Having problems running games recently

[Kigaldo]

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this sort of issue but I will ask about it anyway. I stumbled across this forum looking for general tech help because I know very little and my problem isn't very specific.

Basically I've had problems recently when I run games like Crysis 2 and SC2. In the past Crysis 2 had run flawlessly on the highest settings (single and multiplayer) with absolutely no issues but I tried it earlier today on the lowest possible settings (with DX11 off as well) and it was unplayable. Now bearing in mind that I had never had a single problem running the game months ago, I'm a bit confused as to what has happened to my PC and it's performance. The problems I've had playing SC2 (again, on low settings fps drops to 5-15 at times, a year ago I had 150 minimum on high) also make me think that maybe my drivers are out of date (?) or there is a more serious issue. I'm not sure what the next step is or even how to confirm what the cause of the issue is. I tried to update my driver by going through steam and did that but it hasn't helped.

I'm aware my specs aren't the best but it doesn't account for the huge drops in performance recently.

My specs are as follows:

Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3610QM CPU @ 2.30GHz
(1) Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000 (2) AMD Radeon HD 7970M
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
16.00 GB

Don't know what else would be relevant.

And help about this specific issue or just a suggestion of a better place to post about this problem would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[PP Mguire]

Stress test for overheating. Throttling is a serious problem when dust clogs up the heatsinks in a laptop and they get hot within a second and throttle the chips. When this happens, your FPS tanks.

 

[Kigaldo]

I downloaded Prime 95. How long does it take roughly to complete? The layout doesn't really mean anything to me and I just chose the default options and set it to do a torture test.

 

[XGC Forsakend]

I downloaded Prime 95. How long does it take roughly to complete? The layout doesn't really mean anything to me and I just chose the default options and set it to do a torture test.

I've used a different program for a stress test (recommended by this forum as well) and was told to run it for like a minute or two on full load. I honestly don't think there is a 'complete' or 'wait for it to finish' for those programs.

Run it and keep an eye on your temperatures and see if it gets abnormally hot.

 

[Kigaldo]

My computer has always overheated (it's very very loud) and it's 'blue screened' half a dozen times. I ran SpeedFan anyway and the core 0-3 temps were above 100oC which is obviously way too high.

I don't know what to do from here. I've contacted the company I bought it from and I have warranty of some sort as it was only purchased last August. Whatever the problem is, organizing a collection and putting in their hands is probably the best thing to do now.

 

[PP Mguire]

If you have an air compressor in your garage then take the high pressure nozzle and blow out all the dust. If not, take the bottom panels off to see how many heatsinks and fans you can get to. You most likely (like all laptops) have a thick layer of dust covering the exhaust portion of the heatsink fins. Not the area closest to the plastic on the outside, but the other side where you can't get to. If you can't take it apart take some canned air and blow backwards to knock that layer of dust out.

Prime95 is the #1 stress program for CPUs and RAM because it can stress both at the same time. You can do custom units to stress just RAM or just CPU. Even though Memtest is better for RAM Prime95 is easier IMO. You just run it and watch temps from a program like Coretemp for a while. If something causes a red flag it will stop and the box will turn red.

Furmark and MSI Kombustor mixed with eVGA Precision or MSI Afterburner are used to stress test GPUs and monitor their temps.

 

[Kigaldo]

Hi, I did as you said and I cleared out the dust from the fans and performance did slightly improve. I then installed a program today which updated all of my out-of-date drivers. My PC is actually running very well until I load into certain games, when I run ME3 for instance I get this...

http://imgur.com/qOL8wbE

I get the same with ME2 and Arkham Asylum (although Arkham City runs fine). I get the box in the top-left hand corner when in windowed border less, if I try in full-screen it flickers a lot (kind of like a strobe-lighting effect) which is even more unpleasant. I had this problem with SC2 but for some reason selecting windowed border less solved it for SC2 (I can't play in full screen mode but it's obviously no big issue). Other games work well, like Fear 3. I will try a few more to see how many can run properly but I'm not sure what to do at this point. The games all run better and are smooth at higher settings but some seem to have problems with the updated drivers.

 

[PP Mguire]

IMO it sounds like a driver issue with Crossfire and select games. Try disabling Crossfire to see if it fixes that issue.

 

[Kigaldo]

Isn't crossfire an option for only selected graphics cards? I can't find anything about in the Catalyst Control Center (which is most likely where it'd be).

 

[PP Mguire]

Maybe I misunderstood the 2 next to the 7970m. I thought you had Crossfire 7970 cards in your laptop. Have you tried fullscreen? You honestly shouldn't have any issues playing any games in fullscreen with that setup.
Do you have anything running in the background? If so, exit it all.