Is there a way to know how much my legacy program speed/performance will increase?

[slicksilver]

I'm running a 32 bit windows point of sale application in one of the family run business stores. The PC has a athlon xp 2000+ and 128MB RAM and has WinXP as the OS. The program developer in his latest requirements says a pentium class 1.5ghz processor is a minimum with 1.5GB RAM. I want to know if it is worth the upgrade to an i3 with 4 or 8 GB of memory. Is there a way I can measure the increase? The program has a foxpro database as the backend.

Thanks!

 

[NTMBK]

Frankly, I'd say just upgrade that RAM. 128MB is VERY small for WinXP, especially if you're using a database program which by its very nature uses a lot of memory. Upgrade to about 1GB RAM, and it should perform far, far better.

 

[DominionSeraph]

There's no way to tell from those requirements where the bottleneck will be. If it's well designed and written I can't see it needing much of a processor, so an i3 is going to be massive overkill.

If you were going the "new computer" route I'd suggest a Vostro 260 mini tower from Dell Outlet. I see one sitting there with a Pentium G630 and 4GB for $319. Add a 3 year NBD warranty for $90 and you're worry free for 3 years.

But 1GB RAM to your computer for $26 (assuming DDR1) and you'll probably be fine.

 

[dealcorn]

From those requirements, I have no idea what the CPU requirement is. The brand name "Pentium" has been attached to more than one architecture and a 32 bit Foxpro back-end database is credible technology for this purpose but still a blast from the past. He might be using funny words to say you need an Atom D2700. If you can identify what is required, you can do anything you want on the upside. Typically, folks are not very forward thinking when it comes to future proofing cash registers.

 

[sm625]

After the application has been running for a while, for many hours at least, open task manager and enable the "CPU Time" column. Compare the amount of cpu time that app has used vs the amount of time consumed by "system idle process". Chances are the idle time is many times greater than the cpu time for your point of sale app. But if your app has consumed more cpu time than "system idle process" then you might benefit from an upgrade.

 

[DominionSeraph]

After the application has been running for a while, for many hours at least, open task manager and enable the "CPU Time" column. Compare the amount of cpu time that app has used vs the amount of time consumed by "system idle process".

And just what on Earth is that supposed to do? Does 99% idle mean he'd benefit from a faster processor and 99.1% means he's fine with what he has? You have no way to convert that into useful info so why are you suggesting it?

Idle time tells him nothing. He needs to know if he's pegging the processor when in use, not how long it is between transactions.

 

[slicksilver]

After the application has been running for a while, for many hours at least, open task manager and enable the "CPU Time" column. Compare the amount of cpu time that app has used vs the amount of time consumed by "system idle process". Chances are the idle time is many times greater than the cpu time for your point of sale app. But if your app has consumed more cpu time than "system idle process" then you might benefit from an upgrade.

I'll try this and report back.

The memory on the board is PC100 SDRAM . The max available is about 256MB and it doesn't come cheap!

 

[DominionSeraph]

The memory on the board is PC100 SDRAM . The max available is about 256MB and it doesn't come cheap!

$26 for a 512MB stick. Check to see if your motherboard supports those.
If it doesn't, it's $20 for 256MB.

(actually looks like you can get 512MB for ~$10 on Amazon)

 

[slicksilver]

He needs to know if he's pegging the processor when in use, not how long it is between transactions.

How do you figure this out?

 

[DominionSeraph]

How do you figure this out?

Run Task Manager in the background. (deselect "always on top" in Options). Run a few transactions and then look at Task Manager's Performance tab's CPU Usage History.

 

[sm625]

And just what on Earth is that supposed to do? Does 99% idle mean he'd benefit from a faster processor and 99.1% means he's fine with what he has? You have no way to convert that into useful info so why are you suggesting it?

Idle time tells him nothing. He needs to know if he's pegging the processor when in use, not how long it is between transactions.

There is no relevant difference between 99.0% idle and 99.1% idle. There is however a huge difference between 99% idle and 9% idle, and that's what I suggested he look for. If he is anywhere near 99% idle then the cpu just isnt being loaded.

 

[DominionSeraph]

If he is anywhere near 99% idle then the cpu just isnt being loaded.

Absolutely false. Where on Earth would you get the idea that if you're not loading a CPU down all the time that it's not being loaded?

Do you even know what a POS system is? He isn't running a game here.

 

[Phynaz]

Memory. I'm old enough to remember Foxpro. It will run fine on that CPU, but you need the memory that the application vendor is recommending. They know their application better than anyone here.

 

[slicksilver]

Thank you all

 

[VirtualLarry]

I have some PC100/133 for sale. K-Byte brand, retail package, 256MB sticks. Brand new. I have four of them. PM me if interested.

 

[Cerb]

I'm running a 32 bit windows point of sale application in one of the family run business stores. The PC has a athlon xp 2000+ and 128MB RAM and has WinXP as the OS. The program developer in his latest requirements says a pentium class 1.5ghz processor is a minimum with 1.5GB RAM. I want to know if it is worth the upgrade to an i3 with 4 or 8 GB of memory. Is there a way I can measure the increase? The program has a foxpro database as the backend.

No, there isn't, but yes, it will be much faster. However, an i3 will be overkill. In fact, most CPUs that were fast in 2006-2008 will be overkill.

Depending on RAM costs, you may be better off just getting yourself to >=1.5GB RAM on what you have, for the time being. If you can't get 3 512MB sticks, or find compatible 1GB sticks, Newegg has, right now, a nice little Lenovo, assuming Windows 7 Home Premium is an acceptable OS:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883108662

P.S. better deal, XP Pro, but a Dell refurb:
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=OPTI-745US-C2D213-PB-2R&cat=SYS

 

[Cerb]

I have no idea what the CPU requirement is.

In the OP: "The program developer in his latest requirements says a pentium class 1.5ghz processor"

An Atom would probably be enough (I would not recommend one, of course). If the OP hasn't destroyed the Athlon XP box out of frustration, I feel safe saying that any new CPU would be good enough, but if it would be easier to replace the whole thing than just the RAM, it would be pointless not to plan to keep it for 5+ years, and get at least a decent C2D box, since the Athlon XP has served well for so long.

 

[beginner99]

If you were going the "new computer" route I'd suggest a Vostro 260 mini tower from Dell Outlet. I see one sitting there with a Pentium G630 and 4GB for $319. Add a 3 year NBD warranty for $90 and you're worry free for 3 years.

I think this is very good advice. Less hassle than finding enough ddr1 ram that is compatible to your motherboard, cheap and will last you very long.

@OP
Also how old is that HDD in your current pc? Probably the next point of failure.