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Question

Computer extremely slow all of sudden low system performance

May 27, 2020 5:27PM PDT

Was fine couple days ago all of sudden my pc became extremely slow
Reformatted couple times too with remove everything option
So most likely hardware issue i think?
Ran the passmark system performance test and the score seems to be pretty low for my spec aswell
Mainly use this pc for gaming
reformatted, updated all drivers(with driver booster) and i still cannot smoothly run any games
PUBG for example the fps drop constantly from 180+ to like 10-20ish
Is it because my GPU is dying resulting slowing everything down?

Operating System: Windows 10 Professional Edition build 18363 (64-bit)
Motherboard Manufacturer: MSI
Motherboard Model: Z170A GAMING M9 ACK (MS-7966)
Motherboard Version: 1.0
BIOS Manufacturer: American Megatrends Inc.
BIOS Version: 1.60
BIOS Release Date: 2016/02/24

Type: Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.00GHz
Codename: Skylake
CPUID: Family 6, Model 5E, Stepping 3
Socket: LGA 1151
Lithography: 14nm
Number of CPU's: 1
Cores per CPU: 4
Logicals per Core: 2
Clock Frequencies:
Measured Speed: 4008.2 MHz [Turbo: 4108.4 MHz]
Multiplier: 40.0X
Bus Speed: 100.2 MHz
Front Side Bus Speed: (N/A)
Timing Error Ratio: 1.000
Cache per CPU package:
L1 Instruction Cache: 4 x 32 KB
L1 Data Cache: 4 x 32 KB
L2 Cache Size: 4 x 256 KB
L3 Cache: 8 MB

Memory Information:
Total Physical Memory: 30GB RAM
Available Physical Memory: 25GB RAM
Memory Devices:
Slot 1: 8GB DDR4 SDRAM PC4-25600
Corsair CMU16GX4M2C3200C16
XMP: 1.35V, Clk: 1600.0MHz, Timings 16-18-18-36

Slot 2: 8GB DDR4 SDRAM PC4-25600
Corsair CMU16GX4M2C3200C16
XMP: 1.35V, Clk: 1600.0MHz, Timings 16-18-18-36

Slot 3: 8GB DDR4 SDRAM PC4-25600
Corsair CMU16GX4M2C3200C16
XMP: 1.35V, Clk: 1600.0MHz, Timings 16-18-18-36

Slot 4: 8GB DDR4 SDRAM PC4-25600
Corsair CMU16GX4M2C3200C16
XMP: 1.35V, Clk: 1600.0MHz, Timings 16-18-18-36

Virtual Memory: C:\pagefile.sys (4864MB)

Drive Information:
Physical Drive 0: ST4000DX001-1CE168
Drive Size: 3726GB
Partitions: C: E: F:
Interface Type: SATA
Bytes per Sector: 512
RPM: 5900

Physical Drive 1: Samsung SSD 850 PRO 256GB
Drive Size: 238GB
Partitions: G:
Interface Type: SATA
Bytes per Sector: 512
RPM: Solid State


Optical Drive 1:
Volume Information:
Volume 1: C: [Local Drive]
File System: NTFS
Drive Cluster Size: 4KB
Volume Size (Free space): 1772.9GB (1683.5GB)

Volume 2: E: [Local Drive]
File System: NTFS
Drive Cluster Size: 4KB
Volume Size (Free space): 976.6GB (976.3GB)

Volume 3: F: [Local Drive]
File System: NTFS
Drive Cluster Size: 4KB
Volume Size (Free space): 976.6GB (976.4GB)

Volume 4: G: [Local Drive]
File System: NTFS
Drive Cluster Size: 4KB
Volume Size (Free space): 140.8GB (139.0GB)

Video Adapters:
Video Card 1: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080
SLI/Crossfire Enabled: No
Chip Type: 0x1B80
DAC Type: Integrated RAMDAC
Memory: 8191MB
Driver Provider: NVIDIA
Driver Version: 445.75
Driver Date: 3-17-2020
Monitor 1: 1920x1080x32 60Hz 96 DPI (Primary monitor)

Temperatures:
CPU 0: 29.5C (Maximum: 39.5C)
CPU Core 0: 30.0C (Maximum: 42.0C)
CPU Core 1: 29.0C (Maximum: 39.0C)
CPU Core 2: 27.0C (Maximum: 37.0C)
CPU Core 3: 32.0C (Maximum: 40.0C)
Hard Disk 0: 27.0C (Maximum: 27.0C)
Hard Disk 1: 23.0C (Maximum: 23.0C)
Hard Disk 2:
GPU 0: 28.0C (Maximum: 49.0C)

And my passmark rating
Passmark rating
3246.5
cpu mark
9295.2
2d graphics mark
963.8
3d graphics mark
15890.5
memory mark
3150.7
disk mark
819.5

Any help would be appreciated
Thanks

Discussion is locked

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Answer
While I'd like a Speccy report.
May 27, 2020 5:35PM PDT

The C: HDD is a common source of this. We check with the Speccy and Userbenchmark.com to see if the drive is having issues. A reinstall does not fix this one.

