# Motherboard quality issue



## BEARCATJER (Sep 28, 2009)

)Early this year i bought a custom desktop from a company on the internet.Ever since i bought it i have been disappointed with its speed in processing various transactions and i am a routine user of computers for email, net surfing, playing music etc.Nothing which requires blazing speed.Nevertheless, this box is slower than the 4 year old Dell Inspiron 8600laptop i used to use and i dont understand why. I recently contacted tech support of the company where i purchased the PC and they told me that it is possible that my continuing to use Win XP Home..32 bit.. as my OS is creating this slowness. 

They also told me that the MOBO i purchased as part of this PC..an ASUS M2N-MX SE PLUS model was a fairly low end motherboard and could be part of the problem in trying to keep up with my Athlon 64 x2 dual core 6000 processor. 
Working with tech support we revised some of the BIOS settings and the PC does seem to be a little faster now than it was.

They told me they could give me a credit on my current MOBO and sell me a replacement of higher quality. They are also sending me a one year free trial copy of Win Seven to see how that helps. 

I am willing to upgrade my MOBO and /or the OS if it will really help. I trust the people i bought the PC from but would appreciate any feedback from users of this forum on whether or not what i have been told makes sense.

thanks for your help.

SPECS..CURRENT SYSTEM
AMD ATHLON 64 X2 DUAL CORE PROCESSOR..6000+AM2
ASUS M2N-MX SE PLUS MOTHERBOARD
4GB DDR-2 800MHZ PC6400 MEMORY
320 SATA 7200RPM HD..16MB CACHE (HIGH PERFORMANCE)
22X DVD -RE DUAL LAYER WITH LIGHTSCRIBE
NVIDIA GE FORCE 6100 VIDEO...ONBOARD
6 CHANNEL DIGITAL SOUND..ONBOARD
OKIA A-POWER 450 WATT POWER SUPPLY
SAMSUNG SYNCHMASTER 22 INCH MONITOR
WIN XP HOME SP3 OS


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## StrangleHold (Sep 28, 2009)

Replacing the motherboard if there is nothing wrong with the one you have isnt going to make it faster. Unless you get one with better onboard video, will make the graphics better. Have you done a disk clean up and defraged in awhile? Have you done a Virus and Spyware scan?


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## Slacker7 (Sep 28, 2009)

Others hopefully will step in here and give their opinion but overall for what you want to do that is a really good set-up.

1. Your issue isn't with XP. True, it won't recognize the four full gigs of RAM because it is a 32 bit operating system but I know many that run 4 gigs and XP anyway.

2. It could be one of your issues is that you have onboard video.  But I don't know the quality of said onboard video so I'll leave it at that.  One thing however is that your motherboard does supply a PCI-Express slot and you could certainly improve your video quality.

3. Never heard of the power supply before.

* I have two questions:

1. What security software are you running?

2. What is your internet connection: dial-up, DSL, or cable?  Wireless or wired?

*** Also, what Stranglehold asked about scanning for viruses and malware.  They will really slow down a system.


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## Kosh (Sep 28, 2009)

BEARCATJER said:


> )
> 1:Early this year i bought a custom desktop from a company on the internet.
> 
> 
> ...




1:who exactly? you may have got a pos!

2:ignore the video card suggestion.video cards will only speed up gaming or some 3d cad work.video cards have nothing to do with internet speed.

3:sounds like someone is full of it and trying to sell you something else.

as far as what StrangleHold said about scanning for viruses etc,and doing a disc cleanup and defrag makes alot of sense.


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## Carlton (Sep 28, 2009)

One of my pc's has a M2N-MX board.   Think the only difference is that the SE model only has 2 ram slots.  It's a perfectly good board for XP, Vista and Linux.  The onboard video is Nvidia 6150SE (going by memory) and can be adjusted in the bios up to 256 MB video.  It's not really a low end board, it's just it's been available for a couple of years now....big deal.  Your system should be more than adequate for the things your asking of it.  Try this free scan, it will look at running processes, fragmentation etc.  It may help you find the bottle neck.

http://www.pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/default.asp


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## BEARCATJER (Sep 29, 2009)

Slacker7 said:


> Others hopefully will step in here and give their opinion but overall for what you want to do that is a really good set-up.
> 
> 1. Your issue isn't with XP. True, it won't recognize the four full gigs of RAM because it is a 32 bit operating system but I know many that run 4 gigs and XP anyway.
> 
> ...




