A SPEEDIER STARTUP
"Start up" is a fancy way of saying "Load". In order for the operating system or any program to work it must first be loaded... or "Start up". To load, the computer pulls the files it needs to run from the hard drive to the computers memory. The hard drive is just for storage, the memory is where the program actually runs.
At "start up", your computer not only has to load the operating system and the programs it needs to run, but it also has to load third party programs that you or the company you bought it from installed. The term bloatware has been around for a while to describe the software installed by the manufacturer. I just bought a new laptop and I counted 27 programs that they (Acer) installed that I had to remove. Bloatware is basically manufacturers way of advertising hoping that you will use and then purchase one or most of the programs. Please don't fall prey to this, pretty much all those programs, or equivalent can be found else where and for free. Don't fall for the "convenience of it". Remember, Bloatware slows down startup as well as the overall function or your computer.
Have you ever hit the power button on a computer you just bought and it starts up fairly quickly? Then a year or so later after using it quite a bit, you hit the power button and instead of "fairly quick" you sit there tapping your feet, cross your arms and mutter to yourself "oh... my... hell" and then finally windows logo shows up and you sigh a deep breath "finally... it's over"... but is it... is it really? You then find yourself waiting once again till finally your desktop appears. But it's not over yet, if you try anything at the first sight of you desktop it goes even slower, because even though the bulk of your operating system is loaded, all the third party programs are still starting up.
What most people don't know is that all these programs don't need to load when the computer is first turned on, when the computer is running, and you need to use a program, just click on it to open it up and that will load the program and start it up. MSCONFIG is how you achieve this. For Vista and 7, from your start menu search bar (or "run" program in XP), type in MSCONFIG and hit "enter". In MSCONFIG click on the "startup" tab. This shows you all the programs that will "startup" when the computer is turned on. On the left of the program names you will see check boxes that allow you to select which programs you want to start at start up. Un-check the ones you don't want and then hit the apply button at the bottom.
WINDOWS TASK MANAGER
The "Windows Task Manager" (WTM) is a utility tool from Microsoft built into Windows Operating System. Don't be shy of this tool. Use it. Learn to love it. With WTM you can not only keep an eye on your hardware and performance, but also shut down programs that are causing problems. Some of these programs that cause problems are "Viruses" and "Ad ware". When you become familiar with your WTM you will be able to identify programs running that you need for proper operation of your computer and those that could be harmful to your computer. To do this, under the processes tab, highlight the selected program and either click on the "end task" button at the bottom or right click on the certain program and select "end task". Under the tab "performance", it shows your CPU and your Memory usage. Some people think they need to upgrade their computer cause it's "running slow" or some other reason, but if you check under the performance tab then they would be able to see if their memory and or CPU is maxed out. For example, if your memory and CPU is only %50 or somewhere around there, then your slowed computer might be from some other reason, program or the like.
UPGRADE MOTHERBOARD
The Motherboard is like the central nervous system that everything connects to and facilitates the communication between all parts of the computer. When shopping for a desktop computer they will list all the specs they think are important to you and for some reason the motherboard is never listed. The motherboard is very important for several reasons. 1) the overall speed of the motherboard and in turn the whole computer. This is the Front Bus Speed (FBS) or more simply put, how fast the motherboard communicates to all the parts. 2) Ports. I know it doesn't sound like much but the ports on a motherboard are important. Remember, not all motherboards have the same ports. So, if you buy a brand new computer and get a 2Tb external hard drive with USB 3.0 to go with it, but you forgot to check which ports it has. when you get it home you find out that the computer only has USB 2.0. Not fun right? Just remember to do you research. 3) "Upgradability". This really only applies to AMD motherboards. All motherboards, AMD or Intel have a certain "socket type" that tells you what type of processor will be compatibly with it. Intel pretty much only makes one processor per socket type (but they're getting better), where as AMD will make many processors per socket type. This is important for a few reasons, one of which is making you get the right processor, if that's what you are replacing or the other way around if it's the motherboard. Another reason is to see if you can upgrade processors within that socket type. Example, if you have an AMD motherboard with socket type "AM3" and a "Celeron" processor then you are in luck. Since the motherboards socket is AM3 then you are able to use any other AM3 processor. This means Celeron, Athlon, Phenom, Athlon II, and Phenom II. Now that's what I call Bitchen.
