CPU Thermal Paste could be your troubles on Low FPS numbers or "lagging"

[rehtus777 10]

The other day, I was playing ArmA 3 and I noticed that the simulator started to "lag" and "stutter" (rubber-banding on single player)... this was the first time it did this after playing over 40 hours. If I would stop and not move...then wait 20 seconds.....I could run the game perfectly again until after 30 seconds of hard game play...again, it would rubber-band. Through my arrogance, I tried to blame it on a BIS update :o But I wasn't hearing enough complaining from the community, so I had a feeling that it was my computer. I then pulled up CPUID to watch the numbers while I was playing the simulator. Sure enough, my Phenom ii X4 965 was running temperatures of 180F after 30 seconds of game play.....once the heat hit 180F, the CPU was screaming "HELP" :butbut: and the simulator would "rubber-band."

I then did a Google Search for some ideas. I found an old thread on 'Tom's Hardware' and this guy was blaming the high heat numbers on the Thermal Paste between the CPU and the Cooling unit. So, I went out and bought some Arctic Silver (thermal paste). I then pulled up tek syndicate and found a video on how to apply the paste. After a thorough cleaning of the CPU and the Cooling unit, I applied the Thermal Paste. I then cleaned up all of the dust on the GPU, Motherboard, and fans. I fired up the computer...and stressed the CPU in the simulator. The Temperature numbers were hanging around 120 to 130 degrees. BAM....Heck yeah. I then cranked up the Overclock and now I'm at my highest clock ever. I've improved my fps by 5 frames.

Conclusion: My computer is over two years old and I believe the Thermal Paste gets old and goes bad. Everyone needs to check their Temperature numbers on their CPU. If your numbers are running high (over 160....and it also depends on your CPU...check with others on what an average Temp should be) then maybe your need to reapply a new set of Thermal Paste. The Paste must be drying out and becoming brittle over time. Good luck.

[Pyrophosphate 1]

That's simply not the case for most people. Under certain (fairly common) circumstances, almost everybody seems to get roughly the same framerate, regardless of hardware or settings. Many people around here, myself included, have recently built computers mostly for Arma 3, and yet still has the same problem.

That said, reapplying thermal paste every once in a while couldn't hurt anything, but that's definitely not the solution to the large scale performance issues people have with this game.

[spamurai 3]

Over time, wax type thermal compounds can dry out, especially when operated at consistently high temps.

A lot of OEM stock cooler assemblies and aftermarket coolers come with rather low grade compound, pre-applied in a wax pad-like form. Not the greatest solution, especially for enthusiasts who like to overclock.

Buy a good grade aftermarket cooler assembly and some Arctic Silver Compound. However, avoid "tinkering" with the Cooler constantly to avoid the increase risk of accidental damage to the CPU, it's Socket mounts or motherboard.

[rehtus777 10]

That's simply not the case for most people. Under certain (fairly common) circumstances, almost everybody seems to get roughly the same framerate, regardless of hardware or settings. Many people around here, myself included, have recently built computers mostly for Arma 3, and yet still has the same problem.

That said, reapplying thermal paste every once in a while couldn't hurt anything, but that's definitely not the solution to the large scale performance issues people have with this game.

I have a Phenom ii X4 965 / GTX 470 / 8 RAM ... overclocked....and on Single Player missions, I can get 20-40 fps. I have all the qualities set on very high viewed in 1080p. View distance is 2000 when I fight in town (to get more fps) and I bump it up to 3500 when out in the country. On multiplayer, I only run about 15 fps to 30 fps....not so good.....but my rig is Mid to Low end. Now, I've got on order a GTX 680 / i5 3570k ivy bridge.... I'm expecting 40-60 fps in multiplayer when I upgrade my rig.

I do believe that the problem with most people's rig's is that their CPU's are too weak....ArmA 3 is a CPU orientated simulator......many many objects for the CPU to draw. Also, the ALPHA - and especially the Multiplayer - are a work in progress.

