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MSI Announces GP NotebooksTe holiday season is on us, so you might as well ask Santa

now for that new system youve been wanting maybe oneof the new GP series laptops by MSI would make you happy?Te three laptops in the series were designed with gamers inmind, offering 8GB of DDR3L 1600MHz system memoryand NVIDIAs GeForce G740M with 2GB of GDDR3video RAM. wo of the models have an Intel Core i5-4200Mprocessor, but one has a 16-inch screen (resolution 1,366 x768) and a 750GB HD, while the other has a 17-inch screen(resolution 1,600 x 900) and 1B HD. Te third model in theseries also offers a 16-inch screen (with a resolution of 1,920 x1,080) and 750GB HD, plus it sports a Core i7-4700MQ anda more powerful battery. All systems come with Windows 7Home Premium as the OS; prices start at $899.99.

Archos Ups The AnteWith GamePad 2

Archos is beeng up its original GamePad handheld gamingsystem with an HD screen, larger battery, and more powerfulprocessor. he second-generation GamePad 2 also ditchesthe multiple directional buttonssomething that wasroundly criticized on the original modelin favor of a singledirectional control that the company says offers a better gamingexperience. he new system will be powered by a 1.6GHzquad-core A9 generation processor and 2GB of RAM. woversions will be available, one with 8GB of storage and onewith 16GB, and a microSD slot is once again included thatcan add up to 64GB more. GamePad 2 is a tablet as well as agaming device and runs the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating

system. Te GamePad 2 is priced at $199.99 and should be infull launch mode by the time you read this.

WATCHING THE CHIPS FALL

Here is the pricing

information for

various AMD and

Intel CPUs.

* As of November 2013

** Manufacturers

estimated price

per 1,000

CPU Released Original Price Last Months Price Online Retail Price*

AMD FX-9590 Eight-Core 6/11/2013 NA $699.99 $399.99

AMD FX-9370 Eight-Core 6/11/2013 $375 $299.99 $289.99

AMD FX-8350 Eight-Core 10/23/2012 $195 $199.99 $199.99

AMD FX-8320 Eight-Core 10/23/2012 $169 $159.99 $159.99

AMD FX-8150 Black Edition Eight-Core 10/12/2011 $245** $169.99 $159.99

AMD A10-6700 Quad-Core 6/4/2013 $142** $148.99 $148.99

AMD A10-6800K Quad-Core 6/4/2013 $142** $149.99 $139.99

AMD A8-6600K Quad-Core 6/4/2013 $112** $109.99 $109.99AMD A8-6500 Quad-Core 6/4/2013 $112** $118.99 $118.99

AMD A10-5800K Quad-Core 10/12/2012 $122** $129.99 $129.99

Intel Core i7-4960X Extreme Edition 9/3/2013 $990** $1,049.99 $1,049.99

Intel Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition 11/12/2012 $999** $1,039.99 $1,039.99

Intel Core i7-4770K 6/2/2013 $339** $339.99 $339.99

Intel Core i7-4770 6/2/2013 $303** $309.99 $309.99

Intel Core i7-3820 2/12/2012 $305** $299.99 $299.99

Intel Core i5-4670K 6/2/2013 $242** $239.99 $239.99

Intel Core i5-4670 6/2/2013 $213** $219.99 $219.99

Intel Core i5-4570 6/2/2013 $192** $199.99 $199.99

Intel Core i5-4430 6/2/2013 $182** $189.99 $189.99

Intel Core i3-4340 9/1/2013 $149** NA $135.00

4 December 2013 / www.computerpoweruser.com

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OCZs PSUs Have Looks That KillTe latest refreshes in the OCZ Fatal1ty line of PSUs are now

available at retail. OCZ rst announced the new 550W and750W models at Computex in June. Priced at $79.99 and$109.99, they are part of an ongoing collaboration with worldchampion gamer Jonathan Fatal1ty Wendell to producepower supplies tailored to the needs of enthusiasts. Both ofthe new PSUs have 80-Plus Bronze efficiency ratings, comewith single +12V rails, and are built to last with premiumcomponents. Tey also feature load and temperature controlled135mm fans with LEDs that glow the signature red of theFatal1ty line. Modders will enjoy the exibility afforded bythe modular cabling system, too, as the PSUs come with a fullassortment of connectors and cabling that lets system buildersselect only the wiring they need for their particular rigs.

CyberPowerPC Adds HX6 Series ToFangbook EVO Notebook LineCyberPowerPC has announced three powerful new notebooksthat are available under the series name Fangbook EVO HX6.he HX6 100 has a Core i7-4700MQ processor, 8GB ofDDR3L 1600MHz system memory, and a 1B SAA300HDD. Te HX6 200 has the same processor but steps up to16GB of DDR3 1600MHz memory, and it comes with a 64GBSanDisk SSD. Te HX6 300 has an i7-4900MQ processor,16GB of DDR3 1600MHz memory, a 60GB Intel SSD, anda 1B SAA300 HD. All three systems sport an NVIDIAGX765M with 2GB of graphics memory, as well as a true HD(1,920 x 1,080) 15.6-inch LED-backlit screen. Systems in theHX6 series come with Windows 8.1, and they all offer Matrix

Multi Display capabilities, so you can run up to three screensincluding the notebook display when you want to really putyourself in the middle of all the action. Prices start at $1,019.

Corsair Is Back In BlackIf you need a roomy full tower for your next build, check outCorsairs new Obsidian Series 750D ($159.99). Te brushedaluminum and steel case has plenty of space for all the latestcomponent goodness you want to add to your system. Inaddition to tool-less side panels and drive bays, and youll ndlittle extras like cable routing grommets that will keep your

wires safe and secure as you piece together your build. Tecase comes with three 140mm fans (two front, one rear), buthas room for up to eight, and there are easy-access dust ltersat the top, rear, and front. Included are six internal 3.5/2.5-inch bays in two modular cages, and you can add up to fourmore SSDs via dedicated sideways-oriented mounts. Te casesnine expansion slots mean SLI and CrossFireX congs are noproblem, and the front panel has four USB ports (two USB3.0) and headphone/mic jacks. Dimensions are 22 x 9.25 x 21.5inches (HxWxD); weight is 21.4 pounds.

CPU / December 20135

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HARDWARE MOLE

Nest Protect Rethinks Home Safetyhe original Nest hermostat woke up a sleepy home

improvement category, and now the company is grabbingattention again with its new combo fire alarm and carbonmonoxide detector. Te Nest Protect shows what can happenwhen smart engineers and designers rethink how productsshould work. Instead of being standalone devices, Protect alarmscommunicate with each other as well as with Nest thermostats.For example, if Protect detects a high level of carbon monoxide,it noties Nest to turn off the home furnace until the sourcecan be identied. If an alarm goes off in one area of the home,Protect wakes up its brethren to ensure everyone is warned intime to get to safety. And in a truly brilliant move, Nest Labs putan early warning system called Heads Up into Protect, so thatthe alarm will tell you, in a human voice, if it detects smoke (and

where). Ten if it turns out to be a false alarmmaybe yoursignicant other burned the meat loaf againyou can simplywave at Protect to turn off the alert before the sirens start.

Valves Gameplan Picks Up SteamValve has big plans for your gaming entertainment, andthey include playing games on a wide range of devicesfrom multiple manufacturers that fall loosely under a specthe company is creating for something called the SteamMachine. Valve says consumers will see Steam Machinesfrom several manufacturers next year, and it is collectingentries for a beta program where 300 lucky individuals willreceive prototypes and be asked for their input on creatingthe nal specs for retail products. Also on tap for gamersis a new type of input device for the boxes that Valve iscalling the Steam Controller. Te new gaming device usesdual trackpads in place of the usual analog thumbsticks,and the company says they offer a higher-delity gamingexperience. (NOE: For more information, see ValveOpens Te Floodgates in this issue.)

Personal Cloud NAS From ShuttleSmaller form factor computer pioneer Shuttle announcedit has a new NAS product for small-office or home usertypes who want an easy way to store, access, and sharedifferent types of data. Te OMNINAS KD20 is a two-bay

network-attached storage device that Shuttle designed tobe a multimedia content hub, a place where people canstore home movies, photos, and music, or even documentsfor their small business. Te KD20 makes it easy to thenshare those les with others, even if they are uploading ordowloading to/from an Android or iOS device. Te KD20also can act as a print server and a streaming content server,so you can store your audio and video les in one place andthen watch or listen to your les through other devices suchas game consoles or your V. Te bays can support up totwo 4B drives as JBOD, RAID 0, or RAID 1.


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Release Your Inner Van GoghWith Alien Skins Snap Art 4Have an artists eye but no dexterity with a paintbrush? Snap

Art 4 is a program that can apply painting and drawingtechniques to a photo and make it look handcrafted. Tesoftware can mimic the looks of different mediawatercolor, oil, pencil sketch, crayonand instantly transforma photo into a work of art. Snap Art 4 integrates withother well-known photo tools (Photoshop, Aperture) orcan work as a standalone application. Alien Skin says it hasreworked the user interface in Snap Art 4 to make it evenmore intuitive and easy to use than earlier versions. Currentowners of Snap Art can upgrade for $69, otherwise theprogram sells for $99 at www.alienskin.com. (NOE: Te

graphic shown here is from an earlier version as the new UIwas still being tweaked as we went to press.)

TotalRecovery Tools Fixes GlitchesotalRecovery ools from FarStone echnology is a backuputility suite that includes disk imaging and other tools to clonehard drives and SSDs, browse les and rescue data, shred data,recover passwords, and otherwise manage the data on your PCfrom outside of the Windows environment. Te suite requiresno installation as it runs from a self-booting thumb drive orDVD. Running outside of Windows allows you to congureboot options, check OS errors, partition drives, and rescuedata if your system crashes. Te suite includes an EmergencyRescuer utility for crashed systems as well as a Universal Restoreutility. FarStone says using otalRecovery ools saves timeand leaves no footprints when systems crash and need to be

restored. Te suite sells for $79.99; see www.farstone.com/software/totalrecovery-tools.php.

