Over the years, there have been quite a few innovations for PC builders that have become
very popular, but can sometimes be of questionable utility.
So at the risk of talking smack about things you know and love, here are our picks for
a few different kinds of gear that, while not useless, you might want to think twice
about to see if you're really getting good value for money.
Remember, overrated doesn't necessarily mean bad.
First off, the modular power supply. Now the big advantage of the modular PSU is that it's supposed to help you keep your
system tidier as you can plug in only the cables that you're going to be using.
Makes sense, but that doesn't mean you should automatically go drop extra money on one.
For starters, that modular functionality costs the power supply manufacturers more to implement,
and that cost is passed on to you, the consumer, as Corsair or whoever else isn't exactly
running a charity. But even if money is no object, a huge number of computer cases these days have power supply
basements, which you can easily use to hide any extra cables on a non-modular PSU.
And did you even know that although the power connectors on various PC components are standardized,
the ports where the modular cables connect to the power supply itself aren't standardized?
Meaning you have to be very careful if you're buying third-party cables or trying to reuse
ones from a different PSU. You could easily damage your poor components this way.
So unless you have a case without a power supply basement, you may just want to save
your money and opt for a simpler, non-modular unit instead.
Speaking of cases, let's talk about the acrylic side panel.
If you want to see through case, acrylic is marketed as a more affordable option to tempered
glass. And bonus, it's more lightweight and doesn't have quite the risk of shattering like tempered
glass does. So why are we including it in today's episode and calling it overrated compared to the more
expensive tempered glass? Unfortunately, acrylic is far easier to scratch than tempered glass, and I'm not talking easier
to scratch with a rusty nail, I mean you can scratch acrylic while cleaning it with a freaking
paper towel. And to make things worse, you're going to need to clean your acrylic panel, as it tends
to attract dust more easily than tempered glass does. The one point acrylic does have in its favor is that its lighter weight and shadow resistance
make it better for a PC that you're hauling around often, as long as you're careful about
the scratches. But if you're just leaving your PC in one place most of the time, it might be worth it
just to pay a little extra for tempered glass. Next, we're going to tell you about a component that actually affects performance.
Or maybe it doesn't? Punch custom PC into Google images and the search results will almost exclusively show
you water-cooled systems, many of which feature AIO closed-loop coolers you can buy off the
shelf. And AIOs have become a bit of a default feature for folks building a mid-to-upper-range PC,
but are they necessarily the best option?
The main benefits of AIOs you typically see people talk about are better cooling performance,
lower noise, and nicer aesthetics. But that better cooling performance may not end up being very consequential to you.
A good quality air cooler should allow your CPU to hit its max frequency on stock settings,
as long as you're not running your system in some kind of abnormally hot room.
Turns out the house on the side of the volcano was really cheap for a reason.
Now if you're overclocking, AIOs will generally allow you to push your system a bit harder.
But if not, keep in mind that AIOs can be more annoying to install due to having to
screw the unwieldy radiator in from the other side of your case, it's possible for the
pump to be noisier than an air cooler with a well-made fan, and AIOs have more parts
that can fail on you. Bottom line is that you shouldn't feel like you have to get one unless you have a specific
need, or you just really like the way they look in your case compared to an air cooler.
And finally, let's really give some hot takes about the mechanical keyboard.
That's right. There seems to be an attitude out there that the more common membrane keyboard can cheapen
an otherwise nice setup. But mechanicals aren't necessarily superior to membranes in every case.
So much of the argument in favor of mechanical keyboards comes down to how they feel when
typing. And it's perfectly valid to prefer the feel of a rubber dome switch on a membrane board.
Although some mechanical keyboards can give you tactile and audible feedback so that you
know when you've actuated a key, this isn't ideal for everyone, especially if you prefer
a quiet environment or others around you find all your click-clacking distracting.
And Doug's mad again.
And for gamers, there are certain switches that actuate very shortly after you press
them down, which theoretically helps you react to game events more quickly.
But there's a good chance you may not notice this unless you're a super competitive player
of specific genres. And many people have complained that these speed switches have led them to make more
errors when typing. Doug can tell you all about that.
Of course, we have to mention that quiet mechanical keyswitches do exist.
And that mechanical keyboards do tend to be more durable than their membrane counterparts,
setting aside everything we just talked about. But since more basic keyboards are such cheap commodity items, it's probably a better
idea to just buy whatever kind of keyboard feels good on your little thingies, with the
point being that mechanical does not automatically mean better for you.
And to be clear, there are some nice keyboards that use membranes.
Some have very good build quality and features like water resistance.
And there are even some high-end laptops like MacBooks that use membranes to protect the
contacts from debris. Are there any other popular items for PCDI wires you think are a little overrated?
Let us know down in the comments or scream at us if you disagree with our takes.
But scream nicely, please. And it's so nice of you to get to the end of this video, haven't watched the whole
thing, eh? Wow! Hey, you liked the video if you liked it, dislike it if you disliked it, check out
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