Custom PC UK 2012-11 PDF

INSIDE: NVIDIAS NEW GEFORCE GTX 660 Ti REVIEWED
THE BEST-SELLING MAG FOR PC HARDWARE, OVERCLOCKING, GAMING & MODDING
How to build a perfect PC in just a few hours

POWER SUPPLY EST MEGATEST
PLUS
REVIEWED
PC BUILDING MASTERCLASS L ASS
PSUs from 500W to 860W tested
HOW TO PAINT INSIDE YOUR CASE
HOW TO: MAKE AN LED TEMP SENSOR
ISSUE 110
NOV 2012
4.50
Our best selling gaming PC evolved Better graphics, bigger hard drive, better deal!
AMD FX-4100 3.6GHz Quad Core Processor 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 Memory AMD Radeon HD 7770 1GB Graphics Card Gigabyte GA-M68MT-S2 Motherboard 1TB SATA III Hard Drive DVD+/- RW Writer Drive Built-in Wi-Fi 802.11n Adapter
CCL Code - CCL-EL-HWK2
www.cclonline.com
Prices correct at time of going to publishing (29th August 2012). Images are for illustrative purposes only Monit o r s a n d d e s k t o p b u n d l e s a r e a v a i l a b l e s e p a r a t e l y. WorldMags.net
EE Y FR ER LIV DE
Welcome to Issue 110

EDITOR BenHardwidge editor@custompc.co.uk TECHNICALEDITOR HarryButler GAMESEDITOR JoeMartin ARTEDITOR BillBagnall PRODUCTIONEDITOR JulieBirrell CONTRIBUTORS AntonyLeather, CliffHarris, GarethHalfacree,JamesGorbold, JimKillock,LucySherriff, PaulGoodhead,RickLane, SimonTreadaway,TomMorgan PHOTOGRAPHY AntonyLeather, BenHardwidge,DannyBird, GarethHalfacree GROUPADVERTISINGMANAGER BenTopp +44(0)2079076625 ben_topp@dennis.co.uk ACCOUNTMANAGER AdamMcDonnell +44(0)2079076620 adam_mcdonnell@dennis.co.uk SALESEXECUTIVE FinanTesfay +44(0)2079076898 finan_tesfay@dennis.co.uk USADVERTISINGDIRECTOR MatthewSullivan-Pond +16467179555 matthew_sullivan@dennis.co.uk
Editorial
Publishing & Marketing

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DONT TRY THIS AT HOME
WorldMags.net
November 2012
Welcome to Issue 110
Assembling the various building blocks of your first PC can be a daunting task if you dont know how it all goes together. Long-serving PC builder BenHardwidge shows you how to build a neat and tidy PC without being sent back to noob school.
PC BUILDING MASTERCLASS
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Youdontowndownloadedbooks, filmsorsongs.Instead,youborrowthem.
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DIGITALASSETS
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PNYNVIDIAGEFORCEGTX 660Ti2GB
JoetalkstoDarkSoulsdirector HidetakaMiyazakiaboutthedifference betweenJapaneseandwesterngames.
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SAVEOURDARKSOULS
Notthecardyoumightexpectfromthe modelnumber.Itcosts250,andhaslotin commonwiththeGeForceGTX670,including theGPUclockspeedandthenumberof streamprocessors.
GigabytesGA-Z77X-UP4-TH enablesustooverclockourIvyBridgeCPU to4.8GHzwithavoltageofjust1.3V.
42 80 88
LOW-VOLTAGEOVERCLOCKS
COUNTER-STRIKE:GLOBAL OFFENSIVE
OnLivemightbeinitsdeaththroes, butcloudgamingcouldstillhaveabigimpact ontabletgaming.
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CLOUDGAMING
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PRE-BUILTPINT-SIZED POWER
JoeexplainswhyhethinksthelatestCounterStrikemodhitsthesweetspot.
Wetakealookatatinymini-ITXPCfromScan, whichstillfeaturesanoverclockedIvyBridge CPUandaGeForceGTX660Tigraphicscard.
DEVPERSPECTIVE
AIishard.Reallyhard,itturnsout. CliffHarrisexplainswhygamingAIoftenfails
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1ssue 110
Hardware
PC
Reviewed this month

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Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu
GRAPHICS CARD 36 PNY Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB
MONITOR 40 Philips C-Line 249C4QH MOTHERBOARD 42 Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP4-TH COOLER 44 Thermaltake Frio Extreme MOUSE 46 Razer Taipan
PRODUCTS REVIEWED
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Custom kit
50 50 50 51 51 51
Breffo Spiderpodium Versus Touchpad 7 8GB Stronghold Gigabyte Krypton View Quest iDice Speaker Zalman ZM-DS1000 Monitor Stand Antec Earthwatts EA-550 Platinum Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 530W Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 550W Cooler Master GX 550W Corsair GS600 Enermax Triathlor 550W Fractal Design R2 Tesla 650W FSP Aurum Xilenser 500W In Win GreenMe 550W NZXT Hale82-650-M OCZ ZS 550W Seasonic X-Series 660W Silver Power SP-S650M SilverStone Strider Plus 500W XFX Pro 650W Core Edition Xigmatek Tauro 500W Zalman ZM500-HP Plus Antec High Current Pro 850W Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850W Be Quiet! Straight Power E9 680W Cooler Master M2 Silent Pro 850W Corsair HX850 Enermax Platimax 750W FSP Aurum 850W In Win GreenMe 750W OCZ ZX 850 Seasonic Platinum Series 860W Silver Power SP-S850M SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 750W XFX Pro 850W XXX Edition Xigmatek Centauro 800W Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Sleeping Dogs Inversion Death Rally
PSU Labs test
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toliveuptoexpectations,andwhyweshould sympathisewiththeAIcoder.
8 From the editor 12 Digital rights 14 Interview 16 Incoming 18 Science! 20 Mobile tech watch 24 CPC Elite products 48 How we test 78 Grumpy gamer 88 Dev perspective 90 The engine room 128 Retro tech 130 James Gorbold 104 Readers drives 110 How to make an LED
Regulars
Antonyreportsonthegreatest modshespottedatCampusPartyEuropein Berlinthisyear.
102 MODSONPARADE 110
Community
HOWTOMAKEANLED TEMPERATURESENSOR
GarethHalfacreeshowsyouhowtogetyour handsdirtywithanArduinomicrocontroller, bymakingatemp-sensitivelightsystem.
temperature sensor 114 How to paint inside your case 116 Letters 125 Folder of the month 126 Your folding milestones
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Games
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DOWESTILL NEEDHIGH-END NEED HIGH-END AIR COOLERS?
from the editor
Now that liquid cooling is so easily affordable, is there any need for expensive blocks of fins?
henItellpeoplemyPCisliquid-cooled,theyoftenseem tothinkIveinstalledsomekindofTesla-inspired aquariuminit,sothatIcanstupidlygawpatthefirework displaywhenIhitthepowerswitch.Isntthatreallydangerous?they ask,asifImthesortofpersonwhodrelievehimselfontheliverailifI hadntreceivedtheirwisdom.Liquidcoolingmightstillsitoutside mostpeoplescomputinglives,butitsnowbecomesocommoditised thatitsstartingtobecomeastandardinenthusiastcircles. Forthefirsttimeever,forexample,thegenericPCIvebuiltforour annualmasterclass(seep92),usesaCorsairH100all-in-oneliquid cooler,withadual120mmradiatorinthe roof.Theresnoneedtoworryaboutfinding aplaceforapumpandreservoir,ordodgy barbsandleakytubingitsallsealedina verysimpleloopthatanyonecaninstall.In fact,Idarguethatitseasiertoinstallthan manyhigh-endaircoolers,andthisbrings metomypoint.Whenyoucanbuya CorsairH80for73,whywouldyoubuya72aircoolersuchasthe ThermaltakeFrioExtreme(seep44). ThatisnttosaythattheFrioExtremeisabadcooler.Itsan incrediblefeatofengineeringforanaircooler,evenmanagingtotame anoverclockedLGA2011CPU.Butitcosts72.Youcouldprobablyget awaywiththe72pricetagwhenwatercoolingwasonlyanichehobby enjoyedbyadventurousPCbuilders,butyousimplycantjustifyit whenanall-in-oneliquidcoolercostsjustanextraquid. ImnotforaminutesayingthatCorsairsHrangeofcoolersis perfect,bytheway.Evenattheirlowestspeed,thefansonaCorsair H80arelouderthanthoseonmanyaircoolers,andmostproper water-coolingloopswillreduceyourtemperaturesfurther,and giveyouthepotentialtocoolyourgraphicscardandchipsetaswell.
Isnt that really dangerous? they ask, as if Im the sort of person whod relieve himself on the live rail
However,youdontspend72onaCPUcoolerbecauseyouwantit tobequiettheArcticFreezeri30willdothatforafractionofthecost. YoubuyitbecauseyouwanttooverclockyourCPU,andanaircooler simplycantcompetewithanall-in-oneliquidcoolerinthisregard. Thisisgoingtopresentaproblemformakersofhigh-endair coolersinthefuture.Theyregoingtoneedtoperformadelicate balancingactbetweencheap,quietandeffectiveaircoolerssuch astheFreezeri30,andpowerfulall-in-oneliquidcoolerssuchas CorsairsH-series.Ifyouraircoolercostsmorethan50,anditisnt seriouslyamazing,thenyouregoingtostruggle. Theseliquid-coolersalsohavethe addedadvantageofnotbeingridiculously tallyoucanscrewanH80radiatorintoa free120mmfanmountatthebackofyour case,anditwontinterferewithyourside panel,butthesamecouldntbesaidfor thetoweringFrioExtremeinourLGA2011 testsystem. IdontwritethistocriticiseThermaltakesengineeringskills,or thoseofanyotheraircoolermanufacturer.Imamazedattheamount ofheatthatcanbeshiftedbyastackoffinsandacoupleoffanswith therightdesignandmaterials,buttheresnopointiftheycostas muchasadecentliquidcooler.Withsomanyofthesecompaniesnow enteringtheall-in-oneliquidcoolermarket,oftenwithalittlehelp fromAsetek,Icantseetherebeingamarketforexpensiveaircoolers formuchlonger. BenHardwidgeistheeditorof CustomPC.HelikesPCs,realale andWarhammer40,000.
EDITOR@CUSTOMPC.CO.UK @MANSHARK
November 2012
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THE PROBLEM WITH PATENTS

Edison didnt invent the light bulb; he just patented it, and patent trolling is still going strong a century later
atentslikethemorloathethem,theyrealoomingpresence inthefreemarket.Perhapsthemostrecentexampleof patentwarfareintechnologycomesfromwater-cooling specialistAsetek,whichhassuedrivalCoolITonthebackofapatent grantedjustafewdaysearlierbytheUSPatentsandTrademarks Office(USPTO). Asetekspatentcoversanall-in-onewater-coolingsystem,a productforwhichthecompanyisrightlyknown.Itsnumerouspages anddiagramsgofurther,andcouldwiththerighthigh-pricedlawyer beconsideredgeneralenoughtoputanymanufacturerofwatercoolingproductsatriskofapatent-infringementsuit. Thatsaseriousthreat:thepenaltieshanded downforpatentinfringementcanincludea banonsales,andtrebledamagesbackdated tothestartofinfringementfiguresthatcan easilyputasmallercompanyoutofbusiness. Therefore,itslittlesurprisethatpatentsare bigbusiness,bothforcompaniessuchas Rambusdubbedapatenttrollforitslitigious tacticswhichspecialiseinbuyingand licensingpatents,andforcompaniessuchas Asetekwhichpatenttheirowntechnologyand thenuseittostrong-armcompetitorsintopayingalicencefee.But arepatentsgoodforinnovation? BackinTudordays,thecrownwouldissuealetterspatentto companies,givingthemamonopolyinaparticulartradeor manufacture.Althoughoriginallydesignedtoensurethattheoriginal creatorsofnovelinventionswouldbecompensated,thesystemwas opentoabuse,withbothElizabethIandJamesIaccusedofgranting patentsinexchangeforsomecashfortheroyalcoffers. Today,almosteverycountryintheworldhasitsownpatentsystem undertheauspiceoftheWorldTradeOrganisation.Althougheach
Gareth halfacree
In Tudor days, the crown would issue a letters patent, giving companies a monopoly in a particular trade
systemisindependentmeaningthatacompanyhastoapplyfor multiplepatentstheyallhavecertaincommonalities,including a20-yearlifespan,whichisdesignedtoprovideimmediate,yet temporary,protectiontotheoriginalinventor. AsinTudortimes,however,thesystemhascritics,whoclaim abusesandignoranceofpriorarttheexistenceofpriorpatentsor inventions-arerife.Themostcommontargetfortheseaccusationsis theUSPTO,thegranterofAsetekspatents.Theseaccusationsarent new:ThomasEdisons1880patentonthelightbulbwasgranted, despitethetechnologyalreadyexistingcommercially. Today,morepatentsaregrantedthaneverbefore,thankstothe rapidgrowthoftechnology.Thisbringsthe problemtoahead;largecompaniesare applyingforincrediblygeneralisedpatents, andusingthemtobullyandbankrupt theircompetitors. Inventorsandpatenttrollsarguethat patentsarenecessarytoprotectthe investmentoftime,moneyandexpertisethat goesintothecreationofaninvention.With companiesincreasinglyusingpatentsas weapons,ratherthanlegalarmour,however, itsperhapstimetoadmitthatthesystemisbroken. ItwilltakeacleverermanorwomanthanItofixit,butthismayhelp. Firstly,makeiteasierforcompaniestoobjecttoapatentonthe groundsofpriorart.Secondly,rejectpatentapplicationsthataretoo generalaswiththecommonreadingofApplesrecentlydisputed rectanglepatent.Forthepatenttrolls,thesesimplechangescould soundadeathknell.Notamomenttoosoon. TracyKingiscurrentlyaway
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Jim Killock
Digital assets
twasrecentlyreportedthatBruceWillis wasfightingApplenotoverfilmrights, butoverhisdigitalmusiccollection. Accordingtothepress,hewantedto leavehisdownloadstohischildreninhiswill. Rumourscirculatedanditwasreportedin theMail,SunandGuardianthatBruceWillis wantedtosueAppleoverhisrighttoleavehis digitalmusictohiskids.Itwasnttrue,butthe storycirculatedbecausetheresakernelof factyoureallycantlegallypassonyour digitalmusiccollectioninyourwill.Apples positionisunjust,andasignificanterosionof therightsweveenjoyedinthephysicalworld. Traditionally,aCDorbookhasacopyright licencefortheworkthatsembodiedinit. However,thelawsayscopyrightisirrelevant exhaustedwhenthegoodsareresold. Thishaschangedinthedigitalworld. Copyrightownersassertthatdigitalgoods cantberesold,loaned,transferredorpassed onatdeath.Licencesareusuallyprettyclear aboutthis,buttheresultisthatdigitalgoods aresignificantlyworseinvestmentsthantheir physicalcounterparts. Obviously,thereistheproblemthatdigital goodsmightbesold,whiletheoriginalcopies areretained.Forthisreason,copyright holdershavepersuadedlegislatorsthat resalesortransfersofdownloadsshouldnt bepermitted. Iexpectmostofuswillspendthousandsof poundsinourlifetimesonmusic,booksand films.Onthebasisthatafewofusmight cheat,wereallbeingaskedtosacrificeour investments.ArecentdecisioninEurope hasmadethematterclearerandmore consumer-friendly,butjustinthecaseof software.ThisJuly,theGrandChamberofthe EuropeanCourtofJusticetoldOraclethat UsedSoftcouldindeedresellOraclelicences. Thelawforsoftwareisratherdifferentto thatforbooksandfilms.Thecourtsaidthat
You dont own downloaded books, lms or songs when you buy them. Instead, you borrow them, which presents a number of issues
BruceWillisisntreallyfightingAppletoleavehisdigital musictohiskids,butApplespositionisstillunjust
aEuropeansoftwaredirectivemakesitclear thatsoftwarecanberesold,andcontractual termssayingthatlicencesarenontransferablecantchangethis.Theruling meansthatmanycompanieshavebeen overstatingtheirrightsforyears.Quark, forexample,usedtoclaimitssoftwareon CD-ROMs wasnon-transferable.Notso. Youcan,therulingsays(ifyoukeepyour originalreceipts)legallyreselldigitalsoftware downloadsinEurope.Thisisgood,asithelps tokeeppriceslower,andpreventscompanies
fromcheating.However,thesameprinciple doesntyetapplytofilms,musicandbooks. Thesearearguablyproductsthatweremore likelytowanttoresell,orleaveinourwills. Software,afterall,goesoutofdate. Thesameisnttrueforbooks,filmsand music.Wemightkeeplisteningtothesame songsforyears,andweliketokeepbooksfor reference,oftenfordecades.Theymayalso beofvaluetoourchildren.Inshort,weexpect rightstolend,sellortransferdigitalgoods, butlegallytheynolongerexist.Inthecaseof digitalbooks,theresnosecondhandmarket. Amazonhasmadetentativestepstowards enablingpeopletosharebooksintheUSA albeitonlyonce,andthenforonlytwoweeks. Worseisthewaythatdigitalbooksare restrictedwhenlicensedtolibraries.Sincethe numbersofloanscanbecounted,publishers wanttolimitthenumberoftimesalibrarycan issuethem.Digitalmaterialcreatesgreater abilitytocontrolusage,totheapparent
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TheFBIaskedNicholasMerrilsISPtohandover userdatahewenttotheAmericanCivilLiberties UnionandElectronicFrontierFoundation, whofoughtthecasewithhim
advantageofthepublisher.However,theres whenhewastoldhecouldnttellanyonethat somedangerthatpublisherswillthrottlethe hehadbeenasked,andthattherewasno market,assecondhandcopies,librariesand legalmeanstochallengetheorder.Hewent personallendingformalargepartoftheway totheAmericanCivilLibertiesUnionandthe peoplelearnaboutauthors. ElectronicFrontierFoundation,andthey Itwouldntbethefirsttimethatcopyright foughtthecasewithhim. ownershaveshotthemselvesinthefoot. Eventually,in2007,afterathree-yearcase, Informaladvertisingandexposureisbyfar hewon.Onlyin2010washeallowedtoreveal thebiggestpartofhowwelearnaboutartists, hisidentity.Hestillcantsaywhathewas frommusicontheradiotoborrowingDVDs. askedtogivetotheFBI.However,hehas Oncewebecomefansofanartist,wespend resolvedtomakeitmuchharderfortheFBIor moneyontheirstuff.Toomuchcontrolby anyoneelsetogainaccesstocustomerdata copyrightowners,andtheirrevenuescouldbe throughimprovedprivacytechnologies,and threatenedaswestopexperimentingforfree. hascreatedanon-profitinstitutetohelpbuild Wearentjustlosingcontroloverthe thesoftwareISPswouldneed. productswebuy.Thedigitalassetsyou IntheUK,weseedifferentattemptsfor personallycreateareatriskinotherwaystoo. governmentagenciestograbaccesstoour youpickup,thensittingathomewithyou Storieshaveappearedaboutthedifficultiesof readingandcommunicationspatterns,most whileyoureadwhatyoubought. accessinginformationthatpeoplestoreon recentlyundertheproposedCommunications Foryears,librariansdefendedourrightsfor theInternetwhentheydie,suchassocial DataBill.Oneofthemajorflawsunderthis thestatenottoknowinformationsuchasthis. mediaandemailaccounts.Theresno proposalandourcurrentRegulationof Yetitsnowveryeasilyaccessible,andthats guaranteethatyourrelativescanaccessyour InvestigatoryPowersAct(RIPA)isthatpeople causingalarm.Californiahaslegislatedto accountsitisntyourdecisiontomake. areneverinformedaftertheyvehadtheir restrictlawenforcementsaccesstodigital Yahoo!forinstanceisclearthataccessto informationaccessed.IntheUSA,priortothe readinginformation.Onlyafewyearsago, youraccountdieswithyou.Thecompany PatriotAct,itwasnormalforsomeonetobe Americanlibrarianswereforcedtofight operatesFlickr,whichmanypeopleuseto toldiftheirphonebillorpersonaldetailshad attemptstocompellibrariestotelltheUSA storehigh-resolutionphotos.Tome,itseems beenrequestedbylawenforcement. secretserviceswhatpeoplewerereading. wrongtorefuseaccesstoFlickr Protectionssuchasthatcango accountswhensomebodydies.After somewaytomakingsurelaw SOMEONE INHERITS THE all,someoneinheritsthecopyrights, enforcementdoesntsimplygain COPYRIGHTS, SO WHY CANT sowhycanttheyaccessthefilestoo? unfetteredaccesstoourpersonal Whatsmore,whileweloserights THEY ACCESS THE FILES TOO? information,placingusatriskfrom overouraccounts,andthefilmsand identityfraud,privateinvestigatorsor bookswedownload,companiesgain unscrupulousjournalists.Thisisimportant Thelibrarieswereoutragedwhenthey rightstospyonus.Digitalformatrepresents forcompaniesandindividuals.IfAmazonor realisedtheycouldbetoldtohandover anunprecedentedsourceofinformation Facebookwantustotrustthemwithdetails readersinformationinnationalsecurity abouthowweconsumegoods.Amazon ofourlives,weneedtoknowthattheywont lettersissuedunderthePatriotAct. hopestolearnaboutthepointsatwhichwe simplyhandoverourlifehistorywhenapolice Theselettersdeniedtherighttoinformthe putabookdown,whenwestopreading,or officerdropsthemanemail. borrowers,oreventosaythatinformationhad whenwecantresistapage-turner. beensoughtbytheauthoritiesatall.These JoGlanville,theheadofEnglishPEN, nationalsecuritylettershavebeenissued saysintheGuardianthatcompaniessuch hundredsofthousandsoftimestouniversities asGoogleandAmazonseektoknowwhat andISPsamongothers. isexecutivedirectorof webuy,whatwebrowse,theamountoftime ThelibrariansandtheInternetArchive campaignorganisation wespendonapageandeventheannotations wereamongthefewthatchallengedthe TheOpenRightsGroup wemakeinanebook. constitutionalityofthesesecretorders.Oneof (www.openrightsgroup.org) Ascampaignershavequipped,itsthe theotherchallengerswasNicholasMerrill, equivalentofabookshophiringsomeoneto whoseISPCalyxwasaskedtohandoveruser @jimkillock followyouroundtheshopnotingeverybook databytheFBI.Hewaspersonallyshocked
JIM KILLOCK
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Joe Martin
Save our Dark Souls

N
amcoBandaishardcore RPGDarkSoulswasnever intendedtoseeaPCrelease, butallthatchangedafteran onlinepetitionfromPCgamers illustratedcleardemand.Wetalk toDarkSoulsdirectorHidetaka Miyazakiabouttheportingprocess, andthedifferencebetweenJapanese andwesterngames.
Joe Martin talks to Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki

DarkSoulsrichly gothicworldisthe stuffofnightmares
technologyimportantforinjecting athemeorgameexperienceinto developingtitles.Inotherwords, theleveloftechnologydiffersin Japaneseandwesterngame developmentprocesses,sincethe significanceandgameexperience thatwesterndeveloperstrytoachieve arestronglyassociatedwiththe developmenttechnology.
CPC: Lastyear,youtoldIGNthatyou CPC: Asidefromwidercultural foundthesuddenattentionyouhad differences,DarkSoulsisvery fromjournalistsandfanstobea differentfrommostothergames 50/50mixoftroublingandexciting atthemomentinthewaythatit (http://tinyurl.com/ctsregj),but treatsdeathandfailureascrucial hastherebeenanydifferencein partsoftheexperience.Whatwere theapproachofJapaneseand yourinspirationsforthis,andwhy THIS GAME IS DESIGNED TO westernaudiencesandmedia? doyouthinkmostothergamesin HidetakaMiyazaki: Ifeelthatthe PROVIDE PLAYERS WITH A SENSE theindustryhavemovedaway approachofJapaneseandwestern fromthisstyle? OF ACCOMPLISHMENT CATHARSIS HM: Thisgameisdesignedto audiencesandmediaisverysimilar, althoughtheremaybeaslight provideplayerswithasenseof BY CONQUERING DIFFICULTIES difference.Imsogladthatboth accomplishment,orinotherwords, Japaneseandwesternpeopleshowtheir catharsisbyconqueringdifficulties.So HM: Thatsadifficultquestion.Anexplanation passiontowardsDarkSoulswithpositive difficulty,andconceptsoffailureanddeath, basedonthecategoryJapanesevswestern orevennegativeapproaches. asyoumentioned,arelaidoutinthegameas developersdoesntalwaysclarifytheir factorsthatenableplayerstofeelthesense differencesaccurately.However,inmany CPC: Isitfairtosaytherearedifferences ofaccomplishment. cases,Ifeelastylisticdifferencemayoccur inthegamesproducedbywesternand Iguessthereareseveralreasonswhyother whenaJapaneseorwesterndeveloperadds Japanesedevelopers,notjuststylistically gamesdonthavethesameapproach;agame itsownthemeorexperiencetoavideogame. butalsoonamechanicallevel?Wheredo aimstogiveplayerssomethingdifferentfrom FromwhereIstand,Icanseethatwestern youthinkthesedifferencestemfrom? asenseofaccomplishment,orthemethodto developersalsotendtoconsiderdevelopment
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providegamerswiththe senseofaccomplishmentis differentfromourgames. CPC: Doyouthinkgames nowadaysaretooeasythen? HM: No,notreally.Iloveeasygamestoo,as Imnotagoodgamer. CPC: WhywasntthePCpartofyouroriginal plan,whichpromptedapetitiontobesetup. Andwhydidyoudecidetodeviatefromthat planandannounceaPCrelease? HM: Wechangedouroriginalplanand decidedtodevelopthePCversionbecause ofthepetitionthatyoupointedout,and persuadingNamcoBandaiGamesIncafter theysawthefanspassioninthecampaign.
DarkSoulsPC versionincludes newquests,bosses andweapons
Iwasverysurprisedbythecampaign,and gladofit,becauseIdidntexpectitatall. CPC: DarkSoulsisinsomewaysabout learningfrommistakes.Whatmistakes were made during the development weremadeduringthedevelopment of the game, and have you been ofthegame,andhaveyoubeen able to provide any improvements abletoprovideanyimprovements inthePCversion? During the development HM: Duringthedevelopment processwespottedalot mistakes,bigandsmall, andlearnedlessonsfrom
them.Icanttellyoueachofthemistakes thatweremade,butweveaddedsome detailedmodificationtothePCversion wherewecould. Are there plans to make a sequel for CPC: Arethereplanstomakeasequelfor this game, or do you intend to move on to thisgame,ordoyouintendtomoveonto new ideas? Also, what sort of games newideas?Also,whatsortofgames are you interested in creating in areyouinterestedincreatingin the future? thefuture? HM: Iactuallyhavesomanyplans regarding future titles, but if I were regardingfuturetitles,butifIwere forced to specify one then Id say forcedtospecifyonethenIdsay that Im interested in creating a thatIminterestedincreatinga network-style game that doesnt network-stylegamethatdoesnt stick to the current game style sticktothecurrentgamestyle Ive developed network is an Ivedevelopednetworkisan unprecedented media, and you can unprecedentedmedia,andyoucan use it to form a complex society useittoformacomplexsociety based on the network itself. Finally, basedonthenetworkitself.Finally, I want to create something cute in Iwanttocreatesomethingcutein the future. thefuture. You can find out more about Dark YoucanfindoutmoreaboutDark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition for PC at Souls:PreparetoDieEditionforPCat www.preparetodie.com
THE PC VERSION
WhilethefactthatDarkSoulsiscomingtoPCisundeniablygoodand thatNamcopayssuchattentiontogamingcommunitiesisawonderful precedentthedevelopmentofthegamehasntbeenwithoutissues. From Software admitted to having limited experience with the PC platform FromSoftwareadmittedtohavinglimitedexperiencewiththePCplatform earlier this year, and a preview version we played showed some definite frame earlierthisyear,andapreviewversionweplayedshowedsomedefiniteframe rateissuesontheprovidedlaptops. How more capable machines will fare with the game remains to be seen, of Howmorecapablemachineswillfarewiththegameremainstobeseen,of course, but until then, From Software reckons the promise of new content over course,butuntilthen,FromSoftwarereckonsthepromiseofnewcontentover theconsoleversioniscompensationenough.Hmm
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April 2012
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NEW HARDWARE
We take a look at the latest newly announced products

PNY LAUNCHES GAMING SSDs
PNYhasjustlaunchedanewline-up ofsolidstatedrives,whichitsaysare targetedspecificallyatgamers.The XLR8ProrangeisbasedonaSandForce SF-2281controlleranduses3KP/E multi-levelcell(MLC)NANDflash memory(meaningitcanwithstandat least3,000program/erasecycles)and aSATA6Gbpsinterface.PNYsaysthe newdriveswilloffersequential readandwritespeedsof 550MB/secand520MB/sec respectively.TheXLR8Pro rangewillbeavailablein 120GB,240GBand480GBflavours.
ASROCK COURTS OVERCLOCKERS

Takingitsinspirationfromeitherwaspsor1980sChristian metalbandStryper,ASRockhascladitslatestZ77 motherboardinasharpyellowandblackcolourscheme. TheZ77OCFormulahasaneight-layerPCB,completewith four2ozcopperinnerlayers,andtheboardalsohasa12+4 powerphasedesignfortheCPU.Designedinconjunction withrenownedoverclockerNickShih(seehisHWBotprofile at http://hwbot.org/user/nickshih),thenewboardeven features15-caratgoldintheCPUsocketandmemoryslots, andincludesGelidGC-ExtremeTIMtoo.Theresnowordon pricingyet,butwedontexpectittobecheap.Findoutmore at www.asrock.com/microsite/OCFormula
WatchingSSDpriceshasbeenlikewatchinganavalanche lately.FirstwesawCrucialsM4seriesandSamsungs830 seriesplummetintothebargainbasement,andnowOCZs Vertex4(seeIssue107,p44)rangehasjumpedofftheedge too.Thisisofparticularsignificance,sincetheVertex4256GB, whichisbasedonaMarvellcontrollerwithacustomIndilinx firmware,isbyfarthefastestsolidstatedriveweveseen.So fast,infact,thatitwonanExtremeUltraawardallthatheld itbackwastheprice.However,nowthat the256GBmodelhasdroppedto 165,wehavenohesitationin awardingitaPremium Gradeawardtoo,and includingiton theElitelistasour SSDofchoice.
OCZ VERTEX 4 PRICE CRASH
ASUS UNVEILS HIGH-RES 27IN SCREEN

Finally,afteryearsofbeing embarrassinglyshownupbyApples Retinadisplays,werestartingto seemoredesktopPCmonitors goingbeyond1,920x1,080without strayingintosuper-expensive 30interritory.Dellhaspretty muchhadthatmarkettoitselffor yearswiththesuperbUltraSharpU2711m, butafewmoremanufacturersarenow launching27inmonitorswitharesolutionof2,560 x1,440.ThelatestisAsus,withitsLED-backlitPB278Q WQHD,basedon anIPSpanel,whichAsussayshasa5msresponsetime(grey-to-grey) and178-degreeviewingangles.TheresnowordonUKpricingor availabilityyet,butitonlyneedstocostlessthan500toundercuttheDell.
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Explore a
new gaming experience with PNYs GTX 670.
For more information: www.pny.eu

