Matrix Games Forums

Played loads of differents games including CHS and RHS.

But every time I watch the replay of a WitP campaign pbem game my PC fans start racing for almost the complete replay.
Even during my order phase the fans will come on and off almost every few minutes.
Will save and restart PC but to no avail.

Any help would be appreciated.

Don't have this problem with any other games by various game companies.

Two things. First, the fan is obviously variable and responds to the temperature inside the PC. That temperature is greatly influenced by how hard the processor, memory, disk, etc. are all working. In other words, it's normal. There is one caveat, see next paragraph.

Second, have a look at the air intake area(s) of your PC. If you see any dust build up then (with the PC off so there is no airflow fighting you) use a piece of tape to grab and remove the dust. Might have to repeat a few times. Clearing the pathway will help the PC remain cool (which increases longevity). Often dust builds up over the screen and impedes airflow, so the fan has to work harder to get the same amount of air moving.

Thanks for the quick response, I've had this PC for almost 2 years and have already carried out this procedure twice, but will do the deed tonight after shutdown.

This sounds like a desktop.

In this age - we (as a civilization) are doing something bad - a violation of good engineering at the chip level:
we are running our chips too hot. For that reason - they put a fan right on the processor - and sometimes on other chips. A modern motherboard tends to have only three important chips: a processor, a viceo processor - and an integrated support chip that mates with the processor to do virtually everything else. These chips are made near the very bottom of the physical scale - they will not keep getting smaller because smaller things run into different principles of physics. What may be called "electronics" - and maybe something else - in future will be using sub atomic forces instead of electromagnetic forces - or a hybred of both probably. The motive for this ever smaller stuff is it is cheaper and possible to run very fast. It is common for chips to fail. Often the support chip - operating without a fan right on it. The sign this is happening is you start losing peripheral functions - like a mouse for example. This can happen in only a year or two with the factory fans in the case. Most of the good names are made in PRC and suffer up front failures that once would have been unacceptable: one Chinese engineer told me "if the failure rate is less than 20 per cent, we just throw away the bad ones and do not reengineer." [Historical US standards long were 4 per cent failure off the assembly line is acceptable - more means you redesign.] One reason for this is that historically we built in 100 per cent power rating tolerance: if I need a 1 watt part - I specify a 2 watt part. Today the margins are typically only 110 per cent of the rating you need - so there is a lot less room for trouble before a critical thing breaks. Electrical work is the same as mechanical work: things get hot, then they break. Using lower power ratings directly means you have less operating life before failure.

So Motorola and not a few others recommend running with additional cooling. In desert locations, many PCs and even laptops can be ruined in a very short time unless run in a place with filtered air (to get rid of dust that gums up the fan) and air conditioning (to reduce air temperature to their operating range - none of this 130 degree stuff for a PC). It is easily possible to get and install - or have installed - a high grade supplimental cooling fan. I also have a five fan cooling platform for laptops - made by Targus - to use instead of putting the thing on my lap in some situations - otherwise I use a platform with holes to insure proper breathing for the laptop fan (also made by Targus - but there are competators).

Cleaning is also wise. Supporting computers in commercial and military situations, I clean them during every planned maintenance visit, and additionally if there is a service call. Good practice. I began life as an electronics technician, radar. I eventually became a test engineer, a computer engineer and a computer engineer, in that order, before moving on to become an independent consultant (after five years running an electronics company as administrator). I am often told I "do not charge enough" - but I find $150 an hour or $1000 a day quite enough. But I do try to teach people how to get the most life out of their products.

There are very good suggestions above. While WITP is not graphics intensive like some games, the number and speed of calculations make it very CPU and RAM instensive (and AE will be even more so). When I am not commanding fleets in the Pacific, I work as a statistical analyst working with very large datasets, so everything I do is CPU and RAM intensive.

Your symptoms sound like your CPU cooling is not as good as it used to be. Reduced air flow is certainly a possibility. Make sure your desktop case is properly sealed as this contributes to proper air flow. In addition to the above suggestions, you might crack open your desktop case and do a couple of things. Make sure your wiring is situated in such a way that it doesn't impede airflow. Also use a can of forced air (available at any electronics shop) to clean the dust from inside the case, especially internal cooling fans. Also the CPU is situated on a heat sink and age or vibration may have reduced the efficiency of heat transfer from the CPU to the heat sink. You might have a tech look at that if it is convenient.

If this is only happening with WITP, you are probably OK for now, but is something to keep an eye on.

By the way, the cooling fan platforms for laptops described by El Cid are really nice.

We have a condenser tumble dryer, and now you guys have mentioned the dust factor, I have noticed a increase.

I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT.

DO THE FANDANGLE.

Guys thanks for the tip about cleaning the fans, but I found out it's the grill located behind the main fan which was almost totally clogged with dust. I used the hoover hose whilst dislodging it with a old artists paint brush to remove the blockage.

It's so quiet now it's almost eerie.

THANKS AGAIN FOR THE INFO.

Just to bring this back to the top of the pile as this could maybe help someone with a similar problem.