Steelseries 6gv2 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

If you're crazy about PC gaming, you want a mechanical gaming keyboard. Steel series is not a new name to gamers, used by professional gaming teams, it is one of the best buys in the gaming market. Some of the main features being anti-ghosting where you can use 6 keys plus modifiers simultaneously, and increased APM or Actions Per Minute where you don't have to drill the keys on the keyboard all the way down for it to register. These are just 2 features, I'll type less and allow a video from youtube to explain the rest.

Video Review of Steelseries Gaming Keyboard - courtesy Dimitry49 reviews

 

That says it all, doesn't it ? One of the best gaming products, I would say.

A few product reviews for Steelseries keyboard

"Do you really need a gaming keyboard? I sure didn't think I did, right up until I tried a SteelSeries 6Gv2. Gaming demands aside, the 6Gv2 is a great piece of office equipment. It brings back the days when a keyboard was a robust part of the PC suite, not a cheap, plasticy afterthought."

--Gaming Nexus

"If your main interest in keyboards is multimedia utility or having dozens of extra keys, then look elsewhere. This keyboard is minimalistic, highly durable and functional, and could easily be the last keyboard you ever purchase (I've read numerous claims of mechanical keyboards lasting 15-20 years with almost no loss of functionality). "

- Amazon Buyer

So, not a bad product at all, I would say. So, next step:

Buy the SteelSeries 6Gv2 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard at Amazon

Best wishes,

Sriraag Balaji

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Best Buys for black Xbox 360 Wireless Controller

So, if you're looking for a stylish black wireless controller for the Xbox 360, you're one in 2,900 people searching for it every month. Blew your mind? Nah! What's better, you can be one of those few who buy the wireless controller for a much cheaper price than the rest. So, here are the cheap deals for the black w/less controller -

1. Wireless Xbox 360 controller (2012 edition) - $37.96 from Amazon.com

If you say - "Alright, whats special about this offer Sriraag?" Well, first off - the price. The list price is $49.99, so you save 24% of the cost. The second thing is that this product got 4.5 stars out of 5, so a good product is guaranteed for sure. Another important thing, you the buyer, might want to know is the customer review for this product. This is what the majority of the people had to say:

A very satisfying purchase, however, the controller is not glossy as described but more of a plain black coat of a car. Pros : Feel good in the hands, buttons are responsive, can plug it in OR remove the batteries if you want to slap in a fresh set, works well for most games.Also, it works with PC as well.

In short this controller is quite good for playing third person shooter games, racing games and action games.

2. Xbox 360 wireless controller (2005 edition) - $68.29 from Amazon.com

This would be the 2nd choice for many reasons - 

1. The colour - white, tends to get soiled easily
2. This is an older model - so a bit bulky compared to the product above this.
3. The saddest part - it costs slightly (too mild a word!) more, unless you get the 2nd hand deals or other "new" amazon deals
4. the grip of this controller is not as good as the product above.

Yet, it is wireless to 30 foot, that's a bonus. I have actually outlined the main cons from the reviews I read, below are some of the good points -

1. Controller has rechargeable batteries - no need to keep buying batteries, just charge and play
2. Almost no delay in controls
3. Expect 10-30 hours of gameplay for each complete charging of batteries
4. White looks great, even though its easy to soil, so, if you're a perfectionist cleaner , its perfect for you.

So, which one would you choose to buy? Click on the images to buy read a few more reviews and you can buy the product to play the latest PC or Xbox games.

Best Wishes,
Sriraag Balaji

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5 Dangers Of Overclocking on a CPU

If you've been thinking about overclocking your computer, you should first consider the dangers that it poses to your CPU and the Data you have stored in your PC. As a rule of thumb, you should avoid overclocking on a PC which has important data, as it might blow up some day due to your careless overclocking ;) . You should always make use of forums on the internet for expert advice before overclocking your PC.  So, here is a list of dangers of overclocking:

1. Overclocking = Heat

Overclocking invariably produces more heat due to increased power consumption leading to a decreased life of the CPU. So, remember to give your overclocked PC as much cooling as possible. Why not go for a strong heatsink-fan combo instead of the lone heatsink?Also, you might consider water cooling or any other form of effective cooling for the CPU.

