What causes low fps?

[Fermoz]

Hi,

This is a question that might be hard to answer. But anyway, I have a laptop with i7 7700hq, gtx 1060 6gb and 8 gigs of ram. My 3dmark firestrike score is 9434p which is in line with the specs. Right now i'm playing Destiny 2 on medium/high settings. At some location i'm getting around 40-50 fps. When monitoring my hardware I can see that the utilization of cpu and gpu sits around 60% at those moments. What makes the game stutter? I haven't seen any thermal trottling while monitoring. GPU drivers is up to date and have the latest version of Windows 10.

Thanks!

 

[serioussamik17]

That is because the Laptop versions of the GPU are always considerably slower than the desktop versions. The utilization of your GPU is not the right indicative and neither the cause of stutter, it is just the CPU and GPU performance would never be comparable to the same line desktop versions (in your case, desktop versions GTX 1060 6GB and I7 7700 would have fetched you 60 FPS on Ultra settings). Certain compromises are made when a mobile chip of the same line is developed, and power efficiency is given importance. Even some game have a disclaimer "Laptop versions of some GPU may not be supported", because there are certain compromises made while the GPU chip is designed.
Here is a link with some statistical details:
http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-1060-Mobile-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1060-6GB/m164336vs3639

Here are some workarounds for maximizing gaming performance on your laptop. Do not activate power saving or "Low Profile" mode and keep your laptop plugged on to a power source while gaming.Alsways keep the discrete GPU active and disable some programs like Skype, Daemon tools and others those actually saturate some of your available RAM. Also, check task manager and suspend some necessary tasks like AntiSpyware, Malware alerts, Google talk etc. as they tend to take up system resources (however small). Consider getting a laptop cooler (however well built, a lappie cooler is recommended for long sessions of heavy duty gaming). This way, you can squeeze out extra performance form your laptop.

 

[Fermoz]

That is because the Laptop versions of the GPU are always considerably slower than the desktop versions. The utilization of your GPU is not the right indicative and neither the cause of stutter, it is just the CPU and GPU performance would never be comparable to the same line desktop versions (in your case, desktop versions GTX 1060 6GB and I7 7700 would have fetched you 60 FPS on Ultra settings). Certain compromises are made when a mobile chip of the same line is developed, and power efficiency is given importance. Even some game have a disclaimer "Laptop versions of some GPU may not be supported", because there are certain compromises made while the GPU chip is designed.
Here is a link with some statistical details:
http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-1060-Mobile-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1060-6GB/m164336vs3639

Here are some workarounds for maximizing gaming performance on your laptop. Do not activate power saving or "Low Profile" mode and keep your laptop plugged on to a power source while gaming.Alsways keep the discrete GPU active and disable some programs like Skype, Daemon tools and others those actually saturate some of your available RAM. Also, check task manager and suspend some necessary tasks like AntiSpyware, Malware alerts, Google talk etc. as they tend to take up system resources (however small). Consider getting a laptop cooler (however well built, a lappie cooler is recommended for long sessions of heavy duty gaming). This way, you can squeeze out extra performance form your laptop.

Thanks a lot for your reply. It gave me a better understanding that the utilisation is not always a good measurement. But how about the 3dmark fire strike score? It has to mean something about the computers overall performance?

 

[aquielisunari]

That is because the Laptop versions of the GPU are always considerably slower than the desktop versions. The utilization of your GPU is not the right indicative and neither the cause of stutter, it is just the CPU and GPU performance would never be comparable to the same line desktop versions (in your case, desktop versions GTX 1060 6GB and I7 7700 would have fetched you 60 FPS on Ultra settings). Certain compromises are made when a mobile chip of the same line is developed, and power efficiency is given importance. Even some game have a disclaimer "Laptop versions of some GPU may not be supported", because there are certain compromises made while the GPU chip is designed.
Here is a link with some statistical details:
http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-1060-Mobile-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1060-6GB/m164336vs3639

Here are some workarounds for maximizing gaming performance on your laptop. Do not activate power saving or "Low Profile" mode and keep your laptop plugged on to a power source while gaming.Alsways keep the discrete GPU active and disable some programs like Skype, Daemon tools and others those actually saturate some of your available RAM. Also, check task manager and suspend some necessary tasks like AntiSpyware, Malware alerts, Google talk etc. as they tend to take up system resources (however small). Consider getting a laptop cooler (however well built, a lappie cooler is recommended for long sessions of heavy duty gaming). This way, you can squeeze out extra performance form your laptop.

Thanks a lot for your reply. It gave me a better understanding that the utilisation is not always a good measurement. But how about the 3dmark fire strike score? It has to mean something about the computers overall performance?

What kind of FPS are you getting on local games? Once you leave your PC FPS doesn't mean what it does when you're home. How does your FPS compare when gaming offline? Is your laptop's offline performance also not meeting your expectations(which doesn't mean anything is actually wrong)?

 

[Fermoz]

The only game I’m playing offline is Witcher 3. My fps is about 60 in that game on high/medium but dips in cities etc. Before this laptop I had a desktop with gtx 1060 which was faster in Witcher 3.

