Acer 8930G Gaming Issues.

Hello,

I've had some troubles with my Acer 8930G Lately.
First of all i'll show you my Specs,

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6400 2,0 Ghz, 800Mhz Fsb, 2mb L2 Cache.
18.4'' Full HD 1080p LCD (1900x1020)
Nvidia 9600m GT DDR2 1024mb.
4 GB DDR3 Ram.
320GB HDD.
Windows Vista Home Premium SP2.

So, The problem.
When i play games, i usually play Team Fortress 2, Battlefield 2, Battlefield Heroes, Company of Heroes, Half life series, And yes, even Runescape, When i play any of these games, They play fine for like an half hour, then when i've been playing for sometime (Time usually varies from about 30 to 60 minutes) The game suddenly starts to become choppy, I Notice this alot with Team Fortress 2, Usually it runs at around 40-60 FPS, Then it drops to 10-20 All of a sudden, and it stays there.
I've got the Latest drivers (Updated today) I've checked the clocks, which are how they should be for my card, I've checked the temps, Which were a bit high (Full load about 90-95 Celcius), Tried lowering settings, Didn't work either.
Checked all background applications, Closed all virusscanners and other uneccesairy stuff.

So if any of you have any clue what this is, please share.

Mr Cookie

 

Your system is likely overheating. Keep a program like Hwmonitor open in the background and fire up a game to see how high the maximum temps get.

 

Okay will do, got GPU-Z which also shows the temps, What if it indeed is overheating, what do i do about it? There's not many coolers for 18.4'' Laptops :/

 

Coolers are crap. Undervolt. There's plenty of guides for it around here. Kallogan, a forum member, overclocks his 9600 and it still runs at like 75ish I believe (he has a massive undervolt on it).

 

Laptops have cooling systems that need to be cleaned out for dust and debris like any other computer, except that they are perhaps more sensitive to such blockages or reduced airflow.

Use a can of compressed air and a powerful vacuum cleaner. Dislodge the caked dust with the air canister, then use the vacuum cleaner to draw it out. If you want to do a real thorough job, you can even dismantle the machine or open one of the access panels to gain better access to the heatsink/fan assembly.

In any case, it is very likely that overheating is your problem and the undervolting is not necessary (but still a good move).

 

If it is indeed a heat problem, which it most likely is, undervolt that sucker.

 

Just cleaned the inside, There were heaps of dust in the fan, it sure runs alot more silent now, going to see if it matters any temps in gaming

 

You might need to read this, http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=393073
and read this, http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=403988

Your problem isn't very rare, it's common for Acer Aspire 6920G/6930G/8920G/8930G(or some similar models).
The links I provided are the fixes and solutions. However, there's no 1-fix-100% solution until now. So, just do whatever works for you using the guide/solution of the links provided. LOL.

 

Thanks, The cleaning really did work, Usually after a hour of Team Fortress 2, it'd either have shut down itself, or be at 95 Degrees, Now after 2 hours of gaming, It's still at 63 Degrees! Didn't know dust could be such a pain!

 

Glad you resolved it. You should clean the vents often, preserves the life of the laptop.

 

also undervolt and use ur cooler... helps a lot.. my CPU temps dropped by 20-30C at max load...

 

I'd disagree, it all depends on your laptop model but I find coolers (especially the NZXT Cryo S cooler) very good at keeping my laptop cool, don't forget allot heat is caused by dust and other factors. I've added extra heat sinks to my video card and cpu so it touches the metal around the chasis and transfer the heat to the chasis, I ve added higher CFM 120 mm fans and it helps keep my system running smoother while gaming.

 

well then you waisted a crap load of time.......coolers only add more airflow and people only see such a big improvement because gasp!!! Their laptop is getting more air. Prop up your laptop and problem solved. Properly designed laptops do not require a cooling pad its as simple as that.

 

I didn't mean that they dont work...but what the crap is the point of having a mobile machine if you have to carry around a big, power guzzling platform with it? Why not get a desktop? It also puts the keyboard at an awkward height...

Undervolt - better battery life, better temps...how can you lose?

 

Sounds like attack of the powermizer again and of course the dreaded heat.

 

Undervolting is very useful and effective but one should deal with the main cause of heat before doing that.