PC How to improve it, add Memory or what?


R

rgh43

Well-known member
Member
Local time
7:43 AM
Posts
14
OS
Windows 11
Looking for advice. I like my current PC, (4yrs old). I’m not any kind of power user, just using the web to view news, check on stock accts, e mail and writing letters etc. Don’t do any “major” video stuff or pact’s just the normal stuff. With all that said what can I do to maybe speed up my PC to keep up with my use at 83yrs old so it will last me ongoing? I might replace the M2 for a 1TB as I’m about full at 237GB & had gone into the red a bit ago until I removed some programs. Any advice is appreciated.

System: Lenovo Legion T5 28IMB05
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-10400F CPU @ 2.90GHz 2.90 GHz
Installed RAM 16.0 GB UDIMM DDR4-2933
10th Generation Intel Core i5-10400F CPU @ 2.90GHz up to 4.30GHz
with Turbo Boost, 6 Cores, 12 Threads, 12 MB Cache)
Graphics: GEFORCE GTX 1660 Super
MB: CML B460 MATX MB
Storage: 256GB SSD M.2 2280 NVMe & 1 TB HDD
 
Windows Build/Version
Windows 11, version 23H2

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 CPU A 2.90GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel B460
    Memory
    16 GB UDIMM DDR4-2933
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon RX 5500 4GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    O/B
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP 27W
    Screen Resolution
    1910X1080
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD M.2 2280 NVMe + 1TB HDD 7200rpm 3.5
    Mouse
    Logitech M720
    Internet Speed
    5oo Mbps
    Antivirus
    AVG
@rgh43

It should work fairly well, as is.
Just install some of the larger programs on your storage drive.

Here's ten points for filling out your computer specs. :-)






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My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26200.8457 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦25H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5302)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
16GB of RAM is a fairly good amount. I doubt that you'd get any advantage from adding more, unless you're doing video editing.

A 256GB M.2 drive is smallish by current standards. Are you up for cloning your current drive to a 1TB one?

If you haven't priced RAM and SSDs for a while, you may be shocked at how much they've gone up in price over the past few months.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 26200.8116
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    homebuilt
    CPU
    Amd Threadripper 7970X
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte TRX50 Aero D Rev. 1.0
    Memory
    128GB (4 X 32) G.Skill DDR5 6400 (RDIMM)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte RTX 4090 OC
    Sound Card
    none (USB to speakers), Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Innocn 32" OLED
    Screen Resolution
    3840 X 2160 @ 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Crucial T700 2TB M.2 NVME SSD
    WD 4TB Blue SATA SSD
    Seagate 18TB IronWolf Pro
    PSU
    BeQuiet! Straight Power 12 1500W
    Case
    Lian Li 011 Dynamic Evo XL
    Cooling
    SilverStone Technology XE360-TR5, with 3 Phanteks T30 fans
    Keyboard
    Cherry KC 500 MX LP (mechanical)
    Mouse
    Logitech M500s (wired)
    Internet Speed
    2000/250 Mbps (down/up)
    Other Info
    xFinity gateway
  • Operating System
    windows 11 26200.8116
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    homebuilt
    CPU
    Intel I9-13900K
    Motherboard
    Asus RoG Strix Z690-E
    Memory
    64GB G.Skill DDR5-6000
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte RTX 3090 ti
    Sound Card
    built in Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 27E1N8900 27" OLED
    Screen Resolution
    3840 X 2160 @60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WDC SN850 1TB
    8TB Seagate Ironwolf
    4TB Seagate Ironwolf
    PSU
    eVGA SuperNOVA 1300 GT
    Case
    Lian Li 011 Dynamic Evo
    Cooling
    Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE CAPELLIX Liquid CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Cherry Streaming (wired)
    Mouse
    Logitech M500s (wired)
rgh43 said:
what can I do to maybe speed up my PC...........
Click to expand...

Which part is suboptimal?

