Question Why Is My PC So Slow

[ImUplink]

So I have had this PC since late 2016 and I have upgraded certain parts in it over the years and it seems way to slow for what parts I have in it. There isn't a cooling problem and everything seems built correctly. It takes minutes to startup and run programs but I can run most games at high settings with high FPS but it randomly freezes sometimes and its really slow on certain things.

MY SPECS: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/rZckV6

 

[PC Tailor]

Part of it may be down to the HDD. SSDs are pretty much must have nowadays. This would certainly explain slower startup times and in some occasions lags in games as it loads more surroundings.

Also the 8GB RAM will be limiting in some games as some later titles require more than 8GB to run effectively.

Have you run defrag / cleanup on your HDD?
Have you monitored CPU (individual cores, not overall package) usage and temps under load?
Same with GPU temps and loads?

 

[ImUplink]

Part of it may be down to the HDD. SSDs are pretty much must have nowadays. This would certainly explain slower startup times and in some occasions lags in games as it loads more surroundings.

Also the 8GB RAM will be limiting in some games as some later titles require more than 8GB to run effectively.

Have you run defrag / cleanup on your HDD?
Have you monitored CPU (individual cores, not overall package) usage and temps under load?
Same with GPU temps and loads?

I've never run a defrag/cleanup and also the GPU seems to get really hot sometimes but the fans are all set up correctly. Also, my brother has a HDD and his PC seems to startup fast so I don't think its the HDD. Could it be that I haven't upgraded my CPU AND PSU since 2016?

 

[PC Tailor]

You'll want to run a full defrag and full disk cleanup.
On top of this when was the last time you run a full system virus scan?
How full is your HDD? To maximise performance from your HDD it's best practice to keep it below 70-80% full as anything above this can often increase stress, increase heat and therefore reduce the performance of the drive.

What GPU temps are you reaching under load?
And again, a HDD will be significantly slower than an SSD system, which most are nowadays.

 

[ImUplink]

You'll want to run a full defrag and full disk cleanup.
On top of this when was the last time you run a full system virus scan?
How full is your HDD? To maximise performance from your HDD it's best practice to keep it below 70-80% full as anything above this can often increase stress, increase heat and therefore reduce the performance of the drive.

What GPU temps are you reaching under load?
And again, a HDD will be significantly slower than an SSD system, which most are nowadays.

Also, my brother has a HDD and his PC seems to startup fast so I don't think its the HDD. Could it be that I haven't upgraded my CPU AND PSU since 2016? To run a full defrag would I just use the windows app? And I have never run a virus scan but I factory reset my pc every once in a while. What im trying to do is sell this PC, and I want to make sure its all up to par for the buyer.

These are my temps while running CS:GO. http://prntscr.com/o2bwca
And this is how much I used. http://prntscr.com/o2bxlp

 

[PC Tailor]

Yes but no HDD is alike, all operate at different speeds and people configure their OS in different ways.
You might want to disable any startup apps through the task manager.

Use the windows Defragment app and the windows Disk Cleanup app to perform clean ups.

Always perform regular virus scans with a solid virus scan software.

Just to verify that there is nothing wrong with the HDD, you might also want to run HD Sentinel and check the status of the drive.

Have you monitored CPU (individual cores, not overall package), GPU and RAM usage under load?

 

[ImUplink]

Yes but no HDD is alike, all operate at different speeds and people configure their OS in different ways.
You might want to disable any startup apps through the task manager.

Use the windows Defragment app and the windows Disk Cleanup app to perform clean ups.

Always perform regular virus scans with a solid virus scan software.

Just to verify that there is nothing wrong with the HDD, you might also want to run HD Sentinel and check the status of the drive.

Have you monitored CPU (individual cores, not overall package), GPU and RAM usage under load?

Okay, I'm currently defragging and will use disk cleanup after. I've never monitored CPU, GPU, and RAM under load. And can you recommend a free antivirus scan software?

 

[PC Tailor]

Bitdefender free is best I would personally recommend. It would require an account.
Monitor loads will identify if any component is physically limiting your performance under load, and what may be causing the stuttering.

 

[ImUplink]

Bitdefender free is best I would personally recommend. It would require an account.
Monitor loads will identify if any component is physically limiting your performance under load, and what may be causing the stuttering.

Okay, I'll download it, how exactly do I monitor my load?

 

[PC Tailor]

You can use MSI Afterburner to create an overlay in game so you can view live.
HWInfo is also good at monitoring loads and is easy to use.

 

[ImUplink]

You can use MSI Afterburner to create an overlay in game so you can view live.
HWInfo is also good at monitoring loads and is easy to use.

Okay, so I'm getting a bit confused, I'm almost finished defragging and the Disk Sentinel shows this. http://prntscr.com/o2c5d1
I'm also running Bitdefender as we speak and I'll post a screenshot when it completes. HWInfo shows this http://prntscr.com/o2c888

 

[PC Tailor]

HD Sentinel shows no issues with the drive itself.
Is that HWInfo whilst under heavy load?

HWInfo is showing your disk usage is very high.
You can go into task manager (or resource monitor for more detailed info) to check what processes are using your HDD.

Is your windows legit and fully up to date?
Are all your drivers up to date?
Do you have latest BIOS installed?

 

[ImUplink]

HD Sentinel shows no issues with the drive itself.
Is that HWInfo whilst under heavy load?

HWInfo is showing your disk usage is very high.
You can go into task manager (or resource monitor for more detailed info) to check what processes are using your HDD.

Is your windows legit and fully up to date?
Are all your drivers up to date?
Do you have latest BIOS installed?

My windows is legit and I believe everything is up to date. And the HWInfo i posted was while running CS:GO. And the disk usage is probally very high since im downloading a bunch of programs at the moment.

 

[PC Tailor]

I believe everything is up to date

You'll want to verify this. GPU drivers, ethernet drivers etc.
BIOS update may help if you have an outdated version, which if you haven't installed a new BIOS since you got the PC, is very likely.

 

[ImUplink]

You'll want to verify this. GPU drivers, ethernet drivers etc.
BIOS update may help if you have an outdated version, which if you haven't installed a new BIOS since you got the PC, is very likely.

How would I check/update all of that stuff?

 

[mdd1963]

If doing performance testing on spinning hard drives to see if things are running right, that's generally not the best time to also be simultaneously downloading things, etc...

If your mainboard has a functional M.2 NVME slot, slap in an Intel 660P, their prices ($112 for 1 TB, $225 for 2 TB) challenge even the inexpensive SATA SSD variants' prices...; in my opinion, no one who has an M.2 NVME slot should ever be using a spinning drive as an OS drive unless one is extremely patient, and actually enjoys the extra minute getting to the desktop

You can take the new M.2 drive with you when you upgrade CPU and MB, which, if doing any modern gaming at all, will likely be needed sooner rather than later....