When it comes to buying hard drives, SSD is the first thing that comes to mind, and read/write speed and capacity are the main considerations when purchasing. But do you wonder why the HDD, which is as slow as a snail, still maintain a place in the storage market while everyone pursues SSD with high-speed read/write? What is the magic that makes a lot of consumers still favor HDD? Keep reading to find out! HDD (Hard Disk Drive) Component structure HDD is actually the abbreviation of “Hard Disk Drive”, but in order to distinguish it from SSD, we often use the term “traditional hard drive” and “mechanical hard drive” to refer to HDD. There are 2.5 inches, 3.5 inches and 5.2 inches in sizes. The reason why HDD is called HDD is because it is composed of many mechanical parts, such as read/write head, disc, motor, main control chip and cable, etc. With so many parts, the biggest fear is collision and dust. Whenever a part is displaced, it is likely to become unreadable or damaged. Reasons that affect the read/write speed When it comes to hard drives, it is important to mention the speed of data storage. How does the HDD read and write data? It is mainly through 3 parts: read/write head, motor and disc. Just like the vinyl record player in the old days, the read/write head is used to read and write data on the disc running by the motor (did I just reveal my age!?). One of the things that affects the read and write speed of the HDD the most is the speed of the motor. The faster the revolution speed, the faster the read and write speed will be. That’s why we often see the information of “xxxx RPM” on the specification sheet of HDD. But no matter how fast the HDD’s motor spins, there is a physical operating limit that falls between approximately 4200 RPM and 15,000 RPM. The speed for home use is around 4200 RPM to 7200 RPM, and higher speed is the specification used by servers. Converting RPM to common MB/s units, the read/write speed of 7200 RPM falls in the range of 90 to 100 MB/s. SSD（Solid State Drive） Component structure SSD is what we often call solid state drive and it comes in 2.5”, M.2, mSATA and U.2 form factors. NAND Flash is mainly composed of flash memory (NAND Flash) and controller, and NAND Flash is divided into SLC, MLC, TLC and QLC. Some SSDs also have an additional “cache”, which is often referred to as DRAM Cache. It is called a “solid state” drive because it has no moving parts in its composition and each chip is fixed to the circuit board, so it is more drop-proof than a traditional hard drive. Compared with HDD, there’s almost no noise during operation (But if you drop it hard, it will still be broken, so please don’t try it at home T-fans). What Are QLC, DRAM Cache and SLC Cache? (Part 1) What Are QLC, DRAM Cache and SLC Cache? (Part 2) Reasons that affect the read and write speed SSD uses the method of changing the value of the voltage to store data in the storage unit electronically. Compared with the way of HDD through physical speed, the read speed of SSD is several times faster than HDD. The SATA interface alone can reach a maximum of 500-600MB/s, which is 5-6 times faster than a 7200 RPM HDD. HDD V.S SSD How to choose? After talking about the difference between HDD and SSD, I organize a table for you: According to the above table, it is obvious that SSD has more advantages than HDD, but why do people still love HDD? The size of HDD is significantly larger than SSD, so small-sized SSD is suitable for computer with limited assembly space such as laptop. As for storage space, HDD is much cheaper than SSD for the same storage capacity. When installed on a desktop computer, which is not often moved around, it can reduce the risk of mechanical damage to the HDD caused by vibration, while still enjoying large storage capacity. This is also the reason why the HDD cannot be completely replaced by the SSD even though its transfer speed is not as fast as SSD. After all, storage space is one of the main functions of the hard drive. Therefore, I suggest that when you purchase hard drives, it is most appropriate to choose them separately according to your usage habits. If your desktop computer wants a hard drive for backing up data, such as photos or videos since you were a kid, you can choose HDD as your preferred backup hard drive. For high-speed access needs, such as booting up and frequently used computer operating software, I recommend that you purchase an SSD so you can enjoy instant booting and smooth operation! ►Friendly reminder The price difference between HDD and SSD will not stay the same forever! With the rapid development of technology, it is very likely that the price of SATA interface SSD and HD will not be much different in the future! Want to know more about SSD? Take a look at the following article: The Basic Knowledge and Benefits of SSD Storage Capacity that Everyone Should Know! I will see you T-fans next time!
Read more
When we are talking about some sort of budget-oriented computers which are mainly used in offices or eventually for students without the need for too much graphic load, it is usually based on integrated graphic cards. This is where APU comes into play. With AMD's processors which have solid integrated graphic cards, we tend to orient our search for processors like AMD Ryzen 5 5600G and for those that need more power, then AMD Ryzen 7 5700G. Now there are also other factors to take into consideration when building such a computer. Usually, office workers and students tend to have smaller space available on their desks and because of that laptops tend to be a better choice, but in today’s article, we are looking for a small form factor computer that can still pack a punch with workload and in some terms deliver more than your regular multimedia laptop. Yet again, we have a much bigger screen on a monitor than on a laptop which makes the workflow much more convenient. Processor – AMD Ryzen 5 5600G So, let’s start with the specifications. First, as already mentioned we are going to use AMD Ryzen 5 5600G because of its performance and price range which can deliver a nice and satisfying workflow. With 6 cores and 12 threads, it is a great processor for multitasking, yet the TDP isn’t that high (around 45-65W), so we don’t need a big power supply. More on that later. The 5600G doesn’t heat up that much, but in any situation and for the sake of quality cooling we will add an aftermarket CPU cooler to keep those temperatures as low as possible. It is based on AM4 socket we have no problems in searching for a perfect CPU cooler. CPU Cooler – Noctua NH-U9a-AM4 chromax.black In terms of air cooling, Noctua always delivers the best performance in all segments, from high-end with huge CPU coolers to the small form factor builds. This CPU cooler is specifically designed for AM4 sockets and it can handle the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G even in tight spots, like small form factor cases. Running a full benchmark on AMD Ryzen 5 5600G, in idle it keeps it steady at 40C, while under full load in AIDA 64 Extreme Edition System Stability test keeps it around 72C. It also depends on the case we are using, but still even in tighter and smaller cases, for that processor, this is a great thermal solution. Case – InWin Chopin Pro InWin Chopin Pro case supports ITX motherboards and compared to other SFF cases, comes with a 200W power supply so it can run even the 5700G without a problem. The side meshed panel really helps the cooler with the airflow and nice organization can give a person the possibility to accommodate additional 2x 2.5” SSDs which is remarkable. The 200W power supply is situated at the bottom of the chassis and doesn’t make to many problems when placing the motherboard. You already have cables pre-attached to the power supply and only those that you need. 24-pin for the motherboard, 8-pin for the processor, and SATA power cable that can be divided into two additional SATA power connectors for those two 2.5” SSDs at the back of the case. In addition to everything, we have 2x 3.5mm jacks for your headset and microphone connection plus 2x USB 3.0 for additional USB connectivity. Since the case doesn’t have a USB Type-C connection, depending on the motherboard and since the case is small, the convenience of using the motherboard ports has never been easier. Motherboard – ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ax This is a more gaming-oriented motherboard that can support much stronger processors but this one was the only ITX board we had for this video. To save more than $100 on this project/computer, another suggestion would be ASRock B550M-ITX/ac which is around $129. This motherboard supports 2x M.2 slots which gives you less cables inside your computer and better organization, but also insane speeds compared to your conventional HDD or even 2.5” SSDs. Supports DDR4 up to 5400+ (OC) but that also depends on the processors you are using. Then we have 4x SATA ports even though for this computer two are more than enough and for this kind of computer, the most important, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 for wireless connection to the Internet and Bluetooth connection for your wireless peripherals. RAM – TEAMGROUP ELITE DDR4 2x8GB 3200MHz In terms of speeds, 3200MHz is still a sweet spot for AMD processors and 16GB is somewhat a new standard for any sort of computer. That is why we decided to fill up those two slots entirely and give this computer enough RAMs to breathe during browser usage but still in standard workload, so we don’t have any problems while opening multiple tabs and multitasking with different applications open. With this price range, a naked kit of RAMs, meaning without any heatsink will suffice nicely and give the price per performance ratio a great budget for any person looking to find an affordable upgrade to their office or student computer. SSD – TEAMGROUP MP33 Gen3x4 M.2 1TB No cables, astonishing speeds, and easy installation. With Team Group MP33 Gen3x4 M.2 SSD we get everything we need for such a build. The fast boot of your operational system, install needed software and applications such as Microsoft Office Suite or any additional software needed for work, can really breathe and open quite quickly. With the capacity of 1TB in the environment where it is used in the Office or for students, there is no need for more than this. Rest can be always stored in some sort of a Cloud Storage that ranges up to a couple of TB (but at a certain cost as well). This should be placed and used as the main drive for everything. Fast, reliable, and nice amount of capacity. SSD – TEAMGROUP CX2 Classic 2.5” 1TB Since the case supports up to two 2.5” SSDs, why not add additional and fast storage that can be used either for more applications or for somewhat fast storage for regular documents? There is also a possibility to use 2.5 hard drives, but they have physical parts and after a long time they aren’t reliable, especially in that form factor. Of course, this SSD isn’t necessary if not needed, but a suggestion for an upgrade if more storage is required. They are slower than your regular Gen3x4 M.2 SSD, but still faster than any hard drive. BUILD PROCESS It all depends on what is the budget of course, but also if some want a better cooling solution and more storage, plus an unnecessary better motherboard which can save up a nice amount of money. After that, place the processor accordingly in the AM4 socket. It should fit perfectly, otherwise, it isn’t placed properly. In picture 20 you can see the position of the processor to avoid any mistakes. Lower down the latch that holds the processor to the socket. Do take into consideration that you will feel a slight force while doing so. There is no need to worry about that. Placing RAM sticks is even easier than placing the processor. Push out the latches that hold down the RAMs. Some motherboards have them on both side with a locking mechanism, while some, such as the one we use, have an opening on one side and latches on the other. Also, take good care when placing RAMs inside because the middle cutout in the RAM connection needs to align with the same cutout on the motherboard sockets for the RAMs. If you see that the RAM sticks have aligned with the socket on the motherboard, you can evenly press it down so that the latches on the motherboard click and grab the RAM holding it tight to the pin connections. Time to place the storage. Remove the passive heatsink that cools down the M.2 SSD by removing two screws that hold it. After that is done, you can clearly see the connection part for the M.2 SSD. Something like RAMs, M.2 SSD has its own socket with pins that connect in a certain ways so check the M.2 connection part and how it looks, and finally the socket so it aligns perfectly. When the M.2 SSD is placed, you will see that it will be angled at a certain degree which is normal. The only thing left now is to push it down so the top part which isn’t the connection fits perfectly in on top of the hole for the screw and place the passive heatsink on top of it. After that, tie up the two screws that hold the passive heatsink and the M.2 in place. Now it is time to place the processor cooler. First, we need to remove the original backplate and screws plus plastic holders that are usually used for the stock cooler. Since we are using an after market cooler, we don’t need them since everything is coming inside the box of Noctua NH-U9a-AM4 chromax.black. Place everything back inside the motherboard box because you will eventually need those in some future in a situation if you decide to sell, change, or remove something from the motherboard. Time to place a pie size thermal paste on the processor for better heat conductivity. After that place the processor cooler on the processor, turn the motherboard around and place the backplate that comes with the cooler. Backplate and cooler need to be aligned nicely so you can tie up all the screws. The only thing left now is to connect the fan from the processor cooler to the 4-pin PWM connector on the motherboard called CPU FAN1. Final stage of the build is to place the motherboard with everything inside the InWin Chopin Pro case and connect all the connectors, including placing the Team Group CX2 Classic 1TB at the back side of the case and connecting the SATA power and SATA data cable to it. As for the other connections, place the 24-pin and 8-pin from the power supply to the motherboard. Also, connect the front panel header, audio jack and USB 3.0 header to the motherboard for power on/off button, 3.5mm jacks for audio and finally for the USB 3.0 ports on the side of the case. Basically, the only thing left now is to turn on your computer, run the installation of your desired operational system, additional software needed for work and that wraps up the process of building a nice and subtle, yet affordable and strong office/student computer. For more detailed information on this computer you can also check out this YouTube video.
