Author Topic: Weird problem with computer  (Read 7808 times)

ahluka

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Weird problem with computer
« on: February 01, 2006, 11:49:37 AM »
I thought this was best posted here since I don't know if it's a hardware or software problem...

Let me explain. When my PC has just been turned on, it runs fine - just as you expect it would. It does this until I've finished playing a game (or occasionally when I'm ~30 mins into playing a game), then it decides to slow down, and I mean noticably. If I'm playing a game at the time, I loose ~20 FPS. It's like it's decided to start loading stuff off the hard drive, except it isn't.

The same thing happens if I'm not playing a game, it just seems to take longer (after having been on for about 40 mins). Everything I do takes longer - every time I load something, it hangs.

When I mentioned the game part of it to a mate he said it might be because I've only got 512MB RAM (he had the same (almost) problem with games hanging mid-play when he'd just bought a 6800GT). He upgraded pretty sharpish to 1GB and found it really helped.

So I've ordered another 512mb stick, should be here on friday. I just hope it's the problem - TBH the fact that my pc just slows down for the rest of the time it's on doesn't sound like a lack of RAM problem... does it?

ober

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Weird problem with computer
« Reply #1 on: February 01, 2006, 01:17:11 PM »
Moved to Hardware.... and I'd suspect your PSU is on the way out or your CPU is throttling because of heat.  Either way, sounds like you need some additional cooling.

Rob

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« Reply #2 on: February 01, 2006, 01:34:08 PM »
What Ober said - but more memory will always help. 512 is on the low side these days.

ahluka

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Weird problem with computer
« Reply #3 on: February 01, 2006, 01:40:43 PM »
Quote from: ober
Moved to Hardware.... and I'd suspect your PSU is on the way out or your CPU is throttling because of heat.  Either way, sounds like you need some additional cooling.


We're talking more fans right? Water cooling is probably OTT.

ober

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« Reply #4 on: February 01, 2006, 01:55:27 PM »
More fans... but do some research and make sure you're getting the right pressure inside your case.  One of my biggest problems right now is that I don't have enough intake... so my exhaust fan is pretty much choking... and hence not pushing enough air out... I need to fix that, but I usually end up just removing the side of the case if I play games for more than 2 hours.

ahluka

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« Reply #5 on: February 01, 2006, 02:10:16 PM »
Well since I'm skint the only thing I can try to help it is to remove the side of the case, but with our dogs the air is excessively hairy / dusty, which could be a bitch. I had to remove a fair amount of shit from the fan when I installed my GPU last week.

ober

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« Reply #6 on: February 01, 2006, 02:36:52 PM »
Cleaning fans/case should be a routine procedure... at least every week or every other week in a situation like yours.  My office stays very clean, so I only clean my filters on my intake about once a month, if that.

I would try removing the case and pushing your system to see if that alleviates some of the issues or not.  

Although... now that I re-read the origional thread... It could be that you're maxing out your RAM and your computer just start using your HD as a page file.  

Here's another way to test that:  Get your system up to the point where you're seeing tons of HD activity and slow-downs.  When you do, stop and reboot.  If everything goes back to normal for the same amount of time, you need more RAM.  If you reboot and are almost immediately back in the same situation, it's something else.

And when I say reboot, leave it off for a good 30-45 seconds and it wouldn't hurt to unplug it for that amount of time.  That'll give the RAM a chance to lose it's power and clear itself.  Otherwise, it'll still hold a bunch of junk if you just reboot it.

hans

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« Reply #7 on: February 01, 2006, 02:47:45 PM »
Is there any possibility of Spyware or can you trace the memory usage to an application? Maybe there's a memory leak in something you're running. More RAM is always a good thing but if you've got a greedy app you'll still be upset (it'll just take longer).
Check your memory manager and see if something is hogging up your resources. If you've got a database running (like SQL Server) that kind of thing can happen.
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Rob

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« Reply #8 on: February 01, 2006, 02:51:23 PM »
>>That'll give the RAM a chance to lose it's power and clear itself. Otherwise, it'll still hold a bunch of junk if you just reboot it.

Dude, it's volatile memory. Nothing stays in there, even if you only soft reboot. Even the 3 fingered salute will clear it out.

Steve

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« Reply #9 on: February 01, 2006, 04:20:24 PM »
Quote from: Rob
>>That'll give the RAM a chance to lose it's power and clear itself. Otherwise, it'll still hold a bunch of junk if you just reboot it.

Dude, it's volatile memory. Nothing stays in there, even if you only soft reboot. Even the 3 fingered salute will clear it out.


the power provided by the board when the computer is off is enough to keep memory in the ram. Thats why anytime a company does a test on a stick of ram the ram is removed from the board completely for at least 30 seconds to ensure its completely cleared out.
hey ethic if you and i were both courting lily allen..... oh wait, which one of us has a relationship that lasted more than the bus ride home?

Mike

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« Reply #10 on: February 01, 2006, 04:42:49 PM »
To be honest I didn't read the entire thread.  Just wanted to respond to ober :P

Removing the side of a case isn't really a great idea as the intake and exhaust should be designed to flow air over the CPU.  If you remove the side you allow more air to absorb heat but at the same time it's not being circulated well.  Of course if you do what I used to and have a big fan right next to it sucking the air away thats a different story :)

Rob

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« Reply #11 on: February 01, 2006, 04:54:24 PM »
Quote from: scubasteve
the power provided by the board when the computer is off is enough to keep memory in the ram. Thats why anytime a company does a test on a stick of ram the ram is removed from the board completely for at least 30 seconds to ensure its completely cleared out.


There is no power provided by the board when the computer is off, unless you're talking about a) residual power in the PSU caps (10 seconds tops) or b) BBU for the CMOS.

Seriously, sometimes I wonder about you guys. :dunno:

edit>> Random linky. There's no way for dynamic RAM to keep data unless the refresh is running.

http://www.pcguide.com/ref/ram/typesDRAM-c.html

edit2>> 'Nuther linky.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ram1.htm
« Last Edit: February 01, 2006, 05:01:02 PM by Rob »

Mike

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« Reply #12 on: February 01, 2006, 04:58:13 PM »
Quote from: Rob
Seriously, sometimes I wonder about you guys. :dunno:

Don't look at me I know RoD is full of it :P

Steve

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« Reply #13 on: February 01, 2006, 08:06:33 PM »
actually on second thought robs right. I was rear ended today my laps in intelligence isnt entirely my fault this time lol. As for taking the side of the case off, mikes right. If you dont have an outside fan then you'll just have higher ambient air temps with the side off
hey ethic if you and i were both courting lily allen..... oh wait, which one of us has a relationship that lasted more than the bus ride home?

ober

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« Reply #14 on: February 01, 2006, 10:11:25 PM »
Ok... so I'll admit defeat.  I guess I was given false information from someone in the past.  I was just under the impression that there was enough residual power still in the system at that point to keep the RAM alive for a brief period.

As far as removing the case cover, I do know how that works, and I did used to have a fan running on my old computer... but I don't on my new one.  There is a central air vent very close by so that moves air, plus I have a window right there as well, and air always blows in because it's to the west.... so suffice to say that the air is not stagnant by the case.