A customer has reported that their desktop computer has been experiencing slow and sluggish performance, especially when running multiple applications simultaneously. You have confirmed that all software is up to date, and no malware is present on the system. The issue persists even after rebooting and closing unnecessary applications. Which of the following actions would you take FIRST to diagnose the hardware contributing to the sluggish performance?
Verify the compatibility of the installed RAM with the motherboard
Use the Task Manager or system performance monitoring tools to assess the CPU, memory, and disk activity levels
Check for malware using system resources such as a crypto miner or botnet client
Perform a BIOS update on the motherboard to address potential performance issues
Install additional memory modules to increase the system's total RAM capacity