Super (occasionally) slow i7 build

[klippenwald]

I haven't been able to figure this one out. It's driving me nuts.

My computer is S.L.O.W. sometimes. REALLY slow. And it SHOULDN'T be. I cannot find out what the issue is.

System:
ASUS X58
Intel i7 6 core 3.2 GHz
24GB Ram
3.0GBPs SATA x 3
EVGA 570
1000W PS

I've checked the task manager for %CPU in use and it's 98-99% system idle. The HDD light is off or blinks a little as the drive is accessed.

There's no virus or anything. Nothing is accessing the network. It does excellent when given a single process to work on, i.e. I do rendering of 3D models - it goes fast. But if I'm working on something and switch to a network resource or load a new app, the thing all but hangs. Again, task manager shows nothing consuming processor power.

I've done Crystal Disk Mark (my disk stinks, but it's not the problem), SiSoft Sandra shows a good performance, memtest is OK, etc... Is there some switch I forgot to flip in the BIOS or something?

I have an i5 with 16GB mem and on-board video that runs circles around this thing sometimes.

What can I do? Where can I look to see what is causing the problem?

Any suggestions?

 

[clutz]

it could be another program in the background that's running constantly. I would check what programs/services are starting up when you log in. Type msconfig and click the startup tab and disable stuff like adobe reader, etc.

Be careful what you deselect, some services/programs like your antivirus should never be deselected.

 

[dish_moose]

virus, malware - try malwarebytes and see if it helps. Do you have an anti-virus?
-Bruce

 

[klippenwald]

@Clutz - I don't think that is an issue, as I said the task manager shows 99% system idle. Nothing is consuming processor time.

@dish_moose - The chance of that is incredibly small. I don't get stuff like that, and this comp is firewalled, anti-virused, and completely up to date and scanned with everything including windows malicious software removal and defender. I'll run it anyway, but I don't think there's a problem.

 

[klippenwald]

Win 7 64 bit Pro.

I'd hate to have to do that, but you may be right.

 

[klippenwald]

Used HDTune Pro and Ubuntu to test/scan all HDDs. All are fine.

 

[klippenwald]

Been this way for a while. I'm sure it's a windows thing, because Ubuntu on the same machine works fine.

 

[addison]

of course i am right! :lol: and if that doesnt work than its a hard drive issue and you will need to replace it,
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Very rarely hard drives are malfunction. Also, Reinstalling windows probably won't help. If you have a 100% idle then something must be over heating or your thermal paste can be bad, try getting thermal paste on the CPU, also how many fans are in your system?

 

[klippenwald]

Not malware/virus/Trojan. CPU usage does not indicate anything consuming cycles. Have already run malwarebytes, spybot s&d, hijack this and windows defender/msrt.

What this issue reminds me of... Remember when you first installed XP and everything on your PCI and IDE buses ran super slow because of the default drivers? That's what it reminds me of. Wish it were so simple as a driver fix, I've already checked, rechecked and installed the latest ones.

 

[klippenwald]

Not malware/virus/Trojan. CPU usage does not indicate anything consuming cycles. Have already run malwarebytes, spybot s&d, hijack this and windows defender/msrt.

What this issue reminds me of... Remember when you first installed XP and everything on your PCI and IDE buses ran super slow because of the default drivers? That's what it reminds me of. Wish it were so simple as a driver fix, I've already checked, rechecked and installed the latest ones.

 

[addison]

Not malware/virus/Trojan. CPU usage does not indicate anything consuming cycles. Have already run malwarebytes, spybot s&d, hijack this and windows defender/msrt.

What this issue reminds me of... Remember when you first installed XP and everything on your PCI and IDE buses ran super slow because of the default drivers? That's what it reminds me of. Wish it were so simple as a driver fix, I've already checked, rechecked and installed the latest ones.

It could be the thermal paste malfunction, or a CPU fan is not secured correctly. Replace the thermal paste and a new fan, the stock fans suck, get a good fan. Like the 212.

 

[klippenwald]

Nope, CPU temps are solid and performance does not fluctuate with temperature.

 

[Temile]

Is AHCI turned on in the BIOS?

Process Explorer often helps diagnose system perf issues: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653

Look in Event Manager for errors. DxDiag to check on graphics drivers.

 

[klippenwald]

AHCI is enabled, I do have one drive that I hot-swap.

I've used process explorer to look around, nothing stands out as a resource hog.

No errors outstanding, graphics drivers are current.