Lag issues.

SomethingRoyal · 3 Feb 2013 at 01:43

EDIT 2: I am now lead to believe that this might be a motherboard issue / fault. Something to do with the PCI-e slots not communicating with the GPU properly, and sometimes the random voltage spikes and warnings from the MB probes when nothing is actually changing and also because BIOS settings which I change don't actually work or change anything...

EDIT 1: I have tried dragging an explorer window around (My Documents) on Windows Aero and the lag issue is there, however I turned over to Windows 7 Basic and the issue has completely gone in it's entirety. <- Confused.

So I made a thread a few days ago about having lag issues in Windows 7 but after countless hours and sleep lost of troubleshooting, working my fingers to the bone on over 100 different programs (not literally), I've just reach the point where I'm about to give up.

System Specs:
CPU: Intel™ Core i5 3570K (Ivybridge) @ 4.6GHz
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth Z77 (LGA1155)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (4x4GB) @ 1600Mhz
SSD #1 (Boot Drive): Corsair Force 3 120GB
SSD #2: OCZ Agility 3 60GB
HDD #1: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
HDD #2: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 6GB/s
GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 660 Ti OC 2GB
PSU: Corsair HX850W Modular 80+ PLUS Silver Certified
Optical Drive: LG 22x DVD/RW
Case: Corsair Carbide 500R

Problem Description: So essentially my computer in general is lagging. This is not program specific, it's just a general lag. Everything from just dragging the blue highlight boxes around on my desktop to dragging chat boxes around, explorer windows around, browser windows around, it's just a terrible lag. Sometimes it runs smoothly, but every now and then it stutters with lag, and it gets worse and worse each day. At random points too my system audio / network just turns into robot mode, for example I was in a Skype call not 1 hour ago and randomly all of a sudden everybody just turned into robot and the audio stream was stuttering on and off just like a high frequency / fast strobe light.

It's getting to the point where I can no longer do anything. I went on a game and fraps was saying I was getting 70-90 FPS but every second or two it would lag bomb down to about 5-10FPS (without fraps indicating that), and my mouse input would be so delayed, by around 0.5 - 1 second.

Troubleshooting Steps Taken:
- RMA'd GPU = Got a new one, same problem.
- Memtest = No errors.
- Overclock = Ran stock and OC, Both have the issue.
- PSU = Not causing the issue.
- HDD's / SSD's = Not causing the issue, stress tested under benchmarks.
- Reformatted onto a clean Windows installation = Same issue.

Can anybody shed light on this please? My computer is important to me and my studies (I do 3D modelling).

troops · 3 Feb 2013 at 02:04

Check to see if the ssd`s have the latest firmware.

SomethingRoyal · 3 Feb 2013 at 02:08

troops said:
Check to see if the ssd`s have the latest firmware.

I checked this a couple of hours ago thinking exactly the same thing but they're at the latest firmware and according to my benchmarks of them they don't seem to have any problems with them.

I updated my OP with EDIT 1 which is that the problem only occurs with Aero enabled so now I have to figure out why Aero is causing lag..

troops · 3 Feb 2013 at 02:28

Suppose you could try it with aero disabled

SomethingRoyal · 3 Feb 2013 at 02:30

troops said:
Suppose you could try it with aero disabled

It seems fine with it disabled but I'd really like it :\

troops · 3 Feb 2013 at 02:33

I saw this whilst browsing, not sure if its the same thing tho

Windows 7 Aero Lag fix for PCs with Nvidia Graphic cards!

1. Install latest Nvidia graphics driver downloaded from official website.
2. During install select "perform clean install" option.
3. After all the reboots open Nvidia control panel.
4. Go to Advanced 3D settings and find power options.
5. Change it from Adaptive to Maximum performance
6. Go to individual program list in advanced 3D settings menu (The tab on the right)
7. Add Desktop Window Manager (DWM.exe at system32 folder) and Explorer.exe (at windows folder) there.
8. Set their power mode from optimized to Maximum performance. Also change power mode of Windows sidebar to Maximum performance too.
9. Reboot!

troops · 3 Feb 2013 at 02:40

Another also says this may sort it,

Control Panel > System and Security > System > Check the Windows Experience Index > Adjust visual effects > Visual Effects, then make sure the box for "Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing" is unchecked.

SomethingRoyal · 3 Feb 2013 at 03:10

troops said:
I saw this whilst browsing, not sure if its the same thing tho

Windows 7 Aero Lag fix for PCs with Nvidia Graphic cards!

