I'm really struggling with my PC's performance, even though the specs seem pretty decent. I've got an Intel Core i5-10400F, 16 GB of RAM, and a GeForce GTX 1660. Yet, it feels like I'm trying to run everything on a potato! Simple 2D games lag, browsing on Chrome is slow, and sometimes it just crashes out of nowhere. I'm at a loss for what's causing this, and I don't want to waste the money I spent on it. Any ideas on what might be going wrong?
5 Answers
We need more context! Is this slowness constant from when you boot up, or does it come and go? Also, let’s figure out if you’re using an SSD or an HDD. If you have an HDD, that could be slowing you down a lot! Also, make sure your monitor is directly connected to the GPU, not the motherboard. That can really mess with performance!
Did you follow all the steps when installing Windows? You can always tweak later, but skipping setup steps can mess you up. Also, which version are you using? 10, 11, or something else? And check if you have too many processes running at once; that can hog system resources.
I think I did everything right. What do you mean by tweaking?
If it runs better in safe mode, that’s a sign that something in the background is consuming resources. Also, a failing hard drive can cause performance problems and might not always appear in SMART data. If you think your HDD is struggling, consider getting an SSD; it makes a world of difference!
I’m convinced I might need to swap to an SSD and reinstall Windows. Thanks for the advice!
First things first, check your system's health with HWinfo. It’ll show you any red flags in your hardware. If you see something off, that could be your culprit!
How do I use HWinfo? Any tips?
Make sure to grab a screenshot of your task manager and check for any unusual resource usage. Also, is your monitor plugged into your GPU? And consider if you have any bloated software like Norton or McAfee that could be eating up CPU. If issues persist, a fresh Windows install might be needed, but be sure to back up your data first!
I have an SSD for C and an HDD for D.