Speed Up Computer

No one likes working on a slow computer , and it only seems to take a computer a couple of years to get to the point of being dog-slow. So how can you ensure over time, that your computer remains as fast as possible?

Keep In Mind That Things Change

You purchase your computer at a single point in time, but things in your computer environment change. Your applications are upgraded. Your computer skills improve. Your needs change. Your operating system may get patched, but unless you upgrade it, it’s the same old OS.

If you do upgrade your OS, you could find that your perfectly good computer isn’t so good anymore. Minimum hardware requirements may change, and that may stretch your computer to its limits. Whenever you upgrade your OS, verify that your computer can still run the OS and the programs you normally use.

Microsoft does its users a little bit of a disservice by publishing the “minimum recommended hardware” configuration needed to run the OS. If your computer just meets the minimum, you’re not going to have enough processing and memory capacity to run the OS and your programs.

Instead of setting your sights on the “minimum” configuration you need, instead aim to keep your computer at the recommended configuration. The recommended configuration may include a larger hard disk, more memory or a faster processor. Keep in mind that all you get with the “minimum” requirements is what you need to boot the computer.

If you upgrade the hardware in your computer, you’ll need to pay special attention to the minimum requirements for the hardware upgrades you want to add. A new video card may give you all the gaming power you need, but it might also tap out the unused capacity in your power supply, leaving your computer gasping for breath each time you boot it up.

As you add applications, you may find that you also need to add more memory or update other components to get the most out of your new applications. Don’t simply assume that because you have the recommended OS for a particular application that your computer also has all of the hardware capacity it needs to make the application perform well.

Performance tuning on a computer is a constant task. Things really do change over time and those changes can have an impact on the way your computer performs. Managing the changes that occur on your PC will help you preserve and improve the computer’s performance over time.

Photo Credit: cell105, via Flickr