G2S/G pauses "pulsing" during gameplay

Hi guys,

Been a while since I've been here. Might aswell start off with my notebooks specs:

OS Name Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium
Version 6.0.6001 Service Pack 1 Build 6001
System Manufacturer ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
System Model G2SG
System Type X86-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T7700 @ 2.40GHz, 2401 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. 304, 10/04/2008
SMBIOS Version 2.4
GPU NVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT 512mb
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 2.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 2.00 GB
Available Physical Memory 0.98 GB
Total Virtual Memory 4.23 GB
Available Virtual Memory 2.92 GB
Page File Space 2.29 GB

Essentially, I purchased a G2S-B1 back in 2007. I had a problem where the speakers were no longer outputting sound, so I sent it to ASUS for repair under warranty. Over 1 month later -_- I got it back and they told me they upgraded it with a G2SG motherboard and G2SG GeForce 8700M GT. I was angry for the amount of time I had no PC, and happy that they were going to upgrade these components. I have a feeling they couldn't solve the problem with the original components.

So this is my brief history as a G2S owner. I've had this notebook for 3 years, and I am quite happy with it.

I have been having a problem though. When I play games, I get micro-pauses that last for about 1 second, and after this pause it seems to try and "catch up". The effect is a very frustrating "pulsing" of movement. My first instict was to download the latest drivers from Laptop2go. I did this and there has been no change. I was convinced that it was a temperature issue because when I start a game, such as Modern Warfare 2 online, the game plays fine until after 10-15 mins, then the pauses start "pulsing". Once the round is over, and a new map loads, I can play the game fine for a while, but then the "pulsing" begins again. This is why I thought it was a temperature issue, thinking that the CPU is cool when I load the game up for the first time, and then it cools down between maps. However, I downloaded the application Core Temp to monitor my CPU temperature, and found that it idles at around 48 degrees celsius (118 F), and upon closing the game after playing for an hour, the CPU temp is around 70-74 degrees celsius (158-165 F). I believe this is a very normal temperature range.

Lowering my graphics settings does not help. I get the same problem with most recent games, such as TF2. I always turn AA off and have modest texture settings enabled at an appropriate resolution, usually 1600 x 1000.

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced the same thing, and whether you found a solution. Or if you can suggest anything I can do to solve this.

Thanks!