NVidia 7150M Vista 32 performance problems

[Guest HP user]

New to this forum, so sorry for any message formatting issues...

I've got an HP Pavilion 6525em with AMD Athlon 64x2 (1.7GHz) and NVidia 7150M integrated board, 2GB RAM with 128Mb Frame buffer for the graphics in the BIOS (up to 760Mb or so total dynamic RAM usage).

Having issues with performance under Vista 32. :)

WEI scoring 3.2 for aero, but only 2.5 for 3D/gaming... surely has to be more than that as I saw a comparable Compaq with NVidia 7000M scoring 3.1 in both categories.

In addition hardware acceleration button in control panel seems to be disabled.

Tried supplied HP drivers and the ones from the forum - WhiteTigerX7's HP/Compaq INF (For Vista 32bit Only), but the problem persists. All the 16x.xx drivers I tried crash on my machine even though the inf states that 7150M is supported.

Otherwise Vista runs quite smooth.

Main problem is the jerky DVD and WMV HD content playback in media player, tried WinDVD 8.0 and PowerDVD 7.3 with the same effect (both do not seem to enable hardware decode acceleration). Quick Time HD (1080p) plays fine using VLC.

According to the specs 7150M should support H264 hardware decoding acceleration and for sure MPEG2 decoding, yet I can't make the WinDVD or PowerDVD use the hardware acceleration - enabling it results in flickering screen, crashes or self disables. Can be overlay problem, DVD content plays smooth in window mode but gets jerky in full screen.

Problem worse if window is minimised to Flip3D - skipping frames becomes obvious.

Suspect problem on Draw3D level but DirectX diagnostic tool says everything is ok. Really puzzled....

Any suggestions for stable Vista drivers with H264 acceleration support or how to resolve this issue are welcome.

Surely the 3D score should be higher than 2.5 in Windows Experience Index regardless of anything else!

Thanks in advance!

[panzaman]

I am experiencing terrible Aero performance too, DVD playback is jerky and FLIP3D shows some esitation when you invoke it.

The general desktop performance is ok when you first boot the laptop, after a couple of minutes it really slows down, it becomes sluggish, you drag a window and it follows the mouse with a delay, you scroll an internet page up and down an the vertical slider on the explorer/firefox seems do lag behind the mouse pointer.

I dunno wheter is a matter of immature drivers or the fact that the nVidia 7150 is a dud, so much on their site (nVidia) against Intel integrated solutions and then they seems to be even worst than Intel.

I actually saw a Toshiba (some Satellite A200 or something like that) laptop with integrated intel (845gm) graphics running Aero at a local shop and, man, the aero performance compared to my laptop was way better, even though the laptop was similar specs as mine. (Turion 1.9ghz X2, 2gb memory/160gb hard drive).

Any help on this? anybody experiencing the same, my laptop is also an HP DV6552ea.

[Guest SalsaP]

I have an HP DV6646US (Turion 1.9Ghz, 2Gbyte RAM, nVidia 7150M) I have same WEI: 2.5 (before driver update was 2.6) due to low 3D performance.

Aero works good and smoot, I have not tested yet the DVD.

Some 3D games runs pretty slow (Project torque says that video driver are not updated), Second Life is acceptable (1200x800 low quality detail) runs at 20fps.

I already updated the BIOS, chipset and Gfx card with the lastest driver from HP.

I saw other "budget" laptop and have pretty better WEI (3d around 3.0), is it possible that nVidia made such a bad chip??

[P4Power]

About the WEI score, my Dell XPS with a dedicated Go7400 only scores a 3.7. So I imagine scores in upper 2s and lower 3s are probably right. However, not being able to run Aero Glass is bull, must be something software related. I have seen notebooks with Intel integrated graphics handle it perfectly, and the GeForce 71x0 GPUs are considerably faster. Also, DVD decoding shouldn't be a problem at all, cards have been able to do that for years now. Try some different drivers. Also keep in mind that these cards a relatively new and it might take some time for the graphics drivers to catch up to them.

Edited December 13, 2007 by P4Power

[Guest Robert]

I have similar problems to the ones already listed above. Any news when it comes to drivers? It seems that I am unable to get Nvidias updated drivers to recognice that I am using a proper Windows Vista 32x installation. Which I of course, Am.

[Guest Guest]

I have aN Hp Dv9000 and the Aero performance of the Nvidia Geforce 7150m is just awful, ive done some research and found that its mainly because something called "powermizer", its something that enables the full potential of your video card just when its neccesary, for example whenever you play a game or watch a video in order to save battery, but when using "low graphic applications" such as Word, firefox, etc, the driver decides its not neccesary to use the full speed of 425Mhz.

