[SOLVED] Looking to improve performance on an old build

[SmokeeDN]

I have had this pc since 2012, It currently runs very poorly; booting takes several minutes in order for the computer to be usable, loading times for simple things such as Google Chrome are way too long (~10s). Games are very inconsistent, CSGO runs anywhere from 60 - 120 FPS with constant stutters and drops (not consistent), GTA 5 sits at around 30 FPS at low-med settings 1280x1024, Rust stutters a lot once again at 1280x1024 and "fast" graphics.

Specs:
A8-5500 w/ stock cooler (yuck)
F2A85-m
R7-360 OC 2GB
12 GBs of DDR3 ram
1 TB western digital 7200 RPM drive
1 TB western digital 5200 RPM drive (old and fat hard drive, this is the one getting removed

In an effort to increase overall performance I plan to remove one of the drives as it rattles and seems to be underperforming, I will dust the pc and clean up the cables a little bit, and once the physical aspect is complete I plan on completely wiping windows and doing a full reset, updating BIOS and GPU drivers. Does anyone have any insight as to any performance gains that could be had or am I wasting my time?

I plan on building a new one in April so this isn't permanent. Thanks!

 

[Frag Maniac]

Good that you're building a new rig come April, but if you're anywhere in North America, you best hope the talks with China work regarding tariffs, otherwise there will be another 15% tariff hike starting Jan 1st on most PC parts, since most are made in China.

Anyway, regarding HDDs, always make sure you defrag them regularly. If you let them build up fragmentation, then do one massive defrag, it's very hard on them. You also need to keep 15% of their space free (actual space) for proper performance.

It also helps of course to have a decent CPU cooler and a well cooled aftermarket GPU with two or more fans and robust heatsink. Then consider getting a good case with strong front to back airflow and preferably filters on all intakes.

It's best to arrange airflow via slightly more intake than exhaust, which creates a slight positive air pressure inside the case. This keeps dust from sucking in through any unfiltered crevices. You can do this by researching what the CFM of each fan is and/or using fan speed controllers. Even still, you need to clean the case out regularly, but it will be much easier if it's setup this way.

Lastly, once it comes time to buy parts for you next build, ask for advice on part selection. One thing if you can afford any luxuries beyond core gaming performance parts that really speeds up OS, programs, and boot time, is a fast SSD, and they're coming down in price.

I just bought a Samsung 970 EVO 500GB NVMe drive and it was on sale for $116. This thing is crazy fast. An average HDD like a WD Black 1TB at best is like 180Mb/s when brand new. The fastest SATA SSDs are usually a bit over 500Mb/s. This NVMe drive is like 3500 Mb/s Read and 2500 Mb/s Write, and it has a 5 year warranty. SSDs also don't need defragging.

Note that you'll need a MB with m.2 port to mount an NVMe drive, but many of the new ones have them. Some, like my ASUS Prime Z370-A have two, and one is located far from the CPU and under it's own aluminum heatsink to run cool.

 

[SmokeeDN]

Good that you're building a new rig come April, but if you're anywhere in North America, you best hope the talks with China work regarding tariffs, otherwise there will be another 15% tariff hike starting Jan 1st on most PC parts, since most are made in China.

Anyway, regarding HDDs, always make sure you defrag them regularly. If you let them build up fragmentation, then do one massive defrag, it's very hard on them. You also need to keep 15% of their space free (actual space) for proper performance.

It also helps of course to have a decent CPU cooler and a well cooled aftermarket GPU with two or more fans and robust heatsink. Then consider getting a good case with strong front to back airflow and preferably filters on all intakes.

It's best to arrange airflow via slightly more intake than exhaust, which creates a slight positive air pressure inside the case. This keeps dust from sucking in through any unfiltered crevices. You can do this by researching what the CFM of each fan is and/or using fan speed controllers. Even still, you need to clean the case out regularly, but it will be much easier if it's setup this way.

Lastly, once it comes time to buy parts for you next build, ask for advice on part selection. One thing if you can afford any luxuries beyond core gaming performance parts that really speeds up OS, programs, and boot time, is a fast SSD, and they're coming down in price.

