Is a home PC slower than a computer used for high tech buisness?

Question

My husband is always saying how slow our computer is always running.I think it runs average.He says he can be on and use his work computer in three X the amount of time it takes to even get on the home PC.It seems logical to me to believe that a work computer would be built different,(faster,and able to hold more technical material)than a laymans PC.His lap top holds much technical material, whereas the home PC hold s minor homebased work.Our home computer is slower than his,but i believe they were both built different and for different reasons.Also the home PC holds 4 users for our family and his laptop uses only one.I think these are reasonable assumptions,but Im not sure I'm right.He always thinks there is something wrong with our home computer.I argue that it's fine just different from his.

Answer 1

Depending on its components. My custom built gaming rig can whip many "business" PCs to crap.

Answer 2

A home PC might be slower depending on several factors, not the least of which is what is inside the computer.

First of all you have the processor which is like the engine of a car. If one car has an V-8 with a turbo charger, and the other car has an inline 4, which one do you think will be faster? If his PC at work has a faster processor than the one you have at home then it might make a difference.

Then there's the memory to consider. The memory is like a waiting room where people can hang out when they're not needed right away. If you have two waiting rooms, one of which is larger than the other then it can hold more people. The place with the smaller room then needs to send people out into the hall, the stairwells and in some cases outside but when it needs them it takes time to find them and it takes longer for them to get back. The same with PCs. If his has more RAM, then it will work faster than your home PC.

Lastly you have to consider what it is that is loaded on the PC and what is using up processor power. Let's imagine two libraries, one of which has security at the door and patrols inside the while the other is wide open and anybody can just walk in and do whatever they want. The secure library is a lot neater, more organised and there's no problem finding the people or information you need. In the other one you've got a wild party going on, the books are all over the place, a tribe of South Americans have set up a village in the stacks and there might even be a elephant hiding in the corner in other words it's chaos. You'd take a long time trying to find what you needed in that room due to the fact that there's no organisation. The same could be said about your PC. If you install every application under the sun and allow them to start with Windows even if you're not using them then you're sapping the processing power from your PC just in case you want to use Quicktime. On your husband's work PC, he's probably limited to what he can install (if anything) and he's got the IT team to help him in case there's a problem.

So it's very possible that his PC is faster than yours. I would say that he's more limited in what he can do on his PC however.

Answer 3

Having worked in the IT business for over 15 years, the majority of work computers are the same models available to the general public. One site I am currently supporting is using 5 year old desktops with 256 of RAM, a 1 gig processor and 20 gig hard drives. Dinosaurs. Another is purchasing tope of the line laptops with wide screens and DVD burners. So it depends on the company whether they are "better" or not.

His work laptop probably as tigher security on it which prevents him from installing 300 "junkware" programs in the background that slow down the computer. And so it may run faster for that reason.

If your PC is running and booting slow try the following:


1) Check for spyware. Run both Ad-aware Peronal Edition ( http://www.lavasoftusa.com ) and Skybot (http://www.safer-networking.org/) to remove any spyware. Run both as one may caught something the other missing. Then go to microsoft.com and download Defender to protect against future infections.

2) Check that you have a least 10% of your hard drive free. Go to My Computer and right click on the Local Drive (C:). Look at the properties. If it has less that 10% free space, you will need to delete some files, or move them off the hard drive and on to a CD or DVD. Start by running the disk cleanup, which will remove temporary and other unneeded files. Go to Start, then All Programs, Accessories, then System Tools and click the Disk Cleanup icon.

3) Run the msconfig utility. Go to Start, then Run and type in: msconfig
Go to the startup tab
You will see a list of all the programs that are loaded when your computer starts up. Uncheck any that you do not have to have. (Usually you can uncheck them all). If you decide you to need one, you can go back and recheck it.

4) Defrag the hard drive. Go into My Computer and right click on the Local Drive (C:). Select Properties and go into the Tools tab. Click the Defragment Now button to start the defrag program. If you have not defrag recently (or never) it may take several hours for the program to complete.

Answer 4

I've seen some business computers and mine as lowly as it is is faster. I have a biostar mobo 6 years old, an AMD Duron 1.2 ghz processor, an ATI xtasy 9200 Radeon 128 mb 31/2 year old Graphics Card, The only thing new about my puter is the case and the floppy and the brand new memory on order which will equal 2 gigs. Old huh? But its faster than a lot of them!

Answer 5

Depends on how its built. If you bought it prebuilt, yes, it sucks. You have to build one yourself to get any value from it.

Also, viruses can slow down your computer to. Download a trial version of Nod32, its one of the best virus programs around, and its free to try.

(qoute)Also, make sure that with the 4 users, that when a user is done, they *log out* completely. *(/qoute)
Reseting your computer works well too, because it clears up used ram.

(qoute) or possibly has lower hardware specs that could be upgraded. (/qoute)
also, depending on your motherboard you may not be able to upgrade to much at all.

(qoute)The PC itself is not built any differently per se, it is the connection speed that is faster at the office(/qoute)
Actually, alot f companies have custom built computers to support the work load (i.e. my work computer can support about 20-25 programs open at once because thats what I use, and we dont have T1 here, so that cant be why its so much faster here.

Answer 6

There is no difference...no such thing as a work vs home PC. Your home PC probably just needs cleaned up, or possibly has lower hardware specs that could be upgraded.

Also, make sure that with the 4 users, that when a user is done, they *log out* completely.

Answer 7

Compare your home pc system information to the laptop's system information and you will see what the differences are (located in System Tools). RAM is an important factor, as well as processor and start up options. Also, is your BIOS up to date? A lot of people don't think about that. Hope this helps.

Answer 8

i could advise a pc. to your specs it may fee someplace around 500-seven hundred. a stable manufacture is DELL. keep in mind a Mid selection laptop is as helpful or much greater because of the fact the utmost end pc. try finding for those specs a million GB-4GB memory 250-400GB tensechronic 2.0Ghz twin center Processor DVD 16x Burner 19 Inch or greater video demonstrate stable Set of audio gadget 25W+ stable application 256 Mb photos Card (8000 series Nivida) to your minimum specs. 512-1GB Ram 3.0+ Ghz Celeron or Pentium IV 80-250GB tensechronic 16x DVD Burner 17 Inch video demonstrate uncomplicated audio gadget

Answer 9

The PC itself is not built any differently per se, it is the connection speed that is faster at the office. They most likely have a T1 connection at the office versus your broadband.

Answer 10

Most home computers are only slower because the average consumer doesn't have the money to replace/upgrade their hardware every two years! They are basically the same, just older models. :-)=