Problems running games

Okay so I have the R2 model, with i7 processor and 4 GB ram, and my friend has the exact same laptop. And only I for some reason have problems running certain games, for example SC2:
He runs Starcraft 2 on High Settings and gets around 30fps, and almost never gets any lag from it.
I, on the other hand, have big lag issues trying to run the game on Low settings...At first i used to be able to play on low, and i would get lag here and there if i tried running on medium, but now the lag is unbearable and makes the game unplayable.

I am not a very computer-savy guy, but I tried looking around eveywhere to see why this was, and all I've found is that when I run SC2, in Task Manager, under physical memory, it states that i have under 50 MB of Free Memory, while at least 1500 is Available, and 1200 is cached, out of a total 3893 MB. And the other thing i think ive figured out is that the NVIDIA GT 335M card that came in the laptop, might not be taking over the HD Integrated Graphics when it is supposed to, because even though the driver update says its the latest, and it is enabled, there is never a visible change when i run any game, i never see an NVIDIA thingy in Task Manager, and SC2 minimum requirement is 512 MB and the 335 has 1GB memory so it SHOULD run smoothly (SC2 also requires 512 MB of RAM, 1GB recommended, and I have 4 (3.80 usable)GB, so WHAT THE HELL).

But its not just SC2, games like Diablo 3, Portal and even Minecraft I have trouble running smoothly sometimes.
I have defragmented my disks very recently, plus done an Anti-Virus scan every week and nothing ever comes up, I also never have any other applications open when running a game. Also I've tried giving games a High or even Realtime priority in task manager, and that doesnt seem to have any effect or anything.

Sorry for all the rambling...but my main question would be..
What do I need to do to improve performance when I'm running games like SC2?? (Do I need to get a new and better graphics card? Do I need to upgrade my RAM? Both? Neither? Any suggestions or answers would be very much appreciated.

My only real goal is to be able to run Starcraft 2 smoothly, even if its on Low or Medium Graphics, I can live without the other games but I need my weekly dose of SC2 XD

Thank you D:

 

In Nvidia CP go Desktop (at the top) > display GPU activity

It's pretty easy to tell then if your GPU is being used - if the icon in your system tray is grey you're using the IGPU, if it's green you're using the 335M.

Re-open Nvidia CP > Manage 3D settings. In the 'program settings' tab manually add games and set them to use the Nvidia GPU.

Also check your Alien Fusion power plan. are you in high performance?

 

It sound like the Optimus graphics card switching isnt working. When you first boot up press F12 to get into the BIOS menu and set your graphics card to discrete (i.e. the 335m) this keeps the nvidia card on at all times and if you are still getting lag then we can rule out Optimus as the issue. Also, no you cant get a better graphics card in the m11x or most any laptop for that matter, they are soldered in.

 

Ok first Rish, I alrdy had it added, but i changed it from Global settings (NVIDIA) to high performace settings (NVIDIA), and i checked my power plan i dont think its an issue with that since im quite performance high

then deadboy I exactly did what you said

thank you both for ur comments

now just this morning i enabled overclocking for my processors or whatever through the options menu at start-up, that along with the stuff u guys told me to do, now the game is running decently smoothly, still not perfect but i can live with it

one last question: if my Free Physical memory is that low when I run games, does that slow me down at all? do you recommend that i upgrade my ram to 8GB instead of 4GB (8 is max i believe on m11x) or will it not change anything D:


and side question if u feel like answering it, what exactly is Cached memory and Available physical memory, are they used to run just the OS or just applications, and should i mess with them in anyway -->when a game like SC2 runs which type of memory does it actually use? (my cached mem. is about half my total RAM). ive looked on many sites but nowhere is there a clear simple explanation for what they do


I love you all <3
Moose

 

Under 50MB of RAM left could be the cause, 4GB may not be enough with any background applications you have running, and there's no reason why SC2 would be using so much. It would slow down because you would start using your virtual memory instead and if you have a mechanical HDD it's very slow.

How many processing in Task manager do you have running? As a reference point with nothing running i have about 55 processors (mainly driver & alienware processors, windows only uses about 25) using 10% of my 8GB of RAM.

Cached memory is the RAM which is either being used or was recently used for system resources. It will stay as cache until the nest time it's needed by the system but will still be used for other apps should you require it.

Available is just the free memory (what's not in use) + whatever is available & currently unused from the cache IIRC.

The max RAM in an M11x is 16GB, but unless you do heavy multitasking (which this CPU isn't designed for anyway) there's no reason to get more than 8GB.

Also i would leave the global default as the integrated GPU and then have individual games whitelisted to use the Nvidia 335M. Also try launching the game by right-clicking on it and selecting "run with graphics processor > high Performance Nvidia".

 

I would upgrade to 8gb ram, it is very cheap nowadays. You may want to update your drivers if you have not done so already.

 

Here are some tips to improve the gaming performance, it seems like you have a lot of applications running in the background. Also you should think about getting the RAM upgrade, if you need to do that send us an e-mail to [email protected] and we will provide you with the pricing info.
You should also make sure which video card you are using, you may need to switch to the nVidia one with the Fn+F7.

 

Rish thanks for explaining all that, and about processes in task manager, without any applications open i have 79-80 running.
and hunter yeah i think ill go through with the upgrade just becuz its inexpensive and helps either way

then porras for the tips of improving gaming performance, i did 3 of them but 1 idk what to do for it, becuz the one the says to make another profile for gaming i made one but im not sure how im supposed to change the settings and stuff, and would they take my call even if my warantee is done?? also im emailing you just now for the RAM upgrade

thank you all for the tips <3

 

Even when the warranty is over we can still provide you with options to help you depending on what is the issue. I'll be expecting the e-mail

 

Get the RAM yourself no offence to Alienware but they charge very very high prices for RAM. 8GB is a sweet spot I was finding 4 was not enough for me as I like to have several things open at once and we are in a multi tasking age and have a multi tasking CPU

Its hard to void your warranty with these bad boys there are no warranty stickers so you can upgrade the parts that can be upgraded and as long as you don't purposely break it or use unsupported hardware/software you do not need to worry.