I just bought a Samsung 970 EVO 500GB NVMe drive and it was on sale for $116. This thing is crazy fast. An average HDD like a WD Black 1TB at best is like 180Mb/s when brand new. The fastest SATA SSDs are usually a bit over 500Mb/s. This NVMe drive is like 3500 Mb/s Read and 2500 Mb/s Write, and it has a 5 year warranty. SSDs also don't need defragging.

Note that you'll need a MB with m.2 port to mount an NVMe drive, but many of the new ones have them. Some, like my ASUS Prime Z370-A have two, and one is located far from the CPU and under it's own aluminum heatsink to run cool.

Thanks a lot for your insight! One question, once I reset windows and wipe all my drives should I still defrag? Last time I did it was oh about a year ago.

Regarding the new rig, I'm most likely either gonna go with a ryzen 5 2600x or i5-8600k along with 16GB of 3000MHz ram with either a 1070 or 1070ti. Storage wise im either gonna get an m.2 or ssd around ~250 GB with a regular ol' 2TB HDD.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Fragmentation is when files get scattered all over the place, rather than being sorted together as they should be. This is common on Windows because MS allows pretty much anyone to write an installer, and most of them are pretty bad at scattering files everywhere when they install something. It's pretty much a necessary evil to maintain widespread software compatibility though.

So once you wipe the drives there will be no files, so no fragmentation, and no need to defrag. When you delete contents of a drive it has to then be formatted, which serves as a defrag of sorts and prepares the drive for files. Until it's formatted it will be called Unallocated. Once it's formatted it's called a New Volume.

A once a year defrag schedule is horribly irresponsible for a Windows PC though. You need to do it more often than that. Just make sure you don't defrag any SSDs though. They use TRIM instead and defragging them just causes unnecessary wear and tear.

I also always advise checking a HDD for bad sectors after formatting with a diagnostic tool if it's been error or noise prone at all. Pretty much all big name HDD manufacturers have free diagnostic tools you can DL and use.

On the CPU, I would only go 2600X if you plan on streaming a lot. Keep in mind the Ryzen 3000 series may be out by July though, which will likely affect prices. Plus I've seen some pretty incredible price leaks on 3000, but it's all just rumors so far.

A 1070 Ti of course would be better than a 1070, and is pretty close to a 1080. As I said on the SSD, just make sure you get a MB with m.2 slot if you're considering a NVMe. Whatever you do, don't fall for big sales and buy parts one at a time. Chances are, for the most part, prices should drop, and just hope Trump doesn't screw up those tariff talks.

 

[SmokeeDN]

Fragmentation is when files get scattered all over the place, rather than being sorted together as they should be. This is common on Windows because MS allows pretty much anyone to write an installer, and most of them are pretty bad at scattering files everywhere when they install something. It's pretty much a necessary evil to maintain widespread software compatibility though.

So once you wipe the drives there will be no files, so no fragmentation, and no need to defrag. When you delete contents of a drive it has to then be formatted, which serves as a defrag of sorts and prepares the drive for files. Until it's formatted it will be called Unallocated. Once it's formatted it's called a New Volume.

A once a year defrag schedule is horribly irresponsible for a Windows PC though. You need to do it more often than that. Just make sure you don't defrag any SSDs though. They use TRIM instead and defragging them just causes unnecessary wear and tear.

I also always advise checking a HDD for bad sectors after formatting with a diagnostic tool if it's been error or noise prone at all. Pretty much all big name HDD manufacturers have free diagnostic tools you can DL and use.

On the CPU, I would only go 2600X if you plan on streaming a lot. Keep in mind the Ryzen 3000 series may be out by Apr though, which will likely affect prices. Plus I've seen some pretty incredible price leaks on 3000, but it's all just rumors so far.

A 1070 Ti of course would be better than a 1070, and is pretty close to a 1080. As I said on the SSD, just make sure you get a MB with m.2 slot if you're considering a NVMe. Whatever you do, don't fall for big sales and buy parts one at a time. Chances are, for the most part, prices should drop, and just hope Trump doesn't screw up those tariff talks.

Thanks so much for the info! I appreciate you going into detail on the fragmentation.