PNYTechnologiesEurope.RCSBordeauxB394790430-PNY,PNYTechnologiesandthePNYlogoareregisteredtrademarksofPNYTechnologies,Inc.Allothertrademarksandlogosarethepropertyoftheirrespectivecompanies.Copyright2012PNYTechnologies,Inc. All rights reserved. 2012 NVIDIA Corporation. NVIDIA, NVIDIA logo, GeForce, GeForce logo, SLI, NVIDIA SLI-Ready logo, PhysX, 3D Vision, 3D Vision Surround, and CUDA are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the United States and other countries. All Rights Reserved.
WorldMags.net
Lucy Sherriff
We revisit the exciting world of spintronics, following recent research by IBM to extend the lifetime of a spin state by 30 times
Thespintronicswaltz
herearethreeproblems Ifyouwanttousespinfor Themeasuredspatial facingspintronics,saysDr informationprocessing,youwant andtemporalspreadofa spinhelix.Startingfrom GianSalis.One:tocreate thespintobeinonedirection,and alocalisedexcitationmay spinpolarisation;two:to nottomoveinspace.Amagnetic spreadthespinsinspace androtatesynchronouslyin transportspinstoadrainand fieldwillrotatethisspinand theprocess manipulatethemontheway;and changethedirection,andyou three:todetectthespinstateatthe gethugemagneticfieldsinside draincontact. semiconductors.Electrons DrSalisworksinIBMsPhysics emerginginasemiconductor ofNanoscaleSystemsresearch seehugemagneticfields. group,whereheandhisteamhave Typically,theyrotaterandomly foundawaytopreventthedecayof sothataspinpointingupwillrotate spinpolarisation,extendingthe differentlyfromaspinpointing lifetimeofaspinstateby30times. down.Overtime,theylosetheir Notonlythat,buttheyveachieved commonorientation.Thisiscalled itusingfabricationtechniques spindefacing,anditsthedecayof alreadyusedinindustry. spinpolarisation. Letsrecap:MooresLaw Salislikensthemovementofthe whichstatesthatthenumberof spintoawaltz.Imagineallthepairs Briefly,spintronicsexploitsthespinstateof transistorsthatwillfitonagivenspacewill ofdancerslinedupatthestartofthewaltz. anelectron,ratherthanitscharge,tostore doubleevery18monthshasbecomean Nowthinkofthedirectionthewomenare andtransmitdatawecoveredthistopicin articleoffaithinthesemiconductorindustry. facingasbeingequivalenttothespin.Each moredetailinIssue107,p18.Ithasbeen However,thefearstalkingthesemiconductor ofthepairswillmove,rotatingthroughthe shownthatyoucanapplyavoltagetoagate industryisthatprogresswillslowdownand dance.Overtime,thecouplesmoveoutof andcreateanelectricfield.Youcandothis graduallygrindtoahalt.Thescaleatwhich alignment,andthewomenendupfacinginall withaverysmallvoltage,waylowerthan transistorsarenowbuiltmeansengineers sortsofdifferentdirections.Thisisthedecay CMOS,Salisadds. havetodealwithenormousquantitiesof ofthespinpolarisation. heat,andthemessyweirdnessof Whatsneededisamechanismthat quantumphysicswillsoonstartto willlockthecouplesinstep,sothey YOU CAN APPLY A VOLTAGE intrudeontheorderlybusinessof rotateintimewithoneanotherandin movingonesandzerosaround. timewiththeirmovementaroundthe TO A GATE AND CREATE AN Spintronicsisoneofseveralways dancefloor.Backin2003,therewas ELECTRIC FIELD WITH A MUCH (othersincludeFETandnanowires)of aproposalthatitmightbepossible LOWER VOLTAGE THAN CMOS toovercomethisbyengineering gettingpasttheendofconventional electronics,Salissays.CMOS symmetryintotheinternalmagnetic Thespinofanelectronanintrinsicquality [complementarymetaloxidesemiconductor] fieldsofasemiconductor.Ifthemagnetic oftheelectronratherthananyreferencetoits willsoonbelimitedbythevoltageatwhichit fieldissymmetricalthenthespinsare motionisoftendescribedasbeingupor canoperate.Itcantdecreasemuchfurther, synchronised.Andthisiswhatweve down,andthesebinaryoptionsareequatedto ordealwithalltheheat.Ifwecanfindawayto demonstratedexperimentally. theonesandzerosofdigitalinformation.This lowerthevoltage,wecanstillincreasescaling Sohowdoyouphysicallygaincontrolofthe isusefulshorthand,butSalisexplainsthatin anddealwithheattransport.Spintronics spins?Thecrystalitselfisasymmetric.You reality,thespinisavector,andcanactually allowsustocreateswitchesthatoperateat cantdoanythingaboutthat.Youbalancethis pointinanydirectioninspace. smallervoltages. byapplyinganelectromagneticfieldinsidethe
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GianSalis(right)andMatthiasWalser (left)haveobservedhowelectronspins moveinasemiconductorchannel, withtheirorientationssynchronously rotatingalongthepathsimilartoa coupledancingthewaltz
structure.Thefieldisappliedby designingthequantumconfines foratwo-dimensionalelectron inalayerintheGaAs[gallium arsenide]crystal. Atwo-dimensionalelectron gasisfreetomoveintwo dimensionsbutconfinedbya potentialinthethird.Tocreate thisconfinementpotential,you needtohaveveryfinecontrol overthecompositionofyour semiconductor,Salisexplains. Theresearchersgrowthe GaAsepitaxially(theprocess ofgrowingonecrystalofa particularformationontopof another),sotheycandeposit individuallayerstocreateabuiltinchargegradient;thisenables themtobalanceouttheintrinsic asymmetryofGaAs. Thisisalreadyanindustrialprocessused forLEDsandsoon.Itsslowerthantraditional CMOS,butitsalreadyscalableandusedin industry,headds.Goingbacktothedancing metaphor,bybalancingtheasymmetryof themagneticfieldintheGaAscrystal,the researchershaveeffectivelydesigneda perfectchoreography,lockingtherotation speedofthedancerstothedirectioninwhich theymove,sothatallthewomeninacertain areaendupfacinginthesamedirection. Ifyouputanumberofelectronsinavery smallspot,theelectronswillgraduallydiffuse fromthisspot.Thismotionisntchangedby balancingtheGaAsfield.Thatonlyaffectsthe spinitself.Youcanlabeltheelectronsand watchwheretheygo.Thedevelopmentof thespinpatterniscompletelydifferenttothe developmentofthecharge.Itformsaspin helixandwecanseethat.Thetheorysays thatthespinsdisplayallprecess[changes inrotationalaxis]synchronouslytoforma stripe-likepattern,whichisexactlywhatweve observed.Theadvantageofsuchaspinhelix isthatthespindecayisswitchedoff,greatly extendingthelifetimeofthespinstate.
Intheteamspaper(publishedinNature Physics),theresearchersreportthatthe spinstatepersistsfor30timeslongerthan normalonceitslockedintothespinhelix.We startedwithaspinlifetimeofmaybejustover onenanosecond,butyoucanstartwithhigher numbersthanpicoseconds,whichwould improvetheendresult. Inthisnanosecond(actually1.1ns,or roughlythetimeittakesagigahertzprocessor tomakeacalculation),thespinstravelten micrometresinthesemiconductor.The researchersdescribethisasuseful,which weshallunderstandtomeanimpressive,but dontaskuswhentherewillbeadevicebased onthistechnology. Thisworkisimportantforanotherreason too.Aselectronsmoveinasemiconductor crystaltheyseeallkindsofdisturbances anddefectsroughnessofsurfacesandso on.Theseallchangethedirectionofthe electronsmotion.Thismotioniscalled diffusiveifittakesplacefromAtoBandthe electronsarescatteredbyinteractionswith thematerialalongtheway. Alotofthespintronicsworkpublished reliesonwhatsknownasballistictransport
ofelectrons.Thismeansthat theelectronmovesfromsource todrainwithoutanyinteractions tointerruptit.Thisrequiresa verypuresemiconductor,with nodefects.Diffusivetransport ismucheasier,Salisexplains, becausethematerialsneednt besoperfect. Asforcreatingadevice,Salis advisesnotholdingyourbreath. Heremindsusseveraltimes thatheworksinasciencelab onthefundamentalprinciples. Nevertheless,henotesthatthe workhasdemonstratedthatyou canhaveamaterialthatserves asaspintransportlayer. However,thereareother obstacles.Atapartyof spintronicsresearchers,the wordsroomtemperatureareprobably groundsforexiletothekitchen.Allof theseexperimentshavebeenperformed at40K,whichisntwarmbyanystretchof theimagination.No,butthisiswherewe haveagoodsignal.Wedonthaveroom temperature,butnothingsuggestsaproblem atupto200K,Salissays.Eventhatlimitcould justbeafunctionoftheequipmentused. Areweabletodetectspinstatesatroom temperaturewiththemethodweveused? Theansweristhatwejustdontknow.Were usinganopticalscanningmicroscope,and itssensitivitydecreasesasyouincreasethe temperature.Itdoesntgomuchbeyond 180-200K.However,itssomethingwere workingon.
isajournalistwitha degreeinastrophysics whoknowsallaboutthe latestscientifictech. @lucysherriff
LUCY SHERRIFF
WorldMags.net
November 2012
19
Gareth Halfacree looks at the latest mobile hardware
OnLive might be in its death throes, but others are serious about cloud gaming too. We look at how it could affect mobile and tablet gaming
Cloud gaming
Althoughonlyrecently hecomputationpower announced,NvidiasGeForceGrid ofmobilephonesand hassomeseriousindustryweight tabletsisincreasingat behindit;contentpartnersrange analarmingrate.ARMs fromEpicGames,CDProjekt,THQ latestGPUdesign,thesecondandNCSofttoconsolegiants generationMidgard-architecture Capcom,SegaandBandai Mali,boastsa50percent Namco.Epicsco-founderTim performanceboostoverpreviousSweeneywasoneofthetalking generationpartsagenerational headstrottedoutatthelaunch improvementofwhichdesktop ceremony,claimingthatNvidias graphicsdesignerscanonlydream. Gridtechnology,withitslatency Portabledevicesstilllag ItsclaimedthatGaikaistechnologycouldrivalconsolesforlag-freegaming reductionandimprovedimage behindtheirlaptopanddesktop quality,combinedwithhigherdensityand counterparts,however.Theneedtopack Cloudgamingplatformsworkinmuchthe powerefficiency,aresignificantstepstowards componentsintotinyspaceswithlimited sameway:allthedifficultworkiscarriedout makingcloudgamingatrueconsole-like batterylifeandnoactivecoolingputsanupper onacentralserver.Forgaming,thiscovers experiencetoday,andbringingthathighlimitonthepotentialpoweroftabletsand everythingfromphysicsandAIcalculationsto qualitygamingexperiencetomorepeople. smartphones.ARManditsmultitudinous soundandgraphicsrendering.Theoutputa licenseescanbeascleverastheylike,but videoandsoundstreamisthencompressed L ATENCY high-powerdesktopandlaptopmachines andsentacrossthenetworktotheclient Sweeneyisntmentioninglatencyreduction will alwayswin. device.Theresultistheabilitytorundecenttechnologyfornothing.Latencythegap Nowhereisthismoreobviousthaninthe qualitygamesondevicesthatlacktheusual betweenintentanddeedisthemajor gamingmarket.Todaysmobilegames,while graphicscardandprocessorcombinationthat problemforcloudgaming.Twitch-gaming afarcryfromNokiasoriginalSnake,arent coststhesharpendofagrand.Atleast,thats titlessuchasmultiplayerfirst-person asimpressiveastheirdesktopequivalents. theidea. shootersrequireincrediblyaccuratetiming Theresnodenyingthatsome,suchasEpics GAIKAI AND NVIDIA ontheplayerspartanydelaycanbeakiller InfinityBlade,pushtheenvelopeofwhatis Oneofthebiggestnamesincloudcomputing andtheresplentyofpotentialfordelaywith possiblefromamobiledevice,buttheyll isGaikai.Foundedin2008byDavePerry,the cloudgaming. alwaysbehamperedbytherelativelackof manbehindclassicgamesincluding Ignoringtheactualrenderingofthegame, memoryandprocessinggruntcomparedwith EarthwormJimandMDK,Gaikaihasmadea whichshouldnttakelongerthanahigh-end PCorevenconsolegames.Atleast,untilyou seriousnameforitselfinthefledglingcloud PC,therearetwopathspronetodelaysin begintothinkoutsidethehandset. gamingindustrywithpartnershipsincluding cloudgaming:thepathfromthegamertothe CLOUD GAMING ElectronicArts,SamsungandNvidia. server,andthepathbackfromtheserverto Theideaofcloudgamingisntexactlynew, Thatlatterpartnershiphasresultedinthe thegamer.Whentheplayerhitsakeyor buildingonthin-clientnetworkingconcepts launchingofanentireplatform,GeForceGrid, tapsthescreen,inthecaseoftabletor fromthemainframeera.Ratherthanhaving whichequipsserverswithspeciallydesigned smartphonethatinstructionhastoreach expensive,energy-hungrymachineson low-latencyNvidiagraphicsboardsdubbed theserver,beprocessedintoanin-game everybodysdesksandseeingtheprocessors GridProcessors.FeaturingdualKeplerGPUs action,getrendered,andthentheresulting sitidleformostoftheirlives,youinsteadpush with3,072CUDAcores,8GBofmemoryanda videoandaudioreturnedtotheplayer. theheavyliftingofftoapowerfulcentral 250WTDP,theboardsaredesignedtooffer AccordingtoNvidiasmeasurements, serverandputfarlesspowerfuldeviceson lag-freerenderingofuptofourplayer aconsolepluggedintoaTVthroughHDMI thedesk. sessionsperserver. requiresaround100msforin-game
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November 2012
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Cloudgaming,viaGeForceGrid, promisesthesameexperiencefrom smartphonestodesktops
CONTROL IS KEY
Cloudgamingonmobiledeviceshasanother hurdletojumptoo:controls.Withthemajority oftodaysbig-budgetgameswrittenfora consolecontrolleror keyboardandmouse combo,abuttonfreetouch-screen deviceishardlythe idealinterface. BothGaikai Mainstreamsuccess andOnLive mayhaveeludedOnLive, haveattemptedto butitsMicroConsole provedcloudgaming circumventthis doesntneedbulky issuebydeveloping client-sidehardware on-screenmultitouchcontrolsthatemulateacontroller, completewithbuttonsandananalogue stick.Thismeansthattheplayershands obscurepartofthescreen,however,and offerslittletactilefeedback. OnepossiblesolutionistheTactusTactile Layer(seeIssue108,p20),asurfacethat raisestheshapeofagamepadondemandfor amoretactileexperience.Sony,meanwhile, hasgoneintheoppositedirectionwithits XperiaPlayhandset,whichfeaturesaslideoutDualShock-inspiredphysicalcontroller. TheupcomingWikiPadtablet,poweredby NvidiasTegra3,usesathirdoption:a removablecontrollerjacketthataddstwo analoguesticks,adirectionpad,andbothface andtriggerbuttonscomfiergaming. OnLivesrecentfinancialwoesmighthave setbackmainstreamcloudgamingforafew years,butwithGakaiandNvidiainvestinga lotintothetechnology,itsstilllikelythatPC gamerswontbeabletosneeratmobile gamersformuchmorethanafewyears.
processingandafurther66mstodisplaythe resultantframe.This166msbest-casetarget wassoundlymissedbyfirst-generationcloud gamingplatforms,whichwereforcedtoadd ona30mscaptureandencodepipeline,a 75msnetworkdelay,andafurther15msfor theclientsystemtodecodethecompressed videoandaudiostreamforatotalof286ms. Giventhesamenetworkconditions,Nvidia claimsthatGaikaisGeForceGrid-powered platformcutsthegamepipelinestageinhalf to50ms,thecaptureandencodestageto 10ms,thenetworkdelayto30ms,andthe decodestageto5mswhileretainingthe hardware-limited66msdisplaytimefora console-matchingtotalof166ms.That ratherconvenient-soundingfiguremeans thatcloudgamingcannow,intheory,match theexperienceofconsolegaming,butwithout theneedforanexpensiveconsole.
WHITHER MOBILE?
Mobilegaming,however,isadifferentbeast. Consolesmicroorotherwisehavethe advantageofsittinginthehomeontheendof, typically,ahigh-speedfixed-linebroadband connection.OnLive,for
example,states thatitssystem requiredaminimum 1Mb/secconnectionto work,with1.5Mb/secto2Mb/ secrecommended.Theslowerthe connection,themoreheavilycompressed thevideostreamresultinginanexperience thatsmorelikewatchingabadlypiratedvideo thanplayingaconsole-qualitygame. Gamingontabletsaddsanother dimension:wirelessnetworking.Some tabletsthatcanacceptawirednetwork exist,buttheyrerare;mostuserswillconnect throughWiFi,eitherathomeorusingapublic hotspot.Mostly,youmaybesurprisedtohear, thisworksjustfine;aslongastheconnection attheendoftheWiFiaccesspointisofahigh enoughqualityandrelativelyuncontentious, thestreamlargelyworksaspromised. Smartphonesareacompletelydifferent matter,however.Mostmobilegamersplay theirgameswhenotherdistractionsare unavailable,suchasduringlongpublic transportjourneys.Inalargenumberof cases,thismeansa3Gor,ifyoureinapoor signalarea,EDGEor2Gmobiledata connection.Withlatencyonmobile networksrisingashighas500ms, cloudgamingbecomesafar moredifficultproposition, leavingthosewithout accesstoaWiFi-enabled broadbandconnection stuckwithgamessuch asAngryBirds,rather thanCounter-Strike.
TheWikiPadattemptstosolvethecontrolproblemwith adetachablegamingjacket
isthenewsreporterat www.bit-tech.net.He knowsallabout the latestnewsinPCandmobiletech. @ghalfacree
GARETH HALFACREE
WorldMags.net
November 2012
21
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Our choice of the best hardware available

A
You dont have to spend an astronomical sum to get a decent PC. Our stunning value build includes 4GB of branded memory and a quad-core AMD Llano APU with integrated graphics
MOTHERBOARD APU RAM COOLING
PSU
HARD DISK
OPTICAL DRIVE
OPERATING SYSTEM
UPDATED
NAME SUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk www.ebuyer.com www.cclonline.com www.overclockers.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.cclonline.com www.amazon.co.uk MANUFACTURER www.antec.com www.gigabyte.com www.amd.com www.crucial.com www.gelidsolutions.com www.bequiet.com www.seagate.com www.liteonit.eu www.microsoft.com REVIEWED Issue 108, p36 Issue 98, p34 Issue 103, p38 Issue 100, p96 Issue 100, p86 Issue 110, p55 Issue 104, p72 Issue 99, p108 Issue 75, p46 PRICE (inc VAT) 40 69 80 26 25 55 48 13 102
A B C D E F G H I
Antec One Gigabyte GA-A75M-UD2H AMD A8-3870K Black Edition 4GB Crucial Ballistix Sport PC3-12800C9 Gelid Tranquillo Rev.2 Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 530W 500GB Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 Lite-On IHAS124-19 Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE
458
Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB Hard Drive
An amazing storage drive for the price! 5,900 rpm Spin Speed 64MB Cache 2TB Storage Capacity SATA 6Gbps Interface CCL Code - HDD1137
WERE AWARD WINNERS!
www.cclonline.com
24 April 2012
PC Pro 2011
Highly Commended
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77.56
P rices correct at time of goi ng t o publ i shi ng. I mages are f or i l l ust rat i ve purposes onl y.
A
As Core i7 motherboards and high-end graphics cards command a premium price, here are some components for a Core i5 PC that offer great performance and wont break the bank
MOTHERBOARD CPU RAM COOLING GRAPHICS CARD
PSU
HARD DISK
SOUND CARD
SOLID STATE DRIVE
OPERATING SYSTEM
UPDATED
NAME SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.amazon.co.uk www.dabs.com www.amazon.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.dabs.com www.scan.co.uk www.cclonline.com www.amazon.co.uk MANUFACTURER www.silverstonetek.com www.gigabyte.com www.intel.co.uk www.patriotmemory.com www.arctic.ac www.sapphiretech.com www.bequiet.com www.seagate.com http://uk.asus.com www.samsung.com www.liteonit.eu www.microsoft.com REVIEWED Issue 103, p70 Issue 108, p38 Issue 106, p36 Issue 106, p40 Issue104, p48 Issue 105, p40 Issue 110, p55 Issue 104, p75 Issue 99, p108 Issue 104, p68 Issue 99, p108 Issue 75, p46 PRICE (inc VAT) 104 79 173 39 28 198 55 76 24 80 13 102
A B C D E F G H I J K L
SilverStone Raven RV03 Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H Intel Core i5-3570K 8GB Patriot G2 PGD38G1600ELK Arctic Freezer i30 Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 530W Seagate Barracuda 2TB ST2000DM001 Asus Xonar DG Samsung SSD 830 128GB Lite-On IHAS124-19 Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE
971
Fractal Design Core 1000 PC Case

A unique combination of design, features, cooling performance and value 2x 3.5" Bays, 2x 5.25" Bays 2x Front USB 2.0 1x Front 120mm Fan Supports up to 3x 2.5 SSDs CCL Code - CAS0478
www.cclonline.com/cpc 08000 50 10 10
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31.19
April 2012
25
P r ices correct at time of going to publishi ng. I mages are f or i l l ust rat i ve purposes onl y.

A
This PC has the potential to be the finest gaming machine you can find as well as an excellent all-round computer for office work, digital photography, video production and media playback
MOTHERBOARD CPU RAM COOLING GRAPHICS CARD
PSU
HARD DISK
SOUND CARD
SOLID STATE DRIVE
OPERATING SYSTEM
UPDATED
NAME SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.amazon.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.ebuyer.co.uk www.cclonline.com www.amazon.co.uk
UPDATED
MANUFACTURER www.silverstonetek.com http://uk.asus.com www.intel.co.uk www.patriotmemory.com www.bequiet.com www3.pny.com www.seasonic.com www.seagate.com http://uk.asus.com www.ocztechnology.com www.liteonit.eu www.microsoft.com REVIEWED Issue 85, p88 Issue 106, p64 Issue 106, p36 Issue 106, p40 Issue 91, p74 Issue 105, p36 Issue 110, p59 Issue 104, p75 Issue 80, p63 Issue 104, p68 Issue 99, p108 Issue 75, p46 PRICE (inc VAT) 188 150 173 39 41 408 120 76 58 165 13 102
A B C D E F G H I J K L
SilverStone Fortress FT02B-W USB 3.0 Asus Maximus V Gene Intel Core i5-3570K 8GB Patriot G2 PGD38G1600ELK Be Quiet! Dark Rock Advanced PNY GeForce GTX 680 2GB Seasonic X-Series 660W Seagate Barracuda 2TB ST2000DM001 Asus Xonar DX OCZ Vertex 4 256GB Lite-On IHAS123-19 Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE
1,533
Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D2V Motherboard
Amazing price Socket 1155 motherboard! Socket 1155 Motherboard MicroATX Form Factor Up to 16GB DDR3 Memory Gigabit LAN CCL Code - MBD0340
WERE AWARD WINNERS!
www.cclonline.com
26 April 2012
PC Pro 2011
Highly Commended
WorldMags.net
41.34
P rices correct at time of g oi ng t o publ i shi ng. I mages are f or i l l ust rat i ve purposes onl y.
A
The most awesome components around, before reaching workstation territory. Weve included a dual 120mm liquid cooler kit as a base example, but the case has space for a variety of water-cooling setups
MOTHERBOARD CPU RAM GRAPHICS CARD COOLING
PSU
SOLID STATE DRIVE
SOUND CARD
HARD DISK
OPERATING SYSTEM
UPDATED
NAME SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.saverstore.com www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.ebuyer.co.uk www.amazon.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.amazon.co.uk MANUFACTURER www.silverstonetek.com http://uk.asus.com www.intel.co.uk www.kingston.com www.nvidia.com www.corsair.com www.bequiet.com www.ocztechnology.com www.uk.europe.creative.com www.seagate.com www.microsoft.com REVIEWED Issue 63, p87 Issue 106, p64 Issue 106, p36 Issue 106, p40 Issue 106, p46 Issue 91, p 74 Issue 110, p64 Issue 107, p44 Issue 62, p61 Issue 104, p75 Issue 75, p46 PRICE (inc VAT) 263 150 246 40 780 82 167 165 84 76 102
A B C D E F G H I J K
SilverStone Temjin TJ07B-W Asus Maximus V Gene Intel Core i7-3770K 8GB Kingston HyperX Genesis KHX1866C11D3P1K2/8G Nvidia GeForce GTX 690 2GB Corsair H100 Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850W OCZ Vertex 4 256GB Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro Seagate Barracuda 2TB ST2000DM0001 Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE
2,155
Iiyama ProLite 24 LCD Monitor
129.97
True HD 1920 x 1080, incredible 2ms response time with VGA, DVI and HDMI! 1x HDMI, 1x VGA, 1x DVI-D, Speakers 1920 x 1080 Full HD Resolution 2ms Response Time Built-in Stereo Speakers CCL Code - MON0249
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April 2012
27
P r i c es correct at time of going to publishing. I mages are f or i l l ust rat i ve purposes onl y.
TYPE NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED PRICE(incVAT)
GRAPHICS CARD Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB www.amazon.co.uk www.sapphiretech.com Issue 102, p61 128
GRAPHICS CARD Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 www.amazon.co.uk www.sapphiretech.com Issue 105, p40 198
GRAPHICS CARD PNY GeForce GTX 680 2GB www.scan.co.uk www3.pny.com Issue 105, p36 408
CPU Intel Core i5-3570K www.scan.co.uk www.intel.co.uk Issue 106, p36 173
MOTHERBOARD Asus Maximus V Gene www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue 106, p64 150
COOLER Arctic Freezer i30 www.dabs.com www.arctic.ac Issue 104, p48 29
RAM 8GB Patriot G2 PGD38G1600ELK www.amazon.co.uk www.patriotmemory.com Issue 106, p40 38
Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD 7770 1GB Graphics Card
Take your game performance to the next level HDMI, DVI-I, Mini-DisplayPort 1GB GDDR5 Memory 5000MHz Memory Clock 1000MHz Core Clock CCL Code - VGA0674
WERE AWARD WINNERS!
www.cclonline.com
28 April 2012
PC Pro 2011
Highly Commended
WorldMags.net
94.94
P rices correct at time of g oi ng t o publ i shi ng. I mages are f or i l l ust rat i ve purposes onl y.
CPU Intel Core i7-3930K www.novatech.co.uk www.intel.co.uk Issue 101, p32 435
MOTHERBOARD Asus Sabertooth X79 www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue 101, p70 257
COOLER Corsair H80 www.dabs.com www.corsair.com Issue 101, p86 72
RAM 16GB Corsair Vengeance CAS9 DDR3 www.dabs.com www.corsair.com Issue 101, p40 80
CPU AMD A8-3870K www.cclonline.com www.amd.com Issue 103, p38 80
MOTHERBOARD Gigabyte GA-A75M-UD2H www.ebuyer.com www.gigabyte.com Issue 98, p34 69
COOLER Gelid Tranquillo Rev.2 www.scan.co.uk www.gelidsolutions.com Issue 100, p86 25
RAM 4GB Crucial Ballistix Sport PC3-12800C9 www.overclockers.co.uk www.crucial.com Issue 100, p96 26
Acer G6 Series 21.5 Full HD LED Monitor

Acer's gaming style Full HD LED monitor 1x VGA, 1x DVI-D Inputs 1920 x 1080 Full HD Resolution 5ms Response Time LED-backlit Monitor CCL Code - MON0937
WorldMags.net
April 2012 29
82.99
P r i c es correct at time of going to publishing. I mages are f or i l l ust rat i ve purposes onl y.
LGA1155 CPU WATERBLOCK XSPC RayStorm CPU www.aquatuning.co.uk www.xs-pc.com Issue 107, p60 51
GEFORCE GTX 680 WATERBLOCK XSPC Razor GTX680 www.aquatuning.co.uk www.xs-pc.com Issue 107, p65 90
RADEON HD 7970 WATERBLOCK Aquacomputer aquagrATIx for HD 7970 www.aquatuning.co.uk www.aquacomputer.de Issue 107, p67 76
DUAL 120MM RADIATOR Alphacool NexXxos UT60 Full Copper 240mm www.aquatuning.co.uk www.alphacool.com Issue 107, p72 50
BUDGET CASE Antec One www.overclockers.co.uk www.antec.com Issue 108, p36 40
MICRO-ATX CASE SilverStone TJ08-E www.scan.co.uk www.silverstonetek.com Issue 98, p48 79
AIR-COOLING CASE SilverStone Raven RV03 www.scan.co.uk www.silverstonetek.com Issue 103, p70 104
WATER-COOLING CASE SilverStone Temjin TJ07B-W www.scan.co.uk www.silverstonetek.com Issue 63, p87 263
tter Gra Our best selling gaming PC evolved - Be

30
phics, Bigger Hard Drive - Better Deal!
AMD FX-4100 3.6GHz CPU, 8GB DDR3 Memory, AMD Radeon HD 7770 WorldMags.net April 2012 1TB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Built-in Wi-Fi, 2 Year Warranty
UPDATED
TYPE NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED PRICE(incVAT) 530W PSU Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 530W www.scan.co.uk www.bequiet.com Issue 110, p55 55
UPDATED
660W PSU Seasonic X-Series 660W www.scan.co.uk www.seasonic.com Issue 110, p59 120
UPDATED
850W PSU XFX Pro 850W XXX Edition www.ebuyer.co.uk www.xfxforce.com Issue 110, p71 107 1.2kW PSU Antec High Current Pro 1200W www.ebuyer.com www.antec.com Issue 96, p48 228
UPDATED
TYPE NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED PRICE(incVAT) HARD DISK Seagate Barracuda 2TB ST2000DM001 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue 104, p75 76 SSD OCZ Vertex 4 256GB www.ebuyer.co.uk www.ocztechnology.com Issue 107, p44 165 NAS BOX Synology DiskStation DS212j www.dabs.com www.synology.com Issue 104, p50 160
www.cclonline.com 10 10 WorldMags.net Call us on 08000 50 April 2012 31

M o n i t o r s a n d d e s k t o p b u n d l e s a r e a v a i l a b l e s e p a r a t e l y.
24IN MONITOR Dell UltraSharp U2412M www.scan.co.uk www.dell.com Issue 105, p64 227
27IN MONITOR Dell UltraSharp U2711 www.cclonline.com www.dell.co.uk Issue 81, p56 512
TRIPLE-MONITOR STAND XFX Triple Display Monitor Stand www.scan.co.uk www.xfxforce.com Issue 96, p58 299
SOUND CARD Asus Xonar DX www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue 80, p63 58
2.1 SPEAKERS Corsair SP2500 www.scan.co.uk www.corsair.com Issue 92, p79 184
HEADSET Asus Vulcan ANC www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue 98, p57 76
5.1 SPEAKERS Logitech Z906 www.ebuyer.com www.logitech.com Issue 102, p50 255
d - Be Our best selling Intel gaming PC evolve

32 April 2012
tter Graphics - Bigger Hard Drive
Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz CPU, 8GB DDR3 Memory, NVIDIA GeForce WorldMags.net GTX 560Ti, 1TB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, 2 Year Warranty
KEYBOARD Mionix Zibal 60 www.systo.co.uk www.mionix.net Issue 108, p71 107
MOUSE Maonix Naos 3200 www.overclockers.co.uk www.mionix.net Issue 108, p60 35
STEERING WHEEL Logitech G27 www.scan.co.uk www.logitech.com Issue 92, p108 206
JOYSTICK Logitech Flight System G940 www.scan.co.uk www.logitech.com Issue 92, p109 228
TYPE NAME DEVELOPER PUBLISHER REVIEWED PRICE(incVAT)
RPG Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim www.bethsoft.com Bethesda Issue 101, p100 30
FPS Deus Ex: Human Revolution www.square-enix.com www.square-enix.com Issue 98, p96 30
STRATEGY Frozen Synapse www.mode7games.com www.mode7games.com Issue 96, p92 19 for two
UNDERDOG Trine 2 http://frozenbyte.com http://frozenbyte.com Issue 102, p98 12
www.cclonline.com 10 10 WorldMags.net Call us on 08000 50 April 2012 33

M o n i t o r s a n d d e s k t o p b u n d l e s a r e a v a i l a b l e s e p a r a t e l y.
Our in-depth analysis of the latest PC hardware
Apint-sized,overclocked high-endPC
3XS FT03 38 SCAN NANU
Canthis24inVApanel justifyits200price?
PHILIPS C-LINE 40 249C4QH
Only1.3Vrequiredfora 4.8GHzIvyBridgeCPU
42 GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UP4-TH
Itcaneventamean overclockedLGA2011chip
44 THERMALTAKE FRIO EXTREME
75worthofgaming mouselookslike?
RAZER TAIPAN 46 Everwonderedwhat 50 VERSUS TOUCHPAD 7 8GB AnAndroidtabletthat costsjust90
GIGABYTE KRYPTON Doesthishugemousemat havetheKryptonfactor?
51
VIEW QUEST iDICE SPEAKER Thatsthewayweroll aroundhere
51
ZALMAN ZM-DS1000 Brushedaluminiumto stickunderyourmonitor

36
51
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November 2012
WorldMags.net
HOWWETEST,P48
1,533streamprocessorsanda 915MHzGPUclock.Isthis really aGTX670for50less? 36
PNY GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB
WorldMags.net
November 2012
35
PNY Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB

TITANIUM 50 cheaper than GTX 670; only 7 per cent slower than GTX 670 at 1,920 x 1,080 SCRAP IRON 192-bit memory interface limits speed; expensive; cheaper Kepler cards on the way
Reasonably priced and quick, but not the 200 card we really want
HOW MUCH?
Price 240incVAT Supplier www.scan.co.uk Manufacturer www.pny.com
IN DETAIL
Graphicsprocessor GTX660 Ti2GB,915MHz-980MHz guaranteed Pipeline 1,344stream processors(915MHz980MHzguaranteed), 24ROPs Memory 2GBGDDR5,6GHz effective Bandwidth 144GB/sec, 192-bitinterface Compatibility DirectX11.1, OpenGL4.1 Outputs/Inputs 2xDVI, HDMI,DisplayPort,2xSLI PowerConnections 2x 6-pin,top-mounted Size 240mmlong,dual-slot
ased around the same GK104 architecture asedaroundthesameGK104architecture astherestofNvidias6-seriesGPUs,the GeForceGTX660Tihasthesamestreaming multiprocessor(SM)disabledastheGTX670 2GB,resultinginastreamprocessorcountof1,344.Its clockspeedsmatchthoseoftheGTX6702GBtoo,with abaseclockof915MHzandaguaranteedboostclock of980MHz,althoughyoucanexpectsomecardsto boosttoupto1,115MHz,. Whileitsounds,sofar,likeaGTX670for50less, NvidiahasmadeacrucialcuttotheGTX660Ti2GBs memoryinterface.Oneofthefour64-bitmemory controllershasbeendisabled,alongsidetheeight ROPsand128KBofL2cacheassociatedwithit, reducingthecardsROPcountto32,L2cacheto 384KBandmemoryinterfacefrom256-bitto192-bit. Thisinturnreducesthememorybandwidth, alreadyarguablyGK104sweakpoint,to144GB/sec thankstoa1.5GHz(6GHzeffective)memoryfrequency. Whilethismightnotimpactperformancetoomuchat lowerresolutions,highresolutions,suchas5,760x 1,080usedinthree-screengaming,hammeracards memorybandwidth.Assuch,theGTX660Ti2GBis unlikelytobeabletocompleteatthesesettings. Otherwise,theGTX660Ti2GBissosimilartothe GTX6702GBthattheyevenusethesamestockPCB andcooler.ThismeansthatthePCBisstilljust 175mmlong,withtheblackdual-slotcooleradding anextra65mmforatotallengthof240mm.Aradial fanpushesairdownthelengthofthecard,througha tightlypackedaluminiumfinstackontopoftheGPU, beforebeingexhaustedouttherearI/O.Hereyoull alsofindtwoDVIports,anHDMIconnectorandafullsizedDisplayPort.Meanwhile,twotop-mounted6-pin PCI-Epowerconnectorssupplypower.
cheaper 220 HD 7870 2GB. Once we get to 5,760 x cheaper220HD78702GB.Oncewegetto5,760x 1,080,however,the192-bitmemoryinterfaceofthe GTX660Ti2GBshows,withaminimumofjust16fps. Crysis2withitsDX11andhigh-restexturepackisa monstertorun;at1920x1,080,theGTX660Ti2GBs minimumframerateof46fpswas3fpsslowerthan theGXT6702GBand2fpsslowerthantheHD7950 3GB.At2,560x1,600,theGTX660Ti2GBduelledwith theHD78702GB,whileat5,760x1,080,itsminimum ofjust16fpsplacesitatthebottomoftheheap. Happily,performanceinDirt3wasmuchbetter, withaminimumof105fpsat1,920x1,080with4xAA beingjust6percentslowerthantheGTX6702GBand 12percentfasterthanthe79503GB.Itwasmuch closerat2,560x1,600with4xAAthough.Whilethe GTX6702GBwasaround6percentfaster,theHD7950 3GBwasjust1fpsslowerthantheGTX660Ti2GB. InSkyrim,however,theGTX660Ti2GBsminimum of60fpsat2,560x1,600was11percentslowerthan theGTX6702GB,butalso7percentfasterthantheHD 79503GB,andevenfasterat5,760x1,080. WithitssimilaritiestotheGTX6702GB,theGTX660 Ti2GBdrewnearlythesameamountofpoweratidle andload89Wand228Wrespectively.ApeakdeltaT of64CindicatesthattheGTX660Tiusesadifferent thermalprofile,though,anditscoolingfanwasnt quieteither,revvinguptoaudiblelevelsunderload.
CONCLUSION
At1,920x1,080,theGTX660Ti2GBlooksstrong;its generallyonly7percentslowerthantheGTX6702GB, and50cheaper.However,itsperformancegapgrows byasmuchas30percentathigherresolutions,andin memory-intensivegamessuchasCrysis2. Assuch,wehavereservationsaboutitsfuture performanceinnext-gentitles.A250GPUshould bealong-terminvestment,andtheGTX660Ti2GB alreadyshowssomecracksinitsperformance.If youreplayinggamesat1,920x1,080,though,theGTX 660Ti2GBisasolidchoice.Justbeawarethatcheaper Keplercards,suchastheGTX6602GB,willbearriving veryshortly,andmightbebetterfortightbudgets.
HARRY BUTLER
PERFORMANCE
Despitetheirsimilarspecs,theGTX660Ti2GBscuts areobviousinBattlefield3.At1,920x1,080with4xAA, itsminimumframerateof54fpsis10percentslower thanthatoftheGTX6702GBinthesametest,but thisisstillenoughtoconvincinglysurpassthenow comparativelypriced250HD79503GBandslightly
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GRAPHICS CARD
1,920 x 1,080, 4x AA, 16x AF
BATTLEFIELD 3 (DX11)
54 fps 60 fps 46 fps 44 fps 58 fps 54 fps 65 fps 72 fps
1,920 x 1,080, Ultra detail
CRYSIS 2 (DX11)
GeForce GTX 660 2GB GeForce GTX 670 2GB Radeon HD 7950 3GB Radeon HD 7870 2GB 0
2,560 x 1,600, 4x AA, 16x AF
GeForce GTX 660 2GB GeForce GTX 670 2GB Radeon HD 7950 3GB Radeon HD 7870 2GB
46 fps 61 fps 49 fps 73 fps
25
50
75
100 GeForce GTX 660 2GB GeForce GTX 670 2GB Radeon HD 7950 3GB Radeon HD 7870 2GB
0
25
21 fps 27 fps 26 fps 22 fps 30 fps
50
75
100
5,760 x 1,080, 4 x AA, 16x AF
37 fps 37 fps 29 fps
25
50
75
100
0
25
50
75
100
GeForce GTX 660 2GB 12 fps GeForce GTX 670 2GB

18 fps
Radeon HD 7950 3GB 13 fps Radeon HD 7870 2GB 12 fps 50 75 100 0
25
25
50
75
100
1,920 x 1,080, 4x AA, 16x AF
DIRT 3 (DX11)
1,920 x 1,080, 4x AA, 16x AF
THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM (DX9)

2,560 x 1,600, 4x AA, 16x AF
2,560 x 1,600, 4x AA, 16x AF
25
50
75
100 GeForce GTX 660 2GB GeForce GTX 670 2GB Radeon HD 7950 3GB Radeon HD 7870 2GB 100 GeForce GTX 660 2GB GeForce GTX 670 2GB Radeon HD 7950 3GB Radeon HD 7870 2GB
25
50
75
100
AcomparisonbetweentheGTX680 (above)andtheGTX660Ti(below)note thereductioninL2cache,aswellasthe missingROPs,memorycontrollerand streamingmultiprocessor
5,760 x 1,080, 4 x AA, 16x AF
25
46 fps
50
75
0
5,760 x 1,080, 4 x AA, 16x AF
25
32 fps 38 fps 29 fps 28 fps 34 fps 33 fps
50
40 fps 46 fps
75
100
GeForce GTX 660 2GB GeForce GTX 670 2GB Radeon HD 7950 3GB Radeon HD 7870 2GB 0 25 Minimum
49 fps 48 fps 43 fps
50 Average
75
100
25 Minimum
50 Average
75
100
PEAK TOTAL SYSTEM POWER DRAW

GeForce GTX 660 2GB GeForce GTX 670 2GB Radeon HD 7950 3GB Radeon HD 7870 2GB 0 Idle
89 W 88 W 89 W 88 W 118 W 228 W 230 W 227 W
PEAK GPU TEMPERATURE (DELTA T)

GeForce GTX 660 2GB 10 C GeForce GTX 670 2GB Radeon HD 7950 3GB Radeon HD 7870 2GB 150 200 250 Lower is better 0 Idle
11 C 15 C 6 C 40 C 55 C 57 C 64 C
50 100 Gaming
20 Load
40
60
80
Lower is better
SPEED 34 / 40 FEATURES 26 / 30
customPC
VALUE 27 / 30 OVERALL
87
TEST KIT
3.3GHzIntelCorei52500K CPU,AsusP8P67 motherboard,4GBCorsair1,600MHzDDR3memory, CrucialM225128GBSSD,Windows764-bit,Nvidia GeForce304.48beta,AMDCatalyst12.7beta
WorldMags.net customPC
November 2012
37
SCAN 3XS FT03 Nanu

