Do this before considering hardware solutions

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Global optimization is often the best remedy for poor Oracle performance and hardware upgrades can be avoided by silver bullet?fixes such as missing indexes, MV, and CBO parm changes:

• Oracle Global Parameters - Parameters such as db_file_multiblock_read_count, cursor_sharing, and others can have a profound impact on overall Oracle instance performance.
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• Oracle Optimizer Parameters - Parameters such as optimizer_mode, optimizer_index_cost_adj, and others can have a profound impact on Oracle performance.
   
• Missing Indexes - Guy Harrison noted in SELECT Journal:  "The new index is implemented, following which the IO rate is reduced to one tenth of that observed during your original engagement."
   
• CBO Statistics - Proper implementation of system statistics and histograms can fix many system-wide performance problems.
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• Adding Materialized Views - MV's can reduce database stress for low-update systems.
   
• SQL Tuning - If 20% of the SQL is responsible for 80% of the performance degradation, tuning the "low-hanging fruit" can relieve server stress.

Note: Excerpted from http://www.dba-oracle.com/t_faster_hardware_oracle_performance_problem.htm