I have an MSI Thin A15 B7VF, and when I play a graphically demanding open-world game, the laptop stays only lukewarm. At the same time, performance is limited to around 20–30 FPS, making the game difficult to play. The laptop is plugged in, and it is sitting on a mostly hard surface with some elevation for airflow. What could be causing the low performance despite the system not feeling hot?
3 Answers
That model uses a relatively low-power mobile GPU, so demanding games may simply be pushing its limits. Reduce resolution, ray tracing, shadows, and other expensive settings, and use an upscaling option if the game supports one. Keep the vents clear and avoid soft surfaces, but the first step is still checking temperatures and GPU utilization to see whether it is a hardware-selection or power issue.
Since it is plugged in, check whether the game is actually using the dedicated GPU rather than integrated graphics. In the graphics settings, assign the game to the high-performance NVIDIA GPU, and make sure the laptop is set to its performance mode. A power-saving profile or the wrong GPU can cause low FPS while producing very little heat.
Monitor the CPU and GPU temperatures, clock speeds, usage, and power draw with a hardware monitor while the game is running. The laptop feeling lukewarm does not necessarily mean anything is wrong, but unusually low wattage or clocks could indicate a power limit, driver issue, or performance mode setting. Also verify that the charger is the original high-wattage adapter and that Windows is not using a battery-saving mode.
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