Read more
When upgrading SSD, besides reading and writing speed, another key point is the storage capacity! But I guess you T-fans will also look at the price and determine if it is good value (After all, it’s our hard-earned money). However, let’s not discuss the price today. Do you know that high-capacity SSDs actually have more advantages than you can imagine? I will briefly introduce you to familiar strangers such as “Wear Leveling, TBW and SLC Cache”, so you will definitely want to buy a high-capacity SSD after reading this! 1. Wear Leveling Wear Leveling technology is used to write data evenly into the storage blocks of the SSD, thereby increasing the service life of the SSD. The number of program/erase cycle of each storage block in SSD is fixed, if the number is exceeded, the block will be corrupted and will no longer be used. The “Wear Leveling” will give priority to writing data to blocks with a lower number of program/erase cycle, so that each block is used evenly. The larger the capacity of the SSD, the more blocks can be written to and erased, so each block is less likely to be written to and erased repeatedly, and therefore less likely to be damaged, which increases the durability and service life of the SSD. 2. TeraBytes Written (TBW) According to JEDEC, the number of TBW (TeraBytes Written) indicates the total terabytes written in an SSD. Simply put, it is how many TBs of data can be written in the service life of the SSD. Take the TEAMGROUP MP34 M.2 PCIe SSD 2TB for example, its TBW value is 2,000TBW, it means that the total amount of data that can be written in its service life is 2,000TB. The larger the capacity of the SSD, the larger the TBW value, the more data can be written to the SSD, which indirectly means it can be used for a longer period of time. If you T-fans want to know more about the TBW formula, I have sorted it out for you! P/E Cycle (Program Erase Cycle) is the number of times the NAND can be erased and written. 1 write and 1 erase is 1 P/E Cycle. Theoretically, the P/E Cycle of SLC is 100,000 times, MLC is 5,000~10,000 times, and TLC is 1,000 times. The number of times here does not mean that the SSD will be broken after 1,000 reads and writes, but represents the number of cycles that each single storage block can be erased and written. Therefore, for the same SSD item, the P/E Cycle of different capacities will be the same! Write Amplification Factor (WAF) is the ratio of the amount of data actually written to the SSD to the amount of data that the host request to be written at one time. I know it’s very complicated, you don’t have to memorize it, because the value of WAF will be different due to the manufacturing process of SSD controller, so you won’t actually know this value from the general SSD specification sheet. Just know that when calculating TBW, we will set the same SSD items to the same value to facilitate the calculation. 3. SLC Cache The SLC Cache is a space divided in the NAND flash of the SSD that is used as a buffer area to simulate the SLC writing method in order to achieve “accelerated” access. As mentioned, we divide some space for cache use. If the cache space reaches the limit, the read and write speed will drop back to the original access speed of the NAND Flash in the SSD. SSDs on the market will use around 30% of the storage space as the dynamic SLC Cache space. The larger your SSD capacity, the more SLC cache space you will have for higher speed performance. For example, a 2TB SSD will have about 600GB of SLC Cache. ~T-Tips~ I recommend all T-fans store the operating system separately from the common operating software and the output files. Keep the storage space on the SSD where the operating software is stored below 30% of the total capacity, so that the SSD can maintain high-speed transfer performance! Conclusion I guess all you T-fans are having headaches right now, let me summarize them for you! When you want to upgrade your SSD, a high-capacity SSD will not only offer an upgrade in storage space, but will also provide better performance in terms of service lifetime and storage performance: I. Large capacity SSD has more blocks that can be written and erased, and the application of Wear Leveling improves the durability and service life of SSD. II. Large capacity SSD has a larger TBW value and the total amount of data that can be written is larger, which indirectly means that the SSD has a longer service life. III. High-capacity SSD has a larger proportion of dynamic SLC Cache space, which can maintain high-speed transfer performance for a longer period of time. If you want to learn more or have a topic that you want to know more about, please leave a message to let me know! If you like this article, remember to share and hit the like button. We’ll see you T-fans again next time!
Read more
Building a computer from scratch has always been a challenge for some, yet for others it is a huge thrill. Today we are going to go through some components which will be paired up to create a computer that will be called Back2School and can be used for that segment but also for gaming. First of all, let's list all the components needed to build your personal computer. We are going to go with newest generation of Intel Core processors and pair it up with the fastest RAM on the market, DDR5. Parts that we need to build a computer are: Processor Motherboard RAM SSD CPU cooler Case Power supply Graphic card Processor – Intel Core i5-12600k With total number of 10 cores and 16 threads, this processor will give both an enthusiast and a newcomer in the computer world some nice performance without any hiccups. The newest generation of Intel Core processors really brings something interesting to the table when it comes to work, school and gaming. It is based on LGA 1700, it can be used without dedicated graphic card and still can give enough juice for us to be able to work normally. Intel Core i5-12600k: https://reurl.cc/ErMNQK Motherboard – ASRock Z690 Phantom Gaming ITX Now this board is an ITX form factor, but there is always a possibility to run an ATX board if the case supports. This one gives us a chance to build a small form factor computer for compact desk size, but also can be placed in a standard MIDI tower. Supports DDR5, Gen 4x4 M.2 SSDs and loads more which will be more than enough to pair up everything and to get amazing performance. ASRock Z690 Phantom Gaming ITX: https://reurl.cc/ZA5dN6 RAM – TEAMGROUP T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 2x 16GB 6400MHz Now these RAMs, are excelent in their capacity and speed, they look extremely awesome. Especially because of their great lighting. On a board with 2x RAM slots, we get 32GB of RAMs which is more than enough for everything, work, school or gaming. Their speed gives us some nice performance. T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5: https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/product/delta-rgb-ddr5 SSD – TEAMGROUP T-FORCE VULCAN Z 480GB SSD is crucial to have to shorten down those loading times, should it be for opening a certain application, software or game loading. The fastest option is M.2 NVMe SSD and paired up with this motherboard, Gen 4x4 like TEAMGROUP T-FORCE CARDEA A440 PRO. But for a budget option, which is still viable, you could always go with 2.5” SSDs such as TEAMGROUP T-FORCE VULCAN Z 480GB. Much faster and more reliable than your average hard drive. T-FORCE CARDEA A440 PRO: https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/product/cardea-a440-pro T-FORCE VULCAN Z: https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/product/vulcan-z-ssd CPU cooler – TEAMGROUP T-FORCE GD240E SIREN ARGB Processors need some nice cooling while under heavy load and most of the times stock coolers can't do the job properly. For this build, we are going to use TEAMGROUP T-FORCE GD240E SIREN ARGB AIO which can cool down the Intel Core i5-12600k nicely and yet have a nice visual aspect inside your build because of the lights and the design. T-FORCE GD240E SIREN ARGB: https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/product/siren-gd240-all-in-one-argb-cpu-liquid-cooler Case – TEAMGROUP T-FORCE LARES ARGB CASE It is always important to have a case that has a nice airflow configuration with the fans. TEAMGROUP T-FORCE LARES ARGB CASE brings some new design in the computer case market, with solid airflow even though it looks that the front tempered glass might block it. With some nice intake and outtake, this case give use and the components we are going to use inside, some nice lower temperatures. T-FORCE LARES ARGB CASE: https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/product/lares-argb-case Power supply – NZXT C650 When it comes to powering your computer, you always need to carefully choose and decide which one can give enough power to your system and which one is solid in stability. Usually, for such a computer we are building, 650W 80Plus Gold would be just enough. There is also an option for you to choose a non-modular or fully modular power supply, which recommendation would go for the fully modular just because then you can nicely re-arrange cables on the front and at the back since you don’t have to use all of the cables. NZXT C650 Gold: https://reurl.cc/rDjbo1 Graphic card – SAPPHIRE RADEON RX 6650 XT NITRO+ That one component that games, helps render videos and pictures and does all the magic inside your computer. This time we choose a card that can game quite nicely in 1440p with Ultra detailed above 60FPS, yet still in collaboration with a solid processor bring nice performance in workloads. SAPPHIRE RADEON RX 6650 XT NITRO+ is an outstanding mid-range graphic card. SAPPHIRE RADEON RX 6650 XT NITRO+: https://reurl.cc/lojbaj
Read more
When it comes to the performance of memory, the “read speed” and “latency” of the memory module come directly to mind. Generally, on the product specification table is actually the value of “frequency” and “timing”. This is known as conversion and does not directly mean that the two values are equal. If you ask me which value is more important, I would say~~ both! (Don’t roll your eyes at me, read on and you will understand why!) Frequency: indicates the number of times the data can be transferred per second. Therefore, the larger the value, the higher the number of transfers per second, the more efficient the transfer. Timing: represents the time taken by the memory module to transfer the data after receiving the command. The smaller the value, the shorter the time spent, and the faster the data can be transferred. Therefore, the performance of memory cannot be determined by a single value, the frequency and timing are closely related. Timing is usually expressed as 4 values, such as CL40-40-40-80. The values represent, in order: CAS latency (CL), row address to column address delay (tRCD), row precharge time (tRP), row active time (tRAS). You only need to remember that the most common value we use is CAS latency, which is the commonly heard CL, and most other timing values will have more impact on professional overclockers. Today, let’s focus on the effect of CL and frequency on memory performance. I’ll explain more about the terminology when we have the chance next time. 1. What is CAS latency? CL: Short for CAS latency, refers to how long the computer needs to wait before it can actually start reading data from memory. Therefore, for two memory modules with the same frequency, a higher CL means a longer delay time. It is worth noting that the unit of CL is not minutes or seconds, but represents clock cycles, which is a variable in the formula for calculating memory delay time. Taking the specification of T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 as an example, the total number of clock cycles of DDR5-6000 CL38 is equal to 38. Are you running out of memory in your head after reading everything above? Don’t worry, I’ll show you how to figure out the latency of the memory module in seconds with a calculator by looking at the DRAM specification table! 