ATI HD 5650 mobility performance issues please help !!

[Devonic]

Hi Guys, i have a sony vaio vpceb36fa with windows 7 home premium 64 bit with an i3 running at 2.4 GHz . When i first bought the laptop on Counter Strike : Source and Need for speed hot pursuit 2 i was getting more than 30 fps on high settings.... after 3-4 months all of a sudden the games started to lag like hell ! i tried putting the settings to medium and low but its not working.......

So i tried to update the graphics card drivers (ati 5650) and then i chose the automatically detect and install but that program kept crashing .... idk why.

Then i tried installing this one : http://www2.ati.com/drivers/12-8_vis..._64_dd_ccc.exe but it just updated CCC and did not install any new drivers .....

then i tried to remove the driver and then install but again the setup did not install the graphics card drivers. i was stuck with a computer with no graphics acceleration and was running on software acceleration ...

Then i went to sony's website and then downloaded their package and installed it at then the graphics card was working.

Now catalyst control centre is saying that no graphics hardware is installed and to download the graphics drivers from their website !!!

Guys, Please tell me how to get back my original perfromance back and fix these issues !

[Johnny3D]

For Mobility Cards you should use Mobility Drivers: http://www2.ati.com/DriverS/mobile/1...d_ccc_whql.exe

And probably you're Windows is bogged with useless crap software that should get uninstalled. As a last resort, reinstall Windows...

[k1net1cs]

For 5650 Mobility, stick with 11.11c.
Anything else after that doesn't really fix/improve anything.

Always make sure to uninstall the previous driver (cleanly) first before installing another one.
While installing over an existing driver installation works just fine with some people, it doesn't mean it's the safest thing to do.

[Devonic]

OK guys, i tried installing the mobility driver (thanks a lot for that Johnny3d) , removed the current driver and installed it but got the BSOD. but when i came back to the desktop aero was enabled and graphics was working fine... Opened CCC and it was updated to 12.8 the 2d driver - 8.010.xxxx.xxxx

No improvement in perfromance in gaming ....... still the same BUT when i start the game everything goes silky smooth but after a few minutes the noise of the fan goes down and the game starts to lag...... What do you suggest i do ?

[Johnny3D]

That generally means that your GPU usage is low (which it shouldn't) , I'd check for unusual CPU usage. Probably an unwanted process that eats through all the CPU time...

[Devonic]

so ... any ideas how to run the gpu at its best possible speed ??
I tried using the amd clock tool and ran the gpu in this config :

engine clock : 500 Mhz
Memory clock : 769 mhz
GPU Fan speed : 100 %

Still the game lags ......

[paradis_pal]

check powerplay settings

I'm using mobility 5650 with all drivers with no problems at all, currently 12.8 it is the best in gaming till now

[Devonic]

nope powerplay is set to high performance on both battery and plugged in. same for the windows power profile - high performance ....

[k1net1cs]

I might be speaking to a wall, but have you tried 11.11c like I suggested?

[agentY777]

Originally Posted by k1net1cs

I might be speaking to a wall, but have you tried 11.11c like I suggested?

The wall has heard you. Best suggestion so far. The new catalyst versions do not support my graphic card. However, my graphic card still performs quiet badly. I used to be able to play BF3, mid low settings, without any problems but now it is unplayable.

-I am certain that my GPU is the bottleneck, as I have a quad core, 2.2 each; and 12 gb RAM.
-And based on the resource monitor readings, there aren't any resource intensive application, which could cause such a poor performance.

I heard downgrading DirectX might work (currently using 11).

Is there any other option than a clean windows re-installation? I am really not really keen on to re-install and re-setup everything on my laptop.

[k1net1cs]

Originally Posted by agentY777

I used to be able to play BF3, mid low settings, without any problems but now it is unplayable.

[snip]

Is there any other option than a clean windows re-installation? I am really not really keen on to re-install and re-setup everything on my laptop.

Personally, I have nothing against newer Catalyst sets in terms of performance because there's simply no visible improvements over older drivers, at least on the games I can play on this laptop.
Anything heavier is something for my (folding) desktop, with a 2500K@4.4Ghz and a 560 Ti.
The reason I'm sticking to 11.11c because it's the last version that properly supports DXVA on my laptop's 5650m.

I'd usually recommend to cleanly uninstall the drivers before trying a version, but I suspect it's more hardware-related.
Or more specifically, heat-related.
Which is might be the cause of your GPU and/or GPU to be throttled even if it's not being used much, hence leading to poorer performance compared to what should've been faster.

Dust might have accumulated on your laptop's heatsink fins, and blocking the hot air that should've been expelled by the blower.
Also, the thermal paste might've dried out, and in need of a replacement.
But, before doing anything which involves opening your laptop's case, you might want to check your temps first with something like HWiNFO.

Originally Posted by agentY777

I heard downgrading DirectX might work (currently using 11).

