Member Avatar for nikhil07

i am frequent user of autocad2008, 3ds max 8, phtoshopcs2 9.0. but, i my computer don't allow me to run these applicatons smoothly.
my system configuration is
Pentium 4, 3.06 Ghz, Intel 915GV chipset, 80Gb harddisk, 512Mb ram.
Now a days my system always shows high cpu usage (>50%).
what should i do now?
more ram or graphics card or something else???
help.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by 04ayasin

Dani AI

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Short summary and next steps tailored to the hardware described by : for AutoCAD, 3ds Max and Photoshop you’re looking at two separate bottlenecks—system memory (for overall responsiveness and caching) and 3D acceleration (for viewport/panning/rotation). Official product guidance for those versions expects a machine with more headroom than an old P4 with integrated Intel graphics; that’s why you see sluggishness when models or images get heavy. (autodesk.com)

Start by proving which bottleneck is dominant before spending money. Use a better process viewer (Process Explorer) to watch real-time CPU, private bytes and hard/page faults so you can see whether the machine is thrashing the pagefile or whether a single process is pegging the CPU. Also check whether Windows is 32‑bit (that limits usable physical RAM to the 4 GB address space and usually less in practice). If paging is heavy, more RAM will give the biggest immediate win; if the viewport is the slow part, a GPU matters more. (learn.microsoft.com)

The Intel 915GV’s integrated GMA core is very limited for 3D work (drivers and OpenGL support are weak compared with discrete cards). If your motherboard has a PCI‑Express x16 slot and the PSU can handle it, a modest discrete card with proper OpenGL drivers will drastically improve interactive performance in CAD/3D apps; for very large scenes a modern platform will still be far better. (blog.csdn.net)

Quick checklist

  • Run Process Explorer and watch CPU, private bytes and hard page faults during your typical workflow.
  • If the system is paging a lot, increase RAM (check your board’s memory type and maximum first).
  • If paging isn’t the issue but the viewport is slow, confirm an x16 slot and add a discrete GPU with good OpenGL drivers.
  • If you find unexpected CPU activity, scan for malware/auto‑start items (Autoruns/Process Explorer help).

This sequence keeps fixes affordable and targeted: diagnose first, then add memory for system responsiveness or add a GPU for interactive 3D speed.

Recommended Answers

All 6 Replies

Member Avatar for Suspishio

512MB RAM is insufficient for your SW set, I'd say. 2GB at least.

Yiour system will be paging like mad; also your anti-virus program might be conributing between 14 & 23%.

That's advice based on the description you've given. More detail, more refined answer.

Member Avatar for 04ayasin

My PCs Cpu is also very high it stays above 50% usually around 100% lags like hell when i open a program and my PF is always around 2GB and it takes around 15 mins to startup and logon
i have:

windows xp home edition version 2002 SP2
Mobile AMD athlon XP-M
Processor 3000+
1.6GHZ 736MB of RAM

What would you recommend i do

Member Avatar for jbennet

512MB RAM is insufficient for your SW set, I'd say. 2GB at least.

Yiour system will be paging like mad; also your anti-virus program might be conributing between 14 & 23%.

That's advice based on the description you've given. More detail, more refined answer.

yeah 1 or 2gb

Member Avatar for Suspishio

My PCs Cpu is also very high it stays above 50% usually around 100% lags like hell when i open a program and my PF is always around 2GB and it takes around 15 mins to startup and logon. i have:

windows xp home edition version 2002 SP2
Mobile AMD athlon XP-M
Processor 3000+
1.6GHZ 736MB of RAM

What would you recommend i do

1/
15 mins startup - I'd say this is a combination of paging (you need more RAM) for sure and, possibly, a lot of stuff on your desktop. The latter item is made better by placing actual desktop items (i.e. those that take up RAM) somewhere else and having links to them on the desktop.

Also whatever is started up at boot takes time, particularly anti-spyware (which you should not cut out). Review your Start list.

2/
CPU High - in addition to my earlier comments, yiu should go to the task bar, bring up Task Manager and look at which process is hogging your CPU (cllick on the CPU column twice to bring the hogger up to the top). When we know what this is, we can move to the next step.

Member Avatar for jbennet

Spyware?

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