2. Malfunctioning Video card and PCI slots

This one might have shocked those of you who thought that overclocking would allow you to play a game better than earlier. If you overclocked the CPU by increasing the system bus speed, be warned that this can also affect the PCI bus speed, either positively or even negatively. Usually, video cards can begin to malfunction if your PCI-bus speed is higher 33MHz. This increases the likelihood of glitches or crashes when you play 3-D accelerated games.

3. Motherboard dies - Static Discharge

One of the major things to be remember is to use a anti-static wrist strap when touching components of a motherboard. If you don't have such a grounding strap, you should ground yourself using other means such as touching a metal surface before assembling the components or even touching them. If you accidentally discharge inside the case, then it is possible that the motherboard gets spoilt.

4. Decreased Lifetime of the CPU

Increased heat to components can cause electromigration which can lead to the eventual breakdown of the components of the CPU. Electromigration causes the chips to short circuit and thus reduces the reliability of the chips over time. So, be careful when altering the amount of current flowing into the CPU by changing the voltage. 

5. Works today . . . Maybe not tomorrow

One major disadvantage of overclocking is that if you update or upgrade your Operating System, there is a possibility of it malfunctioning. You may receive errors such as "file copy error" during windows installation. Also, Overclocking can cause other problems such as Windows Registry Files becoming corrupted.

So, before deciding to overclock your CPU, consider these "dangers" that can cause Data losses and many other unpredictable errors and problems. One of the tips I would offer is to note down each of your steps and the original settings before you overclock so you can always reverse the settings. If you need expert advice on overclocking the following resources might be useful -  

• Tweakboy's Ultimate Overclocking Handbook 
•  Overclocking Your Cpu To The Extreme 

Best Wishes,

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How To Increase CPU Performance

Alright, so you have a slow core 2 duo and want to play Watch dogs which requires a minimum of Intel Core i3 ? No chance. Unless of course you either upgrade your processor or . . . Overclock. Please, don't be scared if you have never heard of the term. I didn't know about it either for a long time . . . until just some time ago. Its not a clock over your CPU for sure :) , but something that might blow your mind away! Far far far far away.

So, what is Overclocking?

According to wikipedia - "Overclocking is the process of making a computer or component operate faster than the clock frequency specified by the manufacturer by modifying system parameters." In short, your tweaking the CPU to run faster and yet remain in the safe limits. Get it? 

So, regardless of which computer you have - a core i7 or a 5 year old CPU, you can still get it to work faster than earlier by not having to upgrade and spend more money. Today, I'll be showing you resources that help you achieve just that.

Read - The dangers of Overclocking

How Can I Overclock my cpu ?

I'll be honest, its not an easy thing to do. Considering that you need to change the CPU speed which will alter your RAM's speed, so you need to be careful in not compromising on other aspects of you CPU. The other thing is that of course, if your CPU runs faster, it might overheat too. So, you might have to introduce some extra cooling and so on. For example - Water cooling ( you can find an extensive guide on water cooling in the link provided)

But, there is an easy way out - Get expert advice. Now, if you know a computer expert you could use that or else the forums on the internet, what else are they for ? However, if you need real solid advice on Overclocking, you might consider buying an ebook or an online course specifically for that purpose.

Which course on overclocking should I buy?

There are lots of choices on the internet, but the one I am familiar with is this course that gives the course and bonuses as well which include:

- Overclocking your CPU to the extreme (the main buy, the rest are bonuses)

-Intel Core i7/i5/i3 Extreme Overclocker Video Tutorial....($47 Value) 

-Windows Services Guide....................................................($27 Value)

-The Game Accelerator Video Series.................................($47 Value)

 All of this comes only for $ 27. That is quite a bargain actually, don't you think? If you are a bit apprehensive, have a look at the testimonials below.

Reviews for the product - "Overclocking your CPU . . ."

Dear James, ( the creator of the product),

My name is Brian, and I really wish to thank you for the help and information I have gleaned from your book and videos.

