BleepingComputer.com: a few questions....

First off, let me say that i have no idea where this should really go, i find this the most relevant as i have WinXP as my OS....


So, i hear this newfangled "High-Definition" fad has caught on, even on the YouTubes... i try to watch anything over 480p on youtube and all of a sudden, my CPU takes a 100% load. Now, i KNOW i don't have a fast CPU... (intel P4/478/2.8GHz/512 L2 Cache) but still, i thought that's what a dedicated GPU was FOR, was to take a load off the CPU... is there any possible way i could make my GPU primary loadbearer so i can enjoy some HD on my ancient system?



Bottlenecking. I know, I know...talking about HD and bottlenecking in the same forum post, shame on me >_> i was wondering if there's anyway to detect what exactly, (if anything) is bottlenecked on my computer, like say, my GPU? because as you can see in the attached image, my GPU was produced in '08, and reads as a PCI-E x16 in an x1 port (which is untrue, because it's a PCI card in a PCI port :-/ ) and my motherboard was manufactured in '02-abouts (it's got two of those newfangled SATA-1 ports on it, hot diggity!!!) and i was wondering if maybe the motherboard could possibly be holding it back at all.


OS question. My computer is IBM. IBM motherboard, IBM case, IBM everything but the aftermarket GPU and RAM. MY OS disc is a Compaq. My mother in her infinite wisdom says that she had to get a hold of a driver or file (she waffles about what she calls it) that if i'm missing, would keep me from accessing the internet. Is this true or not? because i have a Dual HDD setup, 80GB/320GB, and i want to dedicate the 80GB for a boot drive, and use the 320 to store all my loose files onto, etc. etc. And i HAVE to re-install my OS, because it's been in nonstop use for, 7 years now, and it's accumulated a bunch of junk processes and files i can't/don't know if it's a bad idea to- get rid of.

Lastly, any tips for having a dedicated boot drive?



sorry if i rambled on and on, i have the A.D.H.D. I tried to keep everything organized (a bit)

any help would be appreciated at all, thanks guys and gals!





EDIT: thanks to whoever moved the post into the appropriate place!!

This post has been edited by halfnerdhybrid: 25 April 2010 - 05:31 AM

Hi hybrid and welcome to Bleepingcomputer!

I read your post and I do not think you rambled on, you just provided some information and asked what you needed to know.

Your are using an Intel Pentium 4 2.8 Ghz processor and want to know why the processor is clocking at 100% load when you have a video card processor which be taking the load off of the CPU.

I read your post looking for any mention of what you have for installed RAM modules, but did not see any mention of it. Could you provide us with that information please.

To touch base on a few things you mentioned, you said your mother mentioned something about a file needed to access the Internet, that file could be a driver that is associated with your Ethernet card or Modem and allows Windows to work with that hardware.

As for a 80 GB drive being your dedicated drive, all you have to is install your operating system to that drive and use the larger 320 GB drive as a slave drive formatted from within windows so it is accessible from the OS stored on the 80 GB drive.

If you have a lot of programs and junk on your primary drive, you could use your windows add or remove programs from the control panel to remove unwanted programs.
You can also use the disk cleanup utility embedded in windows by right clicking the icon for the primary hard drive and choosing Properties then clicking the tab where it says disk cleanup and check mark the items showing a lot of disk usage and allow windows to remove those unneeded archives.

Before I make this post into a book, I will stop here and allow you time to reply back.

Best regards.

I can add a few comments to your questions

1) your video card is indeed a PCI-E interface (where it plugs into on your motherboard); if you have it in the PCI slot, then it's in the wrong slot-this will indeed cause all sorts of problems.
But; if your motherboard only supports PCI (not PCI-E), and you have a PCI-E card plugged into your board, then you will have to find the proper video card that will fit into a PCI slot
PCI Video cards

2) When you replaced the video card; no doubt this would require more power than the card it replaced, the computer being all IBM would tell me that the original power supply (that came with the computer), would now not be big enough-have enough wattage-to supply power to the GPU.

