Computer upgrades
Most computers that feel finished are held back by one component. Finding out which is cheaper than replacing all of them.
At a glance
- Most common fix
- Solid-state drive
- Second most common
- More memory
- Checked first
- Whether it is worth doing
- Fitted
- Here, usually same visit for simple jobs
The symptom usually names the part
Slow to start and slow to open programs is storage. Fine until several things are open, then sluggish, is memory. Struggling in games or 3D while everything else is normal is graphics. Getting hot and quietly slowing down is cooling.
Knowing which one you have is most of the job, and it is why an upgrade conversation starts with what the machine does rather than with a parts catalogue.
The upgrade that transforms an old machine
Replacing a mechanical hard drive with a solid-state drive changes how a computer feels more than anything else available. Machines written off as too old routinely come back from it feeling new, for a fraction of a replacement.
If a computer is a few years old and still has a mechanical drive, that is where to look first.
When we will tell you not to bother
Some machines cannot take more memory. Some would need several parts at once. Some are close enough to the end of their useful life that the parts would outlive them.
We check before recommending anything, and if the answer is that an upgrade is not worth it, that is what you will hear.
- Whether the memory can be expanded at all, and by how much
- Whether the drive can be replaced, or is soldered in place
- Whether the power supply supports what you want to add
- Whether anything else in the machine is close to failing
Asked at the counter
Can any computer be upgraded?
Will an upgrade make it as good as a new computer?
Also at the store
Find out what would help
Bring the machine in and we will tell you which part is holding it back.