Laptop FPS drop, can it be due to overheating?

[Korten12]

So when playing on my laptop, occasionally some games will drop in FPS.

I know a Gaming Laptop isn't as powerful as a Desktop (but my laptop is still dang powerful) and I was wondering if the possiblity that the FPS drops are due to overheat?

Does anyone know if this could be the case?

Also here is the specs if you want to know.

Spoiler

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System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 12/25/2011, 19:15:13
Machine name:
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.110622-1506)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: TOSHIBA
System Model: Qosmio X775
BIOS: BIOS Date: 07/28/11 16:16:07 Ver: AMI APTIO 1.30
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2630QM CPU @ 2.00GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
Memory: 6144MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 6050MB RAM
Page File: 3651MB used, 8448MB available
Windows Dir: C:\windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: Intel(R) HD Graphics Family
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Chip type: Intel(R) HD Graphics Family
DAC type: Internal
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0116&SUBSYS_FC011179&REV_09
Display Memory: 1696 MB
Dedicated Memory: 64 MB
Shared Memory: 1632 MB
Current Mode: 1600 x 900 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor Model: unknown
Monitor Id: SEC544B
Native Mode: 1600 x 900(p) (59.998Hz)
Output Type: Internal
Driver Name: igdumd64.dll,igd10umd64.dll,igd10umd64.dll,igdumdx32,igd10umd32,igd10umd32
Driver File Version: 8.15.0010.2353 (English)
Driver Version: 8.15.10.2353
DDI Version: 10.1
Driver Model: WDDM 1.1
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 4/4/2011 22:09:00, 7473664 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp:
Device Identifier: {D7B78E66-4256-11CF-F87B-0BDCA9C2C535}
Vendor ID: 0x8086
Device ID: 0x0116
SubSys ID: 0xFC011179
Revision ID: 0x0009
Driver Strong Name: oem8.inf:Intel.Mfg.NTamd64:iSNBM0_C0:8.15.10.2353ci\ven_8086&dev_0116&subsys_fc011179
Rank Of Driver: 00E60001
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C ModeWMV9_C ModeVC1_C
Deinterlace Caps: {BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering
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{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering
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{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC1,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering
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{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC1,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
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{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC3,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC3,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC3,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC4,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering
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D3D9 Overlay: Supported
DXVA-HD: Supported
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled

-------------
Sound Devices
-------------
Description: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0269&SUBSYS_1179FC04&REV_1001
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Type: WDM
Driver Name: RTKVHD64.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6449 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
Date and Size: 8/30/2011 16:28:46, 3069032 bytes
Other Files:
Driver Provider: Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
HW Accel Level: Basic
Cap Flags: 0xF1F
Min/Max Sample Rate: 100, 200000
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 1, 0
Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0
HW Memory: 0
Voice Management: No
EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: No, No
I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No
Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No

---------------------
Sound Capture Devices
---------------------
-------------------
DirectInput Devices
-------------------
Device Name: Mouse
Attached: 1
Controller ID: n/a
Vendor/Product ID: n/a
FF Driver: n/a

Device Name: Keyboard
Attached: 1
Controller ID: n/a
Vendor/Product ID: n/a
FF Driver: n/a

Poll w/ Interrupt: No

-----------
USB Devices
-----------
+ USB Root Hub
| Vendor/Product ID: 0x8086, 0x1C2D
| Matching Device ID: usb\root_hub20
| Service: usbhub
|
+-+ Generic USB Hub
| | Vendor/Product ID: 0x8087, 0x0024
| | Location: Port_#0001.Hub_#0001
| | Matching Device ID: usb\class_09
| | Service: usbhub

----------------
Gameport Devices
----------------

------------
PS/2 Devices
------------
+ Standard PS/2 Keyboard
| Matching Device ID: *pnp0303
| Service: i8042prt
|
+ Terminal Server Keyboard Driver
| Matching Device ID: root\rdp_kbd
| Upper Filters: kbdclass
| Service: TermDD
|
+ Synaptics PS/2 Port TouchPad
| Matching Device ID: *tos0300
| Upper Filters: SynTP
| Service: i8042prt
|
+ HID-compliant mouse
| Vendor/Product ID: 0x03F0, 0x8207
| Matching Device ID: hid_device_system_mouse
| Service: mouhid
|
+ Terminal Server Mouse Driver
| Matching Device ID: root\rdp_mou
| Upper Filters: mouclass
| Service: TermDD

------------------------
Disk & DVD/CD-ROM Drives
------------------------
Drive: C:
Free Space: 46.4 GB
Total Space: 461.0 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: Seagate ST9500423AS