I use  AVG 8.5 anti virus software and use my Win OS firewall. I use Roadrunner cable wired..no wireless. have used Roadrunner for 10 years on all of my past computers.

I took the power supply infor from the invoice i received when i bought the PC. I was only concerned that it be large enough and 450w seemed fine.

I have never had a computer with a seperate video card so I didnt think i needed one this time. Im just a routine computer user..nothing fancy..so i have always had integrated video in my computers.

I wonder if going to win xp 64 bit OS  would help since i could then use all 4gb of my memory? 

Are you saying i could put a separate Video card in this pc and use it instead of the video in the motherboard and you think that would speed it up?

thanks so much for your help..


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## BEARCATJER (Sep 29, 2009)

Carlton said:


> One of my pc's has a M2N-MX board.   Think the only difference is that the SE model only has 2 ram slots.  It's a perfectly good board for XP, Vista and Linux.  The onboard video is Nvidia 6150SE (going by memory) and can be adjusted in the bios up to 256 MB video.  It's not really a low end board, it's just it's been available for a couple of years now....big deal.  Your system should be more than adequate for the things your asking of it.  Try this free scan, it will look at running processes, fragmentation etc.  It may help you find the bottle neck.
> 
> http://www.pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/default.asp



thanks. i will try it. I will say,however, that i am constantly "cleaning" my pc using various free tools, keeping the start menu cleaned up etc. I have recently started using a program called Advanced System Care which is free and seems to cover most if not all areas of computer maintenance. I am not a computer technical person, but i have been able to repair every pc i have ever owned regardless of the problem/s including formatting hard drives, replacing memory, hard drives , revising BIOS etc. I guess that is why this speed problem is so frustrating because i spend a lot of time  making sure my PC is in "good shape" generally speaking.

thanks again.


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## BEARCATJER (Sep 29, 2009)

Kosh said:


> 1:who exactly? you may have got a pos!
> 
> 2:ignore the video card suggestion.video cards will only speed up gaming or some 3d cad work.video cards have nothing to do with internet speed.
> 
> ...



i bought the PC from a company called ...ALL PC ZONE IN HIGHLAND HTS, OHIO. They are an ebay seller and have a 100% positive feedback record on as I recall about 4000 transactions. I did a LOT of research before i bought from them. Historically, I have always had Dells..desktops and laptops and they worked well, or at least well enough for me. I never had  a pc with an AMD processor and wanted to try one this time. Could my problem be at all the AMD brand? I dont see how,but dont really know. I have always relied on CNET for objective reviews and also various computer forums to help make buying decisions. I thought about building a desktop myself but the cost of the components i wanted was more than i could buy a similar PC for already made.

Are you familiar with  a free Utility program called Advanced System Care? I have started using it and it seems to be pretty good. 
Thanks for your help.


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## jarrado (Sep 29, 2009)

ive had similiar problems. thats why I always wipe the computer re-install fresh ansd setup good security software to keep anything out. Which would include an "active" anti virus. I cant understand why ppl use anti-virus that isnt active. After all, its better if you catch it BEFORE its gets in your computer. Normally the firewall blocks this, but it cant stop everything. I agree with the above posts. most of the time I find its either a virus/trojan/worm or your OS has been damaged in some way due to a virus at some point. I try to stay away from "spyware" specific software. It tends to actually attract spyware for some reason.

I could be wrong, but thats my limited experience.


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## Slacker7 (Sep 29, 2009)

AMD makes very fine processors.  Getting a faulty one does occur on occasion (it happens with Intel as well) but being AMD isn't the reason for your issues.


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## BEARCATJER (Sep 29, 2009)

jarrado said:


> ive had similiar problems. thats why I always wipe the computer re-install fresh ansd setup good security software to keep anything out. Which would include an "active" anti virus. I cant understand why ppl use anti-virus that isnt active. After all, its better if you catch it BEFORE its gets in your computer. Normally the firewall blocks this, but it cant stop everything. I agree with the above posts. most of the time I find its either a virus/trojan/worm or your OS has been damaged in some way due to a virus at some point. I try to stay away from "spyware" specific software. It tends to actually attract spyware for some reason.
> 
> I could be wrong, but thats my limited experience.



