[AaronPwner]

I am not 100% sure this is the right section, as it may be some sort of mal-ware.

I recently last week upgraded from two gigs of DDR2 800 SDRAM to four gigs of DDR2 800 SDRAM. I have seen almost a complete up in speed minus a few applications and games that have slightly gotten slower. I'm on Windows 7 64 bit. The only difference is that I have turned Aero back on which has not changed anything in most programs. I have tried the programs and games with my old set up of classic, and I get the same performance. As well with the new RAM I have an svchost.exe running at well over double what it used to. I'm pretty sure the change with the svchost is Superfetch having more RAM to use, but I am not sure. Is there anything I could possibly do to see what is going on? I have defragmented, and I keep my registry and temp files clean.
Thank you for any help.

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as it may be some sort of mal-ware.

Why do you suspect malware? Do you have a decent security setup? Have you scanned for malware? If so, with what?

Tell us more about your hardware - specifically, the graphics solution. How much free disk space do you have?

[Digerati]

as it may be some sort of mal-ware.

Why do you suspect malware? Do you have a decent security setup? Have you scanned for malware? If so, with what?

Tell us more about your hardware - specifically, the graphics solution. How much free disk space do you have?

[rshaffer61]

I recently last week upgraded from two gigs of DDR2 800 SDRAM to four gigs of DDR2 800 SDRAM. I have seen almost a complete up in speed minus a few applications and games that have slightly gotten slower.

Might not be malware but your Startups and Autoruns. May be worth a check Digerati.

[AaronPwner]

I suspect mal-ware because I keep the rest very clean. I use Avast! for the active protection as well as malwarebytes to scan. I have a Zotac Geforce GT220 graphics card which is a one gig version. I try to keep at least 60 GB free on my main, and 150 free on my second.

I keep my startups and autoruns empty pretty much. I have two things non-microsoft that start up. Sandboxie and my Razer drivers. I have seen at least a 30s boost in restart speed also, but I am baffled as to why I lost performance in some things.

[Digerati]

I suspect mal-ware because I keep the rest very clean. I use Avast! for the active protection as well as malwarebytes to scan.

Avast! is a competent anti-malware solution, and supplemental scanning with MBAM should ensure all is clean.

Free disk space should not be a problem. And that's a decent card, and being a card, is not consuming large chunks of your RAM. Did you add more 2 more gig of RAM, or replace the 2 with all new 4?

[AaronPwner]

I had two sticks of one gig each. I replaced both with two gig sticks of two each, as it was about 20 times cheaper. The RAM is G-Skill, and I have mem tested it so it seems ok so far.

Edited by AaronPwner, 19 April 2011 - 04:08 PM.

[Digerati]

I think I would swap back in the old RAM for a test and see if the speed returns to verify if this is a new RAM issue, or a coincidence.

[AaronPwner]

I'm sorry I actually cannot do that. I have an aunt who has a Vista machine that came with two sticks of 512 in it that I gave my old RAM to. Is there any possibility that it is a service in the cluster that is acting up? Before I added the RAM it was only running around 50k on average it is now running around 110k - 150k. The only service in it that I believed could be that much of a change is Superfetch. Could my Superfetch have gotten some data wrong with these applications, and be causing the problem?

[rshaffer61]

have you tested the new memory to check for inconsistent readings or errors? You might try this by following the below instructions to make sure.

If you have more than one RAM module installed, try starting computer with one RAM stick at a time.

NOTE Keep in mind, the manual check listed above is always superior to the software check, listed below. DO NOT proceed with memtest, if you can go with option A

B. If you have only one RAM stick installed...
...run memtest...

1. Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip)
2. Unzip downloaded memtest86+-2.11.iso.zip file.
3. Inside, you'll find memtest86+-2.11.iso file.
4. Download, and install ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/
5. Insert blank CD into your CD drive.
6. Open ImgBurn, and click on Write image file to disc
7. Click on Browse for a file... icon:



8. Locate memtest86+-2.11.iso file, and click Open button.
9. Click on ImgBurn green arrow to start burning bootable memtest86 CD:



10. Once the CD is created, boot from it, and memtest will automatically start to run. You may have to change the boot sequence in your BIOS to make it work right.

To change Boot Sequence in your BIOS

Reboot the system and at the first post screen (where it is counting up memory) start tapping the DEL button
This will enter you into the Bios\Cmos area.
Find the Advanced area and click Enter
Look for Boot Sequence or Boot Options and highlight that click Enter
Now highlight the first drive and follow the directions on the bottom of the screen on how to modify it and change it to CDrom.
Change the second drive to the C or Main Drive
Once that is done then click F10 to Save and Exit
You will prompted to enter Y to verify Save and Exit. Click Y and the system will now reboot with the new settings.


The running program will look something like this depending on the size and number of ram modules installed:




It's recommended to run 5-6 passes. Each pass contains very same 8 tests.

This will show the progress of the test. It can take a while. Be patient, or leave it running overnight.



The following image is the test results area:



The most important item here is the “errors” line. If you see ANY errors, even one, most likely, you have bad RAM.

