Fluctuating and low frames per second in games [M14x R2]

Specifications: M14xR2
i7 3610QM
Nvidia GT 650M 2GB
12GB 1600Mhz RAM (1x 8GB, 1x 4GB)
Samsung 830 256GB SSD (main drive, OS)
500GB 7200rpm HDD (secondary, replaces optical drive, most games are here)


Hi!

I've had my M14xR2 for about a year (and a few months) now and so far it has served me very well.
A few months back I noticed my that my frame rate started fluctuating in almost all of my games,
The frame rate changed randomly between the maximum and 10-20 fps (or lower).
I understand that frame rates are not a set value and that they fluctuate all the time, but these differences were just too big (and I hadn't noticed the problem before).
At first I thought it only happened in areas that were either full of moving objects or were larger in scale,
but I also noticed that in these same areas I sometimes had 60+ FPS as well, and that I experience these fluctuations in games and areas in games that are not resource heavy.

I always keep my drivers up to date and I have as few as possible processes open while gaming (usually only Steam/Origin, RazerSynapse and Fraps).
I just recently updated my BIOS to A13 and I always use the graphics drivers (Nvidia & Intel) that are posted on the Dell drivers page.

After installing the latest BIOS and drivers I noticed that the fluctuations had become less frequent but I also noticed that my overall FPS had dropped
Games that used to ran at 60 FPS (before the fluctuations) now run at 45, and games that ran at 45 FPS now run at 30 (estimated).

GPU temperatures:
Nvidia: low 60 while gaming
Intel: 50-70 while gaming

How could I prevent these fluctuations and how can I restore my average FPS to the level it used to be at.

Extra info:
I usually play my games at Medium or Low settings when the games recommends High
I usually play my games Windowed (about 55% of the time)
The M14x's internals are all new (had them replaced), I already had these problems before they were replaced
The only things connected to my M14x are the power adapter, a mouse and keyboard and headphones
I have the 900p screen but don't always play at 1600x (sometimes 1440, 1366 or 1280)
The fans don't sound louder than before and the air is never hot, just warm (neither is the chassis/case)
games on my SSD and HDD run the same (as far as I notice)
I always have AlienFX on

Games in which I noticed 'problems': Portal 2 (sometimes), Mirror's Edge (crazy differences in FPS), GTA IV (a lot), Skyrim (less the others), CS:GO (a lot more than before), Borderlands 2 (less fluctuation, lower FPS than before), Arma2(doesn't want to run from Nvidia, runs on the Intel chip), Battlefield 4 Beta (before A13 and driver update: crazy fluctuation, After: very low FPS on lowest settings, Metal of Honor: Warfighter: before A13 and driver update, Low overall FPS and highly fluctuating, even on lowest settings, not tested after update)... etc

Thank you in advance!

 

Time for a repaste and cleanup, even though those temperatures don't seem high enough it could easily be that. You could also try rolling back to the DELL stock drivers for the video card.

 

Today I started testing some games with the 307.17 drivers from Dell's website.
So far it seems that the problem has been fixed.

For example:
- Borderlands 2 before: randomly changing between 60 and 10 FPS all the time at Medium settings 720p
- Borderlands 2 now: stable 45-65 FPS High settings 900p
Similar results in CS:GO

I will test all the games in which I experienced problems over the next few hours
Also I will clean the inside of the notebook as much as possible

Thank you for your help!

 

No problem, glad to have helped with some questions you had

Sent from my GT-P7310 using Tapatalk 4

 

I have a question but I don't think it's worth making a new thread

I was rendering a video in Sony Vegas and I booted up GPU-Z just to see what was happening
Then I noticed something, the Nvidia temperatures we're around 60 degrees Celsius (just like when I'm gaming),
But the Intel (HD 4000) temperatures were between 87 and 93 degrees Celsius.

The Intel chip's temperatures are similar to those of the CPU right?
Is my CPU/Intel chip overheating or are these temperatures normal for a CPU / when rendering a video? (which is very intensive for the CPU)
Usually 90 degrees means overheating (for GPU's) but I am not sure if the same goes for CPU's.

Thank you in advance.

 

The INTEL GPU is integrated into the CPU, and the Intel CPU has a max temp rating of 100 degrees C, so you should be okay with upper 80's.
I used the following document as a reference: Mobile 4th Gen Intel® Core™ Processor Family: Datasheet, Vol 1

Hope that helps.

 

Thank you, I immediately felt relieved when I read your reply.

I was really worried at first but now I can continue playing games and editing footage again :]

Thanks again

-FH