With the arrival of the PCIe Gen5 SSD, cooling for SSDs has become increasingly important. PCIe is all the rage when it comes to high-speed data transmission interfaces. Table of Contents Read/write speed of PCIe SSDs SIREN DUO360 All-in-One ARGB CPU & SSD Cooler Working principle Temperature difference Read/write speed of PCIe SSDs In recent years, PCIe SSDs have rapidly evolved from a read/write speed of up to 3,500/3,000 M B/s with PCIe Gen3 SSDs, to 7,400/7,000 M B/s with Gen4 , and up to 12,000/10,000 M B/s with Gen5. As the read/write speed of PCIe SSDs has multiplied, the power consumption has also increased. As a result, the operating temperature of PCIe SSDs has risen significantly. Therefore, TEAMGROUP launched the T-FORCE SIREN DUO360 ARGB CPU & SSD all-in-one liquid cooler, which is designed to provide an excellent cooling solution for high-performance PCIe Gen5 SSDs. SIREN DUO360 All-in-One ARGB CPU & SSD Cooler Today, we will explore how the T-FORCE SIREN DUO360 can effectively cool the T-FORCE CARDEA Z540 M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSD recently launched by TEAMGROUP . The T-FORCE SIREN DUO360 ARGB CPU & SSD all-in-one liquid cooler features a dual water block design consisting of CPU and SSD water blocks. From the graph below, we can see the cooling performance of the CPU and SSD water blocks. The former reduces the CPU temperature by 29%, while the latter reduces the SSD temperature by 30%. Working principle Next, let's talk about the working principle. First, the radiator with a high-speed water pump at 4000 rpm drives the liquid to flow from the inlet tube to the SSD water block, reducing the SSD temperature. Next, the SSD's outlet tube dissipates the heat. The liquid enters the CPU water block to reduce the CPU temperature. Then, the CPU's outlet tube removes the heat. Finally, the liquid flows back to the radiator. Accompanied by three 120 mm ARGB hydraulic-bearing fans featuring high static pressure and large air volume, the large 360 mm radiator with a high-density jet fin rapidly cools down the liquid to complete the thermodynamic cycle and achieve excellent overall cooling performance. Read more: Is a Liquid CPU Cooler Better Than the Air Cooler? Things You Need to Know Before Buying a CPU Cooler. Temperature difference The figure below shows the T-FORCE SIREN DUO360's data for the Gen5 SSD. The temperature difference is illustrated in the chart. When the CPU and SSD are both running at full capacity, the operating temperature comes in at 75ºC if only the motherboard's native heat sink is used for cooling. But when the liquid cooling module for a dual-heat source is used, the operating temperature drops to 52ºC. These results demonstrate how the T-FORCE SIREN DUO360 delivers superior cooling performance. Temperature Range with Cooling from T-FORCE SIREN DUO360 Motherboard GIGABYTE X670 AORUS PRO AX CPU AMD Ryzen7 7700X GPU GeForce GT 710 SSD M.2 PCIe Gen5 SSD ( without heat sink ) Testing software Crystal Disk Mark 8 for SSD & AIDA 64 for CPU ( both operating at full load ) Ambient temperature 25℃ (±1℃) Test times SSD: Keep your computer idle for 5 minutes (idle temperature) CDM 1GB, 5 rounds, TEST ALL (full-load temperature) CPU: Test at full load for 30 minutes We hope that you found these insights useful in addressing your needs. Want to get the inside track on more products? Please follow our articles. See you next time! Read more: How to Properly Install the T-FORCE SIREN DUO360 AIO ARGB CPU & SSD Liquid Cooler?
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Remember the T-FORCE SIREN GD240E AIO ARGB Liquid Cooler installation tutorial that we shared with you a few months ago? TEAMGROUP recently released the industry’s T-FORCE SIREN DUO360 AIO ARGB CPU & SSD Liquid Cooler. Today I want to show you how to install it and what details should be paid attention to during installation. There is a video of the installation process below the article. For those of you who don’t like to read long texts, you can click the video below and watch it first. If there’s something you don’t understand, come back and read the text again! List Check the contents Install the fan to the water cooling row Install water block Wiring to the motherboard Check the contents With the additional M.2 SSD water block, there are more brackets, screws, and wires inside the box of T-FORCE SIREN DUO360 AIO ARGB CPU & SSD Liquid Cooler than the T-FORCE SIREN GD360E AIO ARGB Liquid Cooler that was released a while ago. In the product content of T-FORCE SIREN DUO360 ARGB CPU & SSD integrated water-cooling product, because of the addition of M.2 SSD water-cooling head, the fasteners, screw locks and wire parts will also be better than the T-FORCE SIREN GD360E released a while ago. ARGB