I think I have a Poltergeist...

[Crescendo]

Anyways... This is my third PC build that has been plagued by this issue... The PC starts out fine when I build it and for months it usually runs perfect and then at some point I end up reseating the CPU and formatting for yearly maintenance and then shortly after that my PC will become slower and my games will stutter and become unplayable. I had 2 builds before this with the EXACT issue and I cannot understand why.

I just bought this build and it ran flawless all top end parts and I took my time building it, it ran smooth as butter and I was so happy to finally have a PC run the way I wanted to, I spent big money for that to happen... I went as far as buying an i7 cpu, 16gb of ram a liquid cooled cpu and gpu and a GSYNC 144hz monitor to ensure I had no tearing or stutter.

Well recently my PC was running somewhat slow and I figured I should clean the whole PC and format as well as reseating the CPU to ensure proper cooling. I did all of this with zero issues and put my PC back together. When the Windows install was done I noticed that the Windows loading ICON next to my cursor was constantly popping up when I was barely doing anything which was weird. I also noticed some programs were unresponsive before opening and just overall regular use was much slower. So I started up a game, was getting constant stutters in Skyrim, CSGO and RUST which I never had before with this build. So I took the RAM, GPU and CPU out again cleaned all the contacts and even went as far as to do ANOTHER format. No luck. Tried older drivers, no luck. I unplugged everything that wasn't needed and tried again, No luck.

So I'm not sure what keeps causing this issue in EVERY build is it static? is it a ghost I dont get it.... I sold my last 2 builds because of this problem and built new PC's. Everytime I did this the PC would run GREAT for about a year then I'd clean it and then it'd run like crap. Theres a TON of ESD in my house if I walk to my kitchen and touch the microwave 9/10 times it will shock me. But I usually do my builds on a hard wood floor with no socks on and I touch the case before I start assembling... The only difference is I built this PC at a friends house so maybe thats why it ran fine until I then worked on it at my own house?

I'm literally about the RMA the Monitor, GPU, CPU and motherboard all at once to eliminate all possiblities and I will be using an ESD mat/wire to ensure that this never is the case. Alot of you will frown about my decision to RMA half my PC as this may seem like user error but it's not. I have built 100's of PC's I'm certified and I know what I'm doing nothing I've done could cause this and I'm sick of spending month trouble shooting only to end up selling my PC and losing money. So in this case I'm going to be RMA'ing most of my PC in hopes to fix the issue and not have to build a new PC for a 4th time.

Can anyone suggest anything? before I go ahead and spend $100 and deal with the headache of RMA'ing half my PC maybe someone can suggest something I havn't tried. My temps are fine, CPU usage is only 30% in games, gpu usage is only 70% and my temps on my GPU are fine. CPU hits 50c gaming, GPU hits 55c gaming. Voltages seem good. I even tried a different HDD, different monitor, I ran onboard VIDEO, I formatted, resat CPU, updated and downgraded BIOS, cleaned PC and reseated the GPU, CPU and RAM and cleaned the contacts. I double checked the motherboard for Bent Pins there were none.

i7 6700k @ stock
980ti hybrid @ stock
2 x 8gb ddr4 2400
evga z170 ftw
evga 850gs Gold
500GB samsung SSD
1TB western digital black HDD
Corsair H110i GTX cooler

TL;DR

I formatted my PC and reseated the CPU cooler and CPU and now my PC runs slower and games are stuttering.
Temps are fine.
Tried formatted and reseated main hardware
tried updating bios
tried a different HDD
tried a different monitor
tried playing barebones
Stress Tests and Benchmarks appear to show my scores and performance are normal
FPS and CPU usage in games is normal but games appear choppy.
Desktop usage seems fast but some programs are slow and unresponsive and I constantly get the Windows Loading Icon when doing almost nothing.

This was why I sold my PC before and went to console, because this happens every year I build a brand new PC and within a year it runs like crap I sell it build a new one and lose 100's of dollars. I've done this for the past 3 years now... A new PC every year. Literally all I do is format, reseat the heatsink and bam PC randomly runs like crap, only thing I can think of is terrible luck with components dying or static discharge messing up the CPU or motherboard. Otherwise I havn't a clue. Don't understand how people run the same PC for 5 years without an issue but mine don't even make it a year.

