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Thread ID: 119874	2011-08-14 12:32:00	Processor For PC: MS-7181 (Socket 940)	Dragonov (16500)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1223099	2011-08-14 12:32:00	Hi. I have an ancient PC, a Micro-Star MS-7181 (Socket 940) which up until yesterday only had a total of 512MB of RAM (it only has two RAM card slots, that had a 256MB RAM card in each one) but now has a 1GB RAM card in one slot (put in the other day) and the other slot has it's original 256MB card in it. Was hoping that by installing the 1GB card, the horrendously slow and "laggy" computer (which only has XP3 Home on it, and very little else in the way of additional software - just a decent firewall and a couple of good antivirus programmes plus Firefox, Thunderbird, and a pdf reader are the only "big(ish)" additions) would experience a dramatic increase in performance, but there is barely any discernible improvement at all! The RAM installation was successfully done and the PC has recognised the new RAM. I know that this PC has got an extremely feeble processor (AMD Sempron 2600+) and used to run a small utility that showed in real-time what the processor was doing: the processor kept hitting "100%" capacity-usage when opening Firefox, T-Bird, and any other "big" programme, and it was, and is, a long wait to open these up as a consequence. As said, was hoping more RAM might make some kind of difference, but it has'nt, (not even to any real increase in the speed that anything on the deck works) and so looks like the only way this old heap of a PC is going to show any performance improvement is if it gets a more powerful processor put into it. Trouble is, I know nothing about processors and have no idea what precisely the replacement CPU should be as to it's type/designation. Have tried to research this on the Web but there is such a bewildering morass of arcane stuff all over the place have given up as am not a Tech, and am hoping that someone on this NZ PC World Forum will know exactly what CPU is needed to improve the performance of the creaky old MS-7181. Many thanks. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.	Dragonov (16500)
1223100	2011-08-14 12:55:00	Are you sure its a socket 940? 940 is one of the new sockets. The CPU is probably 940 Pin.	The Error Guy (14052)
1223101	2011-08-14 13:00:00	Have a look at this: au.msi.com It states socket is 754 You could get one of these, pricespy.co.nz the Sempron is 1.6GHz with 128KB L2 Cache. The 3600 is 2.2Ghz At $35 thats quite a steal. Good old tech is cheap which is good I guess	The Error Guy (14052)
1223102	2011-08-15 00:20:00	Hullo, Error Guy! Thanks very much for your response . Error Guy, the "Socket 940" is from (Piriform) "Speccy"!!! Have just installed "Everest" (System Analyses Programme) and it says nothing about "Socket 940" anywhere that can be discerned, but it does have the following to say about the CPU: CPU Properties: CPU Type AMD Sempron, 1600 MHz (8 x 200) 2600+ CPU Alias Palermo (Venice-128) CPU Stepping DH-E6 Instruction Set x86, x86-64, MMX, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3 L1 Code Cache 64 KB (Parity) L1 Data Cache [ TRIAL VERSION ] L2 Cache 128 KB (On-Die, ECC, Full-Speed) CPU Physical Info: Package Type 754 Pin uOPGA Package Size 4 . 00 cm x 4 . 00 cm Transistors [ TRIAL VERSION ] million Process Technology 9Mi, 90 nm, CMOS, Cu, SOI Die Size [ TRIAL VERSION ] mm2 I/O Voltage 1 . 2 V + 2 . 5 V Maximum Power 67 . 0 W CPU Manufacturer: Company Name Advanced Micro Devices, Inc . Product Information . amd . com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118,00 . html" target="_blank">www . amd . com The Error Guy, where in the above list it occasionally says "TRIAL VERSION" well that is because for some mysterious reason in Everest (which if you are not familiar with it, is a heck of a big programme with respect to the sheer amount of information it provides about computers and their OS's) they omit here and there a few bits of "readout" information and to get all the information you have to pay for their "Pro" version!!! Hope the above is sufficient to provide you with enough info to know exactly what kind of CPU is on the motherboard . Sure hope that the above means that the $35 . 00 processor you listed is the one to obtain for it, as have got a meagre "budget" and the RAM has given it a big thump! Incidentally, Error Guy, putting that RAM in the other day was the first time I have ever tried installing any component into a computer (I took a lot of precautions to try and guard against static electricity such as using a proper Wrist-Strap) and it was quite nerve-wracking! During research about RAM installation on the Web had come across a very good article which amongst plenty else, said that the RAM slots should have numbers or some kind of identification by them on the motherboard to show what order in which to put new RAM sticks into them . But I could see nothing at all around them, and so ended up having to hope for the best, and just levered-out one of the old sticks and shoved the new RAM into that slot . When the computer was afterwards booted up, there was no indication at all that new RAM had been installed, and it was only upon opening up "Speccy" that verification of it's installation could be seen . It also is shown in the XP3 "System Properties" . However, having only just installed Everest (to get a better look at everything) was somewhat taken aback to see this in the RAM section: DIMM1: Infineon HYS64D32000GU-7 256 MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM (2 . 