SOFTWARE SHORTS

Put Some Coder On That PiGoogler Jason Striegel, a member of the Google Creative Labcrew, has released a nifty bit of open-source code that he callsCoder that can turn a Raspberry Pi into a personal webserver and development tool. Striegel says he embarked on

the project with design friend Jeff Baxter and others as a wayto help new coders learn how to program for the web. Nowyou can use Pi as the environment for experimenting with

Javascript, HML, CSS, and the like. o learn more abouthow Coder works and download the free program, go to:googlecreativelab.github.io/coder. Youll also nd links there toother items you may need (a Raspberry Pi, a Wi-Fi module,a power supply, and so on). Now you know what to get thathard-to-buy-for budding coder on your gift list.


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Net In Every House & Video-Enabled Devices In Every PotResearch rm IHS is forecasting there will be more than8 billion video-enabled devices online in 2017, which willexceed the total human population of the earth at that time(expected to reach 7.4 billion). Currently there are about4.3 billion tablets, smart Vs, smartphones, Blu-ray players,PCs, gaming consoles, and so on that are connected to theInternet, but IHS says that number is growing much morerapidly than the population of homo sapiens. Although PCsrepresented 93% of all connected devices less than 10 yearsago, in 2017 their share will be only 23%. SmartVs willhave 5%, gaming consoles 2%, and smartphones and tabletswill represent the lions share at 67%.

DropCam Pro With Cloud Recording

DropCam (the company) has an updated version of DropCam(the camera). Te new DropCam Pro is a dual-band Wi-Fivideo camera that includes two-way audio, 8X digital zoom,night vision, and intelligent alerts (receive notifications viaemail or text). Te lens of the camera has a 130-degree eldof view, so you can capture an entire room and then zoom inremotely if you want to see something in detail. (Baby crib,anyone?) An optional subscription-based service saves eitherthe last seven days or 30 days of your video to the cloud, lettingyou review the video later at your leisure. You can even clip andsave sections of video to your desktop or share links to savedclips with friends. Te Cloud Recording service for one cameraruns $99/year for seven days of video storage and $299/year for30 days; there is a 50% discount for Cloud Recording that youadd to additional cameras. Te camera itself retails for $199.

SITE SEEING

Measure Twice, Cut Once (Or Twice)Advertising firm Barkley out of Kansas City, Mo., mustbe looking forward to winter. he company has the usualcorporate website, but for at least a couple of years now it alsohas had a separate Make-a-Flake site at snowflakes.barkleyus.

com where you can take a pair of on-screen scissors and cutup virtual snowakes to your hearts content. After makingyour akes, you can post them to the sites gallery. You alsocan download JPEGs of them that you can save or print (or, ifyoure more ambitious, you can download editable EPS versionsthat you can use in other design programs like PhotoShop). Isit true no two snowakes are alike? Well, just try to make thesame ake two times in a row (yeah, we dare you). Evidentlysome people have tried to make some other rather . . . uh,unique designs, because the site includes a report option in caseyou run across offensive snowakes. Stay classy!


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Job Of The MonthLike software? Like music? Like Big Data? Like the thought of working for the company that

successfully married all three areas online in the form of iTunes? Silicon Valley technology pioneer

and mega-company Apple is looking for a Big Data Reporting Engineer for its iTunes division. Youll

be responsible for designing, developing, coding, and supporting massive data set solutions involving

various Hadoop distros and platforms including HortonWorks, Cloudera, and Amazon EMR. Youll be

yanking data from a variety of systems that mix older RDBMS as well as newer NoSQL setups, and

using your master architecting and code-wizardry skills to create scalable, fault-tolerant services. Along

with the usual works and plays well with others stuff, youll need to be a kahuna with Java, Python,

and Hadoop. If you think you have what it takes to work for The House That Jobs Built, mosey on over to

apple.com/jobs (yeah, we did that on purpose).

(www.apple.com/jobs)

Here, There . . .Everywhere

A new report from Forrester Research says half the

people in the U.S. access the Internet sometime

during the week from a smartphone. Digging deeper,

Forrester asked people where they were when they

were going online. Heres hoping all those folks who

answered in a car were passengers, not drivers....

Where People Are When They Use Their

Smartphones To Access The Internet68% Car 51% Kitchen

64% Living Room 50% Bathroom

63% Restaurant 45% Public Transit

61% Bedroom 31% Home Ofce

(Forrester Research)

Merrily, Merrily, Merrily . . . Life Is But A StreamAccording to a recent survey by Vision Critical of Americans and their media viewing habits, more than

46% of people now pay for some type of media streaming service. Their reasons for streaming vs.

watching their media in some other fashion

were varied (see below).

Reasons For Streaming

74% Convenience

67% Catching up on episodes

67% Fewer commercials

66% Watching full seasons

63% Reasonable cost

47% Original programming

(Vision Critical)

3Number of on-sale days it took Grand Theft

Auto V, the latest installment of the GTA

gaming franchise, to reach $1 billion in sales.

(Take-Two Interactive Software)

15%Percentage of U.S. adults ages 18 and upwho do not use the Internet or email.(Pew Research)

52Number of hours the average U.S. citizen

spends online each year looking for health-

related information.

(Makovsky Health and Kelton consumer survey)

71%Percentage of all data break-ins that occur in

businesses with fewer than 100 employees.

(Verizon)

$1 TrillionTotal amount consumers worldwidewill spend on digital media content andtechnology in 2013.

(PQ Media)


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GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 5The Ultimate Z87 Gaming Board

Advertisement

Cool down. Ever installed a closed-loop CPU cooler and had to hunt aroundfor an extra power connection on yourmotherboard because the cooler requiredone connection for the pump and anotherfor the fan? GIGABYEs 8 Series boardscome with OP fan support in the formof a second CPU fan pin header, so yourecovered. Monitoring and controlling up tonine fans in your system is easier than ever,too, thanks to GIGABYEs Smart Fan2 controller and its associated app, whichlet you easily congure individual coolingproles for precise control. And speakingof cooling, the G1.Sniper 5 comes withexible on-board chipset and VRM cooling;the unied heatsink is an effective passive

only gives you access to your BIOS settingsand system status information in a handyGUI, but also uses a secondary BIOS chipto recover your system settings automaticallyin the event of a corrupted or failed BIOS,ensuring that your system will boot normally.

Power up. he board also hasGIGABYEs On/Off Charge 2 feature,which lets you charge your mobile devicesvia the boards 10 available USB 3.0 ports (sixon the rear panel and up to four available viainternal header connection) just as quicklyas if you used a charger plugged into a wallsocket. Best of all, you have access to quickcharges even if your PC is powered off; thedays of booting your system just to chargeyour iPhone or iPad are over.

Once you decide on an Intel 4th GenCoreCPUs for your gaming PC build

you have to find the perfect motherboardto go with it, and there are many to choosefrom. Narrowing them down may seem likea daunting task, but if you are looking forall the latest features, smart design, industry-leading durability, and support for high-endconfigurations, your decision is simple: heGIGABYE G1.Sniper 5 has everything youwant and more.

FeaturesUEFI DualBIOS.he G1.Sniper 5 is

equipped with a laundry list of cutting-edgefeatures, starting with GIGABYEs exclusiveUEFI DualBIOS. UEFI DualBIOS not

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Celsius, and GIGABYEs 2X Copper PCBtechnology, which includes dual layers ofcopper and a new glass fabric insulation layer

that is stronger than traditional materials andprovides better humidity protection.he G1.Sniper 5 also has a CPU

socket with a 15 layer of gold plating forresistance to corrosion and a longer overalllifespan. Each of the boards 10 potentialUSB 3.0 ports has a dedicated fuse, so amalfunction of any one port is isolated tothat port. And because getting the rightamount of power to your delicate internalcomponents is crucial for their continuedoperat ion, GIGABYE bui l t theG1.Sniper 5 with all-digital power controlin the form of PowlRstage controllers fromInternational Rectier, which means thatyour CPU, memory, and other vital boardcomponents receive precisely the powerthey need. PowlRstage controllers also runcooler than traditional MOSFES, soyou can achieve better overclocks withoutworrying about overheating.

No CompromiseGIGABYEs G1.Sniper 5 is designed to

connect all of the components you want in a

high-end gaming PC, help them perform atpeak levels, and protect them so that they canwork together to provide you with cutting-edge performance for years to come.

extractor and replace it, either with one of thetwo included specialized ampliers or withone that you buy separately. On the graphicsfront, the G1.Sniper 5 has four PCI Expressx16 slots, two that run at x16 and two moreat x8. Te board has full support for 4-WaySLI or CrossFireX and PCI-e 3.0, as well as4K displays.

Ultra DurableYour PCs motherboard is a long-

term investment, so its wise to chooseone that is built to last. Te G1.Sniper 5,like all G1-Killer 8 Series boards, benefits

from GIGABYEs Ultra Durable 5 Plustechnology. hat means that it featureshigh-end 10,000-hour solid capacitors,rated for operation at up to 105 degrees

cooler and also has connectors on eitherend that make it easy to add to a customwatercooling loop.

A/V. he G1.Sniper 5 has audio andvideo squared away, too. All 8 Series G1-Killer boards are equipped with a dedicated600-ohm amplifier for the boards front-panel headphone connector, as well asCreatives Sound Core3D audio processorthat runs the latest SoundBlaster audiosoftware and features a gold-plated EMIshield. All audio connector ports are gold-plated, too, for improved conductivity andresistance to corrosion. And for those with

truly discriminating tastes, GIGABYEsAMP-UP Audio feature lets you extract itsstandard OP-AMP (operational amplifier)quickly and easily with the provided IC

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Aerocool Dead Silence Black Editiontoo. Small slits ring the perimeter of thefront and top panels, which helps withairow without being distracting.