 

[UsandThem]

Something is going on, but I doubt static electricity has anything to do with it. That would only come into play when you handle the components. Once they are in the case, it's really a non-issue. But seriously, you should buy a $20 - $60 humidifier to get some moisture in your house for health reasons, and to eliminate the static-shock.

As far as my recommendations just from seeing your various posts (and this is only my opinion, not the gospel truth - so I'm not accusing you of anything): You are chasing the PC dragon. You are buying high-end parts, trying to push them by overclocking, tinkering with everything, cooling them with a AIO cooler that might, or might not be working properly. I used to be the same way 20 years ago. I was always changing parts, overclocking, pushing my hardware. Then as I grew older, there was really not much need for it anymore. When I used to overclock a Celeron 300A, the difference was sometimes being able to play a game over 30 FPS. Now if you buy a 6700k, outside of bragging rights/benchmarks/hobby, it doesn't have the same impact it once did. I want to point out that overclocking is fine, but for those who do that, there are and always will be (despite how minor at this point) risks. I have a 6700k that I don't overclock at all. Maybe in 3-5 years when it starts lagging behind new CPUs some, I might go ahead and do it at that point. Right now, there is absolutely no need for me do so.

Do you use a UPS for your PC? If you have gone through issues with that many systems, it could be possible you have power issues in your area/home. I'd check that. Get rid of the Corsiar AOI (especially since you can't fully use it with your motherboard), and get a good 'ole fashioned air cooler that you know is working by simply looking at the fan spin. Maybe your CPU was damaged from overclocking it with your pump not working properly. Not sure of that without stress-testing it. Outside of that, maybe take the parts you are concerned about working properly to a local PC repair place and have them test them. Otherwise, if you have another computer you can test them in, you can save money by doing that.

Something is going on if you are having that many issues, with that many PCs.....

 

[VirtualLarry]

OP, when you say you "tried another HDD"... was the original Windows' install on an SSD? Now on a HDD? No wonder things are "stuttering" a bit, and you're seeing the "loading" icon. Could be malware too, on that last bit. Something doing bitcoin-mining in the background, or something.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Reseat and or reinstall only after you have tried everything else. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

 

[Crescendo]

Something is going on, but I doubt static electricity has anything to do with it. That would only come into play when you handle the components. Once they are in the case, it's really a non-issue. But seriously, you should buy a $20 - $60 humidifier to get some moisture in your house for health reasons, and to eliminate the static-shock.

As far as my recommendations just from seeing your various posts (and this is only my opinion, not the gospel truth - so I'm not accusing you of anything): You are chasing the PC dragon. You are buying high-end parts, trying to push them by overclocking, tinkering with everything, cooling them with a AIO cooler that might, or might not be working properly. I used to be the same way 20 years ago. I was always changing parts, overclocking, pushing my hardware. Then as I grew older, there was really not much need for it anymore. When I used to overclock a Celeron 300A, the difference was sometimes being able to play a game over 30 FPS. Now if you buy a 6700k, outside of bragging rights/benchmarks/hobby, it doesn't have the same impact it once did. I want to point out that overclocking is fine, but for those who do that, there are and always will be (despite how minor at this point) risks. I have a 6700k that I don't overclock at all. Maybe in 3-5 years when it starts lagging behind new CPUs some, I might go ahead and do it at that point. Right now, there is absolutely no need for me do so.

Do you use a UPS for your PC? If you have gone through issues with that many systems, it could be possible you have power issues in your area/home. I'd check that. Get rid of the Corsiar AOI (especially since you can't fully use it with your motherboard), and get a good 'ole fashioned air cooler that you know is working by simply looking at the fan spin. Maybe your CPU was damaged from overclocking it with your pump not working properly. Not sure of that without stress-testing it. Outside of that, maybe take the parts you are concerned about working properly to a local PC repair place and have them test them. Otherwise, if you have another computer you can test them in, you can save money by doing that.

Something is going on if you are having that many issues, with that many PCs.....

I mean if I'm chasing dragons then I'm mentally insane because this is like night and day difference to me and making games literally unplayable and it always happens around a year into owning a PC. My AIO messed up once and it was only on for a little when it did and temps didnt exceed 75C so I doubt that was the issue but who knows. I don't own a UPS and so far no power outages or anything like taht everything seems fine :-/

 

[Crescendo]

OP, when you say you "tried another HDD"... was the original Windows' install on an SSD? Now on a HDD? No wonder things are "stuttering" a bit, and you're seeing the "loading" icon. Could be malware too, on that last bit. Something doing bitcoin-mining in the background, or something.

