Computer Slow or Dying?

A computer repair person is often called on to "speed up" a slow machine.  Typically the problem is software related where there is a virus, trojan, malware, or spyware which is slowing things down.  Other problems could include something called a "rootkit" which is a tiny program that runs before Windows gets up and running, and it has a certain amount of control of things that can allow any or all of the above problems come into the machine.

a dusty computer will lead to failure of components on the motherboard

Sometimes however, the problem could be hardware related.  RAM, for example, is susceptible to static electricity.  Actually, all the hardware in a computer is susceptible to static.  But besides static electricity, HEAT is also an enemy of computers.  Cleaning the dust from the motherboard, CPU and power supply often can extend the life of the unit.  Dust build-up can hold heat in and around the electronic components, causing them to overheat.  There are usually large capacitors around the CPU which will appear "popped" on the top where it would normally be flat.  This indicates the capacitor has overheated and means the motherboard will most likely need to be replaced eventually, and more likely to be sooner than later.

 So if a person’s machine is slow, take the side cover off the desktop machine and see if there's lots of dust in there.  If there is, blow it out with an air compressor.  If there is no available air compressor, one could perhaps be borrowed from a friend or neighbour.  One may also purchase a can of air from a computer store like BestBuy or FutureShop.  A good can of compressed air will probably cost about $10 - $12.  A trip to Costco could yield a six pack of compressed air for $20, it is too cheap and probably not the best stuff. 

Custom Building a Computer

If you are a small business and you need a computer to do a particular task, it might be a good idea to consult someone (such as myself) to see what sort of parts would make a good machine for your particular needs.

For example, if you wanted to edit video, you would need a much more powerful machine with higher end parts than you would to, say, create spread sheets or type a newsletter. Or if you were a serious hardcore gamer and had a really huge budget, you would want to build a better machine than what it would take to, say, surf the web and play your favourite movie on dvd.

But you know what? You don't need to be a computer whiz with years of experience to know what you want in a new computer for your specific needs. The hard part is deciding which way to play with numbers so you get the best bang for your hard-earned buck.

Here are a few pointers you may find helpful.

1. If you are into editing pictures with Photoshop, believe it or not, you do not need a high-end video card. What you need is lots of RAM power, rather than video power. So there's no need to spend a bunch of money for a video card unless you're doing something with video files or you're a gamer.

2. If you want to build a decent gaming machine, don't cheap out on the power supply; get a really decent one. If you buy a cheap one you're just looking for trouble. Remember that clean power is what your machine really likes. The power coming into your home is not "clean" power, meaning there are constant spikes and dips and noise on the powerlines. Having a battery backup power supply (or UPS) will clean the power for you so your power supply doesn't have to. Now, I say this about gaming machines, but really, my advice is to stay away from cheap, light power supplies altogether unless it's just an emergency temporary fix.

3. Don't worry about maxing out the ram on your motherboard. Just get what you can for now and fill in the rest or upgrade later. Just because your motherboard is capable of supporting 24gigs of RAM doesn't mean you have to make it full from the start.

4. Make sure the front side bus (or FSB) matches or exceeds the speed of your RAM. RAM will typically get faster and cheaper so you can fill up later. For now, however, it would be okay to get a motherboard with 1333MHz FSB and DDR3 RAM at 1333MHz. It would also be okay if your FSB was 2000MHz and your RAM was 1333 as this would still work well and you could always upgrade the ram later. It's not so easy to upgrade the motherboard.

5. Look for the "sweet spot" when it comes to getting the best bang for your buck with your CPU. For example, you could buy an Intel Core i5 2.8GHz for $173. But right next to it is the Intel Core i5 3.1GHz for $177. It's a "no-brainer." Spend the extra 4 bucks.

6. Harddrives. Have you noticed that some brand names of hdd's are using colours to designate various designs now? For example, Western Digital sells "blue" drives, "green" drives, and "black" drives. What's the difference? Speed. The Green drives are spinning at 5400 rpm while the Black drives are spinning at 7200 rpm. Black drives are almost twice the price of Green drives at the moment. If you can afford it, go with the Black drives. If you need a "value" machine, go Green.

As I mentioned, playing with the numbers is the harder part of building a new machine. In general, I usually spend the most money on motherboard, CPU, tower and power supply. The other stuff I don't mind "cheaping out" on like the DVD burner or card reader. Personally, I like spending a bit more on a nice case rather than just a ho-hum run-of-the-mill tower that everyone else has. But that's just me. Some people don't give a dang about how their case looks, just so long as everything fits.

Hope that helps.

5 Things to Consider when Buying a Computer

What to look for when buying a computer.

