Whether you are a creative designer, animator, business professional, or a gaming enthusiast, there comes a time when you need to reassess the capabilities of your computer. From general performance issues to new technologies that could streamline your processes, you might wonder if (and when) your system is worth upgrading. Luckily, we can answer that for you.
Before we get into it, we must note that there are different types of people who upgrade at different times. Businesses tend to upgrade once every few years while enthusiasts upgrade more often. There are casual users who could go on for years without even upgrading one single aspect of their machine until they absolutely must. This is important because whatever field your system revolves around determines not only your upgrade path, but also your upgrade cycle.
OEM Desktops
Desktop systems typically come in two flavors: custom made and pre-built systems from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM). Companies like Dell, HP, and Lenovo are OEMs, and they traditionally offer various configurations with some customization typically found in memory and storage increases. OEMs can also consist of companies like ASUS where they might present multiple systems dedicated for professional business work or gaming. Custom builds are piecemeal systems consisting of multiple components by various companies. This route is often for enthusiasts who like to pick and choose exactly which components they want for their system.
With OEMs, your upgrade path might be a bit limited depending on what system you get. With these systems, you upgrade when you begin to experience slowdowns or performance hiccups. OEM systems made for business and professional environments tend to have limited upgrade paths. RAM modules, storage, and graphics cards might be the most you could upgrade at a given time, but this becomes valuable as swapping out for higher memory capacities is way more cost effective than replacing an entire system.
In some drastic cases, businesses will perform full system upgrades Instead of upgrading individual components. This usually happens when your system is unable to run essential software and can’t keep up with the workload given. For example, Microsoft Windows 11 operating system requires TPM 2.0 security support, which might not exist in older systems, requiring businesses to update their hardware.
Custom Built Desktops
For custom builders, it becomes more nuanced since there is a plethora of considerations to make. There comes a time when custom builders will contemplate upgrading just the memory, add storage, and graphics card for a bump in performance over a full overhaul of their system. There are many more considerations that one must take especially when you start looking at replacing more essential and expensive components like your CPU.
For instance, if you are running on an AMD Ryzen 5000 series processor and have your eyes on the AMD Ryzen 7 9700x processor, you’ll have to do a full motherboard swap. This is because the AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors operate on the AM4 socket while the 7000 and 9000 series processors operate on the more current AM5 socket. This eventually leads you into replacing your memory as well, and potentially other components. With our Gaming Build: Guide to CPUs, you can find more information on which processor is right for you!
Memory is incredibly easy to upgrade in many cases as it can increase performance of your multitasking capabilities. It also assists with rendering video and running games. Upgrading from 16GB to 32GB can improve performance across the board. For heavier tasks like rendering video or graphics, going up to 64GB or more can save time. You can read more about memory in our Gaming Build: Guide to RAM article.
If you want more space for your games, videos, and projects, upgrading your storage capacity is ideal. Going from an old 3.5” HDD to a 2.5” SSD will see a huge jump in performance when it comes to read and write speeds; with an even greater performance uplift when advancing to an M.2 NVMe SSD. M.2 SSDs are typically found on your motherboard and can produce incredible speeds for your games and media. In some instances, most modern games require an SSD, so going for an M.2 SSD is the best upgrade you can perform on your system. From there all you need to do is consider capacity that best scales to your needs. Check out our Gaming Build: Guide to Storage for more key information.
Graphics cards get a bit tricky. If your current game or application can’t run as smoothly as you want, an upgrade is certainly within the cards. Upgrading from one generation to another provides you with added features and benefits which include any new technologies that might not be available within other generations. For instance, NVIDIA’s DLSS 3.0 performance optimization technology is only available in 40 Series graphics cards and not in prior platforms. Other reasons to upgrade include requiring more VRAM so you have enough overhead for future titles.
In many cases, people will want to upgrade from one tier to the next, staying within a certain generation of processor or graphics card, and there are a few pros and cons to this. Processors are typically designed for longevity, so upgrading within the same series might only see a small increase in performance over upgrading to a more recent series. By remaining within the same series, you could experience a level of diminishing returns depending on what you go with. Going from the AM4 AMD Ryzen 5700G to a 5700x3D does show a huge increase in performance, but going from the AM4 AMD Ryzen 5700G to the AMD Ryzen 9700x not only produces even greater performance, but you also get the added longevity built into the processor as well as your motherboard, memory, and more.
If you choose to upgrade within a graphics card series generation, going for extra power could be worth it depending on what it is that you are attempting to run. Going from an NVIDIA GeForce 4060 to a 4080 Ti Super could net you almost double the performance and could run for years to come. If you are making a substantial jump, it is okay to upgrade within graphics cards family, but the rule remains where upgrading is only worth it if you are experiencing performance dips. If you’re looking for more information on which GPU to pick if you are upgrading, feel free to check out this article, Gaming Build: Guide to GPUs.
Laptops
Mobile users are in a much tougher spot than desktop users when it comes to upgrade paths. Larger, workstation and gaming laptops tend to have a couple of dedicated spots for upgrades while thinner machines do not.
Thin laptops tend to have every component hard baked into the motherboard, using what is called a System on Chip (SoC) design which incorporates several aspects of your laptop in a single, convenient design. This means that you cannot easily replace any component of that system, and you would have to buy a whole new laptop if you’re looking for more power.
On the other hand, gaming and workstation systems tend to offer some upgrade capabilities. You would either find access panels or need to remove the entire bottom of the chassis to reveal the various interfaces. Typically, most upgrades for a powerful laptop would include memory and storage as the processor and graphics units are baked into the motherboard.
Knowing when to upgrade your system can be difficult as new technologies continue to release. Hopefully, this information will help you determine when it’s worth upgrading and what to upgrade whether that be your full system or just a couple of components for some much-needed improvements.
Looking to upgrade your system? Tell us all about it in the comment section below!
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