windows middle east - july 2010

Sonic and Sega All-Stars reviewed

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THE REGIONS FAVOURITE PC & CONSUMER TECHNOLOGY GUIDE07VOL 15

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10 COMMENT

10 COMMENTThe Middle East goes purple. Yahoo! have been painting the cities of Dubai and Amman purple the search companys official colour. Its now official that the search portal has offices in these cities.

18 3D TV HYPE?

18 WILL 3D TV BE A SUCCESS 3D TV has burst onto the scene

in 2010, but is it really the next big thing when it comes to home entertainment? WINDOWS takes a closer look at 3D TV and explains how it works, whos making it, the health risks associated with it and whether or not its worth buying it now.

CONTENTSCONTENTS

14 ENTERTAINED

14 HOME ENTERTAINMENT Follow our guide to help you put

together your home entertainment systems audio and video setup in perfect sync. WINDOWS lists a few things that you should consider when setting up your system.

24 GROUP TEST

24 FERMI GPUS nVidias GTX 400 series also known

as Fermi has finally hit the market and in this grouptest we put four of these mid-range GTX 470 cards to the test. If youre keen on buying then this is the grouptest for you

24FERMI GPU

GROUP TEST3D TV HYPE?3D TV HYPE?1818

14 HOMEENTERTAINMENT

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THE REGIONS FAVOURITE PC & CONSUMER TECHNOLOGY GUIDE07VOL 15

JULY 2010

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600MB OF FREE SOFTWAREPacked with games, productivity apps, utilities and much, much more...

REVIEWS: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV LG Haier R450 Nero Multimedia Suite 10 Sky Expeditor EXP and

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An ITP Technology Publication JULY 2010 www.itp.net

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6 BLACKBERRY, NOKIA TOP SMARTPHONE BRANDS 7 GOOGLE TO OFFER ENCRYPTED SEARCH

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31 CANON EOS-1D MARK IV32 LG HAIER R45033 NERO MULTIMEDIA SUITE 10 34 SKY EXPEDITOR EXP35 ZOTAC GEFORCE GTX 480

52 GAME ON NEWS54 SEGA SONIC ALL STARS

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THE BIGGEST TECH REFERENCE GUIDE

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Available at all leading retailers in UAE or at acer.aeAcer and the Acer logo are registered trademarks of Acer Incorporated. Copyright 2010 Acer. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows and the Windows logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Other trademarks, registered trademarks and/or service marks, indicated or otherwise, are the properties of their respective owners. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Specifications subject to change without notice. Pictures are intended simply to illustrate the product.

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Editors letterW

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Whilst writing about 3D TV and home entertainment systems for this month's issue of WINDOWS, I thought it was quite a coincidence that Google came out with a surprise announcement of its TV service.

Now, I'm not saying you should get rid of your pay TV subscription just yet, but, if there's anything to go by according to Google's current dominance of our web landscape, then you might want to read this carefully.

Google TV is a platform that will run on numerous devices such as TVs, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes. It's based on Android, but runs Google's Chrome browser as well as a full version of Flash Player 10.1. Therefore, Google TV devices can browse to just about any site on the web that has video.

Google TV devices will also have remotes with some form of QWERTY keyboard, and you'll be able to use Android phones as remotes as well. Using an Android phone opens up some extremely intriguing possibilities, like searching for content using Google Voice Search and navigating by gesture, but it's not clear how deep the integration between Android on Google TV and Android on phones will be at launch.

Furthermore, the platform will have some interesting partners as well. Sony is planning to build BRAVIA Internet TVs and Blu-ray players that run the platform. Logitech is building a Google TV "companion box" that can control your entire A/V rack using Harmony technology. You should also be able to use the Android phone or an iPhone as the remote, and Intel's making the Atom CE4100 chip that's used in all these devices. These are just some of the partners involved from the outset, with more certainly to come on board in the future.

And in terms of when it will be available? Well, according to many of the platform's partners, we can expect to see it launch later this year. Google TV devices will seemingly be arriving this year, as Sony says it'll have Internet TVs and Blu-ray players in the fall.

For many around the world, this could mean the end of 'surfing' channels on decoders and switching to the web. Already, this is what a lot of us do, but the form factors of notebooks and PCs has rather limited the ability for many of us to watch TV on the web.

One concern that I have with this though is that it will not be ideal for the Middle East region, owing to our poor and expensive bandwidth. The rate of adoption here for the Google TV platform will most probably be lacking quite significantly as compared to elsewhere globally.

But it is a fantastic initiative, and we'll certainly be keen to see how it pans out. If you want to read more about current day home entertainment tech, then turn to the 3D TV and Ultimate Home Entertainment features in this month's magazine.

Gareth van Zyl [email protected]

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RIM'S BLACKBERRY AND NOKIA ARE TOP SMARTPHONE BRANDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA REGIONSNokia, BlackBerry and HTC are the leading smartphone brands in the Middle East and Africa based on analysis of 2010 first quarter sales by research house Gartner.

Studies done by the firm see a 26% growth in smartphone sales in MEA in the first quarter of the year compared to 2009 figures. Nokia represents 87.6% of the MEA smartphone market share, while Research in Motion (RIM) comes in second with a 4.3% share. Apple's popular iPhone in comparison only has a 2.6% market share after HTC (2.8%).

Combining both smartphones and traditional handset sales, the iPhone was ranked 7th worldwide with a 112.2% increase, representing Apple's strongest quarter yet.

"The second quarter of 2010 will be a very important one for Apple. We expect that Apple will present its new iPhone in June during its Worldwide Developer Conference, which will be the first to feature the latest release of the iPhone OS that includes welcome improvements for developers and users, such as multitasking," said Carolina Milanesi, Research Vice President at Gartner.

Still, it isn't expected to catch up to Nokia's lead anytime soon. Nokia's mobile phone sales to end users reached 110.1 million units worldwide according to Gartner, which is close to research findings by IDC. Google's Android platform is also making its presence felt - Android devices surpassed iPhone sales for the first time in the United States.

Regionally, Nokia could face a tougher time from the likes of Apple and Google Android-device manufacturers.

"Nokia will remain the undisputed leader in the region, they have such a strong brand value in emerging as well as mature markets. However, they will be challenged by the growth of RIM, Apple and Android-devices that will continue their rapid growth in this region," Zimmermann told itp.net.

"With the growing interest in smartphones and also other form factors such as Internet tablets and e-readers, Nokia will have to make sure that their service strategy continues to build out, such as Nokia Comes with Music that is now available in many Middle Eastern countries and Ovi Maps," Zimmermann added.

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Following the backlash Google faced for stealing data from open WiFi networks mistakenly' , the search giant now says the incident highlighted just how easily accessible non-password protected networks are and revealed that it will be serving up an encrypted version of Google Search soon.

"Earlier this year, we encrypted Gmail for all our users, and next week we will start offering an encrypted version of Google Search," revealed Alan Eustace, Senior VP, Engineering & Research in a company blog post dated May 14th.

Google began using encryption as a default for Gmail users only in 2010, while Yahoo! and Hotmail don't offer that same level of security and privacy as yet.

Users can check if pages are encrypted by looking to see whether the URL begins with https', rather than just http', with browsers showing a lock icon when the connection is secure.

In the same blog post, Eustace explains the WiFi incident in detail, which started when the Data Protection Authority in Hamburg, Germany asked to audit the WiFi data that Google Street View cars collected for use in location-based products like Google Maps for mobile. The request saw Google going over all the data collected and realised they were "mistakenly collecting samples of payload data from open (i.e. non-password-protected) WiFi networks" but adds that the data was never used in any Google products.

According to Eustace, Google is reaching out to regulators in the countries were data was stolen about how to dispose of it. Presently only data collected in Ireland has been deleted upon request by the Irish Data Protection Authority in the presence of an independent third party.

GOOGLE TO OFFER ENCRYPTED SEARCH SOON

WESTERN DIGITAL EXPANDS 2.5-INCH SERIAL ATA LINEUPWestern Digital has expanded its 2.5-inch Serial ATA hard drive line with the launch of its WD AV-25 drives. The drives are designed primarily for audio video (AV), digital video recorders (DVR) and surveillance applications.

