Slow FPS drop over time

Duckstaped · 04-11-2008, 06:11 PM

Hi and thinks for taking a look at this thread. So here is basically how it has gone down...

After 2 months of no gaming I tried to play some tf2, but i got like 6 fps and it was unbearable.I uninstalled my graphics drivers and made sure there were none left and i reinstalled catalyst control pack or w/e (the newest). Tf2 worked fine after that, and i played it for like 4 hours or something.
The next day I tried a different source mod, Zombie master, and once again i got 3-20 fps, with an average of like 7. It is pretty unbearable but i decided to stay on and fight through to see if it got better. After an hour nothing changed, i moved to hidden source (yet another hl2 mod). Hidden source was even harder to play because i had to be quick, but i stayed for an hour, nothing changed. So I reinstalled the graphics drivers and my frame rate boosted back up to normal? I can play hidden source without a problem, after an hour the fps has decreased and it was pretty much unbearable again. I can do this over and over, but it is kind of a hassel...

Here is my current computer setup:

MSI P4M900M2-L Socket 775 Motherboard
Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
450/w PSU
2GB ddr2 ram
3870 HD gfx card (i totally made a mistake buying this, my system terribly bottlenecks it... i dont wanna talk about it haha)
My case came with this whole barebones kit ( proccessor, psu, mobo, cpu, case ) but it seems terrible for cooling, so i have a small external fan blowing air in.

My Graphics card is usually 50-60 degrees celcius with the fan on

I feel like the only hardware issue i could have is my psu not being good enough, but the 3870 is supposed to be very power friendly =\?

Anyways, i seriously appreciate any time/effort put to help me.

Thanks!!!

Duckstaped · 04-22-2008, 12:44 PM

it does this in all games it seems ( trackmania was working perfectly fine yesteday, but the fps is decreasing steadily and it even lowered my graphical settings which helped but is still decreasing from that! )

Please help!

Duckstaped · 04-24-2008, 03:33 AM

i hate to bump my thread but I am honestly at a loss of what to do.

i ran a virus scan and didnt find anything

**koala** · 04-24-2008, 06:32 AM

Hi Duckstaped, welcome to TSF. Sorry for the delay, I don't know where the Games team are hiding.

What make/model is your PSU? Check the label on the side of the PSU - how many amps are listed for +12V? If it's less than 26A, then you're underpowered for a PCIE card.

Enter your full system specs into this power calculator and set Capacitor Aging to 25%. Click the Calculate button, then add 30% to the total to allow for PSU inefficiency. Post back with this figure.

Check your temperatures and voltages with PC Wizard at startup with no other programs running. Take with a screenshot from the 'Voltage, Temperature & Fans' window. Then open Task Manager and click the Performance tab. Leave it open on the desktop and take another screenshot of PC Wizard and Task Manager during gameplay when it starts to lag by pressing ctrl-alt-del to switch back to the desktop. Post back with both screenshots so we can see how your system copes under stress.

Are your chipset drivers, device drivers and DirectX all up to date. Any yellow flags in Device Manager?

Leaving the case open to reduce temperatures should only be a temporary measure while testing. It needs to be kept closed so the front case fan can pull in cool air from outside, pass it over the motherboard and components, then exhaust the hot air via the rear case fan. This recommended airflow path is destroyed by opening the case. Do you have 2 120mm case fans, one at the bottom front of the case and one at the top rear of the case?

Duckstaped · 04-25-2008, 02:01 PM

thanks for the reply, i dont have time to try all that stuff right now, but i will tomorrow!

(btw, there are no exclamation marks in my device manager :D)

04-11-2008, 06:11 PM	#1 (permalink)
Duckstaped Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 4 OS: XP	Slow FPS drop over time Hi and thinks for taking a look at this thread. So here is basically how it has gone down... After 2 months of no gaming I tried to play some tf2, but i got like 6 fps and it was unbearable.I uninstalled my graphics drivers and made sure there were none left and i reinstalled catalyst control pack or w/e (the newest). Tf2 worked fine after that, and i played it for like 4 hours or something. The next day I tried a different source mod, Zombie master, and once again i got 3-20 fps, with an average of like 7. It is pretty unbearable but i decided to stay on and fight through to see if it got better. After an hour nothing changed, i moved to hidden source (yet another hl2 mod). Hidden source was even harder to play because i had to be quick, but i stayed for an hour, nothing changed. So I reinstalled the graphics drivers and my frame rate boosted back up to normal? I can play hidden source without a problem, after an hour the fps has decreased and it was pretty much unbearable again. I can do this over and over, but it is kind of a hassel... Here is my current computer setup: MSI P4M900M2-L Socket 775 Motherboard Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775 450/w PSU 2GB ddr2 ram 3870 HD gfx card (i totally made a mistake buying this, my system terribly bottlenecks it... i dont wanna talk about it haha) My case came with this whole barebones kit ( proccessor, psu, mobo, cpu, case ) but it seems terrible for cooling, so i have a small external fan blowing air in. My Graphics card is usually 50-60 degrees celcius with the fan on I feel like the only hardware issue i could have is my psu not being good enough, but the 3870 is supposed to be very power friendly =\? Anyways, i seriously appreciate any time/effort put to help me. Thanks!!!

04-22-2008, 12:44 PM	#2 (permalink)
Duckstaped Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 4 OS: XP	Re: Slow FPS drop over time it does this in all games it seems ( trackmania was working perfectly fine yesteday, but the fps is decreasing steadily and it even lowered my graphical settings which helped but is still decreasing from that! ) Please help!

04-24-2008, 03:33 AM	#3 (permalink)
Duckstaped Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 4 OS: XP	Re: Slow FPS drop over time i hate to bump my thread but I am honestly at a loss of what to do. i ran a virus scan and didnt find anything

04-24-2008, 06:32 AM	#4 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 9,143 OS: XP/UBUNTU My System	Re: Slow FPS drop over time Hi Duckstaped, welcome to TSF. Sorry for the delay, I don't know where the Games team are hiding. What make/model is your PSU? Check the label on the side of the PSU - how many amps are listed for +12V? If it's less than 26A, then you're underpowered for a PCIE card. Enter your full system specs into this power calculator and set Capacitor Aging to 25%. Click the Calculate button, then add 30% to the total to allow for PSU inefficiency. Post back with this figure. Check your temperatures and voltages with PC Wizard at startup with no other programs running. Take with a screenshot from the 'Voltage, Temperature & Fans' window. Then open Task Manager and click the Performance tab. Leave it open on the desktop and take another screenshot of PC Wizard and Task Manager during gameplay when it starts to lag by pressing ctrl-alt-del to switch back to the desktop. Post back with both screenshots so we can see how your system copes under stress. Are your chipset drivers, device drivers and DirectX all up to date. Any yellow flags in Device Manager? Leaving the case open to reduce temperatures should only be a temporary measure while testing. It needs to be kept closed so the front case fan can pull in cool air from outside, pass it over the motherboard and components, then exhaust the hot air via the rear case fan. This recommended airflow path is destroyed by opening the case. Do you have 2 120mm case fans, one at the bottom front of the case and one at the top rear of the case? __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here

04-25-2008, 02:01 PM	#5 (permalink)
Duckstaped Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 4 OS: XP	Re: Slow FPS drop over time thanks for the reply, i dont have time to try all that stuff right now, but i will tomorrow! (btw, there are no exclamation marks in my device manager :D)