Is Your Computer Running Slow?

If you’ve ever shopped for a new computer, it can feel pretty overwhelming if you’re not sure what you’re looking for. There’s quite a lot to consider when speccing out new machines. Do you choose a laptop over a desktop? Should you opt for Windows or Mac? How much RAM do you need? Is it worth it to spring for a more expensive machine or is it better to shop for a cheaper bargain? All of these questions will likely have different answers depending on your personal requirements, but one thing everyone can agree on is that a new computer should be fast.

However, when it comes to computers, fast is a relative term and may mean different things to different people. In this month’s Bits & Bytes, let's go over some common computer speed complaints and see how best to address them when upgrading to a new computer.

Long Boot Up / Shut Down

Do you frequently wait to get your morning coffee until after you’ve turned your computer on so that it has time to boot up? Have you ever avoided restarting your computer because you’re afraid of how long it’ll take? Do you constantly leave your computer on at the end of the day so you don’t have to wait for it to shut down? In other words, is your computer's boot or shut down sequence so slow that it feels like a punishment?

If you answered “yes” to any of these, the thing to look for in your new computer is a Solid State Drive (SSD). Traditional hard drives (HDD) use a mechanical arm and a spindle to read or write data from a spinning platter, like a record player, but SSDs are a completely different animal. They’re made from interconnected pieces of electromagnetic material with no moving parts, so they’re quiet, durable, and super fast (more than 10x as fast as HDDs). SSDs have seen some great improvements in terms of capacity, reliability, and affordability in recent years, so when shopping for a new computer, look for one with the operating system preloaded onto an SSD. This will easily cut the boot or restart time of your computer from minutes down to mere seconds.

Sluggish Programs

If you use any big, bulky programs such as Photoshop or Visual Studio, installing these to a Solid State Drive will make them load and exit much faster. However, programs like these are also very memory intensive, so leaving them open for extended periods can make your computer run very sluggishly – especially if you’re using more than one of them at the same time. Some slimmer programs like Google Chrome start up very quickly but steadily take up more and more memory the longer they’re open.

If you’re a big multitasker like me, you definitely want an adequate amount of RAM in your new computer. RAM is the “short term memory” that computers use to keep track of the most immediate things it needs to do, like run programs or manage background processes. The more memory it has and the faster that memory can be accessed, the faster your computer will “feel” while you’re using it. These days 8 GB is common in low-to-mid-range machines, but 16 GB is where you’ll really start to notice a difference. Your programs will be more responsive and less prone to lock-ups, and your system will run much smoother overall. 

There’s also the issue of what type of RAM you should get. Most often you’ll see RAM in a computer’s spec sheet listed as DDR (Double Data Rate) followed by a number (DDR3, DDR4). The number signifies what version of DDR is inside the computer, with a higher number signifying a faster, more recent iteration. As of this writing, DDR4 is the most readily available version of RAM and should be opted for over DDR2 or DDR3. Some higher-end machines may sport DDR5, but for most purposes the current cost difference isn’t worth the upgrade.

Note: if your new computer will be used for high-res video editing or rendering, or other tasks that require a large amount of memory, you’ll want to skip the 16 GB of RAM and look for at least 32 GB. Computers with an abundance of memory like this will often state in their listing that they’re designed with video rendering in mind.

Slow Internet

A slow internet connection isn’t necessarily a hole you can upgrade yourself out of, but at the very least make sure your new computer is Wi-Fi 6 compatible (the current standard, though Wi-Fi 7 is expected in 2024). More importantly though, if your home or office wireless router is older and doesn’t support Wi-Fi 6 you might consider upgrading it to one that does. Wi-Fi 6 has several speed and efficiancy improvements over the previous generations, especially in environments with multiple connected devices like the workplace. If your router is already up-to-date but you’re still experiencing a slow internet, you might also consider upgrading your internet speed at your ISP.

One tip based on experience – if you have a computer with built-in wifi but you’re using an ethernet cable to get online, make sure you disable your wifi. Having both an active LAN and an active wifi connection at the same time can cause unwanted bottlenecks in your data speed and result in overall connectivity issues.