Intel Core i7, but still low FPS?

[jetfire158]

Alright since I spent practically all night trying to figure this out on my own I guess I'll finally post on the forum. I've tried doing all the game-specific fixes listed on the Dolphin wiki as well as the recommended settings given by developers. I've got a fairly high-end laptop when it comes to gaming, as you can see from the attached file. Also here is the first part of my MSinfo:


Item Value
OS Name Microsoft Windows 8.1
Version 6.3.9600 Build 9600
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name COMPUTRON
System Manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
System Model HP ENVY dv6 Notebook PC
System Type x64-based PC
System SKU C2L42UA#ABA
Processor Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2401 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Insyde F.29, 10/3/2013
SMBIOS Version 2.7
Embedded Controller Version 52.24
BIOS Mode UEFI
BaseBoard Manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
BaseBoard Model Not Available
BaseBoard Name Base Board
Platform Role Mobile
Secure Boot State On
PCR7 Configuration Binding Not Possible
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.3.9600.16408"
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 5.89 GB
Total Physical Memory 5.89 GB
Available Physical Memory 2.57 GB
Total Virtual Memory 8.97 GB
Available Virtual Memory 4.03 GB
Page File Space 3.08 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys
Hyper-V - VM Monitor Mode Extensions Yes
Hyper-V - Second Level Address Translation Extensions Yes
Hyper-V - Virtualization Enabled in Firmware No
Hyper-V - Data Execution Protection Yes


I'm running the latest stable version of Dolphin, 4.02 on 6GB of DDR3 RAM with 2GB of dedicated video memory.


I've been trying to run Twilight Princess (the gamecube version) and I also tried running the much simpler Ocarina of Time Master Quest for Gamecube, with the same results. I still only get a maximum of around 20fps except in inventory/save screens, but most of the time it's only 10-15. I messed around with graphics settings, and one time it seemed to go up to like 28fps but then I experimented some more and later couldn't get it to go back to what I had even though I changed it back to the settings that I thought were giving me the higher framerate. I've seen people say that even the highest end hardware can sometimes get low FPS but I've also seen many examples of people running Twilight Princess at full speed on a similar CPU (i7), and it seems I'd be getting low FPS on any game, given the performance with OOT Master Quest.

Additionally, it seems every time I try to change the graphics adapter it uses to my NVIDIA + OpenGL as recommended, it gets really buggy and crashes with an error message about the backend that says "Failed to enumerate outputs" unless I use the lowest internal resolution, and even then the FPS is ridiculously low, even lower than with the other card (Intel HD 4000) at higher internal resolution. Could anyone tell me what's going on here? I hope I've provided enough specific information, if not please let me know.

[NaturalViolence]

Check your clock rates and temperatures for both your cpu and gpu.

[jetfire158]

Check your clock rates and temperatures for both your cpu and gpu.

Will do, thanks. Any suggestions on what software to use to check clock rates? Never done it before.

[Anti-Ultimate]

Realtemp and GPU-Z

[DJBarry004]

Check your clock rates and temperatures for both your cpu and gpu.

Will do, thanks. Any suggestions on what software to use to do this? Never done it before.

Temperatures: CoreTemp or RealTemp.

(Current) clock speed: CPU-Z and GPU-Z.

[jetfire158]

Okay I got it.

CPU CurrentClockSpeed: 1200
MaxClockSpeed: 2401

Temperatures:
   


GPU Specs for Intel 4000:
   

For NVIDIA:
   

Thanks for the suggestions, I was having trouble finding an easy way to check GPU clock speed. Hope this information helps.

[mbc07]

First thing you should do ASAP is replacing your thermal compound. I have the same laptop model with nearly the same specs and had a lot of overheat issues (not only with Dolphin, with other heavy applications too) with it until I replaced the thermal compound. And for Twilight Princess, it won't handle this game at full speed while you're in Hyrule Field, but it should give you constant 30 FPS in most areas (at least with EFB to Texture, if you don't mind having a messed mini map), so, check your CPU/GPU clock speeds again while running Dolphin and make sure it isn't at idle clock speeds...

[jetfire158]

First thing you should do ASAP is replacing your thermal compound. I have the same laptop model with nearly the same specs and had a lot of overheat issues (not only with Dolphin, with other heavy applications too) with it until I replaced the thermal compound. And for Twilight Princess, it won't handle this game at full speed while you're in Hyrule Field, but it should give you constant 30 FPS in most areas (at least with EFB to Texture, if you don't mind having a messed mini map), so, check your CPU/GPU clock speeds again while running Dolphin and make sure it isn't at idle clock speeds...

That is the problem, though. I am not even getting 20 fps in open areas like Faron Woods. If the problem is that the clock speeds are running at idle then how can I fix that? And also I forgot to mention, the FPS seems to fluctuate like crazy. When I first boot up the game it's at like 200 or something ridiculous like that, and then it goes down to below 10 when the start screen appears, and then it goes up to like 20 or so when I'm in smaller areas like inside buildings or caves or in the inventory/save screen, and back down to around 10-15 in open areas. Shouldn't it be at least somewhat constant?

[admin89]

Read the Laptop performance guide and force CPU to run at 3.1GHz or higher (use throttlestop)

[NaturalViolence]

Shouldn't it be at least somewhat constant?

No. What you're experiencing if fairly normal.

CPU CurrentClockSpeed: 1200
MaxClockSpeed: 2401

Screenshot of this please?

The screenshot you posted under temperatures shows normal temps and clock rate. Is this while dolphin is running the game or idle?