Solved PC started to lag/heavy fps lag and stuttering

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Chalee

PCHF Member
Mar 11, 2024
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Hello, I have a prebuilt that I purchased 2021. Everything was perfect up until last year where my idle CPU temp randomly raised to high 70s and started to be more loud. PC was not lagging at this point and playing games did not cause CPU to raise any further. More time passed then my PC started to lag for a few days then would go back to normal, but would always eventually go back to lagging (the entire PC would lag, in and out of game.) I am not very knowledgeable on computers so the thing that I thought might help would be to clean my PC and reapply thermal paste, but nothing changed. It was bearable up until 2 weeks ago where the lag became even worse and this time it will not go away. It has prevented me from playing any online games due to the lag. I still lag the same in offline games, it just matters less. I've seen people post their specs through speccy, so I'll post that below.


Please let me know if more information is required, Thanks.
 
A few things of note in Speccy;

The CPU is running hot.

The computer is a Lenovo and they use crap PSUs.

You have an MSI branded add on GPU.

There is more than one screen hooked up to the GPU.

You have a wireless connection when gaming needs an Ethernet connection for stability.

You use CCleaner which most often does more harm than good.

What we need to know;

The brand and model name or number of the PSU and how old it is.

How did you clean off the CPU and heatsink when you reapplied the thermal paste and what compound was used.

No rush here as I`m heading off to work for a few hours shortly.
 
phillpower2 said:
A few things of note in Speccy;

The CPU is running hot.

The computer is a Lenovo and they use crap PSUs.

You have an MSI branded add on GPU.

There is more than one screen hooked up to the GPU.

You have a wireless connection when gaming needs an Ethernet connection for stability.

You use CCleaner which most often does more harm than good.

What we need to know;

The brand and model name or number of the PSU and how old it is.

How did you clean off the CPU and heatsink when you reapplied the thermal paste and what compound was used.

No rush here as I`m heading off to work for a few hours shortly.
Click to expand...
PSU Brand Name FSP, Model No says HG2-850, but looking up 5P50V03192 brings up the exact PSU I have so I am unsure which one you are asking for. I don't know if you are looking for a specific manufacture date for the PSU, but the PC was purchased on July 2021. I followed online instructions for removing the old thermal paste. I lightly applied 90% isopropyl alcohol to Q-tips and paper towels, with no fibers from the paper towel coming off. The PC is a prebuilt with an AIO cooler so I don't recall cleaning a heatsink. The compound I used was Arctic Silver 5 AS5-3.5G.
 
If the PSU is the exact same as the one here it should be ok, if it differs in any way it is an OEM version and not so high end, still adequate for your GPU though.

Worth a mention, if the straight FSP version with an eco mode switch, do you change it to gaming mode when doing anything graphics intensive.

Chalee said:
The PC is a prebuilt with an AIO cooler so I don't recall cleaning a heatsink.
Click to expand...

What did you clean off that was sitting atop of the CPU.

Chalee said:
The compound I used was Arctic Silver 5 AS5-3.5G
Click to expand...

What method did you use to apply the fresh compound.

Regarding the MSI GPU, have you added that to this PC, you would normally see a Lenovo branded third party GPU in your type of computer.
 
phillpower2 said:
If the PSU is the exact same as the one here it should be ok, if it differs in any way it is an OEM version and not so high end, still adequate for your GPU though.

Worth a mention, if the straight FSP version with an eco mode switch, do you change it to gaming mode when doing anything graphics intensive.



What did you clean off that was sitting atop of the CPU.



What method did you use to apply the fresh compound.

Regarding the MSI GPU, have you added that to this PC, you would normally see a Lenovo branded third party GPU in your type of computer.
Click to expand...
PSU is different than the one you linked, so I suppose it's an OEM version.

This isn't the part I have, but I cleaned off any thermal paste that was behind that small block that says 3.2 Ghz, which was on top of my CPU. I also cleaned off the top of the CPU. When applying the fresh compound, I tried my best to mimic the size of a single pea in the center, which I saw in pictures and videos.

As for the GPU, I have not added any additional parts to the PC. There is no MSI branding on the card itself; however, the part list for my exact PC shows that it's made my MSI
 
Can I ask that you do not quote every reply as we have to read the full post to make sure nothing gets missed,, thanks.

No worries on the GPU or PSU as lenovo have done their job properly here by matching the PSU to the output required by the card, the fact that Speccy reports the GPU as an MSI means that the card has not been modified by Lenovo.

That is the equivalent of a heatsink albeit called a water block for your type of cooling.

Chalee said:
I tried my best to mimic the size of a single pea in the center, which I saw in pictures and videos.
Click to expand...

Sorry but you have watched the wrong videos as the correct method for Arctic Silver and an 11th gen Intel CPU is a vertical line in the centre of the CPU, you will find the correct instructions here

Three common causes of high CPU temps are incorrect compound application, too much voltage going to the CPU and poor internal cooling, suggest starting afresh with cleaning off and correctly applying the Arctic compound, avoid using Q tips and instead use either a lint free cloth or coffee filter papers.
 
Ok, I will reapply fresh compound using the new method this upcoming Monday and report back. Thanks for the help.
 
Sorry for the delay, I was unable to locate the compound and had to order a new one. Will take a few more days...
 
Sorry for taking so long. I just finished dusting my pc and reapplying thermal paste using the instructions you provided. Unfortunately, it made no difference. The PC is still very laggy and CPU temps are still 77-80 while idle. What else do you recommend I do?
 
An update: Avg Idle CPU temp is 70C, still showing Thermal throttling. Goes to 77-80 while doing small things, like spotify discord or browsing
 
Take off the side cover and direct a fan to blow straight into the case.
Run for a while and see what temps you get then.
 
I tried opening the side panel and pointing a fan into it, but the CPU temp remained the same and PC remained laggy. I removed the fan I had pointed inside my case and closed back up the PC as it made no difference in temp. I also tried reapplying thermal paste in case I didn't do it correctly last time, but everything remained the same.
 
Phill pretty much said everything I thought of in post #6.

A few more things I can think of is you're not tightening the block/harness down properly. Use the torque method of start at screw 1, then diagonally to screw 3,

2. You have a blockage or air bubble in your AIO system.

3. The AIO pump is bad.

4. If it hasn't been covered, make sure the shipping plastic is removed from the AIO block.

block.jpg

SOURCE
 
1. I tightened the screws using that method.
4. The aio block did not have a plastic covering.
3. I believe the pump is still working. I looked online a bit on how to tell. The only thing I did to check was to see if one pump was vibrating a little and warmer than the other pump, which it was.
2. This might be it!

Further context: I started experiencing this problem after I came back from a 5 week trip, so it was off for 5 weeks (not sure if being off for so long is relevant). As soon as I turned on the PC again, I noticed that it was a lot louder. Previously, it didn't matter what I did, it was always fairly silent. I also started hearing a weird rattling/gurgling noise, but thought it was nothing significant. CPU temps were similar to now, but didn't affect performance too much so I just brushed it aside.

back to point 2. I didn't know AIO can get blockages and air bubbles. After looking at symptoms of that, it said a gurgling noise is one of them, which makes me more sure that it indeed is a blockage/air bubble.

I saw some possible solutions involving tilting the PC back and forth at certain angles, or tapping certain parts of the cooler, but will refrain from doing anything and wait to hear from you on what to do next.
 
You can try tilting the PC as you suggested. Be careful, Make sure it's all unplugged.

The last resort is to get some quality cooling liquid. Take the system out of the PC. Unscrew the tubes and thoroughly drain everything, even blow air through it. Re-fill it carefully.
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