Hopkins Hardware Help

17/08/2022

Hello all!

Sorry I have been inactive on this page, I very much so intend on keeping up with this.

I have been busy with getting certified as an IT Technician and have also secured a IT Support Engineer role and have had my hands full. Just an update to anyone who needs my services, I am still operational and have certification behind me!

Feel free to send me a message if you have any queries about the services I offer!

18/03/2021

With Spring right around the corner, don't leave your PC out on the spring cleaning!

I offer services just for cleaning as well as a PC MOT, so you never have to let your PC suffer from all the dust that builds up! Get spring cleaning that PC today and send us a message!

❌Left is before ✅Right is after

17/03/2021

Hello everyone, sorry it's been a bit quiet on here! But with everything going on right now just been distracted. Not to mention the current shortages which are currently affecting supply of some PC components. More namely graphics cards!

Now if anyone here is in the PC community I'm sure you're aware of the hardship of trying to get a new graphics card! Therefore, making it a little hard to do some of the services that I offer such as building PC's. But hopefully this shortage won't last too much longer and stock should be a little higher now the Chinese New Year has well and truly passed.

Hoping everyone is well, looking forward to working on and helping out with anything PC!

15/11/2020

Supporting you at Christmas! Need a pc built in time for Xmas? Need a PC upgrade for Xmas? Or even got a problem? Then message me for help!

18/08/2020

Anyone got a PS4 here? If so and you're anything like me and you can't hear your own thoughts over your PS4 trying to become a fighter jet! I am now doing a service to do a full clean out of the PS4 which for both me (PS4 Pro) and my brother (PS4 Slim) has made it significantly quieter and almost silent in some cases!

If you're interested in this service feel free to send me a message to sort out this obnoxious noise. This service is only £20 and is compatible with the 20% student discount!

28/07/2020

✅ Uni Students can now get 20% off all my services

Hello everyone, hope you're all doing well! Just posting to let all of you Uni Students/upcoming Uni students know that you can now get a discount on all of my services!

I know how hard the struggles are financially and thought this would be a great help for you all. Especially considering how tech will play a big role with everything going on, it's always best to make sure you're getting the most out of your tech as well as your degree!

Advice and tips are free for all! Whether that's on specs for your new Uni laptop or how to speed an old PC up.

If you are interested in my services feel free to send a message to receive a quote or answer any questions you may have.

Feel free to share to anyone who could benefit from this!

27/05/2020

Hello everyone! Hope you're all doing well and having a good day. Just doing a post to notify you all that I will be offering a new service for anyone who is interested!

This service is the MOT PC service, basically it's a once a year service where I would take in your PC and perform checks on it and make sure its completely up to scratch for you.

This including:
✅ Running temperature checks to make sure your PC is cool
✅ Cleaning it out fully removing all the dust etc. from the PC making it look brand new
✅ Do a few things to speed up the PC and help it run a bit smoother for you (Including removal of viruses and antivirus recommendations)
✅ Including cleaning of keyboard

This will help make your PC look like it's just come out the box and feel like new again! If you have any enquiries feel free to message me for a quote or about any other services I provide.

Thank you all and have a great day!

Send a message to learn more

25/05/2020

Hello all! Hope you and your families are all taking care and doing well during this lockdown and pandemic.

The Covid-19 GAME PLAN for Hopkins Hardware Help:

- Any PC's that are to be worked on need to be dropped off to me, maintaining the 2 meters social distance to keep both you and me safe!
- The PC's will then be wiped down and cleaned both before and after the work is done
- Hand sanitiser will be used and thorough hand washing prior to any work done on the PC as well as after
-When it comes to collection, the same social distancing measures will be applied as the dropping off of the PC
-Payments will be contactless and can be done securely through PayPal

I will ensure these measures are maintained, as your wellbeing is my priority. If you have any further questions about the Covid-19 changes feel free to send me a message a long with any other enquiries.

Thank you all and take care!

24/05/2020

Hello all! Hope you're all doing well and having/had a good day. Just thought I'd make a quick post with a few tips to keep your PC nice and cool. Especially with the hot weather we've been getting recently!

One of the best things you can do is make sure your PC is clean, now this means on the inside and making sure that there isn't dust. As this can cause problems with airflow as well as get into the heatsink of your CPU cooler making it harder to get rid of some of that heat and other areas. Making sure it's clear and dust free is one of the best ways to cool a PC as it's one of the main reasons a PC can get too hot.

