Can I Do Genealogy on My Old Computer?

Most likely the answer is “Yes”! It does not require the latest, greatest machine on the market to handle your family history and researching needs.

What do I need? Well, if you are already able to navigate online and are content with the results of your computer’s abilities, that is more than half the battle.  Sure, it would be great if everyone could surf via cable, DSL, satellite dish or other high speed connections but that isn’t always possible. Some areas just do not have that available and other times one just can not justify the added expense, especially if you are still in the learning stages and do not know if tracking your family history will be something you do long term.

So, where does one start? Genealogy sites are best viewed and accessed on systems that have a minimum of 512 Mg of RAM available, allowing the pages to load faster and more reliably.  If you do not have that much RAM. then the first thing to do is, find out if your machine can handle more and what it takes to achieve that plateau.  If your system can go to 1G of RAM, or more. do it!  There is no such thing as too much RAM!!!

Another place most older systems bog down is in video RAM. Most people do not realize that their video/display card, which determines the resolution and quality of what is viewed, has it’s own RAM that is used for that and that alone.  Most less expensive systems have what is called “onboard” video. That means the once separate video/display card has been incorporated into the main system or Motherboard. If that is the case with yours, then part of your system RAM is now reserved for video/display use only.

What does that mean? A couple of things and may give one an insight into some of the slowness or sluggishness of a system.  First off, somewhere between 8 Mg and 64 Mg of your 256 Mg, or whatever your computer has, of system RAM has been delegated for video/display use ONLY! Often this is enough to make programs run slower and the system just that much less efficient.  More system RAM will help the situation and add to the overall performance of your computer.

What about standalone video/display cards? Problem there can be the use of older, less capable cards by the maker of the system, to help shave a few dollars off the overall cost of the machine. If you have anything less than 64 Mg today then your card was designed and built for use over six years ago.  If your system can be handle upgrading the video, there are cards available with 64 Mg, 128 Mg and more RAM -- any of which would be a vast improvement in performance and allow video intensive sites to load faster.

Can I add RAM or a Video Card to my own machine? It isn’t rocket science, that’s true, but I do not advise folks to try it if they have no experience with the insides of a computer or other electronic devices.  Find a local store or repair location that will do it or ask an acquaintance, who you know has experience, to give you a hand.  Neither of the above takes much time to accomplish so that will not be an issue.

How do I know what I need? That can be tricky.  Many systems these days do not come with the technical information required to determine what you can do or how to do it. My best advice is to go online and find the specifications for your brand and model to see what upgrades can be done, if any, and what is needed to do them.

Remember, not all computers are created equal! Less expensive systems built/sold in the last ten years have limited upgrade capacity and many have none! There is no rule of thumb in these matters and models varies even from one manufacturer.  You have to find out what your machine has now and what it can ultimately handle (if anything) and then check availability and cost of those improvements. At times the cost to upgrade an older system is not feasible and, in that case, you either have to put up with the lack of performance or get another system. Not necessarily a new, state-of-the-art machine, but one able to do what you require.

Anything else I could do to improve performance? Yes, a couple of things would be worth consideration.  First, the larger (over 60 Gig) hard drives have much faster access time and that means less time looking for and loading files.  Second, Windows XP Professional version is far superior to any of it’s predecessors and having an older version can eliminate your access to some sites altogether.

Bottom line is, more system RAM (512 Mg and up), more video/display RAM (32 Mg minimum) will always make anything you do less frustrating and allow any system to function better overall.  Not even a high speed connection can make up for lack of RAM and/or video capacity!!! Adding a high speed connection to a system lacking the capability to use it will just put you on a faster road to frustration!

Happy History Hunting!
 

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