How Fast is Your Processor?
After the amount of memory you have installed, the speed of your processor is
equally important to deciding how if your computer is dead and if it’s time to move on to a new PC or not. A CPU’s (central processing unit) speed is critical to how fast your computer performs. If you bought a computer five years ago it should be around 1.7GHz in terms of speed. 1.7GHz means it can process 1.7 billion tasks per second. Now to a human that may seem really fast. But when you are gaming and visiting modern websites, believe it or not its not that fast.
equally important to deciding how if your computer is dead and if it’s time to move on to a new PC or not. A CPU’s (central processing unit) speed is critical to how fast your computer performs. If you bought a computer five years ago it should be around 1.7GHz in terms of speed. 1.7GHz means it can process 1.7 billion tasks per second. Now to a human that may seem really fast. But when you are gaming and visiting modern websites, believe it or not its not that fast.
Nevertheless, a 1.7 GHz or slower processor can be decent if you make up for it with 8GB of memory or more. But if you are stuck at 4GB of memory and your PC is dragging while you are on Facebook then it may be time to upgrade your PC. When looking at a new PC consider a slightly more expensive CPU that’s at least an Intel i5 processor with a 3GHz speed or more. This will make sure that your PC is future proof for the next five years.
What Kind of Hard Drive do You Have?
If you bought your PC five years ago or more, you likely have a traditional hard drive with moving parts and platters. That is fine but they do have a shelf life. We have seen these older drives last anywhere from 5 to 10 years. Eventually they do die and all data on them dies with it. If your computer is freezing more frequently and you are getting hard drive error messages or even worse like blue screens then your hard drive may be trying to tell you something. Make sure you are backing up your pictures and documents so you can restore them if your hard drive decides to say goodbye.
If you are getting error messages or signs that are indicative of hard drive failure then it may be time for a new computer if your PC is showing its age. Rest assured, its time to get a modern hard drive that is SSD (solid state drive) that has no moving parts. No moving parts means less things that can fall on your hard drive. In addition, they are blazing fast. Optionally, if you don’t want to splurge on a new computer then you can remove your existing dying hard drive and upgrade to an SSD drive which will definitely give you a nice performance boost if the rest of the computer is older. A new SSD drive will have your Windows 10 box humming if you are running other older hardware.
What Other Parts are Important?
There are of course several other factors that will help you identify if it is time for a new PC. Are you sick of staring at a small screen? Do you want to do some more photo editing? These are thing you can consider for your new PC but if you don’t plan on changing your usage habits then don’t go crazy with major upgrades. But below are some other factors you can consider if you are upgrading your PC. Either way, the expert technicians at Boxaid will be able to tell you if we can fix your computer or if it is time for a new one.
