When You Should Consider Upgrading Your PC
The first decision you are faced with is whether to upgrade or purchase a new PC. If you are still
using a PC with a 386 processor (or heaven forbid, something older) the decision has already been
made for you. Your old PC should be considered nothing more than an obsolete boat anchor, and
you should be concerned only with deciding how much you will spend on a new PC.
If you are still using a PC with a 486 processor, the decision may not seem so clear cut (even
though it really is). The 486 processor is more than six years old and is really not capable of
running the current batch of software at an acceptable performance level. But if you are still
running Windows 3.1 and DOS 6.2x (or higher) and content to perform some light word
processing and spreadsheet tasks, and you occasionally want to browse a few Web sites on the
Internet or play a few (older!) games, then you may be able to squeeze another year or two out of
that creaking old dinosaur.
If you are still using Windows 3.1x, make sure you are using it with at
least MS-DOS versions 6.2x or PC-DOS version 7.0. These
latest versions of DOS offer you the best memory management
operation with Windows, which in the long run will allow you the best
level of performance.
Consider the fact that you have to look not only at how you are currently using your PC, but how
you are likely to use it in the future. If you have not moved up to a new 32-bit operating system
such as Windows 98 or Windows NT, you probably will in the next year because most major
software manufacturers have ceased producing software that runs under Windows 3.1. Upgrading
your 486 to a Pentium 75 or 100 to run Windows 98 or NT merely puts you up one rung at the low
end of the performance ladder.
16-bit and 32-bit are technical terms you will hear whenever the
discussion turns to operating systems and/or programming, among other
things. Quite simply, they refer to how computer instructions and data are
processed by your computer, either in 16-bit units or in 32-bit units.
Because a 32-bit unit is twice as large as a 16-bit unit, the assumption is
that 32-bit programs and operating systems are twice as fast as their 16-
bit counterparts. Twice as fast may be stretching it a bit, but the basic
underlying assumption is generally true. 32-bit programs and operating
systems are faster than 16-bit programs and operating systems.If you have a Pentium-class (Pentium, Pentium Pro, or Pentium II CPU) computer or better, then
you should concentrate on examining and upgrading those components in your computer that
might be adversely affecting your PC's performance. If you are not sure which components in
your computer might be adversely affecting its performance, by the time you complete this book
you will know for sure.Pentium-class computers are computers equipped with either a
Pentium, Pentium Pro, or Pentium II CPU. These are all
microprocessors that have been manufactured in the last two years and
constitute the current highend of Intel Corporation's microprocessor
line.