The settings of modern operating systems (Windows 7, Windows 8, etc.), according to the developers, should satisfy the majority of users, regardless of the model and modification of the laptop. However, practice shows the opposite: due to system overload and the presence of many unnecessary programs Laptops are unable to process information, malfunction, and their productivity drops. The most effective method is “overclocking,” but there are other methods, which will be discussed in this article.

Increasing laptop performance is advisable for the following reasons:

• will improve the performance of your laptop;
• will help your laptop last longer than usual.

Several ways to speed up

Replacement of main components:

• Replacement hard drive and increase in volume random access memory.
• Installing a cooling system on a laptop.

A series of simple manipulations with your laptop:

1. Cleaning up automatic downloads.
2. Disable background services.
3. Optimization and defragmentation of the hard drive.
4. Setting up power plans.
5. (separate article).

How to improve laptop performance with simple manipulations

Method 1: clean startups

The laptop almost always performs automatic downloads from the Internet. And while some startups are necessary for the device to update current versions of programs, others are completely unnecessary. The user does not use an impressive portion of these downloads at all when working on a laptop.. It’s just that their presence in the device’s memory, as well as automatic startup and operation in parallel with the operating system, greatly affects the speed of the desktop computer.

To clean startups you need:

1. Open the device's main Start menu.
2. Go to the “Run” tab.
3. In the line that opens, enter the following combination of letters, switching the keyboard to the English layout: msconfig.
4. Next, click on “Enter”.
5. A new window will open in which you need to select the “Startup” item, unchecking all programs that you do not use.
6. To save your actions, click the “Apply” button and then restart the system.

Method 2: Disable background services

The default desktop design provides different visual effects. Of course, visualization makes work more enjoyable, but it is this feature that intensively consumes the resources of the processor and RAM of the video adapter. To improve laptop performance, it is better to disable such “decorations”.

For this:

1. Go to the main menu of the device “Start”.
2. Click “Run”.
3. In the line that opens, enter the following combination: services.msc.

This will display a list of all enabled background services with a brief description of each. Go through the list and select the services you don't use. When you click on the name of the service, a small menu will pop up in which you need to select the “Disable” button.

You must perform all actions carefully, disabling only those background services that you really do not need. Otherwise, “forced shutdown” may cause the device to malfunction.

If you wish, you can always restore disabled settings by selecting the most correct operating mode for your laptop. Disabling background services will significantly relieve the processor, while simultaneously reducing the amount of RAM consumption. As a result, the laptop's performance will increase and it will work much faster.

Method 3: optimize and defragment the hard drive

During operation, many fragmented files accumulate on the device’s hard drive. Every time you access these files, the system spends a lot of time, which is expressed in the form of freezes and slowdowns. To eliminate such phenomena, you should periodically defragment your hard drive..

This operation can be performed using special programs (utilities). The most popular utilities that really help improve system performance are Defraggler and CCleaner. Once launched, they automatically optimize the system and defragment the hard drive, clearing the system of temporary files and errors accumulated on the disk.

You can also defragment the disk manually using the built-in defragmenter. To do this, go to the main menu of the device “Start”, then go to “Programs” - “Accessories” - “Services”, find “Disk Defragmentation” and launch the application.

Method 4: Set up power plans

Modern operating systems (for example, Windows 7) provide the ability to manage energy saving options; in particular, the user can independently configure power plans for his laptop. The default system can use one of the modes:

• “Balanced” is a mode that turns on automatically as soon as the laptop is connected to the network.
• “Economy” is a mode that is used when operating the device on battery power.

If you customize the Economy plan in more detail, you can further improve your laptop's performance. If you activate the “High Performance” mode, then all device resources will be used to the maximum without any restrictions.

To authorize this plan and access the settings of the center responsible for the device’s energy consumption, you need to click on the “Battery” icon. After this, a new window will open in which you need to select “Advanced power options”. Once the plan is activated, it will appear in the “Power Options” window. Typically, laptops have the High Performance mode hidden by default. You can display it by clicking on the “Show additional plans” arrow.

To set up the “Economy” plan, you need to click on the “Set up power plan” link, which is located opposite the name of the mode. This will put the system into economy mode, i.e. the device will automatically consume a minimum amount of energy.

How to speed up a laptop by replacing its elements

You should not perform these operations if you have never dealt with assembling a computer before, you can seriously damage your laptop. In this case, it is best to contact a professional!

Step 1: Replace the hard drive and increase the amount of RAM

It is impossible to replace the processor or video card on a laptop, especially at home. However, you can improve the performance of the device by replacing the hard drive and RAM. Initially you will need to replace HDD a special SSD drive. This will make it possible to significantly reduce the time it takes to open the main device programs and speed up the process of loading the operating system, and will also generally increase the performance of the hardware.

As for RAM, many manufacturers, in order to reduce the price of the finished device, significantly save on RAM by installing the simplest and cheapest modules in laptops. Therefore, it is advisable to replace the “native” modules of the machine with more modern and high-speed memory modules, for example, the SODIMM type. But before replacing, you should definitely check which memory standard your laptop supports (DDR3, DDR2 or DDR), as well as what is the maximum allowable amount of memory that can be installed on your machine.

It is better not to save on purchasing basic system components, since replacing other system elements on a laptop yourself is extremely problematic, and sometimes impossible. In general, so as not to encounter similar problems, you need to purchase laptops in advance with those processors that match the tasks facing the laptop. In order not to make a mistake in this choice, we recommend the article ““.

Step 2: install a cooling system on the laptop

You should not ignore the cooling system, since how quickly the laptop “heats” directly determines its performance, operability and duration of its operational period. When choosing a cooler (a device for cooling a laptop), it is advisable to give preference to well-known and trusted manufacturers (for example, Cooler Master, Zalman or Thermaltake). The cooling system will provide the device with quieter and more reliable operation in the most extreme operating conditions.

It would also be a good idea to install a fan in the laptop, which will cool the front panel of the device, where the hard drive cage is usually located. You can additionally install a fan at the rear of the system unit.

You can also increase productivity using modern programs (utilities) that automatically clean your hard drive of unnecessary information, and using thin system settings. However, you can basically save and increase the results if you do not download programs from suspicious and unverified sources onto your laptop.

By downloading various pirated content, as well as various software from suspicious sites, you expose your laptop to a serious threat!

It is definitely worth it, which will block all attempts of unauthorized access to your personal data.

In addition to protecting your laptop, an antivirus will also help it perform better by banning malicious software.

I hope we were able to explain to you how to speed up your laptop quite easily. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them below in the comments.

Over time, the computer operating system undergoes wear and tear, which affects both the performance of the device and our nerves. This is especially noticeable when working on weak computers. However, this is far from a reason for premature Windows reinstallation, and you shouldn’t rush to create installation flash drive and remember which key starts the transition to the BIOS. Using several simple methods, we will not only return crystal virginity to our system, but also speed it up, in some places making it run faster than the new one.

Why does my computer slow down?

Most often, the slowdown of the operating system is associated with its inept use: incorrect removal of programs, cluttering of the hard drive and lack of timely measures to clean it. When installing Windows 7 itself, few people change the standard system configurations, which are far from optimal.

Hardware acceleration: unloading the processor

Hardware acceleration is the redistribution of some system functions from the main processor to Hardware to increase overall computer performance.

In other words, this is shifting part of the CPU work to the video card, if it is able to handle it faster.

The hardware acceleration feature is enabled in all builds of Windows 7 by default. You can check this using the following path:

1. Right-click on the desktop and select “Screen Resolution”.

   Select “Screen Resolution”

2. Now go to “Advanced options”.
   

   In the window that opens, select “Advanced settings” On the “Diagnostics” tab, select “Change settings”

If this button is inactive, there is no need to panic: you have hardware acceleration enabled, and the caring developers of the video adapter foresaw what could get you here, and removed changing the settings away from the wrong hands.

The required button is “Change settings”. If it is inactive, acceleration is already enabled

Visual Effects: Maximum System Performance

The pleasant graphical interface of Windows 7 puts a very noticeable load on the computer's hardware, which cannot but affect its performance. Visual design, of course, serves as a good addition to the operating system, but when it begins to noticeably affect its performance, it is better to sacrifice beauty for the sake of optimization.

1. Right-click on the “Computer” icon and go to “Properties”.

   Click on “Advanced system settings”

Now we need to get to “Advanced system settings”. Select the “Advanced” tab and in the first section “Performance” open “Settings”.

Select “Options” in the “Performance” section

2. In the “Visual Effects” tab, check the “Ensure the best performance” value and click “Apply”.
   

   Our choice - "Best performance"

3. These settings disable all visual effects and provide maximum performance, but the system begins to look rather unsightly. If the resulting style makes you disgusted and sad and gives you nightmares about Windows 95, return the checkboxes to some menu items:
   • “Enable desktop composition”;
   • “Using display styles for windows and buttons”;
   • "Show thumbnails instead of icons";
   • “Smooth out jagged screen fonts.”
4. We agree by clicking the “OK” button.

Hard drive: memory cleaning and defragmentation

All files that are written to the hard drive are divided into many sequential fragments in order to reduce the space used. As a result, in order to read the file, the computer is forced to put them back together. And the presence of various debris in its path increases the reading time, which slows down the system and causes delays of varying lengths when opening or changing files. At the same time, the speed of work, of course, drops.

The simplest solution to this problem is regular cleaning of the hard drive from junk and equally regular defragmentation.

By systematically removing unnecessary files and programs from your PC, you can greatly increase its speed. First you need to put things in order in the space you use: remove unnecessary music, watched movies, installation files, hundreds of new documents Microsoft Word

and other delights of human presence.

It is worth getting rid of unused programs. Let's start with this.

1. How to increase performance: cleaning the hard drive

   To begin, select “Control Panel” from the Start menu.

