Gameplay stutters on my Veloce

I have a DigitalStorm Veloce laptop that costed me about $1,777.
All my games, especially Heroes and Generals have such low fps [around 20-30], and on top of that, stuttering. The stuttering is like a slight pause every half-second or so. Any help?

Anyways, here are the specs:
System Configuration:
Chassis Model: Digital Storm Veloce 13.3 Inch Laptop (Model: S:7330:765M)
Display: 13.3 Inch Wide Angle (Resolution: 1920 x 1080) (Anti-glare) LED-Backlit Display
Processor: Intel Core i7 4800MQ (Up to 3.70Ghz) (Quad Core) (6MB Cache)
Thermal Compound: Premium CPU and GPU Thermal Compound (Reduces Thermal & Laptop Noise)
Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz (2x8GB Sticks)
Primary Hard Drive: - No Thanks
Secondary Hard Drive: 240GB Solid State (By: Corsair) (Model: Neutron GTX Series) (SATA 6Gbps)
Optical Drive: Option Not Available
Wireless Card: Killer Wireless-N 1202 Wireless LAN + Bluetooth 4.0 Module <b></b>
Video Card(s): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M 2GB with NVIDIA Optimus
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Advanced Recovery Kit (40GB Hard Drive Partition of Image With OS & Drivers)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office Suite: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Cooling Pad: - No Thanks
Extra Charger: - No Thanks
Extra Battery: - No Thanks
Audio: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Medium)
Warranty Plan: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

Yes, AC is plugged in the entire time. I even tried manually editing in the nvidia control center to force GPU when the game executable opens.

I think the 765m mobile is comparable to a desktop gtx 560, meaning game graphics with that resolution might need to be medium to high for a lot of games.

My other thought is to use Task Manager and msconfig to make sure no other programs or bench tests are running in the background, lugging down the graphics.   

Check the cpu and 765m temps with HWMONITOR.

Try using Coretemp.    Assuming HWMONITOR is correct, it sounds like your cpu is throttling back. Try using canned air to blow out the laptop of potential dust buildup. It doesn't take much dust to cause heating issues in a laptop.

You might remove the bottom access panels to inspect the fans, etc.

Cleaning and visually inspecting it for dust just checks off another potential cause.

Good luck.   

I think it'll try throttling back first to keep the temp at 100c or less, then shutdown if that doesn't work.   But, I can't be sure.

I would assume it's throttling and get the temps under control.

Didn't you have a similar question with another game a few months ago?   Going on memory. If so and it's relatively new, you might have a thermal paste issue but that might be getting ahead of things.

I would first email/call DS and tell them the steps you've taken and the temps and make sure its that.  Better safe than sorry.  

If you're sure of the results then you'd have to remove the cpu heat sink from inside the bottom panel, clean the top of the chip with a bit of alcohol, easy does it,  and reapply a small bit of thermal paste.  Then remount the heat sink and cooling tubes  assembly.   It looks pretty straight forward. 

Here's a link that shows, I think, your Sager 7330 and how it comes apart. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=sager+np7330+%28clevo+w230st%29&sa=X&tbm=isch&imgil=LFIefawr8UJuRM%253A%253BIOuEwIfxA3chrM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fforum.notebookreview.com%25252Fsager-clevo-reviews-owners-lounges%25252F725922-htwingnut-s-sager-np7330-clevo-w230st-review.html&source=iu&usg=__0Cf8NGOHBFH4fX7BAFq6FZyiGUk%3D&ei=dQLuU6bfEYeAygTXvYDACQ&ved=0CGkQ9QEwDA&biw=1600&bih=786#facrc=_&imgdii=LFIefawr8UJuRM%3A%3BcVBC6Pxl8FE-jM%3BLFIefawr8UJuRM%3A&imgrc=LFIefawr8UJuRM%253A%3BIOuEwIfxA3chrM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fi.imgur.com%252FGnqIpsj.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fforum.notebookreview.com%252Fsager-clevo-reviews-owners-lounges%252F725922-htwingnut-s-sager-np7330-clevo-w230st-review.html%3B1440%3B1080

I was going to just post a pic, but this has multiple images.   It looks like the gpu and cpu heat-sinks and pipes come off as one, so both would need to be cleaned and paste reapplied.

Also, make sure that fan is turning and no dust buildup first.

If the paste is not evenly spread or all dried up, that was probably the problem.

Best of luck and let us know. 

Diamond type Thermal Compound has an excellent reputation. 





Edited by bprat22 - 15 Aug 2014 at 6:18am

Congrats on the paste reapply.    Ripping into a computer can be a bit unsettling. Now your a pro.

Good to see the stuttering gone but, yeah, those temps are suspect.   That 4800 does run hot but hitting 100c would concern me, although laptops do run hot.

Was the old paste dried up or had gaps?   Just curious.

Is the heat coming out of the vents hot? I would make sure the heat sink is dust free, 100%, if you can. Doesn't take much to mess with the cooling.   The fan can also loadup dust.

If the stuttering is gone and fps are up there then it's possible the temp readings are wrong, the chip not reading right. I'd email DS and ask them what to expect from temp readings. The various forums are loaded with others with the 4800mq running near 100c.

Thanks for your feedback and if DS gets back to you, let us know.

Having to pry the heatsink off the cpu lid is normal if the paste is dry. Feels like your going to break it.

Applying the new paste and cleaning the vents, heatsink and fan is about all you can do. Being the curious type, I did Google that chip and temps and found a lot of people saying the same thing. 100c seems common. I personally think it's hot but sometimes it is what it is.

At this point, if it was me, I'd just let it run and as long as gaming is good, just enjoy.   There are ways to undervolting the chip to reduce the heat(voltage is what drives th he heat), I've done it to a gpu, but then you risk random display faults with a gpu. Cpu would be a different fault.



Edited by bprat22 - 17 Aug 2014 at 5:34am

Good question.   I think the paste , and dust removal, did help with temps where it counts internally but for some reason,what HWMONITOR, etc show and what the chips algorithm relies on, is different. That might be stretching the theory to match the facts but it could be.



Edited by bprat22 - 17 Aug 2014 at 4:46am