No... I'm saying I tried another HDD to rule out my SSD being faulty visa versa. I'm currently running Windows on a SSD. I'm also confused on how this is Malware or Virus related when it's a clean format.

 

[Crescendo]

Reseat and or reinstall only after you have tried everything else. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

I do this yearly for PC maint. to clean out all the dust and start fresh. It has never been an issue until my last couple builds... I've been building PC's for about 12 years. Actually I reseated the CPU twice before this when I was having temp issues and never had an issue with how my PC ran, then this last time when I did it and formatted PC instantly ran like ****.

Basically before this I could play all my games smooth and flawless... Now when I play Skyrim or RUST the screen stutters hard when I look a certain direction, never did it before. Battlefield 4 isn't as smooth either and CSGO is unplayable without GSYNC activated when I never used it on CSGO before.

The little windows load icon never popped up programs and windows was very fast and responsive, I noticed almost instantly something was wrong after I formatted and reapplied my CPU. If it's not ESD then I don't know what it could be because this always happens to me. Literally owned 2 other high end builds before this that had the same exact issue.

 

[Ketchup]

There is no reason to reseat a CPU ever unless you are replacing it or there is a known issue with it (very rare). And if you have GSYNC, use it. Always. There is no need to complain about video performance without it.

 

[UsandThem]

There is no reason to reseat a CPU ever unless you are replacing it or there is a known issue with it (very rare).

+1

I understand replacing the thermal paste if you keep the PC a long time (say 3-5 years), but yeah there is really no reason to reseat a CPU unless it isn't working.

 

[UsandThem]

I mean if I'm chasing dragons then I'm mentally insane because this is like night and day difference to me and making games literally unplayable and it always happens around a year into owning a PC. My AIO messed up once and it was only on for a little when it did and temps didnt exceed 75C so I doubt that was the issue but who knows. I don't own a UPS and so far no power outages or anything like taht everything seems fine :-/

A UPS doesn't just protect during power outages. Good ones feature AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation) which constantly corrects small differences in the power. When the difference becomes larger (over or under) like during a brownout or storm, it protects against it as well.

Honestly, if you spend that much money on high-end PC parts, a good quality UPS is a must in my opinion.

And when I used the phrase "chasing the dragon" with PCs, I didn't mean anything like you're "insane". When I first came across your posts asking for PC help, I looked at your post history (which I do for all posters I'm not familiar with). You buy high-end parts, push them by overclocking, and seem disappointed if a CPU or GPU don't overclock as high as other people's results. You then have stability issues.
I used to be the same way. These days when I build, I build for stability. I don't need the extra 10 FPS by pushing stuff. If for some reason I did, I would be willing to deal with headaches that sometimes come with it.

Let's take a look at the possible reasons you have issues with so many builds:

1. Voodoo curse or 'ghosts in your machine'.

-Highly unlikely unless you have run over or evicted a gypsy woman.

2. ESD

-Unlikely. If you were zapping your parts with static electricity when building, they would show instability or death immediately.

3. Bad luck.

-Unlikely. Everyone who has built computers for a long period of time eventually comes across a "nightmare build". But having three of them in a row is very unlikely.

4. Power related

-Possible. Maybe you have issues at home/in your area. Power issues are not just related to the power going out.

5. User generated problems.

-Possible. The constant tweaking, removal of parts, and configuration of components always leaves room for issues. Build it once for stability, tweak it some if you want to, but then leave it be and just enjoy it.

My .02

 

[Crescendo]

There is no reason to reseat a CPU ever unless you are replacing it or there is a known issue with it (very rare). And if you have GSYNC, use it. Always. There is no need to complain about video performance without it.

I was doing tinkering on the CPU to get lower temperatures, for awhile they were higher than I desired so that was mostly why I was doing it. As far as GSYNC I do use it and I still get stutters in a few of my games like SKYRIM and RUST. I used to play CSGO without GSYCN for less input lag and I never had an issue, I dont understand why all of a sudden it runs choppy as hell.

