Prebuilt computers can be a good buy, especially when components are limited. But, like a computer you made yourself, can you upgrade them?
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Let’s get things out of the way straight now before we get into the specifics. If you have the money to spend, you can improve any prebuilt desktop PC.
You may change the casing, buy new fans, install a different hard drive, switch the power supply, add extra RAM, replace the CPU, or even replace the entire motherboard. There’s no real limit to what you can change out or enhance if you’re prepared to spend. Even machines with proprietary connectors or parts can nearly always be worked around by replacing bits, purchasing adapters, and so on.
However, you’re unlikely to go to such lengths with a prebuilt PC since, once you start replacing out important components, the extra cost negates the primary advantage prebuilt PCs have: cost savings.
Still, whether you have a prebuilt PC that you want to update or are thinking about improving the one you currently have, here’s a rundown of what you can upgrade and some things to keep in mind as you plan your upgrade route.
Whether or not a given update is worth the trouble is mostly determined by your money, how much you desire what the upgrade delivers, and your willingness to mess around with rebuilding your system.
We can’t give you exact recommendations because every system is different, but we can emphasize how easy or complicated a given update is and if it’s usually worth it or not.
Adding extra RAM to a prebuilt PC is a breeze and, of all computer upgrades, is about as basic as it gets.The most important thing to understand about RAM upgrades is that you are limited to the generation and kind of RAM that your prebuilt PC’s motherboard allows. DDR5 RAM sticks, for example, cannot be installed in a motherboard that only supports DDR4.If your prebuilt PC is lacking in RAM, this is a rather straightforward and affordable update.
Hard drive connections are standardized, and you won’t find prebuilt PCs with unusual drive connectors. We commonly advocate replacing a mechanical HDD with an SSD.The only problem with hard drive upgrades is a lack of more modern hard drive interfaces, such as an M.2 slot. This forces you to use standard SSD drives rather than the more sophisticated NVME devices.
Overall, upgrading the hard drive is a simple procedure, however you will need to clone the disk if you want to convert everything from the old version to the new build, including the OEM-licensed copy of Windows.
The GPU motherboard interface is standardized. Any card from today, or even older cards, will fit into the PCIe x16 slot without a problem.If you have trouble upgrading the GPU in your prebuilt, the problem isn’t likely to be the PCIe x16 slot, but rather the casing, the power supply, or a combination of the two.
If your prebuilt PC is using the processor’s iGPU or a lesser video card, the casing may just be too tiny to accommodate the size of bulkier current cards. Some of the cards on the market nowadays are so lengthy that you’ll need to look for cases with appropriate depth to fit them.
Furthermore, when GPU power needs rise, the PSU provided with your prebuilt may be unable to support a GPU upgrade. On the low end, the PSU may not even have the requisite power connectors for the beefier GPU.
If you improve your prebuilt PC and discover that the present power supply is inadequate, or if you are dissatisfied with the quality of the power supply that came with it, you can replace it. Given that the power supply is the cornerstone of the construction, it is always preferable to have a high-quality one.If the motherboard has standard power connections, swapping out one PSU for another is simple. It’s a little difficult if you have a prebuilt from a manufacturer that utilizes proprietary connections, like Dell and HP do on many of their workstations.
With proprietary connectors, you’ll either be forced to use a special PSU or you’ll have to look for adapters for that specific prebuilt PC line to utilize a normal off-the-shelf PSU with that motherboard.
CPU sockets are standardized, and you can typically update a CPU with simplicity as long as it utilizes the same socket and the board supports the chip. You’ll have to remove the cooler, apply new thermal paste to the new CPU, then replace the cooler, but it’s not a big deal.
One thing to keep in mind if you wish to enhance the cooler rather than merely replace the old one is that some prebuilt manufacturers utilize non-standard cooler mounting holes and plates. In that situation, you can’t just toss in an off-the-shelf option for that specific socket type.
Upgrading the motherboard is a significant update since you must disassemble your prebuilt computer to change out the motherboard, and you may require extra parts if any of the components of your previous build (such as the RAM) are incompatible with the new motherboard.
In general, we would advise avoiding it because it seldom results in significant speed increases unless you upgrade to a faster CPU, more RAM, or both.When you reach the mother-board-replacement stage, it’s less like updating a prebuilt PC and more like creating a brand-new one using cannibalized parts.
Prebuilt computers, for the most part, have either dull casings or cases that are so bright and laden with gamer RGB flashiness that you might be tempted to replace them out.
Even if the drab appearance or excessive RGB effects don’t annoy you, prebuilt laptops can have poor ventilation and cooling.If your prebuilt computer has a standard motherboard (or at least standard board standoff space, even if the board has proprietary connections), you should be able to remove it from the old chassis and drop it directly into the new case.
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