Hey guys. Not sure if this is the right forum to post in, but here's my problem.
I want my computer to be a used predominantly for photography and internet browsing. I've just uninstalled all my games because I don't want to be too tempted to waste hours upon hours of time on video gaming while I can be studying / doing productive work with photography as my Os draw near.
My computer is becoming extremely slow / sluggish. Everything seems to be slowing down to a crawl really. I reformatted at the end of the year, and it was alright for 2 months, then it became laggy again.
My computer was built at the end of 2005, here are the specs:
AMD X2 3800+ (OC'ed slightly)
Not sure what mobo
4x512mb DDR1 (I think) ram
Nvidia 7800GT (OC'ed slightly)
480W iCute PSU
150GB internal: The thicker kind of HDD; used as C drive
150GB internal: The thinner one, used for photo storage
150GB external: Used as mobile photo storage & backup
I haven't been tech-whizzy for a good 2 years already. I setup the above and back then it was a 'notch below the best'. Obviously new-gen tech has evolved further now, but my computer is by no means dated to me (other than DDR1 ram).
Last time, whenever I opened a folder on a desktop for example, it would be instantaneous. Now, I have to wait 1-2 seconds. Nothing bad here, except that when more apps are running, opening folders can take long periods of time. Back when I got the computer, CS Source ran at about 125fps, but now, it runs on 40 - 60fps only. Obviously the game itself was updated along the way, but I can't explain the 60fps drop, especially since I've been using the same in-game settings all the way.
My work in Photoshop CS1 isn't speedy. It used to be, but now it's just slow. Last time, the liquefy tool took at best 1 sec to load a standard 1024x768 image. Now, I think it takes about 3-4 seconds. I downloaded the Lightroom2 trial, and I'm loving it. But I hate how everything is extremely slow. I want to purchase LR2, but my only concern is how my PC will handle it properly.
I could go on and on about examples of slow-speeds, but I'll stop. Is there any way at all that I can speed things up? I defrag weekly (and after every major install/uninstall/data moving), Crap-Clean every night and perform "disc-cleanup" every week. I've got TuneXP installed too.
Upgrading my computer isn't what I feel like doing unless needed. I for-see with my limited knowledge of current-tech that if I want to up the ram, I'd need to replace the mobo and processor. That'll cost a lot, and I just can't afford that, especially since I'm trying to invest most of my savings into photography gear.
Any help here?
Cheers,
Zexun
I want my computer to be a used predominantly for photography and internet browsing. I've just uninstalled all my games because I don't want to be too tempted to waste hours upon hours of time on video gaming while I can be studying / doing productive work with photography as my Os draw near.
My computer is becoming extremely slow / sluggish. Everything seems to be slowing down to a crawl really. I reformatted at the end of the year, and it was alright for 2 months, then it became laggy again.
My computer was built at the end of 2005, here are the specs:
AMD X2 3800+ (OC'ed slightly)
Not sure what mobo
4x512mb DDR1 (I think) ram
Nvidia 7800GT (OC'ed slightly)
480W iCute PSU
150GB internal: The thicker kind of HDD; used as C drive
150GB internal: The thinner one, used for photo storage
150GB external: Used as mobile photo storage & backup
I haven't been tech-whizzy for a good 2 years already. I setup the above and back then it was a 'notch below the best'. Obviously new-gen tech has evolved further now, but my computer is by no means dated to me (other than DDR1 ram).
Last time, whenever I opened a folder on a desktop for example, it would be instantaneous. Now, I have to wait 1-2 seconds. Nothing bad here, except that when more apps are running, opening folders can take long periods of time. Back when I got the computer, CS Source ran at about 125fps, but now, it runs on 40 - 60fps only. Obviously the game itself was updated along the way, but I can't explain the 60fps drop, especially since I've been using the same in-game settings all the way.
My work in Photoshop CS1 isn't speedy. It used to be, but now it's just slow. Last time, the liquefy tool took at best 1 sec to load a standard 1024x768 image. Now, I think it takes about 3-4 seconds. I downloaded the Lightroom2 trial, and I'm loving it. But I hate how everything is extremely slow. I want to purchase LR2, but my only concern is how my PC will handle it properly.
I could go on and on about examples of slow-speeds, but I'll stop. Is there any way at all that I can speed things up? I defrag weekly (and after every major install/uninstall/data moving), Crap-Clean every night and perform "disc-cleanup" every week. I've got TuneXP installed too.
Upgrading my computer isn't what I feel like doing unless needed. I for-see with my limited knowledge of current-tech that if I want to up the ram, I'd need to replace the mobo and processor. That'll cost a lot, and I just can't afford that, especially since I'm trying to invest most of my savings into photography gear.
Any help here?
Cheers,
Zexun