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3July 2012

Welcome to Issue 106EditorialEDITOR

[email protected]

TECHNICALEDITORHarryButler

GAMESEDITORJoeMartin

ARTEDITORBillBagnall

PRODUCTIONEDITORJulieBirrell

CONTRIBUTORSAntonyLeather, CliffHarris,GarethHalfacree,JimKillock,

LucySherriff, MikeJennings,PaulGoodhead,RobertFlorence,SimonTreadaway,TracyKing

PHOTOGRAPHYDannyBird

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INTEL IVYBRIDGE

36SandyBridgesusurperhasfinally

arrived,packedwithtiny22nmTri-Gate

transistorsandpromisinga reductionin

powerconsumptioncoupledwithevenmorespeed,whilekeepingthecorecountthesame.Buthowwell

dotheyoverclock,andhowmuchheatisgenerated

byallthosefast-switching,tinytransistors?We

takealookat Intelsnewchips,aswellasthebest

memorywithwhichtopartnerthem,andaready-

madeIvyBridgegamingrigfromScan.

44

4 July 2012

Welcome to Issue 106

12GOVERNMENTSNOOPING

Willthegovernmentreallybe

readingallouremails?JimKillockexplores

thefactsaboutCCDP.

14GOGINTERVIEW

WetalktoGoGsTrevorLongino

aboutitsnewlaunch,andhowyoupersuade

Windows98 gamestorun onnewPCs.

18ORGANICCOMPUTING

Researchersshowthepotentialtomaketechfromsalivaandbloodproteins.

46NVIDIAGEFORCEGTX690

Thenextfastestgraphicscardin

theworldisherealready.Wetakealookat

Nvidiasbonkersnewdual-GPUcard,which

isbasedonthecompanysnewKepler

GPUarchitecture.

60Z77MOTHERBOARD

SHOOTOUT

Whatmakesthebesthomefora brand-new

IvyBridgeCPU? Werevieweightnew

motherboardsbasedontheZ77chipsetinordertofindout.

96THEBITESIZEDHARDCORE

GAMERMANIFESTO

Notimeto playthroughthegrind?CliffHarris

exploresagapinthehardcoregamemarket.

98HANDSONWITHTHE

RASPBERRYPi

This29pieceofcircuitboardhasbeen

grabbingalotofheadlines,butwhatcanyou

actuallydowithit,andhow?GarethHalfacree

detailshowtoturnthePiintoamediacentre

or aNASbox,andevenshowsyouhowtooverclockit.

6098

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112

14

106

5July 2012

1ssue 106

106READERSDRIVES

MeetProjectStealthlowa

gorgeousPCwitha curvyaluminiumchassis,

all constructedwithout industrialmachinery.

114HOWTOMAKEADUSTFILTER

Allyouneedisapairoftightsanda

rubberband.

116MAKEAUSB3FRONTPANEL

Shortonhigh-speedportsatthe

front?MakeyourownUSBpanelusingaspare drive-bayblankingplate.

ReviewedthismonthHardware

CPU38 IntelIvyBridge

MEMORY

40 ThebestmemoryforIvyBridge

PC

44 Scan3XSVengeanceZ77OC

GRAPHICS CARDS

46 NvidiaGeForceGTX690

48 GainwardPhantomGeForceGTX

6802GBand4GB

HARD DRIVE

52 1TBWesternDigitalVelociRaptor

CPUCOOLER

53 NofanCR-95C

STEERINGWHEEL

54 ThrustmasterFerrariF1Wheel

IntegralT500

Customkit58 Roku2XS

58 64GBKingstonDataTravelerHyperXUSB3

58 GriffinBeacon(Androidversion)

59 SamsungNavibotVCR8895

59 ArcticChargingStation

59 StartechUNIDOCK3UGB

Z77motherboardLabstest63 ASRockFatal1tyZ77

Professional-M

64 AsusMaximusVGene

66 AsusSabertoothZ7767 BiostarTZ77XE4

70 GigabyteGA-Z77X-UD5H

72 IntelDZ77GA-70K

74 MSIZ77A-G43

76 MSIZ77A-GD65

Games88 TheLegendofGrimrock

90 Rayman:Origins

91 Gettysburg:ArmoredWarfare

92 Risen2:DarkWaters

95 RidgeRacer:Unbounded

33PRODUCTSREVIEWED

1898

6044

40

36

46

88

Regulars8

Fromtheeditor11 TracyKing12 Digitalrights14 Interview16 Incoming18 Science!20 Mobiletechwatch24 CPCEliteproducts56 Howwetest86 Grumpygamer96 Devperspective128 Retrotech

130 RobertFlorence

Community106 Readersdrives112 Howtofitmotherboardwaterblocks114 Howtomakeyourowndustfilter116 HowtomakeyourownUSBfrontpanel118 Forthewin!120 Letters125 Folderofthemonth126

Yourfoldingmilestones

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iwasoriginallygoingtotalkaboutIvyBridgethismonth,and

explainwhyitsstilltheCPUarchitectureofchoice,despite

doublingasanovenfilamentwhenitsoverclocked.However,

whileIwasdouble-checkingthepricesonourElitelist,Inoticedthat

thepriceofSSDshastumbledlikeaJengasetbalancedonadogs

back.Justincaseyouhaventspottedityet,youcannowbuyaCrucial

M4128GBforjust89.99incVATfromwww.ebuyer.com,anda256GB

versionofthesamedrivefor175incVAT.

ItisntonlyCrucialthatsdroppeditsprices

either.Thepriceofothermanufacturers

SSDs,includingthoseofSamsung,havealso

plummeted.Inshort,theressimplynoexcuse

fornotinstallinganSSDinyournextPCbuild

now.NotonlyareCrucials128GBand256GB

M4SSDssupremelyfast,buttheyalsooffer

morethanenoughstoragespaceforWindows,

plentyofsoftwareandagoodfewgamestoo.

ImentionthisbecauseImeetsomanypeoplewhohappily

performmassivePCupgradeseverynowandthen,swappingoutthe

motherboard,RAMandCPU,butkeepingthesame1TBharddrive

theyvehadforyears,andstillusingitasasystemdrive.Iknowweve

saidthisrepeatedly,andwereprobablystartingtosoundlikeabroken

record(anincrediblytediousrecordwithaconversationaboutstorage

devicesonit),buttheupgradethatwillmakethebiggestdifferenceto

yourPCischangngfromaharddisktoanSSD.

ThebiggestdifferenceyoullnoticeistheWindowsstartuptime,

whichissadlyalmostimpossibletobenchmarkconsistently,as

cachingalgorithmsmakeitslightlydifferenteachtime.However,its

astoundinglyquickerthanusinga harddrive,andImnotjusttalking

aboutthetimeittakesfortheWindowsdesktoptoappear.WhenyoubootupWindows7orVistaonastandardPConaharddrive,youalso

You might not have to junk yourmotherboard, CPU and RAM just yet.

An SSD upgrade may be all you need

havetositaroundandwaitwhiletheharddrivestopsfaffingaround

beforeyoucanactuallydoanything.

ClickaniconontheQuickLaunchbarstraightafterboot-upand

youllhavetowaitforyourharddrivetostopmuckingaboutbeforeyou

seetheresultofyouraction.Itsevenworseifyouclickonseveralapps

oneaftereachotherinanattempttogetthemallrunningatonce.

ThebenefitsofSSDscontinuewellafterboot-upthough.Game

levelsloadmuchquicker,whichmakesamassivedifferenceindata-

heavygamessuchasTheWitcher2,and

iTunesdoesntshamblealonglikeafattortoise

stuckbetweentwobrickseither.

IfyourestillusingaCore2Quadorfirst-gen

Corei7system,thenyoumaybetemptedto

gutyoursystemandinstallaloadofnewIvy

Bridgekitnow(evenifitdoesgethot),butif

yourPCstillusesaharddriveasabootdrive

thenIdinsteadadvisespendingjust90ona

smallupgradethatwillmakeaworldof difference.Theresstilla need

forfasterCPUs,ofcourse,butanupgradetoanSSDwillmakeamuch

morenoticeabledifferenceintermsofgeneraluse.

Forthisreason,andasaresultoffeedbackfromourreaders(see

Issue105,p123),wevedecidedtokitoutallthePCsinourElitesection

(exceptthebudgetPC)withasolid-statesystemdrive,aswellasa

harddrivefordata.Whena128GBcostsjust90,youdbeafoolnotto

makethejump.Imnowgoingtoremovemypreachershat.Buyan

SSD.Seriously.

BenHardwidgeistheeditorofCustomPC.HelikesPCs,realale

andWarhammer40,000.

[email protected] @MANSHARK

iTunes doesnt shamble

along like a fat tortoise

stuck between two

bricks any more

NO MOREEXCUSES

8 July 2012

from the editor

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Thismonthagainbroughtaslewofstoriesbasedonthe

ridiculousclaimthatWiFiandtechnologyissomehow

literallyfryingourbrains,givinguscancer,causingfatigue,

headachesordepression,andmorethan100othersymptoms;this

isbackedupbydubiousdataandparadedaroundasnewsbylink-

baitingeditors.Itsurfaceseveryfewyearsandeverytimeitdoes,Iroll

myeyessohardIgetaYahtzee.

Asatech-savvynon-idiot,youalmostcertainlydontbelievethat

electro-smog,alsoknownasthemoremedical-soundingbutequally

silly electrosensitivityis agenuinedanger.However,asyoullcertainly

besurroundedby severalcomputers,phones,aWiFinetworkandall

sortsofotherkit,heresthelow-down.

Electrosensitivityisfirstandforemostaself-

diagnosedcondition.Youdontgetabunchof

symptoms,gotothedoctorandareasked,

Hmm,haveyourecentlyinstalledanew

router?.Instead,youshowsomesymptoms,

getnowherewithyourGP,starttoscramble

aroundforcausesandsuddenlyremember

thateverythingstartedaroundthesametime

youboughtanewNetgearbox.

Correlationdoesntequalcausation.Itsthe

simplest,andsadly,oneofthemostcommon

fallacies,especiallywhenitcomestohealth.Ihaveafriendwhodidnt

eatcheesefortenyearsbecausehesufferedamigraineaftereating

RedLeicester.Turnsouthewasallergictothefoodcolouring.Ten

wretchedcheeselessyearsbecauseofasimplelogicalerror.

