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Top 3 PC Exclusive Games

By Gaming
Half-Life

Half-Life is one of the best games of all time. It is a first-person shooter developed by Valve and published by Sierra Studios for Windows in 1998. The game went on to be a massive hit and lead to the creation of the Half-life series. Half-life is centered around Gordon Freeman, a scientist trying to escape the Black Mesa Research Facility after it is invaded by aliens. You progress through the game, fighting enemies with unique weapons and solving complex puzzles.

The most revolutionary part of the game is the player’s ability to explore the world. Most shooters at the time were simple shooting galleries with no real world feel to them. Valve founder Gabe Newell made this a point of emphasis and worked tirelessly to create an immersive experience instead of a more simple game. He also brought in well known writer Marc Laidlaw to assist in the story writing, adding a more compelling narrative than most games developed in that time.

World of Warcraft or WoW, is the most popular MMORPG of all time. At its Zenith in 2017 it peaked with over forty-six million monthly active users. Still hosting almost thirty million players per month right now, WoW is a massive success. Released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment, this game is set in the world of Azeroth, a preexisting location from the Warcraft fantasy universe.

In World of Warcraft players create their own unique character, to explore a massive world full of scenic landscape, terrifying monsters, never ending quests, and other players. WoW brings its players together to complete difficult quests and raid difficult dungeons. It also allows players to fight one another in its player versus player combat. All of this is done while leveling your character up to unlock new magical skills and better items in pursuit of an extremely powerful max leveled character.

World of Warcraft
Total War: ROME REMASTERED

Rome: Total War is a real time strategy game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Activision for Windows in 2004. The game is set in ancient Rome from 270 BC to 14 AD, stretching from the rise of the Republican period and delving into the early decades of the Imperial period. When playing you control a Roman family vying for success and control of the area. The gameplay itself is a mix of tactical battles and turn-based strategy. Players work their hardest to manage the economy, government, complex diplomacy and an ever expanding military while working to complete a series of objectives across Europe and Africa.

Top 3 Most Graphically Demanding Games

By Gaming

Metro Exodus

Metro Exodus is a story-driven first person shooter. Driven by it’s post-apocalyptic setting, it combines combat and stealth with exploration and survival horror to create an intense and immersive gameplay.

With that being said – Metro Exodus comes out on top of this list due to the fact that even with the most powerful graphics card, your PC will still struggle to get up to 40 FPS while playing this game on the highest settings. This game is even more demanding when you take into account that it uses real-time ray tracing to achieve it’s realistic atmosphere. As you can see from the recommended specs below, you’ll need a pretty powerful PC.

OS Windows 10
Processor Intel Core i7-4770k
Memory 8 GB
Graphics Nvidia GTX 1070 / RTX 2060 / AMD RX VEGA 56
Storage 96 GB

Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 is an action role-playing game set in Night City, a world set in the Cyberpunk universe that’s obsessed with body modifications. Played in the first person perspective, you play as a mercenary who sets out to go after the key to mortality – a one-of-a-kind implant.

One of the most anticipated games of the decade, Cyberpunk 2077 requires a pretty powerful PC, as it will go through your memory like no other. Even with the recommended requirements, Cyberpunk 2077 will still struggle to maintain its frame rates at points, especially if you’re using its real time ray-tracing features. This game uses so much power that even the most powerful PCs will still struggle to keep up with it. Below you can see the recommended specs for the game.

OS Windows 10
Processor Intel Core i7-4790k
Memory 16 GB
Graphics Nvidia GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon R9 Fury
Storage 70 GB

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

Microsoft Flight Simulator 202 is just as its name suggests – it’s a flight simulator that allows you to test your piloting skills with real world flight challenges and fly to anywhere on earth.

While the recommended specs don’t require the most beefy processor or graphics card to play, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 takes up a whopping 150 GB of storage. The game uses real-world graphics and gets data from satellites which gets processed into the game to recreate the entire planet – becoming one of the most accurate simulation games out right now. But be prepared – you’re going to be waiting quite a few hours for this game to download.

