Major FPS loss in ALL games

Darth Hideous · 01-04-2007, 04:02 AM

This computer that i'm at seems to, after being formatted not once, but twice, get major FPS loss in all games after about 5 minutes. The game gets slower and slower during about 13 seconds, and then goes to a halt for half a minute. Then it proceeds as it should, just to repeat the process after another three minutes!

I've done everything i could think of, update drivers, run dxdiag and a whole lot of stuff. So, please, help me! This problem makes LAN games impossible

**Fr4665** · 01-04-2007, 04:05 AM

please post your system specs and list ur graphics card and what drivers you are using.

Darth Hideous · 01-04-2007, 04:08 AM

Oh, right.

Ram: 256 MB
HDD: 80 Gb
Pentium 4 something (Don't know more than that about that:P)
Nvidia GeForce 3 Ti 200, 64 Mb

I got the latest video drivers for it, i think. Aah, what the heck, i'll try updating again.

Tiber Septim · 01-04-2007, 04:14 AM

Welcome to TSF Darth Hideous.

Okay, first off, would you be able to show us what kind of a system you are running. Just so we have an idea of what performance you SHOULD be getting.
Edit: Damn, Fr4665 beat me to it.
Other things you might try is to just have a general clean of the innards of your computer, either with a can of compressed air, or if you feel comfortable doing so, with a soft cloth and a bit of elbow grease.
You would be surprised how much of a performance hit dust can cause, via overheating.
After that you could defragment your hard drive(s) and just try a general clean of of your computer, make sure you have plenty of space left on your hard drives(s), OS'es need room to function properly.

If all else fails, try running a clean boot, by shutting down all unnecessary background programs (Virus scanners, firewalls etc.)

Let us know how you go.

Darth Hideous · 01-04-2007, 04:18 AM

Ok, i'll try to follow the advice of yours, TS! Now that i think of it, i can't remember how long ago we dusted the comp. Any specifics on the cloth? We don't have any "canned air", so...

Tiber Septim · 01-04-2007, 04:31 AM

No preference on cloth that i'm aware of, just don't go scrubbing the motherboard or anything, focus on your fans and heatsinks and be very careful, remember to ground yourself before touching anything or you may well fry the whole thing.

Darth Hideous · 01-04-2007, 04:31 AM

Would it be good to start with a vaccum cleaner? :D

Tiber Septim · 01-04-2007, 04:36 AM

Ah, no, i wouldn't recommend it...

Darth Hideous · 01-04-2007, 04:37 AM

Ok. Stupid friends dad to reccomend vaccum cleaner...

EDIT: Looked inside; We must have cleaned it without me noticing.

Indoril Nerevar · 01-04-2007, 05:05 AM

In addition to the other suggestions here, check the "Common Game Issues" link in my signature, and run through any steps you haven't already done.

**gamerman0203** · 01-04-2007, 06:20 AM

if/when you do clean out the inside again, do not use a cloth that creates static!! That is why TS said to ground yourself first by holding on to the metal part of the case while you'r doing this. Best thing is to just go buy a can of compressed air for $5 and blow it out. The less contact made during this, the better.

**Fr4665** · 01-04-2007, 08:08 AM

remember that the latest drivers from nvidia dont support the geforce 3. i would suggest taking a look at the driver version 69 or 7x

Darth Hideous · 01-04-2007, 09:49 AM

Oh? And where might i get those?
(It says it's supported in the list :D)

Oh, and i've already seen the common game problems, it was the first thing i checked before i joined.

**koala** · 01-04-2007, 10:35 AM

Forceware 77.77 drivers for XP

Check your temperatures and PSU voltages. Post a SensorsView screenshot from when you first switch on and another from when the games start to lag.

256mb is very low for XP. 512mb or 1gb is recommended. What are your virtual memory settings (swap file)? How much free hard drive space do you have?

Darth Hideous · 01-04-2007, 10:46 AM

Ooops, wait, i have 512 MB. Sorry for the mistake.

I don't know if a screenshot is necessary, it's got to be that it's getting overheated; Even when i first started the game it warned me about the temperature being too high. And that was when i was in the menu!

**koala** · 01-04-2007, 10:53 AM

2 screenshots will help us pinpoint what is overheating and show how efficient the PSU is under stress.

