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    Memory Problem?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 14 and M14x' started by cpat, Jan 21, 2012.

  1. cpat

    cpat Newbie

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    Disclaimer: I am not very good when it comes down to computers and such.

    Disclaimer #2: This is my first post on the forums. If this is in the wrong spot, ehh, sorry.

    Okay, so I have an Alienware m14x (Windows 7 HP, i7-2720, 8 GB RAM, 3GB nVidia 555M card), and I noticed an absolutely massive performance drop. My mouse lags (both external as well as trackpad), as well as my typing, even if I am running no CPU-intensive programs (or as far as I know). So I went to my Windows Task Manager and checked the CPU usage (this is about how far my knowledge of computers is...), and I noticed that it would spike to 99% every 30 or so seconds, and then come back down to regular levels (~10%). This just started happening a couple of hours ago, earlier in the afternoon, my computer was working per usual. Any ideas on how to fix this problem?
     
    cpat, Jan 21, 2012
    #1
  2. c69k

    c69k Notebook Deity

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    In task manager in Processes tab see which application (process) is causing this.
    CPU tab shows processor usage for every process.
     
    c69k, Jan 21, 2012
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  3. cpat

    cpat Newbie

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    Now here's the weird part. The CPU is still spiking (not very frequently however), and after sorting the processes by CPU (so that the most intensive process comes up on top), and when it did spike, the top process was rundll32.exe, however, it was only at 13 (I'm assuming this is percent).

    Even when the CPU isn't spiking, I still experience this mouse/keyboard lag.
     
    cpat, Jan 21, 2012
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  4. c69k

    c69k Notebook Deity

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    Maybe restarting Win7 will help. If this does not help run a virus scan. Then, try disconnecting peripherals one by one and see if the spikes persist.
     
    c69k, Jan 21, 2012
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  5. Gearsguy

    Gearsguy Notebook Deity

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    Check your Intel Display Control Panel (Right click on desktop) and see if your monitor is running at 40hz or 60hz

    Remember that problem guys? Lol
     
    Gearsguy, Jan 21, 2012
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  6. cpat

    cpat Newbie

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    Okay, so I'm going to hold off on re-installing Win7 for now, but I have changed the refresh rate to 60hz. (Any reason why Intel would default it to 40hz? I haven't played around with that option at all...) I'm still experiencing lag, although the spikes are not as frequent as they were yesterday. However, one thing that I did notice was that when I switched over to the Performance tab in Task Manager, the first core was constantly at work (~80%), whereas the rest of the cores were pretty much low (~0-10%). Is this normal?
     
    cpat, Jan 22, 2012
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  7. cpat

    cpat Newbie

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    Sorry for the double post, but I found another problem that's caused by the same thing. I loaded up TF2 (which wasn't much slower than usual), but the audio was somehow lagged out. Any sound effect in-game would drag out 4x longer than it should have, and the game was essentially unplayable with a FPS of 2.

    Is this a hardware issue? I checked both my Intel graphics drivers, as well as my nVidia drivers, and they are both up-to-date.

    EDIT: Ran a full anti-virus scan. No problems with the system, at least according to Norton 360.
     
    cpat, Jan 22, 2012
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  8. Gearsguy

    Gearsguy Notebook Deity

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    I don't think its hardware. Something is resource hogging your system. I hear that certain sound drivers and such can do this, did you get the XiFi sound upgrade?
     
    Gearsguy, Jan 22, 2012
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  9. cpat

    cpat Newbie

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    Yes I did. Is there any way to stop this?

    EDIT: Should I maybe re-download the drivers for the Xi-Fi sound?

    EDIT2: Okay, so I'm running this after disabling HD sound in the boot menu. However, I am still getting these stutters and spikes. I opened up Resource Monitor and sorted by Average CPU usage. What is SystemInterrupts? It seems to have the highest Average CPU usage.
     
    cpat, Jan 22, 2012
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  10. cpat

    cpat Newbie

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    Is a clean install of Windows 7 the best way to go here? I am a bit hesitant to go with this, but if no one else has any suggestions, then I will do this.
     
    cpat, Jan 22, 2012
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  11. c69k

    c69k Notebook Deity

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    c69k, Jan 22, 2012
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