Hi! I just received a Gigabyte P34G laptop. I'm trying to get my bearings on optimizing it's gaming performance. I need advice on software and methodology for doing this.
1. Power settings. What's the best way to manage power settings with a laptop. When I'm gaming, I want max performance. When on just web browsing (etc.) I want it to run quietly and lower power. Is there specific software I should use to change the power settings? Should I use the built in power options in Windows?
2. CPU and GPU performance. How do I verify that I'm getting full (maximum expected) CPU and GPU performance in game? I was trying to optimize Minecraft, but I was seeing only ~15% GPU usage and ~60 CPU usage on only 1 core (quad core cpu). I know Minecraft isn't a parallelized game. Any recommendations on benchmarking software I can use to test cpu and gpu performance after making changes to settings?
3. Fan control. What programs do you recommend for controlling fan speed. Obviously the laptop has some built in fan control. Are there programs to manually setup fan curves based on temperature? I did this with my desktop computer using EVGA Precision X. Are there better options?
4. Overclocking. If I can get consistent CPU, GPU, and fan control, do you think I should try to overclock my laptops CPU or GPU? First I would want to verify if my preferred games are CPU or GPU bottle-necked. What utilities do you recommend for overclocking the CPU? What benchmarks do you recommend for stress testing?
5. General Advice. Any general advice is welcome. If you can put perspective on how much tweaking is need for a new laptop that's good. Stories from your own laptop tweaking are appreciated too!
Thanks!
1. Power settings. What's the best way to manage power settings with a laptop. When I'm gaming, I want max performance. When on just web browsing (etc.) I want it to run quietly and lower power. Is there specific software I should use to change the power settings? Should I use the built in power options in Windows?
2. CPU and GPU performance. How do I verify that I'm getting full (maximum expected) CPU and GPU performance in game? I was trying to optimize Minecraft, but I was seeing only ~15% GPU usage and ~60 CPU usage on only 1 core (quad core cpu). I know Minecraft isn't a parallelized game. Any recommendations on benchmarking software I can use to test cpu and gpu performance after making changes to settings?
3. Fan control. What programs do you recommend for controlling fan speed. Obviously the laptop has some built in fan control. Are there programs to manually setup fan curves based on temperature? I did this with my desktop computer using EVGA Precision X. Are there better options?
4. Overclocking. If I can get consistent CPU, GPU, and fan control, do you think I should try to overclock my laptops CPU or GPU? First I would want to verify if my preferred games are CPU or GPU bottle-necked. What utilities do you recommend for overclocking the CPU? What benchmarks do you recommend for stress testing?
5. General Advice. Any general advice is welcome. If you can put perspective on how much tweaking is need for a new laptop that's good. Stories from your own laptop tweaking are appreciated too!
Thanks!