[AaronPwner]

I have tested these two sticks actually. It was one of the first things I wanted to do after the issues. I tested and came back with 0 errors. After installing the RAM my cpu listing is 2.40,2.40,2.40 and 2.39 now. They used to all be 2.40 is there any chance a core just could be dying?

[rshaffer61]

Lets look at the Motherboard Info:

Download SIW from HERE and get the Standalone English version
It will install itself and when finished

Then Click on SIW Icon to run program
On the left side click on the Motherboard directory and then on the right, copy and paste the information in your next reply
On the left side click on the Sensors directory and then on the right, copy and paste the information in your next reply
On the left side click on the CPU Info directory and then on the right, copy and paste the information in your next reply

Check for

[AaronPwner]

Here is the info you asked for. Thank you very much for SiW I used to use Everest before they went to AIDA this is much better.


Property Value
Manufacturer ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Model P5KPL-VM
Version x.xx
Serial Number MS1C7CBA1H00430

North Bridge Intel P35/G33/G31 Revision A2
South Bridge Intel 82801GB (ICH7/R) Revision A2

CPU Intel® Core™2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz
Cpu Socket Socket 775 LGA

System Slots 4 PCI

Memory Summary
Maximum Capacity 4096 MBytes
Maximum Memory Module Size 4096 MBytes
Memory Slots 2
Error Correction None

Warning! Accuracy of DMI data cannot be guaranteed



Sensor Value Min Max
AARONLONG-PC
Winbond W83627DHG
Voltages
CPU VCORE 1.22 V 1.21 V 1.33 V
VIN1 1.82 V 1.80 V 1.82 V
+3.3V 3.31 V 3.31 V 3.31 V
+5V 4.97 V 4.97 V 4.97 V
+12V 10.59 V 10.59 V 10.59 V
VIN5 1.57 V 1.56 V 1.57 V
VIN6 1.50 V 1.50 V 1.50 V
Temperatures
SYSTIN 20 °C (67 °F) 19 °C (66 °F) 20 °C (67 °F)
CPUTIN 43 °C (109 °F) 43 °C (109 °F) 47 °C (116 °F)
AUXTIN 10 °C (49 °F) 9 °C (48 °F) 10 °C (49 °F)
Fans
CPUFANIN0 1973 RPM 1950 RPM 1973 RPM
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Temperatures
Core #0 35 °C (94 °F) 35 °C (94 °F) 40 °C (103 °F)
Core #1 38 °C (100 °F) 37 °C (98 °F) 40 °C (103 °F)
Core #2 35 °C (94 °F) 35 °C (94 °F) 39 °C (102 °F)
Core #3 31 °C (87 °F) 31 °C (87 °F) 36 °C (96 °F)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 220
Temperatures
GPU Core 42 °C (107 °F) 42 °C (107 °F) 49 °C (120 °F)
WDC WD1500AHFD-00RAR5
Temperatures
Assembly 43 °C (109 °F) 43 °C (109 °F) 43 °C (109 °F)
WDC WD5000AAKS-22YGA0
Temperatures
Assembly 38 °C (100 °F) 38 °C (100 °F) 38 °C (100 °F)



Property Value
AARONLONG-PC
Summary
Number of Logical Processors 4
Number of Physical Processors 1
CPU #1 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
CPU Name Intel® Core™2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz
CPU Code Name Kentsfield
Vendor GenuineIntel
Number of Bits 64
Instruction Set MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, ET64, XD, VMX, EST
Platform Name Socket 775 LGA
Revision G0
Technology 65 nm
Original Clock 2400 MHz
Original System Clock 266 MHz
Original Multiplier 9.1
CPU Clock 2406 MHz
System Clock 266.7 MHz
FSB 1066.7 MHz
Number of Cores 4
Core #1
Speed 1600.0 MHz
Multiplier 6.0
Core #2
Speed 1600.0 MHz
Multiplier 6.0
Core #3
Speed 1600.0 MHz
Multiplier 6.0
Core #4
Speed 1600.0 MHz
Multiplier 6.0
Virtual Technology Supported Yes
Hyper Threading Supported No
Cache
L1 Data Cache 4 x 32 KBytes
L1 Instructions Cache 4 x 32 KBytes
L2 Cache 2 x 4096 KBytes

Edited by AaronPwner, 20 April 2011 - 12:21 PM.

[rshaffer61]

Cores look good and seem to be functioning correctly. I did notice something that may be part of the issue.

+12V 10.59 V 10.59 V 10.59 V

If I'm not mistaken the tolerance level for that rail is close to being low or failing. Digerati has more experience with that and can tell you what the acceptable levels are.

[AaronPwner]

I didn't even notice the 12V there. I keep Speedfan open 24/7, and it has my +12V at 11.99V. Odd that they both show different.

[Digerati]

ATX Form Factor Standard Voltage Tolerances:


NOTE: Disregard the -5VDC reading. It is no longer used.

You BIOS Setup Menu may display the voltages. I usually try to verify SpeedFan and Motherboard Monitor with Everest.