Posted by Robert Denahm on February 13, 1999 at 09:59:54:
You left out one other very major part of the equation (actually several parts). How big is your hard drive and what is its' access time? I won't factor in the network drive and file access speed, because I assume that you were using the same net drive for both tests. The same goes for your Iomega Zip Drive.
Also, how efficient is your pc? (when was the last time you cleaned up its' act? A hefty dose of scandisk, defrag, and cleanup (as in uninstaller) will do wonders. Check your resource meters next time BEFORE you make such a test. If your machine is constipated, it WILL run slugish also.
Now the truth is that all your perameters are factors in the equation. Double the memory is worth about 9 to 12%, a 350 over a 300mHz is another 7% I know these numbers don't seem too great, but in NASCAR it can win a race! But the kicker, in spite of what everyone thinks, is the win-98 factor. The FAT-32 partitioning of your hard drive will definately speed things up.
It may seem that I'm harping on a lame subject (the HDD) but think about how much Hard Disk Drive activity was going on while you were doing all this application accessing and data filtering, file converting, unzipping, and storing!
You are right not all PCs ARE alike. As a municipal division (Sheriff's Office) data systems manager (and Deputy Sheriff) I spen too muc of my time beating my head agains a brick wall trying to convince the Administration of this fact. They are not aware of all the factors that can slow you down. Not the least of which is the Network. And when seconds count trying to get fire and rescue (and the cops) the scene of an incident, a slow down on the proportion that you describe for accessing maps, hazardous material storage, etc will be a killer!