Computer Lag (Particularly in games - Very Low FPS).

[dannyoboy007]

First off, sorry if this is in the wrong place, but i thought this section might be the best place for it.

 

Well, i made a post on the Steam forums about my problems, so i will quote it as it basically sums up my problem:

 

Hi guys. I've been experiencing a lot of lag in games lately, and FPS just isn't anywhere near as much as it has been. I used to be able to run games like Battlefield 3, and now I'm getting lag in games like Minecraft and in particular, Garry's Mod. Now, while i know i can turn the settings down, I don't really want to, as i know my computer used to be able to handle it, and my brothers PC can also handle it better than mine (More FPS, despite having only a 500MB or so graphics card).

 

Garry's Mod will get around 10 to 20 FPS (Obviously depending on map, gamemode etc, but i will say that is an average).

 

Specs (I can post the full DxDiag report if necessary):

Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_gdr.120503-2030)

Processor: Intel® Core i3 CPU 530 @ 2.93GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.9GHz

Memory: 4096MB RAM

Available OS Memory: 3960MB RAM

GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series - 6850

PSU: 500W (http://www.dabs.com/products/best-value-500w-micro-atx-psu-m-500u-63KV.html)

Motherboard: Gigabyte (Model H55N-USB3)

Resolution: 1920x1200

 

Now, the problem first started a few months back now, when i changed my PSU due to it being broken. I'm stuck on whether this was the cause, or whether it was just a coicidence. That said, i have tried numerous PSU's, for instance a 400W and 500W, but still the same result pretty much.

 

I have virus software (Avast and Malwarebytes), but i had to install a new HD because my old one went corrupt and wouldn't function any more due to bad sectors (Run a Seagate HD DOS test on it and it wouldn't load OS or wasn't able to extract anything of it without formatting it, so i replaced it and lost everything on it, luckily only mainly games, which meant install everything again, including games and OS), which means everything is new (Game files are almost empty, apart from any small files such as textures i've downloaded off servers).

 

I still have a few updates on Windows to install, but only about 12.

 

I'm willing to try anything, as i paid around £100 for this around Christmas, and know it does work as it has before. This has been puzzling me for a while now, which is why i'm deciding to ask for help.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

(Thread link: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2870627).

 

Now i understand there could be a million and one problems with it, but I'm really not sure where to start. I have tried quite a few things already, but not enough obviously to find the solution. I was kind of hoping for a magical diagnostic program, but i'm pretty sure non exist If someone could point me in the right direction as to what it sounds like or what i could do to find out, please let me know Right now, even browsing the internet in firefox is somewhat laggy with numerous tabs open, so i am really not sure. Thanks alot (If any more information is needed, please let me know).

Edited August 13, 2012 by dannyoboy007

[Black64]

Your system seems quite powerful. So here is my take.

 

1.you have a lot of junkware running and/or stuff running that you don't need.

 

2.you have a virus.

 

3.Your running your monitor off your onboard GPU and not your 6850.

 

What I would recommend you do is a clean install of windows and that should solve your problem. If that doesn't I would try to swap out the GPU. That seems to be more common problem recently. But as for a PSU, you really should use a at least a 600W to be safe.

Edited August 13, 2012 by Black64

[dannyoboy007]

Your system seems quite powerful. So here is my take.

 

1.you have a lot of junkware running and/or stuff running that you don't need.

 

2.you have a virus.

 

3.Your running your monitor off your onboard GPU and not your 6850.

 

What I would recommend you do is a clean install of windows and that should solve your problem. If that doesn't I would try to swap out the GPU. That seems to be more common problem recently. But as for a PSU, you really should use a at least a 600W to be safe.

 

Hi, thanks for your reply. I just reinstalled Windows yesterday after installing a new hard drive (Due to my old one being corrupt), so it shouldn't be junkware or a virus. I wouldn't put it down to the HD though as it's about the same lagginess (This HD is better than my old one, i think in terms of specs). How would i check if it's running off standard GPU? I have installed a program called GPU-Z and it does display stats for my 6850 so i assume it is working/running off of it. Also, my old PSU (Same wattage i think), managed to power my GPU fine and i was able to run heavy intensive games such as Battlefield 3 fine, so i don't think it should be that either.

 

Now i come to think of previous times i've had lag, however, there were a couple of fixes. I will try them tommorow, and will post if i'm still getting lag (Though i assume i will). Firstly, my BIOS was running in IDE mode (I think), and i changed it to SATA (Or the other way around). This fixed a very small amount of lag however. My other fix that did work alot was when i updated my BIOS. However, i thought the BIOS would retain software updates, and if so, it should be up to date. I don't really like updating the BIOS, as if you update it with the wrong update it's as good as a heavy paperweight, though i think Gigabyte has two BIOS's (One is a minor backup one). It's gotten to a stage where i am willing to try anything though, as it couldn't get much worse (Will probably jinx myself saying that now), so i will go ahead and update it tommorow (or try to), along with checking what mode it is running in.

[dannyoboy007]

Ok, so i made a VERY Rookie mistake (But hey, i'm still learning)... Most of you will probably laugh (Can't blame you), but it has really pissed me off because i have been unable to game for the past few days.

 

The reason was because one of the bloody screws on the fan wasn't pushed into place properly. Now from a glance you would think they were in right, but from closer inspection and wiggling the four corners, i noticed that three were solid, and one could actually be pulled away from the board. All it required was a little pushing and screwing in properly, and that was it.

 

I couldn't believe that was it, something as simple as that. But then again, there are millions of things that can go wrong with computers. It must have been throttling (I think thats the correct term).

 

Luckily now, it's around 30/35degrees celcius idle and 45 degrees celcius when gaming, not the mention all my FPS is restored to around 100FPS on full settings ... A much greater improvement from what it was on, 105degrees celcius.

 

Thanks for all the help, and glad it's sorted out now. Time to play CS:GO!

[Black64]

Fans screws on what? If that was your CPU, it would fry it and there is no way that's you GPU, because your GPU temps are never that low.

[Waco]

Fans screws on what? If that was your CPU, it would fry it and there is no way that's you GPU, because your GPU temps are never that low.

His GPU temps look fairly normal to me...and 105 won't kill a CPU as quickly as you might think.