shree2006

If you apply the famed Moore's law...
Today CPUs are about 3gHz. Moore's law says that this will double in 18 months. So, in the next 5 years, that should double 3 times. So, by 2011 expect CPUs to be in the range of 24gHz.

Also, note that Intel is now producing smaller and smaller chips that will break past moore's law and allow us to develop at an ever FASTER RATE!!!! scary!!!!

shree2006

Computer has begun to slow down running the same software? If so, it might not be the CPU, as the other components (ram, video, HD) are probably as old, and have been working as long. If you're experiencing this sloth on new software, you may be treading at the outer edge of your PC's performance envelope. (You can't rely on the stated "software requirements" of a software publisher, because these are notoriously conservative. MS Flight Sim specs for FS "Combat Flight Sim 3"are well within my computer's component's specs but the program still runs like a slide show.)

You need to be specific about where the slowdown occurs (and if it's a general problem, you need to specify that as well).

If you've got a problem with productivity software, you may need a new HD, or just clear out space on your existing HD (increase free HD space to 15% total capacity); some more RAM couldn't hurt - you can double your RAM to a Gb for about $50 - go to the Crucial website. HD and RAM, though both amount to memory capacity, are supposed to be apples and oranges - one for storage, the other for immediate use. Unfortunately, the concept of "virtual memory" blurs the line between the two, meaning that an overstuffed HD will grind your system to a halt. 1GB should produce noticeable improvements. (Did you say that you've got 120GB unused on your HD?)

You may have problems surfing the web - which means that you've got problems with your ISP or your local connection (which you didn't specify).

Problems with gaming or other graphics performance software may stem from poor graphics technology. You may be using "integrated graphics", low power chips which have to share memory with the rest of your system. If you're talking about a desktop, many come equipped with IG but have a slot for either a discrete graphics card using either the PCI, AGP or the new PCI-express bus. My Dell was a budget model that came with a hyper-threading P4, but no provision for either PCI-e or even AGP (unlike the PC it replaced), so its performance was always weak in gaming despite the a$$-kicking chip. Discrete cards will always outpace contemporary IG (they have more powerful chips, and unlike IG, they come with their own memory. If you've got only the old PCI bus on your motherboard, a new card may give you an improved PC, but only marginally so, and unlike cards using the more sophisticated AGP or PCI-e, you may not get better performance using cards maxed out with memory (the figure I've seen is that you'll get diminishing returns after 128MB.

Is your PC a desktop or a notebook? There is supposed to be a mobile version of the P4 that's weaker than the desktop version of the P4, even though there are higher power notebooks (mostly gaming and desktop-replacement laptops) that do use the desktop P4.

You may need to clean up your PC - programs running in the background or lingering bits of old stuff you thought you got rid of may be hampering you. You may also have spyware running. Get your machine scanned for spyware - I suggest "spybot S&D". Get a registry cleaner (ccleaner) to clean up your registry. Uninstall programs you don't need.

mani1987

Computer has begun to slow down running the same software? If so, it might not be the CPU, as the other components (ram, video, HD) are probably as old, and have been working as long. If you're experiencing this sloth on new software, you may be treading at the outer edge of your PC's performance envelope. (You can't rely on the stated "software requirements" of a software publisher, because these are notoriously conservative. MS Flight Sim specs for FS "Combat Flight Sim 3"are well within my computer's component's specs but the program still runs like a slide show.)

You need to be specific about where the slowdown occurs (and if it's a general problem, you need to specify that as well).

If you've got a problem with productivity software, you may need a new HD, or just clear out space on your existing HD (increase free HD space to 15% total capacity); some more RAM couldn't hurt - you can double your RAM to a Gb for about $50 - go to the Crucial website. HD and RAM, though both amount to memory capacity, are supposed to be apples and oranges - one for storage, the other for immediate use. Unfortunately, the concept of "virtual memory" blurs the line between the two, meaning that an overstuffed HD will grind your system to a halt. 1GB should produce noticeable improvements. (Did you say that you've got 120GB unused on your HD?)