2. Select “Control Panel”
   
3. We carefully study the list, find an outdated or unnecessary program, click on it right click and delete it.
   

   Right-click on the unnecessary program and select “Uninstall”

4. Now let's get rid of system garbage. Using the Windows key combination (flag on the keyboard) + R, call the “Run” command, enter %temp% and click “OK”. This way we will quickly move to the location where the “junk” temporary files are stored, and we won’t have to spend a long and tedious time trying to find them in the system.
   

   Go to the "Temp" folder

5. Everything that is in the called folder is temporary files. In combination, it is system garbage that must be removed. Using the key combination Ctrl + A, select everything and delete it.
   

   Select all files in the folder and delete them

6. If some files stubbornly refuse to be deleted, there is nothing wrong with that. Most likely, they are being used by some active programs right now and can be skipped.
   

   If some files do not want to be deleted, skip them

7. Now you can move on to the next step of cleaning your hard drive from system debris. Going to “Computer”, right-click on “Local Disk (C:)” and click “Properties”.
   

   The item we need is “Properties”

8. Going to the “General” tab, select “Disk Cleanup”.
   

   Select the “Disk Cleanup” button

9. When the system analyzes the estimated amount of garbage that can be removed, the disk cleanup menu will open. In this menu, in the list of files available for deletion, check all the boxes, click “OK” and confirm deleting the files.
   

   Select the files that the system will delete

10. After cleaning, uncheck the box “Allow the contents of files on this disk to be indexed in addition to file properties” and click “OK”. In the window that opens, do not change anything and click “OK” again. If the “Access Denied” window pops up, click “Continue”, and “Error changing attributes” - click “Skip all”.

If there are several system disks on the computer, we clean them all in the same way.

Disk defragmentation: how to speed up your PC

After completion, repeat the procedure with the remaining disks.

How to work with CCleaner: PC cleaning program

For the next step, we will need the CCleaner utility, which allows us to clean up all system junk that we were unable to remove using Windows tools. The program is free, and you can download it from the official website http://ccleaner.org.ua/. This is not the only one and not even best utility, which helps clean and speed up the system, but CCleaner is simpler and more accessible than anything else.

1. Having launched the installed program, go to the Applications tab, where we uncheck everything that is still dear to your heart (for example, browser history), and then click Run Cleaner.

   The button we need is Run Cleaner

2. After cleaning, go to the Registry section and click Scan for Issues. After completing the analysis, click Fix selected issues.
   

   We find problems and errors in the registry and fix them: the Scan for issues and Fix selected items buttons, respectively

3. Now let's go to the Tools section and select the Startup tab. Here are all the programs that start automatically when turning on Windows. Select all unnecessary ones and click Disable. This way we will disable their autorun and reduce the load on RAM.

   We remove all unnecessary programs from autorun using the Disable button

Page file: speeding up RAM

The paging file, also known as virtual memory, is a separate space on the hard drive that serves as an intermediate link in the exchange of information between the RAM and the hard drive.

Windows 7 by default makes the page file 50% larger than the amount of RAM, but sometimes this size is too small. This leads to frequent overwriting of the file or direct access to the main sectors of the hard drive, which negatively affects the performance of the system.

1. First you need to determine the amount of RAM. To do this, go to the “Start” menu, right-click on “Computer” and go to the “Properties” option.

   First, go to computer properties

2. Here we carefully look at the amount of installed memory (RAM), and if it is more than 4 GB, then nothing should be changed. Otherwise, go to “Advanced system settings”.
   

   If you need to increase the paging file, go to “Advanced system settings”

3. Here, on the “Advanced” tab, in the “Performance” section, click on the “Options” button.
   

   Change performance parameters by clicking on the corresponding button

4. Select the “Advanced” tab and click “Change”.
   

   We need a “Change” button in the “Virtual Memory” section

5. First, uncheck the “Automatically select paging file size” checkbox. After that, mark the “Specify size” marker and set the values ​​larger. The optimal option is 5120 MB for the original size and 7680 MB for the maximum. Now click the “Set” button and confirm by clicking the “OK” button in all the windows we have opened.
   

   Enter new values ​​in the marked fields, click “Set” and “OK”

MSconfig: increasing speed

Some of installed programs have a bad habit of working in the background, which not only loads precious RAM, but also hides from our sensitive gaze. The volume they occupy individually is, as a rule, not particularly large, but together they take up quite a lot of resources, and by closing the pests, you can significantly relieve the load on RAM.

1. Using the Windows + R key combination, call the “Run” service, enter the msconfig command in the field and click “OK”.

   Using the corresponding request, we find msconfig

2. In the window that opens, go to the “Services” tab. All processes that are running in the background are marked here. To begin with, in order not to disrupt the system, check the “Do not display Microsoft services” checkbox. After that, with peace of mind, we remove the checkmarks from all remaining items. Confirm the changes by clicking the “OK” button.
   

   Uncheck all services except system ones (and important ones, like antivirus)

3. Don't forget to uncheck all the boxes in the "Startup" tab. Essentially, this is copying the actions that we have already carried out previously using CCleaner; but, if for some reason you were unable to turn off autoloading then, now is the time.
   

   Overclocking the video adapter: instructions with video

   If the performance of the processor is quite satisfactory for you, but you are a gamer and have problems with graphics, we have something for you good news: You can overclock not only the CPU! The video below is dedicated to overclocking a video card. Speeding up an existing video adapter will certainly be cheaper than buying a new one, spending a decent amount. True, here you also need to take care of cooling.

   But don’t forget: overclocking a computer is one thing, but making sure it doesn’t burn out after that is quite another. So approach such things responsibly and take care of your equipment.

   So, we have carried out all possible acceleration procedures Windows operation 7 and our system is now running as fast as possible. Other ways that are guaranteed to raise overall performance, unfortunately, does not exist: well, perhaps, changing components for your PC. Be happy and don't forget to defragment.

Processor frequency and performance may be higher than specified in standard specifications. Also, over time the system is used, the performance of all main PC components (RAM, CPU, etc.) may gradually decrease. To avoid this, you need to regularly “optimize” your computer.

It is necessary to understand that all manipulations with the central processor (especially overclocking) should be carried out only if you are convinced that it will be able to “survive” them. This may require you to perform system testing.

Ways to optimize and speed up the processor

All manipulations to improve the quality of CPU operation can be divided into two groups:

• Optimization. The main emphasis is on the proper distribution of already available core and system resources in order to achieve maximum performance. It is difficult to cause serious damage to the CPU during optimization, but the performance gain is usually not very high.
• Overclocking Manipulation directly with the processor itself through special software or BIOS to increase its clock frequency. The performance gain in this case is quite noticeable, but the risk of damaging the processor and other computer components during unsuccessful overclocking also increases.

Finding out if the processor is suitable for overclocking

Before overclocking, be sure to review the characteristics of your processor using a special program (for example AIDA64). The latter is shareware, with its help you can find out detailed information about all the components of the computer, and in the paid version even carry out some manipulations with them. Instructions for use:

Method 1: Optimization using CPU Control

To safely optimize your processor, you will need to download CPU Control. This program has a simple interface for ordinary PC users, supports the Russian language and is distributed free of charge. The essence of this method is to evenly distribute the load across the processor cores, because on modern multi-core processors, some cores may not participate in the work, which results in a loss of performance.

Download CPU Control

Instructions for using this program:

Method 2: Overclocking with ClockGen

ClockGen is free program, suitable for accelerating processors of any brand and series (with the exception of some Intel processors, where acceleration is not possible on its own). Before overclocking, make sure that all CPU temperatures are normal. How to use ClockGen:

Method 3: Overclocking the CPU in BIOS

Quite a complex and “dangerous” method, especially for inexperienced PC users. Before overclocking a processor, it is recommended to study its characteristics, first of all, the temperature when operating in normal mode (without heavy loads). To do this, use special utilities or programs (AIDA64 described above is quite suitable for these purposes).

If all parameters are normal, then you can start overclocking. Overclocking for each processor can be different, so below is a universal instruction for performing this operation through the BIOS:

Method 4: OS optimization

This is the safest method of increasing CPU performance by cleaning startup from unnecessary applications and defragmenting disks. Autoload is the automatic activation of a particular program/process when the operating system boots. When too many processes and programs accumulate in this section, then when you turn on the OS and continue to work in it, too much load may be placed on the central processor, which will disrupt performance.

Cleaning Startup

Applications can be added to startup automatically, or applications/processes can be added themselves. To avoid the second case, it is recommended to carefully read all the items that are ticked during the installation of this or that software. How to remove existing items from Startup:

Carrying out defragmentation

Disk defragmentation not only increases the speed of programs running on this disk, but also slightly optimizes the processor. This happens because the CPU processes less data because... During defragmentation, the logical structure of volumes is updated and optimized, and file processing is accelerated. Instructions for defragmentation:

Optimizing CPU performance is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. However, if the optimization did not produce any noticeable results, then in this case the central processor will need to be overclocked yourself. In some cases, overclocking does not have to be done through the BIOS. Sometimes the processor manufacturer can provide a special program to increase the frequency of a particular model.

We are glad that we were able to help you solve the problem.

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lumpics.ru

How to increase processor power

Low-power computers or laptops are undoubtedly cheaper - the majority of the population buys them.

At the same time, Windows 7 holds the lead, although Windows 10 is confidently moving forward, gradually displacing the seven.

They are suitable for viewing websites, no doubt, but there are problems with games. Is it possible to somehow increase their productivity?

The amd or Intel processor is responsible for the power - this is what you need to pay attention to first, in other words, you need to increase the performance of the processor.

The GPU can be overclocked, which will undoubtedly increase performance. But this idea is unsafe.