I forgot to mention that i did format my hard drive and reinstalled win xp about 6 months ago when i got tired of the relatively slow speed of operation. It didnt run as fast as the Dell inspiron 8600 i had been using for 4 years. Nevertheless, the reinstall didnt really make any difference that i have been able to see. Im not sure what you mean by an "active" anti virus. I use AVG 8.5 and have for past 2-3 years without any virus problems.
Thanks for your help.


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## jasonn20 (Sep 29, 2009)

I would go to your task manager then processes and click the cpu tab to see what is running.  Sytem idle process should be 99%  or better after eveything has loaded up.  You may have a program running in the background hindering your performance.  

I also would check that your drivers are up to date from asus not microsoft.  

Your onboard video can effect the processor but it should not keep your machine from functioning well unless you have a driver problem. 

As far as internet speed I use a program called Internet Washer that cleans once a day and I do not have any toolbars but think 1 or 2 is ok.  using a generic driver can also effect speed

I have seen  dual cores run as a single core on some versions of xp.  You can check this through task manager click on the perfromance tab and make sure there is two windows under cpu usage.

Just a suggestion.


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## linkin (Sep 29, 2009)

I think your PC was installed with bloatware and crapware on it. A full reformat and reinstall will fix that. 
just remember to:

Download your drivers
backup data externally
Take note of any settings
Possibly backup your bookmark library judging by your usage.

A full reinstall of windows has solved many a speed issue on my previous and current computers.


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## kimsland (Sep 29, 2009)

BEARCATJER said:


> I forgot to mention that i did format my hard drive and reinstalled win xp about 6 months ago when i got tired of the relatively slow speed of operation. It didnt run as fast as the Dell inspiron 8600 i had been using for 4 years. Nevertheless, the reinstall didnt really make any difference.


Before deciding on any re-install again, try this:

Uninstall AVG
Then run the AVG Remover tool (this is a must): http://www.avg.com/download-tools
Restart

Downlaod and run Combofix: http://www.forospyware.com/sUBs/ComboFix.exe

Run CCleaner: (note: new version as of 2 days ago) http://www.ccleaner.com/download/downloading

Restart

Download and install free Avira Antivirus: http://www.free-av.com/
Run a full (updated first) scan

Report on your happy findings


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## BEARCATJER (Sep 29, 2009)

kimsland said:


> Before deciding on any re-install again, try this:
> 
> Uninstall AVG
> Then run the AVG Remover tool (this is a must): http://www.avg.com/download-tools
> ...



I attempted to conduct  all of the above listed activities you recommended.Combofix led me to STOPZILLA but i never could get Combofix itself to completely download and run on my pc. 

Nevertheless, something helped because my pc is now running faster than it was before. I wonder if the Avira anti virus is mostly responsible for that. I have always liked AVG, primarily based on how highly CNET has recommended but they also recommend AVIRA so i will stay with that.

Thanks so much for your help!


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## Slacker7 (Sep 29, 2009)

Didn't you know that kimsland is the High Priest of All Things Avira?    Seriously though, AVG has become bloated in its recent versions and Avira is an excellent product that really delivers and has a much lighter foot print (meaning it takes less system resources).


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## kimsland (Sep 29, 2009)

BEARCATJER said:


> I attempted to conduct  all of the above listed activities you recommended.Combofix led me to STOPZILLA but i never could get Combofix itself to completely download and run on my pc.


You can download Combofix on another working computer
Then, copy it to a Flash Drive, or even burn it to a CD (although it is only 3 meg)

here are two download locations:
http://www.forospyware.com/sUBs/ComboFix.exe
http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/sUBs/ComboFix.exe


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## BEARCATJER (Sep 29, 2009)

*motherboard issue*

:





Slacker7 said:


> Didn't you know that kimsland is the High Priest of All Things Avira?    Seriously though, AVG has become bloated in its recent versions and Avira is an excellent product that really delivers and has a much lighter foot print (meaning it takes less system resources).



