Help with PC speed

[Rsngamer]

So, for the last few months, my PC has been really bad, I don't have the exact specs right now, but it is a decent PC that could run most games I tried (it's a laptop BTW) to run, until one day, when I couldn't run emulators, TF2, or even The Sims 3 (which worked perfectly before) everything is running lower than 15 FPS , but cutscenes seem fine, but I manged to run AAI2 a few days back, but later it slowed down again. I think it might be a problem with my graphics card, since Blender game engine started displaying stuff like "your graphics card may be incompatible" even though it worked before

Please help, thanks

 

[mrlmaokun]

Download Speccy and post a screenshot of it after letting it analyse your components, we can't exactly give a diagnosis until we know what hardware you're working with. Point to note though, generally laptops do encounter problems with age.

 

[Tho]

Just run Glary Utilities once and see how much faster it'll go, then post here.

 

[Rsngamer]

I already tried Glary, and it didn't help much... I downloaded Speccy and it ran the analysis for some reason it says my PC is a tablet, but it might just be the touch screen:

Operating System
Windows 8.1 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i7 3632QM @ 2.20GHz 55 °C
Ivy Bridge 22nm Technology
RAM
8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 798MHz (11-11-11-28)
Motherboard
LENOVO INVALID (U3E1) 59 °C
Graphics
Generic PnP Monitor (1600x900@64Hz)
Intel Microsoft Basic Display Adapter (Lenovo)
Storage
931GB Seagate ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB (SATA) 38 °C
Optical Drives
HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GU70N
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

I won't upload the whole thing now, but if I need to, I might post it (also, I got the current temperature too which if I remember doesn't happen in the full snapshot)

I still think it might have something to do with my graphics card, I'll figure out the model and post it here, it might not have a lot of memory, or maybe it got dirty or something like that

 

[Tho]

If it's a desktop and you only experience framedrops when it is running a game, then remove the graphics card, clean any dust it may have on it with a dry soft cloth (like the one used for glasses) and then put it back in. Then try to see if there's any improvement in the performance. If it doesn't work, then do the same with the RAMs. After this, unistall any new programs or Windows Upgrades you have installed ever since a week before the problems started. Then, schedule a Disk Check and, once it's finished, go to Defrag and analyze your hard disk. That may be one of the reasons it's slower now. Always do a hard disk Defrag every 2 months! Also, when you are done with everything above, run an antivirus check (some viruses and spywares slow down your computer) and finally do a restart. Actual restart, not turn the computer off and on. Those two are different.

 

[532]

In addition, you may need a good thorough dusting of your PC, especially if you keep it on a sofa, or have any pet, etc.
Open it up, take a can of compressed air, and blow the dust out. Pick the stubborn pieces of lint off with a tweezer.

If that fails, try running CCleaner. It cleans up PC registries, allowing smooth operation. (Tested)

 

[mrlmaokun]

@rsngamer
Judging from what you posted, your laptop has quite some age in it and correct me if I'm wrong but it looks like you're running on integrated graphics and not the dedicated graphics card (if it has one that is). I'm not a hardware expert but I agree with the aforementioned suggestions; get some canned air (do not use a vacuum cleaner) and blow out any dust through the ventilation areas. If necessary clear out some space on the hard drive, or just reset your PC. Windows 8.1 has an easy way to factory reset without needing keys etc., so if push comes to shove back up what you need on an external storage device and just start fresh.

If you're paranoid about taking advice from some guy on the internet, just carry the laptop by someone who knows their stuff. Might cost some $$ but eh better safe than sorry.

I've been using a 2012 produced primarily laptop and it's never let me down. Now and again it will slow down and that's when I know to maintain it. Laptop's aren't the heavy hitters desktop computers are but the portability is a great feature. Treat it well mate.

Good luck.

 

[Rsngamer]

it probably is using the integrated graphics, and it was actually made this year, so I guess I ahould see if I have a card in the pc, but now that i think about it, I had a display adapter that glitched out the brightness, but the speed was decent, i had to chabge to Microsoft Basic Display Adapter, so maybe thats why its so slow, I think i should find a solution to that, but first I'll test if the speed is any better with the old one, and I'll try to get a new one if that's the issue

 

[Lee Sin]

I might not be the technical guy but check your NVIDIA driver dude might need a update.
But most likely not but use CCleaner like AliTheAce said.
My computer with windows 10 is running slower as well because my Nvidia Driver didn't support win 10 so I had to use bootable drive. I used to play in 15-30 fps in LoL. Now it's running at 5-10 or even less. I won't get new laptop till next year.

 

[532]

it probably is using the integrated graphics, and it was actually made this year, so I guess I ahould see if I have a card in the pc, but now that i think about it, I had a display adapter that glitched out the brightness, but the speed was decent, i had to chabge to Microsoft Basic Display Adapter, so maybe thats why its so slow, I think i should find a solution to that, but first I'll test if the speed is any better with the old one, and I'll try to get a new one if that's the issue

That sounds like some artifacting.

If you're getting some weird shapes and textures, that's likely what it is. It also is common for framerate drops to occur because of that.

I guess that you might need a new GPU (Or fix the one in your laptop) if it's dying. They don't die easily, still using a 2009 Nvidia Geforce 310M. However, some are more short-lived than others.

 

[3823]

Have you tried playing games with the charger plugged in? My laptop runs significantly faster when that is the case for some reason. If that seems to fix it, yay. If not, I tried >.<

 

[Tho]

Have you tried playing games with the charger plugged in? My laptop runs significantly faster when that is the case for some reason. If that seems to fix it, yay. If not, I tried >.<

That probably happens because you use different power plans for when using the battery and when using the charger! If you optimize the computer, then that gets reverted, so it can't be it.
Try either deleting as much stuff as possible or formatting! Lot's of files slow down your computer and if that doesn't do the trick, then defrag! If that doesn't work, format your computer! You don't need to reformat everything, you can keep your files and just reinstall the Windows!

 

[3823]

That probably happens because you use different power plans for when using the battery and when using the charger! If you optimize the computer, then that gets reverted, so it can't be it.
Try either deleting as much stuff as possible or formatting! Lot's of files slow down your computer and if that doesn't do the trick, then defrag! If that doesn't work, format your computer! You don't need to reformat everything, you can keep your files and just reinstall the Windows!

You should try using this: "." >.< it'll help a lot.

Thanks~! I think it's a laptop problem in general tho, cause they're not powerful. ;-;

 

[Rsngamer]

Thanks guys, after a bit of trying out your ideas and hearing your suggestions, I noticed it works pretty decently when it's charging, but there's a small problem, it says: "plugged in, not charging" most of the time(when it slows down), and the battery amount stays the same, but never charges up, I think the problem is either with my battery, charger, or outlet, my dad says he thinks the outlet is a bit broken, so it's probably that. Either way, thanks