 

[Crescendo]

A UPS doesn't just protect during power outages. Good ones feature AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation) which constantly corrects small differences in the power. When the difference becomes larger (over or under) like during a brownout or storm, it protects against it as well.

Honestly, if you spend that much money on high-end PC parts, a good quality UPS is a must in my opinion.

And when I used the phrase "chasing the dragon" with PCs, I didn't mean anything like you're "insane". When I first came across your posts asking for PC help, I looked at your post history (which I do for all posters I'm not familiar with). You buy high-end parts, push them by overclocking, and seem disappointed if a CPU or GPU don't overclock as high as other people's results. You then have stability issues.
I used to be the same way. These days when I build, I build for stability. I don't need the extra 10 FPS by pushing stuff. If for some reason I did, I would be willing to deal with headaches that sometimes come with it.

Let's take a look at the possible reasons you have issues with so many builds:

1. Voodoo curse or 'ghosts in your machine'.

-Highly unlikely unless you have run over or evicted a gypsy woman.

2. ESD

-Unlikely. If you were zapping your parts with static electricity when building, they would show instability or death immediately.

3. Bad luck.

-Unlikely. Everyone who has built computers for a long period of time eventually comes across a "nightmare build". But not three of them in a row is highly unlikely.

4. Power related

-Possible. Maybe you have issues at home/in your area. Power issues are not just related to the power going out.

5. User generated problems.

-Possible. The constant tweaking, removal of parts, and configuration of components always leaves room for issues. Build it once for stability, tweak it some if you want to, but then leave it be and just enjoy it.

My .02

Yeah I don't know... I see people constantly swapping out parts and running tests and stuff to get the most out of their PC's I didnt think it would honestly be a big deal replacing thermal paste and reformatting... I didn't think PC's were this fragile in this day and age. Hell I've seen people do some pretty crummy stuff to their setups and still keep them running for years without issues. I baby my PC, when I work on it I'm super careful. So I really don't understand where I went wrong. Yes I agree I shouldn't mess with a good thing, but I was having issues with my PC using a lot of my CPU after I reformatted and reseated the CPU the CPU usage went down alot but now I have issues with my build... :-/ I guess I'll RMA the major components and go from there

Also is it normal for my Windows loading icon to pop up so often? it pops up whenever I open something or search on Chrome for something, literally if I just type in a web page it pops up for a second, when I search for anything it pops up for like 5-10 seconds. The PC is responsive says I'm using no CPU, RAM or HDD and it still has the loading icon popping up, it never did this before.

Ok I tried Microsoft Edge and it doesn't load like Chrome when I search or navigate it. Ugh this is a pain I just wanna play I guess thats my own damn fault :-/ from now on when I build a PC if theres not something majorly wrong I wont touch it. But man half the reason I love PC's is because I can customize them, tinker with them etc. I enjoy messing with the parts and trying to get more performance so basically I can't even do that anymore

 

[UsandThem]

Also is it normal for my Windows loading icon to pop up so often? it pops up whenever I open something or search on Chrome for something, literally if I just type in a web page it pops up for a second, when I search for anything it pops up for like 5-10 seconds. The PC is responsive says I'm using no CPU, RAM or HDD and it still has the loading icon popping up, it never did this before.

Not at all. A system with a 6700k, Samsung SSD, and with more than enough RAM should open almost all things like a web browser instantly when working and configured properly.

Ok I tried Microsoft Edge and it doesn't load like Chrome when I search or navigate it. Ugh this is a pain I just wanna play I guess thats my own damn fault :-/ from now on when I build a PC if theres not something majorly wrong I wont touch it. But man half the reason I love PC's is because I can customize them, tinker with them etc. I enjoy messing with the parts and trying to get more performance so basically I can't even do that anymore

I know it sucks, I used to love tinkering and pushing my computer's too. However, as I got older I found the troubleshooting and testing to be tedious. Now when I build, my goal is 100% stability. I have used my current PC for well over a year now, and I haven't had one single BSOD. The only issue I had was trying to get Gigabyte's utilities to work properly, and because they are utter garbage, I uninstalled them and just said "screw it".

 

[Crescendo]

Not at all. A system with a 6700k, Samsung SSD, and with more than enough RAM should open almost all things like a web browser instantly when working and configured properly.



