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THE BEST-SELLING MAG FOR PC HARDWARE, OVERCLOCKING, GAMING & MODDING / ISSUE 142

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SPEAKER AND HEADSETS MEGATEST23 PRODUCTS REVIEWEDINSIDE THE UNITY 5 ENGINE

Build your dream PCFULL EXPERT GUIDEPLAY ALL GAMES AT 4K WATER-COOLED WITH HARD ACRYLIC TUBING 4.3GHz 8-CORE PROCESSORNVIDIA TITAN X GRAPHICS

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WelcomeCustom PC Issue 142

3

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOMEThe information in this magazine is given in good faith. Dennis Publishing Limited cannot accept any responsibility for loss, disruption or damage to your data or your computer that may occur as a result of following or attempting to follow advice given in the magazine. If things do go wrong, take a break.

Custom PC is produced by Mr Freelance Limited, and published monthly by Dennis Publishing Ltd, 30 Cleveland Street, London W1T 4JD, a company registered in England number 1138891.

Entire contents © Dennis Publishing Ltd licensed by Felden.© Copyright Dennis Publishing Limited. Custom PC is a trademark of Felix Dennis.

EditorialEDITOR

Ben Hardwidge [email protected]

LABSMatthew Lambert, Orestis Bastounis

MODDING EDITORAntony Leather

GAMES EDITORRick Lane

ART EDITORBill Bagnall

www.billbagnalldesign.com

PRODUCTION EDITORJulie Birrell

CONTRIBUTORSGareth Halfacree, James Gorbold, Jim Killock,

Mike Jennings, Paul Goodhead, Richard Swinburne, Simon Treadaway, Tracy King

PHOTOGRAPHY Antony Leather, Gareth Halfacree,

Mike Jennings

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4

C U S TO M P C / ISSUE 142

Highlights10 SATA Express dies before

it arrives In a brand-new regular column, Taiwan resident Richard Swinburne says why he’s thankful that the connector designed to replace SATA has failed to take hold.

14 Introducing Custom PC RealBench 2015 The wait is finally over! Our new benchmark suite, in association with Asus, is now ready for you to download. Here, we take you through its key features, with the chance to win a new motherboard.

16 Enemies of Minecraft Fearmongers are lining up to tell us that Minecraft is bad for kids, but their evidence is wanting, argues Tracy King.

40 Speakers and headsets Labs Great audio is an oft-neglected aspect of a great PC, but a quality headset or speaker set can make movies, gaming and music far more enjoyable. Over 23 reviews, we find the best audio gear for your PC.

80 Inside Unity 5 Rick Lane revisits the Unity engine, which is now capable of some stunning graphical feats, including real-time global illumination.

94 Hobby tech Gareth Halfacree puts the Tsunami and the Banana Pro through their paces, and also analyses the current Arduino rift.

102 How to mod a graphics card waterblock Don’t want to fork out for a new waterblock for a new GPU, such as a GeForce GTX 960? Antony Leather shows you how to mod your old one to fit.

ContentsWelcome to Issue 142

86 Build your dream PC There’s a mass of exciting hardware and modding techniques now, resulting in some extremely swanky PCs. Whether you’re keen on choosing the right colours, super-fast hardware, building a powerful water-cooling system or all of the above, there are plenty of ways to make your PC stand out from the crowd. To show you how it’s done, we’ve built a Titan X-powered X99 rig with an 8-core Core i7-5960X, 16GB of DDR4 memory and a Rampage V Extreme motherboard for under £4,000. This setup also includes a custom high-end water-cooling system, complete with hard acrylic tubing. Whatever your budget, though, this feature aims to inspire you to see how far you can push your PC building skills – not everyone can afford a Titan X and 8-core CPU, but even a modest PC can benefit from imaginative thinking.

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COVER STORYP86

10894

100

Cover guideRegulars8 From the editor

10 Richard Swinburne

12 Letters

16 Tracy King

17 Incoming

34 How we test

38 Custom kit

58 PC system reviews

62 CPC Elite products

73 Inverse look

80 The engine room

84 Digital rights

94 Hobby tech

99 For the win

100 Customised PC

102 How to guides

108 Readers’ drives

112 Folder of the month

113 Your folding milestones

114 James Gorbold

1486

Reviewed this monthHardwareCPU COOLER19 DeepCool Assassin II

MOTHERBOARD20 Asus Sabertooth X99

CASES22 Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX26 BitFenix Aegis

MONITOR28 Samsung S34E790C

GAMING KEYBOARD AND MOUSE32 CM Storm Octane

Custom kit38 Libratone LOOP WIFI BT4.038 Adidas iPhone 6 booklet case38 Olloclip 4-in-1 Lens for iPhone 6/6Plus 39 GoPro HERO4 Black39 Club3D 10m USB 3.0 Active Repeater Cable39 Microlab T2

Headset Labs test42 Antilion ModMic42 Asus Strix 2.043 Asus Strix 7.143 Beyer Dynamics MMX 30044 CM Storm Sirius-C44 Corsair H150046 Func HS-26046 HyperX Cloud II48 Razer Kraken 7.1 Chroma48 Roccat Kave XTD Stereo49 Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog49 Sennheiser G4ME ZERO50 SteelSeries Siberia V350 Turtle Beach Ear Force Recon 320

Speakers Labs test52 Acoustic Energy Aego M53 Creative GigaWorks T353 Creative T315054 Edifier R980T54 Edifier R1600T55 Harman/Kardon Nova 56 Microlab F60BT56 Microlab X157 Razer Leviathan

PC system reviews58 Stealth 1.060 Computer Planet i7 Low Noise Gaming PC

Games74 Pillars of Eternity76 Battlefield Hardline76 Mortal Kombat X78 Dyscourse

Hobby tech94 Tsunami98 Banana Pro

43 PRODUCTS REVIEWED

5

76

80 102

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O P I N I O N

GORGEOUS PCs DON’T HAVE TO BE EXPENSIVE

Not everyone can afford a £4,000 dream PC, but Ben Hardwidge thoroughly recommends customising and water-cooling your rig

B E N H A R DW I D G E / FROM THE EDITOR

First there was a heavy thud, then there was an ‘uh, erm, Ben?’ from the removal guy. I went outside to see a big dent in the side of my cherished Antec P182

SE, and the door hanging off, its hinge broken into several pieces. To make matters worse, my Corsair H80’s pump started making a funny noise when I switched it on. My PC still worked, but there was no joy in sitting in front of it any more, with its sorrowful door coming off whenever I needed to switch it on.

I tolerated my miserable old box of bits for a while, and toyed with the idea of buying a completely new PC, but the reality of me being the sole breadwinner of a family with a newborn baby put paid to that idea.

The alternative was to rehouse it and change the cooling system – an idea I wasn’t sure was worth the cost, but that I now realise was worth every penny. Not only was I going to replace the case and closed-loop cooler, but I was going to build a custom water-cooling loop and create a machine I could proudly pat on the head (yes, I’m afraid I genuinely do this).

I’ve bemoaned the unadventurous designs of PC cases before, and in an ideal world, I’d have used a Parvum S2.0, or even a mini-ITX rig, but my lack of funds meant I had to stick with the ATX Ivy Bridge system I already owned. As such, I settled on a Fractal Design Define R5, along with an XSPC Photon reservoir/pump, a 240mm radiator, all the necessary waterblocks and tubing, some Blueberry Mayhems coolant, loads of Monsoon fittings and some LED strips.

The total cost was admittedly over £100 more than the cost of a new case and closed-loop cooler, but the end result has me beaming with pride every day. I removed all the drive bays except the 5.25in ones, as I still like to have an optical drive. I don’t like optical media but, even today, the only way to get true lossless audio is often to do a lossless rip from a CD, and that requires an optical drive. Also, new-release boxed games are bizarrely often a tenner cheaper than the Steam equivalent.

So, with my one SSD behind the motherboard, and all the 3.5in bays removed, I had plenty of room to mount the Photon reservoir at the front. Plus, unlike my old Antec case, the Fractal R5 (as with most new cases) has buckets of space and holes for cable routing. You can barely see any cables in the finished PC – just a lovely, blue custom water-cooling loop and all my components.

In real terms, what I’ve got is a case door that works, the ability to overclock my components

slightly higher and less fan noise. More importantly, though, I have a gorgeous-looking computer that I’ve customised myself, and which is a pleasure to switch on every day. It felt great to tinker with custom water cooling again – like building a model or any other hobby, it’s just fun.

So don’t worry if you can’t afford the 8-core CPU or GTX Titan X used in our Dream PC feature (see p86). That’s the beauty of having a custom-built PC – you can pick and choose what you want in it. If your rig is looking a little drab and dreary, but you can’t afford loads of new kit, I hope our feature inspires you to turn it into something really special.

Ben Hardwidge is the editor of Custom PC. He likes PCs, heavy metal, real ale and Warhammer 40,000. [email protected] @mandogfish

I wanted a custom water-cooling loop and

a machine I could proudly pat on the head

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O P I N I O N

SATA EXPRESS DIES BEFORE IT ARRIVES

The connector designed to consign SATA to the obsolescence bin has failed to take hold, and Richard Swinburne is thankful

R I C H A R D SW I N B U R N E / VIEW FROM TAIWAN

This month, Intel has launched its super-fast, prosumer 750 Series SSD, available as a PCI-E card and a 2.5in drive, although both provide the same performance.

You’ll be familiar with 2.5in SATA SSDs, but there’s no SATA connector on the 750 Series. Instead, there’s a sexily named ‘SFF-8639’ connector that adds a wider matrix of pins to transmit a full 4x PCI-E 3 signal, giving you a bandwidth of 32Gb/sec versus your – let’s be fair – rather tame SATA 6Gbps interface.

Now these figures might sound mighty tasty, but such bleeding-edge kit comes with a hefty price tag, and when your average 256GB SSD price is dropping like a rock (Phison Electronics’ chairman reckons a 256GB SSD will hit $60-80 US by next year), justifying a cost of almost $1 US per GB is a royally tough ask.

On the plus side, as 2015 progresses, PCI-E SSDs will flood the high-end market, with SandForce, Marvell, Intel and Phison committed to launching new chips, so prices will come down. But wait, step back a minute – how exactly do you connect these fancy 2.5in drives to your motherboard if they don’t plug into a SATA port? Do they use the new-fangled SATA Express connector?

Actually, no. They require a server-style ‘mini-SAS HD’ connector that can either be adapted from your motherboard’s M.2 slot or, in future, you’ll begin to find them integrated onto motherboards (you heard it here first!) But wasn’t SATA Express meant to be the new connector that kicked out SATA?

Nope, it’s dead and, you know what? I’m glad it failed. The SATA-IO crowd is a gaggle of very intelligent techies who sometimes make poor decisions for us on the DIY front. When

they aren’t thinking up forgettable names for their connectors, they’re designing superfluous connectors. First-gen SATA? Pointless – the plastic plugs easily fell out after a couple of uses. Thankfully, this error was corrected, and the design was revised into a wraparound socket with cables that clipped into place, but even now, the SATA connectors on the drive side are often flimsy and easy to break.

Now it’s round three, with SATA Express bringing back IDE-sized connectors that need three SATA-sized cables between

your motherboard and drive. That’s going to look great in a neat, tidy rig, isn’t it? When it was revealed, you could hear the collective PC community smacking its head against its desk. Plus, to make matters worse, it could only push out a bandwidth of 10Gb/sec, meaning you could strap together two readily available SATA drives in RAID 0 (using only two cables) and get almost identical performance. Why would

anyone want SATA Express, I thought? And, well, no one did. Sensibly, in the last year, M.2 connectors sporting a very

healthy 4x PCI-E 3 connection are increasingly becoming the drive style of choice, and with 3D/stacked NAND chips from Samsung, Intel, Micron and Hynix hitting the market, we’ll get more capacity than ever on those tiny sticks.

Admittedly, there are rumours of SATA Express hard drives in the works, but by the time a traditional spinning disk design threatens to break the SATA 6Gbps barrier, large-capacity SSDs will have made them utterly redundant. So, from case modders, performance enthusiasts and anyone who likes a neat-looking rig, goodbye and good riddance, SATA Express.

Richard has worked in tech for over a decade, as a UK journalist, on Asus’ ROG team and now as an industry analyst based in Taiwan @Bindibadgi

To make matters worse, it could only

push out a bandwidth of 10Gb/sec

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F E E D B AC K

LettersGive us a pixel countI’m currently considering an upgrade to drive the resolution that I’m now running (5,760 x 1,200). However, with the range of options now available to people, the traditional view of quoting standard resolutions and frame rates may be a little too limiting.

Would it not be possible to show the performance in frames per second of a GPU against the total pixel count that it’s driving? This figure would give those of us who are running other resolutions a good idea of how it’s likely to perform. For example, would I be better off going with a single GTX 980, or should I go for two GTX 970s in SLI? For the record, I’m going to go for the 2 x 970 option.RICHARD

Ben: I understand your dilemma, Richard, and unfortunately we can’t test at every single resolution possible. Sadly, though, the solution you propose could end up being very misleading, as the ratio of frames per second to the total pixel count isn’t a linear scale – it’s affected by all sorts of factors, not just the number of stream processors, but also the size of the frame buffer, the number of ROPs and so on.

Sadly, you can’t extrapolate that a card handling 3.7 megapixels at 60fps will handle double that number at 30fps, to use an extreme example, as the frame rate for some cards falls off dramatically after you hit a certain wall. You can get a fair idea though – your setup has a significantly lower pixel count than a single 4K display, so a pair of GTX 970s will handle it fine.

Can I upgrade?I’ve had the same PC for around four years now, and after reading your reviews on the new types of RAM

card, and I would need to uninstall the current AMD software installed for my card. What I would like to know is whether my current motherboard and CPU and PSU could handle this upgrade, and the jump from single-channel to dual-channel RAM (the manual says it supports dual-channel RAM). Is this a feasible upgrade? I’m still enjoying Skyrim at High settings.CHRIS BURDEN

Ben: I’m confident that your current system will handle all those upgrades fine, Chris. The Radeon R9 280X does use more power than the Radeon HD 6870, but nowhere near enough to push your 800W power supply to the limit, and that Corsair GS model has all the connectors and 12V current needed to handle such a card easily.

Your board will also handle dual-channel RAM fine, and at a higher frequency than 1,333MHz too. If you’re paying for a memory upgrade, I’d be tempted to buy a 1,866MHz kit while you’re there – your motherboard will support it. Just check your motherboard manual for the DIMM slots you should use, and any BIOS settings you need to tweak, to enable dual-channel mode. And yes, uninstall your current graphics drivers before installing your new card and installing the new ones. Good luck with your upgrade!

Something for the subsI need to get something off my chest. I’ve just received my latest edition in the post and on p36 there’s the standard enticement to subscribe to the mag. Okay, fine, I understand that you need to keep or increase the number of subscribers to ensure the mag remains viable. But come on, what about your loyal minions who have supported your mag for the last five

Please send us your feedback and correspondence to [email protected]

Didn’t know you measured temperature in FPS now (Issue 140, p25)!MATTHEW VAUGHAN (UPTHESADDLERS+MRSLIPPERY)

Ben: Argh, no idea how that wasn’t spotted. Thanks for pointing it out. I’m now off to bury my face in my keyboard.

PEDANTS’ PARADISE

and graphics cards, I’ve been looking into upgrading my current system. I currently have a Gigabyte GA-870-UD3 motherboard, an AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition, a Corsair GS 800W PSU, a 250GB Western Digital hard drive, 8 GB of Kingston Hyper X Blue 1,333MHz RAM (single-channel) and a Sapphire Radeon HD 6870.

After reading your magazine, I figured my system must use around 450W of power during use. However, I’ve never upgraded an existing system, and I’m looking to upgrade my RAM and graphics card. I want to install a dual-channel 16GB Corsair 1,333MHz kit, but I’m not sure my system will support it. I also want to change my graphics card for a Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Vapor-X.

I know I would probably need a new PSU, mainly for the graphics

A pair of GTX 970 cards will handle 5,760 x 1,200 gaming fine

13

Send your feedback and correspondence to [email protected]

years? Surely you can do something for us too?

Rant over, cheers for the DIY 3D printer guide, it’s something I’d really like to get into. More please.DAVE

Dust devilOne thing that always gives me grief is keeping my PC clean every year. I have an Antec 1200 case, which was the mutt’s nuts some years ago, and I have to remove 24 thumb screws and disturb all my nicely routed cabling just to access the three dust filters. Keeping a case clean can be a right nuisance and, judging by your last Labs test on cases, it looks like the manufacturers are still not getting dust filters right.

The dust filters should be easy to access and effective at keeping the case clean. If PC cases have lovely large windows, then having a dust fest on show is annoying. Are there any cases on the market that are easy to clean? How do some of the best cases on the market stack up with 12 months’ worth of dust, and how much trouble would it take to keep them clean?

Laptops are worse. I decided to clean the heatsink on my son’s laptop, which had been whining away on full fan speed. I spent half the day dismantling the internals just to get close to the clogged-up heatsink. Even then, the vacuum cleaner failed to suck up much of the dust. Maybe laptops are designed to be thrown away when they’re clogged up with dust. MARK GARDNER

Ben: I share your frustration, Mark. Gathering dust is sadly the price you pay for an efficient intake/exhaust airflow

system. My top tip is to gently use a large paintbrush (the sort you get from B&Q) to clean out the dust from heatsinks, and out of crevices. Dust filters are getting better though.

I bought a Fractal Design Define R5 recently, for example, which has great

Twitter highlightsFollow us on Twitter at @CustomPCmag

hans_gruber1 New shiny PC on my desk, waiting to be tested, but where be

the CPC benchmarks? Can only find the ye olde 2007 ones!Ben: And, as if by magic, here they are, on the next page!

carbontwelve Hurray, I passed the 1 million points mark in @foldingathome

I look forward to seeing it in @CustomPCMag soon :) Ben: Congratulations, and thank you for folding for our team!

davido_labido Who likes white and purple? I do! That’s why I made this!

Ben: Wow, that’s some beautiful work there – we’ll see if we can get your work featured in a future Readers’ Drives feature.

AChatwin Surprised you didn’t test an M2 along with the SSD roundup.

Ben: We had a couple of early samples in the lab for testing in that group test, but the performance results were so erratic and unpredictable that we decided we couldn’t

print them. We hope to review more M2 drives in the near future.

craigthebeard So I finally bought a NAS from @

OverclockersUK on your recommendation @CustomPCMag. Rubbed my beard on it, as you do. Ben: Enjoy! And congratulations on a very fine beard.

Zimtok5 You have been sporting the outdated Twitter logo in your Letters

section for a long while. Mind updating it?Ben: Oh no, we have! Consider that fixed from this issue onwards.

TheNo1Hozza Well after some modding the Makibox A6 can product a nice 3D

print, Issue 140 has changed my life. Ben: Excellent, glad our feature inspired you.

Cheers for the DIY 3D printer guide, it’s something I’d really like to get into

removable dust filters, including a massive one under the bottom of the case, and another covering the front fan mounts. They won’t completely keep dust out of your PC, but being able to easily remove them for cleaning makes maintenance easier.

WHEN’S THE NEXT MAG COMING OUT? Issue 143 of Custom PC will be on sale on

Thursday, 18 June, with subscribers receiving it a few days beforehand.

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CO M M U N I T Y / TESTING

Custom PC

in association with The wait for our new test suite is finally over. Ben Hardwidge

walks you through the latest Custom PC benchmarks

W e know, we know, it’s about bloody time. The delay between our new benchmark suite’s launch and the

launch of the Media Benchmarks 2007 suite was starting to look a bit like the wait for Half-Life 3. But, thanks to the lovely folks on Asus’ Republic of Gamers (ROG) team, we now have a suite of new real-world benchmarks ready for you.

GimpAs before, we’re using Gimp as the basis for our image editing test, but the new test is much bigger than the previous one, using lots of large images, and it also uses a much more recent version of the software, so it

will take advantage of optimisations for newer hardware. Unlike the Media Benchmarks 2007 Gimp benchmark, this test also spreads its workload across more than one CPU core, although it’s still much more sensitive to clock speed increases than to more CPU cores.

Handbrake H.264 video encodingWe also chose to stick with Handbrake for our video encoding test, but we’re now using a much more recent version of the

software, which takes full advantage of many CPU cores, pushing them to 100 per cent load. This heavily multi-threaded test gives you a good, real-world indication of the difference made by having multiple CPU cores.

Luxmark OpenCLWe’ve introduced a GPU compute test in the form of a Luxmark render using OpenCL. This section is the only synthetic part of the test, although the Luxmark renderer is based on the real LuxRender physically based rendering software. With some major packages, including Photoshop, now taking advantage of OpenCL, and AMD pushing

OpenCL hard as a benefit of its APUs, we wanted our benchmark suite to give a reflection of GPU compute power.

We now have a way of measuring how the GPU compute power of an AMD APU compares with that of an Intel CPU with integrated graphics.

However, given that 3D rendering is a very specific workload that not everyone will use, and as OpenCL support isn’t standard in most software, this section is given a lower weighting, making up just a quarter of the weighting of the other tests in the final score. It’s there to give an idea of potential GPU compute performance, but it doesn’t dominate the final test result.

Heavy multi-taskingWe’ve also overhauled our multi-tasking test. Instead of performing a large file

CHROME WARNINGAt the moment, Google’s Chrome

browser flags up the RealBench 2015 download as potentially harmful, and

we’re aware of this issue. The file is perfectly safe, however – please

ignore this warning.

15

compression operation while playing a windowed video, the new multi-tasking test now plays back a full-screen 1080p video, while also running a Handbrake H.264 video encode at the same time.

The scoresThe scores for RealBench are quite different from those in the Media Benchmarks 2007 suite. RealBench 2015 breaks down the individual scores for each test, and then gives you a total system score, as well as a percentage reference score. You can think of the latter as a little like the scores from our Media Benchmarks 2007 suite, though, where a score of 1,000 came from our reference test rig.

RealBench 2015 provides a separate reference score for Intel and AMD systems, so you can see whether your system is slower or faster than our reference systems. On an Intel system, the 100 per

WIN! an Asus Z97-Pro Gamer motherboard

O ur pals at Asus are kindly offering a Z97-Pro Gamer motherboard to three lucky winners who get their PC into the top 100 on the leaderboard this month. We’ll

randomly select three users from the top 100 and, upon receiving verification in the form of an RBR file, Asus will send them a fantastic new motherboard.

Asus’ Pro Gamer series is an increasingly expansive line of motherboards for gaming enthusiasts, sharing some of the bespoke features of Asus’ ROG boards, including LANGuard and Intel Gigabit Ethernet, GameFirst II, SupremeFX audio and Sonic Radar II.

Support for the latest M.2 (using two PCI-E 2 lanes) and SATA Express interfaces, which is common to 9-series motherboards is also included. The Z97-Pro Gamer is overclockable too, so you can pair it with a Pentium G3258 for some budget overclocking action well into 4GHz territory.

GameFirst II is an innovative traffic-shaping technology that reduces lag by prioritising game-related data, while SupremeFX provides near-lossless audio with a remarkable signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 115dB.

Meanwhile, the board’s on-board resettable fuses protect the ports and DRAM against over-current and short-circuit damage,

while its exceptionally high-quality, Japanese-made 10K black-metallic

capacitors offer greater temperature endurance and improved lifespan than standard capacitors.

The Z97-Pro Gamer also has Asus’ exclusive Digi+ VRM technology to

enhance performance, increase efficiency and ensure reliability.

3 BOARDS TO

BE WON!

cent reference score comes from a stock speed Core i7-4790K, with 16GB of Corsair 2,400MHz DDR3 memory, a 240GB OCZ 150 SSD, an Asus Maximus Gene VII motherboard and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 3GB graphics card.

On an AMD system, the 100 per cent reference score comes from a stock speed A10-7850K APU, with 8GB of Corsair 2,133MHz DDR3 RAM, an Asus A88X-Pro motherboard and a 256GB Plextor M5 Pro SSD, using the APU’s integrated graphics.

The leaderboardThere’s nothing like a bit of competition among hardware enthusiasts, so for the first time in several years, we’re launching a leaderboard, which Asus is kindly hosting. Take your browser over to www.asus.com/campaign/Realbench, where you’ll be able to download the new benchmarks and view

the latest results on the leaderboard.Along with your system’s scores, the RealBench 2015 app will also post your system’s specifications, thanks to an Asus-skinned version of CPU-Z that’s integrated into the app, so you can’t cheat and lie about your overclock! However, bear in mind that CPU-Z parses the system specs before the tests start, so if you have a power-saving technology that changes your CPU clock speed, such as SpeedStep, enabled then the leaderboard will post wildly inaccurate clock speeds. In short, don’t enable features such as SpeedStep if you want your overclock recorded accurately.

To post a score on the leaderboard, you’ll need to go to Save Upload File in the Results menu in the RealBench 2015 app, and save your results in the form of an RBR file.

You then need to select Offline Uploads at www.asus.com/campaign/Realbench, sign up for an Asus account and upload your file.

At the moment, the top result (a whopping system score of 201,406!) comes from the dream PC that Antony Leather built for this issue’s main feature (see p86). We’ll be impressed if anyone can beat that score, and we’ll be printing a part of the leaderboard in the magazine from this point onwards.

DOWNLOADFROM

WWW.ASUS.COM/ CAMPAIGN/ REALBENCH

O P I N I O N

16

ENEMIES OF MINECRAFTFearmongers are lining up to tell us that Minecraft is bad for kids,

but their evidence is wanting, says Tracy King

T R ACY K I N G / SCEPTICAL ANALYSIS

If Lego was the giant of our childhoods then Minecraft is the Goliath of today’s young generation. Simple blocks towering – literally and figuratively

– over the heads of babes. Awe-inspiring, stimulating, colourful, fun and frustrating in equal measures. To conquer a world with no story is to conquer boredom itself.

I still have Lego, and I play a lot of Minecraft. More than many middle-aged professional adults, possibly. But not more than the kids of my peers, whose Minecraft achievements put my own to shame. Where I use Minecraft as a sort of grown-up dolls’ house (I happily admit I mostly play in peaceful mode), I see kids aged 3-16 creating impenetrable fortresses from which to defend their loot and kill Creepers. My friend’s toddler thinks his avatar, Steve, is called ‘Minecraft’, and laughs hysterically when he falls in lava.

And so, of course, along must come the busybodies, the fearmongers, meeting trouble halfway. If young people love Minecraft then we must find a way to make Minecraft bad. Young people, after all, don’t know what’s good for them. They’d eat sweets all day if you let them, so why are you letting them play a design-and-build video game all day? Clearly, that’s going to result in an entire generation of murderers, or worse, architects.

Quartz, an online magazine, recently published a delightfully alarmist headline – ‘We’re ruining our kids with Minecraft.’ It turned out to be nothing more than ‘churnalism’, a copy-pasted press release about a new study written by – you guessed it – the authors of the study, a ‘strategic consultant’ for the commercial sector, and the CEO of a company that makes ‘ride-on toys that foster outdoor active play’. Lads, your bias is showing.

Another recent headline, this time by the BBC, asks: ‘Should parents ever be worried about Minecraft?’ The author, Joylon Jenkins, says, ‘Minecraft’s champions say it’s very creative and that I should just look at the things kids are making on it. I concede the point but say that it’s two-dimensional, and that children should be exercising more than their mouse fingers. The other side asks why it’s any worse than reading for hours at a time. Because, I say, reading allows you to imaginatively inhabit other minds.’

Jenkins has an answer for everything. I’m reminded of Carl Sagan’s example in which he claims to have a dragon in his garage. Show me, I demand, otherwise I don’t believe you. It’s invisible, he retorts. Then let me see the footprints, I insist. Ah, but it floats. Infrared sensor? No, her fire is a special heatless sort.

‘Now, what’s the difference between an invisible, incorporeal, floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all?’ asks Sagan. ‘If there’s no way to disprove my contention, no

conceivable experiment that would count against it, what does it mean to say that my dragon exists? Your inability to invalidate my hypothesis isn’t at all the same as proving it true. Claims that can’t be tested, assertions immune to disproof are veridically worthless, whatever value they may have in inspiring us or in exciting our sense of wonder. What I’m asking you to do comes down to believing, in the absence of evidence, on my say-so.’

Jenkins, Quartz, the Turkish government – which allegedly plans to ban Minecraft – all fail to offer evidence, beyond a few fringe anecdotes, that Minecraft is in any way bad for kids. The claims they make are vague, woolly, unprovable, invisible dragons in the garage.

Gamer and science enthusiast Tracy King dissects the evidence and statistics behind popular media stories surrounding tech and gaming @tkingdoll

That’s going to result in an entire generation

of murderers, or worse, architects

17

CO M I N G S O O N / NEW KIT

IncomingWe take a look at the latest newly announced products

AMD plans high-power CPUs and GPUsAfter years of focusing on the cheaper end of the CPU market, AMD says it has plans for a new high-performance CPU core in its new Zen architecture. Tech website Ars Technica reports that, at the AMD Financial Analyst Day in May, AMD CEO Lisa Su said, ‘It’s extraordinarily important to ensure that we have competitive, high-performance cores.’

She added that ‘ we have tremendous x86 heritage, and opportunity to lead in that area. We are absolutely going to invest in high-performance x86’.

The new CPUs are scheduled to be released in 2010, and will use a new socket, dubbed AM4, which will support both DDR4 and DDR3 memory. The new core promises a completely new high-performance design, as well as a new high-bandwidth, low-latency cache system, as well as improvements in energy efficiency.

Not only that, but AMD has also hinted at its plans for new GPUs. Firstly, some of its current 200-series GPUs will be rebranded as

300-series parts for OEMs. However, there are also plans for a new GPU architecture later this year, which the company says will feature high bandwidth memory and superior 4K performance.

Ten years ago, the AMD64 architecture dominated the PC enthusiast world, consistently trouncing Intel’s NetBurst architecture in our tests. However, the company’s Bulldozer architecture, where two integer cores share a floating point unit, has so far failed to compete with Intel’s current designs, in terms of both performance and efficiency. A return to form for AMD, providing some much-needed competition to Intel, would be very welcome.

Fractal removes optical drivesFollowing in the footsteps of NZXT, Fractal has decided to test the optical-free water with a brand-new case that has no 5.25in drive bays. The Define S is otherwise very similar to the Define R5, but its slight redesign means it can accommodate a 420mm radiator in the roof, and a 360mm model in the front.

Like the R5, the Define S also features two 2.5in drive bays behind the motherboard, but the new case also introduces three 3.5/2.5in bays positioned vertically by the motherboard tray’s front partition, saving on drive clutter by the front fan mounts. Estimated retail prices

will start at £65 inc VAT, with a windowed version costing an extra £5. We’re hoping to review the Define S in the next issue of Custom PC, and you can read columnist James Gorbold’s thoughts on the declining need for 5.25in drive bays on p114.

Intel announces 18-core CPUsWhile PC desktop land is still limited to 8-core chips, Intel has seriously beefed up the core count in its latest Xeon CPUs for highly parallel enterprise workloads, cramming 18 cores into one chip. The new Xeon Processor E7 v3 range can also feature up to 45MB of last-level cache in one CPU, and can handle up to 1.5TB of memory per CPU socket.

8Pack develops GTX 980 cardOverclocker 8Pack has helped to develop a new GeForce GTX 980 card in conjunction with KFA². According to retailer Overclockers, the unique component selection process enabled 8Pack to get hold of the best GPUs and memory chips, along with ‘uprated capacitors and VRM components.’ The end result is a card with a boost clock of at least 1,440MHz, but Overclockers claims the card often boosts to 1,480MHz, and that the memory consistently hits over 2,050MHz (8.2GHz effective) when overclocked too.

Comparatively, a reference GTX 980 is rated to boost to just 1,216MHz, with the memory running at 7GHz (effective). The card is available at a price of £600 inc VAT from www.overclockers.co.uk now.

