Another Day With My PC

In case you haven’t noticed, PC makers are constantly changing the specs of their units. I once checked a model that I planned to buy at a local computer shop. I waited for about a couple of months before I decided to adopt it and make it my new pet (or life partner). However, to my astonishment, the salesperson told me that the apple (no, it wasn’t a Mac) of my eyes has been plucked out of their shelves as a new model had already been released by its manufacturer.

Many people are already becoming hesitant in swiping their plastics for a new PC. Who wouldn’t, considering that the unit that they’ll be buying may become outdated as early as Valentine’s Day. That prospect certainly isn’t enticing, even if it’s already the season to be reckless in spending.

At the risk of branding this article as a falsity, one can’t really future-proof his PC…. well, at least not for five years or more. Let’s face it. PCs compete with dogs in adding exponents on their ages. However, PCs can cheat their way to death or obsolescence. A good example is by way of an upgrade.

Upgrades are to computers as transplants are to humans. A PC’s innards can be replaced in order to prolong its life and improve its performance. Hence, in order to ensure that your PC would live long and outlast the airing of your favorite soap opera, make sure that your unit can easily be upgraded. You can ascertain this by inspecting the motherboard. Check if your motherboard is built to support future releases of the processor that it is hosting. Some motherboards are only built to house a specific chip.

“Mobos” should also have an ample number of slots for SIMM modules. This is very important as future software releases would certainly glut on RAM. The main board should also have an AGP slot. Some boards don’t have one. Instead, they have integrated video engines. Avoid them. Insist on a motherboard that has an AGP slot so that you would be able to upgrade your graphics card.

Upgrades can prolong the life of your PC. Keep in mind, though, that it is not the Holy Grail of computers. Time will come when upgrades won’t be feasible anymore and that a replacement would be the better (and maybe the only) alternative or solution.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 1st, 2008 at 9:43 am and is filed under General . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.