Custom build not running as it should

[Armtheapes]

Amd phenom II x4 black edition 3.4 ghz
G.skill ripjaw 8gb 2x4gb
Msi nf755 g55
9800gtx+
500w antec 80+ psu
Windows 7 pro 64 bit

The gpu is being changed for a 560 ti when the new one arrives as the fi
rst was doa. I Used my HDD from my last build 320 GB seagate. My system is running somewhat slower than I think it should. Opening some applications takes alittle while. I have read some Threads suggesting changing ram voltage to 1.5v (not sure what mine is running at out of the box) I know it's at 9-9-9-24. Do any of the specs look off or does anyo e have any suggestions to speed up operation?

 

[kajabla]

I think the crappy graphics card would the problem, excepting any actual problems (viruses, bad RAM, etc). Try a little Memtest.

 

[Armtheapes]

I figured the graphics card would be a problem especially since it's 4+ years old. But would I really see performance degradation for simple applications because of the card?

 

[Armtheapes]

I guess another question is are my components good or garbage, and would a new HDD or psu improve performance when the new gpu is in place.

 

[Emperus]

I guess it could be your old hard drive. Get a new one and see for yourself. Regardless of the result, it won't be a bad deal since hard drives are very cheap these days.

 

[hilltopmonk]

Clean install of OS? If no, back up and start again
All drivers updated? Are they proplery registered in Device Manager?

If yes try CCleaner (select to clear prefetch also) then defrag with a proper Defrag tool, not the crappy windows one. (Prefer Auslogics, select Defrag and Optimize)

Reboot
Run Defrag again

Still having problems? Post back

 

[eightdrunkengods]

I don't think it's your video card. It sounds like it's either your HDD or your RAM. How new is your Windows install? How much free space to you have on your HDD? Is Windows seeing all 8 GB of RAM?

Use CPUZ or check your BIOS and make sure all of your clocks (CPU, RAM, northbridge) and RAM timings are reasonable. If all of these are to spec, then it's probably your HDD.

If it turns out that it is your HDD, you could try using the windows disk cleanup utility and then defragmenting.

Messing with your RAM voltage will only affect your stability. You shouldn't mess with it unless you are experiencing instability (crashes, BSOD, etc). If your RAM is running at 1333 MHz or so, overclocking it or changing timings not really have a noticeable impact on how fast applications start.

 

[Armtheapes]

First thank you all for the suggestions. Rethinking the series of events for my HDD I started with vista and upgraded to 7. I am thinking that maybe cleaning the hard drive and doing a fresh install from back up might yield some positive results.

 

[Armtheapes]

I don't think it's your video card. It sounds like it's either your HDD or your RAM. How new is your Windows install? How much free space to you have on your HDD? Is Windows seeing all 8 GB of RAM?

Use CPUZ or check your BIOS and make sure all of your clocks (CPU, RAM, northbridge) and RAM timings are reasonable. If all of these are to spec, then it's probably your HDD.

If it turns out that it is your HDD, you could try using the windows disk cleanup utility and then defragmenting.

Messing with your RAM voltage will only affect your stability. You shouldn't mess with it unless you are experiencing instability (crashes, BSOD, etc). If your RAM is running at 1333 MHz or so, overclocking it or changing timings not really have a noticeable impact on how fast applications start.

I have about 180gb of 320 free, windows is seeing all 8gb and in CPUz everthing looks in order. Starting to think I should clean the drive and reinstall win 7. I updated from vista and I'm wondering if that's causing some of the issue.

 

[Emperus]

Upgrading the OS leaves the previous OS's junk data which is always unhealthy. A clean install should do good. Getting a new hard drive will be better though.

 

[shanky887614]

have you defragged your hdd? i hadnt done mine in a year then i did it and it was like a new pc

 

[Armtheapes]

Upgrading the OS leaves the previous OS's junk data which is always unhealthy. A clean install should do good. Getting a new hard drive will be better though.

Wag I saw the junk vista file but I wasn't sure if I should delete or keep it. I'm gonna try a real good dfrag and if that doesn't help a full reinstall. Hopefully that will hold me over till I can get a new ssd.