Boot time
Activity after boot
Hangs / freezes
Download speed
Shutdown speed
etc.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz
    Motherboard
    Product : 190A Version : KBC Version 94.56
    Memory
    16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryType : DDR3 FormFactor : SODIMM Capacity : 8GB Speed : 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC; PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_76E0
    Hard Drives
    Model Hitachi HTS727575A9E364
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Mobile Workstation
Since you need more storage space anyway, the 1TB drive sounds like a good idea. At the inflated prices of RAM right now, I'd hold off on any RAM purchases, and 16GB is probably enough for the type of work you do anyway. I have lots of RAM, but most of the time I see that I'm actually using less than 16GB unless I am doing 3D modeling.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 25H2, Build 26200.8524
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brew
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 14500
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B760M G P WIFI
    Memory
    64GB DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060
    Sound Card
    Chipset Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 45" Ultragear, Acer 24" 1080p
    Screen Resolution
    5120x1440, 1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial P310 2TB 2280 PCIe Gen4 3D NAND NVMe M.2 SSD (O/S)
    Silicon Power 2TB US75 NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 2280 SSD (backup)
    Crucial BX500 2TB 3D NAND (2nd backup)
    Seagate 4TB Ironwolf, rotating HDD archive files
    External off-line backup Drives: 2 NVMe 4TB drives in external enclosures
    PSU
    Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 750W
    Case
    LIAN LI LANCOOL 216 E-ATX PC Case
    Cooling
    Lots of fans!
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000
    Mouse
    Logitech G305
    Internet Speed
    Verizon FiOS 1GB
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malware Bytes & Windows Defender Security
  • Operating System
    Win 11 Pro 25H2, Build 26200.8524
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brew
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 14400
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B760M DS3H AX
    Memory
    32GB DDR5
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel 700 Embedded GPU
    Sound Card
    Realtek Embedded
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27" HP 1080p
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial P310 2TB 2280 PCIe Gen4 eD NAND PCIe SSD
    Samsung EVO 990 2TB NVMe Gen4 SSD
    Samsung 2TB SATA SSD
    PSU
    Thermaltake Smart BM3 650W
    Case
    Okinos Micro ATX Case
    Cooling
    Fans
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000
    Mouse
    Logitech G305
    Internet Speed
    Verizon FiOS 1GB
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malware Bytes & Windows Defender Security
I might replace the M2 for a 1TB as I’m about full at 237GB & had gone into the red a bit ago until I removed some programs.
Click to expand...

Hi, to check where your space has gone get Wiztree (free) - portable version available. Click Scan, and you get both a tree view and a vauable cushion map so you can see at a glance what's big. Start there - that will set your priorities.

(Note this program lets you see restricted folders on your drive too.. and no restriction accessing them).

Place personal data in your own folders on your other drive - best for maintenance reasons too.

See:
www.elevenforum.com

Free Up Drive Space in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you different options that can be used to free up drive space in Windows 11. If your PC is running low on free space, you might not be able to install important Windows updates, and your PC’s performance may be affected. You can pick and choose from within the options...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
(the tenforums version of this mentioned Wiztree- can't imagine why this doesn't)
- but you won't want to use all of those ideas. Be cautious. Keep it simple.

On my 256 drive on my old Win 10 Lenoveo t440s I have over 250 programs installed and GB of family tree data.. and about 120GB left.
You probably don't have lots of big games programs.. so explore.

Note: Hopefully you have a good backup and recvoery strategy... starting with 3rd party disk imaging to external storage.
(ref. 2nd quoted item in Ghot's post above)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo t480s
    CPU
    i7-8650U
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD 620
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    C SN810 SDCPNRY-512G-1006
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
Thank you all for the info keep, anymore keep posting. Appreciate it. Since going to Win 11 very recently I have had many issues & had to reload it to fix some issues & I still have some issues so I intend to replace the M2 & load a new Win 11 & start clean. Plan to change the “C’ to at least a 500GB if not 1TB. I do not like to keep anything on the C drive that is important to me & not easily replaceable like Doc’s, Pict’s etc in case of HD failure that happened years ago losing a lot of my photo’s, doc’s etc. My 256GB M2 is used only for needed programs only, yet it is still at 237GB. I have 2 1TB HUD’s in the PC used only for Word Doc’s, picts etc on them both backing up each other, likely will remove one of those & use the external Segate I have to backup the 1TB HDD. I know this is rather redundant but considering what happened yrs ago.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 CPU A 2.90GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel B460
    Memory
    16 GB UDIMM DDR4-2933
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon RX 5500 4GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    O/B
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP 27W
    Screen Resolution
    1910X1080
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD M.2 2280 NVMe + 1TB HDD 7200rpm 3.5
    Mouse
    Logitech M720
    Internet Speed
    5oo Mbps
    Antivirus
    AVG
My 256GB M2 is used only for needed programs only, yet it is still at 237GB.
Click to expand...

You sound puzzled about why this is,

Before you change things, as I suggested, take a look with Wiztree to actually understand where your space has gone.

If you really only put Windows and programs on that drive, and fill 256GB you must either have a huge number of programs or some very very big ones.

If you know that's not true, then use Wiztree to understand more.

Untitled.webp
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo t480s
    CPU
    i7-8650U
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD 620
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    C SN810 SDCPNRY-512G-1006
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
rgh43 said:
Thank you all for the info keep, anymore keep posting. Appreciate it. Since going to Win 11 very recently I have had many issues & had to reload it to fix some issues & I still have some issues so I intend to replace the M2 & load a new Win 11 & start clean. Plan to change the “C’ to at least a 500GB if not 1TB. I do not like to keep anything on the C drive that is important to me & not easily replaceable like Doc’s, Pict’s etc in case of HD failure that happened years ago losing a lot of my photo’s, doc’s etc. My 256GB M2 is used only for needed programs only, yet it is still at 237GB. I have 2 1TB HUD’s in the PC used only for Word Doc’s, picts etc on them both backing up each other, likely will remove one of those & use the external Segate I have to backup the 1TB HDD. I know this is rather redundant but considering what happened yrs ago.
Click to expand...
I just checked.