In the past I have spent a small fortune on computer magazines, ok I did get some good tips but the bulk of these mags contain more adverts than anything else. Your book are pure knowledge with no advertising, only recommendations for free software utilities, which I also found very useful.

As computers are my main hobby, my computers now run smooth and fast, and may I say much faster than they did before. I purchased your book before I went on holiday, and got in trouble with the wife, as I did not want to put them down, they are fantastic read, and although I was on holiday, I was anxious to implement your recommendations on my computers when I got home.

 

"Thank you James I wish I had found your book long since, I would have saved a lot of money"

 

Thank you James I wish I had found your book long since, I would have saved a lot of money.

My very best regards. 

Cheers Brian Taylor

Paignton, Devon

So, you can have a look at many other testimonials and more information about the product right here. So, whether crisis 2 or watchdogs, if you can overclock you can play!  

So, what are you waiting for? Are you ready to overclock?

 

 

Best Wishes,

 

 

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Buy Laptop Repair Training Course

If you have a laptop then it is quite probable that might have or will in the future find it to be malfunctioning. So, the product that you might benefit from to a great extent, would be the "Official Laptop Repair videos". This is a series of videos totaling over 10 hours which you will get to watch in 960 x 540 HD.  

Some (Not most, not many, but some!) of the laptops shown to be repaired are Toshiba, HP DV6000, Sony Vaio, Dell B130, Aspire 3680, Acer Aspire 3610 , Dell Inspiron 1521, Toughbook CF-W5, Acer Aspire 3680, HP DV8000, HP DV5 and many more. These are just the various types of laptops shown separately to repair few parts, not to mention the general videos ranging from DVD/CD drives, motherboard replacement to also a cracked screen and the list just goes on. ( Geez! there's a lot to type!)

What will I get in this Laptop Repair Course ?

 So, here's a list of the main things you can expect (an incomplete full list though):

• Consists of more than 40 videos
• How to replace a motherboard
• How to replace an LCD Screen
• What to do when the laptop keeps shutting down
• How to fix DC power jacks
• The crucial difference between a bad screen and a bad inverter board
• How to replace hinges
• Where I buy all my parts
• The best way to go about taking a laptop apart
• How to solder
• The art of fixing AC adapters
• How to handle a laptop that has had liquid spilled in it
• what to do when a laptop overheats
• how to replace CD/DVD drives, RAM, processors, hard Drives and wireless cards

One of the good things about this about this course is that you can download the videos immediately after you buy the course. 

A background of the creator - Steve Cherubino

One of the things to note is that Steve isn't someone who has just started Laptop repairs as his hobby but is someone who has had experience in this field and has even owned his own store for laptop repairs. Well know, lets have a look at the preview of how the videos will be once you buy them.

A few Testimonials for the Laptop Repair Course

"I have never wrote a company about a product before and I was hesitant to buy the videos, but after watching the first few I was in awe of the clarity and amount of detail made this maybe the best choice of my tech career.

Anyone of any level can watch, learn and make money hand over fist just by watching these videos, the camera work and the voice narration made it very clear and easy to understand, I have told every tech I know that they need to buy this, at least to fix their own laptops, the cost savings is unprecedented, I have never seen something so affordable save me and earn me so much money.

Bottom line it is the best money I have spent since I bought my wifes wedding ring!

Thanks for all your hard work, p.s. the bonus videos are great!"
- Stephen McLaughlin, Door to Door Geek

"Your videos are great, very detailed and easy to understand...Laptop repair has never been my strength, but these videos will definitely help me gain a bit more confidence and I'm sure they will pay for themselves in no time.

Keep up the great work!

Thanks,

Phillip Lee
Owner, Click IT Guy"

"Steve,
I wanted to reply to the videos. I just repaired a Toshiba m35x power adapter. I then sold the system to friend of my wife's at work for a good profit. Thanks, I already got the price of the purchase of the videos back. The videos are great, and I love it when you put bonus ones out!"

-Ed

"I just received the laptop repair videos and they are an invaluable resource!"