The storage titan says these new drives are geared for reliability, with a quoted mean time between failure (MTBF) of 1 million hours. The AV-25 drives are also designed to run cool - despite extended use - and with minimal noise levels.

Customers that market audio and video recording applications, such as DVRs, media centers and mainstream surveillance systems, often require 24x7 operation from hard drives, said Saif Khwaja, Sales Director for Western Digital, Middle East, Africa & South Asia. WD AV-25 hard drives are designed to withstand these demanding environments and offer consumers a small form factor solution that consumes less power, generates less heat, and operates quietly and, most importantly, reliably.

The WD AV-25 hard drive is offered in capacities of 160GB, 250GB, 320GB and 500GB and is covered by a three year limited warranty. Of the capacities offered drives with 160GB, 250GB and 320GB are already available in the local market. Western Digital expects the 500GB variant to become available in the coming weeks.

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Iconic fashion label Versace has launched its first luxury touchscreen smartphone range - Versace Unique.

The full-featured Versace Unique multimedia phones will be available early next month through exclusive watch and fine jewellery networks and Versace flagship boutiques worldwide.

Prices for the Unique range from 5,500 to 6,900 (approximately AED 25,000 to AED 32,000) depending on the materials used but bespoke models can also be ordered to suit individual tastes.

The phone is crafted from the finest materials and hand-assembled in France. Unique's back is wrapped in handcrafted leather and embossed with the Medusa head, while the scratch-resistant sapphire crystal screen is the largest single piece of this material ever produced for consumers.

Versace Unique was made in collaboration the creator of tailor-made handsets ModeLabs Group, along with LG Electronics. The luxury 3G phone comes with a media player, a 5-megapixel flash camera and Dolby Mobile surround sound technology.

"We are excited about Versace Unique. Our team has worked well with our partners at Modelabs to manufacture a very innovative product which perfectly blends luxury materials, craftsmanship and the advanced technologies of LG. As we move forward in the development of our business, we are particularly happy to be able to strengthen the offer of luxury accessories that complement our core fashion products in line with Versace`s DNA," said Gian Giacomo Ferraris, CEO of Versace Group.

NEW VERSACE LUXURY TOUCHSCREEN SMARTPHONE COSTS $6811

TWITTER IPHONE APP COULD IRK DEVELOPERSMicro-blogging site Twitter has released the official Twitter application for Apple iPhones that can be downloaded for free from iTunes. Experts however warn that the move risks alienating third-party developers.

According to Principal Analyst Eden Zoller from research firm Ovum, Twitter is walking a fine line at the moment.

"...Twitter needs to be very careful not to alienate the developer community as they drive innovation for the service and also traffic. It should be remembered that applications account for 75% of all tweets," said Zoller. "Developers do not want to go to the trouble and cost of building an app if Twitter itself is going to make a big play for same area. This is exactly what Twitter appears to be doing with its in-house applications for smartphones, and the Tweetie application it acquired in April stands out as a case in point."

Biz Stone, Co-Founder of Twitter, says the decision to release their own application for the iPhone was based on demand.

"Comprehensive analysis of the Twitter user experience in the iTunes App Store showed very plainly that people were looking for an app from Twitter-we didn't have one so they generally got confused and gave up. Obviously, we saw room for improvement," Stone wrote in a company blog post.

Last month Twitter announced there were 100,000 applications for the site - twice the number available just five months earlier in December 2009.

One of the key differences that sets Twitter's own app apart from other existing third-party offerings is the fact that signing up to a Twitter account isn't required. Unregistered users can still browse trends, read Top Tweets, find popular users, and check out public tweets geographically.

The app can work on the Apple's new iPad tablet device but is optimised for the iPhone and iPod Touch. An iPad-focused version of the app is expected to be released later.

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Pakistan has blocked access to Facebook because of a religiously-fuelled campaign on the social networking site called Everybody Draw Mohammed Day'.

A Facebook user recently set up the page inviting people to send in a creative and funny depiction of Mohammed' today (May 20), with the intention of supporting freedom of speech and to protest threats made by an Islamic group against the creators of South Park for depicting the Prophet Mohammad in a bear suit during an episode earlier this year.

Hundreds of Facebook users have called for the social-networking site to pull down the page. Other users have created their own pages in protest with one page, AGAINST "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!', already having the support of more than 92,000 people.

Facebook sent a statement to the media saying that they are investigating the matter and that they would consider restricting access to the controversial content in specific countries.

"While the content does not violate our terms, we do understand it may not be legal in some countries," the company said in a statement. "In cases like this, the approach is sometimes to restrict certain content from being shown in specific countries."

The page is presently not accessible in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.Pakistan, a predominantly Muslim nation, has decided to block the website entirely till further orders' following a decision by

the Lahore High Court. It's believed that YouTube has now also been blocked in the country because of un-Islamic content.The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has set up a toll free number and dedicated email address for citizens to

report any other websites and URLs where such objectionable material is placed'.

PAKISTAN BLOCKS FACEBOOK WEBSITE OVER PROPHET DRAWING CAMPAIGN

HP NOTEBOOK MACHINE DOUBLES AS TABLET PCHewlett-Packard has launched a new device in the United Arab Emirates that is both a laptop and a tablet PC.

The 12.1" HP TouchSmart tm2 Notebook PC, which costs AED 4,499 at most leading electronics retail stores in the country, has an aluminum chassis that can be twisted from a notebook into slate.

The device comes with a capacitive touch display that supports a range of multi-touch features such as zooming in or out, rotate, scroll, as well as moving an object with pinch and drag movements using fingertips. Additionally, the HP TouchSmart software makes use of touch-enabled apps for games, music, film, videos, photos and even the social media platform Twitter.

A digital pen that accompanies the slate acts similarly to how a pen would work on paper, and can be used to make handwritten notes, draw and even annotate documents.

The HP TouchSmart tm2 Notebook PC is said to have a battery life of eight hours, powered by the Intel Core 2 Duo processor and operating Windows 7 Home edition.

The company says the device is designed to give customers the flexibility to adapt with how they access and interact with content.

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THE MIDDLE EAST GOES PURPLE

The selection of the two locations couldnt be more apt, as both are generally regarded as being the most dynamic and forward thinking when it comes to the internet environment in this region. Dubai, for instance, has established an Internet City zone, whilst Jordan has gained a reputation for having an active online media scene, with Queen Rania, for example, having a strong presence on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

If you ever have the chance then of walking into the Yahoo! Middle East offices, youll be able to play table tennis, foosball, Wii and have access to a caf with TV and a satellite connection. (The company still maintains that startup-like environment.)

But this is Yahoo! after all an organisation that went into freefall after it decided not to make a deal with Microsoft, and which has shrunk in terms of relevance in the internet space. The Middle East might be a shining light for the company, but it is a shining light in its gloomy environment, where Facebook, Twitter and especially Google have taken centre stage.

Yahoo! have tried to respond by recently branding itself as an individualised search portal, focusing on Yahoo! for You. In fact, last year they went on a massive advertising campaign by concentrating their efforts on creating a unique brand identity in this very competitive market. They spent millions of advertising dollars in markets such as India, with splash advertising pages on the front of top newspapers and magazines.

Theyve also been buying up other companies. Theres rumours abound at the moment that Yahoo! has been in talks with FourSquare, the poplular location-based app service. And in the Middle East, in particular, Yahoo! have a vested interest in Maktoob, one of the regions most visited and interactive portals.

Its quite clear that Yahoo! has a very different strategy to that of Google. Whereas Google drives innovation from within itself, Yahoo! has rebranded itself and looks to acquire innovation outside

of itself.The latter is a far more passive

approach in my opinion. Nevertheless, Im glad that Yahoo! has made its present felt in the region with their new offices.

When players that have been in the tech industry for years start bringing their expertise to this region, that can only be a good thing and might help ignite the startup industry here. The Middle East might also just be the springboard to help Yahoo! become resurgent again.

Yahoo! have been painting the cities of Dubai and Amman purple the search companys official colour. Its now official that the search portal has offices in these cities.