Scan goes pint-sized with this high-end gaming pocket rocket
PICO Fast performance; tiny size; low noise; three-year warranty MICRO Limited overclocking headroom
HOW MUCH?
Price 1,279incVAT Supplier www.scan.co.uk Manufacturer www.scan.co.uk
IN DETAIL
CPU 3.5GHzIntelCore i7-3570Koverclockedto 4.4GHz Motherboard AsusP8Z77-I Deluxe Memory 8GB 1,600MHzCorsairDDR3 Vengeance Graphics EVGAGTX660Ti 2GB Sound On-board Harddisk 128GBCorsair Force3SSD,2TBSeagate Barracuda7200.14 Opticaldrives SonyBlu-ray reader Case SilverStoneFT03Mini Cooling CPU:CorsairH60; case1x140mbottom intakefan PSU SilverStone450W StriderSST-ST45SF Ports Front:2xUSB3,mic, headphone;Rear:4xUSB2, 4xUSB3,LAN,audioout, mic,headphone,optical S/PDIFout,2xDVI,HDMI, DisplayPort. Extras Windows7Home Premium Warranty Oneyearon-site, plustwoyearsRTB
hedinkyperformancePCmarketisrapidly expanding,withnewenthusiastmini-ITX motherboardsandcasesarrivingevery month.Afterall,whydoesyourPCneedafulltowercasewhensomethingaquarterofthesizewill do?AswesawinIssue109,amini-ITXPCcannowbe justaspowerfulasafull-sizedone,andScanisoneof thefirstPCmanufacturersweveseenofferingafullfullyconfigurableviaScanswebsite.Forinstance,you fatgamingPCfocusedpurelyonmini-ITXhardware. couldoptfora256GBSSDforanadditional66,or The3XSFT03NanuisbuiltinsideSilverStonesFT03 ditchtheBlu-raydriveandsave32.Asstandard,the Mini.Whenwelookedatit(seeIssue109,p60)we 3XSFT03Nanuincludesathree-yearwarrantytoo, decidedthatthepricewasalittletoohightowarrant withthefirstyearon-siteandtheremainingtwoyears usingitforyourownsystem.However,withour return-to-basewithpartsandlabourincluded. preferredcaseforahomebuild,BitFenixsProdigy Theaskingpriceof,1279maysoundalittlehigh (seeIssue109,p54),lackinginthebuildquality foraPCthatlacksadecentsoundcardandhigh-end department,theFT03Minimakessenseforasystem graphicscardtheDinoPCTyrannosaur3570K(see builder.Ithassuperbbuildquality,itlookssleekand Issue107,p36)costsjust20more,butitsimportant unimposing,anditwasthesmallestcaseontesttoo. torememberthattheGeForceGTX660Tiretailsfor Infact,thatthe3XSFT03Nanuisthesmallestgaming over250,andtheindividualcostofthecomponents, PCwevereviewedthatusesoff-the-shelfhardware. ThatdoesntmeanScanhasskimped oncomponentsthough.Thepricetagof A SLIMLINE BLU-RAY READER RESIDES 1,279buysyouanAsusP8Z77-IDeluxe IN THE SIDE, MEANING THAT THIS PC (seeIssue109,p66)lastmonthsLabsCOULD SIT UNOBTRUSIVELY UNDER winningmini-ITXmotherboardanIntel Corei5-3570Koverclockedto4.4GHz YOUR TV FOR MEDIA DUTIES TOO usingavcoreof1.3V,8GBofRAMandan shouldyoubuythemyourself,comestowellover EVGAGeForceGTX660Ti2GB(seep36).Meanwhile, 1,100.Thepremiumsavesyouthetrickytaskof forstorage,Scanhasoptedfora120GBCorsairForce buildingaPCintotheFT03Mini,overclockingand 3SSDanda2TBSeagateBarracuda7200.14hard installingWindows,aswellasnettingthepeaceof disk,whileaslimlineBlu-rayreaderresidesintheside mindofathree-yearwarranty. ofthecase,meaningthatthissystemcouldhappilysit unobtrusivelyunderyourTVandperformmedia PERFORMANCE centredutiestoo. InourMediaBenchmarks,the3XSFT03Nanuwas AstheFT03Minidoesnthavemuchroominside,a extremelyfast.Infact,theadditional100MHzofCPU largeaircoolerisoutofthequestion,asisahigh-end frequencyovertheDinoPCTyrannosaur3570K made all-in-oneliquidcooler.However,Scanhasmanaged itfasterinallthesetests.Ithadtheedgeby99points tofitaCorsairH60all-in-oneliquidcoolerinstead, intheGimpimageeditingtest,23pointsinthe whichwillbemuchbetterthanalow-profileaircooler. HandbrakeH.264videoencodingtestand233points Thereson-boardsoundforthesimplereasonthatthe inthemulti-taskingtest,givingitaleadof118points. motherboardhasnoadditionalexpansionslots. Unfortunately,ArmaIIreceivedalargepatch Basically,thespecificationismind-bogglinggiven betweentestingpreviousPCsandthe3XSFT03Nanu thetinysizeofthePC,andthe3XSFT03Nanuisalso
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MINI-ITX GAMING PC
Thepricetagof1,279buys youanAsusP8Z77-IDeluxe lastmonthsLabs-winning mini-ITXmotherboard
TheEVGAGeForceGTX660Ti2GBsitsverticallyinthecase, exhaustinghotairoutthetop.Eventhoughtheresonlyonecase fan,theGPUneverwentabove80Cinour24Clab
arrivinginourlab,soourgametestresultsarent directlycomparable.Evenso,the3XSFT03Nanu managedaminimumframerateof46fpsat1,920x 1,080atVeryHighsettings,sotheresplentyof headroomifyougameathigherresolutionsorwant toturnuptheeyecandytoabsolutemaximum. Wealsoputthe3XSFT03Nanuthroughourusual stresstestofPrime95and3DMark11tomakesure thatitwasstable,andwealsonotedthetemperatures andpowerdrawwhileitwasrunningthesetests.The CPUtoppedoutat78Cinour24Clab,withthe CorsairH60clearlydoingaverygoodjoband remainingquiet.TheGTX660Ti2GBwasalittle warmerat79C,butwasstillfairlyquiet,evenunder load.Incredibly,thesystemonlydrew256Wfromthe wallatpeaktoo,sothesmall450WSFXPSUsupplied byScanwillusuallybeunder50percentload. WecouldntpushtheCPUmuchhigherwithout seeingthetemperatureskyrocket,butwesqueezed alittlemoreoutofthegraphicscard,settlingona 70MHzcorefrequencyincreaseand100MHzmemory frequencyincrease.Thisadded3fpstotheaverage framerateinArmaII.Thesystemwasnoisieratthese settings,mainlyduetothegraphicscardandPSU whengaming,butitsnolouderthanotherPCsweve seenrecently.
Incredibly,thesystemonly drew256Wfromthewall atpeak,sothesmall450W SFXPSUsuppliedbyScan willusuallybeunder50per centload.
Althoughitsexpensive,the SilverStoneFT03Minicase makessenseforasystem builder.Ithassuperbbuild quality,itlookssleekand unimposing,anditwas thesmallestcaseinlast monthsmini-ITXLabstest.
CONCLUSION
TheScan3XSFT03Nanuisafantasticminigaming system.Despiteitssmallsizeandlownoise,the temperatureswerewellwithinlimits,althoughyou wontbeabletoapplycrazyoverclocks.Itsfasterthan somefull-sizedoverclockedIntelIvyBridgePCs,and youcanuseScansconfiguratortochoporchangetoo. Thethree-yearwarrantyistheicingonthecake.
ANTONY LEATHER
GIMP IMAGE EDITING

Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu 0 Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu 0 1,000 2,000 1,000
2,122
2,000 3,000 4,000
1,920 x 1,080, 16x AF, 4x AA
ARMA II
Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu 0 25
46 fps
50
57 fps
75 100
HANDBRAKE H.264 VIDEO ENCODING

3,440
3,000 4,000
Stock speed min
Stock speed avg
MULTI-TASKING
Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu 0 1,000
1,874
2,000 3,000 4,000
OVERALL
Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu 0 1,000 Stock speed
2,478
2,000 3,000 4,000
SPEED DESIGN HARDWARE VALUE
22 / 25 23 / 25 23 / 25 23 / 25
customPC
OVERALL
91
TheinsideoftheFT03Miniis verycramped,andslimline opticaldrivesandSFXPSUsare theonlyoptions.Despitethe PSUonlybeingratedat450W, thiswasmorethanenoughfor thesystem,whichdrew256W atpeak
WorldMags.net
November 2012
39
MONITOR
PHILIPS C-Line 249C4QH

A great-looking VA panel, but expensive and lacking in features and adjustability
BLADE Great picture quality out of the box BLUNT Lack of inputs; few adjustment options; expensive
PSmightbethedisplaytechnologytooptfor inthehighendofthemarket,butthatdoesnt meanyouhavetooptforabargain-basement TNpanelifyoureonatightbudget.VA (verticalalignment)panelssuchastheoneusedinthe PhilipsC-Line249C4QHcanofferaveryreasonable middlegroundbetweenpriceandpicturequality. However,at201,the249C4QHwillhavetobeavery specialVAmonitortojustifyitsprice,especiallywithits minimalfeatureset. The249C4QH doesntcaterforwall-mountingand multi-monitorbracketstherearenoVESAmounting holesandthebaseisnon-removable,asithousesall theinputsandOSDbuttons.Meanwhile,thebezelhas aminimal-3to15degreesoftilt,buttheresnoheight orswiveladjustment. Inputsareequallylimited,withjustoneVGAand twoHDMIports,andthereisntevenaDVItoHDMI adaptorintheboxforgraphicscardswithonlyDVI ports.Ontheplusside,anauxiliary3.5mmaudiojack actsasanHDMIaudiopass-through,soyoullstillbe abletouseHDMIaudio,eventhoughthe 249C4QH doesnthaveasetofinternalspeakers. Atitsdefaultsettings,themonitorspeak brightnessof249.2Cd/m2 wascertainlyhealthy, althoughthecolourtemperaturewasalittlehigh at6,875K,resultinginanoticeablebluetinge. Meanwhile,theaveragegammawasanexact2.2with littlevariance,andcolouraccuracywasonlyslightly offourtargetwithanaveragedE94of3.1.Wealso measuredanincrediblyhighcontrastratioof2,265:1, althoughthisisstillwellbelowthe5,000:1typical contrastratiothatPhilipsquotes.Basically,without anycalibration,the249C4QHcanstillproduceagreatlookingimage,anditalsohasanevenbacklightthat showednosignsofbleedaroundtheedges. VApanelshavemuchbetterviewinganglesthan TNscreenstoo,sothe249C4QHimpressedusinthis respect,evenifitcouldntmatchanIPSpanelthere wassomeminorcolourshiftatmoreextremeangles. Themattfinishalsohelpstodiffuselightreflections, althoughcoloursdonthavethesamevibrancyas theymightonaglossyscreen.
HOW MUCH?
Price 201incVAT Supplier www.lambda-tek.com Manufacturer www.philips.co.uk Productcode 249C4Q
Beyondtheslightlyhighcolourtemperature, thereslittlenottolikeaboutthe249C4QHoutofthe box,althoughtheresalwaysroomforimprovement andtweaking.However,thismeantbattlingwiththe awfultouch-sensitiveOSDbuttons.Theseareapain touse,especiallyinthedark,astheyarentbacklit;the basicmenusthemselvesofferverylittlecontrolover imagequalitytoo. Meanwhile,PhilipsSmartImagepresetsonlyseem toalterimagesharpness,andnoneofthesixoptions managedtoimprovethepictureatall. However,withsomeperseveranceusingourX-Rite i1colourmeter,the249C4QHcontinuedtoimpress. Afterdroppingthebrightnesstoamoreeye-friendly 125Cd/m2 andusingacalibrationtool,weloweredthe colourtemperaturetoamoreaccurate6,598Kand reachedanimpressiveaveragedE94of0.6. Theresulting contrastratioof1241:1wasalsostill impeccablyhigh,evenifitwashalftheoriginalvalue, whichmadeitveryeasytopickoutdetailsinourdark testvideo.
CONCLUSION
ThePhilipsC-Line249C4QHmightbelackingin termsoffeaturesandconnections,butitspicture qualityisexcellentforaVAdisplay.Despitethis, however,itstrugglestojustifyits201askingprice whenyoucouldbuyasuperiorIPSmonitorsuchas ViewSonicsVX2336s(seeIssue105,p74)for65less.
TOM MORGAN
IN DETAIL
Displaytype AMVATFT Dimensions(mm) 569x180 x434(WxDxH) Availablecolours Black Connections D-Sub,HDMI (HDCP) Viewablescreensize 24in Maximumresolution 1,920 x1,080 Contrastratio 5,000:1 (20,000,000:1dynamic) Brightness 250cd/m Responsetime 6ms(greyto-grey) Warranty ThreeyearsRTB
IMAGE 46 / 50 FEATURES 12 / 25 VALUE 15 / 25
73
OVERALL
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GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UP4-TH
Thunderbolt hits the mainstream, and its attached to a good board too
COOL RUNNINGS Stunning looks; premium components; overclocks well KOOL & THE GANG Thunderbolt yet to fully take off; pricey
HOW MUCH?
Price 160incVAT Supplier www.dabs.com Manufacturer www. gigabyte.com SKUnumber GA-Z77XUP4H-TH
IN DETAIL
Chipset IntelZ77 CPUsupport LGA1155Core i3,Corei5,Corei7,Pentium andCeleron Memorysupport 4slots: max32GBDDR3(3,200MHz) Expansionslots 3x16x PCI-E3slot(one16x,two8x orone8xandtwo4x),one PCI,three1xPCI-E2 Sound HDAudioviaRealtek ALC892 Networking RealtekGigabit Ethernet Overclocking CPUclock80133MHz,CPUMultiplier 16-63;maxvoltages,CPU 1.85V,RAM2.8V,PLL2.2V Ports 4xSATA3Gbps,2x SATA6Gbps,1xmSATA 3Gbps,1xPS/2,8xUSB3, 6xUSB2,LAN,2x Thunderbolt,4xsurround audioout,line-in,mic, opticalS/PDIFout,DVI, D-Sub,HDMI Dimensions(mm) 305x244 (ATX)
twaswaybackin2009thatIntelfirst the powerpassingthroughtheICsgetslostasheat, demonstrateditsThunderboltinterface sotheyllruncooler. (thenknownasLightPeak),boastingthatit Withlesspowerbeinglost,thisshouldalsoallow wouldbecomeasingleunifyingstandardfor theuseoflowervoltageswhenoverclocking, everything,fromstoragetonetworkinganddisplays. somethingwhichshouldinturnmakeanoverclocked Now,inthethirdquarterof2012,thefirstproducts IvyBridgeCPUruncooler.TheUP4Halsouseshighbasedonthestandardarefinallymakingitto current60A-ratedferritecorechokesamovethat Windows-baseddesktopPCs.Onesuchproductis Gigabyteclaimsimprovesefficiencyandreducesthe theGA-Z77X-UP4H-TH. heatoutputoftheVRMsevenfurther. TheresalottolikeabouttheUP4H.Forastart,it OutsideofUltraDurable5,however,theUP4H lookssimplybrilliantitsmatt-blackPCBexudes couldbecriticisedforlookingalittleskinnyinterms menace,andthegunmetalheatsinksdottedacross ofoverclockingfeatures,especiallygiventhatitcosts italsolookthepart,thankstotheirsubtleblue 160.Itlackson-boardpowerandresetbuttons,for highlightsandmottledfinish. example,andtheresnorear-mountedCMOSreset Itsspecssheetalsomakesimpressivereading,as switchorPOSTcoderead-outeither,allofwhichare theboardnotonlyboaststwooftheaforementioned totedbytheAsusMaximusVGene(seeIssue106,p64). Thunderboltports,butalsoafullbevyof displayoutputs,enoughUSB3portsto THE USE OF LOWER VOLTAGES sinkabattleshipandthree16xPCI-E3 WHEN OVERCLOCKING SHOULD IN slots.Multi-GPUenthusiastsshouldwait TURN MAKE AN OVERCLOCKED IVY amomentbeforereachingfortheircredit cards,however,asunlikethepairofhighBRIDGE CPU RUN COOLER endboardswesawlastmonth(seeIssue PERFORMANCE 109,p36),theUP4HdoesntsportaPLXsplittingchip. Outofthebox,theUP4Hprovedtobequickinour Thismeansthatthe16PCI-E3lanesprovidedbythe benchmarks,althoughitlaggedbehindourcurrent processorareallyouhave,sothesecondandthird recommendedZ77board,theAsusMaximusVGene, slotsarelimitedtofourlaneseach. bya1-2percentinallourMediaBenchmarkstests. Potentiallyoffarmoreimporttomostpeopleisthe Thisaddeduptoadifferenceof77pointsbetweenthe factthattheUP4HisalsooneofthefirstGigabyte twoboardsoverallscores,asmalldifferencethats boardstofeaturethefirmsnewUltraDurable5 barelynoticeableineverydayuse. technology,denotedbytheUPsuffix. Thiswasalsothecasewithgaming,withboth Thisbringsanumberofnewpowerfeatures, boardsproducingalmostidenticalresultsinour includingimprovedVRMcircuitry.Gigabytehas Shogun2:TotalWartest. draftedinInternationalRectifiersIR3550PowIRstage Withthestock-speedtestingoutoftheway,we ICs,whicharespecificallydesignedtorunasefficiently movedontooverclockingtheGigabyteboardtosee aspossible.Intheory,thisshouldmeanthatlessof
Theresadecent selectionofportson theback,althougha clearCMOSbuttonis notablyabsent
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LGA1155 MOTHERBOARD
whatitsfancynewVRMcircuitrycould reallydeliver.Thismeantnavigatingthe UP4HsEFI,whichisrelativelywelllaid out;theonlynigglewasthefactthatthe CPUfrequencyandvoltagesettingsare ondifferentpages.Thismeansthatyou havetotravelbackandforthifyourefinetuninganoverclock. Afterafewminutesofpokingaround, wehadourtestCPUrunningatits maximum4.8GHz.Intriguingly,theUP4H onlyrequiredavcoreof1.3Vtoachieve thisoverclocklessthanthe1.34V requiredbytheMaximusVGeneand milesbetterthanthe1.37Vwehadto pumpintoGigabytesownZ77X-UD5H (seeIssue106,p70). Thisaddssomecredencetothe companysclaimsthatitsnewVRMsare moreefficientthanthoseusedpreviously. Thecoretemperaturewasalsoavery reasonable81oCatthesesettings. Outofcuriosity,wealsopushed ourCPUupto4.9GHzbrieflytoseeif GigabytesVRMcircuitrycouldmakethis otherwiseunstableoverclockhold,butasusual,the CPUcrashedduringthevideoeditingportionofour MediaBenchmarks. WiththeoverclockedCPU,theUP4Hperformed brilliantly,evenoutstrippingtheMaximusVGeneto romphomewithaMediaBenchmarksscoreof2,849 anewZ77record,albeitonlyby10points. Gamingperformancealsosawanappreciable jump,althoughitwasntenoughtodistinguishthe boardfromthecompetition.
01 02
03
CONCLUSION
TheresalottorecommendtheGA-Z77X-UP4-TH.It looksgreat,overclockswellanditsnew-fangledVRMs havetangiblebenefits.Theonlyissueisthatthe Asus MaximusVGenenowcosts150,and hasmore overclockinghardwarefeatures.Thatsaid,theGeneis micro-ATX,soitisntforeveryone.Ifyourebuildinga newoverclockedPCandwantmoreexpansionspace, weheartilyrecommendtheUP4H.
PAUL GOODHEAD
GigabytesnewUltra Durable5technology enabledustooverclockourCPU to4.8GHzwithavcoreofjust1.3V
01
splitterchip,sothebottomtwo onlygetfourlaneseach
02 TherearethreePCI-E graphicsslots,butnoPLX 03 ThelackofaPOSTcode reader,oron-board
powerandresetbuttons,makes theboardlookalittleskinnyin termsofoverclockingfeatures
GIMP IMAGE EDITING

GA-Z77X-UP4-TH Maximus Gene V 0 GA-Z77X-UP4-TH Maximus Gene V 0 1,000 2,000 1,000
1,860 1,916
2,000
2,311 2,308
3,000 4,000
1,920 x 1,080, Default settings, no AA, no AF
SHOGUN 2: TOTAL WAR CPU TEST

GA-Z77X-UP4-TH
HANDBRAKE H.264 VIDEO ENCODING

3,328 4,260 3,461 4,229
3,000 4,000
Maximus Gene V 0
Stock speed min
25
50
Overclocked min
75
100
Stock speed avg
Overclocked avg
MULTI-TASKING
GA-Z77X-UP4-TH Maximus Gene V 0 1,000
1,789 1,831
1,977 1,971
3,000 4,000
2,000
OVERALL
GA-Z77X-UP4-TH Maximus Gene V 0 1,000 Stock speed
SPEED 41 / 45 FEATURES 27 / 30 VALUE 20 / 25
customPC
OVERALL
2,326 2,403
2,000 Overclocked
2,849 2,836
3,000 4,000
88
3.2GHzIntelCorei7-3770K CPU,8GB1,600MHz CorsairDDR3memory, 128GBPatriotWildfire SSD,NvidiaGeForceGTX 6802GBgraphicscard, Windows764-bit
TEST KIT
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November 2012
43
CPU COOLER
THERMALTAKE Frio Extreme

The Frio receives a monstrous update, but is it worth 72?
COLD Good cooling; variable fan controller COLDITZ Very expensive; large; noisy
HOW MUCH?
Price 72incVAT Supplier www.ebuyer.com Manufacturer www.thermaltake.com SKUnumber CLP0587
hermaltakesquietFrioruledtheroostin manysituations,especiallyathighheatloads. Assuch,theFrioExtremewillhaveatough jobbetteringitand,at72,itcompeteswith CorsairsH80toodangerousgroundforanaircooler. TheenormousExtrememeasures151x148x 160mm(WxDxH)withitstwo140mmfans,and weighs1.23kg.However,oneofthefanssitsoutsideof thetwoheatsinks,makingitfoulevenshortDIMMsin LGA2011systems,requiringyoutoraisethefan.Inour system,thismeantthesidepanelnolongerfitted,so wehadtosealittothecasewithtapetoensureafairtest. Thecoolerssix6mmheatpipesareboundtogether inapolishedcontactplate,althoughtheresnoeasyto-fitshroudforthetwo140mmfanstheseare securedusingfiddlyclips.However,thecoolercanonly beinstalledwithyourmotherboardoutsideyourcase, asthecentrefanblocksthemountingmechanism. Themountingmechanismisfairlystraightforward, though,withplatesfixingtothemotherboard,which areinturnsecuredbyahold-downplatestraddlingthe heatsink.Afullyvariablefancontrollerisalsoincluded. Atitslowestspeed,theExtremewas2Cwarmer thantheArcticFreezeri30andequaltotheCorsair H80atitslowestspeed.Atmaximumspeed,thedelta Tdroppedfrom41Cto39CmatchingtheFreezer i30,butslightlywarmerthantheH80.Ittamedour toastyLGA2011system,though,andmanagedadelta Tof60Catitslowestspeedand57Catfullspeed coolerthantheFreezeri30.AM3+coolingwasfinetoo, withadeltaTof46Catfullspeed.Sadly,however, evenatlowspeed,theFrioExtremeisntparticularly quietandfullspeedseesitmakeasubstantialdin.
results
INTEL LGA1155
Frio Extreme (high fan speed) Frio Extreme (low fan speed) Arctic Freezer i30 0
5C 5C 3C 39C 41C 39C
15
30
45 60 Lower is better
57C 60C 59C
INTEL LGA2011
Frio Extreme (high fan speed) Frio Extreme (low fan speed) Arctic Freezer i30 0
13C 15C 14C
15
30
46C 48C 52C
AMD SOCKET AM3+

Frio Extreme (high fan speed) Frio Extreme (low fan speed) Be Quiet! Dark Rock 2
9C 10C 12C
0 Idle
15 Load
30
scores: lGa1155
COOLING 33 / 40 customPC DESIGN 23 / 30 VALUE 20 / 30 OVERALL FITTING AVG
76 71 77
scores: lGa2011
IN DETAIL
Compatibility Intel:LGA775, LGA1156,LGA1155, LGA2011,LGA1366 AMD:SocketFM1/AM3+/ AM3/AM2+/AM2 Weight 1.25kg Size(mm) 151x148x160 (WxDxH) Fans 2x140mm Statednoise 18-38dBA
CONCLUSION
TheFrioExtremeisacapablecooler,butthereare betteroptionsavailable.LGA1155hastheArctic Freezeri30,whichisfarcheaperandjustasgood, whileLGA2011hastheoptionoftheFreezeri30orthe evencoolerCorsairH80.Meanwhile,AM3+owners willhearlessnoise,albeitwithslighterhigher temperatures,fromBeQuiet!sDarkRock2.
ANTONY LEATHER
scores: Socket am3+
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WorldMags.net
GAMING MOUSE
RAZER Taipan
Well-built and hefty, but let down by a high price and awkward shape
SOLID SNAKE Well built; satisfying weight TROUSER SNAKE Ludicrous price; awkward shape
HOW MUCH?
Price 75incVAT Supplier www.scan.co.uk Manufacturer www. razerzone.com SKUnumber RZ0100780100-R3U1
IN DETAIL
Connection Wired(braided) Material Plastic Sensor Laserandoptical Buttons 6,scrollwheel (withrocking) Formfactor Ambidextrous Sensitivity Upto8,200dpi Weight 132g Extras None
azerisoneofthemostprolific peripheralmanufacturers around;ithasagamingmouse, headsetorkeyboardforjustabout everysingletypeofgame,playstyleandbudget. Evenso,italwaysseemedtoneglectasmallbut Asyoudexpect,theTaipanalsohasadownloadable significantportionofthepopulationlefties. softwaresuitethatenablesyoutotweakeverything Infact,eventhespecialleft-handededitionofthe fromthelightingtothesensitivitysettings.The DeathAdderwasreleasedwellaftertheright-handed sensitivitygoesupto8,200dpi,andthemouseisfitted version.However,inabidtoappealtoeveryone,Razer withbothopticalandlasersensors,althoughwe hasrecentlyreleasedtheambidextrousTaipanand, generallyfindanythingabove3,000dpiisoverkill withapricetagof75,ithasalottoprove. anyway.Intriguingly,though,yoursettingsaresaved NotthatyoudimmediatelythinkRazerwhen remotelyonRazersservers,meaningthatyoucanuse lookingattheTaipan;itslow-slung,streamlined themwithanyTaipanmouseanywhereintheworld. shapeisworldsawayfromthebulbous, curvaceouslookthatgenerallytypifies THE MAIN BUTTONS HAVE A PLEASING Razerrodents.Thankfully,theexcellent buildqualityforwhichthecompanyhas CRUNCH WHEN PRESSED, AND THE becomeknownremainsintact,andthis SCROLL WHEEL IS VERY SOLID, WITH makesthemousefeelverysturdyand WELL-DEFINED SCROLL POINTS robust;youwonthearanyrattlesor squeaksfromill-fittingparts. WewerealsoimpressedbytheTaipansweight; Thisisasnazzyidea,butnecessitatestheneedto despitebeingasmallermouse,itstillfeels createaloginandusername,whichsomepeoplemay reassuringlyhefty.Themajorityofthisweightis findslightlyoverbearing. locatedlowinthechassistoo,givingthetrackingof CONCLUSION themouseadirectfeel. TheTaipanissolidlybuiltandfeelssatisfyinglyweighty, Unfortunately,ouroptimismwasshort-lived butitsshapeandsizemakeitawkwardtousefor actuallyusingtheTaipanforaprolongedperiodoftime anyonewithoutelf-likedigits,andthepriceisludicrous revealedittobejustalittletoosmallforouraverageforwhatsonoffer.Ifyoureafteranambidextrous sizedmitts.Theissueisthelowprofileofthemouse, mouse,saveyourself40andplumpforthe asthismeanstheresverylittleroomoneitherside SteelSeriesKana(seeIssue108,p66)instead. forfingers.Thisleftourringfingerandlittlefinger PAUL GOODHEAD desperatelyfightingforthesametinypatchof rubberisedplasticlikeapairofkidssquabblingover thebestseatonthebus. Thisisashame,asthemouseisotherwisea pleasuretouse.Themainbuttonshaveapleasing DESIGN 29 / 40 crunchwhenpressed,andthescrollwheelisvery solid,withwell-definedscrollpoints.Theside FEATURES 21 / 35 buttonsarealsoconvenientlylocated,althoughthe aforementionedheightissuecanmakebuttonson VALUE 10 / 25 OVERALL theoppositesideofyourthumbalittletrickytofind.
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WorldMags.net
Thorough testing and research is the key to evaluating whether a product is worth buying, and deciding whether or not theres a better alternative
We judge CPUs on whether they offer sufficient speed for the price. Part of a CPUs speed score comes from how overclockable it is. Every type of CPU is tested in the same PC, so all results are directly comparable.
Intel LGA1155
AsusMaximus IVGene-Z
4GB of Corsair 4GBofCorsair 1,600MHzDDR3
AMDFM1 AMD FM1
MSI A75MA-G55
4GB of Corsair 4GBofCorsair 1,600MHzDDR3
AMDSocket AM3+
AsusCrosshairIV Formula
4GBofCorsair 1,600MHzDDR3
NvidiaGeForce GTX5903GB
120GBPatriot Wildfire
Windows7 64-bit
TESTS: Weusethe CustomPC MediaBenchmarks,CinebenchR11.5,WPrimeandCrysis.Wealsotesttheresultantpowerdrawofthetest

PCwiththeCPUinstalled.ThesetestsrevealabroadrangeofperformancecharacteristicsfortheCPU,fromimageeditingtogamingand videoencodingto3Drendering.WerunallthetestswiththeCPUatstockspeedandagainwhenoverclockedtoitshighestfrequency.
Graphics cards are mainly evaluated on how fast they are for their price. However, we also consider the efficacy and quietness of the cooler. Every graphics card is tested in the same PC, so all results are directly comparable.
3.3GHzIntelCore i5-2500K
4GBCorsair1,600MHz DDR3
Asus P8P67 Rev 3 AsusP8P67Rev3
Windows 7 64-bit Windows764-bit SP1
The graphics card Thegraphicscard werereviewing
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HOW WE TEST
2.66GHzIntelCore2 DuoE6750
250GBSamsung SpinPointP120S
AsusP5KDeluxe WiFi-AP
Ourbenchmarksuite simulateshowpeople reallyusePCs,anda higherscoreisbetter. Youcandownload thesuitefrom www.tinyurl.com/ benchies
Motherboards are evaluated on everything from layout and features to overclockability and value for money. Every motherboard is tested with the same components, so all results are directly comparable.
Someproductsare gloriouslyoverthe top.Theseitemsof excellentoverkill earnourExtreme Ultraaward. PremiumGrade productsare utterlydesirable wedeatnothing butbeansuntilwe couldaffordthem. Productsworthy oftheProfessional awardmake you andyourbusiness appeareven moreawesome. Approvedproducts arethosethatdoa greatjobforthe money;theyrethe cannypurchasefor agreatPC.
Intel Core IntelCore i7-3770K
Motherboard ontest
8GBofCorsair 8GB of Corsair 1,600MHzDDR3
AMDA8-3870K AMD A8-3870K
Motherboard 4GBofCorsair ontest 1,600MHzDDR3
AMDPhenom Motherboard IIX61100TBE ontest
NvidiaGeForce GTX5903GB*
2TBWesternDigital 2TB Western Digital CaviarBlack
Windows Windows7 7 64-bit
TESTS: Weusethe CustomPC MediaBenchmarksandseveralgames,andalsotest thespeedsoftheboardsSATAports.Wetrytooverclockeverymotherboardwereview bytestingforamaximumQPI,baseclockorHTTaswellasoverclockingtheCPUtoits maximumair-cooledlevel.WerunourtestsatstockspeedandwiththeCPUoverclocked.