OS Windows 10
Processesor Intel Core i5-8400k
Memory 16 GB
Graphics Nvidia GTX 970 / AMD Radeon RX 590
Storage 150 GB

 

 

The AMD and Nvidia GPU Shortage Explained

By Gaming

Let’s start with the bad news: the greatest GPU shortage of the century is continuing to stretch on. The shortage is so bad that in August of this year,  Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said “we will see a supply-constrained environment for the vast majority of next year is my guess at the moment.” Demand is still out-pacing supply, but recently a slight increase of GPU availability has cropped up as GPU’s have been appearing in stores across the US slightly more frequently than at any other point since the RTX 3000 series was announced.

AMD cards, similarly, are becoming more and more available – see our extensive collection of RX 6000 series parts for evidence. Additionally, searching across retailers you can see many more RX 6000 parts available near MSRP than at any point in recent memory. However, the selection is still thin. As is, if you are breaking into PC gaming today you will either need to be prepared to wait for a graphics card you want, or just take the best one available. In this case, you are more likely to find an AMD part but if you wait, you may be able to snag a RTX 3080 near retail in the coming months.

Why does it seem impossible to get a GPU at retail right now? The simple answer: Demand is insane and production has been delayed due to the global pandemic. Since September 2020 when the RTX 3000 series was released, very few have actually been sold and shipped. Additionally, with bots ordering up the limited stock to scalp, the supply is even more constrained and prices skyrocketed. Unfortunately, this has continued to be the case since. Even the new consoles are almost impossible to find at retailers and often must be bought by a third party. Another important factor is the limited chip supply due to confusion at the onset of the pandemic. Many of the chips used for GPU’s are also mass produced for automakers, who feared a pandemic induced decline in purchases so they cut their orders, however auto sales saw almost no slump. This also happened with PC manufacturers who expected a more curbed demand in the tightening economic conditions of the pandemic. Instead they were hit with a huge spike in demand as people started to buy PC equipment to work from home. This massive spike in demand dried up the limited supply of chips and left us where we are now, desperately scrambling to catch up. Unfortunately GPU producers cannot just flip a switch and fix their supply chain, which is severely lacking in several components(like VRAM). So until they are able to get back on track with production and an accurate demand model we are stuck in limbo.

Now for the good news! We are seeing more and more of these parts available from our distributors. We have received more RTX 3000 series parts lately and are hoping to get even more soon. We even have a healthy stock of RX 6000 series parts available right now! Hopefully supply will slowly ease up and we will see if Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was right in predicting such a limited supply. We hope not!

The History of Video Games

By Gaming

So I think we can all agree – if we’re here on this website, we like video games. But have you ever thought about how video games were first created? If not, you are in for a surprise!

1950s & 1960s

The 50s isn’t a time period you think of when it comes to video game history but it actually marks the start. The first video games were created on what were some of the earliest analogue computers ever built in an effort to showcase the computers’ capabilities. 1958 is when the first video game, Tennis for Two, is created. Other notable games created on these computers are Tic-Tac-Toe and Nim.

Computer games were being created in the 60s but due to a scarcity of computers as well as the difficulty of transferring the games onto computers in different locations, none of them really spread beyond the college campus they were created on. The exception being Spacewar! which was created by a group of students at MIT and spread across the country, gaining popularity.

1970s

Video games really start picking up in the 70s. Atari was founded in 1972 and their game, Pong, becomes a global success. The first commercialized home console, the Magnavox Odyssey, also was released in ’72. In 1974, the first ever variation of a First Person Shooter game, Maze Wars, came out – although the term “first person shooter” didn’t get popular until the 2000s.

The 70s is also the time period where video game cabinets came out to a broader audience for a low price. Space Invaders came out for these cabinets which brought on the golden age of arcade which lasted from 1978-1982.

1980s

The 80s brought the wide spread of home computers. Clones of popular arcade games were created and were being distributed as code through books, magazines, and newsletters. Unfortunately, 1983 brought the video game crash. With an influx of poor quality games in the American gaming market, the once popular Atari brand was struggling and gaming consoles such as the Magnavox and the ColecoVision, which had only been released the year before, to be discontinued.

The crash also affected the arcade and home computer business but luckily, the computer business didn’t suffer as much. By 1984, PC gaming began dominating console gaming. The Apple Macintosh was also launched that year, leading to the next wave of home computers in the late 80s that had advanced graphics and sound.

