games get real slow

[mihanikos]

I have a Dell 4100 with a P3 1ghz, ATI radeon 32mb vid card, 384mb RAM. I noticed recently that after playong games like Mechwarrior 4 and USAF that the games start to get slow after about a 1/2 hour of playing. I called Dell they state that it's most likely a software issue not a hardware issue and that I should check to make sure I didn't download something that could cause these problems. I have DirectX 8.1 and the most current video drivers. The only change I made is that I added a stick of RAM (256mb of Micron) giving me a total of 384mb, but i did that about 6 months ago. I noticed this problem about 2 weeks ago. All my fans are working, any ideas?

[wilsontc]

I had a similar problem.
I assume that your games are installed on the partition that windows is installed on (c:/ in most cases).
Try freeing up as much disk space as you can...many games need 300mb or more free space to run.
Also, if you have done this defrag your hard drive.

Hope it works for you
Tim

[Terrorbyte]

If the games start fine and gradually get slower it could be a heat problem, adding heat sinks to the memory chips on the video card is a start.

Going further for a chip fan is not out of the question, My Geforce2 MX400 has fan fitted as standard, they are telling you by putting it there that they run hot.
Just because the fans are working does not mean they are up to the job, I have a CAK-12 120mm fan that faces the pci slots, it cools all the cards very well, adding the memory sinks also do a lot to keep it cool.

Thermaltake makes em and they attach via Arctic Silver Thermal Epoxy Glue, cost Vs a new card, very cheap.

[christo418]

What operating system are you running? When did you install DirectX 8.1? Do you have a screensaver or other background program (kicks on in 1/2 hour?)? Definitely sounds hardware related, but the least invasive troubleshooting methods need to be explored first, i.e. software. Also, have you updated your video card drivers lately?