Computer Build running slow

2ndPlaceFinish · 03-09-2008, 02:31 PM

Hello, I am new to these forums and I have recently completed my first computer build. I have a XFX 680i LT SLi Motherboard, an Intel quad core processor, 4 GB of RAM, GeForce 8600GT Video card, SoundBlaster X-fi sound card, 2 - 250 GB Seagate Barracuda SATA Hard drives.

When I first installed XP 64 bit edition, Everything was running great. I began installing the drivers and I am pretty sure I installed the drivers to everything. I then installed some programs and noticed that one of them was very unresponsive, then I began to notice it was not just one of the applications it was all of them. I takes 3-10 seconds for my computer to respond after a mouseclick. Windows XP recognizes all of my ram, and like I said it was running great before.

The temperature is in a reasonable range, inside the case is about 30 C and the CPU is usually around 50 C (The highest I have seen it is 51 C).

I uninstalled the program that I was using when I first noticed the problem, but still no luck.

Any help would be great, thank you

Shane

**beefers1** · 03-09-2008, 03:25 PM

what's your power supply?

dai · 03-09-2008, 05:16 PM

your cpu temp should be a lot lower
redo the paste with some arctic silver
http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...structions.htm
check the push pins are secure they have a habit of popping up on one leg

pt121984 · 03-09-2008, 05:17 PM

Any chance you noticed this after you installed and Anti-Virus PRogram?

Patrick

**beefers1** · 03-09-2008, 11:21 PM

yeah, 50C is a bit high, mine q6600 runs at around 27-30 usually. also: shouldn't regular paste be fine, unless he's seriously overclocking (are you?)?

2ndPlaceFinish · 03-10-2008, 10:29 AM

I am not overclocking, I know I did have trouble securing the fan on the CPU so it is possible that a pin could have came loose or something. My power supply is an Ultra X3 1000W power supply.

So you are suggesting that I first remove the CPU fan, reapply some thermal paste, and put the fan back on to try to lower the temperature of the CPU?

I did install AVG antivirus and it is running in the background, could that be affecting my computer performance that much?

Does anyone have any pointers to installing my CPU fan... last time I felt like I was going to break the motherboard because I had to apply so much pressure to the pins... I just want to make sure I do not damage anything like the CPU or the motherboard while put the fan back on...

I am using a Thermaltake silent 775D CPU Fan...

Thank you for all your help.

dai · 03-10-2008, 10:48 AM

yes redo the paste,i went for aftermarket h/s and fan that bolted down as the securing pins kept popping up
they are nothing but a pain
check you did not bend one of the pins over on the fan connection to the m/b

2ndPlaceFinish · 03-11-2008, 08:31 AM

Thanks for the help, I will let you know how everything goes.

Shane

2ndPlaceFinish · 03-14-2008, 07:47 PM

Ok, so here is the story on the CPU temp... I took the fan off, I used alcohol to clean the old thermal paste from the fan and from the cpu. I then reapplied a thin layer of thermal paste to the top of the CPU and reseated the fan (it took me about 2 tries before I got the pin locked into position).

I wiggled the fan a little to make sure that it was secure and everything seemed good. I started up the comp and began to monitor the temp in BIOS. To my suprise the temp is now average 56-57 C... That is 6-7 C higher then before... any help would be great...

I think I cleaned the surface of the CPU and Fan well, I used a cloth with the alcohol to clean off the old thermal paste(I read that it should be a lint free cloth... could this be the problem)

**beefers1** · 03-14-2008, 08:04 PM

uhh... my only thought is that the software that's reading your CPU temp monitor is reading incorrectly? or maybe the hardware that monitors temp on your CPU is malfunctioned?

2ndPlaceFinish · 03-14-2008, 08:10 PM

I figured I would post what temperatures I got while running some temp monitoring tools. If anyone can let me know if my temps are higher then normal that would be helpful...

These are idle temperatures after I let the computer run for awhile. I have included the range of temperatures that I have seen while monitoring for awhile.

SpeedFan 4.33

System: 26-27C
CPU: 49-56C
Core0: 37-40C
Core1: 39-42C
Core2: 31-33C
Core4: 30-31C

Core Temp 0.97.1
Core0: 49-60C
Core1: 48-58C
Core2: 43-48C
Core3: 42-46C

Thanks for the help...

**beefers1** · 03-14-2008, 08:15 PM

Why does it say the CPU is running at ~50C while the individual cores are at between 30 and 40? My "CPU temp" is generally an average of the four cores.