Nintendo wanted to release their Famicom to the American audience since it was doing so well in Japan, but they were unsure because of the state of the game console market. They decided to rebrand the Famicom to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and launched it in the US. In only 4 years, the NES managed to bring a resurgence of the video game console industry in the United States.

1990s

We saw a huge improvement of video games start in this decade. Video game graphics went from raster to 3D and game consoles such as the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and Nintendo 64 were able to produce texture-mapped 3D graphics. Several genres including FPS, MMOs, and real-time strategy started to rise and other notable genres that gained popularity were simulation games, survival horrors, and MMORPGs.

While home consoles were skyrocketing, arcade games were declining. Even with arcade games seeing a comeback due to the popularization of one-on-one fighting games, the revival quickly died out due to the controversy of violent video games along with the fact that video game consoles were getting ports of everyone’s favorite arcade games. Arcade games tried to up their graphics to combat this, but game consoles quickly followed suit.

The 90s were also when handheld consoles entered the market. The Nintendo Gameboy was released in 1989 with several other handheld game systems following in its footsteps. No other handheld gaming system could match that of the Gameboy though, so it went virtually unrivaled in the 90s.

2000s

There were huge innovations made to console and PC games. Game consoles released in the 2000s came with features such as the capability to support DVD and CD formats, backwards compatibility, and the ability to connect to the internet to play games online.

As the internet became more available to the public, online games such as Runescape, World of Warcraft, and many more became very popular. And with the accessibility of the internet and programs such as Java and Adobe Flash came a wave of browser games which were available for casual gamers to play for free. Soon social media started implementing these casual games which relied on users to interact with their friends on social media in order to gain in-game items.

The handheld console market was still doing quite well. The Nintendo DS was released in 2004 and soon after the PSP was launched. While the PSP boasted better graphics and power, the Nintendo DS focused more on the novelty of the system with its two screen system.

Mobile gaming also started rising with the introduction of smart phones and the app store. By 2009. the freemium model was introduced to mobile gaming, where the game is initially free but to speed up the process or get extra items, the player must pay a small premium.

2010s

The emergence of gaming consoles with updated graphics to match the capabilities of the new flat screen TVs that were becoming popular. PlayStation and Xbox consoles were extremely popular well but Nintendo’s Wii U was a commercial failure due to bad marketing.

Nintendo’s portable consoles were still successful. They upgraded the DS, to DSi, to the 3Ds and New 3Ds, and then eventually they created the switch, which worked as both a portable console and home console when docked. Sony released the PlayStation Vita, but it was soon discontinued due to poor performance. Sony stated that they would not be working on any portable consoles in the future.

Personal computers, on the other hand, were doing really well during this time period. PC graphics cards were constantly upgrade past that of the performance of consoles and powerful graphics cards began gaining popularity with cryptocoin miners.

VR gaming also became popular due to products such as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive hitting the consumer market.

2020s

Though the 2020s are still young, we’ve still seen some breakthrough with graphics. Graphics cards now have the ability to support real-time ray tracing – a feature already on home consoles released that year. There has also been significant improvements in the ability to display highly detailed graphics which allow for photorealism in games.

So, did you learn anything new about video games? Let us know on Facebook!

PlayStation 5 vs PC

By Gaming
PlayStation 5

Specifications:

CPU: AMD Zen 2-based CPU with 8 cores at 3.5GHz

GPU: 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz

RAM: 16GB GDDR6 / 256-bit

Memory: Custom 825GB SSD

Expandable Memory: NVMe SSD slot

Optical drive: 4K UHD Blu-ray drive

CEG Test PC Build

Specifications:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X

GPU: Nvidia RTX 3090 Founders Edition

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance RGB Pro 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 3600 Desktop Memory

Memory: SAMSUNG 870 QVO Series 2.5″ 2TB SATA III Samsung 4-bit MLC V-NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Motherboard: MSI MPG X570 Gaming PRO Carbon WiFi

Power Supply: EVGA Supernova 1000 G2 Power Supply

PlayStation 5 Exclusives
  • God of War
  • The Last of Us
  • Marvel’s Spider-Man
  • Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
  • Ghost of Tsushima
PC Exclusives
  • Half-Life
  • Total War series
  • Disco Elysium
  • Age of Empires 2
  • Halo

Console vs PC is one of the oldest debates for any gamer. In my mind, it comes down to performance vs price plus exclusives. In this example, we are comparing Cutting Edge Gamer’s State of the Art Test PC vs the newest PlayStation 5 console in an attempt to help customers decide which is the right choice for them. One pro for the PS5 would have to be the price tag of $499.99 plus ~$500 for a nice 4k TV vs the Test PC which is easily around $2,399.99 with all components and monitor. Another Pro is of course, the exclusive games which you just can’t play on PC. Titles like God of War and The Last of Us are major selling points for the PS5 as that is the only way you can experience these amazing games.

