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| Upgrade and
Update |
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Upgrade Your Hardware
No matter how much you tune up the
engine, you won't turn a Buick into a Ferrari. The same is true with computers:
sometimes you just have to take the plunge and buy some new hardware. There's a
hardware upgrade for almost every speed problem. Here are a few of the most
common problems and solutions.
Problem:
System runs slowly, hard
drive always spinning.
Solution: Buy more RAM. If your
Windows 98 system is running on less than 64MB of RAM, an
upgrade will speed things up considerably. |
Problem:
Plenty of RAM, but
system still slow.
Solution: Upgrade your processor
and/or motherboard. RAM is generally the biggest processing
bottleneck, but if you're running less than a Pentium-166 MMX, a
new processor should give you the horsepower you need for number
crunching. If you run processor-intensive applications such as
Photoshop, or if you plan on upgrading to Windows NT, look for a
Pentium II or its equivalent. And remember: Adding a second
processor to your motherboard will speed up only NT. Windows 98
won't even recognize it, so don't bother! |
Problem:
Slow game performance.
Solution: Buy a new video card.
Today's 3D games demand so much computing power that even the
fastest CPU can't handle the job. Instead, a game's speed often
depends on the video card, and if yours is short on RAM or runs
a 2D-only processor, you're out of luck. You can find plenty of
decent 3D accelerator cards for as little as $100. |
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Update Your
Drivers
Although many Windows 95 drivers will
run under Windows 98, most of them work less efficiently with the newer OS--and
some don't work at all. To ensure the best performance of your hardware, you
need the latest driver. And that may not be the one that was with your original
Windows 98 CD-ROM. Why? Because several vendors didn't create Windows 98 drivers
in time for them to ship with the OS. Thus, Microsoft included interim drivers
whose performance was less than ideal.
The good news? By now most vendors have completed their Windows 98 drivers.
The best way to get the latest drivers is to hit the vendor sites and look for
upgrades. If you're as lazy as we are, have an online software updater such as
CyberMedia's OilChange do the searching for you.
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