6 of the best upgrades to boost your PC’s performance

Everyone wants to get the most performance they can from their PC, and rightly so. Upgrading the components in your PC can be a great way to help with this, and the process doesn’t have to be intimidating. It all comes down to knowing where you need the extra performance and what component can best help with this.

Whether you are looking to browse the web faster, play games at higher settings, or transfer files more quickly, there is likely a component you can upgrade to achieve your desired result. Of course, compatibility is going to be the biggest factor, as not all components will work together, but this is also easy enough to figure out if you know where to look. A lot of the time, figuring out what motherboard you have can help point you in the right direction as to which other components are compatible with your PC.

6 Networking

This is one of those things that can go overlooked as we just expect it all to work together. However, with ISPs offering those blazing-fast download/upload speeds these days, we need compatible networking gear to make sure we are getting those advertised speeds. It’s no good having a fiber internet connection with a Wi-Fi 7 router if your PC can’t utilize those speeds.

Using an Ethernet cable from the router to your PC is the best way to make sure you are getting the fastest speeds possible. However, this is not always possible, and you may need to use Wi-Fi. In either case, you will want to check your rated speeds from your ISP and make sure your modem/router is up to the task. Then you will need to make sure that your PC’s Ethernet port or Wi-Fi can utilize the speeds as well. If not, you may want to upgrade whichever component is not up to the task.

5 CPU cooler

A good CPU cooler is worth its weight in gold… okay, maybe not that much, but it’s a very important part. Whether you want to go with air cooling or water cooling is up to you, as both of them can do the job just fine. Regardless of your choice, your cooler must keep your CPU cool enough. If it’s not working properly, you can run into thermal throttling issues which can hinder the overall performance of your PC.

The easiest way to see if your cooler is adequate is to stress test your PC and monitor your temps while doing so. Several free programs such as HWMonitor and Prime95 can help with this. Using these programs, you can push your CPU to its limits. The more it is utilized, the hotter it will get, and then you will be able to see if your cooler is doing its job or not. If not, you know you will need a new cooler. It is worth noting that during normal use, your CPU won’t always be pushed to its limits, so you may not always run into issues with thermal throttling.

4 Processor (CPU)

The CPU is going to be one of the main components of any PC. It is also one of the biggest factors in either allowing you better performance or hindering it. Now, I am not saying everyone is going to need the top-of-the-line CPU, but you do need something powerful enough for what you are doing. Both Intel and AMD will offer CPUs powerful enough for most users, so you shouldn’t need to completely upgrade your whole PC in most cases.

Upgrading your CPU can be quite easy once you know what CPU is compatible with your motherboard. From there, you can look at all available options and pick the one best suited to your needs. Most people will recommend at least a quad-core CPU for regular use, and if you are doing more intensive tasks, you may want to look into something with eight cores or more.

Related

How often do you upgrade your CPU?

With new processors requiring different motherboards after a few generations, you’ll have to plan your upgrades wisely if you don’t want to go bankrupt when upgrading to a new processor. Personally, I haven’t followed a strict upgrade pattern over the last decade. Back in 2017, I switched to Team Red’s Ryzen 5 1600 after my old i5-4670K started showing its age. In 2021, I moved on to my current Ryzen 5 5600X because I wanted better frame rates when emulating the newer consoles. Now that emulating PlayStation 4 games is no longer a pipe dream, I might finally upgrade to a 7800X3D processor later this year. But one look at the exorbitant prices of AM5 motherboards and DDR5 memory kits, and I go back to playing Bloodborne and Shadow of the Colossus on my PS4 Slim. But what about you? Do you upgrade to a new processor every generation? 

3 Graphics card (GPU)

For those doing graphically-intensive tasks such as gaming or video rendering, you may want to upgrade your GPU to help improve your PC’s performance. Most GPUs these days are compatible with a wide range of CPUs and motherboards. However, you will want to make sure you match your CPU and GPU properly so you don’t create a bottleneck in your system.

The same as with a CPU, you may not need the most powerful GPU. For gaming, it will depend on what games you are playing and what your monitor specs are. Most people will be able to get away with using a mid-range CPU such as an NVIDIA RTX 4060 Ti, RTX 4070, or the AMD equivalents like the Radeon 7700 XT or 7800 XT.

2 Memory (RAM)

This is going to be, in most cases, the easiest upgrade you will do to your PC. Generally, the RAM can be replaced without having to touch anything else. Most of the time, all you have to do is open the retention clips at the bottom of the RAM slots and the RAM will pull right out. It should only take a minute or two to swap your old RAM out with the new, just make sure the new RAM is pushed into the slots firmly.

When it comes to RAM, you will want to look at the capacity, speed, and timings. Once you have installed your new RAM, you will also want to make sure the speed is set correctly. This can be done easily by entering your BIOS and making sure that either EXPO or XMP is enabled, depending on your motherboard type.

Related

Do you need to upgrade your PC’s case fans?

The case fans are essential for a cool-running PC, but do you really need to upgrade them?

1 SSD

While most PCs and laptops come with an SSD of some sort today, those on old PCs may not have one just yet. A good SSD can be an absolute game changer for adding some additional performance to your PC and can really breathe some new life into it. SSDs can also be quite an easy upgrade, depending on the type of SSD you require.

For users with older hard drives, upgrading to a SATA SSD should be fairly easy. However, if you have space for an M.2 SSD on your motherboard, this will be the way to go as it requires no additional power cables, just plug it in, and you’re good to go. M.2 SSDs will almost always offer faster speeds than their SATA counterparts. These days, M.2 drives aren’t overly expensive either. If you don’t have an SSD of some sort in your PC or laptop, you really should look into getting one ASAP.

Upgrading your PC can be fun

Upgrading your PC isn’t the mundane task that it once was. It is fairly easy in most cases now, and seeing the extra performance you can gain firsthand can be exciting. Best of all, you don’t need to go too crazy, you can just upgrade one component at a time until you hit the desired performance you require.

As mentioned, just make sure you have checked the compatibility of any upgrades with your current components. If everything is compatible, you should be well on your way to enjoying your new performance gains and being able to once again make the most of your PC. Upgrading your PC components is something almost anyone could be able to do.