Need help with improvements

Can you guys tell me where the weak link in my chain is? I was thinking it's the memory and videocard, but I know you can tell me when to start first. I just bought BF Vietnam and it's showing me how slow my computer can run.

NF7 motherboard with Athlon 2200 unlocked but not overclocked, Samsung 256MB PC3200, Radeon 9500 NP won't softmod, my OS is installed on a 9GB WD HDD and all my programs are on an 80GB WD HDD.
Also, when I'm gaming, my HD will constantly run, you know, the clicking noises it makes when it's searching for info or trying to open something. Is this because my OS is installed on an older HD or is this as memory thing? They both run 7200 RPM. Thanks for any help.

Hummm...Whice drive is your swap file on. if it is the 9gig switch it too the 80gig and see if that helps. If not then more Ram.

yea, deffinatly more ram. Games are ment to be run mostly from your ram, and with 256 your comp can't fit nearly enough onto it. This forces it to go to the hard drive for information, wich takes several thousand times longer.

Ah-ha. Thanks for the insight. I was never really clear what RAM was for, still not really sure. I raised FSB to 166X11. Seems to be running better now, think it's using the DDR400 more efficiently. Will try to go to 200, but it's getting pretty hot.

Think of RAM as the work area of a desk. The more room there is on the desk(the more RAM you have) the more you can get done at one time or the better(faster) you can get a big job(game,benchmark,etc.) done.

Yeah, another vote for your RAM. I have the system you see in my sig, with my CPU at 215x12, and BF Vietnam is still pretty demanding. It's definitely a memory hog, so even upgrading to 1GB if you can would be a good idea. 512mb will still work alright though.

Yup, have at least 512mb of ram for a computer to run smoothly especially if you're running XP.

So, if I were to double the RAM and get another stick of 256 and run dual channel would I have to get the exact same stick that I already have or can I just get the same size? It's about a 1-1/2 years old and I wouldn't know where to find it. And what do you guys do with your old components after you upgrade? Are they collecting dust or do you sell them?

You don't need the exact ram that you already have, but it's good to have. When you run ram in duel channel, both moddules get the same settings. This means that whichever stick is the lower performing one will dictate the maximum settings.

For example, if the stick of ram you have now runs at 400 Mhz DDR with timings of 3-3-3-8, no matter how good of ram you bought to go with it, you couldn't use better timings or speeds than this because the old ram couldn't take it.

All you need to look for when you buy the ram is that it will take at least the same speed (PC2700, PC3200 etc.) and the same or better timings (CL2.5,CL3,etc.)

To be on the safe side I recomend buying slightly higher quality ram than you already have.


As far as analogys about what ram is, I usually explain the structure of things this way:

The CPU is some Guy at a desk,
The L1 Cash is the paper in the middle of the desk he is looking at,
The L2 Cash is papers scattered around the one he is looking at,
The RAM is Books on a shelf beside the desk,
The Hard drive is the library, 20 minutes away.

The guy is lazy and doesn't like going to the library. Help the poor guy, get more ram.....

I usually use them too make another system and give it too someone(GF at the time, lil brothers, parents)

matttheniceguy is right, but to be safe, I would get sticks with the same kind of chips.