I suggest another option - a program that increases processor power: “ThrottleStop_600”

Program to increase processor performance

I knew about the existence of this program that can increase power, but just today I did some tests with a computer and laptop.

The computer has amd installed, and the laptop has Intel. After testing, it turned out that the program deserves attention for many PCs.

It turned out that ThrottleStop is a free utility that can improve the performance of Intel Core 2 and Core processors.

With its help, you can configure the processor to the maximum power set by the manufacturer. In other words, ThrottleStop regulates the power of compatible processors.

You can set the optimal values ​​at any time - an extremely useful utility in laptops. You can even reduce the processor power to save energy.

How to use ThrottleStop to increase CPU power

ThrottleStop does not require installation. After downloading (link below), unpack it with any archiver and click on the launch icon.

Then the whole process is reduced to a minimum. The program sits in the system tray and from there makes it possible to change key GPU parameters.

In order to select one of four profiles, it is enough to activate the corresponding button on each profile. Use the F5 button to stop and start the application.

Among the most interesting options, ThrottleStop also keeps us informed about the recorded CPU and GPU temperatures.

To access the instructions, right-click on the application icon located in the system tray and select “Manual”. It's in English, but can be translated by automatic translation.

In conclusion, we can say that the program significantly increases processor power for higher performance, just use with caution! Good luck.

Developer: www.techpowerup.com

Operating system: XP, Windows 7, 8, 10

Interface: English

License: free

vsesam.org

How to increase CPU performance

The vast majority of users who upgraded their existing or purchased new computer, after some time they begin to think about ways to increase system performance. Some owners of weak cars want to start new game, someone needs to speed up the video encoding process. Everyone has their own reasons. Here we will look at a number of techniques that allow you to increase its performance by up to 25% without replacing the central processor.

You need to know that most of the tips below fall under the definition of overclocking and when incorrect installation may damage or disable computer components. So be careful.

The first thing you should avoid is overclocking utilities in automatic (not user-controlled) mode. Never allow programs whose operation algorithm is not fully known to you to perform such a dangerous action on your computer as overclocking. More than one “auto-overclocked” processor has gone to the trash heap.

To effectively tune your processor's performance, you need basic knowledge of English and BIOS skills. motherboard.

Energy saving

Most modern processors and motherboards use power-saving features when there is no load on the processor. By disabling all these options (for example, CPU Enchansed Halt, C3/C6 State Support) you can get a noticeable increase in performance.

Processor operating mode

A number of motherboards support different levels of processor performance. The names of this line in the BIOS are different; an example cannot be given. By setting this parameter to maximum (usually called Turbo, HiPerformance) you can increase performance a little more.

CPU power consumption limit

Attention: this parameter can only be changed if you have a powerful power supply with an automatic current equalization system across channels.

A number of motherboards have the “Power Limit (Watts)” (power consumption limitation) and “Core Limit (Amps)” (current limitation) parameters. By setting both of these parameters to the maximum, you can be sure that your processor will receive the required amount of energy under high load and will not reduce the frequency and, accordingly, reduce performance.

Number of active cores (relevant for Intel processors)

In order to limit heat generation, Intel processors vary the number of active cores depending on the current load. For example, if you only need one core running at maximum load, the motherboard can allow it to run at 3.8 GHz. But if all four cores are turned on, their frequency will be reduced to 3.4 GHz. By fixing in the BIOS the maximum allowable frequency value according to the documentation for the processor (usually this is the CPU Clock Ratio, CPU Frequency parameter) and enabling all processor cores (Active Cores, CPU Core Enable parameter) you can increase processor performance by about 20%.

After setting the above parameters, it is advisable to check the processor for stability under load. To do this, it is advisable to use the LinX 0.6.4 AVX Edition package. If the computer reboots while the package is running, you must return the BIOS values ​​to their defaults and change them one at a time, checking stability each time. Be sure to monitor the processor temperature. If it is over 75 degrees, you need to either reset the values ​​to the original ones or buy a more powerful cooler.

expirience.ru

Speeding up your computer: how to increase PC performance

There is a well-known picture when thoughts about buying a new PC come to mind at the moment when your old computer stops coping with the task that it previously solved much faster. Loading the operating system seems like an eternity, launching programs takes a relatively long time, and more than a dozen browser tabs “hang” the computer. Yes, the picture is quite old, and it’s strange to watch it when everything modern computers contain multi-core processors. Even CPUs from five to seven years ago have sufficient performance for the needs of a modern user. The cause of problems with your PC can be a mere trifle, and in order to make your work on the computer more comfortable, you do not have to incur large time and financial costs. In this article you will become familiar with possible solutions common problems and find a solution for yourself.

Speed ​​up your computer boot

After pressing the power button on the computer, the motherboard BIOS initializes the PC hardware components, conducts various hardware tests, searches for the operating system boot file on available storage media, and then transfers control of the computer to it if it starts successfully. It takes a lot of time to go through and complete these procedures. If you are inexperienced in tinkering with the settings, your computer may take more than a minute to boot before you see the Windows logo and it starts loading. Let's first look at how to optimize your computer's BIOS settings.

Login to BIOS. After turning on your computer, press the Del key several times. In most cases, this action will open the BIOS Setup settings. Laptops and some desktop motherboards may use a different button (such as F2 or F10) to enter BIOS settings. It is worth noting that in modern versions of BIOS Setup, a simplified mode for displaying settings first opens, so you need to switch to the advanced mode (Advanced BIOS Features or similar).

Disabling the RAM test. The option that most affects the boot speed of the computer is “Quick Boot”, “Skip Memory Check” or something similar. You can find it in the boot settings (for example, the “Boot Settings Configuration” item). If this function is active, then hardware testing - for example, checking RAM - is not performed. Enabling the Quick Boot option can reduce your computer's boot time by more than 10 seconds.

Download priority optimization. The BIOS can search for the boot sector on all storage devices connected to the system board. Wherein system disk not always detected immediately. In this case, time is wasted. To avoid this, I recommend that in the Hard Disk Boot Priority or similar item, select your system disk as the first boot device.

Attention. When installing an SSD, you may need to select this device in the “First Boot Device” item or similar as the first disk so that the SSD appears in the boot device priority list.

Disabling unnecessary devices. In modern PCs, all internal drives are connected via SATA interface. Despite this, many motherboards have a built-in (P)ATA controller, also known as IDE, which takes a few seconds to boot. If your PC does not have drives connected via IDE cables, then disconnect this controller. To do this, open “Integrated Peripherals | OnChip IDE Channel" or a similar item and change its value to "Disabled". You can also disable other controllers, such as parallel (LPT) and serial (COM) ports, as well as the built-in sound card, if you are using an external sound card to output sound. However, these measures can only slightly reduce loading time.

Optimal settings for Windows

The old Windows OS, combined with a large number of applications, loads very slowly. The problem lies in the countless programs and services that start when the operating system starts, regardless of whether they are used or not. Therefore, before you decide to replace a slow-running PC component, you should first “clean” it system folders and registry. Cleaning the registry and removing unnecessary programs from startup using special software will save tens of seconds on boot speed. For these purposes, I recommend using Vit registry fix or CCleaner. They can also be used for the following actions.

Disabling services. Windows Services are installed with drivers or software, and often their main task is to search for updates for this software. Some of them are necessary for another application to work. One way or another, when the operating system boots, they also need time to start. To disable unnecessary services, use the keyboard shortcut “Win+R”, enter “msconfig” and press “Enter”. The system setup program will open. On the Services tab, check the box next to “Do not display Microsoft services.” Uncheck all services that are not related to your antivirus software. However, remember that software update services, e.g. Adobe Flash and Reader, on which the security of the entire system depends, must be left enabled.

Disabling programs at startup. The Startup tab next to Services in msconfig lists the programs that automatically start when the computer boots. Disable here first all elements that are not related to your antivirus program or are not necessary, for example, a client for synchronizing a smartphone or an instant messaging program.

Result | Checking OS startup speed. The next time you reboot, the OS should start faster, and your computer will only reach its optimal speed after several reboots. If you receive various error messages during startup, reactivate the services and items you have disabled. The same applies to programs that have stopped working, which, however, happens very rarely.

Replacing a standard hard drive with an SSD

When loading the operating system or launching programs, the computer tries to access many small files, which are often stored on different parts of the hard drive, due to the way information is recorded. The read/write head moving from one place to another spends a lot of time searching and reading them. Working in the background antivirus program also slows down a lot work hard disk. A solid state drive (SSD), on the other hand, is capable of delivering data instantly without any mechanical delays. The access time (that is, the time that passes before data transfer begins) for an SSD is 600 times less than for a hard drive.

A computer with the Windows operating system installed on a solid-state drive starts up on average in 15-20 seconds, which is 2-3 times less than the results when using a regular HDD. Computer with standard hard drive responds to requests more slowly than with an SSD.

Installing an SSD. There is always room for a 2.5-inch SSD in a desktop computer case, just like in a laptop. Instead of using a mounting frame for the 3.5-inch chassis bay, you can side-mount the SSD with two screws to one of the 5.25-inch slots, which are usually free. Connect the SSD to the SATA power connector of the power supply and motherboard SATA cable. Check your user manual to see if it supports the current SATA 6Gbps standard, and if the answer is yes, which port, then connect an SSD to it.

Windows installation. After installation solid state drive To obtain optimal system performance and stability, you must reinstall Windows and all programs. To do this, disconnect the old HDD, boot from the Windows installation DVD and install operating system to the SSD, and then all your programs. When everything is ready, reconnect the hard drive. To access the information on it, use the libraries feature in Windows 7. To do this, click in one of the libraries (images, documents, music, videos) on the link next to “Includes:”. You can later delete any directories that do not contain your data.

