TODAY’S BEST
UPGRADES
Bring your system bang up to date with some choice HARDWARE PICKS
U
pgrading is fundamental to the PC.
It’s one of the cornerstones of our
platform of choice, and it’s why the
PC has survived while other systems
have failed. It’s also the reason why
you can focus on the hardware that matters the
most, and spend your money appropriately. You can
upgrade in stages—if you want to focus on a
performance CPU first, with a mind to upgrading
your graphics card or storage later, you can. As long
as you know what’s happening in the tech world,
you’re in good shape.
On that note, we’ve just had an incredible year for
processors. AMD has come out swinging with its
Ryzen line, with increased core counts and strong raw
performance. And Intel has just responded with its
eighth-generation CPU line—we’ve managed to
squeeze the first chips to arrive into our
recommendations, too. Which means we’re now
looking at two completely new mainstream platforms
that didn’t exist a year ago. Plenty of opportunities for
upgrades, in other words, and we’ve rounded up some
of the best on the market, whatever budget you’re
planning on.
Bear in mind that any new piece of gear should
have a legitimate upgrade path. Getting the best
processor for your motherboard is fine, but it takes the
shine off it a bit if you know there’s a whole new
platform doing the rounds. That’s why our
recommendations all relate to some of the most recent
hardware lines. This shouldn’t stop you upgrading
older hardware as far as it can go, though, because
that can often be a cost-effective route – especially if
you’re happy to take the risk of buying used hardware
(great for older processor deals, and making the move
to SLI).
Over the page, we look at the best hardware
upgrades you can buy right now, with performance
benchmarks where they matter. We cover all the
major components, and highlight things to watch out
for when upgrading. It’s a great time to give your
machine a new lease of life, as you’re about to find out.Feature
TODAY’S BEST UPGRADES