February 18th, 2009
Monster PC upgrades - Without the monster price tag!
Upgrading your PC need not be a $1,000+ activity - with a few well-placed upgrades you can give your PC a new lease of life while not hammering your wallet!
Here I’m going to look at two different upgrades packages - one a basic package of components that when put together will offer excellent all-round performance, and a second package that is ideally suited to those who want a super overclocker package, but without a super price tag!
Each package will consist of a CPU, motherboard and graphics card. Depending on your current system configuration (in particular, age) you many need to upgrade other items such as RAM and PSU.
Note: As far as gaming goes, unless you’ve got a really powerful graphics card you’re going to have to make some compromises. The best place to get information on the settings you should and shouldn’t mess about with is TweakGuides. This is an excellent resource that all gamers should add to their list of favorites.
UPDATE: Several of you have asked about what RAM to get. For a budget system like this (even a system that you’re going to overclock) you need stable RAM rather than fast RAM. I’d go for Crucial or Corsair DDR2 800 RAM for therse systems.
All-rounder –>
Adrian is a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations
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| 02/20/09
