Is a modular psu worth it?

Photo of modular PSU from bjorn3d

A modular PSU is not going to be worth it for everyone, lets us see why.

Building a gaming rig can be costly if not don’t plan your hardware carefully. As someone who learn to build his own gaming rig purely from years of trial and error, I can tell that it is wiser to seek for review and recommendation about certain hardware before you decide whether or not to actually purchase it.

Just like many other hardware, a modular PSU sure have it own advantages and disadvantages. Lets take a look at the picture below.

Modular VS regular PSU

As you can see in the picture above, using a modular psu do have a few important benefits such as a better a flow inside your rig and less cable to deal with.

For peoples who spent hours on gaming, it is a well known fact that a good air flow inside your PC is vital to prevent overheat. A good air flow can make a rig running for hours or even days with it getting too heated.

Other than that, less cable is also a good advantage for gamers. You see, most gamers build, repair and upgrades their own rigs. Having less cable in there make it a lot easier and less messy for you to repair and upgrades your rig if you need too.

Despite these advantages, a modular PSU still not going to be worth it for everyone.

The reason I said that modular PSU is not for everyone is because I don’t think everyone will benefit from the advantages that the modular psu have.

For example:  One of the advantages of using a modular PSU is it can make the inside of your rig a lot more neater. You can have the same benefits by purchasing a bigger casing and get those unused wire tied neatly using a cable tie.

Another reason why I don’t think a modular PSU is for everyone is because of the fact that airflow is more affected by number of fans, rated airflow of the fan and fans placement. Yes, less cable can improve air flow but those three factors play an even bigger role when it come to improving the air flow inside your rig.

Now, do i need a modular power supply? You wonder

If you have a small casing, that a modular power supply is a good choice. However, if your casing is big enough you might not going to need a modular PSU.

Other than that, a modular PSU is also worth buying if you want to show off your rig since it can help to make your rig look more neat.

How to choose a gaming laptops for minecraft

With over 100 millions registered users, it is understandable that you too want to get some of the action and fun offered in Minecraft. However, when it come to gaming on PC or laptop, the game alone will not guaranteed that you’ll be having fun as much as everyone does. A prefect PC or laptop is important to make sure you’re getting a smooth gameplay.

For most hardcore gamers, spending thousands of dollars purchasing new hardwares to upgrade their PC or laptop is nothing out of the ordinary. But for those who just want to play Minecraft, the cost is not going to be that high.

Before we decide what is the best gaming laptops for Minecraft, we need to understand that;

• To have a smooth gameplay on PC or laptop, your laptop need to meet the recommended system requirement of the game that you want to play
• For online gaming, a fast internet connection is obviously vital

Now that we know and understand both of the point above, lets take a look at Minecraft system requirement. According to systemrequirementslab.com, the recommended system requirement for Minecraft are as follow:

• CPU : Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 (K8) 2.6 GHz
• RAM : 4 GB
• OS : Windows XP or Better
• Free Disk Space : 150MB

Now that we have those information, go to your local computer store (or online store it doesn’t matter) at check if the laptop that they are selling meet this specification. If it does, then that laptop is the gaming laptop for Minecraft that you’re looking for.

For example, let take a look at the catalog below

Gaming laptop for Minecraft, and many other games

As you can see in the pictures above, the laptop in the circle have:

• A core i7 CPU (Very powerful CPU, obviously it better than the Dual Core CPU recommended for Minecraft. So it’s mean the CPU of this laptop meet the system requirement for Minecraft)
• 4 GB of RAM (Enough to play Minecraft smoothly)
• 1TB of Hard disk (more than enough to install Minecraft, Minecraft only require 150MB)
• And it has windows

Before purchasing
Different PC games have different system requirements. Games such as Planet Side 2, Battlefield 3 and Crisis require a more powerful PC or laptop to play them smoothly. However, Minecraft don’t really require a powerful laptop for you to play them smoothly.

So, if you not really a hardcore games or simply just want to play Minecraft, an expensive and powerful laptop might not needed.

I wrote this articles to help newbies and peoples with little knowledge about gaming on PC to choose their gaming laptop for Minecraft.

