# [SOLVED] Game slows down after a few minutes of play



## birdman101 (Apr 17, 2010)

I've been trying to replay Half Life 2 recently, for the first time on my new computer. I have a fairly good machine, with 8 GB of RAM, an AMD Athlon 7550 Dual-Core Processor that runs at 2.5 GHz, and 64-bit Windows Vista Home Premium, Service Pack 2. My graphics card is an NVIDIA GeForce 9100 with the most recent driver, 197.45, installed.

The game suggests I run it with pretty much all of the graphics options on high, and at 1024 by 768 pixels. So, I was pretty excited about seeing this game running smoothly and with such great visuals, since the last time I had played it was three years ago on a low end set up.

It ran perfectly for about five minutes, and then its frame rate dipped to slide-show slow. I quit the game, and suddenly everything was slow. I was able to watch windows open up, frame by frame. Everything speeds up after a little bit, but it was a little disconcerting that the problem carried over.

Even playing the game at 640 by 480 pixels, and with the lowest visuals possible, the same problem occurs. After five minutes, my whole system slows to a crawl. I am able to run older games fine, though.

Any thoughts on fixing this crap? I've looked at several posts on a few different forums, and tried multiple fixes, but nothing's worked.

Thanks in advance!


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## Zealex (Nov 30, 2008)

*Re: Game slows down after a few minutes of play*

Hello and welcome to TSF birdman101 :wave:

Can you please download SIW from my signature, and go to hardware then sensors. Record your temperatures for all your components while idle, then while in-game for around 10 minutes. I feel this is simply a overheating issue. 

You also want to try downloading and installing the *AMD Dual-core Optimizer*. 

I would just like to throw in, I believe a Geforce 9100 is integrated. Therefore, it isn't as powerful as a dedicated card. I think you should consider upgrading but it would cost a couple of bucks. I personally find your computer a little werid, to have some much ram and then "wimp" out on other hardware components. Please take your temperatures like mentioned before, and we will proceed further.

Of course it you would like to upgrade, we will need to know your PSU specs. I doubt it can handle a dedicated PCI-e card.

To find out the PSU simply open the side of the computer and look for the boxy component. It should have a sticker on the side, copy the following information:

Brand
Model
Size (Watts)
Number of amps on 12vrail(s)

Zealex.


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## birdman101 (Apr 17, 2010)

*Re: Game slows down after a few minutes of play*

Idle (Mostly, anyways).

Sensor	Value	Min	Max
BIRDMAN-PC
Fintek F8000
Voltages
VIN0	1.68 V	1.68 V	1.68 V
VIN1	1.70 V	1.70 V	1.70 V
VIN2	1.61 V	1.61 V	1.61 V
Temperatures
TMPIN0	49 °C (120 °F)	49 °C (120 °F)	50 °C (121 °F)
TMPIN2	35 °C (94 °F)	35 °C (94 °F)	37 °C (98 °F)
Fans
FANIN0	1840 RPM	1840 RPM	1858 RPM
FANIN1	1195 RPM	1191 RPM	1222 RPM
AMD Athlon 7550
Temperatures
Core #0	34 °C (93 °F)	34 °C (92 °F)	36 °C (95 °F)
Core #1	34 °C (93 °F)	34 °C (92 °F)	36 °C (95 °F)
Powers
Processor	98.05 W	98.05 W	98.05 W
NVIDIA GeForce 9100
Temperatures
GPU Core	109 °C (228 °F)	108 °C (226 °F)	109 °C (228 °F)
ST375052 8AS
Temperatures
Assembly	31 °C (87 °F)	31 °C (87 °F)	31 °C (87 °F)
Air Flow	31 °C (87 °F)	31 °C (87 °F)	31 °C (87 °F)


After the slow down occurred.

