Observation of odd frame drops within certain games
Observation of odd frame drops within certain games
Recently I purchased an Asus Zephyrus Duo 16, a powerful laptop capable of handling most tasks smoothly. It performed well in games like Apex, maintaining around 180 FPS consistently, with only minor fluctuations. After adjusting my setup and switching monitors from 2560x1440 at 240Hz to 1920x1080 at 165Hz, I started experiencing significant FPS drops when moving the mouse. This caused sluggish gameplay and made sensitivity feel inconsistent, rendering the experience unplayable. Despite not changing any settings since the hardware upgrade, the GPU and CPU temperatures remain normal (up to 85°C for CPU, 75°C for GPU). However, when I moved the mouse in-game, frame rates dropped from a steady 163 FPS to as low as 50 FPS or lower, depending on movement. Even though CPU and GPU usage stayed constant, performance became erratic. I've also tried lowering the polling rate, set power plan to best performance, and enabled Asus Turbo mode, but the issue persists only with Apex. Could you help?
It might be a monitor problem. Various monitors exhibit significantly different input latencies. Apart from that, the hardware hasn't changed much, has it?
I've also attempted to use my laptop screen, but it didn't function properly. No other modifications have been made recently; only software updates were applied, including BIOS, Asus Armoury Crate, and NVidia drivers.
Occasionally removing GPU drivers using DDU and then reinstalling the newest version works. If that doesn’t help, trying an older version or two can also be effective. BIOS updates generally don’t impact performance significantly, as they usually affect only one program.
When dealing with software problems, pinpointing the exact cause can be challenging. Often, the issue stems from a driver or software conflict, outdated applications, bloatware, or even malware. If the games are played online, network connectivity might also be the culprit. The simplest solution is to perform a clean Windows installation, which will reset your OS drive and start anew.
I haven't reinstalled Windows yet since I discovered my CPU automatically throttles during gameplay, reducing its speed from 4GHz to 1GHz or lower. This is disappointing given the consistent 75°C temperature. I've already adjusted power settings and usage to maximum in Windows.
Enhance your laptop's cooling system. Avoid placing it on soft materials like blankets; a hard surface such as a table works better. If this doesn't resolve the issue, consider reapplying thermal pads and paste to your laptop. Beyond these options, there are limited solutions for laptop cooling. You might also think about adjusting your CPU and GPU voltages to reduce power consumption and heat generation, though this will affect performance.
A temperature of around 70-75C on load should be ideal for gaming on a
laptop
, no? I already make sure it has good airflow, place it on a desk and have it elevated for max air intake. Plus, this is an extreme case of throttling here, I wouldn't expect it to throttle down to sub 1GHz only when in game, and when the temperature is stable.