Games lag even though I have a decent rig

[asttmal]

So this is my problem. Games like Skyrim, Sleeping Dogs, Assassins Creed 3 run completely smooth for about 2 minutes then they start to lag. Even if I change the textures and all the other stuff to low the problem is still the same: game runs smooth for a couple of minutes and then lags. The thing that really bothers me is if a game starts to lag and I press alt+tab to go to the desktop and I wait a few seconds and then return to the game, then it starts to run smoothly again but only for a few minutes then it starts to lag.

Please help me because it is driving me insane.

My specs:
CPU: Intel Core i7 - 2600 @ 3.40
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti
RAM: 2x 4GB ram

 

[grumbledook]

You won't be maxing out games with an 550 Ti, but I assume you know this. To me it sounds as if your gpu or cpu might be overheating and then throttling. Try downloading msi afterburner, and also hardwaremonitor and post the highest temperatures that you get.

 

[sanilmahambre]

-Check the core temperature of your pc when idle and when on load

make sure your cpu cooler is properly installed.

 

[asttmal]

I downloaded hardwaremonitor and the temperature on both the cpu and gpu reached around 96-99°C (204-210°F) when Skyrim started to lag.

 

[Brett928S2]

Hi

Decent gaming rig yes... GOOD gaming rig, no...

You NEED a MUCH BETTER graphics card.... yours is just too cheap and low end....

All the best Brett

 

[Fulgurant]

I downloaded hardwaremonitor and the temperature on both the cpu and gpu reached around 96-99°C (204-210°F) when Skyrim started to lag.

Yikes! I think you've found your problem.

If both your CPU and GPU are reaching those heights, then it's probably not the heatsink(s). It sounds like you're not getting any airflow through your case. What kind of case is it? What's your fan configuration? Do all the fans work? Have you opened up the case and checked for (and/or attempted to clean out) dust?

I guess it could also be a power supply issue, but I'd think your components would shut down if they were getting significantly over-volted. Does hardware monitor report your voltage levels? If so, are there any major deviations on the 12V rail? I'm grasping at straws here.

 

[sanilmahambre]

I downloaded hardwaremonitor and the temperature on both the cpu and gpu reached around 96-99°C (204-210°F) when Skyrim started to lag.

Your gaming rig is really good specially the processor Intel Core i7 - 2600 @ 3.40 which is a good sandy bridge processor
I dont think any processor reaches 99 degrees while playing SKYRIM unless and untill the CPU cooler is faulty or not installed properly.

- First open your rig and check weather your cooler is fixed properly
- Start the pc and check weather the fan is working
- if its not working either get a replacement ( if under warranty ) OR Buy a new decent CPU cooler
- I am sure the problem is of your cooler

Have a good day

 

[asttmal]

I will open the case and check the cooler. Thanks for all the help and I hope I will finally find the solution to this problem.

 

[Gohan91]

The reason for the lag is overheat of the processor (at least with me, i7 2670qm @2.2Ghz)
even with decent cooling I was still seeing a problem. If that is your problem then try removing the hyperthreading. I don't believe is necessary for some games.

I couldn't do that (I have a lenovo y570). Instead I selected to use 7 (out of the 8) cores (4 physical and 3 virtual) and it made a significant improvement. I was having 90-90 deg C and now i rearly go above 80-85!

 

[simon12]

Thats way to hot for the CPU and still to hot for the GPU is the PC next to a radiator or something?

 

[swords24]

I downloaded hardwaremonitor and the temperature on both the cpu and gpu reached around 96-99°C (204-210°F) when Skyrim started to lag.

are you overclocking? if not then you might want a case with better airflow or a new card, 100 degrees is basicly the cap for anything and you should never be getting close, 80 is a good personal temp cap

 

[Gohan91]

I had a similar problem on my laptop.
try deactivating hyper-threading. It's not really that necessary.
if that is not possible (as in my case) try deactivating just one core. (start>msconfig>boot>advanced options> number of processor, choose 7, that's 3 hyperthreaded processors and one non-hyperthreaded). It may sound weird, but in my case it did the trick. dropped the CPU temperatures from 90-95+ to 80-85. no more lag for me
(the graphics card is just fine! but if the CPU overheats (95+) then it will lower its clock speed to avoid further overheat. (I think at 100 the computer might actually just turn off so not to cause hardware damage)