The PlayStation 5 is a great console, perfect for couch co-op in the living room playing the latest 2k or Fifa with your friends. It provides you with excellent 4k and an easy set up. Just turn it on, grab controllers and you are ready to go in seconds! However, no console will ever top the raw performance of a State of the Art PC, and as is there are titles for PC which would be impossible on PS5. For instance Total War with its huge battles is impossible to recreate on a modern console, especially at the frame rates and definition we have all come to expect from that franchise. Games like that are meant to be enjoyed on PC with the best graphics available in this day and age.

The PlayStation comes in significantly cheaper, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for – which is why the test PC performance is far beyond the PS5’s in raw power. The 3090 alone has over 30 teraflops of computing power vs the PS5’s 11 teraflops. This allows you to run games at a much higher frame rate while in 4k, reduces lag time, and allows you to utilize all sorts of applications on your PC which just do not exist for PS5, such video editing software and the like; allowing you to produce high quality videos at scale. Another feature to consider is the PC exclusives, the only place where games like Total War and Half-life can be run and enjoyed. So while the PS5 is more affordable, you will always be able to push the limits of gaming performance further on PC, which you will also be able to upgrade over time – a feature not available on the PlayStation. Both offer cool exclusives so that does not overly sway most players one way or the other. Personally, I like both. You can have a couch console and a sweet top of the line rig, which gives you access to exclusives from both Xbox, PC and PlayStation without sacrificing anything except your wallet.

Either way you like to play, gamers are happy to have access to both! And we are happy to help provide them with the latest and greatest technology  to suit their evolving needs!

Should you choose a High FPS Monitor or a High Res Monitor?

By Gaming

Howdy gamers, with all the stimmy checks in circulation, a lot of you are thinking about upgrading your monitor, hopefully today’s video will help you realize if you’re better off focusing on a high res monitor or a high frame rate monitor or a mix of both!

Please let us know how you felt about our answer! Did we miss anything? Is there anything you would like us to cover next?

https://youtu.be/0Vheap8FJxQ

How Much Better is a PC? High End PC vs Console Performance in Call of Duty: Warzone

By Gaming, Sweet PC Gaming Rigs No Comments

Call of Duty: Warzone has emerged as one of the largest Battle Royale style games this year. It is an immersive COD style experience, with great gunplay and a huge map stitched together from past maps. You enter the game by jumping out the back of a plane, with your squad of up to four or solo, and fight to be the last team or soldier standing. Below we highlight the differences in COD: Warzone’s performance on the current consoles and the new RTX 3090 graphics cards! To add to that we have screen recorded video in full 4K 120+ FPS from our test rig below, as well as a video from the four consoles so you can see the difference yourself!

 

PC Build

Here is the design of our test PC:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X

GPU: MSI RTX 3090 VENTUS 3X 24G OC

RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro 32GB 2133mHz

Motherboard: MSI MPG X570 Gaming PRO Carbon WiFi

Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 RX 850 W

Memory Storage: 1TB SSD

Display: 34″ Samsung 4K Monitor

Here is a full game of COD: Warzone recorded on our own test PC!!! Check out the 4K video with full telemetry statistics here:
PC - Test Results

Target Resolution: 3840x2160p

 

Resolution under load: 3840x2160p

 

 

FPS: 100-150

 

Average FPS: 110

 

Notes:  By far the best performance, as expected. You can maintain a FPS well above 60 constantly, while utilizing ray tracing in full 4K!

PS4

Target Resolution: 1920x1080p

 

Resolution under load: 1920×1080 (X axis lowers resolution to 960x1080p underload)

 

FPS: 45-60

 

Average FPS: 50

 

Notes:  Uses VSync for better image quality than Xbox One. Maintains 60 FPS target better in late game situations with less to render. Ranks as the 3rd best console.

