Thinking about Upgrading your system?
Here is what you need to know...
Although computers have become much more affordable as technology has advanced,
not everyone is ready to purchase a new computer. Moving important data,
learning new software, and possible software compatibility issues can be
intimidating.
Upgrading your system may give you an opportunity to max out your investment.
One of the easiest and most cost effective ways to upgrade your system is to
increase the RAM. Most older systems will be 32 bit and can handle a maximum of
up to 4GB of RAM.
Additional data storage can usually be easily accommodated by most computers,
via additional internal hard drive storage, or via external options.
Another relatively easy upgrade is to invest in a more powerful video card.
Older systems will be constrained to AGP graphics; newer systems relying on the
PCIE architecture.
Computer Bogged down? Tons of Popups?
You could potentially have viruses or spyware/adware. We all know the dangers of
viruses; however, spyware/adware is getting to be very insidious. There
are various ways you can get infected, but if you are getting many popup
advertisements or your system is taking a long time to boot, i'd suggest running
some of these free for home use utilities.
Lavasoft Ad-Aware
Spybot Search and Destroy
CCleaner
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Windows 7
Microsoft Windows 7 was released early this year. The requirements to run
Windows 7
are similar to what was required for Vista. Foremost, you will need a good quality video
card, a dual core cpu and lots of ram (2-4GB strongly suggested). Windows 7
-can- run with less, but it may try your patience!
There are several versions to choose from for the average user, each one in
32bit or 64bit. 64bit users will be able to take advantage of additional RAM for
greater performance.
7 Home Premium: Is designed for the home user, with features such as
Windows Media Center, Windows Aero and multi-touch support.
7 Professional: Includes all the features of Home Premium, but adds the
capability to join a work domain.
7 Ultimate: Also includes BitLocker Drive Encryption, and UNIX
application support.
More detailed information can be found on the
Microsoft Website.
Of course, moving to a new operating system has both it's shares of ups and
downs. Some of your old software will not necessarily be Windows 7 friendly.
Which version of Microsoft Office is for me?
There are several different versions of Microsoft Office 2010 to meet your needs:
Home And Student includes , Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Home And Business includes Outlook as well.
Professional also includes Access and Publisher
More detailed information can be found on the
Microsoft
Website.
Top Free Software (For Home Users)
Open Office Great Alternative To
Microsoft Word
Opera Web Browser Includes Tabbed Browsing
Firefox Web Browser Another Great Internet
Utility
Lavasoft Ad Aware Spyware/Adware
Program
AVG Antivirus Free Antivirus
CCleaner
Removes
Temporary Files
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