All posts by Michelle

ASUS Radeon R9 390 Graphics Card

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Radeon

Who is ASUS?

ASUS is a Taiwanese company named after the Greek creature, the Pegasus, a mythical winged horse, to symbolize both wisdom and knowledge. ASUS has made incredible technological advancements through an array of PC components, tablets, and ultrabooks, all developed with their over 11,000 employees. It is a trusted company who lives by it’s slogan “In Search of Incredible.”
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Card Background

The ASUS Radeon R9 390. It is AMD’s most recent line up of available graphics cards. Advanced Micro Devices or AMD is a semiconductor and microprocessor company, which is very well known and the leading competitor to Intel, and who runs the Radeon GPU models. The card I am looking at, the ASUS Radeon R9 390, is an exceptional choice for gaming with an average of 4 to 5 star reviews. Many times people get caught up in poor customer support, but in an article by www.laptopmag.com they ranked ASUS in the top 10 of tech support, finding that the company was extremely responsive and active with social media and their customer support services, than in past years. ASUS is doing all it can to better improve its company, and the service it gives to their customers.
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Specifications:

Graphics Engine

AMD Radeon R9 390

Bus Standard

PCI Express 3.0

Video Memory

GDDR5 8GB

Engine Clock

1050 MHz

Memory Clock

6000 MHz (GDDR5)

Memory Interface

512-bit

Resolution

Digital Max Resolution:4096×2160

Interface

DVI Output x1

HDMI Output x1

Display Port x3

Included HDCP Support

Power Consumption

Up to 300W additional 6+8 pin PCIe power required

Accessories

1 x Power Cable

1 x STRIX Laser Sticker

Software

ASUS GPU Tweak II and Drivers

Dimensions

11.8” x 5.42” x 1.57” Inch

30 x 13.77 x4 Centimeter

Interface Details:

This card includes some interesting digital ports and connections. Such as HDMI, Display port, and HDCP support. DVI stands for Digital Visual Interface and can be used to connect computer monitors. DisplayPort can connect computer monitors, and carry audio, USB, and other forms of data. DisplayPort is very similar to HDMI, or High Definition Multimedia Interface. It has become the main standard, and can connect an array of digital devices. It is very important to have a selection of digital connections, especially HDMI.
Along with the connections, there are some slightly hard to understand words in the specifications. The bus standard is the standard that at which data can be transferred and the connection it needs to do so. The video memory allows the graphics card to handle its own processes, and can use its own memory to handle complex graphics at a faster rate. The memory clock speed is the rate and speed at which the memory actually runs, while the memory interface is basically how much memory can go through, but isn’t as important as it used to be. When comparing the memory interface on Graphics Cards, I recommend a higher model, and increased number, for they are preferred for better performance. The card also includes a OpenGL of 4.4. This means that the standard application interface can be used to define 2-D and 3-D graphics, which works with the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) to render images.
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Features:

The features on the ASUS Radeon R9 390 are very expansive and can be utilized very well. The fans on the Radeon are made with aero-space grade quality in mind,  making it a reliable choice with a silent Triple Wing-Blade 0dB Fan Design, which allows max air flow. Not only does this graphics card have fans, but has it’s own heat-sink capabilities as well. The DirectCU III with 10mm Heatpipe allows your GPU to have 40% less heat going to it for cooler gaming performance.  Not only does this card have incredible hardware, but software too. Introducing the GPU Tweak II with XSplit Gamecaster, you can overclock and monitor your card, in a visual and easy to use way. You can also use the gaming booster to help the game run, and even record and stream your game-play directly without any other software than what comes in the box.
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Company Trust

The following video deeply describes ASUS Auto-Extreme Technology, which adds aero-space grade quality and reliability to their products.
https://youtu.be/4gRpuurPsuc
If interested in this graphics card, you can buy it here. Thank you for viewing and reading this article.

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Samsung 850 Evo SSD Review

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Samsung, the company who fights with Apple, and dominates many markets and industries. They are versatile and well-known, leading electronics in our modern day.  The Samsung 850 Evo (not the pro version) Solid State Drive is one of their best and leading products in the Solid State Drive market. Though their selection comes in many forms and sizes, I will be discussing their 2.5″ model and over-viewing the companies long and strong history and background.
Samsung Company

Company Background and Sales

Samsung started off in 1938 as a trading company by Lee Byung-chul. Today, with almost a half of a million employees Samsung generates an annual $305 billion US dollars. When considering if Samsung is a trusted and well established company, the only answer you can give is: YES. 
Samsung has reached the far spectrum of an array of industries, making refrigerators, skyscrapers, ships, TV’s, and an abundance of smartphones, hoping to beat Apple in it’s competitive technological race.
Samsung has built the tallest building in the world, is made up of 80 separate businesses, and has more employees than Microsoft and Apple combined. Samsung is the best of the best, and will likely amaze you with it’s performance.
Samsung SSD Space

Available Samsung Drives and Models:

A wide variety of Samsung SSD EVO models are available, coming with different capacities. These include but are not limited to (at time of publish): 120GB, 250GB, 500GB, and 1000GB. The mSATA flash memory, and M.2 are also available but will not be covered in this article.
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Specifications and Details:

Below are the specification for the Samsung 850 EVO Model MZ-75E250B/AM:

Form Factor: 2.5″
Capacity: 250GB
Interface: SATA III
Controller: Samsung MGX Controller
Max Sequential Read: 540 MBps
Max Sequential Write: 520 MBps
Power Consumption (Idle): 0.4W
Power Consumption (Active): 3.5W

Click here for a link to the specifications PDF document provided by Samsung.

