It's just not how it should be...

I got my new dell inspiron 1520 about two months ago. It's got a T7300 2.0ghz, 256mb 8600M GT, 2gb ram, etc...

Well, since I got the computer, it hasn't performed as well as it should on any 3D application. I had to put half life 2 on lowest all graphics to play it well at all, and even then it lagged whenever a lot of things were going on. The same was true for any other recent game that I tried to play. Team fortress 2 wasn't even playable if there were more than 10 or so players.

My good friend has a laptop *identical* to mine as far as hardware is concerned, just made by another company. His can play HL2 on highest all graphics just fine. So I knew something was definitely wrong.

I was running vista at the time, and so I figured it was just a driver problem. I tried the dell drivers without success. I trued a bunch of different drivers on laptopvideo2go.com without success. I finally decided to get rivatuner and mess with the GPU there. I overclocked it little by little, trying to find a setting that would make a difference. Well I eventually worked up to overclocking my gpu core by 100mhz and the memory by 40mhz. I restarted the computer and my 3D apps worked beautifully. It was how the computer should have been performing all along. I could play HL2 on highest all graphics and resolution with great framerates, TA spring loaded extremely quickly, etc.

However, I shut down my computer for the day, only to come back the next day to find that the computer had reverted back to its crappy old self. I was bummed.

So, I eventually reformatted and went back to XP. I installed the basic drivers, and got steam right off just to test. HL2 ran like a dream with the same results I described above. But...I installed a few more programs that I use normally that night. The next day, the laptop was performing terribly like it was in vista again. I used system restore and reverted back to before I installed steam, thinking I had just messed something up between the time I installed HL2 and when I had booted again, and then installed HL2 again. It was still slow as hell.

So I formatted again. This time I ONLY installed the basic drivers and steam. No windows updates, no outside programs. It performed poorly again...

Now I'm here staring at my laptop...and I have no clue what is wrong. Why did my computer randomly work so beautifully, only to revert back to being crappy after rebooting it? The only other thing I can possibly imagine it being is something with my CPU. If I right click my computer > properties > general tab, then look to where it displays my cpu/ram information, it says "T7300 @ 2.00GHz 777MHz, 2.00 GB of RAM". I always thought the second processor speed referred to the current speed that it's running at. Well, that 777MHz never changes, so that's my only lead right now...

Help would be really, really appreciated. Thanks...

 

That 777MHz is the speed of the FSB (Front Side Bus), that's the bus that carries data between the CPU and the RAM, so it has nothing to do with CPU speed!

And as for your problem, I would try downloading a program that tells you if your CPU is being throttled (held back). Cos Windows might show it as 2.0GHz, but it might only be running at 1.2GHz, cos something is throttling it!

I think RMClock tells you this info. Not sure if other progs do it too.

 

CPU-Z ( www.cpuid.com) will show you the real time clock of your CPU...

I recommend you ensure your machine is clean, on a well ventilated surface, and on "Balanced" or "High Performance" power plan... HL2 and TF2 run like dreams here with settings on high as my native res...

If you are still having issues get Dell to swap out the vcard...

But generally stuff will forcibly down clock when overheating...

 

Well, I got that CPU-Z program and the RMclock. According to both, my CPU is at 1595 MHZ all the time. Even if I load programs or a game, it stays the same. It'll move up and down by decimal places, but that's it.

The other thing I found odd is that the RMclock program didn't have my CPU in its database... Either way, I can't tweak the processor.

So...any ideas what this could mean?

 

it means the CPU is being throttled! Either to conserve power or to prevent the CPU overheating and causing damage.

Just because its not moving up when you are using a program or game, it doesn't mean its broken/faulty! It might just mean that the programs/games you are opening are not requiring more than 1.6GHz per core...

Try and find a VERY CPU intensive program! And make sure it is CPU intensive and not GPU intensive (so not a game).

And RMClock should be able to detect your CPU no problem! It detects the T7500 in my M1330 fine!

A good CPU intensive program is SETI@Home or Distributed.net

 

Aha! Thank you H3rman!

I left my laptop off for several hours, then came back, booted it up, and loaded HL2 right away. My frame rates were great! The laptop wasn't hot yet and CPU-Z was reading 1,995 MHz. It appears that my laptop needs to be cooled better...

Well, I've always had it on a flat surface, but I'll try to get it more ventilated around the laptop. Thanks a million.

 

You should consider getting yourself a laptop cooler. I got mine at new egg. They are either plastic or aluminum. The laptop sits on it so you get good airflow to the bottom of the compuer. Plus they are usually equipped with two fans that blow on the bottom of the laptop to help keep it cool. Some people complain about the extra noise they make, but its worth it to keep the laptop from getting to hot.

Anthony