2. How to calculate memory latency? The unit of latency time is expressed in nanoseconds (ns), and the formula is as follows: According to the above formula, we’ll give two examples to explain to you: [Example 1] At the same frequency, the effect of different CLs on the latency time. Calculation based on the two specifications of T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5-6000 CL30 and T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5-6000 CL38 T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5-6000 CL30 Latency time (ns) = 30 x [1000 ÷ (6000 ÷ 2)] ≒ 9.99 ns T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5-6000 CL38 Latency time (ns) = 38 x [1000 ÷ (6000 ÷ 2)] ≒ 12.66 ns When the memory frequency is the same, the lower the CL, the shorter the latency time will be, and the less time the computer has to wait to read the memory data, which means the better the performance. [Example 2] Under the same CL, the effect of different frequencies on the latency time. Calculation based on the two specifications of T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5-5600 CL40 and T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5-6400 CL40 T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5-5600 CL40 Latency time (ns) = 40 x [1000 ÷ (5600 ÷ 2)] ≒ 14.29 ns T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5-6400 CL40 Latency time (ns) = 40 x [1000 ÷ (6400 ÷ 2)] = 12.5 ns When the memory CL is the same, the higher the frequency, the shorter the latency, and the shorter the time the computer has to wait to read the memory data, which means the better the performance. ※The latency time calculated by the above formula is a theoretical value※ 3. Is CL the lower the better? After the mind-twisting calculation, let’s return to the title of this article. Is CL the lower the better in performance of memory module? I think there’s no definitive answer! Like we said at the beginning, the performance of the memory is also affected by the frequency and timing, so the CL in the memory cannot be used to define the performance of memory alone. 4. How to pick a suitable memory? When buying memory, you should consider factors such as capacity, frequency, CL, etc. The most important thing is the compatibility with the motherboard and CPU. I suggest you decide the size of memory and frequency first, and then choose the size of the CL. Usually, the price is higher if the performance of the memory module is better. Once you’ve decided on the memory specification, remember to make sure it’s compatible with your motherboard or CPU! The compatibility of TEAMGROUP’s memory modules can be confirmed through TEAMGROUP’s Product Compatibility Inquiry page. If you have any questions about TEAMGROUP’s products, please leave a message below or visit TEAMGROUP’s Online Service page for inquiry! If you like to choose and upgrade your own computer parts and enjoy the fun of installing them, but are not sure whether the specifications support the new 3A games, you can go to the Can You Run It website for reference. Enter the game you want to search in the “1)” search bar. Press “2)” Can You Run It? It will jump to the result page, and the result can be used as a reference for options or upgrades. If you want to know if memory at different frequencies and capacities will affect the FPS of the game, I’ve put together links for you below, go check it out! Does the Memory “Frequency” Affect the Game’s FPS? 3 Game Tested (Part 1) https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/blogs/ram-frequency-fps-I-en Does the Memory “Frequency” Affect the Game’s FPS? 3 Game Tested (Part 2) https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/blogs/ram-frequency-fps-II-en Does the Memory “Capacity” Affect the Game’s FPS? 4 Game Tested https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/blogs/ram-capacity-fps
Read more
Do you T fans have a laptop that accompanies you wherever you go? I have a laptop that I have been using for six years, but it has recently started to show signs of dying out recently. If you start to feel that your laptop is slowing down or often crashes, don't rush to say goodbye to it, just try to upgrade the components inside to make it as good as new! When it comes to upgrading your laptop, you must often hear people suggesting an upgrade to the memory or SSD. Today we'll start by understanding why we need to upgrade our memory. What are the benefits of upgrading memory? What should I look for when purchasing memory for my laptop? How to choose the specifications of the memory? We'll get back to SSD when we have the chance in the future! ELITE SO-DIMM DDR4 LAPTOP MEMORY：https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/product/elite-so-dimm-ddr4 ZEUS SO-DIMM DDR4 LAPTOP MEMORY：https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/product/zeus-so-dimm-ddr4 1. Why do I need to upgrade my memory? What are the benefits? The memory SO-DIMM of a laptop is different from the memory U-DIMM and cannot be shared. The point of upgrading laptop memory is to upgrade capacity, not speed and frequency. So why do we need to increase the memory capacity? Here is a brief list of what happens if you run out of memory: When you open multiple tabs at the same time, the webpage screen cannot be loaded smoothly or it's easy to crash. When using multiple applications at the same time, crashes happen frequently. For example, playing a game while chatting with LINE software, and playing music with Spotify. When watching online video, there are cases where the picture quality is automatically reduced or loaded for too long. Example: Youtube, Netflix. The reason for the above examples is not the network speed problem, but most likely the lack of memory capacity. On the contrary, if the memory capacity is sufficient, the above problems are less likely to occur. If you keep the laptop running for a long time, you can try to restart the computer first, close the applications running in the background, clear the memory cache and free up the memory capacity. However, if the situation still does not improve, then I suggest that you can expand the memory capacity of your laptop. 2. What should I pay attention to before buying a laptop? There are four key specifications you need to know before you expand the memory capacity of the laptop. The technical specifications of the memory modules are supported by your laptop. Is it DDR5, DDR4, DDR3, or something else? How many replaceable memory slots does your laptop have. The maximum total memory capacity is supported by your laptop. The highest supported memory frequency of your laptop. If you purchase more than the capacity or frequency specifications supported by your laptop, it will boot up normally, but you will not be able to use the memory to its full potential. Therefore, it is very important to understand the specifications supported by your laptop before purchasing. The answers to the above questions can be found on the product page of the official website, and the following two products are examples for you: ASUS TUF Gaming F15 (2022) https://www.asus.com/Laptops/For-Gaming/TUF-Gaming/ASUS-TUF-Gaming-F15-2022/techspec/ Click on the Tech Specs (red box) on the product page and scroll down to the memory area, here you can see that this laptop supports DDR5 SO-DIMM, with a maximum frequency of 4800MHz (green box), and a maximum total capacity of 32GB (yellow box), supports dual channel and both memory slots can be used for replacement and upgrade (blue box). When purchasing an upgraded memory, it is recommended to choose a two sticks package. ~Friendly reminder~ DDR5 will only be supported on laptops just released this year. Here is an example for you to understand the specifications, and T fans who want to purchase DDR5 laptop can also refer to it. You can think about whether you want to expand the capacity of the memory when purchasing. 2021 ASUS TUF Dash F15： https://www.asus.com/Laptops/For-Gaming/TUF-Gaming/2021-ASUS-TUF-Dash-F15/techspec/ Click on the Tech Specs (red box) on the product page and scroll down to the memory area, here you can see that this laptop supports DDR4 SO-DIMM, with a maximum frequency of 3200MHz (green box), and a maximum total capacity of 32GB (yellow box). It supports the duo channel but one of the memory specifications has the word “on board” (blue box) written after it, which means that the slot has non-replaceable memory, and this laptop has only one memory slot to replace the memory. It is recommended to get the single stick package when buying memory for an upgrade. You must be wondering why there is more than one line for the description of the memory specification in the above screenshot? That's because manufacturers provide different combinations of memory capacities for consumers to choose from when purchasing a laptop, which is why there is more than one line in the specifications. 3. How to pick the right memory size for my laptop? Once you know the memory specifications supported by your laptop, you can start thinking about how much memory you need. First, you can check how much memory capacity is currently available in the laptop. Right-click on the taskbar and click on "Task Manager" (red box). Click Performance (red box), and then select Memory (blue box) to see the current memory capacity and usage status (green box). Next, you can start deciding how much capacity you want to expand. Since everyone's usage habits are different, I'll give my suggestions below to all T fans for reference. In fact, you still need to adjust them according to your own usage habits! Usage requirements General word processing requirements (Ideal for use with word processing laptop) Game play requirements (Ideal for use with gaming laptop) Professional software requirements (Ideal for use with creators laptop) Total laptop memory capacity 8GB 16GB to 32GB 32GB to 64GB Description 1. Browsing websites 2. Watching videos 3. sending/receiving emails 4. Using Office Playing casual or high performance games. 1. Professional graphic and 3D design software 2. Professional image processing software Finally, the last thing left to do is to assemble the memory into the laptop. If you don't know how to start, you can refer to the following tutorial video. Although the internal configuration of each manufacturer's laptop is not quite the same, the assembly methods are similar. It is recommended to refer to the instruction manual that comes with the laptop for assembly! How to replace your laptop's memory? -Zeus So-Dimm:
Read more
Last time we mentioned how to go into the BIOS and adjust the settings and let the memory run to the frequency indicated by the manufacturer. Go if you haven't read it yet: How to Enter BIOS and Open XMP3.0 in Three Easy Steps! However, what if you encounter a situation where you can't boot after entering the BIOS to enable XMP DOCP? Here I will share with you T fans 3 steps, you can use this method to initially find the cause. Since there are many different situations where you can't turn on your computer after overclocking, if you still can't get rid of the problem after trying the following methods, you can use our online consultation service to get more help. TEAMGROUP online consultation service: https://www.teamgroupinc.com/tw/support/ Step 1: Check if the motherboard supports the capacity or frequency of the overclocking memory Not every motherboard supports high frequency or high capacity. If the motherboard itself does not support it, no matter how high specification your overclocking memory is, it will not work. Therefore, I suggest you to check this information when you purchase motherboards and overclocking memory beforehand. Here's how to find the information from the official website of the motherboard or the official website of the memory manufacturer. 1. Check the product specification sheet on the official website of the motherboard. Take the ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 EXTREME as an example, go to the product page on the ASUS website, click on Tech Specs (green box), then scroll down to the memory section and you will see the memory capacity and frequency information supported by this motherboard (red box). ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 EXTREME: https://rog.asus.com/us/motherboards/rog-maximus/rog-maximus-z690-extreme-model/spec From the picture above, we can know that the ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 EXTREME motherboard has 4 DDR5 U-DIMM slots, supporting a maximum memory capacity of 128GB, and supports frequency of 6400/6200/6000/5800/5600/5400/5200/5000/4800 and other specifications. 