The Do's and Don'ts of Computer Upgrading

Upgrading your computer can be a good compromise to buying new. However, there are some things you need to consider before you making any decisions either way. In this article I will give you some practical tips on upgrading that you need to know before you spend any cash.

Don't upgrade unless you have definite plan. Knowing why you want to upgrade and if it would be advantageous for you to do so is the important thing. If you need more memory, more space, the ability to watch movies, or a bigger screen these would be some of the reasons you would want to upgrade.

Don't spend more than $200. If you end up spending more than this you might as well buy new. You need to watch what you spend. Adding an CD/RW is a good option, memory, hard drive, etc are good options to upgrade your computer. You just need to watch your costs.

Don't buy a killer video card to play games. Spending a lot of money on the a good video card to put in an older computer is waste of money. Without updating the processor your not going to get much benefit by adding a good video card. You are just better off saving your money to buy a gaming machine. I have played games for a lot of years there is a lot that goes into making your computer good for gaming and just replacing the video card just doesn't do it.

Don't replace the CPU without a new motherboard. Updating a motherboard and CPU is really not a good option for updating your computer. Not only can it be costly but it can exceed the $200 window. You might as well purchase new than to upgrade the motherboard and CPU.

Don't upgrade a computer thats over 4 years old. Its just really not cost efficient. If your only using the computer to do minimal things than leave it as it is. Upgrading won't really help you that much. You can however extend a life of an older PC by adding memory. Memory is cheap enough to not break your pocket book.

Do add memory to a computer running 256 MB or less. If your running Windows XP its a good idea to bring memory to 512 MB if at all possible. Even 1 GB if your motherboard will support it. You can never have enough memory. Memory improves performance not speed.

Do add a CD/RW/DVD type option to your computer if you do not have one. This adds another dimension to your computer and extends its life. Besides a good combo drive is very inexpensive.

Do add a larger hard drive if you need more space. Files add up quickly and hard drives have dropped a lot in price and keep going down. Watch for special deals on computer components.

Don't upgrade from XP to Vista unless you have the specs to run it. Do upgrade from an earlier version of Windows to XP as long as you have the specs to do that as well. You don't want your computer running sluggish cause it doesn't have enough to processing power to handle it.

Do upgrade to flat screen monitor if you can get a good price. Flat screen prices have dropped and you usually can get a 17 to 19 inch for under $150. Flat screens take less space and add beauty to your computer.

With these tips you can get a pretty good idea of when to upgrade and when not to upgrade