Options You Can Consider When Customizing and Building Your Own Computer

Purchasing your computer, whether for home or office use, straight out of the box isn’t the only option available to you when you’re doing your window shopping. Consider the advantages and educational values of putting together your own computer or at least customizing most of its major parts so that the time and effort you need to invest in the project is rewarded through its many benefits.

You Save More Money

You really save more money by building or customizing your own computer rather than buying a pre-assembled model because you can focus on the features you do need and leave out the ones that you don’t. Computer manufacturers and retailers often include the cost of assembly, support, and other overheads in the total price of a finished computer. When you build your own, you only have to pay the cost of the components. The amount you can save depends on the type of components you’ll be using and buying, but it can be up to several hundred dollars.

Tailoring Means Choosing Options that Only You Can Consider

When you choose to build your own PC, you can tailor it to your exact requirements rather than relying on the fixed configuration choices of pre-assembled models. There are actually a lot of things and options to consider in tailoring the PC to your needs. Perhaps you want a few extras built in like a TV tuner card; or perhaps you want to increase the CPU and RAM capabilities. If you choose to increase your RAM capability, consider the best buy for an 8GB kit that includes two 4GB sticks of RAM; 8GB, at 1600MHz. You can also choose how large your monitor needs to be or even hang it on the wall at sight level rather than having it on the table. You may even decide to use several hard drives or graphics cards in your system. You can also choose to add more fans or select quieter fans to cool down your PC, thus, increasing its performance and lifespan. You can even shop around for unique PC casing designs or improve your sound system. Take note that in all your options and customizations, do invest in a good power supply unit.

You can choose all these without being restricted by the specification options set by a manufacturer or retailer. All of the above are options you can consider that ultimately leads your PC to its…

Potential for Further Upgrade

In building your own PC or selecting what options to customize will leave a lot of room for future upgrades, which is good news for your PC’s future lifespan as well. Not only can you plan ahead and buy a motherboard capable of expansion, you’ll also be much more at an advantage when it comes to buying better and more powerful components after a period of 3 to 4 years. Whether it’s buying a motherboard capable of running the latest line of CPU’s or buying a PSU with spare capacity, building your own PC means you can future-proof it should an upgrade become available or necessary. This also increases the lifespan of your computer to a few more years.

If you decide to become serious at building your own PC but you’re still a bit novice, here are a couple of guides that can help you start on your way.

You can check these resources to help you with your computer build.

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/diy-your-own-pc/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ORXEXovI6s

Things You Should Avoid to Prevent Your Computer from Slowing Down Over Time

One of the biggest computer annoyances that happens to any owner/users is when the machine starts to slow down over time. This usually happens years after you get a PC or laptop. Since we use our computers for different task and activities at work or at home, the slowing down process is basically the same with any type or model concerned. When a new computer is bought and first booted up, it naturally works lightning fast, and this is because it doesn't have anything on it. As you download files. install programs, and surf the Internet over time, the computer gets bloated with files that hog your computer's system resources.

There is no definite and single main cause why a computer slows down over time; it can be a series of major causes that can happen within  a spanning period of time.

Using two or more antivirus software or anti-malware programs
To put it simply, having two or more antivirus or anti-malware programs can greatly slow down your computer and some may actually get in conflict with each other and damage the computer's operating system. Also, the first line of defense against viruses, malware, and spyware should be Safe Browsing. Naturally, if you're downloading shady files, clicking on ad pop-ups, or opening links from unknown emails, you'll greatly increase your chances of getting a computer infection. So practice careful and responsible Internet browsing.

Not using Disk Cleanup at least once a week
At least once a week, you need to clear your cache and temporary Internet files and empty the trash bin by using the Disk Cleanup utility. And while you're at it, clear out your Internet browsing history and then check using the task manager which programs and background services are running at startup that are needed an thus, slowing down your computer. However, be careful an don't clear out the registry thinking this speeds up your computer. Cleaning out the registry may clear out some outdated settings but the registry files are merely in kilobytes, there won't be any noticeable change in your computer's speed.

Allowing your hard drive to become dangerously low on space
If you have allowed your hard drive to become low on space, like say, only having around 2 or 3 gigabytes as free space, then your computer will drastically slow down. Your computer programs need space to dynamically grow in size, usually through the creation of temporary files. If there is no room on the hard drive to store these, you system will crawl. However, if you have more than half the hard drive with free space, your don't need to clear out personal data to speed up the computer. Getting rid of Word documents, photos, videos, and music - no matter how large these files are - have no negligible effect on the computer's speed.

