How can i increase my computers performance?

[chad187]

I have noticed recently that when it comes to gaming my computers performance has seemed to decline even for games i meet the requirements for (such as call of duty it works but not to well) and mafia 2 aswell it can barely even run on the very lowest settings despite it meeting the requirements i would like to have this worked out by the time civ 5 comes out any idea on how to improve it? or what could be wrong here are my specs.

Spoiler :

CPU

You Have: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T6400 @ 2.00GHz

CPU Speed

You Have: 2.00 GHz Performance Rated at: 3.3 GHz
PASS

RAM

You Have: 4.0 GB


OS

You Have: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition Service Pack 2 (build 6002), 64-bit
PASS

Video Card

You Have: GeForce 9300M GS

Features: Minimum attributes of your Video Card
Required You Have
Video RAM 256 MB 2.2 GB
Hardware T&L Yes Yes
Pixel Shader version 3.0 4.0
Vertex Shader version 3.0 4.0

Sound Card
Minimum: Yes
You Have: Realtek High Definition Audio
PASS

Free Disk Space
Minimum: 12 GB of free hard drive space
You Have: 139.4 GB
PASS

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Well, you graphics card is complete crap. I wouldnt use it for more than HD video. The VRAM there is a lie, its reporting shared memory as onboard too.

Reason you cant run Mafia 2 is because you dont meet minimum specs. A 9300 GS is below the 8600 they have listed as minimum.

 

[chad187]

What about call of duty it used to run fine now its all choppy even when i turn it down :S

 

[PeteAtoms]

Maybe you're running too many other processes in the background, maybe malware, maybe defragmenting the drive will help... I dunno, just spitballin' here.

 

[tokala]

What about call of duty it used to run fine now its all choppy even when i turn it down :S

Did you install a tool that might mess with the graphics card settings? Have you forced AA or AF in the driver menu? Have you installed a new virus scanner or firewall?
Another possibility is your CPU/GPU is throttling due to overheating, might happen after some time of dust accumulation.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Simple ways without buying new hardware:

Check for dust in the case. If its overheating thats not a good thing. Also make sure the airflow around the case is fine.

Defrag. This will speed up the hard drive. I read somewhere that the hard drive is usually the slowest component and a computer will only run as fast as its slowest component.

Check for malware. Use a different scanner. I have AVG as my main scanner and I run MalwareBytes Anti-Malware every second week to pick up things AVG missed. If you still suspect, try another antivirus. Use only legit ones (there are a lot of fake rogueware ones) and don't run more than one real-time antivirus.

Update your drivers. This one is a big one.

Check your Task Manager. There is a lot of info there to see how much CPU and page file is being used. If you have too little RAM the page file is used and that slows things down. It also shows the processes using the most memory and CPU usage. You can close down programs to free up resources.

These all only work to a degree if you want to seriously fix things up I recommend getting new hardware. Over the summer Ive torn apart one of my old computers and put it back together just to see if I could (it still works!) so if I can do that and my IQ is only 90 nearly anyone can as long as you read the fine manual. For the specific hardwares I dont have any recommendations.

 

[civ_king]

Simple ways without buying new hardware:

Check for dust in the case. If its overheating thats not a good thing. Also make sure the airflow around the case is fine.

Defrag. This will speed up the hard drive. I read somewhere that the hard drive is usually the slowest component and a computer will only run as fast as its slowest component.

Check for malware. Use a different scanner. I have AVG as my main scanner and I run MalwareBytes Anti-Malware every second week to pick up things AVG missed. If you still suspect, try another antivirus. Use only legit ones (there are a lot of fake rogueware ones) and don't run more than one real-time antivirus.

Update your drivers. This one is a big one.

Check your Task Manager. There is a lot of info there to see how much CPU and page file is being used. If you have too little RAM the page file is used and that slows things down. It also shows the processes using the most memory and CPU usage. You can close down programs to free up resources.

These all only work to a degree if you want to seriously fix things up I recommend getting new hardware. Over the summer Ive torn apart one of my old computers and put it back together just to see if I could (it still works!) so if I can do that and my IQ is only 90 nearly anyone can as long as you read the fine manual. For the specific hardwares I dont have any recommendations.

Those are good suggestions

(Aimee, it isn't about IQ, it is how you use your brain)

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Apparently quite well today cus those are all spot on. Im impressed.

 

[m0pac]

Ultimate way to make your computer run like pretty awesome with no new parts required. Put all the important installers, music, and game installers or CD keys onto an external or something similar. Wipe you hard drive. Open your computer and take everything apart and spread out all of the pieces, dust them all off with an electronics duster (not fingers or washcloth), reapply thermal grease to your processor if you want to be extra fancy. Put in your motherboard nice and firm. And then proceed to reassemble your computer making sure everything is clean and tight. Not only will your computer be basically new, but you'll have gained valuable knowledge on how to do hardware...all of it.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

I dont suggest taking anything apart if its not needed. You're more than likely to damage something. A can of compressed air carefully applied will do just fine. The small dust layer isnt much of an issue. The real problem lies in the dust buildup in fans and heatsinks.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I only took apart my test computer to see if I could put it back together. It took a few tries but I did got it and it's still running.

 

[Turner]

Taking apart a desktop is easy. For real fun, do it to a laptop.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Well on the first try I put something in the wrong place and it wouldn't turn on and on the second I forgot to plug something in. But I got to fix that.

 

[civ_king]

Taking apart a desktop is easy. For real fun, do it to a laptop.

I tried and failed on the laptop (The screws literally disintegrated, Dell is so shoddy)

 

[Turner]

It's by design. That way they can know if you've cracked it, and thus invalidated your warranty.

If it makes you feel better, the first one I tried to take apart failed miserably too. The best way to learn is on someone else's laptop that you're not responsible for replacing if fubar'd. There's also guides on the interweb to help.

 

[Maniacal]

Speed holes, just take a pick-axe and knock a few aero-dynamic holes in the sides. Worked for Homer Simpson.
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[Genocidicbunny]

If heat's causing problems then scamp's way, while rather crude...could help.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Wouldnt taking the case off also help? (Although I doubt itd be good for the computer...)

 

[Turner]

Yes and no. It would also subject the inside to much more dust, and that can be detrimental to the computer's performance.

Since I work in a data center and we have twice filtered air (coming into the building and into the data center) I can get away with this with little harm. However, at home I see about ten times the dust that I do at work, and it's not really viable. Any boost I pick up from having it open-air is pretty much negated by the extra dust.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Well I suppose a lot of it is to do with the humidity. One summer here, it was very humid, and I opened up the computer for the monthly cleaning and it was practically clean. But then with high humidity you get condensation so its sort of a catch-22

EDIT: I just looked up "humidity dust" in google and got a bunch of stuff on dust mites so I dont know if Im the only one whos had this