18

ReviewsOur in-depth analysis of the latest PC hardware

Reviewed this monthDeepCool Assassin II p19 / Asus Sabertooth X99 p20 / Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX p22

BitFenix Aegis p26 / Samsung S34E790C p28 / CM Storm Octane p32 / Custom kit p38

19

D eepCool’s £60 Assassin II is a monster, wielding a 120mm fan at the front and another 140mm fan sandwiched between two nickel-plated heatsinks,

meaning it measures 143 x 158 x 167mm (W x D x H). There’s a mass of eight heatpipes, all with a 6mm diameter, which pass through a contact plate rather than making direct contact with the CPU heatspreader. The fans sport fluid dynamic bearings, which spin particularly smoothly and quietly, and the fan section is detachable too, so you can clean it or even spray the blades with paint fairly easily.

A four-channel fan hub is also included, which can power up to four PWM fans using a motherboard header to reduce cable clutter. It’s a neat touch, but we can’t help thinking it added several pounds to the cost when a simple Y-splitter would suffice.

Of course, the Assassin II’s sheer size means that it’s incompatible with a number of smaller cases but it does have the advantage of allowing DIMMs up to 40mm in height to be used, with standard-height DIMMs sitting at

around 31mm for comparison. There’s room for 5mm extra room if you nudge the front fan up a little too. Our G.Skill Ripjaw test memory fitted fine, so Corsair’s current Vengeance memory will squeeze under it too.

Installing the Assassin II is straightforward, but you’ll almost certainly need to remove your motherboard from its case, especially if you’ll be using non-LGA2011 motherboard.

Mounting plates secure to the motherboard and then a further plate straddles the heatsink’s contact plate and screws it into place. You’ll need a fairly long screwdriver to reach between the heatsinks to get at the screws too.

Cooling ability was on the money, if not spectacular, with the Assassin II nearly matching the similarly priced Corsair H75 in both our test systems. The air cooler to beat is the Noctua NH-D15, but while we only have results for our older LGA1150 rig here, the NH-D15 cooled noticeably better. The Assassin II’s trump card is undoubtedly low noise though. At full speed, it was barely audible above our test system hardware and with PWM enabled, it was silent at low loads, although the NH-D15 is also very quiet.

ConclusionThe Assassin II isn’t too tricky to install, it looks good and keeps up with all-in-one liquid coolers, in terms of cooling ability and noise. The Noctua NH-D15 is a better cooler, but it also costs £18 more.

The main issue with the Assassin II is its size, but if you have room in your case for it, and you want a quiet and powerful cooler, the Assassin II is a formidable force.ANTONY LEATHER

DeepCool Assassin II/£60 inc VAT

SUPPLIER www.amazon.co.uk

/SPECIFICATIONS

Compatibility Intel: LGA2011, LGA2011-v3, LGA115x, LGA1366, LGA775; AMD: Socket AM3+, AM3, AM2+, AM2, FM2+, FM2, FM1

Heatsink size (mm, with fans) 143 x 158 x 167 (W x D x H)

Fans 1 x 120mm, 1 x 140mm

Stated noise 17.8-27.3dB(A)

C P U CO O L E R

VERDICTA good-performing and quiet air cooler, but its monstrous size means you’ll need to check your case’s clearance first.

Lower is better

Lower is better

High fan speedFixed fan speed Low fan speed

INTEL LGA 1 1 50

0 15 30 45 60

55°C

51°C

52°C

54°CCorsair H75

Noctua NH-D15

Noctua NH-D15

DeepCool Assassin II

INTEL LGA 201 1

012 24 36 48

47°C

45°CCorsair H75

DeepCool Assassin II

LG A 1 1 5 x

LG A 2 0 1 1

COOLING

35/40

COOLING

36/40

VALUE

24/30

VALUE

24/30

DESIGN

24/30

DESIGN

25/30

OVERALL SCORE

83%

OVERALL SCORE

85%

There’s a mass of eight heat-pipes, all with a 6mm diameter

HOW WE TESTPAGE 34

LGA115xLGA2011

R E V I E WS / NEW KIT

20

A sus’ TUF series of motherboards has produced some corkers over the years, but with overclocking performance narrowing in most

fields, it can be tricky to justify the extra cost of any premium motherboard over its cheaper mainstream counterparts. At £285, the latest addition to the TUF family – the Sabertooth X99 – certainly sports a premium price tag as well, but it justifies its cost with a plethora of additional features.

For example, there’s an Android app that enables you to view the motherboard’s power status and view POST code displays by connecting your smartphone to a dedicated USB port on the I/O panel. It also sports arguably the best automatic fan control software available – Thermal Radar 2. This software enables you to control individual fan profile curves, or even match them with one of the included thermal probes. The software can also tap into Asus graphics card cooling fans. There are seven 4-pin fan

headers too, so you can cater for most cases without needing fan-splitter cables.

It’s also clad in the usual plastic Thermal Armor found on previous TUF boards, and whether you like its appearance is down to your own personal taste, but at least you can remove it. However, in our opinion, the Sabertooth X99 is probably the best-looking TUF motherboard we’ve seen,

despite the Thermal Armor still making an appearance, along with beige-coloured ports and DIMM slots. It’s a beast of a motherboard and it weighs over 1.5kg too. This weight is mostly due to a large metal backplate that protects the PCB, and is connected to the rear of the VRMs with a thermal pad to aid cooling. A small fan is also included that you can attach to the Thermal Armor to aid cooling of the VRMs.

Of course, a lot of the TUF ethos is about durability, so Asus makes a song and dance about the more durable

chokes and capacitors, while the motherboard itself includes numerous covers for expansion slots, DIMM slots and connectors to protect against dust. What’s more, the covers are black, so you can hide nearly all the beige details if you don’t like the look of them.

The Thermal Armor does present one or two issues when it comes to practicality though. For starters, the M.2 port is hidden underneath it, with a screw-fitted latch covering it next to the 1x PCI-E slot. Some of the ports can be a little fiddly to access too. That said, we were pleased to see that the M.2 port supports up to 110mm SSDs, while layout is generally very good, with all seven fan headers mounted on the edge of the PCB, for example.

Asus Sabertooth X99 /£285 inc VAT

SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk

/SPECIFICATIONS

Chipset Intel X99

CPU socket Intel LGA2011-v3

Memory support Eight slots: max 64GB DDR3 (3,200MHz - OC)

Expansion slots Three 16x PCI-E 3, one 4x PCI-E, one 1x PCI-E

Sound Realtek ALC1150 8-channel

Networking 1 x Intel I218V Gigabit LAN, 1 x Realtek 8111GR Gigabit LAN

Overclocking Base clock 80 – 300MHz, CPU multiplier 12 – 80; max voltages, CPU 2V, RAM 1.9V

Ports 8 x SATA 6Gbps 1 x M.2 , 8 x USB 2 (X99), 8 x USB 3 (X99), 2 x USB 3.1 (ASMedia) 2 x LAN, 4 x surround audio out, line in, mic, optical S/PDIF out

Dimensions (mm) 305 x 244

LG A 2 0 1 1 -V 3 M OT H E R B OA R D

Three-way GPU setups are supported as well, although as with all X99 systems, your total PCI-E bandwidth will depend on your choice of CPU. The cheaper Core i7-5820K only has 28 PCI-E lanes and, as a result, the third slot can only offer up to 4x speed in three-way modes with this chip. Also, while a 40-lane CPU will allow for 8x speed in the third slot, this slot will be disabled if you use a PCI-E M.2 SSD. Thankfully, this situation will only be an issue for a very small minority of people.

Perhaps the Sabertooth X99’s most stand-out feature, however, is its next-gen interface support. Firstly, it has two USB 3.1 ports. If you remember when USB 3 hit the shelves, there was a distinct lack of compatible devices and the same is true for USB 3.1 at the moment. The new standard has, however, proved itself in testing, with our own sequential tests showing speeds of around 800MB/sec compared to around 400MB/sec for USB 3. The Asus Sabertooth X99 also supports all current NVMe Express storage devices, including the latest 2.5in SFF-8639 SSDs from Intel, some of which promise over 1GB/sec read speeds.

PerformanceThe stock speed benchmark results were mightily impressive, most likely due to the Sabertooth X99’s fairly aggressive CPU Turbo mode, which saw the CPU remain at the maximum Turbo frequency throughout most of our testing. It was streets ahead of all the other boards we’ve tested in our video encoding and multi-tasking tests, with the resulting system score being a good 9,000 points ahead of its nearest rivals.

The downside is that this performance comes at the price of power consumption. The SATA 6Gbps speeds were on the money too, with 550MB/sec read and 515MB/sec write speeds coming from our Samsung 850 Pro test drive.

Meanwhile, the Sabertooth X99’s EFI was the usual slick Asus affair, and overclocking proved to be an easy task. Hitting 4.2GHz was simple, requiring a vcore of 1.28V with little other tweaking.

We gunned for 4.3GHz, which we eventually managed to get stable, but not without a hefty vcore of 1.32V and a System Agent voltage of 0.95V. This overclock also saw the peak power consumption rise to 466W, although this isn’t the highest we’ve seen. Here, the Sabertooth X99 again

An Android app lets you view the power status

21

VERDICTBulging with features and next-gen interface support, but its looks aren’t for everyone, and Asus’ X99 Deluxe is more lustworthy at this end of the market.

OVERALL SCORE

86%

SPEED

38/40VALUE

23/30

FEATURES

25/30/TEST KIT3GHz Intel Core i7-5960X, 32GB Crucial 2,133MHz DDR4, Plextor M6 Pro 256GB SSD, Antec High Current Pro 850W PSU, Windows 7 64-bit

G I M P I M AGE E DI TIN G

0 16,000 32,000 48,000 64,000

60,064

58,960

58,450

49,938

48,598

49,245MSI X99S SLI-Plus

ASRock Fatal1tyX99M Killer

Asus Sabertooth X99

0 130,000 260,000 390,000 520,000

500,292

464,218

464,949

415,831

401,199



Asus Sabertooth X99

0 60,000 120,000 180,000 240,000

215,423

197,254

197,899

188,366

171,108



Asus Sabertooth X99

0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000

197,141

182,480

182,373

166,475

157,278



Asus Sabertooth X99

H ANDBRAKE H. 26 4 VID EO EN C OD IN G

H E AVY M UL T I -T ASKIN G

SYST E M SCORE

0 450 900 1,350 1,800

1,693

1,686

1,632

1,405

1,331



Asus Sabertooth X99

C IN EB EN C H R 15

CPC M E DI A RE ALB EN C H 20 0 7

Stock speed Overclocked

SHOGUN 2: TOTA L WA R CPU TEST 1,920 x 1,080, default settings, no AA, no AF

0 12 24 36 48

fps37

fps48

fps38

fps46

fps39

fps46

fps32

fps41

fps32

fps39

fps32

fps39MSI X99S SLI-Plus


Asus Sabertooth X99

TOTA L SYSTEM POWER CONSUMPTIONIdle

Stock speed min Stock speed avg Overclocked avgOverclocked min

0 30 60 90 120

114W

71W

71W

78W

60W

66WMSI X99S SLI-Plus


Asus Sabertooth X99

Load

0 125 250 375 500

466W

484W

435W

230W

228W

238WMSI X99S SLI-Plus


Asus Sabertooth X99

Stock speed Overclocked Lower is better

HOW WE TESTPAGE 34

1

Three-way graphics card setups are supported

2

Asus’ plastic Thermal Armor covering makes another appearance

3

A pair of USB 3.1 ports are provided on the rear I/O plate

1

3

the also good X99 Pro costs around £20 less. However, they lack the Sabertooth’s full range of next-gen storage support, so it’s swings and roundabouts. The X99 Deluxe’s aesthetics and cracking feature set means it’s our favourite, but the Sabertooth X99 is a worthy addition to your shortlist, especially if next-gen interfaces are a top priority.ANTONY LEATHER

2

made a strong showing in our benchmarks, gaining the highest video encoding score we’ve seen.

ConclusionThe Sabertooth X99 has a wealth of useful features, from its Thermal Radar 2 fan control suite in the EFI to active cooling for the motherboard. There’s also good overclocking potential and, while USB 3.1 devices are all but non-existent at the moment, it’s a useful feature to have for the future.

Of course, you pay a premium for all the gadgetry; £285 is £100 more than the price of some cheaper yet still capable X99 boards. As such, this isn’t an X99 motherboard for the budget-conscious. Perhaps more importantly, though, the price tag is within spitting distance of Asus’ superb X99 Deluxe, which costs around £20 more, while


22

P hanteks has typically focused on the premium tower case market with its Enthoo range, but after a long wait, it’s

finally turning its attention to smaller form factors and lower budgets. The Enthoo Evolv ITX is the company’s first dedicated mini-ITX chassis, and it comes in at a very attractive £55 inc VAT price, or just £50 without a window.

Not surprisingly, the Evolv ITX has a similar design to the original micro-ATX Evolv, albeit with smaller dimensions. There’s a slightly indented front section, sharp angles and minimalist panels – it’s a clean-looking chassis.

The build quality is also very good, with little flex on any of the panels and minimum reliance on plastic. The front panel

is formed from plastic at its core, but it has an external steel sheet for added rigidity, and also matches the rest of the case’s aesthetics.

The power button is found on the roof, while the remaining front I/O ports and buttons are easily accessed at the top of the front panel. The front and roof are otherwise pretty sparse, besides a few holes and vents. Up

front, these vents provide an inlet for air flowing to the supplied 200mm intake fan, while on top, the small vents sit in the place where hot air would be exhausted, should you choose to use the fan or radiator mounts there. Still, these two panels are mostly solid – the Enthoo Evolv ITX isn’t a high-airflow chassis.

Meanwhile, a set of four foam feet on the bottom give the chassis a little extra grip, although rubber ones would be preferred. Our sample also shipped with a large, slightly tinted window in the left panel, which nets you a glorious view of the internals. On both versions of the case, the right side panel is devoid of features, and round the back you’ll find the dual expansion slots and height-adjustable 140mm/120mm fan mount – no exhaust fan is provided.

Thumbscrews and handles make the side panels quick to remove and, internally, the chassis has a tower-style design with a vertical motherboard. It’s arranged in two sections, with the core hardware at the top and the PSU and drive bays at the bottom. The

Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX /£55 inc VAT

SUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk

/SPECIFICATIONSDimensions (mm) 230 x 395 x 375 (W x D x H)

Material Steel, plastic

Available colours Black

Weight 5.4kg

Front panel Power, reset, 2 x USB 3, stereo, mic

Drive bays 2 x internal 3.5in/2.5in, 1 x internal 2.5in, 1 x optional 3.5in or 2.5in (additional trays purchased separately)

Form factor(s) Mini-ITX

Cooling 1 x 200mm or 2 x 140mm/120mm front fan mounts (200mm fan included), 2 x 140mm/120mm roof fan mounts, 1 x 140mm/120mm rear fan mount (fans not included)

CPU cooler clearance 200mm

Maximum graphics card length 330mm

Extras Removable dust filters

M I N I - I T X C A S E

window is neatly designed so that you won’t see masses of power cables or the drive bays, and much of the case is held together with screws, so it can be easily disassembled, which is great for modding or paint jobs. You won’t need to worry about dust either. The PSU dust filter is easily removable from the rear and can be replaced without having to lift or tilt the case. Likewise, the front fascia also pulls cleanly away, revealing a full cover dust filter that you can unclip easily for cleaning.

Starting downstairs, the PSU slots into place from the side and rests on foam feet to reduce vibrations. Up front is a pair of plastic drive trays in the hard drive cage, both of which can house 3.5in or 2.5in drives, with tool-free

installation for the former. There’s also a dedicated 2.5in bracket on the rear

of the motherboard tray, which slots into place on a series of rubber grommets.

Upstairs, Phanteks has pre-installed the motherboard mounts and provides a full-sized cut-out for CPU cooler backplate installation. At the front is a multi-function mid-plate, which sits bridge-like over the graphics card. Atop this you can mount a single SSD or hard drive, but doing so requires you to buy a separate tray.

Hardware installation is a cinch, and cable routing is likewise impressive. There’s ample room behind the motherboard tray to tie down

The chassis has a tower-style design with a vertical motherboard

23

thick power cables, and well-sized routing holes above, below and to the side of the motherboard. The side holes are fitted with rubber grommets, which is great, as they’re visible through the window. The inclusion of two Velcro cable ties makes rearranging the cabling easy as well.

For water cooling, you can install a 240mm radiator in the front, or a 240mm or even a 280mm one in the roof. You need to remove the front hard drive cage to use the front radiator mounts, though, leaving you with just a single SSD mount.

That said, you could install a radiator in the roof, a small tube reservoir between the GPU and the left side panel (provided your graphics card is thin enough) and then a pump on top of the mid-plate, which would leave the hard drive cage intact.

The roof also has a handy slide-out radiator bracket, allowing you to install your radiator and fans, and then simply slot the rest of your kit into place. The mounting holes are offset too – thick 240mm radiators can be installed, but you’re limited to half-height 280mm radiators.

PerformanceThe default cooling of the Evolv ITX isn’t great, with the CPU in particular getting comparably toasty and the GPU also heating up a fair bit, although not to the degree that it does in other cases, such as the BitFenix Colossus Mini-ITX. It’s understandable, as there’s no fan exhausting heat from the CPU area, and there’s a limited supply of cool air reaching the GPU, since the front fan is the only intake and it’s largely blocked by the front panel.

On the plus side, the front fan is relatively slow-spinning and quiet, and it was still powerful enough to keep our overclocked CPU and hot-running GPU from throttling after extended testing at 100 per cent load.

Still, for an air-cooled system, we’d use a CPU tower cooler since there’s plenty of room to do so, and also install an exhaust fan or two.

There isn’t much more you can do to help the graphics card temperature, so investing in an efficient model (such as an Nvidia Maxwell card) with a solid third-party cooler would also be a wise move to keep down noise and temperatures.

1

There’s room to install a full-height 240mm radiator in the roof

2

The side holes have rubber grommets, which are visible through the window

3

A full-sized cut-out is provided for CPU cooler backplate installation

VERDICTLarge for a mini-ITX case, but it provides plenty of room for water-cooling gear and components. It’s well designed too, although air-cooled rigs will benefit from more fans.

OVERALL SCORE

81%

COOLING

17/30DESIGN

28/30

FEATURES

17/20VALUE

19/20

ConclusionWhile its out-of-the-box air cooling is limited, the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX is otherwise a fantastic mini-ITX chassis, especially for water-cooling system. Sure, it isn’t the smallest case around, but there’s plenty of room for hefty components, and numerous options for air or water-cooled builds – it’s good to see that thought has been given to reservoir and pump placement, rather than just radiators.

It’s very well made, a joy to work with and attractive too. For £55, it’s a great deal, and easy to recommend provided you aren’t looking to install many hard drives or SSDs.MATTHEW LAMBERT

C PU L O AD DE L T A T GPU LOA D DELTA T

Lower is better Lower is better0 17 34 51 68

62°C

55°C

49°C

54°CCorsair Obsidian 250D

Lian Li PC-Q36

BitFenix Colossus Mini-ITX

Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX

0 18 36 54 72

58°C

68°C

47°C

46°CCorsair Obsidian 250D

Lian Li PC-Q36

BitFenix Colossus Mini-ITX

Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX

1

3 2

HOW WE TESTPAGE 34

26


W hile mini-ITX cases steal much of the limelight when it comes to fancy new case designs, a lot of effort has been going into the

micro-ATX form factor too. There are countless cube and tower cases, and Phanteks has even created the Enthoo Mini XL, which can house both a mini-ITX and micro-ATX system at the same time. BitFenix, on the other hand, has focused on improving the tower design with its new micro-ATX case, the Aegis.

Its dimensions might make you assume it’s a full-sized ATX case – we’ve certainly seen smaller ATX cases. It would only take a little modification to turn it into an ATX case too, but the reason it’s so large is that BitFenix has

focused on offering excellent water-cooling potential and compatibility with all-in-one liquid coolers. The motherboard is situated in the middle of the case, height-wise, with a huge space in the roof as a result, and there are still five expansion slots, despite the PSU being mounted beneath them. The Aegis generally caters for cable routing

as well but, while the case is tall and deep, it’s only 200mm wide, which makes space very tight behind the motherboard tray.

With many micro-ATX cases, you need to remove drive mounts and fans in order to use long graphics cards, but BitFenix has located its two tool-free 3.5in hard disk mounts at the top and bottom of the case. As such, even if you opt

for a two-way graphics card setup, you still won’t need to remove either of the mounts. There’s 380mm of clearance for graphics cards too, so long cards will fit. Each of these drive mounts can cater for two 3.5in hard disks, bringing the total supported to four.

In addition to these bays there are four 2.5in drive mounts. Two individual mounts are located on their own – for instance, one sits to the side of the PSU behind the motherboard tray, while the other two bays are situated in a tool-free mount above the top 3.5in bay. This mount is removable too, and you’ll need to ditch it if you want to install 140mm radiators in the roof. As standard, there’s a single 120mm fan in the rear of the case, but that’s it as far as cooling out of the box goes. There’s a plethora of additional fan mounts, though, so the Aegis is a blank slate, rather than an out-of-the-box cooling maestro.

The front of the case can house either two 140mm or three 120mm fans with corresponding radiators and there’s enough space for a full-height radiator too. There isn’t

BitFenix Aegis /£70 inc VAT (£80 inc VAT with front panel display)


/SPECIFICATIONSDimensions (mm) 205 x 480 x 470 (W x D x H)

Material Steel, plastic

Available colours Black

Weight 6.7kg

Front panel Power, reset, fan control, 2 x USB 3, stereo, mic

Drive bays 4 x internal 3.5in, 4 x internal 2.5in

Form factor(s) Micro-ATX, mini-ITX

Cooling 1 x 120mm rear fan mount (1 x 120mm fan included), 2 x 140mm/3 x 120mm front fan mounts (fans not included), 2 x 140mm/3 x 120mm roof fan mounts (fans not included)

CPU cooler clearance 170mm

Maximum graphics card length 380mm

Extras Programmable front display, 4-channel fan controller, dust filters

M I C R O -AT X C A S E

a lot of space for a pump as standard, but a bracket is included for mounting a pump or a reservoir beneath the top roof fans. Removing the lower drive mount provides the perfect space for one as well. The roof has a similar setup, again with the option of two 140mm fans or three 120mm fans, and there’s also room here for half-height radiators.

We test-fitted Corsair’s monstrous double 140mm-fan radiator H110i GT in the Aegis, which fitted fine but, as we mentioned earlier, you’ll need to remove the top drive mounts to install such a cooler.

Even so, two large radiator mounts in a case this size makes for excellent water-cooling potential.

Continuing with the cooling theme, the Aegis also includes a 4-channel fan controller, which is adjustable to three speeds using a button on top of the case. There’s a further 140/120mm fan mount in the base too, while both the front and bottom fan mounts are equipped with large removable dust filters. Allowing air in and out of the case is obviously just as important as including fan mounts, but the Aegis keeps vents to a minimum and the front section is entirely devoid of them. Instead, there are side vents at the front and a mid-sized mesh in the roof.

Thankfully, both the roof and front section panels are easily removable, allowing easy access to the fan mounts for radiator installation and to get at the dust filters for cleaning. Aesthetically, despite the large window and good build quality, the case is a tad on the garish side, with vivid colours making up most of the colour options available. There’s a lot of plastic too and it looks very glossy, so unless you’re keen to have a bright red or yellow colour scheme, we advise looking up the black or white options. There are two versions available too, with the more expensive one sporting a programmable LED display similar to the one included with the BitFenix Pandora we reviewed last year.

Both the roof and front section panels are easily removable

27

PerformanceDespite the fact the Aegis only includes one 120mm fan out of the box, its air-cooling performance was certainly reasonable. A CPU delta T of 49°C with the fan at maximum speed was a few degrees warmer than the likes of the Fractal Design Arc Mini R2 and Phanteks Enthoo Mini XL.

It was a similar story with the GPU delta T as well, which stood at 52°C; this was again bettered by the Phanteks Enthoo Mini XL.

Turning down the fan speed didn’t hamper cooling too much, though, with the CPU delta T rising by 2°C and the GPU delta T by 1°C. The included fan was reasonably quiet too, although you’ll want to add a few more. BitFenix included another two fans for us to test the Aegis, which shaved 4°C off both the CPU and GPU delta Ts. While the case’s cooling is clearly helped by its size compared

1

Two tool-free 3.5in hard disk mounts sit at the top and bottom of the case

2

A 4-channel fan controller is adjustable using a button on the top

3

The front can house either two 140mm or three 120mm fans with radiators

VERDICTIf you can overlook its aesthetics, the Aegis provides a fantastic, affordable base for a water-cooled PC.

OVERALL SCORE

83%

COOLING

21/30DESIGN

25/30

FEATURES

19/20VALUE

18/20

with the smaller micro-ATX cases we’ve tested, the vents appear to do a good job of allowing air in and out of the case, which bodes well for all-in-one liquid coolers and custom water cooling.

ConclusionInternally, we have few complaints with the Aegis. It has excellent cooling potential and great support for water-cooling systems, while concerns about the vents restricting airflow have been proved mostly unfounded. Even if you remove all the drive mounts in the main section, there’s still room for two SSDs too. The downside is that aesthetically it may have limited appeal thank its plastic-centric makeup. If you can look past the appearance, though, it makes for a decent, affordable home for a water-cooled PC.ANTONY LEATHER

C PU L OAD DE L T A T GPU LOA D DELTA T

Lower is better Lower is better

High fan speedFixed fan speed Low fan speed

0 13 26 39 52

49°C

51°C

45°C

47°C

50°CFractal Design Arc Mini R2

Fractal Design Arc Mini R2

Phanteks Enthoo Mini XL

BitFenix Aegis

BitFenix Aegis

0 14 28 42 56

52°C

53°C

50°C

52°C

54°CFractal Design Arc Mini R2

Fractal Design Arc Mini R2

Phanteks Enthoo Mini XL

BitFenix Aegis

BitFenix Aegis

1

3

2

28


S amsung’s S34E790C makes a barnstorming first impression, thanks to its arcing screen and

slick metallic stand. The 34in panel’s 3,440 x 1,440 native resolution isn’t as high as the 3,840 x 2,160 of most 4K monitors, and its pixel density of 110ppi can’t match the sharpness of 30in 4K panels, which sit at 145ppi. As such, its image in games won’t be quite as crisp, but it also means there’s slightly less strain on your graphics hardware when it comes to gaming.

The Samsung isn’t as tall as most 4K panels, but it’s wider, with an aspect ratio of 21:9. This ratio opens up some full widescreen movies to their native aspect ratio, and the screen’s large diagonal means this resolution is comfortable to use every day – there’s no need to deploy Windows’ scaling options to make text and icons readable.

It compares well with other widescreen panels too. The LG 34UM95 had the same resolution and diagonal, but wasn’t curved. The curve doesn’t make a huge change, but it makes Samsung’s screen a little more comfortable to view head-on, which is exactly where a desktop monitor will be positioned. And when stacked up against dual-screen setups, the Samsung continues to look strong, having more vertical pixels than 1080p screens, and its horizontal pixel count is very close to that of two 1,920 x 1,080 screens, without any irritating bezels.

Meanwhile, the sturdy stand not only looks good, but it’s also versatile, featuring tilt and height adjustment alongside VESA 100mm support, which is more than the LG offers. The Samsung also sports four USB 3 ports, which is twice as many as the LG, and all the ports face backwards, rather than downwards – a simple touch that makes this screen easier to handle. The LG does have Thunderbolt, though, for folks with Apple hardware, and both screens have HDMI 1.4 and DisplayPort 1.2 interfaces.

The Samsung’s menu system deserves praise too – it’s controlled using a small joystick, and while this control method initially feels awkward, you soon get used to it, and Samsung’s menu is fast and sensibly laid out.

Perhaps most importantly, the Samsung impressed in our screen tests, thanks in part to its use of a VA (vertical alignment) panel. Its first result, a 2,133:1 contrast ratio, trounced the LG’s 1,047:1. The S34E790C’s 320cd/m2 brightness is great too, and it has better blacks than the LG too – the Samsung’s 0.15cd/m2 rating means its dark shades are inkier than the LG’s 0.21cd/m2.

Likewise, the Samsung’s delta E of 1.65 sneaks ahead of the LG’s 1.74. On colour temperature, though, the Samsung

Samsung S34E790C /£750 inc VAT


M O N I TO R

faltered with a chilly 7,032K – further away from the 6,500K ideal than the LG’s 6,710K. Both screens displayed more than 95 per cent of the sRGB colour gamut, with little to choose between the two.

Viewing angles are good too; there’s no sign of banding, and subtle dark shades are easy to pick apart. The Samsung screen’s uniformity isn’t bad either – it lost around 15 per cent of its brightness in its worst spots, but the LG was a little better in this respect, with top backlight deviations of around 10 per cent. We have no quibbles about the Samsung’s input lag either, which we measured at 10.9ms – any figure below 20ms in this test is fine for most people; only professional gamers might notice the very slight lag.

ConclusionThe Samsung has few weaknesses, offering great image quality, plus the width and resolution to compete with larger panels and multi-screen setups. What’s more, it has that attractive curve for comfortable viewing, and it’s well made too. Its only downside is that its £750 inc VAT price tag pushes it into the luxury category, and most gamers will be sated by the Asus PB287Q, a 27in TN-based 4K panel available for around £450 inc VAT. If you want a premium-quality widescreen panel and don’t mind spending the cash, though, the Samsung S34E790C is fantastic.MIKE JENNINGS

VERDICTGreat image quality and a versatile design, but its high price means it’s only for the privileged few.

OVERALL SCORE

86%

IMAGE QUALITY

51/55VALUE

21/30FEATURES

14/15

There’s no sign of banding, and dark shades are easy to pick apart

ELITE NEW ENTRY

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Every Week

32


I t stands to reason that most peripheral manufacturers want you to spend as much as possible on gaming gear. Many

enthusiasts consider mice and keyboards that cost less than £30 to be risky purchases too, but not everyone can spend upwards of £60 each on a mouse and keyboard. As such, following the success of the CM Storm Devastator mouse and keyboard bundle, the company has launched a newer version, called the Octane – a gaming keyboard and mouse set that costs less than £40.

Despite the super-low price tag – typically half or even a third less than what you’d expect to pay for a gaming mouse and keyboard, the Octane bundle offers most of the features you’d expect from both.

Starting with the mouse, while it’s undeniably light and plastic-feeling, it includes the usual two thumb buttons, a scroll wheel button and even a DPI button, which can select from a total of four preconfigured sensitivity levels – 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 3,500dpi.

There’s no forwards or backwards option for these settings – you can only cycle through them. The additional button on the top switches lighting colours – a feature that the Octane bundles take very seriously and we’ll cover in a minute. However, it would be better to have the flexibility to customise each button’s purpose – for instance, you could allocate the lighting

button instead to sniping mode, dropping the resolution or, as we previously mentioned, have one button for raising and another for lowering it.

The buttons themselves are a mixed bag too. Most need a little more force to depress than premium gaming mice such as Logitech’s G402, and the thumb buttons feel a little dull. The large casing is

suited to palm grip types, as the main buttons become increasingly difficult to depress the further back you go.

Comfort-wise, it isn’t perfect, but it’s not bad either. There are a few rough edges, and people with large hands will especially notice them at the rear of the mouse. The shape doesn’t fit your hand as well as most premium mice either, but we got used to the shape after a few minutes’ use. The mouse’s low weight helps it to

CM Storm Octane /£38 inc VAT

SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk / MODEL NUMBER SGB-3020-KKMF1-UK

/SPECIFICATIONS

MS35 MOUSE

Connection Wired, USB

Cable 1.9m, non-braided

Material Plastic

Extras None

MB7C KEYBOARD

Connection Wired, USB

Cable 1.9m, non-braided

Material Plastic

Switch type Membrane

Backlighting Seven colours

Extras None

G A M I N G K E Y B OA R D A N D M O U S E

glide freely on smooth surfaces and the Avago ADNS-3050 optical sensor feels responsive as well.

There are two bright LEDs that sit under your palm, and you can cycle them through seven different colours, or turn them off. The scroll wheel is also illuminated in white but this light is always on. There’s no software to speak of, though, so you need to use button combinations to tweak the few settings that are included. For instance, you can change the backlight mode (the lights can switch colours, pulse slowly or remain fixed) by pressing the rear thumb button and light control button at the same time.

