GTX 260m problem

Hey everyone,

This is my first post and I'm having a serious problem with my graphics card in my laptop.

Recently I've started playing through the Half Life 2 series again and it runs perfectly fine up until randomly my FPS drops drastically and the only way to fix it is to restart my laptop. I've tried disabling powermizer, downloading different drivers, and I tracked my GPU temp and the highest it goes up to is 80 Celsius. I also have a cooling pad to help with temps also.

Can someone please help me understand why the FPS drops for no reason at all?

Heres some of my specs:

Laptop: ASUS G72GX
OS: Windows 7 64bit
Processor: Intel Core 2 duo, 2.53 GHz
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M with 1GB RAM
RAM: 6GB

And here is what settings I'm currently running the game on:

 

Does this happen to any other games?

 

could you track both your gpu and cpu temps?
also what is the maximum rated wattage of your a/c adapter?

 

i think it might be overheating but if ur GPU temps are all right, is it the same case for ur CPU? you shouldn't be having this stuttering at all with ur specs.

 

Well I remember not too long ago a similar problem was around with my G71. The temp would hit exactly 82 C and the GPU would downlclock and become unplayable. When I bought mine the patch to fix it had already been released via BIOS update.

Maybe hit ASUS site and see if this is the case, also the only fix at the time was a restart like you've had to do. Though still to this day if I sleep it and wake it up the 82 C bug still kicks in. Only work around for me is to shutdown fully instead of sleeping.

 

Sounds like your GPU is throttling (lowering clock speeds) due to overheating...classic case haha!

 

have you cleaned your fans and vents out?
this normaly helps temperatures.

this is taken from the clevo guide so only gives a rough idea as each computer make has its own set max temps.

 

ok now i remember. It was a BIOS problem... the notebook throttled at certain temperature.. Update ur BIOS and might be time to open up ur laptop and apply thermal paste. Also try the below riva tuner tweak to undervolt GPU.. will help in dropping temps a lot. (5-15C at least under load.)

 

Ya I called the BIOS Dunno how people with our series lived with the couple months of waiting on a BIOS update and having a gaming machine that becomes useless once you hit 82 C on the GPU.

Does thermal paste really make that much of a difference? Never tried it on a notebook.

 

Hello again,

Thanks for all the replies. I'm currently in the process of trying to undervolt my GPU, just can't find the time to do it at the moment. I did update my BIOS version and I'm still getting the problem.

Playing through Half Life 2: Episode 3 I got the problem and I tried playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and it started the FPS lag before I even got to play the game (I was watching the intro movie and it slowed down :X). This problem only happens when my GPU temp reaches 82 degrees. My CPU temp is fine also.

I'm starting to think the power supply might not be enough wattage. I'm using the stock power supply and I did a little research and it seems as though it's only 120W which doesn't seem like enough power at all. Can anyone confirm this for me?

I've also tried wiping my drivers and downloading new ones in the 19x.xx series, but to no avail.

I really appreciate all the help.

Thanks.

 

The issues with the 80C downclocking was directly related to early G71GX, Asus G71GX RX05 GTX 260M Problem, this was fixed by updating the bios... but i never read the G72 had a similar problem. Try to do the same test as the video see if you frames drop at certain temp, maybe its drivers, there was also a bug that returning from hibernation... something didnt load correclty and you would get lag playing games... but a simple reboot should fix this.

 

By the way, I noticed a lot of "undervolt it now, it's overheating!"

It's not. 82C is damn good for an Asus G-series packing a GTX 260m. Temperature isn't the problem. It looks like what Abula referenced, some BIOS/software bug that's making it downclock when it doesn't have to.

In addition to what Abula is saying, try doing a furmark test, with very low settings (like 800x600 and no special effects) so you get a high FPS. See if the FPS plummets or if your clocks change at a certain threshold.

 

Here's my furmark test results and they are just as I suspected. Once the GPU temp hit 82 and it was about to go to 83 it was downclocked and I started getting no more than 5 FPS. This is so frustrating.

