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Beginnerboy
New Member
93 Posts |
 Posted - 03/20/2008 : 10:23:57
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Hi.....I am slowly learning....and don't need to spend lots of money.....I am running a Compaq Presario,1.4Ghz Pentium 4...640Ram..XP professional SP2....40gig Cdrive...200 gig Edrive..Computer is about 7 years old....I just keep upgrading! Trying to save money but needing to speed up my computer! What is the best way to speed it up without spending lots of money? More RAM?... OR Can I buy a faster processor and put it in myself like i would RaM or a new PCI card?....Thanks, Beginnerboy
"The early bird gets the worm.....But...the second mouse gets the cheese!" |
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billmellon
Senior Member
5410 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 11:45:45
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More RAM. But not just any RAM stick. Go to crucial.com and let their site analyze your PC, and they will tell you what RAM to install. Bring the TOTAL RAM up to at least 1mb.
A day hemmed in Prayer is less likely to unravel |
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Diablo
Intermediate Member
970 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 11:56:50
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As Billmellon said,
RAM is the best upgrade I ever made to any computer.
Diablo |
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xhi
Advanced Member
8336 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 12:04:13
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billmellon is correct. Memory is usually the cheapest, easiest and fastest way to improve computer performance.
Upgrading a processor is usually an unsatisfactory way to improve PC performance. To get a significant upgrade you would probably have to upgrade your motherboard. Processors have different sets of pins requiring a motherboard to match. This motherboard change may mean that your memory from your old system will not fit in the new motherboard. Thus requiring purchase of memory. etc. etc.
I have usually found that the best way to upgrade is to buy what is known as a "barebones" system This usually includes case, motherboard, memory, and sometimes disk and cd drives. This allows the most improvement for the buck and you can use many of your old parts in the new system such as the disk, cd drives, keyboard, monitor, speakers, etc.
I have also had real good luck with refurbished computers which can be bought cheaply and you can use many of your peripherals in them to beef them up.
Xhi
Never start vast projects with half-vast ideas |
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Snowball
Senior Member
2649 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 15:06:48
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Xhi, you took the words right out of my mouth.
I will add to that though is if in the future you plan to install a CPU yourself, RESEARCH first! Look up CPU installations on You Tube and see how others did it. It helped me a lot when I built my first computer from scratch. If you don't know what you are doing with a CPU, you can damage the CPU and motherboard. |
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Beginnerboy
New Member
93 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2009 : 19:30:58
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| I did watch a youtube video on how to change out a processor. I studied up on what was the fastest one that would fit in my motherboard.....found one cheap on Ebay......watched the video again....and tried it.......IT WORKED......and wasn't all that hard to do.......... |
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billmellon
Senior Member
5410 Posts |
Posted - 10/30/2009 : 06:58:43
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As I've always said to my local Board of Education, "A College Degree just proves you're an educated idiot. The best education is self-taught".
BMThe Silver Haired TechIs PRAYER your STEERING WHEEL or your SPARE TIRE? |
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xhi
Advanced Member
8336 Posts |
Posted - 10/30/2009 : 07:30:10
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In answer to your question and paraphrasing a popular polititionCan I put in a faster processor ?Yes, you can!
Xhi
The Computer Whisperer
Never start vast projects with half-vast ideas |
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wrrogers
Junior Member
389 Posts |
Posted - 10/30/2009 : 09:55:14
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quote:
Originally posted by billmellon
More RAM. But not just any RAM stick. Go to crucial.com and let their site analyze your PC, and they will tell you what RAM to install. Bring the TOTAL RAM up to at least 1mb.
A day hemmed in Prayer is less likely to unravel
You meant 'Bring TOTAL RAM up to at least 1 GB, right? |
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easylee
Starting Member
17 Posts |
Posted - 11/01/2009 : 23:03:29
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RAM...max it out...and you don't mention why you want to speed it up. For gaming or anything video intensive, consider buying a pci or agp video card. For about $50 you can buy a 128-256 Mb card that can vastly improve performance. Also, make sure you aren't trying to run too many programs at startup, that you don't have huge files on your desktop and that your virtual memory is setup properly...all of these can detract from the performance of the RAM you DO have. |
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Can I put in a faster processor ?
