PC having a hard time with games (StarCraft 2)

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Narey

Posts: 70   +0
Hi guys, I bought this pc a few months back but didn't get to use it much due to exams.

I've recently installed Starcraft 2 on it and I am really struggling to get the pc to perform. The game recommends full graphics settings but even when I knock everything way down I still hit fps of 1 or 2 any time a battle starts.

What can I do?

You guys have been very helpful on here before. Thanks!

(My system specs are in my profile)
 
Hi Narey. Check you haven't got your settings set in game to have very high anti aliasing and anisotropic filtering. If these settings are not set to high values, check the card settings in Windows, it might be set to use these regardless of in game settings. Same advice, drop down the AA and AF settings. These settings are usually what can cause heavy load on the graphics card when there are lots of units on screen.

What resolution are you playing in?
 
Hey Arris, thanks for your reply.

There are no AA AF options in game and as far as I can tell and I've gone on the Nvidia control panel in windows and they are both set to "Application controlled".

Any thoughts?

Thanks.
 
Narey said:
Hey Arris, thanks for your reply.

There are no AA AF options in game and as far as I can tell and I've gone on the Nvidia control panel in windows and they are both set to "Application controlled".

Any thoughts?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

At work at the moment so can't check but you should be able to use Shift Tab to bring up the Steam overlay when in game. I believe the game settings are accessed from there.
 
I don't think I will have access to that as I haven't used Steam to install the game. Just did it with the disk then patched it. I'll have a look though and I'll have a closer look at the in game graphics options in case I missed something.
 
EDIT : Ignore me.
Getting my threads confused.... Of course SC2 doesn't use steam. Sorry Narey! Was thinking this was the CounterStrike : source thread I was replying to.

In SC2 hit esc and then the game settings should be available from that game menu. I think in video there is an advanced button to edit other settings. Will check in about 10 minutes when I get home for lunch ;)
 
Hah no worries. Just had a look in the game again and I'm pretty sure there are no AA or AF options. Couldn't find the advanced button anywhere.
 
Hmm, you are right. I currently have it set to "high" for most settings on my laptop and only in big multiplayer games do I get messages saying my computer is slowing down the game. What settings are you using? Ultra or extreme might be a bit much for your card.
 
The game recommended I use Ultra on everything, but after it started slowing down (after about 10 seconds) I put it down. I've tried extremely low settings and knocking the resolution way down and it still slows waaay down.
 
Was this a new computer? As you have established it doesn't seem to be related to the graphics card.

I'd download CoreTemp and/or CPUID programs and check the CPU temps and loads while gaming.
Try updating video drivers as well.
 
The computer was new in March, but only now have I tried games on it as I had exams.

I've actually got all those programs running right now along with prime95. The hottest the cpu has got is 60 C but it is usually around 49-52.
 
Using prime95 and keeping an eye on cpuz the core speed is falling from 3200mhz to 800mhz regularly with the temp moving between 47 and 60.
 
Update: I've basically worked out that the cpu is throttling pretty easily when playing the game, should this really be happening with liquid cooling...?
 
I've basically worked out that the cpu is throttling pretty easily when playing the game, should this really be happening with liquid cooling...?
Click to expand...
No this shouldn't happen. Throttling should only occur in the absence of enough cooling, thus too keep it from overheating. In your case you have a liquid cooling system which is more then enough.

If you CPU is under preforming because of this, im sure its safe to say its one of the reasons why you are getting low FPS.
 
You failed to mention water cooling originally.

What water cooling setup are you using? Are you using one of the CPU kits they have out?

Have you ever tried to overclock in the BIOS? Was the computer is anyone else's hands before yours?
 
Do you think it is likely that the CPU is faulty?

Didn't see your reply trillion, reply on the way.
 
The liquid cooling I am using is:

Asetek 510LC / Xtremegear Liquid Cooling system w/ 120mm Radiator ***Overclockable XXX*** (Asetek CPU Water Cooling)

It has a fan attached to the radiator as well as another case fan. (The room is also quite cool)

Sorry about not mentioning it, I thought it would show up in my system specs I added to my profile but apparently not.
 
Narey said:
The liquid cooling I am using is:

Asetek 510LC / Xtremegear Liquid Cooling system w/ 120mm Radiator ***Overclockable XXX*** (Asetek CPU Water Cooling)

It has a fan attached to the radiator as well as another case fan. (The room is also quite cool)

Sorry about not mentioning it, I thought it would show up in my system specs I added to my profile but apparently not.
Click to expand...

I see it now, maybe I missed it... what does your CPU clock rate show?

Correct me if I am wrong... I thought that when the CPU gets too hot the computer shuts down, or in extreme cases, you burn up your CPU. ...not throttling when it gets too hot, or rather lowering its clock speed.

That cooler doesnt look bad.. but I cant find much info on it.. some people bad mouthing it on some forums.. but you cant find that with ANY product.

I would just recommend resetting your BIOS to factory defaults... then at least everyone in this forum would know you (or someone) didnt mess with any BIOS settings.

Could Cool n' Quiet have any effect with this?
 
I've never touched the bios until today where I turned Cool n Quiet off because I thought id rather it was as loud as possible as long as the CPU was being kept cool.

The CPU clock rate shows 3200mhz then it will fall to 800mhz then return to 3200.
 
Narey said:
Do you think it is likely that the CPU is faulty?

Didn't see your reply trillion, reply on the way.
Click to expand...

I would think that if you CPU is faulty that you wouldnt be able to run any stress programs for a very long time without a bluescreen or shutdown.

Edit: OR AT ALL FOR THAT MATTER

Let prime95 run for an hour... I'd say it was good if your PC doesnt shut down.

I'm no expert, but I've dabbled here and there with my fair share of computer components and overclocking.
 
At work I own a Phenom II x6 1100T with Asus M4A88TD-V Evo/USB3
I use to own the same processor you have, the 955.
 
Narey said:
I let it run for about 2 hours earlier today and it seemed fine. What is going on :'(
Click to expand...

I am not sure...

Here is LMGTFY linky
Dont take it the wrong way, Just trying to help. I would post specific links... but there seems to be many related results, and I am short on time to go through them all for you.
 
Take some tests with other games. Install Steam, there are free to play games that you could see, maybe it's just the game is having a problem with something?

any background processes you know of running? Clean from any viruses? ...just a few thoughts...
 
Yeah I've seen them, thanks though.

I'm pretty sure it is the CPU as the huge drops in fps happen at the same time as the CPU dropping from 3k to 800.

Pretty sure the pc is clean, I've also run 3dmark06 which suggests the CPU score is lower than is should be.
 
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