**pharoah** · 01-04-2007, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiber Septim

Ah, no, i wouldn't recommend it...

personally i use a vacuum cleaner in mine not a very strong one though.if you use one be sure the tip is plastic,and all will be well.also be sure not to be rough with anything with the tip.

Darth Hideous · 01-04-2007, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koala

2 screenshots will help us pinpoint what is overheating and show how efficient the PSU is under stress.

The problem is; I can't take a screenshot when it's lagging because i can't switch to that program then. All my controls are rendered useless during the lag.

EDIT: Oh, i'll take it AFTER the lag :D Anyway, i took a pic of what it looked like when i started the game:

I just noticed one of the fans have stopped aswell. Could be a reason too.

**pharoah** · 01-04-2007, 11:53 AM

your problem looks like heat.that 71c spike is definetly to high.when i play games the highest temp i see is like 40c.

Darth Hideous · 01-04-2007, 12:06 PM

I think it's the fan, then. It's not spinning, so i took it out of the comp but i can't seem to fix whatever it is that adds to the friction. It seems to be in the "motor" of the fan. Any ideas?

01-04-2007, 04:02 AM	#1 (permalink)
Darth Hideous Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 9 OS: Windows XP	Major FPS loss in ALL games This computer that i'm at seems to, after being formatted not once, but twice, get major FPS loss in all games after about 5 minutes. The game gets slower and slower during about 13 seconds, and then goes to a halt for half a minute. Then it proceeds as it should, just to repeat the process after another three minutes! I've done everything i could think of, update drivers, run dxdiag and a whole lot of stuff. So, please, help me! This problem makes LAN games impossible

01-04-2007, 04:05 AM	#2 (permalink)
Fr4665 aka mr.fraggs Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA or Germany Posts: 2,965 OS: Win XP,Vista,Android My System	please post your system specs and list ur graphics card and what drivers you are using. __________________ I don't subscribe to threads please PM me if i miss a reply. ------- Everest SensorView Pro DriverCleaner how to fix your game

01-04-2007, 04:14 AM	#4 (permalink)
Tiber Septim Asst Manager, Games Team Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 2,866 OS: Fedora 11 / Windows 7 My System Blog Entries: 5	Welcome to TSF Darth Hideous. Okay, first off, would you be able to show us what kind of a system you are running. Just so we have an idea of what performance you SHOULD be getting. Edit: Damn, Fr4665 beat me to it. Other things you might try is to just have a general clean of the innards of your computer, either with a can of compressed air, or if you feel comfortable doing so, with a soft cloth and a bit of elbow grease. You would be surprised how much of a performance hit dust can cause, via overheating. After that you could defragment your hard drive(s) and just try a general clean of of your computer, make sure you have plenty of space left on your hard drives(s), OS'es need room to function properly. If all else fails, try running a clean boot, by shutting down all unnecessary background programs (Virus scanners, firewalls etc.) Let us know how you go. __________________ First Steps - System Specs - SIW Help TSF beat Cancer and other serious Illness. Last edited by Tiber Septim; 01-04-2007 at 04:16 AM.

01-04-2007, 04:31 AM	#6 (permalink)
Tiber Septim Asst Manager, Games Team Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 2,866 OS: Fedora 11 / Windows 7 My System Blog Entries: 5	No preference on cloth that i'm aware of, just don't go scrubbing the motherboard or anything, focus on your fans and heatsinks and be very careful, remember to ground yourself before touching anything or you may well fry the whole thing. __________________ First Steps - System Specs - SIW Help TSF beat Cancer and other serious Illness.

01-04-2007, 04:36 AM	#8 (permalink)
Tiber Septim Asst Manager, Games Team Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 2,866 OS: Fedora 11 / Windows 7 My System Blog Entries: 5	Ah, no, i wouldn't recommend it... __________________ First Steps - System Specs - SIW Help TSF beat Cancer and other serious Illness.

01-04-2007, 04:08 AM	#3 (permalink)
Darth Hideous Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 9 OS: Windows XP	Oh, right. Ram: 256 MB HDD: 80 Gb Pentium 4 something (Don't know more than that about that:P) Nvidia GeForce 3 Ti 200, 64 Mb I got the latest video drivers for it, i think. Aah, what the heck, i'll try updating again.