Electrosensitivityisthekingofallpost-hocfallacies.Were

surroundedbyincreasingnumbersoflow-hum-emittingtech,

invisiblewavesandphonemastsinthedistance.Thechancesof

developingsomesymptomsafterbeingexposedtoanewdevice(even

seeinganewWiFiconnectionisinthelist)are100percentifyoulive

evena vaguelymodernlife,aswealldo.Blamingelectromagneticradiationfromthosedevicesislikeblamingthecolourof yournewcar.

Theres no such thing as electro-smog,but link-baiting editors still churn out

stories about WiFi frying our brains

Theevidencesimplyisntthere.Therehavebeenmany

experiments,andoverandoveragain,thoseclaimingsensitivitywere

unabletodistinguishbetweenarealsignalandafakeone.Reviewsof

thoseexperimentsbyJamesRubinetal(PsychosomaticMedicine,

2005andBioelectromagnetics,2010),concluded:Wehavebeen

unabletofindanyrobustevidencetosupporttheexistenceof

[electromagnetichypersensitivity]asabiologicalentity.

Sowhydopeopleclaimotherwise,andwhyisitaproblemifthey

do?Its importanttorealisethatthesymptomsarereal.Physicalpain

ordiscomfort,orevenvisiblesymptomssuchasrashes,canhave

underlyingpsychologicalcausesbutthatdoesntmeantheyreallin

yourhead.Thepeoplereportingproblemsare

notlyingormad,anymorethansomeonewith

aphobia.However,itslikelythatthecauseisa

psychologicalone,andnotsurprisingly,the

treatmentwiththebestsuccessratefor

electrosensitivityis cognitivebehavioural

therapy(CBT),whileotheroptionssuchas

shielding,donothingbeyondplacebo.

Andtheproblem?Sameasalways.You

andI,andourpro-technologycommunities,

arethebadguysyetagainthemonstersin

thecloset.Somesufferers,fuelledbyscare-

lovingmedia,needlesslymovehouse,changetheirlifestylesorbuy

expensivebutworthlessshieldingequipmenttosavethemfromtheir

WiFiandgadgetry.SomecouncilshaveeventriedtooutlawWiFiin

schools,deprivingkidsofthebenefitsofamajortechnologyand

convenience.Evidencewillwinintheendbutinthemeantime,being

armedwiththefactsonelectrosensitivitywillbemorehelpfulwhen

tryingtoavoidaheadache.

GamerandscienceenthusiastTracyKingdissectstheevidence

andstatisticsbehindsomeofthepopularmediastories

surroundingtechandgaming @TKINGDOLL

11July 2012

Correlation doesnt

equal causation. Its the

simplest, and sadly,

one of the most

common fallacies

ATTACK OFTHE KILLER WIFI

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Jim Killock

ecently,storiesaboutthesinisterbut

innocuouslytitledCommunications

CapabilitiesDevelopment

Programme(CCDP)haveemergedin

theformofleaksandpartialconfirmationsto

Sundaynewspapers.Thesecondstory,

printedinTheSundayTimesonAprilFools

Day,hadmanypeopleaskingifthissupposed

planwasajoke.TheCCDP,itwasclaimed,isa

plantocollectasmuchdataaspossibleabout

whoyoutalktoonline,andwhen.Couldsuch

anoutrageousstoryreallybetrue?

Withinaday,ministerTheresaMaywas

wheeledout,justifyingtheideaby

remindingpeoplethattrafficdata

hadinthepastbeenusedto

investigateterroristsand

paedophilerings.ShetoldTheSun:

Imnotwillingtoriskmoreterrorist

plotssucceedingandmore

paedophilesgoingfreeDatalike

thishasalreadyhelpedlockawaymurderer

IanHuntley.Ithelpedcatchthegangland

thugswhogunneddownRhysJones.

Shealsoremindedpeoplethatthenew

planswouldntinvolvestoringactual

messagesyousend,justwhoyou

communicatewith(trafficdata).Bythetimeyoureadthis,wemayhavefirmerideasabout

GovernmentsnoopingCCDP wasnt an April Fools joke; its very real and it effectively

allows the government to see who everyone talks to online

whattheCCDPreallymeans,soplease

acceptmyapologiesinadvanceforanyerrors:

Internetpolicycanbeimplementedquickly

anddangerously.

CCDPhasitsrootsinaLabourideafrom

2009,calledtheInterceptionModernisation

Plan(IMP).Thisincludedaplantostoreall

yourtrafficdatainagiantnationaldatabase,

althoughthatpartwasquicklydropped.

However,theworryremainsthattheHome

Officewantsaccesstostoreddatainorderto

fishforsuspects,by scanningthroughdatait

canaccesseasily.

TheHomeOfficesjustification,thenand

now,forextendingthestorageoftrafficdata

isthatthefactthatthepolicedependonitfor

investigations.Formanyyears,thepolice

wouldlookatphonebillstoseewhothe

peopletheywereinvestigatingtalkedto.

Asourcommunicationsbegantomoveonline, ISPswereaskedto givepoliceaccess

totheirlogs.Theseincludeemailsend

andreceivedetails,accountIPaddresses

andsomedataaboutwebvisits.ISPsare

alsorequiredtokeepthesedetailsforup

to18months.

ISPsarentkeepingalltherelevant

informationanymore.Infact,Skype,Gmail

andFacebookaremuchmorelikelytohave

detailsaboutwhoyoutalktothanBTor

TalkTalk,sotheHomeOfficewantsto target

thesethird-partyapplicationsandcollect

informationfromthem.

WhenthecoalitionwasformedinMay

2010,manypeopleexpectedthe

approachtochange.Afterall,we

hadanewgovernmentwhosepartieshadopposedIMP.The

coalition,infact,saidinits

agreementthatwewillendthe

storageofInternetandemail

recordswithoutgoodreason.

However,byOctober,theHomeOfficesnew

strategydocumentstoldustheopposite.

Wewillintroduceaprogrammeto

preservetheabilityof thesecurity, intelligence

andlawenforcementagenciestoobtain

communicationdataandtointercept

communicationswithintheappropriatelegalframeworkWewillputinplacethe

R

THE WORRY REMAINS THAT THE

HOME OFFICE WANTS ACCESS TO

STORED DATA IN ORDER TO

FISH FOR SUSPECTS

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13July 2012

necessaryregulationsandsafeguardsto

ensurethatourresponsetothistechnology

challengeiscompatiblewiththe

governmentsapproachto information

storageandcivilliberties.

Soon,HomeOfficebudgetlineswere

reserving2billionfortheproject.Whathad

changed?Notverymuch.TheHomeOffices

OfficeforSecurityandCounter-Terrorism

(OSCT)stillexistsandisrunbythesame

officials,includingdirectorCharlesFarr,an

ex-AfghanistanMI6agent.OSCTpromoted

bothIMPandtheCCDP.

TheOSCThadbeentalkingtoindustry

andotherbodies,includingtheInformation

Commission,whichisinchargeofUKdata

protection.LastNovember,itsrepresentatives

metwiththeISPAssociation(ISPA)to discuss

howtheymightimplementtheCCDP.

Duringthisperiod,myorganisation,the

OpenRightsGroup,askedtheHomeOfficefor

ameetingtoseewhatitwasplanning,and

wasbrushedoff.Ourfreedomofinformation

requestsfordetailsofmeetingsandminutes

wereturneddownoncostgrounds.

TheOSCTandHomeOfficeappeartohave

learnedthatthepreviousconsultations,under

Labour,provokedtoomuchdebateand

opposition,andaquieter,moresecretive

approachwouldbemorelikelytodampen

oppositionandsucceed.Campaignerssuch

asORGandPrivacyInternationalhavehadto

relyonrumoursandleakstoestablishwhat

mightbehappening.

Thegreatestuncertaintiessurroundhowthegovernmentwilldealwiththeconcerned

companies,suchasGoogleandFacebook.

Whybotherinterceptingandstoringthisdata,

whenyoucansimplyaskforitdirectly?

Infact,thisalreadyhappens.Forexample,

Googlepublisheshowmanyrequestsitgets

fordataaboutitsusers.IntheUK,Googlesays

itreceivesover1,000requestsayear,andit

complieswitharound63percentofthese.

However,thispalesintoinsignificance

againstthe500,000annualrequestsmade

undertheRegulationofInvestigatoryPowersAct(RIPA).Mostofthesearebelievedtobe

requeststophonecompaniesaskingwho

hasregisteredaparticularphonenumber.

Asmallernumberwillbetrafficdata.

Meanwhile,Facebookcomplieswith

requestsinpart:itdoesntprovidethefull

detailsofeverymessageanindividualsends,

butwillgivesubscriberinformation.Whats

more,ifacompanydoesntcomplywithsuch

requests,theUKpolicecanusuallyask

throughinternational legalagreements.

AllRIPArequestsareself-authorisedbylawenforcement,andtheydontrequirea

magistrateorcourttocheckthattheyre

reasonable.Ontheplusside,thegovernment

acceptsthatthenumberofbodiesabletouse

RIPApowersshouldbemorelimited:thelist

onceincludedtheMilkMarketingBoard,and

stillincludesalllocalcouncils.

However,acompletelistof someones

friendsandassociates,alongwithalarge

proportionof theircommunications, is

muchmoreintrusivethanaphonebill,and

potentiallymoreopentoabuse.Strongersafeguardsareneeded, including

JIMKILLOCKisexecutivedirectorof

campaignorganisation

TheOpenRightsGroup

(www.openrightsgroup.org)

@jimkillock

independentsupervision.Afterall, the

Levesoninquiryhasalreadyshownthat

policeandjournalistscolludedandshared

informationinappropriately.

Targetedcollection,datafreezingor

retainingdataofgenuinesuspects,and

targetedinterceptionareallpossiblewithout

CCDP.Responsibleservicesmayco-operate,

andcross-borderagreementsensurethat

datacanbeobtainednomatterwhatthe

jurisdiction. Inthelongterm,thislegislation

willalsocausemassiveexpense,especially

giventhenumberofservicesthehardware

willneedtointerceptandread.

Whatisit?