Recommended Computer:

When deciding if the 850 EVO is right for you, you must think big when it comes to capacity. The EVO is great for servers, but if you are running the EVO for simple performance or gaming, size may matter. If you have determined the 2.5″ internal SSD drive is right for you, then you must now decide what you will be putting on the drive itself.
Solid State Drives significantly increase the speed of booting your PC if your operating is installed on it. Programs will open faster, and you will notice the entire system will seem to run smoother, faster, and cleaner. The only downside to this the price of Solid State Drives, though getting better, is still fairly high. An SSD won’t hold as much as a Hard Disk Drive, a spinning disk that is more likely to crash or fail with it’s many moving parts. That doesn’t mean that you can’t integrate both into your system, but must know what files will go where and how you will be configuring your usage.
Let’s talk what you need, before what you can afford. If you expect to only be using your computer for basic online use, such as checking emails or opening a word processor once in a great while, a basic 250GB SSD or less will not cost as much as a 1TB, and as long as you are not downloading a major amount of files, videos and pictures, overloading your storage space, you will do fine.
If working for business more, this or higher models will work wonderfully for you, and if considering gaming, just know what sort of games you will be looking to play, and what you intend on using separately. The larger the capacity the more you can store, and depending on your setup, the faster some things will run.
If interested in the 2.5″ 250GB model, you are making a choice that is almost in the middle of a perfect low-end gaming, to business PC; an excellent choice for a faster machine!
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Overall:

Samsung is a company worth investing some money in. Their products are top of the line with guaranteed performance.
If interested, please check out the video below for a deeper review into the Samsung 850 EVO, and if wanting to buy, you can click here. Thank you for reading.

Patriot Viper 3: Model PV332G160C9QK Memory Review

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After doing much research on what I thought was one of the most well known memory selling companies, I found that it wasn’t what I first had in mind. There was an undeniable struggle trying to not only find the memory I was looking for, but also maneuvering around Patriot Memory‘s website.

Company Background

Founded in 1985, Patriot Memory was one of those companies that greatly expanded in its early years. Just as most companies try to do, Patriot Memory has a very big focus on trying to word everything about them as a way to help the customer. Though being customer friendly should be any companies goal, it almost masks the mission statement they put forth, in an act of pushing products due to a lack of well-known history. If you actually go to the website and look at their about page here, you will find little information about the company, mainly because there isn’t much to be said.
Still, Patriot Memory remains as a well-known manufacturer, selling computer memory, flash memory, and many other mobile accessories for computers and phones. Their many offices are located worldwide, with their headquarters in Fremont, California.

Patriot Viper 3: Current Models

As with all memory there are many models to be chosen from.  Patriot currently only sells DDR3 and DDR4 memory on their website, but other sites like NewEgg, allow you to buy other memory that was personally sold by the company whether it be used or new. The Patriot Viper 3 is one of their computer memory models next to their Signature Line which just isn’t as fancy.
The Viper models are mainly used for overclocking and use with the newer Intel Core processors. With a beautiful design, heat sinking features, and epic gaming performance, the Viper models are an amazing choice.

Gaming Memory

Details and Specifications

For the  Patriot Viper 3: Model PV332G160C9QK memory, the details and specifications are:

Capacity: 8 GB (2 x 4GB)
Type: 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
Speed: DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000)
CAS Latency: 9
Timing: 9-9-9-24
Voltage: 1.5V
Channel Kit: Dual Channel
Parity/ECC ?: No ECC/Non-Parity
Plated: Gold Plated

 

Website Review

When looking for the memory that I needed for my motherboard, I found it hard to find anything specific from Patriot Memory. Of course I had to use NewEgg to find what I was looking to but once I had, I started questioning why I was having such a hard time Patriot Memory‘s website.
Once going to the appropriate tab to locate what computer memory I needed, I noticed that they did not have enough specific things I could check to match the specification I needed. This left me with no way to sort out their DDR4 and DDR3 models, making a site like NewEgg much easier to use.
I would also note that there is no real warning about using the Viper 3 on AMD motherboards, since many have problems after purchasing them. The Viper 3 is made for overclocking on Intel motherboards, and though some AMD motherboards will work for it, the performance may lack by far.
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Preferred User

The Patriot Viper 3 models are for a system ready and built to withstand Intel’s latest lineup of processors. Great for low-end gaming, the Viper 3 models have incredible heat sink capabilities, and are long-lasting, hand-tested, memory modules. Before buying, make sure that you are running your system with an Intel processor, but if not, check for compatibility with the model you are purchasing with an AMD alternative.

Overall

In the end, Patriot Memory just needs to analyze some basic flaws with how its going by selling their products, but for now the performance of their memory stands out best. All computer memory is easily affordable, and who knows, maybe you will like it enough to buy many of their other accessories.
To purchase the memory specified in this article please go to this link, and you can go to the NewEgg site. You can also go to Patriot Memory, Intel, and AMD by clicking on their specified links.
Thank you for reading, for more information on Patriot Memory Viper 3 series memory, please watch the video below: