HP Desktop is a lot slower than usual...

Did it find any bad blocks, bad clusters etc?
Did it speed up the computer?
Did you checked the WU? Is there any pending update?

Jesse, are your system spec accurate? Both are low end CPUs, LOW....

Slow hardware will show Windows "issues" more often and there are a lot of possibilities on performance going south.

6 gigs of RAM is low for WIndows 10, probably paging out a ton as it is if doing any multitasking, which is a nasty performance hit when using hard drive space like RAM.

System 1 says DDR3 RAM, so Jesse, it is officially OLD/obsolete.

Good news though current new generations of PC hardware are awesome with Windows 10 as long as you follow these rules on system purchases:

16 gigs of system RAM minimum, not 8 gigs as a minimum any more, unless all you do is surf.
Discrete video (has it's OWN pool of higher speed RAM)
DDR4 for system RAM (DDR-5 is WIP for wide release still, gonna be sweet though, quick check shows 2019 expected.)
GDDR5 has been around a while, but that's graphics card RAM only.

I'd try Kerish Doctor as free trial and Glarysoft utilities (free version) and see if either finds anything gimping performance.

Eye ball task manager and see what's hogging cycle.

How much free space is available on your C: drive? If it gets low, that can wreck havoc, and have you defragged lately?

Badfinger said:

Jesse, are your system spec accurate? Both are low end CPUs, LOW....
Slow hardware will show Windows "issues" more often and there are a lot of possibilities on performance going south.
6 gigs of RAM is low for WIndows 10, probably paging out a ton as it is if doing any multitasking, which is a nasty performance hit when using hard drive space like RAM.
System 1 says DDR3 RAM, so Jesse, it is officially OLD/obsolete.
Good news though current new generations of PC hardware are awesome with Windows 10 as long as you follow these rules on system purchases:
16 gigs of system RAM minimum, not 8 gigs as a minimum any more, unless all you do is surf.
Discrete video (has it's OWN pool of higher speed RAM)
DDR4 for system RAM (DDR-5 is WIP for wide release still, gonna be sweet though, quick check shows 2019 expected.)
GDDR5 has been around a while, but that's graphics card RAM only.
I'd try Kerish Doctor as free trial and Glarysoft utilities (free version) and see if either finds anything gimping performance.
Eye ball task manager and see what's hogging cycle.
How much free space is available on your C: drive? If it gets low, that can wreck havoc, and have you defragged lately?

I disagree!!!
Unless you're a hard core gamer or use some image editing software (like Photoshop), you don't need new hardware.
I have 8G of memory and share 1G with internal graphics (Intel 530). I use Autocad and never saw more than 5G in use.
Install open hardware monitor
Open Hardware Monitor - Core temp, fan speed and voltages in a free software gadget

I only agree with Badfinger on the amount of C: free space.

Megahertz, HELLO, but you have a reasonable i5-6600K CPU!

Shared graphics, ugh..... the bane of performance.

You have 8 gigs, it's OK, but at 16 you can dump the pagefile completely, unless something you run tells you otherwise.
That RAM advice is for new systems, when the cost is lowest, and thankfully it's not too inflated atm from some factory being destroyed recently, it dropped 50% from my RAM buy a year ago, I could get 32 for what I paid for 16, just my usual luck.

I'm a multi-tasker, that is why I have a powerful PC, besides high end gaming

I do a bit of video editing, and yeah it helps during huge file manipulations, A LOT, can still do other things at same time, even manage to surf and burn data backups to DVD/Blu-Rays without too much trouble.

Badfinger, anyone desires a fast and high end computer and the sky is the limit (not to say the wallet).
The main question is: Do you need those fast and high end computer? Most of the time the answer is NO. Yes, we desire them but we don't need them.

OP (Jesse) has a good low end computer and I don't think that his issue is related to the fact he has a i3 and 6G DDR3.
I've seen fist class computers running slow due to disk failing and WU searching (scanning) for updates.

Let's see if Jesse issue was solved with check disk.

I am an exception then, I buy what I need, I just didn't stumble onto this all.

6G DDR3 is a gimped system, ON WINDOWS 10.... specifically... that doesn't mean useless.

OFC the RAM is a bigger stinker, because.... you have to replace the motherboard to upgrade to the next spec RAM, no way to get around that .

New tech once it's wide spread fully is going to be sweet, there is catching up to do, and ofc pains of obsolesced hardware.

I know ya all want LONG lasting hassle free, doesn't exist with computers.

Sorry for the late reply. Yes, this PC is upgradable to 16 GB of RAM. However, I haven't been able to afford it at this time. All I have is literally $13.00 in my bank account until my money comes in on the 1st of the month. With that being said, where can I find 16 GB of RAM at an affordable rate? This thing won't even load the Windows Store. I do use Photoshop every once in a while but I use Lightroom more. The hard drive status says its okay.

Megahertz said:

Did it find any bad blocks, bad clusters etc?
Did it speed up the computer?
Did you checked the WU? Is there any pending update?

No bad clusters, no bad blocks, it didn't speed up the computer, and no pending Windows updates.

Badfinger said:

Jesse, are your system spec accurate? Both are low end CPUs, LOW....

Slow hardware will show Windows "issues" more often and there are a lot of possibilities on performance going south.

6 gigs of RAM is low for WIndows 10, probably paging out a ton as it is if doing any multitasking, which is a nasty performance hit when using hard drive space like RAM.

System 1 says DDR3 RAM, so Jesse, it is officially OLD/obsolete.

Good news though current new generations of PC hardware are awesome with Windows 10 as long as you follow these rules on system purchases:

16 gigs of system RAM minimum, not 8 gigs as a minimum any more, unless all you do is surf.
Discrete video (has it's OWN pool of higher speed RAM)
DDR4 for system RAM (DDR-5 is WIP for wide release still, gonna be sweet though, quick check shows 2019 expected.)
GDDR5 has been around a while, but that's graphics card RAM only.

I'd try Kerish Doctor as free trial and Glarysoft utilities (free version) and see if either finds anything gimping performance.

Eye ball task manager and see what's hogging cycle.

How much free space is available on your C: drive? If it gets low, that can wreck havoc, and have you defragged lately?

To answer your question about defragging, yes. I defrag monthly.

Your computer is fine for your needs honestly, you can check the task manager for any disk activities and it'll tell you what is slowing your computer down.