*Pleasenote:WetestedAMDFM1motherboardsusingtheon-boardgraphics,nottheNvidiaGeForceGTX5903GB
TESTS: ByusingthefastPCdetailedonthe left,wecanbesurethatanylimitationswesee areduetothegraphicscardontest.Wetestthe fourgames(right)attheirmaximumdetail settings,intheirhighestDirectXmode,andat threeresolutions.High-endcardsshouldbeable tosustainplayableframeratesat2,560x1,600, while1,920x1,080ismoreimportantformidrangecards; wenolongertestat1,680x1,050 because1,920x1,080issocheap.Wealsotryto overclockeverygraphicscardwetesttoseewhat differencethismakestothecardsperformance.
WorldMags.net
Forthosegadgets andgizmosthat reallyimpressus, orthatwecantlive without,theresthe CustomKitaward.
November 2012
49
Custom Kit
GADGET STAND
Written by Paul Goodhead Seen something worthy of appearing in Custom Kit? Send suggestions to paul_goodhead@dennis.co.uk
We check out the latest gadgets, gizmos and geek toys

BREFFO SPIDERPODIUM
certainlyholdstruefortheSpiderpodium. Madeofrubber-coatedwire,theeight legsofthecolourfularachnidcanbe bentintopracticallyanyshape,making itsusesalmostendless.Itcanclingto handlebars,hangfromheadrestsor standtoattention,allthewhilehaving acoupleofarmsfreetoholdasmall tabletoraphonesteady.Itsalso verypleasingjusttoplaywiththe Spiderpodium.Weparticularly lovebendingitintocomplex symmetrical3Dshapes,especially whenweshouldbeworking. PG MONEY SPIDER FACEHUGGER
Price 15 inc VAT Supplier www.breffo.com Manufacturer www.breffo.com
01 Thebestideasareoftenthe simplestones,andthatmantra
TABLET COMPUTER
VERSUS TOUCHPAD 7 8GB
dontbetooquicktowriteoffthisdinkytablet.Forinstance,itsports Android4.0,whichrunssmoothly,althoughitsresponsivenessis compromisedbythepoorsensitivityofthescreenwefrequently neededtouserepeatedjabstoregisterapress.Videoplaybackis wherethedeviceexcels,however.Itsscreenisbright,andthemicro SDcardslotmeansthatstoragewontbeanissueeither.The batteryisalsoreasonable;itlastedafullsix-hourjourneywhile playingvideoalmostnon-stop,anditspricemeansyoudonthaveto betoopreciouswithiteither. PG CHEAP AFFORDABLE
Price 90 inc VAT Supplier www.laptopsdirect.co.uk Manufacturer www.versusuk.com
02 Thesingle-coreprocessor,512MBRAMand800x480screen oftheTouchpad7maynotsoundparticularlyimpressive,but
BOARD GAME
STRONGHOLD
relativelyplainsailing.Thisisgood,aslesstimedebatingrulesmeansmoretimescheminghowyoure goingtoattack(ordefend)thetitularstrongholdthatdominatestheboard.Thegameiswellbalanced, althoughitcanbeunforgivingforthedefender;onemiscalculationcanmeanalmost instantdefeat.Wealsolikedtheelegantresourcemechanicwherebythedefender receivesaportionofwhattheattackerspends,asthispreventseither sidefromdominating.Ouronebugbearis itshighcost. PG GOBLINS TROLLS

Price 43 inc VAT Supplier www.gameslore.com Manufacturer www.portalpublishing.eu
03 Initially,Strongholdlookslikeapigofagame.Theboardiscomplexandthereareoodlesof countersandpiecestosort.Fortunately,onceyouunderstandthebasicturnstructure,its
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CUSTOM KIT
iDEVICE DOCK
VIEW QUEST iDICE SPEAKER

MOUSE MAT
GIGABYTE KRYPTON
At425x287x6mm,itshefty,bothintermsofareaandsheerthickness. However,itspartypieceisthatitsdouble-sided(themainreasonforthe thickness),withonesidecoveredinmaterialandoptimisedforprecisionwork whiletheotherisdubbedthespeedsidethankstoitshardPVCcoat.Bothare pleasanttouse,butitssizelimitsitsappeal,andthethicknessmeansthereisnt anyflexibilitytoallowanedgetoresideunderyourkeyboard.Addtothisthehigh priceandweadvisebuyingamoresensiblemousematinstead. PG CLARK KENT SUPERMAN
Price 24 inc VAT Supplier www.scan.co.uk Manufacturer www.gigabyte.com
Ifyoujudgedsomeonebythesizeoftheirmousematthenwhoever 04 ownedtheKryptonwouldhavetobeakingorqueenofsomedescription.
ShapedlikeagiantD6,thedockiscompatiblewithanything withanipreface(well,iPods,iPhonesandiPadsatleast) andcanchurnoutasurprisinglylargeamountofnoisefora relativelycompactspeaker.Theresalsoaline-insocketfor playingmusicfromotherdevicesandaremotecontrol. Unfortunately,thatswherethefeaturelistends,which makesthe100askingpricelookalittlerich.Youcanteven useitasanoveltyoversizeddice,asfourofthesixfaceshave fivedotsonthem. PG D12 D6
Price 100 inc VAT Supplier www.viewquest.co.uk Manufacturer www.viewquest.co.uk
WethoughtwedseeniDevicedocksineveryshape 05 possible,buttheiDiceswiftlyprovedusincorrect.
ZALMAN ZM-DS1000 MONITOR STAND
MONITOR STAND
besttoinjectalittleclassintoitwiththe ZM-DS1000.Madefromasinglesheetof beautifulbrushedanodisedaluminium,the standlookstheabsolutebusiness.Italso sportsaUSBhubintegratedintotheright-handleg,andcablerouteingclipsrundowntheinsideofeachside.Thisisprettymuchasfaras thehumblemonitorstandcanbetakenintermsofdevelopment,but56isalsoalot ofmoneyforafancyblockwithaUSBhub.Infact,itsmorethanthecostofawholeAntecOne case.Assuch,theZM-DS1000fallsintothelovely,butonlyonceIvewonthelotterypile. PG ALUMINUM ALUMINIUM
Price 56 inc VAT Supplier www.scan.co.uk Manufacturer www.zalman.com
Themonitorstandmarketisntparticularly 06 glamorous,butZalmanhasdoneits
WorldMags.net
November 2012
51
POWER
Weve gathered a record-breaking number of 31 power supplies, for our largest PSU Labs test ever, to find the perfect PSU for your PC
hepowersupplyisoftenoverlookedwhenbuilding anewsystem;afterall,aslongasitdoesitsjob correctly,ithasnoimpactonframerates,system speedsorboottimes.Theresplentytodifferentiate onePSUfromanother,though,andchoosingtherightoneis particularlyimportant,asitsacomponentthatcanlastthrough multiplesystemupgradesovermanyyears. Thewiderangeofavailableefficiencylevelscanimpacton yourelectricitybills,whileunstablevoltagescanresultinerratic systemperformance,andanoisycoolingfancanruinthatsupersilentsystem. Thearrayofcablesandconnectorsonoffercanlimityour potentialupgradepathstoo;therearefewmorefrustrating situationsthanunboxingashinynewcomponentonlytodiscover yourPSUdoesnthavetherequiredconnectorstopowerit. WithsomanydifferentPSUmanufacturersvying foryourattention,wevepushedtheboatoutto bringyouourbiggesteverLabstest,with31 PSUsputthroughtheirpower-providing paces.Withthehardwareindustrys continuedmovetolowerpowerconsumptionhardware,wevesplitthetest intotwofieldsof500-660Wand661-860W, enablingustofindthebestPSUsacrossa widerangeofpricesandwattages.Each PSUwassubjectedtoover50gruelling teststoevaluateitsefficiencyacrossa varietyofloads,aswellasvoltage stabilityandnoiselevels.
HARRY BUTLER AND ANTONY LEATHER
Balance of
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HOWWETESTED,PAGE54
54 Howwetest 63 HowmuchpowerdoesyourPCneed? 72 Efficiencygraphs 55 AntecEarthwattsEA-550Platinum 55 BeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W 56 BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10550W 56 CoolerMasterGX550W 56 CorsairGS600 57 EnermaxTriathlor550W 57 FractalDesignR2Tesla650W 58 FSPAurumXilenser500W 58 InWinGreenMe550W 58 NZXTHale82-650-M 59 OCZZS550W 59 SeasonicX-Series660W 59 SilverPowerSP-S650M 60 SilverStoneStriderPlus500W 60 XFXPro650WCoreEdition 62 XigmatekTauro500W 62 ZalmanZM500-HPPlus
500-660WPSUs
reviewed this month
64 AntecHighCurrentPro850W 64 BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10850W 66 BeQuiet!StraightPowerE9680W 66 CoolerMasterM2SilentPro850W 68 CorsairHX850 68 EnermaxPlatimax750W 69 FSPAurum850W 69 InWinGreenMe750W 70 OCZZX850 70 SeasonicPlatinumSeries860W 70 SilverPowerSP-S850M 71 SilverStoneStriderGoldEvolution750W 71 XFXPro850WXXXEdition 71 XigmatekCentauro800W
54
661-860WPSUs
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November 2012
53
how we test T
estingPSUsproperlyrequiresaccessto aspecialistloadtestingmachine,sowe headedtoBeQuiet!sRMAandtestingfacility inHamburg,Germany,tomakeuseofits ChromaATS8000automatedpowersupply tester.Itsamonumentallyimpressivepieceof kit,equippedwithanarrayofChroma63303A loadtesters,aChroma66202digitalpower meter,aChroma61600programmableAC powersourceandadedicatedripplenoise unit.Theequipmentiscalibratedannually byChromaitselftoensureaccurateand reliablereadings. EachPSUwastestedat100percent,50 percentand20percentofitsratedmaximum wattageforcompliancewiththeATXpower supplyspecifications.Thesecoveranumber offactorsregardingthedifferentvoltagerails overwhichthePSUdeliversitspower:+5V, +12V,-12V,+3.3Vand+5VSB. EachrailhasanATXspecification maximumandminimumlevelatwhichitcan safelyoperate(seechartbelow).However,the PSUindustrysincreasedlevelsofscrutiny fromhardwarereviewersoverthepastfew yearshasclearlyhadaneffect;forthefirst timeever,notasinglePSUontestfailedin thisregard.Wealsoanalysedhold-uptimes theamountoftimeaPSUcanoperateafter alossofinputpowerbutagainfoundthat everyPSUontestmettheminimumATX requirementof16.6ms.Whiletherewas somevariationbetweenindividualPSUs,its unfairtomarkdownmodelswhentheymeet theindustrystandards. Wealsotestedforripplenoisevariationin thePSUsDCoutputcausedbytheconversion fromACtoDCpowerinsideatypicalswitching PSU.RipplenoisealsohasstrictATX specificationguidelinesof0.12mVforthe+12V and-12Vrailsand0.05mVforthe+5V,+3.3V
and+5VSBrails,andsomeofthePSUsontest failedtomeettheATXspecinthisregard. Wealsotestedeachpowersupplys efficiency.Referredtoasapercentage,this detailstheamountofpowerlostduringthe conversionofACtoDCpower.Forexample,a PSUthats85percentefficientdraws100Wof powerfromthesockettoprovide85WofDC power.ThePSUindustryoperatesonthe80
ATX MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM VOLTAGES

Rail +3.3V +5V +12V +5VSB -12V Minimum 3.14V 4.75V 11.4V 4.75V -10.8V Maximum 3.47V 5.25V 12.6V 5.25V -13.2V
ATX MAXIMUM RIPPLE NOISE

Rail +3.3V +5V +12V +5VSB -12V Maxripplenoise 0.05mV 0.05mV 0.12mV 0.05mV 0.12mV
Plus(www.80plus.org)certificationscheme forefficiency,withWhite,Bronze,Silver,Gold andPlatinumlevelsofpowerefficiency denotingincrementallyhigherlevels.The80 PlusClassificationismeasuredat100per cent,50percentand20percentofthestated wattage,sowetestedallthreelevelsofload. Finally,wealsotestedeachPSUbackinour labfornoiselevels,usingademandinghighendsystemcomprisinganIntel Corei7-3960X Extremeoverclockedto4.3GHzandaGeForce GTX5903GB,capableofpullingover750Wat peak,or500WjustfromtheGPUunderload. Withover1,300individualtestsperformed, wereunabletoprinteveryresult,butweve includedtheefficiencyresults(seep72),and notedanyspecificfailuresintherelevant reviews.WedalsoliketothankBeQuiet!for allowingustouseitstestfacilities.
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500-660W POWER SUPPLIES
ANTEC Earthwatts EA-550 Platinum

Efcient, but pricey and lacks modular cables
Price 80incVAT Manufacturer www.antec.com Supplier www.ebuyer.co.uk
ntecsEarthwattsEA-550Platinumisthe onlysub-750WPSUontesttoboast80 PlusPlatinumenergyefficiencycertification, puttingitatanimmediateadvantagein comparisontothecompetition.At100per centload,itdeliveredthehighestefficiencyof anyPSUontest(includingthehigher-wattage models)91.3percentatraititcontinuedat 50percentand20percentloads.Thisisa hugelyimpressiveachievementconsidering thePSUsdiminutive140mmlengthand 120mmcoolingfan. However,whiletheEA-550dominatesin theefficiencydepartment,itslesscapable whenitcomestofeatures.Afullycaptive designmeansthattheresnooptionto disconnectunwantedcables,althoughthe
cablecollectionissparseanyway. Apairof6+2pinPCI-Epower connectorsrealisticallylimitsyouto asingledecentGPU,butsixSATA connectorsandatrioofMolexconnectorsare sufficientformostbuilds. Underheavyload,theEA-550sfanspun up,butnottoanintrusivedegree,producing alow-frequencyhum.Therewasclearly discerniblecoilnoiseunderloadthough, sowhilethisPSUwontintrudeonyour electricitybills,itisntquiteasstealthywhen itcomestonoiselevels. At80,theEarthwattsEA-550Platinum isundeniablyexpensiveforacaptive-cable 550WPSU,anditwilltakeanumberofyears toseeareturnyourinvestmentfromenergy-
billsavings.Itsacommendableeffort,but ultimatelynotworthit.Weadviseoptingfora cheapermodularPSUinstead. HB
STABILITY 40/40 DESIGN 23/30
VALUE 20/30 OVERALL
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Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 530W

Efcient, semi-modular and well priced
Price 55incVAT Manufacturer www.bequiet.com Supplier www.scan.co.uk
espiteits55pricetag,theBeQuiet! PurePowerL8530Wofferssemimodularcabling,alongsideitscaptive 24-pinATXcableandpairof4-pinEPS12V connectors.Thisenablesyoutochoosethe numberofSATAandMolexconnectorsyoufit, whichhelpstomakeinstallationandcable routeingmucheasierwhenbuildingyour PC.Cablesarebraidedinblackanduse colour-coordinatedconnectorstosimplify installationfurther.Thesecolour-coordinated plugsalsohelptoensureevenloadingacross thePSUstwo12Vrails. Apairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectorswilllikely limityoutoasinglegraphicscard,butthe PSUs530Wratingismorethanenoughto handleanoverclockedIntelCorei7-3770K
andtop-endGPU,suchasthe RadeonHD79703GB,with headroomtospare. Havingsailedthroughvoltage stabilityandripplenoisetests,thePurePower L8deliversslightlymorethanits80Plus Bronzeefficiencyrating,with83.69percent efficiencyat100percentload,86.28percent efficiencyat50percentloadand84.59per centefficiencyat20percentload;theseare allatleast1percentabovethe80Plus Bronzespecification. Meanwhile,a120mmSilentWingsbrandedcoolingfanprovidescoolingwhile alsobeingpleasinglyquiet,ifnotentirely silent.Evenatfullload,theunitexhibitedlittle ornoaudiblecoilnoiseintothebargain.
Strikingasuperbbalanceofefficiency, semi-modularcablesandacompetitiveprice, thePurePowerL8530Wisoutstanding. HB
VALUE 27/30 OVERALL

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Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 550W

All the bells and whistles you could need, but its expensive
Price 96incVAT Manufacturer www.bequiet.com Supplier www.ebuyer.co.uk
heDarkPowerPro10550Wboaststhe featuresofahigh-endPSU,butwitha sensible550Wpeakwattage.Apartfromthe 24-pinATXpowercable,alltherestofthe cablesaremodular,andtheresahuge assortmentofSATAandMolexconnectors. Four6+2-pinPCI-Econnectorsoffergreat scopeforGPUexpansionandthereare plentyofextrastoo.Four2-pinfanconnectors andaccompanyingSATApowerconnector adaptorscantieyourcasefanstothePSUs coolingfan. Theresalsoarear-mountedjumper, dubbedOCKey,thatcanswitchthePSUfrom aquad-12Vrailsetup(twoat20Aandanother twoat25A,withamaximumoutputof45A)to
asingle12Vrail(45A).While theresnotechnicaladvantagein doingso,itremovestheworryofload balancingbetweenrails. Despiteitslowerwattage,theDarkPower Pro10isalsoverylarge,measuring18cmin length.Thismeans thatitmaynotfitinto smallercases,buttheblowissoftenedbythe inclusionofrubberpaddingontheendofthe PSU,helpingtoreducevibrationbetweenthe PSUandthechassis. Meanwhile,80PlusGoldefficiencyacross theboardequatestoa10-12annualsaving overan80PlusBronze550WPSU,whilethe DarkPowerPros135mmfanprovedtobe brilliantlyquietandwaspracticallyinaudible
evenunderheavyload.Stuffedwithfeatures andboastinggreatefficiency,theDarkPower Pro10550Wisafinechoice,buttooexpensive formanypeople. HB
VALUE 18/30 OVERALL
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Cooler Master GX 550W

Phenomenal value, but lacks modular cables
Price 50incVAT Manufacturer www.coolermaster.co.uk Supplier www.scan.co.uk
hediminutiveCoolerMasterGX550W measuresjust14cmlong,butstill managestooffer80PlusBronzeefficiency andloadsofconnectors,aswellasafiveyearwarranty. Allthecablesarefullycaptive,sotheresno optiontodisconnectunusedconnectorsand makeyourcasethatmuchtidier,butapairof 4-pinEPS12Vconnector,sixSATAandthree MolexplugsisplentyformostPCbuilds.A pairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectorscaterstojust asinglemid-rangetohigh-endgraphicscard, though,sothoseponderingmultipleGPUs shouldlookelsewhere. TheGX550Walsomaintainedstable voltagesatallloadlevels,andripplenoisewell
withintheATXspecification. Whatsmore,itsefficiency surpassedthe80PlusBronze specificationbyatleast1percentatevery level,with83.1percentat100percentload, 86percentat50percentloadand85.38per centat20percentload. Whilean80PlusGold-ratedPSUwillsave youaround10ayearincomparison,theGX 550srock-bottompricemeansthatitwilltake anumberofyearsofheavyusagebefore youreoutofpocket. ThePSUs120mmfanspunupvery noticeablyunderload,though,makingtheGX 550WoneofthenoisiestPSUsontest.While itscheap,stableand80PlusBronzeefficient,
for5moretheBeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W (seep55)isfarquieterandoffersmodular cablesaswell. HB
VALUE 28/30 OVERALL
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Semi-passive cooling and 80 Plus Bronze-rated, but lacks modular cables

Price 64incVAT Manufacturer www.corsair.com Supplier www.scan.co.uk
Corsair GS600
Enermax Fractal Design Triathlor 550W R2 Tesla Lacks competitive pricing 650W and features
Price 68incVAT Manufacturer www.enermax.co.uk Supplier www.systo.co.uk
Quiet and efcient, but needs modular cables

Price 88incVAT Manufacturer www.enermax.co.uk Supplier www.cleverboxes.com
eplacingCorsairsoriginalGS600,which onlyofferedbasic80Pluscertification, thisnewmodelboasts80PlusBronze efficiencyandanupdatedchassiswith roundededgesandablue-LEDlit140mm fan.Thefullycaptivecablebundleincludes sixSATAandMolexconnectors,alongside onlyapairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectorsthis isalittlestingyconsideringthePSUs 600W-ratedwattage. ThefansLEDcanbeswitchedoffviaa buttononthePSUsrear,whilethefanitself issemi-passive,onlyswitchingonwhen needed.Wefounditonlyspunupatwattages over250W,makingtheGS600effectively passivewhenyourPCisidle.Athigherloads, though,thefanisntsodiscreet,andspunup totheextentthatitwasclearlyaudible;there wasalsosomediscerniblecoilnoise. Costing64,theCorsairGS600isfairly pricedforastable80PlusBronze600WPSU, butitlacksmodularcablesanditstoonoisyat higherloadstorecommend. HB
ithapriceofover67,theEnermax Triathlor550Wisundeniablyexpensive fora550WPSU.Theall-captivecablebundle includessixSATAandfiveMolexconnectors, whileapairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectorslimits youtoasinglemid-rangetohigh-end graphicscard. WellwithintheATXspecificationintermsof voltagesandripplenoise,the80PlusBronzeratedTriathlordeliveredefficiencyof84.78per centat100percentload,87percentat50per centloadand84.82percentat20percent load,placingitmarginallybelowthe80Plus Silverefficiency. TheTriathlors14cmlongcasingmakes itpleasinglycompacttoo,witha120mm EnermaxTwisterfanhandlingcoolingduties. However,athighloads(over450W),itspretty noisy,andwasclearlydiscernibleover backgroundnoise. Despiteexcellentefficiencyforan80Plus BronzePSU,theEnermaxTriathlor550Ws lackofmodularcablesandhighpriceseeit fallwellbehindtheBeQuiet!PurePowerL8 530W(seep55). HB
ractalDesignsnewR2Tesla650W boasts80PlusGoldefficiency,but confusinglymatchesitwithcaptivecabling. SixSATAplugsandtwoMolexconnectors dontofferthegreatestamountofconnection optionseither,andasinglepairof6+2pin PCI-Econnectorslimitsyoutojustasingle moderngraphicscard. However,withits80PlusGoldcertification, efficiencyisexcellent.The88.35percent efficiencyat100percentloadissurpassedby 91.28percentat50percentloadand91.39 percentat20percentloadthelatteriseven higherthantheAntecEarthwattsEA-550 Platinum(seep55).TheR2Tesla650Wisvery wellbehavedacousticallytoo,withits135mm spinningquietlyevenathighloads. TheR2Tesla650Wisadecentpremium PSU,butitslackofmodularcablesseesit surpassedbytheSeasonicX-Series660W (seep59),whichalsooffers80PlusGold efficiencyandfarmorefeatures. HB
VALUE 24/30 OVERALL
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VALUE 20/30 OVERALL
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VALUE 21/30 OVERALL

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Completely passive and 80 Plus Gold efciency, but its pricey

Price 130incVAT Manufacturer www.fspgroup.co.uk Supplier TBC
FSP Aurum Xilenser 500W
In Win GreenMe 550W
Just a single PCI-E A well-rounded 650W connector makes this PSU PSU, but its too noisy largely redundant under load
Price 52incVAT Manufacturer www.inwin-style.com Supplier www.cclonline.com Price 80incVAT Manufacturer www.nzxt.com Supplier www.overclockers.co.uk
NZXT Hale82650-M
SPsAurumXilenser500Wispassively cooled,withnocoolingfanatall.With acaptive24-pinATXcableandrubbersheathedmodularconnectorsforeverything else,italsooffersplentyofflexibility,thanksto sevenSATA,butonlytwoMolexconnectors, plusfour6+2-pinPCI-Epowerplugs. The80PlusGoldcertificationmeansan efficiencyratingat100percentloadof89.61 percent,with91.29percentat50percentand 89.4percentat20percent,althoughthisonly savesyouaround8ayearcomparedtoan80 PlusBronzeunit. Withnofan,theXilenser wasnearlysilent.Wenotedjustatraceofcoil noise,butotherwisetheFSPdelivered. However,youpayahighpricefortheluxury ofpassivecooling,highefficiencyandfully modularcables,andtheXilencerspriceof 130meansthatonlythoseneedingsilence shouldapply. HB
nWinsGreenMe550Wislightonfeatures, buthasatemptinglylowpricetagofjust52. Captivecablesareused,butwewereamazed tofind justasingle6+2-pinPCI-Epower connector;insufficientforalmostanymidrangeorhigh-endGPUwithoutaMolexto 6-pinPCI-Eadaptor. Despiteitsbudgetlooks,theGreenMe performedwellwithintheATXvoltageand ripplenoiseguidelines,andcomfortably managedits80PlusBronzeefficiencywith 84.92percentat100percentload,87.12per centat50percentloadand83.96percentat 20percentload. However,theInWinGreenMe 550Ws120mmcoolingfanwasverynoisy underheavyloadtheloudestofanyPSUin the500-660Wcategory.TheBeQuiet!Pure PowerL8530W(seep55)costsjust3more andisfarbetterequipped. HB
heNZXTHale82-650-Mpairs80Plus Bronzeefficiencywithsemi-modular cabling.The24-pinATXcable,apairof4-pin EPS12Vcablesandtwo6+2-pinPCI-Ecables arecaptiveandsheathedinblackcablebraid, whilethemodularconnectorsoffersixSATA plugs,sixMolexconnectors,an8-pinEPS12V cableandanothertwo 6+2PCI-Eplugs.The flattenedmodularcablescertainlylook smart,andtheresplentyofflexibilityfor multi-GPUsetupstousethe650Wofpower. Efficienciesof82.91at100percentload, 85.97percentat50percentloadand83.96 percentat20percentloadareallcomfortably insidethe80PlusBronzespecification,but theHale82-650-M120mmfanspunupto clearlyaudiblelevelsunderload.Whilethe NZXTHale82-650-Misastable,efficient, modularandkeenlypricedPSU,itsnoisyfan seesitjustmissout. HB
VALUE 12/30 OVERALL

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VALUE 25/30 OVERALL
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OCZ ZS 550W
Very cheap, but fails on ripple noise at 20 per cent load

Price 48incVAT Manufacturer www.ocztechnology.com Supplier www.cclonline.co.uk
Seasonic Silver Power X-Series660W SP-S650M

A premium PSU thats worth the price
Price 120incVAT Manufacturer www.seasonic.com Supplier www.scan.co.uk
Feature-rich and well priced, but let down by a noisy cooling fan
Price 80incVAT Manufacturer www.nanopoint.com Supplier www.scan.co.uk
ncrediblycheapat48,OCZsZS550W offersonlycaptivecables.Alongsidethe 24-pinATXconnectorandpairof4-pin EPS12Vconnectorsarea6+2pinPCI-Eand 6-pinPCI-Econnector,whichissufficient topoweranycurrentsingle-GPUgraphics cards.TherearealsoeightSATAconnectors andthreeMolexconnectors. However,theZS550Wfailedtomeetthe ATXspecificationwhenwetesteditforripple noise.Its3.3Vrailat20percentloadreached 0.054mV0.04mVabovethatspecifiedbythe ATXspec.Whileitsaminorinfraction,itsstill atestthatmostotherPSUsinthistestpassed withoutissue. TheZS550Walsofailedtomeetthe80Plus Bronzecertificationitclaims,managingonly 81.75percentefficiencyat20percentload, ratherthan82percent. Despiteitsbargainprice,theOCZZS 550Wsfailingsshowthatitsdefinitelyworth spendingafewextraquidonasuperiorPSU elsewhereinstead. HB
easonicsX-series660WPSUboastsa featuresetconsistentwithits120price. Thefullymodularcablesfeaturefour6+2-pin PCI-Epowerconnectors,offeringplentyof roomformulti-GPUsetups,andeightSATA andfiveMolexconnectorsoverseveralcables allowplentyofflexibility. Withits80PlusGoldcertification,at100per centload,theX-Series660Wdelivers88.58 percentefficiency,with90.77percentat50 percentand88.41percentat20percentload. Incomparisontothe80PlusBronzeNZXT Hale82-650-M(seeopposite),thiswillsave youaround10peryearonelectricitybills underfairlyhighusage. Equippedwithjusta120mmcoolingfan, theX-Series660Wiswonderfullyquiettoo. ThePSUssemi-passivefanremains motionlessbelow25Candisveryquiet whenspinningupunderheavyload. Feature-packed,highlyefficientand exceedinglyquiet,theSeasonicX-series660W justifiesitspremiumpricetag.Itsabrilliant powersupply. HB
heSilverPowerSP-S650Msslightly tackyangryGorillabrandingbeliesits impressivefeatures.Itusessemi-modular cables,withthe24-pinATX,dual4-pin EPS12Vandtwo6+2-pinPCI-Epower connectorscaptive,whileanextratwo6+2-pin PCI-Econnectors,fiveMolex,eightSATAand an8-pinEPS12Vcablearemodular. Itdeliveredonits80PlusBronzepromise too,managing83.48percentefficiencyat100 percentload,86.15percentefficiencyat50 percentloadand84.13percentefficiencyat 20percentloadallatleast1percentabove the80-PlusBronzespec. However,theSP-S650Mprovedtobe disappointinglynoisyunderload;itwaseasily amongthemostaudibleon-testonloads above500W. Althoughitskeenlypricedatlessthan80, andisequippedwithsolidefficiencyand plentyofmodularcables,thenoisycooling fanisthemonkeyontheSilverPower SP-S650Msback. HB
VALUE 26/30 OVERALL
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SilverStone Strider Plus 500W

Cheap and modular, but fails on ripple noise
Price 59incVAT Manufacturer www.silverstonetek.com Supplier www.overclockers.co.uk
ilverStonesStriderPlus500Wlookslike greatvalueformoneyatfirst,offering fullymodularcablesforlessthanhalfthe priceoftheSeasonicX-Series660W(see p59).Theunits24-pinATXandapairof4-pin EPS12Vcablesarejoinedbyone6+2pinand one6-pinPCI-Epowerconnector,sufficient foranymodernsingle-GPUgraphicscard. TwotripleSATAcablesandatriple-Molex cablewithafloppyconnectorallowfora fairlyexpansivebuildtoo,althoughbafflingly, theresnopowerswitchonthePSUsrear. With80PlusBronzecertification,the StriderPlus500Wdelivered82.84percent efficiencyat100percentload,86.15percent efficiencyat50percentloadand85.5percent efficiencyat20percentload.However,we
foundripplenoiseonthe+5VSB railtobeworryinglyhigh.At100per centload,theripplepeakedat0.085mV, 0.035mVor70percenthigherthantheATX specificationallows. WhilenottaskedwithpoweringaPCs corehardware,the+5VSBrailpowersthe motherboardsstandbyandUSBports,and theStriderPlus500Wfailedtoconformtothe ATXspecinthisregard.TheStriderPlus500W alsoprovedtobenoisyunderload,withits 120mmfanspinninguptoclearlyaudible levelsasthepowerdrawroseabove400W. TheStriderPlus500Wshighripple noiseonthe+5VSBrailandnoisycooling fanaremorethanenoughtowarrantlooking elsewhereforyourPSU.
TheBeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W(see p55)offersahigherpeakwattage,modular cablesandquieteroperationforlesscash. HB
VALUE 22/30 OVERALL
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XFX Pro 650W Core Edition

Stable and affordable, but still unremarkable
Price 67incVAT Manufacturer www.xfxforce.com Supplier www.dabs.com
heXFXPro650WCoreEditionlacks modularcables,butstilloffersahealthy arrayofcaptiveconnectors.Apairofboth6+2pinPCI-Eand6-pinPCI-Epowerconnectors makeforsolidmulti-GPUsupport,while sevenMolexplugs,sixSATAconnectorsand apairof4-pinEPS12Vconnectorsroundoff thebunch.Itsagoodassortmentand,with 650Wofwattageontap,theisunitenoughfor almostanysingleordual-GPUsystem. Unlikeitsbeefiersibling,theXFXPro850W XXXEdition(seep71),thePro650WCore Editiononlyhas80PlusBronzeefficiency certification,butithadnoproblemsurpassing thisclassification. At100percentload,itproduced84.42per centefficiency,at50percentload,itmanaged
86.63percentefficiencyand at20percentload,the efficiencywas84.08percent. ThePro650WCoreEditionalso exhibitednoissuesthroughout ourvoltageandripplenoisetests, performingwellwithintheATXspecification. Meanwhile,Its17cm-longchassishouses a135mmcoolingfan,whichspunupto audiblelevelsunderhigherloads.Itwasnt amongtheloudestontestthough.Pleasingly, westruggledtonoticeanycoilnoisefromthe uniteither. Whileitticksmanyboxes,isperfectly stableandhasahighlycompetitiveprice, theXFXPro650WCoreEditionisstillalittle unremarkable.Therearemoreefficient
andquieterPSUsthatalsohavebetter featurestobefoundelsewhere. HB
VALUE 24/30 OVERALL

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Xigmatek Tauro 500W

Incredibly cheap, but fails to reach 80 Plus Bronze efciency
Price 41incVAT Manufacturer www.xigmatek.com Supplier www.overclockers.com
ehadtodoadouble-takewhenwesaw theXigmatekTaurosprice,asits10 percentcheaperthananyother500WPSU ontest.At41,youcantexpectagreatdeal ofextras,sotheTauro500Wusesall-captive cables.Theresareasonableselection,at least,withapairof6+2pinPCI-Ecables offeringenoughroomtopoweranyGPUout there.AlsoincludedaresixSATAandthree Molexpowerconnectors,alongsidetheusual 24-pinATXpowerblockandapairof4-pin EPS12Vcables. However,whilewefoundtheTauro500Ws voltagestabilityandripplenoisetobewell withintheATXspecification,itfellsorelyshort whenitcametoefficiency.At100percent load,itdelivered79.04percentefficiency,2 percentshortofXigmateksclaimed80Plus
Bronzerating,and1percent shortof80PlusWhite.Similarly, at50percentload,werecordedan efficiencyof82.92percent,twoper centbelowthe85percentrequired for80PlusBronze.Finally,at20percent load,anefficiencyof81.21percentagain failedtoreachtherequiredlevelfor80Plus Bronze.Sowhileitprovedstable,theTauro 500Wiswellbelowthepaceonefficiency. Ontheplusside,theTauros16cmchassis housesa140mmcoolingfan;despitethelow efficiency,thisdoesntsoundtoointrusive, evenwhenthePSUisrunningclosetoits maximumload. Despiteitsverylowprice,itsclearthat somethinghasgonewrongsomewherealong thelinefortheTauro500W,asitprovedunable
toproducethe80PlusBronzeefficiencyit claims.Werecommendspendingafewextra quidonsomethingelseinstead. HB
VALUE 26/30 OVERALL
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Zalman ZM500-HP Plus

Semi-modular and very quiet, but too expensive
Price 85incVAT Manufacturer www.zalman.com Supplier www.quietpc.co.uk
ikemanyZalmanproducts,theZM500HPPlusfocusisoncoolingandlownoiselevels,butitsalsowellequippedwhenit comestocables,thankstoitssemi-modular connectors.Acaptive24-pinATXcable,pairof 4-pinEPS12Vconnectorsandasingle6-pin PCI-Ecablearejoinedbyamodular6+2-pin PCI-Eplug,sixSATAandfiveMolexpower connectors,grantingsufficientconnections forthevastmajorityofsingle-GPUsetups. Inside,thePSUusescopperheatpipesand coolingfinstoeffectivelymoveanddissipate heat.ItalsosportsinteriorblueLEDlighting, whilea120mmcoolingfanprovidesthe requiredventilation. Withits80PlusBronzecertification,the ZM500-HPhadlittleissuedeliveringonits promises.Theefficiencyof84.02at100per centload,86percentat50percentloadand
82.88percentat20percent loadareallwithinthe80+ Bronzespec.Voltagestability andripplenoisewerefineacross theboardtoo,andwithintheATX specification. WithZalmansfocusonlow-noise cooling,weweredelightedtofindtheZM500HPPlusperformedverystronglywhenit cametonoiselevelstoo.Evenunderafull 500Wload,the120mmcoolingfanwasallbut inaudibleeveninaquietroom. Despiteitsmodularcables,80PlusBronze certifiedefficiencyandsuper-lownoiselevels, however,theZalmanZM500-HPPlusislet downsorelybyits85pricetag.TheBeQuiet! PurePowerL8530W(seep55)maybealittle louder,butits35cheaperandsimilarly modular,whiletheSeasonicX-Series660W
(seep59)is40moreexpensiveandfarmore capable.Botharebetterchoicesunlessnoise isyourtoppriority. HB
VALUE 16/30 OVERALL
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how much power does Your PC need? W

hether youre buying a PSU as part of a hetheryourebuyingaPSUaspartofa wholenewsystem,orasanupgrade foranexistingone,theresnopointinbuying aPSUthatsfarbeyondyourneeds.PCsare remarkablypower-efficientthesedays,and theirPSUsareactuallymostefficientat50 percentload.Itsusuallybesttoaimfora PSUthatoffers between200-300Wspare capacityunderveryheavyuseinyour particularsystem,whereveryheavyuse meansplacingthegraphicscardandCPU underconsiderablestrain. Thisisactuallyquiterareinmanygames, astheyreusuallyeitherGPUorCPU dependent, while carrying out tasks such as dependent,whilecarryingouttaskssuchas image editing or video encoding usually place imageeditingorvideoencodingusuallyplace theCPUunderfarmoreloadthantheGPU. Withanextra200-300Watyourdisposal, youllhaveplentyofheadroomifyouadd another graphics card, a more powerful CPU anothergraphicscard,amorepowerfulCPU or if you want to try your hand at overclocking. orifyouwanttotryyourhandatoverclocking. ThePSUwillbequietertoothecloseritgets toitsmaximumload,thefasteritsfanwill havetospintokeepitcool. Forexample,ifyourPChasaheavily overclockedIntelCorei5-3570KandanNvidia GeForceGTX6702GB,wemeasuredthisto drawaround375Wusingthesmallffttestin Prime95tomaxouttheCPU,andUnigine
Ahigh-enddual-GPUgraphicscard,suchas theGeForceGTX690,requiresalotofpower whenitsworkingflatout,particularlyifits partneredwithanLGA2011CPU
Heaven to push the Heaventopushthe graphics card to its graphicscardtoits limits. This is a worst-case limits.Thisisaworst-case scenario, as no game will put your scenario,asnogamewillputyour PCunderthismuchload.Factoringinour 200-300Wsparepowerrule,youshouldbe aimingforaPSUthatsratedbetween550W and650Wforasystemsuchasthis. Alower-endsystem,suchasanIntelCore i3-2100withanAMDRadeonHD68701GB, onlydraws225Winthesamestresstestsso forthis,youllonlyneedaPSUof450-500Wto
provide ample headroom for your system. We provideampleheadroomforyoursystem.We found that only the most expensive systems, foundthatonlythemostexpensivesystems, such as an Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme suchasanIntelCorei7-3960XExtreme Edition overclocked to 4.7GHz with an Nvidia Editionoverclockedto4.7GHzwithanNvidia GeForceGTX6904GB,needanythingclose toa1kW(1000W)PSU.Allthegraphsbelow showmaximumpowerusageusingour stresstestsinatypicalsystemwithcasefans, anSSDandaCPUcooler.
HARRY BUTLER
Total system power draw

4.7GHz Core i7-3960X / GeForce GTX 690 4GB 775W
4.818GHz AMD FX-8150 / GeForce GTX 670 2GB
725W
5GHz Core i5-3570K / GeForce GTX 690 4GB
525W
5GHz Core i5-3570K / GeForce GTX 670 2GB
375W
5GHz Core i5-3570K / Radeon HD 7870 2GB
325W
Intel Core i3-2100 with an AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB
225W
AMD A8-3870K 0
160W 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
AsystemusinganAMDA8-3870K,withitsintegrated GPUrunningatfullpelt,onlydraws160Wofpower fromthemains 64
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Antec High Current Pro 850W

A solid PSU with plenty of grunt, but its a tad too expensive
Price 130incVAT Manufacturer www.antec.com Supplier www.overclockers.co.uk
heHighCurrentPro850WisalargePSU at180mminlength45mmlongerthan theXFXPro850WXXXEdition(seep71) whichisworthrememberingifyouonlyhave asmallcase.Itsalsoquiteexpensiveat130, anditonlyofferssemi-modularconnectors. Thankfully,thatswhereourconcerns ended.Itoffersawealthofconnectors, includingfour6+2-pinconnectors,meaning thatitcandefinitelypowertwohigh-end graphicscards. Theresatotalof840Wand70Aavailable overfour12Vrailsatanyonetime,witheach railabletosupportupto40Aand480W morethanenoughtorunamodernhigh-end systemonitsown.TheHighCurrentPro
850Wsfanalsoprovedtobe closetoinaudibleinourquietlab, althoughtherewassomecoilnoise. Certifiedwithan80PlusGoldefficiency badge,theHighCurrentPro850Wwas89.9 percentefficientat100percentload,whileat 50percentload,itprovedtobeafantastic91.2 percentefficient. Thiswasonlyenoughtosecurefifthplace, though,withtheBeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10 850W(below)claimingthe50percentload efficiencycrown.Therewerenoissueswith stabilityeither,withtopmarksonallrailsatall testedloadlevels,whileripplenoiseandhold uptimeswerealsowellwithintheATX specificationrequirements.
ThisisanexcellentPSU,butothersoffer similarfeaturesforlesscash,meaningthat itnarrowlylosesoutonanaward. AL
VALUE 18/30 OVERALL
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Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850W

Awesome features and efciency, but ferociously expensive
Price 167incVAT Manufacturer www.bequiet.com Supplier www.scan.co.uk
eQuiet!sDarkPowerPro10850Wis anothermonster,measuring195mm fromendtoend.Italsohasoneofthelongest listsofcablesofanyPSUontest,with32 individualconnectorsintotal.Theseinclude six6+2-pinPCI-Econnectorsandone8-pin EPS12Vconnector,alongwithtwopairsof 4-pinEPS12Vconnectors. WithnineSATAandnineMolexconnectors too,youwontbeshortofcablesandpower plugs,whateverkindofmonsterPCyoure building.Youcanevenconnectfourcasefans totheDarkPowerPro10850W;thePSU regulatestheirspeedbasedontemperature. TheDarkPowerPro10850Wusesa 135mmSilentWingsfan,similartothemodel
usedinBeQuiet!sexcellent CPUaircoolers. ThePSUalsohastheunusual abilitytoswitchbetweenfour12Vrails andonesingle12Vrail.Infour-railmode,the 12V1 and12V2 railsoffer30Aeach,whilethe 12V3 and12V4 railscandishout45Aeach. Theres70Aavailableintotalfromthe12V rails,resultinginamaximum12Vpower drawof840W. WecouldbarelydiscernthattheDark PowerPro10850Wwasrunningwhileunder fullload,anditpassedallourtestswithouta hitch.Ratedto80PlusGoldstandard,italso recordedthehighestefficiencyontestat50 percentload92.6percent.
ItsafantasticPSU,butat166,its50 moreexpensivethantheXFXPro850WXXX Edition,whichoffersbettervalueformoney. AL
VALUE 15/30 OVERALL

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SYSTEM RIOT
Enermax 2012. All rights reserved. All trademarks are property of the respective proprietors. Reserve changes without prior announcement.
JOIN THE REVOLUTION!

