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I've just built my new PC for the first time, specs below:

 

CPU: Intel Core i5 4460

RAM: 2x8GB Kingston HyperX

MB: ASUS Z-97k Motherboard

GPU: Sapphire R9 380

PSU: be quiet l8 500w

OS: Currently running 'trial' (I guess) version of Windows 10. I haven't entered product key yet as I'm still awaiting it from a friend.

 

My problem is this: For the first 20-30 seconds after startup, everything appears to work fine. Programs load quickly, no crashes etc. But then after this initial period, programs load time becomes extremely slow and things start to crash. I used the Minecraft launcher as an example (lol) but it was when I first noticed it. If I run it when I first login, it starts instantly: if I wait ~30 seconds, it takes 2 mins to start. I also noticed that a lot of other steam games I had were unstable during startup. I used fallout 4 to test this, where it consistently crashed a various parts of the launching stage, but once I was able to get into the game it ran butter smooth. Programs like Steam Store and Chrome (Which interestingly both initialize at startup) would appear instantly, and appear stable, since they are only being shown when you click the icon. THey're already running.

 

This lead me to two possible conclusions based on what I know: Something was using up CPU resources, or it was a memory problem. I of course checked task manager and noticed some odd behaviour here as well. Normally graphs will update every second (or so) but here they were not changing. CPU usage would be stuck at some random number like 78% for a minute, then the graph would update, then it would stick for another seemingly random long amount of time. Very odd.

 

The reason I thought this could be a memory problem is the fact that it was fine straight after login (When little memory is in use), then things started taking longer to start after some time, but responsiveness and CPU intensive functions didn't seem to have any problems. Along side the fact that most of the instability of programs was during their launch phase, which is where they start taking all of the memory they need. I couldn't get a specific number because of the above mentioned task manager issues, but the number at which problems started to occur seemed to be between 1.7GB of used memory and 2.2GB.

 

So I'd appreciate some help to work out how to resolve this, since I don't have much experience with diagnosing problems like this. I've tried changing RAM slots etc. and none of it worked, so now I'm at a loss from where to go next. Any help is much appreciated,

 

Thanks!

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why did you get a z97 mobo when you dont have a unlocked K CPU?

did you update all the drivers?

Well, I was relying on another person to buy me the components since they are able to get them slightly cheaper. They messed up and got me the z-97 board instead of the h-97 one. I've updated all drivers as far as I'm aware, yes.

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