Constant FPS Problems

[31M0]

Hey everyone, my computer is suffering from a sever problem in the FPS department recently.
I downloaded L4D from Steam and the new Nvidia drivers for my 8800 GT, after this my games are running at 10 FPS if I'm lucky, I uninstalled the driver and tried previous ones that didn't work (I used driver sweeper to make sure everything was gone).
I closed all background programs which didn't work either.
I set everything to low, and that didn't work either.
I have the same problem with Call of Duty: World at War.

My specs are:
Intel Core 2 Duo 6600 @ 2.40 GHz
Windows Vista 32 bit Service Pack 1
3 GB RAM
Nvidia 8800GT with the latest drivers

I know there are other threads about the same type of problem, but I don't know how to use the programs such as SpeedFan or the BIOS at start up etc (I'm quite computer illiterate when it comes to the technical side) so instead of hijacking those threads I though starting my own would be better.

Thank you in advance for all the help.

[31M0]

No one?

[Tiber Septim]

Hi.
First thing to check is Temps.
Click the Sensors view link in my signature and install it.
Open Sensors view and it will display your current temperatures.
Write down what it reports when your computer is idle, then run a game for a few minutes.
Quit out of the game then check your temps and write them down again.

Post the results back here.

[RockmasteR]

yes, the temp could be a real problem, but also the RAM could create a major issue, did u upgrade ur RAM recently or did u buy new ones? and if u did, the problems strats since then?

[Tiber Septim]

Just had a brainwave.
When you uninstalled your Nvidia drivers, did you also uninstall your chipset drivers by mistake (There is an option to do so when you choose to remove the graphics divers).
I accidentally did this just yesterday and couldn't figure out why my PC was running slow and my network wasn't working.

Just something you may want to check.

[31M0]

Okay well, I used Everest Home Edition to check my temps and here's what I got:

Idle:
Motherboard: 50°C
CPU: 1°C
Aux: 37°C
Seagate ST3160211AS: 40°C

After game:
Motherboard: 61°C
CPU: 1°C
Aux: 38°C
Seagate ST3160211AS: 40°C

I'm a bit scared cause the motherboard temperature seems a bit high..

Also in response to if I changed my RAM recently, no I haven't, the last time I changed it was when Crysis came out and I've been playing games fine up until last week.

However in response to whether or not I removed the chipset drivers by accident well, I'm not sure how to check that... But I don't think so.

Anyway that I could find out or something?

Thanks for the help.

[31M0]

Re-doing it with SpeedFan just in case Everest didn't work for some reason:

Idle:
GPU: 69 C
Temp1: 36C
Temp 2: 53C
HD0: 50C
Core0: -41C
Core1: -39C

After gaming:
GPU:72 C
Temp1:37 C
Temp2:62 C
HD0:39 C
Core0:-34 C
Core1:-35 C

I hope that both of these will give a clearer picture of what's going on or something.

Also something I forgot to add earlier, In Call of Duty: World at War during the loading screens whenever someone talks the sound seems to cut in and out, it's very jerky.

Thanks.

[Mcninjaguy]

why don't you reinstall your chipset drivers?
can you post the name of your motherboard?

[31M0]

For some reason Everest can't determine what my Motherboard is, but I know it's something from Gigabyte (Not much help since they probably manufacture hundreds of the things but, it's all I've got unless there's another way to figure out what it is.

I don't believe it tells me on the motherboard itself however...

Also, in order to reinstall the chipset drivers do I just reinstall a driver that I downloaded? Or is there some other process to do so?

[Tiber Septim]

You can download CPU-Z from here.
It'll tell you the exact chipset you use. Then just do a search on the manufacturers website for the latest driver, in most cases you don't need to un-install the old ones first, but if you do it should tell you.

Also, neither Everest or SpeedFan reported your CPU temps right. You can check them in you Bios by hitting 'DEL' or 'F12' or something when the system is booting up (There should be a message on the bottom that says 'Press X to enter setup'). Just have a browse around in there, it should be fairly obvious where to go, have a look at your CPU temps when idle.

[31M0]

Ah okay, thank you very much.
Upon running CPU-Z it told me I had my chipset was:
Intel P965/G965 so I'm downloading the driver that Intel had on their website.
It also told me about my motherboard, that is: Gigabyte 965P-DQ6 I don't know if that helps or not, but that's what it told me.
As soon as I've finished downloading and installing this driver I'm going to check the BIOS for my idle temps.
Thank you so much everyone, I hope I can get this sorted out quickly.

Edit: Okay, the driver does not want to install, it says that my computer does not meet the minimum requirements..

After checking my idle temps using the BIOS screen at start up I got:
System temp: 39 C
CPU temp: 81 C

[Mcninjaguy]

whoa whoa your CPU is about 40C too high. WAY WAY too high
should be around 104F or 40C on idle
yours is 176F or 80C on idle

spray out your computer of dust with a can of compressed air and if that doesn't lower the temps maybe re apply the thermal paste with artic silver 5

make sure the heat sink is properly attached and isn't loose

[Tiber Septim]

Originally Posted by Mcninjaguy

whoa whoa your CPU is about 40C too high.

True, I've got an Intel E6600 too (stock settings) and I get 53C temp on idle. Admittedly mine is a little high, but I'm not worried as it doesn't go up very much in games and I won't be using it for much longer anyway.

The maximum rated safe operating temp for the E6600 is 85C so you're really pushing the boundary there.

As Mcninja said, check the heatsink and fan is properly connected, nothing blocking airflow, clear out the dust and re-apply the thermal paste between the heatsink and CPU.

If you do all that and it is still reporting a high temp, try running the computer with the side off and a pedestal fan blowing on your PC to cool it down. Then check the temps again to see if that makes a difference.

[31M0]

Ah okay, thanks a lot everyone.
I thought the temperatures seemed a bit high.
I'll get to cleaning the dust and everything and report back ASAP.

[Mcninjaguy]

good to hear that

[31M0]

Okay well, after a hard time cleaning and blowing out dust I now think I've contracted some disease because of the amount that was in there.

But, BIOS check said that everything was about 22 C!!
So that's much better.
And the first thing I did when my computer started up? Ran Call of Duty: World at War. The result?
Game play as smooth as butter!
Thank you so much everyone here, I could not have done this without you. I'm forever, FOREVER in your debt.

[Mcninjaguy]

its very often just dust

or "Dustilitus"

The Cure?

Chuck Norris shrinks himself to dust "size" and beats up every damm piece BOOYAH!

[Tiber Septim]

No problems.
Oh, and screw Chuck Norris, I'd send River Tam. (Look up 'Firefly' if you have no idea what I'm talking about - shame on you)

[Mcninjaguy]

I love Firefly (saw all the whole series and watched the movie) she's the crazy girl right? I the movie she killed all the reavers with here swords right?

[Tiber Septim]