Be Smart About Your PC Upgrade
Upgrading your PC is a great way to save some of your cash; swapping out old hardware for newer, faster components is often cheaper than buying a new PC, and if armed with some technical knowledge, can match the results, speed and pep, of a newer computer. It’s wise to come up with a game plan before you start randomly upgrading parts, though.
Consider what your PC already has inside and make a note of it. There’s no sense in upgrading your memory if you already have the maximum amount your motherboard will allow, and if you’re seeking a performance boost, doubling your RAM can often be easier and cheaper than doing a CPU transplant. A good PC upgrade plan consists of knowing your current hardware, doing a little research, and finally, doing the hardware install.
We suggest that the purchase list for your upgrade starts with the RAM (random access memory). With a little investment, you can considerably improve the performances on your computer, but first, you need to make a little research on your computer to see how much RAM you can install on it and what type you should buy to avoid any conflict between the new component and the motherboard.
Here are a few things to ponder before obtaining more memory: If a memory module’s access time is low, it’ll support a CPU with a high bus rate, and if your CPU has a high bus frequency, it’ll behoove you to buy high quality memory.
When I say graphics card, you see big cash saying good-bye to your wallet. Let me tell you something: you do not need an expensive, end of the line graphics card, unless you intend to run on your computer the latest 3D video games or complicated video editing software. If, instead, you do not care for all this and you are another type of user, then ponder more if you really need a new graphics card or not.
For example, if all you do is surf the web, check email, and type up the occasional Word document, it doesn’t make sense to acquire a $600 graphics card equipped with the cutting edge of 3D rendering hardware. Also, consult your PC’s manual to determine the type of bus-PCI Express, AGP, PCI, etc.-your motherboard supports for its graphics adapters. Once you’ve acquired your graphics card of choice, the installation should be straightforward and painless.
Continuing the research on your necessities, take a look at your hard drive. If you like to stock up a lot of music, photos or movies, you will be in dire need of a bigger hard drive. Making copies on DVD’s or USB drives is a solution, but having a sturdy 200 GB hard drive is a more elegant and easier to handle solution.
Another great plus of new hard drives is that they come with a special software that provide you with the ability to transfer all of your old hard drive into the new one. This means that you do not have to install Windows all over again and you do not have to appeal to intermediary backup solutions just for this. You will surely enjoy the advantage of having a new faster hard drive that will save and load files at a speedier rate than you experienced before.
Many PC gamers and aficionados upgrade their motherboards to stay on the cutting edge of computer technology. But if you’ve a plan for a new mobo, make sure you don’t have a proprietary PC-think Dell, HP, IBM, et al.-as in some instances you’ll need to purchase a new case just to get it to squeeze in, and you’ll often spend several times as much for the newer main board than you did for the older one.
Upgrading the components in your PC can give your old computer a much needed spring in its step. But before you open up your wallet and your PC’s case, be sure to have a game plan before performing transplant surgery on your box.