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Thread ID: 78914 2007-05-02 06:46:00 Help with (moderately) pimping friends computer. Feelers (10034) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
546295 2007-05-08 19:20:00 Pricespy is way better than Trademe for buying anything.It might be a good idea to remember that Pricespy (www.pricespy.co.nz) is an online price guide. Trademe (http:) is an online auction site. Greg (193)
546296 2007-05-09 04:36:00 More RAM will give you a small boost, 256 is a bit light for XP and will cause the PC to use the swap file more. You get diminishing returns, meaning the difference between 128 - 256 is huge, 256 - 512 big, 512-1024, noticable in some applications, 1024-2048 and above only shows a difference in memory intensive applications and some games

512 is good for light - medium use average user
1024 would suit most people reasonably well
2048 or more for power users & gamers etc

DDR 400 RAM will usually work OK in a board designed for 333 and just run slower - no gaurantees. And while it is best to have RAM of matched brand & speed you can often get away with mix & match tactics on non Dual channel boards - try it and if it's unstable then remove the old stuff. Your friends board is almost definately not Dual channel.

Overclocking is not for the faint hearted or inexperienced, if you try it be prepared to fry the computer.

Also clean out the hdd - uninstall unused software, run anti-spyware and anti-virus software, clear out the startup programs that aren't necessary, avoid system hog antivirus software such as norton, defrag the hard drive. It's suprising how much faster an uncluttered pc can be, the ultimate is a fresh install.
dugimodo (138)
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