Need help to solve this problem

[Zeldaboy14]

Ok, so I went to record a clip for a trainz video I'm making. As soon as trainz was being recorded, this happened:

Some grass became multitextured, and I had a similar issue 3 weeks back when I was doing some recording, where texture's on engines would flicker, and at one point during filming, I noticed that a tender full of coal had became not mapped at all. I've also noticed graphical issues in Minecraft as well. I'm starting to wonder if this isn't my graphics card going out.

 

[JCitron]

Check the temperature of your GPU and your computer in general. This sounds like something is overheating. Video recording can be both graphics intensive and CPU intensive on top of an already graphics intensive program. As your CPU is put to work compressing and processing the video, it's working harder and generating extra heat. Combine that with an already intensive graphics program and you can drive your PC over the edge if it's already close to it.

If anything, I would check the cooling vents and fan of your PC and ensure they are not blocked with dirt. This can definitely cause this kind of thing to happen. Open the case and inspect for dust, dirt, cat fur, dust bunnies, and bugs. If you find anything, plan on picking up a can of compressed air (canned air). You can get this stuff at an office supply store such as Office Depot or maybe even Staples. Radio Shack does sell it so check there; there are a few still around.

Using the canned air, along with a small stick, even a drinking straw, you can clean the fans and inside of the case. Use the drinking straw to stop the fans from spinning when you blow the dust out, otherwise, you can damage the bearings inside or even the bushings due to the high pressure. Follow the directions carefully and avoid the build up of moisture on any components due to the cold air.

Never, ever, ever, ever use a house vacuum to clean your PC. This can cause static discharges and zap your components, rendering your PC junk, either immediately or sometime in the future when there's no correlation between zapping the computer and the intermittent latent failures, which are so difficult to trace down.

John

 

[Zeldaboy14]

I do know that video recording can be hard on the CPU, which is why I switched from using FRAPS to bandicam on my 7 PC. I'll keep it in mind to clean the machine out tomorrow, as it's too late at night to fool around with the PC.

 

[BuilderBob]

Ok, so I went to record a clip for a trainz video I'm making. As soon as trainz was being recorded, this happened:

What sort of video card? The latest NVidia drivers seem to have introduced a rendering problem under heavy load. It's not heat related, but seems like something to do with CPU or GPU processing, where previous versions would have simply dropped frames. Recording a video would apply the same sort of load that creates this problem.

 

[Zeldaboy14]

The card is a Nividia 6200 card. I think it's seen better days, as the built in card on my PC is a Nividia 6150 card, and I believe it performed better then the external Nividia 6200 card that came from a scrapped XP dell machine.

 

[JCitron]

These weren't bad cards in their day, just on the lower end and meant for office-type machines.

Giving your machine a good cleanout won't hurt though and might be a good thing to do now that the heat is coming on.

 

[steamboateng]

Yes, I agree, it sounds like a overworked video card. TS12 is a resource hog. Add to that a video recorder attempting to process each frame in real time. The results is a stressed out cpu/gpu combination. The system simply can't handle all the information thrown at it. One quick solution..................record at a lower resolution. This will take some load off the machine. I record Trainz at 1080p, running an i7 clocked to just under 4Ghz, and a GTX 780 card with 12 Gb of ram and I still get a stutter every once in while. Dropping the recording resolution to 720p will resolve that. Dropping down to 480p will take a big load off your system, but you may not be satisfied with the resulting recording quality. Play around a bit and see if you can find a happy medium.

 

[Zeldaboy14]

I have dropped the resolution to no avail. I think the age of the PC is really showing, and it needs a few small upgrades to maybe at least get more out of it. It's just too old to properly handle modern day tasks that newer PC's can do. The AMD Athlon 64 x2 is the processor in the machine, and I think that's one major drawback from the PC running about anything modern nicely. Add to that the old graphic cards, and it struggles with modern 3D based games. Even Minecraft Classic has a hard time on the hardware, and that's probably due to the graphic cards and processors of 2009 being way more powerful then those of 2007, when Vista first came out.

 

[JCitron]

I have dropped the resolution to no avail. I think the age of the PC is really showing, and it needs a few small upgrades to maybe at least get more out of it. It's just too old to properly handle modern day tasks that newer PC's can do. The AMD Athlon 64 x2 is the processor in the machine, and I think that's one major drawback from the PC running about anything modern nicely. Add to that the old graphic cards, and it struggles with modern 3D based games. Even Minecraft Classic has a hard time on the hardware, and that's probably due to the graphic cards and processors of 2009 being way more powerful then those of 2007, when Vista first came out.

That and being older already used hardware which you are now pushing harder with increased graphics and CPU usage and you're seeing it begin to fail. Cleaning out the PC isn't a bad thing either, as it may keep it running a bit cooler. Another more complex suggestion is to reapply thermal paste to the CPU. Eventually the guck dries out and becomes less efficient with transferring heat. Reapplying some, such as Arctic Silver, will help the CPU run cooler which actually will allow it to run more efficiently.

John