Software to speed up computer???

[awallen23]

Hey everyone,

I finally got my new computer built and am pretty happy with it... However, it still seems somewhat slow. For example, when I drag a window across the screen it seems to go very slow. Don't know how to describe it, but if I drag it really fast I can see like 20 separate windows open until I stop and the computer catches up. My cable internet seems very fast and so does everything else... Just wondered why it is doing this.

Anyway, I checked into a couple software applications that are supposed to speed up PCs. Just wanted to get your opinions on which ones work, etc. I downloaded the free version of Registry Mechanic. Is that worth purchasing? Are there any others that you guys would recommend. Thanks a lot.

Adam

[pam123]

You shouldn't you have to speed up a brand new build; there shouldn't be anything for them to correct as yet.
How about you tell us your specs, the OS you've got and what programs/drivers you currently have installed.

[awallen23]

Asus P5B, 2 GB Corsair, Visiontek PCI express video card. All I've done is install Windows XP and things like ms office, etc. I didn't have to install any drivers that I remember. I'm a noob with this computer building stuff, sorry if I sound like a dumba$$. Thanks for any help.

[juppy]

I don't know what kind of mouse you're using, but have you tried going into Control Panel and then to Mouse and checking how your mouse properties are set up? Like, for instance, on mine there's a tab titled Motion, and the first thing under it is Cursor Speed and Acceleration. If I turn the Acceleration off (set to NO), and then move a window around on the screen, I get a bunch of trailing window images like you said you're getting. My acceleration is set to Low and I don't get those then. So if you have this in your mouse properties, try changing the settings on that and see if it helps out.

[mbiggs]

Perhaps it may be in his refresh rates as well.

Start | Control Panel | Display | Settings | Advanced | Monitor | Screen Refresh Rate (Drop Down)...

About 60 would probably do some good. Try that and post back.

[pam123]

Originally Posted by awallen23 Asus P5B, 2 GB Corsair, Visiontek PCI express video card. All I've done is install Windows XP and things like ms office, etc. I didn't have to install any drivers that I remember. I'm a noob with this computer building stuff, sorry if I sound like a dumba$$. Thanks for any help.

We've all been "noobs" but with no drivers installed, like for the motherboard chipset or the video card, you've answered the question as to why everything is dragging.
XP does have default drivers to get you up and running but you do need the others.
Here's the PCMech guide on what to do just after you install XP and before you do things like installing Office : http://www.pcmech.com/show/os/1058/

[awallen23]

Thanks for all the help everyone... As for the mouse properties, I don't have a motion option or tab. I looked through all the options I do have and none of them worked.

I went to the display properties for the monitor and under screen refresh rate it won't let me change it. The only option it shows in the dropdown menu is "use hardware default setting".

I will go ahead and install any drivers tonight and see what happens with that. Thanks again.

[mojo]

The slowness with dragging windows is caused by 2 things, possibly both in combination.

1. You have a really really low-end video card. (What exact card do you have?)
2. You haven't installed the drivers so the OS is doing almost all the rendering with the CPU, greatly slowing things down.

[ghost2003]

Try turning off the eye candy. Mainly the one that shows the window when its being moved.

from the link pam posted

On the other hand, one can free up a fair amount of system resources by disabling many of the "flashy" and fancy features and themes. To do so, follow these steps: Right click on My Computer and select PROPERTIES Click on the ADVANCED tab. Click on the SETTINGS button under the PERFORMANCE section. A new window will open. Choose either "Adjust for best performance" or manually set the various settings according to your preferences. Click APPLY.