Solved Lag and stuterring in games.

[malbky]

I have recently changed my motherboard to Gigabyte g41mts2p.
Its based on intel g41 chipset. Most of the games in my pc lag.
GTA vicecity performs msotly well. Slight delays in middle. Crazy Taxi is unplayable. While all MS default games work without any problems. Bejeweled also has lags. Neighbours from hell and spiderman 2 work fine.

My AV is KIS 2012 and nothing else. No BZP also. Processor is p4 with hyperthreading and 3.20ghz clock speed. Aero runs smoothly on my pc.
DX diag shows no errors. Using win7 homebasic 32bit. Ram is 2gb DDR3.
Its a latest pc and the integrated graphics card is intel GMA 4500.

So any ideas?

 

[Deleted member 178]

2GB Ram is not enough for W7 especially with KIS and games running on it.

My laptop has 4gb ram DDR3 and run W7 x64, and my system already use 1.2gb of my ram with just the browser open and AVs.

I would suggest you to disable Aero while gaming, you will not need it ^^ check also the resources usage of KIS, it is known to be heavy.

 

[bogdan]

You could try starting fresh (format and re-install Windows) and make sure you use the latest version for all the drivers.

 

[malbky]

I have reinstalled manytimes bogdan. Even with kis turned off its the same result. Also umbra I have aero off and use the basic theme.

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FYI I play games on my aunts system which has 1gb ram and KIS with no probs.

 

[Deleted member 178]

Does the system of your Grandma is the same as yours? if not don't compare yours with hers. Anyway no system are equals.

Check how much RAM your system is using on idle, then check how much the game needs, also decrease the graphic/audio effects of the game in their video/audio settings.

I highly recommend you to increase your amount of RAM.

also check and adjust your BIOS settings, sometimes the default settings are not optimized for games.

 

[bogdan]

What was your previous motherboard and graphics card? You have to consider the fact that you use an integrated graphics card without dedicated memory. The graphic card uses your RAM too. Although none of the games you've mentioned are too demanding. Motherboard drivers should be here. You could also try using the video drivers from Intel.

 

[pcjunklist]

did you change to a higher screen resolution?

 

[McLovin]

FYI I play games on my aunts system which has 1gb ram and KIS with no probs.

That could be because all that's on there is just games.

What I would suggest is try and upgrade your ram or try other ram of the same type and see if that works.

 

[malbky]

Nope my aunts system is same as mine except that the motherboard uses the G31 chipset. I have tried updating my video drivers through win update and it sort of reduces the lag a bit. My previous motherboard was Gigabyte GA GVMK. IT was an old one and had 856G chipset of intel and did not support aero. ON idle my ram consumption is between 700-800mb. When I run games it comes to 1.25gb max. Also processor is between 80-90%. Thinking of switching to CIS is it a good move? KIS 2013 does not look promising.

I am having a doubt. I have found that the .net framework on my motherboard cd is a corrupted install. So can the video and audio drivers too be corrupted. I always install them through my motherboard. Today I will remove all the drivers and install the ones downloaded from Gigabytes website and tell you the results. Thanks.

 

[Detection]

If you don't have a 3rd party GPU in there, such as AMD or nVidia, and you are just using the onboard graphics, that will be why it is lagging

Onboard graphics are not really designed for gaming and generally share their memory with the system, ie. they don't have dedicated memory, they just use the system ram which is way slower than vram.

If you want the biggest boost, buy a new GPU

 

[iScream]

I wouldn't be so surprised by the performance that a 4500 can give you.

 

[malbky]

See you guys are not getting the point. Before upgrading to this motherboard I had a six year old Intel 856 graphics card and all these games which I am stating ran without any probs smoothly on that one. Also the OS was Win7 HB with only 1gb ram. Now tell me I am usin the latest Mobo and ram, then why it is not functioning?.

 

[bogdan]

As a general advice, I would always use the latest drivers from the manufacturer website. Those on the CD/DVD that comes with the product are probably outdated and those from Microsoft's Windows Update may not be the best ones. Besides from those issues when trying to run games do you have other problems? Is your CPU overheating?

 

[malbky]

I dont know Bogdan. There are not many sensors on my cpu die. Even I have come to the conclusion that the cpu may be getting overheated. Tommorow I am gonna remove the fan and refit it and apply some thermal paste too.
Bogdan I would also paste my Speedfan temps. One thing I have noticed is my cpu spikes to 95-100% in between in between. This is virtually absent at my aunts pc. Also bogdan can overheating cause excess cpu load or degraded performance?.

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One more thing I forgot to mention is Aero works fine on my pc. Aero too uses the graphic card that means my Integrated card shld have nothing wrong. MAybe its the cpu.

 

[malbky]

Ok used speed fan and HWInfo to get system temps. Idle is between 65-70C and during games and intensive use it spikes to 85-89(Max). Also take note I live in India and have a hot and humid climate. Also its summer here. Base temp in my city is 35C. Thanks and tell me is it a cause of worry?

 

[bogdan]

It usually causes your PC to crash, your system may switch off or restart automatically when your CPU is overheating. You can stress test your CPU with Prime95 and read the temperature with Core Temp. It is not safe if it goes more than 70 Celsius (158 Fahrenheit). If you open the case, make sure it is dust free, everything is fitted properly and the motherboard doesn't directly touches the case.

EDIT: Your idle temp is too high. No need to run the stress test.
See P4 datasheet, around page 65:

[attachment=1210]

 

[Littlebits]

Also would like to add check the requirements for the games you are having problems with to see if there are any issues. Some games just have problems with some motherboards, graphic cards, CPU, RAM, etc.
Check vendor's site for available patches.

Just because some games might lag doesn't indicate your system has problems.

Check the settings on your games that lag, if available disable Hardware Acceleration and see if that makes them run better.

Good luck.

 

[malbky]

Yes LittleBits thanks for the advice. Ok I am going to clean my CPU Fans today. Also note that my case is kept open for better airflow and pc is kept near the window. Also the temp readings were with open case. My CPU fan spins at 2900RPM. Bogdan I found the data sheet last night and realised my temps were too high. is there any problem if the motherboard touches the case?. Mine does a little.

 

[malbky]

My temp spikes to 90 then why does not my pc auto poweroff?. I have to check so playing no games at the moment.

 

[bogdan]

The motherboard can short if you mount it flat against the metal backing of the case. Make sure you've placed the screws/spacers marked with a red arrow in between the motherboard and the case.
[attachment=1212]

In BIOS you can probably find a setting that will trigger an alarm or turn the PC off at a certain temperature. 90 deg C won't immediately burn the CPU but on the long term it will cause random slowdowns, freezes and shut-downs and it will shorten the life span of your CPU.