Adding RAM

Even if you are only browsing websites or working in office programs, your computer must be equipped with at least 4 GB of RAM so that the system accesses the page file on the notoriously “slow” hard drive as little as possible. To work with multimedia files and modern three-dimensional games, you need to have from 8 to 16 GB of RAM.

Attention! Only the 64-bit version of Windows can recognize more than 3 GB of RAM.

Analysis and increase in RAM capacity. Before you upgrade your RAM capacity, find out how much and what type of memory is installed in your system. Install and run the CPU-Z program. On the “SPD” tab, in the drop-down menu in the “Memory Slot Selection” item, you can determine the number of slots, and by clicking on one of the slot numbers, information about the installed memory module will appear. For example, if your system has two 2 GB modules and two more slots are available, purchase two additional modules. It's best to stick with identical models with the same catalog number (by which you can find memory on price comparison portals). If you cannot find them, then you need to select memory that matches the old one or exceeds it in timings and clock speed. If there are no free slots, replace the existing modules with new ones of larger capacity. As a rule, it is best to set an even number, since in this case the fast dual-channel memory mode will be available.

Installing RAM. Installing RAM into a computer is quite simple: press the two DIMM slot latches outward and install the new module so that the groove between the contacts coincides with the slot. Then push the module down until it clicks, first on one side, then on the other. You should make sure that Windows recognizes the installed hardware. To do this, use the “Win+Pause” combination and view information about the computer - among other things, the amount of installed memory will be indicated.

Installing a powerful processor

Tasks that can fully utilize modern processors are very rare. Converting videos or processing photos to RAW format are among them. In everyday work, a more powerful CPU means a faster computer response time to user actions, but only if you have an SSD and sufficient RAM. If you are sure that your PC is “slowing down” precisely because of insufficient performance of the central processor, then there is nothing left to do but replace it. This procedure will take you several hours and can cost a lot of money, and this is exactly the case when you should think about purchasing a new device, especially if other components are also outdated.

Hardware check. In the corresponding CPU-Z tabs, determine the processor and motherboard model. Check the Support section of the manufacturer's website to determine the most powerful CPU compatible with your system board. The difference in relation to the old processor must be noticeable, otherwise the replacement procedure will lose its meaning. For example, if you change the weakest chip to the most powerful one of one series or install a device from another, more advanced line, then the computer will work significantly faster. Otherwise, the performance gain will be minimal.

Attention. Some older models of processors, which have already been discontinued, are still on sale and are often offered at a higher price than the new generation chip and motherboard. If you are planning to buy a powerful CPU, be sure to order a quiet and efficient cooler for it third party manufacturer, and in the case when you need to use an old cooling system, a tube of thermal paste is definitely needed (usually included with the cooler).

Installing the processor. Disconnect the power and release the cooler lock. Carefully lift it up and away from the processor, turning it slightly left and right if necessary. Open the CPU socket locking lever and carefully remove the chip. Use a lint-free paper towel and an alcohol-based cleaner to remove any remaining thermal paste from the cooler as well as the CPU socket. Then install the new processor so that the highlighted corner aligns with the socket mark. Squeeze a small amount of thermal paste into the center of the CPU surface (a drop no larger than a pea), then install the cooler and carefully turn it left and right a few times to evenly distribute the paste. The clamping force that appears when you close the cooler clamp will “smear” the paste over the entire surface of the processor. After this, you can connect the cooler's power plug to the motherboard.

Replacing the video card

If three-dimensional games “slow down” and errors appear when they are launched, despite the fact that a fairly powerful video card is used, or if during video processing, contrary to the manufacturer’s information, it is not possible to use the computing resources of the graphics processor, then, most likely, the video card drivers are outdated. Updated utilities will help improve performance and compatibility with new games and applications that use the GPU, but you can only get a noticeable boost in power from a new GPU device that you can install yourself.

Search for the required driver. If you don't know the name of your GPU, install and run GPU-Z. Using the information received on the website www.nvidia.ru or www.amd.com, you can find the necessary drivers. Installing graphics drivers is carried out similarly to other programs, but before installing new ones, it is recommended to remove old ones, or use special applications from the manufacturer to install them. automatic update(for example, GeForce Experience from Nvidia).

Selecting a video card. Graphics card costing up to 6,000 rubles. (for example, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti/660 or AMD Radeon HD 7850) copes with all modern games in resolutions up to Full HD. If you want to have some stock for next-gen gaming, then for around RUB 9,000 you can purchase an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 or AMD Radeon HD 7950. All of these models support DirectX 11. Video cards that cost more than these amounts are intended for gamers who play in resolutions exceeding Full HD, or strive to obtain maximum graphics quality.

Installing a video card. Disconnect the PCI-e power connectors from the old video card, and also unscrew the screw or remove the fastener near the metal strip on the back of the case. Push the PCI Express slot latch towards the motherboard and remove the card from the slot. Installation is carried out in reverse order, but do not forget to connect the power connector. All of these boards work in combination with a 500 W power supply.

MediaPure.ru

How to increase processor performance.

Computers equipped with multi-core processors are gaining more and more popularity every day, and there are several main reasons for this.

Sound logic dictates that the more cores in a processor, the more modern, more powerful and, accordingly, the higher the performance of a personal computer. But there is also the opposite pattern, the whole point is that an impressive number of processor cores not only does not mean coordinated work running programs, but often, on the contrary, reduces the overall productivity of a smart machine. At the same time, the productive power of the processor does not decrease, but is literally in idle mode, and the reason for this is in the applications used that are not optimized for multi-core processors, as a result, the “energy-intensive” program begins to slow down quite a bit. powerful computer, but help eliminate this problem The CPU Control utility is capable. The free and very easy-to-use CPU Control program allows you to distribute running applications across processor cores, make effective optimization and increase processor performance.

The program is very easy and I think that every user will be able to figure it out complex program. I want to tell you that the processor can be optimized by overclocking it, but here we don’t need to do that, and this method is absolutely safe, since CPU Control is designed specifically to increase processor performance.

Download the program for free.

Initially, the utility is in a deactivated state, and since the program is Russified, for more comfortable use you should first go to the settings section and specify the desired language, there is also an autorun option.

To assign a specific kernel to a specific process, you must select the “Manual” optimization mode in the main program window, then right-click on the desired process and select the kernel to use.

Also in the program you can use one process for several cores and several processes for one core; experimental selection will certainly lead to the desired result.

The application can also work in automatic mode, although with less efficiency, but still operating the program with the “auto” option activated can increase the overall system performance.

The CPU Control program will not improve performance on PCs with single-core processors, since the utility is designed to optimize at least two core machines, and on a PC with four cores, the performance gain can be multiplied by up to one and a half times. Also, the program does not increase the clock frequency and voltage of the processor; the utility is intended only for the competent distribution of PC resources, therefore, it is completely safe.

So you have learned how, using a simple program, you can increase processor performance in 5 minutes.

Low-power computers or laptops are undoubtedly cheaper - the majority of the population buys them.

At the same time, Windows 7 holds the lead, although Windows 10 is confidently moving forward, gradually displacing the seven.

They are suitable for viewing websites, no doubt, but there are problems with games. Is it possible to somehow increase their productivity?

The amd or Intel processor is responsible for the power - this is what you need to pay attention to first, in other words, you need to increase the performance of the processor.

The GPU can be overclocked, which will undoubtedly increase performance. But this idea is unsafe.

I suggest another option - a program that increases processor power: “ThrottleStop_600”

Program to increase processor performance

I knew about the existence of this program that can increase power, but just today I did some tests with a computer and laptop.

The computer has amd installed, and the laptop has Intel. After testing, it turned out that the program deserves attention for many PCs.

It turned out that ThrottleStop is a free utility that can improve the performance of Intel Core 2 and Core processors.

With its help, you can configure the processor to the maximum power set by the manufacturer. In other words, ThrottleStop regulates the power of compatible processors.

You can set the optimal values ​​at any time - an extremely useful utility in laptops. You can even reduce the processor power to save energy.

How to use ThrottleStop to increase CPU power

ThrottleStop does not require installation. After downloading (link below), unpack it with any archiver and click on the launch icon.

In order to select one of four profiles, it is enough to activate the corresponding button on each profile. Use the F5 button to stop and start the application.

Among the most interesting options, ThrottleStop also keeps us informed about the recorded CPU and GPU temperatures.

To access the instructions, right-click on the application icon located in the system tray and select “Manual”. It's in English, but can be translated by automatic translation.

In conclusion, we can say that the program significantly increases processor power for higher performance, just use with caution! Good luck.

Developer:
www.techpowerup.com

OS:
XP, Windows 7, 8, 10

Interface:
English

Only people who haven't had to remove power lines from photos or convert CDs to MP3 files are happy with the performance of modern PCs. As our qualifications and hopes for our PCs grow, the tasks we solve on computers become more complex, requiring more and more computing power and time. Time flies, so speed remains important characteristic computer.

If you want to get the most out of your machine, the best and most common way is to replace your old machine with the fastest performing model. If you can't afford it or you just bought your PC recently, you can improve its performance using a number of simple tricks. You can put some tips into practice (or at least start implementing them) very quickly. Others are a little more complicated or involve costs. Sometimes we offer a complete hardware upgrade, such as memory or hard drive. We will talk in detail about the modernization, all its stages and share some interesting discoveries made in the PC Magazine Labs test laboratory.

Among the many ways to improve PC performance, there are useful ones for any user - from a beginner to an expert.

1. Free up hard drive space

One of the easiest ways to speed up your PC is to free up hard drive space. If the computer's hard drive is more than 90% full, then all processes in the system are extremely slow. A simple solution is to clean the disk manually, searching for and deleting unnecessary files yourself, or using the Disk Cleanup utility of the Windows operating system.

