Computers are becoming a disposable commodity these days and it’s easy to see why. Prices for new computers are at an all-time low. Old computers become slow, unresponsive, and riddled with unwanted stuff. Advertisements tell you that you need the latest and greatest Intel processor or shiny new Apple product. Before you know it, you’re standing in line with that shiny new laptop or desktop in one hand and your credit card in the other.
Once you get home with your brand-new computer the reality sets in: You’ll need to copy all of your stuff over from the old one. You’ll need to securely erase your hard drive afterwards (hoping that you have everything you need). You’ll also need to disconnect and reconnect all of your cables, reinstall all of your software, reinstall printers, wait patiently while Windows or OS X applies tons of updates, and then finally dispose of the old machine. Then you can enjoy that shiny new toy.
But, in a few years, you’ll be right back to where you started.
Before you plop down several hundred dollars on a new computer you should know that there are two easy upgrades that will breathe new life into your old machine and buy you several more years with your old computer.
Replace your hard drive with a solid state drive (SSD)
Hard disk drives, or hard drives if you prefer, are normally the first mechanical thing to fail on a computer. They spin at fast speeds (usually 5400 or 7200 revolutions per minute for home computers) and they are precisely tuned to read disk platters at just a few nanometers. That’s thinner than a human hair, a dust particle, or even a fingerprint!
Despite these challenges hard drives tend to last a good number of years. But, like anything that has multiple moving parts, they can and will eventually fail.
Solid state disks, or SSDs, eliminate this problem by having no moving parts. This gives SSDs a huge advantage in both longevity and speed. Since an SSD has no moving parts, there’s also no worry that a sudden drop or other shock to the computer will destroy the drive. Now that’s not to say that tossing your Dell over the edge of an Interstate bridge won’t result in damage (don’t try this at home kids) but dropping your laptop is no longer the harbinger of death that it used to be – at least to the hard drive.
Jay’s Computers and Repair can make a clone of your existing hard drive to a solid state drive without any loss of data. In fact, it is an exact copy of your old hard drive but now it’s faster. There’s no need to reinstall anything! This can be done on most computers for around $225 for a 500 GB drive. As a bonus, Jay’s Computers and Repair will securely erase your old hard drive and will responsibly recycle it for you at no additional charge.
By replacing your old hard drive with an SSD you can get a huge amount of speed and performance out of your older computer with none of the hassle of getting a new machine.
Upgrade your memory
Though not as profound as a disk upgrade, adding more memory to a computer is cheap and will add some speed to your machine. Windows 10 will run on 1 GB of memory (if you call the end result of that “running”, that is – you will discovery a whole new meaning of the word slow if you try this) but, to be fair, you’d want more performance that what 1 GB can offer. Jay’s Computers and Repair recommends at least 8 GB of memory for Windows 10 in order to get a fast experience. If you are a gamer or work with video or high-end graphics design then more memory will definitely benefit you.
The nice thing about memory is that it is cheap for most computers and it is a simple upgrade, usually requiring only 5-20 minutes to perform. It is simply the least amount of money you can spend to see fast results. Most 8 GB memory upgrades will cost about $125 installed, which is still much less than a new computer that may only have half of that amount from the factory.
As you can see there are two cheap and easy ways to upgrade and breathe new life into your old computer that will save you time, hassle, and, of course, a lot of money. Contact me today to get your old computer running like new again!