When you install SP2 two conditions result - First the drive is heavily
fragmented since thousands of system modules are replaced. Second
the Prefetch/Layout data is removed. After several days (reboots) of
use the system will run a "ProcessIdleTasks" and build the Layout.Ini
and run a defragment placing Boot/System files in a contiguous place
on the drive.

Speed isn't a pure hardware comparison. Other considerations are the
drivers in use, System loading (Startups & Watchdogs) and what if any
tunings are applied ( Services ). Sometimes just the use of a single app
(Norton comes to mind) can act like a "Ball-and-Chain" affect on a
computer's performance.

"David D" <netrate******.com> wrote in message
news:1178191016.675447.154330@l77g2000hsb.googlegr oups.com...
>I know I am I don't have the ultimate system in any case, I was just
> concerned because the older computer is running faster then the newer
> one. Now, if someone told me based on my system specs, this is true,
> then I would file it away as a poor buying decision. But when I
> purchased the computer, from my research this was a faster system
> overall.
> As for SP2, if it is true that it is not the culprit, that would be ok
> too because I wouldn't have to reformat/reinstall.
>
> The video cards are as follows
>> > I have two computers:
>> > 1) Dual Core Pentium 3.0Ghz - 1.75meg of DDR 333 RAM - SP1 XP (10
>> > months old) - 80 gig MAXTOR IDE (Asus P5P800 SE ) -------- Gforce
>> > Nvideo 6200 AGP
>>
>> > 2) X2 AMD 3800+ - 2 meg of DDR2 667 - SP2 XP (brand new) - 80 gig
>> > MAXTOR IDE (Asus M2NPV-VM) ----------- Gforce Nvideo 7100GS PCI-E
>
> SO does this sound like a memory problem? Does it sound like a
> hardware problem where I need to take something back to the store?
>
>
>
>
>
> On May 3, 3:20 am, GHalleck <ghall...@arrakian.mining.com> wrote:
>> David D wrote:
>> > I need some help deciding whether to reformat my drive. Here is the
>> > situation :
>>
>> > Ok, I will try to make this simple because I am trying to figure out
>> > if I have done something wrong and which of my systems is faster.
>>
>> > I have two computers:
>> > 1) Dual Core Pentium 3.0Ghz - 1.75meg of DDR 333 RAM - SP1 XP (10
>> > months old) - 80 gig MAXTOR IDE (Asus P5P800 SE )
>>
>> > 2) X2 AMD 3800+ - 2 meg of DDR2 667 - SP2 XP (brand new) - 80 gig
>> > MAXTOR IDE (Asus M2NPV-VM)
>>
>> > Now, I am trying to determine which is a faster system for Sony Vegas
>> > 6 (an NLE) - and faster in general so I can make it my HD computer.
>> > The trouble is, I am finding that computer "1" is faster (it only has
>> > SP1) and computer "2" is slower since I put Service Pack 2 on it. It
>> > could be just me, but when I start the programs from a cold boot,
>> > computer "1" takes less time to load up and start - I used a stopwatch
>> > and by the time the Vegas window is up, Computer "1" is a winner by
>> > over 20 seconds. Now, that might not be the best method to testing out
>> > the speed of a computer, but it is a start for me. I am wondering if
>> > the SP2 has clogged my "2" system down and whether I should leave it
>> > off.
>> > Does anyone know a benchmark test or a way of figuring out which which
>> > is faster? Again, my eyes don't lie when I say computer "2" does
>> > seem to run slower even though it has DDR2 RAM and more of it. More
>> > interestingly is that computer "2" ran very fast when I first
>> > formatted it and put Vegas on, but alas in the past 3 days, it has
>> > very much slowed down with other programs etc. Both computers has
>> > Anti-Vir on them and have the same amount of background programs
>> > running.
>>
>> > As an update, I just rendering out a small clip on both systems and
>> > computer "1" render times was 1.5 X(times) as fast. This is crazy.
>> > Computer "2" should be faster according to the specs, right?
>>
>> > I am at a point, where although I am going to hate myself, I think I
>> > might have to reformat the drive and spend another 8 hours putting
>> > software back on, but without SP2.
>>
>> > Any ideas?
>>
>> There are any number of tests that can be used to benchmark different
>> computers for comparison purpose. One example is SiSoftware Sandra; or
>> Dhrystone and Whetstone, etc. One can develop a specific one for one's
>> personal computers, merely by side-by-side comparisons of some meaningful
>> activity, such as querying and sorting 100,000 relation database records,
>> and so on.
>>
>> But explaining benchmark results, as already performed here, is another
>> matter. For example, SP2 might not even be a contributing factor for
>> several reasons. For instance, the chipset of the AMD system might be
>> the limiting factor. Or the setup of the memory timings for the DDR333
>> vs. DDR667 RAM. NO mention was made of the graphics card for either
>> system.
>>
>> If absolute speed is not an issue but comparable speed is, then one
>> might as well update the Pentium to SP2. But if absolute speed is
>> the wanted endpoint...well, that option wasn't even chosen, based
>> on either system.
>
>