Why do Windows based PCs and Laptops appear to ‘degrade’ over time, appearing to run slower than when first purchased even after fresh Windows installations?

Question

Lots of variables I accept 《edited to remove personal view》

After say, five years, their performance is noticeably slower than it was when they were new, and the question is not in reference to increased graphical demands from games. The question is referring to day to day operations, web browsing and so on. Moving parts are limited, could they be the cause?

Thanks in advance

In: Technology

Answer 1

It Windows. It’s core design is incapable of changing due to a need to maintain backwards compatibility with software written 20 or 30 years back. It can’t even do no brainer stuff like delete the contents of temp file folders on bootup… no instead you have to run disk cleanup to do that manually. Probably because some shitty developer of some shitty enterprise app decided to treat a temp folder like a storage location for permanent program data.

I have run a lot of OSes over the years and Windows on the desktop is the only one that needs a fresh reinstall every few years. Windows on the server doesnt suffer from the same downside in my experience, presumably because most of the cruft accumulation is the result of adding / deleting software packages and the way competent admins operate a server precludes a lot of that kind of thing.