Bad game performance on good laptop after 5 months of use

[Jorge Montas]

I don't know if this topic counts as pc gaming but I really need help. Games like minecraft that aren't so demandig used to run at 400 fps when I first got my laptop but now it can barely make it over 190. But that isn't really the problem, my issue is with more demanding games, like phasmophobia for example which are pretty laggy. What really scares me is that I've only had this laptop for about five months(Since dicember 2020).

 

The laptop is an Omen 15 2020 with a ryzen 7 4800, a gtx 1660ti, 8bg of ddr4 memory and 512gb of storage.

[ObsidianAura]

Laptops are kind of temperature sensitive. It could be that your air intakes have got a bit dusty, maybe give it a quick blast of compressed air, see if that helps. Plus you've got used to playing it in the winter months (assuming you're in the northan hemisphere), that might make a small difference.

[QuantumSingularity]

Use Afterburner and check temperatures and clocks. Of the temp is too high and the clock drops below base, you've found your problem. Idk what is the warranty policy where you are, but if they don't let you open your laptop from maintenance, you'll have to take it to the dealer for them to clean it. You would be amazed how much an what kinds of gunk can accumulate there in 5 months. 

[Jorge Montas]

59 minutes ago, QuantumSingularity said:

Use Afterburner and check temperatures and clocks. Of the temp is too high and the clock drops below base, you've found your problem. Idk what is the warranty policy where you are, but if they don't let you open your laptop from maintenance, you'll have to take it to the dealer for them to clean it. You would be amazed how much an what kinds of gunk can accumulate there in 5 months. 

I opend the laptop and it didn't look too dirty, also, how do you use afterburner? All it shows me is Gpu temps and speeds, nothing about cpu.

[Gale]

I don't have any experience with the Omen itself, but gaming laptops usually have different modes for the fans like: Silent, normal, and turbo. This can impact gaming performance significantly. In the same manner, Window's Power Options can have the same effect.

[Jorge Montas]

35 minutes ago, Gale said:

I don't have any experience with the Omen itself, but gaming laptops usually have different modes for the fans like: Silent, normal, and turbo. This can impact gaming performance significantly. In the same manner, Window's Power Options can have the same effect.

It has a performance mode but it makes no difference. Also there is only one windows power option: balanced. Which changes the performance level depending on whether the laptop's connected or not(I always have it puggled in while gaming).

 

[QuantumSingularity]

3 hours ago, Jorge Montas said:

I opend the laptop and it didn't look too dirty, also, how do you use afterburner? All it shows me is Gpu temps and speeds, nothing about cpu.

You go into Settings > Monitoring and it should look something like this:

 

To view the certain value in game, the row should have the check marked with 1. If it doesn't have you, you put it manually and then you check number 2 "Show in On-Screen Display" manually. Once you've done that you will see the "in OSD" for each value that will be displayed in game (the 3rd circle w/o number). That means this value now will be displayed during gameplay in the top left corner. You could turn them basically all on, except the Fan and Power ones. You''ll see CPU1, CPU2, CPU3 and so one a couple of times, those are each CPU core and threads.

[Jorge Montas]

2 hours ago, QuantumSingularity said:

You go into Settings > Monitoring and it should look something like this:

 

To view the certain value in game, the row should have the check marked with 1. If it doesn't have you, you put it manually and then you check number 2 "Show in On-Screen Display" manually. Once you've done that you will see the "in OSD" for each value that will be displayed in game (the 3rd circle w/o number). That means this value now will be displayed during gameplay in the top left corner. You could turn them basically all on, except the Fan and Power ones. You''ll see CPU1, CPU2, CPU3 and so one a couple of times, those are each CPU core and threads.

There are a lot of cpus listed, which one should i use?

 

[Jorge Montas]

I set to cpu 1 and clock speeds drop from 4300 to 1900 mhz (Base clock is 2.9 ghz and max is 4300 ghz)

[-rascal-]

43 minutes ago, Jorge Montas said:

There are a lot of cpus listed, which one should i use?

 

 

It's to read which / number of cores (or threads?).

Your Ryzen 7 4800 is a 8-core / 16-thread CPU so.... you'll have CPU #1 ~ 8  (or CPU #1 ~ 16 if it's reading the CPU threads).

 

1.9 GHz?

Then your CPU is thermal / power throttling, or kicking down into low power mode, and up again.

The spec for your CPU is 2.9 GHz Base, and up to 4.2 GHz Boost.

 

https://www.amd.com/en/products/apu/amd-ryzen-7-4800h

[Jorge Montas]

1 hour ago, -rascal- said:

 

It's to read which / number of cores (or threads?).

Your Ryzen 7 4800 is a 8-core / 16-thread CPU so.... you'll have CPU #1 ~ 8  (or CPU #1 ~ 16 if it's reading the CPU threads).

 

1.9 GHz?

Then your CPU is thermal / power throttling, or kicking down into low power mode, and up again.

The spec for your CPU is 2.9 GHz Base, and up to 4.2 GHz Boost.

