I have an eMachines T1100 (detailed specs at bottom of this post). It has XP Home with a 1 GHz processor and 384 MB of RAM. Not great, but fair enough, right? But for some reason, video performance completely blows. Flash games are so, so slow. YouTube videos play pretty much just fine in their native sizes, but full screen (1440 x 900) lags in a big way. Why is it such bad performance? 1 GHz and 384 MB RAM seems fine. The display is just the onboard Intel DirectAGP 3D (810 shared). I'm sure that's not very good. But shouldn't it be good enough? Is there something else that could be causing the poor performance, and is there anything I can do to improve it? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Detailed specs: ---------------- CPU: Intel® Celeron® Processor 1GHz (w/128KB) Operating System: Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition Chipset: Intel® 810 chipset, 100MHz FSB Memory: 128MB SDRAM Hard Drive: 20GB HDD Optical Drive: 12x Max. Write CD-RW Drive; 3.5" 1.44MB FDD Video: Intel® DirectAGP 3D (810 shared) Sound: Intel® 82801 AC '97 Audio Modem: 56K ITU v.92-ready PCI internal Fax/Modem Peripherals: Keyboard, Mouse, Stereo Speakers Ports/Other: 2 USB ports (1 on front bezel), 1 Serial, 1 Parallel, 2 PS/2, Audio In & Out, 1 Midi/Game on front bezel, Mic-In & Head Phone jack on front

You have a weak CPU, weak board, too little RAM, crappy onboard graphics, etc. Maybe you're expecting too much? Try tweaking the system. Dump unnecessary programs, run MSCONFIG to disable useless apps from loading at startup, use a lightweight anti-virus program (in other words, not McAfee or Norton), use CCleaner daily to clear the accumulated junk files & clean up the registry, defrag the HDD regularly, disable "search indexing", update your drivers, etc. "And that's the fishing line, because Sharkboy said so!"

>>>Not great, but fair enough, right? <<< Guess that depends on what you're trying to accomplish. According to this article: http://www.smartcomputing.com/edito... you shouldn't expect too much. Most (local) video games require a separate card with much better specs than what your machine can handle. A separate card would improve performance, but you still have a "slow" machine to go along with it... Here's some other tips you could try: Drop the colors to medium (16-bit) if it isn't there already. You stated at first 384MB of RAM, but then your specs say 128MB. According to this: http://configurator.oempcworld.com/... and this: http://www10.shopping.com/xPF-E-Mac... the maximum is 256MB. In any case, you'd be better off with whatever maximum memory it can handle. The Intel video may be "stealing" some memory for video; bump that up to it's maximum if that's the case. Move the swapfile off to a separate (faster drive) if possible. Go with a generic (i.e.-single color) background and drop back to the classic start menu. While you're at it, move any other icons off the desktop to separate folders. Get rid of anything in the system tray that you really don't need. As jam said, Norton and McAfee are notorious for robbing system resources. Use AVG or Avast! instead. If YouTube or other flash videos are stalling due to internet speeds (and if your using the 56K modem, they will) instead of video issues, then try to tweak your internet connection. Even better, move up to DSL or Cable if it's offered in your area. Go with a lighter-weight browser (Opera or Firefox) if you're using IE.

Nice post nrogers64. I like the way you explain your problem and put all the specs below. I wish everyone would do that. But "Memory: 128MB SDRAM" just ain't gonna get the job done.

Thank you all for your help! I'm sorry about my inconsistency in how much RAM I have installed. The detailed specs at the bottom of my original post are the machine's default specs. It has, indeed, been upgraded to 384 MB. Each of the two slots can have a max of 256. I suspect that upgrading to a total of 512 wouldn't do much. Based on what you've all said, it sounds like it's just something I shouldn't be expecting out of this machine. That's fine, I'll just have to save for a new computer and sell this one to somebody who just needs basic word processing. Thanks so much!

Your specs are too low to run XP decently, but Win98SE or WinME would fly on that system. Some Linux distros would run OK, Win2K is another possibility. You need a *real* video card though. "And that's the fishing line, because Sharkboy said so!"