Before you buy a new computer, there may be ways to get your current computer to run faster. Which of these steps apply to your system depend on your specific system type and configuration.

Performance improvements are possible either by adding or changing hardware such as memory or the CPU. Software additions such as a commercial disk defragmentation utility, cleanup and archive of unneeded files and even cleaning the fans and keeping your computer cooler can improve the performance of your system.

Keep in mind that hardware changes should be done by a qualified computer repair center, you can make the software improvements yourself.

The most commonly overlooked performance improvement is the addition of computer memory. In many instances additional memory can be added to the computer and should be done for two reasons:

1) Computer applications require more memory

2) Computer operating systems can take advantage of more memory to improve system performance.

Consider a hard drive upgrade or addition. If your system is more than 2 years old, computer hard drives have become cheaper with higher capacity. A one terabyte drive (1000 gigabytes) of disk storage can be purchased for $ 100.00 (US).

Depending on your system model, it may be possible to cheaply upgrade the CPU of the system for a faster processor.

Microsoft Windows ships with a disk defragmenting utility. A commercial defragmentation utility such as Diskeeper will provide more options for keeping disks optimized and improve performance.

Consider an upgrade to Microsoft Windows 7, which provides more control over power settings and is optimized in a number of ways that are an improvement over Microsoft Windows XP.