New game makes my PC overheat...

[Lithos]

Something is wrong with the cooling system if the processor is running that hot, Intel Core i5 2300 should be cooled so that it tops out around 72C even on full load. 72.6°C is the maximum allowed temperature at the heat spreader.

[Beorning]

1080p means that your display uses 1080 lines to display, and displays them all for each frame 'progressively'.  Contrast this to 'i', or 'interlaced' where the display alternates odd lines and even lines between frames.  (Interlacing is what they used to use on older TVs, and could occasionally cause intermittent flickering with particular target graphics.)

GPU RAM is memory that is dedicated to processing graphics and rendering graphics.  It's memory that your computer will use for these tasks before accessing the additional RAM on your motherboard, or your virtual memory swap-file.  If you're a person who doesn't use graphic-intense programs, then you won't see much difference, but when you get into high resolution games, then you will see a definite difference in performance.

Hm. And how do I know if I need this 1080p and how much RAM my card should have? Aargh, I'm so behind on such knowledge...

Knowing the motherboard model would help. If you don't know it, no longer have its box or cd with drivers but you are using Windows 7, then you can find it in Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Information. It should be right in front of you, under a label like System Model or the likes. For the power source you probably need to poke your nose around it until you find a label from the manufacturer with its specs.

My motherboard is Gigabyte H67MA-USB3-B3 (Socket 1155). As for the power source, I'll have to take a closer look at it...

[Nessy]

For the power source you probably need to poke your nose around it until you find a label from the manufacturer with its specs.

Aka, open the box and take a peak at the big or little box that your power cord is plugged in. You should be able see a white label with xxxW or something like that on it. For a pre-built system, aka a computer with a manufacturer like Dell, HP, Acer... there often something on the low-end like 200W or 350W, something like that. You can still get some decent cards if your limited by your power supply (PSU).

[midnightblack]

B., I have a couple of friends who are elbow-deep in computers all day long and I've given them your motherboard model. They've certainly given me very sound advice in the past, so I trust them to come up with some good alternatives for a video card.

Edit: ok, so any card on a PCI Express x16 will fit in that motherboard. You need to check the output if your source before you buy anything. You also need to take note of the dimensions of the card you want to buy (these are detailed in its specs). If you happen to have a small/medium case, you may want to measure the available space around the card slot to make sure you have enough room for it.

[Beorning]

Okay, so I opened the PC case. My power source says that it has "DC output 500 W". Is it good or bad? Would it be enough to power a modern GPU and some additional RAM?

Also, I used CAM to take the temp readings of the GPU while running Tyranny. It seems that GPU temp while not doing anything is 38 C - and when playing Tyranny it goes up to about 50 C (with the apparent load of 55%). At the same time, CPU hits over 80 C... So, is it a GPU problem or not?

BTW. CAM shows that the RAM load when of playing Tyranny is 75%.

Any ideas, guys?

[midnightblack]

I think 500 W is enough, but just to be safe you may want to ask around a bit on some hardware forums if you decide to go purchasing. I don't know how to help you with the other questions in the last post, but I hope someone else can.

[Nessy]

Okay, so I opened the PC case. My power source says that it has "DC output 500 W". Is it good or bad? Would it be enough to power a modern GPU and some additional RAM?

Also, I used CAM to take the temp readings of the GPU while running Tyranny. It seems that GPU temp while not doing anything is 38 C - and when playing Tyranny it goes up to about 50 C (with the apparent load of 55%). At the same time, CPU hits over 80 C... So, is it a GPU problem or not?

BTW. CAM shows that the RAM load when of playing Tyranny is 75%.

Any ideas, guys?

80 for a CPU is too high. They can actually endure temperatures higher than that, but under load, aka playing a game in most circumstances, that's pretty high.  I'm assuming your not overclocking or anything like that.  While underload, 50C doesn't seem too bad though. It sounds like your CPU is getting pretty darn hot for a system that isn't overclocked.

Have you tried playing this game with your case open, aka, can you see the fans spinning? Also, what's the dust situation like in your case? I'm asking primarily because an airflow problem can heat things up pretty quickly.

[Beorning]

Hm. As I mentioned earlier, I dusted off the inside of the case recently. So I don't think it's the case of the air flow...

I admit I'm a bit afraid to turn the PC on without its cover on. Isn't it risky?

Anyway, I really don't know what to make of this situation. Maybe I *should* invest in a new graphics card... But is it really the problem? Not to mention, I don't have enough money...

[Oniya]

Hm. As I mentioned earlier, I dusted off the inside of the case recently. So I don't think it's the case of the air flow...

I admit I'm a bit afraid to turn the PC on without its cover on. Isn't it risky?

Not risky, really.  You'll want to make sure that nothing can fall into the case while it's running.  If you have pets, keep them away from it, don't poke at moving parts while they're moving, that sort of thing.

