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How to speed up your computer

Update your opperating system such as windows 

Newer opperating systems run more effectively while older ones can slow down your computer.


Get rid of unused or temporary programs

Unused programs and temporary files just take up space. A computer with more free space runs much better. You can also get rid of harmful programs in this process if there are any of those on your computer. 


Turn off luxury features 

While a better graphics card or cool, new features may make your computer more appealing, they can also slow the system down. When the computer has more difficult tasks to process it will take longer.


Empty the recycle bin 

These files also bog your computer down and when you free up the space it allows more memory for other important items. 


"Cold reboot" your computer 

Turn your computer off completely then back on again. This helps kill programs that are constantly running and taking up memory. 


Keep the computer in a cool area

If a computer is warm the fan will have to work even harder to cool off the computer which uses up more energy. This is especially important for laptops since they usually rely on a battery for a power source and less energy used mean a more efficient process for the computer. 

What you need to build a computer


In this blog post I will cover the various parts you need to build your own computer.

You will need a computer case. Computer cases come in four sizes the largest to smallest ATX Full Tower, ATX Mid-Tower, Micro ATX Tower, and Mini-ITX Tower. The sizes vary due to motherboard size and how they will operate depending on personal preferenece. If your are say a gamer, I would go with the ATX Full Tower and ATX Mid-Tower because gaming computers have a tendency to use larger graphic cards to ensure proper perfomance.  

You will need a motherboard, this is the base where all the hardware is connected to and run on. These include the graphic cards, the sound cards, the ram, and the CPU.  The motherboard when fully operational it will run a basic program called bios it shows up before any operating system is installed (like windows, linux, or mac) or hitting the delete key before startup. It allows the user to manually change the performance of a computer. This allows overclocking, a term used when outperforming a computers limitation, though it can be risky. Like the case sizes above motherboards are labled the same to corispound with cases sizes.

CPUs or central prossesing unit, is the computers heart that allows information to load faster. There are two brands intel and amd. Intel has reliable perfomance though it's more expensive while amd is less on high perfomance it makes up for cost. There are different CPU speeds to lessen load times for an office computer you just need to be around 2.0 GHz, but a gaming computer you may want something above 3.4 GHz. The CPU physically contains copper 240 pins on it botton and goes into the motherboard (depending on cpu brand) slot that has a lever which allows the pins to stay in place. Always have a heatsink (fan or water cooled) to be placed on top the cpu because they produced alot of heat which can damage them if there is nothing to asorbed the heat.

video cards(a.k.a Graphic cards), this part allow the computer show images, play videos, and games.  A basic video card is just the size of a credit card they fit inside a PCI slot on the motherboard, as for the more heavy duty cards for gaming require a 16 pin pci slots being as big as a desktop keyboard and have fans attached on them. There are two main brand names AMD and Nivida.  

Ram or random acess memory, these memory sticks usually come in sets of 2 or 4. The purpose of ram is to allow a number programs to run all at once and prevent computer crashes . For video games this is nessary because even if you have the most powerful graphics card on earth you still need enough ram for computer stablity to prevent laging and at worst game freezies. The maximum amount of ram you can have is about 32 Gigs but I would just stick with 8 Gigs  

HDD or Hard Drive Disk, This looks like a small steel case, it allow the computer to save information such as programs, documents, video's, and photos. You attach this peice to motherboard using a sata cable. The largest HDD can store around 3 Terobytes of data.  Right now though a new type of drive which allows a faster rate of data transfer is becoming popular called a SSD or Solid State Drive, it's the size of a deck of cards

A disk drive which allow the user to insert disk into there computer to mainly update software drivers, videos, and games.

Lastly the OS or Operating System is the key feature you will need to have a proper computer working. There are three types Windows, Linux and Mac. Windows are the best choice if you want user freindly with customazion. Linux if you want the cheapest possible operating system. Mac if you want absolute user freindly experince though it lacks certain customization  

Thats what you need in general for a computer.



Upgrading your computer

If your computer begins to have trouble running a powerful new program that you've installed, begins to run out of disk space, or simply begins to slow down in general, it can be tempting to simply do away with it and buy a new one.  In some cases, however, this is not necessary, and money can be saved by simply upgrading certain hardware components of the computer you already have.  "Hardware" simply refers to the actual parts that make up a computer (RAM, hard drive, CPU, Graphics card, etc).  These parts can become outdated, or simply wear down as time goes by.

One thing to make sure of before upgrading, however, is that the problems you're having are a result of outdated/worn down hardware.  There's no point in replacing a hardware component if it's not causing the problem.  A lot of computer "slowness" results from viruses or other malware working behind the scenes without your knowledge.  Disk fragmentation, which gradually builds


Disposing a computer and other devices properly

Old computers that don't run well anymore can be annoying and take up a lot of space. Knowing how to properly dispose of all parts of your computer is important so your computer can be recycled in the most effective way.

Many parts of a computer can be used again as parts while others can be too outdated to be used again. With technology growing at such a rapid rate it is harder to hold on to older devices. But, throwing them away can be harmful to the environment and older computers can take up a lot of space in landfills. Recycling can be easy but there are other options such as donating or selling older computers.Computers and monitors contain many toxic chemicals but if they are properly recycled, these chemicals are less of a problem. If you bring your computer in to PC Medic Pro we will recycle it for you for free but if you are planning on getting rid of a computer here are some important steps:

  • You should always clear the computer of all personal data and make sure it cannot be found again. It isn't always enough just to delete files. You can find utilities online that will overwrite information on your hard drive so that all of your previous data is irrecoverable.
  • You could also physically destroy your hard drive. Wear protective gear and take a hammer or any other tool to the hard drive to destroy the data for good. Only the hard drive needs to be damaged though; the rest of the computer can remain unharmed.
  • There are more complex and secure ways of erasing files such as magnetically erasing information from disks, but these methods can be extremely time consuming and expensive and generally aren't worth it unless you are a large company with many hard drives to dispose of or a top secret agency.