Computer Performance Issue when Playing UO

[Eärendil]

Folks,

I need your help. I got a 3 year old Laptop (Acer Aspire V3-571G) with Win 10 on it. And UO is the ONLY program I am running on a daily basis that causes the CPU to get REALLY hot - even sometimes breaking down. I can write books with my Word or browse the Internet for hours and hours. But when I play UO, the fan starts working like hell and it gets REALLY REALLY hot and working speed decreases...

It´s a Intel Core i5 (2.5 Ghz) with an onboard graphics chip as well as a Geforce NT 630M and 1 GB video RAM. 4 GM RAM in total...

UO is such an ancient program. It shouldnt produce performance issues, should it?

Any ideas?

Thank you so much!

 

[Gilmour]

Assuming Classic Client, it is quite old but it is still a game.. That said, classic client should not cause your pc to overheat, have you checked the cpu usage of classic client while it is running? (ctrl+alt+delete -> task manager)

 

[HoneythornGump]

There could be many different things going on...

Computer issues are generally going to falling into 1 of 3 categories 1) Corrupted User Profile 2) Hardware failure 3) Virus/Malware.

Definitely blow out the fan, and if you think it's getting hot place an object underneath it like a book so the vents are not blocked, and nothing is restricting the air flow.

I do desktop support for a living. There are diagnostics you can run to narrow down what is causing the issue.

With an I5 you really shouldn't be having issues running UO.

If your really struggling we can set up a TeamViewer session, and we can run some diagnostics.

 

[HoneythornGump]

To add to what I was saying...

For starters:

1) Download Crystal Disk Info - this is for preliminary HD scan (it's ancient but it still works)...PortableApps has a version which is nice you can run without having to install. If it comes up healthy good...if it doesn't run command prompt chkdsk /r /f and reboot. See what Windows Diagnostics finds. You can check the log in event viewer. If the hard drive is failing doing anything else is moot. Same goes for other hardware failure such as the memory, board and the CPU, however running diagnostics on those take much longer....

2) Download AutoRuns & Process Explorer from Sysinternals - this will tell you exactly wtf is going on with your computer ( Mark Russovich is a bleeping genius).

Process explorer - verify all the signatures & the submit the hashes to Virus Total. This often will show you if anything funky is on your machine, and likely it will show you all the processes running on your machine you had no idea were running in the background.

Autoruns - Best program ever...show you exactly what your computer is 'programmed' to do. Make sure you know exactly what your turning off here. I would focus on the Logon, Services, and scheduled tasks tabs. (Windows has Msconfig.exe which is also worth checking out, but nothing compared to autoruns.)

3) Run CCleaner - I roll my eyes at people who say bad things about it. It should be built into windows. There is a portable version as well. You have to configure to and check out all the tabs but people who haven't cleaned their browers in a long time it makes a huge difference in performance. CCleaner also has a very nice start-up items menu worth checking out.

4) Run Malware scans - AdwareCleaner by Toolibs or Bleeping Computer (trusted sources only), and malwarebytes from the .Org only. Don't download it from any other sources.

Window 10 is the biggest invasion of privacy ever, they're watching everything you do literally. It's a keylogger right out of the box, and Cortana is like planting a microphone right inside your own home so the NSA can hear what your saying. You can't even edit the hosts file to bypass telemetry, it has to be done manually on the router, and even then...the websites are constantly changing. Even if you say no and opt out, there still watching you and you computer is sending data back to the Microsoft Servers.

I'm sticking with Windows 8 (Telemetry disabled), and hoping someone else comes out with a nice operating system where users have control (Not a fan of Linux or Apple).

 

[Eärendil]

Thank you all for you kind replies! I will check it out when I am back from work.

 

[Eärendil]

...but I remember it was getting hot, before I installed Win10...

 

[Spartan]

...but I remember it was getting hot, before I installed Win10...

Then I would start with the fan cleaning and some sort of support to open the airflow underneath. I use CCleaner, Malwarebytes and Spybot on my home desktop (actually a Dell tower) with the last 2 being used regularly (like every 1-2 weeks).

I also will be staying at Win 8.1 and in fact have disabled the updater ability to even allow Win 10 stuff to get near me ... GWX Control Panel (free).

 

[Eärendil]

You guys are really nice! I try the cleaning and the tools. Interestingly, games which use the 3D-chip don't make the Laptop become so terribly hot. But I must admit, I haven't played a modern game for a while...

 

[BeaIank]

You can try to set UO to use the GPU by right clicking the link and picking "Run this program with the graphic processor", or access GeForce Control Panel and add it to the list of programs that are use the GPU acceleration.
I know that the EC isn't added automatically to it when installed, and this is certainly the case with the CC as well.

Also, try rolling back the GeForce drivers to the 362.00 version. THe 364.XX ones are broken as heck.

