Very Poor Performance with the Alienware 15 R3

Question

My new Alienware 15 R3 is experiencing some awful FPS numbers. Performance is really bad - I get 45-55FPS on BF4 at 1080p. The GTX1060 is capable of at least double that. On Unigine Heaven, I get 1405 at the Extreme preset, while other identical systems get 1950+. GPU and CPU usage hovers around 50% during gaming workloads, which explains the low FPS - Why doesn't the usage increase as it should to achieve maximum frame rates?! VSync and all other types of frame limiters are off.     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.

Eimy_B · Answer

Hi thomasd221‌, Can you check (during the game) if the AC Adapter is not disconnecting (going on battery while connected to the AC). Let me know!

thomasd221 · Answer

Hi there! How would I check this? Thanks:)

thomasd221 · Answer

I've just played some games and the charging icon is always present on the taskbar, leading me to believe it is always charging. Tom.

thomasd221 · Answer

UPDATE - I think I've fixed it!

I enabled 'high performance' mode in the BIOS, and set the Nvidia Control Panel to 'optimal performance' - Did a restart, and I think it's finally fixed.

I now get around 80/90FPS on Battlefield 1 at Ultra 1080p, which seems a lot more normal than 50ish. The only downside to this performance mode is the fact that the GPU is always active, even during normal workloads, the Intel graphics are disabled. This probably has a slight effect on battery life - I'm currently typing this on battery and the GPU is sitting at 139MHz at the desktop, so I can't imagine it's using all that much power. Besides, a few minutes less battery life is far easier to contend with than low FPS!

This fix was done using BIOS version 1.1.9 - Hopefully someone can use this information.

Tom.

Tanglethorn · Answer

I am having a similar issue regarding my 17 R4 GTX 1080.&#xa0; Are you using an external monitor?&#xa0; The lag goes away if I disable the G-Sync on the external monitor, which is not a very good solution.&#xa0;

Eimy_B · Answer

Hi Tanglethorn‌, That's normal with G-Sync on. The process of synchronizing the GPU and monitor takes the extra performance away.

Locked Topics – Alienware General

Was this post helpful?