36 replies to this topic

[mangolio]

Firstly i am not very computer minded as to what goes on on the inside of them but I was wondering how I would go about speeding it up when running several programs etc. I think it is the ram but have no idea what a decent amount would be or how I would change it.

Any help guys and gals?

[Guitar]

First of all what exactly are you trying to speed it up enough to do? Also what is your current pc spec? If you dont know then you can find out by using google to search for CPU ID or CPU-z and installing them and running them. Its free software too.

Fitting RAM is an easy peasy job and aside from possibly removing the case-side there isnt even any screws involved.

[Dr DX]

download belarc advisor its free and tells you all the parts of your system

[mangolio]

First of all what exactly are you trying to speed it up enough to do? Also what is your current pc spec? If you dont know then you can find out by using google to search for CPU ID or CPU-z and installing them and running them. Its free software too.

Fitting RAM is an easy peasy job and aside from possibly removing the case-side there isnt even any screws involved.

When i bought it I think it came with 512mb of ram. I dont need it super fast but if I have a few programs running it seems to toally die and take ages to load different screens so I just wanted it to be faster. Also start up and shut down take ages if that is controlled by the ram.

[Dr DX]

even tho it has 512 by todays standard its not enough a simple ram upgrade (i suggest a 1gb stick aswell as 512) would considerable speed up your pc make sue its a match i.e. pc3200 with pc3200 not essential but if the new stick is higher than the old it will run at the same speedl

[mangolio]

Just done a belarc scan and this is the reults, must admit I dont have a clue what it means
Operating System System Model
Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (build 2600) No details available
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
1.80 gigahertz AMD Sempron
128 kilobyte primary memory cache
128 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: K8Upgrade-VM800 1.0
Bus Clock: 200 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. P1.50 06/10/2005
Drives Memory Modules c,d
81.95 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
59.04 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

_NEC DVD_RW ND-3540A [CD-ROM drive]
SONY DVD-ROM DDU1615 [CD-ROM drive]
3.5" format removeable media [Floppy drive]

Maxtor 6Y080L0 [Hard drive] (81.96 GB) -- drive 0, s/n Y2BYJ4VC, rev YAR41BW0, SMART Status: Healthy
VIA-P VT6205-DevB USB Device [Hard drive] -- drive 1
VIA-P VT6205-DevM USB Device [Hard drive] -- drive 2 448 Megabytes Installed Memory
Local Drive Volumes

c: (NTFS on drive 0) 40.48 GB 21.04 GB free
d: (FAT32 on drive 0) 41.46 GB 38.00 GB free

Network Drives
None detected
Users (mouse over user name for details) Printers
local user accounts last logon
Administrator 14/12/2006 21:12:39 (admin)
Andy 09/07/2007 19:01:18 (admin)
Windows XP 19/05/2007 12:20:19 (admin)
local system accounts
ASPNET never
Guest never
HelpAssistant never
SUPPORT_388945a0 never


Marks a disabled account; Marks a locked account None detected
Controllers Display
Standard floppy disk controller
Primary IDE Channel [Controller]
Secondary IDE Channel [Controller]
VIA Bus Master IDE Controller VIA/S3G UniChrome Pro IGP [Display adapter]
DELL E196FP [Monitor] (17.1"vis, s/n FC9985B40R6M, November 2005)
Bus Adapters Multimedia
VIA SATA RAID Controller
VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller (4x)
VIA USB Enhanced Host Controller C-Media AC97 Audio Device
Standard Game Port
Unimodem Half-Duplex Audio Device
Communications Other Devices
Intel® 536EP Modem

[Dr DX]

also recommend a cpu upgrade (processor) you can get 64 bit cpu for as little as 50 new you may need a new motherboard if your going to upgrade

[mangolio]

also recommend a cpu upgrade (processor) you can get 64 bit cpu for as little as 50 new you may need a new motherboard if your going to upgrade

Sorry and I dont want to sound thick but how do I do that? Would it be worth me taking it into a shop and getting them to do it or would I just be paying for a simple home fit job?

