custom pc magazine uk november 2012
DESCRIPTION
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HOW TO: MAKE AN LED TEMP SENSOR
INSIDE: NVIDIA’S NEW GEFORCE GTX 660 Ti REVIEWED
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ISSUE 110 NOV 2012 £4.50
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3November 2012
Welcome to Issue 110Welcome to Issue 110EditorialEDITOR
TECHNICALEDITORHarryButler
GAMESEDITORJoeMartin
ARTEDITORBillBagnall
PRODUCTIONEDITORJulieBirrell
CONTRIBUTORSAntonyLeather, CliffHarris,
GarethHalfacree,JamesGorbold,JimKillock,LucySherriff,PaulGoodhead,RickLane,
SimonTreadaway,TomMorgan
PHOTOGRAPHYAntonyLeather,
BenHardwidge,DannyBird,GarethHalfacree
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CustomPCispublishedmonthlybyDennisPublishingLtd,30ClevelandStreet,LondonW1T4JD,acompanyregisteredinEnglandnumber1138891.
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PCBUILDINGMASTERCLASS92 Assemblingthevarious
buildingblocksofyourfirstPCcanbeadauntingtaskif
youdon’tknowhowitallgoestogether.Long-servingPCbuilderBenHardwidgeshowsyouhowtobuildaneatandtidyPCwithoutbeingsentbacktonoobschool.
4 November 2012
Welcome to Issue 110
12 DIGITALASSETSYoudon’towndownloadedbooks,
filmsorsongs.Instead,you‘borrow’them.
14 SAVEOURDARKSOULSJoetalkstoDarkSoulsdirector
HidetakaMiyazakiaboutthedifferencebetweenJapaneseandwesterngames.
20 CLOUDGAMINGOnLivemightbeinitsdeaththroes,
butcloudgamingcouldstillhaveabigimpactontabletgaming.
36 PNYNVIDIAGEFORCEGTX660Ti2GB
Notthecardyoumightexpectfromthemodelnumber.Itcosts£250,andhaslotincommonwiththeGeForceGTX670,includingtheGPUclockspeedandthenumberofstreamprocessors.
38 PRE-BUILTPINT-SIZEDPOWER
Wetakealookatatinymini-ITXPCfromScan,whichstill featuresanoverclockedIvyBridgeCPUandaGeForceGTX660Tigraphicscard.
42 LOW-VOLTAGEOVERCLOCKSGigabyte’sGA-Z77X-UP4-TH
enablesustooverclockourIvyBridgeCPUto4.8GHzwithavoltageofjust1.3V.
80 COUNTER-STRIKE:GLOBALOFFENSIVE
JoeexplainswhyhethinksthelatestCounter-Strikemodhitsthesweetspot.
88 DEVPERSPECTIVEAIishard.Reallyhard,itturnsout.
CliffHarrisexplainswhygamingAIoftenfails
3652 40
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114
5November 2012
1ssue 110
toliveuptoexpectations,andwhyweshouldsympathisewiththeAIcoder.
102 MODSONPARADEAntonyreportsonthegreatest
modshespottedatCampusPartyEuropeinBerlinthisyear.
110 HOWTOMAKEANLEDTEMPERATURESENSOR
GarethHalfacreeshowsyouhowtogetyourhandsdirtywithanArduinomicrocontroller,bymakingatemp-sensitivelightsystem.
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Regulars8 Fromtheeditor12 Digitalrights14 Interview16 Incoming18 Science!20 Mobiletechwatch24 CPCEliteproducts48 Howwetest78 Grumpygamer88 Devperspective90 Theengineroom128 Retrotech130 JamesGorbold
Community104Readers’drives110 HowtomakeanLED
temperaturesensor114 Howtopaint insideyourcase116 Letters125 Folderof themonth126 Yourfoldingmilestones
ReviewedthismonthHardwareGRAPHICS CARD36 PNYNvidiaGeForceGTX660Ti2GB
PC38 Scan3XSFT03Nanu
MONITOR40 PhilipsC-Line249C4QH
MOTHERBOARD42 GigabyteGA-Z77X-UP4-TH
COOLER44 ThermaltakeFrioExtreme
MOUSE46 RazerTaipan
Customkit50 BreffoSpiderpodium50 VersusTouchpad78GB50 Stronghold51 GigabyteKrypton51 ViewQuestiDiceSpeaker51 ZalmanZM-DS1000MonitorStand
PSULabs test55 AntecEarthwattsEA-550Platinum55 BeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W56 BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10550W56 CoolerMasterGX550W56 CorsairGS60057 EnermaxTriathlor550W57 FractalDesignR2Tesla650W58 FSPAurumXilenser500W58 InWinGreenMe550W58 NZXTHale82-650-M59 OCZZS550W59 SeasonicX-Series660W59 SilverPowerSP-S650M60 SilverStoneStriderPlus500W60 XFXPro650WCoreEdition62 XigmatekTauro500W62 ZalmanZM500-HPPlus64 AntecHighCurrentPro850W64 BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10850W66 BeQuiet!StraightPowerE9680W66 CoolerMasterM2SilentPro850W68 CorsairHX85068 EnermaxPlatimax750W69 FSPAurum850W69 InWinGreenMe750W70 OCZZX85070 SeasonicPlatinumSeries860W70 SilverPowerSP-S850M71 SilverStoneStriderGoldEvolution750W71 XFXPro850WXXXEdition71 XigmatekCentauro800W
Games80 Counter-Strike:GlobalOffensive82 SleepingDogs84 Inversion87 DeathRally
47PRODUCTSREVIEWED
102
104
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W henItellpeoplemyPCisliquid-cooled,theyoftenseemtothinkI’veinstalledsomekindofTesla-inspiredaquariuminit,sothatIcanstupidlygawpatthefirework
displaywhenIhitthepowerswitch.‘Isn’tthatreallydangerous?’theyask,asif I’mthesortofpersonwho’drelievehimselfontheliverail if Ihadn’treceivedtheirwisdom.Liquidcoolingmightstillsitoutsidemostpeople’scomputinglives,butit’snowbecomesocommoditisedthatit’sstartingtobecomeastandardinenthusiastcircles.Forthefirsttimeever,forexample,thegenericPCI’vebuiltforour
annualmasterclass(seep92),usesaCorsairH100all-in-oneliquidcooler,withadual120mmradiatorintheroof.There’snoneedtoworryaboutfindingaplaceforapumpandreservoir,ordodgybarbsandleakytubing–it’sallsealedinaverysimpleloopthatanyonecaninstall. Infact, I’darguethatit’seasiertoinstallthanmanyhigh-endaircoolers,andthisbringsmetomypoint.WhenyoucanbuyaCorsairH80for£73,whywouldyoubuya£72aircoolersuchastheThermaltakeFrioExtreme(seep44).Thatisn’ttosaythattheFrioExtremeisabadcooler.It’san
incrediblefeatofengineeringforanaircooler,evenmanagingtotameanoverclockedLGA2011CPU.Butitcosts£72.Youcouldprobablygetawaywiththe£72pricetagwhenwatercoolingwasonlyanichehobbyenjoyedbyadventurousPCbuilders,butyousimplycan’t justify itwhenanall-in-oneliquidcoolercostsjustanextraquid.I’mnotforaminutesayingthatCorsair’sHrangeofcoolersis
perfect,bytheway.Evenattheirlowestspeed,thefansonaCorsairH80arelouderthanthoseonmanyaircoolers,andmostproperwater-coolingloopswillreduceyourtemperaturesfurther,andgiveyouthepotentialtocoolyourgraphicscardandchipsetaswell.
Now that liquid cooling is so easilyaffordable, is there any need forexpensive blocks of fins?
However,youdon’tspend£72onaCPUcoolerbecauseyouwantittobequiet–theArcticFreezeri30willdothatforafractionofthecost.YoubuyitbecauseyouwanttooverclockyourCPU,andanaircoolersimplycan’tcompetewithanall-in-oneliquidcoolerinthisregard.Thisisgoingtopresentaproblemformakersofhigh-endair
coolersinthefuture.They’regoingtoneedtoperformadelicatebalancingactbetweencheap,quietandeffectiveaircoolerssuchastheFreezeri30,andpowerfulall-in-oneliquidcoolerssuchasCorsair’sH-series.Ifyouraircoolercostsmorethan£50,andit isn’tseriouslyamazing,thenyou’regoingtostruggle.
Theseliquid-coolersalsohavetheaddedadvantageofnotbeingridiculouslytall–youcanscrewanH80radiatorintoafree120mmfanmountatthebackofyourcase,anditwon’t interferewithyoursidepanel,butthesamecouldn’tbesaidforthetoweringFrioExtremeinourLGA2011testsystem.
Idon’twritethistocriticiseThermaltake’sengineeringskills,orthoseofanyotheraircoolermanufacturer.I’mamazedattheamountofheatthatcanbeshiftedbyastackoffinsandacoupleoffanswiththerightdesignandmaterials,butthere’snopointiftheycostasmuchasadecentliquidcooler.Withsomanyofthesecompaniesnowenteringtheall-in-oneliquidcoolermarket,oftenwithalittlehelpfromAsetek,Ican’tseetherebeingamarketforexpensiveaircoolersformuchlonger.
BenHardwidgeistheeditorofCustomPC.HelikesPCs,realaleandWarhammer40,000.
[email protected] @MANSHARK
‘Isn’t that really dangerous?’they ask, as if I’m the sort of
person who’d relievehimself on the live rail
DOWESTILLNEEDHIGH-ENDAIR COOLERS?
8 November 2012
NEED HIGH-END
from the editor
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P atents–likethemorloathethem,they’realoomingpresenceinthefreemarket.Perhapsthemostrecentexampleofpatentwarfareintechnologycomesfromwater-cooling
specialistAsetek,whichhassuedrivalCoolITonthebackofapatentgrantedjustafewdaysearlierbytheUSPatentsandTrademarksOffice(USPTO).Asetek’spatentcoversanall-in-onewater-coolingsystem,a
productforwhichthecompanyisrightlyknown.Itsnumerouspagesanddiagramsgofurther,andcould–withtherighthigh-pricedlawyer–beconsideredgeneralenoughtoputanymanufacturerofwater-coolingproductsatriskofapatent-infringementsuit.That’saseriousthreat:thepenaltieshanded
downforpatentinfringementcanincludeabanonsales,andtrebledamagesbackdatedtothestartofinfringement–figuresthatcaneasilyputasmallercompanyoutofbusiness.Therefore, it’slittlesurprisethatpatentsare
bigbusiness,bothforcompaniessuchasRambus–dubbeda‘patenttroll’ foritslitigioustactics–whichspecialiseinbuyingandlicensingpatents,andforcompaniessuchasAsetekwhichpatenttheirowntechnologyandthenuseittostrong-armcompetitorsintopayingalicencefee.Butarepatentsgoodforinnovation?BackinTudordays,thecrownwouldissuealetterspatentto
companies,givingthemamonopolyinaparticulartradeormanufacture.Althoughoriginallydesignedtoensurethattheoriginalcreatorsofnovelinventionswouldbecompensated,thesystemwasopentoabuse,withbothElizabethIandJamesIaccusedofgrantingpatentsinexchangeforsomecashfortheroyalcoffers.Today,almosteverycountryintheworldhasitsownpatentsystem
undertheauspiceoftheWorldTradeOrganisation.Althougheach
Edison didn’t invent the light bulb; he justpatented it, and patent trolling is still goingstrong a century later
systemisindependent–meaningthatacompanyhastoapplyformultiplepatents–theyallhavecertaincommonalities, includinga20-yearlifespan,whichisdesignedtoprovideimmediate,yettemporary,protectiontotheoriginalinventor.AsinTudortimes,however,thesystemhascritics,whoclaim
abusesandignoranceofpriorart–theexistenceofpriorpatentsorinventions-arerife.ThemostcommontargetfortheseaccusationsistheUSPTO,thegranterofAsetek’spatents.Theseaccusationsaren’tnew:ThomasEdison’s1880patentonthelightbulbwasgranted,despitethetechnologyalreadyexistingcommercially.Today,morepatentsaregrantedthaneverbefore,thankstothe
rapidgrowthoftechnology.Thisbringstheproblemtoahead;largecompaniesareapplyingforincrediblygeneralisedpatents,andusingthemtobullyandbankrupttheircompetitors.Inventors–andpatenttrolls–arguethat
patentsarenecessarytoprotecttheinvestmentoftime,moneyandexpertisethatgoesintothecreationofaninvention.Withcompaniesincreasinglyusingpatentsasweapons,ratherthanlegalarmour,however,
it’sperhapstimetoadmitthatthesystemisbroken.ItwilltakeacleverermanorwomanthanItofixit,butthismayhelp.
Firstly,makeiteasierforcompaniestoobjecttoapatentonthegroundsofpriorart.Secondly,rejectpatentapplicationsthataretoogeneral–aswiththecommonreadingofApple’srecentlydisputed‘rectangle’patent.Forthepatenttrolls,thesesimplechangescouldsoundadeathknell.Notamomenttoosoon.
TracyKingiscurrentlyaway
November 201210
In Tudor days, thecrown would issue aletters patent, giving
companies a monopolyin a particular trade
THEPROBLEMWITHPATENTS
Gareth halfacree
WITH PATENTS
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12 November 2012
Jim Killock
twasrecentlyreportedthatBruceWilliswasfightingApple–notoverfilmrights,butoverhisdigitalmusiccollection.Accordingtothepress,hewantedto
leavehisdownloadstohischildreninhiswill.Rumourscirculated–anditwasreportedin
theMail,SunandGuardian–thatBruceWilliswantedtosueAppleoverhisrighttoleavehisdigitalmusictohiskids.Itwasn’ttrue,butthestorycirculatedbecausethere’sakerneloffact–youreallycan’tlegallypassonyourdigitalmusiccollectioninyourwill.Apple’spositionisunjust,andasignificanterosionoftherightswe’veenjoyedinthephysicalworld.Traditionally,aCDorbookhasacopyright
licencefortheworkthat’sembodiedinit.However,thelawsayscopyrightisirrelevant–‘exhausted’–whenthegoodsareresold.Thishaschangedinthedigitalworld.
Copyrightownersassertthatdigitalgoodscan’tberesold,loaned,transferredorpassedonatdeath.Licencesareusuallyprettyclearaboutthis,buttheresult isthatdigitalgoodsaresignificantlyworseinvestmentsthantheirphysicalcounterparts.Obviously,thereistheproblemthatdigital
goodsmightbesold,whiletheoriginalcopiesareretained.Forthisreason,copyrightholdershavepersuadedlegislatorsthatresalesortransfersofdownloadsshouldn’tbepermitted.Iexpectmostofuswillspendthousandsof
poundsinourlifetimesonmusic,booksandfilms.Onthebasisthatafewofusmightcheat,we’reallbeingaskedtosacrificeourinvestments.ArecentdecisioninEuropehasmadethematterclearerandmoreconsumer-friendly,butjustinthecaseofsoftware.ThisJuly,theGrandChamberoftheEuropeanCourtofJusticetoldOraclethatUsedSoftcouldindeedresellOraclelicences.Thelawforsoftwareisratherdifferentto
thatforbooksandfilms.Thecourtsaidthat
aEuropeansoftwaredirectivemakesitclearthatsoftwarecanberesold,andcontractualtermssayingthatlicencesare‘non-transferable’can’tchangethis.Therulingmeansthatmanycompanieshavebeenoverstatingtheirrightsforyears.Quark,forexample,usedtoclaimitssoftwareonCD-ROMs was‘non-transferable’.Notso.Youcan,therulingsays(ifyoukeepyour
originalreceipts)legallyreselldigitalsoftwaredownloadsinEurope.Thisisgood,asithelpstokeeppriceslower,andpreventscompanies
fromcheating.However,thesameprincipledoesn’tyetapplytofilms,musicandbooks.Thesearearguablyproductsthatwe’remorelikelytowanttoresell,orleaveinourwills.Software,afterall,goesoutofdate.Thesameisn’ttrueforbooks,filmsand
music.Wemightkeeplisteningtothesamesongsforyears,andweliketokeepbooksforreference,oftenfordecades.Theymayalsobeofvaluetoourchildren.Inshort,weexpectrightstolend,sellortransferdigitalgoods,butlegallytheynolongerexist. Inthecaseofdigitalbooks,there’snosecondhandmarket.Amazonhasmadetentativestepstowardsenablingpeopleto‘share’booksintheUSA–albeitonlyonce,andthenforonlytwoweeks.Worseisthewaythatdigitalbooksare
restrictedwhenlicensedtolibraries.Sincethenumbersofloanscanbecounted,publisherswanttolimitthenumberoftimesalibrarycanissuethem.Digitalmaterialcreatesgreaterabilitytocontrolusage,totheapparent
Digital assetsYou don’t own downloaded books, films or songs when you buythem. Instead, you ‘borrow’ them, which presents a number of issues
BruceWillisisn’treallyfightingAppletoleavehisdigitalmusictohiskids,butApple’spositionisstillunjust
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13November 2012
advantageofthepublisher.However,there’ssomedangerthatpublisherswillthrottlethemarket,assecondhandcopies,librariesandpersonallendingformalargepartofthewaypeoplelearnaboutauthors.Itwouldn’tbethefirsttimethatcopyright
ownershaveshotthemselvesinthefoot.Informaladvertisingandexposureisbyfarthebiggestpartofhowwelearnaboutartists,frommusicontheradiotoborrowingDVDs.Oncewebecomefansofanartist,wespendmoneyontheirstuff.Toomuchcontrolbycopyrightowners,andtheirrevenuescouldbethreatenedaswestopexperimentingforfree.Wearen’t justlosingcontroloverthe
productswebuy.Thedigitalassetsyoupersonallycreateareatriskinotherwaystoo.StorieshaveappearedaboutthedifficultiesofaccessinginformationthatpeoplestoreontheInternetwhentheydie,suchassocialmediaandemailaccounts.There’snoguaranteethatyourrelativescanaccessyouraccounts–it isn’tyourdecisiontomake.Yahoo!forinstanceisclearthataccessto
youraccountdieswithyou.ThecompanyoperatesFlickr,whichmanypeopleusetostorehigh-resolutionphotos.Tome,itseemswrongtorefuseaccesstoFlickraccountswhensomebodydies.Afterall,someoneinheritsthecopyrights,sowhycan’ttheyaccessthefilestoo?What’smore,whileweloserights
overouraccounts,andthefilmsandbookswedownload,companiesgainrightstospyonus.Digitalformatrepresentsanunprecedentedsourceofinformationabouthowweconsumegoods.Amazonhopestolearnaboutthepointsatwhichweputabookdown,whenwestopreading,orwhenwecan’tresistapage-turner.JoGlanville,theheadofEnglishPEN,
saysintheGuardianthatcompaniessuchasGoogleandAmazonseektoknow‘whatwebuy,whatwebrowse,theamountoftimewespendonapageandeventheannotationswemakeinanebook.‘Ascampaignershavequipped,it’sthe
equivalentofabookshophiringsomeonetofollowyouroundtheshopnotingeverybook
youpickup,thensittingathomewithyouwhileyoureadwhatyoubought.’Foryears,librariansdefendedourrightsfor
thestatenottoknowinformationsuchasthis.Yetit’snowveryeasilyaccessible,andthat’scausingalarm.Californiahaslegislatedtorestrictlawenforcement’saccesstodigitalreadinginformation.Onlyafewyearsago,AmericanlibrarianswereforcedtofightattemptstocompellibrariestotelltheUSAsecretserviceswhatpeoplewerereading.
Thelibrarieswereoutragedwhentheyrealisedtheycouldbetoldtohandoverreaders’ informationin‘nationalsecurityletters’ issuedunderthePatriotAct.Theselettersdeniedtherighttoinformtheborrowers,oreventosaythatinformationhadbeensoughtbytheauthoritiesatall.These‘nationalsecurityletters’havebeenissuedhundredsofthousandsoftimestouniversitiesandISPsamongothers.ThelibrariansandtheInternetArchive
wereamongthefewthatchallengedtheconstitutionalityofthesesecretorders.OneoftheotherchallengerswasNicholasMerrill,whoseISPCalyxwasaskedtohandoveruserdatabytheFBI.Hewaspersonallyshocked
JIMKILLOCKisexecutivedirectorofcampaignorganisationTheOpenRightsGroup
(www.openrightsgroup.org)
@jimkillock
whenhewastoldhecouldn’ttellanyonethathehadbeenasked,andthattherewasnolegalmeanstochallengetheorder.HewenttotheAmericanCivilLibertiesUnionandtheElectronicFrontierFoundation,andtheyfoughtthecasewithhim.Eventually, in2007,afterathree-yearcase,
hewon.Onlyin2010washeallowedtorevealhisidentity.Hestillcan’tsaywhathewasaskedtogivetotheFBI.However,hehasresolvedtomakeitmuchharderfortheFBIoranyoneelsetogainaccesstocustomerdatathroughimprovedprivacytechnologies,andhascreatedanon-profit institutetohelpbuildthesoftwareISPswouldneed.IntheUK,weseedifferentattemptsfor
governmentagenciestograbaccesstoourreadingandcommunicationspatterns,mostrecentlyundertheproposedCommunicationsDataBill.OneofthemajorflawsunderthisproposalandourcurrentRegulationofInvestigatoryPowersAct(RIPA)isthatpeopleareneverinformedafterthey’vehadtheirinformationaccessed.IntheUSA,priortothePatriotAct, itwasnormalforsomeonetobetoldiftheirphonebillorpersonaldetailshadbeenrequestedbylawenforcement.
Protectionssuchasthatcangosomewaytomakingsurelawenforcementdoesn’tsimplygainunfetteredaccesstoourpersonalinformation,placingusatriskfromidentityfraud,privateinvestigatorsor
unscrupulousjournalists.Thisisimportantforcompaniesandindividuals.IfAmazonorFacebookwantustotrustthemwithdetailsofourlives,weneedtoknowthattheywon’tsimplyhandoverourlifehistorywhenapoliceofficerdropsthemanemail.
SOMEONE INHERITS THECOPYRIGHTS, SO WHY CAN’TTHEY ACCESS THE FILES TOO?
TheFBIaskedNicholasMerril’sISPtohandoveruserdata–hewenttotheAmericanCivilLiberties
UnionandElectronicFrontierFoundation,whofoughtthecasewithhim
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14 April 2012
JoeMartin
SaveourDarkSoulsJoe Martin talks to Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki
technologyimportantforinjectingathemeorgameexperienceintodevelopingtitles.Inotherwords,theleveloftechnologydiffersinJapaneseandwesterngamedevelopmentprocesses,sincethesignificanceandgameexperiencethatwesterndeveloperstrytoachievearestronglyassociatedwiththedevelopmenttechnology.
CPC:Asidefromwiderculturaldifferences,DarkSoulsisverydifferentfrommostothergamesatthemomentinthewaythatittreatsdeathandfailureascrucialpartsoftheexperience.Whatwereyourinspirationsforthis,andwhydoyouthinkmostothergamesintheindustryhavemovedawayfromthisstyle?HM:Thisgameisdesignedtoprovideplayerswithasenseofaccomplishment,orinotherwords,
catharsisbyconqueringdifficulties.Sodifficulty,andconceptsoffailureanddeath,asyoumentioned,arelaidoutinthegameasfactorsthatenableplayerstofeelthesenseofaccomplishment.Iguessthereareseveralreasonswhyother
gamesdon’thavethesameapproach;agameaimstogiveplayerssomethingdifferentfromasenseofaccomplishment,orthemethodto
amcoBandai’shardcoreRPGDarkSoulswasneverintendedtoseeaPCrelease,butallthatchangedafteran
onlinepetitionfromPCgamersillustratedcleardemand.WetalktoDarkSoulsdirectorHidetakaMiyazakiabouttheportingprocess,andthedifferencebetweenJapaneseandwesterngames.
CPC:Lastyear,youtoldIGNthatyoufoundthesuddenattentionyouhadfromjournalistsandfanstobe‘a50/50mixoftroublingandexciting’(http://tinyurl.com/ctsregj),buthastherebeenanydifferenceintheapproachofJapaneseandwesternaudiencesandmedia?HidetakaMiyazaki: I feelthattheapproachofJapaneseandwesternaudiencesandmediaisverysimilar,althoughtheremaybeaslightdifference.I’msogladthatbothJapaneseandwesternpeopleshowtheirpassiontowardsDarkSoulswithpositiveorevennegativeapproaches.
CPC: IsitfairtosaytherearedifferencesinthegamesproducedbywesternandJapanesedevelopers,notjuststylisticallybutalsoonamechanicallevel?Wheredoyouthinkthesedifferencestemfrom?
HM:That’sadifficultquestion.Anexplanationbasedonthecategory–Japanesevswesterndevelopers–doesn’talwaysclarifytheirdifferencesaccurately.However, inmanycases,IfeelastylisticdifferencemayoccurwhenaJapaneseorwesterndeveloperaddsitsownthemeorexperiencetoavideogame.FromwhereIstand,Icanseethatwestern
developersalsotendtoconsiderdevelopment
THIS GAME IS DESIGNED TOPROVIDE PLAYERS WITH A SENSEOF ACCOMPLISHMENT – CATHARSIS
BY CONQUERING DIFFICULTIES
N DarkSouls’richlygothicworldisthestuffofnightmares
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15April 2012
providegamerswiththesenseofaccomplishmentisdifferentfromourgames.
CPC:Doyouthinkgamesnowadaysaretooeasythen?HM:No,notreally. I loveeasygamestoo,asI’mnotagoodgamer.
CPC:Whywasn’tthePCpartofyouroriginalplan,whichpromptedapetitiontobesetup.AndwhydidyoudecidetodeviatefromthatplanandannounceaPCrelease?HM:WechangedouroriginalplananddecidedtodevelopthePCversionbecauseofthepetitionthatyoupointedout,andpersuadingNamcoBandaiGamesIncaftertheysawthefans’passioninthecampaign.
Iwasverysurprisedbythecampaign,andgladofit,becauseIdidn’texpectitatall.
CPC:DarkSoulsisinsomewaysaboutlearningfrommistakes.Whatmistakesweremadeduringthedevelopmentofthegame,andhaveyoubeenabletoprovideanyimprovementsinthePCversion?HM:Duringthedevelopmentprocesswespottedalotmistakes,bigandsmall,andlearnedlessonsfrom
them.Ican’ttellyoueachofthemistakesthatweremade,butwe’veaddedsomedetailedmodificationtothePCversionwherewecould.
CPC:Arethereplanstomakeasequelforthisgame,ordoyouintendtomoveonto
newideas?Also,whatsortofgamesareyouinterestedincreatingin
thefuture?HM: Iactuallyhavesomanyplansregardingfuturetitles,butif IwereforcedtospecifyonethenI’dsaythatI’minterestedincreatinganetwork-stylegamethatdoesn’t
sticktothecurrentgamestyleI’vedeveloped–networkisanunprecedentedmedia,andyoucanuseittoformacomplexsocietybasedonthenetworkitself.Finally,
Iwanttocreatesomethingcuteinthefuture.
YoucanfindoutmoreaboutDarkSouls:PreparetoDieEditionforPCatwww.preparetodie.com
THE PC VERSIONWhilethefactthatDarkSoulsiscomingtoPCisundeniablygood–andthatNamcopayssuchattentiontogamingcommunitiesisawonderfulprecedent–thedevelopmentofthegamehasn’tbeenwithoutissues.FromSoftwareadmittedtohavinglimitedexperiencewiththePCplatformearlierthisyear,andapreviewversionweplayedshowedsomedefiniteframerateissuesontheprovidedlaptops.
Howmorecapablemachineswillfarewiththegameremainstobeseen,ofcourse,butuntilthen,FromSoftwarereckonsthepromiseofnewcontentovertheconsoleversioniscompensationenough.Hmm…
were made during the development of the game, and have you been able to provide any improvements
During the development
CPC: Are there plans to make a sequel for this game, or do you intend to move on to
new ideas? Also, what sort of games are you interested in creating in
the future?HM:regarding future titles, but if I were forced to specify one then I’d say that I’m interested in creating a network-style game that doesn’t
stick to the current game style I’ve developed – network is an unprecedented media, and you can use it to form a complex society based on the network itself. Finally,
I want to create something cute in the future.
You can find out more about Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition for PC at www.preparetodie.com
From Software admitted to having limited experience with the PC platform earlier this year, and a preview version we played showed some definite frame
How more capable machines will fare with the game remains to be seen, of course, but until then, From Software reckons the promise of new content over
DarkSouls’PCversionincludes
newquests,bossesandweapons
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ASUS UNVEILS HIGH-RES27IN SCREENFinally,afteryearsofbeingembarrassinglyshownupbyApple’sRetinadisplays,we’restartingtoseemoredesktopPCmonitorsgoingbeyond1,920x1,080withoutstrayingintosuper-expensive30interritory.DellhasprettymuchhadthatmarkettoitselfforyearswiththesuperbUltraSharpU2711m,butafewmoremanufacturersarenowlaunching27inmonitorswitharesolutionof2,560x1,440.ThelatestisAsus,withitsLED-backlitPB278Q WQHD,basedonanIPSpanel,whichAsussayshasa5msresponsetime(grey-to-grey)and178-degreeviewingangles.There’snowordonUKpricingoravailabilityyet,butitonlyneedstocostlessthan£500toundercuttheDell.
16 February 2012
NEW HARDWARE
We take a look at the latestnewly announced products
PNY LAUNCHES GAMING SSDsPNYhasjustlaunchedanewline-upofsolidstatedrives,whichitsaysaretargetedspecificallyatgamers.TheXLR8ProrangeisbasedonaSandForceSF-2281controlleranduses3KP/Emulti-levelcell (MLC)NANDflashmemory(meaningitcanwithstandatleast3,000program/erasecycles)andaSATA6Gbpsinterface.PNYsaysthe
newdriveswilloffersequentialreadandwritespeedsof550MB/secand520MB/secrespectively.TheXLR8Prorangewillbeavailablein
120GB,240GBand480GBflavours.
ASROCK COURTSOVERCLOCKERSTakingitsinspirationfromeitherwaspsor1980sChristianmetalbandStryper,ASRockhascladitslatestZ77motherboardinasharpyellowandblackcolourscheme.TheZ77OCFormulahasaneight-layerPCB,completewithfour2ozcopperinnerlayers,andtheboardalsohasa12+4powerphasedesignfortheCPU.DesignedinconjunctionwithrenownedoverclockerNickShih(seehisHWBotprofileathttp://hwbot.org/user/nickshih),thenewboardevenfeatures15-caratgoldintheCPUsocketandmemoryslots,andincludesGelidGC-ExtremeTIMtoo.There’snowordonpricingyet,butwedon’texpectittobecheap.Findoutmoreatwww.asrock.com/microsite/OCFormula
OCZ VERTEX 4 PRICE CRASHWatchingSSDpriceshasbeenlikewatchinganavalanchelately.FirstwesawCrucial’sM4seriesandSamsung’s830seriesplummetintothebargainbasement,andnowOCZ’sVertex4(seeIssue107,p44)rangehasjumpedofftheedgetoo.Thisisofparticularsignificance,sincetheVertex4256GB,whichisbasedonaMarvellcontrollerwithacustomIndilinxfirmware,isbyfarthefastestsolidstatedrivewe’veseen.Sofast,infact,thatitwonanExtremeUltraaward–allthathelditbackwastheprice.However,nowthatthe256GBmodelhasdroppedto£165,wehavenohesitationinawardingitaPremiumGradeawardtoo,andincludingitontheElitelistasourSSDofchoice.
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For more information:www.pny.eu
PNYTechnologiesEurope.RCSBordeauxB394790430-PNY,PNYTechnologiesandthePNYlogoareregisteredtrademarksofPNYTechnologies,Inc.Allothertrademarksandlogosarethepropertyoftheirrespectivecompanies.Copyright©2012PNYTechnologies,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 UnitedStates and other countries. All Rights Reserved.
Explore a new gaming experiencewith PNY’s GTX 670.
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18 November 2012
Lucy Sherriff
Thespintronicswaltz
herearethreeproblemsfacingspintronics,saysDrGianSalis. ‘One:tocreatespinpolarisation;two:to
transportspinstoadrainandmanipulatethemontheway;andthree:todetectthespinstateatthedraincontact.’DrSalisworksinIBM’sPhysics
ofNanoscaleSystemsresearchgroup,whereheandhisteamhavefoundawaytopreventthedecayofspinpolarisation,extendingthelifetimeofaspinstateby30times.Notonlythat,butthey’veachieveditusingfabricationtechniquesalreadyusedinindustry.Let’srecap:Moore’sLaw–
whichstatesthatthenumberoftransistorsthatwillfitonagivenspacewilldoubleevery18months–hasbecomeanarticleoffaithinthesemiconductorindustry.However,thefearstalkingthesemiconductorindustryisthatprogresswillslowdownandgraduallygrindtoahalt.Thescaleatwhichtransistorsarenowbuiltmeansengineershavetodealwithenormousquantitiesofheat,andthemessyweirdnessofquantumphysicswillsoonstarttointrudeontheorderlybusinessofmovingonesandzerosaround.‘Spintronicsisoneofseveralways
(othersincludeFETandnanowires)ofgettingpasttheendofconventionalelectronics,’Salissays.‘CMOS[complementarymetaloxidesemiconductor]willsoonbelimitedbythevoltageatwhichitcanoperate.Itcan’tdecreasemuchfurther,ordealwithalltheheat. Ifwecanfindawaytolowerthevoltage,wecanstill increasescalinganddealwithheattransport.Spintronicsallowsustocreateswitchesthatoperateatsmallervoltages.’
We revisit the exciting world of spintronics, following recent researchby IBM to extend the lifetime of a spin state by 30 times
Briefly,spintronicsexploitsthespinstateofanelectron,ratherthanitscharge,tostoreandtransmitdata–wecoveredthistopicinmoredetail inIssue107,p18.‘Ithasbeenshownthatyoucanapplyavoltagetoagateandcreateanelectricfield.Youcandothiswithaverysmallvoltage,waylowerthanCMOS,’Salisadds.
Thespinofanelectron–anintrinsicqualityoftheelectronratherthananyreferencetoitsmotion–isoftendescribedasbeingupordown,andthesebinaryoptionsareequatedtotheonesandzerosofdigital information.Thisisusefulshorthand,butSalisexplainsthatinreality,thespinisavector,andcanactuallypointinanydirectioninspace.
‘Ifyouwanttousespinforinformationprocessing,youwantthespintobeinonedirection,andnottomoveinspace.Amagneticfieldwillrotatethisspinandchangethedirection,andyougethugemagneticfieldsinsidesemiconductors.Electronsemerginginasemiconductorseehugemagneticfields.Typically,theyrotaterandomly
sothataspinpointingupwillrotatedifferentlyfromaspinpointingdown.Overtime,theylosetheircommonorientation.Thisiscalledspindefacing,andit’sthedecayofspinpolarisation.’Salislikensthemovementofthe
spintoawaltz. Imagineallthepairsofdancerslinedupatthestartofthewaltz.Nowthinkofthedirectionthewomenarefacingasbeingequivalenttothespin.Eachofthepairswillmove,rotatingthroughthedance.Overtime,thecouplesmoveoutofalignment,andthewomenendupfacinginallsortsofdifferentdirections.Thisisthedecayofthespinpolarisation.
What’sneededisamechanismthatwill lockthecouplesinstep,sotheyrotateintimewithoneanotherandintimewiththeirmovementaroundthedancefloor. ‘Backin2003,therewasaproposalthatitmightbepossibletoovercomethisbyengineeringsymmetryintotheinternalmagnetic
fieldsofasemiconductor.Ifthemagneticfieldissymmetricalthenthespinsaresynchronised.Andthisiswhatwe’vedemonstratedexperimentally.’Sohowdoyouphysicallygaincontrolofthe
spins?‘Thecrystal itself isasymmetric.Youcan’tdoanythingaboutthat.Youbalancethisbyapplyinganelectromagneticfieldinsidethe
T
YOU CAN APPLY A VOLTAGETO A GATE AND CREATE AN
ELECTRIC FIELD WITH A MUCHLOWER VOLTAGE THAN CMOS
Themeasuredspatialandtemporalspreadofaspinhelix.Startingfromalocalisedexcitationmayspreadthespinsinspaceandrotatesynchronouslyintheprocess
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19November 2012
structure.Thefieldisappliedbydesigningthequantumconfinesforatwo-dimensionalelectroninalayerintheGaAs[galliumarsenide]crystal.’Atwo-dimensionalelectron
gasisfreetomoveintwodimensionsbutconfinedbyapotential inthethird.Tocreatethisconfinementpotential,youneedtohaveveryfinecontroloverthecompositionofyoursemiconductor,Salisexplains.TheresearchersgrowtheGaAsepitaxially(theprocessofgrowingonecrystalofaparticularformationontopofanother),sotheycandepositindividuallayerstocreateabuilt-inchargegradient;thisenablesthemtobalanceouttheintrinsicasymmetryofGaAs.‘Thisisalreadyanindustrialprocessused
forLEDsandsoon.It’sslowerthantraditionalCMOS,butit’salreadyscalableandusedinindustry,’headds.Goingbacktothedancingmetaphor,bybalancingtheasymmetryofthemagneticfieldintheGaAscrystal,theresearchershaveeffectivelydesignedaperfectchoreography,lockingtherotationspeedofthedancerstothedirectioninwhichtheymove,sothatallthewomeninacertainareaendupfacinginthesamedirection.‘Ifyouputanumberofelectronsinavery
smallspot,theelectronswillgraduallydiffusefromthisspot.Thismotionisn’tchangedbybalancingtheGaAsfield.Thatonlyaffectsthespinitself.Youcanlabeltheelectronsandwatchwheretheygo.Thedevelopmentofthespinpatterniscompletelydifferenttothedevelopmentofthecharge.Itformsaspinhelixandwecanseethat.Thetheorysaysthatthespinsdisplayallprecess[changesinrotationalaxis]synchronouslytoformastripe-likepattern,whichisexactlywhatwe’veobserved.Theadvantageofsuchaspinhelixisthatthespindecayisswitchedoff,greatlyextendingthelifetimeofthespinstate.’
