Don’t buy a new computer until you understand bananas:
Ah, the age-old debate: to buy a new computer or not? Let's embark on a
journey together before you
throw your hard-earned cash at the latest shiny gadget.
First off, before you run to the nearest computer shop, chat with someone who
actually knows a thing
or two about IT. And by IT, I'm not referring to your computer in all
caps as though it's about
to perform a solo at Carnegie Hall; I mean Information Technology—the IT
girl (or guy).
Even that friend of yours who can do those strange formulas in Excel probably
can't tell a computer processor from a
stick of RAM or a hard drive if it came with pictures. But that's
perfectly fine! A deep understanding of these
components requires years of study, a luxury most people wisely spend
binge-watching TV series.
But that's where we, the noble IT Shieldmaidens and knights, come to
your rescue.
Let me paint you a picture with an analogy. Imagine a person who can think at
the speed of either 100
or 200 bananas an hour (and for those familiar with 9GAG, hello there).
Yes, bananas.
This banana-powered thinker can only hold so much information in mind at
once—think of it as being
able to remember four sheets. So, to work with more information, they
need to use a paper
notebook.
Consider this: if you toss them a list of names to alphabetize that's only
two pages long, and their
brain can juggle four pages at once, they'll zip through the task with
their 100-banana-an-hour
processing power. No sweat, right?
But give them a six-page list when they can only hold four
pages in their head? Out
comes the pencil and paper, and suddenly, we're not so zippy. That's
because the act of writing
down, erasing, and sorting is, well, painstakingly slow. Even a
200-banana brain won't speed up
the manual labor of using a pencil to write on a paper notebook, reading
the list, erasing, and
so forth.
Moving away from the metaphors, your computer's brain (processor) and
short-term memory (RAM)
function in a similar manner. When the RAM overflows, your computer
starts scribbling on the
hard drive (the slow paper notebook here), which is like trying to
sprint through a pool of
molasses compared to the speed of RAM.
And let's not even start on mechanical hard drives with their spinning disks
and read/write heads.
Yes, they're as old-school as your grandma's turntable. The modern hero
of our story is the SSD,
or Solid State Drive, which zips and zooms without any moving parts,
making your computer fly.
If your computer is more sluggish than a snail on a leisurely stroll,
consider boosting its RAM (so
it can do stuff without having to write it down). Four gigs? Please,
we're not in the Stone Age.
Aim for eight gigs to keep things smooth, though sixteen gigs is where
the magic happens. And
swap that dusty old mechanical hard drive for an SSD.
Regarding the processor, unless you're calculating orbits to launch rockets
or editing the next
blockbuster movie, most processors will handle your daily dose of cat
videos and spreadsheets
with grace.
So, remember, before you rush to buy a new computer, make sure the one you're
thinking of replacing
doesn't already have at least eight gigs of RAM and an SSD. If not,
consider upgrading—you might
extend your computer's life by five to ten years. I'm writing this on a
ten-year-old computer
myself, where I do all sorts of stuff, including programming large
software and working with big
databases.
You'll be happy to know that when you take your computer to get its
much-needed upgrade they will
take out all the cat hair and bread crumbs from the fans, along with
some other heat-conducting
paste we are not going to get into now or ever, which will do it a world
of good.
Your wallet—and your sanity—will thank you. And if you're feeling
adventurous, give Linux a whirl.
You'll thank me later, once you've crossed over to the enlightened side
of computing.
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