ADELAIDE'S TECHGUY

Buying A New Computer - Get Enough Memory

With Windows 7 just a week away ( October 22nd ) there will be a few bargains on the market , especially in the laptop range as the changeover from Vista to Windows 7 begins

Make sure you get a laptop that has at least 2GB of RAM.

Windows Vista will just run with 1GB and there are still manufacturers ( HP , Compaq ) selling computers with only 512MB of RAM.

If you combine the 512MB of RAM with the security software that is usually bundled with the computer ( Norton Internet Security , McAfee ), you will be in for a world of pain and an extremely , extremely slow computer.

Get the 2GB of RAM ( may run you $100 - $150 ) , dump Norton , McAfee , install Microsoft Security Essentials or Nod32 ( a paid antivirus solution that runs quietly in the background) and you will be in for a much better computing experience.

Ram Is Sometimes What You Need

I was asked to have a look at a Sony Laptop ( a VGN - C25G/P ) as it was running slow and the owner thought a clean install would solve the slowness.
The laptop is running Vista and has 1GB of Ram.
After formatting and reinstalling the operating system , updating everything , removing unnecessary applications ( including Norton )it is still slow.
My experience with Sony Laptops and have seen a few now is that they are slow and need the maximum ram available.
The owner of the laptop has now added another gig of ram and it is substantially quicker and I will make the point that if you are running Vista you need at least 2GB of ram.