However, I thought this laptop would be only slightly slower the desktop because of the fire strike score.

 

[aquielisunari]

The only game I’m playing offline is Witcher 3. My fps is about 60 in that game on high/medium but dips in cities etc. Before this laptop I had a desktop with gtx 1060 which was faster in Witcher 3.

However, I thought this laptop would be only slightly slower the desktop because of the fire strike score.

Right click start and click power options. Which power option are you using?

Open control panel and then open Nvidia's control panel. On the 3D settings list what does it say for the power plan? It should say Prefer Maximum Performance.

Can you call the laptop's manufacturer? Maybe they could lend a hand.

I really don't want to return this laptop. Apart from the gaming issues I don't have any problems with it.

I'm curious if there is something obviously wrong. Do you know MSI Afterburner? Can you click the gear and click on the monitoring tab? Click on CPU usage and then look farther down the list and you will see show in OSD. Click that. Enable and show in OSD your CPU and GPU loads and temps, RAM and system RAM(aka VRAM to MSI AB) usage and the GPU core and memory clock. Are you exceeding or getting close to exceeding your RAM amount? a 5 minute video might shed some light on your issue.

 

[Fermoz]

I use balanced power plan in windows. I will try to change to max performance in Nvidia when I get home.

I’ve been monitoring my system through msi afterburner. When I hit low fps in destiny 2 the cpu and gpu usage is around 50-70% my ram is at about 60-70% usage. My cpu is running hot but not throttling. Gpu is at about 65c.

 

[aquielisunari]

I use balanced power plan in windows. I will try to change to max performance in Nvidia when I get home.

I’ve been monitoring my system through msi afterburner. When I hit low fps in destiny 2 the cpu and gpu usage is around 50-70% my ram is at about 60-70% usage. My cpu is running hot but not throttling. Gpu is at about 65c.

What does hot mean? SPECIFICS MAN!!! 😀

Change the balanced to High Performance please. You might have to click on show additional power plans(below the plan).

 

[Fermoz]

70-76c on the cpu while gaming.

 

[aquielisunari]

70-76c on the cpu while gaming.

Do you have a stand with fans like

Yep, very warm but not into the throttling zone.

 

[Fermoz]

I have one of those. I have also undervolted the cpu. I will try the power plan but I think I might just have to accept how it is.

 

[aquielisunari]

I have one of those. I have also undervolted the cpu. I will try the power plan but I think I might just have to accept how it is.

And the undervolting made zero difference in your FPS?

I would have a hard time settling when I see https://www.notebookcheck.net/Destiny-2-Laptop-and-Desktop-Benchmarks.261170.0.html and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yyuf33P7bEI&t=114s and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfn0BdjcIkk&t=54s Destiny is but it isn't a port https://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2017-destiny-2-pc-is-not-a-port-bungie-says/1100-6450927/.

 

[Fermoz]

Thanks! Yes but these instances are playing well on my computer as well. It is in the cities and bigger public events that are very heavy on my computer lowering the fps to about 40-50. Where a lot of other players are at the same time.

 

[aquielisunari]

Thanks! Yes but these instances are playing well on my computer as well. It is in the cities and bigger public events that are very heavy on my computer lowering the fps to about 40-50. Where a lot of other players are at the same time.

Okay, as long as you're happy, that's all that matters.

 

[volkgren]

That is because the Laptop versions of the GPU are always considerably slower than the desktop versions. The utilization of your GPU is not the right indicative and neither the cause of stutter, it is just the CPU and GPU performance would never be comparable to the same line desktop versions (in your case, desktop versions GTX 1060 6GB and I7 7700 would have fetched you 60 FPS on Ultra settings). Certain compromises are made when a mobile chip of the same line is developed, and power efficiency is given importance. Even some game have a disclaimer "Laptop versions of some GPU may not be supported", because there are certain compromises made while the GPU chip is designed.
Here is a link with some statistical details:
http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-1060-Mobile-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1060-6GB/m164336vs3639

At least GTX 10 series did not get their cores cut down, only clock speed and power. It's a vast improvement from previous gens being some 90-100% slower than desktop models. http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-960M-vs-Nvidia-GTX-960/m27242vs3165

But still, 24% could be a noticeable difference.

 

[Fermoz]

24% is noticeable. As I said, I owned a desktop 1060 before this and the difference is still significant :/ I get comparable fire strike results for some reason I don’t I understand. I notice the difference when gaming.

 

[serioussamik17]

That is because the Laptop versions of the GPU are always considerably slower than the desktop versions. The utilization of your GPU is not the right indicative and neither the cause of stutter, it is just the CPU and GPU performance would never be comparable to the same line desktop versions (in your case, desktop versions GTX 1060 6GB and I7 7700 would have fetched you 60 FPS on Ultra settings). Certain compromises are made when a mobile chip of the same line is developed, and power efficiency is given importance. Even some game have a disclaimer "Laptop versions of some GPU may not be supported", because there are certain compromises made while the GPU chip is designed.
Here is a link with some statistical details:
http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-1060-Mobile-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1060-6GB/m164336vs3639

Here are some workarounds for maximizing gaming performance on your laptop. Do not activate power saving or "Low Profile" mode and keep your laptop plugged on to a power source while gaming.Alsways keep the discrete GPU active and disable some programs like Skype, Daemon tools and others those actually saturate some of your available RAM. Also, check task manager and suspend some necessary tasks like AntiSpyware, Malware alerts, Google talk etc. as they tend to take up system resources (however small). Consider getting a laptop cooler (however well built, a lappie cooler is recommended for long sessions of heavy duty gaming). This way, you can squeeze out extra performance form your laptop.