2. Check the compatibility list (QVL) of the motherboard or memory module You can also use the compatibility list provided by the motherboard manufacturer or memory module manufacturer to confirm whether the overclocking memory you bought has passed the official test certification of the motherboard manufacturer. The compatibility lists of different motherboard manufacturers are presented in different ways. Take BIOSTAR’s Z690 VALKYRIE as an example, after entering the official website and selecting the product page of the motherboard, click Memory Support (green box) to see the specifications of each memory module that has passed the compatibility test. BIOSTAR Z690 VALKYRIE: https://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=1034#overview Memory module manufacturers also have compatibility lists, so you can check if the overclocking memory you purchased has passed the official test certification of those motherboard manufacturers. Take TEAMGROUP as an example, you can go to the compatibility check page and select the device you purchased or the memory product you want to check. Here we take DELTA RGB DDR5 for example, click Search by product (green box), select Motherboard first, then fill in the specification of the overclocking memory you purchased, and the result will be generated after sending. Compatibility check: https://www.teamgroupinc.com/tw/support/compatibility.php Step 2: Start the system with default memory settings to make sure the memory is working properly. After step 1, if it is confirmed that the motherboard supports the capacity or frequency of the overclocking memory you bought, then you can enter the BIOS again, turn off the XMP or DOCP of the overclocking memory, set it back to the default value, then press F10 to save and reboot to see if the memory can operate smoothly. If you still can't boot up, you can perform a simple debugging process to test whether there is a single memory causing the problem. You can refer to the following article for instructions: Easy memory debugging process https://www.teamgroupinc.com/tw/info/ins.php?index_id=215 If it can boot normally, you can continue to step 3 to make sure whether the current BIOS version is the latest. Step 3: Check if the current BIOS version is the latest After making sure that the memory is intact and can be booted with the default settings, you can check whether the BIOS is the latest version. Currently the 600 series of motherboards support Intel's 12th generation CPU are still updating the BIOS version frequently. In order to provide consumers with overclocking needs a better overclocking experience, if you are getting this series of motherboards, you must pay special attention to your BIOS version! You can see the version number in the BIOS screen of each motherboard manufacturer, or use the free software, CPU-Z to confirm. The download link for CPU-Z: https://reurl.cc/N63RGq The following is a screenshot from CPU-Z. The red box is the information of the BIOS version. The following are the latest BIOS download method for each motherboard manufacturer for your reference. Want to know how to update after downloading? Stay tuned! (Hurry up and leave a message~) If you have any questions during the process, leave a message and ask me! 1. ASUS Take ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 EXTREME for example, go to the product page on the ASUS official website, click Support (green box), click Driver & Tools (yellow box), and then click BIOS & FIRMWARE (red box), you will see the latest BIOS download (blue box). ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 EXTREME: https://rog.asus.com/us/motherboards/rog-maximus/rog-maximus-z690-extreme-model/helpdesk_bios 2. ASRock Take ASRock Z690 Taichi as an example, visit the product page of ASRock official website, scroll down and click Support (green box), then click BIOS (yellow box), you will see the latest BIOS download (blue box). ASRock Z690 Taichi：https://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/Z690%20Taichi/index.asp#BIOS 3. GIGABYTE Take Z690 AORUS XTREME as an example, go to the product page of GIGABYTE official website, click Support (green box), and then click BIOS (yellow box), you will see the latest BIOS download (blue box). Z690 AORUS XTREME：https://www.gigabyte.com/us/Motherboard/Z690-AORUS-XTREME-rev-10/support#support-dl-bios 4. MSI Take MEG Z690 UNIFY as an example, go to the product page on MSI official website, click Support (green box), then click Driver & Downloads (yellow box), you will see the latest BIOS download (blue box). MEG Z690 UNIFY：https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/MEG-Z690-UNIFY/support 5. BIOSTAR Take Z690 VALKYRIE as an example, go to the product page of the BIOSTAR official website, click Download (green box), scroll down to BIOS, and you will see the latest BIOS download (blue box). Z690 VALKYRIE：https://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=1034#download If you are still unable to boot up your computer after trying the three methods above, I suggest you provide the details of the product you purchased to the customer service channel of the memory module manufacturer or the motherboard manufacturer for assistance. If you T fans’ TEAMGROUP overclocking memory products are unable to boot up after overclocking, you can use our online consultation service to provide your overclocking memory model, specification, serial number, as well as the motherboard and CPU model and specification, and briefly describe the problem you are experiencing, and your professional customer service team will reply you as soon as possible! TEAMGROUP online consultation service: https://www.teamgroupinc.com/tw/support/
Read more
The last article has introduced to you what an AIO liquid CPU cooler is, if you still don’t understand it, go and make up the progress. Is a Liquid CPU Cooler Better Than the Air Cooler? Things You Need to Know Before Buying a CPU Cooler. Today, I want to share with you how to install an AIO liquid CPU cooler after purchasing it. What should you pay attention to during the installation process? 1. Check the product contents In an AIO liquid CPU cooler, there are many parts besides the cooler itself, such as brackets, screws, and various wires. So the first thing you do is pick up the manual and make sure all parts are there or you may not be able to install smoothly! The following is a demonstration using T-FORCE SIREN GD240E All-in-One ARGB CPU Liquid Cooler. SIREN GD240E ARGB 2. What do I need to pay attention to when installing in different locations of the case? When you see an AIO liquid CPU cooler for the first time, the first question most people have is how do I install this? The first thing you need to pay attention to is the fans on the water cooling row. Depending on the design of each case, there may be more than one place to install. Different installation locations have different installation methods for fans. The following two installation positions are more common in the market and have been tested to have more effective heat dissipation. At this point you must be thinking to yourself: Which side is the front? In fact, the installation direction of the fan is related to the direction of air intake. The fan blade basically has a convex and concave side, the convex side is the intake, and the concave side is the exhaust. So the direction of the air flow is like the diagram below. (The front side is convex, the back side is concave) (Fan+air flow diagram) In the previous article, we mentioned that the purpose of the fan installed on top of the water cooling row is to bring the heat away from the water cooling row, thereby cooling the coolant. If the place you install is at the “top” of the case, the “concave side” of the fan should be installed facing the water cooling row, so that the wind will smoothly blow the heat away from the water cooling row. If the place you install is the “front side” of the case, the “convex side” of the fan should be installed facing the water cooling row, and then installed on the front side of the case. It is because the front side of the case is for air intake and the back side is for exhaust, so this way the installation will be in a uniform direction of air flow. Reminder The AIO liquid CPU cooler alone can’t cool down the entire PC. The PC itself must be equipped with other fan products to achieve an effective cooling effect. A quick tip, if you really forget which side is air intake and which side is the exhaust, try pushing the blades hard to feel the wind flow. 3. Installation steps of the AIO liquid CPU cooler Speaking of which, let’s show you how to install an AIO liquid CPU cooler. Take the SIREN GD240E All-in-One ARGB CPU Liquid Cooler as an example. 1. Install the fan to the water cooling row The installation direction of the fan has been mentioned in the previous paragraph. This time we install the water cooling row on top of the case, so the fan direction is as shown below. Confirm the direction and take the longer screws in the package to lock it. Reminder Lock the screws in the order of “X”. Remember not to lock all four screws tightly at once. After locking all four screws loosely, then tighten them in the same order. 2. Install water cooling row into the case Align the water cooling row with the holes on the top of the case, take the appropriate screws from the package and screw them. Reminder Remember not to lock the screws tightly at once. After locking all screws loosely, then tighten them in the same order to avoid damage to the product. In addition, some cases have magnetic filter on the top, you will have to remove the filter to see the installation location. 3. Install water block Before installation, select the appropriate bracket. Take the 1700 socket of INTEL’s latest 12th generation CPU as an example, the installation steps are as follows: First, place the bracket for the 1700 socket to the screw holes on the motherboard from the back. Flip motherboard to the front and secure the screws in the four corners. Then, after placing the CPU on the motherboard, remove the protective cover and apply thermal paste. There are millions of ways to apply the thermal paste. I found that the following 5-point method can be applied most evenly. Reminder When installing the CPU, in addition to paying attention to the installation direction, remember not to remove the protective cover of the CPU first. When the CPU is properly placed and the latch is press down, the protective cover will pop open automatically. This also better protects the pins on the motherboard. Remove the copper bottom surface protection sticker on the water block of the SIREN GD240E All-in-One ARGB CPU Liquid Cooler. Take the appropriate screws and screw them on the motherboard. The screwing method is the same, following the order of X and do not screw it too tightly at once. Lock all the screws and then tighten them in the same order, so that the water block applies force to the CPU evenly, making the CPU less likely to be damaged. 4. Wiring to the motherboard After securing the AIO liquid cooler to the case and the motherboard, the last step, and the most important step, is wiring! First, you must identify the purpose of each wire. Since the fan and the water block of T-FORCE SIREN GD240E AIO ARGB liquid cooler have ARGB function, therefore the fan has two cables individually, one for the power and one for the ARGB signal, while the water block only has one ARGB signal cable. Reminder The ARGB signal cable is a 5V 3 PIN connector (below left), which is different from the power cable (below right)! Wiring is quite simple. First, you connect the water block’s ARGB signal cable from the package. Find the one-to-three cable from the package, and get the fan and the ARGB signal cable of the water block and plug it in, then connect it to the 5V 3 PIN position on the motherboard and you are done. Then there is the is the power cable. The power cable on the water cooling row should be connected to the AIO_PUMP on the motherboard. It will be marked on the motherboard, you don’t have to worry. The power cable on the fan is connected to the CHA_FAN position on the motherboard, and that’s it! You must be wondering why there are still many things in the package that are not used? Some of them are brackets for AMD platform that we didn’t demonstrate this time, and some of them are for cables that need to be used when there are limited holes on the motherboard. If your still having problems during the installation, don’t worry, feel free to leave a message at the bottom, I will do my best to answer them. I will see you next time.
