Microsoft has come up with the Windows 7, Hewlett Packard and Dell have come up with new computers this season. Does this mean that you should necessarily go in for this new stuff? I think you can upgrade your system if it’s in a good working condition instead of throwing out your old operating system and buying a new one. Obviously you are going to save a lot of money for yourself by doing that.

Do you know that the lifespan of your desktop is about 8 years and you’ll not have to buy any new operating system compulsorily? You can just maintain and upgrade your old system. However, its not that upgrading is the solution always. It depends on the type of upgrades your computer requires, the type of tasks that you do with your computer and the costs involved for an upgrade. If you use the computer primarily to surf the internet and do some emailing and word processing, you need not change the operating system of your computer. But if the cost of the upgrade goes up to more than $200, it might be advisable for you to go in for a new computer or a new feature altogether. When you can get the Dell Inspiration 546 for just $ 246 ( of course without the monitor), wouldn’t you want to buy the new machine in place of upgrading your old PC ?

Increase RAM

One of the first things that you might want to upgrade is the memory of your computer. Less memory makes the computer work slowly. Also installing Windows 7 might actually decrease the RAM on your computer making it slow. You might want to add fresh memory cards to your PC or replace the old memory with larger new ones. A memory upgrade will speed up your computer so much that you might not really want to buy a new machine or hardware. Crucial.com, Kingston Technology Company and Best Buy are some of the companies that can get you good bargains when you purchase memory.

Buy A Hard Drive or Subscribe For Online Services

Keeping an extra hard drive with you is necessary because your system is vulnerable to a crash even though it is brand new or has the best components. You can purchase hard drives from retailers such as Best Buy or Staples. You can also subscribe to online backup websites such as Carbonite or Mozy which will cost you around $60 annually.

Keep Your Computer Free Of Bugs and Malware

Presence of virus or spyware on your computer can make it very slow. Get spyware installed on your computer. You can go for the free online versions at Avast, AVG or any other site such as Malwarebytes that offers freeware.

Consider some new Add-ons

New keyboards, mice and LCD screens are a sensible investment for your computer. A $100 LCD screen is a good investment in comparison to the humongous screen that occupies a lot of space on the desk right now.