m15x not performing as it should?

I recently installed a used hd 3870 in my m15x.

Specs:
T9300 @2.5ghz
4gb ram
1gb Intel Turbo Memory Controller

Right after I installed the card I tested it in 3dmark06 at 1280x1024 and got 9150. Now after having configured the card to display color and shades perfectly, and reset the heatsink a few times to improve temperatures my score is around 8500. I don't understand what would cause this drop in score; and I can notice the difference while playing games compared to last week. I tried turning off all of my gaming 3d settings in catalyst control center and somehow that dropped my score to 7000, as opposed to the previous score with most of the settings set to quality>performance. Here's a picture of my minimum and max temperatures.




Those are with playing some Dead Island, Mafia II, and Resident Evil 5; not just 3dmark06. From what I've read as long as it's under 90C it should be ok, but it'd be nice if it was under 80C, although I don't use a cooling pad.

So basically, these scores aren't terrible, but does anyone know what would cause the sudden drop? I'm pretty sure my computer should be performing a bit better than it is. Also another strange thing after installing the card; I can't turn my computer on when on battery. It starts loading windows and then turns off. However, if I turn my computer on while plugged in, and then unplug it once I've logged in, it works normally.

 

Have you checked if you aren't in stealth mode? It can screw up the tests.

Did you overclock? If so, have you restored the same settings? Have you tried restoring the default settings also?

Oh and you might want to drop the Turbo Memory, it doesn't seem a worthwhile upgrade ( AnandTech - Investigating Intel's Turbo Memory: Does it really work? ).

 

Yeah definitely not in stealth mode.

No I was gonna try overclocking my cpu but apparently no one has found the correct pll for it. Have I tried restoring default settings on what?

And since I already have the turbo memory, it doesn't make much sense to drop it as it shouldn't slow my computer down, just might not be increasing speed as it's supposed to.

 

I was referring to the display driver settings.

 

Oh, yes sorry I guess I just said I changed the 3d settings, but I have set it to default with no avail.

 

Actually I just restored all settings to factory default and then changed back the few things I had changed, and now it seems to run better again lol. Also, since my laptop's native resolution is 1920x1200, running 3dmark at 1280x800 instead of 1280x1024 seems to really increase my score; from 9150 to 9750. Another strange thing to note is with my previous gpu, an 8800m gtx 512mb, when I changed the resolution to something other than 1920x1200 or 1280x800 it would just slightly warp the dimensions but still play full screen whereas with the 3870 it just plays it in whatever size the resolution should be without warping it.

 

Well it's only logical that you increase performance while decreasing resolution, and it has nothing to do with aspect ratio. To put it simply, the GPU has to generate less pixels, less details. 640x480 is how I got Borderlands to run on my old Intel HD4500

As for the streching (or not), it's because of an option in the Catalyst Control Center. It's a tickbox saying Enable GPU scaling.

Oh and by the way, which driver version do you use?

 

Yeah I realize the resolution makes it easier or more difficult on the GPU, but I'm just amazed that the small decrease from 1280x1024 to 1280x800 would add 600 points.

And ahh thank you, I figured there was some sort of option where I could disable that.

I have Catalyst Version 11.12.

 

So I think I figured out the problem I had where I couldn't turn it on without it being plugged in; it seems to be drawing too much power from my laptop. So much that for some reason I am not able to run my Traktor program when my card is physically installed. I can't just switch it to integrated graphics, I actually have to pull the card out of the slot...anyone else having problems with this card? Cause it's basically unusable to me now.