Improving computer speeds

[Monkey]

hello all,
I upgraded my computer about 3 months ago and I feel like I have not noticed a signifficant difference in performance. My video games play better, but thats because I upgraded from a radeon 9600 to a 4850. However, I feel like my load times for normal programs is longer than it should. What can I do to improve load times?

My specs:
mobo p43
cpu e7200
ram 2 gig

 

[NightSurge]

Add RAM? What OS is this? Also, run CleanUp.exe (google it) and disc defrag... that's about all I can think that would speed things up a tad.

 

[Monkey]

using xp pro right now.
I ran a CCcleaner earlier and got rid of a lot of temp files but I have not done a defrag yet. I was thinking about adding 2 more gigs of ram but wasn't sure if it would be worth it.

It sounds like cleanup.exe is alot like cccleaner.

 

[NightSurge]

Yeah it is. If you've cleaned out junk files and it is XP Pro, 2GB should be plenty. What speed is the RAM? Is is 533/667/800?

 

[superdave1984]

msconfig cleanup would help a lot. Run through this guide and get rid of junk. I'm not saying you have malware, but some of these programs just get rid of extra crap. Also, whatever A/V you use may be hogging your resources. If you have McAfee or Norton that's a part of your problem.
http://www.techist.com/forums/f51/spyware-removal-guide-osiris-updated-1-12-2009-a-165828/

 

[Monkey]

ok, i will DL that tonight, run a defrag and see how it goes.
I have AVG as my A/V.

 

[BongWizard]

have you got the resident scanner enabled in AVG?? if so, that'll chew up alot of your CPU... also, tightening up your RAM timings will give you the most noticable increase in load speed... what speed is your RAM running at and is it running in dual channel mode (ie do you have 1gig sticks or 2giggers)