Random and Consistent Lag Spikes All The Time

bragren · Jan 17, 2017

Hello!

I've been having this issue for a while now, and only recently have tried to find a fix as desperately as now. It seems to be increasing in frequency and I can't handle it anymore.

I have checked similar threads to this problem, but their issues usually have something to do with AMD processors and I don't have one. After reading through about 6 threads I decided to make this one.

I got this new HP ENVY x360 laptop a few months ago. the specs are:

Intel IRIS Graphics 540 video card
Intel i7 2.20 GHz processor
12 GB RAM
525 GB SSD hard drive (If that matters)
Running on Windows 10 64 bit

The problem is, my computer keeps freezing up for a few seconds (anywhere between 5 and 15 seconds) to extremely low FPS no matter where I am. This happens seldom when I'm browsing the internet, but in any game whatsoever, I get about 30 seconds of wonderful (80+) FPS and then it drops for the aforementioned 5-15 seconds of 2-10 FPS.

From what I understand, this computer should be able to run lots of games on low settings, and many on high, but these framerate drops don't change a bit when I lower or raise the graphics or other settings in the games. I used to run Skyrim on fairly nice settings really well, but I can't even play Minecraft without this problem.

Any ideas of how to fix this?

Things I've tried:

Disable virus scanners (In case they scan during the game to drop performance)
Changing all settings on all games (No result)
Installing Razor Cortex (A gaming booster which produced no effect)
Updating my video driver using the custom driver provided on the HP page (resulted in even more frequent and severe FPS drops)
Scanned for viruses (None found)
Adjusting processor and visual effects for best performance (No effect except now my computer doesn't look as smooth)

Any help on this would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks!

cosmoji · Jan 17, 2017

ok, things to look in to.

-see if the manufacturer of the actual integrated video has a driver. its likely more up to date and more stable than the oem one.

-get rid of razor cortex, i have no faith in programs like this. you can do the work yourself of making sure you dont have any background programs eating up cpu or ram usage just checking the task manager.

-get some program that will let you track temps and usages in game like msi afterburner or cpu-z/gpu-z. get them going and tracking, then open a game and play until youve had some spikes. look to see if your cpu or gpu usage is hitting 100, or if temps are getting high enough to throttle.

im going to put my money on throttling.

SgtScream · Jan 17, 2017

When did the issue start?

bragren · Jan 17, 2017

cosmoji :

As for the Razer Cortex, I definitely uninstalled it.

The manufacturer in this case would be Intel, right? When I used the auto updater for the graphics card, it simply told me to look at the HP website for a more custom driver. It also said that downloading and installing a more generic driver might cause some problems.

I got CPU-Z but I don't see anywhere to "start tracking" or see the % usage of my CPU on there. It's a weirdly formatted program to me. However, I might be able to give you that information from the task manager or my blistered (not actually blistered) hands?

I have checked my task manager before during the issue and I've seen it hitting 100 and other high numbers before. Also, I've had issues with heating before as well, where my laptop is getting extremely hot to the touch to the point where I've gotten a fan for it.

SgtScream :

The issues started several weeks after I got the laptop, so about 3 or so months ago, as far as I can remember.

SgtScream · Jan 17, 2017

You stated when you updated the graphics drivers, the fps drops were more frequent.
You also told me this started happening a few months ago. Look up the video driver revision list and find a video driver revision before the 3 month date. Uninstall your new existing video driver and roll it back to the older version.

bragren · Jan 18, 2017

SgtScream :

Okay, I reverted to the previous version. The most recent I could find before the issue was from March of 2016.

As for the more frequent drops that happened after the update, I found that for some games, capping the FPS at about 60 fixed a lot of the spikes, but there are still games that have the problem. The increase in frequency might be due to the fact that updating the driver might have changed the video settings, though I doubt it, but the difference between the newer driver I got the other day and the one I had before then was minor after changing the FPS cap.

Also, it's probably worth noting that after trying some offline games that I haven't tried in a long while, such as portal 2, there aren't FPS drops that I noticed. Which is interesting, because that didn't seem to be the case a while ago.

I haven't had a chance to test out the new (old) driver on a game or two yet, but I'll update when I do.

Could the problem have something to do with the internet? Multiplayer games have the most issues with this. However, it would stand to reason that since it's processing more things going on in any multiplayer game than an offline one, the issue could still be with the graphics card or the processor.

SgtScream · Jan 18, 2017

bragren :

SgtScream :

Okay, I reverted to the previous version. The most recent I could find before the issue was from March of 2016.

As for the more frequent drops that happened after the update, I found that for some games, capping the FPS at about 60 fixed a lot of the spikes, but there are still games that have the problem. The increase in frequency might be due to the fact that updating the driver might have changed the video settings, though I doubt it, but the difference between the newer driver I got the other day and the one I had before then was minor after changing the FPS cap.