Sensor	Value	Min	Max
BIRDMAN-PC
Fintek F8000
Voltages
VIN0	1.68 V	1.68 V	1.68 V
VIN1	1.69 V	1.69 V	1.70 V
VIN2	1.61 V	1.61 V	1.61 V
Temperatures
TMPIN0	52 °C (125 °F)	49 °C (120 °F)	53 °C (127 °F)
TMPIN2	41 °C (105 °F)	35 °C (94 °F)	46 °C (114 °F)
Fans
FANIN0	1867 RPM	1831 RPM	1867 RPM
FANIN1	1197 RPM	1189 RPM	1224 RPM
AMD Athlon 7550
Temperatures
Core #0	41 °C (104 °F)	34 °C (92 °F)	44 °C (111 °F)
Core #1	41 °C (104 °F)	34 °C (92 °F)	44 °C (111 °F)
Powers
Processor	98.05 W	98.05 W	98.05 W
NVIDIA GeForce 9100
Temperatures
GPU Core	122 °C (251 °F)	108 °C (226 °F)	126 °C (258 °F)
ST375052 8AS
Temperatures
Assembly	31 °C (87 °F)	31 °C (87 °F)	31 °C (87 °F)
Air Flow	31 °C (87 °F)	31 °C (87 °F)	31 °C (87 °F)


Thanks for the warm welcome and advice! I should have checked for overheating. What do these temperatures say to you?

Yes, my card is integrated. I haven't touched the hardware in this machine. It was five hundred something dollars, so I figured that was a pretty good deal for those specs. The 9100 isn't bad though, from what I've read, only a few models under state of the art. How much is a "couple of bucks" for an upgrade, though? I still may consider it.


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## Zealex (Nov 30, 2008)

*Re: Game slows down after a few minutes of play*

Alright you are going to need to dust your rig. Here is the main reason, and I was expecting this.



> Temperatures
> GPU Core 109 °C (228 °F) 108 °C (226 °F) 109 °C (228 °F)





> Temperatures
> GPU Core 122 °C (251 °F) 108 °C (226 °F) 126 °C (258 °F)


That is *VERY* dangerous! You are literally frying your chip. First thing you need to do is buy a can of air ASAP and clean your computer, should bring it down. A integrated chip will never have the sheer power of a dedicated card. 

The 9100 lacks a fan I believe, so I think that is a good reason to why it's so dang high.

Make sure there is open airflow in the case.

For the upgraded, how much you looking forward to spend? I don't think you should game on integrated chips, they were not designed for games. They were made for "office" use.

How many fans you got?


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## birdman101 (Apr 17, 2010)

*Re: Game slows down after a few minutes of play*

Wow! Thanks a bunch. I'll air out the fans for sure. Do you have any other suggestions for keeping it from overheating?

For a graphics card? Well, truth be told, I'm not looking to spend any money at ALL :tongue: . What would you suggest for a cheap skate who's starting to enjoy PC gaming again?

Thanks again! You're a real help.


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## Zealex (Nov 30, 2008)

*Re: Game slows down after a few minutes of play*

Well, you are going to have monitor your temperature for your GPU. Should be no more than 75c when under load. I would really consider getting a new card. Tell me how to dusting goes.


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## birdman101 (Apr 17, 2010)

*Re: Game slows down after a few minutes of play*

Well, I turned off the computer, took the side off, and dusted the fans with compressed air. Yeah, it was really DAMN dusty. Flew into my face. I'm going to move the tower to the other side of my monitor as soon as I can. It's facing a corner, currently.
I'm keeping the side off currently. After turning the machine back on, the maximum temperature of my graphics card was 74 degrees Celsius. You were right on the money!

Now, is it safe to game on this thing?


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## Zealex (Nov 30, 2008)

*Re: Game slows down after a few minutes of play*

Is it idle when at 74c? I would try dusting it a bit more, unless you got all the dust out. Make sure you dust around once a month. If it's idleing at 74c, it should be quite high when gaming I would say 80c should be the highest for the the chip, but cards differ in max temperatures. I strongly recommend getting a dedicated card to be honest.


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## birdman101 (Apr 17, 2010)

*Re: Game slows down after a few minutes of play*

Okay. What card would you suggest? Cheaper is preferable.
And is there anything else I can do that might lower the risk of overheating?


