You have finally made up your mind and want to take your first steps to renew your computerWell, you are in luck, I am going to tell you the most important points to take into account in order to update your PC or computer and have the latest hardware fully compatible with today’s software demands.
In this post we will not talk about the updates of the operating systems or programs of your computer, but about renew and improve the components of your PC to make it faster, more powerful and ultimately better. If you are a beginner when it comes to computers, this guide will be very useful for you, since we will touch on all the main points that a computer needs to be up-to-date and to be able to work with the different applications and programs in its latest version.
Update computer hardware It is not an automatic task at all, since there are many variants on the market, different price and performance options that will be necessary to know so that all the pieces of our PC fit perfectly and are 100% compatible with each other.
Upgrade the microprocessor or CPU
As we know, hardware are the “physical” parts that make up your computer, from the keyboard, mouse or monitor to the most important pieces such as the microprocessor, graphics card, RAM memory, hard drives, sound card and a long etcetera of different components that we will go over one by one so that you know what are the main characteristics that make us go from a “normal” computer to one of high end.So let’s get down to business!
Undoubtedly this component is the “brain” of our computer, the so-called microprocessor or CPU is the one that will make the difference in the processing capacity, speed and power of the PC, as well as in the final price. Without a doubt, this component has been one of those that more progress has been made in recent years If we talk about performance, that is why it is one of those that better update so as not to have an obsolete computer regarding benefits.
If we look at the age data of our CPU we must take into account that:
To be honest, if you have a bus over 3 years old It is not really worth looking for any update, since as we have commented, this component is one of the ones that experiences the most technological advances and therefore, it will be one of the fastest I’m outdated regarding its potential and performance.
But if it is the case that the CPU of your PC is relatively new, that is, less than 3 years old or less, it may be a good option to renew it to integrate into your computer a more powerful and current microprocessor than you have. Examples are many, but today, if you have a InterCore i3 Without a doubt, it is more than interesting to add between, a micro version i5 or i7you will really notice the difference, since the latter will offer you much more information processing speed and you will notice the speed of the computer remarkably.
For those of you lucky enough to work with a Mid-range or high-end CPUs such as the AMD Phenom II or the aforementioned Intel Core i5 or i7you can save your money and wait for newer, more advanced microprocessors to come on the market and stick with the one you have, since in almost all cases, these types of CPUs are powerful enough for most users.
Other points to consider before renewing the CPU is know the motherboard model what we have, know the socket or electronic socket, since this device is in charge of serving as a connector for the microprocessor and fixing it without the need for welding, which gives us the possibility of extracting it more easily and quickly. The problem that arises with old computers is that it will be necessary to completely renew the motherboard, since there will be no compatibility between the socket and the new microprocessor.
Renew and improve RAM memory
I remember when I had my I386 I was buying new RAM memory modules so that the “poor” could barely get by… anecdotes aside, renewing this component is really simple, just put them in their slots and that’s it! Of course, in the past this was not so easy since the connections failed more than we would like, although fortunately this type of problem does not usually occur anymore. Having a low RAM memory is undoubtedly one of the aspects that most negatively affect the performance of the computer.always keep that in mind. If you want to know more about how, click here.
If we take the age of our computer as a reference, we will have the different options:
If on your computer you have DDR1 type RAM memory modules or earlier, to tell you that it is going to be difficult to renew it except for exceptions or some stroke of luck, and it is that there may be some left in the storage room of a computer store from the 90’s. The DDR1 are quite old, they are those that have 184 contact pins in its desktop version, for laptops, have 200 pins per module. In them you will be able to see a label that will inform us of what speed they have, their brand and type of memory. In addition, the computer equipment that is installed with this type of module, not compatible with other models.
We go forward a few years in time, and we arrive at the ddr2if you are one of those who have these RAM modules mounted, tell you that they are also quite oldDon’t worry though, we can update them by installing and plugging in some other module. it will only be worth it reach up to 4GB of memory, since increasing the capacity more will not be worth it in relation to price / benefits. Today, the main manufacturers have compatibility with DDR2, so if you are nostalgic and like to keep the technology of the last century, you can still last a few more years with these components.
