Random heat releated slowdown

[fatboymatt99]

My PC ever since I bought it has randomly slowed down after what seems
a completely random time period, usually from 1 minute up to half an
hour. By slowdown I mean that if I am playing a game, from running
constantly smooth, in a split second it will go jerky. There is no
excessive reading of the hard drive or anything else instantly visible.
It always slows down to what seems subjectively the same speed. I have
also taken bench marks before and after this slow down and the results
reflect it also.

I reformatted, and still the problem occured. When returned to the
manufacturers they could not find anything and returned it unfixed.
They told me that it wouldn't be heat related, as this only causes
freezing or shutdown of the PC.

Since getting the computer back, I have taken the side of the case off,
and physically stuck a large household fan blowing straight in to the
case. This keeps it very cool, and the slowdown hardly ever occurs now,
even when left on for long periods of time.

Is there anything inside a PC system that would actually slow down if
it got too hot rather than shutting down? I'm hoping somebody knows a
bit more than the guy that tested my computer ;-)

Many thanks in advance,

Matt

 

[Derek Baker]

My PC ever since I bought it has randomly slowed down after what seems
a completely random time period, usually from 1 minute up to half an
hour. By slowdown I mean that if I am playing a game, from running
constantly smooth, in a split second it will go jerky. There is no
excessive reading of the hard drive or anything else instantly visible.
It always slows down to what seems subjectively the same speed. I have
also taken bench marks before and after this slow down and the results
reflect it also.

I reformatted, and still the problem occured. When returned to the
manufacturers they could not find anything and returned it unfixed.
They told me that it wouldn't be heat related, as this only causes
freezing or shutdown of the PC.

Since getting the computer back, I have taken the side of the case off,
and physically stuck a large household fan blowing straight in to the
case. This keeps it very cool, and the slowdown hardly ever occurs now,
even when left on for long periods of time.

Is there anything inside a PC system that would actually slow down if
it got too hot rather than shutting down? I'm hoping somebody knows a
bit more than the guy that tested my computer ;-)

Many thanks in advance,

Matt

Clock throttling of the processor due to it overheating.

What CPU is it?

 

[fatboymatt99]

Thank you for the quick reply Derek.

It's a P4 3ghz chip, running on a Foxconn K7S5A motherboard.

 

[Derek Baker]

Thank you for the quick reply Derek.

It's a P4 3ghz chip, running on a Foxconn K7S5A motherboard.

What cooling does the case have? What are the temperatures?

 

[Quaoar]

My PC ever since I bought it has randomly slowed down after what seems
a completely random time period, usually from 1 minute up to half an
hour. By slowdown I mean that if I am playing a game, from running
constantly smooth, in a split second it will go jerky. There is no
excessive reading of the hard drive or anything else instantly
visible. It always slows down to what seems subjectively the same
speed. I have also taken bench marks before and after this slow down
and the results reflect it also.

I reformatted, and still the problem occured. When returned to the
manufacturers they could not find anything and returned it unfixed.
They told me that it wouldn't be heat related, as this only causes
freezing or shutdown of the PC.

Since getting the computer back, I have taken the side of the case
off, and physically stuck a large household fan blowing straight in
to the case. This keeps it very cool, and the slowdown hardly ever
occurs now, even when left on for long periods of time.

Is there anything inside a PC system that would actually slow down if
it got too hot rather than shutting down? I'm hoping somebody knows a
bit more than the guy that tested my computer ;-)

Many thanks in advance,

Matt

Check voltage fluctuations on the power supply also.

Q

 

[fatboymatt99]

There is a case fan, as well as obviously the fan on the PSU, heatsink
& gfx card. I downloaded a program to monitor the temperatures a while
ago. I could only watch two temperature readings, one rose gradually
depending on how much heavy the processor was worked, but the other one
fluctuated greatly. The reading would jump up and down a good 10
degrees every five or ten seconds, I don't know whether or not this is
significant.

I will monitor them again in the BIOS and take note of the temperatures
and voltage fluctuations.

Thank you for the responses so far, what would you recommend?