Computers & Tablets

[MichaelM-BBY Retired: Social Media Specialist]

Are you interested in upgrading your computer, but aren’t sure where to start or what you should upgrade? Perhaps you just want to learn more about the job of individual components in your computer? Look no further than our handy Computers & Tablets FAQ, and the Upgrading your Computer Article! Still, have questions? Feel free to post, and our fantastic community members will be happy to offer their advice! 

[bobberuchi]

That is really a great couple of references for people. Thanks for sharing.

People can often save a bit of money by doing some simple upgrade on their computer and really extend the life of their system.

I had a computer at one time I used for nearly 6 years of gaming simply because I could add on a larger disk drive, a faster graphics card and more memory. 

And Best Buy carries all the essential pieces to get this done. Though, if your uncomfortable doing the upgrade I would fully recommend getting Geek Squad involved.  They  do a quick and efficient service. 

[AWBrown Valued Contributor]

Referencing to the specs and researching your specific products are very important. Also knowing your tower size and dimensions can be quite useful.

What an excellent group of FAQs for those wanting to upgrade.

[mussentuchit]

ok i am all for upgrading but why upgrade proprietary stuff ?? most of those come at the 90% limits !! build your own.. a few links on HOW TO would be awesome. it is NOT as daunting as many make it out ot be.. 

[vinay12312]

If you are new to PC upgrading Basics and you want to upgrade your PC then you need to keep some things in your mind:

Motherboard: If you are new to this then don't try by youself just go to any shop to fix motherboard.

CPU: CPU is brain of computer I would not advise you to upgrade your CPU yourself.

PSU: Here yopu can try with your self. First of all you should research the specifications of the other components in your system, most importantly the video card and CPU. You also want to make sure you get the proper connectors for your system.

[bobberuchi]

Links on how too would be awesome but it would open Best Buy up to liability issues.  Becauase people will make mistakes and then they could claim they did exactly as Best Buy said.

[mussentuchit]

upgrading can often prove to be a waste of money as well. consider the following. AGE of system? is more than 3 years old ? if yes you may have to make too many changes in order to bother or reap the rewards of the new component(S).

if you are with in 2-3 years on age of system then it may be worth it. upgrades i would recommend are SSD drives vs. rust spinners. the transfer rate of newer SSD drives is amazing. almost ALL new OS's now support TRIM feature and this is the best upgrade you can make.

Video cards< you need to know what pci version is supported on the board. will the bios accept the new one? will a BIOS flash possibly allow latest technology? no point in buying a $600 GTX when the board will not support it to its fullest capabilities. ALSO on video cards you MAY need to upgrade power supply as well thats is often an additional $75-$125 expense and can be daunting to somebody who has never swapped one out before. ALOT OF WIRES!!

next GOOD upgrade is RAM, research how much ram is supported and go ahead and max it out. todays average is 32-64 gb with most systems shipping with 8-16 installed. At the least go for a 50% increase if you can. this is one of the simpler upgrades and all you have to do is take an old one out perhaps take a picture of the label and goto store and see what matches it. quick note on ram if you are still running a 32 bit system any memory over 4gb will not be found and written out by system.

here is one i would not bother with on a PREBUILT system like a mail order or mega maker. CPU is often a waste of time. proprietory sytems wil not even accept a new CPU unless you rewrite the bios. so i would not bother with it. although you can speed the current cpu up a bit by getting a better cooler for it this is a simple upgrade ffor around $50 and is simple to do if you can read the tiny writing in the box.

[mussentuchit]

current machine is on 5 years and still running strong amd a8 6600k dualboot ssd with liquid cooling. 8gb ram recently added 1030gt. all attached to a gigabyte 88 series. purrs right along and is loving ubuntu. 16.04.4