Out with the old, or in with repairs?
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday September 15, 2009
THERE are plenty of variables when it comes to buying your next PC but one thing's almost certain €“ it's going to cost you at least $1000 and perhaps closer to $2000. That's a bargain when you consider what you're getting for your money, especially compared with the price of the average desktop or laptop just a few years back.However, those numbers can still put a dent in some families' bank balances at a time when there are more pressing priorities. In which case some smart upgrading can keep your existing PC humming along for a bit longer.An older computer is at its most frustrating when it's running slowly and is unresponsive, or prone to software halting and sometimes crashing.In a lot of cases, this is simply due to too many ill-advised programs being loaded up, such as unnecessary web browser add-ons and software that loads itself every time you switch on the PC.Don't be taken in by programs that promise to speed up your PC, especially ones you might see advertised on television or flashy banner adverts on web pages. Almost all are bogus or charge you to perform basis tasks that can be done for free using existing software.Having a tech-savvy friend come by for a cuppa to run an expert eye over your PC can reveal dozens of ways to streamline the system and get things back to a peppier state.Then there are more obvious cures, such as adding more memory or a larger hard drive.Boosting your PC's memory from 512MB to 1GB provides an immediate payback. It puts more spring into your PC's step for starting, running programs and avoiding crashes. Going from 1GB to 2GB makes a less dramatic difference.Installing a much larger hard drive can also lighten the load on your PC, and make it more stable, but only if the existing hard drive has insufficient room. This is typically the case if the PC is more than three years old or if it's shared with several members of the family.A new hard drive will be faster than your PC's current drive, which gives everything you do a bit of a kick along. Replacing the hard drive also means copying your software, email, documents, photos, music and so forth over to the new drive.For that reason, we suggest that upgrading the hard drive and adding memory are tasks best left to a PC repair centre or a tech-savvy friend.In either case, however, you need to be cautious of putting too much money into the upgrade. As a rule of thumb, don't spend more than 20 per cent of the cost of a new PC €“ say, $200-$400 €“ on keeping an old PC going past its time.David Flynn
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
Share This