My father always said, “Son, never take a long trip without a road map handy.” This is why our old family Plymouth had six metric tons of paper maps for every state in the Union stuffed into the glove compartment, ready to be pulled out just in case we went astray. (Now I just visit Yahoo! and use the Maps service progress marches on.) Consider this introductory article a road map to upgrading your PC: What you can do, what you should add or replace, and what your benefits will be after the dust has cleared. One note before you jump in: Upgrading your PC is not a difficult job! All it requires is  -  The courage to remove your computer’s case. (Believe me, you’ll get used to it.)  -  The ability to follow step-by-step instructions.  -  Basic skills with a screwdriver. With that in mind, read on to determine what you need to turn your PC back into a hot rod.

Making Performance Upgrades: CPU, Motherboard, and Memory

I’ve cordoned off these first upgrades into a separate category that I call performance upgrades; that is, they give your PC an overall performance boost that affects all the programs that you run, including Windows XP.

Upgrading your CPU and motherboard

A central processing unit (CPU) is the brain of your PC. A significant upgrade to your CPU usually results in more than just replacing the CPU chip itself. For example, if you decide to upgrade from a Pentium III computer to a Pentium 4, your PC’s motherboard will probably need to be replaced as well. The motherboard is the largest circuit board in your computer’s case it holds the CPU, memory, and all the rest of the electronics so this is probably one of the most technically demanding upgrades that you can make. Naturally, replacing your computer’s brain with the next generation of chip will result in faster performance. How much faster depends on the speed of the chip which is usually specified in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz) and whether you’re skipping a generation. For example:  -  Upgrading from a Pentium 4 1.5 GHz processor to a Pentium 4 1.7 GHz processor will result in a speed increase. And because the chip generation remains the same, you’ll probably be able to use your current motherboard. However, the performance increase might not actually be significant enough to be noticeable in many of your programs . . . you’re not really advancing very far.  -  On the other hand, upgrading from an 800 MHz Pentium III processor to that same Pentium 4 1.7 GHz will change your plodding plowhorse into Shadowfax (the uber-stallion from Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings). Not only are you installing a CPU that’s much faster, but you’re also upgrading from Pentium III technology to Pentium 4 technology and the tasks that you perform now will finish in a fraction of the time. Anything less is a waste of time and effort (unless the CPU fairy dropped a new chip on your pillow for free). Adding memory I’ll be honest adding memory (random access memory, or RAM) is my favorite performance upgrade, and I recommend adding memory far more often than I recommend upgrading a CPU/motherboard combo. Here’s why:

-  Memory packs performance punch. Any PC tech will tell you that

dollar for dollar, adding additional memory results in a far more significant performance boost than simply upgrading your processor by a few megahertz. Windows will use every bit of that additional memory (bad techno-nerd pun intended there), and everything that your PC does will be faster.

-  Memory is cheap. I’m talkin’ really, really cheap. Most folks can now afford to max out their memory capacity. (The total that you can add is dependent upon your motherboard, so check with the PC manufacturer or the specifications for your motherboard to determine the maximum amount of memory that you can add.)

-  Memory is easy to install. Compared with upgrading a motherboard and CPU, adding memory is one of the simplest upgrade tasks that you can perform in the bowels of your machine. Add additional memory to your PC before embarking on a CPU and motherboard upgrade.

Expansion Upgrades: USB 2.0 and FireWire

Consider adding ports onto an older PC what I call expansion upgrades. Although adding or upgrading ports won’t speed up your computer, you’ll be able to connect a wider range of external devices and those devices are likely to run faster, transferring data to and from your PC at many times the rate of your pokey old serial and parallel ports. Like the RAM upgrade that I discuss earlier in this article, adding Universal Serial Bus (USB) or FireWire ports to your PC is a relatively easy upgrade. All this involves is removing the cover from your PC and adding an adapter card to one of the open slots on your motherboard. Remember, this is how that original cadre of IBM engineers the ones who designed the architecture of the first PCs intended for you to add functionality to your computer, so it’s practically a walk in the park. Because I discuss USB 2.0 and FireWire ports earlier here I just reiterate the major differences and what each type of port will do for you:

-  USB 2.0: This is the faster version of the USB port, with blazing speed and the ability to connect to older USB 1.x hardware. Unless you’re using an external FireWire drive, digital camera, or digital video (DV) camcorder, USB 2.0 is the best choice for adding state-of-the-art, modern portage (ports for scanners, external hard drives, CD/DVD recorders, fax machines, printers, and the like) to your PC.

