XPS L501X running games slow.

Question

Hello. I don't know if this is the right section to do this post, but anyways.

I bought an brand new XPS 15 laptop in December 2010, mainly for gaming. It has 6GB RAM DDR3, Intel Core i7 Q740 1.7GHz with turbo boost up to 2.3GHz I think, NVIDIA GeForce GT 435M 2GB graphics card. About $1400.

Whenever I try to run a game it runs well for a while (maybe 15 minutes), and then it starts running very slow and the computer gets very hot. If I keep using it, it eventually turns off, and if I close the game everything runs slow afterwards so I have to turn it off anyways.

I bought a cooler thinking that it was just overheating, but that didn't fix it. Also tried restoring windows using Dell Backup thinking maybe it was something running in the background. Before that the average memory usage was over 25%, after that its about 7%, but the same thing happens.

And I'm talking about games that a computer with such specs is supposed to run with the highest detail (even though it happens with Very low video detail), such as Trine, Starcraft II or even Minecraft and Unreal Tournament 2004

PS: It could run Starcraft II for months until it started doing what it does, but only on very low graphics.

GabrielRoaCueto · Answer

Nothing? Nobody knows why my 'powerful' computer can't run any new games without overheating or running them really slow?

DELL-Terry B · Answer

You should be able to run these games with the notebook and with fairly high settings. It is an Optimus system, so I certainly suggest that you either set up the Nvidia GPU as the preferred GPU, or set up profiles with your games that they run on high performance. The following link will give more information on Optimus. For best results, please have the AC adapter connected when playing games.

en.community.dell.com/.../19405027.aspx

Selecting a Preferred Graphics Processor

Open the NVIDIA Control Panel

* Select Manage 3D Settings

* Under the Global Settings tab, select High-performance NVIDIA processor

* Click Apply

I do suggest using the DELL Video drivers and the latest one for your notebook may be found here

www.dell.com/.../DriverFileFormats

I also suggest running diagnostics to make sure that there is no issue with the fan

Start the notebook while tapping F12, and choose diagnostics. The PSA tests will start, once they are complete choose no to running memory diagnostics, choose yes to booting to the diagnostic partition, choose test system, choose symptom trees, then choose Problems with Fan or System Seems Hot. Reply back here with the results.

TB

GabrielRoaCueto · Answer

I couldn't find any option about High-performance NVIDIA processor, so what I did was to change every option that had "performance" as a name and select it.

Also downloaded the Dell video drivers on the link and installed it, afterwards I did the diagnostics and it didn't find any problems with the fan.

So just to see if anything had changed I started playing Starcraft II on Medium settings and it didn't work at all. It was so laggy I had to turn off the laptop. After restarting I played some Unreal Tournament 2004 (an 8 year-old game) and set all the graphics to Highest. After about 15 minutes of playing it started lagging and had to close it.

So I decided to restore the Global Settings on the NVIDIA Control Panel to default, and tried playing Trine (3 years old game) on very high detail. After 2 minutes of smooth gameplay it started lagging and I had to close it.

I concluded that after installing the driver, nothing was fixed, but again, there was no High performance NVIDIA processor option under the Global Settings tab.

DELL-Terry B · Answer

You should have an option for high performance. Have you tried creating profiles for the games in optimus and choosing high performance for each game and see if that makes a difference?

You don't have to select the Nvidia GPU as the default GPU, you can also assign it for your individual games or programs that you feel require the extra power.

Assigning an application or program to the Graphics Processor

Open the NVIDIA Control Panel

* Select Manage 3D Settings

* Click on the Program Settings tab

* In 1: Select a program to customize, click on Add

* Browse to the application/game and open the executable file by clicking Open

* In 2: Select the preferred graphics processor for this program, click on the tab and select High Performance NVIDIA processor

* Click on Apply and the settings will be saved

Creating Optimus Settings for a New Program:

1.Open the NVIDIA Control Panel.

2.Select Manage 3D Settings.

3.Select Program Settings tab.

4.Click Add.

5.Browse to and select the application executable file that needs the new profile.

6.Choose the preferred graphics processor to use from the drop menu.

This should give you further control on your notebook, choosing when to conserve battery power when the extra GPU strength is not needed and being able to assign the Nvidia GPU when the power is needed.

If the games still run poorly we can consider replacing hardware. I am not convinced that this is a hardware problem but if it is something that you would like to look into shoot me a private message with your name and the service tag of your notebook.

TB

GabrielRoaCueto · Answer

This is what I see when I open the Program Settings tab. I'm not good with this things, but I couldn't find the option to select a High Performance NVIDIA processor. Could you please specify what do I have to select?

DELL-Terry B · Answer

GabrielRoaCueto

The photo helps clarify things a lot. It certainly doesn’t show the option to choose the GPU for option #2. If you don't mind shoot me a private message and include your name and service tag. With that information I can make sure that you have the correct driver and if that doesn't help research possible service options.

TB

GabrielRoaCueto · Answer

Ok. I just sent you my service tag on a private message.

austin1684 · Answer

Was this every resolved? I am having the exact same issue on the same pc...

GabrielRoaCueto · Answer

I was offered a change of GPU, but I have yet to transfer the guaranty. It's not even sure if it can be resolved.

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XPS L501X running games slow.

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