I dont know if it was Avira,but i am definitely seeing speedier processing since i uninstalled AVG and installed Avira. Thanks for all the help.


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## BEARCATJER (Sep 29, 2009)

kimsland said:


> You can download Combofix on another working computer
> Then, copy it to a Flash Drive, or even burn it to a CD (although it is only 3 meg)
> 
> here are two download locations:
> ...



Ok. I will do that,but I am already seeing some improvement in processing speed so thanks very much for all your help!!:good:.


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## kimsland (Sep 29, 2009)

No problems 

By the way, instead of replying to yourself, you can use "Edit" only if your post is still the last post in the thread (basically you have replied to yourself 3 times in this thread already)


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## BEARCATJER (Sep 29, 2009)

kimsland said:


> No problems
> 
> By the way, instead of replying to yourself, you can use "Edit" only if your post is still the last post in the thread (basically you have replied to yourself 3 times in this thread already)


Im not experienced in using forum message boards so im not sure what you mean by "edit". Hopefully i am using the correct area to  reply . In any event I did run Combofix using the bleeping computers site and it ran all the way until it indicated it was preparing a "log report" and then it never got past that point so after 1/2 hour of waiting i closed it down.  Should i try to run it again, or is the "log report" not all that important?


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## kimsland (Sep 29, 2009)

This is what the Edit box looks like: 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			
		
		
	


	



It is located at the bottom right of your posts
Do not Edit (and then add text) UNLESS (sorry for caps there) yours is the last post in the thread, of which it presently isn't.

Now combofix
Please run Combofix in Safe Mode (safe Mode accessed by pressing F8 key before windowws starts up)
If it still doesn't work, then run *Combofix /U* (please note one space after combofix)
Then download and run Combofix again (note: disregard any Antivirus warning during the scan, basically Combofix will remove malware found itself)

Yes the log attached (ie this button > 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 on the new reply toolbar) would be good


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## BEARCATJER (Sep 30, 2009)

kimsland said:


> This is what the Edit box looks like:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


thanks for the education. i see the edit area now . it isnt in every message, just some.

ok. i will run combofix in safe mode like you say. The Avira seems to work much more quickly than AVG but the updater is very slow. i guess it is because it is my first update and it goes back a long way.
Thanks so much for your help.


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## Bodaggit23 (Sep 30, 2009)

BEARCATJER said:


> thanks for the education. i see the edit area now . it isnt in every message, just some.



It's only in the posts that you made.


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## jasonn20 (Oct 2, 2009)

BEARCATJER said:


> I forgot to mention that
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Did you completey wipe the hard drive clean (reformat) and then reinstall windows or did you do a repair reinstall that keeps your files and settings?  

If it was a fresh install and your performance has not changed have you installed the drivers that came with your pc?  Asus Driver Disk

If so, are your slow speeds only Internet related??

If not, do you know how to get to your Device Manger, Task Manager, and System Configuration window??


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## BEARCATJER (Oct 2, 2009)

Yes, it was a clean install and I did subsequently reinstall the asus drivers. Yes, my slow speeds are only internet related ...i think. im not a computer technical person so maybe i dont understand your  question, but the tech support technician i bought this pc from ran a test and said my processor speed was good a 6mps or bps ..cant recall exactly the terminology he used.
Since i started getting help from members of this forum and following their advice my pc has really improved in speed and now seems to be running about as fast as i expected it should when i bought it...at least faster than the inspiron 8600 laptop i had before. Most recently in downloaded Firefox and it has also helped my pc run faster. When i think i have been living with the slow problem for almost a year, i wish i had started using this forum sooner! You people are GREAT!Thanks so much from an old man.


