[SOLVED] Trying to pinpoint what is the issue with my pc.

[the.boss556677]

Hello , My specs are 8 GB RAM , GTX 1050 2VRAM , i5 2400 3.1 GHz , 500 GB hardrive and a 315W PSU.

My pc lately has been slow and some problems has started to occur in the last couple of weeks.

first off 3 months ago I was applying thermal paste for the first time and I think I <Mod Edit> it up a little because the next time I booted my pc one of the ram slots has stopped working , as in PC wont boot with a ram slot in it. Also last week I went for a walk and came back with my pc shut down 2 times , now Idk if one of my cousins/brother/sister caused this but I warn them not to touch the pc so I dont think so (pc hasnt shut down since)

Games also have been a little more stuttier and heavier than usual , pc as a whole too , some times when just browsing it would lag a little. Boot time has also gone up for some reason.

Im saving Im wondering what is the culprit and what should I get first (as I am limited on budget) to eliminate the issues , here is what I think:

1-It might be the motherboard , if it wasnt then I would still get a new motherboard and use my 4 GB ram stick that has been sitting there because the other ram slot stopped working , so this is a low risk option.

2-it might be that its just the hard drive needing defragmentation , since my main drives have a 43% and a 55% Fragmentation percentages (I will defragment and see so idk but it takes forever)

3-Get a new , better Power supply since it might be just that , it might be worth noting that when gaming my CPU sometimes reaches 100% and max heat is about 75c.
While GPU usage gets to 97% and memory to 95% when gaming (these are max values from HWmonitor)

So I need help out here , I dont wanna waste any money on something not helpful because theres still so much I want to buy and a lot of saving I need to do (1080p monitor , SSD , better CPU , A mic and a good headset)

Thank you , much appreciated .

 

[Schlachtwolf]

It could be that some thermal paste got into the socket and is stopping a connection between the CPU and socket that is resposible for RAM, if the CPU was damaged it would in all likelyhood not boot at all. So I would go with a Mobo/paste issue. Not easy to rectify but not impossible .....

Thermal Paste In Mobo CPU socket :(

Hey Guys I've gone and done the stupid thing and got some thermal paste on my motherboard's cpu socket. I have two possible fixes I can do and a 3rd I need your advice on: 1) tediously removing it with a needle. 2) using isopropyl and cloth or a swab what would be the technique in this without...

forums.tomshardware.com

It could be your HDD is coming to the end of its working life, as it has a mechanical movement eventually parts wear out and it cannot read the data first time up and has to do several passes with the needle which you see as slower load times.

Defragmintation will definetly help you HDD and while it may take some time do it while you sleep!! Also CCleaner is good to clean the Registry and get rid of any old/uneeded data pathways that have accumulated over time.

Your CPU usage and temps are fine for an older CPU playing average/todays games at lower resolution. Your GPU is doing its job at nearly 100% useage but it is also getting long in the tooth with only 2gb ram. The new RTX cards are coming out now so older gen ones will just keep getting cheaper, a 1060 6gb or a 1650 would be a nice step-up that won't break the bank.

A better PSU would be the first thing on my list with a minimum of 500w to give headroom for any future upgrades.

Cheers

 

[the.boss556677]

It could be that some thermal paste got into the socket and is stopping a connection between the CPU and socket that is resposible for RAM, if the CPU was damaged it would in all likelyhood not boot at all. So I would go with a Mobo/paste issue. Not easy to rectify but not impossible .....

Thermal Paste In Mobo CPU socket :(

Hey Guys I've gone and done the stupid thing and got some thermal paste on my motherboard's cpu socket. I have two possible fixes I can do and a 3rd I need your advice on: 1) tediously removing it with a needle. 2) using isopropyl and cloth or a swab what would be the technique in this without...

forums.tomshardware.com

It could be your HDD is coming to the end of its working life, as it has a mechanical movement eventually parts wear out and it cannot read the data first time up and has to do several passes with the needle which you see as slower load times.

Defragmintation will definetly help you HDD and while it may take some time do it while you sleep!! Also CCleaner is good to clean the Registry and get rid of any old/uneeded data pathways that have accumulated over time.

Your CPU usage and temps are fine for an older CPU playing average/todays games at lower resolution. Your GPU is doing its job at nearly 100% useage but it is also getting long in the tooth with only 2gb ram. The new RTX cards are coming out now so older gen ones will just keep getting cheaper, a 1060 6gb or a 1650 would be a nice step-up that won't break the bank.

A better PSU would be the first thing on my list with a minimum of 500w to give headroom for any future upgrades.

Cheers

Thank you for the detailed answer , I will definitely defragment and look more into the MB .

Also I bought my gpu at the start of 2019 and it cost me a ton because here in egypt (Third world) things are much pricier and a 1050 is the best I could find , anyway I will be looking to upgrade in the near future , Thanks again!

 

[hang-the-9]

I'd buy a new drive and do a clean Windows setup on that. If you had issues with the motherboard you would have crashes often not just have it running slow. Same thing for the power supply, although a bad one can cause many issues. Your system is pretty old in general, the CPU came out 9 years ago and I would guess the motherboard and power supply are not much younger.