Hello boys and girls,

i'm having a little problem with my computer.

As my drawings become more complex, my computer gets slower.

I are mostly using Solidworks, Autocad and Sketchup.

Obviously the computer needs upgrading but which bit, processor, memory or hard drive?

Thanks in advance

Chris

What have you got now?

I assume you are running a variant of windows
XP?

To find out what your computer is doing in xp right click on the task bar and hit task manager. Click the performance tab. Run solidworks and look at the figures.

(VERY)Generally speaking if your Available Physical memory is low in relation to the total then you may need more RAM

If your CPU usage is 50% or more Most of the time you might be better off with a faster processor/motherboard combo.

Now take a look at your hard-drive. Is it nearly full? If it is this can slow your computer down.

Need more info really...

before his dad has all the good bits.

Right then.

I know I've got 512mb of memory, not a clue what the processor is or how much of the hard drive I'm using. I'm running XP professional.

I just press the buttons.

Checking out the CPU usage as sugested, shows that it varies between 4 and 100% - that's not much help either is it?

thanks for the replies so far!

cheers

Chris

Flak is flogging one cheap that could be right up your alley.

Before you spend money...
Do you have a "My Computer" Icon on your desk top? If not there click on the start button, it should be there somewhere
Right click on it and click "System Properties"
A window should pop up and tell you exactly what computer you bought for your £250 :-)

To find out how big your hard-drive is click on MyComputer right click your primary drive (usually c choose Properties should tell you how full it is.

[Edited on 2/1/08 by clockwork]

quote:

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Originally posted by Mansfield
Flak is flogging one cheap that could be right up your alley.

---

While that isn't the most up to date spec (and not the best processor) it should be up to solidworks.

I suspect it could probably do with another 1/2 gig of ram and a spring clean (format and fresh windows install). It is by far the cheapest answer.

Of course if you want a new toy to play with I totally understand ;-)

EDITED TO ADD
Just noticed the recommended spec for the latest solidworks....

http://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/SystemRequirements.html

If you have the latest version then you may need to buy a bit of a beast...

[Edited on 2/1/08 by clockwork]

let me know what bits you need and i'll drop my web site to trade for you.

i would add an extra 512 and a 256 video card if you havent already got one also clean out the start up using msconfig

graeme

Yep..it would deffo struggle running XP and Soilidworks with 512mb RAM......and probably other stuff working in the back ground... >Task Manager>Processes.......get another stick of 512 RAM from Graeme for starters....

Fozzie

Stick another 256 to 512mb of ram and a good graphics card in and you should be ok...

David

PS you can always swap the bits from mine into your current case

512Mb running XP!!! Rather optimistic...
1Gb-2Gb is my preferred RAMage.... especially for complicated stuff like CAD.

Er...right...blimey.

Thanks for the offer Graeme, is all this memory the same or do I need a specific type to match my motherboard?

How would I find out which graphics card I have?

I can strip gearboxes all day but electrickery baffles me!

Cheers

Chris

If you are using integrated graphics then a decent(ish) graphics card will certainly help.