slow performance, is it my hdd/drivers???

[mojo_and_wayne]

PN5-E sli mobo 650 sli chipset, E6600, 2x1gb crucial ddr2-5300 ram, evga 8800 gtx 320 superclocked, 2x250gb sata2 seagate drives in raid0 and 1 seagate 500gb backup, thermaltake 700 modular psu, 2xdvdrw's floppy and card reader running windows XP + sp2

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/408/hdddf2.png <-- HDD test
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/833/devicemanagerfo5.png <-- device manager
http://img167.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cpuzqn5.png <-- cpu-z

right guys and gals, my problem is one of slow performance in everyday tasks which i dont think i should have with this pc, for example if i've minimized my browser to do some other tasks and then i return to it, it can take about 8-10 seconds to fully open so i can use it, usually it shows an outline and then fills the rest of the screen. sometimes when i goto windows explorer im greeted by the little torch looking for things instead of showing my drives etc
i have the latest nvidia drivers installed, i used F6 during xp install to use sata drivers from the floppy that came with the mobo, i have all the latest updates yet i have this slow pc.
it appears to test ok, seagate tools reports no issues and games play fast, it seems to be when i switch from one task to another that i have this slowdown and i really think its a driver issue rather than a hardware fault as 3dmark reports over 9k which is good for this system. its as if it puts all its thought into one proggie and doesn't like change

any ideas what might cause this or things i can check/test???

i have posted this on another site so sorry if any of you guys have already read this

 

[jackluo923]

Try defragmenting your hdd and see if that helps. Also before you defragment your hdd," clean up" your hdd. If the hdd is more than 75% full, the pefromance will be significant lower than when its empty.

 

[mojo_and_wayne]

ive done a few gefrags using xp's and diskeeper
there only 1/3rd full so plenty of space too
its when im swiyching apps theres this delay, could it be memory even? im at my whits end with this

 

[htoonthura]

PN5-E sli mobo 650 sli chipset, E6600, 2x1gb crucial ddr2-5300 ram, evga 8800 gtx 320 superclocked, 2x250gb sata2 seagate drives in raid0 and 1 seagate 500gb backup, thermaltake 700 modular psu, 2xdvdrw's floppy and card reader running windows XP + sp2

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/408/hdddf2.png <-- HDD test
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/833/devicemanagerfo5.png <-- device manager
http://img167.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cpuzqn5.png <-- cpu-z

right guys and gals, my problem is one of slow performance in everyday tasks which i dont think i should have with this pc, for example if i've minimized my browser to do some other tasks and then i return to it, it can take about 8-10 seconds to fully open so i can use it, usually it shows an outline and then fills the rest of the screen. sometimes when i goto windows explorer im greeted by the little torch looking for things instead of showing my drives etc
i have the latest nvidia drivers installed, i used F6 during xp install to use sata drivers from the floppy that came with the mobo, i have all the latest updates yet i have this slow pc.
it appears to test ok, seagate tools reports no issues and games play fast, it seems to be when i switch from one task to another that i have this slowdown and i really think its a driver issue rather than a hardware fault as 3dmark reports over 9k which is good for this system. its as if it puts all its thought into one proggie and doesn't like change

any ideas what might cause this or things i can check/test???

i have posted this on another site so sorry if any of you guys have already read this

do you think your RAID is acting right? I do not expect much from onboard raid controller. try to see if your raid arry is working properly.

 

[mojo_and_wayne]

do you think your RAID is acting right? I do not expect much from onboard raid controller. try to see if your raid arry is working properly.

i think so as hdtach seems to report decent speeds but then again its only testing 1 proggie when its doing this isnt it, is there any other test i could run? seatools reports the hdd as being ok but what about testing the raid?
im hoping its just a driver but finding a cure isnt easy

 

[Techfan]

Check your task manager if any services or programs are causig to much CPU usage while your computer is idle. Also try reinstalling windows xp or vista, install the drivers and nothing else. Probably the problem is software related.

 

[mojo_and_wayne]

Check your task manager if any services or programs are causig to much CPU usage while your computer is idle. Also try reinstalling windows xp or vista, install the drivers and nothing else. Probably the problem is software related.

cpu is @ 0% most of the time, 433/8031 PF usage

yeah im starting to think about a reinstall but thats my last resort as id like to narrow it down first so i dont endup in the same position

 

[Techfan]

When you installed your windows and drivers before you install any programs did you noticed any slowdowns? How long it takes your windows to startup?

 

[mojo_and_wayne]

When you installed your windows and drivers before you install any programs did you noticed any slowdowns? How long it takes your windows to startup?

theres the thing i just put things on 'as quick as' so i never really noticed it but i had an old pc 3700+ to compare and it was faster
im getting a message from another user saying it could be memory so im wondering now how to test that, this is the trouble when everything is new!!!

 

[Techfan]

Try to boot your computer with one memory stick. Then try the other one.

 

[mojo_and_wayne]

just the same with 1 stick, poss a little bit slower but same symptoms after a while using it
i've defrageed the MFT as that was showing a high usage so we'll see if that helps
i carn't help but wonder why i needed to do this as in all my years using xp ive not done this before, its only because diskeeper says its over 80%
its as if i run out of something, memory hdd??? if i leave the pc idle overnight it shows the problem more when i first try to open things

 

[jonisginger]

Try finding another 7200RPM disk and installing Windows on it, then see if you get the same symptoms. I tend to agree that its probably something to do with your RAID/disks.

 

[tomwaddle]

quote]

cpu is @ 0% most of the time, 433/8031 PF usage

You have an 8 gig page file? Did you set that up? Seems a lil high when you only have 2 gig - even if at that current time it wasn't maxed out.
download memtest and have it beat the crap out of 1 memory stick installed at a time.