ThatGuyXion

Estimable
Nov 10, 2014
4
0
4,510
Alright, so I have a Dell laptop with a GT 740M, Intel i7-4500U and 16 GB RAM.

It can manage to play games smoothly when not doing anything else. A good example is Minecraft. It runs at high settings with 100 FPS+. But when I'm doing anything else, even if it's something as simple as having a YouTube video playing in the background or calling on Skype, the FPS becomes jaggy and it runs a great deal less smooth.

I used to own an HP with an Intel HD 4600 GPU, and while it played at fewer FPS (around 80 max), it was a great deal more stable.

Any ideas on what could be causing the issue?
 

Warukyure

Estimable
What was the CPU you had in your previous Laptop? Was it a non-U model CPU? U-series CPUs are only dual-cores and are considerably slower than their MQ/HQ variants. Possibly, you might be maxing out your current CPU.
 

ThatGuyXion

Estimable
Nov 10, 2014
4
0
4,510
Ah, that may be it because I remember it was a considerably better CPU (not sure exactly what model though).

Any way I can possibly conserve CPU usage then? Or is it just a matter of getting a new laptop with a better CPU?
 

Warukyure

Estimable
The laptop you have isn't even that old and its still good. While you can sell it as a second hand computer to recoup some losses, you'll still be losing money. When you game are you always plugged in? Do you have any other background tasks open? Consider reducing draw distance a bit?
 

ThatGuyXion

Estimable
Nov 10, 2014
4
0
4,510
Yes, I'm always plugged in. Only background tasks I ever have open are Skype, my browser (which doesn't have much open on it at all), and sometimes Steam. And draw distance doesn't really affect it too much at all, whether it's turned up or down.
 

Warukyure

Estimable
Can you press Control+Shift+Esc while on desktop. On the processes Tab hit More Details, and it'll show what you're using and look at whats using up all your CPU. A game like Minecraft might probably be more of a CPU hog than a GPU hog too. Go to the performance tab and see if your CPU as went turbo yet. Your CPU should read as Max Speed as 1.8 GHz, when you've got your game loaded does it show it going higher than that 1.8 GHz?