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## BEARCATJER (Oct 2, 2009)

Well i have just uninstalled firefox and gone back to IE8 although i didnt want to. I couldnt figure out how to get FF to download files , programs etc and I guess i ran out of patience. I used their tech support knowledge base but doing what they said to do didnt work. Im hoping some expert on this forum will give me some suggestions so i can get downloads to work and reinstall FF because i liked it very much in all other respects and it definitely improved the speed of my processor for some reason i dont have the technical knowhow to understand.
Thanks for any help out there. I really appreciate it.e


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## kimsland (Oct 2, 2009)

Try downloading the newest Firefox version and re-installing again
www.getfirefox.com


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## BEARCATJER (Oct 3, 2009)

Kimsland...i am continuing to use Outlook Express for my email. I dont see that FF has any email program with it. Am i missing it? How do i get an email icon on my locator bar like i had with IE8. i cant find one in FF.  I had no problem getting FF to download just like when i download programs on IE, but when i tried some other program  it just never started to download the program..period. 
One other problem i have is that every time i open a site i use a lot ...like My Yahoo...i get a message at top of the site which says.."FF prevented this page from automatically reloading" The result is that every time i open such a page i have to sign in again instead of having it remember my password and automatically pass up the sign in process. 
Thanks for your help.


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## kimsland (Oct 3, 2009)

Firefox is an Internet Browser
Although you can get email too, just stick with Outlook Express, or create a "Live" account if you want another email or something
Note: Installing Firefox has nothing to do with your email

Here's what I'd suggest
Run IE Reset: 



Download and re-install Firefox, then test again


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## StrangleHold (Oct 3, 2009)

BEARCATJER said:


> Kimsland...i am continuing to use Outlook Express for my email. I dont see that FF has any email program with it. Am i missing it? How do i get an email icon on my locator bar like i had with IE8. i cant find one in FF.


 
If you want to use Mozilla Firefox with there Email program you have to download Thunderbird. 
http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/


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## BEARCATJER (Oct 3, 2009)

I have uninstalled FF again . I cant get it to complete downloads, cant do any customization of my home page, cant get it to let me put an Outlook Express email icon on my home page etc. All of that notwithstanding, i really want to use FF instead of IE because it loads my program much more quickly than IE.  I guess until i can work my way through the FF support area and learn how to accomplish what I want/need Ill continue using IE. I know the problem is my inadequate knowledge of computers,but i have been using them for 10 years, and have always been able to repair any problem i experienced on my own using windows support, forum help etc so Im sort of aggravated at myself for not being able to deal with such simple items in this FF setup and utilization. 

Thanks for all your help anyway...especially you Kimsland.


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## kimsland (Oct 3, 2009)

BEARCATJER said:


> I have uninstalled FF again . I cant get it to complete downloads, cant do any customization of my home page, cant get it to let me put an Outlook Express email icon on my home page etc.


ok so that didn't work

The part about Outlook Express on your homepage, I don't quite understand 
My homepage is presently google, what is your homepage exactly? (or the one that you want to customize)

Is your Outlook Express presently working? (without Firefox installed)
And when you do install Firefox what exactly goes wrong (or is the issue) with Outlook Express (note: a mail program that is totally unrelated to Firefox)


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## BEARCATJER (Oct 3, 2009)

The homepage i usually use is My Yahoo. I also have Igoogle set up as well as My Excite,but use My Yahoo 99% of the time. 
My Outlook Express is working fine and worked fine with FF,but with FF i dont get a mail icon on my home page so i can open email from it instead of having to go to my desktop to open email and i cant figure out how to add a MAIL icon using FF. i tried all the usual places in tools etc and there is no mail icon. This sounds like a small item,but it really isnt..at least for me. I also find with FF that it requires i sign in to my Home page every time i open it. It wont remember and automatically open my home page, or other sites even when i click on the "allow" box next to the message i get...FF prevented this page from automatically reloading"

I think i need to download FF again, but keep IE8 as my primary program until i can study FF and figure out how to get it to perform the few key items i havent figured out so far. Then I will be able to use FF which is my goal because it is just faster...my primary objective

So there really is no issue with the operation of OE with FF. Sorry if i made it seem like there is. Do you know how to find and put a mail icon on the customized tool bar of FF like IE allows you to do? Im not good at using keyboard shortcuts...prefer the use of icons, links etc like IE provides for.

Thanks . you are probably losing patience with my inexperience. Dont blame you..so am I.


