NUCLEAR OPTIONS
Okay, let’s imagine that a) you’ve tried our previous suggestions and they haven’t yielded enough ‘zing’ for you, or b) you’d rather just cut to the chase. Either way, the options we’ve outlined below are more drastic than anything else so far in terms of
UPGRADE YOUR PROCESSOR
If you’ve identified your processor as your bottleneck (using Windows Resource Monitor or a free tool such as HWMonitor from cpuid.com, for example), and you can’t (or don’t want to) try overclocking your CPU ( see p35), then replacing the processor with a faster unit is sometimes an option, but not one that’s always practical.
Upgrading a PC’s CPU is a more involved process than just slotting in a few RAM modules and is all but impossible if your PC happens to be a laptop. Even with a desktop PC your options will be strictly limited by compatibility with your current motherboard. You may be able to get an idea of which CPUs you could potentially upgrade to by searching for your motherboard by its model number on a system builder site such as pcpartpicker.
com and viewing the compatible CPUs.
It’s not really worth upgrading to a compatible CPU for the sake of a few hundred MHz, though. If you really want to maximise the potential of a CPU upgrade, then it’s likely you’ll need to buy a new motherboard too. Many retailers, including scan.co.uk, sell motherboard/CPU bundles with everything you need. Factor in some new RAM to go with your new board, a new cooling system and – potentially – a new case and, at this point, you’re effectively building a brand new PC from scratch.
RESET YOUR PC VS REINSTALLING WINDOWS
Reinstalling Windows has always been the computing equivalent of treating your central heating system to a powerflush. It can restore performance by getting rid of all the junk that has built up over the years in one fell swoop, and laying down a completely fresh copy of Windows’ system files. Performing a clean installation of Windows is a major pain in the posterior, though, as you need to back up all your personal files, then put them back when you’re finished, as well as reinstall any programs and apps you had installed before.
Windows 10 theoretically makes reinstalling easier via its “Reset this PC” option (open Settings, then click “Update & security” | Recovery), which effectively reinstalls Windows over the top of your existing installation. You can choose to keep your files or wipe everything – either way you’ll still need to reinstall apps and programs once the process is complete. But this method has its fair share of drawbacks. Depending on your configuration, you could boot up your PC hoping for a completely clean slate, only to find all the annoying manufacturer bloatware that came with your PC installed, courtesy of your recovery partition. We’ve also heard reports that resetting doesn’t always cure deep-rooted system issues. Given that – and given the fact that resetting is only marginally less of a faff than reinstalling – we’d suggest that, a ‘classic’ reinstallation is likely to be the preferable option in most cases. Follow our walkthrough opposite.
SCRAP YOUR COMPUTER AND GET A NEW, FASTER ONE
Yeah, okay, that probably sounds glib. However, the sad truth is that, at some point, you will have to decide when to stop tweaking, upgrading and power-flushing, and just call it a day. When you reach that stage, buying an entirely new system – or building your own – may be the better way to spend your cash and time. That doesn’t mean your old PC can’t still be useful, though. You could harvest parts to use in your new one, perhaps? Or you could install your favourite lightweight distro on it and run it as a Linux box. Or you could just nail it to the wall as a warning to other computers that dare to slow down on you. It’s entirely up to you.