Entering the era of DDR5, Intel and AMD have launched "XMP" and "EXPO" memory overclocking technologies, respectively. However, many gamers wonder if the DDR5 they purchased can achieve "cross-platform" overclocking display switching while maintaining overclocking performance. We heard the desire from the majority of players for cross-platform overclocking. Today, We will use the following information to help quench your thirst. Table of Contents T-FORCE DELTAα RGB DDR5→Intel Platform T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5→AMD Platform Conclusion TEAMGROUP has launched overclocking DDR5 specifically supporting the Intel platform and AMD platform, which are 1. T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 with Intel platform XMP 3.0overclocking support 2. T-FORCE DELTAα RGB DDR5 with AMD platform EXPO overclocking support Today, we will use these two DDR5 models to conduct cross-platform overclocking tests on Intel platform Z790 and AMD platform X670 from ASROCK, ASUS, GIGABYTE and MSI and present the screenshots for cross-platform overclocking switching for your reference. T-FORCE DELTAα RGB DDR5→Intel Platform The following are screenshots for cross-platform overclocking of the T-FORCE DELTAα RGB DDR5-6000(for EXPO) from four board manufacturers: GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS MASTER The figure above is a screenshot of T-FORCE DELTAα RGB DDR5 in Z790 AORUS MASTER. After manually entering the BIOS, you can see from the screenshot that XMP/EXPO - XMP 1 was displayed, indicating that basic parameters were recognized and the switching was successfully done. ASROCK Z790 Taichi Carrara The figure above is a screenshot of T-FORCE DELTAα RGB DDR5 in Z790 Taichi Carrara. After entering the BIOS manually, you can see from the screenshot that the Load XMP Setting was displayed, indicating that basic parameters were recognized and the switching was successfully done. ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HERO The figure above is a screenshot of T-FORCE DELTAα RGB DDR5 in ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HERO. As you can see, the unique feature of ASUS is that after entering the BIOS manually, D.O.C.P. I. was displayed. This is an ASUS customization to indicate successful switching from the XMP→EXPO display, and basic parameters are recognized. MSI MPG Z790 CARBON WIFI The figure above is a screenshot of T-FORCE DELTAα RGB DDR5 in MSI MPG Z790 CARBON WIFI. After entering the BIOS manually, you can see from the screenshot that the Load XMP Setting was displayed, indicating that basic parameters were recognized and the switching was successfully done. T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5→AMD Platform The following is a screenshot of the cross-platform overclocking using the T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5-6000 from four board manufacturers: GIGABYTE X670E AORUS MASTER The figure above is a screenshot of the T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 in X670E AORUS MASTER. After manually entering the BIOS, you can see from the screenshot that XMP / EXPO - XMP 1 was displayed, indicating that basic parameters were recognized and the switching was successfully done. ASROCK X670E Taichi Carrara The figure above is a screenshot of the T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 in X670E Taichi Carrara. After manually entering the BIOS, you can see from the first screenshot that XMP1-6000 was displayed. The second screenshot verified that the frequency was 6000MT/s, indicating that basic parameters were recognized and the switching was successfully done. ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO The figure above is a screenshot of the T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 in ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO. You will discover the unique feature of ASUS. You can see from the screenshot that DOCP I was displayed (D.O.C.P. I was displayed for XMP→EXPO). This ASUS customization indicates successful switching from EXPO→XMP display, and basic parameters were recognized. MSI MPG X670E CARBON WIFI With the MSI board, you will also discover a relatively unique feature. You can see from the screenshot that A-XMP was displayed. This MSI customization indicates successful display switching, and basic parameters were recognized. Kind reminder Regarding the AMD platform, cross-platform overclocking display switching is possible. However, it remains to be seen whether the actual overclocking performance can be retained and whether the booting procedure can be completed. Currently, the AMD platform only supports up to DDR5-6000 frequency in terms of stability but allows EXPO→XMP switching and retains overclocking performance. If you got the memory DDR5-6000, you could have cross-platform overclocking performance on both Intel and AMD platforms. However, if you got the memory with specifications above DDR5-6000, basic parameters will be recognized on the AMD platform, and the display switching indicator will be displayed. However, all high speed overclocking DRAMs need to pair with the same high level of motherboards and CPUs to make overclocking performance successfully. You should be aware of that! For this part, you can refer to the following figure: a screenshot of T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5-7200 in X670E AORUS MASTER and ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO. You will discover that both boards can read T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5-7200, indicating that the switching was successfully done. However, the frequency was only around 5200MT/s rather than 7200MT/s, indicating that the default value of the board was used for booting. Conclusion To conclude, We compiled the verification of the EXPO→XMP and XMP→EXPO switching prepared exquisitely by TEAMGROUP and would like to provide a kind reminder to everyone. It is not that important as to whether the DDR5 itself is a Combo since major board manufacturers nowadays have been able to achieve display switching. However, the overclocking performance after switching will vary, depending on the technology that Intel and AMD platforms support. We hope you all have a better understanding of Cross-platform Overclocking. See you next time!
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Have you ever encountered the following situation? You would like to upgrade your RAM but have the dilemma of making the best purchasing decision. “I don’t need this much capacity. It seems like a waste of money.” or “I don’t have enough RAM. But I would spend too much money if I made this upgrade.” Does that sound familiar to you? Everyone has been accustomed to the mainstream capacity configuration from 8GB, 16GB, to 32GB. Those needing 20GB or 40GB of RAM will have to pay for the price of 32GB or 64GB. The non-binary memory is finally coming to solve this issue. Today, the Curator would like to share the news with you. The T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 and T-CREATE EXPERT DDR5 will soon be available as non-binary DDR5 overclocking RAM with 24GB and 48GB capacity, providing excellent memory expansion, options, and compatibility for gamers and creators. T-FORCE, the gaming sub-brand of TEAMGROUP, is dedicated to providing high-performance and compatible products for gamers. T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 is now available with a capacity of 48GB in dual channel (2x24GB) and speeds at 6,000MHz, 6,400MHz, 6,800MHz, 7,200MHz, and 7,600MHz. As a gamer, you can easily upgrade your RAM to the desired frequency and capacity to save your wallet on unused memory. Why choose non-binary 24GB and 48GB DDR5? You can't have both fish and bear paws. Gamers in the past could only choose between frequency and capacity. For example, if DDR5 7200 2x16GB were cheaper than DDR5 6000 2x32GB, gamers would choose the DDR5 7200 16GBx2 to conquer the enemies and win the game. With non-binary DDR5 overclocking RAM, gamers can now have the option of 2x24GB capacity without affecting overclocking to enjoy the performance with overclocking and have 50% more capacity than the original. T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 now offers 48GB (2x24GB) T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 in the dual channel of 48GB (2x24GB) fully supports XMP 3.0 function and provides different speeds over 6,000MHz, making it the non-binary DDR5 overclocking RAM with the highest memory. Gamers can directly enable the Intel XMP 3.0 overclocking function in BIOS to enjoy a smoother gaming experience. On top of that, you now have more capacity options for motherboards with 2 RAM slots. Enjoy the system-wide improvements in performance that come with high-capacity memory. Read : How to Enter BIOS and Open XMP3.0 in Three Easy Steps! T-CREATE EXPERT DDR5 now offers 96GB (2x48GB) and 96GB (4x24GB) T-CREATE, the creator sub-brand of TEAM GROUP, is dedicated to helping professional creators. Its CREATE EXPERT DDR5 desktop memory offers a dual channel kit of 64GB (2x32GB) at 6,000MHz and 6,400MHz. Now it is available in dual-channel kit with a large capacity of 96GB (2x48GB) at 6,000MHz, 6,400MHz, and 6,800MHz, and also in quad-channel kit with a large capacity of 96GB (4x24GB) at 6,000MHz and 6,400MHz. Creators usually open several materials files when editing audio and video files. Intuitively speaking, creators require large-capacity RAM. With a larger memory capacity, you can execute multiple tasks concurrently and fulfill your needs for 4K/8K UHD video editing, professional 3D graphics software, and other complex tasks and computations. T-CREATE EXPERT DDR5 desktop memory is now available in a dual-channel kit with 96GB (2x48GB) and a quad-channel kit with 96GB (4x24GB). Later, it will also be available in a quad-channel kit with a super large capacity of 192GB (4x48GB). Creators can choose the most suitable capacity configuration depending on their creative needs. Fulfilling the large-capacity demand is a great blessing for all creators. Read : The Importance of RAM and SSD for Video Creators Today, the Curator shared two non-binary DDR5 overclocking RAM modules with you. Whether you are a gamer or a creator, you have gained some knowledge and can now make better decisions. See you next time. Bye-bye!
