Category Archives: Hardware

APU vs CPU + GPU for Gaming

If you are on a budget, you may be considering an APU. In this post, we will look at a few of the similarities and differences between an APU vs a CPU/GPU setup, especially if you are considering this for gaming.

What is an APU

First, let’s take a look at what an APU is. An APU, or accelerated processing unit, is essentially a CPU with an integrated GPU built-in to it. The term APU is a branded term for AMD specific products. Keep in mind that Intel does have similar products to AMD’s APU. Intel often just calls their products CPUs with integrated graphics cards. The APU will have both the CPU and GPU on a single die. This is different from a CPU + GPU setup as the standard is for the CPU and GPU to be stand alone pieces of hardware. read more

Logitech G Pro vs Razer DeathAdder Gaming Mouse Comparison

A good gaming mouse can make all the difference when playing video games, so finding the one that’s right for you is very much worthwhile. If you’ve spent any time researching gaming mice, then you’ll have come across the names Logitech and Razer, two of the biggest producers of gaming hardware. Indeed, so popular are these brands that they’re often in competition with each other.

This is the case with the Logitech G Pro and Razer DeathAdder gaming mice, both of which perform well on the battlefield and come with a host of features that make them two of the best mice on the market. read more

SSD Raid vs HDD Raid vs Single SSD

If you are building a new PC or even upgrading your disk space on an existing PC, you may be wondering about RAID for HDDs or SSDs.  You may also be wondering how a single SSD compares to RAID. In this post, we will compare the 3 options of SSD Raid, HDD Raid, and a singe SSD when it comes to personal use. This post won’t go into Raid for servers or mission critical situations.

Single SSD vs HDD Raid

If you are comparing a single SSD to a RAID 0 HDD setup, which is faster? This is probably the biggest question that most computer enthusiasts are wondering about. After quite a bit of research, I kept finding that the single SSD drive was quite a bit faster than the HDD raid 0 setup. Most benchmarks show the single SSD being somewhere around 50-100% faster than the RAID 0 HDDs. To go along with this, many of these benchmarks were from a few years ago or at least a year ago. This is important because SSDs continue to get faster and faster while HDDs have pretty much been the about same speed for awhile now. So, when it comes to speed, the single SSD wins.

If you need a ton of storage space for a cheap price, then you can consider a HDD Raid setup. However, SSDs are starting to get pretty inexpensive nowadays too. You may also be considering a RAID setup for backup purposes. In my opinion, if this is just your home PC, you will be better off just going with an SSD and backing up your data. SSDs are a lot more reliable than HDDs and backing up data is pretty simple to automate.

Another factor to consider is that installing a single hard drive is always easier than trying to setup RAID. A single hard drive is usually just plug and play, whereas, setting up RAID requires more of an effort.

SSD Raid vs HDD Raid

If you are set on a Raid setup, you may be trying to figure out whether to go with an SSD Raid setup or a HDD Raid setup. There are multiple things to consider here. First, the cost per GB will be a lot less expensive for HDD Raid. HDD drives are just cheaper to buy and with RAID, you will need quite a few of them.

The next thing to consider is performance. It is likely no surprise that SSD Raid is much faster than HDD Raid. As a bit of an aside, high-end SSDs are getting so fast, that you may not really notice much of a difference when comparing a single SSD to SSD Raid during everyday tasks. So, unless you have a specific reason for this extra performance, you are likely better off spending your money on a better CPU, GPU, or more memory.

The last thing to consider when comparing SSD to HDD Raid is reliability. Honestly, this is kind of anyone’s guess at this point. SSDs do wear out over time if they have been written to too much. However, this limit is very high. On the other hand, HDDs are mechanical and are prone to failure. So, I don’t think either setup really has a major edge when it comes to reliability.

Recommendation

So, what is right for you? For most users, I would recommend a single SSD when comparing to Raid. For the average person, it just isn’t worth the cost or hassle to setup Raid. If you have a sizable budget, you could simply go for a high-end, high capacity SSD. If you are an individual who needs a ton of cheap storage with some redundancy, then maybe you should consider HDD Raid. I will also say that this post is looking at how Raid applies to personal PCs. A mission critical server that needs 100% uptime and data redundancy is out of the scope of this post.

Do you have anything to add to this topic? If so, let us know in the comments!

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Logitech G Pro vs G Pro X Gaming Headset Comparison

If you’ve looked into buying a gaming headset, then you’ll have come across Logitech. They’ve been making headsets since pretty much the very beginning and have established themselves as one of — if not the — leading companies in the market.

Their G Pro and G Pro X models are two of the highest-selling headsets around, and with good reason: there’s much to love about the headsets, which do pretty much everything that a serious gamer would look for in a headset. 

At first glance, the G Pro and G Pro X headsets seem to be identical. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll find that there are a fair few notable differences between the two. On this page, we’ll take a close look at both and offer some insight into which would be the best option for you.  read more

Best Full Tower ATX Cases Under $200 – December 2022

Picking the right case is crucial to any build, especially if you are building a gaming PC. Before you commit to a full size case, you will want to make sure you have plenty of room for your PC. If you are worried about space, you may be better off with a Mid size ATX case. There are a number of benefits of going with a full size case.

Benefits of a Full ATX Case

The first and most obvious benefit is that a full size ATX case gives you plenty of room for all the hardware you could possibly want. If you want an array of hard drives, you will have room. If you want to run multiple GPUs, you will also have room. With a full size case, you won’t be limited by the case on being able to run the setup of your choice. read more