consider the upgrades that can improve your work experience
by rick telberg
for hewlett packard
march 2007
do you get tempted when you look at all the low priced pcs being advertised in the sunday circulars? especially when you think of how much work you have at certain times of the year?
should you upgrade or replace your pc?
if your pc is only a couple years old, and you are running a current operating system like windows xp or even windows 2000, your money may be better spent on other computer components. however, considering the affordability of new pcs and notebooks, plus the advent of the new vista operating system and office 2007, maybe it’s worth scrapping that old heap and stepping up a notch with a new cpu.
is vista worth switching to?
now i’m sure you’ve heard all the hype about vista but do you really know the benefits it offers?
here’s just a sampling of what microsoft has to say:
1. easier: windows vista makes it faster and easier than ever to find, use, manage, share, and enjoy information–on your pc and on the web.
2. more entertaining: enjoy your entire digital entertainment library in full glory on your pc or even on your tv with windows media center. view your photos in a cinematic slide show, browse your music collection by cover art, easily play dvds, watch and record tv shows, download movies, and project your home videos.
3. better connected: it’s faster to start and end a session at your computer–the new sleep state conserves battery life while enabling you to pause and resume work in just seconds through a simple press of the power button. enjoy your favorite tv shows, movies, pictures, games, home videos, and music–on the plane or in the hotel.
4. safer: windows vista automates the processes that help maintain the health and security of your pc, freeing you to focus on the things you enjoy the most. enjoy scheduled back ups, performance self-tuning and diagnostics and more.
key upgrade considerations for accounting professionals
on the other hand, most applications that accountants run don’t really tax the cpu and memory of many recent pcs. sure, if you do a lot of multitasking or run statistical packages like sas or spss for audit sampling, you can push a pc pretty hard. but in most cases, it’s the other components that really could benefit from a refit.
ram, hard disk and video card
so if you’re only looking for a quick fix, start with the main two upgrade candidates: ram and hard disk. ram is always a good upgrade (unless, of course, you are already maxed out), but it requires cracking open the case, something that not everyone feels comfortable with.
a hard disk upgrade is easier. there are numerous external hard drives available with usb, firewire, or even ethernet interfaces. those drives that plug directly into a network switch or router are call nas, or network attached storage, and can be used by anyone on the network that you authorize.
some upgrades are a bit less obvious. almost any tech magazine or web site will urge you to get a new fast video card, but for most applications that accountants run, there are better things to spend your money on.
get a comfortable keyboard
for example, when was the last time, if ever, that you upgraded your keyboard? the keyboards that come with most pcs are a lot better than those from a decade ago, but a new keyboard may be much more comfortable to type on. the major keyboard vendors, logitech and microsoft, have very fancy and expensive keyboard meant for gamers, but you can get an excellent comfortable model for a very reasonable price.
large monitor
one very good place to upgrade is your monitor. for accountants who have grown up with dos and 15-inch crts, a 17- or 19-inch lcd seems like nirvana. consider one that’s even larger – 20, 21, or even 22 inches, and definitely an lcd. go a step further and realize huge productivity gains with a dual-monitor setup.
why so big? one current stream of thought says that the more screen real estate that’s available, the easier it is to find the application, or piece of data that you want.
for many accountants, though, less is more. a large display, with a modest resolution, might at first seem wasteful. after all, a 22-inch lcd can display a spreadsheet and a word document side-by-side.
if that’s what floats your boat, far be it for me to dissuade you. but as someone who spends a lot of time in front of a pc display, a situation that most accountants will relate to, the reduced eye strain that a large display set at a modest resolution is worth every penny of its cost.
regardless of exactly what you spend your upgrade money on, you’ll find that an “off-the-road” upgrade can make you more productive, more comfortable, or both.
but if you’re already maxed out, or just a little shy about cracking open the computer to perform transplant surgery, then go ahead, take the leap to a new, high-powered vista machine.
[first published by hp]