Custom PC Magazine UK November 2012

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3November 2012

Welcome to Issue 110Welcome to Issue 110EditorialEDITOR

[email protected]

TECHNICALEDITORHarryButler

GAMESEDITORJoeMartin

ARTEDITORBillBagnall

PRODUCTIONEDITORJulieBirrell

CONTRIBUTORSAntonyLeather, CliffHarris,

GarethHalfacree,JamesGorbold,JimKillock,LucySherriff,PaulGoodhead,RickLane,

SimonTreadaway,TomMorgan

PHOTOGRAPHYAntonyLeather,

BenHardwidge,DannyBird,GarethHalfacree

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PCBUILDINGMASTERCLASS92 Assemblingthevarious

buildingblocksofyourfirstPCcanbeadauntingtaskif

youdon’tknowhowitallgoestogether.Long-servingPCbuilderBenHardwidgeshowsyouhowtobuildaneatandtidyPCwithoutbeingsentbacktonoobschool.

4 November 2012

Welcome to Issue 110

12 DIGITALASSETSYoudon’towndownloadedbooks,

filmsorsongs.Instead,you‘borrow’them.

14 SAVEOURDARKSOULSJoetalkstoDarkSoulsdirector

HidetakaMiyazakiaboutthedifferencebetweenJapaneseandwesterngames.

20 CLOUDGAMINGOnLivemightbeinitsdeaththroes,

butcloudgamingcouldstillhaveabigimpactontabletgaming.

36 PNYNVIDIAGEFORCEGTX660Ti2GB

Notthecardyoumightexpectfromthemodelnumber.Itcosts£250,andhaslotincommonwiththeGeForceGTX670,includingtheGPUclockspeedandthenumberofstreamprocessors.

38 PRE-BUILTPINT-SIZEDPOWER

Wetakealookatatinymini-ITXPCfromScan,whichstill featuresanoverclockedIvyBridgeCPUandaGeForceGTX660Tigraphicscard.

42 LOW-VOLTAGEOVERCLOCKSGigabyte’sGA-Z77X-UP4-TH

enablesustooverclockourIvyBridgeCPUto4.8GHzwithavoltageofjust1.3V.

80 COUNTER-STRIKE:GLOBALOFFENSIVE

JoeexplainswhyhethinksthelatestCounter-Strikemodhitsthesweetspot.

88 DEVPERSPECTIVEAIishard.Reallyhard,itturnsout.

CliffHarrisexplainswhygamingAIoftenfails

3652 40



80

114

5November 2012

1ssue 110

toliveuptoexpectations,andwhyweshouldsympathisewiththeAIcoder.

102 MODSONPARADEAntonyreportsonthegreatest

modshespottedatCampusPartyEuropeinBerlinthisyear.

110 HOWTOMAKEANLEDTEMPERATURESENSOR

GarethHalfacreeshowsyouhowtogetyourhandsdirtywithanArduinomicrocontroller,bymakingatemp-sensitivelightsystem.

110114

92

52

36

Regulars8 Fromtheeditor12 Digitalrights14 Interview16 Incoming18 Science!20 Mobiletechwatch24 CPCEliteproducts48 Howwetest78 Grumpygamer88 Devperspective90 Theengineroom128 Retrotech130 JamesGorbold

Community104Readers’drives110 HowtomakeanLED

temperaturesensor114 Howtopaint insideyourcase116 Letters125 Folderof themonth126 Yourfoldingmilestones

ReviewedthismonthHardwareGRAPHICS CARD36 PNYNvidiaGeForceGTX660Ti2GB

PC38 Scan3XSFT03Nanu

MONITOR40 PhilipsC-Line249C4QH

MOTHERBOARD42 GigabyteGA-Z77X-UP4-TH

COOLER44 ThermaltakeFrioExtreme

MOUSE46 RazerTaipan

Customkit50 BreffoSpiderpodium50 VersusTouchpad78GB50 Stronghold51 GigabyteKrypton51 ViewQuestiDiceSpeaker51 ZalmanZM-DS1000MonitorStand

PSULabs test55 AntecEarthwattsEA-550Platinum55 BeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W56 BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10550W56 CoolerMasterGX550W56 CorsairGS60057 EnermaxTriathlor550W57 FractalDesignR2Tesla650W58 FSPAurumXilenser500W58 InWinGreenMe550W58 NZXTHale82-650-M59 OCZZS550W59 SeasonicX-Series660W59 SilverPowerSP-S650M60 SilverStoneStriderPlus500W60 XFXPro650WCoreEdition62 XigmatekTauro500W62 ZalmanZM500-HPPlus64 AntecHighCurrentPro850W64 BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10850W66 BeQuiet!StraightPowerE9680W66 CoolerMasterM2SilentPro850W68 CorsairHX85068 EnermaxPlatimax750W69 FSPAurum850W69 InWinGreenMe750W70 OCZZX85070 SeasonicPlatinumSeries860W70 SilverPowerSP-S850M71 SilverStoneStriderGoldEvolution750W71 XFXPro850WXXXEdition71 XigmatekCentauro800W

Games80 Counter-Strike:GlobalOffensive82 SleepingDogs84 Inversion87 DeathRally

47PRODUCTSREVIEWED

102

104







W henItellpeoplemyPCisliquid-cooled,theyoftenseemtothinkI’veinstalledsomekindofTesla-inspiredaquariuminit,sothatIcanstupidlygawpatthefirework

displaywhenIhitthepowerswitch.‘Isn’tthatreallydangerous?’theyask,asif I’mthesortofpersonwho’drelievehimselfontheliverail if Ihadn’treceivedtheirwisdom.Liquidcoolingmightstillsitoutsidemostpeople’scomputinglives,butit’snowbecomesocommoditisedthatit’sstartingtobecomeastandardinenthusiastcircles.Forthefirsttimeever,forexample,thegenericPCI’vebuiltforour

annualmasterclass(seep92),usesaCorsairH100all-in-oneliquidcooler,withadual120mmradiatorintheroof.There’snoneedtoworryaboutfindingaplaceforapumpandreservoir,ordodgybarbsandleakytubing–it’sallsealedinaverysimpleloopthatanyonecaninstall. Infact, I’darguethatit’seasiertoinstallthanmanyhigh-endaircoolers,andthisbringsmetomypoint.WhenyoucanbuyaCorsairH80for£73,whywouldyoubuya£72aircoolersuchastheThermaltakeFrioExtreme(seep44).Thatisn’ttosaythattheFrioExtremeisabadcooler.It’san

incrediblefeatofengineeringforanaircooler,evenmanagingtotameanoverclockedLGA2011CPU.Butitcosts£72.Youcouldprobablygetawaywiththe£72pricetagwhenwatercoolingwasonlyanichehobbyenjoyedbyadventurousPCbuilders,butyousimplycan’t justify itwhenanall-in-oneliquidcoolercostsjustanextraquid.I’mnotforaminutesayingthatCorsair’sHrangeofcoolersis

perfect,bytheway.Evenattheirlowestspeed,thefansonaCorsairH80arelouderthanthoseonmanyaircoolers,andmostproperwater-coolingloopswillreduceyourtemperaturesfurther,andgiveyouthepotentialtocoolyourgraphicscardandchipsetaswell.

Now that liquid cooling is so easilyaffordable, is there any need forexpensive blocks of fins?

However,youdon’tspend£72onaCPUcoolerbecauseyouwantittobequiet–theArcticFreezeri30willdothatforafractionofthecost.YoubuyitbecauseyouwanttooverclockyourCPU,andanaircoolersimplycan’tcompetewithanall-in-oneliquidcoolerinthisregard.Thisisgoingtopresentaproblemformakersofhigh-endair

coolersinthefuture.They’regoingtoneedtoperformadelicatebalancingactbetweencheap,quietandeffectiveaircoolerssuchastheFreezeri30,andpowerfulall-in-oneliquidcoolerssuchasCorsair’sH-series.Ifyouraircoolercostsmorethan£50,andit isn’tseriouslyamazing,thenyou’regoingtostruggle.

Theseliquid-coolersalsohavetheaddedadvantageofnotbeingridiculouslytall–youcanscrewanH80radiatorintoafree120mmfanmountatthebackofyourcase,anditwon’t interferewithyoursidepanel,butthesamecouldn’tbesaidforthetoweringFrioExtremeinourLGA2011testsystem.

Idon’twritethistocriticiseThermaltake’sengineeringskills,orthoseofanyotheraircoolermanufacturer.I’mamazedattheamountofheatthatcanbeshiftedbyastackoffinsandacoupleoffanswiththerightdesignandmaterials,butthere’snopointiftheycostasmuchasadecentliquidcooler.Withsomanyofthesecompaniesnowenteringtheall-in-oneliquidcoolermarket,oftenwithalittlehelpfromAsetek,Ican’tseetherebeingamarketforexpensiveaircoolersformuchlonger.

BenHardwidgeistheeditorofCustomPC.HelikesPCs,realaleandWarhammer40,000.

[email protected] @MANSHARK

‘Isn’t that really dangerous?’they ask, as if I’m the sort of

person who’d relievehimself on the live rail

DOWESTILLNEEDHIGH-ENDAIR COOLERS?

8 November 2012

NEED HIGH-END

from the editor





P atents–likethemorloathethem,they’realoomingpresenceinthefreemarket.Perhapsthemostrecentexampleofpatentwarfareintechnologycomesfromwater-cooling

specialistAsetek,whichhassuedrivalCoolITonthebackofapatentgrantedjustafewdaysearlierbytheUSPatentsandTrademarksOffice(USPTO).Asetek’spatentcoversanall-in-onewater-coolingsystem,a

productforwhichthecompanyisrightlyknown.Itsnumerouspagesanddiagramsgofurther,andcould–withtherighthigh-pricedlawyer–beconsideredgeneralenoughtoputanymanufacturerofwater-coolingproductsatriskofapatent-infringementsuit.That’saseriousthreat:thepenaltieshanded

downforpatentinfringementcanincludeabanonsales,andtrebledamagesbackdatedtothestartofinfringement–figuresthatcaneasilyputasmallercompanyoutofbusiness.Therefore, it’slittlesurprisethatpatentsare

bigbusiness,bothforcompaniessuchasRambus–dubbeda‘patenttroll’ foritslitigioustactics–whichspecialiseinbuyingandlicensingpatents,andforcompaniessuchasAsetekwhichpatenttheirowntechnologyandthenuseittostrong-armcompetitorsintopayingalicencefee.Butarepatentsgoodforinnovation?BackinTudordays,thecrownwouldissuealetterspatentto

companies,givingthemamonopolyinaparticulartradeormanufacture.Althoughoriginallydesignedtoensurethattheoriginalcreatorsofnovelinventionswouldbecompensated,thesystemwasopentoabuse,withbothElizabethIandJamesIaccusedofgrantingpatentsinexchangeforsomecashfortheroyalcoffers.Today,almosteverycountryintheworldhasitsownpatentsystem

undertheauspiceoftheWorldTradeOrganisation.Althougheach

Edison didn’t invent the light bulb; he justpatented it, and patent trolling is still goingstrong a century later

systemisindependent–meaningthatacompanyhastoapplyformultiplepatents–theyallhavecertaincommonalities, includinga20-yearlifespan,whichisdesignedtoprovideimmediate,yettemporary,protectiontotheoriginalinventor.AsinTudortimes,however,thesystemhascritics,whoclaim

abusesandignoranceofpriorart–theexistenceofpriorpatentsorinventions-arerife.ThemostcommontargetfortheseaccusationsistheUSPTO,thegranterofAsetek’spatents.Theseaccusationsaren’tnew:ThomasEdison’s1880patentonthelightbulbwasgranted,despitethetechnologyalreadyexistingcommercially.Today,morepatentsaregrantedthaneverbefore,thankstothe

rapidgrowthoftechnology.Thisbringstheproblemtoahead;largecompaniesareapplyingforincrediblygeneralisedpatents,andusingthemtobullyandbankrupttheircompetitors.Inventors–andpatenttrolls–arguethat

patentsarenecessarytoprotecttheinvestmentoftime,moneyandexpertisethatgoesintothecreationofaninvention.Withcompaniesincreasinglyusingpatentsasweapons,ratherthanlegalarmour,however,

it’sperhapstimetoadmitthatthesystemisbroken.ItwilltakeacleverermanorwomanthanItofixit,butthismayhelp.

Firstly,makeiteasierforcompaniestoobjecttoapatentonthegroundsofpriorart.Secondly,rejectpatentapplicationsthataretoogeneral–aswiththecommonreadingofApple’srecentlydisputed‘rectangle’patent.Forthepatenttrolls,thesesimplechangescouldsoundadeathknell.Notamomenttoosoon.

TracyKingiscurrentlyaway

November 201210

In Tudor days, thecrown would issue aletters patent, giving

companies a monopolyin a particular trade

THEPROBLEMWITHPATENTS

Gareth halfacree

WITH PATENTS





12 November 2012

Jim Killock

twasrecentlyreportedthatBruceWilliswasfightingApple–notoverfilmrights,butoverhisdigitalmusiccollection.Accordingtothepress,hewantedto

leavehisdownloadstohischildreninhiswill.Rumourscirculated–anditwasreportedin

theMail,SunandGuardian–thatBruceWilliswantedtosueAppleoverhisrighttoleavehisdigitalmusictohiskids.Itwasn’ttrue,butthestorycirculatedbecausethere’sakerneloffact–youreallycan’tlegallypassonyourdigitalmusiccollectioninyourwill.Apple’spositionisunjust,andasignificanterosionoftherightswe’veenjoyedinthephysicalworld.Traditionally,aCDorbookhasacopyright

licencefortheworkthat’sembodiedinit.However,thelawsayscopyrightisirrelevant–‘exhausted’–whenthegoodsareresold.Thishaschangedinthedigitalworld.

Copyrightownersassertthatdigitalgoodscan’tberesold,loaned,transferredorpassedonatdeath.Licencesareusuallyprettyclearaboutthis,buttheresult isthatdigitalgoodsaresignificantlyworseinvestmentsthantheirphysicalcounterparts.Obviously,thereistheproblemthatdigital

goodsmightbesold,whiletheoriginalcopiesareretained.Forthisreason,copyrightholdershavepersuadedlegislatorsthatresalesortransfersofdownloadsshouldn’tbepermitted.Iexpectmostofuswillspendthousandsof

poundsinourlifetimesonmusic,booksandfilms.Onthebasisthatafewofusmightcheat,we’reallbeingaskedtosacrificeourinvestments.ArecentdecisioninEuropehasmadethematterclearerandmoreconsumer-friendly,butjustinthecaseofsoftware.ThisJuly,theGrandChamberoftheEuropeanCourtofJusticetoldOraclethatUsedSoftcouldindeedresellOraclelicences.Thelawforsoftwareisratherdifferentto

thatforbooksandfilms.Thecourtsaidthat

aEuropeansoftwaredirectivemakesitclearthatsoftwarecanberesold,andcontractualtermssayingthatlicencesare‘non-transferable’can’tchangethis.Therulingmeansthatmanycompanieshavebeenoverstatingtheirrightsforyears.Quark,forexample,usedtoclaimitssoftwareonCD-ROMs was‘non-transferable’.Notso.Youcan,therulingsays(ifyoukeepyour

originalreceipts)legallyreselldigitalsoftwaredownloadsinEurope.Thisisgood,asithelpstokeeppriceslower,andpreventscompanies

fromcheating.However,thesameprincipledoesn’tyetapplytofilms,musicandbooks.Thesearearguablyproductsthatwe’remorelikelytowanttoresell,orleaveinourwills.Software,afterall,goesoutofdate.Thesameisn’ttrueforbooks,filmsand

music.Wemightkeeplisteningtothesamesongsforyears,andweliketokeepbooksforreference,oftenfordecades.Theymayalsobeofvaluetoourchildren.Inshort,weexpectrightstolend,sellortransferdigitalgoods,butlegallytheynolongerexist. Inthecaseofdigitalbooks,there’snosecondhandmarket.Amazonhasmadetentativestepstowardsenablingpeopleto‘share’booksintheUSA–albeitonlyonce,andthenforonlytwoweeks.Worseisthewaythatdigitalbooksare

restrictedwhenlicensedtolibraries.Sincethenumbersofloanscanbecounted,publisherswanttolimitthenumberoftimesalibrarycanissuethem.Digitalmaterialcreatesgreaterabilitytocontrolusage,totheapparent

Digital assetsYou don’t own downloaded books, films or songs when you buythem. Instead, you ‘borrow’ them, which presents a number of issues

BruceWillisisn’treallyfightingAppletoleavehisdigitalmusictohiskids,butApple’spositionisstillunjust



13November 2012

advantageofthepublisher.However,there’ssomedangerthatpublisherswillthrottlethemarket,assecondhandcopies,librariesandpersonallendingformalargepartofthewaypeoplelearnaboutauthors.Itwouldn’tbethefirsttimethatcopyright

ownershaveshotthemselvesinthefoot.Informaladvertisingandexposureisbyfarthebiggestpartofhowwelearnaboutartists,frommusicontheradiotoborrowingDVDs.Oncewebecomefansofanartist,wespendmoneyontheirstuff.Toomuchcontrolbycopyrightowners,andtheirrevenuescouldbethreatenedaswestopexperimentingforfree.Wearen’t justlosingcontroloverthe

productswebuy.Thedigitalassetsyoupersonallycreateareatriskinotherwaystoo.StorieshaveappearedaboutthedifficultiesofaccessinginformationthatpeoplestoreontheInternetwhentheydie,suchassocialmediaandemailaccounts.There’snoguaranteethatyourrelativescanaccessyouraccounts–it isn’tyourdecisiontomake.Yahoo!forinstanceisclearthataccessto

youraccountdieswithyou.ThecompanyoperatesFlickr,whichmanypeopleusetostorehigh-resolutionphotos.Tome,itseemswrongtorefuseaccesstoFlickraccountswhensomebodydies.Afterall,someoneinheritsthecopyrights,sowhycan’ttheyaccessthefilestoo?What’smore,whileweloserights

overouraccounts,andthefilmsandbookswedownload,companiesgainrightstospyonus.Digitalformatrepresentsanunprecedentedsourceofinformationabouthowweconsumegoods.Amazonhopestolearnaboutthepointsatwhichweputabookdown,whenwestopreading,orwhenwecan’tresistapage-turner.JoGlanville,theheadofEnglishPEN,

saysintheGuardianthatcompaniessuchasGoogleandAmazonseektoknow‘whatwebuy,whatwebrowse,theamountoftimewespendonapageandeventheannotationswemakeinanebook.‘Ascampaignershavequipped,it’sthe

equivalentofabookshophiringsomeonetofollowyouroundtheshopnotingeverybook

youpickup,thensittingathomewithyouwhileyoureadwhatyoubought.’Foryears,librariansdefendedourrightsfor

thestatenottoknowinformationsuchasthis.Yetit’snowveryeasilyaccessible,andthat’scausingalarm.Californiahaslegislatedtorestrictlawenforcement’saccesstodigitalreadinginformation.Onlyafewyearsago,AmericanlibrarianswereforcedtofightattemptstocompellibrariestotelltheUSAsecretserviceswhatpeoplewerereading.

Thelibrarieswereoutragedwhentheyrealisedtheycouldbetoldtohandoverreaders’ informationin‘nationalsecurityletters’ issuedunderthePatriotAct.Theselettersdeniedtherighttoinformtheborrowers,oreventosaythatinformationhadbeensoughtbytheauthoritiesatall.These‘nationalsecurityletters’havebeenissuedhundredsofthousandsoftimestouniversitiesandISPsamongothers.ThelibrariansandtheInternetArchive

wereamongthefewthatchallengedtheconstitutionalityofthesesecretorders.OneoftheotherchallengerswasNicholasMerrill,whoseISPCalyxwasaskedtohandoveruserdatabytheFBI.Hewaspersonallyshocked

JIMKILLOCKisexecutivedirectorofcampaignorganisationTheOpenRightsGroup

(www.openrightsgroup.org)

@jimkillock

whenhewastoldhecouldn’ttellanyonethathehadbeenasked,andthattherewasnolegalmeanstochallengetheorder.HewenttotheAmericanCivilLibertiesUnionandtheElectronicFrontierFoundation,andtheyfoughtthecasewithhim.Eventually, in2007,afterathree-yearcase,

hewon.Onlyin2010washeallowedtorevealhisidentity.Hestillcan’tsaywhathewasaskedtogivetotheFBI.However,hehasresolvedtomakeitmuchharderfortheFBIoranyoneelsetogainaccesstocustomerdatathroughimprovedprivacytechnologies,andhascreatedanon-profit institutetohelpbuildthesoftwareISPswouldneed.IntheUK,weseedifferentattemptsfor

governmentagenciestograbaccesstoourreadingandcommunicationspatterns,mostrecentlyundertheproposedCommunicationsDataBill.OneofthemajorflawsunderthisproposalandourcurrentRegulationofInvestigatoryPowersAct(RIPA)isthatpeopleareneverinformedafterthey’vehadtheirinformationaccessed.IntheUSA,priortothePatriotAct, itwasnormalforsomeonetobetoldiftheirphonebillorpersonaldetailshadbeenrequestedbylawenforcement.

Protectionssuchasthatcangosomewaytomakingsurelawenforcementdoesn’tsimplygainunfetteredaccesstoourpersonalinformation,placingusatriskfromidentityfraud,privateinvestigatorsor

unscrupulousjournalists.Thisisimportantforcompaniesandindividuals.IfAmazonorFacebookwantustotrustthemwithdetailsofourlives,weneedtoknowthattheywon’tsimplyhandoverourlifehistorywhenapoliceofficerdropsthemanemail.

SOMEONE INHERITS THECOPYRIGHTS, SO WHY CAN’TTHEY ACCESS THE FILES TOO?

TheFBIaskedNicholasMerril’sISPtohandoveruserdata–hewenttotheAmericanCivilLiberties

UnionandElectronicFrontierFoundation,whofoughtthecasewithhim



14 April 2012

JoeMartin

SaveourDarkSoulsJoe Martin talks to Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki

technologyimportantforinjectingathemeorgameexperienceintodevelopingtitles.Inotherwords,theleveloftechnologydiffersinJapaneseandwesterngamedevelopmentprocesses,sincethesignificanceandgameexperiencethatwesterndeveloperstrytoachievearestronglyassociatedwiththedevelopmenttechnology.

CPC:Asidefromwiderculturaldifferences,DarkSoulsisverydifferentfrommostothergamesatthemomentinthewaythatittreatsdeathandfailureascrucialpartsoftheexperience.Whatwereyourinspirationsforthis,andwhydoyouthinkmostothergamesintheindustryhavemovedawayfromthisstyle?HM:Thisgameisdesignedtoprovideplayerswithasenseofaccomplishment,orinotherwords,

catharsisbyconqueringdifficulties.Sodifficulty,andconceptsoffailureanddeath,asyoumentioned,arelaidoutinthegameasfactorsthatenableplayerstofeelthesenseofaccomplishment.Iguessthereareseveralreasonswhyother

gamesdon’thavethesameapproach;agameaimstogiveplayerssomethingdifferentfromasenseofaccomplishment,orthemethodto

amcoBandai’shardcoreRPGDarkSoulswasneverintendedtoseeaPCrelease,butallthatchangedafteran

onlinepetitionfromPCgamersillustratedcleardemand.WetalktoDarkSoulsdirectorHidetakaMiyazakiabouttheportingprocess,andthedifferencebetweenJapaneseandwesterngames.

CPC:Lastyear,youtoldIGNthatyoufoundthesuddenattentionyouhadfromjournalistsandfanstobe‘a50/50mixoftroublingandexciting’(http://tinyurl.com/ctsregj),buthastherebeenanydifferenceintheapproachofJapaneseandwesternaudiencesandmedia?HidetakaMiyazaki: I feelthattheapproachofJapaneseandwesternaudiencesandmediaisverysimilar,althoughtheremaybeaslightdifference.I’msogladthatbothJapaneseandwesternpeopleshowtheirpassiontowardsDarkSoulswithpositiveorevennegativeapproaches.

CPC: IsitfairtosaytherearedifferencesinthegamesproducedbywesternandJapanesedevelopers,notjuststylisticallybutalsoonamechanicallevel?Wheredoyouthinkthesedifferencestemfrom?

HM:That’sadifficultquestion.Anexplanationbasedonthecategory–Japanesevswesterndevelopers–doesn’talwaysclarifytheirdifferencesaccurately.However, inmanycases,IfeelastylisticdifferencemayoccurwhenaJapaneseorwesterndeveloperaddsitsownthemeorexperiencetoavideogame.FromwhereIstand,Icanseethatwestern

developersalsotendtoconsiderdevelopment

THIS GAME IS DESIGNED TOPROVIDE PLAYERS WITH A SENSEOF ACCOMPLISHMENT – CATHARSIS

BY CONQUERING DIFFICULTIES

N DarkSouls’richlygothicworldisthestuffofnightmares



15April 2012

providegamerswiththesenseofaccomplishmentisdifferentfromourgames.

CPC:Doyouthinkgamesnowadaysaretooeasythen?HM:No,notreally. I loveeasygamestoo,asI’mnotagoodgamer.

CPC:Whywasn’tthePCpartofyouroriginalplan,whichpromptedapetitiontobesetup.AndwhydidyoudecidetodeviatefromthatplanandannounceaPCrelease?HM:WechangedouroriginalplananddecidedtodevelopthePCversionbecauseofthepetitionthatyoupointedout,andpersuadingNamcoBandaiGamesIncaftertheysawthefans’passioninthecampaign.

Iwasverysurprisedbythecampaign,andgladofit,becauseIdidn’texpectitatall.

CPC:DarkSoulsisinsomewaysaboutlearningfrommistakes.Whatmistakesweremadeduringthedevelopmentofthegame,andhaveyoubeenabletoprovideanyimprovementsinthePCversion?HM:Duringthedevelopmentprocesswespottedalotmistakes,bigandsmall,andlearnedlessonsfrom

them.Ican’ttellyoueachofthemistakesthatweremade,butwe’veaddedsomedetailedmodificationtothePCversionwherewecould.

CPC:Arethereplanstomakeasequelforthisgame,ordoyouintendtomoveonto

newideas?Also,whatsortofgamesareyouinterestedincreatingin

thefuture?HM: Iactuallyhavesomanyplansregardingfuturetitles,butif IwereforcedtospecifyonethenI’dsaythatI’minterestedincreatinganetwork-stylegamethatdoesn’t

sticktothecurrentgamestyleI’vedeveloped–networkisanunprecedentedmedia,andyoucanuseittoformacomplexsocietybasedonthenetworkitself.Finally,

Iwanttocreatesomethingcuteinthefuture.

YoucanfindoutmoreaboutDarkSouls:PreparetoDieEditionforPCatwww.preparetodie.com

THE PC VERSIONWhilethefactthatDarkSoulsiscomingtoPCisundeniablygood–andthatNamcopayssuchattentiontogamingcommunitiesisawonderfulprecedent–thedevelopmentofthegamehasn’tbeenwithoutissues.FromSoftwareadmittedtohavinglimitedexperiencewiththePCplatformearlierthisyear,andapreviewversionweplayedshowedsomedefiniteframerateissuesontheprovidedlaptops.

Howmorecapablemachineswillfarewiththegameremainstobeseen,ofcourse,butuntilthen,FromSoftwarereckonsthepromiseofnewcontentovertheconsoleversioniscompensationenough.Hmm…

were made during the development of the game, and have you been able to provide any improvements

During the development

CPC: Are there plans to make a sequel for this game, or do you intend to move on to

new ideas? Also, what sort of games are you interested in creating in

the future?HM:regarding future titles, but if I were forced to specify one then I’d say that I’m interested in creating a network-style game that doesn’t

stick to the current game style I’ve developed – network is an unprecedented media, and you can use it to form a complex society based on the network itself. Finally,

I want to create something cute in the future.

You can find out more about Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition for PC at www.preparetodie.com

From Software admitted to having limited experience with the PC platform earlier this year, and a preview version we played showed some definite frame

How more capable machines will fare with the game remains to be seen, of course, but until then, From Software reckons the promise of new content over

DarkSouls’PCversionincludes

newquests,bossesandweapons



ASUS UNVEILS HIGH-RES27IN SCREENFinally,afteryearsofbeingembarrassinglyshownupbyApple’sRetinadisplays,we’restartingtoseemoredesktopPCmonitorsgoingbeyond1,920x1,080withoutstrayingintosuper-expensive30interritory.DellhasprettymuchhadthatmarkettoitselfforyearswiththesuperbUltraSharpU2711m,butafewmoremanufacturersarenowlaunching27inmonitorswitharesolutionof2,560x1,440.ThelatestisAsus,withitsLED-backlitPB278Q WQHD,basedonanIPSpanel,whichAsussayshasa5msresponsetime(grey-to-grey)and178-degreeviewingangles.There’snowordonUKpricingoravailabilityyet,butitonlyneedstocostlessthan£500toundercuttheDell.

16 February 2012

NEW HARDWARE

We take a look at the latestnewly announced products

PNY LAUNCHES GAMING SSDsPNYhasjustlaunchedanewline-upofsolidstatedrives,whichitsaysaretargetedspecificallyatgamers.TheXLR8ProrangeisbasedonaSandForceSF-2281controlleranduses3KP/Emulti-levelcell (MLC)NANDflashmemory(meaningitcanwithstandatleast3,000program/erasecycles)andaSATA6Gbpsinterface.PNYsaysthe

newdriveswilloffersequentialreadandwritespeedsof550MB/secand520MB/secrespectively.TheXLR8Prorangewillbeavailablein

120GB,240GBand480GBflavours.

ASROCK COURTSOVERCLOCKERSTakingitsinspirationfromeitherwaspsor1980sChristianmetalbandStryper,ASRockhascladitslatestZ77motherboardinasharpyellowandblackcolourscheme.TheZ77OCFormulahasaneight-layerPCB,completewithfour2ozcopperinnerlayers,andtheboardalsohasa12+4powerphasedesignfortheCPU.DesignedinconjunctionwithrenownedoverclockerNickShih(seehisHWBotprofileathttp://hwbot.org/user/nickshih),thenewboardevenfeatures15-caratgoldintheCPUsocketandmemoryslots,andincludesGelidGC-ExtremeTIMtoo.There’snowordonpricingyet,butwedon’texpectittobecheap.Findoutmoreatwww.asrock.com/microsite/OCFormula

OCZ VERTEX 4 PRICE CRASHWatchingSSDpriceshasbeenlikewatchinganavalanchelately.FirstwesawCrucial’sM4seriesandSamsung’s830seriesplummetintothebargainbasement,andnowOCZ’sVertex4(seeIssue107,p44)rangehasjumpedofftheedgetoo.Thisisofparticularsignificance,sincetheVertex4256GB,whichisbasedonaMarvellcontrollerwithacustomIndilinxfirmware,isbyfarthefastestsolidstatedrivewe’veseen.Sofast,infact,thatitwonanExtremeUltraaward–allthathelditbackwastheprice.However,nowthatthe256GBmodelhasdroppedto£165,wehavenohesitationinawardingitaPremiumGradeawardtoo,andincludingitontheElitelistasourSSDofchoice.



For more information:www.pny.eu

PNYTechnologiesEurope.RCSBordeauxB394790430-PNY,PNYTechnologiesandthePNYlogoareregisteredtrademarksofPNYTechnologies,Inc.Allothertrademarksandlogosarethepropertyoftheirrespectivecompanies.Copyright©2012PNYTechnologies,Inc.All rights reserved. © 2012 NVIDIA Corporation. NVIDIA, NVIDIA logo, GeForce, GeForce logo, SLI, NVIDIA SLI-Ready logo, PhysX, 3D Vision, 3D Vision Surround, and CUDA are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the UnitedStates and other countries. All Rights Reserved.

Explore a new gaming experiencewith PNY’s GTX 670.



18 November 2012

Lucy Sherriff

Thespintronicswaltz

herearethreeproblemsfacingspintronics,saysDrGianSalis. ‘One:tocreatespinpolarisation;two:to

transportspinstoadrainandmanipulatethemontheway;andthree:todetectthespinstateatthedraincontact.’DrSalisworksinIBM’sPhysics

ofNanoscaleSystemsresearchgroup,whereheandhisteamhavefoundawaytopreventthedecayofspinpolarisation,extendingthelifetimeofaspinstateby30times.Notonlythat,butthey’veachieveditusingfabricationtechniquesalreadyusedinindustry.Let’srecap:Moore’sLaw–

whichstatesthatthenumberoftransistorsthatwillfitonagivenspacewilldoubleevery18months–hasbecomeanarticleoffaithinthesemiconductorindustry.However,thefearstalkingthesemiconductorindustryisthatprogresswillslowdownandgraduallygrindtoahalt.Thescaleatwhichtransistorsarenowbuiltmeansengineershavetodealwithenormousquantitiesofheat,andthemessyweirdnessofquantumphysicswillsoonstarttointrudeontheorderlybusinessofmovingonesandzerosaround.‘Spintronicsisoneofseveralways

(othersincludeFETandnanowires)ofgettingpasttheendofconventionalelectronics,’Salissays.‘CMOS[complementarymetaloxidesemiconductor]willsoonbelimitedbythevoltageatwhichitcanoperate.Itcan’tdecreasemuchfurther,ordealwithalltheheat. Ifwecanfindawaytolowerthevoltage,wecanstill increasescalinganddealwithheattransport.Spintronicsallowsustocreateswitchesthatoperateatsmallervoltages.’

We revisit the exciting world of spintronics, following recent researchby IBM to extend the lifetime of a spin state by 30 times

Briefly,spintronicsexploitsthespinstateofanelectron,ratherthanitscharge,tostoreandtransmitdata–wecoveredthistopicinmoredetail inIssue107,p18.‘Ithasbeenshownthatyoucanapplyavoltagetoagateandcreateanelectricfield.Youcandothiswithaverysmallvoltage,waylowerthanCMOS,’Salisadds.

Thespinofanelectron–anintrinsicqualityoftheelectronratherthananyreferencetoitsmotion–isoftendescribedasbeingupordown,andthesebinaryoptionsareequatedtotheonesandzerosofdigital information.Thisisusefulshorthand,butSalisexplainsthatinreality,thespinisavector,andcanactuallypointinanydirectioninspace.

‘Ifyouwanttousespinforinformationprocessing,youwantthespintobeinonedirection,andnottomoveinspace.Amagneticfieldwillrotatethisspinandchangethedirection,andyougethugemagneticfieldsinsidesemiconductors.Electronsemerginginasemiconductorseehugemagneticfields.Typically,theyrotaterandomly

sothataspinpointingupwillrotatedifferentlyfromaspinpointingdown.Overtime,theylosetheircommonorientation.Thisiscalledspindefacing,andit’sthedecayofspinpolarisation.’Salislikensthemovementofthe

spintoawaltz. Imagineallthepairsofdancerslinedupatthestartofthewaltz.Nowthinkofthedirectionthewomenarefacingasbeingequivalenttothespin.Eachofthepairswillmove,rotatingthroughthedance.Overtime,thecouplesmoveoutofalignment,andthewomenendupfacinginallsortsofdifferentdirections.Thisisthedecayofthespinpolarisation.

What’sneededisamechanismthatwill lockthecouplesinstep,sotheyrotateintimewithoneanotherandintimewiththeirmovementaroundthedancefloor. ‘Backin2003,therewasaproposalthatitmightbepossibletoovercomethisbyengineeringsymmetryintotheinternalmagnetic

fieldsofasemiconductor.Ifthemagneticfieldissymmetricalthenthespinsaresynchronised.Andthisiswhatwe’vedemonstratedexperimentally.’Sohowdoyouphysicallygaincontrolofthe

spins?‘Thecrystal itself isasymmetric.Youcan’tdoanythingaboutthat.Youbalancethisbyapplyinganelectromagneticfieldinsidethe

T

YOU CAN APPLY A VOLTAGETO A GATE AND CREATE AN

ELECTRIC FIELD WITH A MUCHLOWER VOLTAGE THAN CMOS

Themeasuredspatialandtemporalspreadofaspinhelix.Startingfromalocalisedexcitationmayspreadthespinsinspaceandrotatesynchronouslyintheprocess



19November 2012

structure.Thefieldisappliedbydesigningthequantumconfinesforatwo-dimensionalelectroninalayerintheGaAs[galliumarsenide]crystal.’Atwo-dimensionalelectron

gasisfreetomoveintwodimensionsbutconfinedbyapotential inthethird.Tocreatethisconfinementpotential,youneedtohaveveryfinecontroloverthecompositionofyoursemiconductor,Salisexplains.TheresearchersgrowtheGaAsepitaxially(theprocessofgrowingonecrystalofaparticularformationontopofanother),sotheycandepositindividuallayerstocreateabuilt-inchargegradient;thisenablesthemtobalanceouttheintrinsicasymmetryofGaAs.‘Thisisalreadyanindustrialprocessused

forLEDsandsoon.It’sslowerthantraditionalCMOS,butit’salreadyscalableandusedinindustry,’headds.Goingbacktothedancingmetaphor,bybalancingtheasymmetryofthemagneticfieldintheGaAscrystal,theresearchershaveeffectivelydesignedaperfectchoreography,lockingtherotationspeedofthedancerstothedirectioninwhichtheymove,sothatallthewomeninacertainareaendupfacinginthesamedirection.‘Ifyouputanumberofelectronsinavery

smallspot,theelectronswillgraduallydiffusefromthisspot.Thismotionisn’tchangedbybalancingtheGaAsfield.Thatonlyaffectsthespinitself.Youcanlabeltheelectronsandwatchwheretheygo.Thedevelopmentofthespinpatterniscompletelydifferenttothedevelopmentofthecharge.Itformsaspinhelixandwecanseethat.Thetheorysaysthatthespinsdisplayallprecess[changesinrotationalaxis]synchronouslytoformastripe-likepattern,whichisexactlywhatwe’veobserved.Theadvantageofsuchaspinhelixisthatthespindecayisswitchedoff,greatlyextendingthelifetimeofthespinstate.’

