why does my internet browser sit at "connecting..." for several minutes before loading?

[James]

I've scoured the web and no one seems to have had this issue and documented anything so I am hoping someone on here might have some insight...
Using any browser (IE, Firefox, Chrome) I am running into an issue that even though the internet is fully and strongly connected, any page I try to go to can take anywhere from 10 sec to 5 mins with 50mb/sec cable internet...

I've tried:
Disabling firewall
Disabling proxies
Updated add-ons/disabled java script and shockwave flash
Modified DNS settings
Disabled ASUS Network iControl

If anyone has any ideas of why this could be happening I would love to hear suggestions...this is a difficult issue to explain so if details are needed I will provide what I can.
Thanks for all the ideas!
@Jacob - CPU is Intel Core i5-4670 3.40GHz and have 8GB (2x4GB) 800MHz G Skill RAM running - I shouldn't be running low on resources...coincidentally, @Steven, I can run Splinter Cell Blacklist and Starcraft 2 simultaneously (Alt-tabbing) with Photoshop and Excel on my 2nd monitor with no issues (50-70 fps in SC2), but with nothing running, this issue with the internet occurs...big reason why I'm feeling baffled...
@Judeve6 - I just tried cycling the modem and it seemed OK for a couple minutes then back to the same slow down. It's been occurring daily for the past month and a half during all sorts of weather, though good idea...I really hope my ISP isn't slowing me down (i guess i wouldn't put it past Comcast, but still...) though I've run speedtest.net while the problem is occurring and it still pulls 50MB/S.
@Dean - this happens when I simply click on a favorites button and no URL is active in the address bar yet while it is showing &
"connecting..." and the circling loading animation on the tab. I will test the F5 refresh trick a bit and see if that helps though.

Additional specs:
Windows 7 64-Bit installed on SSD
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 670
Mobo: ASUS Z87-A
Network Adapter: Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller

Any other suggestions in the meantime would be awesome!
@William - thanks for the response! Checked and Add/Remove is clean besides basic windows programs and my games/design software...recent reformat when hardware upgrade was completed helped in this, but understand the direction. Couldn't find the Internet Explorer settings you mentioned though...found the IE icon, right clicked for properties but no Settings/Tools...is there another way to access this since this route didnt work?
**Fixed** Transferred Firefox profile folders was "interfering" with the internet/PC's ability to process pages normally...as previously mentioned I recently reinstalled Windows which I grabbed the profile folder to retain Firefox settings and in doing so found that my network/disc activity was spiking during page loading and a dozen+ profile related processes/threads were appearing during the moments of lag and would slowly disappear when the browser was not in use...not sure how this affected other browsers negatively, but it was...I completely uninstalled and deleted all Mozilla folders/files and reinstalled using the export/import bookmarks tool to get my favorites back in place and since have had no issues what-so-ever.

[Jacob]

Its probably because 1 you either have a really bad processor so it takes longer to process all the information. 2 you don't have a lot of RAM wich will also slow don't the speed of loading a web page. It might help if you get rid of unnecessary programs taking up memory. So basically its your computer not a firewall or anything.

[Steven]

Are any other programs that require internet suffering too? Usually slow loading browsers have to many plug ins add ons etc to load but I'm guessing that might not be the case

[Judeve6]

I get this problem all the time, and I'm not sure why it happens.

Just some suggestions:

Try disconnecting your Internet connection, then re-connecting it.

If you're using broadband, notice if this tends to happen when it's overcast/during stormy weather.

Maybe your ISP is slowing you down?

[deanyourfriendinky]

Try this workaround (it works for me on those rare occasions when my Internet seems to hang).

Copy the URL in the AddressBar of your Web browser.

Open a new tab in your Web browser.

Paste the URL from the AddressBar that you copied in the first tab into the AddressBar of the second tab. Press: Enter.

If that doesn't work immediately, try pressing the F5 key on your computer's keyboard once or twice.

[william ellis]

You can help by checking two locations on your system.
1) Right click Internet explorer, Go to properties and enter settings and enter the tools section. Disable everything you thnk you don't need and you can do all of them if you want.
2) Hit start and go to "Set program access and defaults."
Go to "Change or Remove Programs. This area is where the internet adds junk on you and just look and those you think run and slow you system down just remove. They do not effect your system just the operation of it when on the internet are they are sights you can call up. Keep what you like. Remove what you don't. Of course there are some I would not remove. Choose wisely.