PC starts lagging after playing for a while

[suryansh5000]

Bought this pre-built dell PC in Q3 2012. After playing games for a while(15-20 minutes) , screen and sound starts freezing for about a second every minute or so. The lag remains even after closing the game and becomes obvious while watching a video. Both GPU and CPU temperatures reach ~65 degrees celsius while playing(This is after cleaning. Before cleaning, both temps used to go around 80 degrees). Apart from playing games , the lag very rarely starts if I keep a bunch of youtube video tabs open at the same time. Things I've already tried:

-Ran a scan on malwarebytes, and quarantined anything it considered to be dangerous.
-Checked HDD health using HDD sentinel(trial version) and crystal disk info. Both show that the HDD is fine(100% performance and health).
-Bought a blower today from the local hardware shop and cleaned my PC for the first time ever.

I am sure that it's not a game-specific issue. Also , my GPU drivers are up to date.

My PC specifications:
i5-3450
GTX 660
8GB DDR3 RAM

Any kind of help will be much appreciated , thank you !

 

[sizzling]

When the lagging starts are you seeing an increase in cpu or gpu usage? Does your cpu or gpu clock speed (GHz) drop when the lag starts?

 

[suryansh5000]

When the lagging starts are you seeing an increase in cpu or gpu usage? Does your cpu or gpu clock speed (GHz) drop when the lag starts?

I am doing a particular sequence in Assassin's Creed Origins where I go from one end of a specific road to the other one.

1.After the lag has begun ( Between any two freezes):
CPU Clock : 3296-3299 MHz
CPU Usage: Either 99% or 100%

GPU Core Clock : 1110/1124 MHz
GPU Memory Clock : 3005 MHz
GPU Usage : Keeps jumping in the 80+ zone but mostly stays in the high 90s

2.At the time of a freeze(for ~1 second):

CPU Clock: Same
CPU Usage: Drops to low 80s - mid 90s depending upon the duration of freeze. More duration => More drop.

GPU Core Clock: Same
GPU Memory Clock: Same
GPU Usage : Drops to as low as 20s depending on the duration of the freeze . Longer freeze => More drop

One thing I forgot to tell is that an easy way to trigger the lag is to look at smoke in games like Battlefield 3 , CS:GO and Rainbow Six Siege . Whenever somebody throws a smoke grenade or something , the lag starts happening.

 

[sizzling]

When the lagging starts are you seeing an increase in cpu or gpu usage? Does your cpu or gpu clock speed (GHz) drop when the lag starts?

I am doing a particular sequence in Assassin's Creed Origins where I go from one end of a specific road to the other one.

1.After the lag has begun ( Between any two freezes):
CPU Clock : 3296-3299 MHz
CPU Usage: Either 99% or 100%

GPU Core Clock : 1110/1124 MHz
GPU Memory Clock : 3005 MHz
GPU Usage : Keeps jumping in the 80+ zone but mostly stays in the high 90s

2.At the time of a freeze(for ~1 second):

CPU Clock: Same
CPU Usage: Drops to low 80s - mid 90s depending upon the duration of freeze. More duration => More drop.

GPU Core Clock: Same
GPU Memory Clock: Same
GPU Usage : Drops to as low as 20s depending on the duration of the freeze . Longer freeze => More drop

One thing I forgot to tell is that an easy way to trigger the lag is to look at smoke in games like Battlefield 3 , CS:GO and Rainbow Six Siege . Whenever somebody throws a smoke grenade or something , the lag starts happening.

Ok everything looks ok but your last paragraph makes me think vram. Whats your vram usage when the lag happens?

 

[suryansh5000]

When the lagging starts are you seeing an increase in cpu or gpu usage? Does your cpu or gpu clock speed (GHz) drop when the lag starts?

I am doing a particular sequence in Assassin's Creed Origins where I go from one end of a specific road to the other one.

1.After the lag has begun ( Between any two freezes):
CPU Clock : 3296-3299 MHz
CPU Usage: Either 99% or 100%

GPU Core Clock : 1110/1124 MHz
GPU Memory Clock : 3005 MHz
GPU Usage : Keeps jumping in the 80+ zone but mostly stays in the high 90s

2.At the time of a freeze(for ~1 second):

CPU Clock: Same
CPU Usage: Drops to low 80s - mid 90s depending upon the duration of freeze. More duration => More drop.

GPU Core Clock: Same
GPU Memory Clock: Same
GPU Usage : Drops to as low as 20s depending on the duration of the freeze . Longer freeze => More drop

One thing I forgot to tell is that an easy way to trigger the lag is to look at smoke in games like Battlefield 3 , CS:GO and Rainbow Six Siege . Whenever somebody throws a smoke grenade or something , the lag starts happening.

Ok everything looks ok but your last paragraph makes me think vram. Whats your vram usage when the lag happens?

