Why won't my computer run well????

khohl · 11-21-2008, 12:56 PM

I built a very good computer (or what I thought was one) and it will run any of my Flash and web design software, but it will not run any games. When I run a video or a game the sound will play fine, but the graphics will be very choppy. I have no idea what's wrong. I have flashed my bios to the newest one that does not interfere with sp3. I have tried over clocking on my cpu and graphics card, but nothing seems to change. I tried an 8800 graphics card, and I still had the same results. I tried taking out my larger hard drive and running the games from my Raptor, and they still would not run well. I also put Vista on and it did not change anything....

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

System:
XP sp3
Asus M3N78-EMH hdmi
AMD +6400 (3.2Ghz dual)
4gb ram
Evga GTX 260 (regular core)
Hitachi 500gb hard drive (running the games)
WD Raptor 150gb hard drive (running web stuff) (no raid)
750 watt power

**wrench97** · 11-21-2008, 03:41 PM

What Brand and model Power Supply?
Have you tried different versions of the video drivers?
The 6400 is fast enough that you may not get the best frame rates out there but should play smooth, have you checked that AA is turned off in the games?

What Brand and Model Ram?

khohl · 11-21-2008, 04:09 PM

Power supply is PC Power and Cooling, SLI certified, 80 plus certified
Ram is G.Skill, 4x1GB sticks

I have tried all versions of the drivers, ones from nVidia and Evga, and that's for both graphics I have had (260 and 8800)
Everything should play perfect (the non-online games) I have tried Heroes of Might and Magic 5, Command and Conquer 3. These games should play perfect on my system, and with everything set to the lowest setting they skip and jerk. I did try an 8500 card to see if it was a power issue, and it should have played Heroes of Might and Magic 5, because it did on my previous computer, but I still had the same issue...

**wrench97** · 11-21-2008, 04:20 PM

As a test try it with 2 sticks of ram only, with 4 sticks Nvidia motherboards can sometimes get finicky.

khohl · 11-21-2008, 05:25 PM

I ran the computer with 2 sticks of ram, and the game (Command and Conquer 3) continued to lag graphically, but the sound was normal (the sound ran without lagging and the video skipped to catch up). There was no change.

**wrench97** · 11-21-2008, 05:41 PM

Down load and run CPUz and post screen shots of all but the about tab> http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

http://www.techsupportforum.com/cont...icles/151.html

**RockmasteR** · 11-21-2008, 06:00 PM

Maybe it is an AMD issue? I heard that there are issues concerning AMD Dual cores and there is a patch to fix it, and check if there is a conflict btween Motherboard and RAM, the conflict problem only shown in games.
ur VGA is strong so no problem from that, and 750 Watt is enough IMO.
Good Luck

khohl · 11-21-2008, 06:22 PM

I have downloaded the AMD patch and it made no change, thanks though.

I did download the CPUz software and took screen shots, but I'm not sure how to post them. The reply page only allows pictures that have a url, not ones from your computer.

Any suggestions?

**Pauldo** · 11-21-2008, 09:45 PM

That board has integrated graphics, right? Have you looked to see if that is disabled in Bios?

Pauldo

**wrench97** · 11-22-2008, 02:29 AM

See this link for how to post the screen shots> http://www.techsupportforum.com/cont...icles/151.html

**RockmasteR** · 11-22-2008, 05:14 AM

Try to change the RAM, I think it could be a RAM conflict with board, that happened to me once, the PC runs well but the games are bad.

khohl · 11-22-2008, 06:43 AM

Ok, so there are my screen shots.

I will try swapping my memory for another brand and hopefully it will work.

Thanks.

khohl · 11-22-2008, 07:14 AM

I tried swapping the memory, but it did not change the issue.

**wrench97** · 11-22-2008, 09:01 AM

I'm not seeing anything strange in CPUz
Lets have a look at the voltages and temps from the Bios
You tried using the raptor only but have you tried it with the Hitachi (providing you have a os on it)
Are you running Vista or XP currently and at which service pack

khohl · 11-22-2008, 10:06 AM

The BIOS reports:

CPU temperature [44C/111F]
MB temperature [22C/71.5F]
CPU fan speed [3214RPM]
Chassis fan speed [N/A]
VCORE Voltage [1.424V]
3.3V Voltage [3.328V]
5V Voltage [4.915V]
12V Voltage [11.972V]
Smart Q-FAN function [Disabled]

I have tried the Raptor alone and the Hitachi alone.

I am currently running xp sp3 on the Hitachi with the Raptor as a secondary storage (no raid).

**wrench97** · 11-22-2008, 10:30 AM

CPU may be a touch warm but not to the point of alarm.
Voltages are good as expected.
It did this on sp2 before you loaded sp3 correct?
First drop down to 1 stick of ram and try a game if it's still the same then
Try running MemTest from a bootable cd on 1 stick at a time for at least 10 passes > http://www.memtest.org/#downiso

**Pauldo** · 11-22-2008, 12:05 PM

Man if you swapped memory and it's still an issue that sounds like a driver issue to me.