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Video content creators run a race against time while working on content, therefore computer performance is crucial for video creators. For those who are already working with video editing software or want to become video creators, today, we have organized some information about how RAM (Random Access Memory) and SSD (Solid State Drive) affect content creation. Table of Contents Memory SSD Video content creators run a race against time while working on content, therefore computer performance is crucial for video creators. For those who are already working with video editing software or want to become video creators, today, we have organized some information about how RAM (Random Access Memory) and SSD (Solid State Drive) affect content creation. MEMORY Memory plays an important role for video creators who rely on fast and efficient computers for video editing. Generally speaking, the requirements for RAM, when using image and video editing software, are higher compared to requirements for most other computer software. When editing images, insufficient memory capacity often leads to freezes or lags, resulting in longer waiting times. In addition, the memory required for your task depends on factors such as software, the format of materials, and multiple applications in use. The computer runs faster with more RAM, enabling a smoother editing process without wasting any inspired moment. The following table shows the different RAM capacities and the actual impact of RAM on video content creation. Capacity Video Creation 8GB To perform video editing with a resolution lower than 1080p using 8GB RAM, it is required to close other programs. 16GB To perform 1080p or 4K video editing smoothly using 16GB RAM, it is recommended not to run background tasks or open other applications simultaneously. 32GB You can smoothly perform 1080p or 4K video editing with 32GB RAM while running background tasks with multiple applications opened. 64GB You can perform 8K video editing smoothly with 64GB RAM. Friendly Reminder We recommend that video creators decide on the appropriate memory capacity according to their working requirements.. SSD A friend of ours who specializes in video creation once had a mix-up. At that time, this friend had several projects on hand. Using a capacity of only 1TB, he spent much time on material importing and faced a problem such as a computer lagging during the creation process. At that time, he did not know the exact reason for the low speed and he thought that his computer had reached the end of its work life. After the projects were finished, he replaced the old SSD with a new 8TB SSD. Thus, as a result, the computer lag issue during the rendering was solved. Without getting professionals at the time, our friend was almost rushed to the store to get a new computer. This story clearly shows us what affects video editing performance. For those who have been encountering similar situations, we have prepared information to help you to solve the issue. Two factors with SSD significantly affect video creators: the read/write speed and capacity. Firstly, in terms of read/write speed, the read speed is related to file opening time, while the write speed is related to material importing time. Secondly, larger capacity means larger storage space for more files and materials. Moreover, SSDs with larger capacities are usually more durable, enhancing stability during creation. Friendly Reminder We suggest that creators select an SSD with a large capacity and good read/write performance under available budgets to satisfy requirements for the creation and avoid the loss of valuable inspiration while waiting for the materials to import. Regardless of RAM or SSD specifications, you can see that the Large Capacity is the most fundamental and extensive requirement for creators. T-CREATE brand under Team Group Inc. is aimed to provide creators with large-capacity RAM and SSD and to develop high-stability products. In the current environment, everyone has the opportunity to become a Creator. We hope the world will see your artwork.
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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.
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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
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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
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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:
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Did you get your DDR5 memory yet? Have you checked that your memory is running at the right frequency? If you find that you bought a 5200MHz or even a 6400MHz overclocking specification, but the computer shows 4800MHz, read this article first to solve the problem. This article will take you into the BIOS to adjust the settings, so the memory can run at the factory labeled frequency. Since AMD's platform for DDR5 has not yet been released, today we will first introduce to you how to open XMP3.0 on the Intel platform of the four major motherboard manufacturers! To open XMP, you must first enter the BIOS. It's really simple, just follow the steps below. Reminder: Manual overclocking requires a lot of knowledge and information, maybe we will get to that later in the future! 1. After powering up or reboot your PC, press DELETE repeatedly to enter BIOS No matter which motherboard it is, it's all the same, just press DELETE repeatedly right after you powering up the computer! Press it until the BIOS screen appears. Because the screen response is relatively slow, it will be too late if you see the screen entering Windows! Reminder: As you can see, you can enter the BIOS without a mouse, but not without a keyboard! 2. Open XMP The following is an introduction to the methods of the four major motherboard manufacturers in alphabetical order! (1) ASUS a. Press F7 to enter advanced mode. b. Press the Right Arrow key to move to Ai Tweaker (red box) and select Ai Overclock Tuner (green box), press Enter. c. Select XMP I (blue box), press Enter. d. You will see an additional line of XMP’s information under Ai Overclock Tuner, and the frequency (yellow box) indicated by the manufacturer of the memory you bought (yellow box). Next, press F10 to save and exit to enter Windows. (2) ASRock a. Press F6 to enter advanced mode (A description in the green box in the upper right corner) b. Press the Right Arrow key to move to OC Tweaker (red box) and select DRAM Configuration (green box), press Enter. c. Find the Load XMP Setting (green box), press Enter and select XMP 3.0 Profile 1 (blue box), press Enter again to confirm. d. You will see the XMP information (yellow box) under Load XMP Setting, then press F10 to save and exit to enter Windows. (3) Gigabyte a. Press F2 to enter advanced mode b. Move to Tweaker (red box) at the top, select Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P) (blue box), press Enter. c. Select Profile 1 (blue box), then press Enter to confirm. d. You will see the XMP information (yellow box) after Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P), then press F10 to save and exit to enter Windows. (4) MSI a. Press F7 to enter advanced mode b. Go to the OC box (red box) on the left, select Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P) (blue box) and press Enter. c. Change Disable to Enabled (red box) and press Enter again to confirm. d. You will see the XMP information (yellow box) under Extreme Memory Profile, then press F10 to save and exit to enter Windows. 3. Confirm the overclocking information After adjusting and entering Windows, we have to confirm whether the memory is running smoothly at the frequency we adjusted. I'm used to using CPU-Z software to confirm. It is a free software, and you can download if from the link below. CPU-Z download：https://reurl.cc/N63RGq Take our DELTA RGB DDR5 6400MHz 16GBx2 as an example, after enabling XMP3.0, the actual operating frequency of the memory is as shown in the picture below. After downloading and running CPU-Z, click on the Memory tab (red box) in the upper toolbar, then look at the DRAM Frequency (blue box) at the bottom. The displayed value multiplied by 2 is the actual running frequency. DELTA RGB DDR5 6400MHz 16GBx2: https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/product/delta-rgb-ddr5 That's all for today. If you have any problems or want to know anything else, please leave your message below!
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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/
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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!
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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
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The Christmas season has come and it’s time to choose Christmas gifts for loved ones and friends. Today, we want to share with you five Christmas gift ideas that will not only be loved, but also will be amazingly helpful. Let’s start! Gift #1 The external SSD T-Create Classic External SSD. This SSD is loved by gamers and content creators alike. In our time of creative expression, having enough space for saving content and data is necessary. Therefore, an external SSD will become an excellent gift that will allow for saving photos, videos, and games. With a fast speed of transfer to any device, it has many uses. It will also work with both Mac and Windows, which makes this external SSD a more attractive choice as a gift for your loved ones. If that isn’t enough, the T-Create Classic Thunderbolt SSD's package is fantastic. It looks so nice it may not even need gift wrapping. Just add a Christmas Card and yummy chocolate and that is it – the perfect Christmas gift is ready! T-CREATE Classic External SSD Where to buy Gift #2 Do you have a friend who loves to play the PlayStation5 and don't know what to get them for Christmas? An SSD is a wonderful gift! With the SSD they can play more of their favorite games without worry of overheating. The T-Force Cardea A440 PRO SPECIAL SERIES M.2 is an SSD that was made specifically for the PS5. It is 100% compatible with the new PlayStation and will satisfy all the needs of PS5 gamers in terms of speed, which is up to 7000. It has very effective cooling because of it’s graphene heat sink. It also has an appearance that shares the same color as the PS5. We can guarantee that it will be the best gift for all PS5 lovers. T-FORCE Cardea A440 PSS SSD Where to buy Gift #3 Do you have a friend that likes to spend evenings and nights playing CS: GO? Do you know someone planning to build a PC or make an upgrade to their PC? Then you should gift them some TeamGroup gaming memory! Of course, a GPU would make them much happier, but you should know that memory is never a bad gift! Choose beautiful RAM, like the Xtreem ARGB White DDR4 32Gb 4000/3600 MHz. It matches trendy monochrome PC components while providing great performance! Nowadays 32 GB is amazing for gamers, and 4000Mhz is a high frequency that can help them have much better performance in games. Your friend will be super excited to receive such a wonderful gift. T-FORCE Xtreem ARGB White Where to buy Gift #4 “Secret Santa” is a holiday tradition in many offices, but the hardest part is picking the right gift for your colleagues. Aside from the Xmas mug at Starbucks, there is one more cool and universal gift you can get for any colleague ; a T83 or T93 USB flash drive from TeamGroup. It is not just UFD, but a multifunctional USB that will make the lucky recipient of it happy with everything that this small UFD can do. Beyond just saving data, it can function as a ruler, magnet, and much more. This series of USBs are great all around tools! T193 USB3.2 Where to buy T183 USB3.2 Where to buy Gift #5 Do you know someone that likes to take photos and videos of travel adventures and sports tricks by using GoPro, Drone or Camera? Then the best gift is a Micro SD card collection for each device. For example, the Go microCard for a GoPro, the Elite micro SD Card for Drone, and the Xtreem Card for a camera. This is a perfect gift that they can use on their travels. If you want to make the gift even better, then add a TeamGroup external SSD PD 1000. It is a very elegant and stylish external SSD from the outside, but from the inside it was created to be unbreakable in front of all rough conditions! Your friend can take it everywhere with them! GO CARD Where to buy ELITE A1 CARD Where to buy XTREEM SD CARD Where to buy PD1000 Portable SSD Where to buy Which of these gifts was your favorite? Share with us in the comments. TEAMGROUP hopes you can find a wonderful gift, and have a very merry holiday season ahead! JOIN THE HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY from December 1 to December 31
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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!
