Practical guides

Useful advice before the next decision.

Prepare for a repair visit, understand an upgrade or compare PC options without relying on a sales label.

Solid-state drives and memory modules beside a closed laptop

Performance

Is a slow laptop worth upgrading?

Check the bottleneck, compatibility, condition and software support before spending on an SSD or more memory.

Desktop computer with an air cooler and tidy internal components

PC buying advice

RGB lighting and real PC performance

Enjoy the appearance you like, while keeping performance, cooling, noise and value at the centre of a PC decision.

Desktop PC with a tower-style CPU air cooler

Cooling

CPU air cooler or AIO: choose for the workload

Air cooling can be a practical value choice, while an AIO may suit some systems. Compare the exact cooler, CPU limits, fit, noise and maintenance.