slow computer?
i am still using a pentium 3 500MHz processor with 256mb ram, i know it is a bit too old. so when i try to watch my dvd movie, its seems that its was not working smoothly with many pauses in the screen, may i know what do i need to upgrade (ex. my ram)in order to solve this problem bcos i have tight budget or maybe i can change the settings to solve my problem, pls advise . thanks
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
The Video Card is the one who works on graphics, video, etc. I recommend to update the Video Card first, 128 MB would be enough and if you can the RAM at least 512 MB, but first the Video and a PCI and AGP Video Cards are very cheap this days, check out TigerDirect.com
RAM should probably be increased first, as the uncompressing/decompressing of video is memory intensive. It's also CPU intensive, upgrading your processor would certainly help. That's more or less it: RAM and CPU.
It's worth noting that if you have such an old system, you might not really be able to upgrade much, and probably you won't be able to do anything about the CPU. If you still want to stick with that system for budget reasons, increase the RAM. You won't see dramatic performance increases, but it will help a bit.
Did DVD's work before? If not, you may just need to enable DMA on the DVD drive. Most DVD playing software should do this by default, but if it is an older software that could be the issue.
What operating system are you trying to do this on? If you are running WinXp, then there is not much you can do as even a memory upgrade would not do too much.
Not to mention the fact that adding memory to this system would be a waste of money.
you are asking alot out of pentium 3! Best option would be to upgrade the memory as much as you can, but not sure thats going to solve the problem 100%. You simply don't have the processing power to see the DVD like you would on a newer machine.
A graphic card would be the best course of action. You could probably get a GeForce FX 5200 for less than $20.
For the record, my old PC with a Pentium 3 ran XP just fine.
No offense but Pentium 3 is OLD technology. 500MHz isn't acceptable nowadays for most applications. You should invest in a new computer rather than trying to upgrade what you have. Trust me, you'll be happy you did.
More RAM is a definate and quick help
Also, Upgrading your video card will most likely be as good a help as more RAM.
I have a 600 MHZ pentium 4 I use as a doorstop for the same reason. The only upgrade you should consider is to a new computer.
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well im not a computer expert but if you could sell your computer you could make enough cash for a new cheap one.