2ndPlaceFinish · 03-14-2008, 09:48 PM

I double and tripled checked and the CPU tem is always higher then the temp of the 4 cores... I am using Speedfan version 4.33...

I have another question on top of this... (This is my first build and I have never installed a SATA drive before). Why do I have a Safely Remove Hardware icon in the bottom right of my taskbar, when I click the icon I have the option to remove C: drive...???, also I have the option to remove my other unpartitioned SATA drive... Should I have this option... Obviously if I try to remove the drive it fails because the drive is in use... but is there a way to get rid of this... Would this be something to do with the drivers (I got my SATA drivers from the motherboard CD)

Thanks for the help

**beefers1** · 03-14-2008, 10:43 PM

try PC wizard 2008. that's an excellent monitoring and benchmarking tool.
as for your second question, do you have any other USB or Firewire devices enabled?

2ndPlaceFinish · 03-14-2008, 11:30 PM

I occasionally have my 80GB external harddrive with 3 partitions, but the ability to remove the C: drive and my other unpartitioned harddrive is always there, it does not matter if my external is plugged in or not. If my external is plugged in then I am able to remove those 3 partitions as well as the other 2 hard drives.

**beefers1** · 03-14-2008, 11:31 PM

that's interesting... i don't think it should be there. i don't use SATA drives, so you'll have to consult an expert for that question.

2ndPlaceFinish · 03-14-2008, 11:52 PM

I did a few performance tests on my computer and I will show you what I came up with... since I initially was having trouble with my applications running slow...

for PC Wizard 2008
Processor Global Performance 376162
Cache Global Performance 17473
Memory Global Performance 5815
Video Global Performance 1145
Hard Disk Global Performance 86

PC Wizard Rating: 40068.10

I am not really sure how to interpret those... any information would be useful...

I also ran PerformanceTest V6.1 and recieved a total score of about 1331. After looking over some forums it seems as this is in the higher range of computers for a non overclocked machine, so why are some of my more demanding applications responding so slowly. Windows Media Player runs pretty slow, and Steinberg Cubase SE 3 runs slow and almost always freezes if I get to far ahead of myself... installed on my ancient laptop and it runs fine...

I am really clueless as to what the problem could be... also I still do not know why my temps are so high... PC Wizard reported all my temps right around 50 C...

dai · 03-15-2008, 09:18 AM

[I wiggled the fan a little ]
once fitted there should be no movement available to wiggle it at all
check you applied the paste correctly here
http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...structions.htm

**beefers1** · 03-15-2008, 12:21 PM

all the temps at around 50C? that's quite high. Don't worry about the benchmark ratings, I think the slow speed is due to the excessive heat. Follow Dai's advice about the thermal paste, and think about adding a case fan or two.

2ndPlaceFinish · 03-17-2008, 05:37 PM

Well I took everything apart, and reapplied the thermal paste, struggled for 5 minutes just trying to get the pins from the fan to clip, and after I started it up... the temps are still right around 50 C... I followed the instructions for applying thermal paste that were given in a previous post. My case temperature is only 23 C so I don't think that adding more case fans is a necessity... I am thinking I just need to purchase and try a new CPU fan... does this sound like a good idea? Any other suggestions? Thanks for the help.

03-09-2008, 02:31 PM	#1 (permalink)
2ndPlaceFinish Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: South Dakota Posts: 27 OS: Windows XP 64 bit with Service Pack 2	Computer Build running slow Hello, I am new to these forums and I have recently completed my first computer build. I have a XFX 680i LT SLi Motherboard, an Intel quad core processor, 4 GB of RAM, GeForce 8600GT Video card, SoundBlaster X-fi sound card, 2 - 250 GB Seagate Barracuda SATA Hard drives. When I first installed XP 64 bit edition, Everything was running great. I began installing the drivers and I am pretty sure I installed the drivers to everything. I then installed some programs and noticed that one of them was very unresponsive, then I began to notice it was not just one of the applications it was all of them. I takes 3-10 seconds for my computer to respond after a mouseclick. Windows XP recognizes all of my ram, and like I said it was running great before. The temperature is in a reasonable range, inside the case is about 30 C and the CPU is usually around 50 C (The highest I have seen it is 51 C). I uninstalled the program that I was using when I first noticed the problem, but still no luck. Any help would be great, thank you Shane

03-09-2008, 03:25 PM	#2 (permalink)
beefers1 Below is my avatar Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Surrey, BC, Canada Posts: 3,579 OS: Win XP Pro SP2 My System Blog Entries: 11	Re: Computer Build running slow what's your power supply? __________________

