[SOLVED] My laptop is underperforming [Games]

[Citrine Piasora]

I have a ASUS ROG Strix Hero II that I got a few months ago and the performance of it has been pretty bad for the past few months.

It's been having inconsistent framerates, a lot of FPS drops that go from 60 to 10 and sometimes lower. Most of the games I play are way lower in terms of recommended specs which is why it's been bothering me.

I used this user benchmark and it said that my laptop is underperforming compared to many other laptops with the same components, any suggestions on what I should do?

https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/21540962

Specs:
ASUS ROG Strix Hero II
Intel i7-8750H
Nvidia GTX 1060
RAM: 16GB

EDIT:
Adding info that I really should have before.

Some games that I play:
Sekiro
Code Vein
Death End Re;Quest
Disgaea 5
Bayonetta

My main issue, I don't get consistent FPS on some newer titles even though I'm above recommended specs. Code Vein for example, barely smooth 50 to 60 FPS on medium to high settings.

I also experience a lot of FPS dips at inopportune moments.

I had undervolted my PC due to these issues but apparently all it did was make it worse. Here's the new benchmark

https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/21551669

 

[Ralston18]

From the benchmarks:

"With an average single core score, this CPU can handle browsing the web, email, video playback and the majority of general computing tasks including moderate gaming when coupled with an appropriate GPU. Finally, with a gaming score of 46.3%, this CPU's suitability for 3D gaming is average"

And:

"47.5% is a reasonable 3D score (RTX 2070 = 100%). This GPU can handle the majority of recent games but it will struggle with resolutions greater than 1080p at ultra detail levels. (Note: general computing tasks don't require 3D graphics)"

What games do you play? Compare the game's recommended hardware specifications to the laptop's specs.

Most games list hardware specifications as "minimal", "recommended", and "best". You do not want minimal and you do want as much "best" as is possible and affordable.

Use Task Manager, Resource Monitor, and Process Explorer (you may need to download that via Microsoft's website) to observe system performance while gaming. Look for bottlenecks.

Also what disk drive(s) do you have? How full are those drives?

[Moderator Note: moving your post to PC Gaming. Someone may respond with more specific ideas regarding the games you play and your current hardware configuration.]

 

[Citrine Piasora]

From the benchmarks:

"With an average single core score, this CPU can handle browsing the web, email, video playback and the majority of general computing tasks including moderate gaming when coupled with an appropriate GPU. Finally, with a gaming score of 46.3%, this CPU's suitability for 3D gaming is average"

And:

"47.5% is a reasonable 3D score (RTX 2070 = 100%). This GPU can handle the majority of recent games but it will struggle with resolutions greater than 1080p at ultra detail levels. (Note: general computing tasks don't require 3D graphics)"

What games do you play? Compare the game's recommended hardware specifications to the laptop's specs.

Most games list hardware specifications as "minimal", "recommended", and "best". You do not want minimal and you do want as much "best" as is possible and affordable.

Use Task Manager, Resource Monitor, and Process Explorer (you may need to download that via Microsoft's website) to observe system performance while gaming. Look for bottlenecks.

Also what disk drive(s) do you have? How full are those drives?

[Moderator Note: moving your post to PC Gaming. Someone may respond with more specific ideas regarding the games you play and your current hardware configuration.]

The games I play recommended specs are usually pretty well below my current specs. I may have found the problem but I'm not sure why. I tried to turn off my undervolt and it seems to fix the FPS Drops but the reason why I undervolted in the first place was because of my bad FPS Drops.

The FPS drops were fixed for a while but then it started dropping again. I tried to re enable Turbo and turn on speed shift after resetting all my undervolts and this is what I got.

https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/21551669

I think the bigger question I have now is why my FPS still drops badly at times

EDIT:
My FPS seems to always drop whenever my CPU reaches 100% but I'm not sure why that happens

 

[Phaaze88]

It's because of the single stick of ram. The cpu 'choke' is made even worse due to only running in single channel mode.

To fix this, you have to go and purchase either a new 2 stick kit, or a matching 16GB stick.

 

[Citrine Piasora]

It's because of the single stick of ram. The cpu 'choke' is made even worse due to only running in single channel mode.