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VIEWSSOUR GRAPES OVER APPLE SALESApple reseller iStyle's plea for Middle East customers to be patient and wait for the official launch of the iPad in the region looks to me like an act of desperation than a well-meant request on its part.

iStyle belongs to the same group as ABM, Apple's exclusive partner for the Middle East, so until the iPad officially arrives in the Middle East you aren't going to see it in its stores.

I'm sure iStyle bosses must be tearing their hair out as they watch other retailers in the market cashing in on the biggest hit of the year while they're forced to sit tight until they can formally take stock of the product.

The simple fact of the matter is that Middle East customers want access to the device as quickly as any other part of the world. iStyle's apparent frustration at not being able to exploit that demand - while other retailers find ways of importing the product from alternative sources - just makes them look like the boy found crying in the corner because his lunch has been stolen by the bigger kids.

As one UAE retailer said this week: "Everyone is more or less selling the iPad after importing through theirown channel. Sales have been quite strong here."

iStyle's response to seeing customers snap up iPads from other retailers has been to warn them that it will not provide any support or technical assistance they may require. According to a statement issued by the company last week, it is unable to service any iPads sold to consumers on the grey market.

I have an issue with that reference to the grey market' though, and it's this: For a grey market to even prevail suggests the existence of a legitimate channel in the first place. But that is not the case with iStyle as its stands right

now because it is not even selling the iPad yet! To compound matters further, the retailer can't even tell customers the date of the official launch.

iStyle might feel aggrieved at not having the iPad on its shelves, but you have to question whether making ultimatums to customers is really a sensible way to go about things. If it wants to pick fights with anyone then surely it should be Apple. After all, Apple controls who the product is supplied to globally, so if goods are coming into the region when they shouldn't be then something needs tightening up elsewhere.

Such shenanigans don't surprise me though. I've always found the Apple channel to be an odd one to understand here, what with the eclectic mix of independent retailers and those that share common ownership with ABM. At the same time, it's been interesting to observe that while other mainstream IT vendors have embraced the growth of the regional IT market by abandoning the single distributor model in recent years, Apple has always kept faith in the same structure.

Just to digress for a second, I approached ABM, as Apple's representative in the region, to try and get some details about its channel strategy and market development plans towards the end of last year.

After a couple of months of going backwards and forwards I was bizarrely informed by its PR agency that if an interview was to take place then management wouldn't be able to talk about anything Apple-related. Isn't that like getting five minutes with Bernie Ecclestone and being told you can't speak about Formula One?

Returning to the topic in hand, the current iStyle-iPad debacle undoubtedly illustrates the way in which market

dynamics in the Middle East continue to be shaped by product flow. It also raises questions over retailer policies on warranty and support, which remain important factors in fostering customer loyalty.

iStyle, for instance, currently claims that it will only be able to assist customers with iPads purchased through its own stores, once they are available of course. If the customer doesn't have a warranty that is valid in this region I can understand that stance, but does that mean it is prepared to turn away customers that have purchased an iPad elsewhere and simply approach it for advice or non-technical guidance?

It seems we are unlikely to find out the answer to that anytime soon. In the meantime, customers must decide whether it is worth relinquishing iStyle's after-sales care (which they may or may not need) for the sake of getting their hands on a device without delay.

Andrew Seymour says iStyles plea for customers to hold off iPad purchases sounds a tiny bit desperate

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CUSTOMER IS KING

I attended the opening event of this facility to see if its all that Jumbo says it is, as I myself have run into problems when it comes to customer service in the electronics retail market in this country.

Let me relay a problem that Ive experienced. I bought a touch phone last year from retailer X. I was happy with my purchase, until, a few months later, my touch screen ceased working. I had the receipt for this device and went to retailer X to return the product. The phone was under warranty, but, to my surprise, retailer X told me that the phones screen is not under warranty something which I had not been informed about upon purchasing the phone.

Its ridiculous that a retailer would make sure that what is in essence an essential part of the phone would not be placed under warranty. After all, what is a touch phone without the screen. The screen is basically the fundamental component, and with it out of order, one actually just doesnt have a functioning phone at all.

I was unhappy, to say the least. But Ive commented on service delivery in this region before when I recently wrote a piece in which I gave my take on Etisalat finally jumping on board the Twitter band-wagon. I reasoned that its a fluid expat population that doesnt motivate organisations out here to focus that much on service delivery.

After all, if, as an expat, youre only

here for a few months or a few years, thats nowhere near the kind of time youd have to spend out here to build up some sort of brand loyalty. Also, even if you do kick up a fuss about a problem with a product that youve bought, theres the risk that the manager with whom you brought up the problem might not be around for the long term and therefore doesnt really care about your complaint.

Trying to deliver good customer service in this rather interesting environment then, is, to say the very least, a challenge.

So, enter the stage Jumbo Electronics here in the UAE and their new service centre, which they say is the biggest in the UAE, and possibly even the Middle East and Africa.

Thats great, but there is one problem. The facility is out in the middle of what is basically nowhere. Its hard to find and theres question marks over the amount of footfall it will have. Its a good facility but, to avoid the pun of calling it a white elephant, I really hope it doesnt turn into that.

Customer service has generally got a bad wrap here. The reasons are

understandable, but with these retailers growing like they are in the United Arab Emirates and beyond, its surely a case of maintaining certain service levels to retain business. Business has been good to electronic retailers here; so lets hope electronic retailers will start being good towards their customers.

This writers

experienced service

problems when his

touch phone stopped

working

Jumbo is all set to play its part in banishing the image that customer service in the region is lacking. Gareth van Zyl says this is a particular line that struck him in a press release he read recently about Jumbo opening a new 70,000 square foot facility in Dubai.

Quick Charge Your iPhone Anytime

iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc.

Quick Charge for iPhone / iPad / iPod touch

GIGABYTEON/OFFCharge

Yes

No No No No No

Yes Yes Yes* Yes*

PCPower

QuickCharge

TraditionalDesign

Working StandbySuspendto RAM

Suspendto DISK

Shutdown

(S0) (S1) (S3) (S4) (S5)

Charge time(Lower is Better)

Up toUp to40% Faster40% FasterUp to40% Faster

*Due to certain mobile phone limitations, users may need to connect the mobile phone to their PC before the PC enters S4/S5 mode to enable a quick charge from non ON/OFF Charge USB ports.Charging results may vary by model.

40% Faster40% Faster40% Faster

ON/OFF Charge USB Port

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Egypt Gamma Computer Tel: +202 4849633 Metra Computer Tel: +202 3034319Gulf Region Golden Systems Tel: +971 4 3555520Iraq Alnabaa Computers Tel: +964 17170118

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For more information, please call our distributors:

These speed settings are not guaranteed by GIGABYTE. The specifications and pictures are subject to change without notice. All trademarks and logos are the properties of their respective holders.Any overclocking is at users risk, GIGABYTE Technology shall not be responsible for any damage or instability to your processor, motherboard, or any other components.

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iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc.

FEATURE 14

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Home entertainmentW

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Follow our guide to help you put together your home entertainment systems audio and video setup in

perfect sync. WINDOWS lists a few things that you should consider when setting up your system.

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FEATURE 15


Home entertainment

GENERAL ISSUES TO CONSIDER:A starting point concerns the components that you already have. Having just the basics goes a long way in terms of

setting up your system especially if youre on a budget. So take stock of what you have in terms of your existing video and audio setup, as you might never have to replace any of your existing components.

Its also important to take into consideration the size of your shelf and the room where youre going to place your system. Spatial constraints will be a factor, especially if youre going for a big system.

Most people will usually go for what is a mid-range setup. That is, this is a system that usually consists of basic units, such as the receiver unit (which can double as a DVD player).

SOUND

When setting up your surround sound system be sure that the receiver has enough inputs and outputs to accommodate the future growth of your setup.

Of course, what is an entertainment system without surround sound knowing your Dolby Digital 5.1 from your 7.1 will help you setup your speakers correctly. Basically, 5.1 systems use five speakers and a subwoofer whereas 7.1 rigs use seven speakers and a subwoofer.

Bear in mind that setting up your surround sound is critical, especially in terms of where you put your satellite speakers. You need to be sure to position them correctly and take into consideration the way the sound bounces off the walls in your room.