03-09-2008, 05:16 PM	#3 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 53,519 OS: vista 32x 64x ultimate retail	Re: Computer Build running slow your cpu temp should be a lot lower redo the paste with some arctic silver http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...structions.htm check the push pins are secure they have a habit of popping up on one leg __________________

03-09-2008, 05:17 PM	#4 (permalink)
pt121984 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 144 OS: Win XP My System	Re: Computer Build running slow Any chance you noticed this after you installed and Anti-Virus PRogram? Patrick

03-09-2008, 11:21 PM	#5 (permalink)
beefers1 Below is my avatar Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Surrey, BC, Canada Posts: 3,579 OS: Win XP Pro SP2 My System Blog Entries: 11	Re: Computer Build running slow yeah, 50C is a bit high, mine q6600 runs at around 27-30 usually. also: shouldn't regular paste be fine, unless he's seriously overclocking (are you?)? __________________

03-10-2008, 10:29 AM	#6 (permalink)
2ndPlaceFinish Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: South Dakota Posts: 27 OS: Windows XP 64 bit with Service Pack 2	Re: Computer Build running slow I am not overclocking, I know I did have trouble securing the fan on the CPU so it is possible that a pin could have came loose or something. My power supply is an Ultra X3 1000W power supply. So you are suggesting that I first remove the CPU fan, reapply some thermal paste, and put the fan back on to try to lower the temperature of the CPU? I did install AVG antivirus and it is running in the background, could that be affecting my computer performance that much? Does anyone have any pointers to installing my CPU fan... last time I felt like I was going to break the motherboard because I had to apply so much pressure to the pins... I just want to make sure I do not damage anything like the CPU or the motherboard while put the fan back on... I am using a Thermaltake silent 775D CPU Fan... Thank you for all your help.

03-10-2008, 10:48 AM	#7 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 53,519 OS: vista 32x 64x ultimate retail	Re: Computer Build running slow yes redo the paste,i went for aftermarket h/s and fan that bolted down as the securing pins kept popping up they are nothing but a pain check you did not bend one of the pins over on the fan connection to the m/b __________________

03-11-2008, 08:31 AM	#8 (permalink)
2ndPlaceFinish Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: South Dakota Posts: 27 OS: Windows XP 64 bit with Service Pack 2	Re: Computer Build running slow Thanks for the help, I will let you know how everything goes. Shane

03-14-2008, 07:47 PM	#9 (permalink)
2ndPlaceFinish Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: South Dakota Posts: 27 OS: Windows XP 64 bit with Service Pack 2	Re: Computer Build running slow Ok, so here is the story on the CPU temp... I took the fan off, I used alcohol to clean the old thermal paste from the fan and from the cpu. I then reapplied a thin layer of thermal paste to the top of the CPU and reseated the fan (it took me about 2 tries before I got the pin locked into position). I wiggled the fan a little to make sure that it was secure and everything seemed good. I started up the comp and began to monitor the temp in BIOS. To my suprise the temp is now average 56-57 C... That is 6-7 C higher then before... any help would be great... I think I cleaned the surface of the CPU and Fan well, I used a cloth with the alcohol to clean off the old thermal paste(I read that it should be a lint free cloth... could this be the problem)

03-14-2008, 08:04 PM	#10 (permalink)
beefers1 Below is my avatar Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Surrey, BC, Canada Posts: 3,579 OS: Win XP Pro SP2 My System Blog Entries: 11	Re: Computer Build running slow uhh... my only thought is that the software that's reading your CPU temp monitor is reading incorrectly? or maybe the hardware that monitors temp on your CPU is malfunctioned? __________________

03-14-2008, 08:10 PM	#11 (permalink)
2ndPlaceFinish Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: South Dakota Posts: 27 OS: Windows XP 64 bit with Service Pack 2	Re: Computer Build running slow I figured I would post what temperatures I got while running some temp monitoring tools. If anyone can let me know if my temps are higher then normal that would be helpful... These are idle temperatures after I let the computer run for awhile. I have included the range of temperatures that I have seen while monitoring for awhile. SpeedFan 4.33 System: 26-27C CPU: 49-56C Core0: 37-40C Core1: 39-42C Core2: 31-33C Core4: 30-31C Core Temp 0.97.1 Core0: 49-60C Core1: 48-58C Core2: 43-48C Core3: 42-46C Thanks for the help...