Meanwhile, the keyboard is similar to the mouse in many ways, in that you’re well aware of its plastic construction. There are also one or two rough edges, but its build quality is otherwise fine. There a couple of niggles in terms of comfort though. The wrist rest is an inch or two short of being useful, and the two-level height adjustment is rather lacklustre, with its top setting still being too short to provide a comfortable tilted typing surface.

Thankfully, the height supports are very sturdy, and our attempts to wrench them off failed miserably. We’ve lost

count of the number of supports we’ve lost over the years, but the Octane keyboard thankfully

doesn’t look set to join that fray. The chassis feels sturdy too; there’s

no metal base plate but it doesn’t flex much and two large rubber feet prevent it from sliding around.

CM Storm could quite easily have ditched media controls altogether in its quest for a super-low price tag, but the keyboard has the full complement of them. On the left are playback controls and on the right is a pair of volume buttons. There’s no swanky volume dial, but at least the buttons will prevent you from having to reach for the system volume control.

Mechanical keyboards are getting cheaper, but at this price, the best you

can expect is a membrane and that’s exactly what’s on offer. It still has its perks;

namely, quieter operation – considerably so compared with any Cherry MX switch, and up

There are one or two rough edges, but build quality is otherwise fine

33

until around six years ago, most of us used membrane keyboards anyway. The Octane’s keys have a surprisingly tactile feel to them, with the characteristic membrane dome bounce at the bottom. However, they rattle a little and, while the action is quieter than any of the usual Cherry MX switches, they’re noisier than good membrane keyboards such as the Saitek Cyborg V5.

Again, the backlighting is a generous feature at this price, and it’s certainly potent. However, there’s too much light coming from the gaps between the keys rather than from the keys themselves. The transparent characters on the keys themselves are also very dim in daylight – so much so that having the backlight on can improve the situation, especially if you can’t touch-type.

As with the mouse, there are seven backlight colours from which to choose (or you can turn them off), along with three brightness levels. At the top end, the keys are easily visible, even in direct sunlight and there are enough settings to cater for most needs in the dark too. The keyboard also has function buttons to control the lighting modes, colour and levels, as well as the keyboard repeat rate, plus there’s the ability to toggle the Windows key on or off and to lock the keyboard too.

ConclusionIt’s been a while since we’ve reviewed a membrane keyboard, and the Octane’s keys are clearly not as tactile as any Cherry MX switch either, but that’s beside the point – this keyboard effectively costs a quarter of the price of even the cheapest Cherry MX-equipped model, and it does the job fine. The inclusion of backlighting and media keys is a decent bonus as well, even if it’s a little basic. You can’t expect USB ports and macro keys at this price.

The mouse is in a similar situation. It’s basic, but offers resolution control and is better suited to gaming than a generic optical mouse. We wouldn’t expect anyone to upgrade to the Octane bundle from any setup other than

VERDICTA cheap and cheerful bundle, but it costs around a quarter of the price of a mechanical keyboard and premium gaming mouse, and it isn’t bad for the money either.

OVERALL SCORE

80%

DESIGN

31/40VALUE

24/25

FEATURES

25/35

a generic mouse and keyboard either, but the Octane bundle is a definite step up from generic peripheral sets and an affordable one too. If you have the money, of course, we recommend plumping for a decent mechanical keyboard and premium gaming mouse, but the Octane bundle offers a decent, affordable introduction to PC gaming peripherals if you have a tighter budget.ANTONY LEATHER

HOW WE TESTPAGE 34

34


How we testThorough testing and research is the key to evaluating whether a product is worth buying, and deciding whether or not there’s a better alternative

TESTS: We use Custom PC RealBench 2015, Cinebench R11.5 and a variety of games. We also test the power draw of the test PC with the CPU installed. These tests reveal a broad range of performance characteristics, from image editing to gaming and video encoding to 3D rendering. We run all tests at stock speed and again when overclocked to its highest frequency.*Please note: We test AMD FM2+ APUs using the on-board graphics, not the Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 3GB

We judge CPUs on whether they offer sufficient speed for the price. Part of a CPU’s speed score comes from how overclockable it is. Every type of CPU is tested in the same PC, so all results are directly comparable.We judge CPUs on whether they offer sufficient speed for the price. Part of a CPU’s speed score comes from how overclockable it is. Every type of CPU is tested in the same PC, so all results are directly comparable.

Graphics cards are mainly evaluated on how fast they are for their price. However, we also consider the efficacy and quietness of the cooler. Every graphics card is tested in the same PC, so all results are directly comparable.

The graphics card we’re reviewing

4.2GHz Intel Core i5-3570K

AMD FM2+ APU

Intel LGA1150

CPU

Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 3GB

Gigabyte G1 Sniper A88X

Asus Maximus VII Ranger

256GB Plextor M5 Pro

16GB Corsair Vengeance Pro

1,600MHz DDR3

Windows 7 64-bit

8GB Corsair Dominator 2,400MHz DDR3

Asus Maximus V Extreme

Windows 7 64-bit

Intel LGA2011 -v3

CPU

Asus Rampage V

Extreme

16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 2,133MHz DDR4

AMD FM2+

INTEL LGA2011-V3

COMMON COMPONENTS

INTEL LGA1150

+

+

+ + + +

+ +

= SCORES

PROCESSORS

GRAPHICS CARDS

+ + + +8GB G.Skill RipjawsX

1,600MHz DDR3 (CPU testing)

16GB Corsair Dominator Platinum 2,133MHz DDR3

(GPU testing)

512GB Crucial MX100

240GB OCZ Vector

150

+ ++

35

The Awards

EXTREME ULTRASome products are gloriously over the top. These items of excellent overkill earn our Extreme Ultra award.

PREMIUM GRADEPremium Grade products are utterly desirable – we’d eat nothing but beans until we could afford them.

PROFESSIONALProducts worthy of the Professional award make you and your business appear even more awesome.

APPROVEDApproved products are those that do a great job for the money; they’re the canny purchase for a great PC.

CUSTOM KITFor those gadgets and gizmos that really impress us, or that we can’t live without, there’s the Custom Kit award.

TESTS: We use the Custom PC RealBench 2015 and several games, and also test the speeds of the board’s SATA ports. We try to overclock every motherboard we review by testing for a maximum QPI, base clock or HTT as well as overclocking the CPU to its maximum air-cooled level. We run our tests at stock speed and with the CPU overclocked.*Please note: We test AMD FM2+ motherboards using the on-board graphics, not the Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 3GB

TESTS: By using the fast PC detailed on the left, we can be sure that any limitations are due to the graphics card on test, rather than being CPU limited. We test the four games (above) at their maximum detail settings, in their highest DirectX mode, at several resolutions. High-end cards should be able to sustain playable frame rates at 2,560 x 1,440, while 1,920 x 1,080 is more important for mid-range cards; we also test at 3,840 x 2,160 for 4K monitors, and try to overclock every graphics card we test to assess the performance impact.

Motherboards are evaluated on everything from layout and features to overclockability and value for money. Every motherboard is tested with the same components, so all results are directly comparable.

Intel Core

i7-4790K

Intel Core i7-4790K

Intel Core i7-5960X

Motherboard on test

16GB of Corsair 2,400MHz

DDR3

Motherboard on test

Plextor M6 256GB


1,600MHz DDR3

240GB OCZ 150

32GB Crucial 2,133MHz DDR4

AMD A10-7850K

AMD A10-7850K

Motherboard on test

8GB of Corsair 2,133MHz

DDR3


2,133MHz DDR3

256GB Plextor M5 Pro

Asus A88X-Pro

Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 3GB*

Windows 7 64-bit

INTEL LGA1150

INTEL REFERENCE

INTEL LGA2011-V3

AMD FM2+

AMD REFERENCE

COMMON COMPONENTS

+

+

+

Our benchmark suite, co-developed with Asus, simulates how people really use PCs – a higher score is better. You can download them from www.asus.com/campaign/Realbench

MOTHERBOARDS

CUSTOM PC REALBENCH 2015

240GB OCZ Vector

150

Asus Maximus Gene VII

Nvidia GeForce GTX

780 3GB

+ + +

+ + +

+ + + =100%=100%+ + + +


38

Custom KitPaul Goodhead checks out the latest gadgets, gizmos and geek toys

B LU E TO OT H S P E A K E R

Libratone LOOP WIFI BT4.0/£350 inc VAT

Whichever way you cut it, £350 is a hell of a lot of cash to blow on a single speaker. It’s a good job, then, that as well as looking fantastic, the LOOP is packed with technology.

It’s compatible with Airplay, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, DLNA and Spotify Connect, with physical 3.5mm and USB inputs in case you need cable inputs. It’s also equipped with a pair of ribbon tweeters, the mere mention of which should be enough to send audiophiles into a hot sweat. Annoyingly, while audio reproduction was fantastic at high and mid-range frequencies, the LOOP lacked oomph in the bass department. Its sound reproduction isn’t bad, but at this price, the LOOP needed to stamp a big smile across our faces instantly, and it didn’t quite manage it. Pretty design can only get you so far.

SUPPLIER www.libratone.com

P H O N E C A S E

Adidas iPhone 6 booklet case/£25 inc VAT

If you’ve already dressed yourself head to toe in Adidas gear and are worried that you can’t find anywhere else to display the famous trefoil, rejoice. You can now kit out your phone with three lines of its very own. Sarcasm aside, the case is well made, fits properly and feels rugged enough to take the blows and tumbles that to which phones are generally subjected during their lifetimes. The Adidas classic branding also lends it a certain retro charm. The price is consummate with the fact that it’s a licensed product, however, meaning you’ll need to really want the Adidas branding to justify the price.

SUPPLIER www.very.co.uk

P H O N E ACC E S S O RY

Olloclip 4-in-1 Lens for iPhone 6/6Plus/£70 inc VAT

The Olloclip is pleasingly simple. Just clip it to the top edge of an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus and it modifies the properties of the built-in camera. There are four lens options – wide angle, fisheye, 10x macro and 15x macro. The whole package feels well made and fits well, while the optics are top-notch with no noticeable distortion from the macro lenses. The wide angle and fish eye attachments exhibit softness at the edge of frame, but that’s to be expected and, with the fisheye option, all part of the effect. The only issue is that it isn’t compatible with a case, which makes using the Olloclip a bit of a faff for a quick snap. Still, if your phone is your main camera, the Olloclip provides a fun and easy way to get more out of your photos.

SUPPLIER www.olloclip.com

39

Seen something worthy of appearing in Custom Kit? Send your suggestions to [email protected]

U S B C A B L E

Club3D 10m USB 3.0 Active Repeater Cable/£42 inc VAT

Due to various technical reasons, USB cables are usually limited in length to about 3m, which isn’t often an issue, but in some situations, such as at a photography shoot where a camera needs a PC connection, it can be a frustration.

Enter Club3D with its active 10m USB 3 cable, which contains a pair of repeater modules. These modules refresh and clean the USB signal, allowing the cable to be a greater length without degrading the signal.

It works perfectly well too – we saw no appreciable drop-off in speed when reading and writing to an external USB 3 disk. However, £42 is undoubtedly a big cost to swallow for a USB cable, so you’ll want to make sure there isn’t a wireless workaround for your setup before you purchase one.

SUPPLIER www.alternate.co.uk

H E A D P H O N E S

Microlab T2/£37 inc VAT

While we’ve seen plenty of decent speakers from Microlab, the T2 is the first time we’ve seen the company take a stab at a set of Bluetooth headphones. Unfortunately, it’s a stab that doesn’t hit its target, with audio heavily skewed towards bass tones, making almost every music track we put through the T2 sound dull and lifeless, with high and mid-range frequencies sounding swamped. Raising the volume above 50 per cent exacerbated the issue too, turning even acoustic tracks into a muddy, ill-defined mess. All of which is a shame, as the price is attractive and the headphones look attractive and distinctive, thanks to the sleek, coloured headband and the modern rectangular ear pads.


AC T I O N C A M

GoPro HERO4 Black/£410 inc VAT

GoPro brand is synonymous with action cameras and the HERO4 Black shows why. For its size, it’s fabulously powerful. Capturing 4K video at 30fps and 1080p footage at 120fps, it’s more capable than many DSLRs. Image quality is superb too, with the automatic settings dealing well with awkward conditions such as low light and snow.

This in itself is a godsend, as tweaking settings manually is fiddly given the small screen and wealth of settings available. A free app (iOS

and Android) helps a little here, but the Wi-Fi connection needed for it adds extra stress to an already strained battery life – don’t expect to get much more than an hour’s footage from a full charge. Even so, its image quality, high frame rates and huge range of accessories make the HERO4 a superb device for capturing high-speed action.

SUPPLIER www.gopro.com

40

A udio is one of the more subjective aspects of a PC build. Finding the right set of speakers or headset depends on how you spend your time. Gaming and action films really

come alive with a standard 2.1 set with a powerful subwoofer, while most genres of music come alive with a high-end sound setup, capable of superb clarity across all frequencies.

For gaming, you’ll probably want both some speakers and a headset – speakers that sound great when you turn up the volume, so every bullet and explosion shakes the room, while your headset and built-in microphone makes yourself heard when coordinating multiplayer gameplay with your team.

Headsets specifically aimed at PC users are a little different from the type intended for pure music listening too. You’ll find that most of

them have a USB connection, avoiding the multi-coloured soup of ports at the back of your PC, and some also have profiles that make adjustments to the sound based on what you’re doing.

We’ve tested a whole load of gaming headsets in this Labs test, as well as plenty of stereo and 2.1 speaker sets, to find the right audio setup whether your priorities are gaming or listening to music.MATTHEW LAMBERT AND ORESTIS BASTOUNIS

Featured this issueHow We Test / p41

HeadsetsAntilion ModMic / p42Asus Strix 2.0 / p42Asus Strix 7.1 / p43Beyer Dynamics MMX 300 / p43CM Storm Sirius-C / p44Corsair H1500 / p44Func HS-260 / p46

HyperX Cloud II / p46Razer Kraken 7.1 Chroma / p48Roccat Kave XTD Stereo / p48Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog / p49Sennheiser G4ME ZERO / p49SteelSeries Siberia V3 / p50Turtle Beach Ear Force Recon 320 / p50

SpeakersAcoustic Energy Aego M / p52

Creative GigaWorks T3 / p53Creative T3150 / p53Edifier R980T / p54Edifier R1600T / p54Harman/Kardon Nova / p55Microlab F60BT / p56Microlab X1 / p56Razer Leviathan / p57

THANKS We would like to offer our gratitude to the team at www.overclockers.co.uk for the loan of many of the headsets and speaker sets we’ve reviewed in this Labs.

Great audio is an often neglected aspect of a great PC, but a quality headset or speaker set can make movies, gaming and music far more enjoyable

L A B S T E ST

Ace of bass

41

W hile it’s obvious that audio enjoyment is a personal, subjective experience, we’ve still

applied a degree of objectivity to our testing. We selected a range of activities for which a typical user might use their PC, and repeated them for each headset and set of speakers.

Your environment can very much affect how you perceive audio, with sound bouncing off various surfaces and causing small vibrations, depending on the materials from which your walls and desk are made. With speakers, these environmental factors can add up to a degree of natural reverb that will colour the sound.

We carefully marked out the positions for the speakers and subwoofers from the 2.1 speaker systems, with the listener sitting in the same place each time, to provide a fair comparison of the sound generated by each product in this environment.

We used the Elite-listed Asus Xonar Essence One USB digital-to-analogue converter (DAC), with the speakers and headsets connected via the phono inputs on the back. For speakers that used a 3.5mm connector, we used a short converter cable to connect them to the DAC.

The first test was gaming – a single-player level from Battlefield 4 with action and dialogue. Tank explosions, gunfire and the rumble of engines emphasise volume and bass, while the parts with dialogue test the overall clarity of the sound output. A similar mix of sounds could be attributed to many games, so Battlefield 4 is a good general representation of PC gaming.

The next part was a movie clip – a specific scene selected from the TV show Band Of

How we test

Brothers. As with Battlefield 4, a good mix of action and explosions with isolated dialogue is present in this scene, with one specific moment where a bullet casing pings from a gun in slow motion, with an accompanying high-pitched stereo whine.

When it came to music, we only used 320Kb/sec MP3 audio or FLAC files, to minimise the effect of any compression. As everyone has different music tastes, we tested using a variety of tracks pulled from rock, dance and classical playlists. For dance music, we included Leftfield’s Leftism album, which has tracks with both a thumping 4/4 kick drum and sub bass that hits extremely low frequencies, which some speakers simply can’t reproduce, making it a great way to test their bass capabilities.

Meanwhile, the 1980s guitar riffs from Paradise City by Guns‘N’Roses are full of low and treble sounds, with a noticeable difference in the reproduction when using various audio output devices. With a vocal

track that’s placed over percussion, guitar and bass, it’s a great track if you want to hear how a speaker set handles multiple audio frequencies at once.

Finally, Beethoven’s 5th Symphony is a famous piece that we imagine just about everyone in the western world has heard at some point, at least from a TV advert or a film, and its powerful opening chords are a great test of speakers’ volume capabilities. Aficionados will know just how well this music can fill a room. When a strings section comes in, it creates a wide spectrum of sound, with both high and low frequencies that particularly emphasise sound clarity.

We put the headsets through similar tests, while also trying out the built-in profiles offered by each headset, along with a short microphone test. We also looked at any extra features offered by each set of speakers or headset, since some offer wireless connections, digital audio input and remote volume controls.

We test movie sound reproduction with a scene from Band of Brothers, which involved a good mix of action and explosions with isolated dialogue

Tank explosions, gunfire and the rumble of engines emphasise volume and bass in our Battlefield 4 gaming test

We test using a variety of styles of music to give each speaker set a proper workout

42

L A B S T E ST / HEADSETS

I f you already own a pair of high-quality headphones then you may balk at the

prospect of buying a whole new headset just to get access to an appropriately positioned gaming microphone, but you now have an option to turn your faithful cans into a gaming headset, thanks to the ModMic.

For £40 inc VAT, you get a flexible boom microphone that can be installed on the side of almost any pair of headphones. It’s detachable, rotatable and comes with an in-line mute switch too, although one without this switch is available for £35. The kit is supplied in a protective carry case. The microphone connects via a simple 3.5mm mini-jack and the cable is 3.3m long, so you should still be fine if you use your headphones with an extension cable. Meanwhile, the in-line mute slider sits at shirt-pocket height, but there’s no clip to actually attach it.

Antlion ModMic V4 /£40 inc VAT


Installation is painless provided you’re using headphones with plastic or metal earcups – even mesh surfaces work, but rubberised surfaces don’t work with the adhesive. You simply clean your chosen earcup with the supplied alcohol wipe, and stick the small magnetic clasp to it. An extra clasp is supplied for secondary or future use. The clasps also come off (with a bit of prying) without leaving any sticky residue. The microphone then locks onto the magnet,

and you can rotate it upwards by 90 degrees, or simply disconnect it altogether with ease.

Cable clasps are also supplied so you can secure the wire to your

existing headphone cable, avoiding unnecessary clutter.

In our testing, we found the uni-directional microphone to be easily sensitive enough to

pick up our voices with clarity, even when whispering over

background noise. You need to get the position right, but thankfully. it’s very flexible and stays put once adjusted. The ModMic’s pricing is quite steep given that you can buy a decent headset for £50, but if you’ve already invested in high-quality headphones, then it has a lot more appeal than a desk microphone. It’s versatile, easy to use and sounds fine, making it very easy to turn an existing pair of headphones into a gaming headset. ML

A sus’ Strix 2.0 is one of the best-sounding headsets on test, despite its low price, with the large 60mm

drivers supplying a great balance of bass, mid-range and treble frequencies – the HyperX Cloud II is the only better sub-£80 headset in this regard. It’s less bass-heavy than the Func HS-260, but the mid-range is stronger, with a touch more clarity to female vocals, percussion and tracks with multiple distorted guitars. It also gets loud without distorting. The soundscape transfers well to the action-packed sequences too, with no weak-sounding elements and punchy gunfire.

However, while the Strix 2.0’s bulky plastic is sturdy, it doesn’t look or feel

Asus Strix 2.0 /£53 inc VAT

SUPPLIER www.cclonline.com

hugely attractive, and you can occasionally hear creaks from the joints when moving your head with no sound playing. On the plus side, the foldable earcups mean the Strix 2.0 can be flat-packed, aided by the detachable, rubberised microphone, and the non-

removable cable has an in-line remote with a clip and volume

and microphone mute controls. Meanwhile, the

self-adjusting, suspended and padded headband

works well. It transfers most of the weight to the earcups, but

thankfully, they have bulky padding and are massive too, so the Strix 2.0 is still comfortable

to wear.The Strix 2.0’s sound

quality is outstanding for the money. Func’s HS-260 offers

VERDICTA great-sounding stereo headset for a great price, putting many pricier models to shame.

OVERALL SCORE

87%

SOUND

34/40VALUE

28/30

DESIGN

25/30

/SPECIFICATIONSConnections 3.5mm mini-jacks

Extras 1 x 3.5mm to 2 x 3.5mm mini-jacks adaptor, 3.5mm alternative pole adaptor, detachable mic, in-line volume and mic control

Drivers 60mm

Stated frequency response 20Hz - 20kHz

similar quality in this price range, but with a better overall design, and just snags the award, but the Strix 2.0 remains a fine headset, and it’s better suited to on-the-go gamers too. ML

43

T he external design of the Strix 7.1 is practically unchanged from the stereo version. This means

a bulky plastic frame, but you get a detachable microphone, foldable earcups and a comfortable fit. The earcups also glow orange, powered by the dual USB connections.

The Strix 7.1 boasts a whopping five pairs of drivers, giving you full 7.1 audio. You can control each channel’s volume through the control pod, which offers preset profiles, lighting control and microphone control, including environmental noise cancellation. You can hook up speakers too – it’s extremely versatile.

Sound quality is very pleasing too. Compared with the Strix 2.0, mid and high frequencies are flattened slightly, providing a better overall balance, while bass is clearer.

S upplied in a multi-compartment carry case, the premium price of the MMX 300 is matched by premium

construction. The metal chassis, rigid closed-back earcups and high-quality cable shielding give it the best build quality on test, and comfort is first-class too – the earcup foam is breathable yet fantastic at attenuating external noise.

An adaptor allows you to connect the headphones to large jacks, but that’s it for features – the microphone is fixed (although very flexible and rotatable through 360 degrees), and there’s not even in-line or on-board controls for volume or microphone mute. You can purchase a USB sound card with these controls separately, but it’s a shame it’s not supplied as standard.

Asus Strix 7.1 /£147 inc VAT

Beyer Dynamic MMX 300 /£212 inc VAT



That said, the lowest bass notes in dubstep tracks, for example, can sound a bit flabby, especially at higher volumes where the

sound starts to distort. Stereo content is surprisingly

immersive, as it uses the front, side and subwoofer drivers, rather

than just the front ones, as with the Kave XTD 5.1

Analog. However, surround content

really brings this headset to life.

Positional audio is convincing in both game and video content

– it’s the best surround sound we’ve heard

from a headset. The Strix 7.1 is

comfortable to wear, has lots of features and

The MMX 300 is designed as a studio-grade headset, and the sound quality is a significant step up from any other headset on test. The sound is crisp, clear and well balanced across all frequencies at all volumes. The faintest details are always

audible, breathing new life into music, and enabling you to hear distant

footsteps in Battlefield 4, while still making the

game’s soundtrack sound excellent elsewhere. The bass isn’t as booming as other sets in this test, but the accuracy and clarity

of deeper notes really stands out. There’s a great sense of scale and immersion in games

and video content too, despite the lack of any

surround features.While the lack of features

offers incredible surround sound for a headset, but it’s only worth the high asking price if you’re a big fan of surround sound. ML

VERDICTLight on features but flawless sound, comfort, build quality and noise isolation make this headset a cut above the rest.

VERDICTEasily the best headset for surround-sound fans, but there are better options if this feature isn’t a big deal for you.

OVERALL SCORE

81%

OVERALL SCORE

81%

SOUND

40/40

SOUND

36/40

VALUE

15/30

VALUE

18/30

DESIGN

26/30

DESIGN

27/30


Extras 3.5mm mini-jack to 6.35mm jack adaptor, carry case, replaceable headband and earcup padding

Drivers Not stated


/SPECIFICATIONSConnections 2 x USB

Extras Desktop control pod with channel volume, mic and speaker controls, HDMI to 4 x 3.5mm mini-jack speaker cable, environmental noise cancellation, detachable mic

Drivers 30mm (centre), 40mm (front), 20mm (side), 20mm (rear), 40mm (sub)


costs the MMX 300 some points, the build quality, comfort and sound quality make it truly desirable. ML

ELITE NEW ENTRY

P 62

44


C M Storm’s Sirus-C uses USB but requires no software. It doesn’t offer virtual surround sound, but the

in-line controller includes independent game and chat volume wheels, as well as microphone mute with LED indicator and a PC/console switch – the extra cables make it compatible with the Xbox 360, PS4 and PS3. The earcup logos also light up white when powered.

The headset is solid enough for everyday use but isn’t that well made, and the glossy plastic that gets dirty quickly. Neither the braided cable nor rubberised microphone are detachable, and the latter isn’t very flexible either.

Meanwhile, the padding on the headband and earcups is abundant but quite hard, and the earcups are small – for some people it may be an

T he H1500 is one of the sturdier plastic headsets, but it’s also easy to adjust to the shape of your head,

and the earcups are foldable for flat-packing. The well-judged clamping force, coupled with the large circumaural earcups with memory foam padding, and the headband’s synthetic leather covering, make for a fairly comfortable headset. However, it pushes down on your head a fair bit.

The microphone can be flipped upwards but isn’t removable or flexible, and the 3m USB cable is also captive, although it comes with a non-intrusive in-line controller with a clip. Corsair’s software is very easy to use too.

There’s some hiss and distortion at high volumes but the H1500 is loud enough not to need to run at these levels. Switching to the preset reference or audiophile EQ is

CM Storm Sirus-C /£67 inc VAT

Corsair Gaming H1500 /£66 inc VAT


SUPPLIER www.lambda-tek.com

on-ear rather than over-ear headset. It’s also quite hard to get an exact fit, although there’s a decent amount of adjustment to help. It’s not uncomfortable, but the other headsets on test are more comfortable.

There are no glaring issues with sound quality, but the Asus Strix 2.0 has a fuller

sound and a clearer mid-range output, with percussion being

noticeably crisper. There’s only very moderate distortion at full volume too, and it’s very loud anyway, with the extra pair of drivers ensuring bass is maintained when

cranking it up. As such, it works well in our high-action video and game sequences, although we noticed less

separation between foreground and

background noises.The multi-platform

also recommended, and brings out more detail. Even so, the mid-range can be unbalanced, with some elements sounding louder than others, and vocals sounding distant or hollow in some tracks. High tones also occasionally lack clarity, with less crisp hi-hats and cymbals compared with better headsets. The H1500 struggles with the very

lowest frequencies too, but bass performance is otherwise

decent and not overpowering.Meanwhile, the virtual

surround isn’t true positional audio but adds distance to movies and games with multi-channel audio sources, although it’s less effective with stereo content and

poor with music. The software makes it easy to

toggle, but a dedicated switch would be better.

capability and dedicated subwoofer drivers mean this headsets handles gaming well, but both the Asus Strix 2.0 and Func HS-260 cost less and are better balanced. ML

VERDICTA solid effort, but other headsets are stronger in this price range.

VERDICTA capable headset suitable for multi-platform gamers, but PC gamers can find better-sounding, more comfortable models.

OVERALL SCORE

78%

OVERALL SCORE

75%

SOUND

31/40

SOUND

32/40

VALUE

23/30

VALUE

22/30

DESIGN

24/30

DESIGN

21/30

/SPECIFICATIONS

Connections USB

Extras In-line volume control and mic mute, virtual 7.1 surround sound

Drivers 50mm


/SPECIFICATIONS

Connections USB

Extras In-line volume and mic control, independent game and chat volume, PC/console switch, RCA cable

Drivers 44mm (main), 40mm (sub)


The H1500 has no major flaws, but also doesn’t stand out. Its sound quality is reasonable for the money, especially once you tweak the EQ, but you can find better deals elsewhere. ML

46


T he Func HS-260 pairs respectable build quality with a smart-looking design and soft-touch plastic.

Comfort is above average, although the headband could use more padding. The earcups are good too – you can easily install the breathable foam ones or the leather-coated set – and there’s space for ears to breathe, although the Asus’ Strix 2.0 has more room. The cable and microphone are both detachable, and you can easily alter the microphone position, while the volume wheel and microphone mute switch sit on the underside of the earcups and are quick to access.

Sound quality is also impressive for the price. It’s bass heavy, but not overly so, and low notes retain

T he HyperX Cloud II’s memory foam headband and leatherette earcups make it feel like you’re putting on

marshmallows, and the supplied replacement foam earcups are almost as comfortable. Meanwhile, the metal chassis is well built and looks great.

The detachable boom microphone is very flexible too. The captive cable ends in a single 3.5mm jack, while a USB in-line controller with volume control, microphone mute and a 7.1 virtual surround toggle is supplied for PC use; however, annoyingly, the controller is positioned far away from you. Finally, the carry bag and aeroplane adaptor make up a generous package.

Performance from the 53mm drivers is excellent, with balanced

Func HS-260 /£49 inc VAT

HyperX Cloud II /£75 inc VAT


SUPPLIER www.box.co.uk

warmth and accuracy without impeding mid-range or high frequencies. The bass doesn’t quite keep up as you get to maximum volume, where there’s slight distortion, but

it’s loud enough without going high. Most genres of music are reproduced well,

from acoustic tracks to heavy metal.Meanwhile, our Band of Brothers

and Battlefield 4 sequences sound great, with the bass providing energy,

and underscoring explosions and tank engines, while detail is

retained when foliage is destroyed and bullets ping off metal. The leather-coated earcups add even more immersion to games and make rumbles more noticeable too, although they emphasise bass more, and heat up your ears quicker too.

The Func HS-260 hits a sweet spot between price, performance and

levels across the frequency range, especially the high end. The full cover earcups immerse you in sound, and the level of detail is only beaten by the much more expensive Beyer

Dynamic headset. Bass isn’t overly powerful, but still responsive, so even deep sub bass notes register properly. A touch of clipping is introduced at full volume, but you’re

unlikely to need to use the Cloud II at this setting anyway.

The virtual 7.1 system is no good for music, but it did makes scenes in Band of Brothers feel larger. It

doesn’t process true surround-sound signals, however, instead

re-mixing stereo ones. As such, you can’t expect true

positional audio, but it works well in some cases, and you

can easily toggle it to try it out.

design. The Asus Strix 2.0 comes close to edging it, but the Func’s slightly superior design makes it our budget gaming headset of choice. ML

VERDICTA first-class headset in every respect – outstanding sound quality, a robust and attractive design, and a generous feature set.

VERDICTNo needless extras, smart aesthetics, good build quality and decent sound make the Func an excellent choice for tight budgets.

OVERALL SCORE

92%

OVERALL SCORE

88%

SOUND

37/40

SOUND

34/40

VALUE

26/30

VALUE

28/30

DESIGN

29/30

DESIGN

26/30

/SPECIFICATIONSConnections USB, 3.5mm mini-jack

Extras In-line volume control and mic mute, 7.1 virtual surround, detachable mic, aeroplane adaptor, replacement earcups, carry bag

Drivers 53mm



Extras Detachable cable, detachable mic, replacement leather earcups, on-ear volume and mic mute controls

Drivers 50mm


The Cloud II sounds fantastic, has loads of features and is unbeaten for comfort. It will take a really special headset to dethrone it. ML

48


Razer’s Kraken 7.1 Chroma is well made but the headband needs more padding, and the earcups are

small and quite tight. Thankfully, there’s a healthy amount of adjustment and the earcups are foldable for easy transport. Meanwhile, its retractable wire microphone stays in position, and includes a mute button with a red LED. Unfortunately, though, there’s no on-board or in-line volume control. Instead, you use the slick Synapse 2.0 software, which also controls EQ and the RGB lighting effects.

