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View Full Version : Upgraded Computer Parts And STILL Runs Slow



sexualbanana
12-29-2013, 02:21 AM
In an effort to get ready for my annual 72-hour Christmas Video Game Binge, I upgraded a couple components on my computer. It had been running kinda slow recently and I know my video card couldn't handle a lot of the newer games, so I figured now would be a good time.

I upgraded my RAM from 2 to 4gb.
My video card to a Nvidia Geforce GTX 760.
And my power supply to a 650W unit.

I did the installing myself, which, surprisingly, didn't seem to difficult, but I feel like my computer is running even slower than it was before.

Any suggestions or ideas on why that might be the case?

schocker
12-29-2013, 03:38 AM
Make sure all of your drivers are up to date is all I can think of unless your CPU is bottlenecking which wouldn't make much sense if it wasn't before. Is the system running cool still? Maybe the extra heat from the video card/psu, I dunno

Jeeper1986
12-29-2013, 03:57 AM
try a brand new refresh of windows and it should boot up to the speed it should be at

A790
12-29-2013, 09:08 AM
What games are you playing? What kind of CPU/mobo do you have?

4GB of ram still isn't very much if you're playing modern games...

Seth1968
12-29-2013, 09:17 AM
Is it slow all around or just gaming?

If the former:

1) Use Msconfig to disable needless programs from automatically starting when Window's starts.

2) Run a chkdsk /r on the hard drive.

3) If it still is slow following that, then post the cpu and memory usage from Task Manager when the computer is idle.

If you don't know how to to do any of that, then one of us will elaborate. Also, what kind of antivirus do you use and are you disabling it and/or using gaming mode when you game?

firebane
12-29-2013, 10:16 AM
Originally posted by Seth1968
Is it slow all around or just gaming?

If the former:

1) Use Msconfig to disable needless programs from automatically starting when Window's starts.

2) Run a chkdsk /r on the hard drive.

3) If it still is slow following that, then post the cpu and memory usage from Task Manager when the computer is idle.

If you don't know how to to do any of that, then one of us will elaborate. Also, what kind of antivirus do you use and are you disabling it and/or using gaming mode when you game?

Unless people know specifically what they are doing which I am going to say the OP does not.. do not mess around with msconfig.

With that said the rest of your computer specs is the most important thing before anything else. cpu, board, hard drives etc.

Zorac
12-29-2013, 10:21 AM
+1 on a fresh install of windows, that can help. don't use 'recovery disks' to avoid all the bloat on them.

the 760 is a nice vid card, i run the same one myself.

Seth1968
12-29-2013, 10:27 AM
Originally posted by firebane


Unless people know specifically what they are doing which I am going to say the OP does not.. do not mess around with msconfig.

That's why I said:


If you don't know how to to do any of that, then one of us will elaborate.

sexualbanana
12-29-2013, 11:42 AM
I did a refresh before I did the upgrade because I wanted to see if there was any unnecessary shit that I didn't know I was running.

The computer feels like it's running pretty cool.

I've just been playing Civ 5, which it runs okay. But for whatever reason, Sims 3 runs like total shit and I more than meet the minimum requirements for that.

I'm running Kapersky Internet Security

nonofyobiz
12-29-2013, 11:57 AM
if you have a system that had 2GB of ram then probably the CPU is outdated too. I've been running 8GB of ram for like 4 yrs now so you might be a little behind.
Maybe it was time to just rebuild?

firebane
12-29-2013, 12:02 PM
Originally posted by sexualbanana
I did a refresh before I did the upgrade because I wanted to see if there was any unnecessary shit that I didn't know I was running.

The computer feels like it's running pretty cool.

I've just been playing Civ 5, which it runs okay. But for whatever reason, Sims 3 runs like total shit and I more than meet the minimum requirements for that.

I'm running Kapersky Internet Security

You still haven't told us the specs of your system ;)

sexualbanana
12-29-2013, 01:07 PM
Intel Duo Core 2.8 GHz

spikerS
12-29-2013, 01:36 PM
Originally posted by nonofyobiz
if you have a system that had 2GB of ram then probably the CPU is outdated too. I've been running 8GB of ram for like 4 yrs now so you might be a little behind.
Maybe it was time to just rebuild?

+1

The vid card is fine
i would double the ram again
the PSU is fine
sounds to me like the processor is the bottle neck now

However, if you went from 2gb ram to 4, you system is probably mostly out dated, and that means your old HDD has been spinning for years, and could be fucking everything over too. Installing a small SSD for your OS and such would speed up everything pretty good too.

