custom pc 2013-02
TRANSCRIPT
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3February 2013
Welcome to Issue 113EditorialEDITOR
TECHNICALEDITORHarryButler
GAMESEDITORJoeMartin
ARTEDITORBillBagnall
PRODUCTIONEDITORJulieBirrell
CONTRIBUTORSAntonyLeather, CliffHarris,
GarethHalfacree,JamesGorbold,JimKillock,LucySherriff,
MatthewLambert,MikeJennings,PaulGoodhead,RickLane,SimonTreadaway,TracyKing
PHOTOGRAPHYAntonyLeather,DannyBird
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CustomPCispublishedmonthlybyDennisPublishingLtd,30ClevelandStreet,LondonW1T4JD,acompanyregisteredinEnglandnumber1138891.
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BUILDYOURDREAMPC
98Custom-madeparts,
gorgeouswater-
coolingloopsand
effectivelightingarethe hallmarkof
anelitePC.Ifyou’veeverwondered
howtostartputtingtogetherarig
thatlookslikeitwasbuiltbyapro,
ratherthanabog-standardbunch
ofcomponentsinablackboxthen
thisisthefeatureforyou.Thismonth,wedelveintothelustworthy
worldof super-premiumhardware
andcustomisation,showingyou
howtobuildyourowndreamPC
forafractionofthecostofaready-
builtmachine.
4 February 2013
Welcome to Issue 113
11CALLOFMEDICALDUTY
Dogamersreallypwnyoungdoctors
atroboticsurgery?
18FLASHINTHEPAN
Siliconoxidepromisestoreplace
flashmemorywithtransparentchips.
40BACKONTRACK
IsitatrainoraPC?Coulditbeboth?
WetakealookatLianLi’sPC-CK101–aPC
casethatalsodoublesupasamodeltrain,completewithtrackandmotorisedwheels.
44OCZVECTOR256GB
Afterpullingourlegswithitsfirst
Indilinxcontroller,OCZnowrevealsits first
SSDwithaproperin-housecontroller.
52MINCEPIEMEGATEST
Whichisthebestpietoleavefor
Santa?Is theDuchyOriginalstillawful?
Findoutinourbiggesteverfestive
megatest,featuring16pies.
56BUDGETCASES
Affordablecasesdon’tnecessarily
meanmakinghugecompromises.Weround
uptenlow-pricechassistofindtheperfect
homeforabudgetbuild.
84FARCRY3
Featuringa completelynew
plotline,andabrand-newcampaign-based
multiplayermode.
92HOWGAMESLOOKTO
DEVELOPERS
Likeyou’repermanentlywanderingaroundindebugmode.
4856 108
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112
20
5February 2013
1ssue 113
108CHRISTMASWISHLIST
Havingtroublecompletingyour
Christmaslist?Letusgiveyouahand.
116MAINTAINYOURWATER-
COOLINGLOOP
Ourcompleteguideto cleaningthrough
toflushingtheloopandgeneraltuning.
121MAKEALOW-PROFILE
ADAPTOR
Howtofixacardwithalow-profilePCB,butonly afull-sizedbackplate.
52
98
56
40
Regulars8 Fromtheeditor11 TracyKing
12 Digitalrights
14 Interview
16 Incoming
18 Science!
20 Mobiletechwatch
24 CPCEliteproducts
50 Howwetest
82 Grumpygamer
92 Devperspective
94 Theengineroom
128 Retro tech
130 JamesGorbold
Community112 Readers’drives
116 Howtomaintainyourwater-coolingloop
121 Howtomakealow-profilecardadaptor
122 Letters
125 Folderofthemonth
126Yourfoldingmilestones
84
ReviewedthismonthHardwarePC36 PalicompAlphaBlade
CASE
38 InWinH-Frame
40 LianLi PC-CK101
SSD
44 OCZVector256GB
CPUCOOLER
46 BeQuiet!ShadowRockTopFlowSR1
MOUSE
47 RoccatKoneXTD
SCROLLSAW
48 DremelMoto-Saw
Mincepiemegatest52 Fortnum&MasonSt.Clements
52 MorrisonsDeep-Filled
52 AsdaExtraSpecial
52 TescoFinestwithCourvoisier
52 DuchyOriginalsOrganic
52 MrKipling
52 Sainsbury’sTastetheDifference
53 SelfridgesDeepFilled
53 Sainsbury’sSOOrganic
53 HestonfromWaitrose
53 Marks&SpencerAllButter
53 LIDLSnowyLodgeDeepFilled53 Asda
53 HarrodsLuxuryAlmond&Brandy
53 ALDIHollyLaneLuxury
53 WaitroseAllButter
Customkit54 HouseofMarleyExodus
54 CPUWars
54 Barnes&NobleNookSimpleGlowlight
BudgetcaseLabstest59 AntecOne
60AntecThreeHundredTwo61 BitFenixShinobi
62 CoolerMasterElite431Plus
64 CorsairCarbide200R
66 EnermaxOstrog
68 FractalDesignCore3000
70 NZXTSource210
72 SilverStoneRL01
74 XigmatekMidgardII
Games84 FarCry3
86 007Legends
87 HotlineMiami
88Kairo
90 SimCity
41PRODUCTSREVIEWED
52
86
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Digashelter,adoptthebracepositionandpreparefortotal
annihilationofyourhobby.Apparently,Intelis‘killingthe
desktop’andPCsarenolongerrelevant.Atleast,that’sthe
rumourcirculatingtheWeb,mainlyduetoanarticleonSemiAccurate
(http://tinyurl.com/DesktopRumours)claimingthatIntelisplanning
tostopsellingCPUsindividually,andinsteadintegratetheminto
motherboards.Accordingtothepiece,Intel’sforthcomingBroadwell
architecturewon’tcomeinseparateLGAchippackages.
