DarkShadow987

Hello,

I have had SC2 for about 6 months or so running with no problems on my HP laptop. I have always kept my settings on low to ensure a high fps while playing 1v1s on the ladder. Although as of this past Friday, I have noticed a severe drop in fps when I move about any map. Whether I am clicking to a specific spot on the mini map or scrolling the screen with my mouse cursor, my fps will drop from 50+ to anywhere from 8 to 20. If I click back to my main base, the fps jumps back up again. this repeats every time I move my view away from my main base. I have searched extensively on this topic about the interwebs to find nothing.

This is my system:

HP dv6 3077ca laptop

OS: windows 7 - 64 bit
CPU: intel core i5 430m @ 2.27ghz
RAM: 4.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 532MHz
GPU: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650
HD: 488GB Seagate ST9500325AS (SATA) 280 GB free

Notes:

I have uninstalled and updated every driver. (note hp prevents ATI graphic driver updates and only allows you to use their updates - this I feel could be the biggest reason for this issue. Currently the driver I m using is 8.7 while ATI is offering 11.7. I am not tech savvy enough for a work around, and can't seem to find a mod that is compatible. Although why the sudden problems as I have used same driver since day 1)

I have cleaned the registry, defragged my HD (as I often do), and have attempted every single performance boost I can think of (disabling windows aero, downloading game booster etc.) I feel my laptop is running the best it ever has.

My last speedtest: Ping 19ms Download 29.50 mbps Upload .51 mbps <-- better than usual, but not overly so.

I have used resource moniter while playing and noticed no irregularities while the drop in fps occurs.

I also have always used a good cooling pad and have never seen a dramatic temperature spike while playing.

Any help with this issue would be much appreciated, as I am unable to ladder at all right now. I have been going on and playing custom games against the AI and the problem occurs then too...

____________________________

The above was my original message on the TL.net forums. I was advised to contact blizzard support:

After contacting blizzard support they have told me that they no longer support my graphic driver, and I will need to upgrade to at least 11.4 for Starcraft 2 to work properly. But they will not help me with a work around to get the latest drivers. As you can see above I pretty much knew it was a driver issue.

Any help with this would be much appreciated.

I included the above post from TL.net because I felt it best described the stituation