PC running slow, what can I do?

bass_junkie83

bass_junkie83

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My PC is a 4 year old self built machine that was snappy enough when new, but in recent months has started to really slow down. Editing a video today and the software is constantly not responding and is becoming unusable.

Spec is as follows:

i5-6600 3.3GHz CPH
16GB ram
120GB SSD (OS only)
3TB HD
1TB HDx2
Asus something or other mobo

All drives are <80% full

What causes computers to slow down over time, and can anything be done to restore it to it's former glory?
 
bass_junkie83 said:
My PC is a 4 year old self built machine that was snappy enough when new, but in recent months has started to really slow down. Editing a video today and the software is constantly not responding and is becoming unusable.

Spec is as follows:

i5-6600 3.3GHz CPH
16GB ram
120GB SSD (OS only)
3TB HD
1TB HDx2
Asus something or other mobo

All drives are <80% full

What causes computers to slow down over time, and can anything be done to restore it to it's former glory?
Click to expand...


First thing I'd do is revise the thread title haha!

Regarding the computer, the SSD was the first thing I noticed and perhaps a little small now? Maybe the virtual memory or paging is needing more space or something. I've found with Windows upgrades, updates, programs and working files even my 500 GB drive fills fast.

You processor has a similar rating to my i7 and whilst mine seems to handle everything I throw at it, I have recently noticed it is a little slow with video editing. I'll be looking at a full rebuild soon and I'll probably head down the Ryzen route this time.
 
1. SSD is too small, and anything that goes into spinny drives will be really slow. All LR catalogs, or video and temp files must be on fast storage. Slow drives are only OK for terminal storage and backups.

2. It is quite likely over 4 years windows has accumulated an obscene amount of shat, malware, spyware and what not. Clean it up or do a fresh install to be sure.
 
Run CCleaner
Run Free Malwarebytes
If you haven't defragged the non-SSD drives recently do so (not the SSD).
Get rid of any programmes that you do not use.
i5 with 16gb RAM should otherwise be fine.
 
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As others have already mentioned, switching away from HDD will help.
I'd be tempted to swap the OS HS with a 512GB SSD (Clone then expand volume), and replace the HDD with SSD.
The 2 1Tb HDD can be swapped directly for 1Tb SSD, but depending on how much space you have on the various drives you may find switching to 2 x 2Tb SSD (or 2 x 2Tb SSD) is a better option, if you can shuffle things from your 3Tb HDD to fit.
 
Cobra said:
Editing the title would be a good start
Or is it really shat?
:D
Click to expand...
I dunno, it seems quite apt. But maybe I should change it just to avoid being accused of trying to circumvent the swear filter. :LOL:

gman said:
First thing I'd do is revise the thread title haha!

Regarding the computer, the SSD was the first thing I noticed and perhaps a little small now? Maybe the virtual memory or paging is needing more space or something. I've found with Windows upgrades, updates, programs and working files even my 500 GB drive fills fast.

You processor has a similar rating to my i7 and whilst mine seems to handle everything I throw at it, I have recently noticed it is a little slow with video editing. I'll be looking at a full rebuild soon and I'll probably head down the Ryzen route this time.
Click to expand...
I think at the time the price of drives meant that this was the biggest I could afford. Maybe I can get something larger, but is it possible to mirror the content and simply swap the drives over and carry on, or is it a case of complete re-installation of windows and all other software?

LongLensPhotography said:
1. SSD is too small, and anything that goes into spinny drives will be really slow. All LR catalogs, or video and temp files must be on fast storage. Slow drives are only OK for terminal storage and backups.

2. It is quite likely over 4 years windows has accumulated an obscene amount of shat, malware, spyware and what not. Clean it up or do a fresh install to be sure.
Click to expand...
I understand if this had always been the case, but it was originally perfectly snappy enough with this setup so the slow down surely can't be blamed only on the drive types used?
I run CC cleaner but will add malwarebytes to the list and see what that does.


gramps said:
Run CCleaner
Run Free Malwarebytes
If you haven't defragged the non-SSD drives recently do so (not the SSD).
Get rid of any programmes that you do not use.
i5 with 16gb RAM should otherwise be fine.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I will give all this a go and will report back. :)
 
Your system is not dissimilar to mine (Asus Z170 Pro with I5 6600k 3.8gHz and 32GB DDR RAM and a bunch of Hard Drives) and I agree with the other posters about the OS SSD. Also cleaning out the junk using one of the recommended pieces of software is good (I signed up for Ace Utilities years ago). I also tweaked a couple of voltage settings in the BIOS for my RAM which helped when processing stuff in Luminar and the like.