Drive: D:
Free Space: 476.8 GB
Total Space: 476.9 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: Seagate ST9500423AS

Drive: E:
Model: HL-DT-ST BDDVDRW CT31F
Driver: c:\windows\system32\drivers\cdrom.sys, 6.01.7601.17514 (English), , 0 bytes

--------------
System Devices
--------------
Name: Intel(R) 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 1C26
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C26&SUBSYS_FC301179&REV_04\3&11583659&0&E8
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) HD Graphics Family
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0116&SUBSYS_FC011179&REV_09\3&11583659&0&10
Driver: n/a

Name: Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_8168&SUBSYS_FC301179&REV_06\4&1068A457&0&00E0
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller - 1C22
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C22&SUBSYS_FC301179&REV_04\3&11583659&0&FB
Driver: n/a

Name: 2nd generation Intel® Core? processor family DRAM Controller - 0104
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0104&SUBSYS_FC011179&REV_09\3&11583659&0&00
Driver: n/a

Name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M
Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1251&SUBSYS_FC011179&REV_A1\4&21903AB8&0&0008
Driver: n/a

Name: High Definition Audio Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C20&SUBSYS_FC301179&REV_04\3&11583659&0&D8
Driver: n/a

Name: 2nd generation Intel® Core? processor family PCI Express Controller - 0101
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0101&SUBSYS_FC011179&REV_09\3&11583659&0&08
Driver: n/a

Name: Renesas Electronics USB 3.0 Host Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1033&DEV_0194&SUBSYS_FC301179&REV_04\4&31F6DD7F&0&00E5
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 6 - 1C1A
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C1A&SUBSYS_FC301179&REV_B4\3&11583659&0&E5
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 4 - 1C16
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C16&SUBSYS_FC301179&REV_B4\3&11583659&0&E3
Driver: n/a

Name: LPC Interface Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C49&SUBSYS_FC301179&REV_04\3&11583659&0&F8
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2 - 1C12
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C12&SUBSYS_FC301179&REV_B4\3&11583659&0&E1
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) Management Engine Interface
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C3A&SUBSYS_FC301179&REV_04\3&11583659&0&B0
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 - 1C10
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C10&SUBSYS_FC301179&REV_B4\3&11583659&0&E0
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 1C2D
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C2D&SUBSYS_FC301179&REV_04\3&11583659&0&D0
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) Mobile Express Chipset SATA AHCI Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C03&SUBSYS_FC301179&REV_04\3&11583659&0&FA
Driver: n/a

Name: Atheros AR9002WB-1NG Wireless Network Adapter
Device ID: PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_002B&SUBSYS_7173144F&REV_01\4&200004B7&0&00E1
Driver: n/a

Also did a test that records my temp:

Spoiler

[HEADING=2]No Game[/HEADING]

[HEADING=2]With Game[/HEADING]

[HEADING=2]With Game + FPS Spike[/HEADING]

 

[Aircross]

Overheating can cause drops in performance. The final battle of Dragon Age: Origins lagged so hard on my laptop due to overheating and memory leaking that it took over two minutes for damage to register at some points.

There are two things you can do to reduce overheating. Get compressed air and blow dust out of the ventilation system, and/or get a laptop cooling device.

 

[Supernova1138]

You say this is a gaming laptop? According to DXDiag it uses intel's integrated graphics, which are still horrible if you want to play modern games. If that's all you have for graphics your problem is your GPU isn't powerful enough to give good performance on most titles.

If you have a discrete GPU that is switched off when not gaming, you'll have to post what it is, because it isn't likely to show up on DXDiag, especially if your laptop is in low power mode.

Download and run CPUID HWMonitor. Leave it running in the background, that will record your temperatures for your various components. Run a game with HWMonitor on, and post what temperatures you get. If the temps are really high, like close to 100 celsius, you probably are running into thermal throttling.

 

[Korten12]

You say this is a gaming laptop? According to DXDiag it uses intel's integrated graphics, which are still horrible if you want to play modern games. If that's all you have for graphics your problem is your GPU isn't powerful enough to give good performance on most titles.

It can run Crysis 2 and Battlefield 3 on high setting with good FPS so graphics and normal performance isn't a problem. (Note: Crysis 2 does have the drops in lag, but BF3 doesn't.)

Download and run CPUID HWMonitor. Leave it running in the background, that will record your temperatures for your various components. Run a game with HWMonitor on, and post what temperatures you get. If the temps are really high, like close to 100 celsius, you probably are running into thermal throttling.

I will do that.

 

[ComradeJim270]

Yes, overheating can certainly cause a drop in performance. It's not the end of the world, I use to game on a laptop and some games caused it to overheat. Consider getting one of those cooling-stand thingies, and take breaks from the game (not necessarily long ones, 10-15 mins is plenty) so it has a chance to cool off. Your fingers and wrists will be better off for that, too.

