ASAP IT Technology Blog

Did you know that 40% of small businesses believe that without the use of a printer they would be rendered inoperable? That is an astounding figure, and though the remaining 60% could survive, the lack of a printer would undoubtedly hinder their business’ performance. This is why finding the perfect printer for your business a crucial, though sometimes forgotten, task. What follows is five important things to consider before purchasing a business printer.

Given that high-quality printers can cost a pretty penny, you want to buy a printer that will allow your office to work just as efficiently in two or three years as it does now. Growth and change is a natural part of any new business, and increase in printing needs will inevitably appear as a result of that. Additionally, it’s important to consider how many employees will be using each printer. If you purchase too few printers, the printer will be overworked and slowly break down and malfunction over time. However, buying too many printers will leave many unused, becoming a bad investment. Current and potential company size are both important factors to be aware of before buying printers.

Two important factors to consider before choosing a printer are your average print volume and expected spikes in printer use. Average volume is the number of pages your printer would print in a normal day. You want a printer that will not only meet that number, but exceed it to account for variations in daily printing. Expected spikes refers to the times of year when printing volume will be higher than usual due to big projects or other factors. Printers with higher print volume are ideal for handling these surges without performance issues. 

There are several economic factors to consider beyond the price of the printer itself. Cost of printer parts, ink/toner, maintenance fees, and monthly utility costs like energy usage are all important considerations that need to be made. These costs can vary greatly depending on the size or type of printer you purchase.

Print quality requirements are not always easy to determine because you need to find a printer of reasonable quality that can also put up with the significant needs of an average office. It’s important to consider your print quality expectations and ask yourself if you need professional/print-shop quality. If that’s the case, you might consider outsourcing your printing to another company (though this only makes sense financially if your large print jobs are rare).

Printers become more and more like computers with each new model. It’s just as important to protect your printer’s hard drive as your PC’s. Be aware that printers with internet connections are vulnerable to hacking and should be protected like any other sensitive material.

At ASAP IT Technology, owned and operated by ASAP Semiconductor, we can help you find all the unique parts for the aerospace, civil aviation, and defense industries. We’re always available and ready to help you find all the IT hardware parts and equipment you need, 24/7-365. For a quick and competitive quote, email us at sales@asap-ittechnology.com or call us at 1-714-705-4780.

Purchasing a PC can be a major investment, one that requires serious research and consideration on the part of the buyer. In this blog, we’ll break down some of the most important factors to keep in mind while purchasing a new computer.
 
For some, the computer manufacturer brand is what matters the most. Some are reliable and trusted providers of hardware, while others offer better warranties, or have unique proprietary software that you might be interested in. Acer computers, for example, are relatively cheap, but still have high hard drive and memory capacities.
 
Size can be a serious concern when purchasing a PC, especially if it is a laptop. Some consumers prefer larger monitors, while others want portability and low weight above all else. For desktop users, they may want a larger case to allow for better ventilation, while others may want to save space with a smaller tower. The home destination is always a major consideration; if it’s going into a large room, you should feel free to go as large as you’d like.
 
Price and usability are obvious factors as well, and depend largely on what the PC’s end-use will be. Dedicated users like hardcore gamers, video editors, and 3D software users will all have higher requirements for their PCs, and will need to spend more accordingly to get that performance. Most users, however, use computers for browsing the Internet, and light office and school tasks. Unless you are a dedicated user, you should probably avoid more expensive rigs.
 
Tying into this is hardware. Components like the hard drive, processor, and RAM are all serious concerns, with the more demanding applications requiring more powerful components. Make sure you have a clear idea of what you will be using your PC for when purchasing.
 
Another concern is the operating system. Most Windows OS systems are sold in different types, with the more expensive editions offering more features. Windows 10, for instance, comes in Home, Pro, Enterprise, and Education, each with varying programs and abilities. Windows 10 Home, for instance, doesn’t have a disk encryption feature like Bitlocker, so if hard drive security is something you are concerned about, you may want to consider other options.
 
Peripherals like DVD readers and optical drives are also something to consider. These add functionality to a device, but will also make it bulkier and more expensive, and are becoming somewhat redundant in an age of streaming and digital downloads. Still, for applications like video and audio editing, they can be critical to have.
 
Lastly, the warranty of the PC is something to think about. Most new purchases come with a yearlong manufacturer warranty, but some retailers will extend it by several years if you are willing to pay. Warranty extensions can depend on both the product and the seller, so be sure to compare retailers. Some warranties are also vaguely worded, so be sure you fully understand the terms and conditions before paying for it.
 
At ASAP IT Technology, owned and operated by ASAP Semiconductor, we can help you find all the hard drives, RAM cards, and processors for the PC hardware industry. We’re always available and ready to help you find all the parts and equipment you need, 24/7-365. For a quick and competitive quote, email us at sales@asap-ittechnology.com or call us at +1-714-705-4780.

Having a few media converters in your toolbox can increase your flexibility while decreasing stress on the job. In this article, we will be covering the basis of media converters and their most popular uses.
               
Now, what is a media converter? It essentially acts as the glue for networks. It helps connect networks made up of different signal types, network protocols, data rates, connectors, or cabling types through on transceiver. A media converter is versatile because it converts light waves into electrical waves and electrical waves into light waves. Some types include copper to fiber, coax to fiber, fiber to fiber, and single mode to multi-mode.
 
There are a few factors that make media converters the superior and smarter choice to use. Older equipment, or legacy equipment, is the cheaper and easier solution to a new computer. The same thought goes into older buildings or complexes, or legacy buildings, where the rewiring of a whole structure is just not feasible or practical. These situations are ideal to utilize a media converter to drive costs down and productivity up. Cutting down on cost has made the media converter steadily more popular over the years.
 