To start the automated procedure, go to the My Computer section and right-click on the Local Disk (C:) icon. After selecting Properties from the menu, click on the General tab, and then on the Disk Cleanup button.

Using the Windows XP Task Scheduler, you can schedule periodic disk cleanup in automatic mode. To do this, you need to open the Control Panel and go to the Scheduled Tasks | Add Task (Scheduled tasks | Add a task), after which a convenient “wizard” quickly guides the user through all stages of preparing a schedule.

2. Defragment your hard drive

Cleaning your hard drive is the easiest way to improve performance; The second simple method is to defragment the hard drive.

Operating systems manage small pieces of files called clusters. The OS organizes the clusters like books in a library, but when files are used frequently, the order is disrupted and the clusters end up scattered throughout the disk as operations place them where there is enough space for them.

Therein lies the problem. When a data request comes in, searching for all the clusters in a file turns into something like a game of hide and seek. And every time you access fresh data, precious milliseconds are wasted. Both FAT (File Allocation Table) and NTFS (New Technology File System) disks are susceptible to fragmentation.

After hard defragmentation disk, the clusters are again arranged in sequential order. Defragmentation takes time (for a 40 GB disk, sometimes several hours), but the process can be started in a few seconds.

It's easy to do. Before you leave the office or go to bed, you need to click on the My Computer icon and then right-click on Local Disk (C:). Selecting the Tools tab in the Properties menu, click on the Defragment Now button. Using the Task Scheduler, you can organize, for example, weekly disk defragmentation.

The defragmentation process in Windows 95, 98 and Me is often interrupted due to disk activity. In this case, you should reboot into Safe Mode and then run the Defrag utility.

If you have any problems or are not satisfied with the results, you can use another defragmentation program, such as Diskeeper from Executive Software (www.execsoft.com), PerfectDisk 2000 from Raxco Software (www.raxco.com), or the SpeedDisk utility from Norton Utilities from Symantec (www.symantec.com).

3. NTFS speeds up disk access

The NTFS file system, implemented in Windows NT, 2000 and XP, has many advanced features that are not found in the file system. FAT system(used in Windows 95 and 98), including for accelerated processing of large files (for example, ubiquitous graphics). As a rule, the speed gain is measured only in milliseconds, but in the case of large and frequently accessed files, the difference becomes noticeable. An even more important advantage file system NTFS - increased reliability and security.

But remember that files and disks converted to NTFS format are incompatible with DOS and older Windows 95/98/Me utilities. If you transfer NTFS disk on a Windows 95, 98 or Me machine, it will be impossible to read it. To find out what file system is installed on the machine, go to the My Computer section, right-click on the drive icon and select Properties; The name of the file system - NTFS or FAT - will appear on the screen.

The new drive can simply be partitioned and formatted as an NTFS drive during the installation process. On Windows it is possible to convert hard disks FAT to NTFS format (if they have enough free space) using the Convert.exe utility launched from the command line. First, open the Command window (Start | Programs | Accessories | Command Prompt, Start | Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Command Prompt), then in command line(C:\) enter the command CONVERT C:/FS:NTFS /V from the keyboard. (You can use a different drive character instead of C: at the command line, or type CONVERT /? to get a hint.) As with defragmentation, the process starts very quickly, but the conversion itself takes a long time, so it's best to do it at night.

If you tend to be absent-minded - your reading glasses should be somewhere nearby - then you are probably familiar with the function Windows search. Search time can be reduced many times over simply by indexing the disk (indexing is what makes Web search engines so fast). Indexing takes time, but it's easy enough to start the process; you can then go grab a bite to eat and the procedure will probably be completed by the time you return.

Indexing is an ongoing process that is activated when files are created, modified, or moved, or when Windows "believes" that the user is not working on the machine (although in reality this may not be the case). If indexing is not needed or not used, it can be disabled.

The main problem of indexing in the Windows 95/98/Me operating systems is the FindFast utility of the Office suite. It should be disabled by removing it from the list of startup programs. Windows 2000 and XP have their own indexing service, which can be controlled from the Start | Settings | Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Computer Management | Services and Applications | Indexing Service (Start | Settings | Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Computer Management | Services and Applications | Indexing Services). The indexing engine can be turned on and off, and can be controlled when it is activated.

If the disk is almost full, indexing becomes incredibly slow. To resolve this issue, free up space on your hard drive (Tip 1).

Many users are annoyed by the lengthy boot process. Owners of Windows 2000 and XP machines can save themselves from such pauses by leaving their computers constantly on, but in other versions of Windows this practice often leads to system crashes, after which it is impossible to resume operation. If you don't want to overpay the electric company, try speeding up the download by eliminating unnecessary disk access.

You can use the advanced BIOS settings feature to change the order in which drives are viewed. The boot procedure will be shortened by a few seconds if the operating system immediately accesses the hard drive. Some BIOS allow you to skip access to the HDD during the boot process; select this mode if your machine’s BIOS is like this. Otherwise, you can specify the order in which the operating system views the drives; If possible, the C: drive should be checked first. The need to boot the system from a float drive or CD arises only when there is a problem with the hard drive, when the operating system has to be loaded from another medium (for example, from a rescue disk).

The BIOS of Windows NT, 2000 and XP machines released no more than two years ago has a Quick Boot mode, which does not provide for lengthy tests after turning on the power. As a result, loading times are significantly reduced.

An alternative solution for new machines is to avoid loading altogether. Instead of turning off your PC, you can put it into standby mode or - which is even preferable for battery-powered laptops - hibernate. To do this, use the “soft shutdown” button on the keyboard or front panel of the new PC. (To perform a hardware shutdown, bypassing Windows shutdown, press and hold the power button for at least 4 seconds.)

Windows 95, 98, and Me also have standby and hibernation modes, but due to their lack of stability, these operating systems cannot operate in power-saving mode for long periods of time. To avoid catastrophic failures, the user will have to restart the computer after one or two days.

Bonus tip: If you don't have Windows XP, but have a machine with enough memory (at least 256 MB) and some money, upgrading to XP will reduce boot times even further. By using free utility Microsoft's BootVis.exe allows you to see which operations are consuming time during the initial Windows boot XP.

6. DMA mode for discs

Stunning performance of modern hard drives(transfer speeds over 33 MB/s) is achieved thanks to direct memory access (DMA) technology: data is sent to memory, bypassing the microprocessor. This is a very useful feature, but some versions of Windows and disk installation programs take a conservative approach to speed. DMA mode does not turn on, even if the hard drive or CD drive provides one (as almost all modern devices). The built-in DMA function of drives is activated by the disk controller.

To find out which mode is in effect, go to the Start | Settings | Control Panel | System | Hardware | Device Manager (Start | Settings | Control Panel | System | Devices | Device Manager), and then double-click the IDE ATA/ATAPI controller icon. In the window that opens, double-click on the Primary IDE Channel item and select the Advanced Settings tab, if it is on the screen; if it is not there, then most likely the controller does not allow the user to control the DMA mode.

Often the Advanced tab disappears when the Intel Application Accelerator is loaded. You can find Intel Application Accelerator in the Add or Remove Programs list in Control Panel. You can uninstall it and see if the Advanced tab appears after that, check the DDP parameters, and then install the Intel Application Accelerator again. Before uninstalling, you must download Intel Application Accelerator from www.intel.com. Make sure that DMA mode can be enabled for both the primary and secondary IDE drives.

7. Simplified video mode

Owners of LCD monitors can increase speed by slightly reducing the resolution and color depth of the screen image. The principle is simple: the more data you need to transfer, the more time it takes. You shouldn't waste time sending useless bytes. The video system can provide 32- or 24-bit color depth, but most LCD monitors do not reproduce all shades. By reducing the color depth to 16 bits, you can increase the data transfer speed and save a few microseconds.

A reasonable compromise is also useful when choosing the resolution of LCD displays and CRT monitors. Working with resolutions above 1024 x 768 pixels on a 17-inch screen requires keen eyesight and a high-definition monitor, and you have to almost touch the screen with your nose to see small details. Choosing a higher resolution will only waste microseconds and make reading small text and graphics even more difficult. High-resolution mode is only useful for displaying large spreadsheets on the screen.

8. Updating DirectX files

One of the most difficult tasks, even for computers with modern multi-GHz processors, is synthesizing video images for games and interactive programs. Typically, in such cases, Microsoft DirectX technology is used to quickly update the screen.

Media and video output can be speeded up a bit by using the latest, fastest version of DirectX - currently version 9. It's free to download, just pay for your time network connection. You need to go to the Microsoft Software Download Center at www.microsoft.com/windows/directx and select the version of DirectX that matches your operating system.

9. Removing unnecessary programs and utilities from the startup list

Did you know that when installing new software and hardware devices, invisible utilities are often installed on the computer and automatically loaded when the PC starts? Each of these small programs slightly reduces the performance of the machine. Stop the waste. It's time to get rid of unnecessary startup utilities.

Windows 98, Me and XP include the MSconfig.exe utility, which allows you to control all programs loaded when you start your PC through simple system menu. This program can be used with other versions of Windows. However, it is better to choose PC Magazine's Startup Cop utility, which is compatible with all versions of Windows.

Simply download the Startcop.zip file from www.pcmag.com, unzip it and place it in convenient folder, and click on the Setup icon. Once installation is complete, Startup Cop will allow you to select which programs to load on initial startup.

10. Reinstall Windows

This is the best technique for cars that have been in use for more than one year.

You may have noticed that your PC is running slower than it was in the first days after purchase. The reason is not only that the delight of owning a new toy has passed. Surfing the Web and installing new programs inevitably slows down Windows speed. Utilities and drivers are loaded into the machine but do not perform any useful functions and even cause harm (for example, spyware, generously downloaded from low-quality Web sites). Files break up into fragments scattered across the disk. The Register is growing enormously. The situation can be slightly improved by uninstalling the programs, but this measure often does not eliminate all problems. Drivers and even parts of programs remain in the machine, eating up memory and disk space. Add here your own data, accumulated throughout the year. You can spend many hours fixing problems one by one, or completely clean the system in about an hour.

