Trouble w/ games...*long*

Kokoleka

Hi! We have been having trouble with games for sometime now.

We have a NVIDIA GeForce7300LE, which came with the computer when we bought it (we suspect this may be the probelm, we aren't sure though). When we were "creating" this computer, it wasn't really for the intention of gaming, and we didn't really know how much we'd get into gaming until after we got it. We had no idea that we'd absoloutely love it once we did get into it We know you guys need the "specs" for our computer, we have some, but we'll need help finding whatever else might help us figure this out. We have limited knowledge when it comes to computers, we've just kind of learned now they work as we went along.

So, here it goes: We mainly play 3 games, LoTRO, DDO, WoW, but the most trouble we've had so far came from LoTRO. When we play that sometimes, the animations "spike" and it gets choppy. The spikey thing is a bit hard to explain, but whenever something moves, it turns jagged and the animations are out of sync. This will happen for maybe a minute or two or more, before freezing for several moments and crashing to BSOD. When it does this we can also still hear the music or sounds looping behind the frozen jagged, triangley screen, then we have to turn it off with the power button or we get BSOD. The same thing also happens on DDO, and the time between login and the crashing varies from a minute to an hour or more.

At first we thought that something could be wrong on thier end, so we contacted Turbine (this is when we just played LoTRO) and they told us to delete the game and re-install it. This didn't help, and when it started doing it on the other game, we realized it was something wrong on our end. Now, on WoW it freezes and we can still hear music and sound, but when we push Ctrl+Alt+Del, it minimizes the game and brings up the desktop in Safe Mode. We tried for a while pushing Alt+F4, and that closed the game and the computer was in normal mode, and we could open the game back up and start playing again fairly fast. But the more we did this, the shorter and shorter the time between login and freezes would get, to the point that it brought up error messages and crashed until we restarted it and left it alone a while. We tried playing these games in window mode, but it will freeze eventually also and start bringing up error messages. We try to keep it set to what the application decides, which is Med, but it crashes in that, and even on Low or Very Low.

Hope I haven't annoyed you guys too much already! Let us know what other info you need, to possibly help us? Sorry this is so long! Your time is appreciated! You guys rock!

ps- Alliance 4evr! (me and my daughter):bigggrin:
pps- Horde FTW! (my son)

Kokoleka

First, thanks to anyone who tries to make sense of all this!

We kept looking and digging and found an article by Sledgehammer about hardware for casual gamers. It explains how to find system/hardware info on a computer that you need to know for running games. We saw much of this info requested in other posts on here about gaming troubles. Hope this is useful!

One is called DxDiag and the other is MS Information Document. I'll try and copy/paste here...

The System Info and System Summary seem to have the same things but I think Sys Summary has some things that Sys Info does not. The DxDiag has lots more info than what I copy/pasted here, but I wasn't sure what is useful and what is not.

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System Information (from DxDiag)

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Time of this report: 5/7/2010, 00:51:34
Machine name: MAIN
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.100216-1514)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Dell DXP061
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 1.0.3
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6400 @ 2.13GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 1022MB RAM
Page File: 849MB used, 1610MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode

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Display Devices (from DxDiag)

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Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 7300 LE
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 7300 LE
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_01D1&SUBSYS_04051028&REV_A1
Display Memory: 512.0 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Dell E196FP
Monitor Max Res: 1280,1024
Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0011.9745 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 4/3/2010 17:55:31, 6432128 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
VDD: n/a
Mini VDD: nv4_mini.sys
Mini VDD Date: 4/3/2010 17:55:31, 10232128 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-4291-11CF-8955-0E2400C2CB35}

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System Summary (from MS Information Document)

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Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
User Name MAIN\Fabulous Foursome
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 1,024.00 MB
Time Zone Central Daylight Time
System Type X86-based PC
System Name MAIN
System Model Dell DXP061
System Manufacturer Dell Inc.
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
SMBIOS Version 2.3
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 6 GenuineIntel ~2128 Mhz
Page File Space 2.40 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys
OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. 1.0.3, 8/14/2006
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Available Physical Memory 474.05 MB

We also downloaded NVIDIA Monitor, it was recommended to someone else who was having gaming troubles, it monitors CPU, Disk and Memory usage in percentage values with a graph that moves across with a line for each, they go up and down as we use the computer and also has Bus speeds and Voltages, however, all the values in that box show "not reported". It also monitors temperature, we read that could be a big factor in performance also. We also found nTune recommended and downloaded that too.

Hope some of this helps!

Snarkasm

Artifacting in games (spikes, lags, crashes, etc) are almost always caused by a dying or overheating graphics card. That card is way old now, so it's pretty certainly on its last legs. You can try pulling the side of the case off and putting a fan on the graphics card, but I'm betting it's just dying.

If you need to update it, you may need to update other hardware, too - power supply, motherboard, etc. It may be time to just consider a new computer.

Kokoleka

Thanks so much for your reply! It probably is on its last legs, the article I read by Sledgehammer was written in 2004 and he graded the most popular graphics cards at that time and this card got a D for gaming!