Intheteam’spaper(publishedinNaturePhysics),theresearchersreportthatthespinstatepersistsfor30timeslongerthannormalonceit’slockedintothespinhelix. ‘Westartedwithaspinlifetimeofmaybejustoveronenanosecond,butyoucanstartwithhighernumbersthanpicoseconds,whichwouldimprovetheendresult.’Inthisnanosecond(actually1.1ns,or

roughlythetimeittakesagigahertzprocessortomakeacalculation),thespinstraveltenmicrometresinthesemiconductor.Theresearchersdescribethisas‘useful’,whichweshallunderstandtomean‘impressive,butdon’taskuswhentherewillbeadevicebasedonthistechnology’.Thisworkisimportantforanotherreason

too.Aselectronsmoveinasemiconductorcrystalthey‘see’allkindsofdisturbancesanddefects–roughnessofsurfacesandsoon.Theseallchangethedirectionoftheelectron’smotion.Thismotioniscalleddiffusiveif ittakesplacefromAtoBandtheelectronsarescatteredbyinteractionswiththematerialalongtheway.Alotofthespintronicsworkpublished

reliesonwhat’sknownas‘ballistictransport’

LUCYSHERRIFFisajournalistwithadegreeinastrophysicswhoknowsallaboutthe

latestscientifictech.

@lucysherriff

ofelectrons.Thismeansthattheelectronmovesfromsourcetodrainwithoutanyinteractionstointerruptit.Thisrequiresaverypuresemiconductor,withnodefects.Diffusivetransportismucheasier,Salisexplains,becausethematerialsneedn’tbesoperfect.Asforcreatingadevice,Salis

advisesnotholdingyourbreath.Heremindsusseveraltimesthatheworksinasciencelabonthefundamentalprinciples.Nevertheless,henotesthattheworkhasdemonstratedthatyoucanhaveamaterialthatservesasaspintransportlayer.However,thereareother

obstacles.Atapartyofspintronicsresearchers,the

words‘roomtemperature’areprobablygroundsforexiletothekitchen.Alloftheseexperimentshavebeenperformedat40K,whichisn’twarmbyanystretchoftheimagination.‘No,butthisiswherewehaveagoodsignal.Wedon’thaveroomtemperature,butnothingsuggestsaproblematupto200K,’Salissays.Eventhatlimitcouldjustbeafunctionoftheequipmentused.‘Areweabletodetectspinstatesatroom

temperaturewiththemethodwe’veused?Theansweristhatwejustdon’tknow.We’reusinganopticalscanningmicroscope,anditssensitivitydecreasesasyouincreasethetemperature.Itdoesn’tgomuchbeyond180-200K.However, it’ssomethingwe’reworkingon.’

GianSalis(right)andMatthiasWalser(left)haveobservedhowelectronspinsmoveinasemiconductorchannel,withtheirorientationssynchronouslyrotatingalongthepathsimilartoacoupledancingthewaltz



20 November 2012

Gareth Halfacree looks at the latest mobile hardware

hecomputationpowerofmobilephonesandtabletsisincreasingatanalarmingrate.ARM’s

latestGPUdesign,thesecond-generationMidgard-architectureMali,boastsa50percentperformanceboostoverprevious-generationparts–agenerationalimprovementofwhichdesktopgraphicsdesignerscanonlydream.Portabledevicesstill lag

behindtheirlaptopanddesktopcounterparts,however.Theneedtopackcomponentsintotinyspaceswithlimitedbatterylifeandnoactivecoolingputsanupperlimitonthepotentialpoweroftabletsandsmartphones.ARManditsmultitudinouslicenseescanbeascleverastheylike,buthigh-powerdesktopandlaptopmachineswill alwayswin.Nowhereisthismoreobviousthaninthe

gamingmarket.Today’smobilegames,whileafarcryfromNokia’soriginalSnake,aren’tasimpressiveastheirdesktopequivalents.There’snodenyingthatsome,suchasEpic’sInfinityBlade,pushtheenvelopeofwhatispossiblefromamobiledevice,butthey’llalwaysbehamperedbytherelativelackofmemoryandprocessinggruntcomparedwithPCorevenconsolegames.Atleast,untilyoubegintothinkoutsidethehandset.

CLOUD GAMINGTheideaofcloudgamingisn’texactlynew,buildingonthin-clientnetworkingconceptsfromthemainframeera.Ratherthanhavingexpensive,energy-hungrymachinesoneverybody’sdesksandseeingtheprocessorssit idleformostoftheirlives,youinsteadpushtheheavyliftingofftoapowerfulcentralserverandputfarlesspowerfuldevicesonthedesk.

CloudgamingOnLive might be in its death throes, but others are serious about cloud gamingtoo. We look at how it could affect mobile and tablet gaming

Althoughonlyrecentlyannounced,Nvidia’sGeForceGridhassomeseriousindustryweightbehindit;contentpartnersrangefromEpicGames,CDProjekt,THQandNCSofttoconsolegiantsCapcom,SegaandBandaiNamco.Epic’sco-founderTimSweeneywasoneofthetalkingheadstrottedoutatthelaunchceremony,claimingthat‘Nvidia’sGridtechnology,withitslatencyreductionandimprovedimage

quality,combinedwithhigherdensityandpowerefficiency,aresignificantstepstowardsmakingcloudgamingatrueconsole-likeexperiencetoday,andbringingthathigh-qualitygamingexperiencetomorepeople’.

LATENCYSweeneyisn’tmentioninglatencyreductiontechnologyfornothing.Latency–thegapbetweenintentanddeed–isthemajorproblemforcloudgaming.Twitch-gamingtitlessuchasmultiplayerfirst-personshootersrequireincrediblyaccuratetimingontheplayer’spart–anydelaycanbeakiller–andthere’splentyofpotentialfordelaywithcloudgaming.Ignoringtheactualrenderingofthegame,

whichshouldn’ttakelongerthanahigh-endPC,therearetwopathspronetodelaysincloudgaming:thepathfromthegamertotheserver,andthepathbackfromtheservertothegamer.Whentheplayerhitsakey–ortapsthescreen,inthecaseoftabletorsmartphone–thatinstructionhastoreachtheserver,beprocessedintoanin-gameaction,getrendered,andthentheresultingvideoandaudioreturnedtotheplayer.AccordingtoNvidia’smeasurements,

aconsolepluggedintoaTVthroughHDMIrequiresaround100msforin-game

Cloudgamingplatformsworkinmuchthesameway:allthedifficultworkiscarriedoutonacentralserver.Forgaming,thiscoverseverythingfromphysicsandAIcalculationstosoundandgraphicsrendering.Theoutput–avideoandsoundstream–isthencompressedandsentacrossthenetworktotheclientdevice.Theresult istheabilitytorundecent-qualitygamesondevicesthatlacktheusualgraphicscardandprocessorcombinationthatcoststhesharpendofagrand.Atleast,that’stheidea.

GAIKAI AND NVIDIAOneofthebiggestnamesincloudcomputingisGaikai.Foundedin2008byDavePerry,themanbehindclassicgamesincludingEarthwormJimandMDK,Gaikaihasmadeaseriousnameforitself inthefledglingcloudgamingindustrywithpartnershipsincludingElectronicArts,SamsungandNvidia.Thatlatterpartnershiphasresultedinthe

launchingofanentireplatform,GeForceGrid,whichequipsserverswithspeciallydesignedlow-latencyNvidiagraphicsboardsdubbedGridProcessors.FeaturingdualKeplerGPUswith3,072CUDAcores,8GBofmemoryanda250WTDP,theboardsaredesignedtoofferlag-freerenderingofuptofourplayersessionsperserver.

T

It’sclaimedthatGaikai’stechnologycouldrivalconsolesforlag-freegaming



21November 2012

GARETHHALFACREEisthenewsreporteratwww.bit-tech.net.Heknowsallabout the

latestnewsinPCandmobiletech.

@ghalfacree

CONTROL IS KEYCloudgamingonmobiledeviceshasanotherhurdletojumptoo:controls.Withthemajorityoftoday’sbig-budgetgameswrittenfora

consolecontrollerorkeyboardandmousecombo,abutton-freetouch-screendeviceishardlytheidealinterface.BothGaikai

andOnLivehaveattemptedtocircumventthisissuebydevelopingon-screenmulti-

touchcontrolsthatemulateacontroller,completewithbuttonsandan‘analoguestick’.Thismeansthattheplayer’shandsobscurepartofthescreen,however,andofferslittletactilefeedback.OnepossiblesolutionistheTactusTactile

Layer(seeIssue108,p20),asurfacethatraisestheshapeofagamepadondemandforamoretactileexperience.Sony,meanwhile,hasgoneintheoppositedirectionwithitsXperiaPlayhandset,whichfeaturesaslide-outDualShock-inspiredphysicalcontroller.TheupcomingWikiPadtablet,poweredbyNvidia’sTegra3,usesathirdoption:aremovablecontrollerjacketthataddstwoanaloguesticks,adirectionpad,andbothfaceandtriggerbuttonscomfiergaming.OnLive’srecentfinancialwoesmighthave

setbackmainstreamcloudgamingforafewyears,butwithGakaiandNvidiainvestingalotintothetechnology, it’sstill likelythatPCgamerswon’tbeabletosneeratmobilegamersformuchmorethanafewyears.

processingandafurther66mstodisplaytheresultantframe.This166msbest-casetargetwassoundlymissedbyfirst-generationcloudgamingplatforms,whichwereforcedtoaddona30mscaptureandencodepipeline,a75msnetworkdelay,andafurther15msfortheclientsystemtodecodethecompressedvideoandaudiostreamforatotalof286ms.Giventhesamenetworkconditions,Nvidia

claimsthatGaikai’sGeForceGrid-poweredplatformcutsthegamepipelinestageinhalfto50ms,thecaptureandencodestageto10ms,thenetworkdelayto30ms,andthedecodestageto5mswhileretainingthehardware-limited66msdisplaytimeforaconsole-matchingtotalof166ms.Thatratherconvenient-soundingfiguremeansthatcloudgamingcannow,intheory,matchtheexperienceofconsolegaming,butwithouttheneedforanexpensiveconsole.

WHITHER MOBILE?Mobilegaming,however, isadifferentbeast.Consoles–microorotherwise–havetheadvantageofsittinginthehomeontheendof,typically,ahigh-speedfixed-linebroadbandconnection.OnLive,for

example,statesthatitssystemrequiredaminimum1Mb/secconnectiontowork,with1.5Mb/secto2Mb/secrecommended.Theslowertheconnection,themoreheavilycompressedthevideostream–resultinginanexperiencethat’smorelikewatchingabadlypiratedvideothanplayingaconsole-qualitygame.Gamingontabletsaddsanother

dimension:wirelessnetworking.Sometabletsthatcanacceptawirednetworkexist,butthey’rerare;mostuserswillconnectthroughWiFi,eitherathomeorusingapublichotspot.Mostly,youmaybesurprisedtohear,thisworksjustfine;aslongastheconnectionattheendoftheWiFiaccesspointisofahighenoughqualityandrelativelyuncontentious,thestreamlargelyworksaspromised.Smartphonesareacompletelydifferent

matter,however.Mostmobilegamersplaytheirgameswhenotherdistractionsareunavailable,suchasduringlongpublictransportjourneys.Inalargenumberofcases,thismeansa3G–or, ifyou’reinapoorsignalarea,EDGEor2G–mobiledata

connection.Withlatencyonmobilenetworksrisingashighas500ms,cloudgamingbecomesafarmoredifficultproposition,leavingthosewithoutaccesstoaWiFi-enabledbroadbandconnectionstuckwithgamessuchasAngryBirds,rather

thanCounter-Strike.

Cloudgaming,viaGeForceGrid,promisesthesameexperiencefromsmartphonestodesktops

TheWikiPadattemptstosolvethecontrolproblemwithadetachablegamingjacket

MainstreamsuccessmayhaveeludedOnLive,butitsMicroConsoleprovedcloudgamingdoesn’tneedbulkyclient-sidehardware







24 April 2012

Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB Hard DriveAn amazing storage drive for the price!

• 5,900 rpm Spin Speed• 64MB Cache

• 2TB Storage Capacity

• SATA 6Gbps Interface

www.cclonline.com

£77.56• CCL Code - HDD1137

WE’REAWARD

WINNERS!

PC Pro 2011Highly Commended

An amazing storage drive for the price!

Pr ices cor rec t a t t ime of going to publ ish ing. Images are for i l lus t ra t ive purposes only.

Our choice of the best hardware available

You don’t have to spend an astronomical sum to get a decent PC.Our stunning value build includes 4GB of brandedmemory anda quad-core AMD Llano APUwith integrated graphics

NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED PRICE (inc VAT)

A AntecOne www.overclockers.co.uk www.antec.com Issue108,p36 £40

B GigabyteGA-A75M-UD2H www.ebuyer.com www.gigabyte.com Issue98,p34 £69

C AMDA8-3870KBlackEdition www.cclonline.com www.amd.com Issue103,p38 £80

D 4GBCrucialBallistixSportPC3-12800C9 www.overclockers.co.uk www.crucial.com Issue100,p96 £26

E GelidTranquilloRev.2 www.scan.co.uk www.gelidsolutions.com Issue100,p86 £25

F BeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W www.scan.co.uk www.bequiet.com Issue 110, p55 £55

G 500GBSeagateBarracudaST500DM002 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104,p72 £48

H Lite-On IHAS124-19 www.cclonline.com www.liteonit.eu Issue99,p108 £13

I MicrosoftWindows7HomePremium64-bit www.amazon.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue 75, p46 £102

TOTALSYSTEMPRICE £458

A

BMOTHERBOARD

FPSU

GHARD DISK

DRAM

HOPTICAL DRIVE

ECOOLING

IOPERATING SYSTEM

CAPU

UPDATED



25April 2012

As Core i7 motherboards and high-end graphics cards command apremium price, here are some components for a Core i5 PC that offergreat performance and won’t break the bank


A SilverStoneRavenRV03 www.scan.co.uk www.silverstonetek.com Issue103,p70 £104

B GigabyteGA-Z77-D3H www.scan.co.uk www.gigabyte.com Issue108,p38 £79

C IntelCore i5-3570K www.scan.co.uk www.intel.co.uk Issue106,p36 £173

D 8GBPatriotG2PGD38G1600ELK www.amazon.co.uk www.patriotmemory.com Issue106,p40 £39

E ArcticFreezer i30 www.dabs.com www.arctic.ac Issue104,p48 £28

F SapphireAMDRadeonHD78702GB www.amazon.co.uk www.sapphiretech.com Issue105,p40 £198

G BeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W www.scan.co.uk www.bequiet.com Issue110,p55 £55

H SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104,p75 £76

I AsusXonarDG www.dabs.com http://uk.asus.com Issue99,p108 £24

J SamsungSSD830128GB www.scan.co.uk www.samsung.com Issue104,p68 £80

K Lite-On IHAS124-19 www.cclonline.com www.liteonit.eu Issue99,p108 £13

L MicrosoftWindows7HomePremium64-bit www.amazon.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue 75, p46 £102

TOTALSYSTEMPRICE £971

A

G H I J LPSU HARD DISK SOUND CARD SOLID STATE DRIVE OPERATING SYSTEM

FGRAPHICS CARD

B D EMOTHERBOARD RAM COOLINGCPU

C

Fractal Design Core 1000 PC CaseA unique combination of design, features,cooling performance and value• 2x 3.5" Bays, 2x 5.25" Bays• 2x Front USB 2.0

• 1x Front 120mm Fan

• Supports up to 3x 2.5” SSDs• CCL Code - CAS0478

£31.19

www.cclonline.com/cpc08000 50 10 10


UPDATED



26 April 2012


Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D2V MotherboardAmazing price Socket 1155 motherboard!

• Socket 1155 Motherboard• MicroATX Form Factor

• Up to 16GB DDR3 Memory

• Gigabit LAN

www.cclonline.com

£41.34• CCL Code - MBD0340

WE’REAWARD

WINNERS!


Amazing price Socket 1155 motherboard!


This PC has the potential to be the finest gamingmachine you can find – aswell as an excellent all-round computer for office work, digital photography,video production andmedia playback


A SilverStoneFortressFT02B-WUSB3.0 www.scan.co.uk www.silverstonetek.com Issue85,p88 £188

B AsusMaximusVGene www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue106,p64 £150


D 8GBPatriotG2PGD38G1600ELK www.amazon.co.uk www.patriotmemory.com Issue106,p40 £39

E BeQuiet!DarkRockAdvanced www.scan.co.uk www.bequiet.com Issue91,p74 £41

F PNYGeForceGTX6802GB www.scan.co.uk www3.pny.com Issue105,p36 £408

G SeasonicX-Series660W www.scan.co.uk www.seasonic.com Issue110,p59 £120

H SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104,p75 £76

I AsusXonarDX www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue80,p63 £58

J OCZVertex4256GB www.ebuyer.co.uk www.ocztechnology.com Issue104,p68 £165

K Lite-On IHAS123-19 www.cclonline.com www.liteonit.eu Issue99,p108 £13

L MicrosoftWindows7HomePremium64-bit www.amazon.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue 75, p46 £102

TOTALSYSTEMPRICE £1,533

G H I J LPSU HARD DISK SOUND CARD SOLID STATE DRIVE OPERATING SYSTEM

FGRAPHICS CARD

A

B D EMOTHERBOARD CPU RAM COOLING

C

UPDATED UPDATED



27April 2012

Iiyama ProLite 24” LCD MonitorTrue HD 1920 x 1080, incredible 2msresponse time with VGA, DVI and HDMI!• 1x HDMI, 1x VGA, 1x DVI-D, Speakers

• 1920 x 1080 Full HD Resolution

• 2ms Response Time• Built-in Stereo Speakers• CCL Code - MON0249

£129.97



Themost awesome components around, before reaching workstationterritory. We’ve included a dual 120mm liquid cooler kit as a baseexample, but the case has space for a variety of water-cooling setups

G H I J KPSU SOLID STATE DRIVE SOUND CARD HARD DISK OPERATING SYSTEM

A


A SilverStoneTemjinTJ07B-W www.scan.co.uk www.silverstonetek.com Issue63,p87 £263

B AsusMaximusVGene www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue106,p64 £150


D 8GBKingstonHyperXGenesisKHX1866C11D3P1K2/8G

www.saverstore.com www.kingston.com Issue106,p40 £40

E NvidiaGeForceGTX6902GB www.scan.co.uk www.nvidia.com Issue106,p46 £780

F CorsairH100 www.scan.co.uk www.corsair.com Issue91,p74 £82

G BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10850W www.scan.co.uk www.bequiet.com Issue 110, p64 £167

H OCZVertex4256GB www.ebuyer.co.uk www.ocztechnology.com Issue107,p44 £165

I CreativeX-FiTitaniumFatal1tyPro www.amazon.co.uk www.uk.europe.creative.com Issue62,p61 £84

J SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM0001 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104,p75 £76

K MicrosoftWindows7HomePremium64-bit www.amazon.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue 75, p46 £102

TOTALSYSTEMPRICE £2,155

B DMOTHERBOARD CPU RAM

C E FGRAPHICS CARD COOLING

UPDATED



28 April 2012


Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD 7770 1GB Graphics CardTake your game performance to the next level

• HDMI, DVI-I, Mini-DisplayPort

• 1GB GDDR5 Memory

• 5000MHz Memory Clock

• 1000MHz Core Clock

www.cclonline.com

£94.94• CCL Code - VGA0674

WE’REAWARD

WINNERS!


Take your game performance to the next level


TYPE CPU MOTHERBOARD COOLER RAM

NAME IntelCore i5-3570K AsusMaximusVGene ArcticFreezer i30 8GBPatriotG2PGD38G1600ELK

SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.dabs.com www.amazon.co.uk

MANUFACTURER www.intel.co.uk http://uk.asus.com www.arctic.ac www.patriotmemory.com

REVIEWED Issue106,p36 Issue106,p64 Issue104,p48 Issue106,p40

PRICE(incVAT) £173 £150 £29 £38

TYPE GRAPHICS CARD GRAPHICS CARD GRAPHICS CARD

NAME SapphireRadeonHD68701GB SapphireRadeonHD7870 PNYGeForceGTX6802GB

SUPPLIER www.amazon.co.uk www.amazon.co.uk www.scan.co.uk

MANUFACTURER www.sapphiretech.com www.sapphiretech.com www3.pny.com

REVIEWED Issue102,p61 Issue105,p40 Issue105,p36

PRICE(incVAT) £128 £198 £408



29April 2012

Acer G6 Series 21.5” Full HD LED MonitorAcer's gaming style Full HD LED monitor

• 1x VGA, 1x DVI-D Inputs

• 1920 x 1080 Full HD Resolution• 5ms Response Time

• LED-backlit Monitor• CCL Code - MON0937

£82.99




NAMEAMDA8-3870K GigabyteGA-A75M-UD2H GelidTranquilloRev.2

4GBCrucialBallistixSportPC3-12800C9

SUPPLIER www.cclonline.com www.ebuyer.com www.scan.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk

MANUFACTURER www.amd.com www.gigabyte.com www.gelidsolutions.com www.crucial.com


PRICE(incVAT) £80 £69 £25 £26


NAME IntelCore i7-3930K AsusSabertoothX79 CorsairH80 16GBCorsairVengeanceCAS9DDR3

SUPPLIER www.novatech.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.dabs.com www.dabs.com

MANUFACTURER www.intel.co.uk http://uk.asus.com www.corsair.com www.corsair.com


PRICE(incVAT) £435 £257 £72 £80



30 April 2012


Our best selling gaming PC evolved - Better Graphics, Bigger Hard Drive - Better Deal!

AMD FX-4100 3.6GHz CPU, 8GB DDR3 Memory, AMD Radeon HD 77701TB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Built-in Wi-Fi, 2 Year Warranty

TYPE BUDGET CASE MICRO-ATX CASE AIR-COOLING CASE WATER-COOLING CASE

NAME AntecOne SilverStoneTJ08-E SilverStoneRavenRV03 SilverStoneTemjinTJ07B-W

SUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk

MANUFACTURER www.antec.com www.silverstonetek.com www.silverstonetek.com www.silverstonetek.com


PRICE(incVAT) £40 £79 £104 £263

TYPE LGA1155 CPUWATERBLOCK

GEFORCE GTX 680WATERBLOCK

RADEONHD 7970WATERBLOCK

DUAL 120MMRADIATOR

NAMEXSPCRayStormCPU XSPCRazorGTX680

AquacomputeraquagrATIxforHD7970

AlphacoolNexXxosUT60FullCopper240mm

SUPPLIER www.aquatuning.co.uk www.aquatuning.co.uk www.aquatuning.co.uk www.aquatuning.co.uk

MANUFACTURER www.xs-pc.com www.xs-pc.com www.aquacomputer.de www.alphacool.com


PRICE(incVAT) £51 £90 £76 £50



31April 2012

www.cclonline.comwww.cclonline.comCall us on 08000 50 10 10

Monitors and desktop bundles are available separately.

TYPE HARD DISK SSD NAS BOX

NAME SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 OCZVertex4256GB SynologyDiskStationDS212j

SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.ebuyer.co.uk www.dabs.com

MANUFACTURER www.seagate.com www.ocztechnology.com www.synology.com


PRICE(incVAT) £76 £165 £160

TYPE 530W PSU 660W PSU 850W PSU 1.2kW PSU

NAME BeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W

SeasonicX-Series660W XFXPro850WXXXEditionAntecHighCurrentPro

1200W

SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.ebuyer.co.uk www.ebuyer.com

MANUFACTURER www.bequiet.com www.seasonic.com www.xfxforce.com www.antec.com

REVIEWED Issue110, p55 Issue110, p59 Issue110, p71 Issue96, p48

PRICE(incVAT) £55 £120 £107 £228

UPDATED UPDATED

UPDATED

UPDATED



32 April 2012


Our best selling Intel gaming PC evolved - Better Graphics - Bigger Hard Drive

Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz CPU, 8GB DDR3 Memory, NVIDIA GeForceGTX 560Ti, 1TB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, 2 Year Warranty

TYPE SOUND CARD 2.1 SPEAKERS HEADSET 5.1 SPEAKERS

NAME AsusXonarDX CorsairSP2500 AsusVulcanANC LogitechZ906

SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.ebuyer.com

MANUFACTURER http://uk.asus.com www.corsair.com http://uk.asus.com www.logitech.com


PRICE(incVAT) £58 £184 £76 £255

TYPE 24INMONITOR 27INMONITOR TRIPLE-MONITOR STAND

NAME DellUltraSharpU2412M DellUltraSharpU2711 XFXTripleDisplayMonitorStand

SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.cclonline.com www.scan.co.uk

MANUFACTURER www.dell.com www.dell.co.uk www.xfxforce.com


PRICE(incVAT) £227 £512 £299



33April 2012

www.cclonline.comwww.cclonline.comCall us on 08000 50 10 10

Monitors and desktop bundles are available separately.

TYPE KEYBOARD MOUSE STEERINGWHEEL JOYSTICK

NAME MionixZibal60 MaonixNaos3200 LogitechG27 LogitechFlightSystemG940

SUPPLIER www.systo.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk

MANUFACTURER www.mionix.net www.mionix.net www.logitech.com www.logitech.com


PRICE(incVAT) £107 £35 £206 £228

TYPE RPG FPS STRATEGY UNDERDOG

NAME ElderScrollsV:Skyrim DeusEx:HumanRevolution FrozenSynapse Trine2

DEVELOPER www.bethsoft.com www.square-enix.com www.mode7games.com http://frozenbyte.com

PUBLISHER Bethesda www.square-enix.com www.mode7games.com http://frozenbyte.com


PRICE(incVAT) £30 £30 £19 for two £12



38 SCAN3XSFT03NANU

Apint-sized,overclockedhigh-endPC

40 PHILIPSC-LINE249C4QH

Canthis24inVApaneljustifyits£200price?

44 THERMALTAKEFRIOEXTREME

ItcaneventameanoverclockedLGA2011chip

42 GIGABYTEGA-Z77X-UP4-TH

Only1.3Vrequiredfora4.8GHzIvyBridgeCPU

46 RAZERTAIPANEverwonderedwhat

£75worthofgamingmouselookslike?

51 VIEWQUESTiDICESPEAKER

That’sthewaywerollaroundhere

51 ZALMANZM-DS1000

Brushedaluminiumtostickunderyourmonitor

50 VERSUSTOUCHPAD78GB

AnAndroidtabletthatcostsjust£90

51 GIGABYTEKRYPTON

DoesthishugemousemathavetheKryptonfactor?

34 November 2012

Our in-depth analysis ofthe latest PC hardware

36



35November 2012

HOWWETEST,P48

PNYGeForceGTX660Ti2GB

1,533streamprocessorsanda915MHzGPUclock.Isthis really

aGTX670for£50less? 36



36 November 2012

HOW MUCH?Price£240incVATSupplierwww.scan.co.ukManufacturerwww.pny.com

IN DETAILGraphicsprocessorGTX660Ti2GB,915MHz-980MHzguaranteedPipeline1,344streamprocessors(915MHz-980MHzguaranteed),24ROPsMemory2GBGDDR5,6GHzeffectiveBandwidth144GB/sec,192-bitinterfaceCompatibilityDirectX11.1,OpenGL4.1Outputs/Inputs2xDVI,HDMI,DisplayPort,2xSLIPowerConnections2x6-pin,top-mountedSize240mmlong,dual-slot

asedaroundthesameGK104architectureastherestofNvidia’s6-seriesGPUs,theGeForceGTX660Tihasthesamestreamingmultiprocessor(SM)disabledastheGTX670

2GB,resultinginastreamprocessorcountof1,344.ItsclockspeedsmatchthoseoftheGTX6702GBtoo,withabaseclockof915MHzandaguaranteedboostclockof980MHz,althoughyoucanexpectsomecardstoboosttoupto1,115MHz,.Whileitsounds,sofar,likeaGTX670for£50less,

NvidiahasmadeacrucialcuttotheGTX660Ti2GB’smemoryinterface.Oneofthefour64-bitmemorycontrollershasbeendisabled,alongsidetheeightROPsand128KBofL2cacheassociatedwithit,reducingthecard’sROPcountto32,L2cacheto384KBandmemoryinterfacefrom256-bitto192-bit.Thisinturnreducesthememorybandwidth,

alreadyarguablyGK104’sweakpoint,to144GB/secthankstoa1.5GHz(6GHzeffective)memoryfrequency.Whilethismightnotimpactperformancetoomuchatlowerresolutions,highresolutions,suchas5,760x1,080usedinthree-screengaming,hammeracard’smemorybandwidth.Assuch,theGTX660Ti2GBisunlikelytobeabletocompleteatthesesettings.Otherwise,theGTX660Ti2GBissosimilartothe

GTX6702GBthattheyevenusethesamestockPCBandcooler.ThismeansthatthePCBisstill just175mmlong,withtheblackdual-slotcooleraddinganextra65mmforatotallengthof240mm.Aradialfanpushesairdownthelengthofthecard,throughatightlypackedaluminiumfinstackontopoftheGPU,beforebeingexhaustedouttherearI/O.Hereyou’llalsofindtwoDVIports,anHDMIconnectorandafull-sizedDisplayPort.Meanwhile,twotop-mounted6-pinPCI-Epowerconnectorssupplypower.

PERFORMANCEDespitetheirsimilarspecs,theGTX660Ti2GB’scutsareobviousinBattlefield3.At1,920x1,080with4xAA,itsminimumframerateof54fpsis10percentslowerthanthatoftheGTX6702GBinthesametest,butthisisstillenoughtoconvincinglysurpassthenowcomparativelypriced£250HD79503GBandslightly

cheaper£220HD78702GB.Oncewegetto5,760x1,080,however,the192-bitmemoryinterfaceoftheGTX660Ti2GBshows,withaminimumofjust16fps.Crysis2withitsDX11andhigh-restexturepackisa

monstertorun;at1920x1,080,theGTX660Ti2GB’sminimumframerateof46fpswas3fpsslowerthantheGXT6702GBand2fpsslowerthantheHD79503GB.At2,560x1,600,theGTX660Ti2GBduelledwiththeHD78702GB,whileat5,760x1,080,itsminimumofjust16fpsplacesitatthebottomoftheheap.Happily,performanceinDirt3wasmuchbetter,

withaminimumof105fpsat1,920x1,080with4xAAbeingjust6percentslowerthantheGTX6702GBand12percentfasterthanthe79503GB.Itwasmuchcloserat2,560x1,600with4xAAthough.WhiletheGTX6702GBwasaround6percentfaster,theHD79503GBwasjust1fpsslowerthantheGTX660Ti2GB.InSkyrim,however,theGTX660Ti2GB’sminimum

of60fpsat2,560x1,600was11percentslowerthantheGTX6702GB,butalso7percentfasterthantheHD79503GB,andevenfasterat5,760x1,080.WithitssimilaritiestotheGTX6702GB,theGTX660

Ti2GBdrewnearlythesameamountofpoweratidleandload–89Wand228Wrespectively.ApeakdeltaTof64°CindicatesthattheGTX660Tiusesadifferentthermalprofile,though,anditscoolingfanwasn’tquieteither,revvinguptoaudiblelevelsunderload.

CONCLUSIONAt1,920x1,080,theGTX660Ti2GBlooksstrong;it’sgenerallyonly7percentslowerthantheGTX6702GB,and£50cheaper.However, itsperformancegapgrowsbyasmuchas30percentathigherresolutions,andinmemory-intensivegamessuchasCrysis2.Assuch,wehavereservationsaboutitsfuture

performanceinnext-gentitles.A£250GPUshouldbealong-terminvestment,andtheGTX660Ti2GBalreadyshowssomecracksinitsperformance.Ifyou’replayinggamesat1,920x1,080,though,theGTX660Ti2GBisasolidchoice.JustbeawarethatcheaperKeplercards,suchastheGTX6602GB,willbearrivingveryshortly,andmightbebetterfortightbudgets.HARRY BUTLER

B

PNY

TITANIUM£50 cheaper thanGTX 670; only 7per cent slowerthan GTX 670 at1,920 x 1,080

SCRAP IRON192-bit memoryinterface limitsspeed; expensive;cheaper Keplercards on the way

Reasonably priced and quick, but notthe £200 card we really want

NvidiaGeForceGTX660Ti 2GB

ased around the same GK104 architecture cheaper £220 HD 7870 2GB. Once we get to 5,760 x



37November 2012

GRAPHICS CARD

BATTLEFIELD 3 (DX11)1,920 x 1,080, 4x AA, 16x AF

Minimum Average

2,560 x 1,600, 4x AA, 16x AF

0 25 50 75 100

fps65

fps72

fps58

fps54

fps54

fps60

fps46

fps44Radeon HD 7870 2GB

Radeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

GeForce GTX 660 2GB

0 25 50 75 100

fps37

fps42

fps36

fps32

fps31

fps35

fps29


Radeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

GeForce GTX 660 2GB

DIRT 3 (DX11)1,920 x 1,080, 4x AA, 16x AF

2,560 x 1,600, 4x AA, 16x AF

0 25 50 75 100

Radeon HD 7870 2GB

Radeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

GeForce GTX 660 2GB

0 25 50 75 100

fps74

fps80

fps74

fps71

fps63

fps67

fps62


Radeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

GeForce GTX 660 2GB

CRYSIS 2 (DX11)1,920 x 1,080, Ultra detail

Minimum Average

Idle Load

2,560 x 1,600, Ultra detail

Lower is better

0 25 50 75 100

fps61

fps73

fps63

fps55

fps46

fps49

fps48


Radeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

GeForce GTX 660 2GB

0 25 50 75 100

fps30

fps37

fps37

fps29

fps21

fps27

fps26


Radeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

GeForce GTX 660 2GB

5,760 x 1,080, 4 x AA, 16x AF

0 25 50 75 100

fps23

fps29

fps25

fps22

fps16

fps23

fps19


Radeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

GeForce GTX 660 2GB

5,760 x 1,080, Ultra detail

0 25 50 75 100

fps19

fps24

fps23

fps18

fps12

fps18

fps13


Radeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

GeForce GTX 660 2GB

THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM (DX9)1,920 x 1,080, 4x AA, 16x AF

2,560 x 1,600, 4x AA, 16x AF

0 25 50 75 100

fps103

fps85

fps85

fps84

fps71


Radeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

GeForce GTX 660 2GB

PEAK GPU TEMPERATURE (DELTA T)PEAK TOTAL SYSTEM POWER DRAW

0 25 50 75 100

fps75

fps83

fps66

fps63

fps60

fps68

fps56


Radeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

GeForce GTX 660 2GB

5,760 x 1,080, 4 x AA, 16x AF

0 25 50 75 100

fps53

fps56

fps57

fps51

fps46

fps49

fps48


Radeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

GeForce GTX 660 2GB

5,760 x 1,080, 4 x AA, 16x AF

0 25 50 75 100

fps40

fps46

fps34

fps33

fps32

fps38

fps29


Radeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

GeForce GTX 660 2GB

Idle Gaming0 50 100 150 200 250

W228

W230

W227

W118

W89

W88

W89

W88Radeon HD 7870 2GB

Radeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

GeForce GTX 660 2GB

0 20 40 60 80

°C64

°C55

°C57

°C40

°C10

°C11

°C15

°C6Radeon HD 7870 2GB

Radeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

GeForce GTX 660 2GB

Lower is better

fps120

fps130

fps111

fps110

fps105

fps112

fps93

fps93

fps112fps91

TEST KIT3.3GHzIntelCorei52500K CPU,AsusP8P67motherboard,4GBCorsair1,600MHzDDR3memory,CrucialM225128GBSSD,Windows764-bit,NvidiaGeForce304.48beta,AMDCatalyst12.7beta

customPC

87OVERALL

SPEED 34 / 40

FEATURES 26 / 30

VALUE 27 / 30

AcomparisonbetweentheGTX680(above)andtheGTX660Ti(below)–notethereductioninL2cache,aswellasthemissingROPs,memorycontrollerandstreamingmultiprocessor

customPCWorldMags.netWorldMags.net


38 November 2012

HOW MUCH?Price£1,279incVATSupplierwww.scan.co.ukManufacturerwww.scan.co.uk

IN DETAILCPU3.5GHzIntelCorei7-3570Koverclockedto4.4GHzMotherboard AsusP8Z77-IDeluxeMemory8GB1,600MHzCorsairDDR3VengeanceGraphicsEVGAGTX660Ti2GBSoundOn-boardHarddisk128GBCorsairForce3SSD,2TBSeagateBarracuda7200.14OpticaldrivesSonyBlu-rayreaderCaseSilverStoneFT03MiniCoolingCPU:CorsairH60;case1x140mbottomintakefanPSUSilverStone450WStriderSST-ST45SFPortsFront:2xUSB3,mic,headphone;Rear:4xUSB2,4xUSB3,LAN,audioout,mic,headphone,opticalS/PDIFout,2xDVI,HDMI,DisplayPort.ExtrasWindows7HomePremiumWarrantyOneyearon-site,plustwoyearsRTB

hedinkyperformancePCmarketisrapidlyexpanding,withnewenthusiastmini-ITXmotherboardsandcasesarrivingeverymonth.Afterall,whydoesyourPCneedafull-

towercasewhensomethingaquarterofthesizewilldo?AswesawinIssue109,amini-ITXPCcannowbejustaspowerfulasafull-sizedone,andScanisoneofthefirstPCmanufacturerswe’veseenofferingafull-fatgamingPCfocusedpurelyonmini-ITXhardware.The3XSFT03Nanuisbuilt insideSilverStone’sFT03

Mini.Whenwelookedatit (seeIssue109,p60)wedecidedthatthepricewasalittletoohightowarrantusingitforyourownsystem.However,withourpreferredcaseforahomebuild,BitFenix’sProdigy(seeIssue109,p54), lackinginthebuildqualitydepartment,theFT03Minimakessenseforasystembuilder.Ithassuperbbuildquality, it lookssleekandunimposing,anditwasthesmallestcaseontesttoo.Infact,thatthe3XSFT03NanuisthesmallestgamingPCwe’vereviewedthatusesoff-the-shelfhardware.Thatdoesn’tmeanScanhasskimped

oncomponentsthough.Thepricetagof£1,279buysyouanAsusP8Z77-IDeluxe(seeIssue109,p66)–lastmonth’sLabs-winningmini-ITXmotherboard–anIntelCorei5-3570Koverclockedto4.4GHzusingavcoreof1.3V,8GBofRAMandanEVGAGeForceGTX660Ti2GB(seep36).Meanwhile,forstorage,Scanhasoptedfora120GBCorsairForce3SSDanda2TBSeagateBarracuda7200.14harddisk,whileaslimlineBlu-rayreaderresidesinthesideofthecase,meaningthatthissystemcouldhappilysitunobtrusivelyunderyourTVandperformmediacentredutiestoo.AstheFT03Minidoesn’thavemuchroominside,a

largeaircoolerisoutofthequestion,asisahigh-endall-in-oneliquidcooler.However,ScanhasmanagedtofitaCorsairH60all-in-oneliquidcoolerinstead,whichwillbemuchbetterthanalow-profileaircooler.There’son-boardsoundforthesimplereasonthatthemotherboardhasnoadditionalexpansionslots.Basically,thespecificationismind-bogglinggiven

thetinysizeofthePC,andthe3XSFT03Nanuisalso

T

SCAN

PICOFast performance;tiny size; lownoise; three-yearwarranty

MICROLimitedoverclockingheadroom

Scan goes pint-sized with thishigh-end gaming pocket rocket

3XSFT03Nanu

fullyconfigurableviaScan’swebsite.Forinstance,youcouldoptfora256GBSSDforanadditional£66,orditchtheBlu-raydriveandsave£32.Asstandard,the3XSFT03Nanuincludesathree-yearwarrantytoo,withthefirstyearon-siteandtheremainingtwoyearsreturn-to-basewithpartsandlabourincluded.Theaskingpriceof£,1279maysoundalittlehigh

foraPCthatlacksadecentsoundcardandhigh-endgraphicscard–theDinoPCTyrannosaur3570K(seeIssue107,p36)costsjust£20more,butit’simportanttorememberthattheGeForceGTX660Tiretailsforover£250,andtheindividualcostofthecomponents,

shouldyoubuythemyourself,comestowellover£1,100.ThepremiumsavesyouthetrickytaskofbuildingaPCintotheFT03Mini,overclockingandinstallingWindows,aswellasnettingthepeaceofmindofathree-yearwarranty.

