Guild Wars 2

Hey all, after this last update I have been getting some ridiculously low FPS. I’m running i7-2630QM, 2 GHz, 12MB RAM, and a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M. I just recently had the laptop serviced (due to a bad GPU) and had it upgraded from the 560m to the 670m. On benchmark tests my computer is scoring 500+ points higher than it was with the 560. Could something else have gone wrong with the swap from the 560 to the 670? Or has my computer fallen below the minimum requirements to run this game? Thanks in advance for any help!

Could use GPUZ and another temperature monitoring program to make sure neither the GPU or CPU are thermal throttling. I can’t remember any for the CPU however.

I have done that, GPU/CPU dont rise over 75 ever.

you haven’t said what the ‘extremely’ low FPS you see is.

Haru Kane.4623:

I have done that, GPU/CPU dont rise over 75 ever.

75c for a CPU is rather toasty! It’s acceptable for a GPU though.

You never said what your ingame graphic settings are. If you’re trying to play with Supersampling+ Everything else on high/ultra at 1080p….low FPS should be expected.

Some preliminary advice; Shadows and reflections are HUGE FPS hits,turning those down will increase FPS more than most any other setting.

On medium graphics (recommended) the FPS is around 5-10 if I’m not moving it’s pinned at 30 (I have it set to not rise above 30). On lowest it’s the same deal if I move around 5-10fps standing still 30. Also it’s not 75c all the time. it fluctuates between high 60’s and low 70’s and then in times of extreme graphics (WvW battles) it doesn’t surpass 75c.

Why did you have your laptop serviced? And what Laptop model do you have?

If your GPU is a daughter board that can easily be swapped (rather rare today), maybe something with the PCB isn’t working right? It might need to be reseated.

If your GPU had a flow issue (extremely common today), and you had the service guys reflow the GPU (they can either pop the GPU off and replace the solder or ezbake it to liquify the solder and do it that way) its possible their Process failed, and you are seeing the beginnings of the flow issue returning.

Or if they just replaced the MB, its possible the 75c temps and the cylindrical temps are also starting to ruin the GPU, leading to another GPU replacement service.

A month ago my old GPU,560, died, (before that happened the game ran pinned at 30fps on Med graphics all the time). The laptop was still under the warranty that I purchased through a 3rd party program (service net or something) and so I sent it in to be repaired. I assume there were no GTX 560m model GPU’s available anymore so they had to upgrade me to the GTX 670m. If it were a flow issue wouldn’t it have shown in the score on the benchmark testing? How would I have scored 500 points higher than when the computer ran perfectly if there was a flow/seating issue? Could it be that my MB and GPU are, since the change, incompatible now?

Haru Kane.4623:

A month ago my old GPU,560, died, (before that happened the game ran pinned at 30fps on Med graphics all the time). The laptop was still under the warranty that I purchased through a 3rd party program (service net or something) and so I sent it in to be repaired. I assume there were no GTX 560m model GPU’s available anymore so they had to upgrade me to the GTX 670m. If it were a flow issue wouldn’t it have shown in the score on the benchmark testing? How would I have scored 500 points higher than when the computer ran perfectly if there was a flow/seating issue? Could it be that my MB and GPU are, since the change, incompatible now?

its all relative to the work they did, and what model number your laptop is.

when a GPU deballs itself from the PCB, its a process that can be immediately noticed as well as barely noticed.

I have seen it many ways.

The Immediate ways are, Black screens on post (no BIOS post), BSOD’s that happen under GPU load/stress, over all Poor GPU performance.

No so noticeable are high temps (there is space under the GPU and the solder isnt attached to the MB as well as it once was, so heat builds up), poor performance over time (while the GPU is ‘cool’ it runs normally, as it heats up the performance drops and never returns until the Laptops Ambient temps are below 48c), and random Driver Crashes.

There are only 3 ways to fix it;

1. remove the GPU from the motherboard, and replace the Ball Solder, then reattach

2. Install a new motherboard that’s NEW, not used. (Used Motherboards might have the same issue, so I would be wary about buying a used MB to fix this issue)

3. Oven Bake the Motherboard to ‘reflow’ the cracked, brittle, and broken solder under the GPU.

Your statement of work should detail what was wrong with your laptop, and what steps were taken to fix it.

Since MB’s are purely reference, they could have taken the 560 off the GPU pot, and installed a 670 in its place (due to GPU availability at the time), then just flashed a new bios that had the micro code to support the new GPU chip.

They could have installed a new daughter card (I dont know about this, I dont know what model your Laptop is to confirm)

They could have replaced your motherboard, with another MB that has the same issue. Just maybe not as processed/pronounced as the issue you sent it in for.

Either way, your statement of work should say what they did to fix the issue.

Statement says: “Condition – Scratches on casing/bezels – Replaced Video Card.” Here’s my computer. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152266

GPU is soldered onto the Motherboard on that model. So youll want to contact them and find out exactly what they did to fix the video card.

Alright, thanks a lot man, I was planning on contacting them anyways, but now i’ll at least seem like I know what I’m talking about. haha.