[ClockworkO]

A few tech-related questions;

-My laptop runs slowly, lags, and overheats for online games, even simple ones. One thing I notice is the rather high CPU usage and CPU memory usage. Right after start-up, with no browser window open, and almost all start-up programs shut off, there is still about 1.0 GB of memory used, which is 30% of the total. That number rises to about 60% and 1.8 GB with some windows in Chrome open. Is this unusual?

-Any simple changes I can make to increase performance and memory usage?

-For a fairly weak and old processor (Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU, T4200 @2.00 GHz), is my 64-bit OS a bad idea? If so, how does one switch it to 32-bit?

-Would upgrading from Vista Home Basic to Windows 7 make sense? And if so, is there a deal better than Amazon's $87 price tag?

Thanks a bunch in advance.

[TerryNet]

-Would upgrading from Vista Home Basic to Windows 7 make sense?

Depends on whether the cost is worth it to you. After I used Windows 7 Release Candidate dual booted with Vista Home Premium for a month I was convinced that Windows 7 Home Premium was worth the $49 to pre-order the Windows 7 update.

Windows 7 manages memory better than Vista does, but you implied that you have ~3 GB RAM, which should be no problem with Vista for general use.

is there a deal better than Amazon's $87 price tag?

Not likely. And if there is the difference is probably not much.