When you are maintaining a database, an efficient SQL Server performance tuning is something you need to do from time to time so that everything is kept running smoothly. This may be a job for professionals or big businesses. But how about you? Do you perform any kind of maintenance or tuning on your computer? If not, here are some tips that you can use to get your PC running in tip-top shape.
Clean
This is one of the things most taken for granted by computer owners. The PC is hardware that is usually kept in one place, so your tendency is to forget about it. Days become weeks, and then weeks become months. If it has gone untouched for this long, expect a massive buildup of dust to greet you. This is especially bad for those who keep their computers on the floor. Something as bad as this will be difficult to clean, so you may have to disassemble or bring the PC outside to better work on it.
Dust build-up can present a lot of problems for your computer. It can disrupt the airflow of your case, which will lead to your components overheating. Processors have a temperature threshold. If they reach a certain point of heat, they will start to throttle their speed to help cool down the chip. This will result in reduced performance of your system.
You can schedule your year to have a major cleaning of your PC every quarter. The more often you clean your system, the easier it is to do. Prepare your microfiber cloths or can of compressed air for this activity. You most probably will only need to just dust off the surfaces every now and then, as compared to having to possibly disassemble your computer if too much dirt has accumulated inside.
Replace Thermal Paste
Thermal paste is used usually on processors and is the substance that helps transfer heat from the chip to the heat sink. This degrades over time, so it is wise if you replace the paste if you notice a drop in your PC’s performance. This entails you opening up your system and doing a little bit of disassembly. If you are not comfortable with it, ask someone knowledgeable for help.
Ventilation
Ensure that your computer has proper ventilation. The cooler it runs, the better it performs. Make sure that the openings of your case are not obstructed by anything. If you can, try to experiment with fan placement in the chassis. You would normally need at least one fan each for intake and exhaust.
Vibration
Storage technology has advanced so much in the consumer space these past few years. If you are still using hard disk or platter drives, be mindful of vibration around your tower. It’s important for you to install these drives as tight as they can in your case, so use all your screws and rubber gaskets well. This has delicate moving parts inside, and bumping it or moving it may cause permanent damage. It’s not just the drives that you have to worry about, but also the fans. These are also prone to breaking if there is an outside force present.
Just because you have your computer in one corner, it doesn’t mean that it’s safe there. It will most likely gather dust over time. So do check on it regularly so that you can play or work with it with no problems.