integrated water cooling is a bit more. Install the fan to the water cooling row First, take out the fan, water cooling row and screws Ⓚ. Depending the assembly position of the case, the water cooling row and fans are installed in different locations and methods. Click the link for details. Previous article: How to properly install an AIO liquid CPU cooler? What are the differences when installed in different positions of the case? Today’s example is installed on the front of the case. The front (convex) of the fan should be installed facing the water cooling row, and the fan should be tighten to the water cooling row in diagonal order. In this way, the heat inside the water cooling row can be discharged to the outside. Then take out the screwsⓁ in the package, and lock the water cooling row to holes in the front of the case. Install water block The highlight of SIREN DUO360 AIO ARGB CPU & SSD Liquid Cooler is the dual water block design with both CPU and M.2 SSD. Let’s install the CPU water block first and then the SSD water block. 1. Install CPU water block Take the 1700 socket of INTEL’s 12th generation CPU as an example. First, tear off the double sided tape on the bracketⒸ for the 1700 socket, then place the bracket to the screw holes on the motherboard from the back. Flip motherboard to the front and tighten the screwsⓈ in four corners to secure the bracket. After placing the CPU on the motherboard, apply the thermal paste. I recommended to use the 5 dots method. Remove the copper bottom surface protection sticker on the CPU water block. Take out the screwsⒾ, tighten the water block to the motherboard in diagonal order as well. Do not screw it too tightly at once. Lock all the screws and then tighten them in the same order, so that the water block applies force to the CPU evenly, making the CPU less likely to be damaged. 2. Install M.2 SSD water block Reminder: Make sure to check the size of your own M.2 SSD. This SSD water block is only suitable for the size of M.2 SSD 2280. Take out the thermal conductive filmⓍ, remove the double sided contact surface protection sticker and put it on M.2 SSD. When placing the M.2 SSD on the bracketⒻ, pay extra attention to the direction of the connecting finger and hole of the M.2 SSD. The hole of M.2 must be on the same side as the hole of the bracket. Take out the M.2 SSD water block and pay attention to the installation direction of the water block. The screw hole should be on the same side as the hole of the bracket. Use the screwⓊto secure the water block to the M.2 bracket. When installing the assembled M.2 SSD water block to the motherboard, pay special attention to whether the motherboard has a copper pillar for fixing the M.2 SSD. Align the holes of the M.2 SSD water block with the copper pillar, and use a screwdriverⓋ to lock it to the motherboard. Unlike the CPU water block, the M.2 SSD water block has a magnetic light module. Remember to remove the light module and install it separately. Reminder: The light module can be installed on top of the M.2 SSD water block, and can also be attached to the case for decoration! After the installation of the two sets of water blocks are completed, you can take out the cable ties from the package and arrange the liquid cooling tubes of the CPU water block and SSD water block according the picture below. Wiring to the motherboard After securing the AIO CPU & SSD Liquid Cooler to the case and the motherboard, the last step is wiring! The T-FORCE SIREN DUO360 AIO ARGB CPU &SSD Liquid Cooler has two cables per fan, one for the power and one for the ARGB signal, while the CPU water block and M.2 SSD water block light module have only one ARGB signal cable each. Reminder: The ARGB signal cable is a 5V 3 PIN connector (below right), which is different from the power cable (below left)! We connect the ARGB signal cable first, then the power cable: 1. ARGB signal cable wiring Let’s take a look at the fan first. Connect the ARGB signal cables of the 3 fans in series with each other, and after the series connection is completed, take out the ARGB signal 1 to 3 breakout cableⓃ in the package and connect it to the fan ARGB signal cable. Now, the ARGB signal 1 to 3 breakout cable will have two connectors left, which are respectively connected to the ARGB signal cables of the CPU water block and the SSD water block light module, and then connect the other end of the signal cable to the 5V 3 PIN position on the motherboard. 