Human hearing generally is at best at about mid-range level. Its a good idea then to bear this in mind when setting up your speakers.

Many home entertainment systems today come with a sub-woofer that is necessary to achieve that booming theatre-like sound. If youre willing to fork out more with regard to your speakers and subwoofer, youll also end up with a better sound system.

You might find at one point that you want to tweak your subwoofer levels. If you find that your subwoofers bass is too boomy, you can often easily fix this by actually just lowering the volume level. Bigger speakers can also produce more bass on their own and so they sound best with the subs crossover knob set at or near the bottom of its range.

When your setup becomes entangled in wires you can easily mix up where your wires go. So, its important that when youre running through the setup of your speakers that you double-check that the test tones are coming out of the right speakers. There are numerous DVDs that you can purchase that can help you with this exact aim.

Getting yourself a sound-level meter will really help the situation as well as you can ensure good sound matching and calibration.

Getting speaker stands or brackets will help in terms of where you place your speakers, as you wont need to put them on bookshelves etc.

Strangely, a thick rug or curtains can soak up sound if your sound system has sound that is too harsh.Using high-end speaker cables will also help improve the quality of your speakers sound. With many speaker systems, youll have the ability to add a separate power unit so as to boost the sound. Youll

just need to figure out where you can hook up the amplifier in order to get things done.Finally, also be sure that you go for a matched package of brands, especially when it comes to your speakers.

FEATURE 16


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MEDIA CENTER

These days theres a variety of options you have when it comes to how you view video on your system, whether it be Blu-ray players or, as some people have released, 3D Blu-ray players in recent months.

Consumers also have a lot of choice when it comes to media centres that are available in the market. Bear in mind that if you have a media centre, youll also need to have a High Definition (HD) television.

COMPATIBILITYWhilst youll most probably buy a TV or HiFi system once

every five years or so, that then also means that you need to consider that technology and standards will change over time. 3D might become a more pervasive setup in the future. So it might be time to check out our 3D feature (page 18).

VIDEO

When it comes to your video setup, you'll typically need to choose between a flat screen TV or projector type setup. Also, with regard to projectors take into consideration that bulbs often have a limited lifespan.

There are a number of different cables and connectors in the world of TVs. Whereas Component cable is only a video cable for HD content, newer HDMI cables support audio and Full HD video transfers via one cable.

Bear in mind that when youre using an HD TV, plasma or LCD you shouldnt run your screen at full brightness as you can end up shortening its lifespan.

WIRED OR WIRELESS

Wires, especially around a home entertainment system, can get quite messy. You might then want to consider going for a cable management system or a wireless setup.

Theres the obvious convenience with wireless setups as there just arent any cables. But there are a number of disadvantages as well, especially when it, for instance, comes to sound quality. With a wired setup, your home theatre will have much better sound quality.

When it comes to wireless setups there are many devices that you can use to get your wireless setup going, especially with regard to TV players.

FEATURE 18


3D TVW

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3D TVWILL IT LIVE UP TO THE HYPE ?

3D TV has burst onto the scene in 2010, but is it really the next big thing when it comes to home entertainment? WINDOWS takes a closer look at 3D TV and explains how it works, whos making it, the health risks associated with it and whether or not its worth buying it now.

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3D TV

TRICK OF THE MINDWalk into a consumer electronics store today and youll be bombarded by people advertising 3D TV. The concept itself, though, is nothing new; so why is it suddenly becoming widely spoken about and how does it work exactly? There are many out there who believe that 3D is the next step in the evolution of television from that of HD TV and before that colour TV.

But what are we actually dealing with here when we talk about 3D TV? The team at Panasonic put it succinctly when they explain the basic principles of 3D images as follows on the next page:

FEATURE 20


3D TVW

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VISUAL DISPARITY CREATES A 3-DIMENSIONAL EFFECTWhen people look at something, they receive slightly different images from their left and right eyes and the difference between the two images is called "disparity." When the images are formed into a single image by the brain, this disparity causes the appearance of spatial depth and solidity. The basic principle of 3D images derives from purposely creating this visual disparity. Even though the image is projected onto a flat screen, the viewer's brain interprets the visual disparity information as portraying depth and solid-appearing objects.

TWO IMAGES ACQUIRED WHEN SHOOTING -- LEFT EYE/RIGHT EYETo artificially produce this visual disparity, separate images must be recorded for viewing with the left and right eye. When it comes to 3D movies, a special camera is used on 3D movie sets to do this. The camera has two lenses and is designed to capture both the left- and right-eye images simultaneously.

3D QUALITY LEFT/RIGHT IMAGE REPRODUCTIONThe key to achieving 3D image quality lies in the method for sending the special 3D left- and right-eye images to the eyes of the viewer. A variety of methods have been examined through trial and error. These include the primitive method of watching the images through glasses that are fitted with red and blue color filters, glasses with polaroid filters or LCD shutters, and a method in which a color filter is fitted to the screen itself and the viewers watch naturally -- without wearing any special glasses. The criterion for determining the best method is the ability to faithfully reproduce the information contained in the original images.

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FEATURE 21


3D TV

3D: THE RISKSRecently, Samsung Australia released a document outlining some of the risks associated with watching 3D TV. At first glance, the document outlines how 3D television has effects that are not very much different, for instance, to the risks associated with gaming. In a document outlined Photosensitive Seizure Warnings and other Health Risks,there are a number of risks that are mentioned in what appears to be a bid from Samsung to prevent itself from running into legal issues. Some of the risks outlined in the document, include the following:

Some viewers may experience an epileptic seizure or stroke when exposed to certain flashing images or lights contained in certain television pictures or video games. If you or any of your family has a history of epilepsy or stroke, please consult with a medical specialist before using the 3D function.

If you experience any of the following symptoms, immediately stop watching 3D pictures and consult a medical specialist: (1) altered vision; (2) lightheadedness; (3) dizziness; (4) involuntary movements such as eye or muscle twitching; (5) confusion; (6) nausea; (7) loss of awareness; (8) convulsions; (9) cramps; and/or (10) disorientation. Parents should monitor and ask their children about the above symptoms as children and teenagers may be more likely to experience these symptoms than adults.

Viewing in 3D mode may also cause motion sickness, perceptual after effects, disorientation, eye strain, and decreased postural stability. It is recommended that users take frequent breaks to lessen the likelihood of these effects. If you have any of the above symptoms, immediately discontinue use of this device and do not resume until the symptoms have subsided.

We do not recommend watching 3D content if you are in bad physical condition, need sleep or have been drinking alcohol.

Watching TV while sitting too close to the screen for an extended period of time may damage your eyesight. The ideal viewing distance should be at least three times the height of the TV screen. It is recommended that the viewer's eyes are level with the screen.

Watching TV while wearing 3D Active Glasses for an extended period of time may cause headaches or fatigue. If you experience a headache, fatigue or dizziness, stop watching TV and rest.

Do not use the 3D Active Glasses for any purpose other than viewing 3D television. Wearing the 3D Active Glasses for any other purpose (as general spectacles, sunglasses, protective goggles, etc.) may physically harm you or weaken your eyesight.

Viewing in 3D mode may cause disorientation for some viewers. DO NOT place your television near open stairwells, cables, balconies or other objects that may cause you to injure yourself.

Image: Audience at the SONY 3D launch.jpg

TO BUY OR NOT TO BUYOf course, theres numerous retailers out there who are now selling 3D TVs, and the likes of Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, LG and more have all jumped on the 3D bandwagon. But despite it being available, there are still lots of questions around it. Theres concerns such as will there eventually be enough content, is it too expensive and . We explore some of those issues.

FOROne of the arguments for buying a 3D TV, is that it is, strangely, most probably the best 2D TV you can buy.

AGAINSTTheres limited content available and whilst the likes of Samsung are capable of offering features that convert 2D into 3D, there are question marks over the picture quality of these images. It might also be some time before 3D really takes off, and, conversely, the content might take some time as well to hit the shelves. Other disadvantages include the health risks mentioned above, and then there's the fact that many will actually find this kind of medium uncomfortable as well. Its also very expensive still: The minimum price you can expect to pay for a 3D TV in this current market is around US $2700. Finally, those glasses - even geeks will find them un-cool.

