Speeding Up Computer? [solved]

[Sakuya]

I am using a desktop PC and I was wondering if the following hardware components are making my computer really slow?

Windows 7 Professional 32-bit
Intel Pentium IV 2.8GHz
3GB RAM, DDR PC3200
Intel Extreme Graphics 2
Asus P4G800-V Motherboard

The programs I usually run is Firefox 4 (maximum 2 tabs) and AIM. Sometimes, I have Media Player Classic open playing some MP3s but the audio will stutter really badly when simply trying to view a regular webpage and upon opening Task Manager. It's not even possible to watch a YouTube video without the video lagging at some point.

I run CCleaner from time to time as well as Malwarebytes Anti-malware. I also use AVG Free 2011 and have disabled the link scanner and scheduled scans. Unnecessary startup programs are disabled too. Is my processor that old? Or are the RAM not being used? It originally had 1GB RAM (2x 512MB) but I added 2 sticks of 1GB RAM.

In Task Manager Physical Memory:

Total: 3062MB
Cached: 1628
Available: 1738
Free: 156

[Poppa_Meth]

1) The system is old and outdated. Not a great deal you do will improve the performance that much.
2) You have integrated graphics. Pop a video card in and you'll get some performance gain. It doesn't need to be anything expensive.
3) Get rid of AVG. It's one of the most bloated freeware AVs out there. It's been about 6 years since AVG was any good. Try Avast or MSE instead.

[TimA-C]

What hard drive have you got in there? If it's not a SATA drive or it's more than about two years old then you'd probably see a noticeable improvement by putting in a 500gb or 1Tb SATAII drive. (assuming your motherboard supports SATA hard drives.) I prefer the Samsung Spinpoint F3 hard drives at the moment but I'm sure others will recommend their favourites. If you haven't already got a hard drive benchmarking program then you can download the free version of HD Tune which will give you an idea of what sort of read/write speeds you're currently getting so you could compare them with other results on the HD Tune site or other benchmark charts (e.g. Anandtech or Tom's Hardware page etc.)

At the end of the day, as Poppa_Meth said, "The system is old and outdated." Those Pentium IVs never really lived up to the promise their clockspeeds implied, so, unless your system is still bogged down with background processes (Office? adobe reader? Java quickstart? etc. etc. etc.) or your hard drive is REALLY slow, don't expect miracles! Having said that, I would have thought that pretty much any 2.8GHz system with 3Gb of RAM should be able to play music whilst surfing the net? So maybe there is something else going on with your system? Have you tried running a MalwareBytes full scan from 'Safe mode with networking' so you can update MalwareBytes?

[jagabo]

Turn off AVG's Resident Shield module.

If it's a LGA 775 motherboard replace your P4 with a Core 2 based dual core Celeron, like an E3400, ~US$50:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116348
Make sure your motherboard's BIOS will accept it. Or can be updated to accept it.

[TimA-C]

Another thought, what type of power supply have you got there? What's it's power rating and what sort of voltages are you getting from it? You'll probably need to take a panel off to see the make and power rating but the voltages can usually be found in the motherboard BIOS or by using a util from the motherboard manufacturer or a 3rd party generic util like HW Monitor. (I know these figures can be hugely inaccurate, but if a 12V rail is only showing 10V then that could also indicate a problem. I've seen quite a few systems 'pick up' just by replacing an old, barely acceptable-when-new PSU with a better, more suited one.)

[jman98]

Adding more memory is unlikely to help by the way. I am currently running Windows 7 64 bit so I can't really do an apples to apples comparison, but I did some testing with standard 32 bit XP and my conclusion was that any memory above 2 GB never made any difference or got used by my older systems. Note that 32 bit Windows cannot address more than 4 GB of memory so that is your limit of memory on this PC. Sakuya - your stats show a lot of unused memory and you're basically seeing with I did XP - I never had any programs that could make the memory used on my older PCs go above 2 GB.

[Nelson37]

I would remove the two old 512 sticks and go with just the two new 1gb sticks. Probably faster RAM, 3gb is unneeded, and it might help.

Yes is it old and slow but it sure as hell should play a youtube vid OK.

Also, go through the BIOS and check all settings, maybe even Overclock a bit. couldn't hurt at this point.

Just a note on AVG and Avast. Have use AVG for many years, rarely if ever has it been the cause of a problem. Recently began testing Avast, on two systems out of less than 10 it Caused a major problem requiring removal. End of test.