PERFORMANCEInourMediaBenchmarks,the3XSFT03Nanuwasextremelyfast. Infact,theadditional100MHzofCPUfrequencyovertheDinoPCTyrannosaur3570K madeitfasterinallthesetests.Ithadtheedgeby99pointsintheGimpimageeditingtest,23pointsintheHandbrakeH.264videoencodingtestand233pointsinthemulti-taskingtest,givingitaleadof118points.Unfortunately,ArmaIIreceivedalargepatch

betweentestingpreviousPCsandthe3XSFT03Nanu

A SLIMLINE BLU-RAY READER RESIDESIN THE SIDE, MEANING THAT THIS PCCOULD SIT UNOBTRUSIVELY UNDERYOUR TV FOR MEDIA DUTIES TOO



39November 2012

GIMP IMAGE EDITING

Stock speed

HANDBRAKE H.264 VIDEO ENCODING

MULTI-TASKING

OVERALL

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000

2,122Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000


0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000


0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000


0 25 50 75 100

fps57fps46Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu

Stock speed min Stock speed avg

ARMA II1,920 x 1,080, 16x AF, 4x AA

arrivinginourlab,soourgametestresultsaren’tdirectlycomparable.Evenso,the3XSFT03Nanumanagedaminimumframerateof46fpsat1,920x1,080atVeryHighsettings,sothere’splentyofheadroomifyougameathigherresolutionsorwanttoturnuptheeyecandytoabsolutemaximum.Wealsoputthe3XSFT03Nanuthroughourusual

stresstestofPrime95and3DMark11tomakesurethatitwasstable,andwealsonotedthetemperaturesandpowerdrawwhileitwasrunningthesetests.TheCPUtoppedoutat78°Cinour24°Clab,withtheCorsairH60clearlydoingaverygoodjobandremainingquiet.TheGTX660Ti2GBwasalittlewarmerat79°C,butwasstill fairlyquiet,evenunderload.Incredibly,thesystemonlydrew256Wfromthewallatpeaktoo,sothesmall450WSFXPSUsuppliedbyScanwillusuallybeunder50percentload.Wecouldn’tpushtheCPUmuchhigherwithout

seeingthetemperatureskyrocket,butwesqueezedalittlemoreoutofthegraphicscard,settlingona70MHzcorefrequencyincreaseand100MHzmemoryfrequencyincrease.Thisadded3fpstotheaverageframerateinArmaII.Thesystemwasnoisieratthesesettings,mainlyduetothegraphicscardandPSUwhengaming,butit’snolouderthanotherPC’swe’veseenrecently.

customPC

91OVERALL

SPEED 22 / 25DESIGN 23 / 25

HARDWARE 23 / 25VALUE 23 / 25

TheinsideoftheFT03Miniisverycramped,andslimlineopticaldrivesandSFXPSUsaretheonlyoptions.DespitethePSUonlybeingratedat450W,thiswasmorethanenoughforthesystem,whichdrew256Watpeak

CONCLUSIONTheScan3XSFT03Nanuisafantasticminigamingsystem.Despiteitssmallsizeandlownoise,thetemperatureswerewellwithinlimits,althoughyouwon’tbeabletoapplycrazyoverclocks.It’sfasterthansomefull-sizedoverclockedIntelIvyBridgePCs,andyoucanuseScan’sconfiguratortochoporchangetoo.Thethree-yearwarrantyistheicingonthecake.ANTONY LEATHER

TheEVGAGeForceGTX660Ti2GBsitsverticallyinthecase,exhaustinghotairoutthetop.Eventhoughthere’sonlyonecasefan,theGPUneverwentabove80°Cinour24°Clab

MINI-ITX GAMING PC

Thepricetagof£1,279buysyouanAsusP8Z77-IDeluxe–lastmonth’sLabs-winningmini-ITXmotherboard

Incredibly,thesystemonlydrew256Wfromthewallatpeak,sothesmall450WSFXPSUsuppliedbyScanwillusuallybeunder50percentload.

Althoughit’sexpensive,theSilverStoneFT03Minicasemakessenseforasystembuilder.Ithassuperbbuildquality,itlookssleekandunimposing,anditwasthesmallestcaseinlastmonth’smini-ITXLabstest.



40 November 2012

HOW MUCH?Price£201incVATSupplierwww.lambda-tek.comManufacturerwww.philips.co.ukProductcode249C4Q

IN DETAILDisplaytypeAMVATFTDimensions(mm)569x180x434(WxDxH)AvailablecoloursBlackConnectionsD-Sub,HDMI(HDCP)Viewablescreensize24inMaximumresolution1,920x1,080Contrastratio5,000:1(20,000,000:1dynamic)Brightness250cd/m²Responsetime6ms(grey-to-grey)WarrantyThreeyearsRTB

PSmightbethedisplaytechnologytooptforinthehighendofthemarket,butthatdoesn’tmeanyouhavetooptforabargain-basementTNpanelifyou’reonatightbudget.VA

(verticalalignment)panelssuchastheoneusedinthePhilipsC-Line249C4QHcanofferaveryreasonablemiddlegroundbetweenpriceandpicturequality.However,at£201,the249C4QHwillhavetobeaveryspecialVAmonitortojustify itsprice,especiallywithitsminimalfeatureset.The249C4QH doesn’tcaterforwall-mountingand

multi-monitorbrackets–therearenoVESAmountingholesandthebaseisnon-removable,asithousesalltheinputsandOSDbuttons.Meanwhile,thebezelhasaminimal-3to15degreesoftilt,butthere’snoheightorswiveladjustment.Inputsareequallylimited,withjustoneVGAand

twoHDMIports,andthereisn’tevenaDVItoHDMIadaptorintheboxforgraphicscardswithonlyDVIports.Ontheplusside,anauxiliary3.5mmaudiojackactsasanHDMIaudiopass-through,soyou’llstillbeabletouseHDMIaudio,eventhoughthe 249C4QHdoesn’thaveasetofinternalspeakers.Atitsdefaultsettings,themonitor’speak

brightnessof249.2Cd/m2wascertainlyhealthy,althoughthecolourtemperaturewasalittlehighat6,875K,resultinginanoticeablebluetinge.Meanwhile,theaveragegammawasanexact2.2withlittlevariance,andcolouraccuracywasonlyslightlyoffourtargetwithanaveragedE94of3.1.Wealsomeasuredanincrediblyhighcontrastratioof2,265:1,althoughthisisstillwellbelowthe5,000:1typicalcontrastratiothatPhilipsquotes.Basically,withoutanycalibration,the249C4QHcanstillproduceagreat-lookingimage,anditalsohasanevenbacklightthatshowednosignsofbleedaroundtheedges.VApanelshavemuchbetterviewinganglesthan

TNscreenstoo,sothe249C4QHimpressedusinthisrespect,evenif itcouldn’tmatchanIPSpanel–therewassomeminorcolourshiftatmoreextremeangles.Themattfinishalsohelpstodiffuselightreflections,althoughcoloursdon’thavethesamevibrancyastheymightonaglossyscreen.

Beyondtheslightlyhighcolourtemperature,there’slittlenottolikeaboutthe249C4QHoutofthebox,althoughthere’salwaysroomforimprovementandtweaking.However,thismeantbattlingwiththeawfultouch-sensitiveOSDbuttons.Theseareapaintouse,especiallyinthedark,astheyaren’tbacklit;thebasicmenusthemselvesofferverylittlecontroloverimagequalitytoo.Meanwhile,Philips’SmartImagepresetsonlyseem

toalterimagesharpness,andnoneofthesixoptionsmanagedtoimprovethepictureatall.However,withsomeperseveranceusingourX-Rite

i1colourmeter,the249C4QHcontinuedtoimpress.Afterdroppingthebrightnesstoamoreeye-friendly125Cd/m2andusingacalibrationtool,weloweredthecolourtemperaturetoamoreaccurate6,598KandreachedanimpressiveaveragedE94of0.6.Theresulting contrastratioof1241:1wasalsostill

impeccablyhigh,evenif itwashalftheoriginalvalue,whichmadeitveryeasytopickoutdetailsinourdarktestvideo.

CONCLUSIONThePhilipsC-Line249C4QHmightbelackingintermsoffeaturesandconnections,butitspicturequalityisexcellentforaVAdisplay.Despitethis,however, itstrugglestojustify its£201askingpricewhenyoucouldbuyasuperiorIPSmonitorsuchasViewSonic’sVX2336s(seeIssue105,p74)for£65less.TOM MORGAN

PHILIPS

BLADEGreat picturequality out ofthe box

BLUNTLack of inputs;few adjustmentoptions;expensive

A great-looking VA panel, but expensiveand lacking in features and adjustability

C-Line249C4QH

73OVERALL

IMAGE 46 / 50

FEATURES 12 / 25

VALUE 15 / 25

MONITOR



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42 November 2012

HOW MUCH?Price£160incVATSupplierwww.dabs.comManufacturerwww.gigabyte.comSKUnumberGA-Z77X-UP4H-TH

IN DETAILChipsetIntelZ77CPUsupportLGA1155Corei3,Corei5,Corei7,PentiumandCeleronMemorysupport4slots:max32GBDDR3(3,200MHz)Expansionslots3x16xPCI-E3slot(one16x,two8xorone8xandtwo4x),onePCI,three1xPCI-E2SoundHDAudioviaRealtekALC892NetworkingRealtekGigabitEthernetOverclockingCPUclock80-133MHz,CPUMultiplier16-63;maxvoltages,CPU1.85V,RAM2.8V,PLL2.2VPorts4xSATA3Gbps,2xSATA6Gbps,1xmSATA3Gbps,1xPS/2,8xUSB3,6xUSB2,LAN,2xThunderbolt,4xsurroundaudioout,line-in,mic,opticalS/PDIFout,DVI,D-Sub,HDMIDimensions(mm)305x244(ATX)

twaswaybackin2009thatIntelfirstdemonstrateditsThunderbolt interface(thenknownasLightPeak),boastingthatitwouldbecomeasingleunifyingstandardfor

everything,fromstoragetonetworkinganddisplays.Now,inthethirdquarterof2012,thefirstproductsbasedonthestandardarefinallymakingittoWindows-baseddesktopPCs.OnesuchproductistheGA-Z77X-UP4H-TH.There’salottolikeabouttheUP4H.Forastart, it

lookssimplybrilliant–itsmatt-blackPCBexudesmenace,andthegunmetalheatsinksdottedacrossitalsolookthepart,thankstotheirsubtlebluehighlightsandmottledfinish.Itsspecssheetalsomakesimpressivereading,as

theboardnotonlyboaststwooftheaforementionedThunderboltports,butalsoafullbevyofdisplayoutputs,enoughUSB3portstosinkabattleshipandthree16xPCI-E3slots.Multi-GPUenthusiastsshouldwaitamomentbeforereachingfortheircreditcards,however,asunlikethepairofhigh-endboardswesawlastmonth(seeIssue109,p36),theUP4Hdoesn’tsportaPLXsplittingchip.Thismeansthatthe16PCI-E3lanesprovidedbytheprocessorareallyouhave,sothesecondandthirdslotsarelimitedtofourlaneseach.Potentiallyoffarmoreimporttomostpeopleisthe

factthattheUP4HisalsooneofthefirstGigabyteboardstofeaturethefirm’snewUltraDurable5technology,denotedbytheUPsuffix.Thisbringsanumberofnewpowerfeatures,

includingimprovedVRMcircuitry.GigabytehasdraftedinInternationalRectifier’sIR3550PowIRstageICs,whicharespecificallydesignedtorunasefficientlyaspossible.Intheory,thisshouldmeanthatlessof

the powerpassingthroughtheICsgetslostasheat,sothey’llruncooler.Withlesspowerbeinglost,thisshouldalsoallow

theuseoflowervoltageswhenoverclocking,somethingwhichshouldinturnmakeanoverclockedIvyBridgeCPUruncooler.TheUP4Halsouseshigh-current60A-ratedferritecorechokes–amovethatGigabyteclaimsimprovesefficiencyandreducestheheatoutputoftheVRMsevenfurther.OutsideofUltraDurable5,however,theUP4H

couldbecriticisedforlookingalittleskinnyintermsofoverclockingfeatures,especiallygiventhatitcosts£160.It lackson-boardpowerandresetbuttons,forexample,andthere’snorear-mountedCMOSresetswitchorPOSTcoderead-outeither,allofwhicharetotedbytheAsusMaximusVGene(seeIssue106,p64).

PERFORMANCEOutofthebox,theUP4Hprovedtobequickinourbenchmarks,althoughitlaggedbehindourcurrentrecommendedZ77board,theAsusMaximusVGene,bya1-2percentinallourMediaBenchmarkstests.Thisaddeduptoadifferenceof77pointsbetweenthetwoboards’overallscores,asmalldifferencethat’sbarelynoticeableineverydayuse.Thiswasalsothecasewithgaming,withboth

boardsproducingalmostidenticalresultsinourShogun2:TotalWartest.Withthestock-speedtestingoutoftheway,we

movedontooverclockingtheGigabyteboardtosee

GIGABYTE

COOLRUNNINGSStunninglooks; premiumcomponents;overclocks well

KOOL & THEGANGThunderbolt yetto fully take off;pricey

THE USE OF LOWER VOLTAGESWHEN OVERCLOCKING SHOULD INTURN MAKE AN OVERCLOCKED IVY

BRIDGE CPU RUN COOLER

Thunderbolt hits the mainstream,and it’s attached to a good board too

GA-Z77X-UP4-TH

There’sadecentselectionofportsontheback,althoughaclearCMOSbuttonisnotablyabsent



43November 2012

LGA1155 MOTHERBOARD

GIMP IMAGE EDITING

Stock speed Overclocked

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000

2,311

2,308

1,860

1,916Maximus Gene V

GA-Z77X-UP4-TH

HANDBRAKE H.264 VIDEO ENCODING

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000

4,260

4,229

3,328

3,461Maximus Gene V

GA-Z77X-UP4-TH

MULTI-TASKING

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000

1,977

1,971

1,789

1,831Maximus Gene V

GA-Z77X-UP4-TH

OVERALL

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000

2,849

2,836

2,326

2,403Maximus Gene V

GA-Z77X-UP4-TH

Stock speed min Stock speed avg Overclocked avgOverclocked min

SHOGUN 2: TOTAL WAR CPU TEST1,920 x 1,080, Default settings, no AA, no AF

0 25 50 75 100

fps41

fps40

fps35

fps33

fps34

fps35

fps29

fps29Maximus Gene V

GA-Z77X-UP4-TH

whatitsfancynewVRMcircuitrycouldreallydeliver.ThismeantnavigatingtheUP4H’sEFI,whichisrelativelywelllaidout;theonlynigglewasthefactthattheCPUfrequencyandvoltagesettingsareondifferentpages.Thismeansthatyouhavetotravelbackandforthifyou’refine-tuninganoverclock.Afterafewminutesofpokingaround,

wehadourtestCPUrunningatitsmaximum4.8GHz.Intriguingly,theUP4Honlyrequiredavcoreof1.3Vtoachievethisoverclock–lessthanthe1.34VrequiredbytheMaximusVGeneandmilesbetterthanthe1.37VwehadtopumpintoGigabyte’sownZ77X-UD5H(seeIssue106,p70).Thisaddssomecredencetothe

company’sclaimsthatitsnewVRMsaremoreefficientthanthoseusedpreviously.Thecoretemperaturewasalsoaveryreasonable81oCatthesesettings.Outofcuriosity,wealsopushed

ourCPUupto4.9GHzbrieflytoseeifGigabyte’sVRMcircuitrycouldmakethisotherwiseunstableoverclockhold,butasusual,theCPUcrashedduringthevideoeditingportionofourMediaBenchmarks.WiththeoverclockedCPU,theUP4Hperformed

brilliantly,evenoutstrippingtheMaximusVGenetoromphomewithaMediaBenchmarksscoreof2,849–anewZ77record,albeitonlyby10points.Gamingperformancealsosawanappreciable

jump,althoughitwasn’tenoughtodistinguishtheboardfromthecompetition.

01 Gigabyte’snewUltraDurable5technology

enabledustooverclockourCPUto4.8GHzwithavcoreofjust1.3V

02 TherearethreePCI-Egraphicsslots,butnoPLX

splitterchip,sothebottomtwoonlygetfourlaneseach

03 ThelackofaPOSTcodereader,oron-board

powerandresetbuttons,makestheboardlookalittleskinnyintermsofoverclockingfeatures

CONCLUSIONThere’salottorecommendtheGA-Z77X-UP4-TH.Itlooksgreat,overclockswellanditsnew-fangledVRMshavetangiblebenefits.Theonlyissueisthatthe AsusMaximusVGenenowcosts£150,and hasmoreoverclockinghardwarefeatures.Thatsaid,theGeneismicro-ATX,soit isn’tforeveryone.Ifyou’rebuildinganewoverclockedPCandwantmoreexpansionspace,weheartilyrecommendtheUP4H.PAUL GOODHEAD

TEST KIT3.2GHzIntelCorei7-3770KCPU,8GB1,600MHzCorsairDDR3memory,128GBPatriotWildfireSSD,NvidiaGeForceGTX6802GBgraphicscard,Windows764-bit

customPC

88OVERALL

SPEED 41 / 45

FEATURES 27 / 30

VALUE 20 / 25

01

02

03



44 November 2012

CPU COOLER

HOW MUCH?Price£72incVATSupplierwww.ebuyer.comManufacturerwww.thermaltake.comSKUnumber CLP0587

IN DETAILCompatibilityIntel:LGA775,LGA1156,LGA1155,LGA2011,LGA1366AMD:SocketFM1/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2Weight1.25kgSize(mm)151x148x160(WxDxH)Fans2x140mmStatednoise18-38dBA

hermaltake’squietFrioruledtheroostinmanysituations,especiallyathighheatloads.Assuch,theFrioExtremewillhaveatoughjobbetteringitand,at£72,itcompeteswith

Corsair’sH80too–dangerousgroundforanaircooler.TheenormousExtrememeasures151x148x

160mm(WxDxH)withitstwo140mmfans,andweighs1.23kg.However,oneofthefanssitsoutsideofthetwoheatsinks,makingitfoulevenshortDIMMsinLGA2011systems,requiringyoutoraisethefan.Inoursystem,thismeantthesidepanelnolongerfitted,sowehadtosealittothecasewithtapetoensureafairtest.Thecooler’ssix6mmheatpipesareboundtogether

inapolishedcontactplate,althoughthere’snoeasy-to-fitshroudforthetwo140mmfans–thesearesecuredusingfiddlyclips.However,thecoolercanonlybeinstalledwithyourmotherboardoutsideyourcase,asthecentrefanblocksthemountingmechanism.Themountingmechanismisfairlystraightforward,though,withplatesfixingtothemotherboard,whichareinturnsecuredbyahold-downplatestraddlingtheheatsink.Afullyvariablefancontrollerisalsoincluded.Atitslowestspeed,theExtremewas2°Cwarmer

thantheArcticFreezeri30andequaltotheCorsairH80atitslowestspeed.Atmaximumspeed,thedeltaTdroppedfrom41°Cto39°C–matchingtheFreezeri30,butslightlywarmerthantheH80.IttamedourtoastyLGA2011system,though,andmanagedadeltaTof60°Catitslowestspeedand57°Catfullspeed–coolerthantheFreezeri30.AM3+coolingwasfinetoo,withadeltaTof46°Catfullspeed.Sadly,however,evenatlowspeed,theFrioExtremeisn’tparticularlyquietandfullspeedseesitmakeasubstantialdin.

CONCLUSIONTheFrioExtremeisacapablecooler,buttherearebetteroptionsavailable.LGA1155hastheArcticFreezeri30,whichisfarcheaperandjustasgood,whileLGA2011hastheoptionoftheFreezeri30ortheevencoolerCorsairH80.Meanwhile,AM3+ownerswillhearlessnoise,albeitwithslighterhighertemperatures,fromBeQuiet!’sDarkRock2.ANTONY LEATHER

T

THERMALTAKE

COLDGood cooling;variable fancontroller

COLDITZVery expensive;large; noisy

The Frio receives a monstrousupdate, but is it worth £72?

FrioExtreme

scores: Socket am3+

scores: lGa2011

scores: lGa1155

results

77customPC

OVERALL

COOLING 33 / 40DESIGN 23 / 30VALUE 21 / 30

FITTING AVG

71customPC

OVERALL


FITTING AVG

76customPC

OVERALL


FITTING AVG

INTEL LGA1155

INTEL LGA2011

0 15 30 45 60

39˚C

41˚C

39˚C

5˚C

5˚C

3˚CArctic Freezer i30

Frio Extreme(low fan speed)

Frio Extreme(high fan speed)

0 15 30 45 60

57˚C

60˚C

59˚C

13˚C

15˚C

14˚CArctic Freezer i30



Lower is better

Lower is better

AMD SOCKET AM3+

0 15 30 45 60

46˚C

48˚C

52˚C

9˚C

10˚C

12˚CBe Quiet! Dark Rock 2



Lower is betterIdle Load





46 November 2012

GAMING MOUSE

HOW MUCH?Price£75incVATSupplierwww.scan.co.ukManufacturerwww.razerzone.comSKUnumberRZ01-00780100-R3U1

IN DETAILConnectionWired(braided)MaterialPlasticSensorLaserandopticalButtons6,scrollwheel(withrocking)FormfactorAmbidextrousSensitivityUpto8,200dpiWeight132gExtrasNone

azerisoneofthemostprolificperipheralmanufacturersaround;ithasagamingmouse,headsetorkeyboardforjustabout

everysingletypeofgame,playstyleandbudget.Evenso,italwaysseemedtoneglectasmallbutsignificantportionofthepopulation–lefties.Infact,eventhespecialleft-handededitionofthe

DeathAdderwasreleasedwellaftertheright-handedversion.However, inabidtoappealtoeveryone,RazerhasrecentlyreleasedtheambidextrousTaipanand,withapricetagof£75,ithasalottoprove.Notthatyou’dimmediatelythink‘Razer’when

lookingattheTaipan;itslow-slung,streamlinedshapeisworldsawayfromthebulbous,curvaceouslookthatgenerallytypifiesRazerrodents.Thankfully,theexcellentbuildqualityforwhichthecompanyhasbecomeknownremainsintact,andthismakesthemousefeelverysturdyandrobust;youwon’thearanyrattlesorsqueaksfromill-fittingparts.WewerealsoimpressedbytheTaipan’sweight;

despitebeingasmallermouse,itstill feelsreassuringlyhefty.Themajorityofthisweightislocatedlowinthechassistoo,givingthetrackingofthemouseadirectfeel.Unfortunately,ouroptimismwasshort-lived–

actuallyusingtheTaipanforaprolongedperiodoftimerevealedittobejustalittletoosmallforouraverage-sizedmitts.Theissueisthelowprofileofthemouse,asthismeansthere’sverylittleroomoneithersideforfingers.Thisleftourringfingerandlittlefingerdesperatelyfightingforthesametinypatchofrubberisedplasticlikeapairofkidssquabblingoverthebestseatonthebus.Thisisashame,asthemouseisotherwisea

pleasuretouse.Themainbuttonshaveapleasingcrunchwhenpressed,andthescrollwheelisverysolid,withwell-definedscrollpoints.Thesidebuttonsarealsoconvenientlylocated,althoughtheaforementionedheightissuecanmakebuttonsontheoppositesideofyourthumbalittletrickytofind.

Asyou’dexpect,theTaipanalsohasadownloadablesoftwaresuitethatenablesyoutotweakeverythingfromthelightingtothesensitivitysettings.Thesensitivitygoesupto8,200dpi,andthemouseisfittedwithbothopticalandlasersensors,althoughwegenerallyfindanythingabove3,000dpiisoverkillanyway.Intriguingly,though,yoursettingsaresavedremotelyonRazer’sservers,meaningthatyoucanusethemwithanyTaipanmouseanywhereintheworld.

Thisisasnazzyidea,butnecessitatestheneedtocreatealoginandusername,whichsomepeoplemayfindslightlyoverbearing.

CONCLUSIONTheTaipanissolidlybuiltandfeelssatisfyinglyweighty,butitsshapeandsizemakeitawkwardtouseforanyonewithoutelf-likedigits,andthepriceisludicrousforwhat’sonoffer. Ifyou’reafteranambidextrousmouse,saveyourself£40andplumpfortheSteelSeriesKana(seeIssue108,p66)instead.PAUL GOODHEAD

R

RAZER

SOLID SNAKEWell built;satisfying weight

TROUSERSNAKELudicrous price;awkward shape

THE MAIN BUTTONS HAVE A PLEASINGCRUNCH WHEN PRESSED, AND THE

SCROLL WHEEL IS VERY SOLID, WITHWELL-DEFINED SCROLL POINTS

Well-built and hefty, but let down bya high price and awkward shape

Taipan

60OVERALL

DESIGN 29 / 40

FEATURES 21 / 35

VALUE 10 / 25





48 November 2012

Thorough testing and research is the key to evaluatingwhether a productisworth buying, and decidingwhether or not there’s a better alternative

TESTS:WeusetheCustomPCMediaBenchmarks,CinebenchR11.5,WPrimeandCrysis.WealsotesttheresultantpowerdrawofthetestPCwiththeCPUinstalled.ThesetestsrevealabroadrangeofperformancecharacteristicsfortheCPU,fromimageeditingtogamingandvideoencodingto3Drendering.WerunallthetestswiththeCPUatstockspeedandagainwhenoverclockedtoitshighestfrequency.

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

We judge CPUs onwhether they offer sufficient speed for the price. Part of a CPU’s speed score comes fromhow overclockable it is. Every type of CPU is tested in the samePC, so all results are directly comparable.

Thegraphicscardwe’rereviewing

The graphics card 3.3GHzIntelCorei5-2500K

AMDFM1IntelLGA1155

NvidiaGeForceGTX5903GB

MSIA75MA-G55

AsusMaximusIVGene-Z

120GBPatriotWildfire

4GBofCorsair1,600MHzDDR3


Windows764-bit

4GBCorsair1,600MHzDDR3

AsusP8P67Rev3 Windows764-bitSP1

Windows 7 64-bit

AMDSocketAM3+

AsusCrosshairIVFormula


4GB of Corsair 4GB of CorsairAMD FM1

Asus P8P67 Rev 3



HOW WE TEST

49November 2012

OurbenchmarksuitesimulateshowpeoplereallyusePCs,andahigherscoreisbetter.Youcandownloadthesuitefromwww.tinyurl.com/benchies

2.66GHzIntelCore2DuoE6750


250GBSamsungSpinPointP120S

AsusP5KDeluxeWiFi-AP

TESTS:ByusingthefastPCdetailedontheleft,wecanbesurethatanylimitationsweseeareduetothegraphicscardontest.Wetestthefourgames(right)attheirmaximumdetailsettings,intheirhighestDirectXmode,andatthreeresolutions.High-endcardsshouldbeabletosustainplayableframeratesat2,560x1,600,while1,920x1,080ismoreimportantformid-rangecards; wenolongertestat1,680x1,050because1,920x1,080issocheap.Wealsotrytooverclockeverygraphicscardwetesttoseewhatdifferencethismakestothecard’sperformance.

Someproductsaregloriouslyoverthetop.TheseitemsofexcellentoverkillearnourExtremeUltraaward.

PremiumGradeproductsareutterlydesirable–we’deatnothingbutbeansuntilwecouldaffordthem.

ProductsworthyoftheProfessionalawardmake youandyourbusinessappearevenmoreawesome.

Approvedproductsarethosethatdoagreatjobforthemoney;they’rethecannypurchaseforagreatPC.

Forthosegadgetsandgizmosthatreallyimpressus,orthatwecan’tlivewithout,there’stheCustomKitaward.

Motherboards are evaluated on everything from layout and featuresto overclockability and value formoney. Everymotherboard is testedwith the same components, so all results are directly comparable.

TESTS:WeusetheCustomPCMediaBenchmarksandseveralgames,andalsotestthespeedsoftheboard’sSATAports.WetrytooverclockeverymotherboardwereviewbytestingforamaximumQPI,baseclockorHTTaswellasoverclockingtheCPUtoitsmaximumair-cooledlevel.WerunourtestsatstockspeedandwiththeCPUoverclocked.

IntelCorei7-3770K

AMDPhenomIIX61100TBE

Motherboardontest

Motherboardontest



Intel Core Motherboard Motherboard 8GB of Corsair AMDA8-3870K Motherboardontest


AMD A8-3870K

NvidiaGeForceGTX5903GB*

2TBWesternDigitalCaviarBlack

Windows764-bit

Windows 7 2TB Western Digital 2TB Western Digital

*Pleasenote:WetestedAMDFM1motherboardsusingtheon-boardgraphics,nottheNvidiaGeForceGTX5903GB



50 November 2012

CustomKitWe check out the latest gadgets, gizmos and geek toys

Written by Paul GoodheadSeen something worthy ofappearing in Custom Kit?

Send suggestions [email protected]

GADGET STAND

BREFFOSPIDERPODIUM

01 Thebestideasareoftenthesimplestones,andthatmantra

certainlyholdstruefortheSpiderpodium.Madeofrubber-coatedwire,theeightlegsofthecolourfularachnidcanbebentintopracticallyanyshape,makingitsusesalmostendless.Itcanclingtohandlebars,hangfromheadrestsorstandtoattention,allthewhilehavingacoupleofarmsfreetoholdasmalltabletoraphonesteady.It’salsoverypleasingjusttoplaywiththeSpiderpodium.Weparticularlylovebendingit intocomplexsymmetrical3Dshapes,especiallywhenweshouldbeworking. PGMONEY SPIDERFACEHUGGERPrice £15 inc VATSupplierwww.breffo.comManufacturerwww.breffo.com

TABLET COMPUTER

VERSUSTOUCHPAD78GB02 Thesingle-coreprocessor,512MBRAMand800x480screen

oftheTouchpad7maynotsoundparticularlyimpressive,butdon’tbetooquicktowriteoffthisdinkytablet.Forinstance,itsportsAndroid4.0,whichrunssmoothly,althoughitsresponsivenessiscompromisedbythepoorsensitivityofthescreen–wefrequentlyneededtouserepeatedjabstoregisterapress.Videoplaybackiswherethedeviceexcels,however.Itsscreenisbright,andthemicroSDcardslotmeansthatstoragewon’tbeanissueeither.Thebatteryisalsoreasonable;itlastedafullsix-hourjourneywhileplayingvideoalmostnon-stop,anditspricemeansyoudon’thavetobetoopreciouswithiteither. PGCHEAP AFFORDABLEPrice £90 inc VAT Supplierwww.laptopsdirect.co.ukManufacturerwww.versusuk.com

BOARD GAME

STRONGHOLD03 Initially,Strongholdlookslikeapigofagame.Theboardiscomplexandthereareoodlesof

countersandpiecestosort.Fortunately,onceyouunderstandthebasicturnstructure,it’srelativelyplainsailing.Thisisgood,aslesstimedebatingrulesmeansmoretimescheminghowyou’regoingtoattack(ordefend)thetitularstrongholdthatdominatestheboard.Thegameiswellbalanced,althoughitcanbeunforgivingforthedefender;onemiscalculationcanmeanalmostinstantdefeat.Wealsolikedtheelegantresourcemechanicwherebythedefenderreceivesaportionofwhattheattackerspends,asthispreventseithersidefromdominating.Ouronebugbearis itshighcost. PG

GOBLINS TROLLSPrice £43 inc VAT Supplierwww.gameslore.comManufacturerwww.portalpublishing.eu



CUSTOM KIT

51November 2012

iDEVICE DOCK

VIEWQUEST iDICESPEAKER05 Wethoughtwe’dseeniDevicedocksineveryshape

possible,buttheiDiceswiftlyprovedusincorrect.ShapedlikeagiantD6,thedockiscompatiblewithanythingwithan‘i’preface(well,iPods,iPhonesandiPadsatleast)andcanchurnoutasurprisinglylargeamountofnoiseforarelativelycompactspeaker.There’salsoaline-insocketforplayingmusicfromotherdevicesandaremotecontrol.Unfortunately,that’swherethefeaturelistends,whichmakesthe£100askingpricelookalittlerich.Youcan’tevenuseitasanoveltyoversizeddice,asfourofthesixfaceshavefivedotsonthem. PGD6 D12Price £100 inc VAT Supplierwww.viewquest.co.ukManufacturerwww.viewquest.co.uk

MOUSEMAT

GIGABYTEKRYPTON04 Ifyoujudgedsomeonebythesizeoftheirmousematthenwhoever

ownedtheKryptonwouldhavetobeakingorqueenofsomedescription.At425x287x6mm,it’shefty,bothintermsofareaandsheerthickness.However, itspartypieceisthatit’sdouble-sided(themainreasonforthethickness),withonesidecoveredinmaterialandoptimisedforprecisionworkwhiletheotherisdubbedthe‘speedside’thankstoitshardPVCcoat.Botharepleasanttouse,butitssizelimitsitsappeal,andthethicknessmeansthereisn’tanyflexibilitytoallowanedgetoresideunderyourkeyboard.Addtothisthehighpriceandweadvisebuyingamoresensiblemousematinstead. PGCLARK KENT SUPERMANPrice £24 inc VAT Supplierwww.scan.co.ukManufacturerwww.gigabyte.com

MONITOR STAND

ZALMANZM-DS1000MONITORSTAND06 Themonitorstandmarketisn’tparticularly

glamorous,butZalmanhasdoneitsbesttoinjectalittleclassintoitwiththeZM-DS1000.Madefromasinglesheetofbeautifulbrushedanodisedaluminium,thestandlookstheabsolutebusiness.ItalsosportsaUSBhubintegratedintotheright-handleg,andcable-routeingclipsrundowntheinsideofeachside.Thisisprettymuchasfarasthehumblemonitorstandcanbetakenintermsofdevelopment,but£56isalsoalotofmoneyforafancyblockwithaUSBhub.Infact,it’smorethanthecostofawholeAntecOnecase.Assuch,theZM-DS1000fallsintothe‘lovely,butonlyonceI’vewonthelottery’pile. PGALUMINUM ALUMINIUMPrice £56 inc VAT Supplierwww.scan.co.ukManufacturerwww.zalman.com



Thepowersupplyisoftenoverlookedwhenbuildinganewsystem;afterall,aslongasitdoesitsjobcorrectly,ithasnoimpactonframerates,systemspeedsorboottimes.There’splentytodifferentiate

onePSUfromanother,though,andchoosingtherightoneisparticularlyimportant,asit’sacomponentthatcanlastthroughmultiplesystemupgradesovermanyyears.Thewiderangeofavailableefficiencylevelscanimpacton

yourelectricitybills,whileunstablevoltagescanresultinerraticsystemperformance,andanoisycoolingfancanruinthatsuper-silentsystem.Thearrayofcablesandconnectorsonoffercanlimityour

potentialupgradepathstoo;therearefewmorefrustratingsituationsthanunboxingashinynewcomponentonlytodiscoveryourPSUdoesn’thavetherequiredconnectorstopowerit.WithsomanydifferentPSUmanufacturersvying

foryourattention,we’vepushedtheboatouttobringyouourbiggesteverLabstest,with31PSUsputthroughtheirpower-providingpaces.Withthehardwareindustry’scontinuedmovetolowerpower-consumptionhardware,we’vesplitthetestintotwofieldsof500-660Wand661-860W,enablingustofindthebestPSUsacrossawiderangeofpricesandwattages.EachPSUwassubjectedtoover50gruellingteststoevaluateitsefficiencyacrossavarietyofloads,aswellasvoltagestabilityandnoiselevels.HARRY BUTLER AND ANTONY LEATHER

We’ve gathered a record-breakingnumber of 31 power supplies, forour largest PSU Labs test ever, tofind the perfect PSU for your PC

52 November 2012

Balance ofPOWER



53November 2012

HOWWETESTED,PAGE54

reviewed this month

54

54 Howwetest63 HowmuchpowerdoesyourPCneed?72 Efficiencygraphs

500-660WPSUs55 AntecEarthwattsEA-550Platinum55 BeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W56 BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10550W56 CoolerMasterGX550W56 CorsairGS60057 EnermaxTriathlor550W57 FractalDesignR2Tesla650W58 FSPAurumXilenser500W58 InWinGreenMe550W58 NZXTHale82-650-M59 OCZZS550W59 SeasonicX-Series660W59 SilverPowerSP-S650M60 SilverStoneStriderPlus500W60 XFXPro650WCoreEdition62 XigmatekTauro500W62 ZalmanZM500-HPPlus

661-860WPSUs64 AntecHighCurrentPro850W64 BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10850W66 BeQuiet!StraightPowerE9680W66 CoolerMasterM2SilentPro850W68 CorsairHX85068 EnermaxPlatimax750W69 FSPAurum850W69 InWinGreenMe750W70 OCZZX85070 SeasonicPlatinumSeries860W70 SilverPowerSP-S850M71 SilverStoneStriderGoldEvolution750W71 XFXPro850WXXXEdition71 XigmatekCentauro800W



54 November 2012

how we test

TestingPSUsproperlyrequiresaccesstoaspecialistloadtestingmachine,sowe

headedtoBeQuiet!’sRMAandtestingfacilityinHamburg,Germany,tomakeuseofitsChromaATS8000automatedpowersupplytester.It’samonumentallyimpressivepieceofkit,equippedwithanarrayofChroma63303Aloadtesters,aChroma66202digitalpowermeter,aChroma61600programmableACpowersourceandadedicatedripplenoiseunit.TheequipmentiscalibratedannuallybyChromaitselftoensureaccurateandreliablereadings.EachPSUwastestedat100percent,50

percentand20percentofitsratedmaximumwattageforcompliancewiththeATXpowersupplyspecifications.ThesecoveranumberoffactorsregardingthedifferentvoltagerailsoverwhichthePSUdeliversitspower:+5V,+12V,-12V,+3.3Vand+5VSB.EachrailhasanATXspecification

maximumandminimumlevelatwhichitcansafelyoperate(seechartbelow).However,thePSUindustry’sincreasedlevelsofscrutinyfromhardwarereviewersoverthepastfewyearshasclearlyhadaneffect;forthefirsttimeever,notasinglePSUontestfailedinthisregard.Wealsoanalysedhold-uptimes–theamountoftimeaPSUcanoperateafteralossofinputpower–butagainfoundthateveryPSUontestmettheminimumATXrequirementof16.6ms.WhiletherewassomevariationbetweenindividualPSUs,it’sunfairtomarkdownmodelswhentheymeettheindustrystandards.Wealsotestedforripplenoise–variationin

thePSU’sDCoutputcausedbytheconversionfromACtoDCpowerinsideatypicalswitchingPSU.RipplenoisealsohasstrictATXspecificationguidelinesof0.12mVforthe+12Vand-12Vrailsand0.05mVforthe+5V,+3.3V

and+5VSBrails,andsomeofthePSUsontestfailedtomeettheATXspecinthisregard.Wealsotestedeachpowersupply’s

efficiency.Referredtoasapercentage,thisdetailstheamountofpowerlostduringtheconversionofACtoDCpower.Forexample,aPSUthat’s85percentefficientdraws100Wofpowerfromthesockettoprovide85WofDCpower.ThePSUindustryoperatesonthe80

ATX MAXIMUM RIPPLENOISERail Maxripplenoise

+3.3V 0.05mV

+5V 0.05mV

+12V 0.12mV

+5VSB 0.05mV

-12V 0.12mV

ATX MINIMUM ANDMAXIMUM VOLTAGESRail Minimum Maximum

+3.3V 3.14V 3.47V

+5V 4.75V 5.25V

+12V 11.4V 12.6V

+5VSB 4.75V 5.25V

-12V -10.8V -13.2V

Plus(www.80plus.org)certificationschemeforefficiency,withWhite,Bronze,Silver,GoldandPlatinumlevelsofpowerefficiencydenotingincrementallyhigherlevels.The80PlusClassificationismeasuredat100percent,50percentand20percentofthestatedwattage,sowetestedallthreelevelsofload.Finally,wealsotestedeachPSUbackinour

labfornoiselevels,usingademandinghigh-endsystemcomprisinganIntel Corei7-3960XExtremeoverclockedto4.3GHzandaGeForceGTX5903GB,capableofpullingover750Watpeak,or500WjustfromtheGPUunderload.Withover1,300individualtestsperformed,

we’reunabletoprinteveryresult,butwe’veincludedtheefficiencyresults(seep72),andnotedanyspecificfailuresintherelevantreviews.We’dalsoliketothankBeQuiet!forallowingustouseitstestfacilities.



