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GPU clocking down constantly


Kittie Rose

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At random while playing HL2 it will stutter briefly then it comes back at half the framerate. I checked GPU-Z and my GPU, even with powermizer "Disabled", and on HIgh Performance, is dropping down to roughly half the clock speed.

The only way to remedy this is to restart, which can be as often as every half hour.

This is completly F(&^*** insane. Is there a specific driver that will help stop this?

I'm using a Gemstone Blue with an 9500M GS and (I believe) the 174.16 drivers.

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This problem is most likely caused by overheating. At what temperature is your GPU running when it downclocks?

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It was a driver problem. I switched to the latest one and it no longer downclocks, even with Powermizer on.

Instead, it now briefly locks up and stutters, similar to before when it used to clock down, but now slightly more often and with a black screen for a few seconds too. When I exit, I notice some warnings that the display adapter stopped responding.

How do I fix that? Which would be the best driver for the Gemstone Blue's 9500M GS?

Edited by Kittie Rose
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Hi, I must ask this, are you sure it's not overheating? did you check with nvidia's system monitor or something else similar that monitors your card's current speeds? if you did confirm it doesnt downclock ill just shut up :)

I say this because i have the same system as you do and it is not a driver problem for me, no matter what driver I try it will do the same. My guess is what you are experiencing with the black screens and all is just the result of decreased stability that comes with older drivers, while the newer ones handle the underclocking much better so you dont experience the black screens and such with those newer ones...

also, usually performance increases along with each new driver, so with an older one you also just may not be able to bring as much from the card as you probably could with the most recent one, this would decrease its performance along with the core temperatures it would reach (because its not working as much). so yeah you may be fixing the underclocking problem but you are sacrificing performance to do it, and that's something i usually wouldnt do, but hey if it works for you and you're happy, just try other drivers and see if the black screens and stuff go away... this is just my guess tho and note im no tech savy, just saying my opinion, if im wrong please, anyone here who knows better, correct me :)

being that a few days have gone, did you manage to figure anything out?

edit: sorry, i looked at the wrong dates, it wasnt really a few days :P

Well i can tell you what i know about mine, i tend to believe it's the bios theory that was presented over at the topic anonymous1986 mentioned, I just need to test it, however nibitor, which seems to be the best tool to edit an nvidia card's bios, doesnt yet support the 9500 gs, so im stuck at waiting till they do... they need more copies of its bios to make sure they have the right code and implement the support correctly and currently... they only have mine :P other than that im at a loss just like you, if you do happen to find a solution (for everything, including those black screens and stutters and all) do tell

Edited by Quicksaver
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Hi, I must ask this, are you sure it's not overheating? did you check with nvidia's system monitor or something else similar that monitors your card's current speeds? if you did confirm it doesnt downclock ill just shut up :)

I say this because i have the same system as you do and it is not a driver problem for me, no matter what driver I try it will do the same. My guess is what you are experiencing with the black screens and all is just the result of decreased stability that comes with older drivers, while the newer ones handle the underclocking much better so you dont experience the black screens and such with those newer ones...

also, usually performance increases along with each new driver, so with an older one you also just may not be able to bring as much from the card as you probably could with the most recent one, this would decrease its performance along with the core temperatures it would reach (because its not working as much). so yeah you may be fixing the underclocking problem but you are sacrificing performance to do it, and that's something i usually wouldnt do, but hey if it works for you and you're happy, just try other drivers and see if the black screens and stuff go away... this is just my guess tho and note im no tech savy, just saying my opinion, if im wrong please, anyone here who knows better, correct me :P

being that a few days have gone, did you manage to figure anything out?

edit: sorry, i looked at the wrong dates, it wasnt really a few days :P

Well i can tell you what i know about mine, i tend to believe it's the bios theory that was presented over at the topic anonymous1986 mentioned, I just need to test it, however nibitor, which seems to be the best tool to edit an nvidia card's bios, doesnt yet support the 9500 gs, so im stuck at waiting till they do... they need more copies of its bios to make sure they have the right code and implement the support correctly and currently... they only have mine :rofl: other than that im at a loss just like you, if you do happen to find a solution (for everything, including those black screens and stutters and all) do tell

Yes, first of all i think is the driver problem, but recently i found out that the known stable version of 174.16 seem to give me downcloak in Mass effect where this would not happen before my bios upgrade in last month from A5 to A6 (Dell, vostro 1500), so it seem to be the Bios problem from Dell.

Bilal have stated that he did a downgrade to his system bios and there is no downclock

http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/index....60&start=60

Maybe i will have it a go and report back..

If it is the latest version of Bios that cause it :) DAMN to dell where they try to save $$ for fixing up problem in 8600 by introducing limitation to our GPU....

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Hi, I must ask this, are you sure it's not overheating? did you check with nvidia's system monitor or something else similar that monitors your card's current speeds? if you did confirm it doesnt downclock ill just shut up tongue.gif

Temp rarely goes over 60-63.

How do I force it to go back up to 400 mhz after it downclocks?

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Temp rarely goes over 60-63.

How do I force it to go back up to 400 mhz after it downclocks?

Sometime it will go back to 475mhz after you quit game for a while, but sometime you need to restart your computer depends on your luck

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Temp rarely goes over 60-63.

Apparently some brands consider that too much, I've barely seen mine go above that as well since that's when it downclocks, so i'd say yours is a temperature issue after all, it downclocks at temperatures usually considered low and easy to reach, rendering most gaming impossible, that's pretty much the problem some of us are facing right now

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I get the same problem in HL2 and any source-powered game. Happens in Counter-Strike:source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch.

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I?m in agreement with mike.

The driver that you run, and it doesn?t down clock, test the temperature. My guess is that they will probably be running at a lower temp. Range than other drivers that have better performance.

Basically the deal is this:

Drivers that have very good performance will run at a higher temp.

Drivers that have poor performance range will run at a lower temp.

Your system will have a set down clock speed in the BIOS. So as soon as this temp is hit, your GPU goes into low3D mode.

(Nvidia has contacted laptop companies, and have specified that they will release a driver to them that will do this. But from then until the companies actually release their version, may be some time)

If your system is not that old, ring up tech support and tell them to replace the motherboard/ gpu.

I was having this same issue, and now, with a new motherboard and GPU, its good as gold!

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I’m in agreement with mike.

The driver that you run, and it doesn’t down clock, test the temperature. My guess is that they will probably be running at a lower temp. Range than other drivers that have better performance.

Basically the deal is this:

Drivers that have very good performance will run at a higher temp.

Drivers that have poor performance range will run at a lower temp.

Your system will have a set down clock speed in the BIOS. So as soon as this temp is hit, your GPU goes into low3D mode.

(Nvidia has contacted laptop companies, and have specified that they will release a driver to them that will do this. But from then until the companies actually release their version, may be some time)

If your system is not that old, ring up tech support and tell them to replace the motherboard/ gpu.

I was having this same issue, and now, with a new motherboard and GPU, its good as gold!

Wook, You ring up the tech support and told them what detail?, they bring in new motherboard onsite and change? do they need to pull out the harddisk?

I have some problem with broken screw on my harddisk screw hole (i did it :) ) , will they proceed with the change?

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told them about the heat issues, they sent a techie within 3 days and replaced the motherboard and heatsink/ fan. the hard drive is seperate, and didnt ned to replace it. yeah, they came onsite to my house. took about an hour.

not its good as gold. was at 93 Oc when it was downclocking, not hits 73 Oc maximum..

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