Solved Fps drop on random occasions while gaming

Hi there.

I really hope that you guys can help me, because this has been going on for some while now, and it is really starting to annoy me:

When I play certain games, like for example Assassin's Creed III, my computer runs the game smoothly and with no problems on the highest settings. Then, after a relatively short time interval, the game starts to drop in fps (lag) for about 15-20 seconds, then it goes back to running smoothly again. After another 20 minutes of game time, the fps drops once again. I have tried setting the graphics to the lowest possible, but it doesn't help. Here are my specs:


Please tell if you want more info or scans.

This is a very weird issue, as my system passes all the required info on the game. And it is not only Assassin's Creed III, it can happen in Assassin's Creed (first game) too. But not in Assassin's Creed II. This makes me think that there are some setting in those particular games, that makes it run slow on my computer from time to time. I'm also thinking overheating, but it's just weird that it happens for only approximately 20 seconds, and then it's back to normal, and that it only happens in some games. It happened again today with the game "Darksiders".

I am lost, I have no idea how to fix this, or what the cause of the sudden fps drop is. I hope that you guys can help me.

Thank you in advance,
Danny.

Hi Danny and welcome to EightForums.

If you ask me, suddenly drops like that in FPS I saw only when GPU was over-hitting.

In your case, the CPU seems to be a bit high on temperature.
Look at all those temp's directly when you get the lags and see it something gets some high (red) scores there in Speccy.

You'll have to run Speccy in the background and press Win key to minimize the game when it lags.
You'll have o be fast because a paused game cools down all temp scores.

That's my idea on the matter.

Cheers
Hopachi

Thank you for the quick reply.
I will try that, and take a screenshot of Speccy when the fps-drop occurs.

Okay, I think you might have helped me find an answer.
Here are the temperatures before I started gaming:


And here they are, when the fps drop occurs, and when I am in Far Cry 3:


My CPU and motherboard temperatures are extremely high. What do you suggest I do about this?

Thank you,
Danny.

You're welcome!
That's the problem indeed! 81°C is a bit (too) high for a CPU.

The solution depends mostly on the costs. It depends also if you've overclocked the CPU or not.
If you've overclocked, reconsider down-clocking again or thinking about more advanced cooling techiques (like watercooling) to maintain current speeds.

Usually without overclocked CPU, the following tips will fix the problem.

The solution that solves it all:
I suggest a new/bigger (Aluminium or Copper) cooler for the CPU.
Check that it has its own fan an thermal (cooling) grease. It has to match your CPU socket.

Cheaper:
Cleaning and reapplying new thermal grease on the current cooler can solve the problem also.
Removing all dust from within the pc is highly recommended.

First you'll have to look if you still have enough cooling grease applied because after you clean the old (dry) layer, maybe the current cooler still works best with new thermal grease. Check to see the fan is still OK. You can add a bigger fan also.

Always make sure you don't apply too much thermal grease and that the cpu is inserted correctly.

After one of these steps, start the pc and see the temperatures again in Far Cry 3. But it should be solved.

EDIT: the higher motherboard temperature is mostly related to the high CPU temp. After the CPU gets patched up as mentioned above, the mobo temp should go low (normal) again.

Cheers
Hopachi

Thank you very much, I will see to one of these solutions.

Danny.

Glad I could help!