[Beorning]

I don't know... I'm kind of bummed about all of this. It seems I have no chance of getting a refund for the game: the Polish publisher claims it's all the fault of my PC. I considered upgrading my PC to make new games playable, but it'd be so complicated and cost so much money...

[AmberStarfire]

Maybe you can trade it with someone online or in RL, unless it's already installed and no one else can install it now.

[Beorning]

I don't know... The game is Steam-activated. I wonder if it's tradeable...

By the way - I learned today that my PC does have, indeed, some form of on-board graphics. Apparently, it's in the CPU chip... I never thought it was possible  Anyway, it was suggested to me that the problem might stem from the game trying to use this weak internal GPU... Hm. I checked my BIOS and it turned there's no way to deactivate it permanently! The only settings are "Enabled" and "Enabled if no external GPU". There's no setting to make it impossible to be activated...

If this is the problem, then the situation might be hopeless: no matter how much additional memory I put in and what new GPU I buy, the game will overheat the CPU by activating the internal GPU. Until Obsidian / Paradox releases a patch for the problem...

[AmberStarfire]

I've heard of that happening before with an onboard graphics card. I don't know if that's the same thing as the GPU.

This might be useful?
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2023248/turn-gpu-laptop.html

only the reverse applies?

[Beorning]

Not really, I'm afraid... If I turned off the external GPU visible in my Display Adapters, this would turn on the on-board one. But the on-board GPU isn't visible in Display Adapters, so (even if it exists - maybe it doesn't, after all...), I can't turn it off that way. And as I mentioned, my BIOS doesn't give the option for a hard block for the on-board GPU...

[Fenirus]

It will seem very simple to you once you've done it. The main thing is making sure the sticks you get will fit on your motherboard before you buy them.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-install-ram/ Here's a tutorial that is actually more in depth than it needs to be and is only a few minutes.

You can buy ram all over, newegg is a good site for parts, amazon sometimes has deals on it, I don't know if anywhere local would do it better where you are.

This is a great start.  If you go this route it's also the perfect time to dust out your case and check on your CPU fan.  You want to make sure it can spin freely and that there's no dust in the cooling fens.  If any of your fans (case or CPU) arin't working right you will start to see heat issues in varying degrees depending on which fan it is.  It might also just be a good chance to replace the CPU cooler as well since you'll already be in the computer.

I've got a custom setup myself and had to get an extra beefy CPU fan for my computer so it took a little extra work but that was just because of the chip I have and the cooler I went with, most will mount right on the existing mounts.  Something to think about for the future even if you don't go that route.

[Beorning]

As I mentioned, I already did dust the insides of my PC... The only thing I couldn't dust completely was the radiator, because I can't find a way of removing the CPU fan without taking the radiator out of the motherboard...

If it's a cooling problem, then it has to be something with the thermal paste. But as I said, I tested other games and they work fine...

[firepyre]

Okay, so I opened the PC case. My power source says that it has "DC output 500 W". Is it good or bad? Would it be enough to power a modern GPU and some additional RAM?

Also, I used CAM to take the temp readings of the GPU while running Tyranny. It seems that GPU temp while not doing anything is 38 C - and when playing Tyranny it goes up to about 50 C (with the apparent load of 55%). At the same time, CPU hits over 80 C... So, is it a GPU problem or not?

BTW. CAM shows that the RAM load when of playing Tyranny is 75%.

Any ideas, guys?

Huh. That's odd. If the graphics card was bottlenecking it, that's not what you'd typically expect to see. The graphics card should be much more heavily loaded. And the 2300s were excellent processors too...

How much load is your processor under? Preferably one reading from before you open the game, and one from after, and each core individually if you can. It seems odd that your processor would be the bottleneck, but there's something weird going on by the sounds of it. I'd like to see if it's heating up because it's working harder or if there's some other reason.

New thermal paste would probably help, as it does tend to degrade over time, but I doubt that would actually fix the issue.

[Nessy]

Hm. As I mentioned earlier, I dusted off the inside of the case recently. So I don't think it's the case of the air flow...

I admit I'm a bit afraid to turn the PC on without its cover on. Isn't it risky?

Anyway, I really don't know what to make of this situation. Maybe I *should* invest in a new graphics card... But is it really the problem? Not to mention, I don't have enough money...

I should have been more specific, is the fan on the CPU turning? Is there dust underneath of it? It's not just the case... it can be the fan on the CPU heatsink itself... which should spin smoothly. Not all games tax the same components the same... aka one can be very GPU heavy and another CPU heavy. I also don't think it's the thermal paste. I mean my CPU can be at 100% load and not hit that kind of heat.

[midnightblack]

I don't know... The game is Steam-activated. I wonder if it's tradeable...

