HP Pavillion dv7t Quad Ed: Problems running Diablo 3 and Graphics in general

Forsakenmantra

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May 20, 2012
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Hello,

I bought a HP dv7 quad edition laptop last summer, and now am noticing its having difficulty running games it should have no problems running. Things my old desktop can run better with 4 year old parts.

Laptop stats are below:

dv7t Quad Ed
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit with Service Pack 1
• 2nd generation Intel(R) Quad Core(TM) i7-2720QM (2.2 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) w/Turbo Boost up to 3.3 GHz
• 2GB GDDR5 Radeon(TM) HD 6770M Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
• 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 640GB 7200RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• High Capacity 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 5.5 hours of battery life +++
• 17.3" diagonal Full HD HP Anti-glare LED Display (1920 x 1080)
• FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
• HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader
• Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth(R) with Wireless Display Support

The laptop does run the two video cards set up that most HPs now seem to come packaged with. (I wasnt aware of this when I bought the laptop). Strangely enough, the Windows rating for graphics is a 3.4 with Gaming at 5.6.
The review for this laptop should have them both at 6.6 I think for this video card. I know if should perform better than my old NVidia 8800GTX which was a 6.3 (I think).

Ive already updated the drivers to the latest on the HP website. I cant install the latest Catalyst drivers because of the switchable graphics option on the laptop.

Diablo 3 does not run at all. Even with lowered settings and a 1366 x 768 res, its a choppy horrible mess. Unplayable as even the menu screen animations lag. No idea whats going on, but its driving me crazy. What would be causing this issue?

Does anyone else have a similar problem_
 

Forsakenmantra

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May 20, 2012
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Are you playing with the machine plugged in running on the performance power mode?

Yeah I am doing both of these things.

Because gaming laptops are an oxymoron? Everything is scaled down, so a 6770m probably is less powerful then a first gen 8800 GTS from 6 years ago.

Average benchmark rankings for the 6770m are about 30% higher than that for the 8800 GTX. I am not expecting a powerful machine here, but i cant run games I can easily run on the old desktop.
 

Unolocogringo

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Dec 31, 2007
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Not sure where you are getting your 30% better than 8800gtx but Toms has them in the same tier.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
That is assuming you have the GDDR5 model and not the GDDR3 model.
 

edit1754

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May 14, 2012
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Like I said, go into the BIOS and change the switchable graphics settings from DYNAMIC to FIXED. You will then be given manual control over when the dedicated GPU is enabled. Try this before doing anything else.
 
I agree the GPU toggling may be the issue:

Unlike NVidia's Optimus which can start and stop the gaming GPU automatically, I believe you have to choose which GPU you want with the Catalyst Control Panel.

If you right-click it (System Tray) it should tell you which one is running.

Now, I don't know about the BIOS as I don't have your laptop but I do know you need to make sure you are running the best graphics chip out of the two you apparently have.

AFAIK once you change GPU's it stays with that chip unless you change back but I'm not 100% certain.
 

Forsakenmantra

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May 20, 2012
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Im just saying benchmarks for the 8800 model I have are about 1050 and for the 6770M I have are about 1300. That's roughly 30% better. I am expecting SIMILAR performance to that of my desktop card.

I bought an inexpensive laptop to take with me while I moved. What I am getting is unplayable graphics in multiple different platforms where I am certain this card should perform well.

It seems to happen mostly with games that start with a separate starting menu. Diablo 3, Amnesia, etc. all start with splash screens before actually loading the game.

Thanks to peoples suggestions, I will try to go into the BIOS and set the computer from Dynamic to Fixed in the graphics card settings. I think the performance card isnt being used if the .exe isnt run directly. Stupid set up.

I am at work now (work in Japan), so I will post an update later.
 

kdu

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May 30, 2012
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I have the dv6 laptop and it seems to be an issue with the switchable graphics and d3 as its not using the AMD gfx card properly, I followed the directions in this link and everything plays at Max res and resolved any lag performance issues !! Happy Gaming

http://drivers.leshcatlabs.org/201 [...] -graphics/


PS. I've found that overclocking the GPU makes the gaming experience even more enjoyable. I used a MSI Afterburner to overclock the cpu

I recommend this setting
950 MHz Core Clock Speed
1000 MHz Memory Clock Speed
I highly recommend not to change the voltage

Download ATITool to scan for artifacts. Artifacts are when you bring your speed to high and you see little random things appear like several little white lines. Download ATITool and select scan for artifacts and run it for a good 5-10 minutes and look for artifacts. If it says you have artifacts or errors or if you see anything unusual then lower your clock speed and retest for artifacts but if you don't see any artifacts then you are fine.
http://***/3ncDv

Here is the full instructions on how to Overclock it
http://***/3nZkc

Here are some more people who have overclocked the 6770m:
http://***/3nZmY