As you install and run more software on your computer, over time, the computer will start to run more slowly. This happens because the additional software is making greater demands from your hardware. You can address the problem by either reducing the software or increasing your hardware resources.

If you decide to upgrade your hardware, there are 3 parts of your computer that can be upgraded to improve your PC speed: the RAM memory, your disk drive and the CPU+motherboard combo.

Upgrading your RAM or a disk drive is easy and you can do it yourself, in a few simple steps. Upgrading your CPU is difficult and involves replacing the whole motherboard. I would not recommend upgrading your CPU, yourself, unless you know what you are doing.

Upgrading your RAM

Dollar for dollar, increasing your PC’s RAM is the best value for money upgrade you can perform. Right now I would recommend having 1 Gig of RAM for low end machines, 2Gig for middle of the road machines and 3 Gig for high end computers. You are unlikely to benefit from having more than 3 Gig.

You can tell how much RAM you currently have installed, in Windows XP and Vista, by opening the  control panel and going into the system section.

There are a number of different types of RAM and they operate at different speeds. RAM speed is measured in MHz. The type of RAM and the speed that is allowed is determined by your motherboard. You can look up the type and speed of RAM you can use in your motherboard manual. I recommend getting the highest speed RAM allowed.

Open the computer tower and locate the RAM slots there could be 2-4 slots, if you don’t see them check your motherboard manual. After locating the nearest available Slot simply insert the new module into the slot, taking careful note of the groves on the DIMM and the Locking clip to position the Module properly. If the DIMM does not fit you probably have it positioned incorrectly so flip it around and try reinserting it. Once the RAM module is in place apply pressure to the locking clips to secure it, you should hear a click as they close on the DIMM. Then just re-start your PC, go to the control panel and open the system section to ensure your computer has detected the new DIMM and it is working correctly.

Upgrading your hard drive

Hard drive speed is measured in RPM, that is the number of times the hard drive rotates in one minute. I recommend buying a 7,200 RPM hard drive. Before purchasing a new hard drive consult your motherboard guide to find out what type of hard drives are supported. If your motherboard supports SATA drives, buy one of those.

Once you have purchased your new hard drive it is time to prepare for the install. First install any software that came with your drive. Then power down the computer and open the case.

Setting  jumpers (This is only for IDE hard drives):

The different jumper settings will be shown on a diagram on top of the hard drive. If you have one drive that drive should be set to the single drive mode. If you have multiple drives, the one drive needs to be set to master and the rest of them to the slave mode.

Insert your new drive in an open drive bay. These bays are generally located in the front of the tower. Fix the drive in place with screws.

Look at both your mother board and drive manual and connect the drive using the relevant IDE or SATA cables.

Now that the hard work is done the only thing left to do is close back up your system, plug it in, and turn it on to verify that the new hard drive is working properly.

All computers nowadays are bundled with a generic speaker that usually has a cheap and low audio quality. Users most often upgrade to a better model, to replace these generic defaults. If you are looking to buy a computer speaker, there are a lot of choices from the basic 2.1 to the extravagant 7.1 surround system.

Some of these computer speakers are USB powered, and often the best choice you can get.

Here are some of the best computer speakers available in the market.

Logitech Z-2300
The Logitech Z-2300 is one of the best models of computer speakers. It is a 2.1 speaker system which produces superb quality audio. It comes with a remote control for easy access to volume modulation.

This model has an appealing casing that comes in chrome and black. It also has a dust cover that can be easily removed for cleaning. It also includes a video game adapter so it can be used with console gaming devices.

The Logitech Z-2300 produces excellent sound when used with music and DVD playback. It is also superb for gaming purposes. The realistic sounds get you more in the game you are playing.

M-Audio Studiophile AV 40
The M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 is an ideal speaker system for listening to music, watching DVDs or for gaming. This computer speaker is a lot bigger than other desktop speakers. It can render great bass without any distortion. This speaker system is also ideal for other audio devices such as iPod, CD players and tuners.

The M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 is a pair of 8.75″ tall speakers. The woofer and tweeter have a black mesh grilles cover. It is housed in an MDF for a more elegant look. The volume control has a blue light indicator.

Other audio devices can be connected at the stereo RCA input at the rear side of the left speaker. A standard 3.5mm stereo jack comes with the unit for connecting to standard audio devices.
Whether you are a hardcore gamer or a music lover, this computer speaker is one of the best.

Harman Kardon SoundSticks II
This computer speaker by Harman is also a 2.1 channel with a unique design. It has a transparent casing that reveals the 10 watts speakers. This model allows users of the 1/8 inch mini jack devices. This speaker system comes with a 20 watts subwoofer. It has a blue colored power indicator.

The speakers can produce outstanding bass while its tweeters sound crisp and clear without any distortion even on maximum volume. Based on tests, this Harman speaker can deliver the best sound ideal for your computer setup.

The subwoofer is powerful enough and great for music and movie playback. For gaming, this one is exceptional in producing very realistic sounds.

Creative Giga Works T40
Another innovation from Creative is the Creative Giga Works T40 computer speaker. This model is ideal for any multimedia device such as mp3 players, CD players, iPod and PCs.

The speaker is relatively bigger than normal but can produce high quality sound ideal for gaming, music playing and watching movies.

This model is a pair of 12.5″ tall speakers that comes with plastic case and glossy metallic finish for a touch of elegance.

