My PC starts to slow down over time (not just gaming)

Sokar408 · March 5th, 2009, 03:38 PM

I have tried all the usually stuff, looking for viruses, adware, trojans, worms, all came up clean. I have disk defragmented and disk cleaned, nothing works. I'm starting to think that either something has gone wrong and some tiny system corruption somewhere is causing this, which would mean a reinstall. Or its hardware problems! I'm thinking the RAM or my CPU (which is OC'd naturally), or maybe even the hard disk (not unlikely, it wasn't expensive, although it was Western Digital). Heres my hardware:

CPU: Core 2 Quad Q6600 (3,0 Ghz, 1333 FSB, 1.35 Vcore)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNP9700 LED
GPU: MSI GTX 280 OC
Motherboard: XFX Nforce 780i
RAM: Corsair Dominator TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF
PSU: Corsair HX1000W
Hard Drive: WD Caviar GP WD5000AACS 500 GB
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 64x

Further more there is a external hard disk always corrected used for storage of movies, images, music, whatever isn't a problem or a game.

Now to describe what happens in detail. I start the PC, it boots as normal, I start browsing and put on a movie, or some music. I have some torrents in the works, I'll start Utorrent aswell. Now after anywhere from 5 mins to 1 hour, depending on how active I am, the first signs of problems is the sound cracking. I have noticed it syncs up with the browser loading a new site, or if I'm running Utorrent and downloading, it will just get worse and worse as we go along. Also remember its not just WMP and other media players being affected, its the whole system as my mouse and every program starts to lag aswell. It seem to be related to RAM in someway, as it gets worse the more % used, the worse it gets. But this doesn't explain how 1 program loading something can affect the whole system like this, which is what leads me back to the CPU. But cant find a direct logical explanation with that, unless its both the RAM and the CPU.

But again it could also be the Hard Disk, as all these actions require the Hard disk to load, which means that, that the simplist explanation would be this. But if it is the hard disk, it could also be software, mean I dont know if its a new hard disk or a reformate thats needed.

I'm getting a little off track here, but please, and logical explanations, experiences, or suggestions are very welcome.

I'll try to record the sound and upload it when its very bad, if I can that is. Please help me.

Steve R Jones · March 5th, 2009, 04:27 PM

Rebooting clears it all up doesn't it?

Couple of wrong characters of code in one or more program you're running could case this. Bad code can cause memory leaks...Only way to fix this to to try and figure out which program is the culprit and repalce it.

Sokar408 · March 5th, 2009, 06:47 PM

it seems as thought it doesn't matter what application I run, within 5-15 times myself system start to be hurt by it. And while closing the application helps, it does grow worse and worse. I really need some help fixing this one guys

Sokar408 · March 5th, 2009, 06:50 PM

Steve, is what you say is the problem, then would the application have to run to make this happen? or can it also be caused by applications not currently running or idle?

Running a Prime95 Stress on heavy RAM/CPU or blend doesn't make the problem appear, this would mean that its neither the RAM or the CPU correct?

**RicheemxX** · March 5th, 2009, 07:00 PM

It would be an issue with a program or task that is running not just something that is installed. When you start to see the slow down open the task manger and watch for the process that is sucking up memory or cpu cycles.

Just saw your edit, running prime for an hour or two without issues would mean it would be less likely to be a hardware issue yeah.

cksboy15 · March 5th, 2009, 07:05 PM

Does your antivirus do scans in the backround? I know kaspersky does and soimetimes it plays hell with my system while gaming.

Sokar408 · March 5th, 2009, 07:07 PM

It seems I have been able to narrow it down to being WHENEVER ANY application uploads or downloads from the internet... How leads me to be believe its the Network drivers? or what else could it be that is affected or used EVERYTIME the internet is accessed (its probably either up or download... I'll be able to confirm which (if not both) in 2 sec

It is without a doubt both

Sokar408 · March 5th, 2009, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cksboy15

Does your antivirus do scans in the backround? I know kaspersky does and soimetimes it plays hell with my system while gaming.

Well this is not only when gaming, we are talking about my whole PC slowly grinding to a halt. Its too early to say, but it seems that ZoneAlarm was the cause of this one. Reasons:

Application thats active; Check
Application being affected whenever the internet is used; Check

And thus far since its removal, the problem haven't shown... time to find a new Anti Virus program

EDIT: While it has improved significantly, it seems to be there a little, although not getting worse. Or maybe I'm just so use to it now my brain is compensating. I think all the previous repliers and future once