PS4 Pro

Target Resolution: 2760x1528p

 

Resolution under load:  2760x1528p (X axis lowers resolution to 1920x2160p underload)

 

FPS: 57-60

 

Average FPS: 60~

 

Notes:  Uses VSync for better image quality, which gives you the smoothest console frame rate in Warzone. Barely drops below 60 FPS ever and comes in as the 2nd best console.

Xbox One

Target Resolution: 1600x900p

 

Resolution under load: Not specified

 

 

FPS: 35-60

 

Average FPS: 44

 

Notes: No VSync lowering resolution since its already so low. Works best only in late game with less to render. Struggles to maintain 60FPS target only in the small Gulag area. Ranks as the 4th best console.

Xbox One X

Target Resolution: 3840x2160p

 

Resolution under load: 3840x2160p (X axis lowers resolution to 1920x2160p underload)

 

FPS: 56-60

 

Average FPS: 60

 

Notes: Clearest image out of all consoles, only slightly more frequent frame drops than PS4 Pro. But makes up for the slight drop in frames by having the highest resolution of the four. Ranks as the best console.

Console Video from Digital Foundry:

(Not our video: link to DF – https://www.digitalfoundry.net/ )

 

Hopefully you enjoyed our article here on Call of Duty: Warzone and found it helpful. We have highlighted the differences in performance you will see between all the mainstream consoles and an awesome PC build. Clearly the PC blows all consoles out of the water, both in resolution, FPS, and with the capability to actually utilize ray tracing. Yes, the price is steeper, but as you can see the results are miles better. We hope you choose PC going forward, or at least understand its pros and cons better. Thanks for reading, and happy gaming! Be it on console or PC we all play to have fun!

CEG’s Compilation of Graphics Card Manuals

By Gaming No Comments

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GPU Installation Manuals

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GPU Installation Video Guide

Need help installing your graphics card? Check out this great video tutorial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVbjl69z3HE

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Cutting Edge Gamer’s PC Building Guide

If you’re looking for help on building an entire PC, check out our very own PC building guide here!

How to Build a PC: CEG’s New Testing Rig

By Gaming No Comments
Introduction

Over the past few years, PC gaming has become an even larger competitor to console gaming. In 2017, the PC gaming industry hit $28 billion in revenue and that number is projected to climb to just under $34 billion in 2020. Unlike the ready-to-play out of the box console competitors, Xbox & Playstation, PC gamers are unique in that their systems are built to their own design and to perform according to their own specifications. While having to build a PC can seem like a daunting task and could serve as a barrier to entry into the world of PC gaming, it’s honestly about as difficult as putting together a LEGO set. In this article, we will walk you through our very own PC build in order to show readers that building a PC is rather easy, and the results are more than worth the effort.

Step 1: Selecting the Components

Step one is the most important part of the whole process: determining which components you will buy for your PC build. Builds can range from a budget low-end PC to ultra high-end overkill, but it’s important to craft a build that 1.) is comprised of components that are compatible with one another, 2.) meets your performance needs and budget, and 3.) is aesthetically pleasing to you. Here at CEG, we like to recommend the website PC Part Picker, a source that will help you build a PC from scratch and tells you whether or not your build components are compatible. Your build will require the following components at minimum:

  • PC Case
  • Motherboard
  • CPU (most come with CPU fan cooler)
  • GPU
  • RAM
  • Power Supply
  • SSD/HDD
  • SATA Cables
  • PCI-E Power Cables
  • Operating System (software)
  • Keyboard
  • Mouse

Once you have your parts, it’s time to start the build!

Step 2: Connecting CPU, CPU Cooler & Ram to the Motherboard

There’s a couple of ways to do this step: 1.) Attach the CPU, CPU fan cooler and RAM to the motherboard before installing the motherboard inside of the case, or 2.) install the motherboard first and then attach the other components. The first way is typically easier because you don’t have to be bent over your case trying to screw/unscrew things from an awkward angle. For our purposes, we re-used the case from our old testing rig for the new build and already had our power supply & HDD installed, so it was easy to drop the motherboard into the case and start connecting. As you can see from the video above, installing the CPU is very easy. First make sure you properly align the CPU with the socket on the motherboard, for these Ryzen CPU’s there is a small triangle indicator on both the CPU and the socket which indicates the proper orientation for the CPU. Next lift the little latch on your motherboard, slot in the CPU, and press down the latch. Make sure that the CPU is snug – otherwise this will cause you major headaches down the line.

