[SOLVED] Most games run choppy recently after working fine for years.

ceponatia · 07-26-2009, 09:24 PM

Hey everybody I am having a perplexing problem that I hope you can help with. First I'll say I did go through the list stickied in this forum even though most of those are redundant to my problem.

I purchased a few newer games (Overlord II and Prototype) and every few moments the game gets EXTREMELY choppy almost as if I was trying to play these games on a video card from the 90's or something. Then a few seconds after it starts, it stops and I can resume playing fine for about 5 minutes. I'm not totally sure but I think the frequency of the slowdowns get more and more frequent the longer I play but exiting the game and restarting has the same effect you'd expect from rebooting.

At first I thought it was just those newer games but I started playing games that I've had for years and had no problem playing before and now they too experience the slowdowns at about the same frequency. Oblivion, Endwar, Medieval 2, and Deus Ex 2 all do this now and I've played most of those games on a PC much lower end than this one with no problems.

I was initially thinking that maybe it was my hard drive being full so a page file couldn't be written but now I have 20 gigs free on the C drive and 2 terrabytes on an external. I suppose an easy suggestion would be my video card is crapping out but it is less than a year old and I'd imagine there'd be more signs of a bad video card than a few games running slowly every now and then.

I'm clueless. Please help. I'll give you any info you need... oh yeah specs...

Intel Core(2)Duo E6550 @ 2.33 GHz
2 GB of RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT
Windows XP SP2 (the morons at Linksys tech support made me downgrade from SP3 and I haven't felt like downloading it again).

I can't think of any other hardware that'd be relevant but if there is just let me know.

**floop12444** · 07-27-2009, 03:27 AM

Hi ceponatia,
Please could you post the brand and wattage of your power supply.
Thanks.

**RockmasteR** · 07-27-2009, 04:30 AM

please follow floop's instructions
also download SIW from my sig
under Hardware choose "Sensors" and the check the PC temps (CPU, GPU, System, HDD)
play a game and when the lag starts minimize the game and recheck the temperatures again
post both temp states here (when idle and when under stress)

ceponatia · 07-28-2009, 10:25 PM

Acer 600W power supply.

I ran SIW and the temp at idle was 56 or so degrees and once the choppiness began it shot to 84/86. I have four fans in my case so perhaps some of them are not running fast enough?

Cdx · 07-28-2009, 11:32 PM

Hello ceponatia,

Try checking your fans to see if they are running, open your case and see if they are spinning, also if there is any dust in the fans make sure you clear it out.

Sometimes dust can clog up the fans and they will stop running, causing your computer to overheat.

**Lord Sirian** · 07-29-2009, 02:37 AM

Clean out the dust as Cdx said.

Just to clarify, what temperature was that for?

GPU or CPU?

If it was the GPU temp then that isn't great but isn't terrible either.

If it was the CPU, then that is very bad.

Also, download Everest and SensorsView and check the voltages on your PSU, especially the +12V.

Everest

SensorsView

Post the voltages back here.

**floop12444** · 07-29-2009, 03:44 AM

84/86 is high for both CPU and GPU, you definately need to consider buying a case cover which has a built in 12mm fan.

Mcninjaguy · 07-29-2009, 07:19 AM

Hello ceponatia,

I would just like to say that your PSU is most likely failing. Go into your bios and see what it says for your 12v rail. This is the most accurate way to see what going on with your PSU.

ceponatia · 07-29-2009, 12:36 PM

I opened my case and the fan was indeed caked with dust. I knew there was some dust on it but not as much as I found. I also managed to find an extra case-fan in the workroom and installed it. After running Endwar for about thirty minutes there were no slowdowns whatsoever. Thanks a lot guys for helping me out and bringing the dust problem to my attention before I fried my CPU!

**RockmasteR** · 07-29-2009, 01:13 PM

glad to hear to you solved the problem
please mark this thread as solved under thread tools

Cdx · 07-29-2009, 04:36 PM

Great!! Cheers!

I am glad we were able to help.

Make sure you scroll up to the top of the page, click "Thread Tools", then select "Mark this thread as Problem Solved"

If you have any more questions let us know!
Cheers!

ceponatia · 08-01-2009, 09:50 PM

This is amazing! Games that I didn't even think I could run before are working fine at ultra-high quailty! You guys are the best!

**Lord Sirian** · 08-01-2009, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceponatia

This is amazing! Games that I didn't even think I could run before are working fine at ultra-high quailty! You guys are the best!

lol thanks. - Glad to know our work is appreciated.

07-26-2009, 09:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
ceponatia Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 12 OS: XP	[SOLVED] Most games run choppy recently after working fine for years. Hey everybody I am having a perplexing problem that I hope you can help with. First I'll say I did go through the list stickied in this forum even though most of those are redundant to my problem. I purchased a few newer games (Overlord II and Prototype) and every few moments the game gets EXTREMELY choppy almost as if I was trying to play these games on a video card from the 90's or something. Then a few seconds after it starts, it stops and I can resume playing fine for about 5 minutes. I'm not totally sure but I think the frequency of the slowdowns get more and more frequent the longer I play but exiting the game and restarting has the same effect you'd expect from rebooting. At first I thought it was just those newer games but I started playing games that I've had for years and had no problem playing before and now they too experience the slowdowns at about the same frequency. Oblivion, Endwar, Medieval 2, and Deus Ex 2 all do this now and I've played most of those games on a PC much lower end than this one with no problems. I was initially thinking that maybe it was my hard drive being full so a page file couldn't be written but now I have 20 gigs free on the C drive and 2 terrabytes on an external. I suppose an easy suggestion would be my video card is crapping out but it is less than a year old and I'd imagine there'd be more signs of a bad video card than a few games running slowly every now and then. I'm clueless. Please help. I'll give you any info you need... oh yeah specs... Intel Core(2)Duo E6550 @ 2.33 GHz 2 GB of RAM NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT Windows XP SP2 (the morons at Linksys tech support made me downgrade from SP3 and I haven't felt like downloading it again). I can't think of any other hardware that'd be relevant but if there is just let me know.

