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Fresh Windows install lagging horribly, please assist!

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Hey all, I made a few upgrades to my computer today. As per my luck, something's gone horribly wrong, and I can't really figure out what. My fresh install of Windows (8) is lagging like crazy, to the point where it's practically unusable. If anybody here thinks they might be able to discern why, some help would be immensely appreciated!

So my friend was upgrading his own comptuer, so I bought his mobo, CPU and GPU. All three parts were working fine, and he's not the type to nickel and dime me. I also bought brand new RAM and an SSD. Here are my specs:

Operating System: Windows 8 64 bit (new, legal, fresh install)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P (used)
CPU: Intel i7 920 (used)
GPU: EVGA GTX 560Ti (used)
RAM: 32GB (4x8) DDR3 Corsair Vengeance (new)
Storage: 250GB Samsung SSD 840 Series (new)
PSU: Corsair HX750W (from previous build)

Task Manager says that the CPU is struggling, to say the least. I'm idling at ~20% CPU usage, which spikes to ~60% whenever performing basic actions like right clicking, and to ~90-100% whenever switching windows/tabs, loading pages, etc. Needless to say, all of these actions happen dreadfully slowly.

I'm always extremely careful/clean with electronics, so I would like to think that the cause isn't user error. Signs point to the CPU being busted, but it was working just before I put it in my computer, and all I did was alcohol swab off the leftover thermal compound to reapply a fresh layer of paste. All fans are running properly, as well. I've updated my graphics drivers, so it's probably not that either.

Here's a screenshot of my task manager, RealTemp and GPU-Z:
http://i.imgur.com/zH9DLyQ.png

And here are some BIOS screenshots:
http://i.imgur.com/1TXahfi.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Jj3Jpj7.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/cgcrQ7L.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/RFgdoYz.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ebIeTrN.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/iZRUEOa.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/7WHHwe6.jpg

Any help would be most appreciated!
 
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What processes are using your CPU?

AHCI mode should be enabled for your SSD btw.. That could be a problem. You will have to enable it and reinstall Windows.

Your RAM is only running at 1066mhz and I assume you have 1333 or 1600mhz RAM.

Disable Drive A: (floppy drive)

Change first boot device to your SSD.
 
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What processes are using your CPU?

Other than the typical background processes that run with Windows, just Task Manager, RealTemp, GPU-Z at the time of that screenshot.

Edit:
AHCI mode should be enabled for your SSD btw.. That could be a problem. You will have to enable it and reinstall Windows.
Hm. How necessary is AHCI? Is that a thing exclusive to SSD use? Because the mobo had previously been running with an HDD, and I didn't make any BIOS changes before installing Windows.
 
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It is necessary with an SSD. I listed the other things you should change. Also make sure that your ram is set at its correct voltage and timings.
 
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This is the RAM I have:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0068ZWZY0/?tag=tec06d-20

If I change the memory multiplier in BIOS from 'auto' to 12, it changes to 1600 (default being 1066).
The current timing for each channel is 7-7-7-20-2 (CAS Latency Time/tRCD/tRP/tRAS/Command Rate). The Amazon page says that the timing is 10-10-10-27, so should I change it to that? And what would I place for the last digit/command rate?

In order to change the voltage, do I change the DRAM voltage? If so, what should i set it to? It's currently set to 1.5v.

I addressed all the other stuff you told me to do, aside from reformatting and changing to AHCI. Saving that for last. Thanks for the help so far!
 
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Yes.

Change the timings to 10-10-10-27-2 (CR)

DRAM Voltage: 1.5v

Multiplier: x12

You will still need to reformat and use AHCI. AHCI enables NCQ which is pretty necessary for an O/S SSD.
 
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Hmm. I changed all the timings/voltage, switched to AHCI, reformatted (from within the Windows installer) and reinstalled Windows. No dice, still laggy.

Does it make any difference that I formatted from the Windows disc? SSD's are foreign to me, and some quick Googling suggests that conventional formatting software can damage an SSD. If anything, I suppose I can try doing a secure erase with Parted Magic, which apparently works well? Edit: I am also reading that this might destroy your SSD. Hm.