Intheteam’spaper(publishedinNaturePhysics),theresearchersreportthatthespinstatepersistsfor30timeslongerthannormalonceit’slockedintothespinhelix. ‘Westartedwithaspinlifetimeofmaybejustoveronenanosecond,butyoucanstartwithhighernumbersthanpicoseconds,whichwouldimprovetheendresult.’Inthisnanosecond(actually1.1ns,or
roughlythetimeittakesagigahertzprocessortomakeacalculation),thespinstraveltenmicrometresinthesemiconductor.Theresearchersdescribethisas‘useful’,whichweshallunderstandtomean‘impressive,butdon’taskuswhentherewillbeadevicebasedonthistechnology’.Thisworkisimportantforanotherreason
too.Aselectronsmoveinasemiconductorcrystalthey‘see’allkindsofdisturbancesanddefects–roughnessofsurfacesandsoon.Theseallchangethedirectionoftheelectron’smotion.Thismotioniscalleddiffusiveif ittakesplacefromAtoBandtheelectronsarescatteredbyinteractionswiththematerialalongtheway.Alotofthespintronicsworkpublished
reliesonwhat’sknownas‘ballistictransport’
LUCYSHERRIFFisajournalistwithadegreeinastrophysicswhoknowsallaboutthe
latestscientifictech.
@lucysherriff
ofelectrons.Thismeansthattheelectronmovesfromsourcetodrainwithoutanyinteractionstointerruptit.Thisrequiresaverypuresemiconductor,withnodefects.Diffusivetransportismucheasier,Salisexplains,becausethematerialsneedn’tbesoperfect.Asforcreatingadevice,Salis
advisesnotholdingyourbreath.Heremindsusseveraltimesthatheworksinasciencelabonthefundamentalprinciples.Nevertheless,henotesthattheworkhasdemonstratedthatyoucanhaveamaterialthatservesasaspintransportlayer.However,thereareother
obstacles.Atapartyofspintronicsresearchers,the
words‘roomtemperature’areprobablygroundsforexiletothekitchen.Alloftheseexperimentshavebeenperformedat40K,whichisn’twarmbyanystretchoftheimagination.‘No,butthisiswherewehaveagoodsignal.Wedon’thaveroomtemperature,butnothingsuggestsaproblematupto200K,’Salissays.Eventhatlimitcouldjustbeafunctionoftheequipmentused.‘Areweabletodetectspinstatesatroom
temperaturewiththemethodwe’veused?Theansweristhatwejustdon’tknow.We’reusinganopticalscanningmicroscope,anditssensitivitydecreasesasyouincreasethetemperature.Itdoesn’tgomuchbeyond180-200K.However, it’ssomethingwe’reworkingon.’
GianSalis(right)andMatthiasWalser(left)haveobservedhowelectronspinsmoveinasemiconductorchannel,withtheirorientationssynchronouslyrotatingalongthepathsimilartoacoupledancingthewaltz
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20 November 2012
Gareth Halfacree looks at the latest mobile hardware
hecomputationpowerofmobilephonesandtabletsisincreasingatanalarmingrate.ARM’s
latestGPUdesign,thesecond-generationMidgard-architectureMali,boastsa50percentperformanceboostoverprevious-generationparts–agenerationalimprovementofwhichdesktopgraphicsdesignerscanonlydream.Portabledevicesstill lag
behindtheirlaptopanddesktopcounterparts,however.Theneedtopackcomponentsintotinyspaceswithlimitedbatterylifeandnoactivecoolingputsanupperlimitonthepotentialpoweroftabletsandsmartphones.ARManditsmultitudinouslicenseescanbeascleverastheylike,buthigh-powerdesktopandlaptopmachineswill alwayswin.Nowhereisthismoreobviousthaninthe
gamingmarket.Today’smobilegames,whileafarcryfromNokia’soriginalSnake,aren’tasimpressiveastheirdesktopequivalents.There’snodenyingthatsome,suchasEpic’sInfinityBlade,pushtheenvelopeofwhatispossiblefromamobiledevice,butthey’llalwaysbehamperedbytherelativelackofmemoryandprocessinggruntcomparedwithPCorevenconsolegames.Atleast,untilyoubegintothinkoutsidethehandset.
CLOUD GAMINGTheideaofcloudgamingisn’texactlynew,buildingonthin-clientnetworkingconceptsfromthemainframeera.Ratherthanhavingexpensive,energy-hungrymachinesoneverybody’sdesksandseeingtheprocessorssit idleformostoftheirlives,youinsteadpushtheheavyliftingofftoapowerfulcentralserverandputfarlesspowerfuldevicesonthedesk.
CloudgamingOnLive might be in its death throes, but others are serious about cloud gamingtoo. We look at how it could affect mobile and tablet gaming
Althoughonlyrecentlyannounced,Nvidia’sGeForceGridhassomeseriousindustryweightbehindit;contentpartnersrangefromEpicGames,CDProjekt,THQandNCSofttoconsolegiantsCapcom,SegaandBandaiNamco.Epic’sco-founderTimSweeneywasoneofthetalkingheadstrottedoutatthelaunchceremony,claimingthat‘Nvidia’sGridtechnology,withitslatencyreductionandimprovedimage
quality,combinedwithhigherdensityandpowerefficiency,aresignificantstepstowardsmakingcloudgamingatrueconsole-likeexperiencetoday,andbringingthathigh-qualitygamingexperiencetomorepeople’.
LATENCYSweeneyisn’tmentioninglatencyreductiontechnologyfornothing.Latency–thegapbetweenintentanddeed–isthemajorproblemforcloudgaming.Twitch-gamingtitlessuchasmultiplayerfirst-personshootersrequireincrediblyaccuratetimingontheplayer’spart–anydelaycanbeakiller–andthere’splentyofpotentialfordelaywithcloudgaming.Ignoringtheactualrenderingofthegame,
whichshouldn’ttakelongerthanahigh-endPC,therearetwopathspronetodelaysincloudgaming:thepathfromthegamertotheserver,andthepathbackfromtheservertothegamer.Whentheplayerhitsakey–ortapsthescreen,inthecaseoftabletorsmartphone–thatinstructionhastoreachtheserver,beprocessedintoanin-gameaction,getrendered,andthentheresultingvideoandaudioreturnedtotheplayer.AccordingtoNvidia’smeasurements,
aconsolepluggedintoaTVthroughHDMIrequiresaround100msforin-game
Cloudgamingplatformsworkinmuchthesameway:allthedifficultworkiscarriedoutonacentralserver.Forgaming,thiscoverseverythingfromphysicsandAIcalculationstosoundandgraphicsrendering.Theoutput–avideoandsoundstream–isthencompressedandsentacrossthenetworktotheclientdevice.Theresult istheabilitytorundecent-qualitygamesondevicesthatlacktheusualgraphicscardandprocessorcombinationthatcoststhesharpendofagrand.Atleast,that’stheidea.
GAIKAI AND NVIDIAOneofthebiggestnamesincloudcomputingisGaikai.Foundedin2008byDavePerry,themanbehindclassicgamesincludingEarthwormJimandMDK,Gaikaihasmadeaseriousnameforitself inthefledglingcloudgamingindustrywithpartnershipsincludingElectronicArts,SamsungandNvidia.Thatlatterpartnershiphasresultedinthe
launchingofanentireplatform,GeForceGrid,whichequipsserverswithspeciallydesignedlow-latencyNvidiagraphicsboardsdubbedGridProcessors.FeaturingdualKeplerGPUswith3,072CUDAcores,8GBofmemoryanda250WTDP,theboardsaredesignedtoofferlag-freerenderingofuptofourplayersessionsperserver.
T
It’sclaimedthatGaikai’stechnologycouldrivalconsolesforlag-freegaming
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21November 2012
GARETHHALFACREEisthenewsreporteratwww.bit-tech.net.Heknowsallabout the
latestnewsinPCandmobiletech.
@ghalfacree
CONTROL IS KEYCloudgamingonmobiledeviceshasanotherhurdletojumptoo:controls.Withthemajorityoftoday’sbig-budgetgameswrittenfora
consolecontrollerorkeyboardandmousecombo,abutton-freetouch-screendeviceishardlytheidealinterface.BothGaikai
andOnLivehaveattemptedtocircumventthisissuebydevelopingon-screenmulti-
touchcontrolsthatemulateacontroller,completewithbuttonsandan‘analoguestick’.Thismeansthattheplayer’shandsobscurepartofthescreen,however,andofferslittletactilefeedback.OnepossiblesolutionistheTactusTactile
Layer(seeIssue108,p20),asurfacethatraisestheshapeofagamepadondemandforamoretactileexperience.Sony,meanwhile,hasgoneintheoppositedirectionwithitsXperiaPlayhandset,whichfeaturesaslide-outDualShock-inspiredphysicalcontroller.TheupcomingWikiPadtablet,poweredbyNvidia’sTegra3,usesathirdoption:aremovablecontrollerjacketthataddstwoanaloguesticks,adirectionpad,andbothfaceandtriggerbuttonscomfiergaming.OnLive’srecentfinancialwoesmighthave
setbackmainstreamcloudgamingforafewyears,butwithGakaiandNvidiainvestingalotintothetechnology, it’sstill likelythatPCgamerswon’tbeabletosneeratmobilegamersformuchmorethanafewyears.
processingandafurther66mstodisplaytheresultantframe.This166msbest-casetargetwassoundlymissedbyfirst-generationcloudgamingplatforms,whichwereforcedtoaddona30mscaptureandencodepipeline,a75msnetworkdelay,andafurther15msfortheclientsystemtodecodethecompressedvideoandaudiostreamforatotalof286ms.Giventhesamenetworkconditions,Nvidia
claimsthatGaikai’sGeForceGrid-poweredplatformcutsthegamepipelinestageinhalfto50ms,thecaptureandencodestageto10ms,thenetworkdelayto30ms,andthedecodestageto5mswhileretainingthehardware-limited66msdisplaytimeforaconsole-matchingtotalof166ms.Thatratherconvenient-soundingfiguremeansthatcloudgamingcannow,intheory,matchtheexperienceofconsolegaming,butwithouttheneedforanexpensiveconsole.
WHITHER MOBILE?Mobilegaming,however, isadifferentbeast.Consoles–microorotherwise–havetheadvantageofsittinginthehomeontheendof,typically,ahigh-speedfixed-linebroadbandconnection.OnLive,for
example,statesthatitssystemrequiredaminimum1Mb/secconnectiontowork,with1.5Mb/secto2Mb/secrecommended.Theslowertheconnection,themoreheavilycompressedthevideostream–resultinginanexperiencethat’smorelikewatchingabadlypiratedvideothanplayingaconsole-qualitygame.Gamingontabletsaddsanother
dimension:wirelessnetworking.Sometabletsthatcanacceptawirednetworkexist,butthey’rerare;mostuserswillconnectthroughWiFi,eitherathomeorusingapublichotspot.Mostly,youmaybesurprisedtohear,thisworksjustfine;aslongastheconnectionattheendoftheWiFiaccesspointisofahighenoughqualityandrelativelyuncontentious,thestreamlargelyworksaspromised.Smartphonesareacompletelydifferent
matter,however.Mostmobilegamersplaytheirgameswhenotherdistractionsareunavailable,suchasduringlongpublictransportjourneys.Inalargenumberofcases,thismeansa3G–or, ifyou’reinapoorsignalarea,EDGEor2G–mobiledata
connection.Withlatencyonmobilenetworksrisingashighas500ms,cloudgamingbecomesafarmoredifficultproposition,leavingthosewithoutaccesstoaWiFi-enabledbroadbandconnectionstuckwithgamessuchasAngryBirds,rather
thanCounter-Strike.
Cloudgaming,viaGeForceGrid,promisesthesameexperiencefromsmartphonestodesktops
TheWikiPadattemptstosolvethecontrolproblemwithadetachablegamingjacket
MainstreamsuccessmayhaveeludedOnLive,butitsMicroConsoleprovedcloudgamingdoesn’tneedbulkyclient-sidehardware
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24 April 2012
Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB Hard DriveAn amazing storage drive for the price!
• 5,900 rpm Spin Speed• 64MB Cache
• 2TB Storage Capacity
• SATA 6Gbps Interface
www.cclonline.com
£77.56• CCL Code - HDD1137
WE’REAWARD
WINNERS!
PC Pro 2011Highly Commended
An amazing storage drive for the price!
Pr ices cor rec t a t t ime of going to publ ish ing. Images are for i l lus t ra t ive purposes only.
Our choice of the best hardware available
You don’t have to spend an astronomical sum to get a decent PC.Our stunning value build includes 4GB of brandedmemory anda quad-core AMD Llano APUwith integrated graphics
NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED PRICE (inc VAT)
A AntecOne www.overclockers.co.uk www.antec.com Issue108,p36 £40
B GigabyteGA-A75M-UD2H www.ebuyer.com www.gigabyte.com Issue98,p34 £69
C AMDA8-3870KBlackEdition www.cclonline.com www.amd.com Issue103,p38 £80
D 4GBCrucialBallistixSportPC3-12800C9 www.overclockers.co.uk www.crucial.com Issue100,p96 £26
E GelidTranquilloRev.2 www.scan.co.uk www.gelidsolutions.com Issue100,p86 £25
F BeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W www.scan.co.uk www.bequiet.com Issue 110, p55 £55
G 500GBSeagateBarracudaST500DM002 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104,p72 £48
H Lite-On IHAS124-19 www.cclonline.com www.liteonit.eu Issue99,p108 £13
I MicrosoftWindows7HomePremium64-bit www.amazon.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue 75, p46 £102
TOTALSYSTEMPRICE £458
A
BMOTHERBOARD
FPSU
GHARD DISK
DRAM
HOPTICAL DRIVE
ECOOLING
IOPERATING SYSTEM
CAPU
UPDATED
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25April 2012
As Core i7 motherboards and high-end graphics cards command apremium price, here are some components for a Core i5 PC that offergreat performance and won’t break the bank
NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED PRICE (inc VAT)
A SilverStoneRavenRV03 www.scan.co.uk www.silverstonetek.com Issue103,p70 £104
B GigabyteGA-Z77-D3H www.scan.co.uk www.gigabyte.com Issue108,p38 £79
C IntelCore i5-3570K www.scan.co.uk www.intel.co.uk Issue106,p36 £173
D 8GBPatriotG2PGD38G1600ELK www.amazon.co.uk www.patriotmemory.com Issue106,p40 £39
E ArcticFreezer i30 www.dabs.com www.arctic.ac Issue104,p48 £28
F SapphireAMDRadeonHD78702GB www.amazon.co.uk www.sapphiretech.com Issue105,p40 £198
G BeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W www.scan.co.uk www.bequiet.com Issue110,p55 £55
H SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104,p75 £76
I AsusXonarDG www.dabs.com http://uk.asus.com Issue99,p108 £24
J SamsungSSD830128GB www.scan.co.uk www.samsung.com Issue104,p68 £80
K Lite-On IHAS124-19 www.cclonline.com www.liteonit.eu Issue99,p108 £13
L MicrosoftWindows7HomePremium64-bit www.amazon.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue 75, p46 £102
TOTALSYSTEMPRICE £971
A
G H I J LPSU HARD DISK SOUND CARD SOLID STATE DRIVE OPERATING SYSTEM
FGRAPHICS CARD
B D EMOTHERBOARD RAM COOLINGCPU
C
Fractal Design Core 1000 PC CaseA 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
£31.19
www.cclonline.com/cpc08000 50 10 10
Pr ices cor rec t a t t ime of going to publ ish ing. Images are for i l lus t ra t ive purposes only.
UPDATED
WorldMags.netWorldMags.net
26 April 2012
Our choice of the best hardware available
Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D2V MotherboardAmazing price Socket 1155 motherboard!
• Socket 1155 Motherboard• MicroATX Form Factor
• Up to 16GB DDR3 Memory
• Gigabit LAN
www.cclonline.com
£41.34• CCL Code - MBD0340
WE’REAWARD
WINNERS!
PC Pro 2011Highly Commended
Amazing price Socket 1155 motherboard!
Pr ices cor rec t a t t ime of going to publ ish ing. Images are for i l lus t ra t ive purposes only.
This PC has the potential to be the finest gamingmachine you can find – aswell as an excellent all-round computer for office work, digital photography,video production andmedia playback
NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED PRICE (inc VAT)
A SilverStoneFortressFT02B-WUSB3.0 www.scan.co.uk www.silverstonetek.com Issue85,p88 £188
B AsusMaximusVGene www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue106,p64 £150
C IntelCore i5-3570K www.scan.co.uk www.intel.co.uk Issue106,p36 £173
D 8GBPatriotG2PGD38G1600ELK www.amazon.co.uk www.patriotmemory.com Issue106,p40 £39
E BeQuiet!DarkRockAdvanced www.scan.co.uk www.bequiet.com Issue91,p74 £41
F PNYGeForceGTX6802GB www.scan.co.uk www3.pny.com Issue105,p36 £408
G SeasonicX-Series660W www.scan.co.uk www.seasonic.com Issue110,p59 £120
H SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104,p75 £76
I AsusXonarDX www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue80,p63 £58
J OCZVertex4256GB www.ebuyer.co.uk www.ocztechnology.com Issue104,p68 £165
K Lite-On IHAS123-19 www.cclonline.com www.liteonit.eu Issue99,p108 £13
L MicrosoftWindows7HomePremium64-bit www.amazon.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue 75, p46 £102
TOTALSYSTEMPRICE £1,533
G H I J LPSU HARD DISK SOUND CARD SOLID STATE DRIVE OPERATING SYSTEM
FGRAPHICS CARD
A
B D EMOTHERBOARD CPU RAM COOLING
C
UPDATED UPDATED
WorldMags.netWorldMags.net
27April 2012
Iiyama ProLite 24” LCD MonitorTrue HD 1920 x 1080, incredible 2msresponse 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
£129.97
www.cclonline.com/cpc08000 50 10 10
Pr ices cor rec t a t t ime of going to publ ish ing. Images are for i l lus t ra t ive purposes only.
Themost awesome components around, before reaching workstationterritory. We’ve included a dual 120mm liquid cooler kit as a baseexample, but the case has space for a variety of water-cooling setups
G H I J KPSU SOLID STATE DRIVE SOUND CARD HARD DISK OPERATING SYSTEM
A
NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED PRICE (inc VAT)
A SilverStoneTemjinTJ07B-W www.scan.co.uk www.silverstonetek.com Issue63,p87 £263
B AsusMaximusVGene www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue106,p64 £150
C IntelCore i7-3770K www.scan.co.uk www.intel.co.uk Issue106,p36 £246
D 8GBKingstonHyperXGenesisKHX1866C11D3P1K2/8G
www.saverstore.com www.kingston.com Issue106,p40 £40
E NvidiaGeForceGTX6902GB www.scan.co.uk www.nvidia.com Issue106,p46 £780
F CorsairH100 www.scan.co.uk www.corsair.com Issue91,p74 £82
G BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10850W www.scan.co.uk www.bequiet.com Issue 110, p64 £167
H OCZVertex4256GB www.ebuyer.co.uk www.ocztechnology.com Issue107,p44 £165
I CreativeX-FiTitaniumFatal1tyPro www.amazon.co.uk www.uk.europe.creative.com Issue62,p61 £84
J SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM0001 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104,p75 £76
K MicrosoftWindows7HomePremium64-bit www.amazon.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue 75, p46 £102
TOTALSYSTEMPRICE £2,155
B DMOTHERBOARD CPU RAM
C E FGRAPHICS CARD COOLING
UPDATED
WorldMags.netWorldMags.net
28 April 2012
Our choice of the best hardware available
Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD 7770 1GB Graphics CardTake your game performance to the next level
• HDMI, DVI-I, Mini-DisplayPort
• 1GB GDDR5 Memory
• 5000MHz Memory Clock
• 1000MHz Core Clock
www.cclonline.com
£94.94• CCL Code - VGA0674
WE’REAWARD
WINNERS!
PC Pro 2011Highly Commended
Take your game performance to the next level
Pr ices cor rec t a t t ime of going to publ ish ing. Images are for i l lus t ra t ive purposes only.
TYPE CPU MOTHERBOARD COOLER RAM
NAME IntelCore i5-3570K AsusMaximusVGene ArcticFreezer i30 8GBPatriotG2PGD38G1600ELK
SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.dabs.com www.amazon.co.uk
MANUFACTURER www.intel.co.uk http://uk.asus.com www.arctic.ac www.patriotmemory.com
REVIEWED Issue106,p36 Issue106,p64 Issue104,p48 Issue106,p40
PRICE(incVAT) £173 £150 £29 £38
TYPE GRAPHICS CARD GRAPHICS CARD GRAPHICS CARD
NAME SapphireRadeonHD68701GB SapphireRadeonHD7870 PNYGeForceGTX6802GB
SUPPLIER www.amazon.co.uk www.amazon.co.uk www.scan.co.uk
MANUFACTURER www.sapphiretech.com www.sapphiretech.com www3.pny.com
REVIEWED Issue102,p61 Issue105,p40 Issue105,p36
PRICE(incVAT) £128 £198 £408
WorldMags.netWorldMags.net
29April 2012
Acer G6 Series 21.5” Full HD LED MonitorAcer'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
£82.99
www.cclonline.com/cpc08000 50 10 10
Pr ices cor rec t a t t ime of going to publ ish ing. Images are for i l lus t ra t ive purposes only.
TYPE CPU MOTHERBOARD COOLER RAM
NAMEAMDA8-3870K GigabyteGA-A75M-UD2H GelidTranquilloRev.2
4GBCrucialBallistixSportPC3-12800C9
SUPPLIER www.cclonline.com www.ebuyer.com www.scan.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk
MANUFACTURER www.amd.com www.gigabyte.com www.gelidsolutions.com www.crucial.com
REVIEWED Issue103,p38 Issue98,p34 Issue100,p86 Issue100,p96
PRICE(incVAT) £80 £69 £25 £26
TYPE CPU MOTHERBOARD COOLER RAM
NAME IntelCore i7-3930K AsusSabertoothX79 CorsairH80 16GBCorsairVengeanceCAS9DDR3
SUPPLIER www.novatech.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.dabs.com www.dabs.com
MANUFACTURER www.intel.co.uk http://uk.asus.com www.corsair.com www.corsair.com
REVIEWED Issue101,p32 Issue101,p70 Issue101,p86 Issue101,p40
PRICE(incVAT) £435 £257 £72 £80
WorldMags.netWorldMags.net
30 April 2012
Our choice of the best hardware available
Our best selling gaming PC evolved - Better Graphics, Bigger Hard Drive - Better Deal!
AMD FX-4100 3.6GHz CPU, 8GB DDR3 Memory, AMD Radeon HD 77701TB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Built-in Wi-Fi, 2 Year Warranty
TYPE BUDGET CASE MICRO-ATX CASE AIR-COOLING CASE WATER-COOLING CASE
NAME AntecOne SilverStoneTJ08-E SilverStoneRavenRV03 SilverStoneTemjinTJ07B-W
SUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk
MANUFACTURER www.antec.com www.silverstonetek.com www.silverstonetek.com www.silverstonetek.com
REVIEWED Issue108,p36 Issue98,p48 Issue103,p70 Issue63,p87
PRICE(incVAT) £40 £79 £104 £263
TYPE LGA1155 CPUWATERBLOCK
GEFORCE GTX 680WATERBLOCK
RADEONHD 7970WATERBLOCK
DUAL 120MMRADIATOR
NAMEXSPCRayStormCPU XSPCRazorGTX680
AquacomputeraquagrATIxforHD7970
AlphacoolNexXxosUT60FullCopper240mm
SUPPLIER www.aquatuning.co.uk www.aquatuning.co.uk www.aquatuning.co.uk www.aquatuning.co.uk
MANUFACTURER www.xs-pc.com www.xs-pc.com www.aquacomputer.de www.alphacool.com
REVIEWED Issue107,p60 Issue107,p65 Issue107,p67 Issue107,p72
PRICE(incVAT) £51 £90 £76 £50
WorldMags.netWorldMags.net
31April 2012
www.cclonline.comwww.cclonline.comCall us on 08000 50 10 10
Monitors and desktop bundles are available separately.
TYPE HARD DISK SSD NAS BOX
NAME SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 OCZVertex4256GB SynologyDiskStationDS212j
SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.ebuyer.co.uk www.dabs.com
MANUFACTURER www.seagate.com www.ocztechnology.com www.synology.com
REVIEWED Issue104,p75 Issue107,p44 Issue104,p50
PRICE(incVAT) £76 £165 £160
TYPE 530W PSU 660W PSU 850W PSU 1.2kW PSU
NAME BeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W
SeasonicX-Series660W XFXPro850WXXXEditionAntecHighCurrentPro
1200W
SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.ebuyer.co.uk www.ebuyer.com
MANUFACTURER www.bequiet.com www.seasonic.com www.xfxforce.com www.antec.com
REVIEWED Issue110, p55 Issue110, p59 Issue110, p71 Issue96, p48
PRICE(incVAT) £55 £120 £107 £228
UPDATED UPDATED
UPDATED
UPDATED
WorldMags.netWorldMags.net
32 April 2012
Our choice of the best hardware available
Our best selling Intel gaming PC evolved - Better Graphics - Bigger Hard Drive
Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz CPU, 8GB DDR3 Memory, NVIDIA GeForceGTX 560Ti, 1TB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, 2 Year Warranty
TYPE SOUND CARD 2.1 SPEAKERS HEADSET 5.1 SPEAKERS
NAME AsusXonarDX CorsairSP2500 AsusVulcanANC LogitechZ906
SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.ebuyer.com
MANUFACTURER http://uk.asus.com www.corsair.com http://uk.asus.com www.logitech.com
REVIEWED Issue80,p63 Issue92,p79 Issue98,p57 Issue102,p50
PRICE(incVAT) £58 £184 £76 £255
TYPE 24INMONITOR 27INMONITOR TRIPLE-MONITOR STAND
NAME DellUltraSharpU2412M DellUltraSharpU2711 XFXTripleDisplayMonitorStand
SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.cclonline.com www.scan.co.uk
MANUFACTURER www.dell.com www.dell.co.uk www.xfxforce.com
REVIEWED Issue105,p64 Issue81,p56 Issue96,p58
PRICE(incVAT) £227 £512 £299
WorldMags.netWorldMags.net
33April 2012
www.cclonline.comwww.cclonline.comCall us on 08000 50 10 10
Monitors and desktop bundles are available separately.
TYPE KEYBOARD MOUSE STEERINGWHEEL JOYSTICK
NAME MionixZibal60 MaonixNaos3200 LogitechG27 LogitechFlightSystemG940
SUPPLIER www.systo.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk
MANUFACTURER www.mionix.net www.mionix.net www.logitech.com www.logitech.com
REVIEWED Issue108,p71 Issue108,p60 Issue92,p108 Issue92,p109
PRICE(incVAT) £107 £35 £206 £228
TYPE RPG FPS STRATEGY UNDERDOG
NAME ElderScrollsV:Skyrim DeusEx:HumanRevolution FrozenSynapse Trine2
DEVELOPER www.bethsoft.com www.square-enix.com www.mode7games.com http://frozenbyte.com
PUBLISHER Bethesda www.square-enix.com www.mode7games.com http://frozenbyte.com
REVIEWED Issue101,p100 Issue98,p96 Issue96,p92 Issue102,p98
PRICE(incVAT) £30 £30 £19 for two £12
WorldMags.netWorldMags.net
38 SCAN3XSFT03NANU
Apint-sized,overclockedhigh-endPC
40 PHILIPSC-LINE249C4QH
Canthis24inVApaneljustifyits£200price?
44 THERMALTAKEFRIOEXTREME
ItcaneventameanoverclockedLGA2011chip
42 GIGABYTEGA-Z77X-UP4-TH
Only1.3Vrequiredfora4.8GHzIvyBridgeCPU
46 RAZERTAIPANEverwonderedwhat
£75worthofgamingmouselookslike?
51 VIEWQUESTiDICESPEAKER
That’sthewaywerollaroundhere
51 ZALMANZM-DS1000
Brushedaluminiumtostickunderyourmonitor
50 VERSUSTOUCHPAD78GB
AnAndroidtabletthatcostsjust£90
51 GIGABYTEKRYPTON
DoesthishugemousemathavetheKryptonfactor?
34 November 2012
Our in-depth analysis ofthe latest PC hardware
36
WorldMags.netWorldMags.net
35November 2012
HOWWETEST,P48
PNYGeForceGTX660Ti2GB
1,533streamprocessorsanda915MHzGPUclock.Isthis really
aGTX670for£50less? 36
WorldMags.netWorldMags.net
36 November 2012
HOW MUCH?Price£240incVATSupplierwww.scan.co.ukManufacturerwww.pny.com
IN DETAILGraphicsprocessorGTX660Ti2GB,915MHz-980MHzguaranteedPipeline1,344streamprocessors(915MHz-980MHzguaranteed),24ROPsMemory2GBGDDR5,6GHzeffectiveBandwidth144GB/sec,192-bitinterfaceCompatibilityDirectX11.1,OpenGL4.1Outputs/Inputs2xDVI,HDMI,DisplayPort,2xSLIPowerConnections2x6-pin,top-mountedSize240mmlong,dual-slot
asedaroundthesameGK104architectureastherestofNvidia’s6-seriesGPUs,theGeForceGTX660Tihasthesamestreamingmultiprocessor(SM)disabledastheGTX670
2GB,resultinginastreamprocessorcountof1,344.ItsclockspeedsmatchthoseoftheGTX6702GBtoo,withabaseclockof915MHzandaguaranteedboostclockof980MHz,althoughyoucanexpectsomecardstoboosttoupto1,115MHz,.Whileitsounds,sofar,likeaGTX670for£50less,
NvidiahasmadeacrucialcuttotheGTX660Ti2GB’smemoryinterface.Oneofthefour64-bitmemorycontrollershasbeendisabled,alongsidetheeightROPsand128KBofL2cacheassociatedwithit,reducingthecard’sROPcountto32,L2cacheto384KBandmemoryinterfacefrom256-bitto192-bit.Thisinturnreducesthememorybandwidth,
alreadyarguablyGK104’sweakpoint,to144GB/secthankstoa1.5GHz(6GHzeffective)memoryfrequency.Whilethismightnotimpactperformancetoomuchatlowerresolutions,highresolutions,suchas5,760x1,080usedinthree-screengaming,hammeracard’smemorybandwidth.Assuch,theGTX660Ti2GBisunlikelytobeabletocompleteatthesesettings.Otherwise,theGTX660Ti2GBissosimilartothe
GTX6702GBthattheyevenusethesamestockPCBandcooler.ThismeansthatthePCBisstill just175mmlong,withtheblackdual-slotcooleraddinganextra65mmforatotallengthof240mm.Aradialfanpushesairdownthelengthofthecard,throughatightlypackedaluminiumfinstackontopoftheGPU,beforebeingexhaustedouttherearI/O.Hereyou’llalsofindtwoDVIports,anHDMIconnectorandafull-sizedDisplayPort.Meanwhile,twotop-mounted6-pinPCI-Epowerconnectorssupplypower.
PERFORMANCEDespitetheirsimilarspecs,theGTX660Ti2GB’scutsareobviousinBattlefield3.At1,920x1,080with4xAA,itsminimumframerateof54fpsis10percentslowerthanthatoftheGTX6702GBinthesametest,butthisisstillenoughtoconvincinglysurpassthenowcomparativelypriced£250HD79503GBandslightly
cheaper£220HD78702GB.Oncewegetto5,760x1,080,however,the192-bitmemoryinterfaceoftheGTX660Ti2GBshows,withaminimumofjust16fps.Crysis2withitsDX11andhigh-restexturepackisa
monstertorun;at1920x1,080,theGTX660Ti2GB’sminimumframerateof46fpswas3fpsslowerthantheGXT6702GBand2fpsslowerthantheHD79503GB.At2,560x1,600,theGTX660Ti2GBduelledwiththeHD78702GB,whileat5,760x1,080,itsminimumofjust16fpsplacesitatthebottomoftheheap.Happily,performanceinDirt3wasmuchbetter,
withaminimumof105fpsat1,920x1,080with4xAAbeingjust6percentslowerthantheGTX6702GBand12percentfasterthanthe79503GB.Itwasmuchcloserat2,560x1,600with4xAAthough.WhiletheGTX6702GBwasaround6percentfaster,theHD79503GBwasjust1fpsslowerthantheGTX660Ti2GB.InSkyrim,however,theGTX660Ti2GB’sminimum
of60fpsat2,560x1,600was11percentslowerthantheGTX6702GB,butalso7percentfasterthantheHD79503GB,andevenfasterat5,760x1,080.WithitssimilaritiestotheGTX6702GB,theGTX660
Ti2GBdrewnearlythesameamountofpoweratidleandload–89Wand228Wrespectively.ApeakdeltaTof64°CindicatesthattheGTX660Tiusesadifferentthermalprofile,though,anditscoolingfanwasn’tquieteither,revvinguptoaudiblelevelsunderload.
CONCLUSIONAt1,920x1,080,theGTX660Ti2GBlooksstrong;it’sgenerallyonly7percentslowerthantheGTX6702GB,and£50cheaper.However, itsperformancegapgrowsbyasmuchas30percentathigherresolutions,andinmemory-intensivegamessuchasCrysis2.Assuch,wehavereservationsaboutitsfuture
performanceinnext-gentitles.A£250GPUshouldbealong-terminvestment,andtheGTX660Ti2GBalreadyshowssomecracksinitsperformance.Ifyou’replayinggamesat1,920x1,080,though,theGTX660Ti2GBisasolidchoice.JustbeawarethatcheaperKeplercards,suchastheGTX6602GB,willbearrivingveryshortly,andmightbebetterfortightbudgets.HARRY BUTLER
B
PNY
TITANIUM£50 cheaper thanGTX 670; only 7per cent slowerthan GTX 670 at1,920 x 1,080
SCRAP IRON192-bit memoryinterface limitsspeed; expensive;cheaper Keplercards on the way
Reasonably priced and quick, but notthe £200 card we really want
NvidiaGeForceGTX660Ti 2GB
ased around the same GK104 architecture cheaper £220 HD 7870 2GB. Once we get to 5,760 x
WorldMags.netWorldMags.net
37November 2012
GRAPHICS CARD
BATTLEFIELD 3 (DX11)1,920 x 1,080, 4x AA, 16x AF
Minimum Average
2,560 x 1,600, 4x AA, 16x AF
0 25 50 75 100
fps65
fps72
fps58
fps54
fps54
fps60
fps46
fps44Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
0 25 50 75 100
fps37
fps42
fps36
fps32
fps31
fps35
fps29
fps26Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
DIRT 3 (DX11)1,920 x 1,080, 4x AA, 16x AF
2,560 x 1,600, 4x AA, 16x AF
0 25 50 75 100
Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
0 25 50 75 100
fps74
fps80
fps74
fps71
fps63
fps67
fps62
fps60Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
CRYSIS 2 (DX11)1,920 x 1,080, Ultra detail
Minimum Average
Idle Load
2,560 x 1,600, Ultra detail
Lower is better
0 25 50 75 100
fps61
fps73
fps63
fps55
fps46
fps49
fps48
fps44Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
0 25 50 75 100
fps30
fps37
fps37
fps29
fps21
fps27
fps26
fps22Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
5,760 x 1,080, 4 x AA, 16x AF
0 25 50 75 100
fps23
fps29
fps25
fps22
fps16
fps23
fps19
fps17Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
5,760 x 1,080, Ultra detail
0 25 50 75 100
fps19
fps24
fps23
fps18
fps12
fps18
fps13
fps12Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM (DX9)1,920 x 1,080, 4x AA, 16x AF
2,560 x 1,600, 4x AA, 16x AF
0 25 50 75 100
fps103
fps85
fps85
fps84
fps71
fps71Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
PEAK GPU TEMPERATURE (DELTA T)PEAK TOTAL SYSTEM POWER DRAW
0 25 50 75 100
fps75
fps83
fps66
fps63
fps60
fps68
fps56
fps53Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
5,760 x 1,080, 4 x AA, 16x AF
0 25 50 75 100
fps53
fps56
fps57
fps51
fps46
fps49
fps48
fps43Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
5,760 x 1,080, 4 x AA, 16x AF
0 25 50 75 100
fps40
fps46
fps34
fps33
fps32
fps38
fps29
fps28Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
Idle Gaming0 50 100 150 200 250
W228
W230
W227
W118
W89
W88
W89
W88Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
0 20 40 60 80
°C64
°C55
°C57
°C40
°C10
°C11
°C15
°C6Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
Lower is better
fps120
fps130
fps111
fps110
fps105
fps112
fps93
fps93
fps112fps91
TEST KIT3.3GHzIntelCorei52500K CPU,AsusP8P67motherboard,4GBCorsair1,600MHzDDR3memory,CrucialM225128GBSSD,Windows764-bit,NvidiaGeForce304.48beta,AMDCatalyst12.7beta
customPC
87OVERALL
SPEED 34 / 40
FEATURES 26 / 30
VALUE 27 / 30
AcomparisonbetweentheGTX680(above)andtheGTX660Ti(below)–notethereductioninL2cache,aswellasthemissingROPs,memorycontrollerandstreamingmultiprocessor
customPCWorldMags.netWorldMags.net
38 November 2012
HOW MUCH?Price£1,279incVATSupplierwww.scan.co.ukManufacturerwww.scan.co.uk
IN DETAILCPU3.5GHzIntelCorei7-3570Koverclockedto4.4GHzMotherboard AsusP8Z77-IDeluxeMemory8GB1,600MHzCorsairDDR3VengeanceGraphicsEVGAGTX660Ti2GBSoundOn-boardHarddisk128GBCorsairForce3SSD,2TBSeagateBarracuda7200.14OpticaldrivesSonyBlu-rayreaderCaseSilverStoneFT03MiniCoolingCPU:CorsairH60;case1x140mbottomintakefanPSUSilverStone450WStriderSST-ST45SFPortsFront:2xUSB3,mic,headphone;Rear:4xUSB2,4xUSB3,LAN,audioout,mic,headphone,opticalS/PDIFout,2xDVI,HDMI,DisplayPort.ExtrasWindows7HomePremiumWarrantyOneyearon-site,plustwoyearsRTB
hedinkyperformancePCmarketisrapidlyexpanding,withnewenthusiastmini-ITXmotherboardsandcasesarrivingeverymonth.Afterall,whydoesyourPCneedafull-
towercasewhensomethingaquarterofthesizewilldo?AswesawinIssue109,amini-ITXPCcannowbejustaspowerfulasafull-sizedone,andScanisoneofthefirstPCmanufacturerswe’veseenofferingafull-fatgamingPCfocusedpurelyonmini-ITXhardware.The3XSFT03Nanuisbuilt insideSilverStone’sFT03
Mini.Whenwelookedatit (seeIssue109,p60)wedecidedthatthepricewasalittletoohightowarrantusingitforyourownsystem.However,withourpreferredcaseforahomebuild,BitFenix’sProdigy(seeIssue109,p54), lackinginthebuildqualitydepartment,theFT03Minimakessenseforasystembuilder.Ithassuperbbuildquality, it lookssleekandunimposing,anditwasthesmallestcaseontesttoo.Infact,thatthe3XSFT03NanuisthesmallestgamingPCwe’vereviewedthatusesoff-the-shelfhardware.Thatdoesn’tmeanScanhasskimped
oncomponentsthough.Thepricetagof£1,279buysyouanAsusP8Z77-IDeluxe(seeIssue109,p66)–lastmonth’sLabs-winningmini-ITXmotherboard–anIntelCorei5-3570Koverclockedto4.4GHzusingavcoreof1.3V,8GBofRAMandanEVGAGeForceGTX660Ti2GB(seep36).Meanwhile,forstorage,Scanhasoptedfora120GBCorsairForce3SSDanda2TBSeagateBarracuda7200.14harddisk,whileaslimlineBlu-rayreaderresidesinthesideofthecase,meaningthatthissystemcouldhappilysitunobtrusivelyunderyourTVandperformmediacentredutiestoo.AstheFT03Minidoesn’thavemuchroominside,a
largeaircoolerisoutofthequestion,asisahigh-endall-in-oneliquidcooler.However,ScanhasmanagedtofitaCorsairH60all-in-oneliquidcoolerinstead,whichwillbemuchbetterthanalow-profileaircooler.There’son-boardsoundforthesimplereasonthatthemotherboardhasnoadditionalexpansionslots.Basically,thespecificationismind-bogglinggiven
thetinysizeofthePC,andthe3XSFT03Nanuisalso
T
SCAN
PICOFast performance;tiny size; lownoise; three-yearwarranty
MICROLimitedoverclockingheadroom
Scan goes pint-sized with thishigh-end gaming pocket rocket
3XSFT03Nanu
fullyconfigurableviaScan’swebsite.Forinstance,youcouldoptfora256GBSSDforanadditional£66,orditchtheBlu-raydriveandsave£32.Asstandard,the3XSFT03Nanuincludesathree-yearwarrantytoo,withthefirstyearon-siteandtheremainingtwoyearsreturn-to-basewithpartsandlabourincluded.Theaskingpriceof£,1279maysoundalittlehigh
foraPCthatlacksadecentsoundcardandhigh-endgraphicscard–theDinoPCTyrannosaur3570K(seeIssue107,p36)costsjust£20more,butit’simportanttorememberthattheGeForceGTX660Tiretailsforover£250,andtheindividualcostofthecomponents,
shouldyoubuythemyourself,comestowellover£1,100.ThepremiumsavesyouthetrickytaskofbuildingaPCintotheFT03Mini,overclockingandinstallingWindows,aswellasnettingthepeaceofmindofathree-yearwarranty.
