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Camera
Sometimes, you just need a good camera to compliment your setup, so here are some options if you’re not looking for the super professional setup.
Logitech Brio
This camera is surprisingly fantastic for what you get out of it at a low cost. Like any webcam, light will play a factor, but what is surprising about this webcam is it can be useful as a conference room cam and in some cases, a makeshift camera for live audience presentations. It can take in up to 4K, but only 30 FPS so think like Regular TVs without the smoothing options. Though, this is still good, but at 1080p with double the FPS (60), you are better off for that quality + smoothness while simultaneously reducing CPU strain if you are limited in that type of power. That said, it comes with a privacy shade that you can easily flip and offers Windows Hello if you want that easier security login to your PC via Facial Recognition.
There is 2 versions listed: 2017 and 2022 version. We unfortunately cannot tell you the difference between the 2 other than the regular pricing on the newer being less than the original. What we can say is visually, there doesn’t seem to be any difference. The original is $199.99, the 2022 is $169.99 so look for the discounts!
OBSBOT Tiny AI Webcam
This camera is a bit more AI powered before the “AI” term got heavily powered. But what makes it AI powered? In addition to following you by your face, you can control it with your hands as well! Quality is still fantastic for the price point as a “webcam” but consider you can have this follow your head to keep you always centered which should be the biggest plus. It is practically comparable to the Brio in picture quality. Why bother always being in one position when you can always move around and still be the center of attention?
The 4K version should offer more picture quality over the 1080p. 1080p is $199, 4K is $269. So look for the deals! There is a version 2 of the webcam, but while it has come out as 4K only, it is $329 and it is unknown due to how new it is if it will get a significant discount.
Storage
For some still using either older technology with Hard Drives or others that are storage capacity limited, upgrading the storage will go a long way. Also, with rumors about certain types of storage possibly going on the rise due to shortage of specific chips or phasing out of other chip types, with the deals available, this may be your last chance to get them at a great deal!
Crucial MX500
A great 2.5” SSD that will keep you going for a while, and its made in the states! These things have great lifespans and while not having the speeds as the M.2 brothers, it is no slouch, especially if you want extra storage that you frequent enough without the down sides to Hard Drives. They come in 500GB, 1 TB (1000GB), 2TB (2000GB), and 4TB (4000GB). Also, the larger the storage, the longer the lifespan since it goes by data written over the lifetime.
Crucial P3
This is the lower end of the storage, compatible with a larger array of hardware. It is faster than the MX500, but this is because it is also using an M.2 PCIe Gen3 interface where as the MX500 is using what is called a SATA port and has higher speeds. Interestingly enough, the larger the storage, the better the speed can be in addition to the longer the potential lifetime is. Comes in 500GB, 1 TB (1000GB), 2TB (2000GB), and 4TB (4000GB).
Crucial P3 Plus
The Plus version of the P3 has even more speed, largely due to using an M.2 PCIe Gen4 interface. This can be backwards compatible with Gen3 interfaces, but the speed may not be there so keep it in mind. Otherwise, read the P3 version for all other info as it comes with the same storage.
Beware that there is a P5 Plus variant to the above Crucial products, but we aren’t recommending it here as we’re gearing more to the general as that gets a bit more gamer oriented and also hotter when in use with few ways to cool depending on where you stick it; laptop if you get the heatsink may not fit, and Desktop depending on the system may or may not have enough internal cooling even with the heatsink version.
Samsung 990 Pro
We don’t want to leave out something that is still in the popular sector currently. The Samsung 990 Pro offers quite a bit beyond just being a storage drive. Primarily, it includes its own built-in security controller. Notable because Windows 11 prefers security enabled on the storage, so if you don’t have it built-in to the controller, the CPU has to take up the responsibility which can lower overall performance if you frequent high speed reading and writing. While the security can be turned off for the storage, it has shown in a surprising twist that this performs faster (by a very small margin) than with the security for storage enabled through the storage. Thus it would never be noticeable on performance. We would encourage a heatsink option as long as it fits just because of heat standard at fast rates of performance.
Comes with 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB versions.
Storage Holders/Access
Speaking of Storage, perhaps you want to use your old storage or new storage as an external piece to have something maybe more reliable for backing up than a simple Network Attached Storage. These options are way more simple to do on one’s own with the above storage.
UGREEN NVMe and SATA M.2 Enclosure
This is tied with another product explained, but they both do the same thing: Enclose the M.2 drive into this small object to plug into your computer.
Sabrent M.2 USB Enclosure
The same as above, though this one has a way to plug in to those square USB ports if you don’t have the round port.
Sabrent 2.5” USB Enclosure
This is meant for things like the Crucial MX500. Get one of these and you should be fine for those types of storage.
As far as WiFi adapters is concerned, we will not be offering such options as its hard to get anything truly reliable and we don’t want to offer something that could have only a flip-of-a-coin’s chance of working and wasting anyone’s time. WiFi in general is finicky to mess around with which is why it is said to hard-line the connections where possible.
And of course, monitors. There is just too many and hard to give a “reliable” choice beyond just working as that requires buying so many. What we’ll say is this:
Monitors come in 1080p, 1440p or 2K, and 4K generally. Scientifically, there is some things that can be said about Blue light filtering options both for and against which makes it hard to nail on an explanation to get one or not. We have had Blue light filtering screens and found that we have less headaches or eye strain when it has been given, but monitors have different strengths with them to the point of even changing the colors to something warmer. Also, they come with various refresh rates specified in Hz (60 Hz, 120 Hz, etc). The higher the Hz, the smoother the screen will look when interacting, but that will be more notable when you’re working with things that move around a lot. So if you only use for work or text documents, 60 Hz is fine. Watch videos enough, 120+ Hz would seem smoother in some cases. Above that and you are generally going for “Gamers” territory, but it isn’t always bad either. There is also Wide and Ultra Wide that will give you significantly more screen real-estate which could allow you to multitask better and easier. That said, Monitor choices are yours to look through and find. You mostly cannot go wrong with options that are $200+ on significant deals.
We hope this list helps you out, but if you have questions or want some business advice, feel free to reach out to us!