Solved Is there any point in adding more RAM or...?

[Melissa2012B]

We have two desktop machines here. Mine is an Asus Essentio and has 8GB RAM and a Q8300 quad 2.5 GHZ CPU, and a Radeon 5670.

My sister has a Pentium 2 core E5200 2.5 GHz with 3GB RAM and onboard G33 Express video.

We have a wireless setup with Comcast download speeds of 20-25 megs and watch things like Netflix with no problems, on Roku, so speed isn't an issue with the network. Both PC's have dual band USB wireless adapters, running at 5Ghz, which has no interference or competition, here in the neighborhood. ( I did that myself )

I also replaced the Comcast-provided TG862 with a TM722G and an ASUS RT‑N66U wireless router.

We don't do gaming, but we do watch videos online. On my PC, it's not too bad, but I cant help wondering if Windows 7 is capable of using the quad cores to their capability, of if they're not being used at all, and if my 8 GB RAM is being used to the best of its abilities.

With her PC, the videos are frequently stopping to reload, and it's not good, so I need to figure out what to do with that. The wireless USB adapters on both PC's indicate excellent signals, so that's not the problem.

So what might be needed here? Any adjustments that might help this, like with RAM management, or does she need more than 3GB RAM to get decent videos, or perhaps a discreet video card?

Suggestions?

 

[bigmck]

I have an old Pentium 4 which I put Windows 7 on and it is just slow. Too slow for me to use even. That is the problem your sister has. More RAM is not going to help. You can buy some good PC's now for $300. I have purchased several Refurbished PC's which have been returned to the manufacturer and worked on. They work fine and never a problem and the price is reduced a lot. It is just time to replace the Pentium 2. Good luck.

 

[Melissa2012B]

Thanks. My Asus Essentio is a refurbed PC, so I agree on that!

 

[Melissa2012B]

I took a look at this, and the on board graphics appears to be bringing everything down. The Windows Experience is about 5.9 and the on board graphics is 3.9, which sinks the whole thing. I happen to have a GE Force 9500 GT that's a spare and I might try, BUT it's got an HDMI output, not the DB9 that her monitor takes. Is there a cheap conversion or adapter that will work well for that, or should I just look for an inexpensive PCI card with Db9, to see if I can fix this up, without spending hundreds. ( we're short on money )

 

[bigmck]

I did a Google search on "Refurbished Monitors" and got several inexpensive hits. I think a monitor might be the better choice. There are some in the $70 area. Make sure it has an HDMI connection. See what you think. == You can also try the Video card with your connection.
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_3riuuvgvr_b

 

[Melissa2012B]

She has a 24" LCD monitor now - not the least expensive way to go, to fix this?

If there's an inexpensive HDMI to Db9 adapter ( if that will even work ) or inexpensive PCI video card, that seems like the lowest cost fix.

Excuse me, it wasn't HDMI, it was a DVI output. I see a highly rated ATI 2400 for only $15 on ebay, but that has a DVI output too.

 

[bigmck]

Here is one for $5.99. That is worth a shot.
Amazon.com: Dell KH276 Silicon Image Orion PCI-Express Video Graphics Card: Electronics

Edit == Maybe not on that. The reviews were bad. There are some cheap ones out there. I would stay away from Ebay. Newegg and Amazon are always good.

 

[Melissa2012B]

Here is one for $5.99. That is worth a shot.
Amazon.com: Dell KH276 Silicon Image Orion PCI-Express Video Graphics Card: Electronics

Edit == Maybe not on that. The reviews were bad. There are some cheap ones out there. I would stay away from Ebay. Newegg and Amazon are always good.

That has a DVI output too. Her monitor is analog - DB9 connector.

The GEForce 6200 gets nice ratings.

 

[Melissa2012B]

Here is one for $5.99. That is worth a shot.
Amazon.com: Dell KH276 Silicon Image Orion PCI-Express Video Graphics Card: Electronics

Edit == Maybe not on that. The reviews were bad. There are some cheap ones out there. I would stay away from Ebay. Newegg and Amazon are always good.

Yeah, I usually shop Amazon or Ebay.

I see they have these GeForce 6200's with 128MB for $10 used on Ebay.

 

[bigmck]

I'm sorry. I was looking for DVI. I misread message #6

 

[Melissa2012B]

No prob. Thanks for trying.

 

[oneeyed]

While adding RAM is usually a good way to see an overall increase in performance (Windows uses less Disk cache which is very slow), video playing is more affected by the capabilities of the CPU/GPU combo.

The GPU (even when embedded in the processor) can help a lot and take care of most of the decoding process. But it needs the correct features for that. Looking at the specs of the G33 Express (ARK | Intel® G33 Express Chipset (Intel® 82G33 Graphics and Memory Controller)) it has Intel Clear Video. This technology will help offload video playing to the GPU but only up to a point. It needs the video to be the right resolution (afaik the G33 can't help much with 1080p videos), the right encode, and also the right media player (you could maybe try Home ? MPC-HC which is lightweight and supports hardware acceleration).

You could also check Linux on your sister's PC. Most Linux distros are better on old hardware than Windows (less memory used, less OS footprint). Ex: Main Page - Linux Mint. It can be run from a bootable USB without installing, just to get a feel of the OS.

 

[Melissa2012B]

I ordered a new ( not used ) GeForce 6200 card for $19.35 on Ebay today. Thanks guys!