-Randy

Conclusion About Laptop Repair Videos

 

Well, the resources are definitely great and the cost is not too much as well. The more than 10hrs worth of more than 40 videos cost only $37. The thing to remember is that you can make much more money than this back, by using what you learn in these videos to repair laptops for other people. So, according to me the money is well worth it. Give it a try and if you think it isn't for you then Steve might be happy to give you a refund if you contact within 60 days of buying the course. So, what are you waiting for ? The link is right below click it to buy the course.

Click Here to Buy the Course for Repairing Laptops (either a hardcopy or online downloads)

Best Wishes, 

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Can I repair my LCD TV?

Well, most of the times you can. Usually the problem is with the components inside the LCD TV and not a "physical" problem if you know what I mean. You don't always have to take your LCD to the electrician and pay $200 with a heavy heart, when it might take you only one tenth of the price to repair it yourself. And I'm not joking here. 

Most of the times, as I have heard from people, the fault lies in the capictor(s). If the capacitor is shorted out, the LCD may then not function at all or probably very poorly. If you open your LCD up, you'll see lots of these -

As you can see in the image above, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on various factors. 

So how do you spot a Bad Capacitor in an LCD TV ?

Although, not a very easy job to navigate through the thousands of resistors and soldered areas of a circuit board, finding a faulty capacitors is not too hard most of the time. So, here are the steps:

1. Look for a swelling either at the top or the bottom of the Capacitors (I'll call them caps from now on :)  )
2.  Some of the caps may not have a bulge but if checked with a capacitor tester they may reveal the truth. ( highly dramatised!)
3. Sometimes, the electrolyte(the fluid in the caps) leaks out, and you might be able to spot it by its distinctive odour. However, be cautious, not all fluids near caps are spills, it may be a glue used by the manufacturer to hold the components in place before soldering them.

Watch the video below, there are many great tips. Thanks a lot to tvrepair.info for providing this video. 

 

If you still don't know how to repair your LCD TV you can also purchase a book by Bob Lime for $37 - Here is the link to the book

So, you might be actually able to save your money by learning this art, wont you ? I hope it does help you out. And if it does I would be glad to read your comments below.

P.S. Check out the Laptop repair course if you want to repair a Laptop Screen or any other part of the Laptop

Best Wishes,

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Best buys for computer RAM

If you've come here directly, you might want to read - How To Know Which RAM To Buy

The Best Buys for RAMs Online

Here are the discounted and non-discounted RAMs I could find online. These are all DDR3 RAMs.

DDR3 RAMs

1. Kingston RAM 8 GB

• Model - KHX1600C9D3B1K2/8GX 
  • 8 GB Kit - 2 x 4GB
  • 1600 MHz
  • 240 Pin
  • DIMM Unbufferred Hmp HyperX 
  • CAS Latency - CL9
  • Green Compliant    
  • Length : 133.0 mm , Width:30.0 mm
  • Lifetime Warranty
     
   COST - $46.98 CAD ($42.99 special price)  Get discount of $3.99 by using code   70136-1201  Special price is only till 16th of Jan 2013 

BUY NOW 

 

Customer Reviews - 

 Tanja - (verified buyer from website) - Experience for 1 week

Kingston memory is always reliable. I've had trouble with other brands in the past (even G.Skill) but not a single Kingston stick has ever failed me. And if it does, well, they're lifetime warranty! Picked up a couple sets of these during the Boxing Week sale -- one to upgrade my desktop PC and another for my new HTPC build. Great value, especially when on sale.  

Merle - (verified buyer) - Experience for 2 weeks

I Ordered this Ram when I ordered my new Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 motherboard
They look and perform great with my new HTPC 

 (There are many more reviews but due to the space they would take, I'm avoiding them) If you want to read them all then go here and scroll down to the bottom of the page.

