tell me if i should get more storage or more ram or both?

Question

i have 1.72 ghz 480,mbram 74.5 storage 13.4 used and my computer is running so slow ran 4 different spy ware can find out where this slow is do i need to up grade i have web cam play video, photo software what do you think and if i yes upgrade how much more should i get

i run disk clean up every day and defrat it is still so slow when on the new i play launch cast video online not on computer and when i run my web cam it is real slow

Answer 1

Your configuration is okay, if you are ready to buy something then you can go for some more RAM.

Download pc optimizer tools like Iolo's system mechanic , PC Tools Registry mechanic , Crap Cleaner

Remove unnecessary start up by running msconfig in start >> run. dont go for 4 different antispyware. A good antispyware is enough if you have antivirus installed on your pc. Go for Lavasoft Ad-aware.

Answer 2

upgrade to 1 gb of memory. It would mean adding another 512mb stick. You currently have 512mb with your on-board video using 32mb. 480 + 32 + 512mb. You have done well in doing spy-ware searches but you may have another problem. Do you see lots of icons by the clock? (lower right hand corner of screen) You may have several programs starting up that do not need to be. You can whittle this down by start/all programs/start-up... are there many icons in this folder? You can safely delete most of these they are only shortcuts to actual programs. If you see any for a program you use a lot leave it also if you see one for your pc security. Another thing to do is start/run type msconfig. You will see a tab that says start-up. Use the link to determine which programs need a check mark beside them to start-up when windows does. They are listed alphabetically. When you restart your system you will get a pop-up reminding you that you are not starting every program that wants to, just click on the box that say s you know this and then ok. The message will not show up again after that. Two more things to do: run disk cleanup and disk defragmenter.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

I would say RAM, but before you go out an buy some, try some other things...

Try disk defragmenting your hard drive(s). Files can be scattered all over and may cause a delay in retrival time. Start> All Programs> Accessories> System Tools> Disk Defragmenter. This may take a while to do, so leave your computer alone while it does this process.

Also, try Start> Run> type "msconfig"> Start Up (tab), uncheck any program that you have installed your self, that you know you do not need when your computer boots up. This can really help. Make sure you know what programs your are unchecking, or you can cause problems with your computer later on... Click OK and restart your computer.

Answer 4

If I'm reading your question righ, then you're using 74.5% of your RAM, and 13.4% of your hard drive. Judging by these numbers, your hard drive has plenty of storage space, but you should definetely look into upgrading your RAM.
When upgrading RAM, I would definetely reccommend getting no less than 1024MB. Judging by the numbers, I'm guessing that you only have 256MB right now. However, before you upgrade, make sure you know what memory your computer you can use. The general mainstram RAM is 184-pin DDR400 SDRAM. Judging by the things that you use your computer for, your graphics processor may also be at fault for the low speed, especially if you have onboard graphics. Onboard graphics is built into the motherboard and draws from the RAM for its memory needs. This type of graphics processing is immensley slower than a add-on graphics card you insert into an AGP or PCI-Express x16 slot. Stay away from graphics cards that use the PCI interface. If you decide to upgrade your graphics card, you have to decide on a couple factors. First, what interface your card will use, AGP or PCI-E x16. You have to find out which interface your computer has. Next, you need to decide what GPU you want. If you don't plan to play many modern games, than a good card to buy would be one based off of the NVidia GeForce FX5200 GPU. You also need to decide how much memory you want on your card. I reccommend 128MB for an average user that doesn't do much gaming, and 256MB or more for a more serious gamer who wants to play modern games at higher quality levels.
A good place to find anything computer hardware is tigerdirect.com or newegg.com
I hope I was able to provide some help!

