Solve : Computer slowdown when playing games?

1.	Solve : Computer slowdown when playing games?
Answer» Ok, whenever I play games on my pc (usually Black + White 2, Sims 2, Overlord at the moment) after about 10 minutes it slows down, alot, it's really really laggy. I wait for about 2-5 minutes and it's running fine again. But after this it's happening every 5 minutes and it makes a game really really unplayable and annoying! I have ran virus scans etc and everything alright. I played some of these games a few months back and everything was fine. Heres my specs if it's any help Windows Vista AMD Athlon 3700+ 2gig ram NVidia GeForce 7600gt Any help would be appreciated. The cyclical lagging sounds like one of two things: either your processor USE is spiking to 100% or your HDD is being accessed at regular intervals. If it's not your hard disk (and I'm guessing you would have let us know if it was), then we need to determine why your CPU use is spiking at regular intervals. The first thing I'd try is getting a can of compressed air and dusting out the inside of your computer (turn it off first). Excess dust in the case may cause reduced airflow, causing the processor to overheat. There are safety features in your processor to keep it from destroying itself, so when your processor gets too hot, it is forcibly slowed down to let it cool off. After you dust out your computer, give it a couple hours to cool down inside. Then power up try playing your games again. If that doesn't work, we'll try something else.Ok I've just looked in the case and yes it's very dusty, and I noticed the heatsink is clogged with it :/ So can you give me directions of how to clean it out? I'm scared I'm gunna break something Thankyou!Quote from: MooTooYoo on July 22, 2007, 07:31:00 AM ...I noticed the heatsink is clogged with it... This is good NEWS and bad news. Good in that we may have found the problem, bad in that it's a potential safety concern and fire hazard. We need to get that dust out of there. Go to your local Best Buy or Circuit City (or whatever store in your town sells electronics) and buy a can of compressed air. I prefer the "Belkin Blaster," but there are a few other brands out there. For your purposes, the 3.5 oz. can will PROBABLY be enough. 1. Shut your computer down, and let it cool to room temperature. Since it's clogged with dust, the processor will be very hot, and will need several hours to cool down completely. Overnight should be sufficient. 2. Disconnect everything from the computer, and move it to a static-free location (away from carpeting). A kitchen counter works really well as an electronics workbench. 3. Ground yourself, preferably using a wrist strap. If you don't have a wrist strap, keeping one hand on a metal part of the case should work fine. Now open the case. 4. Read all usage instructions on the can of compressed air, and shoot two or three short bursts from the can away from the computer. This is to ensure that there is no liquid trapped in the valve. Only cool air should shoot out of the can. 5. Without tipping the can too much, blow short bursts of air into the heat sink, and around all your fans and vents. Basically, anywhere you see dust in your computer, blow it off with short bursts of air. 6. VERY IMPORTANT: If the can becomes very cold to touch, or ice starts to form on the outside of the can, stop using it, and let it warm back up to room temperature. If the can becomes too cold, the liquid inside may shoot out instead of air, or worse, the can may burst! Once the can is room temperature, it is again safe to use. Also listen for the can to make bubbling noises. If it does, stop and let it settle down. This is the liquid inside boiling to provide more air. 7. Once you have blown all the dust from your components, clean out any spider webs, etc. that may have stuck. Do this with a soft, clean rag, but be very CAREFUL. A computer's internal components are very fragile. 8. Replace the case cover, and hook everything up again. Start up your computer, and see if this makes a difference. You'll notice that the fans won't have to work nearly as hard as they did before (your computer should be noticeably quieter). Try playing a game again, and see if this worked. If this doesn't work, we'll have to try something else. However, if your heat sink is jammed with dust, this will most definitely cause a decrease in performance DUE to overheating. Also, you may want to consider quickly dusting out your computer like this at least once per month. Dust can quickly accumulate in your machine, especially if the fans are running on high. This will ensure you're getting top performance from your machine, and it reduces the risk of fire.