I actually went with a WD_BLACK SN750 NVMe™ SSD 500GB for my OS and it is very speedy. You would need to check you can put one on your motherboard and sometimes you need to tweak the BIOS to get it to run at the optimum speed. I got the version with the heatsink and it never budges from 40c unless I blast my side fan at it and then it gets a couple of degrees cooler. 40c is absolutely fine though.

Oh yeah, I also did a fresh install of Windows 10 when I got the WD late last year.

Oh and another thing, I did read some computers got slower after a windows update recently. My son's laptop certainly did but he hasn't mentioned if any more recent updates have resolved it.
 
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I would suggest you replace the SSD with a 'fast' 500Gb and do a fresh install of Windows + updates. Install your software on that drive and use it files you are editing. Just use your older drives for storage and archive. I have a similar spec 5th Gen i5 and it works much faster after a fresh windows install.... particularly if you did Windows 10 as an upgrade !
 
Video editing is incredibly intensive on the processor and graphics depending on what program you use and what format and codec the video is in.
If the video is in h265, then it has to be decompressed by the software before it can be properly read. if you try to play it and edit it before it done this, you’ll have lots of crashes. Some software used the cpu and gpu for this, some use just the cpu.

Adobe premiere is very slow in this regard as it only uses the cpu (or at least it did, they may have updated it now). Resolve uses both cpu and gpu so is considerably faster.

H264 footage is much easier to edit as it’s not compressed, so can be read and edited easier, but can still strain slower cpus.
Id recommend editing with proxy footage, it’s takes longer but makes life bearable before spending out on hardware.
 
bass_junkie83 said:
...Maybe I can get something larger, but is it possible to mirror the content and simply swap the drives over and carry on, or is it a case of complete re-installation of windows and all other software?
..
Click to expand...

Yes, I use Macrium Reflect (Free edition).
Simply buy a cheap USB 3 SSD enclosure and stick the new drive in there.
Run Macrium reflect, and tell it to clone from your 120 GB drive to the new drive.
Once done, power everything down, take the new drive out of the enclosure and swap it with your 120 GB HD.
Power up, then use Windows Disk Management to extend the volume to use the full size of the new SSD.
 
The obvious thing is the fresh install to a bigger, faster SSD. As the machine is 4 years old you could also try replacing the thermal compound for the processor and GPU. I did this recently for a 6 yo laptop and it made a huge difference.
 
CCleaner and malwarebtes have done their thing and picked up a few issues, but nothing major it seems.
It turns out that I have the drives set to defrag every week automatically, so nothing to be had there.

TCR4x4 said:
Video editing is incredibly intensive on the processor and graphics depending on what program you use and what format and codec the video is in.
If the video is in h265, then it has to be decompressed by the software before it can be properly read. if you try to play it and edit it before it done this, you’ll have lots of crashes. Some software used the cpu and gpu for this, some use just the cpu.

Adobe premiere is very slow in this regard as it only uses the cpu (or at least it did, they may have updated it now). Resolve uses both cpu and gpu so is considerably faster.

H264 footage is much easier to edit as it’s not compressed, so can be read and edited easier, but can still strain slower cpus.
Id recommend editing with proxy footage, it’s takes longer but makes life bearable before spending out on hardware.
Click to expand...
I hadn't thought about this, but I am now wondering if this is my main issue. Last time I edited a video I was using a Canon 5Dmk2, I am now using a a Fuji XT3. I am not a video person and know nothing about codecs and formats, but at the very least I expect that the file sizes are larger.

