Pavilion Notebook - Processor & Graphics Card

[LukeRidley]

Hello, I own a HP Pavilion Notebook 17-ab004na. Further specifications are below.

• 6th generation Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor (2.6Ghz)
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
• 128GB Solid State Drive + 1TB Hard Drive
• 16384MB DDR4 SDRAM
• Windows 10 64-bit

Firstly, while playing video games, there is a part of the notebook that gets hot and I'm wondering whether this is the processor or the graphics card? Below are the recommended specifications for this particular video game - Rome 2: Total War.

• OS: Windows 7 / Windows 8
• Processor: 2nd Generation Intel Core i5 processor (or greater)
• Memory: 4GB RAM
• Graphics: 1024 MB DirectX 11 compatible graphics card. 
• DirectX®: 11
• Hard Drive: 35 GB HD space
• Additional: Screen Resolution - 1920x1080

I have the graphics settings for this video game at its lowest possible setting, below what the GeForce Experience app is suggesting. 

Is it possible that the game is being played on the integrated graphics instead of the NVIDIA graphics card? The Preferred graphics processor drop-down menu within the NVIDIA Control Panel is set to High-performance NVIDIA processor. Is my laptop functioning correctly whilst playing this game?

I've seen newer versions of my laptop that include a better processor and graphics card, would it be possible for me to upgrade these components?

Many thanks

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

On modern laptops upgrading cpu and gpu means a motherboard replacement (if there is a higher spec motherboard for the same model series). The economics are not favorable. The cost is more than the upgrade is worth. And you would not be able to use a motherboard from a newer model series so you have to work with what you have, which should be able to play that game fairly well.

While gaming you are going to experience loud fan and more heat than when you are making Excel spreadsheets. The question is how much? The cpu and gpu are very close together so likely both are heating up while gaming and the gpu more than the cpu. Install a little program called speedfan which will let you monitor actual temperatures. Anything above about 90 C is getting problematic. Below that you are OK.

http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php

The nVidia control app has an option to add a taskbar icon which will show you if the high-powered graphics is running. The icon will light up when it is:

http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2542/~/how-do-enable-or-disable-the-nvidia-notifi...

Post back with any more questions.

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