short term perfomance drop

[rossgalloway]

I have a question regarding my PC. It seems to slow down after running for a while. I tested this out using 3dmark05 and the HL2 stress test.
first of all my specs.

Asus A7N8X deluxe mobo
AMD 2800+ w /stock cooling
1 gig ddr 400
x800 xl (new)

Im thinking the cpu may be heating up and slowing down, but asus probe doesnt show that that is happening much. my test result in 3dmark when i last did it was 3728, but when i ran it after just installing my x800 i got around 4100 or so (i forgot to save the score).
for the HL2 stress test i averaged about 87 fps when i had just turned my pc on, and that dropped to about 70 after using it for a few hours.

do you think i need a new fan or something. If anyone knows whats up, i would greatly appreciate all help.

Thanks a lot

[Gaffer Sport]

I would certainly keep an eye on the temperature, but this could be spy/adware.

If you have become infected with these malwares then you will see a significant drop in system performance as it starts to eat the resourses.

Search google for SpyBot Search & Destroy (if you do not have it) and run it on the machine, clearing any traces on detection.

Steve

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http://www.thegaffer.com

[rossgalloway]

i did that and found a few files, but the performance drop is still there. my cpu temp isnt over 60C. im gonna try new drivers... reverting to older ones. hopefully that will work... if anyone else has any ideas please share them.!

[Catweazle]

Now let me see. Your problem is that a benchmark test, when run immediately after you boot, scores 87, but when you running the test after using the PC for a while, it will only score 70?

Or is it that after you use your system for a while there is an actual performance drop and it becomes difficult to use?

If it's the former, then you do not actually have a problem. Benchmark tests always score higher on a freshly booted system than they do on a system which has been in use for a while. Even normal Windows usage 'eats resources' to some extent, and because of this benchmark tests should always be run on a freshly booted system.

[rossgalloway]

Is a 20 percent drop normal even with windows running and taking up processor time? 20 percent seems a little extreme, but maybe you are right.

I dont think i was noticing this kind of drop with my old video card (9800 pro), so maybe i can test the new card with another computer.

i do notice a performance lag while using the computer, but that drop probably follows the benchmark's similar performance hit.