You don’t need an electronics degree to upgrade your computer yourself, but it certainly helps! In all honesty upgrading you PC need not be the daunting task that many people build it up to be, as long as you have a set of clear concise instructions and a few essential tools you have everything you to get that whirring grey box up to speed again.
Upgrading Desktop PCs often involves taking apart the outer casing and removing the circuit boards with the end goal either replacing them with other circuitry or rewiring the board itself. This requires a handy skill you may not have used since your year 10 design and tech lessons, soldering.
Soldering is defined as the process of bonding metal components together to create a connection. It invloves the temporary heating of solder, a metal alloy, until it is liquid, to bond two metal surfaces together when the liquid metal cools almost instantly.
Being able to solder will make upgrading your Computer hardware so much easier and cheaper because you are completely eliminating the labour cost by doing it yourself. Soldering requires composure, speed and a steady hand.
Soldering irons can easily reach temperatures of up to and over 1000 degrees, any contact with skin will be very painful, the fumes can also be noxious if inhaled excessively. By sticking to these rules you will be able to sidestep the potential pitfalls of soldering.
The important thing to remember is, if you are unsure, get an expert to do it, don’t practice soldering on your delicate PC components. Only use it on components where it is absolutely necessary. cheap hard drivesdo not requite it and can be plugged straight in.