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2021 can be said to be the first year of the official launch of DDR5 memory. The specification has been created since 2019, and after more than a year of research and development, many manufacturers have released their products this year. TEAMGROUP has always been at the forefront of this wave, we are much ahead of the competition in both standard JEDEC memory and overclocked gaming memory. The following is a list of the differences between cross-generation DDR5 memory and the previous generation DDR4 based on the experience we have had over this period of time. Appearance Let's examine directly from the picture. First, there is a big difference in the PCB layout. There is an extra space above to place the new smaller ICs and capacitors (This will be explained later); Secondly, the position of the foolproof latch for the gold contacts has also been adjusted. There has been a tendency to move close to the middle during the process of conversion from DDR3 to DDR4. In the DDR5 era, it is closer to the middle, even though it is still slightly to one side. However, consumers need to pay more attention when installing the memory to ensure that it is inserted in the correct direction and not to break the gold contacts by applying direct pressure. Single stick maximum capacity The maximum capacity of a single memory stick was up to 32GB in the DDR4 era. Based on mainstream motherboards supporting 2DPC (2 DIMM Per Channel), the most common total memory capacity for the DDR4 platform is capped at 128GB; In the DDR5 era, it has crossed to a new level completely that a single memory can reach up to 128GB. The total memory capacity can reach 512GB if the same 2DPC motherboard is used for comparison. With a total memory capacity of up to 512GB, it is hard to imagine how much more multi-tasking can be done at this stage, as this is already the capacity of mainstream SSDs today. Looking at the DDR development history, the capacity limit of DDR5 is also very much in line with the past standard, with each generation having 4 times the capacity limit of the previous generation. I can’t help but look forward to the impact that a single 128GB DDR5 memory will have when its development is officially completed. Initial frequency If you are a gamer who pays attention to the memory market, you may have noticed one thing that the initial frequency and capacity of the DDR generations have evolved in a similar pattern in the past, with the frequency growing by a factor of two. For example, the initial frequency of the DDR3 generation is 1066MHz, and the DDR4 generation is 2133MHz. However, the frequency is 4800MHz in the first batch of DDR5 products exposed this time, which exceeds the original logical inference of 4266MHz. Whether there will be 4366MHz in the future, it is unknown. What is certain is that this is surely something to be happy and look forward to. The initial standard product already surpasses the basic definition, so I believe the overclocking part can be very different and worthy of our exploration. Structural composition DDR5 uses a 32 Bank (storage unit that can be individually enabled/disabled) structure with 8 Bank Groups, twice as much of access availability as DDR4's 16 Bank structure with 4 Bank Groups. The Burst Length (the amount of data that can be accessed by a single DRAM read/write command) of DDR5 has been increased from 8 to 16 in DDR4, which is also a key feature to increase performance. Unlike DDR4, which cannot perform other operations during refresh, DDR5 uses the Same Bank Refresh function to allow the system to access data in other Banks when refreshing certain Banks. On the other hand, DDR5 also eliminates noise through Decision Feedback Equalization (DFE) to increase overall performance. Simply put, DDR5 can access twice as much data per IC as DDR4! Basic operating voltage With the evolution of generations, the basic operating voltage of the memory continues to decrease, which means that the operation of the memory is getting more energy-saving. In the DDR3 generation, 1.5V is required to support the operation of standard memory. The DDR4 generation requires 1.2V, and the DDR5 generation only requires 1.1V. We will not discuss here about the voltage required for overclocking. After all, different overclocking frequencies require the voltage to be adjusted, which is totally another subject. Power management The power management function used to be set on the motherboard, which defined the amount of voltage to be supplied to the memory. However, after entering the DDR5 generation, the basic operating voltage has dropped to 1.1V, and the signal tolerance has become very small. Therefore, the memory must have a very good ability to recognize signals, and moving the power management directly to the memory is an excellent solution. You can see in the picture that there is a block above the memory with an extra small IC and some capacitors (mentioned earlier), which is DDR5 memory configured with a 5V power management IC on the DIMM. It can more effectively control the power of the memory directly, and improve signal integrity and noise identification ability. To put it into simple words, 1.1V is too low to be controlled by the motherboard, so it is better to control the power signal directly from the memory itself, and this way the power signal can be controlled more stably. On-die ECC The full name of ECC is Error-Correcting Code, which is an error correction technology widely used in computers in different areas. It can make the memory more stable when applied to the memory. However, in the past, for ECC function, an extra IC was needed to correct the errors, so you will see 9 ICs on one side of the ECC memory instead of the common 8. It also needs to be supported by the motherboard or CPU itself in order to use ECC memory. The DDR5 generation is completely different, as each IC comes with its own ECC debugging function. This automatic error correction feature allows systems using DDR5 memory to have higher stability and no interruptions due to errors. Relationship between overclocking and operating temperature As we all know, the overclocking process will produce a lot of heat, and whether the heat can be properly handled is also a very important key factor affecting overclocking. In the previous generations of DDR4 (including DDR3), the surface of the IC is the place where heat is more likely to be generated in the memory. Therefore, whether in the design of a heat sink or in the process of extreme overclocking, special attention is paid to the cooling of the IC. However, in the DDR5 generation, because there is an additional PMIC, and this PMIC itself will also generate heat, so there is an additional point to consider in the solution of heat dissipation. If the heat of PMIC is not handled properly, it will also affect the stability of overclocking. Let me secretly reveal the news that I have received. Since TEAMGROUP has deployed ahead of schedule for heat dissipation as early as 2019, it has found an excellent way to solve the heat generated by the PMIC, so the new gaming overclocking memory is very stable and is definitely the best choice for DDR5 generation memory purchase! These are the key differences between DDR5 memory and its predecessor. If there is any new research progress or new knowledge about DDR5 memory in the future, I will share it with you at any time. Let's embrace the arrival of a new generation together!
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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!
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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!
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Previously we tested the effect of memory frequencies versus FPS of some games, but this time let's find out the effects of memory capacity versus FPS! Does the Memory Frequency Affect the Game's FPS? 3 Games Tested (Part One) Does the Memory Frequency Affect the Game's FPS? 3 Games Tested (Part Two) The games we picked for testing this time are a bit different from the previous ones, these four games are Assassin's Creed Origins, Horizon Zero Dawn, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Cyberpunk 2077. You may wonder, is it better to compare the memory capacity difference between these games? Actually, no. Assassin's Creed Origins, Horizon Zero Dawn and Red Dead Redemption 2, all three games have built-in benchmarks and they are also popular choices in PC single-player games. Let's take a look at the results of these four game tests! This time we use the legendary "water-cooling graphics card" !!! ROG-STRIX-LC-RX6800XT-O16G-GAMING The RGB fins on the top left side of the graphics card and the Eye of Faith are a perfect match! Considering the high computing power of the current RDNA2 architecture graphics cards, which also generate more heat, ASUS has launched this water-cooling solution in the hope that this graphics card can maintain high-speed processing for a long time without slowing down or lagging due to heat problems. Let's get to the point. The main purpose is to understand the effect of memory capacity on the FPS of the game, so let's take a look at the performance of each game in different capacities. We use T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR4 Gaming Memory for the game tests. A. At 8GBx4 (32GB) capacity Start with T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR4 8GBx4(32GB) With all high graphic settings turned on, Assassin's Creed Origins scored 8,851 on the built-in benchmark, with a surprisingly high average FPS of 69. With full high graphic settings turned on as well, Horizon Zero Dawn scored 10,718 in its built-in benchmark, with an average FPS of 59, a maximum FPS of 93, and a minimum of 43. The benchmark test results screen of Red Dead Redemption 2 is relatively plain, with the average FPS also at about 59, but with a maximum of about 66 and a minimum of 35. Finally, since Cyberpunk 2077 does not have a built-in benchmark, I used MSI Afterburner with the built-in RTSS to monitor the hardware status, and the FPS was around 38 in the city with brighter shadows and lots of people. Summary: It seems that the 8GBx4 memory performs very well and can basically run all big games with full graphic settings on. B. At 16GBx4 (64GB) capacity Let's take a look at the performance of T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR4 16GBx4(64GB) With full graphics on, Assassin's Creed Origins scored 8,392 in its built-in benchmark test, with the average FPS at 67, which is surprisingly worse than the 8GBx4 test result? Horizon Zero Dawn has a slight improvement of 10,750, the average FPS is 59 which is the same as the previous one, but with a maximum of 120 and a minimum of 1. The average FPS of Red Dead Redemption 2 is also about 59, but the maximum came to 75, and the minimum was 35 as well. For Cyberpunk 2077, I specifically ran to the same place, and the FPS was higher by 1… to 39. Summary: The 16GBx4 memory is not as much of an improvement over the 8GBx4 one. C. At 32GBx4 (128GB) capacity Finally, let's take a look at the performance of T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR4 32GBx4(128GB) which is currently the capacity limit of the single stick. Assassin's Creed Origins got a score of 8,449, with an average FPS of 68, which is still lower than the 8GBx4. Horizon Zero Dawn had a new record low of 10,713, with an average FPS of 59. The maximum was 80 and the minimum was 48. The average FPS of Red Dead Redemption 2 is still at 59, with a maximum of 66 and a minimum of 35. Cyberpunk 2077 at the same spot. The FPS was about 37, which was another record low. Summary: The performance of large-capacity memory is not particularly impressive, and the benefits seem to be lower compared to high-frequency memory. Here is a chart to give you a quick comparison: We can see that the increase in memory capacity has almost zero effect on FPS. Conclusion As the memory capacity increases, "multitasking" should have a greater impact. The larger the capacity, the more the computer can load to run multiple programs at the same time, such as running live streaming software, voice software, video editing software, and gaming software at the same time. The larger the memory capacity, the more easily it is to handle the large amount of temporary data sent by the CPU. Because this time I only want to focus on the effect of memory capacity on FPS, I don't want to increase the variables too much, so I didn't test the part of multitasking. Thus, if you want to significantly improve the performance of the game, you should not only focus on upgrading the graphics card, but also increase the memory frequency to make an obvious difference. You can refer to our previous articles: Does the Memory Frequency Affect the Game's FPS? 3 Games Tested (Part 1) Does the Memory Frequency Affect the Game's FPS? 3 Games Tested (Part 2) It's also worth mentioning that AMD has an AMD SAM technology for the 6000 series graphics cards. This time I didn't want to add variables, so I only tested it without AMD SAM turned on. If there is a chance in the future, I will give you a hands-on look at what AMD SAM technology can do for your CPU, memory, and graphics card. The result of this test show that each component has it's division of responsibility, so buying the best components does not mean that you can bring amazing changes to the game. If you have any test results, you're welcome to share your experience with us!