PERFORMANCEInourMediaBenchmarks,the3XSFT03Nanuwasextremelyfast. Infact,theadditional100MHzofCPUfrequencyovertheDinoPCTyrannosaur3570K madeitfasterinallthesetests.Ithadtheedgeby99pointsintheGimpimageeditingtest,23pointsintheHandbrakeH.264videoencodingtestand233pointsinthemulti-taskingtest,givingitaleadof118points.Unfortunately,ArmaIIreceivedalargepatch
betweentestingpreviousPCsandthe3XSFT03Nanu
A SLIMLINE BLU-RAY READER RESIDESIN THE SIDE, MEANING THAT THIS PCCOULD SIT UNOBTRUSIVELY UNDERYOUR TV FOR MEDIA DUTIES TOO
WorldMags.netWorldMags.net
39November 2012
GIMP IMAGE EDITING
Stock speed
HANDBRAKE H.264 VIDEO ENCODING
MULTI-TASKING
OVERALL
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
2,122Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
3,440Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
1,874Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
2,478Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu
0 25 50 75 100
fps57fps46Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu
Stock speed min Stock speed avg
ARMA II1,920 x 1,080, 16x AF, 4x AA
arrivinginourlab,soourgametestresultsaren’tdirectlycomparable.Evenso,the3XSFT03Nanumanagedaminimumframerateof46fpsat1,920x1,080atVeryHighsettings,sothere’splentyofheadroomifyougameathigherresolutionsorwanttoturnuptheeyecandytoabsolutemaximum.Wealsoputthe3XSFT03Nanuthroughourusual
stresstestofPrime95and3DMark11tomakesurethatitwasstable,andwealsonotedthetemperaturesandpowerdrawwhileitwasrunningthesetests.TheCPUtoppedoutat78°Cinour24°Clab,withtheCorsairH60clearlydoingaverygoodjobandremainingquiet.TheGTX660Ti2GBwasalittlewarmerat79°C,butwasstill fairlyquiet,evenunderload.Incredibly,thesystemonlydrew256Wfromthewallatpeaktoo,sothesmall450WSFXPSUsuppliedbyScanwillusuallybeunder50percentload.Wecouldn’tpushtheCPUmuchhigherwithout
seeingthetemperatureskyrocket,butwesqueezedalittlemoreoutofthegraphicscard,settlingona70MHzcorefrequencyincreaseand100MHzmemoryfrequencyincrease.Thisadded3fpstotheaverageframerateinArmaII.Thesystemwasnoisieratthesesettings,mainlyduetothegraphicscardandPSUwhengaming,butit’snolouderthanotherPC’swe’veseenrecently.
customPC
91OVERALL
SPEED 22 / 25DESIGN 23 / 25
HARDWARE 23 / 25VALUE 23 / 25
TheinsideoftheFT03Miniisverycramped,andslimlineopticaldrivesandSFXPSUsaretheonlyoptions.DespitethePSUonlybeingratedat450W,thiswasmorethanenoughforthesystem,whichdrew256Watpeak
CONCLUSIONTheScan3XSFT03Nanuisafantasticminigamingsystem.Despiteitssmallsizeandlownoise,thetemperatureswerewellwithinlimits,althoughyouwon’tbeabletoapplycrazyoverclocks.It’sfasterthansomefull-sizedoverclockedIntelIvyBridgePCs,andyoucanuseScan’sconfiguratortochoporchangetoo.Thethree-yearwarrantyistheicingonthecake.ANTONY LEATHER
TheEVGAGeForceGTX660Ti2GBsitsverticallyinthecase,exhaustinghotairoutthetop.Eventhoughthere’sonlyonecasefan,theGPUneverwentabove80°Cinour24°Clab
MINI-ITX GAMING PC
Thepricetagof£1,279buysyouanAsusP8Z77-IDeluxe–lastmonth’sLabs-winningmini-ITXmotherboard
Incredibly,thesystemonlydrew256Wfromthewallatpeak,sothesmall450WSFXPSUsuppliedbyScanwillusuallybeunder50percentload.
Althoughit’sexpensive,theSilverStoneFT03Minicasemakessenseforasystembuilder.Ithassuperbbuildquality,itlookssleekandunimposing,anditwasthesmallestcaseinlastmonth’smini-ITXLabstest.
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40 November 2012
HOW MUCH?Price£201incVATSupplierwww.lambda-tek.comManufacturerwww.philips.co.ukProductcode249C4Q
IN DETAILDisplaytypeAMVATFTDimensions(mm)569x180x434(WxDxH)AvailablecoloursBlackConnectionsD-Sub,HDMI(HDCP)Viewablescreensize24inMaximumresolution1,920x1,080Contrastratio5,000:1(20,000,000:1dynamic)Brightness250cd/m²Responsetime6ms(grey-to-grey)WarrantyThreeyearsRTB
PSmightbethedisplaytechnologytooptforinthehighendofthemarket,butthatdoesn’tmeanyouhavetooptforabargain-basementTNpanelifyou’reonatightbudget.VA
(verticalalignment)panelssuchastheoneusedinthePhilipsC-Line249C4QHcanofferaveryreasonablemiddlegroundbetweenpriceandpicturequality.However,at£201,the249C4QHwillhavetobeaveryspecialVAmonitortojustify itsprice,especiallywithitsminimalfeatureset.The249C4QH doesn’tcaterforwall-mountingand
multi-monitorbrackets–therearenoVESAmountingholesandthebaseisnon-removable,asithousesalltheinputsandOSDbuttons.Meanwhile,thebezelhasaminimal-3to15degreesoftilt,butthere’snoheightorswiveladjustment.Inputsareequallylimited,withjustoneVGAand
twoHDMIports,andthereisn’tevenaDVItoHDMIadaptorintheboxforgraphicscardswithonlyDVIports.Ontheplusside,anauxiliary3.5mmaudiojackactsasanHDMIaudiopass-through,soyou’llstillbeabletouseHDMIaudio,eventhoughthe 249C4QHdoesn’thaveasetofinternalspeakers.Atitsdefaultsettings,themonitor’speak
brightnessof249.2Cd/m2wascertainlyhealthy,althoughthecolourtemperaturewasalittlehighat6,875K,resultinginanoticeablebluetinge.Meanwhile,theaveragegammawasanexact2.2withlittlevariance,andcolouraccuracywasonlyslightlyoffourtargetwithanaveragedE94of3.1.Wealsomeasuredanincrediblyhighcontrastratioof2,265:1,althoughthisisstillwellbelowthe5,000:1typicalcontrastratiothatPhilipsquotes.Basically,withoutanycalibration,the249C4QHcanstillproduceagreat-lookingimage,anditalsohasanevenbacklightthatshowednosignsofbleedaroundtheedges.VApanelshavemuchbetterviewinganglesthan
TNscreenstoo,sothe249C4QHimpressedusinthisrespect,evenif itcouldn’tmatchanIPSpanel–therewassomeminorcolourshiftatmoreextremeangles.Themattfinishalsohelpstodiffuselightreflections,althoughcoloursdon’thavethesamevibrancyastheymightonaglossyscreen.
Beyondtheslightlyhighcolourtemperature,there’slittlenottolikeaboutthe249C4QHoutofthebox,althoughthere’salwaysroomforimprovementandtweaking.However,thismeantbattlingwiththeawfultouch-sensitiveOSDbuttons.Theseareapaintouse,especiallyinthedark,astheyaren’tbacklit;thebasicmenusthemselvesofferverylittlecontroloverimagequalitytoo.Meanwhile,Philips’SmartImagepresetsonlyseem
toalterimagesharpness,andnoneofthesixoptionsmanagedtoimprovethepictureatall.However,withsomeperseveranceusingourX-Rite
i1colourmeter,the249C4QHcontinuedtoimpress.Afterdroppingthebrightnesstoamoreeye-friendly125Cd/m2andusingacalibrationtool,weloweredthecolourtemperaturetoamoreaccurate6,598KandreachedanimpressiveaveragedE94of0.6.Theresulting contrastratioof1241:1wasalsostill
impeccablyhigh,evenif itwashalftheoriginalvalue,whichmadeitveryeasytopickoutdetailsinourdarktestvideo.
CONCLUSIONThePhilipsC-Line249C4QHmightbelackingintermsoffeaturesandconnections,butitspicturequalityisexcellentforaVAdisplay.Despitethis,however, itstrugglestojustify its£201askingpricewhenyoucouldbuyasuperiorIPSmonitorsuchasViewSonic’sVX2336s(seeIssue105,p74)for£65less.TOM MORGAN
PHILIPS
BLADEGreat picturequality out ofthe box
BLUNTLack of inputs;few adjustmentoptions;expensive
A great-looking VA panel, but expensiveand lacking in features and adjustability
C-Line249C4QH
73OVERALL
IMAGE 46 / 50
FEATURES 12 / 25
VALUE 15 / 25
MONITOR
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42 November 2012
HOW MUCH?Price£160incVATSupplierwww.dabs.comManufacturerwww.gigabyte.comSKUnumberGA-Z77X-UP4H-TH
IN DETAILChipsetIntelZ77CPUsupportLGA1155Corei3,Corei5,Corei7,PentiumandCeleronMemorysupport4slots:max32GBDDR3(3,200MHz)Expansionslots3x16xPCI-E3slot(one16x,two8xorone8xandtwo4x),onePCI,three1xPCI-E2SoundHDAudioviaRealtekALC892NetworkingRealtekGigabitEthernetOverclockingCPUclock80-133MHz,CPUMultiplier16-63;maxvoltages,CPU1.85V,RAM2.8V,PLL2.2VPorts4xSATA3Gbps,2xSATA6Gbps,1xmSATA3Gbps,1xPS/2,8xUSB3,6xUSB2,LAN,2xThunderbolt,4xsurroundaudioout,line-in,mic,opticalS/PDIFout,DVI,D-Sub,HDMIDimensions(mm)305x244(ATX)
twaswaybackin2009thatIntelfirstdemonstrateditsThunderbolt interface(thenknownasLightPeak),boastingthatitwouldbecomeasingleunifyingstandardfor
everything,fromstoragetonetworkinganddisplays.Now,inthethirdquarterof2012,thefirstproductsbasedonthestandardarefinallymakingittoWindows-baseddesktopPCs.OnesuchproductistheGA-Z77X-UP4H-TH.There’salottolikeabouttheUP4H.Forastart, it
lookssimplybrilliant–itsmatt-blackPCBexudesmenace,andthegunmetalheatsinksdottedacrossitalsolookthepart,thankstotheirsubtlebluehighlightsandmottledfinish.Itsspecssheetalsomakesimpressivereading,as
theboardnotonlyboaststwooftheaforementionedThunderboltports,butalsoafullbevyofdisplayoutputs,enoughUSB3portstosinkabattleshipandthree16xPCI-E3slots.Multi-GPUenthusiastsshouldwaitamomentbeforereachingfortheircreditcards,however,asunlikethepairofhigh-endboardswesawlastmonth(seeIssue109,p36),theUP4Hdoesn’tsportaPLXsplittingchip.Thismeansthatthe16PCI-E3lanesprovidedbytheprocessorareallyouhave,sothesecondandthirdslotsarelimitedtofourlaneseach.Potentiallyoffarmoreimporttomostpeopleisthe
factthattheUP4HisalsooneofthefirstGigabyteboardstofeaturethefirm’snewUltraDurable5technology,denotedbytheUPsuffix.Thisbringsanumberofnewpowerfeatures,
includingimprovedVRMcircuitry.GigabytehasdraftedinInternationalRectifier’sIR3550PowIRstageICs,whicharespecificallydesignedtorunasefficientlyaspossible.Intheory,thisshouldmeanthatlessof
the powerpassingthroughtheICsgetslostasheat,sothey’llruncooler.Withlesspowerbeinglost,thisshouldalsoallow
theuseoflowervoltageswhenoverclocking,somethingwhichshouldinturnmakeanoverclockedIvyBridgeCPUruncooler.TheUP4Halsouseshigh-current60A-ratedferritecorechokes–amovethatGigabyteclaimsimprovesefficiencyandreducestheheatoutputoftheVRMsevenfurther.OutsideofUltraDurable5,however,theUP4H
couldbecriticisedforlookingalittleskinnyintermsofoverclockingfeatures,especiallygiventhatitcosts£160.It lackson-boardpowerandresetbuttons,forexample,andthere’snorear-mountedCMOSresetswitchorPOSTcoderead-outeither,allofwhicharetotedbytheAsusMaximusVGene(seeIssue106,p64).
PERFORMANCEOutofthebox,theUP4Hprovedtobequickinourbenchmarks,althoughitlaggedbehindourcurrentrecommendedZ77board,theAsusMaximusVGene,bya1-2percentinallourMediaBenchmarkstests.Thisaddeduptoadifferenceof77pointsbetweenthetwoboards’overallscores,asmalldifferencethat’sbarelynoticeableineverydayuse.Thiswasalsothecasewithgaming,withboth
boardsproducingalmostidenticalresultsinourShogun2:TotalWartest.Withthestock-speedtestingoutoftheway,we
movedontooverclockingtheGigabyteboardtosee
GIGABYTE
COOLRUNNINGSStunninglooks; premiumcomponents;overclocks well
KOOL & THEGANGThunderbolt yetto fully take off;pricey
THE USE OF LOWER VOLTAGESWHEN OVERCLOCKING SHOULD INTURN MAKE AN OVERCLOCKED IVY
BRIDGE CPU RUN COOLER
Thunderbolt hits the mainstream,and it’s attached to a good board too
GA-Z77X-UP4-TH
There’sadecentselectionofportsontheback,althoughaclearCMOSbuttonisnotablyabsent
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43November 2012
LGA1155 MOTHERBOARD
GIMP IMAGE EDITING
Stock speed Overclocked
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
2,311
2,308
1,860
1,916Maximus Gene V
GA-Z77X-UP4-TH
HANDBRAKE H.264 VIDEO ENCODING
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
4,260
4,229
3,328
3,461Maximus Gene V
GA-Z77X-UP4-TH
MULTI-TASKING
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
1,977
1,971
1,789
1,831Maximus Gene V
GA-Z77X-UP4-TH
OVERALL
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
2,849
2,836
2,326
2,403Maximus Gene V
GA-Z77X-UP4-TH
Stock speed min Stock speed avg Overclocked avgOverclocked min
SHOGUN 2: TOTAL WAR CPU TEST1,920 x 1,080, Default settings, no AA, no AF
0 25 50 75 100
fps41
fps40
fps35
fps33
fps34
fps35
fps29
fps29Maximus Gene V
GA-Z77X-UP4-TH
whatitsfancynewVRMcircuitrycouldreallydeliver.ThismeantnavigatingtheUP4H’sEFI,whichisrelativelywelllaidout;theonlynigglewasthefactthattheCPUfrequencyandvoltagesettingsareondifferentpages.Thismeansthatyouhavetotravelbackandforthifyou’refine-tuninganoverclock.Afterafewminutesofpokingaround,
wehadourtestCPUrunningatitsmaximum4.8GHz.Intriguingly,theUP4Honlyrequiredavcoreof1.3Vtoachievethisoverclock–lessthanthe1.34VrequiredbytheMaximusVGeneandmilesbetterthanthe1.37VwehadtopumpintoGigabyte’sownZ77X-UD5H(seeIssue106,p70).Thisaddssomecredencetothe
company’sclaimsthatitsnewVRMsaremoreefficientthanthoseusedpreviously.Thecoretemperaturewasalsoaveryreasonable81oCatthesesettings.Outofcuriosity,wealsopushed
ourCPUupto4.9GHzbrieflytoseeifGigabyte’sVRMcircuitrycouldmakethisotherwiseunstableoverclockhold,butasusual,theCPUcrashedduringthevideoeditingportionofourMediaBenchmarks.WiththeoverclockedCPU,theUP4Hperformed
brilliantly,evenoutstrippingtheMaximusVGenetoromphomewithaMediaBenchmarksscoreof2,849–anewZ77record,albeitonlyby10points.Gamingperformancealsosawanappreciable
jump,althoughitwasn’tenoughtodistinguishtheboardfromthecompetition.
01 Gigabyte’snewUltraDurable5technology
enabledustooverclockourCPUto4.8GHzwithavcoreofjust1.3V
02 TherearethreePCI-Egraphicsslots,butnoPLX
splitterchip,sothebottomtwoonlygetfourlaneseach
03 ThelackofaPOSTcodereader,oron-board
powerandresetbuttons,makestheboardlookalittleskinnyintermsofoverclockingfeatures
CONCLUSIONThere’salottorecommendtheGA-Z77X-UP4-TH.Itlooksgreat,overclockswellanditsnew-fangledVRMshavetangiblebenefits.Theonlyissueisthatthe AsusMaximusVGenenowcosts£150,and hasmoreoverclockinghardwarefeatures.Thatsaid,theGeneismicro-ATX,soit isn’tforeveryone.Ifyou’rebuildinganewoverclockedPCandwantmoreexpansionspace,weheartilyrecommendtheUP4H.PAUL GOODHEAD
TEST KIT3.2GHzIntelCorei7-3770KCPU,8GB1,600MHzCorsairDDR3memory,128GBPatriotWildfireSSD,NvidiaGeForceGTX6802GBgraphicscard,Windows764-bit
customPC
88OVERALL
SPEED 41 / 45
FEATURES 27 / 30
VALUE 20 / 25
01
02
03
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44 November 2012
CPU COOLER
HOW MUCH?Price£72incVATSupplierwww.ebuyer.comManufacturerwww.thermaltake.comSKUnumber CLP0587
IN DETAILCompatibilityIntel:LGA775,LGA1156,LGA1155,LGA2011,LGA1366AMD:SocketFM1/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2Weight1.25kgSize(mm)151x148x160(WxDxH)Fans2x140mmStatednoise18-38dBA
hermaltake’squietFrioruledtheroostinmanysituations,especiallyathighheatloads.Assuch,theFrioExtremewillhaveatoughjobbetteringitand,at£72,itcompeteswith
Corsair’sH80too–dangerousgroundforanaircooler.TheenormousExtrememeasures151x148x
160mm(WxDxH)withitstwo140mmfans,andweighs1.23kg.However,oneofthefanssitsoutsideofthetwoheatsinks,makingitfoulevenshortDIMMsinLGA2011systems,requiringyoutoraisethefan.Inoursystem,thismeantthesidepanelnolongerfitted,sowehadtosealittothecasewithtapetoensureafairtest.Thecooler’ssix6mmheatpipesareboundtogether
inapolishedcontactplate,althoughthere’snoeasy-to-fitshroudforthetwo140mmfans–thesearesecuredusingfiddlyclips.However,thecoolercanonlybeinstalledwithyourmotherboardoutsideyourcase,asthecentrefanblocksthemountingmechanism.Themountingmechanismisfairlystraightforward,though,withplatesfixingtothemotherboard,whichareinturnsecuredbyahold-downplatestraddlingtheheatsink.Afullyvariablefancontrollerisalsoincluded.Atitslowestspeed,theExtremewas2°Cwarmer
thantheArcticFreezeri30andequaltotheCorsairH80atitslowestspeed.Atmaximumspeed,thedeltaTdroppedfrom41°Cto39°C–matchingtheFreezeri30,butslightlywarmerthantheH80.IttamedourtoastyLGA2011system,though,andmanagedadeltaTof60°Catitslowestspeedand57°Catfullspeed–coolerthantheFreezeri30.AM3+coolingwasfinetoo,withadeltaTof46°Catfullspeed.Sadly,however,evenatlowspeed,theFrioExtremeisn’tparticularlyquietandfullspeedseesitmakeasubstantialdin.
CONCLUSIONTheFrioExtremeisacapablecooler,buttherearebetteroptionsavailable.LGA1155hastheArcticFreezeri30,whichisfarcheaperandjustasgood,whileLGA2011hastheoptionoftheFreezeri30ortheevencoolerCorsairH80.Meanwhile,AM3+ownerswillhearlessnoise,albeitwithslighterhighertemperatures,fromBeQuiet!’sDarkRock2.ANTONY LEATHER
T
THERMALTAKE
COLDGood cooling;variable fancontroller
COLDITZVery expensive;large; noisy
The Frio receives a monstrousupdate, but is it worth £72?
FrioExtreme
scores: Socket am3+
scores: lGa2011
scores: lGa1155
results
77customPC
OVERALL
COOLING 33 / 40DESIGN 23 / 30VALUE 21 / 30
FITTING AVG
71customPC
OVERALL
COOLING 28 / 40DESIGN 23 / 30VALUE 20 / 30
FITTING AVG
76customPC
OVERALL
COOLING 33 / 40DESIGN 23 / 30VALUE 20 / 30
FITTING AVG
INTEL LGA1155
INTEL LGA2011
0 15 30 45 60
39˚C
41˚C
39˚C
5˚C
5˚C
3˚CArctic Freezer i30
Frio Extreme(low fan speed)
Frio Extreme(high fan speed)
0 15 30 45 60
57˚C
60˚C
59˚C
13˚C
15˚C
14˚CArctic Freezer i30
Frio Extreme(low fan speed)
Frio Extreme(high fan speed)
Lower is better
Lower is better
AMD SOCKET AM3+
0 15 30 45 60
46˚C
48˚C
52˚C
9˚C
10˚C
12˚CBe Quiet! Dark Rock 2
Frio Extreme(low fan speed)
Frio Extreme(high fan speed)
Lower is betterIdle Load
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46 November 2012
GAMING MOUSE
HOW MUCH?Price£75incVATSupplierwww.scan.co.ukManufacturerwww.razerzone.comSKUnumberRZ01-00780100-R3U1
IN DETAILConnectionWired(braided)MaterialPlasticSensorLaserandopticalButtons6,scrollwheel(withrocking)FormfactorAmbidextrousSensitivityUpto8,200dpiWeight132gExtrasNone
azerisoneofthemostprolificperipheralmanufacturersaround;ithasagamingmouse,headsetorkeyboardforjustabout
everysingletypeofgame,playstyleandbudget.Evenso,italwaysseemedtoneglectasmallbutsignificantportionofthepopulation–lefties.Infact,eventhespecialleft-handededitionofthe
DeathAdderwasreleasedwellaftertheright-handedversion.However, inabidtoappealtoeveryone,RazerhasrecentlyreleasedtheambidextrousTaipanand,withapricetagof£75,ithasalottoprove.Notthatyou’dimmediatelythink‘Razer’when
lookingattheTaipan;itslow-slung,streamlinedshapeisworldsawayfromthebulbous,curvaceouslookthatgenerallytypifiesRazerrodents.Thankfully,theexcellentbuildqualityforwhichthecompanyhasbecomeknownremainsintact,andthismakesthemousefeelverysturdyandrobust;youwon’thearanyrattlesorsqueaksfromill-fittingparts.WewerealsoimpressedbytheTaipan’sweight;
despitebeingasmallermouse,itstill feelsreassuringlyhefty.Themajorityofthisweightislocatedlowinthechassistoo,givingthetrackingofthemouseadirectfeel.Unfortunately,ouroptimismwasshort-lived–
actuallyusingtheTaipanforaprolongedperiodoftimerevealedittobejustalittletoosmallforouraverage-sizedmitts.Theissueisthelowprofileofthemouse,asthismeansthere’sverylittleroomoneithersideforfingers.Thisleftourringfingerandlittlefingerdesperatelyfightingforthesametinypatchofrubberisedplasticlikeapairofkidssquabblingoverthebestseatonthebus.Thisisashame,asthemouseisotherwisea
pleasuretouse.Themainbuttonshaveapleasingcrunchwhenpressed,andthescrollwheelisverysolid,withwell-definedscrollpoints.Thesidebuttonsarealsoconvenientlylocated,althoughtheaforementionedheightissuecanmakebuttonsontheoppositesideofyourthumbalittletrickytofind.
Asyou’dexpect,theTaipanalsohasadownloadablesoftwaresuitethatenablesyoutotweakeverythingfromthelightingtothesensitivitysettings.Thesensitivitygoesupto8,200dpi,andthemouseisfittedwithbothopticalandlasersensors,althoughwegenerallyfindanythingabove3,000dpiisoverkillanyway.Intriguingly,though,yoursettingsaresavedremotelyonRazer’sservers,meaningthatyoucanusethemwithanyTaipanmouseanywhereintheworld.
Thisisasnazzyidea,butnecessitatestheneedtocreatealoginandusername,whichsomepeoplemayfindslightlyoverbearing.
CONCLUSIONTheTaipanissolidlybuiltandfeelssatisfyinglyweighty,butitsshapeandsizemakeitawkwardtouseforanyonewithoutelf-likedigits,andthepriceisludicrousforwhat’sonoffer. Ifyou’reafteranambidextrousmouse,saveyourself£40andplumpfortheSteelSeriesKana(seeIssue108,p66)instead.PAUL GOODHEAD
R
RAZER
SOLID SNAKEWell built;satisfying weight
TROUSERSNAKELudicrous price;awkward shape
THE MAIN BUTTONS HAVE A PLEASINGCRUNCH WHEN PRESSED, AND THE
SCROLL WHEEL IS VERY SOLID, WITHWELL-DEFINED SCROLL POINTS
Well-built and hefty, but let down bya high price and awkward shape
Taipan
60OVERALL
DESIGN 29 / 40
FEATURES 21 / 35
VALUE 10 / 25
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48 November 2012
Thorough testing and research is the key to evaluatingwhether a productisworth buying, and decidingwhether or not there’s a better alternative
TESTS:WeusetheCustomPCMediaBenchmarks,CinebenchR11.5,WPrimeandCrysis.WealsotesttheresultantpowerdrawofthetestPCwiththeCPUinstalled.ThesetestsrevealabroadrangeofperformancecharacteristicsfortheCPU,fromimageeditingtogamingandvideoencodingto3Drendering.WerunallthetestswiththeCPUatstockspeedandagainwhenoverclockedtoitshighestfrequency.
Graphics cards aremainly evaluated on how fast they are for their price. However, we also consider the efficacyand quietness of the cooler. Every graphics card is tested in the samePC, so all results are directly comparable.
We judge CPUs onwhether they offer sufficient speed for the price. Part of a CPU’s speed score comes fromhow overclockable it is. Every type of CPU is tested in the samePC, so all results are directly comparable.
Thegraphicscardwe’rereviewing
The graphics card 3.3GHzIntelCorei5-2500K
AMDFM1IntelLGA1155
NvidiaGeForceGTX5903GB
MSIA75MA-G55
AsusMaximusIVGene-Z
120GBPatriotWildfire
4GBofCorsair1,600MHzDDR3
4GBofCorsair1,600MHzDDR3
Windows764-bit
4GBCorsair1,600MHzDDR3
AsusP8P67Rev3 Windows764-bitSP1
Windows 7 64-bit
AMDSocketAM3+
AsusCrosshairIVFormula
4GBofCorsair1,600MHzDDR3
4GB of Corsair 4GB of CorsairAMD FM1
Asus P8P67 Rev 3
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HOW WE TEST
49November 2012
OurbenchmarksuitesimulateshowpeoplereallyusePCs,andahigherscoreisbetter.Youcandownloadthesuitefromwww.tinyurl.com/benchies
2.66GHzIntelCore2DuoE6750
2GBofCorsair1,066MHzDDR2
250GBSamsungSpinPointP120S
AsusP5KDeluxeWiFi-AP
TESTS:ByusingthefastPCdetailedontheleft,wecanbesurethatanylimitationsweseeareduetothegraphicscardontest.Wetestthefourgames(right)attheirmaximumdetailsettings,intheirhighestDirectXmode,andatthreeresolutions.High-endcardsshouldbeabletosustainplayableframeratesat2,560x1,600,while1,920x1,080ismoreimportantformid-rangecards; wenolongertestat1,680x1,050because1,920x1,080issocheap.Wealsotrytooverclockeverygraphicscardwetesttoseewhatdifferencethismakestothecard’sperformance.
Someproductsaregloriouslyoverthetop.TheseitemsofexcellentoverkillearnourExtremeUltraaward.
PremiumGradeproductsareutterlydesirable–we’deatnothingbutbeansuntilwecouldaffordthem.
ProductsworthyoftheProfessionalawardmake youandyourbusinessappearevenmoreawesome.
Approvedproductsarethosethatdoagreatjobforthemoney;they’rethecannypurchaseforagreatPC.
Forthosegadgetsandgizmosthatreallyimpressus,orthatwecan’tlivewithout,there’stheCustomKitaward.
Motherboards are evaluated on everything from layout and featuresto overclockability and value formoney. Everymotherboard is testedwith the same components, so all results are directly comparable.
TESTS:WeusetheCustomPCMediaBenchmarksandseveralgames,andalsotestthespeedsoftheboard’sSATAports.WetrytooverclockeverymotherboardwereviewbytestingforamaximumQPI,baseclockorHTTaswellasoverclockingtheCPUtoitsmaximumair-cooledlevel.WerunourtestsatstockspeedandwiththeCPUoverclocked.
IntelCorei7-3770K
AMDPhenomIIX61100TBE
Motherboardontest
Motherboardontest
8GBofCorsair1,600MHzDDR3
4GBofCorsair1,600MHzDDR3
Intel Core Motherboard Motherboard 8GB of Corsair AMDA8-3870K Motherboardontest
4GBofCorsair1,600MHzDDR3
AMD A8-3870K
NvidiaGeForceGTX5903GB*
2TBWesternDigitalCaviarBlack
Windows764-bit
Windows 7 2TB Western Digital 2TB Western Digital
*Pleasenote:WetestedAMDFM1motherboardsusingtheon-boardgraphics,nottheNvidiaGeForceGTX5903GB
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50 November 2012
CustomKitWe check out the latest gadgets, gizmos and geek toys
Written by Paul GoodheadSeen something worthy ofappearing in Custom Kit?
