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Care and feeding of a gaming machine....

erliesc
erliesc
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Not that I'm an expert...but here's some things I do with a desktop gaming box:

* Run Speedfan (free temp monitoring program). I have an alarm set for 70C for the GPU and CPU....anything above this I get a BEEP....then I consider shutting down.

I also run the online SMART test...get a 95...though my Power on count is higher than most...might be just a matter of time before the end... Drive never gets too warm that I know of.

* After I shut down the game...I give things time to get to baseline temps....down near 30C or so.

Pretty much run at highest settings...though recently I put the view distance to 80% and dropped the shadow from ultra to high....probably gives a little more stable frame rate.

If I were running a gaming laptop...I'd have it sitting on a laptop cooler for sure.


Running an I5-2500 CPU...8 G memory...GTX 960...Win7...CoolerMaster

Would appreciate any other ideas or decent progs to run.....
I know nutting....
  • DoctorESO
    DoctorESO
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    Wow! This reminded me that some people (not saying you) take better care of their computers (or cars) than they do their own bodies!
  • erliesc
    erliesc
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    For computers...it's mostly heat that is the enemy? My current gaming box has been thru World of Tanks...New Vegas...plus ESO for around 2 years. Did have to reload Windows due to getting stupid installing a new video card...sent that one back...installed a new one and have been running it for 2 yrs or so.

    Once this box goes south....I'll probably move on from ESO....might even go to VR...if the Bitcoin people will let me have a video card that is.

    Run 'em cool boys!
    I know nutting....
  • ValkynSketha
    ValkynSketha
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    You might consider to dust off your pc, most heating issues come from dust , also water cooling or better air flow with atleast 3 fans. Anyway i woudn't worry about 70 degree specially that you are running on max setting, and as far as i recall gtx 960 can take temps up to 98 degree.
  • Sixty5
    Sixty5
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    Dusting your PC out and checking your fans is one of the biggest favours you can do for your computer.

    If you want to go the extra mile, new thermal paste for your CPU can be a bit of a help.

    Apart from that, I'd suggest having a cleanout of the stuff that is running on your PC. Over time people tend to accumulate programs that run on startup that they never use. That sort of thing tends to just put unneeded strain on your PC.
    Lord and Savior of the Association of Serious S***posters.

    I play a character called "Gives Me Wood Elf" because I am a mature and sensible person.
    Stam Sorc main in Battlegrounds
  • Scraelos
    Scraelos
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    When my GT 740M temperature was above 96C and it dropped frequency, I disassembled my laptop, cleaned dust and changed thermal paste.
    Now it never runs above 80C. And I was able to everclock it via msi afterburner to gain some additional FPS.
    Also check your PC for viruses - maybe someone is mining crypto currency on your pc.
  • erliesc
    erliesc
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    You might consider to dust off your pc, most heating issues come from dust , also water cooling or better air flow with atleast 3 fans. Anyway i woudn't worry about 70 degree specially that you are running on max setting, and as far as i recall gtx 960 can take temps up to 98 degree.

    I generally blow the dust out at least 1x per year...maybe 2xs. The temp monitoring did help a couple of times when the side fan lost connx and quit. This box IS a gaming computer...so it has 4 fans...I also have a 110V cooling fan from an old xerox or something that I can set in front of the case if needed. Maybe 70C is a bit too cautious...better safe than sorry I guess.

    I guess hard drives last best if kept below 100F.

    My previous gaming box ran for 10 yrs and might still boot if I don't plug anything USB related into it...still plays UT2004 real well....I wore grooves in that game.

    I have a $15 can of connection stuff...which is how I "fix" most computer issues....reset memory and power connxs. :)
    I know nutting....
  • Nestor
    Nestor
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    erliesc wrote: »
    For computers...it's mostly heat that is the enemy?

    Too much heat is. But, just like a car engine, they run better when they are properly warmed up. Graphics cards these days can go to insane temps, like 100C before they start alarming. Me, I set mine to 70C.

    Back to PC Practices.

    Now, this is not as important as it was in the days of XP or 95, but the less background apps you have running, the better your gaming will be. Media Streaming, for a variety of reasons, is not helpful when gaming. Same with AV scans and other things like that.

    If your doing on line gaming, use a wired connection.

    If you have others on your wireless AP, consider setting up a DMZ and allocating them a portion of your bandwidth for that, so you can have a set amount of bandwidth for gaming.

    Don't update drivers unless you have a specific issue the new drivers take care of. OR, they are like a year old or your new game needs them. But older stable drivers are just fine. Only update them if you have a valid reason too, not just because they came out today.

    If your innards are getting too hot under normal circumstances, no fan programs out there are going to resolve that. Address case airflow. Rule of thumb, in at lower/front bottom and out at upper top/back. More fans blowing out than in.

    Once every 3 months or so, get a can of compressed air, take the PC outside (you will thank me later) take off the case side and blow out the dust from the innards. Careful on the fans. Probably better to gently use cotton swabs rather than brute force air on those.

    Enjoy the game, life is what you really want to be worried about.

    PakKat "Everything was going well, until I died"
    Gary Gravestink "I am glad you died, I needed the help"

  • erliesc
    erliesc
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    "If your doing on line gaming, use a wired connection."

    I use a low end DSL connx...get maybe 150 ms lag. I'm fairly near a major trunk line I guess....midwest. Not sure where the game servers are.

    I hear cable lag is worse...just wondering what the newer satellite connxs will pan out to.

    No problem with temps NOT getting high enough...but in summer even with AC...I can get room temps near 80F...which is when I need to watch out. When I get a beep...I don't immediately shut down...just look at the temp graph to see how high it is...and go from there.

    I'm probably running maybe 25 addons...which can cause issues at times....but the extra info and convenience helps.
    I know nutting....
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