The Computer Upgrader

Check CPU

In most cases it will not be worthwhile to upgrade your processor. Motherboards usually do not allow a large increase in cpu speed and often require a BIOS upgrade (see sidebar) and that requires substantial expertise. Processor sockets and specifications change dramatically from year to year, and between manufacturers.

There are exceptions - some Pentium 3 computers came with 550 mhz chips and can be upgraded substantially to 1000 mhz or so. And computers with Celeron chips can often be equipped with P3 or P4 (depending on the socket type) chips giving a large increase in speed. For instance, a two year old computer might have an 800 mhz celeron, installed back when a P4 1.2 ghz cost $400.. With a little luck, you might be able to switch out the celeron for something twice as fast for $60. A similare situation exists for the Duron and Athlon chips made by AMD.

You will need to check the manufactures site for your computer or motherboard and check the specifications. Once you have found out the maximum speed chip you can install, check out pricewatch or ebay and see what's available. To make it worth your while you should be looking for double the speed in the same chip family, or 50% increase into a more powerful chip.

If your computer has a pentium I or a clock speed of less than 266 mhz it is not going to be useful for much of anything today. On the other hand, we are currently using 400mhz P2 computer and find it to be quite capable of running many modern applications.

Some computers will require or prompt you to press the F2 or F3 key during boot up to see the BIOS information.

Hardware is a technical term for the physical components of your computer system. This is your storage drives, your RAM, your CPU, your video cards. This is as opposed to software, the programs that you run. In essence, the computer is like your brain, the physical device that you use to think, while software is like your self, your consciousness.

The BIOS (Which stands for Basic Input/Output System) is the software located on your motherboard that connects all your hardware to your operating system. It is the most basic level of software on a computer. It also allows you to make changes in how your computer's hardware works, such as adjusting the order in which drives boot, or which pieces of hardware are loaded first. Also, many BIOS's display information regarding the functioning of the hardware of the machine.

The Pentium family of CPU's power the majority of personal computers. The Celeron, also made by Intel, is a "lite" version of the Pentium with about half the throughput of a Pentium with equivalent clock speed. The Athlon and Duron CPUs are AMD's equivalents respectively.

A computer's clock speed, the number of operations it can complete per second, is one of the most important factors in a computer's speed and efficiency. Usually this will be listed in your computer's original documentation; if not, however, there are still several ways to find it. You will want to know this to gauge the suitability of your system for your needs. Check the usage page.

One of perhaps the easiest ways to check the computer's clock speed is to simply turn the computer off, turn it back on, and watch the screen as it boots up. Often, during the BIOS (see sidebar) phase of the startup, the computer's processor type and clock speed will be listed, usually in the format of "Brandname Chipname at x mhz". For instance, a 350 megahertz Pentium 2 would be referred to as an "Intel Pentium 2 at 350 megahertz". Also, for those of you who are using non-windows operating systems, the rapidly changing number, most likely in the upper right, is counting up to the amount of RAM in the system, and so can be used as an alternate method for determining how much you have.

Some models of computer, usually Compaq or Hewlett Packard, have BIOS screens that don't contain this information, but instead have a logo or picture. With these computers, it is usually easiest to go to the company website and look for the system specifications.

Once you have your processor speed and RAM, it's time to move on to step three, checking your memory.

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