[MavericK96 0]

180 F = 82 C. Not exactly melting point for a processor. If you get up to 95-100 C then you're looking at problems.

[NeuroFunker 11]

180 F = 82 C. Not exactly melting point for a processor.

not for amd processors, they like to be cool all the time.

[rehtus777 10]

180 F = 82 C. Not exactly melting point for a processor. If you get up to 95-100 C then you're looking at problems.

My CPUID showed that it hit 90C last night (once)......I knew then that something really bad was going on. Again, now that I've re-pasted, it runs around 40 to 60C and no higher.

[white 1]

with my watercooler i rarely go over 50 degrees celsius with all 6 cores stressed

and since arma barely uses my cpu or my videocard, both dont go much over 40 degrees celsius.

[rehtus777 10]

with my watercooler i rarely go over 50 degrees celsius with all 6 cores stressed

and since arma barely uses my cpu or my videocard, both dont go much over 40 degrees celsius.

You still need thermal paste with the water cooled system, don't you? :p.

[Insanatrix 0]

I have a 965 BE 125w OC'd to 3.8ghz and I rarely if ever go over 48c core temp under prime95 load. 43c is the norm for the motherboard temp sensor. That's using Tuniq TX-2 thermal compound.

[WalkerDown 1]

I've heard that washing your hands right before opening ArmA3 will give +30 fps in most cases.

[tet5uo 4]

lol. This game can't use my system to more than 25% on the CPU. It's not like it even gets warm while playing it.

[k3lt 3]

The other day, I was playing ArmA 3 and I noticed that the simulator started to "lag" and "stutter" (rubber-banding on single player)... this was the first time it did this after playing over 40 hours. If I would stop and not move...then wait 20 seconds.....I could run the game perfectly again until after 30 seconds of hard game play...again, it would rubber-band. Through my arrogance, I tried to blame it on a BIS update :o But I wasn't hearing enough complaining from the community, so I had a feeling that it was my computer. I then pulled up CPUID to watch the numbers while I was playing the simulator. Sure enough, my Phenom ii X4 965 was running temperatures of 180F after 30 seconds of game play.....once the heat hit 180F, the CPU was screaming "HELP" :butbut: and the simulator would "rubber-band."

I then did a Google Search for some ideas. I found an old thread on 'Tom's Hardware' and this guy was blaming the high heat numbers on the Thermal Paste between the CPU and the Cooling unit. So, I went out and bought some Arctic Silver (thermal paste). I then pulled up tek syndicate and found a video on how to apply the paste. After a thorough cleaning of the CPU and the Cooling unit, I applied the Thermal Paste. I then cleaned up all of the dust on the GPU, Motherboard, and fans. I fired up the computer...and stressed the CPU in the simulator. The Temperature numbers were hanging around 120 to 130 degrees. BAM....Heck yeah. I then cranked up the Overclock and now I'm at my highest clock ever. I've improved my fps by 5 frames.

Conclusion: My computer is over two years old and I believe the Thermal Paste gets old and goes bad. Everyone needs to check their Temperature numbers on their CPU. If your numbers are running high (over 160....and it also depends on your CPU...check with others on what an average Temp should be) then maybe your need to reapply a new set of Thermal Paste. The Paste must be drying out and becoming brittle over time. Good luck.

Except CPU temp in game is nearly same as in Windows when idling... (in Windows i'm getting 40-41C, in Arma 45-46C) Basically it shows how A3 utilizes CPU. (or actually not utilizing it, except 1 core)

I've heard that washing your hands right before opening ArmA3 will give +30 fps in most cases.

[Insanatrix 0]

Also the Tjmax on a Phenom II is 66c by the AMD white pages. 180 fahrenheit is 82 celsius. It's even worse if you're talking Tcase temperature which should be roughly 5-10 celsius lower then Tjmax depending on load conditions. 82 celsius would just about burn up a Phenom II.

[k3lt 3]

Also the Tjmax on a Phenom II is 66c by the AMD white pages. 180 fahrenheit is 82 celsius. It's even worse if you're talking Tcase temperature which should be roughly 5-10 celsius lower then Tjmax depending on load conditions. 82 celsius would just about burn up a Phenom II.