2. Power cable wiring There are 3 sets of power cable connectors for 3 sets of fans. Take out the 1 to 3 power cableⓆ in the package and connect it to the fan power cable. Connect the other end to the position of CPU fan on the motherboard and you are done. The power cable on the water cooling row should be connected to the AIO_PUMP on the motherboard. It will be marked on the motherboard, you don’t have to worry. The T-FORCE SIREN DUO360 AIO ARGB CPU & SSD Liquid Cooler supports all the following motherboard manufacturer’s lighting software (ASUS Aura Sync/ASROCK-Polychrome Sync/BIOSTAR Advanced VIVID LED DJ/GIGABYTE RGB Fusion 2.0/ MSI Mystic Light Sync software). Not only can the fans and CPU and SSD’s water block be able to individually configured with your favorite lighting effects, but the T-FORCE ARGB memory in the hands of T-fans also supports the above lighting software, allowing everyone to customize their own lighting effects! This is the end of today’s installation tutorial, I hope it can light up everyone’s case and achieve a more efficient cooling effect at the same time!
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The last article has introduced to you what an AIO liquid CPU cooler is, if you still don’t understand it, go and make up the progress. Is a Liquid CPU Cooler Better Than the Air Cooler? Things You Need to Know Before Buying a CPU Cooler. Today, I want to share with you how to install an AIO liquid CPU cooler after purchasing it. What should you pay attention to during the installation process? 1. Check the product contents In an AIO liquid CPU cooler, there are many parts besides the cooler itself, such as brackets, screws, and various wires. So the first thing you do is pick up the manual and make sure all parts are there or you may not be able to install smoothly! The following is a demonstration using T-FORCE SIREN GD240E All-in-One ARGB CPU Liquid Cooler. SIREN GD240E ARGB 2. What do I need to pay attention to when installing in different locations of the case? When you see an AIO liquid CPU cooler for the first time, the first question most people have is how do I install this? The first thing you need to pay attention to is the fans on the water cooling row. Depending on the design of each case, there may be more than one place to install. Different installation locations have different installation methods for fans. The following two installation positions are more common in the market and have been tested to have more effective heat dissipation. At this point you must be thinking to yourself: Which side is the front? In fact, the installation direction of the fan is related to the direction of air intake. The fan blade basically has a convex and concave side, the convex side is the intake, and the concave side is the exhaust. So the direction of the air flow is like the diagram below. (The front side is convex, the back side is concave) (Fan+air flow diagram) In the previous article, we mentioned that the purpose of the fan installed on top of the water cooling row is to bring the heat away from the water cooling row, thereby cooling the coolant. If the place you install is at the “top” of the case, the “concave side” of the fan should be installed facing the water cooling row, so that the wind will smoothly blow the heat away from the water cooling row. If the place you install is the “front side” of the case, the “convex side” of the fan should be installed facing the water cooling row, and then installed on the front side of the case. It is because the front side of the case is for air intake and the back side is for exhaust, so this way the installation will be in a uniform direction of air flow. Reminder The AIO liquid CPU cooler alone can’t cool down the entire PC. The PC itself must be equipped with other fan products to achieve an effective cooling effect. A quick tip, if you really forget which side is air intake and which side is the exhaust, try pushing the blades hard to feel the wind flow. 3. Installation steps of the AIO liquid CPU cooler Speaking of which, let’s show you how to install an AIO liquid CPU cooler. Take the SIREN GD240E All-in-One ARGB CPU Liquid Cooler as an example. 1. Install the fan to the water cooling row The installation direction of the fan has been mentioned in the previous paragraph. This time we install the water cooling row on top of the case, so the fan direction is as shown below. Confirm the direction and take the longer screws in the package to lock it. Reminder Lock the screws in the order of “X”. Remember not to lock all four screws tightly at once. After locking all four screws loosely, then tighten them in the same order. 2. Install water cooling row into the case Align the water cooling row with the holes on the top of the case, take the appropriate screws from the package and screw them. Reminder Remember not to lock the screws tightly at once. After locking all screws loosely, then tighten them in the same order to avoid damage to the product. In addition, some cases have magnetic filter on the top, you will have to remove the filter to see the installation location. 