How can I increase fps?

Hello

I recently purchased a Lenovo W520 and I was trying to play TF2 on it but I could only get a measly 20 FPS average on it. I have the 2000M and I have it enabled but my performance still suffers. Does anyone know if there is something I can do to get more fps out of it? I know this laptop isn't built specifically for gaming but I certainly expect better than this.

 

20FPS on TF2 is WAY too low for that card. Double-check your drivers are installed correctly and updated. It really sounds like you aren't using the Quadro 2000M with that kind of performance, you're probably actually using the Intel integrated graphics.

 

The W520 has a Optimus FX2000M setup plus an expresscard slot. Means the FX2000M can be disabled and a eGPU like a GTX560Ti/GTX570 added which will outbench the dGPU. See sig if interested.

 

I went to the Nvidia control panel and set it to only use the High-Performance Nvidia Processor aka the 2000M. Checked the drivers on the 2000M via Device Manager and it said they were up to date.

I had actually already looked into that before this, but I don't think I need to use an eGPU just yet.

 

What sort of settings are you playing at to get only 20 FPS? I play TF2 on my T500, at native resolution, with mostly high/medium settings, with no anti-aliasing with stable 30+ FPS (usually in the 40-60 range).

 

High detail. 1920x1080 res. No AA. That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

 

Uhm, something is very wrong with the setup, and you don't need an eGPU. The Quadro 2000m is such a capable card that it can pretty much play Crysis 2 at near high - max settings.

 

If it's optimus add TF2 executable to optimus whitelist in NVCP, that should fix your problem.

 

This isn't a good first try solution to a performance issue. It's a huge investment and reduces the usability of the laptop.

There are basic things you can try first that are free. Step 1 would be to make sure the dedicated GPU is active while the game is running. Looks like the intel chip might be doing all the work.

 

Your correct. Notebookcheck tells me the FX2000M is like a detuned desktop GTS450 (192 cuda cores @550Mhz, DDR3 VRAM), so is a respectable performer.

So would be worth checking the NVidia Optimus control panel to ensure your game is rendered by the dGPU rather than the iGPU.

 

Its basically the quadro version of GTX460m. Althought the gtx460m comes with two flavours, 192bit/ddr5 1,5gb vram, or 128bit/ddr5 1gb ram.

Its somewhere between the non crippled gt555m and the crippled gtx460m, they share the same gf106 core.

It should be a good performer.