m1210 and HL2 gets literally 2fps. why?

Ok, so i got my new m1210 not long ago, deleted the bloatware and installed HL2. Steam finished updating it and i launched it. I got to the menu and it looked great. Two seconds later, the fan kicks in on high and the framerate drops to about 2 fps. What the heck is going on? i have the 7400 card and these are my hl2 settings:




i took these straight from a review here

 

You sure the 7400 can handle CS all on high?

 

this belongs in the gaming forum

lower your settings, the 7400 is not a power house card, set shadows on low, everything else to medium, and hdr off, that should give you decent performance, then you could try upping the model and texture detail

 

actually, im trying to play HL2. and yes, it cn run it. the * stands for recommended setting and mine match up with the ones in the picture.

 

ive already tried setting everything to low/off and it still goes as a crappy 2fps. read the review thats posted hereon the m1210. abaxter ran it perfectly with only antialiasing off

 

I've actually found the 7400 in the m1210 to be a surprisingly respectable video card. I can run CS:S well at high settings, just no AA/AF.

Anyway, I don't know exactly what's wrong, but first I would update the video drivers from dell.com. If that doesn't fix it, I would verify your HL2 files. From the My Games tab in Steam, right click on HL2 and select properties. Go to the Local files tab and click "Verify integrity of game cache...". Also, I would try running other Steam games such as CS:S to see if those work.

It sounds like the game is mistakenly not using GPU to render environments (using only the CPU). I have sometimes had this problem on my desktop with certain beta display drivers. There should be a few general fixes to this problem if you google it.

 

Have you tried updating the video drivers???

 

The 7400 is quite a good card and should play HL2 just fine on max settings with no AA. I actually played HL2 on my old notebook that had an intel 900GMA and I ran it on high settings. IT would hit 50FPS when I was just walking, then as soon as I was being attacked... the FPS would drop down to around 10. For the most part it was playable even on an integrated card!!

Like others have mentioned update your video card drivers. And make sure you are not running Microsoft display drivers, otherwise this could be causing the problem. And make sure everything is fine under the device manager. Like no ?.

 

This may sound blatantly obvious, but you are plugged into the wall for power right?

 

yes. definitely plugged in. i updated the drivers with the latest ones from dell. i also installed doom3 and had the same issue.

 

Man I play HL2: EP1 @ 1280x800, everything full, color correction, Vsync, HDR, 8x AA and 16xAF!!! I ran the stress test on Lost Coast with those specs and I averaged 39.66FPS. Oh and no overclocking, and after I reverted to the Dell video drivers from 91.33 Laptopvideo2go drivers after a blue screen dilema (Tune-Up utilities 2006 MemOptimizer screwes mine up bad) I got 36.66.

But yeah your problem. Id update your video drivers. Also there is an M1210 BIOS update (AO2 I believe) do that. And finally make sure your set to max performace while on A/C power in the power management screen, that may be it also. You should also make sure that your card is set to max performance in the Nvidia control pannel.

BTW for those of you who havent tried it, 16x AF in HL2 looks AMAZING, try it even if you have a 7400, you wont regret it if it runs smooth.

 

OK, 2 games, same issues. You said the HL2 game worked for 2 seconds then frame rate dropped?

Open GL problem? Try running Direct 3D diagnostics? Check settings in Nvidia control panel?

If all else you may have removed wrong bloatware? This may mean software restore which may be faster than chasing what if's.

Good luck!

 

Might try reinstalling DirectX - sometimes that can fix it if updating your video drivers doesn't.

 

Some of you guys seriously underestimate the 7400. It is a very capable card.

Have you tried runnin 3dMark or other benchmarks? It might be that you have one driver installed over the other.

 

If the dell stock drivers didnt fix it then the drivers from www.laptopvideo2go.com might.

 

Oh I know that problem. It's a rare problem that happens to nvidia cards at times. I saw it in Steampowered.com support once when i went on to solve a driver issue. You have to find that post and update some sort of driver from steam!

Good luck, it's a very old post (April some time) so good luck finding it!

 

Ok, so i juggled the ram between the slots and that didnt help. I wiped my drive altogether and reinstalled windows and HL2. I then updated all my drivers. I booted up HL2 after it updated while fraps was in the background. I got a fps of 4. If i were to try drivers from the site mentioned above, could they cause damage to my hardware? Also, how easy would it be to go back to the drivers from dell?