5-3-3-7 @ 142 MHz) (2 . 0-3-3-6 @ 133 MHz) DIMM2: Kingston K [ TRIAL VERSION ] Annoyingly, they have blocked most of the Kingston details (the new 1GB RAM is the Kingston) but where it says "DIMM2", does that mean I have put it in the wrong slot? Should the RAM sticks be put into each others' slots? Finally Error Guy, is it easy to remove an old CPU and put a new one in? I found the RAM very difficult to put in, the slot-levers were in a horribly awkward-to-get-at position at one end of the (two) slots and this made it far harder to do than would have been the case if the manufacturer had let you have some room for your hands! Apologies Error Guy for the pretty massive amount of writing here, but as earlier said, am not a Tech and so am trying to provide as much information as possible by cutting-and-pasting and trying to describe things as well! Thanks Error Guy and NZ PC World .	Dragonov (16500)
1223103	2011-08-15 01:45:00	PS: Just to clarify a point: in the first post said that the "PC recognised the new RAM". What was meant is that although there was no indication anywhere that could be seen all the way through the post-installation bootup that RAM had been installed, went looking for it in Speccy first, where it was shown, and then in the XP3 "system" apps and found it shown in "System Properties" - so thought this counted as "Recognition". Does it? Or should something have happened when booting up to make it obvious that a new component had been installed? Cheers!	Dragonov (16500)
1223104	2011-08-15 02:48:00	Right-click My Computer, go to Properties, it will show the amount of RAM available to Windows. Honestly, Socket754 is painfully old. If you really need a bit more life out of it, try and get hold of an old Athlon64 3000+, 3200+ or 3400+. The Venice-core A64 3400+ is the fastest 754 CPU released (though some would argue the Mobile A64 4000+ holds this title), but it's 6 years old now so you'll struggle to find it new anywhere. Be aware there are Socket939 versions of these CPUs as well, so be sure you're getting a Socket754 edition.	inphinity (7274)
1223105	2011-08-15 03:06:00	Swapping a CPU is relatively easy if you take a bit of care, you need to unhook the metal clips from the plastic socket, gently twist the heatsink to break the grip of the heatsink paste and lift it free. Then you just release the lever, swap the CPU, and reverse the process. If reusing the heatsink or if the new one doesn't come with paste preapplied you will need to apply a small amount of thermal paste after cleaning the old stuff off thouroughly, isopropyl alcohol and a paper towel works fairly well. An Athlon is much faster than a sempron, and the clock speed is higher too so if you can get the one linked it should be noticeably quicker. It's not on this list I found www.cpu-upgrade.com(MS-7181_V2.0).html but it should work. Eidt: yes it is the error guy tricked me by writing 3600, it's a 3400 However with hardware that old quicker is relative, meaning it will still be quite slow compared to modern computers. A good clean out of your PC might help more, or as much. You mention more than 1 antivirus?? not both installed and running together I hope. If so you should remove one. Download and Run CCleaner to remove junk files, go through the add remove programs list and uninstall anything you don't use. Check your C: drive, if it's low on space it will slow the pc down (although the last 2 steps would fix that). Try and keep multitasking to an absolute minmum.	dugimodo (138)
1223106	2011-08-15 03:18:00	DONT WASTE YOUR $$ on a CPU, unless you find a really cheap one on trademe. Upgrading the CPU wont solve your issues - honestly. The CPU will not be the bottleneck on that old PC, for what you are doing. The CPU is running at 2Ghz.... but Ram & HD are running at 1/100th the speed of the CPU (sort of) Try a faster Hard drive, that may give better results re program startup times. Also a Wipe & reload can do wonders for Windows speed. Are you using Norton by any chance silk purse from a sows ear anyone ??	1101 (13337)
1223107	2011-08-15 03:53:00	Edit (from above) I have a CELERON 1Ghz PC in the workshop now . Its speed is just fine(in XP), despite being a much older & slower CPU than yours . Its a 10 year old PC !!! . Its not all in CPU speed, especially on older PC's . Just be reasonable in what you expect though - this is alot of the problem now I'm starting to have to deal with more often now, than say 2 years ago .	1101 (13337)
1223108	2011-08-15 07:55:00	Yeah there's something else wrong, post a Hijackthis log here free.antivirus.com Get the 2.0.4 version	zqwerty (97)
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