advice on how to get best performance?

What exactly feels slower - system boot, starting programs, moving data, working on the internet or something else.

Yes the use of all cores can depend on the program.

Have you changed anything in msconfig/boot/ Advanced options?

For a test, disable all startup programs ans see what that yields.

skrillek said:

I recently re-installed windows on my system but for some reason it isnt running as smooth as before and i dont know why? i did all the updates and got the latest drivers etc.. is there something that i can do to check or any ideas on how to make my system run faster? also im trying to use multicore proccessing in aftereffects for my rendering but it wont let me use all my cpu cores? is this a application thing or settings or bios?
any help would be appreciated

Try the built in windows 7 troubleshooter under the action center for performance issues.

Also make sure you have rated your pc under system properties. Once your pc is rated windows will automatically adjust visual settings which will improve performance.