performance?

Question

I was wondering if there's a way to get a performance boost for the standard pc user outside of buying a new processor or ram, as I am close to max for this system. I saw on a few websites that companies like sun microsystems are selling pci coprocessors and I was curious as to whether i would see any difference with something like that installed

Pentium 4 3.0
ATI X1600
2GB ram

Answer 1

Consider overclocking your processor and your graphics card.
For processor check this out:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/newbie-oc-guide.html

For graphics card, use the popular ATI Tool:
http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=725

Answer 2

No, coprocessors are mainy used in extremely speciic scientific computers running massive calculations. A coprocessor would not do a lick of good for the average home user...

If you have maxed out your current setup and still need more speed you might want to consider a total upgrade or new PC.

Answer 3

RAM is probably the cheapest and easiest. I would question any coprocessing that goes through the pci bus.
Taking a hard look at what processes are currently running and weeding out the trash.

Answer 4

You could overclock your components or find things that optimise your system (registry hacks, better drivers(modified 3rd party),etc.search them)

If thats not enough only thing else to do is buy a new computer as you really maxed out it's potential.(upgrading anything and that thing will be bottlenecked.)

Answer 5

it could be that you dont have a video card. most pcs bought at a place like best buy and circuit city dont come with a video card. even a cheap older gpu may make your pc run a lot faster.