How fast is my Laptop and Why so Slow

Lawbag_2

I have a Dell Latitude C640 1.8ghz 256meg ram, 20gb hard drive running windows XP pro.

When I right click on my computer and look at the properites, I get the details pretty much as above but with a bit more info on the processor

Intel Pentium 4(m) Mobile M.

Now I know M=Mobile and it uses scaling technology to adjust the processor speed to keep the battery usage down but;

The battery doesnt seem to last that long, rarely more than 45 minutes when using just word.

The info in the properties for my computer also shows a number which changes 1.2ghz and 753ghz. Now I know this is the speed, but why so variable, and why is it never 1.8ghz!

So will adding more memory to 1gb (and increasing the hard drive from 20 to 40gb - even though its only 1/2 full) speed everything up?

Anyone have any other suggestions or opinions?
The machine is 3 years old or more, and is a reliable workhorse that I rely on for my private clients.
Would it be better to buy a new machine - and if so what Dell do you recommend?

albertross_2

Doubling the size of the ram to 512 will probably make a big difference (it will eliminate swapping), changing the HD is unlikely to speed it up.

Having a clearout of any software clutter may also help.

https://www.ccleaner.com
http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/Autoruns.html

Older batteries don't last as long as new ones. You may be able to increase the battery time by changing the power saving settings in the bios, or in Windows.

If you really want a new one, these are cheap. (but not much use if you have loads of older style PCMCIA cards).

http://www.dmxcomputers.co.uk/content/view/159/64/

UNICORN_2

Adding more memory and a bigger hard drive will most likely reduce your battery time Something to think about

Browntoa

make sure that there is no Malware infection eating up processor speed

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=133269


if you are using Nortons then this is known to be a resource hog so it may be worth switching to AVG or Avast for a antivirus + Kerio for a firewall

also make sure that your wireless is not always on and scanning, Dells have a key to turn it on and off as this will burn up battery life

£$&*"($£&(

If this were a Pentium-M rather than a Pentium 4 Mobile I'd say turn off the speed stepping (scaling) in the Bios. I guess there would be a similar option for these processors as well. Your bettery life will probably be even less though. Has battery life always been this short? You would expect too long a battery life with a Pentium 4 processor.

Lawbag_2

switched off the processor stepping option in the bios -and yes the machine does run hot - but then what laptop doesnt!

Ill keep you updated with how the 1gb memory update goes.

as an aside I went to Crucial memory website and downloaded their program to analyse your machine, and the information I got back was totally incorrect.

I have 2 slots (it said 1)
I have 256mb memory (it said 512mb)
The speed and spec was different too.

volks400

increasing the ram would certainly increase the performance as well as the HDD. i would recomment you to download a program Prevx1(google it) its absolutely amazing and freeware. it found out some trojans and threats which spybot or cc cleaner didnt even bother.

Lawbag_2

UPDATE

switching off the processor speed stepper improved the speed a little, but caused it to run hot as remarked

256mb to 1gb now the machine REALLY flies.

viru.doshi

Also just a little after thought, if your laptop gets rather hot quite quickly might be worth opening her up and giving the fan a clean, I do this with my Vaio every few months, doesnt take long.

Just have to check how to open your specific laptop.

Lawbag_2

thanks Ill give it a dust soon

I think there is another thread detailing the mats/fans that assist in cooling laptops down