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Question

Computer running games, browsers and startup all slow

Aug 13, 2017 4:47PM PDT

Hey there guys, thanks for the help.

I've been having quite a bit of computer troubles lately, it started with what was believed to be a failing hard drive, I was experiencing constant blue screens. I took it into the shop because I am not very technical. They called, figured out it was the hard drive, and got a new one.

However when I returned home, I was still experiencing blue screens and browser crashes. Although not at the same rate. I had heard that this could be caused by a corrupted RAM stick or conflicting sticks. So I took one of my 8 GB sticks out. The problem had completely stopped, so I got another 8 GB ram online that was the same as the other one.

Lately however I am experiencing some major slow down on basically all fronts of my computer. It's slow to start when I either restart the computer or freshly start it. When I play games (typically EU4 (Europa Universalis IV) or Overwatch) they are much, much more slow than usual. It's impossible to not notice the difference, it is basically unplayable.

Here are my specs, everything I think might help, let me know if there is other data you need to make a complete analysis of my troubles:

Windows 10
Processor: Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4690 CPU @ 3.50GHz, 3501 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
64-bit OS, x64 based processor
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 740
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory 1.5V x2

I've tried checking my disk for any errors (none)
I've tried seeing if my CPU is overheating (40 Celsius)
I've tried turning every other application off and just running EU4 (will run at a snails pace, and consistently stutter)

I would appreciate any other tests I can try and figure out what is plaguing my computer. It's frustrating because I've had these consistent problems for a while now even though I spent a good amount of money to put this computer together. Thanks for any tips or advice.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
That 740 isn't helping.
Aug 13, 2017 4:54PM PDT
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Thanks
Aug 13, 2017 4:58PM PDT

Thanks for the speedy reply, and I know it's not the absolute best graphics I could have, however what's killing me about it is that it's usually fine to the point to where I can speed through either game and not have an issue. Now it's running at an unrecognizable slow pace. I'll take a look right now at Web Speccy.

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Snapshot Speccy
Aug 13, 2017 5:03PM PDT
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Speccy
Aug 13, 2017 6:05PM PDT

How many ram sticks are in this machine?

Your orig post seems to talk about 2 8GB sticks.

If you do have 2 then one of the sticks is in the wrong slot, check your manual.

When the shop replaced the hdd did they load all the drivers for the mobo and gpu?

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Two
Aug 13, 2017 8:52PM PDT

There are two RAM sticks in the machine, both 8 GB.
I'll check my manual.
I have no idea if they did or not, I can ask though.

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Answer
Speccy reading. What I would do.
Aug 13, 2017 5:19PM PDT

This is what I would try if it was my PC.

1. RAM. It's in single channel mode so you lost some performance that was cheap to not lose. A pair of 8GB RAMs usually are within a few dollars of a single 16GB. This also hits GPU performance as the transfer speed to/from GPU is less than optimal.

2. Java. Unless you need it, uninstall.
3. Power Profile. For now, don't hibernate or tell the HDD to spin down. Change back when you get it working right.
4. BIOS from https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/support/H97-PC-Mate.html notes a lot of fixes from 5.0 to 5.9. If this was mine, I'd update this.

5. Something odd in the GPU CLOCK RATES.
Current GPU Clock: 324 MHz
Current Memory Clock: 324 MHz
Compare at https://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/1987/geforce-gt-740 where most hover around 1000 MHz.

Go get GPUZ at https://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/ and see if it reports same.

Consider checking if the GPU is in the PCIe x16 slot then use this driver uninstaller then install Nvidia's latest (link -> http://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.htm l


6. Temps look fine for a machine like this. I don't have a concern here.

7. Turn this off: https://www.howtogeek.com/224981/how-to-stop-windows-10-from-uploading-updates-to-other-pcs-over-the-internet/

Item 5 is deeply suspect here.

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Fixing Things
Aug 13, 2017 9:22PM PDT

1. I can see about going for a 16 GB stick instead

2. I now have

3. Gotcha

4 & 5. I'm experiencing some majorly slow internet speeds at the moment, though that might just be my internet and not my software at all, I've included a picture of it if it might hold some value. So it might be some time before I'm able to report back on when I've installed these drivers.

7. I have now

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The image
Aug 13, 2017 9:23PM PDT