8600M GT Performing Poorly

Hello,

I recently had Vista installed and attempted to play some games I bought that I heard ran well on the m1530. Unfortunately when trying them out for myself I found that they did not run very well at all. The most recent game I've tested this with is The Sims 3. I've read on my different forums that people are running this game easily maxed out with the 8600M GT, 2.0+GHz Processor, and a few gigs of RAM. Unfortunately when I ran the game I found it to be quite choppy at even Medium settings.

After reading around, I thought that maybe a reformat and a new OS might help. I took off Vista last night and threw on Windows 7. Even without any programs installed, The Sims 3 still preforms pretty badly.

I have my laptop set to "High Performance" mode. Here are my specs:

2.4GHz Processor
3gigs of RAM
32-bit Windows 7
8600M GT Video Card (I recently installed the 185.85 Windows 7 beta Drivers from NVIDIA)

I have a feeling that my laptop is limiting my video card's performance when it reaches 80 degrees, because my temperatures never go above that. I bought a cooler but it doesn't seem to be helping.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

Are you sure they were running it at max with an 8600M it could be an 8600 gt not the mobile version

 

Here's a couple of the pages I saw:
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/thesims3/show_msgs.php?topic_id=m-1-49626561&pid=936498
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/thesims3/show_msgs.php?topic_id=m-1-49690829&pid=936498

 

Considering these are the specs

* Windows Vista (Service Pack 1)
* 2.4 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
* 1.5 GB RAM
* At least 6.5 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content
* 128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0

The 8600m should easily rip through this game.
If it's running slowly then my guess its to do with windows 7.
80 degrees for the 8600m isn't hot. Is that as hot as it goes?
What's the cpu temp?

 

What driver did you use?


Have you tried 185.81 from Nvidia's site?

 

I had the exact same problem with Vista before I formatted. I'd try running games on my laptop, and people with the same laptop would post videos of them running the game with no problems, yet mine would stutter. I don't think I've ever seen it go past 80 degrees.

With Vista I had been always using the latest drivers from NVIDIA's website. Since I've updated to Windows 7, I assumed the best ones to get would be their Windows 7 beta drivers. I don't think the problem is with Windows 7, because the problem existed even before I installed 7.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks

 

Did you update to windows 7, or did you do a clean fresh install?

 

Clean, Fresh Install. I'm about to do a 3Dmark06 test. I'll post my score in a few minutes.

 

My score is 4345, and my CPU score is 2140, which doesn't seem to bad...does it?

What should I do now?

Thanks

 

That score is pretty normal.

So
- not overheating
- 3dmark is normal
- the os is clean

Yet the games still running poorly.

It's all a bit odd.

What other games have you tried that also ran poorly?

 

Burnout: Paradise
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA7kE-dMN8s&feature=channel_page (He mentions in the comments that he's running it in 1280x800) I don't remember exactly what fps I used to get with this game, but it was much choppier than in this video.

Even with older games like GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas, I couldn't max out the settings without it getting choppy.

Here's a video I just made of The Sims 3 running on my laptop with all high settings at 1440x900 (setting to 1280x800 doesn't make a huge difference):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcZrloYnPFE&feature=channel_page

 

That youtube vid is definitely too choppy.

Problem is, with so many potential reasons for the slow down.
It's very hard to say what exactly is causing it.

It's certainly very odd that 3dmark06 is running ok, but other less graphically intense programs aren't.

For the record though, 80c is the gpus temp not the cpu?

 

Oh...I've been looking at the CPU temp. There's not even a temperature listed under GPU temp...

 

Ok then...
Not sure which temp monitoring software you're using but this
http://downloads.guru3d.com/downloadget.php?id=1845&file=1&evp=7bf135d01db59f40b38452eb00b69aa0
is generally accepted as a good one.

80c for the cpu is a definite no no.
This overheating would explain for the jerky gameplay.

