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60-Minute Upgrades

Get new PC power in an hour--or less--with these speed boosters, storage add-ons, and more. Plus: Tune-up tips to keep your system going strong.

By Jeff Bertolucci, PCW Print   

Upgrades of yesteryear usually involved an afternoon of complicated work. These days, with a little planning and research, the process can go quickly and smoothly. We added a DVD burner to our old 700-MHz Pentium III Dell PC in just 30 minutes. Installing a new CPU took only 25 minutes.

For less than the cost of a new PC, you can have a machine that's like new. Each of our upgrades costs under $300, and many are less than $200. The benefits of upgrading are considerable: A higher-capacity hard drive lets you store big databases and shorten boot times. More RAM improves your productivity by helping you jump quickly between spreadsheets and presentations. A faster processor allows you to run the latest video editing programs. The newest graphics board and sound system enhance your DVD experience, and a wireless network enables you to share a broadband connection.

We can't promise that a particular upgrade will work for everyone. And when it comes to hardware installation, nobody's perfect. We made lots of the same boneheaded mistakes anyone might--and we'll tell you how to avoid them.

Regular maintenance is essential, too. Our PC Tune-Up Calendar will get your old system running in tip-top shape, improving its speed and reliability.

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