CPU Usage Problem

I have a Compaq Presario desk top computer, and my wife has basically the same computer as mine (also a Compaq Presario), but in lap top form. Hers is about a year newer than mine. My computer came with 1GB or RAM, and I installed another 1.5GB about a year ago (by replacing one of the two 512mb memory cards with a 2gb card), and now I have a total of 2.5GB of RAM. My computer model, according to Compaq, is expandable up to 4GB.

In the last month or so, I've got into using DVD ripping programs to abstract video from discs and into my computer. Using Roxio at first, a 25 minute television show was taking about three hours to complete, with a video file of only 578MB being produced. On this particular program, there is no settings to produce a smaller or larger file. I have to say that the DVD rips were coming out just as good as the DVD version when I played back the "wmv" file in my computer, so I was very pleased with that, at least.

The problem I'm having is this... when I run this Roxio program, it takes up 100% of my CPU usage, and boggs down my computer's speed to slower than death to the point that it makes it very hard to do any other activities at the time. I then did a little experiment using my wife's computer. Since I couldn't install the Roxio program in her computer (it just came with my computer), I installed a trial version of Xilisoft DVD Ripper Ultimate 5 into hers, then tried ripping the same 25 minute television episodes from the same DVD. It only took about 15 minutes to produce a file just a tad bit smaller than with my Roxio program. While this program was ripping the DVD, I noticed that the CPU usage on her computer was working between 30%-40% and I was also able to run other additional applications with hardly any indication of it being slowed down. I then installed the SAME exact Xilisoft program into my computer, and attempted to rip the same exact 25 minute tv program, however instead of only a 15 minute ETA like on my wife's pc, the program was giving me an ETA of almost 3 hours!... AND with 100% CPU usage. This is WITHOUT running any additional applications other than what's just running in the background (and by the way, I am strict on which programs are running at Start-up by controlling that in the msconfig utility tool... I only run what's absolutely necessary at Start-up).

I'm concerned about this because I have 1/2GB of RAM more in my PC than in my wife's, but hers is obviously running more efficiently than mine. What could be causing this??? I'm starting to think that maybe the 2GB memory card I installed a little over a year ago is defective or something. And by the way, yes my computer is registering the additional RAM in it's own specs (here is a screen shot of my System Specs):



Can anyone shed some light on why my system is running so much slower/less efficiently than my wife's computer's even though I have more RAM installed in mine? I'm also thinking that it could be a processor related issue, but for the same job to take over two hours more on my computer than on hers just doesn't make any sense at all, and seems to be deeper than that. Thanks for your help.

Edit: Additional information to clear up any questions about this:

When I ran the Xilisoft program on my computer, and WHILE it was in the process of ripping (with no additional applications opened up), I brought up the Performance tab in the Task Manager utility, and it was showing that my RAM usage was at 1.25GB, which is exactly HALF of my RAM, and still left me with an additional 1.25GB remaining to be used. So in other words, it's not like this program is using all of my RAM, or even close to it because even when my system is at idle, with no additional applications even opened, the Performance tab in the Task Manager shows a level of 0.96GB or RAM being used. If you do the math, that means that the Xilisoft program is using 0.29GB of RAM or 290mb. However, like I explained above, the CPU usage is running at 100% constantly while this application is running and doing its thing.

Also, I just installed a small program which tests your processor's speed, and after I tested it, the results showed 2411mhz or 2.411ghz, so it looks like my processor is running like it should.

First off... putting a 2GB card in with a 512 card might not have been the best option. With putting the 2 GB card in, you've basically taken the RAM out of dual channel mode. Dual channel RAM basically deals with two times as many requests as single channel ram. The easiest thing to do would be to plug in another identical 2 GB module, but that's going to be hard, as dual channel kits are sold together.

Then.... are you sure the processor in your desktop is the same as the one in your wife's laptop? the Ghz story isn't the end of it, you know. Still, it shouldn't really mean a difference between 15 minutes and 3 hours.

As for it taking 100% of your processing power, that's always possible. It's a very powerhungry process, ripping a DVD, and it will take anything it can get.

Strangely enough, I think it might actually have something to do with the codecs installed on both systems. I noticed on a different system I used that it was faster than my newer system with ripping DVDs, and I couldn't account for it. The only thing I could find, in the end, were the installed codecs. So, try to get the latest codecs for everything, including the latest WMV encoder things from microsoft. It might very well have to do with that.

Also, check your wife's computer. As you haven't given us any system specs of either computer, apart from your Ghz (which tells us nothing, really), it's hard to tell if the systems are even really comparable. It might just be that your wife's computer is a lot better than yours (check the WEI score of both computers for instance...though I see that yours is unrated), or it might be that you have a single core processor while she has a dual core... or it might be that she has the correct motherboard/chipset drivers installed, and you don't.... etc. It could be many things.

