Dell G-Series and Inspiron Gaming systems with FPS drop or CPU clock dropping when playing games or 3D applications

Symptom

Some owners have reported FPS (Frames Per Second) drops in Dell Gaming Notebook systems while they are running games or 3D applications, as well as sudden drop-processing problems when running those games and 3D applications for long periods.

While this behavior typically occurs after the system has been in use for some time, using monitoring software, it's possible to show that when the temperature of the processor heats up, the system may have to lower the speed of, or the power to the CPU/GPU (Central Processing Unit/Graphics Processing Unit) to prevent the system from overheating. When it does this the CPU might drop the processor clock to 0.8 GHz, and this is usually the cause of the FPS drop.

Affected systems

• Dell G3 3579/3590
• Dell G5 5587
• Dell G7 7588
• Inspiron 7567

Not Applicable

Solution

It's expected that after some time of continuous use, especially when using graphical or 3D applications that require a lot of hardware resources, the system will heat up. When this warming reaches a certain point, which varies for each system, the thermal handling feature gradually lowers the processing speed of the CPU and GPU to reduce the temperature of your system. It is used in this way so that excess heat does not cause damage to any component of your system.

To prevent this feature from activating frequently, it is important to ensure that the system is not heating up abnormally.

For this, some important tips below:

1. Make sure your BIOS and drivers are updated to the latest version available for your system on the Dell Support Site

2. Make sure that none of the ventilation openings on your system is obstructed

3. The temperature of where the system is located can cause the temperature of the system to rise faster

4. Don't use third-party software to determine if the system is overheating. Use the Support Assist Stress Test to check if any errors are reported:

   • High Temperature and Overheating on Dell G Series Computers

5. If your system supports Dell Power Manager (DPM), adjust the configuration of the Thermal Management option according to your needs:

   • Overheating, Fan Noise, Freezing, Blue Screens, Slow or Lagging Performance with the Vostro 7580 & G3 3579 / G3 3779 / G5 5587 / G5 5590 / G7 7588 / G7 7590 / G7 7790