[SOLVED] PC ridiculously slow, CPU likely culprit?

DesperateGuyhelp

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It all started on Saturday. PC worked mostly fine when I wasnt doing anything intensive, however it crashed every time I tried playing a game or something.

After doing some troubleshooting, I ruled out the GPU (booting without it presented the same problems), RAM (I messed around with the sticks), HDD (all hard drive health software presented no issues, chkdsk didnt find anything). I think it's likely not the motherboard given that it's booting just fine, and also not the PSU though I can't prove much for it.

I replaced the thermal paste on the CPU and although it did help a bit, it's still considerably slow, not allowing me to do anything intensive.

Every single monitoring software puts my CPU temp at roughly 100C (yes, Celsius), which I believe is just false because it would have shut down already if that was the case. However, it seems to be throttling itself due to whats apparently a false reading.

I've done a smart scan with Avast, and will run a boot scan when I boot for the next time, though I have little hope of solving my issue through that.

I've run a stress test with my GPU, CPU, and RAM, and all of them passed. However, I intend to rerun the CPU test, and would like some guidance on what software to use for that purpose.

Given Speccy's servers seem to be down, I'll post a snapshot of the summary. If you need any extra information, ask and it will be provided: View: https://i.imgur.com/lwq8ZwH.png
 
Solution
I see. However, these absurd temperatures are the idle ones, and even if stuff is slower when I run intensive things it doesn't seem to crash.

I'll see if I can get this doubt solved with a stress test. Do you think the Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool has a reliable test for CPUs?
I think you should replace the cpu cooler.

DesperateGuyhelp

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I suspect the CPU fan is aging. As this happens the fan RPM isn't what it used to be. You might have to replace the sock cpu cooler with an aftermarket one. Your processor is still going to spike to 100% load so this might warrant a cpu/motherboard/memory upgrade.
Still though, what part would be responsible for these false readings? I'm pretty sure that if they were legit my PC would crash 24/7
 

DesperateGuyhelp

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Not necessarily. The processors max temperature is right around that and will throttle the chip in frequency to keep it from going over 100c, which is why your performance is suffering.
I see. However, these absurd temperatures are the idle ones, and even if stuff is slower when I run intensive things it doesn't seem to crash.

I'll see if I can get this doubt solved with a stress test. Do you think the Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool has a reliable test for CPUs?
 
The Thermal issue would definitely slow things down. Those Stock coolers are not all that great. I would get some canned air and blow that thing out, as there could be a build up of dust in there. With those temps, go into the Task manager and check your CPU usage. Just idling and browsing, it should be all that much. If it is, then you have something running in the back ground. Also get something like CCleaner and install that and clean out the junk files that build up over time ( You also click start and then type %temp% in the box and enter. That will bring up you Temp files, most of which are junk usually ). When you apply the Thermal Compound, you have to be careful in not using too much. I have seen people that put that stuff on like they were icing a cake and then wonder why the processor was so hot. It was actually insulating the processor and keeping it from transferring the heat from the CPU to the heat Sink. You only need about the size of a pea in the middle of the processor.
 
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It all started on Saturday. PC worked mostly fine when I wasnt doing anything intensive, however it crashed every time I tried playing a game or something.

After doing some troubleshooting, I ruled out the GPU (booting without it presented the same problems), RAM (I messed around with the sticks), HDD (all hard drive health software presented no issues, chkdsk didnt find anything). I think it's likely not the motherboard given that it's booting just fine, and also not the PSU though I can't prove much for it.

I replaced the thermal paste on the CPU and although it did help a bit, it's still considerably slow, not allowing me to do anything intensive.

Every single monitoring software puts my CPU temp at roughly 100C (yes, Celsius), which I believe is just false because it would have shut down already if that was the case. However, it seems to be throttling itself due to whats apparently a false reading.

I've done a smart scan with Avast, and will run a boot scan when I boot for the next time, though I have little hope of solving my issue through that.

I've run a stress test with my GPU, CPU, and RAM, and all of them passed. However, I intend to rerun the CPU test, and would like some guidance on what software to use for that purpose.

Given Speccy's servers seem to be down, I'll post a snapshot of the summary. If you need any extra information, ask and it will be provided: View: https://i.imgur.com/lwq8ZwH.png
After boot whats uour cpu usage. Could have ypur system been hijacked by something like monero?

Did you accidently overvolt it? Could your heat pipes be going bad?
 
Sounds like your cooler is not mounted properly or the cooler fan is not spinning.
The chip is doing it's job of detecting a dangerous temperature and throttling to prevent damage.
You should remount the cooler.
Here is how:
----------------how to mount the stock Intel cooler--------------

The stock Intel cooler can be tricky to install.
A poor installation will result in higher cpu temperatures.
If properly mounted, you should expect temperatures at idle to be 10-15c. over ambient.

To mount the Intel stock cooler properly, place the motherboard on top of the foam or cardboard backing that was packed with the motherboard.
The stock cooler will come with paste pre applied, it looks like three grey strips.
The 4 push pins should come in the proper position for installation, that is with the pins rotated in the opposite direction of the arrow,(clockwise)
and pulled up as far as they can go.
Take the time to play with the pushpin mechanism until you know how they work.

Orient the 4 pins so that they are exactly over the motherboard holes.
If one is out of place, you will damage the pins which are delicate.
Push down on a DIAGONAL pair of pins at the same time. Then the other pair.

When you push down on the top black pins, it expands the white plastic pins to fix the cooler in place.

If you do them one at a time, you will not get the cooler on straight.
Lastly, look at the back of the motherboard to verify that all 4 pins are equally through the motherboard, and that the cooler is on firmly.
This last step must be done, which is why the motherboard should be out of the case to do the job. Or you need a case with a opening that lets you see the pins.
It is possible to mount the cooler with the motherboard mounted in the case, but you can then never be certain that the push pins are inserted properly
unless you can verify that the pins are through the motherboard and locked.

If you should need to remove the cooler, turn the pins counter clockwise to unlock them.
You will need to clean off the old paste and reapply new if you ever take the cooler off.
Clean off old paste with alcohol and a lint free paper like a coffee filter.
Apply new paste sparingly. A small rice sized drop in the center will spread our under heat and pressure.
Too much paste is bad, it will act as an insulator.
It is hard to use too little.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I might add that any cooler needs fresh air to do it's job.
Your high HDD temperature indicates that your case might have an airflow problem.
Take the case covers off and direct a fan at the innards to see if that helps.
 

DesperateGuyhelp

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Wow, that's a lot of posts. All in all, my temperature upon booting already reads at >95C as I checked on the BIOS, and stays around that no matter what I do.

Thanks a lot for the clear instructions on how to install the stock cooler properly, I'll see to that soon! I've actually done the trick of pointing a fan towards my PC, and while it lowered the temperature of my HDD it didn't help much with the CPU cooling issue.

After boot whats uour cpu usage. Could have ypur system been hijacked by something like monero?

Did you accidently overvolt it? Could your heat pipes be going bad?
How would I check if I overvolted it? My CPU usage is roughly normal, but as I've said the temperatures are already ridiculous even while on the BIOS.
 

DesperateGuyhelp

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Aug 8, 2017
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In the end, the CPU cooler was the actual culprit. Due to my lack of computer experience when compared to people here, I completely understimated what a loose CPU cooler could do to the temps. Turns out a couple of the pins were broken, so I got a replacement and it all runs smooth now. Thanks a lot to everyone who helped!
 
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