Easthill

The perfect gaming PC?

Keith Stuart of The Guardian has this to say about gaming PCs:-

'There's little doubt that PC gaming is undergoing a renaissance at the moment. With the current generation consoles chugging interminably slowly toward retirement, frustrated gamers are switching to computers with quad-core processors and top-end graphics cards that produce visuals of breathtaking fluidity and detail.

But it's not all about graphics performance. While there are certainly detractors, Valve's digital download service Steam has revolutionalised the games buying experience, offering easy access to hundreds of titles, many at vastly reduced prices.

Meanwhile, increasingly popular online multiplayer titles like DotA, Guild Wars 2 and Tera are only playable on PC. Plus there's the explosive rise of the indie scene, with many small studios ignoring the console platforms altogether in favour of PC development. If you didn't have a PC last year, you had no chance of playing brilliant offbeat titles like FTL, Slender and Hotline Miami. You were out of the loop.

And while we're expecting huge announcements from Microsoft and Sony this year, we won't see a new console until October, with the PS4 more likely in Spring 2014. Even when these new machines arrive, current speculation suggests they're going to be built from the same sort of off-the-shelf components you could jam into a gaming PC – except with a gaming PC you can switch the key elements out a year later for something more up-to-date.

So if you're a new PC owner, or just want to upgrade your current machine, we've compiled a guide' - Read more here

But if you like most folk aren't able to build the ultimate system in your garage we have the ideal solution for you. Details of our standard gaming systems are here and we can create a system to your specifications.

Is your computer running slowly?

There are numerous reasons why your computer might slow down over time. Some of these are software or operating system related, while other are hardware related.

The biggest culprit for poor system performance on older machines - normally 5 years+ - is your hard drive.  Replacing the old mechanical hard drive in your system with a newer Solid State Drive (SSD) will normally increase your system speed significantly.  The price of an upgrade of this type can be as little as £109 and wherever possible we will clone your existing drive to the new SSD meaning you lose no programs or data!  Please give us a call to discuss this.

Software.

If you have installed or removed quite a number of programs these can leave temporary files on your hard drive which might not be removed and accumulate over time, causing your system to slow down. By uninstalling programs there are often minor errors left in the registry by the unistallation program. Disc fragmentation is another issue which relates to the operating system, the pre-installed program which allows your computer to operate. Most recent operating systems automate the process of de-fragmentation. A fragmented disc at like your favourite novel that has been in the hands of a toddler with a pair of scissors. All the pages are there when you gather them back into the cover but not in the right order. You could still read your book but searching for each page number as you finished the previous page would take you some considerable time and effort. This is what fragmentation is like on your hard drive. It is often responsible for slow start-up as the operating system has to search around the drive to find files which should all be gathered together. Malware can often result in slow operating speed. Malware is software which by one means or another has found it's way onto your computer and runs quietly in the background, often performing operations of a malicious nature without your knowledge. Hence the name. These programs might not present a threat to your computer in their most innocuous form but are still unwelcome guests. The more malicious of these programs can cause considerable damage over time or open the doors to more destructive viruses. You should have software to deal with both viruses and malware installed. Although these will use some resources and might appear to slow your machine slightly this is a price well worth paying. The consequences of not having such protection can be catastrophic. These are just a number of software related issues which might slow your machine and there are free programs here which will assist with the most common of these. It that doesn't cure the problem, we're here to help. Feel free to give us a call on 01757 290500.

Hardware.

There are all manner of reason that the hardware in your machine might not be providing the performance you used to experience. Common amongst these are internal memory, processor and graphics processor speed. If your machine is a little older and you're using complex programs or games it might just be that your machine doesn't have the power to deal with the demand. This doesn't always need to be as problematic as it sounds. In many cases faster processor or graphic chips and be installed or more memory added. More advanced users might be comfortable installing additional memory for example but for many users it's best to bring your machine in to us. Also opening the case might invalidate your warranty, so it's often best to ask for assistance before taking a screwdriver to the box – as it were.

A cautionary note.

You'll often see adverts on various websites offering a few tune-up etc. Whilst the word free sounds appealing there really is no such thing as free. The people behind these adverts are paying to make sure you see the advert one way or another and consequently there has to be something in it for them. In the worst case scenario the software you are persuaded to install is not designed to do anything of the kind and by installing it you may well allow the software to pass through your anti virus system and cause untold damage to your machine. This can be costly and damaging. So be very careful what you click on!

We offer friendly support and advice regardless of whether you purchased your machine from us or elsewhere so please feel free to give us a call on 01757 290500

Which browser is best?

Which browser is best?

Unfortunately this is a little like asking how long is a piece of string. There is no definitive answer. But it is fair to say that not all string is cut the same and there certainly are more than of pieces. As far as browsers go in this equation Internet explorer is certainly not the only browser and in many peoples opinion it's not the best. In reality it really depends on what you require from your browser. Some perform better at certain tasks that others. A handy comparison site can be found here. It's reasonably impartial and uses clear graphics to show which browsers do what well and not so well.

What to Look For

Here is their take on what is important in a browser:-

' Heavy web users need an internet browser that is both fast and secure, and though all browsers enable internet access, not all are created equal. Different browsers can render webpages differently, and there can be a large disparity in performance between the top competitors. The three main things to consider when choosing an internet browser are simplicity, speed and security. Excelling in each of these areas, Google Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer are among the current best internet browsers. To learn more, check out our side-by-side comparisons and articles on internet browsers. The following is the in-depth criteria we used to evaluate the best internet browsers on the market.

Feature Set – A web browser should provide practical, convenient features that make surfing the web easy and fast. For instance, a browser should offer tabbed browsing, a customizable toolbar and an integrated search engine. For a more personalized web experience, the browser should also provide the ability to save bookmarks, set parental controls and create RSS feeds. Generally speaking, the more features an internet browser provides, the better.

Security – While online security measures have come a long way since the inception of the internet, the web is still rife with security risks, namely small-scale attacks to hack electronic data. Security features such as privacy settings, a pop-up blocker and antispyware enable safe internet surfing and help keep personal information such as passwords secure.

Speed & Compatibility – Web browsers should load quickly and be compatible with all major operating systems. We tested the speed of each browser in our lineup using the same Windows 7 system and a stopwatch, timing how quickly each one initially started up and was able to navigate between websites. A top internet browser will load and navigate between pages within just a few seconds.

Ease of Use – The best internet browsers are those that strike a seamless balance between features and ease of use. While features on a web browser are important, they become worthless if a browser’s interface hinders your ability to utilize them. Web browsers should boast an intuitive layout that fosters easy and convenient navigation.

Help & Support – Although some internet browsers are open source and therefore not supplemented with dedicated technical support, we still considered the quality of support options available. When it comes to internet browsers, available support can come in many forms, ranging from FAQs to tutorials, email support to a product manual.

While all internet browsers will provide access to the internet, selecting a fast and secure one will ensure safe and enjoyable online browsing. '