 

https://www.amd.com/en/products/apu/amd-ryzen-7-4800h

How can I fix this? it's really annoying and I can't play demanding games.

 

 

[-rascal-]

20 minutes ago, Jorge Montas said:

How can I fix this? it's really annoying and I can't play demanding games.

 

 

 

Well, monitor your temperatures first, and if the CPU is *ACTUALLY* thermal throttling.

 

MSi Afterburner can read / log CPU temperatures. Or... You can use something like HWMonitor or HWiNFO.

[Jorge Montas]

11 hours ago, -rascal- said:

 

Well, monitor your temperatures first, and if the CPU is *ACTUALLY* thermal throttling.

 

MSi Afterburner can read / log CPU temperatures. Or... You can use something like HWMonitor or HWiNFO.

Hw monitor says the cpu is at 75 degrees in a meeting, (Yes a school meeting) is that too high? Sorry, I haven't had the oportunity to try it in games.

 

UPDATE: temperatures seem to go down to 66 degrees after a while but then they bump back up to 75.

[Jorge Montas]

I hope this screenshot helps. (This is while playing a game called niche which isn't very demanding) ( Note: Minimun clock speeds where the same when I was in the meeting, I'll have to test it when the computer is idle) Temps also jumped up to 90 degreesle) 

[-rascal-]

4 hours ago, Jorge Montas said:

I hope this screenshot helps. (This is while playing a game called niche which isn't very demanding) ( Note: Minimun clock speeds where the same when I was in the meeting, I'll have to test it when the computer is idle) Temps also jumped up to 90 degreesle) 

 

Your screenshot does show the CPU cores are getting the advertised 4.2 GHz at times.

 

Is the CPU hitting 90°C when you are gaming?

 

What do you use (app) for school meetings?

 

Your screenshot just shows CPU usage (%) and frequency (MHz), but not CPU temperatures...

[Jorge Montas]

22 minutes ago, -rascal- said:

 

Your screenshot does show the CPU cores are getting the advertised 4.2 GHz at times.

 

Is the CPU hitting 90°C when you are gaming?

 

What do you use (app) for school meetings?

 

Your screenshot just shows CPU usage (%) and frequency (MHz), but not CPU temperatures...

It does get to 90 degrees while gaming and even to a 100 when i'm playing more demanding games

Edited April 16, 2021 by Jorge Montas

[Jorge Montas]

Here's another screenshot. I took it while playing minecraft and as you can see temperatures are higher than normal. 

[-rascal-]

1 hour ago, Jorge Montas said:

Here's another screenshot. I took it while playing minecraft and as you can see temperatures are higher than normal. 

 

Okay, CPU is definitely thermal throttling if it is reaching 98*C ~ 100*C.

Either the CPU cooling fan is broken, or the thermal paste between the CPU and cooler needs to be replaced.

Both will require you to open up the laptop...

[QuantumSingularity]

Yup, this CPU is thotling to hell and back. This laptop needs a good cleaning and thermal paste and pads change. Also won't hurt if you take a cooling pad if you plan to game on it extensively for the foreseeable future. When you take it to the dealer/repair shop, ask them exclusively to disassemble it and then clean it. Some dealers cut corners by only blowing out the dust from outside with an air compressor. This won't be a long-term solution in your case. 

[Jorge Montas]

But wouldn't I have to get my laptop cleaned every five months then?

 

[Doug_Dangger]

1.  Remove bloatware.  HP likely injects their crap in there.  Do a fresh OS install (not from the recovery partition).  A Widows key is like $7 in the key market.

2.  8gb of ram is too small.  I don't care what others say.  If you have 2 slots and 1 8gb stick, you're in luck.  You just need 1 more stick.  If you have 2 4gb then toss those out of your laptop and get 2 8gb sticks.

3.  If your OS is not on ssd then it needs to be in one.  Platter drive to ssd is the most compelling thing you can do to a computer.

4.  Install something like throttlestop.  Turn off turbo boost.  Even with boost off (so long as your thermals aren't too high) you'll be gaming great.

5.  Get a laptop cooler.  Some people say they don't work.  But from my personal experience my laptop temps go down about 7 degrees.  It may not be much but when your laptop is in the 90 degrees, that 7 degrees will be something.

[QuantumSingularity]

20 hours ago, Jorge Montas said:

But wouldn't I have to get my laptop cleaned every five months then?

 

Depends on how much you use it and the conditions you use it in. If you play from your bed with a fluffy blanket underneath it, you might need to take it for cleaning every other month. Similar if you smoke a lot or it's really dusty in you room. That's the tradeoff with the ability to game anywhere - limited thermal capacity and exchange, which requires more maintenance than a normal desktop. If you just play on a clean desk / desk mat  you will be ok with simple blow through with air spray every other week. It's really sad dealers don't explain those details to the customers. Having a gaming laptop is like having a performance/sports car - requires more frequent (and if you don't do it yourself expensive as well) maintenance than an ordinary family estate.

[Jorge Montas]

 ok, thank you all for your advice, I'll get it cleaned. Btw, does the windows install remove my files?