Get the Speccy report and head to the 01 and 07 SMART values and it must not be over a few hundred.

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Got speccy report
May 27, 2020 6:23PM PDT

Sorry not really with with pc ;/
Operating System
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i7 6700K @ 4.00GHz 26 °C
Skylake 14nm Technology
RAM
32.0GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1069MHz (15-15-15-36)
Motherboard
MSI Z170A GAMING M9 ACK (MS-7966) (U3E1) 33 °C
Graphics
MX279 (1920x1080@60Hz)
4095MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (MSI) 27 °C
Storage
3726GB Seagate ST4000DX001-1CE168 (SATA ) 28 °C
238GB Samsung SSD 850 PRO 256GB (SATA (SSD)) 23 °C
Optical Drives
No optical disk drives detected
Audio
Xtreme Audio DAC

Went to the storage think thats what you mean
The real value of 01 and 07 on Hard drivesST4000DX001-1CE168 is 0 and 0

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Now look at the other values.
May 27, 2020 6:29PM PDT

If it's the usual you see them off in the thousands and the userbenchmark.com report will have the drive turning in under the 50% mark.

Remember I no longer explain this area at length as it's been done so many times. Folk want it to not be the drive and you can't help them even when the reports tell us it's a problem area. I apologize about this but after a few hundred times I can't type it all again and again.

-> Also since I don't see the reports I can't check for other issues.

Post was last edited on May 27, 2020 6:30 PM PDT

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Answer
Any chance of getting full reports?
May 28, 2020 8:30AM PDT
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Thanks for the help
May 28, 2020 6:55PM PDT
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Even if I ignore the bad values on the HDD.
May 28, 2020 10:29PM PDT

"Disk Letter: C:
File System: NTFS
Volume Serial Number: 3496F50B
Size: 1772 GB
Used Space: 92 GB (5%)
Free Space: 1680 GB (95%)"

Full HDDs mean the disk heads are working overtime. This racks up thousands of milliseconds and you'll get a sluggish PC.

That's even if we ignore the smart values on 01 and 07. Notice the following:
"01
Attribute name: Read Error Rate
Real value: 0
Current: 119
Worst: 99
Threshold: 6
Raw Value: 000C5483D8
Status: Good"

The threshold is 6 and current is 119. This drive is in trouble. It has not failed so the maker will not warranty it or replace it. Remember this issue has been discussed to a crisp. I don't want to upset you but after hundreds of posts with this issue, I can't write about it over and over.

This drive is never attached to a PC that we want to perform nicely. It's barely acceptable as a space backup drive.

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Thanks for the help
May 29, 2020 4:51PM PDT

So should i physically remove the regular HD and just keep the SSD intacted
Then reformat the pc and install the windows on that SSD? Would that fix the problem?

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It might.
May 29, 2020 4:58PM PDT

And I've seen it fix many. But there are always exceptions that you have to do more digging.

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Thanks
May 29, 2020 5:02PM PDT

Alright thanks imma give that a try first and see how it goes

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Still the same thing ;/
May 29, 2020 10:07PM PDT

Physically removed the regular HD then reformatted the windows again onto the SSD but still the same thing :/

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I have seen the Pros here
May 30, 2020 12:47AM PDT

tell folks to remove all Iobit products like Driver Booster .
Read what some gamers on Reddit have to say >
Reddit Gamers ,
Also a new Speccy posted after it's removed and like Speccy ,
a UserBenchmark  should be posted

Post was last edited on May 30, 2020 12:51 AM PDT

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I don't care for the word reformat when we install Windows.
May 30, 2020 7:41AM PDT

Also, after we install Windows we follow up with drivers and apps specific to that PC.

I'd like to see new Speccy and Userbenchmark.com reports.

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Heres speccy and userbenchmark reports
May 30, 2020 10:54AM PDT
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Driver Booster?
May 30, 2020 11:08AM PDT

You can see the issue in the Userbenchmark. I must pan driverbooster. Get rid of that and let's see if the BIOS is current and set to defaults. Also I'll be checking later (have an errand to run) about if this CPU is on the motherboard's support list.

0.8 GHz? That's a problem.

Finally, unplug the USB drive until it's working right.

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A bit confused
May 30, 2020 11:35AM PDT

So update bios and what you mean by set it to defaults? ANd what USB drive?

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Just back from my errand.
May 30, 2020 11:58AM PDT

The USB drive noted in the report. For performance these are unplugged. IT IS NOT THE CAUSE OF WHAT IS GOING ON. This is removed for now.

