New Build Feels Sluggish

[Xatos]

Just finished my new rig:


Phenom 965 BE - Currently running with a low of 27C and a high of 57C (core temp has me at 27 right now as I type)

Zalman 9900 cooler /w Tuniq-3 paste

4GB G.Skill

XFX 5850

WD 500GB SATA

Gigabyte 790x UD4 mobo

Thermaltake Element G with 800w Tt PSU

Vista Business 64 bit


I've got my HDD connected to Channel 0 but it's registering as Channel 2 master... I can't help but feel like my HDD is just not working properly/up to speed. Also, my Windows Experience index is giving my CPU a 5.9 and my graphics card a 1.0, all drivers installed, chipset, etc. Makes no sense.


What the hell's going on? Even installing drivers seems slow.

 

[tecmo34]

Your CPU is right at 5.9 - Max on Vista.

Your GPU is wrong at 1.0. It should be 5.9 on Vista. I would recommend uninstalling your GPU drivers and do a clean install of the drivers and retest Windows Experience. Also, make sure you have your GPU installed in the first PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot next to the CPU. It seems to me a driver issue.

Also, I would recommend downloading/running 3DMark Vantage as a benchmark over the Windows Experience (which isn't considered much of a benchmarking tool)

 

[Xatos]

Thanks for the reply bud.



After doing some research I had to delete all .xml files in Vista's benchmark folder to get a new scan. Now everything's at 5.9, but still feels very slow.

I'm moving away from XP for the first time to this, 64 bit Vista... But really, it just doesn't feel fast. I'm not happy. I'm going to try running some more benchmarks/play games and come back with some more info.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Xatos]

Well Crysis works ran it at 1600x1200 on max all settings with Catalyst settings on max too and it ran well with hiccups here and there. My general computing just doesn't feel fast though.

 

[someguy7]

Are you running a BIOS that has official support for your cpu? Does cpu-z report the correct speeds.

Do the normal Vista tweaks also. Out of the box vista is constantly using the HDD. It is set to defrag once a day. And it indexes all the time....Even with that you should not feel slow at all.

 

[capt_taco]

Are you running a BIOS that has official support for your cpu? Does cpu-z report the correct speeds.

That would've been my guess, given what's been tried so far and not working. BIOS or motherboard drivers not 100% up to date.

 

[Xatos]

Here's my MOBO right here. It's the GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 AM3 AMD 790X

BIOS: Award Software International
Version: F2

 

[Xatos]

Also, my RAM is 1600 but the MOBO when set to AUTO defaults it to 1333 and you have to manually change it to 1600. I still don't understand my SATA channels either.

 

[tecmo34]

Here's my MOBO right here. It's the GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 AM3 AMD 790X

BIOS: Award Software International
Version: F2

Your CPU has been supported since BIOS Version F1... http://www.gigabyte.us/Support/Motherboard/CPUSupport_Model.aspx?ProductID=3275#anchor_os

 

[doive1231]

I bought a ASUS M4A785G EVO and it was very sluggish. I had to update the BIOS before it worked properly.

Even then, I have found that my AMD Athlon II X4 620 to be sluggish when starting .exe files but is very fast installing. I get the ring mouse icon and it feels much more sluggish than my old C2D that started applications straight away but was not as fast installing as expected as it was only 2.2Ghz.

Could it be that AMD CPUs are slower initializing applications?

 

[njalterio]

Check the power settings in control panel. Your computer is probably in an energy saving state, which is enabled by default in Windows.

I bought a ASUS M4A785G EVO and it was very sluggish. I had to update the BIOS before it worked properly.

Even then, I have found that my AMD Athlon II X4 620 to be sluggish when starting .exe files but is very fast installing. I get the ring mouse icon and it feels much more sluggish than my old C2D that started applications straight away but was not as fast installing as expected as it was only 2.2Ghz.

Could it be that AMD CPUs are slower initializing applications?

No. You are comparing two different computers with different hard drives, RAM, GPUs, etc. so this is not an accurate comparison of Intel and AMD CPUs. Also, what "feels" sluggish isn't very useful for performance comparison. We need to see data.