Desktops: Upgrading from 128MB...improvement?
Upgrading from 128MB...improvement?
by joepic19 - 4/23/06 6:29 AMHey everyone
My PC has a 1.7 GHz P4, and only 128 MB of RAM w/ windows XP. If I add 512 Mb, how much of an improvement will i see? This computer has a very slow response time, is that because of the so little RAM? If i add 512, would programs start up faster, and would i be able to navigate around them without much lag? Please be specific as to what improvements I will notice.
Thanks so much
- joe p.
Oh yeah...
by Willy - 4/23/06 7:12 AM In reply to: Upgrading from 128MB...improvement? by joepic19Because you're running XP OS, that alone want at least 256mb to run well and 512mb to be really practical. Anything above that is plus until you get to 1gb of ram, you really have to decide after that due to pgms. that really it. Thus, adding 512mb to your system will be a plus and you should see an improvement exclding any possibile glitches for whatever reasons. In other words if you have malware or virtus, etc. more ram isn't goling to improve that problem. You will however get a benefit regardless in the long run.
tada -----Willy 
you'll get better performance if you do
by gosiula8sut - 4/23/06 10:42 AM In reply to: Upgrading from 128MB...improvement? by joepic19Definitely upgrade the memory as XP is a resource-intensive OS. Also you'd need memory for the apps you like to run. A full GB of RAM (if your system supports it) is a great plus
RAM and Integrated video
by linkit - 4/23/06 12:10 PM In reply to: Upgrading from 128MB...improvement? by joepic19As others have stated, upgrading to 512MB will give noticeable improvement.
If you have INTEGRATED VIDEO, I would recommend installing a DEDICATED VIDEO card that doesn't gobble up some of your system memory. Usually noticeable performance gains with this upgrade.
Remember that movie...
by Tien-Avenger - 4/23/06 5:29 PM In reply to: Upgrading from 128MB...improvement? by joepic19'Saving Private Ryan'
at the end where a wounded Tom Hanks whipped out his pistol and start blasting away at that tank?
Yeah that's you trying to tackle what ever you're doing with the amount of memory you got.
The 512 would be the air support blowing up the tank after repeated attemps from a pathetic pistol on armor.
and 1 gig would be as if a cruise missle lauched from a submarine suddenly went back into time and just so happened to choose that area to destroy
2 gigs would be a tactical nuclear strike.
But given what you already know about your system, and your lack of ram but doing with out it 512 should be enough. if you've lived this long on 128 then you're not really doing much to require 1 gig it's nice to have but a complete overhaul or rebuild would be a lot better down the road. For now 512 should do.
Background sappers.
by Brianstech - 4/28/06 5:39 AM In reply to: Upgrading from 128MB...improvement? by joepic19Yes, you will notice a huge difference with the added ram.
But I would also concern myself with those unnecessary background programs. XP is usually full of them. You may have already shut them down, but most people don't.
Everytime I install more RAM in a client's computer, they are amazed at the speed boost. But when I shut down all the other crap, they are SHOCKED at how fast it runs. I kill all including "Indexing Service", and all I leave is their anti-virus, and/or third-party firewall.
How to?
by lilliana - 4/28/06 7:19 AM In reply to: Background sappers. by BrianstechBrian,
How do I go about locating and deleting all the goodies that are included with XP?
I'm so ignorant that I didn't even realize there were such things?
What are they for?
I've got a Dell 8400, XP Home, 1gig of Ram.
However, I've also got a Compaq laptop with XP Home and 256mb, so I think your idea would really help it, if I knew how to do what you propose.
Thanks much for any help you can provide.
AL
lilliana@satx.rr.com
RE:
by nathanpsz2 - 4/28/06 12:23 PM In reply to: How to? by lillianaClose all running programs, press CTRL-ALT-DEL, and go into the "processes" menu. If there are more than 30, you have unnecessary crap running in the background.
I just reinstalled Windows last Sunday (new motherboard and CPU), and there are 25 processes running in the background. My dad's dell has 50 running in the background; all of them are crap installed by Dell. Here's a utility that helps you to identify and remove all the crap software on dells:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1613362/posts
Turning Off XP Services
by Trashman Dave - 4/28/06 3:18 PM In reply to: How to? by lillianaTo find out what "Services" XP runs and which ones
you can and should turn off, and how to do it,
look up "blackviper.com". the web page is no longer
on the internet, but it is still availeable thru
the Internet Archive's Wayback machine. Hope it
helps. Good luck.
definitely upgrade
by popo - 4/28/06 6:04 AM In reply to: Upgrading from 128MB...improvement? by joepic19My last pc had just 128MB of ram and was very slow. I installed a further 250MB and noticed a marked improvement. Not only in the speed it did things but also I stopped getting messages saying I was running low on RAM. My new pc has 1GB of ram and is much faster, but it also has a faster processor. You should see a noticable difference by installing another 512MB, but if you can get more in there it will be even better.
Incredible differences.
by GadgetMonkey - 4/28/06 7:26 AM In reply to: Upgrading from 128MB...improvement? by joepic19Me and my roomate have the same model computer (processor, motherboard, everything) except mine has 256 Mb of RAM and his has 128. The both of us (being the idiots we are) installed two anti-virus programs on our computers on top of Windows XP Pro. His now is so slow it is virtually frozen after the programs load and mine runs fine, sluggish, but fine. I will upgrade mine to 512 over the summer, but more memory definately helps. (Also, running one anti virus app is a better idea two!)
spy ware
by tillbrook - 4/28/06 6:50 PM In reply to: Incredible differences. by GadgetMonkeywhat one do you find is te best have you tryed exsoft please let me no what you think i have nod 32 foe antivirious and you dont gey any virious i think it is the best far noel
Computer Associates
by GadgetMonkey - 12/1/06 11:34 PM In reply to: spy ware by tillbrookI don't know about spyware, I use adaware myself, but for antivirus the most efficient yet still effective program I have found is from Computer Associates. Very small memory footprint (on the order of 10 times smaller) while still doing the same job that the other bigger programs.
Go For It !!!
by kal9000 - 4/28/06 12:52 PM In reply to: Upgrading from 128MB...improvement? by joepic19At the very least, you will double your computer's speed.
Though there are various other reasons for slow response, and more ways to speed up a PC, the most effective and immediate one is: "more memory".
All the more so in your case, because with 128MB, you're below the minimum recommended RAM size of Windows XP, which is 256MB.
You will also definitely notice an incredible decrease in hard disk activity every time you click your mouse.
Good luck.
what is the best spy ware
by tillbrook - 4/28/06 6:43 PM In reply to: Upgrading from 128MB...improvement? by joepic19what is the best spy ware to puton my computer is there huch differance be tween them noel
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