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How to Troubleshoot Common Printer Problems
Printers are a common household device, and sometimes the printer does not work out of nowhere. There are many issues you may run into like error messages, stuck print queues, failed print jobs, and running out of ink or toner. This guide will provide the steps on how to troubleshoot a printer. Click the links below to be…
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How to Identify Your Laptop Model Number or Battery Part Number
How to Identify Your Laptop Model Number or Battery Part Number To find the replacement battery you need for your laptop, you will need to search for either your computer’s model number or the part number of the specific battery. This article will help you in identifying both. Because there are so many varieties of laptops…
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Gaming at 240FPS: What You Need To Know When Choosing A Gaming Monitor!
Written by Sean Mekinda You've got your new gaming PC built - or are in the process of putting one together - and it's a monster. With a high-end CPU and top-of-the-line GPU, you're hitting over 200 FPS in everything you've booted. And yet... it doesn't look any different from your old PC. You're still throttled by the old…
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Your Perfect Click is Just Around the Corner: Finding the Ideal Mouse for You
Written by @ronwoodson Let's face it: whether you're crunching numbers in spreadsheets, immersed in a high-stakes gaming match, or sketching your latest design, your mouse is an extension of your hand. The wrong mouse can leave you frustrated, but the right one? Ah, it's a game-changer. So, let's get personal and explore…
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NVIDIA 40 Series Features Breakdown
Written by Sean Mekinda With last week’s launch of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, it’s clear that the 40 Series of GPUs is going strong. And while you might know that the 40 Series offers incredible performance and outstanding ray tracing capabilities, did you also know that they offer browser-based 4K video upscaling? Or…
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The Meta Quest 3: The First Wireless, Mass-Produced Mixed-Reality Headset!
Written by Sean Mekinda Today is the release of the Meta Quest 3, Meta’s newest entry in their line of entirely wireless mixed and virtual reality. The Quest 3 is the most powerful headset from Meta yet, with a slew of new features, updates, and improvements. Not only is the Quest 3 an incredible upgrade from previous…
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The Pulsar X2 V2 and X2H: High Quality, Understated Gaming Mice
Written by Sean Mekinda Gaming peripherals have become synonymous with bright, vibrant colors and in-your-face aesthetics. Pulsar's X2 mice take that idea and go the opposite direction, opting for simple, subtle designs backed by high-quality components. Both the X2 V2 and X2H lines are slate black with minimal lighting -…
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Now Available: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT and 7800 XT!
Written by Sean Mekinda AMD's mid-range has just arrived at Micro Center! The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT and 7800 XT are fantastic options for breaking into 1440p, with AMD reporting stable 60+ FPS at max setting in recent AAA games like Hogwarts Legacy and STAR WARS: Jedi Survivor. And if you're an esports gamer, AMD reports…
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Building Your Own Racing Sim: A Beginners Introduction
Written by @Vaganza I have a lot of experience with computers, and I mean a lot. I did the calculations and, in my 19+ year career in the service department in the Sharonville store, I officially crossed the 8,000 custom PC mark sometime this year. I have built a lot of gaming PCs for folks and have had great luck with…
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The Most Common Questions about Power Supply Units
Photos and writing by @Shoan041 What is a power supply? We’ve got an in-depth guide for all the power supply details, but the quick answer is that a power supply, or PSU, converts the energy from the outlet into a form that your computer can use. Basically, it’s what all the components need to function. Do I need a new…
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Motherboard Sockets and Chipsets: What are they and what do they mean?
Writing and Photos by @Julia_V The motherboard is one of the most important pieces of your PC, as it is what holds all of your components together. But how much do you know about it? Whether you’re a veteran builder or just putting together your first PC, you’ve probably heard of “sockets” and “chipset,” but do you know…
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Understanding Your PC: Positive vs. Negative Airflow
One of the most important factors affecting the performance of any computer is the airflow/air pressure. Anyone with a significant interest in maintaining their own PC should understand airflow and why it is important. Unfortunately, it's not as often talked about as something like How to Pick Your PC Parts, so both…
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How does too much thermal paste effect thermals?
The general advice on thermal paste is that you need the right amount. Having too little will result in insufficient coverage of the IHS and increase temps. However, does having too much create a negative effect? The test setup: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 AMD Wraith Cooler 74F ambient temp. 10 minutes of Cinebench R23 Mutli-core…
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RAM 101: Your Guide to Understanding RAM
Written by @Julia_V Not sure what computer memory is, or not sure what to look out for when it comes to memory? RAM, also known as Random Access Memory, is an essential part of the computer. To try and make things easier, we put together a quick explainer of some distinguishing features of RAM and what to look out for. How…
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How to Tell What Motherboard You Have
Written by @Shoan041 As every computer part connects to your motherboard, it’s important to know which one you have. Whether you’re upgrading or just looking for new parts, it’s vital to make sure your components will be compatible with your motherboard. Photo by @Julia_V How to Check through System Information The…
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The New Apple M2 MacBooks: What's New with M2? Now In Stock at Select Stores!
