Latest news with #CPU-Z
Time Business News
24-04-2025
- Time Business News
Top 10 Things to Test When Buying a 2nd Hand Gaming Laptop
Buying a 2nd hand gaming laptop can be a smart move, especially if you're looking to get high-end performance at a fraction of the price of a new one. But buying used tech always comes with risks. From hidden hardware issues to outdated components, there's a lot that could go wrong if you don't test things properly. Here's a comprehensive checklist of the top 10 things you must test before buying a second-hand gaming laptop—whether you're shopping locally or online. Check the outer body first. Look for cracks near the hinges, dents on the corners, missing screws, or worn-out rubber pads. These signs can reveal how the laptop has been treated. Make sure all ports (USB, HDMI, Ethernet) work by plugging in actual devices. If you're unsure about specific models, browsing a PC product reviews section can help you compare real user feedback and durability reports before deciding. Visual performance is crucial in gaming. Boot up the laptop and look closely at the screen. Dead pixels, backlight bleed, or odd color tints are red flags. Try switching through different brightness levels and open a dark image to reveal any screen issues. Gaming requires precision, especially with keys like WASD, spacebar, and shift. Test all the keys to ensure none are sticky or unresponsive. The touchpad should be smooth, with no jitter or lag. Older batteries degrade over time. Use tools like HWMonitor or Windows Battery Report (powercfg /batteryreport) to see its health, cycle count, and wear level. A poor battery won't ruin gameplay if you're plugged in, but it limits portability. Use free tools like Speccy or CPU-Z to verify: CPU model and speed Installed RAM Graphics card (NVIDIA or AMD) Storage type (preferably SSD) Make sure the 2nd hand gaming laptop matches the specs advertised. Sellers sometimes misrepresent configurations, especially with older GPUs. Install a benchmarking tool like Cinebench, 3DMark, or even a popular game to stress test the system. Listen for any weird noises, and watch out for overheating or sudden frame drops. Gaming laptops can run hot, especially under load. Make sure the fans spin up properly and aren't excessively loud or grinding. A noisy fan could mean dust buildup or wear and tear on the bearings. You can also feel around the vents to see how well it's dissipating heat. Play a video or game trailer to check the speaker quality—make sure there's no buzzing or crackling. Use the built-in webcam and mic to confirm they work properly, even if you typically use an external headset or cam. A fresh OS install is always best. Ask the seller if they've wiped the system clean and reinstalled Windows. Check for: Genuine activation No unnecessary startup apps No malware or suspicious software A cluttered or unlicensed OS can lead to instability and performance drops. Some refurbished laptops still come with manufacturer warranties. If not, make sure the seller offers at least a short return window. This gives you time to test it thoroughly at home. Before finalizing any deal, it helps to read a trusted gaming laptops review on models you're considering. Real-world feedback can reveal common issues, performance quirks, and long-term durability. Before finalizing any deal, it helps to read a trusted gaming laptops review on models you're considering. Real-world feedback can reveal common issues, performance quirks, and long-term durability. A 2nd hand gaming laptop can be a great investment—if you know what to look for. From checking internal specs to testing real-time gaming performance, this guide covers everything you need to make a smart purchase. Spend a little time testing now, and you'll enjoy worry-free gaming later. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Yahoo
Freeware tool CPU-Z now warns you if your GPU doesn't have the correct number of ROPs
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Putting aside the relative lack of availability, high pricing and the odd concern about melting power connectors, an aspect of the RTX 50-series launch that Nvidia would probably like to put behind it is the case of the missing ROPs. For those of you that managed to get hold of an RTX-50 series card, however, popular freeware tool CPU-Z now warns you if your card doesn't have the correct number of Raster Operation Pipelines—by giving you an explicit warning in attractive purple text. Nvidia RTX 5090, RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 Ti GPUs were reported with missing ROPs by multiple outlets, leading to diminished performance. Nvidia says less than 0.5% of cards have been affected—but even given that very small percentage, it's still probably worth a look to make sure your graphics card is giving you the performance it should be. There is a slight caveat, however (via Igor's lab). After installing CPU-Z, you'll