CONCEPT

Last week we started talking about PC Gaming jargon. For anyone just getting into it, the terminology can be extremely daunting. We're here to help you look like a pro. Let's get started with our next term, well acronym really: FPS. FPS stands for frame rate per second. This is essentially how many "pictures" (frames) your system can display per second, which will affect the appearance of your game and whether it runs smoothly, lags or stutters. Many games have a lot of infor

We're back with more PC Gaming Geek Talk! Today we'll talk about an oldie, but a goodie: Defragging. Defragging is short form for saying defragmentation. In a spinning hard drive, information is stored in blocks and overtime, these blocks, even when related to each other can be stored in various places on the hard drive causing retrieval to lag slightly as it retrieves info from multiple locations. Depending on your operating system and settings, this can become noticeable af

It's almost time for another Windows update! But fear not - it is not a major overhaul like most of its bi-annual predecessors. The 1909 or 19H2 update was announced as "less disruptive" and will not require a lengthy restart and install. You can expect the following changes to appear sometime in late September or October: 1. Event creation in the taskbar system tray's calendar without having to open the calendar app; instead you can just click on the date you wish to add an

Ever look at computer specs and notice there are two or even 3 different types of USB ports? Wondering what the difference is between a USB 2.0, 3.0 and 3.1? Wonder no more! The USB 3.0 is the newer version of the two, by about 8 years and the 3.1 beats the 3.0 by another 6 years. A 3.0 is about 10 times faster than a 2.0, provides more power and conserves more power when necessary. Unlike a 2.0, a 3.0 USB can receive and transmit information at the same time, whereas the for

Jumpers are pieces of hardware whose absence, presence and placement determines the configuration of a larger piece of hardware. They allow you to physically control the operation of the hardware as opposed to doing so with software. The jumpers themselves are metal posts operating as part of an electrical circuit on a piece of hardware such as a motherboard or hard drive. Placing a small piece of wire or plastic / metal plug called a jumper cap on one or more of the posts wi

Longing for more geek talk? Let's talk about chipsets. A chipset is a component that allows your motherboard to talk to certain components in your computer. Formerly a numerous group of little chips that performed this function for each specific component, a chipset is now a single chip that acts as a communication hub for components that are not now integrated into the CPU itself. Your chipset will determine which of the components it communicates with are compatible with yo