TheCommunicationsCapabilitiesDevelopmentPlanaimstoaccessdetails

ofeveryonesonlinecommunications,but

notmessagescontent.Thegovernment

willseekpowerstocompelcompanies

suchasGoogletohandoverthisdata

undertheRegulationofInvestigatory

PowersAct.ItsexpectedtoaskISPsto

collectdatafromothercompaniesby

interceptingouronlinecommunications.

Whendidtheseplansstart?

TheCCDPisthesuccessortoLaboursInterceptModernisationProgramme,

debatedin2009.

Whospushingit?

TheHomeOfficesOfficeforSecurityand

Counter-Terrorism,underdirector

CharlesFarr.

Whatwillbestoredoraccessed?

Thetime,locationorIPaddress,and

dataaboutwhichuserscommunicates

withwhom.

WhatdoISPsstorealready?

ISPsstoretheIPaddressesofwebsitesyouvisit,thetime,fromandtodetailsof

youremailsifyouuseyourISPsemail

service,thetimesyoulogonandoff

yourInternetconnectionandyourhome

IPaddress.

Whatdoesthegovernmentintercept

already?

Thegovernmentalreadyhaspowers

underRIPA,anditalsohasthetechnology

fortargetedinterceptionof

communications.

WhatdoInternetcompaniesdotoday?

Mostmajorcompanieswillcomplywith

UKgovernmentrequests.Whentheyre

basedinacountrysuchastheUSA,there

areagreementsbetweenbothcountries

toensurethatinformationneededfor

investigationscanbehandedover.

Takeaction

Visitwww.openrightsgroup.org/issues/

ccdp

WHAT IS C CD P ?

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14 April 2012

Joe Martin

GoodoldgamesWere fond of GOG.com, as it tweaks classic games from the PCs rich heritage so

that they run on new machines. We catch up with GOGs Trevor Longino to discover

how GOG started, and why its committed to a DRM-free future

Trevor:DRMisntaneffectivetooltoprevent

piracy.Ifallyouwanttodoiscapturesomeof

youruserinfo,DRMisahugelyexpensiveand

overpoweredtooltogatherthatdata.Itslike

swattingaflywithasledgehammer.Viewing

itasadelayingtacticisprobablythemost

realisticunderstanding,buteventhat isnt

areasonablesolutionto piracy.Treating

everyonewhobuysyourgamepoorlytodelay

somepeoplefromcopyingitillegallywont

encouragegamerstobecomefansofyour

studio.Anygamingcompanyshouldbe

focusedonrewardingtheirmost faithful

gamers,andDRMdoesntdothat.

CPC:GOGpromoteseachgamewithnew

materials soundtracks,designdocuments

andsoon.Isiteverhardtoobtaintheseso

longafteragamesrelease?

Trevor:Yes,itdefinitelycanbe.Wegetthem

inanumberofways:webuyboxesoneBayor

gamecollectorforumsorcontacttheoriginal

devs;sometimeswereachouttofan

communitiesthathaveformedaround

populargamesandaskthemforhelp.Of

course,wefrequentlyfindsomeawesome

extracontentbutalsodiscoverthat,

unfortunately,therightsforwhoownsitandis

allowedtodistributeitareunclear.Whenthat

happens,wesadlycantreleasethecontent,

whichexplainswhysomehardcorefansofa

CPC:HowdidtheideaforGOG.com

comeabout?

Trevor:Theconceptofofferingold

gamesgerminatiedinthemindsof

MichalandMarcin,thetwoco-foundersofCD

Projekt.Originally,thepairstartedoffasretail

distributorsinPolandduringthemid-1990s,

andtheirfirstsuccesswastothwartpiracyby

offeringaseriesofclassicPCtitlesatbudget

prices.Thatpromptedaninterestingidea:by

sellinggamesat reasonablepricesthatwere

previouslyonlyavailableviapiracy,couldwe

stoppiracy?Alotofthetime,theysawthat

pirateswouldpayforgamesiftheyfeltitwas

worthit.

Sothenextcoupleofmonthswerespent

analysingthedigitalmarket,expandingthe

conceptandsoon.Welaunchedabetaofthe

servicein2008,whichranfortwoyearsand

releasedmorethan400games,sothatwas

verysuccessful.Wevehadmorethan6

milliongamesdownloadedandhavebeen

profitablefromourveryfirstmonth.

CPC: Howhavepublishersreacted?

Trevor:Therewereinitiallyconcernsabout

piracy,butthinkofanytop-tierAAAtitlefrom

thepastthreeyears:nomatterwhichDRM

systemituses,theresgenerallya day-one

crackavailablefor it.Therefore,whenwe

startedoutwetookthetimetomeetkey

playersintheindustryandexplainthatthe

bestwayto reviveback-cataloguecontent

wastomakethewholeexperiencehassle-

freefortheendusernoDRM,fullWindows

compatibility,flatpricesworldwideand

unlimitedre-downloads.

CPC:SomepublishersviewDRMasa

deterrent,othersseeitasawaytotrapuser

informationandsomeseeitasadelaying

system,sinceitsonlyamatteroftime

beforea crackcomesout.Whatsyourtake?

ClassicgamessuchasDungeonKeeper2areavailable

fromwww.gog.com

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15April 2012

particularfranchiseknowofareallycoolextra

thattheywantustoincludeinourgamebut

wecant.Soevenbeyondfindingtheextras,

gettinglegalclearancetoreleasethemcanbe

challengingaswell.

CPC:Youalsoupdatethegamestoworkon

modernsystems.Howdoyoudothis?

Trevor:Thiscanbeverytricky,because

weneverworkfromsourcecode.Were

usingthesameretailmastercopies

thatgamershavesittingontheir

shelves.Foranumberofthereleases

atGOG,sinceIstarted,weusedmypersonal

copiesofgamesluckily,Ihave500+games

andIbroughtthemallwithmewhenImoved.

Asforhowwegetallthosegamesworking

onmodernsystems,franklysometimeseven

Iwonderhowourprogrammersmanageto

makethoseoldgamesrunsowell!

Sometimeswecanuseexistingsystems,

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whohaveallowedustousetheirsoftware.

Fornon-DOSgames,wesometimeshave

to developourownsolutionsin-house.We

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suchasThiefandAnachronox,bothofwhich

arenotoriouslydifficulttorunnowadays.We

hadtoreachouttothecommunitiesaround

thesegamesforhelp.

Anachronox inparticularrequiredmuch

workonourpart.Thegamerunsona

modifiedQuakeII engine, usinga custom-

madescriptinglanguage,so thereweretwo

mainproblems.

Thefirstwashowtomakethe

enginerunonmodernGPUdrivers

theOpenGLextensionshadtobe

fixed.Wehadoutsidehelponthatone,

asacommunitymembercontributed

acustomDLLfilethatworkedforboth

NvidiaandAMDGPUs.

Thesecondproblemwasscript-

related.Therewasonequestbug,for

example,wheresomethingcauseda

stackoverflowduringlocationtransition,and

preventedthescriptforthatlocationfrom

loading,resultinginquestfailure.Thereare

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permanentfix.Thankstothetestingteam

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includinglaptops,desktops,AMD

andNvidiacards,AMDandIntelchipsets,

32and64-bitOSes.Youcanseehowthiscan

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ourtestlab,theresalwaysaconfigyou

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Meanwhile,theGPUhasabaseclockof

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Both2GBand4GBflavourswillbeavailable,

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16 February 2012

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18 July 2012

Lucy Sherriff

alkaboutbleeding-edgetechnology.

ResearchersinIsraelhavemanaged

tobuildwhiteLEDsandtransistors

fromnothingbutbiological

componentsspecifically,proteinsfoundin

saliva,milkandblood.

Theideaofblendingtechnologyandbiology

isnothingnewthetermcyborgdatesbackto

1960afterall,whenitwascoinedbyUS

researchersManfredClynesandNathanS

Klineinanarticleaboutthemodificationsthat

wouldoptimisethehumanbodyforspace

exploration.However,thisworkturnsour

normalthoughtsaboutcyborgsinsideout.

Insteadofusingtechnologytomodifya

human,theteamatTelAvivUniversityhas

takenbiologicalcomponentsandusedthem

asthebuildingblocksfortechnology.

Althoughitsoundslikesomethingfroma

sci-fifuture,themotivationwasquitesimple:

silicon-basedcomputingisrunningout.

Mooreslaw,fabulousasitsbeenforthe

computingindustry,isrunningintodifficulties

thatcantbeeasilysolved.Physicsisgoingto

getinthewayatsomepoint,andsoon.

AsEladMentovich,achemistryPhD

studentatTelAvivUniversityandpartof

theresearchteam,says:Itsthegreat

challengefacingelectronicsandphotonics.

Thematerialisgettingsmallerandharder

tofabricate.

YouknowMooresLaw:theideathatthe

numberoftransistorswecanfitonachip

doublesevery18months,whiletheprice

halves.Thetroubleisthatattodays

dimensions,atomsarealreadygettinginthe

way,quantumeffectsarebecomingmore

thantheory,andtherestheheattoo.

Soalternativesarebeingsought.One

avenueofresearchisquantumcomputing,whichmightbealittlewhilecoming;another

OrganiccomputingMaking computer transistors from saliva, milk and blood may be the stuff

of Cronenberg films, but it isnt as far-fetched as you might think

isspintronics.Andtakingaleafoutofnatures

bookmightjustbepartofthesolution.

Mentovichsaysthatthewholeideawastolook

forsolutionsinnaturethatalreadyexistfor

problemswerestartingtofaceintechnology.

TomakeawhiteLEDisquitedifficult,he

begins.Youneedthreecolours red,green

andblueandtheymustcombine,butnot

interactwitheachother.Ifthathappens,you

getacolourthatsnotwhite.Ourambitionis

tofindsomethingbiologicalthatcanhavethe

sameeffect.Soweask:whatperformsthis

kindofseparationinnature?Thisisjustwhat

salivaisdoing.Salivasortsfoodintodifferent

groupsandthenyourbodycanprocessit.

Withalittlehelpfromthehumanworldofscience(moreonthatlater),theMucinprotein

insaliva,whichworkssowelltobegin

digestion,canalsokeepfluorescentdyesof

differentcoloursseparateintherightwayfora

tri-colourwhiteLED.Andwiththeadditionof

dyesorotherchemicals,Mentovichsays,the

colourofLEDitproducescanbecontrolled.

