Computer is running very slow. No idea what to do!

Endolithic

Reputable
Nov 19, 2014
8
0
4,510
Sorry if this isn't a good thread to go under "CPU's," this is my first time asking on Tom's Hardware and I don't really know what to do.

Hello! I'm very comfortable with computers and how they're put together and definitely how to fix them. I built this computer myself, almost exactly a year ago, and it's running extremely slow and no matter what I try I can't figure out why. And it definitely shouldn't be, either. Specs: Intel Core i7 4770K (OC'd by MSI OC Genie to 4.2GHZ, has Noctua cooler so no issue there), EVGA GTX 780, 8GB ram, 1TB HDD, 1000w PSU, Windows 8.1

Even gaming now, I loaded up BF3 the other day and it used to run perfectly smoothly on ultra settings, but now I experience huge, sudden frame rate stutters and drops (almost freezes for a second or two then fixes itself). But normal tasks, such as opening a web browser or W8 app, it's a very painstaking process because it's all so slow. It probably took 30 seconds to launch Firefox so I could type this question, then another 30 for it to be actually usable (stopped responding, couldn't keep up with my typing, etc.).

I do have a few ideas, though. I've narrowed it down to maybe being one of these things causing the problem:

1.) Under task manager it shows 100% disk usage constantly. I've disabled the things in services.msc but it's still happening.
2.) IDK if this could be related to the first one, but I've used about 700gb of the 1TB my drive holds.
3.) OC Genie issue? Or just some CPU issue? Because, I know the CPU can cause those kinds of issues in gaming, and it wasn't constant low frame rates that would be caused by a weaker-than-needed GPU... but sudden stuttering and freezing. I never actually looked up what CPU throttling is (I came from Xbox lol) but could this be it?
4.) Some virus/malware I'm unaware of? The free Avast software seems to be functioning ("Avast! Virus database has been updated" happens all the time) although I never changed it back to Avast manually after I installed Anti-Malwarebytes (the trial ran out so I've since uninstalled).

But I'm still probably MOST concerned about the 100% disk usage thing. Anyways, solutions!

Unless from all this information (thank you so much if you've read to here) you can identify the problem and know how to fix it, I was just going to throw all the files I need on an external hard drive and restore to factory settings. That seems like the best option to ME.

Any suggestions?

Again, thank you so much.

- A
 
Solution
You have a decent rig . The disk usage should be the culprit .
Run Kaspersky or Bitdefender to check for viruses . Find the application that consumes the CPU time . Uninstall it . Turn off any tools that run when they wish - anti-virus ... Remove Geforce Experience .

Also check for overheating .
You have a decent rig . The disk usage should be the culprit .
Run Kaspersky or Bitdefender to check for viruses . Find the application that consumes the CPU time . Uninstall it . Turn off any tools that run when they wish - anti-virus ... Remove Geforce Experience .

Also check for overheating .
 
Solution
Hi there Endolithic,

I would advise you to check out what is your HDD's brand and run a brand specific testing tool in order to see the HDD's health status. The HDD may not be the component that is causing the issues, though you should start ruling components component out as being the cause of the problem.

Cheers,
D_Know_WD