Sager NP8662 framerate issues.

Hey guys,

So I'm in a little bit of a dilemma. I recently just updates the drivers on my laptop (from 197.16 -> 258.69), and now when I'm trying to run games (SC2 Beta, HoN) I can't go 5 minutes without the in game frame rate dropping to about 9-15 fps (I now have turned all my settings to the lowest possible). Prior to this change, my notebook was able to handle both of these games on medium to high settings (at anywhere between 60-150 fps). Initially, I just went back and reinstalled my old driver, but now that's having the same frame rate drop as well. So as of now I'm back on the 258.69 driver, and I'm not really sure what I can do. I'm really hoping that my card hasn't died or anything, cause I've taken really good care of this laptop. Any suggestions/tips/advice would be greatly appreciated.

System specs:
15" Sager NP8662 (1680 x 1050, I play all my games on native res)
4GB DDR3 RAM
320 GB HDD @ 7200 RPM
nvidia GTX260m w/1 gb RAM
Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53Ghz

 

Have you cleaned out the vents recently?

 

mmm, I have not. How do I clean the vents?

 

Using the service manual in my sig, remove the bottom cover of your laptop along with the 2 metal fan covers, then clean the dust on the heatsinks fins.

 

You should run HWMonitor to check all of your temps. I think the change of Video Drivers at the same time as the problem is just a coincidence.

 

I shall indeed clean the heatsink fans. Thanks for the tip.

@ LaptopNut: I was beginning to think so too. However I did notice that the problem started occurring after the average temp in my area (Seattle, WA) started hiking up a lot. The past few weeks have been between 50-60 on average, but this week the weather has been 80-95. So perhaps the higher temps outside might have been the cause? your thoughts?

 

With a properly functioning cooling system, the higher ambient temps would just cause a slightly higher idle CPU/GPU temperature but it shouldn't cause that behavior that you mentioned.

You should also check that no background tasks are using up CPU cycles because I had slow fps from 9-10 fps when I was testing out a new CPU but it turned out that the cause was Windows update downloading and installing updates. It could also be dust creating more heat forcing your CPU / GPU to downclock every few seconds in order to stay below danger levels.

 

Alright, so I opened up my laptop, and as it turns out the heatsink fins and fan were entirely caked with dust. I cleaned all of it out, and now my laptop runs like new! I had no idea, there was so much dust build up. I'll make sure to do internal cleaning way more often now. Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated.

 

Yah, just by reading it I knew it was heat, I just blow air into my exhaust vent, and also the intake about every month or so. Each time a good amount of dust comes out, it builds up faster than you would think.