Computer running slow, please help

[canyouhelpme]

I just bought this new P3 933mhz computer system, i found out that it's running slower than my old p3 500mhz system.
When i was running application softwares or just surfing the web, the system will experienced a delay before going into the next screen. It is not as smooth as the p3 system in my work place.
Any computer experts out there know what is going on with my system?
Is it because i don't have enough ram. Or is it because i have too many peripherals?

Please help.

System spec
INTEL PENTIUM III933MHZ (133MHZ BUS)
133MHZ PIII MICRO ATX MOTHERBOARDWITH FLIP-CHIP SUPPORT
PRIMARY & SECONDARY ULTRA33/66 IDE PORTS
2x 128MB OF PC133SDRAM = 256MB
128-BIT2D/3D AGP GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR ON BOARD UPTO 32MB VIDEO
C-MDEIA CMI-8738 3D PCI SURROUND SOUND SYSTEM
Samsung Spinpoint 20gb hdd
IBM deskstar 30gb 7200 rpm hdd
Sony 12x dvd rom
Sony 12x cdrw
HP USB scanner and printer
Intel usb webcam
V.90 56K MODEM
DSL connection

 

[Shudder]

Running windows... 98/ME?

Your system resources are probably down the crapper.

Windowskey-Pause break and then check the performance out. If your system resources are low (80 or lower) it could be a cause.

do start-run and type msconfig and go to the startup tab, get rid of all the crap that's running you don't need. Norton, REalplayer, etc.. all of it is garbage and will suck your PC dry.

If you're running windows 2000 you shouldn't have a problem with a machine like that. Upgrade immediately if you're not If you are then I don't know what the hell is wrong with your machine.

 

[canyouhelpme]

Thanks for the fast reply.

I am running Win98Se, i just did a clean format. I tried doing a test by opening multiple window of applications at a time and i check my system resources. It is below 40%. When i do not open anything, my system resources is above 80% but it is still not smooth.
Do i need to set the windows virtual memory manually?

Please help.

 

[BadThad]

What chipset is that mobo using? Maybe you need some newer drivers?

Welcome to the AT Forums! Have you joined TeAm AnandTech yet?

 

[canyouhelpme]

Which chipset? Please explain.

 

[OhioDude]

We'd like to know the manufacturer and model number of your motherboard. If you bought a pre-built system, who was the manufacturer.

Based on the CPU/memory config, that machine should run pretty darn well. As BadThad said, could very well be a driver issue.

 

[canyouhelpme]

My motherboard is Amptron 3754LMR P3 motherboard
with GFX Pro chipset as my graphic

Please help
thanks

 

[OhioDude]

OK - That looks like it uses an Ali chipset with a bunch of on-board peripherals. After you reinstalled Win98, did you also re-install all of the drivers for all of the on-board stuff? The system should have come with a support CD containing the drivers.

You can also get the latest drivers from the Amptron website. Here's a link to the web page for your board. Download drivers from here and install them. See if that helps.

http://www.amptron.com/asp/driverslist.asp?name=PIII-3754LMR

 

[NelsonMuntz]

If you did a clean install and have that much memory and that fast a processor, you should not be experiencing pauses unless you are running everything you have listed there at the same time. Definitely make sure you have all the correct drives installed especially for your onboard peripherals. Having the wrong video drivers installed for an onboard video card could really slow you down.

 

[canyouhelpme]

Yes, I installed all the drivers from the cd given when i reformatted my system.

Overall the system performance is still ok, just that it is not as smooth as my compaq p3 700mhz system at work
Is it because of my configuration or because of too many onboard stuffs on one motherboard.

thanks for all the replies.

 

[WarCon]

Onboard video and sound can slow or cause stuttering in the performance of your system. I have seen onboard sound just basically bring and 800 duron to its knees (stuttering and complaining in games and especially in boot up sound). It really is best for performance sake to run a separate video and audio cards off of the motherboard. If cost is the issue, then sometimes you just need to deal with the problems.

 

[canyouhelpme]

I read the manual of the motherboard and i found out that my video card is actually sharing memory from my 256mb memory. Is this true?
Will i be able to adjust the quality, i want to make it smooth when playing CS.
Any ideas?

 

[Shudder]

I don't know how well the onboard video would work with video games.

If you think about it, it's sharing system memory. Your system memory's running at 133, so your video card's memory will be running at 133mhz, which is slow considering something like even a GeforceMX is running at about 180mhz and a Radeon will be running at 333mhz (166 x 2 for DDR).

80% still seems low for bootup resources free.

Could you do the msconfig thing I mentioned earlier and mention all that is in the startup tab?

 

[lenjack]

Be sure DMA is enabled on your HD.

 

[Peabody]

You do not need to set the virtual memory manually under Windows 98SE

 

[canyouhelpme]

msconfig
prog running during startup are:

Scan Registry
System Tray
Load PowerProfile
CountrySelection
LoadPowerProfile
Load=

I already disable
C-Media mixer
task monitor
schedulingagent