Upgrade Old Computer System

-choices available & options to consider

Objective: Upgrade Old Computer Technology to a State-of-the-Art New
or Refurbished Computer System

How To Accomplish?

First you need to consider your current computing situation, which could fall into one of three scenarios (and yes, each scenario has a solution):

1. Your Old Computer is Running Way Too Slow (compared to when you originally set it up) - good, free solutions exist to help resolve these problems. See Scenario 1 below.
2. Your Computer Requires Greater Capacity to Handle Your Modern-Day Computing Requirements (ie, computer upgrades have now become a necessity which means the need to install more memory, hard drive, or a bigger screen for example to accomplish your workload). Now is a good time to upgrade old computer components. See Scenario 2 below.
3. Your Old Computer Has Become a Giant Paperweight, i.e. completely obsolete, and is "INOR" (my four-letter acronym for In Need Of Replacement) - perhaps it lacks reliability & is crashing all the time; or your original needs have changed whereby you've upgraded your operating system & software programs, or installed new software applications on older hardware which is not meeting your present-day, increased computing requirements. See Scenario 3 below.

Scenario 1. Computer is Too Slow -

     To speed up your computer, follow the easy suggestions on our Computer Upgrade FAQ page. These include such tips as using Windows' disk cleanup tools to remove temp files, scanning for viruses & spyware (advertising or tracking programs downloaded to your machine without your permission), and performing disk defragmentation (a process which puts files back together again so they are contiguous instead of spread out over your hard disk in many different areas).

Scenario 2. Computer Requires More Processing Capacity

There are now lots of possibilities & options to upgrade your old computer, such as adding more primary memory (RAM) to your computer, increasing your hard drive, adding a flat panel monitor with more screen space, etc..

Scenario 3. Computer is Too Old & Obsolete -

If there's no saving the "bucket of bolts" (or you don't have the time to throw at it), there are some very reasonable & affordable options to solve this problem:

a) The Overstocked Computers arena - this is an area of a merchant site with Clearance Merchandise which is heavily discounted "to move" products out the door and often results in picking up a great machine at a much-lower-than-market price. Usually this area has only limited supplies of clearance items which are specially priced; once the items are sold, they are removed from the category.

b) The Refurbished Computers arena - sometimes called "Recertified", these items are often marked with their particular condition such as "good as new" or "nearly new" condition. Most merchants have a thorough program in place under which they will upgrade old computer systems. This includes inspecting the product for damage & repairing any problem, making sure owners manual & documentation are restored with the product, and then the product is certified complete & in good working order, repackaged, and offered for sale in this category. The consumer can often pick up modern-day hardware which has been marked down to low-low prices.

c) The Open Box arena - these items are often brand-new-but-returned-back to merchant; most merchants have a program where they check each item (7-point-check) to ensure it is in good working order before re-releasing them for sale again. A typical example would be a customer purchases the product, uses it, and then returns it to the selling merchant. In some cases, these items are missing the product manuals or documentation, but often those can be downloaded from the manufacturer's internet site. You may be able to find some great computer deals here at low prices. Usually there is a very limited selection in this area; however it is worth a quick scan to see what is available each week.

d) Build-To-Order PC - this option allows you to select your own features in a brand new system which will be custom-built by the manufacturer and usually carries a product warranty to support your purchase. A very good computer deal can be selected if you have a bit of time to choose from the options & features available.

Final Thoughts:
There is one more option available for upgrading an old computer, but it involves complete replacement with a brand new computer system. Some people think this can be a costly alternative, however hardware prices have come way way down recently. When you consider bundling a system with its operating software into a "complete, ready-to-roll" package, a very attractive new system deal can be had for today's consumer.

If you would like help with any of these options, please call us at (760) 216-6560 and ask to talk with a senior engineer or fill in our contact us page and we will respond to you.


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