Computers ....
It's not necessarily the "web cam" itself. It could
also be your computer's graphic card; having a
good graphic card installed in the computer first
may make a difference.
For the reason why I imply this is, it does no good
to buy a top quality web cam when you have a poor
to fair graphic card or aka "common" graphic card
in your computer system!
These are one areas that I always install (I do this
myself, I'm a geek - *laughing*); is upgrading every-
thing - and graphic cards do take up memory, but
it's worth it! (Same applies to sound cards as well)
As the saying goes "You get what you pay for" - but
part of it is not always true. I have an expensive Yamaha
sound card on my Win 98x and XP, but a cheap $7
Microsoft Microphone (my son uses it), but the sound
is impressive! In addition, I have surround sound system
that you can really crank it up like a boom box, so that's
just one example - but all my computers have superior
graphic cards - but what KIND of a graphic card should
one get? It all depends on what you use the most;
Raedon is popular with gamers, while those who are
using videos / television / etc - leans more to NIVIDIA
and others - depending on their OS (Operating System).
All computers are different, so it's strongly recommended
that you talk with your local Computer Store, such as
CompUSA, Best Buy, or even a Computer Repair Shop,
for their recommendations (call more than one place and
then compare the common grounds of them all).
Make sure you have your Make, Model, Platform (Desktop,
Notebook / Wireless), etc - ready before you make the
phone call, and plus what type of System you are running
on - and if you are unsure of how to obtain that, the
Tech will tell you over the phone how to get that info
because those details are important in order to get the
right part. Some computers can only be upgraded to a
maximum (due to the motherboard that is in there) point.
There have been a lot of frustrated people out there
who have purchased expensive webcams and sound
systems and still don't get the quality they thought
they would get and only to find out they need a better
graphic / sound cards, more memory - because they do
take up resources and space when in use, so they
approached the whole thing backwards by going outside
in, instead of inside out.
Hope all of this "Geeky Stuff" has given you a whole new
light and perspective of "Computer-Dom".
For you know now, you start from the inside and work
your way to the outside ~ hence the word "upgrading".
But of fair warning: Upgrading can be expensive, purchase
only what you need, and consider the balance of how much
do you plan to use it - if you are going to be a frequent
user of this, then it would be worth it, but if you are not
and it's only going to be an isolated, once in a blue moon
event - then it would be a waste of your money.
BUY only what you need and going to use, skip on other
stuff that you have no use for.
=========================
One of the common question that people confront me
with is what to upgrade on their new or current computer?
I advise them two things - max out their computer's mother-
board with the hard drive and memory that it can hold!
This enables the computer to run fast, breathe easier,
and run smoother - and INVEST IN A GOOD QUALITY
JET OUTTAKE JET FAN! (While a computer may have several,
but the major fan is the outtake fan which keeps the
interior system COOL!) And the FINAL THING is getting
a superior electrical power surge strip that has a solid
trip, it's even better when it comes with a warranty of
protection of your computer system! (So save your
receipts!) Do not use those cheap surge power strips,
it's not worth it - your computer electronics are too
sensitive to sudden increase / drop or even splurges
of power!
Battery back-ups, it's okay, if you have the money
for it. With Microsoft today - especially with Vista Premium
and higher - it has the ability to pretty much save a lot
of things if you got cut off. Microsoft even offers a special
system free - called "Steady State" which you can download
in addition to Windows Defender - which I also recommend
(but I only use specific portions of it). This is also available
for Win XP as well.
Vista has "Auto-Back Up" functionality - but it is a resource
drainer, so hence the need to have memory space - but
you can control this operation yourself manually. Steady
State does a better job.
For all Windows and Computers (while not all of them
below applies, but most of them do):
Running - disc clean-up and cleaning up the restore points,
running defrag, clearing up event logs, etc - will also give you
more breathing room as well and speeding up your computer
resources.
Moving graphics, photos, music, etc - ripping them to a CD,
DVD, Blue-Tooth, Blue-Ray, etc - removes a lot of space out
of your computer - and you can use it at any time you want
by just inserting the disc (or with wireless, a flash card, that
will provide you tons of additional free space right there when
you move files to the flash card) - and use whichever image,
song, photo, etc - you want to use instead of letting it sit in
your hard drive and hogging up all the room on your computer!
Hope these additional tips and tricks helps too.