The vram usage in the above mentioned game at the beginning is ~1750 and gradually increases to ~1900 but the stuttering/freezing doesn't really affect the vram usage. Also , the lag happens even on low settings + 900p on CS:GO(low requirement game) . And yet another way to quickly trigger the lag is by using the computer as soon as it boots up without the need of even launching a game.

 

[aditya.bhattacharya13]

Bought this pre-built dell PC in Q3 2012. After playing games for a while(15-20 minutes) , screen and sound starts freezing for about a second every minute or so. The lag remains even after closing the game and becomes obvious while watching a video. Both GPU and CPU temperatures reach ~65 degrees celsius while playing(This is after cleaning. Before cleaning, both temps used to go around 80 degrees). Apart from playing games , the lag very rarely starts if I keep a bunch of youtube video tabs open at the same time. Things I've already tried:

-Ran a scan on malwarebytes, and quarantined anything it considered to be dangerous.
-Checked HDD health using HDD sentinel(trial version) and crystal disk info. Both show that the HDD is fine(100% performance and health).
-Bought a blower today from the local hardware shop and cleaned my PC for the first time ever.

I am sure that it's not a game-specific issue. Also , my GPU drivers are up to date.

My PC specifications:
i5-3450
GTX 660
8GB DDR3 RAM

Any kind of help will be much appreciated , thank you !

I know this probably isn't it but maybe the parts of the pc are just plain old and they stop working sort of like old people. Their parts stop working eventually. For example not being as fit as before.

 

[sizzling]

I would try a fresh install of Windows and all drivers. If its software related it can be extremely difficult and time consuming to track down and this will rule out a software issue. If this doesn't fix it you would think it has to be hardware related but so far there is no strong evidence to suggest this.

 

[suryansh5000]

Bought this pre-built dell PC in Q3 2012. After playing games for a while(15-20 minutes) , screen and sound starts freezing for about a second every minute or so. The lag remains even after closing the game and becomes obvious while watching a video. Both GPU and CPU temperatures reach ~65 degrees celsius while playing(This is after cleaning. Before cleaning, both temps used to go around 80 degrees). Apart from playing games , the lag very rarely starts if I keep a bunch of youtube video tabs open at the same time. Things I've already tried:

-Ran a scan on malwarebytes, and quarantined anything it considered to be dangerous.
-Checked HDD health using HDD sentinel(trial version) and crystal disk info. Both show that the HDD is fine(100% performance and health).
-Bought a blower today from the local hardware shop and cleaned my PC for the first time ever.

I am sure that it's not a game-specific issue. Also , my GPU drivers are up to date.

My PC specifications:
i5-3450
GTX 660
8GB DDR3 RAM

Any kind of help will be much appreciated , thank you !

I know this probably isn't it but maybe the parts of the pc are just plain old and they stop working sort of like old people. Their parts stop working eventually. For example not being as fit as before.

This could very well be the case since this is the first time I've ever cleaned my PC . Lets hope its not 😀

I would try a fresh install of Windows and all drivers. If its software related it can be extremely difficult and time consuming to track down and this will rule out a software issue. If this doesn't fix it you would think it has to be hardware related but so far there is no strong evidence to suggest this.

I guess this should be a last resort tactic. I'll wait for a couple of days before pulling the trigger . Thanks for all the help so far man!

 

[suryansh5000]

I would try a fresh install of Windows and all drivers. If its software related it can be extremely difficult and time consuming to track down and this will rule out a software issue. If this doesn't fix it you would think it has to be hardware related but so far there is no strong evidence to suggest this.

Hey man , I noticed something strange while playing a different game. The core and memory clocks of the GPU go down to ~300 when the lag happens . I do have an old GPU lying around , I'll try to install it and see what happens.

 

[J_E_D_70]

People still play BF3? Crazy! But kinda cool.

 

[sizzling]

So the gpu was throttling, are you sure the gpu temperature was ok, what was it when this happened?

 

[suryansh5000]

People still play BF3? Crazy! But kinda cool.

Yep , we manage to fill a couple of servers during peak time ;D

So the gpu was throttling, are you sure the gpu temperature was ok, what was it when this happened?

The GPU temps lowered down quite a bit after cleaning(yesterday). They used to reach ~80 in winter here. When I noticed the clock rate fall , the temps were in the low 70s. I have the old GPU installed right now, and will post a final verdict after more testing. I did play BF3 for about an hour without any lag though.

EDIT: Ok I have played for a good amount of time and I'm yet to experience any of the issues I faced before. But what if the reason why its gone is due to under-utilization of the CPU because of a much weaker GPU(GT 640) , any way to confirm that its the GPU which was at fault??

 

[suryansh5000]

Alright guys , updated bios and reinstalled GPU drivers. System seems to be working fine now. Thanks for all the support!