Aero lag on GeForce 8400M GS

[The Patri0t]

I have got HP DV 6500 laptop with GeForce 8400M GS, Core 2 Duo 2.0 Ghz and 2 GB of RAM. I have tried many builds of Windows 7, both 32bit and 64bit but I have felt a certain lag in Aero animations esp. when closing a window. Right now using build 7201, it uses drivers from Windows Update. I cannot really describe the lag, the animation is just not smooth. [with "HIGH PERFORMANCE" selected from Power Options]

For comparison I installed it on a Desktop with GeForce 9500GT and the animation lag on the laptop was obvious. There's zero lag on Desktop, very smooth Aero but not on the laptop.

I tried recording the Desktop with desktop recording software but since the recording is not very smooth, the lag isn't really something one can observe. I will try to record both systems side by side when I get my DV Camera back.

In the mean time, has anyone else faced such a problem? Any suggestions of how to improve it?

[Pompeius]

download and install the latest drivers from Nvidia.

[9UnknownMen]

In your process manager is DWM.exe acting up by spiking? I had similar issue on my Dell XPS with the same GPU and found out it was running extremely hot. It eventually died but right before it got to the point where I had to kill Aero because it would just crawl otherwise.

[tsupersonic]

Only thing it could be is drivers. It's not even that the 8400M GS is a weak card because my ATI x200M integrated card can do Vista and 7's Aero smooth as butter.

[Udedenkz]

Try other drivers from NVIDIA or something like DOX custom drivers.

[Knife Party]

I've got the same Gfx card, don't use the WU driver, rather use the latest nvidia driver for your laptop.

[Idryss]

I have the same problem using a VAIO Laptop from 2007, which came preinstalled with Vista Home Premium. Aero animations on Vista a very smooth, but on Windows 7, since the build 6801, it's not the same. And I'm using the latest drivers from nVidia for my graphic card.

[The Patri0t]

Thanks for replies everyone!

download and install the latest drivers from Nvidia.

Drivers from Nvidia never work for me. It does not detect the 3D card, always gives me an error. I'll try driver from http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/ instead.

In your process manager is DWM.exe acting up by spiking? I had similar issue on my Dell XPS with the same GPU and found out it was running extremely hot. It eventually died but right before it got to the point where I had to kill Aero because it would just crawl otherwise.

I have not checked DWM.exe spiking, will check it. I don't think it's the temperature problem though; I'll check the temperatures just in case as well. Aero isn't crawling for me, just a lag.

I've got the same Gfx card, don't use the WU driver, rather use the latest nvidia driver for your laptop.

Which laptop have you got?

I have the same problem using a VAIO Laptop from 2007, which came preinstalled with Vista Home Premium. Aero animations on Vista a very smooth, but on Windows 7, since the build 6801, it's not the same. And I'm using the latest drivers from nVidia for my graphic card.

Hmm, interesting, which graphics card have you got?

[mzta cody]

My Qosmio does this, too. Every build that I've ever tried does this, going all the way back to 6801. Yes, it kinda bugs me too. Even after updating to the Nvidia 186 drivers. My IGC is a 9200M GS, btw.

[Guest sendmarksmail]

It's just an issue with Nvidia's drivers. Just be patient and wait for them to fix things up before RTM of Windows 7. I've had the same issue throughout all the builds, Beta and RC, with my Nvidia card. My laptop has a 512mb 9600m GT and it also has lagging issues when minimizing & closing windows.

I really hope they fix it fast. By the way they just released a new version on June 9th, so you might wanna try that out. I don't have Windows 7 installed anymore, so please, someone check.

[jjrambo]

It's not Nvidia drivers issue. I found same problem with slower ATI cards. WDM 1.1 is slower then 1.0 unless you're with high end video card.

[The Patri0t]

Well, at least I am not alone, lol :D. I'll be back after checking up the new drivers.

[Guest sendmarksmail]

Wow, I did not know it affect ATi cards as well. That's a bummer. They better fix it soon. The 9600m GT is pretty high-end and still has lag issues. Guess I'll wait for better drivers.

[vask]

This bug affects intel, nvidia and ati graphics cards. I have 4 systems with different cards and all exhibit this glitch (most noticeable on opening/closing animation). It has been mentioned by many people on different forums but somehow microsoft havent't bothered to fix it. Maybe because not enough people report it, some people don't even notice it. For those who think their animations are smooth try to enable slow-motion aero (edit registry + holding shift, can be googled for) and you will see that some frames are dropped from the animation.

