Experiencing Lag in Games

[teteous]

Hi, for the last 6months(well, eversince i got this comp) i have been getting bad lag ingame and its getting on my nerves now, it happens in all games i play (xcept for flash and crappy things like that)
Ill give you my rig and some other data i have got.

ASUS- P5PE-VM motherboard.
Windows XP-PRO
Intel Pentium D Processor 820* 2.80GHz, 800 MHz FPB, 2MB L2 Cache
2GB DDR-400 memory
Radeon X1950 PRO 512mb GDDR3
well.. thats the rig..
This is with antivirus off and everything except for my monitoring programs and the game running.

I will have around 60-90 FPS running most things on high at 1680x1050,
then randomly my FPS will radically drop to 9-12 FPS.
The game will be using around 55-60 CPU and 4-5 system CPU,
then when the FPS drops it goes to 60-63 CPU for the game and 10-13 system,
memory stays the same, disk is idle normally, and net is fine.

If anyone has anything that could be helpful i would appriciate it alot, as i have no idea what is going on.

 

[mandelore]

Welcome to the forums!

Have you monitored the temperatures of your cpu/graphics card?

what programs are you running in the background. i.e what is populating the taskmanager list. It could be that, or an antivirus etc.

also, have you got the latest catalyst drivers and directx files?

 

[teteous]

Antivirus was disabled and made no differnce;
Temps:
CPU 56
MEM 32
GFX 39
I dont think its the GFX card as i upgraded from my old 6600GT 256 and it happened with that also,
and it i can have it on 680x460 and it will still happen so its not the GFX card,
Nothing except my monitoring programs runnign and the game,
i have got the latest drivers and directx files,
I have ran it with vista ultimate and had same results

 

[teteous]

If you figure this out, you will be a legend,
if you dont, ask ur friends xD

 

[DrunkenMafia]

Have you checked your XP error log??

If you go into control panel and then admin services. Click on computer management..

Once in there click on event viewer and then application..

See if that spreads any light on the matter. Do this straight after you get a big lag in the game. It may help.

I had a raid setup in my old system which wasn't 100% and when I was gaming it would lag for a couple of seconds every now n then and turned out I was getting HDD errors during the game..

Hope that helped some m8

 

[teteous]

k, i will try it now, thanks

 

[teteous]

no errors in there, or system

 

[Pinchy]

I had this EXACT problem with my old P4 rig. My CS:Source was at around 80 FPS and then dropped to 10-ish. I noticed it happened faster with bots than online.

Now, no-one knew what the problem was so I decided to do some tests. Heat was ruled out, as the processor only got to like 55*C. Just a FYI, I had the stock cooler on the CPU and an Arctic cooler on the X800.

Anyways, I aimed a desktop fan at the computer (with the side case open) and started to game. I DID end up getting the FPS drop, but it took a LOT longer than normal.

All in all, I got an aftermarket cooler (Gigabyte G-Power PRO) and it never happened again .

 

[teteous]

I have the side off with a mini fan on it.. always have as it gets hot ere so my room gets high aswell, but it ALWAYS happens and all the temps are fine..

 

[teteous]

I had this EXACT problem with my old P4 rig. My CS:Source was at around 80 FPS and then dropped to 10-ish. I noticed it happened faster with bots than online.

Now, no-one knew what the problem was so I decided to do some tests. Heat was ruled out, as the processor only got to like 55*C. Just a FYI, I had the stock cooler on the CPU and an Arctic cooler on the X800.

Anyways, I aimed a desktop fan at the computer (with the side case open) and started to game. I DID end up getting the FPS drop, but it took a LOT longer than normal.

All in all, I got an aftermarket cooler (Gigabyte G-Power PRO) and it never happened again .

But.. you said that u had no temp problems so how could the new cooler make any difference? Did you change anything else?

 

[teteous]

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2025

Thts the link to my heatsink

 

[tkpenalty]

Teteous, the Pentium D is overheating, these processors, instead of crashing go through thermal throttling which decreases the speed of the processor dramatically, to barely operatable speeds to prevent damage.

That is the reason why better cooling is needed, the stock cooler for the Pentium D isnt neccesarily bad, its just that your cooling setup isnt good. Install a rear outtake and front intake, and possibly, invest in a new cooler. Something cheap such as an Arctic Freezer 7 PRO (LGA775 Model) will do the job, being light and as easy to install.

