Drop FPS Randomly - Impossible to play

[jkzorrilla]

Hi guys,

I am pleased with my steam deck, but I have a huge problem.
When I am playing, every 5/10 minutes, the frame count and the frame time randomly go from 23ms to 150 at the same time. The frame rate drops from 40fps to 9 or 8.

It will be like this for around 30sec and after that come back again... but after 5min more, the same problem.

It does not matter the game (it happens all the time).
If you go out of the game to the menu, you still have the problem, it could be in the menu or playing against the final boss.

EXAMPLE --> https://vimeo.com/744774779

I reinstall, delete, reinstall again, and change the ssd.... happens all the time.
Has anyone had the same problem?

It is frustrating!!
Thanks for your support!

[mitcHELLspawn]

do you have downloads enabled during gaming? This can massively drop performance on steam deck if it starts to download anything in the background

[jkzorrilla]

Originally posted by mitcHELLspawn:

do you have downloads enabled during gaming? This can massively drop performance on steam deck if it starts to download anything in the background

Hi!

No, I dont, It is not activate it.
It is really weird, It is like a bottle neck without reason.

[mitcHELLspawn]

just watched your video.

Looks like its possibly an overheating issue to me.

What is the ambient temperature in the room that you're playing it? Looks like the Steam deck is down clocking itself once it hits a temperature protection limit..... then you see the temperature continue to decrease 1 degree at a time until it goes back to 70C, then the clock speeds of the CPU goes back to boost mode.

I would look at your fan curve settings, or possibly trying to play the game in cooler conditions to see if it continues.

I truly think thats your problem

[Mizufluffy]

Originally posted by mitcHELLspawn:

just watched your video.

Looks like its possibly an overheating issue to me.

What is the ambient temperature in the room that you're playing it? Looks like the Steam deck is down clocking itself once it hits a temperature protection limit..... then you see the temperature continue to decrease 1 degree at a time until it goes back to 70C, then the clock speeds of the CPU goes back to boost mode.

My Steam Deck one time in one game was apparently heating so much that the Deck gave me a notification telling me that it will lower the performance until the temperature is back to safe values. When it was ready to boost the performance it notified me about that too. I'm not completely sure how long it lasted, maybe a few minutes or five or ten, but based on that I'd say that if the Deck is overheating it is self aware of this and can drop performance to protect itself. However, it will also let the user know about this so it shouldn't come as a surprise to the user when the reason is explained. Unfortunately I cannot remember if I noticed visible changes in how the game was performing when the Deck was trying to cool down a little.

[zenstrata]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5LJ8A5epXw

Here are some tips for what settings to use to fix your dips and such.

Another thing you could do is set your fps to 30 max.

[jkzorrilla]

Originally posted by zenstrata:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5LJ8A5epXw

Here are some tips for what settings to use to fix your dips and such.

Another thing you could do is set your fps to 30 max.

Thanks zenstrata, but it is every game... Rise to Rome, Days are gone,... it is like the CPU and GPU have a bottleneck for 30sec and later is normal again

Really weird

[SimonSays]

Are you running it off the internal hard drive or an SD card? Which version of the Deck did you get?

[jkzorrilla]

Originally posted by SimonSays:

Are you running it off the internal hard drive or an SD card? Which version of the Deck did you get?

It does not matter, i tried in both (sd A2 and the ssd) and both works bad.

Today i have the same experience, the CPU and the GPU blocked at minimun speed.
I had to restart... it is really frustrating

[Mahjik]

Originally posted by jkzorrilla:

Originally posted by SimonSays:

Are you running it off the internal hard drive or an SD card? Which version of the Deck did you get?

It does not matter, i tried in both (sd A2 and the ssd) and both works bad.

Today i have the same experience, the CPU and the GPU blocked at minimun speed.
I had to restart... it is really frustrating

Have you followed up on mitcHELLspawn's comment? i.e. what are your temps when this happens?

[zenstrata]

It could be a heat issue. Try going into your "System" menu by pressing the "Steam" button on the steam deck, then scroll to the bottom of the System menu and look for an option under 'Advanced' called "Enable updated fan control" and turn that OFF.

The updated fan control setting was added because some people were complaining that the fan was too loud, so valve changed the fan speeds to let the steam deck get much hotter than it would have with the prior fan settings.

Hot CPU's will throttle so they run slower to keep from damaging themselves, this could easily be what is impacting your performance. So by turning off the 'updated fan control' this will return the steam deck to it's original (faster) fan speed settings. That should help the steam deck run a bit cooler to improve performance. But you may hear a slight fan noise as a result.

A cooler PC runs much more efficiently and will operate smoother and faster than a very hot PC

[jkzorrilla]

Hi guys! Thanks for your support!!
It is not a heat issue, the steam is not even warm when it happens.

It just it blocks to minimum speed in GPU and CPU, I did all the possible combos but always happens the same. Maybe is a Hardware failure, I contacted with the support.

Lets see what they say because I am very dissapointed

[jkzorrilla]

it is kind of crazy, I suspend the console.
I turn on 3h later (no heat possible) and still stuck the CPU and the GPU IN THE MENU!!

[mitcHELLspawn]

I can say with 100% certainty that your Steam deck is downclocking itself across the board and thats why you are seeing the performance drop to nothing.

In the video you posted, it clearly shows your CPU hitting over 90C - then clocking itself down to min clock (400mhz i believe) at which time it stays there until the temps reach 70C and then the clock speed resumes to boost speeds.

If its not a temperature issue, it is at least 100% a boost clock issue. Which means you are correct, it doesn't matter the game or the settings it will happen in any game.

Did you re-image your steam deck by any chance? I would literally compeltely wipe the OS and start completely fresh

[jkzorrilla]

Hi, it is not a heat problem.
This happens even when the steam deck is around 75 degrees.

Originally posted by mitcHELLspawn:

If its not a temperature issue, it is at least 100% a boost clock issue. Which means you are correct, it doesn't matter the game or the settings it will happen in any game.

Did you re-image your steam deck by any chance? I would literally compeltely wipe the OS and start completely fresh

Exactly, it does matter the game!
I did... still the problem!

It is really frustrating

[zenstrata]

Hmm. you may be stuck talking to Steam Support to try to resolve the problem, and may be forced to RMA the unit if they can't help. =/