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EDIT: problem seems to have disappeared after rebooting.

Opening a new tab in Chrome or switching tabs in Task Manager takes multiple seconds. Even simple actions like editing this question have noticeable lag at times.

CPU usage is hovering at 20-30%; RAM is 35% used (with 40GB available total).

CPU is an 8th-gen i5; GPU is a GeForce MX250.

More detail: Switching back to the Processes tab in Task Manager: it just took 12 seconds to populate and start its refresh cycle. When I switch back to Performance, that takes 2-3 seconds. Alt-Tabbing between apps is slow enough that if I start typing right away after performing the key combo, it misses the first word or so. Opening a new tab in Chrome takes about 3 seconds.

Overall it feels like the system is swapping to disk, but there is no reason why it should be doing so.

I notice that the "Power usage" column in Task Manager for Chrome often shows High even when neither CPU nor GPU utilization is above 10%.

I do have a few bazillion Chrome tabs open, though the large majority of them are suspended (using The Great Suspender extension) and don't consume resources.

I just switched back to Windows recently after many years under Linux and OSX so I'm not really up to speed on the best way to troubleshoot something like this.

Some screenshots:

Task Manager - Processes tab Task Manager - Performance tab Open Hardware Monitor

Update:

I remembered that earlier I had the laptop running in a sleeve with the lid down for an hour or so (due to thinking it was suspended when it wasn't). I didn't notice anything amiss when using it afterwards but perhaps it's possible that this caused the fan to overheat and burn out.

intuited
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    Your CPU is being heavily throttled. According to your screenshot it’s running at **400 MHz**. Your Nvidia GPU doesn’t appear to be in use according to your screenshot. Provide the same information while in Safe Mode, but also include, RAMMap screenshots. – Ramhound Oct 14 '20 at 02:57
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    Likely duplicate of [this](https://superuser.com/questions/1420298/processor-speed-limited-at-0-4-ghz/1420301#1420301) question. You probably have the incorrect Power Mode enabled. It could also be a battery issue, modern laptops, do weird things when a bad battery is installed – Ramhound Oct 14 '20 at 03:01
  • @Ramhound: Wait, so is the 18% CPU usage 18% of computing capacity at 400MHz or 18% of what it would be running at full speed? – intuited Oct 14 '20 at 03:03
  • Does it matter? Your CPU is running at 400 MHz. 18% utilization is based on the 400 MHz. **400MHz isn’t enough to run Chrome or any application on Windows (or Windows).** Please provide the necessary information necessary to answer your question – Ramhound Oct 14 '20 at 03:06
  • Please provide a screenshot of [ThrottleStop](https://www.techpowerup.com/download/techpowerup-throttlestop/) – Ramhound Oct 14 '20 at 03:12
  • Also, Chrome itself is using over 20% of CPU time. Close it completely, then open fewer tabs. – DrMoishe Pippik Oct 14 '20 at 03:42
  • Take a look at your CPU speed .its way down than your base speed, so I suggest restart your pc and check speed again. if it's still low than try overclocking CPU. – Ishan Shah Oct 14 '20 at 03:52
  • @Ramhound: Updated with screenshot of Open Hardware Monitor. I'd prefer not to install any more software if it's not necessary. Will ThrottleStop (or some other software) tell me if the OS has detected a problem with the fan? That possibility was suggested in one of the answers to the possible duplicate question. – intuited Oct 14 '20 at 04:07
  • So what about the screenshots while in Safe Mode? A screenshot from ThrottleStop is necessary if I am going to submit an answer. Your screenshots indicate your running – Ramhound Oct 14 '20 at 04:29
  • Okay, I rebooted and the CPU seems to be throttling again, and I can hear the fan. I did a Windows update earlier, so perhaps it needed another reboot to finalize some changes or something – intuited Oct 14 '20 at 04:31
  • What update exactly? Edit your question instead of submitting a comment – Ramhound Oct 14 '20 at 04:31

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