Is your desktop computer starting to show its age or did you just purchase a cheap desktop with limited specs? Is it beginning to run slow or just not cooperating with what you want to do? If so, it could be time to do a little maintenance on your machine. Today, we will look at a few ways you can speed up your desktop so you can extend its useful life and make it work for you for just a little longer.
So How Do You Do It?
Let’s take a quick look at five ways you can speed up your desktop and get a little more life out of your aging computer before you have to upgrade to something new.
1. Add More RAM
Desktop computers, well at least most of them, are very easy to upgrade. In most cases they have more than enough free slots for you to add extra cards to add more power. The RAM on the mothers is no different. If your desktop is starting to feel a bit sluggish, then try adding a little more memory to your machine. In some cases, you may even be able to double the amount in your machine. The total amount will depend on your computer, but you should be able to easily bump up the memory to increase the speed of your machine.
2. Clean Up That Hard Drive
Over time, hard drives become filled with useless files and may even start to run out of room as you have too many unused and unwanted applications installed on the system. The more room on your hard drive, the more space for that swap file that will speed up your machine. On top of that, you can run various cleaning applications to defrag the disk and get rid of needed files that must be processed by the operating system.
3. Check Your Graphics
If you notice that your machine is only slowing down when you are using applications that utilize your graphics card or maybe when you are playing games. If this is the case, you could just need a new graphics card. These are easy to add to your machine as they are simple cards that you can pop in and out. Just make sure that the speed and connection types are compatible with your motherboard and you could quickly gain some much needed speed.
4. Look At Your Processor
You have to be careful with this one, but it is possible. If your machine is running slow, your processor could be starting to show its age. Chances are there are faster processors out there that will work perfectly in your machine that will smoke your old one. But be careful, choose poorly and you could end up with a processor that won’t work on your machine or you could damage your board or the processor when you place it in the machine.
5. Reformat Your Machine
When worse comes to worse, you could just grab your operating system installation disc and reformat your computer. While this will take some time, it will clean up your hard drive and wipe out anything you don’t need on your machine in one swift stroke. In my experience, this is one of the best ways to speed up an aging computer and should always be an option if you want to get a little more time out of your machine.
Conclusion
There you have it. These are easy and affordable ways for you to get a little more out of your desktop. So what are you waiting for? Why not start performing these maintenance tasks and upgrades today so you can get your desktop back into tip top shape.