Answer»

Ok, whenever I play games on my pc (usually Black + White 2, Sims 2, Overlord at the moment) after about 10 minutes it slows down, alot, it's really really laggy.

I wait for about 2-5 minutes and it's running fine again.

But after this it's happening every 5 minutes and it makes a game really really unplayable and annoying!

I have ran virus scans etc and everything alright.

I played some of these games a few months back and everything was fine.

Heres my specs if it's any help

Windows Vista
AMD Athlon 3700+
2gig ram
NVidia GeForce 7600gt

Any help would be appreciated.

The cyclical lagging sounds like one of two things: either your processor USE is spiking to 100% or your HDD is being accessed at regular intervals. If it's not your hard disk (and I'm guessing you would have let us know if it was), then we need to determine why your CPU use is spiking at regular intervals.

The first thing I'd try is getting a can of compressed air and dusting out the inside of your computer (turn it off first). Excess dust in the case may cause reduced airflow, causing the processor to overheat. There are safety features in your processor to keep it from destroying itself, so when your processor gets too hot, it is forcibly slowed down to let it cool off. After you dust out your computer, give it a couple hours to cool down inside. Then power up try playing your games again. If that doesn't work, we'll try something else.Ok I've just looked in the case and yes it's very dusty, and I noticed the heatsink is clogged with it :/

So can you give me directions of how to clean it out? I'm scared I'm gunna break something

Thankyou!Quote from: MooTooYoo on July 22, 2007, 07:31:00 AM

...I noticed the heatsink is clogged with it...

This is good NEWS and bad news. Good in that we may have found the problem, bad in that it's a potential safety concern and fire hazard. We need to get that dust out of there.

Go to your local Best Buy or Circuit City (or whatever store in your town sells electronics) and buy a can of compressed air. I prefer the "Belkin Blaster," but there are a few other brands out there. For your purposes, the 3.5 oz. can will PROBABLY be enough.

1. Shut your computer down, and let it cool to room temperature. Since it's clogged with dust, the processor will be very hot, and will need several hours to cool down completely. Overnight should be sufficient.
2. Disconnect everything from the computer, and move it to a static-free location (away from carpeting). A kitchen counter works really well as an electronics workbench.
3. Ground yourself, preferably using a wrist strap. If you don't have a wrist strap, keeping one hand on a metal part of the case should work fine. Now open the case.
4. Read all usage instructions on the can of compressed air, and shoot two or three short bursts from the can away from the computer. This is to ensure that there is no liquid trapped in the valve. Only cool air should shoot out of the can.
5. Without tipping the can too much, blow short bursts of air into the heat sink, and around all your fans and vents. Basically, anywhere you see dust in your computer, blow it off with short bursts of air.
6. VERY IMPORTANT: If the can becomes very cold to touch, or ice starts to form on the outside of the can, stop using it, and let it warm back up to room temperature. If the can becomes too cold, the liquid inside may shoot out instead of air, or worse, the can may burst! Once the can is room temperature, it is again safe to use. Also listen for the can to make bubbling noises. If it does, stop and let it settle down. This is the liquid inside boiling to provide more air.
7. Once you have blown all the dust from your components, clean out any spider webs, etc. that may have stuck. Do this with a soft, clean rag, but be very CAREFUL. A computer's internal components are very fragile.
8. Replace the case cover, and hook everything up again. Start up your computer, and see if this makes a difference. You'll notice that the fans won't have to work nearly as hard as they did before (your computer should be noticeably quieter). Try playing a game again, and see if this worked.

If this doesn't work, we'll have to try something else. However, if your heat sink is jammed with dust, this will most definitely cause a decrease in performance DUE to overheating. Also, you may want to consider quickly dusting out your computer like this at least once per month. Dust can quickly accumulate in your machine, especially if the fans are running on high. This will ensure you're getting top performance from your machine, and it reduces the risk of fire.

Solve : Computer slowdown when playing games?

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