I purchased my Sager Notebook NP5790 in late summer before college started. I mainly bought this notebook for the purpose of having a fast well performing notebook that could handle multiple programs at once and be able to handle to latest games. Only lately I have been having trouble running games such as Unreal Tournament, Call of Duty 4, and even The Sims 2. Even when the settings are all set to the lowest including resolution after nearly 10 minutes of playing the games become choppy and slow. This seems to happen both online and offline. I have no idea where to start looking for the problem or how to fix the unidentified problem.

Here's my rig:
Sager NP5790
Intel Core2 Duo CPU @ 2.40ghz
4094mb of RAM
64-bit Operating System
nVidia GeForce 8700M GT @ 512mb

I would think with stats like these I would be able to run games at high fps. I ran a system test using SiSoftware Sandra and got these results. I don't know if these are helpful to find my problem though.

***** Start of Report *****
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<<< Computer Overview >>>
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<<< Mainboard >>>
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Notice 224: SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.
Warning 2507: Mainboard has too few memory slots. Upgrading
the memory may be difficult or expensive.
Warning 2508: All memory slots are full. Upgrading the
memory may be difficult or expensive.

<<< Mainboard Configuration >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notice 224: System BIOS : SMBIOS/DMI information may be
inaccurate.
Tip 212: System BIOS : BIOS can be shadowed so check
whether it is.
Warning 214: System BIOS : BIOS is flash-able but surface-
mounted. An unsuccessful flash may be fatal.
Warning 208: System BIOS : BIOS does not support the EDD
(Enhanced Disk Drive) specification. Check
for an update.

<<< Processors >>>
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Tip 210: CPU 1 [Processor 0, Core 0, Thread 0] :
Mainboard supports faster CPUs, so the CPU
can be upgraded when needed.
Notice 224: CPU 1 [Processor 0, Core 0, Thread 0] :
SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.
Tip 210: CPU 2 [Processor 0, Core 1, Thread 0] :
Mainboard supports faster CPUs, so the CPU
can be upgraded when needed.
Notice 224: CPU 2 [Processor 0, Core 1, Thread 0] :
SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.

<<< Buses and Devices >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Error: PCIe Bus 4 (3/1x PCIClk) : No devices found. :
No devices found.
Error: PCIe Bus 6 (3/1x PCIClk) : No devices found. :
No devices found.
Error: PCIe Bus 10 (3/1x PCIClk) : No devices found.
: No devices found.
Error: PCIe Bus 11 (3/1x PCIClk) : No devices found.
: No devices found.

<<< Power Management >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notice 224: SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.

<<< Displays and Display Adapters >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tip 319: Video Adapter : Primary Display Driver
(display) : A refresh rate of at least 75Hz
is recommended. Increase it if possible.
Tip 325: Video Adapter : Primary Display Driver
(display) : Turn off window animation to
reduce delays.
Warning 313: Video Adapter : Primary Display Driver
(display) : Font smoothing reduces video
performance.

<<< Physical Disks >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Warning 3101: Hitachi HTS722016K9SA00 160GB (SATA150, NCQ,
15MB Cache) (C : Power management enabled.
Consider disabling on desktops.
Warning: TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-L632D (ATAPI33, 24x CD-R,
24x CD-W, 3x DVD-R, 3x DVD-W, 2MB Cache) (D
: No devices found.

<<< SCSI Devices >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Warning 2600: Hitachi HTS722016K9SA00 [P0 T0 H0 L0] (C :
SCSI version does not adhere to ANSI.
Probably ATA/ATAPI device.
Warning 2600: TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-L632D [P1 T0 H1 L0] (D
: SCSI version does not adhere to ANSI.
Probably ATA/ATAPI device.
Notice 5901: TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-L632D [P1 T0 H1 L0] (D
: CD 1x= 150kB/s; Exercise caution when
comparing measured versus published CD
ratings.
Notice 5902: TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-L632D [P1 T0 H1 L0] (D
: DVD 1x= 11.08Mbps; Exercise caution when
comparing measured versus published DVD
ratings.

<<< Printers and Faxes >>>
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<<< Communication Devices >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


<<< Ports >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


<<< Audio Devices >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Warning 710: MIDI Output Devices (Playback) : Microsoft GS
Wavetable Synth : Driver may be obsolete.
Check that it is the latest version.

<<< Keyboards and Tablets >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


<<< Operating System >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tip 1300: Enter your company name or "Home" instead of
"Unknown".
Tip 1324: .NET Framework 1.1 not installed. Install to
run legacy .NET applications.
Tip 1327: Java Runtime Engine not installed. Install it
to run the current Java applications.

<<< Memory Usage >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


<<< Processes >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tip 1601: explorer.exe (Windows Explorer) : Program
consumes a large amount of memory.
Tip 1601: iTunes.exe (iTunes) : Program consumes a
large amount of memory.

