PC vs MAC vs linux...performance issues.
 

i recentley built a brand new pc ,p4 3.4 ghz, 1gb ram, xp pro, and it allredy seems to be giving me problems. such as freezing ,crashing ,slowness, and lots of other wonderful things. what i want to know is if all the stuff im hearing about mac and linux is true, eg "they dont get viruses they dont crash they dont freez they run much smoother and faster etc. dose any one use these things and are they reely as great as they say they are?? or are all computers just headache machines? i have used an old power mac befor ,os 7.5 i think, and it wasent much better ,it crashed all the time and was slow as sh*t. but what is os x like??

Salut, you could always try running a live cd Linux to test if your problems are hardware or software related. I recommend ubuntu right now http://www.ubuntulinux.org/download/

For osx, I like it miles better than windows, but it is not flawless. For instance, the speed of osx is really fine only if you have over 512mb of ram. You also pay more to get a mac, but it is worth it IMO. Great interface, great software, easy, plug and play, and the best multitasking. Games are slow on osx though. There are always tradeoffs.

Ciao

Hey !

ray

(with unfortunate last name !!!)

Forget XP...

FORMAT and install Windows 2000 Professional...

Allow, depending on your current HDD total capacity, min 40GB partition for Linux when you FIRST install/Setup Win 2K...

Try to allow at least 40GB for the Linux partition...
Let Win 2K installer do the partition stuff for you... Safer...

OR

Stick another HDD into your machine, format it initially, and then install Linux (MANDRAKE !!!!!!!!!!!) onto the separate HDD...

This post is strictly preliminary.... There are loads of really nice and PATIENT people here who will help you...

RELAX !!!!

that sounds like a verry good plan C . i just re installed windows and that fixed my drive letters problem and hopfuley it will clear up the overall performance etc...maybe i just dident do it right the first time :/ . plan b is to install another stick of ram , i think you have to have 2 installed for good performance regardless of the size of the ram , i think i should have memory installed in sockets a1 and b1 for it to work corectley (like the mobo instruction manual sez) insted of just one 1gb module in a1. i could just have low memory bandwidth and that could be causing crashes/freezing. is this idia correct??? anyway if that dosent work il definantley install 2k and or linux....or both like you sed. or ? will mac osx run on pc hardware??? hmmm....

ummmm.....wold that be the cd that came with the mobo that sez "chipset support cd" ? by "chipset" do you mean just the drivers for it ?? or are there actualy chips that i have to phisicley install on the bored??? (there werent any chips like that in the box) . this the first pc iv ever built so i woldent be suprized if i did forget this. il look at the cd agen....all i remember installing from it was the sound drivers and nothing els.

ok i installed the drivers from the cd...hope that dose it. the mobo model# is : p4c800-e deluxe . and my psu is 550w so it shouldent be that.

It is best to check ALL your drivers to see if you have the latest versions.
Usually the drivers you find on a CD that came with your MB are outdated.

You happen to have a Intel Chip on your ASUS board, go here for your chipset :
http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/sb/CS-009242.htm

i think the chipset drivers might have done it. there are no yellow ? marks in device manager other than the raid controller , i dont have a raid setup nor do i intend on installing one so i dont think that one is nesisary, is it??

the mobo manuel sez that if theres onley 1 ram stick it will onley work in single channel mode and for dual channel mode it needs ether 2 or 4 sticks. dose this meen if i put in another identical stick of ram it will increce the memory BW and make it work smoother? could the crashing just be from a memory BW bottleneck due to just one ram module??

im allmoast certen its the modem now, because iv noteced its onley been crashing when im on the net or connecting/dissconnecting from it . i did a test last night to see if reely was the modem , i started moast of my applications : LW,mame arcade game emulator,ares p2p, wordpad, WMP with g-force viz looping several songs, task manager,peergaurdian, both of my antiviruses and several folders. cpu usage was 12-45% , all while NOT connected to the internet or using the modem in any way, so i went to sleep and 10 hours later everything was running just the way i left it , cpu usage a steady 35% avrage. so i figurd that if it can run 7 apps a the same time while offline than its the modem. it shouldent be the contacts on the memory ,everything was brand new out of the box and the gold contacts all looked verry shiny. the modem was the onley thing i cheeped out on when i selected parts for this thing, i bot 2 of the same modem ,1 for my new "super computer" and 1 for my old windows 98 email macine. the older comp is doing verry simalar things sence i installed the modem (its more severe with the older comp because it crashes EVERY time you try to connect to the net) . allso the memory i got for it is listed in the mobo manuel so it shouldent be incompatebul. it has to be the modem. stay away from 8$ modems....

bitstreame i think youv been the most helpful person in here so far ,thank you. peerless being a close second.

the wethers been verry nice here latley....a little too hot tho,i hate heat and humidity.