Games Suddenly Drop in Performance

[billyro]

Hi there.

 

I've noticed that within the last few days my gaming laptop has been having infuriating issues in-game. It seems that for no good reason, all my games decide to load slowly for a few seconds, and then revert back to smoothness.

I know that this doesn't seem like a big deal, but those few seconds usually get me killed.

 

Take, for example, Skyrim. It will load perfectly at 60fps for about 15 seconds, then drop down to about 5fps for 3 seconds, then back to 60fps for another 15 seconds, and repeat.

I find this quite bizzare, as my computer doesn't struggle with any of my games. It just dies down for a few seconds...

 

I haven't downloaded anything in the past few days, besides mods for Skyrim. McAfee thought those were all pretty nice.

 

When I first noticed this problem, I checked online for a solution, and some random people had a conversation about what to do. They suggested to update the computer's drivers... so I did, but the problem persists.

 

I also checked for viruses, but McAfee thinks my laptop is free of them. I also ran a Defrag, but no change.

 

I am a total noob when it comes to monitoring my computer's performance or finding out how the hell to fix it, so any help will be appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[guReMcO]

Maybe the laptop is getting hot and thus slowing down performance? Have you checked the temperatures?

[billyro]

It sure does sound like a microwave once it heats up... I dunno, wouldn't overheating drop the performance for longer than a few seconds?

 

It seems as if the computer spikes at certain intervals, and it causes the performance decrease... but I'm not entirely sure.

[guReMcO]

Maybe something running in the background is causing a spike. Check what processes are running and close the ones that are not needed.

[billyro]

Yeah, I tried that with my computer savvy friend, but it was hard to accomplish over facebook.

 

I just remembered also that the internet is quite unstable here... as in ranging from about 1.5Mbps to 10Kbps. I have yet to try running Steam offline but is it possible it is a factor?

[guReMcO]

I personally never had problems with Steam and slow internet while playing. It is something worth looking at though. I would just disconnect the laptop from the internet so nothing has a connection and see what that does. What make of laptop are we talking about btw?

[kalikka]

Install HWiNFO or some other monitoring software.

Then check if the temps or clocks go crazy during the performance drops.

 

Or the mods are causing the lag. I went a little nutty with all kind of mods (80? of them) and killed my save file, fps drops low for few seconds in intervals (just like yours), crashes, etc.

You could check your Skyrim error logs if there are any problems.

Edited February 27, 2013 by kalikka

[billyro]

I personally never had problems with Steam and slow internet while playing. It is something worth looking at though. I would just disconnect the laptop from the internet so nothing has a connection and see what that does. What make of laptop are we talking about btw?

I am using an Alienware M14x. I think you can find the specs online... In any case, it's a pretty good laptop.

 

Install HWiNFO or some other monitoring software.

Then check if the temps or clocks go crazy during the performance drops.

 

Or the mods are causing the lag. I went a little nutty with all kind of mods (80? of them) and killed my save file, fps drops low for few seconds in intervals (just like yours), crashes, etc.

You could check your Skyrim error logs if there are any problems.

Doesn't Resource Monitor do the same thing as those others? It's installed by default.

The problem isn't just with Skyrim, either, its with all games. I've always been fine with mods.

 

 

EDIT: The internet is not the cause of the problem, as I tried disconnecting from the internet and there was no improvement. Overheating is not the problem either, I can tell because the lag seems to happen even before the laptop needs to use the internal fan. I am baffled by this... and INFURIATED!

Edited February 28, 2013 by billyro

[guReMcO]

Alright so just to be clear: as I understand it the lagspikes happen in more games then just Skyrim.

 

If so then something is causing it. It would be appreciated if you could run a program like Speccy http://www.piriform.com/speccy (sorry I don't know how to make proper links yet). It's really simple and shows what hardware you have and the temperatures of said hardware. Just so we can rule out temperature completely.

If temperatures are not the issue then I'm thinking somehow software is the issue.

[bben46]

This can be caused by a background process starting up and running for a few seconds the closing back down. Some of these are PM programs that check for new messages, VOIP, Skype, some antiviruses that want to check every new hard drive access, some auto defrag programs, viruses - and others can do this.

 

Here is a FREE program that will show what background processes are running at any given time.

http://www.megaleecher.net/Free_PC_Activity_Monitor

 

I recommend turning it off when not using it to track what is going on as it is a background process also.