55November 2012

500-660W POWER SUPPLIES

56

Price£55incVATManufacturerwww.bequiet.com Supplierwww.scan.co.uk

D espiteits£55pricetag,theBeQuiet!PurePowerL8530Wofferssemi-

modularcabling,alongsideitscaptive24-pinATXcableandpairof4-pinEPS12Vconnectors.ThisenablesyoutochoosethenumberofSATAandMolexconnectorsyoufit,whichhelpstomakeinstallationandcablerouteingmucheasierwhenbuildingyourPC.Cablesarebraidedinblackandusecolour-coordinatedconnectorstosimplifyinstallationfurther.Thesecolour-coordinatedplugsalsohelptoensureevenloadingacrossthePSU’stwo12Vrails.Apairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectorswill likely

limityoutoasinglegraphicscard,butthePSU’s530WratingismorethanenoughtohandleanoverclockedIntelCorei7-3770K

BeQuiet!PurePower L8530WEfficient, semi-modular and well priced

86OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 19/30

VALUE 27/30

andtop-endGPU,suchastheRadeonHD79703GB,withheadroomtospare.Havingsailedthroughvoltage

stabilityandripplenoisetests,thePurePowerL8deliversslightlymorethanits80PlusBronzeefficiencyrating,with83.69percentefficiencyat100percentload,86.28percentefficiencyat50percentloadand84.59percentefficiencyat20percentload;theseareallatleast1percentabovethe80PlusBronzespecification.Meanwhile,a120mmSilentWings-

brandedcoolingfanprovidescoolingwhilealsobeingpleasinglyquiet, ifnotentirelysilent.Evenatfull load,theunitexhibitedlittleornoaudiblecoilnoiseintothebargain.

Strikingasuperbbalanceofefficiency,semi-modularcablesandacompetitiveprice,thePurePowerL8530Wisoutstanding.HB

Price£80incVAT Manufacturerwww.antec.com Supplierwww.ebuyer.co.uk

Antec’sEarthwattsEA-550Platinumistheonlysub-750WPSUontesttoboast80

PlusPlatinumenergyefficiencycertification,puttingitatanimmediateadvantageincomparisontothecompetition.At100percentload,itdeliveredthehighestefficiencyofanyPSUontest(includingthehigher-wattagemodels)–91.3percent–atrait itcontinuedat50percentand20percentloads.ThisisahugelyimpressiveachievementconsideringthePSU’sdiminutive140mmlengthand120mmcoolingfan.However,whiletheEA-550dominatesin

theefficiencydepartment, it’slesscapablewhenitcomestofeatures.Afullycaptivedesignmeansthatthere’snooptiontodisconnectunwantedcables,althoughthe

ANTECEarthwattsEA-550PlatinumEfficient, but pricey and lacks modular cables

83OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 23/30

VALUE20/30

cablecollectionissparseanyway.Apairof6+2pinPCI-EpowerconnectorsrealisticallylimitsyoutoasingledecentGPU,butsixSATAconnectorsandatrioofMolexconnectorsaresufficientformostbuilds.Underheavyload,theEA-550’sfanspun

up,butnottoanintrusivedegree,producingalow-frequencyhum.Therewasclearlydiscerniblecoilnoiseunderloadthough,sowhilethisPSUwon’t intrudeonyourelectricitybills, it isn’tquiteasstealthywhenitcomestonoiselevels.At£80,theEarthwattsEA-550Platinum

isundeniablyexpensiveforacaptive-cable550WPSU,anditwilltakeanumberofyearstoseeareturnyourinvestmentfromenergy-

billsavings.It’sacommendableeffort,butultimatelynotworthit.WeadviseoptingforacheapermodularPSUinstead. HB



56 November 2012

Price£96incVATManufacturerwww.bequiet.com Supplier www.ebuyer.co.uk

Price£50incVATManufacturerwww.coolermaster.co.uk Supplierwww.scan.co.uk

TheDarkPowerPro10550Wboaststhefeaturesofahigh-endPSU,butwitha

sensible550Wpeakwattage.Apartfromthe24-pinATXpowercable,alltherestofthecablesaremodular,andthere’sahugeassortmentofSATAandMolexconnectors.Four6+2-pinPCI-EconnectorsoffergreatscopeforGPUexpansionandthereareplentyofextrastoo.Four2-pinfanconnectorsandaccompanyingSATApowerconnectoradaptorscantieyourcasefanstothePSU’scoolingfan.There’salsoarear-mountedjumper,

dubbedOCKey,thatcanswitchthePSUfromaquad-12Vrailsetup(twoat20Aandanothertwoat25A,withamaximumoutputof45A)to

ThediminutiveCoolerMasterGX550Wmeasuresjust14cmlong,butstill

managestooffer80PlusBronzeefficiencyandloadsofconnectors,aswellasafive-yearwarranty.Allthecablesarefullycaptive,sothere’sno

optiontodisconnectunusedconnectorsandmakeyourcasethatmuchtidier,butapairof4-pinEPS12Vconnector,sixSATAandthreeMolexplugsisplentyformostPCbuilds.Apairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectorscaterstojustasinglemid-rangetohigh-endgraphicscard,though,sothoseponderingmultipleGPUsshouldlookelsewhere.TheGX550Walsomaintainedstable

voltagesatallloadlevels,andripplenoisewell

BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro 10550W

CoolerMasterGX550W

All the bells and whistles you could need,but it’s expensive

Phenomenal value, but lacksmodular cables

85OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 27/30

VALUE 18/30

83OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 15/30

VALUE28/30

asingle12Vrail (45A).Whilethere’snotechnicaladvantageindoingso,itremovestheworryofloadbalancingbetweenrails.Despiteitslowerwattage,theDarkPower

Pro10isalsoverylarge,measuring18cminlength.Thismeans thatitmaynotfit intosmallercases,buttheblowissoftenedbytheinclusionofrubberpaddingontheendofthePSU,helpingtoreducevibrationbetweenthePSUandthechassis.Meanwhile,80PlusGoldefficiencyacross

theboardequatestoa£10-£12annualsavingoveran80PlusBronze550WPSU,whiletheDarkPowerPro’s135mmfanprovedtobebrilliantlyquietandwaspracticallyinaudible

withintheATXspecification.What’smore,itsefficiencysurpassedthe80PlusBronzespecificationbyatleast1percentateverylevel,with83.1percentat100percentload,86percentat50percentloadand85.38percentat20percentload.Whilean80PlusGold-ratedPSUwillsave

youaround£10ayearincomparison,theGX550’srock-bottompricemeansthatitwilltakeanumberofyearsofheavyusagebeforeyou’reoutofpocket.ThePSU’s120mmfanspunupvery

noticeablyunderload,though,makingtheGX550WoneofthenoisiestPSUsontest.Whileit’scheap,stableand80PlusBronzeefficient,

evenunderheavyload.Stuffedwithfeaturesandboastinggreatefficiency,theDarkPowerPro10550Wisafinechoice,buttooexpensiveformanypeople.HB

for£5moretheBeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W(seep55)isfarquieterandoffersmodularcablesaswell.HB



57November 2012


58

Price£64incVATManufacturerwww.corsair.comSupplierwww.scan.co.uk

ReplacingCorsair’soriginalGS600,whichonlyofferedbasic80Pluscertification,

thisnewmodelboasts80PlusBronzeefficiencyandanupdatedchassiswithroundededgesandablue-LEDlit140mmfan.ThefullycaptivecablebundleincludessixSATAandMolexconnectors,alongsideonlyapairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectors–thisisalittlestingyconsideringthePSU’s600W-ratedwattage.Thefan’sLEDcanbeswitchedoffviaa

buttononthePSU’srear,whilethefanitselfissemi-passive,onlyswitchingonwhenneeded.Wefounditonlyspunupatwattagesover250W,makingtheGS600effectivelypassivewhenyourPCisidle.Athigherloads,though,thefanisn’tsodiscreet,andspunuptotheextentthatitwasclearlyaudible;therewasalsosomediscerniblecoilnoise.Costing£64,theCorsairGS600isfairly

pricedforastable80PlusBronze600WPSU,butit lacksmodularcablesandit’stoonoisyathigherloadstorecommend. HB

Price£68incVATManufacturerwww.enermax.co.ukSupplierwww.systo.co.uk

Withapriceofover£67,theEnermaxTriathlor550Wisundeniablyexpensive

fora550WPSU.Theall-captivecablebundleincludessixSATAandfiveMolexconnectors,whileapairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectorslimitsyoutoasinglemid-rangetohigh-endgraphicscard.WellwithintheATXspecificationintermsof

voltagesandripplenoise,the80PlusBronze-ratedTriathlordeliveredefficiencyof84.78percentat100percentload,87percentat50percentloadand84.82percentat20percentload,placingitmarginallybelowthe80PlusSilverefficiency.TheTriathlor’s14cmlongcasingmakes

itpleasinglycompacttoo,witha120mmEnermaxTwisterfanhandlingcoolingduties.However,athighloads(over450W), it’sprettynoisy,andwasclearlydiscernibleoverbackgroundnoise.Despiteexcellentefficiencyforan80Plus

BronzePSU,theEnermaxTriathlor550W’slackofmodularcablesandhighpriceseeitfallwellbehindtheBeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W(seep55).HB

Price£88incVATManufacturerwww.enermax.co.ukSupplierwww.cleverboxes.com

FractalDesign’snewR2Tesla650Wboasts80PlusGoldefficiency,but

confusinglymatchesitwithcaptivecabling.SixSATAplugsandtwoMolexconnectorsdon’tofferthegreatestamountofconnectionoptionseither,andasinglepairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectorslimitsyoutojustasinglemoderngraphicscard.However,withits80PlusGoldcertification,

efficiencyisexcellent.The88.35percentefficiencyat100percentloadissurpassedby91.28percentat50percentloadand91.39percentat20percentload–thelatterisevenhigherthantheAntecEarthwattsEA-550Platinum(seep55).TheR2Tesla650Wisverywellbehavedacousticallytoo,withits135mmspinningquietlyevenathighloads.TheR2Tesla650Wisadecentpremium

PSU,butitslackofmodularcablesseesitsurpassedbytheSeasonicX-Series660W(seep59),whichalsooffers80PlusGoldefficiencyandfarmorefeatures.HB

CorsairGS600

EnermaxTriathlor 550W

FractalDesignR2Tesla650WSemi-passive cooling and

80 Plus Bronze-rated, butlacks modular cables

Lacks competitive pricingand features

Quiet and efficient, butneeds modular cables

79OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 15/30

VALUE 24/3075OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 15/30

VALUE20/3081OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN20/30

VALUE 21/30



58 November 2012

Price£130incVATManufacturerwww.fspgroup.co.ukSupplierTBC

F SP’sAurumXilenser500Wispassivelycooled,withnocoolingfanatall.With

acaptive24-pinATXcableandrubber-sheathedmodularconnectorsforeverythingelse, italsooffersplentyofflexibility,thankstosevenSATA,butonlytwoMolexconnectors,plusfour6+2-pinPCI-Epowerplugs.The80PlusGoldcertificationmeansan

efficiencyratingat100percentloadof89.61percent,with91.29percentat50percentand89.4percentat20percent,althoughthisonlysavesyouaround£8ayearcomparedtoan80PlusBronzeunit. Withnofan,theXilenserwasnearlysilent.Wenotedjustatraceofcoilnoise,butotherwisetheFSPdelivered.However,youpayahighpricefortheluxury

ofpassivecooling,highefficiencyandfullymodularcables,andtheXilencer’spriceof£130meansthatonlythoseneedingsilenceshouldapply.HB

Price£52incVATManufacturerwww.inwin-style.comSupplierwww.cclonline.com

InWin’sGreenMe550Wislightonfeatures,buthasatemptinglylowpricetagofjust£52.

Captivecablesareused,butwewereamazedtofind justasingle6+2-pinPCI-Epowerconnector; insufficientforalmostanymid-rangeorhigh-endGPUwithoutaMolexto6-pinPCI-Eadaptor.Despiteitsbudgetlooks,theGreenMe

performedwellwithintheATXvoltageandripplenoiseguidelines,andcomfortablymanagedits80PlusBronzeefficiencywith84.92percentat100percentload,87.12percentat50percentloadand83.96percentat20percentload.However,theInWinGreenMe

550W’s120mmcoolingfanwasverynoisyunderheavyload–theloudestofanyPSUinthe500-660Wcategory.TheBeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W(seep55)costsjust£3moreandisfarbetterequipped.HB

Price£80incVATManufacturerwww.nzxt.comSupplierwww.overclockers.co.uk

TheNZXTHale82-650-Mpairs80PlusBronzeefficiencywithsemi-modular

cabling.The24-pinATXcable,apairof4-pinEPS12Vcablesandtwo6+2-pinPCI-Ecablesarecaptiveandsheathedinblackcablebraid,whilethemodularconnectorsoffersixSATAplugs,sixMolexconnectors,an8-pinEPS12Vcableandanothertwo 6+2PCI-Eplugs.Theflattenedmodularcablescertainlylooksmart,andthere’splentyofflexibilityformulti-GPUsetupstousethe650Wofpower.Efficienciesof82.91at100percentload,

85.97percentat50percentloadand83.96percentat20percentloadareallcomfortablyinsidethe80PlusBronzespecification,buttheHale82-650-M120mmfanspunuptoclearlyaudiblelevelsunderload.WhiletheNZXTHale82-650-Misastable,efficient,modularandkeenlypricedPSU,itsnoisyfanseesit justmissout.HB

FSPAurumXilenser500W

InWinGreenMe550W

NZXTHale82-650-M

Completely passive and80 Plus Gold efficiency,but it’s pricey

Just a single PCI-Econnector makes this PSUlargely redundant

A well-rounded 650WPSU, but it’s too noisyunder load

79OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 27/30


STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 13/30

VALUE25/3083OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN20/30

VALUE 23/30



59November 2012

60


Price£48incVATManufacturerwww.ocztechnology.comSupplierwww.cclonline.co.uk

I ncrediblycheapat£48,OCZ’sZS550Woffersonlycaptivecables.Alongsidethe

24-pinATXconnectorandpairof4-pinEPS12Vconnectorsarea6+2pinPCI-Eand6-pinPCI-Econnector,whichissufficienttopoweranycurrentsingle-GPUgraphicscards.TherearealsoeightSATAconnectorsandthreeMolexconnectors.However,theZS550Wfailedtomeetthe

ATXspecificationwhenwetesteditforripplenoise.Its3.3Vrailat20percentloadreached0.054mV–0.04mVabovethatspecifiedbytheATXspec.Whileit’saminorinfraction, it’sstillatestthatmostotherPSUsinthistestpassedwithoutissue.TheZS550Walsofailedtomeetthe80Plus

Bronzecertificationitclaims,managingonly81.75percentefficiencyat20percentload,ratherthan82percent.Despiteitsbargainprice,theOCZZS

550W’sfailingsshowthatit’sdefinitelyworthspendingafewextraquidonasuperiorPSUelsewhereinstead.HB

Price£120incVATManufacturerwww.seasonic.comSupplierwww.scan.co.uk

S easonic’sX-series660WPSUboastsafeaturesetconsistentwithits£120price.

Thefullymodularcablesfeaturefour6+2-pinPCI-Epowerconnectors,offeringplentyofroomformulti-GPUsetups,andeightSATAandfiveMolexconnectorsoverseveralcablesallowplentyofflexibility.Withits80PlusGoldcertification,at100per

centload,theX-Series660Wdelivers88.58percentefficiency,with90.77percentat50percentand88.41percentat20percentload.Incomparisontothe80PlusBronzeNZXTHale82-650-M(seeopposite),thiswillsaveyouaround£10peryearonelectricitybillsunderfairlyhighusage.Equippedwithjusta120mmcoolingfan,

theX-Series660Wiswonderfullyquiettoo.ThePSU’ssemi-passivefanremainsmotionlessbelow25°Candisveryquietwhenspinningupunderheavyload.Feature-packed,highlyefficientand

exceedinglyquiet,theSeasonicX-series660Wjustifiesitspremiumpricetag.It’sabrilliantpowersupply. HB

Price£80incVATManufacturerwww.nanopoint.comSupplierwww.scan.co.uk

T heSilverPowerSP-S650M’sslightlytackyangryGorillabrandingbeliesits

impressivefeatures.Itusessemi-modularcables,withthe24-pinATX,dual4-pinEPS12Vandtwo6+2-pinPCI-Epowerconnectorscaptive,whileanextratwo6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors,fiveMolex,eightSATAandan8-pinEPS12Vcablearemodular.Itdeliveredonits80PlusBronzepromise

too,managing83.48percentefficiencyat100percentload,86.15percentefficiencyat50percentloadand84.13percentefficiencyat20percentload–allatleast1percentabovethe80-PlusBronzespec.However,theSP-S650Mprovedtobe

disappointinglynoisyunderload;itwaseasilyamongthemostaudibleon-testonloadsabove500W.Althoughit’skeenlypricedatlessthan£80,

andisequippedwithsolidefficiencyandplentyofmodularcables,thenoisycoolingfanisthemonkeyontheSilverPowerSP-S650M’sback.HB

OCZZS550W

SeasonicX-Series660W

SilverPowerSP-S650M

Very cheap, but fails onripple noise at 20 percent load

A premium PSU that’sworth the price

Feature-rich and wellpriced, but let down bya noisy cooling fan

76OVERALL

STABILITY38/40

DESIGN 12/30

VALUE26/3086OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN28/30


STABILITY40/40

DESIGN20/30

VALUE 22/30




60 November 2012

Price£59incVATManufacturerwww.silverstonetek.com Supplierwww.overclockers.co.uk

Price£67incVATManufacturerwww.xfxforce.com Supplierwww.dabs.com

S ilverStone’sStriderPlus500Wlookslikegreatvalueformoneyatfirst,offering

fullymodularcablesforlessthanhalfthepriceoftheSeasonicX-Series660W(seep59).Theunit’s24-pinATXandapairof4-pinEPS12Vcablesarejoinedbyone6+2pinandone6-pinPCI-Epowerconnector,sufficientforanymodernsingle-GPUgraphicscard.TwotripleSATAcablesandatriple-Molexcablewithafloppyconnectorallowforafairlyexpansivebuildtoo,althoughbafflingly,there’snopowerswitchonthePSU’srear.With80PlusBronzecertification,the

StriderPlus500Wdelivered82.84percentefficiencyat100percentload,86.15percentefficiencyat50percentloadand85.5percentefficiencyat20percentload.However,we

TheXFXPro650WCoreEditionlacksmodularcables,butstilloffersahealthy

arrayofcaptiveconnectors.Apairofboth6+2-pinPCI-Eand6-pinPCI-Epowerconnectorsmakeforsolidmulti-GPUsupport,whilesevenMolexplugs,sixSATAconnectorsandapairof4-pinEPS12Vconnectorsroundoffthebunch.It’sagoodassortmentand,with650Wofwattageontap,theisunitenoughforalmostanysingleordual-GPUsystem.Unlikeitsbeefiersibling,theXFXPro850W

XXXEdition(seep71),thePro650WCoreEditiononlyhas80PlusBronzeefficiencycertification,butithadnoproblemsurpassingthisclassification.At100percentload,itproduced84.42per

centefficiency,at50percentload,itmanaged

SilverStoneStriderPlus500W

XFXPro650WCoreEdition

Cheap and modular, but fails on ripple noise

Stable and affordable, but still unremarkable

77OVERALL

STABILITY36/40

DESIGN 19/30

VALUE 22/30

78OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 14/30

VALUE 24/30

foundripplenoiseonthe+5VSBrailtobeworryinglyhigh.At100percentload,theripplepeakedat0.085mV,0.035mVor70percenthigherthantheATXspecificationallows.WhilenottaskedwithpoweringaPC’s

corehardware,the+5VSBrailpowersthemotherboard’sstandbyandUSBports,andtheStriderPlus500WfailedtoconformtotheATXspecinthisregard.TheStriderPlus500Walsoprovedtobenoisyunderload,withits120mmfanspinninguptoclearlyaudiblelevelsasthepowerdrawroseabove400W.TheStriderPlus500W’shighripple

noiseonthe+5VSBrailandnoisycoolingfanaremorethanenoughtowarrantlookingelsewhereforyourPSU.

86.63percentefficiencyandat20percentload,theefficiencywas84.08percent.ThePro650WCoreEditionalsoexhibitednoissuesthroughoutourvoltageandripplenoisetests,performingwellwithintheATXspecification.Meanwhile,Its17cm-longchassishouses

a135mmcoolingfan,whichspunuptoaudiblelevelsunderhigherloads.Itwasn’tamongtheloudestontestthough.Pleasingly,westruggledtonoticeanycoilnoisefromtheuniteither.Whileitticksmanyboxes,isperfectly

stableandhasahighlycompetitiveprice,theXFXPro650WCoreEditionisstillalittleunremarkable.Therearemoreefficient

TheBeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W(seep55)offersahigherpeakwattage,modularcablesandquieteroperationforlesscash.HB

andquieterPSUsthatalsohavebetterfeaturestobefoundelsewhere.HB

62





62 November 2012

Price£41incVATManufacturerwww.xigmatek.com Supplierwww.overclockers.com

Price£85incVATManufacturerwww.zalman.com Supplierwww.quietpc.co.uk

Wehadtodoadouble-takewhenwesawtheXigmatekTauro’sprice,asit’s10

percentcheaperthananyother500WPSUontest.At£41,youcan’texpectagreatdealofextras,sotheTauro500Wusesall-captivecables.There’sareasonableselection,atleast,withapairof6+2pinPCI-EcablesofferingenoughroomtopoweranyGPUoutthere.AlsoincludedaresixSATAandthreeMolexpowerconnectors,alongsidetheusual24-pinATXpowerblockandapairof4-pinEPS12Vcables.However,whilewefoundtheTauro500W’s

voltagestabilityandripplenoisetobewellwithintheATXspecification, itfellsorelyshortwhenitcametoefficiency.At100percentload,itdelivered79.04percentefficiency,2percentshortofXigmatek’sclaimed80Plus

LikemanyZalmanproducts,theZM500-HPPlus’focusisoncoolingandlow-

noiselevels,butit’salsowellequippedwhenitcomestocables,thankstoitssemi-modularconnectors.Acaptive24-pinATXcable,pairof4-pinEPS12Vconnectorsandasingle6-pinPCI-Ecablearejoinedbyamodular6+2-pinPCI-Eplug,sixSATAandfiveMolexpowerconnectors,grantingsufficientconnectionsforthevastmajorityofsingle-GPUsetups.Inside,thePSUusescopperheatpipesand

coolingfinstoeffectivelymoveanddissipateheat. ItalsosportsinteriorblueLEDlighting,whilea120mmcoolingfanprovidestherequiredventilation.Withits80PlusBronzecertification,the

ZM500-HPhadlittleissuedeliveringonitspromises.Theefficiencyof84.02at100percentload,86percentat50percentloadand

XigmatekTauro500W

ZalmanZM500-HPPlus

Incredibly cheap, but fails to reach 80Plus Bronze efficiency

Semi-modular and very quiet, but too expensive

75OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 9/30

VALUE26/30

76OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN20/30

VALUE 16/30

Bronzerating,and1percentshortof80PlusWhite.Similarly,at50percentload,werecordedanefficiencyof82.92percent,twopercentbelowthe85percentrequiredfor80PlusBronze.Finally,at20percentload,anefficiencyof81.21percentagainfailedtoreachtherequiredlevelfor80PlusBronze.Sowhileitprovedstable,theTauro500Wiswellbelowthepaceonefficiency.Ontheplusside,theTauro’s16cmchassis

housesa140mmcoolingfan;despitethelowefficiency,thisdoesn’tsoundtoointrusive,evenwhenthePSUisrunningclosetoitsmaximumload.Despiteitsverylowprice, it’sclearthat

somethinghasgonewrongsomewherealongthelinefortheTauro500W,asitprovedunable

82.88percentat20percentloadareallwithinthe80+Bronzespec.Voltagestabilityandripplenoisewerefineacrosstheboardtoo,andwithintheATXspecification.WithZalman’sfocusonlow-noise

cooling,weweredelightedtofindtheZM500-HPPlusperformedverystronglywhenitcametonoiselevelstoo.Evenunderafull500Wload,the120mmcoolingfanwasallbutinaudibleeveninaquietroom.Despiteitsmodularcables,80PlusBronze

certifiedefficiencyandsuper-lownoiselevels,however,theZalmanZM500-HPPlusisletdownsorelybyits£85pricetag.TheBeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W(seep55)maybealittlelouder,butit’s£35cheaperandsimilarlymodular,whiletheSeasonicX-Series660W

toproducethe80PlusBronzeefficiencyitclaims.Werecommendspendingafewextraquidonsomethingelseinstead.HB

(seep59)is£40moreexpensiveandfarmorecapable.Botharebetterchoicesunlessnoiseisyourtoppriority. HB



63November 2012


how much power does Your PC need?

Whetheryou’rebuyingaPSUaspartofawholenewsystem,orasanupgrade

foranexistingone,there’snopointinbuyingaPSUthat’sfarbeyondyourneeds.PCsareremarkablypower-efficientthesedays,andtheirPSUsareactuallymostefficientat50percentload.It’susuallybesttoaimforaPSUthatoffers between200-300Wsparecapacityunderveryheavyuseinyourparticularsystem,whereveryheavyusemeansplacingthegraphicscardandCPUunderconsiderablestrain.Thisisactuallyquiterareinmanygames,

asthey’reusuallyeitherGPUorCPUdependent,whilecarryingouttaskssuchasimageeditingorvideoencodingusuallyplacetheCPUunderfarmoreloadthantheGPU.Withanextra200-300Watyourdisposal,you’llhaveplentyofheadroomifyouaddanothergraphicscard,amorepowerfulCPUorifyouwanttotryyourhandatoverclocking.ThePSUwillbequietertoo–thecloseritgetstoitsmaximumload,thefasteritsfanwillhavetospintokeepitcool.Forexample, ifyourPChasaheavily

overclockedIntelCorei5-3570KandanNvidiaGeForceGTX6702GB,wemeasuredthistodrawaround375WusingthesmallffttestinPrime95tomaxouttheCPU,andUnigine

Heaventopushthegraphicscardtoitslimits.Thisisaworst-casescenario,asnogamewillputyourPCunderthismuchload.Factoringinour200-300Wsparepowerrule,youshouldbeaimingforaPSUthat’sratedbetween550Wand650Wforasystemsuchasthis.Alower-endsystem,suchasanIntelCore

i3-2100withanAMDRadeonHD68701GB,onlydraws225Winthesamestresstests–soforthis,you’llonlyneedaPSUof450-500Wto

provideampleheadroomforyoursystem.Wefoundthatonlythemostexpensivesystems,suchasanIntelCorei7-3960XExtremeEditionoverclockedto4.7GHzwithanNvidiaGeForceGTX6904GB,needanythingclosetoa1kW(1000W)PSU.Allthegraphsbelowshowmaximumpowerusageusingourstresstestsinatypicalsystemwithcasefans,anSSDandaCPUcooler.HARRY BUTLER

how much power does Your PC need?hether you’re buying a PSU as part of a

dependent, while carrying out tasks such as image editing or video encoding usually place

another graphics card, a more powerful CPU or if you want to try your hand at overclocking.

Heaven to push the graphics card to its limits. This is a worst-case scenario, as no game will put your

provide ample headroom for your system. We found that only the most expensive systems, such as an Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition overclocked to 4.7GHz with an Nvidia

AsystemusinganAMDA8-3870K,withitsintegratedGPUrunningatfullpelt,onlydraws160Wofpowerfromthemains

Total system power draw

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

AMD A8-3870K

Intel Core i3-2100 with anAMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB

5GHz Core i5-3570K /Radeon HD 7870 2GB

5GHz Core i5-3570K /GeForce GTX 670 2GB

5GHz Core i5-3570K /GeForce GTX 690 4GB

4.818GHz AMD FX-8150 /GeForce GTX 670 2GB

4.7GHz Core i7-3960X /GeForce GTX 690 4GB

160W

225W

325W

375W

525W

725W

775W

Ahigh-enddual-GPUgraphicscard,suchastheGeForceGTX690,requiresalotofpowerwhenit’sworkingflatout,particularlyifit’spartneredwithanLGA2011CPU

64



64 November 2012

Price£130incVAT Manufacturerwww.antec.com Supplierwww.overclockers.co.uk

Price£167incVATManufacturerwww.bequiet.com Supplierwww.scan.co.uk

TheHighCurrentPro850WisalargePSUat180mminlength–45mmlongerthan

theXFXPro850WXXXEdition(seep71)–whichisworthrememberingifyouonlyhaveasmallcase.It’salsoquiteexpensiveat£130,anditonlyofferssemi-modularconnectors.Thankfully,that’swhereourconcerns

ended.Itoffersawealthofconnectors,includingfour6+2-pinconnectors,meaningthatitcandefinitelypowertwohigh-endgraphicscards.There’satotalof840Wand70Aavailable

overfour12Vrailsatanyonetime,witheachrailabletosupportupto40Aand480W–morethanenoughtorunamodernhigh-endsystemonitsown.TheHighCurrentPro

BeQuiet!’sDarkPowerPro10850Wisanothermonster,measuring195mm

fromendtoend.ItalsohasoneofthelongestlistsofcablesofanyPSUontest,with32individualconnectorsintotal.Theseincludesix6+2-pinPCI-Econnectorsandone8-pinEPS12Vconnector,alongwithtwopairsof4-pinEPS12Vconnectors.WithnineSATAandnineMolexconnectors

too,youwon’tbeshortofcablesandpowerplugs,whateverkindofmonsterPCyou’rebuilding.YoucanevenconnectfourcasefanstotheDarkPowerPro10850W;thePSUregulatestheirspeedbasedontemperature.TheDarkPowerPro10850Wusesa

135mmSilentWingsfan,similartothemodel

AntecHighCurrentPro850W

BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro 10850W

A solid PSU with plenty of grunt,but it’s a tad too expensive

Awesome features and efficiency,but ferociously expensive

82OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 24/30

VALUE 18/30

83OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN28/30

VALUE 15/30

850W’sfanalsoprovedtobeclosetoinaudibleinourquietlab,althoughtherewassomecoilnoise.Certifiedwithan80PlusGoldefficiency

badge,theHighCurrentPro850Wwas89.9percentefficientat100percentload,whileat50percentload,itprovedtobeafantastic91.2percentefficient.Thiswasonlyenoughtosecurefifthplace,

though,withtheBeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10850W(below)claimingthe50percentloadefficiencycrown.Therewerenoissueswithstabilityeither,withtopmarksonallrailsatalltestedloadlevels,whileripplenoiseandholduptimeswerealsowellwithintheATXspecificationrequirements.

usedinBeQuiet!’sexcellentCPUaircoolers.ThePSUalsohastheunusual

abilitytoswitchbetweenfour12Vrailsandonesingle12Vrail. Infour-railmode,the12V1and12V2railsoffer30Aeach,whilethe12V3and12V4railscandishout45Aeach.There’s70Aavailableintotalfromthe12Vrails,resultinginamaximum12Vpowerdrawof840W.WecouldbarelydiscernthattheDark

PowerPro10850Wwasrunningwhileunderfullload,anditpassedallourtestswithoutahitch.Ratedto80PlusGoldstandard,italsorecordedthehighestefficiencyontestat50percentload–92.6percent.

ThisisanexcellentPSU,butothersoffersimilarfeaturesforlesscash,meaningthatitnarrowlylosesoutonanaward.AL

It’safantasticPSU,butat£166,it’s£50moreexpensivethantheXFXPro850WXXXEdition,whichoffersbettervalueformoney.AL

66




WWW.ENERMAX.CO.UK/REVOLUTION87

www.awd-it.co.uk • www.scan.co.uk • specialtech.co.uk • www.yoyotech.co.uk

© E

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SYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOTSYSTEM RIOT

JOIN THE REVOLUTION!The low-end power supply era is over! Enermax calls for more safety, morequality and more power for your system! Modern systems need a stablepower source that ensures a safe and efficient system operation. The newEnermax Revolution87+ relies on the path-breaking DHT Topology andachieves up to 93% efficiency. It will take your system by storm propelledby a durable and silent Twister fan. No more empty rhetoric: Due to massive12V rails, more than 98% of the power is reserved for the essential compo-nents such as CPU and GPU. This is about a long-term system build and astable and safe system for the future. Enermax grants 5 years warranty.

With 550, 650, 750, 850 und 1000W.



