HP Pavilion FPS drops using nvidia 940mx

[VoserNomad]

Hello to everyone, i hope you are having a nice day

I am writing this post because since the day i bought this notebook, and till today (1 year) i cant sovle a problem on my laptop.

While using the intel i7 integrated graphics card, my pc runs smoothly, but when i switch to the nvidia geforce 940mx dedicated graphics card, the performance gets better (as its supposed to), but in regular intervals, like 20 seconds, my fps drops to almost 0 (this happens in every game, even games that are very old or low demanding). I have seen a lot of people have the same problem with the same notebook,  and i tried everything to solve this issue, but nothing worked. This highly worsens my experience with hp because i am unable to run games which i would perfectly run with the dedicated graphics card working fluently, because i have to use the integrated gpu, to have stable and very low fps with very low settings.

I tried updating drivers, didnt work. The temperature doesnt seem to be a problem neither, because i controlled it and the drops didnt match any temperature spikes, in fact they are pretty regular. Of course i also cheked that every option was put in maximum performance and tried having the notebook plugged and unplugged from the grid

If this helps, like 5% of the times i tried playing with the dedicated nvidia 940 mx it went fluently, again, for no aparent reason

Thanks in advance, any help would be amazing

[Riddle_Decipher]

@VoserNomad Welcome to HP Community!

I appreciate that you've attempted the steps mentioned and I'll be more than glad to help you out:

Right-click your desktop background and select NVIDIA Control Panel. You can also find this tool by performing a Start menu (or Start screen) search for NVIDIA Control Panel or by right-clicking the NVIDIA icon in your system tray and selecting Open NVIDIA Control Panel.

To quickly set a system-wide preference, you could use the Adjust image settings with the preview option. For example, if you have old hardware that struggles to play the games you want to play, you may want to select “Use my preference emphasizing” and move the slider all the way to “Performance.” This trades graphics quality for an increased frame rate.

By default, the “Use the advanced 3D image settings” option is selected. You can select Manage 3D settings and change advanced settings for all programs on your computer or just for specific games. NVIDIA keeps a database of the optimal settings for various games, but you’re free to tweak individual settings here. Just mouse-over an option for an explanation of what it does.

If you have a laptop with NVIDIA Optimus technology — that is, both NVIDIA and Intel graphics — this is the same place you can choose which applications will use the NVIDIA hardware and which will use the Intel hardware.

Keep us posted,

If you would like to thank us for our efforts to help you, 

Give us a virtual high-five by clicking the 'Thumbs Up' icon below, followed by clicking on the "Accept as solution" on this post, 

Have a great day!

[VoserNomad]

First of all, thanks for the answer. 

I have already set everything on performance, but this problems still hapens. My "regular" fps go a bit higher doing that but the drops are still happening

[Riddle_Decipher]

@VoserNomad In that case, its best we perform an extensive hardware test to identify the cause of the issue:

Install the latest version of the HP Hardware diagnostics (UEFI) on your device using this link: Click here for details

• Hold the power button for at least five seconds to turn off the computer.
• Turn on the computer and immediately press Esc repeatedly, about once every second. When the menu appears, press the F2 key.
• On the HP PC Hardware Diagnostics (UEFI) main menu, click System Tests.
• Click Extensive Test.
• Click Run once, or Loop until error.
• While the test is running, the time remaining and test result for each component display on the screen.

If a component fails a test, write down the failure ID (24-digit code) for when you respond back to us.

[VoserNomad]

Dear Riddle_Decipher:

I have done as you said, and the only 2 options that were available were memory and hard disk test. 

I run both and both passed succesfully.

Also, if this helps in any way, i remember my hard disk was changed for a solid state disk in the shop where i bought my pc. Still, the problem only occurs when using dedicated gpu, so this probably isnt related to the problem

[Riddle_Decipher]

@VoserNomad The test I was referring to will only be available after you install the application from the link I shared earlier, that said, if you've replaced the HDD with the SSD, you may need to ensure the OEM OS or the factory shipped OS is installed on the device as it would include the drivers required for your device to run without such issues.

If you don't have an HP Recovery media and have attempted reset using the windows troubleshooter or a retail copy of windows, you'll need to order a recovery media: Click here for steps.

Or you may also attempt to download the same using the steps on this link: click here

For details on how to perform a successful reset: click here

If you wish to thank me for my efforts, you could click on "Accept as solution" on my post as the solution should help others too.

[VoserNomad]

Yes, i installed from the link you gave me but that was the result. About the oem os, i just checked and i have it.

I am sorry for not understanding, but when you tell me about the hp recovery media are you talking about rebooting? If it's needed i will do it but i would prefer to avoid doing so, specially since the problem was there since the day i bought the notebook, and wasn´t adquired later, so i really don´t think that could do anything. Still, if you do think it's a possible solution i will do anything you ask me to.

thanks

[Riddle_Decipher]

@VoserNomad There are scenarios where the OS gets corrupted while updates are being installed or interrupted during the first boot or the first few days, and reinstalling the OS removes such corruptions, hence, if you could perform those steps, it should resolve the issue for good.

Let me know if you need anything else, and good luck!