1. Install latest Nvidia graphics driver downloaded from official website.
2. During install select "perform clean install" option.
3. After all the reboots open Nvidia control panel.
4. Go to Advanced 3D settings and find power options.
5. Change it from Adaptive to Maximum performance
6. Go to individual program list in advanced 3D settings menu (The tab on the right)
7. Add Desktop Window Manager (DWM.exe at system32 folder) and Explorer.exe (at windows folder) there.
8. Set their power mode from optimized to Maximum performance. Also change power mode of Windows sidebar to Maximum performance too.
9. Reboot!

troops said:
Another also says this may sort it,

Control Panel > System and Security > System > Check the Windows Experience Index > Adjust visual effects > Visual Effects, then make sure the box for "Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing" is unchecked.

Did both of these but unfortunately still no progress, lag is still occurring :confused:

troops · 3 Feb 2013 at 03:13

Bah thats a bummer, sounds like 2d clock speeds cause it

linwelin · 3 Feb 2013 at 03:46

have you tried without the GPU ?

SomethingRoyal · 3 Feb 2013 at 03:49

linwelin said:
have you tried without the GPU ?

Without the GPU and running on integrated (With only one of my monitors because it only supports one) I can use aero with my HD4000 graphics and it works just fine, flawlessly. However I had a GTX660 before when I had this problem and RMA'd it thinking that this was the problem, and now I have a brand new GTX660Ti and the problem is still there so I have to rule out the GPU as a problem.. I mean, What are the odds of having 2 faulty GPU's in a row from different distributors made by different companies and they're different models too?

SaTrOx · 3 Feb 2013 at 05:38

I know what im going to say might sound stupid but have u tried the following :

Different DVI port on your card , Use different DVI or HDMI cable
Also have u tried removing 1 stick of ram from your mobo ? and u can also try putting your ram sticks into different slots.

SomethingRoyal · 3 Feb 2013 at 05:40

SaTrOx said:
I know what im going to say might sound stupid but have u tried the following :

Different DVI port on your card , Use different DVI or HDMI cable
Also have u tried removing 1 stick of ram from your mobo ? and u can also try putting your ram sticks into different slots.

Yeah tried all of the above before on two occasions :\

SaTrOx · 3 Feb 2013 at 10:35

SomethingRoyal said:
Yeah tried all of the above before on two occasions :\

One thing that comes to my head right now is to move your graphics card into second pcie x16 slot, but u have already tried that ?

LukieBoy007 · 3 Feb 2013 at 12:22

You could try this:
Right click My Computer > Properties > Click Advanced system settings on the left > Click on the Advanced tab > Click Settings underneath Performance > Go through all the boxes and experiment to see if the problem goes.
Worth a shot?

linwelin · 3 Feb 2013 at 14:12

anything in this topic useful for you ? http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...-closing/91dd2caf-eb09-40e3-ac7f-92635d23b237

SomethingRoyal · 3 Feb 2013 at 16:57

SaTrOx said:
One thing that comes to my head right now is to move your graphics card into second pcie x16 slot, but u have already tried that ?

I tried this but had no success

LukieBoy007 said:
You could try this:
Right click My Computer > Properties > Click Advanced system settings on the left > Click on the Advanced tab > Click Settings underneath Performance > Go through all the boxes and experiment to see if the problem goes.
Worth a shot?

Tried this also, still no success

linwelin said:
anything in this topic useful for you ? http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...-closing/91dd2caf-eb09-40e3-ac7f-92635d23b237

I read this last night whilst I was researching but it didn't do anything for me

- OP Edited.

linwelin · 3 Feb 2013 at 17:15

do you have another GFX you can try ?

SaTrOx · 3 Feb 2013 at 17:49

linwelin said:
do you have another GFX you can try ?

He already said when he uses HD4000 integrated everything runs fine.

Can u borrow a motherboard from someone and put your stuff on there ?
I assume u have original windows 7 on disc right ? try and download a copy of windows 7 from internet and install it but use your original key (this is legal as long as you have original copy somewhere at home)

linwelin · 3 Feb 2013 at 18:03

SaTrOx said:
He already said when he uses HD4000 integrated everything runs fine.

Can u borrow a motherboard from someone and put your stuff on there ?
I assume u have original windows 7 on disc right ? try and download a copy of windows 7 from internet and install it but use your original key (this is legal as long as you have original copy somewhere at home)

that is not the same thing lol