Mechanical Switches Explored!

Every serious PC gamer will rave about their favourite keyboard – and 99 times out of 100 that’s going to be a mechanical unit. There’s a reason that these old-school devices are the perfect companion for a modern gaming rig: they provide a solid, snappy and consistent typing action, the best speed and the most features. The key to every top-quality keyboard is the mechanical switch under each button. Typically, this isn’t a simple situation – several companies make different switches, and they’ve got game-changing…

GPUs

Graphics Wars – Choose what’s right for you!

There is no component more vital to a gaming PC than the graphics card. It's the engine behind every top game, and picking the right card means your rig will run the most demanding games for years. Graphics cards are no joke, but that does mean that it can be tricky to pick the right part. If you're not sure about how graphics cards work, then read on – and if you still need to pick a card, then read our guide for the top…

Air Coolers In-Depth

There are all sorts of options for keeping your processor chilled, but air coolers remain the cheapest and easiest and most versatile option. You can spend between £10 and £100 on an air cooler, and choose huge heatsinks with multiple fans or fan-free models for pure silence. Vast units are ideal for overclocking, and smaller cooler slot inside small-form-factor systems. Our guide explains how these important components function – and gives you an overview of the entire market. We've also picked out some of our…

King of the cases, what’s right for you?

Enthusiasts spend hours picking parts, but too many people give too little thought to another vital component: their case. That’s a shame, because cases are important: a good case can make a system easier to build, offer more room for extra components and make your PC run with better temperatures and less noise. And let’s not forget the aesthetics, either – a good case can make your rig look stunning. We’ve got a huge range of the best computer cases at Overclockers UK – here…

PC & Console VR Explained

Virtual Reality is one of the biggest deals in gaming and computing, with dozens of companies trying to grab a slice of this futuristic pie. The amount of choice is great for consumers, but it’s confusing too. The virtual reality headsets on the market are divided into two mains camps: the PC hardware takes most of the plaudits for high-end performance, are console headsets are beginning to make waves. And then there are smartphone headsets, too. We’ve delved into the packed market to explain the…

Monitors Explained

No gaming, home or office PC is complete without a monitor, and there’s never been more choice. Gamers can pick from sync-equipped screens with curved panels, while movie buffs can choose widescreen monitors with incredible colour accuracy. There’s a PC monitor for every budget and scenario, which is why we’ve put together this guide to the technologies, resolutions and features on screens in 2016 – whether you’re after a cheap PC monitor or a mighty 4K gaming monitor. Panel Greeting: The vast majority of monitors…

Do you actually know these acronyms?

Acronyms are used every day in the computing world and users may not necessarily know what the abbreviation stands for, or even the meaning behind it, so we have picked commonly used acronyms to explain the meaning. DDR is common when talking about memory, and it stands for Double Data Rate. So what is Double Data Rate? It is technology that allows data to be transferred on the rising and falling edges of the clock signal, this increases the data rate by two compared to…