Frustrated with slow startup and buggy rides

So started back on for Winter 22 training.
I run a PC in the garage purely for zwift. I upgraded the graphics card and memory back when I started in 2017.

Last season was fine so long as I allowed 10 mins or so to get zwift booted up.

This year it’s 10 mins or so just to get to the log on page.
Then if I select the Japanese Islands it goes off to find the files and hangs for 30 minutes or more.

Then when I get on the graphics are glitcchy. I keep vanishing and pausing.

It’s a bit better with time as I ride but not perfect and I’m 10 mins in.

I’ve even reduced the screen quality down to below HD.

My internet speed is 169Mbps download and 24 upload.

Is there anything else I can do ?

I’m thinking of getting an SSD external drive to boot the game from. Would that work ok ?

My Android app works instantly but too small for efforts.

This is a large part of the issue, the old HDD’s are super slow. Upgrade to an SSD and you will see a huge improvement in loading times. I’m not sure if it will help your graphics issues however, what card did you put in back in 2017?

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Please post up the full spec of your PC.

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Should take no longer than 35secs from hitting Let’s Go to seeing the pairing screen. Switching worlds should be about 20secs or less. Any more than this is a problem at your end, including inexplicably continuing to use an mechanical hard drive.

Hi - this is the spec of the PC.

Dell Optiplex 790 Mini Tower Intel Core i5-2400 Quad Core 3.1GHz 250GB HDD

8Gb RAM

Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 1152 NVIDIA CUDA Cores Mini 3 GB GDDR5 Graphics Card

Sorry I’m not very technical.

Is it just that the new versions of the game require more advanced hardware to run it ?

It’s not that inexplicable to use a mechanical hard drive is it ?
I’m no tecchie and it was working fine last Spring - but the new version just seems too demanding.

It’s inexplicable because the £10-15 an SSD costs (and has done for a decade) will absolutely transform the experience of using the PC. It’s two cables to swap over and you should then clean install Windows 10 and Zwift. It will feel unbelievably fast by comparison.

Your CPU is a bit slow and I’d personally look to upgrade it (3rd gen should be doable) but otherwise there’s nothing wrong with the PC for Zwift. There’s a performance issue on Makuri with this latest update, it’ll be hitting your system quite hard.

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I’ll take your word for it but I’m sure an SSD was more than £15 just the five years ago when I built up the PC. Cheers !

Maybe I’ve exaggerated a bit, but I bought one in 2015 for £25. :wink:

Anyway it’s an absolute must mate. Here: Adata Ultimate SU650 2.5" 120GB SATA III Solid State Drive 471321846309 | eBay

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Cheers Dave. Will get it ordered now !

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When it comes, drop me a message and I’ll send you the steps to install it and get up and running most efficiently.

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You are a star. Cheers !

@Dave_ZPCMR hi Dave - my SSD has arrived. Can I use it externally to copy the HD across?

Dave may have another solution but I used this a few times and it is free.

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Given that your PC is purely for Zwift, I strongly suggest you don’t clone the HDD (though the software Gerrie has suggested is fine). Instead just clean install Windows. I’ll send you the steps via PM.

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I wanted to say Dave will have the better solution, I should have said that. :sunglasses:

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Thanks for the info Dave - very comprehensive - I shall do that tonight ! I appreciate the time you’ve put into this !

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Cheers Gerrie !