 

[Archnight]

Are you going here

by chance when your logging in to UO? cause I think that's your problem... that uses too much resources and I heard it could be a virus . You'll have to switch to this

or

and things will go back to normal, computers like it there hehe

PS: Hope you fix your problem

 

[Eärendil]

Dear Archknight,

I played on Prodo-Shards long enough to know one thing: I will never leave Siege again. If I have to live with that Virus that eats so much of my resources, so be it. I will adapt.

So, sorry for my litte eulogy, which went off-topic. I can tell you, my notebook gets hot all the time when I am ingame, no matter which shard I log in.

But thanks for your posting, I smiled alot! I like your contributions to this forum. You are one of the good ones!

@Bealank: I try it when I get back home
@HoneythornGump: I downloaded all the stuff and try it tonight.
@All other posters: Thank you, your help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Archnight]

But thanks for your posting, I smiled alot! I like your contributions to this forum. You are one of the good ones!

Thanks for the kind words, I enjoy your posts as well

I'm alot like @Lord Trollo, but instead of being "a better class of criminal"...

 

[Angel of Sonoma]

my laptop acts the same way. running win7 on an i7 processor. nvidia 525M graphics. within minutes of firing up UO the fan kicks in (CC). uo is only using 2% of the cpu. this leads me to believe the issue is related to heavy i/o or an overworked graphics processor. i recently bought a solid state hard drive to replace the exsisting disk drive. one of these days i'll actually install the drive to eliminate the i/o theory.

 

[Kylie Kinslayer]

Reading threads like this let me realize exactly how much I do not know about these dadgum computers. Autoruns program seems to be great but ain't got a single idea what a lot of the things are, and my luck I kill stuff I need lol. Figured with a brand spanking new (cheapish) computer it would run UO with ease even during EM events but nah... *runs off to find a friend who can help kill the bs background programs that I don't need or want*

 

[Eärendil]

This is like Chinese for me, can You explain the issue for computer-noobs? I/O?

 

[Lord Frodo]

my laptop acts the same way. running win7 on an i7 processor. nvidia 525M graphics. within minutes of firing up UO the fan kicks in (CC). uo is only using 2% of the cpu. this leads me to believe the issue is related to heavy i/o or an overworked graphics processor. i recently bought a solid state hard drive to replace the exsisting disk drive. one of these days i'll actually install the drive to eliminate the i/o theory.

When you first load the CC, log in screen, UO is a huge computer hog and it may or may not be enough to kick in the fans but once you enter the game your CPU usage should drop dramatically. I am running an eight core ASUS Tower and with the log in screen I get %100 usage one one core but when I enter the game it drops to %3-%5

 

[Angel of Sonoma]

after the initial load, UO consistently takes about 2% of the cpu. not alot. but the fan never shuts off until i exit the game. and the lower left side of the laptop is hot to the touch. it just so happens that my hard drive is in this area.

This is like Chinese for me, can You explain the issue for computer-noobs? I/O?

i/o = input/output. what i'm referring to is how often the client is accessing the disk drive. on my laptop, i'm only using 50% of it's memory. this leads me to believe uo is continually retrieving game components from the hard drive (as opposed to getting the items once and loading them to memory) when it runs.

i'm not much experienced with windows but have a strong unix/midrange server background so i'm drawing from that knowledge.

 

[Eärendil]

thank you! what would you try to fix this problem?

 

[Angel of Sonoma]

i'm planning to install a solid state hard drive. i already bought it. i just need to find the time to do the swapout. it's a good investment anyway you look at it. overall it will improve the system performance.

 

[Gilmour]

A problem in the past while the windows indexing was still young was that indexing your game and/or settings folder _could_ substantially slow down classic client performance, despite logic and claims should make it a none-issue. But it seems to be less of an issue in newer windows. But you can try turn it off if you want and see if that helps.

 

[Tyrath]

Reading threads like this let me realize exactly how much I do not know about these dadgum computers. Autoruns program seems to be great but ain't got a single idea what a lot of the things are, and my luck I kill stuff I need lol. Figured with a brand spanking new (cheapish) computer it would run UO with ease even during EM events but nah... *runs off to find a friend who can help kill the bs background programs that I don't need or want*

Had a custom barebones PC build last year Nothing fancy or high power but good enough to play UO watch movies etc. Cost $300 with a clean install of windows vista that I upgraded to 10. And ZERO background garbage running. Runs better than the higher end computer my wife dropped $3k on.

 

[Eärendil]

A problem in the past while the windows indexing was still young was that indexing your game and/or settings folder _could_ substantially slow down classic client performance, despite logic and claims should make it a none-issue. But it seems to be less of an issue in newer windows. But you can try turn it off if you want and see if that helps.

I remember, you fixed that for me when I was fresh returner...

