One thing we get asked a lot by clients is how to speed up the computers on the office network.

Unfortunately there’s not one answer for this but I’m going to outline the most common reasons the computers in your business might be running slow.

RAM

In each of the computers in your business you’ll have a set amount of RAM and an amount your computer will support. Typical values for this are 4-8Gb currently and a maximum of 16Gb. A good target if your computer is running slow is to try and double what you currently have, the more the better but really your aim should be to try and ensure you’re not using all of it and you have some capacity left.

CPU

Another reason you might be suffering from slow business machines is the CPU (or processor) in your systems. Unfortunately this cannot be upgraded the way RAM can above, and really needs to be a major consideration when purchasing PCs for the office in the first place. The best in our experience is a Intel i3 at a minimum or an Intel i5 or i7 would be ideal.

HDD

A HDD or Hard Disk Drive is the part of your computer that stores all the data, so the letters, spreadsheets, email and Windows and all the applications installed on your system. But there’s a shift to what are called SSD or Solid State Drives. These are storage containers that have no moving parts (like the USB Storage you plug in to a computer) this is not only much quicker than traditional HDDs but more reliable and less prone to faults. Also we can clone your existing HDD to a SSD.

Apps

Over time or even at manufacture a lot of apps and software get installed on your office PCs, and a lot will start with Windows even though you’re not using them, some need to run when the systems start but many don’t. By configuring what needs to be running and what doesn’t you can make significant improvements to the PCs running in your business.

As mentioned at the top there can be hundreds of reasons a PC might be running slow but these are some of the most common, when we take care of a clients business I.T. systems we monitor and look out for these causes so they can be fixed.

If you’d like to have a chat about Aurora Tech Support maintaining your office infrastructure ether as a part of an ongoing monthly agreement or ad hoc please give us a call.