Core Duo not running like it should?

I multi task quite a bit on my laptop. I have msn, itunes, firefox and sometimes a game in a window going. But even when I don't have the game running, my laptop seems to slow down a bit. Is there anything i can/should do to make it run more efficiently?

 

Reformat if you didn't after you got it, any bloatware's going to suck off of the system's productivity.

Install newer drivers if there are any updates.

 

I would also check for fragmentation on the HD. That can slow down the computer quite a bit.

Also what kind of slow down are you referring to? The hard drive speed is an integral part of finding files and starting up programs.

Also, you could run CCleaner to clean out all the **** on the computer and in the registry.

 

Monitor the activity in "task manager".
Is there anything draining resources?
Is the activity being shared by both cores?

 

Tell your Laptop's specifications please. Also check the task manager as told by qwester, there might be a software or two draining resources.

 

My laptop is the Acer 5672 (the one in my sig) and how do you check if the activity is being shared by both cores?

 

run task manager. An easy way to do that is right clicking over the "date and time" in your system tray and selecting "task manager" (third from bottom)

the "processes" tab will show what is running and how much CPU and Ram each is using

the "performance" tab will show the activity of each core (you should see a seperate graph for each core), how much virtual and physical memory is being used.

Keep the task manager open and monitor things for a while. Any unknown software/application consuming your resources? CPU & RAM activity, are you hitting 100% CPU usage often, same for RAM?

 

Is your processor actually operating at max speed? Depending on your power scheme, your processor might be operating at half speed.

 

Yeah, this is when I use AC power which means everything is maxed. I have about 70 programs running atm, but I'm running firefox, itunes, objectdock etc. and the slowdowns happened before I got them and i wasn't using much.

 

The only reason I asked my question was because my e1705 was only operating at 980MHz even when plugged in. Since normal users in XP Pro don't have permission to change power schemes (only admin and power users can change schemes), I had to do some registry tweaking before I could change power schemes on the fly. Now when I plug in my laptop it switches to full speed.

I figured it was worth bringing up.

 

You don't need to have the CPU run at max speed all the time. Just have speed step activated to ensure throttling on demand.

RMClock Utility is a good manager to use to replace XP's built in one, and allows quick change of schemes, and higher customization levels

 

@qwester: How do you verify speedstep is enabled?

 

Selecting the "Portable/Laptop" power scheme should automatically enable speed step. At idle your CPU will go to the slowest speed setting.

To make sure get CPU-Z (no install needed) and monitor the speed/frequency in real time as you open applications and run some CPU demanding software that will cause the frequency to throttle up and down if speed step is running.

 

@qwester - Thanks for the info.

 

are you saying you don't have admininistrative rights on your own computer? you need to fix that.

 

@drumfu: No, I'm saying that I don't use my administrator account for everyday activities. That would be crazy.

 

When not online I always use admin, not sure if'n I crazy or not. But was certified sane once while USN active duty. Use limited when I-net surf.

Would max out on RAM help the situation?
TY for quester stuff, + his rep!

 

You have 70 processes running? Holy **** try to cut that number in half.

l've got firefox, itunes, yahoo widgets, objectdock and desktop earth running and l only have 26 processes running.

 

You may be limited by RAM. That is why I prioritized buying a laptop based upon RAM, HD Speed, HD Size, and then Processor type / speed (in that respective order).

Run Process Explorer to check your resources. I am running 512 MB RAM and when I checked I had little RAM left when I was running just 50 processes. An upgrade of RAM may be necessary if you are doing that degree of multitasking.

 

Why is it not good to have adminstrator rights?

 

Without admin rights no software can be installed, or no system modifications can be done (more or less). So you cannot mess up anything by mistake, and more importantly malicious programs can do less harm.

Personally I have my user with enabled admin rights. Too much of a hassle to log out and log back in as admin to modify stuff. Plus I have a firewall and AV running at all times.

By the way 70 processes is too much. I have quite a few things running now and I am only at 47 processes. (FF, IE, Flash, Shockwave, Torrent, couple of chat and mail clients, and some various system utilities). How many process are running when you first boot into windows?

 

I just took a few screen shots of my taskmanager. I think I have 67 processes. =S

and

 

try setting what each core will do, so you can set one core for gaming, one core for anything else...

do this:

click the performance tab, see how high the CPU load is.

next, go to processes and right click them..go to affinity, and select core 0 or 1... core 1 is usually weaker then core 0, since it is used when core 0 is full, and therefor hasnt been burned in fully.

put more things on core 0, or your game on core 0 and everything else on core 1..whichever you prefer..

hope this helps,

pb,out.