In my last post, I talked about the impact of not having enough memory or having the wrong kind of memory installed in your computer. Proper computer function often depends upon complex timing relationships among the installed and peripheral components. Having memory that is “too fast” or “too slow” for the rest of the system can seriously slow computer performance.

The Right Tool For The Job

Memory is only one component that can affect the performance of the computer. Ultimately, users need to understand that a computer is a system. If you purchase “off-the-shelf” systems, you’re purchasing a system that has been designed with a specific purpose in mind. Some computer systems are designed for office work; others are designed for graphics-intensive tasks. Still others are designed for gaming. Portable computers, netbooks and laptops are designed with office functions in mind, but they may only really excel at certain “low-power” tasks like checking email, editing simple documents or surfing the Web.

The point I’m making is that computer systems are designed for certain tasks. If you purchase a computer system because it has a low price, but you really want the computer to play graphics-intensive games on, you’re likely to be disappointed because the low-cost office computer isn’t really up to the task of processing a lot of graphic information that changes frequently.

If you have a specific purpose in mind for your computer, you should do some research on what exactly you’ll need your computer do be able to do. If you really want to edit videos on your computer, you’ll need a different computer setup than you would if you wanted to edit documents.

The price of not doing this kind of research is inevitably disappointment. If you purchase a new computer and it doesn’t seem to do what you want it to do, it may be because the computer was designed with different capabilities in mind. You may need to modify your hardware to accommodate the kind of software you want (or need) to run.

If you’re going to research computers before you buy, start with a list of what you really want the computer to do. If the computer needs to support wireless network connectivity, expanded hard drive space, intensive graphics processing, dual monitors, simple applications… whatever the case may be… put it on the lists of “must haves.” Generally, if you plan to run large applications, do design work, play graphics intensive games, etc. you’ll need something with more memory and faster processors than you would if you’re simply checking email, editing simple documents and surfing the Web.

Starting out with the right kind of hardware can make for a much more pleasant (and faster!) computer experience.

Photo Credit: jon_a_ross, via Flickr

Tags: faster computer, slow computer performance, speed up computer