Question Throttling / fps decrease in EVERY game after a while

[1337rofl]

Dear readers,
I am very frustrated by any game I try to play dropping in FPS. This FPS drop happens in low demanding and high end games after about 7 minutes of playing.
To paint a picture: GTA 5 most settings on medium plays buttery smooth with ease the first 10 minutes, then starts lagging hard, doesn't matter where I am in the game.
Battlefield 4 on medium settings has 60+fps and is super smooth, until the fps drops to around 20-25 after 7 minutes of playtime.
I tried putting these 2 games on lowest settings possible - same results, only a higher FPS obviously before the system throttles.
I even play a super old game that can be played on a Pentium with ease (Drift City). Ultra smooth ganeplay, 70+FPS at all times, then after around 10 minutes it drops to roughly 50fps.
I carefully monitored my hardware temps to see if the CPU or GPU isn't underclocking because it gets too hot.
I noticed that under heavy load, the CPU became around 91C, GPU around 81.
I used compressed air to try and unclog / remove any dust from the fan / heatsink area. (It's a laptop)
I noticed plenty of dust coming back out, and now when monitoring the temps, my CPU becomes around 78-83 degrees C on GTA 5 / BF4, and 71 degrees on Drift City.
GPU around 70.
I know that these temps are perfectly fine for a laptop under heavy load / gaming. So why the hell is it still throttling (if you can call it that) and heavily decreasing my FPS?
I used Nvidia control panel to put all 3d settings on the reccommended max performance option.
All my hardware is stock, but I downloaded MSI Afterburner to try and slightly OC my GPU. I thought maybe it would relieve some stress from the CPU.
Weird thing is: I noticed that clock values were 475 and 900 automatically when opening afterburner. But my stock GPU is supposed to be 600 and 900. When I put the values to this and press apply: the game crashed within 5 minutes of playing.
I read a tip online saying that enabling Kboost through an MSI Afterburner skin will lock the GPU values. I don't see any change though.
So what the hell is going on and what can I do? I understand that maybe even 81C temperature can slightly reduce performance, but not to unplayable from super smooth. And why do I even have this problem on a super old lightweight game like drift city after around 10 minutes? And why are my GPU clock values (mHz) not like factory stock but much lower in MSI Afterburner?

My system:
Windows 10 64bit Home
i7 2670QM
GT 525M 1GB
8GB DDR3 RAM
500GB HDD

Thanks in advance.

 

[Frag Maniac]

I wouldn't recommend OCing the GPU in the scenario you described. You're more likely to benefit from under volting it a bit.

A lot of laptops come with the GPU undervolted, commonly called "Max-Q". In laptops it makes them run smoother and you actually get better performance.

Don't just experiment with it recklessly though, look for a guide on it. That said, you may not even be able to improve anything by under volting the GPU, simply because you're laptop GPU is literally a 12 yr old model with only 1 GB VRAM.

 

[1337rofl]

I wouldn't recommend OCing the GPU in the scenario you described. You're more likely to benefit from under volting it a bit.

A lot of laptops come with the GPU undervolted, commonly called "Max-Q". In laptops it makes them run smoother and you actually get better performance.

Don't just experiment with it recklessly though, look for a guide on it. That said, you may not even be able to improve anything by under volting the GPU, simply because you're laptop GPU is literally a 12 yr old model with only 1 GB VRAM.

Thanks for your quick reply.
Changing the voltage is impossible to do in MSI Afterburner (greyed out).
I suppose it's factory locked.
I understand the GPU is 12 years old but I feel like I don't need to squeeze more juice out of it, as the system proved it can run games like GTA 5 effortlessly with high FPS for the first few minutes, before something necks it. So I think the system specs are fine but something is causing the CPU or the GPU (or both) to downclock and I don't know what it is.
I still find it weird that the default stock clock values according to MSI Afterburner are 475 and 900 while the card is 600 and 900 at default.EDIT: Just to make sure I googled my card + "475mhz". I found 1 guy on another forum being baffled that there's apparently 600mhz versions and 475mhz versions of the GPU. So never mind my earlier statement. The default clock values are OK. So I understand now that the GPU is pretty weak, but still, I'm convinced that it is supposed to handle the games I play. Especially as it proved to run them at high FPS.

