Upgrading Your PC for Non-experts
April 1, 2008
Intro
One of the big advantages of PCs over earlier types of computers is that they’re upgradable. If you get to the point where you need a faster computer, more storage space or whatever, you don’t have to buy a new PC. You can upgrade it by buying just the extra part you need. But sometimes it’s better to just take the plunge and replace it? and how do you know what part to upgrade? Here’s my guide:
Memory
Adding memory is one of the most popular upgrades. It makes a big difference to how fast your PC runs. When your PC runs out of memory for what it’s doing, it stores information on your hard drive instead. Your hard drive is nowhere near as fast as the memory. The more memory you’ve got, the less often your PC will need to store things on the hard drive as it works. So the faster it will go.
How much memory is enough does depend on what version of Windows you’re running. With Windows XP, 256MB is considered a bit on the low side, though it’ll be just about OK. 512MB is decent and 1024MB is really good. If you have Windows 95 or 98, you can get by on 64MB though it’s worth going to 128MB even if you just use your PC for basic office work. More will make it really hum along.
