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It’s a tough call when your computer is still fast and powerful enough to do a lot of the things you want, but falls short in a couple of places that you want to upgrade. These days, it does not cost a lot of money to buy a new computer or laptop, so it depends on how much you need to upgrade, you can decide if it is worth the money on adding a new part or just get a new PC. The lines are blurrier than you’d think. Here are the considerations you should make.

First: Do You Really Need to Upgrade?

It may seem obvious, but the first thing to ask yourself is if an upgrade is needed. Is something specifically broken, or is your computer just running slowly? If your problem is just “general slowness.” You may find you don’t even need an upgrade; a simple tweak in the software settings or upgrading your memory for instance can make a big difference. However, if that doesn’t help, it’s time to narrow down the hardware you want while paying attention to how it’ll work with what you have; compatibility as a must in order for your computer to be optimized.

The Real Difference Between Upgrading and Building a New Computer

If you’ve built your own computer, you can probably upgrade just the stuff you want without building an entirely new computer. Remember: Your computer is made up of a lot of parts, and many of them are reusable. Even if you buy a new motherboard and CPU (which is what Windows considers a “new computer”) you can still reuse your power supply, hard drives, video card, anything you don’t explicitly choose to upgrade.

The only times you’ll need to build a new computer from scratch is if a) you need the old PC for something else, or b) everything in it is so old that nothing inside is worth recycling. Otherwise, it’s just an upgrade—though whether it’s a small upgrade or a big one depends on other factors. However it is not recommended to do it yourself unless you are an expert; otherwise you will only make the problem worse and risk turning a small project into a major one. Having an expert (Link to Smartfix) do it for you will help you avoid such headache and do it right from the first time. We can also help optimize your computer based on your specific needs (gaming, business, basic internet, etcÂ…)

Decide Which Parts Need Upgrading

If your hardware really does need an upgrade, you need to first figure out what needs an upgrade, and it might be more than you expect. Some upgrades really do the job, whiel other only fix one problem while creating others. If you’re just looking for a general speed upgrade, an SSD is a great choice, but if you need more gaming power, you’re probably looking at a graphics card. Let us help you decide what is the best option for you; come and see us (link to address) for a free estimate and we can give you the best value for your money.

What Hardware Upgrade Will Best Speed Up My PC (If I Can Only Afford One)?

However, it’s not always as simple as that. Here are some other things you’ll need to keep in mind:

• Is that component dependent on other components? For example, if you want to upgrade your CPU, you might need a new motherboard, which would bring your costs up considerably. If you’re getting a powerful new video card, make sure your power supply has enough power to handle it. And so on.
• Will upgrading that component cause a bottleneck? If you have one part in your computer that’s brand new and top-of-the-line, but mix it with a bunch of other old parts, you probably aren’t going to get your money’s worth. An expensive graphics card upgrade coupled with an underpowered five-year old CPU means that your games won’t be able to really leverage the power in that new video card, and you really should upgrade them both. The same applies to other parts too. Bottlenecks are probably the biggest reason upgrading one part quickly turns into building a new computer entirely.
• How old is your current hardware? If your computer is really showing its age, make sure you’re not investing a ton of money in old hardware that’s expensive and poorly supported. As technology moves on, your money is better spent on newer, up-to-date technologies that are probably less expensive, more uo-to-date and compatible with current technology.

Bottom line: make sure you know what needs upgrading before you start buying parts—you’ll get a much better idea of what kind of upgrade you’re in for. The difference between “upgrading” and “building a new computer” isn’t as clear as it might seem—since so many of your parts are reusable. The important thing for you to do is audit your system, figure out exactly how much of your computer you’ll have to “upgrade” to get the result you actually want, and price it out to see if it makes sense. Bring it to us at Smartfix and we will help you decide what best works for you.