Read more
After the launch of Intel's 12th generation CPU, motherboard manufacturers such as ASUS, ASRock, BIOSTAR, GIGABYTE and MSI have also launched a variety of motherboards built with the Intel Z690 chipset. Although the price is high, I believe that the gamers will still be willing to pay after seeing the specifications. After all, the motherboard has been upgraded significantly this time! 1. Z690 has models that support DDR5 and DDR4 respectively Like the previous generation transition between DDR3 and DDR4, each manufacturer's Z690 series all also have versions that support DDR5 and DDR4 respectively. In terms of naming, most of the manufactures will remark specifically for the DDR4 version. For example, the ASUS "PRIME Z690-P-CSM" supports DDR5 memory, and the "PRIME Z690M-PLUS D4-CSM" supports DDR4 memory. However, there are also some naming methods that are less obvious. For example, BIOSTAR's "Z690 VALKYRIE" supports DDR5 memory, while "Z690A VALKYRIE" supports DDR4. Therefore, Z690 doesn't mean that it supports DDR5, you still need to understand the specification before purchasing. So, what's the difference between the motherboard version that supports DDR5 and the version that supports DDR4? It is difficult to say in general, because each manufacturer's approach is different. For example, for the Z690 VALKYRIE series of BIOSTAR, the difference between DDR5 and DDR4 is only in the support for the memory slot, and all other functions are the same. The current approach of ASUS is that only the DDR5 version is available for the highest-end motherboards, while the DDR4 version is used in other series. 2. What is the difference between DDR4 and DDR5 memory? I believe we all have some slight understanding of what are the different features of DDR4 and DDR5 memory. If you still don't know that well, it's okay, click this link to have a thorough look. What's The Difference Between DDR4 and DDR5 Memory? In order to make it easier for you to choose, I will show you the products of T-FORCE directly. DELTA RGB DDR5 V.S DELTA RGB DDR4 Compared to DDR4, DDR5 has reached the frequency of 6,000, and the capacity also starts from the 16x2 specification. In addition, DDR5 and DDR4 of DELTA RGB have some ingenious changes in appearance. T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 adds the imagery of a stealth fighter, and optimizes the overall visual appearance with line design. The light bar has the same full 120° wide angle as the DDR4 version, and supports various light effect software. The luminous area has also been slightly expanded, so the overall RGB light effect is absolutely satisfying for those who want to pursue ultra lighting options! DELTA RGB DDR5: h https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/product/delta-rgb-ddr5 DELTA RGB DDR4: https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/product/delta-rgb-ddr4 VULCAN DDR5 V.S VULCAN DDR4 The VULCAN DDR5 is designed to enhance the thermal dissipation of the power management IC (PMIC) on the memory by using professional thermal conductive silicone to make the VULCAN DDR5 more stable and less likely to overheat while operating. In addition, the design of the heat sink has also become more concise. The combination of clip and thermal conductive silicone is used to strengthen the bond between the heat sink and the memory, which makes it more stable than VULCAN DDR4. In terms of color selection, the DDR5 version changes from gray to black, so that everyone can choose a more consistent visual appearance for the entire installation. If you are like me, not pursuing much RGB, I recommend you to choose this VULCAN, which has less RGB, but more low key luxury with a metallic feel. VULCAN DDR5: https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/product/vulcan-ddr5 VULCAN DDR4: https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/product/vulcan-z-ddr4 3. Is Z690 a must get? Should I choose the DDR4 or DDR5 version? I think everyone has a general understanding of the price of Z690, if you are still hesitant and unable to decide whether to get it or not, you might as well take a look at my analysis. The biggest feature of Z690 is that it is very flexible for the expansion of storage capacity. In the past, when we used the M.2 PCIe slots on the motherboard, have you ever encountered a difference in read/write speed between M.2 PCIe SSDs with the same read/write speed plugged into the PCIe slots on the motherboard at the same time? In fact, it’s not because they are defected products, but rather lack of PCIe lanes on the motherboard, which can cause speed reduction, and that’s why there must be tradeoffs in the selection of storage devices. The motherboard of the Z690 chipset does not have this problem, because it has up to 28 PCIe lanes, including PCIe4.0 and PCIe3.0 lanes. This means that all the M.2 PCIe connectors you see on the motherboard will not be slowed down when installing M.2 PCIe SSDs with the same read/write speed. In addition, this time there are 4 sets of USB 3.2 GEN2x2 ports! You don’t have to worry about not having enough ports, let alone the speed limit of the transfer interface, which will reduce the transfer speed of your storage device! Source: https://www.anandtech.com/show/16970/the-intel-z690-motherboard-overview-over-50-new-models-with-ddr5-support (Image credit: Intel) Conclusion If the scalability of the PC is your primary consideration, you can consider starting with the Z690 motherboard, because it is the best board on the market for storage space expansion. After deciding to buy it, the next step is to decide whether to choose the DDR4 or DDR5 version. In my own opinion, since there’s not much difference in the performance of the motherboard, the more cost-effective way is to start with the DDR4 version. On the one hand, you can enjoy the performance upgrade from the Z690, and on the other hand, you can continue to use the existing DDR4 memory. If you want to upgrade to the top at once, then consider no more! Take your piggy bank to take home a Z690 DDR5 motherboard with DDR5 memory! You can upload photos in the comment section below to make me envy. The above are a few of my suggestions for your reference. If you have any questions about Z690, DDR4 or DDR5 memory, please leave your comments below! I will see you next time!
Read more
Today we have a topic revolving around on how to build FPS gaming build in general. Even though the prices of the graphics card are way above the MSRP, we will still take a look in detailed way on how to do it. There are loads of factors that need to be taken into consideration when building a computer, so we are going to go through all of them. First, the computer components that you need to build it. You will need: 1. Motherboard (MBO) 2. Processor (CPU) 3. Computer memory (RAM) 4. Storage (SSD or HDD) 5. Graphics card (GPU) 6. Power supply (PSU) 7. Cooler for the processor 8. Case In addition to those parts, if you are getting a processor that already had a stock cooler and that is solid, you do not need an additional CPU cooler like a tower cooler or an AIO. Our advice is also to check out a case that already has some pre-installed fans that will create a good air flow through the case and help the coolers on the graphics card and processor get fresh air. 【All components for PC build】 Let us check out the parts individually. 1. Motherboard: ASRock Z590 Extreme There is always a possibility to go lower or higher with the motherboard, but we will be using this one as an example. It supports 10th and 11st Generation of Intel Core processors but also supports PCIe 4.0 graphics cards and Gen 4x4 NVMe M.2 SSDs with some other cool features. If you are not comfortable with overclocking your processor, you can always go with a lower grade model of a motherboard. 2. Processor: Intel Core i7-10700k Even though 11st Generation of Intel Core processors is well on the market, suggestion for the processor that packs a punch doesn't heat up much compared to the 11st Generation is this one. We are talking about a processor that has 8 Cores and 16 Threads, Base Frequency of 3.8GHz and Turbo Boost Frequency on 5.1Ghz with 16MB Cache memory. Maximum power consumption of this processor is rated around 125W. 3. Computer memory: T-FORCE DARK Z Alpha 3600 8GBx4 The amount of memory which is enough for todays gaming PCs is 16GB. That is somewhat a sweet spot, but we are going to use 32GB just to fill up all the slots for future proof and for the looks. Also, if someone wants to start with some PhotoShop or video editing, this would be just the right amount. We are choosing Team Group T-FORCE DARK Z Alpha 4x 8GB on 3600MHz. If this PC was more in the budget category, we would go with 2x 8GB on 3200MHz. 4. Storage: T-FORCE CARDEA IOPS M.2 PCIe SSD 1TB Our advice is to go with NVMe M.2 SSD to lose the wires inside the case and of course to achieve greater read and write speeds. With Team Group T-FORCE CARDEA IOPS NVMe M.2 SSD with storage of 1TB you will be good for operation system Windows 10, some main applications and loads of games (of course if you don't include Call of Duty – then you are good for couple of games). In addition to that if you are looking for an actual storage, hard drive of 2TB on 7200RPM would be just alright. 5. Graphics card: MSI GeForce RTX 2070 ARMOR In the current situation, it is hard to acquire a graphics card at all, let alone with a decent price. But nevertheless, we will use a decent card for gaming even though it is two generations back. We will use MSI GeForce RTX 2070 ARMOR with 8GB of memory. This one will be quiet alright even for 1440p gaming on medium settings achieving well above 60FPS in most games. 6. Power supply: Fractal Design Ion Gold 850W Something to power up your computer, the power supply. There are cheaper solutions with lower efficiency rating, less watts (for this PC 600-700W is quiet enough) and non-modular but we also want to show you what are the benefits of a modular power supply. We choose Fractal Design ION Gold 850W. As said, not that we need 850W, but just as an example in building a computer. 7. Cooler for the processor: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black You can choose to use the stock CPU cooler, or you can go advance and get an aftermarket CPU tower cooler or even an AIO liquid cooling system with closed loop. Since we are using a bit stronger CPU, to keep the temperatures lower at higher load, we are going to use Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black which is more than enough for this processor. 8. Case: ANTEC P10 FLUX Choosing a right case is also important when it comes to building your computer. If it has some pre-installed fans, you are already half way done when it comes to cooling since the initial cooling is solved and the air flow is already designed. 【Installation Process】 1. Install the CPU in the motherboard First, we will start by removing the motherboard from the box and add all the components we can on it before placing it inside the case. Take the processor out of the box and follow the picture instructions. Slide and release the latch holding the processor holder of the Intel socket. Leave the plastic cover on and check out for the side cut outs on the processor and how it goes inside. Be careful with the pins on the motherboard because if they get bent you won't be able to place them back in the proper position or you might break them thus making the motherboard broken. Place the processor in the socket and return the latch holding the processor in the original position. When doing this you will need to use a bit of pressure to place the latch back inside. When everything is placed correctly, the plastic cover will just pop out and you can remove it. Store the plastic cover back inside the motherboard box for a possible warranty replacement since motherboard manufacturers don't accept the RMA without it. This is important. 2. Install the SSD on the motherboard Since on this motherboard you have a passive heatsink, we will remove it since the Team Group T-FORCE CARDEA IOPS has one of its own. Untighten the screws holding the passive heatsink and place the NVMe SSD accordingly to the pins on the motherboard M.2 socket. Pictures for reference. Then tighten the screw on the motherboard that will hold down your NVMe M.2 SSD. 3. Install the RAM on the motherboard Next is the RAM placement. Be sure to check where the cut out on the RAM connector is and where it is supposed to go inside the motherboard. Release top and bottom or just top latches that usually hold the RAMs so you can place the RAMs on the motherboard. Pictures for reference. 4. Install the Cooler on the motherboard Now it is time to place the cooler, but before that we need to place the backplate at the back of the motherboard and then a pea size amount of thermal grease or paste on the processor in the middle of it. Since every processor tower cooler has a different way of placing the mounting brackets on the motherboard, please refer to the processor tower cooler instruction manual on how to place them there and of course how to place the processor cooler on the processor. One important tip, diagonally tighten the screws on the processor cooler or if you have two screws like on this Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black, tighten them evenly so the cooler doesn't pop out. Connect the PWM header to the CPU FAN header on the motherboard. 