what computer upgrade do i need?

Mr Fletcher · Post by **Mr Fletcher** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 7:52 pm

i am struggling with pictures and video , i think it may need some more coal in the boiler :-D

here is some spec (i think);

dell dimension dim 4600
intel (R)
pentium(R)
4 cpu 2.80ghz
2.79ghz
512mb of ram
windows xp
home edition
version 2002
service pack 2
total size 74.4gb
free space 60.8
ntfs
intel(R) 537ep modem
dial up @ 44.00kps

that means absolutly nothing to me so if i have just typed a load of rubbish i am sorry , give me a welder any day :-D

i am unsure whether i can upgrade my system to make it faster or do i have to buy a new one :?:

cheers

jason

martin · Post by **martin** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 8:25 pm

A bit more extra RAM wont go a miss 1gig will do nicely and go for ddr RAM :-D
And get rid of any crap on system you dont use and de frag it :-D

If running Norton that will slow your comp down

ndwall · Post by **ndwall** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 8:29 pm

You might want to get a better graphics card although I can't see anythoing listed about that above.

Are you using broadband to connect to the web ? You've put 44kpps dial up listed, if your trying to view video and pics through a dial up connection it will be painfully slow.

Nick

martin · Post by **martin** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 8:32 pm

ndwall wrote:You might want to get a better graphics card although I can't see anythoing listed about that above.

Are you using broadband to connect to the web ? You've put 44kpps dial up listed, if your trying to view video and pics through a dial up connection it will be painfully slow.

Nick

I didnt notice that :oops: broadband is the way forward

Mr Fletcher · Post by **Mr Fletcher** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 9:04 pm

i have dial up and run norton anti virus :roll:

cheers jason

martin · Post by **martin** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 9:17 pm

sidewaysfletch wrote:i have dial up and run norton anti virus :roll:

cheers jason

get broadband and loose norten get a different virus protector will help you just doing that :-D

kev@tga · Post by **kev@tga** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 9:40 pm

as above ditch norton and download AVAST HOME ADDITION or AVG they are both free and i have been using them (not both at the same time avg doesnt work on my windows xp64) for years on my main pc and my laptops and never had any problems , you certainly want a gig of ddr2 ram and have a clean up of your old files, clear your start up menu (i.e make sure you have not got all your programs starting on start up just the core ones)

ndwall · Post by **ndwall** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 10:26 pm

Backup everything before you start though, many a time crying over repairing windows installs

RX7 · Post by **RX7** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 9:38 am

Also you can go 'start', 'run' then type 'msconfig'. It will bring you up a window where you can select the 'startup' tab and it lists all the programs that load on startup. This is particularly useful because it lists much more than are in the 'startup' folder.
Just disable the usual suspects like Messenger, Quicktime updater, Itunes search etc etc. You can also see where the program is stored also, if there is anything you arent sure about then DONT disable it !!

Would recommend the AVG antivirus, I use that and it updates everytime you load your pc and it is free so really good !!

But to be honest you are limited by your RAM at the mo, 512 is not really enough to start doing loads of things in windows. You need at least 1 gig.

What are you using your pc for ? If you intend to play games (especially the latest ones) then you will need a full cpu/motherboard and graphics card update. I cant stress enough that if you want to play games on a pc you will find yourself needing to upgrade every couple of years. Ben and myself have been there and done that and in the end I just got fed up and bought the 360.

If it is multi-tasking between applications, downloading music, internet browsing etc then just the RAM upgrade and removing as much of the startup as possible is ok.

But by far the best speed upgrade is to re-install windows properly (ie editting your bios to boot from the cd - then restarting with the Windows cd in the machine, but it must be a full version of windows and not an upgrade!!), deleting any partitions on the harddrive or just formatting them through the windows installer then installing windows. I would also stress to do it WITHOUT a network cable in until you have installed all the antivirus software etc. Doing this makes a huge difference but it takes a lot of effort backing up your stuff to cds/dvds/external harddisks etc.

Sorry for the essay.... :lol:

TonyB · Post by **TonyB** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 12:18 pm

Hi Jason,

All the above is valid. Memory will be the main issue as you start to open lots of files. The rest of the spec is fairly good, and if you have only used 15GB of the disk I would not expect it is too cluttered.

Norton should deffo be substituted with AVG. Run windows firewall if on dial up, and consider running windows defender every now and again.

Other apps running may be using up some of your dial up, which will be slow to start with. Broadband is the way to go, but it all depends how much you use it as to whether the cost is justified.

If you want me to pop round and give it a once over just let me know mate, I can also supply and fit parts at cost for ya ;-)

Tony