AVG 8.. Uses a lot of resources, is it worth running?

I recently updated to AVG 8, and I've noticed that it's quite the system resource hog. Is it really worth running? Are there other free applications that provide the same or better level of protection without using so much system resources? :major

 

1. Had you used AVG7 and is your comparison based on using AVG7?

Yes.

2. Is this resource issue a full time problem or is it only during bootup?

Full time.

3. Did you install only the antivirus or did you install a security suite?

I installed only the free antivirus edition, but this edition includes features that could be considered security suite material: Email Scanner, LinkScanner, Resident Shield, and Anti-Spyware.

4. Did you uninstall whatever antivirus you were running before you installed AVG8?

Yes.


avgrsx.exe, for example, alone constantly uses 50mb of system memory! This is when AVG is not doing any scans. avgwdsvc.exe, which also runs constantly, constantly uses 10mb.

It seems like AVG saw new computers having more RAM and faster CPU, and thought they could therefore use more system resources. If the level of protection is truly improved enough to warrant the additional system resources then I don't mind too much, but if not.. :confused

 

Hmm, this morning I looked at process manager and I caught avgrsx.exe using only 29mb of memory. It's holding steady there. Maybe it was running some sort of scans before that it wasn't telling about?