after careful consideration...
...i've come to the conclusion that my "new" computer sucks.
specs:
dell dimension 8100
p4 1.4ghz
128 rdram
37.2gb ultra ata drive
48x cd-rom
32mb ddr geforce2 gts
usr 56k voice
microsoft intellimouse explorer usb
microsoft sidewinder force feedback pro
3com 3c920 nic
sb live mp3+
hp deskjet 895cse (parallel)
umax astra 3400 usb scanner
from top of list to bottom
- pentium 4 1.4ghz
i get 70+ frames outside, max, in tribes 2. even after disk defragmenting, it's still a slug for a new computer. next computer i buy (or build), it's amd, no questions asked. heck, i checked benchmarks for photoshop and amd beat intel easily (even after adobe released "p4 optimized" plug-ins). - 128mb rdram
windows me does it's part of sucking ram for itself - it hogs half of the memory right on startup. boot length hardly changed from the old pentium 166, which is about a minute. - samsung 48x cd-rom
this doesn't read at 48x. mp3 encoding takes about a minute and a half for a single 3:00 track. installing a game, such as tribes 2 and max payne, took a good seven minutes. - usr 56K voice modem
this modem is five years old, according to usr. i read an owner's manual at usr's support site, and it was copyrighted 1996. couldn't even find drivers; it's plug-n-play compatable with windows 95. - sound blaster live! mp3+
i like the hibernate feature windows has. it's like shutting windows down, but boots faster (since the session is saved into memory). once i installed the drivers for my sb card, i lost the hibernation feature - the drivers aren't wdm-certified. not to mention eax is practically useless. - hp deskjet 895cse
it was working fine, but now there isn't any two-way communication, so the computer doesn't know if there's a problem (such as out of paper). it can only spool to the printer. i've tried to fix this, but no can do. - umax astra 3400 usb scanner
just don't buy umax. really, really pathetic scanner software. really seems like they were made in a garage or something - they look and perform terrible!
first, i'd like to know if there are any possible solutions to any or all of the problems above.
if no solutions are found or results unsatisfactory, i may consider donating this computer to whomever i decide may have it. i'd say this is a last resort, but it could happen.