Having an old computer can give you a hard time, as it’s just sitting collecting dirt and you are not sure what you can do with it. If you are thinking of selling it then you aren’t getting paid enough.
You might be thinking about some ways to get your work done from your old computer. Check out this guide on how to bring your old PC back to life. By following these simple steps you can easily upgrade the performance of your old computer.
Upgrade hardware
As the technology becomes obsolete within a few years of purchasing a computer or laptop, you need to upgrade it to make it run smoothly. You can upgrade your hardware to make it up to date. Before you upgrade, make sure to back up your system first. Upgrading hardware can be done in the following ways.
- You can increase your RAM to at least 8 GB.
- You can upgrade your storage disk to an SSD, this will make the computer boot up and run faster.
- You can also add a graphics card to make sure that all the latest games are supported.
Memory
Adding more memory to the old machines is considered the easiest way to boost its performance. Increasing your memory can make the programs and apps run smoothly without any lag. It will also make multitasking an easy task for you. You can increase the size of the RAM to make sure you have enough memory to run heavy programs properly.
Graphics card
Adding a graphics card to your system can be another way to speed up the performance of the computer. First, you need to check the compatibility of your motherboard. You need to know about the type of slots that are available on your motherboard and you can use a graphics card according to that. Graphics cards can significantly increase the performance of the system and adding a graphics card will make high graphics programs run faster.
Hard drive
To improve the performance and speed of your computer you can install a faster hard drive. Choosing an SSD over HDD can significantly increase the performance of your computer. Replacing your hard drive with a new SSD can give you a faster computing experience as you will be able to access your files very quickly.
CPU
You can also upgrade your CPU with a faster one. Just make sure that the new CPU is compatible with your current motherboard and chipset. Upgrading your CPU will increase the speed of the system and make it perform tasks very quickly. You can go for this step if the above two steps of upgrading memory and the hard drive don’t work, as upgrading the CPU can increase the compatibility of the system and you will be able to run heavy software that requires more cores.
Reinstall Windows
After doing all your daily tasks, installing and uninstalling programs, and playing games, Windows tend to slow down. When you install a fresh version of Windows you will be amazed by the speed of the computer. Always make sure that before installing a fresh copy of Windows into your system, you should back up your data in an external hard drive. Reinstalling your operating system can improve the performance of your computer exponentially, as it removes all unnecessary programs that were on your system making it slow.
Use portable apps
Using portable apps in your system is always a good option over installing software. The best part about using portable apps is they’re portable. You can stick them on a USB drive and carry them around from computer to computer. They won’t leave a footprint on the PC’s you run them on.
Install a lighter version of Linux
Linux can be considered as the best alternative to Windows, as installing Windows can be too bulky for your small system. It can make your system slow and use a lot of resources. You can always use Linux over Windows on your old computer.
Puppy Linux is the best example of a lightweight alternative to Windows. If your computer doesn’t even support Windows XP then using Puppy Linux can be a good alternative. The best thing about Puppy Linux is its size. It’s only 130 MB and will run pretty well on any old machine from the last 15 years.
DSL Linux
DSL is another distribution from Linux. It can run even on 16 MB RAM. Its OS size is just 50 MB. It can run from a live CD, flash drive, or within Windows as well. It is free and open-source software that will help potato PC run faster.
Final takeaway
You can choose any of the above-listed options that suit your requirement. You can upgrade the hardware of your system by investing a little money in it rather than buying a new PC or laptop. If hardware is not the issue then you can update your operating system. Many times the problem in your system can be solved by making these simple changes.
