Intel Atom question

If this is the wrong forum please redirect. I purchased a Asus net book from a friend for cheap, they did not use it. Is there anyway speed up the CPU? Its not that bad at surfing the net, but skype is slow.

Thanks
James

 

They're usually integrated processors so they can not be upgraded.

How much RAM is in the unit? Additional RAM can often times improve performance as much or more then a processor upgrade depending on how much RAM you had to start with.

 

You mean skype video calls? Are you sure your broadband is fast enough for smooth video,do have any other computers that you can test to call the "SAME" person with to compare the two?

I concur with sherdly you can't upgrade netbooks,you will probably get more help if you posted the model and specifications of the netbook.

BTW the skype message "your computer is running slow" can be an error and should be ignored if you have no other problems or turned off in skype options.

 

The Intel graphics chipset is also a drag on the Atom netbooks, try GMABooster.

If it's a network problem, try to set it up before the call that nothing else is calling home or whatever - shut down all but the basics.

 

Hey, Thanks. My better half and my SIL like to Skype Video call. Our connection speed is about the same. Our end on Skype says our computer speed is slow. I ran Decrapifier to get a few things off. I don't know if things are running in the back ground.

Ram might be the option?

System Info:
Intel Atom N450
1.67 GHz
1 GB ram
Win 7 32 Bit

James

 

Extra RAM (check with Crucial.com) will help but the graphics chipset is likely to be the biggest problem with video, assuming it's the normal Intel graphics 'accelerator'.

 

A quick look around some netbook specific forums suggests that Skype can perform reasonably well on video chats, the message from Skype seems to be based on the Windows performance ratings not based on any live data.

There's also some video option for the camera to turn off within Skype that refers to Cybercam (or similar), set it to the non 'Cybercam' option.

An alternative might be Skype Lite.

Hmm, I might dust off my netbook later and test it out.

 

Where do I check the graphics chip set? Or maybe an upgrade?

James

 

An upgrade to a netbook past RAM and hard drive is out of the question James, not possible.

In Device Manager you can find the details of the graphics chipset. Press the Windows key+Pause/Break - check your Windows Experience rating there then, on the left of that window, click Device Manager then click the + next to Display adapter in the right pane to check which graphics you have.

One thing that may also be needed, if the video glitches, is DirectX 9.0C, W7 doesn't have the full package installed under DX11, adding this will aid full compatibility (within the restrictions set by the chipset).

 

There is very little that can be upgraded in a netbook. About the only things that can be upgraded on a netbook would be the RAM and HDD.

The Device Manager should help identify the video controller.

Oops, Posted ate the same time as Satrow.