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PC CPR
(Tulare Advance-Register)What can you do to prolong the life of your computer?
By Mike Hazelwood
Staff writer
Anyone who has ever bought a home computer has felt the following sting of reality: A few short years after purchase, the PC is all but obsolete.
"The way technology changes," says Steve Jones, owner of Visalia Computer Technology Inc. in Visalia, "six months after you bought something there's something else new."
But buying new PC after new PC isn't very practical. So what can PC owners do to prolong the life of their thinking machines?
Here are some options:
i Upgrade
Adding RAM - random access memory - is the most popular upgrade, Jones said. The result is that data can be accessed more quickly.
Other popular upgrades include adding sound and video cards, especially among game-playing users.
The quality of the upgrade dictates price. Some cost less than $100.
i Try add-ons
A popular trend is to add a second hard drive to your computer, for space purposes. Alex Sierra, 33, of Visalia uses his PC's original hard drive to hold his biggest programs and files.
He added a second hard drive to hold more of his day-to-day files.
"I won't run out of space as quick, and I think it makes [the computer] faster," Sierra says.
i Protect yourself
Many PC owners fail to update their anti-virus software once the original subscription expires after a few months. Bad idea.
"I'd say run your anti-virus and spyware removal every other day," says Jessica Martinez of WOW Complete Enterprises in Visalia.
Because new viruses are virtually born every day, old software doesn't recognize new ones. If you're not careful, new viruses will begin attaching themselves to your PC - potentially slowing things down or even destroying the entire system.
Good news: Anti-virus and spyware protection are available for free on the Internet.
i Shop smart
Do your homework before you even buy your PC, especially if the price seems too good to be true. That PC you're buying may already be outdated - even though it's still on the shelf.
So ask around - and read PC-related magazines and Web sites - to see what's new on the horizon.
i Learn what not to upgrade
Don't be sweet-talked into upgrading parts that don't make sense, financially or technology-wise.
"If you're going to switch out your motherboard, you might as well get a new computer," Martinez says.
i The reporter can be reached mhazelwo@visalia.gannett.com.
(w/3 photos)
Photos by Teresa Douglass/Advance-Register
A video card (referred to by a variety of names, such as graphics card or video board), seen at Visalia Computer Technology Inc., translates data from the computer to the display.
Modem
Main motherboard
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