To fix this, you have to go and purchase either a new 2 stick kit, or a matching 16GB stick.

Do the sticks need to be the exact same or just the same size?

Also, what RAM would you recommend, I'm trying to find some that I can get within the day to try it but not many are sold from where I am. How much RAM would be enough for most games considering my other specs? I'm kinda on a tight budget atm and the only one I can find that's a kit of 2x 16GB is pretty expensive for me.

I'll give it a try once I get the parts later

 

[Phaaze88]

Do the sticks need to be the exact same or just the same size?

Also, what RAM would you recommend, I'm trying to find some that I can get within the day to try it but not many are sold from where I am. How much RAM would be enough for most games considering my other specs? I'm kinda on a tight budget atm and the only one I can find that's a kit of 2x 16GB is pretty expensive for me.

I'll give it a try once I get the parts later

Same size is needed to run in dual channel. If the rated speeds are different, the faster stick will clock down to match the slower one.

If getting a new 2x 16GB kit is too much, how about a 2x 8GB, and try to sell the single stick?
There's also the matter of just adding another 16GB stick, but mixing ram - even with the same specs - is always a gamble; sometimes it works, sometimes not.

 

[Citrine Piasora]

Same size is needed to run in dual channel. If the rated speeds are different, the faster stick will clock down to match the slower one.

If getting a new 2x 16GB kit is too much, how about a 2x 8GB, and try to sell the single stick?
There's also the matter of just adding another 16GB stick, but mixing ram - even with the same specs - is always a gamble; sometimes it works, sometimes not.

Do I have to worry about anything when buying the sticks? Like incompatibilities etc?

Planning to get a new 2x8 Kit cuz I can't find a matching one

 

[Phaaze88]

Do I have to worry about anything when buying the sticks? Like incompatibilities etc?
...

When buying as a pair, no.
Stick with the popular brands - G. Skill, Corsair, Crucial, and Kingston - you're less likely to run into issues with them.

Get a 2x 8GB 2666mhz kit, because the laptop's motherboard is most likely an Intel H-series; getting faster kits would be pointless, as they'll get fixed to 2666, with no way to change it.

 

[Citrine Piasora]

When buying as a pair, no.
Stick with the popular brands - G. Skill, Corsair, Crucial, and Kingston - you're less likely to run into issues with them.

Get a 2x 8GB 2666mhz kit, because the laptop's motherboard is most likely an Intel H-series; getting faster kits would be pointless, as they'll get fixed to 2666, with no way to change it.

I got a matching 16 GB RAM cuz kits are rare where I'm from apparently and the I still get random FPS drops. It does seem a lot smoother and more consistent compared to before though.

 

[Phaaze88]

What are your cpu and gpu temps when the drops happen?

In the very first userbench you linked, your cpu was clearly thermal throttling - the undervolt fixed this, as shown in the one after.

Userbenchmark has it's uses, but it fails to simulate actual in game performance; it's benching one thing at a time.
A laptop's cpu and gpu share a single heatsink instead of 2 separate ones - space constraints; one of the cons of laptops.
Pushing the 2 together... there may still be throttling occurring. Check your temps in game.

 

[Citrine Piasora]

What are your cpu and gpu temps when the drops happen?

In the very first userbench you linked, your cpu was clearly thermal throttling - the undervolt fixed this, as shown in the one after.

Userbenchmark has it's uses, but it fails to simulate actual in game performance; it's benching one thing at a time.
A laptop's cpu and gpu share a single heatsink instead of 2 separate ones - space constraints; one of the cons of laptops.
Pushing the 2 together... there may still be throttling occurring. Check your temps in game.

About 80C without undervolting. I gave it another few hours of testing and it seems like the new RAM combined with undervolting fixed most of my FPS drops, I'm using ThrottleStop to do it if that's important. Turned off disable turbo and undervolted it as much as my laptop can handle and it seems to be fixed outside of some random drops. I haven't had as many drops as I used to over the past 3 hours of testing.

 

[Phaaze88]

80C on both cpu and gpu?

 

[Citrine Piasora]

80C on both cpu and gpu?