It would burn but only in theory, in practice after reaching about 66-67C (sometimes even less) CPU would just shutdown (BSOD) to prevent hardware damage.

[Insanatrix 0]

It would burn but only in theory, in practice after reaching about 66-67C (sometimes even less) CPU would just shutdown (BSOD) to prevent hardware damage.

Or throttle the cpu by dropping the multiplier down. either way if he's hitting 82 celsius then the therm-trip sensor on die is faulty.

[Slurin 1]

Conclusion: My computer is over two years old and I believe the Thermal Paste gets old and goes bad. Everyone needs to check their Temperature numbers on their CPU. If your numbers are running high (over 160....and it also depends on your CPU...check with others on what an average Temp should be) then maybe your need to reapply a new set of Thermal Paste. The Paste must be drying out and becoming brittle over time. Good luck.

What chemical reaction are you speculating, good sir? Even 130 F (you should specify you scale in the future) could do very little to a chemical reaction for a compound that has stability form 20-400 F. Good luck with your understanding of the problem. Better yet, you messed up applying the paste and finally (FINALLY) you got it right (HIGH FIVE BRO!).

[nicolasroger 11]

I don't understand why there is soo much hate about the OP. The guy just shared what worked for him. We should all thx him and move on if we think it doesn't apply to us. And for those having high temp and stuttering, then they could consider his solution.

And guess what? Thermal paste CAN dry. Maybe not the good brand, but some brand can dry for sure. He nerver talked about chemical reactions. I remember when I switched my CPU that the paste had dry at some places on the cpu.

[callaway 0]

This thread is hilarious. Babies dying in India and Ice Cream sales going up in the USA. Seriously, there is almost no causality here. Mostly, because people are having perfect performance in MANY, MANY other game engines.

This thermal paste issue can obviously affect performance, but it's 100% not Arma 3 related.

Edited March 15, 2013 by callaway

[white 1]

This thread is hilarious. Babies dying in India and Ice Cream sales going up in the USA. Seriously, there is almost no causality here. Mostly, because people are having perfect performance in MANY, MANY other game engines.

This thermal paste issue can obviously affect performance, but it's 100% not Arma 3 related.

bohemia should ship some céramique on the retail just in case

[rehtus777 10]

I don't understand why there is soo much hate about the OP. The guy just shared what worked for him. We should all thx him and move on if we think it doesn't apply to us. And for those having high temp and stuttering, then they could consider his solution.

And guess what? Thermal paste CAN dry. Maybe not the good brand, but some brand can dry for sure. He nerver talked about chemical reactions. I remember when I switched my CPU that the paste had dry at some places on the cpu.

I don't know if it's "Hate"....maybe just ignorance. Look, people, re-read my post. That is how it went down. My CPU was running an Average 80C (I'll go metric to stop the confusion) while playing ArmA 3 during full load (Most settings set to Very High / Ultra and much action going on during the simulator .... i.e. firefight with AI or just running in the forest). When the CPU reached 80C, the game "rubber-band". When I would stop and look at the sky....wait 30 seconds and check my temps on the CPU, the Temperature dropped back down into the 50C range. I would then start running / flying again and the CPU would climb back up to 80C and start rubber-banding again (jumped to 90C once. CPUID will save your Highest and Lowest Temps from the time you opened up the program). But I would flip from ALT + Tab to Windows and check the CPUID numbers....it took about 2 seconds to go from ArmA 3 to CPUID...I would watch the numbers start to fall once I got into windows....they would drop back to 50C and lower depending on how long I wait. As I sit here and write this with only Windows and Google Chrome open, I'm getting 28C while in windows.

