What the title says, my Recoil ll 16 laptop runs steam apps on 3 fps. Weirdly, it works perfectly fine while connected to my docking station. This is my third day having the laptop, its brand new. To note: it worked perfectly fine on day one, I think the docking station messed it up somehow and I dont know how to fix it. Reinstalled nvidia drivers, battery mode on high, tried most of the things that I could find on the internet and even some suggestions in the discord, nothing works.
Steam apps only run smoothly while connected to docking station, otherwise i get no more than 3 fps
- Thread starter gusa.ae
- Start date
BlessedSquirrel
We love you Ukraine
Is this a pcspecialist machine? Can you copy and paste your full specs from the order page?
BlessedSquirrel
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If you could just copy and paste the specs please?
Chassis & Display Recoil Series: 16" Matte QHD+ 240Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1600) Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™ i9 24 Core Processor 14900HX (5.8GHz Turbo) Memory (RAM) 64GB Corsair 4800MHz SODIMM DDR5 (2 x 32GB) 1/7 https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/configuration/ 2/5/25, 10:10 PM PCSPECIALIST - Your Configuration Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 4090 - 16.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1 ® Liquid Series Laptop Cooling Recoil 16 Laptop Cooler V2.0 st 1 M.2 SSD Drive 2TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/W) Memory Card Reader Integrated SD Memory Card Reader AC Adaptor 1 x 330W AC Adaptor Power Cable 1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead) Battery Recoil Series Integrated 99WH Lithium Ion Battery Thermal Paste LIQUID METAL PERFORMANCE COOLING Sound Card Nahimic by SteelSeries 2 Channel HD Audio Bluetooth & Wireless GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX211 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.3 USB/Thunderbolt Options 1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 + 1 x USB 3.2 (TYPE C) + 3 x USB 3.2 Docking Hub PCS DS110 USB-C Docking Hub: 3 x USB 3.0, 1 x HDMI, 1 x RJ45, 1 x TYPE-C PD Keyboard Language 2/7 https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/configuration/ 2/5/25, 10:10 PM PCSPECIALIST - Your Configuration RECOIL 16 SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD Operating System NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED Operating System Language United Kingdom - English Language Windows Recovery Media NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED Office Software FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required) Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE Browser Google Chrome™ Notebook Mouse INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE Webcam INTEGRATED IR+FHD Hybrid Webcam Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) Dead Pixel Guarantee 1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI) Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
BlessedSquirrel
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How did you install and configure windows? What process did you take?
BlessedSquirrel
We love you Ukraine
Is control center installed?
No, control center is not installed, I tried searching for a download but could not find it. Really hoping that that is the solution.
BlessedSquirrel
We love you Ukraine
There’s compounded issues I think
1/. Windows isn’t properly configured. without the master driver installed, it won’t be able to change PL values on the cpu and gpu
2/. That isn’t a laptop, it’s a DTR (desktop replacement). It’s not designed to be portable, it’s designed to be permanently plugged in and connected to the water cooler, without the water cooler it will thermal throttle.
I will try to get in touch with PC Specialist, possibly even send back the laptop so they can figure it out (don't know if its possible). Also to note again, the laptop ran the games completely smoothly the first day, with windows installed and everything, but seemed to change after connecting it to the docking station.
Paul1964
Gold Level Poster
What kind of docking station are you using and are you trying to use a monitor with it?
If so - many docking stations use DisplayLink to output to monitors connected to them. DisplayLink is a solution for outputting video via USB - it's not Thunderbolt or Alt-DP so will not have the performance of those technologies. It runs at a snail's pace by comparison. IT's OK for reading emails and viewing spreadsheets but not gaming.
Thunderbolt docks can be 10 times the price of cheap docks that just use DisplayLink.
Plug your external monitor directly into your laptop's HDMI port if that's what you're doing.
Just a thought.
If so - many docking stations use DisplayLink to output to monitors connected to them. DisplayLink is a solution for outputting video via USB - it's not Thunderbolt or Alt-DP so will not have the performance of those technologies. It runs at a snail's pace by comparison. IT's OK for reading emails and viewing spreadsheets but not gaming.
Thunderbolt docks can be 10 times the price of cheap docks that just use DisplayLink.
Plug your external monitor directly into your laptop's HDMI port if that's what you're doing.
Just a thought.
Using a DELL docking station and yes I am using in fact two monitors with it. Again, the weird thing is that when connected to the docking station the laptop performs perfectly but the problem is when I am using JUST the laptop alone. Cannot run any steam app more than 3 fps, even After Effects previews video in like 3 fps, EXTREMELY slow. Really hoping PC Specialist fixes my issue tomorrow when support finally opens.
Paul1964
Gold Level Poster
Well that's weird. The exact opposite of what I was suggesting. Yeah you need to talk to PCS.
This would suggest that your docking station supports ThunderBolt and/or Alt-DP then.
BlessedSquirrel
We love you Ukraine
Without the master driver installed, the system will not dynamically switch between on board and dGPU, it sounds like you're stuck on embedded graphics while on battery, or the PL values aren't able to be adjusted as it enters power saving mode.
This would be expected behaviour as windows is not properly configured, you said control center isn't installed.
This would be expected behaviour as windows is not properly configured, you said control center isn't installed.
I accessed the “My Downloads” section in Tech Support yesterday and managed to install most of the drivers, even control centre. This issue still persists, nothing is solved except now the button next to the Power Button finally works (switching modes between balanced and turbo). Still 3 fps in all programs and apps when NOT connected to the docking station. Getting in touch with Support today hopefully.
BlessedSquirrel
We love you Ukraine
Yes, if windows wasnt configured correctly, just overlaying drivers won’t fix it, you’d have to do a clean install and properly configure windows from the start.
The management driver won’t work if all other drivers are not properly installed and accounted for first