# Solved: Why is core i7 system slow?



## greggnic (Jan 9, 2009)

Here are my parts:

CASE: ANTEC|NINE HUNDRED BK RT 
MB: ECS X58B-A 1366 X58 RTL 
VIDEO: HIS H487F1GP HD4870 1G RT 
PSU: CORSAIR|CMPSU-750TX 750W RT 
CPU: INTEL|CORE I7 920 2.66G 45N R 
MEM: 2Gx3|OCZ OCZ3G1600LV6GK R 
HD: 1.5T|ST ST31500341AS 7K 32M

I just built this computer and installed vista x64 and it took like 2 hours to install. Then, once into windows, everything is very laggy. I know there are problems with the HD that I have and I updated the firmware to no effect. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Any help would be appreciated.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

It should not take more than 20~25min to install vista 64bit. 
I would start with testing the hd. Download seatools and give the drive a complete or long test.
Next download and run memtest on your memory OR you can use the vista dvd also has a memory tester.


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## zeddy (May 3, 2003)

Other ideas: have you installed all of the mobo chipset drivers including sound etc.
Have you checked in device manager that all is looking good, no yellow exclamation marks etc.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

I do have one question. After spending all of the money for a new i7 system, why buy an ecs motherboard? ECS is very near the bottom in quality for board makers.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

zeddy said:


> Other ideas: have you installed all of the mobo chipset drivers including sound etc.
> Have you checked in device manager that all is looking good, no yellow exclamation marks etc.


That is not going to effect a 2hr time to install vista. Something is wrong here when my amd 9950 will install vista 64bit in 22min start to finish. I am thinking either a hard disk problem or perhaps a problem with memory.


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## greggnic (Jan 9, 2009)

Well 1400 was all I really had to spend on this project and the ECS board seemed well equipped and fairly cheap. I did not install all of the mobo drivers...When I put in the motherboard driver cd, it says that it doesn't support the OS for some strange reason. Do you think this is the problem? I will try the memtest as soon as possible. I am actually installing Windows 7 right now over Vista to see if it will work any better...


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

Windows 7 is in early beta and is not really going to help you find the problem. 

Do the tests I posted about rather than attempting to install beta software. If you really want to test by installing an os, then install xp and see how long that takes to install.

BTW the motherboard is really one of the last places you want to go cheap. With ecs, it seems to be more of a quality control problem. Some people with get one of their boards and it will run for years. Others have them fail in 6 months or a year.


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## greggnic (Jan 9, 2009)

Ahh, ok, I am putting in the vista dvd and going to run the memtest. I just thought since people were saying that windows 7 worked great with drivers that it might pick up something vista didn't. Thanks for the advice and I will let you know how the memtest went once it is done.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

BTW I checked the specs on your memory and it requires either 1.65V or 1.9V depending on which one. Have you set the correct voltage in the bios?


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

greggnic said:


> Ahh, ok, I am putting in the vista dvd and going to run the memtest. I just thought since people were saying that windows 7 worked great with drivers that it might pick up something vista didn't. Thanks for the advice and I will let you know how the memtest went once it is done.


Drivers are not really going to cause you a 2hr install. That system should install vista 64bit in 20min start to finish.

Just thinking, what mode do you have the sata controller set to in the bios?


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## zeddy (May 3, 2003)

I thought the same about the ECS mobo but this model has had very good reviews


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## Stiffex (Nov 2, 2007)

I think you answered your own question there Greg 2 hours seems a long time for an O/S to install, is that including the format ?
Lagging and freezing could be a number of things but sounds like it may be your hard drive; do you have a spare H drive to check this problem ?
It could be your motherboard or it could be software your O/S could have corrupted during installation.
It may be dodgy RAM, i havent built an i7 machine yet so i dont have 1st hand experience so im not sure if it will run on 1 stick of RAM which is usually how i check it out.
May even be a simple bios setting so check out each possibility using the process of elimination


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## greggnic (Jan 9, 2009)

Actually I did not do that...I have never done it before. Would that be DIMM Voltage? Right now it says in bios that it is at 1.504 v. I think I read something about the core i7 chips not being able to take more that 1.65 v or something. Should I change the voltage to 1.65?


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## greggnic (Jan 9, 2009)

Also, I have sata set to IDE...I wish I had a spare drive to test if the seagate is the problem. Buying a new one will be my last resort. Thanks for all the help everyone!


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

Post back with the results of both the memory test AND the hd test.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

greggnic said:


> Actually I did not do that...I have never done it before. Would that be DIMM Voltage? Right now it says in bios that it is at 1.504 v. I think I read something about the core i7 chips not being able to take more that 1.65 v or something. Should I change the voltage to 1.65?


You are not setting vcore, you are setting vdimm. Vcore is cpu voltage. Vdimm is the ram voltage. The correct voltage should be on a label on the chip.