Putthreecoloursintoit,andyouget

automaticseparation.Soinsteadofavery

complicatedindustrialsystemforseparating

threecolours,wehaveaproteinthatdoesit

naturally,heexplains.

Emboldenedbyitssuccess,theteam

MentovichalongwithhiscolleaguesNetta

HandlerandBogdanBelgorodskydecided

tolookforotherusefulproteins.Andthey

foundoneintheblood:albumin.Thisprotein

canabsorboxygen,whichmeansthatthe

researcherscaneffectivelydopethe

semiconductorwithspecificchemicals,

enablingthemtotailorthematerialto

produceparticulartechnologicalproperties,

Mentovichexplains.Milkproteins,

meanwhile,formstrongfibresthatare

thebasisforbiologicaltransistors.

Usingthetissueoflivingcreaturescows,

pigsandultimatelyoneday,humansto

createtechnologycreatessomepowerful

mentalimages.Itconjuresupvisionsofslimyhumanspluggedintovastarrays,Matrix-

style,andcallstomindBladeRunnerandthe

replicants.Justthewordmucusmakesus

thinkoftherevoltingspectacleofDavid

CronenbergsfilmofNakedLunch(1991),

whichsawtheprotagonist,exterminatorBill

Lee,typinghismemoirsintothestickymouth

ofagianthallucinatedinsect/typewriterthats

probablyspyingonhimashestrugglesto

overcomeanaddictiontobugspray.

However,thevisceralreactionis

misleading.Theworkoftheseresearcherscouldleadnotjusttodevelopmentssuch

T

TheMucinproteininsalivacankeepfluorescentdyes

ofdifferentcoloursseparateinjusttherightwayfora

tri-colourwhiteLED

Insteadof usingacomplicatedindustrialsystemfor

separatingthreecolourstomakeawhiteLED,the

proteindoesitautomatically

8/22/2019 Custom PC UK 2012-07

19/132

19July 2012

asfoldingcomputerscreens,butalsoto

compostablefoldablecomputerscreens.If

thecomponentsareorganic,thenrecycling

potentiallybecomeseasy.

Wevegonefromsilicontoplasticand

nowwerelookingatingredientsthatare

biodegradable,saysMentovich.Plentyof

fabsaremakingnoiseaboutgoinggreen,he

observes,butthefocushasbeenalmost

exclusivelyonenergyconsumed,carbon

footprintsandsoon.Instead,Mentovichsays

histeamismorelookingatwaystoconsume

lesstoxicchemicals.

Inreality,atotallycompostabletransistor

mightbesomewayoff.Moreimmediately,

replacingsomeofthesiliconincircuitboards

couldcleanupthefabricationprocess

considerably.Inaworldwithprotein-based

transistors,nosiliconwouldneedtobe

burnedtorecovertheotherpreciousand

semi-preciousmaterialsgold,copperand

sooninvolvedinbuildingcircuitboards.

AsMentovichsays,theblood,milkand

mucusproteinsbetweenthemprovidethe

basiccomponentsofaphotosystem.It

shouldbepossibletomakeanentire

optoelectronicdevicethatsbiodegradable.

Andatransistormadeofproteinsalsohas

highmobility,andrequireslowvoltageto

operate,headds.

Sohowisitdone?Thekeyisthatproteins

canself-assemble.Traditionalsemiconductors

aremadefromthetopdownthesurfaceofa

siliconcrystalisetchedwiththeshapesand

formsneededforaparticularcomponent.

However,theproteinsbuildthemselvesinto

semiconductorsfromthebottomup,whichgivesthemasignificantadvantage.Theycan

beflexiblewheresiliconisbrittle,andtheycan

bemademuchthinner.Mentovichpointsto

thecurrentstateofthesiliconart,whichhe

putsat18nm.Afilmofself-assembled

albuminproteinsisjust4nmhigh.

TheproteinstheIsraeliteamusesare

commerciallyavailablepowderedproteins

(Thelazyoption,Mentovichlaughs).Tocreate

asemiconductorfilm,thepowdermustbe

suspendedinasuitablepHbufferandcan

thenbepaintedontoanysurface.Evenonto

ablueLED,wheretherightproteinmixwill

changethelightfrombluetowhite.

Otherlabsareworkingwithproteinsina

similarcontext.Backin2008,researchersat

PurdueUniversityinLafayette,Indiana,

producedchainsofsemiconductingparticles

usingproteinsasgrowthtemplates(http://

tinyurl.com/GrowthTemplates).InSweden,

researchershavesucceededinproducing

electricalwiresmadefromproteins(http://

tinyurl.com/ProteinWires ),whileinRussia,

photosynthesisproteinshavebeentappedfor

theirabilitytogeneratephotocurrent(http://

tinyurl.com/PhotoCurrent ).

Mentovichstressesthatthisworkisalong

wayfromacommercialprocess,butsaysthat

mostoftheobstaclesinvolvecomplyingwith

industrystandards,ratherthantechnology.

WewonderedhoweasyitwouldbetoscaleMentovichandhiscolleaguesworkinthelab

LUCYSHERRIFFisajournalistwitha

degreeinastrophysics

whoknowsallaboutthe

latestscientifictech.

@lucysherriff

toanindustrialproductionprocess.You

knowhowindustrystandardsare,hemused.

Integrationiseasy,butcompatibilitywith

standardsishard.Itwouldtakehuge

investmentmany,manydollarstotake

thisintoindustry.Butthatsfineforus.Were

havingfunfindingoutwhatwecando.This

isntaboutspittingoutatransistor,butwecan

takeablueLEDandcoatitwithourproteins,

andmakeitawhiteLED.Soperhapsthefirst

stepisahybrid,butreally,wewanttomake

everythingoutofproteins.

Lookingtothefuture,Mentovich

speculatesthatelectronicsinsidethebody

wouldbepossible,musingonthepossibility

ofinternaldevicespoweredbythehuman

body.Thereissomedifference

betweenelectronics(inour

computers)andelectronicsinthe

humanbody.OneisIonicandthe

otheriselectronic.Proteinscando

both,somaybeitcanbethebridge?

Peoplehaveshownthiseffect

beforebutweneverthoughtsofarahead.I

thinkthathuman-machineinterfacewillbe

muchmorevagueinthefollowingyears.We

seeitnowlookatthenewglassesbyGoogle.

Canwejustmodifytheeye?Maybe

CronenbergsNakedLunchshowshowtogetaheadintechnology

PROTEINS BUILD THEMSELVES

INTO SEMICONDUCTORS FROM

THE BOTTOM UP

IsGooglesProjectGlassconceptanindicationofthe

futureofthehuman-machineinterface?

8/22/2019 Custom PC UK 2012-07

20/13220 July 2012

Gareth Halfacree looks at the latest mobile hardware

commontricktomakeeveryday

gadgetsseemfuturisticistomake

themtransparent,flexibleorboth.

However,justhowcloseareweto

humblesmartphonesechoingthoseused

bybillionairealcoholicinventor-cum-

superheroTonyStarkinIronMan2,orthe

disposableorigamiphoneofUltraviolet?

Closerthanyouthink.

STAGE 1: THE DI SPLAY

Thedisplayisthefirstpartofasmartphone

thatyousee.Traditionaldisplaysuseasolid

backgroundtoeitherreflectthelightofa

backlightsystem,ortoreflectambient

lightaswithelectronicpaperdisplays

suchasEInk.

Theydonthavetothough.Samsungs

displayarmhasbeenshowingoffalarge-

scaletransparentdisplaybasedonorganic

light-emittingdiode(OLED)technologyfora

while,creatinga46inmodeldesignedfor

retailenvironmentsincludingfridgeswith

animateddisplaysthroughwhichthe

productisvisible.

Thetechnologyisntlimited

tolarge-scaledisplayseither.

Little-knownheads-updisplay

specialistVuzixwaspresentat

theConsumerElectronicsShow

earlierthisyearwithaprototypefor

adisplaythatcouldintegratewith

eyeglasses,providingavirtual

overlayinfullcolour.

Noristhetechnologynew:in

2009,LGshowedoffaprototype

activematrixOLED(AMOLED)

displayattheFPDJapan

show;ithadanimpressive

15indiagonalandofferedthesamefull-motion

Truly transparent trinketsJust what would it take to make a completely transparent mobile device,

as seen in sci-fi flicks?

smartphones,isnobarrierthesedays.Atmel,

creatorofmicrocontrollers,memoryand

touchcomponentsforcomputersystems,

recentlyunveiledatouchsensordubbed

XSense.Basedonaflexiblefilm,anXSense

panelcanbeappliedtoanysurface

includingoneofSamsungsaforementioned

flexibledisplaysandcurvedtoalmostany

angle,whilereducingcomponentcostsand

decreasingtheweightofthehandset.

STAGE 2: THE ELECTRONI CS

Soa flexible,transparentdisplayispossible

butthatisntallyouneed.Behindthescreen

isadizzyingarrayofsystem-on-chip

processors,memorymodules,circuitsand

wires,butthesecanalsobemadeinvisible.

ResearchersfromRiceUniversity,

speakingattheNationalMeetingand

ExpositionoftheAmericanChemicalSociety,

claimtohavecreatedmemorychips

thatcanbefolded,exposedto

blisteringlyhightemperaturesand

soakedinwaterallwithouta

singlelostbit.Betteryet,the

chipsaretransparentand

canbestackedina3Darray

tocrammoredataintoa

smallerarea.

Thetechnologyisntquite

perfectedyet.Generally,

experienceasastandardPCmonitor.

Althoughtheprototypelackedbrightness

andcontrast,thetechnologyhasnow

significantlyimproved.

Sotransparencyisachievablewithtodays

technology,butwhataboutflexibility?Wecan

againlooktoSamsungforaclue:backin

2011,thecompanydemonstratedaflexible

AMOLEDdisplayaimedspecificallyat

smartphones.Usingabendablecircuit

substrateandditchingthetraditionalglass,

thecompanydemonstratedabrightand

clearhigh-resolutiondisplaythatcouldbe

curvedbackonitselfandevenhitwitha

sledgehammerwithnoilleffects.Recently,

LGhasdonethesamewithitselectronic

paperdisplays.

