Alright, so I'm back, and those shure SE425's are amazing.
So, I'm a Mac guy now, so my windows terminology may not be all that up to date anymore. Anyway, this is going to come up from straight memory, so excuse me if I may have skipped a few beats/steps.
Before I go into this, you're running an agh on 2, meaning ur computer can only run two threa at the same time, and if I'm not mistaken, each thread can only run 512K cache, whereas the i3 series can run 1-3MB (with 2 threads I believe), another words, every time the CPU needs to process an idea, it processes things at a much slower pace - 512k x2 to be exact. So, although you can optimize the computer, it has a huge limitation compared to the i3.
So, here we go!
First, before you do anything, look at your programs in the control panel. In the add/remove programs, remove any useless software. I like to categorize software into 3 categories (my coined terms), namely,
Essential software:
Eg: office, iTunes, vlc player, antivirus
OS/hardware software:
Eg: toshiba hot keys (or w/e they call it now), drivers/drivers information
Useless software:
Eg: google toolbars, etc.
Now, before removing programs, please keep in mind that in the OS section of software, there's a lot of software packaged by the manufacturer to increase ur comp experience, and unfortunately, a lot of that software can be really useless and can actually run ur computer to the ground as it uses system memory and CPU when u don't absolutely need it. Plus, windows 7 has made so many nice updates since it's launch that u really don't need the manufacturers stuff (they started packaging that stuff with xp, as xp was a bare bones OS). Unfortunately, if u remove the wrong program, it can render some hardware/soft touch buttons unusable. Best example is those hp quick play buttons. Remove the program, the soft touch keys no longer work, sometimes even rendering the volume controls unusable (har har har, that was a funny joke back in the day HP). But, luckily for you, u can redownload the program off the manufacturers website if u accidentally screwed that up.
Now, remove all those extra toolbars and such u downloaded over time. Also, in the start menu, get rid of all those useless apps. To clarify, in ur start menu, in the startup folder, get rid of any unnecessary shortcuts in there.
*****this is the risky/hard part
In ur start menu, select the run program
Then, type
Msconfig
Press enter
Go to the startup tab,
You should now see a list of all the programs and their respective directories that boot up when u start the computer. Uncheck (or remove the programs) u don't want. Press apply, restart. Pray to god u didn't screw up.
....
That is the best way to optimize ur comp, don't start any programs when the comp boots up.Eg: If u need to run aim/Skype, then run it, but don't auto boot it.
Second, norton antivirus, mcaffee, klips.... All those antivirus run a lot of system memory. I personally prefer avg free, which works well, just don't be an idiot and download something unnecessary. U can also remove the UAC (user access control) on windows, which also speeds it up, but highly not recommended for noob computer users.
Good luck, let me know how it goes