Computer lags, I have decent hardware. Help!

[jmikan5]

I am running the following setup:

AMD 965BE Cpu
Asus Crosshair Formula IV
16gb DDR3 Ram
ATI Radeon 6950 GDDR5 2GB.
Basic 7200RPM HDD.
Corsair Liquid Cooling H100.

Recently I have been having issues with performance in games, never had an issue in the past. For example, in Starcraft 2 I lag like there's no tomorrow, even on lowest quality settings.

I formatted, reinstalled drivers, ran memtest, brought back nothing. Would could be causing this? It's extremely annoying.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Heat. When was the last time you cleaned and dusted the interior of your system, to include the graphic cards fan blades?

-Wolf sends

 

[jmikan5]

Recently, how would you go about cleaning the blades on the fan? I just realized....it's sitting next to the register for the heat... i had it there for the summer because of the a/c. didnt even think about the heat... wow I totally just failed hard haha.

Another question, I want to upgrade because this is a slower computer. What do you recommend for...

HDD
CPU
MOBO

I am switching back to intel. I want to sell my current mobo/cpu and possibly the video card. Suggestions?

 

[Wolfshadw]

For cleaning the fan blades of either the graphics card or the CPU heatsink, I recommend using a soft bristled toothbrush to loosen things up and then a can of compressed air to blow the debris clear (keeping a thumb on the fan to prevent over-spinning of the bearings).

As for your upgrades, it all depends on your budget:
HDD - Keep your current as a data drive. Reinstall Windows and your programs/games onto an 80-128GB SSD.
CPU - Intel CoreI5-3570K. End of story.
Mobo - Generally, I lean towards ASUS or Gigabyte boards. Look for boards that have PCI-E 3.0 slots, USB 3.0 slots, rear E-Sata ports, and the most SATA 6.0Gb/s ports.

-Wolf sends

 

[jmikan5]

For cleaning the fan blades of either the graphics card or the CPU heatsink, I recommend using a soft bristled toothbrush to loosen things up and then a can of compressed air to blow the debris clear (keeping a thumb on the fan to prevent over-spinning of the bearings).

As for your upgrades, it all depends on your budget:
HDD - Keep your current as a data drive. Reinstall Windows and your programs/games onto an 80-128GB SSD.
CPU - Intel CoreI5-3570K. End of story.
Mobo - Generally, I lean towards ASUS or Gigabyte boards. Look for boards that have PCI-E 3.0 slots, USB 3.0 slots, rear E-Sata ports, and the most SATA 6.0Gb/s ports.

-Wolf sends

Awesome, thank you sir! I like the I5 series, was looking at a 2500k but the 3570 looks wicked. I do minor overclocking-When needed. Would you keep the video card or replace it? I don't mind forking out the cash on a decent mobo/cpu, its worth it. Does it matter what SSD?

What do you think of this mobo? http://sys.1stchoicememory.com/products/Option.aspx?id=83127 (not going to buy from there, just found that on google lol).

or

http://www.amazon.com/P8B75-M-CSM-Intel-Micro-Motherboard/dp/B007RIFMQA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1356832579&sr=8-4&keywords=asus+p8b75-v

The -m version is eye candy.

Lastly, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171567

I know 2.5" is laptop comparable in size. Will this be okay for a desktop? 120gb for 94$ seems like a steal lol.

 

[Wolfshadw]

I don't have any problems with either of those motherboards, though I think I'd lean more towards the ASUS P8B75B-V motherboard (btw, I think the "-m" stands for Micro-ATX).

I don't know enough about SSDs to make a recommendation, but based on the Newegg Reviews of the SanDisk Extreme SDSSDX-120G-G25 2.5" 120GB SATA III, I'd probably go with it. You'd probably need a 3.5" to 2.5" Drive bay adapter as well.

Finally, I'd keep your current graphics card. It's near top of the line of last generation's series of cards. Personally, I'd probably keep it until at least the HD9xxx series cards are out. You'll note that I'm still rockin' a Geforce 8800GTS-640.

-Wolf sends

 

[jmikan5]

Okay, sounds good. Thanks again!

 

[jmikan5]

Best answer selected by jmikan5.