Whip Your PC Into Shape!

The ultimate upgrader's guide: tips, tools, and products.

Steve Bass

You did read last week's newsletter, didn't you? You know, the one about our new diagnostic tool, PC Pitstop?

Then you may want to take the next step and kill a weekend with a little upgrading. If so, take a look at the handful of articles and utilities I dug up. You'll get a chance to get your hands dirty poking around the insides of your machine.

Buy New? Nope, Try Upgrading

Senior editor Ed Albro walks the floor of every trade show, searching for ways to make his 486 livelier. At PC Expo, during New York's hottest, steamiest, muggiest season, he found enough stuff to cool all of us off. Check Ed's discoveries in "Why Buy New? Upgrade Products Liven Old PCs."

In another solid article, Stan (and no, I still can't pronounce it) Miastkowski, shows you how to "Soup Up Your PC's Processor" by installing a new processor. It's a step-by-step guide that's worth reading.

Talking about CPUs, in "How It Works: CPUs," we'll show you why speed isn't always the most important thing to look for when upgrading your PC's CPU.

But before you crack your PC's case for an upgrade, grab a few tips and make sure you know the dangers. Kirk "I'd rather be kayaking" Steers tells all in "Hardware Tips: Your PC's Case--Enter With Caution."

Dig this: DEADLINE ALERT!!! Have something important to do? Go ahead and try this first. If you can figure out the six or seven navigation schemes for this site, the day will be over before you know it.

Up the Hard Drive Path

If I had to guess, I'd say the first thing most people upgrade is their hard drive. The reason's a no-brainer: Everyone needs more space, hard drives are cheap, and they're relatively easy to install. But if you've never installed a new drive, you'll benefit from reading "Upgrade Guide: Install a Bigger, Faster Hard Drive."

No matter what component you're considering upgrading, our Top of the Charts reviews will help you find the right product. Check for gaming graphics boards, 17- and 19-inch monitors, and CD-RW drives.

Ready to buy? Go to our Product Finder tool to shop for the best prices from online merchants.

Hot Upgrades

One problem you may not have thought about when upgrading is heat. Yep, add hot new components, a hard drive, say, or a video card, and the inside of your PC sizzles. I have two columns to cool you down. The first is "Help Your PC Beat the Heat." I wrote the column last year, but the info's still valuable. Next up is Stan M's "Upgrade Guide: Keep It Powered, Keep It Cool."

Quick upgrade aside: Cranky Steve Manes writes our Full Disclosure column, and it's fun watching him get steamed. Read his "The Upgrade Path--Uphill and Rocky" and listen to him kvetch about Gatesian chutzpah.

After the Upgrade: Burn-in Your PC

What do you do right after you upgrade (or buy a new PC)? Test your PC's reliability with an overnight burn-in program. The one to try is BCM Diagnostics. It wends its way through your PC's CD-ROM, hard drive, video and audio, floppy, modem, and God knows what else, looking for potential component failures. Use it for 30 days (it's limited to ten loops on the stress test) and if you decide it's worthwhile, pay the $25 registration fee.

Dig this: After you upgrade, check your PC using the Bloatbusters (TM) Security Scanner. They've been "Protecting Home Surveillance and Defence Systems Since 1941." By "Using patented DigiProbe technology, the online JavaScript can communicate through your computer to all devices in your house and sense any change in temporal densities in your surroundings." Huh? [Bass: Where do you find this stuff!? And why?-Ed.]

Are you reading this column on a recently upgraded PC? I thought so. Want to make your cohorts jealous? Tell 'em you have a new 300GB drive you learned about after reading this article. (Sure, it isn't true, but I want to boost the subscription numbers, okay?) So e-mail the column to them and make sure you suggest they sign up to get their own copy every week.

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