2. Corsair Vengeance RAM 4 GB

• Model: CMZ4GX3M1A1600C9
  • 4GB  - 1 x 4GB
  • DDR3 for AMD and Intel Dual and Triple processors. Operates in Single Channel mode when installed individually. 
  • 1600MHz
  • Vengeance heat spreader for styling and performance
  • Limited Lifetime Warranty
  • Format: DIMM
  • 240 Pin
  • 1.5 Volts
  • 9-9-9-24 latency    

 COST - $26.98 

Customer Reviews - 

Tyler . N. - (verified customer) - Experience of 1 week

Picked this up for a cheap HTPC build cant complain works flawlessly and has a very nice heatsink on it although id tell people with aftermarket cpu heatsink to be careful as the ram heatsink is very tall and could interfere. Would buy again 

BlueBoltar - (verified customer) -Experience of 6 days

Quality RAM at a sick price! Buying another stick after this review! Cheap and reliable, not planning to overclock so this is the perfect on a budget gamer build. The large heat sink makes it somewhat easier to insert  as far as grip goes. 

Read a complete review of this RAM - Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600MHz review


BUY NOW

3. AMD Entertainment Edition RAM 2GB

• PC3-12800 (1600MHz)
• 2GB - 1 x 2GB
• Timings: (9-9-9)
• Single Rank
• Voltage: 1.5V
• Equipped with an extruded aluminum shield to provide improved  cooling
• 100% Tested and Verified
• RoHS Compliant
• Compatible with all AMD platforms

COST - $ 16.99 ($12.99 special price) SAVE $4.00 off regular price of $16.99. Savings Code 66074-1360.  Special price ends 01/31/2013.

 


BUY NOW


Customer Reviews - 

Justin - (verified customer) - Experience of 3 days

I appreciated these automatically running at 1600MHz without having to manually set it or load an XMP profile. Just turned on and it was already at 1600MHz.

Best Wishes,

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How To Know Which RAM To Buy

Alright, so you want a faster PC and decided to change the RAM. Well, before you move on, let me tell you that this may not always be the best way to increase the speed of your PC. 



The truth is, upgrading your PC's RAM usually only increases its speed by 2 to 3 percent. But, that's only for moving from a 4 GB RAM to  8 GB or even less improvement for upgrading from a 2 GB RAM to a 4 GB RAM. In those cases you might wish to reconsider the decision to buy a new RAM and might have to consider upgrading the processor instead.

Unless of course  . . . (My story)

Around 2 years ago, my desktop went blank. The monitor wasn't showing anything except for a horizontal blue line. I showed it to a computer engineer and he said, " Well, I've checked it all, it seems you need to buy a new computer." 
"C'mon man! It was just a year old! Call the person who sold this!"

The seller sent a 15 year old boy to check the PC. The engineer was standing right in front of him. The boy, turned the computer on . . . blank (perhaps I should say with a blue line). 

The boy said, " It's the RAM. You need to replace it"

The engineer shot off - " That's ridiculous, I checked it myself. There is nothing wrong with the RAM."

The boy was adamant and he changed the RAM and voila, the screen was back and not black ( I like to play with words :) ). Yepeeee!  

That must have been embarrassing for the computer engineer, beaten by a 15 year old (genius).

So, yeah, unless of course a 15 year old genius tells you its the RAM, you should probably get the RAM changed. And, if it's cheap then why not?

So, How much RAM do I need?

Well, it depends on your computer usage, how much your PC hardware can support and the Operating System you are using. For example, for Windows XP it is recommended to have atleast 128 MB of RAM while for Windows 7 32-bit, you require 1GB RAM while for 64-bit you would need 2 GB RAM.

To do a quick check of your PC or laptop (windows or mac) check out the Crucial System scan which tests your hardware and software to determine the amount of RAM you need, the type of RAM suitable for your computer and how much RAM you already have. 

Also read -  RAM: Add more memory to your computer

An article in Microsoft that takes you through all the steps of changing a RAM and determining the amount of RAM you need.

 Selecting the Best Buy for RAM

So, there are 3 things you need to consider before choosing the RAM:

• The amount of RAM you need to buy
• The type and amount of RAM your Computer allows for, and
• The cost of the RAM
• And perhaps,whether the manufacturer is reliable and trusted(Well, I guess that's the 4th thing!)

Hopefully, you know by now the amount and type of RAM you need for your computer. If not, have a look at Crucial System scan.

Now, that you know which type of RAM you need, why not have a look at buying some RAMs online.

Best Wishes,

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