Choosing a graphics card

I receive a lot of questions about video cards and how to choose one card vs. another. So, I wanted respond to their questions. The most common question I get is “What is the difference between graphics cards sold by companies like EVGA, XFX, MSI?” To put it simply, Nvidia and AMD are not retailers, they are manufacturers who sell their product to retailers like EVGA, XFX, MSI who then sell to consumers like you. Some retailers will go as far as to tweak, overclock and add or remove heat sinks on the graphics cards to “improve” the card. These improvements will sometimes increase the price of a certain card.

Understanding that each retailer changes their cards and subsequently changes their prices, one must look at the variables below to help choose the graphics card which will give them the most bang for their buck.

• Core Clock (processor) Speed
• Amount of Graphics Memory
• Memory Interface
• SLI and CrossfireX Ready?

Core Clock Speed – This is comparable to your computer’s processor. A graphics card is like a mini motherboard which has a graphics processor that is designed to only handle graphic calculations, in an effort to remove the stress from your main processor. This higher the clock speed, the more responsive it will be. Faster is better: less lag, higher frames per second (FPS) and quicker rendering times.

Amount of Graphics Memory – Graphics cards, like your computer, have random access memory (RAM). As stated in my RAM post, the more memory your graphics card has to pull from, rather than searching for it on your motherboard’s RAM or on your hard drive, the more responsive the graphics card will be.

Memory Interface – is the amount of information that is able to be passed from the graphics card to your system on a continual basis. Similar to the lanes on a highway, the more lanes the highway has, the more cars (information) it can handle. Below are examples of the most common memory interfaces I have seen:

64-bit (antiquated)
128-bit (low end $50+)
256-bit (mid range – $100+)
384-bit (high end cards – $400+)

Nvidia’s SLI and AMD’s CrossFireX – allows one to increase graphics processing by combining multiple  graphics cards to create one large system. For example: think of it as one employee working on a project by themselves vs. two or three employees all working on a project as a team. The group effort is going to be able to take on large projects and finish sooner.

In closing,  do not allow a brand or price to dictate what card you purchase. Sometimes you can get more bang for your buck going with one company vs. another for the same card. Just DO YOUR HOMEWORK and look at all the specs 🙂

HOW TO: Attach your computer to the TV

With the increasing popularity of Hulu and other websites that stream online videos, there has been a large public interest in wanting to hook their computers up to their TVs. Believe it or not it is really easy if your computer and TV both have the correct connections.

The most common connections that TVs and desktops/laptops  have is VGA. A cable like the one below on the left would connect from the backside of your computer to the backside of the TV and costs around $5, depending on the length. Another major connection type is HDMI. These connections are normally on higher end computers and are pretty common on flat screen TVs now. HDMI is used to transfer more visual information and supports higher resolutions than VGA which mean images will be finer or more visible. The high end graphics cards normally come with a DVI output connection, but come with an adapter that converts to VGA standard. If not, there are DVI to VGA adapters for around $5 as well.  After you connect the computer into the TV there should be a “PC” or “AUX” or “Input” setting on the TV or TV remote controller to switch to that input. It varies from TV to TV. This will get your TV ready to receive a signal from the computer. If you have a Microsoft Window’s-based system, you want to right-click on the desktop and click on “display settings”. This will bring up a menu that will allow you to choose to have the TV mirror the computer screen or allow your TV to act as a secondary screen. It is easiest to click on the box that has the number 2 in it, then check the box below “extend the desktop onto this monitor” which will force the TV to mirror the computer. Until you have a better understanding of the menu and how it reacts to your TV, this will be the easiest setting.

This screen can also be used to adjust your resolution. The higher the resolution, the more clear the image will be. The choice of resolutions is based on the graphics card your computer has. Here is a list of wide screen resolutions that would look best on a flat paneled widescreen TV:

852×480—–16:9
1280×720—–16:9
1365×768—–16:9
1600×900—–16:9
1920×1080—–16:9

I hope this has helped. If you need further guidance, post a question and I or others will respond  🙂

Choosing RAM

Choosing RAM when building or purchasing a computer can be confusing. There are many brands, types, speeds, some have metal on the outside, some don’t. To simplify the decision, there are three main factors that one needs to keep in mind to ensure a responsive system…

• Type (examples: DDR, DDR2 DDR3)
• CAS Latency (examples: 5-5-5-15 vs. 7-7-7-20)
• Speed (examples: 800MHz, 1066MHz, 1333MHz)

There are different generations of RAM. DDR2 is the most common in household computers now. It is safe to say most computers purchased in the late 90’s have DDR installed. Most systems in mid to late 2000’s have DDR2. The newest generation of RAM is DDR3. When building a computer or simply upgrading, make sure to check which type of RAM your motherboard supports. Prior to purchasing a motherboard make sure to look at its specifications. They should say something similar to “Memory Supported” or “Memory Type”. If you are simply upgrading RAM in your current system, I will explain an easy method to find out what you currently have and what you can upgrade to at the bottom of this post.