The low-end power supply era is over! Enermax calls for more safety, more quality and more power for your system! Modern systems need a stable power source that ensures a safe and efficient system operation. The new Enermax Revolution87+ relies on the path-breaking DHT Topology and achieves up to 93% efficiency. It will take your system by storm propelled by a durable and silent Twister fan. No more empty rhetoric: Due to massive 12V rails, more than 98% of the power is reserved for the essential components such as CPU and GPU. This is about a long-term system build and a stable and safe system for the future. Enermax grants 5 years warranty. With 550, 650, 750, 850 und 1000W.
WWW.ENERMAX.CO.UK/REVOLUTION87 www.awd-it.co.uk www.scan.co.uk specialtech.co.uk www.yoyotech.co.uk WorldMags.net
Be Quiet! Straight Power E9 680W

Supremely stable and quiet, but slightly too pricey
Price 95incVAT Manufacturer www.bequiet.com Supplier www.ebuyer.com
eQuiet!sStraightPowerE9680Wis certainlyagreat-lookingpowersupply.It sportsthecompanysfamiliarnickel-plated grillesprotectingthecoolingfanan attractivetouchthatlooksbetterthanthe standardmeshfangrilleusedbymostother manufacturers. Itsalsosemi-modular,withonlysome ofitscablesdetachable,butitoffersa considerablenumberofthem.Thefour6+2pinPCI-Econnectorsmeanthatpowering multiplehigh-endgraphicscardswontbea problem,andtherearesevenSATAandsix 4-pinMolexconnectorstoo. Itusesfour12Vrails,withtwodishingout upto18A,andtheothertwoabletohandle
22A,with55Aand660W overthefourrailsintotalat anyonetime.Despitethis beingasimilarbutlessbeefysetup thantheAntecHighCurrentPro850W(see p64),forexample,wewerestillabletopowera power-hungryGeForceGTX6903GBovera pairof12Vrails. TheStraightPowerE9680Wwasalso91.7 percentefficientat50percentloadagreat result.Itreturnedsuperbresultsinthe stabilityteststoo,notmovingmorethan0.1V eithersideof12Vonallthe12Vrails,evenat 100percentload. Itprovedtobeveryquiettoo,althoughit exhibitedsomecoilnoise.At95,its
reasonablypricedaswell,buttheXFXPro 850WXXXEdition(p71)costsjust11more andprovidesmorewattageforyourmoney. AL
VALUE 19/30 OVERALL
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Cooler Master M2 Silent Pro 850W

A decent PSU, but others offer better value
Price 124incVAT Manufacturer www.coolermaster.com Supplier www.yoyotech.co.uk
oolerMastersM2SilentPro850Wiswell pricedat124,althoughthisisstillagood dealmoreexpensivethantheXFXPro850W XXXEdition(seep71).However,yougetplenty foryourmoney.Thefirstbonuseswenoticed werethecables,whichhavebeenflattened andfinishedinblackrubber.Thislooksgreat, andwillalsomakecabletidyingeasier, resultinginaneatandtidyPCinside. Ithasbothan8-pinandapairof4-pin EPS12Vconnectors,alongwiththree8-pin andthree6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors enoughtopowerthreehigh-endgraphics cards.Itsfairlylargeat180mmlong,but thisisnoticeablyshorterthantheBeQuiet! DarkPowerPro10850W(seep64).Italso
usesasingle12Vraildesign, with68Aand816Wavailablein totalovertherail.Theresa sizeable180Wavailablefromthe 3.3Vand5Vrailstoo. Withits80PlusSilvercertification,theM2 SilentPro850Wrecordedanefficiencyof89.2 percentat50percentloadthisisntbad,but itcouldcostaround5-9moreoverthe courseofayearincomparisontothemost efficientPSUontest. StabilitywasnoproblemfortheM2Silent Pro850W,though,anditalsoprovedtobe extremelyquietunderevenhighloads, barelyregisteringoverthebackgroundhum ofourlab.However,withsimilarfeaturesand
alowerprice,theXFXPro850WXXXEdition (seep71)winsoutonvalueformoney. AL
VALUE 18/30 OVERALL

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Quiet and stable with loads of features a great PSU

Price 134incVAT Manufacturer www.corsair.com Supplier www.scan.co.uk
Corsair HX850
freputationsareanythingtogoby,Corsair certainlyhasanenviableonewhenitcomes toPSUs.Wevefoundafewfliesinthe ointmentovertheyears,butgenerallybuying aCorsairPSUisrarely,ifever,abadpurchase. ThisisthelatestiterationoftheHX850, nowboasting80PlusGoldefficiency,andthe biggersiblingtotheHX650,whichpickedup anApprovedawardreviewedinourlastPSU Labstest. TheHX850isanotherlargePSU, measuring180mminlength.Itsalsosemimodular,withthecorecables,suchasthe 24-pinATX,EPS12Vandtwo6+2-pinPCI-E connectorsremainingcaptive.Themodular crewconsistsofanadditional8-pinEPS12V connector,alongwithfourmore6+2-pin PCI-Econnectorssixintotal.
UnliketheotherPSUs ontest,allthecableshere haveastandardlength,with nosingleorreduced-length optionstotailorthemtoyour system.TheHX850alsoemploys asingle12Vraildesign,with70Aand840W available,andasizable150Wavailablefrom thecombined3.3Vand5Vrailstoo. StabilitywasacleansweepfortheHX850, anditwas90.7percentefficientat50percent load.Onefeaturethatreallyimpresseduswas alsoitsabilitytopassivelycoolitselfupto around500Wofload.Thefanonlyspunup abovethis,whereadmittedly,itwasclearly audible.Formostsystems,though,youll beblessedwithasilentPSUformostofthe time.DespitebeingpricierthantheXFXPro
850WXXXEdition(seep71),theCorsairHX850 comesaveryclosesecond. AL
VALUE 18/30 OVERALL
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Enermax Platimax 750W

Super-quiet with post-shutdown cooling, but the price is high
Price 154incVAT Manufacturer www.enermax.co.uk Supplier www.pixmania.co.uk
nothermanufacturerwithanenviable reputationintheworldofPSUsis EnermaxthemakerofthelegendaryGalaxy 1000WPSU.Itsoneofthefewmanufacturers tostillimplementpost-shutdowncoolingin mostofitsPSUs. AfteryouswitchoffyourPC,thePSUsfan willcontinuetooperateforashorttime, providingausefulchillfactortocoolyourhot componentsthatwouldotherwisefesterin toastytemperaturesuntiltheheatdissipates ofitsownaccord.Enermaxclaimsthiscan extendthelifeofthePSUandyourhardware. ThePlatimax750Whasalonglistof featurestoo,althoughthisistobeexpected foritsprice.At154,itsnearly50more expensivethantheXFXPro850WXXXEdition (seep71).
Loversoftriplegraphics cardsystemswillalsobe disappointed,asthereare onlyfour6+2-pinPCI-E powerconnectors,although thiswillbeenoughforthevast majorityofpeople. Thankfully,efficiencyhunterswillbe pleasedwiththefactitsan80PlusPlatinum PSU,whichclaims90-94percentefficiency.It usesfourrailstodishoutits12Vsupply,with eachratedat25A;theresatotalof744Wand 62Aavailableatanyonetimefromallfour rails.Itbreezedthroughourtestingtoo;itwas incrediblyquietandrecordedanefficiencyof 92.2percentat50percentloadwellwithin the80PlusPlatinumspecification,makingit oneofthemostefficientPSUsontest.Sadly,
however,itshighpricemeansthereareother optionsthatofferbettervalueformoney. AL
VALUE 14/30 OVERALL
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FSP Aurum 850W

A fantastic PSU, but youll need a fat wallet to pay for it
Price 165incVAT Manufacturer www.fspgroup.co.uk Supplier TBC
osting165incVAT,theFSPAurum850W alreadyfacesasteepchallengeitcosts nearly60morethantheXFXPro850WXXX Edition(seep71). Thankfully,FSPhasaddedsomeextra featuresinanattempttobalanceoutthat equation.TheAurum850Whasflattened, rubber-sheathedcables,forexample,which lookverygoodindeed,anditalsoincludes re-usablecabletiestoaidinall-important cabletidying. TheAurum850Wusesasingle70A12Vrail, whichcandishoutacolossaltotalof840W. Amazingly,italsohasatotalofeight6+2-pin PCI-Econnectorstoo,meaningthatitcan theoreticallysupportfourgraphicscards. Thiswillbealotofworkforan850WPSU, though althoughwesuccessfullypowered
threeGeForceGTX 6702GBcardswitha totalsystemdrawof 650W,addinganother cardclearlywouldntbe advisable. Meanwhile,inourtests,the80Plus Gold-ratedAurum850Wmanagedan efficiencyof91.1percentat50percentload, andpassedallthestabilitytestswithoutany issuesaswell. ItwasamongthequietestPSUsontest aswell,althoughitwasntabletoshutoff itsfanatlowloadslikesomeofthe competition.Onlyasmallamountofcoil whinewasdiscernibletoo. Indeed,everythingabouttheFSPAurum 850Wlooksabsolutelygreatuntilyoucome
tothepricetagwhich,despiteitsstrengths,is stillabitterpilltoswallow. AL
VALUE 14/30 OVERALL
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In Win GreenMe 750W

Cheap and stable, but its noisy and lacks features
Price 60incVAT Manufacturer www.in-win.com.tw Supplier www.cclonline.co.uk
nWinsGreenMe750WPSUreallydoescost just60,butreadonalittlemorebeforeyou reachforyourwallet,asthewholestoryisnt quitethatrosy. Forstarters,theGreenMe750Wdoesnt haveanymodularcablesonlycaptiveones, andveryfewatthat.Itonlyhastwo6+2-pin PCI-Econnectors,meaningitwontbeable topowertwohigh-endgraphicscards. Ifyoureatallconcernedwithlooksthenthe GreenMe750Wprobablyisntforyoueither; itsasplainasPSUsget.Itsalsofarfromflush withconnectors,onlyofferingthreeMolex plugsandsixSATAconnectors. Itusesamulti-raildesignwhenitcomesto dishingout12Vpower,withthreerailsoffering upto25Aeachandatotalof540Wacrossall threeatthesametime.
Withits80PlusBronze certification,itrecordedan efficiencyof88.4percent at50percentloadafair amountlessthanthebest resultsontest. However,itwillprovidelotsofstablepower foryourPCtheGreenMe750Wpassedall ourtests,never strayingclosetothelimitsof theATXspecification. Noisewasanotherstory,though.Withits standard120mmcoolingfan,theGreenMe 750Wisanoisypieceofkitwhencomparedto allotherPSUsontest,especiallyathigher loads,andtherewassomeclearlyaudiblecoil whineaswell. Despiteitslowprice,wesuggestgiving this PSUawideberth,andsavingyourpenniesfor
asuperiorPSU,suchastheXFXPro850WXXX Edition(seep71),instead. AL
VALUE 28/30 OVERALL

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Not bad, but you can get more for your money
Price 134incVAT Manufacturer www.ocztechnology.com Supplier www.yoyotech.co.uk
OCZ ZX 850
Seasonic Platinum Series 860W

Price 166incVAT Manufacturer www.seasonic.com Supplier www.aria.co.uk
Silver Power SP-S850M

Price 96incVAT Manufacturer www.nanopoint.co.uk Supplier www.scan.co.uk
Feature-loaded, quiet and efcient, but expensive
A reasonable price, but very noisy
heOCZZX850iscertainlyadesirable pieceofkitwithitsfully-modularcables. Whilethesearebraided,however,thequality oftheheatshrinkisntgreattheheatshrink appliedtothe24-pinATXcable,forexample, cameoffafteralittleuse. TheOCZZX850hasagoodarrayofcables atitsdisposalaswell,althoughyoullbe limitedtoplayingwithjusttwohigh-end graphicscards,asthereareonlyfour6+2-pin PCI-Econnectors. Harddiskhoarderscanrejoicethoughthe ZX850hasatotalof12SATAconnectorsand nine4-pinMolexconnectors. Italsohasasingle70A12Vrail;combined withthe-12Vand+5VSBrails,thiscanoutput atotalof850W.Itwasfairlyquiettoo,andvery efficientat50percentload91percenttobe exact,anditpassedallourtestswithout strayingoutsidetheATXspecification. TheOCZZX850isbynomeansabadPSU, buttheCorsairHX850(seep68)andXFXPro 850WXXXEdition(seep71)offerbettervalue formoney. AL
easonicshigh-endPSUsarecertainly highlydesirable,notleastfortheirability toswitchofftheircoolingfansbelowcertain temperaturestheyrethatefficient. ThePlatinum860Walsohasthisability, aswellasfullymodularcables,an80Plus Platinumefficiencyratingandevena120mm SanyoDenkifantoo.Itsabigboy,though, needing190mmclearanceendtoend,andits hideouslyexpensivetoo. Youllbelimitedtopoweringtwohigh-end graphicscardswithitsfour6+2-pinPCI-E connectors,althoughthereare11SATAand eight4-pinMolexplugs,whichwillbeenough foreventhemostcrowdedsystem.Itdishes outitspowerthroughasingle71Arail,with 852Wavailable.Itsreallyefficienttooour testmeasured92.3percentefficiencyat50 percentloadanditwasstableinallouttests andsupremelyquiettoo. Thisisafantasticpowersupplyitsjusta shameaboutitshighprice. AL
ilverPowerhasaparentcompanyin theformofNanopoint,whichalso manufacturestheTaganPSUsthatonce weretheenvyofall.TheSP-S850Misvery reasonablypricedat96,butitofferssemimodularcablesaswell. Italsohasfour6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors andeightSATAconnectors,whichgivesyou enoughheadroomforallbutthemost hardcorePC.Itusesasingle12Vrail,rated atupto70Aand840Wmandmeasuresjust 160mminlengthababycomparedtosome oftheothermonstersontest. TheSP-S850Machieveditsstated80Plus Bronzeefficiencyinourtests,reaching84.87 percentat100percentload,butthisisstill lowconsideringsomeofthecompetitionhave 80PlusSilver,GoldandPlatinumratings. TheSilverPowerSP-S850Mwasalso horrendouslynoisyunderload.Infact,it waslouderthantheGeForceGTX5903GB wehadrunninginourtestsystematthetime. Needlesstosay,youcanbuyabetterpower supplyelsewhere. AL
VALUE 17/30 OVERALL

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XFX Pro SilverStone 850W XXX Strider Gold Evolution750W Edition

Great efciency and cable braiding, but too expensive
Price 132incVAT Manufacturer www.silverstonetek.com Supplier www.scan.co.uk Price 107incVAT Manufacturer www.xfxforce.com Supplier www.ebuyer.com
Efcient, well priced and loaded with features
Noisy and not as efcient as it claims

Price 85incVAT Manufacturer www.xigmatek.com Supplier www.cclonline.com
Xigmatek Centauro 800W
ullymodularcablesarealwaysapleasure toseeonaPSU,butSilverStonesStrider GoldEvolution750Walsoaddshigh-quality cablebraidingtoitssetofmodularcables,as wellasamagneticdustfiltertouseifyour casedoesnthaveone. Itlacksthealternative-lengthcablesof otherPSUsontest,though,andtwoofits fourPCI-Econnectorsonlyhavesixpins,but thatsthelimitofourcriticismsintermsofthe PSUshardware. TheStriderGoldEvolution750Whasplenty ofpowerontaptoo,withasingle12Vrailrated at62Aand744W.Inourtests,thePSUhad littleissueprovingits80PlusGoldcredentials either,with89.1percentefficiencyat100per centloadand90.66percentat50percent load.Itwasalsoextremelyquiet,evenathigh loadlevels. However,theXFXPro850WXXXEditionand CorsairHX850offerbettervalueformoney. AL
oulleitherloveorhatethelooksofXFXs Pro850WXXXEditionpowersupply,but atjust107forasemi-modular,850WPSU withmostofthetrimmings,itsanintriguing prospectfromtheoutset. XFXclaimsthatits80-PlusSilvercertified, anditpacksatotalofeightSATAconnectors andfour6+2-pinPCI-Econnectorsenough fortwohigh-endgraphicscardswhichisa gooddealforaPSUinthispricebracket. Thankfully,itdeliveredonitsefficiency ratingtoo,cominginat88.6percentat50per centload,anditpassedallourstabilitytests too.Asfarasnoisewasconcerned,therewas somecoilwhineinevidence,butthefannoise wasinaudibleonceoursystemsfanskicked in,unlikesomeoftheotherPSUsontest. Itmightnotbequitethequietest,most efficientor best-equippedpowersupplyon testthismonth,buttheXFXPro850WXXX Editionisperfectlybalancedandoffersgreat valueformoney. AL
heXigmatekCentauro800Wiscertainly well-pricedat85,anditalsooffersa meansofconnectingyourcasefanstothe PSUsfancontrolunitviatwo2-pinheaders. Itsportssemi-modularcablestoo,which includefour6+2pinPCI-Econnectors,along witheightSATAconnectorsandsix4-pin Molexplugs.Thisisplentyforpoweringtwo graphicscards,andplentyofother componentsaswell. Whileitpassedourstabilitytests,however, itfailedtoliveuptoits80PlusBronzeratingat both100percentand50percentload,instead onlymanaging79.6percentand84.36per centefficiencyrespectively.Itwasalsoquite noisyathigherloadlevels. TheXigmatekCentauro800Wmighthavea temptingprice,butwerecommendspending afewextraquidandbuyingasuperiorPSU insteadtheBeQuiet!StraightPowerE9 680W(seep66),forexample,costs10more andisamuchbetterbuy. AL
VALUE 15/30 OVERALL
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POWER SUPPLIES
550W-660W EFFICIENCY (PER CENT)

100 per cent load
Antec Earthwatts 550W Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 530W Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 550W Cooler Master GX 550W Corsair GS600 Enermax Triathlor 550W Fractal Design R2 Tesla 650W FSP Aurum Xilenser 500W In Win GreenMe 550W NZXT Hale82-650-M OCZ ZS 550W Seasonic X-Series 660W Silver Power SP-S650M SilverStone Strider Plus 500W XFX Pro 650W Core Edition Xigmatek Tauro 500W Zalman ZM500-HP Plus 0 20 40 60 91.31 83.69 90.6 83.1 85.03 84.78 88.55 89.61 84.92 82.91 83.13 88.58 83.48 82.84 84.42 79.04 84.02 80 100
50 per cent load

Antec Earthwatts 550W Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 530W Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 550W Cooler Master GX 550W Corsair GS600 Enermax Triathlor 550W Fractal Design R2 Tesla 650W FSP Aurum Xilenser 500W In Win GreenMe 550W NZXT Hale82-650-M OCZ ZS 550W Seasonic X-Series 660W Silver Power SP-S650M SilverStone Strider Plus 500W XFX Pro 650W Core Edition Xigmatek Tauro 500W Zalman ZM500-HP Plus 0 20 40 60 92.86 86.28 91.2 86.32 87.06 87.13 91.98 91.29 87.12 85.97 85.15 90.77 86.15 86.4 86.63 82.92 86 80 100
20 per cent load

Antec Earthwatts 550W Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 530W Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 550W Cooler Master GX 550W Corsair GS600 Enermax Triathlor 550W Fractal Design R2 Tesla 650W FSP Aurum Xilenser 500W In Win GreenMe 550W NZXT Hale82-650-M OCZ ZS 550W Seasonic X-Series 660W Silver Power SP-S650M SilverStone Strider Plus 500W XFX Pro 650W Core Edition Xigmatek Tauro 500W Zalman ZM500-HP Plus 0 20 40 60 90.76 84.59 88.27 85.38 84.42 84.82 91.39 89.4 84.45 83.96 81.75 88.41 84.13 85.5 84.08 81.21 82.88 80 100
661W-860W EFFICIENCY (PER CENT)

100 per cent load
Antec High Current Pro 850W Be Quiet! Straight Power E9 680W Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850W Cooler Master M2 Silent Pro 850W Corsair HX850 Enermax Platimax 750W FSP Aurum 850W In Win GreenMe 750W OCZ ZX 850 Seasonic Platinum 860W Silver Power SP-S850M SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 750W XFX Pro 850W XXX Editon Xigmatek Centauro 800W 0 20 40 89.9 89.75 90.93 87.01 88.56 90.47 89.31 85.43 88.7 90.06 84.87 89.1 86.25 79.61 60 80 100
50 per cent load

Antec High Current Pro 850W Be Quiet! Straight Power E9 680W Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850W Cooler Master M2 Silent Pro 850W Corsair HX850 Enermax Platimax 750W FSP Aurum 850W In Win GreenMe 750W OCZ ZX 850 Seasonic Platinum 860W Silver Power SP-S850M SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 750W XFX Pro 850W XXX Editon Xigmatek Centauro 800W 0 20 40 60 91.19 91.67 92.62 89.22 90.72 92.24 91.16 88.36 90.96 92.23 87.41 90.65 88.64 84.36 80 100
20 per cent load

Antec High Current Pro 850W Be Quiet! Straight Power E9 680W Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850W Cooler Master M2 Silent Pro 850W Corsair HX850 Enermax Platimax 750W FSP Aurum 850W In Win GreenMe 750W OCZ ZX 850 Seasonic Platinum 860W Silver Power SP-S850M SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 750W XFX Pro 850W XXX Editon Xigmatek Centauro 800W 0 20 40 60 88.16 88.92 90.97 87.76 88.6 91.83 89.38 86.87 88.98 91.14 85.85 88.15 87.07 83.28 80 100
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WhenweaskedDragonCommanderdeveloper When we asked Dragon Commander developer LarianStudiostogiveusanexclusivescreenshot ofitsjet-packingdragons,theteamsaidthe in-developmentenginedidntcurrentlysupport theresolutionswerequired. Neverfearthough, saidtheteam.Giveusafewdaysandwelladd thatfeatureintotheenginejustforyou.That sortofthoughtfulnessisjustanotherreasonto lookforwardtoDragonCommander.Asifthe uniquefusionofaction,strategyandRPG systemswasntenough!
Dragon Commander
c u stom pc EX
CLUSIVE IM AGE
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about?
GRUMPYGAMER 78 What you talking COUNTER-STRIKE: 80 GLOBALOFFENSIVE SLEEPINGDOGS 82 Kung phew
CS: GO,go, go
INVERSION 84 Upside frown DEATHRALLY 87 Crash, burn DEVPERSPECTIVE 88 Apoke inthe AI THEENGINEROOM 90 The Dark Engine
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Readers Night Wed, 3 October, 9 till late

Theplace OurCounter-Strike:Sourceserver Whatyouneed Anup-to-dateCounter-Strike: Sourceinstallation GAMESERVERIPADDRESSES 32-playerBC2 85.236.101.22:16667 32-playerCS:Source 85.236.101.24:37015 FINDUSONSTEAM Publicgroup http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ CustomPC ModernWarfare2 http://steamcommunity.com/ groups/CustomWarfare2
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GAMING
FUNISA BADWORD
Joe Martin dusts off his linguistics knowledge and discusses our need for meaningful jargon
cant communicate such basic concepts as what makes a game such as Tetris fun? That would be like Nvidia or AMD trying to add an enhancement to a graphics card driver that makes those lines a little nicer on those see-through things that cover the whatchamacallit in that game. Ultimately, meaningful jargon is key to progress in this regard. We need strong, specific words and names to describe games, and the language to dissect our concepts succinctly; without that, were stumbling in the dark. We already have that in the technological hardware end of the gaming industry, but we dont have it in the creative or critical part of the industry yet. Along with the proliferation of console ports coming over to the PC, this is perhaps another reason why PC gaming technology is so far ahead of our ability to use it meaningfully. Jargon isnt just important for ensuring clarity and shorter meetings either. Its also crucial for securing games as a field of serious academic and artistic study, simply because it facilitates critical discussion. The language used to describe gaming is important for journalism; imagine articles that pinpointed the virtues of a game without having to lazily resort to phrases such as my mind was blown. Wouldnt that be something? WHAT IM PLAYING IloveFrozenSynapse,butIveonlyjust startedtheRedDLC,whichaddsnewunitsandaco-opcampaign. Myin-gamenameisCardjoechallengeme!
hat constitutes fun for you? I dont mean the activities you find enjoyable, but rather the components of an experience to which you might refer when labelling something as fun. Is it fun to investigate and explore a new world, for example, or is it more fun to know that world so intimately that you could trace the map in calm water? Do you find games more fun when theyre fast and fluid like Doom, or intricate and cumbersome like Arma II? Do games need to be pretty to be fun, or would a text adventure suffice? Is fun meaningful or disposable? My point is that fun is a bad word to describe a game. Its fine in a general, informal way, but for the purposes of game design and games criticism, its very hazy. Is Diablo 3 fun? Pac-Man? Quake? Not all games are fun to all people, and even when two people agree, they might point to different reasons. So fun is a bad word. It isnt the only bad word we use for describing games either. There are dozens of borrowed terms and ambiguous meanings crowding the games industry. Take the word game itself, for example. Does that imply a competitive element or not? Is Tetris still a game, even though you cant really win it? What does that imply about The Path or Dear Esther? What makes a computer game different from a toy? Gaming is an activity full of bad words, and I honestly think it may be preventing the industry from reaching its full potential. After all, how can developers collectively decide on the way forward if they
How can developers collectively decide on the way forward if they cant communicate such basic concepts as what makes Tetris fun?
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Runs fastest with a knife

1.6 Fast; variable; intricate SOURCE No killcams; radial menu
COUNTER-STRIKE: GLOBAL OFFENSIVE
THE KNOWLEDGE
Price 11.99incVAT Publisher Valve Developer Valve Website http://blog. counter-strike.net
hegoodnewsisthatthisisCounter-Strike nowessentiallyfine-tunethesortofmultiplayer justasyoushouldrememberit,withthe experienceyouwanttoamuchgreaterdegree. samemaps,thesameweaponsandthe Want fast,no-frillsaction?PlayCasual.Wanttense, samefantasticallyfreneticpace.Valvehas fatiguingwar?PlayCompetitive. developedthisnewiterationforconsolestoo,but Thentherearethebotsand,whilethesesound theconstraintsofthecontrollerhaventdamaged likeabigdeal,theyactuallyarent.Theyplaywell, thefinalproduct.Ifitwerentfortheonlyslightly though,andtheyregreatfortraininginofflinemode cumbersomeradialBuyMenu,youdthinkthiswas andwillautomaticallypopulateunfilledservers.In adedicatedPCgame. somemodes,youcanevenreplacethemshouldyou So whats the bad news? Well, it honestly die early in the game. Sowhatsthebadnews?Well,ithonestly dieearlyinthegame. doesnt appear that there is any. It may Finally, the biggest additions are two new modes doesntappearthatthereisany.Itmay Finally,thebiggestadditionsaretwonewmodes seem glib to say that Global Offensive called Arms Race and Demolitions. Each of seemglibtosaythatGlobalOffensive calledArmsRaceandDemolitions.Eachof these act as a sort of ladder-based twist on isjustthesameoldCounter-Strike theseactasasortofladder-basedtwiston the normal modes, wheretherungsonthe where the rungs on the withprettierpictures,butthats thenormalmodes, ladder are all the different guns in the game; mostlytrue.Thereareacoupleof ladderareallthedifferentgunsinthegame; alterations and expansions, but if all you again, they essentially oppose each other. In alterationsandexpansions,butifallyou again,theyessentiallyopposeeachother.In care about is whether the core game has Arms Race, you receive a new gun for every kill careaboutiswhetherthecoregamehas ArmsRace,youreceiveanewgunforeverykill been competently reiterated then you may you make and the winner is whoever scores a beencompetentlyreiteratedthenyoumay youmakeandthewinneriswhoeverscoresa as well stop reading and start playing. kill with every weapon first. aswellstopreadingandstartplaying. killwitheveryweaponfirst. Still reading? Good. So, those alterations Demolitions is Counter-Strikes new Stillreading?Good.So,thosealterations DemolitionsisCounter-Strikesnew pice de rsistance, however. Its the thenletsstartwiththenewdivide picedersistance,however.Itsthe same as Arms Race, except the bomb betweenCasualandCompetitive sameasArmsRace,exceptthebomb games. This is simple: casual matches also comes into play and the weapons games.Thisissimple:casualmatches alsocomesintoplayandtheweapons giveyoushorterrounds,freeKevlar withwhichyourerewardedbecome andlimitedtimetobuyweapons; progressivelyhardertouse.Everyone competitivemodedoestheopposite startsoffwithanassaultrifle,but and,whiletheinitialresponsemightbe thebestplayersquicklyprogressto OVERALL todismissthisasnobigdeal,youcan shotgunsandpistols,whichmeansthe
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REVIEW
Dust2inCS:GO
Dust2inCS:Source
matchesbalancethemselvesbasedonthe skillofindividualplayers.Itsquitebrilliant. DespitethestrengthoftheDemolitions andArmsRacemodes,though,therearea fewgapsintheformulathatweresurprised Valvehasntplugged.Thelackofkillcams, forexample,isasmallbutnoticeableflaw foranyonewhohastolearnhowthemaps arelaidout,althoughthebiggestproblemis themapsthemselves. Also,whileDemolitionsandArmsRace aregivensomenewlevels,theclassic modesdontofferanythingnew.Theresan argumentagainstthisthatsaysCounterStrike:Sourceisstillgoingstrong,butthisis counteredbyGlobalOffensivespriceand moddability.Modsarealreadystartingto appearandDemolitionsModealonemakes GlobalOffensiveworththeinvestment.This isCounter-Strikeasyouvealwaysknown andlovedit,exceptbetterandprettier.
JOE MARTIN
DUST OFF
Counter-Strike:GOmaynotaddanymapstotheclassicmodes,butithasrefresheda bunchoftheoldclassics,suchasTrain,Office,DustandmostimportantlyofallDust2. Mostofthesechangesarepurelyaestheticandhavelittleimpactonthegame,butthere areafewnoticeabledifferences.Thebiggestisprobablytheadditionofafewsmallcrates aroundBombsiteB,aswellassomeaddedclutterinthesniperalleybyBombsiteA. Valvehasntrushedthesechangeseither.TheGlobalOffensivebetaranforthebest partofayear,withValvetweakingeverypossiblevariabletoreproduceandenhancethe oldcontent.TheofficialGlobalOffensiveblogevenfeaturesinteractiveheatmapsshowing thedatausedtoinformthechanges.Inthatrespect,itsreassuringthatthemaps are mostlythesamethecomparisonpicturesofDust2revealthesmallsizeofthechanges. Valvehasalsostudiedthegamesoptionstoo.TheresanewTVcolourschemeand supportforrunninginwindowedmode,nottomentionalaptoppower-savingmodethat willlikelybehandyforhastilyorganisedLANsandgamingonthemove.Thesettings menunowletsyoucontrolotherminutiaetoo,fromtheoverallscaleoftheHUDtothe styleofcrosshairandthecornerofthescreeninwhichSteamnotificationswillpopup. Again,thissoundslikeasmallchangebut,sinceitmeansthatyourhealthandammo countsareneverobscuredinacompetitivematch,itmakesahugedifference. Lotsofweaponshavebeenalteredtooand,whilethenewknifemodel looksalittle wimpyatfirst,thelackofanimationandsmallersizemakeitlessdistracting.Thatswhat makesGlobalOffensivesogreat;itsastreamlinedandhonedversionoftheoldideas.
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Pedigree choice
BITE Stylish; gorgeous; varied BARK Mini-games; slow to start
SLEEPING DOGS
THE KNOWLEDGE
Price 25.99incVAT Publisher SquareEnix Developer UnitedFront Games Website www.sleepingdogs.net
appalling karaoke mini-game) and as you progress, owmuchdoesthestructureofagame appallingkaraokemini-game)andasyouprogress, determine the overall experience? Thats these start to feel less like an interesting use of determinetheoverallexperience?Thats thesestarttofeellesslikeaninterestinguseof what we find ourselves asking after playing whatwefindourselvesaskingafterplaying your time.SleepingDogsisstillmorethanthe SleepingDogs,andnotjustbecausewere thoughtlessGTAcloneyoumightexpectfromthe philosophicalnavel-gazerseither.Itsbecause,while screenshots,butitstillmakesmistakes. SleepingDogsunashamedlyemulatesthemodern Wherethegamesuffersmostis whereitcopiesits GTAtemplatewithprecision,itoffersadistinctly forebearsmostbrazenly.WeiShensanimationslook differentexperienceonthewhole. slickenoughwhenhesbrawlinginthestreets,butfly Thisisachievedbythedetails,suchasthewaythe offyourmotorbikeandNikoBellicssuperiorinverse focusonkung-fufightingmeansthatyouarenteven kinematicsarenotablyabsent. givenapistoluntilagoodsixhoursintothegame Itsalltooeasytocrashtoo,asthecarhandlingis andwhenyouhaveone,itsmoretemptingtouse slightlyoutoftunewithrealityeverythingfeels yourfistsanyway.UndercovercopWeiShenisunder toofastandslippery.Thatsensationofspeedis visiblestressasheingratiateshimselfwiththeTriad somethingthatdeveloperUnitedFrontseemsto gangs,butmartialartsseemtoclearhismind. haveexplicitlytargetedinitsselectionofcarsand Mostly,thesenuancesworkforthe inclusionofparkour,butitsovershotthe betterthemartialartssystem,for markjustalittle.Navigatingthetight example,ismorerobustand cornersandnarrowalleysofHongKong interestingthantheassault-rifletactics isalittletooawkwardtofeelasfunasit ofGTAbutthereareareasinwhichthe could,whetheronwheelsorfoot. variationdoesntpayoff.Therearea Thesefewshortcomingsdonthold fewtoomanyQuickTimeEventsand backSleepingDogstoomuch,however, OVERALL mini-gamesforourtaste(includingan andtheresplentyofcontenttokeepyou
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TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
UnitedFronthasbundledaloadofextra featuresintothePCversionthatwilltaxeven decentrigs.Thelistofadditionsisntlimited tojust3Dmodeandresolutiontweaking either;itsextensiveenoughtoshowthePC versionwasaseriousconsideration. Thenagain,maybeUnitedFrontjusthad solongtoworkonSleepingDogsthatthese extraswerentmuchofastretch.SquareEnix maybethepublishernow,butworkonthe Meduim gamestartedatActivisionin2008first underthetitleofBlackLotus,thenTrue Crime:HongKong.ItwasonlyafterActivision cancelledthegamein2011thatSquareEnix boughttherightstoagamethathadalready beenindevelopmentforfouryears. Regardless, the PC version boasts Regardless,thePCversionboasts performance enhancements for SLI performanceenhancementsforSLI and CrossFireX setups, as well as andCrossFireXsetups,aswellas support for Nvidia 3D Vision, and supportforNvidia3DVision,and both AMD EyeFinity and Nvidia bothAMDEyeFinityandNvidia Surround multi-monitor Surroundmulti-monitor Extreme support. Theres also DirectX support.TheresalsoDirectX 11 and 11.1 content, which 11and11.1content,which includes the use of Direct includestheuseofDirect Compute and contact-hardening shadows. Computeandcontact-hardeningshadows. Beyondthat,theresaraftofoptionsfortweakinggraphicsthat elevates the game over how it looks on consoles, but the biggest elevatesthegameoverhowitlooksonconsoles,butthebiggest feature is a high-res texture pack thats included for free. featureisahigh-restexturepackthatsincludedforfree. Youllneedastrongmachinetohandlethehighersettings,naturally. A quad-core CPU and a GeForce GTX 560 or Radeon HD 6950 are Aquad-coreCPUandaGeForceGTX560orRadeonHD6950are recommended. Our experience shows that youll need to go higher than recommended.Ourexperienceshowsthatyoullneedtogohigherthan this if you want to make the most of those DX11 features, however, as even our thisifyouwanttomakethemostofthoseDX11features,however,asevenour mighty system had trouble running smoothly on the top settings. mightysystemhadtroublerunningsmoothlyonthetopsettings. Our standard gaming systems specs were very similar to those Ourstandardgamingsystemsspecswereverysimilartothose recommended by the game (a Radeon HD 6950, 4GB of RAM and a Core recommendedbythegame(aRadeonHD6950,4GBofRAMandaCore i5-3570K), so we ran the in-game benchmark on Extreme and Medium i5-3570K),soweranthein-gamebenchmarkonExtremeandMedium quality presets to find out how it coped. The minimum frame rate increased qualitypresetstofindouthowitcoped.Theminimumframerateincreased from just 9fps to a much smoother 42.5fps between the respective settings, fromjust9fpstoamuchsmoother42.5fpsbetweentherespectivesettings, and this was at the same resolution of 2,560 x 1,600. The full results and andthiswasatthesameresolutionof2,560x1,600.Thefullresultsand settings are revealed in the screenshots. settingsarerevealedinthescreenshots.
occupiedregardless.Therearecollectibles occupied regardless. There are collectibles stuffed into every corner of the city, and the stuffedintoeverycornerofthecity,andthe multi-tiered RPG elements warrant careful multi-tieredRPGelementswarrantcareful attention for the way they tie into Wei Shens attentionforthewaytheytieintoWeiShens dual identities too act like a cop and get dualidentitiestooactlikeacopandget better with guns; act like a Triad to increase betterwithguns;actlikeaTriadtoincrease yourmeleeskills. The story of double-crossing and Thestoryofdouble-crossingand street-level violence is infinitely street-levelviolenceisinfinitely more interesting than the steady moreinterestingthanthesteady unveiling of Niko Bellics past too, unveilingofNikoBellicspasttoo, keeping you on the edge of your keepingyouontheedgeofyour seat as Wei Shen delves deeper seatasWeiShendelvesdeeper into the underworld and comes intotheunderworldandcomes closertothetruth.Theplot remainsgrippingasittwists, without ever dominating the skyline; withouteverdominatingtheskyline; this is still a sandbox game through and thisisstillasandboxgamethroughand through, encouraging you to explore through,encouragingyoutoexplore thewealthofcontent. Sleeping Dogs isnt our sandbox SleepingDogsisntoursandbox shooter of choice; that honour lays shooterofchoice;thathonourlays with Just Cause 2, but Sleeping Dogs withJustCause2,butSleepingDogs is a decent midway point between isadecentmidwaypointbetween that and the super-serious GTA. Its thatandthesuper-seriousGTA.Its an interesting and enjoyable niche aninterestingandenjoyableniche to occupy, even if it comes with a tooccupy,evenifitcomeswitha fewcaveats.
JOE MARTIN
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REVIEW
Flipping hell
UPSIDE Unintentionally hilarious DOWN Its terrible
INVERSION
THE KNOWLEDGE
Price 29.99incVAT Publisher NamcoBandai Developer Saber Interactive Website www.inversion.com
oronce,wegenuinelydontknowwhereto arareoccurrenceeither.Everyfewminutes,your begin.Shouldwediscussthegravity-flipping controlisstrippedsothatyoucanwatchananimation gimmick,whichisInversionsonlyattentionoftheheroesencounteringenemies orstumbling retainingfeature,orthestunningdullnessfor throughanearthquake.Theinterruptionstakelonger whichitwillundoubtedlycometobeknowninthe thantheymeritandoccurtoooftentohaveanyimpact, future?Doweexplainthatthegravitycontrolgoes makingmuchofthegamefeellikeawasteoftime. bothways,enablingyoutomakeobjectslighteror Evenifyoucantoleratetheseconcerns,though, heavier,ordowebreakapartthedullnessand Inversionstillfailstoimpressoneveryotherfront. examineitsrootcauses? Environmentsareuniformlyunremarkable,even Wewontdothelatterthereisntenoughroomin whentraversedinzerogravitywhichisntfreeing the magazine. Its sufficient to say that Inversion is one themagazine.ItssufficienttosaythatInversionisone orfluidatallandyourarelyfindagunthatfeelsor of the most boring and badly designed third-person ofthemostboringandbadlydesignedthird-person soundsmorepowerfulthanablowpipe. shooters weve played in a while. Its litany of errors is shootersweveplayedinawhile.Itslitanyoferrorsis Thegravity-controllingfeaturesarealsotheonly far too long to expose in full, but includes fartoolongtoexposeinfull,butincludes aspectinwhichInversionmanagestodeviatefrom issuessuchasneedlessQuick thestandardthird-personshootertemplate,which TimeEvents,repetitivelevel wouldntbebadifitwasatallinteresting.Instead,it design, and a baffling and dull story. design,andabafflinganddullstory. basicallyboilsdowntoafewsimpleimplementations; The premise isnt all that convoluted youre a Thepremiseisntallthatconvolutedyourea youcanmakeobjectsfloatorsink,andsometimesthe cop whose life is turned upside down when gravitycopwhoselifeisturnedupsidedownwhengravityworldflipsupsidedown.Maybethissoundsdramatic controlling invaders enslave humanity but it ends up controllinginvadersenslavehumanitybutitendsup inconcept,butinuse,itdoesnthavemucheffectaside feeling just that, thanks to huge gaps in the timeline, feelingjustthat,thankstohugegapsinthetimeline, frombeingabletodragenemiesoutofcover. massive assumptions about player knowledge and an massiveassumptionsaboutplayerknowledgeandan Theresnothingwrongwithgimmick-drivengames awkwardly paced script. awkwardlypacedscript. orconventionssuchasturretsequences,aslongas The opening minute, for example, has Theopeningminute,forexample,has theyrepurposefulandinterestingenough theprotagonistlosingallhopebefore tojustifytheirpresence.Inversiondefies pointlesslyflashingbacktoaturret thisandfeelslikeachoreasaresult;the sequencethatgivesyouinfiniteammo gravitycontrolistoocumbersometo andhealth.Notonlyisthisafunctionally exploreproperlyandtheunderlyinggame purposelessinterruption,butitalso isapaint-by-numbersshooterthats conflictswiththetonethatInversionis outclassedbyitscompetitors. OVERALL JOE MARTIN apparentlytryingtoestablish.Thisisnt
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Back from the dead