Theremaybesometruthinthisclaim–atthemoment,it’svery
difficulttotell,andIcertainlyhaven’tseenenoughevidencefrommy
contactstoconfirmeitherway.However,
it’simportanttoaddresssomeofthe
extravaganthyperbolethat’sbeingflungin
thedirectionofcomputerhobbyists,and
considerifthisrumour,whethertrueor
not,issignificant.
Idon’tthinkitis.I’vesaidthisbefore,and
I’llsayitagain–theCPUisnolongeran
essentialupgradeforPCusers.Inthesamewaythatmostpeople
nolongerbuyseparatenetworkcardsandsoundcards,sincethe
integratedversionsareadequate,thesamecouldbepossiblefor
CPUstoo.Behonest–howmanytimesdoyouchangetheCPUin
yourmotherboardthesedays?
Infact,we’vealreadyseentheindustryheadinginthisdirection,
withmotherboardsfeaturingintegratedAMDAPUsandbudgetIntel
CPUs.Thisdoesn’tmeanthedesktopisdead–itmeansit’sevolving,
asitalwayshasdone.TheissueformeiswhetherIntelplanstolimit
itsnewCPUstojustitsownmotherboards,ifthisrumouristrue,or
whetheritwillallowothermanufacturersto maketheboards.I
honestlycan’tenvisagetheformer–Intel’sbusinesshasalwaysthrivedonthebasisthatOEMpartnerscancaterforeverysingle
Rumours abound that Intel plans to stopmaking CPUs in separate packages, but
is this significant for us?
possiblecornerofthemarketforIntel’schips.Removethat,andyou
sellfewerchips.
Basically,asaPCenthusiast,thefactIcanreplacetheCPUinmy
motherboardisnowlargelyirrelevant–I’mprettysuremyCPUwill
befastenoughforthelifetimeofmymotherboard.WhatmakesPC
enthusiasm,forme,isn’ttheabilitytoswapoutaCPU,butthe
opportunitytochoosemyowngraphicscardandotherexpansion
cards.Italsoinformsmychoiceofchassisandcoolingsetup,and
whetherI’mgoingtomodifymycaseinanyway.Youcanstillmake
yourownscratch-builtcasefora motherboardwithanintegrated
CPU,andI’dbesurprisedifInteldidn’t
haveplanstomakeoverclocking-friendly
versionsof theseintegratedchips,ifthis
rumourdoeshaveanytruthinit.
IalsocompletelyunderstandwhyIntel
wouldgodownthisroute,formuchthe
samereasonasitchangedfromasocket
systemtothecurrentLGApinarrays:it
willreducereturnsandRMAs,forbothmotherboardsandCPUs.
Removetheabilitytobendpins,andyouhaveamuchmore
controllablesystemthatpeoplecan’tbodgeup.
ThedesktopPChasbeenaroundforover30years,andit’salways
changedandevolvedinthattime,withagreateremphasisbeingput
onintegratedcomponents.Thisdoesn’tmeanthatPCenthusiasmis
dead,orthatdesktopPCsarefinished.Itjustmeansthatonemore
partofthepuzzlehasbeennaileddown.
BenHardwidgeistheeditorof CustomPC.HelikesPCs,realale
andWarhammer40,000.
[email protected] @MANSHARK
Remove the ability to bendpins, and you have a muchmore controllable system
that people can’t bodge up
ISINTELREALLY‘KILLING’PCENTHUSIASM?
8 February 2013
from the editor
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Gamingisn’tbrainsurgery,right?Anyonecandoit.However,
arecentstudybyDrKilicattheUniversityofTexashasbeen
hailedbythepressashavingfoundsomeinterestingparallels
betweengamingskillsandroboticsurgery.Or,asonepublicationput
it:‘GamersPwnYoungDoctorsAtRoboticSurgery’.Well,no,notquite.
Thetheoryisquitestraightforward.Roboticsurgeryrequiresa
specificsetofphysicalandmentalskillsthatmayalsobefoundat
equallevelsingamers.Thinkingyouknowsomethingisn’tthe
sameasprovingit, though,otherwisewe’dallstillbeblood-lettingto
cureourbadmoods,soDrKiliccreatedastudytocomparesurgeons
andgamers.
Onegroupofteenagers(agedaround15)
whowereparticularlyadeptatCallofDuty,as
wellassports,strategyandracinggames,and
whoplayforanaverageoftwohoursperday,
wereinvitedtotryaroboticsurgerysimulator.
Theirresultswerecomparedtothoseof
‘residents’–realsurgeons-in-training.
