[Zylocks]

Hello again!

I've been noticing some annoying changes with my computer, and have a feeling something it has died in some way. It is a fairly old computer (5 years ), but I built it (with the help of geekstogo!), so it was made with decent parts, and I have tried to take care of it. BUT, again, I think it is slowly dying.. I play this game (Heroes of Newerth), and almost overnight it has become unplayable to me. It is extremely chunky/blocky, ie. instead of a character moving smoothly from pixel 1, to 2, to 3, to 4, etc... it moves from 1, to 20, to 30 etc..

I have uninstalled/reinstalled the game. Updated and ran all my various antivirus/malaware jazz (Avast, Ad-Aware, Superantispyware, and spyware blaster), and have not found anything significant.

Aaaanyways, I was wondering (other than opening up my computer, and poking around at things (because I probably wouldn't know what I'm looking for anways)), if there was any way to tell if something is off with my hardware? Or if you guys would suggest anything else to solve these issues.

Many thanks!

*edit* It also takes much longer to load up the game, and to load each individual multiplayer game after the game has loaded.

-Adam

Edited by Zylocks, 16 May 2011 - 10:57 PM.

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Hi Zylocks

Updated and ran all my various antivirus/malaware jazz (Avast, Ad-Aware, Superantispyware, and spyware blaster),

How many AV programs do you actually have running at the same time?
Running more than one AV program can and will cause system instability and eventual crashes, this is caused by
the programs fighting for control of system resources, the first symptoms may be the system slowing down.

and have not found anything significant.

What do you mean by this? You either have/or had a malware issue or you did not, if so please see text below;

If you suspect your system may have a malware issue I suggest you check out the self help guide at the malware forum http://www.geekstogo...cleaning-guide/ if after following the guide you believe your system may still be infected you need to start a new topic there and not post any malware logs on this forum as they are not used here, provide them with a link to this thread to show them what if any steps have been taken. Once you get the all clear from the malware guys if the issue is not resolved return here and someone will assist you.

[phillpower2]

Hi Zylocks

Updated and ran all my various antivirus/malaware jazz (Avast, Ad-Aware, Superantispyware, and spyware blaster),

How many AV programs do you actually have running at the same time?
Running more than one AV program can and will cause system instability and eventual crashes, this is caused by
the programs fighting for control of system resources, the first symptoms may be the system slowing down.

and have not found anything significant.

What do you mean by this? You either have/or had a malware issue or you did not, if so please see text below;

If you suspect your system may have a malware issue I suggest you check out the self help guide at the malware forum http://www.geekstogo...cleaning-guide/ if after following the guide you believe your system may still be infected you need to start a new topic there and not post any malware logs on this forum as they are not used here, provide them with a link to this thread to show them what if any steps have been taken. Once you get the all clear from the malware guys if the issue is not resolved return here and someone will assist you.

[Zylocks]

All I have found is tracking cookies. So nothing I guess, I should have made that more clear. As for AV I only have Avast.

[phillpower2]

Ok as you are sure it is not malware we can make some suggestions but 1st
see the canned text below;

You need to provide information about your computer, this includes is it
a laptop or desktop, is it a custom build or brand name such as Dell or HP
and if it is provide the model name or series number, motherboard , PSU
and any add on card details would also help others to help you better.

Once we have this info we can make some suggestions on how to improve things.

[Zylocks]

Ok, thanks! I'll have a go at answering all your questions.

It is a desktop. It is custom built, and I have had very few problems since I put it together.
Some system specs:
Pentium ® D CPU 3.20GHz, 2.93GB RAM.
NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT.

uuuugh, as for motherboard. Are there any easyish ways of finding out other than opening up my computer? All my boxes etc have been thrown away, and my computer is set up in a position where it is fairly annoying to take it out and open it up.

-Adam

[phillpower2]

Download Speccy from http://www.piriform.com/speccy the one thing it will not tell you is the brand and model of PSU you have.
Post a screenshot of your specs with your next reply;

To do a screenshot please click on your Print Screen on your keyboard. It is normally the key above your number pad between the F12 key and the Scroll Lock key
Now go to Start and then to All Programs
Scroll to Accessories and then click on Paint
In the Empty White Area click and hold the CTRL key and then click the V
Go to the File option at the top and click on Save as
Save as file type JPEG and save it to your Desktop

[Zylocks]

Thank you sir

Attached!

*edit* Actually attached this time!

-Adam

Attached Thumbnails

• 

Edited by Zylocks, 19 May 2011 - 06:17 PM.

[phillpower2]

Two things to note are the temperature of your MB (limited case cooling possibly) and the limited memory of your video card.
Does the inside of your case need cleaning out of heat trapping dust and have you considered upgrading your video card?
Worth mentioning is the fact that you may need to upgrade your PSU to support any potential new video card, if it does turn out to be the cause of your concern.

[Zylocks]

yeaa.... well my computers getting pretty old. I've been cleaning out the dust from the video card/cpu faaairly regularly (ie, every couple months?) because I think it has been causing some problems.

With regards to upgrading it. I feel as if it's almost too old to upgrade, I would essentially have to buy a new everything wouldn't I? Or at least all the main parts, mobo, cpu, video card etc.. I have newish RAM and HDD, but those don't really cost much...

I've been vaguely thinking about purchasing a decent laptop over the last two years, but I'm not exactly loaded, so I felt I should just wait until my computer died. Buuuut laptops are so much pricier than desktops and I'd want a decent one. Arg. How much do you think I'd have to spend on decent parts? Do you think I should just get the laptop? Any other suggestions? It stills runs atm, but yea, I definitely cannot play that game anymore.

[phillpower2]

We can get you system performance improvement far cheaper than you purchasing a laptop.
Can you let us know what type of case you have, is it a full size desktop for example,
I`m asking this as I recommend you replace your GFX card and this may mean replacing the
present PSU to power the card, both are a size factor, adding another case fan should
also be considered if it is possible, below are some example upgrade options based on a
full size desktop case;

GFX card: http://www.newegg.ca...N82E16814130625 ( Nvidea cards are allegedly better paired with Intel CPUs than ATI cards).
Case fan: http://www.newegg.ca...N82E16835185060 ( Has a 3 pin to 4 pin adapter included, consider purchasing a case fan closer to home as the shipping cost for such a small item is outrageous)
PSU: http://www.newegg.ca...N82E16817371016 (I`m a die hard Corsair fan but this is a great deal for a modular PSU from a high quality brand such as Antec).

[Zylocks]

sorry, ive been extremely busy the last couple of days. I think it's a full size case, although I've seen some of my friends with even beastlier cases. Im not really sure how I'd let you know the specs of my case though. Also I've heard stock fans, or the fans that come with computer cases are much crappier than ones you can purchase on the side, and I've always just used the ones that came with it. I think I only have the one tbh? not including cpu/video card.

Also, if I'm upgrading my video card and psu, wouldn't I also have to get a new mobo (probably?)?

thanks,

-Adam

[phillpower2]

Also, if I'm upgrading my video card and psu, wouldn't I also have to get a new mobo (probably?)?

Your MB specs available @ http://uk.asus.com/M...#specifications show that the
MB is the ATX type + it has a PCI-E X16 slot so no you will not need to change
your MB in order to be able to add the suggested type of upgrades