To fix the problem the other night, I cleaned up the whole computer (cleared out the dust) and I cleaned off the top of the CPU and the bottom of the CPU cooler. I put a pea size of Arctic Silver on the top of the CPU and then I attached the Cooling Fan....I gently rotated the cooling fan left and right to spread the paste....then I clamped down the Cooling Fan. I fired up the computer and then stressed it out with ArmA 3. The Temperature of the CPU now hangs around 40C to 50C, but it has topped out at 60C once or twice. It now runs 20-30C cooler and no more "rubber-banding." I played ArmA 3 for 3 hours last night and the simulator ran as smooth as I've ever seen it run with higher FPS.

FACTS ARE FACTS. I'm reporting to you what happened....it's that simple. You can argue with me all day long, but the final results speak for themselves.

Edited March 15, 2013 by rehtus777

[tonygrunt 10]

I don't understand why there is soo much hate about the OP. The guy just shared what worked for him. We should all thx him and move on if we think it doesn't apply to us. And for those having high temp and stuttering, then they could consider his solution.

And guess what? Thermal paste CAN dry. Maybe not the good brand, but some brand can dry for sure. He nerver talked about chemical reactions. I remember when I switched my CPU that the paste had dry at some places on the cpu.

Not condoning the scathing replies but OP had a malfunctioning PC, there is no reason for anytime someone repairs his PC to start a new thread of how ArmA 3 is performing better or doesn't crash, it's expected. I would understand it if it was a software or hardware incompatibility.

[rehtus777 10]

This thread is hilarious. Babies dying in India and Ice Cream sales going up in the USA. Seriously, there is almost no causality here. Mostly, because people are having perfect performance in MANY, MANY other game engines.

This thermal paste issue can obviously affect performance, but it's 100% not Arma 3 related.

Thousands of people playing ArmA 3 right now and NOT one will have this problem, right? WRONG. I had this problem. My whole point of the thread is for people with OLDER computers to be aware of this possible problem.

As for most people lagging or getting lousy FPS scores, it's most likely on their end...I have a Mid-range computer and I'm getting an average of 20-30 FPS almost all the time. I've read posts here where people have much more powerful computers than mine and are getting worse FPS. I've also read other people's posts who have top end computers and they are getting 60 fps.

---------- Post added at 08:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:28 PM ----------

Not condoning the scathing replies but OP had a malfunctioning PC, there is no reason for anytime someone repairs his PC to start a new thread of how ArmA 3 is performing better or doesn't crash, it's expected. I would understand it if it was a software or hardware incompatibility.

True enough....but how often do people think that the Thermal Paste might be the problem? If someone takes off their Cooling Fan to blow out the Air, then they have to re-paste. But what if they don't know that and put the fan back on? It could happen. My post is relevant.

[tonygrunt 10]

True enough....but how often do people think that the Thermal Paste might be the problem? If someone takes off their Cooling Fan to blow out the Air, then they have to re-paste. But what if they don't know that and put the fan back on? It could happen. My post is relevant.

There are many things that can fail on anyone's PC. No need to start a new thread whenever someone repairs something.

We would be full with threads of people cleaning their PCs from dust, changing failing PSUs, broken video cards, water cooling problems, broken fans, damaged RAM DIMMs, failing HDDs and etc.

All these problems would have a negative effect in ArmA 3 as in any other game but would be better served in a PC related forum.

[rehtus777 10]

There are many things that can fail on anyone's PC. No need to start a new thread whenever someone repairs something.

We would be full with threads of people cleaning their PCs from dust, changing failing PSUs, broken video cards, water cooling problems, broken fans, damaged RAM DIMMs, failing HDDs and etc.

All these problems would have a negative effect in ArmA 3 as in any other game but would be better served in a PC related forum.

Whatever. This forum is here to help people, quit nit-picking. For the last time, this post is relevant.....how many people would ever think of the Thermal Paste being the problem? How many people that DON'T build their own PC even know about the Thermal Paste? Many people just order their PC already built. Heck, those that do build their own PC aren't even aware of how crappy the stock paste is that comes with the CPU. As someone wrote earlier, the "Wax" or "paste" that comes with the CPU is usually garbage and goes bad quickly. Get off your high horse.