Also, I'm shocked you can run something like Crysis 2 on an integrated GPU. That might be what's overheating. A discrete GPU typically has its own cooling system, but integrated GPUs... not so much, and they're not really meant for gaming in the first place.

 

[Korten12]

Yes, overheating can certainly cause a drop in performance. It's not the end of the world, I use to game on a laptop and some games caused it to overheat. Consider getting one of those cooling-stand thingies, and take breaks from the game (not necessarily long ones, 10-15 mins is plenty) so it has a chance to cool off. Your fingers and wrists will be better off for that, too.

Also, I'm shocked you can run something like Crysis 2 on an integrated GPU. That might be what's overheating. A discrete GPU typically has its own cooling system, but integrated GPUs... not so much, and they're not really meant for gaming in the first place.

Crysis 2 works like a charm.

...really?

It's not actually meant to run Crysis 2. I'm also shocked that you could get it up and running in a playable fashion as opposed to it being a slideshow. I'd also bet that running Crysis 2 is part of the problem, especially with overheating. It's trying to do more than it's meant to.

So... yeah, I'd bet that's the problem. There isn't much you can do. Actually, you should probably not play games like Crysis 2 and BF3 on it. Overheating can shorten your computer's lifespan, and you'll be forced to buy something new with an actual card next time.

As a final note, integrated graphics are better for gaming than they used to be but they still aren't much for modern games at all. They're still pretty weak, actually. You can believe me or not but when smoke starts rising out of your laptop, don't say you weren't warned.

It can't be the problem due to it having the same problem with some lower end games like Alpha Protocol and partially Dead Island.

Also LA Noire and Bulletstorm, but yet games like Shogun 2, Skyrim, Metro, Civ 5, Dead Space 2, BC2 and as mentioned BF3 don't give me the problem.

But the games that do give me the problem note, run perfectly fine up until that point.

 

[Korten12]

You say this is a gaming laptop? According to DXDiag it uses intel's integrated graphics, which are still horrible if you want to play modern games. If that's all you have for graphics your problem is your GPU isn't powerful enough to give good performance on most titles.

If you have a discrete GPU that is switched off when not gaming, you'll have to post what it is, because it isn't likely to show up on DXDiag, especially if your laptop is in low power mode.

Download and run CPUID HWMonitor. Leave it running in the background, that will record your temperatures for your various components. Run a game with HWMonitor on, and post what temperatures you get. If the temps are really high, like close to 100 celsius, you probably are running into thermal throttling.

Hey, here is the tests:

Spoiler

[HEADING=2]No Game[/HEADING]

[HEADING=2]With Game[/HEADING]

[HEADING=2]With Game + FPS Spike[/HEADING]

 

[Supernova1138]

Your CPU temps are definitely getting quite high, very close to the point where you would hit thermal throttling, which is usually 95 celsius on the current intel CPUs. HWMonitor isn't showing a GPU temp though it might be running even hotter causing issues, you might have to use GPU-Z to get a GPU temp reading, hopefully it will pick up your discrete graphics, as the Intel graphics won't get you high settings in Crysis or Battlefield on any resolution, unless you consider 5FPS or lower to be playable.

Definitely make sure that all your air intakes are clear of dust. You may want to consider opening up the laptop to blow dust off the fans. If cleaning the dust doesn't work, I can only suggest running the games at lower settings. As said above, one of the major drawbacks of gaming laptops is that they have trouble cooling themselves properly. The laptop form factor simply doesn't permit enough air to get to high performance components when they are stressed.

 

[Korten12]

Your CPU temps are definitely getting quite high, very close to the point where you would hit thermal throttling, which is usually 95 celsius on the current intel CPUs. HWMonitor isn't showing a GPU temp though it might be running even hotter causing issues, you might have to use GPU-Z to get a GPU temp reading, hopefully it will pick up your discrete graphics, as the Intel graphics won't get you high settings in Crysis or Battlefield on any resolution, unless you consider 5FPS or lower to be playable.

But they do. I was just playing Crysis 2 on High settings at 60 FPS, same with BF3...

Definitely make sure that all your air intakes are clear of dust. You may want to consider opening up the laptop to blow dust off the fans. If cleaning the dust doesn't work, I can only suggest running the games at lower settings. As said above, one of the major drawbacks of gaming laptops is that they have trouble cooling themselves properly. The laptop form factor simply doesn't permit enough air to get to high performance components when they are stressed.

So would you suggest a cooling pad for the laptop?