66 November 2012

Price£95incVATManufacturerwww.bequiet.com Supplierwww.ebuyer.com

Price£124incVAT Manufacturerwww.coolermaster.com Supplierwww.yoyotech.co.uk

BeQuiet!’sStraightPowerE9680Wiscertainlyagreat-lookingpowersupply. It

sportsthecompany’sfamiliarnickel-platedgrillesprotectingthecoolingfan–anattractivetouchthatlooksbetterthanthestandardmeshfangrilleusedbymostothermanufacturers.It’salsosemi-modular,withonlysome

ofitscablesdetachable,butitoffersaconsiderablenumberofthem.Thefour6+2-pinPCI-Econnectorsmeanthatpoweringmultiplehigh-endgraphicscardswon’tbeaproblem,andtherearesevenSATAandsix4-pinMolexconnectorstoo.Itusesfour12Vrails,withtwodishingout

upto18A,andtheothertwoabletohandle

C oolerMaster’sM2SilentPro850Wiswellpricedat£124,althoughthisisstillagood

dealmoreexpensivethantheXFXPro850WXXXEdition(seep71).However,yougetplentyforyourmoney.Thefirstbonuseswenoticedwerethecables,whichhavebeenflattenedandfinishedinblackrubber.Thislooksgreat,andwillalsomakecabletidyingeasier,resultinginaneatandtidyPCinside.Ithasbothan8-pinandapairof4-pin

EPS12Vconnectors,alongwiththree8-pinandthree6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors–enoughtopowerthreehigh-endgraphicscards.It’sfairlylargeat180mmlong,butthisisnoticeablyshorterthantheBeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10850W(seep64). Italso

BeQuiet!StraightPowerE9680W

CoolerMasterM2SilentPro850W

Supremely stable and quiet,but slightly too pricey

A decent PSU, but othersoffer better value

83OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 24/30

VALUE 19/30

81OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 23/30

VALUE 18/30

22A,with55Aand660Woverthefourrailsintotalatanyonetime.DespitethisbeingasimilarbutlessbeefysetupthantheAntecHighCurrentPro850W(seep64),forexample,wewerestillabletopowerapower-hungryGeForceGTX6903GBoverapairof12Vrails.TheStraightPowerE9680Wwasalso91.7

percentefficientat50percentload–agreatresult. Itreturnedsuperbresultsinthestabilityteststoo,notmovingmorethan0.1Veithersideof12Vonallthe12Vrails,evenat100percentload.Itprovedtobeveryquiettoo,althoughit

exhibitedsomecoilnoise.At£95,it’s

usesasingle12Vraildesign,with68Aand816Wavailableintotalovertherail.There’sasizeable180Wavailablefromthe3.3Vand5Vrailstoo.Withits80PlusSilvercertification,theM2

SilentPro850Wrecordedanefficiencyof89.2percentat50percentload–thisisn’tbad,butitcouldcostaround£5-9moreoverthecourseofayearincomparisontothemostefficientPSUontest.StabilitywasnoproblemfortheM2Silent

Pro850W,though,anditalsoprovedtobeextremelyquietunderevenhighloads,barelyregisteringoverthebackgroundhumofourlab.However,withsimilarfeaturesand

reasonablypricedaswell,buttheXFXPro850WXXXEdition(p71)costsjust£11moreandprovidesmorewattageforyourmoney. AL

alowerprice,theXFXPro850WXXXEdition(seep71)winsoutonvalueformoney.AL

68






68 November 2012

Price£134incVATManufacturerwww.corsair.comSupplierwww.scan.co.uk

Price£154incVAT Manufacturerwww.enermax.co.uk Supplierwww.pixmania.co.uk

Ifreputationsareanythingtogoby,CorsaircertainlyhasanenviableonewhenitcomestoPSUs.We’vefoundafewfliesintheointmentovertheyears,butgenerallybuyingaCorsairPSUisrarely, ifever,abadpurchase.ThisisthelatestiterationoftheHX850,

nowboasting80PlusGoldefficiency,andthebiggersiblingtotheHX650,whichpickedupanApprovedawardreviewedinourlastPSULabstest.TheHX850isanotherlargePSU,

measuring180mminlength.It’salsosemi-modular,withthecorecables,suchasthe24-pinATX,EPS12Vandtwo6+2-pinPCI-Econnectorsremainingcaptive.Themodularcrewconsistsofanadditional8-pinEPS12Vconnector,alongwithfourmore6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors–sixintotal.

A nothermanufacturerwithanenviablereputationintheworldofPSUsis

Enermax–themakerofthelegendaryGalaxy1000WPSU.It’soneofthefewmanufacturerstostill implementpost-shutdowncoolinginmostofitsPSUs.AfteryouswitchoffyourPC,thePSU’sfan

willcontinuetooperateforashorttime,providingausefulchill factortocoolyourhotcomponentsthatwouldotherwisefesterintoastytemperaturesuntiltheheatdissipatesofitsownaccord.EnermaxclaimsthiscanextendthelifeofthePSUandyourhardware.ThePlatimax750Whasalonglistof

featurestoo,althoughthisistobeexpectedforitsprice.At£154,it’snearly£50moreexpensivethantheXFXPro850WXXXEdition(seep71).

CorsairHX850

EnermaxPlatimax750W

Quiet and stable with loads offeatures – a great PSU

Super-quiet with post-shutdowncooling, but the price is high

83OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN25/30

VALUE 18/30

81OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 27/30

VALUE 14/30

UnliketheotherPSUsontest,allthecablesherehaveastandardlength,withnosingleorreduced-lengthoptionstotailorthemtoyoursystem.TheHX850alsoemploysasingle12Vraildesign,with70Aand840Wavailable,andasizable150Wavailablefromthecombined3.3Vand5Vrailstoo.StabilitywasacleansweepfortheHX850,

anditwas90.7percentefficientat50percentload.Onefeaturethatreallyimpresseduswasalsoitsabilitytopassivelycoolitselfuptoaround500Wofload.Thefanonlyspunupabovethis,whereadmittedly, itwasclearlyaudible.Formostsystems,though,you’llbeblessedwithasilentPSUformostofthetime.DespitebeingpricierthantheXFXPro

Loversoftriplegraphicscardsystemswillalsobedisappointed,asthereareonlyfour6+2-pinPCI-Epowerconnectors,althoughthiswillbeenoughforthevastmajorityofpeople.Thankfully,efficiencyhunterswillbe

pleasedwiththefactit’san80PlusPlatinumPSU,whichclaims90-94percentefficiency.Itusesfourrailstodishoutits12Vsupply,witheachratedat25A;there’satotalof744Wand62Aavailableatanyonetimefromallfourrails. Itbreezedthroughourtestingtoo;itwasincrediblyquietandrecordedanefficiencyof92.2percentat50percentload–wellwithinthe80PlusPlatinumspecification,makingitoneofthemostefficientPSUsontest.Sadly,

850WXXXEdition(seep71),theCorsairHX850comesaveryclosesecond.AL

however, itshighpricemeansthereareotheroptionsthatofferbettervalueformoney.AL



69November 2012

71


Price£165incVAT Manufacturerwww.fspgroup.co.uk SupplierTBC

Price£60incVAT Manufacturerwww.in-win.com.tw Supplierwww.cclonline.co.uk

Costing£165incVAT,theFSPAurum850Walreadyfacesasteepchallenge–itcosts

nearly£60morethantheXFXPro850WXXXEdition(seep71).Thankfully,FSPhasaddedsomeextra

featuresinanattempttobalanceoutthatequation.TheAurum850Whasflattened,rubber-sheathedcables,forexample,whichlookverygoodindeed,anditalsoincludesre-usablecabletiestoaidinall-importantcabletidying.TheAurum850Wusesasingle70A12Vrail,

whichcandishoutacolossaltotalof840W.Amazingly, italsohasatotalofeight6+2-pinPCI-Econnectorstoo,meaningthatitcantheoreticallysupportfourgraphicscards.Thiswillbealotofworkforan850WPSU,

though– althoughwesuccessfullypowered

InWin’sGreenMe750WPSUreallydoescostjust£60,butreadonalittlemorebeforeyou

reachforyourwallet,asthewholestoryisn’tquitethatrosy.Forstarters,theGreenMe750Wdoesn’t

haveanymodularcables–onlycaptiveones,andveryfewatthat. Itonlyhastwo6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors,meaningitwon’tbeabletopowertwohigh-endgraphicscards.Ifyou’reatallconcernedwithlooksthenthe

GreenMe750Wprobablyisn’tforyoueither;it’sasplainasPSUsget.It’salsofarfromflushwithconnectors,onlyofferingthreeMolexplugsandsixSATAconnectors.Itusesamulti-raildesignwhenitcomesto

dishingout12Vpower,withthreerailsofferingupto25Aeachandatotalof540Wacrossallthreeatthesametime.

FSP Aurum850W

InWinGreenMe750W

A fantastic PSU, but you’ll need afat wallet to pay for it

Cheap and stable, but it’s noisyand lacks features

79OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN25/30

VALUE 14/30

82OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 14/30

VALUE28/30

threeGeForceGTX6702GBcardswithatotalsystemdrawof650W,addinganothercardclearlywouldn’tbeadvisable.Meanwhile, inourtests,the80Plus

Gold-ratedAurum850Wmanagedanefficiencyof91.1percentat50percentload,andpassedallthestabilitytestswithoutanyissuesaswell.ItwasamongthequietestPSUsontest

aswell,althoughitwasn’tabletoshutoffitsfanatlowloadslikesomeofthecompetition.Onlyasmallamountofcoilwhinewasdiscernibletoo.Indeed,everythingabouttheFSPAurum

850Wlooksabsolutelygreatuntilyoucome

Withits80PlusBronzecertification, itrecordedanefficiencyof88.4percentat50percentload–afairamountlessthanthebestresultsontest.However, itwillprovidelotsofstablepower

foryourPC–theGreenMe750Wpassedallourtests,never strayingclosetothelimitsoftheATXspecification.Noisewasanotherstory,though.Withits

standard120mmcoolingfan,theGreenMe750WisanoisypieceofkitwhencomparedtoallotherPSUsontest,especiallyathigherloads,andtherewassomeclearlyaudiblecoilwhineaswell.Despiteitslowprice,wesuggestgiving this

PSUawideberth,andsavingyourpenniesfor

tothepricetagwhich,despiteitsstrengths,isstillabitterpilltoswallow.AL

asuperiorPSU,suchastheXFXPro850WXXXEdition(seep71), instead.AL



70 November 2012

Price£134incVATManufacturerwww.ocztechnology.comSupplierwww.yoyotech.co.uk

T heOCZZX850iscertainlyadesirablepieceofkitwithitsfully-modularcables.

Whilethesearebraided,however,thequalityoftheheatshrinkisn’tgreat–theheatshrinkappliedtothe24-pinATXcable,forexample,cameoffafteralittleuse.TheOCZZX850hasagoodarrayofcables

atitsdisposalaswell,althoughyou’llbelimitedtoplayingwithjusttwohigh-endgraphicscards,asthereareonlyfour6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors.Harddiskhoarderscanrejoicethough–the

ZX850hasatotalof12SATAconnectorsandnine4-pinMolexconnectors.Italsohasasingle70A12Vrail;combined

withthe-12Vand+5VSBrails,thiscanoutputatotalof850W.Itwasfairlyquiettoo,andveryefficientat50percentload–91percenttobeexact,anditpassedallourtestswithoutstrayingoutsidetheATXspecification.TheOCZZX850isbynomeansabadPSU,

buttheCorsairHX850(seep68)andXFXPro850WXXXEdition(seep71)offerbettervalueformoney.AL

Price£166incVATManufacturerwww.seasonic.comSupplierwww.aria.co.uk

Seasonic’shigh-endPSUsarecertainlyhighlydesirable,notleastfortheirability

toswitchofftheircoolingfansbelowcertaintemperatures–they’rethatefficient.ThePlatinum860Walsohasthisability,

aswellasfullymodularcables,an80PlusPlatinumefficiencyratingandevena120mmSanyoDenkifantoo.It’sabigboy,though,needing190mmclearanceendtoend,andit’shideouslyexpensivetoo.You’llbelimitedtopoweringtwohigh-end

graphicscardswithitsfour6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors,althoughthereare11SATAandeight4-pinMolexplugs,whichwillbeenoughforeventhemostcrowdedsystem.Itdishesoutitspowerthroughasingle71Arail,with852Wavailable.It’sreallyefficienttoo–ourtestmeasured92.3percentefficiencyat50percentload–anditwasstableinallouttestsandsupremelyquiettoo.Thisisafantasticpowersupply–it’sjusta

shameaboutitshighprice.AL

Price£96incVATManufacturerwww.nanopoint.co.ukSupplierwww.scan.co.uk

S ilverPowerhasaparentcompanyintheformofNanopoint,whichalso

manufacturestheTaganPSUsthatonceweretheenvyofall.TheSP-S850Misveryreasonablypricedat£96,butitofferssemi-modularcablesaswell.Italsohasfour6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors

andeightSATAconnectors,whichgivesyouenoughheadroomforallbutthemosthardcorePC.Itusesasingle12Vrail,ratedatupto70Aand840Wmandmeasuresjust160mminlength–ababycomparedtosomeoftheothermonstersontest.TheSP-S850Machieveditsstated80Plus

Bronzeefficiencyinourtests,reaching84.87percentat100percentload,butthisisstilllowconsideringsomeofthecompetitionhave80PlusSilver,GoldandPlatinumratings.TheSilverPowerSP-S850Mwasalso

horrendouslynoisyunderload.Infact, itwaslouderthantheGeForceGTX5903GBwehadrunninginourtestsystematthetime.Needlesstosay,youcanbuyabetterpowersupplyelsewhere.AL

OCZZX850

SeasonicPlatinumSeries860W

SilverPowerSP-S850M

Not bad, but you can getmore for your money

Feature-loaded, quiet andefficient, but expensive

A reasonable price, butvery noisy

81OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 24/30


STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 27/30


STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 17/30

VALUE 21/30



71November 2012

72


Price£132incVATManufacturerwww.silverstonetek.comSupplierwww.scan.co.uk

F ullymodularcablesarealwaysapleasuretoseeonaPSU,butSilverStone’sStrider

GoldEvolution750Walsoaddshigh-qualitycablebraidingtoitssetofmodularcables,aswellasamagneticdustfiltertouseifyourcasedoesn’thaveone.It lacksthealternative-lengthcablesof

otherPSUsontest,though,andtwoofitsfourPCI-Econnectorsonlyhavesixpins,butthat’sthelimitofourcriticismsintermsofthePSU’shardware.TheStriderGoldEvolution750Whasplenty

ofpowerontaptoo,withasingle12Vrailratedat62Aand744W.Inourtests,thePSUhadlittleissueprovingits80PlusGoldcredentialseither,with89.1percentefficiencyat100percentloadand90.66percentat50percentload.Itwasalsoextremelyquiet,evenathighloadlevels.However,theXFXPro850WXXXEditionand

CorsairHX850offerbettervalueformoney.AL

Price£107incVATManufacturerwww.xfxforce.comSupplierwww.ebuyer.com

Y ou’lleitherloveorhatethelooksofXFX’sPro850WXXXEditionpowersupply,but

atjust£107forasemi-modular,850WPSUwithmostofthetrimmings,it’sanintriguingprospectfromtheoutset.XFXclaimsthatit’s80-PlusSilvercertified,

anditpacksatotalofeightSATAconnectorsandfour6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors–enoughfortwohigh-endgraphicscards–whichisagooddealforaPSUinthispricebracket.Thankfully, itdeliveredonitsefficiency

ratingtoo,cominginat88.6percentat50percentload,anditpassedallourstabilityteststoo.Asfarasnoisewasconcerned,therewassomecoilwhineinevidence,butthefannoisewasinaudibleonceoursystem’sfanskickedin,unlikesomeoftheotherPSUsontest.Itmightnotbequitethequietest,most

efficientor best-equippedpowersupplyontestthismonth,buttheXFXPro850WXXXEditionisperfectlybalancedandoffersgreatvalueformoney.AL

Price£85incVATManufacturerwww.xigmatek.comSupplierwww.cclonline.com

TheXigmatekCentauro800Wiscertainlywell-pricedat£85,anditalsooffersa

meansofconnectingyourcasefanstothePSU’sfancontrolunitviatwo2-pinheaders.Itsportssemi-modularcablestoo,which

includefour6+2pinPCI-Econnectors,alongwitheightSATAconnectorsandsix4-pinMolexplugs.Thisisplentyforpoweringtwographicscards,andplentyofothercomponentsaswell.Whileitpassedourstabilitytests,however,

it failedtoliveuptoits80PlusBronzeratingatboth100percentand50percentload,insteadonlymanaging79.6percentand84.36percentefficiencyrespectively. Itwasalsoquitenoisyathigherloadlevels.TheXigmatekCentauro800Wmighthavea

temptingprice,butwerecommendspendingafewextraquidandbuyingasuperiorPSUinstead–theBeQuiet!StraightPowerE9680W(seep66),forexample,costs£10moreandisamuchbetterbuy.AL

SilverStoneStriderGoldEvolution750W

XFX Pro850WXXXEdition

XigmatekCentauro800W

Great efficiency andcable braiding, buttoo expensive

Efficient, well priced andloaded with features

Noisy and not as efficientas it claims

78OVERALL

STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 23/30


STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 23/30


STABILITY40/40

DESIGN 15/30

VALUE 22/30



72 November 2012

100 per cent load

0 20 40 60 80 100

Zalman ZM500-HPPlus

Xigmatek Tauro500W

XFX Pro 650WCore Edition

SilverStone StriderPlus 500W

Silver PowerSP-S650M

Seasonic X-Series660W

OCZ ZS 550W

NZXT Hale82-650-M

In Win GreenMe550W

FSP AurumXilenser 500W

Fractal Design R2Tesla 650W


Corsair GS600

Cooler Master GX550W

Be Quiet! DarkPower Pro 10 550W

Be Quiet! PurePower L8 530W

Antec Earthwatts550W

84.02

79.04

84.42

82.84

83.48

88.58

83.13

82.91

84.92

89.61

88.55

84.78

85.03

83.1

90.6

83.69

91.31

100 per cent load

0 20 40 60 80 100

Xigmatek Centauro800W

XFX Pro 850WXXX Editon

SilverStone StriderGold Evolution 750W


Seasonic Platinum860W

OCZ ZX 850

In Win GreenMe750W

FSP Aurum 850W

Enermax Platimax750W

Corsair HX850

Cooler Master M2Silent Pro 850W


Be Quiet! StraightPower E9 680W

Antec High CurrentPro 850W

79.61

86.25

89.1

84.87

90.06

88.7

85.43

89.31

90.47

88.56

87.01

90.93

89.75

89.9

50 per cent load

0 20 40 60 80 100

Zalman ZM500-HPPlus

Xigmatek Tauro500W





OCZ ZS 550W

NZXT Hale82-650-M

In Win GreenMe550W




Corsair GS600





86

82.92

86.63

86.4

86.15

90.77

85.15

85.97

87.12

91.29

91.98

87.13

87.06

86.32

91.2

86.28

92.86

50 per cent load

0 20 40 60 80 100

84.36

88.64

90.65

87.41

92.23

90.96

88.36

91.16

92.24

90.72

89.22

92.62

91.67

91.19






OCZ ZX 850

In Win GreenMe750W

FSP Aurum 850W


Corsair HX850





20 per cent load

0 20 40 60 80 100

82.88

81.21

84.08

85.5

84.13

88.41

81.75

83.96

84.45

89.4

91.39

84.82

84.42

85.38

88.27

84.59

90.76

Zalman ZM500-HPPlus

Xigmatek Tauro500W





OCZ ZS 550W

NZXT Hale82-650-M

In Win GreenMe550W




Corsair GS600





20 per cent load

0 20 40 60 80 100

83.28

87.07

88.15

85.85

91.14

88.98

86.87

89.38

91.83

88.6

87.76

90.97

88.92

88.16






OCZ ZX 850

In Win GreenMe750W

FSP Aurum 850W


Corsair HX850





POWER SUPPLIES

550W-660W EFFICIENCY (PER CENT)

661W-860W EFFICIENCY (PER CENT)









DragonCommanderWhenweaskedDragonCommanderdeveloperLarianStudiostogiveusanexclusivescreenshotofitsjet-packingdragons,theteamsaidthein-developmentenginedidn’tcurrentlysupporttheresolutionswerequired. ‘Neverfearthough,’saidtheteam.‘Giveusafewdaysandwe’lladdthatfeatureintotheenginejustforyou.’ThatsortofthoughtfulnessisjustanotherreasontolookforwardtoDragonCommander.Asiftheuniquefusionofaction,strategyandRPGsystemswasn’tenough!

76 November 2012

When we asked Dragon Commander developer

custom pcEXCLUSIVE IMAGE



77November 2012

Readers’Night Wed, 3October, 9 till late

Theplace OurCounter-Strike:SourceserverWhatyouneed Anup-to-dateCounter-Strike:Sourceinstallation

GAMESERVERIPADDRESSES32-playerBC2 85.236.101.22:1666732-playerCS:Source 85.236.101.24:37015

FINDUSONSTEAMPublicgroup http://steamcommunity.com/groups/CustomPCModernWarfare2 http://steamcommunity.com/groups/CustomWarfare2

78 GRUMPYGAMERWhatyoutalking

about?

80 COUNTER-STRIKE:GLOBALOFFENSIVE

CS:GO,go,go

82 SLEEPINGDOGSKungphew

84 INVERSIONUpsidefrown

87 DEATHRALLYCrash,burn

88 DEVPERSPECTIVEApokeintheAI

90 THEENGINEROOMTheDarkEngine

78



W hatconstitutesfunforyou?Idon’tmeantheactivitiesyoufindenjoyable,butratherthecomponentsofanexperiencetowhichyoumightreferwhenlabellingsomethingasfun.

Is it funto investigateandexploreanewworld, forexample,or isitmorefuntoknowthatworldsointimatelythatyoucouldtracethemapincalmwater?Doyoufindgamesmorefunwhenthey’refastandfluidlikeDoom,or intricateandcumbersomelikeArmaII?Dogamesneedtobepretty tobefun,orwouldatextadventuresuffice?Isfunmeaningfulordisposable?Mypoint isthat funisabadwordto

describeagame. It’s fine inageneral,informalway,but forthepurposesofgamedesignandgamescriticism, it’sveryhazy.IsDiablo3fun?Pac-Man?Quake?Notallgamesarefuntoallpeople,andevenwhentwopeopleagree, theymightpoint todifferentreasons.Sofunisabadword. It isn’t theonlybad

wordweusefordescribinggameseither.Therearedozensofborrowedtermsandambiguousmeaningscrowdingthegamesindustry.Taketheword‘game’ itself, forexample.Doesthat implyacompetitiveelementornot?IsTetrisstillagame,eventhoughyoucan’treallywin it?Whatdoesthat implyaboutThePathorDearEsther?Whatmakesacomputergamedifferent fromatoy?Gamingisanactivity fullofbadwords,andIhonestly thinkitmay

bepreventingtheindustry fromreachingits fullpotential.Afterall,howcandeveloperscollectivelydecideonthewayforwardif they

JoeMartin dusts off his linguistics knowledgeand discusses our need formeaningful jargon

can’tcommunicatesuchbasicconceptsaswhatmakesagamesuchasTetris fun?ThatwouldbelikeNvidiaorAMDtryingtoaddanenhancementtoagraphicscarddriverthat ‘makesthoselinesalittleniceronthosesee-throughthingsthatcoverthewhatchamacallit inthatgame’.Ultimately,meaningful jargoniskeytoprogressinthisregard.

Weneedstrong,specificwordsandnamestodescribegames,andthelanguagetodissectourconceptssuccinctly;withoutthat,we’re

stumblinginthedark.Wealreadyhavethat inthetechnologicalhardwareendofthegamingindustry,butwedon’thaveit inthecreativeorcriticalpartof theindustryyet.AlongwiththeproliferationofconsoleportscomingovertothePC,thisisperhapsanotherreasonwhyPCgamingtechnology issofaraheadofourability touseitmeaningfully.Jargonisn’t just important forensuring

clarityandshortermeetingseither. It’salsocrucial forsecuringgamesasafieldofseriousacademicandartisticstudy,

simplybecauseit facilitatescriticaldiscussion.Thelanguageusedtodescribegamingis important for

journalism; imaginearticlesthatpinpointedthevirtuesofagamewithouthavingtolazilyresort tophrasessuchas‘mymindwasblown’.Wouldn’t thatbesomething?

WHAT I’M PLAYING IloveFrozenSynapse,butI’veonlyjuststartedtheRedDLC,whichaddsnewunitsandaco-opcampaign.Myin-gamenameisCardjoe–challengeme!

FUNISABADWORD

How can developerscollectively decide onthe way forward if theycan’t communicate suchbasic concepts as what

makes Tetris fun?

GAMING

78 November 2012 WorldMags.netWorldMags.net




THE KNOWLEDGEPrice£11.99incVATPublisherValveDeveloperValveWebsitehttp://blog.counter-strike.net

hegoodnewsisthatthisisCounter-Strikejustasyoushouldrememberit,withthesamemaps,thesameweaponsandthesamefantasticallyfreneticpace.Valvehas

developedthisnewiterationforconsolestoo,buttheconstraintsofthecontrollerhaven’tdamagedthefinalproduct.Ifitweren’tfortheonlyslightlycumbersomeradialBuyMenu,you’dthinkthiswasadedicatedPCgame.

Sowhat’sthebadnews?Well,ithonestlydoesn’tappearthatthereisany.ItmayseemglibtosaythatGlobalOffensiveisjustthesameoldCounter-Strikewithprettierpictures,butthat’smostlytrue.Thereareacoupleofalterationsandexpansions,butifallyoucareaboutiswhetherthecoregamehasbeencompetentlyreiteratedthenyoumayaswellstopreadingandstartplaying.

Stillreading?Good.So,thosealterationsthen–let’sstartwiththenewdividebetweenCasualandCompetitivegames.Thisissimple:casualmatchesgiveyoushorterrounds,freeKevlarandlimitedtimetobuyweapons;competitivemodedoestheoppositeand,whiletheinitialresponsemightbetodismissthisasnobigdeal,youcan

nowessentiallyfine-tunethesortofmultiplayerexperienceyouwanttoamuchgreaterdegree.Want fast,no-frillsaction?PlayCasual.Wanttense,fatiguingwar?PlayCompetitive.

Thentherearethebotsand,whilethesesoundlikeabigdeal,theyactuallyaren’t.Theyplaywell,though,andthey’regreatfortraininginofflinemodeandwillautomaticallypopulateunfilledservers.Insomemodes,youcanevenreplacethemshouldyoudieearlyinthegame.

Finally,thebiggestadditionsaretwonewmodescalledArmsRaceandDemolitions.Eachof

theseactasasortofladder-basedtwistonthenormalmodes, wheretherungsontheladderareallthedifferentgunsinthegame;

again,theyessentiallyopposeeachother.InArmsRace,youreceiveanewgunforeverykillyoumakeandthewinneriswhoeverscoresa

killwitheveryweaponfirst.DemolitionsisCounter-Strike’snew

piècederésistance,however.It’sthesameasArmsRace,exceptthebombalsocomesintoplayandtheweaponswithwhichyou’rerewardedbecomeprogressivelyhardertouse.Everyonestartsoffwithanassaultrifle,butthebestplayersquicklyprogresstoshotgunsandpistols,whichmeansthe

T1.6Fast; variable;intricate

SOURCENo killcams;radial menu

Runs fastestwithaknife

95OVERALL

80 November 2012

COUNTER-STRIKE:GLOBALOFFENSIVE

So what’s the bad news? Well, it honestly doesn’t appear that there is any. It may seem glib to say that Global Offensive

alterations and expansions, but if all you care about is whether the core game has been competently reiterated then you may as well stop reading and start playing.

Still reading? Good. So, those alterations

games. This is simple: casual matches

die early in the game. Finally, the biggest additions are two new modes

called Arms Race and Demolitions. Each of these act as a sort of ladder-based twist on the normal modes, where the rungs on the ladder are all the different guns in the game;

again, they essentially oppose each other. In Arms Race, you receive a new gun for every kill you make and the winner is whoever scores a

kill with every weapon first. Demolitions is Counter-Strike’s new

pièce de résistance, however. It’s the same as Arms Race, except the bomb also comes into play and the weapons



REVIEW

matchesbalancethemselvesbasedontheskillofindividualplayers.It’squitebrilliant.DespitethestrengthoftheDemolitions

andArmsRacemodes,though,thereareafewgapsintheformulathatwe’resurprisedValvehasn’tplugged.Thelackofkillcams,forexample,isasmallbutnoticeableflawforanyonewhohastolearnhowthemapsarelaidout,althoughthebiggestproblemisthemapsthemselves.Also,whileDemolitionsandArmsRace

aregivensomenewlevels,theclassicmodesdon’tofferanythingnew.There’sanargumentagainstthisthatsaysCounter-Strike:Sourceisstillgoingstrong,butthisiscounteredbyGlobalOffensive’spriceandmoddability.ModsarealreadystartingtoappearandDemolitionsModealonemakesGlobalOffensiveworththeinvestment.ThisisCounter-Strikeasyou’vealwaysknownandlovedit,exceptbetterandprettier.JOEMARTIN

81November 2012

DUST OFFCounter-Strike:GOmaynotaddanymapstotheclassicmodes,butithasrefreshedabunchoftheoldclassics,suchasTrain,Office,Dustand–mostimportantlyofall–Dust2.Mostofthesechangesarepurelyaestheticandhavelittleimpactonthegame,butthereareafewnoticeabledifferences.ThebiggestisprobablytheadditionofafewsmallcratesaroundBombsiteB,aswellassomeaddedclutterinthesniperalleybyBombsiteA.Valvehasn’trushedthesechangeseither.TheGlobalOffensivebetaranforthebest

partofayear,withValvetweakingeverypossiblevariabletoreproduceandenhancetheoldcontent.TheofficialGlobalOffensiveblogevenfeaturesinteractiveheatmapsshowingthedatausedtoinformthechanges.Inthatrespect,it’sreassuringthatthemaps aremostlythesame–thecomparisonpicturesofDust2revealthesmallsizeofthechanges.Valvehasalsostudiedthegame’soptionstoo.There’sanewTVcolourschemeand

supportforrunninginwindowedmode,nottomentionalaptoppower-savingmodethatwilllikelybehandyforhastilyorganisedLANsandgamingonthemove.Thesettingsmenunowletsyoucontrolotherminutiaetoo,fromtheoverallscaleoftheHUDtothestyleofcrosshairandthecornerofthescreeninwhichSteamnotificationswillpopup.Again,thissoundslikeasmallchangebut,sinceitmeansthatyourhealthandammocountsareneverobscuredinacompetitivematch,itmakesahugedifference.Lotsofweaponshavebeenalteredtooand,whilethenewknifemodel looksalittle

wimpyatfirst,thelackofanimationandsmallersizemakeitlessdistracting.That’swhatmakesGlobalOffensivesogreat;it’sastreamlinedandhonedversionoftheoldideas.

Dust2inCS:GO

Dust2inCS:Source



THE KNOWLEDGEPrice£25.99incVATPublisherSquareEnixDeveloperUnitedFrontGamesWebsitewww.sleepingdogs.net

owmuchdoesthestructureofagamedeterminetheoverallexperience?That’swhatwefindourselvesaskingafterplayingSleepingDogs,andnotjustbecausewe’re

philosophicalnavel-gazerseither.It’sbecause,whileSleepingDogsunashamedlyemulatesthemodernGTAtemplatewithprecision,itoffersadistinctlydifferentexperienceonthewhole.Thisisachievedbythedetails,suchasthewaythe

focusonkung-fufightingmeansthatyouaren’tevengivenapistoluntilagoodsixhoursintothegame–andwhenyouhaveone,it’smoretemptingtouseyourfistsanyway.UndercovercopWeiShenisundervisiblestressasheingratiateshimselfwiththeTriadgangs,butmartialartsseemtoclearhismind.Mostly,thesenuancesworkforthe

better–themartialartssystem,forexample,ismorerobustandinterestingthantheassault-rifletacticsofGTA–butthereareareasinwhichthevariationdoesn’tpayoff.ThereareafewtoomanyQuickTimeEventsandmini-gamesforourtaste(includingan

appallingkaraokemini-game)andasyouprogress,thesestarttofeellesslikeaninterestinguseofyour time.SleepingDogsisstillmorethanthethoughtlessGTAcloneyoumightexpectfromthescreenshots,butitstillmakesmistakes.Wherethegamesuffersmostis whereitcopiesits

forebearsmostbrazenly.WeiShen’sanimationslookslickenoughwhenhe’sbrawlinginthestreets,butflyoffyourmotorbikeandNikoBellic’ssuperiorinversekinematicsarenotablyabsent.It’salltooeasytocrashtoo,asthecarhandlingis

slightlyoutoftunewithreality–everythingfeelstoofastandslippery.ThatsensationofspeedissomethingthatdeveloperUnitedFrontseemstohaveexplicitlytargetedinitsselectionofcarsand

inclusionofparkour,butit’sovershotthemarkjustalittle.NavigatingthetightcornersandnarrowalleysofHongKongisalittletooawkwardtofeelasfunasitcould,whetheronwheelsorfoot.Thesefewshortcomingsdon’thold

backSleepingDogstoomuch,however,andthere’splentyofcontenttokeepyou

H

SLEEPINGDOGS

BITEStylish; gorgeous;varied

BARKMini-games;slow to start

Pedigreechoice

85OVERALL

82 November 2012

determine the overall experience? That’s what we find ourselves asking after playing

appalling karaoke mini-game) and as you progress, these start to feel less like an interesting use of



REVIEW

occupiedregardless.Therearecollectiblesstuffedintoeverycornerofthecity,andthemulti-tieredRPGelementswarrantcarefulattentionforthewaytheytieintoWeiShen’sdualidentitiestoo–actlikeacopandgetbetterwithguns;actlikeaTriadtoincreaseyourmeleeskills.Thestoryofdouble-crossingand

street-levelviolenceisinfinitelymoreinterestingthanthesteadyunveilingofNikoBellic’spasttoo,keepingyouontheedgeofyourseatasWeiShendelvesdeeperintotheunderworldandcomesclosertothetruth.Theplotremainsgrippingasittwists,withouteverdominatingtheskyline;thisisstillasandboxgamethroughandthrough,encouragingyoutoexplorethewealthofcontent.SleepingDogsisn’toursandbox

shooterofchoice;thathonourlayswithJustCause2,butSleepingDogsisadecentmidwaypointbetweenthatandthesuper-seriousGTA.It’saninterestingandenjoyablenichetooccupy,evenifitcomeswithafewcaveats.JOEMARTIN

83November 2012

TECHNICAL ANALYSISUnitedFronthasbundledaloadofextrafeaturesintothePCversionthatwilltaxevendecentrigs.Thelistofadditionsisn’tlimitedtojust3Dmodeandresolutiontweakingeither;it’sextensiveenoughtoshowthePCversionwasaseriousconsideration.Thenagain,maybeUnitedFrontjusthad

solongtoworkonSleepingDogsthattheseextrasweren’tmuchofastretch.SquareEnixmaybethepublishernow,butworkonthegamestartedatActivisionin2008–firstunderthetitleofBlackLotus,thenTrueCrime:HongKong.ItwasonlyafterActivisioncancelledthegamein2011thatSquareEnixboughttherightstoagamethathadalreadybeenindevelopmentforfouryears.

Regardless,thePCversionboastsperformanceenhancementsforSLIandCrossFireXsetups,aswellassupportforNvidia3DVision,andbothAMDEyeFinityandNvidia

Surroundmulti-monitorsupport.There’salsoDirectX11and11.1content,whichincludestheuseofDirectComputeand‘contact-hardeningshadows’.

Beyondthat,there’saraftofoptionsfortweakinggraphicsthatelevatesthegameoverhowitlooksonconsoles,butthebiggestfeatureisahigh-restexturepackthat’sincludedforfree.You’llneedastrongmachinetohandlethehighersettings,naturally.

Aquad-coreCPUandaGeForceGTX560orRadeonHD6950arerecommended.Ourexperienceshowsthatyou’llneedtogohigherthan

thisifyouwanttomakethemostofthoseDX11features,however,asevenourmightysystemhadtroublerunningsmoothlyonthetopsettings.Ourstandardgamingsystem’sspecswereverysimilartothose

recommendedbythegame(aRadeonHD6950,4GBofRAMandaCorei5-3570K),soweranthein-gamebenchmarkonExtremeandMediumqualitypresetstofindouthowitcoped.Theminimumframerateincreasedfromjust9fpstoamuchsmoother42.5fpsbetweentherespectivesettings,andthiswasatthesameresolutionof2,560x1,600.Thefullresultsandsettingsarerevealedinthescreenshots.

Meduim

Extreme

attention for the way they tie into Wei Shen’s dual identities too – act like a cop and get better with guns; act like a Triad to increase

The story of double-crossing and street-level violence is infinitely more interesting than the steady unveiling of Niko Bellic’s past too, keeping you on the edge of your seat as Wei Shen delves deeper into the underworld and comes

without ever dominating the skyline; this is still a sandbox game through and through, encouraging you to explore

Sleeping Dogs isn’t our sandbox shooter of choice; that honour lays with Just Cause 2, but Sleeping Dogs is a decent midway point between that and the super-serious GTA. It’s an interesting and enjoyable niche to occupy, even if it comes with a

Regardless, the PC version boasts performance enhancements for SLI and CrossFireX setups, as well as support for Nvidia 3D Vision, and both AMD EyeFinity and Nvidia

Surround multi-monitor support. There’s also DirectX 11 and 11.1 content, which includes the use of Direct Compute and ‘contact-hardening shadows’.

elevates the game over how it looks on consoles, but the biggest feature is a high-res texture pack that’s included for free.

