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Buying Used PC Hardware: A Beginner’s Guide

If you’re close to the ‘Destitute’ level on our main chart—or even within spitting distance—new hardware prices can seem insurmountable. But what if you didn’t have to pinch pennies waiting for a sale? What if you could have a powerful—if slightly dated—system for a fraction of the cost?

Thankfully for you, there’s a surprisingly huge market for used hardware online! eBay is obvious, but forums like /r/hardwareswap are tight-knit, self-policing communities of enthusiasts eager to swap silicon. It’s also quite safe: PayPal is the most popular payment method, with their Goods and Services option offering buyer protection in the event of fraud.

That being said, not all used components age as gracefully as others. We’ve created this guide so you can shop wisely.

Choosing the Right Monitor: Size, Resolution, Price – and Sitting Distance!

If you peruse sites like this, there’s a good chance you’ve come across the monitor discussion. “I’m buying a monitor, what size/resolution/refresh rate should I get?” Choosing the right monitor can be as important as (or, in some situations, even more important than) anything else in your build.

After all, your monitor is how you experience your build. The best graphics card and CPU don’t mean much if the monitor you’re using can’t show you the benefits of those parts.

How to Benchmark Your PC: Best Benchmarking Software (Free and Paid)

James
2nd May 2016
How-To
19 Comments

Novabench, one of many popular PC benchmarking tools.

Benchmarking is the act of running a computer through a series of predetermined tests or program operations to assess its overall performance. With benchmarking, you can gauge the performance of your PC hardware to ensure everything is performing as designed. Think of it as putting your computer through a test that assigns a score, so that you can compare your hardware’s performance relative to other computers.

Benchmarking your PC can also help you to identify any potential vulnerabilities, it is no secret that cybercrime is on the rise, so for peace of mind, if you use your computer for personal or business purposes it is wise to do everything in your power to keep your technology secure.

There are a variety of ways to benchmark a PC, with specific methods focusing on the PC as a whole, or specific components, such as the graphics card, CPU, or SSD. Broadly speaking, benchmarking methods fall into one of two categories: Synthetic or Real World.

How to Stream PC Games on Twitch

You’ve built your gaming PC that possibly features an SSD for speed, you probably know the difference between WD Green vs Blue, and now you want to start streaming on Twitch. We’re here to help. (If you haven’t built yourself a streaming PC, read our Guide to Building a PC for Game Streaming.)

This quick guide should take you from a streaming novice to confident broadcaster. Don’t forget that if you’re using a public internet connection, find the best vpn for streaming so that you’re secure.

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