Upgrade your laptop to increase your productivity.
As laptop technology grows, laptops become smaller, faster and more affordable. If you wish to take advantage of new technology, you can upgrade your laptop to make it faster and more powerful. Common upgrades include new graphics cards, hard drives with more space, new batteries and laptop accessories.
Hard Drive
The hard drive of a computer stores all data required for normal functioning; this includes programs, documents, pictures and videos. The average laptop has a hard drive between 30 and 750 gigabytes in size, as of May 2011. However, hard drives are available in sizes larger than one terabyte, also known as 1,000 gigabytes. If you want an exceptionally large hard drive, replace your hard drive with a solid-state drive. These drives use flash memory, reducing their power consumption, and typically cost between $200 and $400. Since hard drives contain all your data, back up your data before replacing your hard drive. You may wish to use an external hard drive to save your data.
Graphics Card
On average, laptops have mediocre graphics cards. These graphics cards adequately play videos and Flash games but typically fail when it comes to games including The Sims or Call of Duty. Though you may be able to play a graphics-intensive game on a laptop with an average graphics card, you will experience poor graphics and inadequate frame rates. A superior graphics or video card offers additional graphics processing units and at least 1 gigabyte of memory. If you edit video or spend a great deal of time playing computer games, you can replace your graphics card with a superior card. Ideal graphics cards typically cost $300.
Battery
Unlike desktop computers, laptops can be used with AC power or with a battery. In most cases, as a laptop battery ages, its maximum capacity decreases. A battery that once lasted for three hours may only last for one hour after several years of use. If you want to use your laptop for longer periods without a power cable, replace the battery. You may be able to replace the battery with a battery that has a higher maximum capacity. However, the battery must use the same amount of volts or you risk blowing out your computer's fuses. Always err on the side of using a power source with fewer volts than the original power source. Typically, a laptop battery costs between $30 and $75.
Drives
Many laptop computers use a single CD/DVD drive. Over time, the lens of this drive grows dirty and the drive may scratch CDs or fail to play discs. If you replace the drive with a similar model, it will function in the same way it functioned originally. Alternatively, you can replace your drive with a faster, more powerful drive. For example, replace a DVD-R drive with a DVD-RW drive so that you can not only play DVDs but also burn DVD discs. You can replace your DVD drive with a Blu-ray compatible drive so that your computer can properly play Blu-Ray movies or data discs.
Accessories
Laptop accessories help upgrade your laptop without forcing you to alter the hardware. You can attach an external mouse, keyboard or track pad for added comfort and convenience. External track pads typically cost about $40, mice cost between $10 and $50 -- depending on whether you want a mouse with a ball or an optical model -- and keyboards cost between $15 and $100. Attach a $20 USB hub to one of your USB ports to add ports to your computer. If your laptop often grows hot while on your lap, connect it to a $20 cooling fan or pad to increase your comfort and extend the life of the hardware components. If you often use your laptop outside a locked room or office, connect your laptop to a laptop lock for $40.
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