07.19.07
New computer
My computer now feels like a new computer: it has all the snap and speed that your computer has before you start adding software—especially software with little (or not so little) memory-resident modules.
I’ve noticed that my new computers, so nice and quick, gradually become slower and slower and get cranky and programs crash. I had assumed it was conflict among the programs, and in a sense it is: they’re fighting for memory, and the OS is having to swap out to hard drive sections of memory, which slows everything down. Had I just added a bunch more memory, everything would have been new again.
So the slow programs and memory conflicts are gone. Programs load faster. Even the slowness I blamed on my Internet hookup seems gone, and sites I jump to now click into place instantly.
If your computer is acting sluggish, double the RAM, and I think you’ll be surprised.
scott said,
19 July 2007 at 8:01 am
Adding RAM is the most cost-effective and easiest ways to increase performance, it’s true. And doing it right away is always a good idea, too. Manufacturers always put in only 50% of what the machine really needs.
At the same time, one has to recognize that Windows has a tendency to get really crufty really quickly. A couple of months can take a new machine down to a crawl. Yes, there’s the software you knowingly put on, with it’s associated “helpers” and invisible processes which are always running; but there’s also the spyware and other malicious things that too many people are still vulnerable to.
Me, I think it’s a good idea to back up your stuff, format the hard drive, and reinstall Windows every few months. Seriously. I think lots of people with 3 year old computers would be astonished at the performance that comes back after doing this.