Over the years, a lot of half-truths about good computer use have developed out of what might once have been good advice. But which are true and which false? We examine five common tech claims to see whether they represent sound advice or are completely unfounded. Extending USB cables is bad It’s often said that USB cables should not be extended.
And there is something to it, at least when it comes to USB 3.0 connections, according to computer magazine C’t. Anyone connecting to a hard drive via an extension cable should expect a heavy decrease in transmission speed.
It may also happen that devices are not recognised. USB 3.0 cables can be recognised by the fact that the plastic part of the square plug is coloured blue. Turning off wi-fi and Bluetooth saves battery There’s also some truth in the belief that turning off wi-fi and Bluetooth will save a notebook’s battery.
But in reality the gain is only a few minutes. In particular for devices with low battery capacity, it’ll have hardly any noticeable effect. More processor cores mean better performance It certainly sounds better, but does having double the processor cores really mean better performance? The answer is sometimes yes, sometimes no. More cores are better only when you’re comparing the same processor generation and type of a manufacturer.
If you compare different products, designs and manufacturers, a quad-core processor can actually be faster than an eight-core one. More memory means less efficiency There’s also a widespread belief that more memory in a computer leads to higher power consumption.
In reality this is only the case under very high loads. In normal operation or idle state, modern computers can switch into a power-saving mode so there is hardly any difference in energy consumption. More memory makes my computer faster Another memory myth is also only partially true, namely, that more memory automatically leads to better performance. This is only true if a system with too little memory has had a memory upgrade. If there was already enough memory for the daily tasks anyway, the performance boost from a memory increase will only be slight. – dpa
