Random graphics issue, Y400

[raven2345]

A little back story: I bought this laptop because A.) I needed a computer, and B.) I wanted to play Battlefield 4.

Well between the wifi connectivity issue that these are known for, I've also had numerous occasions where my graphics card would just crap out on me. Intermittent times the game would be a smooth and good looking ~60fps, while other times, on the lowest graphics setting, it could only pull about 9fps. Honestly, I don't believe there are any variables that go into play. The laptop is always hooked in to the charger and sitting in the same spot.

Anyone else have any issues of this, or able to point me in the right direction of where I can find a solution?

Thanks in advance.

[Lazerlord]

Did the laptop get hot at all? I have the Y500, and haven't had any temperature problems, but the Y400 is a bit smaller, so cooling may be more of an issue. I'd get HW monitor to check the temperature of your graphics card. If it's below 90C then it should be okay, but <85 is optimal. Also, try Nvidia Inspector and check the GPU clock to see if it randomly drops. One problem might be that the computer starts running on battery power (for whatever reason) and when it runs on battery, it underclocks the GPU from 790MHz to 130MHz, which would explain the huge drop in framerate.

[raven2345]

As far as I'm aware, the laptop did not get any hotter than normal. Every now and again the fan will kick on if the game gets pretty intense, then shuts off (or just slows down) shortly after. I'll look into those programs though and start monitoring the temps.

The battery theory seems pretty spot on, though I really haven't had any issues with my charger or the laptop running on battery power alone. It just, makes sense. Lol