Have you look for different drivers? Newer if you don't have the latest. Older if you do. I can't count how many times I have seen issues resolved by downgrading to a different set of drivers.

Plus are you using the onboard sound? Sound and video drivers have been known to conflict from time to time. If it is onboard, than maybe a switch over to generic Realtek drivers might be worth a shot (wouldn't take long to do).

Pauldo

khohl · 11-22-2008, 02:50 PM

I tried different RealTek drivers and graphics drivers, but had no luck. I don't think it's a driver issue, because this problem has persisted with different graphics cards and different graphics card drivers.

I have tried two sticks of memory (the G.Skill) and 4 sticks of some low grade brand of PC2 5300 and had no change. Do you still think it could be a memory issue? Should I run the MemTest (it seems like a lot of work if it's not the memory)?

**wrench97** · 11-22-2008, 03:00 PM

I know that it's a lot of work, but it's nothing obvious so your down to cpu motherboard or memory including the interaction of the three. And I know from experience that there are issues on Nvidia boards and memory interaction you see it more on the socket 775 boards but you do see on the AM2 boards also. The problem only seems to occur when pushing 3d graphics right? which is heavy memory and ht buss usage that makes memory the logical place to start.
I have also seen integrated sound cause the issue so another path may be to disable the integrated sound and borrow a sound card to try?

11-21-2008, 12:56 PM	#1 (permalink)
khohl Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 8 OS: xp sp3	Why won't my computer run well???? I built a very good computer (or what I thought was one) and it will run any of my Flash and web design software, but it will not run any games. When I run a video or a game the sound will play fine, but the graphics will be very choppy. I have no idea what's wrong. I have flashed my bios to the newest one that does not interfere with sp3. I have tried over clocking on my cpu and graphics card, but nothing seems to change. I tried an 8800 graphics card, and I still had the same results. I tried taking out my larger hard drive and running the games from my Raptor, and they still would not run well. I also put Vista on and it did not change anything.... Any suggestions would be appreciated. System: XP sp3 Asus M3N78-EMH hdmi AMD +6400 (3.2Ghz dual) 4gb ram Evga GTX 260 (regular core) Hitachi 500gb hard drive (running the games) WD Raptor 150gb hard drive (running web stuff) (no raid) 750 watt power

11-21-2008, 03:41 PM	#2 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,269 OS: Win7	Re: Why won't my computer run well???? What Brand and model Power Supply? Have you tried different versions of the video drivers? The 6400 is fast enough that you may not get the best frame rates out there but should play smooth, have you checked that AA is turned off in the games? What Brand and Model Ram? __________________ Power Supply and Selection

11-21-2008, 04:09 PM	#3 (permalink)
khohl Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 8 OS: xp sp3	Re: Why won't my computer run well???? Power supply is PC Power and Cooling, SLI certified, 80 plus certified Ram is G.Skill, 4x1GB sticks I have tried all versions of the drivers, ones from nVidia and Evga, and that's for both graphics I have had (260 and 8800) Everything should play perfect (the non-online games) I have tried Heroes of Might and Magic 5, Command and Conquer 3. These games should play perfect on my system, and with everything set to the lowest setting they skip and jerk. I did try an 8500 card to see if it was a power issue, and it should have played Heroes of Might and Magic 5, because it did on my previous computer, but I still had the same issue... Last edited by khohl; 11-21-2008 at 04:14 PM.

11-21-2008, 04:20 PM	#4 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,269 OS: Win7	Re: Why won't my computer run well???? As a test try it with 2 sticks of ram only, with 4 sticks Nvidia motherboards can sometimes get finicky. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

11-21-2008, 05:25 PM	#5 (permalink)
khohl Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 8 OS: xp sp3	Re: Why won't my computer run well???? I ran the computer with 2 sticks of ram, and the game (Command and Conquer 3) continued to lag graphically, but the sound was normal (the sound ran without lagging and the video skipped to catch up). There was no change.

11-21-2008, 05:41 PM	#6 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,269 OS: Win7	Re: Why won't my computer run well???? Down load and run CPUz and post screen shots of all but the about tab> http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php http://www.techsupportforum.com/cont...icles/151.html __________________ Power Supply and Selection Last edited by wrench97; 11-21-2008 at 05:45 PM.

