Gaming laptop experiences malfunctions during gameplay.
Gaming laptop experiences malfunctions during gameplay.
My MSI laptop has recently experienced performance issues while running games, particularly demanding titles like The Witcher 3, resulting in random system instability characterized by severe lag, delayed controls, and distorted audio. Initial investigations suggested thermal throttling (maximum temperature reached 71°C during testing) or excessive GPU utilization (fluctuating between 80% and 90%). Despite these issues, the laptop previously ran The Witcher 3 on medium/high settings with a consistent 60 FPS. Currently, I experience performance problems at the lowest settings with a capped frame rate of 40. During these "meltdowns," input responsiveness is severely impacted, with delays of approximately 5 seconds before actions are registered; however, closing the game restores normal functionality.
Specifications:
GPU - GTX 960M
RAM – 16GB
CPU – Intel®Core i7-5700 @ 2.70 GHz
I have somewhat found a way to cope with this by spraying compressed air into my laptop vents and keeping my ceiling fan on. I have also lowered the resolution of my game significantly, which appears to be effective. However, after a period of time, the audio begins to crackle; restarting my laptop briefly resolves this issue temporarily. I am assuming you are correct that it is due to GPU overheating and will continue to monitor its temperature closely.