My computer goes slow - do I need more RAM or a better CPU?

[Aquadougs]

Specifications:

Maximum Memory Capacity: 3072MB
Currently Installed Memory: 512MB
Available Memory Slots: 2
Number of Banks: 3
Dual Channel Support: No
CPU Manufacturer: AuthenticAMD
CPU Family: AMD Athlon(TM) XP 2100+ Model 6, Stepping 2
CPU Speed: 1293 MHz
When using DDR400 (PC3200) the system supports a maximum of 2 banks of memory, when using DDR333 (PC2700)

the system supports a maximum of 4 banks of memory. A single DIMM will either have 1 or 2 banks of memory

Im running pokeroffice at the same time as pokertracker

Task manager:



What tells me how much RAM i use? If I had just as much RAM needed in that moment, how much ram would I needed?

HiJackThis log:

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 10:39:13 AM, on 11/22/2007
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180)

Running processes:
E:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
E:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
E:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
E:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
E:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
E:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
E:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
E:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
E:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgamsvr.exe
E:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgupsvc.exe
E:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgemc.exe
E:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\VS7Debug\mdm.exe
C:\Program Files\ASUS\Probe\AsusProb.exe
E:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgcc.exe
E:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
E:\Program Files\Google\GoogleToolbarNotifier\GoogleToolbarNo tifier.exe
Q:\Shorthanded Cashgame\Statistikkoppsett\FPHG\FreePHG.exe
E:\Program Files\PokerAce Hud\PAHud.exe
E:\Program Files\AutoHotkey\AutoHotkey.exe
E:\Program Files\AutoHotkey\AutoHotkey.exe
E:\Program Files\PokerAce Hud\PAHud.exe
E:\Program Files\AutoHotkey\AutoHotkey.exe
E:\Program Files\AutoHotkey\AutoHotkey.exe
E:\Program Files\PokerOffice\bin\javaw.exe
E:\WINDOWS\system32\taskmgr.exe
E:\WINDOWS\system32\wuauclt.exe
E:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
E:\Program Files\Poker Tracker V2\ptrack2.exe
E:\Program Files\Poker Tracker V2\ptrack2.exe
E:\Program Files\PokerOffice\bin\javaw.exe
E:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 4.1\bin\mysqld.exe
E:\Program Files\PartyGaming\PartyGaming.exe
E:\Program Files\PokerOffice\scn.exe
C:\Software\HijackThis.exe

