Does Avast use more system resources than Mcafee?

Hi! Does Avast use more system resources than Mcafee?

In this thread here: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=231658 I list some errors, freezing, etc. that I've been experiencing with a new laptop I received as a gift. I took it to the store, they saw I'm not using Mcafee that they installed on it and said it's the Avast causing these errors, using too much system resources and they want to put Mcafee back on (I had uninstalled it wanting to use Avast). They said they're going to charge me $75 for reinstalling the system, but will waive the fee if they're wrong about the Avast causing the errors/system resource hogger. What do you guys think?
:-o

Side note... he didn't even know what Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, SuperAntispyware, Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool or Spyware Blaster programs were.
rolleyes

Below are the laptop specs as written on the box:

HP Compaq Presario CQ56 - 109WM Notebook PC

Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

Intel Celeron Processor 900
(2.20GHz, 1MB cache, 800 MHz FSB)

2GB DDR2 system memory

250GB (5400RPM) SATA hard drive

SuperMulti 8x DVD+-R/RW with Double Layer support

802.11 b/g/n wireless LAN

15.6" diagonal high-definition HP BrightView display
(1366 x 768)

Intel Graphics Media Accelorator
4500M with up to 797MB total available graphics memory

3 USB 2.0 ports

 

I think it is safe to say that avast does NOT use more system resources than Mcafee.

What exactly is the $75 for? Are they wanting to do a format and reinstall the entire OS or are they trying to charge you $75 to uninstall one program and install another?!?!?

If they are going to do a format and reinstall form disk or the recovery partition- then how would they know what was causing the issue. Everything will be back to factory defaults and running like the first time it was booted. You would never know what the cause was.

I think regardless I wouldn't let them do anything. Give your money to someone that knows what they are talking about or work on the issue yourself. The only reason I would even consider putting Mcafee back on is if I had already payed for a subscription for a year or whatever. Otherwise, my current choice for a free anti-virus for a home user is Microsoft Security Essentials.

 

they do a comparison here for suites and AV's

http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives...age-antivirus-and-internet-security-for-2010/
http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives...virus-is-the-lightest-on-system-memory-usage/

bench mark testing
http://www.raymond.cc/antivirus/index.html

 

I use Windows 7, 64bit also, switching every month or so between Avast and Avira (free versions) with never a problem. Iv'e used MSE also, without conflicts. Most box stores usually seem trained to reformat rather than diagnose and fix the specific problem. And they often seem financially motivated to want to install Norton or McAfee. I wouldn't want either on my computer. Not anymore. I'd make sure I totally uninstalled whichever AV I *wasn't* using however. Most av programs can be pretty tenacious, and that's why often a tool is needed to remove them entirely. I'd try to find what the problem is, rather than just reformat. Great way to learn, also.

 

And somebody who doesn't recognize the programs you mentioned aren't even going to touch any machine of mine, much less work on it.

 

I've had the laptop since Christmas. Should this repair be under warranty? Or did I void it when I installed Avast and uninstalled the Mcfee that originally came on it?

Yes, I believe he wants to reinstall it. He didn't even look at the errors I wrote down for him. All he did was look at the bottom right and saw that I took Mcafee off and he told me Avast uses too much system resources, that this was the problem.

Attached is a pic of the Task Manager the last time I was able to get into the laptop before it froze. (I had to let the battery run out in order for it to shut down).

 

Sorry, it won't let me attach the pic again, but it's #6 in this thread... http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=231658

 

Greetings, Oooops!

That screenshot should be sufficient evidence to support the belief that avast! is not hogging the machine's resources.

 

Thank you very very much guys!!!