Tips that will Help you to Upgrade your Gaming PC
Should you upgrade your PC? Or should you be buying a new computer? If you aren’t sure which option is best for you or if you want to make the right decision then you can find out everything you need to know, right here.
When Does it Make Sense to Upgrade?
A desktop PC is modular, and this means that if you want to upgrade it, all you have to do is replace a particular component. If you have a certain level of technical understanding, then this is very easy to do. If you are confident enough to do the upgrade yourself or if you have an expert at hand, then there’s truly nothing stopping you from upgrading. With that being said, you do need to keep a few crucial points in mind. Upgrading a PC makes sense if you can achieve a large increase in performance. You may find that you only really need to replace one or two parts to take advantage of a significant speed boost. If you don’t have enough RAM but notice that your mainboard has a couple of free RAM slots, then you might be able to install some additional RAM modules. Upgrading the graphics card may also make sense if the processor is lagging in games.
Advantages of Upgrading
A desktop PC is modular. This means that it’s usually very easy for you to replace a component if you have a certain level of technical understanding. Replacing just one or two components saves a lot of money when compared to buying new ones. On top of this, you can save a great deal of time. You don’t have to set up a new PC, install the programs again or even move your data. Of course, it is also far more sustainable for you to replace only the parts of the PC and not the entire system.
When Should You Buy New?
There are some arguments when it comes to making a new purchase. If your current PC happens to be on its last legs and you need to sort everything, then it doesn’t make sense. You will probably invest the same amount but not get the advantage of having a new system. It’s not usually simple to upgrade a single component. Installing a faster GPU requires you to make sure that the power supply can keep up, and you also need to make sure that you have all of the right connections too. Secondly, you have to make sure that there is enough space in the case. If there isn’t, and if you do not meet these conditions, then it can be expensive for you to go ahead and replace all of the components. The same concept applies to upgrading the processor. This is especially the case if you have a motherboard that has an Intel chipset because you will have a new chipset after two CPU generations. If you want to upgrade your processor, then this will probably come with a motherboard upgrade as well. With this comes new RAM, so it’s easy to see how things can add up here. Another argument would be software.
Windows 11 requires you to have an up-to-date processor. You also need to make sure that you look into the warranty. Both when you buy components, or when you do it yourself, you may find that you get a warranty with it. This is great, as it means it’ll last you for a certain number of years. With that in mind, if you can’t afford to make all of the new upgrades just yet then you may end up paying out for a product that is out of warranty by the time you get around to installing it.
Advantages of Buying New
With a new PC, you can take advantage of a new processor. New processors and new graphics cards are usually way more efficient than the graphic cards that came before them. This means that in the long run, you can cut down on your electricity costs by quite a lot. The latest tech and interfaces will also give you the advantage of future-proofing your PC.
What Should You Upgrade?
Desktop PCs are modular, and this means you can usually go ahead and replace any component. In the case of the power supply, this only really tends to make sense for efficiency reasons. In the case of housing, you need to look at aesthetic reasons. The components that influence performance include system memory, processor, graphics card, and fan. If your PC seems to take ages to start or if it has a hard time loading programs, then there’s a chance that you are using an old HDD. Upgrading to an SSD and making that leap will speed up your system operation. Before you upgrade, however, you do need to make sure that you find out which interfaces are available on your PC. You will usually have NVMe and SATA.
When you are set on a model, all you have to do is then decide on the model you want to go for. You can then install the drive and put on a new operating system or opt for the one that you have now.
Upgrading RAM
If you notice that it is more your programs that are starting slowly or if you cannot seem to open up a new tab in your browser easily then this is a prime indicator that your RAM is not working as well as it could be. The fastest way for you to get this sorted through the task manager would be for you to use a key command. There you can then swap to memory and read how much of your RAM you are utilizing. If you notice that you are using quite a lot, then upgrading this could be an option. If you are a gamer then having a lot of RAM is crucial. The only instance where you might not need a lot of RAM would be if you only play less demanding games, such as Klondike solitaire.
Even if you just have an office PC, it’s recommended that you have around 8GB of RAM. If you can get 16GB, then this is even better. If you want to launch heavy games, then you need to aim for around 32GB of RAM. Before you go ahead and do this, you will need to go through a few certain things. What RAM capacity are you looking for? What speed do you need from your processor? How many RAM slots do you have? Which RAM modules do you have installed right now?
Graphics Card
Lastly, you have your graphics card. Upgrading your graphics card is worthwhile if you are a gamer or if you like to be creative on your PC. With that in mind, you need to first find out if it is your GPU or your CPU that is the limiting factor. After all, if it is your processor that is bottlenecking you then getting a faster graphics card probably won’t give you the result you are going for. When you have been able to decide what the problems are, you can then figure out if you need a new graphics card. The faster a graphics card is, the more power you will need. If you are in doubt, then check to see if you have enough space in your case for another graphics card. If you cannot install a new one, then you may need to get a bigger case.
