Getting the most out of what I've got.

[fyxxer32]

I'm not an over clocker, I figure if I want to go faster ,I'll buy something faster. But I would like to get the most out of this box that I can. I would like a step by step guide on how to get the best performance out of what I've got. You know ,check this and this, I'm not a gamer either. Any links to site to do that?
My system :
ECS K7VMA Mainboard
WD 15 GB
Athlon 1.0 Ghz
256 mb RAM
Iomega 12x4x32 cd burner
50 x cd
Win 98 SE

[KenKun]

Hi fyxxer32,

Your system seems great .. what do you use it for mostly (if not for games)?

Here are some reviews to start with .. you have to read carefully ...

http://www.merc100.com/socketa_oc.htm

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.htm...07162001071852

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.htm...07162001071852

So you can OC the FSB (Front Side Bus) or the CPU multiplier ...
If your CPU is 100FSB X 10 Muliplier then you can reach 1200MHZ by:
*120FSB X 10 or
*100FSB X 12
And you should be able to do that from the BIOS ...

always remember that when OCing you have to use better cooling for your box and CPU to have better stable results...

If i were you i wouldn't sacrifice the stability for a few -not noticible- MHz ...

Regards

[fyxxer32]

Well I like to surf, tech stuff to learn more about computers.I do my business printing on it, cards , invoices ,etc. The wifes into making her own greeting cards, got lots of mp3s,burn a few cds. I'm a firefighter and have an appliance repair business part - time , so I look up lots of parts,exploded views, technical stuff , order parts and also answer questions on an appliance do it your self website forum.

[Philip1952]

If you don't want to over clock then all that is left is to work over the OS. HEREis a place to work over the OS. But it is not for the faint of heart.

[fyxxer32]

Wow ,look at that list! Thanks Philip.That ought to keep me busy!

[Philip1952]

It has kept me out of trouble for a while myself.
OOPPPSSS wait a minute there. I got my self in trouble there to at times to.
Read the fine print there. Always back up first

[PonzSpyder]

As far as hardware goes I would look at the hard drive and ram first. you could double your ram for about $50 or less I would think and a new 40GB Hard drive for $100 or a 60GB for $120.

You might be interested in the hard drive for all those MP3's

[RayH]

For me, without overclocking, the way to get the best performance out of a machine is to make sure that programs you don't need are turned off (mscong); you regularly dump files you don't need; and defrag.

I don't have much of a computer, just a K6-2 450 MHz. But it usually runs faster than other people I know who have faster computers because they don't do maintainence!

[Philip1952]

routine maint is a must. Also go into your defrag settings and turn off the setting to rearrange progams. No reason to move all the programs around from week to week. Plus who wants a 1>2 hour defrag with a big drive.