Amal Nagm

Computer Performance

Author: mety Labels:: CPU Clock speed, De-fragmenting Files, Multitasking considerations

The factors which impact on a computer's performance

CPU Clock speed

The computer clock speed governs how fast the CPU will run. The higher the clock speed the faster the computer will work for you. The clock speed is given in megahertz (MHz) The higher the MHz speed the faster the computer

RAM size

As a rule the more memory you have the faster the PC will appear to operate. Windows also uses the hard disk a lot, so logically the faster the hard disk can operate then again the faster the PC will appear to run

Hard disk speed and storage

Hard disks are also measured by their speed, defined by the disk access time, which is measured in milliseconds. The smaller this access time the faster the hard disk will store or retrieve data. The data storage capacity of hard disks continues to increase as new products are released. The disk storage capacity is measured in Gigabytes (GBytes). 1 GByte is equivalent to 1024 Mbytes

Free Hard Disk Space

To get the most out of your Windows based PC, you not only need a fast hard disk but also a large hard disk with plenty of "spare space". This is due to the fact Windows is constantly moving data between the hard disk and RAM (Random Access Memory). Microsoft Windows will create many so-called "temporary files" which it uses for managing your programs. In fact, if you have very little free hard disk space you may find that Microsoft Windows will not be able to run your programs at all

De-fragmenting Files

If you are running Windows you may find that if you click on the Start menu, select Programs, and then select the Accessories / System tools group, there is a de-fragmentation program. Running this periodically may noticeably speed up the operation of your PC. When you use a PC, over a period of time the files get broken up into separate pieces which are spread all over the hard disk. De-fragmentation means taking all the broken up pieces and joining them back together again

Multitasking considerations

Windows is a multitasking system, which means that it can run more than one program at a time. However the more programs which are running at the same time, the slower each one will run. To some extent this slowing effect depends on what each program is doing. Editing a large, full colour picture for instance can take up a lot of CPU time

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