The compatibility of memory and motherboard are also an issue but I discuss that in The "Memory" section.
UPGRADE PROCESSOR
As far as physically replacing the CPU it's very quite simple. The hardest part comes when trying to find the right one. Just a bit of background, the CPU is a small piece of hardware that may not look like much but it is in fact the "brain power" of the computer. The CPU does not just sit in the computer and magically connect itself to the rest of the inside of the box. The CPU actually connects straight into the Motherboard (explained further in the "motherboard" section). The key to making the process of replacing the CPU as simple and painless as possible is the issues of compatibility of the motherboard and the CPU. This involves looking at the socket type "AM for AMD boards" vs "LGA for Intel boards", Brands AMD vs Intel, number of cores single, duo, triple, quad and name of processor. Motherboards are made with certain specs. Some motherboards are only compatible with Phenom II and some are only compatible with Athlon II and some are compatible with both and even more. If all of these are compatible except for one the pair will just not work and if it does, you will run into a lot of major problems. The first thing you must do before shopping is to find the exact model and specs of motherboard in your computer. You can usually find this in the original paperwork that came with it or you can do what I do... "Google" search it using model or serial number. The specificity of your motherboard is not hard to find. Once you have the specs on your motherboard you can now start shopping for a replacement CPU.
UPGRADE MEMORY
You all have heard the example of the memory of the computer as the workspace kind of like the top of a desk. Its actually a very good example in that when you have to many things running on your computer its the same as having to many items your working with on your desk top and things get cluttered, your proficiency goes down and you can't get back to work till you clear things off and organize. While the memory on your computer is much the same as a desk it is a little different however in the fact that it directly relates to your processor. For example, if your current computer has a 500mhz single core processor with 512mb of memory, you check your task manager (for more information on the task manager see the "Windows Task Manager"post) says CPU: 100% and memory usage: 100%. This means that you can replace your memory with 6gig but since your processor is maxed out your not really going to see much of a difference. On the other hand if your memory usage is 100% but your CPU is only 50% usage then you will actually benefit from upgrading your memory and you will definitely see a speed difference. Much like the compatibility between CPU and motherboard, you need to make sure that your memory is compatible with your motherboard as well. Memory isn't too bad. CPU's have certain conditions that need to be met in order to be compatible with the motherboard, the memory also has conditions to be met. The Type (Pin and DDR), Speed and size. If your motherboard is DDR2 then you can't get the nicer, newer DDR3 because the motherboard won't handle it. But you can however upgrade speed so long as you stay within that Type. The size of the memory matters as well. You need to check an see what the max memory supported is. If your motherboard can only support a maximum of 4gig then you can't more than that.
VIDEO CARDS
Video cards are nothing more than sprinkles on top of the cup cake. Much like processors and memory, I rarely see anyone use video cards to their full potential. Unless I am gaming or hardcore video editing, I have never maxed out an integrated video card. For those who aren't familiar with all this, integrated is when the video is built right into the motherboard and you can tell when the port you plug your video cable into is right next to all the USB and Ethernet and all the other ports you'll find on the back of the computer. If it's a separate video card you find the video connection ports a few inches away and vertical (typically) from the motherboard ports. A video card as you can probably guess is made solely for the purpose for of processing video. Depending on the manufacturer and how much you spend, video cards can range from a few processing units to a few thousand. If you're new to gaming and all the video editing good stuff then it can sometimes be a little difficult know just how much you need to spend and which card to spend it on. Now, don't kid yourselves about the strength of a cheap video card. There are many inexpensive cards that are capable of playing Blu-Ray flawlessly. As far as specific tasks and uses, the best way to help you is to just leave a comment of what you might need it for and I can recommend a specific card or class of card. The more people ask, the more I'm able to answer and in turn the more people are able to read and learn from those comments.
If you have more questions or need clarification, please leave a comment and we will get back to you.
