Does using farmville damage your laptop!

1. 70

   earnestshubposted 15 years ago

   I started farming using my old laptop which was already overheating but never to the point of shutting down before!
   I decided to right click on the XP toolbar and start the task manager, click on performance and watch it as I crawl the net, open lot's of windows in Firefox and go look after the farm at facebook's farmville.
   
   My CPU usage would go from 11% or so to 20% with heavy surfing leaving windows open etc. but when I started to harvest my crops CPU went to 100% and often stayed there!
   The old laptop got a bit unreliable with the overheating and all, so I bought another Toshiba Satellite with plenty of ram, a big screen driver and a fast CPU.
   
   I did the same test just now on the new system under Win7 and get a massive rise from a base of maybe 3% up to 20% then jumping up to 70%
   I reckon that is why my new laptop is switching its fan on when I play farmville.
   Anyone notice this also?

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      Faybe Bayposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I play farmville and my regular PC goes batty, but I haven't tried it with laptop. I think it's because it's such a "busy" game. Firefox seems to slow my PC and I don't like IE. Have you tried it with Google Chrome?

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         earnestshubposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Yep I swapped all the browsers I have including Opera around and got the same result.
         Why in hell does it use so much processor time? Some tech here will know I guess, thank for having a go at it habee. Pull up task manager next time you are farmin and check it out. Maybe your desktop CPU is hangin near 100% when you are farming?

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         1. 68

            Faybe Bayposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Well I just started two days ago. I told my son not to get me started, so he told his Dad to send me a gift and there you go!

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               Uninvited Writerposted 15 years agoin reply to this

               Read my hub, it's not too late
               
               http://hubpages.com/hub/How-I-deleted-Farmville

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      Friendlywordposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Do you make money playing farmville? I notice alot of people try to get me to respond to thier request for me plant something or buy their tomatoes...oh it just sounds so childish.  I never opened it or responded to anyone that made a request for me to join Farmville. WHAT IS THIS THING?

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      1. 70

         earnestshubposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         It is social game playing I guess. A bit like a club with no forum! The plants grow, the farm grows and the graphics are full page and rather quaint. It uses far to much of my time.

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      Anti-Matterposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Would you happen to be chatting with friends via Facebook Chat? I know that I had a problem where my computer would bog down completely when chatting. If you have been chatting it might be work looking at the solution posted by "Legacy" here http://support.mozilla.com/nl/forum/1/527120 - it fixed the problem for me.

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         earnestshubposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you Anti-Matter. No, I don't use the chat, I run skype, which can also eat memory. It happens when inside the game itself no matter what else is running.

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            sabrebIadeposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Maybe I missed it, but are you using the Facebook app, or on the Farmville site?
            The Farmville site seems to use less resources...or so I am told...LOL

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   4. 68

      diabetesreporterposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      My wife had the same, exact problem on her own laptop, and it's no slouch when it comes to CPU power, memory, etc. I was able to solve the problem for her though. She now plays all of her online games without the computer slowing down or overheating.
      
      So, how did I fix  the problem? Simple. I got rid of Windows. I downloaded the latest version of Ubuntu Linux and installed it on her laptop. The install program recognizes your existing Windows installation (at least in all versions PRIOR to Windows 7. I have no experience with that particular OS) and then partitions your hard disk to let you choose which operating system you want to use every time the computer is rebooted. Installation is fairly simple and straightforward and won't harm your Windows installation.
      
      After that, I made sure that she was using the latest version of Firefox and also installed Google Chrome by going to Google's download website. She had never used Linux before and was pretty wary of the whole idea, but she took to it like a duck to water. Using a web browser in Linux is really no different than using one in Windows, other than the fact that you use a lot less memory, less CPU power, etc. A big chunk of the reason for this is that you don't need to use any type of antivirus or antispyware when running Linux, because the odds of coming across a bug that will infect Linux is somewhere between slim and none.
      
      If you just want to see what Linux looks like without installing anything, just choose the option on the install disk to run the operating system directly from the CD ROM without using your hard drive. It will run MUCH slower than it would on a hard drive, but at least you can play around with it without having to install anything.
      
      There are many other versions of Linux that work just as well as Ubuntu. That just happens to be my personal favorite. Download it for free and try it out. You might be surprised at what you find. Just Google for "Ubuntu" to find the download site. Hope this helps!

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2. 81

   Rafiniposted 15 years ago

   I don't play Farmville, but I did notice when my laptop was new the fan came on a lot and now it doesn't.  Maybe it's because it's new?
   (just a thought, I really don't know anything about computers except how to use it )

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3. 65

   Maddie Ruudposted 15 years ago

   It may not damage your laptop, but it certainly damages your brain.  I had to quit all Facebook games several months ago... I could just feel them sucking all the intelligence right out of my head.

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      earnestshubposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I am feeling the same Maddie, but that CPU sure gets smokin if doing a large hoeing, planting or harvesting job I notice.

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         Maddie Ruudposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         If you want to find a more efficient way to kill brain cells, might I recommend spam-hunting?

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            earnestshubposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            That sounds like fun. I do dutifully report all spam I see on hubpages though!

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4. 60

   theirishobserver.posted 15 years ago

   my frined who runs a computer based business has had to have all her office computers serviced at a great deal of cost - the technician told her that all the problems stemed from her staff using face book during their lunch breaks - I dont know why but Face book appears to be a major problem for virus and bugs.

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   1. 70

      earnestshubposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I know that with my laptops the CPU's can produce a lot of heat when thrashed. Farmville seems to keep it in the upper area of use, even to the point of stalling the system.