[freebird73717]

Nelson I'm curious what the major problems with avast were that you had. I've installed avast on a bunch of systems and also run it on all my home systems and have had no problems.

[Nelson37]

Damn, I knew you were going to ask me that. It's been a few months.

I was impressed with the speed and some of the features.

IIRC there was some sort of conflict with a particular software that the customer needed in one case. The other was a lockup associated with an update. Both caused either significant or total function loss, very quickly after installing, within a few days. This required a second trip at no charge, which really sticks in my mind.

The update one I remember because it was very similar to something I've seen two or three times with Spyware Doctor, sort of an endless loop which makes the Pc totally non-functional. Never did use Spyware Doctor, but the Avast was installed by me so the problems it caused were my responsibility.

I am trying to remember the software issue, IIRC it was a fairly common program which was slowed dramatically. I'll post back if I remember it.

AVG has it's issues but it does not cause screaming phone calls from customers wanting it removed. "screaming" is a bit of an exaggeration but not too far off.

[freebird73717]

Ah ok. I remember some people having issues similar to that when vesion 5 first came out. I never had them come up but I do remember hearing from others that did. However I think that most of those problems were fixed. They are now up to version 6. Nice new features including a "sandbox" feature.

Both caused either significant or total function loss, very quickly after installing, within a few days. This required a second trip at no charge, which really sticks in my mind

I completely understand. It only takes once for me to get burned and not want to go back as well.

[roma_turok]

On you system only Windows XP speeding up computer.

[handyguy]

Windoz sometimes scans your computer to see what updates it needs & that really slows things.

One computer I just got has W7 & almost each time I turn it on it does an update. I like XP, it almost never updates.

[Noahtuck]

Ah ok. I remember some people having issues similar to that when vesion 5 first came out. I never had them come up but I do remember hearing from others that did. However I think that most of those problems were fixed. They are now up to version 6. Nice new features including a "sandbox" feature.

I have been using avast internet security for well over a year and i never had a problem with it, i install it on a lot of systems and all my own.

And they had sandbox on V5 because that was one of the features that i liked when i switched to it.

[Sakuya]

I forgot to mention, my integrated graphics is not supported by Win7. I had to Google far and wide and found a driver that, even though was not specifically meant for my integrated graphics model #, it still works. Could that be the problem? I'm not able to see any of the Aero styles and effects of course.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I'll check into that Celeron processor.

[jagabo]

It's extremely helpful that you didn't mention what integrated graphics chip you have. That way everyone gets to keep guessing. Fun!

[usually_quiet]

A Socket 775 CPU won't work with that motherboard.The Asus P4G800-V manual says "Socket 478 for Intel Pentium 4/Northwood with speeds up to 3.4 GHz. Supports Hyper-Threading Technology. New power design supports next generation Intel Prescott CPU. FSB 800/533/400" It does have a slot that supports AGP video cards. Since the integrated video is not supported by Windows 7, getting a new video card that is supported would likely be helpful.

CPU upgrades will be limited to second-hand items for a reasonable price. The lowest price for a 3.4 GHz Pentium 4 CPU I saw after a brief search was $45, but I didn't check eBay. Used CPUs won't come with a CPU cooler, so you will may to purchase one unless the one you have can be re-used. The selection of new AGP video cards is small, although most are under $100. Buying a second hand video card might save you some money also, if you can find one with drivers for Windows 7.

Windows XP would have been a better choice for that system. Vista and Windows 7 entail more overhead, particularly for graphics.

You also could try Microsoft Security Essentials instead of Avast. Three weeks ago I installed Microsoft Security Essentials on my nephew's 2.8GHz Pentium 4 laptop running Windows XP and Windows Firewall. The machine runs fine with 2GB of memory.

I am using Microsoft Security Essentials on my Windows 7 PC now too. I uninstalled Avast 6 two weeks ago, after a few years as a satisfied customer. During the week prior to that I was getting a BSOD on start up every day or every other day. Bluescreenview and WhoCrashed pointed the finger at Avast. The problem apparently resulted from incompatibility of Avast's aswSP.SYS with Comodo firewall, although I had been using both together for years with no problems up to that point.

[jagabo]

A Socket 775 CPU won't work with that motherboard.The Asus P4G800-V manual says "Socket 478 for Intel Pentium 4/Northwood with speeds up to 3.4 GHz.

I should have checked that.

The lowest price for a 3.4 GHz Pentium 4 CPU I saw after a brief search was $45, but I didn't check eBay.

