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Problems with my m14x
'm having a rather unique problem with my laptop, specifically with the Nvidia video card (GT 555M). I have a feeling that the temperature sensor for the GPU is not functioning properly.
Whenever I run games and benchmarks, the temperature never records above 58 degrees. I know for sure that the Nvidia card because of the performance (ex. I got a P1454 on 3DMark 11, and it also says that the Nvidia card is in use). I have also tried the most intensive games, but no matter what I get similar maximum temperatures: 57/58C. I have looked around this and other forums to see what temperatures other people had, and all of them (including those that apparently went as far as repasting the thermal compound) had temperatures around 10 degrees higher than mines.
My suspicion is that the GPU is actually reaching very high temperatures, but since the temperature sensor is not working properly the recordings are not correct. This is a problem because the fans never kick in to the higher speeds to cool it down. I have no idea how long it's been like this, but I fear that the longevity of the GPU has been compromised in some way.
There are other symptoms I've seen. In TES V: Skyrim, for example, I get random FPS slowdowns every 10 or 20 seconds that each last about 5 seconds. I know that the Nvidia card is more than capable of running the settings because other than the random slowdowns I get smooth gameplay. Another symptom I've seen are graphic artifacts in 3DMark 11 during the last combined CPU/GPU test.
I've already tried software solutions such as reinstalling the Nvidia drivers (tried both 285.62 and 290.36 beta drivers), and I'm pretty much convinced that this is a hardware problem.
The fan doesn't have any problems either, as the high speeds kick in fine when the CPU is reaching high temperatures during the CPU benchmark in 3DMark 11.
goonielife
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January 10th, 2012 20:00
Download furmark if you don't have it and run that for a bit, it will tell you the gpu temp while running. It is about the most hardcore thing your can run constantly. With games the gpu usage can go up and down, not good for testing. Running the 720p quick test on furmark a few time my gpu temps got to about 67, but during normal gaming it typically stays around 60. The cpu is a completely different beast, with the right settigns and a cooler look for 80s, without the right stuff look for 99. Basically in my experience the cpu is much hotter than the gpu so even if the temp censor on the gpu is messed up it shouldn't matter much, i would guess.
As far as the slowdowns, I would monitor the cpu temp. If you want to try disabling turboboost in the bios it can cool the system off a lot in case is is throttling. They say throttling on the cpu starts around 85 degrees. Defrag your harddrive, if the files for the games are fragmented the hdd can take some time to find the pieces. I recently had problems with a game stuttering every 20 or so seconds and was pulling my hair out since the game ran perfect up until a few weeks ago. I ended up disabling the software for my wireless card and the game runs fine now. Nothing changed with the software or the game, I don't know why it would all of a sudden act wierd but there you have it. So basically shut down any software you don't need while running the games.
If this doesn't help at all listing your exact specs could be helpful. Oh and just for giggles, you didn't mention your settings on skyrim but drop it to the very minimum and see if it helps at all. With my problem which sounds a lot like yours it didn't matter what settings I had the game on which seemed real odd.