There are several options you have when considering
upgrading your computer.
Please choose the type of upgrade you are interested in.
Memory
Hard Drive (also called Hard Disk or HDD)
Hardware
Accessories
Software
MEMORY:
There are many different types of physical memory and many different speeds.
Fairfield County PC's will select the correct memory type and speed needed
for your computer. We will also help you decide the amount of memory to add
to your computer to get your investment running at optimal speed. We will
never try to sell you larger memory amounts than you need.
Reason's to Upgrade Your Memory:
The memory in your computer acts as a working and temporary storage area for
the operating system and the programs you run. Your programs are stored onto
the hard disk (also called hard drive or HD), but those programs are copied
into memory to run. So, every program you run uses some memory.
Do programs and documents really use that much memory? You bet they do! The
operating system I use is Windows XP. I typically run 5+ programs at the
same time and also Windows XP. The grand total of memory used comes to 380MB
(megabytes). If this particular computer contained 256MB of RAM, where would
it put the overflow? It would put it into virtual memory.
The RAM (memory) in your system is physical memory (microchips that store
data). Virtual memory, as its name implies, doesn't really exist. Instead,
hard disk space is used to simulate memory, and this is called virtual
memory. Here's how it works: the operating system manages the memory in your
system as pages of memory. As long as there is plenty of physical memory, it
doesn't have to use much, if any, virtual memory. If the programs and
operating system are only using 150MB, and the computer contains 256MB of
RAM, you're in good shape-the computer has plenty of RAM (memory) to
accommodate everything.
But more than likely, the operating system, programs, and documents are
using more memory than your computer contains. So, the operating system sets
up a special file called a swap file or paging file on the hard disk. It
then copies some of the memory pages from physical memory to the hard disk
for temporary storage. It then has more room in physical memory for more
pages. When it needs a page that it has copied to the paging file, it swaps
a page from memory to disk and copies the page on the disk back into memory.
Memory, which is all solid state, operates much faster than a disk, which
consists of spinning data platters and moving heads. Each time the operating
system needs to copy a page of memory from the disk, it has to determine
which page it needs, locate it on the disk, tell the heads to move to the
right spot, wait for the platter to spin the data under the head, and so on.
So, any time you can cut down the amount of data going to and from the disk,
the faster the system will perform. If you have plenty of RAM, you reduce
the amount of disk paging the operating system has to do. That speeds up
performance.
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HARD DRIVE UPGRADES:
Generally speaking, most performance enhancing tips have to do with letting
the fastest parts of you computer (processor, ram, etc.) do the handling of
data instead of your hard drive. In most computers the hard drive is the
slowest piece of hardware that information flows through.
Most often when people talk about upgrading their hard drive it is because
of lack of space. Really there are a three primary situations where it might
make sense to upgrade your hard drive. The first being the obvious reason of
lack of space and the second for increased performance. The third is the
most critical. When your hard drive has been diagnosed as failing is it
vital that your data gets backed up and the hard drive replaced as soon as
possible to avoid data loss and extended down time.
It is easy to tell when you have run out of space on your drive. Many of us
start to notice our drives are full when we can't save something we're
working on or we start getting errors somewhere.
It is always a good idea to make sure that you leave at least a few
gigabytes of free space on your drive. Just leaving a little extra room can
go a long way in keeping your machine stable and your data safe.
The other reason to replace or add a hard drive is if you are in a situation
where you have done everything possible to increase the performance of your
machine and you want a little extra speed boost. If your machine is behaving
slow, as always, there are a number of things to look into before
considering hardware upgrades. Fragmentation and other things can really bog
down a drive. Most people upgrade their hard drives for storage reasons but
get a faster one while they are at it for reasons of performance.
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HARDWARE UPGRADES:
Thinking about replacing your current computer because it's slow? Does it
not have that high-speed USB port you need for your new device? You may not
have to invest in a new computer just yet!
Fairfield County PC's will evaluate your current hardware and provide you
with upgrade possibilities. Sometimes all your computer needs is more
memory, a larger hard drive or a peripheral card installed. Upgrading your
current equipment instead of replacing it can save you hundreds of dollars.
We will work with you and your budget and help you make the best decision.
If you are already sure you want to replace your current equipment, please
visit our New PC page for possibilities.
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SOFTWARE UPGRADES:
This section is still being created. Please check back soon!
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ACCESSORIES:
At Fairfield County PC's, we can assist you with a wide variety of
accessories. We will help you pick out what accessories you need, install
them, and even help you learn how to use them if you need. These accessories
include bur definitely are not limited to:
All in one printer/copier/fax machines
Cables
CD-RW Drives
CRT Monitors
Digital Cameras
DVD Drives
Fax Machines
Floppy Drives
Keyboards / Mice
LCD Monitors
Microphones
MP3 Players
PDA's (Personal Data Assistant)
Printers
Scanners
Speakers
TV Tuners
Web Cameras