Re: Swapping CPU's
Rather than getting that, you can get the Xeon equivalent for much, much less (talking about 1/3 to 1/2 the price here... and sometimes more). The only additional thing you will need is a socket 771 -> 775 mod sticker and either dremel out the CPU socket keys on your motherboard or add new notches on the Xeon CPU. If you have ever done a pencil mod back in the days of socket 462 AMD CPUs, they you can easily do this.
But like the others have said, what you have is a software issue. A faster CPU rarely helps that. More RAM just might... but *might* is the key word here.
That is way too much (un)security software. Ditch ZA, Avast, and Adaware, and that should be much better. In their place, put a good Hosts file and also add Ad Block Plus in Firefox/Chrome/whatever browser you use.
As long as you don't browse torrent or porn websites too much, that should good enough security. And if you feel like it isn't, then just install a free anti-virus program once a month (Avast, AVG, etc.), scan your PC, then remove it when you are done. You absolutely don't need it running all of the time.
That is probably the absolute worst you can do these days - keep all of your software up to date. Software gets more and more bloated each day. Don't update unless something is absolutely critical for security (and much of it isn't).
Avoid Java Updates and Java altogether, unless you absolutely know you need it for certain websites. (I have been Java-free for 4+ years now. Good riddance!)
Same thing with Flash - find a slightly older version that works and turn off its updates. Don't update unless you start getting complaints from website plugins or something stops working.
And drivers? NO, never update unless there are problems. This is even more relevant if you have HP printers. HP driver "packages" and "updates" are riddled with unnecessary boggware and crapware.
...
In short, don't update anything ever, at all, ever. The only exception to that is your browser - keep that *reasonably* updated (i.e. staying behind 1 to 4 versions for FF or Chrome is usually okay - any more than that, and you may start experiencing browser slowdowns on some websites). And maybe OS security updates too.
Last but not least, check what's running at startup. CCleaner is good for that. Anything that's not drivers or software that you use too often - disable!
And a thing worth mentioning for Windows Vista and 7 - putting your PC in Standby rather than Shutting Down is better in many cases. If you have a small list of "commonly used" software on your PC, Superfetch will actually do a pretty good job at keeping things in memory to make your PC seem faster.
At the end of each day, run CCleaner (but NOT its registry cleaner) to remove unnecessary piled up temporary files, as diif suggested in post #8.
They are indeed.
I am using a Pentium 3 laptop with 512 MB of RAM to post this right now. It's fine for the more basic forums and datasheet lookup/fetching on the internet, as well as a bit of eBay. Not usable for YouTube due to slow CPU. But 3 minute page load times? Never. Worst I get is on really bloated flash websites, where my CPU might be maxxed out for 10-20 seconds before the page fully loads. But give it a break - it's a 700 MHz Pentium 3 CPU I am talking about here.
Rather than getting that, you can get the Xeon equivalent for much, much less (talking about 1/3 to 1/2 the price here... and sometimes more). The only additional thing you will need is a socket 771 -> 775 mod sticker and either dremel out the CPU socket keys on your motherboard or add new notches on the Xeon CPU. If you have ever done a pencil mod back in the days of socket 462 AMD CPUs, they you can easily do this.
But like the others have said, what you have is a software issue. A faster CPU rarely helps that. More RAM just might... but *might* is the key word here.
Originally posted by rhomanski
As long as you don't browse torrent or porn websites too much, that should good enough security. And if you feel like it isn't, then just install a free anti-virus program once a month (Avast, AVG, etc.), scan your PC, then remove it when you are done. You absolutely don't need it running all of the time.
Originally posted by diif
Avoid Java Updates and Java altogether, unless you absolutely know you need it for certain websites. (I have been Java-free for 4+ years now. Good riddance!)
Same thing with Flash - find a slightly older version that works and turn off its updates. Don't update unless you start getting complaints from website plugins or something stops working.
And drivers? NO, never update unless there are problems. This is even more relevant if you have HP printers. HP driver "packages" and "updates" are riddled with unnecessary boggware and crapware.
...
In short, don't update anything ever, at all, ever. The only exception to that is your browser - keep that *reasonably* updated (i.e. staying behind 1 to 4 versions for FF or Chrome is usually okay - any more than that, and you may start experiencing browser slowdowns on some websites). And maybe OS security updates too.
Last but not least, check what's running at startup. CCleaner is good for that. Anything that's not drivers or software that you use too often - disable!
And a thing worth mentioning for Windows Vista and 7 - putting your PC in Standby rather than Shutting Down is better in many cases. If you have a small list of "commonly used" software on your PC, Superfetch will actually do a pretty good job at keeping things in memory to make your PC seem faster.
At the end of each day, run CCleaner (but NOT its registry cleaner) to remove unnecessary piled up temporary files, as diif suggested in post #8.
Originally posted by retiredcaps
I am using a Pentium 3 laptop with 512 MB of RAM to post this right now. It's fine for the more basic forums and datasheet lookup/fetching on the internet, as well as a bit of eBay. Not usable for YouTube due to slow CPU. But 3 minute page load times? Never. Worst I get is on really bloated flash websites, where my CPU might be maxxed out for 10-20 seconds before the page fully loads. But give it a break - it's a 700 MHz Pentium 3 CPU I am talking about here.
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