Upgrade question

I think about upgrading my pc, because it's pretty slow compared to some, and since its my first time ( yeah well I'm just 16 yr old), I feel doubtful and unsure.

I would just like to know if i have to change drivers or take any other precautions, because i heard somebody manually changed some parts and his pc stopped working because the hardware didn't match with his drivers . I'd also like to know which processors have the best performance (I definitely need 3.0ghz or more) and price (how can u expect a 16 yr old to have much money?). When we ordered it, we asked for best specs for gaming and performance, and that's what we got
Anyway, sorry for sounding very unexperienced, but is there any other important factors to consider to optimize your computer speed? I mean, other then the processor. Of course i got rid of all the spyware and adware and i have a good anti-virus and firewall, but the pc just wont stop lagging since some time now. Or if some specific parts affect my performance speed and whatever. If it might interest you, here's my present specs:
http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/4400/untitledos2.png
To you, it wil definitely look like a crappy pc, but it worked well until now, and I thought i just needed some new fresh parts (since this pc is 4 yr old).
Please take this seriously and consider that i'm just 16 XD

 

It depends on if its a home made pc or a pc made from a company. the only thing you can change from a factory pc is the memory. add 512mb more and it will be fine. if its a home made, i recommend amd athlon 64 3800+ because it can run mostly anything!

 

you can try re-formating the pc, that always speeds my computer up after i get rid of major spyware or virus

 

Factory as in like Dell?
Well then no, we chose the parts individually and the company put them together for us, if thats what u meant by it, but thanks anyway. Now, at least, I've got an idea of what I should buy. But I'd still like to read more people's answers, if at least you have some advice to give, I'd be glad to hear it.

 

We need to know what your motherboard (mobo) is.

Use everest:

http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4181

Then we can decide on what your mobo supports, and the ram. Then we can decide on the video card.

The lagging issue, we need to know what is lagging. Are ye talking online, personal gaming, online gaming, etc...

 

Actually, you can change most everything on a "factory" PC... Including the processor.

The motherboard in question is a Pentium, so the Athlon you recommended would not be applicable.

Bazzeh, what do you use the computer for? Gaming? Schoolwork? Internet?
More RAM would definately help.

Follow theefool.. and work from there.

Meit

 

Theefool, in Everest, as you said, i could see a lot of details on my motherboard, but here's what it says in the summary:
ASRock P4S61 (3 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 AMR, 3 DDR DIMM, Audio, Video, LAN)

I hope this helps us out, and thanks for answering.

Meit, as any ordinary student, i use my pc for many purposes, sometimes all at the same time. I don't know how to be specific with this question but mostly I listen to music and play games. Games that use alot of RAM of course, but that doesn't really matter, since sometimes my pc starts lagging before I run anything at all, and takes at least 10 minutes to open up Mozilla.

I also forgot to mention, that recently, I tried many programs that boost PC's performance, optimize settings, unfreeze programs, etc. I don't really know if they work, but I see no apparent changes. If there is a program that is really worth installing and that really works, I'd be happy if someone gave me advice on this too.
Once again, sorry for my lack of knowledge, and thank you in advance.

 

http://www.majorgeeks.com/CCleaner_Slim_No_Yahoo_Toolbar_English_d4191.html

I would recommend this program. Gets rid of junk files and will help speed things up. Most of the "optimizer" programs do nothing unless you pay for them..

Coupled with more RAM and possibly a video card, clearing your computer of "junk files" will help more than anything, short of major upgrades.

You may also wish to work through the Read & Run Me First found in the malware section, as malware can slow you down to a crawl.. even faster than old components.

Meit

 

Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Is What You Need And That Is It, If You Do Not Have Money Then Close Your Firewall And Your Antivirus Ecause They Can Use All Your Resources, But Your Processor Is Just Fine Dose Not Need Any Upgrade
Goodluck
Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Is All What You Need 16 BOY

 

I wouldn't recommend disabling A/V or Firewall.. Kinda leaves you wide open.

 

You also mentioned that sometimes your computer lags before gaming, and that you have downloaded and presumably installed a bunch of free pc cleaners.
CCleaner is a good tool as mentioned below.
Also More RAM never hurt a pc. There are also still some very decent AGP GFx cards available for alot lower price than they ever were .
After saying that you downloaded free pc cleener stuff, Just to be safe, I would also ask the malware section for steps on cleaning your pc from malware etc. Your system is not horrible and shouldn't be lagging before you try to play a game. Windows just doesnt hog that much cpu and ram when you have a 2.6g, w/ 512. There are more issues at hand, and even adding more RAM doesnt make an immediate speed change (except gaming).
I hope this helps, I think you should repost in the malware section for immediate hijakthis help

 

Please, don't tell me you just told someone to turn off their Antivirus. If you did, at least remind them to turn off thier internet first! At the same time, being on line consumes more ram than Anti Virus guards. Ram is not his immediate problem, Or AV.
.

 

I do not use Anti-virus, I use only bit-defender online scanner, I tried my system with Anti-virus the whole time, it showed me a performance like an old man.
Now without Anti-virus I have a so light system.
But I do not recommend living wide open without a firewall!!!!!!!!!!
Any way I was giving a joke because he is saying 16 years boy and he dose not have money, although if he did work anywhere for 3 or four weeks he can get a decent computer

 

He's already got a decent pc, I will not argue with an i__t! Forget it Adios, I mean adolas
You obviousely dont care when someone needs more than "ram" issues.

 

Hi Bazzah,

it shouldn't take 10 minutes to open up Mozilla. Are you on dialup? You mentioned that you've gotten rid of spyware and adware. How? Have you run the READ & RUN ME FIRST thread under the Majorgeek's Malware section? If not, you should have them pronounce you malware-free before you make any changes to your computer. The CCleaner tool mentioned is part of the READ & RUN ME FIRST and I've watched many many people come in here who had lag problems with their computers which were solved by going to the Malware section for help.

Secondly, which AV are you using? Some of them are real resource hogs for computers which are from the age group of yours and mine. Nortons and Kaspersky (6.0) take a lot of resources.

I hope this will give you some new thoughts.
abri

 

Hi. I agree with Meit and Jaza for the most part. Antivirus, antispyware and firewall proggies are necessities. A good registry cleaner (RegSeeker, Wise Registry Cleaner) should help, too. Good night and good luck.