My frame rate drops to 1 or 2 fps

List system specs.

Could be related to heat. Could be related to issues that some video cards have with vsync (disable vsync and see if you no longer spike to extremely low fps). Could be a lot of things, not enough info about your computer or when it tends to happen in your post OP.

yeah i know i was kinda slacking with the details. i havnt noticed much of a pattern as to when it happens. and the computer isnt very hot. im playing on a desktop. the fans dont seem to be running very hard. i have 8 gigs of ram and a Nividia graphics card (im not sure witch one) my computer performance score is as followed
-Processor: 6.0
Memory (ram):7.1
Graphics (desktop perf.):4.3
Gaming graphics (3D gaming):5.1
Primary hard disk: 5.9

*if theres any othe useful information i can provide ill be more than happy to

the only useful information would be the actual names of each physical component to start with :x

going by your windows xp index i would say you have a particularly weak gfx card. your cpu is roughly equivalent to an amd 5200x2 or intel e6300. so that shouldn't be the issue. but your gfx at 4.3 and 5.1 means its pretty poor at handling 2d and 3d so will only really be any good for watching movies and web surfing. as its roughly similar to an 8400gt in wie score... so the chances are your running your games at to high a setting thinking your pc can handle it, when by the looks of it, it cant.

ive got all my settings as low as they can go. ive been watching my task manager performance tab and im noticing a huge spike when the frame rate drops. something is using up my CPU periodicaly and i cant figure out what it is.

Would try turning down some of the settings that are notorious for being offloaded to the cpu in MMO's (shadows). Also what res do you play at?

shadows are off, im currently running 1280X768

have a look in the system event logs to see if something is having an issue at that time. for instance I had the ipod helper app (or whatever), try and start every 5mins, and it would kick me out of a game, had to uninstall and reinstall itunes to resolve.

How can i look at the system event log?
*sorry im not incredibly good with computers

in the start menu, type event log, and there should be an event veiwer, the problem could be literally anything, so check for things that happened at the time that the slow down started. its a long shot to be honest.

Manufacturer HP-Pavilion
Model AU166AA-ABA p6116f
Total amount of system memory 8.00 GB RAM
System type 64-bit operating system
Number of processor cores 2

Storage
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Total size of hard disk(s) 596 GB
Disk partition (C  527 GB Free (582 GB Total)
Disk partition (D  2 GB Free (14 GB Total)
Media drive (E  CD/DVD

Graphics
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Display adapter type NVIDIA GeForce 9100
Total available graphics memory 3840 MB
Dedicated graphics memory 256 MB
Dedicated system memory 0 MB
Shared system memory 3584 MB
Display adapter driver version 8.15.11.9038
Primary monitor resolution 1360x768
DirectX version DirectX 10

Network
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Network Adapter NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller
Network Adapter Atheros 802.11 a/b/g/n Dualband Wireless Network Module

Notes
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The gaming graphics score is based on the primary graphics adapter. If this system has linked or multiple graphics adapters, some software applications may see additional performance benefits.

finally figured out how to view the overall stats of my computer if that helps in any way. im still having this troublesome issue and cant seem to find a resolution on my own : (

For comparison, in case you arent fermiliar with the game im playing. these are the minimum requirements.

Minimum System Requirements
OS Windows XP, Vista/7
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4000+ or better • Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 2.0GHz or better
Windows XP: 1.5GB RAM • Windows Vista and Windows 7: 2GB RAM • PCs using a built-in graphical chipset, 2GB RAM recommended.
ATI X1800 or better* • nVidia 7800 or better* • Intel 4100 Integrated Graphics or better*
8x or better DVD-ROM

Your graphics solution is just above the minimum and far below anything approaching recommended. You need discrete graphics cards for modern games to maintain solid fps, in addition to a good cpu (don't know in your case but questionable since you're on a dual core) and enough ram (which you're fine on).

its not m8. its way, way, below minimum spec it barley registers as a video adapter and is only for playing video. it doesnt come anywhere near an x1800 or 78gt not by a huge amount. it is roughly 1/4 the power of the 2 minimum recommended. and benches at less than 100 passmarks. http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/video_lookup.php?gpu=... ... http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/video_lookup.php?gpu=... ... http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/video_lookup.php?gpu=...

as you can see by this very basic comparison your onboard is nowhere near what you need.

so my video card is way below the minimum?

Hexit, could you recommend a card that would meet the minimum requirements that would be compatible with my rig. preferably for a low cost >.< I'm bummed

I agree the card is poor, it doesn't explain the good framerates dropping to poor frame rates though.

it was actually a problem with heat. i took it apart and my fan connected to my mother board was filled with dust. i cleaned it all out and didnt have any crashes