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As mentioned in the previous paragraph, with the difficulty of replacing graphics card today, we need to explore whether the frequency adjustment on the "gaming" memory will affect the FPS? And how wide is the impact? Does the Memory Frequency Affect the Game's FPS? (Part I) (Read More) TEST 3: In "Shadow of The Tomb Raider" Next are the results of our test on "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" using another platform. Using the second platform configuration as an example to test the game: Note: Different platforms might have different testing results. In "Shadow of the Tomb Raider", we gradually increased the T-FORCE XTREEM ARGB memory frequency from 3000Mhz to 3200Mhz, 3600Mhz, and up to 4000Mhz. We also turned on and off the ray tracing function to test and compare. T-FORCE XTREEM ARGB DDR4 32GB (Learn More), Where to Buy A. Memory frequency at 3000Mhz: Source: Screenshot in Shadow of the Tomb Raider In "Shadow of the Tomb Raider", we tried turning off the ray tracing first and the test frame rate was 158FPS. Source: Screenshot in Shadow of the Tomb Raider And with the ray tracing on, the frame rate was down to 121FPS reasonably. B. Memory frequency at 3200Mhz: Source: Screenshot in Shadow of the Tomb Raider In "Shadow of the Tomb Raider", we also turned off the ray tracing first, and the test frame rate was slightly increased from 158FPS to 162FPS. Source: Screenshot in Shadow of the Tomb Raider The frame rate changed from 121FPS to 122FPS after the ray tracing was turned on, which was the least improvement. C. Memory frequency at 3600Mhz: Source: Screenshot in Shadow of the Tomb Raider In "Shadow of the Tomb Raider", the frame rate reached 168FPS after the ray tracing was turned off, which was a steady improvement compared to 3200Mhz. Source: Screenshot in Shadow of the Tomb Raider After turning on the ray tracing, it was found that the frame rate was the same as the frame rate at 3200Mhz. The increase of frequency in ray tracing mode hasn't improved much in FPS, therefore it still relied on the performance of the graphics card mostly. D. Memory frequency at 4000Mhz: Source: Screenshot in Shadow of the Tomb Raider In "Shadow of the Tomb Raider", the frame rate was also improved even when the ray tracing was turned off. It reached 170FPS which was the highest in the test. Source: Screenshot in Shadow of the Tomb Raider And with the ray tracing on, it only improved by 1 as expected, reaching 123FPS, but it was also the highest in the test. This is the end of the platform test and here is the short conclusion. We can see that when the memory frequency is gradually increased, the higher the frequency will still have a certain effect on the increase of the frame rate of the game (FPS), but the impact is not as high as that brought by the graphics card. The above tests are conducted in 2K resolution, the effect will be more obvious if it is in 1080P. Conclusion Here is the introduction about the effect of the memory frequency on the frame rate of the game (FPS). Basically, when the memory frequency is gradually increased, the higher the frequency will still have an impact on the increase of the frame rate of the game (FPS). T-FORCE XTREEM ARGB DDR4 3200MHz 8GBx2 (Where to Buy) However, the difference in platforms still brings different test results. High-frequency memory is only an aid, one of many factors that might affect the result. Do not have the misconception that "Other hardware doesn't matter as long as I have a high-frequency memory"! I hope this article can bring some help to people who want to get a memory.
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During this period, the prices of various computer components have skyrocketed. Especially for the graphics card, the price is amazingly high and is not always available for purchase. Since it is difficult to replace the graphics card, we can only find another way to improve the gaming experience. Many people have thought that we are constantly adjusting the frequency of the "gaming" memory, but does the memory frequency really affect the FPS of the game? And how wide is the impact? For this test, we select 3 widely known games "Shadow of The Tomb Raider", "Cyberpunk 2077", "World of Warcraft" ; the first two games are the most discussed single-player games in the past two years, and the last one is the most classic online role-playing game for more than ten years. We will introduce the test result of "Cyberpunk 2077" and "World of Warcraft" using the first platform in "Part One". In "Part Two", we will change to another platform and present the test result of “Shadow of The Tomb Raider". We begin by using the first platform configuration as an example to test the game:Note: Different platforms might have different testing results. This time, we pick two T-FORCE gaming products for comparison. One is the entry-level T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR4, while the other one is the T-FORCE DARK Z FPS DDR4, which can effectively increase the FPS of the game. T-FORCE DARK Z FPS DDR4 4000MHz 16GB (Learn more), Where to Buy T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR4 2666MHz 16GB (Learn more), Where to Buy TEST 1. In "World of Warcraft" In "World of Warcraft", we test the frame rate of the game in four scenes, including a sparsely populated town, a crowded major city, a distant view, and the cluttered screen in a world boss fight. There is no built-in data testing tool for online games after all, so the tool we used this time is MSI Afterburner. Source: Screenshot in World of Warcraft The data obtained are as follows: In different scenes, the frame rate of the game will change in real time, so there is no way to perform with a fixed value, but basically, we can see that as the memory frequency increases, the frame rate of the game will also increase. The DARK Z FPS is set to 4000Mhz CL16, which is scary high. It can reach a high frequency of 4000Mhz and still maintain a low latency of CL16, which I think is no less than the 4800Mhz memory! TEST 2. In "Cyberpunk 2077" Next, "Cyberpunk 2077", the game that everyone on the Internet has been talking about a lot. People were looking forward to it but also got disappointed by its bugs. Nonetheless, the theme of the game is really unique, and it paints a picture of the future world for a lot of people. Source: Screenshot in Cyberpunk 2077 Let's look at the test data below: I used 1080P resolution, plus ray tracing, plus DLSS Quality and tested in the crowded city and open areas. Although the FPS difference is quite large, it is still very obvious that DARK Z FPS 4000MHz is significantly better than the entry-level DELTA RGB 266MHz. To maintain the quality of the picture at all times, high frequency memory is still useful to a certain extent. T-FORCE DARK Z FPS DDR4 4000MHz 16GB (Where to Buy) Conclusion The above is the test results of "Cyberpunk 2077" and "World of Warcraft" using the first platform configuration. We can see that when the memory frequency is gradually increased, the higher frequency will still have a certain impact on the game frame rate (FPS), but the impact is not as high as the graphics cards. Different platforms may have different test results. In the next article, we will use the second platform configuration to test in "Shadow of The Tomb Raider". Does the Memory Frequency Affect the Game's FPS? (Part Two) (Read More)
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Today let's talk about the trending topic that has been widely discussed since last year: Creator. What is the difference between this type of products and the gaming products that have been very popular in recent years? Which manufacturers are on board with this trend? What are the features of TEAMGROUP's "T-CREATE" series? Around last July, Intel announced the result of an internal survey, which pointed out that about 200 million people around the world use PCs to create photo, video and 3D content, and 60% of them are interested in the so-called "Creator PC". Just like the rapidly growing gaming market in recent years, Intel believes that this is a very promising market in the future, therefore PC manufacturers are flocking to release a variety of creator products. The entire market also began to have some news and reviews as the expansion of the diversification of the number of products, and the number of consumers using these products increased, which is probably the origin of this creator trend. Source: https://news.xfastest.com/interview/67216/intel的創作者pc將現今個人電腦市場再細分/ The difference between gamers and creators From the origin previously mentioned, we can see that both creator products and gaming products come from an increase in user demand: The "nerd" who played games in those years jumped on the scene and become a gamer, the entire gaming community was suddenly energized and the gaming market was created. With the growing development of self-media and the improvement of the quality and functionality of creative software, a large number of creators have appeared. In addition, the higher consumer demand for PC specifications has also created a market for creators. However, the literal definitions of the two are completely different. The following is the explanation from these aspects. 1. On the aspect of appearance The appearance of gaming products tends to be more black and red, with crazy looks or even RGB lighting to catch people's attention. The appearance of the creator products is a low-key silver gray with simple and elegant design. The style is both tasteful and pleasant. T-FORCE XTREEM ARGB DDR4 T-CREATE CLASSIC 10L DDR4 2. On the aspect of performance The pursuit of "extreme" performance in gaming products requires even faster speeds, so overclocking is the answer. For creator products, the priority is to pursue "stability", and speed must be increased under the premise of stability, rather than unlimited pursuit of extreme performance. T-FORCE XTREEM DDR4 T-FORCE CARDEA Ceramic C440 M.2 PCIe SSD T-CREATE EXPERT M.2 PCIe SSD 3. On the aspect of expansion The expansion of gaming products tends to be more comprehensive in terms of peripherals, such as support for high-quality headphones, high-definition live camcorders and other gaming accessories. The expansion needs of creator products are high speed transfer interfaces like Thunderbolt3, or large storage spaces such as NAS. T-FORCE SPARK RGB USB This is the most basic difference between the gaming market and the creator market, and other differences may vary depending on manufacturer's characteristics. Which brands have entered the “Creator” market currently? Here are a few brands as examples. 