Answer 5

You aint told us anything yet! When you mean slow do you mean on the net? Are programs running slow in your system? If its the net read this!
You can buy all the most sophisticated virus removal tools you want but viruses are newly created on a daily basis. NO anti-virus software is capable of detecting a virus if it does not no it exists yet! In time, the anti-virus software company will stumble across the virus and update your software. The problem is, it may already be too late. I will say this once again, Porn sites, free music download sites, online gaming sites, gambling sites, so called free software sites, etc. are almost ALWAYS guaranteed to at least be infected with adware and spyware, not to mention the possibilities of trojans, hijackers, and malware! I dont use anti virus software at all. No need for it if you are intelligent enough to understand these basics. If I want my mp3 music I go buy, borrow, or record a cd and rip it to mp3. I vary rarely get infected! Been on the net for 20 years and believe me, I learned it the hard way! I repair computers for a living and most of the money I make is cleaning peoples systems out. Some of the people I service have the most sophisticated virus protection you can pay for and they still get infected! People think they are protected, they aint got a clue.
If your system is running slow offline read this,
here is how your computer works, you have two memory areas, ram and rom, rom is the place where your programs are stored whether it be a hard drve, a cd, etc. now for the good part, ram is the area where your programs in rom are loaded to when you run them. lets say you have 256 megs of ram....you got a program running that uses 100 megs of ram, you got another program that uses another 100 megs also running, and last but not least you have another program running that uses 57 megs. guess what happens? you only have 256 megs of ram and you are using 257 megs of ram. things aint equatin rite! it may even run like this but, **** has to be dumped from ram and reloaded into ram to share the ram. this takes much time! sometimes it will lock you up even! the less crap you have running in the background the faster your computer will respond. got it? now....turn all that crap off you have running on startup and run it when you need it.

Answer 6

Could be a number of reasons why you're slow. First: Update your anti-virus and anti-spy software, then do a complete scan for both. Next, get rid of those programs you never use that clutter your hard drive. Reduce the number of programs you have at start-up. Reduce the clutter on your desktop. Reduce the number of programs in your task-bar. De-frag your hard drive (it never worked for me, but it's worked for some people). Make sure all your drivers are up to date (download the latest drivers for all your hardware). If you're using a base OS with an upgrade (for example, Win ME with an XP upgrade) that might slow you down a little. If you're going to replace hardware and you want speed, forget the ram and the HD: replace the processor. You're running at 1.72 ghz, which isn't bad at all, but if it's too slow, get a faster processor. However, I might try the other stuff first and see if it speeds up your current machine first.

Answer 7

If you have 480MB RAM, that's way on the low side. I would guess you actually have 512MB but 32MB is set aside for your video.

Suggest you go to one of these web sites:

www.crucial.com
www.kahlon.com
www.kingston.com
www.pny.com

They all sell memory and they all have a "memory configurator". Just type in your computers make, model, etc. and they will tell you how much memory your computer can handle and the different memory modules available. Comparison shop for the best prices and install as much memory as you can afford.

In adition to adding memory, I'd also do a complete disc cleanup and a defrag.

Select start -> programs -> accessories -> system tools -> disc cleanup. Check mark everything and let it run. After it finishes, follow the same steps and when you get to system tools -> defrag. Be aware that this could take a long time. First time I did disc cleanup and defrag on my computer it took over 3 hrs.

Hope this helps.

Answer 8

What determines the speed of a computer is the processor and the amount of RAM Random Access Memory available. The kind of work you do with your computer or the data stored in the Hard Disk can also affect speed. Also the components like CDRAW/WRITERS and Softwares might also affect the speed of your computer.

Whatever you have installed currently is enough to do typing and mostly other jobs involving texts but if you have alot of video stuffs and bitmaps in your machine, then you need to upgrade your computer. The vidoes and bitmaps normally occupy alot of harddisk space.

Try deleting unneccessary files in your storage harddisk or store them on a removable disks.

There are P4s that have atleast 512MB RAM, 2.00GHz and can do you better job.

Kindly try to consult a good technician near you and hope you'll get assistance.

Answer 9

480mb ram is pretty small. I would get at least a gig.
But then again, 1.72 ghz is pretty slow nowdays. There are some pretty mainline puters that come with double that right now.
The RAM is probably your biggest issue right now.
You dont really need more storage though if you are only using 13.4 out of 74.5
Anyhow, that wouldnt affect how fast your computer runs, just how much it can hold.

Answer 10

It is probably a combination of your processor (1.72ghz) and ram (assuming you have 512mb) that need to be upgraded. If you are running video and editing photos, then you will need a lot more ram and processor power than what you have. You would probably be safe with a 2.5ghz or faster cpu and at least 1gb of ram, although if you can afford to get a dual core processor and/or 2gb of ram, it will make your computer VERY fast.