Request advice on performance increase?

Hi all, looking for some advice on how to improve the performance of my (relatively old, but underused) desktop machine. It currently has the following spec:
CPU: Pentium Dual Core E5500 chip
OS: Win7 Home Premium 32 bit
Motherboard: Asus P5KPL-AM, with 2GB DDR3 Ram installed
HD: 500Gb S-ATA11 3.0Gb/s,
DVD+-RW,
Onboard 5.1 audio
Wireless 802.11G PCI card,
etc.

Is the best option to (obviously!) increase the RAM? The motherboard seems to have two DDR2 slots (both empty) and two DDR3 slots (one empty). I assume that both DDR2 and DDR3 cannot be used simultaneously?
Thanks for any help/advice offered.

 

Since you're running a 32-bit OS, you'd be limited to a max of 4 GB of RAM and you wouldn't see all of it — maybe 3.15 to 3.5 GB. DDR3 is faster than DDR2. Whether DDR2 & 3 can be used together...:confused

 

Mos' def NO DDR2 and DDR3 running together. Not going to happen, no boot no good, no nothing possible 'magic smoke'.

As you say you have a single RAM slot open and it is DDR3,good news in that you can stick in either another 2GB or a 1GB stick of the same speed and have much goodness. More RAM = more goodness.

The only real other thing to do here is to install a real honest-to-Dog video card. I would suggest pretty much anything current that costs between $70 and $100. The only thing to watch for is that you have enough Power Supply, 400W to 500W. I'm not too sure as to the specs but I do know the Radeon 7750 will not require an extra power plug and it runs much games well enough.

Good luck.

 

Good luck.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for this advice! I'm not really a gamer (too old?), so that cash on a video card will be better spent on another 2Gb of RAM, with change left over. Would upgrading this OS to 64bit version and 8Gb RAM be possible/worthwhile, or a waste of money-better off with a new , higher spec machine? Only really using it for basic surfing, e-mail, music, etc.?

 

Best boost to "real" performance would be using an SSD. Yes, you will have to install the OS fresh, and all your applications. But, adding an SSD will increase your speed quite a bit.

Increasing the ram is the second option to try. 2 GB to 3.2 to 3.75 will be nice.

 

I'm the same — not a gamer (62 yrs old). But, since you have a 64-bit capable system, "upgrading" to the 64-bit OS will also help. Your 32-bit apps will run just fine under the WOW 64 emulater and you could have the 64-bit OS and the 8 GB of RAM for the price of a graphics card. You'll notice improvements in app launch and usage as well as web browsing speed. One note if running FireFox — get Firemin to help with the memory leakage problem Mozilla hasn't seemed to have addressed with FireFox.

 

Thanks again for your help. Can I ask (don't laugh!) do I have to do a fresh install to go from 32bit to 64bit version of the Win7 OS, with all it's consequences?

 

Yes.

 

As Adrynalyne said, "Yes" you'd need to do a fresh install. You can't "convert" from 32-bit to 64-bit. I don't quite know what you mean by "all it's consequences." You should have no issues with 32-bit drivers or apps if that's what you mean.

You'd also need to get the Windows install DVD WITH a COA/Product Key because the one on your computer for 32-bit won't work with the 64-bit install.

 

I just meant, will I lose access to my documents and files, etc? Have to re-install all my software programs, et al? Sorry if these are questions that I should know the answers to!:-o

 

Thanks for this advice! I'm not really a gamer (too old?), so that cash on a video card will be better spent on another 2Gb of RAM, with change left over. Would upgrading this OS to 64bit version and 8Gb RAM be possible/worthwhile, or a waste of money-better off with a new , higher spec machine? Only really using it for basic surfing, e-mail, music, etc.?[/QUOTE]

As your board won't support more than 4 GB RAM there is no point in getting more. 64 bit isn't out of the question but as the difference in perception when using it isn't that big, especially with no more than 4 GB RAM. IME the major benefit of 64 bit is better multi-tasking and being able to use more RAM.

Your board also supports Quad core as per here:

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P5KPLAM/HelpDesk_CPU/

Finding a working one may be a real problem, especially in a cheap price range. Worth a search.

 

You should back up your documents and data files to a USB connected hard drive. Yes, you'll need to re-install drivers and apps but they'll run under the WOW64 emulator as stated previously.

 

rabhrab...

Just going from my experiences, I think you might be getting close to giving a look to a new/used machine. Going from 4 to 8 GB is a very nice jump, and I feel like apps these days really already pretty much expect 8 GB or at least 6. Also, if you spend $50 to upgrade the RAM and another $90 to upgrade the OS, you're already well on your way to a an upgraded PC with even better specs, and you might have some left over still. Also, 64 bit will support more RAM than your motherboard, so why not find a PC with a W7 64 bit COA and then burn a copy of W7 from Digital River and install that way.

I found a 1st gen i3 with 8 GB DDR3 RAM and a Radeon HD4350 graphics card for $70 delivered on ebay. It had a COA for W7 64 bit, so I just bought a new HD and burned a copy of W7 64 and it was all together only $110.

A used PC might not be for everyone, but they are constantly coming off lease from offices and so on and in nearly immaculate condition, sometimes. Thought I would mention it as something that might be worth thinking through for you. This i3 is one of three I have bought this way with no bad experiences so far...

By the way, based on the specs here, your PC uses DDR2 RAM (4 GB max):

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P5KPLAM/specifications/

 

I think everyone has given good ideas and it makes me feel a second machine as altBo suggest would give you immediate gains. Then use this machine as a test-bed to try the suggested ugrades- ram video card os ssd power supply. You could track the changes to see how each step helped the performance. And the changes could be used make the other machine even better. You could compare the 2 machines as you progress.

 

Too old to game???
I am 65 and online with my son or daughter most nights. Wifey games as well. MMO's like WoW and TERA are a ton of fun even with my slow reaction times.
If you play you will probably not be in the most advanced groups but you can play very well as studying the strategy is more important. My WoW group clears all content, but not at the hardest levels. Wifey's group stays one release behind and her raids are more a social event.

More on topic, are you looking to play with the hardware or have a specific need for a faster system?

 

According to Microsoft, you are incorrect:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...h-32-bit/70d546cd-b6e3-44d8-a6c8-fd7feb7d1915
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...ork-with/66896cf8-2693-40ca-9051-da1fde1922c6
The license is good for 32 or 64 bit architecture.

 

Thanks for that info. So, the Product Key determines the version (Home, Professional, Ultimate) but not the bitness (32-bit, 64-bit).

 

I read back through that info you linked to. The key here is the fact that rabhrab's sticker is OEM and therefore wouldn't work with the retail 64-bit version he's purchasing. If he had purchased a retail version initially it would (according to Microsoft) have come with both 32-bit and 64-bit install DVDs but 1 COA/Product Key sticker which could have been used with either DVD but not both.