Hi Patrick,
Well two things might be causing your computer to run slow:
1- Applications like netscape and Staroffice need at least 64MB of RAM to
minimize swap use and to speed up processing
2- Your processor is slow, and it is pentium I. Pentuim II has special ways
of increasing its throughput (through ram and cache). So when you're doing
multiprocessing (virtual terminals)it speeds up things. P2 also has an
improved microprogram design(which might speed up the graphic side of
applications)
There are several solutions to your problem:
1- Buy a new and better computer(i know that might an expensive solution)
2- Add more RAM and change your motherboard. At the same time reduce the
size of swap memory(this is to force the applications to use any free
physical RAM)
3- Try changing your window manager, specially if you're using KDE, it tends
to eat-up memory(try something simpler and new since new WM have improved
memory managment features)
From: Patrick Olson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: debuser <debian-user@lists.debian.org>
Subject: more RAM = more speed?
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 21:21:48 -0700 (PDT)
I have Debian 2.1 running on a P-133 with 32MB of RAM and a 6.4GB Western
Digital IDE, but it is awful slow when I have a lot of stuff running,
including a few Netscape Communicator web browsers. Specifically, it
likes to keep me waiting while it stops and runs the hard disk in the
middle of a program, or sometimes when I switch to a virtual console that
has been idle for a while.
Based on the report below, I think a RAM upgrade might reduce swapping,
which should speed things up.
----
$ uptime
8:10am up 11 days, 15:11, 5 users, load average: 1.10, 1.21, 0.83
$ free
total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 30964 30408 556 14472 652 14928
-/+ buffers/cache: 14828 16136
Swap: 128484 32196 96288
----
On top of this, I plan to install StarOffice and try and run it without
exiting any other programs. Could someone take a moment and give me some
advice on this issue. I can think of four specific questions:
1. Am I barking up the wrong tree with the idea of a RAM upgrade?
2. Is it a bad idea to buy RAM for a P-133 since it only takes 72-pin?
Instead, should I upgrade to a motherboard that can handle a newer
type of RAM?
3. If I upgrade nothing but RAM, how much do I need to have enough to cut
down on the swapping it does now and keep it to a minimum even after I
load StarOffice 5.1? Keep in mind that although my budget is limited,
so is my patience with this old hardware.
4. Is there something else I should upgrade?
Your response is appreciated.
Thank you,
Patrick Olson
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