CGDirector - PC-Builds & Hardware-Insight for Content-Creators & Enthusiasts (2024)

Table of Contents
Laptop Displays — Panel Types compared [IPS/OLED/TN] Adobe Creative Cloud System Requirements & PC Recommendations Where to Download 3D Models? Our Favorite Sites for 3D Artists The Best PC Case Brands [2024 Update] Are Intel ARC GPUs Any Good? [2024 Update] The Cheapest Creator Laptop Is Still Amazing — M1 MacBook Air in 2024 Where Do You Connect PC Fan PWM Cables To? [Beginner’s Guide] New Forum Discussions Need help? Ask us Anything! :)hey! Custom PC-Builder Complete Guide to Building your own PC 1. What kind of PC do you need? 2. Parts needed to build a PC 3. Easy PC-Part Recommendations 4. How to Build & Assemble a PC HardwareSEE All How to Get a CPU Cooler off of a CPU [Un-stick Glued-On Cooler] Why Is My GPU Slow? 8 Reasons Why Your GPU May Be Underperforming and How To Fix The Best PC Case Brands [2024 Update] PC BuildsSEE All AIO Pump: How To Tell It’s Working Properly [Liquid CPU Cooling] Should You Build a PC? [7 Great Reasons] Is GIGABYTE a Good Brand? [2024 Update] Why are Desktop PCs Cheaper and Faster Than Laptops? Apple MacSEE All How to Shut Down Applications in macOS [The Easy Way] How to Check the Serial, Model, and Age of Your Mac Device or MacBook How to Use a MacBook With the Lid Closed? [Clamshell Mode] 3D Animation & RenderingSEE All Where to Download 3D Models? Our Favorite Sites for 3D Artists Enscape System Requirements and PC Recommendations Adobe Animate System Requirements and PC Recommendations [2024 Update] Solidworks System Requirements & PC Recommendations [2024 Update] Video EditingSEE All Best CPU for Video Encoding [2024 Update] Are MacBooks Good for Video Editing? [2024 Update] How Long Does It Take To Render a Video? (It depends) BenchmarksSEE All Corona Renderer Benchmark Results [Updated] Cinema 4D Viewport Performance Benchmark & Scores (Updated Results) Cinebench 2024 Scores [CPU & GPU] (Updated Results) Laptop Processors (CPUs) in Order Of Performance [Updated List] LaptopsSEE All Top 14 Tips, Tricks & Hacks to Speed Up Your Laptop and Make It Feel Like New Laptop Displays — Panel Types compared [IPS/OLED/TN] The Cheapest Creator Laptop Is Still Amazing — M1 MacBook Air in 2024 Graphic DesignSEE All Top 9 Creative Things to Do on a Computer When You’re Bored Best Laptops for After Effects [2024 Update] Figma System Requirements & PC Recommendations Adobe XD System Requirements & PC Recommendations SoftwareSEE All How To Update The UEFI/BIOS on an ASUS Motherboard What is AHCI Mode in BIOS and Should You Use It? Adobe Creative Cloud System Requirements & PC Recommendations ReviewsSEE All NVIDIA RTX 4080 SUPER GPU Review [Content Creation, Rendering, AI] NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti SUPER Review in CG Workloads – Better, but not quite there yet GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Reviewed for CG Workloads: NVIDIA’s New Value King [Review] Motion DesignSEE All How to Export an MP4 from After Effects (4 possible Ways) Using the Wiggle Expression in After Effects – Ultimate Guide Best Workstation Computer For After Effects [2024 Guide] CADSEE All Do you need a Professional GPU for CAD Workloads? [AMD PRO, Nvidia Quadro, Intel ARC Pro] AutoCAD System Requirements & PC Recommendations Fusion 360 System Requirements & PC Recommendations Troubleshoot & FixSEE All How to Get a CPU Cooler off of a CPU [Un-stick Glued-On Cooler] Why Is My GPU Slow? 8 Reasons Why Your GPU May Be Underperforming and How To Fix Graphics Card (GPU) Not Detected [How to Fix] PC Won’t Turn On When Pressing Power Button: How To Fix FAQs

CGDirector - PC-Builds & Hardware-Insight for Content-Creators & Enthusiasts (7)

March 5

Laptop Displays — Panel Types compared [IPS/OLED/TN]

The Quality of Laptop Displays can differ strongly from one model to another. And which panel type is right for you, depends a lot on your workloads. Let's compare!