Aerocool says the Dead Silences topand front panels are leather-coated.

It looks a lot better than it sounds, intruth. Essentially, these panels havea matte finish with a slightly softertextureanother nod to restraint andsubtlety when the current trend is polishand gloss. Te case comes with a secondtop panel thats entirely honeycombedmetal mesh if your cases airow is moreimportant than its acoustic signature.

Inside, youll immediately noticea difference with the Dead Silence:

Aerocool opted to tip the motherboard

tray 90 degrees on its Z axis so that anymotherboard installed in the case will lieat, like what youd nd on an open-airtest bench chassis. his orientationends up making an initial installationconsiderably easier. And speaking fromexperience (weve experienced morethan one shipping disaster with ourCPUSystem Workshop builds graphics

You want to love mini towers. Youlook at that diminutive physical

footprint and think, How cool wouldit be to build a monstrously powerfulPC inside a case so small? But, as they

say, therein lies the rub. he confinesof such a small chassis can real lyrestrict what youre able to do with abuild in terms of component selection.Its heartbreaking.

Worry not, though; Aerocool is hereto make it all better. he companysDead Silence Black Edition may toutsubdued acoustics as its claim to fame,but what were really excited about isthe amount of exibility you get in acase so small.

he Dead Silence measures a rela-tively squat 16.2 inches tall. Unlikeseveral other Aerocool cases, this oneis free of LED fans and other visualembellishments. Chalk up the DeadSilence in the sleek, minimalist columnrather than ashy, daring. We happento like the understated look, and Aerocoolactually managed to make it functional,

cards), youll cherish this motherboardtray implementation if youre constantlyhauling your rig to and fro. However,

any time you need to tinker within yoursystem, those graphics cards will have tocome out.

Underneath the motherboard tray,youll nd bays for the PSU and up tofour storage drives. he first internaldrive cage is accessible with the leftside panel removed as has two tool-lessdrive trays for either 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch drives. he second cage is onlycompatible with 2.5-inch drives and islocated behind the PSU bay, so you haveto remove the right side panel to installdrives. Still, its a clever use of space.

he PSU bay merits a separate dis-cussion. Aerocool recommends stickingwith a PSU thats no longer than 6.3inches, and while you might be able tocheat that a little, you wont be squeezinga 1,200W PSU into the Dead Silencewithout modding the 2.5/3.5-inch drivecage, at the very least. his will affectyour graphics setup more than anything.

Although theres enough physical roomfor a pair of graphics cards up to 13.78

inches long, you need to be absolutelysure any PSU you install has enough

juice to power them.Up above, its possible to hang a

240mm radiator from the rafters ofthe Dead Silence, but it likely meanssacricing the 5.25-inch external drivebay. For that kind of cooling potential,we call that an acceptable loss; thesedays, its easier than ever to get awaywithout an optical drive.

owers this small are vexing beasts

because they demand creative engi-neer ing whi le af fording prec iouslittle space to do so. With the DeadSilence, though, we think Aerocoolsmanaged to do just that. It turnsout you can still think big inside asmall case.

BYVINCE COGLEY

Specs:Dimensions: 16.2 x 10.4 x 15 inches (HxWxD); Materials: Steel, plastic; Motherboard support: mATX, Mini-ITX; Bays: 1 5.25-inch external, 1 3.5-inch

external; 2 2.5/3.5-inch internal, 2 2.5-inch internal; Fans: 1 200mm front, 1 120mm rear; Fans (optional): 2 120/140mm top; Ports: 2 USB 3.0, 2 USB 2.0, audio I/O

Dead Silence Black Edition

$119.99

Aerocoolwww.aerocool.us


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Zalman Reserator 3 MaxZalman included a single 120mm

fan to cool the ns, and the PWM fanoperates between 1,000 and 2,200rpm.

Well also note that Zalman providesextra screws for adding another 120mm

fan (not included) to the Reserator 3Max, creating a push-pull setup. hecomparatively small size of the radiatorensures that youll be able to install itin most any case with a 120mm fanopening. Zalman also added blue LEDlighting to the fan and heatsink/pump fora little visual air.

Zalman also applied some engineeringexpertise to the cold plate, which is apure copper base with micro ns on theinterior. he micro fins offer a larger

surface area for the nanouid coolant toabsorb heat from the cold plate, whichZalman indicates will increase overallthermal conductivity.

Like almost all of the closed-loopCPU coolers weve tested, Zalmanprovides a set of Intel and AMD universal

Zalman has been a big name in CPUcoolers for a long time, but weve

never seen anything quite like theReserator 3 Max. First off, the radiatorin this closed-loop cooler is not your

conventional black box, as Zalman hasengineered a circular unit that actually hastwo radiators set up in a spiral pattern.Secondly, Zalman utilizes nanofluids (amix of nanoparticles and liquid that ismore thermally conductive than liquid byitself) to improve the coolants ability toconduct heat away from your CPU.

Te nanouids inside the closed loopare cooled by Zalmans Quadro coolingpath system, which consists of two copperheatpipes that run through the inner

radiator and outer radiator. Because theheatpipes split into upper and lower pathswithin each radiator, there are four overallpaths for the radiator to absorb heat.

Additionall y, the fins on the radiatorsare made of pure copper, rather than thealuminum found inside most radiators.

brackets for the heatsink/pump unit.Overall, youll find support for IntelLGA775/1150/1155/1156/1366/2011

and AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1/FM2 sockets. Once youve attachedthe universal clip to the heatsink/pumpunit, you can mount it to the universalbackplate. We like the Zalman provides asticker that you can affix to the universalbackplate, so you wont need to hold it inplace while mounting the heatsink/pump.

With the radiator, we utilized the extrascrews and attached it to the rear exhaustfan on our case.

We tested the Reserator 3 Max witha stock-clocked Intel Core i7-4770Kon a GIGABYE GA-Z87X-UD5Hmotherboard. We monitored CPU tem-peratures with Core emp. After letting thesystem idle for 10 minutes, we measured amaximum temperature of 32 degrees Celsius.

We put the processor under load with twoseparate tests: running the POV-Ray 3.7beta benchmark for 10 minutes and startingfour instances of Prime95 for 10 minutes.Impressively, maximum temps never climbedabove 66 C (65 C in POV-Ray and 66 Cin Prime 95). With Intels Core i7-4770K,

thatd leave you with around 40 C of thermalheadroom before the CPU automaticallythrottles itself.

We were exci te d to se e th e com-paratively small Reserator 3 Max put upnumbers on par with closed-loop coolerswith larger radiators. Overclockers shouldalso like the flexibility the Reserator 3Max offers, because it could work withmost 120mm fans inside your case.Certainly its a CPU cooler worthchecking out for your next build.

BYNATHANLAKE

Reserator 3 Max

$125.99

Zalman

www.zalman.com

Specs:Materials: pure copper (waterblock), pure copper and black-pearl, nickel plated (radiator); Fans: 1 120mm (1000-2200rpm); Cooling

capacity: 400 watts

Test system specs: Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K; Motherboard: GA-Z87X-UD5H; GPU: GIGABYTE GV-N760OC-4GD; RAM: 8GB ADATA XPG V1.0 DDR3-

1866; Storage: 128GB Crucial RealSSD C300; OS: Windows 8 Enterprise (64-bit)


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Cooler Master Glacer 240Lradiator, should allow for GPU cooling ifyou opt to expand your loop. he pumpitself is powered by a SAA connection and4-pin PWM fan connector. It can adjust itsspeed between 1,200 and 3,500rpm based on

system load.Te Glacer 240Ls radiator is built with

a mix of copper and brass, which accordingto Cooler Master provides excellent heatdissipation. o move heat away from theradiator, Cooler Master provides two120mm Blade Master fans that operate at2,400rpm. Te high-speed fans produce ofairow 86.15cfm and have a life expectancyof 40,000 hours. At 2,400rpm, CoolerMaster estimates that the noise level of theBlade Master fans will reach 40.33 dBA.

he Glacer 240L is compatible with theusual assortment of Intel and AMD sockets.Cooler Master preinstalls mounting screwsfor Intel LGA1150/1155/1156/1366 sockets,and spare mounting screws are available forIntel LGA2011 and AMD AM2/AM3/FM1/FM2 sockets.

Lately, the engineers at Cooler Masterseem to be all about expandability, with

recent product releases such as the HAFStacker case system and Glacer 240L CPUcooler. We got to test out the latter, which

at first blush appears to be an ordinaryclosed-loop CPU cooler. he kit is prefilled,pressure-tested, and fully sealed. he bigdifference with the Glacer 240L is that itfeatures 5/8-inch PVC tubing with swivelG fittings that make it possible to connectand expand the system to other liquid-cooling components. A G fill-port threadon the radiator lets you quickly remove andadd coolant to the system.

Cooler Master worked with Swiftech tocreate a pump that could handle additional

components on the cooling loop. CoolerMaster indicates that the Glacer 240Ls pumpcan reach a maximum speed of 3,500rpm,which equates to a ow rate of 165 liters perhour and a pressure of 2,650mm H20. Teexceptional speed of the pump, in additionto the cooling capability of the 240mm

o test the Glacer 240L, we monitoredthe CPU temperature with Core emp andran three separate tests to give you an idea ofperformance. First, we let the PC run at idlefor 10 minutes, which produced a maximum

temperate of 30 degrees Celsius. Next, we ranPOV-Ray 3.7 Beta on all cores for 10 minutesto put the processor under full load. Te IntelCore i7-4770K hit only 53 C, which is veto 10 degrees lower than what we usually seewith closed-loop CPU coolers. Finally, weran four instances of Prime95 for 10 minutes,and the processor registered a maximumtemperature of 56 C. Tese numbers indicatethat the Glacer 240L will give you plenty ofroom for overclocking your CPU.

You can start out with a closed-loop

setup, and if you invest in other liquid-cooled parts, the Glacer 240L makes itrelatively easy to incorporate them into yourloop. Its an intriguing option for builderswho never stop building.

