Can processors go "bad"?

C

Circuitbreaker8

Supreme [H]ardness
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Jul 22, 2004
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Hey guys, I think I have a problem with my AMD Athlon 64 3400 ClawHammer. I've been noticing a lot of 'slowdowns' with my computer, and I kinda just figured it was the game itself, or the program. But now its happening wayyy to much. I really noticed it when I tried running those HD-Xbox 360 videos ( 720 resolution )...man...that thing was like a slideshow! Then I noticed Desert Combat slowing down a LOT! When there is a lot of action on screen, the FPS dip like crazy. Swat 4 ( SP )...just wow. One one mission, my FPS dipped to 10fps average durring a gun fight! :eek: Photoshop CS lags a lot also....and just the overall performance of my computer feels.....slow. What should I do?
 
Check your temps when running these processor intensive apps. Your CPU might be overheating and thus is being throttled down to prevent damage. I would make sure your cooling system is in top order first.

If not that, then try killing some apps and then run the games. See if that helps.

Also, maybe try updating and running ad-ware, or spy-bot? That seems to be the problem with alot of slow computers these days, just clogged up with spyware.
 
Also, it may not be your processor at all. My roomate had this problem for a while with his computer, turned out it was a problem with either his RAM, or his motherboard. Somehow there was a complication with those components, either the motherboard went bad, or the RAM did and was causing several memory errors, which in turn, caused an enourmous slowdown for him.

I think we decided it was his motherboard, because when we put his ram in my computron, it tested fine.

anyways, the point of this seperate post is go and get memtest, burn the ISO, and then run it. Just to make sure that there isn't something else contributing to the problem.
 
I'll give it a shot. I have 1GB OCZ EL Platinum 3200 rev2 running at stock speeds ( 200mhz 2-2-2-5 1t ) My motherboard's bios has memtest built in, so i guess i'll run it.
 
Circuitbreaker8 said:
Then I noticed Desert Combat slowing down a LOT!
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Hmmmm, DesertCombat, the best freaking game in existence!
This same problem happened on my Intel system and my FX-53 system before I pulled it out of commission, I'm in the process of RMA'ing the video card because I think that had a LOT to do with it...
 
It's certainly possible with excessive voltage. For example, you can kill an A64 with 1.8v in a couple months. If it's not overclocked, then it's more likely that your motherboard is dying, or even your memory.

Run some sort of stress test like Prime95 and see if it errors out. If it doesn't, try reinstalling chipset drivers/defragging/cleaning out spyware. If it DOES, then start swapping parts. :(

edit: Do A64s throttle? I thought they just shut down.
 
Ugly_Jim said:
It's certainly possible with excessive voltage. For example, you can kill an A64 with 1.8v in a couple months. If it's not overclocked, then it's more likely that your motherboard is dying, or even your memory.

Run some sort of stress test like Prime95 and see if it errors out. If it doesn't, try reinstalling chipset drivers/defragging/cleaning out spyware. If it DOES, then start swapping parts. :(
Click to expand...


Could you possibly PM me benchmarks of your system? I'm interested in the real-world performance of an unlocked 6200 in a system such as yours.
 
Ugly_Jim said:
It's certainly possible with excessive voltage. For example, you can kill an A64 with 1.8v in a couple months. If it's not overclocked, then it's more likely that your motherboard is dying, or even your memory.

Run some sort of stress test like Prime95 and see if it errors out. If it doesn't, try reinstalling chipset drivers/defragging/cleaning out spyware. If it DOES, then start swapping parts. :(

edit: Do A64s throttle? I thought they just shut down.
Click to expand...

I dont know for SURE if they do, i just assumed they would. do intel's throttle?
 
i say dust in the video card causing heat, thus throttling the video card in intense situations

edit: wait, photoshop. haha umm, well then. reinstall windows :p
 
My computer is pretty clean...and I dont think my OCZ powerstream is going out anytime soon. The voltages look fine...

Argh...I'll try running Prime 95...( never done so before )...what do I do? I seriously dont feel like dumping money into this computer anymore :rolleyes: RMA time :D Good thing I bought a retail AMD chip, and I here OCZ is cool about RMAs. The system hasnt been OCed in so long though...and I never went past 1.67v on the CPU. The ram usually stayed @ 2.7-2.8v also...
 
CodeWaste said:
I dont know for SURE if they do, i just assumed they would. do intel's throttle?
Click to expand...

Intel's last I heard do thermally throttle (and eventually shutdown if that doesn't work). AMD, at least the new AMD64's throttle dynamically don't they, that whole Cool 'N Quiet thing, whenever your processor isn't needed at full, it doesn't run at full, so as to conserve power and the production of heat?
 
Sounds like what happens when you constantly over lap video card drivers.

Hardware related issue would be the last thing i'd look at personally. Either it works, or it doesnt. I have never had a computer component gradually degrade in performance. Thats usually taken care of by excessive spyware or too much porn.
 
Sounds like Windows Brain Damage at work - spyware/adware, viruses or just general cruft building up from installing/uninstalling crap.
 
The driver comment makes sense. Have you recently upgraded vid card drivers? I have had issues in the past when upgrading drivers. That is until I learned about Driver Cleaner. Great tool...that's something else to think about.
 
I usually use Driver Cleaner when I switch through drivers....


How do I run Prime95?? Do I do torture test?
 
I have to second the notion of spyware... this is a huge problem.
 
I third spyware, its becoming a huge problem. Do scans with Adware, Spybot, Hijackthis and Counterspy.

Oh, and CPUs are by far the easiest hardware to troubleshoot. They either work, or they don't. Theres no in between.
 
Im gonna run Prime95 tonight, which settings should I use? These slowdowns are really starting to piss me off :rolleyes:
 
JL_Audio_User said:
O&O Defrag
Click to expand...

Thats the program I use....

Anyways, my CPU ran Prime95 for 8.5 hours with zero problems, and my ram passed memtest for about 9 hours with only two errors? ( 2-2-2-10 CPC on )

So that leaves me with the graphics card, the motherboard, or the HDD.
 
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