 

Try calling Dell Tech Support and see what they say.

 

i did that already. they're sending me two new sticks of ram

 

Steampowered.com is the company of HL2 so of course it's safe to update from them!

 

this video depicts my problem perfectly:

http://rapidshare.de/files/27281109/hl2_2006-07-27_19-09-37-70.rar.html

 

Instead of using DELL drivers try using the drivers from Nvidias homepage:

And no they will not damage Your system/hardware.

Uninstall the displaydrivers from DELL and install the newest from Nvidia hp

 

have you tried the hardware acceleration slider? to get to it, right click on the desktop, select the settings tab, click advanced, and select the troubleshoot slider. if it isn't at full, set it that way. (if it is more then two clicks over then harware DX is turned off)

 

The drivers dont damage hardware - overclocking does. Some manufacturers dont release the most up to date nvidia drivers to the newer ones get hacked and are available for use.

The drivers from LV2G are regarded as very good and I am using 84.63 without a hitch. Everything is working and I also get extra tweaks like setting the no. of frames to render ahead (this option is normally hidden).

 

I don't think no one has mentioned this, get a temperature monitor such as mobilemeter, speedfan etc. And let us know what the cpu and video temperature is.

I have a feeling your notebook may be over heating for some strange reason and its throttling back cpu/video to prevent damage.

 

ok, so i tested the game with mobilemeter. the cpu climbs up to 41 from about 24. hdd temp went from 30 to 31. If this is normal, then what drivers do i have to get from that drivers site?

 

I am wondering if you are having overheating problems as well. Check the temp of your GPU, as it seems as if that is what's throlling down

 

This DEFFINETTLY sounds like overheating problems. Did anyone suggest running 3d Mark 05 or 06 yet? Try that (just to see what happens) and monitor all of yout temps. Umm, did you order any extra warrenty? If you did (or even if you didn't and your still under the standard warrenty) just call them up and harras them until they agree take a look/repair it for little or no charge (all sales people/ tech support people have a breaking point, the only question is whats yours?).

 

Seriously? I don't see that as an overheating problem at all it's only +17 degrees with gaming...

 

Yeah, for the CPU. However, it's not the CPU that seems to be overheating. I want to know the temp of the GPU

 

I'm pretty sure ist a driver issue. I reinstalled the driver and i got 11 fps (decreased from 45). However, i restarted the game and i got the 4fps again.

 

Maybe reformat once more to see if it changes, this time with a different driver. Did you get rid of the old drivers fully? (Using a program like driver cleaner pro, etc).

Have you tried playing any other game?

 

Why don't you run 3DMark as many have suggested? I would try the older versions first '01se, then '03 then '05.

This way we might be able to work out if its a heat issue or not. If it runs ok at startt and then slows down... It most likely a heat issue.

If the scores are okay then it might be some issue with your driver with that specific game.

 

I will be sure to get 3dmark software. THANK YOU GUYS. I also ran doom3 again and it had the same issue. The fps was a tad better after i reinstalled the drivers but still, i KNOW my system can do better. Most gamers would say that it is unplayable at its current state. I also noticed that the speech and video in doom3 wa out of sync. The vido took far longer than the audio.

EDIT: YIKES!!!! my gpu core temp is 82 degrees celcius. The threshold is 106. The temp must be increasing to 106 and slowingit down. How the heck do i fix THIS.

 

since it is a new comp, it probably is a defective pice somewhere. when the fan goes on can you feel hot air comming out? maby somthing internal is blocking the air somwhere. (probly not, since it is new, you never know) Does the laptop feel way too hot? if not maby it is a defective temp sensor. Also, i would avoid gaming if it really gets to 106, as 100 is boiling point, and the general max "safe" temp is 85-90. so

is the laptop moving hot air away from it? Or are the fans going on, but no air is moving?

Does it feel really hot?

 

it doesnt really feel THAT hot. defenitely warm. When i do run hl2, the hot air defenitely comes out. I dont think avoiding gaming would be fun. Maybe for the time being.