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## Zealex (Nov 30, 2008)

*Re: Game slows down after a few minutes of play*

More fans, open airflow.

Don't stress the card too much, if it's at such a high temp. Hotter temperature = Lower lifespan of the hardware. 

I like this card,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121352&cm_re=9800gt-_-14-121-352-_-Product

You will need a new PSU such as this one. 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...005&cm_re=650w_corsair-_-17-139-005-_-Product

You could possibly use your current PSU but I highly doubt it. Can you give me the specs of it for me.

To find out the PSU simply open the side of the computer and look for the boxy component. It should have a sticker on the side, copy the following information:

Brand
Model
Size (Watts)
Number of amps on 12vrail(s)

You could spend a little more and get a dx11 ati card, but an 9800 gt should suffice. It's on par with the 4850 I believe, and with rebate its 74.99! A 5770 is a great card and worth the price, it's quite popular as well.


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## birdman101 (Apr 17, 2010)

*Re: Game slows down after a few minutes of play*

Brand: LITEON
Model: PS-5301-08HA
Size: It says the DC Output is 300 Watts. Is that the size?
Amps: On +12 it's 19 amps, on -12 it's .8 amps.


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## Zealex (Nov 30, 2008)

*Re: Game slows down after a few minutes of play*

With a total of 300 amps, and 19 amps on the 12v rail. The PSU cannot properly handle a PCI-e card. 

What games are you intending to play anyways?

Make sure you grabbed the AMD dual core optimizer:
http://support.amd.com/us/Pages/dyn...cd2c08-1432-4756-aafa-4d9dc646342f&ItemID=153


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## birdman101 (Apr 17, 2010)

*Re: Game slows down after a few minutes of play*

Right now, I'm playing through Half Life 2 again, as I said earlier. I mean, I play stuff like Deus Ex and System Shock, but that's not exactly a strain on the system, y'know? Probably the most graphics intensive games I've got going on are the HL2's and the STALKER games.

If I start getting more recent stuff, then yeah, I'm definitely upgrading. What would you say for stuff like that, though?


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## Zealex (Nov 30, 2008)

*Re: Game slows down after a few minutes of play*

If you can run it on the geforce 9100 then go for it, but make sure to monitor your temps and anything above 80c for the GPU is too high.


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## birdman101 (Apr 17, 2010)

*Re: Game slows down after a few minutes of play*

Awesome. Thank you so much, Zealex!
I'll take all this under advisement, and check out a new chip and power supply when I have, well, money .

I was not expecting such promptness and accuracy from an online forum. You guys are fantastic!

Thanks again, and I'll be sure and come back if I need more help on this matter.


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## Zealex (Nov 30, 2008)

*Re: Game slows down after a few minutes of play*

Haha, no problem. Why not stay around? You may be interested in the offline section, when you have the funds available don't hesitate to post and somebody will get to you. Make sure to monitor your GPU temps. Also be cautious about your other temps, 30-40c for the CPU idle, and 60 max for it under-load. HDD should be around 30c, 40c is pushing it when under-load.

Please mark this thread as solved, if you ever need anything relating to this just post back and I or somebody else will get to you as soon as possible.

Zealex.

P.S. Maybe in the future you may want to even build your own rig. Prebuilts aren't great. Looking at your computer, 500 bucks wasn't a great deal for it to be honest. You will never use 8gb ram, heck 4gb's is more than enough for the average user.


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## birdman101 (Apr 17, 2010)

*Re: Game slows down after a few minutes of play*

I may just stick around, come to think of it.

Erm, this is rather embarrassing, but how do I mark the thread as solved?


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## birdman101 (Apr 17, 2010)

Never mind.


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## Zealex (Nov 30, 2008)

Sorry, I should have told you how to do that. It's pretty late, so forgive me for forgetting that. Seems like you figured out anyways though =).

Yeah make sure to monitor your temperatures, and feel free to post back here if something else comes back.

Zealex.


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