

HDD (hard drive) not HDMI. This can affect fps as the data is being read from the hdd while playing. Also wifi can make a difference as you play online games which require an internet connection. If the wifi module is not good then you will have bad ping even if the wifi router is good.

I have a hybrid SATA drive with part of it being the new faster stuff coming out. But, I don't think it is a problem but I guess it could be. As far as wifi goes, I do ethernet and my ping has not been an issue for this. This is solely the computer and FPS being my issue. Ping/latency is fine. I posted on the Dell forums to get some help a couple days ago and I have yet to get a response. Hopefully they will make sure my system is correct with what I bought or else I will not be a happy camper! haha

 

[velo3100]

How full is the hdd? I say this as hdd become slower as time goes on. Also what is the ram and hdd usage when you play the game?

Finally, what background and startup processes do you have?

Also note it could be the anti virus software but answer the questions above first.

 

[John Van Valkenburg]

How full is the hdd? I say this as hdd become slower as time goes on. Also what is the ram and hdd usage when you play the game?

Finally, what background and startup processes do you have?

Also note it could be the anti virus software but answer the questions above first.

The HDD is pretty full, but even before it was full I have never gotten the FPS she has gotten which frustrates me. But, right now it has 34GB free of 238GB.

With the game running and having mozilla open and a couple other small things, I have 78 processes running. On startup I will typically have 2 nvidia programs (nvidia backend and geforce experience on startup) and also razer synapse for my mouse DPI settings and what not. Sometimes spotify will come back on cause its annoying as hell and will put it back on every time I use it. Services, I disable all but a few key ones like fucking NORTON, never thought to get rid of that but maybe I should. And nvidia and steam. Of course leave all microsoft services running.

With the game running right now I am using 3.9GB and I have 12GB available so I wouldn't think ram is an issue. I have noticed with HWMonitor, I peak at 100% CPU usage and I have seen my nvidia peak at 97-98% utilization, I have no idea why it isn't peaking at 100 or if it should. For some reason HWMonitor will not show the utlization and what not on my integrated intel HD Graphics card.

I looked up my processor specs online and it is not even a true quad core it says. It's actually a dual core with virtual processors or something but should turbo boost (apparently useless shit imo) up to 3.2 mhz, which I don't think it does. Because, if it was boosting to 3.2mhz it should perform better than her 2.56 dual core, which it clearly is not.

 

[John Van Valkenburg]

How full is the hdd? I say this as hdd become slower as time goes on. Also what is the ram and hdd usage when you play the game?

Finally, what background and startup processes do you have?

Also note it could be the anti virus software but answer the questions above first.

I just did a little troubleshooting to see if my FPS changed with any little things. I removed a bunch of programs and now have over 70GB free. I removed all programs except razer synapse from startup and removed all services except steam. I tried removing Norton, but it is a virus in and of itself and will not go away and keeps coming back. But, I don't understand how an antivirus would effect my FPS but maybe it is, that is why I am here. With mozilla running and thats it, I have 58 services. When I did all this and played CSGO, my fps didn't increase at all. Maybe it did like 10 FPS, but would be hard to tell with such a small increase. Again I usually sit around 150-200 mark. I see it cap around 220 FPS but never above really. I was on a smaller server now which was like 5 v 5 which helped me. When I play large community servers with like 10v10 or 12v12, I usually sit even lower, barely breaking 100-150 FPS if I'm lucky and frequently drop to sub 60 FPS with a lot of people/action around me.

Update: Just realized there was an update button, sorry about the double post.

 

[velo3100]

First download anti malwarebytes which should get rid of the virus. Anti virus software can make a huge difference to the cpu usage as it is always running. The best way is to find lightweight anti virus programs and use them. Norton is knowns to be a cpu hog.

Second 70 gigs free still sound too little for me. This will also affect fps as the laptop has to read the data from the hdd when it is playing. If it is nearly full then the time taken to read the data is slower as there is more data.

 

[John Van Valkenburg]

Deleted Norton and downloaded malwarebytes. Also, ran CCleaner and cleaned up what I could. I deleted more stuff and now only have 3 games installed (diablo II which is small, CSGO, and ark survival evolved). No change in FPS. Still can't consistently stay above 200 and drop to 50-60 FPS.

Update: If I could clear more space from my HDD I would, I don't know what is taking up so much space though. If you want to go above and beyond, I took 2 screenshots of my entire program list, but I don't have anymore large programs to delete so I really don't know what else I could remove to free up space. This is just a small HDD being at only 238 GB total. I now have 138 GB free.

http://imgur.com/J3zSvtX,bFEkAF3#0

 

[velo3100]

Try disabling things like skype and nivida geforce experience from the startup programs. I personally don't use the geforce experience as I found that it causes my laptop to heat up more and recommends the wrong settings for games as my laptop is 2 years old.