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.
Your battle plan must start with a little inspection of your current computer configuration. As you well know, some components are easier to upgrade than others, and some, - not necessarily the most expensive ones - , may lead to the dreamed increase in performance. For instance, purchasing and installing a new CPU is more of a hassle than buying some extra RAM. Also, the newly bought RAM will make your computer run faster and you will not regret your choice.
The list of priorities for IT purchases must always start with the RAM. A little word of caution is necessary: take a look at your motherboard manual and other documentation concerning your existing hardware and see which type of RAM you must purchase. If the new RAM is not compatible with the rest of the computer, then it will be just wasted cash.
Usually, high quality RAM works well with a high bus frequency CPU, so take this aspect into consideration when you go shopping. Also, if you intent to upgrade your CPU as well, make a comparison to see what configuration fits your pocket best.
Another aspect that must stand at the foundation of your upgrade plan is the main uses your machine performs for. If you are a 3D video games fanatic, or you work with complex and resource consuming graphic software, then upgrading your graphic chip is next on your list. This is among the most expensive investments in your upgrade, so evaluate the situation while cold headed.
If you use your machine just for surfing the web, writing e-mails and Word documents, then take the graphics card off the list. Remember, we are talking hard cold cash here, and it will be too expensive to purchase a $600 graphics card just to play Solitaire. There are also other aspects, if your graphics card is too old and it is need of dire replacement. See what kind of slot your motherboard has for the graphics card - PCI, PCI Express or AGP and plan your purchases accordingly.
With MP3s, digital photographs, and videos quickly eating up precious hard drive space, a hard drive upgrade is a must if you don't want to run out of space for future files. Grafting on an extra 200 gigabytes to your system for your files to reside on is faster and less of a hassle than having to backup to a thumb drive or DVD.
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.
There are also other aspects to be regarded when upgrading your PC. If your model is a brand computer, such as Dell, HP or IBM, putting on a new motherboard may prove to be quite a challenge. So, changing the motherboard during your upgrade effort may require other expenses, such as a new case for your computer.
This is how a plan for upgrading a computer should look like. Make your own little research and decide which parts need most to be replaced. Only this way you will get the best off your upgrade and enjoy a more competitive machine.
Your battle plan must start with a little inspection of your current computer configuration. As you well know, some components are easier to upgrade than others, and some, - not necessarily the most expensive ones - , may lead to the dreamed increase in performance. For instance, purchasing and installing a new CPU is more of a hassle than buying some extra RAM. Also, the newly bought RAM will make your computer run faster and you will not regret your choice.
The list of priorities for IT purchases must always start with the RAM. A little word of caution is necessary: take a look at your motherboard manual and other documentation concerning your existing hardware and see which type of RAM you must purchase. If the new RAM is not compatible with the rest of the computer, then it will be just wasted cash.
Usually, high quality RAM works well with a high bus frequency CPU, so take this aspect into consideration when you go shopping. Also, if you intent to upgrade your CPU as well, make a comparison to see what configuration fits your pocket best.
Another aspect that must stand at the foundation of your upgrade plan is the main uses your machine performs for. If you are a 3D video games fanatic, or you work with complex and resource consuming graphic software, then upgrading your graphic chip is next on your list. This is among the most expensive investments in your upgrade, so evaluate the situation while cold headed.
If you use your machine just for surfing the web, writing e-mails and Word documents, then take the graphics card off the list. Remember, we are talking hard cold cash here, and it will be too expensive to purchase a $600 graphics card just to play Solitaire. There are also other aspects, if your graphics card is too old and it is need of dire replacement. See what kind of slot your motherboard has for the graphics card - PCI, PCI Express or AGP and plan your purchases accordingly.
With MP3s, digital photographs, and videos quickly eating up precious hard drive space, a hard drive upgrade is a must if you don't want to run out of space for future files. Grafting on an extra 200 gigabytes to your system for your files to reside on is faster and less of a hassle than having to backup to a thumb drive or DVD.
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.
There are also other aspects to be regarded when upgrading your PC. If your model is a brand computer, such as Dell, HP or IBM, putting on a new motherboard may prove to be quite a challenge. So, changing the motherboard during your upgrade effort may require other expenses, such as a new case for your computer.
This is how a plan for upgrading a computer should look like. Make your own little research and decide which parts need most to be replaced. Only this way you will get the best off your upgrade and enjoy a more competitive machine.
About the Author:
Kay Brenner is a PC errors expert who restores slow PCs, saving you time and money wrestling with a slow PC. To reclaim your dream machine you first bought, download a free PC Tune Up
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