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How to pep up an old PCYOUR computer will probably last about three years before it starts becoming slow and irritating. The good news is you can extend the life of a PC a further three years simply by upgrading a few parts.
"You have to jump in somewhere and buy what you can afford at a particular time," says Marc Myburgh, general manager of Upgrade Connection. "You then have a perfectly functional computer, but eventually, as your PC skills improve and you become more demanding of your PC's response, you'll want more up-to-date technology and would then look at the upgrade route." Upgrades on a PC are all related to increasing its performance. "When your PC starts to irritate you, is slow and is struggling to load new programs, you need to look at upgrading it," says Myburgh. "Users can upgrade power and speed, the memory, hard drive and video graphics, but the first avenue of upgrading should be the memory - it is also the cheapest of the upgrade routes." Upgrading the memory (RAM) on your PC can cost between R150 and R1 200, depending on the extent of the upgrade, and should make a vast improvement to the speed. Another area of upgrading is the graphics on a PC. It may have a standard graphics card, but certain professional graphics applications and games perform better and sometimes require a more advanced graphics card for increased graphics performance. This upgrade can cost between R400 and R2 000. A third option would be to upgrade the standard hard drive. Users would need to upgrade this if they have no space to load new applications or games. They can do this by deleting applications they don't need or adding a second hard drive for between R1 000 and R2 000. Says Myburgh: "The cost of upgrading is a tax deduction if the computer is used in the generation of income. If the cost relates to maintenance and repair, the total cost can be allocated in the same year. If the cost relates to additions to the initial system then it can be allocated over three years. "It's important to weigh up the benefits of upgrading versus buying a new PC. Get advice from people in the know - they can assist in evaluating the upgradability of your PC, the cost implication and limitations to help with this decision." Other options for upgrading include the purchase of a 17-inch monitor, or replacing the mouse or the keyboard. Because of the labour costs involved in repairing a mouse or a keyboard, it is more appropriate to replace these items - they are not expensive. The processor and the motherboard can also be upgraded to bring you in line with the latest processor technology. Myburgh says PCs have quite stable technology with a relatively long lifespan, but some parts will usually break down before others. "Often, the first to give problems are moving components like the stiffy or hard drive. Usually, one would budget for a new PC every three years due to the advance in technology. Making use of upgrades, this could be extended to four or five years." If you're in the market for a new PC, Jeurgen Dachsel, PC manager at Siemens Nixdorf SA, says you should be looking at the following configuration:
You shouldn't settle for anything less than a 4.3Gb hard disk in a new desktop and 4Gb to 6Gb in a standard notebook;
Cheap units often come with only one megabyte of video memory, not enough to produce photographic colour at higher screen resolutions; and
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