Horrible performance from my GTX 560M, NEED HELP!

[kiicki]

So I own a Alienware M17x r3 (bought 2011-2012)
i7-2630QM
GTX 560M (1.5GB )
8GB RAM
840 SSD 500GB

I remember when I bought this laptop that Battlefield 3 was running perfect on hight settings.
I haven't been gaming for a really long time, and wanted to try it out. Most of the games I try out gives me low FPS.
Even Battlefield 3 with low settings, when it worked perfect on high settings couple of years ago.

I know that 560M isn't a powerful GPU and I'm going to buy a new laptop as soon I can afford, but I want to find out what is wrong with this laptop.
Even Midtown Madness 2 drops FPS sometimes and that game is 15 years old! Our old family computer runs that game better than my Alienware.
I'm aware that Alienare is overpriced but still, if i can't run a 15 year old game perfect, then I don't know what.

I also don't know if it's my GPU or CPU that is the problem.
i run my games with the Nvidia, not Intel HD.
I got high performance.
I have closed all other programs.
I don't have high temperature.
All drivers are up to date.

i haven't overclocked a thing. Turbo boost is on. I have been stuck with this problem a very long time know, and decided to post this on this forum.
I used 3D Mark 11 to benchmark and got this result:

Graphics Score:   2067
Physics Score:     6302
Combined Score: 2150

GT1:   10.12
GT2:    9.70
GT3:  12.57
GT4:    6.12
PT:     20:01
CT:     10.00

Even tho my graphics aren't close to best, it should still perform better then our family laptop that costs 200 dollars.

If you guys need more information please let me know.

[vorticalbox]

maybe overheating what are your temps like (cpu and gpu)

[Lord_Karango17]

My old laptop was running a 675m, and i remember even with a 200+ mhz overclock, it could only manage med-high settings with respectable framerates, and when I ran 3dmark 11 on it it got over 4000 points for the graphics, so im reallu not sure what framerates you were getting running bf3 at high on a 560m...

 

Either way, midtown madness should not lag ...

 

Try checking if nvidia optimus is messing anything up, as it tends to get mixed up and runs games on the intel hd graphics rather than the gpu.

[kiicki]

My old laptop was running a 675m, and i remember even with a 200+ mhz overclock, it could only manage med-high settings with respectable framerates, and when I ran 3dmark 11 on it it got over 4000 points for the graphics, so im reallu not sure what framerates you were getting running bf3 at high on a 560m...

 

Either way, midtown madness should not lag ...

 

Try checking if nvidia optimus is messing anything up, as it tends to get mixed up and runs games on the intel hd graphics rather than the gpu.

I was just trying out Midtown madness for fun, and it was weird that didn't run well.

I haven't optimized optimus, since i just run everything in low settings, and that doesn't even work.

I can't post attachments here yet, but I got: P2308. Sorry for not posting this.

[kiicki]

maybe overheating what are your temps like (cpu and gpu)

in 3D Mark i cannot see the temps, but last time, I used Furmark and got 80C temps. Maybe that's a little high, but can't remember having anything lower than that.

[Lord_Karango17]

in 3D Mark i cannot see the temps, but last time, I used Furmark and got 80C temps. Maybe that's a little high, but can't remember having anything lower than that.

Thats a bit high for laptops, and since you have the m17x, it should be more than capable to remove the heat from that chip (its is a mid ranged card, so should not be putting out that much heat).

 

My friend had a m14x, and his 650m never got much higher than 60 Celsius, so i would suggest you try cleaning out the heatsink/ make sure the fans are working properly.

 

On my old laptop, with an overvolted bios, and a 200+ mhz overclock it did not go over 74 Celsius, and its heatsink cant have been much bigger than yours, and since it was a much higher power chip, your card reaching 80 Celsius seems a bit fishy.

 

Try having msi afterburner open while running a game, and check the clockspeeds and temperatures, to make sure that the card isn't thermal throttling (if it does throttle, the clockspeeds will be high at first, and start dropping as the temperature gets high)

[SWAGGA]

UPDATE YOUR DRIVERS!

[SWAGGA]

well my brothers gtx 560 1GB GDDR5 can run BF3 1080p on ultra without AA at 60fps average

[kiicki]

well my brothers gtx 560 1GB GDDR5 can run BF3 1080p on ultra without AA at 60fps average

All my driver are up to date. I guess my temps are maybe a bit high, but can't see that it will go from 80C down to 60C if I apply new thermal paste

[kiicki]

Thats a bit high for laptops, and since you have the m17x, it should be more than capable to remove the heat from that chip (its is a mid ranged card, so should not be putting out that much heat).

 

My friend had a m14x, and his 650m never got much higher than 60 Celsius, so i would suggest you try cleaning out the heatsink/ make sure the fans are working properly.

 

On my old laptop, with an overvolted bios, and a 200+ mhz overclock it did not go over 74 Celsius, and its heatsink cant have been much bigger than yours, and since it was a much higher power chip, your card reaching 80 Celsius seems a bit fishy.

 

Try having msi afterburner open while running a game, and check the clockspeeds and temperatures, to make sure that the card isn't thermal throttling (if it does throttle, the clockspeeds will be high at first, and start dropping as the temperature gets high)

I will try to apply a new thermal paste. i haven't actually done that before, but i highly doubt that it will drop from 80C to around 60C. but there is only one way to find out. I will probably make a new post after i have bought and applied the new thermal paste.

[HatallaS]

well my brothers gtx 560 1GB GDDR5 can run BF3 1080p on ultra without AA at 60fps average

I call bs, I had a 580m and it couldn't do that, fried the gpu got a 560 it's barely playable now

[JetPowerss]

As its a mobile GPU, it could be thermal throttling. Is your PC suffocating? This could be the cause of the performance issues with the 560M.

[Lord_Karango17]

well my brothers gtx 560 1GB GDDR5 can run BF3 1080p on ultra without AA at 60fps average

lol no...

 

The scores I posted previously are similar to a 560ti (560<560ti), and that laptop did not do ultra...

[SWAGGA]

All my driver are up to date. I guess my temps are maybe a bit high, but can't see that it will go from 80C down to 60C if I apply new thermal paste

LINUS did a video where he replaced the thermal compund on a brand new evga gtx 970 (SC i think) and he got 3°C less which is pretty good, get something like Arctic mx 4 and see if you can replace it, although I wouldnt touch anything inm the laptop doe

[R_Golden]

You're probably using the onboard graphics rather than the 560m.

[ApolloX75]

Thermal throttling for sure. Most gaming laptops (my gt780 is a pig too) need a thermal paste change once a year to keep operating at peak.

Also a good idea to clean out the dust that has collected inside the chassis too.

[D3MON]

windows thats a few years old and is full of fragmented files and drivers that are no longer in use can really slow down systems also.
backup your data
reinstall windows from a fresh (use your old key if you have to
then tear it apart and do a thermal paste job and clean out all heatsinks.

bet it'll be like new.....because it technically would be.