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Login to post Forums » Off-topic discussion » Slow computer... what else?

Sept. 6, 2010 8:00 p.m. John Brown SuperDork
I have a computer that was built from a mish mash of various parts.
- Chinese gamer case with unknown motherboard
- Crystal Fusion sound card OE video card
- AMD Athlon 2.00gHz with 496MB of PC133 RAM (I have DDR slots on the motherboard and 512MB of DDR RAM available if needed)
- 80gb West Digital hard drive
- Windoze XP Pro 2002 w/ Service Pack 3 and all updates installed.
- Microsoft Security Essentials primary antivirus and security
- Adaware secondary antivirus and security
It is relatively dog slow when operating any flash or multiple programs. The cabinet stays very cool and is relatively clean. Simply adding the DDR RAM does not seem to do anything. Can they even be used together or is it an either/or thing?

Suggestions?
Sept. 6, 2010 8:33 p.m. Toyman01 SuperDork

I had a set up similar to that at the office that was dog slow. The virtual memory was set at 300 meg. Increased that to 1500 meg and it was like hitting the NOS button. I don't know if that is your problem but you might look into that.
Sept. 6, 2010 8:40 p.m. Javelin SuperDork

It's the ram. My cell phone has more than .5GB of it, so should your computer. If you don't have at least 2GB of RAM, you will not function in "modern web 2.0". My new desktop has 8GB. It's cheap, so just buy it and snap it in.
Sept. 6, 2010 11:27 p.m. MitchellC Dork

+1 on the RAM. newegg.com has some decent prices; 2 GB won't run you much at all. While you're there, maybe pick up an external hard drive to transfer all of your documents/media to, and do a clean install of Windows. My computer was on the fritz last month (frequent overheating/freezing), and a fresh install took care of most of the problems for now.
Sept. 6, 2010 11:33 p.m. mtn SuperDork

I'll go ahead and 2nd/3rd what has already been said: You need a LOT more RAM. Newegg is your friend.
Sept. 6, 2010 11:45 p.m. Platinum90 SuperDork

Yeah, my 250 dollar Netbook has 2 gigs of RAM...and it is even pretty slow!
Sept. 6, 2010 11:55 p.m. BoxheadTim Dork

Another vote for more RAM. It will make a difference but it's still not going to be an incredibly fast machine. TBH for the amount of money you'll have to throw at the memory you might be able to buy something faster on CL...
Sept. 7, 2010 12:02 a.m. VanillaSky HalfDork

The RAM is an either/or. You can get away with using half a gig of DDR under winXP, but I think the real problem is that you're having to share your system RAM with your onboard videocard. In my experience as both a computer tech and just a general nerd, onboard video is only good for email boxes.

Don't go out and spend a lot on a video card. Chances are you have just an old AGP slot. If you're coming to the challenge, I'll give you one of my spares. Nothing special, but it will help. I might also be able to dig out some more RAM.

Since you have a board that has SD and DDR slots, you're dealing with the old DDR1 standard. That RAM is getting pricey because it's not really put into new systems anymore, so the supply is thinner.

IMO, once you've hit the $100 price point in upgrading a new system, it's time to buy a $200 barebone kit and have something pretty okay for not much more money. Buying JUST RAM or JUST a CPU adds up fast. If you can buy a bundle, you can usually save a good chunk of change.
Sept. 7, 2010 7:42 a.m. HiTempguy HalfDork

VanillaSky wrote:

IMO, once you've hit the $100 price point in upgrading a new system, it's time to buy a $200 barebone kit and have something pretty okay for not much more money. Buying JUST RAM or JUST a CPU adds up fast. If you can buy a bundle, you can usually save a good chunk of change.

Ding. I bought my latest computer at least two years ago now, boxing day special ($200). In that time I've spent $100 on upgrades, both recently (a nvidia 9800gt and went from a AMD X2 3600+ to a 5200+). I don't count hard drives, as you ALWAYS need more storage. But nowadays, spending $200 will get you a computer on black friday or the like with mo' powa than mine and 500gb of storage space. The only thing you'll need to add is a gpu (which is not necessary if you don't game, onboards graphics nowadays can actually handle everything)!
Sept. 7, 2010 8:58 a.m. mndsm Dork

My laptop has 6gigs of RAM... and I do believe it needs more.
Sept. 7, 2010 11:08 a.m. fastEddie Dork
I just bought the following yesterday on Newegg.
1. AMD Athlon II 3-core 3.0GHz
2. Asus mobo to (hopefully) unlock 4th core of above processor, also with onboard ATI Radeon HD 4200 graphics and HDMI out
3. 2GB of DDR2 1066 RAM
4. 1TB hard drive
5. TV Tuner Card with remote
6. BluRay drive
7. Wireless multimedia keyboard w/ trackball
8. cheap HTPC case w/ PS
TOTAL = $499.xx shipped to my door
Sept. 7, 2010 11:12 a.m. EastCoastMojo SuperDork

Needs more cowbell John.
Sept. 7, 2010 12:48 p.m. Scott Lear Production Editor

In reply to fastEddie:

AMD sells chips that include a physical core that's not used? That's insane.

Double the RAM when you get a chance, and keep an eye peeled for a cheap SSD in the coming months, they are a phenomenal performance improver for the OS and key programs.
Sept. 7, 2010 12:58 p.m. HiTempguy HalfDork

Scott Lear wrote:

AMD sells chips that include a physical core that's not used? That's insane.

Standard operating procedure for any chip (of any kind, not just the cpu variety). Same with memory. If it uses silicon, there will be duds, and what the manufacturers can do is utilize enough of the not working chip to make lower end products with. That is why with gpu's usually people suggest looking for certain serial numbers on the box to indicate which batch the card came out of for serious overclocking if it was a good run of high quality chips.

Edit- Of course, since they don't turn out that many duds, they also have to disable certain chipsets to keep making the chips they require for their lower end products. Quite the efficient setup if you ask me.
Sept. 7, 2010 1:47 p.m. Scott Lear Production Editor

In reply to HiTempguy:

Fascinating! Learn something new every day. Put that way, it does make a ton of sense. Clever marketeers.
Sept. 8, 2010 9:13 a.m. 81gtv6 HalfDork

Oh the joys of overclocking. Its kind of like moding your car so be careful.
Sept. 8, 2010 9:49 a.m. 93celicaGT2 SuperDork

Scott Lear wrote:

In reply to fastEddie:

AMD sells chips that include a physical core that's not used? That's insane.

Double the RAM when you get a chance, and keep an eye peeled for a cheap SSD in the coming months, they are a phenomenal performance improver for the OS and key programs.

Yep. As HiTempGuy said.

And it's not limited to just AMD. Intel does it. NVidia does it. (Used to have a 6800nu Asus X9999 Gamer Edition, unlocked and and overclocked to above 6800 Ultra Extreme specs, ahhhh the good old days.)

It used to be more common in GPUs than CPUs, but i guess it may have flipped now.
Sept. 8, 2010 10:24 a.m. GameboyRMH SuperDork

Uh are you actually running two antivirus scanners at the same time? That'll bring all but the fastest PCs to a crawl.

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