JustinMCS
12-29-2013, 01:39 PM
Originally posted by sexualbanana
Intel Duo Core 2.8 GHz

That's a 5 year old processor! Would recommend an i5 now... but your mobo probably wont support it

GQBalla
12-29-2013, 01:47 PM
Start cheap and just upgrade to SSD.

But your computer is old too. Start looking at getting a new mb, CPU and ram

revelations
12-29-2013, 01:57 PM
Originally posted by sexualbanana


I'm running Kapersky Internet Security

Thats probably 50% of your problem. I turn off most of the features of these AVs and just set the auto scans to twice a week (over night). The amount of resource useage otherwise is incredible. Some of the default settings make the PC analyze every time a file is opened, accessed or created.

Alternately, you could create a new GAMING Windows profile without AV and log into that when you want to game, with no AV or any other programs loaded into memory.

sabad66
12-29-2013, 02:34 PM
Hands down, upgrade to an ssd. I picked up a 180gig Intel from mem express for about $120 a couple days ago.

night and day difference compared to my 6 yr old Seagate 7200 rpm. For the record I am also on a core 2 duo 6400, 2GB ram, windows 8.1

make sure your mobo supports ahci (go into your bios and check the sata mode options)

firebane
12-29-2013, 03:39 PM
Originally posted by sexualbanana
Intel Duo Core 2.8 GHz

Last C2D with that speed was released in 2008. That machine is SEVERELY outdated by todays standards in so many ways.

You could do a lot of upgrading to that system to make it better but in the long run it would simply do better to just save the money and buy a new low cost system.

Even a modern i3 with 4gb of ram would perform better.

In regards to your actual problem it could stem from so many things. Slow processor, slow hard drive, old windows install etc.

firebane
12-29-2013, 03:42 PM
Originally posted by sabad66
Hands down, upgrade to an ssd. I picked up a 180gig Intel from mem express for about $120 a couple days ago.

night and day difference compared to my 6 yr old Seagate 7200 rpm. For the record I am also on a core 2 duo 6400, 2GB ram, windows 8.1

make sure your mobo supports ahci (go into your bios and check the sata mode options)

You have to becareful with older motherboards and ssds as it may not support trim properly and can cause an ssd to run slower and degrade its performance much faster.

SSDs aren't the cure all. Even a newer WD Blue drive or seagate drive would be much faster. Even a hybrid drive would be fast.

interlude
12-29-2013, 03:56 PM
Fresh install of windows, 6GB to 12GB RAM and a brand new 512GB SSD made my computer 100 times faster.

Video cards does not make your computer faster.

Mitsu3000gt
12-29-2013, 04:03 PM
Get a SSD. BY FAR the weakest link in any PC is the hard drive. It is far and away the slowest thing. Getting an SSD will make it feel like you just upgraded to a PC 10 years newer. Easily the single most noticeable upgrade you could make to a PC for as long as I can remember. So cheap too, and so few people do it (at least that I know haha).

If it's still slow, then work on the other troubleshooting stuff. If you want everything to be essentially instant, get a good SSD. Only install the OS and programs on it, use regular HDDs for other storage (videos, photos, etc.).

A SSD can't solve all your speed issues depending what they are, but if you feel your computer is sluggish in general and the HDD light is always on, it will make a world of difference. You will be doing a fresh install of windows anyway, which will help.

DeleriousZ
12-29-2013, 04:05 PM
My pc is coming up on 7 years old now and it can barely run games like minecraft lol.

Being on a 32 bit os is severely limiting, it seems 8gb of ram is about the standard for modern gaming systems, so you need a 64bit os to take advantage of the extra ram.

As mentioned above, an SSD will do WONDERS for speeding up your system performance, I recently tossed one in this old heap and it completely changed how it ran. Video performance is still pretty lackluster but general use improved significantly. Just have to make sure to install the OS on the ssd along with the programs you use, just keep bulky stuff like movies and data on the older drives, as most ssd's don't have a ton of storage yet.

Your best bet is to do a full on upgrade though, most new components won't be able to perform the way they should. It sounds like you wouldn't have any trouble putting a new system together from scratch, and you'd be able to use the video card and PSU probably.

sexualbanana
12-29-2013, 11:44 PM
Is it weird, though, that my computer can run Civ 5 fine but gets weird and shitty with a game like Sims 3?

Recca168
12-30-2013, 12:04 AM
Originally posted by sexualbanana
Is it weird, though, that my computer can run Civ 5 fine but gets weird and shitty with a game like Sims 3?

In my experience Civ 5 starts of well but when I get to the later ages is when I notice any performance issues

rlim891
01-20-2014, 12:36 AM
sdd would be the best upgrade for older cpus.