I have worked in the IT field for over 25 years now and one of the things that still amazes me is how people love to hold on to old, outdated computers. It is almost daily that I can walk into a customer’s workplace and find a computer that is five years old or older that somebody has under their desk. And you may ask what is wrong with a computer that is five or six years old that works fine. The problem is that the computer is not working fine. It is much slower than it was when it was new. It uses much more energy than the newer PCs. And if it stops working it is much harder to find replacement parts quickly than the new computers.
When you got that fancy new computer five years ago it was a speed demon. And after five or six years you have grown accustomed to it and probably do not even realize just how slow it has become. But, why has it become slow?
Reasons a PC May Slow Down Over Time
SOFTWARE UPDATES
First are software updates. This includes Windows updates, which I hope that you are installing. These updates provide security fixes to prevent your data from being stolen to enhancement to Windows and new features that were not included in the original release to the OS. These updates take more power to run. When your computer was new it had plenty of power for the original features, but the new features require more power and will slow your machine. This can also include software updates for applications that are on your machine including Microsoft Office updates, QuickBooks (or other accounting software) or a line of business application that your company runs. All these programs must be updated as well for security reasons and to stay up to date with industry changes.
HARD DRIVE
Second is the hard drive. It is very unlikely that five or six years ago your computer came with an SSD hard drive. SSD are common in machines today, but five years ago spinning disk were the standard. Over time a spinning disk is going to fill up. It fills up with your documents that you save to your PC, those Windows updates mentioned above, and all of your emails and new programs that are installed, which, in time, will cause the hard drive to perform at a much slower rate.
NEW TECHNOLOGY
The third is new technology. While the old computer may allow new software to be installed, components within that new software may not be accessible and therefore cause the machine to run slower. For example, when a new software is installed or updated, it may include a feature for Bluetooth. If your computer does not have this technology it can cause your system to run more slowly as it searches for this feature or technology.
All those things added together can really slow a machine down. The user may not even realize how slow it is because they have used it daily for years and the slowness has creeped in little by little. The computers that are on the market today are also much more energy efficient that those of just a few years ago. They can be much smaller and use a great deal of less energy.
If your computer is over four years old, then it is time to start looking for a new one. If it is over five years old than you really, really need to replace it immediately. At Solace IT Solutions we will be happy to talk to you about your current PC needs.