Strange under-performance issues with GT 555M

EDIT: it's come to my attention that poorly applied thermal compound could sometimes cause issues with the temperature sensor. Is it possible that the GPU is actually hitting extreme temperatures without the system being aware of it?
EDIT 2: I'm sorry about the obscure wording; I meant to say that the GPU appeared to be throttling during gaming, not that the GPU was under-performing in general.

Hello all,
I'm having a strange dilemma with my M14x, particularly with the Nvidia GT 555M. Bear with me, my explanation's going to be a bit long.

I have a sneaking suspicion that my video card's not performing at its full potential. I've tested out the card with mechanisms such as benchmarks and gaming, but no matter how intensive it is or how much I overclock, the GPU temps don't rise any higher than 60 degrees. Another thing I noticed is that the video card doesn't seem to perform well in gaming. In Skyrim, for example, I get random FPS lag every 10 seconds or so that last for about 5 seconds each.

I decided to test for any issues by running a benchmark test. I overclocked my video card to 770/1540/1050 GPU/Shader/Memory, and the scores seemed to contradict my suspicion. I got a P1856 in 3DMark 11 - which should be quite spectacular. However, again I had the issue with temps not hitting any higher than 60 degrees. What's even weirder is that the video card started to show artifacts on the last combined CPU/GPU test! And I could tell that the higher fan speeds weren't kicking in for any of the benchmark tests except for ones that involved the CPU. Could it be that the GPU is being throttled by something in the system? Or is there something wrong with my hardware that should be fixed by Dell? FYI I have Bios version A03 and Nvidia driver version 290.36 (latest beta I think?). Here's a pic of my temps after the 3DMark 11 benchmark:


Any insight would be greatly appreciated

 

Spoiler

i'd definitely have to say somethings up and that it looks like you are using the gt 555m from the screen shot, not the igpu. might be a bad graphics card which sadly means a mobo replacement though I have to say, If I push my 460m I don't get high temps, but the card gets strained during a vantage run and gets artifacting when OC'd at higher levels. Have you tried running a stock run without the overclock and if there is still artifacting?

 

Thanks bigtonyman - I'll try doing a stock run right now.

Also, it's come to my attention that poorly applied thermal compound could sometimes cause issues with the temperature sensor. Is it possible that the GPU is actually hitting extreme temperatures without the system being aware of it? That would actually explain most of the issues I'm having (random lag in Skyrim = throttling, good benchmark score = overclocking is working fine, low temps = incorrect readings, etc.)

 

it might be but I doubt it. I'd say do a re-paste just to be sure, but its ten times harder to re-paste an m14x than an m17x

lets try to rule out a software issue first

 

I pretty much got the same temps as before on stock settings. 3DMark 11 scored a P1454, but the max temperature for the GPU hit a degree higher than before at 58C:

 

Spoiler

temps looks alright, but did you get any artifacting?

 

Sorry, I was not in the room during the benchmark . But I think it's more intriguing that the two tests recorded very similar temps across the board, especially for the amount of overclock done. I'm starting to think that they're something wrong with the temperature sensor. Has anyone else had a similar situation?

 

Wait a minute, If I'm not miss any word there, have you or did you try to whitelist/Force the 3DMark in the NVIDIA Control Panel to run using the GT555M? Because this is also can be the problem, since most benchmark-er tend to auto select the default or primary display which in this case, Intel HD3000 Graphic is the primary and default. So if you whitelist/force the program to run under the GT555M, then it should work.

 

@CGSDR It's not really about the benchmark performance; the scores are up there in the same range as other overclockers. The issue is that the temps are recording at unrealistically low numbers

Thanks for the reply though, appreciate it My gut feelings are telling me that the temperature sensors are messed up, but I can't be sure.

 

There's a similar issue I saw where the gpu heatsink wasn't making full contact, and temp sensor wasn't detecting actual higher temps i.e 59 instead of true 85 but wasn't confirmed which fixed problem because repair was done all at once.Also there are some mobile cards not playing well with that 290 beta driver.Easiest thing is change driver to 285.62 and rerun tests,maybe even try a different bios also. If still no change you have a tech support call to make.An m14x ocd should and is known for being alot hotter.Repaste is always a great idea especially after seeing some stock paste jobs.

 

Thanks for the info, +repped! I reverted back to 285.62 and ran the benchmarks again(OC'ed to 770/1540/1050). By the fourth test I could tell that things were still the same, and I quit prematurely because I didn't want to strain the GPU any more. Temps are just like before, maxing at 57 degrees.

I've no idea how long it's been like this (laptop is six months old), but it's more likely than not that the longevity of the GPU's been compromised by the high temps since the fans never kicked in to cool it down. Do you think Dell will consider a mobo replacement if I talk to them about it? I'm kind of worried that they will not like me overclocking the GPU.

 

No prob,I had heat issues and tech support was good or bad depending on the tech.I would start the process immediately,call or email ,even better is dells social media i.e Twitter & Facebook,I got an answer the next day.And no fuss fix,after fighting with support.It's good to get your issues documented early so if they cant fix you can get a new replacement.If support gives you trouble I have a great rep for ya,but 1st try support and let me know,that way it's documented.Happy to help.

 

First time I've been disappointed with Dell's Tech Support . I talked to them about the issue and they said that under stock settings the temps are "within the parameters" of acceptability. I asked if I could test using overclocks, and they told me that I would have to talk to the Solutions Dept, which charges $170 if I wanted to overclock my machine! This is totally outrageous!

Does anyone have any advice for going about Tech Support? I really want a Dell technician to come and look at the problem because quite frankly the problem is blindingly obvious. If not, I guess I would have to fix it on my own (where did I put that thermal paste...)

 

Canofspam4000 have you tried to run CPU and GPU test at the same time to see if GPU gets higher temps? Maybe your card is the shiznit and tops at 57 lol My GPU tops 66c, but that is during gaming where CPU is involved @ 83c. And what Bios you use?

 

I told ya it all depends on who you talk to with support,the gpu can technically run higher than 100c but that doesn't mean it's good for the gpu,thats why I recommended a few things for ya.Ive been through it all with dell,in the end it worked out for me,but it wasn't an easy process.I have an M18X now over at those forums,and a great rep that fixed the xfire debacle,it took a lot of wasted time before getting help from social media dept.

 

Just a little update to anyone who feels they hit a wall with Dell's support. Dell has reps monitoring these forums and they see the issues Bill@dell is just one,and he's a real good guy.Dell engineers are looking into heat and performance issues on m14x,there have been some complaints on facebook and other social media,dell is aware.Dell was awesome in helping the amd issues on m18x with 6990 xfire problems,and it was because of NBR forums great work also.Try posting to bill or tweet dell cares or facebook,dell's social media team is excellent,and took great care of me and many others.Good luck to everyone.

 

Yea, the GPUs in these tend to run really cool because the 555M core is made to run at 700mhz+ anyway as that is how it's clocked in many other machines, hence why it easily OCs. Mine maxes to 60C in most games also but I do not have the throttling issues you do even while overclocked.