is my graphics card causing lag spikes?

[Dezzlor]

When im gaming im getting lag spikes, it feels like im getting around 5fps or even lower but when im using something like fraps to display my fps im getting a normal standard amount and my fps isnt dropping massively or spiking.

is this problem a graphics card problem?

 

[clutchc]

That would depend on what your graphic card was.
And your CPU.
And the MB it is installed in.
And the amount/speed of memory you have.
And your PSU Make/Model.
And what Windows has running in the background while you game.

 

[Dezzlor]

That would depend on what your graphic card was.
And your CPU.
And the MB it is installed in.
And the amount/speed of memory you have.
And your PSU Make/Model.
And what Windows has running in the background while you game.

My cpu is the AMD 6100 3.3ghz, its a new one of mine i got it around 2 months ago
the motherboard is 970 A ds3.
Amount of memory i have is 8gb, not too sure on the speed
my PSU is the CIT 750w
i dunno what windows has running in the back ground D:

ive never had trouble with my graphics card before untill about a week ago?

 

[clutchc]

You didn't tell me what the gfx card was. Important.
I've never heard of a CIT PSU before. Must be a UK specific brand. Might be junk. Can you read the nameplate and tell me the +12V rating(s)?

Let's check the stuff going on while you game. Look in your tray and tell me how many things are in it. (Click on the triangle)
And how many things are open on your task bar when you game?
Then type 'System Configuration' in the windows start box and open it to the start up tab. How many items are checked?
Run CCleaner and have it do the Clean and Registry both: https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner That will remove most registry errors and junk files. You may have to run it more than once if your system is full of garbage.

 

[Dezzlor]

You didn't tell me what the gfx card was. Important.
I've never heard of a CIT PSU before. Must be a UK specific brand. Might be junk. Can you read the nameplate and tell me the +12V rating(s)?

Let's check the stuff going on while you game. Look in your tray and tell me how many things are in it. (Click on the triangle)
And how many things are open on your task bar when you game?
Then type 'System Configuration' in the windows start box and open it to the start up tab. How many items are checked?
Run CCleaner and have it do the Clean and Registry both: https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner That will remove most registry errors and junk files. You may have to run it more than once if your system is full of garbage.

Sry, my Graphics card is currently the AMD 6950 1gb, im gonna do what u told me to do now.

+12v ratings are 24A? not too sure on what that means.

When im gaming theres around 16-17 things on the tray and around 5 things open on the task bar.

(never came to me, but just letting you know im running duel mons.. dunno if that makes a difference)

There is also 28 things ticked on the start up thingy.

Also, with this Ccleaner, will this delete things like games, Team speak, itunes ETC?

 

[clutchc]

Holy Crap! 28 boxes checked!? 16 to 17 other apps open when you game?! No wonder you are having issues. I don't know where to start...

Way too many things running in the background when you try to do something as resource heavy as gaming. Geeze. You must never have seen a free pgm you didn't want. Gaming requires a lot of the computer's resources, and the more stuff 'active' during the gaming, the less can be devoted to the processor and gfx card during gaming. Get rid of as many startup items as possible. You don't have to uninstall them. Just make them so they don't automatically run at startup. You can do this by looking in each pgm's settings and see if there is a way to disable 'start with windows' or something like that. If nothing else, uncheck the boxes for the ones you're familiar with in system config/start up.

The next thing, and maybe the most damaging, is the small +12V rail your cheap "750W" PSU has. If there truly is just one +12V rail and it is only rated at 24amps, it is way too small for that 200W (max) graphic card. At max power it will pull almost 17 amps from the +12V rail. I'll bet that card isn't what came with that PC. I'm really surprised the PC doesn't shut down during intense gaming. It definitely is causing the gfx card to lose power when needed. Unless there is more than 1 +12V rail rated at 24A.

I'll bet if you do as suggested above, you will see an improvement. What resolution is your monitor?

 

[Dezzlor]

Holy Crap! 28 boxes checked!? 16 to 17 other apps open when you game?! No wonder you are having issues. I don't know where to start...

Way too many things running in the background when you try to do something as resource heavy as gaming. Geeze. You must never have seen a free pgm you didn't want. Gaming requires a lot of the computer's resources, and the more stuff 'active' during the gaming, the less can be devoted to the processor and gfx card during gaming. Get rid of as many startup items as possible. You don't have to uninstall them. Just make them so they don't automatically run at startup. You can do this by looking in each pgm's settings and see if there is a way to disable 'start with windows' or something like that. If nothing else, uncheck the boxes for the ones you're familiar with in system config/start up.