This chip has something like 3 configurations, the full clockspeed its 425Mhz, but most of the time it will stay at 210 or even worse 110Mhz. But guess what, were using Vista you know? Just by itself its a heavy 3d application, it doesnt matter if Im using notepad, with a clockspeed of 210Mhz, the aero interface will behave sluggish.

Nvidia says its Hp´s problem, and HP says "Its easy, just Turn the aero theme off".

Then they said: Or just wait for something available from Hp Update.

LOL . WTF? Do you think i bought this lap in order to use windows vista basic scheme?

Its really a shame that older computers even with single processors and less modern graphic cards behave a lot better than those with the geforce 7150M. We have the right to decide the clockspeed of our devices (I dont mean overclocking), just the speed this device has been designed for, who cares if my battery lasts 30% less time, I´d give away half of my battery time for just a decent windows vista experience!!!

Sorry for my strange english, I bought this lap when on vacation in the states.

I hope we can find a solution in the short term. Thank you

[zipper]

My HP/Compaq has HP optimized power profile, Battery saving profile and Maximum performance profile, all them are editable. I just changed to max perf profile. But every time I install a new GFX driver the profile pops back to default HP so have to adjust again. And using for example Notebook Hardware Control may also interfere with the settings.

[Guest Guest]

I purchased an HP DV6627ca notebook back in November, and for a while couldn't stand how slow aero performed. I came across a registry hack online not too long ago which remedied this problem. I can't remember where I found it, but just wanted to clarify that I don't take credit for creating it.

What this hack does is basically force NVidia's Powermizer feature to be disabled when the notebook is plugged in, and yet continue to save power when on battery. The jerky aero performance can be attributed to powermizer engaging even when the notebook is plugged in, and aero for some reason does not disengage this. Powermizer downclocks the GPU automatically in vista to 100MHZ to save power, and this is why aero runs slowly. After I changed the registry setting below, aero works as expected and DVD's perform flawlessly!

On Vista change the registry key PerfLevelSrc from x'3333' to x'3322' with regedit. This forces the GPU to run at max when plugged in, but allows powermizer to still work with batteries.

x'2222' will keep GPU at max on batteries or mains.

The registry key is found in:

\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contr ol\Video\{**unique to you for nvidia**}\0000\PerfLevelSrc

Hopefully NVIDIA remedies the problems with powermizer in Vista in its drivers soon! In the meantime, hope this fix helps!

[Guest Guest]

who ever wrote the above post is a genius.....bloody genius! I admit its not a complete solution but at least made my laptop usable in vista :-)

thanks who ever u are!!!

[Guest ldisimino]

No problemo. Just one more thing I wanted to mention. Considering that Powermizer reduces the frequency fo the GPU from 425 to 100mhz, some of you must be concerned that this will fry the GPU in short order. I ran Nvidia's nTune to check out GPU temps after implementing this hack. While at full throttle, the GPU registered 55 degrees (celcius) while in Vista, while it ran at 51 degrees with vista set to Powersaver (and battery unplugged). Not too big a difference if you ask me, so I wouldn't be too concerned with frying the GPU. Besides, even without the hack, the GPU always ran at full 425mhz when a game is loaded.

[Guest Guest]

wots battery life like if i overclock the card even when its not plugged in?

[Guest Guest]

Thanks for the workaround.... don't have to return my new laptop! :)

[ludwig]

I have a HP Pavillon Dv9000 to with the 7150M to ( got amd turiion 63 x2 tl-58 with 2 gig of ram) and i tried your hack and it didnt change anything for my performance :) i believe the 7150M needs a good driver anyone found a stable driver for it i keep on crashing with the ones i tried :)

[Andrew55]

The reason the 7000m is faster in terms of gaming and aero is because of the fact that it has 256 mb internal (up to 895mb) shared. The 7150m, while having slightly higher clock speeds, has only 128mb internal (760mb shared). The 7150m also has as mentioned a power saving features that make it slower.

My scores are:

Desktop: 3.7

Gaming: 3.2

[Guest Eduardo]

I've got the same problem...

[Guest Ray]

The reason the 7000m is faster in terms of gaming and aero is because of the fact that it has 256 mb internal (up to 895mb) shared. The 7150m, while having slightly higher clock speeds, has only 128mb internal (760mb shared). The 7150m also has as mentioned a power saving features that make it slower.

My scores are:

Desktop: 3.7

Gaming: 3.2

I have an HP Pavilion DV9700ea, Vista 32 bit Home Premium with a Turion X64 TL-60 2GHz, 2GB RAM and an NVIDIA Geforce 7150 / nForce 630 M.