R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/po...rd=ssplnlpoker
O2 - BHO: Adobe PDF Reader Link Helper - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - E:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: Burn4Free Toolbar Helper - {60BF5EE3-0105-4858-AD98-17C19F86B042} - E:\Program Files\Burn4Free Toolbar\v3.3.0.0\Burn4Free_Toolbar.dll
O2 - BHO: SSVHelper Class - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - E:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_02\bin\ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {7E853D72-626A-48EC-A868-BA8D5E23E045} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Helper - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7} - e:\program files\google\googletoolbar1.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Notifier BHO - {AF69DE43-7D58-4638-B6FA-CE66B5AD205D} - E:\Program Files\Google\GoogleToolbarNotifier\2.0.301.7164\sw g.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Google - {2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F} - e:\program files\google\googletoolbar1.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Burn4Free Toolbar - {55FAF0F2-44D4-425F-B5F5-6B275B621EAB} - E:\Program Files\Burn4Free Toolbar\v3.3.0.0\Burn4Free_Toolbar.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ASUS Probe] C:\Program Files\ASUS\Probe\AsusProb.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG7_CC] E:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgcc.exe /STARTUP
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [POEngine] "E:\Program Files\PokerOffice\POEngine.exe" E:\Program Files\PokerOffice
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ctfmon.exe] E:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [swg] E:\Program Files\Google\GoogleToolbarNotifier\GoogleToolbarNo tifier.exe
O4 - Startup: FreePHG.lnk = Q:\Shorthanded Cashgame\Statistikkoppsett\FPHG\FreePHG.exe
O4 - Startup: PokerAce Hud.lnk = E:\Program Files\PokerAce Hud\PAHud.exe
O4 - Startup: Shortcut to BetPot-v0.lnk = Q:\Shorthanded Cashgame\Statistikkoppsett\Script\BetPot-v0.2s.ahk
O4 - Startup: Shortcut to ChipReloader.lnk = Q:\Shorthanded Cashgame\Statistikkoppsett\Script\ChipReloader.ahk
O4 - Startup: Shortcut to Functions.lnk = Q:\Shorthanded Cashgame\Statistikkoppsett\Script\Functions.ahk
O4 - Startup: Shortcut to TableHighlighter.lnk = Q:\Shorthanded Cashgame\Statistikkoppsett\Script\TableHighlighter .ahk
O4 - Startup: Shorthanded Cashgame.lnk = ?
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://E:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\Office10\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - E:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_02\bin\ssv.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - E:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_02\bin\ssv.dll
O9 - Extra button: PartyPoker.com - {B7FE5D70-9AA2-40F1-9C6B-12A255F085E1} - E:\Program Files\PartyGaming\PartyPoker\RunApp.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: PartyPoker.com - {B7FE5D70-9AA2-40F1-9C6B-12A255F085E1} - E:\Program Files\PartyGaming\PartyPoker\RunApp.exe
O9 - Extra button: Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - E:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Windows Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - E:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
O16 - DPF: {4F1E5B1A-2A80-42CA-8532-2D05CB959537} (MSN Photo Upload Tool) - http://gfx2.hotmail.com/mail/w2/pr02...s/MSNPUpld.cab
O16 - DPF: {A90A5822-F108-45AD-8482-9BC8B12DD539} (Crucial cpcScan) - http://www.crucial.com/controls/cpcScanner.cab
O18 - Protocol: livecall - {828030A1-22C1-4009-854F-8E305202313F} - E:\PROGRA~1\MSNMES~1\MSGRAP~1.DLL
O18 - Protocol: msnim - {828030A1-22C1-4009-854F-8E305202313F} - E:\PROGRA~1\MSNMES~1\MSGRAP~1.DLL
O23 - Service: AVG7 Alert Manager Server (Avg7Alrt) - GRISOFT, s.r.o. - E:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgamsvr.exe
O23 - Service: AVG7 Update Service (Avg7UpdSvc) - GRISOFT, s.r.o. - E:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgupsvc.exe
O23 - Service: AVG E-mail Scanner (AVGEMS) - GRISOFT, s.r.o. - E:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgemc.exe
O23 - Service: PostgreSQL Database Server 8.2 (pgsql-8.2) - Unknown owner - E:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\8.2\bin\pg_ctl.exe" runservice -N "pgsql-8.2" -D "E:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\8.2\data\ (file missing)

Is any of this exessive?

If I should upgrade my computer; what would have been most important: CPU or RAM?

[Bremen]

People will tell you both. More memory wouldn't hurt, but running both PT/PO/postgres will really peg your processor during imports (faster hdd wouldn't hurt either). Getting a system with a dual core chip would be a really good idea for you. Unfortunately this means you basically need a whole new computer as the Athlon XP is really old and basically the only thing you can transfer over is the hdd.

[Aquadougs]

If I had just as much RAM needed in that moment, how much ram would I needed, according to the task manager screenshot?

[Bremen]

I'm not certain, but I think its saying that 140MB is being used for cache, so about 400MB of RAM is being used by programs.

EDIT: with 57MB available that would push it down to about 300MB being used.

[Beavis68]

PF usage of 610MB isn't excessive.

Maybe try turning off the resident shield in AVG when you are playing?

That CPU is pretty weak and could well be the bottleneck of your system.

[Aquadougs]

I bought another 500 mb ram today... Havent "tried it" yet.

[funkyworms]

Your HJT log looks clean and you don't have any unnecessary programs running. I am usually very reluctant to tell someone to buy a new computer, but you should buy a new computer. The extra RAM should help, but I still don't think you will be happy with the speed.

[plool]

Um, your CPU usage is nearly 100%. There is definitely a process running out of control and slowing you down. What process is it? Click on the process tab and sort by CPU.

You can throw all the RAM in the world at it, but you are still going to have that problem to deal with.

[funkyworms]

Pokertracker, pokeroffice, freephg, mysql are all very cpu intensive programs. I can guarantee the CPU usage is from one of these and they are all programs he wants to run.

[Nsight7]

New comp. I am actually in the same boat as you really. If I could afford it right now I would totally get a new one too. The RAM should help, but you should consider using Black Friday as a shopping date for a new computer if you have the available funds.