Jump to content

Speeding up an old AIO PC?

ThinkWithPortals
 Share
Posted

Hey all, 

 

My little cousin mentioned to me that her PC is running slow, and that she would like me to help her to speed it up. It's an HP Touchsmart IQ 800, Core 2 Duo T5850 2.16GHz, 4GB of DDR2, now running Windows 8.1. She complained that it was so slow it was barely usable, and that Minecraft (the most taxing thing she does on it) being unplayable. I checked and, she was right, the performance is appalling.

Her parents are hesitant to fork out for a new PC, so I was tasked with trying to speed this one up as much as possible, get it usable again.

 

Where do I start? Note that I'd like to avoid doing stuff like installing Linux as I doubt she'd like to have to learn a completely new operating system.

 

 

Project White Lightning (My ITX Gaming PC): Core i5-4690K | CRYORIG H5 Ultimate | ASUS Maximus VII Impact | HyperX Savage 2x8GB DDR3 | Samsung 850 EVO 250GB | WD Black 1TB | Sapphire RX 480 8GB NITRO+ OC | Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX | Corsair AX760 | LG 29UM67 | CM Storm Quickfire Ultimate | Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum | HyperX Cloud II | Logitech Z333

Benchmark Results: 3DMark Firestrike: 10,528 | SteamVR VR Ready (avg. quality 7.1) | VRMark 7,004 (VR Ready)

 

Other systems I've built:

Core i3-6100 | CM Hyper 212 EVO | MSI H110M ECO | Corsair Vengeance LPX 1x8GB DDR4  | ADATA SP550 120GB | Seagate 500GB | EVGA ACX 2.0 GTX 1050 Ti | Fractal Design Core 1500 | Corsair CX450M

Core i5-4590 | Intel Stock Cooler | Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI | HyperX Savage 2x4GB DDR3 | Seagate 500GB | Intel Integrated HD Graphics | Fractal Design Arc Mini R2 | be quiet! Pure Power L8 350W

 

I am not a professional. I am not an expert. I am just a smartass. Don't try and blame me if you break something when acting upon my advice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...why are you still reading this?

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/645733-speeding-up-an-old-aio-pc/
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

I would sell the AIO but keep the hard drive and try to put something together with 2nd hand parts.

Something with a q6600 would be a big upgrade for her.

 

If you want my attention, quote meh! D: or just stick an @samcool55 in your post :3

Spying on everyone to fight against terrorism is like shooting a mosquito with a cannon

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Backup all important files.

 

Do a clean install of the OS.

 

Use DDU.

 

Do a clean install of the latest GPU drivers.

 

Do a clean install of the latest JRE (for MineCraft). Irrelevant if she runs the Windows store MineCraft that is coded in C++.

 

Check what programs she has installed currently. Teach her some basic practices on bloatware if there is any.

 

The most demanding setting in MineCraft is by far and away, the render distance. Turn it down to the minimum.

 

Install OptiFine (if it still exists).

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
4 minutes ago, nobelharvards said:

Backup all important files.

 

Do a clean install of the OS.

 

Use DDU.

 

Do a clean install of the latest GPU drivers.

 

Do a clean install of the latest JRE (for MineCraft). Irrelevant if she runs the Windows store MineCraft that is coded in C++.

 

Check what programs she has installed currently. Teach her some basic practices on bloatware if there is any.

 

The most demanding setting in MineCraft is by far and away, the render distance. Turn it down to the minimum.

 

Install OptiFine (if it still exists).

Optifine is still going.

Main Gaming Rig:

Spoiler

Core i7-4770, Cryorig M9i Cooler, ASUS B85M GAMER, 8GB HyperX Fury Red 2x4GB 1866MHz, KFA2 GTX 970 Infin8 Black Edition "4GB", 1TB Seagate SSHD, 256GB Crucial m4 SSD, 60GB Corsair SSD for Kerbal and game servers, Thermaltake Core V21 Case, EVGA SuperNOVA 650W G2.

Secondary PC:

Spoiler

i5-2500k OCed, Raijintek Themis, Intel Z77GA-70K, 8GB HyperX Genesis in grey, GTX 750 Ti, Gamemax Falcon case.

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
Just now, NinjaJc01 said:

Optifine is still going.

Tried, helps a bit but the whole PC is still slow.