As referenced in my “Computer Analogy” post, RAM is a temporary holding place for data. Small amounts of data are moved from RAM and are used by the processor. RAM has to move this data to the processor in portions or cycles. To help explain, envision RAM as a runner on a track. CAS Latency (CL) equals the amount of  laps the runner (RAM) has to run before it is finished. The amount of cycles it takes RAM  to move all of the portions of data is CL.  When comparing sticks (DIMMs) of RAM, if one stick has a CL rating of 5 and another has a CL rating of 6, the DIMM with the CL rating of 5 has one less lap than the DIMM with a CL rating of 6. This means if the speed (MHz) of the DIMMs are the same, the DIMM with the CL rating of 5 is quicker than a DIMM with the CL rating of 6.

Another factor is the speed, measured in megahertz (MHz), at which that data travels from the RAM to the processor. Continuing with the runner analogy, lets say we have two different runners that have to run the same number of laps (CL 5),obviously the faster runner is going to finish first. If you have two DIMMs of RAM with the same CL rating of 5 (5 laps), both DIMMs of RAM are going to need the same amount of cycles to complete their transfer of data. However, the RAM with the higher MHz speed (faster) is going to finish their transfer of data first.

No heat spreader, top - Heat spreader, bottom

A couple other traits of RAM not mentioned above are: 1) Unbuffered RAM, this simply means that there has been a cycle (lap) reduced off its CAS Latency. If a DIMM of RAM has a CL rating of 5, then it’s unbuffered version would have a CL rating of 4; 2) And the second trait is aluminum plating, aka. heat spreaders… see example on the left. This is an outside cover that helps absorb heat off the DIMMs similar to a radiator on a car. This increases RAM’s longevity and helps keep the RAM cool when overclocking.

Recap: The only time you have to worry about purchasing the correct RAM type that is compatible with your motherboard is when you are building your own system. Complete systems sold by manufacturers already have the correct RAM installed, otherwise the computer would not run. Most of the newer motherboards that support Intel’s newest processors utilize DDR3, the newest generation of RAM. Ultimately, when comparing RAM you want the lowest CL rating with the fastest MHz. Generally, the faster the RAM the more expensive it will be. If you are going to be overclocking your RAM it is wise to purchase DIMMs with heat spreaders because heat is your worst enemy when overclocking.

P.S. – In the second paragraph of this post I mentioned there was an easy way to check what type and how much memory you have. There is a memory scanner by a RAM manufacturer named Crucial. The scanner is an effort to promote their RAM, but the type of RAM it suggests can be purchased from another manufacturer as well. This tool will scan your system, inform you of the amount, type and speed of your current RAM. It will also tell you if you can upgrade and what to

Computer Analogy

I love analogies because they help us relate to something that are incomprehensible. Computers can be this way. The easiest way to think of a computer’s basic hardware is like a house on a lot. I know, let me explain further.

The processor of a computer is like the owner of the house taking care of errands, which are tasks we put our computers up to: searching the internet, looking at pictures and playing Farmville on Facebook. The faster the owner (processor) is, the more errands get done in a shorter amount of time.

Now some errands require the owner (processor) to go get additional tools (information) stored in the house. For example, you tell the owner to vacuum. It is quicker to for the owner to access the vacuum if it is stored in the house as opposed the garage. RAM for the computer is comparable to closet space in a house. With more closet space (RAM) the owner (processor) can access additional tools quickly to complete errands faster than searching for them in the garage.

Now we all know our closets have limited space so we have to store the big things in the garage (hard drive). A hard drive to the computer is similar to the garage in a house. It stores everything that is too big to keep in the closets (RAM) and things we don’t use on a daily basis, such as most computer programs, music and picture libraries, etc.

Within the houses there are walkways, doorways and stairs (circuits) that allow tools (information) to move freely around the floor plan (motherboard), into the garage, back out of the garage, etc. These pathways in a house are similar to the circuits on a motherboard. Each floor plan differs from the next to help fit the needs of its owner.

Recap: The owner (processor) retrieves tools (information) quickest from its closets (RAM) before looking in the garage (hard drive) to complete errands (commands) . The owner (processor) is able to move tools (information) along the hallways (circuits) and throughout the floor plan (motherboard). Ultimately, the faster the owner (processor) can move, the quicker the errands (commands) will be completed.

Hope this helps clear up some of the mystery!  🙂

Welcome!

Hello everyone,

Welcome to LB Computers’ educational website. I want to promise everyone that visits this site that the information provided is not meant to sell one brand versus another. I do not own stock in any of these companies but just want to provide unbiased knowledge to anyone eager to learn.

Please feel free to ask questions, share information and challenge what others say is fact. This is how we weed out opinion and get straight to the facts. I will also be providing links to other websites that I have found to be a reliable source of fact.

See you around!