graphics or ram?

[nekum]

I am frequent user of autocad2008, 3ds max 8, phtoshopcs2 9.0. but, i my computer don't allow me to run these applicatons smoothly.My system configuration is Pentium 4, 3.06 Ghz, Intel 915GV chipset, 80Gb harddisk, 512Mb ram. Now a days my system always shows high cpu usage (>50&#37. What should i do now?More ram or graphics card or something else???

[boxxertrumps]

disable a few background services you don't need and run a few malware checks.
CPU % and ram are not correlated, one dictates number of operations being preformed out of maximum # of operations a sec. and the other stores info that can be quickly accessed by the CPU.

EDIT: oh wait, B&.

[jscheuer1]

EDIT: oh wait, B&.

What's B&?

[boxxertrumps]

b is b.
& is and.
band.
banned?

[jscheuer1]

b is b.
& is and.
band.
banned?

Don't you just H8 when that happens?

[Twey]

EDIT: oh wait, [banned].

Doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn't answer -- the information might still help others, after all.

[tech_support]

I am frequent user of autocad2008, 3ds max 8, phtoshopcs2 9.0. but, i my computer don't allow me to run these applicatons smoothly.My system configuration is Pentium 4, 3.06 Ghz, Intel 915GV chipset, 80Gb harddisk, 512Mb ram. Now a days my system always shows high cpu usage (>50&#37. What should i do now?More ram or graphics card or something else???

You could get more RAM. Those look like memory-intensive programs.

[Sliight]

Assuming you're running XP... 512M of RAM is the min you'd ever want for that OS. The first thing I did when I took a new position recently, was pop the case and install 2 gigs of old ddr1 RAM that I had sitting around. To me, RAM is the cheapest speed boost you can buy. The prices have dropped so much these days, it's probably the least expensive boost for your current machine.

If you have a Fry's Electronics around... they tend to have really cheap separate pieces. They have insanely cheap motherboard/processor combos too, if you decide to rebuild. Although I don't think you need to... just get 2 gigs of RAM. (Keep in mind XP maxes out at 4 gigs of RAM, in case you decide to go RAM happy)

[boogyman]

as boxxer said you probably have alot of malware products running on your computer. I have 512mb of RAM in my laptop and I can run CS2 9.0 fine.

depending on what programs you choose to run at every start up you should have between 30-35 processes running. do a reboot and see how many processes you are running initially... I think the default without editing the file for Windows XP is like 40-45. but there are a good 10-15 programs included in the OS software that are really novelty items rather then essential.

[lainlives]

everyone beat me to it

just a question, why was he banned