PC speed and ‘bottle-necking’

We often get asked about how people can make their computer faster, or if a particular computer is faster than another when looking at a new purchase. The key to knowing what is faster or slower comes to the principle of ‘bottle-necking’. 

To illustrate: imagine two literal bottles, they both have a capacity of 2L but one of them has a completely open top, and the other has a narrow spout. If you turn them upside down, which one empties first? It’s the one with the widest bottle-neck. A narrow bottle-neck is slower. 

When we refer to something that ‘bottle-necks’ the speed of a PC, we mean that at least one part is slower than the rest, and that it holds back the rest of the PC’s speed. So if you feel your PC is running slow or you are picking out a new one, the first thing to consider is “what are you using the PC for when it’s running slow”? 

Take some examples: you can have the fastest PC built in the world, but your webpages can still be slow if your internet is the ‘bottle-neck’. Or you may have great internet, and a high end processor, but if your games run slowly, it’s possible your graphics card is the ‘bottle-neck’. Maybe everything is just about even, but your PC tends to be slow on startup or when you open programs. The chances are your hard drive speed is ‘bottle-necking’ and you need to upgrade to an SSD. 

It’s not just hardware or the internet. Other factors like viruses, wireless speed, the amount of users with programs open, the age of your PC…there are many things that can introduce new bottle-necks. So we suggest the next time you notice your PC running slow, ask yourself these questions: 

• Did it used to be this slow, or is this a new thing? 

• Is it only slow when I do internet related things (facebook, emails) or even other programs (Microsoft Word, local games)? 

• Is there something specific I’m doing just before it runs slow? If yes: if I then restart the computer, and go straight back to this, is it slow then as well? 

These small things may not mean much to you, but it can help a trained technician spot where your ‘bottle-neck’ is, and help them give you some friendly advice on improving your computers speed. 

Contact your local computer store to book your computer in for a checkup to make sure your computer is running at its maximum capacity and causing you delays.