CGDirector - PC-Builds & Hardware-Insight for Content-Creators & Enthusiasts (8)

March 2

Adobe Creative Cloud System Requirements & PC Recommendations

Adobe's Creative Cloud Software Suite is as popular as it is demanding on your PC-Hardware's Performance. Here's what you'll need to run it smoothly.

CGDirector - PC-Builds & Hardware-Insight for Content-Creators & Enthusiasts (9)

February 26

Where to Download 3D Models? Our Favorite Sites for 3D Artists

3D Models are needed in almost any 3D Project and there are sites galore that provide them. Just a couple of sites, though, are actually worth your time. Here's our list.

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February 25

The Best PC Case Brands [2024 Update]

PC Cases come in all kinds of form factors, designs and brands, but which are the best brands to buy PC Cases from? Here's what our experience has shown over the years to be the best PC Case Brands.

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February 23

Are Intel ARC GPUs Any Good? [2024 Update]

Intel has been making GPUs for quite some time now, but are they good enough yet for the kind of workloads you're looking to run? Or should you stay clear of them?

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February 19

Where Do You Connect PC Fan PWM Cables To? [Beginner’s Guide]

Where do you plug in your 4-Pin PWM cables? On your motherboard or into a fan hub? And what if you only have 3-Pin DC Fan headers? Everything you need to know.

SEE All

Complete Guide to Building your own PC

Building your own PC is easy. It's also cheaper than buying pre-built and teaches you some of the inner workings of how a PC functions. We've put together a 4-Step Guide to finding and assembling the perfect Computer for yourself:

HardwareSEE All

Processor (CPU), Graphics Card (GPU), Memory (RAM), Motherboard

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How to Get a CPU Cooler off of a CPU [Un-stick Glued-On Cooler]

UPDATED March 21, 2024by Alex Glawion

CPU-Coolers can become stuck onto your CPU with little chance to remove them. This is mostly due to old thermal paste. Here's how to get it off safely without damaging your CPU.

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Why Is My GPU Slow? 8 Reasons Why Your GPU May Be Underperforming and How To Fix

UPDATED March 13, 2024by Christopher Harper

GPUs don't always perform the way we expect them to. Here are the most common reasons why your GPU may be slow and how to fix them for good.

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The Best PC Case Brands [2024 Update]

UPDATED February 25, 2024by Christopher Harper

PC Cases come in all kinds of form factors, designs and brands, but which are the best brands to buy PC Cases from? Here's what our experience has shown over the years to be the best PC Case Brands.

PC BuildsSEE All

3D-Modeling, Rendering, Cinema 4D, Blender,After Effects

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AIO Pump: How To Tell It’s Working Properly [Liquid CPU Cooling]

UPDATED December 2, 2023by Christopher Harper

All-in-one Liquid Coolers can be a head scratcher to install, and after that's done you most certainly want to make sure the pump and entire AIO is working properly. Here's how.

Apple MacSEE All

Monitor, Mac, Apple

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How to Shut Down Applications in macOS [The Easy Way]

UPDATED January 22, 2024by Petar Vukobrat

There comes a time when you have to shutdown your MacOS Applications either regularly or forcefully, especially if they become unresponsive. Here's how.

CGDirector - PC-Builds & Hardware-Insight for Content-Creators & Enthusiasts (34)

How to Check the Serial, Model, and Age of Your Mac Device or MacBook

UPDATED December 28, 2023by Petar Vukobrat

Whether you're upgrading your Mac, buying new parts, looking to troubleshoot an issue or just want to know how old your device is, knowing its serial and model number is one of the first steps in doing so.

CGDirector - PC-Builds & Hardware-Insight for Content-Creators & Enthusiasts (35)

How to Use a MacBook With the Lid Closed? [Clamshell Mode]

UPDATED December 25, 2023by Petar Vukobrat

Using your MacBook with an external monitor and peripherals works best when you close its lid and put it into the so-called clamshell mode. Here's how.

3D Animation & RenderingSEE All

Cinema 4D, Blender, Octane, Redshift, VRAY

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Where to Download 3D Models? Our Favorite Sites for 3D Artists

UPDATED February 26, 2024by Alex Glawion

3D Models are needed in almost any 3D Project and there are sites galore that provide them. Just a couple of sites, though, are actually worth your time. Here's our list.

