Random Lag spikes

Hey, i have had my own home made gaming computer for a while now, and when i play games i get random lag spikes that shouldnt be there. Then all of a sudden it goes back to running smooth and crystal clear. The extremes of going from slide show frames to smooth gameplay has puzzle me… i have tried everything i can think and im lost for an answer… Here are my specs: Browser: MSIE 8.0 System OS: Windows Vista Ultimate SP2 System OS Install Date: 5/7/2009 9:08:48 AM System Make System: manufacturer System Model System: Product Name System Serial Number: MT7088K00824934 Main Board Make: ASUSTeK Computer INC. Main Board Model: M2N-MX SE Plus Main Board Version: Rev x.xx Main Board BIOS American Megatrends Inc. BIOS Date: 03/26/08 10:37:53 Ver: 08.00.12 A_M_I_ - 3000826 20080326 Processor Description: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5000+ Number of Processors: 2 Processor Clock Speed: 2600 Mhz Graphics Description: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 Memory Installed: 3072 MBs Memory Slots: 2 slots Memory Configuration: 1024+2048;DIMM Unknown Synchronous Drive Size ©: 152617 MBs Drive Format ©: NTFS DVD-RAM Model: TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S222L DVD-RAM Read Speed: 8468 KB/sec (48X) DVD-RAM Write Speed: 8468 KB/sec (48X) Monitor Model: HP w2207 Wide LCD Monitor Monitor Resolution: 1680 x 1050 pixels Monitor Screen Size: 18.3 x 11.7 inches 21.7 inches (diagonal) Monitor Manufacture Date: November 2008 Monitor Serial Number: 16843009 Monitor Model: Generic PnP Monitor Monitor Resolution: 1600 x 1200 pixels Monitor Screen Size: 13.3 x 10.5 inches 16.9 inches (diagonal) Monitor Manufacture Date: December 2005 Monitor Serial Number: 10169 I am desperate for an answer… so please help! =]

i have ran anvit-virus and anti-malware programs and found nothing defraged and did a disk clean up nothing seems to be working…

May I know in what game you experience lag spikes? Is it in a particular game or all the games you play cause lag spikes.?

I too experience problem running games on WIndows Vista. Especially games that are created prior the release of Vista.
Might want to check if it is just compatible issues.

Monitor Model: HP w2207 Wide LCD Monitor
Monitor Model: Generic PnP Monitor

Your running dual monitors? You may also want to try running on a single monitor first and see if lag spikes still exist.

Your PC looks good. It shouldn't have problem running most games.

As of right now the only games i play are Left for Dead 2 and the Heroes of Newerth beta but when i did play WoW i would experience the same issue but not to such an extent that i am experiencing while playing these two games. At times it becomes unplayable and i cant move at all… i dont like it when zombies rape my face lol =[ ill try running on a single monitor and see what happens i also got rid of my old virus scan program and downloaded the AVG one and im doing a scan right now to see what it finds

i also noticed that when the lag spikes occurre, somethings eating up my CPU usage. When playing games when its smooth CPU usage is around 50-55% but when it lags it jumps a good 20-25% and sometimes gets up to 100% im not entirely sure what that means tho :/

Let me know what happen when you try to use a single monitor. Two two monitors are 1600 at most and might cause burden in your graphic card.

i also noticed that when the lag spikes occurre, somethings eating up my CPU usage.

When playing games when its smooth CPU usage is around 50-55% but when it lags it jumps a good 20-25% and sometimes gets up to 100%

There might be some malwares or other applications running in the background.
Maybe it is good for you to post a new topic in Infections Removal to check it is not a malware issue.

Can't verify with Left for Dead 2 but I am pretty sure it can handle Heroes of Newerth. As it tends to be an online game and pretty much most online game are not graphics intensive to reduce lag.

Ya when theres a full 5v5 fight in HoN, im useless, go in lag like theres no tomorrow and next thing you know im dead… and for L4D2 im past all recommeded specs so idk whats up there i tryed using both monitors by themselves with no results so i dont think thats an issue and ive ran numerous malware and anti-spyware scans … didnt find anything with my macafee program which i didnt like to much.. so i downloaded AVG and it found around 88 tracking cookies… but that was all and i got rid of those used malware btye's anti-malware and it has never picked up anything i appreciate everything you are trying to do to help

This two are the last thing I can think of.

• Update your graphic card driver.
• Instead of double clicking the game icon, right click and choose run as administrator.

Other than that I am clueless if it is a Hardware isssue. Best bet is to post a HijackThis log in the Infections Removal just to be sure your system is clean. Some malwares can't be detected by scanners.

Your memory usage indicate something is wrong. I just don't know what.