Faster please, faster…

American is a fast paced society, and even us “retired” folks like things to work fast, especially when it comes to our computers. A complaint I often hear is “what can I do to make my computer run faster,” or “my computer seems to be running much slower than it used to.” This week’s OnMouseClick will attempt to analyze what makes a computer fast, or slow and next week I will describe what we can do to ascertain if our computers are running at their optimum speed.

At the heart of all computers is the microprocessor, and the speed at which it executes instructions is known as clock speed.  For some perspective, one gigahertz (GHz) is approximately a billion cycles per second, and a megahertz (MHz) is approximately one million cycles per second. In 1990 a fast computer ran at 4.47MHz per second, while today the slowest computers run at least 1GHz.  The higher the number of gigahertz, the more instructions a computer can execute per second, and the faster the computer will operate. Most of the computers on the market today operate at 1.2GHz to 3 GHz. However, the clock speed number is not the only variable in determining how fast a microprocessor preforms, nor is it necessarily the most accurate. Another variable to consider is if the microprocessor is a single or dual-core processor (as mentioned in an earlier column, some expensive computer also have quad-core processors). In simple terms, in a single-core system streams of information must be processed one at a time, while a dual-core system can processes two different streams of information simultaneously, speeding up the entire processes.

I am often asked if adding RAM (random access memory) will make a computer run faster, and the answer is a qualified yes. Most of today’s computers come with one or two gigabytes of memory installed, which is enough for doing basic tasks. However, if you regularly operate several programs at once, open a multitude of web pages, or work on photo, video, or audio editing, you put a strain on the installed RAM. When the computer requires more memory than installed, it 

resorts to using a portion of the hard drive as a virtual memory location, which slows down system performance. When more RAM is installed, the computer will run more efficiently, and will seem to run faster. 

The only problem with installing large amounts of RAM is that software cannot always take advantage of the increased memory. Computer systems run in either 32 or 64-bit mode, and 64-bit systems handle data more efficiently, and are capable of managing large amounts of memory. An apt analogy is to think of a highway—a 64-lane highway can handle many more cars than a 32-lane highway, but controlling the larger highway can be an onerous job. And so it is with with computing; system software must be optimized to run in 64-bit mode. The most current version of Windows, as with Vista before it, comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, and which you install depends on the configuration of your computer.

Not all applications will run in 64-bit mode. If you are running current versions of software, you should not have any problems, but if you are running older applications (two or more years old) they may not work on a 64-bit system. If you are using an older application, check with the publisher to see if a newer version of the software is available. If you plan to upgrade to a Windows system, make sure you install the correct version for you system.

The question of 32 and 64-bit bit simpler for Macintosh users, since all recent Macs are 64-bit systems. The most recent operating system, OS X 1.6 (Snow Leopard) runs in 64-bit mode, but it is capable of running both 32 and 64-bit applications.

As promised in the TR Times ,the digital version of this column includes directions for finding out if  is 64-bit mode capable and if the installed version of Windows is 32 or 64-bit.

Is your computer 32-bit or 64-bit? Follow these steps to find out (works in Windows XP, Vista, & 7):

1. Open the START menu and select All PROGRAMS -> ACCESSORIES -> SYSTEM TOOLS -> SYSTEM INFORMATION
2. System Information will display information about your computer system in a SYSTEM SUMMARY. Look for the SYSTEM TYPE item.
3. SYSTEM TYPE will show one of the following:
• x86-based PC — this is a 32-bit computer system
• x64-based PC — this is a 64-bit computer system

My computer is 64-bit, how do I know Windows is running in 64-bit? Windows 7 runs on both system, so if you are running Window 7 on a 64-bit machine, you are good to go. For Vista and XP follow these directions:

1. Right-click on MY COMPUTER or COMPUTER, and then click on PROPERTIES.
2. If you see x65 Edition under SYSTEM you are running the 65-bit version of Window. If you do not see this, then you are running the 32-bit version.

If you want to upgrade your computer's memory, I recommend checking out the online memory reseller, Crucial. I have purchased from Crucial and the memory they sell is first-rate and their prices cannot be beat.