BYNATHANLAKE

Specs:Materials: Copper (waterblock), copper/brass (radiator); Fans: 2 120mm (2,400rpm); Pump speed: 1,200 to 3,500rpm; Pump power: 13 watts;

Warranty: 2 years

Test system specs: Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K; Motherboard: GA-Z87X-UD5H; GPU: GIGABYTE GV-N760OC-4GD; RAM: 8GB ADATA XPG V1.0

DDR3-1866; Storage: 128GB Crucial RealSSD C300; OS: Windows 8 Enterprise (64-bit)

Glacer 240L

$139.99

Cooler Master

www.coolermaster-usa.com


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http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

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http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

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GIGABYTE Luxo

M30 Black

tool-less bays for up to three 5.25-inchdrives. Below the 5.25-inch drive baycage, there are eight 3.5-inch internalbays, four of which feature tool-lesslocks. Screws are provided, too, if youneed to install more than four storagedrives. he case can handle AX andmAX motherboards, and youll have

seven slots for add-in cards.he Luxo M30 is fairly lightweight(13.7 pounds), as much of the caseconsists of ABS plastic and perforatedsteel. Te metal mesh along most of thefront and top panels, in combination withthe integrated fans, will help to ventilateyour rig. For front panel connectivity,

Midtowers arent always the bestwhen it comes to airflow, due

to their limited space inside for casefans. With GIGABYEs Luxo M30,there are no such limitations, as youcan instal l up to six 120mm fansthroughout the case. GIGABYEincludes four 120mm fans (one front,one rear, two top) to give you plenty ofairflow right out of the box.

GIGABYE has also put somethought into the Luxo M30s exteriorlook, as the front fans blue LEDsilluminate the chassis front panel. Youllnd a similar shade of blue on the plasticpull tabs for the cases 5.25-inch drivebay covers.

Wi th the Luxo M30, GIGABYEbuilt the motherboard tray on the leftside of the chassis, and theres a clearwindow along the right side panel. Tisorientation is opposite of the typical caseconguration and nice option for those

who want to place their PC on the leftside of a desk. Te clear side panel givesyou plenty of room to show off yourrigs motherboard, memory, and graphicscards. GIGABYE also includes two120mm fan mounts on the clear sidepanel, too, which gives you the option toblast even more air over the componentsthat matter most.

GIGABYE has also flipped themotherboard tray orientation, so theprocessor and CPU cooler are below

the graphics cards. he power supplyopening remains on the bottom of thecase, so itll be a short run for most ofthe PSUs power cables. Te Luxo M30has cable openings along the side of themotherboard tray and gives you aroundhalf an inch of space behind the trayto route cables. he Luxo M30 offers

youll nd two USB 3.0 ports, two USB2.0 ports, and audio I/O.

GIGABYE offers the Luxo M30 inboth black and white; as of press time,we found it available online for a mere$52.99. Its a smart choice for discerningbuilders in search of an affordablemidtower with the cooling potential

necessary for performance parts.

BYNATHANLAKE

Luxo M30 Black

$65

GIGABYE

www.gigabyte.us

Specs:Dimensions: 16.93 x 7.55 x 17.32 inches (HxWxD); Materials: Steel, plastic; Motherboard support: ATX, mATX; Bays: 3 5.25-inch

external, 1 3.5-inch external, 8 3.5-inch internal; Fans (included): 1 120mm blue LED front, 1 120mm rear; Fans (optional): 2 120mm top,

2 120mm right side panel; Ports: 2 USB 3.0, 2 USB 2.0, audio I/O


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Thermaltake

Chaser A21

he Chaser A21 has a number offeatures that you may not expect fromsuch an affordable case. Teres a USB 3.0port on the front panel. he removabledust lter in the bottom panel is nice, asare vibration-minimizing rubber pads thatelevate the PSU from the oor of the case.Te motherboard tray features a large CPUcutout and a wide-open space behind the

3.5-inch HDD bays for stuffing cables andwires. Tat being said, theres not muchspace behind the motherboard tray forexcess cabling, so we recommend goingwith a modular PSU or one with cablesthat lack bulky ferrite chokes. Clips inthe motherboard tray can help with wirerouting, and theres even a couple circular

Prior to the launch of the Chaser A21,you had four other cases in the Chaser

family from which to choose, rangingfrom large to slightly larger. he newcase has slimmed down considerably:Depending on which case in the familyyoure comparing it to, the Chaser A21shaved between 3 and 4 inches from theheight and between 1 and 2 inches fromthe width by eliminating interior spacefor large liquid-cooling radiators andrestricting the headroom for CPU coolers.Case depth remains very similar to thatof the Chaser A31 and A41, which letsyou still cram a graphics cards up to 12.6inches long into this enclosure.

Aesthetically, the A21 looks strikinglylike the A31 from the front. he plasticfront panel features a bank of whatappear to be seven 5.25-inch bay covers,each of which are black and blue plasticsurrounding a foam-backed piece of metalmesh. Tere are actually three external 5.25-

inch bays available, and theres an adapter toturn one of them into an external 3.5-inchbay. Te remaining front section of the casecan house up to six HDDs. Teres a lone2.5-inch SSD bay built into the bottomof the case. Five of the HDD bays and allof the 5.25-inch bays have blue and blackplastic tool-less locking mechanisms.

Te interior and exterior of the ChaserA21 are painted a fine textured black. Asmall plastic window gives you a view to theCPU. herere numerous cooling options

available with this enclosure in addition tothe included 120mm blue LED exhaust fan.You can install up to three 120mm intakefans in the front, bottom, and side panels.

You can also add a pair of 120mm exhaustfans to the top panel. Despite the narrowerdimensions, the Chaser A21 lets you installCPU coolers that are up to 6.1 inches tall.

portals on the rear panel in case you wantto install an external radiator.

Overall, the Chaser A21 is a compactcase that can handle quite a bit of high-performance gear if youre not afraid ofsmall enclosed spaces. And the money yousave on the enclosure can help you payfor a faster processor, better motherboard,more powerful GPU, or more memory.

Tats not a bad trade-off at all.

BYANDREWLEIBMAN

Chaser A21

$59.99

Thermaltake

www.thermaltakeusa.com

Specs:Dimensions: 16.8 x 7.7 x 19.6 inches (HxWxD); Material: Steel; Motherboard support: ATX, mATX; Bays: 3 5.25-inch external, 1 3.5-inch external

(via adapter), 6 3.5-inch internal, 1 2.5-inch internal; Fan: 120mm blue LED rear; Fans (optional): 1 120mm front, 2 120mm top, 1 120mm bottom;

1 120mm left side panel; Ports: 1 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, audio I/O


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Mountain Mods Bob Slay V2 UV Greenworking within the case is effortless.

Additional ly, there are three generousnotches cut into the edges of themotherboard tray, so running cablesprecisely where theyre needed is no

problema great option for modderswho like to cut their rigs cables to length.echnically, the case can accommodate10.5-inch-wide E-AX motherboards,although a board like this will hang overthe cable management channel closest tothe left side panel.

By default, the Bob Slay V2 has aquintet of 120mm fan mounts. hereis a pair up front and three on the casesrear panel. With mAX and Mini-IXboards, its possible to install a 240mm

radiator within the case, but if yourerolling with an AX or E-AX mobo,fear not. For ve bucks, you can upgradethe cases rear panel to let you bolt on anexternal rad.

he machining of the Bob Slay V2 isstupendous, to be sure, the real advantageof this case is the company behind it.Mountain Mods is in a lot of ways more

Bobs back, and hes better than ever.Mountain Mods turned heads with the

original Bob Slayan acrylic case that hadloads of customization options. It shouldcome as no surprise, then, that the Bob

Slay V2 is more of the same, only better.he Bob Slay V2 measures 13.2 x

12.1 x 15.6 inches (HxWxD), so its nottechnically a cube, although MountainMods site refers to it as one. Do we care?No, because were more interested in buildquality than semantics. he constructionhere is second to none. he acrylicpanels have an almost perfectly seamlesst. Seamless is a word that gets thrownaround far too often these days, but wedont use it lightly here. Tink of the Bob

Slay V2 as the Lexus ES 300 of cases: For acustom acrylic case, the tolerances are ball-bearing good.

Te Bob Slay V2s motherboard trayruns parallel to the top and bottompanels. Once you remove the cases toppanel (or, perhaps more appropriately,before you attach it, since the Bob SlayV2 ships unassembled by default),

like a boutique builder than a big, corporatecomponent manufacturer. As a result,factory customization options abound, asevidenced by the Bob Slay V2 sent to usfor review. Our Bob included a helpful,

and ridiculously durable, Lamptronhandle, plus machined aluminum feet, anilluminated antivandal switch, and customacrylic fan grilles. Without them, the stockBob Slay V2 with UV green tinted acryliccosts $184.99. Of course, there are many,many more options and accessories availablein Mountain Mods arsenal. UV greennot your bag? Maybe UV blue, smokedgrey, or mirror panels sound better. Itsnot an exaggeration to say that you cancommission Mountain Mods to make you a

truly one-of-a-kind case if desired.Build quality, internal accessibility,and customization potential are thecheckboxes that matter most to us. TeBob Slay V2 ticked them all. Maybe youwouldnt call it a budget buy, but itsworth every penny.

