# PC Slow down and Potential Upgrades



## ADChick (Nov 13, 2005)

Hi all,

I built my first PC about 4 years ago now, and it's run fine until recently. It has gone really slow, sometimes taking a few minutes to boot up when it used to take 20 seconds, and some games have become really laggy. I don't do a lot of gaming on it, however XCom 2 has slowed down massively. It freezes for over a minute at the menu when you first load it up.

I haven't upgraded any parts, and the only thing I've replaced is the fan on the CPU as it broke. What's the best way to check what is causing the slowdown and potentially what to upgrade if it will help? I have about £200-300 I could put towards it.

Basic Info:
AMD 8350 Eight Core 4GHz
8GB RAM
Radeon R9 200 Series

Any other info let me know. Thank you.


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

Another 8 GB of RAM DDR3 1600, 1866 MHz if MOBO can take it (you didn't specify).


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## ADChick (Nov 13, 2005)

Thanks for the swift response!

As you can probably tell, despite being able to build it, my PC parts knowledge isn't great!

Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 SKT-AM3+ Motherboard


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

I would recommend cleaning up some old temporary files: https://www.ccleaner.com/


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## ADChick (Nov 13, 2005)

Thanks, I'll give that a go and see if it helps.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

You haven't stated whether you used hard drive or ssd drive but most are only warranted 2 years and these days when systems slow down, the number one cause is need to replace hard drive.


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## ADChick (Nov 13, 2005)

It's a hard drive. Is there anyway to test it to see if that is the problem?


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

chkdsk can fix some HD problems.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

Well yes "chkdsk /r" can cover over bad sectors and repair some issues but over time
you need to replace the drive anyway as the issues will recur.
https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/guide-to-using-check-disk-in-windows-vista/


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## Sgayres (Jun 11, 2010)

If you have a mechanical hard drive and have not gotten bluescreens, you should defrag. Use a smart defragger. I recommend MyDefrag (JkDeFrag) 4.3.1. During setup, uncheck the option that puts the entry in Task Scheduler for auto-defrag. The routine in the GUI that's effective for your purposes is System Disk Monthly.

Hardware: Your level of hardware is not the problem. 8GB RAM is adequate - especially if it used to run fine.

Software: I suspect your issue is background processes combined with a fragmented HDD. You didn't say which version of Windows you are running but both Win7 and Win10 need "babying". 

Win10 needs no antivirus except for the built-in Windows Defender. Updates need to be checked and forced if any are in the queue. A stuck update queue can slow your system. If you've restarted and Win10 updates are still in teh queue, do a full shutdown, start the system and try again. A full shutdown is done in a Command Window and type "shutdown /p" no quotes.

The Startup programs in Task Manager should be looked at to make sure none are starting that you don't want. Also go to Task Scheduler and scrutinize what is in this list. I normally clear this list. Cloud data programs like Dropbox can act like a load of bricks. If you need a cloud backup program for your data, I recommend manual operation instead of having it swirl around all the time.

Win7's startup list is in msconfig and look in Task Scheduler as well. Uninstall all antivirus programs and only use Microsoft Security Essentials if anything. I do not use any AV on my Win7 machines but I know the Internet and am safe running naked. Make sure Win7 updates are caught up.

Both operating systems.... download and run AdwCleaner from Malwarebytes. It will find things and what it finds should be "cleaned and repaired". It's a standalone program and won't run on its own. DO NOT install and use CCleaner unless you know what it does. Someone unfamiliar with it can mess up their system. If you do use it, uninstall it afterward.

Consider a solid state hard drive but start clean witgh a fresh install. Don't clone the mess from your old drive but since you have a home brew, you WILL want to make sure and retain your hardware drivers.

Speaking of home brew, for your next PC, I recommend buying a ready system from a manufacturer that has your desired specs. We bought my son a $1000 HP minitower that plays VR software better than his friends' $2000 home built systems. No muss, no fuss.


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## FMH (Dec 20, 2008)

Here's a shot in the dark. How many antivirus softwares do you use? One of my computers slowed to a snail's pace once, and I finally figured out that I had two different and conflicting antivirus programs on my computer. That was quite a long time ago and I'm not sure that's even a potential a problem these days, but if you do have more than one antivirus program running disable or uninstall one of them and see what happens.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

Disabling an Antivirus doesn't do much if there are two you must uninstall one as disabling one does not stop all functions and you should never run two anyway.


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