Question
I have to upgrade my computers in the office. Should I stay with a PC or change to an Apple computer? I am sick of getting viruses and having the computer run slow. I have been told that the Apple computers do not get viruses or run slowly. Is all the common software available for both platforms? Any pros or cons from both sides would be appreciated.
Forum Responses
(Business and Management Forum)
From Contributor E:
I'm not sure what you mean by saying you are sick of getting viruses? If you have a decent anti-virus software that's up to date, you shouldn't have any issues. If your computer is slowing down, it's highly probable there are other fixable internal issues unrelated to viruses. Whatever you do, don't do any of the "online virus scans" - most of them are a scam of some sort. Delete all unnecessary software from your computer. This can be anything that you almost never use. Remove all bloatware that may have come with the machine. Turn off the startup programs that aren't necessary. Run a defrag and run a disk cleanup. Strip your computer down to the bare bones. I can almost guarantee it will run much faster.
Without knowing your system or your skills with computers, this is a quick list of things you may want to learn how to do for yourself: disc cleanup, defragmenting, cleaning up internet files, remove unwanted programs, disable animations, create a clean boot account, upgrade RAM, upgrade video card, clean dust from fans and heat sinks regularly.
One of the reasons PC's are so cheap is because software companies pay to have their software shipped with your computer and it only get worse as time goes on. The first thing I do when buying a new computer is have my local PC shop wipe it clean from all freeware and trial software and install a fresh clean copy of Windows ($99). A consumer grade PC will run like a high performance workstation when it's not loaded down with background apps. Also, I have all of my systems set up with two accounts. One for everyday use (all features turned on) and the other is for heavy lifting (large CAD files, 3D rendering, etc.). This account boots clean without internet, antivirus, email, etc, - work only! When I have a lot of heavy PC work, I use my laptop for checking email and using the internet.
If you aren't going to clone the old HDD to the new SSD drive the fresh Windows install will also have a large impact. To the original poster I would suggest going this route if: 1. Your system is recent enough to have the SATA interface for the drives and 2. You are personally up to the task of making the changes.
Earlier today I searched out an I5 Dell Optiplex (not at Dell) with Windows 7 32-bit for under $550 for a friend. It's hard to justify putting too much time and money into an older PC when new medium end units are relatively inexpensive. I would also suggest staying with a 32-bit system with either Windows 7 or Windows 8. While this limits you to 4 gig of RAM there is a much larger likelihood that your old programs will run on the new system without purchasing upgrades. Again, firsthand experience here. My current system is Windows 8 64-bit. It’s more memory for a faster PC but a huge effort to get older programs to run, if at all.
