Upgrade ???

Hi guys/gals?, I had my PC built to order 2 years ago and with all the advances which have been made since then I was wondering -
1) Do I need to upgrade ? (PC running a bit slow )
2) Should I try to change individual components or buy new ?
RE.-point 1) - I run Comodo,Avast,AWC,Smart defrag,CCleaner;I use F/F3.5 and sometimes Chrome. I use Photoshop, so I believe 64bit is out of the question;also how much RAM can a 32bit system really use before it slows the PC.
I am including my PC specs (otherwise I would be wasting your time !!
Showing Order Reference 220952.

Processor (CPU)


Intel® Core™2 Quad Q6600 (4 X 2.40GHz) 1066MHz FSB/8MB L2 Cache

Memory (RAM)


4GB CORSAIR XMS2 800MHz - LIFETIME WARRANTY! (4x1GB)

Motherboard


ASUS® P5K SE: DDR2, SATAII, PCI-e x16, 2 PCI, 3 x PCI-e x1

Operating System


32 BIT WINDOWS® VISTA Home Premium (inc CD & License)

USB Options


4 PORT USB 2.0 CARD (TOTAL: 12 USB 2.0 PORTS!)

Memory - 1st Hard Disk


500GB SERIAL ATA II HARD DRIVE WITH 16MB CACHE (7200rpm)

2nd Hard Disk


250GB SERIAL ATA II HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7200rpm)

1st CD/DVD Drive


20x Dual Layer LightScribe DVD Writer ±R/±RW/RAM

2nd CD/DVD Drive


16x DVD-ROM WITH 48x CD-ROM

Graphics Card


512MB RADEON HD 2600XT + DVI (Special Offer)

2nd Graphics Card


NONE

Sound Card


Sound Blaster® Audigy® SE with 7.1 Surround Sound: £15

Network Facilities


ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT

Modem


NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND

Floppy Disk Drive


NONE

Memory Card Reader


INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)

Case


Black Neon Bubble case + front USB & front Lights

Power Supply & Case Cooling


600W Quiet Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£59)

Processor Cooling


SUPER QUIET 19 dBA INTEL CPU COOLER (£14)

Firewire & Video Editing

Please can you help? Also if I should buy new, should I buy from an outlet or have one built to order and from whom (IMPORTANT !!)

Yours sincerely -- Snoops27

 

Hmm, a slow quad. Is Your photoshop for work purposes? Are the files getting larger? About the only thing that could be upgraded is your video card, pretty wimpy for that system. Other than that you'd have to go Intel i7.

There's a thread around here somewhere about cleaning out your PC of unnecessary files and programs to speed up a machine, I can't find it at the moment.

As to built, you had a good machine put together aside from the video. Off the shelf is likely cheaper but you might not get the quality components.

 

Hi Augiedoggie, thanks for the speedy answer. No, photoshop is just hobby(serious). Unfortunately I'm no tech expert - far from it - so anything to do with the Bios, registry and so on are far beyond my ageing mind can take in. The PC was built with the help of the salesperson/technician at PCSpecialist and the reason for the crappy graphics card was I did not use photoshop at the time and I don't play any games (well, maybe Pacman now and then LOL). Perhaps that programme you can't remember might help (just trying to make you feel bad LOL). I was told just after I got the PC that I should keep the OS on one HD and use the other one for files. Somebody also mentioned partitioning but that is beyond my humble capabilities, I'm afraid. Anyway, thankyou for taking the time to reply. Snoops27

 

OK, the good news is is that you don't have to upgrade, and of course the bad news is that you will have to study a bit. Since you didn't mention a sudden drop in performance, I'll assume that your machine is free of malware and that it's old and unneeded detritus that is slowing you down.

CCleaner (click on that to download) is a powerful cleaning tool but can be over aggressive too. Install the program, when you get the first check box options screen uncheck everything except for either start menu and/or desktop or keep both if you wish, the rest are not needed.

When you get in there, uncheck everything except what's there under 'System'. Clean it and you should be running faster, though on a quad that's quite the subjective thing as that's a fast CPU.

BTW, at which point do you find things slow? At boot-time or Photoshop or other.

BTW, since the salesman sold you that machine he sure did his job well since Photoshop was not in the mix at the time so he got you to buy a near the top of the line system. Still, you got a good machine which will last you many years. It just needs some TLC.

 

Okaydoakey - I've done al you said + coincidentally my two sons arrived for a surprise visit; (for the first time in months ,but I suppose I must allow them some leeway as they both live & work in the Netherlands) ;so between the 4 of us(including your good self of course)things are running much faster. It turned out to be a combination of things and as I'm sure, after re-reading your last email, you were very close to what seems to have been the major fault . ME !! LOL AS I think I said before, I'm just an old fogey trying to keep up with the technology. NO CHANCE THERE. NO, I had of course heard about the start menu but had never ventured into that unfamiliar territory. I only had 35 start-up items. HOW MANY - I can hear you from here; and the 25 add-ons in FF didn't help either.So, after leaving my lads to it (but watching to learn), about 1hr later I had a speed monster again. Thanks for taking up some of your valuable time to help me. I'll look out for your help in the future. All the best, Snoops27.. OH - start up down to 4 items now !!

 

roflmao Sorry sir, it just burst right out of me.:-D Ya, it happens to everyone. Just have the essentials on start up and then you can always start them on your own whenever you need something specific and not use often. The only FF add-on that I have is a spell-checker.

I'm glad to see your speed demon is back up to erm, speed. It had to be either that or malware. I also have a Q6600 and it has never let me down yet. Good to see of the unexpected visit.

 

Excuse me, but how dare you call me "Sir" - I've never been so insulted:boxing
Given that you too are retired and one only calls one's elders Sir, you must reckon I'm in my dotage, or at the very least in the early stages of alzheimers.:-D:-D.But seriously, at least I made you laugh. So, if our paths cross in the future,it's "Snoops" or if you must "Alan". Thanks again. I do hope you appreciate my sense of humour!rolleyes

 

Yup Snoops, your self deprecating humour is infectious, funny and down to earth. I hope our paths cross again under less dire circumstances. It's been a pleasure to help another old fogey out, lord only knows how many times I came here asking for help and got it. At least I can give a little bit back now.:wine Take care, and oh, your sons saved us at least several posts and a handful of hair each.:-D