How can I make my computer run faster? I think I have seen some thing about a program that makes it run faster or over clocking your processor or something like that...If you know of some thing let me know...as long is it dose not mess any thing up.

Probably one of the best ways to do it (if you have the equipment) is to do a clean system reformat.

That is, backup everything that you want to save (it helps if you have a friend that's willing to help and you're on a network), then reformat your hard drive. Install the lastest versions of only the stuff you want to use. This will clean out all the crap and stuff you'd gotten rid of, etc.

I don't know anything about overclocking unfortunately, but I'm sure somebody else here could help with that.

The next thing to do would be to upgrade your ram (of course this would involve spending money). If you have 32 megs of ram, doubling it to 64 will give you a big speed improvement.

I think also partitioning your hard drive may help speed things up, but again, that's not something I know much about.

Kurgan

What kind of hardware do you have? It's hard to give a recommendation on how to speed up a system when I know nothing about it.

Well thanks all. I have a new come and a old one I want the old one to run faster it is a 486DX2 or is it a SX I cant rember with 32 meg of ram 2 450mb HDs and that is about it

I think a 486DX can be overclocked to a pentium 150 (roughly). Again, I can't tell you HOW to overclock it, but I know it's possible.

[correction: A guy who I talked to said something similar to this, but I misrecalled what he said. It was a 486 to a pentium 50 or 90, not 150 I apologize for the confusion, and may you all forgive me for speaking in error! It would be more correct to refer to this as "using an overdrive card" and it doesn't work with all processors.]

Kurgan

[This message has been edited by Kurgan (edited September 14, 2000).]

Overclocking is the process of running a CPU, or any other hardware, at a speed different than what it is rated for. You can't turn a 486 into a Pentium (they're completely different CPU's), and I'd be surprised if you were even able to get a 486 DX2 to reach 100 MHz. A DX4 100 performs about as well as a Pentium 60 MHz, so there's not a chance that you could reach Pentium 150 speeds by overclocking.

The actual process simply involves changing the clock multiplier or bus speed via jumpers on your motherboard, which should be indicated in the motherboard's manual. You have to use trial and error to figure out the maximum speed your system can handle (if you change bus speed you overclock other components, as well), but I honestly wouldn't even bother trying to overclock a 486.

Upgrading RAM will give a negligable speed improvement, as well. Having lots of RAM is useless when you have such an old CPU, so I wouldn't suggest spending the money to purchase more.

If it's an SX, you may want to upgrade it to a 486DX, as the SX lacks a math co-processor, and that will kill performance. Otherwise, there's probably nothing wrong with the system aside from it being extremely old.

[This message has been edited by Argath (edited March 01, 2000).]

I'm sorry Argath, as you have undoubtably overclocked many PC's, I have never overclocked a single one (honest).

My roommate (who has overclocked several PC's in fact he's using one right now) told me once that a 486DX COULD be overclocked to aproximately a pentium 150 speed. I do not know if he has ever done such a thing however.

I can ask him again what he meant, but unless my memory is defective or he's a liar, then that's what he meant.

Kurgan

There's no need to apologize for making a mistake. I would prefer that you don't comment at all if you don't know much about the subject being discussed, but there was really no harm done.

I don't know what your roommate meant when he told you that, but it's impossible. Are you sure he wasn't talking about a Pentium Overdrive processor for a 486 system? I don't recall them ever reaching 150 MHz (they maxed out at 83, in fact; I just checked), but that seems like a more plausible explanation, because there's absolutely no way a 486 could come close to P150 performance through overclocking. If he does confirm that he said exactly what you posted, he's seriously misinformed.

[This message has been edited by Argath (edited March 03, 2000).]

Thanks for you help...Were can I find out more info is there a URL I can go to?

More information on overclocking? I don't know of any webpages that specifically explain how to overclock your computer, but they do exist. The process is so simple that a five-year-old could do it, so if you're unable to find any more information on it, I can post up a step by step guide here.

Hey, could you show me? If a five-year-old could do it, surely this uninformed "non-gamer" could figure it out. ; )

Do tell..

There's no need to apologize for making a mistake.

What mistake? I was apologizing for making you mad. Whenever I respond to any technical question you get upset, so I was saying sorry for infringing on your "turf" so to speak. ; ) And I admitted right off the bat I didn't know much about overclocking, so don't give me that.

Kurgan

[This message has been edited by Darth Kurgan (edited March 05, 2000).]

Hey I think you all need a time out or something...

Why do you think that I got mad? All I did was define overclocking and explain that a 486 can't be overclocked to where it performs equivalently to a Pentium 150, and I see nothing in my post that would indicate I was irritated. You really don't need to tell me you don't know much about overclocking; your "you can overclock a 486 to a Pentium 150" post was evidence enough in itself. I don't understand why you'd even comment if you know nothing about the topic, but you do it so often that arguing about it is pointless.

If your rommmate already knows how to overclock a computer (though if he thinks a 486 can be ramped up where it rivals a P150 in performance, I'd be a bit hesitant to trust anything he says...), why not just ask him? It seems rather pointless to ask on a message board rather than talk to someone in person, but whatever.

This article (http://www.tomshardware.com/guides/overclocking/index.html) at Tom's Hardware describes the process in-depth, so I'd suggest looking at it if you are planning on trying to overclock. Overclocking a newer CPU is a bit different, so if you're trying to overclock a Pentium II, Celeron, or anything newer, I can give more precise directions for what needs to be done for those CPU's.

[This message has been edited by Argath (edited March 05, 2000).]

How useful is the idea? And how much danger is there for the computer if it is running overclocked? Just like to know. Thanx. http://www.jediknight.net/mboard/smile.gif)

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"Preach the Gospel. If necessary, use words."
-St. Francis of Assisi

Honestly, I think it's a waste of time unless you have a Celeron, Athlon, Pentium III, or other CPU that can be overclocked by a considerable margin. I believe the article I linked to explains the pros and cons of overclocking, so you may want to read that to get some more information on it.

How can I make my computer run faster??

Easy, light its tail on fire!

; L~

"the grass is always greener"