Solved! Low FPS in all games, Unsure why

[stryder852]

Hi,
I am using this laptop for 3 years. I was getting around 80-100 fps in all games using medium quality. It was all well for the first year: No heat, loud sounds, fps drops, nothing everything was fine. Then in all a sudden, my fps dropped for all the games I play.

I used very low quality (textures, shadows etc.) and at the best I got 50 fps. It also starts to drop to 5-10 fps for 10 seconds while gaming. My Laptop also started to get hot all a sudden, so I bought a new CPU fan. However, my laptop still gets hot and fps was still low.

I downloaded "CAM" to see what happens when I start playing and I found:

CPU Temp: 65-75C Load: 20-30%
GPU Temp: 45-55C Load: 72-78%

This is my PC:

Intel Core i5-6200U CPU 2.40 GHz
GPU: AMD Radeon (TM) R5 M330
RAM: 8GB
OS: 64-bit Operating system, x64 based processor

There wasn't any problems at the start, so I thought updating my graphics driver was the problem, but I am not sure.

 

[jacobweaver800]

Hi,
I am using this laptop for 3 years. I was getting around 80-100 fps in all games using medium quality. It was all well for the first year: No heat, loud sounds, fps drops, nothing everything was fine. Then in all a sudden, my fps dropped for all the games I play.

I used very low quality (textures, shadows etc.) and at the best I got 50 fps. It also starts to drop to 5-10 fps for 10 seconds while gaming. My Laptop also started to get hot all a sudden, so I bought a new CPU fan. However, my laptop still gets hot and fps was still low.

I downloaded "CAM" to see what happens when I start playing and I found:

CPU Temp: 65-75C Load: 20-30%
GPU Temp: 45-55C Load: 72-78%

This is my PC:

Intel Core i5-6200U CPU 2.40 GHz
GPU: AMD Radeon (TM) R5 M330
RAM: 8GB

There wasn't any problems at the start, so I thought updating my graphics driver was the problem, but I am not sure.

Something might be going on with your CPU, 65-75c at 20-30% usage is a bit high, its possible its throttling for some reason, try checking the thermal paste between the CPU and cooler. Also make sure the cooler is free of dust and nothing is loose.

 

[Lutfij]

In the past 3 years since your purchase, did you perform any maintenance on it? I'm speculating that your innards have been clogged with dust/debris hampering heat exhaust.

You could also try and rule out other software/hardware issues like:
Making sure your BIOS is up to date.
Make sure you're on the latest drivers for your components. Uninstall and reinstall them.

You forgot to mention the make and model of your laptop and the OS you're working with. Please include them.

 

[jacobweaver800]

In the past 3 years since your purchase, did you perform any maintenance on it? I'm speculating that your innards have been clogged with dust/debris hampering heat exhaust.

You could also try and rule out other software/hardware issues like:
Making sure your BIOS is up to date.
Make sure you're on the latest drivers for your components. Uninstall and reinstall them.

You forgot to mention the make and model of your laptop and the OS you're working with. Please include them.

I also want to bring those usage levels to light, the GPU usage is high and the CPU is low so there's something going on here, it looks like a GPU bottleneck so I wonder if it switched over to integrated graphics for some reason. something similar is happening to a friend of mine, try getting into the BIOS and checking on that.

 

[stryder852]

In the past 3 years since your purchase, did you perform any maintenance on it? I'm speculating that your innards have been clogged with dust/debris hampering heat exhaust.

You could also try and rule out other software/hardware issues like:
Making sure your BIOS is up to date.
Make sure you're on the latest drivers for your components. Uninstall and reinstall them.

You forgot to mention the make and model of your laptop and the OS you're working with. Please include them.

I also want to bring those usage levels to light, the GPU usage is high and the CPU is low so there's something going on here, it looks like a GPU bottleneck so I wonder if it switched over to integrated graphics for some reason. something similar is happening to a friend of mine, try getting into the BIOS and checking on that.

How do I check whether it switched to integrated graphics and what is the solution to it?

 

[jacobweaver800]

In the past 3 years since your purchase, did you perform any maintenance on it? I'm speculating that your innards have been clogged with dust/debris hampering heat exhaust.

You could also try and rule out other software/hardware issues like:
Making sure your BIOS is up to date.
Make sure you're on the latest drivers for your components. Uninstall and reinstall them.

You forgot to mention the make and model of your laptop and the OS you're working with. Please include them.

I also want to bring those usage levels to light, the GPU usage is high and the CPU is low so there's something going on here, it looks like a GPU bottleneck so I wonder if it switched over to integrated graphics for some reason. something similar is happening to a friend of mine, try getting into the BIOS and checking on that.

How do I check whether it switched to integrated graphics and what is the solution to it?

If your laptop has a decent BIOS it should tell you, if not open Task Manager and go to system performance and scroll down on the side bar, it should show the usage of the integrated and dedicated GPU, if the usage of the dedicated card is nothing, and the integrated has usage on the timeline than thats the issue.

 

[stryder852]

[/quotemsg]

If your laptop has a decent BIOS it should tell you, if not open Task Manager and go to system performance and scroll down on the side bar, it should show the usage of the integrated and dedicated GPU, if the usage of the dedicated card is nothing, and the integrated has usage on the timeline than thats the issue. [/quotemsg]

Yes this exactly what happens
My GPU 1 AMD Radeon (TM) R5 M330 uses nothing at 0% with no dedicated memory usage
My GPU 0 Intel (R) HD Graphics 520 uses 85% when gaming

How to fix this?

