Which has the problem - Processor , Video Card or some other?

[morroblivion]

Ok so my old PC has been upgraded slightly, mainly focusing on video card since it got busted 2 times already. When it was returned to me, I was able to play Oblivion on it on Max but now I can barely play anything without framerate issues. Even Morrowind's fps drops from time to time(and Morrowind was 2002-2003) Not sure if it's the Video Card bumping up again, or the processor, free space ram etc. What happens mainly is it runs smoothly then it lags for about 30 seconds or more. You know like the feeling when you have a stomach ache and it keeps returning from time to time, that's how the framerate problem is like. It happens even when I'm walking on a quiet area and boom the lag appears. It becomes worse on crowded areas in games. Like when having big fights, very rarely does it run smoothly. Like 5 seconds of smooth running then back to lag and a long time before the smooth gameplay returns. So what do you guys think the problem is?


SPECS
XP SP3
1 G Ram(Might replace this soon)
10.5 GB free on Disk C, out of 39 GB
22.2 GB free on Disk D, out of 35.4
Nvidia Geforce 210, 1GB
Intel Pentium 4 , 3.00GHz

Oh and is AMD Radeon HD 6770 better than Geforce 210?

 

[Megabite]

Try this

Download and install hwmonitor
and see what the temps etc are. Download the 1.17 setup, english on the righthand side.
....take a reading when not running the game or programs CPU(core) and GPU Video card and post them. (Just a screenshot of results is fine)

Then run the game or any other intensive program for awhile and take another reading post the results

 

[Tanis]

Megabite beat me to it (nothing unusual there haha). If you have 'killed' two other graphics cards that would lead me to think the problem is not the cards themselves. Possible issues are cooling problem (components getting too hot) and/or a power supply problem. HWMonitor will give us information about both of those possibilities and may lead us to a moer permanent solution for you.

 

[morroblivion]

Ok but which one do you guys think have the problem? Processor, GPU or hard drive.(around 30GB / 74GB)

I'm not very experienced with forums so I can only post on mediafire. Please download them guys I really need help.

Normal condition, only browsing web.
http://www.mediafire.com/?87xjh2qh266vyb7


When playing, game activated was Gothic 3, Enhanced Edition
http://www.mediafire.com/?wxtgc8m8rhc7i06

The image appeared small but when magnified is still readable

 

[Tanis]

Its hard to say exactly what the problem is, thats why we ask for additional info All the bits we ask you to do provide little bits of information about the overall system, each bit helps add a peice to the puzzle so we can better advice rather than taking stabs in the dark.

Unfortunately I can not access mediafire from my work (internet police block it) so I will have a look at the files tonight if nobody else does before that.

 

[Megabite]

Here are your results.. Your CPU seems quite warm and your Video card seems very warm also which could be causing the freezing.....your 12v rail is very low ...did your powersupply come with the PC?

 

[Tanis]

Thanks for reposting Megabite, I tried to have a look last night but my router was up and down like a yoyo so couldn't do much.

I agree, your temps are a little high and you +12v rail is definately very low, this could be due to the power supply failing (possibly through age). Have you looked inside your PC and cleaned it out? Dust will build up over time and it tends to build up in and around heatsinks and fans, this dust then acts as an insulator which stops the heatsinks / fans doing their job.

I would double check the voltages in the BIOS if you know how to, you just need to access the BIOS at startup and look through it, don't need to change anything. It should list those voltages somewhere in one of its options, probably a hardware related menu. Any software can sometimes miss read sensor outputs and display incorrect results but the BIOS will always be accurate.

 

[morroblivion]

Thanks for the replies guys. The Power Supply did come with the PC, it was very old , 5 years now I think. As far as I know, only the GPU has been changed (from a 64mb one to 9500GT then to the Geforce 210) and the RAM(from 512 mb to 1GB)
I'll check on it soon, still have lots of things to fix. Also, I connect the computer directly to the socket. Is that bad? I used to have it connected to a voltage regulator but now its not. It's the one(the end of the wire, the one that connects to the socket) with 2 flat ones and a round circular one. My friend cut out with circular one with pliers so that it would fit in the socket. Is that bad?


The socket im talking about is something like this, except without the circular one at the bottom
http://hothardware.com/newsimages/Item13217/u-socket.jpg

 

[Tanis]

Thanks for the replies guys. The Power Supply did come with the PC, it was very old , 5 years now I think. As far as I know, only the GPU has been changed (from a 64mb one to 9500GT then to the Geforce 210) and the RAM(from 512 mb to 1GB)

Probably a good reason to upgrade the PSU anyway then. If it is that old, came with the PC (so only really enough to power it as it came from the shop) and you have upgraded the GPU twice (which will increase load on the power supply), I would say it is probably at the end of its life, if not past it.

I'll check on it soon, still have lots of things to fix. Also, I connect the computer directly to the socket. Is that bad? I used to have it connected to a voltage regulator but now its not. It's the one(the end of the wire, the one that connects to the socket) with 2 flat ones and a round circular one. My friend cut out with circular one with pliers so that it would fit in the socket. Is that bad?

I am no electrician, but I would suggest that probably isn't a good idea