Should I buy RAM, upgrade CPU or just get used to having a slow computer?

First off let me say that I love my computer.
It's old, I know, but it brings me joy....and all in all is a stable, steady, slow & reliable beast.

I've recently gotten an extra Hard Drive with lots of storage space on it.
I've defragged my system...clean it out regularly, just had the insides vacuumed out (for what thats worth!)

When I go the CNTL+ALT+DEL route I see there *is* still Physical Memory available.
240000K roughly.

My Total Physical Memory is 981484
My Total Commit Charge is 937100*/-
My Limit Commit Charge is 2368896
My Peak Commit Charge is 104500

My main problem is in opening new pages and also getting on chess sites that may require more 'space' (?)
I usually have a lot of stuff going on at once, like three webpages and a music player, and some stuff being uploaded in the background.

so...
Any suggestions?
Should I get more RAM?
Upgrade my CPU?

Sometimes it takes 15-45 seconds to open new screens or, in the case of chess sites, it may not open at all (....where once it did!).

Thanks.

Edited by WindWagonSmith, 15 April 2009 - 04:24 AM.

well you need to tell us more
like the mother bored and how much cpu power you got?
and how much ram ?

but what broswer are you useing ? mabye updating flash, shock wave and java may help
and turn things off in msconfig by going into start and then run and type msconfig and then press start up and then turn off all the crap and press ok and restart

Your other posts (and the fact that you seem to have 1GB of RAM) indicate your system is running Windows XP, so to avoid confusion I'm going to request the topic be moved to the XP forum.

As the other posts also reveal you are checking your system for malware, it seems likely that may be the cause of the slowness you're experiencing on websites. Let us know the other system specifications, but poor internet performance is not often caused by any need to upgrade hardware. (My 1.6GHz Sempron laptop with 512M RAM is having no trouble being zippy now with 4 IE8 windows open.)

It should also be said that once a HJT team member picks up your other topic, you should not make any changes to your computer unless instructed to do so by the team member


Moving to XP

hi, like the other members posted here we need the details of your motherboard. it is important because then you need to correct socket type ie 775 and also you need the correct CPU that support your motherboard and you motherboard bus speed.
In my opinion a RAM upgrade is the cheapest and effective enough to boost performance, try to go for the RAM that support your motherboard to the highest and purchase one with a low CAS latency.
What I would do is, backup all my work, then I would reinstall XP and update drivers and everything else along the line. A full format and reinstall will improve pc performance as long as everything is updated after the reinstallation, this is because all the registry will be created again, junk removed and so on.

Also use IE7 if you have multiple pages open new tabs, I am sure you have tried disk clean up, disk defragment, disk error checking, disabled start, disabled unnecessary services, removed services, removed indexing, removed auto net detect etc.

Also make sure pc is free from Malware, and test other browsers, like firefox or google.

Edited by fardin100, 15 April 2009 - 08:19 AM.

Hello fardin100,

I see that you have an HJT log posted here: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic219551.html

We do not allow more than one topic for the same computer and the same issue as this causes confusion, and in this case may make the disinfection process more difficult.


Because you have a log posted, you should NOT make further changes to your computer (install/uninstall programs, use special fix tools, delete files, edit the registry, etc) unless advised by a HJT Team member, nor should you continue to ask for help elsewhere. Doing so can result in system changes which may not show in the log you already posted. Further, any modifications you make on your own may cause confusion for the helper assisting you and could complicate the malware removal process which would extend the time it takes to clean your computer.

From this point on the HJT Team should be the only members that you take advice from, until they have verified your log as clean.

Please be patient. It may take a while to get a response because the HJT Team members are EXTREMELY busy working logs posted before yours. They are volunteers who will help you out as soon as possible. Once you have made your post and are waiting, please DO NOT make another reply until it has been responded to by a member of the HJT Team. Generally the staff checks the forum for postings that have 0 replies as this makes it easier for them to identify those who have not been helped. If you post another response there will be 1 reply. A team member, looking for a new log to work may assume another HJT Team member is already assisting you and not open the thread to respond.

To avoid confusion, I am closing this topic. Good luck with your log.

If you are still experiencing issues once you have been declared clean, send a PM to a moderator to reopen this topic.

Orange Blossom