Help: New PC Screen freezes in games.

[Jammyrag]

Hey!

So i just put together a brand new computer and am having problems with it when in games. What happens is that i will be paying with high frame rates, everything running ultra smooth then suddenly i will get the game freezing for 4-20 seconds. The PC remains responsive, i can tab out almost instantly and windows is perfectly responsive. I have run an intel burn test during which it remains stable with max temps of about 70 degrees. I also tried a furmark test on my GPU and got max temps of about 70 degrees with perfect stability. I should add this happens to even very undemanding games such as bloodline champions. (temps at this stage are close to 30 on both CPU and GPU). My Hardware monitor also reports two motherboard temps at about 124 degrees C but i figured that this was a broken temp sensor.

I've completely run out of ideas on how to fix this, any help would be greatly appreciated!

Edit: Forgot to add my OS: Windows 7 64 bit
and Hardware specs:

Intel i5 2500k @4.4ghz (bought a overclocked bundle tested it and it appears perfectly stable)
ATI 6970 2GB
650 W Corsair TX PSU

Thanks,

James

 

[daship]

try at stock speeds

 

[Wamphryi]

Make sure that you have installed the Direct X End User Run Time install. Win 7 does not come with Direct X 9 components installed by default. When you run the install it will install those components to your OS ensuring backwards compatibility.

 

[Jammyrag]

Tried both, still get the problems, it seems that the hard drive is acting as normal and then as a lag spike happens the HD Work light suddenly lights up for about 10 secs. I've tried moving one of the games to my SSD and it appears that there are no lag problems with it then. So im thinking either power saving probems or just a faulty hard drive.

The offending hard drive is a Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB SATA-II 64MB Cache.

Any input on this?

Cheers.

 

[Wamphryi]

The Caviar Green is certainly not the fastest HDD in the world. Its more for storage or for use in an external HDD bay for instance. The default power saving settings cut in quite quickly so a combination of the recovery time after power saver cuts in and a slow drive would bottleneck your Rig nicely. See how it goes with the SSD. If it works you will have to look at re-configuring your HDD setup.

 

[Jammyrag]

Yeah pretty much my thoughts, i guess i'll order a more suitable hard drive. Any suggestions on what would be good value? I was thinking of maybe a Caviar Black.

 

[Wamphryi]

I have seen Seagate Barracuda's put out respectable results for the money. Caviar Black is also good. The HDD should be 7200 RPM minimum. The WD Green that you have could very well be faulty so get it tested. However regardless of result the Green is really a little bit lightweight for the PC you are running.