low fps in games for sager np2096?

Hey, I own a Sager NP2096 with a 2.53 ghz, 4 gb RAM, 7200 rpm 200 gb hdd, and everything else default. Recently I've experienced some low fps in games - CSS would run great, but I would drop from 200 to 60 fps in gunfights. Warcraft III: Frozen Throne would give me an average fps of around 50. Call of Duty 4 is virtually unplayable.

I've tried several ways to fix this - disabling RMclock (I undervolted my CPU), setting the battery settings to high performance, reinstalling the graphics driver (I've used driver sweeper too). However, all of this is to no avail - my fps is abysmal and it really shouldn't considering the fact that this laptop has better specs than my desktop (which runs the above games with ease). The games I play are pretty old, and the np2096 should run them with ease. Does anyone experience this problem, or are the fps I'm getting normal?

 

Sir maybe it is because of the powermizer. It automatically downclocks whenever it reaches a sertain temperature. I don't recommend disabling it. You should get a working driver mith powermizer (177.92 works great) from laptopvideo2go.com

 

also make sure to set all Power Options to max performance in Windows and Nvidia Control Panel.

 

i'm using the nvidia 176.31 drivers from compal, and it doesnt seem to have performance settings in the control panel - only the display. am i missing a window or something that hsa the performance settings? sorry about these dumb questions, i'm used to desktops and this is my first laptop. if i can't get tihs to work with the 176.31 drivers, i think i'll just follow mumar's advice and download 177.92 or something.

 

Oh yeh, trust me, those laptopvideo2go drivers perform much better than any company based drivers.

 

alright, i got 177.92. cod4 has turned from being unplayable to being barely tolerable. i'm still getting **** fps in warcraft iii, but thats probably a software problem. if anyone knows how to fix this, i would be grateful. but anyway, thanks everyone for helping!

 

I think Gophn meant the power management options, which should be available in Control Panel. On XP anyway they're labeled "Power options" and can also be reached by going to Display, then the Screen Saver tab, then clicking the Power button at the bottom.

Which OS are you running by the way?

Have you considered reformatting the system and starting from scratch? Installing the laptopvideo2go driver first thing, then testing your performance? It seems like you have hardware specs that should meet the necessary requirements, so I'd have to think it's a software issue. Starting fresh has worked for me before in this kind of situation.

 

i'm running vista x64. however, i can't really reinstall everything from scratch - i'm in university right now and i don't have enough money for a harddrive for all the stuff i've downloaded/pirated thus far.

 

Would be suitable if you just go out and steal a harddrive for storing that stuff.

 

first i installed vista 32 was brilliant speed with compatible drivers and software then when i installed 64 was slow and stop (hang) many times plus not compatible with most prog. so i think you have to install vista 32 with directx 10......

 

Alright, even though the new video card drivers helped out a lot, its not performing how I expect it to perform. I've pretty much done everything today (reinstall drivers, defragment, etc.) except reformat my computer. Does anyone else have this problem?

 

do a quick 3DMark06 default benchmark test and post the screenshot of the results.

It may help determine if its the videocard or CPU.

 

here's my 3dmark results.

 

I am surprised by your results that Call of Duty 4 isn't playable. I'm running under Vista 64 bits and got almost the same 3dmark06 score, and COD4 was even playable at the native resolution of 1680x1050 (although I'm definitely not a fan of high resolution and avg. ~30 fps).

I wish I had an answer to your solution, but make sure you don't have too much stuff going on in the background with everything you downloaded lately.

EDIT : By the way, did you try running other benchmarks, as the problem might not be the video card? (Notice the might...)

 

what other benchmarks would you recommend? i'm getting an average fps of around 20 in cod4 by the way.

 

what settings/resolution are you using in COD4?

Your 3DMark06 score looks good, a little lower than other 9600M GT's... but that can be due to:
- OS settings (using Aero theme)
- OS power settings
- background program/services thats hogging the resources.

 

yesss. and that fixed my problem. i set the compatibility modes on these games to run on vista basic and disable desktop composition, and everything became tolerable. im new to vista, and i guess vista is alright if you disable everything new that came with it. anyway, thanks!

 

With a ddr2 8600mGT and Vista Premium set to default Aero theme, I never disabled anything while playing games, and could still 30fps CoD4 @ my native 1280x. That's just not how Vista works, and you are mistaken if you think you've found the source of your problems, because a 9600 equipped system should be screaming through the games you listed without a problem.

Under normal circumstances, you would not have to disable Aero for your games to become just playable.

 

also if you are gaming under Vista, set the game to DX9 mode to get even better performance without quality loss.

 

Hey Gophn... how do you set a game to play on dx9 mode? =)

 

Depends on the game.

Most of the new games that run DX10, will also run in DX9 mode.
- either in a configuration file (like INI's)
- or in the registry
- or you can add a tag in the shortcut link for the game.

check out sites like www.tweakguides.com to show you all of the cool commands that can help you tweak the game for options and performance.

 

Thanks! Final question, how do I set compatibility mode on steam such that it only goes into compatibility mode when I start up a game? I have the little taskbar icon for steam that I always leave on, but doing so disables the aero theme if I set the compatibility mode as such.

 

Right Click on Game in Steam list , properties , general , set launch options , -dx9 , play

 

I meant that I checked the radio button in the compatibility section of the steam game shortcut that disables aero when I run a steam game. However, this affects everything related to steam itself, so aero is disabled even when steam is just running in the background. Is there a way to only disable aero when a steam game is actually running?

 

Not sure, I don't use Vista.

When I test with Vista, I turn off everything that bloats the system... Aero Theme being the first to be disabled.