3. Install water block Before installation, select the appropriate bracket. Take the 1700 socket of INTEL’s latest 12th generation CPU as an example, the installation steps are as follows: First, place the bracket for the 1700 socket to the screw holes on the motherboard from the back. Flip motherboard to the front and secure the screws in the four corners. Then, after placing the CPU on the motherboard, remove the protective cover and apply thermal paste. There are millions of ways to apply the thermal paste. I found that the following 5-point method can be applied most evenly. Reminder When installing the CPU, in addition to paying attention to the installation direction, remember not to remove the protective cover of the CPU first. When the CPU is properly placed and the latch is press down, the protective cover will pop open automatically. This also better protects the pins on the motherboard. Remove the copper bottom surface protection sticker on the water block of the SIREN GD240E All-in-One ARGB CPU Liquid Cooler. Take the appropriate screws and screw them on the motherboard. The screwing method is the same, following the order of X and do not screw it too tightly at once. Lock all the screws and then tighten them in the same order, so that the water block applies force to the CPU evenly, making the CPU less likely to be damaged. 4. Wiring to the motherboard After securing the AIO liquid cooler to the case and the motherboard, the last step, and the most important step, is wiring! First, you must identify the purpose of each wire. Since the fan and the water block of T-FORCE SIREN GD240E AIO ARGB liquid cooler have ARGB function, therefore the fan has two cables individually, one for the power and one for the ARGB signal, while the water block only has one ARGB signal cable. Reminder The ARGB signal cable is a 5V 3 PIN connector (below left), which is different from the power cable (below right)! Wiring is quite simple. First, you connect the water block’s ARGB signal cable from the package. Find the one-to-three cable from the package, and get the fan and the ARGB signal cable of the water block and plug it in, then connect it to the 5V 3 PIN position on the motherboard and you are done. Then there is the is the power cable. The power cable on the water cooling row should be connected to the AIO_PUMP on the motherboard. It will be marked on the motherboard, you don’t have to worry. The power cable on the fan is connected to the CHA_FAN position on the motherboard, and that’s it! You must be wondering why there are still many things in the package that are not used? Some of them are brackets for AMD platform that we didn’t demonstrate this time, and some of them are for cables that need to be used when there are limited holes on the motherboard. If your still having problems during the installation, don’t worry, feel free to leave a message at the bottom, I will do my best to answer them. I will see you next time.
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In a computer, the CPU cooler is an indispensable part of the build, which is used to help the CPU to dissipate heat. When buying a CPU, whether it is INTEL or AMD, a stock CPU cooler will be attached. Since the original factory has attached it, do we still need to purchase another one? Is a liquid CPU cooler necessary? 1. What is an air CPU cooler? The heat conduction principle of air cooling is mainly to use “air circulation” to dissipate heat. Regardless of whether it is a top-down type or a tower type, the heat of the CPU will be conducted through the thermal paste to the metal junction of the cooler, and then the heat will be guided to the metal fins on the CPU cooler by the metal pipe, and finally the fan will carry the heat away. Since the way of heat dissipation is through the air flow, the size of the case and the size and number of fans on the cooler will have a greater impact on the air CPU cooler. In other words, under the same cooler and environmental conditions, a larger case will have a better cooling effect. Of course, the larger the size of the air CPU cooler, the more layers of metal fins are used to dissipate heat, which naturally increases the overall heat dissipation area and leads to better cooling effect. Air CPU coolers are divided into “top-down” and “tower” types. Generally, the original CPU comes with a top-down cooler. We will not discuss it in detail here. If you are interested, let me know! (Source : https://news.xfastest.com/news/2993/2993/) 2. What is liquid CPU cooler? The heat conduction principle of liquid cooling is mainly to use liquid circulation to dissipate heat. Of course, it must be used with a fan to remove the heat. The CPU also uses thermal paste to conduct heat to