GROUPTEST22

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GTX 470 graphics cards W

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nVidias GTX 400 series also known as Fermi has finally hit the market and in this grouptest we put four of these mid-range GTX 470 cards to the test. If youre keen on buying then this is the groutpest for you

nVidias GTX 400 series also known as Fermi has finally hit the market and inthis grouptest we put four of these mid-range GTX 470 cards to the test. If youre

FAST ANDTHE FERMI

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GROUPTEST 23


GTX 470 graphics cards

GROUPTEST24



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Asus is a high-end component company so when we found its oddly named

ENGTX470/2DI/1280MD5 graphics card has an end user price of just US $377 we were shocked. At this price it is $197 less expensive than Gigabytes GTX 470 and $93 cheaper than Zotacs GTX 470.

The ENGTX470 - like all the other cards here - features nVidias Fermi GeForce GTX 470 GPU and in this iteration, Asus follows nVidias reference design to the letter. The GPU and CUDA cores run at 607MHz and 1215MHz while the 1280MB of GDDR3 RAM runs at a clock frequency of 3348MHz. The GTX 470 packs DirectX 11 support and shares a number of features with its bigger brother, the GTX 480 (find out about the GTX 480 on page 35).

The Asus ships with a few

utilities and demo software but like the other cards here it lacks games out of the box. Unfortunate.

Running our benchmarks on the ENGTX470 we couldnt help but be impressed. In our new Heaven v2.0 DirectX 11 benchmark the Asus managed a framerate of 47.1fps at 1680 x 1050 pixels, just 0.2fps slower than the $93 more expensive Zotac GTX 470 card. Its results at 1920 x 1200 pixels also tied the Gigabyte and Zotac cards. The only card noticeably faster than Asus GTX 470 (and all the other cards here) is Galaxys pre-overclocked GeForce GTX 470 GC.

ASUSENGTX470/2DI/1280MD5Champions the value causePRICE $377CONTACT +9714 299 3873WEB www.asus.com

Galaxy says its GeForce GTX 470 GC is the worlds first non reference design GTX

470. While its impossible to verify this we can certainly say its the first custom GTX 470 we've received.

As soon as we got the card out of its packaging the difference between Galaxys card and the others here could be seen. The GTX 470 GC is equipped with a customised cooling solution complete with a hinged cooling fan. The hinge is a useful addition that makes it possible to clean the fan without any difficulty. The implementation works well and we hope that more companies offer this.

The enhanced cooler is put to good use, Galaxy ships this card factory-overclocked. Its GTX 470 GPU runs at a frequency of 625MHz (607MHz is the nVidia reference standard) while its CUDA cores tick

along at 1250MHz (1215MHz is the reference speed). On the memory front Galaxy sticks with nVidias reference specifications, so its 1280MB of GDDR5 screams along at 3348MHz.

Put to the test the Galaxys higher than standard GPU clock made its mark. In the Heaven v2.0 benchmark the card produced results of 70.2fps, 49.9fps and 43.4fps at 1024 x 768, 1680 x 1050 and 1920 x 1200 pixels; these are the highest framerates in this grouptest. Running our other benchmarks the GTX 470 GC trounced the other cards here in those tests as well. Very impressive.

GALAXYGEFORCE GTX 470 GCOverclocked and ready to runPRICE $379WEB www.galaxytech.com

PERFORMANCE FEATURES VALUE FOR MONEY VERDICT With an attractive end user price and competitive benchmark numbers Asus GTX 470 is a fantastic value-buy.

PERFORMANCE FEATURES VALUE FOR MONEY VERDICT The GTX 470 GC is a unique graphics card that packs superlative performance under its hood. Its simply the fastest GTX 470 weve tested.

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Gigabytes GV-N470D5-13I-B has the undesirable distinction of being

the most expensive graphics card in this grouptest. Can its performance and features make it a worthwhile buy?

Unfortunately the quick answer is no. In terms of features the Gigabyte ships with a mini-HDMI to HDMI cable and two free graphics applications. While the former is useful if you want to connect your rig to a HD or Full HD display the applications provide entertainment for about 10 minutes. Other than these two inclusions the Gigabyte is a bone stock offering.

In our Heaven v2.0 benchmark the GV-N470D5-13I-B produced figures of 68.8fps, 46.8fps and 39.8fps at 1024 x 768 pixels, 1680 x 1050 pixels and 1920 x 1200 pixels. The 1024 x 768 and 1680 x 1050 pixel figures are the lowest we recorded in

this roundup. The cards H.A.W.X and World in Conflict scores kept pace better with the other cards here but considering the Gigabytes high price, this is a disappointing performance.

During our tests the Gigabytes reference cooler, like the Asus and Zotac cards, also went to what seemed like full speed, which made the card very noisy despite being within a closed chassis. The GPUs peak temperature at this point was a scalding 89-degrees Celsius. If youre planning on buying a GTX 470 graphics card then its worth checking to make sure your chassis has adequate air circulation.

GIGABYTE GV-N470D5-13I-BPriced out of reachPRICE $574CONTACT +9714 886 3330WEB www.giga-byte.com

Retailing for US $470 Zotac's GeForce GTX 470 is a pricey proposition but not as

expensive as Gigabytes GV-N470D5-13I-B (left).

The lack of the AMP! Edition text signifies that this particular Zotac graphics card is a standard card (like two of the other cards here), rather than one that is factory overclocked. If youre a fan of Zotacs AMP! Edition cards however dont fret, the company will likely have these pre-overclocked monsters available in the coming weeks. Our particular test sample, being a standard clocked card, runs its GPU and 1280MB of GDDR5 memory at 607MHz and 3348MHz respectively.

Like the other cards in this grouptest this graphics card needs a 550-watt power supply to function. If youre planning to add another GTX 470 to your system so you can take advantage of

nVidias SLI multi-GPU technology, youll need at least an 800-watts power supply to maintain stability.

Putting the Zotac through its paces it returned competitive figures that kept pace with all the cards here, with the exception of the pre-overclocked Galaxy GeForce GTX 470 GC.

One trump card the Zotac holds over its competitors is that it is covered by a five-year warranty, meaning youre covered even after this card is well past its useful performance life. Considering the GPU regularly hits temperatures of 90-degrees Celsius we think a long warranty period adds considerable value.

ZOTACGEFORCE GTX 470Is the force strong with this one?PRICE $470CONTACT +9714 886 3330WEB www.zotac.com

PERFORMANCE FEATURES VALUE FOR MONEY VERDICT While the Gigabyte GTX 470 returns reasonable performance figures its simply too expensive to recommend in this crowd.

PERFORMANCE FEATURES VALUE FOR MONEY VERDICT Though the Zotac is somewhat pricey, it's a competitive performer that really scores points because of its five-year warranty.

GROUPTEST26



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GEFORCE GTX 470 CARDS

SCORES

Performance ---- ----- --- ----

Features ---- ----- ---- ----

Value ----- ---- -- ---

Overall ---- ----- --- ----

MANUFACTURER ASUS GALAXY GIGABYTE ZOTAC

Product ENGTX470/2DI/1280MD5 GeForce GTX 470 GC GV-N470D5-13I-B GeForce GTX 470

Price $377 $379 $574 $470

Telephone +9714 299 3873 N/A +9714 886 3330 +9714 886 3330

Web www.asus.com www.galaxytech.com www.giga-byte.com www.zotac.com

MAIN SPECS

GPU nVidia GTX 470 nVidia GTX 470 nVidia GTX 470 nVidia GTX 470

Memory 1280MB GDDR5 1280MB GDDR5 1280MB GDDR5 1280MB GDDR5

Codename Fermi Fermi Fermi Fermi

Fabrication process 40nm 40nm 40nm 40nm

Multi-GPU compatible SLI SLI SLI SLI

Cooling system Standard dual slot cooler Custom dual slot cooler Standard dual slot cooler Standard dual slot cooler

Interface PCI-E PCI-E PCI-E PCI-E

Warranty Three-year Two-year Three-year Five-year

FREQUENCIES

GPU 607MHz 625MHz 607MHz 607MHz

Memory 3348MHz 3348MHz 3348MHz 3348MHz

CUDA cores 1215MHz 1250MHz 1215MHz 1215MHz

PORTS

D-Sub N/A N/A N/A N/A

DVI x2 x2 x2 x2

HDMI x1 (mini-HDMI) x1 (mini-HDMI) x1 (mini-HDMI) x1 (mini-HDMI)

Component N/A N/A N/A N/A

Other N/A N/A N/A N/A

MAIN SPECS

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X 1024 x 768 pixels 148fps 149fps 144fps 143fps



World in Conflict 1024 x 768 pixels 80fps 81fps 79fps 80fps



Heaven v2.0 1024 x 768 pixels 69.1fps 70.2fps 68.8fps 68.9fps



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GROUPTEST 27



In some instances picking a product thats worthy of our highly coveted Best Performance award can

be quite difficult purely because of the number of factors we have to consider. With this grouptest of Fermi GTX 470 cards however thiswasnt the case, Galaxys awesome GeForce GTX 470 GC simply wowed us on every front.

