Help for a noob

[csf103]

My Dell Inspiron 17r was playing games and recording gameplay perfectly fine up until a few days ago. Now has trouble running games on their lowest settings. :S Is there anything I can do/check to fix it?

Thanks for any help.

[Rick Roll]

list system specs include the os and games you play.

[zezzex]

Run a virus scan. If you dont have a good virus scanner, download microsoft security essentials.

also, go to task maner and look at the processes tab. when idling, look at the cpu column and you should see "system idle process" taking up 99% of your cpu. If something else is taking a huge chunk of your cpu, then that is the culprit.

oh, if you haven't rebooted in a while...rebooting every now and then is a good idea.

[Atwooooood]

Blowing out the inside with some air if it's real dusty never hurts anything either. I have 3 cats, and before I got a case with fan filters, I would get blue screens if I let the inside of the computer get too dusty.

[caveman26]

After all that try system restore to when it was running ok

[Hedy Lamarr]

And don't forget to check if the machine's power settings are on "Power Saving" mode.

[MrFreeman]

All above are great ideas and should fix the issue. One more thing you could do is make sure your graphics drivers are up to date.

[csf103]

I've tried everything said above, and my computer still won't run the games or record (with a capture card) very well. :S

"list system specs include the os and games you play."

750GB HD
8GB of Ram
Intel I5 Processor @2.30 GHz
Windows 7 64 bit

Games I'm trying to play:
Garry's Mod
Counter Strike

Also used to record gameplay good but now it doesn't record very well at all now.

I'm not sure what to do.

[ACJCLIGHTNING]

graphics card?

well even with the built in graphics card it shouldn't be this low, but if it has a dedicated gputhen this could be even worse.

[fincher234]

Originally Posted by csf103

I've tried everything said above, and my computer still won't run the games or record (with a capture card) very well. :S

you have even rolled back to a restore point from a time before the problem cropped up?

[csf103]

It's a laptop, so I guess it's nothing amazing. I've went into the Intel HD Settings and everything was turned up all the way.

"you have even rolled back to a restore point from a time before the problem cropped up?"

Yes. I'm starting to think it's a hardware related issue unfortunately.

[ACJCLIGHTNING]

Originally Posted by csf103

It's a laptop, so I guess it's nothing amazing. I've went into the Intel HD Settings and everything was turned up all the way.

"you have even rolled back to a restore point from a time before the problem cropped up?"

Yes. I'm starting to think it's a hardware related issue unfortunately.

You'd be suprised...

When you right click on desktop, does it say "Configure switchable graphics" or "Nvidia control panal"

if not, then you have intel integrated, which exactly do you have.

ivy bridge integrated should'nt be to bad
even sandy bridge isnt as terrible as most people say.

you should be able to play Gmod and counter strike at high without AA on the sandy bridge(when I tested, at 1600x900)
with AA if you have the i7 version of intel 3000

Have you tried playing without recording?
It might be a defective recorder.

[harland555]

Originally Posted by csf103

It's a laptop, so I guess it's nothing amazing. I've went into the Intel HD Settings and everything was turned up all the way.

"you have even rolled back to a restore point from a time before the problem cropped up?"

Yes. I'm starting to think it's a hardware related issue unfortunately.

Check your temp while gaming and update the vdrivers but then again these things dont just pop up lol. It could be hardware problem. Was there any indication like a blue screen or massive fps spike then it started this horrible lag? Laptops like the one you bought are not made out of Chinese chip shops but that does not say it could have broken either.

EDIT: Thinking it probally something to do with very poor intel drivers maybe?