Reinstalling an OS may seem like a difficult task at first, but it brings significant benefits. Firstly, you need to carry out backup all programs and data. And not only for security reasons: during the copying process, the user organizes and puts the files in order.

Currently, the best storage medium for data files is CD. Having done backups, you should reformat the hard drive. Of course, this will destroy all programs and data. The idea of ​​reformatting may seem daunting, but it is the key to the entire reinstallation process.

To reformat a drive, click the My Computer icon, then right-click Local Disk (C:) and select Format from the drop-down menu.

After formatting, you can install Windows with Windows CD Setup or Recovery CD provided by the computer manufacturer. Each application program will have to be restored separately - a good reason to abandon all unnecessary programs. Then restore the data files - and the machine will delight you with the same speed.

Be sure to write down all passwords and user IDs, and copy any necessary Web pointers, as any special settings, including cookies, will be lost during the reinstallation process. This measure will save a lot of time on re-registration procedures.

11. Optimizing the paging file

If the PC does not have maximum memory capacity, then most likely the page file is used to switch between programs. This is a special disk file used by the operating system as virtual memory to store segments of programs and data for which there is not enough space in RAM.

Fragmentation of the page file, like other files, leads to poor PC performance. Unfortunately, disk defragmentation takes place with the participation of the paging file, so this procedure does not affect it and it remains unoptimized. (Despite Microsoft's claims that defragmenting the page file does not speed up Windows 95/98/Me, many experimenters have a different opinion.)

To defragment the page file, you need to delete it, then defragment the disk and restore the file. To do this, click on the Start | Control Panel | System | Performance | Virtual Memory (Start | Control Panel | System | Performance | Virtual Memory) and select "Let me specify my own virtual memory settings." Path in Windows 2000 - Start | Control Panel | System | Advanced | Performance | Virtual Memory. Make a note of your current settings so you can restore them in the future, and then disable virtual memory by checking the Virtual Memory checkbox or setting its size to 0. Restart your PC.

On Windows 95/98/Me machines, run the Scandisk disk scan program in Thorough mode by clicking on the My Computer icon, then right-clicking on the disk icon, and selecting the Tools tab. On Windows 2000 and XP machines, you need to right-click on the disk icon, select Properties, then the Tools tab and Check Now. After checking, you should activate virtual memory. To do this, you need to restore the previous parameters and the automatic virtual memory management mode. Restart your PC again.

Contrary to Microsoft's claims, many experts believe that swap times can be reduced by setting the swap file to a fixed size. The easiest way to do this is to specify the same maximum and minimum file sizes, which were set to zero before defragmenting the page file. Many experts recommend increasing the page file to a size several times larger than system memory, although searching in large file takes longer to complete. A good ratio is 2.5, so for a PC with 256 MB of RAM, a 640 MB swap file is recommended.

12. Fixing the Windows kernel in RAM

Windows readily removes its own components from memory to make room for other programs. However Windows components are among the most frequently used ones, and swapping them can seriously slow down your computer. If your PC has sufficient memory capacity (512 MB), then it is better to reduce swap time by fixing the Windows kernel in RAM.

Please note that all kernel swap operations are controlled by the Registry, and any error when changing the Registry can disrupt the operation of the PC. You should use the Regedit program (usually located in Windows folder or WinNT). To access it you need to click on My Computer | Local Disk (C:) | Windows | Regedit.

In the left part of the window, expand the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management section. Highlight the DisablePagingExecutive option in the right pane, then click Modify on the Edit menu and enter a value of 1. Click OK, close Regedit, and restart your computer.

13. Optimizing Internet connection speed

The speed of your new Internet connection is not necessarily optimal. The Internet Service Provider provides the connection, but it is the user's job to use it effectively.

The only thing that dial-up modem owners can do is to make sure that the actual speed of the existing connection is at the highest possible level. The modem is responsible for negotiating the speed of communication with the Web, but the data transfer speed between the PC and the modem (even the internal modem) must be set by the user. Make sure that in the modem properties window (in Control Panel) the speed is set to 115200 bps.

Owners of broadband DSL lines and cable modems can bring their connections to maximum speeds by adjusting timing parameters and packet sizes. First you should check your connection speed. Many sites (such as www.broadbandreports.com) allow you to measure connection speed and recommend ways to optimize information transfers. To identify problems, there is a utility called Tracert.exe, supplied with all versions of Windows. Better yet, use a commercial software package that generates reports not in obscure technical jargon, but in English language, such as VisualRoute (a shareware program downloaded from www.visualware.com).

Of course, rich companies can always hire a programmer to solve their problems. Several Internet boosters (software packages) automatically optimize connections and provide faster data transfer speeds. Products such as Dr. are worthy of attention. Speed ​​($29.95 direct shipping price, www.aluriasoftware.com), Turbo Surfer ($29.95, www.turbo-surfer.com) and Web-Rocket ($29.95, www.ascentive .com).

14. File compression

The method of reducing the size of individual files has significant advantages over compressing entire disks, and its reliability has been proven over many years of practical use.

Using file compression or archiving programs, you can save both hard disk space and file transfer time. These programs compress files by eliminating redundant data using efficient encoding algorithms. In addition, they allow you to group files. The user can organize files and send them in groups. For example, a lawyer will consolidate all files related to one client into a single, easy-to-process file. Let us only note that DOC files are successfully compressed, but no program will provide noticeable compression of large images in GIF and JPEG formats; They are already compressed.

Windows XP has built-in compression capabilities. Simply right-click on the file or folder, select Send To from the drop-down menu, and then select Compressed (zipped) Folder.

Users of other operating systems can obtain a free demo version of the well-known WinZip program from www.winzip.com. You can also purchase a commercial version there ($29). The Standard Edition of PKware's PKZip can be purchased for $24.95 at www.pkware.com (its former version was awarded an "Editor's Recommend" award in the "ZIP Utilities" review, PC Magazine/RE, 9/2002, p. .141).

15. Transition to USB 2.0

The maximum bus bandwidth of the first version of the Universal Serial Bus standard was only 12 Mbit/s. Theoretically, the speed of the new USB 2.0 standard is 40 times faster, 480 Mbps. Many new peripherals operate at USB 2.0 speeds, but if your PC only has USB port 1.1, then it will not be possible to increase the speed.

If you get a USB 2.0 port, any peripheral USB devices 2.0 connected to the machine will work faster. A USB 2.0 adapter on a PCI card costs less than $50 and can simply be plugged into any available expansion slot. (Windows 95 and NT are not compatible with the USB specification.)

16. Memory expansion

One of the most effective measures to improve PC performance: if you have free money, buy additional memory modules. If Windows does not have enough RAM, then the OS uses virtual memory on the hard drive; The larger the memory, the less often you have to access virtual memory and the less performance loss.

The Memory Upgrade section provides all the information you need on this topic. Before you tackle this challenge, check out the results of our memory upgrade test: Upgrading RAM from 128 MB to 256 MB significantly improved Business Winstone (31%) and Multimedia Content Creation (50%) scores. Then install the new memory using our detailed diagram.

17. BIOS setup

Large PC manufacturers (such as Dell and HP) hide BIOS functions from the user's eyes for a reason: they want to protect the user from errors that can cause serious damage. Setting up the BIOS should not be taken lightly, as choosing the wrong options can lead to a complete failure of the computer and turn you into a regular customer of technical support. However, small and specialized vendors often leave access to the BIOS open and allow you to change any PC settings. The key to BIOS settings is the Advanced menu of the BIOS setup program.

Before you take the first steps, you need to figure out how to return the BIOS to its original state. All PCs with changeable BIOS settings provide some way to restore the factory settings of the parameters (with which the PC becomes operational). Study the manual and find out how to reset the BIOS to its original state; Usually this is done by changing a jumper on the system board.

Subtle changes sometimes bring the most reliable results. In particular, you should pay attention to the memory parameters; its frequency can be increased beyond the nominal, but this is risky. You can change the delay time of the column address strobe (CAS). For example, changing this value from three to two clock cycles will improve performance slightly, but on typical business programs the gain will be very negligible.

18. Video accelerator acceleration

Unless you're into complex games like Unreal Tournament, you shouldn't worry about the video speed of machines released in the last few years. However, serious gamers want the fastest graphics card available, and one that's just available. Be sure to download the latest drivers and DirectX version. (Read about upgrading the graphics card in PC Magazine/RE, 4/2003, p. 116.)

Most modern PCs are fast enough to decode MPEG digital video. But if you want to have an edge in online gaming or when racing against your own PC, you won't put up with slow screen refreshes, dropped frames, and loss of image detail.

19. Replacing the system board

Instead of replacing your old PC, you can limit yourself to a slightly milder measure and replace the motherboard. You can reduce costs by keeping older components that don't impact performance, such as the chassis, keyboard, and base storage. Currently, most motherboards are sold without packaging, which means you will have to purchase a new microprocessor and memory modules.

Replacing a modern board of a standard design (ATX or similar) is easy - no more difficult than replacing an expansion board. However, take a good look at the costs; The savings compared to buying a new PC may be too small to be worth the effort.

In some machines, you can replace the microprocessor without changing the motherboard. Check your user manual. It is easier to replace the microprocessor and save on the cost of the board. In any case, without faster memory, switching to a new motherboard will not bring significant benefits.

20. Avoid dial-up

The most expensive, but most rewarding way to speed up your work is to switch to a broadband connection. Cable, DSL (digital subscriber line) and satellite channels provide constant communication at much higher speeds than dial-up connections; no need to dial phone number to read email or quickly access the Web.

