Have a Slow Computer?

brandon — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 00:57:25 +0000

There are typically several things that can slow a computer down. On older computers the most common culprits are a failing hard drive or not enough memory. On a newer computer, slow performance is often caused by a malware infection, or simply not enough memory. Find out what might be causing your computer to be slow, and what you can do about it.

Spyware/Viruses
- How to tell: Strange things happen, pop-ups open by themselves, unknown programs saying “viruses detected”, programs asking for credit card information.
- What you can do: Keep virus scan software up to date, be careful when clicking on pop-ups from the internet, watch for unusual behavior.
- When to call: As soon as you think you may have something wrong call immediately.
- Why it is important: The worst viruses can actually delete files, cripple your computer, or permanently damage your system. Additionally many types of viruses and malware can spread to other computers through your network or by emailing itself to your entire contact list.
- Cost to repair: $100 – $250
Not Enough Memory
- How to tell: Computer becomes slow after working on it for a while, when many programs or windows are open things become slow.
- What you can do: Have fewer open programs at one time.
- When to call: If you find yourself constantly going over your usable memory (RAM) call to have more added.
- Why it is important: While at first it is simply an annoyance if you continue to use more memory then you have you can permanently damage your hard drive. When all of your usable memory is used the computer uses your hard drive as a secondary source of memory (virtual memory). The constant reading and writing required of virtual memory causes your hard drive to wear out prematurely.
- Cost to repair: $200
Old Hard Drive
- How to tell: Computer is always slow from boot to shutdown and the hard drive light is always on.
- What you can do: Watch for this problem after 3 – 5 years after purchasing, make regular data backups.
- When to call: Call immediately to replace your hard drive.
- Why it is important: The deterioration of your hard drive can lead to a catastrophic disk failure which could mean that you lose everything on your drive. Once your computer no longer starts up properly there is less than a 25% chance that we will be able to recover your data.
- Cost to repair: $300 + $275 for data recovery (if necessary)

2010 Computer Buying Guide

brandon — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:07:25 +0000

Whether purchasing a computer online or in-store, there is always a question of what to look for. The best way to decide what you need is to understand what you want from your computer and how much you want to spend.

The “Minimal” category fits those who want a personal computer for Internet, email and basic word processing. The “Standard” category best fits most people and is good for work and personal use. The “High-end” category is for the computer enthusiast, high demand gamer, or business professional with specific computing needs.

	Minimal $600 – $900	Standard $900 – $1800	High-end $1800 +
Processor	Intel Pentium Dual Core	Intel Core2Duo Intel Core2Quad	Intel Core i7 Intel Xeon
Memory	3GB	4GB – 8GB	8GB +
Video Card	Onboard shared memory	356MB – 512MB Dedicated Memory	768MB – 2048MB Dedicated Memory
Optical Drive	CDRW/DVD Read Only	CDRW/DVDRW	CDRW/DVDRW/Blu-Ray
Hard Drive	320GB	500GB – 1TB	1TB + RAID Configuration
Monitor	Single 17in – 20in	Single or Dual 22in – 24in	Single 30in Multiple Monitors (up to 9)

Spanning Solutions - IT Consultants Honolulu, Hawaii » brandon

Have a Slow Computer?

Spyware/Viruses

Not Enough Memory

Old Hard Drive

2010 Computer Buying Guide