Sound reproduction is a little too bass heavy. Lower notes can sound overdriven and artificial at some frequencies, and there’s lots of vibration, interfering with melodies and mid-range parts of songs. Higher frequencies suffer less, being

A t £50, the Kave XTD Stereo is attractively priced, but it faces stiff competition from Asus and Func.

Thankfully, build quality and comfort are both pretty decent – there’s lots of breathable padding and it doesn’t feel too heavy, or as if there’s too much pressure at any point of contact. The rubber cable is non-detachable and ends in a pair of analogue 3.5mm jacks. The in-line remote has both volume and microphone mute capabilities, and while the microphone isn’t that flexible, it can be rotated upwards or detached entirely.

Unfortunately, its weakness is sound quality. While it provides an ear-filling sound, the bass reproduction is often muffled, while the mid-range lacks impact and treble frequencies aren’t as crisp as we expect. It

Razer Kraken 7.1 Chroma /£77 inc VAT

Roccat Kave XTD Stereo /£50 inc VAT



generally well reproduced – some hiss is audible, but usually only at volumes that are too high anyway. Action sequences have lots of impact too, thanks to the bass, but for any other task, you’ll want less boomy sound.

Meanwhile, the virtual 7.1 surround system has a cool calibrator in Synapse. Of course, it

can’t match true surround headsets for positional audio,

but it can add a sense of scale. It doesn’t always

work properly though – in Battlefield 4, for example, there was no difference between using it and not. You also have to use software to toggle it.

The Kraken 7.1 Chroma has some nifty

features and software, but its sound is very bass

heavy, and we expect better sound for the money. Func’s

cheaper HS-260 still packs a punch

gets worse as you increase the volume, with mid and high frequencies becoming exaggerated and distorted – crowded heavy metal tracks started to sound messy. At lower volumes, the sound is passable, but it was the least impressive headset on test for music.

Our Band of Brothers test scene lacked punch, with firepower and explosions sounding underwhelming. Higher-end

details such as bullets whizzing past had some merit, but not

enough to redeem the headset. On the plus side,

the soundscape was noticeably good for hearing footsteps in

Battlefield 4, but it comes at the cost of

the game not feeling very engaging or immersive – voices

are distant and weaponry lacks power.

and retains more detail elsewhere. Sure, there’s no virtual 7.1 surround sound or LED lighting, but these features aren’t the most important factors. ML

VERDICTUnderwhelming sound quality – especially at high volumes – means you can get a superior headset for similar money elsewhere.

VERDICTLots of low-end power and slick software, but it focuses too much on unnecessary features at the cost of sound quality.

OVERALL SCORE

69%

OVERALL SCORE

75%

SOUND

23/40

SOUND

30/40

VALUE

24/30

VALUE

21/30

DESIGN

22/30

DESIGN

24/30


Extras In-line volume control and mic mute, detachable mic,

Drivers 50mm


/SPECIFICATIONSConnections USB

Extras Retractable mic with mic mute button, RGB LED earcup lighting, virtual 7.1 surround sound

Drivers 40mm


While there’s little wrong with the overall design of the Kave XTD Stereo, you can get a much better-sounding headset for similar money elsewhere. ML

49

A s its name suggests, the Kave XTD 5.1 Analog is a true surround-sound headset, complete with multiple

drivers. Its leather-wrapped earcups provide a snug seal over your ears, although they can get a little toasty over time. It’s easy to adjust the set to your head shape too, and the soft-touch plastic is pleasant.

Meanwhile, the detachable microphone’s LED shows when it’s muted, and the captive, rubberised cable feeds into a large remote – it has a clip, but a desk stand is handily provided. It’s fed by four 3.5mm jacks and a USB connection, and you need to use them all.

At normal volumes, mid and high frequencies are handled fairly well, especially with vocal and acoustic segments. There’s

T he G4ME ZERO starts is well made yet also lightweight. It’s also very comfortable at all points of contact.

The padding is soft, and the earcups are large with lots of breathing room – it’s a joy to wear. This analogue headset also dispenses with in-line controls in favour of a volume wheel on the right earcup, and a microphone that you simply flip upwards to mute – it’s simple and avoids added cable drag. The G4ME ZERO can also be flat-packed and comes in an attractive transport case.

There’s no distortion at full volume, and high and mid frequencies are crisp and full of detail – like the HyperX Cloud II and MMX 300, it enables you to pick out previously unheard details. The mid-range is a highlight – acoustic, vocal and percussion

Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog /£80 inc VAT

Sennheiser G4ME ZERO /£171 inc VAT

SUPPLIER www.ebuyer.com


loads of volume on tap too, but the XTD 5.1 distorts when it’s cranked up. Bass can also sound inaccurate and muddy, so electronic, dubstep and hip-hop music suffer. Unlike Asus’ Strix 7.1, only one pair of drivers is used for stereo content too, so there’s also little sense of immersion or scale when it’s reproducing stereo sound.

Switching to surround content brings massive improvements

though. The rear drivers lend a sense of the battlefield’s size in Band of Brothers,

while the rumbling sub gives the action a pronounced kick.

Likewise, in Battlefield 4, the distinct drivers make it easier to find the location of sounds than virtual surround.

The Kave XTD 5.1 Analog is well built and

elements all stand out, and detail is retained even in crowded metal songs. The bass response is accurate too, although it’s the weakest part of the soundscape.

The excellent mid-range performance was enjoyable in Band of Brothers too, with all the details from the chaotic, exploding battlefield easily audible, although again more oomph

wouldn’t go amiss. Footsteps can be heard with relative ease in

Battlefield 4 as well, while gunshots feel powerful.

A sense of distance and scale is very noticeable– your own shots feel immediate, while environmental effects and weather are more immersive.

The lack of bass power lets the G4ME

ZERO down a little, and the MMX 300 has it beaten there,

has great surround sound for the money, but you sacrifice stereo reproduction. If surround is your priority then go for it, but you can get a better balance elsewhere. ML

VERDICTA great premium headset with outstanding comfort and sound quality, although its bass response is a little underpowered.

VERDICTA good-value way to achieve true surround, but it isn’t as good at reproducing stereo.

OVERALL SCORE

80%

OVERALL SCORE

78%

SOUND

36/40

SOUND

31/40

VALUE

16/30

VALUE

22/30

DESIGN

28/30

DESIGN

25/30

/SPECIFICATIONS

Connections 3.5mm mini-jacks

Extras Carry case, on-ear volume control, flip-to-mute mic

Drivers Not stated


/SPECIFICATIONS

Connections USB and 4 x 3.5mm mini-jacks

Extras In-line channel control and mic mute, detachable mic, controller desk stand

Drivers 40mm (centre, front), 40mm (rear), 30mm (subwoofer/vibration)

Stated frequency response 20Hz - 20kHz (40mm drivers), 20Hz - 100Hz (30mm drivers)

but elsewhere, the sound is awesome, as is the comfort. If your budget can’t quite run to the Beyer Dynamic, the Sennheiser is a close second in terms of quality. ML

50


T he Siberia V3’s self-adjusting, suspended headband makes it comfortable across the top of your

head, although it can pull slightly upwards on the earcups, making them feel a touch loose beneath your ears. The earcups’ leather padded foam covering is pleasant to wear too, although they might not completely cover larger ears. Meanwhile, the captive, rubberised cable terminates in a mobile-friendly 3.5mm jack. An adaptor for dual-jack systems is supplied, although there’s no in-line remote – simply a microphone mute switch on the left earcup. The microphone extends from the earcup and is very flexible.

The Siberia V3 has the most bass-heavy soundscape of any headset here, and the effect is

T he Recon 320 is lightweight, but it also feels fragile. The foam is fairly stiff, the earcups are small and

clamping pressure is quite high – you feel it at all points of contact, so comfort isn’t a strong point. However, both the cable and the flexible microphone are detachable, and two cables are supplied – one 3.5mm one for mobile devices with controls to skip songs, as well as answer and hang up calls, and one USB one for PCs, with an in-line remote featuring a microphone mute and volume control.

The frequency response across the range is reasonable, but the bass lacks any real punch, while both mid and high frequencies sound a little restricted compared with the competition – it doesn’t breathe much life into music. There’s no

SteelSeries Siberia V3 /£70 inc VAT

Turtle Beach Ear Force Recon 320 /£55 inc VAT



overdone. In fairness, bass reproduction is precise, but bass lines and kick drums sound really overpowering, often dominating songs where the melodies should stand out, drowning out other elements. The Siberia V3 also loses some clarity at full volume. Some music genres benefit from the focus on bass, but in most instances we found it was

too overpowering.The heavy action in Band of Brothers is underpinned by

rumbling tank engines and deep, boomy explosions, but again some finer details are lost. Explosions and gunfire in Battlefield 4 also sounded very powerful,

but shattering glass and footsteps were much

harder to pick out – it’s good for enjoying the

action, but less so from a tactical perspective.

distortion at high volume, but on the flipside, the highest volume level isn’t that loud. It doesn’t drown out sound well either, and past a certain volume, the controller introduces hiss. It copes fairly well in Band of Brothers and Battlefield 4, although the low volume and lack of power detract from the intensity.

Meanwhile, virtual surround sound effects are enabled within Windows’ speaker

properties, which is a cumbersome way to toggle them.

Battlefield 4 and Band of Brothers felt larger and a little more immersive with the virtual surround, though, helping to fill the space, although music

sounds better in stereo mode. It’s good that Turtle Beach

hasn’t resorted to cranking up the bass to mask poor sound quality, or sacrificed

clarity in favour of decibels, but the flimsy build quality and

The Siberia V3 is pleasing to wear, and action sequences allow it to shine. However, it’s much less suited to other types of content – the HyperX Cloud II is even more comfortable and sounds better too. ML

VERDICTReasonable sound, but the build quality, volume, comfort and noise mean you can get a better headset elsewhere.

VERDICTA comfortable headset, but the overly powerful bass means it’s only enjoyable in high-action video and game content.

OVERALL SCORE

71%

OVERALL SCORE

73%

SOUND

31/40

SOUND

28/40

VALUE

22/30

VALUE

21/30

DESIGN

18/30

DESIGN

24/30

/SPECIFICATIONS

Connections USB, 3.5mm mini-jack

Extras Detachable cable, detachable mic, mobile cable with in-line mobile controls, in-line volume control and mic mute, virtual 7.1 surround sound

Drivers 50mm

Stated frequency response 20Hz to 20kHz

/SPECIFICATIONS

Connections 3.5mm mini-jacks

Extras 3.5mm mini-jack to 2 x 3.5mm mini-jack adaptor, retractable mic, on-ear mic mute

Drivers 50mm


disappointing comfort, as well as the limited volume and unexciting soundscape, mean your cash is better spent elsewhere. ML

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52

L A B S T E ST / SPEAKERS

W hen the Aego M first launched in 2005, the tech world was a different place. Quad-core desktop

processors didn’t exist and mobile phones were for calling people, not playing music or browsing the Web. It’s a testament to the Aego M that it’s endured so well, since the world of audio hardware moves at a very different pace to that of personal computing.

Available in white or black, the Aego M 2.1 setup consists of a compact tower subwoofer with a single volume control in the centre. It has two small but deceptively heavy satellites, which have a brushed-metal finish and soft edges. The design is striking, with a single power status LED at the front surrounded by a metal ring, and the whole set looks and feels every bit a premium product.

There are a few subtle signs of the product’s age. Bass is controlled via a switch at the back, offering levels from 1 to 3, rather than a rotary control, which is more common now. Similarly, the speakers connect to the subwoofer via traditional bare wires rather than phono plugs. There’s no remote or wireless features either, but you do at least get a third input and output for an optional centre speaker.

You might wonder, then, why we’re recommending a ten-year-old product. Simply put, the Aego M blew us away with its sound quality. Others were good, even excellent, in their volume or clarity, but the Aego M is on another level entirely.

Playing Battlefield 4 was like a whole new experience. As with most 2.1 systems, the bass was loud and rumbling at all volume levels, but with a clarity that no other speaker set could match. Each shot caused the desk to rumble with warm bass, but without sacrificing anything from the treble. Likewise, we heard direction from gunfire in movies that simply wasn’t noticeable when we watched the same scene with other 2.1 sets.

Turn up the volume and you’re as close to being right in the middle of the action as possible from any of the speaker sets we tested. It might sound like hyperbole, but with an audio system that offers such clarity and definition as the Aego M, it really changes your movie-watching experience.

Finally, the Aego M really showed its strength when playing music at a hefty volume. The volume of a thumping 4/4 kick drum wasn’t just pounding, but crystal clear without even a hint of distortion.

Acoustic Energy Aego M /£199 inc VAT


The Aego M was one of the few speaker sets to handle Leftfield’s extremely low bass frequencies fantastically well, and rock and classical music sounded clear too. The guitar chords from Paradise City sounded noticeably stronger on the Aego M than on any other speaker set on test.

It was just as impressive at lower volume levels too. The spatial clarity was still noticeable, with the same sound quality we heard at higher volumes.

ConclusionIt may be starting to show its age but, for sound quality alone, the Aego M is the best set of speakers in this Labs. Sure, a remote would be appreciated, and the lack of

Bluetooth streaming may be a turnoff for some, but the clarity and volume is on another level. While Creative’s T3 and Microlab’s FC60BT are perfectly respectable 2.1 systems, the outstanding sound quality, bass and volume levels secures a well-deserved first-place win for Acoustic Energy. OB

VERDICTSuperb clear sound, exceptional volume and a real rumbling bass. An exceptional 2.1 speaker set.

OVERALL SCORE

87%

SOUND

47/50VALUE

16/20

DESIGN

24/30

/SPECIFICATIONS

Inputs 3 x RCA phono

Stated total RMS power 90W


Bass was loud and rumbling, but with a clarity that no other speaker set matched

53

T he Creative GigaWorks T3 set may look smaller than the T3150 (below), but it offers a real step up in

sound quality. The 2in 15W satellites sound much more powerful, while the subwoofer contains three individual 6.5in woofers.

The included wired desktop remote and bass dial are well made too, with a built-in 3.5mm headphone output and auxiliary input. In testing, we found the T3’s audio quality to be of a generally high standard; however, as we found when we looked at it before (see Issue 118, p74), the bass dominates at the expense of a balanced audio range.

Volume isn’t a problem though. It pounded out the sounds of Battlefield 4 and Band of Brothers, causing table vibrations with every bit of on-screen action. However,

C osting just £60, Creative’s T3150 2.1 audio system has a down-facing subwoofer that’s elevated 1in off the

ground by its four feet, and it’s joined by a pair of fairly small satellites with plastic bases. Bluetooth 2.1 is built in for straightforward connection to mobile devices up to 10m away, and there’s also a wired remote control with a green status LED, a volume and power switch. Meanwhile, Creative uses what it calls an Image Focusing Plate on its satellites, which is basically a large flare around the speaker that’s intended to provide better sound direction and improved clarity.

Entry-level speaker systems usually can’t compete with pricier setups in terms of volume, though, and this is a particular problem with the T3150. At 50 per cent volume, high-frequency sounds such as strings, electric guitar chords and the pinging of bullets sounded reasonable, with a subtle but clear bass response. Gaming and

Creative GigaWorks T3 /£167 inc VAT

Creative T3150 /£60 inc VAT



it didn’t have quite the presence of Razer’s Leviathan in this respect.

Meanwhile, the T3 fared mostly well in the music tests. Low sub-bass frequencies didn’t have enormous punch, but there was no distortion at all. Strings and electric guitars did exhibit a tiny amount of distortion at times though. It’s clear the T3 emphasises bass and volume rather than overall clarity.

movie watching at reasonable volume levels was passable too, with the dialogue and explosions sounding reasonable.

However, with the volume dial cranked up, the sound clarity really drops off. At high volume, the T3150 struggled with low frequencies, with the subwoofer emitting a nasty distortion and the treble becoming tinny as well. You especially notice this drop in sound quality when playing any music with a kick drum. At a certain high volume level, the

The T3 is a well-built, decent-sounding system with plenty of bass. However, if you can stretch a bit more out of your budget, you’ll get better sound from the Acoustic Energy Aego M or Razer’s Leviathan. OB

VERDICTAn affordable 2.1 speaker set that isn’t bad at low volume, but the sound quality seriously deteriorates at high volume.

VERDICTA well-built, decent-sounding 2.1 system with plenty of bass.

OVERALL SCORE

61%

OVERALL SCORE

79%

SOUND

24/50

SOUND

40/50

VALUE

18/20

VALUE

17/20

DESIGN

19/30

DESIGN

22/30

/SPECIFICATIONS

Inputs Bluetooth, stereo mini jack

Stated total RMS power Not stated

Stated frequency response Not stated

/SPECIFICATIONS

Inputs 3.5mm jack, stereo RCA phono


Stated frequency response 30Hz-20kHz

bass becomes no more than distorted noise.Lack of response at high volume is often

the price you pay with an entry-level sound system, and if you favour clarity over thumping bass, spending slightly more on a good pair of stereo speakers will provide better overall sound. OB

ELITE NEW ENTRY

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T he R980T is a compact set of entry-level stereo speakers. The amplifier isn’t hugely powerful, and each

speaker only has a 0.5in tweeter, along with a 4in woofer. They’re built from MDF with a black finish, and carry a flare around both the woofer and tweeter for slightly better sound direction and improved clarity.

Volume and bass adjustment dials are located at the rear, and there’s no remote or wireless capability. However, you can’t expect a huge feature list from a £50 sound system, and you do at least get two sets of left and right phono audio inputs, and you can switch between them.

We weren’t expecting too much from the R980T, but the results were surprisingly reasonable. Music sounds fine at volume levels up to 50 per cent, and it still sounds passable with the volume

E difier has chosen a traditional wooden enclosure for its R1600T III speaker set, with an MDF chassis

and flat edges that are slightly angled, giving it a look and finish that’s refreshing when compared with the usual rectangular boxes.

The sound quality, volume and clarity is decent too. There’s a 4in woofer in each speaker, combined with a 0.75in tweeter, which is slightly smaller than most of the other speakers we’ve reviewed in this test, but Edifier claims it delivers an impressive tonal response from 30Hz to 20kHz.

Rotary controls for volume, bass and treble are built into a side panel, and there are two pairs of phono inputs There’s a flat wireless remote included too, although any modern features, such as Bluetooth, NFC pairing and other streaming technology, are notably absent.

Edifier Studio R980T/£50 inc VAT

Edifier Studio R1600T III /£95 inc VAT



turned up to maximum, although some treble sounds from guitars started to sound tinny at this level. Bass levels are the weakest point for the 980T, with some slight distortion when it was fed very low bass frequencies, which is to be expected from an entry-level sound system.

The Studio R980T isn’t a bad set of basic

Although the bass isn’t especially punchy, the R1600T III makes up for it with highly accurate sonic reproduction. Movies sounded great at low and medium volume, while music was notably detailed. Gaming was similarly crystal clear with pinging bullets and explosions sounding fantastic. With the volume at 100 per cent, the R1600T III sounded just as clear, but the slight lack of bass in music and gunfire was noticeable.

VERDICTGood range, warm bass and clear sound, although the bass drops at high volume.

VERDICTEntry-level desktop stereo speakers with basic sound quality.

OVERALL SCORE

76%

OVERALL SCORE

63%

SOUND

38/50

SOUND

27/50

VALUE

18/20

VALUE

18/20

DESIGN

20/30

DESIGN

18/30

/SPECIFICATIONS

Inputs 2 x stereo phono (input and aux)



/SPECIFICATIONS

Inputs 2 x stereo phono (input and aux)

Stated RMS total power 24W


The Edifier R16000T III is a decent set of stereo speakers for the sub-£100 asking price, but the better bass performance at high volume from Microlab’s X1 speakers makes the latter a slightly better buy in this price bracket. OB

stereo speakers for the money, but it suffers from the same unfortunate issues as Creative’s similarly affordable T3150 set – distortion at high volume and a lack of bass response. Unless you’re really strapped for cash, we advise saving your pennies for a set with superior sound reproduction. OB


55

Harman Kardon Nova /£200 inc VAT

SUPPLIER www.superfi.co.uk

really mind the lack of a subwoofer due to the clear, crisp bass with each gunshot and explosion anyway. Band Of Brothers sounded similarly superb, without even a hint of nasty tinny noise from loud bullet pings, even at maximum volume.

However, there was a noticeable lack of punch when playing back music. Beethoven’s strings sounded crystal clear, while electric guitar chords sounded reasonably powerful. However, it couldn’t compete with the bigger 2.1 systems on test, which offer enough

volume and bass to seriously provide some punch.

Although the Nova didn’t emit any nasty noises

when faced with low frequencies, it hardly shook the floor with them either. Then again, you can’t expect floor-shaking bass

from a 2.5in speaker. but that’s

what you lose when going for a small

speaker set.

That’s not to say you won’t enjoy listening to music on the Nova. Not everyone wants as much thumping bass as possible, and in confined areas, the Nova will still sound fine.

ConclusionWhat you’re paying for here is brilliant clarity, and the Nova undoubtedly scores top marks for its accurate sonic reproduction. If you’re short on space, the Harman Kardon Nova set offers great sound quality and fantastic looks, plus the flexibility of Bluetooth input.

However, the Nova lacks the punch of the larger 2.1 sets available. If you’re after some loud stereo speakers, with a stronger kick from the bass response, the Acoustic Energy Aego M set provides better sound for a similar price, but it can’t match the Nova’s looks. OB

VERDICTSuperb clarity and a beautiful design, but missing that essential punch when listening to music at louder volumes.

OVERALL SCORE

80%

SOUND

40/50VALUE

13/20

DESIGN

27/30

/SPECIFICATIONS

Inputs 3.5mm RCA, optical, Bluetooth



Each transparent spherical shell houses a 1.25in tweeter and a 2.5in woofer

A lthough sound quality matters more than the design or appearance of a desktop audio system, it’s hard not

to appreciate the styling of the Harman Kardon Nova’s units. This powered stereo setup comes in black or white, with a spherical transparent shell surrounding each speaker, housing a 1.25in tweeter and 2.5in woofer. The transparent plastic satellites on Microlab’s FC60BT 2.1 system look good, but the Nova looks stunning.

There’s also a set of touch-sensitive buttons. You hold the touch-sensitive power button for a few seconds to power on the Nova, and slide your finger around the speaker to adjust volume. This control system initially takes some getting used to, as it isn’t quite the same as using a touch-screen on a smartphone or tablet, but it works well enough.

There are a few ports built into the side of the speakers, carefully hidden so they don’t get in the way of the design. Power, 3.5mm audio and optical connectors are included, with Bluetooth supported for wireless streaming, along with NFC pairing.

One slight setup hiccup came from the cable connecting the two speakers together though. The (assumed) proprietary connector uses an oddly shaped array of pins, which can only be pushed into its socket a certain way. Our unit arrived with them bent out of place, possibly from a previous reviewer lining them up incorrectly, but this problem wouldn’t exist if Harman Kardon had used a more straightforward connector.

Otherwise, Harman Kardon has clearly gone to a lot of effort to make the Nova such a desirable-looking object, which made us initially suspicious that it could be all style over substance. However, this fear was allayed when we started listening to them. The clarity was almost up there with Acoustic Energy’s Aego M, while the bass was surprisingly powerful for such small speakers.

The strongest area was in games and movies. Battlefield 4 sounded great through the Novas and, as with Microlab’s X1 set, we didn’t

56

T he lightweight satellites that come with Microlab’s FC60BT set sport one of the boldest designs we’ve

seen. They’re made from a completely transparent polymer that provides a perfect complement to the white subwoofer. Hosting a 1in tweeter, they’ll undoubtedly stand out on your desk.

Meanwhile, Bluetooth and NFC pairing will get you streaming audio from a smartphone or tablet in seconds, and there’s a nifty circular wireless remote control, supplied with batteries. While Microlab’s X1 design isn’t especially inspiring, the company has tried to push the boat out with the FC60BT.

The sub carries an 8in woofer, and it’s capable of dishing out exceptional volume. Perhaps a little too much, in fact, since it slightly drowns out the

T he Microlab X1 is a pair of oddly shaped, powered stereo speakers, with no fancy remote, Bluetooth or

touch-sensitive controls. In fact, there’s just one phono input. However, its sharp, loud sound impresses. Each speaker comprises a 5.25in woofer and a 1in tweeter, while three rotary controls on one speaker’s side enable you to fine-tune the bass, treble and volume.

Opting for stereo speakers over a 2.1 set means losing the subwoofer, which will save space under your desk, but it also means potentially losing some bass. With the X1, though, you could easily forget there’s no subwoofer. The bass boom doesn’t quite shake the room, but it’s warm and clear, even at maximum volume. The explosions and gunfire in Band of Brothers and Battlefield 4 still created a pleasant, distortion-free vibration. Dialogue was crystal clear too, even with background noise, and gunfire had just the right amount of bass to create an impact.

Microlab FC60BT/£199 inc VAT

Microlab X1 2.0 /£109 inc VAT



treble and mid-range. Every gunshot and explosion in movies and games rocked the room, but it lacked the clarity of the Audio Energy Aego M or Creative GigaWorks T3. Similarly, it didn’t handle music quite as well as the aforementioned 2.1 sets, with strings and drums lacking the same jaw-dropping sound quality.

However, while you can hear the difference between these sets, the margin of difference

With music, though, the X1s don’t quite perform to the same high standard. Strings, heavy guitar chords and kick drums were reproduced well, and remained sharp at all volume levels, but pricier speakers such as the Acoustic Energy Aero Ms offer more clarity. Likewise, the X1 didn’t cope well with Leftfield’s bass tones, where it started to distort at high volumes, and drum sounds also lacked the punch of pricier sets.

is slim, and the FC60BT still sounds good. The FC60BT is a fine audio system from

Microlab, with a good range of features and loud volume. However, for the same money you can get the Aego M, or for less money, Creative’s T3, both of which offer a slightly superior sonic experience. OB

VERDICTLoud and sharp, with decent bass reproduction. A good set of stereo speakers for the money.

VERDICTGreat volume and design, but there’s slightly too much focus on bass.

OVERALL SCORE

77%

OVERALL SCORE

78%

SOUND

40/50

SOUND

39/50

VALUE

18/20

VALUE

15/20

DESIGN

19/30

DESIGN

24/30

/SPECIFICATIONS

Inputs Stereo phono



/SPECIFICATIONS

Inputs Stereo phono, optical, Bluetooth



That said, for the money, the X1 offers great sound; it’s just important to be aware of its shortcomings. If you don’t want a subwoofer, the X1 2.0 is a good-sounding stereo set if your budget can’t stretch to the pricier ones. OB


57

W hen choosing a PC sound system, you’ll need to consider the space available, and the size of your room.

Sound will bounce off walls, so the loudest possible setup might not be as suitable for a small office as for a larger living room. If space is restricted around your computer, putting large speakers on your desk may not be feasible either. It’s one reason we’ve avoided looking at 5.1 systems in this test, as draping cables around your PC quickly becomes a pain and, unlike a living room 5.1 system, your PC area is likely to be more enclosed, so even wireless speakers will get in the way. One alternative way to get 5.1 audio in a compact setup, however, is to use a soundbar such as the Razer Leviathan.

It isn’t quite the same as a 5.1 speaker set, as the speakers all sit in front of you rather than to the sides, simulating 5.1 sound. However, it still offers a far greater 3D effect than you get with just normal stereo speakers, it easily fits in front of the monitor, just behind your keyboard too.

We tested Razer’s Leviathan soundbar in exactly the same way we tested all the other speakers, with the same music, movie and gaming tests. The Leviathan costs £165 and comes with a down-facing subwoofer, placing it in roughly the same price range as Creative’s T3 or Microlab’s FC60BT. It includes detachable feet and its angle can be adjusted as well.

The set sports a trapezoid-shaped subwoofer, which takes its power directly from the soundbar; only one power connector is needed. There are also optical and analogue inputs, as well as Bluetooth streaming and NFC pairing features. With this setup, the subwoofer can easily be disconnected from the soundbar if required without losing all the audio, which might be handy at certain times of the day.


The soundbar itself has four speakers, two 0.75in tweeters and two 2.5in drivers, while the subwoofer is 5.25in. There’s a host of buttons on the front, three of which switch profiles between gaming, music and movie modes, and there’s a mute button and a switch to enable 5.1 mode as well.

Amazingly, its audio quality was almost up there with the best 2.1 systems we’ve tested, but not quite impressing as much as Acoustic Energy’s Aego M. Music sounded superb, with electric guitars and kick drums carrying real depth and clarity, while ultra-low frequencies were rendered well. Warm and loud bass carried the tracks and added presence to the sound, with superb performance at both high and low volumes.

However, it’s in gaming and movies where the benefit of a 5.1 system becomes clear. The dialogue in movies sounded better than any stereo setup. Bullets still pinged from

side to side, but all the speech came from the centre, just like a real 5.1 system, and this effect was immediately noticeable. The effect works just as well in games too, as long as the title supports Dolby Digital surround.

ConclusionThe Leviathan is a great example of the diverse options available for audio hardware now. A real 5.1 system can be messy to set up, and requires a considerable amount of space but, with practically the same effect possible from a soundbar and powerful subwoofer, you can get decent 3D audio without having to worry about positioning a plethora of speakers. The Leviathan’s great sound quality, volume and frequency response is the icing on the cake. OB

VERDICTA great-sounding 5.1 soundbar with a powerful subwoofer – great if you’re short on desk space.

OVERALL SCORE

88%

SOUND

45/50VALUE

17/20

DESIGN

26/30

/SPECIFICATIONS

Inputs 3.5mm jack, optical, Bluetooth



5 . 1 S O U N D B A R

It offers a far greater 3D effect than you get from just normal stereo speakers

Razer Leviathan /£165 inc VAT

ELITE NEW ENTRY

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R E V I E WS / PC SYSTEMS

PC system reviews

M ost of the gaming rigs that arrive in the Custom PC labs are monster PCs and, while they regularly blitz benchmarks, they’re rarely subtle – many are

loud, hot and littered with lights. Computer Planet’s new PC takes a different approach. It doesn’t aim to break frame rate records – instead, it’s designed for quiet operation.

The jewel in its crown is a passively cooled graphics card. The Palit GeForce GTX 750 card sports 512 stream processors, a 1,020MHz core clock and a GPU Boost top speed of 1,085MHz, alongside 2GB of GDDR5 memory.

Meanwhile, the Core i7-4790 is too powerful for passive cooling, but this quad-core chip with Hyper-Threading is clocked to a reasonable 3.6GHz, and it’s chilled by a quiet Arctic Cooling Freezer 13. It’s a potent part, but it isn’t a K-edition chip, so that means no overclocking and a slightly slower clock speed than the 4GHz i7-4790K.

Several of the other components are geared towards silent operation too. The 250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD won’t make any noise compared with a hard drive, and the XFX XTS PSU is a passive model too. We’ve no qualms about the amount of memory either – 8GB is about right for a sub-£1,000 gaming PC, but it comes from a single stick in

single-channel mode, rather than two dual-channel DIMMs – a needless sacrifice that saves little money but affects performance.

Expansion room elsewhere is mixed. There are seven metal side-facing storage bays available in a couple of removable cages, but they’re not tool-free. Meanwhile, the Gigabyte motherboard has four SATA 6Gbps connectors free, which isn’t a huge amount, but you’re unlikely to need more.

The motherboard also has a 16x PCI-E slot free, but don’t get excited about dual-graphics; the board only supports AMD CrossFire and, even then, that slot is restricted to 4x speed – not that you’d want to tax the passively cooled PSU with a dual graphics system anyway. There’s a single 1x PCI-E slot free and two PCI slots as well, but enthusiast features are absent; there’s no M.2 or SATA Express, and no on-board buttons or LED POST displays, and the rear I/O doesn’t have any high-end extras.

There’s plenty of room inside the superb Fractal Design Define R5 case though.

