Computer Performance

The performance of a computer in terms of processing speed is related to

Processor Chip type

Primary Memory size, and

Clock Pulse.

The amount of information a computer can hold is dependent on its Secondary Memory (Hard Disk) size.

Usually the efficiency of a computer is related to the Processor Chip, with more advanced chips giving improved performance. The early PC processor chips were known as 8086, 286, 386 and 486. These are all now obsolete, and have all been superseded by the Pentium chip. The Pentium chip is available in a range of different speeds; e.g. there is the Pentium 166 and Pentium 200. The Pentium 200 is faster than a Pentium 166.

It is also important that the computer has sufficient random access memory i.e. RAM. If there is adequate RAM, the computer can be fast if configured well, and will be able to run many programs concurrently without running out of memory. A good office computer should have from 32MB of RAM.

 

Performance is also related to the speed of accessing the hard disk, for I-O (input output) operations. Hard disks come in different speeds, some IDEs are now faster, i.e. their rate of data transfer is greater. Improvements in hard disk technology have enabled the development of very large and very fast hard drives, at prices affordable for home and small office computing.The combination of a modern Processor chip, sufficient RAM and adequate Hard Disk storage space will produce good performance.

However, it should be noted that an upgrade of operating system or application software may degrade computer performance, as the general tendency is for each upgrade to require greater RAM and Hard Drive Resources.