1. ASUS ProArt The ASUS ProArt has its own independent website, a wide range of products, and custom optimized software, all of which show ASUS's high level of care in many small details. ASUS ProArt (Learn More) 2. MSI Content Creator MSI also has its own website with a variety of products, but almost all news on the market are regarding laptops. The MSI Creator Series laptops do have many features specially designed for creators. MSI Content Creator (Learn More) 3. GIGABYTE AERO Among PCB board manufacturers, Gigabyte is relatively conservative, maybe it's because they are still sitting on the fence. Gigabyte has released a laptop designed for creators. Its performance and design style can fully meet the needs of creators. GIGABYTE AERO (Learn More) 4. ADATA Made for Creators Among the storage manufacturers had long had an independent page on its official website where it offers products to creators. However, the products that can be seen on the independent page are all existing products, so let's look forward to new creator products from them in the future! ADATA Made for Creator (Learn More) 5. TEAMGROUP T-CREATE Of all the memory manufacturers, TEAMGROUP was the first to make a new product that was truly exclusive for creators. TEAMGROUP has even raised its creator products to the same level as the T-FORCE brand, placing great emphasis on the creator market, therefore it is a valuable reference in the creator market. TEAMGROUP T-CREATE (Learn More) What is T-CREATE? T-CREATE is an all new brand launched by TEAMGROUP in September this year. It was released later than PCB board manufacturers, but it is still the first among storage manufacturers. T-CREATE spends a lot of time investigating actual usage needs. Compared to laptops, memory and SSD are not products that can be used directly, therefore it is necessary to accurately classify consumer groups and understand their usage in order to launch products that respond to consumers' needs. For the differences between TEAMGROUP, T-FORCE, and T-CREATE, which are the three brands under TEAMGROUP, the following is the ability distribution diagram that we often see when playing games, so you can easily see what their characteristics are. In addition, here is a product matrix of existing T-CREATE products. More T-CREATE products will be launched in the future to expand this product matrix. According to market demand, the T-CREATE series did not start with a 4000MHz memory or a Gen4x4 SSD that reads and writes 5000MB/s, but rather focused on durability and stability, with frequency and speed taking second place. You can go to the official website of TEAMGROUP T-CREATE for more detailed product specifications. T-CREATE Memory (Learn More) T-CREATE SSD (Learn More) Where to Buy
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The memory is going to enter the DDR5 era soon, which means that DDR4 technology is relatively mature. We've seen 8GB 3200MHz memory in stores and 32GB 4000MHz unboxing articles on forums. Comparing to three years ago, before AMD's rise to power, using 16GB 3600MHz memory with I7-8700K was already very luxurious then. DDR4 technology is much more mature than it was a few years ago, but there are times when you are so excited buying new memory, only to encounter various problems after getting it home. Today, we'll help solve some frequently asked questions to you. 1. Compatibility issues The IC, PCB, and Layout used are different for different memory manufacturers, models and specifications. Therefore, the memory QVL (Qualified Vendor List) is required to be verified for compatibility before the memory is released. The following screenshots are for reference. Usually, the QVL information is located on the motherboard page➡️Support➡️Memory However, there are numerous kinds of motherboards, and a motherboard manufacturer may produce 4 or 5 types of motherboards from a type chipset. With such a large number, manufacturers will prioritize upgrading newer chipsets. As the number of users of older chipsets gradually decreases, and as consumers using older chipsets usually have DRAMs that will not be upgraded, therefore manufacturers will assume that motherboards before a certain generation of the chipset will not support new ICs or specifications. In this case, if you buy a new memory and install it in the old computer, or use the new memory together with old memory, there may have incompatibility problems. Solution Please refer to the motherboard’s QVL List before buying the memory. Generally speaking, you only have to verify if the list has information such as (1) The memory manufacturer you wish to select. (2) What capacity is supported? (3) What frequency is supported? (4) How many sticks of memory can it install? It doesn't matter if the general public doesn't understand the external material number and CL value. Also, please avoid purchasing a new memory and use it with old ones that were bought a long time ago. Not only the difference of specification may cause incompatibility issues, but even products with the same specification may also be incompatible due to different ICs used in different periods. It is more effective to replace the entire set of memory if you want to upgrade. TEAMGROUP's memory will be sent to the motherboard manufacturer for verification during the development phase, and the memory will be left at the motherboard manufacturer so that it can be verified as soon as a new motherboard is released. TEAMGROUP memory is a reassuring choice thanks to the multiple verification of avoiding incompatibility issues. Here we provide some QVL list from specific motherboards for your reference. ASUS MSI GIGABYTE ASRock 2. Overclocking issues This is a complicated question with no fixed answer. It involves the relationship between CPU, motherboard and memory. There are too many scenarios, so here is some basic logic for reference. The most frequently heard questions are: (1) I bought a 3200MHz memory, but why does it only run at 2400MHz? (2) Your specification indicates that it can go up to 4000MHz but no matter how I overclock it, it is only 3600MHz? (3) If I buy a 3200MHz product, is it guaranteed to overclock to 4000MHz? First of all, if you have a question about overclocking, be sure to provide the motherboard model, CPU model, BIOS version you are using to help us determine the situation accurately. Otherwise, any answer that is not based on comprehensive judgment is invalid! Solution (1) For frequency issues, the first thing to consider is whether the maximum frequency supported by the motherboard meets the specification of the memory you bought. Generally, just click on the SPEC page on the motherboard and scroll down to Memory and you will see the details. (2) CPU support After all, overclocking is not a standardized specification, which means only referring to the specifications listed on the INTEL and AMD websites is not enough. It takes experience to know how much memory frequency can be overclocked by the CPU. Different motherboards will have different results, but in general the higher the CPU is, the higher the memory frequency can be overclocked. The following is a brief explanation of overclocking. For INTEL, I recommend selecting products with K at the end of the model, such as I9-10900K, I7-10700K. For AMD, I recommend picking products with X at the end of the model, such as R9-3900X, R5-3600X. If your CPU doesn't happen to fall into one of the above categories, your memory frequency may be limited to be overclocked. (3) BIOS version This is the most overlooked problem. Sometimes memory supportability will be corrected during BIOS update process, and if the older version has not been updated, the memory frequency may be limited. BIOS update can be downloaded from the official website of the motherboard manufacturer. It is recommended that for those who have not updated before, go check out the update SOP provided by the motherboard manufacturer first, because errors in the process may cause the entire motherboard to fail! (4) Check the actual representative type of the specification label It means to determine whether the frequency indicated on the memory package is the native JEDEC standard frequency, or is the frequency after XMP is enabled. JEDEC is an international solid-state technology association that sets different parameters for different frequency bands of memory. As long as the memory is produced following JEDEC standard, consumers do not need to do anything after purchasing the memory, just plug the memory onto the motherboard to meet the specifications on the package. The other type requires XMP, which is classified as an overlocking product. After buying it home, the most basic way to do is to go into the BIOS and enable XMP, and then let the motherboard read the SPD value in the memory and automatically overclock to the frequency indicated on the package. Just google JEDEC and frequency you are looking for, you will find the corresponding CL value on web pages. If the frequency and CL value of the memory you purchased match, it means it is the frequency within JEDEC standard and you can use it immediately by plugging it in. If the CL value of the memory you bought is below the JEDEC standard, then it is the type required XMP. Please note that not all motherboards can support the latest JEDEC standard frequency! Recently, JEDEC 3200MHz memory is slowly appearing on the market, but only the latest motherboard chipsets support this frequency, including the INTEL Z490, Z390, AMD TRX40, X570, B550. Therefore, if your motherboard chipset is not among them, you need to check the type of memory you purchase. Another situation is when the memory belongs to the type that requires XMP, but you haven't gone into the BIOS to enable XMP after buying it home, then it will only display the frequency without being overclocked. That is why many consumers bought 3600MHz home, but only showen 2400MHz. 3. Fully equipped with 4 modules often do problems. For optical reasons, many would like to have all RAM banks equipped on the motherboard. Since everything with the X470 / X570 or Z390 or Z490 is designed for dual channel and two ram modules would be sufficient for this, problems often arise when using four modules. A solution approach is, for example, that you only plug two modules on the mainboard and activate XMP. When the mainboard starts up and the XMP settings have been correctly applied, you can increase the memory controller voltage in the BIOS / UEFI. With AMD it is the SOC voltage and with INTEL the VCCIO voltage. Increases the voltage in small steps (0.05V steps). Save the setting and switch off the PC. Then plug the remaining two modules onto the motherboard and turn the PC back on. If everything works, the PC should start and the frequencies set in the XMP should be displayed. The background is that the memory controller is more loaded with four RAM modules (AMD external and Intel internal) and therefore requires a higher voltage for correct function. But remains in the motherboard specifications for the maximum voltages suitable for everyday use. If you have a lot of problems, take a look here. 4. DOA problem Dead On Arrival, abbreviated as DOA, means damaged on arrival. This can happen with any electronic products, not just memory, which means that you can't avoid it completely as long as it is an electronic product. After all, the transportation environment or changing factors are unpredictable after they leave the factory. However, don't worry, as long as it is a DOA and you have proof of purchase, the manufacturer will usually let you replace it with a new one to ensure consumers' rights. If there is something you've encountered since you bought it home that wasn't mentioned in this article, please let us know and we will reply in future articles!
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"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!