the metal junction of the cooler, and then through the coolant, the heat source is drained to the water cooling row by a conduit. Finally, use the fan on the water cooling row to blow the heat in the coolant away. After cooling the coolant will continue to circulate, repeating the above steps to achieve the cooling effect. The following illustration is based on the operation of TEAMGROUP’s SIREN GD240E All-in-One ARGB liquid cooler as an example: Liquid CPU coolers are divided into “AIO” and “Open loop”. It is obvious how challenging the open loop cooler is to install by just looking at the parts, and there will also be a difference in price of course. Want to know the detailed comparison of these two liquid CPU coolers? Leave a message below! Reminder Coolant is different from the tap water we generally use! Although it looks delicious and colorful, it is a chemical liquid. According to my friend (I will never admit that it is me), it tastes super bitter. You must seek medical attention immediately if you accidentally swallow it. 3. Air cooler or liquid cooler? Before deciding on getting an air cooler or a liquid cooler, you need to know that the heat dissipation effect of liquid cooling is better than air cooling. Of course, the price will also be more expensive. 1. What range does the temperature usually fall in? You can use software such as Core Temp or HWMonitor to check what range the CPU temperature falls in for a long time in your current usage habits. The normal operating temperature is about 40℃~65℃. If you are playing 3A games, the temperature will fall between 70℃~85℃. If it is higher than 85℃, then you need to check if there’s a problem with your cooling system! So, you can think about whether you will have the needs of multi-tasking, playing 3A games, or using video editing software. These usages will result in high CPU usage, which in turn will cause the CPU to generate a lot of heat, and will require a liquid CPU cooler with better heat dissipation to make it less likely to overheat. 2. Space limitations and personal budget for case installation Next is the internal installation space of the computer case. Tower air CPU coolers can easily cause problems due to its high height or the large size that interferes with the installation of the memory, which makes it unable to be installed into the case smoothly. In the pursuit of a better cooling solution and with a limited budget, it is recommended that you choose an all-in-one liquid CPU cooler. There are many kinds of all-in-one liquid coolers on the market. You can choose a style with RGB lighting effects or non-light pollution according to your personal preferences. The water block of TEAMGROUP’s SIREN GD240E All-in-One ARGB liquid cooler presents a textured mirror finish when the lighting effect is off. When the RGB lighting effect is turned on with the RGB fan, you can have high cooling performance and RGB visual feast all at once! SIREN GD240E ARGB: https://www.teamgroupinc.com/tw/product/siren-gd240-all-in-one-argb-cpu-liquid-cooler 4. What should I pay attention to before purchasing? Compatibility issues with the installation of the CPU cooler. When choosing a CPU cooler, first check if it supports the CPU pins, which is the key to determine if you can install it smoothly! Take TEAMGROUP’s SIREN GD240E All-in-One ARGB liquid cooler for example, there will be a CPU Socket in the product specification list, which clearly lists which pins support INTEL and AMD respectively. You just need to look at the pin information on the package of your CPU, and check to see if there is any on the CPU cooler. Conclusion If your PC will be used to play 3A games, or if you usually have multi-tasking needs, then it is recommended that you choose a liquid CPU cooler. Compared with air cooling, it not only has better heat dissipation effect, but also has lower operation noise. Among liquid CPU coolers, I would recommend the all-in-one liquid cooler. Compared to an open loop liquid cooler, in terms of installation, you only need to install the fan to the water cooling row, and lock the water block and water cooling row to a specific location. In terms of maintenance, the all-in-one liquid cooler has already added coolant to the product, you do not have to find a coolant product yourself, and you don’t have to worry about water leakage problems. That’s all for today. You can leave a message if there is any specific part you want to know more about. I’ll 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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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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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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