07-27-2009, 03:27 AM	#2 (permalink)
floop12444 Senior Tech, Games Team Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: England Posts: 961 OS: Windows XP SP3 My System	Re: Most games run choppy recently after working fine for years. Hi ceponatia, Please could you post the brand and wattage of your power supply. Thanks. __________________ Everest Home Edtion ♦ System requirements test ♦ Nvidia Drivers ♦ ATI Drivers ♦ Revo Uninstaller ♦ GPUz Forum Rules Steps Before Posting

07-27-2009, 04:30 AM	#3 (permalink)
RockmasteR Moderator, Games Team Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Lebanon Posts: 3,149 OS: Vista Ultimate 32bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Most games run choppy recently after working fine for years. please follow floop's instructions also download SIW from my sig under Hardware choose "Sensors" and the check the PC temps (CPU, GPU, System, HDD) play a game and when the lag starts minimize the game and recheck the temperatures again post both temp states here (when idle and when under stress) __________________ CPUz GPUz Nvidia Drivers ATI Drivers System Information for Windows (SIW) Revo Uninstaller RivaTuner ATITOOL Directx 9.0C !!Please don't PM me for Tech Support!!

07-28-2009, 10:25 PM	#4 (permalink)
ceponatia Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 12 OS: XP	Re: Most games run choppy recently after working fine for years. Acer 600W power supply. I ran SIW and the temp at idle was 56 or so degrees and once the choppiness began it shot to 84/86. I have four fans in my case so perhaps some of them are not running fast enough?

07-28-2009, 11:32 PM	#5 (permalink)
Cdx Tech, Games Team Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: California Posts: 406 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate/Vista/XP/Unix My System	Re: Most games run choppy recently after working fine for years. Hello ceponatia, Try checking your fans to see if they are running, open your case and see if they are spinning, also if there is any dust in the fans make sure you clear it out. Sometimes dust can clog up the fans and they will stop running, causing your computer to overheat. __________________ Steps Before Posting Downloads: DirectX Nvidia Drivers ATI Drivers Speedfan Revo Uninstaller NOD32 Anti-Virus Trial

07-29-2009, 02:37 AM	#6 (permalink)
Lord Sirian Mentor, Games Team Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 1,632 OS: Windows XP SP 3 My System	Re: Most games run choppy recently after working fine for years. Clean out the dust as Cdx said. Just to clarify, what temperature was that for? GPU or CPU? If it was the GPU temp then that isn't great but isn't terrible either. If it was the CPU, then that is very bad. Also, download Everest and SensorsView and check the voltages on your PSU, especially the +12V. Everest SensorsView Post the voltages back here. __________________ "Come forth for the cattle call Confront the evil river you can't control Wicked ways and venomous eyes Just human nature in disguise..."- Clouds over California

07-29-2009, 03:44 AM	#7 (permalink)
floop12444 Senior Tech, Games Team Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: England Posts: 961 OS: Windows XP SP3 My System	Re: Most games run choppy recently after working fine for years. 84/86 is high for both CPU and GPU, you definately need to consider buying a case cover which has a built in 12mm fan. __________________ Everest Home Edtion ♦ System requirements test ♦ Nvidia Drivers ♦ ATI Drivers ♦ Revo Uninstaller ♦ GPUz Forum Rules Steps Before Posting

07-29-2009, 07:19 AM	#8 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Most games run choppy recently after working fine for years. Hello ceponatia, I would just like to say that your PSU is most likely failing. Go into your bios and see what it says for your 12v rail. This is the most accurate way to see what going on with your PSU.

07-29-2009, 12:36 PM	#9 (permalink)
ceponatia Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 12 OS: XP	Re: Most games run choppy recently after working fine for years. I opened my case and the fan was indeed caked with dust. I knew there was some dust on it but not as much as I found. I also managed to find an extra case-fan in the workroom and installed it. After running Endwar for about thirty minutes there were no slowdowns whatsoever. Thanks a lot guys for helping me out and bringing the dust problem to my attention before I fried my CPU!

07-29-2009, 01:13 PM	#10 (permalink)
RockmasteR Moderator, Games Team Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Lebanon Posts: 3,149 OS: Vista Ultimate 32bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Most games run choppy recently after working fine for years. glad to hear to you solved the problem please mark this thread as solved under thread tools __________________ CPUz GPUz Nvidia Drivers ATI Drivers System Information for Windows (SIW) Revo Uninstaller RivaTuner ATITOOL Directx 9.0C !!Please don't PM me for Tech Support!!

07-29-2009, 04:36 PM	#11 (permalink)
Cdx Tech, Games Team Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: California Posts: 406 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate/Vista/XP/Unix My System	Re: Most games run choppy recently after working fine for years. Great!! Cheers! I am glad we were able to help. Make sure you scroll up to the top of the page, click "Thread Tools", then select "Mark this thread as Problem Solved" If you have any more questions let us know! Cheers! __________________ Steps Before Posting Downloads: DirectX Nvidia Drivers ATI Drivers Speedfan Revo Uninstaller NOD32 Anti-Virus Trial

08-01-2009, 09:50 PM	#12 (permalink)
ceponatia Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 12 OS: XP	Re: [SOLVED] Most games run choppy recently after working fine for years. This is amazing! Games that I didn't even think I could run before are working fine at ultra-high quailty! You guys are the best!