01-04-2007, 04:18 AM	#5 (permalink)
Darth Hideous Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 9 OS: Windows XP	Ok, i'll try to follow the advice of yours, TS! Now that i think of it, i can't remember how long ago we dusted the comp. Any specifics on the cloth? We don't have any "canned air", so...

01-04-2007, 04:31 AM	#7 (permalink)
Darth Hideous Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 9 OS: Windows XP	Would it be good to start with a vaccum cleaner? :D

01-04-2007, 04:37 AM	#9 (permalink)
Darth Hideous Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 9 OS: Windows XP	Ok. Stupid friends dad to reccomend vaccum cleaner... EDIT: Looked inside; We must have cleaned it without me noticing. Last edited by Darth Hideous; 01-04-2007 at 04:41 AM.

01-04-2007, 05:05 AM	#10 (permalink)
Indoril Nerevar Manager, Games Team Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 5,008 OS: Windows 7 RC 64-bit My System	In addition to the other suggestions here, check the "Common Game Issues" link in my signature, and run through any steps you haven't already done. __________________ Donating to the forum keeps TSF free for all. • Common PC Game Issues • Common Installation Issues • Posting System Specs • Power Supply Information • • NVIDIA Drivers • ATI Drivers • Thermal Paste Guide • System Requirements Lab • YouGamers Game-o-Meter • • Everest • Prime95 • DirectX • AMD Drivers • Memtest86 • SensorsView • Driver Cleaner • I do not give help via PM. Please post your question on the forum.

01-04-2007, 06:20 AM	#11 (permalink)
gamerman0203 Retired Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 2,144 OS: XP MCE, Ubuntu Gutsy My System	if/when you do clean out the inside again, do not use a cloth that creates static!! That is why TS said to ground yourself first by holding on to the metal part of the case while you'r doing this. Best thing is to just go buy a can of compressed air for $5 and blow it out. The less contact made during this, the better. __________________ Follow These Steps First! CPU-Z \| SensorView \| WinXP Clean Boot \| Latest DirectX \| ATI Catalyst \| Nvidia ForceWare Posting System Specifications

01-04-2007, 08:08 AM	#12 (permalink)
Fr4665 aka mr.fraggs Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA or Germany Posts: 2,965 OS: Win XP,Vista,Android My System	remember that the latest drivers from nvidia dont support the geforce 3. i would suggest taking a look at the driver version 69 or 7x __________________ I don't subscribe to threads please PM me if i miss a reply. ------- Everest SensorView Pro DriverCleaner how to fix your game

01-04-2007, 09:49 AM	#13 (permalink)
Darth Hideous Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 9 OS: Windows XP	Oh? And where might i get those? (It says it's supported in the list :D) Oh, and i've already seen the common game problems, it was the first thing i checked before i joined. Last edited by Darth Hideous; 01-04-2007 at 09:53 AM.

01-04-2007, 10:35 AM	#14 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,366 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	Forceware 77.77 drivers for XP Check your temperatures and PSU voltages. Post a SensorsView screenshot from when you first switch on and another from when the games start to lag. 256mb is very low for XP. 512mb or 1gb is recommended. What are your virtual memory settings (swap file)? How much free hard drive space do you have? __________________ 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

01-04-2007, 10:46 AM	#15 (permalink)
Darth Hideous Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 9 OS: Windows XP	Ooops, wait, i have 512 MB. Sorry for the mistake. I don't know if a screenshot is necessary, it's got to be that it's getting overheated; Even when i first started the game it warned me about the temperature being too high. And that was when i was in the menu! Last edited by Darth Hideous; 01-04-2007 at 10:51 AM.

01-04-2007, 10:53 AM	#16 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,366 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	2 screenshots will help us pinpoint what is overheating and show how efficient the PSU is under stress. __________________ 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

01-04-2007, 11:53 AM	#19 (permalink)
pharoah TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 5,188 OS: vista business edition My System	your problem looks like heat.that 71c spike is definetly to high.when i play games the highest temp i see is like 40c. __________________ Follow These Steps First Power Supply Selection Posting System Specs Oblivion Tweak Guide Video Drivers& Information TSF folding at home team 85015

01-04-2007, 12:06 PM	#20 (permalink)
Darth Hideous Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 9 OS: Windows XP	I think it's the fan, then. It's not spinning, so i took it out of the comp but i can't seem to fix whatever it is that adds to the friction. It seems to be in the "motor" of the fan. Any ideas?