Computer Planet i7 Low Noise Gaming PC /£780 inc VAT

SUPPLIER www.computerplanet.co.uk

/SPECIFICATIONS

CPU 3.6GHz Intel Core i7-4790

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97P-D3

Memory 8GB 2,400MHz Crucial CT102464BA160B.C16FND DDR3

Graphics Palit GeForce GTX 750 2GB

Storage 250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, DVD writer

Case Fractal Design Define R5

Cooling CPU: Arctic Cooling Freezer 13, 1 x 90mm fan; front: 1 x 140mm fan; rear: 1 x 140mm fan

PSU XFX XTS 460W

Ports: Front: 2 x USB 3, 2 x USB 2, 2 x audio; rear: 2 x USB 3, 4 x USB 2, 2 x PS/2, 1 x Gigabit Ethernet

Operating system Windows 8.1 64-bit

Warranty Two years parts and labour, collect and return

G A M I N G P C

There’s space for a wider motherboard, and sound-dampening material coats the side panels and the interior of the door. Computer Planet has kept the interior tidy too, with cables hidden away and lashed together with black cable ties. There’s also a two-year collect and return warranty, covering both parts and labour.

PerformanceThe Core i7-4790 is a good processor but it isn’t overclocked, so the Computer Planet can’t compete with the swiftest rigs we’ve seen, but its performance is still solid. Its score of 223,211 in our multi-threaded video encoding test is pretty good, thanks to its four Hyper-Threaded cores, and the multitasking result of 126,112 is decent too. The Computer Planet’s overall result of 101,504 is fine – offering enough grunt for high-end work tasks.

The memory situation holds it back though – we installed two 4GB sticks of 1,600MHz DDR3 and ran the same tests, and the overall score jumped to 104,852.

Meanwhile, the GTX 750 is a definite step above integrated graphics, but it isn’t a great gaming card – you’ll be lucky to get smooth 1080p playback out of demanding titles at top settings. BioShock Infinite is our easiest test game, and here, the Computer Planet’s minimum of 33fps was fine. Tougher games, though, will have to be toned down. Battlefield 4 struggled with a minimum of 22fps, and Crysis 3 was even worse, with a minimum of 16fps.

This PC is designed for low noise rather than frame rates, though, and in this department we can’t fault it. The passive graphics card and PSU help, and the Arctic Cooling heatsink and pair of Fractal fans don’t make much of a racket – we had to put our ear to the case to hear noise, and the volume didn’t increase during stress tests. If you have this PC under a desk, or you’re playing music, you simply won’t hear it.

59

The lack of a K-series chip means the CPU can’t be overclocked, but extracted a little more juice from the GPU, with an extra 100MHz on the clock and 75MHz added to the memory, although you’ll want to be very careful doing this yourself with the card’s passive cooler.

With the clock tweaked, the GTX 750 only delivered minor improvements – 2fps and 1fps to BioShock and Battlefield 4’s respective minimums.

The lack of a hard disk means there isn’t a huge amount of storage space, but the Samsung 850 EVO drive is silent and fast. We have no complaints about power and heat either. This PC’s idle draw of 34W is miniscule, and its peak power of 153W is just as modest – hundreds of watts lower than monster gaming machines. The CPU and GPU also topped out with respective delta Ts of 39°C and 42°C – again, both very low, despite the passive cooler on the latter.

ConclusionComputer Planet’s machine has a CPU that delivers decent performance without requiring a noisy cooler, and the graphics card, while lacking high end gaming power, is also passively cooled, as is the PSU. Meanwhile, the superb Fractal case is large, versatile and quiet. It all adds up to a machine that’s very quiet while still capable in most areas. The price is good for the kit too, especially the Core i7 CPU.

There are some missed opportunities though. Nvidia’s Maxwell-based GTX 750 Ti is also available with passive

1

A passively cooled GeForce GTX 750 card handles graphics duties

2

The interior is immaculate, with all the cables tidied out of the way

3

Even the power supply, an XFX XTS model, doesn’t have a fan

cooling, and would provide a much-needed gaming boost. That single-channel RAM, but thankfully, Computer Planet says it will supply a dual-channel kit for no extra cost.

If low-noise operation is your top priority, though, and you’re happy to tone down your game settings, the well-built Computer Planet i7 Low Noise Gaming PC manages to be virtually inaudible and fast in application workloads without getting too hot, and that’s a fine achievement.MIKE JENNINGS

1

2

3

VERDICTA very quiet, well-built PC that’s still powerful in application workloads, but you’ll need to tone down your graphics settings in demanding games.

OVERALL SCORE

81%

SPEED

18/25HARDWARE

19/25

DESIGN

22/25VALUE

22/25

GIMP IMAGE EDITI NG

HANDBRAKE H.26 4 VI DE O E NC O DI NG

I NTE L REFERENCE: 88%

0 15,000 30,000 45,000 60,000

54,062Computer Planet

0 60,000 120,000 180,000 240,000


LUXMARK OPENCL

0 4,000 8,000 12,000 16,000


HEAVY MULTI-TASK I NG

0 33,000 66,000 99,000 132,000


0 30,000 60,000 90,000 120,000


SY STE M SC O RE

Stock speed min Stock speed avg

BATTLEFIELD 41,920 x 1,080, Ultra detail, 4x AA

CUSTOM PC REALBE NC H 2015

0 12 24 36 48

27fps22fpsComputer Planet

BIOSHOCK INFINITE1,920 x 1,080, Ultra Detail with Depth of Field

0 12 24 36 48


CRYSIS 31,920 x 1,080, Very High detail, 0x AA

0 12 24 36 48


60

R E V I E WS / PC SYSTEMS

S tealth PC is a new name in the Custom PC labs, and its system – the minimally named 1.0 – makes a striking first impression,

simply because it’s so small. This machine isn’t designed for high-end gaming – instead, it’s been built to handle a multitude of tasks in a small, portable space.

To that end, Stealth has picked and altered a Powercool K3i mini-ITX chassis. The main change to the case concerns the roof: the usual slab of aluminium has been replaced by a sheet of clear Perspex in order to expose the innards. It’s also been given a little extra sheen by a small blue strip light that’s stuck to the inside of the front edge.

The rest of the chassis is built from aluminium and, from the outside, it makes for a good-looking machine. The front

houses a smart metallic button, and each side is decorated with black fins.

It’s a neat mod, but the see-through slab and the blue light also highlight the cramped interior: the 37mm-tall SilverStone AR05 cooler sits right next to a pair of G.Skill memory sticks, and the blue fan and red DIMMs rob the Stealth of any colour-matching cohesion. Cables snake around the

major components on every side too, with the hard disk connectors rising up to meet the 2.5in drive that’s installed into a Perspex board screwed into the front of the machine.

The low-profile SilverStone cooler sits on top of one of AMD’s Richland APUs – the part chosen to provide a balance between processing power and graphics ability in lieu of the room needed for a discrete GPU. The A10-6700 has four Piledriver CPU cores clocked to 3.7GHz and a top

Turbo speed that’s 600MHz higher, and it’s accompanied by 8GB of G.Skill memory running at 2,133MHz. Storage, meanwhile, comes in at 1TB – although the Western Digital Red drive used won’t compete with SSDs for speed.

AMD’s chip also includes a Radeon 8670D graphics core. It’s branded as an 8000-series part, but it’s based on the 7000-series architecture. It has 384 stream processors clocked to 720MHz with a boost peak of 844MHz, and uses system memory. It’s roughly on a par with low-end discrete cards such as the Radeon R7 240.

It’s all plugged into a Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI motherboard. As the name suggests, this board has integrated Wi-Fi, and it’s a decent feature, with dual-band ability and support for the fastest 802.11ac standard. It supports up to 64GB of memory, and its backplate serves up plenty of USB ports, five audio jacks and an

Stealth 1.0 /£670 inc VAT

SUPPLIER www.stealthpcs.co.uk

/SPECIFICATIONS

CPU 3.7GHz AMD A10-6700

Motherboard Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI

Memory 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws X 2,133MHz DDR3

Graphics AMD Radeon 8670D (APU)

Storage Western Digital Red 1TB hard disk

Case Powercool K3i

Cooling CPU: SilverStone AR05 with 1 x 92mm fan; case: 2 x 50mm side fans

Ports Front: 2 x USB X, 2 x audio; rear: 2 x USB 3, 4 x USB 2, 1 x PS/2, 1 x Gigabit Ethernet, 1 x optical S/PDIF, 5 x audio

Operating system Windows 8.1 64-bit

Warranty Two years collect and return, parts and labour

M I N I P C

S/PDIF connector. Not surprisingly, the Stealth 1.0 is short on upgrade room; there’s room for a second hard disk or an SSD but, while there’s a 16x PCI-E slot, it can’t be used.

The Stealth also includes a two-year warranty collect and return warranty, covering parts and labour. The package comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse too, and a handy carry case for lugging the machine and its external PSU around.

PerformanceBeing an affordable, mini APU machine, we didn’t expect the Stealth 1.0 to generate big numbers in our benchmarks. In our image editing test, the Stealth could only score 28,198, for example, and the Stealth’s overall result of 58,351 is a long way behind the scores we’ve seen from Intel desktop machines too, although it’s a fair bit quicker than the results we’ve seen from Intel NUC-style systems. The Broadwell-based Gigabyte BRIX S (see Issue 141, p20), for example, only managed to produce a total system score of 45,435. The Stealth 1.0 might not be a multi-threaded powerhouse, but it has enough grunt for media applications, general work tools, web browsing and so on.

It’s a similar story with gaming. BioShock Infinite is the easiest game in our current roster of test titles, but the AMD APU struggled to run it. We only hit playable frame rates by running BioShock at its Low settings and at 1,366 x 768 – and, even then, the game only returned minimum and average results of 27fps and 33fps.

We had more success with Skyrim, which is older and less demanding. The game’s Medium quality settings delivered an average of 26fps at 1080p, and dropping quality levels to Low saw the game never dropping below 43fps. In short, you won’t be able to play new, demanding games at top settings on this machine, but you’ll be able to play less demanding ones without much trouble, especially if you’re prepared to drop the graphics settings and resolution.

Interestingly, the APU’s clock speed also fluctuates quite widely depending on the workload. After 15 minutes of

The AMD chip also includes a Radeon 8670D graphics core

61

running our standard stress test, which stresses the CPU and GPU cores, the chip’s delta T of 45°C was fine, but the processor’s stock speed of 2.5GHz was throttled back to just 1,150MHz in this test. The temperature shows that the machine isn’t overheating, but rather that this throttling is a result of AMD’s power management features, which manage the clock speed when both the CPU and GPU portions are loaded, in order to keep the TDP in check.

On the plus side, power consumption is low, although not as low as a NUC system. In our test, the Stealth drew 93W from the mains at load – less than a standard desktop rig.

On the downside, however, it’s noisy. During stress tests, the machine’s noise output was consistent but loud – on the same level as mid-range full-sized PCs. It was a little quieter when idle, but still noticeable. Of course, a set of speakers will drown out the noise, but it isn’t the system to buy if you need low noise levels or a good media system, as the fans will prove irritating during quiet TV and movie moments.

Storage performance was predictably slow too. The Western Digital drive provides a good 1TB of space, but its sequential read and write speeds of 89MB/sec and 96MB/sec are average, and a long way behind SSDs, and Windows feels less responsive in use as a result.

ConclusionStealth PC’s debut machine packs a reasonable punch into a small space, and it’s great to see the benefits of an AMD APU without the wasted space of a full-sized desktop rig, as well as the custom touches to the case. The result is a machine that’s a little bigger than an Intel NUC-sized system

1

High-speed Wi-Fi support comes from an 802.11ac wireless adaptor

2

8GB of 2,133MHz G.Skill memory sits next to the CPU cooler

3

The low-profile SilverStone cooler sits on an AMD A10-6700 APU

VERDICTA decent general-purpose PC that’s small enough to lug about, but it makes a fair amount of noise.

OVERALL SCORE

78%

SPEED

22/25HARDWARE

19/25

DESIGN

19/25VALUE

18/25

GI M P I M AGE E DI TIN G

HANDBRAK E H. 2 6 4 VID EO EN C OD IN G

A M D RE F E RE NCE: 8 3.29 %

0 8,000 16,000 24,000 32,000

28,198Stealth 1.0

0 25,000 50,000 75,000 100,000

98,111Stealth 1.0

HE AVY M UL T I -T A SKIN G

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000

18,007Stealth 1.0

0 15,000 30,000 45,000 60,000

58,351Stealth 1.0

SYST E M SCORE

Stock speed min Stock speed avg

BIOSHOCK: INFINITE1,920 x 1,080, Low settings

CUST OM PC RE ALB EN C H 20 15

0 6 12 18 24

21fps19fpsStealth 1.0

1,366 x 768, Low settings

0 9 18 27 36


THE ELDER SCROLLS V : SKYRIM1,920 x 1,080, Medium settings

0 7 14 21 28


1,920 x 1,080, Low settings

0 13 26 39 52


(and the score below is based on comparison with other mini PCs, rather than full-sized desktop PCs), but also more powerful. It offers enough power for general computing, work and running games on modest settings, and in a chassis that’s so small it comes with its own bag for carrying the machine.

However, it could really do with an SSD at this price, and it makes a surprising racket for a system made by a company called Stealth, even when it’s idle. The Stealth 1.0 is a good PC if you need a portable machine for general-purpose use, especially as it includes peripherals and a carry case, but be aware of its noise levels, and don’t expect it to handle demanding games at high settings.MIKE JENNINGS

1

2

3

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E L I T E / THE BEST KIT

EliteOur choice of the best hardware available

Core componentsThe parts you’ll need to build either PC. This kit list gives you a solid PSU, a decent-quality case and the OEM version of Windows 7 Home Premium.

NAME SUPPLIER FEATURED PRICE (inc VAT)

NZXT S340 www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 137, p54 £60

Corsair CS550M www.scan.co.uk Issue 135, p46 £68

500GB Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 www.scan.co.uk Issue 104, p72 £38

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM www.ebuyer.com Issue 75, p46 £68

Build a budget PC

1 2

1

2

3

4

3 4

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All-purpose PCThe parts you’ll need to add to the core components to build a general-purpose PC. This machine will handle general computing tasks with no trouble, and will also cope with basic gaming, although you’ll have to lower the detail settings. It features high-speed memory to boost the performance of the AMD APU’s graphics system.

Gaming PC The parts you’ll need to build a budget machine capable of playing the latest games at maximum settings on a 1080p monitor. The machine has a discrete graphics card, a highly overclockable dual-core CPU and high-speed memory. Meanwhile, the Z97 motherboard gives you headroom to upgrade to a faster CPU later.


Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H www.cclonline.com Issue 126, p22 £58

AMD A10-7850K www.scan.co.uk Issue 127, p17 £117

8GB Corsair Vengeance Pro Series 2,400MHz DDR3

www.scan.co.uk Issue 132, p22 £60

SilverStone Argon AR01 www.scan.co.uk Issue 132, p57 £26

TOTAL £495


ASRock Z97 Pro3 www.scan.co.uk Issue 130, p50 £79

Intel Pentium G3258 www.scan.co.uk Issue 132, p17 £53

AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB www.ebuyer.com Issue 140, p42 £147

Corsair Vengeance Pro Series 2,400MHz DDR3 www.scan.co.uk Issue 132, p22 £60

SilverStone Argon AR01 www.scan.co.uk Issue 132, p57 £26

TOTAL £599


Crucial BX100 250GB www.ebuyer.com Issue 141, p43 £76

Recommended extra A solid state drive will make a huge difference to the responsiveness of Windows, as well as boot-up times. We strongly recommend adding one to any build.

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NZXT Phantom 530 www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 127, p44 £98

Gigabyte Z97X-SLI www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 130, p54 £90

Intel Core i5-4690K www.scan.co.uk Issue 132, p18 £190

Corsair Vengeance Pro Series 2,400MHz DDR3


NZXT Kraken X41 www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 138, p57 £70


Seagate Barracuda 2TB ST2000DM001 www.scan.co.uk Issue 104, p75 £60

Lite-On IHAS124-14 www.dabs.com Issue 99, p108 £10

Crucial BX100 500GB www.dabs.com Issue 141, p43 £145


TOTAL £859

Build a mid-range PCWork PCThe parts you’ll need to build a solid quad-core PC with plenty of upgrade potential. This kit list gives you an all-in-one liquid cooler and a K-series Core i5 CPU, meaning you can overclock it and get some serious processing power. We’ve managed to get the Core i5-4690K Haswell CPU up to 4.8GHz, so it has some serious performance potential. Also included is a solid Corsair PSU, a 500GB SSD and 8GB of high-speed memory. The core configuration assumes you won’t be doing any serious gaming, however, and it relies on Intel’s integrated graphics.

Gaming PCThe graphics card you’ll need to play current games at their maximum settings at 1080p and 2,560 x 1,440.


1,920 x 1,080 AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB www.ebuyer.com Issue 140, p42 £147

2,560 x 1,440 AMD Radeon R9 290 4GB


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Build a performance PCWork PCThe parts you’ll need to build a high-quality, fast PC that’s ideal for multi-threaded workloads. This kit list features a high-quality, beautifully built case, and has a Core i7-4790K CPU. This processor’s support for Hyper-Threading effectively splits the resources of the CPU’s four physical cores into a further four virtual cores, meaning it can effectively handle eight threads at once. There’s also a solid 850W PSU, giving you plenty of headroom for overclocking and adding multiple graphics cards, and an all-in-one liquid cooler.


Creative Sound Blaster Z www.scan.co.uk Issue 116, p42 £64

Recommended extra A discrete sound card gives you higher-quality sound when playing back or recording music.

Gaming PCThe graphics card you’ll need to play current games at their maximum settings at 2,560 x 1,440 and beyond.


2,560 x 1,440 AMD Radeon R9 290 4GB

www.ebuyer.com Issue 140, p48 £222

4K 2 x Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 4GB



NZXT H440 Special Edition www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 140, p24 £125

Asus Maximus VII Ranger www.scan.co.uk Issue 131, p20 £133



NZXT Kraken X41 www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 138, p57 £70

SilverStone Strider Gold 850W www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 135, p56 £110


Samsung 850 Evo 500GB www.scan.co.uk Issue 141, p51 £159


TOTAL £1,062

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Build a 6-core workstationMulti-threaded workstationThe parts you’ll need to build a PC with serious power in multi-threaded workstation software, such as 3D rendering apps and optimised distributed computing software. The kit list features a 6-core LGA2011-v3 CPU, which is overclockable using the motherboard and cooler listed. Also supplied is 16GB of RAM, 1TB of solid state storage and a 1.2kW PSU, providing loads of headroom for adding multiple GPUs.


Corsair Obsidian 750D www.scan.co.uk Issue 123, p30 £135

Asus X99 Deluxe www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 136, p20 £310


AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB www.ebuyer.co.uk Issue 140, p42 £147

16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 2,666MHz DDR4


Corsair Hydro Series H110i GT www.scan.co.uk Issue 140, p17 £101

Corsair Professional Series AX1200i www.scan.co.uk Issue 111, p40 £254

Samsung 850 Evo 1TB www.cclonline.com Issue 141, p51 £318



Microsoft Windows 7 Professional OEM (or Windows 8.1 if you’re using a 4K monitor)


TOTAL £1,940

4K gaming PC This LGA2011-v3 system can support multiple graphics cards over 28 PCI-E 3 lanes, making it an ideal foundation for high-resolution PC gaming, replacing the graphics card listed above with two high-spec cards. We recommend using Windows 8.1, rather than Windows 7, if you’re using a 4K monitor.


4K 2 x Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 4GB


TOTAL £2,315

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Build a mini PCCore componentsThe parts you’ll need to build either PC. This kit list gives you a solid PSU, 8GB of RAM, an overclockable Haswell CPU, an all-in-one liquid cooler and Windows 7 Home Premium. Also included is a short-PCB graphics card that can play current games at their maximum settings at 2,560 x 1,440, and a 512GB SSD.

Mini-ITX PC The parts you’ll need to build a pint-sized powerhouse.

Micro-ATX PC The parts you’ll need to build a mini PC that doesn’t take up as much room as a full-sized desktop.


Corsair Obsidian 250D www.dabs.com Issue 136, p41 £70

Asus Maximus VII Impact www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 136, p52 £165

TOTAL £1,195


Fractal Design Arc Mini R2 www.scan.co.uk Issue 127, p46 £65

Asus Maximus VII Gene www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 133, p18 £160

TOTAL £1,185




Corsair H75 www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 138, p46 £59

Asus GeForce GTX 970 DirectCU Mini www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 139, p20 £300

Crucial BX100 500GB www.dabs.com Issue 141, p43 £145





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Cases

Graphics cards

TYPE NAME SUPPLIER FEATURED PRICE (inc VAT)

Budget ATX NZXT S340 www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 137, p54 £60

Sub-£100 ATX quiet Fractal Design Define R5 www.scan.co.uk Issue 137, p20 £87

Sub-£100 ATX performance

NZXT Phantom 530 www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 127, p44 £98

Air-coolingSub-£150 ATX

SilverStone Fortress FT05 www.scan.co.uk Issue 139, p24 £131

Water-cooling sub-£150 ATX

NZXT H440 Special Edition

www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 140, p24 £125

Water-cooling ATX SilverStone Temjin TJ07B-W www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 63, p87 £225

Mini-ITX tower Corsair Obsidian 250D www.dabs.com Issue 136, p41 £70

Mini-ITX cube Antec ISK600 www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 126, p28 £50

Micro-ATX Fractal Design Arc Mini R2 www.scan.co.uk Issue 127, p46 £65

Water-cooling micro-ATX Parvum Systems S2.0 www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 129, p22 £140


1,920 x 1,080 gaming

AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB www.ebuyer.com Issue 140, p42 £147

2,560 x 1,440 gaming

AMD Radeon R9 290 4GB


High-end single-GPU gaming

Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan X


4K gaming2 x Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 4GB


Mini-ITXAsus GeForce GTX 970 DirectCU Mini


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Power supplies

Networking

Storage


Mid-range 550WCorsair CS550M


High-end 750WCorsair HX750i

www.dabs.com Issue 135, p52 £125

Mid-range 850WSilverStone Strider Gold 850W


High-end 1.2kWCorsair Professional Series AX1200i



Router Asus RT-AC68U www.dabs.com Issue 128, p88 £156

Wi-Fi adaptor Asus PCE-AC68 www.dabs.com Issue 128, p88 £70


Hard diskSeagate Barracuda 2TB ST2000DM001


250GB SSDCrucial BX100 250GB

www.ebuyer.co.uk Issue 141, p43 £76

500GB SSDCrucial BX100 500GB

www.dabs.com Issue 141, p43 £145

1TB SSDSamsung 850 Evo 1TB

www.cclonline.com Issue 141, p51 £318

NAS boxSynology DS215J


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Peripherals

Monitors


Budget mechanical keyboard

Gigabyte Aivia Osmium

www.awd-it.co.uk Issue 139, p40 £72

Mechanical gaming keyboard

CM Storm Trigger-Z

www.box.co.uk Issue 139, p44 £88

Mechanical MMO keyboard

Corsair Vengeance K95 www.box.co.uk Issue 123, p64 £125

Gaming mouseLogitech G402 Hyperion Fury

www.currys.co.uk Issue 139, p53 £40

Wireless gaming mouse

SteelSeries Sensei Wireless

www.box.co.uk Issue 139, p61 £95

Flight stickSaitek X-55 Rhino H.O.T.A.S.


Steering wheel and pedals

Thrustmaster TX Ferrari 458 Italia Edition



24in monitor Dell U2414H www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 129, p43 £200

27in monitor ( 2,560 x 1,440)

ViewSonic VP2772


29in monitorAsus PB298Q


28in 4K monitorAsus PB287Q

www.scan.co.uk Issue133, p44 £430

34in curved monitor

Samsung S34E790C

www.scan.co.uk Issue 142, p28 £750UPDATED

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Systems

Audio


Budget gaming PCScan 3XS Z97 Performance GT

www.scan.co.uk Issue 133, p60 c. £599

Quiet gaming PCChillblast Fusion Serenity

www.chillblast.co.uk Issue 138, p66 c. £1,499

Dream PC Scan 3XS Bear www.scan.co.uk Issue 125, p58 c. £6,999

Devil’s Canyon gaming PC

Scan 3XS Z97 Performance GTX

www.scan.co.uk Issue 136, p60 c. £1,199

4K gaming PCOverclockers Infin8 Nebula

www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 141, p58 c. £3,116

Micro-ATXgaming PC

AWD-IT Chimera i5 Dead Silence Gaming PC

www.awd-it.co.uk Issue 135, p64 c. £949

Gaming laptopMSI GT70 2PC Dominator

www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 129, p26 c. £1,320

Haswell-E PCScan 3XS X99 Cyclone SLI

www.scan.co.uk Issue 134, p60 c. £3,349


PCI-E sound card Creative Sound Blaster Z www.scan.co.uk Issue 116, p42 £64

USB sound card Asus Xonar Essence One www.overclockers.co.uk Issue 118, p44 £363

2.1 speakersAcoustic Energy Aego M

www.amazon.co.uk Issue 142, p52 £199

SoundbarRazer Leviathan


HeadsetHyperX Cloud II


Surround-sound headset Asus Strix 7.1 www.cclonline.com Issue 142, p43 £147

UPDATED

UPDATED

UPDATED

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Games

Featured this monthInverse look p73 / Pillars of Eternity p74 / Battlefield Hardline p76 / Mortal Kombat X p76 /

Dyscourse p78 / The engine room – Unity 5 p80 / Custom PC makes a video game – part two p82

O P I N I O N

WHERE ARE THE GAMING MUMS?

Geek parenting is on the rise, but why are only the dads making all the noise? Asks Rick Lane

R I C K L A N E / INVERSE LOOK

B abies are everywhere at the moment. Hiding under the bed, stuck behind the sofa, hovering at the windows cooing ‘let me in’. There’s probably a baby

standing behind you right now, preparing to pounce, or whatever it is babies do. Go on, take a look if you dare. No baby? Oh well, perhaps it’s just me. All my peers seem to have become newly fledged parents at the same time, so my Facebook and Twitter feeds constitute endless scrolls of baby photographs.

This minor newborn explosion has also resulted in a spate of online articles about gaming as a parent. Some of these pieces are fascinating, but most are variations on the theme of, ‘Oh god, where did all my free time go?’ – an understandable if not particularly enlightening perspective.

However, what I’ve found especially intriguing about this trend is that all of the articles I’ve read on the subject were written by dads. This led me to ask the inevitable question: ‘Where are all the gaming mums?’

When I asked online, I received several sarcastic responses along the lines of ‘they’re probably busy looking after the kids!’ A reply that I thought is unfair to both sexes, what with our increasingly egalitarian society and all. Nevertheless, a more feasible answer wasn’t forthcoming. More puzzlingly, a quick Google search revealed almost a million more results for ‘gamer mom’ (Google defaults to American spelling) than for ‘gamer dad’.

So gaming mums are definitely out there, running personal blogs and niche community forums, so why is there so little discussion in the mainstream media?

The only reasonable conclusion is that, while gaming mums are in abundance, gaming mums who are also professional writers are apparently scarce. It appears that most games writers who have the necessary years and economic security to support a child remain predominantly male, so we only hear about their experiences.

Optimistically, I expect this problem will solve itself given a few years – it’s unreasonable to expect a crop of talented gaming and writing mums to spring abruptly out of nowhere. Nevertheless, right now there’s still a substantial audience out

there without a voice with whom they can identify. I think it would be interesting to hear from mums about their experiences of balancing gaming as a pastime with the duties of parenting. I’d anticipate that they don’t vary enormously from the experiences of gaming dads, but you can never be certain until you ask.

As such, you can consider this column to be my form of asking. Are you a mum who enjoys a bit of Counter-Strike, DOTA or World of

Warcraft? Email me your experiences at [email protected]. Do you play games on your own, with your kids, or both? Even if it’s just a quick round of Bejewelled on your phone, I’d like to hear from you.

Gaming dads can help too. If your wife or partner enjoys games, whether it’s a casual puzzler or a grand strategy wargame, why not ask them to send me a few lines about what they enjoy, why they enjoy it, and how they fit their hobby into their lives? If I get enough responses, we’ll consider compiling them for a feature in a future issue of the magazine.

Rick Lane is Custom PC’s games editor. @Rick_Lane

There’s probably a baby standing behind you right now, preparing to pounce,

or whatever babies do

O P I N I O N

73

Pillars of Eternity /£34.99 inc VAT

DEVELOPER Obsidian Entertainment / PUBLISHER Paradox Interactive / WEBSITE http://eternity.obsidian.net

74

G A M E S / REVIEW

O bsidian has long demonstrated the potential to be a great RPG developer, but its talent has always been best expressed through supporting other

companies’ series, such as Neverwinter Nights, Fallout and South Park. When working on its own ideas, Obsidian has previously come up short, as with Alpha Protocol. With Pillars of Eternity, though, Obsidian has finally come up with a game that’s both unquestionably excellent and entirely its own. It updates a classic RPG design for modern eyes, and uses it to tell a brilliantly written story.

At first glance you might doubt the assertion that Pillars of Eternity is an original RPG, as it closely resembles the framework established by BioWare with Baldur’s Gate. Indeed, Pillars looks and plays very similar to the game that made BioWare’s name. The isometric perspective, hand-painted backgrounds and tactical RPG combat all strongly evoke the classic RPGs of the 1990s.

Look closer, though, and you’ll see flickers of modernity in this ostensibly traditional design. The static backgrounds are illuminated with the dynamic light of candles and campfires, while the glistening water of rivers and waterfalls flows freely through the static landscape. It’s an exquisite blending of old and new visual techniques, hinting at the game’s design ethos.

Pillars is essentially Baldur’s Gate with 20 years of hindsight. The interface is clean and easy to understand, and the game introduces itself gradually, opening up its world and systems through a carefully paced introductory sequence. Best of all, its story takes all the

familiar high-fantasy conventions, and spins them into a genuinely engrossing tale. It posits what happens to a person’s soul when they die, whether an individual is responsible for their actions in a past life and what it means to be a god.

Unlike the majority of recent RPGs, Pillars’ central storyline is undoubtedly the main attraction. There’s a predetermined path through the game to which you’ll always return, even though you can frequently divert from it. Such direction hardly feels restrictive though. Your quest takes you through two enormous cities littered with side activities, several smaller villages, acres of picturesque countryside and dozens of dungeon mazes.

Alongside its grandeur, Pillars is also surprisingly dark. The world Obsidian has created still reels from the effects

of blowing up one of its own gods, while across the land children are being born without souls. The guild of

animancers – basically necromancers with pretensions toward science – strive to find a cure for this affliction, but the populace find their grisly

experiments increasingly distasteful. It’s a mature and thoughtful story, riddled with moral grey areas and difficult decisions.

Fortunately, your spirits are lifted throughout this grim adventure by a cast of

witty, effervescent and often mysterious companions. They frequently interact with you and each other, joking and bantering as you make your way from place to place. Aloth is a friendly elf wizard with a split personality, while Durance is a priest in the service of the god Magran. He

/ VERDICT With a fascinating story, great characters and a vast, intriguing world to explore, Pillars of Eternity is a triumph for Obsidian.

OVERALL SCORE

90%

75

watches your every action with an eagle eye, judging your choices through his own enigmatic moral code.

Pillars’ companion characters are a delightfully bright yet broken bunch. Indeed, you’ll come to love them more for their asides and witticisms than the stories behind them. Each character has a personal mission they want to accomplish, but the journey is often more worthwhile than the destination. This system is fine to an extent, but it becomes a little tiresome the third or fourth time it happens.

More rewarding are the non character-related side quests. Even the simplest task, such as delivering a message or finding a lost boy, usually involves several twists and turns before you arrive at the heart of the matter. Meanwhile, the biggest quest of all, The Endless Paths, takes the form of an absolutely huge dungeon that must approach a quarter of the entire game’s content. There are often several ways to complete each quest too, with extensive dialogue options influenced by your reputation with particular factions, your physical and mental attributes, and your accumulated knowledge about places or people.

