[Name Taker]

So this problem has been bugging me since December last year, and I think it's been getting gradually worse. I know, I know - I probably have tried to solve this problem before now but I guess I just haven't got round to it. Basically whenever I play a game my fps lowers to anywhere between 5-10; the whole computer just lags up, making it impossible to do anything - not to mention pretty aggravating when I'm trying to play something. And I'm not 100% sure but I think my CPU shoots up loads too.

I'll be fine starting up the game, but then (depending on the game and it's quality of graphics; I think), after maybe 15-30 minutes, I'll get this problem. The fps will be lowered and the CPU shoots up for maybe about a minute. After that goes back to normal and repeats this every five minutes or so (again, depending on the game and the quality of graphics). And I get this problem with every game I own, excluding really old and dated games.

Do you have any idea what could be the problem? I've tried looking online for some solutions, or what my problem is - but I can't find any that similar to mine - and I'm pretty stumped... so I came here.

Would be great if you guys could help me out, thanks in advance:

Name Taker

 

[McNinja]

Hello Name Taker and welcome to TSF.

This looks like classic case of overheating to me. When was the last time you used a can of compressed air to clean the dust out of your PC?

What your specs?
RAM
CPU
Motherboard
PSU ( Power Supply Unit)
Video Card
Vista? (do you have the Service packs installed?)

 

[Name Taker]

Thanks
It's been a while since I've cleaned the dust from my PC; I'll do that sometime soon, but I'm not sure that's what's causing the issue; I suspect it may be the hard drive.

• I'm using a Dell Inspiron 531, but I changed the graphics card and changed the power supply soon after I got it.

• I've got 2.00 GB of RAM

• My CPU is AMD Anthlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5600+ 2.80 GHz

• My graphics card is a Nvidia Geforce 9600

• My OS is Windows Vista Home Premium Service Pack 2 (build 6002) with service packs.

I'm not too sure of my PSU or motherboard, sorry.

Really hope this information helps, thanks.

- Name Taker

 

[McNinja]

Have you tried the AMD dual core optimizer? The old AM2 CPU's had problems with timings going off correctly with certain programs

Technical Download Details

 

[Name Taker]

I've installed it. I will reply again or edit this post if it makes any difference, or if I have any other queries. Thanks a lot!

 

[Name Taker]

Well that optimizer has appeared to help a little, but this issue is still ocurring. Any other suggestions?

I was getting so hyped that I could play games normally again. :sigh:

 

[koala]

When games start to lag after a few minutes, it's usually a heat or power problem. What are the temperatures and voltages in BIOS and while running a fullscreen game?

Remove the side panel from your case and post back with the details from the PSU label. If it's too weak for your upgraded PCIE graphics card, this can cause problems with lag and framerates. It needs to be a 550W PSU with approx 40A on the +12V line.

Turn off the computer, then blow out any dust with a can of compressed air, especially around the heatsink, fans and card slots. Make sure all the fans are spinning.

If you think there's a problem with your hard drive, go to the manufacturer's website and download the disk diagnostics utility. Install and run to test for hardware problems.

How much free hard drive space is left, and have you defragged recently?

Have you removed the heatsink/fan from the CPU recently, maybe when you were upgrading the graphics card? If you have, remove it again and reapply some fresh thermal paste.

 

[Name Taker]

Okay, I'll try all that tomorrow and post with the answers, thanks a lot.

And in answer to your questions:

• I have 55.0 GB of free hard drive space left.
• I have defragged recently, and do so often.
• I have not removed the heatsink/fan from the CPU any time recently.

 

[Name Taker]

Alright, so I cleaned all the dust out of my PC - it really needed cleaning!
There was loads of it clogging up in the fans, which is what was primarily causing the overheating. I realized the huge difference cleaning it out made once I started up my computer afterwards; it booted up quicker, logged on quicker, loaded games quicker, etc.

However, despite the change it made, I'm still having an issue with my fps when playing games, and although the problem isn't nearly as bad, it's still very noticeable and highly aggravating.

I'm pretty sure there's not a problem with my PSU because I bought a new PSU at the time of buying my new graphics card, and I remember making sure that they would work together fine (i.e, the PSU would support my graphics card). I can post the details of the PSU if you want me to still if it would help.

As for the hard drive, I will look into that tonight.

 

[koala]

The PSU details would be helpful. Make, model, total watts, +12V amps.

What are the temperatures and voltages in BIOS and while running a fullscreen game? We need both sets of temps/volts readings so we can compare your computer's idle and full load performance.

 

[RockmasteR]

after you post your PSU infos, I can give an advice
this could be a corrupted Video Card Driver, just reinstall the driver or use an older or newer version (you can try the 260.99 it's stable and I'm still using it)
it once happened to me with some games, reinstalling the Video Card Driver helped me.