How do you make an old desktop run faster, without replacing the MB?

Question

I have an old desktop I don't use anymore, and i was wondering how i could make it run faster without replacing the motherboard.
I know that it needs more RAM but I was wondering if there was anything else i could do?

Answer 1

Unless the mobo is set for faster CPU or RAM your are SOL. ~
You could try to clean it up:
Go through a couple of safe mode starts (F8 on bootup). ~
Delete all the deletable temp folders and files C:\Documents and Settings\yourname.folder\Local Settings\temp
Then defrag your disc(s). Finally (or first) scan all with anti virus (recommended 30 trial of Pandasoftware.com).

Answer 2

edit the registry to make windows run smoother and faster... to do this, click Start > Run > type regedit

Menu Speed
Go to the Registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\
MenuShowDelay. The default value is 400. Set it to 0 to remove the delay
completely, but if you do that it will be nearly impossible to move the
mouse fast enough not to activate All Programs if you mouse over it en
route to your final selection. Pick a number that suits your style, make the
change, and then test it until you find a good compromise between speed
and usability

Place Windows Kernel into RAM
It’s a given that anything that runs in RAM will be faster than an item that
has to access the hard drive and virtual memory. Rather than have the kernel
that is the foundation of XP using the slower Paging Executive functions,
use this hack to create and set the DisablePagingExecutive DWORD to a
value of 1.
Perform this hack only if the system has 256MB or more of
installed RAM!
Edit the Registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\DisablePagingExecutive to 1 to
disable paging and have the kernel run in RAM (set the value to 0 to undo
this hack). Exit the Registry and reboot.
Alter Prefetch Parameters
Prefetching (the reading of system boot files into a cache for faster loading) is
a commonly overlooked component that can have a significant impact on
system boot time. This tweak allows you to select which components will
make use of the prefetch parameters. To see which files are gathered using
each setting, clear the prefetch cache located at C:\Windows\Prefetch and
then enable one of the settings listed in this hack. Clear the cache and repeat
for each setting.
Set the Registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\
Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\EnablePrefetcher
to 0 to disable prefetching, 1 to prefetch application launch files, 2 to
prefetch boot files, or 3 to prefetch as many files as possible.
Disable 8.3 Name Creation in NTFS
Files that use the 8.3 naming convention can degrade NTFS drive performance.
Unless you have a good reason for keeping the 8.3 naming convention
intact (such as if you’re using 16-bit programs), a performance gain can
be achieved by disabling it.
Set the Registry DWORD key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Control\FileSystem\NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation to 1. Exit the Registry
and reboot.


I have done this on my own computer and many others with no problrems at all. It really works.

Answer 3

It depends what you wish to run. A computer's speed depends on
(1) microprocessor speed, architecture, and L1 cache
(2) size of L2 cache
(3) mb bus speed
(4) L3 cache or RAM quantity and its speed
(5) Main memory or HD quantity and access speed

Most modern CPUs such as the Pentium and PowerPC have 128-bit architecture. These run much faster than "older" 32-bit or 64-bit architectures. As for memory, the closest to the CPU is L1 cache. This is built onto the CPU chip itself. L2 cache feeds to L1. L3 cache feeds L2. Main memory feeds into L3. Main memory is the slowest, and L1 is the fastest.

Since the 3 biggest factors in determining speed (#1-3) involve the CPU and the MB, I think any additional L3 cache is only going to speed things up marginally.

Answer 4

replace the cpu if you can find a higher grade one and it is compatable with the mb or can over clock it but if its maxed then jest add more ram all you can do other then the cpu and all

Answer 5

go through the hard drive from "My Computer" and delete everything you dont need anymore. Also make sure the recycle bin is empty and you will notice a difference.

Answer 6

More memory = more speed, up to a certain point on older computers. Win98 doesn't handle lots of memory very well.

Answer 7

If you have those Operating System disks with you then format and reinstall the OS nothings works when you don't want to pay!

Please just install OS and those programs you might use!

hope that helps!

:-)

Answer 8

RAM upgrade is about all you can do.