How do I speed up my PC or what should I replace?

Question

I have the following config:

• Core 2 Duo E7400 @ 2.8 GHz
  
• 1 GB DDR RAM 667 MHz
  
• 250 GB HDD @ 5400 RPM
  
• Intel DG31PR Motherboard-

This is an April 2009 Computer and running Windows 7 32 bit. The performance on loading 3-4 programs almost hangs the computer and soetimes the mouse pointer also lags. And one more thing is it shows a continuous high Hard-Disk usage.
What may be the problematic part and which part is causing it?
Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Like Carles Fenoy said, start with the RAM. 1 GB is the minimum required for 32-bit Windows 7, which generally means something like "the system will boot, and you will be able to start Notepad, but expect to get plenty of coffee while you wait for it to open". It also doesn't take into account the requirements of other applications that you may want to use to actually get useful work done.

Upgrade your RAM to at least 2 GB, preferably 3 GB. (Note that you may need to alter the boot parameters in order to have Windows make use of the range 2-3 GB.) Don't go above 4 GB on a 32-bit system; Windows won't use the additional RAM, so you'll effectively be wasting your money by installing more than 4 GB. The DG31PR sports two DIMM slots, which means that you should be able to move to 3 GB by installing a second 2 GB DIMM; moving to 4 GB would require replacing the existing DIMM. Note that it appears to use DDR2 RAM, not DDR.

After that, a 5400 rpm hard disk is not very fast by any measure. I would replace it by at least a 7200 rpm model, and would seriously consider a SSD which would greatly help with I/O latency, which is most likely the limiting factor in your disk I/O. (Use the system performance monitor to look at disk I/O queue length; that'll tell you if the disk is a bottleneck. Higher numbers are worse.) Get an overprovisioned model, put a system-managed swap file on it, and accept that it might wear out slightly sooner than a spinning-platter hard disk drive perhaps would. From a flash wear perspective, it'll last long enough to serve a useful life; you're more likely to see e.g. controller failure than flash wearout with reasonable use. You can get an external enclosure and relegate the current drive to serve as backup storage if you wish (you can never have too many backups). A SSD should also cut the power consumption of the computer by somewhere around 5-10 W compared to a spinning-platter hard disk, as well as lower the noise level of the computer because there are fewer moving parts.

With these two changes (upgrading to a total of 3 GB RAM, and a SSD) you'll probably find the performance of that system to be quite acceptable.

Answer 2

From my point of view your configuration seems to be very short on RAM. The high HDD usage is because of the use of the disk as paging file, so when there is not enough memory available some is freed and moved to the HDD. So increasing the amount of RAM should considerably increase the performance.

Answer 3

First, I will say what you're running and what you're opening could have an extreme impact on the perceived time to open applications and will also have impact on what you need to upgrade, or if you need to upgrade a component. Ctrl + shift + Esc, and open the resource monitor and keep it open while opening those applications to see what the memory usage is like - it is most likely the culprit.

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Biggest Bet

In general, based on your specs, upgrade:

1. RAM

I'd suggest 4GB for your system. Unlike what others have said, 4GB can be used in a 32b system. If you want to test out a 64b system for free you could download one of the Linux distros (e.g., Ubuntu).

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Why not HD?

Unlike what other users have said, you do not need to upgrade your HD. Granted a 2009 5400RPM HDD is a little dated, but sometime around then many 5400RPMs were performing the same or better than 7200RPMs, so it is a matter of manufacturer. I've "invested" thousands in SSDs for many many years now and yes, while they will speed up application loads and boot times, you are experiencing a lag that will exist if you get one. Also, SSDs are still expensive than getting another stick of RAM.

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What else could it be?

For 1, if you're running antivirus or other background applications/service, they could certainly be consuming memory (and CPU cycles) that you may desperately need. Furthermore, applications like Photoshop and video games may need a considerable GPU with a decent proc and GDDR, so yes, upgrading your video card may also help performance.

Also, over time, parts go bad, especially when they've been exposed to extreme heat or cold. That means that the RAM you have could have bad blocks, as well as the HD. So there is the possibility that you might need to upgrade one of the other components in addition to giving it some more temp memory (RAM).

Lastly, one thing you should do is open up that case and make sure to use some compressed air to blow out dust. Dust is bad for the computer as it could bridge paths on the motherboard that should not be connected. Due to failsafes, many times the computer will still operate, but slower, eventually leading to overheating and a crash. Regardless, your computer is an engine, and like a car it should be maintained.

Answer 4

After putting in more and faster RAM (2x 1 GB 800 MHz PC2-6400 RAM, enabling the dual memory architecture of you MoBo), consider replacing your HDD. A 5400 rpm HDD is quite slow. Consider a 7200 rpm SATA disk or even better a SSD disk. Use the SSD for Windows and Applications, while retaining your old HD for data/documents/media.

Answer 5

1. Upgrade your RAM.

2. Go through the task manager tasks and check which is keeping your hard drive busy

3. Open a CMD and enter: powercfg -getActiveScheme. Copy the GUID.

4. Open a CMD and enter: powercfg -setacvalueindex [GUID without the square brackets] 54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00 893dee8e-2bef-41e0-89c6-b55d0929964c 100
   and
   powercfg -setdcvalueindex [GUID without the square brackets] 54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00 893dee8e-2bef-41e0-89c6-b55d0929964c 100. This will decrease battery life but increase performance