-  FireWire: If you’d like to upgrade your PC for use with your DV camcorder or if you’re interested in adding a fast external hard drive or DVD recorder FireWire is your port of choice. Also, FireWire periph-erals are usually easy to share with Mac owners because every modern Mac made within the last two or three years has at least one FireWire port. If you already have USB or FireWire ports on your PC and you’ve simply run out of connections for example, you have two USB ports, and you’re using one for your printer and one for your Web cam you don’t need to add yet another set of ports. Instead, you just need a nifty little device called a USB or FireWire hub, which plugs into one of those ports and turns it into four or eight additional ports! (Think of the familiar AC extension cord, which plugs into one of your wall power sockets and allows you to plug in three or four cords.)

Making Storage Upgrades: Internal and External Drives

Why limit yourself to that sorry patch of digital real estate that originally shipped with your PC? I’m talking about your hard drive, a tape backup unit, or perhaps a slower, older CD recorder. Upgrading these devices is a storage upgrade because you use these devices to permanently store (or record) data for later use. Hard drives and CD/DVD recorders are both constantly dropping in price (and adding extra capacity and features), which is fortuitous because today’s operating systems and applications tend to take up more and more hard drive space. Therefore, it’s only natural that most serious PC users will eventually decide to add a second drive (or replace their existing drive with a new unit).

Adding a hard drive

The vast majority of today’s PCs use Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) hard drives, which can be mounted internally (within your PC’s case) or externally (by connecting to a USB or FireWire port). Here’s how to tell which type of drive you should choose:

-  Internal: Choose an internal drive if you don’t mind opening up your PC’s case and installing a new drive. Finally, you won’t use any more of your precious desktop space.

-  External: Choose an external drive if you’d rather not open your computer, or if you have no available hard drive bays left in your computer’s case. (Don’t laugh techno-types can fill up even the largest tower case with all sorts of devices.) External hard drives can be shared among computers that have the same ports, and you can simply unplug an external drive and carry it with you. (How’s that for security?)

Adding a recorder or a tape drive

CD/DVD recorders and backup tape drives have been around for years now, but only with the advent of USB and FireWire have they become attractive to the PC power user. In years past, hardware manufacturers had to depend on the PC’s parallel port to connect these peripherals. (If you had real money, you could get an external Small Computer System Interface [SCSI] drive, but I recommend avoiding SCSI altogether; read why when I describe SCSI hardware in the sidebar, “Just let SCSI fade away . . .” elsewhere in this article.) The PC’s parallel port was never designed for high-speed data transfer, so parallel port drives were as slow as your Aunt Gertrude in her ’53 Pontiac. However, today’s FireWire and USB 2.0 drives are almost as blazing fast as their internal brethren! Therefore, as long as you have a USB 2.0 or FireWire port, you now have the same choice that I describe with hard drives: Either stick it in your machine or leave it outside: It’ll work like a charm either way. One final word about today’s tape backup drives: They’re beginning to disappear from the PC landscape because today’s recordable DVD formats can hold 4.7GB (or even more) on a single disc and DVD recorders are faster and more reliable than most tape drives. Therefore, before you invest in a hideously expensive Digital Audio Tape (DAT) backup drive, consider buying a (comparatively) inexpensive rewriteable DVD drive instead and use that for your backups.

