Form factor
The form factor of a computer case characterizes, first of all, the internal volume. Main PC Form Factors:
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Midi Tower. A representative of the tower family (tower cases) of medium size — about 45 cm in height with a width of 15-20 cm, with the number of external bays from 2 to 4. Most popular for middle-class home PCs.
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Mini Tower. The most compact "vertical" case type, with a width of 15-20 cm, has a height of about 35 cm and (usually) less than 2 compartments with external access. Used mainly for office PCs that do not require high performance.
—
Full Tower. The tower case is one of the largest form factors for PCs today: 15-20 cm wide, 50-60 cm high, with up to 10 externally accessible bays. Most often in this form factor running advanced high performance PCs
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Desktop. Enclosures designed for installation directly on the desktop. They often have the possibility of horizontal installation — in such a way that a monitor can be placed on top of the case — although there are also models that are installed strictly vertically. Anyway, "desktop" models are relatively small.
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Cube Case. Cases having a cubic or close to it shape. They can have different sizes and are intended for different types of motherboards, this point in each case should be clar
...ified separately. Anyway, such cases have a rather original appearance, different from traditional "towers" and "desktops".Passmark CPU Mark
The result shown by the PC processor in the test (benchmark) Passmark CPU Mark.
Passmark CPU Mark is a comprehensive test that allows you to evaluate CPU performance in various modes and with a different number of processed threads. The results are displayed in points; the more points, the higher the overall performance of the processor. For comparison: as of 2020, in low-cost solutions, the results are measured in hundreds of points, in mid-range models they range from 800 – 900 to more than 6,000 points, and individual top-end chips are capable of showing 40,000 points or more.
Geekbench 4
The result shown by the PC processor in the test (benchmark) Geekbench 4.
Geekbench 4 is a comprehensive cross-platform test that allows, among other things, to determine the efficiency of the processor in various modes. At the same time, according to the developers, the verification modes are as close as possible to various real tasks that the processor has to solve. The result is indicated in points: the more points — the more powerful the CPU, while the difference in numbers corresponds to the actual difference in performance ("twice the result — twice the power").
Note that the benchmark in Geekbench 4 is the Intel Core i7-6600U processor with a clock frequency of 2.6 GHz. Its power is estimated at 4000 points, and the performance of other tested CPUs is already compared with it.
Cinebench R15
The result shown by the PC processor in the test (benchmark) Cinebench R15.
Cinebench is a test designed to test the capabilities of the processor and graphics card. The creator of this benchmark, Maxon, is also known as the developer of the Cinema 4D 3D editor; this determined the features of testing. So, in addition to purely mathematical tasks, when using Cinebench R15, the processor is loaded with processing high-quality three-dimensional graphics. Another interesting feature is the extensive support for multithreading — the test allows you to fully check the power of chips that process up to 256 threads at a time.
Traditionally, for CPU benchmarks, the test results are indicated in points (more precisely, points — PTS). The more points scored by the CPU, the higher its performance.
Max. memory support
The maximum amount of RAM that can be installed on a computer. It depends, in particular, on the type of memory modules used, as well as on the number of slots for them. Paying attention to this parameter makes sense, first of all, if the PC is bought with the expectation of upgrading RAM and the amount of actually installed memory in it is noticeably less than the maximum available
So the amount of maximum installed memory depends on the number of slots in the PC and can be from
16 GB(a modest PC) to
64 GB and above. The most popular on the market are
PCs with a maximum installed 32 GB of memory.
