Part VII. Upgrading and Supercharging
Contents at a Glance
Chapter 1: Determining What to Upgrade 485
Making Performance Upgrades: CPU, Motherboard, and Memory 486
Expansion Upgrades: eSATA, USB 2.0, and FireWire 488
Making Storage Upgrades: Internal and External Drives 489
Making Sound and Video Upgrades: Sound and Video Cards 490
Chapter 2: Adding RAM to Your Hot Rod 493
Defining the Different Types of RAM 493
Figuring Out Which Type of RAM to Buy 495
Deciding How Much RAM Is Enough 496
Installing Extra RAM 497
Chapter 3: Adding Hard Drive Territory to Your System 499
The Tale of Virtual Memory 499
Recognizing a Well-Dressed Hard Drive 501
Internal versus External Storage 503
Adding a Second Internal Hard Drive 504
Chapter 4: Partying with USB, FireWire, and eSATA 509
A Tale of Three Fine Ports 509
Or Do You Just Need a Hub? 512
Installing a Port Card 513
Chapter 5: Pumping Up Your Sound and Video 517
Sound Card Features to Covet 517
Shopping for a Monster Graphics Card 520
Installing Sound and Video Cards 523
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