Graphics issues, Metanis *wink, wink*

[Deethree]

Gliss and I have the exact same computers, we have Windows 10 64 bit, Processor is Intel Core i7-6700 CPU @ 3.40 Ghz. 16GB of RAM DDR4, Video card is Nvidia Geforce GTX 970, and we have a 1 TB hard drive and a 300 GB SD or something like that. We have windows running on the smaller one and all of our games such as EQ on the big one. THe computers are two years old and for the last month, Gliss has been experiencing 5-10 second freezing during the raids. The whole computer will freeze so when someone is speaking in Teamspeak, it will do something like this-this-this-this-this and then continue on from whomever is speaking. During the last two weeks, she has been experiencing a black screen when the computer freezes, then everything will go back to normal.
When I have had the time to go in there and look at it, I do not experience any of what she describes. When she boxes Deethree or Hakkif, one of them will crash if the computer freezes and does the black screen. I have not messed with hardware since around 2003 when I took computer science in college and due to my stroke, my memory and comprehension skills are shot so I am not as good with hardware as I used to be. I have done everything I know how to do with cleaning up temporary files and other software fixes but everything I have read says it is either the video card or the motherboard. I have an old Geforce GTX 760 or something like that I was thinking of putting in just to test to see if it is the card itself.
I have not rolled back the driver or unplugged the card as of right now because I have not had the time. I have the exact same computer with the exact same hardware. My computer is on all the time where Gliss only turns hers on when she is done with work because her work is based on another computer. Another way I was thinking of testing this would be to switch her video card with my own and see if I have the same problems. I am wondering if Metanis, Khatt, Berrad, or anyone else might have some good ideas to try out before we resort to buying a new video card because if we go that route, I will be insanely jealous because I don't want my mother to have a better computer than me! Any ideas from our fellow guildies??
Thanks!
D3
P.S. The issues seem to happen more when playing EQ, especially during raids. She does have some problems when watching streamed videos like NCIS or Survivor or whatever shows she watches but it doesn't happen as often. Thanks again for any input. I am going to work on it tomorrow since I finally have a day off!!

[Metanis]

Sorry, just saw this now, played all day without looking at the boards!

I'd start with the basics on this problem. Shut the machine down. Take the covers off and vacuum out the dust bunnies. Then be very careful to ground yourself and gently wiggle the video card and the RAM sticks to ensure they are fully seated into the motherboard. Use a flashlight and inspect the capacitors around the CPU and make sure the electrolytics aren't bulging or leaking. While you are in there, make sure the cooling fans and heat sinks on the video card are not all clogged up with dust and dirt, if so you'll need a can of compressed air to blow them clean.

While the cover is off start the machine and make sure all the cooling fans are running, especially on the video card.

Next steps after that would be to make sure that all Windows updates are done, then do a clean re-install of the latest nVidia driver set for your card. "clean" means you uninstall the old driver before installing the new one.

Also, are you sure EQ is running from the rotating hard drive? If so you should seriously consider moving the entire Everquest folder to c:\ and re-create your desktop shortcuts to point to the new location. It's OK to run BETA from an old drive but if you have an SSD you should have EQ on it.

[Deethree]

Your ideas were basically the same as my own but I had already started before you posted so I didn't see the part about cleaning up the driver. Inside was pretty dusty so I cleaned it out pretty well. She said she didn't have any issues tonight so maybe a good cleaning was just what it needed. If the problem persists, I will do the rest of what you suggested and then go from there. Thanks for responding and for your suggestions, it is good to know my computer knowledge hasn't completely vanished from my memory!
D3
P.S. I didn't know that about the SSD drive, we will both look into moving the game over to it. Is there a reason this is better? I am curious now.

[Metanis]

P.S. I didn't know that about the SSD drive, we will both look into moving the game over to it. Is there a reason this is better? I am curious now.

When zoning the EQ game engine makes numerous calls for tiny bits of files and an SSD is much faster delivering all these tiny bits.