BYVINCE COGLEY

Specs:Specs: Dimensions: 13.2 x 12.1 x 15.6 inches (HxWxD); Materials: UV-reactive acyrlic; Motherboard support: E-ATX, ATX, mATX, Mini-ITX; Bays: Up

to 2 5.25-inch external, up to 3 storage drives; Fans (optional): 2 120mm front, 3 120mm rear; Ports: N/A

Bob Slay V2 UV Green

$184.99 ($324.36 as tested)

Mountain Mods

www.mountainmods.com


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LUXA2 Groovy Wireless Stereo Speakerhe genuine leather strap that cameon our unit is brown, but we quicklyswapped it for the black one that thisspeaker system ships with. Four rubberfeet on the bottom of the unit ensure

theres no vibration to distort thesound, and they also serve to keep theunit in place when its blasting tunes.

here are four metal buttons onthe front edge of unit for power andsyncing, volume down, speakerphone/play/pause, and volume up. Te Groovyalso features a line-in port for connectingnon-Bluetooth devices. A micro USBport is there for charging the unit,and a mic lets you use the device as aspeakerphone. While listening to music

streaming from an iPhone, we wereable to take an incoming call by simplypressing the speakerphone button.he caller came across loud and clear,and she never complained of the tinnyecho you can sometimes get when youreon speakerphone.

Here at CPU, we have a kind of love/hate relationship with wireless

speaker systems. On one hand, theyregreat for delivering soothing soundswherever we happen to be, without

having to fuss with physical connections.Sadly, they also tend to produce asub-par listening experience, eitherbecause of a persistent buzzing sound inthe background or because the speakersthemselves are too small to delivermuch sonic punch. he LUXA2 Groovy

Wire le ss Stereo Speake r su ffer s fromneither problem and adds a few handyfeatures to the portable speaker pot.

Te Groovy is gorgeous. Its housingconsists of a single thick piece of

aluminum bent into a C shape withthe pair of speakers wrapped in meshand slotted in the middle. heres agap between the bottom of the speakermesh and the base of the aluminumhousing, giving the illusion that thespeakers are hovering ever so slightly.

Tanks to its Bluetooth v2.1 + EDRradio, this speaker system is a perfect matefor your smartphone. Syncing is as simpleas powering on the speaker and enablingthe connection from your device. In our

range tests, we found that the speakerbegan to cut out when we traveled about33 feet from the source device, but thatswith walls intervening, which did impressus. For such a small device, the soundyoull get from the Groovy is surprisinglyloud, but it can get distorted at the highersettings. Even so, at medium volume, wefound that the system easily filled theroom with sound.

Te LUXA2 Groovy Wireless SpeakerSystem is perfect if youre in the market

for an attractive wireless speaker systemthat you can easily tote between yourbedroom, kitchen, family room, and evenon outdoor adventures. Your smartphonenever sounded so good.

BYANDREWLEIBMAN

Specs:Dimensions: 3 x 7.3 x 2.1 inches (HxWxD); Materials: Brushed aluminum, fabric mesh, leather strap; Wireless: Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR;

Battery: rechargeable lithium-ion 1800mAh (3.5 hours at max volume); Frequency response: 100Hz to 20kHz; Weight: 1.22 pounds; Speakerphone

with mic; Line-in support; A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile, stereo audio streaming); AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile, support

for wireless remote control)

Groovy Wireless Stereo Speaker

$89

LUXA2 (a division of Thermaltake)

www.luxa2.com


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Fractal Design Arc Mini R2panel 120mm fan, and the 120mm fan atthe rear: a second fan up front, a second120/140mm fan beneath the top panel, andanother 120mm fan at the bottom. Andthanks to its highly exible drive cage system,

its easy to use those same top and front panelmounting points to secure radiators to eithersurface or both of them. Te top panel canaccommodate a dual rad with the dual 5.25-inch bay cage in place, and if you choose tobuild without an optical drive you can put atriple there. If you remove both of the twoincluded 2.5/3.5-inch drive bay cages (eachof which holds as many as three drives), youcan put a dual radiator up front, and thanksto the inclusion of two SSD mount points onthe right side of the motherboard tray, you

can have your cake and eat it, too.As its name suggests, the Arc Mini R2is the smallest member of the Arc series,and this is reflected in its motherboardcompatibility: Te Mini R2 is designed formAX and Mini-IX builds. Dont let thatfool you into thinking you cant pack thecase with high-end components, however.

By now you are most likely awareof Fractal Designs unique design

sensibility; the companys PC cases representthe pinnacle of attractive restraint amongenthusiast DIY enclosures. What you may

not know yet if youve never seen a Fractalcase in person is how impressive their buildquality is and how much value you get foryour money.

Tis month, we took a look at the ArcMini R2. Arc series cases reflect the sameunderstated Scandinavian design ethos as thecompanys other chassis, but are optimizedfor air flow and cooling. he ARC MiniR2s front and top panels contain steelmesh insets that, when combined with itsthree included fans, create a healthy ow of

cool air in and warm air out. Te case alsofeatures removable dust lters at the frontand bottom, as well as beneath the top panel,and comes equipped with a three-speed fancontrol switch at the front of the top panel.

Tats where the cooling options start. Ifyou see t, you can add up to three morefans to the included front 120mm unit, top

Te case offers enough front-to-back spaceto hold 10-inch video cards with the middledrive cage installed and will take cards a hairlonger than 15.5 inches (so, basically, all ofthem) without it. If you choose to install a

bottom panel fan, you can run a PSU thats6.69 inches from back to front; without thefan you can add a PSU up to 8.7 inches long.

Its exibility and cooling aside, the thingthat is most striking about the Arc MiniR2 up close is how everything ts togethersmoothly and feels solid and tight. Te casesside panels slide on and off smoothly, and thedrive cages and the trays within operate witha quiet, solid feel that is refreshing for anyDIY case, much less one that costs less than$100. Te Mini R2 also has some of the best

stock case feet we have ever seen, with grippyrubber soles that keep it rmly in place.If you have limited desk space and prefer

dark, smooth elegance to angular surfacesand bright colors, Fractal Designs Arc MiniR2 should be at the top of your short list.

BYCHRISTRUMBLE

Specs:Dimensions: 15.9 x 8.3 x 19.1 inches (HxWxD); Materials: Steel, plastic; Motherboard support: mATX, Mini-ATX; Bays: 2 5.25-inch

external, 6 2.5/3.5-inch internal, 2 2.5-inch SSD internal; Fans (included): 1 120mm front, 1 120mm top, 1 120mm rear; Fans (optional): 1

120mm front, 1 120mm/2 140mm top, 1 120mm bottom; Ports: 2 USB 3.0, audio I/O

Arc Mini R2

$99.99

Fractal Design

www.fractal-design.com


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Cooler Master CM Storm Mechswitches that offer little to no feedback.

We could write pages on which styleswitch can be best suited to which typeof tasks, but it generally comes down topersonal preference. Suffice it to say that

the Brown switches that this keyboardhas work well for both typing and gaming(two things we do lots of around here).

his keyboard comes with a brightwhite backlight and four illuminationmodesall on, all pulse, all off, or just thegaming keys (WASD, arrows, and macro).o access the illumination settings, youcan press the right Function key and pressF4 (to select a mode), adjust brightnesswith the F2 and F3 keys, or disable allLEDs with the F1 key. he F5 through

F11 keys support multimedia functions,and the F12 key can be used to lock theWindows key (or left Function key), savingyou from instant death if you accidentallytap it instead of Z, SHIF, or CRL whilein-game. Tere is a row of programmablemacro keys on the left side of the Mech,but you can also tweak the key mappingvia the software. All told, the keyboard can

The first Aluminum Gaming Seriescomponent we got our hands on from

Cooler Masters CM Storm division wasthe Pulse-R headset, and we liked it for itsaudio fidelity as much as for its aesthetics.

he Mech, Cooler Masters latest CMStorm gaming keyboard, has a similarvisual appeal thanks to a large aluminumplate framing the keys and a subdued CMStorm swirl etched into the plate and theplastic wrist rest.

his is a full-sized gaming keyboardthat acts as USB hub and has built-inaudio ports for connecting a headset. Ahandle running along the left edge makesthe Mech easily portable. As its nameimplies (and like the rigger and Quick

Fire keyboards that preceded it), theMech is a fully mechanical keyboard thatcomes with your choice of Cherry MXswitches, in Blue, Brown, or Red. heunit we tested uses Cherry MX Brownswitches, which are designed to delivermedium resistance and tactile feedback.Blue switches offer a more audible click-clack feedback, and Reds are lighter linear

store 75 macros and ve distinct prolesthanks to the 72MHz RapidFire Engineand 128KB of onboard memory. It alsodelivers 64-key rollover, a 1,000Hz pollingrate, and a 1ms response time.

Te Mech is very solid thanks in partto its steel backplate and the aluminumcover that bolts (literally) over the top.

You can remove the seven screws withthe included hex wrench and customizethe plate in a variety of ways. Removingthe cover also makes cleaning the Mechsimple. Other features we like includethe removable USB cable and the NUMLOCK, CAPS LOCK, and SCR LOCKkey lights that appear in the reflectivegroove at the bottom-right corner of

the keyboard.Like with the Pulse-R, we found thatthe Mech performs as well as it looks. Ifyoure in the market for a new gamingkeyboard that can take some punishmentbut keep on ticking (and looking sharp),then check out Cooler Masters Mech.

BYANDREWLEIBMAN

Specs:Mechanical switch type: Cherry MX Brown/Red/Blue; white LED backlight; 64-key rollover; 128KB onboard memory; USB 3.0 interface; USB 3.0

hub and audio I/O ports; removable faceplate

CM Storm Mech

$159.99

Cooler Master

www.cmstorm.com


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Intel Core i7-4930K

XMP 1.3 ( though we te sted wi th1,866MHz memory).

One of the best features of theIvy Bridge-E processors is that mostcurrent X79 motherboard users canslot one in to replace their SandyBridge-E processor. As a K Series CPU,you can overclock this processor byadjusting the multiplier, which doesa good job of stressing the core and

leaving the uncore (read: bus speeds)to its own devices.In the benchmarks, we noticed that

scores between the Core i7-4930K andthe Core i7-4960X were extremelyclose. For instance, the more expensiveprocessor was less than 100 pointsfaster than this chip in PCMark 8, and

ju st ni ne po int s fa st er in 3D MarksFire Strike Extreme demo. he $1,000Ivy Bridge-E processor took a largelead in Cinebench (12.13) comparedto the Core i7-4930Ks 11.63 score.