Next we’ll install the CPU cooler shown in the short video above. Most CPUs come with a CPU cooler nowadays, but they are available for purchase separately if yours does not or if you want to spice up the aesthetics of your build with a fancy RGB LED one. For our build, we went with the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X which is the only Ryzen 3000 series CPU that does not come with a CPU fan cooler, we used a CPU fan cooler that we had on hand from a AMD Ryzen 5 3600X that was compatible. To install the fan, you must first remove the brackets on your motherboard (pictured below).

The CPU cooler is placed directly on top of the CPU. However, before screwing the cooler to the motherboard it’s important to make sure you have a healthy glob of thermal paste applied to the top of the CPU. Thermal paste is essential for the heat dissipation from the die of the CPU and your heatsink, not having thermal paste can lead to overheating and crashing. Once you’ve made sure that you have thermal paste applied, secure the cooler to the motherboard by screwing it in to the motherboard around the CPU where the brackets were located. Lastly, you’ll need to connect the cable attached to the CPU fan cooler to the motherboard (see video below – the power connector is typically labeled “CPU_FAN” or “CPU_FAN1”).

With the CPU and fan cooler installed, it’s time we connect the RAM to the motherboard. RAM is probably the easiest component to install and simply pops in to the allocated slots (see video below). Three important notes when installing RAM are that most motherboards have slot configurations for multiple sticks of RAM, meaning that it matters which slots you place the sticks in. For our motherboard, the MSI MPG X570 Gaming PRO Carbon WiFi, the optimal slot configuration is A2/B2. The slots should be clearly identified on the motherboard. Additionally the RAM only installs in one direction, to make sure you slot it in correctly make sure the pins and cut out on the RAM lines up with the RAM slot properly. Finally, don’t be afraid to push with some force, RAM often causes issues if not installed snugly.

Step 3: Installing the Motherboard

Now that we have the CPU, CPU fan cooler and RAM connected to the motherboard, it’s time to install the motherboard in the case. As shown in the video below, it’s important to line up the I/O shield, part of the motherboard that contains all of your ports, with the opening on the side of your case. If the I/O shield is not lined up properly, some of your ports may be inaccessible and the motherboard will not line up with the case connection points. Once you’re certain that the I/O shield is lined up correctly, you can screw the motherboard into the case as shown in the video below. Some motherboards, like ours, only have four holes at the edges of the motherboard while others will have a couple of points in the middle of the board as well, so make sure you use the correct ones for your board as they can differ slightly.

Step 4: Installing the Power Supply & SATA Storage

The next step in the build process is to add the power supply and SATA storage. As we mentioned earlier in the article, we decided to reuse the case, power supply and SATA storage from our old testing rig for the new testing build. Because of this, we did not remove them from the case when assembling the new build. As you can see in the picture below, the aforementioned components are secured to the case in their correct places and the appropriate cables have been connected. This video shows the step-by-step process of installing the power supply, and this video shows the installation of the SATA storage. Once the power supply and storage have been installed and the appropriate connections to the motherboard have been made, it’s time to install the graphics card.

Step 5: Installing the GPU

Installing the graphics card is the last step before powering on your new PC build. Take the GPU and line it up with PCIe slot on your motherboard. Carefully place the GPU in the slot until it “clicks” in place and feels secure. Next, take the PCI-E power cables connected to your power supply and connect them to the GPU. Depending on the GPU, the number of PCI-E connections can vary from as little as 8 to 24-pins. Take a look at the video below for assistance installing the graphics card.

