With new-fangled technologies making their way onto the marketplace seemingly every day, PC users are by now undoubtedly familiar with the need to upgrade their systems on a regular basis. Not all hardware pieces are created equal, however, which is why we’ve taken the time to shine a spotlight on the best items currently available in stores:

The ideal video card

For many PC rigs, video cards are unquestionably the stars of the show. They bear the brunt of responsibility when it comes to displaying visual elements on your monitor, which means that everything from games to high-definition videos need them in order to function properly. Luckily, nowadays you can find excellent deals on video cards in online stores such as PC Byte, where a top gaming card like the MSI Radeon RX 480 can be found for just a shade over $400. This video card is powerful enough to allow users to experience the world of virtual reality gaming, while at the same time featuring advanced cooling capabilities that are designed to keep it running silently even when under heavy use.

A processor to rule them all

Next to video cards, processors are just as essential when it comes to keeping your PC running smoothly. Right now, the Intel Core i5-7600K stands out due to offering the best value in its price range. Available for less than $250 dollars in most online stores, the processor is strong enough to handle even the most demanding games, while also boasting some nifty overclocking potential. While it may lack the insane number of cores that defines other high-end processors, the Intel Core i5-7600K is powerful enough to fulfil the needs of most PC users.

A reliable UPS

As electrical grids age and power outages become even more common, the chances of experiencing a blackout that causes you to lose valuable data on your PC will also increase exponentially. This makes the need to purchase a reliable uninterruptible power supply even more urgent. UPSes can be found across multiple prices ranges, but for the average PC user a decent one can be bought for less than $200. For instance, the CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD 1500VA has enough juice to handle most gaming machines, even those running dual GPUs. It’s also quite compact for its load support, and boasts an LCD screen that allows you to monitor your computer’s status closely.

The speediest RAM

Costing much less than a new video card or processor, a good-quality memory card can nevertheless help your PC run much faster than before. Nowadays DDR4 is the latest standard in the industry, but you can still find great deals on DDR3 RAM if your motherboard doesn’t have the appropriate slots for the newest technology. Most PCs will be fine with 8GB of memory, but you can upgrade to 16GB if you really want to stay safe on this front for the next couple of years as well. To that end, the Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB DDR4 currently retails at less than $120, making it a great option for people who are relatively short on funds.

The best storage option

Your computer’s storing capabilities are what ultimately determine its capacity to hold whatever it is you want to keep on it. While cloud-based solutions may one day render hardware limitations obsolete, for now having a good storage option is still essential if you want to have apps and games on your PC. While SSDs used to lag behind traditional hard disks when it came to size, they’ve recently caught up. The Samsung 850 EVO 500GB, for instance, retails for around $150 and boasts tremendous read speeds that regularly hit 500MB/second. It can be purchased in versions ranging from the comparatively tiny 120GB to the absolutely massive 4TB, enough to handle the requirements of even the most dedicated of software hoarders.

Whether you want to use your PC as a high-end gaming rig or if you simply want it to be powerful enough to run full HD videos smoothly, the aforementioned items will give your system the kick it needs to stay with the times. So don’t hesitate to make some timely investments today in order to have a competitive PC tomorrow.