Justify improvements that could be made to a computer system considering the costs involved and the potential benefits gained.

Many companies have had the same computers for 5-10 years and for the ones nearer the 10 year bracket should seriously consider getting new computers. They should do this because there base system, motherboard and CPU, will be of poor quality now and upgrading it would be very hard to do due to the fact the slots have evolved at least two generations. However, for the companies that are 5 years or younger then there are many things you can do improve your computers.

The first and most obvious is to improve the RAM, Random Access Memory. The RAM stores all the processes that goes on within the computer, so if you have a word document open it will be stored in the RAM until you save it permanently on the Hard Drive. Therefore, upgrading the RAM will mean a noticeable quickening of your system as it will be able to run more processes at once due to the increased amount of this memory. Along with being a good upgrade it is rather cheap to upgrade it in the first place which means you get a lot of improvement to your system for not a lot of money.

However, if you wish to upgrade your RAM it is a must that you check what your Operating System, OS, can hold in regards to RAM. Older versions of Windows may only be able to run with 2gb of RAM and sometimes less. The type of modern Windows is also a factor because if you are running on a 32bit OS then your system will only configure and use up to 3gb of RAM. If however you are using a 64bit OS the only limit is what your motherboard can take. Therefore, check what RAM you have in your system as by simply upgrading your OS you might be able to get a new OS and a more RAM than you expected, meaning it would be terrific value for money.

The benefits for upgrading the OS on its own merit is also worth considering. If the system is relatively new but the company wishes to use the latest software they may need to upgrade from the baseline software, Windows XP, to one of the newer versions of windows, Vista or 7. The benefits of upgrading to Windows 7 include a much improved user interface with many more customizable features that allow the user to truly reach their goals. As with everything you must check compatibility but that can be done through a simple download of Microsofts website and for as little as £100 can really improve the performance of your system.