Horrible FPS dips,,,please help

specs:

m17x
i7 2720
8g ram
6970m vid card
1080p res
320g HDD

First of, I use this for gaming only. No music, movies, web surfing etc.....

What happens is on every game, regardless of the game, I start playing on high and everything looks great,,,,after about 30 mins or so, FPS goes from 70ish to around 5-15 for intervals of 20 seconds to several minutes and then snaps back up to 70ish FPS. It seems like this happens anytime the HDD is saving, loading a screen during gameplay etc.......

I have reloaded Windows, reinstall drivers. Not in stealth mode. Running in max performance. Dell has also done the same via Remote Help and still can't fix the problem. It is becomming more frequent as well.

I have ran temp settings to see if it is a heat thing but am within range, even when the FPS dips or right before.

Any ideas???

 

I have the same problem and im still waiting for help.... its so frustrating... try to play Alice Madness Rerturns and the fps go down to 5. I hope someone help us please!

 

it is nice to know someone is sharing my pain,,,,,,I want a refund

 

Run GPU- z and make sure you check the save to log and refresh while on the background under the sensors tab. Then post it here using the code command

Code:

text gpes here [/ code] just no space between the 

should look like that.

 

I think I have the same issue, will update once I have tried some games. I was running OCCT and every couple of minutes the screen would kind of blink, and the FPS would go way down. My temps went down by a lot too. I ran GPU-Z at the same time, and during those moments the GPU load went from 94% to 0%. And speeds when from 800/1100 to 300/900. Is it maybe trying to switch to the IGP?

 

Also, I only saw a high temp of 75* on the GPU with HWMonitor. So I don't think heat is in issue...

With GPU-Z up, my GPU Temp #3 got up to like 88*. Could that be causing this?

 

When you are having throttling issues, it's a good idea to run ThrottleStop with the Log File option checked. Many laptops are designed so high voltage regulator or GPU temperatures can trigger severe CPU throttling. Once the temperature goes back down, the CPU goes back up to full speed again and it will continuously go through these cycles as you are gaming.

 

Thanks. Will check that out. Just ran 3dMark06 again, 16830 3DMarks while I overclocked to 800/1100. Stock I got 18170! .

 

High GPU temperatures can trigger throttling but ATi GPUs also have an error correction feature for their memory. Before you notice any artifacts, if you overclock your GPU memory too far, it will waste time correcting memory errors so this can also decrease your overall GPU performance.

 

I think that might be what it is. I am going to do more testing at stock settings to see if it does it then as well.

*EDIT* Also, I ran throttlestop and didn't see anything throttling on the CPU. The CPU never goes higher than 55* on any of the cores so it's not terribly hot...

GPU-Z Log: date, core, memory, GPU temp,fan %,gpuload,fan rpm, gpu 1 tempt, gpu 2 temp, gpu 3 temp, volt
2011-06-23 11:20:13 , 750.0 , 1000.0 , 74.0 , 30 , 97 , 0 , 74.0 , 80.5, 89.5, 1.100
2011-06-23 11:20:14 , 750.0 , 1000.0 , 75.0 30 , 97 , 0 , 75.0 , 80.5 , 89.5 ,1.100 ,
2011-06-23 11:20:15 , 400.0 , 900.0 , 72.0 30 , 0 , 0 , 72.0 , 77.0 , 85.0 , 1.000 ,
2011-06-23 11:20:16 , 400.0 , 900.0 , 71.0 , 30 , 0 , 0 , 71.5 , 76.0 , 83.5 , 1.000 ,
2011-06-23 11:20:17 , 400.0 , 900.0 , 71.0 , 30 , 0 , 0 , 71.0 , 74.5 , 83.0 , 1.000 ,

 

The CPU can be throttled by an outside source. Data coming from the GPU or elsewhere can be used to trigger CPU throttling. You can't assume that just because the CPU temperature is fine that the CPU is not throttling.

 

I know, I was just saying that because I was observing ThrottleStop at the same time and neither of the percentages went below 100%.

 

This is GPU throttling. It downclocks itself to protect from being damged.
There are several possibilities:
1.Overcurrent on your GPU: OC too much or bad GPU parts causing unstable GPU clocks.
2.Overheat on your GPU: If your GPU core seems to be cool in GPUZ. It is very likely VRM overheating. The temp on VRM DOES NOT show in any software for R3.

 

I know this is "out there" but I figured I would say it anyway. Did you disable Windows Search Indexer?

 

Well I just took it apart and swapped out the Fujipoly pads I just installed with the stock pads. I had same issue as you, .5 was just too thin. Should have gotten 1.0. But, and I remember this from yesterday when I received the laptop and did the repaste, two of the memory modules have slight discoloration. Not across the entire module, but one is half and one is a 1/4. Maybe they overheated and no longer work properly? My score on 3dMark06 went down by a lot.

 

Exactly the problem I had. I fixed it with 1.0mm pads.
I have contacted the youtube tutorial maker, told him DO NOT mislead users about the 0.5 mm pads and he didnt listen.
This problem needs to be addressed.
The TUTORIAL IS WRONG!
Mine works 100% fine now with 1.0mm Fujipoly
Check here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/585246-frustration-repaste.html

 

I followed this tutorial:
YouTube - ‪Alienware M17X R3 Re-pasting Guide and 6970 re-pasting guide - Newegg Promo Code‬‏
I noticed he didnt even use Fujipoly in the vid.

 

Yea I dunno. I just had my laptop off for like an hour, let it cool down. Turned it on and made sure it was at stock speeds. Ran 3dMark06 again, 17946. At least its only like 200 off from my original score. But, I think I need a new video card. Will let it test using OCCT at stock settings for an hour or two and see how it does...

 

That is sad when there is misinformation given, especially when it can cause serious damage. I use FujiPoly pads and they are amazing.

 

You are fine. I had the wrong pads for a week. Now the GPU is running as good as before.

 

Ok well I will leave it as is for now. I just ordered the Phobya thermal pad from FrozenCPU, size 1mm. My stock Dell one's are a bit dirty (they are super sticky). Hopefully this helps. Now to figure out my driver issue... Lol

 

Hi Chubbywyan,

I am experiencing the same difficulties after a few minutes of playing Crysis. I notice a a pretty significant FPS drop after few minutes of playing. My game also closes itself pretty often although I'm not sure if that is a problem with the CD or my laptop.

Sorry if I missed this in earlier posts but is there a fix for this?

@TraptPatriot Wow, you got 18k 3dmark06 score stock? I guess the 6970M makes gives u a 4k better score.

I only get 14.3k with my stock r3 however I use the 460m

Here is a screenshot of my benchmark:
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting


m17x r3 specs: i7 2720 | 6gb 1333 | 1080p 120hz Screen | 1.5gb Nvidia 460m GTX |