Galaxy says its GTX 470 GC is the worlds first non-reference design GTX 470 and indeed the card stands out in this crowd because it

GALAXY GEFORCE GTX 470 GC

isn't a reference design graphics card. And because it is factory overclocked the Galaxy produced the best scores in all of our benchmarks, making it the undisputed performance champ here.

The best part is despite running overclocked and considering how hot Fermi cards run, we were very impressed with Galaxys custom cooler. The card was inaudible throughout testing and thanks to some innovative work with the cooling fan, youll be able to clean it easily as well.

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Deciding on a Best Value winner involved looking at each graphics card

in terms of how much performance they delivered for the price. We also considered extras where possible and at the end of it all, the obvious winner here proved to be Asus confusingly named ENGTX470/2DI/1280MD5.

This graphics card produced scores that tied with or traded blows with the other reference-design cards from Gigabyte and

Zotac. However, whereas the latter two manufacturers sell their GTX 470 cards for an expensive US $574 and $470 respectively, the Asus costs just $377. The ENGTX470 then is the least expensive GTX 470 card in this grouptest.

Beyond its very attractive price tag and competitive performance the Asus also scored points with us thanks to its warranty period. With three-years on offer, you can rest assured your purchase will be covered even when it has been replaced by a newer, faster GPU.

ASUS ENGTX470/2DI/1280MD5.

To test the cards in this grouptest we installed each, in turn, in our testbed which comprised an Intel Core i7 940 CPU running at 2.93GHz, a Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P motherboard, 6Gbytes of Kingston HyperX DDR3 memory, a 300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor hard drive, a Gigabyte DVD-RW drive and a Thermaltake Toughpower 1500-watt PSU. We also used Microsoft's Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit with the latest nVidia drivers on the software side.

On the benchmark front we used three different DirectX benchmarks: Tom Clancys H.A.W.X (DX10), World in Conflict (DX10) and Heaven v2.0 (DX11). With H.A.W.X we made sure to run the tests with all the in-game details set to the highest setting and with World in Conflict we simply tested using the built-in Very High setting. Moving over to our new Heaven v2.0 benchmark we ran it using the DX11 API setting, high shaders, normal tessellation and 4x anisotropy. With all the benchmarks higher framerates are better and positively influenced a card's performance score.

HOW WE TESTED

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HOT KIT 29

www.itp.net/reviews

Reviews

Awarded to outstanding products that have excelled in both value and performance.

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH

Awarded to the most outstanding product we've

encountered during the month.

CONTENTSReviews31 Canon EOS-1D Mark IV

32 LG HAIER R450

33 Nero Multimedia Suite 10

34 Sky Expeditor EXP

35 Zotac GeForce GTX 480

36 Asus ENGT240 / DeviceLock v6.4.1

37 Kingmax DDR3 / MS Sidewinder X4

39 Toshiba Store.E Art / WD VelociRaptor

31

34

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HOTKIT

WINDOWS MIDDLE EAST is the definitive Buyers Guide for PC and consumer electronics products in the region. We strenuously test products in our dedicated Dubai WinLab in order to highlight the very best models for our readers. Here we explain just how we test new kit in order to offer truly authoritative and objective recommendations, helping us keep WINDOWS the regions most relevant technology magazine.

WINLABS TESTING EXPLAINED

CPU TESTINGTesting processors is a time consuming process because there are a number of different tests that we employ. Depending on the CPU that has to be tested, we construct a testbed using a compatible motherboard. However, the 2Gbytes of OCZ memory, Gigabyte GeForce 8800 GTX graphics card, Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1Tbyte hard drive and optical drive remain as standard components.

All benchmarks are run at 1024 x 768 pixels and we employ the following benchmark tests; Cinebench 9.5, PCMark 2005 CPU and memory tests, 3DMark 2003 and 2005 CPU tests and POV-Ray to test raw process-ing performance. To test multimedia performance, we run a Lame 3.97 WAV to MP3 encode test, a TMP-GENC video encode, MPEG to DivX conversion test in addition to running F.E.A.R and World in Con ict. With the exception of POV-Ray and all the encode tests, higher numbers mean a faster processor and thus a higher performance score.

GRAPHIC CARD TESTING Our graphics card testbed comprises an Intel Core 2 Q6700 quad-core processor that runs at 3GHz, an Asus Maximum Extreme motherboard, 2Gbytes of Corsair DDR2 RAM, Western Digitals 300Gbyte Raptor X SATA drive, a Serial ATA optical drive and a 750-watt PC Power and Cooling power supply. All of these com-ponents are housed in Thermaltakes Armour+ chassis and we use Microsofts Windows Vista operating system. To test a graphics card, we hook it up to this machine and this is then connected to our Viewsonic VX2835wm 28-inch LCD screen.

The screen offers a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, which means it allows us to test graphics cards at all the major resolutions. To test graphics cards, we use three speci c benchmarks; F.E.A.R, Company of Heroes and World in Con ict. The rst benchmark uses older DirectX 9 rendering technology whilst the latter two game titles use DirectX 10. This enables us to gauge a graphics cards performance

when dealing with old and new game titles. As all three tests involve playable games, they are real world tests rather than synthetic and thus provide an accurate view of a graphics cards performance.

Each graphics card is tested at three different test resolutions; 1024 x 768 pixels, 1600 x 1200 pixels and, nally, 1920 x 1200 pixels. All of the games are run on the maximum settings with the exception of full screen anti aliasing, which we leave at 4x setting. Then, depending on the price and positioning of the graphics card, performance scores are awarded based on how well, or not, it has performed at a speci c resolution. For example, low end or entry level graph-ics cards are graded mostly on their performance at 1024 x 768 pixels whereas expensive, ultra-high-end cards are graded based on their performance across all three resolutions.

HARD DISK TESTINGTo test hard drives, we use our graphics card testbed. The drive in question is hooked up to the mother-boards Serial ATA II controller (or USB or Firewire port if its an external hard drive) and tested using a combi-nation of real world and synthetic benchmark tests.

For internal hard drives, we rely on a copy test to ascertain real world performance. The test folder is stored on a SSD drive, ensuring that this drive wont bottleneck the drive being tested and, to gauge write performance, we time how long it takes for the 4Gbyte folder to be transferred from the SSD drive to the test drive. To test read performance, we do the opposite and time how long it takes for the test drive to transfer the data to the SSD drive. Lower times in both cases equate to better performance. Next we call into action HD Tach3, a synthetic benchmark. This tests a drive in terms of its access time, average read and write performance, burst speed and CPU utilisa-tion. In terms of access time and CPU usage, lower numbers are better.

With external drives we use the same real world read/write test methodology but instead of using a 4Gbyte folder only, we also test the drive with a single 238Mbyte test le. Again, lower times give a drive higher performance scores.

OTHER PRODUCTSProducts such as MP3 players, PMPs, mobile phone etc are tested for a period of one or two weeks. During this time we use the products as someone who purchased it would and this helps us gauge perform-ance, features and value for money. In most cases the brunt of the testing is subjective and the testing always focuses on real world usefulness.

