Over time many users end up noticing that. their PC runs slower and slowerI have also encountered cases in which even newly purchased PCs already show, from the beginning, a certain slowness, although fortunately this is not the norm. I have also encountered cases where even newly purchased PCs already show, from the beginning, a certain slowness, although fortunately this is not the norm.
The simple use of a PC may be more than enough to cause it to slow down over time, but there are also a number of other factors that can influence it and that, in the end, can make a significant difference. To give you an idea, I was using a Windows 10 installation for about five years without any problems whatsoever.I never noticed the slightest loss of performance, and yet other people around me had problems of this kind even in less than a year.
I wanted to put this simple example so that you have one thing clear from the beginning, which is that a PC does not start to run slow without a reasonand that in most cases the main culprit is usually the user. Yes, I know that nobody likes to admit that they don’t know how to use a PC well, in fact in most cases, when someone has asked me for help, they have denied the obvious even when I put in front of their nose that they had visited websites they shouldn’t have, or that they had done things that were not recommended with the computer.
On this basis, today I want to answer a question that I have been asked on many occasions, and that I think is very interesting and can be of great help to you, how to prevent a PC from running slower and slower. Ideally, to achieve this goal of to keep the PC as fresh as the first day, you should apply all the following tips at the same time you are going to see below, because if you only put into practice some of them, the final result may not be as good as it should be, and there is a chance that it will end up slowing down anyway, although in a less marked way.
Take care of your PC and make proper use of it.
This is it, in essence, the best way to keep a computer in good condition, that’s all. With the passage of time it is likely that failures and problems that are not the fault of the user will eventually arise, and it is normal because each component has a certain life span, but it is normal that this does not occur. for many, many years.
I’m sure you’re wondering what we mean by taking care of and making proper use of a PC. Each person may have their own way of approaching this subject, but the truth is that it is not a complicated concept. However, it is true that it is something that goes beyond the basic level that most users apply on a daily basis.
We can say that under this idea we group a series of keys that are essential to keep a PC in good condition, and to prevent it from slowing down over time. To make them all clear, and to make them easier for you to understand easy to understandWe are going to see a complete list and go deeper into them. Some of these points will also help you to improve the performance of your PC.
Keys that define the care and good use of a PC.
- Switching it on and off correctlyavoiding direct shutdowns and resets unless these are necessary for specific reasons, such as a crash or a stability failure that forces us to reset it. A crash would be one of the best examples we can give at this point.
- Keep it protected against possible voltage peaks.The power surges or dips, because they can affect the performance of the equipment and, in the worst case, could end up causing damage to the components and end the life of our PC. If you live in an area where power failures are frequent, I recommend buying a UPS directly.
- Avoid accessing dubious websites and downloading dangerous content. that may pose a risk to our PC, which can usually result in a malware or adware infection. These types of infections can greatly reduce PC performance and even prevent us from doing certain things.
- Don’t install a huge number of applications or let them consume resources in the background. Even if you are going to use them, keep in mind that these can drain quite a lot of resources and slow down your computer considerably, so ideally keep a minimum of control over them, and don’t let them load on startup unless they are of enormous use to you.
- Keep your PC up to date, both in terms of drivers and operating system.but only install software and drivers in their final versions, avoid beta versions and do not be the first to install new versions. It is better to wait for a reasonable time so that, if there are unidentified bugs, you will not be the first to suffer them.
- Do regular software checks and maintenance of your PC.even at a basic level. This includes updating drivers, applications and operating system, and also performing certain basic tasks, such as optimizing storage drives, performing a thorough and complete malware scan and measuring the operating temperatures of the most important components.
- Performs physical maintenance of the PCIn particular, the ideal is to clean dust and dirt internally at least once a year, and change the thermal paste and thermal pads when necessary. Even with a basic cleaning of dust and dirt on fans and other sensitive components we can notice a significant improvement in temperatures, and changing the thermal paste is essential to ensure proper operation and maintain the performance of the processor and graphics core.