Eventouchsensitivity,a

requirementofmodern

A

Thesee-throughphone:ridiculousor

prescient?Plastic-backed,flexible

displaysarealreadypossible

8/22/2019 Custom PC UK 2012-07

21/132

21July 2012

youcantseeabitofmemory,becauseitstoo

small,explainsJamesTour,whorunsthelab.

Butsiliconitselfisnttransparentifthe

densityofthecircuitsishighenough,youre

goingtoseeit.Asastartingpoint,however,

Toursworkis impressive,andif memory

chipscanbetransparent,sotoocan

processorsandotherintegratedcircuits.It

maytakeawhilebut,unlikethewarpdrive,

itseasytoseehowwecouldgetthere.

Youcanmounttransparentmemorychips

ontotransparentcircuitrytoo,thanksto

workcarriedoutbytheUniversityof

Cambridgeoninkjet-printedcircuits.

Byaugmentingtheconductive

polymersaddedtotheinkwith

graphene everyonesfavouritenano-

materialresearchersledbyAndrea

Ferrariwereabletocreateamaterial

thatcanbeprintedonanysurface,

includingtransparentandflexibleplastics.

Coupledwithclearplasticcasingand

atransparentscreen,youreleftwitha

smartphonethatyoucanbend,fold,and

seerightthrough.Well,almost.

STAGE 3: THE BATTERY

Behindthedisplayandtheelectronicsis

arguablythemostimportantpartofany

smartphone:thebattery.Buthowdoyou

makeaphonesbattery,withall itschemicals

andworryinglycorrosivecomponents,

disappear?Onceagain,weturntoscience

specifically,apaper publishedin the

Proceedingsof theNationalAcademyof

SciencesbyStanfordUniversityscientists

YuanYangandYiCui.

Workingontheprinciplethatthehuman

eyeisincapableofresolvingobjectssmaller

than50microns,YangandCuicreatedamesh-likeframeworkforbatteryelectronics

wherethegridis35micronswide.Theresult

isthatlightpassesthroughthetransparent

gapsbetweenthegridlines,whilethe

gridlinesthemselvesaretoosmalltosee.

Ittooktheapplicationofpolydimethylsiloxane,

atransparentmaterialmorecommonly

associatedwithplasticsurgeryandcontact

lenses,alongwiththecreationofamodified

gelelectrolytethatcouldactasaseparator

betweenelectrodes,butthepairsuccessfully

createdaprototypewith62percent

transparency.Evenwiththreecellsstackedon

oneanother,theprototypestilloffersaround

60percenttransparencyinvisiblelight.

Betterstill,theuseoftherubberymaterial

PDMSmeansthatthebatteryisveryflexible.

Mountedtoagraphene-basedprinted

circuitboardpopulatedwith transparent

integratedcircuitsandbehindatransparent,

flexibleOLED-baseddisplay,itcouldbe

possibletocreateasee-throughsmartphone

thatbendsintowhatevershapeyoudesire.

THE RE AL IT Y

Allthe aboveprototypes,productsand

researchhaveemergedoverthepastcouple

ofyears,butitcouldbealongtimebefore

theyreusedinreal-worldproducts.Thisisnt

tosaythatcompanieshaventtried,however.

Perhapsthefirstattemptatatransparent

smartphonewastheLGGD900Crystal,

releasedin2009.Designedaroundaslider-

stylelayout,thetophalfofthephonewasfairly

standard;however,thekeypad,whichcame

outfromunderthedisplayinportraitmode,

wasaglowingsee-throughmatrixofbuttons.

TheGD900wasntahugesuccess,however.

Sincethen,companieshaveshiedawayfrom

transparencyasagimmick,preferringtosell

theirdevicesbasedonslimness,screensizeorrawcomputationalpower.

GARETHHALFACREEisthenewsreporterat

www.bit-tech.net.He

knowsallabout the

latestnewsinPCandmobiletech.

@ghalfacree

Themostrecentattempttobringback

transparencywastheAsusEeePadMeMO,

anAndroid-based7intabletwithaBluetooth-

connectedpuckthatenablesthedevicetobe

controlledwhileitsinabag.Whileitslow-

resolutionandmonochrome,thepucks

displayisclearlytransparent andithasan

eye-catchingdesign.

Theresstillplentyofworktobecarried

outbeforeatrulytransparentsmartphone

canbemade.Workonflexibleand

transparentdisplaysneedstobecombined

tocreateonewiththebestfeaturesof

both,whilethetransparentbattery

needsfurtherdevelopmentbeforeit

canrivaltheefficiencyandcostofa

traditionalbattery.

Thechipswillneedtobecomesee-

throughtoo,andwhileToursresearch

showsthisispossible,itwillbeawhile

before a densesystem-on-chip,suchas

NvidiasTegra3orQualcommsSnapdragon

S4,canbemadesee-through.

Itsadirectioninwhichresearchersare

heading,however,anditcouldbearfruitin

thenot-too-distantfuture.Perhapstheminds

behindStarksimpressivegadgetwhich

wasactuallyasolidpieceofglasswitha3D-printedplasticframe,withalltheuser

interfaceelementsaddedbycomputer

werenttoofarfromthetruth.

WITH CLEAR PLASTIC CASING

AND A TRANSPARENT SCREEN,YOU HAVE A PHONE YOU CAN

BEND, FOLD AND SEE THROUGH

Believeitornot,thisisaRAMchip

YuanYangbelieveshescrackedthesecretofaflexible,

invisiblebattery

8/22/2019 Custom PC UK 2012-07

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OPERATING SYSTEM

C

APU

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AsCore i7motherboards andhigh-end graphics cards command a

premium price, hereare somecomponents for a Core i5 PC that offer

great performance andwont break thebank

NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED PRICE (inc VAT)

A SilverStoneRavenRV03 www.scan.co.uk www.silverstonetek.com Issue103, p70 112

B MSI Z77A-G43 www.ebuyer.com http://uk.msi.com Issue 106, p74 76

C Intel Core i5-3570K www.scan.co.uk www.intel.co.uk Issue 106, p36 162

D 8GBPatriotG2PGD38G1600ELK www.pixmania.com www.patriotmemory.com Issue106,p40 38

E Arctic Freezer i30 www.dabs.com www.arctic.ac Issue104, p48 30

F SapphireAMDRadeonHD78502GB www.scan.co.uk www.sapphiretech.com Issue105,p40 193

G Thermaltake SP-530PCWEU www.scan.co.uk www.thermaltake.com Issue 97, p72 52

H SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104, p75 85

I Asus Xonar DG www.dabs.com http://uk.asus.com Issue 99, p108 24

J Crucial M4 128GB www.ebuyer.com www.crucial.com Issue 104, p64 90

K Lite-On IHAS124-19 www.cclonline.com www.liteonit.eu Issue 99, p108 14

L MicrosoftWindows7 HomePremium64-bit www.amazon.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue 75, p46 110

TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE 986

A

G H I J L

PSU HARD DISK SOUND CARD SOLID STATE DRIVE OPERATING SYSTEM

F

GRAPHICS CARD

B D E

MOTHERBOARD RAM COOLINGCPU

C

OCZ ZX Series 850W Power SupplyFully modular cable management system

850W Continuous Power

Ultra quiet 140mm ball-bearing fan

+12VDC @ 70A Single Rail Design 80 Plus Gold Certified

CCL Code - PSU0225

124.96

Get FREENext Day Delivery

Use this Code: #CPC-Free

www.cclonline.com/cpc08000 50 10 10

P r i c e s c o r r e c t a t t i m e o f g o i n g t o p u b l i s h i n g . I m a g e s a r e f o r i l l u s t r a t i ve p u r p o s e s o n l y .

UPDATEDUPDATEDUPDATED

UPDATED

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26 April 2012


Gainward NVIDIA GTX 580 Graphics CardPhantom edition with Dual DVI,

HDMI and DisplayPort

783 MHz Core Clock

1536MB GDDR5 Memory

2010 MHz Memory Clock

Dual DVI-I, DisplayPort, HDMI

CCL Code - VGA0565www.cclonline.com

330.34

WEREAWARD

WINNERS!

PC Pro 2011Highly Commended

This PChas the potential to be the finest gamingmachine you can find as

well as an excellent all-round computer for officework, digital photography,

video production andmedia playback

NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED PRICE(inc VAT)

A SilverStoneFortressFT02B-WUSB3.0 www.scan.co.uk www.silverstonetek.com Issue85,p88 209

B Asus Maximus V Gene www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue 106, p64 151


D 8GBPatriotG2PGD38G1600ELK www.pixmania.com www.patriotmemory.com Issue106,p40 38

E Be Quiet! Dark Rock Advanced www.scan.co.uk www.be-quiet.net Issue 91, p 74 40

F PNY GeForce GTX 680 2GB www.scan.co.uk www3.pny.com Issue 105, p36 444

G Corsair Professional Series HX 650 www.dabs.com www.corsair.com Issue 97, p79 90

H SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104, p75 85

I Asus Xonar DX www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue 80, p63 57

JCrucial M4 256GB www.ebuyer.com www.crucial.com Issue 104, p64 175

K Lite-On IHAS123-19 www.cclonline.com www.liteonit.eu Issue 99, p108 14

L MicrosoftWindows7 HomePremium64-bit www.amazon.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue 75, p46 110

TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE 1,575

G H I J L

PSU HARD DISK SOUND CARD SOLID STATE DRIVE OPERATING SYSTEM

F

GRAPHICS CARD

A

B D E

MOTHERBOARD CPU RAM COOL ING

C

UPDATED

UPDATED

UPDATEDUPDATED

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27April 2012

ainward NVIDIA GTX 680 Graphics Cardhantom edition with Dual DVI,

DMI and DisplayPort

1150 MHz Core Clock

2048MB GDDR5 Memory



CCL Code - VGA0594

519.98



www.cclonline.com/cpc

08000 50 10 10

P r i c e s c o r r e c t a t t i m e o f g o i n g t o p u b l i s hi n g . I m a g e s a r e f o r i l l u s t r a t i v e p u r p o s e s o n l y.

