Optimizing My New PC

[Sim1013 1]

Hello Simtroplians!

My old computer recently crashed while I was gaming and ultimately resulted in me getting a new computer. This is my first time using Vista and I think it works really well, however I have had a few slow-downs that I am not happy about. To start, here are my stats:

OS: Wondows Vista Home Premium

Manufacturer: HP

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+ 3.00 GHz

RAM: 3070

System Type: 32-bit Operating System

Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS

Drive C: 500GB

I spent a lot of money on this and as such I expect it to run well, but sometimes the system slows down quite drastically and my games also lag occasionally.

So my question to you all is: What can I do to optimize this new system for peak gaming and usuage?

Btw, I'm really up-to-date on all my spyware andvirus stuff, so it's not that.

[tungston 19]

One thing useful is the AMD Dual Core Optimizer. [link]

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

That's probably the whole thing, but make sure you have enough Virtual space, and that machine should run like a scalded cat.

[Psycho_Teddy 25]

The recommended upper limit for your virtual memory settings is 3X your RAM capacity, so your page file will be quite large, but that thing should have absolutely no problems running SC4 in the least.  Follow every suggestion made before me and you should be just fine!

A side note to N_O_Body, that is quite possibly the funniest analogy I've ever heard!

[coolotter88 2]

oh and remember, if you use the ready boost, don't just randomly unplug your flash drive. Microsoft SAYS it won't cause harm if you unplug the flash drive, but in reality...Funny story I tell you, so I unplug my cruzer, then all these system processes start crashing. nothing a reset doesn't fix though.

[Sim1013 1]

Thanks for the replies all! I uninstalled a few of the useless programs it came with, tinkered with msconfig, and changed my virtual memory amount and it's running much faster now.

Btw, am I supposed to enter the same number for the Initial Size and the Maximum Size when adjusting my virtual memory?

[jacqulina 162]

yep i believe so my friend thats what i have

[Sim1013 1]

Cool, thanks!

[Psycho_Teddy 25]

Well, technically, you're not supposed to set them the same, but I haven't had any problems with this in the past (I don't use the same ones now, but before I knew about the difference, I did). 

[tungston 19]

Here are two recommendations from informed sources.

Microsoft:  The page file [virtual memory] should be 1 1/2 times the size of the amount of the physical memory.

Symantec [Norton]:  Set the virtual memory with the minimum, and the maximum to the same size.

[coolotter88 2]

so, I suppose microsoft's recommended settings would already be implemented?

[tungston 19]

Originally posted by: coolotter88 so, I suppose microsoft's recommended settings would already be implemented?quote>

 

The Windows default setting is a variable size, depending on how much is used.