Low FPS in games ONLY at college. - Solved!

Sara Lynn · January 2007

WoW and other online games play like a dream at home. I have a wireless DSL connection, and have never had problems. No lag, no nothing.

When I go to college, and hook up to their network, it just becomes shit. The internet will run fine, vent won't lag a SECOND, but every 20mins I'll get super low FPS for 2-4 minutes.

I posted on the WoW Technical forums and a very nice guy tried to help me out, so I did things like get rid of some background processes that might be dragging me down. Nothing. He said that FPS lag is something local, not because of the internet, because internet lag is different. I'm getting like, a slideshow effect here.

I thought it was overheating, because it did feel hot. I replaced my laptop cooler with a better one, and it's still warm but I know laptops can't be completely cool. It is toasty in my dorm room, but I downloaded a program and everything is below 50C. So I don't understand..

So anyone have ANY ideas? I'm going to defrag while I'm in class, but other than that I'm stumped.

TL;DR - WoW/ect runs at home like a dream, go to school, FPS turns to shit. No apparant background processes, shouldn't be overheating. Why.

Zek · January 2007

Is this a constant effect for the entirety of the time you're playing the game, or does it get worse over time?

Are you sure you didn't install something when you got to college or anything like that? Have you tried it at home again since you started having the issue?

Darth Waiter · January 2007

It's a distinct possibility that your school is limiting bandwidth for budgeting purposes; if the bandwidth usage goes over a certain amount, the school gets hit with extra fees from the telcom provider. It's fairly common and especially noticeable on campuses with large numbers of students; more people means more bandwidth and WoW isn't exactly downloading iTunes.

Casual Eddy · January 2007

At around prime time every night the network at my school gets really, really slow. My ping in WoW hovers around 1-2000. Very annoying, but I can't do a whole lot about it.

Sara Lynn · January 2007

They did give me a CD when I was a freshman, but from what I understand they don't give it out anymore. I don't remember what I installed, at all, McAfee was on it but I have it already.

It's a pretty constant effect. I could probably time the lag if I wanted to.

The bandwith thing might be true.. it would make sense. My friends play CS upstairs with no problem, but CS isn't exactly WoW.

If it's just my college connection, I'm screwed, but at least I'll be out of the dorms next semester. =/

Delzhand · January 2007

Do you have McAfee and Norton running at the same time by any chance?

tony_important · January 2007

how many people go to your school?
how many computers are hooked up to the network?
how many other people are running the internet for downloading/games/watching videos?

These things rape bandwidth. This is probably why your connection is slow at school.

Sara Lynn · January 2007

I suppose, I'll ask around upstairs to see if any of my friends have had problems with WoW. To my knowledge they don't, and we're in the same dorm building.

14k people plus go to my school, though I have no idea how many computers are hooked up to the network.

I understand how bandwith could get raped, I was just making sure every possibility was covered that it WASN'T me somehow.

And no, I only have McAfee. Nothing else runs.

Thanks for all your input!

Zek · January 2007

It's not your connection. Network lag won't result in FPS lag, at least not in WoW. My school network can get some nasty lag in games during prime time, but it shows up in WoW as a simple delay on commands, the FPS is always unaffected.

Are there drivers, namely video and sound, for the laptop that you can install?

Sara Lynn · January 2007

The ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 hasn't had an update in.. a long time. I think it's because it's a laptop, but when I go to Dell's website their driver is still from 2005. Sound, I have no clue, but I can check that.

Anyway, going to class and running a defrag. Maybe that'll help.

LoneIgadzra · January 2007

That sounds like overheating. My roommate's laptop did the exact same thing, and only at college because our dorm was a lot warmer than his house. Take it to the support people and get the dust blown outa there.

Sara Lynn · January 2007

LoneIgadzra wrote:

That sounds like overheating. My roommate's laptop did the exact same thing, and only at college because our dorm was a lot warmer than his house. Take it to the support people and get the dust blown outa there.

I'm really inclined to believe you, and my dorm is definitely warmer than my house. My mom keeps our house 70ish in the winter, and my dorm (based on the temp of my fishtanks) is about 78 degrees. I like it toasty. ;P ..and the fish will die if it isn't.

I wish my cooler did more to keep it cool, but I guess there's not much else can be done. I'll try taking it to the support people, I don't have any screwdrivers to open it up myself. I almost wish I got a desktop instead of a laptop, at least I know how to open and fiddle around with those.

WuckFarcraft · January 2007

While this may not seem relevant to the converstation but stop playing WoW at college. It's probably for the best.

Sara Lynn · January 2007

I go to all my classes and hang out with my friends. WoW isn't exactly a huge part of my day. ;P Still, when I have free time, I like when it runs smoothly.

Sara Lynn · January 2007

Thanks everyone for your input and ideas! I decided to do some Googling and found this program made for certain kinds of Dell laptops, that can optimize the use of your cooling fans. Now I can run them full speed while I'm at school, and I only lag once every hour or two instead of once every 20mins.

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Low FPS in games ONLY at college. - Solved!

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