Step 6: Installing the OS

In order to use your new PC, you will need an operating system. We went with Windows 10 as it is the industry standard.  To install it, you will need to create a Windows installation USB. Here is how you can create one. Grab an empty 16 GB USB thumb drive and head to a computer with internet access.  Next, open your preferred browser and follow this link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 , to find the Windows 10 installation media tool. Simply click “Download tool now”, wait for it to download fully, and then start the program. It will be labeled MediaCreationTool or something similar. Once started, you need to click “Accept” for the applicable notices and license terms, and then you will see the option to “Create installation media”. Click on it, hit “Next” and then select the proper Windows version for installation, based on your preferred language and system compatibility. Click “Next” again and select your USB flash drive as the media to use. Click “Next” one more time, then you should see the progress as it installs, and you will just need to click “Finish” when prompted. From there your USB drive is ready to go.  To use it, plug it in to your new PC and power on the computer. Next you will need to enter your PC’s boot-device selection menu in your motherboard’s BIOS, typically by pressing F2, Esc, F10 or F12 when your system is booting up. Once at the menu, you can select the option that boots the PC from the USB flash drive. That will start the Windows Setup and just follow the prompts you receive to install Windows. Once you do that you will be up and running in no time!

Conclusion

Congratulations, you’ve completed your PC build! Don’t be alarmed if the PC doesn’t boot up the first time you try turning it on – it happens all of the time during new builds and there are plenty of PC diagnostic resources online. While it may seem daunting at first, building a PC is a fairly simple process and is incredibly rewarding when done correctly. The customization provided by PC gaming is unparalleled and current trends seems to indicate that the PC gaming community is only going to continue to grow.

Products Featured In CEG Build

Video Citations:

DudeBrd. (2016, August 4). How to Install a Power Supply in Computer [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOsrsHC4CMk

Digital Trends. (2015, May 20). How to Install a SATA Hard Drive [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjfRYfN4jfM

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Details about the Specs, Price, and Release Date for the New NVIDIA RTX 30XX Series Graphics Cards

By Gaming No Comments

Possible Specs: Expect a 7nm Ampere architecture with a GPU clocking up to 2.2GHz, boasting 21 TeraFlops of raw performance, 18Gbps making it 40% faster than 2080 Ti, possibly 20GB vram, PCIE 4.0 support.

Release date: September 2020

Price: Around the same as current line up

 



 

Currently most graphics cards distributors are emptying their stock of RTX 20XX series cards, it seems like they are finally preparing for the RTX 30XX series Ampere launch. There are rumors of August mass production and a September release for the newest best GPU on the market a RTX 3080 Ti and possibly even a RTX 3090.

The speculated specifications expect these new GPU’s to be clocking up to 2.2GHz, boasting 21 TeraFlops of raw performance and 18Gbps making it 40% faster than 2080 Ti. All to go with possibly 20GB VRAM and PCIE 4.0 support. These graphics cards are expected to boost performance, and increase power efficiency significantly. Plus new DLSS, could mean you can get to buttery smooth 4K with a midrange card – 3060 anyone?

A recent tweet from KittyCorgi mentions two models: A GA103 with 3,840 cores, 10/20GB of graphics RAM and a 320-bit memory bus. And a GA104 model with 3072 cores, 8/16GB of graphics RAM and a 256-bit memory bus. This is just speculation but we do have more information on the architecture. Similar to how Volta architecture preceded Turing with the RTX 20XX series, we expect the Ampere processor for data centers and AI NVIDIA makes right now to be a precursor for the same with the RTX 30xx series processor. 

We originally expected an official release date to be announced at either Computex(September) or Gamescom (August), but by now Computex has been officially cancelled. So now expect the RTX 30XX series reveal either at Gamescon, which moved entirely online, or NVIDIA may even do there own private launch event in August. Either way with stock of RTX 20XX series running dry, and rumors of Ampere production ramping up in August, we expect new RTX graphics cards to be available in September.

We expect them to be priced roughly the same as the current line up, with 3070’s around $500, 3080’s around $700 and 3080Ti’s/3090’s at around $1200. Previously there was a jump from the GTX 10XX to the 20XX series because of a lack of competition, the Turing GPU’s ran unopposed until Radeon VII arrived the February after its release. But with Big Navi expected soon competition forces NVIDIA to keep prices roughly the same for this new line up. Also it is speculated they will use Samsung 7nm EUV production to reduces cost to manufacture the graphics card. Typically Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (who you may know as the also produce chips for both Apple and AMD) manufactured NVIDIA’s cards, but they are apparently not as competitive price-wise right now.

 

 

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