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When people upgrade a PC, they tend to go straight for the CPU or GPU. However, if your PC isn’t ancient, and your demands aren’t too intense, you may be able to significantly improve its performance without spending too much. Here are four relatively inexpensive upgrades to consider before you go for the latest CPU or graphics processing unit (GPU).
1Improve Your Internet Speed
First up, we’ll check the internet connection. Are you accessing the internet with Wi-Fi or plugged directly into the modem with an Ethernet cable? No matter how fast your processor is, it cannot handle data faster than the data comes in.
The abundance of electronics in modern homes, wiring in your home’s electrical system, and even electronic signals from your neighbors can interfere with Wi-Fi signals. If your connection is too slow or unstable, even the best processor must slow down to accommodate it. An Ethernet card and cable or an upgrade to a better Wi-Fi card can cost $50 to $100.
Before doing so, you shouldcheck your internet speedandmeasure it against the internet speeds you really need.
2Improve Your PC’s Memory
Next, consider adding more memory to your PC. Most people are probably okay with 16GB RAM. You might want more if you are like me and tend to keep many tabs open in your browser and applications running in the background. If an application suddenly quits without warning or an error message, you’ve likely run out of RAM. Different PCs vary in capacity, but RAM sticks are inexpensive, and you may usually max out a computer’s RAM slots for a few hundred dollars.
Before heading out and buying more RAM,check your PC’s current RAM and its maximum capacity. Most motherboards have additional RAM slots you may use, though laptop motherboards often have limited capacity.Some laptops also have integrated, soldered RAM, which means it cannot be upgraded or changed.
3Organize Your Storage
The next thing you might want to look at is your storage capacity. Hard drives are very affordable, and with inexpensive external drives and cloud storage, you may not need to store much on your internal drive. If you do, and your hard drive is at 90% of its capacity or more, you might want to add some extra storage. This could mean removing stuff you don’t use, moving some files to an external drive, putting more in the cloud, or adding more internal storage.
If you can afford extra, you should upgrade from ahard disk drive (HDD) to a solid state drive (SSD). While SSDs are more expensive than traditional hard drives, they are also more durable and deliver information to your hard drive faster.
4Cool Things Down With a Fan Upgrade
The last thing to check before thinking about processor upgrades is your computer’s temperature. Computers consume a great deal of energy and produce significant heat, but processors work best when cold. I’ve seen PCs nearly destroyed by a broken fan that no one noticed. It’s ironic that a fan is one of the least expensive components of a PC, yettemperature and cooling systemsare critical but often overlooked parts of PC performance.
Prices range from less than $10 for a simple fan to over $200 for a three-fan system with RGB lighting. If you are still considering upgrading your CPU or GPU, you’ll probably need to upgrade the power supply and cooling system anyway, so don’t skip this step.
You may still decide you need a new motherboard, CPU, and graphics card, but whether you do or not, hopefully, you’ll be happier with your PC’s performance, and we didn’t break the bank to get there. If you do go for a faster CPU, don’t forget to upgrade the power supply and cooling system. A faster CPU means more energy use and more heat.
