You just got your computer; it's fast and flawless. A Few months later, for some reason it starts to slow down, or hangs from time to time. I bet all of you have been through this scenario before.
There are two main reasons why your computer is slowing down, it's either full of junk software or outdated. The first problem can be solved by using free/paid cleaning software like CCleaner, or by uninstalling unwanted software, while the second problem can be solved by upgrading the hardware.
My computer is new but running slow
This is the most well-known computer problem. Unfortunately, most computers are shipped with pre-installed junk software (Demo software) such as Antiviruses, Games, backup and CD/DVD burning software. If you have ever bought a Mac computer, you will realize that it comes only with the operating system and iLife (no pre-installed junk software).
The best thing to do once the computer is unboxed and started up, is to uninstall all the junk or demo software that comes with it. If you can buy a NAKED PC (sold without operating system pre-installed), and buy Microsoft Windows separately, this way you can save your time removing all the junk software everything time you factory reset the computer. Make sure to install a good antivirus software (preferably paid version) to protect your computer from spyware and viruses.
Computers running with necessary software only, tend to run faster than those computers that run a huge amount of junk and unused software, yet you need to do some maintenance from time to time. Such as, cleaning the internet cache, internet history, cookies, temporary files and memory dumps.
CCLEANER:
A tool for cleaning Windows PC or Mac computers. It comes in two versions, free and pro (Mac users can also get CleanMyMac, paid version only). Here are some easy steps on how to clean and optimize your computer using CCLEANER.
1- Double click on CCLEANER icon to open the software (the icon is usually located on your desktop, if you can't find it there, click on start and search for type ccleaner in the search field).
2- In the main screen you will see two tabs, Windows and Applications. In Windows tab, you can clean internet explorer, Windows explore, and the system. Check the boxes of the items you want to clean then click Analyze > Run Cleaner.
Click on the Applications tab to clean other applications data such as, Firefox, Google chrome, multimedia, and utilities. After you check the boxes hit Analyze > Run Cleaner.
3- Click on Registry menu to run registry cleaner, check the boxes of the items you want to clean, then hit scan for issues > fix selected issues.
4- Go to Tools menu, you will find five tabs Uninstall, Startup, File finder, System restore, and Drive wiper. Uninstall tab is where you can uninstall software (same as Add/Remove software in control panel). The startup tab is the most important one, because from there you can manage which software to start when computer boots up. Choose only the software you really need, because the more software you have in startup menu the more time the computer requires to startup.
Drive wiper is more than just wiping the drive; from there you can wipe the free space for security purposes. CCleaner provides four security modes to wipe free space, these modes are:
- Simple overwrite (1 pass)
- Advanced overwrite (3 passes)
- Complex overwrite (7 passes)
- Very complex overwrite (35 passes)
The more passes you have the more time it takes to wipe the free space and the more security you get.
My computer is running slow because it's outdated
There are many options to revive an old computer depending on the tasks they are expected to do. For heavy software that consumes CPU such as MATLAB or AutoCAD, you probably need a new CPU (in other words a new computer). In my opinion, don't upgrade your computer if it's running slow because it has a slow processor, simply replace it.
Add more RAM:
RAM is the most important part right after the CPU, because without it you can't open multiple programs at the same time. There are three types of RAM:
- DDR: Runs at a clock rate (100 - 200MHz)
- DDR2: Runs at a clock rate (200 - 533MHz)
- DDR3: The fastest consumer RAM currently in widespread use, it runs at a clock rate (400 - 1600MHZ). DDR3 comes in three speeds 1067MHz, 1333MHZ, and 1600MHZ.
If you can't upgrade the RAM speed along with the RAM size(i.e. 1067MHZ to 1333MHZ), you can at least upgrade the RAM size. So instead of having 2x2GB RAM you can get 2x4GB or 2x8GB. The more RAM you install on your computer, the more applications you can open at the same time without pressuring the memory.
Replace the Hard Disk Drive:
Replacing hard drive could help speeding up your computer, especially when it's almost full. It is always recommended to keep 10% of your drive capacity free. This means, if you have 500GB HDD, you need to keep 500GBx0.10 = 50GB free to maintaine computer performance.
Hard drives usually come in two speeds, 5400 RPM and 7200 RPM (Revolutions per minute), so when upgrading your hard drive you should consider the following:
- Capacity
- Performance: such as average latency, physical rotational speed in RPM, and date rate
Most computers come with 5400 RPM hard drives, which are great for storing files or backups, but not for running applications from them (as a system drive), unless you don't care for latency. You have two options to upgrade your drive in terms of performance (which is more important). The first option is to buy a 7200 RPM HDD, and the second option is to buy a Solid State Drive (SSD), which is the best choice.
Solid state drive (aka electronic disk), contains no actual "disk" or "motor" to drive the disk, yet it stores data using integrated circuit (think of it as a flash memory). SSD has a read speed of up to 550MB/s and write speed of up to 500MB/s, which reduces the startup time of applications as well as computer's boot time. Check out this chart on other world computing website to see the performance difference between 5400 RPM drive and 6G SSD drive.
Have you ever upgraded your computer before? Did you notice any changes? share your comments and thoughts in the comments section and spread the knowledge.
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