In today’s world, our PCs serve as necessary tools for work, entertainment, and personal pursuits. However, over time, their performance can decline, making it feel slower than usual in functionality and responsiveness causing PC upgrades necessary.
Whether you’re a tech enthusiast or simply want to upgrade your aging PC with minimal investment, then this guide provides an easy path of what to upgrade on your PC.
With specific explanations and valuable insight, we’ll examine key upgrade options, including RAM, SSDs, GPUs, and CPUs, while also talking about additional enhancements like improved cooling and cabinet options.
What to upgrade on Your PC?
It is essential to identify the areas that require improvement before you start the process of upgrading. Here’s how to get started:
- System Check
Check-in System Information to gain insights into your current hardware specifications, if you feel like upgrading anything yourself or if any part looks very old and needs to be replaced, it’s best to upgrade it. - Needs Assessment
Right-click on your Windows Start button and open Task Manager to see if there are any bottlenecks that prevent heavy tasks from being carried out.
The above picture shows that 98% of your RAM is being used by tasks, so this indicates that you need to upgrade your RAM. Similarly, if your disk or CPU is utilized around 100% then you need to upgrade that.
3. Budgeting
Set a comfortable budget for your PC upgrade project.
Key PC Upgrade Options
1. RAM
Investing in RAM can significantly improve system performance, yet it is usually ignored. Insufficient RAM can lead to lagging multitasking and slow application loading. Upgrading your RAM capacity can significantly improve overall responsiveness.
You have to check for extra slots for RAM on your motherboard. Usually, motherboards have at least 2 slots for RAM but if you have occupied both slots already then you need to upgrade your motherboard too or buy a bigger RAM.
2. SSD
You will experience surprising improvements in boot times and application loading speeds with an SSD. Compared to traditional HDDs, SSDs offer exceptional speed and lower power consumption.
SSD also has 2 types, NVMe and SATA. They work on different protocols but the NVMe is faster than SATA. So, again you need to look for an available slot on your motherboard for either of these to make a decision.
3. GPU
For gamers and video editors, a powerful GPU is essential. This component directly influences your PC’s graphical processing, ensuring smooth gaming visuals and seamless video processing.
Boosting your GPU will allow you to play games at higher resolutions. Its slot is located just below the processor. You just need to swap your existing GPU for a better one. Here’s a guide to finding the best one for your PC.
4. CPU
Consider a CPU upgrade if your current one struggles with demanding tasks. As the core of your PC, the CPU influences overall processing power and its ability to handle new applications.
If your CPU or processor is becoming a bottleneck, then you may also need to upgrade your motherboard because new processors only support their compatible motherboards. In the case that your motherboard supports only 10th-generation Intel CPUs, but you need an 11th-generation CPU, you also need a motherboard that supports 11th-generation CPUs.
Additional Enhancements
1. Cabinet:
If you value aesthetics, upgrading your PC’s cabinet can give it a fresh and stylish appearance. It depends totally on your budget for investing in an expensive cabinet.
2. Cooling:
When overclocking, having a powerful cooling system is crucial to maintaining performance and component health.
If you notice hot air coming from your computer cabinet, it’s time to clean the inside of the cabinet. Visit here for some cool and cheap cleaning and amazing tools for your PC.
Conclusion
Investing in upgrading your PC leads to enhanced performance, functionality, and a more satisfying user experience. This guide helps you find your PC’s upgrade needs and make good decisions.