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After using the computer for some time, many people want to upgrade their computers when they start to experience lag and slowdown. Usually, the first thing that comes to mind is to upgrade the SSD and the memory. Here are the 5 things you should do after you get a new memory. 1. Open the package of the memory There are a few things to pay attention to on the packaging as well! The mainstream memory packaging on the market is divided into blister and carton sleeve packaging. The label information on the packaging is particularly important. On the packaging of TEAMGROUP's memory, the product specifications, features, ICON introduction are clearly labelled, making it easy to understand at a glance. T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR4 Where to buy Don't be too violent when you open the outer packaging and take out the memory. The gold contacts and IC are very fragile. 2. General visual inspection of the entire memory Major inspection item: Are the gold contacts brand new, no scratches or oxidation? Is the PCB intact, no breakage, burrs? The next is to see if the heat spreader is flat. However, I have never encountered any of these problems, so just think of it as a routine checkup. *Please avoid squeezing the IC when holding the memory. In addition, there is a product serial number sticker on every memory that you buy. Do not remove this sticker. You have to keep the sticker in order to have valid lifetime warranty. 3. Plug it onto the motherboard The memory is designed to be error-proof. The left and right sides of the middle notch are different in length. Please pay attention to the direction you insert it, otherwise the gold contacts may break if you force plugging it in! The wiring method of each motherboard is slightly different. Please refer to the user manual of the motherboard to make sure the location of the dual-channel when plugging in two memory sticks. The following image is an explanation in the ASUS motherboard user manual. The memory installation methods has been explained in “The process to handle memory errors”. Reminder: Make sure to turn off the power supply before installing or uninstalling the memory, otherwise the memory may be damaged if the power is still on! 4. BIOS setting After plugging it in, make sure there are no problems with other components first, and then boot the computer. However, please check the status of the memory in BIOS before entering Windows. Please press the DELETE button in the first screen after you press the boot button, or press DELETE like crazy after you press the boot button to enter the BIOS. There are some basic information after entering the easy mode screen of BIOS, but there’s not much that can be adjusted. You can adjust more with the memory after entering the advanced mode. Since different motherboard manufacturers have different hotkeys, you can refer to the description on the screen. The memory with frequency above 3200MHz on the market is dominated by overclocking memory. Only a few meet the native JEDEC 3200MHz specification, not to mention that high frequency such as 3600MHz, 4500MHz which require BIOS settings. Next, I'll show you how to reach the overclocking frequency that the manufacturer claimed, so don't ask again why only 2666MHz is displayed when you buy a 3600MHz one. Currently, there are four major motherboard manufacturers and they are divided into INTEL and AMD. For more details, please refer to: "How to overclock your RAM?" Take INTEL series of ASUS motherboard for example: After entering the advanced mode, press the right arrow key on the keyboard to move to "Extreme Tweaker" Next, press enter to select "Ai Overclock Tuner" and change to XMP, then you can press F10 to save and leave BIOS. This is a way to simply turn on XMP to read the content of the SPD in the memory. It is simple and easy for rookies, and you can correctly overclock to the frequency indicated in the memory by the following steps. If you want to adjust the frequency manually, here is a brief introduction to manual overclocking, but the matching of values and some more detailed adjustments require experience accumulation. In the same way, on the "Extreme Tweaker" page, please go to "DRAM Frequency" and press Enter to select the frequency. After selecting the frequency and press Enter to confirm, scroll down to "DRAM Timing Control" and press Enter, then you will see "DRAM CAS# Latency" which is the CL value. The next three cells of CL need to be adjusted accordingly, then try again on your own. After adjusting the CL value, voltage is the next to be considered. Press the left arrow key to go back to the previous page of the CL setting, go down to the "DRAM Voltage" and input voltage. It also requires experience to determine how much voltage is sufficient to support the set frequency. Reminder: It is recommended to increase the voltage little by little Setting too high at a time may cause memory damage! New gamers may not be able to get into Windows, and keep entering BIOS automatically due to incompatible values or settings that exceed the highest frequency supported by the motherboard and CPU. Now adjust the values again, or press the shortcut to restore all settings to default factory values, then you can enter Windows again! 5. Check the overclocking information At this point, the preparation is basically done. Don't rush to play the game just yet, make sure that the content you just adjusted is actually working. Check the operation status of the memory by using the CPU-Z software. After downloading and running the software, click on the "Memory" at the top, and then look at the DRAM Frequency at the bottom. The displayed value multiplied by 2 is the frequency in the actual operation. CPU-Z download Why multiply it by two? The full name of DDR4 is Double Data Rate, therefore we need Double to calculate the frequency. Beneath the frequency, you can also see the CL value in operation. Conclusion That's it for the basic introduction to memory. Now you can also buy components to upgrade your computer, or install it yourself!
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1. ASUS (1) ASUS motherboard (AMD chipset/CPU) a. Open D.O.C.P. i. Press “Delete” or “F2” to enter the BIOS. Then press F7 to enter “Advanced Mode”. ii. Press right arrow key to “Ai Tweaker”(Blue frame) and choose “Ai Overclock Tuner”(Green frame). Turn “Auto” into “D.O.C.P”(Red frame). iii. Press F10 to save the changes and exit the BIOS after completing steps above. b. Manual Overclocking Setting i. Press Delete or F2 to enter BIOS. After entering the BIOS, press F7 to enter Advanced Mode. ii. Press right arrow key to move to Ai Tweaker. Enter Memory Frequency to set the frequency you prefer. iii. After setting the frequency, go down to find DRAM Timing Control (red frame) and press “Enter”. iv. Find DRAM CAS# Latency and set the values according to your RAM specification as below in order. *The value on this screenshot doesn't represent all RAMs' setting. v. Go back to the previous page after setting the CL value. Find DRAM Voltage and fill in the voltage you want. vi. Press F10 to save the changes and exit the BIOS after completing the steps above. (2) ASUS motherboard (Intel chipset/CPU) a. Open XMP i. Press Delete or F2 to enter BIOS. Then press F7 to enter Advanced Mode. ii. Press right arrow key to move to Extreme Tweaker(Red frame). Then choose Ai Overclock Tuner(Green frame). Change into XMP(Blue frame) and press F10 to save the data and then leave. b. Manual Overclocking Setting i. Press Delete or F2 to enter BIOS. Then press F7 to enter Advanced Mode. ii. Press right arrow key to move to Extreme Tweaker and find the DRAM Frequency(Green frame) below. Choose the frequency you prefer(Blue frame) and press “Enter”. iii. Find the DRAM Timing Control(green frame) and press enter after setting the frequency. iv. Find DRAM CAS# Latency and set the values according to your RAM specification as below in order. *The value on this screenshot doesn't represent all RAMs' setting. v. Go back to the previous page and find DRAM Voltage(Green frame) after setting the CL value. Fill in the voltage in the DRAM Voltage. vi. Press F10 to save the changes and exit the BIOS after completing the steps above. 2. MSI (1) MSI motherboard (AMD chipset/CPU) a. Open D.O.C.P. i. Click “Delete” or “F2” to enter BIOS, and then click “F7” into advanced mode. ii. There are 2 ways to open D.O.C.P. (i) Click “A-XMP”(green frame), choose “2”, click F10 to save and then you can leave the page. (ii) Enter OC(green frame) on the left and switch “A-XMP” inside from “Disable” to “Profile2”(red frame), and click “F10” to save. Then you can leave the page. b. Manual Overclocking Setting i. Press "Delete" or "F2" to get into BIOS and press F7 to get into "Advanced Mode". ii. Get into "DRAM Frequency"(green frame) and choose the frequency (red frame). iii. After setting the frequency, click "Advanced DRAM Configuration" and fill in the CL value (green frame). iv. After setting the CL value, get into DRAM Voltage(green frame), fill in the voltage(blue frame). v. After doing the steps as above, press "F10" to save the settings. (2) MSI motherboard (Intel chipset/CPU) a. Open XMP i. Press "Delete" or "F2" to get into BIOS and press F7 to get into "Advanced Mode". ii. You have two choices to open XMP. (i) Click the A-XMP(red frame) on the top, transfer to "ON" and press F10 to save the settings. (ii) Get into OC(red frame), choose "Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P)"(blue frame) and change from Disable to Enable. Then press F10 to save the settings. b. Manual Overclocking Setting i. Press "Delete" or "F2" to get into BIOS and press F7 to get into "Advanced Mode". ii. Get into "DRAM Frequency"(red frame) and choose the frequency(red frame). iii. After setting the frequency, choose "Advanced DRAM Configuration"(red frame). iv. Fill in the CL value(green frame) in Advanced DRAM Configuration. v. After setting the CL value, fill in the voltage(blue frame) in "DRAM Voltage"(green frame). vi. After doing all the steps above, press "F10" to save the settings. 3. Gigabyte (1) Gigabyte motherboard (AMD chipset/CPU) a. Open D.O.C.P. i. Click “Delete” or “F2” to enter BIOS. ii. Select M.I.T.(blue frame), select Advanced Memory settings(green frame) and then press “Enter”. iii. Select “Extreme Memory Profile(X.M.P.)”(red frame), press “Enter” to enter “Profile1”(blue frame). And then press “Enter” to check again. iv. Press “F10” to save and leave BIOS after finishing all the steps above. b. Manual Overclocking Setting i. Press “Delete” or “F2” to enter BIOS. ii. Switch to “M.I.T.”