POV-Ray showed a similar gap, butthe game tests were identical.

If your curiosity was piqued afterreading last months Ivy Bridge-Eflagship review, but you wept at theprice, then this processor was built

L

ast month we took a look at the big

daddy processor in the Ivy Bridge-Efamily, the Core i7-4960X ExtremeEdition. his chip burned through ourbenchmarks almost as fast as its stickerprice will burn down your savingsaccount. his month, Intel sent us amuch more affordable Ivy Bridge-E inthe form of the Core i7-4930K.

For a little more than half the priceof the Extreme Edition, this processoris lacking a mere 200MHz on the baseclock, 100MHz on the Boost clock,

and 3MB in Intel Smart Cache. Youcan mitigate those first two disparitiesw i th a v e r y m od e s t o v e r c l o c k ,afforded by the K Series exceptionaloverclocking capabilities, but theresnothing you can do to boost thisprocessors cache. Aside from these,naught else is changed. his 22nm64-bit processor features six physicalcores, but because Hyper-hreadingis enabled, your OS recognizes it ashaving a cool dozen. Other features

carried over from the flagship includea 5Gps Direct Media Interface bus;SSE4.2, AVX, and AES instructionsets; and a 130W maximum DP. Atits default settings, however, the Corei7-4930K will likely draw less powerthan the Core i7-4960X, i f thatsimportant to you.

If you run any memory-intensiveapplications, then you can rely on thisIvy Bridge-E chip to chew throughthem with aplomb. he Core i7-4930K supports up to 64GB of

DDR3-1866 and features a quad-channel memory controller capable ofdelivering up to 59.7GBps of memorybandwidth, which is 8.5GBps fasterthan Sandy Bridge-Es flagship chip.his processor also supports Intel

with your performance needs (andbudget) in mind.

BYANDREWLEIBMAN

Specs:Clock speed: 3.4GHz (base), 3.9GHz (Turbo); 6 cores; Unlocked multiplier; Quad-channel memory; 12MB Intel Smart Cache; Hyper-Threading; Turbo

Boost; 22nm; 130W Max TDP

Test system specs:Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-X79-UP4; GPU: XFX Radeon HD 7970; RAM: 16GB Patriot Memory Viper Xtreme Division 4 DDR3-1866;

Storage: 1TB Western Digital Black; OS: Windows 8 Enterprise (64-bit)

Core i7-4930K

$594Intel

www.intel.com

Benchmark Results

Intel

Core i7-4930K

3DMark Professional

(Fire Strike Extreme)

3553

Graphics Score 3636

Physics Score 14462

PCMark 8

Creative Score 4605

SiSoftware Sandra 2013

SP5 Lite

Dhrystone SSE4.2

(GIPS)

179

Whetstone iSSE3

(GFLOPS)

140.85

Multi-Media Integer

AVX x16 (Mpixels/s)

350.55

Multi-Media Float

AVX x16 (Mpixels/s)

463.77

Multi-Media Double AVX

x8 (Mpixels/s)

258.5

Multi-Media Float/Double

(Mpixels/s)

346.24

Integer B/F AVX/128

(GBps)

44.15

Floating B/F AVX/128(GBps)

44.23

POV-Ray 3.7 Beta* 2079.02

Cinebench 11.5** 11.63

Games (2,560 x 1,600)

Metro: Last Light

(4XAA, 16XAF)

32fps

Aliens vs. Predator

(4XAA, 16XAF)

41fps

* pixels per second

** points


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GIGABYTE Aivia Uraniumthe mouse. If you prefer a lighter unit,however, theres not much you can doabout it with the Aivia Uranium.

here are 10 programmable buttonson the matte black Uranium, including a

scroll wheel that tilts to the left and rightfor horizontal panning across web pages.he scroll wheel also lets you navigatethrough configuration screens on the

Aivia Uraniums complementary GHOSMacro Station. Seven of the Uraniumsswitches have a metallic graphite sheenthat really draws the eye.

We already mentioned the GHOSMacro Station, but this is the featurethat makes the most sense for gamers.By default, the unit lets you rapidly

switch between four DPI settings(800/1,600/3,200/5,600), and thesoftware can enhance the sensitivityfurther to support up to 6,500dpi. Tereare ve proles you can create and storein the standalone unit, which makesswapping settings mid-game a cinch. Temodule also provides access to a handfulof advanced functions, including key

Not all that long ago, many peripheraland component manufacturers equated

gaming with winking LEDs, UV-reactiveplastic, and skull-themed fan grilles.hankfully, the industry has grown up

considerably since then, and GIGABYEslatest gaming mouse, the Aivia Uranium, isa perfect example of a peripheral that justmakes sense for gamers.

Tis is a 2.4GHz wireless mouse thatuses a win-Eye laser capable of trackingup to 150 inches per second. Te mousealso lets you adjust the report rate,from as low as 125Hz up to 1,000Hz,the latter of which is as good as cordedmice. Another benefit of the trackingtechnology in this mouse is its low power

consumption. he mouse ships with apair of AA NiMH rechargeable batteries,and after using the mouse for two weeksstraight for approximately eight hours aday, the battery only depleted to 80%.Te mouse also has an on/off switch tohelp extend the battery life, even thoughwe never used this feature. Te batteriesalso add a nice amount of weight to

mapping, hotkey denition, and macrocreation. When the batteries are runninglow, (theres a percentage indicator onthe default screen) you can just tetherthe mouse to the GHOS Macro Station

via USB cable to keep using it while itcharges. An LED-backlit Aivia logo at thebottom of the screen changes colors basedon the prole in use, so you can alwaystell which settings youre currently usingwithout having to wiggle the cursor. TeGHOS Macro Stations OLED screentilts approximately 20 degrees, and a pairof buttons on the unit let you raise andlower the backlight intensity.

With the Aivia Uranium, GIGABYEoffers gamers a wireless mouse that doesnt

force them to compromise on accuracy.Te GHOS Macro Station is a uniqueyet powerful extra that is designed tokeep you in the game as much as possible,which is an admirable goal for anygaming component. And as an addedbonus, it has a skull on it. We approve.

BYANDREWLEIBMAN

Specs:Sensor: Laser (up to 5,600dpi (hardware), 6,500dpi (software)); Body type: Right-handed; 10 buttons; Macros: 5 proles; 2.4GHz wireless; GHOST

Macro Station unit; Interface: USB, 2.4GHz wireless

Aivia Uranium

$119.99

GIGABYTE

www.gigabyte.us


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Cooler Master Nepton 140XLpump will use 3.6 watts while in use.Te Nepton 140XL uses corrugated FEP(uorinated ethylene propylene), whichis a type of material that minimizesmoisture absorption.

he Nepton 140XL came with twoJetFlo 140mm fans that are capable ofproducing a massive 122.5cfm whenrunning at full speed. Cooler Masterindicates that the PWM fans can operateanywhere from 800 to 2,000rpm (10%)at a noise range of between 21 to 39dBA.

At 800rpm, the JetFlo fans still move animpressive 54cfm. Cooler Master designedthe fans with rubber pads on the four edgesto reduce vibration and noise. Maximumstatic pressure for the fans can reach 3.5mm

H2O. At a minimum, the pressure is0.7mm H2O.Te installation process for the Nepton

140XL is similar to most every otherclosed-loop cooler, but Cooler Masterhas expedited the process by includingthumbscrews to secure the fan and

With the Nepton 140XL and 280L,Cooler Master has introduced two

new additions to its closed-loop CPUcooler lineup. We got a chance to checkout the Nepton 140XL, which features

a 140mm radiator and comes with two140mm JetFlo fans. As you might guess,the 280L doubles down with a 280mmradiator accompanying the same JetFlofans. Compared to previous generationsof Cooler Masters closed-loop coolers,the Nepton models offer an upgradedpump/heatsink and thicker tubing thatsdesigned to increase water flow andsystem performance.

he cold plate is made of purecopper and features incredibly thin

microchannels that are ideal for drawingheat away from the processor andinto the coolant. he pump itself wasdesigned exclusively for Cooler Masterand produces a pump power of 2.9 watts.Cooler Master rates the pump for upto 70,000 hours and estimates that the

pumps. he thumb screws are wideenough to easily twist by hand.

Our test system included an IntelCore i7-4770K, a GIGABYE GA-Z87X-UD5H motherboard, and a

G IG A B Y E G V -N760OC-4G Dgraphics card. We let the processoridle at its stock speed for 30 minutesin and it delivered a temperature of 30degrees Celsius. o stress-test the CPUcooler, we ran two tests separately forten minutes each: POV-Ray 3.7 Betaand four instances of Prime95s SmallFFs test. In POV-Ray 3.7, themaximum temperature reached 68 C,while Prime95 pushed the processor to amaximum temperature of 70 C.

he Nepton 140XL is wise choice foroverclockers, because it can quickly dissipatethe heat generated by todays processors.he good looks and easy installation aregreat bonuses.

BYNATHANLAKE

Specs:Materials: Copper (waterblock), aluminum (radiator); Fans: 2 140mm (800 2,000rpm); Pump power: 2.9 watts; Warranty: 2 years

Test system specs:Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K; Motherboard: GA-Z87X-UD5H; GPU: GIGABYTE GV-N760OC-4GD; RAM: 8GB ADATA XPG V1.0 DDR3-

1866; Storage: 128GB Crucial RealSSD C300; OS: Windows 8 Enterprise (64-bit)

Nepton 140XL

$99.99

Cooler Master

www.coolermaster-usa.com


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http://www.zalman.com/

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Steam Machine PreviewValve Opens The FloodgatesLook out, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo

(and OUYA?). Teres a new competitorentering the ring seeking a piece of theconsole industry title, and this time itsthe reigning champ of PC gaming. Valve,renowned developer of such franchisesas Half-Life, Portal, eam Fortress,Counter-Strike, DOA 2, and Left 4Dead, recently announced a trifecta ofproducts designed to capitalize on oneanother to bring PC gaming to yourliving room. Tese include SteamOS, aLinux-based operating system centered onthe companys game-hosting software; theSteam Controller, a touch-based gamepaddesigned to stand in for the venerablekeyboard and mouse; and SteamMachines, PCs running the previouslymentioned operating system that connectto your V and entertainment center.