Ifthisstudyholdsupthenithassome
excitingimplications.Notleastbecauseit
createsanexcellentargumentforeducational
gaminginschools,andhelpstocountersome
ofthedemonisingofgamingfromthepressandnon-gamers.
However,astheresultshavebeenpresenteduncriticallybythepress,
IthoughtI’dtakeacloserlook,andimmediatelysawthatthekidsdid
aswellasthedoctors.Notbetter,astheheadlinesdeclare,butnot
worseeither.
Athirdgroupwasalsomeasured–olderstudentswhoplaygames
foranaverageoffourhoursaday.Thisgroupdidn’tperformanybetter
thantheothertwogroups.Hmm.Youwouldassumethatmore
practicewouldequalbetterresults.Sincewhendoesextrapracticereduceaskillset?
Gamers pwn young doctors at
robotic surgery, says the news.
Not necessarily, says TracyKing
Themostobviousconcernisalackofcontrolgroup.There’sno
groupmadeofnon-gamersandnon-surgeons.Withouttheresults
fromacontrolgroup,wecan’tknowifthegamergroupperformed
wellbecausethey’regamers,orbecauseofanotherfactor,suchas
age.Theeffectdecreaseswitholderstudents,despitethosestudents
spendingtwiceas longgaming,soperhapstheyoungerstudentsare
justmorefearless,leadingtoa moreconfidentperformance.
IemailedDrKilic’sPRdepartmenttoaskforacopyofthepaper
(afullwrite-upofthestudy),soIcouldlookatthemethodologyand
resultsinmoredetail.Iwassentan abstractinstead,aone-paragraph
summaryoftheresults,andwastoldthereisnopaper.Thatisn’t
unheardof,butI’mautomaticallysuspicious
ofputtingoutapressreleasewithoutapaper
behindit,notleastbecausewedon’thave
theanswerstobasicquestions.Instead,I
contactedDrKilicandaskedhimwhythere
wasnocontrolgroup.
‘Wedidn’thaveanon-gamersgroupfrom
studentsbecausethestudy’sspecificaimwas
toseethebaselineofthesethreegroupson
theroboticsimulationexercises’,hetoldme.
Thetrouble,asfarasIcansee,isthatyou
wouldn’tthenbeabletomakeanyinferenceaboutthecontributionof
gamingtotheresults.Theconclusionoftheabstractis:‘Basedonour
datawespeculatethatthehighschoolgroupspendingmoretimeon
videogamesmayhaveanimpacttohaveimprovedroboticsimulation
results.’ Idon’tthinktheresultssupportthatconclusion,butDr Kilicis
doingmorestudiessoit’scertainlyaninterestingonetowatch.
GamerandscienceenthusiastTracyKingdissectstheevidence
andstatisticsbehindsomeofthepopularmediastories
surroundingtechandgaming @TKINGDOLL
The most obvious
concern is a lack of
control group. There’s
no group of non-gamers
and non-surgeons
CALL OFMEDICAL DUTY
11February 2013
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Jim Killock
omeyears,youlookbackoverthe
past12months’eventsandthink,
thankGodthat’sover.Youwonderhow
onearthhowafewindustrylobbyists
andignorant,lazypoliticiansareallowedto
decidethefateofourdigitalrights,andhow
theycanjustifytheerosionoffreespeechand
privacythattheirpolicieswillcause.
Youwonderhowcompaniesgetaway
withtrivial-soundingsoftwarepatentsthat
shutothercompaniesoutofmarkets.You
creaseupindespairasthemusicandfilm
businessesyetagainshootthemselvesin
theirrespectivefeetbyblockingapopular,
nottomentionlegal,servicethatmightmake
themmoney.
However,2012wasn’tcompletelylikethat.
Tobefair,somecompanieswereasself-
interested,somelobbyistsasself-serving
andsomepoliticiansasignorantasever.But
therewasonemajordifference,whichwas
thatpeoplesuchasyouwonsomevery
significantvictories,andnewmovementsgrewonthebackofthesesuccesses.
AC TA A ND T HE D I GI TA L
E C O N O M Y A C T
ProtestsacrossEuropecausedamajor
rethinkabouttheinternationalAnti-
CounterfeitingTradeAgreement(ACTA),
whichthreatenedtopushnewprivate
copyrightenforcementmeasuresontoISPs,
aswellasweakeningprotectionssuchasthe
privacyofcitizensandpushingcriminal
penaltiesforlargescale,non-commercial
copyrightinfringement.
Negotiatedinprivate,Europeanprotesters
sawthetreatyasillegitimateandpartofa
patternofworldwidedemands,including
SOPAandPIPA,tocontrolandcensorthe
Internetbycopyrightlobbygroups.
WhileACTAwasvoteddownintheEU
parliament,partsofitsurviveinother
internationaltradeproposals,includingthe
Canadian-EUTradeAgreement(CETA).Now
thatamovementisawareoftheproblems,
it’seasiertoattackCETA,butsecretive
negotiationscontinue.EuropeanandUKofficialsneedtochangethewaytheyconduct
businesswhentheynegotiateaboutthe
Internet.TheInternettoucheseveryoneand
everything,notjustbusinessandmarkets.
