Hello,

I have noticed that for several days now, when the \"Estimation\" work units run, the project no longer runs at a low priority. In the task manager, all associated processes claim the priority is low. However, when these work units run, my PC slows down tremendously. My PC\'s performance will fluctuate between \"a bit slow\" and \"very slow\". When it becomes \"very slow\", which lasts for several minutes and occurs every 5-10 minutes, even something as simple as switching between tabs can take 20-30 seconds before the window is re-drawn. If I switch between windows, 30-45 second delays are common. I can tell when BOINC switches to these work units, because simple word processing applications like Open Office Writer will become difficult to use. When one of these \"bursts of slowness\" passes, my PC will function, but is still noticeably degraded. During these times, I can type faster than the computer will echo to the screen.

When the Estimation work units are done, everything returns to normal. If I am working on something important, I will often suspend Malaria@Home.

I am running Windows XP, SP2, fully patched. My processor is an AMD Athlon 3200XP+. My PC has 1Gb of ECC RAM. I have recently updated from BOINC 5.10.20 to 5.10.28, and had the same problem on both clients. I just read about Java, and I have the latest Java client installed (last checked for update Oct 20). I have Norton Antivirus 2007, Webroot SpySweeper, and A-squared Anti-Trojan. The anti-malware programs have all been in use longer than I have used BOINC.

Is it possible these tasks are running at a normal run level? Or am I the only one to have this issue?

Thank you,
Mike