Gaming PC yet runs like a potato... How do I fix it?

[NULL_1]

I've researched around yet there was nothing I could find that would solve my issue.

About 6 months ago I spent a hefty amount to build a gaming PC with the specs listed below, it worked beautifully at first, fast, pleasant to use, fast transfer times, etc. But now it's so sluggish and random things just stop working at times.

Gaming PC Specifications:
OS: Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
CPU: Intel Core i5 4690 @ 3.50GHz
RAM: 8GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 799MHz
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC Mate
Graphics: 4095MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
Storage: 1TB WD 7200RPM
Optical: Not needed - None

Problems include - Booting up slowly, GTA V taking ages to quit, GTA V stuttering/lagging/lag spiking, and more, it just runs and feels SLOW.

PS. I do have alot of programs such as VMWare, Adobe products etc. There is no viruses I have done thorough scans and searched myself. Is there anything I can upgrade to make it faster? Or reinstall windows or what? I dont know what to do

 

[The Paladin]

Have you defragged you hard drive recently ?

Is there anything I can upgrade to make it faster?

Sure SSD for O/S , 16GB ram, upgrade to an I7-4790K and OC to 4.5/4.6Ghz

 

[NULL_1]

Have you defragged you hard drive recently ?

Is there anything I can upgrade to make it faster?

Sure SSD for O/S , 16GB ram, upgrade to an I7-4790K and OC to 4.5/4.6Ghz

I have never defragged the drive.

16GB RAM I can do but rest I cannot in my current situation.

 

[The Paladin]

then I strongly suggest you download auslogics defragger from this LINK to their web page and install and run it and set to ruin as defrag and optimize this should make it snappy again: https://www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag/

 

[skibo1219]

I agree that an SSD is needed here, it will make boot/load times 10x faster. You dont need a large one, 120Gb SSD would be perfect, and you can find them for less than $100, look for a sale.