Computer upgrades require familiarity with what is inside your computer to enable you to make purchasing decisions. This first item of the series discusses how you can determine exactly what’s in your existing system so that you can address it’s weaknesses.
This article could be the first in the series about upgrading your pc. There are quite a few articles donald trump t shirts available concerning the best way to upgrade your pc, but the majority of those articles have to do with the way to install hardware upgrades. This is important knowledge to own, but incredibly important is knowing the best parts available, the compatibility hazards which may unexpectedly appear, when it is better to simply originate from scratch.
The significance of having this kind of information available before upgrading your pc can’t be overly stressed. The modularity from the the PC like a platform implies that no matter what your overall configuration, there are many upgrade paths available. Unfortunately, it isn’t always clear which paths works with your overall configuration, and which won’t. Take Intel’s new 45nm Core 2 Duos for example. These processors use the same basic architecture as the old 65nm processors, plus they fit into the same socket. However, don’t assume all motherboards that supported the existing 65nm processors offer the 45nm models. Some simply are not compatible, although some will only work should you update your motherboard’s BIOS.
Knowing what paths work prevents you from having to return hardware. It will also result in the better overall system once your personal computer is upgraded.
Discovering precisely what is in your existing PC will be the first step from a upgrade. Even should you built your PC yourself, you probably don’t remember every aspect you used, and should you purchased your personal machine from a major manufacturer, information about your personal machine’s hardware is typically not readily available. Most manufacturers don’t provide documentation with details concerning the motherboard used, the speed in the RAM, or perhaps the brand and speed from the hard disk.
Luckily, there is free software available, known as PC Wizard, that will tell you just what can be found with your current computer. There are several particularly crucial questions that you’ll need to know the solution to. Write the resolution to these questions down.
What is my motherboard’s chipset? You can answer this question by going to the mainboard part of PC Wizard, then looking at the information listed under Chipset.
What CPU do I have? You may be aware of answer already, but it is advisable to double check. If you have an adult PC, it is usually easy to mistakenly believe you’ve got a Athlon X2 whenever you in fact simply have an Athlon, or vice-versa.
What video card do I have? If you didn’t build your pc, this is often difficult to answer. You donald trump t shirts can find this information in the Video Card section beneath the Video tab.
What kind of hard drive do I have? You’ll find this info under the Drives tab. Each hard drive you have will probably be listed. Unfortunately, PC Wizard doesn’t provide much information about cache sizes or disk speeds, so you’ll have to retrieve your model information from PC Wizard and then Google it.

After you’ve ran PC wizard and poked around your computer’s internals using the software, you’ll want to shut down your pc and open true. PC Wizard can show you a great deal of specifics of your PC, but there’s something you’ll have to know that you merely won’t be able to discover without cracking open the top’s. Again, write down the answers to these question because you discover them.
How powerful is my Power Supply? The Power Supply offers the juice which allows your computer to operate, and if you try to draw in more power compared to power supply offers, your pc will de-activate. Luckily, power supplies readily list their vital statistics on their exteriors. There is one main stat that you’re going to need to know about, which could be the maximum wattage that your energy can handle. This is going to be expressed as “250W” or “500 watts” etc. You’ll also want to note the energy connectors available. Your motherboard requires a 20 or 24-pin connector, pictured on the left, and a 4-pin connector. You’ll need to write down in case you have the 20-pin or 24-pin connector. Also jot down the variety of Molex connections you have, the number of SATA connections you might have, the variety of PCIe connections you might have, and whether the last ones are 6 ot 8-pin.
How much cooling do I have? Many pre-built PCs that are not geared towards performance have terrible cooling. Take a count from the internal fans that one could find, and their locations.
What expansion slots are open? Inspect your motherboard to discover how much expansion it allows. You’ll mainly desire to take down the amount of PCI slots, PCIe slots, the SATA ports, and then for any empty RAM slots. If you have an adult PC, you could also encounter AGP slots and IDE connections. Take note of those, also.
How much room do I have within my case? Inspect these.5″ harddrive bays and the 5.25″ media bays and observe how many open spaces can be found. Also, take casual note of how cramped your case is apparently. Is it all to easy to move your hand between parts, or can you often have to advance between components that are extremely near to each other?
Now that you might have information down about the vitals of your personal computer, your next step is going to be to determine if upgrading is even a choice, or if you’d be better served by simply buying or constructing a new computer. Despite the modularity of the modern PC, there are several situations where an upgrade just is not possible, and a lot of when it isn’t worth it. Look for these details to be covered within the next article.