I am using Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 11.0 for my editing and one of the issues I am experiencing is the video is not always played back in the preview or timeline but appears as a solid red, green or black image. The audio is working fine. So I wonder if the format of my camera is not supported by the software, though it was working earlier today. :thinking:

Faldrax said:
Yes, I use Macrium Reflect (Free edition).
Simply buy a cheap USB 3 SSD enclosure and stick the new drive in there.
Run Macrium reflect, and tell it to clone from your 120 GB drive to the new drive.
Once done, power everything down, take the new drive out of the enclosure and swap it with your 120 GB HD.
Power up, then use Windows Disk Management to extend the volume to use the full size of the new SSD.
Click to expand...
Thanks, that sounds great. I guess a fresh install would be better, but my drives are all partitioned to give me more 'virtual' drives (not sure if this is the correct terminology) but if I did a fresh install of windows I guess it would no longer recognise this, so I would first have to back up all my storage drives so that I can recreate it again later? If so then cloning the SSD sounds much more appealing!

ancient_mariner said:
The obvious thing is the fresh install to a bigger, faster SSD. As the machine is 4 years old you could also try replacing the thermal compound for the processor and GPU. I did this recently for a 6 yo laptop and it made a huge difference.
Click to expand...
Good call and an easy thing to try, I shall add it to the list. Thanks. :)
 
Echoing what others said...

Apps need faster processing all the time. So it seemed faster then because the apps/files required a lower spec at the time. Plus your computer gets filled with crap over time. I dont like using software like CCleaner etc. and much prefer a clean install, it will be very easy especially as your OS is on a separate drive.

I think the SSD size is fine as a windows only and maybe a couple of apps drive esp as you have 20% or more capacity remaining. New tpu is a good shout if the fans are going mental and its throttling. Wouldn't defrag all the time.

Clean install, another 16GB ram is cheap and it should run decently again.
 
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my fisrts question is how much space do you have free on your SSD
page file might be running into issues
 
I too use a xt3 for video and my old 2015 MacBook Pro couldnt edit the files without major issues. I had to buy a new 16 inch 2019 model with the highest processor and top graphics card to be able to edit or play without proxy.
I would say that’s certainly part of the issue.
 
TCR4x4 said:
I too use a xt3 for video and my old 2015 MacBook Pro couldnt edit the files without major issues. I had to buy a new 16 inch 2019 model with the highest processor and top graphics card to be able to edit or play without proxy.
I would say that’s certainly part of the issue.
Click to expand...

+1, those bitrates.
 
twist said:
Echoing what others said...

Apps need faster processing all the time. So it seemed faster then because the apps/files required a lower spec at the time. Plus your computer gets filled with crap over time. I dont like using software like CCleaner etc. and much prefer a clean install, it will be very easy especially as your OS is on a separate drive.

I think the SSD size is fine as a windows only and maybe a couple of apps drive esp as you have 20% or more capacity remaining. New tpu is a good shout if the fans are going mental and its throttling. Wouldn't defrag all the time.

Clean install, another 16GB ram is cheap and it should run decently again.
Click to expand...
Makes sense. Another 16GB of the same ram looks to be around £60 so not terrible.

Mr Bump said:
my fisrts question is how much space do you have free on your SSD
page file might be running into issues
Click to expand...
30GB free, but if a larger SSD with other software also installed on it rather than on spinning discs will be an improvement then that might be worth while. They look very cheap compared to when I last looked several years back.
my mobo is a Asus B150m-C motherboard, how do I tell what SSD's would be compatible?

TCR4x4 said:
I too use a xt3 for video and my old 2015 MacBook Pro couldnt edit the files without major issues. I had to buy a new 16 inch 2019 model with the highest processor and top graphics card to be able to edit or play without proxy.
I would say that’s certainly part of the issue.
Click to expand...
Bugger. :( This does not bode well for a video I need finished in 2 weeks time. How do I find what needs upgrading? More RAM, newer CPU, do I need to get a graphics card, all of the above?
 
bass_junkie83 said:
More RAM, newer CPU, do I need to get a graphics card, all of the above?
Click to expand...

Does your editing software offload the work onto a GPU? If so then that should speed things up. Having more free space for cache on a fast SSD *should* help if work is being cached, but having more ram (so less caching) will help more IF ram is insufficient..
 
I would change the things that are easy to change first, and then if that is not enough, consider more drastic options like CPU, maybe graphics cards. Whatever you buy could be used in a more updated system if they don't fully work.

