yo comp geeks

[Squirrel]

How do i find the bottleneck in my system?.... ram (4gb of DDR2 5200 at lat 5) and gfx card (oc'ed gt430) have been recently updated so i know theyre not the problem... im running windows 7 premium and the only thing i do is browse, do school/work stuff and (dont judge me) play AOE... but i feel like something is holding me back... question 2 is why does it only use 3.25gb of my 4gb of ram? Is that a HD limit?.... Im an idiot about hardware, i do numbers... S'go

edit: windows 7 ultimate

[DirtyJerseyLSX]

If you are running a 32 bit processor, the max ram you will see is 3.25gb. If you are running a 64 bit processor, then you will be able to use more. My pc that is 64 bit shows that im using all 32gb of ram.

[enRo]

^^What he said

Most 32 bit operating systems have a limit of 4GB. Some, like starter operating systems that come on some netbooks and laptops have a 2GB limit. Then you have your hardware that uses memory, like your video card, which is why you aren't seeing 4GB there. 64 bit operating systems, like Windows 7 Ultimate, have a limit of 192GB. IIRC, Windows 7 x64 Home Premium and Basic have a max of 16GB and 8GB.

So in reality, if you have a 32-bit operating system, and have 32GB of memory installed, you're only going to use 4GB, then deduct your hardware memory usage, so you'll have wasted 28GB.

*Edit* Just re-read your post. That GT430 is 2GB, possibly more, right? Then you definately need to get some more ram and a 64-bit OS

[The_Bishop]

To see all of the memory you need a 64 bit processor *and* operating system. Also, 4GB of ram and a 430 are nowhere near cutting edge, they're closer to 'basic'. What processor?

It might not be cost-effective to continue to upgrade if the system is old/borderline obsolete.

[greenformula92]

Originally Posted by The_Bishop

It might not be cost-effective to continue to upgrade if the system is old/borderline obsolete.

So if its more than 2 months old trash it lmao.

[The_Bishop]

No, not at all. It all depends on the processor/motherboard.

[Squirrel]

the system was built the summer of 2005, so yes, very outdated lol... on to the specs:
Windows 7 Ultimate 32 Bit

Intel P4, 3.2gig 800mhz FSB

Card:
Graphics Engine GeForce GT 430
Bus Standard PCI Express x16 2.0
Memory Type DDR3
Memory Size(MB) 1024
Memory Interface 64/128bits
Core Clock Speed(MHz) 730
Memory Clock Speed(MHz) 1800

Ram:
4 1 gig sticks of crucial DDR2 PC2-5300 (333mhz)

anything else you guys wanna know?... Im just wondering if there are any relatively cheap upgrades i can do?... i mostly use my laptop these days anyway, but i still like to game a little bit and watch youtube haha

edit: a question, is there something that isnt being utilized correctly?

[The_Bishop]

There's really not much you can do to upgrade that machine. CPU is a bottleneck.

[enRo]

P4? Wow. That's some old school **** right there .What Bishop said. That CPU is holding you back. You mind as well build yourself a new PC, because if you want to upgrade the CPU to something more recent, you're going to have to upgrade the motherboard, and then you would have to upgrade the memory, and at that point, you mind as well build yourself a new PC.

The price of building you're own has dropped in the last few years if that's the route you wanted to take. Mine is around 2 years old, and was updated to the most recent hardware/cpu/mobo/memory at that time, and it ran me ~$500-600.

[Squirrel]

Yeah, i figured building a new one would be my best bet, i can surely do the ability and time is only a measurement of life so i could do it... but the only thing i consider is, i could build a new comp to replace one that is 10 years old, but does anything i throw at it, or buy a ps4 next week... because the only time i like to see a computer is when im at work, school, or getting hammered and posting on forums... na mean

[NastyEllEssWon]

Originally Posted by Squirrel

Yeah, i figured building a new one would be my best bet, i can surely do the ability and time is only a measurement of life so i could do it... but the only thing i consider is, i could build a new comp to replace one that is 10 years old, but does anything i throw at it, or buy a ps4 next week... because the only time i like to see a computer is when im at work, school, or getting hammered and posting on forums... na mean

ps4 kinda sucks. i bought one last night. its not even halfway on par with whats possible on a gaming pc. you can put together a computer easily on par with a ps4 on the cheap, especially since the new 7 series nvidia cards are out and you can usually find a 670 or 680 brand new left over stock for really cheap.

[Tru2Chevy]

EB, want me to spec out a budget system for you that will hold up great for what you are doing for a while? Shoot me a text or something....

- Justin

[Squirrel]

of course ill give you a shout justin, but i think im gonna buy an early bday present of a fart smhone and ps or hptuners first, cuz the comp thing is a meh kind of thing haha

[Squirrel]

Actually question for you guys, is a locked BIOS forever locked or is there a way around it?... i have the dreaded A10 at the moment and i'd like to tinker around with FSB and such, especially considering i know heat wont be my downfall

[WildBillyT]

Old stuff you could jumper flash or pull the battery.

[Squirrel]

im not old, please advise

[NastyEllEssWon]

Originally Posted by Squirrel

im not old, please advise

he's saying on old hardware you could perform the methods he's suggested