More RAM or what??

Processor = P4 3G 774 EM64.
M/Brd = Intel D945PSNLK.
RAM = 2048 DDR2 PC533 4 x 512M Vdata.
OS = Win XP Pro.

I'm experiencing some odd problems since installing Office 2007 Enterprise Edition, CPU seems to be Maxing out i.e. Box appears on the Task Bar all greened out when using Word or Excel.

I have done the SPC /scannow thing and it does seem better.

Questions:

(a) Will more or better quality RAM help?

(b) what is the fastest RAM that should work with the above specs?

(c) Any recommendations?

Ram prices seem cheap at the moment, I was thinking 4096 RAM probably good Brand, Corsair etc.


Thanks for any assistance.

 

When you open task manager, is it just office 2007 that's taking up all that space in your CPU? Also, 2 gigs of RAM is already a lot.

Another thing, if you want to use 4 gigs of RAM with your computer, you'll have to update to a 64-bit operating system as 32-bit operating systems do not have the ability to address so much RAM. One exception is Windows Server 2003, which through the use of some random extensions is able to address more RAM. I don't know if those extensions could be integrated into Windows XP, though.

 

I agree.... the problem is not lack of RAM. You have a 'runaway' process or service that isn't releasing memory/CPU resources as it should. Just to see, try running Word/Excel in safe mode and see if the same things happen. You could also try a memory management utility and a CPU management utility to see if they help at all:
FreeRAM http://www.majorgeeks.com/FreeRAM_XP_Pro_d1670.html (freeware)
CPU_Control http://www.majorgeeks.com/CPU-Control_d5875.html (freeware)
You might also find something that will help with runaway processes in this list of downloads http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads40.html
Good luck!

[dlb]
:major

 

OK thanks to all for suggestions, I will try some this afternoon if I can find/budget some time and will come back to let you know how it goes,