Slowing Computer Using Gigabyte Motherboard and AMD Phenom X2 555 Black Editon CPU

ihameed46 · May 29, 2015

Hi Forum,

I am currently using the following set up:
Gigabyte GA-880GA-UD3H
4gb of Corsair XMS3 DDR3 RAM (1600MHz, C9, 2x2GB sticks)
AMD Phenom X2 555 AM3 Black
Sandisk SSD - 120 GB of which 30 GB free

So that is my current system. I have noticed in the last few weeks that many times when the system wakes from sleep, that the wakening process causes the web pages to become very lethargic and I see the HHD light on continuously for quite some period. The whole point of getting my operating system on to an SSD was to increase responsiveness. I should not be getting this speed hit. When I monitor the memory usage and CPU usage via Windows Task monitor I see that the RAM is almost at 3GB usage (remember system RAM is only 4GB in all - effectively only 3.5GB useable). This is the situation when the computer is lightly loaded. Only 6 web pages open over 2 monitors (both Dell 21" flat screens). I can't figure out why this is happening - i.e. the high RAm usage. Is the memory slowly dying? The motherboard, RAM and CPU are from Dec 2010, the SSD is from July 2014 and I have a separate conventional HDD for data storage.

My usage is mostly web browsing and very little Excel or Word usage. When I switch off and cold boot the SSD is still very responsive. Its only when the web browser kicks in that problems start. I am using Firefox and it is fully updated. I also notice that when the 6 web pages are open and nothing happening (i.e. no input from myself) that the RAM usage is a steady 2.48GB - isn't that high for only Firefox being open. Three of the web pages are separate email accounts open. The other three web pages are CNBC.com, Yahoo Finance and Bloomberg.com

Could forum members advise what is causing this slowness to occur. Any help greatly appreciated as I don't want to spend money upgarding mobo or RAM if the problem is not there.

As I write this the same 6 pages are open but the system is very responsive. So the problem is not always there. I am using the internet via a Wireless N USB adapter connected to a USB 2 hub. The set up was not a problem a few months back.

i7Baby · May 29, 2015

Try a better CPU. Your mobo and CPU are old and weak. Don't expect modern day performance. Get 8gb ram.

If you don't want to spend money on upgrading then be happy with what you've got.

SBMfromLA · May 29, 2015

First, 4GB RAM is a problem. You need at least 6-8GB running.

Second, I'm guessing you have a lot of startup programs pre-loading on Boot. You need to figure out what's set to start with Windows and uncheck the option for that to occur. A good startup manager would help you (MSConfig is useless so find a 3rd Party program like Autoruns). Programs like Spotify, Roxio, Printer Software, Yahoo Messenger, Skype, Steam, Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive... are all defaulted to pre-load. I use all of them... but only have Dropbox set to pre-load since it uploads and copies my photos/videos automatically.

dark_lord69 · May 29, 2015

"causes the web pages to become very lethargic and I see the HHD light on continuously for quite some period."
Symptoms of a typical computer wake up. The network or wireless devices may be put to sleep, hibernation or standby while the computer is sleeping depending on the power settings selected. Then when you wake it up the NIC or wireless card has to reconnect to the internet. When your computer goest to sleep (depending on the settings selected) typically all of the information stored in RAM is written to the hard drive... Why? because if you take away the power from your ram then everything stored in it is gone, hard drives however can be powered down not used for years and still contain the same data.
So both of those are perfectly normal for a computer after it wakes up.

"I should not be getting this speed hit."
Then turn your computer off when you are done... Sleep, hibernate and standby modes suck and are often plagued with issues.
My best recommendation is wake it up, then go pee, grab a snack, (or just sit and wait for 5 minutes) when you get back it should be done waking up.

"remember system RAM is only 4GB in all - effectively only 3.5GB useable"
for 32bit operating systems ONLY I can use all 8GB of my ram cause my OS is 64bit

"This is the situation when the computer is lightly loaded. Only 6 web pages open over 2 monitors (both Dell 21" flat screens). I can't figure out why this is happening - i.e. the high RAm usage."
What browser are you using? I've heard google chrome will use TONS of ram if you have it available.

"I am using Firefox and it is fully updated."
I would get rid of all addons and extensions and reset the browser back to factory settings.

Also, when you are looking that the memory are you looking at the total or just the amount Firefox is using.
Because 2.4GB while doing almost nothing sounds perfectly normal. I've only got a few things open and I'm using 3.88 GB right now, but this system has 16GB of ram...
Open Task Manager
Click on the Proccesses tab
Click on Memory at the top to sort by memory and see what programs are taking the most. My firefox.exe is taking about 250 MB or 0.25 GB

" the system is very responsive."
So, that's the REAL problem.

I stick with my original suggestion, turn it off when you are done, especially with an SSD. You could probably boot-up faster than that sleep mode could wake up.
Take a look at this article in PCWorld Mag.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2043634/how-to-stretch-the-life-of-your-ssd-storage.html

ihameed46 · May 29, 2015

Dark Lord69,

Thank you for your very detailed response. Much appreciated. My main question after reading your response is why am I now facing this issue. Till one month ago the whole system was quite responsive. Nothing has changed in the past month. The last hardware change was over 6 months ago when I changed to the SSD. Why is the SSD being used so often when I am actually just surfing? Is it because my RAM is running dry? If the issue is lack of RAM why has it not always been a problem? I forgot to mention that I am using Windows 7 (64 bit) Ultimate.

