Gaming


storage capacity – our consumer SSDs come with up to 4TB of storage – will also provide gamers with an instant boost in their loading times and responsiveness. SSDs are more energy efficient than HDDs because they have no moving parts and require less power to operate. Tis also lengthens battery life.


SSD user feedback While upgrading can be a gamechanger in terms of cost and performance, it hasn’t always been the first choice of action amongst users faced with a sluggish system. To understand current attitudes to upgrading, we recently conducted three polls on X (formerly known as Twitter). When asked which component they would upgrade this year to boost performance, 31.9% of almost 6000 respondents said ‘SSD’ and over half, 50.9%, said that an ‘upgrade to an SSD was next on their upgrade wish list’. In addition, amongst 6715 respondents in a separate poll, 51.5% agreed that an ‘SSD upgrade would take between three and five minutes’, which is reassuring for any gamer who is concerned about the possibility of disruption caused by upgrading their system.


Getting into the detail When advising a customer about memory and storage it’s worth explaining to them why the replacement of these components can make such a big difference to their gaming performance. Let’s look at memory first, where the key word is ‘DDR5’. Tis is


the fiſth generation of DRAM and is now replacing its predecessor, DDR4, which is likely to have come as standard on customers’ gaming PCs. Te biggest difference between the two is data transfer rates, with DDR4 operating at speeds ranging from 2133 MT/s up to 3200 MT/s while DDR5 starts at a base speed of 4800 MT/s and is expected to reach up to 6400 MT/s in line with compute platform releases. Te higher data rates of DDR5 can mean an increase of 50% in bandwidth, leading to fast processing, and allowing gamers to run applications in the background such as Spotify or live streaming, without affecting gameplay. A DDR5 memory solution such as the Kingston FURY™, for example, also provides on-die ECC which gives gamers stability even at extreme speeds, dual 32-bit subchannels for increased efficiency, and an integrated on-module power management circuit which will ensure power is available when it’s needed most and creates less noise. One word of caution, DDR5 modules are not compatible with older systems due to differences in architecture and pin configurations, so resellers will need to check that the RAM module they are recommending is supported by their customer’s motherboard.


www.pcr-online.biz When it comes to storage, resellers should look for SSDs that


are built specifically for gaming applications. A great example of this is the Kingston FURY™ Renegade SSD, delivering outstanding performance for gaming enthusiasts seeking the best for their PC builds and upgrades. With Gen 4x4 NVMe controller and 3D TLC NAND technology, this model offers blazing read/write speeds of up to 7,300/7,000MB/s1 and up to 1,000,000 IOPS1, ensuring near- instant application loading times. Heat management, oſten an issue for gamers who are playing for hours, is optimised with a slim M.2 form factor combined with a low-profile, graphene aluminium heat spreader, making it perfect for intense usage in gaming laptops and PCs. Te optional heatsink model adds an extra layer of thermal dispersion, ensuring stability during peak performance. However, it should be noted that this does not replace an effective cooling system. Combining fit-for-purpose memory and storage solutions as


part of an upgrade will mean that customers can take advantage of capacities ranging from 500GB–4TB, providing ample space for existing and future games and media.


Counting the cost In these cost-conscious times, upgrading rather than replacing has multiple benefits, not only for enhancing performance but in delivering great value for money. Instead of investing in entirely new devices, an upgrade can breathe new life into an existing system achieving the high performance that gamers want without breaking the bank. Tose seeking an even more cost-effective way to elevate their


laptop’s performance and storage, can also consider an external SSD which not only provides useful storage for games that a user wants to keep but is running out of room to store on their laptop or PC. In addition, external SSDs are fast, oſten utilising the same high-speed NAND flash memory found in internal SSDs. If this is the case, they will duplicate the gaming experience if they are used to load a game. However, if they are faster than the internal hard drive, they will deliver an even better gaming experience. But as well as the financial implications of replacing computer hardware, many customers today are also environmentally conscious, and have no desire to add to the ever-growing heap of unwanted, unusable


old technology. Taking an upgrade approach means that not only are they reducing the energy consumption of their system and reducing the cost to


themselves, but they are also cutting the cost to the environment at the same time.


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