Performance and cost are not the only things that should be of concern to a computer user. Taking proper care of your computer and investing in preventative measures is extremely important! Your computer will in return offer you reliability and longevity that will likely save you over double what you put into taking care of it. Let me help you get your computer set up to deliver a long and prosperous service lifespan.
Quality Parts
What is your computer made of? Whether or not your computer will live a long and reliable lifespan is mostly determined by the quality of parts it is built from. The motherboard, power supply, and hard drive are the three most important components to make sure are of a high-quality. Most computers today, whether they're off the shelf or cheaply custom-made, contain cheap or merely average-quality parts. Replacing them all would probably cost as much as a new computer anyway. Stealth Computer Services is proud to offer hand-built desktop systems made only from the highest-quality parts for this very reason. For your next system, make sure you start off on the right foot and have me build a top-quality system for you that will deliver a long and reliable lifespan, while giving you maximum upgradeability and minimum hassle and cost-of-ownership in the long run.
Case and Cooling Solutions
As a general rule of thumb, the cooler you keep the components in your computer tower, the longer they will last. If you've noticed your computer freezing or shutting off a lot during hot days, accompanied by the sound of a loud fan, your system may be overheating! A computer tower should always be cleaned out at least once a year to remove the dust that has built up inside. Dust hinders airflow and can even cause static damage.
Your computer tower itself should also have at least one strong air intake fan, preferably two, blowing directly over your hard drives. This will also give a constant stream of cool air rushing into the system, creating positive air pressure which is quickly forced out along with heat by the pressure itself. The less time the air has to stagnate in the case, the better. If your case does not meet these standards, you can get one that does and have your computer's internals transplanted to the new, cooler case.
You can't really change the case or internal cooling solutions on laptops and netbooks, but you can still improve the ventilation and clean out the dust. A suitable upgrade for these portable systems is a cooling pad. These units are platforms you set your laptop on that raise it off the surface its sitting on and draws in the cool surrounding air from underneath. This air is then circulated under the laptop, supplementing its own air intake and causing your whole system to run cooler.
Whether you have a tower or a laptop, let me devise a cooling system just for you that will give your system better longevity and reliability.
Power Protection and UPS Units
If your computer gets hit by a single power surge, it could fry the whole system! If your computer were to suddenly lose power even for a split second, you could end up with data loss or corruption that could ruin your entire Windows installation. An Uninterruptable Power Supply, or UPS for short, is a battery-like appliance about half the size of the computer tower that plugs into your wall outlet directly. You then plug your computer into this device instead of the wall. It takes raw utility power and conditions it to be clean and stable for your computer's power supply, which can help prolong its life.
Its main advantages are that it protects your entire system from any power surges, spikes, or even a total blackout! During these events, the unit switches to its internal battery and continues to provide clean, stable power until the power is restored to normal or the battery is depleted. Good units can keep your system running for up to an hour during a total blackout! This would give you complete protection from excessive wear on your power supply, protection from damage from sudden over/under-voltages, and give you time to shut your system down (or keep working for a short time) in the event of a blackout. Most systems can even be configured to shut your computer down safely for you if nobody is home or awake during the blackout.
Luckily for laptops and netbooks, they have their own built-in battery that prevents power loss while you are using utility power. Even so, they should still be equipped with a quality surge protection unit that will intercept any power surges or spikes that could damage your system. Small, portable 2-plug surge units are the common choice for laptops.
UPS units can and will save you time, money, loss, and a hassle in the long run. Let me install a high-quality power protection unit into your system's power configuration that will protect it and ensure 24/7 reliable operation.
Internet Security
Virus infections and other "malware" are the most common issues for the average computer owner. The most common type disguises itself as a virus-scanning program and alerts you to many infections, usually false, on your system to try and scare you. They then offer to remove these fake infections for you if you buy their "product". These infections also commonly lock you out of many, if not all functions and programs in your computer, claiming that they are infected. Consider yourself relatively fortunate if your virus is an attention-hog like this. The scariest types are the ones that don't make any fuss at all. They quietly lie low on your system, not blocking or slowing anything, and wait for you to enter a password, credit card number, bank account number, or other sensitive information so they can send it back to the hackers that programmed them. Virus infections and malware can not only cripple your system and make it un-usable, it can even enable a criminal to steal your identity!
Internet security suites are designed as a preventative measure to keep these kinds of threats from affecting you. You should invest in a quality security suite immediately if you don't already have one. If you've got a bit of tech savvy, you might enjoy a visit to AV-Comparatives.org. This is the site I follow closely to see which security products are the best at any given time. The current leaders as of Q2 2011 are Norton Internet Security 2011, F-Secure Internet Security 2011, Kaspersky Internet Security 2011, and Avira Premium Security Suite. Now, these are all top-of-the-line security products. You get what you pay for, and with these you'll usually be paying anywhere from $50-$80 per year. On the bright side, most paid products include protection for up to three PCs for that price. There are free anti-virus products out there, but because they don't perform quite as well, I would not recommend them unless your system is only for casual use and you don't perform any sensitive transactions on it like purchasing or banking. For those looking for a free anti-virus solution, Microsoft offers Microsoft Security Essentials as a free download for all genuine Windows users. Microsoft Security Essentials currently scores among the best of the free anti-virus choices according to AV-Comparatives.org.
Data Backup Solutions
Hard drives are like a ticking time bomb. Any hardware that has moving parts is a lot more prone to failure than ones that do not, and with drive platters spinning at over 7000 RPM, the hard drive is one of the first things in a computer to go. All your important data can be taken away from you in an instant by a virus, drive failure, data corruption, or even human error! Once that happens, there may be no way to recover any of the data on it without paying hundreds or thousands for a data-recovery specialist. If you value the data on your hard drive, you can protect it from these kinds of disasters by backing it up.
I will help you create a specialized backup procedure just for you that will get you on track backing up all your important files. The usual recommendation is to purchase one large external hard drive and one smaller USB Thumb drive. Back up everything once a month to your external hard drive, and in between those full backups, back up any critical files or folders that have been created or changed since your last full backup on a nightly schedule. This helps to ensure that your backups are current to the day. If you are too busy for, or otherwise don't want to deal with manual backups, I can help you set up an automatic backup system to an external/networked hard drive or even an online backup service. Give me a call and I'll help you set up a backup routine personalized just for you!
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