Question for ppl using PGO with fast computers

[wapfinator]

Hi. My computer is 400 Mhz, 256MB RAM, with Windows 2000, and I am on DSL.  Believe it or not, for most things I do, this is OK.  

I'm wondering just how much this old computer hampers PGOffline.  I KNOW it affects the speed of searches, but I'm wondering about the download speed.

With a new (empty) group, the speed (via DSL) is ~250 msgs/minute - great.  By 10,000 messages it's going about 150/minute. Still good.  Over 50,000 messages it slows way down.  At 140,000 messages (my largest group), downloads are ~30 messages/minute.  

Does this happen on a fast computer as well?

Any details to compare?  (CPU speed, RAM, connection type, size of groups.)  Thanks!

[Wilson Logan]

OK, its to do with the screen update.

When you download a group, switch the focus of PGO onto another group so that its not re-writing the screen with the new messages that come in. You're still getting your messages but your PC isn't having to display an ever growing list of messages.

Try it, it will work.

Cheers,

Wilson.

[wapfinator]

Wow!  I had no idea it would be so simple to fix that!  I clock the download speed now at 396 msgs/min, tops, even in the largest group.  And it is nice to be able to multitask in other groups while downloading...  Didn't know that was possible.  Very nice.

Know any tricks for speeding up searches? :)  I wish...! This I'm afraid is highly dependent on processor speed and will have to wait till I get a faster machine... am way overdue.

Please pat yourself on the back for a most excellent program.

[Wilson Logan]

Hi,

Indeed, the searches are heavily CPU dependant.

I recently upgraded my system to Asus A8V with 1GB memory, an Athlon 64 processor and a 256Mb video card. Wow, its like coming out of the dark ages! It only cost about ?180 ($250). Well worth it.

Cheers,

Wilson.

[wapfinator]

Thanks Wilson.  Prices are certainly very good. Maybe I can upgrade sooner than I think.

PGOffline, more than any other app, is pushing me to want to get a new system.  On one of my databases that is approaching 1.8GB, a simple one-word search on the 400 MHz machine across all the groups in the database takes about 45 minutes!  About how long would the equivalent search take on a state of the art machine? (such as yours)  

The amount of RAM probably helps somewhat in a search too. Mine is maxed out at 256MB :(

Anyway, am just curious to get a rough comparison.  Thanks!

[Wilson Logan]

I'm not sure but I think it'd take less than a minute. I have 1GB of matched DDR (double data rate) memory ($80) and a SATA hard drive ($120). Makes things zip along!

BTW my upgrade cost more like $300 now I think about it.

Still... I paid $1360 for 64 MB of memory in my wifes first PC :(

Cheers,

Wilson.

[wapfinator]

Thanks!  Amazingly, the search that took 45 minutes now executes in 10 minutes, just by changing hard drives.  The old hard drive was an external USB 1.1 drive (SLOW!!!).   At least 10 minutes is bearable. Still, I look forward to upgrading to a new processor soon. Thanks for your answer.

[Wilson Logan]

In the past I've made systems for people for low $$$.

I recommend getting an Asus A7V 133 with memory & CPU like this one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Asus-A7V-133-VW-MB-Ram-CPU-Heatsink-Fan_W0QQitemZ6846273453QQcategoryZ99246QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It'll probably go for about $40. You may need to get a Lan card ($8) if you have cable and you'll likely need a new video card as the A7V uses AGP. I'm sure you can get a compatible 32 or 64 Mb AGPX4 video card for $20 on Ebay.


So, new system price = $68.


Cheers,

Wilson.

[wapfinator]

That's quite a deal esp. since it includes the CPU...

Looks like I'll also need:

- 512MB to 1G of a different type of new, fast RAM (to ~$80 )
- ATX case w/ ATX power supply (since I'm still on AT form factor!)   ($30 - 100 depending on quality)
- sound card (since my AWE64 Soundblaster is an ISA card)   ($20 - 150 , depends on quality)

Thanks, I really appreciate the tip.  This will be a big leap since so much has changed since my last "build".   OTOH components seem to be ALL cheaper now than they used to be.

--

Just to add to the previous message...the reduced search time from 45 min. to 10 min. is with adding an Ultra/100Tx2 Promise controller and matching drive to the old motherboard...... (in case anyone else is on a system as old as mine!)

[Wilson Logan]

Hi,

Most modern boards have on board sound. I'm pretty sure the A7V does. You will be able to get a second hand case & PSU for under $20. Make sure you get at least a 300W PSU. Modern CPUs will not boot if under powered. Or worse, they'll boot sometimes & not others.
More memory is good. I agree that 512 - 1GB would be best.

Cheers,

Wilson.

[wapfinator]

Well, thank you for all the help. Take care!