Another tip is to monitor your PC temperatures to make sure they're not overheating, (you can find rough temperatures that your components should be running at online with a quick search) if your PC is already clean then it may be an issue that you don't have enough cooling support in your case e.g. fans.

Overall, just remember to keep your case clean and in terms of frequency it depends on what temperatures or visible build up you may get but I personally clean my PC 3 times a year as dust build up isn't too bad. Remember as well that when it is especially hot outside it can raise PC temperature too, so if it's clean and still has higher than normal temperatures and it's a hot day this is okay provided its not overheating. Otherwise additional fans or cooling may be needed.

I hope this helps you all and hope you're all enjoying the hotter weather and now know how to keep your PC nice and cool! Cleaning PC's and installing fans and cooling solutions are part of the many services I can provide, so feel free to check them out and message me to sort any problems you may have out!

Thank you all and have a great day!

04/05/2020

Hello again all! Hope you're all doing well and having/had a good day. Just making yet another post for all who may not be as tech savvy with computer components and their terms.

When talking about what gives a PC its power, you've probably heard the term power supply unit or PSU for short. Or if not this is your first time hearing it's name!

A PSU is a piece of hardware that coverts the power from your wall outlet into usable power for your PC and all its other components! It converts the AC (Alternating Current) power from your wall outlet to DC (Direct Current) which is what computer components require. The PSU also regulates overheating in the sense that it regulates the amount of voltage, which (depending on what PSU you have) is either done manually or automatically.

Just like a CPU or motherboard it is one of the most crucial components within a PC, as without it none of the other components can function! If you remember my post on Motherboards I spoke about Form Factors (Essentially the size of a Motherboard); PSU's also come in those form factors meaning that the form factor of you PSU, Mobo and case must all match.

The PSU is typically installed at the bottom of the case either in a PSU shroud (or if the case doesn't have one) or just at the bottom. A PSU shroud just being a piece of metal that covers the lower area of the case where the PSU goes. The PSU uses either a 20 or 24 pin connector, connecting it to the Motherboard. Along with other types of connectors which may connect to other components.

Overall, when looking at choosing a PSU it is useful to figure how much wattage your system needs, allowing you to choose the best suited PSU for that wattage. Another thing to consider is some have the 80 plus certification, which is a certification of energy efficiency reducing electricity use and bills compared to less efficient PSU's. Lastly, the thing to remember is the form factor so you make sure you have the right sized PSU for your PC that matches your other components.

I hope this helps you all understand what a PSU is and what to look out for when purchasing a PSU for a build or upgrade! Upgrading and installing PSU's is also a service I provide along with many others, feel free to check out what services I provide and message me to sort it out!

Thank you all and have a great rest of your day!

03/05/2020

Hello again all! Hope you're all doing well and having/had a good day. Just making yet another post for those who may not be as tech savvy with computer components or their terms.

When talking about storage on your PC you've probably heard of HDD or SSD, or you may only know it as your hard drive! The terms HDD and SSD are just types of hard drive, for example HDD stands for Hard Disk Drive and SSD standing for Solid State Drive.

When talking about HDD's, they are a non-volatile type of data storage (unlike RAM as mentioned in that post). Non-volatile simply meaning that it holds onto your data even after it is powered off. They are typically installed internally in a PC within a drive bay, connected to the motherboard using a SATA cable (typically) where it can be powered by the PSU (Power Supply Unit). It works by having a platter (within the casing) have data written to it, by having a magnetic head move rapidly over it as it spins.

However, when talking about SSD's they are the newer generation of storage devices. Just like HDD's they are still non-volatile in that the data is kept even after it's powered off and are also installed internally. Unlike a HDD however, SSD's have no moving parts hence it's called a Solid State Drive this is because it uses flash based memory similar to that of phone or USB storage. The perk of using this type of memory is that it is significantly faster due to it being near instant access times. Due to this however it makes them more expensive than a HDD for the same amount of storage size.

When it comes down to which one you should get you should consider the speed differences and unless you will be using your PC for gaming, mobility, servers, programming or data analysis then a HDD will be fine as it is more affordable and can have a lot more storage. Ideally you can have both types with your operating system and apps etc. on the SSD and all your files on a HDD. So before purchasing make sure to consider your needs from your PC and also your budget!

I hope this has helped you all understand what a SSD and HDD is a little and what the difference is between them! As well as what to look out for when looking to build or upgrade your PC. Upgrading and installing SSD's or HDD's is also a service provide along with many others, check out what services I provide and feel free to message me to sort it out!

Thank you all and have great rest of your day!

(Below photos are HDD on the left, SSD on the right)