11-21-2008, 06:00 PM	#7 (permalink)
RockmasteR Moderator, Games Team Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Lebanon Posts: 3,103 OS: Vista Ultimate 32bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Why won't my computer run well???? Maybe it is an AMD issue? I heard that there are issues concerning AMD Dual cores and there is a patch to fix it, and check if there is a conflict btween Motherboard and RAM, the conflict problem only shown in games. ur VGA is strong so no problem from that, and 750 Watt is enough IMO. Good Luck

11-21-2008, 06:22 PM	#8 (permalink)
khohl Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 8 OS: xp sp3	Re: Why won't my computer run well???? I have downloaded the AMD patch and it made no change, thanks though. I did download the CPUz software and took screen shots, but I'm not sure how to post them. The reply page only allows pictures that have a url, not ones from your computer. Any suggestions?

11-21-2008, 09:45 PM	#9 (permalink)
Pauldo Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Seattle, Washington Posts: 1,444 OS: winXP Pro sp3 My System	Re: Why won't my computer run well???? That board has integrated graphics, right? Have you looked to see if that is disabled in Bios? Pauldo __________________ SystemSpec \| Power Supply Info \| How to Post a Screen shot \| Speedfan[/center]

11-22-2008, 02:29 AM	#10 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,269 OS: Win7	Re: Why won't my computer run well???? See this link for how to post the screen shots> http://www.techsupportforum.com/cont...icles/151.html __________________ Power Supply and Selection

11-22-2008, 05:14 AM	#11 (permalink)
RockmasteR Moderator, Games Team Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Lebanon Posts: 3,103 OS: Vista Ultimate 32bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Why won't my computer run well???? Try to change the RAM, I think it could be a RAM conflict with board, that happened to me once, the PC runs well but the games are bad.

11-22-2008, 07:14 AM	#13 (permalink)
khohl Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 8 OS: xp sp3	Re: Why won't my computer run well???? I tried swapping the memory, but it did not change the issue.

11-22-2008, 09:01 AM	#14 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,269 OS: Win7	Re: Why won't my computer run well???? I'm not seeing anything strange in CPUz Lets have a look at the voltages and temps from the Bios You tried using the raptor only but have you tried it with the Hitachi (providing you have a os on it) Are you running Vista or XP currently and at which service pack __________________ Power Supply and Selection

11-22-2008, 10:06 AM	#15 (permalink)
khohl Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 8 OS: xp sp3	Re: Why won't my computer run well???? The BIOS reports: CPU temperature [44C/111F] MB temperature [22C/71.5F] CPU fan speed [3214RPM] Chassis fan speed [N/A] VCORE Voltage [1.424V] 3.3V Voltage [3.328V] 5V Voltage [4.915V] 12V Voltage [11.972V] Smart Q-FAN function [Disabled] I have tried the Raptor alone and the Hitachi alone. I am currently running xp sp3 on the Hitachi with the Raptor as a secondary storage (no raid).

11-22-2008, 10:30 AM	#16 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,269 OS: Win7	Re: Why won't my computer run well???? CPU may be a touch warm but not to the point of alarm. Voltages are good as expected. It did this on sp2 before you loaded sp3 correct? First drop down to 1 stick of ram and try a game if it's still the same then Try running MemTest from a bootable cd on 1 stick at a time for at least 10 passes > http://www.memtest.org/#downiso __________________ Power Supply and Selection

11-22-2008, 12:05 PM	#17 (permalink)
Pauldo Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Seattle, Washington Posts: 1,444 OS: winXP Pro sp3 My System	Re: Why won't my computer run well???? Man if you swapped memory and it's still an issue that sounds like a driver issue to me. Have you look for different drivers? Newer if you don't have the latest. Older if you do. I can't count how many times I have seen issues resolved by downgrading to a different set of drivers. Plus are you using the onboard sound? Sound and video drivers have been known to conflict from time to time. If it is onboard, than maybe a switch over to generic Realtek drivers might be worth a shot (wouldn't take long to do). Pauldo __________________ SystemSpec \| Power Supply Info \| How to Post a Screen shot \| Speedfan[/center]

11-22-2008, 02:50 PM	#18 (permalink)
khohl Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 8 OS: xp sp3	Re: Why won't my computer run well???? I tried different RealTek drivers and graphics drivers, but had no luck. I don't think it's a driver issue, because this problem has persisted with different graphics cards and different graphics card drivers. I have tried two sticks of memory (the G.Skill) and 4 sticks of some low grade brand of PC2 5300 and had no change. Do you still think it could be a memory issue? Should I run the MemTest (it seems like a lot of work if it's not the memory)?

11-22-2008, 03:00 PM	#19 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,269 OS: Win7	Re: Why won't my computer run well???? I know that it's a lot of work, but it's nothing obvious so your down to cpu motherboard or memory including the interaction of the three. And I know from experience that there are issues on Nvidia boards and memory interaction you see it more on the socket 775 boards but you do see on the AM2 boards also. The problem only seems to occur when pushing 3d graphics right? which is heavy memory and ht buss usage that makes memory the logical place to start. I have also seen integrated sound cause the issue so another path may be to disable the integrated sound and borrow a sound card to try? __________________ Power Supply and Selection