I know it sucks, I used to love tinkering and pushing my computer's too. However, as I got older I found the troubleshooting and testing to be tedious. Now when I build, my goal is 100% stability. I have used my current PC for well over a year now, and I haven't had one single BSOD. The only issue I had was trying to get Gigabyte's utilities to work properly, and because they are utter garbage, I uninstalled them and just said "screw it".

I mean the web browsers etc. open instantly with no issue but the damn little blue loading Icon in windows is constantly popping up and sometimes I find when I close a window it will take a few seconds to actually do it... Opening games takes awhile too I never noticed any of this before and I'm starting to agree with you that something is wrong. Ugh... Such a pain to take my PC apart, RMA and put it back together but I guess I have to do what I have to do. I will say my PC seems plenty fast its just not as responsive as before.. I get more hanging when opening and closing programs, slower boots, slower games opening, the loading icon is constantly popping up when it almost never did and I can just overall tell it's not running right.

I guess my days of tinkering and pushing my PC are over, I'll just build it and if it runs to my likings I will leave it from now on.

 

[UsandThem]

I mean the web browsers etc. open instantly with no issue but the damn little blue loading Icon in windows is constantly popping up and sometimes I find when I close a window it will take a few seconds to actually do it... Opening games takes awhile too I never noticed any of this before and I'm starting to agree with you that something is wrong. Ugh... Such a pain to take my PC apart, RMA and put it back together but I guess I have to do what I have to do.

I guess my days of tinkering and pushing my PC are over, I'll just build it and if it runs to my likings I will leave it from now on.

No, you shouldn't see the 'wait Windows working' icon at all. When I open a window or browser, it opens almost immediately. When I close a window, it closes immediately. I don't play many games, but when I play Civ 5, it loads pretty quickly (I've never timed it, but I want to say maybe 15 seconds). When I'm done playing, I can exit it almost immediately. There is definitely something going on with your system.

 

[Ketchup]

How often do you reboot your computer? If you reboot often, it's actually going to take longer for that first game, or web browser, or "what have you" to launch since none of it is in RAM. If you install is pretty recent, are you sure Windows updates are finished? Also, Windows Defender scans pretty often. Seems like it's every other day, but maybe not that often, but that may be affecting your feeling of slowness.

 

[UsandThem]

How often do you reboot your computer? If you reboot often, it's actually going to take longer for that first game, or web browser, or "what have you" to launch since none of it is in RAM. If you install is pretty recent, are you sure Windows updates are finished? Also, Windows Defender scans pretty often. Seems like it's every other day, but maybe not that often, but that may be affecting your feeling of slowness.

Expanding on this idea some, but since you use a HDD in conjunction with your SSD, maybe the delays or pauses are from the HDD's APM being too aggressive, and constantly spinning up and down. A long shot, but worth looking at before you mail everything back. Also, I am going to assume you have your drives hooked to an Intel SATA port, and not a 3rd party one like Asmedia:

https://www.tenforums.com/performan...-spinning-down-clicking-every-30-seconds.html

If it were me, I would unhook the HDD and only use one stick of RAM, and do a clean install (or reset in Windows 10). I'd then play around with the system and see if the lag was gone. If so, add the extra RAM back in. If still no lag noticed, reconnect the HDD and see if the lag appears.

 

[Crescendo]

No, you shouldn't see the 'wait Windows working' icon at all. When I open a window or browser, it opens almost immediately. When I close a window, it closes immediately. I don't play many games, but when I play Civ 5, it loads pretty quickly (I've never timed it, but I want to say maybe 15 seconds). When I'm done playing, I can exit it almost immediately. There is definitely something going on with your system.

You're missunderstanding everything closes and opens quick aside from some games and programs once in a great while but the loading icon pops up even when the PC isn't loading anything. Chrome does this but Internet Explorer does not so thats weird.

Like if I open chrome the windows loading circle pops up until the page loads, then if I type something in the address bar the loading icon pops up for a bit then when I load a page the circle pops up until the page is done loading. I youtubed some videos of people using chrome and that seems like a normal thing that happens but you're saying when you navigate chrome the loading circle never comes up for you? I'm pretty sure it never did for me as well but I'm not sure.

It also randomly pops up when I'm idle but not often. Like opening a program is fast and closing it is fast but the Circle icon still appears even if I'm barely using any of my PC. sometimes if I open a program and close it it closes right away but other times it will kind of hang for 2-3 seconds and then close, it's really random when this happens and it never did before.

