Slow computer with good specs

silenzer · 01 Apr 2010

Hi all,

My computer is starting to run slow these last few months.
I have low framerate when playing Napoleon: Total War on semi-high, which I think with these specs I should be able to play with ease... I lag on 1080p Youtube videos, for Christ sake.

I have formated it twice within that period.

Here are my specs:

What I think could be wrong (will update if I remember anything):

1. The hard drive is very old, 6+ years
2. I haven't vacuumed my computer for months

Damn, Napoleon: Total War is much smoother without AVG running in the background...

hope you can help me on this one :)

Zomby88 · 01 Apr 2010

You should be smokin , maybe uninstall AVG and see if it improves.

Is it Defraged ?

whs · 01 Apr 2010

Uninstalling AVG is a good idea for several reasons (protecs zippo). Try Avira, Avast or MSE, they are all much better options. A good cleaning is a good idea too. And the ultimate would be to replace your old HDD with an SSD - but that's expensive.

Everlong · 01 Apr 2010

AVG has never given me problems with performance in the 5 or so years I've been using it

Your HDD most likely is one of the culprits, as well as it being on IDE still.

Are all your drivers up to date as well?

silenzer · 01 Apr 2010

Thanks for all the replies

Nope it's not defraged, I'll do that right now

Unfortunately buying an SSD is not in my budget range

Yep all the latest drivers. Would a Western Digital (WD2000) be my saviour? It's IDE but at least it's not 6 years old.

whs · 01 Apr 2010

Compare the specs of the WD2000 with your current disk - then you know how much you can expect. You can run HD Tune.

silenzer · 01 Apr 2010

That's a pretty complicated program... I'm probably not buying a new one anyways so whether or not this drive is crapping crocodiles, I'll have to stick with it

Everlong · 01 Apr 2010

I imagine a decent SATA drive wouldn't cost you that much more.

whs · 01 Apr 2010

That's a pretty complicated program

Does that matter? It runs all by itself once you started it. All you need to do is select the drive - in case you have more than one. And we'll help you interpret the results.

Mellon Head · 01 Apr 2010

silenzer said:

2. I haven't vacuumed my computer for months

Just a suggestion. It's never a good idea to vacuum the inside of a computer, unless you're using an anti-static vacuum. It's much better to blow the dust out with compressed air. The end of a normal vacuum wand can generate static electricity, and you don't want that around your static sensitive components.