Send suggestions [email protected]
GADGET STAND
BREFFOSPIDERPODIUM
01 Thebestideasareoftenthesimplestones,andthatmantra
certainlyholdstruefortheSpiderpodium.Madeofrubber-coatedwire,theeightlegsofthecolourfularachnidcanbebentintopracticallyanyshape,makingitsusesalmostendless.Itcanclingtohandlebars,hangfromheadrestsorstandtoattention,allthewhilehavingacoupleofarmsfreetoholdasmalltabletoraphonesteady.It’salsoverypleasingjusttoplaywiththeSpiderpodium.Weparticularlylovebendingit intocomplexsymmetrical3Dshapes,especiallywhenweshouldbeworking. PGMONEY SPIDERFACEHUGGERPrice £15 inc VATSupplierwww.breffo.comManufacturerwww.breffo.com
TABLET COMPUTER
VERSUSTOUCHPAD78GB02 Thesingle-coreprocessor,512MBRAMand800x480screen
oftheTouchpad7maynotsoundparticularlyimpressive,butdon’tbetooquicktowriteoffthisdinkytablet.Forinstance,itsportsAndroid4.0,whichrunssmoothly,althoughitsresponsivenessiscompromisedbythepoorsensitivityofthescreen–wefrequentlyneededtouserepeatedjabstoregisterapress.Videoplaybackiswherethedeviceexcels,however.Itsscreenisbright,andthemicroSDcardslotmeansthatstoragewon’tbeanissueeither.Thebatteryisalsoreasonable;itlastedafullsix-hourjourneywhileplayingvideoalmostnon-stop,anditspricemeansyoudon’thavetobetoopreciouswithiteither. PGCHEAP AFFORDABLEPrice £90 inc VAT Supplierwww.laptopsdirect.co.ukManufacturerwww.versusuk.com
BOARD GAME
STRONGHOLD03 Initially,Strongholdlookslikeapigofagame.Theboardiscomplexandthereareoodlesof
countersandpiecestosort.Fortunately,onceyouunderstandthebasicturnstructure,it’srelativelyplainsailing.Thisisgood,aslesstimedebatingrulesmeansmoretimescheminghowyou’regoingtoattack(ordefend)thetitularstrongholdthatdominatestheboard.Thegameiswellbalanced,althoughitcanbeunforgivingforthedefender;onemiscalculationcanmeanalmostinstantdefeat.Wealsolikedtheelegantresourcemechanicwherebythedefenderreceivesaportionofwhattheattackerspends,asthispreventseithersidefromdominating.Ouronebugbearis itshighcost. PG
GOBLINS TROLLSPrice £43 inc VAT Supplierwww.gameslore.comManufacturerwww.portalpublishing.eu
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CUSTOM KIT
51November 2012
iDEVICE DOCK
VIEWQUEST iDICESPEAKER05 Wethoughtwe’dseeniDevicedocksineveryshape
possible,buttheiDiceswiftlyprovedusincorrect.ShapedlikeagiantD6,thedockiscompatiblewithanythingwithan‘i’preface(well,iPods,iPhonesandiPadsatleast)andcanchurnoutasurprisinglylargeamountofnoiseforarelativelycompactspeaker.There’salsoaline-insocketforplayingmusicfromotherdevicesandaremotecontrol.Unfortunately,that’swherethefeaturelistends,whichmakesthe£100askingpricelookalittlerich.Youcan’tevenuseitasanoveltyoversizeddice,asfourofthesixfaceshavefivedotsonthem. PGD6 D12Price £100 inc VAT Supplierwww.viewquest.co.ukManufacturerwww.viewquest.co.uk
MOUSEMAT
GIGABYTEKRYPTON04 Ifyoujudgedsomeonebythesizeoftheirmousematthenwhoever
ownedtheKryptonwouldhavetobeakingorqueenofsomedescription.At425x287x6mm,it’shefty,bothintermsofareaandsheerthickness.However, itspartypieceisthatit’sdouble-sided(themainreasonforthethickness),withonesidecoveredinmaterialandoptimisedforprecisionworkwhiletheotherisdubbedthe‘speedside’thankstoitshardPVCcoat.Botharepleasanttouse,butitssizelimitsitsappeal,andthethicknessmeansthereisn’tanyflexibilitytoallowanedgetoresideunderyourkeyboard.Addtothisthehighpriceandweadvisebuyingamoresensiblemousematinstead. PGCLARK KENT SUPERMANPrice £24 inc VAT Supplierwww.scan.co.ukManufacturerwww.gigabyte.com
MONITOR STAND
ZALMANZM-DS1000MONITORSTAND06 Themonitorstandmarketisn’tparticularly
glamorous,butZalmanhasdoneitsbesttoinjectalittleclassintoitwiththeZM-DS1000.Madefromasinglesheetofbeautifulbrushedanodisedaluminium,thestandlookstheabsolutebusiness.ItalsosportsaUSBhubintegratedintotheright-handleg,andcable-routeingclipsrundowntheinsideofeachside.Thisisprettymuchasfarasthehumblemonitorstandcanbetakenintermsofdevelopment,but£56isalsoalotofmoneyforafancyblockwithaUSBhub.Infact,it’smorethanthecostofawholeAntecOnecase.Assuch,theZM-DS1000fallsintothe‘lovely,butonlyonceI’vewonthelottery’pile. PGALUMINUM ALUMINIUMPrice £56 inc VAT Supplierwww.scan.co.ukManufacturerwww.zalman.com
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Thepowersupplyisoftenoverlookedwhenbuildinganewsystem;afterall,aslongasitdoesitsjobcorrectly,ithasnoimpactonframerates,systemspeedsorboottimes.There’splentytodifferentiate
onePSUfromanother,though,andchoosingtherightoneisparticularlyimportant,asit’sacomponentthatcanlastthroughmultiplesystemupgradesovermanyyears.Thewiderangeofavailableefficiencylevelscanimpacton
yourelectricitybills,whileunstablevoltagescanresultinerraticsystemperformance,andanoisycoolingfancanruinthatsuper-silentsystem.Thearrayofcablesandconnectorsonoffercanlimityour
potentialupgradepathstoo;therearefewmorefrustratingsituationsthanunboxingashinynewcomponentonlytodiscoveryourPSUdoesn’thavetherequiredconnectorstopowerit.WithsomanydifferentPSUmanufacturersvying
foryourattention,we’vepushedtheboatouttobringyouourbiggesteverLabstest,with31PSUsputthroughtheirpower-providingpaces.Withthehardwareindustry’scontinuedmovetolowerpower-consumptionhardware,we’vesplitthetestintotwofieldsof500-660Wand661-860W,enablingustofindthebestPSUsacrossawiderangeofpricesandwattages.EachPSUwassubjectedtoover50gruellingteststoevaluateitsefficiencyacrossavarietyofloads,aswellasvoltagestabilityandnoiselevels.HARRY BUTLER AND ANTONY LEATHER
We’ve gathered a record-breakingnumber of 31 power supplies, forour largest PSU Labs test ever, tofind the perfect PSU for your PC
52 November 2012
Balance ofPOWER
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53November 2012
HOWWETESTED,PAGE54
reviewed this month
54
54 Howwetest63 HowmuchpowerdoesyourPCneed?72 Efficiencygraphs
500-660WPSUs55 AntecEarthwattsEA-550Platinum55 BeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W56 BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10550W56 CoolerMasterGX550W56 CorsairGS60057 EnermaxTriathlor550W57 FractalDesignR2Tesla650W58 FSPAurumXilenser500W58 InWinGreenMe550W58 NZXTHale82-650-M59 OCZZS550W59 SeasonicX-Series660W59 SilverPowerSP-S650M60 SilverStoneStriderPlus500W60 XFXPro650WCoreEdition62 XigmatekTauro500W62 ZalmanZM500-HPPlus
661-860WPSUs64 AntecHighCurrentPro850W64 BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10850W66 BeQuiet!StraightPowerE9680W66 CoolerMasterM2SilentPro850W68 CorsairHX85068 EnermaxPlatimax750W69 FSPAurum850W69 InWinGreenMe750W70 OCZZX85070 SeasonicPlatinumSeries860W70 SilverPowerSP-S850M71 SilverStoneStriderGoldEvolution750W71 XFXPro850WXXXEdition71 XigmatekCentauro800W
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54 November 2012
how we test
TestingPSUsproperlyrequiresaccesstoaspecialistloadtestingmachine,sowe
headedtoBeQuiet!’sRMAandtestingfacilityinHamburg,Germany,tomakeuseofitsChromaATS8000automatedpowersupplytester.It’samonumentallyimpressivepieceofkit,equippedwithanarrayofChroma63303Aloadtesters,aChroma66202digitalpowermeter,aChroma61600programmableACpowersourceandadedicatedripplenoiseunit.TheequipmentiscalibratedannuallybyChromaitselftoensureaccurateandreliablereadings.EachPSUwastestedat100percent,50
percentand20percentofitsratedmaximumwattageforcompliancewiththeATXpowersupplyspecifications.ThesecoveranumberoffactorsregardingthedifferentvoltagerailsoverwhichthePSUdeliversitspower:+5V,+12V,-12V,+3.3Vand+5VSB.EachrailhasanATXspecification
maximumandminimumlevelatwhichitcansafelyoperate(seechartbelow).However,thePSUindustry’sincreasedlevelsofscrutinyfromhardwarereviewersoverthepastfewyearshasclearlyhadaneffect;forthefirsttimeever,notasinglePSUontestfailedinthisregard.Wealsoanalysedhold-uptimes–theamountoftimeaPSUcanoperateafteralossofinputpower–butagainfoundthateveryPSUontestmettheminimumATXrequirementof16.6ms.WhiletherewassomevariationbetweenindividualPSUs,it’sunfairtomarkdownmodelswhentheymeettheindustrystandards.Wealsotestedforripplenoise–variationin
thePSU’sDCoutputcausedbytheconversionfromACtoDCpowerinsideatypicalswitchingPSU.RipplenoisealsohasstrictATXspecificationguidelinesof0.12mVforthe+12Vand-12Vrailsand0.05mVforthe+5V,+3.3V
and+5VSBrails,andsomeofthePSUsontestfailedtomeettheATXspecinthisregard.Wealsotestedeachpowersupply’s
efficiency.Referredtoasapercentage,thisdetailstheamountofpowerlostduringtheconversionofACtoDCpower.Forexample,aPSUthat’s85percentefficientdraws100Wofpowerfromthesockettoprovide85WofDCpower.ThePSUindustryoperatesonthe80
ATX MAXIMUM RIPPLENOISERail Maxripplenoise
+3.3V 0.05mV
+5V 0.05mV
+12V 0.12mV
+5VSB 0.05mV
-12V 0.12mV
ATX MINIMUM ANDMAXIMUM VOLTAGESRail Minimum Maximum
+3.3V 3.14V 3.47V
+5V 4.75V 5.25V
+12V 11.4V 12.6V
+5VSB 4.75V 5.25V
-12V -10.8V -13.2V
Plus(www.80plus.org)certificationschemeforefficiency,withWhite,Bronze,Silver,GoldandPlatinumlevelsofpowerefficiencydenotingincrementallyhigherlevels.The80PlusClassificationismeasuredat100percent,50percentand20percentofthestatedwattage,sowetestedallthreelevelsofload.Finally,wealsotestedeachPSUbackinour
labfornoiselevels,usingademandinghigh-endsystemcomprisinganIntel Corei7-3960XExtremeoverclockedto4.3GHzandaGeForceGTX5903GB,capableofpullingover750Watpeak,or500WjustfromtheGPUunderload.Withover1,300individualtestsperformed,
we’reunabletoprinteveryresult,butwe’veincludedtheefficiencyresults(seep72),andnotedanyspecificfailuresintherelevantreviews.We’dalsoliketothankBeQuiet!forallowingustouseitstestfacilities.
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55November 2012
500-660W POWER SUPPLIES
56
Price£55incVATManufacturerwww.bequiet.com Supplierwww.scan.co.uk
D espiteits£55pricetag,theBeQuiet!PurePowerL8530Wofferssemi-
modularcabling,alongsideitscaptive24-pinATXcableandpairof4-pinEPS12Vconnectors.ThisenablesyoutochoosethenumberofSATAandMolexconnectorsyoufit,whichhelpstomakeinstallationandcablerouteingmucheasierwhenbuildingyourPC.Cablesarebraidedinblackandusecolour-coordinatedconnectorstosimplifyinstallationfurther.Thesecolour-coordinatedplugsalsohelptoensureevenloadingacrossthePSU’stwo12Vrails.Apairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectorswill likely
limityoutoasinglegraphicscard,butthePSU’s530WratingismorethanenoughtohandleanoverclockedIntelCorei7-3770K
BeQuiet!PurePower L8530WEfficient, semi-modular and well priced
86OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 19/30
VALUE 27/30
andtop-endGPU,suchastheRadeonHD79703GB,withheadroomtospare.Havingsailedthroughvoltage
stabilityandripplenoisetests,thePurePowerL8deliversslightlymorethanits80PlusBronzeefficiencyrating,with83.69percentefficiencyat100percentload,86.28percentefficiencyat50percentloadand84.59percentefficiencyat20percentload;theseareallatleast1percentabovethe80PlusBronzespecification.Meanwhile,a120mmSilentWings-
brandedcoolingfanprovidescoolingwhilealsobeingpleasinglyquiet, ifnotentirelysilent.Evenatfull load,theunitexhibitedlittleornoaudiblecoilnoiseintothebargain.
Strikingasuperbbalanceofefficiency,semi-modularcablesandacompetitiveprice,thePurePowerL8530Wisoutstanding.HB
Price£80incVAT Manufacturerwww.antec.com Supplierwww.ebuyer.co.uk
Antec’sEarthwattsEA-550Platinumistheonlysub-750WPSUontesttoboast80
PlusPlatinumenergyefficiencycertification,puttingitatanimmediateadvantageincomparisontothecompetition.At100percentload,itdeliveredthehighestefficiencyofanyPSUontest(includingthehigher-wattagemodels)–91.3percent–atrait itcontinuedat50percentand20percentloads.ThisisahugelyimpressiveachievementconsideringthePSU’sdiminutive140mmlengthand120mmcoolingfan.However,whiletheEA-550dominatesin
theefficiencydepartment, it’slesscapablewhenitcomestofeatures.Afullycaptivedesignmeansthatthere’snooptiontodisconnectunwantedcables,althoughthe
ANTECEarthwattsEA-550PlatinumEfficient, but pricey and lacks modular cables
83OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 23/30
VALUE20/30
cablecollectionissparseanyway.Apairof6+2pinPCI-EpowerconnectorsrealisticallylimitsyoutoasingledecentGPU,butsixSATAconnectorsandatrioofMolexconnectorsaresufficientformostbuilds.Underheavyload,theEA-550’sfanspun
up,butnottoanintrusivedegree,producingalow-frequencyhum.Therewasclearlydiscerniblecoilnoiseunderloadthough,sowhilethisPSUwon’t intrudeonyourelectricitybills, it isn’tquiteasstealthywhenitcomestonoiselevels.At£80,theEarthwattsEA-550Platinum
isundeniablyexpensiveforacaptive-cable550WPSU,anditwilltakeanumberofyearstoseeareturnyourinvestmentfromenergy-
billsavings.It’sacommendableeffort,butultimatelynotworthit.WeadviseoptingforacheapermodularPSUinstead. HB
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56 November 2012
Price£96incVATManufacturerwww.bequiet.com Supplier www.ebuyer.co.uk
Price£50incVATManufacturerwww.coolermaster.co.uk Supplierwww.scan.co.uk
TheDarkPowerPro10550Wboaststhefeaturesofahigh-endPSU,butwitha
sensible550Wpeakwattage.Apartfromthe24-pinATXpowercable,alltherestofthecablesaremodular,andthere’sahugeassortmentofSATAandMolexconnectors.Four6+2-pinPCI-EconnectorsoffergreatscopeforGPUexpansionandthereareplentyofextrastoo.Four2-pinfanconnectorsandaccompanyingSATApowerconnectoradaptorscantieyourcasefanstothePSU’scoolingfan.There’salsoarear-mountedjumper,
dubbedOCKey,thatcanswitchthePSUfromaquad-12Vrailsetup(twoat20Aandanothertwoat25A,withamaximumoutputof45A)to
ThediminutiveCoolerMasterGX550Wmeasuresjust14cmlong,butstill
managestooffer80PlusBronzeefficiencyandloadsofconnectors,aswellasafive-yearwarranty.Allthecablesarefullycaptive,sothere’sno
optiontodisconnectunusedconnectorsandmakeyourcasethatmuchtidier,butapairof4-pinEPS12Vconnector,sixSATAandthreeMolexplugsisplentyformostPCbuilds.Apairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectorscaterstojustasinglemid-rangetohigh-endgraphicscard,though,sothoseponderingmultipleGPUsshouldlookelsewhere.TheGX550Walsomaintainedstable
voltagesatallloadlevels,andripplenoisewell
BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro 10550W
CoolerMasterGX550W
All the bells and whistles you could need,but it’s expensive
Phenomenal value, but lacksmodular cables
85OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 27/30
VALUE 18/30
83OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 15/30
VALUE28/30
asingle12Vrail (45A).Whilethere’snotechnicaladvantageindoingso,itremovestheworryofloadbalancingbetweenrails.Despiteitslowerwattage,theDarkPower
Pro10isalsoverylarge,measuring18cminlength.Thismeans thatitmaynotfit intosmallercases,buttheblowissoftenedbytheinclusionofrubberpaddingontheendofthePSU,helpingtoreducevibrationbetweenthePSUandthechassis.Meanwhile,80PlusGoldefficiencyacross
theboardequatestoa£10-£12annualsavingoveran80PlusBronze550WPSU,whiletheDarkPowerPro’s135mmfanprovedtobebrilliantlyquietandwaspracticallyinaudible
withintheATXspecification.What’smore,itsefficiencysurpassedthe80PlusBronzespecificationbyatleast1percentateverylevel,with83.1percentat100percentload,86percentat50percentloadand85.38percentat20percentload.Whilean80PlusGold-ratedPSUwillsave
youaround£10ayearincomparison,theGX550’srock-bottompricemeansthatitwilltakeanumberofyearsofheavyusagebeforeyou’reoutofpocket.ThePSU’s120mmfanspunupvery
noticeablyunderload,though,makingtheGX550WoneofthenoisiestPSUsontest.Whileit’scheap,stableand80PlusBronzeefficient,
evenunderheavyload.Stuffedwithfeaturesandboastinggreatefficiency,theDarkPowerPro10550Wisafinechoice,buttooexpensiveformanypeople.HB
for£5moretheBeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W(seep55)isfarquieterandoffersmodularcablesaswell.HB
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57November 2012
500-660W POWER SUPPLIES
58
Price£64incVATManufacturerwww.corsair.comSupplierwww.scan.co.uk
ReplacingCorsair’soriginalGS600,whichonlyofferedbasic80Pluscertification,
thisnewmodelboasts80PlusBronzeefficiencyandanupdatedchassiswithroundededgesandablue-LEDlit140mmfan.ThefullycaptivecablebundleincludessixSATAandMolexconnectors,alongsideonlyapairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectors–thisisalittlestingyconsideringthePSU’s600W-ratedwattage.Thefan’sLEDcanbeswitchedoffviaa
buttononthePSU’srear,whilethefanitselfissemi-passive,onlyswitchingonwhenneeded.Wefounditonlyspunupatwattagesover250W,makingtheGS600effectivelypassivewhenyourPCisidle.Athigherloads,though,thefanisn’tsodiscreet,andspunuptotheextentthatitwasclearlyaudible;therewasalsosomediscerniblecoilnoise.Costing£64,theCorsairGS600isfairly
pricedforastable80PlusBronze600WPSU,butit lacksmodularcablesandit’stoonoisyathigherloadstorecommend. HB
Price£68incVATManufacturerwww.enermax.co.ukSupplierwww.systo.co.uk
Withapriceofover£67,theEnermaxTriathlor550Wisundeniablyexpensive
fora550WPSU.Theall-captivecablebundleincludessixSATAandfiveMolexconnectors,whileapairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectorslimitsyoutoasinglemid-rangetohigh-endgraphicscard.WellwithintheATXspecificationintermsof
voltagesandripplenoise,the80PlusBronze-ratedTriathlordeliveredefficiencyof84.78percentat100percentload,87percentat50percentloadand84.82percentat20percentload,placingitmarginallybelowthe80PlusSilverefficiency.TheTriathlor’s14cmlongcasingmakes
itpleasinglycompacttoo,witha120mmEnermaxTwisterfanhandlingcoolingduties.However,athighloads(over450W), it’sprettynoisy,andwasclearlydiscernibleoverbackgroundnoise.Despiteexcellentefficiencyforan80Plus
BronzePSU,theEnermaxTriathlor550W’slackofmodularcablesandhighpriceseeitfallwellbehindtheBeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W(seep55).HB
Price£88incVATManufacturerwww.enermax.co.ukSupplierwww.cleverboxes.com
FractalDesign’snewR2Tesla650Wboasts80PlusGoldefficiency,but
confusinglymatchesitwithcaptivecabling.SixSATAplugsandtwoMolexconnectorsdon’tofferthegreatestamountofconnectionoptionseither,andasinglepairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectorslimitsyoutojustasinglemoderngraphicscard.However,withits80PlusGoldcertification,
efficiencyisexcellent.The88.35percentefficiencyat100percentloadissurpassedby91.28percentat50percentloadand91.39percentat20percentload–thelatterisevenhigherthantheAntecEarthwattsEA-550Platinum(seep55).TheR2Tesla650Wisverywellbehavedacousticallytoo,withits135mmspinningquietlyevenathighloads.TheR2Tesla650Wisadecentpremium
PSU,butitslackofmodularcablesseesitsurpassedbytheSeasonicX-Series660W(seep59),whichalsooffers80PlusGoldefficiencyandfarmorefeatures.HB
CorsairGS600
EnermaxTriathlor 550W
FractalDesignR2Tesla650WSemi-passive cooling and
80 Plus Bronze-rated, butlacks modular cables
Lacks competitive pricingand features
Quiet and efficient, butneeds modular cables
79OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 15/30
VALUE 24/3075OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 15/30
VALUE20/3081OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN20/30
VALUE 21/30
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58 November 2012
Price£130incVATManufacturerwww.fspgroup.co.ukSupplierTBC
F SP’sAurumXilenser500Wispassivelycooled,withnocoolingfanatall.With
acaptive24-pinATXcableandrubber-sheathedmodularconnectorsforeverythingelse, italsooffersplentyofflexibility,thankstosevenSATA,butonlytwoMolexconnectors,plusfour6+2-pinPCI-Epowerplugs.The80PlusGoldcertificationmeansan
efficiencyratingat100percentloadof89.61percent,with91.29percentat50percentand89.4percentat20percent,althoughthisonlysavesyouaround£8ayearcomparedtoan80PlusBronzeunit. Withnofan,theXilenserwasnearlysilent.Wenotedjustatraceofcoilnoise,butotherwisetheFSPdelivered.However,youpayahighpricefortheluxury
ofpassivecooling,highefficiencyandfullymodularcables,andtheXilencer’spriceof£130meansthatonlythoseneedingsilenceshouldapply.HB
Price£52incVATManufacturerwww.inwin-style.comSupplierwww.cclonline.com
InWin’sGreenMe550Wislightonfeatures,buthasatemptinglylowpricetagofjust£52.
Captivecablesareused,butwewereamazedtofind justasingle6+2-pinPCI-Epowerconnector; insufficientforalmostanymid-rangeorhigh-endGPUwithoutaMolexto6-pinPCI-Eadaptor.Despiteitsbudgetlooks,theGreenMe
performedwellwithintheATXvoltageandripplenoiseguidelines,andcomfortablymanagedits80PlusBronzeefficiencywith84.92percentat100percentload,87.12percentat50percentloadand83.96percentat20percentload.However,theInWinGreenMe
550W’s120mmcoolingfanwasverynoisyunderheavyload–theloudestofanyPSUinthe500-660Wcategory.TheBeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W(seep55)costsjust£3moreandisfarbetterequipped.HB
Price£80incVATManufacturerwww.nzxt.comSupplierwww.overclockers.co.uk
TheNZXTHale82-650-Mpairs80PlusBronzeefficiencywithsemi-modular
cabling.The24-pinATXcable,apairof4-pinEPS12Vcablesandtwo6+2-pinPCI-Ecablesarecaptiveandsheathedinblackcablebraid,whilethemodularconnectorsoffersixSATAplugs,sixMolexconnectors,an8-pinEPS12Vcableandanothertwo 6+2PCI-Eplugs.Theflattenedmodularcablescertainlylooksmart,andthere’splentyofflexibilityformulti-GPUsetupstousethe650Wofpower.Efficienciesof82.91at100percentload,
85.97percentat50percentloadand83.96percentat20percentloadareallcomfortablyinsidethe80PlusBronzespecification,buttheHale82-650-M120mmfanspunuptoclearlyaudiblelevelsunderload.WhiletheNZXTHale82-650-Misastable,efficient,modularandkeenlypricedPSU,itsnoisyfanseesit justmissout.HB
FSPAurumXilenser500W
InWinGreenMe550W
NZXTHale82-650-M
Completely passive and80 Plus Gold efficiency,but it’s pricey
Just a single PCI-Econnector makes this PSUlargely redundant
A well-rounded 650WPSU, but it’s too noisyunder load
79OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 27/30
VALUE 12/3078OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 13/30
VALUE25/3083OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN20/30
VALUE 23/30
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59November 2012
60
500-660W POWER SUPPLIES
Price£48incVATManufacturerwww.ocztechnology.comSupplierwww.cclonline.co.uk
I ncrediblycheapat£48,OCZ’sZS550Woffersonlycaptivecables.Alongsidethe
24-pinATXconnectorandpairof4-pinEPS12Vconnectorsarea6+2pinPCI-Eand6-pinPCI-Econnector,whichissufficienttopoweranycurrentsingle-GPUgraphicscards.TherearealsoeightSATAconnectorsandthreeMolexconnectors.However,theZS550Wfailedtomeetthe
ATXspecificationwhenwetesteditforripplenoise.Its3.3Vrailat20percentloadreached0.054mV–0.04mVabovethatspecifiedbytheATXspec.Whileit’saminorinfraction, it’sstillatestthatmostotherPSUsinthistestpassedwithoutissue.TheZS550Walsofailedtomeetthe80Plus
Bronzecertificationitclaims,managingonly81.75percentefficiencyat20percentload,ratherthan82percent.Despiteitsbargainprice,theOCZZS
550W’sfailingsshowthatit’sdefinitelyworthspendingafewextraquidonasuperiorPSUelsewhereinstead.HB
Price£120incVATManufacturerwww.seasonic.comSupplierwww.scan.co.uk
S easonic’sX-series660WPSUboastsafeaturesetconsistentwithits£120price.
Thefullymodularcablesfeaturefour6+2-pinPCI-Epowerconnectors,offeringplentyofroomformulti-GPUsetups,andeightSATAandfiveMolexconnectorsoverseveralcablesallowplentyofflexibility.Withits80PlusGoldcertification,at100per
centload,theX-Series660Wdelivers88.58percentefficiency,with90.77percentat50percentand88.41percentat20percentload.Incomparisontothe80PlusBronzeNZXTHale82-650-M(seeopposite),thiswillsaveyouaround£10peryearonelectricitybillsunderfairlyhighusage.Equippedwithjusta120mmcoolingfan,
theX-Series660Wiswonderfullyquiettoo.ThePSU’ssemi-passivefanremainsmotionlessbelow25°Candisveryquietwhenspinningupunderheavyload.Feature-packed,highlyefficientand
exceedinglyquiet,theSeasonicX-series660Wjustifiesitspremiumpricetag.It’sabrilliantpowersupply. HB
Price£80incVATManufacturerwww.nanopoint.comSupplierwww.scan.co.uk
T heSilverPowerSP-S650M’sslightlytackyangryGorillabrandingbeliesits
impressivefeatures.Itusessemi-modularcables,withthe24-pinATX,dual4-pinEPS12Vandtwo6+2-pinPCI-Epowerconnectorscaptive,whileanextratwo6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors,fiveMolex,eightSATAandan8-pinEPS12Vcablearemodular.Itdeliveredonits80PlusBronzepromise
too,managing83.48percentefficiencyat100percentload,86.15percentefficiencyat50percentloadand84.13percentefficiencyat20percentload–allatleast1percentabovethe80-PlusBronzespec.However,theSP-S650Mprovedtobe
disappointinglynoisyunderload;itwaseasilyamongthemostaudibleon-testonloadsabove500W.Althoughit’skeenlypricedatlessthan£80,
andisequippedwithsolidefficiencyandplentyofmodularcables,thenoisycoolingfanisthemonkeyontheSilverPowerSP-S650M’sback.HB
OCZZS550W
SeasonicX-Series660W
SilverPowerSP-S650M
Very cheap, but fails onripple noise at 20 percent load
A premium PSU that’sworth the price
Feature-rich and wellpriced, but let down bya noisy cooling fan
76OVERALL
STABILITY38/40
DESIGN 12/30
VALUE26/3086OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN28/30
VALUE 18/3082OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN20/30
VALUE 22/30
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500-660W POWER SUPPLIES
60 November 2012
Price£59incVATManufacturerwww.silverstonetek.com Supplierwww.overclockers.co.uk
Price£67incVATManufacturerwww.xfxforce.com Supplierwww.dabs.com
S ilverStone’sStriderPlus500Wlookslikegreatvalueformoneyatfirst,offering
fullymodularcablesforlessthanhalfthepriceoftheSeasonicX-Series660W(seep59).Theunit’s24-pinATXandapairof4-pinEPS12Vcablesarejoinedbyone6+2pinandone6-pinPCI-Epowerconnector,sufficientforanymodernsingle-GPUgraphicscard.TwotripleSATAcablesandatriple-Molexcablewithafloppyconnectorallowforafairlyexpansivebuildtoo,althoughbafflingly,there’snopowerswitchonthePSU’srear.With80PlusBronzecertification,the
StriderPlus500Wdelivered82.84percentefficiencyat100percentload,86.15percentefficiencyat50percentloadand85.5percentefficiencyat20percentload.However,we
TheXFXPro650WCoreEditionlacksmodularcables,butstilloffersahealthy
arrayofcaptiveconnectors.Apairofboth6+2-pinPCI-Eand6-pinPCI-Epowerconnectorsmakeforsolidmulti-GPUsupport,whilesevenMolexplugs,sixSATAconnectorsandapairof4-pinEPS12Vconnectorsroundoffthebunch.It’sagoodassortmentand,with650Wofwattageontap,theisunitenoughforalmostanysingleordual-GPUsystem.Unlikeitsbeefiersibling,theXFXPro850W
XXXEdition(seep71),thePro650WCoreEditiononlyhas80PlusBronzeefficiencycertification,butithadnoproblemsurpassingthisclassification.At100percentload,itproduced84.42per
centefficiency,at50percentload,itmanaged
SilverStoneStriderPlus500W
XFXPro650WCoreEdition
Cheap and modular, but fails on ripple noise
Stable and affordable, but still unremarkable
77OVERALL
STABILITY36/40
DESIGN 19/30
VALUE 22/30
78OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 14/30
VALUE 24/30
foundripplenoiseonthe+5VSBrailtobeworryinglyhigh.At100percentload,theripplepeakedat0.085mV,0.035mVor70percenthigherthantheATXspecificationallows.WhilenottaskedwithpoweringaPC’s
corehardware,the+5VSBrailpowersthemotherboard’sstandbyandUSBports,andtheStriderPlus500WfailedtoconformtotheATXspecinthisregard.TheStriderPlus500Walsoprovedtobenoisyunderload,withits120mmfanspinninguptoclearlyaudiblelevelsasthepowerdrawroseabove400W.TheStriderPlus500W’shighripple
noiseonthe+5VSBrailandnoisycoolingfanaremorethanenoughtowarrantlookingelsewhereforyourPSU.
86.63percentefficiencyandat20percentload,theefficiencywas84.08percent.ThePro650WCoreEditionalsoexhibitednoissuesthroughoutourvoltageandripplenoisetests,performingwellwithintheATXspecification.Meanwhile,Its17cm-longchassishouses
a135mmcoolingfan,whichspunuptoaudiblelevelsunderhigherloads.Itwasn’tamongtheloudestontestthough.Pleasingly,westruggledtonoticeanycoilnoisefromtheuniteither.Whileitticksmanyboxes,isperfectly
stableandhasahighlycompetitiveprice,theXFXPro650WCoreEditionisstillalittleunremarkable.Therearemoreefficient
TheBeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W(seep55)offersahigherpeakwattage,modularcablesandquieteroperationforlesscash.HB
andquieterPSUsthatalsohavebetterfeaturestobefoundelsewhere.HB
62
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62 November 2012
Price£41incVATManufacturerwww.xigmatek.com Supplierwww.overclockers.com
Price£85incVATManufacturerwww.zalman.com Supplierwww.quietpc.co.uk
Wehadtodoadouble-takewhenwesawtheXigmatekTauro’sprice,asit’s10
percentcheaperthananyother500WPSUontest.At£41,youcan’texpectagreatdealofextras,sotheTauro500Wusesall-captivecables.There’sareasonableselection,atleast,withapairof6+2pinPCI-EcablesofferingenoughroomtopoweranyGPUoutthere.AlsoincludedaresixSATAandthreeMolexpowerconnectors,alongsidetheusual24-pinATXpowerblockandapairof4-pinEPS12Vcables.However,whilewefoundtheTauro500W’s
voltagestabilityandripplenoisetobewellwithintheATXspecification, itfellsorelyshortwhenitcametoefficiency.At100percentload,itdelivered79.04percentefficiency,2percentshortofXigmatek’sclaimed80Plus
LikemanyZalmanproducts,theZM500-HPPlus’focusisoncoolingandlow-
noiselevels,butit’salsowellequippedwhenitcomestocables,thankstoitssemi-modularconnectors.Acaptive24-pinATXcable,pairof4-pinEPS12Vconnectorsandasingle6-pinPCI-Ecablearejoinedbyamodular6+2-pinPCI-Eplug,sixSATAandfiveMolexpowerconnectors,grantingsufficientconnectionsforthevastmajorityofsingle-GPUsetups.Inside,thePSUusescopperheatpipesand
coolingfinstoeffectivelymoveanddissipateheat. ItalsosportsinteriorblueLEDlighting,whilea120mmcoolingfanprovidestherequiredventilation.Withits80PlusBronzecertification,the
ZM500-HPhadlittleissuedeliveringonitspromises.Theefficiencyof84.02at100percentload,86percentat50percentloadand
XigmatekTauro500W
ZalmanZM500-HPPlus
Incredibly cheap, but fails to reach 80Plus Bronze efficiency
Semi-modular and very quiet, but too expensive
75OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 9/30
VALUE26/30
76OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN20/30
VALUE 16/30
Bronzerating,and1percentshortof80PlusWhite.Similarly,at50percentload,werecordedanefficiencyof82.92percent,twopercentbelowthe85percentrequiredfor80PlusBronze.Finally,at20percentload,anefficiencyof81.21percentagainfailedtoreachtherequiredlevelfor80PlusBronze.Sowhileitprovedstable,theTauro500Wiswellbelowthepaceonefficiency.Ontheplusside,theTauro’s16cmchassis
housesa140mmcoolingfan;despitethelowefficiency,thisdoesn’tsoundtoointrusive,evenwhenthePSUisrunningclosetoitsmaximumload.Despiteitsverylowprice, it’sclearthat
somethinghasgonewrongsomewherealongthelinefortheTauro500W,asitprovedunable
82.88percentat20percentloadareallwithinthe80+Bronzespec.Voltagestabilityandripplenoisewerefineacrosstheboardtoo,andwithintheATXspecification.WithZalman’sfocusonlow-noise
cooling,weweredelightedtofindtheZM500-HPPlusperformedverystronglywhenitcametonoiselevelstoo.Evenunderafull500Wload,the120mmcoolingfanwasallbutinaudibleeveninaquietroom.Despiteitsmodularcables,80PlusBronze
certifiedefficiencyandsuper-lownoiselevels,however,theZalmanZM500-HPPlusisletdownsorelybyits£85pricetag.TheBeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W(seep55)maybealittlelouder,butit’s£35cheaperandsimilarlymodular,whiletheSeasonicX-Series660W
toproducethe80PlusBronzeefficiencyitclaims.Werecommendspendingafewextraquidonsomethingelseinstead.HB
(seep59)is£40moreexpensiveandfarmorecapable.Botharebetterchoicesunlessnoiseisyourtoppriority. HB
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63November 2012
500-660W POWER SUPPLIES
how much power does Your PC need?
Whetheryou’rebuyingaPSUaspartofawholenewsystem,orasanupgrade
foranexistingone,there’snopointinbuyingaPSUthat’sfarbeyondyourneeds.PCsareremarkablypower-efficientthesedays,andtheirPSUsareactuallymostefficientat50percentload.It’susuallybesttoaimforaPSUthatoffers between200-300Wsparecapacityunderveryheavyuseinyourparticularsystem,whereveryheavyusemeansplacingthegraphicscardandCPUunderconsiderablestrain.Thisisactuallyquiterareinmanygames,
asthey’reusuallyeitherGPUorCPUdependent,whilecarryingouttaskssuchasimageeditingorvideoencodingusuallyplacetheCPUunderfarmoreloadthantheGPU.Withanextra200-300Watyourdisposal,you’llhaveplentyofheadroomifyouaddanothergraphicscard,amorepowerfulCPUorifyouwanttotryyourhandatoverclocking.ThePSUwillbequietertoo–thecloseritgetstoitsmaximumload,thefasteritsfanwillhavetospintokeepitcool.Forexample, ifyourPChasaheavily
overclockedIntelCorei5-3570KandanNvidiaGeForceGTX6702GB,wemeasuredthistodrawaround375WusingthesmallffttestinPrime95tomaxouttheCPU,andUnigine
Heaventopushthegraphicscardtoitslimits.Thisisaworst-casescenario,asnogamewillputyourPCunderthismuchload.Factoringinour200-300Wsparepowerrule,youshouldbeaimingforaPSUthat’sratedbetween550Wand650Wforasystemsuchasthis.Alower-endsystem,suchasanIntelCore
i3-2100withanAMDRadeonHD68701GB,onlydraws225Winthesamestresstests–soforthis,you’llonlyneedaPSUof450-500Wto
provideampleheadroomforyoursystem.Wefoundthatonlythemostexpensivesystems,suchasanIntelCorei7-3960XExtremeEditionoverclockedto4.7GHzwithanNvidiaGeForceGTX6904GB,needanythingclosetoa1kW(1000W)PSU.Allthegraphsbelowshowmaximumpowerusageusingourstresstestsinatypicalsystemwithcasefans,anSSDandaCPUcooler.HARRY BUTLER
how much power does Your PC need?hether you’re buying a PSU as part of a
dependent, while carrying out tasks such as image editing or video encoding usually place
another graphics card, a more powerful CPU or if you want to try your hand at overclocking.
Heaven to push the graphics card to its limits. This is a worst-case scenario, as no game will put your
provide ample headroom for your system. We found that only the most expensive systems, such as an Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition overclocked to 4.7GHz with an Nvidia
AsystemusinganAMDA8-3870K,withitsintegratedGPUrunningatfullpelt,onlydraws160Wofpowerfromthemains
Total system power draw
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
AMD A8-3870K
Intel Core i3-2100 with anAMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB
5GHz Core i5-3570K /Radeon HD 7870 2GB
5GHz Core i5-3570K /GeForce GTX 670 2GB
5GHz Core i5-3570K /GeForce GTX 690 4GB
4.818GHz AMD FX-8150 /GeForce GTX 670 2GB
4.7GHz Core i7-3960X /GeForce GTX 690 4GB
160W
225W
325W
375W
525W
725W
775W
Ahigh-enddual-GPUgraphicscard,suchastheGeForceGTX690,requiresalotofpowerwhenit’sworkingflatout,particularlyifit’spartneredwithanLGA2011CPU
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64 November 2012
Price£130incVAT Manufacturerwww.antec.com Supplierwww.overclockers.co.uk
Price£167incVATManufacturerwww.bequiet.com Supplierwww.scan.co.uk
TheHighCurrentPro850WisalargePSUat180mminlength–45mmlongerthan
theXFXPro850WXXXEdition(seep71)–whichisworthrememberingifyouonlyhaveasmallcase.It’salsoquiteexpensiveat£130,anditonlyofferssemi-modularconnectors.Thankfully,that’swhereourconcerns
ended.Itoffersawealthofconnectors,includingfour6+2-pinconnectors,meaningthatitcandefinitelypowertwohigh-endgraphicscards.There’satotalof840Wand70Aavailable
overfour12Vrailsatanyonetime,witheachrailabletosupportupto40Aand480W–morethanenoughtorunamodernhigh-endsystemonitsown.TheHighCurrentPro
BeQuiet!’sDarkPowerPro10850Wisanothermonster,measuring195mm
fromendtoend.ItalsohasoneofthelongestlistsofcablesofanyPSUontest,with32individualconnectorsintotal.Theseincludesix6+2-pinPCI-Econnectorsandone8-pinEPS12Vconnector,alongwithtwopairsof4-pinEPS12Vconnectors.WithnineSATAandnineMolexconnectors
too,youwon’tbeshortofcablesandpowerplugs,whateverkindofmonsterPCyou’rebuilding.YoucanevenconnectfourcasefanstotheDarkPowerPro10850W;thePSUregulatestheirspeedbasedontemperature.TheDarkPowerPro10850Wusesa
135mmSilentWingsfan,similartothemodel
AntecHighCurrentPro850W
BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro 10850W
A solid PSU with plenty of grunt,but it’s a tad too expensive
Awesome features and efficiency,but ferociously expensive
82OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 24/30
VALUE 18/30
83OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN28/30
VALUE 15/30
850W’sfanalsoprovedtobeclosetoinaudibleinourquietlab,althoughtherewassomecoilnoise.Certifiedwithan80PlusGoldefficiency
badge,theHighCurrentPro850Wwas89.9percentefficientat100percentload,whileat50percentload,itprovedtobeafantastic91.2percentefficient.Thiswasonlyenoughtosecurefifthplace,
though,withtheBeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10850W(below)claimingthe50percentloadefficiencycrown.Therewerenoissueswithstabilityeither,withtopmarksonallrailsatalltestedloadlevels,whileripplenoiseandholduptimeswerealsowellwithintheATXspecificationrequirements.
usedinBeQuiet!’sexcellentCPUaircoolers.ThePSUalsohastheunusual
abilitytoswitchbetweenfour12Vrailsandonesingle12Vrail. Infour-railmode,the12V1and12V2railsoffer30Aeach,whilethe12V3and12V4railscandishout45Aeach.There’s70Aavailableintotalfromthe12Vrails,resultinginamaximum12Vpowerdrawof840W.WecouldbarelydiscernthattheDark
PowerPro10850Wwasrunningwhileunderfullload,anditpassedallourtestswithoutahitch.Ratedto80PlusGoldstandard,italsorecordedthehighestefficiencyontestat50percentload–92.6percent.
ThisisanexcellentPSU,butothersoffersimilarfeaturesforlesscash,meaningthatitnarrowlylosesoutonanaward.AL
It’safantasticPSU,butat£166,it’s£50moreexpensivethantheXFXPro850WXXXEdition,whichoffersbettervalueformoney.AL
66
661-860W POWER SUPPLIES
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WWW.ENERMAX.CO.UK/REVOLUTION87
www.awd-it.co.uk • www.scan.co.uk • specialtech.co.uk • www.yoyotech.co.uk
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SYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOT
JOIN THE REVOLUTION!The low-end power supply era is over! Enermax calls for more safety, morequality and more power for your system! Modern systems need a stablepower source that ensures a safe and efficient system operation. The newEnermax Revolution87+ relies on the path-breaking DHT Topology andachieves up to 93% efficiency. It will take your system by storm propelledby a durable and silent Twister fan. No more empty rhetoric: Due to massive12V rails, more than 98% of the power is reserved for the essential compo-nents such as CPU and GPU. This is about a long-term system build and astable and safe system for the future. Enermax grants 5 years warranty.
