A Faster PC: The Other Tips

The world of technology keeps on evolving at a lightning-fast pace, and what may be a modern marvel today may become history tomorrow. It is no wonder that newer and more capable computers are being released periodically, in all shapes and sizes. Computer owners are inclined to upgrade their devices regularly, just to keep at par with the benchmark of the computing world.

However, keeping your computer fast and up to par is not all about upgrading your software and swapping out hardware. Although these are integral components, there are actually plenty of other ways we can make sure that our machines perform their very best. And these are actually so simple that we often end up taking them for granted!

Keep your computer clean. Sounds so easy, right? However, many of us fail to perform this simple step. When left for a little more than a year, most computers accumulate enough dust that their speed and performance start to fail.

Dust can block important vents and filters in your computer, preventing the proper flow of air. Dust can also get into the disk drives, even blocking the ports and other interface. In some cases, simple dust can cause crashing computers simply because they block the circuitry! For the most part, they can drastically slow down performance when infiltrating the drives and causing undue heat to build up.

Remember when cleaning your computer, though, (especially the insides). Undue static from you and your tools can cause damage to the delicate circuits. To prevent this, make sure to touch the outside case of the unit first to discharge all the extra static.

Cool your computer down! This problem may be most apparent to laptop users, this is also evident for those who keep their computers too close to walls or in places without proper ventilation.

The computer processors take all the brunt of the PC's computational processes, and they generate a lot of heat. When this heat is not properly dispersed, the system automatically slows down in order to prevent overheating (which may lead to damaged internal parts). Naturally, this slowing down will be evident in lagging processes and frozen windows.

Making sure that your computer gets enough ventilation will be sure to solve this problem. Do not place the unit near any walls, and if you are using a laptop, it may help to use a cooling pad.

Cut on the frills. Of course, we all want our computers to have as much functionality as possible. But we also want them to be flashy. Oftentimes, however, this causes in some performance issues.

For example, boot times may be hampered by too much programs running since startup. Once the computer has booted, these "silent" tasks still take up processor resources in the background. You may disable some of these tasks from automatically running, saving you time and increasing your computer speed. After all, you may always call on these programs later when you need them.

This tip also rings true for those unnecessary visual effects and process animations.

Clean up your Desktop. For some of us, the Desktop is the default repository for all files that we happen to save. While this may be convenient, it is also notorious for slowing down computers, especially those which are inherently short on system resources.

Make sure that all your files are saved in appropriate folders in your My Documents or in other places.

It is also helpful if you change your desktop background from a high-pixel one to a simpler version of it. It is best if you make the background just the same size as your monitor's resolution, so that the operating system would no longer waste resources trying to re-scale it.

Of course, in the end, regular maintenance is still the best way to go if you wish to make your computer as snappy as possible. Priority updates to your operating system can do wonders not only in plugging security holes but also in making sure that your system is optimized.

Another thing that many users forget is to update their drivers for their hardware. This is very important both in ensuring your hardware works properly and quickly, as well as in preventing more permanent issues from occurring (think of those notorious BSODs, EXE, SYS, and DLL errors).

No matter how old your computer may be, it should still be able to run all the basic necessities as long as you keep it in tip top shape. On the contrary, even the computer with excellent specs could falter when left without being taken care of!