Is Windows 10 really this slow?

ssaurabh2008

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May 14, 2020
13
Due to the corona lockdown, I started using my old desktop PC again, just to keep it updated and running.
After using it for couple of days, I realized that it is exceptionally faster than my new laptop.

My old desktop has AMD Phenom ii X4 840, 4GB RAM, Windows 7, Kaspersky Security Cloud
And my new laptop has Intel i5 8250U, 8GB RAM, Windows 10 1909, Kaspersky Security Cloud

It's not that I don't know how to 'maintain' a system.
I have performed all the basic troubleshooting steps that I could, like defragmanting the disk, clearing temp files, running chkdsk, sfc, uninstalling the softwares that I don't use, removing everything from the startup, disabling (or turning manual) unnecessary services, updating the drivers etc...
The only thing that is remaining to do now, is to format and do a fresh Windows 10 install again.
But I don't want to lose all my installed softwares and their settings. So formatting doesn't seem a practical solution to me.

Can you think of any particular reason, why my new laptop is sooooooo slow?
Do you guys have any other solution apart from the ones that I mentioned above?

Any help or pointers would be much appriciated.
Thank you.
 

Ink

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The only thing I can think of is power management, a laptop will run more efficiently, and at a lower clock speed than a desktop fueled by mains 24/7.

Try turning up the Power Plan to High Performance, on the Intel laptop to get the most from the U chip.

See this
 

Marko :)

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Aug 12, 2015
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The only thing that is remaining to do now, is to format and do a fresh Windows 10 install again.
But I don't want to lose all my installed softwares and their settings. So formatting doesn't seem a practical solution to me.

Can you think of any particular reason, why my new laptop is sooooooo slow?
Do you guys have any other solution apart from the ones that I mentioned above?

Any help or pointers would be much appriciated.
Thank you.
I'd recommend resetting the Windows completely. It will give your laptop a performance boost and you could eventually fix some problems with Windows (if you have them).
Regarding installed software and data, a lot of programs offer ability to export/import settings or, at least, some sort of sync. You could easily export data into a file, save it in the cloud and just restore it when you install the program.
 

toto

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Oct 15, 2014
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Sometimes security software doesn't act the same way regarding performance on different machines. Just a suggestion, try to see if something is using your laptop on task manager and if you can't see anything unusual then maybe try changing from kaspersky to something else for a few days, windows defender perhaps (if you don't feel secure with WD then you can go back to kaspersky, I'm just suggesting it to try and find the problem)
 

ItsReallyMe

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Dec 21, 2017
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I'd recommend resetting the Windows completely. It will give your laptop a performance boost and you could eventually fix some problems with Windows (if you have them).
Regarding installed software and data, a lot of programs offer ability to export/import settings or, at least, some sort of sync. You could easily export data into a file, save it in the cloud and just restore it when you install the program.
What are those softwares which let me export/import settings or, at least, some sort of sync.?
 

Marko :)

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What are those softwares which let me export/import settings or, at least, some sort of sync.?
For instance, AdGuard offers ability to export and import its settings. Some antivirus program offer that too. But it's not just programs that provide said option, some extensions have it too, like, uBlock Origin, Cookie AutoDelete and others.
 
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ssaurabh2008

Level 1
Thread author
May 14, 2020
13
The only thing I can think of is power management, a laptop will run more efficiently, and at a lower clock speed than a desktop fueled by mains 24/7.

Try turning up the Power Plan to High Performance, on the Intel laptop to get the most from the U chip.

See this

Wow, how did I miss such a basic thing!
Thanks a lot for the suggestion.

But just now I have increased the virtual memory from 2GB to 8GB
Let's see if it changes anything.
The thing is, if I change the power mode to high performance right away, I wouldn't be able to tell which thing managed to improve the perfomance. (If it did)
So I will test the laptop for two days with the increased virtual memory.
If it doesn't improve the performance, I'll shift to high performance power mode.
Thanks again. :)
 
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ssaurabh2008

Level 1
Thread author
May 14, 2020
13
I'd recommend resetting the Windows completely. It will give your laptop a performance boost and you could eventually fix some problems with Windows (if you have them).
Regarding installed software and data, a lot of programs offer ability to export/import settings or, at least, some sort of sync. You could easily export data into a file, save it in the cloud and just restore it when you install the program.

I don't want to install all the programs again. :(


I can't buy an SSD at the moment.
And also, it is an ultimate solution, not the troubleshooting step.:D
 
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ssaurabh2008

Level 1
Thread author
May 14, 2020
13
Your laptop probably has a 5200 RPM HDD, you need a SSD.

You are right.
My desktop has a seagate barracuda 7200 and laptop has a seagate 5200 HDD.
Just did a userbenchmark test on both the systems.
Here are the results.
So this slowdown is due to hard disk only?

Userbenchmark.png
 
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Nightwalker

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May 26, 2014
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You are right.
My desktop has a seagate barracuda 7200 and laptop has a seagate 5200 HDD.
Just did a userbenchmark test on both the systems.
Here are the results.
So this slowdown is due to hard disk only?

View attachment 242333

Well my best bet is that the problem is in fact the slow mechanic HDD, nowadays the bottleneck of most machines is the HDD, buy a compatible 256 gb SSD (doesnt need to be too high end) and you will notice how fast your machine will become.

Ofcourse it can be other problems, but usually just changing the HDD for a SSD gives the new generation laptops another tier of performance.
 

SumTingWong

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Apr 2, 2018
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I don't want to install all the programs again. :(



I can't buy an SSD at the moment.
And also, it is an ultimate solution, not the troubleshooting step.:D

Windows 10 does run like a turtle on HDD. I test Windows 10 VM on my 7200rpm HDD and it is slow like I just want to slap my computer to make it runs faster. Userbenchmark is not an accurate benchmark like other benchmarks so do not use it. Userbenchmarks is biased. You can pick up a 250GB SSD for under $80. Upgrade your RAM to at least 8GB. 4GB RAM for Windows 10 is not cutting it since Windows 10 OS uses near 2GB.
 

ssaurabh2008

Level 1
Thread author
May 14, 2020
13
Thanks for your input guys.
Looks like I have to buy an SSD then.

Will it affect the system performance if I use my current HDD as a secondary disk by removing the DVD Rom and putting the HDD there?
 

Marko :)

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Aug 12, 2015
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I have Windows 10 on laptop with 5400 RPM HDD and it's not THAT slow. Sure, some things take longer to load (usually within second or two), but overall I wouldn't say it's bad and unusable.
Thanks for your input guys.
Looks like I have to buy an SSD then.

Will it affect the system performance if I use my current HDD as a secondary disk by removing the DVD Rom and putting the HDD there?
Have you tried disabling Superfetch service (now called SysMain)? Also, disable file indexing on drives.
 

ssaurabh2008

Level 1
Thread author
May 14, 2020
13
I have Windows 10 on laptop with 5400 RPM HDD and it's not THAT slow. Sure, some things take longer to load (usually within second or two), but overall I wouldn't say it's bad and unusable.

Have you tried disabling Superfetch service (now called SysMain)? Also, disable file indexing on drives.

I have already disabled indexing.
And regarding sysmain, I had it enabled at first and then disabled it.
Currently it's running, but let me try by disabling it again.
But to be honest, I had not noticed any slowdown or performance improvement after switching back and forth.
 

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