I would get the larger SSD, RAM and changing the Thermal paste. Btw, case and fans are clear of dust aren't they? ;)
 
On my MacBook I have a program in the top bar that shows cpu, ram, and gpu usage. In Resolve, importing a 4k Fuji file and playing it straight off uses all of the 8gb gpu ram and near enough all the cpu.. The Ram doesn’t get touched. Make of that what you will.
Like I said though, different programs use different resources, so Vegas might utilise Ram.. I don’t know.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Does your editing software offload the work onto a GPU? If so then that should speed things up. Having more free space for cache on a fast SSD *should* help if work is being cached, but having more ram (so less caching) will help more IF ram is insufficient..
Click to expand...
I think so. The current version spec requirements lists a whole load of suitable graphics cards, though my version is very out of date now I assume it is similar enough.


redhed17 said:
I would change the things that are easy to change first, and then if that is not enough, consider more drastic options like CPU, maybe graphics cards. Whatever you buy could be used in a more updated system if they don't fully work.

I would get the larger SSD, RAM and changing the Thermal paste. Btw, case and fans are clear of dust aren't they? ;)
Click to expand...
The fans were clear when i first built it...
Maybe I should have a look.
 
My older pc was becoming very slow last month even with simple tasks. I ran the usual cc cleaner and malware program but it was still slow. I ended up reinstalling W10 and had to use the option to delete everything as the option to keep all my files and programs didn’t work as I suspect something had corrupted. I only reloaded the files and programs I needed and it is now fine for a 9 year old pc.

My other pc is fitted with a 256 gb ssd which I only use for Windows and all other programs. I was surprised how little space was left on that drive so decided to clear out the surplus. Windows and Abode were the main issues as they were keeping unnecessary files on the ssd rather than the other drives as the programs allowed no alternative, mainly update caches. I removed approx 125 gb of these files.

These steps may help with your pc, but as others have said, 120gb is quite small so perhaps a bigger ssd and a clean install will resolve your issues.

nb I thought you were not supposed to defrag ssds.

Good luck.
 
bass_junkie83 said:
I think so. The current version spec requirements lists a whole load of suitable graphics cards, though my version is very out of date now I assume it is similar enough.



The fans were clear when i first built it...
Maybe I should have a look.
Click to expand...

Speaking of fans, might be worth having a peek in the case whilst on to make sure the CPU fan is also working. Mine failed recently (at least I think it was recently!) and I only noticed it because I started monitoring HWMonitor data and noticed the temperature of the CPU was far too high and I think the processor was slowing down automatically to protect itself?
 
You can trim the SSD's and to be honest defragging isn't an issue unless you plan to keep your SSD for about twenty years, Trimming is recommended apparently.

Wife says I need to trim my beard so apparently it doesn't just apply to SSD's :rolleyes:
 
A SSD drive should not be defragged. By its nature it doesn't have a problem with fragmented data in the way a hard drive does. I would check whether the drive manages it's own trim.
 
OK, a little update. I have checked inside the case and there is no dust at all. so nothing is getting clogged up. Cooling consists of one intake fan in front of the drives and another fan on the CPU.

20201210_102353.jpg

Also checking the temperatures it all looks OK to me, but I have some new thermal paste on the way anyway.
Screenshot 2020-12-10 105953.png


Going back to my video editing, I cannot even open the project file I am working on without the software crashing. I have opened another video project which is much small but still shot on the XT3 which does open but is painfully slow. Opening an old project shot with the 5D2 and that works absolutely fine. Does this give any insight to the problems I am having and how I might solve it?

Currently looking at larger SSD's in the mean time.
 
Apologies if someone's already suggested this but have you checked Task Manager to see if there's a particular app hogging the processor? It could be as simple as an anti-virus scan isn't finishing while you have the PC on and it starts all over again when you restart - I'm thinking if you run a full scan as you have over 5TB of drive space available there and at only 50% capacity that's 2.5TB which could take an age to full scan.
 
dhaywood17 said:
Apologies if someone's already suggested this but have you checked Task Manager to see if there's a particular app hogging the processor? It could be as simple as an anti-virus scan isn't finishing while you have the PC on and it starts all over again when you restart - I'm thinking if you run a full scan as you have over 5TB of drive space available there and at only 50% capacity that's 2.5TB which could take an age to full scan.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestion, I shall take a look.

