Sorry for lack of details. The database we're using is mssql. im using perl script that runs through command prompt. actually we are updating 2 databases(no inserts and it would be 400 to 500 thousand rows per database). at each database we are updating 2 tables. im also using 3 queries(2 updates and 1 select for querying a third table). the pc's running on windows 2003 server,2.0ghz and 4gb of ram. the main process of the script is that it loads a csv file(products) and updates the existing data on the database(price,stocks, etc..)