80 on GPU, I don't know how to check individual temperatures, I'm basing it off of what I saw on ROG Center and ThrottleStop. I'll play a bit more and see how much temps I get now. The undervolt fixed the major issues I have but the random FPS drops are weird to me even if they're super rare now in comparison

 

[Phaaze88]

80 on GPU, I don't know how to check individual temperatures, I'm basing it off of what I saw on ROG Center and ThrottleStop. I'll play a bit more and see how much temps I get now. The undervolt fixed the major issues I have but the random FPS drops are weird to me even if they're super rare now in comparison

You can check those with HWINFO.

Free Download HWiNFO Sofware | Installer & Portable for Windows, DOS

Start to analyze your hardware right now! HWiNFO has available as an Installer and Portable version for Windows (32/64-bit) and Portable version for DOS.

www.hwinfo.com

 

[Jason H.]

I have a ASUS ROG Strix Hero II that I got a few months ago and the performance of it has been pretty bad for the past few months.

It's been having inconsistent framerates, a lot of FPS drops that go from 60 to 10 and sometimes lower. Most of the games I play are way lower in terms of recommended specs which is why it's been bothering me.

I used this user benchmark and it said that my laptop is underperforming compared to many other laptops with the same components, any suggestions on what I should do?

https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/21540962

Specs:
ASUS ROG Strix Hero II
Intel i7-8750H
Nvidia GTX 1060
RAM: 16GB

EDIT:
Adding info that I really should have before.

Some games that I play:
Sekiro
Code Vein
Death End Re;Quest
Disgaea 5
Bayonetta

My main issue, I don't get consistent FPS on some newer titles even though I'm above recommended specs. Code Vein for example, barely smooth 50 to 60 FPS on medium to high settings.

I also experience a lot of FPS dips at inopportune moments.

I had undervolted my PC due to these issues but apparently all it did was make it worse. Here's the new benchmark

https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/21551669

Funny thing about recommended specs..

This dont always mean you can run a game, how you think you can run a game.

Same with minimum specs, just because you can play the game on the minimum hardware, dont mean it will be a good experience.

Typically the recommended specs is just a guideline on what you should have to have a good experience. It does NOT nessacarily mean its good for max settings. Im not 100% knowledgeable on explaining this topic, but there are videos online showing that even using recommended specs dont always result in ideal performance depending on what you expect out of the game.

How long have you had this laptop?

At 1st glance with all the info you and other tech guys have given on here, it sounds like you could be having an issue with thermals. We all know laptops are worse off for thermals so it honestly would not surprise me.

IF you have had this laptop for some time, whens the last time you cleaned it out? Meaning cleaning fans of dust and such.

Has it always been like this since you bought it or is this a new issue?

 

[Jason H.]

I got a matching 16 GB RAM cuz kits are rare where I'm from apparently and the I still get random FPS drops. It does seem a lot smoother and more consistent compared to before though.

Not meaning to double post here but, yes dual channel ram will always result in better performance over single channel so no surprise there.

Your still having the issue so its not the ram.

 

[Citrine Piasora]

Not meaning to double post here but, yes dual channel ram will always result in better performance over single channel so no surprise there.

Your still having the issue so its not the ram.

The drops are rarer now so part of it was RAM. I cleaned it out recently dust wise. The issues weren't prevalent long ago cuz I was playing older games.

And for the record, I don't play at max settings on any of my games which is why I was asking for help on the weird performance issues.

I kinda at least expect like medium to not have dips. It's not like I'm playing any games that need super high specs atm so the fact that the dips happened constantly even on lower settings isn't exactly something that I'd consider normal, especially if its on an older game.

I'm still testing to see what temps I'm at whenever the drops happen to see if it's temperature atm.

The reason I tried to reach out for help in the first place is because I got this laptop like 10 months ago so the fact that its having performance issues where it really shouldn't doesn't exactly sound fun. Especially when someone else with the exact same specs as mine has no issues with the same games

EDIT:
It looks like the FPS Drops that I'm currently experiencing (the inconsistent random drops) are whenever my CPU usage suddenly jumps to 100%. I'm not sure why this happens but that's what I've noticed.

I've been testing on Sekiro and it also just usually only drop whenever I'm travelling between locations (which is probably due to loading)