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    GPU auto down-clocked.

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by Unbreakables, Mar 6, 2011.

  1. Unbreakables

    Unbreakables Notebook Guru

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    Graphic card : GTX 260m
    Clocked at : Core : 655mhz Shaders : 1450mhz Memory : 1125mhz

    I'm having problems with my graphic card. Whenever I play Starcraft 2 over a few hours. My FPS will DROP from 60+ down to 15-20 FPS.

    Whenever this happens, I will open CPU-Z and check my clock rates.
    Under the graphic tab in CPU-Z it shows:

    Core : 383mhz
    Shaders : 767mhz
    Memory : 301mhz

    Before the FPS drop the clock rate will be at :

    Core : 655mhz
    Shaders : 1450mhz
    Memory : 1125mhz

    Can anyone help me with this issue? Thanks in advance
     
    Unbreakables, Mar 6, 2011
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  2. Kratzen

    Kratzen Notebook Consultant

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    It might happen because the card is running too hot.
     
    Kratzen, Mar 6, 2011
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  3. Unbreakables

    Unbreakables Notebook Guru

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    Temperature's stable around 50-65c
     
    Unbreakables, Mar 6, 2011
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  4. JWest

    JWest Master of Notebookery

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    That's a classic sign of throttling, what BIOS version are you using?

    It could also be a driver with poor OC performance, which driver version do you have installed?
     
    JWest, Mar 6, 2011
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  5. Unbreakables

    Unbreakables Notebook Guru

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    Hmm I'm currently using bios A09
    and urm nvidia v266.58 (i believe it's the newest)
     
    Unbreakables, Mar 6, 2011
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  6. JWest

    JWest Master of Notebookery

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    OH! I think it *might* be your memory clock, 1125 is extremely high, I could never get mine above 1100. Mine's at 1050 at the moment. In case you're wondering, my clocks seem to be stable at 680/1050/1650 for core/mem/shader. Try setting the memory to 1050, and if that solves it that might be your problem. Then go to 1075, then 1100, and stop wherever it becomes unstable and scale it back a bit.

    Now, if you've already done all the above, then we've still got some detective work to do. Anything post-A08 shouldn't be doing that... are the drivers Dell's or are they unofficial drivers (like from laptopvideo2go)? The only time I saw throttling after A08 BIOS was when I messed with the voltages on my card, and that was because I was drawing more power than the BIOS was allowing me to draw. I've since gone back to standard voltages and am using more stable clocks.
     
    JWest, Mar 6, 2011
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