Meanwhile,theDigitalEconomyAct,which
couldresultinhouseholdsbeingcutofffrom
theInternetaftercopyrightinfringement
allegationsisstillnotinoperation.Currently,
theTreasuryisholdingitupwhileitthinks
aboutthecosts.Currentestimatesarethat
hundredsofthousandsofletterswillstartto
gooutin2014,whichisroughlywhenwe
expectthenextelection.Meanwhile,thesister
actHadopiinFranceisprovingexpensive,
whilethelevelofgrowthinFrenchdigital
musicrevenuesislowerthanitisintheUK.
TheUKcourtshaveagreedtoblockPirateBay
andNewzbin,butthegovernmenthasalso
agreedtorepealnewwebblockingpowers
createdintheDigitalEconomyAct.
MEGAUPLOAD
KimDotcom’sfilehostingcompanywas
shutdownaftercopyrightlobbygroupscomplainedthatitwasdeliberately
Ayear indigital rightsDigital rights campaigners have had some good wins this year,
but there’s clearly still a lot of work to be done
S
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13February 2013
encouragingcopyright
infringement.Whatever
thereality,theseizureof
serversandshuttingof
theserviceleftmany
legitimateusersinthe
lurch. Theseizureitself
willalsohavemademany
legitimateservices
nervousaboutthestandardsofevidenceand
thepossiblemeasuresthatmaybetaken
againstthemiftheyareincopyrightholders’
badbooks.ISPs,GoogleandYouTubehaveall
beenaccusedofbeingpartytocopyright
infringementbydifferentcopyrightgroups
overtheyears.
DATA PROTECTIO N
Labour’splantograbthedetailsof allyour
communicationtrafficdata,including
mobileandInternetchat,wasrevivedbythe
previouslyoutragedConservativeand Lib
Demcoalition.However,some quick-footed
campaigningbytheOpenRightsGroup
andotherspersuadedthecoalitiontoslow
downandlookattheproposedbillinajoint
committee,whichhasbeenverycritical.The
proposalslackevidence,justificationandany
usefuldetailaboutwhat’sreallyproposed.
Ifyoutakeoneactiontodefendyourdigital
rightsthisyear,youshouldemailyourMP
aboutthisBill.
Meanwhile,theEUisgearinguptoimprove
dataprotectionlaws,andtherighttoeasily
retrieveyourdataandhaveitdeleted,byintroducingfinesbasedoncompanyturnover.
ArebellionfromUScorporationsisalleging
thatitwilldamagetheirbusinesses,whileEU
regulatorshavetoughenedupenforcement–
forinstance,againstGoogle’schangestoits
privacypolicy.
TWI TTE R AR RE ST S AN D L IB E L
Aspateof‘Section127’arrestsforsickjokes,
ghoulishcommentsaboutsoldiersand
swearingat localcouncillorson socialmedia
sitesiscreatingconcernamongfreespeechcampaignersintheUK.Callsforreform,or
repealofthesectionaregrowing.Social
mediahasalsobroughtupanotherissue,
whichisthatnoweveryoneisapublisher,
they’realsoeasytosueforlibel.
It’seasytosuppressfreespeechinthe
UKwhenthestakessurroundinglibelare
sohigh.Reformersarecallingforapublic
interestdefence.
PORN FILTERING
Governmentplansfora‘defaultpornfilter’are
unravelling,after severalthousandInternet
userswrotetotheofficialconsultationtopoint
outtheill-informedanddangerousnatureof
theidea.DavidCameronrecentlywroteinthe
DailyMailthatparentswouldbeaskedto
installfilters,butwouldneedtochoosethe
setupinordertoprotecttheirchildren
appropriately.Islegislationreallyneeded,
sincethisiswhatISPsarealreadydoing?
Probablynot.
COPYRIGHT
Everyyear,copyrightsexpire.Thisyear,works
byauthorsthatdiedin1942enterthepublic
domain,soyoucangettheirbooksforfree,
remixthem,orevenmakeplays,translations
andfilmswithoutpermission.ProbablythebiggesthouseholdnameisLMMontgomery,
JIMKILLOCK isexecutivedirectorof
campaignorganisation
TheOpenRightsGroup
(www.openrightsgroup.org)
@jimkillock
whowroteAnneofGreenGables.There’s
plentyofothermaterialtoo,ifyou’realiterary
type,andsomegreat-soundingpulpfiction.
I’maddingAlexander Belyayev’sProfessor
Dowell’sHeadtomynewyearreadinglist.It
seemsit’soneofthefirstsci-finovelsabouta
disembodiedheadbeingkeptalivebyanevil
scientist.Great!Also,isitjustme,ordoes
copyrightlastalittlelongerthanreasonable?
Meanwhile,severalstoriesappearedthis
pastyearthathighlightedthelackofrightsto
yourdownloads,includingerroneousreports
aboutBruceWillis.Youdon’treally‘buy’
ebooks,iTunesfilmsorMP3s;youjustrent
themforyourlifetime.Theydeleteonexpiry.
Yours,thatis.
NEXT YEAR
I’msure2013willbeanotherbusyyear,but
itmightbeayearwherewecarryonwinning.
Maybenotineveryrespect,butatleastin
someareas.Asmorepeoplebecome
dependentondigitaltechnologies,their
interestindefendingreasonablelaws
becomesstronger,anditbecomesmore
difficultforgovernmentstofollowtheir
analogueinstincts.
