PC Performance Issues/Lag spikes

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ParadisePC

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Apr 11, 2022
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My PC has been running fine up until about 3 weeks ago. I had this PC built for me in 2016, below are the specs:

CAS: NZXT H440 Designed by Razer Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ USB 3.0, Side-Panel Window (Black Color)
CPU: Intel:registered: Core:tm: i7-6700K 4.00GHZ 8MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1151 (Skylake) [+74]
FAN: Asetek 550LC 120mm Liquid Cooling CPU Cooler - Extreme Cooling Performance (Single Standard 120MM Fan)
HDD: 1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (256GB Sandisk SSD + Single Drive)
MEMORY: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR4/2400MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Vengeance)
MOTHERBOARD: GIGABYTE G1.Sniper Z170 SLI ATX w/ USB 3.1, 3 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 3 SATA Express, 6 SATA3, 1 Ultra M.2
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 4GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 (Maxwell) (Single Card)

I'm having trouble determining whether it's an internet or PC issue...I am thinking PC because other devices have been working relatively smoothly (streaming services, Ps5, iPad, etc.).

I mostly play a game called "Old School Runescape" that plays on its own client. When using the client alone, I am experiencing lag at times, little lag spikes every 10-15 seconds I'd say. When I attempt to use other applications like Discord or Spotify along with the game client, the lag gets way worse (performance issues more than lag I guess?). This was NEVER an issue a few weeks ago. Nothing has changed in the last few weeks other than me cleaning my PC fans

I've used basic tools like Speedtest to see if its internet, but it doesn't seem to be. Anything else you guys would recommend to check that may help me narrow down the issue? I am not opposed to upgrading my PC, but feel like its not necessary if it was working fine up until just recently.

Apologies if I posted this in the wrong section. Wasn't sure where would be most appropriate (new here)
 
Let's start off with some of the easy stuff first,

Please download and run speccy.

Once you have ran speccy, follow the instructions to upload a snapshot found here.

To publish a Speccy profile to the Web:​

  1. In Speccy, click File, and then click Publish Snapshot.
  2. In the Publish Snapshot dialog box, click Yes to enable Speccy to proceed.
  3. Speccy publishes the profile and displays a second Publish Snapshot dialog box. You can open the URL in your default browser, copy it to the clipboard, or close the dialog box.
Click to expand...

How did you clean your fans? Was the PC off when you did this?

Were you messing around on the inside of the computer when you cleaned it, touching any of the electronic components at all?

Could you please open task manager (ctrl + shift + esc) to the performance tab next time you play the game and see if anything spikes or jumps when the game stutters?

Furthermore, if you have a program that allows you to watch temperatures as well (such as MSI Afterburner or NZXT CAM) could you watch and see if any temperatures raise and then drop when you experience the stutters?

What are your internet speeds? Online gaming sucks up bandwith, so if you're streaming content (such as music/videos) or in a voice call, you could see decreased performance.

Do you use a LAN cord, or are you connected over Wi-Fi?
 
Pyro said:
Let's start off with some of the easy stuff first,

Please download and run speccy.

Once you have ran speccy, follow the instructions to upload a snapshot found here.


How did you clean your fans? Was the PC off when you did this?

Were you messing around on the inside of the computer when you cleaned it, touching any of the electronic components at all?

Could you please open task manager (ctrl + shift + esc) to the performance tab next time you play the game and see if anything spikes or jumps when the game stutters?

Furthermore, if you have a program that allows you to watch temperatures as well (such as MSI Afterburner or NZXT CAM) could you watch and see if any temperatures raise and then drop when you experience the stutters?

What are your internet speeds? Online gaming sucks up bandwith, so if you're streaming content (such as music/videos) or in a voice call, you could see decreased performance.

Do you use a LAN cord, or are you connected over Wi-Fi?
Click to expand...

I cleaned the fans with compressed air, the PC was off and I did not touch anything else. I did read compressed air could mess with stuff if using too much, but it didn't seem like I got it anywhere else or used too much

For Task Manager, I have opened that previously and monitored it while playing, no huge jumps in CPU or anything while playing/when the game stutters.

I have not tried monitoring the temperature at all, although the stuttering/lagging is consistently happening so doesn't seem to be temperature.

I am connect via Ethernet and my speeds are 430 Up, 160 Down (just tested it now, moves around a bit but always very high numbers)
 
Compressed air shouldn't cause any damage, if the can were not held straight up and down it could spray out a liquid, if that were to happen you would want to let it dry before powering the computer on, otherwise I would not worry about using it (keep the dust away!).

Where is the game installed? How much free space do you have on the drives?

In your settings, try changing your power plan from High Performance to Balanced.

This look like a problem to me:
Intel Core i7 6700K @ 4.00GHz: 87 °C
Click to expand...

Your CPU should not be running that hot, you're off recommended/normal temps by a wide margin.

You had this computer built in 2016, has it ever been repasted?

Was it overclocked at all, it doesn't look like it is now, but has it been in the past?

What CPU cooler do you have?
 
Pyro said:
Compressed air shouldn't cause any damage, if the can were not held straight up and down it could spray out a liquid, if that were to happen you would want to let it dry before powering the computer on, otherwise I would not worry about using it (keep the dust away!).

Where is the game installed? How much free space do you have on the drives?

In your settings, try changing your power plan from High Performance to Balanced.

This look like a problem to me:


Your CPU should not be running that hot, you're off recommended/normal temps by a wide margin.

You had this computer built in 2016, has it ever been repasted?

Was it overclocked at all, it doesn't look like it is now, but has it been in the past?

What CPU cooler do you have?
Click to expand...

I had everything on 1 of the drives up until 1 or 2 days ago (I had everything on Local Disk C which currently has 184 GB used and 53 GB free). I moved the game client and its components to New Volume E and thats the only thing I have on it right now (1.02GB used, 930 GB free). I am pretty noob when it comes to PCs so I didn't even realize I had the 2 drives lol.

I'm not sure was repasted means, so I'm going to assume No there.

Has never been overclocked

CPU Cooler....in the spec sheet from original purchase it says "Standard Coolant". Does that answer that question?
 
Move the game back to the SSD and see if that affects performance, sometimes HDDs can't keep up with game demands.
 
Pyro said:
Move the game back to the SSD and see if that affects performance, sometimes HDDs can't keep up with game demands.
Click to expand...
Didn't do anything. I am going to try reapplying thermal paste, but any other ideas of what it could be?
 
I could go through a whole checklist of things it could be and possible fixes, that's the downside of PC troubleshooting.

If you want to try some drive optimization, run Disk Cleanup and Defragment and Optimize Drives, this might help, if not it's just good housekeeping.

Repasting will hopefully fix thermal issues, but you should also make sure the CPU cooler has a working fan on it and the case airflow is uninterrupted (you should feel air being pulled in from the front and pushed out at the back).

When you repaste, make sure you use actual thermal paste, there is no substitute or household product that will do the job acceptably.

If you have a desk/portable fan, you could also try throwing that so it blows air into the processor heatsink (take of the side panel if necessary).

If we rule out that it is not a thermal issue, we can go more in depth from there.
 
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