By the way - I learned today that my PC does have, indeed, some form of on-board graphics. Apparently, it's in the CPU chip... I never thought it was possible  Anyway, it was suggested to me that the problem might stem from the game trying to use this weak internal GPU... Hm. I checked my BIOS and it turned there's no way to deactivate it permanently! The only settings are "Enabled" and "Enabled if no external GPU". There's no setting to make it impossible to be activated...

If this is the problem, then the situation might be hopeless: no matter how much additional memory I put in and what new GPU I buy, the game will overheat the CPU by activating the internal GPU. Until Obsidian / Paradox releases a patch for the problem...

If your Radeon card is properly installed, it should have some piece of software from where you can work out various settings, including the ability to choose which applications use it. If you suspect that the game is defaulting to your integrated card, you can try to force it to use the dedicated one through that application.

[Nessy]

Not really, I'm afraid... If I turned off the external GPU visible in my Display Adapters, this would turn on the on-board one. But the on-board GPU isn't visible in Display Adapters, so (even if it exists - maybe it doesn't, after all...), I can't turn it off that way. And as I mentioned, my BIOS doesn't give the option for a hard block for the on-board GPU...

It shouldn't be necessary. Almost all chips now have a onboard GPUs, and those typically recognize when you plug your card into the PCI-E slot and just shut-off. What's your board, aka motherboard model and brand?

[Beorning]

It's Gigabyte H67MA-USB3-B3 (Socket 1155).

I examined my BIOS yesterday... There is an option for on-board GPU, but I can only choose between "Enabled" and "Enable if external GPU not present". There's no way of blocking it with no exceptions.

[Nessy]

It's Gigabyte H67MA-USB3-B3 (Socket 1155).

I examined my BIOS yesterday... There is an option for on-board GPU, but I can only choose between "Enabled" and "Enable if external GPU not present". There's no way of blocking it with no exceptions.

That's a fine mobo.

Is it set to Enable if the external GPU is not present, obviously you have one present so that should, in theory, keep the IGP from functioning?

I don't mean to annoy you or anything so please let me know if you want me to stop. I don't think that using the IGP (integrated) or the GPU (external) should ever lead to your CPU getting that hot. You have some concerns about the IGP though so it seemed worth having a look at.

[Beorning]

Ah, no problem. But I don't think the IGP is the source of the trouble - I checked the game's log and it seems that the game is using the external card.

Unfortunately, I'm out of ideas... I have no idea what else I could do. The only potential source of the trouble seems to be memory shortage - but I'm not sure if I want to invest $50 to buy new memory chips and see if the game's working then.

On the other hand, as I mentioned, the publisher really seems to be uncooperative. They keep repeating that I have a cooling problem and that's it...

BTW. Are you guys knowledgeable when it comes to PC upgrading? Let's say I take my PC, with its Intel i5 and 4 GB RAM. Let's say I add 4 GB RAM more and buy a new graphics card - let's say I invest into GeForce GTX 1070. Would this PC be running modern games at high quality? If so, would such a configuration be viable for the next few years? Or should I better simply buy a new PC?

[firepyre]

That's a fine mobo.

Is it set to Enable if the external GPU is not present, obviously you have one present so that should, in theory, keep the IGP from functioning?

I don't mean to annoy you or anything so please let me know if you want me to stop. I don't think that using the IGP (integrated) or the GPU (external) should ever lead to your CPU getting that hot. You have some concerns about the IGP though so it seemed worth having a look at.

Not to mention, if your gpu wasn't being utilized, it wouldn't show as having the load it is showing. That should pretty much rule out the integrated graphics as a problem. I actually did some looking into tyranny, and it turns out the game is quite CPU intensive, so it wouldn't be surprising if your CPU is running at, or close to 100%. If that's the case you could try an aftermarket heatsink, and new thermal paste to get the temp down to something a bit more stable.

This is pure speculation, and not something I know a lot about, but maybe you've fallen victim to the problem in this link? It certainly sounds similar to what you reported.
https://www.google.com.au/url?q=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/two-ways-to-cool-down-your-defective-overheating-intel-cpu/&sa=U&ved=0ahUKEwiF-rWy08LRAhXIJ5QKHVE3CCQQFggLMAA&sig2=5JbxLvlMgzkKxjzMZyBtLQ&usg=AFQjCNGVtwtKv2kfWDyZW-SognGs3mfszQ

[Beorning]

Not to mention, if your gpu wasn't being utilized, it wouldn't show as having the load it is showing. That should pretty much rule out the integrated graphics as a problem. I actually did some looking into tyranny, and it turns out the game is quite CPU intensive, so it wouldn't be surprising if your CPU is running at, or close to 100%. If that's the case you could try an aftermarket heatsink, and new thermal paste to get the temp down to something a bit more stable.

But I wouldn't know how to change the heatsink myself and I can't really get this PC to a hardware service :(

Gah! It's hopeless...