Is this high enough spec for windows !0?

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-3220 CPU @ 3.30Ghz 3.30Ghz
RAM: 4.00GB (3.88 GB usuable)


I have 146GB of free space on a 464GB drive. Its slow now all the time. I only use it for browsing, word and excel. According to the task manager memory is normally at around 50% but disk stays at 100 for at least an hour.

Johnboy1951

Sounds like you have a lot of 'stuff' running ..... that you probably do not need.

It is not a great spec but if you want to see how well it could run then try a version of Linux - even running 'Live' from USB.
I have a similar spec running Linux as well as the same motherboard and RAM but with a 3770S i7 and certainly the i7 is much faster, but at the same time the i3 can be used especially for a use as you describe.
It slows down here with lots of tabs open in the browser.

igCorcaigh

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Sounds like you have a lot of 'stuff' running ..... that you probably do not need.

It is not a great spec but if you want to see how well it could run then try a version of Linux - even running 'Live' from USB.
I have a similar spec running Linux as well as the same motherboard and RAM but with a 3770S i7 and certainly the i& is much faster, but at the same time the i3 can be used especially for a use as you describe.
It slows down here with lots of tabs open in the browser.

Yeah I would agree with this.
I've had issues lon windows machines with io usage and cpu too. Not sure why.

If you only use your machine for browsing and document editing, then definitely give a side by side Linux distribution a go.

Ubuntu on a flash pen is a great way to go.

TerrorFirmer

The spec is perfectly fine for Win10. The i3-3220 is still a respectable enough CPU.

If your disk is at 100% for an hour like you say, either something is constantly accessing the disk, or the disk itself needs replacement.

I have an i3-3220 machine here with a 120GB SSD, Win10 runs super fast.

Johnboy1951

This Linux ISO was released today.
I tried it from a USB stick, and found that once it reached the desktop it launched applications very quickly .... even heaviest applications like office word processor.

If you decide to do a comparison then this would be a good candidate IMO.

http://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/os/Linux/distr/pclinuxos/pclinuxos/live-cd/64bit/pclinuxos64-MATE-2019.07.iso

ZENER

Most likely Windows update or a features update trying to get itself ready. I have this regularly and 9/10 times running Updates and leaving the machine to sort itself fixes the issue.

Ken

ED E

At least half the time you encounter this its some stupid Antivirus that has been installed.

Thanks for all the replies. I'll look into the Linux. Never even heard of that before. Things that are running in the background could be uninstalled I suppose.

The thing that bothers me the most is that I switch it on in the evening. Just want to open some emails, do some Airbnb stuff, update a few documents. But it's unusable for the 1st 30 minutes to an hour.

igCorcaigh

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. I'll look into the Linux. Never even heard of that before. Things that are running in the background could be uninstalled I suppose.

The thing that bothers me the most is that I switch it on in the evening. Just want to open some emails, do some Airbnb stuff, update a few documents. But it's unusable for the 1st 30 minutes to an hour.

Look into what services are running on startup. You can try disabling any you don't need (as opposed to uninstalling) to see if it makes a difference.

Johnboy1951

Deleted User wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. I'll look into the Linux. Never even heard of that before. Things that are running in the background could be uninstalled I suppose.

The thing that bothers me the most is that I switch it on in the evening. Just want to open some emails, do some Airbnb stuff, update a few documents. But it's unusable for the 1st 30 minutes to an hour.

You should be able to do all that with Liinux running from a USB stick.
Use Rufus or similar to write the OS to the USB stick and select to boot from it when starting.
Starts live in less than a minute or thereabouts ...... faster when installed.

nc6000

I found my Windows 10 PC struggled with only 4GB of RAM. Things improved a good bit when I upgraded it to 8GB, just looking at the performance tab now in task manager and it's using over 5GB and I'm not doing much more than browsing in Chrome.

TerrorFirmer

Or else just do a fresh install of Windows on a £25 120GB SSD. You'll be in Windows in 30 seconds.

Again, either a) your HDD is dying or b) you have a lot of crap installed/running, but if it's literally taking an hour before it's usuable, I think a new drive is needed.

It's not inherently your hardware or Win10 to blame.

rayzercork

If you use win 10 pro you might be able to tweak the appearance settings and disable stuff like animations, moving tiles etc, might help make things run a bit better. Similar to the classic mode on Win7 and previous. Also check your startup applications and disable anything not critical like ccleaner and maybe antivirus scan settings.
As already mentioned a linux distro like Mint could help too but its basically learning a whole new os, Are you bothered to go through that?

Gadgetman496

I'm using 10 on a similar spec with SSD & 4GB Ram and have no issues with it.