Poor Windows Performance on New Build

janp

janp

janp

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20 Dec 2006
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Greetings all,

Wondering if somebody can offer some advice on some problems I'm experiencing with a new build.

Firstly, gaming performance is absolutely fine, really happy with the results. Most games play at max settings with around 50-60fps (v-sync on, 1920x1080 resolution).

But general performance in Windows is pretty appalling, from a fresh install of Windows 7 Home Premium, the windows updates took over 3hrs to download and install. A friend of mine did the same on his lesser build, and it took 15mins.

Installing (not downloading) anything from Steam will take at least 30mins.

Last night, I used SABnzdb to errrr download some linux distros from Usenet. As soon as it started downloading, my whole PC pretty much ground to a halt. Firefox took around 2mins to refresh a webpage. I checked out task manager, and my CPU usage was only 3% on one of the cores. As soon as the download completed, the computer was pretty quick again.

This to me would indicate a problem with my SSD, but I've ran CrystalDiskMart and checked the SMART data, and it all looks fine.

Has anyone got any ideas of what the problem might be, or any benchmarks that are worth trying?

Here is the spec of my PC:

Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Running at stock
Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
XFX Pro 850W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply
Corsair Vengeance Blue 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel
EVGA GTX570 (SC edition)
Crucial V4 256GB 2.5" SATA-II SSD (used for my O/S + steam)
Seagate 2.5TB SATA 7200rpm Harddrive
 
So, a fresh install on the SSD with all that hardware already in place?
Just wondered whether the SSD wasn't 'aligned' which can hit performance on varying levels. But a fresh install of win7 should align the disk.
It could also be your ram. It can cause all sorts of untold and random weirdness to a windows install. Memtest it to be sure.
Also try a differetn sata port on your mobo.
 
Why would you buy a Sata 2 SSD on a Sata 3 MB ? Just wondering...
Make sure you connected your SSD to one of the Sata 2 ports and not to a Sata 3 one (you have 4 of each). In theory, they're backwards compatible...in practice, some of them might give issues.
 
Preto said:
Why would you buy a Sata 2 SSD on a Sata 3 MB ? Just wondering...
Make sure you connected your SSD to one of the Sata 2 ports and not to a Sata 3 one (you have 4 of each). In theory, they're backwards compatible...in practice, some of them might give issues.
Click to expand...

Yep and the sata3 often have different controllers to the sata2 ports. Controller incompatiblity was/is(?) quite rife with a lot of SSD's.
 
Preto said:
Why would you buy a Sata 2 SSD on a Sata 3 MB ? Just wondering...
Make sure you connected your SSD to one of the Sata 2 ports and not to a Sata 3 one (you have 4 of each). In theory, they're backwards compatible...in practice, some of them might give issues.
Click to expand...

I do have it connected to an SATA-3 port. I brought the SSD before the other components, for my old machine. My old mobo was SATA-2.
I haven't tried a different SATA port though, like you said I figured it would be backward compatible.
 
triggerthat said:
Hard to tell, but have you installed all the motherboard and chipset drivers?

Have you memory tested for errors?
Click to expand...

Memtest came back fine.

Installed the chipset drivers and network drivers from the motherboard disk. The rest I let Windows Update do it's thing.
 
In that case, double check SSD speeds (does the software you mentioned cover the speeds)? That should give you an idea if the SSD drive is faulty.

If it is fine, then probably a corrupt Windows install maybe.
 
janp said:
Installed the chipset drivers and network drivers from the motherboard disk. The rest I let Windows Update do it's thing.
Click to expand...

The drivers on the DVD that came with the modo are almost certainly not the latest.

I would check Gigabyte download site for latest drivers and BIOS. :)
 
unleashed said:
The drivers on the DVD that came with the modo are almost certainly not the latest.

I would check Gigabyte download site for latest drivers and BIOS. :)
Click to expand...

I agree. Same applies with GFX.

I've heard a lot of people having problems with the non-X version of your board (mainly boot problems).

BIOS update might also help?
 
unleashed said:
The drivers on the DVD that came with the modo are almost certainly not the latest.

I would check Gigabyte download site for latest drivers and BIOS. :)
Click to expand...

I will check that out as well. I was under the assumption that windows update took care of driver updates these days.

My god, I sound like a complete noob. Thanks for the help guys.
 
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