Alienware 13 R3 extremely poor performance in games

Question

Hello,  I recently bought an R3 Alienware 13 (i7-7700k 2.8 ghz, GeForce GTX 1060, 16GB RAM) and it does literally nothing in games. I tried Overwatch and PUBG and can't even reach 60fps on low settings (dips below 30) while it should be running high/ultra easily. On high/ultra settings the performance is unbearable (below 10fps).  I tried to change power settings (already high perf) and adjust Nvidia drivers (deleted GeForce Experience, installed a clean new driver). Tried a bunch of other stuff (checked if the GF1060 is preferred GPU processor in the NVidia control panel, turned off all background apps, turned off Alienware sound control and other unnecessary stuff). Nothing seems to work. The system is brand new but with that performance I could just as well use my office computer for gaming. I tried to reach a tech rep but apparently all the Alienware contact websites don't work? EDIT: The performance is really bad - see my Fire Strike score for reference: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/22276882  I'm not an expert but it seems to me the problem is with the card (just don't know whether the hardware is messed up or it's settings issue) and clock speeds are super-low? What is happening?

Tesla1856 · Answer

Be sure 3dMark program and games are specifically set to use dedicated Nvidia 1060 (IIRC, it's usually done by defining the program's .EXE file) .

froncz · Answer

Thanks, already did that (see above). Still doesn't work properly.

Eimy_B · Answer

Hi ‌, Send me a private message with the Service Tag so I can assist you further.

thomasd221 · Answer

I literally have this exact issue with the Alienware 15 R3. Performance is really bad - I get 45-55FPS on BF4 at 1080p. The GTX1060 is capable of at least double that.

Information:

Yes, the laptop is plugged in.
High performance modes are being used (In Windows and the BIOS)
Nvidia Control Panel is set to use the 1060.
There are no thermal issues.
All drivers are fully updated, as is the OS.

This is such an infuriating issue, as nothing seems to work. Unacceptable for a 3 month old machine that costs over £1500. Really want to get this solved.

Tesla1856 · Answer

In the Nvidia Control Panel, right?

Are you setting it Globally, or for each individual program's .EXE? According to some Screen-Shots on the net, it seems its different on various versions of the driver or maybe laptops are different?

mrosenbu · Answer

OP - I have the same laptop as you (13R3 / 1060 / 16 GB's of RAM) and I just ran FireStrike 1.1, and I got almost a 10k (https://www.3dmark.com/fs/14567359). The one thing I noticed is that the "Core Clock" value for your graphics card was at 139Mhz. Mine was at 1,721Mhz. Could it be that the graphics card is not ramping up its clock speed during stress tests?

Did you get any resolution here?

Nichronos · Answer

I have the same laptop, Overwatch on Epic gets 120 FPS in Training grounds, and around 70-80 in maps.

Here is your fix:

Download Intel® Graphics Driver for Windows* [15.60]

Uninstall your old driver before installing this one, also you need to update your bios, but don't update to 1.2.3, go 1.2.1.

Also is good to undervolt your CPU with Intel XTU:

Download Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility (Intel® XTU)

Thank me later

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