Day24 said:

First off... putting a 2GB card in with a 512 card might not have been the best option. With putting the 2 GB card in, you've basically taken the RAM out of dual channel mode. Dual channel RAM basically deals with two times as many requests as single channel ram. The easiest thing to do would be to plug in another identical 2 GB module, but that's going to be hard, as dual channel kits are sold together.

Then.... are you sure the processor in your desktop is the same as the one in your wife's laptop? the Ghz story isn't the end of it, you know. Still, it shouldn't really mean a difference between 15 minutes and 3 hours.

As for it taking 100% of your processing power, that's always possible. It's a very powerhungry process, ripping a DVD, and it will take anything it can get.

Strangely enough, I think it might actually have something to do with the codecs installed on both systems. I noticed on a different system I used that it was faster than my newer system with ripping DVDs, and I couldn't account for it. The only thing I could find, in the end, were the installed codecs. So, try to get the latest codecs for everything, including the latest WMV encoder things from microsoft. It might very well have to do with that.

Also, check your wife's computer. As you haven't given us any system specs of either computer, apart from your Ghz (which tells us nothing, really), it's hard to tell if the systems are even really comparable. It might just be that your wife's computer is a lot better than yours (check the WEI score of both computers for instance...though I see that yours is unrated), or it might be that you have a single core processor while she has a dual core... or it might be that she has the correct motherboard/chipset drivers installed, and you don't.... etc. It could be many things.

Click to expand...

Thanks for all your incredible insight and help. I never knew that about the RAM, but I'm sure I can contact the seller who I bought the 2GB card from and he can sell me an identical module. If not, I guess I'll have to play it safe and go out and buy a dual channel kit like you said, and take a loss. Maybe something isn't working right because of what you mentioned here, and I want to be 100% sure, so this is definitely on my To-Do List.

Thanks for the codecs information. I went directly to Microsoft's website and downloaded all applicable updates for codecs for Vista, but after doing so, I seen no positive change in the time frame and CPU usage when I ran a test on ripping the same DVD with the Xilisoft program. However, I'm sure it doesn't hurt to have the updated codecs.

Ok, I ran the WIE for both computers and here is mine:



Hers is liks this:

Processor: 4.8

RAM: 5.9

Graphics: 3.4

Gaming: 3.0

Hard Disk: 5.2

Overall Score: 3.0

Her processor is this: AMD Turion 64 X 2, Mobile Technology, TL-60, 2.0Ghz

Does the "64 X 2" mean that it's a dual core?

After doing this comparison, I'm seeing that her computer is just outright better than mine, but do you STILL think that these differences would mean the difference between 15 minutes and almost THREE HOURS to complete the same job using the same exact application? Thanks again for all your help.

Ok, first, on the RAM....buying the same RAm again won't make it sual channel.... a dual channel kit is two modules of ram which are as identical as they can possibly be. This means that the two modules you buy were produced in the same batch... they have the same behavioral properties, etc. Still, I don't know whether this is the cause of your slowdown.

The fact that your wife's computer is a dual core, combined with the fact that her ram might be dual channel, and her graohics is also better.... it will have a huge impact. Still, three hours to 15 minutes is a big impact..... then again.... when I went from a 2 Ghz dual core to a 3 Ghz dual core, I cut my time from over 2 hours to less than half an hour as well.... So it is all possible.

It might, honestly, also have something to do with things you've installed which are interfering...or there's just various things going on which influence eachother.... it's hard to determine, really....

Sorry I can't be more help here...

Day24 said:

Ok, first, on the RAM....buying the same RAm again won't make it sual channel.... a dual channel kit is two modules of ram which are as identical as they can possibly be. This means that the two modules you buy were produced in the same batch... they have the same behavioral properties, etc. Still, I don't know whether this is the cause of your slowdown.

The fact that your wife's computer is a dual core, combined with the fact that her ram might be dual channel, and her graohics is also better.... it will have a huge impact. Still, three hours to 15 minutes is a big impact..... then again.... when I went from a 2 Ghz dual core to a 3 Ghz dual core, I cut my time from over 2 hours to less than half an hour as well.... So it is all possible.

It might, honestly, also have something to do with things you've installed which are interfering...or there's just various things going on which influence eachother.... it's hard to determine, really....

Sorry I can't be more help here...

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Ok Day24, thanks... and yes, you've been a big help... I was actually thinking of changing my processor to a dual core anyway, but when I do that, I'll install the dual channel RAM, without the use of the current 2GB module that I already put in there... like I said in my last response, I'll just have to take the loss... I had no idea about the "dual channel" aspect of it all... I'm sure that if I make these changes, I'll see a pretty noticeable difference... maybe it still won't be as efficient as my wife's computer, but I'm sure that it will be pretty noticeable... I guess I'll never know unless I make the improvements... thanks again!

Well, if you're going to do that anyway, then you might as well also follow this guide to make your vista faster: setting-up-vista-speed-guide

Day24 said:

Well, if you're going to do that anyway, then you might as well also follow this guide to make your vista faster: setting-up-vista-speed-guide

Click to expand...

Ok, I appreciate that. I will definitely look it over.