Question PC suddenly started to slow down, why ?

Jan 19, 2021
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Hello to you, first of all I wasn't sure wether I should post this thread in this section or in "PC gaming" since I seem to have an issue with my whole system. I apologize if this is the wrong place.

Roughly two weeks ago shortly after I had moved out an issue started to manifest itself out of the blue in my fairly new gaming rig, which is that it looks like it has trouble running optimally. The mouse cursor becomes weirdly sluggish on the desktop and there’s a constant stutter in games that ran perfectly fine before – the audio stutters as well. Initially it would go away after I let the machine sit idle for 10-15 minutes but yesterday it suddenly became much worse, I couldn’t get it out of my system. To me this looks like there’s a program in the background that is draining ressources, it happened before, however this time Task Manager doesn’t pick up anything, CPU sits at 3-5 % usage…
I’ve also noticed that when idling my fans tend to spin loudly here and there between quiet phases although I can’t remember if this was already the case before I encountered the issue so I dunno if it’s linked.

I never had this problem before with any of the PCs I’ve owned. Does anyone has a clue about what’s going on in my case ? A hidden software interfering ? A drive issue ? Anything ? Does it sound like hardware or software trouble to you ?

I’ve been careful not to browse shady websites or download risky stuff so as to avoid attracting malware. Both GPU drivers and Windows 10 are up to date. Components temperatures are normal as always. OCCT didn’t detect any mistake on CPU and GPU, although I’ve run it only in 5 minutes increments. I have a brand new nvme SSD for games but the sata SSD that hosts the OS is a few years old, maybe there lies the fault ?


I’d be extremely grateful for any tip. Cheers, stay safe.
 
Hello to you, first of all I wasn't sure wether I should post this thread in this section or in "PC gaming" since I seem to have an issue with my whole system. I apologize if this is the wrong place.

Roughly two weeks ago shortly after I had moved out an issue started to manifest itself out of the blue in my fairly new gaming rig, which is that it looks like it has trouble running optimally. The mouse cursor becomes weirdly sluggish on the desktop and there’s a constant stutter in games that ran perfectly fine before – the audio stutters as well. Initially it would go away after I let the machine sit idle for 10-15 minutes but yesterday it suddenly became much worse, I couldn’t get it out of my system. To me this looks like there’s a program in the background that is draining ressources, it happened before, however this time Task Manager doesn’t pick up anything, CPU sits at 3-5 % usage…
I’ve also noticed that when idling my fans tend to spin loudly here and there between quiet phases although I can’t remember if this was already the case before I encountered the issue so I dunno if it’s linked.

I never had this problem before with any of the PCs I’ve owned. Does anyone has a clue about what’s going on in my case ? A hidden software interfering ? A drive issue ? Anything ? Does it sound like hardware or software trouble to you ?

I’ve been careful not to browse shady websites or download risky stuff so as to avoid attracting malware. Both GPU drivers and Windows 10 are up to date. Components temperatures are normal as always. OCCT didn’t detect any mistake on CPU and GPU, although I’ve run it only in 5 minutes increments. I have a brand new nvme SSD for games but the sata SSD that hosts the OS is a few years old, maybe there lies the fault ?


I’d be extremely grateful for any tip. Cheers, stay safe.
Hello Enzo

Can you check if the issue happens when you boot into safe mode?

If it doesn't happen, it points to something being wrong with one of your programs/settings as you suspect

TBH, i'd just do a fresh install at that point
 
Jan 19, 2021
48
0
30
Hello Enzo

Can you check if the issue happens when you boot into safe mode?

If it doesn't happen, it points to something being wrong with one of your programs/settings as you suspect

TBH, i'd just do a fresh install at that point

Safe mode wouldn't let me use steam and stuff, which is what I need to do to test if it works. I've already had windows freshly reinstalled about two months ago after some hardware upgrades... :( But if that's what it takes...
 
Last edited:
Jan 19, 2021
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It' s possible, but as said, there are many things possible here with those symptoms

can you also load"optimized defaults" in to your bios?

Also, can i have your full system specs?

I don't think I can, I'm not very good at this sort of thing. The most I could achieve would be a fresh restart of windows.