Also, it's probably worth noting that after trying some offline games that I haven't tried in a long while, such as portal 2, there aren't FPS drops that I noticed. Which is interesting, because that didn't seem to be the case a while ago.

I haven't had a chance to test out the new (old) driver on a game or two yet, but I'll update when I do.

Could the problem have something to do with the internet? Multiplayer games have the most issues with this. However, it would stand to reason that since it's processing more things going on in any multiplayer game than an offline one, the issue could still be with the graphics card or the processor.

You might be loosing connectivity to the server you are connected to. That's a good question. It might affect fps. I suppose it all depends on how that game is hosted.

salerhino · Jan 18, 2017

bragren :

SgtScream :

Okay, I reverted to the previous version. The most recent I could find before the issue was from March of 2016.

As for the more frequent drops that happened after the update, I found that for some games, capping the FPS at about 60 fixed a lot of the spikes, but there are still games that have the problem. The increase in frequency might be due to the fact that updating the driver might have changed the video settings, though I doubt it, but the difference between the newer driver I got the other day and the one I had before then was minor after changing the FPS cap.

Also, it's probably worth noting that after trying some offline games that I haven't tried in a long while, such as portal 2, there aren't FPS drops that I noticed. Which is interesting, because that didn't seem to be the case a while ago.

I haven't had a chance to test out the new (old) driver on a game or two yet, but I'll update when I do.

Could the problem have something to do with the internet? Multiplayer games have the most issues with this. However, it would stand to reason that since it's processing more things going on in any multiplayer game than an offline one, the issue could still be with the graphics card or the processor.

Have you checked temperatures?

bragren · Jan 18, 2017

I think the loss of connectivity could make sense, but in my experience I found that an increase in ping is more typical of connectivity issues, right? And increase in ping can have lag such as a delay or complete disconnection, but I wouldn't think that an FPS drop would happen when connection is being lost.

I could be wrong, I don't know a whole lot about this stuff...

salerhino · Jan 18, 2017

bragren :

Your statement is correct btw

bragren · Jan 18, 2017

salerhino :

I haven't checked the actual temperature numbers, but I started getting some really uncomfortably hot temperatures with the laptop, so I got a fan for it. I do have CPU-Z and could probably use that to watch temperatures, right? I have no idea how to use that program.

Going along with the temperature thing, I sometimes got an error message saying that my B fan in my laptop wasn't working and to watch for data loss or things breaking, but the fix that the internet told me about was to blow out the dust in there. Which worked. Also since I got the fan, this problem hasn't reoccurred.

salerhino · Jan 18, 2017

bragren :

salerhino :

I haven't checked the actual temperature numbers, but I started getting some really uncomfortably hot temperatures with the laptop, so I got a fan for it. I do have CPU-Z and could probably use that to watch temperatures, right? I have no idea how to use that program.

Going along with the temperature thing, I sometimes got an error message saying that my B fan in my laptop wasn't working and to watch for data loss or things breaking, but the fix that the internet told me about was to blow out the dust in there. Which worked. Also since I got the fan, this problem hasn't reoccurred.

Download Spccy, you have temperatures listed in that program, easy to use also.
As far as I remember there is no temp. monitoring in CPU-Z.

bragren · Jan 18, 2017

Okay. After downloading Speccy, I found the temps on my CPU were between 65 and 68, dipping occasionally to about 55. The motherboard was at 66 as well, if that matters. What should I do with this newfound treasure trove of information? Did you want me to check the temperatures during a game?

salerhino · Jan 18, 2017

Yes please

bragren · Jan 18, 2017

Okay, I'll test that in about 2 and a half hours, I can't right now.

bragren · Jan 18, 2017

Alright. I tested it with Rocket League and I tabbed out for a bit in the middle of the match and was getting 94 C on the CPU and somewhere in the 80s for the motherboard. However, I didn't record it so all I got were glimpses of the numbers.

I was actually able to tab out right at the moment it lagged and the temperatures were at 94 and then dropped back down. Which indicates a correlation between the heat and the FPS drop.

salerhino · Jan 18, 2017

So its heat throttling.

bragren · Jan 19, 2017

So if it's heat throttling, what do I do about it?

bragren · Jan 21, 2017

After some more checking, I've found that the heat isn't spiking as much as I thought. It's getting in the upper 60's C but not usually past 72 or so. How hot does it need to get to heat throttle, and how can I fix it if that's the problem?

salerhino · Jan 21, 2017

bragren :

Problem can be fixed by replacing thermal paste which is pretty easy to do;
Problem can also be solved or partially solved by adding more fans in case or oppening the side of case (which I currently do);
You can also give more rpm to fans so they work faster moving more air.

Random and Consistent Lag Spikes All The Time

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