GT 555m 3GB Issues

Hey guys, long time lurker, recently made an account to get some of the downloads, but now I need some help.

Had my m14x R1 since Feb, had a great run with it so far but now I'm running into issues with the graphics card and for the life of me I can't work out whether its software or hardware. I'm getting crazy low framerates on some games recently, particularly Borderlands and Mass Effect, other games run OK but not as they used too. These two in particular are bad (both Unreal engine?). Issues I have:

- Appears to throttle at 70C: Game runs reasonably smooth (albiet low FPS) until this temp, then I get drops to 7-12FPS = unplayable.
- Minimal framerate change between settings (about 3FPS between min and max settings)
- Games only use 70-80% GPU
- Never uses more than 475MB VRAM

Now the last point may not really be an issue, could just be the game doesn't load too much at a time. Aside from that, any pointers, help, tips?

I have tried:
- reinstalling drivers
- reverting to older drivers
- reinstalling drivers rebooting windows at every step
- firing up PC with no battery to clear cache
- reinstalling windows
- cleaning internals

I'm now just bloody lost. This is a recent issue however, had 3 playthroughs of ME3 at 40+FPS on max and now I'm lucky to get 12 FPS on min.

Thanks in advance!

[edit] Just chucking in a little extra. An example, just loaded up Borderlands 2. Run in a window at 720p with all graphics options set to minimum I got 45FPS initially then after 5 minutes it was at 61C and 12FPS.

Run fullscreen 900p with everything set to maximum I got 50FPS initially then after 5 mins it was 68C and 15FPS. FPS never goes back up either.

For the initial FPS test I am moving to an area with a lot of enemies and a lot of gunfire/explosions on screen and stil get high FPS.

 

oh, alienware. you're breaking my heart...

someone help this poor dude explore a repaste... this looks clearly like ANOTHER thermal/paste issue.

good luck, brother :]

 

Have you checked CPU temps?

You could try to dust off your vents and see if the temps improve a bit, if they're still high then a re-paste may be necessary. Here's a very nice video guide with some commonly used methods

Thermal Paste Application Guide

 

I checked my CPU temps and they are insane, they hit 70C without even being at load.

How does pulling apart my computer and repasting sit with warranty?

 

You can even upgrade the CPU without voiding the warranty, so a repaste is OK.

 

Repasting won't void your warranty as long as no parts break during the process.

 

Mad! Went and performed it, there was basically no paste between the interfaces, but heaps over the surrounding area.

Anyway GPU temps are down by about 5C but the CPU temps are down by 15C! Performance is still iffy though. I will report back when I have time to touch a game/test performance.

 

That will most likely fox the issue. If you have any further issues you can send us an e-mail to [email protected] and we'll take care of you.

 

So, didn't fix it. The GPU seems to not be running at 100% - and its definitely not a temp issue. I was monitoring during this; GPU didn't go over 74 and CPU didn't go over 85 (pre re-paste was hitting 95C regularly) - it shouldn't be throttling this low right? I hear of others having GPU getting into the 90s.. I will send you guys an email as suggested Luis, but putting it up here to for any community suggestions.

As seen its rarely at 99% in games. Any ideas?

 

AW needs to post the actual spec for the thermal control

 

I don't get your suggestion?

 

Thanks for the e-mail. We'll take care of it ASAP.

 

Any follow up Luis? I still have this issue...
Having just wrapped exams and had a chance to play a a game and its annoying as hell. The response email was useless, what avenues can I go down? Also my mic has stopped working. I know there are other threads on it but none have confirmed whether it was a hardware or software issue. Although it would seem to be a hardware issue, right? When I had it fixed last time (no software changes) it was working again.

 

The person who responded to your e-mail is the one that can help you further in that case. Did you try Respawn or Manual install already to make sure it was not SW related?

 

Respawn got wiped when my hard drive failed. Doing a manual clean install later today.

Thanks, I'll send him another email once I confirm whether software is not an issue.

 

How did it go with the clean OS installation? Did you clear all partitions before re-installing?

 

I reinstalled based upon my old partitioning system (personal folders on one and non-critical programs on another) which had no affect and then I also did a complete clean and install putting everything in one partition (I even cleared off my Ubuntu partition). No change. I'm gonna suggest that its a hardware fault (microphone). I will test out a game later today but I have a feeling that the GPU performance is going to remain lowered as I have reinstalled many times before. I still have no idea why it's doing this. I don't OC so it couldn't be burnt out.

I intend to phone AW support later today.