With 550, 650, 750, 850 und 1000W.
WorldMags.netWorldMags.net
66 November 2012
Price£95incVATManufacturerwww.bequiet.com Supplierwww.ebuyer.com
Price£124incVAT Manufacturerwww.coolermaster.com Supplierwww.yoyotech.co.uk
BeQuiet!’sStraightPowerE9680Wiscertainlyagreat-lookingpowersupply. It
sportsthecompany’sfamiliarnickel-platedgrillesprotectingthecoolingfan–anattractivetouchthatlooksbetterthanthestandardmeshfangrilleusedbymostothermanufacturers.It’salsosemi-modular,withonlysome
ofitscablesdetachable,butitoffersaconsiderablenumberofthem.Thefour6+2-pinPCI-Econnectorsmeanthatpoweringmultiplehigh-endgraphicscardswon’tbeaproblem,andtherearesevenSATAandsix4-pinMolexconnectorstoo.Itusesfour12Vrails,withtwodishingout
upto18A,andtheothertwoabletohandle
C oolerMaster’sM2SilentPro850Wiswellpricedat£124,althoughthisisstillagood
dealmoreexpensivethantheXFXPro850WXXXEdition(seep71).However,yougetplentyforyourmoney.Thefirstbonuseswenoticedwerethecables,whichhavebeenflattenedandfinishedinblackrubber.Thislooksgreat,andwillalsomakecabletidyingeasier,resultinginaneatandtidyPCinside.Ithasbothan8-pinandapairof4-pin
EPS12Vconnectors,alongwiththree8-pinandthree6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors–enoughtopowerthreehigh-endgraphicscards.It’sfairlylargeat180mmlong,butthisisnoticeablyshorterthantheBeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10850W(seep64). Italso
BeQuiet!StraightPowerE9680W
CoolerMasterM2SilentPro850W
Supremely stable and quiet,but slightly too pricey
A decent PSU, but othersoffer better value
83OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 24/30
VALUE 19/30
81OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 23/30
VALUE 18/30
22A,with55Aand660Woverthefourrailsintotalatanyonetime.DespitethisbeingasimilarbutlessbeefysetupthantheAntecHighCurrentPro850W(seep64),forexample,wewerestillabletopowerapower-hungryGeForceGTX6903GBoverapairof12Vrails.TheStraightPowerE9680Wwasalso91.7
percentefficientat50percentload–agreatresult. Itreturnedsuperbresultsinthestabilityteststoo,notmovingmorethan0.1Veithersideof12Vonallthe12Vrails,evenat100percentload.Itprovedtobeveryquiettoo,althoughit
exhibitedsomecoilnoise.At£95,it’s
usesasingle12Vraildesign,with68Aand816Wavailableintotalovertherail.There’sasizeable180Wavailablefromthe3.3Vand5Vrailstoo.Withits80PlusSilvercertification,theM2
SilentPro850Wrecordedanefficiencyof89.2percentat50percentload–thisisn’tbad,butitcouldcostaround£5-9moreoverthecourseofayearincomparisontothemostefficientPSUontest.StabilitywasnoproblemfortheM2Silent
Pro850W,though,anditalsoprovedtobeextremelyquietunderevenhighloads,barelyregisteringoverthebackgroundhumofourlab.However,withsimilarfeaturesand
reasonablypricedaswell,buttheXFXPro850WXXXEdition(p71)costsjust£11moreandprovidesmorewattageforyourmoney. AL
alowerprice,theXFXPro850WXXXEdition(seep71)winsoutonvalueformoney.AL
68
661-860W POWER SUPPLIES
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WorldMags.netWorldMags.net
68 November 2012
Price£134incVATManufacturerwww.corsair.comSupplierwww.scan.co.uk
Price£154incVAT Manufacturerwww.enermax.co.uk Supplierwww.pixmania.co.uk
Ifreputationsareanythingtogoby,CorsaircertainlyhasanenviableonewhenitcomestoPSUs.We’vefoundafewfliesintheointmentovertheyears,butgenerallybuyingaCorsairPSUisrarely, ifever,abadpurchase.ThisisthelatestiterationoftheHX850,
nowboasting80PlusGoldefficiency,andthebiggersiblingtotheHX650,whichpickedupanApprovedawardreviewedinourlastPSULabstest.TheHX850isanotherlargePSU,
measuring180mminlength.It’salsosemi-modular,withthecorecables,suchasthe24-pinATX,EPS12Vandtwo6+2-pinPCI-Econnectorsremainingcaptive.Themodularcrewconsistsofanadditional8-pinEPS12Vconnector,alongwithfourmore6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors–sixintotal.
A nothermanufacturerwithanenviablereputationintheworldofPSUsis
Enermax–themakerofthelegendaryGalaxy1000WPSU.It’soneofthefewmanufacturerstostill implementpost-shutdowncoolinginmostofitsPSUs.AfteryouswitchoffyourPC,thePSU’sfan
willcontinuetooperateforashorttime,providingausefulchill factortocoolyourhotcomponentsthatwouldotherwisefesterintoastytemperaturesuntiltheheatdissipatesofitsownaccord.EnermaxclaimsthiscanextendthelifeofthePSUandyourhardware.ThePlatimax750Whasalonglistof
featurestoo,althoughthisistobeexpectedforitsprice.At£154,it’snearly£50moreexpensivethantheXFXPro850WXXXEdition(seep71).
CorsairHX850
EnermaxPlatimax750W
Quiet and stable with loads offeatures – a great PSU
Super-quiet with post-shutdowncooling, but the price is high
83OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN25/30
VALUE 18/30
81OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 27/30
VALUE 14/30
UnliketheotherPSUsontest,allthecablesherehaveastandardlength,withnosingleorreduced-lengthoptionstotailorthemtoyoursystem.TheHX850alsoemploysasingle12Vraildesign,with70Aand840Wavailable,andasizable150Wavailablefromthecombined3.3Vand5Vrailstoo.StabilitywasacleansweepfortheHX850,
anditwas90.7percentefficientat50percentload.Onefeaturethatreallyimpresseduswasalsoitsabilitytopassivelycoolitselfuptoaround500Wofload.Thefanonlyspunupabovethis,whereadmittedly, itwasclearlyaudible.Formostsystems,though,you’llbeblessedwithasilentPSUformostofthetime.DespitebeingpricierthantheXFXPro
Loversoftriplegraphicscardsystemswillalsobedisappointed,asthereareonlyfour6+2-pinPCI-Epowerconnectors,althoughthiswillbeenoughforthevastmajorityofpeople.Thankfully,efficiencyhunterswillbe
pleasedwiththefactit’san80PlusPlatinumPSU,whichclaims90-94percentefficiency.Itusesfourrailstodishoutits12Vsupply,witheachratedat25A;there’satotalof744Wand62Aavailableatanyonetimefromallfourrails. Itbreezedthroughourtestingtoo;itwasincrediblyquietandrecordedanefficiencyof92.2percentat50percentload–wellwithinthe80PlusPlatinumspecification,makingitoneofthemostefficientPSUsontest.Sadly,
850WXXXEdition(seep71),theCorsairHX850comesaveryclosesecond.AL
however, itshighpricemeansthereareotheroptionsthatofferbettervalueformoney.AL
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69November 2012
71
661-860W POWER SUPPLIES
Price£165incVAT Manufacturerwww.fspgroup.co.uk SupplierTBC
Price£60incVAT Manufacturerwww.in-win.com.tw Supplierwww.cclonline.co.uk
Costing£165incVAT,theFSPAurum850Walreadyfacesasteepchallenge–itcosts
nearly£60morethantheXFXPro850WXXXEdition(seep71).Thankfully,FSPhasaddedsomeextra
featuresinanattempttobalanceoutthatequation.TheAurum850Whasflattened,rubber-sheathedcables,forexample,whichlookverygoodindeed,anditalsoincludesre-usablecabletiestoaidinall-importantcabletidying.TheAurum850Wusesasingle70A12Vrail,
whichcandishoutacolossaltotalof840W.Amazingly, italsohasatotalofeight6+2-pinPCI-Econnectorstoo,meaningthatitcantheoreticallysupportfourgraphicscards.Thiswillbealotofworkforan850WPSU,
though– althoughwesuccessfullypowered
InWin’sGreenMe750WPSUreallydoescostjust£60,butreadonalittlemorebeforeyou
reachforyourwallet,asthewholestoryisn’tquitethatrosy.Forstarters,theGreenMe750Wdoesn’t
haveanymodularcables–onlycaptiveones,andveryfewatthat. Itonlyhastwo6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors,meaningitwon’tbeabletopowertwohigh-endgraphicscards.Ifyou’reatallconcernedwithlooksthenthe
GreenMe750Wprobablyisn’tforyoueither;it’sasplainasPSUsget.It’salsofarfromflushwithconnectors,onlyofferingthreeMolexplugsandsixSATAconnectors.Itusesamulti-raildesignwhenitcomesto
dishingout12Vpower,withthreerailsofferingupto25Aeachandatotalof540Wacrossallthreeatthesametime.
FSP Aurum850W
InWinGreenMe750W
A fantastic PSU, but you’ll need afat wallet to pay for it
Cheap and stable, but it’s noisyand lacks features
79OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN25/30
VALUE 14/30
82OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 14/30
VALUE28/30
threeGeForceGTX6702GBcardswithatotalsystemdrawof650W,addinganothercardclearlywouldn’tbeadvisable.Meanwhile, inourtests,the80Plus
Gold-ratedAurum850Wmanagedanefficiencyof91.1percentat50percentload,andpassedallthestabilitytestswithoutanyissuesaswell.ItwasamongthequietestPSUsontest
aswell,althoughitwasn’tabletoshutoffitsfanatlowloadslikesomeofthecompetition.Onlyasmallamountofcoilwhinewasdiscernibletoo.Indeed,everythingabouttheFSPAurum
850Wlooksabsolutelygreatuntilyoucome
Withits80PlusBronzecertification, itrecordedanefficiencyof88.4percentat50percentload–afairamountlessthanthebestresultsontest.However, itwillprovidelotsofstablepower
foryourPC–theGreenMe750Wpassedallourtests,never strayingclosetothelimitsoftheATXspecification.Noisewasanotherstory,though.Withits
standard120mmcoolingfan,theGreenMe750WisanoisypieceofkitwhencomparedtoallotherPSUsontest,especiallyathigherloads,andtherewassomeclearlyaudiblecoilwhineaswell.Despiteitslowprice,wesuggestgiving this
PSUawideberth,andsavingyourpenniesfor
tothepricetagwhich,despiteitsstrengths,isstillabitterpilltoswallow.AL
asuperiorPSU,suchastheXFXPro850WXXXEdition(seep71), instead.AL
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70 November 2012
Price£134incVATManufacturerwww.ocztechnology.comSupplierwww.yoyotech.co.uk
T heOCZZX850iscertainlyadesirablepieceofkitwithitsfully-modularcables.
Whilethesearebraided,however,thequalityoftheheatshrinkisn’tgreat–theheatshrinkappliedtothe24-pinATXcable,forexample,cameoffafteralittleuse.TheOCZZX850hasagoodarrayofcables
atitsdisposalaswell,althoughyou’llbelimitedtoplayingwithjusttwohigh-endgraphicscards,asthereareonlyfour6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors.Harddiskhoarderscanrejoicethough–the
ZX850hasatotalof12SATAconnectorsandnine4-pinMolexconnectors.Italsohasasingle70A12Vrail;combined
withthe-12Vand+5VSBrails,thiscanoutputatotalof850W.Itwasfairlyquiettoo,andveryefficientat50percentload–91percenttobeexact,anditpassedallourtestswithoutstrayingoutsidetheATXspecification.TheOCZZX850isbynomeansabadPSU,
buttheCorsairHX850(seep68)andXFXPro850WXXXEdition(seep71)offerbettervalueformoney.AL
Price£166incVATManufacturerwww.seasonic.comSupplierwww.aria.co.uk
Seasonic’shigh-endPSUsarecertainlyhighlydesirable,notleastfortheirability
toswitchofftheircoolingfansbelowcertaintemperatures–they’rethatefficient.ThePlatinum860Walsohasthisability,
aswellasfullymodularcables,an80PlusPlatinumefficiencyratingandevena120mmSanyoDenkifantoo.It’sabigboy,though,needing190mmclearanceendtoend,andit’shideouslyexpensivetoo.You’llbelimitedtopoweringtwohigh-end
graphicscardswithitsfour6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors,althoughthereare11SATAandeight4-pinMolexplugs,whichwillbeenoughforeventhemostcrowdedsystem.Itdishesoutitspowerthroughasingle71Arail,with852Wavailable.It’sreallyefficienttoo–ourtestmeasured92.3percentefficiencyat50percentload–anditwasstableinallouttestsandsupremelyquiettoo.Thisisafantasticpowersupply–it’sjusta
shameaboutitshighprice.AL
Price£96incVATManufacturerwww.nanopoint.co.ukSupplierwww.scan.co.uk
S ilverPowerhasaparentcompanyintheformofNanopoint,whichalso
manufacturestheTaganPSUsthatonceweretheenvyofall.TheSP-S850Misveryreasonablypricedat£96,butitofferssemi-modularcablesaswell.Italsohasfour6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors
andeightSATAconnectors,whichgivesyouenoughheadroomforallbutthemosthardcorePC.Itusesasingle12Vrail,ratedatupto70Aand840Wmandmeasuresjust160mminlength–ababycomparedtosomeoftheothermonstersontest.TheSP-S850Machieveditsstated80Plus
Bronzeefficiencyinourtests,reaching84.87percentat100percentload,butthisisstilllowconsideringsomeofthecompetitionhave80PlusSilver,GoldandPlatinumratings.TheSilverPowerSP-S850Mwasalso
horrendouslynoisyunderload.Infact, itwaslouderthantheGeForceGTX5903GBwehadrunninginourtestsystematthetime.Needlesstosay,youcanbuyabetterpowersupplyelsewhere.AL
OCZZX850
SeasonicPlatinumSeries860W
SilverPowerSP-S850M
Not bad, but you can getmore for your money
Feature-loaded, quiet andefficient, but expensive
A reasonable price, butvery noisy
81OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 24/30
VALUE 17/3082OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 27/30
VALUE 15/3078OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 17/30
VALUE 21/30
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71November 2012
72
661-860W POWER SUPPLIES
Price£132incVATManufacturerwww.silverstonetek.comSupplierwww.scan.co.uk
F ullymodularcablesarealwaysapleasuretoseeonaPSU,butSilverStone’sStrider
GoldEvolution750Walsoaddshigh-qualitycablebraidingtoitssetofmodularcables,aswellasamagneticdustfiltertouseifyourcasedoesn’thaveone.It lacksthealternative-lengthcablesof
otherPSUsontest,though,andtwoofitsfourPCI-Econnectorsonlyhavesixpins,butthat’sthelimitofourcriticismsintermsofthePSU’shardware.TheStriderGoldEvolution750Whasplenty
ofpowerontaptoo,withasingle12Vrailratedat62Aand744W.Inourtests,thePSUhadlittleissueprovingits80PlusGoldcredentialseither,with89.1percentefficiencyat100percentloadand90.66percentat50percentload.Itwasalsoextremelyquiet,evenathighloadlevels.However,theXFXPro850WXXXEditionand
CorsairHX850offerbettervalueformoney.AL
Price£107incVATManufacturerwww.xfxforce.comSupplierwww.ebuyer.com
Y ou’lleitherloveorhatethelooksofXFX’sPro850WXXXEditionpowersupply,but
atjust£107forasemi-modular,850WPSUwithmostofthetrimmings,it’sanintriguingprospectfromtheoutset.XFXclaimsthatit’s80-PlusSilvercertified,
anditpacksatotalofeightSATAconnectorsandfour6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors–enoughfortwohigh-endgraphicscards–whichisagooddealforaPSUinthispricebracket.Thankfully, itdeliveredonitsefficiency
ratingtoo,cominginat88.6percentat50percentload,anditpassedallourstabilityteststoo.Asfarasnoisewasconcerned,therewassomecoilwhineinevidence,butthefannoisewasinaudibleonceoursystem’sfanskickedin,unlikesomeoftheotherPSUsontest.Itmightnotbequitethequietest,most
efficientor best-equippedpowersupplyontestthismonth,buttheXFXPro850WXXXEditionisperfectlybalancedandoffersgreatvalueformoney.AL
Price£85incVATManufacturerwww.xigmatek.comSupplierwww.cclonline.com
TheXigmatekCentauro800Wiscertainlywell-pricedat£85,anditalsooffersa
meansofconnectingyourcasefanstothePSU’sfancontrolunitviatwo2-pinheaders.Itsportssemi-modularcablestoo,which
includefour6+2pinPCI-Econnectors,alongwitheightSATAconnectorsandsix4-pinMolexplugs.Thisisplentyforpoweringtwographicscards,andplentyofothercomponentsaswell.Whileitpassedourstabilitytests,however,
it failedtoliveuptoits80PlusBronzeratingatboth100percentand50percentload,insteadonlymanaging79.6percentand84.36percentefficiencyrespectively. Itwasalsoquitenoisyathigherloadlevels.TheXigmatekCentauro800Wmighthavea
temptingprice,butwerecommendspendingafewextraquidandbuyingasuperiorPSUinstead–theBeQuiet!StraightPowerE9680W(seep66),forexample,costs£10moreandisamuchbetterbuy.AL
SilverStoneStriderGoldEvolution750W
XFX Pro850WXXXEdition
XigmatekCentauro800W
Great efficiency andcable braiding, buttoo expensive
Efficient, well priced andloaded with features
Noisy and not as efficientas it claims
78OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 23/30
VALUE 15/3084OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 23/30
VALUE 21/3077OVERALL
STABILITY40/40
DESIGN 15/30
VALUE 22/30
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72 November 2012
100 per cent load
0 20 40 60 80 100
Zalman ZM500-HPPlus
Xigmatek Tauro500W
XFX Pro 650WCore Edition
SilverStone StriderPlus 500W
Silver PowerSP-S650M
Seasonic X-Series660W
OCZ ZS 550W
NZXT Hale82-650-M
In Win GreenMe550W
FSP AurumXilenser 500W
Fractal Design R2Tesla 650W
EnermaxTriathlor 550W
Corsair GS600
Cooler Master GX550W
Be Quiet! DarkPower Pro 10 550W
Be Quiet! PurePower L8 530W
Antec Earthwatts550W
84.02
79.04
84.42
82.84
83.48
88.58
83.13
82.91
84.92
89.61
88.55
84.78
85.03
83.1
90.6
83.69
91.31
100 per cent load
0 20 40 60 80 100
Xigmatek Centauro800W
XFX Pro 850WXXX Editon
SilverStone StriderGold Evolution 750W
Silver PowerSP-S850M
Seasonic Platinum860W
OCZ ZX 850
In Win GreenMe750W
FSP Aurum 850W
Enermax Platimax750W
Corsair HX850
Cooler Master M2Silent Pro 850W
Be Quiet! DarkPower Pro 10 850W
Be Quiet! StraightPower E9 680W
Antec High CurrentPro 850W
79.61
86.25
89.1
84.87
90.06
88.7
85.43
89.31
90.47
88.56
87.01
90.93
89.75
89.9
50 per cent load
0 20 40 60 80 100
Zalman ZM500-HPPlus
Xigmatek Tauro500W
XFX Pro 650WCore Edition
SilverStone StriderPlus 500W
Silver PowerSP-S650M
Seasonic X-Series660W
OCZ ZS 550W
NZXT Hale82-650-M
In Win GreenMe550W
FSP AurumXilenser 500W
Fractal Design R2Tesla 650W
EnermaxTriathlor 550W
Corsair GS600
Cooler Master GX550W
Be Quiet! DarkPower Pro 10 550W
Be Quiet! PurePower L8 530W
Antec Earthwatts550W
86
82.92
86.63
86.4
86.15
90.77
85.15
85.97
87.12
91.29
91.98
87.13
87.06
86.32
91.2
86.28
92.86
50 per cent load
0 20 40 60 80 100
84.36
88.64
90.65
87.41
92.23
90.96
88.36
91.16
92.24
90.72
89.22
92.62
91.67
91.19
Xigmatek Centauro800W
XFX Pro 850WXXX Editon
SilverStone StriderGold Evolution 750W
Silver PowerSP-S850M
Seasonic Platinum860W
OCZ ZX 850
In Win GreenMe750W
FSP Aurum 850W
Enermax Platimax750W
Corsair HX850
Cooler Master M2Silent Pro 850W
Be Quiet! DarkPower Pro 10 850W
Be Quiet! StraightPower E9 680W
Antec High CurrentPro 850W
20 per cent load
0 20 40 60 80 100
82.88
81.21
84.08
85.5
84.13
88.41
81.75
83.96
84.45
89.4
91.39
84.82
84.42
85.38
88.27
84.59
90.76
Zalman ZM500-HPPlus
Xigmatek Tauro500W
XFX Pro 650WCore Edition
SilverStone StriderPlus 500W
Silver PowerSP-S650M
Seasonic X-Series660W
OCZ ZS 550W
NZXT Hale82-650-M
In Win GreenMe550W
FSP AurumXilenser 500W
Fractal Design R2Tesla 650W
EnermaxTriathlor 550W
Corsair GS600
Cooler Master GX550W
Be Quiet! DarkPower Pro 10 550W
Be Quiet! PurePower L8 530W
Antec Earthwatts550W
20 per cent load
0 20 40 60 80 100
83.28
87.07
88.15
85.85
91.14
88.98
86.87
89.38
91.83
88.6
87.76
90.97
88.92
88.16
Xigmatek Centauro800W
XFX Pro 850WXXX Editon
SilverStone StriderGold Evolution 750W
Silver PowerSP-S850M
Seasonic Platinum860W
OCZ ZX 850
In Win GreenMe750W
FSP Aurum 850W
Enermax Platimax750W
Corsair HX850
Cooler Master M2Silent Pro 850W
Be Quiet! DarkPower Pro 10 850W
Be Quiet! StraightPower E9 680W
Antec High CurrentPro 850W
POWER SUPPLIES
550W-660W EFFICIENCY (PER CENT)
661W-860W EFFICIENCY (PER CENT)
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DragonCommanderWhenweaskedDragonCommanderdeveloperLarianStudiostogiveusanexclusivescreenshotofitsjet-packingdragons,theteamsaidthein-developmentenginedidn’tcurrentlysupporttheresolutionswerequired. ‘Neverfearthough,’saidtheteam.‘Giveusafewdaysandwe’lladdthatfeatureintotheenginejustforyou.’ThatsortofthoughtfulnessisjustanotherreasontolookforwardtoDragonCommander.Asiftheuniquefusionofaction,strategyandRPGsystemswasn’tenough!
76 November 2012
When we asked Dragon Commander developer
custom pcEXCLUSIVE IMAGE
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77November 2012
Readers’Night Wed, 3October, 9 till late
Theplace OurCounter-Strike:SourceserverWhatyouneed Anup-to-dateCounter-Strike:Sourceinstallation
GAMESERVERIPADDRESSES32-playerBC2 85.236.101.22:1666732-playerCS:Source 85.236.101.24:37015
FINDUSONSTEAMPublicgroup http://steamcommunity.com/groups/CustomPCModernWarfare2 http://steamcommunity.com/groups/CustomWarfare2
78 GRUMPYGAMERWhatyoutalking
about?
80 COUNTER-STRIKE:GLOBALOFFENSIVE
CS:GO,go,go
82 SLEEPINGDOGSKungphew
84 INVERSIONUpsidefrown
87 DEATHRALLYCrash,burn
88 DEVPERSPECTIVEApokeintheAI
90 THEENGINEROOMTheDarkEngine
78
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W hatconstitutesfunforyou?Idon’tmeantheactivitiesyoufindenjoyable,butratherthecomponentsofanexperiencetowhichyoumightreferwhenlabellingsomethingasfun.
Is it funto investigateandexploreanewworld, forexample,or isitmorefuntoknowthatworldsointimatelythatyoucouldtracethemapincalmwater?Doyoufindgamesmorefunwhenthey’refastandfluidlikeDoom,or intricateandcumbersomelikeArmaII?Dogamesneedtobepretty tobefun,orwouldatextadventuresuffice?Isfunmeaningfulordisposable?Mypoint isthat funisabadwordto
describeagame. It’s fine inageneral,informalway,but forthepurposesofgamedesignandgamescriticism, it’sveryhazy.IsDiablo3fun?Pac-Man?Quake?Notallgamesarefuntoallpeople,andevenwhentwopeopleagree, theymightpoint todifferentreasons.Sofunisabadword. It isn’t theonlybad
wordweusefordescribinggameseither.Therearedozensofborrowedtermsandambiguousmeaningscrowdingthegamesindustry.Taketheword‘game’ itself, forexample.Doesthat implyacompetitiveelementornot?IsTetrisstillagame,eventhoughyoucan’treallywin it?Whatdoesthat implyaboutThePathorDearEsther?Whatmakesacomputergamedifferent fromatoy?Gamingisanactivity fullofbadwords,andIhonestly thinkitmay
bepreventingtheindustry fromreachingits fullpotential.Afterall,howcandeveloperscollectivelydecideonthewayforwardif they
JoeMartin dusts off his linguistics knowledgeand discusses our need formeaningful jargon
can’tcommunicatesuchbasicconceptsaswhatmakesagamesuchasTetris fun?ThatwouldbelikeNvidiaorAMDtryingtoaddanenhancementtoagraphicscarddriverthat ‘makesthoselinesalittleniceronthosesee-throughthingsthatcoverthewhatchamacallit inthatgame’.Ultimately,meaningful jargoniskeytoprogressinthisregard.
Weneedstrong,specificwordsandnamestodescribegames,andthelanguagetodissectourconceptssuccinctly;withoutthat,we’re
stumblinginthedark.Wealreadyhavethat inthetechnologicalhardwareendofthegamingindustry,butwedon’thaveit inthecreativeorcriticalpartof theindustryyet.AlongwiththeproliferationofconsoleportscomingovertothePC,thisisperhapsanotherreasonwhyPCgamingtechnology issofaraheadofourability touseitmeaningfully.Jargonisn’t just important forensuring
clarityandshortermeetingseither. It’salsocrucial forsecuringgamesasafieldofseriousacademicandartisticstudy,
simplybecauseit facilitatescriticaldiscussion.Thelanguageusedtodescribegamingis important for
journalism; imaginearticlesthatpinpointedthevirtuesofagamewithouthavingtolazilyresort tophrasessuchas‘mymindwasblown’.Wouldn’t thatbesomething?
WHAT I’M PLAYING IloveFrozenSynapse,butI’veonlyjuststartedtheRedDLC,whichaddsnewunitsandaco-opcampaign.Myin-gamenameisCardjoe–challengeme!
FUNISABADWORD
How can developerscollectively decide onthe way forward if theycan’t communicate suchbasic concepts as what
makes Tetris fun?
GAMING
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THE KNOWLEDGEPrice£11.99incVATPublisherValveDeveloperValveWebsitehttp://blog.counter-strike.net
hegoodnewsisthatthisisCounter-Strikejustasyoushouldrememberit,withthesamemaps,thesameweaponsandthesamefantasticallyfreneticpace.Valvehas
developedthisnewiterationforconsolestoo,buttheconstraintsofthecontrollerhaven’tdamagedthefinalproduct.Ifitweren’tfortheonlyslightlycumbersomeradialBuyMenu,you’dthinkthiswasadedicatedPCgame.
Sowhat’sthebadnews?Well,ithonestlydoesn’tappearthatthereisany.ItmayseemglibtosaythatGlobalOffensiveisjustthesameoldCounter-Strikewithprettierpictures,butthat’smostlytrue.Thereareacoupleofalterationsandexpansions,butifallyoucareaboutiswhetherthecoregamehasbeencompetentlyreiteratedthenyoumayaswellstopreadingandstartplaying.
Stillreading?Good.So,thosealterationsthen–let’sstartwiththenewdividebetweenCasualandCompetitivegames.Thisissimple:casualmatchesgiveyoushorterrounds,freeKevlarandlimitedtimetobuyweapons;competitivemodedoestheoppositeand,whiletheinitialresponsemightbetodismissthisasnobigdeal,youcan
nowessentiallyfine-tunethesortofmultiplayerexperienceyouwanttoamuchgreaterdegree.Want fast,no-frillsaction?PlayCasual.Wanttense,fatiguingwar?PlayCompetitive.
Thentherearethebotsand,whilethesesoundlikeabigdeal,theyactuallyaren’t.Theyplaywell,though,andthey’regreatfortraininginofflinemodeandwillautomaticallypopulateunfilledservers.Insomemodes,youcanevenreplacethemshouldyoudieearlyinthegame.
Finally,thebiggestadditionsaretwonewmodescalledArmsRaceandDemolitions.Eachof
theseactasasortofladder-basedtwistonthenormalmodes, wheretherungsontheladderareallthedifferentgunsinthegame;
again,theyessentiallyopposeeachother.InArmsRace,youreceiveanewgunforeverykillyoumakeandthewinneriswhoeverscoresa
killwitheveryweaponfirst.DemolitionsisCounter-Strike’snew
piècederésistance,however.It’sthesameasArmsRace,exceptthebombalsocomesintoplayandtheweaponswithwhichyou’rerewardedbecomeprogressivelyhardertouse.Everyonestartsoffwithanassaultrifle,butthebestplayersquicklyprogresstoshotgunsandpistols,whichmeansthe
T1.6Fast; variable;intricate
SOURCENo killcams;radial menu
Runs fastestwithaknife
95OVERALL
80 November 2012
COUNTER-STRIKE:GLOBALOFFENSIVE
So what’s the bad news? Well, it honestly doesn’t appear that there is any. It may seem glib to say that Global Offensive
alterations and expansions, but if all you care about is whether the core game has been competently reiterated then you may as well stop reading and start playing.
Still reading? Good. So, those alterations
games. This is simple: casual matches
die early in the game. Finally, the biggest additions are two new modes
called Arms Race and Demolitions. Each of these act as a sort of ladder-based twist on the normal modes, where the rungs on the ladder are all the different guns in the game;
again, they essentially oppose each other. In Arms Race, you receive a new gun for every kill you make and the winner is whoever scores a
kill with every weapon first. Demolitions is Counter-Strike’s new
pièce de résistance, however. It’s the same as Arms Race, except the bomb also comes into play and the weapons
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REVIEW
matchesbalancethemselvesbasedontheskillofindividualplayers.It’squitebrilliant.DespitethestrengthoftheDemolitions
andArmsRacemodes,though,thereareafewgapsintheformulathatwe’resurprisedValvehasn’tplugged.Thelackofkillcams,forexample,isasmallbutnoticeableflawforanyonewhohastolearnhowthemapsarelaidout,althoughthebiggestproblemisthemapsthemselves.Also,whileDemolitionsandArmsRace
aregivensomenewlevels,theclassicmodesdon’tofferanythingnew.There’sanargumentagainstthisthatsaysCounter-Strike:Sourceisstillgoingstrong,butthisiscounteredbyGlobalOffensive’spriceandmoddability.ModsarealreadystartingtoappearandDemolitionsModealonemakesGlobalOffensiveworththeinvestment.ThisisCounter-Strikeasyou’vealwaysknownandlovedit,exceptbetterandprettier.JOEMARTIN
81November 2012
DUST OFFCounter-Strike:GOmaynotaddanymapstotheclassicmodes,butithasrefreshedabunchoftheoldclassics,suchasTrain,Office,Dustand–mostimportantlyofall–Dust2.Mostofthesechangesarepurelyaestheticandhavelittleimpactonthegame,butthereareafewnoticeabledifferences.ThebiggestisprobablytheadditionofafewsmallcratesaroundBombsiteB,aswellassomeaddedclutterinthesniperalleybyBombsiteA.Valvehasn’trushedthesechangeseither.TheGlobalOffensivebetaranforthebest
partofayear,withValvetweakingeverypossiblevariabletoreproduceandenhancetheoldcontent.TheofficialGlobalOffensiveblogevenfeaturesinteractiveheatmapsshowingthedatausedtoinformthechanges.Inthatrespect,it’sreassuringthatthemaps aremostlythesame–thecomparisonpicturesofDust2revealthesmallsizeofthechanges.Valvehasalsostudiedthegame’soptionstoo.There’sanewTVcolourschemeand
supportforrunninginwindowedmode,nottomentionalaptoppower-savingmodethatwilllikelybehandyforhastilyorganisedLANsandgamingonthemove.Thesettingsmenunowletsyoucontrolotherminutiaetoo,fromtheoverallscaleoftheHUDtothestyleofcrosshairandthecornerofthescreeninwhichSteamnotificationswillpopup.Again,thissoundslikeasmallchangebut,sinceitmeansthatyourhealthandammocountsareneverobscuredinacompetitivematch,itmakesahugedifference.Lotsofweaponshavebeenalteredtooand,whilethenewknifemodel looksalittle
wimpyatfirst,thelackofanimationandsmallersizemakeitlessdistracting.That’swhatmakesGlobalOffensivesogreat;it’sastreamlinedandhonedversionoftheoldideas.
Dust2inCS:GO
Dust2inCS:Source
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THE KNOWLEDGEPrice£25.99incVATPublisherSquareEnixDeveloperUnitedFrontGamesWebsitewww.sleepingdogs.net
owmuchdoesthestructureofagamedeterminetheoverallexperience?That’swhatwefindourselvesaskingafterplayingSleepingDogs,andnotjustbecausewe’re
philosophicalnavel-gazerseither.It’sbecause,whileSleepingDogsunashamedlyemulatesthemodernGTAtemplatewithprecision,itoffersadistinctlydifferentexperienceonthewhole.Thisisachievedbythedetails,suchasthewaythe
focusonkung-fufightingmeansthatyouaren’tevengivenapistoluntilagoodsixhoursintothegame–andwhenyouhaveone,it’smoretemptingtouseyourfistsanyway.UndercovercopWeiShenisundervisiblestressasheingratiateshimselfwiththeTriadgangs,butmartialartsseemtoclearhismind.Mostly,thesenuancesworkforthe
better–themartialartssystem,forexample,ismorerobustandinterestingthantheassault-rifletacticsofGTA–butthereareareasinwhichthevariationdoesn’tpayoff.ThereareafewtoomanyQuickTimeEventsandmini-gamesforourtaste(includingan
appallingkaraokemini-game)andasyouprogress,thesestarttofeellesslikeaninterestinguseofyour time.SleepingDogsisstillmorethanthethoughtlessGTAcloneyoumightexpectfromthescreenshots,butitstillmakesmistakes.Wherethegamesuffersmostis whereitcopiesits
forebearsmostbrazenly.WeiShen’sanimationslookslickenoughwhenhe’sbrawlinginthestreets,butflyoffyourmotorbikeandNikoBellic’ssuperiorinversekinematicsarenotablyabsent.It’salltooeasytocrashtoo,asthecarhandlingis
slightlyoutoftunewithreality–everythingfeelstoofastandslippery.ThatsensationofspeedissomethingthatdeveloperUnitedFrontseemstohaveexplicitlytargetedinitsselectionofcarsand
inclusionofparkour,butit’sovershotthemarkjustalittle.NavigatingthetightcornersandnarrowalleysofHongKongisalittletooawkwardtofeelasfunasitcould,whetheronwheelsorfoot.Thesefewshortcomingsdon’thold
backSleepingDogstoomuch,however,andthere’splentyofcontenttokeepyou
H
SLEEPINGDOGS
BITEStylish; gorgeous;varied
BARKMini-games;slow to start
Pedigreechoice
85OVERALL
82 November 2012
determine the overall experience? That’s what we find ourselves asking after playing
appalling karaoke mini-game) and as you progress, these start to feel less like an interesting use of
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occupiedregardless.Therearecollectiblesstuffedintoeverycornerofthecity,andthemulti-tieredRPGelementswarrantcarefulattentionforthewaytheytieintoWeiShen’sdualidentitiestoo–actlikeacopandgetbetterwithguns;actlikeaTriadtoincreaseyourmeleeskills.Thestoryofdouble-crossingand
street-levelviolenceisinfinitelymoreinterestingthanthesteadyunveilingofNikoBellic’spasttoo,keepingyouontheedgeofyourseatasWeiShendelvesdeeperintotheunderworldandcomesclosertothetruth.Theplotremainsgrippingasittwists,withouteverdominatingtheskyline;thisisstillasandboxgamethroughandthrough,encouragingyoutoexplorethewealthofcontent.SleepingDogsisn’toursandbox
shooterofchoice;thathonourlayswithJustCause2,butSleepingDogsisadecentmidwaypointbetweenthatandthesuper-seriousGTA.It’saninterestingandenjoyablenichetooccupy,evenifitcomeswithafewcaveats.JOEMARTIN
83November 2012
TECHNICAL ANALYSISUnitedFronthasbundledaloadofextrafeaturesintothePCversionthatwilltaxevendecentrigs.Thelistofadditionsisn’tlimitedtojust3Dmodeandresolutiontweakingeither;it’sextensiveenoughtoshowthePCversionwasaseriousconsideration.Thenagain,maybeUnitedFrontjusthad
solongtoworkonSleepingDogsthattheseextrasweren’tmuchofastretch.SquareEnixmaybethepublishernow,butworkonthegamestartedatActivisionin2008–firstunderthetitleofBlackLotus,thenTrueCrime:HongKong.ItwasonlyafterActivisioncancelledthegamein2011thatSquareEnixboughttherightstoagamethathadalreadybeenindevelopmentforfouryears.
Regardless,thePCversionboastsperformanceenhancementsforSLIandCrossFireXsetups,aswellassupportforNvidia3DVision,andbothAMDEyeFinityandNvidia
Surroundmulti-monitorsupport.There’salsoDirectX11and11.1content,whichincludestheuseofDirectComputeand‘contact-hardeningshadows’.
Beyondthat,there’saraftofoptionsfortweakinggraphicsthatelevatesthegameoverhowitlooksonconsoles,butthebiggestfeatureisahigh-restexturepackthat’sincludedforfree.You’llneedastrongmachinetohandlethehighersettings,naturally.
