How can the system administrator improve the performance of the computer without adding new hardware?

There are many ways that a system administrator can improve the computers performance without adding new hardware. Over time computers get slower due to files becoming disorganized. Here are some of the ways that one can clean up and organize their hard disk.

1. Remove unused programs. This can be done by going into the control panel.
2. Do a disk cleanup and disk defragment.
3. Disconnect unused network connections.

There are numerous ways to improve a computers performance. A bigger list can be found here along with step by step directions on how to do it.

Types of benchmarks

1. Real program
   • word processing software
   • tool software of CDA
   • user's application software (MIS)
2. Kernel
   • contains key codes
   • normally abstracted from actual program
   • popular kernel: Livermore loop
   • linpack benchmark (contains basic linear algebra subroutine written in FORTRAN language)
   • results are represented in MFLOPS
3. Toy Benchmark/ micro-benchmark
   • user can program it and use it to test computer's basic components
   • automatic detection of computer's hardware parameters like number of registers, cache size, memory latency
4. Synthetic Benchmark
   • Procedure for programming synthetic Bench mark
     • take statistics of all type of operations from plenty of application programs
     • get proportion of each operation
     • write a program based on the proportion above
   • Types of Synthetic Benchmark are:
     • Whetstone
     • Dhrystone
   • Its results are represented in KWIPS (kilo whetstone instructions per second). It is not suitable for measuring pipeline computers.
5. I/O benchmarks
6. Parallel benchmarks: used on machines with multiple processors or systems consisting of multiple machines.

[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benchmark_(computing)#Types_of_benchmarks]

Is CPU performance the ultimate factor in computer performance?

"It is obvious, that all major computer components such as CPU, memory and IO devices together affect computer's performance." (http://www.hitequest.com/Kiss/performance.htm)



The CPU is not the ultimate factor in determining system wide performance. A computer's overall speed is actually no faster than its slowest component. For example if you are trying to read a file from a CD, the slowest component will be the CDROM drive. Although you may have a fast CPU, RAM, system bus, etc. if your CDROM can only read the file at a certain rate, you will not get the data faster than that rate. Other performance factors are how many programs you are running and how much memory/CPU time(or cycles) they are taking.

While the CPU is a huge factor in a computer’s performance it isn’t the ultimate factor. Many components must work in sync with each other to provide the best working conditions. If one thing is off it can mess up the rest of the components. “All major computer components such as CPU, memory and IO devices together affect computer's performance. Slow RAM or hard disk is going to be a bottleneck for fast CPU.” more info here here

Another big factor in determing what the system is capable of is the motherboard. Motherboards can only support certain types of chips, memory, hard drives etc and everything is ultimately plugged into the motherboard. When upgrading a certain part of the system, such as the CPU, you need to make sure it is compatible with the motherboard and that the motherboard can actually handle the speed of the CPU. If it can't, the motherboard will need to be upgraded. (more info on motherboards here)

A computer's video card is also a large factor in determining system wide performance. If the users computer has only integrated graphics (meaning that the video memory needed is taken out of RAM) it causes lower throughput, which in turn decreases performance. If it is not integrated, the video card will have its own video memory which is called Video RAM or VRAM, which can drastically increase performance, due to the fact that video memory is not taken out of RAM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_card). If you're a Windows Vista user, the onboard video adapters in most systems aren’t powerful enough to run Vista properly, so purchasing a good video card could make Vista run much more efficiently (http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=200).

What are some of the other factors in determining the performance of a computer?

1. Buses -Circuitry that is used to move data between the microprocessor andother hardware (peripheral devices) in the computer. (crucial.com) (salvagedata.com) (wikipedia)

2. Memory Controller - A chip that manages the flow of data to and from the memory. (wikipedia)

3. Direct Memory Access -a transfer protocol where a peripheral device transfers information directly to or from memory, without the system processor being required to perform the transaction. (pcguide.com)

4. Multiprocessing - Can mean three things: The use of more than one CPU in one computer, the ability of a computer to support more than one CPU, or the ability for a CPU to execute multiple processes. (wikipedia)
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_architecture


Some other factors in determining the performance of a computer include the processor’s instruction set, clock speed, bandwidth, front side bus (FSB) speed, heat, and heat dissipation. According to Kitchen Table Computers “when processors run too hot, they can start doing funky things like cause errors, lock, freeze, or even burn up.” Before going out and buying a new computer or upgrade to a new processor make sure nothing is blocking the heat vents and the fan is working properly.

What are the benchmarking tests for different hardware components?

Component benchmarks measure the performance of specific parts of a computer system, such as a microprocessor or hard disk drive, while system benchmarks typically measure the performance of the entire computer system. More information on benchmarking can be found here.
There are many types of benchmarks available to test different hardware components. Here are several types and an example of each: Common Benchmarks– an "all-in-one" test – example is SiSoft Sandra XII, which was used in Assignment #3
CPU Benchmarks- these programs will test and identify your processor – example is SysID, which shows common information about your computer’s system including RAM, speed, and CPU Hard Disk Drive Benchmarks - tests your HDD or flash device – example is MHDD 4.6 which provides fast and informative low-level drive diagnostics
RAM Benchmarks – tests your memory – example is DocMemory, user friendly software designed to capture all possible memory failures in PC
Multimedia Benchmarks - programs to work with multimedia devices, such as CD, DVD, sound cards, etc. – example is Nero CD-DVD Speed, a CD-ROM benchmark which can test the most important features of a CD- and/or DVD-ROM drive
Monitor Benchmarks ­– programs to test and adjust your monitor – example is Monitors Matter CheckScreen, enables the user to perform the following tests: color, focus, geometry, power supply, streaking Network Benchmarks- network diagnostics – example is NetInfo, provides all the tools you need to help diagnose network problems and get information about users, hosts and networks on the Internet or on your Intranet. Video Benchmarks- video subsystem benchmarks – example is 3DMark06, focuses on testing 3D performance of modern 3D accelerators in a "real world" environment. Monitoring Benchmarks – system monitoring tools – example is HMonitor 4.4.0.1, this program monitors and displays hardware parameters collected by the several sensor chips, installed on certain motherboards. Program can monitor voltages, temperatures of CPU and motherboard and cooler fans RPMs. (Source: http://www.benchmarkhq.ru/be_main.html)


