Personal Computers Questions

How can I improve the speed of my 5 year old computer?

by on August 23, 2009

Q: My computer is about 5 years old. It has a 1.2GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM and a 38.2GB hard drive that shows half full. How do I improve Speed?

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7 Responses to “How can I improve the speed of my 5 year old computer?”
  1.  

    What’s your budget?

     

    Mark (Uber Geek) says: on August 23, 2009 at 10:53 am

  2.  

    …and what do you want to be able to do with your computer?

     

    Mark (Uber Geek) says: on August 23, 2009 at 10:53 am

  3.  

    Have no idea

     

    mkrios1 (Newbie) says: on August 23, 2009 at 11:06 am

  4.  

    not have to wait 30-40 secs for between responses. It just seems so much slower than the one at work

     

    mkrios1 (Newbie) says: on August 23, 2009 at 11:10 am

  5.  
    Picked as best answer

    On the free side, a wiping of the hard drive, and a fresh windows installation will get your computer back to how it used to run 5 years ago. Still, many employers refresh their desktop PCs every 2-3 years. So the one at work is probably much newer.

    I wouldn’t suggest doing any upgrades on your computer due to it’s age. Your money would be better spent replacing your computer.

     

    Mark (Uber Geek) says: on August 23, 2009 at 11:17 am

    •  

      what will a ball park cost be for maybe expanding memory. or hard drive, or will any of this make any difference in what I would like to accomplish.

       

      mkrios1 (Newbie) says: on August 23, 2009 at 11:29 am

  6.  

    An extra 512meg of RAM might help out a little bit, compatible RAM would probably run around $30.

    CPU upgrades might be possible, but I’d need the full model number of your PC to provide a recommendation. Also, any CPU you put in would still be 4 year old tech, as your motherboard probably won’t be able to support anything newer.

    Keep in mind prices on new systems start around $350, and the tech has come a very far way.

    Upgrading your system is analogous to putting new tires on an ’85 honda with 250,000 miles. Yeah, it will help buy you a little time, but it’s time to start saving up for a new system.

     

    Mark (Uber Geek) says: on August 23, 2009 at 12:06 pm