5. Place the motherboard inside the case Check if your case has all the standoffs for motherboard mounting placed inside. If they are few missing, use the case accessory box and place them according to the size of your motherboard (ATX, microATX or mini-ITX). The best way to place the motherboard inside your case is to lay down your case. First check if you have the I/O shield that needs to go inside the case where the connectivity ports on the motherboard are at the back. If the I/O shield is already attached to the motherboard then keep going. Gently place the motherboard inside by checking out the standoffs and if they match with the holes on the motherboard as well as aiming to get a perfect fit with the I/O shield at the back side of the case. Place and tighten all 8 or 9 screws (depending on the case, middle one sometimes can be just a holder to center the motherboard). In this situation, we are using 2x 8-pin EPS cables that go on the top left corner of the motherboard, 1x 24-pin cable that goes almost in the middle right part of the motherboard, 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin PCIe cable for your graphic card, 1x SATA power cable for the controller at the back. Connect all these cables to your power supply if you have a modular one like we have in this tutorial. If you have a non-modular power supply, then just slide it in from the side. First, connect the 2x 8-pin EPS cables and 24-pin cable on the motherboard. Now connect USB 3.0 front panel to the motherboard, Audio header, front button header for powering on your computer. All the exact instructions are either written already on the motherboard or you can find the exact description in the motherboard instruction manual. 6. Place the GPU Time to place in the graphics card. Check how the graphics card will be placed inside the first PCIe slot and then you will realize which PCIe covers need to be removed. In our situation, we had to remove the second and the third from the top. Release the latch that holds the graphics card to the motherboard and gently align the graphics card to the PCIe slot and the PCIe brackets that will additionally hold it in place. Now tighten two screws at the back of the case which will hold the graphics card in a straight position. In case there is a slight GPU sag, we would suggest acquiring an anti-sag bracket for it. Connect the 6-pin and 8-pin EPS to the graphics card in a position so that the latch on the cables attaches to the pins on the graphics card which will hold the cable. 7. Verify the cable connections When all of this is done, one more time check all the cable connectivity and if the cables are properly in place without any movements inside the connector. Arrange the cables at the back with zip ties or velcro ties and close the back panel of the case. Connect the power cable from the wall socket to your power supply and switch it on. Press the power button on the case and there you go. Now you are only left with placing a bootable USB stick with desired OS, installing motherboard drivers (chipset, LAN, audio and others), graphics card drivers from the official website and then start downloading games. Watch full FPS Gaming Build Guide Video
Read more
Whether or not content creation can become an independent market like gaming is, is a question many people have had since 2019. However, the way I see it is that professional creators do have a high demand for powerful and stable hardware, which is not the same as the needs of gamers. And there is actually a problem that manufacturers have ignored, that is most creators spend all their time creating content, they have no time to research on how to install a computer by themselves, or how to read the specifications. To solve this problem, I have created a recommended list of beginner equipment for you with a video teaching how to install it on your own. Just follow the steps and it won't be difficult at all! As usual, we first make a list of what is used in the installation: MB：ASUS ProArt B550-CREATOR CPU：R7-3700X SSD：T-CREATE CLASSIC PCIe4.0 SSD DRAM：T-CREATE CLASSIC DDR4 10L DESKTOP MEMORY GPU：LEADTEK NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 CASE：SilverStone SETA A1 POWER：CoolerMaster V1000 Platinum ASUS ProArt B550-CREATOR For the motherboard, we choose the ASUS ProArt, which is also a creator series. It has a special design texture in appearance, especially the PROART outlined by the gold line on the heat sink, which gives the motherboard a unique design aesthetic. In addition to the appearance, it is as good as gaming motherboards in terms of functionality. The PCIe 4.0 x 16 slot supports high-power graphics cards or M.2 PCIe SSDs, so that professional creators don't have to worry about graphics card compatibility issues or the data processing speed not being fast enough. Moreover, considering that professional creators often use NAS systems and external SSDs, it is equipped with two 2.5Gb Ethernet and two Thunderbolt 4 Type-C connectors, which maximize the transfer speed, so that large video and audio content can be transferred in a blink of an eye. I believe it is the most creator-friendly motherboard on the market today. R7-3700X The model that was originally to be installed was an R7-5800X, but considering the price difference was a lot, and creators rarely overclock their device, we pick the R7-3700X, which is also 8-core and 16-thread. I think this CPU is enough for use, if it is not, you can always upgrade it yourself. T-CREATE CLASSIC PCIe4.0 SSD At present, T-CREATE from TEAMGROUP is the only storage manufacturer on the market that has established sub-brands and launched dedicated products for creators. This T-CREATE CLASSIC PCIe 4.0 SSD is obviously different from gaming products in appearance, with a style that focuses more on texture rather than RGB. The matte silver heat spreader fits perfectly on the ProArt motherboard, so you don't need to worry about the abrupt appearance. In terms of performance, we choose the Gen4x4 SSD that perfectly demonstrates the performance of the B550-CREATOR with the R7-3700X. This is a new generation supported by AMD 3000 series CPU. With read and write speeds of up to 5,000/4,000 MB/s, it is suitable for creators who need to process a large amount of files daily, effectively shortening the file transfer time and allowing creators to have more time to focus on their various works. T-CREATE CLASSIC DDR4 10L DESKTOP MEMORY The memory is selected from the T-CREATE CLASSIC series of desktop memory. Since it is the same series as the SSD, the colors and the materials are identical, so there is no color matching problem at all. Just plug it in and it is that simple. The native 3200MHz specification allows creators who have no time to research on how to overclock to experience the performance of high-frequency memory. This series supports up to a single 32GB capacity. I only list the most basic specifications first. If there is a larger amount of multitasking or rendering requirements, you can choose a higher capacity memory. Our recommended motherboard + CPU is fully capable of supporting 32GB*4 3200MHz flagship specification! NVDIA Quadro RTX 5000 Since this PC is dedicated for creators, the most important thing is the graphics card after all, whether it is for photo editing or animation production, there are high requirements for the graphics card. Unlike the gaming graphics cards often used in gaming, we choose a Quadro graphics card for design and professional use. It is not very different from the gaming graphics cards in terms of hardware, perhaps only the graphics memory has a larger capacity. The biggest reason for me to choose a graphics card for design/professional use is that it will optimize drivers for specific software, so that creators can use it with more stability. The advantage of stability alone is enough for us to spend more money to buy it. SilverStone SETA A1 Getting the right case is all about choosing the one that best meets your needs in terms of appearance, ease of assembly, heat dissipation, etc. This time we first consider the appearance when choosing the case, and look for the color matching the matte silver. The front of this case is very in line with the demand. With a slightly wavy corner design, the overall appearance is not as square as traditional cases, which instantly catches my attention. The second is heat dissipation. This case is equipped with two 200mm suction fans at the front and one exhaust fan at the back, which is enough for the air to flow effectively. This allows the heat generated by the high-end graphics card under high-speed operation to be released from the case quickly enough to meet our needs. CoolerMaster V1000 Platinum Choosing a power supply is also very easy. If you don't know much about brands on the market and feel confused, the principle is very simple, we only need to consider two factors, "wattage" and "warranty". This time, according to our requirement for a mid-range graphics card, there is actually no need to get a 1000W power supply. However, considering that some creators will buy a second graphics card and link them together, we generally recommend getting enough wattage at once to avoid having to purchase a new power supply afterwards, which is time-consuming and costly. In addition, the warranty is also very important since creators put stability as the first priority. We recommend choosing a power supply with a 10-year warranty for better protection and peace of mind. This is the end of the introduction on how to select your hardware. For installation steps, please watch the video we made for this article. We sequentially include the location and precautions for each component to be installed, so that everyone can learn to install their own PC in as little time as possible. I'll see you next time!
Read more
I wish I could count how many times I have been approached about building super high-end gaming or workstation PCs. I also can't count how many times I have actually built those exact systems. Computers that blow past the $5,000 range into the realm in which not many people have the sort of money to spend. Through it all, the PCs that people end up being the happiest with are the PCs that came from smaller budgets, and end up becoming great machines for the money that was invested. This article will discuss choosing components for a system that is budget minded - aimed at the very respectable sub $1,500 price point - $1,295 to be exact, all the while assembling the very system that’s being discussed, right before your eyes! A quick disclaimer here: I am writing this article for TeamGroup, as they have graciously hired me to write a few articles for them, for which I am deeply honored that they appreciate my work enough to want to work with me! Also, some of the parts used in this build were indeed sent to me as a requested sample product to be used in various builds, and some of the parts used have also been purchased by me. I will be listing the parts below: AMD Ryzen 5600X AM4 Processor $300 USD - Purchased myself MSI B450I Gaming Plus AC ITX Motherboard $300 USD - Purchased myself ASRock 5600XT Radeon D3 Graphics Card $310 USD - Sample sent by ASRock TeamGroup Zeus 16gb DDR4 Memory Kit $80 USD - Sample sent by TeamGroup TeamGroup Vulcan G 512gb 2.5” SSD $55 USD - Sample sent by TeamGroup GEEEK G1 Case $120 USD - Sample sent by GEEEK Scythe Shuriken 2 CPU Cooler $40 USD - Sample sent by Scythe Scythe Kaze Flex 120x25mm Fans $14 USD x 2 - Samples sent by Scythe Scythe Kaze Flex 120x15mm Fans $16 USD x 2 - Samples sent by Scythe Silverstone SX750 Platinum SFX PSU - $180 USD - Sample sent by Silverstone Silverstone 8 channel PWM Hub $20 USD - Purchase myself Total Cost (current actual MSRP pricing): $1,295 USD By looking at the spec list, you can see that you've got some pretty solid components here that are more than capable of handling gaming as well as the workstation side of things. I would personally say the one biggest change you could do if you wanted to gear the spec list more towards work rather than gaming is doubling the memory from 16GB to 32GB! Moving onto the assembly of the system, this article will cover the broader viewpoint of the assembly rather than the more minute details. Starting with the motherboard and processor, I decided to stick with AMD's B450 chipset due to its great value - especially when the B450 chipset can become compatible with AMD's latest 5000 series processor, specifically the 5600X in this instance - with a simple BIOS update! The 5600X has been called the "best gaming CPU of 2020", and I would say as of right now it's still one of the best gaming CPUs of 2021! With a boost clock of 4.6ghz, this 6 core, 12 thread processor has helped bridge the performance demand with the latest games needing more than just the now-classic 4 cores and 8 threads. The B450 chipset motherboard was chosen because it's more than capable of handling modest overclocking, and it doesn't need to be cooled like the X570 chipset does, and because of that, the chipset itself isn't as expensive, so you then have a budget-minded solution that is still more than capable of handling the needs of an average everyday gamer. Up next are the memory and storage