Making Sound and Video Upgrades: Sound and Video Cards

To finish my road map of PC upgrades, consider the hottest video and audio cards on the market today. There are more reasons than just gaming to add or upgrade your PC’s eyes and ears: For example, maybe you’d like to move up to a sound card with Dolby Surround sound support or perhaps a video card with video capture capability. Like the addition of USB and FireWire ports, these upgrades are pretty simple: Just take the case off your PC, remove your current sound or video adapter card, and plug the replacement card in its place. Before I jump into a discussion of these cards, I should note that some of today’s motherboards have their sound (and/or video) hardware on the motherboard instead of on separate adapter cards. If you have a motherboard with either a built-in video card or sound card, you should be able to disable the onboard hardware so that you can add your upgrade card. Typically, you must either display your PC’s Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) and disable the onboard hardware from there, or you need to move a jumper on the motherboard. Read your motherboard user manual to discover which avenue to take.

Sound cards on parade

A number of specialized sound cards are available for the discriminating audio connoisseur which, no doubt, you are. Consider these gems:

-  An MP3 card: If you’re an MP3 wizard with a hard drive’s worth of MP3 digital audio files, you’ll appreciate one of these specialized audio cards. An MP3 card contains a hardware encoder/decoder, which speeds up your PC’s ripping (another name for the process of creating MP3 digital audio files from existing audio CDs) and MP3 playing performance. With one of these cards (which typically run about $100–$150), you can listen to (or rip) the Talking Heads while using Photoshop, and the sound quality stays just as good.

-  A 24-bit card: For the absolute best in audio reproduction, a card such as the Audigy 2 from Creative Labs can produce 24-bit audio (that’s 192 KHz for you audioheads), which is far superior to the sound produced by virtually all audio CD players. The fact that these cards can also support DVD audio and carry a built-in FireWire port is just the whipped cream and cherry on the sundae. Expect to pay a prime price for one of these cards, usually in the $200 range.

-  A Surround sound card: These cards are specifically designed for 3-D environmental audio within games as well as full support for Dolby Surround sound as you watch DVD movies on your PC. Naturally, you’ll need more than two mundane speakers from Wal-Mart to enjoy the full effect which is why a premium set of speakers is usually included with these cards. Again, look for these cards to set you back around $200. Deciding which video card is right for you When you think about upgrading a video card, please do not I repeat, do not just think “gamers only.” A number of specialized video cards are on the market that have nothing to do with games. (Okay, I admit it . . . gamers like myself do indeed love video cards.) Here’s a cross section of what’s available:

-  A gamer’s card: The latest 3-D video cards (equipped with GeForce4 and Radeon chipsets, from NVIDIA and ATI, respectively) simply kick serious tail no matter whether your favorite games involve mowing down Nazis, building a civilization one stone at a time, or matching wits with your computer over a chess board. If you haven’t seen the realistic 3-D figures that these cards can produce, visit the Maze o’ Wires store at your local mall and ask a salesperson to crank up the latest game. Of course, Windows XP will display ho-hum applications faster with one of these cards as well. Many 3-D gaming cards also offer dual monitor support so that you can run two monitors side-by-side for a really big desktop. These high-end 3-D cards run tremendously hot after all, they’re practically separate computers themselves so they usually have their own fan on the card itself. However, if you’re planning on installing the card in an older PC, I recommend having at least two fans installed in your case that’s one for the power supply (which is standard equipment) and at least one auxiliary fan (to help circulate air to all those hot components).

-  An MPEG card: These cards are specifically designed for encoding and decoding Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) digital video (usually from a DVD, but hardware MPEG support is also very useful for doing serious video editing on your PC). Like the MP3 card that I describe in the previous section on audio cards, the idea is simple: Let the card do the video grunt work instead of your PC’s processor, and everyone is happier.

-  A capture card: This popular video upgrade card allows you to capture an incoming analog video signal and convert it to digital video. For example, you can connect your VCR or older analog VHS-C camcorder into the card, convert the signal to digital video, and then record CD or DVD backups of your home movies. I’ve even seen these cards used to capture footage from Xbox games if you can display it on your TV, you should be able to capture it with one of these toys.