So if there are things that you don’t really get, or if you simply want to ask any questions about PC and laptop specification, don’t hesitate to leave your comments and question at the comment section below.

If you think this is useful, don’t forget to share it on Facebook, Twitter and Google+

Can any types of RAM fit into any type of motherboards?

More RAM can make your PC run smoother and as I already mentioned in this post, it also effect your graphic card performance. Just like other computer parts, you want to make sure the RAM that you're about to purchase will fit shamelessly into your motherboard.

I had make a mistake when purchasing a RAM before. So, today I going to explain to you how to choose the right type of RAM for your motherboard.

First of all, you'll need to figure out the type of motherboard that you have. This is pretty easy task:

• Open your computer case and you'll see that the name of your motherboard is written on it (example: Gigabyte 78lmt-s2p)
• Then, Google your motherboard and visit the manufacture official website. (If you Google your motherboard name, most of the time the manufacture official website will appear at the first page of the search result)
• Check your motherboard specification

You will found all kind of info about your MOBO on the manufacture website, but because this tutorial is about choosing the right type of RAM, you only need to pay attention to the "memory" section. For this tutorial, I'm going to use Gigabyte 78lmt-s2p as an example.

• Next, see if your motherboard use DDR,DDR2 or DDR3 type of RAM. 
• Check the type of memory module that your MOBO can support

As you can see in the picture below, the motherboard Gigabyte 78lmt-s2p use DDR3 RAM and it' has support for 1066 and 800 MHz memory modules. The official website also tell you that this motherboard can support up to 16GB of RAM.

Screen shot from the official Gigabyte website

By using the info that we gathered, we know that this motherboard require DDR3 1066MHz memory module and the maximum amount of RAM it can support is 16GB.

Now, you can follow this very same step to determine what kind of RAM will fit into your motherboard. If you have any question, don't hesitate to leave a question at the comment section below!

Things that can effect your pc graphic performance

Planetside 2 gameplay photo by Planetside Wikia

One of the reasons peoples are still gaming on PC is because of it better graphic. Unlike consoles, PC games usually come with better graphic and the graphic get even better each coming years as the graphic card on your PC can be easily upgraded when the newest graphic card is available on the market.

However, sometime it can be a little bit confusing when it come to maximizing your PC graphic performance. You might think that you have a pretty decent graphic card, but for some reasons you're still unable to run your favorite games on ultra or at least high setting.

So, what effect your PC graphic performance during gaming?

You see, having a 1GB graphic card alone doesn't mean your will be able to play that games at ultra setting. There are several factors that can effect your graphic performance including:

• The amount of bit your GPU have
• The amount of RAM that you have

My story

I used to have 512mb graphic card before I finally have some fund to build a new PC. I install 4GB of RAM and a 1GB graphic card on my new rig but when I try to run some games such as Red Alert 3 on my new PC, I discovered that the games was not able to run on high setting. This is kinda weird for me at that moment because my new rig suppose to be able to run red alert 3flawlessly.

So what I did was, I call a friend of mine who I considered an expert and I findout that the problem was my graphic card don't have a sufficient amount of bit. (My GPU is 1GB 64bit)

To make it shot
If you're planning on purchasing a graphic card for gaming purpose, It will be wise to choose a GPU unit that is at least 256bit. Also, remember that your RAM also effect your graphic performance, so if you have less that 4GB of RAM, I think it's better to add up more RAM first before you get yourself a new GPU.

However, if you're on tight budget, I think a GPU that is 128bit might be able to run the latest titles at medium setting.

The most important part when building your own gaming PC

Gaming Rig Photo from Wikipedia | CC

Building your own PC isn't that expensive. But if you're trying to build a gaming PC, you might find yourself spending more than you want to because gaming require a high end computer.

However, if you're on a budget, like me. There is a way for you to cheaply build a gaming computer that's able to play the latest game on medium setting. The idea is to focus your budget on things that really matter and important.

So, what are the most important part when building your own gaming PC? The answer is your motherboard.

