Should my laptop be this slow?

I own an Alienware M15x with the following specs:

Intel® Core™ i7-740QM Processor
(6M cache, 1.73 GHz)
1.5GB DDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M using NVIDIA Optimus™
8GB DDR3 RAM
640GB Hard Drive
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

I received the laptop for Christmas 2011. I can run WoW on High settings at only 17 FPS! Is my computer really that poor or should it be able to run faster than that. It's almost as if it has just given up as I used to be able to run Ultra in any zone at 60+ FPS. If you can help, could you please tell me how to improve my computers performance.

 

Make sure Stealth Mode is deactivated (push the little speedometer button at the very right side of the touch button panel). It will be a little bit brighter when active, you want it deactivated.

 

Where did you get an m15x with the 555M?

 

Hey, Stealth Mode is definitely off, and sorry about the graphics card its actually a Nvidia GTX460M 1.5GB. So should I be able to play WoW on Ultra or is good my best i can get?

 

I have the 740QM too with a comparable graphics card, the ATI 5850 and I can run WoW with everything on ultra aside from AA and get a solid 60FPS prettymuch everywhere

 

I7 740QM will bottleneck the performance when in major cities. Wow is a cpu dependent game, but in major cities you should get atleast more than 30fps. It will only be bottlenecked if there are like 100 or more people visable on your screen at the same time though...

 

Thanks for that but can anyone actually give me a solution?

 

As a matter of fact many high end systems apparently fail to run WoW at a decent frame rate based on the fact that the game is optimized like utter crap. Basically, Blizzard are a lazy bunch of tossers who are passionate about one thing - taking your money for as little effort as possible. I would say it's more likely Blizzards failing and not Alienwares. What kind of frame rate are you getting when you play other games?

...IF you play any other games...



Oh yeah, the solution would be (if you can get decent frame rates in decent games) - turn the settings down on WoW. Can't remember which ones exactly but I know that one or two of those settings will absolutely kill performance, whereas everything else can be left maxed without issue.

 

The OP was previously able to run the game at 60fps in ultra... so it's definitely not because of insufficent hardware.

This could have several causes, make sure your dirvers and BIOS are up to date. Sometimes a Windows update can screw up the system if you're unlucky... you can try to restore the system to a point before it started to slow down.

I've experienced a very similar issue a while ago, and the only solution I found was reinstalling the OS. That's a bit of work, but it should definitely solve your issues. And it will speed up your system anyway, since you'll get rid of all the stuff you don't need anymore.

 

Aha, missed that bit.

*FAILFACE*

 

Your computer is stuck in stealth mode. Even if it doesn't say so, try pressing the stealth button while gaming and then see if it speeds up instantly. If not a reboot may be required, and update to 275.33 drivers.

 

sorry about this post i don't know what i did?

 

I do play other games like BFBC 2 and that has also slowed down dramatically. I can only play that on low settings. I have recently played Portal 2 on the highest settings achievable no problem. Thankyou for all the information that you have given me already but could you please tell me how to update my BIOS and drivers as I don't know how to... Thanks

 

Ooh, I was just sitting here checking emails and I had a thought. It might be pretty dumb suggestion but surely worth checking -> have you made sure your power plan is set to "high performance"? The "balanced" setting isn't much different but if it's anything lower it might kill performance somewhat.

 

Thanks for the suggestions and you have all helped! Thanks

 

Reinstall the OSD it worked for me!

 

Follow these instructions below

1. Open "NVIDIA Control Panel" via the Control Panel

2. Select "Manage 3D Settings" from the left section.

3. Select the "Program Settings" tab

4. Select the "Add" button & click on your World of Warcraft's game exe file in program files / game's directory.

5. Under the section titled "Specify the settings for this program:", Make sure "Power Management" is set to "Prefer Maximum Performance"

6. Click "Apply" & try out the game.

Note: You will need to repeat the steps above for every game you want to play.. or to make life easier for yourself, you can change the "Power Management" setting to "Prefer Maximum Performance" in the "Global Settings" tab. By doing this, every game you play will now automatically play at Maximum Performance, rather than at Adaptive.