choices! These offerings by TeamGroup were hand-picked for this very situation. You have the Vulcan G 2.5" SATA SSD, which is capable of 500 MB/s read and write speeds, and they come in both the 512GB and 1TB sizes. With the ever popular NVMe and M.2 technologies becoming so popular, it still needs to be stated that SATA SSDs can still keep up with most tasks that an everyday user needs to accomplish, and gaming is no exception. There are only a few games out there that can really fully utilize insanely high speed storage devices like NVMe's. Coming in at just $55 USD, the Vulcan G is an insanely solid choice when you're limited by a budget! Every build has to deal with memory, and when you're focused on finding a kit that will do the job reliably, without focusing so hard on the fastest speeds attainable, the Zeus DDR4 kit is a perfect example of just that. Speeds are the original DDR4 standard - 2666mhz - along with very basic timings - 19-19-19-43 - this kit is clearly designed to simply get the job done with budget in mind most of all. At just $80 USD, it's a supremely cost effective way to get memory out of the way when budgeting for other parts of your build. When choosing the components for a budget build, one way that can really set you apart from other builds is the case choice. I personally chose to do a small form factor (SFF) build for this article based on the premise of taking advantage of packing all of these budget component choices into a super small package, plus SFF builds are becoming extremely popular in the PC building community. There are also tons of smaller cases that represent essentially the less material used, the less the actual case will cost you. However, it's easy to go overboard with how small you can get the chassis, where it becomes an issue of what actual components can fit into the case and being heavily restricted on dimensions and free space. The G1 by GEEEK is a great cast aluminum chassis that clearly has it's design thought out and is a solid performer for proper airflow inside a case. I threw a LiquidHaus ‘LH’ vinyl sticker on the front because well, I think it works perfectly there! One of the biggest killers to any PC, whether it's high-end or budget-friendly, is heat. Heat can kill any component if the necessary precautions aren't taken into consideration. Your processor's cooling should almost always be near the top in what is most important when putting your PC together. Thankfully the market is quite saturated with many different options at many different price points. The cooler I decided to use for this build was Scythe's own Shuriken 2 cooler. With an overall heatsink + fan height of 58mm, it's a great choice for small form factor builds, especially with clearance for any size memory heatsinks. Scythe makes some excellent cooling parts that are almost always budget friendly. I also chose Scythe's Kaze Flex line of fans, both in 25mm thickness and 15mm thickness for the intake and exhaust fans. Up next is the GPU, and I decided to go the route of using ASRock's 5600XT Radeon D3, which is priced at a comfortable $310 USD. Of course, that's the MSRP of when the card was released and sold at that price for quite some time until the GPU market blew up and every sort of GPU that is still out on the market currently all sit at very uncomfortable and unreasonable prices. I still consider the original MSRP as the price for this GPU for this build because of how volatile the GPU market is, where you really don't know if you'll be able to find a GPU for the price you want or not. The 5600XT is a solid choice for 1080P gaming, and it often trades blows with Nvidia's RTX 2060, with most times beating it out! I've personally had this sample card for about a year, and the one issue I don't like about the card is the default fan stop setting, in which the card's cooling fans will only start spinning once temps reach 50c, and for me that is just a little too warm to finally start cooling. Luckily there’s a trick to overwrite that fan stop setting through AMD's Radeon Drivers, but that was only a somewhat recent development. I'll always be a fan of...fans spinning continuously to keep components cool! Like I said, heat is a killer for PC components! Up next is the power supply, and wow have power supplies become awesome! For this build, I chose Silverstone's brand new revisioned line of their well known SFX form factor PSUs. I've used Silverstone power supplies for years, and they honestly just keep getting better and better. The SX-750 is an 80 Plus Platinum rated revision of the older SX-700W. A nice 50w jump on top of a few efficiency advances as well as a couple of tweaks makes the SX-750 a prime choice for small form factor builds. I've personally used an AMD 5900X and RTX 3090 with this same PSU and it handled the hardware with no issues whatsoever! You'll have lots of headroom that will last you for years to come! All in all, when it comes to building your own PC, it's really not too hard! One of the trickiest parts about the ordeal is choosing the right components before the assembly even begins. I have seen many people stumble at this step and it becomes discouraging for them, and the drive they have to build one starts to disappear. Luckily the internet has provided many instances of walkthroughs and helpful tips when diving into this hobby, and so I hope this article can help you in this endeavor! Thanks for reading!
Read more
With a gaming PC, not only can you work and attend classes remotely and more smoothly, but in addition, you can play games in your spare time to relieve your stress. Moreover, the types of computer games are very diverse, which can meet everyone's needs. It is highly recommended to assemble one as soon as possible! But here comes the question many people who are not that familiar with computers will ask: "I don't know what parts or which brands to buy, so it's too hard for me to handle!" But today, I'll recommend the best PC build solution for you to play all major triple-A title games and handle any work smoothly. You can assemble a gaming PC according to your desire. First, let's list the parts that need to be purchased if you want to assemble a gaming PC: 1. Motherboard 2. CPU 3. CPU cooler 4. Memory 5. Graphics card 6. SSD 7. Power supply 8. Case Next, I'll introduce the recommended items one by one: A. Motherboard For the motherboard, we chose ASUS, a well-known and experienced manufacturer in the pc hardware industry, whose gaming brand ROG is definitely one of the most popular choices among gamers worldwide. For this particular article, I'm using ROG's latest INTEL platform, ROG STRIX Z590-F GAMING! I'm amazed after I opened the package and saw the product for the first time! They have created a style of their own and it's getting more and more unique. In the lower right corner, the diamond-shaped latticework with "Republic of Gamers" in cursive writing is totally brilliant, giving the motherboard a different look. In addition, the motherboard takes into account the high temperature of Gen 11 CPUs and Gen4x4 SSDs, therefore the design has especially focused on cooling efficiency. I tested the pre-installed heat sinks and they really do have a high heat dissipation effect. ROG STRIX Z590-F GAMING WIFI: https://rog.asus.com/us/motherboards/rog-strix/rog-strix-z590-i-gaming-wifi-model/ B. CPU To get the full performance of the Z590, we pick the 11th generation INTEL i9-11900K for the CPU. I have to remind you: "The Z590 motherboard requires a Gen 11 CPU to support the GEN4x4 SSD!" Although the Z590 is also compatible with Gen 10 CPU, however, it is not as powerful as the Gen 11 when it comes to memory overclocking or SSD interface support, so it is recommended that you get the latest one to avoid additional trouble. Intel i9-11900K: https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/212325/intel-core-i9-11900k-processor-16m-cache-up-to-5-30-ghz.html C. CPU cooler Since the processing speed and the compatibility of the Gen 11 CPU are both enhanced, the heat generated under the actual test is also relatively higher than before. This time, I recommend using water cooling to replace air cooling, so the cooling capability will be relatively stable. Then, of course, the T-FORCE GAMING BUILD should use its own T-FORCE SIREN AIO Cooler! The product name is taken from Scandinavian sirens, with magical meaning. That ARGB water block with mirror finish is so cool that if you use a glass side panel, the water block with a magical mirror finish will definitely catch everyone's eyes. In addition, unlike other common water coolers, the pump of the T-FORCE SIREN AIO Cooler is placed inside the radiator instead of the water block. This special and thoughtful design can prevent the CPU from being affected by the heat of the pump. It is highly recommended to choose this type of water cooler. D. Memory Memory has always been the main product of T-FORCE. This time we chose the white version of XTREEM ARGB that won the Red Dot Design Award. The snowy white preset lighting effect really stands out in this black-oriented PC build. The RGB can be controlled by software to display different lighting effects. It's like love at first sight for me and I bought four of them already. For the specification, we chose 8GBx4 3600MHz. T-FORCE XTREEM ARGB WHITE: https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/product/xtreem-argb-white-ddr4 E. Graphics card Currently, it is not easy to buy good graphics cards on the market because a large number of graphics cards are out of stock due to the mining boom. I recommend EVGA's RTX 3080 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING, which has outstanding specifications (8704 CUDA Cores, 10GB DDR6X, 19000MHz). Currently, I think it is your best choice. In addition, EVGA's exclusive patented iCX3 technology can control the fan and allow the high-temperature 3080 to dissipate heat in the most efficient way. During testing, it was obvious that only the high load operation made a slight fan sound, and it was very quiet under normal use. EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING: https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=10G-P5-3897-KR F. SSD Since we are using a Z590 chipset with Gen 11 INTEL CPU, we have to go with a Gen4x4 M.2 PCIe SSD. You must install two SSDs since most games nowadays have huge file sizes, one is not enough! Plus, T-FORCE is best known for its memory and SSD, so I definitely recommend both the CARDEA ZERO Z440 2TB and CARDEA A440 2TB. With both installed, the available capacity is up to 4TB! In addition, the speed of A440 reaches 7000 MB/s, which is the top standard of GEN4x4. Moreover, you have graphene and aluminum fin type heat sinks to choose from to match with different designs of motherboards, satisfying consumers' different needs. However, with the booming of cryptocurrency, SSDs are becoming increasingly difficult to buy, so you have to hurry up and get them fast!!! T-FORCE CARDEA ZERO Z440 M.2 PCIe SSD: https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/product/cardea-zero-z440 T-FORCE CARDEA ZERO A440 M.2 PCIe SSD: https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/product/cardea-a440 G. Power supply When choosing the power supply, I must remind you to pay special attention to the level of the parts you use. Buying one with a low wattage rating might result in your system shutting down prematurely. According to our configuration this time, the CPU is 11900K and the graphics card is 3080, both of which are very high-end. So, relatively, our power supply has to keep up with the wattage. According to personal experience, it is necessary to use a minimum of 850W of power supply to be sufficient. This time, we chose COOLER MASTER's V1000 PLATINUM, which is a fully modular 80 PLUS platinum level power supply with a 10-year warranty. It is a good choice for saving money and having stability! COOLER MASTER V1000 PLATINUM: https://www.coolermaster.com/us/en-us/catalog/power-supplies/v-series/v1000-platinum/ By the way, what does 80 PLUS platinum level stand for? It is actually a standard defined for the energy conversion efficiency of the power supply. 80 PLUS means the conversion efficiency is over 80%. The platinum level means that the conversion efficiency can be as high as 90% or more. The better the conversion efficiency is, the more power can be saved under the same conditions. H. Case Since it is a T-FORCE Gaming Build, we definitely choose our own coolest T-FORCE LARES CASE. The name is taken from Roman mythology, which means guardian god, hoping that this case can safely protect the internal parts. The case is basically selected on two major things: heat dissipation and appearance. In the order of priority of my own purchase, heat dissipation first, followed by the appearance. If you can, you may consider the weight as well. The T-FORCE case puts primary focus on heat dissipation. It pays special attention to the design of the airflow path and the detailed position of the fan. The appearance is also different from some designs with strong light pollution. The ARGB side light is used on the front, which is simple and elegant. I personally recommend you to buy this case. The introduction of each item ends here. Are you eager to build a gaming PC? Check out the T-FORCE time-lapse build video!
