Experiencing CPU issues on my gaming laptop

[BazBro]

Hey guys, I'll try to provide as much info as I can, but pls let me know if any more is needed.


Very frequent gaming for the past two years, cleaned it pretty well so it's not in horrible condition. I'll use Cyberpunk as an example as it's the most demanding game I have. It generally just feels like there's a huge bottleneck and I'm not getting the most out of the system.

Additionally, I've configured my windows and nvidia settings to be as performance based as possible, laptop is always plugged in, power settings are set to maximum performance.

https://pastebin.com/igHC1y3k

Above is the throttlestop log for about 10 minutes in-game. In other occasions the temperature will rise to 90-100 and I fear this might be where a bottleneck occurs, cause the GPU isn't the weakest AFAIK.

I've tried getting access to the advanced bios, but undervolting and overclocking any piece of hardware seems to be restricted.

It's not the worst of performances, but I find myself having to limit the framerate to mid 40's and play with a controller. Even though the framerate can reach above 100 in a lot of areas, it'll dip quite frequently, and this will be the case all the while GPU and CPU usage is middling out at around 50-70%. Correct me if I'm wrong, but ideally shouldn't GPU usage always be maxed?

With throttle stop and XUT being locked for me, is there any way to try to reduce the CPU temps? At the very least so I can isolate the issue, and figure out if it's a game optimization problem, or if there are deeper issues here. Performance on a majority of my games are okay, and wouldn't experience much issues but of course they're nowhere near as intensive. Best example of framerate dips are being +70 in overlooking a busy balcony, moving around slightly and immediately getting a dip to 55-60.

Sorry for everything being all over the place, let me know what specifics make it easier to figure this out lol

 

[unclewebb]

The log file shows that the C0% is in the 95% to 100% range at times. That is a sign that your 4 core mobile CPU is not enough computing power to play the game you are playing smoothly. The only way to get a smoother gaming experience is to exit as many background tasks as possible. When idle at the desktop with only ThrottleStop open, the C0% should be under 1.0%.

A four core CPU used to be good enough. Most game developers are probably using desktop computers with between 8 and 16 cores. Spending time trying to write efficient code that will run smoothly on a four core mobile CPU is not high on their priority list. Your computer is not that old but for some tasks and for some games, it is already obsolete.

Post some screenshots of ThrottleStop including the FIVR and TPL windows so I can see your settings and so I can make some suggestions.

 

[BazBro]

See above for my configuration, it does seem I should really think about getting a desktop rig soon, the GPU is pretty good, but the CPU is super limiting

 

[unclewebb]

When idle at the desktop with only ThrottleStop open, the C0% should be under 1.0%.

The main ThrottleStop screenshot you posted shows a lot of CPU cycles running background tasks. What is the idle C0%? Reducing background sludge is about the only way you are going to get more performance.

Speed Shift EPP is showing 114 in the FIVR monitoring table. The typical default for this is 84 when using the Windows Balanced power plan. Try adjusting the slider in the system tray to change this.

With the FIVR locked by the BIOS, there is nothing much else you can do. Your CPU cores are reaching the thermal throttling temperature. You have to clean out your laptop and improve cooling if you want better temperatures and less thermal throttling.

 

[BazBro]

The main ThrottleStop screenshot you posted shows a lot of CPU cycles running background tasks. What is the idle C0%? Reducing background sludge is about the only way you are going to get more performance.

Speed Shift EPP is showing 114 in the FIVR monitoring table. The typical default for this is 84 when using the Windows Balanced power plan. Try adjusting the slider in the system tray to change this.

With the FIVR locked by the BIOS, there is nothing much else you can do. Your CPU cores are reaching the thermal throttling temperature. You have to clean out your laptop and improve cooling if you want better temperatures and less thermal throttling.

The idle was slightly jumpy unfortunately.

Thanks for your help so far, sadly I think I've to bite the bullet on this build, as it's experiencing a HDMI port issue and I've done all sorts of troubleshooting - The main screw keeping the heatsink together is stripped, and in my efforts to remove it, I think I may have damaged the mobo, as now HDMI won't work, and I've troubleshooted a few different ways. With the thermal throttling and gaming performance just not being good enough, and the HDMI not working so now I can't use a second monitor, it's looking like the end. I've got over 2 and half years of constant use and heavy heavy gaming out of it, so I'm not too displeased.

If I could ask for some assistance on the following I would be grateful, I have been looking an emergency purchase of a new rig - I know this is off topic so if there is somewhere better to discuss it please let me know.

https://www.currys.ie/products/pcspecialist-tornado-r5-gaming-pc-amd-ryzen-5-rtx-3050-1-tb-ssd-10242041.html

The above link is the rig I'm looking at, I can pick it up tomorrow so the convenience is good, I do understand that this is probably overpriced for what it is, I just don't have the mental state or time to think about the technicals and was wondering:

On the whole, would the rig above be an improvement on the gaming laptop in terms of bottlenecking, temperatures, etc?
Is DLSS3 and Frame Generation supported?
Does the size of the case support upgrades in the future?
Keep in mind that my gaming laptop was my first real build, and I feel like now's a good time to jump to being an actual PC enthusiast - I know realise how limiting laptops can be!
Apologies if I've put this in the wrong place, didn't want to double post. If you'd like to speak privately that's cool

 

[unclewebb]

I have never owned or used a Ryzen CPU so there is no way for me to look at the specs and determine if that would be a good computer or not. I cannot even determine anything by looking at Intel specs. Different computers have different heating or throttling issues. The advertised specs have become meaningless. Whatever you buy, try to make sure that you can return it if you are not 100% satisfied. That is the best advice I can give you.