Framerate decreases after playing a little while

Hi guys

I've recently started playing Bad Company 2 on my laptop as I'm home with my parents during the summer and away from my gaming rig, and I've noticed something that I hoped you could help me with.

I get decent performance for the first 15-20 minutes, and then the FPS starts to drop and the game starts to stutter. It goes from ~50fps to around ~20fps. It wouldn't have been that big a problem if it was a single player game, but I'm quite competitive and good framerate is important in a multiplayer game.

So what gives? I want the same framerate all the time.


Specs:

Dell M6300
Quadro FX3600M
4GB DDR2 667mhz RAM
250GB 7200rpm HDD (Although a crucial m4 256GB is on its way atm)
T9300 CPU, 2.5ghz

I run Win7 x64, clean install that's just a couple of days old. I use the newest quadro drivers from Nvidia (275.36). Disabled aero and desktop comp, defragged drives and defragged the games cache in steam. Disabled real-time scanning in security essentials. The machine has recently been serviced and cleaned for dust.

Temperature-wise I've noticed that the CPU gets to about 70 celsius at most.

 

I'm having the exact same problem. I get drops to 1-2 FPS for a couple of seconds, almost minutes!

I dunno what's the cause though, I will RMA my laptop since it's really faulty. What are your GPU temps?

 

I've noticed the same with my 260m GTX with the latest 275.33. IMO the new drivers make the GPU downclock randomly for no reason.
Try using older drivers and see if the problem persists.

 

First check your gpu temps, probably youre throttling.
Second go into nvidia control panel, manage 3d settings, and set power management to prefer maximum performance and display to single display mode.
To check your gpu temps, either use msi afterburner osd (set it to show gpu temps and core clock) or run furmark for a bit with gpu-z opened on the sensors tab (check background logging).
If the temps are the issue, then you need a repaste for both cpu/gpu and you need to clean the dust filters/vents.

 

I'll go ingame now and log the GPU temps.

 

Yeah, 81 degrees celsius. Too high? I did the tweaks in Nvidia Control Panel now. Will report back.

 

81c sounds normal under load for a quadro 3600m.
What are your idle temps?

 

55-60 celsius. I may just go ahead and repaste anyways.

 

Idle temps are high mate, too much. you should idle around 45-50

 

Don't waste your efforts. As I said the newest mobile Nvidia drivers have some issues causing the GPU to downclock without reason. Easiest thing is to try older drivers, then look for other solutions.

 

Thanks for the answers guys. After doing the tweaks in Nvidia Control Panel the drop in FPS went away! I've just finished playing some matches, and temps got even higher than before, but the FPS was good at least. Reached 86 celsius, and I crashed to desktop because the display drivers apparently stopped working. Too hot?

Will downgrade the drivers now and see what happens, and then do a repaste just to improve it further.

@The_Stinger: Do you know which version of the drivers I should get? The ones without the issue you mentioned.

I never knew the GPU would clock itself down, so thanks again for the answers. Really helpful here as always!

 

267.67 works fine for me.
86C is not that hot, and would not cause thermal downclock.
Are you overclocking your GPU? Because the crash you got usually occurs if you are overclocking too high.

 

No overclock. Thanks - downloading now.

 

Okay, the firmware downgrade really helped!


Thanks again! This is a great community!

 

Just to clear things up Snik, thats not a firmware downgrade.
Those are video drivers that supposedly enhance your gaming experience with newer updates/fixes/so on.
As i see it, its better to repaste the gpu anyway. Temps will drop and system will be running cooler, with the advantage to use latest drivers instead to being stuck with older ones that will not support newer games.
Its up to you naturally, but it doesnt hurt.

 

I had that problem too. D;

Turns out the fix was related to a Windows 7 network error.
Il try dig out the link from my Chrome log when i get home.