Work PC (XP) Faster than Home Desktop (Win 7 x64)

Work PC: Windows XP, Dual Core E5200 2.5Ghz, 2GB RAM
Home Desktop: see TechComet: My Gadgets

The PC at work, although much slower than my desktop, seems to launch basic programmes like Google Chrome and MS Word much faster than my faster home desktop. I have no idea why. Originally, I thought it was because I had a lot of applications installed but even after reformatting it was discernibly slower.

As an example, when I click on Microsoft Word 2007 at work it opens up INSTANTLY. Literally, right after clicking on the icon it launches. However, at home I have to wait 1-2s.

The home desktop is not really “slow” in fact it performs very well in most cases, however considering I spent so much time and effort putting it together, it annoys me that my work PC (a stock Lenovo office desktop) is so much faster.

Obviously, if I started comparing games or Photoshop my Work PC would be slower, but for the most part I do basic web browsing and documents (and play the occasional game, or edit the occasional file on photoshop), so I want to really ensure my desktop is running as well as it should.

Finally, I do run a LOT of background applications on my desktop, but even then I don’t think it should be slower than my work pc.

Any thoughts?

There's a bunch of factors involved here. One machine might have faster RAM, hard drive, video memory. If they're different hardware it's just not easy to quantify.

Bottom-line - do the machines perform adequately? If so, just let it go. You probably have more important things to worry about anyway, no?

-Max

Max Peck said:

There's a bunch of factors involved here. One machine might have faster RAM, hard drive, video memory. If they're different hardware it's just not easy to quantify.

Bottom-line - do the machines perform adequately? If so, just let it go. You probably have more important things to worry about anyway, no?

-Max

Thanks for your thoughts.

I can almost say with completely certainty that on paper my desktop has better components. So, if the test was on specifications the home desktop would be much faster.

They do perform adequately, but my point is am I doing something wrong that is making my home desktop perform more poorly than my work desktop? Is there a BIOS setting that I can change, should the RAM be configured differently?

Honestly, I have no idea why it is slower and I was curious as to what the causes could be. It seems to be purely a software issue as my hardware is only a few months old.

One of the main reason I suppose would be because you are running and installing a lot of software. On the other hand in work computers there are very limited resources and softwares available. It also depends on your antivirus and firewall too as they are running all the time and somewhat slows down the system. Instead of going with loads of antivirus and firewall I would advise you to go with the latest security patches by Windows and to go with the free security system from Microsoft which is Microsoft Security Essentials. MSE is perfect for nearly all home users and always apply the latest Windows security updates and you should be ok. Also always activate User Account Control as that too helps a lot in security. And make sure you do not have unnecessary software running while the computer is on as it will slow your system too.

One last thing. Check for malware, virus etc. and do a complete scan as malware and adware sometimes reduces the speed of the computer.

windows7theme said:

One of the main reason I suppose would be because you are running and installing a lot of software. On the other hand in work computers there are very limited resources and softwares available. It also depends on your antivirus and firewall too as they are running all the time and somewhat slows down the system. Instead of going with loads of antivirus and firewall I would advise you to go with the latest security patches by Windows and to go with the free security system from Microsoft which is Microsoft Security Essentials. MSE is perfect for nearly all home users and always apply the latest Windows security updates and you should be ok. Also always activate User Account Control as that too helps a lot in security. And make sure you do not have unnecessary software running while the computer is on as it will slow your system too.

One last thing. Check for malware, virus etc. and do a complete scan as malware and adware sometimes reduces the speed of the computer.

Firstly, I always ensure my software and OS is up to date. I’m quite OCD that way. I am also using Microsoft Security Essentials. In addition, to that I am using MalwareBytes and SpyBot S&D. I have found that sometimes one piece of malware is caught by one but not all.

Secondly, I do have a lot of software running, a lot actually (things like Skype and Digsby) and these are the only things that obviously seem to suggest that my computer is running slower. Again, though I have a lot of “free” RAM and my CPU is never maxed out either. Most of these apps are “standby” apps which do not consume a lot of CPU when idle.

Speaking of UAC, I noticed something interesting. When the screen darkens for UAC, it takes at least 1-2 s to darken, i.e. it doesn’t darken immediately and I have to wait (as the PC is unusable while it darkens).

Will run another scan tonight to check for malware.

Anyway, I don’t really know and I appreciate your thoughts.

Any program that you want to launch more quickly, pin it to the taskbar... also, comparing two different systems running different versions of windows is kind of like comparing apples to bowling balls..

madtownidiot said:

Any program that you want to launch more quickly, pin it to the taskbar... also, comparing two different systems running different versions of windows is kind of like comparing apples to bowling balls..

Isn't it more like comparing a jet engine to a scooter?

That is, although the systems are different, do you think my Home PC should be running slower?

Is your work pc on all the time? Is it part of a internal network? Is your work pc part of a internal domain/client network? Do your computers have the same software installed? Same security software? All these different things can make a pc slower or faster perceptively.

metalmania31 said:

Is your work pc on all the time? Is it part of a internal network? Is your work pc part of a internal domain/client network? Do your computers have the same software installed? Same security software? All these different things can make a pc slower or faster perceptively.

It is switched off at night.
It is part of an internal network
Work PC and Home PC have different (very different) software installed. I understand that this would make a difference, in fact this is what is probably causing much of the difference, but my home PC ought to be much faster (at least on paper)

this is a stupid article.

theres too many variables to make it anything credible. the hardware differences and stuff like if he even maintains his home pc