That said, combat nearly always plays a role at some point in the proceedings. While Pillars’ combat isn’t particularly special, it has enough depth and tactical flexibility to keep you engaged. Each class has an impressive range of abilities. Identifying their optimal role and ensuring they’re able to fulfil it is vital for victory. Your fighters and paladins must protect your priests and wizards, who in turn use their spells and incantations to buff your fighters and weaken your enemies. One class that deserves special mention is the Chanter, who gathers phrases of songs over time, and can spend these phrases on increasingly powerful abilities,

such as paralysing a group of enemies, or summoning a small army of skeletons to fight for your cause.

No matter how ingenious your approach to combat, tactics will only get you so far. Sometimes you’ll encounter an enemy that squashes you into hero-jam with barely a shrug. Pillars has a nasty habit of ambushing you with enemies several orders of magnitude above everyone else in the surrounding area too. When this happens, you can usually back out of the confrontation, although it isn’t always clear that this is possible.

That isn’t a massive problem, as there are always other ways to occupy your time while you build up your strength for these tougher skirmishes. However, Pillars isn’t perfect in some other respects either. After the delights of the game’s first city, Defiance Bay, the second city, Twin Elms, feels haphazardly put together by comparison. There’s no logic to its layout, and all its quests and dialogue are drowned in stodgy elvish lore. After digesting so much lore already, it’s essentially the mint that killed Mr Creosote. In addition, the fortress you can gradually upgrade as the game progresses doesn’t have much bearing on the overall experience. Yet you’re forced to return to it whenever you want to change a party member, further slowing down an already substantial time investment.

For the most part, though, Pillars is deeply respectful of your time, filling almost every inch of its world with interesting parts to discover. It’s a sharp, intelligent and deeply involving tale that brings together the best parts of old and new RPG design.RICK LANE

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G A M E S / REVIEWS

/ VERDICTNeither a great police game nor a great Battlefield game, Hardline is a mediocre offering from Visceral.

Battlefield Hardline /£49.99 inc VAT

OVERALL SCORE

60%

DEVELOPER Visceral Games / PUBLISHER EA / WEBSITE www.battlefield.com

/ VERDICTMKX does little that’s new, but plenty that’s good. A safe but satisfying sequel.

Mortal Kombat X /£34.99 inc VAT

OVERALL SCORE

75%

M ortal Kombat has always been the black sheep of the brawler family. While Tekken and Street Fighter were showered with praise in the 1990s,

Mortal Kombat was sitting in the back garden eating worms and throwing stones at cats. NetherRealm’s 2009 reboot did little to alter the series’ image either, with its phenomenally grisly fatalities and X-ray depictions of injuries.

Mortal Kombat X probably won’t change that reputation, retaining the series’ fascination with forcibly rearranging the human anatomy. Yet beneath the

bloody veneer is a slick and snappy fighting game that makes some effort to raise itself above the norm.

The biggest change concerns the overly familiar fighting roster. Regulars such as Shang Tsung and Shao Khan have been ejected, replaced by many new faces. Some of them, such as Cassandra Cage and Jackie Briggs, are the children of older fighters (MKX takes place 20 years after the previous game). Others are completely new introductions. Errol Flynn combines eastern martial arts with spaghetti western gunplay, while D’Vorah is an insectoid woman with a terrifying affinity for all creatures that creep and crawl.

DEVELOPER NetherRealm Studios / PUBLISHER Warner Bros / WEBSITE www.mortalkombat.com

B attlefield Hardline was an opportunity for the long-running shooter series to reinvent itself. The idea of taking Battlefield’s spectacular multiplayer

shenanigans and focusing on police car chases, bank heists and drug busts is a tantalising prospect.

We’ll start with the multiplayer aspect, which is undoubtedly the main attraction. At first glance, Hardline seems little different from previous Battlefield games. The maps are vast and highly destructible, and the weaponry

remains a military fetishist’s dream. The only noticeable changes concern the vehicles and player skins.

Where Hardline strives to differentiate itself is in the game modes, which are all based around the cops’n’ robbers theme. The number of modes is generous, but the quality varies considerably. Heist is the central attraction, seeing a criminal gang attempting to break into a high-security vault before fighting through police lines to escape with the loot. As robbery plans go, it doesn’t make any sense, but it does encourage some typically ferocious Battlefield combat.

Easily the best mode is Hotwire, in which both teams must wrest control of several vehicles spread across the map, and drive them for as long as possible to score

points. Hotwire uses Battlefield’s vehicles better than any other mode so far, and its chaotic, freeform nature makes it a huge amount of silly fun. The remaining modes are less successful. Blood Money is a confused version of Capture the Flag, while Rescue and Crosshair (Hostage Rescue and VIP Escort) are more focused modes that use the theme well, but they suffer from a lack of attention from players.

Hardline’s multiplayer is sturdy but unspectacular, but the game’s overall quality is dragged down by the abysmal single-player aspect. You play detective Nick Mendoza who, over the course of ten missions, engages in a tank battle with the leader of a redneck private army, breaks into

77

Whoever you choose, Mortal Kombat X is speedy and satisfying during combat. Even the most basic kicks and punches have a powerful sense of weight behind them, leaving bruises and bloody scratches on their unfortunate recipient. MKX further spices up the proceedings by making its environments interactive too. Objects such as braziers, engines and even spectators can be plucked from the background and thrown at your opponent.

The fighting is split between several modes, foremost of which is the surprisingly ambitious story mode. Divided into 12 cutscene-heavy chapters, each focusing on one character, MKX’s decades-spanning saga is as entertaining as it is cheesy.

Then there’s the Towers mode, a series of tiered fights that can be played like a straightforward arcade mode, or customised with a sequence of modifiers.

a high-security vault, killing dozens of legitimately employed security guards in the process, and single-handedly assaults a heavily guarded island complex that wouldn’t be out of place in a James Bond film.

There are plot reasons for all the above, but that doesn’t make it any less ridiculous. It’s as if Visceral gave up on the police theme halfway through development and reverted back to the usual Battlefield framework. Put it this way, you

can still ‘arrest’ enemies in the latter half of the game, even though you aren’t a policeman and the people you’re fighting aren’t technically criminals.

All considered, it’s hard to recommend Battlefield Hardline. The multiplayer is uncomfortable in its new uniform, and the single-player deserves a tribunal. If you want a great police game, buy the excellent SWAT 4 instead.RICK LANE

However, the Faction War mode, where players can join one of five teams and battle for supremacy, is a little undercooked, and the online connection can be sluggish. Also, the fatalities and X-ray scenes feel increasingly outdated in this otherwise dynamic and interactive fighting game. Both are essentially incredibly violent cutscenes triggered by the player. At the very least, these parts could be made more creative by expanding the procedural damage system, or involving the interactive environments.

As it stands, Mortal Kombat X does little that’s radically different, but adds enough new features to satisfy existing fans and entice fresh fighting fodder. If you fancy inviting over a friend so you can punch them in the face and tear out their spine, MKX is a perfectly acceptable facilitator without risking a police investigation.RICK LANE

/ VERDICTAn interesting idea, but Dyscourse is let down by shallow characterisation and poor presentation.

Dyscourse /£10.99 inc VAT

DEVELOPER Owlchemy Labs / PUBLISHER Owlchemy Labs / WEBSITE www.dyscourse.com

OVERALL SCORE

50%

78

G A M E S / REVIEW

W hile most survival games emphasise crafting and exploration, Dyscourse is about choice. Playing a plane crash survivor named Rita, you awake in

the twisted wreckage on a remote desert island. Banding together with other survivors, Rita quickly establishes herself as the leader of this troupe, and must keep them safe and healthy until the opportunity for rescue arises.

In many ways, Dyscourse bears more resemblance to an adventure game than a survival game, with a structure that lies somewhere between The Walking Dead and the Stanley Parable. The game is split up into a sequence of days, with each day offering a new challenge and a series of choices to deal with it. Early on, for example, you must decide whether to search for water, explore the plane wreckage or attempt to build a signal fire. Each of these paths leads to a new location, with further decisions then branching out.

Dyscourse impresses with the range of potential twists and outcomes to its dynamic tale. The ultimate goal is to get all five companions safely off the island with you, but the chances of achieving this feat in your first run are slim. Some of the choices, such as whether you stay in your rickety shelter during a violent storm, or seek out a sturdier abode as the rain lashes down, are extremely difficult to make, and what initially seems like the best course of action may prove deeply unwise in the long run.

Moreover, you’re not simply contending with the wilderness; your interactions with other survivors affect your relationships with them too. Snub their viewpoint while sitting around the campfire, and they may be reluctant to work with you further down the line.

Conceptually and structurally, Dyscourse is fairly sound. There isn’t a whole lot to do aside from engage in conversations and make decisions, but that’s fine given Dyscourse’s aims. Unfortunately, it also falls down in some far more important areas.

Dyscourse seems uncertain whether it wants to be a light-hearted comedy or a compelling character piece, and the result is that it satisfies in neither category. Its characters are one-dimensional stereotypes – the depressed office worker, the conspiracy nut, the obese gaming obsessive and so on, while the bright aesthetics and often silly tone

frequently clashes with the deeply tragic events that occur.

In fact, Dyscourse’s presentation generally isn’t great. The art is ugly, the animations basic and the squeaky mumbling sound made by characters

when they speak distracts you from what they’re saying. Without strong characters to pull you into the game, there’s little reason to explore Dyscourse’s multiple narrative

threads other than curiosity. As a consequence, although Dyscourse’s attempt at a dynamic survival story is admirable, it’s also ultimately in vain.

RICK LANE

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G A M E S / ANALYSIS

W hen we last looked at Unity in 2013, it was a rapidly growing mid-tier engine.

Big on flexibility and community support, it lacked the power of mainstream packages such as Unreal and CryENGINE. Two years and two major updates later, and Unity is much more powerful, more comprehensive and, for all but the biggest developers, completely free.

It’s firstly worth recapping what Unity 4 brought, especially its DirectX 11 support, which brought it in line with other mainstream proprietary engines. Unity 4 also affixed a whole new animation system called Mecanim to the program, and switched to smaller, more frequent updates, including rendering and physics support specifically for 2D games, and broader coverage of mobile devices.

With Unity 5, the team had several goals outlined. ‘One was creating a

graphics powerhouse for Unity – being able to stand out with powerful graphics, but with an easy way to achieve it,’ says Carl Callewaert, Americas director for Unity. ‘That’s why we went after rich features and a highly flexible editor.’

The foundation of this graphical boost is Unity’s new real-time global illumination (GI) system, which is based on Geometrics’ Enlighten technology. Several companies have strived to achieve real-time GI for years. With Unreal Engine 4, Epic notably had to abandon its system in

favour of a more traditional lighting approach. But Callewaert states that Unity 5 does have a fully real-time system available. ‘It gives artists the freedom to really set up the lights as you would in real life.’

But real-time GI is still very computationally expensive when extended across an entire game, so alongside this feature, Unity developers can still opt for the traditional method of baking lights. Sandwiched between these approaches is a middle option, which Unity calls ‘continuous baking’ – lighting data that’s baked into textures and updating automatically as the developer adjusts the lights.

‘The cool thing about that is, once the bake is done, you can dynamically change the intensity of the light, or dynamically change the rotation or colour of the light,’ says Callewaert. ‘It updates it on the fly, and doesn’t have to recalculate.’

Unity 5R I C K L A N E / THE ENGINE ROOM

Rick Lane revisits the Unity engine, which is now capable of some stunning graphical feats, including real-time global illumination

Ori and the Blind forest is a great example of Unity’s 2D rendering capabilities

Obsidian used Unity as the basis for sprawling RPG Pillars of Eternity

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In addition to real-time GI, Unity 5 also adds HDR reflection probes. These probes capture their surrounding environment in a reflection cubemap that, like lighting data, can be baked into a texture or run in real time. The final inclusion to Unity’s graphics suite is the new Standard Shader, a physically based shading model that’s used across Unity’s graphics rendering by default, aiming to ensure that objects are shaded consistently across the rendered image.

Alongside these new features, Unity 5 also sees some significant improvements to Unity 4’s Mecanim animation system. The biggest is the addition of state-machine behaviours, which was implemented because game developers were creating far more complex animations than Unity originally anticipated, and it essentially enables animators to add very specific behaviours to their animation cycles.

Callewaert offers an example. ‘Say you’re walking and you want some particles coming out of your feet – you just drag and drop the script on it, create particles with the walk animation and it works,’ he says. The animation ‘state-machine’ automatically recognises the item you want to connect with the animation – it could be particles, or it could be an audio file or a complex script command. ‘That allows you to really manage your project much better, again helping you to get your game out of the door faster,’ Callewaert adds.

The last major extension of Unity 5’s feature set is the new audio mixer. ‘It really brings the tools with which audio engineers are working directly into Unity,’ Callewaert says. Much of the audio mixer’s capabilities are fairly standard, but there is one interesting widget – snapshots.

Snapshots allow developers to save audio states, tweak their parameters and then switch between them depending on what’s happening in the game. For example, you might have a stealth game where the same audio track plays with different effects depending on whether or not you’ve been spotted by an enemy. ‘You can set all the

settings, take a snapshot and then blend between different snapshots,’ Callewaert says.

The result of the updates through both Unity 4 and 5 is that the potential for game development within the engine is now much broader. Unity has been the go-to engine for small teams for a long time, but it’s now capable of tackling much larger projects. Noteworthy Unity-based games include Obsidian’s brilliant Pillars of Eternity and the upcoming Firewatch, a beautiful first-person exploration game that casts you as a reclusive park ranger spotting fires during a blazing Wyoming summer.

Unity also has recently expanded its already broad developmental horizons by making the engine entirely free. Callewaert is keen to

point out that both Unity 3 and 4 had free versions as well, ‘but in Unity 5 we wanted remove as many of the barriers as possible, so that’s why we moved all the pro features into the free version’. This Personal Edition of Unity is also royalty free for companies earning less than $100,000 per year.

So where does Unity go from here? Well, there are a couple of major new technologies hovering on the horizon. The first is DirectX 12, which Unity intends to support in one of the updates for Unity 5. The other big potential game changer is, of course, virtual reality (VR). Callewaert points out that Unity has added free integration with the Oculus Rift in version 4.6, and states that Unity continues to be in ‘close communication’ with Oculus and other VR developers such as Samsung. Otherwise, though, Unity is tight-lipped about the specifics of dealing with VR hardware.

In fact, Unity is reluctant to discuss future updates in general, which isn’t entirely surprising given that Unity 5 was only released in March this year. But we can examine what the community most wants to see added to Unity.

By far the most demanded feature is support for Linux, a request that’s accumulated almost 20,000 votes since December 2010. Other community priorities include a default script for easy implementation of saving and loading in Unity-developed games, and a Voxel-based terrain system, which would allow more complex generation of terrain.

Firewatch, a beautiful first-person exploration game that casts you as a reclusive park ranger spotting fires during a blazing Wyoming summer, is one of the more visually sumptuous Unity games in development

You can see Unity’s reflection probes at work on these stunning screenshots from Shadowood

Unity’s physically-based Standard Shader acts as a consistent standard for graphics rendering

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G A M E S / ANALYSIS

Part One of our attempt to make a video game left us with a rudimentary

framework themed around a spider and a fly. With Part Two, we intended to focus on structure and spectacle. But first we needed to attend to several important but boring functional issues, such as creating larger levels with camera scrolling, implementing Quit and Restart keys, and running the game in full screen.

We’re still following Tom Francis’ excellent YouTube tutorial fairly closely, creating unique bits here and there when they fit better with our loose design outline.

However, these features are fairly universal, and while none of it’s particularly exciting, it’s surprising how much the full-screen capability makes even our silly spider shooter feel like a real game.

The other major alteration is the background. Initially we wanted the

game to take place on a giant spider’s web, but our childish artistry wasn’t up to the task.

So for now, we’ve settled for a block colour that isn’t Gamemaker’s slate-grey default. Importantly, the custard yellow helps our spider and fly to stand out. Ideally, we’d like to

have a thematically appropriate setting, such as a bathtub or the surface of a picnic table, but at the moment the background isn’t the most pressing matter.

What’s important is getting more crucial elements of our game

functioning, the main one being a way to lose. Currently, our spider can eat our fly – growing when it does – but the fly has no effect on the spider. On the subject of death, Francis’ tutorial explains how to make an object explode into fragments, which

doesn’t fit particularly well with our spider theme, but learning how to make objects explode is a vital part of being a game developer, so we’ll use it for now.

Getting our spider to explode proved difficult for a number of reasons, the first being our own foolishness. Originally, we wanted the spider to explode into different spider bits – eyes, legs, and body – which meant duplicating our spider sprite and separating out different parts. Unfortunately, during this process, we accidentally deleted our spider sprite entirely, forcing us to draw a new one, which is why the spider in these screenshots looks different to those seen in Part One.

In the end, we decided that the spider should simply explode into black circles. The other problem was establishing the right conditions under which the spider should explode. We wanted player-death to

Custom PC MAKES A VIDEO GAME

Rick Lane returns to GameMaker. His mission: blow up wasps

PART TWO

Yellow is officially better than grey for spider watching The spider now dies when struck by a fly, but only if the fly is moving

We wanted player-death if the fly touched the spider

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occur if the fly touched the spider, which was simple enough to identify in code – instance place, (x,y,oFly) – with oFly being the name of the fly object. But remember that our spider also eats the fly by touching it when the fly is trapped in a web.

Figuring out a solution was easy enough. We only wanted the spider to explode if it was touched by the fly and the fly was moving at a speed greater than zero. But phrasing this instruction in a way that GameMaker understood took much longer than we anticipated. This situation constituted our first real experience of banging our heads against an obstructive piece of code. In the end, the phrase we were after was much simpler than we anticipated. Setting the Fly’s location as the variable FlyTouchingMe the final phrase read if instance_exists(FlyTouchingMe) and oFly.speed > 0, followed by the various explosion commands.

So now the spider explodes when touched by the fly, but it can still eat the fly if the fly is stuck in a web. Also, to make this situation more likely to happen, we increased the speed of the fly, and switched the web spray for individual shots, which effectively increases the difficulty.

With death implemented, our spidery shooter is starting to look vaguely like a real game. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like a game and GameMaker doesn’t come with an built-in sound editor. Fortunately, Francis recommends a simple online tool called BFXR, which lets you create an impressive array of sounds using a mixture of sliders and randomisers.

The sounds generated are reminiscent of a 1980s arcade game, and aren’t really suited to a game about insects, but they’re better than nothing, and BFXR generates a pretty good explosion sound.

What’s more, importing them into Gamemaker is extremely simple, as is commanding them to trigger in code, so it won’t be much of a hassle to replace them later. We also created sounds for shooting, the fly getting stuck in a web and the spider growing, all of which have a surprising effect on the feel of the game. Lastly for this month, we wanted to give the game a proper sense of progression. The spider

grows when it eats a fly, but there’s no goal – we needed a boss.

Sticking with the insect theme, we drew a sprite of a big angry wasp, and gave it the same movement code as the fly. Being a boss, we wanted the wasp to be more of a threat than the fly, but at that point we knew little about AI states, implementing damage or making an AI object shoot. That said, during the course of writing this part we learned how to make objects explode, and how to make the player die. In addition, part seven of Francis’ tutorial teaches how to create and adapt scripts, using the explosion code as an example. Accordingly, we programmed the wasp to explode in a giant cloud of venomous stings when shot by the player, any of which will instantly kill the player when touched.

We set the conditions under which the wasp will spawn. We tweaked the fly respawn code so that, instead of spawning one fly over and over, it would spawn two flies every time one fly was eaten. Then, once the game reached a total of three flies on screen, it would spawn the wasp. Unfortunately, our amateur coding at this point resulted in the game spawning three wasps at once.

Frankly, however, having the wasp spawn based on the number of flies active is probably a bad idea. It would be better to trigger the wasp spawn once the spider reaches a certain size. In addition, it would be good to give the player a reward for killing the wasp – a new weapon or ability perhaps.

These aspects will be our primary focuses in Part Three, which will appear in the issue after next.

When shot, the wasp explodes into venomous stings Here, our game depicts the British summer

Bfxr is a useful tool for quickly implementing prototype sound effects

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O P I N I O N

instance, need instant and reliable communications, and video is dreadful if it keeps stopping and starting. As such, these ISPs think they should be able to charge for increased reliability for particular specialist services, and argue that net neutrality rules would be a barrier to this type of innovation.

In the USA, there are in effect only two major ISPs serving the whole country, which makes these arguments especially dangerous, as two companies could quickly cut off access to services and extract unavoidable tolls from services. In Europe, there have been a larger number of ISPs, although the number has reduced, while the UK market is dominated by Virgin, Sky, TalkTalk and BT.

However, a common argument is that UK ISPs aren’t in the same position to damage Internet services as their equivalents in the USA, as disruption would lead to customers shifting. Even small numbers of customers ‘switching’ cuts profits hard, as the margins are pretty tight.

European ISPs are very interested in ways to reduce customer switching and push up the profits from Internet contracts. You’ll have noticed that most of them now provide cable-like TV services, which

D id we win the net neutrality debate? If you’re reading US news stories, it would seem

so, but in the UK, we’re in fact on the verge of another serious defeat: the European Council is pushing to weaken rules on Internet content to allow more blocking and discrimination. Net neutrality is the idea that all communications on the Internet should be treated equally. Whether you’re a small web service, an individual sharing files or a web behemoth such as Google, your messages and content should be sent along each Internet pipe in the same way, without deciding that one or another deserves better treatment.

Net neutrality advocates say that this lack of discrimination is what fuels innovation and competition, as any small start-up can compete on equal terms with anyone else. Everyone can get their product or content delivered to the same standard.

On the other hand, ISPs in particular think they should be able to charge people to get a higher priority on their networks. They argue that the Internet suffers from ‘congestion’, and some kinds of content need prioritisation. Multi-player, networked games for

aren’t quite TV, and aren’t quite Internet services either. These sports, TV and film services supply content over local networks direct to customers, but don’t use the Internet. As subscriptions are bundled, customer switching is reduced, as people get used to receiving content from their particular provider.

What’s that got to do with net neutrality? Well, ISPs increasingly compete with Internet services. By providing content, they’re in the same game, and aren’t quite the neutral party they once were. There’s an increasing risk that they’ll want competitors supplying similar content across the Internet to pay for the privilege of reaching customers.

Whatever the motivation, European MEPs and the Commission have been keen to sound very supportive of net neutrality and the Open Internet. The last commissioner, Neelie Kroes, said she wanted to introduce legislation that would protect the Open Internet. In the event, her draft legislation was criticised by Internet activists as doing roughly the opposite, with all kinds of exceptions that would allow ISPs to slow down and speed up different kinds of content.

The EU Parliament decided it would rewrite the proposal, and

J I M K I L LO C K / DIGITAL RIGHTS

Net neutralityThe idea that all Internet traffic gets equal bandwidth, regardless of content,

is up against strong resistance in the UK, warns Jim Killock

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What happens next is that the Council of Ministers, Commission and Parliament sit down and thrash out a compromise.

With two of the three bodies rather hostile to net neutrality, we have a problem on our hands. The question is whether the European public will stand up and be heard, and whether MEPs will find the nerve to stand up to the member states.

The EU institutions aim to thrash out an agreement by mid-summer. It’s going to be a tough fight. And it raises a serious question about the extent to which the European public are paying attention to their institutions, and are being informed about the decisions they make. Somehow it’s a very different matter to the USA, where the President has

had to make his views clear. Do we know where David Cameron (or perhaps a different prime minister by the time this is published) or Claude Juncker stand on net neutrality?

The member states can also be accused of using the EU to create potentially unpopular policies in this manner. We all know in practice that the UK will be one of the voices raised against strong net neutrality. The UK government has an interest in making it easier to block content in case it makes it hard to implement default porn filters.

It’s also close to BT, whose advice has been to avoid regulation that would restrict what it can do. But the way the UK behaves in negotiations isn’t a matter of public record. Only final votes are recorded against individual states, which allows the UK to push network discrimination without being held to account, or having to explain its stance to the British people.

It’s hard to imagine every EU state writing its own legislation on net neutrality, or other Internet regulation. It’s complex and requires cross-border cooperation, but that’s no excuse for making the processes opaque and unaccountable.

The question of net neutrality in a sense arises from slow Internet speeds and poor connections. If you take a look at the countries with high speeds, you’ll find a different kind of Internet developing, with many different platforms. The net neutrality debate doesn’t seem to be so relevant in South Korea or Japan. Could it be that the USA and Europe are currently trying to answer the wrong question: how do we manage scarce bandwidth and slow Internet speeds, rather than how do we get the fast speeds that would enable the services we want in the future? Somehow, the net neutrality debate feels like one in which our politicians are failing and choosing to manage decline, as well as being far too prone to pander to vested interests.

See https://savetheinternet.eu for more information.

Jim Killock is executive director of campaign organisation The Open Rights Group (www.openrightsgroup.org) @jimkillock

came up with a draft that many people thought was going in the right direction. By April last year, before the EU-wide elections, Parliament could claim to have stood up for net neutrality.

Once the Commission and Parliament have looked at a European law, it passes back to the nation states, in the Council of Ministers. This body allows each country to negotiate directly with the others to shape legislation.

It has now spent several months looking at the next proposal from the EU Parliament, an revised it to pretty much to the same position at which it started. It seems that European governments, including the UK, don’t want to stand up for net neutrality. Many of them, of course, are being lobbied by the big ISPs, many of which are former state monopolies, such as BT, that retain close links with their governments.

One of the Council of Ministers’ introductions is loopholes for ‘specialised services’, which permit blocking of websites for pretty vague reasons, and allow the slowing down and speeding up of Internet traffic.

ISPs in particular think they should be able to charge people to get a higher priority on their networks

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F E AT U R E / CUSTOMISATION

Antony Leather shows you how to build a gorgeous, customised 4K gaming PC that will stand out from the crowd

There’s a mass of exciting hardware and modding techniques now, resulting in some extremely swanky PCs. Whether you’re keen on choosing the right colours, super-fast hardware or building a powerful water-cooling system, or all of the above, there are plenty of

ways to make your PC stand out from the crowd of standard black boxes.

Of course, we’d all love to spend upwards of ten grand on a PC if we had the money – how does an X99 system in a massive case with terabytes of SSD storage and three or four Titan X’s sound? But if you’re keen to get on the 4K bandwagon or just want to build

an awesome water-cooled PC that’s kitted out with all the latest gear, or both, you can build a stunning and unique PC for much less money.

In fact, we’ve built an Nvidia Titan X-powered Intel X99 system with an 8-core Core i7-5960X, 16GB of DDR4 memory and a Rampage V Extreme motherboard for under £4,000. This setup even includes a custom high-end water-cooling system too, along with some of the shiniest, sexiest components currently available. Just as importantly, we’ve selected components that will be compatible with next-generation hardware too, such as super-fast SSDs and memory.

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W ith the ever-decreasing price of monitors that offer resolutions above 2,560 x 1,440, including 4K, there’s a clear need for seriously powerful gaming systems if you want to turn up the

gaming eye candy at these settings. We’ve chosen components that make up an awesomely powerful system, but also offer a degree of future-proofing and upgradability.

Intel’s X99 chipset is the logical choice here. Intel’s latest LGA2011-v3 CPUs are the fastest desktop models available, and the platform offers far more bandwidth for multi-GPU setups and super-fast PCI-E SSDs than other desktop chipsets.

While our system uses a traditional SATA 6Gbps SSD and single graphics card, there’s plenty of room for expansion too, meaning the PC won’t be obsolete in two years.

M.2 SSDs, for example, can be pretty expensive in terms of cost per gigabyte, and while certain models from Plextor and Samsung are much faster than SATA 6Gbps SSDs, there are diminishing returns in terms of real-world noticeable speed above 500MB/sec. That said, the cost of PCI-Es SSDs is falling all the time, so when the time is right, you can drop one into your PC. Likewise, when you’re talking about future upgrades, our choice of a single graphics card means you can wait for prices to fall and then drop in a second card later.

THE CORE OF THE BEAST: CPU, GRAPHICS CARD AND MOTHERBOARDC P U

Intel Core i7-5690X /£839 inc VATSUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk

G R A P H I C S C A R D

Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan X /£905 inc VATSUPPLIER www.ebuyer.com

M OT H E R B OA R D

Asus Rampage V Extreme /£348 inc VATSUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk

There’s no room for skimping on a dream PC, so we’ve opted for Intel’s 8-core Core i7-5960X as our CPU of choice. The extra two cores over its LGA2011-v3 siblings are handy if you dabble in rendering, video editing or music creation – any task that’s multi-threaded. It’s overkill for a pure gaming system, of course, as few games make use of all its cores, and the Core i7-5930K offers the same bandwidth for multi-GPU setups too. However, gaming isn’t the be all and end all, and you want a decent all-round PC when you’re spending serious money.

If you’re opting for an X99 system, the king of the motherboard hill has to be Asus’ Rampage V Extreme. It’s pricey, even after a recent price cut to just under £350, but it’s an absolute beast. There’s a full-speed 4x PCI-E M.2 port, which can handle any M.2 SSD up to 110mm in length. Four-way CrossFire and SLI are supported too and, as we mentioned when we looked at the board in our X99 Labs test last year, it’s bristling with useful features as well as being a superb overclocker.

For a dream PC, waterblock compatibility is important too, and this is the main reason we picked the Rampage V Extreme over many of its rivals. EK’s full-cover waterblocks are readily available for most Asus ROG motherboards, and there’s a variety of waterblocks catering for the Rampage V Extreme.

Then we come to the most lustworthy item in our dream PC – the graphics card. Nvidia’s GeForce Titan X is the only single-GPU card we’ve tested that can maintain playable frame rates in every one of our test games at 4K. While AMD’s dual-GPU R9 295X2 was certainly very tempting, the Titan X just tipped the balance in Nvidia’s favour, mainly because you get guaranteed frame rates, while relying on CrossFire can be a little hit or miss in less well-supported titles.

Also, as we want our dream PC to be seen and not heard, the Titan X’s superior efficiency and lower power consumption means you’re far more likely to be able to build a whisper-quiet system with it, while still getting blistering frame rates. Plus, we haven’t met anyone yet who wouldn’t want a Titan X – it’s the perfect fit for a dream PC where you want the very best components.

MEMORY AND STORAGEM E M O RY

16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 2,666MHz DDR4 /£180 inc VATSUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk

S S D

1TB Samsung 850 Evo /£318 inc VAT SUPPLIER www.cclonline.com

H A R D D I S K

4TB WD Red /£136 inc VATSUPPLIER www.cclonline.com

Unless you’re delving outside the realms of games and content creation, there’s little benefit to using piles of memory. In fact, your average gaming system can get away with using 8GB of RAM, and most people won’t need more than 16GB of RAM unless they’re running several powerful virtual machines. As such, we’ve opted for Corsair’s 16GB 2,666MHz Vengeance LPX memory kit, offering plenty of high-speed memory over a quintet of 4GB DIMMs, and providing full quad-channel bandwidth.

Then we come to storage and, with games such as Grand Theft Auto V chomping as much as 65GB of space, we’re certainly not going to be skimping here. In fact, we consider 500GB to be the bare minimum if you’re using your SSD for your operating system and a home for your games and programs.

We had considered using a super-fast SSD such as Samsung’s XP941, but you then pay twice as much money compared with a SATA 6Gbps SSD in terms of storage space, and we couldn’t find one in our desired 1TB capacity either. As a result, we opted for Samsung’s speedy 1TB 850 Evo. As our case had ample room for hard disks, we also threw in a 4TB WD Red, so there’s plenty of storage space for your videos, photos and backups too.

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THE CASE AND PSUC A S E

NZXT H440 Special Edition/£123 inc VATSUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk

P S U

Corsair Professional Series AX1200i + Black Individually sleeved Cable Kit/£315 inc VATSUPPLIER www.scan.couk

L E D S

BitFenix Alchemy LED strip/£17 inc VATSUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk

We could have chosen any one of a number of enthusiast cases, but one of the best-looking and the most water cooling-friendly chassis we’ve seen recently is NZXT’s H440 Special Edition. Its individual hard disk mounts meant we could remove some bays to make way for a large radiator in the front and the roof, and it has dedicated SSD mounts below the motherboard as well. One sticking point was that, out of the box, it isn’t compatible with E-ATX motherboards such as our Rampage V Extreme. However, you only need to perform a five-second mod to fix this issue, as there’s actually plenty of space inside the chassis.

