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In this section, we will focus on decreasing the graphics complexity to aid in over-all system performance

4. 16bit vs. 32bit Graphics Setting

Now this method will not be so popular with graphic designers as it will take away from the graphical quality that such professionals can notice instantly. If you happen to be one and this doesn’t bother you, then by all means go for it! Also, this setting might not have an effect on some PC’s in the case where the system is outfitted with a video card that’s independent of the CPU – In english: An extra video card that’s installed in the system and does it’s own processing.

Please experiment with this – there are no side effects if you follow this tutorial. I don’t do much video editing nor Photoshop work so this method works good for me and many others.

You need to change / lower the video quality of the video card to take some strain off the PC. This can be done by doing the following: (Windows Vista users please skip this section and scroll below)

Windows XP

1. Right click on an empty area on your desktop and choose Properties

2. In the Display Properties window click on the Settings Tab

3. Now look at the Color Quality box and you should see that your system is set to Highest (32 bit) – Click the drop down menu and you should be presented with a few options. The one we’re looking for is the Medium (16 bit) setting.

4. After selecting that option, click on Apply. Your screen might go dark for a few seconds and should come back asking you whether you’d like to Accept the new settings or Cancel to go back to the old. If you’re OK with the way the screen looks, then Click Ok, Apply and Ok Again. If not, you can click on Cancel and revert back to the old settings without any changes being made to your system.

5. Notice that your system should be a little snappier since it doesn’t have to convert every image on the screen into a condensed 32bit image. Figure 1 below shows you a screenshot of the Display Properties Window.

(Images Coming Soon)

If your screen is a little different than the screenshot above, don’t panic, all you’re concerned with is the Color Quality setting.

Windows Vista

1. Right click on an empty area on your desktop and choose Personalize

2. In the Personalization window click on the Display Settings Link

3. Now look at the Colors box and you should see that your system is set to Highest (32 bit) – Click the drop down menu and you should be presented with a few options. The one we’re looking for is the Medium (16 bit) setting.

4. After selecting that option, click on Apply. Your screen might go dark for a few seconds and should come back asking you whether you’d like to Accept the new settings or Cancel to go back to the old. If you’re OK with the way the screen looks, then Click Ok, Apply and Ok Again. If not, you can click on Cancel and revert back to the old settings without any changes being made to your system.

5. Notice that your system should be a little snappier since it doesn’t have to convert every image on the screen into a condensed 32 bit image.

Tags: 16bit video, 32bit video, cpu, display properties, graphics, speed up pc, speed up video, video card
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We’ve come across this question nothing less than a few hundred times and we’ve always gave a tip or two to aid in speeding up your sluggish PC. I think it’s time someone gave you the straight answer.

1. Performance at a graphical sacrfice

If your main concern is speeding up your PC / Laptop, then I don’t think you would mind getting rid of the extra features on your GUI (The Graphical User Interface displaying all your icons, menus, windows etc.. ) Getting rid of these little graphical add-ons, believe it or not, can add anywhere between a 10 – 20% performance boost to your system’s speed. Figure one shows you the Windows XP Shell in full – resource consuming – layout.

Figure 1

(Images Coming Soon)

Notice the Green start menu and the slight variations in color. We are looking to have the PC not spend time drawing and hence adding to the time it takes the PC to actually do a desired task. Keep in mind, we are trying to free up the PC to do other important processing such as browse the web, open a word or excel document or maybe display a power point presentation.

The next screen shot – Figure 2 – shows you the interface some-what stripped down.

Figure 2

(Images Coming Soon)

Now, the Start menu has turned grey along with the task bar at the bottom – Notice it’s no longer blue or has the shades that Figure 1 had.

Turning off the graphical enhancements is pretty straight simple. For Windows Vista users, Skip this section:

Windows XP

- Locate the My Computer Icon on your desktop then right click and choose Properties

- Click on the Advanced Tab then under Performance select Settings

- In the Performance Options window you will be presentend with 4 options – Click the Ajust for best performance radio button

- Click on Apply and wait a few seconds while your PC re-adjusts the graphical interface to the new setting

- Click OK, then OK again and you’re back to your new tweaked desktop.

Windows Vista

- Locate the Computer Icon on your desktop then right click and choose Properties

- To the left of the screen is the Tasks menu – click on Advanced System Settings link

- The System Properties window should be displayed on your screen now – Under Performance select Settings

- In the Performance Options window you will be presented with 4 options – Click the Adjust for best performance radio button

- Click on Apply and wait a few seconds while your PC re-adjusts the graphical interface to the new setting

- Click Ok, then OK again and you’re back to your new tweaked desktop

I can assure you this will definitely give you a noticable performance boost and if you combine all of this with the other tweaks on the next pages, you’ll definitely have a faster running PC compared to when you started.

Tags: advanced tab, baloon, graphics, gui, performance, performance settings, service pack 1, service pack 2, service pack 3, speed up pc, speed up video, start menu, task manager, windows vista, windows xp
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