April 3rd, 2012 by ElizaP

There’s little more frustrating than a computer that is no longer as fast as it was. Drumming your fingers and waiting for programs and web pages to load can lead to precious time lost and a lot of stress. Thankfully, there are a few ways to speed up your computer’s performance.

Overclock Your CPU
‘Overclocking’ simply means to boost your computer’s speed beyond the settings determined by the manufacturer. But this can sometimes have the opposite effect, so a good idea may be to try it on an unused computer before you attempt it on your main machine. Be prepared to spend some time with this, as the best way to overclock a CPU properly is to do so in increments, and then observe the computer’s operation for any indicators that it can’t handle the additional speed, such as crashing or programs behaving erratically.

Get A RAM Upgrade
Upgrading your computer’s RAM memory is probably the cheapest and least time-consuming way to enjoy more speed. For less than $50, you can install the RAM yourself, which most of the time only involves removing your CPU cover and plugging it in. Of course, you want to ensure that the type of RAM you buy is compatible with your computer. You can do this by checking your computer manual if you have one, or visiting one of many online forums and posting your question for others to answer.