While we’ve only opted for a single GPU, an overclocked, 8-core Titan X system will still draw over 600W from the mains when both the CPU and GPU are placed under heavy load. As such, we aimed to have a PSU that offered plenty of headroom for adding another GPU at some point, with a little benchmarking on the side. We chose our current Elite-listed workstation PSU – Corsair’s AX1200i – along with the company’s custom black braided cable set for some extra pizzazz. If you know you won’t be installing another GPU, then you can lower your requirements and drop to the 860W model.

THE COOLING SYSTEMR A D I ATO R S

2 x Alphacool NexXxos ST30 Full Copper 280mm/£100 inc VATSupplier www.aquatuning.co.uk

FA N S

4 x Corsair SP140/ £41 inc VATSUPPLIER www.scan.couk

P U M P

Alphacool Laing DDC310 Complete edition/£44 inc VATSUPPLIER www.aquatuning.co.uk

R E S E RVO I R

Phobya Balancer 150/£22 inc VATSUPPLIER www.aquatuning.co.uk

P U M P M O U N T

Alphacool Laing Silencer set/£2 inc VATSUPPLIER www.aquatuning.co.uk

C P U WAT E R B LO C K

EK-FB Asus R5E Monoblock/£125 inc VATSUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk

G P U WAT E R B LO C K

EK-FC Titan X + Backplate/£104 inc VATSUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk

F I T T I N G S

Monsoon Chaingun Hardline (13mm) (3 x 4-packs)/£75 inc VATSUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk

A N G L E D F I T T I N G S

2 x Monsoon 13/10mm Rotary 90-degree/£13 inc VATSUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk

T U B E B E N D I N G K I T

Monsoon Hardline Pro Bender Kit (13mm)/£60 inc VATSUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk

T U B I N G

Monsoon Hardline Acrylic Tube (13mm) (two packs)/£24 inc VATSUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk

AC RY L I C A D H E S I V E

Monsoon Hardline UV Cure Adhesive/£3 inc VATSUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk

The most important part of a dream PC, as far as aesthetics go, is the water-cooling system and we’ve really gone to town here. In terms of cooling, the NZXT H440 case can house a variety of radiators, and we wanted to maximise the size and number we used to boost cooling ability and lower noise. While radiators with 120mm fans are the most popular designs, 140mm models are readily available and the H440 has mounts for them in both the front and roof sections. They offer a higher cooling capacity than their 120mm counterparts, but they’re just

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as thin and only a little larger overall, so it’s well worth using them if your case has 140mm fan mounts.

We opted for two Alphacool NexXxos ST30 Full Copper 280mm radiators, which are half-height models, each offering cooling capacity between a half-height and full-height double 120mm-fan radiator. With two of these radiators, each cooled by two Corsair SP140 fans, we’ll have ample cooling capacity for our CPU, motherboard and GPU. We chose 30mm-thick radiators because that’s the limitation in the case’s roof; the front section does have room for the 45mm-thick version of the same model but, as it’s slightly larger, we would have had to remove all the hard disk mounts in the front of the case to accommodate it. Using two double 140mm-fan radiators required no modding either – they just screwed straight into place, with the front radiator acting as an intake and the roof radiator as an exhaust.

If you only use one of the two SSD mounts below the motherboard, there’s space in the H440 for a single piece of water-cooling hardware on top of the PSU cover. We wanted to mount a tube reservoir here, so we opted for a basic Laing DDC pump to sit in the base of the case out of sight. Alphacool’s Laing DDC310 Complete Edition pump offers an acrylic top with G1/4in threads for fittings, as well as a heatsink for the pump itself. Meanwhile, Phobya’s Balancer 150 tube reservoir is the perfect size to squeeze into place beneath our graphics card, and includes mounts to secure it pretty much anywhere in the case.

We’ve chosen acrylic tubing for our dream PC – the precise look it offers just can’t be matched by regular flexible tubing. However,

dealing with hard tubing can be tricky, and it needs to be bent to shape. Thankfully, water-cooling company Monsoon offers all the kit you need in this regard. We’ve used its UV green 13mm acrylic tubing, along with its Chaingun 13mm fittings and green angled fittings. The Chaingun fittings require acrylic glue to mount end caps to the tubing, so you’ll need some of that too. Finally, Monsoon offers a superb tube bending kit, which includes mountable bending tools for several angles, a measuring device, a hacksaw and a heater – all the parts you need to create precise bends.

As for waterblocks, we’ve only had to choose two, thanks to EK’s amazing monoblock for the Rampage V Extreme. This block stretches across the motherboard’s PCB, cooling the VRMs, CPU and chipset with just a single inlet and outlet with which to contend, which will make your life much easier during the build process. In addition, we’ve also opted for EK’s Titan X full-cover GPU waterblock, along with the corresponding backplate.

Finally, to mount the pump, we’ve used Alphacool’s Laing Silencer set – a simple Velcro mount that holds the pump in place. Acrylic tubing will fix the pump to the spot anyway, so there’s little need to screw it in place if you won’t be moving the PC often. However, a little extra support is a good idea and Velcro will enable you to easily remove the pump if necessary.

INSTALLING THE BLOCKS AND RADIATORSYour first job is to mount all your waterblocks to ensure there are no compatibility issues. EK has an excellent configurator that lists all the correct waterblocks for your hardware, which makes it easy to select the right ones (www.coolingconfigurator.com).

Installing the Rampage V Extreme monoblock is a pretty involved process as well, as it requires you to remove part of the LGA2011-v3 mounting bracket and install an optional one that’s included with the motherboard, in addition to removing the entire heatsink array.

Start by removing the heatsinks by unscrewing them from the underside. If

necessary, use a hairdryer on a low setting to warm them a little first, as the thermal paste can act like glue. You also need to remove the separate backplates. 01 02

You’ll find several star-key screws around the CPU socket, which need to be removed in order to dismantle the socket mechanism. Use the included tool to remove them, then lift the mechanism off the motherboard. Be

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TOTAL HARDWARE COST: £3,845 INC VAT

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very careful not to damage the CPU socket pins in the process. Keep the plastic cover on the mechanism at all times, and take extra care when the pins are exposed.

Replace the stock backplate with the one included with the motherboard, then reattach the mounting mechanism. 03 04 05

The EK monoblock requires you to cut out some thermal pads for the areas touching the VRMs, while you’ll need to apply non-conductive thermal paste to the chipset and CPU – we used Arctic MX2.

You can then mount the waterblock, starting with the four main mounting holes around the CPU. 06 07 08

Once you’ve mounted the waterblock, go ahead and install the fittings before you mount the motherboard inside the case. The Monsoon fittings have an Allen key-shaped interior, allowing you to screw them in tightly without using pliers and messing up their exterior. Monsoon fittings don’t come with O-rings pre-attached, but they’re included in the box, so make sure you fit them first or the fittings will spring leaks when you turn on your pump. 09 10

You now need to do the same job for your graphics card. The Titan X has a mass of screws holding the cooler in place, so set aside a good hour to deal with it. Thankfully, you don’t need any microscopic hex tools here – all the screws are manageable sizes. Again, if you have trouble removing the cooler, use a hairdryer on a low setting to loosen the thermal paste, and remember you’ll need to remove the cooler and lighting power cables too. 11 12

Now is a great time to replace any thermal paste with your own high performance goo, so clean off any stock paste using TIM cleaner or isopropyl alcohol then apply your own. Our EK Titan X waterblock requires thermal pads to be applied to the memory modules and VRMs, so follow the instructions as to what you need to apply and where. If you’re using the backplate too, hold off installing some of the mounting screws for the main waterblock, as some of them need to pass through the backplate – see the instructions for more information. 13

The backplate protects the rear of the graphics card’s PCB and improves the

aesthetics, but it also helps to cool the additional RAM modules here, as well as the rear of the GPU core and VRMs. These parts all need thermal pads of differing thicknesses. 14 15

Now we can start installing the radiators. The H440 has removable front and roof sections that expose the fan mounts, so lift these away first. If your fans will be pushing air through the radiator, mount them to the radiators before you mount them in the case. The included screws worked fine with our combination of Alphacool radiators and Corsair SP140 fans.

For some reason, few radiator manufacturers include screws to mount the radiator to the case, so we needed to use four standard M3 screws (the small ones you use to mount hard disks or optical drives) to fix it into place. 16 17 18

COLOUR MATCHING If you’re keen on colour matching your hardware and cooling system, there will probably be some items you wish were a

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different colour. In our case, the red memory and motherboard ports were spoiling the overall look, so we decided to spray them black using Plastidip.

Start by masking your hardware. The memory is easy, but the motherboard is trickier. We used Frog tape to mask the PCI-E and SATA ports by inserting sections of tape into the ports themselves, then covering the rest of the PCB. 19 20

Spray from the sides to avoid getting Plastidip into the ports – we used two strips of double-folded Frog tape inserted into each port and bent outwards to help. If you do get any paint in the ports, Plastidip just peels off so it’s easy to remove. You can cut away any areas such as logos with a scalpel and peel off the unwanted layer as shown here on our memory. 21

As the H440 doesn’t officially support E-ATX motherboards, the Rampage V Extreme protrudes towards a small overhang on the motherboard tray. To be on the safe side, we attached some insulating neoprene to the rear of the PCB to prevent any short circuits, but that’s the only modification you

need to make to install this motherboard in the H400. You can now go ahead and install the hardware into the case. 22 23

Next up is the reservoir. Normally, reservoirs require screws to fix them in place, but we’ve used heavy-duty 3M mounting tape on lots of builds and found that it’s just as good as screws for holding heavy items in place. Even better, if you use this tape you don’t need to drill holes in your case. Test-fit the reservoir first – we decided to link it directly to one of the ports on our GPU waterblock, so line up the ports to make sure all the parts fit. 24

Install the reservoir mounts, apply some mounting tape to the bottom of them and fix the reservoir in place. The Phobya reservoir has several ports – we’ve mounted it so that the single end port and an angled Monsoon fitting line up with the GPU block. There’s another end port that we’ll use to feed the pump in the front of the case, and a side port that we can use to fill the reservoir. 25 26

To mount the pump, apply Velcro to the underside and place the pump in the right location in the case. The Velcro is very

useful when you’re using acrylic tubing, as it enables you to move the pump and provide some leeway when bending the tubing to shape. 27

Now it’s time to deal with the tubing. This job is pretty involved, and you’ll need to set aside the best part of a day to install acrylic tubing in a whole PC. Thankfully, Monsoon’s bending kit makes this process much easier than it used to be. We’ll be looking at the kit in more depth in next month’s How To section, as well as more advanced ways of using acrylic tubing. However, if you want to get to grips with it properly in the meantime, US water-cooling etailer Performance PCs has some excellent videos on how to use the kit at http://tinyurl.com/monsoon-kit

To start, a measuring tool is included in the Monsoon kit that can be resized to fit your particular setup, enabling you to make accurate measurements for the lengths of tube required, from both sides of a bend. Your first job is to work out your coolant route, but ours is a good example if you want to follow it. The order of flow generally doesn’t matter, as long as the reservoir is before the pump.

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Leak testing is an essential part of building a water-cooled system. Even coolants that claim to be non-conductive can become conductive over time, so it’s vital to make sure your system is sealed. Doing so is simple and simply requires some UV dye, some tissues and an ATX jumper.

The UV dye can make any leaks easy to spot. You can always drain it out afterwards if you don’t want to use dye, but any leaks

will leave behind the evidence on the tissue. The latter can be wrapped around all the major joints in the cooling system, catching any leaks. You can power on your pump without turning on the rest of your PC by using an ATX jumper. This simple part shorts the same pins that would be shorted by your case’s power button if you turned on your PC, so all your hardware will be safe if there are any leaks at this point.

The EK monoblock has a specific inlet and outlet too, which you’ll need to factor into the equation. 28

We’re mainly dealing with right angles, so lay the appropriate bending tool on a flat surface with the measuring tool so that you can mark up your desired bend and lengths of tubing. 29

You can now bend the tube to shape by first inserting the support inner, which prevents the tube from kinking, before heating it slowly with the heat gun. It’s very

easy for the acrylic to bubble, so use a low to moderate heat setting, moving steadily over the area you need to bend. When the tubing becomes flexible, place it into the bending tool and press it into place to form the bend. If it doesn’t go to plan the first time, heat up the tube again and it should return to roughly its original shape, and you can then have another try. 30

Once you have the right bend, mark up the lengths you need, then use the included hacksaw and cutting support to cut the tubing

to length before using the reaming tool. The latter trims off any sharp edges, following the cut to provide a smooth end section. 31

You then need to fit the locking rings onto the tubing before you secure the end caps; you won’t be able to remove the end caps once the glue has cured. You secure the end caps using acrylic glue so that you can secure the tubing. You can see an excellent video on how to do this job on the aforementioned Performance PCs channel – the specific video is called ‘Monsoon Hardline Premium

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Fittings’. Once all your tubing is bent to shape, go ahead and install it. 32 33

When your water-cooling system is installed, you can deal with the remaining hardware. The SSD sits in its own dedicated mount on top of the PSU cover, while the single remaining 3.5in drive mount tray is located at the top of the case above the front radiator. Connect the power cables you’ll need for your hardware, then thread them down to the PSU bay. They should protrude out of the back of the PSU bay, enabling you

to secure them to the Corsair PSU before you install it. 34 35

Cable tidying is pretty simple with the H440. There’s space under the PSU cover to hide cables, and plenty of cable tie mounts on the rear of the motherboard tray. We also used cable combs from www.e22.biz to tidy up the graphics card’s power connectors, and to add some more pizzazz, we added Mayhems Green UV dye to the coolant as well as some BitFenix Alchemy LED lights to the side of the drive mount. 36 37

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We’ve seen a couple of motherboards reach a CPU frequency of 4.3GHz using a Core i7-5960X, including the Asus Rampage V Extreme, but these settings have always led to seriously toasty temperatures in our standard test rigs.

However, thanks to our dream PC’s custom water-cooling system, we managed to overclock our 8-core Core i7-5960X to 4.3GHz with a 1.33V vcore, with the CPU temperature never going above 85°C under full load, using Prime95’s smallfft test.

This setup produced some incredible numbers in CPC RealBench 2015 (see p14), with the overall system score of 201,445 bettering the highest scores we’ve seen so far.

We managed to overclock our Titan X graphics card by 175MHz on the core and 200MHz on the memory too, which gave some hefty

boosts to our 4K game tests, with our system never dropping below 32fps in Crysis 3 – an amazing feat for a single-GPU machine. Water-cooling the graphics card offered the biggest benefit in terms of thermals. While running Unigine Valley, our air-cooled GPU topped out at a delta T of 60°C. However, once mounted in our dream PC, this temperature fell to just 19°C, a huge decrease of 41°C.

GIMP IMAGE EDITING

HANDBRAKE H.264 VIDEO ENCODING

LUXMARK OPENCL

HEAVY MULTITASKING

0 16,000 32,000 48,000 64,000

58,594CPC Dream PC

0 130,000 260,000 390,000 520,000

503,909CPC Dream PC

0 30,000 60,000 90,000 120,000

106,594CPC Dream PC

0 60,000 120,000 180,000 240,000

221,965CPC Dream PC

SYSTEM SCORE

0 55,000 110,000 165,000 220,000

201,446CPC Dream PC

Minimum Average

CRYSIS 33,840 x 2,160, Very High, 0x AA

CUSTOM PC REALBENCH 2015

0 12 24 36 48

43fps32fpsDream PC

BATTLEFIELD 43,840 x 2,160, Ultra Settings, 0x AA

0 18 36 54 72

71fps45fpsDream PC

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G A R E T H H A L FAC R E E ’ S

Hobby techThe latest tips, tricks and news in the world of computer hobbyism,

from Raspberry Pi, Arduino and Android to retro computing

T he Arduino project, for all its recent troubles (see p96), was founded on open-source principles. Every

aspect from the board designs to the software is freely available for reuse, as long as you don’t abuse the Arduino name itself. Over the years, we’ve seen an explosion of Arduino-compatible products, from direct clones costing a few pence from China, through to entirely new creations that bring novel ideas to the table. The Tsunami is most definitely at the latter end of the spectrum.

Created by Nick Johnson’s Arachnid Labs, it’s an Arduino-compatible device with a very specific purpose in mind: signal generation and analysis. It’s the sort of tool that would have cost hundreds of pounds a few years ago, and thousands of pounds a few years before that, and Johnson is selling it on the hobbyist-friendly side of £50.

At the time of writing, Johnson had just completed a successful crowdfunding campaign to produce the first Tsunami units, and was kind enough to lend me one – of only two – prototypes. Built in a snazzy aluminium case, it’s hard to imagine there’s an Arduino device inside: there are no visible I/O pins, but there are three BNC connectors and a single micro-USB port.

Cracking the case open reveals a hand-soldered prototype board sporting an ATmega32U4 microcontroller as the central chip, the same unit that powers the Arduino Leonardo. Being an early prototype, there’s also a bug-fix wire that works around a flaw that’s already resolved in the design files, and will be corrected in the final hardware revision.

The secret sauce, however, is harder to spot: a tiny Direct Digital Synthesis chip, which

communicates with the microcontroller and works to generate analogue signals. Combined with an analogue front-end circuit and a high-precision crystal, these parts turn the board into a high-quality signal generation device and analyser. The solitary BNC connector next to the USB port provides a square-wave output; the two at the other side of the board provide signal-in and signal-out for the analogue circuitry.

R E V I E W

Tsunami

C U STO M I SAT I O N / HOBBY TECH

The Tsunami isn’t your average Arduino, and it doesn’t look out of place on even the most stylish workbench

By far the most fun example, however, was the tape encoder. Based on the Kansas City standard adopted by classic microcomputers of the 1980s, this Sketch accepts data over the Serial Monitor and outputs it as audio signals to record onto cassette tape – or direct input to the tape connection of a micro. Hooked up to a speaker, the Tsunami generated the familiar beeps and warbles of computer data – and,

had I spent a little more time with the board, I would have had a good attempt at hooking it up to a Commodore 64’s tape input.

Output is only half the Tsunami’s talents though: the input port allows for signal analysis at frequencies up to 2MHz. One of Johnson’s example projects, highlighted in an update to his Kickstarter campaign, shows the device’s flexibility: connecting the input and output to a headphone amplifier to measure its frequency response between 55Hz and 200KHz. This task was achieved in less than 20 lines of code, which is testament to the quality of the Arduino libraries bundled with the Tsunami.

The Tsunami isn’t a device for everyone, of course. While it appears to the Arduino IDE as a Leonardo board, it isn’t a general-purpose microcontroller platform; rather, it has a very specific purpose in mind. If that purpose matches yours then it’s easy to recommend – even as a prototype with unfinished software, which should have been finalised by the time this issue hits the shelves.

Better still, Johnson (as always) is giving back to the community, releasing the Tsunami hardware and software under permissive licences, just like the Arduino platform on which it’s based.

More information on the Tsunami is available at www.arachnidlabs.com, where – if all has gone to plan – the device will be available priced at around the £40 mark, or £55 with a case.

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Anyone who has worked with signal generators will know that controlling them can be a maze of mathematics and complex variables; signal analysers can be even worse. That’s where Johnson’s integration of Arduino technology comes to the fore; the Tsunami is programmable directly from the Arduino IDE, pretending to be an Arduino Leonardo, and comes with libraries that make generating or analysing signals as easy as reading the voltage on a pin or flashing an LED, even for people with no background in signals whatsoever.

Although Johnson had warned me that the software was in the very early Alpha stage at the time I tested it, I had no problems making use of the Tsunami’s various capabilities during my time with the pre-production prototype. An example Sketch created a stable sine-wave output based on frequencies I specified via the Serial Monitor; a separate Sketch automatically swept between two different frequencies.

The Tsunami generated the familiar beeps and warbles of computer data

Based on the Leonardo firmware, the Tsunami is specialised for audio and other signal work

The use of a standard ATmega microcontroller means the Tsunami can be programmed over USB from the Arduino IDE

The tiny Direct Digital Synthesis (DDS) chip gives the Tsunami its signal-generating powers

A bug-fix wire works around a design flaw in the prototype, already fixed in the design files ready for manufacturing

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T he Arduino project originally sprung from the desire of its founders to make electronics education more

accessible and affordable. It was born on open-source principles; while the parent company Arduino LLC, founded in 2009, protects the Arduino name with international trademarks, it has traditionally released its board designs under permissive licences. Unfortunately, however, in recent months, the Arduino founders have found themselves in the spotlight as the result of a rift that’s resulted in two separate companies: Arduino LLC and Arduino Srl.

Arduino LLC, the ‘original’ company, was created by co-founders Massimo Banzi, David Mellis, Tom Igoe and Gianluca Martino. It’s this company that’s overseen the design of every model of Arduino, and which controls the www.arduino.cc website. However, it doesn’t manufacture any products itself; production has always been the purview of a separate company, Smart Projects, founded by Gianluca Martino – notably also the sole holder of the Italian Arduino trademark – which has built the official Arduino hardware since 2005.

In November 2014, Smart Projects announced a name change to Arduino Srl. At around the same time, Martino sold his shares and was replaced at the top of the company

A N A LYS I S

Arduino vs Arduino

by Federico Musto. That, unfortunately, is when the situation started to get ugly.

To court a lawsuitThe two companies have, project co-founder Banzi claims in an interview with Make Magazine, been at loggerheads for some time. Banzi claims that Smart Projects has been demanding money and refusing to pay royalties on Arduino products manufactured in the last year.

In October 2014, prior to the change in company name, Smart Projects filed a suit against Arduino LLC seeking to invalidate its control of the Arduino trademark; this suit followed legal letters from the other original co-founders demanding for the Italian trademark to be handed over. Its argument is that the Arduino name and logotype predates the formation of Arduino LLC, and

therefore Arduino LLC can’t claim to own it.In January this year, Arduino LLC responded

with a suit of its own, seeking to dismiss the Arduino Srl. suit while also invalidating any claim the upstart company may make to the trademark and logotype. For the company formerly known as Smart Projects, that would be a crippling blow: the newly-launched

http://arduino.org website shows its intentions to become the

‘official’ Arduino. Neither suit had progressed far at the time of writing, with decisions not expected until the end of the

year. For users, though, the impact of the split is

immediately obvious.

Tit for tatArduino LLC has hit back at Arduino Srl. by releasing a version of the Arduino IDE software designed to scare its users into

shopping elsewhere. ‘This board comes from an uncertified manufacturer,’ a message warns when an Arduino device from

Spot the difference: the http://arduino.org site (left) uses the same fonts and logos as the original www.arduino.cc site (right)

Massimo Banzi, Arduino LLC co-founder, photographed by David Cuartielles, has declared that he will ‘fight’ to preserve his project

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Dog Hunter AG, a consultancy set up by Arduino Srl. chief executive Federico Musto, is detected. ‘We won’t be able to provide any support if it doesn’t work as expected.’

On the surface, Arduino LLC’s move may seem petty. It comes, however, as Arduino Srl. launches a range of its own boards based on Arduino LLC designs starting with the Arduino Zero Pro, a rebranding of the Arduino Zero. Embarrassingly, Arduino LLC has also been beaten to market, with the Arduino Zero Pro hitting the open market long before its ‘inspiration.’

Naturally, Arduino Srl. has hit back with the release of Arduino IDE 1.7.0 – a fork of the Arduino IDE 1.6 branch with the anti-Dog Hunter code removed and specific support for Dog Hunter and Arduino Srl. products – the Arduino Zero Pro and earlier Arduino Yún – added in its place.

Customers at riskSo we’re left with two companies that both think they’re the future of the Arduino project – a trademark that’s being called into question; and a forked IDE that will grow

ESP8266 gets Arduino compatibilityThe low-cost Wi-Fi-enabled ESP8266 microcontroller is now easier to use, thanks to a community effort to add support for the devices to the Arduino integrated development environment (IDE). Well-loved thanks to their extremely low cost and integrated Wi-Fi, it’s now possible to program an ESP8266 using the Arduino IDE sketch. Full support for the usual functions of the Wiring library are included, although not every part of it translates perfectly. The modified Arduino IDE is based on the official 1.6.1 release, and has binary downloads available for Windows, OS X and Linux. More information is available at http://github.com/esp8266/arduino

NEWS IN BRIEF

increasingly divergent – potentially leading to a situation where two different ‘Arduino IDEs’ would need to be installed on a system that uses products from both companies.

‘Arduino isn’t the company, nor the board, nor the software nor the founders,’ Musto wrote in a post on the http://arduino.org site. ‘The Arduino is YOU. You made Arduino what it is today and you’ll continue to make it what it will be in the future.’

Banzi disagrees. ‘There is only one Arduino and there is only one Arduino community,’ he wrote in a post on the www.arduino.cc forum. ‘The other party has abandoned the negotiating table. We created Arduino based on a set of values that have enabled the community to grow, touch any kind of people and contribute to changing the world a bit. I am here to say that we will continue to fight so that Arduino stays true to those values.’

Let’s just hope that fight doesn’t kill the community that its founders worked so hard to build over the past decade.

The first Arduino Srl. product, the Zero Pro, is a direct duplicate of the Arduino LLC Zero – and it beat the LLC Zero to market too

Gareth Halfacree is the news reporter at www.bit-tech.net, and a keen computer hobbyist who likes to tinker with technology. @ghalfacree

L emaker, a Chinese newcomer to the hobbyist electronics scene, isn’t a company to shy away

from controversy. Regular readers will know the company best for the Banana Pi, reviewed in Issue 134. As the name implies, the Banana Pi is a riff on the Raspberry Pi theme but with a dual-core AllWinner A20 processor, SATA support and numerous other niceties.

The company gathered considerable ill will for its naming convention, then managed to fall out with the company it had asked to manufacture the boards – SinoVOIP. That company has now forged out on its own with Banana Pi variants, and Lemaker’s latest product suggests it’s learning from its past mistakes: it has a new manufacturing partner and a new design: the Banana Pro.

The first welcome change is in the name: the Pi suffix has been ditched in favour of making the Banana portion of the name the recognisable brand. It’s still arguably derivative, but fruit themes aren’t exactly rare in the computer industry: just ask Apple, Acorn, Apricot, BlackBerry or Tangerine, all of which hit the market well before Raspberries were on the table.

More significant changes have been made to the board design itself, in support of the Pro moniker. While the same 1GHz AllWinner A20 dual-core processor and 1GB of DDR3 memory is present, the GPIO header has been upgraded to be compliant with the Raspberry

includes high-speed SATA support, which is missing from the Raspberry Pi altogether.

The feather in the Banana Pro’s cap, all these whizz-bang hardware features aside, is undeniably its software compatibility. As well as a port of Raspbian that offers near-complete compatibility with software designed for the Raspberry Pi, the Banana Pro can run every OS from Android 4.2 – rather outdated, admittedly, but better than no Android at all – to Gentoo, Fedora, Arch, OpenWRT, OpenMedaiVault, and Lemaker’s own Bananian Debian derivative.

There’s even Berryboot, a multi-boot environment for installing multiple images to a single micro-SD card.

In comparison with the Raspberry Pi Model B+, the Banana Pro is a vast improvement with considerably higher performance and the benefit of on-board wireless and SATA. Bring the Raspberry Pi 2 into the mix, however, and the comparison gets murkier.

Sure, the Pi 2 doesn’t have SATA, Wi-Fi, or Gigabit Ethernet, but its quad-core processor blows the Banana Pro out of the water on both single and multi-threaded processing. It may have fewer operating systems available – and, despite various promises over the past few years, still no Android port – but Raspbian remains the best general-purpose SBC distribution around, while the promise of Windows 10 support later this year opens up new possibilities.

The Banana Pro is available from www.aliexpress.com priced at £36.30 inc VAT, including a heatsink and SATA cable.


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Arduino unveils EslovMassimo Banzi, co-founder of the Arduino project, has announced plans to release a series of ‘intelligent modules’ under the Arduino – LLC, not Srl. – banner. These modules, produced under the codename Eslov, take the form of input and output units with their own embedded microcontrollers, which can be connected to a master controller without the need for prior programming or electronics experience. Banzi has confirmed that the Eslov modules are to be demonstrated at the Maker Faire Bay Area event in May, but hasn’t given a timescale for a commercial launch.

NEWS IN BRIEF

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Banana Pro

Pi Plus design and new Raspberry Pi 2. Mechanical compatibility is vastly improved too, although software support for Raspberry Pi add-ons – in particular HAT-standard boards – can be variable depending on the operating system chosen.

Its predecessor’s Gigabit Ethernet port is still present too, which is a great improvement over the 10/100Mb/sec port of the Raspberry Pi, and is joined by 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi supported with an external whip antenna connected via uFL. There’s no physical mount for the antenna, however, so be prepared to get creative with sticky-tape or Sugru.

The decision to mimic the Raspberry Pi Model B+ and Raspberry Pi 2 doesn’t, sadly, extend to the USB ports, which are limited to the same three – two full-sized host ports and one micro-USB On-The-Go (OTG) port – as its predecessor. In mitigation, the design still

The Banana Pro builds on its predecessor, the Banana Pi, with a strange hybrid design, inspired by both the original and Plus-model Raspberry Pi

The dual-core AllWinner A20 chip was an improvement over the Raspberry Pi, but can’t hold a candle to the new Raspberry Pi 2

FO R T H E W I N / COMPETITION

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WIN! A be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 1,200W PSU

Email your answer to [email protected], with ‘be quiet! Competition 142’ in the Subject line. Closing date: 26 June, 2015. See www.dennis.co.uk/comp/terms for the full competition rules.

b e quiet! has done it again. The flagship Dark Power Pro PSU has now received an upgrade in the

form of the Dark Power Pro 11, be quiet!’s most advanced PSU ever, delivering 80 Plus Platinum efficiency, effortless quad-GPU support and unmatched low noise levels.

With massive power on offer, and an overclocking key that switches between four-rail and single-rail operation, it has sufficient reserves to support any multi-GPU or multi-CPU system you could want to build. be quiet!’s virtually inaudible SilentWings 3 fan and an unparalleled array of noise-reducing enhancements make it the quietest PSU in its category – perfect for powerful work that demands quiet noise levels. What’s more, its full bridge power topology earns it one of the highest power efficiency certifications available — 80 Plus Platinum.

The power supply also features a user-friendly cable management system, which reduces clutter and improves cooling. As with all of be quiet!’s products, the Dark Power Pro 11’s product conception, design and quality control took place in Germany, where be quiet! is headquartered.

The Dark Power Pro 11 series will be available in 550, 650, 750, 850, 1,000 and 1,200W configurations. The three high-wattage models are available now, while the 550-750W models will be available for purchase in August.

To win the 1,200W version of this high-end power supply, simply answer the question below:

QUESTION: What is the size of the be quiet! SilentWings 3 fan used in the be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11?A. 90mm B. 135mm C. 160mm

WORTH £207

INC VAT

100

M O D D I N G

GTX 960 waterblocks – an updateLast month I discussed the apparent lack of full-cover waterblocks for cards based on Nvidia’s GTX 960 GPU. This situation wasn’t entirely surprising, as the card has a very low TDP and many models even switch off their fans at low loads, because of the small heat load. However, quite a few people have told me that they still want a GTX 960 block, even for just aesthetic reasons.

EK Waterblocks offers a universal waterblock that fits, but it only cools the core, leaving most of the PCB exposed, and it looks a little unsightly. However, just after we went to press last month, Bitspower announced that it would be making a GTX 960 full-cover waterblock. As there’s no reference PCB for the GTX 960, though , there’s a huge variation in

layout. As a result, Bitspower has only released a waterblock for a single SKU – the Asus GTX 960 Strix.

There’s limited information on the waterblock at the moment, but the released images point to a large section of copper cooling the core and possibly the surrounding memory modules. Meanwhile, the VRMs are cooled by a separate section of copper, which is in turn cooled by part of the cooling channel.