F1 Simple; effective; cheap ALT-F4 Lacks variety and pace
DEATH RALLY
THE KNOWLEDGE
Price 7.99incVAT Publisher Remedy Interactive Developer Remedy Interactive Website http://store. steampowered.com/ app/108700
remakeoftheoriginalDeathRallyreleased in1996,thenewDeathRallydebutedon mobiledevicesfirstbuthasfinallyarrivedon PC.Forthoseofyouwhodontremember theoriginal,DeathRallywasatop-downracerinthe sameveinasMicroMachinesasIgnition. Whatmadeitstandout,though,wastheviolent twist;carscouldbemountedwithRPGs,machine gunsandflamethrowers.Thismodernremakehardly deviatesfromthatsetupatall,andthatspartofits appeal.Thepower-upsandexplodingbarrelsthat littereachtracksupporttheanarchic,arcadefeel andmakeitseemlikeagenuineblastfromthepast. Thathalcyoninfluenceextendstothelightnessof thestorytooentertheDeathRallycontesttodraw outthechampionknownasTheAdversaryand thenmostlyleavesyoutoit.Winmedalstoboostyour fame,earncashandunlockmorecars,weaponsand missions.Thatisntsobad,butitendsupundermining thestructureofthegametoo.Therearenoleaguesor formalladderstoclimb;justaseeminglyrandom selectionofeventsfromwhichtochooseuntilyoufill yourFamemeterenoughtounlockthenextbatch. Theresultofthis,coupledwiththeinabilityto customiseyourownracesintolongermatches,isthat theentiregameisbasicallyalonggrindthroughshort andverydisposablecontent.Theresnopunishment forfailingarace,youjustdontgettoupgradeasmuch, andtheresonlyrarelytherewardofnewcontent.Its likebeingonatreadmilllotsofeffortandspeed,but norealforwardsmovement. TheslimnessandsimplicityofDeathRallys approachonlymakesitmorevitalthatitspitchperfecttoo,especiallysinceitaimsmainlyforlaughs withitsraftofcharacters.Therearecameosfrom AlanWakeandDukeNukem,forexample,aswell polishedfromtheearliermobilere-release,therest asabunchofAmericangamejournalists,bafflingly. ofthegameisjustthesameandPCgamesrequire Noneoftheserolesfeelsasthoughithasanymeat differentfeaturestothoseofmobilegames.Without though;therearejustacoupleofshoutedone-liners longerracesoramoreformalisedstructure,what andalotofwastedpotential. mightfeelaccessibleandbite-sizedon Thecynicswithinusalsosuspectthe aphonefeelsshallowandoftentedious journalists(noneofwhomweknow)were onaPC.Themoment-to-moment includedasmarketingtoolstogenerate gameplayisstillfunandthemultiplayer coverage.Wecantfaultthegameforthat, isasgoodasanytop-downracerweve butwecancertainlyraiseaneyebrow. seenbutwithoutbeefiercontent,Death However,themainproblemisthat, Rallystrugglestoremainrelevant. OVERALL JOE MARTIN whilethegraphicshavecertainlybeen
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Cliff Harris
Why gaming AI sucks

nalmostanydiscussionofbig-name PCgames(orevenindiegames),at somepointsomeonesaystheAI sucks.Sometimestheyreright;there arecertainlygamesthathaveverypoorAI,but inmanycasesthecomplaintisunjustified, andIcanthelpfeelingsomesympathyforthe poorAIcoderwhoisonthereceivingendof gamersire.Imgoingtotrytoexplainwhy youshouldfeelsorryforthemtoo.
Big-namegamesaremarketedon thebasisoftheirgraphics,butitsvery difficulttoshowAIinascreenshot
Artificialintelligenceisatermbandied aboutsocasuallythattheimplicationisthat itsasolvedproblem,andeveryoneknows howtoimplementconvincingAI,ifonlythey couldbebotheredtotaketimeoutfromeating doughnutslongenoughtodoso. Infact,AIisanincrediblyhardandbroad problem,andwereonlyjuststartingto scratchthesurfaceofit.Thetermartificial intelligencehasntevenexistedforthatlong, andwerestillexperimentingwithwaysto approachit. GathertenAIprogrammerstogetherina room,andyoullhavetendifferentapproaches tosolvingthesameproblem.Youmightthink thatstrueofallaspectsofgamecoding,but AIisespeciallydivergent. Graphicsprogrammerscanatleast (generally)agreethatrenderingpolygonsin batchesusingtexturemapsisthewaytogo. AIcodingapproachesdivergeoverthebasic principles.Therearestillnoclearwinnersin solvingAIproblems.
01
AI IS JUST PL AIN HARD
businesstypeswhofundgameswanttofund oneswithwowfactor.Thesedays,that generallymeansgraphics,notAI.
throughslongenoughtoshowthecapability oftheAI.Thelatterisreallyonlyapparent whenyouretheplayer.
TAKES TIME TO SPOT AI 03 IT TheAIinCompanyofHeroesisfairly

good,butyoudontrealisethatuntilyouve playedquitealotofthegame.Yourfirst impressionwillbethegraphics,thesound, theuserinterfaceandthemechanics.After yourtenthskirmishgame,youmighttipyour hattotheAI,butfromagamesindustrypoint ofview,atthatpoint,youveeitherboughtthe gameoryouhavent. AImight(atbest)beafeatureyoumention tofriendsafewweeksafterbuyingthegame, butitisntafeaturethatyoucaneasilyputon thebox,whichbringsusto
MANAGERS DONT EASILY 05 GET AI

Itsamazinghowmanyindustrypeoplein suitsdontactuallyplaygames.Itsalsoquite depressing,butthefactremainsthatthe graphicscodercanturntotheirbossandsay, CheckoutthecoollightingeffectIaddedthis week,whereastheAIpersonhastosay,I improvedthepath-findingandtargetselectionalgorithmthisweek,andunless theirbossisplayingthegameforoverthree hoursaday,theyllhavetotaketheAIpersons wordforit.Asaresult,theAIisgivenlower priority,asmallerCPUbudgetandfewer programmerswanttheAIjob.Itshardtopitch forapromotionwhenmanagementdoesnt reallyunderstandyourjob.
AI ISNT SE XY 02 Gamershavebeenknowntophysically
whoopatthesightofamazinggraphicsand very-high-particle-countexplosioneffects. PeopleevencheeredatthephysicsofHalfLife2,butIcantrecallanyeventwherea wholecrowdphysicallygaspedatthe effectivenessoftheAIinagame. Inshort,AIisntconsideredtobeafeature thatopenspeopleswallets.Quitesensibly,
YOU CANT SHOW A 04 SCREENSHOT OF AI

Youcantshowascreenshotofsoundeither, sosounddesignersdeserveoursympathy too.However,wearentlivinginanageof retail-boxsalessomuchnow.Thesedays, thereareYouTubetrailersthatcanshowoff musicandsound,butthemajorityofsurfers onlywatchshorttrailersanddemos,notplay-
HAVE CRA ZY 06 WE E XPECTATIONS OF AI

Thepopularpath-findingalgorithmforRTS gamesiscalledA*.Itsagreatsystem,butit breaksdownundercertainsituations,oneof whichiswhatyoumightcallanelongatedC.
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ReckonyoucouldplayHearts ofIronIIIbetterthantheAIat itsbest?Wedoubtit
ThebackoftheboxforDawnofWarII:Retributionits areal-timestrategygame,butthereisntasingle mentionoftheAI
ImaginetheletterCstretchedrightandleft sothatitdescribesanelongatedcavernor tunnelblockedattheleft.Nowimagineaunit ontherightofthescreennavigatingtoa positiontotheleftoftheletterC.A*willbe convincedfora longtimethatheadingleftis thebestroute,rightupuntilitreachestheend ofthecavernandhastorethink.Whenunitsin RTSgamesdothis,orspendagesthinking howtoavoidit,wethinktheyrestupid. Thisseemsstupid,butwefallforittoo. Infact,anotherindiegamedeveloperand myselfexperiencedthisproblemtryingtofind ahotelonenight(Iassureyouweweresober). Wewalkedforagesthroughafairlydodgylookingpatchofwastegroundtowardsour destinationbeforerealisingtheoppositeend ofthewastegroundwasblockedoff;wethen hadtoretraceoursteps.Therewewere, supposedlyintelligentgamecoderswithover 70yearsofcombinedexperience,andwe couldntevenbeatA*inreallife.Butifarobot scoutinanRTSdoesthis,peopleshoutattheir monitorindisgust.CuttheAIsomeslack.
gameswheretheCPUhastimetomullover itsstrategy.DoyouthinkyoucouldplaySim CityorHeartsofIronbetterthantheAI?I doubtit.Humansaregreatatsnapdecisions andpatternrecognition,butwesuckat masteringextremelycomplexsystemswe justdonthavethememory.Sure,someofus werockatchessbutchesshas64squares. HeartsofIronIIIprobablyhas64differentunit locationsinIslingtonalone. Basically,sometimestheAIistoogood, whichisjustasannoyingasnotbeinggood enough.Thatsweetspotisextremelyhard tojudge.Notonlythat,butgamersbecome activelyannoyedifthegamecheatsupor downtoadjusttotheirplayinglevel.AIis damnedifitloses,winsorjugglesthe numberstomakeitanevenmatch.
AIcodewillkickoneplayerintothedust,get slaughteredbyanotherplayer,andbetotally bamboozledbytheapproachofathird.
NO HARDWARE SUPPORT 09 WhenIwasyoung,andwecommuted

toworkonhorses,therewasnoconsensus aboutgraphicsrendering.Thenvarious hardwaremakersdecidedpolygonswerethe future,andmadededicatedgraphicschips thattookthepoly-pushingburdenofftheCPU. Later,somecleverclogsdevisedshadersand movedevenmoregraphicscodetotheGPU. DoyourememberwhenallthatspareCPU horsepowerwasallocatedtoAI?NordoI,but nobodydevisedspecialhardwarefortheAIto makeitfastereither.Soundgetssoundcards anddedicatedon-boardchips,multiplayer hasLANcardsandnetworkchips,graphics getGPUs,butAIhastositinthecornerand looklonely.Inshort,spareathoughtfortheAI coderthenexttimeyoufeelfrustratedwith gamingAI.GettingAIrightisatoughjob.
AI HAS NO CONSISTENT 08 PL ATFORM

Oneofthereasonsgamedeveloperslove consolesisbecausethehardwareisfixed.If thegameworksfineonthedevkit,itprobably worksfineonyourconsole.Withgraphics, evenonPCs,youcanchoosethetenmost popularGPUs,trythegameonallofthem andworkthroughanybugs.However,with AI,thehardwareyouneedtotestagainstis effectivelytheplayingstyleandbrainofthe player,andwith100,000players,thats 100,000differentsetups.Nobodyhasthe samestrategy,tactics,expectations,reaction times,motivationsandskilllevels.Thesame
WE HAVE THE 07 SOMETIMES OPPOSITE PROBLEM

AnyonewhoplaysamultiplayerFPSalotwill havebeenaccusedofusingwallhacksor aimbotsatsomepoint.Itisntfuntoplay againstanopponentwhosmuchbetterthan you,andgivesyounochance.Theproblemis, sometimestheAIreallycanmasterthegame betterthanyou,especiallyinturn-based
istheone-mancoding wizardbehindPositech Games(www.positech. co.uk),thedeveloperofGratuitous SpaceBattles @cliffski
CLIFF HARRIS
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theengineroom
Rick Lane
Thiefwasoneofseveral classicPCgamesbased ontheDarkEngine SystemShock2s hardwareacceleration showedtheDark Engineslimits
The underlying tech of PC classics such as Thief: The Dark Project and System Shock II, the Dark Engine ushered in a revolutionary new portal system
The Dark Engine

hestoryofLookingGlassStudios isfamiliartomostlong-timePC gamingenthusiasts.Alistofsomeof gamingsmostrecognisednames, includingWarrenSpectorandKenLevine, plustitlessuchasThiefandSystemShock, conjureupimagesofagamedevelopment Utopia;ateamofyoung,ambitiousartists. Similarly,whenpeopletalkaboutthe studiosDarkEngine,thesameaspectsof theenginearealwaysemphasisedthe amazingsounddesign,theadvancedAI, andtheingenioususeoflightandshadow. Nodoubt,thesefeaturescametodefine theDarkEngine,justastheydefinedits flagshipgameThief:TheDarkProject.But theoriginoftheengineisafarmorecomplex andfrequentlymisunderstoodtalethathas moretodowithQuakeandPortalthanthe ideaofThief.Youoftengetthisnarrativethat therewasthisskunk-worksproject,and thenthisskunk-worksprojectturnedinto thisawesomegame,saysSeanBarrett,a formerprogrammeratLookingGlassand themanresponsibleforcreatingthe
graphicsrendererthateventuallyevolved intotheDarkEngine. Thisisntwhathappened,althoughthe now-legendaryenginedidstartlifeasa seriesofproblem-solvingexperimentsin 3Dgraphics.BarrettjoinedLookingGlass duringthelatterstagesofSystemShocks development,partlyoutofhisappreciation fortheUltimaUnderworldgames.While workingonthesquad-basedshooterTerra Nova,Barrettbegantoresearchanenduring problemofgraphicsenginesinhisfreetime. CertainpeopleatLookingGlassalways hadthisidealthatitwouldbegreattodoan RPGwheretherewasanindoordungeon environment,butalsoanoutdoorwalkabout environmentinfirst-person3D,sothatwas ourGrailinasense.Someofuswerealways thinking,Ah,thatwouldbeawesome.Lets doanUnderworld3somedayandmaybedo itindoors/outdoors. Thesolutionlayinanideacalledportal rendering.Ratherthanhavingaseamless, completelyrenderedindoor/outdoor environment,whichwasdifficulttoperform
onhardwareofthetime,thoseenvironments wererenderedseparatelyandconnectedvia portals.Itlooksliketheresjustaconnection betweenoutdoorsandindoors.Beinginthe interiorspaceandlookingattheoutdoor spacelookscontiguous,butunderthehood theresarenderingenginethatsdoingmuch morecomplicatedjobstobridgethegap betweenthosetwoareaswithportals. Ultimately,theportalconceptwasnt usedinthismanner,butithelpedtosolve severalotherproblems.Portalscould significantlyimproveperformanceinindoor environments,astheyreducedtheareathat neededrenderingatanyonetime,and allowedforbuildingswithmultiplestoreys. Perhapsmostimportantly,portalrendering enabledthecreationoflevelsnotbasedona grid.TheUnderworldsandSystemShock actuallyhadagrid,saysBarrett. Everythingwasbasedonthesesquare tiles.Theyhadangledwallsbuttheangles werelimitedtotheanglesthatmatched thegrid,soonly45-degreeangleswere possible.Insomeofmysparetime,Itook
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ANALYSIS
TheanglesofthewallsintheSystem Shockgameswerelimitedtothose thatmatchedthegrid,soonly 45-degreeangleswerepossible
thatideaandtriedtomakethetestbedfor that.Anditworked. Oncefreefromthegrid,theproblem thenbecamehowtocreatelevelswith thisengine.Barrettbeganworkingwith designer/programmerDougChurchon arudimentaryleveleditor.Withsome assistanceviaprivateaccesstoJohn Carmack,ConstructiveSolidGeometry (CSG)technologywasimplemented, enablingconstructionoflevelsusingsolid objectsratherthandefiningthoseobjects individuallythroughtheirvertices. TheniDreleasedQuakeTestabasic, playableversionoftheQuakeengineused to testitonabroadrangeofmachines. QuakeTesthadthistechnologycalledlightmapping,whichwestilluseinmodern games,andmeansthatasinglepolygoncan havedetailedshadowsacrossit,Barrett explains.Weprettymuchimmediately turnedaroundandstartedtoputlightmappingintoit.Thatsreallyimportant, becauseThiefisabouthidinginshadows. Atthispoint,LookingGlasshadacuttingedgegraphicsengine.Infact,itwasso impressivethatwhenWarrenSpectorsaw it,hewantedtoreleaseagameusingit immediately.However,LookingGlasswas adesigncompany,notatechcompany. Consequently,itwasanothertwoyears beforetheenginemadeitspublicdebut withThief;forthefirst18monthsofits
unitssuchasascreamsor,inthecaseof Thief,theclashofswords.Again,thiswasa novelandcomplexwayofusingsound,and itrequireddesignerstobuildasecondary databasethatrepresentedhowsound emanatedthrougheachlevel.TomLeonard, themanresponsibleforcodingThiefsAI, admittedin1999thathedidntrespond quicklyenoughtothechangeindirection fromDarkCamelot. Theendresultwasagamecrammed withnewideas,butgraphicallytwoyears outofdate.Thisbecameespeciallyclearin SystemShock2,thefirstDark EnginegametobehardwareTHE UNDERWORLDS AND acceleratedonly.Thecoretech SYSTEM SHOCK HAD A GRID; Idmadeusingthoseportals turnedouttonotworkvery EVERYTHING WAS BASED ON wellinhardware-accelerated THESE SQUARE TILES rendering,recallsBarrett,or itworkedfinebut didntscale completed,itgavethegamesdesigners verywelltolargerpolygoncounts.The significantcreativepowerwithouthavingto Quakeengineturnedouttoworkbetteras relyonprogrammerstocodeinchangesand youscaleduptolargerpolygoncounts. newfeatures.However,gettingittothat AlthoughthiscausedproblemsforDark stagewasalong,hardprocess. Enginegamesatthetime,itmayalsohave Similarly,theDarkEnginesmostfamous benefitedtheminthelongrun.Graphics feature,itssounddesign,wasoriginally dontimprovewithage.Forlastingappeal,a designedasamethodofcommunication gamemustrelyonotherfactors.Asthetech betweenAIunitsandfromtheplayertothe wasworkablewhenLookingGlassstarted AI.ThisenabledtheAItoactinamorehuman onDarkCamelot, theteamcouldfocuson manner,forexample,respondingto the thoseotherareas,whichiswhyThiefand playersfootsteps,noisesmadebyotherAI SystemShock2remainsoengaging.
development,thiswasbasedonArthurian legendandcalledDarkCamelot.Frustrated, BarrettleftLookingGlassattheendof1996, althoughhecontinuedtoworkforthe companyonandoffuntilitsclosurein2000. Thedelaywasaconsequenceofeveryone elseatLookingGlasswantingtopushthe boundariesofmanyotheraspectsofengine andgamedesign.Forexample,TheDark ObjectSystem,createdbyMarcLeBlanc, wasapowerfuldatabasethatmanagedthe propertiesofin-gameobjectsandthe relationshipsbetweenthem.Once
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PC BUILDING
rst Assembling the various building blocks of your rst PC can be a daunting task if you dont know how it all goes together. Long-serving PC builder Ben Hardwidge shows you how its done
skabattle-scarredPC-buildingveteranwhetheritshardto buildyourfirstPC,andyoumaybegreetedwithgrizzlytales offiddlingwithjumperswitches,hidingribboncablesand spray-paintingcases,followedbyalectureabouthowmuch easieritisnow.Youwerentthere,man.Tobefair,PCbuildinghas definitelybecomeeasierovertheyears,butthatdoesntmeanyoucan justthrowtogetherallourElitelistparts(seep24)andexpectittowork. Theamateurinstallstheirgraphicscardandmemoryinthewrong slots,endsupwithajungleofcablesblockingalltheairflowandthen short-circuitsthemotherboardwhentheypushthepowerbutton.It doesnthavetobethiswaythough.Followouradviceandyoullnotonly helptopreventcomponentfatalities,butwillalsobeabletoputtogether anexpertlybuiltPCthatlooksliketheworkofaseasonedpro. Whenyouvesettledonthebasicspecsthestoragecapacity,CPU, graphicscard,amountofmemoryandsoon,youllneedtomakesure thattheyllallworktogether.Forexample,makesureyouhavea motherboardthataccommodatesyourchosenprocessorcheck thechipset,aswellasthesocket.Verifyeverythinghere,asitspossible tomakeallsortsoferrors.Forexample,somemotherboardsare optimisedforkitsofthreememorymodules,ratherthansetsoftwo, andyoucantfitanATXmotherboardinamicro-ATXcase. Oncethecourierarriveswithallyourboxesofgoodies,unbox everything,layitoutonatableandthinkabouthowyouregoingto assembleit.Youllneedtomakesureyouhaveallthecablesneeded tohookupyourdrives(powerandSATA);thenremoveyourcasesside panelsandtestfitafewpartssoyoucanseewhereeverythingwillfit. Dontbetemptedtooverlookthisstage.Youllneedtoworkoutthe orderinwhichtoinstallyourpartsbeforefittingheatsinksorrouteing cables.Holdthemotherboardoverthecasesmotherboardtray,and thinkabouthowyouregoingtogetthevariousplugsfromthepower supplytotheirappropriatesockets,forexample.Onceyouhaveagood feelforwhereeverythingisgoing,youcanstartconstruction.
GETTING STARTED
Holdonthere!Beforeyougetyourhandsdirty,compileyourspecslist. Givingyouafoolproofbuyingguideforyourexactrequirementsis beyondthescopeofthisfeature,butaskwhatyouwantfromyourPC. OurElitelisthasplentyofideasforvariousbudgetsandrequirements.
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APPLY TIM
Thisgoo,alsoknownasTIM (thermalinterfacematerial),isthe thermallyconductivegunkthat youspreadbetweenyourCPU anditscooler.Thismightseempointless,given thatyoureessentiallyputtingtwometalsurfaces together,butneitherofthesesurfaceswillbe completelyflat,andtheyllalsohavemicroscopic poresthatactasheatinsulators. TIMbasicallyfillsinthegaps,ensuringthatthe majorityoftheheatfromallareasofyourCPU reachesyourcooler.IfyourCPUcooleralready hasasquareofthermalmaterialonthebasethen theresnoneedtoapplyTIM.Ifitdoesnt,however, youllneedtoapplysomeTIM.Asimplewaytodo thisistojustplaceablobinthemiddleofyourCPU, andthenrelyonthepressurefromyourCPUcooler tospreaditacrosstheCPU. However,youllachieveamoreevenspreadby placingasmallblobofTIMonyourCPUsheatspreader,puttingyourfingerinsideaclear plasticbagandthengentlyspreadingitacrossthesurfaceofyourCPUsheatspreader, workingitintothemetal.Youcansafelyskipthisstepifyourheatsinkorwaterblockhas apre-appliedsquareofTIMonthebase.Ifyouaccidentallyspillanyonthecontacts underneaththeCPU,oranywhereelse,youcancleanitupusing AkasaTIMClean(4.78 from www.scan.co.uk)andalint-freecloth.
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Intheory,buildingaPCdoesntrequire muchinthewayoftools.Infact,you couldbuildaworkingmachinewith somenimblefingersandaPhillips screwdriver.However,therearealso plentyoftoolsthatwillnotonlymake thejobeasier,butalsoenableyouto buildaneatandtidyPC.
CABLE TIES
Youcanbuyapackof100blackcable tiesfrom www.scan.co.uk forjust 83p.Theyllenableyoutokeepyour cablesoutofthewayofairflowpaths andslots,whilealsomakingyourPC lookasthoughitwasassembledby anexpert.
WIRE CUTTERS
Apairofwirecuttersmakesitreally easytosnipcabletieswithout damaginganywires.Failingthat,a pairofsharpandthinnailscissorswill alsodothejob.
INSTALL THE CPU COOLER BACKPLATE

DontplacetheCPUinthe socketyet.Yournextjobisto takealookatyourCPUcoolers mountingmechanism.Manyof thesewillrequiretheinstallationofabackplateon theundersideofyourmotherboard,andturning overamotherboardcontainingaTIM-coveredCPU isarecipeforamess. Thisyear,wevedeviatedfromourusualchoice ofastandardaircooler,andinsteadchosento installoneofCorsairsexcellentall-in-oneH100 liquidcoolers.However,theprincipleforeitheris thesameinthisstep.Readtheinstructionsthat accompanyyourcoolerforyourspecificCPU socket.Ifitrequiresabackplatetheninstallthis nowand,ifappropriate,secureitonthetopofthe boardinordertopreventitfromslipping.
NO 2 PHILL IPS-HEAD SCREWDRIVER

ThisisthePCbuildersequivalentof a knifeandforkyoureallywontbe abletobuildaPCwithoutthistool.Its wellworthinvestinginamagnetictippedscrewdriverforthis,asitseasy tolosesmallscrewsinfiddlyplaces.A ratchetscrewdriver,whichenables youtoturnitanti-clockwisewithout looseningyourscrew,willalsomake thejobquicker.
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Unlessyourelucky enoughtohavenonslipmetalthumbs,a pairofsnub-nosepliers willbeessentialwhenit comestoremovinganypartsthat havebeenmachinedintoplace.In particular,theymakeremovingreadyfittedstandoffsmucheasier.