3) RAM. you would be best to locate the make and model # of the board itself, search for it on the net, and see if there is a 'Qualified Vendor's List' for the memory-if you do find the motherboard on the internet, see if there is a (downloadable) PDF manual for this board.
Having a manual is the best source of information for your motherboard; you will allow you to find out what memory is compatible, maximum amount of memory permitted, type, etc.

4) The only way you can watch anything in HD is to have a monitor that is compatible with HD; such as a LCD monitor, the older CRT monitors just don't have the technolgy in them to make this work.

5) Drivers-make sure you have the current video driver for your card
NVidia Driver

6) More Updates-make sure you have the latest updates from Microsoft (including SP3)
Microsoft


7) " And i HAVE to re-install my OS, because it's been in nonstop use for, 7 years now, and it's accumulated a bunch of junk processes and files i can't/don't know if it's a bad idea to- get rid of. "

Go to the 'programs-Add or Remove' section of your Control Panel; from this point you can see which programs you use frequently (or rarely), don't delete any of the Microsoft or Windows-based programs, but others can be safely deleted-such as games, free software (pc cleanup tools, photo-editing, media players,etc.), torrent programs (these programs alone can cause your PC to slow to a crawl or crash completely-because of viruses being embedded in them).

There are alot of free programs out there that will help you to rid your hard drive of unwanted software (basically de-crapify your hard drive); off the top of my (pointed) head is CCleaner, another is PC Decrapifier, you can find them here:
PC Cleanup Tools

If you are insistant about reinstalling your O/S; then my suggestion to you is to upgrade to a newer O/S, whether it's a Windows-based system or Linux, as any support for Windows XP ends on July 13, 2010

I hope this helps you out

Sobeysboy, on Apr 25 2010, 03:47 PM, said:

Very good advice you gave in most of your response, however your quote above is not totally correct.

Support only ends for the origional release of XP, XP service pack 1 and service pack 2, but not service pack # 3 as quoted by this Microsoft web site page listed here "Support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 will end on July 13, 2010" http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-xp/default.aspx

The above page has the link to download SP 3 which will continued to be supported past July 13, 2010.

your post has caused some confusion, what kind of video card do you have? Sobey seems to think its PCI express, but you mentioned its aftermarket. whats the model number, and is it PCI or PCI express?

the_patriot09, on Apr 26 2010, 08:43 AM, said:

The details are on the attached file 8400GS.

ooooh didnt see that link till just now. They do make a PCI version of that card, so its very likely that it is a PCI card and not the PCI express that sobey thinks it is.

okay. in order.


my ram is 1X 512Mb / 2x 256Mb / 1x 128Mb (had to downgrade to share the ram with the household....)

it is indeed a PCI card. a PNY nVidia 8400 GS, 512Mb/DDR2. the power supply issue wouldn't surprise me. mine's a 100-something watt PSU, but i haven't upgraded anything but the GPU and RAM.

i've looked for my board's make and model. nothing will detect it. not PCWizard, not CPU-z, not even speedfan will detect it. I've opened the case and hunted around for it. all it says is IBM stamped in big white print beside the heatsink.

if it helps any, the computer's a thinkcentre P51, if i remember correctly.

i'm going to decrapify my computer, lol.

i literally can't run vista, my computer barely meets the requirements for it.

i have the latest nVidia drivers, i updated them the day before i posted here. Also, after i posted here, i tested with the ghost recon future soldier trailer in 720p. imagine my surprise when i find that it runs in expanded (not fullscreen) mode almost lag free???

thanks for the heads up about them cutting off support for XP (saving for SP3, although i sense that's in the near future too).



oh, lastly, the ethernet driver, all i know is that i'm using an integrated 10/100MB ethernet port, so i honestly don't know what would happen