Random massive frame drops

[flavoi]

Randomly, certain games will completely drop drown to 10 fps, regardless of graphics settings in the game. Earlier, in TERA, i turned all of the effects down and it dropped from 70 to 10 without me moving and staring at a random area of wall that was not moving.

It happens in some games and not others, and doesn't always happen in the same game twice. For example, TERA worked fine at 30fps on med-high on Sunday.

Nvidia 650m, i7 3610qm.

I had MSI after burner (no OC applied, simply as a monitoring tool) open and noticed odd fluctuations.
http://i.imgur.com/DSYwqu8.png

I have updated all drivers. Running Windows 8.

 

[rolli59]

Thermal throttling? Make sure all your vents are clean.

 

[flavoi]

Thermal throttling? Make sure all your vents are clean.

I checked (as well as i can on a laptop) and it looked good. 71c isn't terribly hot, ive had stability at ~80

 

[flavoi]

On second thought, it does seem to peek a bit on the graph during this. Let me look into it more, maybe stick my laptop outside and give it a go.

EDIT: Nope, happens in games as low as 60c and drops from 60 to 10 fps.

 

[flavoi]

On second thought, it does seem to peek a bit on the graph during this. Let me look into it more, maybe stick my laptop outside and give it a go..

Happens at 40c from fridge to game.

 

[rolli59]

If it has nothing to do with thermals I am lost.

 

[flavoi]

If it has nothing to do with thermals I am lost.

It may be a coincidence but running a game without an external monitor may fix the issue.

I say may because it only happens after I unplug the monitor and restart the computer .

 

[smeezekitty]

How is your RAM usage?

 

[flavoi]

How is your RAM usage?

As low as 50% of 8gb depending on the game and graphical settings.

 

[flavoi]

How is your RAM usage?

As low as 50% of 8gb depending on the game and graphical settings.

Interestingly, If I can the frame to 30 it won't drop any. It seems only when either the gpu has to work too hard it drops. I also found that I can cap it at ~40 fps on low and only ~30 on high before it drops.

EDIT: To further this theory, removing the frame cap and undercoating the gpu also stops the dropping, but it pretty much limits the frames because it is running slower too.

 

[flavoi]

Just did a fresh install of windows, same problem. Updating the graphics drivers now, I'll see what happens when they are up to date.

 

[flavoi]

I found a "fix". I have no issues when I unplug my external monitor.

It is a 1920x 1200, connected via hdmi. My laptop screen is 1920x1080, so there isn't a huge difference there. I also just tried forcing my external to 1080, and there did not seem to be an issue there.

I then used the Intel hd 4k graphics driver to set the resolution back to 1200, and the problem seems to be fixed. I'll give it a day and then close the issue or update further.