April 23, 2013

Tips for running Windows 8 on a older computer with 1-2 GB of RAM, and Slower CPU

Windows 8 runs lighter than Windows 7 in my experience. I also read Windows 8 owner reviews which stated Windows 8 made some Netbooks and slower computers faster after replacing Windows 7 with Windows 8.

However, Windows 8 sometimes still feels slow on older computers with less RAM, and a slower CPU when doing more heavy tasks like video editing, gaming, and multi-tasking, but there are some simple fast ways to make Windows 8 feel faster without spending any or much money.


Switching to a lighter weight antivirus like Panda Cloud Antivirus which you can download at cloudantivirus.com can make Windows feel faster than using a more feature rich, and heavier antivirus which uses more RAM, and CPU Cycles.

I recommend doing a weekly or daily manual antivirus, antimalware,  and antispyware scan to see if you are infected by a virus, spyware, and malware which is slowing down your PC.

If you have a lot of third party software installed on your computer, it is likely that there are a lot of third party startup programs like chat programs, media players, and other programs which you, or your computer maker installed on your computer.

I recommend using Advanced SystemCare PRO which is an all-in-one system utility program which has a startup manager, PC TuneUp program, Turbo mode which can disable startup programs, and services, optimize windows, and clean up junk files in Windows 8 to make Windows run faster. There is also a Turbo mode which disable un-needed background programs, and services, so Windows 8 runs faster. Using Advance System Care is a lot easier than using MSConfig, Task Scheduler, Services.msc, and other default Windows tools which are not as user friendly. With a few clicks of the mouse Advance System Care Pro optimizes, and speeds up your computer with very little user action needed.

 

Windows 8 also has Readyboost which let you use a USB Flash drive, or Memory card inserted into your memory card reader to make Windows use your Flash drive, or Memory card as RAM which should make Windows slightly faster on computers with only 1-2GB of RAM.

Using lighter software like Opera Web browser, Libreoffice, Foobar2000 media player, and other software which have low system requirements would make your computer feel faster.

Also, closing un-needed tabs on your web browser, and closing programs which you are no longer using in your system tray, taskbar, and desktop can make your computer use less RAM, and CPU resources.

Restarting your computer can also make Windows feel faster since it refreshes the memory.

Most importantly, install Windows Updates when they are available since Windows updates fix problems related to performance, security, and reliability in Windows, so your computer maybe faster after a Windows update.

Installing more RAM, a faster video card, and upgrading to a SSD drive would make Windows 8 faster, but it may not be worth it since saving the money for a newer computer might be a better idea if your old computer is very old.

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