first have to confirm your hardware specifications and upload them to the CPU-Z database by clicking the Validate button in the bottom right. After you've filled in your details, you'll be taken to a web page detailing your system specs, including how many shader units, texture units, and ROPs are reported by your graphics card. Should your GPU be missing a few, CPU-Z will handily provide a warning message in purple font telling you exactly how many ROPs your graphics card is reporting and how many it's supposed to have. That should make it easier to confirm if your card has been affected by the missing ROP issue, so you can contact your graphics card manufacturer to request a replacement. Which all sounds like a hassle, but hey, you paid for a certain number of ROPs, and thereby you should receive them. It's certainly nice to see a freeware tool developer responding to recent concerns with a handy update, at the very least. I routinely use CPU-Z to check all kinds of info on every system I review to make sure it's configured correctly, so I can personally recommend it as an excellent tool to install—even if a new RTX 50-series card isn't in your immediate future. Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and gaming motherboard: The right graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Yahoo
Worried your Nvidia RTX 5080, 5090 or 5070 Ti isn't performing as well as it should? CPU-Z can now check your GPU for missing ROPs
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. CPU-Z now includes a detailed GPU diagnostics verification system You can check the ROPs of the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, and RTX 5070 Ti Nvidia has claimed it affects less than 1% of the RTX 50 series A new update to CPU-Z Validator now checks RTX 50 series graphics cards for missing ROPs, which can mean reduced performance, directly through the diagnostics program. CPU-Z is one of the most trusted diagnostics programs available online, which was previously able to give a basic overview of your graphics card's performance. Booting it up since the new update, it will now say a message such as "This GPU is supposed to have [X] ROPS", with support for the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, and RTX 5070 Ti, so you can know right away if something is wrong with your GPU. X user @d0cTB demonstrated how the new CPU-Z update can inform you of this rare issue. Under the Graphic Cards (GPU) heading, it will display the GPU Type, GPU Brand, GPU Specs, GPU Units, GPU VRAM, and GPU APIs. It's the GPU Units specifically that check for the total amount of Shader Units, Texture Units, and Render Units (ROPs) for any discrepancies. A small handful of RTX 50 series partner cards have reportedly shipped without the full intended hardware as standard on the boards. It's said that less than 1% of RTX 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti graphics cards (or one in 200) have a loss of ROPs, meaning slowed down performance compared to what they should be able to achieve. When the problem was first flagged late last month, Nvidia's global PR director, Ben Berraondo, said: "The average graphical performance impact is 4%, with no impact on AI and Compute workloads. Affected consumers can contact the board manufacturer for a replacement. The production anomaly has been corrected" (via The Verge). Render Units (ROPs) perform functions such as pixel data processing, blending, texture rendering, antialiasing, and other essential processes. They are one of the last data pipelines acting as a buffer in local memory, interacting with the graphics card's onboard memory pool, writing and reading values. CPU-Z is now able to detect differences in the total available ROPs for the RTX 5090/5090D, RTX 5080, and RTX 5070 Ti. It's said that the affected units have a reduced number by 4%, which means the impacted RTX 5090s have 168 ROPs instead of 176, the RTX 5080 has 104 ROPs instead of 112, and the RTX 5070 Ti has 88 ROPs instead of 96. Something to keep in mind if you've experienced less-than-stellar performance so far. Considering how rare RTX 50 series stock has been to get your hands on since the first GPUs were released, having an AIB model come affected is incredibly disappointing. Through CPU-Z's new verification update, you'll be able to quickly outline where you've got a problem graphics card that needs to be RMA'd depending on the warranty you have available. Hopefully, should the sub-1% of the affected RTX 50 series be still out in the wild, this quick check will save you a lot of problems further down the line. You're unlikely to have a problematic RTX 5090, RTX 5080, or RTX 5070 Ti, but there's nothing worse than spending anywhere from $800 to $2,000+ on something sub-optimal. Opera's new AI agent web browser just reinvented web browsing I just tried the most realistic AI voice companion ever Lenovo's solar-powered laptop is such a good idea