Your choice depends on what channels your local ISPs provide and your level of dissatisfaction with your cable or phone company. If you seriously need Web services or want to win auctions and online games, then a high-speed Internet connection is a must.

Memory upgrade

So, you followed the advice in our first section, defragmented your hard drive and reinstalled the operating system, but your PC performance still leaves much to be desired. The cheapest and easiest way to improve your PC is to upgrade or expand the system memory.

Installing additional memory modules of an existing type can significantly increase performance at an affordable cost. However, switching to another type of memory is not always beneficial.

Before you take any steps, you should find out what type of memory is installed in your computer. If your PC is two or three years old and has a Pentium III or Athlon processor, it most likely uses 133 or 100 MHz SDRAM modules. SDRAM memory can be upgraded only by increasing the number of modules in the computer. Over the past year, manufacturers have abandoned SDRAM in favor of memory DDR type(double data rate - double data transfer speed) SDRAM and RAMBUS (or RDRAM).

If the machine was purchased within the last year, then it almost certainly has DDR or RDRAM memory. As the name suggests, DDR clock speeds are double those of SDRAM, initially at 200 MHz (PC1600) and 266 MHz (PC2100). Currently, the frequency has been increased to 333 MHz (PC2700) or 400 MHz (DDR400). RDRAM operates at 400 MHz (PC800) or 533 MHz (PC1066), but most implementations are dual-channel; this means that RDRAM modules are purchased in pairs.

Compatibility issue

When purchasing a PC or motherboard, you need to know exactly what type of memory you need. Replacing memory with a different type is no less difficult than replacing a CPU; This can be done, but with significant expense and difficulty, and often with the replacement of the system board. You can replace the memory with faster RAM of the same type (for example, DDR266 to DDR333), but this only makes sense if you intend to increase the clock speed of your PC.

Due to the nature of the chipset and the interface between RAM and motherboard, you cannot install DDR SDRAM on an RDRAM machine and vice versa. If your PC has 133 MHz SDRAM, the upgrade requires 133 MHz dual-in-line SDRAM modules (DIMMs).

Speed ​​should also be taken into account: if the system chipset is designed only for 266 MHz DDR memory (if the memory bus runs at a fixed frequency of 266 MHz), then it makes no sense to use DDR333 or DDR400 modules. Mixing speeds can lead to undesirable results: RDRAM modules must be installed in identical pairs, but if you install one PC800 module and the other PC1066, then the system bus will operate at a lower frequency of 400 MHz of the PC800 module.

The performance of different types of memory can be roughly estimated by their bandwidth. For example, 133 MHz SDRAM has a bandwidth of 1.06 GB/s, meaning it can theoretically transfer 1.06 GB of data per second across the memory bus. Bandwidth of single-channel DDR266 (PC2100) SDRAM - 2.1 GB/s; DDR333 (PC2700) - 2.7 GB/s and DDR400 (PC3200) - 3.2 GB/s.

New dual-channel DDR memory offers double the bandwidth. Currently, RDRAM modules are only available in a dual-channel configuration: PC800 with 3.2 GB/s and PC1066 with 4.2 GB/s bandwidth. The performance of single-channel DDR400 memory (PC3200) should theoretically be close to the results of a dual-channel PC800 module. We have verified this statement in tests.

Memory tests

PC Magazine Labs tested memory modules of various speed levels and expanded the computer's RAM to 1 GB to find out what results each type of upgrade brings. We used Business Winstone and Multimedia Content Creation Winstone benchmarks to measure performance on everyday application programs and SiSoft Sandra tests to evaluate purely memory bandwidth.

Despite the novelty of DDR400, its speed was not always the fastest, even among DDR solutions: according to Business Winstone tests, it was only 2% ahead of DDR266 and DDR333. The Multimedia Content Creation score dropped by one tenth of a point (less than 0.3%) after replacing DDR333 with DDR400. DDR400 is a new, uncertified type of memory, so such surprises are possible. The following options will be faster and more stable.

Similar results were obtained when testing RDRAM: the Business Winstone score for PC1066 memory exceeded the PC800 by only about 2%. The two types of memory scored the same on the Multimedia Content Creation test. Obviously, simply replacing memory with faster DIMMs will not bring a significant gain in speed.

However, increasing the memory capacity of your PC promises great benefits. Until recently, 128- and 256-MB memory was common for computers. Nowadays, 512 MB of RAM is becoming typical. We decided to see what the impact of expanding the system RAM from 128 to 256 MB, 512 MB and finally to 1 GB would be.

The most noticeable jump in performance occurred when increasing memory from 128 to 256 MB: the Business Winstone score increased by 31%, and the Multimedia Content Creation score increased by 50%. We attribute this improvement to the way Winstone's test suites perform: To replicate real-world usage, the benchmarks open multiple programs, such as Word and Photoshop, and simulate operations such as opening, editing, and saving files. Just like a real user, Winstone tests open programs and switch between them. While programs are open, they occupy system memory.

We found that in Windows XP to work with multiple open source software Without accessing the hard drive and virtual memory, 128 MB of memory is not enough. With virtual memory, you can perform more tasks by storing information and programs on a much slower hard drive rather than on a system memory.

When increasing memory to 512 MB and 1 GB, PC performance increased, although the effect was not as impressive as when moving from 128 to 256 MB. It would seem that multimedia programs require as much memory as possible, but in reality the effect of upgrading becomes less significant as the amount of RAM increases: when expanding RAM from 256 to 512 MB, performance increased by 8 and 10% for business and multimedia programs, respectively. When moving from 512 MB to 1 GB, performance increases by only 5 and 7%.

Thus, 256 MB is the minimum configuration for Windows XP and 512 MB machines become the new standard, most suitable for enthusiasts and gamers. Only engineers, video editors and graphic artists require a PC with at least 1 GB of memory.

Price and selection

There are hundreds of Web sites and forums where participants discuss the advantages and disadvantages of choosing RAM based on price criteria. As a rule, these articles are full of words like reliability and overclocking. Machines with processors whose actual clock speeds are higher than those specified in the specification usually require faster memory than mainstream PCs.

Buying inexpensive memory can save you a few dollars, but you may end up paying the price in system failures, especially if your computer is under heavy load or is used 24/7. Expensive memory is usually needed by those who often become dissatisfied with their computer and want to throw it out the window: gamers and server maintainers whose machines need to meet cutting-edge requirements for as long as possible. Gamers want their computer to perform complex tasks flawlessly. game programs, even when its clock speed is significantly higher than the nominal value. Technical staff computers must operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, regardless of load. In any case, the “blue screen of death” causes an explosion of emotions close to blind rage.

Companies such as Crucial Technology, Kingston Technology and Simple Tech produce reliable memory modules. Their products will be a good purchase for the typical home PC owner or business user. However, you risk losing your warranty if you install any memory modules into a computer whose parameters differ from the nominal ones, for example, into a machine with an overclocked frequency.

You can buy cheap 512MB memory for as little as $80 on the Web, but you may have to pay for it in frustration and downtime. If you intend to increase the clock speed or otherwise overclock your PC, then buy memory from a reputable supplier. Corsair tests memory under extreme stress and provides a lifetime warranty.

At the time of going to press, 512MB memory was selling for $100 for SDRAM, $200 for DDR266, and over $200 for PC800 RDRAM. Events such as semiconductor company mergers, plant closures, and supply disruptions may impact memory module prices. Quality memory suppliers such as Corsair tend to charge slightly higher prices than other memory manufacturers, especially for newer technology products.

Despite constant price fluctuations, memory expansion remains the most effective and in a simple way hardware upgrade. Often, after increasing memory, users are in no hurry to purchase a new computer.

Hard drive upgrade

Replacing a hard drive is a rather nerve-wracking task, especially considering the threat of losing data accumulated over many years. In this article we provide all the necessary information about hard drives- various types, speeds and test results in the PC Magazine Labs laboratory. We'll cover hard drive replacement in detail, with illustrations to guide you through the necessary steps.

For many years, the ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) interface was used to connect hard drives to PCs. Like x86 microprocessor codes, the ATA interface has changed over time, but its new implementations are compatible with older technologies. The number at the end of the ATA interface designation approximately corresponds to its throughput. For example, ATA/33 has a maximum throughput of 33 MB/s, ATA/100 - 100 MB/s, etc.

If you connect an ATA/33 or ATA/66 drive to the ATA/133 interface of a new Pentium 4 PC, the computer will read and write data to this drive, but the speed of operations will be limited by the low bandwidth of the drive. Similarly, if you connect an ATA/133 drive to a motherboard with an ATA/66 adapter, then data will be transferred at a speed of 66 MB/s.

Considering that data is transferred across the system bus at speeds ranging from 1.6 to 5 GB/s, it is clear why ATA/100 hard drives are considered a bottleneck even in super-powerful machines.

Parallel or serial?

A parallel interface (a term referring to older ATA models) is considered to be faster than a serial interface. It is not always so. In the past, parallel technologies such as IEEE 1284 (parallel port for printers) and SCSI were faster than serial technologies such as RS-232 (anyone remember 500-kbps serial hard drives?). However, modern point-to-point technologies such as USB 2.0 and Serial ATA are even faster.

Serial ATA's theoretical throughput of 150 MB/s is undoubtedly the highest, and some hard drive manufacturers use Serial ATA under the name SATA150. In terms of throughput, this interface is slightly superior to the 133-MHz parallel ATA/133 interface, but the speed of the next generations of Serial ATA devices will be 300 MB/s (SATA II/SATA300) and 600 MB/s (probably SATA III). At this stage, the development of parallel ATA technology has reached a dead end: thanks to the advantages of Serial ATA, future hard drives will be designed with this interface in mind.

