Is it a good time to buy a new computer?

The short answer to this question is: NO!  The reasons are many, but led by the biggest news story of the century – the COVID-19 virus that has killed over 2.7 million people world wide.  With most workers being sent home a shortage of computers led to a supply and demand situation where computer prices were artificially raised.  Even used computers were hard to find and expensive compared to just months ago.

Prices are just now coming slightly down, but not enough to warrant purchasing a new computer.  Laptops are even harder to purchase than desktops due to higher demand.  Of course, this means excellent profits for computer manufacturers and they are in no hurry to ramp up production to meet demand, for this would surely result in lower prices.

So what can you do to make your old computer better?  If you have an older computer with a hard drive, you can swap it out for a solid state drive.  SSD drives have no moving parts and are much faster at transferring data than old HDD drives with spinning platters and read/write heads.

Next look at the memory capacity of your computer and purchase enough Random Access Memory (RAM) to increase your processing power.  A good website to check your memory capacity is at Crucial.  Compare prices to find your best deal.

With a new SSD and increased RAM along with a fresh install of Windows, MacOS or Linux your computer will seem to fly from task to task.  Windows is particularly subject to getting “garbaged up” over time, so a fresh install is highly recommended.

Of course, turning to a computer professional will save you time and effort when performing these upgrades.  A professional can also tell you if your current computer is too old to be upgraded and help you determine whether it is worth the investment.  A good computer professional will provide you with the facts and let you decide, not push you into purchasing a new computer.