Themost awesome components around,before reachingworkstation

territory.Weve included a dual 120mm liquid cooler kit as a base

example, but the case has space for a variety of water-cooling setups

G H I J K

PSU SOLID STATE DRIVE SOUND CARD HARD DISK OPERATING SYSTEM

A

NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED PRICE(inc VAT)

A SilverStoneTemjinTJ07B-W www.scan.co.uk www.silverstonetek.com Issue63,p87 276

B Asus Maximus V Gene www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue 106, p64 151


D8GBKingstonHyperXGenesis

KHX1866C11D3P1K2/8Gwww.overclockers.co.uk www.kingston.com Issue106,p40 41

E Nvidia GeForce GTX 690 2GB www.scan.co.uk www.nvidia.com Issue 106, p46 870

F Corsair H100 www.cclonline.com www.corsair.com Issue 91, p74 81

G Antec High Current Pro HCP-750 www.scan.co.uk www.antec.com Issue 9 7, p 78 102

H Samsung SSD 830 256GB www.scan.co.uk www.samsung.com Issue 104, p68 227

I CreativeX-FiTitaniumFatal1ty Pro www.amazon.co.uk www.uk.europe.creative.com Issue 62,p61 95

J SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM0001 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104, p75 85

K MicrosoftWindows7 HomePremium64-bit www.amazon.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue 75, p46 110

TOTALSYSTEM PRICE 2,284

B D

MOTHERBOARD CPU RAM

C E F

GRAPHICS CARD COOLING

17

UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED

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Gainward GeForce GTX 560 Graphics CardPhantom edition with DVI,

HDMI and D-Sub

822 MHz Core Clock

1024MB GDDR5 Memory

DVI-I, D-Sub & HDMI

CCL Code - VGA0558www.cclonline.com

170.26

WEREAWARD

WINNERS!


TYPE CPU MOTHERBOARD COOLER RAM

NAMEIntelCorei5-3570K Asus Maximus VGene ArcticFreezeri30

8GBPatriotG2PGD38G1600ELK

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

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

REVIEWED Issue 106, p36 Issue 106, p64 Issue 104, p48 Issue 106, p40

PRICE(incVAT) 162 151 30 38

TYPE GRAPHICS CARD GRAPHICS CARD GRAPHICS CARD

NAME SapphireHD68701GB SapphireAMDRadeonHD78702GB PNYGeForceGTX6802GB

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

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

REVIEWED Issue 102, p61 Issue 105, p40 Issue 105, p36

PRICE(incVAT) 140 275 444

UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED

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ainward GeForce GTX 570 Graphics Cardhantom edition with DVI,

DMI and DisplayPort

750 MHz Core Clock

1280MB GDDR5 Memory



CCL Code - VGA0563

225.06




08000 50 10 10

P r i c e s c o r r e c t a t t i m e o f g o i n g t o p u b l i s hi n g . I m a g e s a r e f o r i l l u s t r a t i v e p u r p o s e s o n l y.


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

4GBCrucialBallistixSportPC3-12800C9

SUPPLIER www.aria.co.uk www.lambda-tek.com www.scan.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk

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




NAME Intel Core i7-3930K Asus Sabertooth X79 Corsair H80 16GB Corsair Vengeance

CAS9DDR3

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



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AMD FX-8120 Black Edition Eight Core ProcessorExperience the world's first native

8-core desktop processor

3.10GHz Clock Speed

Socket AM3+

Unlocked multiplier for

easy overclocking

CCL Code - CPU0061www.cclonline.com

127.42

WEREAWARD

WINNERS!


TYPE 530W PSU 650W PSU 750W PSU 1.2kW PSU

NAMEThermaltake SP-530PCWEU

CorsairProfessionalSeries

HX650

AntecHighCurrent Pro

HCP-750

AntecHighCurrent Pro

1200W

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

MANUFACTURER www.thermaltake.com www.corsair.com www.antec.com www.antec.com



TYPE BUDGET CASE MICROATX CASE AIRCOOLING CASE WATERCOOLING CASE

NAME AntecOneHundred SilverStoneTJ08-E SilverStoneRavenRV03 SilverStoneTemjinTJ07B-W

SUPPLIER www.lambda-tek.com 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



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ntel Core i5 3570K 3.4GHz Processor

d Generation Intel Core i Series

vy Bridge) CPUs Now Available!

3.4GHz Clock Speed

4 Cores, 4 Threads

6MB Cache

Supports Intel HD Graphics

CCL Code - CPU0102

174.73




08000 50 10 10


TYPE HARD DISK SSD NAS BOX

NAMESeagateBarracuda2 TBST2000DM001 Crucial M4 256GB SynologyDiskStationDS212j

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

MANUFACTURER www.seagate.com www.crucial.com www.synology.com



TYPE 24IN MONITOR 27IN MONITOR TRIPLEMONITOR STAND

NAME Dell UltraSharpU2412M Dell UltraSharpU2711 XFX TripleDisplayMonitor Stand

SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.aria.co.uk www.scan.co.uk

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



8/22/2019 Custom PC UK 2012-07

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BenQ XL2420T 120Hz LCD MonitorThe latest revision of the Amazing BenQ

gaming monitor designed by Gamers

1920x1080 Full HD Resolution

2x HDMI, 1x VGA, DVI, DisplayPort

3D Ready Display

2ms Response Time

CCL Code - MON0593www.cclonline.com

196.60

WEREAWARD

WINNERS!


TYPE KEYBOARD MOUSE STEERING WHEEL JOYSTICK

NAME Corsair VengeanceK60 Corsair VengeanceM60 LogitechG27 LogitechFlightSystemG940

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

MANUFACTURER www.corsair.com www.corsair.com www.logitech.com www.logitech.com



TYPE SOUND CARD 2.1 SPEAKERS HEADSET 5.1 SPEAKERS

NAME Asus Xonar DX Corsair SP2500 Asus Vulcan ANC Logitech Z906

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



8/22/2019 Custom PC UK 2012-07

33/13233April 2012

ainward GeForce GT520 SilentFX Graphics CardREE Streetfighter 4 PC Game

ownload with this Graphics Card

Passive Silent Cooler

1024MB DDR3 Memory

1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x D-Sub

High Definition 1080p Display Support

CCL Code - VGA0537

33.98




08000 50 10 10


TYPE RPG FPS STRATEGY UNDERDOG

NAME Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Deus Ex: Human Revolution Frozen Synapse Trine 2

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

TYPE AFFORDABLE CHAIR AWESOME CHAIR

NAME PledgeSolar SOL7MINFB CairoPlusErgonomicChair withHeadrest

SUPPLIER www.bestbuy-officechairs.co.uk www.chairoffice.co.uk

MANUFACTURER www.pledgechairs.com www.hhsolutionsuk.com

REVIEWED Issue 99, p77 Issue 99, p75

PRICE(incVAT) 188 236

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40THEBESTRAM

FORIVYBRIDGE

WetryoutfiveRAMkitswiththe newplatform

44SCAN3XS

VENGEANCEZ77OC

Wecheckoutapre-overclockedIvyBridgePC

50GAINWARD

PHANTOMGTX

6802GBAND4GB

Is4GBworthhaving?

46NVIDIAGEFORCE

GTX690

TwoKeplerGPUs,onePCBandaninsaneprice

521TBWESTERN

DIGITAL

VELOCIRAPTOR

Spinningat10,000rpm

58

ROKU2XS

TurnanyoldTVintoaNet-connectedsmartTVformediastreaming

58

KINGSTON64GB

DATATRAVELER

HYPERXUSB3

Readsat106MB/sec

53NOFANCR95C

Itmightlooklikeahugesaladspinner,butitsactuallyaCPUcooler

54

THRUSTMASTER

FERRARIF1

WHEELT500

550-worthofwheel

59ARCTICCHARGING

STATION

Powerupyourgadgetsonthemove

58GRIFFINBEACON

TransformyourBluetoothsmartphoneintoan IRdevice

59STARTECH

UNIDOCK3UGB

TimetodigoutthoseoldIDEdrives

34 July 2012

Our in-depth analysis of thelatest PC hardware

36

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35July 2012

HOWWETEST,P56

Intel IvyBridgeWetakealookatIntels

brand-newCPUarchitecture,

andalsoreviewthetwoflagship

unlockedchipstheCore

i5-3570KandCorei7-3770K 36

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36 July 2012

INTEL CORE

i7-3770K

HOW MUCH?Price246incVAT

Supplierwww.scan.co.uk

Manufacturerwww.intel.co.uk

SKUnumberCM8063701211700

IN DETAIL

Frequency3.5GHz

TurboBoostfrequency3.9GHz

CPUcoreIvyBridge

Graphicscore650MHzIntelHD4000

Manufacturingprocess22nm

NumberofcoresFourphysical,fourlogical

MemorycontrollerDual-channel1,600MHzDDR3

CacheL1:32KB+32KB(eachcore),L2:256KB(eachcore),L3:8MBshared

PackagingLGA1155

ThermalDesignPower(TDP)77W

FeaturesSSE,SSE2,SSE3,SSSE3,SSE4.1,SSE4.2,EM64T,EIST,ExecuteDisableBit,VT-x,AES-NI,TurboBoost2.0,AVX

andyBridgewasalwaysgoingtobeatough

acttofollow.Itstheonedownsideof

producingsomethingsodownrightamazing,

especiallyifyourbusinessmodelreliesonyou

knockingoutanewlineofCPUseachyear.Putone

footwrongandyouendupfollowingTheMatrixwith

TheMatrix:Reloaded.LuckilyforIntel,itsarch

competitorAMD droppedtheballwithitsBulldozer

architecture,givingIntelenoughbreathingspaceto

comfortablydelayIvyBridgeuntilitwasready.

Sonowitshere,whatsactuallyinanIvyBridge

chip?UnlikemostofIntelsnewcoressincethe

LGA775-era,IvyBridgeusesthesameLGA1155

socketasitsSandyBridge-basedpredecessors,but

theinsidesarenothinglikethoseofaSandyBridge

chip.Thebiggestinternalchangeisthemovefrom

32nmplanartransistorstoIntelsbrandnew22nm

Tri-Gatetransistors,whicharethefirsttoproperly

explorethethirddimension.

