How To Upgrade Your PC
Contributed by Jay Schroyer
Deciding to upgrade your computer is not something you should decide to do on a whim. To avoid wasting money on costly upgrades that you don’t need or ones that possibly won’t work with the hardware you currently have, you need to do a fair amount of research and comparison. If you know someone who works in the computer industry or who is fairly computer savvy on their own accord, you may want to spend an hour with them discussing what computer would best suit your needs. Some people find that they only need to learn more about Windows® XP to make their computer perform to their satisfaction. Others find that because their computer is a few years old, there’s just no way to run the currently available applications on a machine as slow as theirs. The choice is yours depending on how much money you want to spend, but take these items into consideration.
Usage
Your level of computer usage is a very important factor to consider. Computers for work use and home use often have very different programs and uses. Work computers that are used for general office work generally only need the Microsoft® suite (Word, Excel®, Outlook®, PowerPoint®, Publisher) and aren’t used for much more than throwing together presentations and communicating via e-mail. With this being the case, these machines don’t need an outrageous amount of memory or speed to perform these common tasks. If you work in a graphics or media field, your computer would be a beast of a different kind. Running programs like Photoshop®, Illustrator®, In Design®, and Web-editing software requires a lot of horsepower and memory. But even home computers can be used for these types of functions and require a very costly machine to fully operate. The point is that you need to fully examine your computer usage to decide which computer type is best for you. If you have an old, slow machine and you want to buy Photoshop to edit photos, you should probably just buy a brand new computer. The horsepower and memory that you would need to adequately run Photoshop is virtually impossible to upgrade an older machine to. If you just want to be able to surf the Web a little faster, you might be able to get away with adding some RAM and perhaps a faster video card. Regardless, your usage is going to directly affect the route you will need to take when upgrading your machine.
Level of Upgrade
Once your usage is figured out, you can decide on the level of upgrade that you’re looking at. Some people are only looking to upgrade programs, for example their Windows version. You might find, however, that a newer version of Windows might have trouble running on your old machine. Some versions, like XP, require a lot of RAM to perform the appearance and the many features that are available in the rebirth of this operating system. If that’s the case, you can look into the cost of adding RAM to your old computer, but may find that after all of the hassle and cost, it’s still cheaper to buy a new desktop computer. Unless you learn to work on the computer yourself, many find that they need professional help installing hardware upgrades. You need to consider this cost as well when deciding if you can get away with just a part of a computer or the need to buy a whole new one. You also need to remember to take the necessary safety precautions when performing a hardware upgrade including backing up your existing files in case they are lost in the process.
Budget
Finally, the last item to consider is your budget. Make a side-by-side comparison chart of what it would cost to get your current computer where you want it to be and what the cost would be to simply buy a new one. Once you see these numbers next to each other, you can evaluate if you are within your budget or if you perhaps need to expand your budget to get the type of machine you need or want. If you’re looking for hard numbers, concerning both specifications and price, check out web sites like Dell.com or even pay a visit to your local Gateway® shop to collect information and pricing. Since computers change very rapidly, there is really no telling what the next “perfect” number will be for RAM, processor speed, and price points.
As stated earlier, it’s always best to get the sound advice of someone who deals with computers on a daily basis. Explain to them what you want to do with your computer and they should be able to tell you what you need to have to perform those functions. Even the sales people at computer shops and online can give you a good idea of the type of computer you’ll need. Always keep in mind your usage, level of upgrade, and the budget you’re working with. Never go into an upgrade blindly; research well and figure out what you need and how you will go about getting it.
Windows, Microsoft, Excel, and PowerPoint are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Photoshop, Illustrator , and InDesign are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems, Incorporated in the U.S. and other countries. Dell is a registered trademark of Dell Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Gateway is a registered trademark of Gateway, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries.
About the Author:
Jay Schroyer has worked in the client and customer service end of business for over five years in retail, advertising, and printing. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English writing and communication.
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