03-14-2008, 08:15 PM	#12 (permalink)
beefers1 Below is my avatar Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Surrey, BC, Canada Posts: 3,579 OS: Win XP Pro SP2 My System Blog Entries: 11	Re: Computer Build running slow Why does it say the CPU is running at ~50C while the individual cores are at between 30 and 40? My "CPU temp" is generally an average of the four cores. __________________

03-14-2008, 09:48 PM	#13 (permalink)
2ndPlaceFinish Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: South Dakota Posts: 27 OS: Windows XP 64 bit with Service Pack 2	Re: Computer Build running slow I double and tripled checked and the CPU tem is always higher then the temp of the 4 cores... I am using Speedfan version 4.33... I have another question on top of this... (This is my first build and I have never installed a SATA drive before). Why do I have a Safely Remove Hardware icon in the bottom right of my taskbar, when I click the icon I have the option to remove C: drive...???, also I have the option to remove my other unpartitioned SATA drive... Should I have this option... Obviously if I try to remove the drive it fails because the drive is in use... but is there a way to get rid of this... Would this be something to do with the drivers (I got my SATA drivers from the motherboard CD) Thanks for the help

03-14-2008, 10:43 PM	#14 (permalink)
beefers1 Below is my avatar Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Surrey, BC, Canada Posts: 3,579 OS: Win XP Pro SP2 My System Blog Entries: 11	Re: Computer Build running slow try PC wizard 2008. that's an excellent monitoring and benchmarking tool. as for your second question, do you have any other USB or Firewire devices enabled? __________________

03-14-2008, 11:30 PM	#15 (permalink)
2ndPlaceFinish Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: South Dakota Posts: 27 OS: Windows XP 64 bit with Service Pack 2	Re: Computer Build running slow I occasionally have my 80GB external harddrive with 3 partitions, but the ability to remove the C: drive and my other unpartitioned harddrive is always there, it does not matter if my external is plugged in or not. If my external is plugged in then I am able to remove those 3 partitions as well as the other 2 hard drives.

03-14-2008, 11:31 PM	#16 (permalink)
beefers1 Below is my avatar Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Surrey, BC, Canada Posts: 3,579 OS: Win XP Pro SP2 My System Blog Entries: 11	Re: Computer Build running slow that's interesting... i don't think it should be there. i don't use SATA drives, so you'll have to consult an expert for that question. __________________

03-14-2008, 11:52 PM	#17 (permalink)
2ndPlaceFinish Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: South Dakota Posts: 27 OS: Windows XP 64 bit with Service Pack 2	Re: Computer Build running slow I did a few performance tests on my computer and I will show you what I came up with... since I initially was having trouble with my applications running slow... for PC Wizard 2008 Processor Global Performance 376162 Cache Global Performance 17473 Memory Global Performance 5815 Video Global Performance 1145 Hard Disk Global Performance 86 PC Wizard Rating: 40068.10 I am not really sure how to interpret those... any information would be useful... I also ran PerformanceTest V6.1 and recieved a total score of about 1331. After looking over some forums it seems as this is in the higher range of computers for a non overclocked machine, so why are some of my more demanding applications responding so slowly. Windows Media Player runs pretty slow, and Steinberg Cubase SE 3 runs slow and almost always freezes if I get to far ahead of myself... installed on my ancient laptop and it runs fine... I am really clueless as to what the problem could be... also I still do not know why my temps are so high... PC Wizard reported all my temps right around 50 C...

03-15-2008, 09:18 AM	#18 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 53,519 OS: vista 32x 64x ultimate retail	Re: Computer Build running slow [I wiggled the fan a little ] once fitted there should be no movement available to wiggle it at all check you applied the paste correctly here http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...structions.htm __________________

03-15-2008, 12:21 PM	#19 (permalink)
beefers1 Below is my avatar Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Surrey, BC, Canada Posts: 3,579 OS: Win XP Pro SP2 My System Blog Entries: 11	Re: Computer Build running slow all the temps at around 50C? that's quite high. Don't worry about the benchmark ratings, I think the slow speed is due to the excessive heat. Follow Dai's advice about the thermal paste, and think about adding a case fan or two. __________________

03-17-2008, 05:37 PM	#20 (permalink)
2ndPlaceFinish Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: South Dakota Posts: 27 OS: Windows XP 64 bit with Service Pack 2	Re: Computer Build running slow Well I took everything apart, and reapplied the thermal paste, struggled for 5 minutes just trying to get the pins from the fan to clip, and after I started it up... the temps are still right around 50 C... I followed the instructions for applying thermal paste that were given in a previous post. My case temperature is only 23 C so I don't think that adding more case fans is a necessity... I am thinking I just need to purchase and try a new CPU fan... does this sound like a good idea? Any other suggestions? Thanks for the help.