Some selected specs for eMachines Model: T3090
- Processor: AMD Sempron3000+(2.0GHz)
- Memory: 512MB
- Memory Speed: DDR333
- Form Factor: DIMM 184-pin
- Memory Spec: 512MB x 1
- Maximum Memory Supported: 2GB
- HDD Interface: PATA
You're looking at ~$50 to max out the memory (2GB max), and you're still going to have a very slow machine even when it works as designed. The main performance bottleneck here is the old PATA HDD. SATA offers a large improvement, as does DDR3 memory. Given that you're almost certainly using Virtual Memory, that thing is probably making you wait for it quite often, and for a few seconds or more each time.
You could add a USB 2.0 HDD but that money would probably be better spent on newer hardware. I like squeezing all the life out of a purchase too, and I think you've managed to get most of the useful life out of this machine. IMO
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Shall we try and hunt you up a new one?