Video EditingSEE All

Premiere Pro, Rendering, Solid State Drive (SSD)

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Best CPU for Video Encoding [2024 Update]

UPDATED January 30, 2024by Christopher Harper

Video Encoding is CPU demanding and will eat into your editing time if not taken into consideration when buying or upgrading a PC. A closer look at encoding performance.

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Are MacBooks Good for Video Editing? [2024 Update]

UPDATED November 14, 2023by Petar Vukobrat

MacBooks certainly come at a price, but they also pack a lot of performance for high-end workloads, right? Well, Video Editing is such a heavy-duty workload and we take a look at whether MacBooks are up to it.

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How Long Does It Take To Render a Video? (It depends)

UPDATED July 12, 2022by Christopher Harper

Video Render Time depends on a lot of different things. The type of Footage you're using, your project complexity, and, of course, your Hardware's performance.

BenchmarksSEE All

Cinema 4D, Octane, Redshift, VRAY, NVIDIA

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Corona Renderer Benchmark Results [Updated]

UPDATED November 15, 2023by Alex Glawion

The Corona Benchmark is a popular CPU-Performance testing tool which makes uses of the popular CPU-Render Engine Corona. CPU-Scores here.

LaptopsSEE All

AMD, Intel, Animation

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Top 14 Tips, Tricks & Hacks to Speed Up Your Laptop and Make It Feel Like New

UPDATED March 7, 2024by Petar Vukobrat

Laptops get slower over time, but this isn't always the way it has to be. Here are our proven methods to get your Laptop back up to speed in no time at all.

CGDirector - PC-Builds & Hardware-Insight for Content-Creators & Enthusiasts (48)

Laptop Displays — Panel Types compared [IPS/OLED/TN]

UPDATED March 5, 2024by Petar Vukobrat

The Quality of Laptop Displays can differ strongly from one model to another. And which panel type is right for you, depends a lot on your workloads. Let's compare!

Graphic DesignSEE All

Photoshop, Monitor, Memory (RAM)

CGDirector - PC-Builds & Hardware-Insight for Content-Creators & Enthusiasts (50)

Top 9 Creative Things to Do on a Computer When You’re Bored

UPDATED December 22, 2023by Petar Vukobrat

You're a creative and the computer is your toolset. Here are our 9 favorite creative things that'll beat boredom in no time. And that'll boost your mood & skills as a nice bonus.

SoftwareSEE All

BIOS, System Requirements, Driver

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How To Update The UEFI/BIOS on an ASUS Motherboard

UPDATED March 8, 2024by Alex Glawion

ASUS Motherboards are extremely popular and thankfuly updating its UEFI/BIOS isn't too difficult for most models. Here's how.

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What is AHCI Mode in BIOS and Should You Use It?

UPDATED March 5, 2024by Christopher Harper

AHCI and IDE are two options you can usually select from within your BIOS to make your Storage Drives run in specific modes. But what is AHCI and when should you use it?

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Adobe Creative Cloud System Requirements & PC Recommendations

UPDATED March 2, 2024by Petar Vukobrat

Adobe's Creative Cloud Software Suite is as popular as it is demanding on your PC-Hardware's Performance. Here's what you'll need to run it smoothly.

ReviewsSEE All

Processor (CPU), Graphics Card (GPU), Memory (RAM), Motherboard

CGDirector - PC-Builds & Hardware-Insight for Content-Creators & Enthusiasts (57)

NVIDIA RTX 4080 SUPER GPU Review [Content Creation, Rendering, AI]

UPDATED February 12, 2024by Jerry James

Nvidia's RTX 4080 SUPER GPU Refresh is put through content creation and rendering benchmarks in our review to find out if its performance is worth investing your money into.

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NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti SUPER Review in CG Workloads – Better, but not quite there yet

UPDATED January 26, 2024by Jerry James

We review the Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti SUPER in various CG-related Workloads, such as Rendering in Octane, Redshift, V-Ray, or Content Creation Apps such as After Effects and Premiere Pro.

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GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Reviewed for CG Workloads: NVIDIA’s New Value King [Review]

UPDATED January 16, 2024by Jerry James

NVIDIA's RTX 4070 SUPER stands out as the new value king for creative professionals. Find detailed benchmarks in our comprehensive review!