This is the single most annoying windows 7 glitch for me, gives me a headache.

[DaveJukes]

Nvidia do have new mobile chip drivers for win 7. I always has to use laptopvideo2go ones for vista as they mod the inf file for m cards... Not necessary with 7...

[The Patri0t]

Checked with latest driver from LaptopVideo2Go, 186.18 Win7 32bit - 2009-06-10, it's the same & Windows 7 has been using a driver from March 09 I think, not the one released this month which was mentioned above.

[StealMySoda]

Have the same in my laptop. Have no issues. There is issues with the 8400m chip in general, perhaps you have a dying chip.

[The Patri0t]

Have the same in my laptop. Have no issues. There is issues with the 8400m chip in general, perhaps you have a dying chip.

Well, don't think it's dying, never loaded it i.e. don't remember playing any Games on it. Any way to check it's dying? :p

[deadcantdance]

I have the same problem with my laptops, Dell Latitude D820 und Lenovo Thinkpad R61, with Quadro NVS 120M and Quadro NVS 140M. Display resolution 1680x1050. I've bugged this since Vista Beta, and it has never been fixed. I think these card's are either to slow for this high resolution or the drivers are very bad...

My next notebook won't have a dedicated Nvidia-chip any more, that's for sure...

[limok]

The problem is that the video card is in power saving mode by default, to fix this disable powermizer in the nvidia control panel.

[The Patri0t]

The problem is that the video card is in power saving mode by default, to fix this disable powermizer in the nvidia control panel.

But I don't think the powermizer works, as in the controls are connected to Windows Power Management, at least that's what I read somewhere once.

[Knife Party]

I've got a hp dv 6000 pavillion laptop, aero animation used to be smooth in vista, but I've too noticed animations in W7 is laggy, don't think it's the gfx card, rather immature drivers from nvidia's behalf , I just disable min/max animations in W7 anyway, windows are waay snappier with awesome performance of W7

[limok]

But I don't think the powermizer works, as in the controls are connected to Windows Power Management, at least that's what I read somewhere once

Grab a copy of GPU-Z and check the clock rates at idle, if they are not Core 400/Memory 600 then powermizer is enabled.

Here's an easy way to get your gpu at max speed, open a 2 explorer windows and press win+tab a couple of times, the first few switches will be slow but the card will run increase its clock and you'll find that the switching will become smoother.

[The Patri0t]

Grab a copy of GPU-Z and check the clock rates at idle, if they are not Core 400/Memory 600 then powermizer is enabled.

Here's an easy way to get your gpu at max speed, open a 2 explorer windows and press win+tab a couple of times, the first few switches will be slow but the card will run increase its clock and you'll find that the switching will become smoother.

:yes: Thanks a lot!

that seems to be the case. After your last post, I downloaded Ntune and monitored the GPU Core/Memory speeds and they were down to 168/100. After opening a few Windows, minimizing/maximizing them, the Core/Memory shot up to 400/400 and the animation got smoother but as soon as I stopped doing that, it was back to 168/100 again.

It turns out that NVidia's Powermizer settings are way too aggressive. It's not from Microsoft I think but NVidia's fault. It's slowing the GPU down to 168/100 even on AC Power :s. There seems to be a work around for Vista users which I tried and got it to work with Windows 7 as well. One can play with the said registry settings to find the most optimal configuration. I won't be playing around with it. I have set speed of Core/Memory to 400/400 via Ntune and did all the steps on the website which I will link to below.

Which disabled Powermizer on AC Power, reduced its level/aggressiveness as well, so it would go to 300/250 on Battery. I think lowering down the level of it would do the job even on AC Power but one has to find the frequency on which Aero works best. For now, I am not playing with settings, 400/400 is enough.

Will play more with it in RTM :p, would probably set it up to default speed 400/600 on AC Power then. Here's the link:

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index....showtopic=19134

I don't know why Nvidia chose such aggressive Powermizer settings in Vista and Windows 7. It looks just stupid but might be due to the bad GPU chips they produced, so the temperature remains cool enough. Proceed with caution. Others with enough knowledge of the settings etc. might shed more light about this.

[blehbleh]

Here's an easy way to get your gpu at max speed, open a 2 explorer windows and press win+tab a couple of times, the first few switches will be slow but the card will run increase its clock and you'll find that the switching will become smoother.

Another solution is to open up a video in VLC or something. Brings the GPU, and thus the animations, up to speed :)