Do Computers Run More Slowly As They Get Older?
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Do computers really run slower as they get older? Or is this just a myth? It really depends on what we perceive as slower. First of all your CPU is not going to lose any ‘Ghz’ as it gets older. Your motherboard, if working properly, is not going to slow down either. The only hardware that could suffer a slight degradation may be your hard disk which could lose a few RPMs. 
So why do we say when systems get older they all slow down? I say it. But is it really, really true? Sort of. First, as we use our systems over time, junk and gunk builds up on our systems. This is just part of normal computer usage and happens to all of us. Plus there are updates to software and hardware that adds to the load and actually may slow our systems down. Yes slow the system down. Surprise! Some of the latest drivers designed to improve performance may have the opposite affect.
Then there are the pack rats amongst us that save every file, every piece of music, every photo until we completely fill the hard disk. That in itself will slow a system down.
You’ve added more programs that are running in the background that may be using up your main memory. Adding more memory may improve the situation.
When was the last time you defragged your system? What’s that? Do a Google on disk defragmentation. This may help some by getting your ducks lined up in a row.
You can also try reinstalling your operating system as a last resort. But this is a very time consuming process. You will need to make backups of all of your treasures. Also you will need to find all of your software disks that may be hiding around your home or office. Plus you may need to download all of those Windows updates, patches, fixes and whatever else needs updating.
Than there is perception. If you have a older system and use a faster system, when you return using the older system it may just appear to be slower to you.
There may be other issues that may slow down a system like spyware or a virus, but these normally can be removed from the system.
But my question is simple. Do computers really slow down with age? What do you think?
Comments welcome.
6 Comments
marc klink
September 6th, 2007
at 4:14am
They do, and for the reasons you mention.
One thing you didn’t mention is that all the fixes to an operating system slow it down. XP was much slower after Service Pack 2. It was noticeably slower on any machine that operated at less than 1GHz. I’m sure that those who had the minimum system requirements when they got XP, were very unhappy after the application of Service Pack 2. Even after SP2, I can remember one Patch Tuesday where there were 6 updates, and after the application, the system was again markedly slower. I waited a few days and defragged to make sure that the difference was not simply the difference in the prefetch files - the waiting did not help.
Too many people fail to realize SECURITY = Loss of SPEED.
Ron Schenone
September 6th, 2007
at 6:55am
Hi Marc,
Thanks for refreshing my memory on the MS fixes
Ron .
evdama
September 6th, 2007
at 9:15am
Installing newer OS on older kit will slow it down.Vista may not be so good for a 486….
Newer versions of plugins - compare sys-reqs of Adobe Reader as it evolves from v4 to v7- thats a real shocker.
Installing any additional software to the OS ( yes any ! ) will slow it down
Hard drive over 50% full will slow it down (and also make emergency data recovery more difficult )
Temp files on the OS partition causing frag will slow it down.
Security software (you didnt used to bother with it - did you?) -slow down.
Finally I believe that hardware, be it wear in moving parts in a HDD or memory degradation through repeated high frequency use (and heat) will also take its toll to a lesser degree
I run a print server on my home network .
Its really just an old Pentium 166 with the printer sat on top, a 2 gb drive and 128mb edo ram
The drive is split ,with the page file and any Temp directories on the first partition.The second partition has a minimal minimal install of W2K.
All services other than LAN connection and the print spooler are disabled,no startup activities enabled and just the printer driver is installed.
The memory is set to Real Time for the printer software.
I rewired the Psu internal fan to run silently on the 5v rail
The little rig has run 24/7/365 for two years now (bar the odd power cut) and you wouldnt think it was switched on.
Performance?- Its indistinguishable from having the printer attached to your local machine.
Apply these parallels is what I say.
Restrict your use to what your kit is best at and obtain another to do the rest.
Top grade kit for games and graphics ,get your old box back out for everyday stuff and get an antique for printing ,fileserving ,copying etc.
Dont install anything that the OS cant do for itself.
Do you need Office when Wordpad would do?
Do you need Photoshop when Paint / Viewer would do?
Get a mid range “b*tch” machine to try out new software
Clone the Os when its fresh then image it back when the things completly goofed up.
Ron Schenone
September 6th, 2007
at 11:00am
Hi evdama,
Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. I am sure this info will help others.
Regards, Ron
xmerz
January 9th, 2008
at 2:59pm
I was googling with the keywords “computers are designed to get slower with age” and found your page.
And this — http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.html — is why I started the search. It says the computers are design to become slower with age!
I wonder if this is true… or it’s just another urban myth…
Ron Schenone
January 10th, 2008
at 8:02am
Hello xmerz,
Check out this link.
http://www.lockergnome.com/blade/2008/01/10/readers-want-to-know-need-your-help/
I posted your question to our readers to see what they think.
Regards, Ron