I need some help here! I received an ASUS ROG Strix laptop last Christmas, primarily for gaming and college work. It originally performed great with its Intel Core i7 13th Gen processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, and 16 GB of RAM. But lately, I've noticed it's running super slow. Steam shows around 190 GB of space used on my games, yet I'm puzzled as to why 410 GB of storage appears used overall—I only keep a few programs installed.
I've tried everything from updating drivers and BIOS to running system checks with SDIN and SFC /scannow. I don't use VPNs, and I'm sticking to Windows Defender. I've cleared browsing history, cache files, performed disk cleanup, deleted unnecessary files, emptied the recycling bin, and disabled unnecessary startup programs, yet the sluggishness continues.
Two weeks ago, I dropped my laptop, which dislodged the touchpad, but I managed to fix it without any visible damage to the screen. The hinges are a bit wobbly, though. I'm planning to send it in for repairs after the semester ends because it's still under warranty, but I'd love to get some insights on what might be causing these slowdowns and if my laptop is still salvageable.
2 Answers
Dropping a laptop can lead to hardware issues that might cause throttling, even if it seems fine at a glance. I'd recommend checking the CPU and GPU temperatures using HWInfo—look out for any signs of throttling. Also, make sure your laptop is in Performance mode when you're gaming. If you haven't already, try using TreeSize or WinDirStat to see what's consuming all that storage space. Given the touchpad incident, it sounds likely that this is a hardware-related problem. Back up your data, and definitely utilize your warranty!
Yes, the touchpad popped out completely but didn’t break. I tightened it a bit but didn’t crank it down too hard. Just trying to figure out if that could be connected to the slowdown.
I think it sounds like your laptop is dealing with overheating issues from that drop. When I tested my CPU and GPU, I found my CPU hitting around 95%, which indicates throttling, while the GPU seemed fine. Make sure you're running it in Performance mode. The weird storage issues you noted might also be contributing to the slowdown. Good to hear your SSD health is still good—at 96%, it should be fine for a bit more use. Backup your data and consider sending it in for repairs soon; they might find something hardware-related.
I did run some tests. My CPU showed signs of thermal throttling but the GPU was fine. Most of my games are set to run on the RTX 4060, and I’ve disabled overlays for smoother gameplay.
The storage took me by surprise. The sizes were normal, but I found some odd file size discrepancies that made me delete a couple of unnecessary games. Trying to clean up any clutter.
Did the touchpad just pop out without breaking anything? If that's the case, put it back and make sure it's snug, but don't over-tighten the screws.