Random FPS Problem with Dell Latitude D820

Hi everyone,

I have owned a Dell Latitude D820 since July '06. I really like this computer and it has served me well. However, I have noticed some intermittent FPS/performance issues with it over the past 8 months.

During the day I use my computer for CAD/CAM work and FEA stuff. Usually, running an analysis of the parts I design (using SolidWorks/CosmosWorks) takes somewhere from 30-45 seconds (which is fairly fast). Sometimes, for about a week-long period, my performance will drop and suddenly analysis times jump to the 5-6 minute range. This can slow down my work pretty considerably.

At night I play World of Warcraft. Usually, with medium graphics settings I achieve between 50-70 fps depending on location in the game. I am happy with this speed. Whenever I get this "system slowdown" though, my FPS drops to around 20 fps regardless of graphics settings. I can be running 1920x1200 resolution with all options maxed or I can be running 800 x 600 with all options turned off and my frame rate refuses to change from 20 fps. Very annoying.

Usually after about a week of this the problem "goes away". I will start my computer and performance will be extremely fast in both Solidworks and World of Warcraft as if nothing has happened. It usually stays this way for about a month.

During these slow periods I have tried a variety of solutions. I have turned off nearly every process running in the background, I have run numerous spyware/adware/virus scans (with no infections found), I have messed around with my Nvidia settings, and all my drivers are completely up to date.

This has happened to me about 6 or 7 times over the past 8 months. Once, just for kicks, I reinstalled Windows and it fixed the problem. A month later it was back again.

I am currently experiencing this issue again, and my system has now been slow for 3 weeks with no end in sight. My work pace has slowed down and gaming isn't exactly fun at 20 fps. One day I got "normal" performance back but today my system is extremely slow (again!) Does anyone have a solution?

My system specs:
Dell Latitude D820 (purchased July 2006).
Intel Core Duo T2600 2.16 GHz
2 GB RAM
Nvidia Quadro NVS 120M
100 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive

P.S. I understand the Quadro card I have isn't optimized for gaming. The problem isn't that the card is slow, it is that sometimes the games are EXTREMELY slow and that other times they are not.

 

Woke up this morning, turned on my computer, and it seems to be running fast again.

I've noticed that when it is running fast, the case fan turns on a lot more. I think that this is a result of the increased power generating more heat (and needing more fan power), not a case of a faulty fan slowing me down because it won't turn on.

 

Figured it out. Turns out it was related to a bad battery. The battery has been replaced and the system seems to be working fine.

 

Have the same problem on same laptop