Essentially, it’s just a GPU core waterblock with a full-cover fascia, and not a fully fledged full-cover waterblock like the blocks we saw for the GTX 660 and GTX 760.

That’s a bit of a shame, but as the main reason for using a full-cover waterblock was aesthetics in the first place, it definitely makes the situation

much better, especially for those of us who cringe at the thought of having an air-cooled graphics card in our otherwise water-cooled PC.

Of course, if you’ve already purchased a GTX 960 that isn’t the Asus Strix model, then there isn’t much you can do, but otherwise, it’s definitely worth opting for the Asus Strix if you intend to water-cool it at some point. The waterblock should be available at various etailers by the time you read this column, with the first one being Performance PCs in the USA, which will also ship internationally. I’ll hopefully be taking a look at the new block next month. Alternatively, take a look at this month’s modding guide (see p102) where we mod an older GTX 670 waterblock to fit a GTX 960.

Parvum Systems, Hex Gear and now EKIt seems as though there’s no end of new and exciting case manufacturers entering the enthusiast scene recently. Parvum Systems, which resides in Essex, has given us two lustworthy cases in the form of the micro-ATX S2.0 and mini-ITX X1.0.

Meanwhile, Hex Gear’s R40 is due for release soon (it may even be available by the time you read this column), and now EK Waterblocks has released a teaser for a fully fledged mini-ITX cases too.

A N TO N Y L E AT H E R ’ S

Customised PCCase mods, tools, techniques, water-cooling gear

and everything to do with PC modding

Bitspower has made a GTX 960

waterblock for one SKU only – Asus’

Strix card

Essentially, the Bitspower GTX 960 block is just a GPU core waterblock with a full-cover fascia

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Called the Vulture, EK has taken a familiar approach and sent several samples to well-known modders so that they can tinker with it. Rather than opting for a horizontal motherboard placement, as we’ve seen in several popular cases such as BitFenix’s Prodigy and our recent Labs-winning Corsair Obsidian 250D, the Vulture mounts the motherboard in a more traditional vertical arrangement, albeit in an inverted orientation, with the graphics card at the top. The Vulture is a relatively narrow-looking tower case. It isn’t small, though, measuring well over double the length of a mini-ITX motherboard with a dual-slot graphics card attached to it.

The benefits are, of course, a mass of space for water-cooling hardware, including the ability to mount a triple 120mm-fan radiator up front behind a large grille, and it has a striking curved window. The case seems to have been well thought out as well, with a slot-

loading optical drive mount and cable routing holes. I caught up with UK modder Daniel Harper, who is one of the lucky few to have received the case, to see what he thought of it.

CPC: The Vulture looks quite large for a mini-ITX case. Would you agree?Daniel: Yes, but it’s also a narrow case compared with traditional designs, as EK dispatched the drive bays, so now there’s just a slot-loading slimline optical bay on the side.

CPC: Why did you modify your case to fit a larger micro-ATX motherboard?Daniel: Mini-ITX is great, but micro-ATX is where it’s at for me right now. It has all the benefits of ATX, and it obviously has more options than mini-ITX as far as expansion goes, especially with multi-GPU systems. I just modded my case to use a micro-ATX Lian Li motherboard tray.

CPC: Is the Vulture’s front triple 120mm radiator mount unlimited in depth? Could you fit a full-height radiator with fans in there?

Daniel: It depends on the length of your graphics card, and whether you want a push/pull fan setup,

but yes, it’s possible. Another consideration is that, in the case’s

stock form, you have to consider reservoir placement too, because of

the position of the hard drive bay.

CPC: Is it made from aluminium or steel, and how’s the build quality? Daniel: It’s made from aluminium throughout. It’s also a typical prototype

Antony Leather is Custom PC’s modding editor @antonyleather

case – the engineering is there, but the coating finish, for example, is best described as functional.

CPC: Does EK intend to eventually sell it, or is it testing the waters and promoting the case in the same way as Hex Gear with the R40?Daniel: As far as I know, and from what I’ve heard from EK, it won’t be going on sale. You never know though; this case could be a toe in the water for a future release – EK has produced a few of them, and intends to give away more.

You can see more of Daniel’s project at http://tinyurl.com/vulture-build

EK’s Vulture case mounts the motherboard in a traditional vertical arrangement, but in an inverted orientation, with the graphics card at the top

Photography by Daniel Harper

Daniel Harper modded his Vulture to take a micro-ATX motherboard

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M O D D I N G / HOW TO GUIDES

Don’t want to fork out for a new GPU waterblock? Antony Leather shows you how to mod your old one to fit

Water-cool non-reference graphics cards

How to

1 / CHECK BLOCK COMPATIBILITYFind out whether your old waterblock will fit newer graphics cards. EK’s cooling configurator (www.coolingconfigurator.com) can highlight graphics cards your waterblock will fit. For example, it lists EK’s old GTX 660 Ti/670 waterblock as being compatible with certain GTX 760 and GTX 970 cards.

2/ ASSESS YOUR CARD’S PCBThe cooling configurator also has images of different PCBs, which you can use to work out whether there’s a chance your old full-cover GPU waterblock will fit. The key factors to spot are the position of capacitors and chokes, which can move around between models and generations.

3 / CONSIDER A CORE-ONLY BLOCKCore-only blocks won’t water-cool the VRMs or RAM but they’re almost universally compatible, so they ‘re likely to fit some future cards. However, they don’t look quite as good, and this EK Thermosphere isn’t compatible with all GTX 960s, including the GALAX card used later in this guide.

A n old LGA1155 waterblock from several years ago will probably still work with newer LGA1150 motherboards, but the same can’t be said for graphics card waterblocks,

especially full-cover ones. While some graphics cards use similar PCBs based on a reference design, other cards, such as those based on Nvidia’s GTX 960, can vary between manufacturers, so not only will older waterblocks not fit, but there may never be full-cover waterblocks available at all.

Thankfully, there are ways to water-cool such a card, despite the lack of third-party full-cover waterblocks. In some cases, you can modify existing waterblocks to fit, as long as there’s just a small amount of tweaking required – most of the time, it’s just a capacitor in the way. In addition, we’ll be looking at installing a core-only block.

TOTA L P R OJ E C T T I M E / 3 - 6 H O U R S

TO O L S YO U ’ L L N E E D

GPU waterblock / www.scan.co.uk

Drill and drill bits / Most hardware stores

Dremel with grinding and cutting attachments / Most hardware stores

RAM heatsinks / www.overclockers.co.uk

Thermal paste, cleaner and pads /

www.scan.co.uk

Metal files / Most hardware stores

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4 / PURCHASE RAM HEATSINKS In addition to a core-only waterblock, you’ll want some heatsinks for your graphics cards’ memory modules. GDDR5 memory doesn’t get particularly hot in well-ventilated cases, but these heatsinks only cost a few pounds, so they’re worth the cost to ensure you don’t run into overheating issues.

5 / RECORD LOAD TEMPERATURE You’ll need to take before and after temperature readings to check your cooling system is performing properly. With graphics cards, use Unigine’s Valley benchmark (http://unigine.com) on a ten-minute run, recording the maximum temperature using GPU-Z (www.techpowerup.com/gpuz).

6 / UNSCREW COOLERTo mount the new waterblock, you first need to remove the stock cooler. If you haven’t done this job before, it’s pretty easy – there are a number of screws on the rear of the PCB that you need to remove before you can take off the cooler.

7 / HEAT WITH HAIRDRYERSometimes the thermal paste can act like adhesive, and hold the CPU core and memory modules to the cooler, making it tricky to remove. There’s an easy way around this problem, using a hairdryer on a low setting to soften up the thermal paste and allow you to remove the cooler.

8 / PRISE OFF COOLERTry lifting the cooler from one end to prise it off. Don’t use excessive force; if it still fails to come off, check for any screws you may have missed, which can often be located at the end of the PCB.

9 / REMOVE FAN CABLEDon’t yank off the cooler too hard, as the fan will be connected to a power socket on the PCB. These cables can be tricky to remove, and you may need a pair of small pliers to remove it – don’t pull it by the cables.

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11 / TEST-FIT WATERBLOCKTest-fit the waterblock before applying thermal paste, so you can see how best to install it into your system. Sit it on the PCB to make sure it fits correctly.

10 / CLEAN GPU AND RAM CHIPSClean any remaining thermal paste from your graphics card. You can use isopropyl alcohol or TIM cleaner to remove it easily, but avoid using tissues or kitchen roll, as these materials can disintegrate, leaving dust that can hinder thermal transfer – use a cotton cloth or microfibre towel instead.

13 / INSERT THREAD BLANKSThe main reason you need to check the tubing route is because many graphics card waterblocks have inlets and outlets that can point in either direction. The unused ports will need to be sealed using blanking plugs and it’s best to fit these thread blanks when the card isn’t installed.

12 / CHECK TUBING ROUTEOnce you’re sure your waterblock will fit as planned, offer up the graphics card into the case and assess which way the tubing will need to be routed in order to build a tidy system.

15 / MOUNT WATERBLOCKWith the thermal paste applied, go ahead and install the waterblock. Most core-only GPU waterblocks are simple to fit, with just four screws securing it to the PCB, as with this EK Thermosphere block.

14 / APPLY THERMAL PASTEThe thermal paste used on most graphics cards probably won’t perform as well as third-party paste, so replace it with some decent thermal material such as Arctic MX2. Avoid conductive metal-based pastes, as some of it could leak off the GPU core and create a short circuit on the PCB.

105

16 / MOUNT RAM HEATSINKSThe GTX 960 has RAM modules on both sides of the PCB, so apply RAM heatsinks to all of them if you’re using a core-only block. The EK Thermosphere waterblock did partly obscure one of the chips but we still managed to fit it.

17 / LEAK-TEST AND RECORD TEMPERATUREAs with any water-cooling gear, perform a leak test, just powering on the pump with an ATX jumper. Use coloured coolant and wrap some tissue around the fittings to identify any slow leaks. Our water-cooled card’s GPU temperature was a massive 24°C cooler than with its air cooler.

18 / TEST-FIT FULL-COVER WATERBLOCKNow it’s time to look at modifying an existing full-cover waterblock. Here, we’ll be trimming it to size to fit over capacitors that otherwise make fitting it impossible. However, assess how much modification is required – if it’s excessive, you may want to quit while you’re ahead.

20 / ASSESS SEALS AND COOLANT CHANNELSYou’ll now see if your plans are possible. You can cut into the outer seal support channels without compromising them, but you need the entire seal to be supported. You also can’t encroach on the coolant channels – cutting into them will just cause leaks.

21 / MARK UP FOULING LOCATIONS Mark up the areas you need to remove with a marker pen, and do a final test fit to make sure your marks are accurate. You also need to check the locations of mounting holes. We’ll be removing several in the centre but there’s still one located here, plus the rest on the outside of the block.

19 / UNSCREW TOP SECTIONTo properly assess whether the modifications will be possible, you need to remove the top section of the waterblock. You’ll then have a clearer view of the insides, particularly the seals and coolant channels.

106


22 / CUT AWAY FOULING AREASThe waterblock gets hot during cutting, so remove any seals near the cutting area. A drill can make short work of large areas of copper, but you’ll need to make several holes and it won’t deal with all of it. We also used a Dremel for this job, with grinding and cutting disc attachments.

23 / FILE AREAS FLAT A metal file is the best tool for making the cut-out areas look neat again. You’ll need to spend more time here if your waterblock’s top is see-through – otherwise, you can file away the sharp areas and move to the next step.

24 / PERFORM ANOTHER TEST FITFinally, you can mount your waterblock. You’ll know you’re done when you can see the mounting holes lining up with the PCB. Gradually file down the areas until the holes line up and you can seat the waterblock properly.

25 / RESEAT SEALSIf you had to remove any seals prior to the cutting and grinding, reseat them before fixing the top section back in place. If you had to cut close to the edges of the metal seal support channels, make sure the seal still sits in place and can’t pop out.

26 / APPLY THERMAL PASTE AND PADSAs your waterblock sits on top of the VRM and memory modules, it may require thermal pads to allow these components to make proper contact. These pads are fairly cheap, and you can gauge the thickness required by holding the mounted waterblock and PCB end-on.

27/ MOUNT WATERBLOCKYou can now mount the waterblock and reinstall the top section. A leak test under pressure is now essential to make sure the seals hold up and that the waterblock is making proper contact. It’s worth removing the block to check the thermal paste and pads show signs of contact too.

Mathieu Heredia set himself

the challenge of turning an In

Win S-Frame into an even more

luxurious product, taking design

cues from high fashion, leather

goods and sports cars

CPC: What originally inspired you to build this project?Mathieu: When I saw the In Win S-Frame case for the first time I immediately loved the style, lines, materials and strong, powerful design – it’s elegant, surprising and resolutely classy. As I like high-end

products, I thought that this case could present me with a new challenge – to make an already luxurious object even more luxurious. It’ s pretentious, yes, but it’s the silly idea behind my project! To get there, I was inspired by all manner of high-end product ranges, including high fashion and luxury leather goods.

CPC: What specs did you choose, and why?Mathieu: The goal was to make an ultra-high-end, luxurious PC, so I chose Asus’ beautiful black and white X99 Deluxe motherboard, because white was going to be the dominant colour of the mod – it’s about

as high-end as you get in the world of non-professional components. It’s partnered with a Core i7-5930K processor and 32GB of Avexir Blitz Series DDR4 2,400MHz memory.

At this point, the whole motherboard, CPU and RAM was in the high-end spirit of the project, combining performance and good looks. I then complemented these parts with a complete water-cooling set by Bitspower, which brings the final touch to the luxury side of the project, as Bitspower’s products have the same image that I wanted for my project.

Finally, there’s a PSU from In Win, with cable combs from www.e22.biz for optimal cable management and tidiness. For the graphics system, I chose to install three Asus GTX 970 Strix graphics cards in order to ‘fill up’ the motherboard. This setup gives the whole system an imposing look that implies power. I want to clarify that this project with this setup was made possible thanks to my many sponsors – a big thanks to them!

CPC: What other computer mods have you built?Mathieu: I don’t keep accurate records, but I must be on my 40th project at the moment, although these projects vary in terms of originality, the amount of work and the level of achievement. At the beginning, like many other modders, my projects were based on the typical Asus ROG red and black style.

However, after completing some more projects, and creating the modding company Watermod with my friend Laurent (Seinron), I decided to create my own style and try new ideas!

I then started to create PSU covers, so I could play with different textures such as vinyl, brushed

/MEET THY MAKERName Mathieu Heredia

Age 34

Location France

Occupation Modder (yes, it’s my real job)

Main uses for PC For my job (photo editing, Internet, tests and reviews), and sometimes for video games and films

Likes Racing cars (in the past I raced with my own car), music (many different styles), photography and 100 other things

Dislikes Nothing

108

M O D D I N G / READERS’ DRIVES

aluminium, carbon fibre and vinyl imitation leather. I also tried using colours that we rarely saw in the modding scene, such as gold. I had one idea in mind, which was to evolve this style, using real materials, rather than imitations. It’s for this reason that my mods now feature parts made from real leather, noble aluminium, real stitching and so on.

CPC: What difficulties did you come across, and how did you solve them?Mathieu: The main problem I had with the In Win S- Frame is that its main aluminium plate is folded several times, none of which is at the same angle, which makes it very hard to achieve neat symmetry with the water-cooling gear, for example.

It presented a similar problem when I created the leather plates too, despite trying to take accurate measurements several times.

Also, the In Win S-Frame case already has a very strong visual identity, so I had to find ideas that were related to my theme but wouldn’t ruin the original box’s aesthetics.

CPU Intel Core i7-5930K

Graphics card 3 x Asus GeForce GTX 970 Strix in SLI

Case In Win S-Frame

Memory 32GB Avexir Blitz Series 2,400MHz DDR4

Motherboard Asus X99 Deluxe

Storage 256GB Kingston SSD

PSU In Win Commander II 850W

Cooling Bitspower fittings and pump, XSPC RX360 radiator

SYSTEM SPECS

In Win S-Frame by Watermod Readers’ Drives

109

The other main problem is the case’s cable management system, especially when the glass back panel makes the whole interior visible, so I bypassed the problem by replacing the glass plate with a 3mm-thick steel plate 3mm, covered with stitched leather.

CPC: What materials did you use, and why? Mathieu: I used two different materials – aluminium and leather. Employing these materials enabled me to respect the original idea for this mod, which was to upscale an already luxury product, taking

influence form high fashion, sports car seats and so on. To reinforce this idea, without overdoing it (because there’s a risk of losing the classy aspect of ‘light design’ if it gets too busy), I decided to add stitching on the leather with red sewing thread – it’s the official red colour used by

SEE THE FULL PROJECT LOG:

http://tinyurl.com/InWinWatermod

Vuitton, the famous French luxury leather house.

CPC: What tools and machinery did you use?Mathieu: I only use hand tools! I don’t have either a CNC mill or a laser cutter. I only work with a Dremel, drill and other such tools. I think, in fact, that this attitude goes well with the idea of this mod,

emphasising the ‘all handmade’ aspect. And, to be honest, the complexity of this mod doesn’t lie in the difficulty of making the parts that compose it, so there was no need for me to use lots of tools.

CPC: What media interest has the project attracted so far?Mathieu: The first opinions on Facebook have been very positive from the public. I didn’t expect so many good reactions and, even if I don’t make mods for glory, those comments are always nice to read. I had the honour of seeing it featured in French media, such as Cowcotland, MHZ Modding The Perfect Computer, as well as internationally renowned media such as bit- tech and TweakTown. My mod will also participate in multiple events and exhibitions at computer shows in France, so I’m very happy!

CPC: How long did the build process take?

Mathieu: It took four months, but I didn’t work on it every day because I had other projects in progress at the same time, so it was four months of intermittent work. As I already mentioned, the mod was entirely sponsored too, so I sometimes had to wait packages to arrive too.

CPC: Are you happy with the end result, and is there anything you’d do differently if you built it again?Mathieu: Yes, I like the result 100 per cent! I wouldn’t change or modify any part of it. If I wanted to do something else with the In Win S-Frame, it would be a completely new project; I already have lots of ideas about what to do with this case. With this mod, I had to make significant changes to the case, while keeping the design discreet and staying in harmony with the S-Frame design. It wasn’t simple but, in the end, after taking the time over it and trying different ideas, I think I found a good balance.

110

M O D D I N G / READERS’ DRIVES

To enter your machine for possible inclusion in Readers’ Drives, your mod needs to be fully working and, ideally, finished based in the UK. Simply log on to www.bit-tech.net and head over to the forums. Once you’re there, post a write-up of your mod, along with some pics, in the Project Logs forum. Make sure you read the relevant rules and advice sticky threads before you post. The best entrant each month will be featured here, where we’ll print your photos of your project and also interview you about the build process. Fame isn’t the only prize; you’ll also get your hands on a fabulous selection of prizes – see the opposite page for details.

BE A WINNER

111

Phobya Modding KitVALUE £50 inc VAT MANUFACTURER www.phobya.com, www.aqua-tuning.co.uk

The Phobya modding kit is designed with the modder in mind, offering great value for money and quality products. The kit includes Nano-G 12 Silent Waterproof 1,500rpm multi-option fans, which use an innovative fan-blade design. As standard, the fans include braided black cables to keep your case looking as neat as possible. The fans are also supplied with a special cable that lets you run the fan at 5V rather than 12V, reducing the noise emitted in order to help you to build a silent system.

The kit also includes the 60cm Phobya 3-pin Molex to 4x 3-pin Molex Y-cable. This pre-

braided extension cable gives you extra routeing options in your case, and it also enables you to run up to four fans from one compatible

motherboard header. Meanwhile, the Phobya SATA 3 cables included in the kit offer the same great quality braiding as the rest of the Phobya range, while also securing your

connection with latched connectors. As well as this, the kit includes the

Phobya SlimGuide Controller, which gives you the option to vary

the speed of other fans in your case, while the Phobya TwinLEDs let you shine a

light on your mods.

Corsair graphite Series 230T case and RM 550w Modular power supplyTOTAL VALUE £150 inc VAT / MANUFACTURER www.corsair.com

Corsair believes that a great PC starts with a great case. The Corsair Graphite Series 230T is a compact expression of this core philosophy. With stylish looks and a choice of three different colours, it packs in a remarkable number of features to provide builders with tonnes of room for expansion and amazing cooling potential. Like all Corsair cases, it’s built using the finest materials and finished to the highest standards, so it will withstand several years of upgrades. Plus, to make sure it stand outs from the crowd, the 230T features Corsair’s new Air Series LED high-airflow fans, providing distinctive lighting with low-noise, high-airflow cooling.

Just as a quality case is essential to building a quality PC, a high-performance, a high-quality power supply is also a vital ingredient. The all new RM series has been built from the ground-up to deliver unmatched reliability alongside 80Plus Gold efficiency, and all with the absolute minimum of noise. It uses specially optimised quality parts to reduce sound at the component level, and it’s completely silent below 40 per cent load, thanks to its Zero RPM fan mode. It’s also fully modular, allowing for the maximum amount of flexibility during installation. With a Corsair Graphite 230T case and an RM 550W Modular power supply at the heart of your build, you’ll have the foundations for a truly awesome gaming machine.

We’ve teamed up with some of the world’s leading PC manufacturers and retailers to offer this great range of prizes to each lucky Readers’ Drives winner. If your creation is featured in the magazine then you’ll walk away with all of the prizes listed on this page, so get in your entries!

Mayhems coolant and dyesVALUE £50 inc VAT / MANUFACTURER www.mayhems.co.uk

Cooling performance is only one part of the equation when it comes to kitting out your rig with custom water-cooling gear. The other major bonus is that all those tubes and gleaming fittings just make your PC look damn sexy, and they look even better when they're pumped full of fancy coloured coolant. As such, we're particularly pleased to have the folks at Mayhems now on board with Readers' Drives; they're currently offering two 1-litre bottles of Mayhems' Pastel Ice White coolant, along with a selection of five dyes, so you can choose the colour that best complements your PC. Check out the blue coolant in our own mini PC mod on the cover of Issue 109 for an example of what's possible with some Mayhems coloured coolant.

Win all these prizes!

112

CO M M U N I T Y / FOLDING

Folding@home uses the spare processing cycles from your PC’s CPU and graphics cards for medical research. You can download the client from http://folding.stanford.edu and our team’s ID is 35947. Once you pass a significant milestone, you’ll get your name in the mag. You can also discuss folding with us and other readers on the www.bit-tech.net forums.

WHAT IS FOLDING?

Folding@HomeJoin our folding team and help medical research

CPC: So who is HHComputers?HHComputers: I’m a strategy and technology consultant in the Internet and telecommunications industry. We have quite a bit of extra PC capacity in our home, where we use PCs for business, home media and amateur radio activities.

CPC: Why did you start folding?HHComputers: We have family members and friends who have succumbed to diseases that the medical research enabled by folding may help to cure. We decided that folding was a good cause to benefit from our extra compute and graphics capacity. It’s also fun to see how improvements in our systems map to increased folding production.

CPC: What systems do you have folding?HHComputers: A total of nine machines are folding here 24/7 – four Windows 7 64-bit PCs and five OS X Yosemite Macs. The Windows machines all have dual graphics cards, while the Macs are a mix of

MacBook Airs and iMacs. All the machines are at home, although we continue to fold on our MacBook Air laptops when we’re travelling.

CPC: What’s your best folding kit?HHComputers: Our top two Windows machines both use dual EVGA GTX 980 Superclocked graphics cards, Asus Rampage V Extreme X99 motherboards, Haswell-E 8-core CPUs overclocked to 4GHz and 16GB of DDR4 RAM at 3,000MHz. Both of these PCs use closed-loop CPU coolers.

CPC: Do you intend to keep up your current production rate?HHComputers: That’s the plan. We regularly upgrade our PCs and I’m planning motherboard and 8-core CPU upgrades for one of them to increase its production.

CPC: Any tips for fellow team members?HHComputers: We use a custom folding slot setup that allows us to reserve a portion of each machine’s

capacity for our everyday work, while leaving all the GPU and most of the CPU capacity for folding 24/7 (see the client graphic).

CPC: What do your friends and family think about your folding?HHComputers: They know it’s for a good cause. Also, our cats really enjoy my office being warm during the cold winter months here in New England.

CPC: What’s your worst folding experience?HHComputers: Folding is a good test of an overclocked PC’s long-term stability. It took some tuning of our overclocks at first to get all our PCs running stable while folding.

CPC: And the best?HHComputers: Seeing the recently completed home-built machine and our upgrades enabling sustained production of over two million points per day.

Folder of the month / We catch up with: HHComputers

Team rank 19

World rank 630

Score 147,556,029Work units 10,658Daily points average 2,389,363

TOP FOLDERS: This month’s shout-outs go to Wilding2004, daxchaos and Grimpeeper. If you fold under any of these names, email [email protected]

Join our folding team and help medical research

113

USERNAME POINTS MILESTONE

13thghost 20000

AJJackson1 20000

Jaffo 20000

talpigi 20000

RougeNikov 30000

Alee4177 40000

pig_farmer_uk 40000

modmuss50 50000

wew 50000

a5pin 60000

TroyS2 60000

Albie1971 70000

Tanuck 70000

Parmesan 80000

rob_woolcott 80000

Neostar 90000

Seamus3900 90000

yevad 90000

3feethigh 100000

blotty 100000

BondyBoy 100000

Kentara 100000

LynnRFlye 100000

Rateye 100000

Shaun 100000

stubbler 100000

alpha00 200000

Blexis 200000

MetallicGloss 200000

MikePreston 200000

Blexis 300000

J3llyf1sh-UK 300000

K0NRAD 300000


Lethaertes 400000

bastardo_bill 500000

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adbygrave 700000

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Chrissebooboo 800000

Hateboy 800000

matgsi 800000

Ony 900000

Sparrowhawk 900000

Adam_S_James 1000000

Damien_Tanner 1000000

daxchaos 1000000

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lilmatt157 1000000

Maglor 1000000

MarkVarley 1000000

PernusBernus 1000000

techknowledgey 1000000

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andboo1 2000000

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gKitchen 3000000

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RDL_Mobile 3000000

robgsxrk4 3000000

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kiiight 4000000

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ricky_eke 4000000

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chad116793 5000000

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Allan_Smith 6000000

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crazystuntman 6000000

GreenDemon360 6000000

gupsterg 6000000

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Orac 7000000

Flowwwie 8000000

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pompeyrodney 30000000

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MILESTONES THIS MONTH

TOP 20 OVERALLRANK USERNAME POINTS WORK UNITS

1 Nelio 2,335,115,932 104,291

2 DocJonz 1,020,071,459 171,132

3 coolamasta 694,150,636 160,658

4 Scorpuk 537,948,622 14,453

5 StreetSam 518,023,967 88,912

6 Dave_Goodchild 456,091,029 117,336

7 piers_newbold 391,380,094 37,789

8 johnim 315,224,342 79,134

9 PC_Rich 272,763,786 71,488

10 phoenicis 250,044,587 95,660

11 Slavcho 245,563,125 31,974

12 Lordsoth 220,677,995 90,407

13 The_M2B 213,056,013 53,981

14 Wallace 212,477,027 6,204

15 zz9pzza 211,014,628 15,794

16 Ben_Lamb 166,053,146 2,891

17 TheFlipside 163,067,641 19,784

18 Christopher_N._Lewis 152,386,078 35,878

19 KevinWright 134,337,784 26,294

20 Lizard 131,878,662 60,132

TOP 20 PRODUCERSRANK USERNAME DAILY POINTS AVERAGE OVERALL SCORE

1 HHComputers 1,624,928 101,466,368

2 StreetSam 1,510,923 518,023,967

3 DocJonz 1,330,296 1,020,071,459

4 piers_newbold 1,113,678 391,380,094

5 johnim 858,687 315,224,342

6 PC_Rich 832,545 272,763,786

7 Scorpuk 790,842 537,948,622

8 Wilding2004 726,296 25,873,828

9 Slavcho 647,718 245,563,125

10 coolamasta 539,226 694,150,636

11 Lordsoth 534,144 220,677,995

12 The_M2B 514,678 213,056,013

13 Laguna2012 474,285 130,667,712

14 Desertbaker 422,250 121,786,985

15 apeman556 320,628 87,687,976

16 Roveel 276,743 54,787,194

17 TheFlipside 253,589 163,067,641

18 KevinWright 197,296 134,337,784

19 Maglor 195,885 1,746,311

20 daxchaos 165,929 1,184,063

WORLD RANK TEAM NAME POINTS

DAILY POINTS

AVERAGETIME UNTIL OVERTAKE

2 [H]ardOCP 49,450,766,494 13,668,291 26.8 years

8 Custom PC & bit-tech 15,394,737,905 17,151,213 0

9 Maximum PC Magazine 15,325,755,954 17,615,355 5 months

THE NEXT OVERTAKE

114

O P I N I O N

GOODBYE 5.25IN DRIVE BAYS

Case design has been dominated by now-irrelevant technologies for too long, argues James Gorbold

JA M E S G O R B O L D / HARDWARE ACCELERATED

B ack in the early 1990s, a CD-ROM drive was the hot upgrade for any budding PC enthusiast, opening the door to a new era of games with vastly improved

graphics, audio and full motion video. Of course, that was assuming that you could stump up the huge purchase price, with first-generation drives retailing for several hundred pounds. Finally, a good 25 years later it looks as if not only CDs, but also DVDs and Blu-rays, may be going the way of the dodo.

This trend started quite a few years ago, with content delivery systems such as Good Old Games and Steam proving that PC enthusiasts weren’t wedded to the idea of owning physical copies of their games. Meanwhile, services such as iTunes and Spotify have proved that high-quality audio downloads and streaming are a compelling alternative to audio CDs and Internet piracy.

More recently, services such as Amazon Prime, Netflix and NowTV have made video streaming a viable alternative to watching TV and films on DVD or Blu-ray. In fact, the last time I used the optical drive in my PC was to install Windows more than three years ago, while my collection of DVDs and Blu-rays is still sitting in boxes, waiting to be unpacked, more than a year after I moved house.

Despite this changing consumer behaviour, it’s taken case manufacturers a long time to realise that support for an optical drive, let alone multiple drives, isn’t a top priority for PC enthusiasts when choosing their next case. For instance, the five most popular cases of this time last year – the Corsair 200R, 300R, Air 540, Fractal Design Define R4 and Cooler Master HAF XB – had an average of two and a half 5.25in drive bays.

And because 5.25in drive bays take up so much space on the front of the case, and so much volume inside the case, the end result is cases that give far too much prominence to a feature that few PC enthusiasts value or use.

Fortunately, after dragging their collective heels for several years, case manufacturers are starting to wake up to the lack of desire for 5.25in drive bays. Rather surprisingly, this charge hasn’t been led by previous innovators in case design, such as SilverStone and Corsair, but by companies such as NZXT with

designs such as the Source 340, In Win with its 904 and more recently, Fractal Design with its Define S.

By ditching support for 5.25in drives, the three aforementioned cases move chassis design forwards in a notable way. The benefits of this new school of case design are significant, ranging from minimalist front panels, improved airflow, more space and flexibility for water-cooling systems

(assuming they don’t use a 5.25in reservoir) or simply a reduced overall volume. There should be a cost benefit too, as the cases will require less complex tooling to manufacture the drive cages and front panels.

With Computex just round the corner, I’m hoping to see more cases without 5.25in drive bays, as its high time to say goodbye to the 1990s-era optical drive. After all, it’s been 25 years since the introduction of the first PC optical drives, while the 5.25in drive bay can trace its ancestry back to the IBM 5150 in 1981. Hopefully, we’ll also see some more interestingly shaped cases too, as there’s no need to locate the 3.5 and 2.5in drive bays at the front of the case either.

James Gorbold has been building, tweaking and overclocking PCs ever since the 1980s. He now helps Scan Computers to develop new systems.

After 25 years it looks as if not only CDs, but also DVDs and Blu-rays, may be going

the way of the dodo

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