Deteriorating Performance with an XPS Notepad

Chris,

 

Sorry, this might be it. I have an Owner's Manual for Model PP09L. Does that help?

 

Can I order additional memory from Dell for my system?

 

Laszlo

Chris,

 

Thanks for your reply.  Since I don't know what specific model it is and can't seem to find it in the documentation, would you know how I'd confirm it?

 

Laszlo

It's listed under system information:

Start\programs\accessories\system tools\system information

Look under Hardware/System model

vhall,

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Here's what I get when I do that.

 

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name LW_BLACK4
System Manufacturer Dell Inc.
System Model Inspiron XPS
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 3 Stepping 4 GenuineIntel ~3391 Mhz
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 3 Stepping 4 GenuineIntel ~3391 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. A03, 17/06/2004
SMBIOS Version 2.3
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)"
User Name LW_BLACK4\Black4
Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Total Physical Memory 1,024.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 489.32 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 2.40 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

 

It looks like I have one of the 1st generation Inspiron XPS notepads, and it's not as high performance today as when I bought it 4 years ago. However, until I get another Alienware or XPS desktop, I've decided to upgrade the memory to it's maximum of 2 GB, and I've already ordered that from Dell.

 

I appreciate the tim you put into replying to my post, and any other suggestions to improve my system's performance.

 

Thanks,

 

Laszlo

Chris,

 

Thanks for your help, I'll give the new memory install a go and let you know how my Inspiron XPS performs afterwards.

 

Will this likely cure the performance problems I am seeing, or am I going to need to replace my system soon?  It's hard to believe that my XPS is slower than other more recent non-gaming systems even if it is ~4 years old.

 

Truly,

 

Kotetsu

Chris,

 

Thanks for you help.  I've installed the memory upgrade and it seems to be working fine.

 

However, screen frame rates for World in Conflict are still frustratingly marginal, even when I turn the graphics down to 1024 x 768.

 

It seems like there are a lot of background processes that are demanding cpu time and the game slows to a crawl.  It also seems the more applications I open the slower it gets, even if I'm closing them as I go.  I have MS Office on my system for now as well.

 

Have Norton 2008 and other OS maintenance services become so much more demanding and processor intensive because of internet threats that it might seem like my formerly high performance XPS notepad is not so high performance anymore?  This notebook was a rocket with games when I first got it.

 

Is there a diagnostic utility that I can run to identify the essential background processes?  Should I upgrade to Vista?

 

Kotetsu

You can chose witch programs run in the background with the system configuation utility in XP,,,click start/help and support/tools/system configuration,,,then click start up,,,you can stop them all from loading or chose what you want,,,make sure you know what programs you want to run,,,hope this helps!

The one thing that I am surprised no-one has recomended is running a defrag on your system. That is normal maint. on every computer that should be done regularly. I run it at least once a month. Doing this will help alot.

Silver,

 

Thanks for your comments. I do a defrag daily with the Dell Support Deall Automate PC TuneUp so I know that's not contributing.

 

The background programs are really chewing up CPU time and it helps a little when I disconnect from the network. Even with the additional memory I am not satisfied with the performance, and the frame rates of old games are no longer satisfactory.

 

I'm beginning to come to the conclusion that my system's time has passed and it's time to get a new XPS.

 

Here's the new configuration:

 

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name LW_BLACK4
System Manufacturer Dell Inc.
System Model Inspiron XPS
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 3 Stepping 4 GenuineIntel ~3391 Mhz
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 3 Stepping 4 GenuineIntel ~3391 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. A06, 08/03/2005
SMBIOS Version 2.3
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)"
User Name LW_BLACK4\Black4
Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Total Physical Memory 2,048.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 1.48 GB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.92 GB
Page File Space 3.85 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

Any other suggestions would be appreciated, because I won't be able to get a new XPS right away.

 

Laszlo