How could I make this system faster?

[gplracer]

I have a friend who has the following hardware:
AMD 1700+
512mb Crucial 2100 DDR
Abit NF7 motherboard
80 gig WD hard drive with the 8meg buffer
Geforce 4mx video card

This computer is used for business most of the time so a better video card would be a waste. He uses quick books and has about 10,000 clients on it. The problem is that he wants to shorten the amount of time needed to look up a customer. Since the data base is so large it takes a while to find the information. His hard drive is not even 1/2 full. I thought about the following upgrades:
1. Upgrade to a Barton 2500+
2. Buy faster ram and up the fsb
3. Buy a raptor

Do you think these choices would help with his situation? Which one would be the most beneficial and do you have any other suggestions? Thanks!!!

 

[Ionizer86]

I also happen to own a 1700+, 512MB of Crucial 2100 DDR, and an NF2 board. My first course of advice would be to start raising the FSB to see what the ram is capable of. The board should be fine at 166 bus or 200 bus (if it runs an NF2 Ultra 400 northbridge). And the CPU should clock very well assuming it's a Tbred B.

My Crucial managed to go past 170MHz stable at CL2.5 at stock voltage. I then raised my multiplier to the maximum 12.5, so my chip is at 2600+: 12.5 * 166 = 2083.

Once you find out how far the ram will go, you could possibly upgrade to a Barton without needing new PC2700 ram to go along. And your friend has lots of money, he could also get a Raptor depending on what system part(s) this database stresses. But go along with the free performance first by raising the FSB little by little.

 

[chilled]

Originally posted by: gplracer
Since the data base is so large it takes a while to find the information. His hard drive is not even 1/2 full. I thought about the following upgrades:
1. Upgrade to a Barton 2500+
2. Buy faster ram and up the fsb
3. Buy a raptor

Do you think these choices would help with his situation? Which one would be the most beneficial and do you have any other suggestions? Thanks!!!

The problem focuses on the speed of disk access. A faster SATA HD like a raptor or 15k SCSI drives would give him the greatest performance boost. Raid will also give a performance boost at the risk of higher data loss.

If you want the most reliable form of storage that is also very fast, I would pick up a 15k rpm SCSI drive provided he can afford it. If not try a couple raptors.

 

[LouPoir]

Get a faster processor - without a doubt. If your not going to overclock, XP2700, Barton 2800 - IMHO

Lou

 

[Ionizer86]

Databases can be bottlenecked by both disk and CPU, so see if Anandtech has reviews using the database your friend uses. If you find your Crucial ram capable of 2700, and you need a CPU, I'd get a mobile Barton 2400+, raise the multiplier to 12.5, and run the ram at 166.
(The mobile Barton has no multiplier lock, and it's actually the CPU I'd upgrade to from my Tbred B 1700+).

 

[PCTweaker5]

Slap some sparco, greddy, hks, and NOS stickers on there and you'll have yourself one hell of a riced out speed demon lol

 

[PCTweaker5]

Dont forget about the roof scoop and spoiler!

 

[OverVolt]

Raptor and CPU Upgrade should do the trick.

 

[Trader05]

I'd say Cpu upgrade first, then more ram depending on what OS he is running. The WD 80gb w/8mb buffer should be good enough for the hard drive. *also he is using the computer for business, i wouldn't think overclocking would be a good choice in that matter.

 

[Dman877]

Originally posted by: PCTweaker5
Slap some sparco, greddy, hks, and NOS stickers on there and you'll have yourself one hell of a riced out speed demon lol

And don't forget the turbo button!

 

[butch84]

i hafta agree that overclocking a busniness pc is really bad news.... anyways if its for business it shouldn't be too hard to justify an upgrade

 

[InlineFive]

Originally posted by: OverVolt
Raptor and CPU Upgrade should do the trick.

I agree. Most important thing for a database. I would recommend a Barton 2500+ or 2600+ and a 74GB Raptor.

-Por

 

[Boonesmi]

you didnt specify which operating system... if its win98 or ME then the biggest thing would be to upgrade to winXP

other then that i would upgrade 3 things:
harddrive to a 10,000rpm raptor
cpu to a xp2500+ or faster (barton)
1gb ram (the ram depends on the cpu, but if you get a barton 2500+ then you will need at least pc2700)