Strange Problem with F.E.A.R.

I got my new Toshiba X200-15K (Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, GeForce 8700M GT 256MB + TurboCache, 2GB RAM 667MHz, Vista Home Premium 32-Bit) and installed F.E.A.R.

If I select the high settings and run the performance test, the results are very pleasing: Minimum FPS about 65, Average about 75 and Maximum about 90.

Then I start the actual game, with the high setting selected. It runs at those FPS perfectly, but after 3-4 minutes, there is a dramatic fall in FPS in any settings.

After this happens in the 3-4 minutes time period, if I run the performance test, I get some very strange results: Minimum FPS 7, Average 8, Maximum 9.

By the time my machine runs F.E.A.R. very well on high settings, why does this happen after 3-4 minutes? A problem with the drivers? I need more RAM? I need to update F.E.A.R.?

 

could be a ton of things, by any chance, do you have Fraps running?

when I played I noticed it dropped like crazy all the time, it turns out I was just pressing the record hotkey, which was the change nade hotkey in FEAR..

Also, with some Nvidia drivers, forgot which, it will do that when Xfire is turned on, so make shure Xfire is off if you use that..

 

I don't have FRAPS, must be something else... Also I haven't changed the drivers of my graphics card...

 

I've never heard of this particular problem, what are your video drivers now? You said you hadn't changed them, perhaps you could try updating them.

 

Just throwing it out as a possibility as well - if your power settings are something that tones down graphics or CPU power after a few minutes, than that might lead to this.

 

I'm sure it is not that, because when I play it I keep my laptop plugged and put the settings of the cpu, gpu e.t.c on maximum performance...

 

mine does it too. i think its got something to do with hyper memory, or in ur case turbo cache. switching over to system memory for textures instead of using the on board dedicated GDDR 3.

 

What is your 3DMark06 score?

 

Answers to your questions:
1. Could be number of things. see below..
2. Yes, might also be a problem with drivers. Be sure to update all drivers (including chipset, SATA/Raid, graphics, sound, peripheral) and windows itself. Also see the answer 4.
3. No you don't need more RAM, 2GB should be enough for FEAR.
4. Yes, you need to update FEAR to latest version (v1.08)? 1.08 Includes very important 'Force Restart'-option in the in-game Display settings, that clears and restarts the graphics rendering engine in between level/map loads. It also includes official support for widescreen resolutions.

Other things to consider:
Have you defragmented your HDD? How many intensive/intrusive background programs you have running?

 

2. No I haven't updated the drivers, but I will do...
3. Thats good news...
4. Hmm, that seems to be able to help a bit... I will definitely try it...

Thank you ronktus...

 

odd, i have the same laptop as you and i have no problem running fear at the highest settings with completely smooth frame rate. i didn't update my fear and it still ran perfect. not sure why yours would do this and not mine

 

You have X200-15K?

If yes, thats weired...

 

Any problems with other graphics-intense games? Sounds like a heat issue to me. The GPU clocks down when it gets too hot.

 

Agreed. It sounds like your notebook is throttling down due to heat issues. My previous XPS M170 would do the same thing.

 

Do you happen to use a Logitech G5 or G7 mouse?

There is a known (and to my knowledge, still unfixed) bug with Logitech USB products. After a few minutes the framerate takes a nosedive - I had this problem too. Fixing it is a simple matter of disabling some stuff in the Device Manager. Follow the instructions here and it should hopefully fix the problem (again, assuming you have a Logitech mouse).

 

hummm,
well i dont claim to be a computer wiz, but there have been a couple peeps that do not have the same problom that you do and they say that they have the same comp. i am wondering if it could be some thing wroung with your hardware? like a loss or missing heat sink on your gpu. if so them maybe it is over heating and slowing down. have you checked the temp on it? does it seam like your fans are running a lot? just thought that i would chip in my two cents. figgered that it could not hurt. hope you get your conp fixed. later.

 

opps i did not see the other posts of the heat issu for some reason. sorry.

 

omg! yes i use a G5! however, i havent instlled any of the softaware that came with it (logitech setpoint), will check it out...

Thanks!

 

Not really, this problem happens only with FEAR (I only run it for 3 minutes for it to slow down so much... other graphic-intens games, like Quake 4 may have to run at Ultra-High settings for 2 hours+ to start producing some really noticable heat... I havent recorded any temperatures, but the air coming out of the fans is almost room-temperature!

 

Your room is HOT!.
If the air coming out of my laptop is my room temperature, I did be dead right now due to dehydration.
Hmm, try using some monitoring softwares to determine the cause, such as FRAP, RT, Or even the build in Resource monitor if you have Vista to see what is accessing HD, etc.

 

All i tried was disabling the G5 device... FEAR RUNS PERFECTLY NOW!!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH JOGA!!!

@Dragonpet: I can sense hot you know! However, now it has been proved that heat wasn't the problem...

 

That's great.

Yeah, I went for a long time with this problem, always wondering why my framerate dropped down in the teens after a few minutes. I was so relieved when I found out it was just a stupid bug and it wasn't my video card dying or something.

 

Good to hear it's working now! It's another example in what a complex way things may interfere on a computer.
It's sometimes very difficult to find the cause of a problem on a PC, as it often doesn't have any obvious link to the problem itself..

On mine, I once had problems with the WMP. Tried reinstalling it, reinstalling codecs, restoring the system, everything, and nothing helped. Then I got to know that one program I had installed recently had changed some codec setting which caused the problem. Just had to uncheck 2 checkboxes (very well hided of course) and everything was fine again.

So my advice to everyone experiencing a strange problem: Think about everything -really everything- you had done to your machine before the problem occured. Even the smallest change can cause (obviously) bad problems. A bit like 'butterfly effect', LOL....

But now I get too much OT, I guess... ;-)

Cheers