[SOLVED] Inconsistent and random iGPU

[chafekaraditya]

The problem:-
An old Dell Latitude E5420
i5-2520m@2.5ghz
Intel HD 3000
4GB DDR3

I play mainly simulation games with this computer(ETS2,KSP).I have optimised the graphics and the GPU gives me a consistent 20-25 fps when its usage is at a 100%,The temps are around 70-75°C(MSI Afterburner is being used to monitor this).But after about 20-25 minutes or so the GPU usage and performance drops down to 16-18 fps and it keeps dropping down as time passes and settles at 6-8 fps.The thing that I don't understand is that the temperature is at a solid 78°C ,The CPU usage doesn't vary much and only the GPU usage drops.What may be the problem?(The games run at their most playable form when the GPU is pinned at 100%)

 

[lga1156_ftw]

That integrated GPU is very weak for gaming. If you dont want to buy new laptop or desktop then i suggest doing cheap eGPU setup (using the expresscard slot).

Here is some reading for you : https://egpu.io/best-egpu-buyers-guide/#expresscard2-interface

https://egpu.io/forums/builds/14-de...-beast-8-4-with-expresscard-win10pro-sabrefv/

Your motherboard chipset supports gen1 and gen2 speeds for expresslot, but thats depending on your bios version, this guy actually plugged in a gtx 980, that sounds way too expensive though. https://www.techinferno.com/index.p...x5704gbpsc-ec2-pe4c-21a-win81-thedeatheffect/

Heres how the process looks like:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0YMBvNFgyE

1. Look what kind off "expresscard 2.0 adapter" you want in egpu.io , under buyers guide and "expresscard" you have your options. You can just get "PCE164P-N03 + DIY EC adapter" thats about 10$ + shipping you need both.
2. Settle on the GPU you want, buy used GPU and PSU unless your friend or someone has a spare one to give you, it dont really matter how bad these are since you arent risking other components using a shitty psu. Its cheaper to buy some generic psu with cables if you dont care how it looks that can power the adapter and gpu all at once, not like this guy in video.

Used gtx 670 (30$ and used psu 20$) should be fine. Dont get 600 series since you risk gen2 not working.

 

[lga1156_ftw]

Also you can upgrade your cpu and ram for that laptop also making it a beast (well comparable to cheap desktop pc)
Upgrading your ram from 2x2gb to 2x4gb 1600mhz is easy step, your probably fine even with 2x8gb (total 16gb) even if the manual dont support it, since your cpu and operating system supports 16gb. Ive succesfully upgraded to 16gb in these models. However your probably fine with 8gb , 4 is just too little.
Used ddr3 sodimm is very cheap just look for pc3-12800 / 1600mhz ddr3 sodimm

Then there is CPU, which can be upgraded to any same socket Sandy bridge CPU, only issues is thermal throttling with higher tdp i7 processors.

 

[chafekaraditya]

Also you can upgrade your cpu and ram for that laptop also making it a beast (well comparable to cheap desktop pc)
Upgrading your ram from 2x2gb to 2x4gb 1600mhz is easy step, your probably fine even with 2x8gb (total 16gb) even if the manual dont support it, since your cpu and operating system supports 16gb. Ive succesfully upgraded to 16gb in these models. However your probably fine with 8gb , 4 is just too little.
Used ddr3 sodimm is very cheap just look for pc3-12800 / 1600mhz ddr3 sodimm

Then there is CPU, which can be upgraded to any same socket Sandy bridge CPU, only issues is thermal throttling with higher tdp i7 processors.

That integrated GPU is very weak for gaming. If you dont want to buy new laptop or desktop then i suggest doing cheap eGPU setup (using the expresscard slot).