WEI of 3.4 for desktop Aero and 2.6 for gaming.

I've had it 154 days, in that time VLC player crashed a couple of times (no big deal)

In the last four days VLC and Windows Movie Maker crash after a few minutes of operation, error log shows a VLC crash but not WMM.

The only files i have played are files that have been converted into AVI (from online game CS:S) and Monty Python episodes.

These files have played without problems for months.

Reading on here and other forums i see a lot of bad press towards the 7150, the last update for the 7150 was November 07

What would cause a sudden increase of crashes, auto restarts and once the Blue Screen of Death in the space of 4 days?

(Also had 2 audible beeps, which from previous pc experience tells me i should be worried)

[Guest Ray]

I have an HP Pavilion DV9700ea, Vista 32 bit Home Premium with a Turion X64 TL-60 2GHz, 2GB RAM and an NVIDIA Geforce 7150 / nForce 630 M.

WEI of 3.4 for desktop Aero and 2.6 for gaming.

I've had it 154 days, in that time VLC player crashed a couple of times (no big deal)

In the last four days VLC and Windows Movie Maker crash after a few minutes of operation, error log shows a VLC crash but not WMM.

The only files i have played are files that have been converted into AVI (from online game CS:S) and Monty Python episodes.

These files have played without problems for months.

Reading on here and other forums i see a lot of bad press towards the 7150, the last update for the 7150 was November 07

What would cause a sudden increase of crashes, auto restarts and once the Blue Screen of Death in the space of 4 days?

(Also had 2 audible beeps, which from previous pc experience tells me i should be worried)

Further to my post above i believe the crashes are due to playing media of a certain size/type through the external USB HD.

[Andrew55]

It does seem that nvidia discontinued 'support' for this card before it resolved it's problems. The fact remains that the nvidia 7150m is regardless 'supposed' to be faster the 7000m and therefore there is somewhat of a potential deficit.

[Guest Ken]

It does seem that nvidia discontinued 'support' for this card before it resolved it's problems. The fact remains that the nvidia 7150m is regardless 'supposed' to be faster the 7000m and therefore there is somewhat of a potential deficit.

Just got offline with HP. He suggested to downlaod this 3rd party codec to fix full screen video playback for Vista OS. I must say, it does work. I am now 100% satisfied. No tweaking or moding. You can get the codec from this site: http://www.free-codecs.com/download/vista_codec_package.htm

[Guest Chilean Guest]

Hi, I found very usefull the reg value "3322" that was mentioned before, but want to know if there's a way to force low 3d performance (250 mhz) whne ac is plugged instead 450mhz obtained with the "3322" , my concern is about heat, nothing else. Thanks

[Michael Marley]

This is not only true for low-end integrated graphics chips. It also happens with mid-range chips, like the 8600, at high resolutions. PowerMizer and Vista are like oil and water. They just don't mix.

[Guest Logan]

I have a HP Pavillon Dv9000 to with the 7150M to ( got amd turiion 63 x2 tl-58 with 2 gig of ram) and i tried your hack and it didnt change anything for my performance :) i believe the 7150M needs a good driver anyone found a stable driver for it i keep on crashing with the ones i tried :)

Hey Ludwig, I have th same laptop and the little registry tweak works great, remember to reboot after your done. Please let me know if it doesnt work.

[Guest Phil]

That card is a piece of crap on the WEI I get 3.0 for 3D graphics and for aero only 3.3 for the rest I get over 5 since I have a nice configuration, this card give me a lot of pain since I pay $1000 for a HP DV-6660SE notebook with such a horrible performance graphic wise. I recommend you to update the driver for this card maybe you will get some improvement but don't get your hopes too high because this hardware sucks big time. I'm changing this for the new HP DV5-1010us just hope is better than this one

[Guest rsheth]

Hey guys i m new to this forum but i just got a new HP pavillion dv9920 laptop my specs are

AMD Turion 64x2 2.0 GHz , 4 GB RAM , NVIDIA 7150M with upto 1071 mb memory shared

Windows vista 64 bit. I m also getting the same problems playing 3d games. my friends have got dell laptops which have only 2 GB RAM and intel core 2 duo windows vista with intel extreme graphics accelerator . But these laptops play FIFA 08 without any lag but my laptop lags despite of such high config i cannto even play it on higher resolutions does any body know any fix to this problem because i think that i shd be able to play fifa 08 at 800x600 without any lag , it evenlags on the team selection screen . i desperately need some help..thanks in advance

[Guest Guest]

The reg hack, i cannot find the specific folder it should be in I get to the video fodler and there are many folders with random values and each one has 0000 and video subfolders.