 

[wolfram23]

I also think the HDD is the likely culprit here. Keep in mind as well that HDDs get slower as they get fuller as well. Not to mention if you don't regularily defrag it, it's going to be further bogged down.

I'd say just get a new 500gb or 1tb 7200rpm drive (WD black caviar or Samsung Spinpoint F3 are fast) and do a nice fresh install of windows. Then use the 320gb drive for backup and extra storage.

 

[Armtheapes]

I also think the HDD is the likely culprit here. Keep in mind as well that HDDs get slower as they get fuller as well. Not to mention if you don't regularily defrag it, it's going to be further bogged down.

I'd say just get a new 500gb or 1tb 7200rpm drive (WD black caviar or Samsung Spinpoint F3 are fast) and do a nice fresh install of windows. Then use the 320gb drive for backup and extra storage.

Thanks for the suggestion. Until my new hard drive gets here I will try a dfrag on my current one. I don't know that I have ever done it on this 4 year old drive.

 

[wolfram23]

Thanks for the suggestion. Until my new hard drive gets here I will try a dfrag on my current one. I don't know that I have ever done it on this 4 year old drive.

Yeowch! In 4 years? Damn dude that's a long time lol. IMO download Auslogics Diskdefrag and Ccleaner. Run Ccleaner first and remove all the junk files and clean up your registry (make sure to look over the options as you can clean you browser history and cookies, which you may want to keep). Then run the defrag once normally, and again with "defrag and optimize" enabled which moves files around to the faster parts of the drive.

 

[Tamz_msc]

Thanks for the suggestion. Until my new hard drive gets here I will try a dfrag on my current one. I don't know that I have ever done it on this 4 year old drive.

Is it SATA or IDE? I've had a hell of time with 2 Seagate IDE drives.

 

[Emperus]

Is it SATA or IDE? I've had a hell of time with 2 Seagate IDE drives.

I even noticed significant performance improvement over my old Hitachi 250 GB SATA drive after I upgraded to a 1TB Seagate SATA. From IDE to SATA should be one hell of an improvement.

 

[lukerbes]

I guess another question is are my components good or garbage, and would a new HDD or psu improve performance when the new gpu is in place.

what hard drive do you have? You may need a defrag or a whole new one. Just tell me which one you´ve got and then we´ll see. Another thing that may be a problem is your psu. 500 w isn´t barely enough to be able to move a pc like yours with a 9800 gtx. Don´t even think about getting that new graphics card you talk about without changing your actual psu.

 

[Mousemonkey]

what hard drive do you have? You may need a defrag or a whole new one. Just tell me which one you´ve got and then we´ll see. Another thing that may be a problem is your psu. 500 w isn´t barely enough to be able to move a pc like yours with a 9800 gtx. Don´t even think about getting that new graphics card you talk about without changing your actual psu.

Seeing as the recommended PSU for a 9800GTX+ is 450w, why would a 500w not be enough?

 

[lukerbes]

I would say that you have a lot to feed in your pc besides your gpu. That is why I said that if you get the gtx 560 ti the minimum power required is 500 w (that is the minimum not "the" recommended) I would get a 600 w psu or higher just to be future proofed.

 

[lukerbes]

I am not saying it won´t work fine but with a little bit more wattage you will not have to worry for a long time

 

[Mousemonkey]

I would say that you have a lot to feed in your pc besides your gpu. That is why I said that if you get the gtx 560 ti the minimum power required is 500 w (that is the minimum not "the" recommended) I would get a 600 w psu or higher just to be future proofed.

A 500w PSU is the minimum recommended by Nvidia and I think they know a bit more about their cards than you do.

 

[eightdrunkengods]

I guess another question is are my components good or garbage, and would a new HDD or psu improve performance when the new gpu is in place.

Your components (except probably your old HDD) are solid. A new PSU will not improve performance. As long as your system is stable, you don't need a newer PSU.

 

[HEXiT]

if you just pulled out your hdd from your old pc and plugged it in without repair installing your new your gonna have problems. because the old systems HAL is still present and your current systems HAL doesnt match up so your o.s is trying to run drivers that are no longer required...

either repaire install or fresh install your o.s and your speed will return.
als go into bios and load optimized defaults so your system can configure the hardware propperly b4 it boots.