Do computers get slow in time?

[khpuce]

I have a computer which I bought about 4 years ago (AMD Athlon 750 MHz) and a laptop (Dell Inspiron P3 866MHz) which is about 3 years old. At the beginning, the performaces of both the machines were great but now both machines seems to be extremely slow. I reformatted the hard drives and installed everything form scratch without much success.

Is it the case with every computers as they get old

[EvBladeRunnervE]

actually, what the problem is is that you have gotten so used now to modern computer's speed that what used to be fast is slow to you. After defragging,reformatting,your computer should be pretty much brand new in terms of original performance.

[ober]

echo the above... the only reason your computers performance would degrade is because of the software you put on them. The more software you load that either runs in the background or is more resource intensive, the slower your computer is going to run. Also, keep in mind that newer software requires more resources (more RAM, faster processor, etc.) than your programs did 4 years ago.

[Shadow]

Basically: Please upgrade for a better computing experience.

I know my rig has slowed a little, but not too much because I keep on top of it. My hard drive stays organize, I keep my desktop clean, my tasktray blank, few as possible programs in background, I monitor disk cleanup, and have the occasional peak at msconfig and regedit/thje registry.

I've installed and uninstalled so many programs though that, even though I keep on top of things, the others, especially more so independant software from small software houses, can be dodgy sometimes, and may leave bread crumbs behind, slowly degrading performance overtime.

There's a little bit of maintainence, and upgrading involved if you want it to still seem quick and keep up with your power using.

Also keep in mind, that if you're using WindowsXP, 256mb RAM is the recommended low end limit for moderate performance.

[adrianxw]

It's a conspiracy. Both AMD and Intel introduce a number of stepped performance degraders into their architecture. Depending on how long the chip is running, and at what temperature, a series of small fusible links break down over time and trigger the next performance degredation.

It is a way to increase sales of later faster chips.

[ober]

Are you BSing or did you actually see that somewhere?

[linuxdude]

Don't your bogomips go down slowly also, but I don't think that has much to do with it.

[cyberCLoWn]

It's a conspiracy. Both AMD and Intel introduce a number of stepped performance degraders into their architecture. Depending on how long the chip is running, and at what temperature, a series of small fusible links break down over time and trigger the next performance degredation.

It is a way to increase sales of later faster chips.

Haha!

[Waldo2k2]

>>Don't your bogomips go down slowly also

once again only because of software

[itld]

Howdy,

Are you BSing or did you actually see that somewhere?

I think it's true, I have a 286 that is so old it actually runs backwards. Damn you Intel.

M.R.

[Waldo2k2]

>> I think it's true, I have a 286 that is so old it actually runs backwards. Damn you Intel.

actually crap like that is coming into effect....sorta, not sure about amd, but i know that intel puts ciruitry in their new chips to lock the multiplier and several other measures to prevent overclocking. Bastards.

[-=SoKrA=-]

AMD does lock the multiplier on the newer Athlons (the 32bit ones, dunno about the Athlon64, but if you send me one I'll be glad to check it out )
It doesn't mean much though, some BIOSes (mine for example) just unlock it, and it can also be done by drawing a pencil line (you know, the conductive graphite(sp?) ) between two pins.
Bartons can also me made into Athlon MP (multi-processor) just by putting some conductive grease into one of the bridges (L7 I think, can't remember right now), which I find funny because MPs are sold at a much higher price, and the SPs are more expensive to make, as the bridge is cut with a laser (at least buying (or renting?) the diamond would make the process dearer.