To upgrade or not

Dear TPH,
I want to upgrade my computer and also buy a new printer. Can you please advise me?
– W.P.

Dear WP,
In an age of disposable cups and plates, disposable cameras and even disposable friends and human lives, very few people even consider upgrading their computers because often the cost of a worthwhile upgrade could exceed the cost of buying a new computer which in turn will soon be so out of date that it will be disposable too.

There was a time when a computer upgrade was an economical and sensible option. Not only that, it was also a sure way of making a lot of friends over-night, like my faithful friend "The great square-headed one" found out once. He upgraded his computer and ended up being the only kid in Kandy who had his own CD writer and printer! Anyway, when he refused to burn us CDs or print out a letter that was dictated to him over the phone at 5.30 in the morning, we had to painfully remind him that his CD writer and printer were the only reason he had friends!!!

But maybe you want to hold on to your computer for its sentimental or antique value and do not have the heart to watch its worth disintegrate to nothing more than a paper-weight with a screensaver. It could also be that you just don't have the heart to dispose of your one true ally who has stuck by you in good times and bad – playing your favourite music and putting up with the countless letters and other nonsensical ramblings you write. I must warn you however, that, after you upgrade your computer, it will go out of date and turn into just a fancy abacus much sooner than a new computer would, so you are better off spending even a bit more on a new computer than spending on an upgrade which may be cheap now but more expensive in the long-term.

Then again, you wanted advice with your upgrade so here's what you need to know if you still want to go ahead with it. First, you ought to know that by choosing to upgrade your computer, you are totally disregarding my advice! Secondly, you need to plan your upgrade. You can't plug in a faster processor and more memory into your machine and expect it to perform miracles.

Frankly, the only upgrade worth doing, especially for a computer running on Windows, is increasing the RAM or Random Access Memory, because Windows just loves extra memory and you will see a noticeable difference in performance. But when upgrading RAM, make sure you know exactly which type of RAM is compatible with your system before you actually go out and buy it. Your motherboard manual or its manufacturer's website will have information about the type of memory that you should get. Also, it's practical to upgrade secondary storage capacity by adding another Hard-disk to your computer if you find that what you have is not enough. This is quite a simple process, but you may have to refresh your CMOS before the system can detect your new hard-disk. Another worthwhile upgrade is to add a CD-Writer or a DVD-Writer which are becoming standard accessories on any personal computer – the same way a floppy disk was. A graphics card upgrade may improve graphics quality and let you play some of the newer graphics intensive games. However, most software rely primarily on the processor, so if you are considering the upgrade to accommodate specific software, make sure you know the complete system requirements of the software before you go ahead and buy any hardware. This is because the computer's motherboard determines the type of main processor it can have and when people arrive at the point of considering major upgrades to their systems, they often find that their motherboards are incompatible with the type of processor they want to upgrade to. If the upgrade you are trying to make requires a new motherboard and processor, please… forget about the upgrade and go get yourself a new computer!
– TPH