With regards to SSD's, is there any reason not to get this one?

And for a caddy, i assume they are all much of a muchness?

UGREEN USB C Hard Drive Enclosure 2.5” External Disk Caddy Reader UASP USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C Case Thunderbolt 3 House Compatible with 7mm 9.5mm 2.5 SATA SSD HDD,PS4PS3 Xbox TV Laptop MacBook Tool Free: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Buy
www.amazon.co.uk
 
I haven't seen any mention of a Graphics card?.....Please ignore if I missed it!!
PS. Always replace a CPU fan (They normally come with paste in place) it's not worth refitting an old one.
 
bass_junkie83 said:
Thanks for the suggestion, I shall take a look.

With regards to SSD's, is there any reason not to get this one?

And for a caddy, i assume they are all much of a muchness?

UGREEN USB C Hard Drive Enclosure 2.5” External Disk Caddy Reader UASP USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C Case Thunderbolt 3 House Compatible with 7mm 9.5mm 2.5 SATA SSD HDD,PS4PS3 Xbox TV Laptop MacBook Tool Free: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Buy
www.amazon.co.uk
Click to expand...

They should both be fine. UGREEN stuff seems of reasonable quality and AFAIK the WD Blue is OK as a drive.

EJB said:
I haven't seen any mention of a Graphics card?.....Please ignore if I missed it!!
PS. Always replace a CPU fan (They normally come with paste in place) it's not worth refitting an old one.
Click to expand...

For an OEM fan I'd agree, but not for a decent aftermarket job.
 
EJB said:
I haven't seen any mention of a Graphics card?.....Please ignore if I missed it!!
PS. Always replace a CPU fan (They normally come with paste in place) it's not worth refitting an old one.
Click to expand...
I don't have a graphics card, the cpu inbuilt graphics had always been good enough. Is this the symptoms of needing something better?

ancient_mariner said:
They should both be fine. UGREEN stuff seems of reasonable quality and AFAIK the WD Blue is OK as a drive.



For an OEM fan I'd agree, but not for a decent aftermarket job.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Ended up going for this Samsung. Similar specs but better warranty/support apparently.

 
bass_junkie83 said:
OK, a little update. I have checked inside the case and there is no dust at all. so nothing is getting clogged up. Cooling consists of one intake fan in front of the drives and another fan on the CPU.

View attachment 301573

Also checking the temperatures it all looks OK to me, but I have some new thermal paste on the way anyway.
View attachment 301574


Going back to my video editing, I cannot even open the project file I am working on without the software crashing. I have opened another video project which is much small but still shot on the XT3 which does open but is painfully slow. Opening an old project shot with the 5D2 and that works absolutely fine. Does this give any insight to the problems I am having and how I might solve it?

Currently looking at larger SSD's in the mean time.
Click to expand...


What's the temperatures like under load? I'd run HWMonitor, start some video editing then check the min and max temps. If high there's potential there for a nice aftermarket CPU cooler and also a rear exhaust fan to help draw the hot air out. Both very cheap upgrades which is always a bonus.

I think the SSD drive is going to make a good difference though, especially if the current one is fairly full.
 
I can almost guarantee it’s the Fuji files causing it, as they are so high bitrate and in a codec not supported by many older computers.

If you can, go into the camera menu and check what codec it’s using, it’s the second option on the camera settings.. it’s probably using h265, change it to h264 And try some test clips and see if you can import and edit those. You can also try lowering the bitrate to 100mbs in the movie mode menu.

Id also try downloading the free version of davinci resolve and try that out, it could be Vegas just doesn’t like the files.
 
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TCR4x4 said:
I can almost guarantee it’s the Fuji files causing it, as they are so high bitrate and in a codec not supported by many older computers.

If you can, go into the camera menu and check what codec it’s using, it’s the second option on the camera settings.. it’s probably using h265, change it to h264 And try some test clips and see if you can import and edit those. You can also try lowering the bitrate to 100mbs in the movie mode menu.
Click to expand...

I'll need to remember this for myself as I'll be delving deep into video editing next year. (y)
 
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