I've had this gaming PC for about a year and a half, and recently its performance has gotten noticeably worse. Windows and programs take longer to load, websites can cause the fans to ramp up, and games that previously should have been manageable now lag, freeze, or crash. Cyberpunk 2077 even crashed shortly after I tried to launch it. The entire computer also had a recurring issue where it would freeze when a GIF played, although that problem seems to have stopped after it was serviced. My drivers are fully updated, and I have 64 GB of RAM, so I'm not sure what else could be causing this. I'm using Windows 11 and don't know the full hardware specifications because someone else set up the PC. CPU usage is usually low but can spike when opening programs or loading content. What should I check first to find the cause?
3 Answers
64 GB of RAM is already plenty, so memory capacity probably isn’t the issue. Since the whole system has slowed down and you’re also seeing freezes and crashes, check the SSD’s health and monitor CPU and GPU temperatures. Open Task Manager while the computer is struggling and look at CPU, memory, disk, and GPU usage. Whichever component is staying near 100% may point to the problem.
We need the complete system specifications before anyone can diagnose this properly. The amount of RAM alone doesn’t tell us what processor, graphics card, storage drive, or motherboard you have. You can find most of that information in Windows’ System Information tool or Task Manager’s Performance tab and share the model names. Also mention whether the 64 GB is installed as two sticks or four, since four DDR5 modules can sometimes be less stable depending on the motherboard and memory settings.
I’m completely new to PC hardware, so I didn’t realize which details were important. I’ll look up the processor, graphics card, storage drive, and memory layout.
A clean Windows installation could help if the slowdown is caused by corrupted system files or unwanted software, but it shouldn’t be the first guess without checking the hardware. Start by recording the temperatures and usage while launching a game, checking the drive’s health, and running a memory test. Also confirm that your monitor is connected to the graphics card rather than the motherboard, and verify that the graphics card is detected correctly.
CPU usage is normally fairly low, but it can jump from under 10% to around 40% when I open something like Opera GX. I haven’t checked GPU usage or temperatures yet.