Dell dimension 3000 !00% cpu with any program...

[McMetal]

Hey folks! I just joined today because I can't find a decent answer to my issue. I apologize if my explanation is long winded. I just got a Dell dimension 3000 from my sister after she upgraded as I needed a temp PC until I can get a new one next year. My Toshiba laptop (which kind of runs better with smaller specs) is clogged and I have to tear it apart to clean the cooling fan. It's basically on life support. lol So this desktop that I got has a faster processor and more ram but runs like crud. My DAW (Reaper) or any web browser pegs this things cpu to 100% right away. I have 2 gigs of ram (brand new) and an Intel Celeron cpu at 2.4 ghz I have thoroughly cleaned the inside of the case and all fans. I also did a clean install of Win XP updated sp3 and tweaked the services to where it runs better but not by much. When idle the cpu is around 4 to 12%. My DAW can't even handle 4 tracks of audio without stutter and freezing and this is without any VSTs running. My laptop (1.4 ghz cpu and 1.5 gigs of ram) would smoke this thing just a few years ago and now it's about the same. I'm at my wits end here and any help would just be fantastic! I normally don't post on forums because I can usually find the answers I'm looking for but this is killing me. I just want to mix the music I'm working on and do some recording. Thank you!

 

[tsnor]

Hi,

Does your Dell have the northwood Celeron 2.4 ghz? (passmark = 282, http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php)

Does your Toshiba have the i3-2367M @ 1.4 ghz? (passmark = 1835, http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i3-2367M+%40+1.40GHz)

If so the Toshiba processor would totally crush the Dell processor. They are not even close in performance.... "which kind of runs better with smaller specs" no, specs are not smaller at all. Lower ghz doesn't mean a thing unless you know the cpu architecture is the same.

 

[McMetal]

The toshiba has a celleron M single core and the Dimension has a prescott I believe, also single core. Neither are anything special and both are around 5 or 6 years old.

If so the Toshiba processor would totally crush the Dell processor. They are not even close in performance.... "which kind of runs better with smaller specs" no, specs are not smaller at all. Lower ghz doesn't mean a thing unless you know the cpu architecture is the same.

This is where is I become clueless. lol All I know about CPUs are clock speed and # of cores. Thank you for the reply!

 

[McMetal]

Deleted by user

 

[McMetal]

I hate to bump so early but I need help. Thanks!

 

[tsnor]

Hi, not sure what help you would like. You've done the right things to optimize the dell. You haven't posted what CPU is in the dell, but there is at least one dell dimension 3000 with a northwood Celeron 2.4 ghz processor. If so your system is going to be very slow when you do music transcoding/editing.

If you think your CPU is slower than it should be then download a few benchmarks then compare them to other PCs of your generation. If you find that is slower even then other PCs with the same CPU then people can help you hunt down why. There is nothing that will make a northwood Celeron 2.4 run like a modern processor.