 

[jacobweaver800]

If your laptop has a decent BIOS it should tell you, if not open Task Manager and go to system performance and scroll down on the side bar, it should show the usage of the integrated and dedicated GPU, if the usage of the dedicated card is nothing, and the integrated has usage on the timeline than thats the issue. [/quotemsg]

Yes this exactly what happens
My GPU 1 AMD Radeon (TM) R5 M330 uses nothing at 0% with no dedicated memory usage
My GPU 0 Intel (R) HD Graphics 520 uses 85% when gaming

How to fix this?

[/quotemsg]

Thats what I thought, I've seen this before many times but no one was able to come up with a clear fix that worked for everyone, the most I can say is make sure the card is in and connected right try cleaning everything and checking drivers.

 

[stryder852]

If your laptop has a decent BIOS it should tell you, if not open Task Manager and go to system performance and scroll down on the side bar, it should show the usage of the integrated and dedicated GPU, if the usage of the dedicated card is nothing, and the integrated has usage on the timeline than thats the issue.

Yes this exactly what happens
My GPU 1 AMD Radeon (TM) R5 M330 uses nothing at 0% with no dedicated memory usage
My GPU 0 Intel (R) HD Graphics 520 uses 85% when gaming

How to fix this?

[/quotemsg]

Thats what I thought, I've seen this before many times but no one was able to come up with a clear fix that worked for everyone, the most I can say is make sure the card is in and connected right try cleaning everything and checking drivers.[/quotemsg]

How could I make my laptop pick the dedicated gpu over the other one?

 

[jacobweaver800]

If your laptop has a decent BIOS it should tell you, if not open Task Manager and go to system performance and scroll down on the side bar, it should show the usage of the integrated and dedicated GPU, if the usage of the dedicated card is nothing, and the integrated has usage on the timeline than thats the issue.

Yes this exactly what happens
My GPU 1 AMD Radeon (TM) R5 M330 uses nothing at 0% with no dedicated memory usage
My GPU 0 Intel (R) HD Graphics 520 uses 85% when gaming

How to fix this?

Thats what I thought, I've seen this before many times but no one was able to come up with a clear fix that worked for everyone, the most I can say is make sure the card is in and connected right try cleaning everything and checking drivers.[/quotemsg]

How could I make my laptop pick the dedicated gpu over the other one?

[/quotemsg]

I wouldn't know without being hands on with your laptop's BIOS, and it's possible that your BIOS is that trash it wouldn't let you anyways. It's possible the dedicated GPU is dead and it switched over to your integrated ones. How old is it and what and how often do you play games?

 

[stryder852]

If your laptop has a decent BIOS it should tell you, if not open Task Manager and go to system performance and scroll down on the side bar, it should show the usage of the integrated and dedicated GPU, if the usage of the dedicated card is nothing, and the integrated has usage on the timeline than thats the issue.

Yes this exactly what happens
My GPU 1 AMD Radeon (TM) R5 M330 uses nothing at 0% with no dedicated memory usage
My GPU 0 Intel (R) HD Graphics 520 uses 85% when gaming

How to fix this?

Thats what I thought, I've seen this before many times but no one was able to come up with a clear fix that worked for everyone, the most I can say is make sure the card is in and connected right try cleaning everything and checking drivers.

How could I make my laptop pick the dedicated gpu over the other one?

[/quotemsg]

I wouldn't know without being hands on with your laptop's BIOS, and it's possible that your BIOS is that trash it wouldn't let you anyways. It's possible the dedicated GPU is dead and it switched over to your integrated ones. How old is it and what and how often do you play games?[/quotemsg]

I just bought this PC a few years ago and to be completely honest I play video games very often
But, when I play for half an hour, I stop because the CPU gets too hot and my frame rate drops, so I shut it down and leave it to cool down

 

[stryder852]

Is it a good idea to roll back driver?

 

[jacobweaver800]

If your laptop has a decent BIOS it should tell you, if not open Task Manager and go to system performance and scroll down on the side bar, it should show the usage of the integrated and dedicated GPU, if the usage of the dedicated card is nothing, and the integrated has usage on the timeline than thats the issue.

Yes this exactly what happens
My GPU 1 AMD Radeon (TM) R5 M330 uses nothing at 0% with no dedicated memory usage
My GPU 0 Intel (R) HD Graphics 520 uses 85% when gaming

How to fix this?

Thats what I thought, I've seen this before many times but no one was able to come up with a clear fix that worked for everyone, the most I can say is make sure the card is in and connected right try cleaning everything and checking drivers.

How could I make my laptop pick the dedicated gpu over the other one?

I wouldn't know without being hands on with your laptop's BIOS, and it's possible that your BIOS is that trash it wouldn't let you anyways. It's possible the dedicated GPU is dead and it switched over to your integrated ones. How old is it and what and how often do you play games?[/quotemsg]

I just bought this PC a few years ago and to be completely honest I play video games very often
But, when I play for half an hour, I stop because the CPU gets too hot and my frame rate drops, so I shut it down and leave it to cool down
[/quotemsg]

When using integrated graphics the CPU normally runs hotter, also try replacing the thermal paste on the CPU with a better one. You can try rolling back the driver but generally speaking its not a driver issue.

 

[stryder852]

I rolled back my driver but nothing happened;
I updated it, then I saw my fps going up as it used to be
However, it goes down every once in a while, because my CPU's temperature is exceeding 80. I hear my fan working very hard, so I think I need to replace the thermal paste and get a stronger fan, so my fps stays high and not drop every now and then.
In the end, updating my driver fixed my fps issue, but the heating is what is setting it back. I'll see what happens when I get a better fan and replace the thermal paste