Likepaperthatsbeensquidged

inwardsfrombothsides,aTri-Gate

transistorhasapeakinthemiddle,rather

thansittingflat.Notonlydoesthisreduce

thewidthofthetransistoronthedie,butit

alsogivesitalongenoughgatelengthto

maintaina decentsignal.Intelsaysitsalsotakenthis

opportunitytotweaksomeofthelessvisibleaspectsof

theinternalstoo.Thisincludestinkeringwiththecores

toincreasethenumberof instructionsper clock(IPC).

Therehavebeensomechangesinotherpartsofthe

die,aswellastheCPUcoresthough.Forstarters,Ivy

BridgeisthefirstCPUtosupportPCI-E3,as longasit

hasa supportingmotherboard.Thiscaneithercome

viaaZ77motherboard(seep60),orviaaprevious-

generationmotherboardusingaseparatecontroller

chip.Thememorycontrollerhashadanupgradetoo,

withIvyBridgechipsnowofficiallysupporting

1,600MHzDDR3RAMasstandard.

Theotherbigchangeistheintegratedgraphics

processor,whichhasnowbeenupgradedtoIntelsHD

4000technology.Notably,thissupportsDirectX11in

hardware,butitalsoincreasesthenumberofexecutionunits(EUs)to16fromthe12inaSandy

BridgeHD3000system.Itcanalsonowoutputtothree

independentscreens(twodigital,oneVGA).Wehavent

hadaproperchancetolookattheHD4000graphics

systeminanydepthyet,butwellbetakingathorough

lookatit,andseeinghowitperformsincomparisonto

theGPUinAMDsLlanochips,inournextissue.

INT E L CORE i 7-3 770KPickingupfromtheCorei7-2700K,theCorei7-3770K

isIntelsnewflagshipconsumerchip.Ithasthesame

fourphysicalcoresasitsSandyBridgepredecessor,

anda furtherfourlogicalonesviaHyper-Threading.It

evenhasthesame3.5GHzclockspeed,whichagain

TurboBoostsupto3.9GHz,andthesame8MBpoolof

L3 cache.

Themainchange,however,isthethermaldesign

power(TDP)of just77W,comparedtothei7-2700Ks

95W.Thisisanamazingachievementforwhat

purportstobeaverypowerfulCPU.

PERFORMANCE

Atitsstockspeed,thereslittletoseparatetheCore

i7-3770KfromtheCorei5-3570Kin termsof single-

threadedperformance.InourGimpimageeditingtest,

only54pointsseparatedthetwochips,whichcanbe

mainlyattributedtothei7-3770Ksextraclockspeed.

Interestingly, however,thei7-3770Kwas morethan

200pointsaheadofthei7-2600Kinthistest,showing

theworkIntelhasperformedontweakingtheIPC.

Wherethei7-3770Kreallypulledawayfromthe

i5-3750K,however,wasinourmulti-threaded

Handbrakevideoencodingtest,withthescoreof3,461

puttingit301pointsinfront.Thisismainlythanksto

theextrafourlogicalcores.Ifyouusealotofheavily

multi-threadedsoftware,thenthisiswhereyoure

goingtoseethedifference.

ThisdifferencewasalsoseeninMaxonCinebench.Thei7-3770Ksscoreof7.91issignificantlyinfrontof

S

INTEL

TRI-GATE

Low power

consumption;

slightly quicker

than Sandy

Bridge; PCI-E 3

GARDEN GATE

Gets hot when

overclocked;

doesnt overclock

as far as Sandy

Bridge

LIKE PAPER THATS BEEN SQUIDGED

INWARDS, TRI-GATE TRANSISTORS

HAVE A PEAK IN THE MIDDLE

Incredibly fast and power-efficient,but gets toasty when you overclock it

Ivy Bridge

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37July 2012

L G A 1 1 5 5 P R O C E S S O R S

thei5-3750Ks6.32.Not ssurprisingly,however, Intels

SandyBridgeEarchitecturestillrulesthemulti-

threadedkingdom,withtheCorei7-3960XEEscoring

11.29inthistest.

WheretheCorei7-3770KpullsaheadoftheCore

i7-3960XEE,though,isingaming.ItsthefirstCPUto

clockupa minimumof100fpsinourArmaIItest,andit

wasalsothequickestinourShogun2CPUtest.

OVERCLOCKING

WeoriginallyhadhighhopesforIvyBridges

overclockingpotential,asSandyBridgewassuchan

incredibleoverclocker.However,westruggledtopush

theCorei7-3770Ktothesameloftyheights.Themain

culpritisheat,withtemperaturesrisingtodisturbing

levelswhenyoustartpushingupthemultiplier.

WewereunabletopushtheCorei7-3770Ktothe

5GHzpeakoftheCorei7-2600K,eventuallysettlingon

atopstableclockspeedof4.8GHzwitha48xmultiplier

andaCPUvoltageof1.34V.Wesimplycouldntpushit

anyfurther,regardlessofadjustmentstothe

multiplier,baseclock,core voltageorIGP.

Atthesesettings,however,thecoretemperature

wasdisturbinglyhigh,andthiswaswithaCorsair

H100dual120mmliquidcoolingsystem.Evenat

4.5GHz,theH100onlyreducedthecoretemperature

to85Conlowfansettings,asdemonstratedinthe

Scan3XSVengeanceZ77OC(seep44).

Ifyoureaimingto overclocktheCorei7-3770Kto

4.8GHz(andpossiblybeyond)thenyouregoingtoat

leastneedaliquidcoolingsystem,butyoushouldbe

abletocomfortablyhit4.4GHzwithadecentaircooler.

POWER CONSUMPTION

AlthoughheatisclearlyanissueforoverclockedIvy

Bridgechips,thepowerconsumptionwasremarkably

low.Ourtestsystemdrewjust244Wfromthemains

withtheCorei7-3770Kinstalledandrunningat

4.8GHz.Thats69Wlessthanitdrewwitha5GHzCorei7-2600Kandanincredible294Wlessthanwithan

overclockedCorei7-3960XEE.Idlepower

consumptionwassimilarlyimpressive,withour

systemjustdrawing99Wfromthemainsatstock

speed,and115Wwhenoverclocked.

CONCLUSION

ItsashamethatIvyBridgesheatissuesmeanitisnt

theclear-cutimprovementto SandyBridgethatwe

expected,buttheCorei7-3770KisstillagreatCPU,

withslightlyquickerperformancethanSandy Bridge,

andamazingpowerefficiency.Perhapsthemain

problemfortheCorei7-3770K,though,isthattheCore

i5-3750K(seebelow)costsafairamountlessandhas

alittlemoreoverclockingheadroom,whichgivesit

almostasmuchofaspeedadvantageasHyper-

Threadingwhen itsoverclocked.

IfyoualreadyhaveaCorei7-2600Kor2700K

system,thentheresnocompellingreasontoupgrade,

especiallygiventhelimitedoverclockingheadroom.

However,ifyoureoverhaulinganoldersystem,and

notlookingtooverclocktothentheCorei7-3770K

offersaworthwhileupgrade,particularlyifyoure

lookingforfastmulti-threadedperformanceand

donthavethebudgetforSandyBridgeE.

INT E L CORE i 5 -3 5 70KLiketheCorei7-3770K,theCorei5-3570Klooksvery

similaronpapertotheSandyBridge-basedCore

i5-2500Kitsdesignedtoreplace.However,ithas

aslightlyhigherstockclockspeedof3.4GHz

comparedto the2500Ks3.3GHz,andit willTurbo

Boostallthewayto3.8GHztoo.LiketheCore

i7-3770K,italsohasalowTDPof77W.

AswiththeSandyBridgearchitecture,themain

differencebetweenthetopendCorei5andi7chipsis

thatthei5CPUsdontsupportHyper-Threading,so

yougetthefourphysicalcoresandthatsit.Theyalso

haveslightlylessL3cache,withtheCorei5-3570Ks

fourcoressharinga6MBpool,comparedtothe8MBallocationintheCorei7-3770K.

38

INTEL CORE

i5-3570K

HOW MUCH?Price162incVAT

Supplierwww.scan.co.uk

Manufacturerwww.intel.co.uk

SKUnumberCM8063701211800

IN DETAIL

Frequency3.4GHz

TurboBoostfrequency3.8GHz

CPUcoreIvyBridge

Graphicscore650MHzIntelHD4000

Manufacturingprocess22nm

NumberofcoresFourphysical

MemorycontrollerDual-channelDDR3

CacheL1:32KB+32KB(eachcore),L2:256KB(eachcore),L3:6MBshared

PackagingLGA1155

ThermalDesignPower(TDP)77W

FeaturesSSE,SSE2,SSE3,SSSE3,SSE4.1,SSE4.2,EM64T,EIST,ExecuteDisableBit,VT-x,AES-NI,TurboBoost2.0,AVX

AnIvyBridgedieupclose.The

graphicscoreisontheright,while

theeightblueblocksatthetop

holdthe8MBofL3cache.Thefour

CPUcoressitbelowthese,andthe

memorycontrollerandSystem

Agentispositionedontheleft

8/22/2019 Custom PC UK 2012-07

38/13238 July 2012

score: Core i7-3770K

score: Core i5-3570K

customPC

customPC

84

87

customPC

customPC

OVERALL

OVERALL

SPEED 4 4 / 5 0

FEATURES 1 4 / 1 5

VALUE 2 6 / 3 5

SPEED 4 3 / 5 0

FEATURES 1 2 / 1 5

VALUE 3 2 / 3 5

OVERCLOCK SETTINGS

Defaultfrequency Overclockedfrequency Otheradjusted

frequencies

Voltagesused

IntelCore i5-3770K 3.5GHz (35 x 100MHz) 4.8GHz (48 x 100MHz) RAM:1.6GHz CPU1.34V

IntelCore i5-3570K 3.4GHz (34 x 100MHz) 5GHz (50 x 100MHz) RAM:1.6GHz CPU, 1.4V

IntelCore i7-3960X

ExtremeEdition

3.3GHz(33 x 100MHz) 4.7GHz(38x123.75MHz)

CPU strap: 125MHz,RAM:1.98GHz

CPU:1.4V, RAM:1.65V

IntelCore i7-2600K 3.4GHz(34 x 100MHz) 5GHz(50 x 100MHz) RAM:1.6GHz CPU:1.38125V, CPU PLL:1.9V,VCCSA: 1.1V, VCCIO: 1.106V

IntelCore i7-2500K 3.3GHz(33 x 100MHz) 5GHz(50 x 100MHz) RAM:1.6GHz CPU:1.38125V, CPU PLL:1.9V,VCCSA: 1.1V, VCCIO: 1.106V

AMDFX-8150 3.7GHz (18.5 x200MHz)

4.818GHz (23.5 x205MHz)

RAM:1.61GHz CPU:1.45V, CPU/NB: 1.2V, NB:1.2V, NB HT: 1.25V, RAM:1.65V

PERFORMANCE

TheCorei5-3570Ksextra100MHzoverits

predecessorstooditingoodsteadinourbenchmarks

atstockspeed,asdidIntelstweakstothecore.Inour

Gimpimageeditingtest,theCPUclockedupan

impressivescoreof1,862147morepointsthanthe

i5-2500K.Notsurprisingly,though,itfellbehindthe

i7-3770Kinourmulti-threadedHandbrakevideo

encodingtest,withascoreof3,160comparedto4,245.