Graphics card model
The main manufacturers of video cards nowadays are
AMD,
NVIDIA and Intel, and each has its own specifics. NVIDIA produces primarily discrete solutions; Among the most common are
the GeForce MX1xx,
GeForce MX3xx,
GeForce GTX 10xx series (in particular
GTX 1050,
GTX 1050 Ti and
GTX 1060),
GeForce GTX 16xx,
GeForce RTX 20xx,
GeForce RTX 30xx(
GeForce RTX 3060,
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti,
GeForce RTX 3070,
GeForce RTX 3070 Ti,
GeForce RTX 3080,
GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, GeForce RTX 3090,
GeForce RTX 3090 Ti),
GeForce RTX 4060 , GeForce RTX 4060 Ti,
GeForce RTX 4070,
GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER,
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti,
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER,
Ge Force RTX 4080,
GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER,
GeForce RTX 4090 and separate
Quadro series. AMD offers both discrete and integrated graphics - including the popular
Radeon RX 500,
Radeon RX 5000,
Radeon RX 6000,
Radeon RX 7000 and
AMD Radeon Pro series. And Intel deals exclusively with modules integrated into processors of its own production - these can be HD Graphics, UHD Graphics and Iris.
Note that many configurations with discrete graphics also have an integrated graphics module; in such cases, the name of the discrete video card is indicated as more advanced.
Memory type
The type of graphics memory used by the discrete graphics card (see "Video Card Type").
In most of these adapters, GDDR graphics memory is installed — a kind of regular DDR "RAM", optimized for use with graphics tasks. This memory is available on the market in several versions; in addition, there are other varieties. Here is a more detailed description of the different options:
— GDDR3. At one time — a fairly common type of graphic memory; today, however, it is considered obsolete and is not used in new PCs.
— GDDR5. The most popular (for 2020) type of GDDR graphic memory. At a reasonable cost, it provides good performance, due to which it is found in computers of different price categories.
— GDDR5X. Modification of the above-mentioned GDDR5, characterized by a 2-fold increased throughput. Accordingly, the performance of such memory (with the same volumes) is noticeably higher; on the other hand, such modules are expensive.
— GDDR6. The newest of the GDDR standards for 2020 — the first video cards based on this type of memory were introduced in 2018. It differs from its immediate predecessor — GDDR5X — in both increased bandwidth and lower operating voltage, which provides both increased efficiency and reduced power consumption. It is also worth noting that GDDR6 was developed with specific applications in mind, such as VR or work with resolutions above 4K UHD.
— HBM2. The original HBM is a type of RAM d...esigned to maximize the speed of data exchange; HBM2 is the second version of this technology, in which the bandwidth compared to the original HBM has been doubled. Such a memory is fundamentally different from DDR in terms of device — in particular, the memory cells in it are placed in layers and allow simultaneous access. Thanks to this, HBM is several times faster than the fastest versions of GDDR, which makes this technology perfect for high workloads such as processing UltraHD graphics and virtual reality. At the same time, the clock frequency of such modules is low and, accordingly, power consumption and heat dissipation are small. The disadvantage of this option is traditional — the high price.
— DDR3. Memory that does not have a specialization for graphics — in other words, the same DDR3 that is used in RAM sticks (see "Memory Type" above). In the case of video cards, such solutions are completely obsolete and are almost never used nowadays.
VR
Support for virtual reality technologies by a PC graphics card, in other words, the ability to use VR glasses and helmets with a computer. Such equipment gives a powerful effect of immersion in what is happening — the image in front of the eyes changes when the head moves, as if the user is looking at it live. However, processing such graphics requires high performance, as well as support for some special technologies. So if you intend to use VR, you should choose a system for which this feature is directly stated.
VR support is found primarily in professional gaming PCs, but it can also be useful for developers involved in VR applications.
3DMark
The result shown by the PC graphics card in the 3DMark test (benchmark).
3DMark is a specialized test designed primarily to test the performance and stability of a graphics card in demanding games. The verification is carried out by running 3D videos created on various game engines using various technologies. The final result is evaluated both in terms of frame rate and in conditional points; in this paragraph, just the number of points is given. The higher it is, the more powerful and performant the graphics card is.
Note that 3DMark testing can be carried out for any type of graphics (see "Graphics card type"). At the same time (as of 2020) in integrated solutions, the final result rarely exceeds 1000 points; the most modest indicator for discrete adapters is about 1700 points; and in some high-end graphics cards, it can exceed 10,000 points.