What is responsible for the loading circle on windows and opening and closing programs? is that all tied to the HDD or RAM or CPU? I guess what I'm asking is which piece of hardware is responsible for the Loading Circle popping up? Maybe I have a bad HDD or something?

 

[Crescendo]

Expanding on this idea some, but since you use a HDD in conjunction with your SSD, maybe the delays or pauses are from the HDD's APM being too aggressive, and constantly spinning up and down. A long shot, but worth looking at before you mail everything back. Also, I am going to assume you have your drives hooked to an Intel SATA port, and not a 3rd party one like Asmedia:

https://www.tenforums.com/performan...-spinning-down-clicking-every-30-seconds.html

If it were me, I would unhook the HDD and only use one stick of RAM, and do a clean install (or reset in Windows 10). I'd then play around with the system and see if the lag was gone. If so, add the extra RAM back in. If still no lag noticed, reconnect the HDD and see if the lag appears.

I've had this Second HDD in here since I built this PC and never had an issue with it, never touched it or removed it or changed any of its settings so it would be weird if that was the cause. I'll go ahead and try 1 stick of ram and unplugging the other HDD but i'd be baffled if that was the case considering this HDD is a Western Digital Black which is highly fast and reliable and I've never had an issue with it.

Also not sure where they are connected, I just have the HDD's plugged into the SATA ports on the motherboard.

I just find it weird I didnt touch anything aside from the CPU and formatting the HDD, I could see it if I unplugged a bunch of stuff and fiddled around with setting sand whatnot but I didnt. Literally all I did was reseat the CPU and format windows I didnt touch anything else or change any other settings. I've literally reseated the CPU and formatted this PC atleast 5 times since I've owned it and never had an issue until now. I highly doubt it's related to my secondary HDD or anything settings within the PC.

But it's weird if I open for instance STEAM or load up a game the little loading circle doesn't pop up, but if I open Chrome it does... its like only chrome does it...? Sometimes I'll just be idling on my desktop and the loading circle will pop up but I could load up a video or a program and itll only pop up for a second, I dont know if this is normal or not. I'm pretty sure it never did this before.

 

[UsandThem]

I've had this Second HDD in here since I built this PC and never had an issue with it, never touched it or removed it or changed any of its settings so it would be weird if that was the cause. I'll go ahead and try 1 stick of ram and unplugging the other HDD but i'd be baffled if that was the case considering this HDD is a Western Digital Black which is highly fast and reliable and I've never had an issue with it.

Also not sure where they are connected, I just have the HDD's plugged into the SATA ports on the motherboard.

I just find it weird I didnt touch anything aside from the CPU and formatting the HDD, I could see it if I unplugged a bunch of stuff and fiddled around with setting sand whatnot but I didnt. Literally all I did was reseat the CPU and format windows I didnt touch anything else or change any other settings. I've literally reseated the CPU and formatted this PC atleast 5 times since I've owned it and never had an issue until now. I highly doubt it's related to my secondary HDD or anything settings within the PC.

But it's weird if I open for instance STEAM or load up a game the little loading circle doesn't pop up, but if I open Chrome it does... its like only chrome does it...? Sometimes I'll just be idling on my desktop and the loading circle will pop up but I could load up a video or a program and itll only pop up for a second, I dont know if this is normal or not. I'm pretty sure it never did this before.

I just looked at your motherboard manual, and it only uses Intel SATA connectors, so you don't need to worry about that.

As far as the "I've never had an issue, so I don't think it's that" statement: In troubleshooting a PC you never say never until it is ruled out by testing it.

Also, I'll stand by what I initially said in your PC help post all those months ago: EVGA makes good video cards, and good-looking motherboards, but they seem to be among the most finicky motherboards I've seen over the years.

 

[Crescendo]

I just looked at your motherboard manual, and it only uses Intel SATA connectors, so you don't need to worry about that.

As far as the "I've never had an issue, so I don't think it's that" statement: In troubleshooting a PC you never say never until it is ruled out by testing it.

Also, I'll stand by what I initially said in your PC help post all those months ago: EVGA makes good video cards, and good-looking motherboards, but they seem to be among the most finicky motherboards I've seen over the years.

