OPTIMIZATION for XP---SP2

[logan1]

hey guys i am running XP server pack 2 on my computer and i am not getting the kinda performance i should. for example in CS:s i only get like 53fps with a X800XT PE.

i think the problem is that as i start my comp i have like 50 processes running in the backgorund.

how or what should i do to get more performance out of my computer

thanx for helpin

 

[OldMX]

I think the problem is more related to a bios setting / driver issue than the OS being bloated with creative and norton stuff...

Recheck the bios settings and make sure you have chipset drivers up to date

oldmx

 

[feigned]

I think the problem is more related to a bios setting / driver issue than the OS being bloated with creative and norton stuff...

Recheck the bios settings and make sure you have chipset drivers up to date

oldmx

Yarrr.

I'm assuming the OP has a gig of ram, but trimming all of the startup crap helps. I see Ghost and other various Symantec services, a proxy server, and daemon tools, not to mention what's hidden further on down the list.

 

[Eva_Unit_0]

^ yeah I agree. I see a lot of tray utilities in there, which are often pointless and just waste ram. Those processes are small but they will definitely nickel-and-dime you to death after a while.

First place I would start is the startup folder, in the start menu. Clear out all the crap you don't actually use. And go through your system tray and get rid of all the tray programs you don't use. (most will have an option like "load on startup" or something that you can disable)

 

[hulksterjoe]

I think your in dire need of running msconfig and getting rid of alot of those start up items. or you could always just create another user profile and use that specfically for gaming. I'd say a number between 20-30 processes is probably more realistic for someone just running things like antivirus / firewall in an everyday work enviroment.

I'm at work and currently have 5 programs running plus av and trillian and such and I'm only at 28 processes.. so at boot up my number is around 21

 

[Rambler]

Well despite the OP having ton of processes running, he should be fine unless some of those hogs the CPU (which doesn't seem to be the case, because he has 0% CPU usage).
I'd definitely look at drivers and bios settings which are much more likely affecting his performance.

I myself have typically about 45 processes running with 450MB mem usage (with 512MB physical and 2G swap) and i never noticed any performance delta between this state and the one when i close everything possible and free up every byte of memory i can.

But ofcourse closing the unnecessary processes won't hurt either.

 

[Phoenix86]

*tries to sort by CPU*


*tried to scroll to see the whole list*

^ yeah I agree. I see a lot of tray utilities in there, which are often pointless and just waste ram. Those processes are small but they will definitely nickel-and-dime you to death after a while.

Bzzt, while extra startup items may take extra time to load, when they sit idle, they will be paged. It won't nickel-and-dime your RAM.

Now if those processes are taking CPU time, that's different.

I'd say a number between 20-30 processes is probably more realistic for someone just running things like antivirus / firewall in an everyday work enviroment.

I'm at work and currently have 5 programs running plus av and trillian and such and I'm only at 28 processes.. so at boot up my number is around 21

Hey gotta have processes running in order to do things. See I take almost the opposite approach. Have as many processes running that you can w/o paging, and it's all good.

We generally have "good" computers, put them to use.

Heck, FOLD!!!

I'm with OLDMX, drivers or BIOS. Check the BIOS config., timings, FSB, etc. Then check to make sure you have your mobo's chipset drivers up and running.

Is the system slow in other apps?