Read more
Speaking of M.2 PCIe SSD, the latest version on the market today is the Gen4. In fact, Gen4 was defined by PCI Express as early as 2017, but at that time, it was not the best choice in terms of motherboard support or manufacturing cost. It wasn't until the AMD X570 series motherboards were launched in 2019, with the focus on supporting ultra-high-speed Gen4 x4 interface, that consumers began to experience the ultra-fast transfer speed of M.2 Gen4 x4 PCIe SSD. The AMD B550 series that launched in 2020 also has the same Gen4 x4 interface. At that time, if you wanted to experience a PCIe 4.0 SSD, you would have to buy either of these two series of AMD motherboards. I originally speculated that Intel may not want to compete in the Gen4 market with AMD, and jump straight to Gen5. As a result, the Intel Z590 series launched in early 2021, each motherboard manufacturer made some smart changes to the motherboard layout directly. Based on the premise that the 11th Intel CPU itself can support 20 PCIe 4.0 lanes, the lanes on some motherboards that originally belonged to the graphics cards are removed for M.2 SSDs, and consumers have a new choice of PCIe 4.0 SSD in addition to AMD X570 and B550. So, if you want to experience ultra-high transfer speeds, what are the recommendations? For PC enthusiasts who have multiple motherboards on hand, you can choose the CARDEA A440 PCIe SSD which the heat spreader can be assembled by yourself. You can have the patented aluminum fin-type heat sink and the patented ultra-thin graphene heat spreader both at once. T-FORCE CARDEA A440 M.2 PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD If you are not sure whether your existing motherboard has a M.2 heat sink, you can simply choose the CARDEA Ceramic C440 PCIe with the white ceramic heat spreader, or the CARDEA ZERO Z440 PCIe SSD with black ultra-thin graphene heat spreader, offering you different colors of gaming experience. T-FORCE CARDEA Ceramic C440 M.2 PCIe SSD T-FORCE CARDEA ZERO Z440 M.2 PCIe SSD Let us take a look at the speed that I have tested with these SSDs on the MSI Z590 ACE motherboard using CDM and TxBENCH! A. CARDEA A440 M.2 PCIe SSD T-FORCE CARDEA A440 M.2 PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD First, let's take a look at the CDI CDM speed test TxBENCH speed test The A440 is one of the top SSDs in R/W on the market today. With its read/write speed, I can save a lot of my time when handling some of my 100GB video files! B. CARDEA CERAMIC C440 M.2 PCIe SSD T-FORCE CARDEA Ceramic C440 M.2 PCIe SSD Let's also take a look at the CDI first CDM speed test TxBENCH speed test The R/W of the C440 is considered to be the mainstream speed of Gen4x4. The actual test result is very close to the official specifications, which shows that T-FORCE has good quality control. C. CARDEA ZERO Z440 M.2 PCIe SSD T-FORCE CARDEA ZERO Z440 M.2 PCIe SSD Take a look at the CDI first as well CDM speed test TxBENCH speed test With mainstream R/W speed, the Z440's actual test also has a similar read/write speed, the difference is that this model uses graphene as the cooling material. The appearance is in contrast with the ceramic C440, which is the natural black of graphene. So which style do you prefer? Conclusion For this, I mainly want to share with you that if you buy the latest generation of Intel Z590 series motherboard, what kind of SSD should be used to give you full performance. However, I want to remind you that you must use the 11th generation Intel CPU to utilize PCIe 4.0! If you don't use an 11th generation CPU, some motherboards may even fail to read the PCIe 4.0 SSD, so be sure to check the specifications of the platform you are using before choosing the right SSD.
Read more
"If my budget is only___, can I get a PC that can actually play games?" There are too many factors to consider for such a question, but if you don't mind spending time on it, assembling it yourself is definitely more cost-effective than buying a finished PC. Today, we'll recommend you the most suitable and affordable PC build on the market, and explain in order how to assemble the computer by yourself. Just follow the steps and you can build your own gaming PC! If you want to assemble your own gaming PC, first you have to know the list of parts you need to buy. The necessary parts include: CPU Motherboard Memory Hard drive Graphics card Power supply Case In addition, you can get: CPU Cooler Case fan Network card, etc. The main reason that CPU cooler is listed here is that the CPU comes with a fan, so it's not a necessity. However, if it's a large game load, it is recommended to buy a CPU cooler with a better cooling ability or a larger CPU cooler to control the CPU temperature to avoid overheating or crashing during the gameplay. 【All components for PC build】 A. CPU To make it affordable, the R5-3600X will be one of the best choices since AMD is a real bargain in the mid-range. The R5-3600X offers 6 cores and 12 threads. It has a basic clock of 3.8GHz and a boost clock of 4.4GHz, supports native 3200MHz memory, and is PCIe 4.0 SSD compatible. The expandability is excellent, and very few gamers will manually adjust the CPU or memory frequency. AMD R5-3600X B. Motherboard The new B550 series motherboard is definitely a blessing for gamers. In the past, the B series is quite different from the X series in terms of CPU overclocking, memory overclocking and I/O interface; The TUF Gaming B550 PLUS is highly compatible, close to the X570 level, and has a sleek military look, making it the best choice at this price range. ASUS TUF Gaming B550 PLUS C. Memory To keep the budget in check, try to avoid getting components that have RGB lighting. However, since it's a gaming PC, the memory must be gaming style as well. We pick T-FORCE VULCAN Z 8GBx2 3200MHz. It looks like a mecha with a strong sense of gaming design, and 8GBx2 3200MHz is also very sufficient to run all kinds of games. T-FORCE VULCAN Z DD4 (Learn More), Where to Buy D. Solid state drive There are some tips on how to choose an SSD. Since we want to have enough speed and capacity while keeping my budget under control, we choose a 512GB TEAMGROUP MP33 PRO M.2 PCIe and a 512GB T-FORCE VULCAN G SATA 2.5" SSD, so the read/write processing is done in PCIe and data storage is stored in SATA to avoid purchasing expensive SSD that has both high speed and large capacity. Learn more: TEAMGROUP MP33 PRO M.2 PCIe SSD (Learn More), Where to Buy T-FORCE VULCAN G SSD (Learn More), Where to Buy E. Graphics card As for graphics card, the ASUS TUF Gaming Geforce GTX1660 Super is a real bargain. Although the performance is not comparable to the ultra-high specification but over-budget RTX 3080, RTX 2080Ti, etc., but the 1660 Super is still the best choice in terms of Full HD quality. ASUS TUF Gaming Geforce GTX1660 F. Remaining parts (Power supply, Case, CPU cooler) Among the remaining parts, you should pay attention that the use of a major manufacturer's power supply with a better warranty, such as the durable CoolerMaster, will reduce the chance of burning out. The wattage should be sufficient to support PC's normal operation. Generally speaking, it is recommended to choose a power supply of more than 650W for a PC build with a discrete graphics card. The case and the CPU cooler are basically the same as long as they are compatible. Anything that isn't bad enough to become an oven can be considered. Learn more: Cooler Master 650W 【Installation Process】 Next is the installation process. How to make a cool PC build out of the scattered parts? Even if you are a total beginner, just follow these steps and you will be all set! 1. Install the CPU cooler base onto the motherboard Nowadays, many CPU coolers are designed to be used by both AMD and Intel, so the screws need to be slightly adjusted to align with the motherboard holes. You can refer to the attached manual for the adjustment. The manual of the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler is quite detailed, so don't worry! 2. Install the CPU in the motherboard Start by lifting the lever beside the CPU socket. Next, you need to pay attention to align the CPU correctly when placing it into the socket, otherwise the pin may be broken or burned. The motherboard and CPU are now equipped with foolproof mechanism, so you can install it correctly by following the arrows shown below. 3. Lock the power supply into the case From the front of the case, there is not much space on the right side, but if you open the right side panel, you will see a space below, this is where we will place our power supply. In most cases, the sockets and switches should face outwards and the air vents should face downwards, then lock the power supply from the back of the case. Also, since this is a non-modular power supply, which means the power supply itself is connected to a large bundle of wires, so it can be installed directly, but the downside is that it can't be removed when there are too many wires. If you choose a "fully modular" power supply, since the wires need to be connected by yourself, you must make sure which wires are needed and connect them first and then lock the case, otherwise it won't be easy to plug them after the case is locked! 4. Lock the motherboard tightly to the case Usually, the case has 9 screw holes corresponding to the holes of the motherboard, but not every motherboard will have 9 holes. As for myself, I usually lock 7 or 8 of them. When locking the motherboard, make sure that the CPU socket is on the top, so that the heat from the fan can be discharged out of the PC, and the graphics card will also have a place to put in. 5. Connect the power supply cable to the motherboard The most troublesome part of the installation is organizing the messy cables. We usually pull out the CPU power cable and the mother power cable from the reserved holes of the case and plug them into the motherboard. This can avoid leaving no room to plug in cables after other components have been installed. 6. Connect the front panel connectors of the case to the motherboard Almost all cases nowadays have 2~4 USB ports, power on/off and reboot buttons, etc. on the front panel. They all need to be powered and controlled by the motherboard. Since the wiring method of each motherboard is different, it is recommended to follow the user manual of the motherboard to connect them to the corresponding positions. The following is a brief introduction to the corresponding connection method of the TUF B550 PLUS motherboard. 7. Install rest of the parts on the motherboard Before installing, it is recommended to lay the case flat so that it can be screwed in easily. It can be installed in the order we are used to: Install the M.2 PCIe SSD first, then the CPU cooler to the base as mentioned in the first step, followed by the graphics card, memory, and finally the 2.5" SATA SSD. Most of the cases on the market still have the position of the 2.5" SSD on the power supply side, so the 2.5" SSD cable is usually the last thing we consider. Please note here that most mid-range and above discrete graphics cards also need to be connected to the PCIe power cable of the power supply! 8. Cable management The installation is almost complete! The rest is the most painful part: cable management. After installation, there will be a lot of messy cables, so you will need to find some cable ties to tidy them up and hide them out of sight. This is the part that requires more experience. 9. Install OS & update drivers Please support the genuine software when installing the OS. How to install the OS is explained in the "Tutorial of SSD Unboxing – The 6 Things You Should Do After Buying a New SSD". If you are lazy to search for the drivers, you can download Driver Booster. It has the latest drivers from major manufacturers and you can install them by one click: https://www.iobit.com/en/driver-booster.php Conclusion Here we explain the whole installation process, and introduce how to buy a PC for only $1,000, so that you can refer to according to different needs. All the selected products can be found on Amazon. T-FORCE VULCAN Z 3200 2x8GB T-FORCE VULCAN G SSD 500G TEAMGROUP MP33 PRO 512GB The installation process contains my own experience, and the order of the process is also based on convenience. Hope it will encourage new gamers to be more willing to try to build a PC by yourself!
Read more