When trying to compare the speed and power of a particular component in a computer, different programs can be used that focus around on utilizing that particular part of the computer. In a benchmark, it is important that the performances is measureable, either number of seconds to complete or number of files processed, and that it can be done over and over again fairly easily. For the CPU, these tests can include the decompression of a 100 MB .rar file, the conversion of 50 4 minute .mp3 files to .wma files, the encoding the 24 second H.264 file, or a 115 page PowerPoint to PDF conversion.

The graphics card will usually utilize different programs that will revolve more around 3D rendering rather than the usage of the CPU. Using video games at different quality settings and resolutions and measuring the frames per second (fps) are a very popular ways of finding the performance of a video card. This can include Battlefield 2142 at 1920 x 1200 resolution, 4x AA, max detail, or Prey 1280,1024, 4x AA, max detail. Currently a very popular game that is being used is Crysis which is known to push even today’s top consumer computers to the limit. Typically for a games to be playable, a user wants the score to be above 30 fps on average.

Hard drives mostly have a slightly different way of being measured. When finding the read and write speed of a hard drive the minimum, average, and maximum speed are all fairly important to know since it fluctuates so much. Programs like HD Tach can easily measure the speed of the read and write performance, random access speed, or time can be just measured to find the time it take to boot Windows XP. Performance doesn’t have to be the only factor measured in a benchmark, price per gigabyte and price/performance are only types of benchmarks.

One benchmarking tool that can be used is the “Windows Experience Index” found in the Windows Vista Operating System. Basically the program measures the performance of the CPU, memory, 2D graphics, 3D graphics, and hard drive all-in-one and rates it on a scale between 1.0 to 5.9. Ideally you would want to have a score that is fairly even and consistent between all 5 benchmarks to ensure there are no bottlenecks. If one of these scores is lagging, a user may want to upgrade that particular component.
Sources: http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.html
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html
http://www23.tomshardware.com/storage.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/12/19/amd_phenom_athlon_64_x2/
http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/01/28/ati_r680_the_rage_fury_maxx_2/
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/11/21/samsung_overtakes_with_a_bang/
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128009-page,9/article.html#hw-1

How can the system administrator improve the performance of the computer without adding new hardware? In Linux? In Windows?

There are many ways to improve computer performance and speed without adding new hardware. For starters, try cleaning up free disk space by removing temporary Internet files, removing downloaded program files, emptying the Recycle Bin, and removing temporary files, components, and programs that you no longer use. In addition, defragment your computer to speed up access to data. The response time of the computer is significantly greater because the hard disk must be searched to put files back together. By defragmenting the computer the files are consolidated so that they are stored one after the other. In addition, be sure to monitor your hard drive for disk errors that are the result of bad sectors. Bad sectors make writing data difficult and should be repaired. Finally, protect your computer against spyware. Not only does spyware put confidential information at risk of being exposed but it also slows down your computer's performance. These guidelines were written from the perspective of a Windows environment however many of them are applicable in Linux as well. Source: http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/getstarted/speed.mspx

- One way to improve your computer's performance without upgrading hardware is to remove many of the programs that automatically start when you turn your computer on. A detailed guide can be found here.

- By installing firewalls to protect your computer from spyware and viruses, users can improve their computer's performance since these installations can add hidden processes. These unwanted programs will then alter(reduce) the priority of wanted programs, thus slowing down the performance of your computer.

-A common way to improve computer performance by not adding new hardware is actually altering your current hardware. Long used in the gaming world has been the idea of 'overclocking' your system. User be warned though, if not done right overclocking can seriously damage or ruin your hardware. More information can be found here.

-An easy way for administrators to speed up computer performance is to download available software such asPC Booster 1.0 that automatically configures the system to speed up start-up and shut-down times, application functionality, and show advanced views of the operating system tasks/functionality. Other software such as Cacheman 5.0 function as a tool to monitor and tweak system performance based upon optimizing memory usage in the cache, reaction time of the hard disk, and provide other speed focused improvements.

- There are many pieces of software available to speed up a machine. Of course, one would always be Power Defragmenter (Download Here), CCleaner (Cleans the registry, removes temp files, and really does a solid job), turning off unneccessary system services obvioulsy helps, and as always, KEEP UPDATED DRIVERS!

Software Applications Categories that can take advantage of Multi-Core Processors.

"Multi-core processors will solve many of the challenges currently facing software designers by delivering significant performance increases at a time when they need it most...." The article goes on to say that the multi-core processors will ease the burden on program compiling. As well as make developers working with Artificial Intelligence able to adapter to more intense versions of AI. Also processor intense software such as retinal and voice recognition may be attainable soon to the general public. The article didn't mention it but I am sure another application category that will become a benefactor is the gaming category.
http://multicore.amd.com/Resources/33211A_Multi-Core_WP_en.pdf -John_Yeglinski