How hot's the gpu running?
There's a number of solutions.

Firstly I'd check for dust in the fan/heatsink grill.
It's also possible the thermal paste was poorly applied or just plainly crap.

 

I found out how to view the GPU temp in I8KfanGUI, and ran The Sims 3 again.

Brace yourself...

CPU went up to 84 degrees Celcius.
GPU went up to 94 degrees Celcius.

So I guess I should be checking for dust or "fixing?" the thermal paste?

 

Well it depends.

Is this a new laptop or have you had it for a while?

If for a while, have these sort of slow downs only started recently or has it been like this since you got it?

 

I've had the laptop for just over half a year. I remember trying to play GRiD the first night I got it and having it run well for about 30 seconds, and then choppy as heck after that. I don't think games have ever been as smooth as they should be on this laptop.

 

If it was like this from the start, then chances are the thermal paste wasn't applied properly or it's just low quality crud.

There are measure's you can take.
It kinda depends on whether you'd rather use your warranty or not.

You could ring up Dell, tell them it's seriously overheating and then they will either come out and replace some bits and pieces or you'll ship it back into them, and hopefully that will fix the problem.

Or if you don't want the hassle of having to deal with dell and getting somebody to come out or being without your laptop for a week or two.
You could try cleaning the vents and then replacing the thermal paste with something like artic silver. (though this could potentially affect your warranty)

It's kinda up to you.

 

I think I'll call Dell soon and hopefully get this fixed.

In the meantime, is it a bad idea to have this laptop running with idle temps of 45 degrees for the CPU, and 53 degrees for the GPU?

Thanks for all your help.

 

Don't forget that Dell has that extended warranty on the 8600 GPU

And, if you have the warranty on your 1530...I would rather have Dell fix it..if I've exhausted any remedies I tried using.


Cin

 

Anything on the lower side of 60ish for the cpu.
The gpu I'd say up to high 70's mid 80's.

I personally wouldn't want the temps going any higher than that.

 

When I have a game running, and my temperatures are rising drastically, and put my hand over the fan at the back of the laptop, I can feel barely any hot air being blown out. Does this mean that the problem is dust build-up?

 

It's possible, but you don't really feel that there's much of an airflow anyway.
Even if the vents are clean.

Worth checking anyway. Just get a torch or a small light or something.
Point it into the the fan opening, and look through from the other side.
You should easily be able to see any dust.

Just had a look through mine and it's starting to get clogged again.
I wouldn't mind but I only cleaned it a month ago.

If there is dust, all it needs is a good blasting with air.
Though if you are going to use something like compressed air, make sure to put a cocktail stick or something in the fan blades to prevent it from spinning.

 

Could be because there's a program running in the background causing the choppy video. Have you tried to stop unnecessary startup programs? I do recommend getting the latest video driver from nVidia.

 

So I just blew some air into the fan at the back of the laptop, and saw a nice big piece of dust come out. Started up The Sims 3, and WOW! I could ACTUALLY feel AIR coming out of the fan!

Unfortunately I was still getting pretty choppy gameplay. Although when I quit the game after a few minutes, I8kfanGUI told me that the CPU only went up to 77 degrees, and the GPU went up to 83.

Maybe it's the game? I'll try another game I was unable to play with Vista either tonight or tomorrow. I just find it weird that my temps are no longer going into the 90s, yet the game still runs poorly.

 

Currently I got Win 7 RC installed and my system is in my sig.
I actually had similar issue when I play team fortress2.
I've been getting below 20fps when playing even with lowest video setting.
I cleaned the vent and reapplied artic-silver thermal paste to cpu and gpu.
But it was no help.
So I called up dell to replace my motherboard and guess what?!?
The fps went up and maintained good 40~60fps after changing mobo and that's with high settings.
Also, my idle temp for gpu and cpu changed dramatically after changing mobo and fan.
So you should call up dell to replace mobo if yours is under warranty.