5 Reasons Your Computer is Slow and What to Do About It

When a computer is slow, it becomes frustrating to use. When you click on a program, it can take a couple of minutes to open. Sometimes, your computer can just freeze out and you have to wait several minutes for the cursor to respond. So, what could be the major cause of this problem?

Well, there are many factors that can cause performance issues with computers. In this blog, we would like to quickly discuss 5 of them.

Inadequate RAM

RAM stands for Random Access Memory, which is the temporary memory consumed by running programs on your computer. In other words, RAM provides a memory space for any program that runs on your computer. Whenever an application is launched, it will need RAM memory to work. Many computer programs are memory hogging because they’re too heavy or they’re associated with so many background services.

So, this means that when your overall RAM is limited, you will notice a sudden change in your computer performance. The best solution is to upgrade RAM so you can have enough memory for any program to run efficiently. If you had 4GB RAM installed on your machine, you need to upgrade to at least 8GB, depending on the type of programs you run. For instance, if you run heavy software that involves high graphics rendering, you definitely need not less than 16GB of RAM to have efficient performance.

Additionally, if you’re running the latest Windows 10, at least 8GB RAM is recommended. This is because Windows 10 versions have lots of memory-hogging background processes and services that keep running and are good at consuming your computer RAM.

Failing Hard Disk

The hard disk provides overall storage for your computer. The operating system, desktop applications and all your files are stored on the hard disk. Your computer processor takes in the commands and executes them. Let’s say, when you click to open a desktop application, the CPU takes in the command that instructs it to launch a program which is stored on your computer’s hard disk. However, when the hard disk health is deteriorating, it can take several minutes for the hard disk to respond to the CPU’s instructions. Sometimes, your computer can just freeze out or return an error.

So, in order to be sure whether or not your PC’s hard drive is failing, you can always use tools like Hard Disk Sentinel to measure disk health. If you notice that your hard disk health has deteriorated to below 60%, then backup your files before it totally blacks out and avoid the risk of losing your critical data.

Malware Infection

Malwares are rogue computer programs intended to disrupt the normal operations of your computer. Malware programs create undesirable issues that fit the true definition of a rogue application. For example, a malware can automatically launch itself and starts to run in the background. By doing that, it starts to hogg up all the CPU and memory resources hence compromising the performance of your computer. That’s why you need an Antivirus on your computer to protect you around the clock.  

Running Programs in the Background

Many programs have a tendency of launching themselves in the background whenever you boot up your PC. Without your knowledge, these programs are likely to consume all the memory resources, which leads to slow performance issues. It is important to configure which programs are allowed to launch after your computer boots to avoid these kinds of scenarios.

Running an Older Generation Machine

The truth is, old generation computers don’t have the robust performance of the new generation machines. This is because old generation machines usually run old tech like old CPU architecture, old RAM models and old HDD technology. On the other hand, newer generation machines run latest tech, that prioritizes high performance optimization and speed. For example, machines that run latest Intel CPUs (core i9), DD R5 SDRAM, and SSD storage technology have unmatched robust performance.

Therefore, if you’re stuck with old tech, it is time to upgrade and move with the trend and benefit from it.