Summit I.T. Consulting, LLC

"I spent a fortune on this system when I bought it. If I buy a new computer, it'll just be obsolete in six months." False. Computer systems do not become obsolete. Your needs change. ... If you buy a toaster, and six months later, decide you need to grill steaks, that's not your toaster's fault. It still makes toast just fine. Your needs are different than they were. The toaster likely works just as it was designed. Again, it behooves consumers to make an investment in their technology upfront. Diverse, powerful machines that are capable of handling a variety of workloads without slowing productivity are not a luxury, they're a necessity. Too often consumers attempt to save money on an inexpensive system that isn't up to the tasks they ask of it. Once they ask more than one task, fuggedaboudit. RAM has become ridiculously inexpensive. Storage space is the same story. Decent video is no different. A new computer for $300 with 6GB RAM and 1 terabyte hard drive looks tempting, but remember, folks, these companies aren't in business to give away expensive equipment. They skimp on the processors, and a $5 processor does no good when matched up with lots of RAM and a fast hard drive. It's called a bottleneck, and simply put, on a scale of 1-10, if RAM, hard drive, video, motherboard, and power supply are all 8's, and you slide in a processor that performs at a 3, guess what? That's right; the whole thing works at a 3. Lastly, computers depreciate at roughly the same rate as lettuce. I don't care if you spent $1000 on it 10 years ago. Right now, it;s worth less than the shipping charges it would cost to get it to a buyer. No, this isn't a huge conspiracy by hardware manufacturers to get you to buy new machines every few years, and if it is, we're not in on it. Technology literally moves that fast. If you're in the market for a new system, call us and let us design one for you. We love to talk tech, and will be happy to answer any questions you have.

"Speed costs money; how fast do you want to go?" "Desktop replacement" or "mobile workstation" is the buzzword for 'expensive laptop'. No mobile computer will ever be able to match the speed and processing power of even a medium price high-performance desktop. In the computer world, speed not only costs money, but generates a lot of heat. Heat is the enemy of performance. To keep performance up, it's necessary to kill the heat. To kill the heat, there must be adequate c...ooling. It doesn't take a genius to see that a big, open desktop tower with lots of fans sprouting from every surface is going to stay a lot cooler that a laptop where every component is smashed into an inch-tall plastic case with a few holes on the sides. Laptops just do not have adequate airflow for high-performance. In recent years, advances in technology have narrowed the gap, but keep in mind that, while laptops are advancing, so are desktops. Stripped of all the rhetoric, what this means is that, when we see a laptop that started life as a $299 special from a big chain retailer, and it's performance is now completely ridiculous because the owner has loaded it up with the newest, latest, and greatest version of whatever software and wants to know what can be done to make it faster, the most likely response is going to be, "get a new one." It was inexpensive in the first place for a reason. Each new version of software, from games to photo editing, takes more horsepower to run than the last one. Software manufacturers do this on the presumption that you're regularly upgrading your system. If you're using a 2015 version of Photoshop or the current Office suite or whatever edition of Modern Warfare is out now on a machine that's 5-6 years old and was the "Bargain of the Century!" when it was new, it's going to be slow. Period. The bottom line is that, spending money on a decent system up front will make it viable for longer. It saves money in the long run by alleviating the need to replace an inadequate system as often. Call us today and let us answer any questions you may have.

"How did my computer get viruses? I bought anti-virus program X. Isn't that supposed to take care of all that?" A common misconception of antivirus programs is that they are an impenetrable suit of armor for your machine, making it safe from all malicious interference. Nothing could be further from the truth. Paid or free, they are all only capable of getting the low-hanging fruit. Malicious programs that gain access to your system are, (95/100x) put there by the end use...r, without his or her knowledge. They are disguised as email attachments, notifications in social media sites, free software (video players, coupon programs, online games, to name a few,) or they're attached to genuine software without the supplier's knowledge. The best way to avoid interaction is to only visit sights with which you're familiar and only open email from sources you trust. Trust is not a great policy when dealing with the internet. Be on your guard. If you suspect your machine has been compromised and is behaving strangely, call us and we can help. See more

Television ads for 'PC performance software'. I will never understand how these companies can get away with such blatant false advertising. There is no 'magic bullet' software that will immediately make your computer run 'as fast as it did when it was new!' There are ways to make this happen, but adding junk software isn't the way to do it, anymore than putting your couch, refrigerator, wardrobe, television, and bedroom furniture on a trailer behind your car for convenience will make your car perform any better or get better fuel mileage. Weight is the enemy of speed, and software is heavy to a computer. The more programs it has to run, the more it divides it's horsepower to do it. Including miracle 'PC Optimization' software.

Black Friday approaches. Are you wondering if the laptop you're eyeballing is worth the sale price? The fine folks at Engadget took some of the work out the decision process. Check out their Buyer's Guide: http://www.engadget.com/buyers-guide/engadget-buyers-guide/