PC cleaning takes a long time after it's been cleaned.
PC cleaning takes a long time after it's been cleaned.
I recently cleaned my PC setup and replaced the thermal paste. I used compressed air to remove dust from the case, then removed the heatsink and applied fresh paste to the CPU. After powering it on, I noticed it started very slowly—only the POST phase took about 30 seconds, followed by roughly 15 seconds for Windows to boot. That’s tolerable for me, but all programs still launched extremely sluggishly. Before cleaning, the web browser opened instantly now, but it still lags. There’s also noticeable stuttering when playing Battlefield 5. I’ve tried everything I could think of—replaced CPU, RAM, GPU, cleared CMOS, set to default settings, updated BIOS, reinstalled Windows Aida64. OCCT says everything runs smoothly under load, yet in practice it behaves like an old office laptop from 2011. My computer runs Windows 10, Intel i7 6700K (4.4 GHz OC), Pallet GeForce GTX 1060, 8GB RAM G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4, 2x8GB at 3200MHz, with an ASRock z170 Extreme motherboard, XFX Black Edition XTR 550W PSU.
Ensure the Windows operating system is set up on the intended SSD, not a hard drive if available.
Yes, I've verified the CPU temperatures are within normal ranges following the repaste.
Windows is set up on the right drive. After completing the OCCT stress test for 30 minutes and running BFV, performance reached approximately 74 c.