BIOS Updates...

BIOS updates are a risky and time-consuming endeavor.

A messed up BIOS update will ruin your motherboard, most likely causing you to go out and buy another one. You should not even contemplate updating your BIOS unless their is a blatant problem with your system to begin with (and this can generally be avoided by not buying the newest motherboard out there... sound familiar??).

I have never felt the need nor the desire to attempt to update my BIOS, but if you do, I'd consult a BIOS update guide for more information.

 

Other Updates

Generally, the driver updates that you'll need to keep your computer ticking are fairly easy to access. The most important ones to keep an eye out for are:

Windows updates are probably the most crucial updates out there, as proven by Microsoft's release of the Windows XP Service Pack 2 upgrade. 5% of the code of Windows XP is rewritten in the release (which may not sound like much, but consider that the update consists of several hundred thousand lines of software coding).

Video Driver updates provide extra tweaks to your graphics system, allowing you to extract the most performance out of your Video Card as possible.

Virus Definition updates are another biggie. There are probably millions of viruses and worms out there on the 'Net, just waiting for a vulnerable computer to appear. Going without a virus scanner (and a firewall too) nowadays is like walking down a dark alley with a neon 'Mug Me!' sign on.

With companies such as Norton and McAffee charging yearly subscription fees to maintain a product they have sold (shouldn't this be covered under some sort of warranty??), I have given up on paying for a virus scanner (without noticing any difference whatsoever).

My virus scanner is one of the many Free Software programs I've made available, allowing you to save money without compromising security or performance.

 

 

Here again are my complete recommendations for building your own, Fast computer!

 

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