<<< Modules >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


<<< Services and Drivers >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tip 2130: Background Intelligent Transfer Service :
Service may be disabled on Home/Professional
OS version.
Tip 2130: Computer Browser : Service may be disabled on
Home/Professional OS version.
Tip 2130: Windows Media Center Service Launcher :
Service may be disabled on Home/Professional
OS version.
Tip 2130: COM+ Event System : Service may be disabled
on Home/Professional OS version.
Tip 2130: TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper : Service may be
disabled on Home/Professional OS version.
Tip 2130: Windows Media Center Extender Service :
Service may be disabled on Home/Professional
OS version.
Tip 2130: IPsec Policy Agent : Service may be disabled
on Home/Professional OS version.
Tip 2130: Secondary Logon : Service may be disabled on
Home/Professional OS version.
Tip 2130: Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) : Service may
be disabled on Home/Professional OS version.
Tip 2130: Terminal Services : Service may be disabled
on Home/Professional OS version.
Tip 2130: UPnP Device Host : Service may be disabled on
Home/Professional OS version.

<<< Users and Groups >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


<<< Fonts >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


<<< Media Devices >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


<<< DirectX >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Warning 2207: DirectDraw Devices : Primary
Display Driver (display) : Video
card does not have 3D accelerated
hardware. Consider upgrading.
Tip 2212: DirectDraw Devices : Primary
Display Driver (display) : No
hardware stretch support.
Tip 2213: DirectDraw Devices : Primary
Display Driver (display) : No
hardware overlay support.
Tip 2216: DirectDraw Devices : Primary
Display Driver (display) : No Z-
buffering support.
Warning 2211: DirectDraw Devices : Primary
Display Driver (display) : No
hardware colour-space conversion
support.

<<< Logical Drives >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tip 1821: Hard Disk (C @ Hitachi HTS722016K9SA00
160GB (SATA150, NCQ, 15MB Cache) : Label
(name) drive.
Warning: CD-ROM/DVD (D @ TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-L632D
(ATAPI33, 24x CD-R, 24x CD-W, 3x DVD-R, 3x
DVD-W, 2MB Cache) : Cannot obtain drive
information; check that a disk is in the
drive and it is correctly formatted.

<<< File Types >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


<<< Environment Variables >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
***** End of Report *****

considering that it takes some time for it start becoming choppy the most obvious thing that comes to mind is that it's overheating.
Do you have anything that monitor temps?...when was the last time you cleaned out the dust?...

so my suggestions is try cleaning it and prop it up on something, perhaps a book or even a couple of soda caps under the back legs.

well now that i have been looking at my fps on game more carefully whats it doing is its spiking. going from 75fps to around 10fps when i start shooting my weapon or get into some heavy action in game. I do not think overheating is the problem. I have been using a notebook cooling pad that helps.
and i guess i can find a program that monitor the temp but i don't think that is the problem.

i'm using rivatuner...however with the latest nvidia driver all my temp indications are gone...

I'm distressed to see this problem still exists. I've had this problem consistently on my Sager 5720 since I bought it. The problem is not temperature related and it's not throttling. I've performed extensive testing on this issue and noticed that when the slowdowns occur, it is severe, down to about 20% or normal performance. The problem occurs intermittently and then lasts for a short while and goes away.

I've performed firmware upgrades, driver upgrades, I've even switched the entire OS from XP to Vista and the problem remains. I've written extensive threads on this problem. I've disabled CPU and GPU throttling for testing. I use Rightmark CPU clock to control and monitor CPU performance during testing and NVidia and third party software to monitor GPU.

I've heard this problem is related to certain USB devices such as some Logitech mouse and keyboard devices but I wasn't able to isolate this.

I can't believe this problem still exists on newer hardware and it seriously concerns me since I was planning on upgrading this year.

look at this thread too...

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread175414.html

sager just decided that it would be best to send the notebook back in so they could run their tests on it. One 2gb stick of ram failed their test and also the hard drive failed as well. So they replaced both of these and my computer is running very well once again.
I have one more question to ask though. I still have the 8700M GT video card in my notebook and running the driver version 7.15.11.6744 and was wondering if there is an updated driver out that could boost my performance a bit.

That's a fairly recent driver. What forceware version is installed? You can get that from the system information page in the NVidia control panel.

Basically newer driver updates may or may not improve performance or stability in specific applications. If your system is running fine you should just leave it. Often when new games come out they require graphics driver updates to work properly. If your games are running smooth just stay with what you have.

If you have some free time and you're in the mood to experiment go to laptopvideo2go.com and see what's available.

So you are saying that the slowdowns were caused by some bad RAM? Have you tested thoroughly to be certain the problem is gone? Interesting because I've never known of RAM causing this to happen.