How Old is "Too Old" For My Computer

Our names are Tom Mitt, founder, and Jake Polzin, president of TBG Technologies, an IT support company since 2004.

Every day, we have someone ask us for help with their computers. Of course, they do – that’s our business. And one of their most annoying issues is that their computer is too slow. This is just about the most common complaint we hear. And this complaint is often accompanied by, “Well, my computer is pretty old.” It is a curious statement really.

Think about this – computers do not age. Sure, there are some moving parts that will deteriorate and eventually fail, but that’s a function of use, not age. If we buy a computer today, set it up, leave it running, and then don’t touch it for 5 years, it will be just as fast after five years as it was on the day it was born.

People are used to the notion that as things get older, they slow down and don’t move as fast. So, this is an easy metaphor people use to understand what is going on with their slow computer. When you think about it, this is interesting. It seems we all tend to treat inanimate objects as though they are people. And since computers are really a “general-purpose machine” – meaning their function is defined by the user, not by the creator – people project personalities onto them.

But is this valid? Short answer is “no.” We often tell people that the computer we purchased in 1985 will still do all the things it did back then and just as quickly and efficiently (or not) as it did 30 years ago.

The computer hasn’t changed – our requirements have. That PC you bought three or four years ago isn’t so much getting old as the world has gotten faster. The programs we use today require a lot more power and resources than they did just three, four, or five years ago.

If you run Word 2016 on a computer that was the latest, greatest thing in 2010, it will run like a dog. The amazing thing is that it runs at all. You install Word, then Excel, then a new anti-virus program, some music player and run them all at once, and your four-year-old computer runs like an elderly person getting out of bed in the morning. It works but it is painful to watch. If there aren’t any broken parts, your five-year-old computer is fine. You just are asking a lot more of it than you used to.

So, when someone asks us if their computer is too old, we turn it around and ask them what they are doing with it. Usually, they are running newer programs that are beyond the capacity of their computer.

The two most common sources of this apparent slowdown are memory and processor. Memory is not the same as the size of your hard drive. To speed up your computer, you can increase the size of your computer’s memory (the “RAM”) and you can update to a newer, faster processor.

Of course, there are some problems when it comes down to doing this. All computers have a limit on the amount of memory you can add. The older PCs can handle less than newer ones. And most times, the processor can’t really be upgraded. So how do you improve performance?

Increasing memory is a simple, low-cost way of improving your computer’s performance. We always recommend this whenever possible. Reducing the number of programs you have running at the same time will also extend your computer’s usefulness.

There are also some system cleanup actions that can be done to seriously improve the performance of any computer, not just the old ones.

So, when should you replace your computer?

Simple answer: when it can’t be upgraded anymore and the programs you are running are too slow, even when you add more memory and reduce the number of things you are doing at the same time.

If you aren’t sure, then it is time to get together with your IT support person or firm and discuss. And if they immediately recommend a new computer, ask someone else! It should almost never be the first answer. We answer this question very well and very honestly. We are only interested in what works for you and your business!

In the coming weeks, we’ll be posting educational information so you’re able to become the best business owner you can be. We’ll touch on backups, anti-virus, internet safety, cyber-attacks, ransomware, the cloud, email safety, VOIP phone systems, and others.

Tom Mitt is the founder and Jake Polzin is the president of TBG Technologies, located at 11300 W. Greenfield Avenue, West Allis, Wis. 53214. Tom can be reached at toomas@tbgtechnologies.com and Jake can be reached at jake@tbgtechnologies.com. www.tbgtechnologies.com We Make Technology Behave.