There are some things that you cannot do with a basic computer because it doesn’t have the resources required. This includes tasks that require more processing or graphics power – for example, you can’t record music or live television. In some cases the applications just will not work, while in other cases the computer will bravely attempt to perform the tasks. The resulting speed and functionality, however, will be so reduced it will drive you mad before it achieves anything.
Multi-tasking
Because basic laptop or desktop computers are limited in processing resources, they are not generally good at doing more than one activity at the same time. So while you may be fine doing a number of different things, for example surfing the Web or making a phone call over the Internet, the computer will run more slowly if you try to do the two together. In the case of phone or video calls, you will see a delay or the image will break up, which makes it very difficult to use.
The main issue is that while you can control whether you are doing more than one activity yourself, there are a number of system tasks, for example antivirus or security updates, that use a lot of system resources and can’t be timed.
Hard drive
In many cases you will find that the most limiting factor for a basic PC is the size of the hard disk drive – you may be limited by the number of photos or music files you can store on your computer. To avoid this, have a go at calculating how much hard drive space you will need:
- For music and spoken word it is approximately 1MB of space for each minute of music or talking
- The size of a digital photo varies considerably from one camera to another. For a 10 megapixel camera it is between 1.5MB and 2MB per photo, depending on the composition of the photo
