Fluctuating framerates - Inspiron 5160

Ok i've had an annoying problem that i cant seem to fix. Im using a inspiron 5160 notebook, which was a hand-me-down and have a problem with framerates in almost any game where it goes under load from say 32 fps - 7 - 32 - 7. It changes around every 5-10secs.

I know this is far from an ideal gaming system, but its what ive got for the moment, and if i could fix the framerate drop it would be fine in the games i want to play...

I read the post on cooling, and are contemplating purchasing a cooler tomorrow, but before i do that i want to make sure im addressing the correct problem... as there obviously is one.

I got notebook hardware monitor and noticed the cpu speed varies a lot. Even when i set it to max performance it goes up and down from 3.2 - 800 or so mhz which suprised me. I've never payed attention to the cpu speed on a desktop but i would have thought that this would have stopped when i set it to max performance. On idle it goes from 3.2-2.4. Not sure if this is normal.

Once on max performance my idle cpu temp is 64-66c. The temperature warning is set at 80c and in a game with max everything where i was getting 30-7-30-7fps the cpu temp peaked at 75. This is when the clock speed dropped to 800mhz quickly, and frequently dropped to 1.6ghz. Im guessing this its down-clocking to control the cpu temp is this right?

If so has anyone bought a type of cooler with good results for the 5160? Any help would be appreciated

 

What game(s) are you trying to play?

And 75C isnt that high, it shouldnt downclock for that.

If you want a cooler the Zalman NC1000 (I think thats what its called), it has been given good reviews and is thought to be one of the best notebook coolers out there

 

It happens in a few games - basically any 3d game save 90's 2d crap
Simcity 4
Sims 2
Live for speed.

I havent tried many games because it makes them unplayable, so until its fixed, it seems pointless to try others.

Should the clock speed change when its at idle, and ive turned dynamic switching off?

 

The CPU clock should be fluctuating but not when a full-power game is running.

Run wPrime and watch the CPU temp - see if it actually goes to 80*C.

Finally, read the cooling guide. You should clean out that notebook with canned air if you haven't already. Prop up the back of your notebook with a pencil, it will let more air flow underneath.

 

try propping up laptop to make it "hover" above ur desk to allow more air movement. use anything cd cases, pencils anything to make ur laptop gain a few centimeters between it and the hard surface below and then see if the problems still happens

 

It still happens. At one stage i had it on half a pedistal fan's cover which is just thin wide spaced wire and it sat off the ground about 10cm. Im going to pull it apart tomorrow and make sure its completely clean inside and buy a cooler.

With regards to the core speed changing, the link that chaz gave me, a thread about setting up a dual core cpu in xp had a setting in there to set a permanant clock speed, and a registry setting which was missing so i did both of those. It didnt list 2 cpu's in the performance tab in task manager before and thats changed, likewise the core speed stays at 3.06ghz. All that would be grand except the games still run the same. In live for speed it runs fine with one car on the track, 60fps. Once you add other cars tho is when it starts to play up. 10 cars and it runs about 40fps then 16 and so on. With 20 it runs around 30 then 4 all in 5-10sec cycle.

I used rivatuner to check what the gpu temp is getting up to but its only an fx go5200 so im guessing your not able to do this as i couldnt see a tab or window for it.

I know that it doesnt run many games well, which for any new games it wont at all. But the fact that these games run fine for 5-10 secs, then slow for the same time and back again on an endless loop is more annoying than a constantly slow framerate...

 

does ur disk usage go up during the lag spikes?
has this is always happened? when did it start?
have you tried defragging? cleaning out junk files? reinstalling drivers? checking for viruses/spyware?

 

I meant actually run the wPrime program. It's in the link I gave in my first post.

 

My mistake - didnt read what you posted correctly...

When i run wprime the temp reaches max 75. But it alternates between 75 and 69c at what appears to be the same speed as what the game framerates do. Being a pentium-m cpu which i know are bad for gaming, is this normal?

Cheers,
Luke

EDIT - i re-ran wPrime again and noticed that at idle the temp is 66. Then increases fairly quickly to 74. Once it reaches 74, it will alternate between 74-69... Like it does in a game. A game will run ok for 20secs then start alternating framerates.

 

Just thought i'd post that i'd fixed the problem...

I called around and couldnt find a notebook cooler, so i pulled it apart and cleaned it out. There wasnt much dust in the vents and heatsink, but enough to make a difference. What i did notice though when putting it back together is the shield that sits between the keyboard and cpu (im guessing its a magnetic sheild), anyway it had a top inlet for the fan but was misaligned and hid about 80% of the fan. I cut the whole center out and enlarged the hole so the whole fan is exposed.

Idle temp has dropped from 64 - 68 to 56-57. With wPrime previously it took a few secs before it reached 74 then started its cycle, being the fluctuating framerates in games or displaying a 74 then 68c temp in the same 5-10sec cycle in notebook hardware control. Now it slowly rises and sits steady on 71. Games run fine now which was the initial problem solved.

Thanks for all your suggestions, and help, which is normally hard to find on forums without someone suggesting to buy a desktop and not play games on a notebook. Cheers!

Luke

 

That system also has well documented overheating problems, I had a 5150 and it was a Pentium 4 oven.