In reality, we need to face the fact that as any computer gets older, it will definitely. slow down. It's a natural progression. As newer hardware, software, Internet, and application capabilities evolve, these new innovations require more space and power. So the user should never be faulted when their once zippy computer is now crawling, unless the user has a habit of dangerously download anything from the web.

Reasons Why Your Computer's Performance May Seem Inconsistent

We sometimes call it lagging or sluggish, but regardless of how it is described, we simply cannot deny that our computer may eventually become slow over time. So, what could be the factors that can negatively impact on a computer’s performance? What should you be looking out for?

In reality, computer performance is very consistent. This is because the computer will always run as fast and as properly as it possibly can, of course, within the constraints of the hardware and software inside the computer. Some programs might run up against one another when it comes to resources. It all depends on what constraint a particular program runs up against.

Compared to their counterparts as far back as the turn of the 21^st century, today’s modern computers are amazingly fast. The only thing that they may run into and can’t keep up with is the human expectation that what’s already fast, may not be fast enough for them.

So here are some possibilities for any inconsistent computer performance:

You don’t have enough RAM or some other resource – perhaps when you bought your computer, you didn't ask if the specifications are good enough for the kind of work you need to do. For example, your computers only have 2MB of memory, when you need is at least 4MB of computer memory to properly run your online ticketing business. Little things like this may be overlooked.

Too many programs are running and taking a lot of resources – probably the most common mistake many people make, and they start thinking that their hardware is slowing down and needs repair. For instance, many web professionals open too many websites all at once that slows down the browser and memory. Another problem is having two or three antivirus programs running all at the same time when all you need is one. Antivirus programs may be very resource intensive.

It may be your network that’s slow, not the computer – you may think that it’s your computer that’s being slow, but there is also a possibility that it’s your network that’s running slow. This happens when you notice that your web pages take a long time to open.

Admit it, your computer might be old – unwittingly, you might just have realized that your computer is almost 10 years old and you’re trying to run newer software that exceeds the capabilities of the old computer.

You might have a computer virus – this occurs if you don’t have an antivirus program or you don’t regularly update your antivirus program. If your computer does have a computer virus infecting your files and programs on your system, this will definitely slow down the computer.

You might have some configuration or setup issues – if you suspect such, or see no reason to suspect anything else, perhaps you might want a tech support to check out your computer.

Some Habits that Can Make Your Computer Run Better and Protect It Online and Physically As Well

It’s been proven that bad habits can be made worse by technology. So, instead of getting used to these bad habits, and invite bad things that may happen to your computer, you can use technology to break these bad habits and create good habits. When you get used to these good habits, you'll soon see the results of a computer that runs better and protecting it both from online attacks and physical deterioration.

Never leave equipment in plain sight

This is one habit you should practice, because very often, people have the bad habit of leaving their computers in plain sight while taking their coffee orders or going to the bathroom. It doesn't take long for someone at a nearby table or near the window to react to the temptation and snatch up your laptop. This is a non-techy and no brainer habit that will keep your hard-earned computer safe.

Not cleaning your equipment

Here’s another non-techy no brainer for you; always get in the habit of cleaning your computer, especially your laptop, at least once every 6 months. Dust and grime is the worst enemy of computers because it will prevent the fans inside to function properly, heating up the inside, clog optical-drive mechanisms and other moving parts, and will cause internal damage.

Always back up data

Notice that the first and second tips are non-techy and practical, since most tips given are technical in nature. Now, this one is the most ignored until something happens to the computer, and after the crash, you wish you had backed up your important files. Get into the habit of backing up your data; you can use cloud-storage systems, or do it physically by using external disks, adding another hard disk to your PC, or burning your data onto CD’s or DVD’s.

Using different passwords and frequently changing passwords

Here’s a habit that can't be emphasized enough; in this age of hacking and identity thieves, you need to get into the habit of having different passwords for every online account you have, including social media sites. Not only that, the passwords need to be really hard to hack; your birthday or wedding anniversary just won't cut it because these can be easily figured out. Also, change your passwords at least every 6 months.

Never fail to update

Software updates are released and very important because it’s a way for developers to add features, fixes bugs, and plug security holes. More importantly, operating system and security software updates keep equipment stable and secure. Even if updates are automatic, you still need to reboot. Rebooting is also important because it refreshes the system while properly reflecting everything that was installed or updated.

Don’t open up or respond to spam

Make it a habit to go over your spam folder and delete everything without opening or responding to anything. This is where the most viruses and malware hide, and when you open the links or respond to the spam, you leave your computer open to cyber-attacks.

If you follow these good habits, you'll not only prevent your equipment from being attacked or hacked, but you’ll extend their lifespan as well.