(blue frame), choose Advanced Memory Settings(green frame) and press “Enter”. iii. Select System Memory Multiplier(green frame), set the frequency(blue frame). For instance, input 28.00 if you’d like to set the frequency to 2800Mhz. At the moment, Memory Frequency(red frame) will automatically change into relative frequency. iv. After finishing setting the frequency, find “Memory Timing Mode”(red frame) below and switch “Auto” into “Manual”(green frame). v. Find DRAM CAS# Latency and set the values according to your RAM specification as below in order. *The value on this screenshot doesn't represent all RAMs' setting. vi. After finishing filling in CL Value, back to the last page “M.I.T.” to find “Advanced Voltage Settings”(green frame) and then press “Enter”. vii. Select DRAM Voltage(red frame) and then select Voltage(blue frame). viii. After finishing all the steps above, press “F10” to save and leave BIOS. (2) Gigabyte motherboard (Intel chipset/CPU) a. Open XMP i. Press “Delete” or “F2” to enter BIOS ii. Switch to “M.I.T.”(blue frame), select “Advanced Memory Settings”(green frame) and press “Enter”. iii. Find “Extreme Memory Profile(X.M.P.)”(red frame), press “Enter” to enter “Profile1”(blue frame), and then press “Enter” again. iv. After finishing all the steps above, you can press “F10” to save and leave BIOS. b. Manual Overclocking Setting i. Press “Delete” or “F2” to enter BIOS. ii. Switch to “M.I.T.” on the above, select “Advanced Memory Settings” and press “Enter”. iii. Select “System Memory Multiplier”(green frame), set the frequency(blue frame). For instance, input 28.00 if you’d like to set the frequency to 2800Mhz. At the moment, Memory Frequency(red frame) will automatically change into relative frequency. iv. After finishing setting the frequency, select “Channel A Memory Sub Timings”(green frame). (Condition: Follow this step if you plug 2 sticks in the way from Motherboard’s Manual. If you plug in 4 sticks, please select “Channel A & B”.) v. After entering “Channel Memory Sub Timings”, switch “Memory Timing Mode”(green frame) from “Auto” to “Advanced Manual”(blue frame). vi. Find DRAM CAS# Latency and set the values according to your RAM specification as below in order. *The value on this screenshot doesn't represent all RAMs' setting. vii. After finishing the setting of CL value, back to the last page “M.I.T.”, select “Advanced Voltage Settings”(green frame) and then press “Enter”. viii. After entering “Advanced Voltage Settings”, select “DRAM Voltage Control”(green frame) ix. Fill in the proper voltage(blue frame) in DRAM voltage. x. After finishing all the steps above, you can press “F10” to save and leave BIOS. 4. ASrock (1) ASRock motherboard (AMD chipset/CPU) a. Open D.O.C.P. i. Press Delete or F2 to enter the BIOS. ii. Press F6 to enter Advanced Mode (red frame) iii. Press right arrow key to OC Tweaker(green frame) and find Load XMP Setting(Red frame). Enter to choose XMP 2.0 profile 1(blue frame). iv. Press F10 to save the changes and exit the BIOS after completing the steps above. b. Manual Overclocking Setting i. Press Delete or F2 to enter BIOS. ii. After entering the BIOS, press F6 to enter Advanced Mode. iii. Press right arrow key to move to OC Tweaker and find DRAM Frequency (red frame). Enter to choose a frequency you prefer. iv. Find DRAM CAS# Latency and set the values according to your RAM specification as below in order. *The value on this screenshot doesn't represent all RAMs' setting. v. Go back to the previous page after setting the CL value. Find DRAM Voltage and fill in the voltage. vi. Press F10 to save the changes and exit the BIOS after completing the steps above. (2) ASRock motherboard (Intel chipset/CPU) a. Open XMP i. Press “Delete” or “F2” to enter BIOS. ii. Press “F6” to enter “Advanced Mode”(red frame) after entering BIOS. iii. Press right arrow key to move to “OC Tweaker” (red frame). “Find DRAM Configuration”(blue frame) and press “Enter”. iv. Find “Load XMP Setting”(red frame). Press “Enter”, select “XMP 2.0 Profile 1” and press “Enter” again to confirm. v. Press “F10” to save the changes and exit the BIOS after completing the steps above. b. Manual Overclocking Setting i. Press “Delete” or “F2” to enter BIOS. ii. Press “F6” to enter “Advanced Mode”(red frame). iii. Press right arrow key to move to “OC Tweaker”(red frame). Find “DRAM Configuration”(blue frame) and press “Enter”. iv. Find the DRAM Frequency below and choose the frequency you prefer(blue frame). v. Find DRAM CAS# Latency and set the values according to your RAM specification as below in order. *The value on this screenshot doesn't represent all RAMs' setting. vi. Go back to the previous page after setting the CL value. Choose Voltage Configuration (red frame) to enter. vii. Fill in the voltage in “DRAM Voltage”(red frame) viii. Press “F10” to save the changes and exit the BIOS after completing the steps above.
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The military style, co-branded DELTA TUF Gaming Alliance RGB SSD(5V) and CARDEA II TUF Gaming Alliance SSD released by TEAMGROUP are all very representative. The former is the industry’s only 2.5” SSD with the largest luminous area, while the latter is the first M.2 SSD certified by TUF Gaming Alliance! The newly launched ASUS TUF Gaming Z490-PLUS[WI-FI] follows TUF Gaming Alliance’s black and gold color design, with the unique twill design on the I/O shield and southbridge to fully showcase TUF Gaming’s hardcore military style. Motherboard ASUS TUF Gaming Z490-PLUS[WI-FI] Unboxing Let’s take a look at the co-branded DELTA TUF Gaming Alliance RGB SSD(5V), and also review the previous generation, co-branded DELTA S TUF Gaming Alliance RGB SSD(12V). The main difference between the two is the light source connector. Since some motherboards only support 5V or 12V connectors, and TUF’s latest Z490 and B550 series motherboards already support 5V header, therefore TEAMGROUP releases the 5V version this time. In addition, the 5V version can display colorful stream of light while the 12V version can only display a single color at a time, which is caused by different light source connectors. T-FORCE DELTA TUF Gaming Alliance RGB SSD (5V) Packing T-FORCE DELTA TUF Gaming Alliance RGB SSD (5V) Unboxing T-FORCE DELTA TUF RGB SSD (Learn More) Where to Buy There’s also co-branded CARDEA II PCIe SSD available now! This CARDEA II TUF Gaming Alliance SSD with streamlined cooling fins is TUF Gaming Alliance’s “first” certified co-branded M.2 PCIe SSD. The T-FORCE logo in the middle is a magnificent design, and the TUF Gaming Alliance x CAREDEA II names at the bottom will get you very excited! T-FORCE CARDEA II TUF Gaming Alliance M.2 PCIe SSD Packing T-FORCE CARDEA II TUF Gaming Alliance M.2 PCIe SSD Unboxing PCIe is easy to generate heat during operating. After various experiments, the angle of this cooling fin is designed to provide the most powerful heat dissipation. T-FORCE’s design is very consumer-oriented! T-FORCE CARDEA II TUF M.2 SSD (Learn More) Where to Buy Let’s see how it actually performs. T-FORCE DELTA TUF Gaming Alliance RGB SSD, CARDEA II TUF Gaming Alliance M.2 PCIe SSD Installation As for the DELTA TUF Gaming Alliance(5V), if the read/write speed of 2.5” SSD can reach 500MB/s and above, it is considered to be a high quality SSD. The difference in speed between 550MB/s and 540MB/s is not that much, so we won’t test it here. However, as an M.2 PCIe SSD, it is necessary to undergo a speed test. The following CARDEA II TUF Gaming Alliance SSD 512GB is tested with three softwares. 1. The most common CDM (CrystalDiskMark) Considering fairness concern, we have only taken the result in the first test. The read speed of this SSD is 24MB/s less than the 3400MB/s on the official website, but the write speed is actually 439MB/s more than 2000MB/s. The overall speed performance is very satisfactory. 2. AS SSD Benchmark This test got 4178 points with CARDEA II TUF Gaming Alliance 512GB. It will get even higher points with the 1TB. Switching to the AS SSD Benchmark IOPS, we can see that the CARDEA II TUF Gaming Alliance also has excellent performance. 3. Tx Bench The performance of Seq 256K Q32T1 and CDM 1MQ8T1 are similar. In different situations, the performance of the CARDEA II TUF Gaming Alliance is very stable, which is a very important requirement for SSDs. Conclusion The DELTA TUF Gaming Alliance(5V) is updated with the support of TUF motherboard. The exterior design inherits the military style of TUF Gaming Alliance, and the color change has advanced from a single color to multiple colors. If you like the TUF Gaming series, you should definitely get it and match with the motherboard! The CARDEA II TUF Gaming Alliance has a black background color with a magnificent T-FORCE LOGO. Certified by ASUS TUF Gaming, the upper aluminum fin heatsink will not interfere with the components on the motherboard. It has powerful heat dissipation capability and ultra-fast computing speed. What are you waiting for? Get it home now! Learn more about TUF series co-branding: T-FORCE VULCAN TUF DDR4 Where to Buy T-FORCE DELTA TUF DDR4 Where to Buy T-FORCE DELTA TUF RGB SSD Where to Buy T-FORCE CARDEA II TUF M.2 SSD Where to Buy
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Now that there is so many software for lighting control, which one should I choose? How do I use them? Currently, the four major motherboard manufacturers are leading in software integration and can control 90% of the lighting accessories on the market. Here’s the tutorial on how to use the software of four major motherboard manufacturers. 【ASUS-AURA】 If you don’t have this software yet, please download it from this link. (Download Link) This is version 1.07.79. From this version onwards you can fully control the lighting mode of the beautiful T-FORCE XTREEM ARGB memory. T-FORCE XTREEM ARGB DDR4 (Learn More) Where to Buy After opening the software, the top left corner shows devices that are currently detected and can be connected by the software. The white ones are currently connected. It will turn red and disconnect the device while clicking it. The entire row on the left is a variety of lighting effects, please select your preferred lighting mode. In the middle, you can select the same color for all lighting parts, or you can set the light by each area individually. If you want the same color, select “Single Color”, if you want to set it by yourself, select “By areas”. Next, you can choose the location of the light on the motherboard or any light bead on the memory. It is completely self-customized, suitable for people who wants to create their own lighting style. In the end are Color(1), Hue(2), Saturation and Brightness(3) adjustments. These are supported by almost every lighting control software. Overall, ASUS’s lighting control software is full of functions, with a wide selection of lighting effects, and the ability to control the color of each light bead. Highly recommended for those who have ASUS motherboards ASUS Aura might be integrated into “Armoury Crate” integration software along with other ASUS motherboard related softwares in the future, which is the trend of motherboard manufacturers to meet the needs of gamers at this stage, but it is still in the transition period currently. 