The next thing, and maybe the most damaging, is the small +12V rail your cheap "750W" PSU has. If there truly is just one +12V rail and it is only rated at 24amps, it is way too small for that 200W (max) graphic card. At max power it will pull almost 17 amps from the +12V rail. I'll bet that card isn't what came with that PC. I'm really surprised the PC doesn't shut down during intense gaming. It definitely is causing the gfx card to lose power when needed. Unless there is more than 1 +12V rail rated at 24A.

I'll bet if you do as suggested above, you will see an improvement. What resolution is your monitor?

Monitors are 1360 x 768. And theres only 2 of the +12vs both at 24A
If i run Ccleaner will it delete loads of my stuff? games, itunes ETC

 

[cst1992]

If there are 2 12 v rails then there must be a max wattage you can pull out of those 12 V rails? For example in this image:
http://i.imgur.com/NZHKi.jpg
This old vs450 has 2 rails at 21 and 18 A but the total wattage below is only 360W, making the max amperage at +12V as 30 A, NOT 39A(21+18).

 

[Dezzlor]

If there are 2 12 v rails then there must be a max wattage you can pull out of those 12 V rails? For example in this image:
http://i.imgur.com/NZHKi.jpg
This old vs450 has 2 rails at 21 and 18 A but the total wattage below is only 360W, making the max amperage at +12V as 30 A, NOT 39A(21+18).

im not following you..... what?

 

[cst1992]

Did you look at the image?
Given under DC output, 12V1 puts out 21A, and 12V2 puts out 18A. But there is a max wattage you can pull out of the 12V rails.
That is given below the amp ratings, that is 360W.

 

[Dezzlor]

Did you look at the image?
Given under DC output, 12V1 puts out 21A, and 12V2 puts out 18A. But there is a max wattage you can pull out of the 12V rails.
That is given below the amp ratings, that is 360W.

heres a picture of my psu things : http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=w18rxc&s=5#.UqxYTfR9QsI

there abit blurry, sorry!

 

[Dezzlor]

Btw incase i havent already said.. these lag spikes only started around a week ago, before that everything was running fine.

 

[chimera201]

looks like a crappy psu to me

 

[Dezzlor]

looks like a crappy psu to me

If im going to get the AMD R9 280x what psu would you recommend?

 

[chimera201]

That depends on budget

 

[Dezzlor]

That depends on budget

The most £50?

 

[BlankInsanity]

50 pounds? and you want to buy an r9 280x? your gonna need a 600W PSU and any quality PSU thats 600W is gonna cost more than just 50 pounds

 

[Dezzlor]

50 pounds? and you want to buy an r9 280x? your gonna need a 600W PSU and any quality PSU thats 600W is gonna cost more than just 50 pounds

Which one would you suggest then?

 

[chimera201]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004RJ8EKI/?tag=pcp0f-21

 

[Dezzlor]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004RJ8EKI/?tag=pcp0f-21

Will that do the job?

 

[BlankInsanity]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004RJ8EKI/?tag=pcp0f-21

Will that do the job?

XFX PSUs are re-branded Seasonic PSUs which make very high quality PSUs. That PSU will do you just fine

 

[clutchc]

Monitors are 1360 x 768. And theres only 2 of the +12vs both at 24A
If i run Ccleaner will it delete loads of my stuff? games, itunes ETC

Oh. That's a little better. That means you have 2 x +12V rails at 24 amp each for a total of 48 amps available on the +12V rail.
That would lead me to believe that the issue is the garbage on the system more than the PSU, then.

No. CCleaner won't remove any programs, apps, or anything you installed. It just cleans up junk files and registry errors.

Btw, at 720p resolution, that HD 6950 should fly.

 

[BlankInsanity]

Monitors are 1360 x 768. And theres only 2 of the +12vs both at 24A
If i run Ccleaner will it delete loads of my stuff? games, itunes ETC

Oh. That's a little better. That means you have 2 x +12V rails at 24 amp each for a total of 48 amps available on the +12V rail.
That would lead me to believe that the issue is the garbage on the system more than the PSU, then.

No. CCleaner won't remove any programs, apps, or anything you installed. It just cleans up junk files and registry errors.

Btw, at 720p resolution, that HD 6950 should fly.

12A does not mean a combined total of 24A on the +12V Rail. How much Amps on the +12V Rail is determined by how much wattage is on the the +12V Rail divided by the continuous voltage rating

For example a dual rail +12V can have 12A on each rail but can only supply a total of 35A because of the wattage supplied by both rails

 

[clutchc]

+1 Blankinsanity
You are correct. I shouldn't have added the current capacity without first checking the total wattage figure available for those rails. But since his PSU's nameplate only had the entire PSU's total of 750W listed, I went with the over-simplification of doubling the amperage. I'll watch myself in the future.

 

[chimera201]

The manufacturer has clearly hidden the combined wattage for the +12V rails. A good manufacturer will show that. That means that its a dodgy PSU that doesn't deliver its rated wattage