 

[Eärendil]

after the initial load, UO consistently takes about 2% of the cpu. not alot. but the fan never shuts off until i exit the game. and the lower left side of the laptop is hot to the touch. it just so happens that my hard drive is in this area.


i/o = input/output. what i'm referring to is how often the client is accessing the disk drive. on my laptop, i'm only using 50% of it's memory. this leads me to believe uo is continually retrieving game components from the hard drive (as opposed to getting the items once and loading them to memory) when it runs.

i'm not much experienced with windows but have a strong unix/midrange server background so i'm drawing from that knowledge.

are we talking about these kinda things?



Can you see any problems on that screenshot? Sorry for the German...

 

[Parnoc]

Best thing you can do for a comp, specially a laptop is install a SSD as Angel says. This will solve a lot of io problems and SSD's run very cool compared to Hard Drives. Prices on SSD's have dropped so much now that it's not a giant investment and all you have to do to put it in your comp is google/youtube installation for SSD for your comp.

 

[Lord Trollo]

Thanks for the kind words, I enjoy your posts as well

I'm alot like @Lord Trollo, but instead of being "a better class of criminal"...

 

[Archnight]

 

[Eärendil]

Ok, here my report:

- I deactivated alot of software from the autorun
- I ended alot of processes running in the background
- I cleaned up each and everything
- I deleted software
- I bought a Thermaltake cooler, a bit thing to put the Notebook on
- I defragmented the harddrive
- And alot of more things

After all those measures, the Notebook still reached the following heat levels
- GPU 64 Celsius
- HD 40 Celsius
-Core 0 up to 100 Celsius
- Core 1 up to 100 Celsius

I can live with the first two resuls, but 100 Celsius is far too much (its the temperature that makes water boiling!)

So, I downloaded some tools for cooling the CPU via Idleing-Management and clocking it down / letting it work in energysaving mode.

It is running on 10% of maximum speed and reaches maximum 64 Celsius when playing UO. Which is still warm, but I can live with it.

Its so weird. UO takes up to 40% of my CPU usage, not 2%! 40!!! Such an ancient program!

And I cannot open the case of the notebook for cleaning, dont wanna damage it...

So, actually, I am running the notebook at 10 % CPU performance... LOL

 

[Gilmour]

tried a different compatibility mode?

 

[Eärendil]

No, what is that?

Thank you, dear Gil!

 

[Gilmour]

Right click on your shortcut for uo, select properties and go to compatibility tab, and try like winxp, win98 or so

 

[Eärendil]

Thanks, Gil! I try this as soon as I get home

 

[petemage]

[...]
-Core 0 up to 100 Celsius
- Core 1 up to 100 Celsius

[...]
And I cannot open the case of the notebook for cleaning, dont wanna damage it...

Unfortunately cleaning the fan and adding new heat sink paste is likely the best advice with an old notebook. An idle notebook CPU should run somewhere around 50 to 70 degree. 100° is definately too much. My CPU usually shuts itself down at around 105°, so I guess you are failry close to the limit there.

If you cannot open the notebook yourself (its easier than you think), try to find a local computer store. They usually will clean your notebook for something like 50-100€.

Here is a couple of dirty fans, just to get an impression what it might look like inside your notebook notebook fan dirty - Google-Suche

 

[Eärendil]

Thank you!

 

[Eärendil]

Right click on your shortcut for uo, select properties and go to compatibility tab, and try like winxp, win98 or so

Interestingly, when I switch WIN98-Compatibility, only one core of the 4 CPU-cores shows activitiy (on a high level) and gets significantly warmer. In higher WIN-Versions, all 4 cores show activity (on a lower level).

Until I find another solution, I found a short-cut to deal with the heat: I reduced Maximum CPU-Performance via the Power Management in WIN10 to 5 % of the Max. Hence, my complete system is now forced to work on 5 % of what my CPU is a capable to calculate. Consequently, power supply dropped dramaticly, as did fan activity and heat. CC and EC both work fluently and without problems If my PC is throttled to only 5 % of its potential - and CPU temperature hardly rises over 55 Celsius. Consequently, I bisected heat, extended battery durability and lowered noise... Not that bad...

But its not the perfect solution. And I learned another thing: Acer-Notebooks are bad designed when it comes to CPU-Location, heat-management and fan-designs... UO itself apparently wasnt the main Problem. But thanks to you all nevertheless!

 

[Gilmour]

You really need to clean it if 55 degrees steady at 5% cpu though, shouldn't be that difficult, normally there is screws in the bottom of the laptop

 

[Eärendil]

Yea, already tried it. But I am a total screws-idiot. I will bring to a notebook-shop nearby

 

[Gilmour]

Ask the approx price first, cause they normally know what they want

 

[Eärendil]

60 Euro is what they said at the telephone...

 

[Gilmour]

Could be worse, but it's paid for then

 

[petemage]

There are videos on youtube for this laptop. Its pretty much a pain since you have to disassemble the whole thing. I can understand anybody who says it's not his cup of tea

 

[Eärendil]

Yea, I really tried it. But I feared I would damage it...