A quad-core CPU and a GeForce GTX 560 or Radeon HD 6950 are recommended. Our experience shows that you’ll need to go higher than

this if you want to make the most of those DX11 features, however, as even our mighty system had trouble running smoothly on the top settings.Our standard gaming system’s specs were very similar to those

recommended by the game (a Radeon HD 6950, 4GB of RAM and a Core i5-3570K), so we ran the in-game benchmark on Extreme and Medium quality presets to find out how it coped. The minimum frame rate increased from just 9fps to a much smoother 42.5fps between the respective settings, and this was at the same resolution of 2,560 x 1,600. The full results and settings are revealed in the screenshots.

occupied regardless. There are collectibles stuffed into every corner of the city, and the multi-tiered RPG elements warrant careful attention for the way they tie into Wei Shen’s dual identities too – act like a cop and get



REVIEW

THE KNOWLEDGEPrice£29.99incVATPublisherNamcoBandaiDeveloperSaberInteractiveWebsitewww.inversion.com

oronce,wegenuinelydon’tknowwheretobegin.Shouldwediscussthegravity-flippinggimmick,whichisInversion’sonlyattention-retainingfeature,orthestunningdullnessfor

whichitwillundoubtedlycometobeknowninthefuture?Doweexplainthatthegravitycontrolgoesbothways,enablingyoutomakeobjectslighterorheavier,ordowebreakapartthedullnessandexamineitsrootcauses?Wewon’tdothelatter–thereisn’tenoughroomin

themagazine.It’ssufficienttosaythatInversionisoneofthemostboringandbadlydesignedthird-personshooterswe’veplayedinawhile.Itslitanyoferrorsis

fartoolongtoexposeinfull,butincludesissuessuchasneedlessQuickTimeEvents,repetitivelevel

design,andabafflinganddullstory.Thepremiseisn’tallthatconvoluted–you’rea

copwhoselifeisturnedupsidedownwhengravity-controllinginvadersenslavehumanity–butitendsupfeelingjustthat,thankstohugegapsinthetimeline,massiveassumptionsaboutplayerknowledgeandanawkwardlypacedscript.Theopeningminute,forexample,has

theprotagonistlosingallhopebeforepointlesslyflashingbacktoaturretsequencethatgivesyouinfiniteammoandhealth.Notonlyisthisafunctionallypurposelessinterruption,butitalsoconflictswiththetonethatInversionisapparentlytryingtoestablish.Thisisn’t

arareoccurrenceeither.Everyfewminutes,yourcontrolisstrippedsothatyoucanwatchananimationoftheheroesencounteringenemies orstumblingthroughanearthquake.Theinterruptionstakelongerthantheymeritandoccurtoooftentohaveanyimpact,makingmuchofthegamefeellikeawasteoftime.Evenifyoucantoleratetheseconcerns,though,

Inversionstill failstoimpressoneveryotherfront.Environmentsareuniformlyunremarkable,evenwhentraversedinzerogravity–whichisn’tfreeingorfluidatall–andyourarelyfindagunthatfeelsorsoundsmorepowerfulthanablowpipe.Thegravity-controllingfeaturesarealsotheonly

aspectinwhichInversionmanagestodeviatefromthestandardthird-personshootertemplate,whichwouldn’tbebadif itwasatall interesting.Instead,itbasicallyboilsdowntoafewsimpleimplementations;youcanmakeobjectsfloatorsink,andsometimestheworldflipsupsidedown.Maybethissoundsdramaticinconcept,butinuse,itdoesn’thavemucheffectasidefrombeingabletodragenemiesoutofcover.There’snothingwrongwithgimmick-drivengames

orconventionssuchasturretsequences,aslongasthey’repurposefulandinterestingenoughtojustifytheirpresence.Inversiondefiesthisandfeelslikeachoreasaresult;thegravitycontrolistoocumbersometoexploreproperlyandtheunderlyinggameisapaint-by-numbersshooterthat’soutclassedbyitscompetitors.JOEMARTIN

F

INVERSION

UPSIDEUnintentionallyhilarious

DOWNIt’s terrible

Flippinghell

30OVERALL

84 November 2012

INVERSIONFlipping hell

the magazine. It’s sufficient to say that Inversion is one of the most boring and badly designed third-person shooters we’ve played in a while. Its litany of errors is

far too long to expose in full, but includes

design, and a baffling and dull story.The premise isn’t all that convoluted – you’re a

cop whose life is turned upside down when gravity-controlling invaders enslave humanity – but it ends up feeling just that, thanks to huge gaps in the timeline, massive assumptions about player knowledge and an awkwardly paced script. The opening minute, for example, has

REVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEW







REVIEW

November 2012 87

THE KNOWLEDGEPrice£7.99incVATPublisherRemedyInteractiveDeveloperRemedyInteractiveWebsitehttp://store.steampowered.com/app/108700

remakeoftheoriginalDeathRallyreleasedin1996,thenewDeathRallydebutedonmobiledevicesfirstbuthasfinallyarrivedonPC.Forthoseofyouwhodon’tremember

theoriginal,DeathRallywasatop-downracerinthesameveinasMicroMachinesasIgnition.Whatmadeitstandout,though,wastheviolent

twist;carscouldbemountedwithRPGs,machinegunsandflamethrowers.Thismodernremakehardlydeviatesfromthatsetupatall,andthat’spartofitsappeal.Thepower-upsandexplodingbarrelsthatlittereachtracksupporttheanarchic,arcadefeelandmakeitseemlikeagenuineblastfromthepast.Thathalcyoninfluenceextendstothelightnessof

thestorytoo–entertheDeathRallycontesttodrawoutthechampionknownasTheAdversary–andthenmostlyleavesyoutoit.Winmedalstoboostyourfame,earncashandunlockmorecars,weaponsandmissions.Thatisn’tsobad,butitendsupunderminingthestructureofthegametoo.Therearenoleaguesorformalladderstoclimb;justaseeminglyrandomselectionofeventsfromwhichtochooseuntilyoufillyourFamemeterenoughtounlockthenextbatch.Theresultofthis,coupledwiththeinabilityto

customiseyourownracesintolongermatches,isthattheentiregameisbasicallyalonggrindthroughshortandverydisposablecontent.There’snopunishmentforfailingarace,youjustdon’tgettoupgradeasmuch,andthere’sonlyrarelytherewardofnewcontent. It’slikebeingonatreadmill–lotsofeffortandspeed,butnorealforwardsmovement.TheslimnessandsimplicityofDeathRally’s

approachonlymakesitmorevitalthatit’spitch-perfecttoo,especiallysinceitaimsmainlyforlaughswithitsraftofcharacters.TherearecameosfromAlanWakeandDukeNukem,forexample,aswellasabunchofAmericangamejournalists,bafflingly.Noneoftheserolesfeelsasthoughithasanymeatthough;therearejustacoupleofshoutedone-linersandalotofwastedpotential.Thecynicswithinusalsosuspectthe

journalists(noneofwhomweknow)wereincludedasmarketingtoolstogeneratecoverage.Wecan’tfaultthegameforthat,butwecancertainlyraiseaneyebrow.However,themainproblemisthat,

whilethegraphicshavecertainlybeen

polishedfromtheearliermobilere-release,therestofthegameisjustthesame–andPCgamesrequiredifferentfeaturestothoseofmobilegames.Withoutlongerracesoramoreformalisedstructure,what

mightfeelaccessibleandbite-sizedonaphonefeelsshallowandoftentediousonaPC.Themoment-to-momentgameplayisstill fun–andthemultiplayerisasgoodasanytop-downracerwe’veseen–butwithoutbeefiercontent,DeathRallystrugglestoremainrelevant.JOEMARTIN

A

DEATHRALLY

F1Simple; effective;cheap

ALT-F4Lacks varietyand pace

Back from thedead

60OVERALL



88 November 2012

Cliff Harris

WhygamingAI sucks

businesstypeswhofundgameswanttofundoneswith‘wowfactor’.Thesedays,thatgenerallymeansgraphics,notAI.

03 IT TAKES TIME TO SPOT AITheAIinCompanyofHeroesisfairly

good,butyoudon’trealisethatuntilyou’veplayedquitealotofthegame.Yourfirstimpressionwillbethegraphics,thesound,theuserinterfaceandthemechanics.Afteryourtenthskirmishgame,youmighttipyourhattotheAI,butfromagamesindustrypointofview,atthatpoint,you’veeitherboughtthegameoryouhaven’t.AImight(atbest)beafeatureyoumention

tofriendsafewweeksafterbuyingthegame,butit isn’tafeaturethatyoucaneasilyputonthebox,whichbringsusto…

04 YOU CAN’T SHOW ASCREENSHOT OF AI

Youcan’tshowascreenshotofsoundeither,sosounddesignersdeserveoursympathytoo.However,wearen’tlivinginanageofretail-boxsalessomuchnow.Thesedays,thereareYouTubetrailersthatcanshowoffmusicandsound,butthemajorityofsurfersonlywatchshorttrailersanddemos,notplay-

nalmostanydiscussionofbig-namePCgames(orevenindiegames),atsomepointsomeonesaystheAIsucks.Sometimesthey’reright;there

arecertainlygamesthathaveverypoorAI,butinmanycasesthecomplaintisunjustified,andIcan’thelpfeelingsomesympathyforthepoorAIcoderwhoisonthereceivingendofgamers’ire.I’mgoingtotrytoexplainwhyyoushouldfeelsorryforthemtoo.

01 AI IS JUST PLAIN HARDArtificial intelligenceisatermbandied

aboutsocasuallythattheimplicationisthatit’sasolvedproblem,andeveryoneknowshowtoimplementconvincingAI, ifonlytheycouldbebotheredtotaketimeoutfromeatingdoughnutslongenoughtodoso.Infact,AI isanincrediblyhardandbroad

problem,andwe’reonlyjuststartingtoscratchthesurfaceofit.Theterm‘artificialintelligence’hasn’tevenexistedforthatlong,andwe’restillexperimentingwithwaystoapproachit.GathertenAIprogrammerstogetherina

room,andyou’llhavetendifferentapproachestosolvingthesameproblem.Youmightthinkthat’strueofallaspectsofgamecoding,butAIisespeciallydivergent.Graphicsprogrammerscanatleast

(generally)agreethatrenderingpolygonsinbatchesusingtexturemapsisthewaytogo.AIcodingapproachesdivergeoverthebasicprinciples.TherearestillnoclearwinnersinsolvingAIproblems.

02 AI ISN’T SEXYGamershavebeenknowntophysically

‘whoop’atthesightofamazinggraphicsandvery-high-particle-countexplosioneffects.PeopleevencheeredatthephysicsofHalf-Life2,butIcan’trecallanyeventwhereawholecrowdphysicallygaspedattheeffectivenessoftheAIinagame.Inshort,AI isn’tconsideredtobeafeature

thatopenspeople’swallets.Quitesensibly,

throughslongenoughtoshowthecapabilityoftheAI.Thelatterisreallyonlyapparentwhenyou’retheplayer.

05 MANAGERS DON’T EASILY‘GET’ AI

It’samazinghowmanyindustrypeopleinsuitsdon’tactuallyplaygames.It’salsoquitedepressing,butthefactremainsthatthegraphicscodercanturntotheirbossandsay,‘CheckoutthecoollightingeffectIaddedthisweek’,whereastheAIpersonhastosay,‘Iimprovedthepath-findingandtarget-selectionalgorithmthisweek’,andunlesstheirbossisplayingthegameforoverthreehoursaday,they’llhavetotaketheAIperson’swordforit.Asaresult,theAIisgivenlowerpriority,asmallerCPUbudgetandfewerprogrammerswanttheAIjob.It’shardtopitchforapromotionwhenmanagementdoesn’treallyunderstandyourjob.

06 WE HAVE CRAZYEXPECTATIONS OF AI

Thepopularpath-findingalgorithmforRTSgamesiscalledA*.It’sagreatsystem,butitbreaksdownundercertainsituations,oneofwhichiswhatyoumightcallanelongatedC.

Big-namegamesaremarketedonthebasisoftheirgraphics,butit’sverydifficulttoshowAIinascreenshot



89November 2012

ImaginetheletterCstretchedrightandleftsothatitdescribesanelongatedcavernortunnelblockedattheleft.NowimagineaunitontherightofthescreennavigatingtoapositiontotheleftoftheletterC.A*willbeconvincedfora longtimethatheadingleft isthebestroute,rightupuntil itreachestheendofthecavernandhastorethink.WhenunitsinRTSgamesdothis,orspendagesthinkinghowtoavoidit,wethinkthey’restupid.Thisseemsstupid,butwefallforittoo.

Infact,anotherindiegamedeveloperandmyselfexperiencedthisproblemtryingtofindahotelonenight(Iassureyouweweresober).Wewalkedforagesthroughafairlydodgy-lookingpatchofwastegroundtowardsourdestinationbeforerealisingtheoppositeendofthewastegroundwasblockedoff;wethenhadtoretraceoursteps.Therewewere,supposedlyintelligentgamecoderswithover70yearsofcombinedexperience,andwecouldn’tevenbeatA*inreallife.ButifarobotscoutinanRTSdoesthis,peopleshoutattheirmonitorindisgust.CuttheAIsomeslack.

07 SOMETIMES WE HAVE THEOPPOSITE PROBLEM

AnyonewhoplaysamultiplayerFPSalotwillhavebeenaccusedofusingwallhacksoraimbotsatsomepoint. It isn’tfuntoplayagainstanopponentwho’smuchbetterthanyou,andgivesyounochance.Theproblemis,sometimestheAIreallycanmasterthegamebetterthanyou,especiallyinturn-based

AIcodewillkickoneplayerintothedust,getslaughteredbyanotherplayer,andbetotallybamboozledbytheapproachofathird.

09 NO HARDWARE SUPPORTWhenIwasyoung,andwecommuted

toworkonhorses,therewasnoconsensusaboutgraphicsrendering.Thenvarioushardwaremakersdecidedpolygonswerethefuture,andmadededicatedgraphicschipsthattookthepoly-pushingburdenofftheCPU.Later,somecleverclogsdevisedshadersandmovedevenmoregraphicscodetotheGPU.DoyourememberwhenallthatspareCPU

horsepowerwasallocatedtoAI?NordoI,butnobodydevisedspecialhardwarefortheAItomakeitfastereither.Soundgetssoundcardsanddedicatedon-boardchips,multiplayerhasLANcardsandnetworkchips,graphicsgetGPUs,butAIhastosit inthecornerandlooklonely. Inshort,spareathoughtfortheAIcoderthenexttimeyoufeelfrustratedwithgamingAI.GettingAIrightisatoughjob.

CLIFFHARRISistheone-mancodingwizardbehindPositechGames(www.positech.

co.uk),thedeveloperofGratuitousSpaceBattles

@cliffski

gameswheretheCPUhastimetomulloveritsstrategy.DoyouthinkyoucouldplaySimCityorHeartsofIronbetterthantheAI?Idoubtit.Humansaregreatatsnapdecisionsandpatternrecognition,butwesuckatmasteringextremelycomplexsystems–wejustdon’thavethememory.Sure,someofuswerockatchessbutchesshas64squares.HeartsofIronIIIprobablyhas64differentunitlocationsinIslingtonalone.Basically,sometimestheAIistoogood,

whichisjustasannoyingasnotbeinggoodenough.Thatsweetspotisextremelyhardtojudge.Notonlythat,butgamersbecomeactivelyannoyedifthegamecheatsupordowntoadjusttotheirplayinglevel.AI isdamnedif it loses,winsorjugglesthenumberstomakeitanevenmatch.

08 AI HAS NO CONSISTENTPLATFORM

Oneofthereasonsgamedevelopersloveconsolesisbecausethehardwareisfixed.Ifthegameworksfineonthedevkit, itprobablyworksfineonyourconsole.Withgraphics,evenonPCs,youcanchoosethetenmostpopularGPUs,trythegameonallofthemandworkthroughanybugs.However,withAI,thehardwareyouneedtotestagainstiseffectivelytheplayingstyleandbrainoftheplayer,andwith100,000players,that’s100,000differentsetups.Nobodyhasthesamestrategy,tactics,expectations,reactiontimes,motivationsandskill levels.Thesame

ReckonyoucouldplayHeartsofIronIIIbetterthantheAIat

itsbest?Wedoubtit

ThebackoftheboxforDawnofWarII:Retribution–it’sareal-timestrategygame,butthereisn’tasinglementionoftheAI



90 November 2012

Rick Lane

hestoryofLookingGlassStudiosisfamiliartomostlong-timePCgamingenthusiasts.Alistofsomeofgaming’smostrecognisednames,

includingWarrenSpectorandKenLevine,plustitlessuchasThiefandSystemShock,conjureupimagesofagamedevelopmentUtopia;ateamofyoung,ambitiousartists.Similarly,whenpeopletalkaboutthestudio’sDarkEngine,thesameaspectsoftheenginearealwaysemphasised–theamazingsounddesign,theadvancedAI,andtheingenioususeoflightandshadow.Nodoubt,thesefeaturescametodefine

theDarkEngine,justastheydefineditsflagshipgameThief:TheDarkProject.ButtheoriginoftheengineisafarmorecomplexandfrequentlymisunderstoodtalethathasmoretodowithQuakeandPortalthantheideaofThief.‘Youoftengetthisnarrativethattherewasthisskunk-worksproject,andthenthisskunk-worksprojectturnedintothisawesomegame,’saysSeanBarrett,aformerprogrammeratLookingGlassandthemanresponsibleforcreatingthe

theengineroom

The underlying tech of PC classics such as Thief: The Dark Project and SystemShock II, the Dark Engine ushered in a revolutionary new portal system

graphicsrendererthateventuallyevolvedintotheDarkEngine.Thisisn’twhathappened,althoughthe

now-legendaryenginedidstartlifeasaseriesofproblem-solvingexperimentsin3Dgraphics.BarrettjoinedLookingGlassduringthelatterstagesofSystemShock’sdevelopment,partlyoutofhisappreciationfortheUltimaUnderworldgames.Whileworkingonthesquad-basedshooterTerraNova,Barrettbegantoresearchanenduringproblemofgraphicsenginesinhisfreetime.‘CertainpeopleatLookingGlassalways

hadthisidealthatitwouldbegreattodoanRPGwheretherewasanindoordungeonenvironment,butalsoanoutdoorwalkaboutenvironmentinfirst-person3D,sothatwasourGrailinasense.Someofuswerealwaysthinking,“Ah,thatwouldbeawesome.Let’sdoanUnderworld3somedayandmaybedoitindoors/outdoors.”’Thesolutionlayinanideacalledportal

rendering.Ratherthanhavingaseamless,completelyrenderedindoor/outdoorenvironment,whichwasdifficulttoperform

onhardwareofthetime,thoseenvironmentswererenderedseparatelyandconnectedviaportals.‘Itlookslikethere’sjustaconnectionbetweenoutdoorsandindoors.Beingintheinteriorspaceandlookingattheoutdoorspacelookscontiguous,butunderthehoodthere’sarenderingenginethat’sdoingmuchmorecomplicatedjobstobridgethegapbetweenthosetwoareaswithportals.’Ultimately,theportalconceptwasn’t

usedinthismanner,butithelpedtosolveseveralotherproblems.Portalscouldsignificantlyimproveperformanceinindoorenvironments,astheyreducedtheareathatneededrenderingatanyonetime,andallowedforbuildingswithmultiplestoreys.Perhapsmostimportantly,portalrenderingenabledthecreationoflevelsnotbasedonagrid.‘TheUnderworldsandSystemShockactuallyhadagrid,’saysBarrett.‘Everythingwasbasedonthesesquare

tiles.Theyhadangledwallsbuttheangleswerelimitedtotheanglesthatmatchedthegrid,soonly45-degreeangleswerepossible.Insomeofmysparetime,Itook

TheDarkEngine

T

ThiefwasoneofseveralclassicPCgamesbasedontheDarkEngine

SystemShock2‘shardwareaccelerationshowedtheDarkEngine’slimits



91November 2012

thatideaandtriedtomakethetestbedforthat.Anditworked.’Oncefreefromthegrid,theproblem

thenbecamehowtocreatelevelswiththisengine.Barrettbeganworkingwithdesigner/programmerDougChurchonarudimentaryleveleditor.WithsomeassistanceviaprivateaccesstoJohnCarmack,ConstructiveSolidGeometry(CSG)technologywasimplemented,enablingconstructionoflevelsusingsolidobjectsratherthandefiningthoseobjectsindividuallythroughtheirvertices.TheniDreleasedQuakeTest–abasic,

playableversionoftheQuakeengineusedto testitonabroadrangeofmachines.‘QuakeTesthadthistechnologycalledlight-mapping,whichwestilluseinmoderngames,andmeansthatasinglepolygoncanhavedetailedshadowsacrossit,’Barrettexplains.‘Weprettymuchimmediatelyturnedaroundandstartedtoputlight-mappingintoit.That’sreallyimportant,becauseThiefisabouthidinginshadows.’Atthispoint,LookingGlasshadacutting-

edgegraphicsengine.Infact,itwassoimpressivethatwhenWarrenSpectorsawit,hewantedtoreleaseagameusingitimmediately.However,LookingGlasswasadesigncompany,notatechcompany.Consequently,itwasanothertwoyearsbeforetheenginemadeitspublicdebutwithThief;forthefirst18monthsofits

development,thiswasbasedonArthurianlegendandcalledDarkCamelot.Frustrated,BarrettleftLookingGlassattheendof1996,althoughhecontinuedtoworkforthecompanyonandoffuntilitsclosurein2000.Thedelaywasaconsequenceofeveryone

elseatLookingGlasswantingtopushtheboundariesofmanyotheraspectsofengineandgamedesign.Forexample,TheDarkObjectSystem,createdbyMarcLeBlanc,wasapowerfuldatabasethatmanagedthepropertiesofin-gameobjectsandtherelationshipsbetweenthem.Once

completed,itgavethegame’sdesignerssignificantcreativepowerwithouthavingtorelyonprogrammerstocodeinchangesandnewfeatures.However,gettingittothatstagewasalong,hardprocess.Similarly,theDarkEngine’smostfamous

feature,itssounddesign,wasoriginallydesignedasamethodofcommunicationbetweenAIunitsandfromtheplayertotheAI.ThisenabledtheAItoactinamorehumanmanner,forexample,respondingto theplayer’sfootsteps,noisesmadebyotherAI

unitssuchasascreamsor,inthecaseofThief,theclashofswords.Again,thiswasanovelandcomplexwayofusingsound,anditrequireddesignerstobuildasecondarydatabasethatrepresentedhowsoundemanatedthrougheachlevel.TomLeonard,themanresponsibleforcodingThief’sAI,admittedin1999thathedidn’trespondquicklyenoughtothechangeindirectionfromDarkCamelot.Theendresultwasagamecrammed

withnewideas,butgraphicallytwoyearsoutofdate.Thisbecameespeciallyclearin

SystemShock2,thefirstDarkEnginegametobehardware-acceleratedonly.‘ThecoretechI‘dmadeusingthoseportalsturnedouttonotworkverywellinhardware-acceleratedrendering,’recallsBarrett,‘oritworkedfinebut didn’tscale

verywelltolargerpolygoncounts.TheQuakeengineturnedouttoworkbetterasyouscaleduptolargerpolygoncounts.’AlthoughthiscausedproblemsforDark

Enginegamesatthetime,itmayalsohavebenefitedtheminthelongrun.Graphicsdon’timprovewithage.Forlastingappeal,agamemustrelyonotherfactors.AsthetechwasworkablewhenLookingGlassstartedonDarkCamelot, theteamcouldfocusonthoseotherareas,whichiswhyThiefandSystemShock2remainsoengaging.

THE UNDERWORLDS ANDSYSTEM SHOCK HAD A GRID;EVERYTHING WAS BASED ONTHESE SQUARE TILES

ANALYSIS

TheanglesofthewallsintheSystemShockgameswerelimitedtothosethatmatchedthegrid,soonly45-degreeangleswerepossible



92 November 2012

skabattle-scarredPC-buildingveteranwhetherit’shardtobuildyourfirstPC,andyoumaybegreetedwithgrizzlytalesoffiddlingwithjumperswitches,hidingribboncablesandspray-paintingcases,followedbyalectureabouthowmuch

easierit isnow.Youweren’tthere,man.Tobefair,PCbuildinghasdefinitelybecomeeasierovertheyears,butthatdoesn’tmeanyoucanjustthrowtogetherallourElitelistparts(seep24)andexpectittowork.Theamateurinstallstheirgraphicscardandmemoryinthewrong

slots,endsupwithajungleofcablesblockingalltheairflowandthenshort-circuitsthemotherboardwhentheypushthepowerbutton.Itdoesn’thavetobethiswaythough.Followouradviceandyou’llnotonlyhelptopreventcomponentfatalities,butwillalsobeabletoputtogetheranexpertlybuiltPCthatlooksliketheworkofaseasonedpro.

GETTING STARTEDHoldonthere!Beforeyougetyourhandsdirty,compileyourspecslist.Givingyouafoolproofbuyingguideforyourexactrequirementsisbeyondthescopeofthisfeature,butaskwhatyouwantfromyourPC.OurElitelisthasplentyofideasforvariousbudgetsandrequirements.

Whenyou’vesettledonthebasicspecs–thestoragecapacity,CPU,graphicscard,amountofmemoryandsoon,you’llneedtomakesurethatthey’llallworktogether.Forexample,makesureyouhaveamotherboardthataccommodatesyourchosenprocessor–checkthechipset,aswellasthesocket.Verifyeverythinghere,asit’spossibletomakeallsortsoferrors.Forexample,somemotherboardsareoptimisedforkitsofthreememorymodules,ratherthansetsoftwo,andyoucan’tfitanATXmotherboardinamicro-ATXcase.Oncethecourierarriveswithallyourboxesofgoodies,unbox

everything,layitoutonatableandthinkabouthowyou’regoingtoassembleit.You’llneedtomakesureyouhaveallthecablesneededtohookupyourdrives(powerandSATA);thenremoveyourcase’ssidepanelsandtestfitafewpartssoyoucanseewhereeverythingwillfit.Don’tbetemptedtooverlookthisstage.You’llneedtoworkoutthe

orderinwhichtoinstallyourpartsbeforefittingheatsinksorrouteingcables.Holdthemotherboardoverthecase’smotherboardtray,andthinkabouthowyou’regoingtogetthevariousplugsfromthepowersupplytotheirappropriatesockets,forexample.Onceyouhaveagoodfeelforwhereeverythingisgoing,youcanstartconstruction.

Assembling the various building blocks of your first PC can be a daunting taskif you don’t know how it all goes together. Long-serving PC builder

Ben Hardwidge shows you how it’s done

PC BUILDINGAssembling the various building blocks of your fi rst PC can be a daunting task

PC BUILDINGPC BUILDING



CUSTOMISATION

93November 2012

Intheory,buildingaPCdoesn’trequiremuchinthewayoftools.Infact,youcouldbuildaworkingmachinewithsomenimblefingersandaPhillipsscrewdriver.However,therearealsoplentyoftoolsthatwillnotonlymakethejobeasier,butalsoenableyoutobuildaneatandtidyPC.

CABLE TIESYoucanbuyapackof100blackcabletiesfromwww.scan.co.ukforjust83p.They’llenableyoutokeepyourcablesoutofthewayofairflowpathsandslots,whilealsomakingyourPClookasthoughitwasassembledbyanexpert.

WIRE CUTTERSApairofwirecuttersmakesitreallyeasytosnipcabletieswithoutdamaginganywires.Failingthat,apairofsharpandthinnailscissorswillalsodothejob.

NO 2 PHILLIPS-HEADSCREWDRIVERThisisthePCbuilder’sequivalentofa knifeandfork–youreallywon’tbeabletobuildaPCwithoutthistool.It’swellworthinvestinginamagnetic-tippedscrewdriverforthis,asit’seasytolosesmallscrewsinfiddlyplaces.Aratchetscrewdriver,whichenablesyoutoturnitanti-clockwisewithoutlooseningyourscrew,willalsomakethejobquicker.

SNUB-NOSE PLIERSUnlessyou’reluckyenoughtohavenon-slipmetalthumbs,apairofsnub-noseplierswillbeessentialwhenitcomestoremovinganypartsthathavebeenmachinedintoplace.Inparticular,theymakeremovingready-fittedstandoffsmucheasier.

Thisgoo,alsoknownasTIM(thermalinterfacematerial), isthethermallyconductivegunkthatyouspreadbetweenyourCPU

anditscooler.Thismightseempointless,giventhatyou’reessentiallyputtingtwometalsurfacestogether,butneitherofthesesurfaceswillbecompletelyflat,andthey’llalsohavemicroscopicporesthatactasheatinsulators.TIMbasicallyfillsinthegaps,ensuringthatthe

majorityoftheheatfromallareasofyourCPUreachesyourcooler.IfyourCPUcooleralreadyhasasquareofthermalmaterialonthebasethenthere’snoneedtoapplyTIM.If itdoesn’t,however,you’llneedtoapplysomeTIM.AsimplewaytodothisistojustplaceablobinthemiddleofyourCPU,andthenrelyonthepressurefromyourCPUcoolertospreaditacrosstheCPU.However,you’llachieveamoreevenspreadby

placingasmallblobofTIMonyourCPU’sheatspreader,puttingyourfingerinsideaclearplasticbagandthengentlyspreadingitacrossthesurfaceofyourCPU’sheatspreader,workingitintothemetal.Youcansafelyskipthisstepifyourheatsinkorwaterblockhasapre-appliedsquareofTIMonthebase.IfyouaccidentallyspillanyonthecontactsunderneaththeCPU,oranywhereelse,youcancleanitupusing AkasaTIMClean(£4.78fromwww.scan.co.uk)andalint-freecloth.

Don’tplacetheCPUinthesocketyet.YournextjobistotakealookatyourCPUcooler’smountingmechanism.Manyof

thesewillrequiretheinstallationofabackplateontheundersideofyourmotherboard,andturningoveramotherboardcontainingaTIM-coveredCPUisarecipeforamess.Thisyear,we’vedeviatedfromourusualchoice

ofastandardaircooler,andinsteadchosentoinstalloneofCorsair’sexcellentall-in-oneH100liquidcoolers.However,theprincipleforeitheristhesameinthisstep.ReadtheinstructionsthataccompanyyourcoolerforyourspecificCPUsocket.If itrequiresabackplatetheninstallthisnowand,ifappropriate,secureitonthetopoftheboardinordertopreventitfromslipping.

94

APPLY TIM

INSTALL THECPUCOOLERBACKPLATE

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94 November 2012

ThenextstepdependsonyourchosenCPUcooler.Somelargeheatsinks,particularlythosewith

big,forward-facingfans,canmakeinstallingmemoryapainifthey’reinstalledfirst.Thiswasn’taproblemwithourH100’sCPUblock,soweinstalleditfirst;however,withlargeaircoolersit’swisetoinstalltheRAMfirst.Mostoftoday’smotherboardssupport

dual,tripleorquad-channelmemory,whichenablesthememorycontrollertointerleavethebandwidthbetweenmultiplememorymodules,resultinginfastermemoryperformance.Intel’sLGA2011systemssupportquad-channelmemory,whichcanbeboughtinfour-DIMMkits,whilemostothersystemssupportdual-channelmemory,availableinsetsoftwomodules.AssumingyouhavetherightRAM,you

needtodeterminewhichslotswillenabledualorquad-channelmode.Consultyourmotherboardmanualforthisinformation,asusingthewrongslotscouldresultinlosinghalfyourmemorybandwidth.Onceyouknowwhichslotstouse,flip

downthetwoclipsateachendoftheslot(orjusttheright-handclipinthecaseofsomeboards,includingtheAsusMaximusVGeneweused),andthenmakesureyourDIMMispositionedtherightwayaround.EachDIMMhasanotchonthebottomconnector,whichalignswiththenotchintheslot–oneendofthebottomconnectorwillbelongerthantheother.Whenit’stherightwayaround,slotitcarefullyintothenarrowslotandpushitdownfirmlyfromthemiddle.Whenit’sinplace,theclipswillspringupautomaticallyandholdthememoryintheslot.

OnbothAMDandIntelsocketstherewillbealevernexttothesocket,whicheffectivelyopensit.Thiswillusuallybeheldinby

anotch,soyou’llneedtoslidetheleverunderthenotch,andthenlift itup.OnanIntelLGAsystem,you’llnowbeabletoopenthesocketlid.BeverycarefulwhenhandlingtheCPUsocket(orthepinsonAMDCPUs),particularlywhenitcomestoIntel’sLGAsockets,asitonlytakesasingledamagedpintopreventyourprocessorfromfunctioningproperly.YournextstepistoinstalltheCPU,holdingit

carefullybytheedges.OnanAMDsystem,therewillbealargetrianglesomewhereonthesocketandtheCPUthatdenotespin1–linetheseup,installtheCPUandthenslidedownthelevertoholditinplace.OnanIntelLGAsystem,therewillbenotchesintheCPUsocketthatlineupwiththepitsonthesideoftheCPU–youshouldonlybeabletoinstall itonewayaround.Onceit’sinplace,pushdownthelidandslidetheleverbackdownunderitsnotchtoholditinplace.

Thisstepisoftenthetrickiest,soprepareyourselfforashortburstofconcentrationandnimbleness,whichmaybefollowedbynaughty

wordsandsorefingers.ThebondbetweenthecoolerandCPUhastobereallytightinordertotransferasmuchheataspossible,soit’scrucialthatyoupatientlytakethetimetocorrectlyinstallyourcooler–ascrewoutofplacecouldruinthewholesetup.Thankfully,theblockthat’sincludedwithour

CorsairH100isn’ttoohardtoinstall–it justneedsscrewingintoplace.Whenscrewinginanycooler,alwaysgraduallytightenupthescrewsindiagonalpairstoapplyanevenamountofpressure.Onceyou’vetightenedupthescrewsaroundhalfway,givethecooleralittlewiggletomakesuretheTIMisevenlyspreadbetweentheCPUandcooler,andthenscrewintherestofthescrewsalltheway.Ifyou’reinstallinganaircoolerthatdoesn’thaveafanalreadyattached,yournext

jobistoattachyourfan.Thefanneedstopullairfromthefrontofthecaseandexpelitouttheback,somakesurethefan’sfrontfacesthefrontoftheboard,andanyairflowindicatorspointtowardstheback.Youcannowplugyourfanintothemotherboard’sCPUfanpowerconnector.Ifyou’reinstallinganall-in-oneliquidcooler,suchastheCorsairH100, theninstalltheCPUblockandconnectitspower.

INSTALL THECPU

INSTALL THECPUCOOLER

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96

Congratulations–you’veconstructedyourPC’sbasicfoundation,solet’sseeif itworks.Doingthis

nowwillsaveyoualotoffiddlingwithscrewsandcabletiesifyourmachinedoesn’tfireuponceit’sinthecase.We’veplacedourskeletalsystemontopofthemotherboardbox,asthisenablesyoutoinstallagraphicscardwiththeendofitsbackplatecorrectlyhangingofftheedgeoftheboard.Itwillneedsomepowerforthisstep,so

grabyourPSU,hookingupthebig24-pinATXpowerconnectortomotherboard’ssocket(we’veusedanoldEnermaxPro82+here,asallthenewPSUswereinthephotographystudioatthetime).Therewillalsobea12Vsocket,normallypositionedneartheCPU.Theseusuallyhaveeightpinsoncurrentmotherboards,butmostPSUsofferflexiblevariationsforboardswith4-pinsockets.Eitherway,theplugforthissocketshouldhavealabelalongthelinesof‘12VCPU’.Yournextjobistoslotyourgraphicscardintothe16xPCI-Eslot

(thelongslotswithnotchesontheend)nearesttotheCPU.Asageneralrule,thisslotalwayshasthefull16lanesallocatedtoit,whereassomemotherboardsonlyallocateeightorfourlanestoslotslowerdown;if indoubt,checkyourmotherboardmanual.Onceit’sinplace,pluginthegraphicscardpowerconnectors.Theseeitherhavesixoreightpins,andnormallyfeaturealabelalongthelinesof‘PCI-Epower’.SomePSUsenableyoutousea6-pinplugasan8-pinplugbyjoiningupanextra2-pinplugbytheside.

Afterthat,connectakeyboardandmonitor,plugyourpowersupplyintothemainsandflickitspowerswitchifithasone.Atthispoint,wealsohookeduptheradiatortoourCorsairH100cooler,andconnecteditspowerpointstotheCPUblockandthepowersupply.YournexttaskistoswitchonthePC.Some

motherboards,includingourAsusMaximusVGene,featureapowerswitch,butthere’snoneedtofretifyoursdoesn’t.Youjustneedtolocatethemotherboard’spowerswitchpinheaders,socheckyourmotherboardmanualfortheirlocation.ThenplaceyourscrewdriverbetweenthetwopinheaderstoshortouttheconnectionandswitchonyourPC.Ifnothinghappens,disconnectthepower

andtryreseatingallthecomponents.If itworks,yourmachinehaspassedthePOSTphase(power-onselftest).YournextjobistopresstheEnterSetupkey(usuallyDel),whichwilltakeyouintothesystem’sBIOSorEFIsystem.Onceyou’rein,trackdownthesystem’sPCHealthStatussection

(itmaybecalledsomethingelsesimilartothis).YoucancheckyourCPUtemperatureheretoensurethattheheatsinkisinstalledcorrectly.AstheCPUisperformingverylittleworkhere,youcansurmisethatsomethingiswrongiftheCPUtemperatureishigherthan50°C.Ifyourprocessorisbecomingtoasty,tryreinstallingyourCPUcooler.Ifeverythingisfine,makesureallthefansarespinning,switchoff

yoursystemandremovethepowerconnectorsandgraphicscard.Youcansafelyleavetherestofthepartsinplace.