Here's the BIOS screen where I changed to AHCI, I assume this is correct?
http://i.imgur.com/ud6CjH6.jpg
 
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Sorry for the double post, but I tried some more stuff to no avail (of course). Just to entertain the possibility, I plugged in my old Win7 HDD and old GPU (GTX 250). Still a laggy mess, which I suppose confirms that the problem lies in either the CPU or motherboard.

The way I see it (from my arguably average tech expertise), my two options are:
- Buy a new mobo/CPU (any recommendations?)
- Plug back in my old mobo/CPU (socket 775, also doesn't support DDR3, not sure if it supports SSD either).

Any other people are welcome to chime in, too! Your sagely insight is most appreciated.
 
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It's most likely the top option. You could try switching to the other sata ports. Which port do you have the SSD plugged in to?

Changed the top option to AHCI, which didn't do the trick. The SSD was originally plugged into SATA1, with the disc drive occupying SATA0. Moving the SSD to a different SATA port didn't alleviate the problem, either.
 
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Download a HDD benchmark application like HD Tach or HD Tune etc.

If your HD is underperforming in it's read/write/latency we will know straight away. If it isn't then we can move forward with another possible solution.
 
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Hmm. I changed all the timings/voltage, switched to AHCI, reformatted (from within the Windows installer) and reinstalled Windows. No dice, still laggy.

Does it make any difference that I formatted from the Windows disc? SSD's are foreign to me, and some quick Googling suggests that conventional formatting software can damage an SSD. If anything, I suppose I can try doing a secure erase with Parted Magic, which apparently works well? Edit: I am also reading that this might destroy your SSD. Hm.

Here's the BIOS screen where I changed to AHCI, I assume this is correct?
http://i.imgur.com/ud6CjH6.jpg

before changing the cpu/mobo, try to enable the SATA Port0-3 Native Mode, it may help :)
 

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There was a Windows update recently that caused this sort of issue, look for KB2821895 remove it and see if that helps.
 
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Download a HDD benchmark application like HD Tach or HD Tune etc.

If your HD is underperforming in it's read/write/latency we will know straight away. If it isn't then we can move forward with another possible solution.

To make things easier, I tried plugging in my old HDD (with Win7 installed), and the Task Manager for that also said that the CPU was chugging. So I don't think the SSD is at fault.

before changing the cpu/mobo, try to enable the SATA Port0-3 Native Mode, it may help :)

Tried that, no dice.

There was a Windows update recently that caused this sort of issue, look for KB2821895 remove it and see if that helps.

I doubt it's a Windows problem; I haven't even gotten deep enough into my new OS to activate it, let alone install updates. And as stated earlier in this post, I'm getting the same problem on my old HDD (and new other components).
 
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Did you partition the SDD?
 
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Can you get a screenshot of the process tab in task manager with as many processes showing as possible as well as their Mem and CPU usage?
 
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Try Reinstalling windows, partition the drive

Doesn't the drive have to be partitioned before you can even install Windows 8 on it though?
 
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Also go ahead and expand the Service HOst Local System.

.Net Runtime Optimization Service probably should not be consuming that much CPU.

EDIT:

I just remebered this is a fresh install, so I don't think you have to do a clean startup/safe mode, unless you have already installed applications?

Also just expanded on my PC and it doesn't seem to yield any more results.
 
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Also go ahead and expand the Service HOst Local System.

.Net Runtime Optimization Service probably should not be consuming that much CPU.

EDIT:

I just remebered this is a fresh install, so I don't think you have to do a clean startup/safe mode, unless you have already installed applications?

Also just expanded on my PC and it doesn't seem to yield any more results.

Here's SHLS expanded: http://i.imgur.com/gduBMnD.png

I don't know if it has anything to do with individual processes; all active processes seem to spike exponentially whenever I perform any action.

And yes, this is a clean install.
 
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Here's SHLS expanded: http://i.imgur.com/gduBMnD.png

I don't know if it has anything to do with individual processes; all active processes seem to spike exponentially whenever I perform any action.

And yes, this is a clean install.

Things seem much more normal in that picture now.

I'd try installing all the Windows 8 Updates available and see if that helps you out. Since it is a fresh install you are lacking a lot of fixes that have been released.
 
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