Time for new memory and/or vid card?

[Mike Dizzy]

Hey, I've been having some problems with my comp being jumpy lately.
It all started when one of the fans started periodically making noises. The noises eventually stopped, then my computer started running slowly. Any movie or video I watch are jumpy. Games that used to run smooth as silk get really jittery as well.
I use lightstep. The theme I have set tells me how much memory is being used at one time, and it's never below 50%.
I've tried virus and spyware scans with multiple programs, and a system restore, none of which solved anything.
Is it time to get a new video card or some more ram?
I have:
System Manufacturer: Dell Computer Corporation
      System Model: Dimension 4550              
              BIOS: Default System BIOS
         Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.40GHz
            Memory: 768MB RAM

Card name: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 Ultra
    Manufacturer: NVIDIA
       Chip type: GeForce FX 5700 Ultra
        DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
  Display Memory: 128.0 MB

[pcdoc4christ]

Mike:

The fan is used to cool either the CPU or the video card.  If either gets to hot it will become damaged.  Replace the fan before you use the computer again.

Doc

[patio]

Agree with pcdoc...you also risk frying other components such as the MBoard and or CPU.

patio.  

[Mike Dizzy]

How do I know which fan is making the noises?

[Mike Dizzy]

I checked all the fans and they are working (Video card included).
If I were to invest in an extra cooling system, what would be a good idea? It's a dell case (plastic outer layer) so I can't drill a hole in the side and mount a new fan.

[Fed]

Open your Task Manager & check your CPU Usage.

[GX1_Man]

You will not be able to mount a case fan successfully in that. There are PCI slot fans available. Not as effective but it's something. How big a power supply on that thing and how many drives?

[Mike Dizzy]

I'm not sure what the power supply is. By drives I'm assuming you mean hard drives. I have 1 internal and 1 external.
All my extra PCI slots are taken up.
There's a wireless nic card, the video card, modem, 10/100 nic card, and a usb 2.0 (didn't come with it so I had to go out and buy one).
I've looked at CPU usage whenever the computer's being laggy, and system idle proccess is always 90+.

[GX1_Man]

Unplug the external drive and see if the situation improves or shows no change. you may be overtaxing the PSU. Just a thought. Do you have 2 CD drives?

[Mike Dizzy]

Yes, a DVD/RW and a reg cd drive.
I've had the external for some time now and never noticed any difference in performance. I'll give it a shot though.

[Fed]

What does your Task Manager show your CPU usage as at idle?

[Mike Dizzy]

My CPU usage under processes, I assume. When it's idle system idle process is 90+, so it's not doing anything.
I unplugged the external hard drive, and it's running a little better but it's still nto running as well as it was a few days ago.

[Fed]

Sorry Mike, I didn't notice your earlier post where you have already mentioned the 90%.
FYI, my system is similar to yours and my idle usage (from the bottom of the task manager screen) is always around 0%-1%.
I guess you're running a lot more background junk.

I've tried virus and spyware scans with multiple programs

What did you run?

[Mike Dizzy]

Meh, np.

When I'm not doing anything, it says the usage % is 0-1.
I have AVG 7.1 and spybot search and destroy.

[Fed]

Your computer should be fast and, as you said, as smooth as silk.
Is your Device Manager all clear?