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Windows 8.1 becomes sluggish when running light to moderate tasks.

Windows 8.1 becomes sluggish when running light to moderate tasks.

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saukeuchiuchi
Senior Member
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06-09-2016, 08:48 PM
#1
Hey there, I just finished setting up my new gaming setup last week. After installing Windows 8.1 using the standard version and a clean USB installation, I started noticing random freezes lasting 5 to 10 minutes. I removed my PCI Wi-Fi card to fix a potential issue, which helped a bit, but the problem persists. Here’s a summary of what I observed:

System status: BIOS is up to date, fresh Windows 8.1, only the USB Wi-Fi driver is active, updates are partially applied. Hardware present: Asus Maximus VII Gene, Intel i7 4790K, Corsair H100i, Nvidia GTX 980, Gskill TridentX 2400 (16GB RAM), Plextor M6e M.2 SSD.

Freeze details: After booting, the OS stalls for 5-10 minutes under light to moderate use—like downloading drivers or updating. The window shows "not reacting," mouse stays functional but no input. HDD LED lights up on motherboard and case, fans spin faster. I can’t shut it down except by pressing the power button after an hour.

My guess is the SSD isn’t functioning properly, especially with Windows, though that might need a deeper look in the storage section. Any tips would be greatly appreciated—thanks a lot!
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S
saukeuchiuchi
06-09-2016, 08:48 PM #1

Hey there, I just finished setting up my new gaming setup last week. After installing Windows 8.1 using the standard version and a clean USB installation, I started noticing random freezes lasting 5 to 10 minutes. I removed my PCI Wi-Fi card to fix a potential issue, which helped a bit, but the problem persists. Here’s a summary of what I observed:

System status: BIOS is up to date, fresh Windows 8.1, only the USB Wi-Fi driver is active, updates are partially applied. Hardware present: Asus Maximus VII Gene, Intel i7 4790K, Corsair H100i, Nvidia GTX 980, Gskill TridentX 2400 (16GB RAM), Plextor M6e M.2 SSD.

Freeze details: After booting, the OS stalls for 5-10 minutes under light to moderate use—like downloading drivers or updating. The window shows "not reacting," mouse stays functional but no input. HDD LED lights up on motherboard and case, fans spin faster. I can’t shut it down except by pressing the power button after an hour.

My guess is the SSD isn’t functioning properly, especially with Windows, though that might need a deeper look in the storage section. Any tips would be greatly appreciated—thanks a lot!

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Cokkie77
Senior Member
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556
06-13-2016, 02:02 PM
#2
Hey droggelbecher, I’ve got a setup that looks pretty much the same (Windows 8.1, Asus Maximus VII Gene, Intel i7 4790k, Nvidia GTX 980, 2133Mhz RAM, Plextor M6e M.2 SSD) and I still face occasional freezes, mainly when things are under heavy use. I suspect the SSD might be the culprit—it’s placed right next to the GPU, which, even though it stays cool enough, generates a lot of heat. The SSD comes with its own heatsink and is installed on a PCIe slot, but we’re running it under a ~165W TDP GPU without a heatsink. If the SSD overheats, it might shut down, leading to system freezes. It probably depends on how well the airflow works in your case, but since the Maximus VII Gene also gets warm when paired with the i7 and overclocking, it seems like that could be the root cause. Cheers!
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Cokkie77
06-13-2016, 02:02 PM #2

Hey droggelbecher, I’ve got a setup that looks pretty much the same (Windows 8.1, Asus Maximus VII Gene, Intel i7 4790k, Nvidia GTX 980, 2133Mhz RAM, Plextor M6e M.2 SSD) and I still face occasional freezes, mainly when things are under heavy use. I suspect the SSD might be the culprit—it’s placed right next to the GPU, which, even though it stays cool enough, generates a lot of heat. The SSD comes with its own heatsink and is installed on a PCIe slot, but we’re running it under a ~165W TDP GPU without a heatsink. If the SSD overheats, it might shut down, leading to system freezes. It probably depends on how well the airflow works in your case, but since the Maximus VII Gene also gets warm when paired with the i7 and overclocking, it seems like that could be the root cause. Cheers!

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