IS LEGISLATION REALLY
NEEDED, SINCE THIS
IS WHAT ISPS ARE
ALREADY DOING?
PROBABLY NOT
P h o t o b y I v o K r u u s a m ä g i
EuropeanprotesterssawACTAaspartofanillegitimatepatternofdemandstocontrolandcensortheInternet
LMMontgomery’sAnne
ofGreenGablesisoneof
manybooksthatcomesout
ofcopyrightthis year
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14 April 2012
Joe Martin
AmateurhourDescribed as ‘Diablo meets Left 4 Dead’, BetaDwarf’s action-RPG Forced
has lofty ambitions for a small studio project. Joe Martin investigates
Steffen:Wewantedtoensurethatnomatter
whatwedid,modtoolswouldbeavailableto
everyone.Moddingishowwestarted,so
naturallywewanttoseepeoplehavethe
toolstocreatesomethingawesome.
CPC:Howchallengingwasitforyoutostay
focusedduringthattime?
Steffen:Wespentourfirstyearsimply
learninghowtomakegames.It’shard,
especiallywithabigteamofnoobs,andwe
hadatonneoffailureswhereelements
constantlyhadtoberedone–ourartstyle
wasscrappedthreetimes!Itwasimmensely
demandingtoasktheartteamtoredo
everythingbecauseitwasn’tbeautifulenough.
AsIalreadymentioned,Ialsofailedalotas
adesigner;Iwasconstantlyexperimenting
withdesignideasandfeaturesthatwere
waytoocrazy,whichIshouldn’thavedone.
T
Inter v iew ee:
Stef f enKabbelgaar d,
BetaDw ar f
heterms‘gamesstudio’or
‘developmentcompany’conjureup
imagesofprofessionalteamsand
expensiveoffices.Thatisn’talways
thecase,however,asthepeopleintheteam
behindaction-RPGForcedprovedwhen
theymetatuniversity.Here,we catchup
withBetaDwarf’sCEOandgamedirector
SteffenKabbelgaard.
CPC:So,tellusabouthowtheteamcameto
worktogether?
Steffen:Well,KennethHarder[nowlead
programmer]andI foundedBetaDwarf
twoyearsagoatauniversityin
Denmark.Wehadexperience
workinginsmallteams,and
wantedtotrysomethingslightly
biggerandmoreprofessional,
suchasstartingacompanyto
prepareforthefuture.Sowe
auditionedsomestudents
andfoundnineotherswho
hadshowntalentand
dedication.Therewerenineof
uswhenwestarteddevelopment.
CPC:Whatwastheinspiration
behindForced,andhowdidyoustart
workonit?
Steffen:Itactuallystartedasa
top-downlightRPGscroller.We
workedonthatand,whenwe
werehappywiththebasiccontrols,
westartedexperimentinglike
crazy.Allkindsoffeatures
weretried;weusedmaps
fromHeroesofMightand
Magic,resourcegathering,
co-opcitybuildingandsoon.
Ishoulddefinitelyadmitthat
thiswasalsoduetomyself
beinganon-experienced
designer/director.Atthat
timeIhadn’trealisedthe
importanceofstructuringthe
team’sdirection,whichresultedinalot
ofdisappointmentduetofeaturecuts.
CPC:Howdidtheteam’shistoryof
moddinginfluencethegame?Tell
usaboutthephilosophybehind
Forced’sdesign.
Forcedisa
gladiatorcombat
game,based
ontactical
cooperative
gameplay
withtwotofourplayers
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15April 2012
Theprojectwasalsoveryambitious–3D,
multiplayer,onlineandAI–butthatmeant
welearnedalottoo.
CPC:Mostoftheteamlivestogethertoo.
Howhasthatworkedoutforyou?
Steffen:Ha!YouknowaTVstationactually
wantedtofilmusallbecauseitimagined
therewouldbealotofconflicts?Buttheonly
problemsarebasicallyrelatedtocleaning,
musicandbasicmaintenance.Imean,we’re
geeks!Whenthegrassgrew,we’djustthink,
‘Wow,itdoesthat?’
Socially,theteamhasbeenreallyrespectful.
Itclashesnowandthen,butwehaveahuge
focusonconstructivedialogue.Wealsotake
personalmeetingsreallyseriously,andhave
pointssystemsthatoffergradestopeople,so
theireffortsarejudgedwithtransparency.
We’reaimingforaflathierarchy.
Beforewemovedtothehouse,which
allowedalotmoreprivacy(eventhoughwe
don’thaveourownrooms),wewereliving
togetherinoneroom.Itwasthisdeserted
classroom,andwereallylivedthere.Wehad
everything–toothbrushes,abed,food,lots
ofclothesandourcomputers,sowhywould
wegohome?Peoplestartedskippingtheir
apartmentstosaveoncosts,becausethey
onlyusedtheirhomesforwashingclothes.
Wewonderedifwewerethefirstpeopleto
literallyliveatauniversity.Oneof thesecurity
guardsevendidsomeworkonthegame!
CPC:Hasitbeenhardtopromotethegame?