You can't really downgrade your DirectX version support since it's something that comes included with Windows.
Besides, isn't BF3 DX11 only?
Even if you're able to downgrade the installed DirectX on your Windows, you probably won't be able to play it.

[agentY777]

Hi k1net1cs,

thanks for all of your good suggestions. I actually forgot to check the power-presetting of my laptop. Somehow, the gpu options were set to maximum battery life in the presetting "high performance". Switched it back to max performance, now it is working fine.

However, my gpu heats up to 85 degree. is that in the okay range or is it going to have an adverse effect on my laptop in the long run?

[k1net1cs]

Originally Posted by agentY777

However, my gpu heats up to 85 degree. is that in the okay range or is it going to have an adverse effect on my laptop in the long run?

It's fine, though if you're able to replace the factory thermal paste (to an MX-4 or STG-1), that might get down a further 5 degrees.
I had around 10 degrees drop of max temp after I reapplied the thermal paste; the factory applied one was horrible it actually got mine to 90-ish.
I'll check what the max temp of mine under Kombustor later, but IIRC it was around 79-80.

As long as you don't put it under too much load for more than 2~3 hours non-stop, it'd probably be fine, even in the long run.
It's just that when CPU & GPU share the heatsink (which they usually are in laptops), its heat may affect one another when both are in full load under a prolonged time.
e.g. it's fine to leave just Kombustor on for an hour to test GPU temps, but not fine if you're trying to also run Prime95 to test your CPU temps.

[onemoar]

Its a laptop you dont game on a laptop -.-

[k1net1cs]

It's my laptop I game on my laptop.
It's my laptop you don't game on my laptop.

Problems?

[popeye]

Originally Posted by onemoar

Its a laptop you dont game on a laptop -.-

Um, when was the last time you had a decent laptop? Yea, many people do game on them and the newer ones perform quite well.

You desktop elitist you.

[Eastcoasthandle]

Originally Posted by Devonic

No improvement in perfromance in gaming ....... still the same BUT when i start the game everything goes silky smooth but after a few minutes the noise of the fan goes down and the game starts to lag...... What do you suggest i do ?

That sounds like your hardware heating up and starting to throttle. The question is why is the fan speed decreasing? If you can find a way to keep the fan speed up it should resolve the problem. I see you've tried CCC for your GPU but are you sure of where the fan speed is coming from? Could it possibly be your CPU's fan?

[Undying]

Originally Posted by onemoar

Its a laptop you dont game on a laptop -.-

Why not? I love having a mobile PC.

Btw my laptop is kicking your desktop ass!

[paradis_pal]

Originally Posted by Devonic

nope powerplay is set to high performance on both battery and plugged in. same for the windows power profile - high performance ....

what windows power profile you use, cause power saver uses battery optimized cooling method, try balanced or high performance

[Devonic]

Originally Posted by Eastcoasthandle

That sounds like your hardware heating up and starting to throttle. The question is why is the fan speed decreasing? If you can find a way to keep the fan speed up it should resolve the problem. I see you've tried CCC for your GPU but are you sure of where the fan speed is coming from? Could it possibly be your CPU's fan?

Ok. i tried speedfan and increased the GPU fan speed to 100 % still no effect i think its the cpu fan thats going down .....

Still trying to install the 11.11c drivers ......

[Devonic]

okay i installed the 11.11c drivers as k1net1cs had told and performance has dropped down to an unplayable level. .... I checked gpu-z and told that the maximum gpu load was 3 % WTF ??

[paradis_pal]

Originally Posted by Devonic

Ok. i tried speedfan and increased the GPU fan speed to 100 % still no effect i think its the cpu fan thats going down .....

Still trying to install the 11.11c drivers ......

speed fan doesn't control the fan on my laptop, check windows power options

I had such a problem in HP with nvidia card ( games start fast then they turn into low fps ), when I put the windows power to balance ( best performance cooling method ) it was fixed

[k1net1cs]

Originally Posted by Devonic

Ok. i tried speedfan and increased the GPU fan speed to 100 % still no effect i think its the cpu fan thats going down .....

GPU & CPU fans are the one same fan (blower) on most laptops, including Vaio.
There is no separate fans for CPU & GPU.

CPU & GPU usually share the same heatsink.
They do have their own plates, but both lead to the same heatsink, which is blown by one fan (blower).

Like I've said above, it may not really related to drivers, but hardware, especially heat-related problems.
The reason for low GPU utilization is probably due to your GPU has reached a thermal threshold and had to be throttled down before its utilization reaches 100%.
Read the replies I posted for agentY777.

[Devonic]

So........... as far as i've understood its a hardware related issue and reapplying the thermal paste on the gpu might work...... is there any other alternative than this ?

[Ecks33]

Originally Posted by onemoar

Its a laptop you dont game on a laptop -.-

no the proper term is you game on a PC you dont game on a Mac