This is a rather huge topic so this blog post will hardly be "exhaustive" by any stretch. Rather, these are just a few simple things you may or may not already know about buying a new computer.

1. What will this computer be used for? If you want a travelling machine that you can take on holiday and type emails along the way, you don't need anything high end. Almost any cheap (or rather, "inexpensive") laptop will do. Creative writing, spreadsheets, databases, power point presentations are all pretty easy on any computer and none require a lot of horsepower. On the other hand, if you are planning to record and edit high def video, a cheap machine just will not do the job. If you're semi-serious about editing video then more than likely you'd want a desktop type PC that won't be moved around much after it's initial set up to get that job done, so a laptop will not likely meet your needs. Try to do at least a bit of homework by talking to some computer literate friends or co-workers before you go shopping and at lease figure out what you need this machine to do.

2. Does it need to be portable? Here's something to remember: a laptop is a compressed and flattened down version of a desktop computer. What is gained in space is lost to upgradeability. What is gained in portability is lost to less available internal components. Eight hundred dollars (at today's economy) can buy a pretty skookum PC these days, or a decent laptop. More than likely you'll get a better bang for your buck with the desktop than you would with the laptop. Also, desktops can usually easily be upgraded with a new video card, more ram, nicer monitor, faster harddrives, processors, etc., while you are pretty much stuck with what you get with a laptop.

3. Laptops are meant to be portable, not durable. They will not take much in the way of physical punishment. If you accidently drop a laptop or have one get yanked off the coffee table onto the floor by someone tripping over the power cable, you can almost be assured of some damage.

4. There are three main criteria I look for in a new PC.
- CPU speed. Amount of RAM. Harddrive space.
Firstly, I want to know the CPU speed in GHz (ie. is it a 3.2GHz, or 2.3GHz?). The higher the number the better and the number of cores is good to know too. There are single core processors, dual core processors, tri-core processors, quad-core processors, and even hexi-core processors. The more cores the better. The lower numbered ones will be cheaper, of course, but will be working the hardest to get the job done.

Secondly, I want to know how much RAM it has. Older 32-bit machines have a maximum of about 3 gigs of ram. Some can take 4 gigs but will only read 3.5 at the most. The newer 64-bit machines are usually 4 gigs and up. Sixty-four bit is the way to go if you're buying a new machine today. For those who have older software, SOME of it will not work on 64-bit machine, but that 'some' is very few. Most 32-bit programs will run on 64-bit machine just fine; there are of course exceptions. But we move on.

Lastly, I look for harddrive space. Usually, the more the better, but if you'll be using the computer to write a novel and keep notes and maybe some pictures, you won't need a whole bunch of harddrive space; even a few hundred gigs is probably far more than you'd ever normally use. On the other hand, if you're the person who likes to download stuff and collects every video your friends have sent you in the last 10 years, you'll want to make sure you get lots of disk space. As of today, a laptop sized 1TB sells for roughly $140 to $160 here in Canada. (In five years, if you are reading this blog, you'll either laugh at that price or cry. I remember seeing my friend pay about 800 dollars to upgrade his 486 from 4 megs to 8 megs of ram; when 2 megabyte chips were $200 each. Ouch! I myself paid over $500 for a 10gigabyte harddrive. You would be hard-pressed to even find a 10gig drive today. And it sure wouldn't be a months' rent for it either!)

5. If you are considering building a computer yourself or having one built for you, please don't buy a cheap power supply; and if your data is important, make sure you also buy an uninterupted power supply (UPS) to go with your power supply. That is so you won't have to deal with power issues later on. Get prepared now rather than wish you had later.

I hope that helps.

Upgrading Your Laptop

Most people think laptops are better because they are smaller and take up less space. This is certainly a selling feature of a laptop but there are limitations to laptops of which you should be aware.

Firstly, laptops are meant to be portable, not durable. Meaning, of course, they cannot take much in the way of punishment. If you drop it, there's a good chance it's toast.

Secondly, laptops are not very upgradeable. About the only things you can upgrade in a laptop is the hard drive and the RAM. You will not be upgrading the CPU or the video card.

In my line of work where I repair a lot of computers, a laptop really does me no good. I can't hook up someone else's drive to my laptop, I can not test their RAM or back up their data. But for someone who is on the go all the time and they need their computer, a laptop is awesome!

If you are going to attempt to upgrade either the RAM or the hard drive in your laptop, always remember to remove all sources of power so you don't accidently short anything out. Remove the battery and unplug the laptop before upgrading anything. It doesn't take much to render a stick of RAM inoperable with a static charge. Try to be standing on cement floor or wear a wrist strap and have it attached to ground.