Don’t tune up that car - throw it out a buy new one!

To New PC or to Tune PC?

Let me ask a simple question. The last time your car started giving you a little troubles, did you throw it out and buy a new one? Although many of us would probably love to do that - its certainly the most practical approach to keeping up with our transportation needs.

As silly as that sounds, many people do exactly that when it comes to their Personal Computers. After a few years of operation the system inevitably becomes unbearably slow. Often times people don’t try and diagnose the problem, they simply get rid of it and start over.

Now that may work for some of you, but if your on a tight budget as many of us are these days, performance and optimization software programs may just be the trick your looking for in solving your computers sluggish response problems. After all, , wouldn't it be better to spend $20-$50 bucks on improving the performance of your system instead of dumping $500-$1000 in a new one?

One of the most common issues that both home users as well as small business users of computers are faced with is the dilemma of purchasing a new PC. 9 times out of 10 this desire is driven by the slow response time of their existing computer. The frustration builds and before you know it people are out on the market searching for anew faster system. While the assessment of a computer response problem may actually require show that it would be best to go with a new system the options of using a performance boosting software just may squeeze a few more years out of the one your currently using.

Problem Solved with a new operating system… Yeah Sure
Its interesting that today that even with the newer operating systems like Vista, system response time is still an issue. The claims of improved stability may be true in some causes - like in a lab under sterile conditions, but the reality is that sooner or later you will have some performance problems that your having today late on with the new system. So addressing how to manage this problem is inevitable. You just need to determine one whether you want to deal with it on the current system, or plan for it with the new system.

So what leads to slow system response problems?

1. For one, the additions of new software and related drivers often begin to compete for system resources. If you every look at the bottom right hand corner of your system tray and notices 10 or more icons sitting there - all of those programs are resident and looking for a slice of time and attention from your computer. Why the heck should the end user get in the way of their performance cycle - they have a lot to do!
2. The installation procedures on many software applications (especially older ones) do not follow a regimented procedures for installing itself (as well as the ability to uninstall it when needed. Temporary files, improper driver versions and unneeded program files end up being left on your system minimally taking up disk space, worst case taking up CPU cycles even though you don’t need them.
3. Software today has to be designed modularly. That means they use common drivers to instruct them on how to use your computers resources (like printer or monitor). In many cases poorly written software installation procedures will overwrite existing drivers before confirming they should have done that in the first place. After the install your new application may work, but it trashed others that were working fine before the install started

Before you buy:
Systems prices today are cheap (relatively speaking) and it may entice you on taking the simpler road and just buying a new system. But remember, its just like buying a car. The sticker price gets you hooked but by the time you add all the new bells and whistle, the system costs dramatically goes up.

Before you leap into buying a new system, why don’t you take a lower cost approach and see if optimizing (or re-optimizing) your system will help. Many times simply cleaning up the system, removing unneeded software drivers, correcting missing files and deleting old temp files can dramatically and significantly increase your PC speed. Its not a silver bullet in all cases, but may be just enough to put a little spark back into your systems response. Worse case here is that you speed 40 or 50 bucks on some software to see if it helps the problem. Look at it as part of the cost of buying the new system. If it doesn’t solve your older computer problems you can simply load the software on the new system. Trust me, you will run into similar performance problems down the road on the new system so it will be money well spent.

So what do you know about optimizing of speed boosting your system performance?

You really don’t have too. There are hundreds of tools out on the market today, many for a economical cost that help top assess your system, recommend corrections or actually make the corrections for you without your intervention.

Selecting a utility software.
Many have similar quality's and can effectively clean your system for you. When selecting a utility program, make sure the program does at least the following

• Reviews you system registry for problems
• Reviews system temp files and removes unnecessary files
• Reviews your internet cache for cookies, spam and malware

Which one is best?
Symantec Norton System Works has a good product suite of although may be a bit costly. It may also and cover items (like antivirus) that you already have. JC Services has had good success with a lower cost versions from UniBlue Systems called SpeedUpMyPC and Registry Booster.

If your like me you may need to hold back your compulsive nature back a little and take a lower cost approach in solving your computer needs. Need more information on computer performance? Feel free to contact us at info@jcservicesllc.com