Alienware M17x r2 (I think) slowing down while gaming

Hi there,

I'm new to laptops and posting, but I hope theres someone out there with knowledge that can help
I brought an Alienware laptop a couple of years ago, I think it's a M17x R2 I can't actually remember, and it doesn't appear to tell me on my machine or on the dell website.. just tells me it's an m17x
Anyway it has an intel core duo T9800 processer, 8 gig of ram and 2 Nvidia GTX280m in sli and samsung SSD 830 drives

Mostly I've only ever used it for work, and watching movies, but now I have the gaming bug! the problem is when I play games they run perfect for a few minutes, and then slow right down until they become unplayable.
My first thoughts is that theres a thermal problem somewhere, so I downloaded some monitoring software, and when the problems happen I use this, but it seems nothing is above 65c at the most (one gpu seems to run 8c higher than the other) For sure I'm no expert, but that doesn't sound to hot to me?
Is there something I'm missing? can anyone advise me what to try to solve this problem?

Oh if there is nothing I can do, how about upgrading the graphics cards (or processer) would this help? if so what would be the best model to use? it seems my motherboard has an nvidia chipset, so do I have to upgrade the same type of cards, or can I switch to another brand?

Regards..

Koki

 

Firstly if you haven't gamed much, I'm guessing your drivers may need updating? Worth checking at least.

Other things I'd look at are making sure you're running the high performance profile under the power management options as this can have an affect on performance.

Ensure that the games are using the Nvidia cards and not using the integrated graphics too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Core 2 Duo M17x = R1. Do you have another 240W AC adapter to test? What drivers are you on?

 

I would suggest that the problem is related to the Stealth Mode, when that happens press the Stealth mode button and see if that helps.

 

Thank you for your reply, but I'm a little unsure as to what stealth mode is exactly? how do I know if I'm in this mode?
Regards..
Koki

Thankyou for your reply, I don't have another power supply to try, although I maybe able to test to one I have at work.
As for the drivers I've tried many, but all do the same thing, I'm currently running 301.4
regards..
Koki

Thankyou for your reply. I've tried lots of different drivers but it's always the same problem, I'm currently running 301.4
I am also running in High performance mode, although I can't be sure I checked that while running other drivers!
I'm sure I'm using Sli and not the integrated chip
Any other advice you may have will be most welcome!!
Regards..
Koki

 

Honestly, that sounds exactly like what was happening to my R2 a couple months back. It would run perfectly for a few minutes, then start getting really poor framerates as the CPU fan was going crazy. Turns out my heat sink had died. Bought a new one from parts people, installed it, and the problem went away. It sounds like cpu temps.

 

I had that problem. It was fixed with repasting cpu and gpu .

 

If you press the "guage" button (looks like a speedometer on the top row of buttons), it will allow you to switch back and forth with stealth mode. Hope that helps!

 

Here is more info about the stealth mode.
Link

 

Ok thanks all, my machines not stuck in stealth mode, So any other advice will be great, failing that I'm stuck away from home (In China) for another 2 weeks, when I get home I will repaste and reseat everything, and maybe throw in a new cooler for good measure! Will let you know any result!
Koki

 

301.4 drivers?

I don't wanna sound stupid maybe I just don't get something... but aren't those ancient? Your drivers probably have mold on them xD

Download the latest WHQL drivers from the GeForce website and see if that changes anything, make sure your power settings are on Performance and in Nvidia control panel everything is on maximum performance... Then just monitor temps and clock speeds perhaps for throttling.. and try playing again /:

But yeah most likely it is a probably with overheating, problem with heatsink etc like the posts above... I know the feel, my 680M failed 2 weeks after my M17x arrived