Windows Vista Home Premuim RAM Usage and Processor?

Question

-On average, how much RAM should Windows Vista Home Premuim take up, using McAfee (which is a huge memory hog).

Right now with no applications running besides McAfee and sound etc in the backround, I'm using between 800-1100 MBs. Is this normal?

-Also I find that my processor sounds like it's working really hard for the first 5-10 minutes after bootup, then goes back to normal (quiet). McAfee does take a while to load, but only like 1-2 minutes. So why does my PC sound like it's working for the first 5-10 minutes and then quiets down? (NOT the fan; the processor).

-Also, how do you make Windows Sidebar (where the weather, clock, pictures are) stay there? When I turn off the computer and turn it back on, it's not there and I have to turn it back on myself.

Thanks.

P.S. My specs are:
- 3GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz
- 256MB NVIDIA Geforce 8600GTS
- Intel QUAD Core Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (Quad is supposed to be good for multitasking...)

THANK YOU!

I have 78 processors running. That includes, of course, this yahoo answers page.

Answer 1

The first 2 are good answers.

The Processor does not make noise - no moving parts contained in the processor.

There is a cooling fan on the Processor's heatsink which will make noise when it is producing too much heat. On startup the processor is working hard and therefore producing more heat. the cooling fan on the Processor's heatsink will automatically start at a preset temperture. This is necessary to protect the Processor from damage due to heat build-up.

There are a number of programs and processes that start each time you power on the computer and windows loads. Many of these processes and programs are not required at startup. Examples:
McAfee, Adobe, Quicktime, Windows Media Player, Windows Live Messenger have automatic updaters which are not necessary

The examples above are programs that startup each time you start your computer. Some of these programs you can prevent loading at start-up from options within the program; others you have to remove them from your Startup folder or from the Run section in ther registry.

Good Luck.

Answer 2

Right now my vista laptop is using 850 MBs of ram (with just the web browser opened). usually my computer uses about 600 MBs of ram when i first turn on my computer. Also, my processors (1.73 dual core) becomes very active for about the first 5 mins after all of my start up programs are running. I looked in the task manager and saw that it was windows explorer that was using WAY too much of my cpu resources. to fix this, i changed the affinity and set it to use only 1 processor. its a quick fix until i can find the real problem. theses problems must be with vista because when start my computer with Ubuntu, it only uses about 300 MBs of ram and the processors runs fine

as for you sidebar, i have also had trouble getting it to stay in the same place every time my computer turns on. the gadgets like to move around for some reason. to fix your problem, right click on the side bar icon in the taskbar next to the clock and make sure you have right or left selected.

Answer 3

Previous guy is a hater. How do I know? Look!

I have Home Premium on a laptop with 2GB RAM and with just Vista running and only Avast anti-virus, firefox preloader, YPOPS, and Free Download Manager and I'm hitting about 640MB. Vista uses a lot more than XP, has some different stuff that'll speed up your computer. Basically, with 3GB RAM you are fine.

As for the sidebar...
http://www.vista4beginners.com/Windows-Sidebar-the-complete-guide

Just me, but I use avast anti-virus. It is on when I get 640MB of RAM being used....

As for quad core... its good for multi-tasking yea, but it won't be really useful for another year or so. :D

If it is your processor running, I'm wondering if its your HD, which would mean that you have a million programs running. Go to Task Manager and see how many processes are running. If you have over 80 or so, you can definitely turn some off.

Answer 4

particular, a million gig is sufficient for common use. Vista is a source hog, the extra memory you upload, the smoother homestead windows will run. I even have 2gb of ram on my workstation and that i come across it to run sluggish and cases. this could properly be a twin center workstation too.

Answer 5

It's because Vista is a HOG. Not only does it take like 15gb of harddrive space, it eats about 1gb of ram just by itself. Best thing to do is go into Vista settings and turn off all the useless crap you don't need from vista.