- Beware of overclocking and applications that promise to improve performanceIn the first case, this can end up worsening the performance and even giving stability problems if you overclock too much and get into an inadequate level for your computer. In the second case, many of those applications that promise miracles really do nothing and just show you advertisements. In other cases, you may end up with a malware or adware infection.
Lifetime of a PC: time does not pass in vain, and it is normal.
The passage of time is another of the most important factors that can influence the performance of a PC. In this sense, it is totally normal that, with the passage of time, we notice that our equipment is losing power, especially when we change to a more current operating system or when we use new applications. However, this is something that should not happen within a few months of purchase, unless we have purchased a configuration that does not meet our real needs.
The normal thing to do, in this case, is to that we notice this loss of faculties in the long term.. For example, when I upgraded to a PC with an Intel Core i5-4690K, 16 GB of RAM and a GeForce GTX 970 I didn’t start to notice anything negative until titles that took better advantage of the potential of PS4 Pro and Xbox One X started to arrive, and my computer stopped being able to move games in 1080p with maximum quality and maintain 60 FPS totally stable. This was not my fault, I was using the PC properly and keeping it in good shape, but eventually it was normal for it to get slower and slower in games.
This can also happen when we use other applications that are more demanding.and that require more powerful hardware, or when we upgrade to an operating system that has higher requirements than the one we were using. I give you a recent example that, in the end, I had to solve with a “rollback”. An acquaintance decided to accept Microsoft’s invitation to upgrade his laptop to Windows 11, since it was compatible.
A priori it seems like a good idea, but the bad thing is that his laptop only had 4 GB of RAM and was running an Intel Celeron N4100a low-power, low-performance chip that was not up to the real demands of Windows 11, even though it is compatible. There was no possible solution to this situation beyond going back to Windows 10, and that’s what I did to stop his PC from running so extremely slow, going back to a less demanding operating system.
Maintaining our PC updated and in good condition can help us to reduce the impact that the passage of time will have on its performance, but be clear that in the end the only thing that will really help us to “beat” time will be to upgrade the components of the equipment or to buy a brand new one, just like that.
Reinstalling the operating system: miracle or myth?
It is not a myth, far from it. Reinstalling the operating system can make a computer that was running extremely slowly to regain that fluidity. This is an established and confirmed fact, and it is so effective that there are even people who recommend a reinstallation of Windows every one or two years.
Unfortunately, this recommendation is a mythand it can also end up causing problems for less knowledgeable users. It should also be noted that reinstalling the operating system will not bring any improvement if the loss of performance that made our PC run slower and slower is not a problem. is due to a hardware problem, or a conflict present at this level that cannot be resolved via software or drivers.
Reinstalling the operating system can be a very useful option when you notice that your PC is running very slow and you are not clear what to do, nor where the problem might be. In fact, it can be even faster and more effective than tinkering around to find bugs. and then having to resolve them. However, this does not mean that we have to reinstall it from time to time, we should only resort to this when strictly necessary, and not establish it as an annual routine.
I give you again my case as an example. As I said, I was using Windows 10 for about five years without having the slightest performance problem, I only experienced small problems with updates because of the motherboard sound chip drivers, and I was able to solve them by reverting to the previous drivers. I didn’t do anything special, I just browsed trusted web pages.I did not download or install files from dubious sources, I installed games from trusted platforms, such as Steam and Good Old Games, and I avoided other clear sources of malware.
Also I kept the equipment up to date in all respects, although waiting a prudent time to make sure the updates were in good shape, and performed basic hardware level overhauls and maintenance. This is still my usual routine for taking care of my PCs:
- Dust and dirt cleaning every six months.
- Changing thermal paste on the CPU every two years.
- Thermal paste cleaning on GPU every three years and thermal pads check.
- Review of the correct state of the cabling and physical condition of the components.
- Stress tests every and temperature and power supply measurements every six months.
By following all the recommendations you have read in this article you will prevent your PC from getting slower and slower, keep it in good condition and you will greatly extend its useful life. Please note that this also will cause the components to maintain a higher value. when selling them on the second hand market, something very important and useful if at some point you decide to upgrade and sell them to earn some money to help you defray the cost of that component renewal.