 

Seems very similar to the G71 issue back in the day (i used to have one till got stolen ). Maybe post on Asus G72GX RBBX05 Laptop (Best Buy model) as you will get real owners that might have had the same problem as you, 82C is very common temp for asus gpus, specially on G series... so they might have a solution for it, else i think maybe something is wrong in bios and probably should RMA it or even return it to Bestbuy since the G72 was released on Oct09, so it should still be under warranty, maybe they would exchange it for G73

 

One day playing The Sims 3 my GPU (7908u - GTX 260M) got over 100C (the GPU in some months ago would not even go further 90C, but nowadays when playing some games like Dead Space it goes to 90-92 with some playtime, would I have to clean the vents?), I think somewhere between 105, I don't even know how, I think I have to clean the vents. Should I be concerned if the GPU got damaged? I have been playing carefully these days and did not notice any problem at all.

 

If your problem is downclocking there is an easy fix. Download an overclocking tool that allows you to adjust 2d/3dlow/3dhigh clocks. I would recommend ati tools because it is very simple to use. Set all the clocks at your defualt high 3d performance setting . Now when your computer hits 82 degrees, it will still downclock but it will downclock to a setting still running at your default 3d gaming clock speeds.

Also, if you decide to do this, keep an eye on your temps and stop gaming if they get to high.

 

I also have a G72 and that also happens to me, but at 87°C. I usually got that downclock while playing Borderlands with my GTX 260M overclocked to stock. Now I just use the factory settings and it doesn't downclock anymore.
Also, I ran Furmark and reached 95°C without underclocking (then I stopped it), but with Borderlands it always did. I updated the BIOS and drivers but still got the problem.

 

Anyone else notice him saying Episode 3

 

Me lol.
Same thing happens to me. Exact same laptop. Do I have to update my BIOS or something? It says I need a floppy disk, which I don't have. Is there any other way to update it?
I also just found out that the CPU underclocks to 1.5Ghz.
Also, even without the gpu hitting 82C, a few days ago, the laptop just can't perform as well.

 

Bro... a floppy?!?!

You can use ASUS's EZflash if you have the same laptop as me. Just go into the BIOS setup when you power on. It's pretty self explanatory from there.

My laptop is finally running fine now. Updated BIOS and did another furmark test with new drivers and I got no slowdowns even at temps over 82 degrees. Even got to finally play STALKER.

The drivers I'm using now are located here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/gaming-software-graphics-cards/490809-nvidia-geforce-ion-quadro-198-05-whql-drivers-ms-update-released.html

Oh and I'm playing through the whole Half Life 2 series again. Just realized it's Episode 2 and not 3, but Gabe needs to get moving because I really really want to know how this story ends.

Thanks for the help EVERYONE. You guys (and maybe girls?) have been awesome .

 

Hi Argento;

Have you tried UncleWebbs's throttlestop? FileDen.com | Free file hosting and online storage

The M15x has the same problems with the 260GTX but not the 5850, very strange. The M15x also has a 150w rated PSU so I imagine the throttling threshold in your Asus is much lower. Throttlestop has cured the problem with the 260GTX in the M15x it seems.

EDIT; I see you've cured your problems already, oh well maybe check it out in the future if it downclocks/throttles again.

 

Well I just downloaded just in case in the future. The more options I have to fix it, the better off I'm gonna be. Thanks man.

 

Awesome, when I have some spare time I'll try this drivers and get back to you with the results (hopefully will get to overclock to stock without throttling).

Edit: Still throttling while overclocked to stock during Borderlands with 198.05. I really don't know why that is. I tested with furmark and it didn't throttle with or without OC.

 

try this too... it will help in undervolting ur GPU so u get lower temps under load... works well with my 9600M GT even with OC and hassle free as u use riva tuner..

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...-rivatuner-better-powermizer-alternative.html