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## kimsland (Oct 3, 2009)

Oh, I've finally worked out what you mean 

You can install Simple Mail addon: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5593

Or better yet, using Firefox:
Go to: http://webdesigns.ms11.net/getmail.html
Click on "Install"
Paste in this line to the "path to email": _C:\Program Files\Outlook Express\MSIMN.EXE_
OK

#2:

The issue with not being able to save your details, is due to Firefox clearing out all cookies and temp files on restart (By the way this is a good feature)
You can stop Firefox deleting these temp files on close of Firefox by:
Open Firefox
Select "Tools'  (on the toolbar menu) > Options > Privacy tab
Deselect any/all that you do not wish Firefox to delete on Exit
OK
Close Firefox
Open Firefox again
For now on when you close Firefox, nothing will be deleted (that you unticked)


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## BEARCATJER (Oct 4, 2009)

Kimsland..well thanks to you i now have FF set up so it does remember my passwords and that part is working great. As for the Mail icon i downloaded and installed 3 separate mail addons and cant get any of them onto my browser page as a mail icon. Not sure why. Probably something simple. 
Thanks again for all your help. I really appreciate it..


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## realmike15 (Oct 5, 2009)

was this computer ever fast or did it slow down over time?  i would say 80% of computers with issues about them being slow, is purely a software issue.  invest in a good AV like NOD32 Antivirus 4, and a good cleaner like CCleaner.  also search google for a guide of things to stay away from on the internet.  you really need to know what file types to just stay away from. lastly understand, that almost every program you install is going to try to install some sort of background task.  unless it's your AV software, turn off any options that run automatic updates in the backgorund... they do nothing but bog down a machine.  and those things that say they're going to run a background task to make productivity easier... bullsh*t just disable it.

take it from a guy that hasn't had a virus in probably 6-8 years.


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## BEARCATJER (Oct 5, 2009)

mightmilk..thanks for the advice. This pc has been slower than i expected it would be since it was new. I recently spent some time on the phone with tech support of the company where i bought it and we made a number of changes to the bios including updating them altogether and it got somewhat faster. More recently several of the folks on this forum have helped me and it is operating much faster and better now,more like what i expected when i bought it. I have always run a number of utilities on a regular basis on all the pcs i have had over the years to keep them clean. I have triied many AV programs including Norton Systemworks and more recently AVG. I just switched to Avira and i definitely think it speeded up my pc.Also installed and ran CCleaner.
The only automatic updates i run are the Window updates and my AV program updates. Do you think the Windows updates would be a factor in the speed issue? I never thought of that before.
I also downloaded both FF and Chrome and both make my PC run faster than IE8, or at least the load much faster .I would like to stick with FF but need to work out a few little annoyances in re how it functions vs what Im used to with IE. 
Thanks again for the helpful suggestions.


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## Bodaggit23 (Oct 5, 2009)

BEARCATJER said:


> mightmilk..thanks for the advice. This pc has been slower than i expected it would be since it was new.



Are you certain that the parts you paid for are in your system?

Have you checked?


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## BEARCATJER (Oct 5, 2009)

I havent opened up the box and looked through it, but i do use Belarc Advisor and it summarized in detail all of the hardware and software components of the computer and it has all the components i bought listed..


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## Bodaggit23 (Oct 5, 2009)

BEARCATJER said:


> I havent opened up the box and looked through it, but i do use Belarc Advisor and it summarized in detail all of the hardware and software components of the computer and it has all the components i bought listed..



Ok, just checking. You never know unless you check. :good:


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## KrisM (Oct 8, 2009)

Interesting thread.

I do not claim to have carefully read all of it so if I suggest something that someone else already has, or seem to step on toes, please forgive.

My first thought was to try a different mobo.  I expect that your problem is poor channel util.  You might run sisoftware's Sandra and share with us here some of the benchmarks (holler if you need help).

I did not run that scan above as it sounded too complicated and too invasive, and needed IE.  I use FF.  I know, but........................

The PSU, CPU, OPSYS  (check to make sure you have all the performance updates, though you're on SP3 so you should be great.)  all look fine.

The 6100 (as video) is slow but I really doubt that's your prob.
The 6100 as NB may indeed be your prob.

You might have an interrupt conflict, but, again, I doubt that's your prob.

If you are not flashed to the latest bios for that board, you might try that.

So much depends on just how well the mobo chip (NB) talks to the pieces.  P35's are cheap!  My prefs are for Intel and Nvidia.  I personally avoid Via and AMD-video (AMD-CPU is great).


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