Got an old PC that's feeling old and tired, and you're thinking that it might be time to buy a new one?
Here are two things that you can do to turbo boost your PC, and it both will cost you a lot less than buying a new PC.
See also: How much RAM does your Windows PC really need? (August 2019 edition)[1]
Let's take a look at how to breathe new life into your old PC.
#1: RAM upgrade
If your PC has less than 4GB of RAM, upgrading this -- if it's possible -- up to 4GB is a worthy upgrade. RAM upgrades are quick and easy, and also pretty cheap. If you already have 4GB then the gains you get from pushing this higher have diminishing returns unless you are into high-end gaming or have specific workloads such as video rendering.
Not sure if your PC can take an upgrade? If it was made by one of the major OEMs then a RAM vendor like Crucial[2] or Kingston[3] (or for Macs, you can check out OWC[4]).
#2: Upgrade your storage from a hard drive to SSD
While a RAM upgrade offers good bang-for-the-buck, if you already have 4GB of RAM then then the next best upgrade you can do is swap out your hard drive (HDD) for an SSD.
- An SSD.
- Depending on your PC, you may need a 5.25-inch or 3.5-inch tray to fit in a bay designed for a hard drive or optical drive (some SSD kits come with these parts).
- A #1 Phillips screwdriver.
- A tool for carrying out the migration (I used the