Aquad-coreCPUandaGeForceGTX560orRadeonHD6950arerecommended.Ourexperienceshowsthatyou’llneedtogohigherthan
thisifyouwanttomakethemostofthoseDX11features,however,asevenourmightysystemhadtroublerunningsmoothlyonthetopsettings.Ourstandardgamingsystem’sspecswereverysimilartothose
recommendedbythegame(aRadeonHD6950,4GBofRAMandaCorei5-3570K),soweranthein-gamebenchmarkonExtremeandMediumqualitypresetstofindouthowitcoped.Theminimumframerateincreasedfromjust9fpstoamuchsmoother42.5fpsbetweentherespectivesettings,andthiswasatthesameresolutionof2,560x1,600.Thefullresultsandsettingsarerevealedinthescreenshots.
Meduim
Extreme
attention for the way they tie into Wei Shen’s dual identities too – act like a cop and get better with guns; act like a Triad to increase
The story of double-crossing and street-level violence is infinitely more interesting than the steady unveiling of Niko Bellic’s past too, keeping you on the edge of your seat as Wei Shen delves deeper into the underworld and comes
without ever dominating the skyline; this is still a sandbox game through and through, encouraging you to explore
Sleeping Dogs isn’t our sandbox shooter of choice; that honour lays with Just Cause 2, but Sleeping Dogs is a decent midway point between that and the super-serious GTA. It’s an interesting and enjoyable niche to occupy, even if it comes with a
Regardless, the PC version boasts performance enhancements for SLI and CrossFireX setups, as well as support for Nvidia 3D Vision, and both AMD EyeFinity and Nvidia
Surround multi-monitor support. There’s also DirectX 11 and 11.1 content, which includes the use of Direct Compute and ‘contact-hardening shadows’.
elevates the game over how it looks on consoles, but the biggest feature is a high-res texture pack that’s included for free.
A quad-core CPU and a GeForce GTX 560 or Radeon HD 6950 are recommended. Our experience shows that you’ll need to go higher than
this if you want to make the most of those DX11 features, however, as even our mighty system had trouble running smoothly on the top settings.Our standard gaming system’s specs were very similar to those
recommended by the game (a Radeon HD 6950, 4GB of RAM and a Core i5-3570K), so we ran the in-game benchmark on Extreme and Medium quality presets to find out how it coped. The minimum frame rate increased from just 9fps to a much smoother 42.5fps between the respective settings, and this was at the same resolution of 2,560 x 1,600. The full results and settings are revealed in the screenshots.
occupied regardless. There are collectibles stuffed into every corner of the city, and the multi-tiered RPG elements warrant careful attention for the way they tie into Wei Shen’s dual identities too – act like a cop and get
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THE KNOWLEDGEPrice£29.99incVATPublisherNamcoBandaiDeveloperSaberInteractiveWebsitewww.inversion.com
oronce,wegenuinelydon’tknowwheretobegin.Shouldwediscussthegravity-flippinggimmick,whichisInversion’sonlyattention-retainingfeature,orthestunningdullnessfor
whichitwillundoubtedlycometobeknowninthefuture?Doweexplainthatthegravitycontrolgoesbothways,enablingyoutomakeobjectslighterorheavier,ordowebreakapartthedullnessandexamineitsrootcauses?Wewon’tdothelatter–thereisn’tenoughroomin
themagazine.It’ssufficienttosaythatInversionisoneofthemostboringandbadlydesignedthird-personshooterswe’veplayedinawhile.Itslitanyoferrorsis
fartoolongtoexposeinfull,butincludesissuessuchasneedlessQuickTimeEvents,repetitivelevel
design,andabafflinganddullstory.Thepremiseisn’tallthatconvoluted–you’rea
copwhoselifeisturnedupsidedownwhengravity-controllinginvadersenslavehumanity–butitendsupfeelingjustthat,thankstohugegapsinthetimeline,massiveassumptionsaboutplayerknowledgeandanawkwardlypacedscript.Theopeningminute,forexample,has
theprotagonistlosingallhopebeforepointlesslyflashingbacktoaturretsequencethatgivesyouinfiniteammoandhealth.Notonlyisthisafunctionallypurposelessinterruption,butitalsoconflictswiththetonethatInversionisapparentlytryingtoestablish.Thisisn’t
arareoccurrenceeither.Everyfewminutes,yourcontrolisstrippedsothatyoucanwatchananimationoftheheroesencounteringenemies orstumblingthroughanearthquake.Theinterruptionstakelongerthantheymeritandoccurtoooftentohaveanyimpact,makingmuchofthegamefeellikeawasteoftime.Evenifyoucantoleratetheseconcerns,though,
Inversionstill failstoimpressoneveryotherfront.Environmentsareuniformlyunremarkable,evenwhentraversedinzerogravity–whichisn’tfreeingorfluidatall–andyourarelyfindagunthatfeelsorsoundsmorepowerfulthanablowpipe.Thegravity-controllingfeaturesarealsotheonly
aspectinwhichInversionmanagestodeviatefromthestandardthird-personshootertemplate,whichwouldn’tbebadif itwasatall interesting.Instead,itbasicallyboilsdowntoafewsimpleimplementations;youcanmakeobjectsfloatorsink,andsometimestheworldflipsupsidedown.Maybethissoundsdramaticinconcept,butinuse,itdoesn’thavemucheffectasidefrombeingabletodragenemiesoutofcover.There’snothingwrongwithgimmick-drivengames
orconventionssuchasturretsequences,aslongasthey’repurposefulandinterestingenoughtojustifytheirpresence.Inversiondefiesthisandfeelslikeachoreasaresult;thegravitycontrolistoocumbersometoexploreproperlyandtheunderlyinggameisapaint-by-numbersshooterthat’soutclassedbyitscompetitors.JOEMARTIN
F
INVERSION
UPSIDEUnintentionallyhilarious
DOWNIt’s terrible
Flippinghell
30OVERALL
84 November 2012
INVERSIONFlipping hell
the magazine. It’s sufficient to say that Inversion is one of the most boring and badly designed third-person shooters we’ve played in a while. Its litany of errors is
far too long to expose in full, but includes
design, and a baffling and dull story.The premise isn’t all that convoluted – you’re a
cop whose life is turned upside down when gravity-controlling invaders enslave humanity – but it ends up feeling just that, thanks to huge gaps in the timeline, massive assumptions about player knowledge and an awkwardly paced script. The opening minute, for example, has
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THE KNOWLEDGEPrice£7.99incVATPublisherRemedyInteractiveDeveloperRemedyInteractiveWebsitehttp://store.steampowered.com/app/108700
remakeoftheoriginalDeathRallyreleasedin1996,thenewDeathRallydebutedonmobiledevicesfirstbuthasfinallyarrivedonPC.Forthoseofyouwhodon’tremember
theoriginal,DeathRallywasatop-downracerinthesameveinasMicroMachinesasIgnition.Whatmadeitstandout,though,wastheviolent
twist;carscouldbemountedwithRPGs,machinegunsandflamethrowers.Thismodernremakehardlydeviatesfromthatsetupatall,andthat’spartofitsappeal.Thepower-upsandexplodingbarrelsthatlittereachtracksupporttheanarchic,arcadefeelandmakeitseemlikeagenuineblastfromthepast.Thathalcyoninfluenceextendstothelightnessof
thestorytoo–entertheDeathRallycontesttodrawoutthechampionknownasTheAdversary–andthenmostlyleavesyoutoit.Winmedalstoboostyourfame,earncashandunlockmorecars,weaponsandmissions.Thatisn’tsobad,butitendsupunderminingthestructureofthegametoo.Therearenoleaguesorformalladderstoclimb;justaseeminglyrandomselectionofeventsfromwhichtochooseuntilyoufillyourFamemeterenoughtounlockthenextbatch.Theresultofthis,coupledwiththeinabilityto
customiseyourownracesintolongermatches,isthattheentiregameisbasicallyalonggrindthroughshortandverydisposablecontent.There’snopunishmentforfailingarace,youjustdon’tgettoupgradeasmuch,andthere’sonlyrarelytherewardofnewcontent. It’slikebeingonatreadmill–lotsofeffortandspeed,butnorealforwardsmovement.TheslimnessandsimplicityofDeathRally’s
approachonlymakesitmorevitalthatit’spitch-perfecttoo,especiallysinceitaimsmainlyforlaughswithitsraftofcharacters.TherearecameosfromAlanWakeandDukeNukem,forexample,aswellasabunchofAmericangamejournalists,bafflingly.Noneoftheserolesfeelsasthoughithasanymeatthough;therearejustacoupleofshoutedone-linersandalotofwastedpotential.Thecynicswithinusalsosuspectthe
journalists(noneofwhomweknow)wereincludedasmarketingtoolstogeneratecoverage.Wecan’tfaultthegameforthat,butwecancertainlyraiseaneyebrow.However,themainproblemisthat,
whilethegraphicshavecertainlybeen
polishedfromtheearliermobilere-release,therestofthegameisjustthesame–andPCgamesrequiredifferentfeaturestothoseofmobilegames.Withoutlongerracesoramoreformalisedstructure,what
mightfeelaccessibleandbite-sizedonaphonefeelsshallowandoftentediousonaPC.Themoment-to-momentgameplayisstill fun–andthemultiplayerisasgoodasanytop-downracerwe’veseen–butwithoutbeefiercontent,DeathRallystrugglestoremainrelevant.JOEMARTIN
A
DEATHRALLY
F1Simple; effective;cheap
ALT-F4Lacks varietyand pace
Back from thedead
60OVERALL
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Cliff Harris
WhygamingAI sucks
businesstypeswhofundgameswanttofundoneswith‘wowfactor’.Thesedays,thatgenerallymeansgraphics,notAI.
03 IT TAKES TIME TO SPOT AITheAIinCompanyofHeroesisfairly
good,butyoudon’trealisethatuntilyou’veplayedquitealotofthegame.Yourfirstimpressionwillbethegraphics,thesound,theuserinterfaceandthemechanics.Afteryourtenthskirmishgame,youmighttipyourhattotheAI,butfromagamesindustrypointofview,atthatpoint,you’veeitherboughtthegameoryouhaven’t.AImight(atbest)beafeatureyoumention
tofriendsafewweeksafterbuyingthegame,butit isn’tafeaturethatyoucaneasilyputonthebox,whichbringsusto…
04 YOU CAN’T SHOW ASCREENSHOT OF AI
Youcan’tshowascreenshotofsoundeither,sosounddesignersdeserveoursympathytoo.However,wearen’tlivinginanageofretail-boxsalessomuchnow.Thesedays,thereareYouTubetrailersthatcanshowoffmusicandsound,butthemajorityofsurfersonlywatchshorttrailersanddemos,notplay-
nalmostanydiscussionofbig-namePCgames(orevenindiegames),atsomepointsomeonesaystheAIsucks.Sometimesthey’reright;there
arecertainlygamesthathaveverypoorAI,butinmanycasesthecomplaintisunjustified,andIcan’thelpfeelingsomesympathyforthepoorAIcoderwhoisonthereceivingendofgamers’ire.I’mgoingtotrytoexplainwhyyoushouldfeelsorryforthemtoo.
01 AI IS JUST PLAIN HARDArtificial intelligenceisatermbandied
aboutsocasuallythattheimplicationisthatit’sasolvedproblem,andeveryoneknowshowtoimplementconvincingAI, ifonlytheycouldbebotheredtotaketimeoutfromeatingdoughnutslongenoughtodoso.Infact,AI isanincrediblyhardandbroad
problem,andwe’reonlyjuststartingtoscratchthesurfaceofit.Theterm‘artificialintelligence’hasn’tevenexistedforthatlong,andwe’restillexperimentingwithwaystoapproachit.GathertenAIprogrammerstogetherina
room,andyou’llhavetendifferentapproachestosolvingthesameproblem.Youmightthinkthat’strueofallaspectsofgamecoding,butAIisespeciallydivergent.Graphicsprogrammerscanatleast
(generally)agreethatrenderingpolygonsinbatchesusingtexturemapsisthewaytogo.AIcodingapproachesdivergeoverthebasicprinciples.TherearestillnoclearwinnersinsolvingAIproblems.
02 AI ISN’T SEXYGamershavebeenknowntophysically
‘whoop’atthesightofamazinggraphicsandvery-high-particle-countexplosioneffects.PeopleevencheeredatthephysicsofHalf-Life2,butIcan’trecallanyeventwhereawholecrowdphysicallygaspedattheeffectivenessoftheAIinagame.Inshort,AI isn’tconsideredtobeafeature
thatopenspeople’swallets.Quitesensibly,
throughslongenoughtoshowthecapabilityoftheAI.Thelatterisreallyonlyapparentwhenyou’retheplayer.
05 MANAGERS DON’T EASILY‘GET’ AI
It’samazinghowmanyindustrypeopleinsuitsdon’tactuallyplaygames.It’salsoquitedepressing,butthefactremainsthatthegraphicscodercanturntotheirbossandsay,‘CheckoutthecoollightingeffectIaddedthisweek’,whereastheAIpersonhastosay,‘Iimprovedthepath-findingandtarget-selectionalgorithmthisweek’,andunlesstheirbossisplayingthegameforoverthreehoursaday,they’llhavetotaketheAIperson’swordforit.Asaresult,theAIisgivenlowerpriority,asmallerCPUbudgetandfewerprogrammerswanttheAIjob.It’shardtopitchforapromotionwhenmanagementdoesn’treallyunderstandyourjob.
06 WE HAVE CRAZYEXPECTATIONS OF AI
Thepopularpath-findingalgorithmforRTSgamesiscalledA*.It’sagreatsystem,butitbreaksdownundercertainsituations,oneofwhichiswhatyoumightcallanelongatedC.
Big-namegamesaremarketedonthebasisoftheirgraphics,butit’sverydifficulttoshowAIinascreenshot
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ImaginetheletterCstretchedrightandleftsothatitdescribesanelongatedcavernortunnelblockedattheleft.NowimagineaunitontherightofthescreennavigatingtoapositiontotheleftoftheletterC.A*willbeconvincedfora longtimethatheadingleft isthebestroute,rightupuntil itreachestheendofthecavernandhastorethink.WhenunitsinRTSgamesdothis,orspendagesthinkinghowtoavoidit,wethinkthey’restupid.Thisseemsstupid,butwefallforittoo.
Infact,anotherindiegamedeveloperandmyselfexperiencedthisproblemtryingtofindahotelonenight(Iassureyouweweresober).Wewalkedforagesthroughafairlydodgy-lookingpatchofwastegroundtowardsourdestinationbeforerealisingtheoppositeendofthewastegroundwasblockedoff;wethenhadtoretraceoursteps.Therewewere,supposedlyintelligentgamecoderswithover70yearsofcombinedexperience,andwecouldn’tevenbeatA*inreallife.ButifarobotscoutinanRTSdoesthis,peopleshoutattheirmonitorindisgust.CuttheAIsomeslack.
07 SOMETIMES WE HAVE THEOPPOSITE PROBLEM
AnyonewhoplaysamultiplayerFPSalotwillhavebeenaccusedofusingwallhacksoraimbotsatsomepoint. It isn’tfuntoplayagainstanopponentwho’smuchbetterthanyou,andgivesyounochance.Theproblemis,sometimestheAIreallycanmasterthegamebetterthanyou,especiallyinturn-based
AIcodewillkickoneplayerintothedust,getslaughteredbyanotherplayer,andbetotallybamboozledbytheapproachofathird.
09 NO HARDWARE SUPPORTWhenIwasyoung,andwecommuted
toworkonhorses,therewasnoconsensusaboutgraphicsrendering.Thenvarioushardwaremakersdecidedpolygonswerethefuture,andmadededicatedgraphicschipsthattookthepoly-pushingburdenofftheCPU.Later,somecleverclogsdevisedshadersandmovedevenmoregraphicscodetotheGPU.DoyourememberwhenallthatspareCPU
horsepowerwasallocatedtoAI?NordoI,butnobodydevisedspecialhardwarefortheAItomakeitfastereither.Soundgetssoundcardsanddedicatedon-boardchips,multiplayerhasLANcardsandnetworkchips,graphicsgetGPUs,butAIhastosit inthecornerandlooklonely. Inshort,spareathoughtfortheAIcoderthenexttimeyoufeelfrustratedwithgamingAI.GettingAIrightisatoughjob.
CLIFFHARRISistheone-mancodingwizardbehindPositechGames(www.positech.
co.uk),thedeveloperofGratuitousSpaceBattles
@cliffski
gameswheretheCPUhastimetomulloveritsstrategy.DoyouthinkyoucouldplaySimCityorHeartsofIronbetterthantheAI?Idoubtit.Humansaregreatatsnapdecisionsandpatternrecognition,butwesuckatmasteringextremelycomplexsystems–wejustdon’thavethememory.Sure,someofuswerockatchessbutchesshas64squares.HeartsofIronIIIprobablyhas64differentunitlocationsinIslingtonalone.Basically,sometimestheAIistoogood,
whichisjustasannoyingasnotbeinggoodenough.Thatsweetspotisextremelyhardtojudge.Notonlythat,butgamersbecomeactivelyannoyedifthegamecheatsupordowntoadjusttotheirplayinglevel.AI isdamnedif it loses,winsorjugglesthenumberstomakeitanevenmatch.
08 AI HAS NO CONSISTENTPLATFORM
Oneofthereasonsgamedevelopersloveconsolesisbecausethehardwareisfixed.Ifthegameworksfineonthedevkit, itprobablyworksfineonyourconsole.Withgraphics,evenonPCs,youcanchoosethetenmostpopularGPUs,trythegameonallofthemandworkthroughanybugs.However,withAI,thehardwareyouneedtotestagainstiseffectivelytheplayingstyleandbrainoftheplayer,andwith100,000players,that’s100,000differentsetups.Nobodyhasthesamestrategy,tactics,expectations,reactiontimes,motivationsandskill levels.Thesame
ReckonyoucouldplayHeartsofIronIIIbetterthantheAIat
itsbest?Wedoubtit
ThebackoftheboxforDawnofWarII:Retribution–it’sareal-timestrategygame,butthereisn’tasinglementionoftheAI
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hestoryofLookingGlassStudiosisfamiliartomostlong-timePCgamingenthusiasts.Alistofsomeofgaming’smostrecognisednames,
includingWarrenSpectorandKenLevine,plustitlessuchasThiefandSystemShock,conjureupimagesofagamedevelopmentUtopia;ateamofyoung,ambitiousartists.Similarly,whenpeopletalkaboutthestudio’sDarkEngine,thesameaspectsoftheenginearealwaysemphasised–theamazingsounddesign,theadvancedAI,andtheingenioususeoflightandshadow.Nodoubt,thesefeaturescametodefine
theDarkEngine,justastheydefineditsflagshipgameThief:TheDarkProject.ButtheoriginoftheengineisafarmorecomplexandfrequentlymisunderstoodtalethathasmoretodowithQuakeandPortalthantheideaofThief.‘Youoftengetthisnarrativethattherewasthisskunk-worksproject,andthenthisskunk-worksprojectturnedintothisawesomegame,’saysSeanBarrett,aformerprogrammeratLookingGlassandthemanresponsibleforcreatingthe
theengineroom
The underlying tech of PC classics such as Thief: The Dark Project and SystemShock II, the Dark Engine ushered in a revolutionary new portal system
graphicsrendererthateventuallyevolvedintotheDarkEngine.Thisisn’twhathappened,althoughthe
now-legendaryenginedidstartlifeasaseriesofproblem-solvingexperimentsin3Dgraphics.BarrettjoinedLookingGlassduringthelatterstagesofSystemShock’sdevelopment,partlyoutofhisappreciationfortheUltimaUnderworldgames.Whileworkingonthesquad-basedshooterTerraNova,Barrettbegantoresearchanenduringproblemofgraphicsenginesinhisfreetime.‘CertainpeopleatLookingGlassalways
hadthisidealthatitwouldbegreattodoanRPGwheretherewasanindoordungeonenvironment,butalsoanoutdoorwalkaboutenvironmentinfirst-person3D,sothatwasourGrailinasense.Someofuswerealwaysthinking,“Ah,thatwouldbeawesome.Let’sdoanUnderworld3somedayandmaybedoitindoors/outdoors.”’Thesolutionlayinanideacalledportal
rendering.Ratherthanhavingaseamless,completelyrenderedindoor/outdoorenvironment,whichwasdifficulttoperform
onhardwareofthetime,thoseenvironmentswererenderedseparatelyandconnectedviaportals.‘Itlookslikethere’sjustaconnectionbetweenoutdoorsandindoors.Beingintheinteriorspaceandlookingattheoutdoorspacelookscontiguous,butunderthehoodthere’sarenderingenginethat’sdoingmuchmorecomplicatedjobstobridgethegapbetweenthosetwoareaswithportals.’Ultimately,theportalconceptwasn’t
usedinthismanner,butithelpedtosolveseveralotherproblems.Portalscouldsignificantlyimproveperformanceinindoorenvironments,astheyreducedtheareathatneededrenderingatanyonetime,andallowedforbuildingswithmultiplestoreys.Perhapsmostimportantly,portalrenderingenabledthecreationoflevelsnotbasedonagrid.‘TheUnderworldsandSystemShockactuallyhadagrid,’saysBarrett.‘Everythingwasbasedonthesesquare
tiles.Theyhadangledwallsbuttheangleswerelimitedtotheanglesthatmatchedthegrid,soonly45-degreeangleswerepossible.Insomeofmysparetime,Itook
TheDarkEngine
T
ThiefwasoneofseveralclassicPCgamesbasedontheDarkEngine
SystemShock2‘shardwareaccelerationshowedtheDarkEngine’slimits
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thatideaandtriedtomakethetestbedforthat.Anditworked.’Oncefreefromthegrid,theproblem
thenbecamehowtocreatelevelswiththisengine.Barrettbeganworkingwithdesigner/programmerDougChurchonarudimentaryleveleditor.WithsomeassistanceviaprivateaccesstoJohnCarmack,ConstructiveSolidGeometry(CSG)technologywasimplemented,enablingconstructionoflevelsusingsolidobjectsratherthandefiningthoseobjectsindividuallythroughtheirvertices.TheniDreleasedQuakeTest–abasic,
playableversionoftheQuakeengineusedto testitonabroadrangeofmachines.‘QuakeTesthadthistechnologycalledlight-mapping,whichwestilluseinmoderngames,andmeansthatasinglepolygoncanhavedetailedshadowsacrossit,’Barrettexplains.‘Weprettymuchimmediatelyturnedaroundandstartedtoputlight-mappingintoit.That’sreallyimportant,becauseThiefisabouthidinginshadows.’Atthispoint,LookingGlasshadacutting-
edgegraphicsengine.Infact,itwassoimpressivethatwhenWarrenSpectorsawit,hewantedtoreleaseagameusingitimmediately.However,LookingGlasswasadesigncompany,notatechcompany.Consequently,itwasanothertwoyearsbeforetheenginemadeitspublicdebutwithThief;forthefirst18monthsofits
development,thiswasbasedonArthurianlegendandcalledDarkCamelot.Frustrated,BarrettleftLookingGlassattheendof1996,althoughhecontinuedtoworkforthecompanyonandoffuntilitsclosurein2000.Thedelaywasaconsequenceofeveryone
elseatLookingGlasswantingtopushtheboundariesofmanyotheraspectsofengineandgamedesign.Forexample,TheDarkObjectSystem,createdbyMarcLeBlanc,wasapowerfuldatabasethatmanagedthepropertiesofin-gameobjectsandtherelationshipsbetweenthem.Once
completed,itgavethegame’sdesignerssignificantcreativepowerwithouthavingtorelyonprogrammerstocodeinchangesandnewfeatures.However,gettingittothatstagewasalong,hardprocess.Similarly,theDarkEngine’smostfamous
feature,itssounddesign,wasoriginallydesignedasamethodofcommunicationbetweenAIunitsandfromtheplayertotheAI.ThisenabledtheAItoactinamorehumanmanner,forexample,respondingto theplayer’sfootsteps,noisesmadebyotherAI
unitssuchasascreamsor,inthecaseofThief,theclashofswords.Again,thiswasanovelandcomplexwayofusingsound,anditrequireddesignerstobuildasecondarydatabasethatrepresentedhowsoundemanatedthrougheachlevel.TomLeonard,themanresponsibleforcodingThief’sAI,admittedin1999thathedidn’trespondquicklyenoughtothechangeindirectionfromDarkCamelot.Theendresultwasagamecrammed
withnewideas,butgraphicallytwoyearsoutofdate.Thisbecameespeciallyclearin
SystemShock2,thefirstDarkEnginegametobehardware-acceleratedonly.‘ThecoretechI‘dmadeusingthoseportalsturnedouttonotworkverywellinhardware-acceleratedrendering,’recallsBarrett,‘oritworkedfinebut didn’tscale
verywelltolargerpolygoncounts.TheQuakeengineturnedouttoworkbetterasyouscaleduptolargerpolygoncounts.’AlthoughthiscausedproblemsforDark
Enginegamesatthetime,itmayalsohavebenefitedtheminthelongrun.Graphicsdon’timprovewithage.Forlastingappeal,agamemustrelyonotherfactors.AsthetechwasworkablewhenLookingGlassstartedonDarkCamelot, theteamcouldfocusonthoseotherareas,whichiswhyThiefandSystemShock2remainsoengaging.
THE UNDERWORLDS ANDSYSTEM SHOCK HAD A GRID;EVERYTHING WAS BASED ONTHESE SQUARE TILES
ANALYSIS
TheanglesofthewallsintheSystemShockgameswerelimitedtothosethatmatchedthegrid,soonly45-degreeangleswerepossible
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skabattle-scarredPC-buildingveteranwhetherit’shardtobuildyourfirstPC,andyoumaybegreetedwithgrizzlytalesoffiddlingwithjumperswitches,hidingribboncablesandspray-paintingcases,followedbyalectureabouthowmuch
easierit isnow.Youweren’tthere,man.Tobefair,PCbuildinghasdefinitelybecomeeasierovertheyears,butthatdoesn’tmeanyoucanjustthrowtogetherallourElitelistparts(seep24)andexpectittowork.Theamateurinstallstheirgraphicscardandmemoryinthewrong
slots,endsupwithajungleofcablesblockingalltheairflowandthenshort-circuitsthemotherboardwhentheypushthepowerbutton.Itdoesn’thavetobethiswaythough.Followouradviceandyou’llnotonlyhelptopreventcomponentfatalities,butwillalsobeabletoputtogetheranexpertlybuiltPCthatlooksliketheworkofaseasonedpro.
GETTING STARTEDHoldonthere!Beforeyougetyourhandsdirty,compileyourspecslist.Givingyouafoolproofbuyingguideforyourexactrequirementsisbeyondthescopeofthisfeature,butaskwhatyouwantfromyourPC.OurElitelisthasplentyofideasforvariousbudgetsandrequirements.
Whenyou’vesettledonthebasicspecs–thestoragecapacity,CPU,graphicscard,amountofmemoryandsoon,you’llneedtomakesurethatthey’llallworktogether.Forexample,makesureyouhaveamotherboardthataccommodatesyourchosenprocessor–checkthechipset,aswellasthesocket.Verifyeverythinghere,asit’spossibletomakeallsortsoferrors.Forexample,somemotherboardsareoptimisedforkitsofthreememorymodules,ratherthansetsoftwo,andyoucan’tfitanATXmotherboardinamicro-ATXcase.Oncethecourierarriveswithallyourboxesofgoodies,unbox
everything,layitoutonatableandthinkabouthowyou’regoingtoassembleit.You’llneedtomakesureyouhaveallthecablesneededtohookupyourdrives(powerandSATA);thenremoveyourcase’ssidepanelsandtestfitafewpartssoyoucanseewhereeverythingwillfit.Don’tbetemptedtooverlookthisstage.You’llneedtoworkoutthe
orderinwhichtoinstallyourpartsbeforefittingheatsinksorrouteingcables.Holdthemotherboardoverthecase’smotherboardtray,andthinkabouthowyou’regoingtogetthevariousplugsfromthepowersupplytotheirappropriatesockets,forexample.Onceyouhaveagoodfeelforwhereeverythingisgoing,youcanstartconstruction.
Assembling the various building blocks of your first PC can be a daunting taskif you don’t know how it all goes together. Long-serving PC builder
Ben Hardwidge shows you how it’s done
PC BUILDINGAssembling the various building blocks of your fi rst PC can be a daunting task
PC BUILDINGPC BUILDING
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Intheory,buildingaPCdoesn’trequiremuchinthewayoftools.Infact,youcouldbuildaworkingmachinewithsomenimblefingersandaPhillipsscrewdriver.However,therearealsoplentyoftoolsthatwillnotonlymakethejobeasier,butalsoenableyoutobuildaneatandtidyPC.
CABLE TIESYoucanbuyapackof100blackcabletiesfromwww.scan.co.ukforjust83p.They’llenableyoutokeepyourcablesoutofthewayofairflowpathsandslots,whilealsomakingyourPClookasthoughitwasassembledbyanexpert.
WIRE CUTTERSApairofwirecuttersmakesitreallyeasytosnipcabletieswithoutdamaginganywires.Failingthat,apairofsharpandthinnailscissorswillalsodothejob.
NO 2 PHILLIPS-HEADSCREWDRIVERThisisthePCbuilder’sequivalentofa knifeandfork–youreallywon’tbeabletobuildaPCwithoutthistool.It’swellworthinvestinginamagnetic-tippedscrewdriverforthis,asit’seasytolosesmallscrewsinfiddlyplaces.Aratchetscrewdriver,whichenablesyoutoturnitanti-clockwisewithoutlooseningyourscrew,willalsomakethejobquicker.
SNUB-NOSE PLIERSUnlessyou’reluckyenoughtohavenon-slipmetalthumbs,apairofsnub-noseplierswillbeessentialwhenitcomestoremovinganypartsthathavebeenmachinedintoplace.Inparticular,theymakeremovingready-fittedstandoffsmucheasier.
Thisgoo,alsoknownasTIM(thermalinterfacematerial), isthethermallyconductivegunkthatyouspreadbetweenyourCPU
anditscooler.Thismightseempointless,giventhatyou’reessentiallyputtingtwometalsurfacestogether,butneitherofthesesurfaceswillbecompletelyflat,andthey’llalsohavemicroscopicporesthatactasheatinsulators.TIMbasicallyfillsinthegaps,ensuringthatthe
majorityoftheheatfromallareasofyourCPUreachesyourcooler.IfyourCPUcooleralreadyhasasquareofthermalmaterialonthebasethenthere’snoneedtoapplyTIM.If itdoesn’t,however,you’llneedtoapplysomeTIM.AsimplewaytodothisistojustplaceablobinthemiddleofyourCPU,andthenrelyonthepressurefromyourCPUcoolertospreaditacrosstheCPU.However,you’llachieveamoreevenspreadby
placingasmallblobofTIMonyourCPU’sheatspreader,puttingyourfingerinsideaclearplasticbagandthengentlyspreadingitacrossthesurfaceofyourCPU’sheatspreader,workingitintothemetal.Youcansafelyskipthisstepifyourheatsinkorwaterblockhasapre-appliedsquareofTIMonthebase.IfyouaccidentallyspillanyonthecontactsunderneaththeCPU,oranywhereelse,youcancleanitupusing AkasaTIMClean(£4.78fromwww.scan.co.uk)andalint-freecloth.
Don’tplacetheCPUinthesocketyet.YournextjobistotakealookatyourCPUcooler’smountingmechanism.Manyof
thesewillrequiretheinstallationofabackplateontheundersideofyourmotherboard,andturningoveramotherboardcontainingaTIM-coveredCPUisarecipeforamess.Thisyear,we’vedeviatedfromourusualchoice
ofastandardaircooler,andinsteadchosentoinstalloneofCorsair’sexcellentall-in-oneH100liquidcoolers.However,theprincipleforeitheristhesameinthisstep.ReadtheinstructionsthataccompanyyourcoolerforyourspecificCPUsocket.If itrequiresabackplatetheninstallthisnowand,ifappropriate,secureitonthetopoftheboardinordertopreventitfromslipping.
94
APPLY TIM
INSTALL THECPUCOOLERBACKPLATE
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ThenextstepdependsonyourchosenCPUcooler.Somelargeheatsinks,particularlythosewith
big,forward-facingfans,canmakeinstallingmemoryapainifthey’reinstalledfirst.Thiswasn’taproblemwithourH100’sCPUblock,soweinstalleditfirst;however,withlargeaircoolersit’swisetoinstalltheRAMfirst.Mostoftoday’smotherboardssupport
dual,tripleorquad-channelmemory,whichenablesthememorycontrollertointerleavethebandwidthbetweenmultiplememorymodules,resultinginfastermemoryperformance.Intel’sLGA2011systemssupportquad-channelmemory,whichcanbeboughtinfour-DIMMkits,whilemostothersystemssupportdual-channelmemory,availableinsetsoftwomodules.AssumingyouhavetherightRAM,you
needtodeterminewhichslotswillenabledualorquad-channelmode.Consultyourmotherboardmanualforthisinformation,asusingthewrongslotscouldresultinlosinghalfyourmemorybandwidth.Onceyouknowwhichslotstouse,flip
downthetwoclipsateachendoftheslot(orjusttheright-handclipinthecaseofsomeboards,includingtheAsusMaximusVGeneweused),andthenmakesureyourDIMMispositionedtherightwayaround.EachDIMMhasanotchonthebottomconnector,whichalignswiththenotchintheslot–oneendofthebottomconnectorwillbelongerthantheother.Whenit’stherightwayaround,slotitcarefullyintothenarrowslotandpushitdownfirmlyfromthemiddle.Whenit’sinplace,theclipswillspringupautomaticallyandholdthememoryintheslot.
OnbothAMDandIntelsocketstherewillbealevernexttothesocket,whicheffectivelyopensit.Thiswillusuallybeheldinby
anotch,soyou’llneedtoslidetheleverunderthenotch,andthenlift itup.OnanIntelLGAsystem,you’llnowbeabletoopenthesocketlid.BeverycarefulwhenhandlingtheCPUsocket(orthepinsonAMDCPUs),particularlywhenitcomestoIntel’sLGAsockets,asitonlytakesasingledamagedpintopreventyourprocessorfromfunctioningproperly.YournextstepistoinstalltheCPU,holdingit
carefullybytheedges.OnanAMDsystem,therewillbealargetrianglesomewhereonthesocketandtheCPUthatdenotespin1–linetheseup,installtheCPUandthenslidedownthelevertoholditinplace.OnanIntelLGAsystem,therewillbenotchesintheCPUsocketthatlineupwiththepitsonthesideoftheCPU–youshouldonlybeabletoinstall itonewayaround.Onceit’sinplace,pushdownthelidandslidetheleverbackdownunderitsnotchtoholditinplace.
Thisstepisoftenthetrickiest,soprepareyourselfforashortburstofconcentrationandnimbleness,whichmaybefollowedbynaughty
wordsandsorefingers.ThebondbetweenthecoolerandCPUhastobereallytightinordertotransferasmuchheataspossible,soit’scrucialthatyoupatientlytakethetimetocorrectlyinstallyourcooler–ascrewoutofplacecouldruinthewholesetup.Thankfully,theblockthat’sincludedwithour
CorsairH100isn’ttoohardtoinstall–it justneedsscrewingintoplace.Whenscrewinginanycooler,alwaysgraduallytightenupthescrewsindiagonalpairstoapplyanevenamountofpressure.Onceyou’vetightenedupthescrewsaroundhalfway,givethecooleralittlewiggletomakesuretheTIMisevenlyspreadbetweentheCPUandcooler,andthenscrewintherestofthescrewsalltheway.Ifyou’reinstallinganaircoolerthatdoesn’thaveafanalreadyattached,yournext
jobistoattachyourfan.Thefanneedstopullairfromthefrontofthecaseandexpelitouttheback,somakesurethefan’sfrontfacesthefrontoftheboard,andanyairflowindicatorspointtowardstheback.Youcannowplugyourfanintothemotherboard’sCPUfanpowerconnector.Ifyou’reinstallinganall-in-oneliquidcooler,suchastheCorsairH100, theninstalltheCPUblockandconnectitspower.
INSTALL THECPU
INSTALL THECPUCOOLER
01
01
02
02
03
INSTALL THEMEMORY
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Congratulations–you’veconstructedyourPC’sbasicfoundation,solet’sseeif itworks.Doingthis
nowwillsaveyoualotoffiddlingwithscrewsandcabletiesifyourmachinedoesn’tfireuponceit’sinthecase.We’veplacedourskeletalsystemontopofthemotherboardbox,asthisenablesyoutoinstallagraphicscardwiththeendofitsbackplatecorrectlyhangingofftheedgeoftheboard.Itwillneedsomepowerforthisstep,so
grabyourPSU,hookingupthebig24-pinATXpowerconnectortomotherboard’ssocket(we’veusedanoldEnermaxPro82+here,asallthenewPSUswereinthephotographystudioatthetime).Therewillalsobea12Vsocket,normallypositionedneartheCPU.Theseusuallyhaveeightpinsoncurrentmotherboards,butmostPSUsofferflexiblevariationsforboardswith4-pinsockets.Eitherway,theplugforthissocketshouldhavealabelalongthelinesof‘12VCPU’.Yournextjobistoslotyourgraphicscardintothe16xPCI-Eslot
(thelongslotswithnotchesontheend)nearesttotheCPU.Asageneralrule,thisslotalwayshasthefull16lanesallocatedtoit,whereassomemotherboardsonlyallocateeightorfourlanestoslotslowerdown;if indoubt,checkyourmotherboardmanual.Onceit’sinplace,pluginthegraphicscardpowerconnectors.Theseeitherhavesixoreightpins,andnormallyfeaturealabelalongthelinesof‘PCI-Epower’.SomePSUsenableyoutousea6-pinplugasan8-pinplugbyjoiningupanextra2-pinplugbytheside.