【MSI-MYSTIC LIGHT】 Please visit the download page of this software. (Download Link) The first thing you will see is “DRAGON CENTER(UWP VERSION)”, which is an integrated software that combines many MSI related softwares internally. If you are using the Windows 10 operating system, you need to download this integrated software, and then download Mystic Light within this software. If you use operating system “below Windows 10” and your motherboard matches the motherboard model supported on this page, you will need to scroll down the page to find Mystic Light 3 software to control the lighting effect. Next, follow the instructions while looking at the software: After click and open DRAGON CENTER, the internal software will be downloaded first. And when you officially enter, there is a row of software to choose from on the left side of the page, please click “Mystic Light”. After entering the software, you will see the main screen which is the location to synchronize all the RGB and Mystic Light compatible accessories. Select the LED Style on the right and the whole system will run in the same lighting effect. If you want to control T-FORCE memory individually, you can select the preferred mode and set the color by switching from the link-like logo above to the “DRAM”! Individual control not only has many effects, but you can also customize the color yourself, which can be very useful and gorgeous even when the whole system cannot be synchronized! Don’t forget to click Apply in the bottom right corner whether you are synchronizing the entire system or controlling the memory individually. If you are using an MSI motherboard, get a set of T-FORCE memory and let the memory rock along with your PC! T-FORCE memory (Learn More) 【GIGABYTE-RGB FUSION 2.0】 The download location of this software is relatively simple. (Download Link) Just click the Download button as shown below. After opening the software, you will see the motherboard’s lighting effect control screen. The upper left corner will automatically show the motherboard you are using. The screen is divided into three areas, first you have to choose which light you want to control in area 1, and then area 2, 3 will light up for operating. Area 2 is for selecting the effect, and area 3 is for selecting your preferred color, speed, brightness, etc. Remember to click APPLY after you finished selecting. To operate the T-FORCE memory, first, click the memory logo under the motherboard on the left side, you will see a similar UI as the motherboard control screen, except that there is no light selection. The next steps are similar as well, including the adjustment for lighting effect, color, speed, and brightness. It is recommended to set the speed at about half to avoid too much speed or too bright for your eyes. 【ASROCK- Polychrome RGB】 Please visit ASRock’s official website for software download. From Products pages, find the motherboard you are using, scroll down and click Support and then click Download. At the bottom you will see [Beta] ASRock Polychrome RGB, this is the latest version of the lighting control software. Please notice that AMD and Intel platforms have different version numbers, so be sure to download the software under the correct motherboard model! Above is a screenshot of the Download page of the Z390 motherboard, and below is a screenshot of the X570 motherboard for reference. The setup is also divided into synchronizing the entire system’s lighting effect, and setting the T-FORCE memory individually. Let’s take a look at how to synchronize the memory and motherboard: First, select the Onboard LED page, then click the DRAM logo on the bottom left. After selecting the lighting effect synchronization of the DRAM and the motherboard, you can only select Style, which is the only major limitation of this software. But ASRock has all kinds of good looking styles built in, the auto adjustment is a great feature for gamers who want to save time. If you have more ideas about your own lighting style: Before switching to control memory individually, you need to click “DRAM” above again to unselect it, and then you can switch pages in the upper left corner! Please stop asking why “Component” can’t be clicked, it’s because the synchronization is not cancelled first! After unselecting DRAM, click “Component” on the upper left to enter the page for controlling the memory individually. You can adjust the color, brightness, style, etc., and even turn off the light of the memory alone. T-FORCE XCALIBUR Phantom Gaming RGB DDR4 (Learn More) Conclusion The functions of the lighting control software of the four motherboard manufacturers are very similar, and they are all very well integrated. You can control the motherboard, memory, SSD, keyboard, mouse and other accessories at the same time, without having to install a bunch of software to control them individually.
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Have you ever encountered installing or boot issue while using the memory? Do you know how to use the memory correctly? Let’s introduce the simple memory debugging process now! Demo Memory: T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR4 (Learn More), Where to Buy 1. Installation method I. The correct hand position for installing the memory can ensure the force on the gold contacts of the memory is even to avoid damage. II. When installing the memory, make sure there’s no dust or foreign objects on the gold contacts of the memory and the motherboard slots. Foreign objects or dander might easily burn the memory. 2. PC won’t boot (Cannot enter BIOS) I. First, refer to the order of the motherboard memory slot. → Install the memory (single or dual channel) in the correct memory slots of the motherboard. → Check if it can boot normally. The memory slots of each brand of the motherboard have a custom order. Please refer to the manual of the motherboard. II. If already installed in the correct position but still can’t boot. → Install a single memory in a slot of the motherboard in turns for testing. → Find out which memory has a problem / If the problem that the PC is unable to boot has been confirmed, please contact the manufacturer for repair. III. Cross test to see if there is a problem with the memory slots of the motherboard. → Install the memory that works normally in DIMM1~DIMM4 in turns to see if all DIMM slots are working. IV. If there’s another motherboard available → Install memory on the different motherboard to see if it’s working normally. → If it is still not working, it can be inferred that it is caused by the memory. 3. RGB lighting issue I. If RGB memory’s lighting is not working, it is mostly caused by the LED lightbulbs. It should be sent for repair directly. II. If RGB memory’s lighting cannot be controlled, please install and test with only one RGB software, or update RGB software to the latest version. While testing, please make sure other software is completely uninstalled. III. Please do not use alcohol or eraser to clean gold contacts.
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If you have read our article on how to choose a SSD, then we know it won’t quench your thirst for knowledge! Next, lighting or no lighting? Or born for overclocking? We will tell you which TEAMGROUP memory is perfect for a gamer like you! If you are a gamer, and you desire to build a fancy PC and are capable of playing any game! As a gamer, having great looks and inner is a must. Your computer also needs to have a great looking and powerful memory to complete the full set. Introducing you the T-FORCE RGB Memory Series, which has a clever design of appearance and light guide, and is also compatible with major motherboard manufacturers’ lighting effect control software. It is cool and can also seamlessly blend in with other parts. In terms of performance, TEAMGROUP provides very good specifications. If you are interested, please check out the webpage for more information. Recommended products: XTREEM ARGB / XCALIBUR RGB / NIGHT HAWK RGB /DELTA RGB DDR4 Gaming Memory Series T-FORCE XTREEM ARGB DDR4 (Learn More), Where to Buy T-FORCE XCALIBUR DDR4 (Learn More) T-FORCE NIGHT HAWK DDR4 (Learn More), Where to Buy T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR4 (Learn More), Where to Buy If you are a gamer who is ready to step into the gaming world, assemble a PC with a great bargain first! You probably want to buy memory with RGB just because many computer components of yours have RGB lighting effects, but this will cost you a lot of money to build a PC. If you have budget concerns, why not building a gaming PC without RGB lightings first! Therefore, the best solution is to get a memory with great performance and looks, but without the RGB lighting. Among the T-FORCE Gaming Memory Series, there are two models we recommend: VULCAN Z & DARK Z DDR4 series have beautifully designed heat spreaders with anode painting, and overclocking performance. The price is a steal. These two models are definitely your top choices if you want to build a PC with a great bargain! T-FORCE VULCAN Z DDR4 (Learn More), Where to Buy T-FORCE DARK Z DDR4 (Learn More), Where to Buy If you are an overclocker who lives by the spirit of DIY PC If you don’t need a fancy look and the price never bothers you, all you care about is how awesome the performance is! Then T-FORCE has prepared just the right things for you. After rigorous selection by the laboratory and engineers, two overclocking memories suitable for overclockers have been created: XTREEM DDR4 / DARK PRO DDR4. It possesses high frequency + low latency CL, and using selected IC chips and high-performance heat spreader. All these offer the overclockers a chance to unleash the power of the PC. T-FORCE XTREEM DDR4 (Learn More) T-FORCE DARK PRO DDR4 (Learn More) If you are a heavy creator and gamer who loves to pursuit the latest technology This year, T-FORCE released an innovative memory product that has overclocking performance and a great appearance. Redefining the RGB lighting by being the first in the industry launching the ARGB lighting effects with the low key and high-quality mirror design. Various frequency and CAS Latency are introduced to meet the needs of gamers at all levels. Introducing to you again: XTREEM ARGB DDR4! That’s right, we already mentioned XTREEM ARGB once before, so why talk about it again? It is because this product combines both the latest technology on the outside and the highest specifications on the inside. After spending years on research and development, this is the product revealing the full strength of TEAMGROUP, and it is also the most recommended product of the article! T-FORCE XTREEM ARGB DDR4 (Learn More), Where to Buy
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