PC Build – How to Choose a Graphics Card and Drives – DIY in 5 PC Build Part 3

Опубликовано 8 декабря 2017, 18:00

Storage and graphics cards are what we’ll discuss in this video regarding how to build your own PC. - Check out our other videos covering things like:
motherboards and cases: youtube.com/watch?v=pQfTftCrPx...
CPU and RAM: youtube.com/watch?v=AXSJAbyBxy...

There are two main types of storage to consider in a PC build: HDD and SSD. An HDD, or hard disk drive, is the more traditional type of data storage. It uses one or more magnetic spinning disks to write and read information. It is a 60+ year old technology so it is mature, reliable and fairly reasonably priced. You can get 1TB of HDD storage for as low as $50. SSDs, or solid state drives, read and write data using microchips or NAND (negative-AND operator logic) flash memory. If you’re curious, you can learn more about how it got its name here: thememoryguy.com/why-do-memori... Because there are no moving parts in SSDs, they are quieter, faster, and more energy efficient than their hard drive counterparts. This technology is much newer but also more expensive, although prices have dropped quite a bit over the years. SSHDs, or solid state HYBRID drives, combine both types of technologies. SSHDs offer a small SSD cache for frequently used data and a mechanical drive for the rest. Personally, I like to have both in a build. You can use an SSD as your main drive - install your programs and OS on the SSD and use an HDD for your file storage! You’ll have speed at a slight premium and inexpensive bulk storage. Make sure you will have enough storage for files like movies, video games, programs or photos. Plan ahead so you’re not scrambling for an external drive just to have space for your saved games.

Graphics cards or GPUs (graphics processing units) are one of the main ways that power and performance translate directly to user experience. Dedicated graphics cards offer more powerful performance as well as a variety of video connection ports, multi-monitor setup options, are more expensive, and will require a compatible slot (usually PCIe) in your motherboard and PSU and their own cooling. Integrated GPUs (sometimes called APUs or advanced processing units) are already on some CPUs and motherboards. They use less power and there are rarely any driver or compatibility issues. Integrated GPUs are the simpler and more cost-effective way to go. Running older or less graphically-demanding indie games doesn’t require a dedicated GPU. For the newest, cutting-edge games, VR, photo editing, video editing, CAD, or 3d rendering you’ll need a dedicated graphics card. There’ll be much better performance with a dedicated graphics card. If you don’t feel like you need a dedicated graphics card, that’s ok! GPUs tend to get a lot of attention, but they aren’t for everyone, and you might be able to use the money you save in this category for another component that better suits your needs.

If you do decide to go for a dedicated graphics card, you will find the two leader: Nvidia graphics cards and AMD graphics cards. The pricing between the two is relatively similar, but there are some games that will perform better on one over the other. For example, Witcher 3, was specifically made to work with Nvidia’s Hairworks – to give the characters in the game super realistic hair movement, PhysX to enhance in-game physics, G-Sync to eliminate screen tearing, and ShadowPlay, which will constantly record the previous 20 minutes of gameplay at all time so you can share any epic gaming moments you have without needing to predict that they’re going to happen. AMD has its own recording & optimization software - AMD Gaming Evolved - and offers a bit more user choice in terms of what software and drivers to install.

If this video helped and you learn a lot more about storage and graphics please like and give it a share! If you’ve got a particular storage or GPU tip to share, please leave it in the comments. In next episode, we’ll discuss power and cooling.

Subscribe to Kingston: youtube.com/subscription_cente...