Steffen:TheDanishgamesindustryisvery
small.We’reonlyhavearound700developers,
andonlyoneAAAstudio(I/Ointeractive).
However,thatmeansit’salsoreallyhelpful
andsupportive.I’veoccasionallysentemails
orcalledotherCEOstogetadvice,andyou
don’tfeelthecompetitionatall.
AlotofothercompanieshereinDenmark
havealreadysupportedourKickstarter
project!ThepromotionofForcedhasbeen
achallengingtask,butontheotherhand,
I’veneverpromotedagamebefore,sowho
amItojudge?
CPC:Whatadvicewouldyougivetoother
youngdevelopers?
Steffen: Failasfastasyoucan.Startmaking
ambitiousgamesthatpushyoutothelimit,
findsomepartnersandstartfailing!Isayitlike
thatbecauseit’simportanttofailandexpose
yourselfwithpotentiallystinkingprojects.It’saboutbeingnakedandfearless–armedwith
akeyboard.
Gotowww.forcedthegame.com formore
information.
WE HAD EVERYTHING
– TOOTHBRUSHES, A
BED, FOOD, CLOTHES
AND OUR COMPUTERS,
SOWHY WOULD WE
GO HOME?
TheBetaDwarf
team
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KEEPA LOWPROFILECPUcoolershaven’tjustbeengettingtaller.Irritatingly,they’vealso
beengrowingwider,whileinsomecasesnotgivingenoughclearance
formemory,leavingyouwithjustthreeofyourslotsaccessible.
CrucialreckonsitmighthavetheanswerwithitsnewBallistixSport
VeryLowProfile(VLP)memory,though,whichitclaimsarebetween
15and35percentshorterthanitscompetitors’offerings;theshort
DIMMsbarelyhaveanycircuitboardabovethefirstnotchhole.The
newmemoryisavailablenow,withan8GB(2x4GB)1,600MHz9-9-9-
24kitcurrentlygoingfor£35.99incVATfromwww.crucial.com/uk
NE W HARDWARE
We take a look at the latestnewlyannounced products
WDBLACK DRIVES HIT 4TBForthehungrydatahoarderwhostillneedsmorestorage
space,WesternDigitalhasjustreleasedthefirst4TB
desktopharddriveinitshigh-performanceBlackrange.
ThenewWDBlack4TBdrive
(modelnumberWD4001FAEX)
spinsitsplattersat7,200rpm
andfeatures64MBofcache,a
dual-processorcontrolsystem
andaSATA6Gbpsinterface,
althoughthelatterwon’tmake
anydifferenceonamechanical
storagedevice.Accordingto
WesternDigital,thedriveis
shippingnow,withanRRPof
£240incVAT.
SAPPHIRE CPU COOLERSNotcontentwithjustusingitsinnovativevapour-chambercooling
systemson itsowngraphicscards,AMDpartnerSapphirehasjust
releaseditsfirstCPUcooler,forawiderangeofbothIntelandAMD
sockets.ThecoolerisbasedonSapphire’sVapor-Xtechnology,
withthevapourchambermakingdirectcontactwiththeCPU.
AccordingtoSapphire,themonstrouscooler,whichmeasures
135x110x1634mm(WxDxH)andincludestwo120mmfans,can
copewithamaximumthermalloadof200W-potentiallyenough
forevenanoverclockedLGA2011rig.There’snowordonUK
pricingandavailabilityyet,butSapphiresaysthenewcooler
shouldretailfor$69(£43)intheUSA.
NEWGRAPHICS DRIVERSA GO-GOThepastmonthhasseenacoupleofnotabledriverreleasesintimeforthe
bumperChristmasgamecrop.Forastart,Nvidiahasreleasedabetaversion
ofits310.64GeForcedriver(www.geforce.co.uk/drivers/results/53378);
thegreenteamsaysthiscanboosttheframerateinFarCry3byupto38per
centat1,920x1,080with8xMSAAonitsGeForceGTX670,680and690
cards.Thecompanyalsosaysthedrivercangiveyouuptoa26percent
improvementinframeratesin
CallofDuty:BlackOps2.
Speakingofwhich,AMDhas
alsoreleasedanew(eighth)beta
ofitsCatalyst12.11driver(http://
tinyurl.com/Cat1211Beta).The
companyclaimsthiswillincrease
CrossFireperformanceinBlack
Ops2at2,560x1,600,whilealso
improvingFarCry3performance
onsingle-GPUsystems.
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18 February 2013
Lucy Sherriff
Flashinthepan
orsometechnology,thebeckoning
fingerofobsolescenceisgrowing
toocloseforcomfort.Flashmemory,
forexample,isbasedona22nm
architecture,andtheconsensusisthatithas
roughlyfourmoreyearsbeforeitreachesthe
limitsofscalability.Thereareseveralpotential
replacementsalreadyinmind,withserious
researchbehindthem,themosthighprofile
probablybeingphasechangememory.Now,
however,researchersatRiceUniversityin
Texaswanttothrowanothercontenderintothering.
Thankstoarecentbreakthrough,thelatest
seriousoptionforthememoryindustryto
considerisanoldfriend:siliconoxide.The
materialtantalisinglypromisesgenuine3D
re-writeablememory.Thechipsare95per
centtransparentandcanbebuiltonaflexible
plasticsubstrate.What’smore,theycanbe
stackedontopofoneanother,sincetheyhave
justtwoterminals;onemadeofgrapheneand
theotherofindiumtinoxide.