Hello 21st century, I present to you the DDR3If you are one of the lucky ones who have this type of RAM memory module installed, you can consider upgrading and improving its performance. For users performing common tasks, the number of between 4 or 6 GB of RAM it will be more than enough for us. For the gamers reach up to 8 or 12 GB of RAM It can be a good option, everything is a matter of the budget and the use that we are going to give it.
The new and what is to come, the DDR4this type of modules allow us to larger DIMM capacitiesimproved data integrity and lower power consumption. They not only manage to improve speed but also energy saving is up to 40% compared to its DDR3 predecessors. Surely if your computer has this technology installed, you will not need any improvement or update since you have the best of the best, congratulations!
Know her maximum frequency supported by our motherboardTaking advantage of all the channels, whether they are Dual Triple or Quad Channel, are fundamental aspects to have a state-of-the-art computer and get the best possible performance at the lowest cost. An interesting fact to keep in mind is that the 32-bit operating systems are limited to using 4 GB of RAMfor greater capacity we must have OS of 64 bit or higher.
Renew and update the graphics card
Video cards are those that will allow us to display low, medium or high quality graphics, depending on their power. There is a large number of models on the market with their respective characteristics, so many that it would be impossible (or almost) to study one by one. , are the processors in charge of showing, helping the central microprocessor, the graphics of video games or applications in 3Deven those of virtual reality, which need ultra-powerful cards so that the sensation of immersion is carried out efficiently.
Let’s see, depending on the age of your video card, if you need to update it and which are the most recommended options:
If you have models like the NVidia Series 200 or AMD Series 4000 or even less, you will have noticed some time ago that the videos and applications that require moderately powerful graphics are difficult for you to see fluently or it is simply impossible for your computer to generate them, this is a sign of imminent update.
But don’t run so fast, because we can make that phenomenon called “bottleneck” when we want to update the hardware of our computer, this is neither more nor less than incompatibilities between different components, either because the graphics card is too powerful for our CPU or vice versa and we can’t get the performance out of it they would really have if all the components were in total balance. To ensure the compatibility of all the components with each other, we can check it with this .
If we have already taken all of the above into account and we know the power of the CPU, we can update the graphics card more frequently to always have features in line with the latest video games and other applications that need high-end GPUs to be displayed. It is true that high-end components are not cheapthat is why we must adjust our budget with the objectives and specific needs of each one, it is useless to have the latest Graphic card if we are really not going to give it the expected use of it.
A very important factor when considering the renewal of the GPU is whether our games run slow or not. A perfect compendium between graphics card, RAM memory and microprocessor It will be essential to have a computer updated to the latest trends in virtual reality video games among others.
Improve and upgrade storage capacity
Do you know the Solid State Drive? If your answer is yes, congratulations, if not, don’t worry, I’m going to tell you right here, the ssd They are a device that is responsible for data storage, like flash memory, they use the so-called non-volatile memory, that is, they do not need energy to last, also, unlike their predecessors hard drives or HDDdo not use magnetic components or moving parts inside, therefore they are less sensitive to shocks, more durable, with better performance and quieter.
Are they all advantages? Well, almost, the downside is that their useful life is shorter, since they have a limited number of write cycles, and in many cases the total loss of data occurs unexpectedly and irrecoverably, which is why backup copies become more important with SSDs.
When is it interesting to change and update our SSD?
- if we have a hard drive S-ATA 1 (Serial ATA) The move to an SSD is really inefficient, therefore we rule out the possibility of updating, bad luck.
- If we work with a S-ATA 2, a very interesting option may be to add an SSD for the storage of basic computer data as well as its Operating System. Of course, keep in mind that it will have to be a unit S-ATA 2 and not S-ATA 3since you would be limiting its performance.
- if your computer is S-ATA 3 It means that your purchase has been more or less recent and in this case I recommend, if you plan to invest something in your computer,…
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