[SOLVED] Really Bad Screen Lag

[TuckerX]

Hello Everyone,

I'm new here so bare with me.

My problem is that I am experiencing some type of lag in all of the games I play. The games include Final Fantasy Online and Counter-Strike 1.6. I'll use CS as my example.

When I play the game, it will be okay for 2-3 minutes. Then I will get your classic lag: Screen freezes, you hear the same sound repeating over and over. However, this is where it gets weird. After about 30 seconds of that, it changes into a "faster" lag. The repeating sound now repeats way faster. Then I either end up lagging out of the server or it catches up really fast. If I don't lag out, this process repeats over and over and over.

Now I recently switched from a wired router to a wireless router, but I am still using Cat5 cable with the machine I am on. But I don't think it is the router because my roommates, who play the same games I do, don't have this problem. I tried switching my Cat5 cable with one of my roommate's, and nothing changed. I got lag and he didn't. So I know the cables and the port on the router i was using are good.

I tried reinstalling my graphics drivers and that seemed to fix the issue for about 10 minutes. After a million restarts and endless failed troubleshooting, I swallowed my pride and decided to seek out help... But in my position, how could you better do a google search than "lag in all of my games" and expect to find something useful?

Well, thanks for at least reading my problem and if you have any ideas please PLEASE reply. Here are my specs

CPU: Athlon X2 5000+ Black Edition 2.6GHz@2.8GHz
Mobo: ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Motherboard
GFX: e-VGA GeForce 7600
Memory: 2x1GB Crucial Ballistix; 2x1GB Corsair Memory; All PC6400 in dual channel

[Aus_Karlos]

Hi TuckerX and welcome to TSF,

This could be related to heat. Download Everest from my sig and check the temps when playing the game for 5 minutes.
Temps are located in Everest: Computer > Sensors

[Mcninjaguy]

is your CPU overclocked?

if it is oveclocked try putting it back to its stock settings

[TuckerX]

I thought I would let you all know that I figured out what was wrong. It was indeed a heat issue. The card itself is about 2 years old. At some point it must have overheated because after I opened up my case and discovered the wonderful buildup of dust on the inside, i decided to spray it all out.

During this process, I took out my GFX card and inspected it. As it turns out, there were 3 capacitors on the card that had exploded/cracked, 2 of which were showing signs of corrosion from where the ruptures were.

I deemed it not such a good idea to put the card back in the motherboard and swiped a roommate's X800. It solved my problem. The good news is, I get to buy a Geforce 9800 now! :D

Thanks for all your help guys. Everest helped me identify the problem with the heat.

[Aus_Karlos]

Before you purchase you need to make sure your PSU is capable of handling a 9800. You need a minimum of 650W with 12v@38A.

These are some issues that could arise if you PSU is overloaded/underpowered

• bad 3D performance
• crashing games
• overclocking issues
• spontaneous reset or imminent shutdown of the PC
• freezes during gameplay
• PSU overload can cause it to break down
• Hardware damage
• Excessive heat

[TuckerX]

I just got my card and a new Corsair 520hx. The power supply is installed but i haven't put the card in yet. My card actually indicates that i only require 400W (12V @ 26A) of power, but 450 is recommended.

I think you may be referring to the 9800GT with dual slot cooling.

[Aus_Karlos]

400w for the card and the system to just turn on. They also test that in a room which the PSU is at a constant 25c. For every 1c the PSU is above 25c it looses 1W of output. So if your PSU is at 35c its already lost 10W of power. But most run at 45c so 20W, then the PSU is only about 80% efficient so your only outputting 400W really, +- 5% and what ever your PSU running temp is at.
So with the 520hx it is just enough to run one GT only.

For 2x 9800GT you will need a minimum of 850W 12v@68A