06-25-2010, 11:13 PM
I don't feel like making two threads so I'm just putting these topics together.
My main computer for the past ~2.5 years (a laptop) is having some bad FPS issues that one of you can hopefully help me with. First a little history that may or may not be related: for about a year and a half my computer will overheat and shutdown if I play a 3D game for more than 10 minutes. I assume one of my fans broke at some point since I'll hear odd fan noises on occasion. I went out and got a cheap laptop stand/external fan and haven't had any real problems since (as long as I remember to turn on the external fan before playing stuff).
Anyway, my main problem started a few months ago, then stopped for a while, and now it has started up again in the past couple weeks. Basically I'll be playing TF2 fine with 40-50 fps, and then after a map change it'll drop down to around 7-20 fps. Sometimes it'll happen after playing for an hour, sometimes right when I start playing. And sometimes it'll come and go, alternating between 1 minute of normal fps and 10 seconds of shitty fps. Lowering the graphics doesn't change anything, and I recently tried installing new video drivers to no avail. Restarting my computer gets my fps back to normal, but it usually drops back down again after a map change or two. Also I've had this happen when playing Bad Company 2 and the APB beta so it's not just a Source engine thing.
Here are my current specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 2.00GHz
2GB Ram
NVidia GeForce 8600M GT
120GB Hard Drive
Windows 7
---
Regardless of whether or not I can fix that problem, I'm looking to build myself a new desktop this summer. I don't have any specific parts in mind as of yet, but I'm thinking around $1000-1200 budget, and I'll need a monitor and a cheap keyboard in addition to all of the main components. I'll probably update this post soon with a Newegg wishlist that you guys can look over to make sure I'm not fucking this up.
UPDATE: Here is my current build (rebates and combos knock down that total by $78.25). I didn't include processor and motherboard because I'm still not sure whether to go with Intel or AMD. Going with AMD will save me $66 -$20(see bottom); however, I've heard really good things about the i5-750; however, I've also read that the difference is negligible with regards to gaming performance. If anyone has any opinions on that or on anything else in my build I would love to here them.
UPDATE UPDATE: Grand Total (w/ MiRs) - $1098.46
My main computer for the past ~2.5 years (a laptop) is having some bad FPS issues that one of you can hopefully help me with. First a little history that may or may not be related: for about a year and a half my computer will overheat and shutdown if I play a 3D game for more than 10 minutes. I assume one of my fans broke at some point since I'll hear odd fan noises on occasion. I went out and got a cheap laptop stand/external fan and haven't had any real problems since (as long as I remember to turn on the external fan before playing stuff).
Anyway, my main problem started a few months ago, then stopped for a while, and now it has started up again in the past couple weeks. Basically I'll be playing TF2 fine with 40-50 fps, and then after a map change it'll drop down to around 7-20 fps. Sometimes it'll happen after playing for an hour, sometimes right when I start playing. And sometimes it'll come and go, alternating between 1 minute of normal fps and 10 seconds of shitty fps. Lowering the graphics doesn't change anything, and I recently tried installing new video drivers to no avail. Restarting my computer gets my fps back to normal, but it usually drops back down again after a map change or two. Also I've had this happen when playing Bad Company 2 and the APB beta so it's not just a Source engine thing.
Here are my current specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 2.00GHz
2GB Ram
NVidia GeForce 8600M GT
120GB Hard Drive
Windows 7
---
Regardless of whether or not I can fix that problem, I'm looking to build myself a new desktop this summer. I don't have any specific parts in mind as of yet, but I'm thinking around $1000-1200 budget, and I'll need a monitor and a cheap keyboard in addition to all of the main components. I'll probably update this post soon with a Newegg wishlist that you guys can look over to make sure I'm not fucking this up.
UPDATE: Here is my current build (rebates and combos knock down that total by $78.25). I didn't include processor and motherboard because I'm still not sure whether to go with Intel or AMD. Going with AMD will save me $66 -$20(see bottom); however, I've heard really good things about the i5-750; however, I've also read that the difference is negligible with regards to gaming performance. If anyone has any opinions on that or on anything else in my build I would love to here them.
UPDATE UPDATE: Grand Total (w/ MiRs) - $1098.46