The package includes a 2 meter audio cable with a 3.5mm stereo jacks and an RCA connector. It aptly complements your TV or DVD player. This computer speaker works best in small rooms.

“Lapping” a CPU involves removing the IHS (integrated heat sink) from the processor. Due to manufacturing variations, the IHS on processors may be slightly concave or convex. This results in an uneven contact with the heat sink which degrades cooling by a moderate margin.

If you’re an enthusiast who loves to overclock, lapping your processor is a very good idea. Not only is it the cheapest cooling upgrade you can perform, it is also the most beneficial when looking at the price/performance ratio. The extra cooling may even allow you to overclock your processor further because of the increased cooling.

In this guide, I lapped an Intel Q6600 G0. Before lapping, I was only able to overclock the processor to 3.2Ghz maximum temperature under load was 70°C for Core 0 and 69°C for Core 1. Ideally, you want to keep the CPU temperature below 70°C. After lapping, the maximum temperature under load dropped to 62°C for Core 0 and 57°C for Core 1, a maximum decrease of 12°C – quite a large difference! Because the temperature had dropped so much, I was able to bump the CPU voltage up even more and further overclock the CPU to 3.4Ghz.

Instructions

Lapping your processor is very easy and requires very little skill. All you need is some 600 and 1000 grit sandpaper, commonly found at your local auto parts or ACE hardware store.

IMPORTANT: Make sure you discharge yourself of static electricity before touching any computer component, especially the CPU. Static electricity can permanently damage computer parts. To discharge yourself, touch something metal, such as your PC case, or use an anti-static grounding bracelet.

1. First, remove the CPU from your system. Clean off any thermal paste from the processor. I like to use rubbing alcohol and Q-tips.
2. Then you will want to protect the underside of the processor from dust and debris. To keep things simple, you can simply use a piece of paper cut into the shape of the processor. Tape the piece of paper to the underside of the processor using electrical or masking tape. In the picture I used a cotton cleaning cloth, but paper is more abundant and will work just fine.
3. Lay the 600 grit sandpaper across a completely flat surface. A wood table would not be the best surface to use because of the pits and valleys in the wood itself. Instead, use a mirror or glass table top.
4. Turn the processor upside down and start sanding off the integrated heat sink using a side-to-side motion. Do not sand using a circular motion, as this may cause the surface of the heat sink to be uneven. After about 10-20 swipes back and forth across the sandpaper, turn the processor 90° and sand an additional 10-20 times.
5. Repeat this until you have almost completely removed the integrated heat sink (as shown in picture on website).
6. Once you get to this point, switch your sandpaper to 1000 grit and use the same sanding process to remove the rest of the IHS.
7. You’re finished when the IHS is completely gone and nothing but copper is exposed. At this point, the lapping process is done.

If you want, you can use higher grit sandpaper, such as 2000 grit, to finish the copper on the CPU to an almost mirror-like appearance. However, that step is completely uneccessary and provides no performance gain; it is only for cosmetic purposes. The picture to the left shows the CPU after it has been lapped with 1000 grit sandpaper (excuse the dust)

Install your CPU and apply thermal paste as normal. If you wish, you can also lap your heat sink using the same process. This probably will not help cooling as much as lapping your CPU, but there probably will be a gain nonetheless.

Visit http://www.IsYouGeekedUp.com to see the complete CPU lapping guide with pictures.

The main reason for purchasing new hardware is to increase a PC’s performance. This is without a shadow of a doubt, the most effective way of improving a PC’s performance. However the increase in PC’s performance through the aid of additional hardware is considerable, it does come at a price.

However purchasing new PC hardware could be completely avoided if people was more knowledgeable about tweaking their PCs for superior speeds. On a hole, PCs tend to run about 10% of their full operational speeds. So it would make sense (and save a lot of money in the process) to learn how to optimize their PCs first, then, once their PCs are running at their full operational speeds, then consider to upgrade if the need for more performance is still there.

Through tweaking a PC alone, most performance issues could eradicated completely. Problems such as slow Windows boot-up times, general operating system speeds, and even video game frame rates can be improved considerably if people had all the information laid out in front of them.

However, like most things in life, it takes considerable time to learn how make these simple yet effective changes to their PCs. This is shame as most people do not have the time to do the research thorough enough to make the changes worthwhile. So in turn, most people opt for purchasing new PC hardware to achieve the desired performance increase.

One technique that can dramatically increase a PC’s performance without the aid of purchasing new hardware is through the art of overclocking. Overclocking is a technique where the overclocker takes a PC’s component and increase the clock cycle for faster operational speeds. If done correctly, it can make a component outperform a component worth hundreds more. This method is favoured particular by gamers and use overclocking as a way to increase the frame-rates and visuals of their video games.

As tempting as this method of extracting free additional performance from a PC is, if done incorrectly it can potentially damage the overclocked component in question. This is because the heat increases when increasing the clock cycle of the that particular PC component, and if the component becomes too hot, it may burn out as a result.

The scare stories aside, Overclocking can be a great way of adding additional performance to a PC providing it is done correctly. It can also save on additional hardware upgrades that would otherwise cost hundreds in expensive PC hardware.

James Scholes has helped thousands fine-tune and optimize their PCs for considerable performance gains, all without the aid of spending additional funds on hardware. Visit today and give your PC the “Extreme” make-over.

How to overclock your CPU to the extreme.