One of the most important advantages of Serial ATA is that serial cables are more suitable for modern fast PCs with high internal temperatures. The 80-core parallel ATA cable with a maximum length of 45 cm is being replaced by a 4- or 7-wire Serial ATA cable with a maximum length of 1 m. This will be appreciated by computer enthusiasts and workstation users who need multi-drive towers: thinner and long cables create less obstruction to ventilation, and the compartments in the spacious workstation-like chassis that enthusiasts love allow you to fit your drives to your liking.

Currently, the main motivator for the switch may be the convenience of the new Serial ATA cables. As you can see from the results of our interface testing, when connecting otherwise identical ATA/100 and SATA150 hard drives to the test machine, the latter's scores were only 3% higher in the Business Winstone tests and 2% higher in the Multimedia Content Creation tests.

One of the main reasons for the small differences in speed is the interface: theoretically, the data transfer speed between the controller board and the disk can be 150 MB / s, but the controller board is set to 32-bit PCI bus with a maximum theoretical throughput of 132 MB/s. The PCI bus will remain the limiting factor until Intel, VIA, etc. implement Serial ATA functionality directly in their chipsets. In 2003, Intel should release the ICH5 chipset with built-in Serial ATA circuits.

The disks are spinning

Another factor is the spindle speed: for ATA devices it is usually 4200, 5400 or 7200 rpm, while for SCSI drives the values ​​are 7200, 10 thousand or 15 thousand rpm. Our performance tests show that higher-speed drives provide better performance, especially when performing disk-intensive tasks such as preparing multimedia content. However, such devices create more noise and heat up more. Thus, the noise emitted by a 15,000-rpm drive with mandatory fans will be a real torture for a user located just two feet from the desktop PC. Noise is the main reason why 10K and 15K RPM drives are installed in air-conditioned data centers, away from offices.

To evaluate the impact of disk speed on PC performance, PC Magazine Labs plugged two nearly identical 120GB Western Digital drives into the machine, one spinning at 5400 RPM and the other at 7200 RPM. The 7200-rpm drive was 4% better than the 5400-rpm drive on the Business Winstone test, and 9% better on the Multimedia Content Creation tests, which involve a relatively intense load on the disk subsystem. Thanks to more high speed disk The machine's results improved on office tasks, but on multimedia programs the improvement was more noticeable.

The purpose of replacing a hard drive, as well as upgrading system memory, is to expand the capabilities of the PC. Expanding system memory allows you to run more programs. After upgrading the hard drive, you can install more programs. An employee of a company who works only with by email and visits the Web, a 20 GB disk is enough. But the needs of home users who store thousands of MP3 and video files on their computers are endless.

Cache size

Cache size is another factor that can affect disk performance: we tested with two typical cache options: 2 MB and 8 MB. As expected, the drive with the 8MB cache showed the best results in the Business Winstone and Multimedia Content Creation tests. Scores improved by 6 and 5%, respectively.

The cache helps improve performance by reading data ahead of time and preparing it for use by the rest of the computer. The cache, located on the disk drive's circuit board, provides additional efficiency gains for buffers and caches found in other PC subsystems.

At the time of this writing, the king of the desktop ATA drive market was the 300GB Maxtor MaXLine II (MSRP just under $450). IBM, Maxtor, Seagate and Western Digital produce high-capacity drives from 120 to 200 GB (price range from $200 to $350). The spindle speed of the 300 GB giant with a 2 MB cache from Maxtor is 5400 rpm; The 200 GB Western Digital WD Caviar 200 WD2000JB and the 180 GB IBM Deskstar 180GXP are 7200 rpm models with 8 MB cache.

These discs will satisfy the needs of even the most avid enthusiasts who download a lot of materials from the Internet, although they are still not suitable for storing and editing the video archive of an entire city.

Disk Upgrade

Replacing your hard drive not only expands your storage space, but also increases your PC's performance. For our hard drive upgrade tests, we used a Dell computer with an 866 MHz Pentium III processor and a 30 GB 7200 rpm Quantum Fireball Plus LM hard drive with 2 MB cache (Quantum has now become a division of Maxtor). We then installed a 120GB 7200RPM Seagate ST3120024A hard drive with 8MB cache in the machine. The purpose of the upgrade is to increase storage space, but the bonus is increased performance: the Business Winstone score after the machine upgrade increased by 14%, and the Multimedia Content Creation score increased by 8%.

SCSI drives are mainly equipped with servers that require the high performance provided by this interface. The Ultra320 SCSI has a throughput of 320 MB/s, but problems associated with SCSI drives such as heat, noise, cost, and interface problems prevent their use in mainstream PCs. Fiber Channel is another high-speed interface used primarily in workstations, storage area networks (SANs), and servers.

The benefits of upgrading a hard drive are obvious: along with increasing storage capacity, new technology provides increased performance, but the latter indicator largely depends on the speed of the disk.

CPU Upgrade

Many users are sure that The best way increase the speed of a slow PC - install a new, faster processor. However, think seven times before opening the machine body. The CPU is the brain of the computer and must be handled with care.

Replacing a CPU is much more difficult than replacing memory or a hard drive. Processors are complex and expensive devices, and performance gains depend on machine configuration. Don't lose the benefits of a new CPU because the rest of your PC is weak.

Before deciding to replace the CPU, you should make sure that the PC has sufficient memory capacity - at least 256 MB. If you work with disk-intensive programs—such as image input and editing—it's a good idea to upgrade your hard drive. (Recommendations for replacing the drive are provided in the previous section of the article.)

Gamers and other graphics rendering software users should consider upgrading to a new graphics card based on the latest chipset, such as the ATI Radeon 9700 Pro.

Motherboards and Chipsets

To upgrade the CPU, it is not enough to replace the processor itself; The procedure affects the motherboard and chipset. Motherboards are designed for a certain range of CPU clock speeds, so the same motherboards can be used in different PC models. For example, the same board can be installed in an expensive car and in a computer for the mass consumer.

Thus, the Tyan Trinity i845E motherboard is compatible with a range of Pentium 4 processors, from 1.6 to 2.4 GHz with an external bus speed (front-side bus, FSB) of 400 MHz, and from 2.4 to 3.06 GHz with 533 MHz bus. And if the PC is equipped with this motherboard, then replacing the 1.6 GHz processor with a 2.4 GHz model will not be so difficult. But without a faster external bus, you cannot upgrade to a 3.06 GHz processor, since it is incompatible with the board.

When upgrading Intel chips, remember that mixing architectures often leads to problems. Intel often changes chip interfaces, and the Pentium III cannot be replaced with a Pentium 4 - at least it is not easy to do. It is possible to make such a replacement (see the sidebar "Replacing an Old CPU"), but we recommend that all users, with the exception of highly qualified specialists, limit the upgrade to a single architecture.

Upgrading AMD chips is much easier, since the company has not changed the pinout of the processor for several years. This is one of Athlon's important competitive advantages.

Caution: Before you begin upgrading your CPU, you should make sure that you have all the documentation for your computer and motherboard on hand. This information is needed to determine which chips the motherboard is compatible with and how to set up the system configuration for the new CPU.

Boost clock speed

Sometimes enterprising users keep the old processor, but increase the clock speed to squeeze maximum performance out of it. This method is called overclocking. Thanks to game lovers who always lack speed, this method has become widely known.

For example, the 2.66 GHz Pentium 4 has a 533 MHz front side bus and a 5X frequency multiplier (533 MHz5 = approximately 2.66 GHz). A frequency multiplier is used in the CPU to increase the frequency of the external bus. If you raise the multiplier to 5.5X, the CPU frequency increases to 2.93 GHz (533 MHz 5.5), i.e., approximately 270 MHz. If you increase the multiplier to 6X, the CPU frequency will rise to 3.2 GHz (533 MHz6).

It is necessary to immediately warn that overclocking can lead to system instability, and in extreme cases, even to complete unusability of the processor due to overheating. Most PC manufacturers consider overclocking to be a violation of the warranty.

This method is attractive because it allows you to increase computing speed without the expense of buying a new CPU or the hassle of replacing the processor - but it is not that simple. Overclocking affects more than just the processor. New radiators and fans need to be installed; otherwise, overheating may cause an accident. Be sure to have a complete set of documentation for the motherboard on hand in order to find the clock generator and multiplier jumpers or find the corresponding menus in the CMOS system memory settings.

The method of increasing the clock frequency, although it does not require costs, is not always possible to implement in practice. Not all processors can be overclocked; For some models, the multiplier is “hardwired” directly into the CPU chip. For processors of other families, the frequency can be increased, but the level of increase is different for each frequency range. In addition, the results depend on the specific version of the motherboard BIOS.

Don't forget about overheating and voltage. All CPUs generate heat, and as clock speed increases, temperatures increase. In some cases, you can lower the CPU voltage slightly to reduce heat at high speeds. But sometimes a larger fan is needed to protect against overheating.

In a word, no universal method increasing the clock speed of any CPU. Each processor must be approached individually, moving forward in small steps in order to “grope” for acceptable limits for increasing the frequency.

If you are not confident in your abilities, then you can learn useful tips on the Internet, such as the ExtremeTech website (www.extremetech.com). Numerous tips from experienced users are published in the forum group www.overclocking.com, as well as www.hardocp.com.

The site www.overclockers.com contains many tips and descriptions useful techniques. Here in the database you can find the results of experiments to increase the frequency.

For example, to find out how much you can increase the frequency of a 2.8-GHz Pentium 4, you just need to specify the type of processor and search through reports and recommendations of people who have already solved this problem.

Now that you've seen all the pros and cons of upgrading your CPU, don't forget that it's a complex process. If you're up for the challenge, we wish you good luck. But if the rest of your PC components are outdated, then the best option is to buy a completely new computer.

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