Butsurelythisshouldn’tworkatall.Isn’tsiliconoxideaninsulator?Thesimpleanswer
Silicon oxide promises to replace flash memory with transparent
chips that can be stacked on top of each other
is‘yes’,butundertherightconditions,it
retainsthecapacitytosurprise.Thisisdespite
thefactthat,accordingtoRiceUniversity
professorJamesTour,it’sthemoststudied
materialinthehistoryofmankind.
Thestorystartsin2007,whenTour’sgroup
wasworkingonamemorysystemofcarbon
depositedonsiliconoxide.Theexperiment
hadstripsofgraphite–pencillead-deposited
ontheSiOsubstrate.Theresearchersnoticed
thatastrongvoltagewouldbreakthecarbon,
andalowervoltagewouldthenhealandbreakthecircuitagain,givingthemcontrollable0
and1states–thefundamentalbasisof
computermemory.
Whathasnowbeenshownisthatthe
currentwasstrippingthesiliconoxideofits
oxygen,inaverysmallchanneljust5nmwide,
leavingbehindpuresiliconfilaments.This
phenomenon-dielectricbreakdown–willbe
familiartoanyonewhohasGoogled‘lightning’.
Lightningwillalwaysfindapathintheairto
connectthecurrenttoEarth,eventhoughthe
airisaninsulator,saysJunYao,whowasapost-gradstudent inTour’sresearchgroup.
Butwhilethepathofalightningboltisswept
awaybythecurrentsoftheatmosphere,the
pathtakenbythecurrentthroughthesilicon
oxideremainsleftbehind.
‘Underproperconditions–suitablevoltage
–asmallamountofoxygenatomsinside
thesiliconoxidewouldbedrivenout,leaving
atinysiliconpathwayinsidethesiliconoxide,
whichissimilartothelightningpathway,so
thatthecurrentcanconductthroughit,’Yao
says.‘Onceit’sformed,youcanbreakor
rebridgethispathwaybyapplyingdifferentvoltages,sothecurrentcangothroughornot
inacontrollablemanner–a‘1’stateor‘0’
state.Ifyoumakealargenumberofthese
units,alargeamountofinformationcanbe
stored,transformingintothecombinationof
aseriesof‘1’and‘0’digits.’
Nowthegrouphasdemonstrateda
workingchip,Tourhopesthepedigreeof
thematerialwillhelptocommercialisethe
technology.‘Siliconoxideisawell-knownand
acceptedmaterial–itwillbeallowedinafab
andontothefablines.Theindustryalreadyknowshowtogrowandmanipulateit,and
F
Thegeneralconsensusisthatexisting
flashmemorycanonlycontinuetobe
scalableforanotherfouryears
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19February 2013
makecircuitrywithit,’heargues.‘They’renot
goingtosay,“Well,itlooksgood,butwereally
don’tknowwhatthismaterialmightdo.”It’s
alsoradiation-hardandverystable,soit’s
goodforapplicationsinspace.’Samplesof
thechipshavealreadymadetheirwaytothe
InternationalSpaceStation,wherethe
material’sabilitytowithstandtheharsh
spaceenvironmentisbeingtested.
Therearestillissues,of course.Toursays
theOffstateisgreat,buttheOncurrentisn’t
asgoodastheteamwouldlike.Theforming
voltageis3-5Vhigherthantheresearchers
thinkindustrywouldacceptintermsofpower
consumption,asistheerasevoltage.Getting
itdowntosub-1Visthegoal,andToursaysthe
teamhassomeideasabouthowtodothat.
‘Flashgetsawaywith[aformingvoltageof]
12Vbecauseitrunsatpicoamps.Thecurrent
isverylow,butoursisn’t,sowecan’tgetaway
withahighervoltage.Thisisthekindof
problemthatgetssolvedbyindustry,andI’m
sureitwouldbesolvedrelativelyquicklywith
armiesofpeopleworkingonit,’Touradds.
Industrial-scaleresearchandfabexpertise
wouldalsodoubtlessboosttheworkingyield,
whichstandsat80percentinthelab.
Thegrouphasshownthatthematerialcan
withstandroughly10,000cyclesbeforeitstops
working,whichis comparabletoflash.And,
likeflash,itcanplaythemulti-statescaling
game,potentiallyincreasingcapacityfurther.
Itsoundspromisingnow.Butbackin2007,
theresearchersassumeditwasthecarbon
thatwascausingtheswitchingbehaviour,and
suggestionsthatthesiliconoxidemightbe
playingaroleweremetwithhostilityand
derision.JunYao,nowapost-docwiththe
LieberGroupatHarvard,explains:‘Sincesiliconoxideisnormallyinsulating,itwas
straightforwardforcolleaguestobelievethat
thecarbonmaterialwastheunderlyingcause
forthememoryeffect,althoughnothingwas
knownabouthowitreallyworked.Eventually,
itturnedoutthatthememorysystemstill
workedregardlessofthepresenceofcarbon
material,aslongasthesiliconoxidewas
there.Sothiswasindirect,butstilltelling,
evidenceofthesilicon-oxiderole.’