Yeah well too late for that now I already own the board haha figured I'd give them a try and so far I wish I went with ASUS

Anyways I did research and the loading circle is tied to Chrome doesn't happen in other browsers and MANY people have complained about the issue. So that's that, but now the unresponsiveness of opening and closing some programs and the games running choppy/stuttering are now my 2 main issues. I'm going to contact EVGA and see if I can't get a new board sent to me, also going to call Intel and get the go ahead on a new CPU. I planned on RMA'ing the GPU and monitor ANYWAYS because the Monitor has been having issues and sometimes the GPU pump decides it doesnt want to turn on which I'm not ok with.

So looks like ultimately I'll be RMA'ing everything I really HATE doing that to companies but hey I'm not going to spend a small fortune on my PC and have it run improperly when I havn't done anything wrong to it for it to do so. If this was user error I'd go ahead and rebuy the parts I need but I'm not going to bite the bullet this time. I sold my last 2 PC's for several hundred less than what I paid and this time I'm not wasting anymore of my money. If the problem still persists after I RMA and rebuild my PC I'll be selling my PC and going back to console lol as much as I dont want to do that, the last 3 years for PC gaming for me have been nothing but a headache and it's not worth it. Between work and everything else I don't have time or money to waste on this hobby anymore.

I'm going to make a last ditch effort and take the whole PC apart and go over everything with a fine toothed comb. I'll try 1 stick of RAM and 1 HDD and format again. If that still doesn't fix the issue I'll be RMA'ing.

 

[VirtualLarry]

OP, were you the guy with a 980ti Lightning or something like that, and were pissed that you couldn't overclock over 1500 core? If that was you, then no wonder your hardware is flaky, pushing it that hard. If that's not you, then ignore this comment please.

 

[Crescendo]

OP, were you the guy with a 980ti Lightning or something like that, and were pissed that you couldn't overclock over 1500 core? If that was you, then no wonder your hardware is flaky, pushing it that hard. If that's not you, then ignore this comment please.

Yes I'm that guy but I have a 980TI Hybrid. and 1500mhz core on my GPU is average which is why I was upset, I wasn't pissed lol. Also I've been running this card @ 1450MHZ since I built this PC and even with stock clocks my problem persists. I highly doubt a 100mhz overclock on my Liquid Cooled GPU meant for high overclocks is whats causing my issue. You must not be reading my OP when you enter my threads because I stated that all of this happened AFTER I reseated the cooler and formatted so I didn't even touch the GPU or anything else, CPU was and has been at stock clocks. Saying I'm pushing my GPU hard would be like saying overclocking my CPU to 4.2GHZ is pushing it hard. Anyways I'm not trying to be rude, I appreciate any help and criticism but realistically I doubt overclocks are my issue, my PC was built with overclocking in mind.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Anyways... This is my third PC build that has been plagued by this issue... The PC starts out fine when I build it and for months it usually runs perfect and then at some point I end up reseating the CPU and formatting for yearly maintenance and then shortly after that my PC will become slower and my games will stutter and become unplayable. I had 2 builds before this with the EXACT issue and I cannot understand why.

So I'm not sure what keeps causing this issue in EVERY build is it static? is it a ghost I dont get it.... I sold my last 2 builds because of this problem and built new PC's. Everytime I did this the PC would run GREAT for about a year then I'd clean it and then it'd run like crap. Theres a TON of ESD in my house if I walk to my kitchen and touch the microwave 9/10 times it will shock me.

Let me just state for the record, degradation due to overclocking is very real, I've seen it. Especially if you push things "hard". Well, mostly that. "Mild" overclocks can generally last for a long time. Those being overclocks where you don't really push the voltage or temps.

I take a calculated risk with my overclocks. With my Skylake rigs, I'm pushing it somewhat, but if it burns out, or acts funny, I'm fully prepared to purchase a replacement CPU.

 

[VirtualLarry]

but realistically I doubt overclocks are my issue, my PC was built with overclocking in mind.

You need to realize, that if mfg'rs were confident enough that those parts would last for the warranty period, at those speeds, then they would have sold them at those speeds, stock.

There's a reason that this hobby is called OVERclocking. It's not because companies are somehow universally stupid, and giving people (guaranteed) performance for free.

I feel like you seem to think that just because you purchased parts with "overclocking in mind", that you are seemingly entitled to your higher (or highest) speeds, without any risks or negative repercussions. I think that you're young, and mistaken.