Unplayable FPS on high-end gaming laptop

Technical Support
1

I’m experiencing severe FPS drops on what should be capable hardware, not even 5 minutes into the game. Even in the training range, my FPS will run smoothly at around 140 FPS, then suddenly drop to 30 FPS for a few seconds, then back up to 140, repeating this cycle roughly every couple of seconds. This makes the game completely unplayable. I’ve tried all the common graphics optimizations (reduced In Game settings, disabled effects, etc.) but the stuttering persists. This is on a completely clean Windows 11 installation with minimal software and all drivers up to date. I haven’t touched any Windows registry settings since this is a fresh install.

System Specs:

  • Intel(R) Core™ i9-14900HX (32 CPUs), ~2.2GHz
  • RTX 4080 Laptop GPU (12GB VRAM)
  • 32GB RAM
  • 2560x1600 240Hz display
  • Windows 11 clean install
  • NVIDIA Driver 32.0.15.7688

dxdiag: https://pastebin.com/raw/3JdU1wGU

2

For starters, you want to use High Performance power mode instead of Quality if you want the hardware to perform its best.

Additionally, several errors are happening in the background on your laptop.

  1. Nvidia likely needs to apply an update or have a clean install of the GPU driver performed:

Event Name: APPCRASH
Response: Not available
Cab Id: 0

Problem signature:
P1: NVIDIA App.exe
P2: 128.4.13.11
P3: 686efa22
P4: NvCplPlugin.dll

Driver Date/Size: 6/24/2025 2:00:00 AM, 810616 bytes is about two versions behind.

  1. There are some from the network utility (which I recommend removing).

Event Name: APPCRASH
Response: Not available
Cab Id: 0

Problem signature:
P1: KAPS.exe

  1. There’s also an error with the Windows licensing while it’s trying to update apps:

Event Name: StoreAgentAcquireLicenseFailure1
Response: Not available
Cab Id: 0

Problem signature:
P1: Update;MoUpdateOrchestratorUserScan-MoUsoCoreWorker-SearchForAllUpdatesWithUpdateOptionsAsync
P2: 80070520
P3: 26100
P4: 4652
P5: Windows.Desktop

The only error in the report related to Overwatch is letting you know the system is low on available RAM, which is due to other items you’re running in the background and not Overwatch itself.

3

I’ve taken a look at your DXDiag.
My first suspicion is heat given the fact it comes and goes.
Here’s my run through:

Clarification on the StoreAgentAcquireLicenseFailure1 Events;

WER3, WER5, WER6, WER7, WER8, WER9: Windows Store License Failure

  • Event Name StoreAgentAcquireLicenseFailure1

  • MoUpdateOrchestratorUserScan-MoUsoCoreWorker (Part of the Windows Update system)

  • Error Code 80070520 (“A specified logon session does not exist. It may already have been terminated.”)

  • These six identical errors indicate that the Windows Update agent failed when trying to acquire licenses for apps from the Microsoft Store. The error code 80070520 points to an authentication or session issue. This signifies a problem with your user profile, the Windows Store services, or the Windows Update components.

  • This does NOT mean there’s an issue with your Windows licenses.

  • Can be safely ignored for these purposes, but you should investigate this.

Other relevant Events;

WER0: NVIDIA App Crash

  • Application: NVIDIA App.exe (The new NVIDIA control panel/app)
  • Faulting Module: NvCplPlugin.dll
  • Exception Code: c0000005 (Access Violation)
  • This indicates that the main NVIDIA application crashed due to an access violation error within one of its core plugin DLLs. An access violation happens when a program tries to access memory that it’s not allowed to, which points to a bug or instability in the NVIDIA software suite.

WER1: Overwatch Potential Memory Leak

  • Event Name RADAR_PRE_LEAK_64
  • Application: Overwatch.exe
  • This is a preemptive warning from Windows that Overwatch.exe is consuming memory in a way that suggests a leak. This is the most likely culprit for the in-game performance issues.

WER2: Killer Network Crash

  • Event name: APPCRASH

  • Process: KAPS.exe

  • Faulting Module: ntdll.dll (A core Windows system file)

  • Exception Code: c0000005 (Access Violation)

  • The KAPS.exe process, associated with Killer APS, crashed. When an application crashes and blames ntdll.dll, it often means the application passed invalid data to a core Windows function.

Recommended path forward
(Stop and test Overwatch after each step)

  1. Uninstall KAPS, or open services and stop it then disable it. This software is garbage that you do not need. It will only interfere with Windows. It provides no benefit.

  2. Run DDU to fully remove and re-install your graphics driver. Let me knowif you want instructions for this. They can easily be found online.

  3. Stress test your system.

  • Download Furmark https://geeks3d.com/furmark/
  • Download Prime95 https://download.mersenne.ca/gimps/v30/30.19/p95v3019b20.win64.zip
  • Download HWiNFO64 https://www.hwinfo.com/files/hwi_828.zip
  • Run them all at once. Monitor your systems temperatures, and watch for any crashes.

Good luck, and let me know how you go.