On 3 Jun 99, at 16:28, Fahd Alshamary wrote:

> I have 166MHz pentuim.
> how do you increase the speed of the computer

  There are several things that could be limiting the speed of things you do
with your computer, and determining which factors are primarily responsible
will allow you to spend your money where it will make a difference.

  If the problem really is that your CPU is too slow, you may benefit from an
upgrade to a faster CPU.  Note that although there are many models faster
than your 166 MHz Pentium, some of them require a different kind of
connection to the motherboard -- and even those that don't may have special
voltage requirements that your motherboard may or may not be equipped to
provide.
  On the other hand, if you most notice the slowdown when surfing the web,
and you still have a 14.4Kbps modem, a faster CPU won't make much difference -
- a 28.8 Kbps, 33.6Kbps, or perhaps even 56Kbps modem may get you the
performance you need with your existing CPU.
  Similarly, if you don't have enough RAM, your system may be spending all of
its time swapping between RAM and hard drive, and your CPU may just not be
getting enough chance to work on anything else.
  On yet another hand, if your hard drive is too small, you may have used
DriveSpace or something similar to compress it.  This will get you more
efficient use of the space, but puts a load on your CPU; a bigger hard drive
(especially at the latest prices!) may be your best investment.  [Or a
different hard drive technology.  Although EIDE and SCSI drives provide
roughly similar throughput, SCSI drives manage it with much lower CPU
overhead.  Again, the solution might not involve a faster CPU, but less load
on the one you have.]

  In order to try to narrow things down a little, we probably need to know
not only what CPU you have but (a) specs for other major system components,
and (b) what OS and applications you use -- especially those whose
performance is currently inadequate.


David G

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