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INSTALL THE MEMORY

Thenextstepdependson yourchosenCPUcooler. Somelargeheatsinks, particularlythosewith big,forward-facingfans,canmakeinstalling memoryapainiftheyreinstalledfirst.This wasntaproblemwithourH100sCPUblock, soweinstalleditfirst;however,withlargeair coolersitswisetoinstalltheRAMfirst. Mostoftodaysmotherboardssupport dual,tripleorquad-channelmemory,which enablesthememorycontrollertointerleave thebandwidthbetweenmultiplememory modules,resultinginfastermemory performance.IntelsLGA2011systems supportquad-channelmemory,whichcan beboughtinfour-DIMMkits,whilemost othersystemssupportdual-channel memory,availableinsetsoftwomodules. AssumingyouhavetherightRAM,you needtodeterminewhichslotswillenable dualorquad-channelmode.Consultyour motherboardmanualforthisinformation, asusingthewrongslotscouldresultin losinghalfyourmemorybandwidth. Onceyouknowwhichslotstouse,flip downthetwoclipsateachendoftheslot(or justtheright-handclipinthecaseofsome boards,includingtheAsusMaximusVGene weused),andthenmakesureyourDIMMis positionedtherightwayaround.EachDIMM hasanotchonthebottomconnector,which alignswiththenotchintheslotoneendof thebottomconnectorwillbelongerthanthe other.Whenitstherightwayaround,slotit carefullyintothenarrowslotandpushit downfirmlyfromthemiddle.Whenitsin place,theclipswillspringupautomatically andholdthememoryintheslot.
INSTALL THE CPU

OnbothAMDandIntelsockets therewillbealevernexttothe socket,whicheffectivelyopens it.Thiswillusuallybeheldinby anotch,soyoullneedtoslidetheleverunderthe notch,andthenliftitup.OnanIntelLGAsystem, youllnowbeabletoopenthesocketlid.Bevery carefulwhenhandlingtheCPUsocket(orthepins onAMDCPUs),particularlywhenitcomesto IntelsLGAsockets,asitonlytakesasingle damagedpintopreventyourprocessorfrom functioningproperly. YournextstepistoinstalltheCPU,holdingit carefullybytheedges.OnanAMDsystem,there willbealargetrianglesomewhereonthesocket andtheCPUthatdenotespin1linetheseup, installtheCPUandthenslidedowntheleverto holditinplace.OnanIntelLGAsystem,therewill benotchesintheCPUsocketthatlineupwiththe pitsonthesideoftheCPUyoushouldonlybe abletoinstallitonewayaround.Onceitsinplace, pushdownthelidandslidetheleverbackdown underitsnotchtoholditinplace.
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INSTALL THE CPU COOLER

Thisstepisoftenthetrickiest,so prepareyourselfforashortburst ofconcentrationandnimbleness, whichmaybefollowedbynaughty wordsandsorefingers.Thebondbetweenthecooler andCPUhastobereallytightinordertotransferas muchheataspossible,soitscrucialthatyou patientlytakethetimetocorrectlyinstallyourcooler ascrewoutofplacecouldruinthewholesetup. Thankfully,theblockthatsincludedwithour CorsairH100isnttoohardtoinstallitjustneeds screwingintoplace.Whenscrewinginanycooler, alwaysgraduallytightenupthescrewsindiagonal pairstoapplyanevenamountofpressure.Onceyouvetightenedupthescrews aroundhalfway,givethecooleralittlewiggletomakesuretheTIMisevenlyspread betweentheCPUandcooler,andthenscrewintherestofthescrewsalltheway. Ifyoureinstallinganaircoolerthatdoesnthaveafanalreadyattached,yournext jobistoattachyourfan.Thefanneedstopullairfromthefrontofthecaseandexpelit outtheback,somakesurethefansfrontfacesthefrontoftheboard,andanyairflow indicatorspointtowardstheback.Youcannowplugyourfanintothemotherboards CPUfanpowerconnector.Ifyoureinstallinganall-in-oneliquidcooler,suchasthe CorsairH100, theninstalltheCPUblockandconnectitspower.
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INITIAL TESTING
Congratulationsyouve constructedyourPCs basicfoundation,solets seeifitworks.Doingthis nowwillsaveyoualotoffiddlingwithscrews andcabletiesifyourmachinedoesntfireup onceitsinthecase.Weveplacedourskeletal systemontopofthemotherboardbox,asthis enablesyoutoinstallagraphicscardwiththe endofitsbackplatecorrectlyhangingoffthe edgeoftheboard. Itwillneedsomepowerforthisstep,so grabyourPSU,hookingupthebig24-pinATX powerconnectortomotherboardssocket (weveusedanoldEnermaxPro82+here,as allthenewPSUswereinthephotography studioatthetime).Therewillalsobea12V socket,normallypositionedneartheCPU.Theseusuallyhave eightpinsoncurrentmotherboards,butmostPSUsofferflexible variationsforboardswith4-pinsockets.Eitherway,theplugforthis socketshouldhavealabelalongthelinesof12VCPU. Yournextjobistoslotyourgraphicscardintothe16xPCI-Eslot (thelongslotswithnotchesontheend)nearesttotheCPU.Asa generalrule,thisslotalwayshasthefull16lanesallocatedtoit, whereassomemotherboardsonlyallocateeightorfourlanesto slotslowerdown;ifindoubt,checkyourmotherboardmanual. Onceitsinplace,pluginthegraphicscardpowerconnectors.These eitherhavesixoreightpins,andnormallyfeaturealabelalongthe linesofPCI-Epower.SomePSUsenableyoutousea6-pinplugas an8-pinplugbyjoiningupanextra2-pinplugbytheside.
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Afterthat,connectakeyboardandmonitor, plugyourpowersupplyintothemainsand flickitspowerswitchifithasone.Atthispoint, wealsohookeduptheradiatortoourCorsair H100cooler,andconnecteditspowerpoints totheCPUblockandthepowersupply. YournexttaskistoswitchonthePC.Some motherboards,includingourAsusMaximusV Gene,featureapowerswitch,buttheresno needtofretifyoursdoesnt.Youjustneedto locatethemotherboardspowerswitchpin headers,socheckyourmotherboardmanual fortheirlocation.Thenplaceyourscrewdriver betweenthetwopinheaderstoshortoutthe connectionandswitchonyourPC. Ifnothinghappens,disconnectthepower andtryreseatingallthecomponents.Ifit works,yourmachinehaspassedthePOSTphase(power-onself test).YournextjobistopresstheEnterSetupkey(usuallyDel), whichwilltakeyouintothesystemsBIOSorEFIsystem. Onceyourein,trackdownthesystemsPCHealthStatussection (itmaybecalledsomethingelsesimilartothis).Youcancheckyour CPUtemperatureheretoensurethattheheatsinkisinstalled correctly.AstheCPUisperformingverylittleworkhere,youcan surmisethatsomethingiswrongiftheCPUtemperatureishigher than50C.Ifyourprocessorisbecomingtoasty,tryreinstalling yourCPUcooler. Ifeverythingisfine,makesureallthefansarespinning,switchoff yoursystemandremovethepowerconnectorsandgraphicscard. Youcansafelyleavetherestofthepartsinplace.
INSTALL THE PSU

Beforeyoufitanything inthecase,remove bothitssidepanelsto gainfullaccesstoall theavailablespace.Thefirstcomponent toinstallisthePSU,asyouwantasmuch freespaceaspossibleforrouteingitscables.Ifyouhaveamodular PSU,considerwhichcablesyouneedforyourcomponents,and thenlookatwheretheplugswillneedtobeavailable. Dependingonyourcase,yourPSUfanmayfaceeitherupwards ordownwards,butitwillonlyscrewonewayintotheholesatthe back.Fititinplace,andtightenthefourscrewsfromthebackin diagonalpairs. ThePSUisthebiggestculpritformessycables,sousethe nearestholesthroughtotheothersideofthecasetothreadlong
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powercables,andthenbringtheplugsbackthroughtotheother sideneartheirappropriatesockets.Forexample,wethreadedthe 12VCPUpowercablethroughtheholebythePSU,routeditup behindthemotherboardandthenthreadeditbackthroughaholeat thetop,rightnexttothe12VCPUsocketifyoursisntlongenough todothis,youcanpickupextensioncablesformostpowercables fromplacessuchas www.kustompcs.co.uk.Itsalsotimetothread yourcasesfront-panelconnectorsbehindthedrivebaystothe areaswheretheyllconnecttothemotherboard.
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FIT THE DRIVES

Thewayinwhichyouinstallstoragedevicesvariesbetween cases,withsomerequiringscrewsandothersfeaturingtool-less designs.However,therearestillsomegeneralrules.Withour FractalDesignDefineR4,wehadtoopenthefrontdoortoaccess thefrontofthe5.25inbays,andthenslideoffaplastic5.25inbaycoverandslideour opticaldriveintoplace. Whenchoosingabay,youalsoneedtoconsiderthelengthofyourSATApowerand datacables.However,somecasesalsorequireyoutoremovetheentirefrontfascia (seep114)andthenremoveametalblankingplatebeforeyoucanperformthisstep. Inthesecases,whenyouveslottedinyouropticaldrive,replacethefrontpanelso thatyoucanlineupitsbezelwiththeedge.Youllthenneedtoscrewinthedrive frombothsides. Manycasesfeatureremovableharddrivecages,whichmakethenextinstallation jobeasy.However,harddrivesbecomehot,soideally,youshouldpositionthemnext toafanwithsomespacebetweeneachonesothattheydontblocktheairflow completely.Ifpossible,mountthedriveswiththeconnectorsfacingtherightside panel,asthismakeshidingcablesmucheasierthiswaspossibleinourR4caseby slidingtheharddrive rubbergrommetsdown anotchandturningthe SSDaroundtheother way.Ifyourcasehas rubbermounting grommets,usethese whenmountinghard drives,astheyabsorb vibrationsandminimise noiselevels. Ifyouhavea2.5in SSD,youlleitherneed toscrewitintoa2.5in to3.5inbayadaptor (sometimesprovided withSSDs),orusethe alternativescrewholes inthebottomofhard drivebaysortheactual 2.5inbaysthatsome casesprovide.Then hookupthepower connectorsandSATA cables.Routethese behindthemotherboard trayifpossible,and connectthemtothe IntelSATA6Gbpsportsif possible.However, the onlydrivesthatbenefit fromSATA6Gbpsare newtop-endSSDs.
INSTALLTHE MOTHERBOARD
Takealookatthebottom ofyourmotherboard,and youllnoticethatits coveredindelicate circuits,tracesandsolderpoints.Assuch, screwingitdirectlyintoametalcasewill resultinshortcircuits,potentiallyfryingyour newkit.Thesolutionistousestandoffs littlescrewswithasecondscrewholeinthe top;theseareincludedwithyourcase,and sitbetweenthemotherboardandcase.
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However,notallmotherboardshavethe samescrewlayout,soexamineyourboards screwholeseachonerequiresa correspondingstandoff.Inourexample, wereinstallingamicro-ATXmotherboard inanATXcase,andtheDefineR4includes labelsformicro-ATXstandoffs. Thisalsoappliestocaseswithstandoffs alreadyfitted,asoneinthewrongplace couldstillshortoutacircuit.Youcaneasily removestandoffsusingyoursnub-nose pliers,andtightenupnewonesbyhand. Youllalsoneedtoslotyourboardsrearport panelintoitsplaceinthebackofthecase. Makesureitstherightwayaround,andgive itafirmpushatthetopandthebottomto secureitinplace.Finally,removeyourcases backplateswhereyouplantoinstall expansioncards,suchasyourgraphicscard. Youcannowputtheboardinplace,taking carenottoscrapeitagainstthestandoffs, andscrewitin,alternatingdiagonally betweenscrewsatthetopandbottom. Afterthat,pluginthe24-pinATXand12V CPUconnectors,slotyourgraphicscardinto thetopPCI-Eslotandthenhookupitspower connectorsjustasyoudidduringyourinitial testing(seep95).
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INSTALL THE RADIATOR

IfyoureinstallinganaircoolerforyourCPU, youcansafelyskipthisstep.However,ifyoure installinganall-in-oneliquidcooler,suchasour H100thennowisthetimetoinstalltheradiator doingthisbeforeyouinstallthemotherboardwillmakeitvirtually impossibletohookupthe12VPSUconnector.Yourradiatorwill eitherhavetositinavacantfanmount,orreplaceanexistingfan, dependingonthedesignofyourradiatorandcase. Inourexample,weregoingtoinstallitintheroofofourDefineR4 case,whichfirstnecessitatestheremovaloftwo140mmblanking plates.Oncetheseareremoved,youcanworkoutwheretoroute theradiatorspowercablesideally,theyshouldfacetherightside panel.Thenthreadthepowercablesthroughaholetothebackof themotherboard. YoucantheneitherhookthecablesuptothePSUs4-pinMolex connectorsbehindthemotherboard,orthreadthembackthrough tothefanpowersocketsonthemotherboard.Ideally,thefansneed tobepushingairoutofthecase,sothebacksofthefansshouldbe directedtowardsthetoporbackofthecase.
Withyourcablerouteingsorted,youcanthenscrewinthe radiator.Thisisjustacaseofliningitupwiththeoriginalholesin yourfanmountandscrewingitin,asdescribedintheinstructions thataccompanyit.OurR4casehasmountingholesforadual 140mmradiatorasstandard,butalsohasholesforadual120mm radiator(liketheonewiththeH100)justlocatetheseandscrew theradiatorintoplace.
CONNECT THE FRONT PANEL

Nearlythere!Youcannow hookupthebuttons,lights andportsonthefrontofyour case.Thesewillpluginto specificheadersonyourmotherboard, andtheirwiresareusuallygroupedina bundle.Manymotherboardsfeaturean on-boarddiagramshowingwhichpinsgo withwhichconnectors,butconsultyour motherboardmanualifyoursdoesnt. YoullalsoneedtohookupyourUSBports andaudiojackstotheboardsappropriate pins.Theseareusuallyinblocks,but sometimestheyhaveseparatewiresfor eachpin.Ifthisisthecase,checkyour motherboardmanualtofindoutexactly whichwiresconnecttowhichpins.Some newcasesalsoincludeabigbluecablefor hookinguptothemotherboardsUSB3pin headers.Whentheyreallpluggedin,group allthewiresneatlytogetherunderneaththe board,tiethemtightlytogetherwithcable tiesandthreadanyexcesscablebackbehind thedrivebays.
TIDY THE CABLES

Nowthateverythingisscrewedinplace,itstimetostarttidying upthosecablessothattheyreoutoftheway.Bunchtogether anycablesnexttoeachother,andtiethemtightlytogetherwith cableties.Manycasesalsofeaturehooksonthebackofthe motherboardtray,whichareperfectfortyingpowercablestothecase,and preventingthemfromstraying. Ideally,youwanttohideasmanycablesaspossiblebehindthemotherboardtray, butthereisntalotofspacebetweenthetrayandthesidepanel.Assuch,youllneed toensurethatyouarentstackinganyofthePSUcablesontopofeachother. Makeuseofany availablenooks andcrannies,and rememberthatno oneisgoingtolook undertheright sidepanel.It doesntneedto lookneatandtidy, butyouneedtobe abletoreplacethe sidepanelonthe case.Pullany cabletiestight, andthensnipoff theendswithyour wirecutters.
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APPLY THE FINISHING TOUCHES

YourPCisnowreadyfor action,buttherearestill afewfinalstagesbefore youcanhitthepower switch.First,makesurethatallyourcases coolingfanshavepower,eitherviathe3-pin connectorsonthemotherboardorthe 4-pinMolexconnectorsfromyourpower supply.Also,haveagoodlookoverthecase toseeifyoucanspotanythingthathasnt beenconnectedtheprimecandidatesareyourCPUcoolingfan andyourgraphicscardspowerconnectors. Beforeyoureplacethesidepanels, though,youllneedtorepeatstep6tomake surethateverythingisworking.Hookupa keyboardandmonitorandpushthepower button.Makesurethatallthefansare spinning,includingthecasefans,CPUfan andgraphicscardfan.Listenforthehard drivestelltaleclicksandpresstheEject buttononyouropticaldrivetomakesure itsworking.Ifyourmachinesuccessfully survivesthePOSTprocessthenyourereadytoscrewontheside panels,andproceedwithsettinguptheEFIandinstallingWindows.
OurH100CPUblockcan beinstalledinpretty muchanyconfiguration, but ifyoureusinganair cooler,makesurethe fanfacesthefrontofthe casesothatitspushing airoutoftheback.
MakesureyourRAM isinstalledinthe correctslotstoenable dual,tripleorquadchannelmode,sothat youobtainasmuch bandwidthaspossible. Theinformationwill beincludedinyour motherboardmanual.
Threadallthepower cablesbehindthe motherboard,and thenthreadthemback throughtotheotherside toaspotclosetotheir correspondingplugon themotherboard.
Makeuseofanyspare holesforthreadingthe front-panelconnectors.In ourcase,thefrontpanel audioconnectorisnearthe backofourmotherboard, sowevethreadedit throughanotherholejust abovethePSU.
Thefront-paneland SATAdatacablescan beneatlyroutedbehind thedrivebays,andthen threadedbackthrough totheirpointsonthe motherboard.
Ifpossible,install yourharddriveswith thepowerandSATA connectorsfacingthe right-handsidepanel ofthecasetomakefor easycabletidying.
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CONFIGURE THE BIOS OR EFI

MostmotherboardsincludeafancyEFIsystem, ratherthantheoldtext-basedBIOSofyore,but youllstillneedtoconfigurethesamesettings witheithersystematthisstage.Youcanaccess theBIOSorEFIbypressingtheSetupkey(usuallyDel)whenyour machinestarts,andyoullthenbepresentedwithamenusystem. StartbyheadingtotheStandardCMOSFeaturesmenuto checkthatallyourdriveshavebeendetected.Afterthat,gotothe Advancedfeaturessection,whereyoushouldfindanoptiontoset thefirstbootdevicecheckyourmotherboardmanualifyoucant findthissettingourAsusMaximusVGenehadanentiremenu sectioncalledBootwiththesesettings. SetthefirstbootdevicetoCDROM,andtheseconddevicetothe driveonwhichyouregoingtoinstallyouroperatingsystemthis willtellthesystemtobootfromyourWindowsdisc.Ifyouhavean SSDthenenableAHCImodeontheSATAchanneltowhichits connected,asthiswillenableTRIMinWindowsandprevent performancedegradation. Whileyourehere,itsalsoworthcheckingthePCHealthStatus sectionjusttomakesurethatyourCPUisrunningatareasonable
temperaturebelow50Candthatyourmemoryisrunningatits correctspeedandlatencysettings.Whenyouresatisfied,insert yourWindowsdiscandselectSaveSettings&Exit(F10isusually theshortcutkey).
INSTALL WINDOWS 7
Youcannowsitbackandeagerlywaitforthe magictostart.WhenyournewlybuiltPChas gonethroughitsPOSTphase,itwillpromptyou topressanykeytobootfromtheopticaldrivedo this,andyoullbepresentedwiththeWindowsinstallscreen.Select thecorrectlanguage,timesettingandkeyboardlayout,andclick Next.Inthenextscreen,chooseCustomandselectthedriveon whichyouwanttoinstallWindowstheSSDifyouhaveone. Windowswillnowinstallifitrestarts,dontpressanykeytoboot fromtheWindowsdisc,asthemotherboardcannowbootfromthe harddrive. OnceWindowsisrunning,installyourmotherboardchipset driver,thestoragedriverifyouhaveoneandthenyourgraphics carddriver.Althoughmostcomponentsincludeadriverdisc, alwayscheckthemanufacturerswebsiteforthelatestdrivers. NowclicktheWindowsbutton,typeDeviceManagerintothe SearchboxandhitEnter.Findadriverforanythingsportingan exclamationmark,preferablyviathesearchonlinefeature.Younow justneedtomakesurethatyourPCisstable,usingastresstest suchasPrime95fortheCPUand3DMark11fortheGPU.IfyourPC survivesthesetestsforseveralhours,youcancongratulateyourself onajobwelldone.
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BERLIN 2012
Antony Leather checks out some of the worlds nest nest mods displayed on the Galileo Stage at Campus Party Europe 2012
eBIT,Computex,E3thereareloadsof techshowsthroughouttheyearthat bringallmanneroftechnological areastogether.However,fewareaimedpurely attheyoungergenerations,withaprimary focusoninspirationandknowledge.Anotable
exceptionisCampusParty,whichtakesplace inalternatingcitiesacrosstheglobe. ThismonthitwasBerlinsturntoplayhost tothethousandsofCampusPartyattendees, manyofwhomcampedoutattheevent,which wassimilartoagiantLANparty.Aswellas
talksfrominfluentialsuperstarssuchas authorPauloCoelhoandSirTimBerners-Lee ,scoresofPCmodderswereattheeventtoo, showingofftheirweirdandwonderfulworks ofart.Onthesetwopagesaresomeofthe finestmoddingworkwesawondisplay.
FEEL IN LUCKY, STEAMPUNK?

Steampunkisalwaysapopular themein modding,butitwasthestaroftheshowat Campus Party, with several steampunk PCs CampusParty,withseveralsteampunkPCs drawinghugecrowds.Mostwerescratch user, thechoozen builds,but bit-tech forum forumuser,thechoozen (whoalsomademodssuchasCosmos Dragon),turnedastandardCoolerMaster ATCS840intooneofthebest-looking steampunkprojectsattheshow(seethe third image). You can see more of the project thirdimage).Youcanseemoreoftheproject at http://tinyurl.com/cjqamwg
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EXTREME CUSTOMISATION
ON THE FLY
Wearentsurewhomadethis six-leggedPC(below),butit wascertainlyoneofthemost interestingprojectsattheshow. Yetagain,thismachinefeatures amini-ITXmotherboard,with brushedaluminiumsheets making up the distinctive shape of a housefly. makingupthedistinctiveshapeofahousefly. forum user p0Pes latest creation, Wealsocameacross bit-tech forumuserp0Peslatestcreation, M8(above),whichhousesitshardwareinsideahugeCaseLabsM8 workstationcase.Aswellasbeingpackedwithwater-cooling hardware,p0Pehasenviableaccesstoa3Dprinter,whichheusedto createmanyofthecustompartsinside,aswellasascalemodelofa GermanMaustankfromWorldofTanks.Thatisntmilkinthetubing eitheritsactuallywhitepastelcoolantfromUKcoolingmanufacturer Mayhems.Headto http://tinyurl.com/project-m8 toseemore.
ALL WHITE
Anotherfantasticprojectwas CT700(right)byforumuser Paladin.Itlookslikeascratch build,butunderneaththe illuminatedacrylicexterior arethebonesofaCougar6XR9 case.Theshellismadeupofseveral layersofacrylicsandwichedtogetherwithLEDs.Seethewhole buildlogat http://tinyurl.com/ct700mod YoumightrecogniseWhitebyforumuseralain-s(left)from ourpagesbeforeitsoneofthemostspectacularSilverStone TJ-07projectsweveseen.Aswellasincredibleattentionto detail,itsportsnickel-platedcopperpipingforthewater-cooling systemstubing.Seemoreat http://tinyurl.com/cq992ey
OFF THE WALL

Forumuserthechoozenwasalsoresponsibleforthisfantastic Wall-Escratchbuild.AswellaslookingtruetothelovablePixar character,theprojecthousesamini-ITXsystemandcanevenmove around,thankstoaremotecontrolsystemandelectricmotors poweringthetracks.Seemoreat http://tinyurl.com/wallemod WealsosawanamazingdeskPCfrom bit-tech forumuserPaslis. Fullywater-cooled,thetopflipsopenonhydrauliclevers.Youcan seemoreofhisworkat http://tinyurl.com/paslis
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Your chance to get involved in CPC and bit-tech
Name ShaneFuga Age 25 Occupation Networkadministrator Location Pittsburgh,USA MainusesforPC Windows HomeServer Likes Modding,movies,rockmusic andanytechIcangetmyhandson Dislikes Applecomputers
Using hand-cut aluminium and lasercut acrylic, Shane Fugu created this distinctive honeycomb-inspired PC, complete with two water-cooling loops
Ithought,whydon'tIseeifIcanfindasponsor towater-coolit?Water-coolingthisproject waspurelyfortheeyecandy. CPC: Wheredidthenamecomefrom? Shane: IsawthePhinixNanoTowerbyMike Krysztofiakon bit-tech earlylastyear,and thoughtits'honeycomb'designlookedreally cool,soIthoughtI'dgiveitashotandusethe honeycombideaforthewindows.Ialso wantedtofeaturesomeilluminatedhexagons onpartofthecase,butwasneverabletodoit. CPC: Whatspecsdidyouchoose,andwhy? Shane: TheGigabyteGA-X58A-OC motherboardwaschosenpurelyforits awesomeblackandorangecolourscheme. Icouldn'tfindanyothermotherboardatthe timesportingthosetwocolours.Ithenchose theCorei7-950becauseitwasthebestIcould affordwithmybudget.WindowsHomeServer canonlyuseamaximumof4GBofRAM,so Ipickeda2x2GBkitofCorsairDominator RAM,aswellasanEK-DominatorRAMblock. IalsochosetouseanEVGAGTX460SE GPU,asithasmorethanenoughpowerifI wanttowatchvideosontheserver,andit
CPC: Whatinspiredyoutobuild Honeycomb,andwhydidyou water-coolit? Shane: I'dwantedtobuildafast WindowsHomeServerformymediaathome foralongtime,andItriedveryhardtofinda sponsortoprovidethecasebutdidn'thave anyluck.IknewIwantedittobehousedina double-widthcasethatcouldholdalotofhard drives,muchliketheDangerDenorMountain Modscases.Iwonderedwhatwouldhappen ifIusedtheaspectsIlikedabouteachofthose manufacturers'casesandmademyown,and decideditwouldbefuntofindout. Ialsowantedtolearn.I'veseenlotsof peoplemakescratchbuilds,buttheyoften haveaccesstolotsofmaterialsand workshopswiththelatestmachinery.I wantedtodothesame,butmyresources werelimitedtotabletoptools.WhileI'matit,
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ENTERYOUROWNPCATHTTP://FORUMS.BIT-TECH.NET
ofShane'sblackandorange HoneycombPCinthe fullprojectlogat http://tinyurl.com/ ProjectHoneycomb
SEE MORE
churnsoutarespectablenumberofpoints forFolding@Hometoo. Meanwhile,findingagoodRAIDcard thatwouldn'tbreakthebankwashard,butI foundabrand-newIntelSRCSAS18ERAID controllerforagoodpriceoneBay.Ithen optedforsix2TBWesternDigital2TBGreen drives.Theyonlyspinat5,400rpm,butyou
reallydon'tnoticethedifference.Luckily,I boughtallofthembeforethefloodinThailand in2011,whichmadethepricesskyrocket.I havespacefortenmoreinside,soIdon'tthink I'llneedtoupgradethecaseanytimesoon. CPC: Whichmaterialsdidyouuse? Shane: Ireallywantedtousesteelforthis project,butitcosttoomuchtohaveitshipped andIdidn'thavethepropertoolstoworkonit. Instead,Iusedaluminiumsquaretubingfor theframeand1/4inacrylicforthepanels. TheacrylicpanelsweretheonlypiecesI couldhavecuttosizeinadvance,althoughI hadtocutallofthedesignsandholesinto themmyself.It'sprettyeasytoworkwithcast acrylicand,sinceIhadthesheetslaser-cut, theyhadevenedgessoIcoulduseaT-square andmapoutmydesignontothem.Itwasalso veryeasytoworkwiththealuminiumtubing,
anditdidn'trequiremuchefforttocutit.Itwas alsocheap,soIwasabletomakemistakes withoutworryingaboutthecost. CPC: Whatdifficultiesdidyoucomeacross whenbuildingHoneycomb? Shane: Thehardestjobwasfiguringouthow
SYSTEM SPECS
CPU Intel Core i7-950 GPU EVGA GeForce GTX 460 SE Storage 1 x 320GB Western Digital Black hard drive; 6 x 2TB Western Digital Green hard drives Memory 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1,600MHz Corsair Dominator DDR3 Motherboard Gigabyte GA-X58A-OC PSU 1,000W OCZ Cooling EK-Supremacy CPU block, Bitspower GTX 460 block, EK-RAM Dominator block, 2 x EK-Multioption 250 reservoirs, 2 x EK-DCP 4.0 pump, 2 x EK-CoolStream XTC (420), 8 x 140mm Xigmatek orange LED fans, 1 x 120mm Xigmatek orange LED fan
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rightspots,becausethere'snogoingback afteryou'vecutordrilled.Measurearoundfive timesandcutonce.AsImadealotofpartsof thisprojectbyhand,mymeasurementshad tobeexactlyright.Luckily,Iboughtenough materialfortheframetomakemistakes,but thatwasonlybecausethealuminiumwas cheap.Imadeahugemistakeontheback panelandcostmyselfalmost20hoursof workbybreakingthepanelinhalf. CPC: Areyouhappywiththeendresult? Shane: Iam,butwithhindsight,Iwould changeseveralparts.First,Iwouldusea singleloopandremovetheharddriveblocks. Itsnicetohavetwoloops,butonewould sufficeandthere'ssomuchairflowthatthe harddrivesdon'tbecomeveryhotanyway.I wouldalsohavetheframelaser-cutfrom steel,ratherthancuttingaluminiumbyhand. Iwasoffbyafewmillimetresinplaces,and youcantellbythesmallgapsinthepanels. IalsothoughtI'dplannedwellenoughfor thecablemanagementbutIwaswrong.You canseeallthewiresthatgotothecustom temperaturemonitor(12sensors),andthat justlooksmessy.Finally,Iwouldmakethe entirecaseslightlylonger.Thisway,Iwouldn't haveputthereservoirsinfrontofanyofthe motherboardhardware,andIcouldhavea littlemorespacetoforapush/pullradiator configurationtoincreasetheircooling capacity.BymakingthesefewchangesI wouldhaveamuchbetterendproduct.
tobuildtheframeandensureitwassturdy. Lotsofpeoplewhohaveconstructedscratch buildsfromsteeloraluminiumweldedthe framestogether,butIdidn'thaveaccessto aweldersoIhadtofigureoutanotherplan. ImademyownLBrackets,andusedselftappingscrewstokeepallthebarstogether. IalsousedsomeJBWeldonthejointsto maketheframestronger. Anotherissuewasmakingthedoorsstay onthecase.Drillingaholeandputtingascrew initiseasy,butwhatifyouwanttoremoveand replacethepanelslotsoftimeswithout strippingthehole?Ifoundsomepoprivets withsteelthreadsinthemandtheyworked great.Youjustdrillahole,andthenusethe special'pop-rivet'tooltoaddthesteelthreads. Ialsodidn'thaveaccesstoamachineshop, soIhadtofigureouthowtomakemyown.I wentonlineandboughtasmall,tabletop drillpress(whichendedupbeingmoreofa hindrancethanahelp),and120mmand 140mmcirclecutterstocutallthefanholes. However,thesedidn'tworkwellwiththedrill press,soIboughtahandheldjigsawandcut themallbyhandinstead. Thejigsawisthemodder'sbestfriend.As longasyouusetherightbladeforthematerial yourecutting,it'sapieceofcake.I'veuseditto
cutintoseveraldifferentcasesandpiecesof acrylicthatvariedinthickness. Ialsopurchaseda10inmitresaw,which provedtobeveryuseful.Iusedittocutthe aluminiumtubing,andIwassurprisedbyits precision.Icutthefirstfewpiecesalittle short,buttherestcameoutperfectlyonce I'dworkedouthowmuchtocutit.Thisalso provedusefulwhenmakingtheLBrackets, whichIcutfromasinglepieceofangled aluminium.Anotherveryusefultoolwasmy 14.4Vbattery-powereddrill,whichwasmore thanpowerfulenoughformyneeds. CPC: Whatdidyoulearnfromthebuild process? Shane: Iaskedthemoddingcommunitymany questions,andlearnedalotonmyowntoo. Forexample,layingoutthedualwatercoolingloopsetupwashardIhadtomake sureIdrilledholesinthecentreplateinthe
BE A WINNER!
ToenteryourmachineforpossibleinclusioninReaders Drives,yourmodneedstobefullyworkingand,ideally, finishedbasedintheUK.Simplylogonto www.bit-tech.net andheadovertotheforums.Once yourethere,postawrite-upofyourmod,alongwithsomepics,intheProjectLogsforum.Make sureyoureadtherelevantrulesandadvicestickythreadsbeforeyoupost.Thebestentranteach monthwillbefeaturedhere,wherewellprintyourphotosofyourprojectandalsointerviewyou aboutthebuildprocess.Fameisnttheonlyprize; youllalso getyourhandsonafabulous selectionofprizesseetheoppositepagefordetails.
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HTTP://FORUMS.BIT-TECH.NET
Weve teamed up with some of the worlds leading PC component manufacturers and retailers to offer this great range of prizes to each lucky Readers Drives winner. If your creation is featured in the magazine then youll walk away all three of the prizes listed on this page, so get in your entries!
Totalvalue 142incVAT Manufacturer www.corsair.com CorsairbelievesthatagreatPCstartswithagreat case.TheCorsairCarbideSeries300Ris acompactexpressionofthiscore philosophy.Itpacksina remarkablenumberoffeatures givenitscompactdimensions, providesbuilderswithtonnesof roomforexpansion,andhas amazingcoolingpotential.And, likeallCorsaircases,itsbuilt usingthefinestmaterialsand finishedtothehigheststandards, soitwillwithstandseveralyears ofupgrades. Justasaqualitycaseis essentialtobuildingaquality PC,ahigh-performance,highqualitypowersupplyisalsoavital ingredient.BasedontheawardwinningTXV2Series,thenew EnthusiastSeriesModularPSUsadda modularcablingsystemforimprovedinstallation
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES 300R CASE AND 550W TX MODULAR POWER SUPPLY
flexibility.TXModularpowersuppliesarebuilt usingqualitycomponents,andarerigorously testedandqualifiedat100percentloadatan ambienttemperatureof50Cforunmatched reliability.Theyredesignedtoasuperior standard,sothattheynotonlymeettheATX specification,butalsoexceedit.Inadditionto unmatchedquality,TXModularPSUsarealso power-efficient,offering85percentenergy efficiencyorhigherat50percentload. WithaCorsairCarbideSeries300Rcaseand 550WTXModularpowersupplyattheheartof yourbuild,youllhavethefoundationsforatruly awesomegamingmachine.
PHOBYA MODDING KIT
Value 50incVAT Manufacturer www.phobya.com,www.aqua-tuning.co.uk pre-braidedextensioncablegivesyouextra routeingoptionsinyourcase,anditalsoenables youtorunuptofourfansfromonecompatible motherboardheader.Meanwhile,the PhobyaSATA3cablesincludedinthekit offerthesamegreatqualitybraidingas therestofthePhobyarange,whilealso securingyourconnectionwith latchedconnectors.Aswellas this,thekitincludesthePhobya SlimGuideController,whichgives youtheoptiontovarythespeed ofotherfansinyourcase,while thePhobyaTwinLEDsletyou shinealightonyourmods.
ThePhobyamoddingkitisdesignedwiththemodderinmind,offering greatvalueformoneyandqualityproducts.ThekitincludesNano-G 12SilentWaterproof1,500rpmmulti-optionfans,whichuse aninnovativefan-bladedesign.As standard,thefansincludebraided blackcablestokeepyourcaselooking asneataspossible.Thefansarealso suppliedwithaspecialcablethat letsyourunthefanat5Vratherthan 12V,reducingthenoiseemitted inordertohelpyoutobuilda silentsystem. Thekitalsoincludesthe 60cmPhobya3-pinMolexto 4x3-pinMolexY-cable.This
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make an lED temperature sensor

rduinomicrocontrollerssuch astheArduinoLeonardo(see Issue109,p44)offerplentyof possibilitiesforPCmodders, providingpowerfulcontrolandsensing capabilitiesinacompactandaffordable package.Usingtheeasy-to-learnWiring library,itspossibletoquicklycreatesome impressivedevicestoexpandyournextmod. Inthisguide,wellshowyouhowto combineanArduinowithanRGBLEDanda cheaptemperaturesensortocreatealowcost,temperature-sensitivelightingsystem foryourPC.Withcustomisabletriggerlevels, andat-a-glancetemperaturemonitoring,its averycheapadditionforacustombuild.
Gareth Halfacree shows you to how to get your modding hands dirty with an Arduino-based PC temperature-sensitive light system
Before getting started on the hardware, well need to install the Arduino integrated development environment (IDE.) This enables programs known as sketches to be compiled and uploaded to the chip. Download the latest version from www.arduino.cc and follow the installation instructions on the site.
INSTALL THE ARDUINO IDE
Takingthebreadboardor stripboard,if yourebuilding something more permanent insert the RGB LED by splaying the legs and pushing down gently but firmly. Make sure that the longest leg the common anode is the third leg down as you look at it from the bottom of the board.
INSERT THE RGB LED
Arduino or compatible microcontroller USB cable Common-anode RGB LED 3x Current-limiting resistors (270 Ohm) TMP36 temperature sensor Jumper wires Breadboard or stripboard
Allfrom www.oomlout.co.uk
CALCUL ATE THE RESISTORS REQUIRED
If youre using the recommended RGB LEDs from open-source hardware specialist www.oomlout.co.uk, you can skip this step, as the correct resistors are provided. If not, use the formula R=(VsVf)/I, where the resistance, R, is calculated by multiplying the source voltage 5V by the LEDs forward voltage drop and dividing the total by the LEDs rated current in amps. For most RGB LEDs, this works out at 270 Ohms.
To prevent the LED from burning out, it needs three current-limiting resistors of around 270 Ohms or the value from Step 3. These should be inserted into the breadboard on legs 1, 2 and 4 of the LED the blue, green and red cathodes so that they bridge the breadboards middle gap.
INSERT THE CURRENT-L IMITING RESISTORS
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The 3-pin TMP36 temperature sensor needs to be added to the breadboard now, away from the LED. As before, splay the legs and insert them gently but firmly so that the flat side of the sensor is pointing to the left side of the breadboard as you look at it from below.
INSERT THE TEMPERATURE SENSOR
Take three jumper wires and connect the resistors to the Arduinos Digital Pins 3, 5 and 6. Make sure the resistors, and not the LED itself, is connected to these pins if you bypass the resistors, the LED will burn out in a short time.
WIRE THE LED
Make sure the sensor is the right way around, and connect its middle pin to Analog Pin 0, its top pin to 5V and the bottom pin to Ground, then connect the LEDs common anode to its own 5V connection, all using jumper wires. If youre using a breadboard with power rails, connect both the sensor and LED to the red (positive) rail, then connect the rail to the 5V pin on the Arduino.
WIRE THE SENSOR
THE SKETCH
The sketch required to run the temperature-sensitive lighting system can be downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/CPCSketch. Open the Arduino IDE, then paste the sketch into the window that appears. If you want, you can click on the tick icon to test the sketch at this point, but dont expect the LED to light up.
At the very top of the sketch are some variables and constants. The first set of variables can be adjusted to your requirements. UpperTemp and lowerTemp control the maximum and minimum temperatures (red and blue, respectively), while changeTime adjusts how long the system waits to adjust the light colour.
CUSTOMISE THE SKETCH
SETUP
Every Arduino sketch has a setup section, which runs only once when the Arduino is initialised. In this sketch, this section sets each of the LEDs pins 3, 5 and 6 as outputs, while instructing the Arduino to use the temperature sensors pin 0 as an input.
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TWEAK THE SETCOLOUR FUNCTION
The setColour function, as its name suggests, gives the Arduino the know-how it needs to control the colour of the LED by adjusting the voltage given to each of its cathodes. As a common anode device, some of the behaviour seems a little backwards the more voltage on each pin, the less bright the colour.
The getVoltage function reads the voltage on the middle pin of the temperature sensor, adjusting it as required to obtain an accurate value. This voltage is converted to a temperature in Celsius in the main part of the sketch, providing the cue for the colour-change operation.
TWEAK THE GETVOLTAGE FUNCTION
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The loop portion of an Arduino sketch runs continuously as long as the device has power. In this sketch, its responsible for working out the current temperature, comparing it to the upper and lower limits set at the start, and then mapping it to voltages that can be applied to the red and blue pins of the LED to control the colour.
TWEAK THE LOOP FUNCTION
UPLOAD THE SKETCH
With the sketch entered and understood, connect the Arduino to a USB port and press the upload button located to the right of the tick button. This compiles the sketch and uploads it to the Arduino; at this point, it will start to run. Try holding the temperature sensor between your fingers to see the LEDs colour change.
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E XPANDING THE PROJECT
While this is a start, one LED isnt a flashy light system. With easy expandability into larger and brighter lighting rigs, this is a great way to get started with the Arduino system though. Multiple LEDs could be run from the system, either as individual units
or RGB LED lighting strips (http://tinyurl.com/LightingStrips) to make the lights brighter, but youll need to tap into the PCs 12V power supply and use transistors to switch the voltage as per http://tinyurl.com/12VTutorial
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dLAN 500 triple your network options