 

[geofelt]

I see many complaints about gaming laptops not performing well.
Usually gaming while plugged in.
One common cause is thermal throttling.
Laptop coolers must, of necessity be small and light.
The coolers are also relatively underpowered.
If you run an app such as HWMonitor or HWinfo, you will get the current, minimum, and maximum cpu temperatures.
For intel processors, if you see a max of 100c. it means you have throttled.
The cpu will lower it's multiplier and power draw to protect itself
until the situation reverses.
At a lower multiplier, your cpu usage may well be at 100%
What can you do?
First, see that your cooler airways are clear and that the cooler fan is spinning.
Use a windows balanced power profile, not the performance profile.
Set a minimum cpu performance to something like 20%

It is counter-intuitive, but, try changing the windows balanced power profile advanced functions to a max of 90% instead of the default of 100%
You may not notice the reduced cpu performance.

 

[1337rofl]

I see many complaints about gaming laptops not performing well.
Usually gaming while plugged in.
One common cause is thermal throttling.
Laptop coolers must, of necessity be small and light.
The coolers are also relatively underpowered.
If you run an app such as HWMonitor or HWinfo, you will get the current, minimum, and maximum cpu temperatures.
For intel processors, if you see a max of 100c. it means you have throttled.
The cpu will lower it's multiplier and power draw to protect itself
until the situation reverses.
At a lower multiplier, your cpu usage may well be at 100%
What can you do?
First, see that your cooler airways are clear and that the cooler fan is spinning.
Use a windows balanced power profile, not the performance profile.
Set a minimum cpu performance to something like 20%

It is counter-intuitive, but, try changing the windows balanced power profile advanced functions to a max of 90% instead of the default of 100%
You may not notice the reduced cpu performance.

Thank you for your extensive reply.
I am now convinced that the issue is thermal throttling.
I configured all the power options like you suggested me to.
I started Battlefield 4, found a crowded big online map with lots of stuff going on.
The game was running stable between 42 and 50 fps, even in situations with a lot of effects, people etc. After about 20 minutes of playing, the CPU / GPU temp reaches 95. From this point my FPS drops to around 27. The CPU / GPU have time to cool down, FPS reaches around 35, then at 95 degrees drops to 27 again.
I guess there is nothing I can do? The temperature seemingly just keeps rising, and then HAS to throttle to decrease in temperature temporarily. I may have to try and swap the heatsink (I see that 1 of the tiny lines / frames has a little bend on it. May be reason for overheating?)
And perhaps swapping the thermal paste will do the trick?
Thanks a lot!

 

[Frag Maniac]

Thank you for your extensive reply.
I am now convinced that the issue is thermal throttling.
I configured all the power options like you suggested me to.
I started Battlefield 4, found a crowded big online map with lots of stuff going on.
The game was running stable between 42 and 50 fps, even in situations with a lot of effects, people etc. After about 20 minutes of playing, the CPU / GPU temp reaches 95. From this point my FPS drops to around 27. The CPU / GPU have time to cool down, FPS reaches around 35, then at 95 degrees drops to 27 again.
I guess there is nothing I can do? The temperature seemingly just keeps rising, and then HAS to throttle to decrease in temperature temporarily. I may have to try and swap the heatsink (I see that 1 of the tiny lines / frames has a little bend on it. May be reason for overheating?)
And perhaps swapping the thermal paste will do the trick?
Thanks a lot!

Yeah temps cannot be taken for granted with laptop gaming. You really need your benching to show the temp details at crucial points like you just explained. Laptops, especially since they've gotten thinner, are still hard to cool well. Temps are also one of the main reasons Nvidia developed Max-Q, it keeps temps manageable and frame times in check.

Too bad yours won't let you adjust GPU voltage. If you decide to hang on to the one you have though, consider taking it apart and cleaning it thoroughly, and using a good Laptop cooler under it. There are a lot of good videos on YouTube on how to take apart most any laptop that is a common brand and model, even some that aren't so common or popular.