Vista still slow after full reinstall

A month or so ago, I reinstalled vista hoping to get back to that "snappy new" state of my nearly 2 year old PC (Dell studio xps 1640). It doesn't seem to work quite like it used to and I can't work out why since the hardware is still exactly the same.

For a comparison, it used to work almost like this (though the PC in the video has an SSD so it loads a little quicker, it still gives and idea of what my PC used to be like. Single apps used to open almost as fast but obviously once you start opening lots of things at once then it would bog down a bit more unlike the SSD).

YouTube - DELL STUDIO XPS16 MULTITASKING

It also runs hotter than it used to for some reason which I also can't fathom given that I regularly clean the vents and have both changed the paste to MX-3 and undervolted it. It used to run with the fan off for the most part when it was only idling or web browsing but now it's pretty much the other way round. When it was new, my web browsing core temps were round 36-40* with undervolting, now I rarely see below 45-50*, causing the fan to be on most of the time.

 

Perhaps in changing the paste the heatsink wasn't realigned properly? Any processes eating up CPU cycles that you can see in the task manager?

 

I've re-set the heatsink multiple times to try and fix it, each time when I pull it up it was perfectly applied with no air bubbles. I don't really understand why it's running hot to be honest. I originally thought it could be due to crosstalk or something like that, meaning the hardware has to try harder as it ages but I did some research and found out that silicon actually runs slightly cooler with age.

As for CPU time, it does seem to be active more than usual but when I look in tast manager there never seems to be that much activity yet my CPU useage is quite often round 30% simply for browsing the internet with a few other programs open in the background.

 

Did you remove the heatsink and inspect them for dust and lint? I have a Dell Vostro 1500 and 1700. They need to be stripped down to the motherboard every 8-12 months because temps begin to climb.

I noticed the fan in my Vostro 1500 jump into high gear. I stripped it down and found the GPU heatsink was covered in dust, hence clogging airflow. I'm not familiar with your system but I would check wherever there are heatsink fins and make sure they are not blocked with dust or lint.

I didn't touch the CPU heatsink or repaste and my temps went down by 15c to a normal 37c for the laptop. Before it was climbing to 52c.

edit: What paste are you using and how much? I've accidentally over applied thermal paste and it had the reverse effect.

 

I regularly clean out my heatsink so dust shouldn't be a problem.

For paste I used AS MX-3 and a blob that would probably equate to a ball about 2mm in diameter. Dust on the interface shouldn't be a problem either since every time I've re-set the heatsink I clean off everything thoroughly with IPA, making sure not to touch it. Every time I've re-set the heatsink, application was pretty much perfect with 100% coverage, no air bubbles and as good as zero spillage.

I might just go and get a new heatsink to see if that makes a difference, they're only £10 or so so there's not much to lose. I figure that there might be some really stubborn dust or buildup that just isn't coming out.

 

Make sure to install all the proper drivers for your hardware. This can sometimes lead to inefficient use of hardware that could lead to increased temps.

 

There is a possibility that I could've added too much thermal paste as well.
Here I am looking silly trying to expect temps to drop
Arctic Silver 5 is a good thermal paste if used properly

 

Well, for the first few times you boot up Vista after a reinstall, it is a bit slower due to it indexing files etc. I doubt that's your problem though, are you using any other new programs like a different AV, third party firewall, mouse with fancy drivers?

Given your hardware, things should run rather smoothly, since my N50 has essentially the same CPU, RAM and HDD and it used to run a bit faster under Vista. As for running hot, it might be time to take out an old clean toothbrush and thoroughly clean the heatsink fins. Might want to make some IPA flow through them as well. If you detach the HS completely, you could let it sit in IPA or Acetone for few minutes. If you haven't done so already, you could also clean the fan blades and fan assembly with q-tips and IPA.

 

good tips on hardware.
also, i don't know what that heatsink looks like but if it is multidirectional, good... if it has lateral fins that run unbroken side to side, you want to be sure you have the right orientation, otherwise you'll get high temps.

as to vista, why don't you try a debug/diag-state reboot and see if you get significantly better performance. if so, then strip it of every unneeded service.

if you installed from an oem disc, make sure there is no Mcafee or norton av/scan/etc junk on there. if there is, run the vendor's own removal utility and switch to something that works.