[Gazeyre1966]

Just done a belarc scan and this is the reults, must admit I dont have a clue what it means
Operating System System Model
Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (build 2600) No details available
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
1.80 gigahertz AMD Sempron
128 kilobyte primary memory cache
128 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: K8Upgrade-VM800 1.0
Bus Clock: 200 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. P1.50 06/10/2005
Drives Memory Modules c,d
81.95 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
59.04 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

_NEC DVD_RW ND-3540A [CD-ROM drive]
SONY DVD-ROM DDU1615 [CD-ROM drive]
3.5" format removeable media [Floppy drive]

Maxtor 6Y080L0 [Hard drive] (81.96 GB) -- drive 0, s/n Y2BYJ4VC, rev YAR41BW0, SMART Status: Healthy
VIA-P VT6205-DevB USB Device [Hard drive] -- drive 1
VIA-P VT6205-DevM USB Device [Hard drive] -- drive 2 448 Megabytes Installed Memory
Local Drive Volumes

c: (NTFS on drive 0) 40.48 GB 21.04 GB free
d: (FAT32 on drive 0) 41.46 GB 38.00 GB free

Network Drives
None detected
Users (mouse over user name for details) Printers
local user accounts last logon
Administrator 14/12/2006 21:12:39 (admin)
Andy 09/07/2007 19:01:18 (admin)
Windows XP 19/05/2007 12:20:19 (admin)
local system accounts
ASPNET never
Guest never
HelpAssistant never
SUPPORT_388945a0 never


Marks a disabled account; Marks a locked account None detected
Controllers Display
Standard floppy disk controller
Primary IDE Channel [Controller]
Secondary IDE Channel [Controller]
VIA Bus Master IDE Controller VIA/S3G UniChrome Pro IGP [Display adapter]
DELL E196FP [Monitor] (17.1"vis, s/n FC9985B40R6M, November 2005)
Bus Adapters Multimedia
VIA SATA RAID Controller
VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller (4x)
VIA USB Enhanced Host Controller C-Media AC97 Audio Device
Standard Game Port
Unimodem Half-Duplex Audio Device
Communications Other Devices
Intel® 536EP Modem


NETGEAR WG111v2 54Mbps Wireless USB 2.0 Adapter
primary Auto IP Address: 192.168.0.3 / 24
Gateway: 192.168.0.1
Dhcp Server: 192.168.0.1
Physical Address: 00:0F:B5:D8:B3:E8
VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter

Networking Dns Servers: 192.168.0.1
205.188.146.145
FUJIFILM MX-700 Digital Camera
Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Microsoft PS/2 Mouse
USB Mass Storage Device
USB Root Hub (5x)
Patin Couffin engine

Awww...It's missed out the bit about your credit card and bank card details. Better post them to me.

[mangolio]

Should I remove that info? Could it be used to hack me or summat?

[Dr DX]

if you have firewall and software u shud be ok but just remove it anyway, yeah take it inot the shop and they will do it for you

[Gazeyre1966]

Very unlikely mate...although I would remove your I.P. address just in case there are any stalkers out there, Alth....pmsl

[mangolio]

Thats part his problem new CPU means new ram and board from a quick scan there I see onboard VGA and sound. GFX might be a little of a bottleneck in that system for a start it would nick between 32 and 64MB of physical RAM.

You think just a ram upgrade would do me any good then or is it not worth upgrading?

[nails]

the speed of a pc, regardless of how expensive or inexpensive it is, will be governed by the slowest component in the system. in otherwords, the slowest component will bottleneck the performance of your pc, this senario happens in 99% of todays pc`s.

my current bottleneck (see fastest hd thread) is the slow speed of a standatd sataII 3.0gb drive.

[mangolio]

Ive run a
cpu z scan but dont see where it tells me an upgrade. Also I have tune up utilities and cleared my comp last week aswell as most of my hd ( 12 lost episodes dont half take up u memory)

[mangolio]

Sure he's fine Gaz

[22:11] * Dns resolved 205.188.146.145 to nstot.proxy.aol.com

Hmmm, wots that all about?

[VampUK]

Extra RAM and a fairly cheap graphics card sped my system up quite a bit.
I'm only running a crappy Athlon at 1.8Ghz.