Sometimes computer equipment can be difficult to follow. The latest specification will now be old news in a year and staying up to date can cost a small fortune. But buying a new computer every year is just not practical. So there are very economical ways to improve the speed and performance of your system without buying a totally new computer.
Memory – The cheapest and easiest way to improve the performance of your computer is to buy memory. There are two things to consider here, first, check the limits of your motherboard to see the maximum amount of memory and the maximum memory speed it can handle. Some motherboards can run two blocks of memory at a different speed at the same time (of course, both will run at a slower speed), but sometimes it may be worthwhile to buy new memory at the highest speed possible, especially if you do not have a lot of memory to start with.
Depending on your budget, a single extra block of memory can make all the difference, but if you can upgrade it at a higher speed, do it. If you are using 32-bit Windows, do not buy more than 4 GB, because the 32-bit version of Windows can not use more. The adaptation of the memory is very simple and requires only a single slot in the task. No additional configuration is required.
Hard Drive – An often overlooked aspect in improving the performance of your computer, but a new hard drive can work wonders, especially if your current drive is very old. Hard disks have moving parts and can wear over time, which can cause slow read / write heads, which slows down performance. But not only will an old, nearly full hard drive run slower because the read / write heads need to move to access the data. A newer hard drive with more storage can work better because external heads are not used and read / write times will be faster.
It may also be worthwhile to consider the speed of the hard disk according to your budget. A faster rotational speed can result in much faster load times if you use many programs that require constant reading and writing from the hard drive. You can also improve hard drive performance using a RAID configuration, but it can be expensive and not usually worthwhile in most cases. Installing a new hard drive is quite simple, there are only two connections to worry about (power and data).
CPU – Probably the most expensive and difficult upgrade, but that does not mean it’s not worth it. You should check what type of socket your motherboard can accommodate and the maximum speed compatible. If you are currently using a processor much smaller than the maximum (it can sometimes reach 1 GHz), consider an upgrade. Older processors are usually pretty cheap nowadays and the extra speed you get from them is usually worth it.
Installing a processor may be a little trickier depending on your current heatsink configuration, but with a little patience, it’s usually pretty easy to follow the instructions provided or consult an online guide. .