Here is some reading for you : https://egpu.io/best-egpu-buyers-guide/#expresscard2-interface

https://egpu.io/forums/builds/14-de...-beast-8-4-with-expresscard-win10pro-sabrefv/

Your motherboard chipset supports gen1 and gen2 speeds for expresslot, but thats depending on your bios version, this guy actually plugged in a gtx 980, that sounds way too expensive though. https://www.techinferno.com/index.p...x5704gbpsc-ec2-pe4c-21a-win81-thedeatheffect/

Heres how the process looks like:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0YMBvNFgyE

1. Look what kind off "expresscard 2.0 adapter" you want in egpu.io , under buyers guide and "expresscard" you have your options. You can just get "PCE164P-N03 + DIY EC adapter" thats about 10$ + shipping you need both.
2. Settle on the GPU you want, buy used GPU and PSU unless your friend or someone has a spare one to give you, it dont really matter how bad these are since you arent risking other components using a shitty psu. Its cheaper to buy some generic psu with cables if you dont care how it looks that can power the adapter and gpu all at once, not like this guy in video.

Used gtx 670 (30$ and used psu 20$) should be fine. Dont get 600 series since you risk gen2 not working.

Thanks a lot for your advice but the thing is that I am saving up for a decent PC which I will purchase later this year...I just want to play games until the Quarantine is over as I am locked in the house ,and I want to understand why the iGPU doesn't operate at full capacity

 

[lga1156_ftw]

I guess i went a little overboard but someone reading this thread might go for it. That sounds 75% like thermal throttling. With laptops usually heating of components like pch, cpu, gpu and vrm might cause lowering of fps, and if you get example too high vrm temperature that might lower GPU clocks.

Download HWmonitor and leave it backround until you game for an hour or so, then look the "max temperature" you got during gaming, take a pic of the "temperature sensors" like cpu cores and gpu. Post here.

 

[chafekaraditya]

I guess i went a little overboard but someone reading this thread might go for it. That sounds 75% like thermal throttling. With laptops usually heating of components like pch, cpu, gpu and vrm might cause lowering of fps, and if you get example too high vrm temperature that might lower GPU clocks.

Download HWmonitor and leave it backround until you game for an hour or so, then look the "max temperature" you got during gaming, take a pic of the "temperature sensors" like cpu cores and gpu. Post here.

I have taken a few steps to keep the temps in check as the PC was earlier shutting down after a mere 10 mins of gaming...I have disabled intel TurboBoost,Downloaded HWinfo and kept the fan running at Max RPM(4900),Changed out the thermal paste,Cleaned out Heatsink and Fan....All of this has been done last week.....

The snaps to the temps are in the link below

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1bMUj7vspM39U1306-eAEAfmDNmJ_bnKa

 

[lga1156_ftw]

Thats "quite" high temps on the gpu after repasting. On latitudes you can start throttling at around 80c on the GPU. Did you remove old thermal paste well before applying new paste?

 

[chafekaraditya]

Thats "quite" high temps on the gpu after repasting. On latitudes you can start throttling at around 80c on the GPU. Did you remove old thermal paste well before applying new paste?

Yes.On both the CPU and GPU.The older paste wasn't too old (about a year old)...But since I had some lying around I decided to just throw it in whilst cleaning the fan.

 

[lga1156_ftw]

thermal krizzly kryonaut is best non conductive thermal paste.

 

[chafekaraditya]

thermal krizzly kryonaut is best non conductive thermal paste.

I applied some Cooler Master Thermal Paste...Basic stuff which I had lying around

 

[lga1156_ftw]

Ok nice, so was this solved, issue was thermal throttling? You can select best answer so it will show as "solved"

 

[chafekaraditya]

Ok nice, so was this solved, issue was thermal throttling? You can select best answer so it will show as "solved"

Yup The thermal paste has helped for now,but in the long run it would make much more sense to upgrade to a decent PC. So I'll mark your first reply as the solution

 

[lga1156_ftw]

Sounds like a plan. eGPU setup can be a struggle, unless you want to turn it into small hobby. Its very cheap if you get right parts.