Beforeyoufitanythinginthecase,removebothitssidepanelstogainfullaccesstoall

theavailablespace.Thefirstcomponenttoinstall isthePSU,asyouwantasmuchfreespaceaspossibleforrouteingitscables.IfyouhaveamodularPSU,considerwhichcablesyouneedforyourcomponents,andthenlookatwheretheplugswillneedtobeavailable.Dependingonyourcase,yourPSUfanmayfaceeitherupwards

ordownwards,butitwillonlyscrewonewayintotheholesattheback.Fitit inplace,andtightenthefourscrewsfromthebackindiagonalpairs.ThePSUisthebiggestculpritformessycables,sousethe

nearestholesthroughtotheothersideofthecasetothreadlong

powercables,andthenbringtheplugsbackthroughtotheothersideneartheirappropriatesockets.Forexample,wethreadedthe12VCPUpowercablethroughtheholebythePSU,routeditupbehindthemotherboardandthenthreadeditbackthroughaholeatthetop,rightnexttothe12VCPUsocket–ifyoursisn’tlongenoughtodothis,youcanpickupextensioncablesformostpowercablesfromplacessuchaswww.kustompcs.co.uk. It’salsotimetothreadyourcase’sfront-panelconnectorsbehindthedrivebaystotheareaswherethey’llconnecttothemotherboard.

INITIAL TESTING

INSTALL THEPSU

01

02

01 02 03



CUSTOMISATION

96 November 2012

98

Thewayinwhichyouinstallstoragedevicesvariesbetweencases,withsomerequiringscrewsandothersfeaturingtool-lessdesigns.However,therearestillsomegeneralrules.WithourFractalDesignDefineR4,wehadtoopenthefrontdoortoaccess

thefrontofthe5.25inbays,andthenslideoffaplastic5.25inbaycoverandslideouropticaldriveintoplace.Whenchoosingabay,youalsoneedtoconsiderthelengthofyourSATApowerand

datacables.However,somecasesalsorequireyoutoremovetheentirefrontfascia(seep114)andthenremoveametalblankingplatebeforeyoucanperformthisstep.Inthesecases,whenyou’veslottedinyouropticaldrive,replacethefrontpanelsothatyoucanlineupitsbezelwiththeedge.You’llthenneedtoscrewinthedrivefrombothsides.Manycasesfeatureremovableharddrivecages,whichmakethenextinstallation

jobeasy.However,harddrivesbecomehot,soideally,youshouldpositionthemnexttoafanwithsomespacebetweeneachonesothattheydon’tblocktheairflowcompletely.Ifpossible,mountthedriveswiththeconnectorsfacingtherightsidepanel,asthismakeshidingcablesmucheasier–thiswaspossibleinourR4casebyslidingtheharddriverubbergrommetsdownanotchandturningtheSSDaroundtheotherway.Ifyourcasehasrubbermountinggrommets,usethesewhenmountingharddrives,astheyabsorbvibrationsandminimisenoiselevels.Ifyouhavea2.5in

SSD,you’lleitherneedtoscrewitintoa2.5into3.5inbayadaptor(sometimesprovidedwithSSDs),orusethealternativescrewholesinthebottomofharddrivebays–ortheactual2.5inbays–thatsomecasesprovide.ThenhookupthepowerconnectorsandSATAcables.Routethesebehindthemotherboardtrayifpossible,andconnectthemtotheIntelSATA6Gbpsportsifpossible.However, theonlydrivesthatbenefitfromSATA6Gbpsarenewtop-endSSDs.

FIT THEDRIVES

03

02

01

Takealookatthebottomofyourmotherboard,andyou’llnoticethatit’scoveredindelicate

circuits,tracesandsolderpoints.Assuch,screwingitdirectlyintoametalcasewillresultinshortcircuits,potentiallyfryingyournewkit.Thesolutionistousestandoffs–littlescrewswithasecondscrewholeinthetop;theseareincludedwithyourcase,andsitbetweenthemotherboardandcase.

However,notallmotherboardshavethesamescrewlayout,soexamineyourboard’sscrewholes–eachonerequiresacorrespondingstandoff.Inourexample,we’reinstallingamicro-ATXmotherboardinanATXcase,andtheDefineR4includeslabelsformicro-ATXstandoffs.Thisalsoappliestocaseswithstandoffs

alreadyfitted,asoneinthewrongplacecouldstillshortoutacircuit.Youcaneasilyremovestandoffsusingyoursnub-nosepliers,andtightenupnewonesbyhand.You’llalsoneedtoslotyourboard’srearportpanelintoitsplaceinthebackofthecase.Makesureit’stherightwayaround,andgiveitafirmpushatthetopandthebottomtosecureitinplace.Finally,removeyourcase’sbackplateswhereyouplantoinstallexpansioncards,suchasyourgraphicscard.Youcannowputtheboardinplace,taking

carenottoscrapeitagainstthestandoffs,andscrewitin,alternatingdiagonallybetweenscrewsatthetopandbottom.Afterthat,pluginthe24-pinATXand12V

CPUconnectors,slotyourgraphicscardintothetopPCI-Eslotandthenhookupitspowerconnectorsjustasyoudidduringyourinitialtesting(seep95).

INSTALLTHEMOTHERBOARD





98 November 2012

Ifyou’reinstallinganaircoolerforyourCPU,youcansafelyskipthisstep.However,ifyou’reinstallinganall-in-oneliquidcooler,suchasourH100thennowisthetimetoinstalltheradiator–

doingthisbeforeyouinstallthemotherboardwillmakeitvirtuallyimpossibletohookupthe12VPSUconnector.Yourradiatorwilleitherhavetositinavacantfanmount,orreplaceanexistingfan,dependingonthedesignofyourradiatorandcase.Inourexample,we’regoingtoinstall it intheroofofourDefineR4

case,whichfirstnecessitatestheremovaloftwo140mmblankingplates.Oncetheseareremoved,youcanworkoutwheretoroutetheradiator’spowercables–ideally,theyshouldfacetherightsidepanel.Thenthreadthepowercablesthroughaholetothebackofthemotherboard.YoucantheneitherhookthecablesuptothePSU’s4-pinMolex

connectorsbehindthemotherboard,orthreadthembackthroughtothefanpowersocketsonthemotherboard.Ideally,thefansneedtobepushingairoutofthecase,sothebacksofthefansshouldbedirectedtowardsthetoporbackofthecase.

Withyourcablerouteingsorted,youcanthenscrewintheradiator.Thisisjustacaseofliningitupwiththeoriginalholesinyourfanmountandscrewingitin,asdescribedintheinstructionsthataccompanyit.OurR4casehasmountingholesforadual140mmradiatorasstandard,butalsohasholesforadual120mmradiator(liketheonewiththeH100)–justlocatetheseandscrewtheradiatorintoplace.

INSTALL THERADIATOR

Nearlythere!Youcannowhookupthebuttons,lightsandportsonthefrontofyourcase.Thesewillpluginto

specificheadersonyourmotherboard,andtheirwiresareusuallygroupedinabundle.Manymotherboardsfeatureanon-boarddiagramshowingwhichpinsgowithwhichconnectors,butconsultyourmotherboardmanualifyoursdoesn’t.You’llalsoneedtohookupyourUSBports

andaudiojackstotheboard’sappropriatepins.Theseareusuallyinblocks,butsometimestheyhaveseparatewiresforeachpin.Ifthisisthecase,checkyourmotherboardmanualtofindoutexactlywhichwiresconnecttowhichpins.Somenewcasesalsoincludeabigbluecableforhookinguptothemotherboard’sUSB3pinheaders.Whenthey’reallpluggedin,groupallthewiresneatlytogetherunderneaththeboard,tiethemtightlytogetherwithcabletiesandthreadanyexcesscablebackbehindthedrivebays.

CONNECTTHEFRONTPANEL Nowthateverythingisscrewedinplace,it’stimetostarttidying

upthosecablessothatthey’reoutoftheway.Bunchtogetheranycablesnexttoeachother,andtiethemtightlytogetherwithcableties.Manycasesalsofeaturehooksonthebackofthe

motherboardtray,whichareperfectfortyingpowercablestothecase,andpreventingthemfromstraying.Ideally,youwanttohideasmanycablesaspossiblebehindthemotherboardtray,

butthereisn’talotofspacebetweenthetrayandthesidepanel.Assuch,you’llneedtoensurethatyouaren’tstackinganyofthePSUcablesontopofeachother.Makeuseofany

availablenooksandcrannies,andrememberthatnooneisgoingtolookundertherightsidepanel.Itdoesn’tneedtolookneatandtidy,butyouneedtobeabletoreplacethesidepanelonthecase.Pullanycabletiestight,andthensnipofftheendswithyourwirecutters.

TIDY THECABLES



CUSTOMISATION

99November 2012

100

YourPCisnowreadyforaction,buttherearestillafewfinalstagesbeforeyoucanhitthepower

switch.First,makesurethatallyourcase’scoolingfanshavepower,eitherviathe3-pinconnectorsonthemotherboardorthe4-pinMolexconnectorsfromyourpowersupply.Also,haveagoodlookoverthecasetoseeifyoucanspotanythingthathasn’tbeenconnected–theprimecandidatesareyourCPUcoolingfanandyourgraphicscard’spowerconnectors.

Beforeyoureplacethesidepanels,though,you’llneedtorepeatstep6tomakesurethateverythingisworking.Hookupakeyboardandmonitorandpushthepowerbutton.Makesurethatallthefansarespinning,includingthecasefans,CPUfanandgraphicscardfan.Listenfortheharddrive’stelltaleclicksandpresstheEjectbuttononyouropticaldrivetomakesureit’sworking.Ifyourmachinesuccessfully

survivesthePOSTprocessthenyou’rereadytoscrewonthesidepanels,andproceedwithsettinguptheEFIandinstallingWindows.

APPLY THEFINISHINGTOUCHES

Threadallthepowercablesbehindthemotherboard,andthenthreadthembackthroughtotheothersidetoaspotclosetotheircorrespondingplugonthemotherboard.

Ifpossible,installyourharddriveswiththepowerandSATAconnectorsfacingtheright-handsidepanelofthecasetomakeforeasycabletidying.

MakesureyourRAMisinstalledinthecorrectslotstoenabledual,tripleorquad-channelmode,sothatyouobtainasmuchbandwidthaspossible.Theinformationwillbeincludedinyourmotherboardmanual.

Thefront-panelandSATAdatacablescanbeneatlyroutedbehindthedrivebays,andthenthreadedbackthroughtotheirpointsonthemotherboard.

OurH100CPUblockcanbeinstalledinprettymuchanyconfiguration,but ifyou’reusinganaircooler,makesurethefanfacesthefrontofthecasesothatit’spushingairoutoftheback.

Makeuseofanyspareholesforthreadingthefront-panelconnectors.Inourcase,thefrontpanelaudioconnectorisnearthebackofourmotherboard,sowe’vethreadeditthroughanotherholejustabovethePSU.



CUSTOMISATION

100 November 2012

MostmotherboardsincludeafancyEFIsystem,ratherthantheoldtext-basedBIOSofyore,butyou’llstillneedtoconfigurethesamesettingswitheithersystematthisstage.Youcanaccess

theBIOSorEFIbypressingtheSetupkey(usuallyDel)whenyourmachinestarts,andyou’llthenbepresentedwithamenusystem.StartbyheadingtotheStandardCMOSFeaturesmenuto

checkthatallyourdriveshavebeendetected.Afterthat,gototheAdvancedfeaturessection,whereyoushouldfindanoptiontosetthefirstbootdevice–checkyourmotherboardmanualifyoucan’tfindthissetting–ourAsusMaximusVGenehadanentiremenusectioncalledBootwiththesesettings.SetthefirstbootdevicetoCDROM,andtheseconddevicetothe

driveonwhichyou’regoingtoinstallyouroperatingsystem–thiswilltellthesystemtobootfromyourWindowsdisc.IfyouhaveanSSDthenenableAHCImodeontheSATAchanneltowhichit’sconnected,asthiswillenableTRIMinWindowsandpreventperformancedegradation.Whileyou’rehere,it’salsoworthcheckingthePCHealthStatus

sectionjusttomakesurethatyourCPUisrunningatareasonable

temperature–below50°C–andthatyourmemoryisrunningatitscorrectspeedandlatencysettings.Whenyou’resatisfied,insertyourWindowsdiscandselectSaveSettings&Exit(F10isusuallytheshortcutkey).

Youcannowsitbackandeagerlywaitforthemagictostart.WhenyournewlybuiltPChasgonethroughitsPOSTphase,itwillpromptyoutopressanykeytobootfromtheopticaldrive–do

this,andyou’llbepresentedwiththeWindowsinstallscreen.Selectthecorrectlanguage,timesettingandkeyboardlayout,andclickNext.Inthenextscreen,chooseCustomandselectthedriveonwhichyouwanttoinstallWindows–theSSDifyouhaveone.Windowswillnowinstall–if itrestarts,don’tpressanykeytobootfromtheWindowsdisc,asthemotherboardcannowbootfromtheharddrive.

OnceWindowsisrunning,installyourmotherboardchipsetdriver,thestoragedriverifyouhaveoneandthenyourgraphicscarddriver.Althoughmostcomponentsincludeadriverdisc,alwayscheckthemanufacturer’swebsiteforthelatestdrivers.NowclicktheWindowsbutton,type‘DeviceManager’intothe

SearchboxandhitEnter.Findadriverforanythingsportinganexclamationmark,preferablyviathesearchonlinefeature.YounowjustneedtomakesurethatyourPCisstable,usingastresstestsuchasPrime95fortheCPUand3DMark11fortheGPU.IfyourPCsurvivesthesetestsforseveralhours,youcancongratulateyourselfonajobwelldone.

CONFIGURETHEBIOSOREFI

INSTALLWINDOWS7

01 02





102 November 2012

Antony Leather checks out some of the world’s finest mods displayedon the Galileo Stage at Campus Party Europe 2012

CeBIT,Computex,E3–thereareloadsoftechshowsthroughouttheyearthatbringallmanneroftechnological

areastogether.However,fewareaimedpurelyattheyoungergenerations,withaprimaryfocusoninspirationandknowledge.Anotable

exceptionisCampusParty,whichtakesplaceinalternatingcitiesacrosstheglobe.ThismonthitwasBerlin’sturntoplayhost

tothethousandsofCampusPartyattendees,manyofwhomcampedoutattheevent,whichwassimilartoagiantLANparty.Aswellas

talksfrominfluentialsuperstarssuchasauthorPauloCoelhoandSirTimBerners-Lee,scoresofPCmodderswereattheeventtoo,showingofftheirweirdandwonderfulworksofart.Onthesetwopagesaresomeofthefinestmoddingworkwesawondisplay.

FEELIN’ LUCKY, STEAMPUNK?Steampunkisalwaysapopular themeinmodding,butitwasthestaroftheshowatCampusParty,withseveralsteampunkPCsdrawinghugecrowds.Mostwerescratchbuilds,butbit-techforumuser,thechoozen(whoalsomademodssuchasCosmosDragon),turnedastandardCoolerMasterATCS840intooneofthebest-lookingsteampunkprojectsattheshow(seethethirdimage).Youcanseemoreoftheprojectathttp://tinyurl.com/cjqamwg

Campus Party, with several steampunk PCs

forum user, thechoozen

third image). You can see more of the project

BERLIN2012

Antony Leather checks out some of the world’s fi nest mods displayed



EXTREME CUSTOMISATION

103November 2012

OFF THE WALLForumuserthechoozenwasalsoresponsibleforthisfantasticWall-Escratchbuild.AswellaslookingtruetothelovablePixarcharacter,theprojecthousesamini-ITXsystemandcanevenmovearound,thankstoaremotecontrolsystemandelectricmotorspoweringthetracks.Seemoreathttp://tinyurl.com/wallemodWealsosawanamazingdeskPCfrombit-techforumuserPaslis.

Fullywater-cooled,thetopflipsopenonhydrauliclevers.Youcanseemoreofhisworkathttp://tinyurl.com/paslis

ALL WHITEAnotherfantasticprojectwasCT700(right)byforumuserPaladin.Itlookslikeascratchbuild,butunderneaththeilluminatedacrylicexteriorarethebonesofaCougar6XR9case.TheshellismadeupofseverallayersofacrylicsandwichedtogetherwithLEDs.Seethewholebuildlogathttp://tinyurl.com/ct700modYoumightrecogniseWhitebyforumuseralain-s(left)from

ourpagesbefore–it’soneofthemostspectacularSilverStoneTJ-07projectswe’veseen.Aswellasincredibleattentiontodetail,itsportsnickel-platedcopperpipingforthewater-coolingsystem’stubing.Seemoreathttp://tinyurl.com/cq992ey

ON THE FLYWearen’tsurewhomadethissix-leggedPC(below),butitwascertainlyoneofthemostinterestingprojectsattheshow.Yetagain,thismachinefeaturesamini-ITXmotherboard,withbrushedaluminiumsheetsmakingupthedistinctiveshapeofahousefly.Wealsocameacrossbit-techforumuserp0Pe’slatestcreation,

M8(above),whichhousesitshardwareinsideahugeCaseLabsM8workstationcase.Aswellasbeingpackedwithwater-coolinghardware,p0Pehasenviableaccesstoa3Dprinter,whichheusedtocreatemanyofthecustompartsinside,aswellasascalemodelofaGermanMaustankfromWorldofTanks.Thatisn’tmilkinthetubingeither–it’sactuallywhitepastelcoolantfromUKcoolingmanufacturerMayhems.Headtohttp://tinyurl.com/project-m8toseemore.

making up the distinctive shape of a housefly. forum user p0Pe’s latest creation,



I thought,whydon'tIseeif Icanfindasponsortowater-coolit?Water-coolingthisprojectwaspurelyfortheeyecandy.

CPC:Wheredidthenamecomefrom?Shane:IsawthePhinixNanoTowerbyMikeKrysztofiakonbit-techearlylastyear,and

thoughtits'honeycomb'designlookedreallycool,soIthoughtI'dgiveitashotandusethehoneycombideaforthewindows.Ialsowantedtofeaturesomeilluminatedhexagonsonpartofthecase,butwasneverabletodoit.

CPC:Whatspecsdidyouchoose,andwhy?Shane:TheGigabyteGA-X58A-OCmotherboardwaschosenpurelyforitsawesomeblackandorangecolourscheme.Icouldn'tfindanyothermotherboardatthetimesportingthosetwocolours.IthenchosetheCorei7-950becauseitwasthebestIcouldaffordwithmybudget.WindowsHomeServercanonlyuseamaximumof4GBofRAM,soIpickeda2x2GBkitofCorsairDominatorRAM,aswellasanEK-DominatorRAMblock.IalsochosetouseanEVGAGTX460SE

GPU,asithasmorethanenoughpowerif Iwanttowatchvideosontheserver,andit

104 November 2012

CPC:WhatinspiredyoutobuildHoneycomb,andwhydidyouwater-coolit?Shane:I'dwantedtobuildafast

WindowsHomeServerformymediaathomeforalongtime,andItriedveryhardtofindasponsortoprovidethecasebutdidn'thaveanyluck.IknewIwantedittobehousedinadouble-widthcasethatcouldholdalotofharddrives,muchliketheDangerDenorMountainModscases.IwonderedwhatwouldhappenifIusedtheaspectsIlikedabouteachofthosemanufacturers'casesandmademyown,anddecideditwouldbefuntofindout.Ialsowantedtolearn.I'veseenlotsof

peoplemakescratchbuilds,buttheyoftenhaveaccesstolotsofmaterialsandworkshopswiththelatestmachinery.Iwantedtodothesame,butmyresourceswerelimitedtotabletoptools.WhileI'matit,

Your chance to get involved in CPC and bit-tech

NameShaneFugaAge25OccupationNetworkadministratorLocationPittsburgh,USAMainusesforPCWindowsHomeServerLikesModding,movies,rockmusicandanytechIcangetmyhandsonDislikesApplecomputers

Usinghand-cut

aluminiumand laser-

cut acrylic, ShaneFugu

created this distinctive

honeycomb-inspired

PC, completewith two

water-cooling loops



105November 2012

[email protected],findingagoodRAIDcard

thatwouldn'tbreakthebankwashard,butIfoundabrand-newIntelSRCSAS18ERAIDcontrollerforagoodpriceoneBay.Ithenoptedforsix2TBWesternDigital2TBGreendrives.Theyonlyspinat5,400rpm,butyou

reallydon'tnoticethedifference.Luckily, IboughtallofthembeforethefloodinThailandin2011,whichmadethepricesskyrocket. Ihavespacefortenmoreinside,soIdon'tthinkI'llneedtoupgradethecaseanytimesoon.

CPC:Whichmaterialsdidyouuse?Shane:Ireallywantedtousesteelforthisproject,butitcosttoomuchtohaveitshippedandIdidn'thavethepropertoolstoworkonit.Instead,Iusedaluminiumsquaretubingfortheframeand1/4inacrylicforthepanels.TheacrylicpanelsweretheonlypiecesI

couldhavecuttosizeinadvance,althoughIhadtocutallofthedesignsandholesintothemmyself. It'sprettyeasytoworkwithcastacrylicand,sinceIhadthesheetslaser-cut,theyhadevenedgessoIcoulduseaT-squareandmapoutmydesignontothem.Itwasalsoveryeasytoworkwiththealuminiumtubing,

106

anditdidn'trequiremuchefforttocutit. Itwasalsocheap,soIwasabletomakemistakeswithoutworryingaboutthecost.

CPC:WhatdifficultiesdidyoucomeacrosswhenbuildingHoneycomb?Shane:Thehardestjobwasfiguringouthow

SYSTEM SPECSCPU Intel Core i7-950

GPU EVGAGeForce GTX 460 SE

Storage 1 x 320GBWestern Digital Black hard drive; 6 x2TBWestern Digital Green hard drives

Memory 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1,600MHz Corsair DominatorDDR3

MotherboardGigabyte GA-X58A-OC

PSU 1,000WOCZ

Cooling EK-Supremacy CPU block, Bitspower GTX 460block, EK-RAMDominator block, 2 x EK-Multioption 250reservoirs, 2 x EK-DCP 4.0 pump, 2 x EK-CoolStreamXTC(420), 8 x 140mmXigmatek orange LED fans, 1 x 120mmXigmatek orange LED fan

SEEMORE

ofShane'sblackandorangeHoneycombPCinthefullprojectlogathttp://tinyurl.com/ProjectHoneycomb

ENTERYOUROWNPCATHTTP://FORUMS.BIT-TECH.NET



106 November 2012

tobuildtheframeandensureitwassturdy.Lotsofpeoplewhohaveconstructedscratchbuildsfromsteeloraluminiumweldedtheframestogether,butIdidn'thaveaccesstoaweldersoIhadtofigureoutanotherplan.ImademyownLBrackets,andusedself-tappingscrewstokeepallthebarstogether.IalsousedsomeJBWeldonthejointstomaketheframestronger.Anotherissuewasmakingthedoorsstay

onthecase.Drillingaholeandputtingascrewinit iseasy,butwhatifyouwanttoremoveandreplacethepanelslotsoftimeswithoutstrippingthehole?Ifoundsomepoprivetswithsteelthreadsinthemandtheyworkedgreat.Youjustdrillahole,andthenusethespecial'pop-rivet'tooltoaddthesteelthreads.Ialsodidn'thaveaccesstoamachineshop,

soIhadtofigureouthowtomakemyown.Iwentonlineandboughtasmall,tabletopdrillpress(whichendedupbeingmoreofahindrancethanahelp),and120mmand140mmcirclecutterstocutallthefanholes.However,thesedidn'tworkwellwiththedrillpress,soIboughtahandheldjigsawandcutthemallbyhandinstead.Thejigsawisthemodder'sbestfriend.As

longasyouusetherightbladeforthematerialyou’recutting, it'sapieceofcake.I'veuseditto

cutintoseveraldifferentcasesandpiecesofacrylicthatvariedinthickness.Ialsopurchaseda10inmitresaw,which

provedtobeveryuseful. Iusedittocutthealuminiumtubing,andIwassurprisedbyitsprecision.Icutthefirstfewpiecesalittleshort,buttherestcameoutperfectlyonceI'dworkedouthowmuchtocutit.ThisalsoprovedusefulwhenmakingtheLBrackets,whichIcutfromasinglepieceofangledaluminium.Anotherveryusefultoolwasmy14.4Vbattery-powereddrill,whichwasmorethanpowerfulenoughformyneeds.

CPC:Whatdidyoulearnfromthebuildprocess?Shane:Iaskedthemoddingcommunitymanyquestions,andlearnedalotonmyowntoo.Forexample,layingoutthedualwater-coolingloopsetupwashard–IhadtomakesureIdrilledholesinthecentreplateinthe

BEAWINNER!ToenteryourmachineforpossibleinclusioninReaders’Drives,yourmodneedstobefullyworkingand,ideally,finishedbasedintheUK.Simplylogontowww.bit-tech.netandheadovertotheforums.Onceyou’rethere,postawrite-upofyourmod,alongwithsomepics,intheProjectLogsforum.Makesureyoureadtherelevantrulesandadvicestickythreadsbeforeyoupost.Thebestentranteachmonthwillbefeaturedhere,wherewe’llprintyourphotosofyourprojectandalsointerviewyouaboutthebuildprocess.Fameisn’ttheonlyprize; you’llalso getyourhandsonafabulousselectionofprizes–seetheoppositepagefordetails.

rightspots,becausethere'snogoingbackafteryou'vecutordrilled.Measurearoundfivetimesandcutonce.AsImadealotofpartsofthisprojectbyhand,mymeasurementshadtobeexactlyright.Luckily, Iboughtenoughmaterialfortheframetomakemistakes,butthatwasonlybecausethealuminiumwascheap.Imadeahugemistakeonthebackpanelandcostmyselfalmost20hoursofworkbybreakingthepanelinhalf.

CPC:Areyouhappywiththeendresult?Shane:Iam,butwithhindsight, Iwouldchangeseveralparts.First, Iwoulduseasingleloopandremovetheharddriveblocks.It’snicetohavetwoloops,butonewouldsufficeandthere'ssomuchairflowthattheharddrivesdon'tbecomeveryhotanyway.Iwouldalsohavetheframelaser-cutfromsteel,ratherthancuttingaluminiumbyhand.Iwasoffbyafewmillimetresinplaces,andyoucantellbythesmallgapsinthepanels.IalsothoughtI'dplannedwellenoughfor

thecablemanagementbutIwaswrong.Youcanseeallthewiresthatgotothecustomtemperaturemonitor(12sensors),andthatjustlooksmessy.Finally, Iwouldmaketheentirecaseslightlylonger.Thisway,Iwouldn'thaveputthereservoirsinfrontofanyofthemotherboardhardware,andIcouldhavealittlemorespacetoforapush/pullradiatorconfigurationtoincreasetheircoolingcapacity.BymakingthesefewchangesIwouldhaveamuchbetterendproduct.



HTTP://FORUMS.BIT-TECH.NET

ThePhobyamoddingkitisdesignedwiththemodderinmind,offeringgreatvalueformoneyandqualityproducts.ThekitincludesNano-G12SilentWaterproof1,500rpmmulti-optionfans,whichuseaninnovativefan-bladedesign.Asstandard,thefansincludebraidedblackcablestokeepyourcaselookingasneataspossible.Thefansarealsosuppliedwithaspecialcablethatletsyourunthefanat5Vratherthan12V,reducingthenoiseemittedinordertohelpyoutobuildasilentsystem.Thekitalsoincludesthe

60cmPhobya3-pinMolexto4x3-pinMolexY-cable.This

pre-braidedextensioncablegivesyouextrarouteingoptionsinyourcase,anditalsoenables

youtorunuptofourfansfromonecompatiblemotherboardheader.Meanwhile,the

PhobyaSATA3cablesincludedinthekitofferthesamegreatqualitybraidingastherestofthePhobyarange,whilealso

securingyourconnectionwithlatchedconnectors.Aswellasthis,thekitincludesthePhobyaSlimGuideController,whichgivesyoutheoptiontovarythespeedofotherfansinyourcase,whilethePhobyaTwinLEDsletyou

shinealightonyourmods.

We’ve teamed up with some of the world’s leading PC component manufacturers and retailers tooffer this great range of prizes to each lucky Readers’ Drives winner. If your creation is featured in themagazine then you’ll walk away all three of the prizes listed on this page, so get in your entries!

CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES 300R CASEAND 550W TX MODULAR POWER SUPPLYTotalvalue£142incVATManufacturerwww.corsair.com

CorsairbelievesthatagreatPCstartswithagreatcase.TheCorsairCarbideSeries300Risacompactexpressionofthiscorephilosophy.Itpacksinaremarkablenumberoffeaturesgivenitscompactdimensions,providesbuilderswithtonnesofroomforexpansion,andhasamazingcoolingpotential.And,likeallCorsaircases,it’sbuiltusingthefinestmaterialsandfinishedtothehigheststandards,soitwillwithstandseveralyearsofupgrades.Justasaqualitycaseis

essentialtobuildingaqualityPC,ahigh-performance,high-qualitypowersupplyisalsoavitalingredient.Basedontheaward-winningTXV2Series,thenewEnthusiastSeriesModularPSUsaddamodularcablingsystemforimprovedinstallation

PHOBYA MODDING KITValue£50incVATManufacturerwww.phobya.com,www.aqua-tuning.co.uk

flexibility.TXModularpowersuppliesarebuiltusingqualitycomponents,andarerigorouslytestedandqualifiedat100percentloadatanambienttemperatureof50°Cforunmatchedreliability.They’redesignedtoasuperiorstandard,sothattheynotonlymeettheATXspecification,butalsoexceedit. Inadditiontounmatchedquality,TXModularPSUsarealsopower-efficient,offering85percentenergyefficiencyorhigherat50percentload.WithaCorsairCarbideSeries300Rcaseand

550WTXModularpowersupplyattheheartofyourbuild,you’llhavethefoundationsforatrulyawesomegamingmachine.

107November 2012WorldMags.netWorldMags.net






110 November 2012

INSTALL THE ARDUINO IDEBeforegettingstartedonthehardware,we’llneedtoinstalltheArduinointegrateddevelopmentenvironment(IDE.)Thisenablesprograms–knownassketches–tobecompiledanduploadedtothechip.Downloadthelatestversionfromwww.arduino.ccandfollowtheinstallationinstructionsonthesite.

INSERT THE RGB LEDTakingthebreadboard–orstripboard, ifyou’rebuildingsomethingmorepermanent–inserttheRGBLEDbysplayingthelegsandpushingdowngentlybutfirmly.Makesurethatthelongestleg–thecommonanode–isthethirdlegdownasyoulookatit fromthebottomoftheboard.

CALCULATE THE RESISTORSREQUIREDIfyou’reusingtherecommendedRGBLEDsfromopen-sourcehardwarespecialistwww.oomlout.co.uk,youcanskipthisstep,asthecorrectresistorsareprovided.Ifnot,usetheformulaR=(Vs×Vf)/I,wheretheresistance,R, iscalculatedbymultiplyingthesourcevoltage–5V–bytheLED’sforwardvoltagedropanddividingthetotalbytheLED’sratedcurrentinamps.FormostRGBLEDs,thisworksoutat270Ohms.

INSERT THE CURRENT-LIMITINGRESISTORSTopreventtheLEDfromburningout, itneedsthreecurrent-limitingresistorsofaround270Ohms–orthevaluefromStep3.Theseshouldbeinsertedintothebreadboardonlegs1,2and4oftheLED–theblue,greenandredcathodes–sothattheybridgethebreadboard’smiddlegap.

Arduinoorcompatiblemicrocontroller

USBcable

Common-anodeRGBLED

3xCurrent-limiting resistors(270Ohm)

TMP36temperaturesensor

Jumperwires

Breadboardor stripboardAllfromwww.oomlout.co.uk

make an lEDtemperaturesensor

rduinomicrocontrollerssuchastheArduinoLeonardo(seeIssue109,p44)offerplentyofpossibilitiesforPCmodders,

providingpowerfulcontrolandsensingcapabilitiesinacompactandaffordablepackage.Usingtheeasy-to-learnWiringlibrary, it’spossibletoquicklycreatesomeimpressivedevicestoexpandyournextmod.Inthisguide,we’llshowyouhowto

combineanArduinowithanRGBLEDandacheaptemperaturesensortocreatealow-cost,temperature-sensitivelightingsystemforyourPC.Withcustomisabletriggerlevels,andat-a-glancetemperaturemonitoring,it’saverycheapadditionforacustombuild.

GarethHalfacree showsyou to how to get yourmoddinghands dirtywithanArduino-basedPC temperature-sensitive light system

temperature

A




111November 2012

INSERT THE TEMPERATURE SENSORThe3-pinTMP36temperaturesensorneedstobeaddedtothebreadboardnow,awayfromtheLED.Asbefore,splaythelegsandinsertthemgentlybutfirmlysothattheflatsideofthesensorispointingtotheleftsideofthebreadboardasyoulookatitfrombelow.

CUSTOMISE THE SKETCHAttheverytopofthesketcharesomevariablesandconstants.Thefirstsetofvariablescanbeadjustedtoyourrequirements.UpperTempandlowerTempcontrolthemaximumandminimumtemperatures(redandblue,respectively),whilechangeTimeadjustshowlongthesystemwaitstoadjustthelightcolour.

WIRE THE SENSORMakesurethesensoristherightwayaround,andconnectitsmiddlepintoAnalogPin0, itstoppinto5VandthebottompintoGround,thenconnecttheLED’scommonanodetoitsown5Vconnection,allusingjumperwires.Ifyou’reusingabreadboardwithpowerrails,connectboththesensorandLEDtothered(positive)rail, thenconnecttherailtothe5VpinontheArduino.

WIRE THE LEDTakethreejumperwiresandconnecttheresistorstotheArduino’sDigitalPins3,5and6.Makesuretheresistors,andnottheLEDitself, isconnectedtothesepins–ifyoubypasstheresistors,theLEDwillburnoutinashorttime.

SETUPEveryArduinosketchhasasetupsection,whichrunsonlyoncewhentheArduinoisinitialised.Inthissketch,thissectionsetseachoftheLED’spins–3,5and6–asoutputs,whileinstructingtheArduinotousethetemperaturesensor’spin–0–asaninput.

THE SKETCHThesketchrequiredtorunthetemperature-sensitivelightingsystemcanbedownloadedfromhttp://tinyurl.com/CPCSketch.OpentheArduinoIDE,thenpastethesketchintothewindowthatappears. Ifyouwant,youcanclickonthetickicontotestthesketchatthispoint,butdon’texpecttheLEDtolightup.

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112 November 2012

TWEAK THE SETCOLOUR FUNCTIONThesetColourfunction,asitsnamesuggests,givestheArduinotheknow-howitneedstocontrolthecolouroftheLEDbyadjustingthevoltagegiventoeachofitscathodes.Asacommonanodedevice,someofthebehaviourseemsalittlebackwards–themorevoltageoneachpin,thelessbrightthecolour.

TWEAK THE LOOP FUNCTIONTheloopportionofanArduinosketchrunscontinuouslyaslongasthedevicehaspower.Inthissketch, it’sresponsibleforworkingoutthecurrenttemperature,comparingittotheupperandlowerlimitssetatthestart,andthenmappingittovoltagesthatcanbeappliedtotheredandbluepinsoftheLEDtocontrolthecolour.

EXPANDING THE PROJECTWhilethisisastart,oneLEDisn’taflashylightsystem.Witheasyexpandability intolargerandbrighterlightingrigs,thisisagreatwaytogetstartedwiththeArduinosystemthough.MultipleLEDscouldberunfromthesystem,eitherasindividualunits

orRGBLEDlightingstrips(http://tinyurl.com/LightingStrips)–tomakethelightsbrighter,butyou’llneedtotapintothePC’s12Vpowersupplyandusetransistorstoswitchthevoltageasperhttp://tinyurl.com/12VTutorial

TWEAK THE GETVOLTAGE FUNCTIONThegetVoltagefunctionreadsthevoltageonthemiddlepinofthetemperaturesensor,adjustingitasrequiredtoobtainanaccuratevalue.ThisvoltageisconvertedtoatemperatureinCelsiusinthemainpartofthesketch,providingthecueforthecolour-changeoperation.

UPLOAD THE SKETCHWiththesketchenteredandunderstood,connecttheArduinotoaUSBportandpresstheuploadbuttonlocatedtotherightofthetickbutton.ThiscompilesthesketchanduploadsittotheArduino;atthispoint, itwillstarttorun.TryholdingthetemperaturesensorbetweenyourfingerstoseetheLED’scolourchange.

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114 November 2012

INSPECT YOUR CASEBeforeyouhitthelocalDIYstore,makesureyourcaseiseasytodismantle,andworkouthowyou’lldothis.Somecaseshaveanoverlycomplicatedlayoutthatcanmakedismantlingthemtricky.Afterthat,considercolours.Yourcasehasvarioussectionsandareasfordetailssuchasexpansionslotcoversanddrivebays.Thesecanallbepainteddifferentcolours,sospendsometimeplanningyourworkforthebestresult.

REMOVE FITTINGSStartbyremovingallthelooseitemsfromyourcase.Thiswill includetool-lessdrivebays,fittingsforsecuringcomponentsandrubbergrommets.It’salsoworthtakingaphotoofyourcaseatthisstage, andeachtimeyouremoveafewpieces,sothatyouknowhowitall fitsbacktogether.

LOOSEN THE FASCIASMostcaseshaveaplasticfasciaonthefrontpanel,andsometimestheroof,whichhavetobedetached.Mostfasciasareheldonwithplasticflangesthatclipintothemetalframe.Ifyousqueezetheseandpullthefascia,itshouldpopoff.Therewillbemanyflanges,butresisttheurgetoripoffthepanel,astheplasticcanbebrittle.

