Sudden PC Sluggish/Slow Down

[Quackwich]

Okay, so this is hard to explain, but just hear me out...

 

My PC has randomly started to feel slower/sluggish, but only doing certain tasks. Most notably, when I open Discord and Steam, these apps normally checks for updates, but this checking process seems to take way longer than what it used to be. I'm talking like from <10 seconds (if there are no updates) to >1 minute. Not a big deal, but weird.

 

The next thing I noticed is that Steam games take a while to start updating. This is hard to explain too, but it will just be stuck on "Updating" with no progress, then fail and claim that I have no internet connection, even when my connection is perfectly fine. I've attached the screenshot showing this in Steam below, and also a Cloudflare speed test. (Yes, my Internet speeds are slow compared to some, but it should be more than fine to play/download games)

 

 

 

I'm at a loss as to what might be causing this slow down. It's weird. So far, I've done the following troubleshooting steps:

- Ensured Windows is up to date (I am on Windows 11)

- Ensured GPU drivers are up to date

- Scanned my PC for viruses using ESET Internet Security (all clear)

- Ran ipconfig /release, ipconfig /renew and ipconfig /flushdns

- Ran chkdsk with no errors

- Restarted my PC multiple times

- Ran CrystalDiskMark on my PC for both SSDs (all performing within spec)

 

So, yeah, it's weird and I'm not sure how to troubleshoot this further. Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance!

 

 

[OddOod]

I'd suspect your modem or router. Is this wifi or hardline?
Use https://fiber.google.com/speedtest/ and check your Jitter

[Quackwich]

5 minutes ago, OddOod said:

I'd suspect your modem or router. Is this wifi or hardline?
Use https://fiber.google.com/speedtest/ and check your Jitter
 

It's actually powerline. Also the link you sent doesn't work for me, but I used Cloudflare's speed test to check jitter and it's <5 ms. Should I restart my entire powerline system? Haven't tried that but it might be worth a shot.

[Quackwich]

12 hours ago, OddOod said:

I'd suspect your modem or router. Is this wifi or hardline?
Use https://fiber.google.com/speedtest/ and check your Jitter
 

Bumping this thread as I am still facing the issue.

 

I have done the following:

- Reset the links on my powerline and PC

- Ran /sfc scannow; no problems found

- Reconnected the physical Ethernet cables on my PC

 

Jitter is still acceptable at <5 ms, sometimes <2 ms at non-peak hours.

 

I should also add that this issue seemingly happened out of nowhere. A couple days ago everything was fine.

 

Edited February 8, 2024 by Quackwich
Added more context and clarity

[Quackwich]

I think I fixed it.

 

It was my DNS settings. I was using Cloudflare's DNS and Quad9, and somehow they were causing an issue. So if you're encountering something similar, check your DNS settings.

[OddOod]

Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if the real answer is the powerline link. Those are finicky as heck. I'm  happy to use them for IoT devices or smort TVs and the like, but for a primary rig they can be a significant pain point. 
That being said, if you're having no issues, you're probably fine