Written by @Vaganza The release of the new MacBook Air brings a new, upgraded M2 platform, but what does this mean to the end user? The quick answer is more performance paired with more efficient and longer-lasting battery life. The longer answer is a bit more complicated, so before we dig in, a quick description of what a…
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How To Cable Manage like a Champion: Tips from Micro Center Pros
A Step-By-Step Guide from @Vaganza I think I’m well over 3,000 completed custom builds at Micro Center during the 18 years I’ve been there. I also build out server equipment rooms and large commercial AV racks. There are skills that carry back and forth between both. The main difference is the amount of field termination…
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Cable Management 101 – What it is, and why you should do it
Written By Jon Martindale Cable management might not sound like the most exciting aspect of building a computer, but it can be incredibly important, whether you’re looking to make your PC run cooler and quieter, or just want it looking its best. For the best cable management, you’ll need the right case, the right…
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Protect Your PC by Understanding ARGB vs. RGB
There was a time when customization options for building PCs were far more limited. At best, colored components might be available for things like memory modules, graphics cards, or motherboard heatsinks. This made creating a custom PC in a desired theme quite challenging. Plus, if you were able to build a theme, you would…
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One Drive, Two Drive, Red Drive, Blue Drive - What Hard Drive Types Mean
Hard drives aren’t the catchall storage solution they once were. For most general PC users, we’d recommend you use an SSD for your boot and game drives, while only using hard drives for mass, longer-term storage of family photos and videos, and work document backups. That doesn’t mean you should be haphazard with how you…
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How to Know When It’s Time to Replace or Upgrade Your Computer
Whether you use your computer to crush the opposing team on Rocket League, to edit websites in your digital marketing business, or to schedule out the thousands of appointments your family seems to need in a week, having a functional, high-performing computer is an essential part of life in 2022. On average, laptop…
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How to Test Your Storage Drives for Failure
Hard drives are one of the most important parts of the PC, as they contain both all of a computer's information and data as well as everything you save to them, and without it, a PC would be useless. Unfortunately, many drives fail over time, which can result in the loss of important files. Hard drive failure is one of the…
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How to Upgrade Your Desktop PC
Computers have become integral parts of many of our lives; they allow us to work remotely from the comfort of our own homes, surf the web, and connect with millions of other people all around the globe. But unfortunately, like all other technological devices, computers become outdated rather quickly. Computers from just…
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How to Clean Your Computer
Every machine needs regular care and maintenance for sustained use, and computers are no exception - negligence is a computer's worst enemy. Whether you have the average computer or the high-end gamer computer, keeping the inside of your desktop computer clean is an absolute must. Dust buildup is unavoidable and can do…
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What are the Differences Between Tower and Rack Servers?
Choosing the right type of server is a difficult decision. There are countless choices and configurations as well as a wealth of information about servers. And yet, wading through all of this information is critical for users to set up a proper IT infrastructure. Choosing the right server can make or break an entire…
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Spring Cleaning: How to Clean Every Screen in Your House
Modern devices of all sorts sport larger, more detailed displays than ever before. But if you want to make the most of your big screen TV, your iPad, MacBook, smartphone, and desktop monitor, you need to keep the screen clean. Ditch the dust, swipe away the smudges, and sanitize the stains with these handy tips on how to…
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[Tech Article] How to add a 2.5" Hard Drive to the Lian Li Micro ATX 170 Case
Looking to add a 2.5" SATA hard drive to the Lian Li Micro ATX 170 case? PowerSpec uses this case for several of their desktops. If you're looking to add a 2.5" hard drive to your PowerSpec B246, B247, B248, B683, B732, B733, G164, G165, G229, G508, or G509, this guide will show you how. NOTE: As a reminder, you will need…
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[Tech Article] Why Does My PowerSpec desktop have poor wireless signal/access?
If you are trying to use your PowerSpec desktop wirelessly and notice you have a very poor or weak signal, it is possible that the antennas for the network card is not installed. There are two gold contact points on the back of the computer near the bottom that require those antennas (found in box along with other various…
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[Tech Article] How to locate the additional drive bays in a Lian Li ATX 205 case
This article will show you how to locate the additional drive bays and in a Lian Li ATX 205 Case. This allows the user to install or remove additional drives. If you have a PowerSpec PC, this is used for models B743, B744, B745, G226, G227, B746, G356, G357, G358, G360, G434, G435, G436, G437, G438, G464, G465, G466, G467,…
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[Tech Article] How to locate the additional drive bays in a Lian Li Micro ATX 205 case
This article will show you how to locate the additional drive bays and in a Lian Li Micro ATX 205 Case. This allows the user to install or remove additional drives. If you have a PowerSpec PC, this case is used for models B243, B244, B245, B677, B731, G162, G163, G228, G507 and G510. This case includes places for 2 2.5"…