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WINDOWS MIDBuyers Guide foproducts in theproducts in our to highlight theHere we explainorordederr toto oofffferer ttrururecommendatiothe regions mos

CPU TESTINGTesting processors is a time consuming process

GRAPHICOur graphics card

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Canon introduced the world to its EOS-1D line back in September 2001 and now, with the launch of the EOS-1D Mark IV, the line gets

its fifth member. Being a professional SLR this camera is priced at a staggering US $5831.

Photographers that worked with the older EOS-1D Mark III arent in for a shock in terms of design and handling because the Mark IV is nearly a carbon copy; the body is built from magnesium alloy and is carefully sealed to protect from environmental damage. Thankfully, weight hasnt increased at all so, as before, the Mark IV with its battery weighs in at 1.4kg. The camera is very easy to get comfortable with and is fully customisable, so you can set it up to your preferred style of shooting. One area Canon focused on with the Mark IV is with its AF (Auto Focus) system. This isnt a surprise considering the main fault with the Mark III is AF related. With the Mark IV Canon introduces a completely new AF system though the company hasnt made any changes to the layout pattern of the cameras 45 AF points. Of those points 39 are setup to be cross-type points that are sensitive to both the horizontal and

vertical axis. (The Mark III only featured 19 cross-type points.)

In terms of photo quality the Mark IV is spectacular. The photos we captured over our two week test period were absolutely brilliant; we observed fantastic colour and an incredible amount of detail whether we shot in JPEG format or RAW. This Canons a fast worker too, we were able to take advantage of its capabilities and shoot 121 JPEG shots in quick succession before the camera needed to empty its buffer. If you prefer shooting in RAW the Mark IV is equally impressive, here it grabbed 28 shots before needing to clear its buffer and write to our CF card. The Mark IV blows its predecessor out of the water when it comes to ISO performance. Whereas the Mark III struggled to maintain detail and quality at an ISO setting of 6400, the Mark IV returned professionally-useable photographs at the very high setting of 25,600. Beyond this we noticed quality degradation, with the top most settings being completely useless.

Beyond grabbing still images the Mark IV can capture movies. Unfortunately the shooting experience here lags behind what the camera delivers when shooting

in still image mode. The first problem we have is that the body while great for grabbing still images through its viewfinder, is clumsy and awkward to work with when shooting movies. This is a bit of a shame because it actually sports some powerful features. The second issue is that these features, while great, feel a little too tacked on, rather than integrated. Still, if you can work around these hurdles the EOS-1D Mark IV captures excellent video footage at Full HD resolution.

CANONEOS-1D MARK IVAn evolutionary step to still image perfectionPRICE $5831CONTACT +9714 391 5050WEB www.canon-me.com

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PERFORMANCE -----FEATURES -----VALUE FOR MONEY -----SPECIFICATIONS16.1-megapixels, Dual DIGIC IV image processors, 45-point auto focus system, 39-cross type point for F2.8 lenses or faster, 10fps continuous shooting performance, movie mode (1920 x 1080 pixels at 30, 25 or 24fps), 3-inch TFT LCD screen, 62 custom functions, live view mode, 1.4kg (with battery), one-year warranty.PROS Fantastic photographs regardless of outside conditions, quick 10fps shoot performance, ergonomic champ, stereo microphone input, great video quality.CONS Movie mode could be better integrated, serious battery drain when using live view or shooting video.VERDICT Theres nothing that holds a candle to the Mark IV's still image captures. Its superbly detailed, high resolution images will blow you away.

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Retailing for US $680 LGs interestingly-named Haier R450 is designed for budget buyers in need of a portable notebook.

Being a budget machine the R450 doesnt boast particularly attractive looks though its matte black finish and piano black-lid may appeal to some. Studying the LG further youll find only two shortcut buttons; to disable or enable the LGs WiFi and trackpad. The LG offers two USB ports and an e-SATA port along its right border but LG hasnt labeled these on the top surface around the keyboard, so youll have to fish around or look at the ports directly to figure out which port is which.

In terms of components the Haier R450 packs an Intel T4400 2.2GHz dual-core CPU and this relies on a SiS 672 chipset. The chipset packs integrated graphics in the form of SiS own Mirage 3 and it has 256MB of memory. Theres also 2GB of RAM fitted as standard. These core components fit the machines budget positioning. Running our PCMark Vantage benchmark on the R450, it returned scores of 2115, 607, 1401, 920, 2929, 2886, 2082 and 2573 in the PCMark, Memories, TV & Movies, Gaming,

Music, Communication, Productivity and Hard Drive test suites. While these are fairly basic figures compared to some of the notebooks weve tested recently, the LG undercuts all those machines in terms of cost by huge margins. In real world use the LG is a perfectly usable everyday notebook. While it isnt the quickest off the mark around its Windows Vista Home Basic operating system, it isnt sluggish or off-putting. You can have multiple web browser windows open, work on your e-mails and documents and even edit photographs without the machine slowing to a crawl.

The LGs 15.4 LCD runs at a native resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels and while this means the screen is able to display 720p content without downscaling, the machine struggled to play any HD content smoothly. This is a bit of a shame considering HD content is all the rage these days. Games too are out of the question on this machine solely because the SiS Mirage 3 is a basic GPU. Both Street Fighter IV and World in Conflict refused to run, making the R450 an application and multimedia exclusive machine. Still, given the budget price tag this isn't a shock.

The notebooks battery gave the machine two hours and 49 minutes of life and while this isnt massively impressive, it is quite reasonable.

The notebook packs a 160GB hard drive and a dual-layer DVD writer, so storage wise the LG isnt a letdown. Despite its budget positioning there are also a number of useful extras such as 802.11N WiFi and a webcam for video conferring. The notebook also packs a memory card reader, so you won't need to invest in a standalone one.

LGHAIER R450Built for budget usersPRICE $680CONTACT +9714 881 2191WEB www.lge.com

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PERFORMANCE -----FEATURES -----VALUE FOR MONEY -----SPECIFICATIONS2.2GHz Intel Pentium T4400 dual-core CPU, SiS 672 chipset, 2GB DDR2 RAM, SiS Mirage 3 graphics, 160GB hard drive, DVD writer drive, Realtek HD audio, 802.11N WiFi controller, Windows Vista Home Basic SP1 (32-bit), two USB ports, one eSATA port, one-year warranty. PROS Aggressively priced notebook, good extras considering the price, decent for everyday applications and multimedia needs.CONS Struggles to run HD content, wont bowl you over with its looks.VERDICT Given its price point the R450 is excellent value-for-money considering you get a very useable everyday notebook that leaves slightly cheaper netbooks in the dust.

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Initially Nero Burning ROM only offered optical disc authoring capabilities but over the years the application has evolved into a fully-fledged authoring

suite. Version 6 was the first time Nero Burning ROM was offered as part of a larger suite and now with version 10, the suite has gained an even greater breath of capabilities.

One new addition to the already very capable authoring suite is the MediaHub. This particular application is designed to help you organise your media, modify photographs and includes a dedicated media player and slideshow creation utility.

Comparing MediaHub to the rest of the suite the applications slick interface immediately jumps at you; it holds a definite edge over most of the suites other utilities with the exception of the Only BackItUp and Burn.

Broad file format support is one of MediaHubs greatest assets. The application is compatible with codecs such as MP4, HD WMV, MKV, FLV in addition to more common formats such as JPEG, MPEG, MP3, Audio CD as well as various others.

The photo editor is a useful tool as well and while its no replacement for a

fully-fledged photo editing application - like Adobes Photoshop - it offers most of the commonly used photo editing tools. You can for instance add a few special effects, tweak colours and brightness and even correct minor flaws on photos.

The disc authoring application Nero Burning ROM has also received upgrades; perhaps the most useful is its disc spanning ability for data discs. This very useful feature allows you to split data across multiple optical discs and the best part is that you can mix media; if you wanted to you could start with a Blu-ray disc, use a DVD for the second disc and then use a CD for the third. Burning ROM even burns a small application to the last disc so you can recombine and recover the data on another machine that doesnt have the suite installed. Brilliant.

Nero Vision 10 has also received a fair few useful upgrades. The biggest in our book is the inclusion of support for nVidias CUDA hardware AVC/.264 acceleration. So should your machine have a CUDA compatible GPU you can enjoy smooth video playback even if your machine lacks a fast processor. You can also now work on Blu-ray content

without spending extra cash on aseparate Blu-ray update.