Going from a 2.8 GHz to 3.4 GHz P4 won't help a lot. Only ~10 percent increase in performance.

The selection of new AGP video cards is small, although most are under $100.

That's probably his best bet -- an AGP card with hardware video decoding. One of the ATI Radeon 3000 or 4000 series. US$50 to $100.

[Sakuya]

Sorry for the delayed response. It says the graphics chipset is Intel 865G GMCH, under it Intel ICH5. My current driver is Intel(R) 82865G Graphics Controller XDDM.

So a new graphics card is still my best bet?

[budz]

Sorry for the delayed response. It says the graphics chipset is Intel 865G GMCH, under it Intel ICH5. My current driver is Intel(R) 82865G Graphics Controller XDDM.

So a new graphics card is still my best bet?

If you don't wanna build another pc then yuh that would be your best bet.....P4 is so outdated.....

[Sakuya]

It's the hardware that's being updated too fast.

[budz]

It's the hardware that's being updated too fast.

Cause you can't keep up!

[TimA-C]

Just remember that if you do buy a new AGP graphics card a) it won't make that big a difference (may help with youtube) and b) you won't be able to use it in a new PC/Motherboard so don't spend too much on it.

[deadmeow]

I had an old Celeron system until last year. I dual booted using WinXP (mostly) and sometimes Win2000. I also used a 7200 RPM hard drive, and in "system settings/visual effects", I disabled all the fancy display effects. Windows 2000 was slightly faster than XP, and even gave a tiny boost to my gaming.

I had Win7 on my new Phenom IIX6 machine originally, but Win7 is slower than XP, so I switched back to XP. I can only imagine how slow it would have been to run Win7 on my Celeron.

If you plan on keeping this system, I would say make sure you have at least a 7200 RPM speed hard drive, absolutely switch to XP (turn off visual effects), and throw in a $30 graphics card, and you will be milking the most you can out of this system until you upgrade.

[jagabo]

Just remember that if you do buy a new AGP graphics card a) it won't make that big a difference (may help with youtube)

It may help more than you think. Intel integrated graphics are really the bottom of the barrel. With Win7 the GPU is working all the time, a lot more than in XP. The 865g may be the source of the problems the OP lists. Not only will a $50 Radeon 3650 or 4650 have much more GPU power, but disabling the IGP will free up a lot of memory bandwidth for the CPU.

Sakuya, try disabling Win7's transparency effects. That should help a little.

[lacywest]

Try this website ... for hints ... http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/supertweaks.htm

One of things I would look at ... if possible to take the mother board out ... and put something newer in it.

[neomaine]

And once you're sure your new GPU is working fine, disable the integrated graphics in BIOS. No need to have it defined if it's not being used.

[TBoneit]

Be careful if you buy a used video card many older ATI cards have no WIn7 support.

[TimA-C]

Just remember that if you do buy a new AGP graphics card a) it won't make that big a difference (may help with youtube)

It may help more than you think. Intel integrated graphics are really the bottom of the barrel. With Win7 the GPU is working all the time, a lot more than in XP. The 865g may be the source of the problems the OP lists. Not only will a $50 Radeon 3650 or 4650 have much more GPU power, but disabling the IGP will free up a lot of memory bandwidth for the CPU.

Sakuya, try disabling Win7's transparency effects. That should help a little.

Sure, but surely even an on-board intel gpu wouldn't cause MP3s to stutter on a 2.8GHz P4 when surfing? I still reckon there's something else going on with his system. If he could borrow a graphics card to confirm that that is the main problem with his system before spending money.

[lordsmurf]

What plugins in Firefox?
Honestly FF became too bloated for your system. I have a similar computer.

Use Chrome instead -- it will be faster/better.

[Sakuya]

Sakuya, try disabling Win7's transparency effects. That should help a little.

Integrated graphics don't support Aero so there are no transparency effects.

What plugins in Firefox?
Honestly FF became too bloated for your system. I have a similar computer.

Use Chrome instead -- it will be faster/better.

I use Echofon and Perapera-kun translator.

I uninstalled AVG yesterday and installed MSE and noticed a significant increase in speed. MP3s no longer stutter and YouTube videos don't lag! I have Superantispyware as well as Malwarebytes Anti-spyware so I think MSE should be good enough.

As for the graphics card, I think I will save up money to spend on a new computer rather than wasting money replacing stuff for this old junk after all.