 

[Supernova1138]

I checked the spec sheet for your laptop, you aren't running intel integrated graphics when gaming, you are using the nvidia Geforce GTX 560m, which is considerably more powerful than any intel IGP. It would be nice to know the temperature that the 560m runs at, if it is quite high that will cause throttling. You also have a 1080p screen, the 560m while powerful for a laptop video card, isn't necessarily going to be able to deliver great framerates constantly at 1080p resolution on Crysis or Battlefield on high settings, the 560m is about equal to a a GTS 450 or Radeon HD 5770 on a desktop, and those are maybe slightly better than entry level gaming cards on the desktop. You might be okay in the quieter areas of those games, but your GPU is probably going to choke when things get busy on screen.

In any case, your CPU temps are quite high while gaming and that needs to be addressed if you don't want to fry it. A cooling pad may help, or it might not. It depends on how the airflow is supposed to go through the laptop. For some laptops a cooling pad may simply blow hot air back into the computer, making the temperatures worse. The cooling pads tend to only help if the laptop is taking its air in from the bottom, and expelling it from a side vent. You'll have to take look at it to determine where the air enters and exits. If you have a vent at the side that is blowing air out, a cooling pad may be beneficial to you.

 

[DazZ.]

Your CPU temps are definitely getting quite high, very close to the point where you would hit thermal throttling, which is usually 95 celsius on the current intel CPUs. HWMonitor isn't showing a GPU temp though it might be running even hotter causing issues, you might have to use GPU-Z to get a GPU temp reading, hopefully it will pick up your discrete graphics, as the Intel graphics won't get you high settings in Crysis or Battlefield on any resolution, unless you consider 5FPS or lower to be playable.

But they do. I was just playing Crysis 2 on High settings at 60 FPS, same with BF3...

At what resolution?

 

[kurupt87]

I... is that really on integrated graphics??

If it is, and you're running Crysis 2 without many problems, blimey. What resolution you at?

[a href="http://www.gtopala.com/"]This[/a] software has a tab called sensors, within the hardware dropdown. It will list everything that it can that has a readable temperature. If you have a discrete GPU (which you must or my mind is blown) then it'll show there.

Your CPU is definitely getting very toasty though, it won't be good for its lifespan at all.

Unless your laptop was marketed as either a gaming or media laptop it will probably only have integrated graphics.

Edit: [a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11159784/cdn/oc/siw-setup.exe"]This[/a] link is a direct download of the free version of the software I linked to. It's called SIW if you want to google and find it yourself, it's very good.

 

[Korten12]

Your CPU temps are definitely getting quite high, very close to the point where you would hit thermal throttling, which is usually 95 celsius on the current intel CPUs. HWMonitor isn't showing a GPU temp though it might be running even hotter causing issues, you might have to use GPU-Z to get a GPU temp reading, hopefully it will pick up your discrete graphics, as the Intel graphics won't get you high settings in Crysis or Battlefield on any resolution, unless you consider 5FPS or lower to be playable.

But they do. I was just playing Crysis 2 on High settings at 60 FPS, same with BF3...

At what resolution?

1600 x 900 the laptop's main resolution.

 

[Bad Jim]

IIRC Intel CPUs will reduce their voltage and clock rate when they get hot to avoid overheating. So it is possible.

It is more common though for some particular part of a game to be particularly laggy. Games like Crysis are known to need a lot of power to render all that foliage but it is a fairly consistent requirement. A lot of games have mostly reasonable requirements, and aren't known for high requirements, except for one bit that where everything goes mad and the framerate drops through the floor. For example the last boss battle in Torchlight has about a zillion minions running around and lags hard, although the rest of the game has very low requirements.

 

[Korten12]

Your CPU temps are definitely getting quite high, very close to the point where you would hit thermal throttling, which is usually 95 celsius on the current intel CPUs. HWMonitor isn't showing a GPU temp though it might be running even hotter causing issues, you might have to use GPU-Z to get a GPU temp reading, hopefully it will pick up your discrete graphics, as the Intel graphics won't get you high settings in Crysis or Battlefield on any resolution, unless you consider 5FPS or lower to be playable.

But they do. I was just playing Crysis 2 on High settings at 60 FPS, same with BF3...

At what resolution?

I did some real tests to see the actual FPS, and while it's not really 60 FPS, its close or high enough that the difference isn't huge.

I mainly thought 60 FPS due to how smooth they both felt.

Crysis 2 at high 45ish - 60. With it mainly int he late 40's to high 50's range.

BF3 - Custom Medium/High - 35ish to 55's whith some drops to 30 - 35 if there is a crap load going on and sometimes 55-60+ in some parts. Though the change between the late 30's to 40's and 50's isn't huge. (aka it still feels smooth.)