6990M Very Slow After AC Pulled Out

...and plugged back in again. That is, it works perfectly fine running games at max settings so long as the power cord is plugged in; as soon as it comes out, even if immediately plugged back in, any and every game becomes unplayably slow (~3fps!). Interestingly, this occurs even on Football Manager which puts very little strain on the GPU (takes a second or two to respond to every little input), and also worth noting is that on the more intensive games there is no improvement even after turning graphics settings way down low (ie. still same low fps). Now that I think about it, this could very well be a sign that it's not the GPU that's being throttled at all, but rather the CPU or even something else...?

I have a very loose AC adapter (just from general wear and tear, I assume most get like this after a while) such that a gentle knock will usually cause it to come out of the socket. Naturally this gets VERY frustrating...

Windows 8
Just updated to the Beta 13.2 drivers but it's been happening on a few versions so I doubt this is relevant
Intel IGP disabled in BIOS
All the power settings in Windows are set to maximum performance on AC/battery.

I hope it's something simple but fear it may not be... Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

This has to be software related.

Even though you disabled your IGP from bios, it still does seem Windows is using it or looking for it.
software: integraded GPU will overrule dedicated GPU commands unless specified otherwise.

Power settings are indeed the second thing i would think off in this case.

You set the setting correct but are you using the right profile? ( not trying to insult you with default questions but this is what we have to know to be 100% you are using the correct settings)

i know Trixx (OC tool) uses a trick in the registry that disables Low Power State.....perhaps if you install this tool and enable this function it would solve your problem. (enable means is will DISABLE the power savings all together)

 

I have this same problem with my m17x R4 with the 660m. If you unplug the laptop it goes into battery mode so the gpu clock speed gets restricted from 950 mhz down to 405 mhz, as it is set to in my power settings. When you plug the power back in the laptop does not switch back to mains power mode properly and the gpu is still running at slow clock speed so you have to restart the laptop.

 

On my notebook there is an bois option, where I could select the powersafe mode. Also you should check if there is something like Intel Speedstep, this also could slow down the Graphiccard if the AC is unplugged.

 

Intel Speedstep has nothing to do with the GPU, Speedstep regulates voltage and c-states

 

never mind.

 

This reminds me of the sleep issue where amd cards remain permanently clocked at power saving clocks after waking up, maybe it's something related. Have you tried disabling powerplay?

 

I thought this was normal behaviour. The battery cannot supply enough power for the gpu to run at max settings. Both my M17x's dropped to a low clock if the lead fell out, whatever the power settings in either windows or the card driver.

Edit: If you're still in warranty and the lead is loose/falling out then you are entitled to get a MB replacement

 

What MickyD said regarding the power supply needing to be plugged in to provide maximum settings.

However if I read the top thread correctly...even once the power supply is plugged back in it doesn't go back to the fastest settings. So to clarify the problem, it's not so much when the power is unplugged, but when it is plugged back in after being unplugged where the issue is the concern?

 

Literally everything is set to max performance and I'm certain the correct profile is selected. I tried installing Trixx and disabling ULPS but it had no effect.

Yeah, exactly. It's as if the GPU is being throttled when the cord comes out, which would be expected, but it won't return to full power even after the cord is plugged in again. Restarting is the only solution. It's like there is definitely some 'profile' being switched somewhere... but I can't find any settings that have changed when it's in this state.

It's especially confusing given that this doesn't always happen (ie. it's inconsistent, and I can't see any pattern) and I'm not even sure it's the GPU- I only mention this because I suppose the fps in games is the most noticeable effect that the throttling of whatever-is-being-throttled has. It could very well be the CPU for all I know...

Next time it happens I'll try a Windows Performance Index thingy a a basic diagnostic test. Probably should've been the first thing I did.

And thanks to GeForce Junky, nice to know I'm not alone!

 

Mine is defiantly the GPU clock speed that gets throttled. I monitor it using MSI Afterburner and the drop in FPS after unplugging and replugging is about proportional to the lower clock speed.