NEW!
3 Gigabit LAN ports
Any power socket can become a network point
dLAN 500 AVtriple+ Powerline adapter for connecting up to 3 network-compatible devices Home network via the power line with transmission rates of up to 500 Mbps Connects computers and consumer electronics to each other and to the Internet Simple and secure; can work in any room or building Direct connection of up to 3 devices with the integrated Gigabit switch The integrated socket ensures that no power socket goes to waste
The Network Innovation
www.devolo.co.uk WorldMags.net
Tel.: +44 (0)1865 244141, Email: sales@devolo.co.uk
More information:
De-rivet and paint Your cases insides

astmonthwelookedatpainting yourcasesexterior(seeIssue109, p108),butmakingyourPClookas goodontheinsideissignificantly moreinvolved;youcantjuststripitbacktothe frameandspray.Thepaintwillprobablyrunin thecorners,andaccessingeverynookand crannyispracticallyimpossible,asispainting differentsectionsindifferentcolours. Thisguideshowsyouhowtodrilloutyour casesrivets,enablingyoutoseparatethe varioussections,andthen spraythem.The endresultwilllookspectacular,andyoucan mixandmatchcolourstoo.
Following on from last months painting guide, Antony Leather shows you how to de-rivet and paint your cases interior
Before you hit the local DIY store, make sure your case is easy to dismantle, and work out how youll do this. Some cases have an overly complicated layout that can make dismantling them tricky. After that, consider colours. Your case has various sections and areas for details such as expansion slot covers and drive bays. These can all be painted different colours, so spend some time planning your work for the best result.
INSPECT YOUR CASE
REMOVE FITTINGS
Start by removing all the loose items from your case. This will include tool-less drive bays, fittings for securing components and rubber grommets. Its also worth taking a photo of your case at this stage, and each time you remove a few pieces, so that you know how it all fits back together.
Wet and dry sandpaper 1,000- to 1,600-grit Dust sheet, sponge and microfibre towel
Frommosthardwarestores
Primer, colour and lacquer acrylic spray paint

Pop rivet gun and rivets

www.chilledpc.co.uk
Drill, Dremel or other rotary tool

LOOSEN THE FASCIAS
Most cases have a plastic fascia on the front panel, and sometimes the roof, which have to be detached. Most fascias are held on with plastic flanges that clip into the metal frame. If you squeeze these and pull the fascia, it should pop off. There will be many flanges, but resist the urge to rip off the panel, as the plastic can be brittle.
REMOVE THE FRONT FASCIA
The front fascia should pop off easily once youve squeezed all the flanges theyre designed to pop off, so you can access the front area for cleaning and removing drive bay covers. If it doesnt budge, check there arent any screws holding it in place, or cables from the front panel or fan controllers in the way.
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REMOVE THE TOP FASCIA
In our case, the top fascia included the bunch of cables from the front panel. These may well be cable-tied to the case or to each other, meaning that youll have to detach them first. There may also be fan control modules attached to the case anything thats screwed to the frame must be removed.
REMOVE THE FANS
With the fascias removed, youll find it easier to reach the fans. You need to remove all of them dont be tempted to spray around them. You can spray them separately if you want to paint them too. While youre here, also remove any fan grilles or shrouds.
REMOVE RUBBER GROMMETS
Most modern cases sport rubber grommets, either on the motherboard tray or at the rear of the case, for easy and stealthy cable routeing. These must also be removed, along with your cases rear expansion slot covers. Even if you plan to paint them the same colour as your case, its best to remove them you can make sure they receive a complete coat of paint if you spray them separately.
REMOVE FAN FILTERS
Fan filters can lurk in dark corners and between panels. Remove these too, but store them carefully, as theyre quite fragile and easily punctured. Rubber generally doesnt accept paint very well another reason to remove grommets from your case. However, many filters are made from plastic or metal, and these can be sprayed with a light coat if youre careful not to plug the holes.
REMOVE SCREWS AND FEET
Our Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced hid further screws and fittings under the case feet and rubber sound-absorbing pads. Be sure that you check over your case for concealed areas such as this, especially if you cant find a way to remove the case feet or PSU cage.
DRILL RIVETS
You can now locate and drill out the rivets that hold your case together. Using a drill bit slightly larger than the rivets inner ring, press firmly on the drill to eat into the rivet until it pops through to the other side. You should be left with two pieces one on each side of the case. If the rivet is still in place after drilling, try a slightly larger drill bit. If 116 you get stuck halfway, you could be drilling into the case, so try a smaller drill bit.
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USE PL IERS
We found that numerous rivets actually started to rotate as we drilled into them, cancelling out our efforts and simply spinning in place. If this happens, use pliers to grip the other end of the rivet so that the drill can bite into it. Alternatively, using the same drill bit in a Dremel may also work, as theres less torque.
If some rivets arent accessible with a drill, use a Dremel with either a drill bit or a flexible attachment to reach into tight spots. Alternatively, a metal file can wear down one edge of the rivet, enabling you to eventually pull it out. Cutting off the distorted end also works, as does using a hammer and flat-head screwdriver to chisel it out; however, its easy to scratch the surrounding metal so be careful.
USE A DRILL OR DREMEL
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Youll probably be surprised by just how many separate pieces are contained in your average case. Once youve removed all the rivets, you should be able to dismantle the case right down to its bare components. If you feel unsure about remembering what goes where, you can always label the parts just remember to remove the label when you paint each component, and then replace it afterwards.
DISASSEMBLE YOUR CASE PARTS
SAND THE PARTS
As with painting the outside of your case, youll achieve the best finish if you sand the components first. This can be quite laborious, as the parts are smaller and more angular than side panels. To do this, use 1,000- and 1,600-grit wet and dry sandpaper. Wash the parts thoroughly when theyre smooth, then allow them to dry.
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You can now apply the first coat primer. If you can, hang the components from a suitable place while you spray them. This enables you to spray both sides at the same time, which will be quicker; it also means that youre less likely to end up with lines at the edges where the paint from both sides meets. Use sweeping strokes over each section to prevent the paint from running, and apply just one or two passes.
APPLY PRIMER
Allow the primer to dry for around ten minutes, sand it lightly to obtain a silky-smooth finish and then wash the section to remove the dust. Repeat this step for four or five coats of primer, until you can no longer see the colour underneath, and allow it to dry thoroughly before proceeding with the next step.
ALLOW TO DRY AND SAND
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To spray smaller components, a cardboard crate or box makes an ideal mini spray booth, although youll have to spray one side at a time. Its even more important not to apply too much paint at once here doing so will make the paint run and fill any holes for details such as text or logos.
SMALLER COMPONENTS
APPLY COLOUR COAT
You can now apply the colour coat four or five coats should do it. If the finish isnt quite what you expected, try sanding each coat, as with the primer. This can also solve issues such as insects or dust becoming trapped in the paint. Once youre happy with the final coat, leave it to dry overnight.
19
20
The next day, apply the lacquer. Dont sand this layer; instead, apply it liberally so that it flows together, but only apply one or two passes between drying phases. Lacquer can take at least a day to harden properly, so leave it to dry for as long as possible. Putting your case back together will invariably result in the odd knock or scrape, and this will gouge right through unhardened lacquer.
APPLY L ACQUER AND ALLOW TO DRY
ARRANGE YOUR COMPONENTS
Arrange your components in roughly the same order you dismantled them this will help you to put everything back together in the right order. This is particularly important before riveting if you install any parts in the wrong order, youll have to drill the rivets again, which will risk damaging your paintwork.
21
22
USE THE CORRECT RIVETS
Rivets are available in many sizes, but they need to be the same size as the holes into which theyll be inserted. If theyre too small, they wont hold the panels together, leading to instability we used 3mm rivets. You may also need countersunk-head rivets instead of the usual dome-head type these sit flush in a recessed hole.
GET THE RIGHT RIVET HEADS
A rivet gun will be compatible with most rivet sizes, but you may need to use different heads depending on the size of rivets. Use a head through which the tail of the rivet can pass with room to spare it shouldnt be a tight fit. Attach this head to the rivet gun.
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PREPARE YOUR RIVET GUN
Insert the tail of the rivet into the rivet gun. When you squeeze the two handles together, the tail will be gripped and pulled by plates inside the gun, distorting the head and eventually pulling off the tail, leaving a neat rivet in place. Practise on a small nut or spare piece of metal first so that you get the hang of it. Youll often need to squeeze the gun twice for the rivet to be formed and the tail to snap off.
Assemble the cases base and rear panel. They should slot together with the rivet holes lining up. Its best to do a mock-up assembly first some rivets may need to go through three layers, meaning that three components will need to be lined up, which isnt easy to foresee if you go headfirst into riveting.
START ASSEMBL ING THE CASE
25
26
Push firmly against the case and make sure the rivet has passed through both the sections to be locked together. Squeeze the gun hard it may need a fair amount of force. The rivet head should deform and become a nobbled shape on the far side. Squeezing the gun for a second time will cause the tail to snap off. If it doesnt, try squeezing then fully releasing the handles, or removing it with pliers.
START RIVETING
If youve removed any tool-free fittings, replace these before you assemble the drive cages and the rest of the case. Dont be tempted to install the drive cages completely outside of the case you may not be able to fit them back in.
INSTALL THE FITTINGS
27 28
Check the case one final time to make sure that you havent missed any rivet holes, then assemble the rest of the fittings, such as expansion slot covers and rubber grommets. Your case is now ready for its fascias to be fitted.
YOURE DONE
ASSEMBLE AND INSTALL DRIVE CAGES
Leaving the drive cages until last, if possible, will make your life much easier. Make sure you assemble them in the right order, and so that your hard disks will be facing the right way its very easy to get these the wrong way around. Also, some areas of your case, such as the drive cages, may well use slightly smaller rivets, so dont worry if the ones youve used on the rest of the case dont fit.
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for the win!
WIN! A Fractal Design Define R4 case

fyoulikeyourPCtolooksmartandstylish thenyoumayhavetakenafancytoFractal DesignsDefineR4(seeIssue109,p42),and wedontblameyouitsalovely-lookingcase. Italsoboastssuperbbuildquality,withasolid combinationofsteelandplastic,anda lustworthybrushed-aluminiumfrontfascia. Itsquiettoo,withthefoam-linedside panelshelpingtodeadenfannoise,anditcan
WORTH 90 EACH
UP FOR GRABS
accommodateboth120mmand140mmfans, soyoucanpushplentyofairthroughthecase withouthavingtorunyourfansatsillyspeeds. Thecaseincludesanintegratedthree-speed (5V,7Vand12V)fancontrollerhiddenbehind thefront,andtheresapairofUSB3portson thetop-mountedfrontpanelaswell. Meanwhile,theresplentyofroomfor decenthardwareinside,includingclearance
foraCPUcoolerwithaheightofupto170mm, androomforeight3.5indrivesinthestandard cages;theresalsoafurtherpairof2.5in mountsbehindthemotherboardforSSDs. FormoreinformationabouttheDefineR4, visit www.fractal-design.com Tobeinwithachanceofwinningoneof thesefantastic,stylishcases,answerthe questionbelow.
Q
120
WhatdoesATXstandfor? a) AcceleratedThreadedXeon b) AdvancedTechnologyeXtended c) ArmouredTankXylophone
with Fractal Design Competition 110 in the Subject line.

Closing date: 12 October, 2012
competition@custompc.co.uk
Email your answer to
November 2012
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Letters
TOUCH-SCREEN MEDIA PCs
Given that Windows 8 has proper touch-screen functionality built in, what are the chances of seeing a Labs test of some media cases in the mag? Surely these must now be a more attractive proposition than in the past. I see your sister website (bit-tech) has featured the Origen X15e case in one of the blogs recently. It looks good and Id love to see a full review in the magazine. Andrew Levick Ben replies: We actually reviewed the Origen X15e a very long time ago back in 2006 if I recall correctly. It was originally called the DigN X15e, but its exactly the same case. Its touch-screen isnt multitouch either, so it doesnt work well with Windows 8 in fact, it doesnt support any of the touch gestures at all (Ive tried it). I bought one when it was released, and it makes for a really good self-contained media PC for example, its perfect as a lossless audio jukebox in my hi-fi rack, and I also use it to record TV too. However, it also has its frustrations its a total nightmare to build inside, for example. The Windows 8 touch features are really much more geared towards tablets than media PCs, but were definitely still keeping an eye on the media centre PC business, and will be including a full feature on it next month (see p127).
Send us your feedback and correspondence to editor@custompc.co.uk, with Letter in the Subject line
TheOrigenX15eperfectforaself-containedmedia PCinahi-firack,butitstouch-screendoesntsupport Windows8smulti-touchgestures,anditsanightmare tobuildinside
my options. I would need at least 512GB though. I use four 1TB hard drives for data as well, but will an SSD make much of a difference? Also would it be possible to just copy whats on my hard drive to the SSD or am I looking at a clean install? Nicholas Lambourne
Ben replies: Youre definitely looking at a clean install, as youll need Windows 7s TRIM command to prevent your SSDs performance from degrading over time. Youll also need to make sure its running in AHCI mode in your motherboards BIOS, and install the latest Intel storage driver. Its definitely worth it though the speed difference is phenomenal. A 512GB OCZ Vertex 4 currently costs 330 from www. ebuyer.com good luck!
LOOPY LOOPS
I just received the latest edition in the post today, and I spotted what looked to me like a mistake with the mini-ITX water build. On the
Get a kick out of pointing out the shortcomings of others? Its okay so do we
JAMES IS FALL ING APART AT THE SEAMS
OneforPedantsParadise:Imvery impressedthatJamesGorboldonp130 hasmasteredusinghisPCasasewing machine:tweakingandoverlockingPCs sincetheearly80s.Hashetried overclockingthemtoo? AaronMartin
INITIAL THOUGHTS
InyourPedantsParadisecolumnin Septembersmag,younotedthatHDMI isanacronym.HDMIisntanacronym, becauseanacronymisawordthats createdfrominitials(suchaslaseror scuba).HDMIisinfactaninitialism(see theOxfordEnglishDictionarywebsite). PatrickClark
SOL ID STATE OF DISK

Im currently looking into upgrading my PC for the first time in years. Ive upgraded the odd part as time has gone by, but now SSDs are becoming cheaper and since my brother wont stop bragging about his speeding up his computer Im considering
PRICEY STICKEMS
45forStickemsscreencleanersseemsa tadexcessive. SteveRahr(viaFacebook)
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FEEDBACK
Was
Follow us on Twitter at @custompcmag

Shouldbe
@DL8BB HowdoIgetissue109 inGermany?Idliketoreadabout howtobuildaSinclair#ZX81from scratch.Myfirstcomputerever. Ben: Yourbestbetistopickupthe digitalversionfrom http://gb.zinio. com,whereyoucanbuymostofour recentbackissues.Issue109willcost you3.50 @pageinarage Todayyoushould bedoingultimateheatsink testingGulfTowninthesun![senton 18August] @BiggKenny Isitbesttohavemy PSUfacingupordown?Ihavea meshundermyPCandlegsmeaning theresagap. Ben: Italldependsonthecaseandthe designoftheairflowsystem,butyour PSUshouldonlygoinonewayaround. Ifyourcasehasameshanddecent
legs,thenhavingthefanfacing downwardswillbenoproblemforit. @mbazaluk Managedtodigout myoldZX81amonth ago#StillWorking#RockSolid. @RealAaronMyers Welldone onthereturnofJamesGorbold; muchbetterthanthecolumnit replaced. Ben: Wevehadafewcommentssuch asthis.IreallyenjoyedRabs contributionwhilehewashere,but ImverygladtohaveJamesbackon boardtoo. @TheHarryButler Wanttohelp decidewhichgames@ CustomPCMagand@bittechusetotest graphicscardsandmotherboards? http://tinyurl.com/ CPCGraphicsBench Gothere!
XSPC 680 waterblock, the feed in and feed out have been connected on the same port, which means that theres no flow for the GPU. Ive attached a photo. Richard Poulter Ben replies: I originally passed this on to Antony to reply, but all I got was a bunch of expletives in return! Yes, youre quite right we apologise for any confusion this may have caused.
HOW YOU TEST

In Issue 108, you reviewed the Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H with the 3.2GHz Core i7-3770K and 8GB of 1,600MHz Corsair RAM. However, in the How We Test section, you say you test Intel LGA1155 motherboards with a Core i5-2500k and 4GB of 1,600MHz Corsair RAM. Although the memory size may not have much effect on the benchmarks, does using a better CPU still make it directly comparable to other motherboards reviewed? This makes it slightly confusing for a recent subscriber, such as myself, because during the review you compared the D3H to the MSI Z77A-G43, so Im not sure which CPU was used to benchmark the G43. Sam Tan Ben replies: Sorry for the confusion, Sam this is completely our fault for forgetting to update that part of the How We Test page. Rest assured that the G43 was indeed tested with a Core i7-3770K and 8GB of 1,600MHz Corsair RAM, as are all the Z7-based motherboards weve reviewed.
ONE DAY, THE CORE i5 WILL BE IN RETRO TECH

Ive just finished reading Issue 109, and Id like to say first off that the best article was Retro Tech. To put that kit into perspective, its nine years older than me, but still pretty cool. I remember when I was a little tiny human, with the old PC that my granddad had acquired from the power station at which he used to work. I recall using Windows 3.1, and having to remember DOS commands to search for files and install games, and this was back when I could barely write my own name. Its strange to think it took me
nearly 15 years before I built my own PC. I fear the day that I go into my room, open my drawer and find my current Core i5 and remember how it was once the top CPU, when PCs had CPUs. Or motherboards. Or components. Is this a fate that any lifelong dedicated computer fan must face? I look forward to more retro tech next issue. Keep up the good work. Michael Maher, aged 23 Ben replies: Now thats food for thought one day we probably will look back at todays tech with a nostalgic eye. Were really glad you enjoyed Gareths article he certainly enjoyed building the old ZX81, despite the soldering!
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Join our folding team and help medical research
WHAT IS FOLDING?
Folding@homeusesthespareprocessingcyclesfromyourPCsCPUandgraphicscardsformedicalresearch.Youcandownload theclientfrom http://folding.stanford.edu/download.html andourteamsIDis35947.Onceyoupassasignificantmilestone, youllgetyournameinthemag.Youcanalsodiscussfoldingwithusandotherreadersonthe www.bit-tech.net forums.
We catch up with folder of the month: Abomin81on

CPC: Sowhoareyouandwhatdoyoudo? Abomin81on: My name is Mike Jorgeson, and Im a coastguard rescue officer for HM Coastguard. I also work with adults with learning difficulties. CPC: Whydidyoudecidetostartfolding? Abomin81on: Id read about it in CPC, and it stuck out as something in which Id like to be involved. However, Id been running the same hardware since 2005, and I wasnt sure how much of a contribution I could make, so I put it on the back burner. I built a new system at the beginning of 2012, though, and decided to give it a go. CPC: Whatexcitesyoumostaboutfolding? Abomin81on: Id be lying if I said the points mean nothing. We all like big numbers and climbing up tables. I like comparing the points that Im producing to those of the people around me too, although I find it more of a motivational tool than a competition. The main factor is actually using my hardware for something useful. CPC: Whatmachinesdoyouhavefolding? Abomin81on: Im down to just one machine at the moment a Core i5-2500K at 4.5GHz with a GeForce GTX 560Ti. The processor can run a little faster, but my rig is air-cooled and running 24/7, so I take it easy on the clock speed. Ive had to cannibalise two older rigs to keep other peoples PCs up and running, and I can no longer use my PS3 for folding. However, I recently noticed that FingAZ was pumping out an impressive number of points, and hit the bit-tech forum to ask what hardware was being used. There was a post from FingAZ about the HP Cloud Service (HPCS) private beta, and I immediately signed up, enabling me to produce a lot more points. My points dropped after the HPCS private beta ended, but Im now looking at building at least one more rig to pump out more points. Im considering multiprocessor options vs a couple of Ivy Bridge setups. Im also currently using Windows 7, but Ill probably change over to a Linux-based system next. CPC: Anytipsforfellowteammembers? Abomin81on: The forum is your friend. Ive found info there that meant I didnt need to ask questions. Id also advise not putting it off I wish Id started years ago. CPC: Whatsyourworstfoldingexperience? Abomin81on: Initially it was the lost gaming time. I couldnt bring myself to play games when my machine was pumping through the work units. It turned out great in the end, though, as it gave me more time for meeting up with friends, and activities such as kayaking, instead of gaming. CPC: Andthebest? Abomin81on: Hitting the milestones is nice, but the best experience is checking the project numbers, and seeing how Im helping, no matter how small a part I play. CPC: Isthereanythingyoudchangeabout yoursetup? Abomin81on: I might install a water-cooling system the PC can be a little loud at 3am when Im trying to sleep. Teamrank 157 Worldrank 5,596 Score 5,757,210 Workunits 1,397 Dailypointsaverage 27,368 TOPFOLDERS Thismonthsshout-outsgoto SyLvEsTeR20007,kirk_hobson,fatchefand Slowlemon.Ifyoufoldunderanyofthese names,emaileditor@custompc.co.uk
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MILESTONES THIS MONTH

Username Points milestone Username Points milestone Username Points milestone Username Points milestone
Ayeska Dalunar DoMiNiuS Padsta Skulldragon Bob_D pitprop Berkan Halldor Anselm Forquare GJBriggs matthewj25 Rrruby SzLvEsTeR20007 TheManicGibbon breadbin123 llb443 matthewedward cornish
20000 20000 20000 20000 20000 30000 30000 40000 40000 50000 50000 60000 60000 60000 60000 60000 70000 70000 70000
LboroSlider RandomDecoy anadir2 BaskB jpostlethwaite pipnina th3_F15T YoutubeBelgium Press bigg BordenGrammar School Detsawm rjcman bbnsol JimmyMcRees MalecAndBrinn ReDeamer weebob Filce SourDipRaita maxrealism TokerRizla toxic43
80000 80000 100000 100000 100000 100000 100000 100000 200000 200000 200000 200000 300000 300000 300000 300000 400000 500000 500000 600000 600000 600000
Munky Osiris_Blue SkyTsar boiled_elephant CheeZee73 lazyhazie the_kille4 beads Ben_Lamb ForGrace GandalfDDUK Number14 yes 8Core Desertbaker Little_Willie LittleTodden DarrylJacobs Fly_Boy_Rez
700000 800000 800000 900000 900000 900000 900000 1000000 1000000 1000000 1000000 1000000 1000000 2000000 2000000 2000000 2000000 3000000 3000000
kirk_hobson ricky_eke droyden Slowlemon Abomin81on luckybfocus SyLvEsTeR20007 Keith_Chung debs3759 Dolphin(CPC) John_Naylor kirk_1701 big-bert Serpentine dd jona Scorpuk _Fanatic pompeyrodney
3000000 3000000 4000000 4000000 5000000 5000000 5000000 6000000 7000000 7000000 7000000 7000000 8000000 8000000 9000000 9000000 9000000 10000000 10000000
Rykard_Maximus 70000 tompdb FlamingWolfman 70000 80000
THE NEXT OVERTAKE

World Team name rank Points Daily points average Time until overtake
7 17
CustomPC& bit-tech HewlettPackard
5,547,093,710 1,876,758,760
3,954,159 4,690,809
0 13.7Years
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TOP 20 OVERALL
Rank Username Points milestone
1 2
TOP 20 PRODUCERS
Work units
107,682 140,957 93,954 15,794 141,496 60,078 72,267 46,589 5,708 32,362 30,217 3,107 9,015 45,372 7,248 33,634 37,297 86,309 163,014 52,804
Username
Dave_Goodchild DocJonz phoenicis zz9pzza coolamasta Lizard StreetSam CustomBitChimps Wallace Christopher_N._Lewis Nelio BennieboyUK fir3x saspro One_Box Standin_wave The_M2B PS3/LanDi greenfrog.biz Lordsoth
Points
385,685,763 248,333,863 223,349,417 211,014,628 199,248,901 131,598,973 106,943,250 94,376,547 91,817,783 91,790,950 61,386,571 61,286,969 59,469,269 57,534,603 52,864,476 51,114,756 49,969,387 48,446,611 47,768,712 46,365,376
Rank
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Username
Nelio DocJonz Christopher_N._ Lewis coolamasta One_Box Dave_Goodchild fir3x Lordsoth Wallace The_M2B Scorpuk PC_Rich SyLvEsTeR20007 _Fanatic LordBadger kirk_hobson fatchef Slowlemon Ben_Lamb Keith_Chung
Dailypointsaverage
419,144 360,490 194,454 179,810 164,326 144,390 101,292 94,335 93,595 81,843 78,437 77,587 71,573 70,526 66,253 59,964 59,087 54,599 48,039 47,121
Overallscore
61,338,565 248,327,084 91,790,950 199,230,927 52,859,694 385,672,562 59,460,417 46,351,446 91,817,783 49,961,857 9,204,068 44,091,377 5,063,652 11,521,655 32,575,248 3,146,249 15,112,566 4,482,624 1,769,128 6,035,166
enigmo Lau_Gar PlasmaBomb Sean_Hayes Slavcho One_Box Nelio Christopher_N._ Lewis Wallace
20000000 20000000 20000000 20000000 30000000 50000000 60000000 90000000 90000000
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Coming next month in

Graphics cards Mod your CPU
NowthatAMDandNvidiaslatest generationsofGPUsareinfull swing,weregoingtotestallthemidto-high-endGPUsonanewsuiteof teststoseewhichdeserveyourcash.
WanttostopyouroverclockedIvy Bridgechipgettingsotoastyatfull load?Antonyshowsyouhowto replaceIntelsbudgetthermalpaste andreduceyourCPUstemperature.
HometheatrePC,mediacentre, whateveryouwanttocallit.Weregoing totakealookatthecurrentbest hardwareoptionsforbuildinga PC-basedhomeentertainmentbox.
Build an HTPC
Fedupwiththehissywhinecomingfrom yourgraphicscardscooler?Wellshow youhowtosafelyreplacethefanonyour graphicscard,enablingyoutolivein peaceagain.

*Pleasenotethatthesestoriesaresubjecttoproductdelays,kitnot turningupandtheamountoftimespenttryingtosortoutconsistently accurategamebenchmarksforgraphicscards.Wishusluck!
Replace your GPU fan
On sale 18 October, 2012
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Intel 440BX
C
Arguably the rst chipset that could be called a classic, Ben Hardwidge recalls Intels rst mainstream chipset with a 100MHz bus
omeonBen,really?Amotherboard chipset?Itisntexactlysexy,isit?Its okay,Iknowmotherboardchipsets rarelyreceivetheinappropriate droolenjoyedbynewgraphicscardsand processors,butImgoingtomakeaspecial exceptionfortheIntel440BX.Itsachipsetthat wassogoodthatIntelfailedtobetteritfor severalyears.Callitaclassicifyoulike.Its thechipsetthatchangedeverything. HopintheHGWells-styletimemachine, completewiththespinningumbrellaatthe The440BXa100MHzFSB,widespreadcompatibility back,andletstravelbackto1998.Intels andanenviablelifespan slot-basedPentiumIIiscurrentlytheking ofitsprocessorline-up,butthisrangehas toa133MHzfrontsidebusandfurther,and previouslybeenstuckwiththe440LXchipset. technologiessuchasquad-pumpingto ThefirstPentiumIIprocessorsuseda66MHz multiplyit,butevennow,aCorei7-3770Kstill frontsidebus,whichwasfinewhentheywere hasabaseclockof100MHz. released,becausethesupportingSDRAM Perhapsthebiggestsellingpointfor440BX, IntelsPentiumIIIprocessorswerejustashappywith DIMMsand440LXchipsetalsoonlyuseda however,wasitslongevityandstability.When 440BXastheirPentiumIIpredecessors 66MHzfrontsidebus.Thisallchangedwith IntellaunchedthePentiumIIIthenextyear, the440BX,whichfirstbroughtusthe100MHz thechipsusedthesame100MHzbusand RambusRDRAMmodules.The820snew frontsidebus. chipsetastheirpredecessors.Itbecamea hardwareconfigurationalsobroughtawhole Thespeeddifferencewasincrediblea standard.Ifyouboughtanewgraphicscard, newloadofcompatibilityproblemswithit. 350MHzPentiumIIonlylooked17MHzfaster youcouldguaranteeitwouldhavebeentested Thiswasaballs-upthatbackfired thana333MHzPentiumIIintermsofpaper, properlyona440BXchipset.Thesame massively.Noenthusiastwanted810, butits100MHzFSBactuallymadeit becausetheywantedtoplaygames, amazinglyquicker.However,inorder buttheyalsoobjectedtotheoutlay WE ASKED IF WE COULD JUST toobtainthefullspeed,youfirst requiredfor820.Instead,weaskedif OVERCLOCK A 440BX BOARD AND wecouldjustoverclocka440BX neededIntelsnew440BXchipset, andyoualsoneededtobuyPC100 boardandrunthenewchipsonthat RUN THE NEW CHIPS ON THAT (100MHz)memory.Thiswasabig instead.Itturnedoutthatwecould. changeforthoseofuswhohadntreally couldntbesaidforalltheothermany NewsupportingBIOSesweremadeavailable consideredmemoryspeedbeforeyou chipsetsavailableatthetime. formany440BXmotherboardstosupportthe mighthaveconsidereddifferenttypesof Thebigchancefor440BXtoproveitself, newCPUs,andwestuckheatsinksonthe memory(inthiscaseEDOorSDRAM),but however,camewhenIntellauncheditsnew chipsetstohelpthemcope440BXwasreally thespeedwasalwaysthesame.Nowitwas rangeofCopperminePentiumIIIchipswith thefirstusefullyoverclockablechipset. importanttohavememorythatmatchedthe a133MHzfrontsidebus.Twosupporting Notonlydid440BXgiveusthe100MHz availablebandwidth. chipsetswerelaunchedthe810,whichused busandwidecompatibility,butitalsoeven Amazingly,thisbasic100MHzclockhasnt SDRAMbutdidnthaveanAGPslot(using survivedaCPUerathatitwasntsupposedto massivelychangedsincethen.Sure,weve Intelintegratedgraphicsinstead),andthe820, support.Ihaventseensuchawidelyadored hadprocessorsandchipsetsthatraisedthis whichhadtheAGPslotbutrequiredcostly chipsetsince.
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WHATS IN A NAME?
james gorbold
James Gorbold ponders how tech products are named, and what those names imply
couldntevenremembertheGeForceGTX465probablybecause Nvidiamadeandsoldfewofthem. However,nowthatIworkintheITindustryandhavebeeninvolvedin thenamingofseveralproducts,Ihavealittlemoresympathyforother peoplewhohavetodothesamejob.Forexample,Iwasrecently taskedwithnamingScansforthcomingrangeofgaminglaptopsthat someofyoumayhaveseenindemosattherecenti46gamingLANin NewburyovertheAugustbankholidayweekend. Thetroubleisthat,thisbeingthe21stcenturywithhundredsof yearsofindustryalreadybehindus,itcanbe astruggletofindasuitablenameforyour productthathasntalreadybeenusedby anothercompany.Intheend,wedecided tocallallthelaptopsGraphiteandusewhat Ihopewillbeaneasilycomprehensible modifiertodifferentiatethevariousmodels. However,Illleavethatinthecapablehandsof the CustomPC reviewteamtodecide,should itwanttoreviewanyoftheunitswhentheyreavailable. Thatsaid,ImstillnotsureitsagoodideaforInteltoinsiston labellingeveryenthusiastCPUaCoreandcallingIvyBridgeCPUs ThirdGenerationCore,blithelyignoringthefactthattherehavebeen farmorethanthreegenerationsofCore-brandedprocessors.Italso continuestobafflemethatIntelsprofessionalrangeofXeonCPUs aresosensiblynamed,yetitsenthusiastCPUsareseeminglynamed almostatrandom. JamesGorboldfellinlovewiththeoriginalIBMPCintheearly 1980sandhasbeenbuilding,tweakingandoverclockingPCsever since.Hehaswrittenanarticleinalmosteveryissueof Custom PC andnowhelpsScanComputerstodevelopnewsystems.
ackwhenIwasafull-timejournalist,oneoftheITindustrys quirksthatamusedmethemostwastheapparentlychaotic andnonsensicalwaythatmanycompanieswentabout namingnewproducts. Agreatexampleofconfusingnamingisthebrand-newGeForce GTX660Ti(seep36)thatNvidialaunchedthismonth.Theproblemfor NvidiawasthattheGTX660Tiistotallyunlikeitsforebears,theGTX 460TiandGTX560Ti;thesewerenewlydesignedGPUsthatdelivered awesomeamountsofperformanceforlessthan200.Asaresult, theywereNvidiasbiggest-sellingenthusiast graphicscards. Incontrast,theGeForceGTX660TiisaGTX 670TiwithsomeoftheROPs,textureunitsand thememorycontrollerdisabled.Thisresultsin asmallperformancereductioncomparedto theGTX670Ti,plusapricetagthatsaround 50cheaperat240.So,despitetheGeForce GTX660Tibeingsensiblypriced(forits performance),itwasgivenanunwelcomereceptionbymany enthusiastswho,basedonpreviousexperience,expectedittobea newGPUthatcostlessthan200. WithmoreGeForce600-seriescards,suchastheforthcoming GTX660andGTX650,waitinginthewings,Nvidiahasbrokenitsown namingconvention.Tobemorespecific,bylabellingtheGTX660Tiin thisway,Nvidiahasgotitselfintoabitofapickle,asitcannolonger usethewell-establishedpracticeofusingtheGTXx60Tinameforits highest-volumeenthusiastgraphicscard. Nvidiacouldhaveavoidedthisunfortunatesituationbynamingthe GTX660TitheGTX665Ti,butananonymoussourceatNvidiatold methatthecompanydidntdothisbecauseitwasworriedabout associatingtheGTX660TiwiththewoefulGTX465.However,having conductedastrawpollamongagroupoffriends,mostofthem
By labelling the GTX 660 Ti in this way, Nvidia has got itself into a bit of a pickle
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INSIDE: NVIDIAS NEW GEFORCE GTX 660 Ti REVIEWED

THE BEST-SELLING MAG FOR PC HARDWARE, OVERCLOCKING, GAMING & MODDING

How to build a perfect PC in just a few hours

PC BUILDING MASTERCLASS L ASS

PSUs from 500W to 860W tested

HOW TO PAINT INSIDE YOUR CASE

HOW TO: MAKE AN LED TEMP SENSOR

Welcome to Issue 110

Publishing & Marketing

Dennis Publishing Limited

Thepaperusedwithinthismagazine isproducedfromsustainablefibre, manufacturedbymillswithavalid chainofcustody.

DONT TRY THIS AT HOME

Welcome to Issue 110

JoetalkstoDarkSoulsdirector HidetakaMiyazakiaboutthedifference betweenJapaneseandwesterngames.

Notthecardyoumightexpectfromthe modelnumber.Itcosts250,andhaslotin commonwiththeGeForceGTX670,including theGPUclockspeedandthenumberof streamprocessors.

GigabytesGA-Z77X-UP4-TH enablesustooverclockourIvyBridgeCPU to4.8GHzwithavoltageofjust1.3V.

OnLivemightbeinitsdeaththroes, butcloudgamingcouldstillhaveabigimpact ontabletgaming.

Wetakealookatatinymini-ITXPCfromScan, whichstillfeaturesanoverclockedIvyBridge CPUandaGeForceGTX660Tigraphicscard.

36 92 52 114 114 110 102 80

Reviewed this month

GRAPHICS CARD 36 PNY Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB

PSU Labs test

Antonyreportsonthegreatest modshespottedatCampusPartyEuropein Berlinthisyear.

102 MODSONPARADE 110

GarethHalfacreeshowsyouhowtogetyour handsdirtywithanArduinomicrocontroller, bymakingatemp-sensitivelightsystem.

DOWESTILL NEEDHIGH-END NEED HIGH-END AIR COOLERS?

from the editor

THE PROBLEM WITH PATENTS

TheFBIaskedNicholasMerrilsISPtohandover userdatahewenttotheAmericanCivilLiberties UnionandElectronicFrontierFoundation, whofoughtthecasewithhim

Save our Dark Souls

Joe Martin talks to Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki

DarkSoulsPC versionincludes newquests,bosses andweapons

We take a look at the latest newly announced products

ASROCK COURTS OVERCLOCKERS

OCZ VERTEX 4 PRICE CRASH

ASUS UNVEILS HIGH-RES 27IN SCREEN

new gaming experience with PNYs GTX 670.

For more information: www.pny.eu

GianSalis(right)andMatthiasWalser (left)haveobservedhowelectronspins moveinasemiconductorchannel, withtheirorientationssynchronously rotatingalongthepathsimilartoa coupledancingthewaltz

isajournalistwitha degreeinastrophysics whoknowsallaboutthe latestscientifictech. @lucysherriff

Gareth Halfacree looks at the latest mobile hardware

Cloudgaming,viaGeForceGrid, promisesthesameexperiencefrom smartphonestodesktops

isthenewsreporterat www.bit-tech.net.He knowsallabout the latestnewsinPCandmobiletech. @ghalfacree

Our choice of the best hardware available

TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE

Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB Hard Drive

WERE AWARD WINNERS!

SOLID STATE DRIVE

TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE

Fractal Design Core 1000 PC Case

Our choice of the best hardware available

SOLID STATE DRIVE

TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE

Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D2V Motherboard

WERE AWARD WINNERS!

SOLID STATE DRIVE

TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE

Iiyama ProLite 24 LCD Monitor

Our choice of the best hardware available

TYPE NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED PRICE(incVAT)

TYPE NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED PRICE(incVAT)

COOLER Arctic Freezer i30 www.dabs.com www.arctic.ac Issue 104, p48 29

RAM 8GB Patriot G2 PGD38G1600ELK www.amazon.co.uk www.patriotmemory.com Issue 106, p40 38