On my primary PC, among Program Files, Program Files (X85), Program Data, and Windows, I see a total of over 200GB.

I keep library files on C:. But I backup the files at random intervals, and image the whole drive as well.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 26200.8116
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    homebuilt
    CPU
    Amd Threadripper 7970X
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte TRX50 Aero D Rev. 1.0
    Memory
    128GB (4 X 32) G.Skill DDR5 6400 (RDIMM)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte RTX 4090 OC
    Sound Card
    none (USB to speakers), Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Innocn 32" OLED
    Screen Resolution
    3840 X 2160 @ 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Crucial T700 2TB M.2 NVME SSD
    WD 4TB Blue SATA SSD
    Seagate 18TB IronWolf Pro
    PSU
    BeQuiet! Straight Power 12 1500W
    Case
    Lian Li 011 Dynamic Evo XL
    Cooling
    SilverStone Technology XE360-TR5, with 3 Phanteks T30 fans
    Keyboard
    Cherry KC 500 MX LP (mechanical)
    Mouse
    Logitech M500s (wired)
    Internet Speed
    2000/250 Mbps (down/up)
    Other Info
    xFinity gateway
  • Operating System
    windows 11 26200.8116
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    homebuilt
    CPU
    Intel I9-13900K
    Motherboard
    Asus RoG Strix Z690-E
    Memory
    64GB G.Skill DDR5-6000
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte RTX 3090 ti
    Sound Card
    built in Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 27E1N8900 27" OLED
    Screen Resolution
    3840 X 2160 @60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WDC SN850 1TB
    8TB Seagate Ironwolf
    4TB Seagate Ironwolf
    PSU
    eVGA SuperNOVA 1300 GT
    Case
    Lian Li 011 Dynamic Evo
    Cooling
    Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE CAPELLIX Liquid CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Cherry Streaming (wired)
    Mouse
    Logitech M500s (wired)
Assess the installed programs. Note which ones take the most space. How many do you have installed?
E.g.
Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Programs and Features
- has a column showing the size.

Or you could use Wiztree.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo t480s
    CPU
    i7-8650U
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD 620
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    C SN810 SDCPNRY-512G-1006
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
My Windows drive has 177GB of space used, and since it's a 526GB partition on a 2TB drive, tons of room left. I have a few pretty sizeable applications installed, I know that my Microchip compiler and all it's plug-ins is well over 10GB, and I'm pretty sure the PCB layout software is also sizeable.

1775250467547.webp
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 25H2, Build 26200.8524
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brew
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 14500
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B760M G P WIFI
    Memory
    64GB DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060
    Sound Card
    Chipset Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 45" Ultragear, Acer 24" 1080p
    Screen Resolution
    5120x1440, 1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial P310 2TB 2280 PCIe Gen4 3D NAND NVMe M.2 SSD (O/S)
    Silicon Power 2TB US75 NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 2280 SSD (backup)
    Crucial BX500 2TB 3D NAND (2nd backup)
    Seagate 4TB Ironwolf, rotating HDD archive files
    External off-line backup Drives: 2 NVMe 4TB drives in external enclosures
    PSU
    Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 750W
    Case
    LIAN LI LANCOOL 216 E-ATX PC Case
    Cooling
    Lots of fans!
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000
    Mouse
    Logitech G305
    Internet Speed
    Verizon FiOS 1GB
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malware Bytes & Windows Defender Security
  • Operating System
    Win 11 Pro 25H2, Build 26200.8524
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brew
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 14400
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B760M DS3H AX
    Memory
    32GB DDR5
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel 700 Embedded GPU
    Sound Card
    Realtek Embedded
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27" HP 1080p
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial P310 2TB 2280 PCIe Gen4 eD NAND PCIe SSD
    Samsung EVO 990 2TB NVMe Gen4 SSD
    Samsung 2TB SATA SSD
    PSU
    Thermaltake Smart BM3 650W
    Case
    Okinos Micro ATX Case
    Cooling
    Fans
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000
    Mouse
    Logitech G305
    Internet Speed
    Verizon FiOS 1GB
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malware Bytes & Windows Defender Security
May God grant you a long life and good health, and I hope we can live to see those years too. 🌈🎂:party:☺️
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home - 26200.8246 - 25H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Huawei Matebook D15 Ryzen 5500U 8GB / 512 SSD, Windows 11 Home Single Language
    CPU
    Ryzen 5500U
    Keyboard
    Logitech K380, G15
    Mouse
    Logi m350, Everest SM-620, Logitech G9, Lecoo WS210
    Browser
    Chrome (Desktop), Vivaldi (Mobile)
    Antivirus
    Windows Security, (Alternative Eset)
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