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Computer help: please help me figure out what needs replacing.

5K views 242 replies 15 participants last post by  nirrr 
#1 ·
Basically i used to be able to play games like skyrim at the highest settings with no lag. but slowly my windows didnt update anymore and i got errors and my computer became very laggy and choppy. even opening chrome takes longer then it should and playing games like archeage (mmo) is very very laggy. and weird thing is when i turn settings to ultra it still looks awesome but lags about the same as it does when i change my setting to the lowest possible.

also the computer does restart randomly. sometimes the processor i hear is trying really hard to run and then fails and restarts. computer then says overheat error but the thing is that my computer when i feel it is very cold. i barely used it. i opened box and all the fans are running fine.

things i did so far is open up my computer and clean away the dust. then i reformatted my computer so right now i have absolutely nothing besides the game "Archeage" and updating windows along with installing drivers. it lags regardless of the game i play btw so its not just this game. and it lags even when i am not playing any games

so please help me figure out what i need to replace. is it the harddrive? perhaps still the video card? or something else. are there any tests i can do to figure it out? please help. my specs for my computer is the following. i had a friend help me build it 2010.

intel core i7 920@2.67 ghz
6 GB ram
64-bit operating system
video card: ATI Radeon HD 5800 series
disk drives: samsung HD103SJ ATA device

so ya help please.. i am a newbie with computers.

also if this isnt the right forum for this then please direct me to the right forum.
 
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#4 ·
#6 ·
Ok I read the whole OP and looked your temps indicate something wrong between your chip and heatsink.

Was that photo taken at idle? Get another program called core-temp or realtemp to confirm but to me it looks like you are getting throttling and shutdowns because your chip CPU is overheating from old or bad thermal paste between the heatsink and chip. Or possibly a fan has burnt out or a bracket has broken on the heatsink, I had this happen to a machine of mine once.
 
#7 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neckbeard13 View Post

Ok I read the whole OP and looked your temps indicate something wrong between your chip and heatsink.

Was that photo taken at idle? Get another program called core-temp or realtemp to confirm but to me it looks like you are getting throttling and shutdowns because your chip CPU is overheating from old or bad thermal paste between the heatsink and chip. Or possibly a fan has burnt out or a bracket has broken on the heatsink, I had this happen to a machine of mine once.
the photo was taken while i was playing a game lol. should i take it again without having anything running? i checked my computer fans and all of them were working inside the box.

would the shut downs cause my computer to be this slow and laggy though when i am playing games or just browsing the web. even opening chrome or internet explorer lags.
 
#8 ·
If the chip isnt getting proper conduction to the heat sink, it will act this way just surfing the web and act even worse in theory under heavy use (shorter periods between studdering and random shutdowns, and those temps look VERY HIGH even for a full load.

Edit-
Quote:
Intel's second and frequently misunderstood Thermal Specification, Tjunction Max, (100c for all Core i7 9xx variants) applies to overtemp protection such as Throttle and Shutdown, so you don't toast your transistors.
In the provided photo yout first cores temp is sitting consistantly at TJM.
 
#9 ·
I agree with Neckbeard13. It sounds like your CPU is throttling due to high temperature. Check that the CPU heatsink is mounted firmly, and i would advise you to also change the thermal paste between the CPU and heatsink. If you don't feel confident doing it your self then take it to your local computer shop for help.
 
#10 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeemil89 View Post

I agree with Neckbeard13. It sounds like your CPU is throttling due to high temperature. Check that the CPU heatsink is mounted firmly, and i would advise you to also change the thermal paste between the CPU and heatsink. If you don't feel confident doing it your self then take it to your local computer shop for help.
how do i check this? and can you link me to a thermal paste so i can buy it. and how would i know opening the computer that this is the problem. is there anyway of telling? what does throttling exactly mean anyway? what exactly is the heatsink? is it that fan thats on top of the cpu card thing? when i opened it it was a bit loose and i was having a hard time putting it on properly but the fan itself was still working.
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by nirrr View Post

how do i check this? and can you link me to a thermal paste so i can buy it. and how would i know opening the computer that this is the problem. is there anyway of telling? what does throttling exactly mean anyway? what exactly is the heatsink? is it that fan thats on top of the cpu card thing? when i opened it it was a bit loose and i was having a hard time putting it on properly but the fan itself was still working.
Throttling means that the CPU adjusts the clock speed "on the fly" to conserve power or in this case to minimize heat output. Be cause your CPU is overheating, your CPU is throttling to get it cooler and that results in bad performance, a.k.a lagging.

