Upgrade

1. New features not available or found in previous versions.
2. Often, the new version of a program will have better stability and increased performance.
3. After so long an older software program will be discontinued and often no longer supported.

Note: Upgrading and updating a software program are two different things. When upgrading a software program you will almost always have to purchase the upgrade. However, most updates are small and usually free programs that can be run to update the program. See our update dictionary definition for additional information on this term. 

A hardware upgrade often involves removing an old hardware device and replacing it with a new hardware device. For example, replacing a 8MB PCI video card with a 32MB AGP video card would be considered an upgrade. A hardware upgrade such as a memory upgrade may not require a user to remove the memory from the computer because of the availability of additional expansion slots. Below is a few reasons and benefits a user should expect to see when upgrading a hardware device.

1. Performance increase. The majority of the hardware upgrades performed are done to increase the performance of the computer.
2. Capacity increase. Users may upgrade or add a new device to increase the overall capacity of the computer. For example, adding a new hard drive to allow the computer to store more information; or increase the memory to increase the ability of what programs can be opened and also at the same time increase the performance.
3. Compatibility. A user may upgrade one or more components in their computer to be able to run or use a software program.

• Additional information about installing new hardware can be found on document CHADD.
• Questions and answers regarding laptop upgrades can be found on document CH000618.
• Questions and answers regarding CPU upgrades can be found on document CH000099.

Also see: Hardware, Security definitions, Software