Graphics stutter in my games with my new laptop

I just purchased the M570U-A with the 7800 GTX GPU and the T7200 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo. I have noticed that there is a little stutter every once in awhile in my games. So far, it has been easiest to notice the problem when Vsync is enabled, since Vsync gives a stable framerate. I have noticed the problem in World of Warcraft, Counter-Strike: Source, and also single player Half-Life 2.

I have read things around the internet about a dual core issue with single thread games, but this issue seems to be largely related to AMD CPUs. Still, I have applied the dual core hotfix, and tweaked every setting there is to tweak. Still, I have the stutter.

I have tested my memory to be safe with Memtest86. No errors.

I have upgraded my video card drivers. Still stutters.

I do not believe it is heat related, either. In the screenshot below, you can see the areas the stutter occurs, as well as my temps, which are well within a safe zone. This graph was from playing World of Warcraft.



I don't know what else to do. I am seriously considering RMAing it, since this problem is extremely annoying. Any help anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.

 

Could you be more specific with what drivers your using, even the operating system (are you running vista)?

 

How much RAM do you have?

What size, speed, type of hard drive do you have?

Have you tried updating your drivers?

Have you checked for programs running in the background that could interrupt your gaming like anti virus, anti spy ware, etc...

 

Here are the rest of my specs. Sorry, should have posted them earlier too:

2GB DDR2 RAM (667 Mhz)
80GB 7200 RPM HDD
DVD-R/RW Dual Layer
Realtek integrated sound
Windows XP SP2

Drivers:

Go 7800 GTX: 8.4.7.8

Realtek: 5.10.00.5247

My System Idle Process under Task Manager is always at 99% when I start my games. It is not background tasks. I do not have antivirus installed yet. It is a brand new install of Windows XP SP2 by the OEM. Unless they added spyware at RJTech or something, I do not believe spyware is the problem.

I am leaning towards the dual core issue, but I am not sure.

 

Having a dual core processor shouldnt cause this problem. How many processes do you have running and how big is your page file?

 

Uhmm... your on a PC dude. You will never be guaranteed a smooth framerate as long as your running on top of windows. A small stutter is usualy due to data retrieval from the HD.

 

I got a feeling jeffmd is right.

If you got all the latest drivers and everything seems to be fine there is a very small chance its a hardware problem. if you think it is you can always send it back to the company.

 

Perhaps it is your network connection - try disabling wireless and see if anything changes. There is a combination of Fn + Fx keys that will disable the wireless adapter.

 

had a problem like that. try reformatting :-(

 

I did disable my wireless and try games on single player. CS: Source still does it without being connected to the internet at all.

Reformatting worked for you? Because I tried that, reinstalled all drivers, and got the same stuttering.

 

What antivirus do you have installed? That is usually a culprit behind stuttering and other annoyances while playing games.

 

No antivirus installed. This is after a clean format and reinstall of Windows with the latest video drivers.

I remember having a similar problem on my desktop with a 6800 Ultra. I turned off AGP Fast Writes and upgraded the video BIOs and it went away.

Something in my head is telling me that I could fix this problem somehow too... the stutters almost seem like a point where the HDD is being accessed, but they happen randomly too, especially in World of Warcraft. Plus, the HDD should not need to be accessed every few seconds or so. I even tried disabling my page file... no change. Is there a BIOs update for the 7800 GTX I could try?

 

I also have that problem on a few games.
I have F3JP, not as good as your specs but still enough to play with good settings.

I've been trying to figure out in the last days why this happen but can't solve it.

1-Image Drivers: tried latest from ati (6.12) and asus drivers (i think they're based on 6.8); sutter continues...

2-HD: Defray often and more than 50% available space on every HD. Different partitions for windows and games. I followed the tutorials of this board to get a better performance; sutter continues...

3-Background programs: I have less then 30 processes/300 MB in use (instead of 70 processes/600 MB in use when i bought it). Disabled antivirus and even uninstalled it; sutter continues...

4-Windows XP Multi Core config Didn't try because according to the tutorial "Core (2) Duo's don't require a driver"

5-Not enough ram, graphic, etc: Some of the games which give me problems run fine my on my 2 year pentium 4.
There are more chances this happens on 2005 games than in recent games.
Some of the "heavy" games released recently run fine, like splinter cell double agent, oblivion (so smooth...), etc.

6-Format: I did that and sutter continues on the same games.

 

Hmm, could this imply the problem has to do more with dual core systems running single threaded games? Oblivion and other newer games are, I believe, multithreaded, whereas CS: Source and WoW as well as pre 2005 games are single threaded. I wonder if the video card is even the problem...

 

I forgot one important thing:
When this happens, doesn't matter if i choose high detail or ultra-mega low detail, it's the same thing.

mwelling12: like i wrote this happens much more on 2005 games, but on a few recent games also happens, but far from being unplayable. It's strange this doesn't happen on splinter or oblivion and happens on less demanding games.

 

That does not mean you can't follow the guide.
This is right out of the guide:

The comment you are referring to:

The Core 2 Duo doesn't need the AMD CPU drivers. That's not saying the Core 2 Duo doesn't need the fix.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=60416
Try that again. Let us know how it works out.

 

I'm almost sure that is one of the hotfix that comes with driver CD.
But i only installed, didn't change anything on registry, boot ini...
Will try that when i get home.
Thanks

 

Please let me know how that works out for you. I am really at a loss as to what is causing my problem. I am wondering if now it might be the hard drive. At least I can go to Best Buy and get a hard drive to swap. I can't swap the video card; I have to wait a week for RJTech to send me one (if they are even willing).

 

Ok, I believe I have pinpointed my problem. Now I need some help on how I can solve it.

I disabled my Realtek High Definition Audio integrated sound in my hardware device manager. Immediately, my stutters were gone. I had no stutters in World of Warcraft or CS: Source similar to what I had before. I am at least relieved I was able to figure out what the issue is.

Now what can I do to address this problem? I am new to laptops, and I do not know whether I have the option of buying an additional soundcard for this system, or whether there is a way to tweak the settings of my existing sound card. I have a very large slot on the right side of my laptop; I do not know what this slot is, but I am hoping there is some way I can install a secondary sound card in a place where I do not have to keep pulling it out and putting it back in (i.e. USB).

What can I do to resolve this?

 

Ok, sound issue. In game you could try turning down the sound settings. That may help.

But if you want to upgrade the sound, thats doable. The large slot you described is a PCMCIA card slot. You can buy sound cards to put in that slot.

 

I had PCMCIA slots in my old laptop. This slot is larger, however.

 

You have an ExpressCard slot. Regrettably, there are no ExpressCard audio solutions just yet - so you'll have to wait on that or stick with a slower USB solution. However, it seems odd that a C2D rig is struggling in the audio department. Turn down sound settings, update sound drivers, etc.

 

I guess it is odd, because now I have the stutter even with the sound disabled... disabling the sound just reduces the number of stutters.

I don't know what to do now but to RMA. I'm not really sure what piece to ask for, so I may just ask for a complete replacement.

 

The hot fix was already installed, as i suspected, and changing the registry and boot ini and the sutter continues. Also no improvement on the benchmarks before or after the changes.

I did notice on race (something), from the same company that released GTR2, that the suttering as more intense while changing gear, after the sound it made just immediately after changing it. I did look sometimes at Realtek icon thinking "maybe it's you"
I don't have it with me to test but i'll try that once i get home.

mwelling12, does it happens to you on all games?