BIOS; Let's check out the version. It's far out of date. We usually don't change this but in this case, I would for the reasons at https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/z170a-gaming-m9-ack and more.

AFTER the BIOS is updated we reset it's values to defaults and test.

CPU COMPATIBILITY is next. https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/Z170A-GAMING-M9-ACK#support-cpu says it's OK.

Remember I take this story as if this is a new build. I see no mention of "It worked fine until I ____________."

Right now my prognosis as the state of this machine is either the motherboard has failed or someone was tinkering with clocking, drivers or other. I see no story here. Driver Booster is never a good thing to find.

Finally I see the RAM is underclocked. Try XMP soon.

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Bios updated
May 30, 2020 1:13PM PDT

Do you have discord or that sorta by any chance for easier communication? I've updated the bios to the latest version and what you mean by the set the values to defaults?

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Discord would not be sharing the discussion.
May 30, 2020 1:28PM PDT

If we used Discord then others would not benefit from the discussion.

Let's check the motherboard manual at https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/z170a-gaming-m9-ack#down-manual

I'll use the English version dated 2015-7-32.
PAGE 24 WRITES:
" Clear CMOS button - Power off your computer. Press and hold the Clear CMOS button for 5 seconds to reset BIOS to default values "

What I also mean is for you to tell any part of the story not told so far. I see you did not deny tinkering with the timing so this BIOS/CMOS value reset may be all that's needed. Let's hop.

Post was last edited on May 30, 2020 2:27 PM PDT

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Didn't do anything
May 30, 2020 3:35PM PDT

Nah i didn't do any overclocking or tinkering with values or whatsoever. Everything was perfectly fine day 1 then the next day when i turned on the pc everything slowed down ;/

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And I'm guessing
May 30, 2020 3:50PM PDT

that you Still didn't do anything .
Did you set the BIOS/CMOS values to default ?
Did you uninstall Driver Booster ?
Was this machine running ok before you installed Driver Booster .
Maybe do a system restore to the day when the computer ran right

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Is this the reset cmos button?
May 30, 2020 3:51PM PDT

Is it the one that i circled?
https://ibb.co/0hJwc24
Also since the CPU is only running at 0.8ghz fixed
Is it possible that the cpu may be fried?

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Look.
May 30, 2020 3:59PM PDT

Driver Booster could install an incorrect item that causes the underclocking.

I would complete that then install the driver for your motherboard.

To see if it's hardware related I would boot any of the Linux distros and do a speed test there. If it's slow in Linux then it's BIOS settings, CPU or motherboard. There's little else hardware that can do this.

Also, I think it's time for you to tell what you have and have not done. I can check certain things with the reports but not all.

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Seriously didn't do anything :(
May 30, 2020 4:04PM PDT

The driver booster was installed like 2 years ago lol everything was fine

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And it will update drivers so it does change the machine.
May 30, 2020 4:09PM PDT

Without you doing anything.

For most of us we leave drivers alone until we have a good reason.

I'm trying to avoid telling you to go get a CPU and motherboard as that's expensive yet I appear to not made it clear what we should do on some areas or why.

I skip the why for a simple reason. It's time consuming and others need help too. We work to avoid the shop or new parts so you have to try the usual items and maybe test in Linux so I know you can't Driver Boost it.

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Listen
May 30, 2020 4:13PM PDT

R. Proffitt is a pro and is giving you his time for free.
If you don't want to at least work with him and do as he asks , I suggest you bring the computer to a shop and pay lotsa $$$$$$$$ .
Now , do the work

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I extremely appreciate R. proffitt of course
May 30, 2020 4:27PM PDT

I've been following every step which part you see that I'm not willing to work/follow him what he ask? I think we have a confusion here. He asked me what i have done to put my computer in this stage. I replied i didn't do anything for this happen. Not that i have done nothing to try to fix it. I've done all he suggested me to do update bios, reformat again to SDD, removed the other hard drive and etc. Now im trying to figure out how to test it in Linux? So i simply just download something like Ubuntu and boot it into linux system?

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yes.
May 30, 2020 6:01PM PDT
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FYI Bob
May 31, 2020 1:30PM PDT

I see XBlueish has also been posting in the BleepingComputer forums where they discovered torrents and more

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Thank you.
May 31, 2020 1:40PM PDT

Such malware, trojinx and more can lead to very odd issues.

Anyhow it appears they didn't get the message about avoiding anything other than what the OS provides and drivers from the makers. While there could be a hardware failure they have apparently not tried it the ways folk here and there have suggested.

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Fixed it :D
Jun 1, 2020 11:14AM PDT

Thanks a lot guys
I've found and fixed the problem
Somehow my motherboard's "slow" option was triggered and locked my cpu on low performance. All i had to do was go to bios and disable "Intel Adaptive Thermal Monitor" option and everything was fixed itself. Thanks for the help guys Wink