Older computer not performing up to expectations

[FickNoree]

Hi, feel free to move this post if it's in the wrong location, but I've recently noticed that my old Cyberpower computer (got it back in 2009) isn't performing in games that it SHOULD be performing well in.

According to Can You Run It (as well as just common sense), my rig should be able to handle Assassins Creed 3, Battlefield 3, and other graphically intensive games out there, though the FPS drops like crazy. In other games, I'll have longer load screens than other folks, as well as have lag issues in games like Guild Wars 2 when exposed to tons of particle effects. Below are my specs, following that is a list of things that I've tried.

These problems have been around for awhile, but I always thought they were my CPU. It wasn't until I was looking at other CPUs/comparing mine with others' that I realized I shouldn't be having such bad performance.

OS: Windows 7, 64-bit
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 975 @ 3.33GHz (8 CPUs), ~3.3GHz
RAM: 16376MB RAM
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 (have upgraded twice in the past year, once from a GTX 285, another time from a GTX 580)
PSU: 1,250 watt, not sure of brand. Could check, but doubt it's really the issue.
HD: 500 GB, a very low read/write speed. Shouldn't make the difference between good performance/bad performance though, should it?
Mobo: EVGA x58 Classified

* I've paid attention to temperatures and the GPU never reaches anything over 70 degrees C, the CPU never reached over 60 degrees C in a 16 hr Prime95 stress test.

* I recently got two sticks of 8GB memory for my motherboard and did a BIOS update to make the RAM compatible with my mobo. The differences in performance were minimal, though I used to have 6GB and even then I had FPS issues with gaming.

* I've defragged/scanned for bad sectors/checked my HD for problems since Christmas.

* CPU never reaches 100% load when playing an individual game. Only reaches 80-90% while playing multiple games at once.

* Scanned for Spyware, got rid of all of it. Have scanned for viruses and whatnot, nothing there.

* Have all new drivers for my GPU.

Could I possibly get some advice on where to go next? I noticed in SpeedFan that my +12V was around 10.74V, but since I'm not too knowledgeable on where voltages should be at, I've no idea where to start with that kind of thing/how it could affect my hardware.

Thanks for any input.

 

[Outlander_04]

Try reinstalling windows

 

[FickNoree]

What specifically would that solve? I can't think of how that would help.

 

[Outlander_04]

I think your problem is most likely software

one of about 8 million things .... or just windows getting tired

But then trying to play more than one game at a time is always going to make your pc run SLOW

 

[woodflute]

Agree, I would think a Windows install is your most likely way to restore good performance. While it may be possible to find and troubleshoot specific conditions, in my experience you will see the best outcome for the least amount of work by simply backing up your data files and then reinstalling Windows and your programs.

If you have the funds, consider buying another hard drive, and keeping your old hard drive as a live backup. There can be conditions when a hard drive starts to fail that may not show up in diagnostics until the drive actually fails; I once had a persistent slow boot problem that turned out to be a dying hard drive which gave no errors at all ever until the day it simply wouldn't spin up anymore.