The CPU heatsink is located on the top center part of your motherboard (the big circuit board) covering your CPU. If the heatsink is not in good contact with the CPU, then the heatsink will not dissipate properly the heat your CPU generates. Thermal paste is used between the CPU heat spreader and the heatsink to ensure good heat conductivity between the CPU and heatsink.

Hope this clears thing up a bit
smile.gif
But ask some friends or computer store for help if you feel like it's too confusing for you
smile.gif
 
#14 ·
Ok because I know this works....



You could try lieing the rig on its side, motherboard side down and make sure the sink is flush with the top of the chip to see if things improve.

Please do not try this if you feel uncomfortable or have a machine that will have its warranty voided by an open case.
 
#17 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeemil89 View Post

Throttling means that the CPU adjusts the clock speed "on the fly" to conserve power or in this case to minimize heat output. Be cause your CPU is overheating, your CPU is throttling to get it cooler and that results in bad performance, a.k.a lagging.

The CPU heatsink is located on the top center part of your motherboard (the big circuit board) covering your CPU. If the heatsink is not in good contact with the CPU, then the heatsink will not dissipate properly the heat your CPU generates. Thermal paste is used between the CPU heat spreader and the heatsink to ensure good heat conductivity between the CPU and heatsink.

Hope this clears thing up a bit
smile.gif
But ask some friends or computer store for help if you feel like it's too confusing for you
smile.gif
ok i just googled heatsink and thats what i meant. thats the thing that was kind of loose. and i couldnt fit it properly so its kind of loose. i will try to properly fit it in but where do i get the thermal paste from? can someone link me a thermal paste so i can buy it?
 
#20 ·
The solution I provided above is whats known as ghetto rigging and if you havent got any money or close access to a store, just the weight of the heatsink should bring your temps down considerably if it is indeed loose, unless you have absolutely baked peanutbutter between the chip and sink.
 
#22 ·
ya i took the heatsink out and was cleaning it. there is a fan on top of it right? i was clearing the dust of and when i tried to put it back it wasnt going in properly so i kind of just half put it in. its still in but i know it is probably not put in properly. there is definitely some space between that and the chip. also i saw no paste between that and the chip.
 
#23 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neckbeard13 View Post

The solution I provided above is whats known as ghetto rigging and if you havent got any money or close access to a store, just the weight of the heatsink should bring your temps down considerably if it is indeed loose, unless you have absolutely baked peanutbutter between the chip and sink.
should i put something heavy on top of the heatsink to make it even heavier?
 
#24 ·
Even with no paste there should'nt be any space between the sink and chip, something is broken with the bracketing most likely.

Well don't over do it, just try getting it on there making even contact and check your temps.

Also dont fiddle with anything w/o the power cord pulled out of the back of your computer.
Quote:
ya i took the heatsink out and was cleaning it. there is a fan on top of it right?
Yep thats the piece.
 
#25 ·
Well guys I think I made computer worse. I opened up computer again to try to put in the heatsink right but couldn't and when I started computer it would just start and shutdown in 10-20 seconds everytime. So I opened box again to fix and really pressure the heatsink to go in right place (got the intel heatsink which is supposed to click but it never clicked in) and now I have a red static screen and it still shuts down in 15 seconds after I turn computer on. What now
frown.gif
. Just want to get computer at least back to how it was.

Edit. I just. Got the color to go back to normal but problem of computer going off after 15 secs still persists.
 
#26 ·
ok i fixed it back to how it was. finally figuring a way to install the heatsink did the trick. however i only was able to get 3 of the 4 legs in properly. the last one i think is just broken. but can you guys please see if the updated hwmonitor report seems much better then before.

or is it still too hot? i noticed that the past was completely dried out so i am thinking of just ordering a new heatsink and paste. can you guys recommend me a good heatsink that will go with this box? does all heatsinks go in all boxes? my heatsink place has 4 holes on it so it fits the intel heatsink.
 
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