In this article, well be looking at Valvesannouncements and bring you up tospeed on how to build your own SteamMachine once SteamOS launches.

But I Already Have A PCWe wouldnt blame you for having

a few questions about what Valve is upto with Steam Machines. After all, youalready have a dedicated box that playsgames from your Steam library; its calledyour PC. Hooking it up to your V isnt

difficult, either, and you have been ableto use Xbox 360 controllers with many ofyour Steam games for quite a while now.So whats new?

First of all, Valve plans to manufactureand sell its own Steam Machines, andthe firm is currently conducting ahardware beta to help determine whatcomponents make the most sense forthese units. Valve is shipping out 300Steam Machine prototypes with a varietyof off-the-shelf PC components stuffedinto a compact and custom enclosure to

When it comes to PC gaming, Valve may be the most powerful company on the planet.

Steam is Valves game hosting platform, and come 2014, its moving into your living room. With the

introduction of Steam Machines, the company is venturing into the Thunderdome where game console

makers do battle. Although we dont have any conrmation of retail specs, prototypes Valve intends to

send to the Steam faithful will include an NVIDIA GPU, Intel CPU, 16GB of DDR3-1600, and more.


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SteamOSValves upcoming operat ing sys tem is, a t i ts core, is all aboutentertainment. But you wont be wiping your Windows install to

replace it with SteamOS. Think of the operating system as the

foundation for a computer thats designed to be used on the best-

looking screen, with the best sound, surrounded by your most

comfortable furniture. Its ideally suited to gaming, watching movies

and TV, and listening to music, so basically everything fun you do

with a PC.

The software is based on Linux and optimized for use on a TV. Like

Steams Big Picture mode, which Valve launched last year, SteamOS

will likely boot to a 10-foot UI. In fact, the entire OS is built around

Steam, so chances are good that SteamOS will work very similarly toSteam in Big Picture mode.

When you think of Linux, however, games are probably low on

the list of applications the platform handles well. For gamers,

though, performance is the real deal breaker. According to Valve,

SteamOS has made several advancements in the platforms graphics

processing capabilities. Furthermore, Valves programmers are hard

at work reducing input latency and fleshing out the softwares audio

performance. Of the library of more than 3,000 games currently

available on Steam, Valve states that hundreds already run on

SteamOS, and some major titles will be supported starting in 2014;

Valve will be making announcements on wha t these tit les are soon.

For the games that dont run in SteamOS natively, youll be able to runSteam on your main PC and stream those games to your HDTV through

your Steam Machine. Streaming games over your home network is one

of the big reasons low input latency will be so crucial for SteamOS. But

streaming isnt exclusive to Windows-based PCs, as Mac users will also

be able to stream their games to a system running SteamOS. Valve is also

talking to familiar (but unnamed) media services to bring music and video

to the Steam and SteamOS platform.

Putting your Steam library loaded with M-rated titles in your family room

may make you nervous, but Valve has thought of this, as well. New family

options will let you only display game libraries for the person using the

system. And everyone gets their own Steam library. You can also enactcontent restrictions, so your offspring doesnt stumble upon R-rated

movies, music with explicit lyrics, and violent games.

Another family-friendly feature lets you share your Steam games with

others in your household. Family Sharing lets everyone in the house play

games from one anothers Steam libraries, including the saving progress

without disturbing existing game saves and earning achievements for

each Steam account.

Perhaps the best thing about SteamOS is that, when it becomes available,

itll be 100% free to download and use for both third-party Steam

Machine manufacturers and end users.


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randomly chosen users who performedthe handful of simple steps required tobecome qualied. As we went to press,

Valve was no longer accepting users intothe prototype drawing. Additionally, thirdparties will be launching their own stableof Steam Machines.

Respect The SpecsWhen it comes to the specs of the Steam

Machine, Valve has offered little informationbeyond statements about the SteamOS beingable to run on a variety of components witha range of performance capabilities. But howwill you be able to play Metro: Last Lightwithout a fairly substantial discrete graphicscard under the hood? According to GregCoomer, a designer at Valve, Many of thoseusers would like to have a way to bridge thegap into the living room without givingup their existing hardware and withoutspending lots of money. We think thats agreat goal, and were working on ways touse our in-home streaming technology toaccomplish it. For these scenarios, youllbe able to stream the game from your mainPC through the Steam Machine connectedto your V. NVIDIAs handheld Android

gaming device SHIELD, in conjunction witha GeForce graphics card, already does thiswith PC games. Game streaming will also beemployed to run games that dont play wellwith Linux.

According to Valve, the Steam Machineprototypes will all feature a hefty 16GBof DDR3-1600 and GPUs with 3GBGDDR5 dedicated for frame buffering. Forstorage, the prototypes will rely on 1B ofmechanical storage for storing game data,saves, etc., and 8GB of solid-state storage

that acts as a cache for the most frequentlyaccessed data. All units will also ship withan internal 450W 80-PLUS Gold powersupply and fit into a slender box thatmeasures 2.9 x 12 x 12.4 inches (HxWxD).

As we went to press, Valve hasnt unveiledthe prototype Steam Machine enclosure,but just based on the dimensions, itll be aninteresting box. Valve has stated that whenit reveals its design, the rm will also offerCAD drawings for users who want to buildtheir own or mod the case as they see t.

and influential members of the Steamcommunity, but the vast majority of theSteam Machine prototypes are going to

qualied Steam users between now andthe end of the year. A few of them (30 orless, according to Valve) will go to active

Turn your living room into your own personal Test Chamber (well, minus the acid pools, incinerators, sentry

bots programmed to kill, and one murderous AI). Valves Steam Machines will combine with the companys

homebrew, Linux-based SteamOS to pipe the PC gaming experience directly to your TV. We expect the

Steam Machines to handle games like Portal with ease, but for more demanding titles, Valve is working

feverishly to make ultra-low-latency streaming from your gaming PC to the Steam Machine possible.

Does Valve have a console killer on its hands? Well know more in 2014.


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Steam ControllerWeve talked about the Steam Machines and SteamOS. Finally theres the piece that ties them together with your hands and ngersthe SteamController. This is a rst-party gamepad that is designed and will be sold by Valve. It shares approximately the same shape as the Xbox 360 controller

that is so popular for playing Steam games today, but it features a handful of signicant differences.

First of all, the thumb sticks you nd on a traditional game pad are gone, replaced by a pair of large touch-sensitive trackpads. Input latency is

paramount for Valve, and although replacing the tried-and-true thumb sticks with trackpads seems insane at rst, swiping your thumb around and across

a surface could be faster than pushing a spring-loaded joystick in any direction.

Input latency wasnt Valves only concern. The physicality of moving a joystick (and pressing buttons) has always been superior to touch-screen controls,

and gamers prefer having the feedback that physical gamepads provide. To address the issue, the rm has integrated a unique haptic feedback system

into the trackpads which employ dual linear resonant actuators beneath each pad that can vibrate, tick, rumble, and even resonate like speakers to

produce sound. Each one also acts as a button. According to Valve, the end result is a touch experience unlike any youve ever experienced before, and

one that delivers much more precise control than youre used to with current gamepads. And Valve isnt just gunning for the FPS crowd with the SteamController, it claims that RTS, casual, cursor-driven, strategy, adventure, indie, and sim games will all feel right a t home when played via this game pad.

And of course, the trackpads high resolution control will really help you dominate in shooters.

Between the two trackpads youll nd a more traditional touchscreen that can be pressed like a button. This screen acts as a context-sensitive button

or menu, and will display scrolling menus, a radial dial, supplementary info such as a map, and other custom input modes programmed by game

designers. In Portal 2, for instance, the center touchscreen is divided into four quadrants that correspond to F5, F6, F7, and T, which represent the games

screenshot, quick save, quick load, and chat commands.

All told, there are 16 buttons on the controller, and theyve all been positioned with press frequency and ergonomic considerations top of mind. Half of

those buttons can even be pressed without having to remove the thumbs from the trackpads. If you dont like the particular layout for a given game, you

can reprogram any of the buttons using a built-in legacy keyboard and mouse mapping mode. And the Steam Controller is totally an optional accessory;

nothing is stopping you from running a keyboard and mouse from your lap. (We wouldnt recommend doing so while wearing corduroy, though.)

Game and peripheral designers will also have access to the Steam Controller and free license to tweak the controls and design as they like. The PC has

such a loyal following largely because it is an incredibly open platform. Valve seems to be honoring this pedigree by making all aspects of its new home

entertainment platform open, as well.


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interested in building your own PC.Tankfully, Valves living room takeoverleaves room for you to do it yourself.

Although the required minimum systemrequirements for SteamOS havent beenreleased, Valve has said enough to giveus plenty of freedom to start cobblingtogether shopping lists. If you build asystem using the hardware used in theprototype, youll probably be morethan ready for SteamOS impendinglaunch. But if those components are abit beyond your budget, or if you prefer

AMD graphi cs ca rds and proces sors ,dont worry. When talking about thespecs of the third-party Steam Machines,Greg Coomer said, Te hardware specsof each of those machines will differ,in many cases substantially, from ourprototype. It sounds like buildinga Steam Machine will be as simple asbuilding a Linux system.

Game ChangerRather than releasing another me too

console, Valves play for the living roomseem to embrace everything about thePC platform that makes it great. Tats

good news for hardware manufacturers,DIY builders, and the gaming industryas a whole. Gamers, however, may be thebiggest winners come 2014.

upgrade, tweak, and modify the system just asthough you had built it yourself.

