[APCSystems]

Hi all,

Hopefully someone will be able to help me out. I bought a Dell Dimension 9100 aka XPS400. It has a gig of memory and a dual core 2.8 Pentium D processor. The reason I bought it is because I multi-task a lot, and thought that the dual core was good for running multiple applications at once. For the most part, it's good, but it's incredibly sluggish when I'm trying to make a CD/DVD backup. I keep my computer pretty well maintained with Windows updates, Spyware protection, Virus protection, Firewall, Popup blocket, etc. The first thing I did when I got this computer was format the hard drive with XP Pro instead of the MCE that came on it, along with all the other stuff that Dell pre loads onto their machines. I'm not running any type of crazy programs or anything, but when I'm burning a CD, I can't do much else. I'm able to browse the internet, but pages are slow to come up, I can't listen to music b/c it sounds all garbled, even as I type this I can see the sluggishness of my PC. Shouldn't this PC be zipping right along with the specs it has?? Any help is much appreciated.

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Well, it's a mid-low end dual core, and a (relatively) small amount of memory...it sounds like its reacting about like it should. 2GB of memory in matched pair/dual channel will go a long way.

[Kurenai]

Well, it's a mid-low end dual core, and a (relatively) small amount of memory...it sounds like its reacting about like it should. 2GB of memory in matched pair/dual channel will go a long way.

[APCSystems]

mid-low huh? geez...i thought this was a really nice PC? how does it compare to the newer intel 2 core duo processors or whatever they're called?? Or, matched pair dual channel...what does that mean? Currently I have 2 512mb sticks of DDR2, are you recommending that I get 2 more? The PC holds up to 4gb of memory.

[Kurenai]

Well, that processor retails around $150, where as a 2.8 Ghz core 2 duo runs in the $500+ range. You don't have a bad processor, it's just not absolute top anymore. The main strength of the pentium Ds was stability.

Dual channel RAM is sold as such, in a matched pair. These days, I recommend 2 GB of RAM to really get the most out of your system. You would be best off getting 2 1GB sticks of Dual Channel DDR2 (probably PC3200), but one more 1GB stick would still give you a pretty noticable performance boost.