 

It sounds like the heatsink for the graphics card isn't making good contact with the GPU, an increasingly common problem since most companies no longer actually use thermal paste but rather cheap pads that can be easily misaligned. I had a similar problem with the CPU on my v2000z. Send it in to Dell ASAP to be fixed.

 

do you think it could be faulty ram? if the system memory is messed up and is performing slow or something, added stress would be placed on the gfx card ram right? (the card has 64 dedicated and 192 shared)

 

If the problem was related to bad RAM on the GPU, you would have other problems - lines on the display, distortion, etc.

 

i meant the system ram, the shared stuff. not the stuff thats on the card itself (dedicated)

 

If you want to find out if there are any errors with your RAM, run memtest for a while and see if it finds anything.

 

Alright, take what we already know and start to get rid of possibilities. We know that you have completely reformatted and it made no difference, that elimnates all possibility of it being an issue with drivers or steam or the game. What can be left? The only that comes to mind is the GPU overheating (there are many reasons for this. The reason I don't say anything about faulty ram is that you haven't mentioned anything about getting those memory overflow error things (which doesnt mean it ISNT the ram, but doesnt suggest it is). Since you reformatted I'm not sure if your diagnostic stuff still works, but try using that and see if it finds anything (I doubt it will, that stuff rarely works, but still give it a try). If you become stuck, call up dell and tell them they sent you a deffective piece of hardware. Ohh, and work on those temps on the GPU (see what they are. Keep us informed so we can help, I'm actually curious to see what the problem really is here.

Edit: Ooops, almost forgot to add this: "Its elementary my dear k3nt".

 

I'm pretty sure its a heat issue too, but i think if i call dell anymore, they're going to get a restraining order (just from calling). I've ran the dell diagnostics several times all came back negative (no problems) when it asks if i want to go on for another 30 minutes of testing i select no since i've already been there for half an hour. Did i mention that when i reinstalled windows, it took literally all night? i started around 1 am, and it finished aroung 6:45 am. This includes all deleting andformating and copying. This is defenitely too long.


Edit: After speaking with my 7th/8th rep (a sensible and understandable rep at that), i will be recieving a new system board/heatsink. I will take pictures during the replacement process and post them here.

 

Did you do the FULL ntfs formating (I ussualy do the quick, so I'm not sure how long it would take otherwise). Either way that does sound too long. If your up to it I would try it again, just do the quick ntfs formatting. In your deallings with dell, what has been there attitude? Are they willing to work with you and get this repaired (or replaced). On the next call if they don't start to make arangements for diagnosing/repairing your notebook ask for a supervisor (if you havent already). Ha, its so funny, they will protest but if you ignore them then you can talk to a supervisor, and thats when things ACTUALLY happen. Good luck (you might need it).

 

Ive just had a major blue screen crashing issue with mine when I was in games. It was memory related according to the stop messages. I didnt have any ill performance, it would just crash to a blue screen at intermitent and random times. I spoke with dell 6 times, doing everything short of re-formating. So I did today. I did the full NTFS and the whole set up took about 1.5 hours, so not too long.

K3nt my advice would be to ask them to send you a new system since yours is clearly screwed up. Run that hard ware diagnostics again. You know when you turn on your system holding Fn and power. Let that first system check run and then run a full and complete system diognistic with multiple iterations. The 5th guy I talked to told me to run my system memory, video memory, and processor memory with iterations of 10 on each to be 100% sure if it was ok. The system memory one took all night, but the others were rather short. If its your memory that test will find the error.

But if everything like you say is running very very slow, you may have a bad processor.

 

The processor is possible, but I don't think so. His temps in that area are normal, and I had an old Averatec 3200 that the processor went bad in, Talk about getting HOT. So that would make me think it isn't the processor. Also, he doesn't say anything about bad preformance outside of gaming, which a processor might effect things outside of games. While you might not notice bad preformance with a gpu outside of games.

 

Yeah thats another possibility, the GPU may be bad. K3nt you might also want to run a full video card test with multiple iterations to make sure its not the problem.

 

turn hdr off bro, hdr is only for high end machines. u should notice a vast improvement with that off. oh and whats the resolution?

 

That computer can handel hdr and not get 2fps. It has nothing to do with his video settings in the game.

 

Yeah I run HL2 at full resolution, full settings, HDR and 16x AF, and its smooth as a babies bottom.