what makes my computer faster besides memory(Ram) ?

tcsenter

Lifer
Sep 7, 2001
18,944
571
126
CPU, HDD or storage subsystem, graphics card. Right now, the best performance upgrade you can do for just about any system is an SSD, though its still pricey.
 

marcin

Junior Member
Dec 8, 2010
6
0
0
Most important thing is RAM, as you already know. You can also look for faster HDD (small speedup). Processor is also important, but only when you use your computer for gaming or use "big" applications like mathlab or 3ds max. In other cases changing processor will give you small speedup.

But the thing is, it's more important to KEEP your computer fast. That means using applications that clean your computer, and using disc defrag.

Oh, one more thing. I have 5 years old computer and laptop that I bought this year. Guess what the difference is? the difference is only in games. Other things - you almost can't see the difference.
 
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Kenmitch

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
8,505
2,250
136
Your computer is fast? Or you wanna make it faster?

What's your system specs?
 

Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
23,643
3
81
Hi Guys,
I want to know what makes my computer faster besides memory(Ram) ?
Many people are mistaken in thinking that a faster CPU, HD, memory or video card will make their surfing experience better.
In most cases the hardware is limited to the speed of the internet service.
Get a faster internet connection and you'll have your faster computer. :colbert:
 

zhide

Member
Nov 19, 2010
30
0
0
Phenom x6 @ 2.8ghz
GIGABYTE 890GPA-UD3H
1GB X2 KINGSTON HyperX Blu (will add 2 more gb)
COOLER MASTER CM690 mid tower
APEVIA ATX-JV650W
Western Digital Caviar 320GB+another seagate hard disk 320GB
win vista
 

Kenmitch

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
8,505
2,250
136
Phenom x6 @ 2.8ghz
GIGABYTE 890GPA-UD3H
1GB X2 KINGSTON HyperX Blu (will add 2 more gb)
COOLER MASTER CM690 mid tower
APEVIA ATX-JV650W
Western Digital Caviar 320GB+another seagate hard disk 320GB
win vista

SSD for boot and a fast 1tb or larger hd for storage.
 

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
7
81
Phenom x6 @ 2.8ghz
GIGABYTE 890GPA-UD3H
1GB X2 KINGSTON HyperX Blu (will add 2 more gb)
COOLER MASTER CM690 mid tower
APEVIA ATX-JV650W
Western Digital Caviar 320GB+another seagate hard disk 320GB
win vista

Besides RAM which you already know... seriously though, only 2GB?

What do you use your computer for that you feel could be faster? Do you game? I don't see a graphics card listed. Do you do stuff that is very CPU and multi-thread intensive?

Apevia PSU? Seriously? D:

Some "general" stuff to make your daily tasks feel spiffier... Win7 64-bit freshly installed, more RAM, SSD for Win7 + most apps, overclock the CPU if it isn't already.
 

BD231

Lifer
Feb 26, 2001
10,568
138
106
If you overclock your CPU you can reach somewhere close to 4ghz, you'd enjoy the results of overclocking far more than anything you can buy right now.

Unless you're using on board video, in which case you need to get yourself a real graphics card first before anything.
 

Cogman

Lifer
Sep 19, 2000
10,286
145
106
what makes a computer faster completely depends on usage. Maybe a new GPU does, maybe a new CPU does, maybe a new hard drive does... It all depends on usage patterns. Some applications tax different parts of the computer more and less. It could very well be that more ram doesn't provide a better experience.
 

kschaffner

Golden Member
Feb 12, 2006
1,098
0
76
Honestly running windows vista with 2gb of RAM isn't leaving a whole lot of head room and you could be using quite a bit of virtual memory (hdd space). Like others have said I think we need more info as to what you are doing. But from your spec list I can only think of 2 upgrades. SSD and 2GB+ of memory.
 

Lazarus52980

Senior member
Sep 14, 2010
615
0
71
And upgrade to windows 7. I was a fan of Vista back in the day, but if you want speed, you will want to upgrade that OS.
 

CurseTheSky

Diamond Member
Oct 21, 2006
5,401
2
0
Phenom x6 @ 2.8ghz
This is perfectly fine.

GIGABYTE 890GPA-UD3H
Again, no complaints here.

1GB X2 KINGSTON HyperX Blu (will add 2 more gb)
Here's your problem. You really should have 2GB of memory MINIMUM, 4GB ideally. Also, try to get matched pairs so you can run in dual channel mode. If you're already running 512MB sticks, two 1GB sticks aren't a horrible plan, though 2x2GB sticks (4GB total, and ditch the 512MB sticks) would be ideal.

COOLER MASTER CM690 mid tower
Good choice.

APEVIA ATX-JV650W
This power supply is junk. It'll probably be ok for now, but as you start to overclock and if you add a high-end graphics card, you could be asking for trouble. I'd suggest upgrading to a brand that's known to put out good quality stuff, such as Seasonic, Corsair, or Antec. Especially with power supplies, you pay for quality.

Western Digital Caviar 320GB+another seagate hard disk 320GB
You could get a performance boost here by going with a newer, faster HDD (such as the Samsung 1TB F3 or Western Digital 1TB Black), though it's not a huge concern. A Solid State Disk (SSD) would make a gigantic difference, though the price is also somewhat prohibitive.

win vista
Windows 7 would help in terms of speediness, but switching isn't really a necessity. I would upgrade the memory, power supply, and hard drive before upgrading to Windows 7, personally.