Afterthat,connectakeyboardandmonitor,plugyourpowersupplyintothemainsandflickitspowerswitchifithasone.Atthispoint,wealsohookeduptheradiatortoourCorsairH100cooler,andconnecteditspowerpointstotheCPUblockandthepowersupply.YournexttaskistoswitchonthePC.Some
motherboards,includingourAsusMaximusVGene,featureapowerswitch,butthere’snoneedtofretifyoursdoesn’t.Youjustneedtolocatethemotherboard’spowerswitchpinheaders,socheckyourmotherboardmanualfortheirlocation.ThenplaceyourscrewdriverbetweenthetwopinheaderstoshortouttheconnectionandswitchonyourPC.Ifnothinghappens,disconnectthepower
andtryreseatingallthecomponents.If itworks,yourmachinehaspassedthePOSTphase(power-onselftest).YournextjobistopresstheEnterSetupkey(usuallyDel),whichwilltakeyouintothesystem’sBIOSorEFIsystem.Onceyou’rein,trackdownthesystem’sPCHealthStatussection
(itmaybecalledsomethingelsesimilartothis).YoucancheckyourCPUtemperatureheretoensurethattheheatsinkisinstalledcorrectly.AstheCPUisperformingverylittleworkhere,youcansurmisethatsomethingiswrongiftheCPUtemperatureishigherthan50°C.Ifyourprocessorisbecomingtoasty,tryreinstallingyourCPUcooler.Ifeverythingisfine,makesureallthefansarespinning,switchoff
yoursystemandremovethepowerconnectorsandgraphicscard.Youcansafelyleavetherestofthepartsinplace.
Beforeyoufitanythinginthecase,removebothitssidepanelstogainfullaccesstoall
theavailablespace.Thefirstcomponenttoinstall isthePSU,asyouwantasmuchfreespaceaspossibleforrouteingitscables.IfyouhaveamodularPSU,considerwhichcablesyouneedforyourcomponents,andthenlookatwheretheplugswillneedtobeavailable.Dependingonyourcase,yourPSUfanmayfaceeitherupwards
ordownwards,butitwillonlyscrewonewayintotheholesattheback.Fitit inplace,andtightenthefourscrewsfromthebackindiagonalpairs.ThePSUisthebiggestculpritformessycables,sousethe
nearestholesthroughtotheothersideofthecasetothreadlong
powercables,andthenbringtheplugsbackthroughtotheothersideneartheirappropriatesockets.Forexample,wethreadedthe12VCPUpowercablethroughtheholebythePSU,routeditupbehindthemotherboardandthenthreadeditbackthroughaholeatthetop,rightnexttothe12VCPUsocket–ifyoursisn’tlongenoughtodothis,youcanpickupextensioncablesformostpowercablesfromplacessuchaswww.kustompcs.co.uk. It’salsotimetothreadyourcase’sfront-panelconnectorsbehindthedrivebaystotheareaswherethey’llconnecttothemotherboard.
INITIAL TESTING
INSTALL THEPSU
01
02
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Thewayinwhichyouinstallstoragedevicesvariesbetweencases,withsomerequiringscrewsandothersfeaturingtool-lessdesigns.However,therearestillsomegeneralrules.WithourFractalDesignDefineR4,wehadtoopenthefrontdoortoaccess
thefrontofthe5.25inbays,andthenslideoffaplastic5.25inbaycoverandslideouropticaldriveintoplace.Whenchoosingabay,youalsoneedtoconsiderthelengthofyourSATApowerand
datacables.However,somecasesalsorequireyoutoremovetheentirefrontfascia(seep114)andthenremoveametalblankingplatebeforeyoucanperformthisstep.Inthesecases,whenyou’veslottedinyouropticaldrive,replacethefrontpanelsothatyoucanlineupitsbezelwiththeedge.You’llthenneedtoscrewinthedrivefrombothsides.Manycasesfeatureremovableharddrivecages,whichmakethenextinstallation
jobeasy.However,harddrivesbecomehot,soideally,youshouldpositionthemnexttoafanwithsomespacebetweeneachonesothattheydon’tblocktheairflowcompletely.Ifpossible,mountthedriveswiththeconnectorsfacingtherightsidepanel,asthismakeshidingcablesmucheasier–thiswaspossibleinourR4casebyslidingtheharddriverubbergrommetsdownanotchandturningtheSSDaroundtheotherway.Ifyourcasehasrubbermountinggrommets,usethesewhenmountingharddrives,astheyabsorbvibrationsandminimisenoiselevels.Ifyouhavea2.5in
SSD,you’lleitherneedtoscrewitintoa2.5into3.5inbayadaptor(sometimesprovidedwithSSDs),orusethealternativescrewholesinthebottomofharddrivebays–ortheactual2.5inbays–thatsomecasesprovide.ThenhookupthepowerconnectorsandSATAcables.Routethesebehindthemotherboardtrayifpossible,andconnectthemtotheIntelSATA6Gbpsportsifpossible.However, theonlydrivesthatbenefitfromSATA6Gbpsarenewtop-endSSDs.
FIT THEDRIVES
03
02
01
Takealookatthebottomofyourmotherboard,andyou’llnoticethatit’scoveredindelicate
circuits,tracesandsolderpoints.Assuch,screwingitdirectlyintoametalcasewillresultinshortcircuits,potentiallyfryingyournewkit.Thesolutionistousestandoffs–littlescrewswithasecondscrewholeinthetop;theseareincludedwithyourcase,andsitbetweenthemotherboardandcase.
However,notallmotherboardshavethesamescrewlayout,soexamineyourboard’sscrewholes–eachonerequiresacorrespondingstandoff.Inourexample,we’reinstallingamicro-ATXmotherboardinanATXcase,andtheDefineR4includeslabelsformicro-ATXstandoffs.Thisalsoappliestocaseswithstandoffs
alreadyfitted,asoneinthewrongplacecouldstillshortoutacircuit.Youcaneasilyremovestandoffsusingyoursnub-nosepliers,andtightenupnewonesbyhand.You’llalsoneedtoslotyourboard’srearportpanelintoitsplaceinthebackofthecase.Makesureit’stherightwayaround,andgiveitafirmpushatthetopandthebottomtosecureitinplace.Finally,removeyourcase’sbackplateswhereyouplantoinstallexpansioncards,suchasyourgraphicscard.Youcannowputtheboardinplace,taking
carenottoscrapeitagainstthestandoffs,andscrewitin,alternatingdiagonallybetweenscrewsatthetopandbottom.Afterthat,pluginthe24-pinATXand12V
CPUconnectors,slotyourgraphicscardintothetopPCI-Eslotandthenhookupitspowerconnectorsjustasyoudidduringyourinitialtesting(seep95).
INSTALLTHEMOTHERBOARD
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Ifyou’reinstallinganaircoolerforyourCPU,youcansafelyskipthisstep.However,ifyou’reinstallinganall-in-oneliquidcooler,suchasourH100thennowisthetimetoinstalltheradiator–
doingthisbeforeyouinstallthemotherboardwillmakeitvirtuallyimpossibletohookupthe12VPSUconnector.Yourradiatorwilleitherhavetositinavacantfanmount,orreplaceanexistingfan,dependingonthedesignofyourradiatorandcase.Inourexample,we’regoingtoinstall it intheroofofourDefineR4
case,whichfirstnecessitatestheremovaloftwo140mmblankingplates.Oncetheseareremoved,youcanworkoutwheretoroutetheradiator’spowercables–ideally,theyshouldfacetherightsidepanel.Thenthreadthepowercablesthroughaholetothebackofthemotherboard.YoucantheneitherhookthecablesuptothePSU’s4-pinMolex
connectorsbehindthemotherboard,orthreadthembackthroughtothefanpowersocketsonthemotherboard.Ideally,thefansneedtobepushingairoutofthecase,sothebacksofthefansshouldbedirectedtowardsthetoporbackofthecase.
Withyourcablerouteingsorted,youcanthenscrewintheradiator.Thisisjustacaseofliningitupwiththeoriginalholesinyourfanmountandscrewingitin,asdescribedintheinstructionsthataccompanyit.OurR4casehasmountingholesforadual140mmradiatorasstandard,butalsohasholesforadual120mmradiator(liketheonewiththeH100)–justlocatetheseandscrewtheradiatorintoplace.
INSTALL THERADIATOR
Nearlythere!Youcannowhookupthebuttons,lightsandportsonthefrontofyourcase.Thesewillpluginto
specificheadersonyourmotherboard,andtheirwiresareusuallygroupedinabundle.Manymotherboardsfeatureanon-boarddiagramshowingwhichpinsgowithwhichconnectors,butconsultyourmotherboardmanualifyoursdoesn’t.You’llalsoneedtohookupyourUSBports
andaudiojackstotheboard’sappropriatepins.Theseareusuallyinblocks,butsometimestheyhaveseparatewiresforeachpin.Ifthisisthecase,checkyourmotherboardmanualtofindoutexactlywhichwiresconnecttowhichpins.Somenewcasesalsoincludeabigbluecableforhookinguptothemotherboard’sUSB3pinheaders.Whenthey’reallpluggedin,groupallthewiresneatlytogetherunderneaththeboard,tiethemtightlytogetherwithcabletiesandthreadanyexcesscablebackbehindthedrivebays.
CONNECTTHEFRONTPANEL Nowthateverythingisscrewedinplace,it’stimetostarttidying
upthosecablessothatthey’reoutoftheway.Bunchtogetheranycablesnexttoeachother,andtiethemtightlytogetherwithcableties.Manycasesalsofeaturehooksonthebackofthe
motherboardtray,whichareperfectfortyingpowercablestothecase,andpreventingthemfromstraying.Ideally,youwanttohideasmanycablesaspossiblebehindthemotherboardtray,
butthereisn’talotofspacebetweenthetrayandthesidepanel.Assuch,you’llneedtoensurethatyouaren’tstackinganyofthePSUcablesontopofeachother.Makeuseofany
availablenooksandcrannies,andrememberthatnooneisgoingtolookundertherightsidepanel.Itdoesn’tneedtolookneatandtidy,butyouneedtobeabletoreplacethesidepanelonthecase.Pullanycabletiestight,andthensnipofftheendswithyourwirecutters.
TIDY THECABLES
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YourPCisnowreadyforaction,buttherearestillafewfinalstagesbeforeyoucanhitthepower
switch.First,makesurethatallyourcase’scoolingfanshavepower,eitherviathe3-pinconnectorsonthemotherboardorthe4-pinMolexconnectorsfromyourpowersupply.Also,haveagoodlookoverthecasetoseeifyoucanspotanythingthathasn’tbeenconnected–theprimecandidatesareyourCPUcoolingfanandyourgraphicscard’spowerconnectors.
Beforeyoureplacethesidepanels,though,you’llneedtorepeatstep6tomakesurethateverythingisworking.Hookupakeyboardandmonitorandpushthepowerbutton.Makesurethatallthefansarespinning,includingthecasefans,CPUfanandgraphicscardfan.Listenfortheharddrive’stelltaleclicksandpresstheEjectbuttononyouropticaldrivetomakesureit’sworking.Ifyourmachinesuccessfully
survivesthePOSTprocessthenyou’rereadytoscrewonthesidepanels,andproceedwithsettinguptheEFIandinstallingWindows.
APPLY THEFINISHINGTOUCHES
Threadallthepowercablesbehindthemotherboard,andthenthreadthembackthroughtotheothersidetoaspotclosetotheircorrespondingplugonthemotherboard.
Ifpossible,installyourharddriveswiththepowerandSATAconnectorsfacingtheright-handsidepanelofthecasetomakeforeasycabletidying.
MakesureyourRAMisinstalledinthecorrectslotstoenabledual,tripleorquad-channelmode,sothatyouobtainasmuchbandwidthaspossible.Theinformationwillbeincludedinyourmotherboardmanual.
Thefront-panelandSATAdatacablescanbeneatlyroutedbehindthedrivebays,andthenthreadedbackthroughtotheirpointsonthemotherboard.
OurH100CPUblockcanbeinstalledinprettymuchanyconfiguration,but ifyou’reusinganaircooler,makesurethefanfacesthefrontofthecasesothatit’spushingairoutoftheback.
Makeuseofanyspareholesforthreadingthefront-panelconnectors.Inourcase,thefrontpanelaudioconnectorisnearthebackofourmotherboard,sowe’vethreadeditthroughanotherholejustabovethePSU.
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MostmotherboardsincludeafancyEFIsystem,ratherthantheoldtext-basedBIOSofyore,butyou’llstillneedtoconfigurethesamesettingswitheithersystematthisstage.Youcanaccess
theBIOSorEFIbypressingtheSetupkey(usuallyDel)whenyourmachinestarts,andyou’llthenbepresentedwithamenusystem.StartbyheadingtotheStandardCMOSFeaturesmenuto
checkthatallyourdriveshavebeendetected.Afterthat,gototheAdvancedfeaturessection,whereyoushouldfindanoptiontosetthefirstbootdevice–checkyourmotherboardmanualifyoucan’tfindthissetting–ourAsusMaximusVGenehadanentiremenusectioncalledBootwiththesesettings.SetthefirstbootdevicetoCDROM,andtheseconddevicetothe
driveonwhichyou’regoingtoinstallyouroperatingsystem–thiswilltellthesystemtobootfromyourWindowsdisc.IfyouhaveanSSDthenenableAHCImodeontheSATAchanneltowhichit’sconnected,asthiswillenableTRIMinWindowsandpreventperformancedegradation.Whileyou’rehere,it’salsoworthcheckingthePCHealthStatus
sectionjusttomakesurethatyourCPUisrunningatareasonable
temperature–below50°C–andthatyourmemoryisrunningatitscorrectspeedandlatencysettings.Whenyou’resatisfied,insertyourWindowsdiscandselectSaveSettings&Exit(F10isusuallytheshortcutkey).
Youcannowsitbackandeagerlywaitforthemagictostart.WhenyournewlybuiltPChasgonethroughitsPOSTphase,itwillpromptyoutopressanykeytobootfromtheopticaldrive–do
this,andyou’llbepresentedwiththeWindowsinstallscreen.Selectthecorrectlanguage,timesettingandkeyboardlayout,andclickNext.Inthenextscreen,chooseCustomandselectthedriveonwhichyouwanttoinstallWindows–theSSDifyouhaveone.Windowswillnowinstall–if itrestarts,don’tpressanykeytobootfromtheWindowsdisc,asthemotherboardcannowbootfromtheharddrive.
OnceWindowsisrunning,installyourmotherboardchipsetdriver,thestoragedriverifyouhaveoneandthenyourgraphicscarddriver.Althoughmostcomponentsincludeadriverdisc,alwayscheckthemanufacturer’swebsiteforthelatestdrivers.NowclicktheWindowsbutton,type‘DeviceManager’intothe
SearchboxandhitEnter.Findadriverforanythingsportinganexclamationmark,preferablyviathesearchonlinefeature.YounowjustneedtomakesurethatyourPCisstable,usingastresstestsuchasPrime95fortheCPUand3DMark11fortheGPU.IfyourPCsurvivesthesetestsforseveralhours,youcancongratulateyourselfonajobwelldone.
CONFIGURETHEBIOSOREFI
INSTALLWINDOWS7
01 02
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Antony Leather checks out some of the world’s finest mods displayedon the Galileo Stage at Campus Party Europe 2012
CeBIT,Computex,E3–thereareloadsoftechshowsthroughouttheyearthatbringallmanneroftechnological
areastogether.However,fewareaimedpurelyattheyoungergenerations,withaprimaryfocusoninspirationandknowledge.Anotable
exceptionisCampusParty,whichtakesplaceinalternatingcitiesacrosstheglobe.ThismonthitwasBerlin’sturntoplayhost
tothethousandsofCampusPartyattendees,manyofwhomcampedoutattheevent,whichwassimilartoagiantLANparty.Aswellas
talksfrominfluentialsuperstarssuchasauthorPauloCoelhoandSirTimBerners-Lee,scoresofPCmodderswereattheeventtoo,showingofftheirweirdandwonderfulworksofart.Onthesetwopagesaresomeofthefinestmoddingworkwesawondisplay.
FEELIN’ LUCKY, STEAMPUNK?Steampunkisalwaysapopular themeinmodding,butitwasthestaroftheshowatCampusParty,withseveralsteampunkPCsdrawinghugecrowds.Mostwerescratchbuilds,butbit-techforumuser,thechoozen(whoalsomademodssuchasCosmosDragon),turnedastandardCoolerMasterATCS840intooneofthebest-lookingsteampunkprojectsattheshow(seethethirdimage).Youcanseemoreoftheprojectathttp://tinyurl.com/cjqamwg
Campus Party, with several steampunk PCs
forum user, thechoozen
third image). You can see more of the project
BERLIN2012
Antony Leather checks out some of the world’s fi nest mods displayed
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OFF THE WALLForumuserthechoozenwasalsoresponsibleforthisfantasticWall-Escratchbuild.AswellaslookingtruetothelovablePixarcharacter,theprojecthousesamini-ITXsystemandcanevenmovearound,thankstoaremotecontrolsystemandelectricmotorspoweringthetracks.Seemoreathttp://tinyurl.com/wallemodWealsosawanamazingdeskPCfrombit-techforumuserPaslis.
Fullywater-cooled,thetopflipsopenonhydrauliclevers.Youcanseemoreofhisworkathttp://tinyurl.com/paslis
ALL WHITEAnotherfantasticprojectwasCT700(right)byforumuserPaladin.Itlookslikeascratchbuild,butunderneaththeilluminatedacrylicexteriorarethebonesofaCougar6XR9case.TheshellismadeupofseverallayersofacrylicsandwichedtogetherwithLEDs.Seethewholebuildlogathttp://tinyurl.com/ct700modYoumightrecogniseWhitebyforumuseralain-s(left)from
ourpagesbefore–it’soneofthemostspectacularSilverStoneTJ-07projectswe’veseen.Aswellasincredibleattentiontodetail,itsportsnickel-platedcopperpipingforthewater-coolingsystem’stubing.Seemoreathttp://tinyurl.com/cq992ey
ON THE FLYWearen’tsurewhomadethissix-leggedPC(below),butitwascertainlyoneofthemostinterestingprojectsattheshow.Yetagain,thismachinefeaturesamini-ITXmotherboard,withbrushedaluminiumsheetsmakingupthedistinctiveshapeofahousefly.Wealsocameacrossbit-techforumuserp0Pe’slatestcreation,
M8(above),whichhousesitshardwareinsideahugeCaseLabsM8workstationcase.Aswellasbeingpackedwithwater-coolinghardware,p0Pehasenviableaccesstoa3Dprinter,whichheusedtocreatemanyofthecustompartsinside,aswellasascalemodelofaGermanMaustankfromWorldofTanks.Thatisn’tmilkinthetubingeither–it’sactuallywhitepastelcoolantfromUKcoolingmanufacturerMayhems.Headtohttp://tinyurl.com/project-m8toseemore.
making up the distinctive shape of a housefly. forum user p0Pe’s latest creation,
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I thought,whydon'tIseeif Icanfindasponsortowater-coolit?Water-coolingthisprojectwaspurelyfortheeyecandy.
CPC:Wheredidthenamecomefrom?Shane:IsawthePhinixNanoTowerbyMikeKrysztofiakonbit-techearlylastyear,and
thoughtits'honeycomb'designlookedreallycool,soIthoughtI'dgiveitashotandusethehoneycombideaforthewindows.Ialsowantedtofeaturesomeilluminatedhexagonsonpartofthecase,butwasneverabletodoit.
CPC:Whatspecsdidyouchoose,andwhy?Shane:TheGigabyteGA-X58A-OCmotherboardwaschosenpurelyforitsawesomeblackandorangecolourscheme.Icouldn'tfindanyothermotherboardatthetimesportingthosetwocolours.IthenchosetheCorei7-950becauseitwasthebestIcouldaffordwithmybudget.WindowsHomeServercanonlyuseamaximumof4GBofRAM,soIpickeda2x2GBkitofCorsairDominatorRAM,aswellasanEK-DominatorRAMblock.IalsochosetouseanEVGAGTX460SE
GPU,asithasmorethanenoughpowerif Iwanttowatchvideosontheserver,andit
104 November 2012
CPC:WhatinspiredyoutobuildHoneycomb,andwhydidyouwater-coolit?Shane:I'dwantedtobuildafast
WindowsHomeServerformymediaathomeforalongtime,andItriedveryhardtofindasponsortoprovidethecasebutdidn'thaveanyluck.IknewIwantedittobehousedinadouble-widthcasethatcouldholdalotofharddrives,muchliketheDangerDenorMountainModscases.IwonderedwhatwouldhappenifIusedtheaspectsIlikedabouteachofthosemanufacturers'casesandmademyown,anddecideditwouldbefuntofindout.Ialsowantedtolearn.I'veseenlotsof
peoplemakescratchbuilds,buttheyoftenhaveaccesstolotsofmaterialsandworkshopswiththelatestmachinery.Iwantedtodothesame,butmyresourceswerelimitedtotabletoptools.WhileI'matit,
Your chance to get involved in CPC and bit-tech
NameShaneFugaAge25OccupationNetworkadministratorLocationPittsburgh,USAMainusesforPCWindowsHomeServerLikesModding,movies,rockmusicandanytechIcangetmyhandsonDislikesApplecomputers
Usinghand-cut
aluminiumand laser-
cut acrylic, ShaneFugu
created this distinctive
honeycomb-inspired
PC, completewith two
water-cooling loops
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[email protected],findingagoodRAIDcard
thatwouldn'tbreakthebankwashard,butIfoundabrand-newIntelSRCSAS18ERAIDcontrollerforagoodpriceoneBay.Ithenoptedforsix2TBWesternDigital2TBGreendrives.Theyonlyspinat5,400rpm,butyou
reallydon'tnoticethedifference.Luckily, IboughtallofthembeforethefloodinThailandin2011,whichmadethepricesskyrocket. Ihavespacefortenmoreinside,soIdon'tthinkI'llneedtoupgradethecaseanytimesoon.
CPC:Whichmaterialsdidyouuse?Shane:Ireallywantedtousesteelforthisproject,butitcosttoomuchtohaveitshippedandIdidn'thavethepropertoolstoworkonit.Instead,Iusedaluminiumsquaretubingfortheframeand1/4inacrylicforthepanels.TheacrylicpanelsweretheonlypiecesI
couldhavecuttosizeinadvance,althoughIhadtocutallofthedesignsandholesintothemmyself. It'sprettyeasytoworkwithcastacrylicand,sinceIhadthesheetslaser-cut,theyhadevenedgessoIcoulduseaT-squareandmapoutmydesignontothem.Itwasalsoveryeasytoworkwiththealuminiumtubing,
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anditdidn'trequiremuchefforttocutit. Itwasalsocheap,soIwasabletomakemistakeswithoutworryingaboutthecost.
CPC:WhatdifficultiesdidyoucomeacrosswhenbuildingHoneycomb?Shane:Thehardestjobwasfiguringouthow
SYSTEM SPECSCPU Intel Core i7-950
GPU EVGAGeForce GTX 460 SE
Storage 1 x 320GBWestern Digital Black hard drive; 6 x2TBWestern Digital Green hard drives
Memory 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1,600MHz Corsair DominatorDDR3
MotherboardGigabyte GA-X58A-OC
PSU 1,000WOCZ
Cooling EK-Supremacy CPU block, Bitspower GTX 460block, EK-RAMDominator block, 2 x EK-Multioption 250reservoirs, 2 x EK-DCP 4.0 pump, 2 x EK-CoolStreamXTC(420), 8 x 140mmXigmatek orange LED fans, 1 x 120mmXigmatek orange LED fan
SEEMORE
ofShane'sblackandorangeHoneycombPCinthefullprojectlogathttp://tinyurl.com/ProjectHoneycomb
ENTERYOUROWNPCATHTTP://FORUMS.BIT-TECH.NET
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tobuildtheframeandensureitwassturdy.Lotsofpeoplewhohaveconstructedscratchbuildsfromsteeloraluminiumweldedtheframestogether,butIdidn'thaveaccesstoaweldersoIhadtofigureoutanotherplan.ImademyownLBrackets,andusedself-tappingscrewstokeepallthebarstogether.IalsousedsomeJBWeldonthejointstomaketheframestronger.Anotherissuewasmakingthedoorsstay
onthecase.Drillingaholeandputtingascrewinit iseasy,butwhatifyouwanttoremoveandreplacethepanelslotsoftimeswithoutstrippingthehole?Ifoundsomepoprivetswithsteelthreadsinthemandtheyworkedgreat.Youjustdrillahole,andthenusethespecial'pop-rivet'tooltoaddthesteelthreads.Ialsodidn'thaveaccesstoamachineshop,
soIhadtofigureouthowtomakemyown.Iwentonlineandboughtasmall,tabletopdrillpress(whichendedupbeingmoreofahindrancethanahelp),and120mmand140mmcirclecutterstocutallthefanholes.However,thesedidn'tworkwellwiththedrillpress,soIboughtahandheldjigsawandcutthemallbyhandinstead.Thejigsawisthemodder'sbestfriend.As
longasyouusetherightbladeforthematerialyou’recutting, it'sapieceofcake.I'veuseditto
cutintoseveraldifferentcasesandpiecesofacrylicthatvariedinthickness.Ialsopurchaseda10inmitresaw,which
provedtobeveryuseful. Iusedittocutthealuminiumtubing,andIwassurprisedbyitsprecision.Icutthefirstfewpiecesalittleshort,buttherestcameoutperfectlyonceI'dworkedouthowmuchtocutit.ThisalsoprovedusefulwhenmakingtheLBrackets,whichIcutfromasinglepieceofangledaluminium.Anotherveryusefultoolwasmy14.4Vbattery-powereddrill,whichwasmorethanpowerfulenoughformyneeds.
CPC:Whatdidyoulearnfromthebuildprocess?Shane:Iaskedthemoddingcommunitymanyquestions,andlearnedalotonmyowntoo.Forexample,layingoutthedualwater-coolingloopsetupwashard–IhadtomakesureIdrilledholesinthecentreplateinthe
BEAWINNER!ToenteryourmachineforpossibleinclusioninReaders’Drives,yourmodneedstobefullyworkingand,ideally,finishedbasedintheUK.Simplylogontowww.bit-tech.netandheadovertotheforums.Onceyou’rethere,postawrite-upofyourmod,alongwithsomepics,intheProjectLogsforum.Makesureyoureadtherelevantrulesandadvicestickythreadsbeforeyoupost.Thebestentranteachmonthwillbefeaturedhere,wherewe’llprintyourphotosofyourprojectandalsointerviewyouaboutthebuildprocess.Fameisn’ttheonlyprize; you’llalso getyourhandsonafabulousselectionofprizes–seetheoppositepagefordetails.
rightspots,becausethere'snogoingbackafteryou'vecutordrilled.Measurearoundfivetimesandcutonce.AsImadealotofpartsofthisprojectbyhand,mymeasurementshadtobeexactlyright.Luckily, Iboughtenoughmaterialfortheframetomakemistakes,butthatwasonlybecausethealuminiumwascheap.Imadeahugemistakeonthebackpanelandcostmyselfalmost20hoursofworkbybreakingthepanelinhalf.
CPC:Areyouhappywiththeendresult?Shane:Iam,butwithhindsight, Iwouldchangeseveralparts.First, Iwoulduseasingleloopandremovetheharddriveblocks.It’snicetohavetwoloops,butonewouldsufficeandthere'ssomuchairflowthattheharddrivesdon'tbecomeveryhotanyway.Iwouldalsohavetheframelaser-cutfromsteel,ratherthancuttingaluminiumbyhand.Iwasoffbyafewmillimetresinplaces,andyoucantellbythesmallgapsinthepanels.IalsothoughtI'dplannedwellenoughfor
thecablemanagementbutIwaswrong.Youcanseeallthewiresthatgotothecustomtemperaturemonitor(12sensors),andthatjustlooksmessy.Finally, Iwouldmaketheentirecaseslightlylonger.Thisway,Iwouldn'thaveputthereservoirsinfrontofanyofthemotherboardhardware,andIcouldhavealittlemorespacetoforapush/pullradiatorconfigurationtoincreasetheircoolingcapacity.BymakingthesefewchangesIwouldhaveamuchbetterendproduct.
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ThePhobyamoddingkitisdesignedwiththemodderinmind,offeringgreatvalueformoneyandqualityproducts.ThekitincludesNano-G12SilentWaterproof1,500rpmmulti-optionfans,whichuseaninnovativefan-bladedesign.Asstandard,thefansincludebraidedblackcablestokeepyourcaselookingasneataspossible.Thefansarealsosuppliedwithaspecialcablethatletsyourunthefanat5Vratherthan12V,reducingthenoiseemittedinordertohelpyoutobuildasilentsystem.Thekitalsoincludesthe
60cmPhobya3-pinMolexto4x3-pinMolexY-cable.This
pre-braidedextensioncablegivesyouextrarouteingoptionsinyourcase,anditalsoenables
youtorunuptofourfansfromonecompatiblemotherboardheader.Meanwhile,the
PhobyaSATA3cablesincludedinthekitofferthesamegreatqualitybraidingastherestofthePhobyarange,whilealso
securingyourconnectionwithlatchedconnectors.Aswellasthis,thekitincludesthePhobyaSlimGuideController,whichgivesyoutheoptiontovarythespeedofotherfansinyourcase,whilethePhobyaTwinLEDsletyou
shinealightonyourmods.
We’ve teamed up with some of the world’s leading PC component manufacturers and retailers tooffer this great range of prizes to each lucky Readers’ Drives winner. If your creation is featured in themagazine then you’ll walk away all three of the prizes listed on this page, so get in your entries!
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES 300R CASEAND 550W TX MODULAR POWER SUPPLYTotalvalue£142incVATManufacturerwww.corsair.com
CorsairbelievesthatagreatPCstartswithagreatcase.TheCorsairCarbideSeries300Risacompactexpressionofthiscorephilosophy.Itpacksinaremarkablenumberoffeaturesgivenitscompactdimensions,providesbuilderswithtonnesofroomforexpansion,andhasamazingcoolingpotential.And,likeallCorsaircases,it’sbuiltusingthefinestmaterialsandfinishedtothehigheststandards,soitwillwithstandseveralyearsofupgrades.Justasaqualitycaseis
essentialtobuildingaqualityPC,ahigh-performance,high-qualitypowersupplyisalsoavitalingredient.Basedontheaward-winningTXV2Series,thenewEnthusiastSeriesModularPSUsaddamodularcablingsystemforimprovedinstallation
PHOBYA MODDING KITValue£50incVATManufacturerwww.phobya.com,www.aqua-tuning.co.uk
flexibility.TXModularpowersuppliesarebuiltusingqualitycomponents,andarerigorouslytestedandqualifiedat100percentloadatanambienttemperatureof50°Cforunmatchedreliability.They’redesignedtoasuperiorstandard,sothattheynotonlymeettheATXspecification,butalsoexceedit. Inadditiontounmatchedquality,TXModularPSUsarealsopower-efficient,offering85percentenergyefficiencyorhigherat50percentload.WithaCorsairCarbideSeries300Rcaseand
550WTXModularpowersupplyattheheartofyourbuild,you’llhavethefoundationsforatrulyawesomegamingmachine.
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INSTALL THE ARDUINO IDEBeforegettingstartedonthehardware,we’llneedtoinstalltheArduinointegrateddevelopmentenvironment(IDE.)Thisenablesprograms–knownassketches–tobecompiledanduploadedtothechip.Downloadthelatestversionfromwww.arduino.ccandfollowtheinstallationinstructionsonthesite.
INSERT THE RGB LEDTakingthebreadboard–orstripboard, ifyou’rebuildingsomethingmorepermanent–inserttheRGBLEDbysplayingthelegsandpushingdowngentlybutfirmly.Makesurethatthelongestleg–thecommonanode–isthethirdlegdownasyoulookatit fromthebottomoftheboard.
CALCULATE THE RESISTORSREQUIREDIfyou’reusingtherecommendedRGBLEDsfromopen-sourcehardwarespecialistwww.oomlout.co.uk,youcanskipthisstep,asthecorrectresistorsareprovided.Ifnot,usetheformulaR=(Vs×Vf)/I,wheretheresistance,R, iscalculatedbymultiplyingthesourcevoltage–5V–bytheLED’sforwardvoltagedropanddividingthetotalbytheLED’sratedcurrentinamps.FormostRGBLEDs,thisworksoutat270Ohms.
INSERT THE CURRENT-LIMITINGRESISTORSTopreventtheLEDfromburningout, itneedsthreecurrent-limitingresistorsofaround270Ohms–orthevaluefromStep3.Theseshouldbeinsertedintothebreadboardonlegs1,2and4oftheLED–theblue,greenandredcathodes–sothattheybridgethebreadboard’smiddlegap.
Arduinoorcompatiblemicrocontroller
USBcable
Common-anodeRGBLED
3xCurrent-limiting resistors(270Ohm)
TMP36temperaturesensor
Jumperwires
Breadboardor stripboardAllfromwww.oomlout.co.uk
make an lEDtemperaturesensor
rduinomicrocontrollerssuchastheArduinoLeonardo(seeIssue109,p44)offerplentyofpossibilitiesforPCmodders,
providingpowerfulcontrolandsensingcapabilitiesinacompactandaffordablepackage.Usingtheeasy-to-learnWiringlibrary, it’spossibletoquicklycreatesomeimpressivedevicestoexpandyournextmod.Inthisguide,we’llshowyouhowto
combineanArduinowithanRGBLEDandacheaptemperaturesensortocreatealow-cost,temperature-sensitivelightingsystemforyourPC.Withcustomisabletriggerlevels,andat-a-glancetemperaturemonitoring,it’saverycheapadditionforacustombuild.
GarethHalfacree showsyou to how to get yourmoddinghands dirtywithanArduino-basedPC temperature-sensitive light system
temperature
A
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INSERT THE TEMPERATURE SENSORThe3-pinTMP36temperaturesensorneedstobeaddedtothebreadboardnow,awayfromtheLED.Asbefore,splaythelegsandinsertthemgentlybutfirmlysothattheflatsideofthesensorispointingtotheleftsideofthebreadboardasyoulookatitfrombelow.
CUSTOMISE THE SKETCHAttheverytopofthesketcharesomevariablesandconstants.Thefirstsetofvariablescanbeadjustedtoyourrequirements.UpperTempandlowerTempcontrolthemaximumandminimumtemperatures(redandblue,respectively),whilechangeTimeadjustshowlongthesystemwaitstoadjustthelightcolour.
WIRE THE SENSORMakesurethesensoristherightwayaround,andconnectitsmiddlepintoAnalogPin0, itstoppinto5VandthebottompintoGround,thenconnecttheLED’scommonanodetoitsown5Vconnection,allusingjumperwires.Ifyou’reusingabreadboardwithpowerrails,connectboththesensorandLEDtothered(positive)rail, thenconnecttherailtothe5VpinontheArduino.
WIRE THE LEDTakethreejumperwiresandconnecttheresistorstotheArduino’sDigitalPins3,5and6.Makesuretheresistors,andnottheLEDitself, isconnectedtothesepins–ifyoubypasstheresistors,theLEDwillburnoutinashorttime.
SETUPEveryArduinosketchhasasetupsection,whichrunsonlyoncewhentheArduinoisinitialised.Inthissketch,thissectionsetseachoftheLED’spins–3,5and6–asoutputs,whileinstructingtheArduinotousethetemperaturesensor’spin–0–asaninput.
THE SKETCHThesketchrequiredtorunthetemperature-sensitivelightingsystemcanbedownloadedfromhttp://tinyurl.com/CPCSketch.OpentheArduinoIDE,thenpastethesketchintothewindowthatappears. Ifyouwant,youcanclickonthetickicontotestthesketchatthispoint,butdon’texpecttheLEDtolightup.
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TWEAK THE SETCOLOUR FUNCTIONThesetColourfunction,asitsnamesuggests,givestheArduinotheknow-howitneedstocontrolthecolouroftheLEDbyadjustingthevoltagegiventoeachofitscathodes.Asacommonanodedevice,someofthebehaviourseemsalittlebackwards–themorevoltageoneachpin,thelessbrightthecolour.
TWEAK THE LOOP FUNCTIONTheloopportionofanArduinosketchrunscontinuouslyaslongasthedevicehaspower.Inthissketch, it’sresponsibleforworkingoutthecurrenttemperature,comparingittotheupperandlowerlimitssetatthestart,andthenmappingittovoltagesthatcanbeappliedtotheredandbluepinsoftheLEDtocontrolthecolour.
EXPANDING THE PROJECTWhilethisisastart,oneLEDisn’taflashylightsystem.Witheasyexpandability intolargerandbrighterlightingrigs,thisisagreatwaytogetstartedwiththeArduinosystemthough.MultipleLEDscouldberunfromthesystem,eitherasindividualunits
orRGBLEDlightingstrips(http://tinyurl.com/LightingStrips)–tomakethelightsbrighter,butyou’llneedtotapintothePC’s12Vpowersupplyandusetransistorstoswitchthevoltageasperhttp://tinyurl.com/12VTutorial
TWEAK THE GETVOLTAGE FUNCTIONThegetVoltagefunctionreadsthevoltageonthemiddlepinofthetemperaturesensor,adjustingitasrequiredtoobtainanaccuratevalue.ThisvoltageisconvertedtoatemperatureinCelsiusinthemainpartofthesketch,providingthecueforthecolour-changeoperation.
UPLOAD THE SKETCHWiththesketchenteredandunderstood,connecttheArduinotoaUSBportandpresstheuploadbuttonlocatedtotherightofthetickbutton.ThiscompilesthesketchanduploadsittotheArduino;atthispoint, itwillstarttorun.TryholdingthetemperaturesensorbetweenyourfingerstoseetheLED’scolourchange.
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dLAN®500 –triple your network
options
The Network Innovation
3Gigabit LANports
NEW!
Any power socket canbecome a network point
dLAN® 500 AVtriple+
• Powerline adapter for connecting up to 3 network-compatible devices• Home network via the power linewith transmission rates of up to 500Mbps• Connects computers and consumer electronics to each other and to the Internet• Simple and secure; canwork in any roomor building• Direct connection of up to 3 devices with the integrated Gigabit switch• The integrated socket ensures that no power socket goes towaste
dLAN® 500 AVtriple+
www.devolo.co.ukMore information:
Tel.: +44 (0)1865 244141, Email: [email protected]
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INSPECT YOUR CASEBeforeyouhitthelocalDIYstore,makesureyourcaseiseasytodismantle,andworkouthowyou’lldothis.Somecaseshaveanoverlycomplicatedlayoutthatcanmakedismantlingthemtricky.Afterthat,considercolours.Yourcasehasvarioussectionsandareasfordetailssuchasexpansionslotcoversanddrivebays.Thesecanallbepainteddifferentcolours,sospendsometimeplanningyourworkforthebestresult.
REMOVE FITTINGSStartbyremovingallthelooseitemsfromyourcase.Thiswill includetool-lessdrivebays,fittingsforsecuringcomponentsandrubbergrommets.It’salsoworthtakingaphotoofyourcaseatthisstage, andeachtimeyouremoveafewpieces,sothatyouknowhowitall fitsbacktogether.
