Posts by Larry Ortiz5

Maybe try pulling the RAM sticks out and just seating them back in again...

If you haven't installed those Intel drivers yet, you really should get on that—it’s kind of a game changer. Once they're actually active, everything starts running completely differently.

Yeah, in theory, that’s exactly how it should work—when you aren't doing anything intensive, the laptop stays on the integrated graphics from the processor, and then once you launch something more demanding—like a game in your case—the dedicated GPU should kick in (assuming the hardware is actually there). Have you gone ahead and installed the Intel drivers yet? You might also want to peek into your BIOS to see if there's an option to set the primary graphics to the dedicated card.

It really all comes down to how the developer decides to optimize their game... Assassin's Creed was a total mess performance-wise, much like Watch Dogs—it seems like Ubisoft always struggles when it comes to optimization.

I wouldn't set the bar too high if I were you—honestly, I can't even hit a steady 60 fps at 1080p with my Core i7-4770K and GTX 970. But then again, I guess it all really comes down to which games you're planning to run, right?

Look, you’ve got a solid processor there—I really don't see any reason to swap it out just yet. As for performance (assuming you're a gamer), any dip you might notice in games will be practically imperceptible... Honestly, you're better off waiting for the Skylake processors and that new LGA 1151 socket. If you jump to Broadwell right now, you'd basically be buying a new motherboard plus a new CPU just to break even—it feels like throwing money down the drain, doesn't it?

Unfortunately, no. You'll need a motherboard with a 9-series chipset to support Broadwell processors. Though, honestly, I don't think you'd see a massive jump in performance compared to what you're running right now—is it even worth the upgrade? Btw, which processor are you currently using?

Back when I didn't know the first thing about software, I installed that damn thing and hit scan, then clean—only to find out the next time I tried to boot up, my computer was totally trashed and Windows was completely broken.

Malwarebytes is a decent enough tool, but personally, I stick with Emsisoft anti-malware—it’s given me much better 👍 results when it comes to actually spotting and cleaning out all that junk...

David Rodriguez94
Honestly, Noctua is easily one of the best air coolers you can grab right now—if money isn't really an issue for you, I’d personally just go with the Noctua NH-L9i.

brightbadger57

Honestly, CCleaner is plenty if you just want to do some classic system cleaning. Just a heads-up—don't bother installing things like tune up utilities or any of those other "optimization" gimmicks. They aren't worth the space, and frankly, they’ll probably just end up slowing down your laptop instead of helping. I'd suggest running a full scan with Malwarebytes, and you might want to grab AdwCleaner too, just in case it picks up any junk. If things still feel sluggish after all that, you might be looking at a failing hard drive. You can always download CrystalDiskInfo to check the S.M.A.R.T. status—it'll give you a pretty clear idea of whether your drive is actually dying or not.

You might want to try opening up your laptop and just pulling the battery off the motherboard—let it sit for a few seconds before you pop it back in—and honestly, that might just do the trick.

The easiest way to handle this—and totally free, too—is what George Sanders37 suggested. You can just boot into Windows using his method, move all your important files over to a USB drive or an external hard drive... then, once everything is safe, you can wipe the drive and install a fresh version of Windows.

It looks like one of your Windows files has gone sideways—you're probably going to need to run a repair on the OS. Since you don't have a disc handy, I'm not entirely sure what your game plan is, but maybe try to track down some installation media somewhere?

What kind of temperatures are you seeing over there?

I'm looking at this 👍

http://www.newegg.com/p/details/product-link-without-psu

If I'm not mistaken, I don't think they deal in "pirated" versions of Windows—they’re really only going to go down that road if you're dropping 700-$267 on an operating system, basically if you actually pay for it. Honestly, these days, anyone who knows their way around a PC can pull that off—so why not just ask a neighbor or some friends? I'm sure there's someone you know who can help you out.

Google 🙏 🙏

Look, honestly—the speed difference during everyday tasks is pretty much unnoticeable.

Don't sweat it—everything should work just fine 😉

As for a DVD or optical drive—honestly, just grab whatever one is the cheapest at the store.