Unless you are doing 3D rendering or hi-end video editing, your CPU should almost never be running at 100% unless an application is taking hold of it (which it should not be doing). Check with Task Manager to see just which program is doing this and how frequently. Again, unless it is processing something, taking up a CPU at 100% is abnormal. I mean, doing 3D animation rendering would only take up to 50% or less… 100% is kind of crazy…
Again, to be able to run a lot of programs at the same time depends on the amount of RAM, not CPU. Perhaps you can get a board that allows 1.5GB or 2GB of RAM instead of the standard 1GB boards…
1 x Intel P4 2.66 Brain
Gigabyte something or other motherboard
2 x 256 Transcend DDR dual channel (whatever that means) RAM
An 80 Gb Maxtor hard drive ATA 133 (very quiet)
350 Watt PSU with adjustable fan (an incredible $2400!)
15" Flat monitor (cheapie - $8600 - but good)
A 48 speed CDR
er… I think that’s it. Keyboard, mouse, speakers… Oh yeah, a graphics card, and LAN card. Fat lot of use that is though, as Chunghwa Bastards Telecom won’t give me ADSL because I’m a foreigner.
Got the lot at Chang Kun (don’t know what it’s called) for 24,100 (box) + 8,600 (monitor) = 32,700. They assembled it. Comes with no O/S. Interestingly, as my house has no earth, the outside of the box is live at 105 Volts when the computer is off, and 36 Volts when it is on.
Have I mentioned how much I hate Chung Hwa Telecom ?
When I went to Chunghwa on Hoping East Road, the first guy I talked to said I couldn’t get ADSL because I didn’t have a 3 year ARC. She said because I wasn’t here for the 2 year minimum contract I couldn’t get it. So I signed up for the basic phone line. When I went to the internet cafe I wrote an email to Chunghwa. Their response: