Upgrading your system requires you to first find out what you want out to do and what your current system is capable of supporting.

A video editor would look for different upgrades compared to a gamer. Similarly, a home computer entertainment system would defer from a working pc.

These wants overlap, but you need to look at what you need first. Also look at the current system you’re using and find out just what it can support.

For example, an AMD Socket939 motherboard would require a different processor from and AMD Socket754. Similarly, Intel motherboards require Intel Processors, while AMD motherboards require AMD processors.

These are just simple, but big differences that affect how you can upgrade your current system. There is no point in upgrading to that hot new graphic card that your friends are raving about if your system can’t support it.

 

 

Video Gaming

• Graphic cards. We don’t need to say much here. However, make sure that your graphic card is compatible with your motherboard. Check the manufacturer’s website.


• You may also want to upgrade your processor since games rely mostly on processor power. Rarely do games benefit just from a new graphic card alone.


• RAM is the next upgrade to consider. Consider getting as much as 1 gig if not 2 gigs of ram.


• Games are increasingly eating up more space for installation. A hard disk upgrade may be inevitable if you plan on installing many games on your system.


• Finally, do not skimp on sound. A bad sound system may dampen the experience of your next game even though you have fantastic graphics. Using your integrated soundcard may sound fine and dandy for normal use, but not for serious gaming.


• If you have extra cash to spend, why not upgrade your monitor? A larger screen and higher resolution adds to your gaming experience.


• Your power supply unit is going to go through a major upgrade once you purchase a new graphic card. Look towards a 600watt or more.

 

 

All in all, if you are planning to play the latest games, you should consider a new system soon. Games are requiring a lot of system resource nowadays, thus, upgrade your current system while keeping in mind that you need a new system in the future.

Buy graphic cards which are compatible with newer motherboards, thus saving on purchasing cost in the future.

 

 

Web Surfing and Office Work

If all you do on your computer is web surfing and some office work, you should upgrade your RAM. Also, you might want to consider upgrading your processor speed and hard disk.

• Upgrading your RAM means that you can switch between programs without noticeable slow down. How about typing documents in Microsoft Words, while downloading that attachment your colleague sent you and looking at the PDF file that you received from your vendor, and also listening to your favourite tunes? All this done without your computer lagging and dragging while you save, switch and browse.


• Higher processor speed can add to the responsiveness of your computer. Scan for viruses while still continuing your office work without losing much speed.


• A new hard disk can help extend the life of your system. It is one of the more fragile parts of your PC. Also, that extra space is useful for backups


• Cd or Dvd burners is another solution to your backing up needs.

All in all, the upgrades for web surfing and office work focus more on increasing the performance of your system as you may need to multi-task between several programs. A back-up hard disk or Cd/Dvd burners enable you to back up your data in case your main hard disk fails.

 

 

Digital Media System

Of course, here we are not going to touch on a professional setup. If have a are an aspiring video editor or just a musician who wants to record his/her ideas, or you want to edit and organise your holiday photos, you should consider the following upgrades:

• As usual, more RAM never hurt anyone. Except if you buy RAM not compatible with your current system.


• Hard disk upgrade and backup hard disk. If you are going to edit videos or record music, you are going to need a lot of space. Also, there is no point in going through the effort of recording, editing or saving your holiday photos if you are going to lose all of it due to an unreliable hard disk. Set up a primary hard disk with a second, larger hard disk as your back up.


• Get a Cd/Dvd burner to burn all your precious data onto optical discs for additional backup for the times when BOTH you main and backup hard disks fail.


• If you are planning on doing video editing or even 3d animation, you should look to investing in a graphic card.


• Likewise, you need a sound card for sound and video editing. Sound quality is crucial for these situations, especially in the case of older motherboards. Lower quality sound cards increase noise interfering with your original sound, thus degrading it and affect your sound editing.


• Good speakers or headphones are also what should be considered.


• Lastly, all that additional components would not work if the power supply unit cannot support the additional devices. Look towards a 600watt or more.




 

Here also, like gaming, you may want to purchase, keeping in mind of a future system upgrade. Also, depending if you are going into video, sound or just photo editing, your priorities may vary.

See the general pattern here? Basically, RAM upgrade is beneficial to any system use. Hard disk space and backup hard disk or cd/dvd burners are upgrades which should be seriously considered for any user.

The general rule of the thumb though, is that a system that is more than 3 years old should be left alone, and that you should buy a new system instead.

However, if you don’t have the budget to buy a whole new system, you can do partial upgrades while looking to upgrading to a new system in the near future.