6/19/2010 5:57:16 PM

I am using a 4-5 year old computer with a build from last July. I was told long time ago I would get a new computer, but has not happened. The subscription is due this month and is going to be renewed. My question is if, I should go ahead and update to latest build or stay with what I have.  The main problem I have is running motion backgrounds with songs. I get slow, jerky, and few times it has locked when changing slides. I know that the hardware I am using is way below what it should be, but thought maybe by upgrading I could maybe smooth things out overall, disregarding the motion stuff. I get frustrated every Sunday when I try different backgrounds and the response is to slow, especially since they tend not to follow the order all the time. I would like to use only still, but have been told they want motion.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Pat C.

6/19/2010 7:55:35 PM

I doubt that a newer version will speed anything up -- most likely it may require more power rather than less. That said, I still would re-subscribe just to keep up with the new things. I sympathize with you about not being able to get a better PC; it is beyond me that a church can't (or won't) spend $500 (I just bought a HP quad-core, 1T HD, 6GB RAM for that price) on a computer that is used every Sunday and makes such an impact on the worship service and will last for several years. We spent a lot more more for the projector than the PC.

PS I'm in a little-bitty church with average attendance of about 65, but, so far, I've been able to have reasonably good equipment and we always renew our subscription. Each year we shell out at least 10 times as much for musicians ans song leaders as for projection. Maybe you could find a decent used PC for a couple hundred.

6/20/2010 8:53:50 AM

Realistically, the best things you can do are video card and memory upgrades. If you have an older computer, that has Windows XP (32 bit), buy the best video card your system and budget will allow. Then subtract the amount of RAM the video card has from 3.75 GB, and then try get that much RAM for your computer. I would also recommend turning off Virtual Memory if your Windows XP (32 bit) computer has close to 4 GB of total RAM (including video RAM).

If your computer will support a more powerful CPU (processor), I would also suggest that. But at the cost of CPUs, it may be cheaper to buy a new computer (considering the video card and memory costs). If it is not cheaper, it would be more recommeded to buy a new computer than spend almost as much on a processor, video and memory. But I also know how budgets can force you to buy the second best option.