M17x R3 - Performances drop

Hello,

2 months ago, my Harddrive failed and I upgraded it for Windows 10 and SSD. Everything was working great until beginning of this week where overall performances (more noticeable in game) dropped to 5FPS... Using a browser is also not as smooth as before.

Configuration:
CPU: Intel Core i7-2760QM
GPU: Geforce GTX 580M (Latest drivers)
6 Go Ram ( 2+ 4 DDR3-1333)
SSD SanDisk Ultra II 240GB
Windows 10

This loss of perfomance can be shown in:
Firefox => starting takes more than 10s vs 2.5s (health report), slow to use with several tabs opened.
FIFA 16 => 5FPS at menu screen !
Halo 2 => same story

Those games do not require a lot of power and it is like something does not give the full power !

Additional info:
Copying a file with SSD to HDD is ok, does not look like to be impacted
No artefact or error message
Battery in High Performances level and with charger on the computer
Monitoring with task manager does not show anything at full power: Memory at 50%, CPU at 20%
Temperatures from GPU are normal => ~50°C/120°F
When starting FIFA16, it is like Memory takes too much time to build up compare to before (at least 40s to reach first language menu vs 10s before).
Playing movie is not much impacted (we see it is not smooth 100% but it is ok).

What I made:
- Reinstalled Windows 10 this morning (keeping User files) => No improvement
- Use CCleaner
- Cleanup with Avast
- Clean dust from laptop
- Use Alienware Diagnostic tool at startup
- reinstalled Geforce driver

Questions:

• What can cause this behavior (software / hardware) ?
• If hardware, which component ?
• What would be next steps of diagnostic ?

Please find in the link below some screenshot from HW64Info 64 with sensor values if it helps with FIFA16 menu and 5FPS...
http://imgur.com/a/qj5IM

Sorry for this long summary but I do not know what else I can do

Thank you for helping

 

Hi there! Seems these things go in batches! This is the third 580m/675m in recent weeks.

A year or so ago I was seeing failures weekly. Although this is not typical of those failures you have to suspect the 580m has deceased/dieing.

First thing to check is to remove the 580m completely (assuming you have a 60hz display). You can do this without separating the GPU from the heat-sink. Removing one fan and the card retaining screws (2) you can finagle the whole unit out.

Test it out now. Of course you wont have the game performance you are used to but it should be better than that on the intel GPU.

You may also find that reassembling it gives it some more life, but plan to upgrade or dispose of

 

Just had a look at your stats and the GPU is stuck at 75hz! IIRC it should be 610mhz!

 

Hello,

Thank you for the quick answer !
Another question: I had under warranty some issues with the 580M which was replaced. Since then, I can't switch between GPU and "integrated graphics" and in the BIOS, it is deactivated wo any way of activating it again.

If I remove the 580M, will it work then or as Integrated graphic is deactivated, I would have black screen ?

Finally, which model can I consider for replacement and would not be a pain to install ? 680M / 780M or something else ?

Thank you again for your support !

 

You're very welcome. glad I can help.

First thing it to check if it is a 120hz model (or if dell slipped one in during a repair, thay have been known to do this!)

Check the resolution to see if 120hz is available AND check that both GPU's are visible in Device Manager.

If it is 60hz and both GPU's are visible then you can remove the gpu and heatsink as a single unit and it should run fine without it. - weird, that is the third time in as many days I have given that advice.

Maybe this thread will help: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/my-computer-cant-use-graphics-card.802637/#post-10486726

It is an R4 so the 680m is a no-brainer. For you it is a pain, and comes with both the 680m and 780m - the only viable upgrades IMO.

 

I am with the 60Hz frequency for the screen.

I do not understand anymore, after reading what you said for the GPU frequency, I started again the game and now the GPU is back to 620MHz and everything is working well... fans are running full speed.
Is it still a signal GPU is dying ? or can it be the GPU does not receive the "give me power" signal ?

For the whole week, I got poor performances, computer was a pain to use and now back to normal...
http://imgur.com/a/zT3YQ

Any idea of what is ongoing here ?

 

I think the 'give me power' as you describe it is working as otherwise it would only be using the internal GPU.

From your numbers it looked like the NV was stuck at max throttle down - and maybe stuck in control? 75hz is what the card runs at as a last resort before shutting down. In windows I can't remember what clock speed the NV runs at but for you it should be using the intel anyway.

Did you do anything to get it going, or did it just start working fine all of a sudden?

I'd start scanning the web for that replacement. I have experienced a slow death and seen it on others. Do not upgrade your driver anymore. It cannot help and only cause problems with older cards.

Good luck.

 

Hello,

I have done done nothing from nothing, left home computer running and be back.

thank you anyway for all your advices, I know what to do in the future

Have a nice day !