Upgrade issues affecting system performance
Upgrade issues affecting system performance
I recently changed my RAM from DDR3 2x 2GB to 2x8GB. Afterward, the computer slowed down significantly, and the activity monitor didn’t reveal any clear issues. The new RAM is installed properly and displays 16GB, but the clock speed on the new RAM is 1600 MHz, whereas the old RAM and motherboard could only handle up to 1333 MHz. I’m not sure if this is the main problem, since it seems reasonable for the new specs. I’ve checked for viruses, and my resource monitor sometimes shows high I/O activity from the disk and occasional hard faults, which I think are normal. I’ve thought about updating the motherboard’s BIOS, but I don’t have a USB stick to do that yet. Everything still works, albeit very slowly. My motherboard model is MSI H61M-P31/W8. The old RAM was 2x 2GB SK Hynix, and the new ones are 2x 8GB DDR3L PC3L-12800 at 1600 MHz CL11, not EEC-unbuffered. Any advice or assistance would be greatly appreciated, even if it feels a bit harsh.
Have you experimented with using just one stick? It should still run much quicker, particularly during gameplay and while browsing simultaneously, then switching back to desktop. Have you explored virtual memory settings? Consider disabling it. Besides that, I’d look into the BIOS options, adjust the MHz manually, and then format the drive.
I’ll try turning it off, thanks. What do you mean by the final format? I can’t adjust the MHz—it’s capped at 1333—and my RAM is 1600, so it should just run at that limit, which shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll test one stick, but how would that help? And it feels a bit off since I bought two sticks expecting faster performance.
Identify potential reasons by testing various options. If using only one defective item consistently causes the issue, isolate the problem to that specific factor.
I've checked each stick separately and with the 2GB x 2 initial RAM it performed just like the other RAM. Perhaps I'll reinstall Windows now—I really don't know what might have caused this issue.