Anyway, what case are you using at the moment? I am assuming some cheap Generic case with a clear arcrylic sidewindow with a LED fan on it, right? If you are using one of those, with the small rear fan mounting positions, get a new case as well, such as a Coolermaster CM 690, cheap and value packed.

Show us an image as well of your setup, Systems with low airflow and a bloody hot CPU would require wiring like my one to be able to operate without any overheating (check my signature).

 

[teteous]

At the moment i have the side off with it sitting next to me and with a Desktop fan on it, all the wires and cables neat inside to maximise airflow. I also have a fan on the back with 2 CD slots open up the top for air to flow through.

 

[teteous]

If you could get me a list of things i could buy to look cool and keep my computer cool under $400 AU ($369US With postage)
That would be awesome

 

[Pinchy]

But.. you said that u had no temp problems so how could the new cooler make any difference? Did you change anything else?

Ahh yes, thats what everyone THOUGHT. Sorry for my strange wording . I just re-read what I wrote and...yeah, it didn't make that much sense.

I was told it couldnt be heat, as it "only" hit 55*C....but it turned out heat was the problem . (All I changed was the CPU cooler)

If you could get me a list of things i could buy to look cool and keep my computer cool under $400 AU ($369US With postage)
That would be awesome

LOL $400?

All you need is a good aftermarket cooler :

http://www.itestate.com.au/products_detail.asp?code=PD00004294

$66...and you can get a cheaper one if you really want to.

 

[teteous]

With the 400$$ i was planning on getting a new case and some neons, and the cooler

 

[Pinchy]

Ahh that makes sense.

Well case is really personal preference..what some people think look good, others hate .

Although for $400, you can get 2GB DDR2, a core 2 duo motherboard and a core 2 duo CPU...so you might want to look into that .

 

[erocker]

If you could get me a list of things i could buy to look cool and keep my computer cool under $400 AU ($369US With postage)
That would be awesome

Core 2 duo. Mobo. Memory. Cooler computer.

 

[Wile E]

Ahh that makes sense.

Well case is really personal preference..what some people think look good, others hate .

Although for $400, you can get 2GB DDR2, a core 2 duo motherboard and a core 2 duo CPU...so you might want to look into that .

seconded!

EDIT: Make that thirded. Thanks to Erocker. lol

 

[teteous]

The reason i dont do that is because there is nothing wrong with my GFX card and if i want a decent mobo it will be PCI.. and i dont want to get another GFX card as there is nothing wrong with this one. And my ram is fine atm aswell. My mobo supports Core2 Duo, and its AGP (i know thats old technology) but there is nothing wrong with my GFX card, but the CPU i wanted costs $300AU, and then i need the cooler, and i think i will need a case according to what some people have been saying.

 

[steelkane]

Going from nvidia to ati,, have you tried driver cleaner http://www.drivercleaner.net/ it's worked for me, also is your power supply fan changing speeds or is the air coming out of the power supply really hot, if so it could be a PSU problem. also maybe download memtest http://www.memtest86.com/ or http://www.memtest.org/. It's all worth a try.

 

[teteous]

There is NOTHING wrong with my PSU as it is brand new

 

[steelkane]

There is NOTHING wrong with my PSU as it is brand new

I had a new 680watt thermaltake, sure it turned the computer on but it was bad. it tested good with my tester, but as soon as it was replaced, system ran fine,, I'm not saying your PSU is bad, but a weak power supply will make trouble.

 

[Pinchy]

The reason i dont do that is because there is nothing wrong with my GFX card and if i want a decent mobo it will be PCI.. and i dont want to get another GFX card as there is nothing wrong with this one. And my ram is fine atm aswell. My mobo supports Core2 Duo, and its AGP (i know thats old technology) but there is nothing wrong with my GFX card, but the CPU i wanted costs $300AU, and then i need the cooler, and i think i will need a case according to what some people have been saying.

Oh if your mobo supports core 2, then just get a core 2 duo CPU (I didnt know it supported C2D). Just get something like an e4500 for $150, cooler for $50. It will be a lot faster than the pentium D and you will still have $200 for the case .

BTW - Getting the new case wont fix the heating issue; the aftermarket cooler will .

 

[teteous]

Hmm... Ill get the E6850 for around $320 + aftermarket cooler for around $30-$50