The main factor that determines the speed of a PC is the amount of memory it has and how the PC manages it. For example, a PC with 16MB of RAM can be, in theory, faster than a PC with 24MB. The reason for this could be that the computer with 8MB is high on system memory; and hardly any programs run in the background or at startup. Another reason could be that its hard disk is defragged and, let's say, the swap file is properly configured according to the amount of memory and hard disk space available. Of course, having said that, it is not true that if the same amount of programs are running on both machines with the specifications above, the 8MB would be faster. The advantage of 16MB over the 8MB is that it can handle more load and programs running at the same time. The point I'm trying to make is that the managing of the memory is more important than the amount available. For example, a company with $20,000 could make more profits than a company with $200,000 that doesn't manage their money well.

As for you, if you are looking for ways to speed up your system, always make sure to frequently defrag your drive and run Scandisk. Then, try to get rid of programs running in the background or at startup if they are not that important because they love eating up system resources. As I am writing this, I have 56% free system memory (the following programs are open in the systray: system agent, virus shield, virus console, volume, COMPAQ Back Web agent, and COMPAQ service connection. In addition to that, three IE windows and Word. All this and I have 64MB)So you can see the picture I'm trying to draw for you here. You can also manage your virtual memory if you know what you're doing for a large speed boost.