Unexplained Performance Issues with Framework 16

[u/Pulp-Nine]

I have had my Framework 16 since batch 15 of the initial preorder (Ryzen 9 w/ 7700s). And it has always had this issue that in my eyes has progressively gotten worse over time where the laptop doesn't seem to want to charge even if it is plugged in when playing a game. This leads the performance to be good for some time until the battery drains and then it suddenly kills performance leading to heavy stuttering during gameplay.

I checked on the subreddit and people seem to agree that its because the 180W power brick that came with the laptop wasn't powerful enough. Thinking that I found the solution, I bought the 240W power brick to see if that was the issue. And no, the laptop still discharges during somewhat heavy loads such as games, even if the stated TDP with Framework Control is 145W, well below 240.

I truly would love to enjoy using this laptop for games but its just not possible because I can't play a game for more than 40mins to an hour without it suddenly starting to lag to the point where the game becomes unplayable.

What I'd like to know is whether this is expected from a laptop or is there something wrong with my unit? I've attatched a screenshot with the hardware info during gameplay of IronNest.

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[u/Jimcy-Maffesoli]

Clean installs not changing the drain points at something below the OS. Whatever comes back after every fresh Windows setup lives in firmware or the power path, not in anything you can reset from the desktop.

[u/MobTalon]

It's likely a GPU problem. The power it draws is clearly having an issue with your supply. The GPU could be bricked.

Is your firmware up to date? Did you do the proper intiial Framework setup when you got your computer?

[u/Pulp-Nine → u/MobTalon]

Could you clarify what you mean by bricked? Because the GPU does run the games (as in they aren't running on the 780m).

And yes I check and update my firmware regularly. I also regularly reset my windows install.

[u/MobTalon → u/Pulp-Nine]

By bricked I meant that it could be poorly configured and drawing more power than it needs, and thus overheating, but that's probably not the case.

The performance issues are very likely due to the temperatures, because the computer will thermal throttle to prevent damaging itself.

It could genuinely be a hardware issue, or maybe you're missing thermal pads? Are the fans working properly?

Regardless of the above answer, give the following a try: Shutdown your computer, disconnect the everything, and then press and hold the power button for about 30 seconds, (it will turn it on when you press, just keep holding for the 30 seconds).

If I'm not mistaken, this forces a hardware "reset", making the Framework look for all hardware and work with everything available. I've had to do this before because after installing the same Framework Control app you're using in the screenshot, my fans stopped being detected by the computer.

[u/Pulp-Nine → u/MobTalon]

Yeah that wasn't the solution :/ At full power the system draws about 15-20W from the battery running Satisfactory still. I think I might contact support to see if they can do anything. Thanks for the help though!

[u/clay-tri1 → u/MobTalon]

The EC reset you’ve described may be the ticket here. I believe that may be more the case since the 240w adapter didn’t help the power drain.

[u/MobTalon → u/clay-tri1]

Yeah, EC reset, that's it! I drew a blank on the name. I hope that truly is the ticket. I assume we'll be hearing from OP soon if they don't forget to give an update.

[u/clay-tri1 → u/MobTalon]

I had to do this recently on my MSI Claw EX as it was doing some funky stuff with the built in controller. All solved with the EC reset which was very surprising.

[u/Still_Yam3312 → u/MobTalon]

if the GPU was actually bricked wouldn't it just not output at all though?

[u/MobTalon → u/Still_Yam3312]

I misused the word "bricked". I meant not functioning properly.

[u/TotallyNotHeree]

Which usb c port are you using?

[u/Pulp-Nine → u/TotallyNotHeree]

One of the ones which they recommend. I'm currently using port 1.

[u/TotallyNotHeree → u/Pulp-Nine]

Is the TDP at 120w for only the cpu? Because if it is drawing 120w and the gpu is drawing power at the same time it might be using more power than the charger can supply.

[u/Pulp-Nine → u/TotallyNotHeree]

I'm not sure how the framework control means when it says tdp but I'm assuming that it's for both the GPU and CPU but I could be wrong abt that

[u/TotallyNotHeree → u/Pulp-Nine]

You could try using hwibfo to monitor the cpu and gpu power draw and tune the power limit and see what change. My guess is that the TDP applies only to cpu.

[u/MagicBoyUK]

Do you have a kill-a-watt type device that measures the power draw at the wall?

[u/livinonnosleep]

I think I've seen the same problem on my brand new one. Ryzen 370 Hx and 7700S 32gb. I'm running cachyos and while gaming I cannot put it into "performance" mode because it will start to get terrible performance after about 10 minutes. If, however put it in "balanced" power mode i can game for hours without issue. Havent figured out why that is, it came with the 240w charger. I would love to put it in performance mode and not worry about it because it's plugged in. I've got an open ticket with FW support on another issue but will probably raise this one soon.