LOOSEN THE FASCIASMostcaseshaveaplasticfasciaonthefrontpanel,andsometimestheroof,whichhavetobedetached.Mostfasciasareheldonwithplasticflangesthatclipintothemetalframe.Ifyousqueezetheseandpullthefascia,itshouldpopoff.Therewillbemanyflanges,butresisttheurgetoripoffthepanel,astheplasticcanbebrittle.
REMOVE THE FRONT FASCIAThefrontfasciashouldpopoffeasilyonceyou’vesqueezedalltheflanges–they’redesignedtopopoff,soyoucanaccessthefrontareaforcleaningandremovingdrivebaycovers. If itdoesn’tbudge,checktherearen’tanyscrewsholdingit inplace,orcablesfromthefrontpanelorfancontrollersintheway.
Wetanddrysandpaper–1,000- to 1,600-gritFrommosthardwarestores
Dust sheet, spongeandmicrofibre towelFrommosthardwarestores
Primer, colourand lacqueracrylic spraypaintFrommosthardwarestores
Poprivetgunandrivetswww.chilledpc.co.uk
Drill,Dremelorother rotarytoolFrommosthardwarestores
De-rivet andpaint Yourcase’s insides
astmonthwelookedatpaintingyourcase’sexterior(seeIssue109,p108),butmakingyourPClookasgoodontheinsideissignificantly
moreinvolved;youcan’t juststripitbacktotheframeandspray.Thepaintwillprobablyruninthecorners,andaccessingeverynookandcrannyispracticallyimpossible,asispaintingdifferentsectionsindifferentcolours.Thisguideshowsyouhowtodrilloutyour
case’srivets,enablingyoutoseparatethevarioussections,andthen spraythem.Theendresultwill lookspectacular,andyoucanmixandmatchcolourstoo.
Following on from lastmonth’s painting guide, AntonyLeather showsyouhow to de-rivet andpaint your case’s interior
s insidesL
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REMOVE THE TOP FASCIAInourcase,thetopfasciaincludedthebunchofcablesfromthefrontpanel.Thesemaywellbecable-tiedtothecaseortoeachother,meaningthatyou’llhavetodetachthemfirst.Theremayalsobefancontrolmodulesattachedtothecase–anythingthat’sscrewedtotheframemustberemoved.
REMOVE SCREWS AND FEETOurCoolerMasterCM690IIAdvancedhidfurtherscrewsandfittingsunderthecasefeetandrubbersound-absorbingpads.Besurethatyoucheckoveryourcaseforconcealedareassuchasthis,especially ifyoucan’tfindawaytoremovethecasefeetorPSUcage.
REMOVE RUBBER GROMMETSMostmoderncasessportrubbergrommets,eitheronthemotherboardtrayorattherearofthecase,foreasyandstealthycablerouteing.Thesemustalsoberemoved,alongwithyourcase’srearexpansionslotcovers.Evenifyouplantopaintthemthesamecolourasyourcase, it’sbesttoremovethem–youcanmakesuretheyreceiveacompletecoatofpaint ifyouspraythemseparately.
REMOVE THE FANSWiththefasciasremoved,you’ll finditeasiertoreachthefans.Youneedtoremoveallofthem–don’tbetemptedtosprayaroundthem.Youcanspraythemseparatelyifyouwanttopaintthemtoo.Whileyou’rehere,alsoremoveanyfangrillesorshrouds.
DRILL RIVETSYoucannowlocateanddrillouttherivetsthatholdyourcasetogether.Usingadrillbitslightlylargerthantherivets’ innerring,pressfirmlyonthedrill toeatintotherivetuntil itpopsthroughtotheotherside.Youshouldbeleftwithtwopieces–oneoneachsideofthecase.If therivet isstill inplaceafterdrilling,tryaslightlylargerdrillbit. Ifyougetstuckhalfway,youcouldbedrillingintothecase,sotryasmallerdrillbit.
REMOVE FAN FILTERSFanfilterscanlurkindarkcornersandbetweenpanels.Removethesetoo,butstorethemcarefully,asthey’requitefragileandeasilypunctured.Rubbergenerallydoesn’tacceptpaintverywell–anotherreasontoremovegrommetsfromyourcase.However,manyfiltersaremadefromplasticormetal,andthesecanbesprayedwithalightcoatifyou’recarefulnottoplugtheholes.
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USE PLIERSWefoundthatnumerousrivetsactuallystartedtorotateaswedrilledintothem,cancellingoutoureffortsandsimplyspinninginplace.If thishappens,useplierstogriptheotherendoftherivetsothatthedrillcanbiteintoit.Alternatively,usingthesamedrillbit inaDremelmayalsowork,asthere’slesstorque.
APPLY PRIMERYoucannowapplythefirstcoat–primer.Ifyoucan,hangthecomponentsfromasuitableplacewhileyouspraythem.Thisenablesyoutospraybothsidesatthesametime,whichwillbequicker; italsomeansthatyou’relesslikelytoendupwithlinesattheedgeswherethepaintfrombothsidesmeets.Usesweepingstrokesovereachsectiontopreventthepaintfromrunning,andapplyjustoneortwopasses.
DISASSEMBLE YOUR CASE PARTSYou’llprobablybesurprisedbyjusthowmanyseparatepiecesarecontainedinyouraveragecase.Onceyou’veremovedalltherivets,youshouldbeabletodismantlethecaserightdowntoitsbarecomponents. Ifyoufeelunsureaboutrememberingwhatgoeswhere,youcanalwayslabeltheparts–justremembertoremovethelabelwhenyoupainteachcomponent,andthenreplaceitafterwards.
USE A DRILL OR DREMELIfsomerivetsaren’taccessiblewithadrill,useaDremelwitheitheradrillbitoraflexibleattachmenttoreachintotightspots.Alternatively,ametalfilecanweardownoneedgeoftherivet,enablingyoutoeventuallypull itout.Cuttingoffthedistortedendalsoworks,asdoesusingahammerandflat-headscrewdrivertochisel itout;however, it’seasytoscratchthesurroundingmetalsobecareful.
ALLOW TO DRY AND SANDAllowtheprimertodryforaroundtenminutes,sanditlightlytoobtainasilky-smoothfinishandthenwashthesectiontoremovethedust.Repeatthisstepforfourorfivecoatsofprimer,untilyoucannolongerseethecolourunderneath,andallowittodrythoroughlybeforeproceedingwiththenextstep.
SAND THE PARTSAswithpaintingtheoutsideofyourcase,you’llachievethebestfinishifyousandthecomponentsfirst.Thiscanbequitelaborious,asthepartsaresmallerandmoreangularthansidepanels.Todothis,use1,000-and1,600-gritwetanddrysandpaper.Washthepartsthoroughlywhenthey’resmooth,thenallowthemtodry.
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SMALLER COMPONENTSTospraysmallercomponents,acardboardcrateorboxmakesanidealminispraybooth,althoughyou’llhavetosprayonesideatatime.It’sevenmoreimportantnottoapplytoomuchpaintatoncehere–doingsowillmakethepaintrunandfillanyholesfordetailssuchastextorlogos.
USE THE CORRECT RIVETSRivetsareavailableinmanysizes,buttheyneedtobethesamesizeastheholesintowhichthey’llbeinserted.If they’retoosmall, theywon’tholdthepanelstogether,leadingtoinstability–weused3mmrivets.Youmayalsoneedcountersunk-headrivetsinsteadoftheusualdome-headtype–thesesitflushinarecessedhole.
APPLY LACQUER AND ALLOW TO DRYThenextday,applythelacquer.Don’tsandthislayer; instead,applyit liberallysothatit flowstogether,butonlyapplyoneortwopassesbetweendryingphases.Lacquercantakeatleastadaytohardenproperly,soleaveittodryforaslongaspossible.Puttingyourcasebacktogetherwill invariablyresult intheoddknockorscrape,andthiswillgougerightthroughunhardenedlacquer.
APPLY COLOUR COATYoucannowapplythecolourcoat–fourorfivecoatsshoulddoit. If thefinishisn’tquitewhatyouexpected,trysandingeachcoat,aswiththeprimer.Thiscanalsosolveissuessuchasinsectsordustbecomingtrappedinthepaint.Onceyou’rehappywiththefinalcoat, leaveittodryovernight.
GET THE RIGHT RIVET HEADSArivetgunwillbecompatiblewithmostrivetsizes,butyoumayneedtousedifferentheadsdependingonthesizeofrivets.Useaheadthroughwhichthetailoftherivetcanpasswithroomtospare–itshouldn’tbeatightfit.Attachthisheadtotherivetgun.
ARRANGE YOUR COMPONENTSArrangeyourcomponentsinroughlythesameorderyoudismantledthem–thiswillhelpyoutoputeverythingbacktogetherintherightorder.Thisisparticularlyimportantbeforeriveting–ifyouinstallanypartsinthewrongorder,you’llhavetodrill therivetsagain,whichwillriskdamagingyourpaintwork.
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PREPARE YOUR RIVET GUNInsertthetailoftherivet intotherivetgun.Whenyousqueezethetwohandlestogether,thetailwillbegrippedandpulledbyplatesinsidethegun,distortingtheheadandeventuallypullingoffthetail, leavinganeatrivet inplace.Practiseonasmallnutorsparepieceofmetalfirstsothatyougetthehangofit.You’lloftenneedtosqueezetheguntwicefortherivettobeformedandthetailtosnapoff.
START RIVETINGPushfirmlyagainstthecaseandmakesuretherivethaspassedthroughboththesectionstobelockedtogether.Squeezethegunhard–itmayneedafairamountofforce.Therivetheadshoulddeformandbecomeanobbledshapeonthefarside.Squeezingthegunforasecondtimewillcausethetailtosnapoff. If itdoesn’t, trysqueezingthenfullyreleasingthehandles,orremovingitwithpliers.
ASSEMBLE AND INSTALL DRIVE CAGESLeavingthedrivecagesuntil last, ifpossible,willmakeyourlifemucheasier.Makesureyouassemblethemintherightorder,andsothatyourharddiskswillbefacingtherightway–it’sveryeasytogetthesethewrongwayaround.Also,someareasofyourcase,suchasthedrivecages,maywelluseslightlysmallerrivets,sodon’tworryiftheonesyou’veusedontherestofthecasedon’tfit.
START ASSEMBLING THE CASEAssemblethecase’sbaseandrearpanel.Theyshouldslottogetherwiththerivetholesliningup.It’sbesttodoamock-upassemblyfirst–somerivetsmayneedtogothroughthreelayers,meaningthatthreecomponentswillneedtobelinedup,whichisn’teasytoforeseeifyougoheadfirst intoriveting.
INSTALL THE FITTINGSIfyou’veremovedanytool-freefittings,replacethesebeforeyouassemblethedrivecagesandtherestofthecase.Don’tbetemptedtoinstallthedrivecagescompletelyoutsideofthecase–youmaynotbeabletofit thembackin.
YOU’RE DONECheckthecaseonefinaltimetomakesurethatyouhaven’tmissedanyrivetholes,thenassembletherestofthefittings,suchasexpansionslotcoversandrubbergrommets.Yourcaseisnowreadyforitsfasciastobefitted.
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for thewin!
I fyoulikeyourPCtolooksmartandstylishthenyoumayhavetakenafancytoFractalDesign’sDefineR4(seeIssue109,p42),andwedon’tblameyou–it’salovely-lookingcase.Italsoboastssuperbbuildquality,withasolidcombinationofsteelandplastic,andalustworthybrushed-aluminiumfrontfascia.It’squiettoo,withthefoam-linedside
panelshelpingtodeadenfannoise,anditcan
accommodateboth120mmand140mmfans,soyoucanpushplentyofairthroughthecasewithouthavingtorunyourfansatsillyspeeds.Thecaseincludesanintegratedthree-speed(5V,7Vand12V)fancontrollerhiddenbehindthefront,andthere’sapairofUSB3portsonthetop-mountedfrontpanelaswell.Meanwhile,there’splentyofroomfor
decenthardwareinside, includingclearance
foraCPUcoolerwithaheightofupto170mm,androomforeight3.5indrivesinthestandardcages;there’salsoafurtherpairof2.5inmountsbehindthemotherboardforSSDs.FormoreinformationabouttheDefineR4,visitwww.fractal-design.comTobeinwithachanceofwinningoneof
thesefantastic,stylishcases,answerthequestionbelow.
WIN!AFractalDesignDefineR4case 2
UP FORGRABS
WORTH £90EACH
Q Emailyouranswer [email protected]
with ‘FractalDesignCompetition 110’ in theSubject line.Closing date: 12October, 2012
WhatdoesATXstandfor?a)AcceleratedThreadedXeonb)AdvancedTechnologyeXtendedc)ArmouredTankXylophone
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122 November 2012
TOUCH-SCREEN MEDIA PCsGiventhatWindows8haspropertouch-screenfunctionalitybuilt in,whatarethechancesofseeinga
Labstestofsomemediacases inthemag?Surely thesemustnowbeamoreattractivepropositionthan inthepast. Iseeyoursisterwebsite (bit-tech)hasfeaturedtheOrigenX15ecase inoneof theblogsrecently. ItlooksgoodandI’d lovetoseeafull reviewinthemagazine.AndrewLevick
Benreplies:WeactuallyreviewedtheOrigenX15eaverylongtimeago–backin2006if Irecallcorrectly. ItwasoriginallycalledtheDigNX15e,but it’sexactlythesamecase. Itstouch-screenisn’tmulti-toucheither,soitdoesn’tworkwellwithWindows8–infact, itdoesn’tsupportanyofthetouchgesturesatall (I’vetriedit).Iboughtonewhenitwasreleased,and
itmakesforareallygoodself-containedmediaPC–forexample, it’sperfectasalosslessaudiojukeboxinmyhi-firack,andIalsouseit torecordTVtoo.However, italsohasitsfrustrations–
it’satotalnightmaretobuild inside, forexample.TheWindows8touchfeaturesarereallymuchmoregearedtowardstabletsthanmediaPCs,butwe’redefinitelystillkeepinganeyeonthemediacentrePCbusiness,andwillbeincludingafull featureonitnextmonth(seep127).
SOLID STATE OF DISKI’mcurrently looking intoupgradingmyPCfor thefirst timein years. I’veupgradedtheoddpartastimehasgoneby,butnowSSDsarebecomingcheaper–andsincemybrotherwon’tstopbraggingabouthisspeedinguphiscomputer– I’mconsidering
myoptions. Iwouldneedat least512GBthough. Iusefour1TBharddrives fordataaswell,butwillanSSDmakemuchofadifference?Alsowould itbepossible to justcopywhat’sonmyharddrivetotheSSDoramI lookingataclean install?NicholasLambourne
LettersSend us your feedback and correspondence [email protected], with ‘Letter’ in the Subject line
JAMES IS FALLING APART ATTHE SEAMSOneforPedants’Paradise:I’mveryimpressedthatJamesGorboldonp130hasmasteredusinghisPCasasewingmachine:tweakingand‘overlocking’PCssincetheearly80s.Hashetriedoverclockingthemtoo?AaronMartin
PRICEY STICKEMS£45forStickemsscreencleanersseemsatadexcessive.SteveRahr(viaFacebook)
INITIAL THOUGHTSInyourPedants’ParadisecolumninSeptember’smag,younotedthatHDMIisanacronym.HDMIisn’tanacronym,becauseanacronymisawordthat’screatedfrominitials(suchaslaserorscuba).HDMIisinfactaninitialism(seetheOxfordEnglishDictionarywebsite).PatrickClark
Get a kick out of pointing out the shortcomings of others?It’s okay – so dowe
Benreplies:You’redefinitelylookingatacleaninstall,asyou’llneedWindows7’sTRIMcommandtopreventyourSSD’sperformancefromdegradingovertime.You’llalsoneedtomakesureit’srunninginAHCImodeinyourmotherboard’sBIOS,andinstall thelatest Intelstoragedriver.It’sdefinitelyworthit though–thespeeddifferenceisphenomenal.A512GBOCZVertex4currentlycosts£330fromwww.ebuyer.com–goodluck!
LOOPY LOOPSI justreceivedthelatestedition intheposttoday,andIspottedwhat lookedtomelikeamistakewiththemini-ITXwaterbuild.Onthe
TheOrigenX15e–perfectforaself-containedmediaPCinahi-firack,butitstouch-screendoesn’tsupportWindows8’smulti-touchgestures,andit’sanightmaretobuildinside
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@DL8BBHowdoIgetissue109inGermany?I’dliketoreadabout
howtobuildaSinclair#ZX81fromscratch.Myfirstcomputerever.Ben:Yourbestbetistopickupthedigitalversionfromhttp://gb.zinio.com,whereyoucanbuymostofourrecentbackissues.Issue109willcostyou£3.50
@pageinarageTodayyoushouldbedoingultimateheatsink
testing–GulfTowninthesun![senton18August]
@BiggKenny IsitbesttohavemyPSUfacingupordown?Ihavea
meshundermyPCandlegsmeaningthere’sagap.Ben:Italldependsonthecaseandthedesignoftheairflowsystem,butyourPSUshouldonlygoinonewayaround.Ifyourcasehasameshanddecent
legs,thenhavingthefanfacingdownwardswillbenoproblemforit.
@mbazalukManagedtodigoutmyoldZX81amonth
ago#StillWorking#RockSolid.
@RealAaronMyersWelldoneonthereturnofJamesGorbold;
muchbetterthanthecolumnitreplaced.Ben:We’vehadafewcommentssuchasthis.IreallyenjoyedRab’scontributionwhilehewashere,butI’mverygladtohaveJamesbackonboardtoo.
@TheHarryButlerWanttohelpdecidewhichgames@
CustomPCMagand@bittechusetotestgraphicscardsandmotherboards?http://tinyurl.com/CPCGraphicsBenchGothere!
FEEDBACK
Follow us on Twitter at @custompcmag
XSPC680waterblock, thefeed inandfeedouthavebeenconnectedonthesameport,whichmeansthat there’snoflowfor theGPU. I’veattachedaphoto.RichardPoulter
Benreplies: IoriginallypassedthisontoAntonytoreply,butall Igotwasabunchofexpletivesinreturn!Yes,you’requiteright–weapologiseforanyconfusionthismayhavecaused.
HOW YOU TESTIn Issue108,youreviewedtheGigabyteGA-Z77-D3Hwiththe3.2GHzCore i7-3770Kand8GBof1,600MHzCorsairRAM.However, in theHowWeTestsection,yousayyoutest IntelLGA1155motherboardswithaCore i5-2500kand4GBof1,600MHzCorsairRAM.Althoughthememorysizemaynothavemucheffectonthebenchmarks,doesusingabetterCPUstillmake itdirectlycomparabletoothermotherboardsreviewed?Thismakes itslightlyconfusingforarecentsubscriber,suchasmyself,becauseduringthereviewyoucomparedtheD3HtotheMSIZ77A-G43,so I’mnotsurewhichCPUwasusedtobenchmarktheG43.SamTan
Benreplies:Sorryfortheconfusion,Sam–this iscompletelyourfault forforgettingtoupdatethatpartoftheHowWeTestpage.RestassuredthattheG43wasindeedtestedwithaCorei7-3770Kand8GBof1,600MHzCorsairRAM,asareall theZ7-basedmotherboardswe’vereviewed.
ONE DAY, THE CORE i5 WILL BEIN RETRO TECHI’ve just finishedreading Issue109,andI’dliketosay firstoff that thebestarticlewasRetroTech.Toput thatkit intoperspective,it’snineyearsolder thanme,butstillprettycool. I rememberwhenIwasalittle tinyhuman,withtheoldPCthatmygranddadhadacquiredfromthepowerstationatwhichheusedtowork.I recallusingWindows
3.1,andhavingtorememberDOScommandstosearchfor filesand installgames,andthiswasbackwhenIcouldbarelywritemyownname. It’sstrangetothink it tookme
nearly15yearsbefore IbuiltmyownPC.I fear thedaythat Igo intomyroom,open
mydrawerandfindmycurrentCore i5andrememberhowitwasoncethetopCPU,whenPCshadCPUs.Ormotherboards.Orcomponents. Is thisa fatethatany lifelongdedicatedcomputer fanmust face? I lookforwardtomoreretrotechnext issue.Keepupthegoodwork.MichaelMaher,aged23
Benreplies:Nowthat’sfoodforthought–onedayweprobablywilllookbackattoday’stechwithanostalgiceye.We’rereallygladyouenjoyedGareth’sarticle–hecertainlyenjoyedbuildingtheoldZX81,despitethesoldering!
Was
Shouldbe
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Join our folding team and help medical research
WHAT ISFOLDING?Folding@homeusesthespareprocessingcyclesfromyourPC’sCPUandgraphicscardsformedicalresearch.Youcandownloadtheclientfromhttp://folding.stanford.edu/download.htmlandourteam’sIDis35947.Onceyoupassasignificantmilestone,you’llgetyournameinthemag.Youcanalsodiscussfoldingwithusandotherreadersonthewww.bit-tech.netforums.
CPC:Sowhoareyouandwhatdoyoudo?Abomin81on:MynameisMikeJorgeson,andI’macoastguardrescueofficerforHMCoastguard. Ialsoworkwithadultswithlearningdifficulties.
CPC:Whydidyoudecidetostartfolding?Abomin81on: I’dreadabout it inCPC,anditstuckoutassomethinginwhichI’dliketobeinvolved.However, I’dbeenrunningthesamehardwaresince2005,andIwasn’tsurehowmuchofacontributionIcouldmake,soIput itonthebackburner. Ibuiltanewsystematthebeginningof2012,though,anddecidedtogiveitago.
CPC:Whatexcitesyoumostaboutfolding?Abomin81on: I’dbelyingif Isaidthepointsmeannothing.Weall likebignumbersandclimbinguptables. I likecomparingthepointsthat I’mproducingtothoseofthepeoplearoundmetoo,althoughIfinditmoreofamotivationaltoolthanacompetition.Themainfactor isactuallyusingmyhardwareforsomethinguseful.
CPC:Whatmachinesdoyouhavefolding?Abomin81on: I’mdowntojustonemachineatthemoment–aCorei5-2500Kat4.5GHzwithaGeForceGTX560Ti.Theprocessorcanrunalittlefaster,butmyrig isair-cooledandrunning24/7,soItakeiteasyontheclockspeed. I’vehadtocannibalisetwoolderrigstokeepotherpeople’sPCsupandrunning,and
Wecatch upwith folder of themonth: Abomin81on
IcannolongerusemyPS3forfolding.However, IrecentlynoticedthatFingAZwaspumpingoutanimpressivenumberofpoints,andhit thebit-techforumtoaskwhathardwarewasbeingused.TherewasapostfromFingAZaboutthe
HPCloudService(HPCS)privatebeta,andI immediatelysignedup,enablingmetoproducealotmorepoints.MypointsdroppedaftertheHPCSprivatebetaended,but I’mnowlookingatbuildingatleastonemorerigtopumpoutmorepoints. I’mconsideringmultiprocessoroptionsvsacoupleof IvyBridgesetups. I’malsocurrentlyusingWindows7,but I’llprobablychangeovertoaLinux-basedsystemnext.
CPC:Anytipsforfellowteammembers?Abomin81on:Theforumisyourfriend. I’vefoundinfotherethatmeantIdidn’tneedtoaskquestions. I’dalsoadvisenotputtingitoff– IwishI’dstartedyearsago.
CPC:What’syourworstfoldingexperience?Abomin81on: Initially itwasthelostgamingtime. Icouldn’tbringmyself toplaygameswhenmymachinewaspumpingthroughtheworkunits. It turnedoutgreat intheend,though,asitgavememoretimeformeetingupwithfriends,andactivitiessuchaskayaking, insteadofgaming.
CPC:Andthebest?Abomin81on:Hittingthemilestonesisnice,
Teamrank157 Worldrank5,596Score5,757,210 Workunits1,397Dailypointsaverage27,368
TOPFOLDERSThismonth’sshout-outsgotoSyLvEsTeR20007,kirk_hobson,fatchefandSlowlemon.Ifyoufoldunderanyofthesenames,[email protected]
126
butthebestexperienceischeckingtheprojectnumbers,andseeinghowI’mhelping,nomatterhowsmallapart Iplay.
CPC:Isthereanythingyou’dchangeaboutyoursetup?Abomin81on: Imight installawater-coolingsystem–thePCcanbealittleloudat3amwhenI’mtryingtosleep.
HTTP://FORUMS.BIT-TECH.NET
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126 November 2012
MILESTONES THIS MONTH
Username Pointsmilestone
Username Pointsmilestone
Username Pointsmilestone
Username Pointsmilestone
Munky 700000
Osiris_Blue 800000
SkyTsar 800000
boiled_elephant 900000
CheeZee73 900000
lazyhazie 900000
the_kille4 900000
beads 1000000
Ben_Lamb 1000000
ForGrace 1000000
GandalfDDUK 1000000
Number14 1000000
yes 1000000
8Core 2000000
Desertbaker 2000000
Little_Willie 2000000
LittleTodden 2000000
DarrylJacobs 3000000
Fly_Boy_Rez 3000000
kirk_hobson 3000000
ricky_eke 3000000
droyden 4000000
Slowlemon 4000000
Abomin81on 5000000
luckybfocus 5000000
SyLvEsTeR20007 5000000
Keith_Chung 6000000
debs3759 7000000
Dolphin(CPC) 7000000
John_Naylor 7000000
kirk_1701 7000000
big-bert 8000000
Serpentine 8000000
dd 9000000
jona 9000000
Scorpuk 9000000
_Fanatic 10000000
pompeyrodney 10000000
Worldrank
Teamname Points Dailypointsaverage
Timeuntilovertake
7 CustomPC&bit-tech 5,547,093,710 3,954,159 0
17 HewlettPackard 1,876,758,760 4,690,809 13.7Years
THE NEXT OVERTAKE
Ayeska 20000
Dalunar 20000
DoMiNiuS 20000
Padsta 20000
Skulldragon 20000
Bob_D 30000
pitprop 30000
Berkan 40000
Halldor 40000
Anselm 50000
Forquare 50000
GJBriggs 60000
matthewj25 60000
Rrruby 60000
SzLvEsTeR20007 60000
TheManicGibbon 60000
breadbin123 70000
llb443 70000
matthewedwardcornish
70000
Rykard_Maximus 70000
tompdb 70000
FlamingWolfman 80000
LboroSlider 80000
RandomDecoy 80000
anadir2 100000
BaskB 100000
jpostlethwaite 100000
pipnina 100000
th3_F15T 100000
YoutubeBelgiumPress 100000
bigg 200000
BordenGrammarSchool 200000
Detsawm 200000
rjcman 200000
bbnsol 300000
JimmyMcRees 300000
MalecAndBrinn 300000
ReDeamer 300000
weebob 400000
Filce 500000
SourDipRaita 500000
maxrealism 600000
TokerRizla 600000
toxic43 600000
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Username Pointsmilestone
HTTP://FORUMS.BIT-TECH.NET
TOP 20 OVERALLRank Username Points Workunits
1 Dave_Goodchild 385,685,763 107,682
2 DocJonz 248,333,863 140,957
3 phoenicis 223,349,417 93,954
4 zz9pzza 211,014,628 15,794
5 coolamasta 199,248,901 141,496
6 Lizard 131,598,973 60,078
7 StreetSam 106,943,250 72,267
8 CustomBitChimps 94,376,547 46,589
9 Wallace 91,817,783 5,708
10 Christopher_N._Lewis 91,790,950 32,362
11 Nelio 61,386,571 30,217
12 BennieboyUK 61,286,969 3,107
13 fir3x 59,469,269 9,015
14 saspro 57,534,603 45,372
15 One_Box 52,864,476 7,248
16 Standin_wave 51,114,756 33,634
17 The_M2B 49,969,387 37,297
18 PS3/LanDi 48,446,611 86,309
19 greenfrog.biz 47,768,712 163,014
20 Lordsoth 46,365,376 52,804
TOP 20 PRODUCERSRank Username Dailypointsaverage Overallscore
1 Nelio 419,144 61,338,565
2 DocJonz 360,490 248,327,084
3 Christopher_N._Lewis 194,454 91,790,950
4 coolamasta 179,810 199,230,927
5 One_Box 164,326 52,859,694
6 Dave_Goodchild 144,390 385,672,562
7 fir3x 101,292 59,460,417
8 Lordsoth 94,335 46,351,446
9 Wallace 93,595 91,817,783
10 The_M2B 81,843 49,961,857
11 Scorpuk 78,437 9,204,068
12 PC_Rich 77,587 44,091,377
13 SyLvEsTeR20007 71,573 5,063,652
14 _Fanatic 70,526 11,521,655
15 LordBadger 66,253 32,575,248
16 kirk_hobson 59,964 3,146,249
17 fatchef 59,087 15,112,566
18 Slowlemon 54,599 4,482,624
19 Ben_Lamb 48,039 1,769,128
20 Keith_Chung 47,121 6,035,166
enigmo 20000000
Lau_Gar 20000000
PlasmaBomb 20000000
Sean_Hayes 20000000
Slavcho 30000000
One_Box 50000000
Nelio 60000000
Christopher_N._Lewis
90000000
Wallace 90000000
127November 2012
Onsale 18October,2012*Pleasenotethatthesestoriesaresubjecttoproductdelays,kitnotturningupandtheamountoftimespenttryingtosortoutconsistentlyaccurategamebenchmarksforgraphicscards.Wishusluck!
Graphics cardsNowthatAMDandNvidia’slatestgenerationsofGPUsareinfullswing,we’regoingtotestallthemid-to-high-endGPUsonanewsuiteofteststoseewhichdeserveyourcash.
ModyourCPUWanttostopyouroverclockedIvyBridgechipgettingsotoastyatfullload?AntonyshowsyouhowtoreplaceIntel’sbudgetthermalpasteandreduceyourCPU’stemperature.
Build anHTPCHometheatrePC,mediacentre,whateveryouwanttocallit.We’regoingtotakealookatthecurrentbesthardwareoptionsforbuildingaPC-basedhomeentertainmentbox.
ReplaceyourGPU fanFedupwiththehissywhinecomingfromyourgraphicscard’scooler?We’llshowyouhowtosafelyreplacethefanonyourgraphicscard,enablingyoutoliveinpeaceagain.
Comingnextmonth in
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128 November 2012
omeonBen,really?Amotherboardchipset?It isn’texactlysexy, isit?It’sokay,Iknowmotherboardchipsetsrarelyreceivetheinappropriate
droolenjoyedbynewgraphicscardsandprocessors,butI’mgoingtomakeaspecialexceptionfortheIntel440BX.It’sachipsetthatwassogoodthatIntelfailedtobetteritforseveralyears.Call ita‘classic’ ifyoulike.It’sthechipsetthatchangedeverything.HopintheHGWells-styletimemachine,
completewiththespinningumbrellaattheback,andlet’stravelbackto1998.Intel’sslot-basedPentiumII iscurrentlythekingofitsprocessorline-up,butthisrangehaspreviouslybeenstuckwiththe440LXchipset.ThefirstPentiumIIprocessorsuseda66MHzfrontsidebus,whichwasfinewhentheywerereleased,becausethesupportingSDRAMDIMMsand440LXchipsetalsoonlyuseda66MHzfrontsidebus.Thisallchangedwiththe440BX,whichfirstbroughtusthe100MHzfrontsidebus.Thespeeddifferencewasincredible–a
350MHzPentiumIIonlylooked17MHzfasterthana333MHzPentiumII intermsofpaper,butits100MHzFSBactuallymadeitamazinglyquicker.However, inordertoobtainthefullspeed,youfirstneededIntel’snew440BXchipset,andyoualsoneededtobuyPC100(100MHz)memory.Thiswasabigchangeforthoseofuswhohadn’treallyconsideredmemoryspeedbefore–youmighthaveconsidereddifferenttypesofmemory(inthiscaseEDOorSDRAM),butthespeedwasalwaysthesame.Nowitwasimportanttohavememorythatmatchedtheavailablebandwidth.Amazingly,thisbasic100MHzclockhasn’t
massivelychangedsincethen.Sure,we’vehadprocessorsandchipsetsthatraisedthis
toa133MHzfrontsidebusandfurther,andtechnologiessuchasquad-pumpingtomultiplyit,butevennow,aCorei7-3770Kstillhasabaseclockof100MHz.Perhapsthebiggestsellingpointfor440BX,
however,wasitslongevityandstability.WhenIntellaunchedthePentiumIIIthenextyear,thechipsusedthesame100MHzbusandchipsetastheirpredecessors.Itbecameastandard.Ifyouboughtanewgraphicscard,youcouldguaranteeitwouldhavebeentestedproperlyona440BXchipset.Thesame
couldn’tbesaidforalltheothermanychipsetsavailableatthetime.Thebigchancefor440BXtoproveitself,
however,camewhenIntellauncheditsnewrangeof‘Coppermine’PentiumIIIchipswitha133MHzfrontsidebus.Twosupportingchipsetswerelaunched–the810,whichusedSDRAMbutdidn’thaveanAGPslot(usingIntel integratedgraphicsinstead),andthe820,whichhadtheAGPslotbutrequiredcostly
RambusRDRAMmodules.The820’snewhardwareconfigurationalsobroughtawholenewloadofcompatibilityproblemswithit.Thiswasaballs-upthatbackfired
massively.Noenthusiastwanted810,becausetheywantedtoplaygames,buttheyalsoobjectedtotheoutlayrequiredfor820.Instead,weaskedifwecouldjustoverclocka440BXboardandrunthenewchipsonthatinstead.Itturnedoutthatwecould.
NewsupportingBIOSesweremadeavailableformany440BXmotherboardstosupportthenewCPUs,andwestuckheatsinksonthechipsetstohelpthemcope–440BXwasreallythefirstusefullyoverclockablechipset.Notonlydid440BXgiveusthe100MHz
busandwidecompatibility,butitalsoevensurvivedaCPUerathatitwasn’tsupposedtosupport. Ihaven’tseensuchawidelyadoredchipsetsince.
C
WE ASKED IF WE COULD JUSTOVERCLOCK A 440BX BOARD ANDRUN THE NEW CHIPS ON THAT
Intel440BXArguably the first chipset that could be called a ‘classic’,Ben Hardwidge recalls Intel’s first mainstream chipsetwith a 100MHz bus
The440BX–a100MHzFSB,widespreadcompatibilityandanenviablelifespan
Intel’sPentiumIIIprocessorswerejustashappywith440BXastheirPentiumIIpredecessors
PhotobySw
aaye
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B ackwhenIwasafull-timejournalist,oneoftheITindustry’squirksthatamusedmethemostwastheapparentlychaoticandnonsensicalwaythatmanycompanieswentabout
namingnewproducts.Agreatexampleofconfusingnamingisthebrand-newGeForce
GTX660Ti(seep36)thatNvidialaunchedthismonth.TheproblemforNvidiawasthattheGTX660Tiistotallyunlikeitsforebears,theGTX460TiandGTX560Ti;thesewerenewlydesignedGPUsthatdeliveredawesomeamountsofperformanceforlessthan£200.Asaresult,theywereNvidia’sbiggest-sellingenthusiastgraphicscards.Incontrast,theGeForceGTX660TiisaGTX
670TiwithsomeoftheROPs,textureunitsandthememorycontrollerdisabled.ThisresultsinasmallperformancereductioncomparedtotheGTX670Ti,plusapricetagthat’saround£50cheaperat£240.So,despitetheGeForceGTX660Tibeingsensiblypriced(foritsperformance), itwasgivenanunwelcomereceptionbymanyenthusiastswho,basedonpreviousexperience,expectedittobeanewGPUthatcostlessthan£200.WithmoreGeForce600-seriescards,suchastheforthcoming
GTX660andGTX650,waitinginthewings,Nvidiahasbrokenitsownnamingconvention.Tobemorespecific,bylabellingtheGTX660Tiinthisway,Nvidiahasgotitself intoabitofapickle,asitcannolongerusethewell-establishedpracticeofusingthe‘GTXx60Ti’nameforitshighest-volumeenthusiastgraphicscard.Nvidiacouldhaveavoidedthisunfortunatesituationbynamingthe
GTX660TitheGTX665Ti,butananonymoussourceatNvidiatoldmethatthecompanydidn’tdothisbecauseitwasworriedaboutassociatingtheGTX660TiwiththewoefulGTX465.However,havingconductedastrawpollamongagroupoffriends,mostofthem
JamesGorbold ponders how tech productsare named, andwhat those names imply
james gorbold
couldn’tevenremembertheGeForceGTX465–probablybecauseNvidiamadeandsoldfewofthem.However,nowthatIworkintheITindustryandhavebeeninvolvedin
thenamingofseveralproducts,Ihavealittlemoresympathyforotherpeoplewhohavetodothesamejob.Forexample,IwasrecentlytaskedwithnamingScan’sforthcomingrangeofgaminglaptopsthatsomeofyoumayhaveseenindemosattherecenti46gamingLANinNewburyovertheAugustbankholidayweekend.Thetroubleisthat,thisbeingthe21stcenturywithhundredsof
yearsofindustryalreadybehindus,itcanbeastruggletofindasuitablenameforyourproductthathasn’talreadybeenusedbyanothercompany.Intheend,wedecidedtocallallthelaptopsGraphiteandusewhatIhopewillbeaneasilycomprehensiblemodifiertodifferentiatethevariousmodels.However,I’ll leavethatinthecapablehandsoftheCustomPCreviewteamtodecide,should
itwanttoreviewanyoftheunitswhenthey’reavailable.Thatsaid,I’mstillnotsureit’sagoodideaforInteltoinsiston
labellingeveryenthusiastCPUaCoreandcallingIvyBridgeCPUsThirdGenerationCore,blithelyignoringthefactthattherehavebeenfarmorethanthreegenerationsofCore-brandedprocessors.ItalsocontinuestobafflemethatIntel’sprofessionalrangeofXeonCPUsaresosensiblynamed,yetitsenthusiastCPUsareseeminglynamedalmostatrandom.
JamesGorboldfellinlovewiththeoriginalIBMPCintheearly1980sandhasbeenbuilding,tweakingandoverclockingPCseversince.HehaswrittenanarticleinalmosteveryissueofCustomPCandnowhelpsScanComputerstodevelopnewsystems.
By labelling the GTX660 Ti in this way,Nvidia has got itselfinto a bit of a pickle
WHAT’S INANAME?
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