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WE TACKLE TOUGH READER QUESTIONS ON...82 MAXIMUM PC MAY 2020 maximumpc.com
↘ submit your questions to: [email protected]
Win 10 and OneDrive
I frequently need to do a
fresh install of Windows 10,
but not frequently enough
to remember that OneDrive
will move data, pictures,
and documents off my PC
into the cloud. The result
of this moving data off
local storage may not be
immediately apparent and,
to compound matters,
updates to that data go
to OneDrive, too. I have
searched the Internet for a
fix, but find others just as
confused. Somehow it’s tied
to “Libraries” preferences.
To get the data back and
unlink the PC is a relatively
complicated process. I
don’t want my data only
online, I don’t want MS to
rip off my data, and I don’t
want MS to hound me to
set up a OneDrive account.
Maybe, the real problem
is I just don’t understand
OneDrive and why MS won’t
let you just opt out.
–O.B. SchooleyEDITOR, ZAK STOREY,
RESPONDS: Good old
OneDrive, being a pain as
usual. It’s a frustration
of mine, too, to be
honest. What’s worse
is the number of times I
accidentally click the cloudicon when I’m trying to
open the small icons bar
on the bottom-right. That
said, it’s not too difficult to
sort out, and when you’ve
done it once, regardless of
how many times you install
Windows and sign in with
your Microsoft account, you
never have to worry again.
First, I recommend
backing up all the files
you want to save to an
external hard drive or a
USB stick. Then, right-
click the OneDrive cloud
icon in the notification
area. Click “More,” then
hit “Settings,” and finally,
on the "Account" tab, click
“Unlink this PC” followed
by “Unlink account.” This
stops OneDrive syncing
your files online. For more
peace of mind, you can
uninstall the entire app. Go
to the “Start” menu, search
“Add or remove programs,”
then under “Apps &
Features,” find “Microsoft
OneDrive” and select
“Uninstall.” You need
administrator privileges to
do that, but then you’ll be
free of the OneDrive curse.Video Editing Build
Hi, I am looking to build a
new video/graphics editing
rig and wanted to knowif your March Gaming
Powerhouse setup would
do the trick? Thank you!
–GregEDITOR, ZAK STOREY,
RESPONDS: This is actually
something we’re hoping to
cover once the pandemic
crisis is over. Depending on
exactly what you’re after,
picking the right parts for a
professional video editing
machine can be tricky.
There’s a few key
criteria you need to check
off when picking the parts.
Gaming builds are fairly
good when it comes to
rendering, but they’re
geared toward clock
speed and compatibility,
rather than pure rendering
performance, so not
ideal in a professional
environment. Aim to get
as many cores as possible,
with quad-channel
memory and a good
GPU to help accelerate
graphics performance.
Quad-channel memory is
important because After
Effects and programs
like it eat up that extra
bandwidth when rendering.
Depending on budget,
look for components with
long warranties and high
reliability. For your CPU,choose either an AMD
Threadripper or Intel
Cascade Lake-X (depending
on your preference), then
follow it up with a high-end
GPU. For memory, you’ll
probably want 32 or 64GB
(four sticks) @ 3,200MHz.
Combine that with a solid
1,000W-plus PSU for future
expansion, and some good
old air cooling, courtesy
of Noctua, for added
reliability. For storage, get
a fairly sizable PCIe SSD
for your boot drive, and
back that up with 4–8TB
of hard drive storage in
a RAID configuration.
Something similar to this:
https://bit.ly/mpcbuild1.
You could swap out to Intel
with the Core i9-10920X,
Asrock X299 Extreme4
motherboard, and Noctua
NH-D15 for around the
same cost if Team Blue
floats your boat.Free & Reliable VPN?
I try to read all of your
issues, but I may have
missed this: Is there a
reputable and free VPN
service that you would
recommend? Thanks. –EricEDITOR, ZAK STOREY,
RESPONDS:There’s an
old marketing saying thatKilling OneDrive
Reputable Free VPNs
Intel vs. AMD