Sudden FPS drop in multiple games

Question

So, I've been getting pretty good framerate on most of the games on my new laptop. A couple days ago, I tried playing Minecraft modpacks which had some major problems. I tried to fix those, which resulted in, well, them not being fixed. Now, my FPS in most games is quite bad compared to what I was originally getting. Some examples are World of Tanks (used to get 60 fps, now struggling to get 30) and The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth (had some minor framerate issues which are now more severe). My PC's basic specs are as follows:

CPU: Quad-core Intel i7-6700HQ

GPU: Nvidia Geforce 960M w/ 4GB of dedicated video memory + integrated Intel HD 530

16GB RAM

OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home

I currently have the "Preferred graphics processor" set to "High performance Nvidia processor" in the Nvidia control panel, but that seems to have no effect. Additionally, I have uninstalled and clean-reinstalled the latest drivers and reset both the global and Java settings in the control panel.

I ran MSI Afterburner during a battle in World of Tanks. What I saw was that I'm not using up all of my GPU's processing power (average: ~60%). Last time I checked, no power settings are limiting performance, so I have no idea what it could be.

Is there anything else I could possibly do to try and fix this issue?

EDIT: Lowered WoT graphics settings and saw no change in average framerate, as if it's almost locked at 30fps.

Answer 1

I have this issue too with an i7 4790k and a GTX 970. However, not with the same games that you have included in your question.

But here are some solutions that have solved some users' problems:

1. Install EVGA Precision X and activate K-Boost on your GTX960.

2. Make sure you have every power setting (Windows, Nvidia) set to max and in every game.

3. Overclock your card and your CPU (Not recommended for laptops)

4. Unpark your CPU:

5. Reinstall the OS (doesn't work most of the time)

6. Exchange your hardware (this has worked for some people)

7. Download Nvidia GeForce Experience and Optimize compatible games

8. Check for overheating on your components using MSI Afterburner

9. Make sure your computer is set to the GTX 960 (mistakes do happen and sometimes the wire is connected to the wrong GPU output, but unlikely non-the-less. Usually not a problem for laptop users though.)

10. If you have something like an Alienware, MSI, or the new Razer Blade Stealth, you can also buy an external GPU to drive the display instead.

This problem doesn't usually have just one answer. However, I hope one of these solutions have worked for you. And sometimes, this problem is just different for different users. None of them worked for me in Cities-Skylines while it has worked for others playing the same game with a similar system.

And if you looked at a lot of other forums, you will see people getting mixed results (however, some peoples' computers do get better) so don't expect this answer to be 100% better performance guaranteed.