Does a processor slow down over time? I have a quad core but I can see it slowly getting slower and slower. Maybe its the fact that I might need to format my HDD. I usually format my drive every 2 months due to the amount of shit I put my comp through.
Maybe its the HDD? Should I replace it? I am planning to upgrade soon anyway but I would like to keep this computer for my kids to mess around on.
Any help would be great. Its not really important. I just want to find out so I know in future is all. Should I take it out and clean it?
Considering the heat that it generates, it probably will slow down over time. Or it could be that the thermal paste is deteriorating and losing its functionality.
if you're running W7+ it should run defragger every week minimum by itself, a suggest of using CCleaner to remove a lot of junk would also clear up a lot of space on your HDD - a suggest of moving into an SSD + HDD mix would also possibly help with your problem
as for your CPU - they all slow down over time, i believe intel have a lifespan of around 10-30 years and AMD have 10-20 years as for the number of cores they don't affect much, the only thing that would is if you've overclocked your CPU - 20-30% will eat about 5 years of your CPU processor vs 30-40% about 10 years - if you wish to keep your current CPU and haven't already as above suggested, use thermal paste, it dissipates heat - you could also go for alternative cooling methods like water cooling your CPU or adding a direct fan.. or any combination you feel best suits.
as for cleaning, well i'm hoping you keep all dust out of your tower as it is, a layer of dust will only add to the heat produced which will damage everything.
I don't let Microsoft do anything with my pc except updates I look at first.
I use three free Auslogics software...duplicate file finder, registry repair and then disk defrag (in that order).
Then I run Malwarebytes, also free.
I also have Avast! giving me realtime protection while I'm online. That's free, too. I do have the premium version. I think it's $40 USD a year. I really have no clue why it's different from the free version. I'll keep paying. They gave me the best protection free for almost 10 years.
There are a number of things you could do, most of which have been covered already. I'm curious as to why the 're-format' every 2 months? Add another drive for your data...if you don't want to do that, just add a data partition on your current one. It will make defragmenting easier.....there will always be arguments as to weather partitioning is good or bad...I always go with good :)
Check your file system...NTFS is what it should be.
Before trying any re-application of thermal paste, check your CPU temp (I use Notebook Hardware Control). My lappy idles around 65 degrees (kinda hot...but there was a beer accident) and the desktop is just under 40 degrees.
some extremely high temps o.o
my desktop idles at 20-22oC after 2 years of use
laptop idles at around 30
Haha, I know...desktop is 6 years old...never been re-pasted, but I'd say 40 or under is an ok temp, especially with all the extra bits and pieces in it. Lappy, well, it had a pint of lager spilt into it...which means taking it apart is a task I certainly dont relish at all