upgrade options

[thefoamguy60050]

My specs:
System Info

Model : Dell Dimension 2400
Chassis Type : Space Saving
Service Tag : 2W52W71
Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)
Processor

Number Of Processors : 1
Type : Intel Celeron 2600 MHz
Processors Bus Speed : 400 MHz

Motherboard

Manufacturer : Dell Computer Corp.
Model : 0F5949 Rev. A01
CPU Slot/Socket Type : mPGA-478
Chipset Vendor : Intel i845G Rev. A1
Bios Manufacturer : Dell Computer Corporation
Bios Version : A05
Graphics

Model : Intel ONBOARD 82845G/GL/GV/GE
ONBOARD Speed : Not Available
Monitor : Plug and Play Monitor
Storage

Hard Drive 1 : SAMSUNG SP0401N
Size : 38.15 GB
Hard Drive 2 : IOMEGA ZIP 100
Size : 0.1 GB
Memory

Total RAM Installed : 768 MB
Type : DDR DIMM PC3200
Used RAM Slots: 2 of 2

I have been really unhappy with the performance of my computer. I have ran all the spyware tests and registry diagnostics while working with members in the virus and nasties forumn. my computer is clean.
It would take 16 to 20 1000's to open a simple application such as IE or outlook. I had 256ram and upgrade to 768mb ram. It will now open up in 5- 8 seconds.

My much older laptop(5 yrs) is considerably faster than my Dell and it only has 1 ghz processor, but it is a AMD athalon. I was talking with tech support at dell and they said the celeron in my computer is just a cheap piece of tinfoil can't hold a candle to the athalon.

can i upgrade/downgrade my dell to 1-2ghz amd? or what would you recommend.

I do not work with video, graphics,or gaming. I just run a lot of simple applications like excel, word, ACT, winfax, etc. and I like to multi task have a lot open cut and pasting etc, but my computer is so slow it just pisses me off. if you google "dell dimension 2400 slow" you will see many user reviews on how crappy the computer is.

[nizzy1115]

Well, your computer should be relatively fast with your specs. That processor isnt slow, nor is your ram ammount/speed.

"can i upgrade/downgrade my dell to 1-2ghz amd? or what would you recommend."
No you can not upgrade/downgrade your dell to an amd. They are 2 different chipsets/sockets. Celerons arent garbage either. They work well for just about anything but hard core gaming and video editing.

You say your computer is clean of spyware/viruses, but your hard drive might be heavily fragmented. Have you ran any disk defrag programs lately?

Also, what is the size of your virtual memory? It typically should be 1.5 times the ammount of ram you have instaled in your computer. So yours hould be set to 1152 megs. You can check this by going to the controll pannel -> system -> Advanced Tab -> Under performance click settings -> click advanced tab -> and at the bottom is virtual memory change button. You can change it to any amount you want but it has been noted that 1.5 times the ammount of ram gives you the best performance.

[thefoamguy60050]

what if any performance osftware would you recommend?

[nizzy1115]

windows has a built in defrag program that is located in the start menu -> all programs -> accessories -> system tools -> disk defrag. It is not the best but it will do. Run this defrag several times and it should do the trick. There are other programs out there, but most you have to pay for. I personally use o and o defrag and i like it, but the windows one should be just fine as long as you use it several times in a row to get the desired results.