On Mar 7, 1:09 pm, skinnie <andre.fa...@ua.pt> wrote:

> Currently it is running tiger,but I think it is a little slow (I think
> it is the HDD fault)..

WHAT is slow?  the OS seems slow to you, like launching apps?  or some
particular application?  are you using it for gaming?  video editing?

> I am planing to upgrade the HDD to my 250Gb 5400rpm "macbook original"
> sata hdd via sata to ide adapter.

forget it, as bruce said, won't see 250gig drive, or will see it as
significantly smaller drive.  also, has nothing to do with the
perception of "slow."

> But to make it even smoother I'd like to upgrade either the video card
> or the ram,what will make it faster?

the most RAM you could put in would be 2gig, and you would have to
discard or sell the 3 x 256 sticks now installed.  all for a 60%
increase in RAM?  unless you are using apps that eat RAM in large
chunks, no perceptible improvement.

and i disagree about the video card.  again, you didn't say WHAT seems
slow.  if you're talking about the performance of the OS, then the vid
card cannot possibly have anything to do with it.  i have used
computers with vid card having only 8MB of VRAM, and manipulating
massive wireframe model (as in CAD, etc) the card has no problem
keeping up.  it will spin the image as fast as your hand can move the
mouse.  lots of VRAM on the vid card is only going to make a
perceptible improvement if you're gaming, or watching/editing video.
the majority of the great unwashed masses put way too much importance
on lots of VRAM.  for most apps, it's a non-issue.

> For the videocard I was planning on buying a pc 9700pro and flashing
> it (20euros).
> FOr the ram,for the 30eur I could get about 2x512mb..
> what do you think it is better?spending 50eur on this machine is not
> an option this time :S

what do i think?  i think you've got a sawtooth.  learn to like it or
get something else.  if you get the 533meg processor upgrade that was
mentioned by another, you'll see roughly a 33% increase in speed (i
didn't bother looking up cache sizes to fine tune the estimate).  it's
NOT going to triple or double the performance.  again, is the cost
worth the minimal improvement?  i wouldn't think so.  my advice: don't
waste ANY money on any upgrades.  use it, or lose it, and get a newer
box.

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