I wanted to ask about the temperature, on the NVIDIA monitor the temp reads 56C-76C, the higher readings happen when we are playing a game. From what little we have read about heat, this seems way too high, is it? If so, I'm guessing that consistent overheating will make it die quicker won't it?

I read something about turning up the fans that are in the computer, is that done to help with cooling? Do you think we could do that? I'd like to make it live as long as we can! My Hubby would never consider buying new stuff let alone a new computer just because we want to play games, he's not addicted like my kids and I are!:) But, we use our computer for lots of things besides gaming so he may not have a choice whether to agree or not!

Thanks again for your help!:)

coldalarm

I doubt you'd need a new PC, Kokoleka. An extra gigabyte of RAM (or 3, if your motherboard can take it) and a new graphics card and you should be fine to go.

What are your fans like inside? If they're clogged with dust then that could be an issue.

Kokoleka

Thanks for the reply, Coldalarm! I think we'll try the adding more RAM and see what that might do. I know nowadays 1GB is super low! How do we find out how much the motherboard can handle?

It has to be dusty in there, I haven't cleaned it in a month!

We don't know alot about graphics cards, only that ours is the pits:) I'm assuming that not all cards go with all computers, if so, how do we find out which would go with our computer and play the games we want?

There is an article that we found here, I can't remember who posted it, but he rated a bunch of cards, low-medium-high, I think it was done a couple of years ago. Would those ratings still apply or is that list old, in terms of the graphics card market?

Thanks alot! We really appreciate your time and your wisdom!

coldalarm

Well, you've got a Dell motherboard which could be good or bad news.

Do you know exactly what model your desktop is? If it's not written on the case, it'll be in the documentation that came with it. I'm thinking it'll be something like "XPS *number*" or "Dimension *number*".

Snarkasm

That article is old, and adding RAM won't help, by itself, an issue with the graphics card. Extra RAM is always useful, but we don't want you to think it'll fix the glitches you're seeing, because it shouldn't. We'll definitely need more model information about the computer before we can suggest updates.

coldalarm

The RAM thing is because they're on 1GB, and it'd just be helpful in the long run regardless. A small upgrade (card and RAM) would be more cost efficient now and give their PC a bit longer until it needs to be replaced, so hardware will either get cheaper or improve by then.

All that's needed could be just a can of compressed air to properly clean the fans

Kokoleka

Finally back! Had some illness in the family and was out of town a couple of days...

Lots of dust was inside:) I really am tempted to use a vaccuum cleaner on it! But, I think I read that may cause static electricity? I've always use compressed air, is that what y'all use for your computers?

Now the temp monitor starts at 48C, so it did make a little difference. This is what I found on the case "XPS 410", is that the model number you need? I can't find anything about the motherboard, though I could be looking right at it and not know it! Could you tell me where to find what other model information you need? Thanks!

coldalarm

I don't think any more information is really needed. The dxdiag you posted gave the motherboard type (Dell DXP061), and with the model number you can see just what upgrades your PC will and won't take.

Since you cleaned it out, have you had anymore problems?

Kokoleka

We played LoTRO and didn't have any problem! We've mostly been playing Portal though, since we downloaded it yesterday! Lol, it's awesome!:)

How often do you guys clean your computers? I'm thinking once a month is not enough! And should we always use compressed air, is there a more thorough way of cleaning computers?

Where do we look for the upgrades that are compatable with our computer? Would we find that by checking with the company that makes the piece we are looking to upgrade?

Thanks for sticking with us and our challenges, btw! You guys have loads of patience and it is appreciated:)

coldalarm

I don't clean mine often enough I do, however, use a dust filter which makes life a bit easier.

Motherboard Spec Sheet. I know it's for a 9200, but that system cropped up often in my search and they use the same motherboard. It does show (in a way) how you can upgrade.

I, personally, think just a 2GB kit (2 x 1GB) of DDR2-667 or 800 and a mid range graphics card (because of the fairly low power PSU, and I'm not sure what your system is like for heat/air flow) such as the ATi HD5670. The guys here will be better equipped with knowledge and suppliers than myself, as well as perhaps upgrading Dells.

Foohar

I also suggest you update the drivers for your videocard, the newer ones sometimes fix errors that can cause blue screens (such as the ole 92.xxx drivers did to me)
And after checking Passmark, Not cracking on your card or anything, but it's a pretty low end adapter. Heres a few to compare it too
G3D Rating (higher is better) | Rank (lower is better)
GeForce 7300 LE 79 680 <--yours
GeForce 6600 LE 117 577 <--my old one, -just- able to play WoW
GeForce 6800 GT 405 236 <-- middle-of-the-road sorta
GeForce 9800 GTX+ 1093 63 <--my current one
GeForce GTX 580 3770 1 <--best money can buy

primesuspect

This thread was from May of 2010.

Foohar

Ooh lol oops. didnt mean to zombify a old one.