A few reasons why you may want to upgrade your computer...
- It is running too slowly - programs take forever to start up
- It is not powerful enough to perform the tasks you require
- You want to perform a certain task, but the computer does not have the necessary hardware installed in it
Some things to think about before upgrading...
- How old is the computer?
- Does the computer have room inside to allow additional components to be fitted?
- Are the other components in the computer powerful enough to cope with an upgrade?
- Will the upgrade be cost effective?
Some common upgrades
Memory
The most common reason for sluggish performance is a lack of memory (commonly referred to as RAM, short for Random Access Memory) in the computer. If you are running Windows XP on your machine, the absolute minimum amount of RAM you should have installed is 512 megabytes. The recommended amount that should be installed on a Windows XP machine is 1 gigabyte, but basically the more you have the better your machine will perform, especially in intensive tasks such as video editing.
For older computers that may still be running Windows 95, 98 or ME, the memory requirements are not as high - anything between 64 and 256 megabytes should allow the operating system plenty of room to work.
A memory upgrade is a cheap and easy way to gain a good amount of extra performance from your machine.
Video Card
The main driving force behind the vast speed increases that have been seen in PC's over the last few years has been computer games.
Almost every week a new game is announced that features better, more lifelike graphics and effects than anything that has gone before. If you want to see these games at there best, then you need a powerful and modern video card.
A new video card can make a huge difference to your machine, but before upgrading there are a number of things that must be checked. For instance, what kind of video interface does your computers motherboard have on it, and is your power supply unit powerful enough to supply enough power to the card?
Hard Disk Drive
If you find you are running out of space on your hard disk, which is not uncommon with the size of software installations these days, why not have another one fitted?
The price of hard drives has never been so low, and the amount of data they can hold is constantly getting bigger. A new drive will not only give you more space to store files and programs, but it can also increase your systems performance.
If you install a second drive in your machine it can also be used for backup purposes - that way all your important files will be stored on 2 different drives. This can be a godsend if one of them breaks and you lose everything on it.
Alternatively, you can replace your existing drive with a new, larger one and have all your programs, data and the operating system transferred over to it.
The above is only a small sample of what a simple upgrade could do for you and your computer. There are many other items that can be changed, and often an older system can be vastly improved for a reasonable amount of money.
Please contact me for more details or some advice on what your machine could achieve.