Hideous Laptop Performance Drops (SOLVED)

[EvilMunchkin]

Hello everyone, this is my first time on this forum, so I apologize if I didn't format this well, or something akin to that.
Basically, last night, pretty much every game I own started having huge fps drops, even on the lowest settings. Prior to this, the same games were running fine; for example DOOM '16 and Overwatch on high settings. Now, I am unable to run either without getting 10-20 fps.

My specs are as follows:
GeForce GTX 860M
i7-4710HQ
CPU: 2.50 GHz
8GB RAM
I am also running Win 10.

I know it isn't beastly, but prior to this it ran nearly everything perfectly. Any help at all is very appreciated!

 

[zer0c00l587]

Download acronis hdd diagnostic software freeware and check your hard drive s.m.a.r.t status.

 

[EvilMunchkin]

Download acronis hdd diagnostic software freeware and check your hard drive s.m.a.r.t status.

Thanks for the response! I ran it, and my hard drive health is fine. However, it is notifying me that if is critically overheating. Not sure if that could be causing problems.

 

[zer0c00l587]

Download acronis hdd diagnostic software freeware and check your hard drive s.m.a.r.t status.

Thanks for the response! I ran it, and my hard drive health is fine. However, it is notifying me that if is critically overheating. Not sure if that could be causing problems.

1. Immediately power of the laptop to prevent damage to components from heat.
2. Use your phone's flashlight or a torch and take a look at the laptop's air vents especially by the fan to see if its clogged with dust. More likely than not it is and you should remove the dust and possibly check the enclosure as well which requires opening up the laptop and should only be attempted if you know what you are doing. Its a good chance if you act now can prevent damage to the hdd by preventing bad sectors forming. I strongly suspect dust is the cause now since your hdd is reported as healthy by diagnostic software.

 

[EvilMunchkin]

Download acronis hdd diagnostic software freeware and check your hard drive s.m.a.r.t status.

Thanks for the response! I ran it, and my hard drive health is fine. However, it is notifying me that if is critically overheating. Not sure if that could be causing problems.

1. Immediately power of the laptop to prevent damage to components from heat.
2. Use your phone's flashlight or a torch and take a look at the laptop's air vents especially by the fan to see if its clogged with dust. More likely than not it is and you should remove the dust and possibly check the enclosure as well which requires opening up the laptop and should only be attempted if you know what you are doing. Its a good chance if you act now can prevent damage to the hdd by preventing bad sectors forming. I strongly suspect dust is the cause now since your hdd is reported as healthy by diagnostic software.

From what I can tell, the vents look like they could be dusty, but it is hard to tell. I have no idea where to start in taking apart the laptop. Any tips in that?

 

[1shado1]

Download acronis hdd diagnostic software freeware and check your hard drive s.m.a.r.t status.

Thanks for the response! I ran it, and my hard drive health is fine. However, it is notifying me that if is critically overheating. Not sure if that could be causing problems.

1. Immediately power of the laptop to prevent damage to components from heat.
2. Use your phone's flashlight or a torch and take a look at the laptop's air vents especially by the fan to see if its clogged with dust. More likely than not it is and you should remove the dust and possibly check the enclosure as well which requires opening up the laptop and should only be attempted if you know what you are doing. Its a good chance if you act now can prevent damage to the hdd by preventing bad sectors forming. I strongly suspect dust is the cause now since your hdd is reported as healthy by diagnostic software.

From what I can tell, the vents look like they could be dusty, but it is hard to tell. I have no idea where to start in taking apart the laptop. Any tips in that?

I think you missed this part: "...should only be attempted if you know what you are doing." 😀

 

[EvilMunchkin]

First of all, thank you to everyone for their help. I decided to get some compressed air, and it didn't really get much dust out, so I'm thinking dust is not the problem. However, due to the astronomically high heat levels I am getting, I believe my fan broke. Thankfully, I still have a warranty on my laptop, so its all good. Once again, thanks to everyone who tried to help!