Project White Lightning (My ITX Gaming PC): Core i5-4690K | CRYORIG H5 Ultimate | ASUS Maximus VII Impact | HyperX Savage 2x8GB DDR3 | Samsung 850 EVO 250GB | WD Black 1TB | Sapphire RX 480 8GB NITRO+ OC | Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX | Corsair AX760 | LG 29UM67 | CM Storm Quickfire Ultimate | Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum | HyperX Cloud II | Logitech Z333

Benchmark Results: 3DMark Firestrike: 10,528 | SteamVR VR Ready (avg. quality 7.1) | VRMark 7,004 (VR Ready)

 

Other systems I've built:

Core i3-6100 | CM Hyper 212 EVO | MSI H110M ECO | Corsair Vengeance LPX 1x8GB DDR4  | ADATA SP550 120GB | Seagate 500GB | EVGA ACX 2.0 GTX 1050 Ti | Fractal Design Core 1500 | Corsair CX450M

Core i5-4590 | Intel Stock Cooler | Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI | HyperX Savage 2x4GB DDR3 | Seagate 500GB | Intel Integrated HD Graphics | Fractal Design Arc Mini R2 | be quiet! Pure Power L8 350W

 

I am not a professional. I am not an expert. I am just a smartass. Don't try and blame me if you break something when acting upon my advice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...why are you still reading this?

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
Just now, ThinkWithPortals said:

Tried, helps a bit but the whole PC is still slow.

Quite honestly, there isn't much you can do... You could probably try picking up a Q6600 and some more DDR2, if the chipset will handle it.

Main Gaming Rig:

Spoiler

Core i7-4770, Cryorig M9i Cooler, ASUS B85M GAMER, 8GB HyperX Fury Red 2x4GB 1866MHz, KFA2 GTX 970 Infin8 Black Edition "4GB", 1TB Seagate SSHD, 256GB Crucial m4 SSD, 60GB Corsair SSD for Kerbal and game servers, Thermaltake Core V21 Case, EVGA SuperNOVA 650W G2.

Secondary PC:

Spoiler

i5-2500k OCed, Raijintek Themis, Intel Z77GA-70K, 8GB HyperX Genesis in grey, GTX 750 Ti, Gamemax Falcon case.

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
Just now, ThinkWithPortals said:

Tried, helps a bit but the whole PC is still slow.

Clean install everything?

 

Back up everything. Clean install OS, then use DDU to wipe out whatever drivers Windows tries to install, then do a clean install of the latest GPU drivers. Clean install JRE for Java MineCraft. Look for bloatware and teach her about basic practices if you find any.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
9 minutes ago, nobelharvards said:

Clean install everything?

 

Back up everything. Clean install OS, then use DDU to wipe out whatever drivers Windows tries to install, then do a clean install of the latest GPU drivers. Clean install JRE for Java MineCraft. Look for bloatware and teach her about basic practices if you find any.

Ah,that's allot of job,he should do get her a 6950x and a Titan XP SLI setup and there you go

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Clean installing these days is quite easy. It is not difficult to download everything (drivers, JRE, OS iso), prep it, click a button, and go do something else for an hour or so.

 

Same goes for DDU. Click 1 button. It boots into safe mode for you. Click another button. It wipes out your GPU drivers. Reboot. A few more clicks to go through the fresh new GPU driver installation. The end.

 

JRE. Click once to start installing it. Click once more to finish it. The end.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Give her your PC.

  • CPU: Intel Core i7-6700k @4.3ghz, Motherboard: Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7, RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB @2400mhz, GPU: Gigabyte GTX 1080 G1 , Case: Corsair 300R, Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 256GB SSD, WD 1TB Black HDD, WD 2TB HDD PSU: Evga SuperNova 750 G2, Display: ASUS VG248QE @144hz, Cooling: Cooler Master V8 GTS, Keyboard: Corsair K95 RGB Platinum, Mouse: Logitech G502 Lightspeed, Sound: Phillips SHP9500 + VModa Boom Pro, Operating System: Windows 10 Pro
  •  
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Might be worth getting a cheap TLC based SSD, 120gb should be enough for os programs and minecraft, with the old hdd in a usb enclosure if the extra space is needed. Under $100 upgrade here in australia so even cheaper everywhere else. Just my 2c

CPU: Intel i9 9900K Motherboard: Asus ROG Strix Z390-F RAM: 32GB Corsair Vengeance LPX @ 3000MHz CL15 GPU: Gigabyte 1080Ti Windforce w/ AIO Liquid cooler Case: Fractal Design Define S Storage: 500GB Samsung 970 Evo NVME, 1TB OCZ Trion 150, 1TB SanDisk Ultra II, 2TB Samsung 860 QVO PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 Gold 850W Display: 1440p 144Hz Acer XG270HU CPU Cooling: Noctua NH-D15 Keyboard: Logitech G Pro TKL Mouse: Logitech G403 Wireless Sound: Fiio E10k + Sennheiser HD6xx + Logitech Desktop Tower Speakers OS: Windows 10 Home

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing Troubleshooting

×