Computer Science Essay Sample: Upgrading Computer Hardware

Upgrading computer hardware components such as hard disks, RAM and processors enable a computer to have a larger storage space, more memory, and a faster-processing speed respectively (Andrew, 2015). Upgrading a computers hardware components, therefore, improves a computers overall performance. The purpose of this research paper is to identify the benefits that both business owners and personal users get by upgrading their computer systems hardware. The target owners for this paper are business owners and personal users.

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Since the introduction of computers to personal users and business owners, efficiency and productivity have increased for both groups. Advantages such as increased storage space, file sharing, and high processing capabilities have enabled computers to revolutionize businesses personal computing experience. Computer systems have lifespans that are roughly five years. As time goes by, hardware components of a computer can break down due to old age or become outdated due to the production of newer, up to date hardware components. These factors lower the overall performance of a computer. This applies to both business owners and personal users computers. Other factors that result in poor performance of a computer include (Dilts, 2014):

- Hard disk fragmentation that leads to poor data organization and, therefore, increased data retrieval time

If a business owner experiences these problems with his or her computer systems, the overall productivity of their businesses might decrease, and this will lead to losses. Likewise, a personal users productivity will also reduce if they encounter the same problems. Therefore, both business owners and personal users should consider upgrading their computer hardware components. The following are key things to consider before making the decision to upgrade the hardware components of their computer systems.

Upgrading a computers hardware components will have a positive effect on productivity. An upgraded computer system with increased speed will enable a user to switch between running applications faster hence reducing the overall time lost while working. Business owners will be able to accomplish more in their businesses while personal users will be able to achieve more in their personal work. Videos and graphics files are also easier to work with if a computer system has been upgraded. Likewise, personal users will also experience increased productivity after upgrading computer hardware components.

Both business owners and personal users should consider whether the existing software in the computer systems will be compatible with the new hardware components to be installed. The new hardware should, therefore, correspond with the software in their computer systems.

Both business owners and personal users should consider the costs of replacing hardware components to the costs of repairing faulty hardware. The cost of replacing computer hardware is higher than the cost of repairing computer hardware. Upgrading computer hardware components is, therefore, a cheaper alternative for a both groups in the long run.

Both business owners and personal users should plan and segment the hardware component replacement process in order to ease replacement costs. Computer hardware lifespan should be considered. Both groups should start by replacing the oldest hardware components instead of waiting until the components fail.

A computer system with more RAM is able to run more than one program at once without slowing down. By increasing a computer systems RAM, both business owners and personal users will be able to simultaneously run several programs on their computer systems and, therefore, accomplish more. Increasing a computer systems RAM, therefore, boosts the computers overall performance (Knight, 2012).

Graphics processing mainly depends on RAM. If a business owner mainly deals with videos, then a graphics card upgrade will enable the business owner to work efficiently with digital videos. Likewise, a personal user who regularly plays computer games will be able to have a better gaming experience due to improved graphics. Graphics card upgrade goes hand in hand with RAM upgrade as graphics processing heavily relies on RAM. Both parties should also check graphics card compatibility with RAM.

By upgrading to a hard drive with a larger storage capacity, both business owners and personal users will be able to store more data on their hard disks. Upgrading to a faster hard disk may also speed up a slow computer, therefore, improving the overall performance of the computer system. Solid State Drives (SSD)s are modern day hard drives and as opposed to traditional hard disks, they do not have moving parts and are therefore less prone to mechanical damage. SSDs are therefore more preferable to traditional hard disk drives for businesses. Both parties can alternatively add a new hard disk drive to their computer system instead of replacing the existing hard disk. Adding a new hard disk is efficient as it does not involve data transfer.

By upgrading a computer systems optical drive from a CD drive to DVD drive, both business owners and personal users get the benefit of using DVDs, which have larger storage capacities compared to CDs. Both parties can also add a DVD drive to supplement the existing CD drive so that they can use both CDs and DVDs for storage and backups.

By upgrading a computer systems processor, both business owners and personal users will be able to improve their computers processing speed. The overall performance of the computer system will greatly improve. Both parties should also bear in mind that upgrading a computer systems RAM is a risky process as it can cause irreparable damage to the computers motherboard. The process should, therefore, be carried out cautiously. Processor upgrade goes hand in hand with RAM upgrade, and the processor should be compatible with the computers motherboard (Knight, 2012).

By upgrading to LCD monitors, a business owner will be able to cut costs on electricity and, therefore, save money for the business. A personal user will be able to enjoy better clarity for their personal experience. LCD monitors use less power and have more clarity compared to CRT monitors. LCD are therefore more advantageous for both personal users and business owners (Steele, 2010).

By evaluating the advantages of upgrading a computer systems hardware such as increased storage space, increased speed, improved file sharing, faster processing speeds, better graphics capabilities, and internet access, it can be concluded that upgrading a computers hardware components is more advantageous for personal users and business owners as compared to repairing old hardware. If both parties are considering an upgrade of computer hardware, then a replacement plan is necessary to enable them to cut on upgrade costs.

References

Andrew. (2015, February 5). Ultimate Computer Upgrade. Balanced Business Technologies.

Dilts, M. (2014, November 3). Does Your Business Need a Computer Upgrade? Pulse.

Knight, K. L. (2012, March 22). techsoup. Upgrading Computer Components.

Steele, J. (2010, November 2). 5 Computer Hardware Upgrades to Improve Speed, Memory and Perfomance. Money Crashers.