You see, other part such as RAM,CPU and graphic card can be easily upgraded later when you have some extra cash. But you won't be able to upgrade these parts if your motherboard can support them. That's why if you're thinking about building a gaming computer with low budget, I recommended that you put most of your money on the motherboard.

What you'll want to do is to check the spec of the motherboard on it official website and see if the motherboard are able to support the latest CPU, graphic card and RAM.

For example, when I'm purchasing my motherboard, I had choose Gigabyte 78lmt-s2p motherboard because of it ability to support AM3 and AM3+ CPU and DDR3 RAM.

• AM3+ is somewhat the newest CPU in the market.
• DDR3 is also the newest RAM in the market

However, despite it ability to support AM3+ CPU, I use the AM3 CPU instead due to lack of budget. But, keep in mind that I am able to upgrade the CPU anytime later because the motherboard can support the newer AM3+ CPU.

So, if you're planning on building your own gaming PC but don't have a huge budget. I recommend focusing most of your budget on motherboard so you'll be able to upgrade your computer later when you have more extra cash to spend.

Can AM3 processor fix into AM3+ motherboard?

Picture of CPU

The CPU is one expensive hardware. So, as someone who assemble his own PC, we sure enough doesn’t want to purchase the wrong CPU and end up unable to use it on our motherboard. Today I’m going to talk about whether you can install an AM3 processor on an AM3+ motherboard.

The AM3 processor can be installed on AM3 and AM3+ motherboard. However, the AM3+ processor cannot be installed on AM3 motherboard.

This is because the AM3+ processor came after the AM3. The motherboard which is designed to work with AM3 processor isn’t designed to be able to work with AM3+ because the AM3+ isn’t existed yet at that time.

However, the AM3+ motherboard had been designed to be able to work with both the AM3+ and AM3 processors.

Can you still use the AM3+ processor on the AM3 motherboard?
Well, I’ve read somewhere that some people actually succeed in making the AM3+ processor work on the AM3 motherboard by modifying the processor pin. But since this will involve modifying the hardware, I will not recommend you to do this.

To make it simple
If you have a AM3 processor, you can install it on both AM3 and AM3+ motherboard. But if you AM3+ processor, you can only install it on AM3+ motherboard.

Gaming Headset Holder

Having a gaming headset holder on your desk can help to make your desktop neat. It is pretty hard to find one that look nice with your desk and affordable at the same time. Here are 5 awesome holders, the reasons why some of them are expensive and also, a few cheaper alternatives in case you're short on cash.

Before purchase
A lot of headset holders serve it purpose well. However, be aware that some of the holders don't have anything to keep your headset wire organized which will cause the wire to look a little messy.

Now, lets take a look at 5 most awesome gaming headset holder. Watch the video below!



Why some of the holders are pretty expensive?
As you browse around the net doing some price check and comparison, you might notice that some of the headset holders are pretty expensive. Why? you might ask. Just like many other products in the market today, the price of these headset holders are determine by various factors including brands and the material it was created with.

In most case, the price for a gaming headset holder is a little expensive because the holder is made of Solid Aluminum. In other words, you pay for the quality.

Cheaper solutions
Of course, some gamers didn't need everything to look fancy while some other just run out of budget. For these peoples, there are a few cheaper solution. This include:

• Using a banana holder – look hilarious, but it work. The problem is, some gaming headsets is too large so the headrest can't fit on top of the banana holder.
• Nail on the wall/desk – Simple solution but will damage the desk/wall. 
• Make your own home-made headset holder – Require a little work and the result might not turn out as planned. But you can customize the headset holder to your liking.

If you choose to make your own DIY headset holder, there are some tutorials available around the web. For those who look for a simple, easy-to-make and low-cost DIY headset holder, check out this tutorial where you will learn how to make your own headset holder for less than $3. Simply creative and affordable.

A headset on the desk
Photo by Brendan C@Flickr - CC

So, is it worth it?
I think it is better to spend the money on upgrading and pimping your rig rather than getting one of those expensive holders, unless you did already own a reliable PC or you prefer your desk to look fancy. However, if you want to go ahead and buy a gaming headset holder, I suggest you purchase a decent and not too pricy one.