Motion DesignSEE All

After Effects, Rendering, Processor (CPU)

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How to Export an MP4 from After Effects (4 possible Ways)

UPDATED March 1, 2022by Alex Glawion

Exporting an MP4 from After Effects is more difficult than it should be. Here are 4 different ways you can use to output an MP4 Video from After Effects.

CADSEE All

Rendering, Pc/Workstation, Laptop

CGDirector - PC-Builds & Hardware-Insight for Content-Creators & Enthusiasts (63)

Do you need a Professional GPU for CAD Workloads? [AMD PRO, Nvidia Quadro, Intel ARC Pro]

UPDATED June 13, 2023by Petar Vukobrat

CAD workloads require PRO GPUs, right? Well, not necessarily. In fact, most times you get higher performance at a lower price if you don't get a PRO GPU from AMD, Nvidia or Intel for CAD Workloads.

AutoCAD System Requirements & PC Recommendations

UPDATED July 3, 2023by Petar Vukobrat

Autodesk's AutoCAD is among the most popular Applications for computer-aided design and drafting. But what kind of a PC will you need to make it run smoothly?

CGDirector - PC-Builds & Hardware-Insight for Content-Creators & Enthusiasts (65)

Fusion 360 System Requirements & PC Recommendations

UPDATED August 27, 2023by Petar Vukobrat

Fusion 360's System Requirements are, thankfully, easily satisfied. It's one of the leading computer-aided design programs for manufacturing, modeling, engineering, product and printed circuit board design, and everything in between.

Troubleshoot & FixSEE All

Processor (CPU), Graphics Card (GPU), Memory (RAM), Motherboard

CGDirector - PC-Builds & Hardware-Insight for Content-Creators & Enthusiasts (66)

How to Get a CPU Cooler off of a CPU [Un-stick Glued-On Cooler]

UPDATED March 21, 2024by Alex Glawion

CPU-Coolers can become stuck onto your CPU with little chance to remove them. This is mostly due to old thermal paste. Here's how to get it off safely without damaging your CPU.

CGDirector - PC-Builds & Hardware-Insight for Content-Creators & Enthusiasts (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between M1 and M2 chips? ›

As you might have guessed, performance is the main difference between the M1 and M2 chips. For example, the M2 CPU is 18% faster than the M1, the GPU is 35% faster, and the neural engine is 40% faster. There are other improvements as well.

Is the M2 chip worth it over the M1? ›

The M2's gains over the M1 are more noticeable in multicore performance than they are in single-core performance. It's only 11% faster in single-core tasks, and the M1 is already as fast as some high-end processors on Windows laptops.

Is overclocking a CPU worth it? ›

Highlights: Increasing a CPU's clock speed can improve its performance. Overclocking can extend the useful life of a processor by helping it keep up with increasingly demanding software requirements.

How do I max out my processor speed? ›

If your computer becomes unstable, increase the CPU voltage setting in your BIOS controls. It's usually 1.25 or Auto by default — try bumping it up to 1.4 or 1.5. By increasing voltage and multipliers one by one, you'll eventually find the maximum overclock on your system.

Is overclocking a CPU safe? ›

Second, you're operating outside of the limits of your CPU when overclocking, which could reduce its life span due to higher temperatures and voltage. But most moderate and even significant overclocks usually won't impact your CPU in any meaningful way.

Why would I need an M2 chip? ›

The M2 chip delivers smooth performance for everyday tasks (like writing emails, creating spreadsheets, web browsing, and streaming content) and solid battery life (we reached about eight hours before having to plug it in).

Which is better MacBook Air M1 or M2? ›

MacBook Air M2 vs MacBook Air M1: Processor

The MacBook Air 2022 has the M2 Chip, while the previous model has the M1 Chip. MacBook Air M2 is 18% more powerful than the MacBook Air M1. The MacBook Air M2's graphics go up to 10 cores in its unique configuration.

Is the M2 chip that much better? ›

Performance. M2 is an excellent upgrade over the M1 (approximately 20% faster) and orders of magnitude speedier than the previous Intel versions.

What is so special about the M2 chip? ›

Compared with the M1, the M2 delivers 18% greater multicore CPU performance, up to two extra GPU cores, 50% increase in memory bandwidth, 25% higher graphics performance at the same power level as M1 and up to 35% higher performance at its max, 25% increase in transistor count, 2.3x faster performance at the same power ...

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