If you are concerned that your computer may not be running at an optimal speed, you are not alone. In a world where technology continues to get faster and better, it doesn't take long to fall behind! Not only that, it can be difficult to find the source of the problem-especially when your attempts to increase computer or Internet speed fall short of their anticipated improvements.

If you are tired of failed attempts to boost your computer speed with some great new upgrade or expensive software tool, you may need to learn a few things about how your computer works. One of the most important things with which you should be acquainted is your hardware, and how it affects your computer's efficiency.

Your hardware is the actual physical components that make up your computer unit. There are the obvious parts, like the monitor, tower, keyboard, mouse, and printer. There are also some parts that are attached inside your computer that are important to know. These elements are usually considered the computer's specs. These internal components effect what your computer is capable of.

Sometimes you can significantly increase the speed of your computer by updating your hardware. For example, if you have many programs downloaded on your computer, this information must all be stored in your hard drive. The more advanced technology gets, the larger these programs are, and the more programs are available that would interest you. In order to take advantage of all these programs, you have to have the space for it. A computer that is nearly full performs much slower than one that is only half full.

Your RAM, or random access memory, is where data is temporarily stored for programs that are currently running on the computer. This way, your computer can access and manipulate data that's currently being used, instead of retrieving and storing everything from the hard drive. If you don't have enough RAM, your computer will stumble over performing more than one task at a time or boot up sluggishly. Obviously, if this is the reason your computer is slow, downloading another program to increase your speed will not help, but actually hinder your connection and processing speed.

In some cases, hardware simply needs to be replaced. Many computers can be easily upgraded with a few hardware and software changes, but every once in a while, it is simply necessary to replace your hardware, or your computer entirely. Today's computers and computer hardware, even the cheapest ones, are probably a hundred times faster and more capable of modern computer processes and adaptability than those built even 5 years ago. As technology improves, new methods for Internet service and computer tasks are developed, which means that older models are often not compatible with these new methods. For example, many older computers have a floppy disk drive. Floppy disks have now become useless, because storage advancements have improved so drastically.

For more information about hardware and computer processing, look online for many introductory tutorials, and build your knowledge from there. Check with a local computer hardware store, or a local technician to see if your computer may need a hardware upgrade.