I need some help....

[Silas North]

I have a very weird and specific problem here.

This is how it all began. Time Warner runs my internet connection and it stinks. Like they have many times in the past, it went down yesterday. I woke up in the morning to first find this out and the internet stayed down til 7pm.

With the internet back on, I jumped onto Sundren. But another problem arose...of course.

When I play the game, it runs fine for about 10-20 mins, they all of a sudden it just starts getting choppy. It's not regular lag, where it freezes for a moment then moves on in erratic fashion. It's a steady pace of choppiness.

It's not just this game either. I tried two other online games and the exact same thing happens. The latency looks normal and does not seem to be the problem.

I'm practically illiterate when it comes to computers so I have no idea how to fix it and it's such a specific, weird problem that I don't even know what keywords to put into a search.

Does anyone know what the problem might be?

[glaes]

Do you have an internet plan that tiers according to the amount of data you've downloaded within a billing period? (Such as AT&T)

If yes, then you might have hit your invisible wall limit and they could be slowing your net down.

If no, then try the regulard deworm/devirus/defrag?

[Silas North]

My internet has no limit. I just tried playing an offline game and the same thing happened. That is unfortunately not good news...

Looks like I may need a tune-up. I blew out some of the dust in my computer. There was not THAT much of it, but definitely more than a little. My fan sounds a little weak and I wonder if that has something to do with it. It's possible my graphic card is overheating.

Assuming this is the case, is it possible it could 'recover' if I get some better air flow in my computer, or am I probably screwed? Please don't be afraid to be honest.

[glaes]

Post your system specs? Going to sleep will look at it later if someones not provided a better answer by then

[ManUtd4Ever]

Like you I am not a techie. So please take my input with a grain of non-technical salt. I am posting because I too had this very same problem. It only got worse with time. I questioned my Internet speed because of the "chop" I experienced. In the end I came to the unscientific conclusion it was my graphic's card. I took the side off my computer and purchased a small fan to supplement and improve the cooling effects of the internal fan(s). I discovered not only was my card/computer overheating, but I believe over time the heat may have lowered the graphic card's tolerances. Pure speculation of course.

What I did to trouble shoot my old system was to:
1) Identify the graphics card I was using.
2) Read some online reviews about the card to determine how game friendly it was.
3) Update the drivers at the card's website.
4) Really clean your computer (compressed air) and attempt to cool it down while playing.

If this doesn't improve your game play... then I would determined if you can make a small investment and upgrade your graphic's card.

5) Check the output of the power supply, e.g. 300, 500W.
6) Read some online reviews to determine if there are any other graphic cards within this power range that support better gaming.

(I learned my power supply was about the weakest one that could legally be put into a computer. No upgrading cards for me.)

If your power supply supports improvded graphics then it may be easiest and cheapest to change out your graphics card. I replaced my computer with one from Dell for ~$1,200 (including LED 27 monitor). The first time I logged into Sundren I had the small fan I used with my previous computer assisting my new computer remain cool.

Cheers!

[Doubtful]

Clean the computer out with compressed air (don't be tempted to use a vacuum or a swiffer or anything like that), this should help with airflow!

The gradual slow down sounds like what you tend to get with heat build up, as the computer gets hotter it begins to slow down or become problematic.

Also check what stuff you've got running in the background (start tray icons and Task Manager are good for this), there have been more than a few occasions where I've found myself swearing at the poor performance of a game only to realize I've got Photoshop/3ds/Zbrush running (or all three!) and about 20 tabs open in Firefox. With limited resources you need to make sure it's no already bleeding from the eyes when you try to run a game!

[Saulus]

As others have mentioned...

1) Post system specs, otherwise we can only give blanket responses
2) When was the last time you updated your video drivers?

[Silas North]

I'm going to try a few of the things suggested and cross my fingers. Luckily, I have a backup computer (which also goes by the name of "my little brother's computer"). A few sedatives from the lab in one of his mini-pizzas and I can play for hours.

If my attempts on my computer don't work, I'll post my specs and go from there. I'm a bit embarassed to admit this, but I'm not entirely sure what 'specs' completely details. Is it just the processor and graphic card, or should I include other information?

Thank you very much for your help so far, all of you.

[Saulus]

Go to start -> run (or if you have Vista/Win7 you can just type this in the search box), type in

dxdiag and press enter

Once it finished loading at the bottom there will be a "Save all Information", select that and it will save to a txt file, you can attach that into a zip and post it here.

Keep in mind this will reveal your system hardware, your driver versions, your system name, the user account you're using (which may be your real name), as well as your hard drive size and space full. Other than that there would be no other identifying information.

[Thief Of Navarre]

What Doubt said about the air flow is a good suggestion. The same thing used to happen to me when I played Guild Wars; poorly placed fans (my fault, I built it!) and masses of dust were the culprit and with a bit of tinkering I've managed to take a flat 20'c off the gaming temp.