xps m1530 can't handle TF2 medium settings?!

xps m1530, 4 gb ram, the 256mb 8600 graphics card.

I finally got help to make TF2 work on my computer, but now every so often my computer seems to lag and its not my ping. I downloaded the latest driver from dell. I even degraded quality to turn model quality and shadows and stuff lower. Can anyone give me their settings? I run tf2 in a window.

Separate issue, maybe because i'm retarded but I can't get the console to come up when i press ~/`. so i can't check my fps but i know its ****ty.

I'm on high performance, plugged in. I was thinking of closing background programs like avg, but i've heard other dells running games fine, on high settings.

 

Hmm, this is not right. Maybe your graphic card is just bad? I have the 8600m GT 512 DDR2 card and i run everything on high with a 1680x1050 res. If anything, you may have to RMA the graphic card, we shall see what other people think on this matter.

Oh yeah, you try running it fullscreen?

For the tilde key (~) to work, you have to go into the options menu in TF 2 and click on "advanced settings" or something like that. Then make sure you have "enable console" or something close to that ticked.

 

You should look at drivers from www.laptopvideo2go.com, they generally have better performance. Take a look at the 177.83 as they are WHQL certified. Also you should check task manager to see if you have many useless background programs, such as pre-installed bloatware from DELL. I had similiar problems, until I performed a clean install on my HP dv6700z.

 

yeah my 9500GS can handle it on high settings and he 9500Gs is comparable to the 8600Gt DDR2 you should be able to handle it with high settings. Something is not right with your gpu.

 

Wow, I'm running it on high 16xAF, 1440x900. If you're running it that high, maybe I should mess with the AA. I run CS:S completely maxed, x16 AF/AA, I just figured TF2 was a little more demanding.

 

I always keep AA and AF low/off for any game, i never see a graphical diff with them on. I'd much rather keep my high res than AA and AF x16.

 

sigh,

thanks for the console trick, forgot that i have to enable it.

when i get home, i'll find out my fps. last time i checked, i did have like 90 processes running, i'm not sure if that's a lot. The ram usage is usually at 30-45%.

Maybe i'll try different drivers, but its weird if other people can run the same thing, better, with the same driver as me.

Does dell replace graphics cards? i wouldn't think so based off that performance is bad.

 

If the performance is that bad, the card is probably defective or something. That's just what I think though.

 

90 processes is a LOT. Currently I'm running a clean install of vista at 45 processes. That's one factor causing low performance.

First thing you should try is a Clean Install, or at least remove some bloatware. There's a guide in the Dell forum, here.

After you remove some bloatware, try using drivers from www.laptopvideo2go.com

Then use HWMonitor to check the temps of your video card(idle and load temps). And post those here.

AFter that, if it's still lagging, then call Dell and ask for a replacement laptop.

 

wow 90 processes? i only have like 35-40 most of the time and it still lags me.

 

The XPS 1530 clearly can run TF2 on high settings, and there is obviously something wrong in your case.

90 processes worth of bloatware would surely help contribute.

 

I would check your temps while it lags. Like I said in another thread about this, I have the ddr2 version of the 8600m GT and I max everything out on TF2 and at 1920x1200 it never lags.

See I dont think this is the issue, since I have more then that running when I game and it doenst effect gameplay

 

i'm running cpuid right now,

and my active processes right now are transferring data to an external hard drive and bittorrent, firefox.

temps are 75 Celsius for GPU
Cores are around 65

i'm guessing that's pretty high for GPU idle?

 

75 is pretty warm for just idling.

 

yeah and for TF2, it only lags SOMETIMES, sporadically, every few minutes, so that can be the temps screwing with it...

but i'm also doing some file transferring, some downloading, and firefox, but i don't think that affects the gpu too much....

ideas, suggestions? warranty?

 

Actually having those background processes does affect loading of textures from the harddrive to the GPU memory. Thus causing lag. Try stopping the file transfers+downloading and then see if it still lags.

 

Hey,

Yea, I'm having the exact same problem with TF2. Like, its really smooth but as soon as I get in the middle of the action, it went all laggy and skips all the time. I went through dozens of graphic drivers including a clean install of the system. ... Nothing.

I'm starting to believe that the 8600m GT that I (we) got is probably a defect. Every other game that I've played (Portal, HL2, CoD4, etc.) are all smooth except TF2 which annoys me to no end.

Btw, when did u get your XPS? I ordered mine in June of this year.

 

When I play TF2 on my AMD turion ultra X2 @2.1GHz and a 3200 ati IGP I have vent, file explorers, AIM, firefox, streaming music and the game running and at max settings I see zero lag. Although I love this tablet, the turion ultra x2 (puma) pales in comparison to my penryn intel that powers my dell not to mention that the 8600mGT decimates the 3200 in GPU performance.

 

I have the same problem with my m1530. I've tried everything to try to fix low fps bursts but nothing works. I've installed different drivers 174.74, 169.28, 175.97, to no avail. I've undervolted the CPU from 1.2125V to 1.0375V. I've had the motherboard and the graphics card replaced twice.

The only component I haven't replaced yet is the CPU. Maybe that's the cause of tf2 problems...