GTX 675M Issues?

[4L3X]

Hey everyone

Just received my Skyfire II this week and was extremely excited. But when I started gaming I was not very impressed! I have tried playing GTA IV, Skyrim, Arma 2 OA and the DayZ mod. Now the problem is that no matter the settings I'm getting very similar FPS.

Here are the examples so far at 1080p:

GTAIV
Lowest Settings - 27fps to 35fps
Highest Settings - 19fps to 25fps

Other people with this GPU are getting 45 - 50 with High settings

Skyrim
Highest Settings - 30fps to 45fps

Other people with this GPU are getting 45 - 57

Arma 2 OA
Highest settings - 5fps to 14fps
lowest settings - 20fps to 27fps

Now to me these look very weird seeing as im struggling to get into the 40s on any game on the lowest settings.

I have the computer set to high performance and in the Nvidia control panel the GPU is selected. The driver I'm currently using is 310.70 (now updated to 310.90 and its the same) and the laptop is plugged in.

My system specs:
Chassis & Display
SkyFire:17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-3210M (2.50GHz) 3MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 675M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
750GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS XT HYBRID, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 4 in 1 Card Reader (SDXC/MMC/MS/XD)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1202 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 4.0
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 3 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
SkyFire Series 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8 Standard Edition 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Laptop Cooling Stands
Zalman ZM-NC11 Ultra-Quiet Laptop Cooler, upto 17.3 inch (£25)

Thanks for looking and hope you can help!

 

[Pagey]

Are the games explicitly using the GPU in the Nvidia control panel? There might be a conflict if the computer is being told to use the GPU all the time and the games individually being set to run via iGPU or vice-versa.

 

[4L3X]

Are the games explicitly using the GPU in the Nvidia control panel? There might be a conflict if the computer is being told to use the GPU all the time and the games individually being set to run via iGPU or vice-versa.

Yes I have set it to just use the GPU. I'll try it on adaptive later on tonight and I'll report back.

 

[Skylinefx]

In the Nvidia control panel, go to the desktop tab and enable the GPU activity in the notification area. Run a game, minimize and see if the game is actually using the GPU by hovering over the icon.

 

[4L3X]

I tried adaptive settings and no luck. I have also enabled the GPU activity tray in the notification area and can confirm the GPU is being activated.

 

[Pagey]

Have you used any "system spec analysis" software to determine temperatures? Maybe the GPU is getting hot and being throttled?

Edit afterthought: Have you got the correct Win8 drivers installed for the laptop? I'd try getting the Win8 drivers from the Clevo site, removing what you have then installing the Win8 drivers fresh again. Just a thought.

 

[4L3X]

Have you used any "system spec analysis" software to determine temperatures? Maybe the GPU is getting hot and being throttled?

Edit afterthought: Have you got the correct Win8 drivers installed for the laptop? I'd try getting the Win8 drivers from the Clevo site, removing what you have then installing the Win8 drivers fresh again. Just a thought.

Heat doesnt seem to be an issue with the GPU but for some bizzare reason I havent checked the CPU. Highest temp the GPU has hit is 59 degrees c after an hours gameplay in a fairly hot room. I really didnt know I could get windows 8 drivers lol I feel like a noob haha. Ill give it a go this afternoon along with checking the cpu temps, thanks for the advice Pagey and ill report back this evening.

 

[Skylinefx]

In the windows control panel, what are the power options set to? Should be high performance.

 

[4L3X]

In the windows control panel, what are the power options set to? Should be high performance.

Yes the power options are set to high setting and its been checked regularly because Ive seen peoples settings get changed automatically.

 

[Pagey]

Heat doesnt seem to be an issue with the GPU but for some bizzare reason I havent checked the CPU. Highest temp the GPU has hit is 59 degrees c after an hours gameplay in a fairly hot room. I really didnt know I could get windows 8 drivers lol I feel like a noob haha. Ill give it a go this afternoon along with checking the cpu temps, thanks for the advice Pagey and ill report back this evening.

No worries and good luck.

 

[4L3X]

No worries and good luck.

I cant find any obvious drivers that I need but Ill keep looking. Also My CPU temp reaches 70 degrees c after a 2 hour on Arma 2 Dayz which is very CPU instensive Ive been told lol.

 

[Pagey]

Have you checked here?

I'm not entirely sure of the model number for your laptop, but it should be on the underside.

Ideally you'll want the Control Center drivers from the Clevo site and the Nvidia drivers directly from Nvidia themselves. The intel drivers you can get via "Windows Updates". But before you install any of them, see if you can uninstall the old ones first.

 

[4L3X]

Have you checked here?

I'm not entirely sure of the model number for your laptop, but it should be on the underside.

Ideally you'll want the Control Center drivers from the Clevo site and the Nvidia drivers directly from Nvidia themselves. The intel drivers you can get via "Windows Updates". But before you install any of them, see if you can uninstall the old ones first.

I believe the Skyfire II is an MSI chassis and based on the GT70 ONC. I tried their website and would the driver for intel management services be the one I need? I'll keep looking.

 

[Pagey]

The Intel management driver is done via Windows Update or at least it is for my Optimus IV, check anyway.