Starcraft 2 on M14X

Hi all. Just a quick question regarding your experiences with SC2 on the M14X. On ultra settings it runs at 15-20 fps, which seems pretty low (and a bit unplayable) for this notebook considering the game. I tried updating to the latest 295.73 drivers, and have whitelisted the game.

As a comparison, the game hovers around 50fps on dragon age 2 with the highest settings, which seems more reasonable.

Are any of you finding the same issue for SC2, or am I just doing something wrong?

Thanks!

 

I'll check later and let you know.

I did notice some performance decline in SWTOR with the latest nVidia driver, though.

Seems that it increases performance in BF3/Skyrim and at the same time is gutting other games' performance.

 

i have starcraft 2 running ultra on my m14x and i am usually getting around 50 fps and it sometimes drops down to 45 when there is a lot of action going on so 15-20 fps shouldn't be right. i am using the nvidia driver 285.27 though if that makes any difference

 

Thanks Voodooi

This was also a problem while using AW's stock 269.37 drivers, which is why I tried updating. The updates didn't used to work before because the nVidia drivers couldn't recognize my M14X's card (I think this was a common issue with G116 cards or something), but the newest drivers seemed to have fixed that. But anyways, enough of my notebook's lifestory...

 

Hmm, I wonder what the problem is then...

 

My fps dropped low in a 4v4 game because the cpu couldnt keep up. I believe sc2 only uses 2 cores. I use 2 screens and my gpu usage was at like 35% and the game was only using 2 cores. Try using throttlestop or something to keep turbo on and keep the cores as high a clock as possible.

 

So turboboost is important for SC2? I turned it off since I read on this forum that it didn't do much for gaming, yet contributes quite a bit to heat issues. Maybe I should turn it back on then

 

For RTS and MMORPG Frequency is a biggie. Not so much for FPS'S

 

when i played on max i get ~30 fps, decreases with certain maps and encounters. Whitlist sc2 to the nvidia gpu instead of the global settings because the game may be using the integrated chip for some of the settings. I switched to playing on high-medium since I didn't find that much of a difference to ulta and the fps drops are just unacceptable for rts games. I've been avergaing 80 fps since. Higher with OC.

 

Okay, Tim. Just tested a "Hero's Attack DOTA" SC2 game on Ultra with medium shadows. 35-40 FPS during battles. I'm using the latest drivers too.

I usually like to play on SC2 on high (with some medium settings) since I can't really notice any eye-candy difference in this particular game and I like to play with a generous amount of FPS just in-case. The only RTS worth maxing out is C&C3/Kane's Wrath, since maxing it turns it from ugly to gorgeous.

 

Sounds good, I'll turn on turboboost and change settings to high. Drivers shouldn't be a problem now considering nVidia fixed that unrecognized hardware issue. Though I am surprised that this notebook has an issue playing a game like SC2 on max settings...

Thanks everyone!

 

I don't play with turbo boost and don't see any big difference aside from higher temps when you turn it on. Try whitelisting the app first and see if there are any changes. I doubt that turbo boost will solve your problems. ultra->high will increase your fps substantially.

 

Turboboost should make a huge deal for SC2 since it's a CPU-intensive game rather than a GPU-intensive game, as most games are. I recall turning off turbo boost once just to see how things would go, and fps was definitely lower.

Ultra usually runs with ~40-45 fps for me, but I choose to run it on High where it's smooth at close to 60 for most of the game.

 

I used my i7 2720qm ES with turbo off and it went down to 19 fps while playing sc2. Then i put my i5 2410m back in and put it to turbo and i didnt go below 40 fps. Pretty much says it all.

Also my 2410m with turbo on doesnt go above 85C

 

It would be nice to see actual numbers. Ultra runs fine on my i5 at ~30fps but there are fps drops which is why i use medium-High been hitting a solid 70 fps since. Also try taking your temps, most people turn off turbo boost because of the significant temp reduction.

 

I do track my temps with RealTemp, and I agree and admit that there is a 10 degree temperature difference or so with turbo boost on vs off. I prefer to play with a cooling pad because I sometimes get throttling after a while in Starcraft 2. Still, it's worth it for me in SC2 because of the noticeable difference in fps with turbo boost on and off (Kevinmcg's data above is even more convincing!).

I'm also loathe to turn off turbo boost to get some solid numbers because I don't want to have my ladder games affected by low fps

Note that I added the frame cap Blizzard recommended a while ago, so my fps never goes above 60 (actually, 62, for some reason).

 

Thanks for all of the advice. Turbo does seem to make a noticeable difference with this game. I turned things down to high, and it's playable now...shame about the 80-90C temps though (even with a U2 cooling pad).

FYI, my fps may seem lower because I'm playing on a 1920x1080 screen as well.

 

Good to hear that the game is playable now. It's a very fun game which involves a lot of skill to play competitively. high res would indeed take a toll on your fps. High temp is never good news. sure everything might be working fine now but for what cost in the long run.

If it works for you then great! I strongly believe though that if you get extreme temps, even enough to throttle as you said, that it's not just worth it. Personally i don't find much difference in the highest setting with high but I'm not a detail freak either so it may just be me. Try to play around with OC while turbo boost is off and see if it gives the same result for a lower overall temp.

 

Hi guys need help,
I have 14mx with 8 GB RAM ,i7 2870 , GT 555M 3G
The problem is when I play SC2 , the FPS seems pretty good around 70-90 on high and 1600 resolutions , but the game will lagging for 2 secs regularly because the FPS is drop down to 15-20 maybe every 20secs ,and it will back to normal FPS, and it will does drop agin after maybe 20-30secs , regardless the settings of the game which will only effect the normal FPS arrange ,but on any graphic setting it will drop .
I did white list the game ,I upgrade least diver.this really bugs me ...
I will really appreciate it you guys help.thanks

 

This may be a stupid question but were you playing with it plugged in or unplugged?

 

This has happened to me before and it usually means the processor was throttling because of temperature. Try downloading and using RealTemp to monitor your CPU temps - it throttles for a couple of seconds when it gets to 100C or so, resulting in FPS dips during the period of time when it's throttled.

If this is your problem, consider a) cleaning out the fans in your computer (this has often helped me get a 10 degree drop in temperatures, but since my apartment's so dusty it only lasts a couple months or so), and b) getting a cooling pad - my computer runs much cooler with the Zalman NC-2000 under it.

 

i use coretemp. very simple and runs in tray
Core Temp

 

If you're overheating turn turbo boost off on bios settings. And yes you should check if its plugged. Any game that requires the dedicated gpu to play will suck when you're not plugged. Also check you're net connection which vital in multiplayer.

 

I recommend against turning off Turbo Boost - it makes a noticeable difference in Starcraft 2 (see earlier in this thread). Just keep the fan vents clean.

Edit: sorry, I see you actually already commented on this thread earlier too. I guess our experiences have just been different!