1.2. Popular Upgrades The most popular upgrades fall into one or more of the following categories: Feature upgrades add capabilities to your PC, such as DVD burning, video capture, or wireless networking. Reliability upgrades are targeted at reducing the likelihood, frequency, and severity of hardware failures. Performance upgrades speed up your system. Quiet upgrades reduce the noise level of your system. Convenience upgrades make it easier to do things you want to do. Data safety upgrades reduce the likelihood that your bdata will be corrupted or lost.
Table 1-1 lists the 20 most popular PC upgrades by type, cost, and difficulty, ordered from least to most expensive. The actual cost of an upgrade obviously varies by the specific component you choose, but we've provided approximate ranges, as follows: Table 1-1. $: | $0 to $50 | $$: | $50 to $125 | $$$: | $125 to $250 | $$$$: | $250+ |
Table 1-2. The top 20 upgradesAction | Feature | Reliability | Performance | Quiet | Convenience | Data safety | Cost | Difficulty | Chapter |
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Install case fans or ducting | | • | | • | | | $ | Medium | 15 | Install card reader | • | | | | | | $ | Medium | 9 | Replace keyboard/mouse | • | • | | | • | | $$$ | Easy | 13 | Add/replace memory | | | • | | | | $$$ | Medium | 6 | Upgrade CPU heatsink/fan | | • | | • | | | $$$ | Medium | 5 | Replace the audio adapter | • | | • | | • | | $$$$ | Easy | 12 | Add USB flash drive | • | | | | | • | $$$$$ | Easy | 9 | Install power protection | | • | | | | • | $$$$$ | Easy | 16 | Replace the speakers | • | | | | • | | $$$$$ | Easy | 12 | Replace video adapter | • | | • | | • | | $$$$$ | Medium | 10 | Install external hard drive | • | | | | | | $$$$$ | Easy | 9 | Install DVD writer | • | | | | | • | $$ | Medium | 8 | Replace power supply | | • | | • | | | $$ | Medium | 16 | Add/replace hard drive | | • | • | • | | | $$$$$ | Medium | 7 | Install RAID | | • | • | | | • | $$$$$ | Medium | 7 | Install secure wireless networking | • | | | | • | | $$$$$ | Difficult | 14 | Install a video capture card | • | | | | • | | $$$$$ | Difficult | 10 | Replace motherboard | • | • | • | | | | $$$$$ | Difficult | 4 | Upgrade processor | | | • | | | | $$$$$$ | Difficult | 5 | Replace the display | • | | • | | • | | $$$$$$$ | Easy | 11 |
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