Thanks a lot for your reply. It gave me a better understanding that the utilisation is not always a good measurement. But how about the 3dmark fire strike score? It has to mean something about the computers overall performance?

Hi , Firestrike is a good indicator of your PC 3D performance but it is a synthetic benchmark. That means real world gaming results are not indicative of that score.

For example if you check the link I sent , a 30-35% difference (depending on the game) can bring down your 60+ FPS count on high settings on a desktop , to a low 40 FPS ON the laptop setup. That is normal.
Now when you are using a synthetic benchmark like 3D Mark, it is checking that the GPU/CPU has equal CUDA units/Cores to its desktop counterpart and your CPU is running multiple threads. These are the reasons it is fetching you a high score. But the Laptop models are designed for lower power consumption and clocked significantly lower. These facts may not reflect on the synthetic benchmarks.

 

[serioussamik17]

That is because the Laptop versions of the GPU are always considerably slower than the desktop versions. The utilization of your GPU is not the right indicative and neither the cause of stutter, it is just the CPU and GPU performance would never be comparable to the same line desktop versions (in your case, desktop versions GTX 1060 6GB and I7 7700 would have fetched you 60 FPS on Ultra settings). Certain compromises are made when a mobile chip of the same line is developed, and power efficiency is given importance. Even some game have a disclaimer "Laptop versions of some GPU may not be supported", because there are certain compromises made while the GPU chip is designed.
Here is a link with some statistical details:
http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-1060-Mobile-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1060-6GB/m164336vs3639

At least GTX 10 series did not get their cores cut down, only clock speed and power. It's a vast improvement from previous gens being some 90-100% slower than desktop models. http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-960M-vs-Nvidia-GTX-960/m27242vs3165

But still, 24% could be a noticeable difference.

Yep, absolutely.
It is commendable that they brought down the performance gap and though 24% is noticeable, retaining the no. of cores is commendable. It is possible that the cores and not utilized to the full which is why the low GPU utilization is evident.

 

[aquielisunari]

That is because the Laptop versions of the GPU are always considerably slower than the desktop versions. The utilization of your GPU is not the right indicative and neither the cause of stutter, it is just the CPU and GPU performance would never be comparable to the same line desktop versions (in your case, desktop versions GTX 1060 6GB and I7 7700 would have fetched you 60 FPS on Ultra settings). Certain compromises are made when a mobile chip of the same line is developed, and power efficiency is given importance. Even some game have a disclaimer "Laptop versions of some GPU may not be supported", because there are certain compromises made while the GPU chip is designed.
Here is a link with some statistical details:
http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-1060-Mobile-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1060-6GB/m164336vs3639

At least GTX 10 series did not get their cores cut down, only clock speed and power. It's a vast improvement from previous gens being some 90-100% slower than desktop models. http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-960M-vs-Nvidia-GTX-960/m27242vs3165

But still, 24% could be a noticeable difference.

Yep, absolutely.
It is commendable that they brought down the performance gap and though 24% is noticeable, retaining the no. of cores is commendable. It is possible that the cores and not utilized to the full which is why the low GPU utilization is evident.

and could be OC'd with MSI AB resulting in FPS closer to the refresh rate?

 

[Fermoz]

I have oc’d the gpu +150 core and +200 memory clock. The difference is in game is barely noticeable I would say.

 

[aquielisunari]

I have oc’d the gpu +150 core and +200 memory clock. The difference is in game is barely noticeable I would say.

🙁

 

[Fermoz]

I watched the YouTube videos that you linked with the comparable laptop and played the same instance right now. My computer performs like crap in comparison. About 15 fps lower sometimes. I’ve tried to mix with the max power plan in Nvidia software but no luck. I mean, the computer used in the video has almost the exact sameness specs :/

 

[Fermoz]

And I playing on medium/high settings.

 

[aquielisunari]

And I playing on medium/high settings.

I should have returned it when I had the chance. Why did I settle? What if? WHY didn't I listen to Aqueielisunari when he suggested I return the laptop. He is an IT god and I didn't listen. Why🙁

But, seriously now, something just isn't right. Yes, it MIGHT be okay but at the same time it is sounding like it isn't. As a gaer with a 2 year old gamer rig and I am someone who has been gaming since we had a circular joypad. It was just a knob. The joystick with 1 button was not yet released. If I had purchased a laptop, which I know will have to last for another 2 or 3 YEARS, and something was amiss I would most certainly have returned it. I have a desktop so I just returned the 970 FTW from EVGA when it died.

I'm done.