Here is what I would do.
1 While running the memtest, read your mb manual and become familiar with the bios settings. Each bios is different so it is almost impossible to give you detailed instructions.
2 Restart the system and enter the bios. Load defaults. Save settings and restart.
3 Again enter the bios and set the correct vdimm for your ram. In addition set the boot order to CD or optical then hd. Save settings and restart.
4 Run the seatools for dos. Here is a link for the download. seatools for dos Note this comes in either floppy or CD. Download whatever one you want and run the test.


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## greggnic (Jan 9, 2009)

ok. I ran the seatools and memtest and everything passed. However, I installed CPU-Z and ran it and got some strange results. The cpu frequency kept fluxuating from 1.6ghz to 2.6ghz which is what it should be at. Also, the multiplier and QPI link also fluxuated. I think I will mess with some bios settings and see if I can fix it. Any suggestions?


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## greggnic (Jan 9, 2009)

Well I found out that the fluxuation was due to a power saving mechanism of the cpu...still don't know why system is so slow...


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## D X Mage (Jun 6, 2004)

Turn off the power saving features in bios. Don't let it do the speedstep if that is what its still called.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

The cpu power saving is fine. In fact if you turn it off, the system is going to get pretty warm since those cpus draw 130W. 

Next I see if I could borrow, a drive to test another install. 

FWIW I had a WD drive a while ago that would pass ALL tests; short and long. After about 3 installs of vista, I finally gave up and went and pulled a seagate out of my parts closet and installed that one. No more problems at all. The drive can still be bad and pass the tests.


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## greggnic (Jan 9, 2009)

Thanks for all your help crjdriver. I had a thread in slickdeals.net that also addressed this problem. Someone said they had the exact same problem as me and that switching from 3 sticks of ram to 1 stick made the system run correctly.

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=342046&t=1120445

I am not at the computer right now to test it out, but if this is the problem, do you have any ideas to get around it? I will also see if I can get a new drive soon if this doesn't work. Thanks again!


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

If that proves to be the problem, it would need to be addressed with a bios update from the board maker or perhaps a newer chipset driver. In any case you would need to wait until the board maker addresses the issue.


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## greggnic (Jan 9, 2009)

It indeed was the problem. Thanks for all of your help. I learned a lot...


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## zeddy (May 3, 2003)

As I said earlier it is worth checking your motherboard drivers however the memory you are using has been causing problems with this chipset see this thread for example
http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx...e&id=20090105032416112&page=1&SLanguage=en-us


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## greggnic (Jan 9, 2009)

Thanks for the link zeddy. Maybe the drivers will fix my issue, will have to try it out.


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## cyc622 (Jan 31, 2009)

As many other have stated in http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16813135229

I have exactly the same problem with the ECS X58B-A motherboard: when using Vista with 2GB RAM (1DIMM) everything works fine, when using it with my desired configuration 3x2GB RAM everything works extremely slow.

To give you a picture of the problem installing a new Vista from scratch takes 20min with 2GB and more than 1.5hs with 6GB !!! Booting takes 20secs with 2GB and more than 3min with 6GB.

-	I have installed the memory in the 3 yellow slots as suggested by the owners manual.
-	I am using the latest bios version available at ECS site http://www.ecsusa.com/ECSWebSite/Pr...tegoryID=1&DetailName=Bios&MenuID=139&LanID=0
-	I have 3 brand new Kingston memory KVR1333D3N9/2G that have are certified in ECS owners manual .
-	I have tried with default optimized bios settings, also tried tweaking memory timings manually in the bios, but nothing helps...

Besides removing the other 2 DIMMS (which in my case in not an option - I use several development tools that take up 2GB RAM immediately), anyone who have solved this problem maybe with a Bios Update or turning something on / off ?

I posted this to ECS support yesterday, I'll wait until next week, but if I don't get a solution I am going to return this motherboard in exchange for other brand.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

> I posted this to ECS support yesterday, I'll wait until next week, but if I don't get a solution I am going to return this motherboard in exchange for other brand.


That might be the very best idea since ecs is NOT noted for being a quality board maker.


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## greggnic (Jan 9, 2009)

I also posted to ECS support and they gave me a bios that fixed my problem with the ram. However, I am not able to overclock at all and they are now doing tests and trying to fix that problem. I would have returned mine, but newegg wouldn't let me return for a refund...


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## M-M-C (Feb 16, 2009)

ECS support doesnt react and i cant get the bios-update... can someone upload it to rapidshare (or another hoster) or send it to me by email? i got 6x1gb installed and im forced to use vista 32bit because of the ram issues


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## M-M-C (Feb 16, 2009)

Elitegroup released a new BIOS today!
the memory problems should be fixed now, grab the update here:
http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Pr...CategoryID=1&DetailName=Bios&MenuID=1&LanID=0


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