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5. 60

   theirishobserver.posted 15 years ago

   I am not technical at all - but that was my friends experience - I rarely use face book just in case.

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6. 58

   climberjamesposted 15 years ago

   Farmville damages my Facebook News Feed!! grr . . .

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      Ivorwenposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Block it.

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7. 71

   ThoughtfulSpotposted 15 years ago

   I'm no computer tech... but it seems to me that if you've got all those animals inside your laptop, its going to get mighty hot.  Its no wonder the fan is constantly running...
   

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      Uninvited Writerposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      All that methane...

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         ThoughtfulSpotposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         
         Those dam* cows are destroying the virtual environment.
         

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8. 76

   Uninvited Writerposted 15 years ago

   I tell you...farmville is evil
   
   But, my laptop has always heated up. I never noticed that it was worse when playing Farmville. I do find it worse when I play any game though.

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9. 70

   earnestshubposted 15 years ago

   Thank you very much diabetsreporter!
   I have been awaiting such help!
   You are preaching to the converted, but not without success! I agree with you completely about Linux. It handles overheads extremely well. My friend who is a programmer has been using it forever, and has told me to get myself up to speed for years.
   My problem has been that I use my computer for a mass of jobs and am quite addicted to snapfiles freeware to get some of those jobs done quicker. I have never got around to asking him about access to the shell from right mouse click or a lot of other questions.
   BUT. Some things have changed since then. I now have oodles of space, plenty of ram and a fast CPU!
   I will go try your recommended version. Thank you!
   
   What about all those people frying their CPUs on Farmville? I reckon the beta needs a rewrite!
   Thank you for the kindness my friend!
   For your volition. WIN7 is just Vista with better drivers!

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10. 71

    rmrposted 15 years ago

    I always had a bigger problem with Farm Town, than FarmVille, but I did notice it. Even with a brand new Asus. I've since given them all up. Especially that vile Cafe World game!

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       michifusposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       trying to kick the Cafe world habit...... I cant even tell you why I play it

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11. 70

    earnestshubposted 15 years ago

    You are right sabreblade, the dot com uses less resources, but does seem to crash or be slow a lot.. Thanks for that, I may go try it with the task manager alight.

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12. 52

    Shalini Kagalposted 15 years ago

    Ernest - and here I was wondering why I had to change my power unit on my PC twice after I started playing FV. I never play it on my laptop but I'm guessing it heats up the PC as well? I'm too far gone to stop haha - so it looks like I have to take diabetes reporter's advice - thank you diabetesresreporter!

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    1. 70

       earnestshubposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       I just gotta get my crops in tonight, my farm needs me! I think I have barnacles on my mouse finger!

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    2. 70

       michifusposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Both Farmville and Cafeworld suck up unnaturally huge amounts of CPU resources, on my PC both run at 100% CPU, which means I cannot do anything else when playing them.
       
       Considering the graphics quality in these games is low and comparing them with some of the purpose designed PC games which take up far less CPU whilst providing stunning graphics, I cant help but think that this is intentional on the part of the game writers, to ensure that you do nothing else whilst playing their games to maximise their ad exposure.
       
       It may harm your PC - But I would be more worried about the harm being done to your head.

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13. 80

    MyWebsposted 15 years ago

    The answer is quite simple. When a PC or laptop is running at a higher temperature it shortens the lifespan of the electronic components inside. If temps reach too high of a level most computers will automatically shut off the PC to avoid immediate damage from the extreme temps. Practically all newer computers the motherboards have a built in temp sensor for the CPU and chipset to avoid temp damage. Heat is the enemy of all electronics, including PCs.
    
    Considering the rate that computer technology advances running a PC at a higher temp isn't going to make a huge difference in its lifespan since most people will get a new one anyways every 2 or 3 years or so. So what it only last 5 years instead of 6 years?
    
    Advanced Users - If you PC is getting so hot it is shutting off automatically it would be a good idea to take apart your PC or laptop and use isopropyl alcohol to remove the old thermal paste between the CPU and heatsink. Do the same thing between the heatsink and the chipset if your chipset also has a heatsink. Reapply using a high quality thermal paste like Artic Silver. Clean out all dust bunnies, especially any that are blocking fans and exhaust ports. Any place that works on computers would be able to do this for you, but expect to pay for it. Going rate is about $70 per hour to have an A+ technician work on your PC, but still this is a much cheaper option than a new PC.
    
    Opening up the case on a PC tower and aiming a small fan inside works quite well too to keep things cooler when gaming.
    
    I use Speedfan to monitor my temps as this Dell laptop tends to run hot. It is the only free app I could find that would work with my Dell. WARNING: Unless you know what your doing do NOT change any settings under the "Clock" tab or Configure ->  Voltages as you can damage your PC with the wrong settings!

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    Jane@CMposted 15 years ago

    I'm glad you got an answer Ernest!
    
    As far as Farmville goes, I'm great at it, I can kill a crop in a day & my animals would not stay in their pen - so I used the handy dandy delete button!

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15. 61

    Denseposted 15 years ago

    Me thinks it doesn't matter whether you open this in Firefox or Chrome or IE, you will still have problem coz Adobe Flash is a piece of cr*p that unfortunately we must all use.
    You will get the same problem with Youtube videos.
    There is an article by my alter ego here which will shed some light on this: hxxp://www.kongtechnology.com/2010/03/05/slow-facebook-flash-games-and-youtube-videos/
    (Replace the double x with double t)

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    climberjamesposted 14 years ago

    Farmville damages my facebook news feed . . .

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    watchyaposted 14 years ago

    Farmville damages your brain.That's what people should be concerned with. Not laptops heating up LOL

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       climberjamesposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Ha ha I agree!

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