However,onceyoufactorinthemulti-taskingtest,

theCPUsoverallscoreof2,248wasonly155points

behindthei7-3770Koverallagoodresultforachip

thatonlycosts162.

Asweexpected,theCorei5-3570Kalsonoticeably

laggedbehindthei7-3770KinWPrimeand

Cinebench.TheCorei5-3570Kturnedouttobeagreat

gamingchi,though.Itsminimumof92fpsinArmaII

matchestheframerateoftheCorei7-2600K,andisa

comfortabledistanceinfrontoftheCorei5-2500Ks

86fps.Meanwhile,inourTotalWar:Shogun2CPUtest,

thei5-3570Kwasonlysecondtothei7-3770K,withits

28fpsminimumplacingitalongwayinfrontofthe

18fpsfromtheSandyBridgechips.

OVERCLOCKING

AswiththeCorei7-3770K,thei5-3570Ksuffersfrom

heatproblemswhenyoupushuptheclockfrequency,

butwefoundithasalittlemoreheadroominit,

possiblybecausethelackofHyper-Threadingsupport

meanttheCPUcoreswerentstressedtosucha

degreewhenrunningmulti-threadedbenchmarks.

WemanagedtogettheCPUtorunat5GHzusing

aCorsairH100,althoughthecoretemperaturewas

disturbinglycloseto theTJmaxtemperatureatwhich

theCPUthrottles.Nevertheless,itwasstableenough

torunourbenchmarksatthesesettings,andweonly

neededtotweakthemultiplierandsettheCPU

voltageto1.4Vtoachievethis.

ThisextraheadroomeffectivelygavetheCorei5-3570Kaheadstartoverthei7-3770Kinmanytests,

includingourGimpimageeditingtest,andevenour

multi-threadedHandbraketest,showingthatanextra

200MHzmakesagreaterdifferencethanHyper-

Threadingsupporthere.However,theCorei7-3770K

wasstillquickerinWPrime2.05andCinebench.

Whatsevenmoreremarkableis thatthechipstill

didntdrawthatmuchpowerfromthemainsatthese

settings.Oursystemdrew267WwiththeCPUfully

loaded,comparedto311WfromaCorei5-2500K

runningatthesameclockspeed.

CONCLUSION

Thereslittledoubtthatyoullneedapowerfulliquid

coolingsystemifyouwanttooverclocktheCore

i5-3570Kto itslimitsand,aswiththei7-3770K,theres

nocompellingreasontoupgradetoitfromaSandy

Bridgesystem.

However,at162incVAT,itsstillafastCPUthatalso

offersfantasticpowerefficiencyandgreatvaluefor

money. Ifyoureupgradinganoldsystem,andyou

arentusingheavilymulti-threaded3Drendering

software,thenthisisagreatCPUforthemoney.

BEN HA RDW IDG E

37

Theuseof22nmtransistors

enablesInteltofitmorediesonan

IvyBridgewafer

8/22/2019 Custom PC UK 2012-07

39/132

39July 2012

LGA1 1 5 5 PROCESSORS

0 35 70 105 140

fps26

fps33

fps26

fps34

fps18

fps25

fps18

fps26

AMD FX-8150

Core i5-2500K

Core i7-2600K

Would not run

Would not run

0 35 70 105 140

fps107

fps122

fps100

fps119

fps69

fps82

fps92

fps108

fps86

fps106

fps61

fps70AMD FX-8150

Core i5-2500K

Core i7-2600K

GIMP IMAGE EDITING

Lower is better

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

2,308

2,392

2,127

2,225

2,228

1,077

1,916

1,862

1,805

1,714

1,715

887AMD FX-8150

Core i5-2500K

Core i7-2600K

Core i7-3960X EE

Core i5-3570K

Core i7-3770K

HANDBRAKE H.264 VIDEO ENCODING

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

4,229

4,245

4,208

3,903

3,063

3,461

3,160

3,985

3,211

2,997

2,520AMD FX-8150

Core i5-2500K

Core i7-2600K

Core i7-3960X EE

Core i5-3570K

Core i7-3770K

MULTI-TASKING

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

1,908

1,915

1,984

1,940

1,854

1,439

1,767

1,721

1,645

1,727

1,637

1,283AMD FX-8150

Core i5-2500K

Core i7-2600K

Core i7-3960X EE

Core i5-3570K

Core i7-3770K

WPR IME 2.0 5

0 3 6 9 12

7

9.783

5

7.303

9.985

9.484

6.2 60 6.927

7.754

4. 13 4 4. 93 2

6.130

7.459

9.484AMD FX-8150

Core i5-2500K

Core i7-2600K

Core i7-3960X EE

Core i5-3570K

Core i7-3770K

OVERALL

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

2,836

2,851

2,966

2,791

2,662

1,860

2,403

2,248

2,478

2,217

2,116

1,563AMD FX-8150

Core i5-2500K

Core i7-2600K

Core i7-3960X EE

Core i5-3570K

Core i7-3770K

CINEBENCH R11.5

0 4 8 12 16

9.73

8.22

13.61

9.78

7.71

7.95

7.91

6.32

11.29

7.49

5.93

7.95AMD FX-8150

Core i5-2500K

Core i7-2600K

Core i7-3960X EE

Core i5-3570K

Core i7-3770K

Idle

Stock speed Overclocked

4,787

Lower is better

PEAK TOTAL SYSTEM POWER DRAW

0 50 100 150 200 250

W115

W119

W210

W136

W131

W126

W99

W97

W179

W118

W114

W110AMD FX-8150

Core i5-2500K

Core i7-2600K

Core i7-3960X EE

Core i5-3570K

Core i7-3770K

Load

Lower is better

0 120 240 360 480 600

W244

W267

W538

W313

W311

W586

W166

W161

W289

W180

W162

W244AMD FX-8150

Core i5-2500K

Core i7-2600K

Core i7-3960X EE

Core i5-3570K

Core i7-3770K

Stock speed Overclocked

AR MA II : OPE RA TIO N AR ROW HEA D1,92 0 x 1,08 0, Very High sett ings , no AA, no AF

fps113

fps122

fps104

fps123

fps115

fps125

fps100

fps106

fps92

fps106

fps96

fps107

Core i7-3960X EE

Core i5-3570K

Core i7-3770K

TOT AL WA R: SHO GUN 2 CPU TES T1,92 0 x 1,08 0, def ault sett ings , no AA, no AF

fps35

fps40

fps34

fps43

fps30

fps38

fps29

fps33

fps28

fps36

fps23

fps30Core i7-3960X EE

Core i5-3570K

Core i7-3770K

Overclocked avgOverclocked minStock speed min Stock speed avg

results

TE ST KI TAsusMaximusVGene(IvyBridgeLGA1155),AsusMaximusIVGene-Z(SandyBridgeLGA1155),AsusSabertoothX79(LGA2011),AsusCrosshairFormulaV(SocketAM3+),4GB(2GBDIMMs)Corsair1,600MHzDDR3memory(CL9), AsusGeForceGTX5903GBgraphicscard;120GBPatriotWildfireSSD;1.05kWEnermaxRevolution85+powersupply.Seetablefor

overclocksandsettings.

8/22/2019 Custom PC UK 2012-07

40/13240 July 2012

venthoughtheIvyBridgecoreisjustaSandy

Bridgedie-shrinkonpaper,thereare

plentyofsmall,under-the-hoodtweaks

thatIntelhasmadetotheunderlying

design.Oneofthemoreobviousisofficialsupport

foranincreasedrangeofDDR3speeds.

Infact,memoryspeedsofupto2,800MHzare

supported,whichisamassiveincreasewhenSandy

BridgeonlyofficiallysupportedamaximumDDR3

speedof1,333MHz.Asaresult,wedecidedtofindthe

memorysweetspotforanIvyBridge-basedsystem

isitstill1,600MHz,orhaveIntelstweaksincreasedthe

gainsyoullseefromhigh-frequencymemory?

Tofindoutwhatmemoryyou

shouldbeslappingintoyour

newIvyBridgesystem,we

lookedatanumberof

differentkitsfroma

rangeof manufacturers.

Clockspeedsranged

from1,333MHzto1,866MHz

butallwere8GBkitsas;realistically,

thisshould bethecapacityyourelooking

atifyourespeccingupanewLGA1155build(see

Why8isthenew4,belowright).

Asusual,thekitscameinmanyshapesand

colours.Weveneverbeenconvincedthatsomeof

theostentatiousheatspreadersonmanyRAMkits

offermuchintermsofcoolingbenefits,butawell-

chosenkitcancertianlyaddawelcomesplash

ofcolourtotheinsideofaPC.

TheG.SkillRipjawsXkit,forexample,

wouldlookexcellentparkedinanAsusROG

board,thanksto itsbrightredanodisedfinish.

ThePatriotG2set,ontheotherhand,wouldpartnerwellwithoneofGigabytesnewblack

motherboards,thankstoitsblackPCBsandblue

detailing.Noneofthekits

heresportedridiculouslytall

heatspreaderseither,sotheywont

interferewithlargeCPUcoolers.

Totestthememory,weseteachkittoitsrated

speedintheEFIoftheAsusMaximusVGene(seep64)

thatweusedfortesting,settingthelatencytimings

manuall

Documents

Custom PC UK 2012-07