My specs : I7 8700, HD370 HD3 motherboard, Gigabyte RTX 3060ti gaming OC pro, 28 Corsair DDR4 3000mhz (runs with XMP at 2666mhz) ; case = ICUE 4000x RGB ; PSU = Fortron ATX 700W 80+ bronze ; drives = 1sata SSD for the OS, 1intel nvme SSD for games and 1HDD for storing my old data. No pre-built, had it assembled by specialists. GPU, case, PSU, nvme and RAM are new, the other components are a bit old (3-4 years).
 
I don't think I can, I'm not very good at this sort of thing. The most I could achieve would be a fresh restart of windows.

My specs : I7 8700, HD370 HD3 motherboard, Gigabyte RTX 3060ti gaming OC pro, 28 Corsair DDR4 3000mhz (runs with XMP at 2666mhz) ; case = ICUE 4000x RGB ; PSU = Fortron ATX 700W 80+ bronze ; drives = 1sata SSD for the OS, 1intel nvme SSD for games and 1HDD for storing my old data. No pre-built, had it assembled by specialists. GPU, case, PSU, nvme and RAM are new, the other components are a bit old (3-4 years).
For the optimized defaults:

https://download.gigabyte.com/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_z370-hd3-op_e.pdf

go to page 37

(i know that you have already done it quite recently, but i would recommend reinstalling windows, and getting your gpu and other drivers yourself from the website of nvidia/manufacturer)
 
Jan 19, 2021
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For the optimized defaults:

https://download.gigabyte.com/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_z370-hd3-op_e.pdf

go to page 37

(i know that you have already done it quite recently, but i would recommend reinstalling windows, and getting your gpu and other drivers yourself from the website of nvidia/manufacturer)

Thank you very much for your repeated help. As I said I'm not good at fixing PCs, I'm not gonna fumble around with stuff and risk breaking something. Malwarabytes didn't detect any hardware. As of now I don't think it's a power management issue, a faulty SSD, or the CPU or motherboard failing, otherwise, from what I've just read, the symptoms would be more severe. It's probably software-related then. I fresh-installed the latest nvidia driver yesterday after downloading it directly from the website, didn't fix the issue. I'm gonna restart the OS by follong this guideline - https://www.howtogeek.com/265054/how-to-easily-reinstall-windows-10-without-the-bloatware/ - and if that still doesn't work I'll take my rig to a lab.
 
Thank you very much for your repeated help. As I said I'm not good at fixing PCs, I'm not gonna fumble around with stuff and risk breaking something. Malwarabytes didn't detect any hardware. As of now I don't think it's a power management issue, a faulty SSD, or the CPU or motherboard failing, otherwise, from what I've just read, the symptoms would be more severe. It's probably software-related then. I fresh-installed the latest nvidia driver yesterday after downloading it directly from the website, didn't fix the issue. I'm gonna restart the OS by follong this guideline - https://www.howtogeek.com/265054/how-to-easily-reinstall-windows-10-without-the-bloatware/ - and if that still doesn't work I'll take my rig to a lab.
i think that is a good idea

Please let us know how it went, so that ppl with a similar issue can see the solution is this thread

GL mate
 
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Jan 19, 2021
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@Quanticriver So I reinstalled my windows - from the cloud, & while keeping my settings. As I suspected it didn't solve the issue (if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is..). It might have even made it worse, seeing as the fans were roaring non-stop after the reboot even though task manager showed the CPU was idling at 1%. Desktop also felt really stuttery. I think my PC might be truely gone. Don't think the lab techs are gonna fare better than me. I don't get it, I had it recently upgraded and I have always taken good care of it, I haven't done anything that might endanger a component or make the system unstable - no OC, nothing.
 
@Quanticriver So I reinstalled my windows - from the cloud, & while keeping my settings. As I suspected it didn't solve the issue (if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is..). It might have even made it worse, seeing as the fans were roaring non-stop after the reboot even though task manager showed the CPU was idling at 1%. Desktop also felt really stuttery. I think my PC might be truely gone. Don't think the lab techs are gonna fare better than me. I don't get it, I had it recently upgraded and I have always taken good care of it, I haven't done anything that might endanger a component or make the system unstable - no OC, nothing.
Shame :(

bit hard to say from here, mobo is suspect, settings are suspect

i'd take it to a pc guy

Concerning the fans:
did you do the optimized defaults? if yes you may have to put your cha/cpu fans into silent mode



https://download.gigabyte.com/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_z370-hd3-op_e.pdf
 
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