How to pick the right PC upgrades for you

Does your PC feel sluggish when you perform demanding tasks? You may be able to solve that problem with a component upgrade or two. But what should you replace to get the largest gains?

A number of components can be upgraded inside your PC, whether it's a desktop or laptop. Options for the latter depend on the make and model, and how easy parts are to replace. A custom-built PC can be stripped out and rebuilt with upgraded supplies. There's no secret weapon when it comes to adding horsepower to your PC, but a number of upgrades can improve performance.

If you happen to be on a budget, it's worth looking at each option below to help gauge just what you need to experience the best performance gains for your buck.

RAM

If your PC has only 4GB or 8GB of RAM, Windows may struggle to run intensive applications and games at optimal performance. System memory is used by the OS to store data for quick access, which negates the need to use slower storage like a hard drive. Increasing the amount of RAM can overcome instances where the PC may appear sluggish.

This is ideal for high-end gaming or video editing, where a lot of data needs to be stored and accessed quickly. Should the OS run out of this resource, it'll resort to the hard drive, and while your SSD may be fast, it's not as fast as RAM. An easy way to check if you need more RAM is to check Task Manager when the PC slows way down. If your RAM usage is at or near full then you should consider buying new sticks.

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