REMOVE THE FRONT FASCIAThefrontfasciashouldpopoffeasilyonceyou’vesqueezedalltheflanges–they’redesignedtopopoff,soyoucanaccessthefrontareaforcleaningandremovingdrivebaycovers. If itdoesn’tbudge,checktherearen’tanyscrewsholdingit inplace,orcablesfromthefrontpanelorfancontrollersintheway.

Wetanddrysandpaper–1,000- to 1,600-gritFrommosthardwarestores

Dust sheet, spongeandmicrofibre towelFrommosthardwarestores

Primer, colourand lacqueracrylic spraypaintFrommosthardwarestores

Poprivetgunandrivetswww.chilledpc.co.uk

Drill,Dremelorother rotarytoolFrommosthardwarestores

De-rivet andpaint Yourcase’s insides

astmonthwelookedatpaintingyourcase’sexterior(seeIssue109,p108),butmakingyourPClookasgoodontheinsideissignificantly

moreinvolved;youcan’t juststripitbacktotheframeandspray.Thepaintwillprobablyruninthecorners,andaccessingeverynookandcrannyispracticallyimpossible,asispaintingdifferentsectionsindifferentcolours.Thisguideshowsyouhowtodrilloutyour

case’srivets,enablingyoutoseparatethevarioussections,andthen spraythem.Theendresultwill lookspectacular,andyoucanmixandmatchcolourstoo.

Following on from lastmonth’s painting guide, AntonyLeather showsyouhow to de-rivet andpaint your case’s interior

s insidesL




115November 2012

REMOVE THE TOP FASCIAInourcase,thetopfasciaincludedthebunchofcablesfromthefrontpanel.Thesemaywellbecable-tiedtothecaseortoeachother,meaningthatyou’llhavetodetachthemfirst.Theremayalsobefancontrolmodulesattachedtothecase–anythingthat’sscrewedtotheframemustberemoved.

REMOVE SCREWS AND FEETOurCoolerMasterCM690IIAdvancedhidfurtherscrewsandfittingsunderthecasefeetandrubbersound-absorbingpads.Besurethatyoucheckoveryourcaseforconcealedareassuchasthis,especially ifyoucan’tfindawaytoremovethecasefeetorPSUcage.

REMOVE RUBBER GROMMETSMostmoderncasessportrubbergrommets,eitheronthemotherboardtrayorattherearofthecase,foreasyandstealthycablerouteing.Thesemustalsoberemoved,alongwithyourcase’srearexpansionslotcovers.Evenifyouplantopaintthemthesamecolourasyourcase, it’sbesttoremovethem–youcanmakesuretheyreceiveacompletecoatofpaint ifyouspraythemseparately.

REMOVE THE FANSWiththefasciasremoved,you’ll finditeasiertoreachthefans.Youneedtoremoveallofthem–don’tbetemptedtosprayaroundthem.Youcanspraythemseparatelyifyouwanttopaintthemtoo.Whileyou’rehere,alsoremoveanyfangrillesorshrouds.

DRILL RIVETSYoucannowlocateanddrillouttherivetsthatholdyourcasetogether.Usingadrillbitslightlylargerthantherivets’ innerring,pressfirmlyonthedrill toeatintotherivetuntil itpopsthroughtotheotherside.Youshouldbeleftwithtwopieces–oneoneachsideofthecase.If therivet isstill inplaceafterdrilling,tryaslightlylargerdrillbit. Ifyougetstuckhalfway,youcouldbedrillingintothecase,sotryasmallerdrillbit.

REMOVE FAN FILTERSFanfilterscanlurkindarkcornersandbetweenpanels.Removethesetoo,butstorethemcarefully,asthey’requitefragileandeasilypunctured.Rubbergenerallydoesn’tacceptpaintverywell–anotherreasontoremovegrommetsfromyourcase.However,manyfiltersaremadefromplasticormetal,andthesecanbesprayedwithalightcoatifyou’recarefulnottoplugtheholes.

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116 November 2012

USE PLIERSWefoundthatnumerousrivetsactuallystartedtorotateaswedrilledintothem,cancellingoutoureffortsandsimplyspinninginplace.If thishappens,useplierstogriptheotherendoftherivetsothatthedrillcanbiteintoit.Alternatively,usingthesamedrillbit inaDremelmayalsowork,asthere’slesstorque.

APPLY PRIMERYoucannowapplythefirstcoat–primer.Ifyoucan,hangthecomponentsfromasuitableplacewhileyouspraythem.Thisenablesyoutospraybothsidesatthesametime,whichwillbequicker; italsomeansthatyou’relesslikelytoendupwithlinesattheedgeswherethepaintfrombothsidesmeets.Usesweepingstrokesovereachsectiontopreventthepaintfromrunning,andapplyjustoneortwopasses.

DISASSEMBLE YOUR CASE PARTSYou’llprobablybesurprisedbyjusthowmanyseparatepiecesarecontainedinyouraveragecase.Onceyou’veremovedalltherivets,youshouldbeabletodismantlethecaserightdowntoitsbarecomponents. Ifyoufeelunsureaboutrememberingwhatgoeswhere,youcanalwayslabeltheparts–justremembertoremovethelabelwhenyoupainteachcomponent,andthenreplaceitafterwards.

USE A DRILL OR DREMELIfsomerivetsaren’taccessiblewithadrill,useaDremelwitheitheradrillbitoraflexibleattachmenttoreachintotightspots.Alternatively,ametalfilecanweardownoneedgeoftherivet,enablingyoutoeventuallypull itout.Cuttingoffthedistortedendalsoworks,asdoesusingahammerandflat-headscrewdrivertochisel itout;however, it’seasytoscratchthesurroundingmetalsobecareful.

ALLOW TO DRY AND SANDAllowtheprimertodryforaroundtenminutes,sanditlightlytoobtainasilky-smoothfinishandthenwashthesectiontoremovethedust.Repeatthisstepforfourorfivecoatsofprimer,untilyoucannolongerseethecolourunderneath,andallowittodrythoroughlybeforeproceedingwiththenextstep.

SAND THE PARTSAswithpaintingtheoutsideofyourcase,you’llachievethebestfinishifyousandthecomponentsfirst.Thiscanbequitelaborious,asthepartsaresmallerandmoreangularthansidepanels.Todothis,use1,000-and1,600-gritwetanddrysandpaper.Washthepartsthoroughlywhenthey’resmooth,thenallowthemtodry.

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117November 2012

118

SMALLER COMPONENTSTospraysmallercomponents,acardboardcrateorboxmakesanidealminispraybooth,althoughyou’llhavetosprayonesideatatime.It’sevenmoreimportantnottoapplytoomuchpaintatoncehere–doingsowillmakethepaintrunandfillanyholesfordetailssuchastextorlogos.

USE THE CORRECT RIVETSRivetsareavailableinmanysizes,buttheyneedtobethesamesizeastheholesintowhichthey’llbeinserted.If they’retoosmall, theywon’tholdthepanelstogether,leadingtoinstability–weused3mmrivets.Youmayalsoneedcountersunk-headrivetsinsteadoftheusualdome-headtype–thesesitflushinarecessedhole.

APPLY LACQUER AND ALLOW TO DRYThenextday,applythelacquer.Don’tsandthislayer; instead,applyit liberallysothatit flowstogether,butonlyapplyoneortwopassesbetweendryingphases.Lacquercantakeatleastadaytohardenproperly,soleaveittodryforaslongaspossible.Puttingyourcasebacktogetherwill invariablyresult intheoddknockorscrape,andthiswillgougerightthroughunhardenedlacquer.

APPLY COLOUR COATYoucannowapplythecolourcoat–fourorfivecoatsshoulddoit. If thefinishisn’tquitewhatyouexpected,trysandingeachcoat,aswiththeprimer.Thiscanalsosolveissuessuchasinsectsordustbecomingtrappedinthepaint.Onceyou’rehappywiththefinalcoat, leaveittodryovernight.

GET THE RIGHT RIVET HEADSArivetgunwillbecompatiblewithmostrivetsizes,butyoumayneedtousedifferentheadsdependingonthesizeofrivets.Useaheadthroughwhichthetailoftherivetcanpasswithroomtospare–itshouldn’tbeatightfit.Attachthisheadtotherivetgun.

ARRANGE YOUR COMPONENTSArrangeyourcomponentsinroughlythesameorderyoudismantledthem–thiswillhelpyoutoputeverythingbacktogetherintherightorder.Thisisparticularlyimportantbeforeriveting–ifyouinstallanypartsinthewrongorder,you’llhavetodrill therivetsagain,whichwillriskdamagingyourpaintwork.

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118 November 2012

PREPARE YOUR RIVET GUNInsertthetailoftherivet intotherivetgun.Whenyousqueezethetwohandlestogether,thetailwillbegrippedandpulledbyplatesinsidethegun,distortingtheheadandeventuallypullingoffthetail, leavinganeatrivet inplace.Practiseonasmallnutorsparepieceofmetalfirstsothatyougetthehangofit.You’lloftenneedtosqueezetheguntwicefortherivettobeformedandthetailtosnapoff.

START RIVETINGPushfirmlyagainstthecaseandmakesuretherivethaspassedthroughboththesectionstobelockedtogether.Squeezethegunhard–itmayneedafairamountofforce.Therivetheadshoulddeformandbecomeanobbledshapeonthefarside.Squeezingthegunforasecondtimewillcausethetailtosnapoff. If itdoesn’t, trysqueezingthenfullyreleasingthehandles,orremovingitwithpliers.

ASSEMBLE AND INSTALL DRIVE CAGESLeavingthedrivecagesuntil last, ifpossible,willmakeyourlifemucheasier.Makesureyouassemblethemintherightorder,andsothatyourharddiskswillbefacingtherightway–it’sveryeasytogetthesethewrongwayaround.Also,someareasofyourcase,suchasthedrivecages,maywelluseslightlysmallerrivets,sodon’tworryiftheonesyou’veusedontherestofthecasedon’tfit.

START ASSEMBLING THE CASEAssemblethecase’sbaseandrearpanel.Theyshouldslottogetherwiththerivetholesliningup.It’sbesttodoamock-upassemblyfirst–somerivetsmayneedtogothroughthreelayers,meaningthatthreecomponentswillneedtobelinedup,whichisn’teasytoforeseeifyougoheadfirst intoriveting.

INSTALL THE FITTINGSIfyou’veremovedanytool-freefittings,replacethesebeforeyouassemblethedrivecagesandtherestofthecase.Don’tbetemptedtoinstallthedrivecagescompletelyoutsideofthecase–youmaynotbeabletofit thembackin.

YOU’RE DONECheckthecaseonefinaltimetomakesurethatyouhaven’tmissedanyrivetholes,thenassembletherestofthefittings,suchasexpansionslotcoversandrubbergrommets.Yourcaseisnowreadyforitsfasciastobefitted.

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120 November 2012

for thewin!

I fyoulikeyourPCtolooksmartandstylishthenyoumayhavetakenafancytoFractalDesign’sDefineR4(seeIssue109,p42),andwedon’tblameyou–it’salovely-lookingcase.Italsoboastssuperbbuildquality,withasolidcombinationofsteelandplastic,andalustworthybrushed-aluminiumfrontfascia.It’squiettoo,withthefoam-linedside

panelshelpingtodeadenfannoise,anditcan

accommodateboth120mmand140mmfans,soyoucanpushplentyofairthroughthecasewithouthavingtorunyourfansatsillyspeeds.Thecaseincludesanintegratedthree-speed(5V,7Vand12V)fancontrollerhiddenbehindthefront,andthere’sapairofUSB3portsonthetop-mountedfrontpanelaswell.Meanwhile,there’splentyofroomfor

decenthardwareinside, includingclearance

foraCPUcoolerwithaheightofupto170mm,androomforeight3.5indrivesinthestandardcages;there’salsoafurtherpairof2.5inmountsbehindthemotherboardforSSDs.FormoreinformationabouttheDefineR4,visitwww.fractal-design.comTobeinwithachanceofwinningoneof

thesefantastic,stylishcases,answerthequestionbelow.

WIN!AFractalDesignDefineR4case 2

UP FORGRABS

WORTH £90EACH

Q Emailyouranswer [email protected]

with ‘FractalDesignCompetition 110’ in theSubject line.Closing date: 12October, 2012

WhatdoesATXstandfor?a)AcceleratedThreadedXeonb)AdvancedTechnologyeXtendedc)ArmouredTankXylophone





122 November 2012

TOUCH-SCREEN MEDIA PCsGiventhatWindows8haspropertouch-screenfunctionalitybuilt in,whatarethechancesofseeinga

Labstestofsomemediacases inthemag?Surely thesemustnowbeamoreattractivepropositionthan inthepast. Iseeyoursisterwebsite (bit-tech)hasfeaturedtheOrigenX15ecase inoneof theblogsrecently. ItlooksgoodandI’d lovetoseeafull reviewinthemagazine.AndrewLevick

Benreplies:WeactuallyreviewedtheOrigenX15eaverylongtimeago–backin2006if Irecallcorrectly. ItwasoriginallycalledtheDigNX15e,but it’sexactlythesamecase. Itstouch-screenisn’tmulti-toucheither,soitdoesn’tworkwellwithWindows8–infact, itdoesn’tsupportanyofthetouchgesturesatall (I’vetriedit).Iboughtonewhenitwasreleased,and

itmakesforareallygoodself-containedmediaPC–forexample, it’sperfectasalosslessaudiojukeboxinmyhi-firack,andIalsouseit torecordTVtoo.However, italsohasitsfrustrations–

it’satotalnightmaretobuild inside, forexample.TheWindows8touchfeaturesarereallymuchmoregearedtowardstabletsthanmediaPCs,butwe’redefinitelystillkeepinganeyeonthemediacentrePCbusiness,andwillbeincludingafull featureonitnextmonth(seep127).

SOLID STATE OF DISKI’mcurrently looking intoupgradingmyPCfor thefirst timein years. I’veupgradedtheoddpartastimehasgoneby,butnowSSDsarebecomingcheaper–andsincemybrotherwon’tstopbraggingabouthisspeedinguphiscomputer– I’mconsidering

myoptions. Iwouldneedat least512GBthough. Iusefour1TBharddrives fordataaswell,butwillanSSDmakemuchofadifference?Alsowould itbepossible to justcopywhat’sonmyharddrivetotheSSDoramI lookingataclean install?NicholasLambourne

LettersSend us your feedback and correspondence [email protected], with ‘Letter’ in the Subject line

JAMES IS FALLING APART ATTHE SEAMSOneforPedants’Paradise:I’mveryimpressedthatJamesGorboldonp130hasmasteredusinghisPCasasewingmachine:tweakingand‘overlocking’PCssincetheearly80s.Hashetriedoverclockingthemtoo?AaronMartin

PRICEY STICKEMS£45forStickemsscreencleanersseemsatadexcessive.SteveRahr(viaFacebook)

INITIAL THOUGHTSInyourPedants’ParadisecolumninSeptember’smag,younotedthatHDMIisanacronym.HDMIisn’tanacronym,becauseanacronymisawordthat’screatedfrominitials(suchaslaserorscuba).HDMIisinfactaninitialism(seetheOxfordEnglishDictionarywebsite).PatrickClark

Get a kick out of pointing out the shortcomings of others?It’s okay – so dowe

Benreplies:You’redefinitelylookingatacleaninstall,asyou’llneedWindows7’sTRIMcommandtopreventyourSSD’sperformancefromdegradingovertime.You’llalsoneedtomakesureit’srunninginAHCImodeinyourmotherboard’sBIOS,andinstall thelatest Intelstoragedriver.It’sdefinitelyworthit though–thespeeddifferenceisphenomenal.A512GBOCZVertex4currentlycosts£330fromwww.ebuyer.com–goodluck!

LOOPY LOOPSI justreceivedthelatestedition intheposttoday,andIspottedwhat lookedtomelikeamistakewiththemini-ITXwaterbuild.Onthe

TheOrigenX15e–perfectforaself-containedmediaPCinahi-firack,butitstouch-screendoesn’tsupportWindows8’smulti-touchgestures,andit’sanightmaretobuildinside



123November 2012

@DL8BBHowdoIgetissue109inGermany?I’dliketoreadabout

howtobuildaSinclair#ZX81fromscratch.Myfirstcomputerever.Ben:Yourbestbetistopickupthedigitalversionfromhttp://gb.zinio.com,whereyoucanbuymostofourrecentbackissues.Issue109willcostyou£3.50

@pageinarageTodayyoushouldbedoingultimateheatsink

testing–GulfTowninthesun![senton18August]

@BiggKenny IsitbesttohavemyPSUfacingupordown?Ihavea

meshundermyPCandlegsmeaningthere’sagap.Ben:Italldependsonthecaseandthedesignoftheairflowsystem,butyourPSUshouldonlygoinonewayaround.Ifyourcasehasameshanddecent

legs,thenhavingthefanfacingdownwardswillbenoproblemforit.

@mbazalukManagedtodigoutmyoldZX81amonth

ago#StillWorking#RockSolid.

@RealAaronMyersWelldoneonthereturnofJamesGorbold;

muchbetterthanthecolumnitreplaced.Ben:We’vehadafewcommentssuchasthis.IreallyenjoyedRab’scontributionwhilehewashere,butI’mverygladtohaveJamesbackonboardtoo.

@TheHarryButlerWanttohelpdecidewhichgames@

CustomPCMagand@bittechusetotestgraphicscardsandmotherboards?http://tinyurl.com/CPCGraphicsBenchGothere!

FEEDBACK

Follow us on Twitter at @custompcmag

XSPC680waterblock, thefeed inandfeedouthavebeenconnectedonthesameport,whichmeansthat there’snoflowfor theGPU. I’veattachedaphoto.RichardPoulter

Benreplies: IoriginallypassedthisontoAntonytoreply,butall Igotwasabunchofexpletivesinreturn!Yes,you’requiteright–weapologiseforanyconfusionthismayhavecaused.

HOW YOU TESTIn Issue108,youreviewedtheGigabyteGA-Z77-D3Hwiththe3.2GHzCore i7-3770Kand8GBof1,600MHzCorsairRAM.However, in theHowWeTestsection,yousayyoutest IntelLGA1155motherboardswithaCore i5-2500kand4GBof1,600MHzCorsairRAM.Althoughthememorysizemaynothavemucheffectonthebenchmarks,doesusingabetterCPUstillmake itdirectlycomparabletoothermotherboardsreviewed?Thismakes itslightlyconfusingforarecentsubscriber,suchasmyself,becauseduringthereviewyoucomparedtheD3HtotheMSIZ77A-G43,so I’mnotsurewhichCPUwasusedtobenchmarktheG43.SamTan

Benreplies:Sorryfortheconfusion,Sam–this iscompletelyourfault forforgettingtoupdatethatpartoftheHowWeTestpage.RestassuredthattheG43wasindeedtestedwithaCorei7-3770Kand8GBof1,600MHzCorsairRAM,asareall theZ7-basedmotherboardswe’vereviewed.

ONE DAY, THE CORE i5 WILL BEIN RETRO TECHI’ve just finishedreading Issue109,andI’dliketosay firstoff that thebestarticlewasRetroTech.Toput thatkit intoperspective,it’snineyearsolder thanme,butstillprettycool. I rememberwhenIwasalittle tinyhuman,withtheoldPCthatmygranddadhadacquiredfromthepowerstationatwhichheusedtowork.I recallusingWindows

3.1,andhavingtorememberDOScommandstosearchfor filesand installgames,andthiswasbackwhenIcouldbarelywritemyownname. It’sstrangetothink it tookme

nearly15yearsbefore IbuiltmyownPC.I fear thedaythat Igo intomyroom,open

mydrawerandfindmycurrentCore i5andrememberhowitwasoncethetopCPU,whenPCshadCPUs.Ormotherboards.Orcomponents. Is thisa fatethatany lifelongdedicatedcomputer fanmust face? I lookforwardtomoreretrotechnext issue.Keepupthegoodwork.MichaelMaher,aged23

Benreplies:Nowthat’sfoodforthought–onedayweprobablywilllookbackattoday’stechwithanostalgiceye.We’rereallygladyouenjoyedGareth’sarticle–hecertainlyenjoyedbuildingtheoldZX81,despitethesoldering!

Was

Shouldbe





125November 2012

Join our folding team and help medical research

WHAT ISFOLDING?Folding@homeusesthespareprocessingcyclesfromyourPC’sCPUandgraphicscardsformedicalresearch.Youcandownloadtheclientfromhttp://folding.stanford.edu/download.htmlandourteam’sIDis35947.Onceyoupassasignificantmilestone,you’llgetyournameinthemag.Youcanalsodiscussfoldingwithusandotherreadersonthewww.bit-tech.netforums.

CPC:Sowhoareyouandwhatdoyoudo?Abomin81on:MynameisMikeJorgeson,andI’macoastguardrescueofficerforHMCoastguard. Ialsoworkwithadultswithlearningdifficulties.

CPC:Whydidyoudecidetostartfolding?Abomin81on: I’dreadabout it inCPC,anditstuckoutassomethinginwhichI’dliketobeinvolved.However, I’dbeenrunningthesamehardwaresince2005,andIwasn’tsurehowmuchofacontributionIcouldmake,soIput itonthebackburner. Ibuiltanewsystematthebeginningof2012,though,anddecidedtogiveitago.

CPC:Whatexcitesyoumostaboutfolding?Abomin81on: I’dbelyingif Isaidthepointsmeannothing.Weall likebignumbersandclimbinguptables. I likecomparingthepointsthat I’mproducingtothoseofthepeoplearoundmetoo,althoughIfinditmoreofamotivationaltoolthanacompetition.Themainfactor isactuallyusingmyhardwareforsomethinguseful.

CPC:Whatmachinesdoyouhavefolding?Abomin81on: I’mdowntojustonemachineatthemoment–aCorei5-2500Kat4.5GHzwithaGeForceGTX560Ti.Theprocessorcanrunalittlefaster,butmyrig isair-cooledandrunning24/7,soItakeiteasyontheclockspeed. I’vehadtocannibalisetwoolderrigstokeepotherpeople’sPCsupandrunning,and

Wecatch upwith folder of themonth: Abomin81on

IcannolongerusemyPS3forfolding.However, IrecentlynoticedthatFingAZwaspumpingoutanimpressivenumberofpoints,andhit thebit-techforumtoaskwhathardwarewasbeingused.TherewasapostfromFingAZaboutthe

HPCloudService(HPCS)privatebeta,andI immediatelysignedup,enablingmetoproducealotmorepoints.MypointsdroppedaftertheHPCSprivatebetaended,but I’mnowlookingatbuildingatleastonemorerigtopumpoutmorepoints. I’mconsideringmultiprocessoroptionsvsacoupleof IvyBridgesetups. I’malsocurrentlyusingWindows7,but I’llprobablychangeovertoaLinux-basedsystemnext.

CPC:Anytipsforfellowteammembers?Abomin81on:Theforumisyourfriend. I’vefoundinfotherethatmeantIdidn’tneedtoaskquestions. I’dalsoadvisenotputtingitoff– IwishI’dstartedyearsago.

CPC:What’syourworstfoldingexperience?Abomin81on: Initially itwasthelostgamingtime. Icouldn’tbringmyself toplaygameswhenmymachinewaspumpingthroughtheworkunits. It turnedoutgreat intheend,though,asitgavememoretimeformeetingupwithfriends,andactivitiessuchaskayaking, insteadofgaming.

CPC:Andthebest?Abomin81on:Hittingthemilestonesisnice,

Teamrank157 Worldrank5,596Score5,757,210 Workunits1,397Dailypointsaverage27,368

TOPFOLDERSThismonth’sshout-outsgotoSyLvEsTeR20007,kirk_hobson,fatchefandSlowlemon.Ifyoufoldunderanyofthesenames,[email protected]

126

butthebestexperienceischeckingtheprojectnumbers,andseeinghowI’mhelping,nomatterhowsmallapart Iplay.

CPC:Isthereanythingyou’dchangeaboutyoursetup?Abomin81on: Imight installawater-coolingsystem–thePCcanbealittleloudat3amwhenI’mtryingtosleep.




126 November 2012

MILESTONES THIS MONTH

Username Pointsmilestone




Munky 700000

Osiris_Blue 800000

SkyTsar 800000

boiled_elephant 900000

CheeZee73 900000

lazyhazie 900000

the_kille4 900000

beads 1000000

Ben_Lamb 1000000

ForGrace 1000000

GandalfDDUK 1000000

Number14 1000000

yes 1000000

8Core 2000000

Desertbaker 2000000

Little_Willie 2000000

LittleTodden 2000000

DarrylJacobs 3000000

Fly_Boy_Rez 3000000

kirk_hobson 3000000

ricky_eke 3000000

droyden 4000000

Slowlemon 4000000

Abomin81on 5000000

luckybfocus 5000000

SyLvEsTeR20007 5000000

Keith_Chung 6000000

debs3759 7000000

Dolphin(CPC) 7000000

John_Naylor 7000000

kirk_1701 7000000

big-bert 8000000

Serpentine 8000000

dd 9000000

jona 9000000

Scorpuk 9000000

_Fanatic 10000000

pompeyrodney 10000000

Worldrank

Teamname Points Dailypointsaverage

Timeuntilovertake

7 CustomPC&bit-tech 5,547,093,710 3,954,159 0

17 HewlettPackard 1,876,758,760 4,690,809 13.7Years

THE NEXT OVERTAKE

Ayeska 20000

Dalunar 20000

DoMiNiuS 20000

Padsta 20000

Skulldragon 20000

Bob_D 30000

pitprop 30000

Berkan 40000

Halldor 40000

Anselm 50000

Forquare 50000

GJBriggs 60000

matthewj25 60000

Rrruby 60000

SzLvEsTeR20007 60000

TheManicGibbon 60000

breadbin123 70000

llb443 70000

matthewedwardcornish

70000

Rykard_Maximus 70000

tompdb 70000

FlamingWolfman 80000

LboroSlider 80000

RandomDecoy 80000

anadir2 100000

BaskB 100000

jpostlethwaite 100000

pipnina 100000

th3_F15T 100000

YoutubeBelgiumPress 100000

bigg 200000

BordenGrammarSchool 200000

Detsawm 200000

rjcman 200000

bbnsol 300000

JimmyMcRees 300000

MalecAndBrinn 300000

ReDeamer 300000

weebob 400000

Filce 500000

SourDipRaita 500000

maxrealism 600000

TokerRizla 600000

toxic43 600000





TOP 20 OVERALLRank Username Points Workunits

1 Dave_Goodchild 385,685,763 107,682

2 DocJonz 248,333,863 140,957

3 phoenicis 223,349,417 93,954

4 zz9pzza 211,014,628 15,794

5 coolamasta 199,248,901 141,496

6 Lizard 131,598,973 60,078

7 StreetSam 106,943,250 72,267

8 CustomBitChimps 94,376,547 46,589

9 Wallace 91,817,783 5,708

10 Christopher_N._Lewis 91,790,950 32,362

11 Nelio 61,386,571 30,217

12 BennieboyUK 61,286,969 3,107

13 fir3x 59,469,269 9,015

14 saspro 57,534,603 45,372

15 One_Box 52,864,476 7,248

16 Standin_wave 51,114,756 33,634

17 The_M2B 49,969,387 37,297

18 PS3/LanDi 48,446,611 86,309

19 greenfrog.biz 47,768,712 163,014

20 Lordsoth 46,365,376 52,804

TOP 20 PRODUCERSRank Username Dailypointsaverage Overallscore

1 Nelio 419,144 61,338,565

2 DocJonz 360,490 248,327,084

3 Christopher_N._Lewis 194,454 91,790,950

4 coolamasta 179,810 199,230,927

5 One_Box 164,326 52,859,694

6 Dave_Goodchild 144,390 385,672,562

7 fir3x 101,292 59,460,417

8 Lordsoth 94,335 46,351,446

9 Wallace 93,595 91,817,783

10 The_M2B 81,843 49,961,857

11 Scorpuk 78,437 9,204,068

12 PC_Rich 77,587 44,091,377

13 SyLvEsTeR20007 71,573 5,063,652

14 _Fanatic 70,526 11,521,655

15 LordBadger 66,253 32,575,248

16 kirk_hobson 59,964 3,146,249

17 fatchef 59,087 15,112,566

18 Slowlemon 54,599 4,482,624

19 Ben_Lamb 48,039 1,769,128

20 Keith_Chung 47,121 6,035,166

enigmo 20000000

Lau_Gar 20000000

PlasmaBomb 20000000

Sean_Hayes 20000000

Slavcho 30000000

One_Box 50000000

Nelio 60000000

Christopher_N._Lewis

90000000

Wallace 90000000

127November 2012

Onsale 18October,2012*Pleasenotethatthesestoriesaresubjecttoproductdelays,kitnotturningupandtheamountoftimespenttryingtosortoutconsistentlyaccurategamebenchmarksforgraphicscards.Wishusluck!

Graphics cardsNowthatAMDandNvidia’slatestgenerationsofGPUsareinfullswing,we’regoingtotestallthemid-to-high-endGPUsonanewsuiteofteststoseewhichdeserveyourcash.

ModyourCPUWanttostopyouroverclockedIvyBridgechipgettingsotoastyatfullload?AntonyshowsyouhowtoreplaceIntel’sbudgetthermalpasteandreduceyourCPU’stemperature.

Build anHTPCHometheatrePC,mediacentre,whateveryouwanttocallit.We’regoingtotakealookatthecurrentbesthardwareoptionsforbuildingaPC-basedhomeentertainmentbox.

ReplaceyourGPU fanFedupwiththehissywhinecomingfromyourgraphicscard’scooler?We’llshowyouhowtosafelyreplacethefanonyourgraphicscard,enablingyoutoliveinpeaceagain.

Comingnextmonth in



128 November 2012

omeonBen,really?Amotherboardchipset?It isn’texactlysexy, isit?It’sokay,Iknowmotherboardchipsetsrarelyreceivetheinappropriate

droolenjoyedbynewgraphicscardsandprocessors,butI’mgoingtomakeaspecialexceptionfortheIntel440BX.It’sachipsetthatwassogoodthatIntelfailedtobetteritforseveralyears.Call ita‘classic’ ifyoulike.It’sthechipsetthatchangedeverything.HopintheHGWells-styletimemachine,

completewiththespinningumbrellaattheback,andlet’stravelbackto1998.Intel’sslot-basedPentiumII iscurrentlythekingofitsprocessorline-up,butthisrangehaspreviouslybeenstuckwiththe440LXchipset.ThefirstPentiumIIprocessorsuseda66MHzfrontsidebus,whichwasfinewhentheywerereleased,becausethesupportingSDRAMDIMMsand440LXchipsetalsoonlyuseda66MHzfrontsidebus.Thisallchangedwiththe440BX,whichfirstbroughtusthe100MHzfrontsidebus.Thespeeddifferencewasincredible–a

350MHzPentiumIIonlylooked17MHzfasterthana333MHzPentiumII intermsofpaper,butits100MHzFSBactuallymadeitamazinglyquicker.However, inordertoobtainthefullspeed,youfirstneededIntel’snew440BXchipset,andyoualsoneededtobuyPC100(100MHz)memory.Thiswasabigchangeforthoseofuswhohadn’treallyconsideredmemoryspeedbefore–youmighthaveconsidereddifferenttypesofmemory(inthiscaseEDOorSDRAM),butthespeedwasalwaysthesame.Nowitwasimportanttohavememorythatmatchedtheavailablebandwidth.Amazingly,thisbasic100MHzclockhasn’t

massivelychangedsincethen.Sure,we’vehadprocessorsandchipsetsthatraisedthis

toa133MHzfrontsidebusandfurther,andtechnologiessuchasquad-pumpingtomultiplyit,butevennow,aCorei7-3770Kstillhasabaseclockof100MHz.Perhapsthebiggestsellingpointfor440BX,

however,wasitslongevityandstability.WhenIntellaunchedthePentiumIIIthenextyear,thechipsusedthesame100MHzbusandchipsetastheirpredecessors.Itbecameastandard.Ifyouboughtanewgraphicscard,youcouldguaranteeitwouldhavebeentestedproperlyona440BXchipset.Thesame

couldn’tbesaidforalltheothermanychipsetsavailableatthetime.Thebigchancefor440BXtoproveitself,

however,camewhenIntellauncheditsnewrangeof‘Coppermine’PentiumIIIchipswitha133MHzfrontsidebus.Twosupportingchipsetswerelaunched–the810,whichusedSDRAMbutdidn’thaveanAGPslot(usingIntel integratedgraphicsinstead),andthe820,whichhadtheAGPslotbutrequiredcostly

RambusRDRAMmodules.The820’snewhardwareconfigurationalsobroughtawholenewloadofcompatibilityproblemswithit.Thiswasaballs-upthatbackfired

massively.Noenthusiastwanted810,becausetheywantedtoplaygames,buttheyalsoobjectedtotheoutlayrequiredfor820.Instead,weaskedifwecouldjustoverclocka440BXboardandrunthenewchipsonthatinstead.Itturnedoutthatwecould.

NewsupportingBIOSesweremadeavailableformany440BXmotherboardstosupportthenewCPUs,andwestuckheatsinksonthechipsetstohelpthemcope–440BXwasreallythefirstusefullyoverclockablechipset.Notonlydid440BXgiveusthe100MHz

busandwidecompatibility,butitalsoevensurvivedaCPUerathatitwasn’tsupposedtosupport. Ihaven’tseensuchawidelyadoredchipsetsince.

C

WE ASKED IF WE COULD JUSTOVERCLOCK A 440BX BOARD ANDRUN THE NEW CHIPS ON THAT

Intel440BXArguably the first chipset that could be called a ‘classic’,Ben Hardwidge recalls Intel’s first mainstream chipsetwith a 100MHz bus

The440BX–a100MHzFSB,widespreadcompatibilityandanenviablelifespan

Intel’sPentiumIIIprocessorswerejustashappywith440BXastheirPentiumIIpredecessors

PhotobySw

aaye





B ackwhenIwasafull-timejournalist,oneoftheITindustry’squirksthatamusedmethemostwastheapparentlychaoticandnonsensicalwaythatmanycompanieswentabout

namingnewproducts.Agreatexampleofconfusingnamingisthebrand-newGeForce

GTX660Ti(seep36)thatNvidialaunchedthismonth.TheproblemforNvidiawasthattheGTX660Tiistotallyunlikeitsforebears,theGTX460TiandGTX560Ti;thesewerenewlydesignedGPUsthatdeliveredawesomeamountsofperformanceforlessthan£200.Asaresult,theywereNvidia’sbiggest-sellingenthusiastgraphicscards.Incontrast,theGeForceGTX660TiisaGTX

670TiwithsomeoftheROPs,textureunitsandthememorycontrollerdisabled.ThisresultsinasmallperformancereductioncomparedtotheGTX670Ti,plusapricetagthat’saround£50cheaperat£240.So,despitetheGeForceGTX660Tibeingsensiblypriced(foritsperformance), itwasgivenanunwelcomereceptionbymanyenthusiastswho,basedonpreviousexperience,expectedittobeanewGPUthatcostlessthan£200.WithmoreGeForce600-seriescards,suchastheforthcoming

GTX660andGTX650,waitinginthewings,Nvidiahasbrokenitsownnamingconvention.Tobemorespecific,bylabellingtheGTX660Tiinthisway,Nvidiahasgotitself intoabitofapickle,asitcannolongerusethewell-establishedpracticeofusingthe‘GTXx60Ti’nameforitshighest-volumeenthusiastgraphicscard.Nvidiacouldhaveavoidedthisunfortunatesituationbynamingthe

GTX660TitheGTX665Ti,butananonymoussourceatNvidiatoldmethatthecompanydidn’tdothisbecauseitwasworriedaboutassociatingtheGTX660TiwiththewoefulGTX465.However,havingconductedastrawpollamongagroupoffriends,mostofthem

JamesGorbold ponders how tech productsare named, andwhat those names imply

james gorbold

couldn’tevenremembertheGeForceGTX465–probablybecauseNvidiamadeandsoldfewofthem.However,nowthatIworkintheITindustryandhavebeeninvolvedin

thenamingofseveralproducts,Ihavealittlemoresympathyforotherpeoplewhohavetodothesamejob.Forexample,IwasrecentlytaskedwithnamingScan’sforthcomingrangeofgaminglaptopsthatsomeofyoumayhaveseenindemosattherecenti46gamingLANinNewburyovertheAugustbankholidayweekend.Thetroubleisthat,thisbeingthe21stcenturywithhundredsof

yearsofindustryalreadybehindus,itcanbeastruggletofindasuitablenameforyourproductthathasn’talreadybeenusedbyanothercompany.Intheend,wedecidedtocallallthelaptopsGraphiteandusewhatIhopewillbeaneasilycomprehensiblemodifiertodifferentiatethevariousmodels.However,I’ll leavethatinthecapablehandsoftheCustomPCreviewteamtodecide,should

itwanttoreviewanyoftheunitswhenthey’reavailable.Thatsaid,I’mstillnotsureit’sagoodideaforInteltoinsiston

labellingeveryenthusiastCPUaCoreandcallingIvyBridgeCPUsThirdGenerationCore,blithelyignoringthefactthattherehavebeenfarmorethanthreegenerationsofCore-brandedprocessors.ItalsocontinuestobafflemethatIntel’sprofessionalrangeofXeonCPUsaresosensiblynamed,yetitsenthusiastCPUsareseeminglynamedalmostatrandom.

JamesGorboldfellinlovewiththeoriginalIBMPCintheearly1980sandhasbeenbuilding,tweakingandoverclockingPCseversince.HehaswrittenanarticleinalmosteveryissueofCustomPCandnowhelpsScanComputerstodevelopnewsystems.

By labelling the GTX660 Ti in this way,Nvidia has got itselfinto a bit of a pickle

WHAT’S INANAME?

130 November 2012 WorldMags.netWorldMags.net






Documents

Custom PC Magazine UK November 2012