Random FPS loss!

[Khail]

I own a Toshiba Satellite P305-S8906 and I am struggling to fix this random FPS loss problem I have. I own my computer since 2009 and I never had problems on videogames until a few months back. I used to run games like Counter Strike:Source, Day of Defeat and Guild Wars at constant 60 fps with no loss, even World of Warcraft, not at the highest settings available, but with a few tweaks here and there. Smooth gaming. But then I began to encounter this FPS loss problem. I updated my videocard drivers up to the recent (ATI Mobility 3600 HD) disabled PowerPlay, disabled Catalyst A.I. and my problem won't go away. I decided to do a full system scan with various spyware tools and nothing. I uninstalled unnecessary programs and even opened my laptop and cleaned it a bit and.... nothing.

So I decided to make a back up of my documents and proceed to recover the O.S. from scratch and to my surprise, I still have the FPS loss problems. At this moment I am playing Rift on Low Quality render and I get good frames (20-50) up to 60 on some scenarios. But every 2 or 3 minutes my FPS get choppy and gameplay becomes terrible. I thought overheating so I installed Core Temp to check my cpu temperature and literally both cores (Mobile Intel Core 2 DUO T6400) go up to 80 degrees Celsius on full load, low 50's on idle . Now here comes the weird thing. When I get choppy frames my cpu temp drops 10 or so degrees. So basically when I hit single fps, my cpu temps is on the 70's C. Could this be a voltage problem?

The task manager indicates that the game is using about 80% of the CPU but the temperature thing is weird to me. And for last, I don't know if this could be taken into account but my AC cable (cable that goes to wall from converter) is broken. It's temporary fixed with black tape.

 

[WR2]

But every 2 or 3 minutes my FPS get choppy and gameplay becomes terrible. I thought overheating so I installed Core Temp to check my cpu temperature and literally both cores (Mobile Intel Core 2 DUO T6400) go up to 80 degrees Celsius on full load, low 50's on idle . Now here comes the weird thing. When I get choppy frames my cpu temp drops 10 or so degrees.

Hello Khail;
Nothing weird at all about that behavior. It's normal and it's exactly the way it's designed.

It's called thermal throttling.
To protect your CPU from overheating and destroying itself it will under clock (causing lower frame rates/choppy frames). The reason for the temp drop is that the underclock / slower running CPU is generating less heat.
If you run CPU-z and look at it during a gaming session you'll see the CPU multiplier change and the Ghz rate drop off.

To fix your problem you'll need to address what ever is causing the laptop to overheat.
Your idle temps should be closer to 30C and your full load temps closer to 70C.


Not a voltage problem. And you do not have any type of electrical problem - yet. Replace that AC cable immediately - before you set the house on fire.

 

[WR2]

Copied from another location:
How to clean cooling fan in Toshiba Satellite P305D laptop :
by Mahmoud For Computer Services on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 11:08pm

In this guide I explain how to clean the cooling fan in a Toshiba Satellite P305D laptop. Also this guide should work for the following Toshiba laptops: Satellite P300, Satellite P300D, Satellite P305.

There is no easy access to the cooling fan in a Satellite P305D laptop. You can see the air intake on the bottom of the laptop, but the fan is covered with a perforated metal sheet, so blowing air into the air intake will not be enough for cleaning the fan.

You can get better access to the fan under the keyboard. Let’s remove the keyboard

Remove three screws securing the keyboard bezel. These screws located under the battery.

Carefully lift up and remove the keyboard bezel.

Remove two screws securing the keyboard.

Lift up the keyboard and place it upside down on the palm rest. It’s not necessary to disconnect keyboard cable from the motherboard.

The cooling fan is still covered but at least now you can blow compressed air into the fan and remove all dust from the heat sink.

For cleaning laptop fans I use compressed air duster.

First. Blow compressed air into the cooling fan through two holes on the top cover.Second. Change the direction and blow air into the fan grill on the side. Also, blow air into the air intake on the bottom.

Change air direction two-three times until there is no dust coming out of the laptop.

 

[WR2]

This might also be useful:
How to disassemble Toshiba Satellite A305/A305D or Satellite A300/A300D laptops. Guide with instructions.

Be sure you study everything you can and that you are SURE you know what you're doing. Don't proceed till you're comfortable that you can do this type of work.

 

[Khail]

Thanks for the fast reply. I tried another place and my post was at 0 replies

About the AC cable: I am getting a new one asap.

I still haven't cleaned my cpu cooling fan the way is supposed to be. Thanks for the guide. I hope I'll be able to do it this weekend. So let's see if I understand this. My CPU is underclocking for security measures because my laptop is generating more heat than usual?

 

[WR2]

So let's see if I understand this. My CPU is underclocking for security measures because my laptop is generating more heat than usual?

Not so much for security.
More for self-preservation. So it won't burn up.