So I Have To Buy A Prebuilt PC?If youre reading CPU, then chances

are good youre more than a little

Te GPU and CPU in these devices willvary, however. Some of the prototypes Valve

ships will come with the NVIDIA GeForceGX itan, which is a 10.5-inch-longdual-slot graphics card. Other units will beoutfitted with NVIDIAs GeForce GX780, GX 760, or GX 660. Te emphasison very capable discrete graphics cardsseems to suggest that Valve is attempting toensure that as much of the game processingas possible occurs on the Steam Machineprototype, rather than streamed througha secondary PC. Tese graphics cards, inaddition to the other specs divulged by

Valve, suggest that even the entry-levelSteam Machine prototype will blow thenext-gen consoles out of the water. Intel haslocked down the CPU spot. Valve will beshipping prototypes with the Intel Core i7-4770, Core i5-4570, and other units withan unspecied Core i3 processor.

As you can see, Valve is offering living roomgamers a Good/Better/Best proposition whenit comes to Steam Machine hardware. Justlike the PCs theyre modeled after, if you buya Steam Machine (or are lucky enough to beselected to receive a prototype) youll be free to

We assume that all of Valves properties, including Counter-Strike: Global Offense, will be ready on day

one of the Steam Machines release, but according to Valve, the company expects to have a heaping

helping of tentpole titles from third-party publishers available, too.

Steam Machines can (and likely will) come in all shapes and sizes.


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http://www.aerocool.us/

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State-Of-The-ArtStandardsDVI

pairs; these are predominantly used foranalog signal transmission.

Believe it or not, VGA was not ahot-pluggable interface, meaning thatthe ground pins were not designedto make the first connection when

plugged in and remain the last pinsin contact when the plug was pulled.For this reason, there was always achance you could damage your VGAcomponents by di sconnect ing orconnecting them while the system wasrunning. DVI connectors were muchmore intelligently designed; the firstcontact is made by the connector shell,which, not unlike the D-sub shell ofVGA connectors, is narrower towardthe bottom than at the top to ensureproper connection. he second pin

Thoughtful EngineeringDVI was able to quickly gain

acceptance and ubiquity due to thefact that its ports and cable interfaceshad dedicated pins for analog andd ig i t a l t r ansmi s s ions . he re a r e

three operating modes for DVI andassociated devices; DVI-I (digital andanalog), DVI-D (digital only), and therarely used DVI-A (analog only) mode.DVI ports are most commonly whiteand there are a maximum of 29 signalcontacts (VGA is limited to 15 signalcontacts). he eight orderly columnsof three contacts each pr imari lyrepresent the digital side of DVIscapabilities. he remaining five signalcontacts are arranged as four pins witha horizontal blade that divides the two

After more than a decade as theprimary video connector technology

used in PCs, monitors, and projectors,the analog standard VGA (VideoGraphics Array) was starting to showits age. Designed for CR (cathoderay tube) monitors and other devicestasked with rendering analog video,VGA is afflicted by many of the sameproblems that plague other analogmediums; its subject to interferenceand signal degradation, supports limitedresolutions, and suffers from poor visualquality at unrepeated spans of more thanapproximately 35 feet. he new flat-panel displays that were coming out in

the late 90s were digital, and as such theindustry needed a standard that couldbridge the analog/digital divide and solvemany of VGAs inherent limitations.

Something Old, Something NewIn April 1999, the DDWG (Digital

Display Working Group) released theinitial specification for a new digitalinterface used to connect a videosource to a display device, primarilyin PCs and projectors, called DVI

(Digital Visual Interface). When thestandard debuted, analog was still kingwhen it came to graphics adapters,cabling, media, and sources. Unlikethe more recent switch from analogterrestrial broadcasts to wholly digitalbroadcasts, DVI would have to allowdigital and analog signals to coexistuntil digitals usurpation of the thronewas complete. As it would happen,this process took a very long time.Even today, VGA can still be found onnew devices.


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deserialized, and then converted backinto its 8-bit form.

Each MDS link supports one

165MHz transmitter and a maximumresolution of 1,920 x 1,080 at 60Hz. Teselinks are called DVI Single Link, or DVISL. DVI DL, or Dual Link, connectionsdouble the transmitters (adding six pinsto the interface), enabling a DVI SL60Hz display to run a resolution of 1,920x 1,200, or a DVI DL display to runresolutions up to 2,560 x 1,600.

Armed with this information, you canaccurately determine if the DVI device,adapter, or cable supports analog signalsand dual- or single-link resolutions by justexamining the pinouts. If the interfacefeatures the middle pins (pin 4, pin 5, pin12, pin 13, pin 20, and pin 21) then it islikely a DVI DL unit. If you have a unitwith four pins separated by a horizontalblade, then it most likely supports analogsignals. If the unit appears to have all ofthe above, then itll handle just aboutwhatever you throw at it.

DVI In The HD EraMany of us think of DVI as a pipe

designed to transmit strictly digital

(RGB) to make up a single MDSlink. Te algorithm converts 8 bits ofvideo data into a 10-bit transition-minimized, DC-balanced value. he

data is serialized, sent to the receiver,

to make contact is the analog groundpin (when present), followed by pins 1through 24, save pin 14, which carries+5V power that enables standby mode

on DVI monitors. Tis pin is shortenedcompared to the rest, as are the fouranalog contacts, for red, green, blue,and horizontal sync data.

Its All About The AlgorithmsTe digital video transmission format

used in DVI connections is based onSilicon Images PanelLink technology(Silicon Image is a member of theDDWG), which is a serial protocol thatleverages MDS (transition-minimized

differential signaling). Te technologyuses an advanced coding algorithm thatis capable of slashing electromagneticinterference, transmitting data overcopper for distances up to 75 feet,and enabling the manufacture of veryinexpensive cables up to a few meterslong. Incidentally, the standard mostconsider DVIs successor, HDMI,also uses MDS to get the video andaudio signals from the source to thedisplay. Tis scheme uses a single clockchannel and three MDS data channels

The DVI interface features dedicated pins that accommodate VGAs analog signals.

There are more than a few types of DVI ports, and they support a variety of source features.


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HDV sources. Te rst number in thesampling rate refers to the luminance(blacks and whites of the image) andthe second two numbers refer to thecolor sampling rates. MPEG-2-encoded

sources, for instance, have a 4:2:2sampling rate in which luminancegets more samples than color; this isbecause it has been demonstrated thatthe human eye is more sensitive tobrightness than to color information.

hankfully, you shouldnt need tomanually configure your DVI display,digital projector, or HDV to use aspecific color mode or sampling rate.Tats because digital display devices havewhats called an EDID (Extended Display

Identication Data) block that the sourcecan read to determine the correct settingsthat correspond to the output display.Digital-only DVI (DVI-D) cables areinteroperable with HDMI, which is whyyou can use a fairly inexpensive DVI-to-HDMI adapter with a majority ofthe latest graphics cards to output to anHDV. And because todays HDVshave a 1,080-pixel vertical resolution, asingle MDS link is all thats necessary.Te two formats share a minimum set ofsupported resolutions and frame buffer

255th value, which is fully red, green,and blue. Although HDMI supportsthe RGB color model, it can also render

YCbCr color mode at sampling rate sof 4:4:4 and 4:2:2, which are favored

in Blu-ray Disc and a majority of

video signals. But the earliest HDVscommonly shipped with a version ofDVI that included a bolted-on content

protection scheme, called DVI-HDCP(High-bandwidth Digital ContentProtection). his content protectionmethod was incorporated into a newstandard that debuted in 2002, calledHDMI 1.0. HDMI is merely a tweakedform of DVI that incorporated bothaudio and video signals, added supportfor HDCP, improved YCbCr (an RGBinformation encoding method), addedCEC (Consumer Electronics Control)function support, and wrapped it allup with a smaller interface. In thefollowing decade, HDMI became thego-to audio and video interface forconsumer electronics, particularlyamong HDVs.

Al though they share many aspects,HDMI differs from DVI in severalways. HDMI is 100% digital, whichmeans it isnt backward compatible withVGA like DVI is. As a predominantlycomputing standard, DVI relies on theRGB color model, which divides red,blue, and green into 255 intensities,

from very pale (almost white) to the

DisplayPort-to-DVI adapters require active circuitry to operate.

Notice that shortened pin? Thats pin 14, which maintains standby power.


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could output simultaneous audio and videojust like native HDMI. NVIDIA startedadding audio chips into its GeForce GX

200 series cards (GPU G21x) to enablethem to support 8-channel LPCM (LinearPulse-Code Modulation) output throughHDMI. Many of AMDs Radeon HD2000/3000/4000/5000/6000/7000/R9 andR7 series graphics cards also feature onboardaudio logic for 8-channel audio output,using either native HDMI ports or DVI-Dports with HDMI adapters.

Although a majority of the digita lcontent transported via HDMI canalso appear on a DVI display, there areinstances when HDMI content will notdisplay properly. hese generally fallunder the umbrella of protected content.If Blu-ray Disc media employs HDCPags, then chances are the video will eithernot play properly on DVI displays or itwill display at a reduced quality. BecauseHDCP compliance is optional, playbackvia DVI varies by title.

DVIs ReplacementIn 2008, the Video Electronics

Standards Association (VESA) stepped

up with DVIs replacement, DisplayPort.Te new protocol was designed from theground up to handle primarily computergraphics. It features a 21.6Gbps interfacethats able to accommodate greaterresolution, faster refresh rates, andmore color depth than even HDMI.Disp layPort s inter face re semblesHDMIs, except that its connector onlyhas one beveled corner instead of two,and DisplayPorts center post is shapedlike a shallow letter U. Using an adapter,

you can convert DisplayPort to HDMI,DVI, and VGA, but many of theseconversions will require active adapters,rather than the passive adapters thatmade it so easy to juggle VGA and DVIor DVI and HDMI.

But just because i ts successor ishere in full force doesnt mean DVIis on the verge of disappearing.

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