One major issue with Nero Multimedia Suite 10 is that it, on occasion, brought our machine to its knees. We tested the suite on a PC equipped with a 2.66GHz dual-core Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 2GB of memory and a 7200rpm hard drive and every so often the machine would become totally unresponsive for a few seconds. Needless to say this is quite annoying.

NEROMULTIMEDIA SUITE 10Fully-loadedPRICE $95CONTACT +9716 556 0933WEB www.nero.com

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PERFORMANCE -----FEATURES -----VALUE FOR MONEY -----REQUIREMENTS2GHz AMD or Intel processor, 512MB RAM (1GB for Windows Vista/7), 5GB hard disk space, DirectX 9 compatible graphics card with 3D acceleration and 128MB of memory, DVD drive for installation, CD/DVD/Blu-ray recorder, Windows Media Player 9, Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1, Microsoft Windows XP SP3/Windows Vista SP1/Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate. PROS Loads of useable features, slick interface, MediaHub content organiser offers loads of convenience.CONS Strong appetite for memory and disk space.VERDICT Multimedia Suite 10 is a comprehensive authoring package that will let you do everything you want. At $95 it is also very reasonably priced.

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Sky Electronics eXPeditor gaming machines have always impressed the WinLabs teams and the companys latest monster doesnt

do anything to break this trend.This PCs component list is a potent

cocktail of high-end components but before you get to them, youre tipped off about the PCs potential thanks to the black Silverstone Raven 02 chassis. While the Raven 02 doesnt have the outright shock value of Thermaltakes Level 10 enclosure used by YoYotech MK3s gaming PC (reviewed last month), the Raven 02 is a smart and fairly imposing chassis in its own right.

Booting the machine takes 49 seconds and even before we ran our benchmarks the eXPeditor felt very fast; installations were dealt with quickly, while performing searches and heavy multi-tasking didnt stress the machine at all. Running the 64-bit version of our PCMark Vantage benchmark suite the eXPeditor produces scores of 18,439, 10,606, 6529, 17,792, 18,313, 12,000, 20,697 and 25,372 in the PCMark, Memories, TV & Movies, Gaming, Music, Communications, Productivity and HDD test suites. These are very impressive figures. That said the YoYotech managed slightly higher figures

thanks to its overclocked 4.2GHz Core i7 processor and RAID 0 SSD array.

The Sky's fantastic app figures are courtesy of Intels 980X six core 3.33GHz Extreme Edition processor, an Asus Rampage III Extreme motherboard and 6GB of Corsair DDR3 memory. The machines storage systems are equally impressive, the PCs boot drive is none other than Intels super-quick X25-M SSD and it is backed up by two of Western Digitals 1TB Caviar Black drives. Given that the Rampage III motherboard supports RAID, you can opt to run these drives together in a RAID 0 (for performance) or RAID 1 (redundancy) configuration. The PC also packs a Blu-ray writer so you can backup data to 25GB or 50GB Blu-ray discs.

Moving on to our gaming benchmarks the eXPeditor massacred the YoYotech rig. Running our Heaven 2.0 benchmark at 1920 x 1200 pixels in DirectX 11 mode with the high shader setting, extreme tessellation, 4x anisotropy and 4x full screen anti-aliasing, the machine returned a butter-smooth 56.4fps. Turning to our Tom Clancy H.A.W.X and World in Conflict tests at 1920 x 1200 pixels with all the visual goodies turned on, the machine produced figures of 142fps

and 100fps. These are fantastic figures that leave the YoYotechs scores of 55fps and 74fps in the dust. The eXPeditors amazing graphics performance comes from two of nVidia GeForce GTX 480 GPUs running in SLI mode. Considering the PC's superlative performance at 1920 x 1200 pixels, it's safe to say you can even run games at 2560 x 1600 pixels without worry. The only thing missing from this rig is a fully-fledged soundcard like Creatives SoundBlaster X-Fi.

SKY EXPEDITOR EXP X980/6/80SSD/1TB/480X2/RV2This rig packs explosive gaming performancePRICE $4688CONTACT +9714 266 3774WEB www.skyelectronics.com

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PERFORMANCE -----FEATURES -----VALUE FOR MONEY -----SPECIFICATIONS3.33GHz Intel Core i7 980X Extreme CPU, Asus Rampage III Extreme, 6GB Corsair 1333MHz RAM, two nVidia GeForce GTX 480 GPUs with 1.5GB of memory running in SLI, 80GB Intel X25-M SSD, two 1TB Western Digital 7200rpm hard drives, 8x LG Serial ATA Blu-ray writer, Logitech Cordless Desktop EX100, Silverstone Raven 02 Gaming chassis, Silverstone 1500watts Strider power supply, Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit.PROS Killer performance, will excel with multi-threaded software, Blu-ray burner, quiet, well-built, priced fairly.CONS Lacks a dedicated soundcard.VERDICT Considering its awesome performance and great build quality, the eXPeditor is very fairly priced; it is over US $3000 cheaper than YoYotechs MK3 rig.

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The GTX 400 series - codenamed Fermi/GF100 - has been a bit of a problem child for nVidia. Low yield problems at TSMC, the chip

foundry that both AMD and nVidia use, forced nVidia to delay the launch of its GPUs by six months.

nVidia launched the GTX 470 and 480 simultaneously with the latter targeting the high-end market. Our Zotac test sample is a standard card that follows nVidias reference specifications to the letter; its GPU runs at a frequency of 700MHz whereas the 1536MB of GDDR5 memory runs at 3696MHz. In comparison the GTX 470 GPU and its 1280MB of GDDR5 memory run at frequencies of 607MHz and 3348MHz. Another difference between the two GPUs is that the GTX 480 packs 480 stream processors to the 448 on the GTX 470. DirectX 11 and nVidias SLI multi-GPU technology are supported by both GPUs.

The GeForce GTX 480 competes with ATIs Radeon HD 5870, which was launched about six months ago whereas the less expensive GTX 470 is designed to compete with the Radeon HD 5850.

Putting the GTX 480 through our benchmarks the card performed well.

Staring with our DirectX 10 tests first, the card managed figures of 167fps, 119fps and 100fps in Tom Clancys H.A.W.X at 1024 x 768, 1680 x 1050 and 1920 x 1200 pixels. In World in Conflict the card scored numbers of 79fps, 76fps and 69fps and moving on to our DirectX 11 Heaven v2.0 benchmark, we observed scores of 87.5fps, 58.9fps and 50.0fps respectively. Comparing these figures to XFXs Radeon HD 5870 graphics card, the Zotac GTX 480 is faster across the board. In Heaven v2.0 for example the XFX managed numbers of 53.1fps, 38.5fps and 34.6fps. The GTX 480 then is a much faster graphics card and while this certainly means that the GeForce GTX 480 is the fastest single GPU on the market today, its win would have been far more pronounced had it been launched alongside the Radeon HD 5870 six months ago.

One major issue we have with the GTX 480 is that it is a power hog and consequently runs very hot under load. After our test rig booted into Windows we noted an idle temperature of 53-degrees Celsius and after running our first benchmark test, the temperature spiked to a colossal 91-degrees. That said stability was never compromised

and nVidia claims its cards can run at these temperatures for extended periods of time. The only issue is that those running overclocked rigs might have problems considering the GPU sits in relatively close proximity to the Northbridge and CPU.

As we said before the GTX 480 is quite a power hog. nVidia recommends a 600-watt power supply and we concur. If youre running an overclocked PC or one that has a lot of hard drives, youd be wise to opt for 700-watts.

ZOTACGEFORCE GTX 480Was the wait worth it?PRICE $654CONTACT +9714 886 3300WEB www.zotac.com

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PERFORMANCE -----FEATURES -----VALUE FOR MONEY -----SPECIFICATIONSnVidia GeForce GTX 480 GPU running at 700MHz, 1536MB of GDDR5 memory running at 3696MHz, 384-bit memory interface, dual slot heatpipe cooler, 480 stream processors, 1401MHz CUDA clock, DirectX 11 and OpenGL 3.2 com

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