 With the ever-changing technology of our world, the need for media converters increases. Fibers that are located outside, WANs and LANS, remote management with monitoring capabilities, and enhanced bandwidth that allows signals to go in 2 directions are a few reasons why these devices are selling in mass quantities recently.
 
There are several types of converters that can meet any need. There are a few questions you need to ask yourself before purchasing. Firstly, ask yourself what kind of network it will need to support? What cable or connector type do you use? What type of cables are you connecting? Finally, you need to ask yourself what kind of tasks you will need the media converter for, managed or unmanaged capabilities?
 
Here are some recommendations for media converters depending on how you answered the questions above. Ethernet converters connect different types of network media to allow them to connect, no matter their individual data rates. Some models can rate switch anywhere from 10/100 to 10/100/1000. A fiber media converter can switch between multi and single mode. The two types, optical and coaxial, transmit signals in either a form of light or a form of electricity, respectively.
 
The main goal of media converters is to decrease the amount of money spent to keep ethernet strong and increase the speed of all devices to run an overall smoother business in any setting.
 
 At ASAP IT Technology, owned and operated by ASAP Semiconductor, we can help you find all the media converters for the aerospace, civil aviation, and defense industries, we’re always available and ready to help you find all the computer parts and equipment you need, 24/7x365. For a quick and competitive quote, email us at sale@asap-ittechnology.com or call us at +1-714-705-4780.

Building your own personal computer is a unique challenge, but a rewarding one as well. Building your own PC allows you to have greater control over your design and components of computer, allowing you to customize for a variety of purposes, including high-end PC gaming, video editing, documentation and work purposes, or simply saving money on a budget work machine. Building your own PC can also be cheaper than buying a prebuilt model from a manufacturer, if done correctly by a savvy shopper. Beyond the monetary question, however, is the simple satisfaction of creating something with your own hands that you can use and enjoy in everyday life.
 
But to build a computer, you need the right parts. Every PC will have these six components at minimum to function properly.

The Case: the plastic or metal shell that holds and protects all internal components inside it. Cases come varying sizes and can have different kinds of pins and connectors within them.

These six are the bare essentials, of course. You will also need a keyboard, monitor, and mouse if you don’t already have them, and other components depending on what you plan to use your PC for. High-end gaming will require an independent graphics card, as well as possibly investing in a cooling system to ensure your computer doesn’t overheat. If you save tons of pictures or videos, an extra hard drive for the storage may be necessary, as well as a DVD or Blu-ray drive for reading discs in those formats.
 
At ASAP IT Technology, owned and operated by ASAP Semiconductor, we can help you find all the computer systems and parts. We’re always available and ready to help you find all the parts and equipment you need, 24/7-365. For a quick and competitive quote, email us at sales@asap-ittechnology.com or call us at +1-714-705-4780.

In an ideal world, your PC would last forever—unfortunately, no computer does. Eventually, every computer slows down, even if you’re using it for the exact same functions you were five years ago. Whether it be replacing a computer hard drive, or installing a new graphics card, repairs and replacements are part of owning a computer. In order to get the most out of your investment, you’re probably looking to stretch the lifespan of your computer out for as long as you can. So, which parts should you repair—and which parts should you replace?
 
Your computer consists of various components and pieces of technology, each designed with their own specific purpose. Before you decide on which part to replace, you must first diagnose the issue. Be sure that the problem isn’t a software issue; run a virus or malware test to see if your computer is corrupted. If a damaging virus does exist, then replacing your computer software may be your best option. Other components that you’re better off replacing include motherboards, data drives, RAM, power supply units, and cooling fans. 
 
There are several reasons why replacing your computer motherboard is beneficial. First off, motherboards tend to have a short life cycle (about 3-4 years). Although there aren’t any moving parts, motherboards tend to be fragile in design. The smallest malfunction can turn catastrophic in the blink of an eye. The capacitors on a motherboard will naturally deteriorate over time due in part to heat, static, and moisture.
 
Data drives come in two variations: hard disk drives and solid-state drives. The computer’s operating system resides within these drives and acts as the brain of the PC. Hard disk drives are mechanical and will diminish as time goes on. They are susceptible to scratches;  it may stop reading data, or a power surge may render the parts inoperable. Solid state drives are similar to flash memory chips. Although they have no moving parts, extreme temperatures can damage them and they’re able to be hacked. Replace this part immediately if it starts to act faulty.
 
The random-access memory, or RAM, makes it possible for the computer to find specific information quickly. It is used as the main memory component in computer systems and is crucial to overall functioning capabilities. This is one of the first parts you should replace if you want to speed up your PC’s performance. Extreme temperatures and power surges are the main reasons that RAMs need maintenance. To ensure longevity, buy a high-quality module from a reputable manufacturer and regularly inspect the hardware.
 
A power supply unit (PSU) is what produces and transports power to different components in your computer. An average PSU should last anywhere between five and ten years. An effective way to prolong the lifespan is to minimize high-stress activities. If your PSU is malfunctioning, replace it as soon as possible.
 
If your computer starts operating loudly, there’s a good chance that your cooling fan needs attention. The mechanical nature of this part contributes to its malfunctions as they have moving parts that are prone to general wear and tear overtime. The deterioration process is accelerated by particles and dust that accrue on the blades, and within the rotating element. Clean out any excess dust regularly to keep it from layering; be sure to replace the fan when necessary.
 
At ASAP IT Technology, owned and operated by ASAP Semiconductor, we can help you find types of computer hardware & networking component. We’re always available and ready to help you find all the parts and equipment you need, 24/7-365. For a quick and competitive quote, email us at sales@asap-ittechnology.com or call us at +1-714-705-4780.