Again, thanks for your help.

ihameed46 · May 29, 2015

dark_lord69 :

"causes the web pages to become very lethargic and I see the HHD light on continuously for quite some period."
Symptoms of a typical computer wake up. The network or wireless devices may be put to sleep, hibernation or standby while the computer is sleeping depending on the power settings selected. Then when you wake it up the NIC or wireless card has to reconnect to the internet. When your computer goest to sleep (depending on the settings selected) typically all of the information stored in RAM is written to the hard drive... Why? because if you take away the power from your ram then everything stored in it is gone, hard drives however can be powered down not used for years and still contain the same data.
So both of those are perfectly normal for a computer after it wakes up.

"I should not be getting this speed hit."
Then turn your computer off when you are done... Sleep, hibernate and standby modes suck and are often plagued with issues.
My best recommendation is wake it up, then go pee, grab a snack, (or just sit and wait for 5 minutes) when you get back it should be done waking up.

"remember system RAM is only 4GB in all - effectively only 3.5GB useable"
for 32bit operating systems ONLY I can use all 8GB of my ram cause my OS is 64bit

"This is the situation when the computer is lightly loaded. Only 6 web pages open over 2 monitors (both Dell 21" flat screens). I can't figure out why this is happening - i.e. the high RAm usage."
What browser are you using? I've heard google chrome will use TONS of ram if you have it available.

"I am using Firefox and it is fully updated."
I would get rid of all addons and extensions and reset the browser back to factory settings.

Also, when you are looking that the memory are you looking at the total or just the amount Firefox is using.
Because 2.4GB while doing almost nothing sounds perfectly normal. I've only got a few things open and I'm using 3.88 GB right now, but this system has 16GB of ram...
Open Task Manager
Click on the Proccesses tab
Click on Memory at the top to sort by memory and see what programs are taking the most. My firefox.exe is taking about 250 MB or 0.25 GB

" the system is very responsive."
So, that's the REAL problem.

I stick with my original suggestion, turn it off when you are done, especially with an SSD. You could probably boot-up faster than that sleep mode could wake up.
Take a look at this article in PCWorld Mag.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2043634/how-to-stretch-the-life-of-your-ssd-storage.html

Dark Lord69,

Thank you for your very detailed response. Much appreciated. My main question after reading your response is why am I now facing this issue. Till one month ago the whole system was quite responsive. Nothing has changed in the past month. The last hardware change was over 6 months ago when I changed to the SSD. Why is the SSD being used so often when I am actually just surfing? Is it because my RAM is running dry? If the issue is lack of RAM why has it not always been a problem? I forgot to mention that I am using Windows 7 (64 bit) Ultimate.

Again, thanks for your help.

i7Baby · May 29, 2015

Could be overheating CPU, poor PSU exacerbating your problem.

ihameed46 · Jun 1, 2015

dark_lord69 :

"causes the web pages to become very lethargic and I see the HHD light on continuously for quite some period."
Symptoms of a typical computer wake up. The network or wireless devices may be put to sleep, hibernation or standby while the computer is sleeping depending on the power settings selected. Then when you wake it up the NIC or wireless card has to reconnect to the internet. When your computer goest to sleep (depending on the settings selected) typically all of the information stored in RAM is written to the hard drive... Why? because if you take away the power from your ram then everything stored in it is gone, hard drives however can be powered down not used for years and still contain the same data.
So both of those are perfectly normal for a computer after it wakes up.

"I should not be getting this speed hit."
Then turn your computer off when you are done... Sleep, hibernate and standby modes suck and are often plagued with issues.
My best recommendation is wake it up, then go pee, grab a snack, (or just sit and wait for 5 minutes) when you get back it should be done waking up.

"remember system RAM is only 4GB in all - effectively only 3.5GB useable"
for 32bit operating systems ONLY I can use all 8GB of my ram cause my OS is 64bit

"This is the situation when the computer is lightly loaded. Only 6 web pages open over 2 monitors (both Dell 21" flat screens). I can't figure out why this is happening - i.e. the high RAm usage."
What browser are you using? I've heard google chrome will use TONS of ram if you have it available.

"I am using Firefox and it is fully updated."
I would get rid of all addons and extensions and reset the browser back to factory settings.

Also, when you are looking that the memory are you looking at the total or just the amount Firefox is using.
Because 2.4GB while doing almost nothing sounds perfectly normal. I've only got a few things open and I'm using 3.88 GB right now, but this system has 16GB of ram...
Open Task Manager
Click on the Proccesses tab
Click on Memory at the top to sort by memory and see what programs are taking the most. My firefox.exe is taking about 250 MB or 0.25 GB

" the system is very responsive."
So, that's the REAL problem.

I stick with my original suggestion, turn it off when you are done, especially with an SSD. You could probably boot-up faster than that sleep mode could wake up.
Take a look at this article in PCWorld Mag.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2043634/how-to-stretch-the-life-of-your-ssd-storage.html

Dark Lord69,

Thank you for your very detailed response. Much appreciated. My main question after reading your response is why am I now facing this issue. Till one month ago the whole system was quite responsive. Nothing has changed in the past month. The last hardware change was over 6 months ago when I changed to the SSD. Why is the SSD being used so often when I am actually just surfing? Is it because my RAM is running dry? If the issue is lack of RAM why has it not always been a problem? I forgot to mention that I am using Windows 7 (64 bit) Ultimate.

Again, thanks for your help.

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