Slow and choppy video playback in streaming and gaming

[jlagory]

Hi everyone.

I run an hp pavilion dm4t-1200 with 4 GB ram and an Radeon HD 6370 with switchable graphics. My processor is a Core i5 (quad core i believe?) My laptop is plugged in, and switchable graphics are set to use the hi performance card.

I bought this laptop about 2 years ago, and put some extra money into upgrades that would keep it relevant for a while.

Despite this, I'm having some major issues with video playback. While streaming on netflix, the video gets choppy and out of sync with audio after about 2 minutes. Same with HBO GO. I used to be able to run video games like starcraft 2, arkham asylum, minecraft, and arkham city without any issues, as these game requirements are well below what my laptop specs claim to be. However, within the past month or so these games run choppy, and the audio is out of sync due to video slowness.

I did try playing videos on my hard drive through vlc and wmp and they worked fine. Additionally, my wii and ipad all stream netflix perfectly, so I'm doubting it's a connection issue.

The only hardware issue I've had recently is a cooling fan malfunction. It makes an awful rattling sound if I tilt my laptop and stopped working for a period of a day or so. It does run now (with the rattling while tilted) and my laptop never feels overheated. Could this possibly contribute?

 

[Gadsdan]

I've had occasional issues with playback where the audio gets out of sync, but refreshing and starting over usually fixes that.

Do you have any performance monitors that show your CPU and RAM usage? How full is your hard drive? I'm assuming you have scanned for viruses, etc. recently and often?

 

[braddersz]

Could this be a connection issue? Has your internet been running slow?. Rebooted your router recently?