TourincludedabriefmentionofYao’s
suggestionthatsiliconoxidemightplayapartintheinitialpaperthegrouppublishedonthe
research;amovewhichriledsomeof Yao’s
colleagues.‘TheRussianpost-docsslammed
him,’Toursayswithasmileinhisvoice.‘And
there’sJunYao,justquietlypluggingaway.He
showedthatyoudon’tneedcarbon;thatyou
canmakethewholethingtransparent,and
youcanmakeinvisiblememory.’
Havingdemonstratedtheswitching
behaviourwithnocarboninvolved,Yao’snext
challengewastoexplainwhatwasactually
happening,saysTour.‘Criticsasked:“Ifit’s
nano-filamentsofsiliconforming,whycanwe
notgateitandseethemodulation?”Itturned
outthatitwasn’tatypicalsemiconductorform
ofsilicon;itwasmetallicinnature,andmetalscan’tbegated.’
Yaodecidedthattheonlywaytoknowfor
surewastotrytowatchitinrealtime.This
meantmovingtheentireexperiment–the
siliconoxidesample,withallitsleads–inside
thehighvacuumofatransmissionelectron
microscope(TEM).Thisway,hecouldshoot
theelectronbeamthroughthesampleasthe
voltagewasbeingapplied,andwatchthe
siliconfilamentsforming.
‘Thekittodothiscost$100K,whichis
beyondmybudget,soYaowentandbuiltithimselfinthemachineshopforabout$1,500.
LUCY SHERRIFFisajournalistwitha
degreeinastrophysics
whoknowsallaboutthe
latestscientifictech.
@lucysherriff
Therewerenoleaks,evenattheplaceswhere
theleadshadtogoin,’Toursays,clearlystill
marvellingathispost-grad’sachievement.
Tourmentionsthathe’sshownthe
technologyto Intel,SamsungandTexas
Instruments,andwhileeachhasaviewonthe
research,thereisn’tenoughdataforindustry
toinvestyet.‘Itreallycouldbegoodenoughto
beaflashcompetitor,butitneedsmore
peopleworkingonit.Ifit’sjustmygroup,then
itwon’tseeenoughdaylight.Butifithasfour,
sixoreightgroups,there’sachance.Our
resultshavebeenrepeatedinEurope,atthe
UniversityofTexasandinChina.’
Hesaysthegroupnowneedstobuildabig
crossbararraytoshowthatthetechnologyis
scalable.Atthetimeofwriting,theteamhas
builta1KBunit;asitonlyhastwoterminals,
thiscouldbestackedontopofanother‘to
makegenuinely3Dre-writeablememory’.
‘Ifthiscomesoff,itwillbedowntothe
persistenceofa“lowly”graduatestudent,and
whenyouthinkaboutwhatitcouldmeanfor
industry…andwhatitcouldmeanforhim?It’s
likewatchingoneofyourkidsdowell.JunYao
workedsohard.‘It’sinteresting.Thenaysayers
neverrepent.Theyjustgoaway.’
ProfessorJamesTour’steamatRiceUniversityisresearchinganewtypeofre-writeablememorybasedonsilicon
oxide.Thechipsarenotonly95percenttransparent,butarealsostackable
THIS PHENOMENON –
DIELECTRIC BREAKDOWN
– WILL BE FAMILIAR TO
ANYONE WHO HAS
GOOGLED ‘LIGHTNING’
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20 February 2013
Gareth Halfacree looks at the latest mobile hardware
ntelhasrecentlyhitthepress
withclaimsit’sdevelopinga
48-coreprocessorfor
smartphones(http://is.gd/
intel48core),gettingthejumpon
ARManditsmultitudinouslicencees.
Eagertodiscoverthetruthbehindthe
story,wespoketoJimHeldtofindout
what’sreallygoingon.
AnIntelFellow,Heldisthelabs
directorofIntel’smicroprocessorand
programmingresearchteam.It’shis
jobtodirectresearchprojectsthat
influencefutureprocessordesigns,
fromtweakingmicroarchitectures
tolarger-scaleprojectssuchas
theTerascaleResearchProcessor,
an80-corechipdesignedfor
supercomputing.Someofhis
researchhasalreadybeen
commerciallyexploited:the
TerascaleResearchProcessorledto
thedevelopmentoftheSingle-chip
CloudComputer(SCC)andtheXeon
Phiacceleratorboardsforhigh-
performancecomputing.
‘There’salagbetweenwhenwe
beginresearchandwhenthings
appearinthemarketplace,’explains
Held.‘You’reseeingthebenefit–andyouwill
intheCorelineaswellastheAtomline–ofthe
resultsofourresearchintohowtoimprove
theefficiencyofthemicroarchitecture,andto
improvethefine-grainedmanagementofthe
useofpoweronthedie.’
MANY-CORE SMARTPHONES?
Thestoryspunbymuchofthecomputing
pressisofaprojecttocram48processing
coresintofuturesmartphones,providinga
nearone-to-onemappingofapplicationsto
cores.It’samajorconceptualshift;modernsmartphoneprocessorstypicallyhavefour
Intel’ssmartphoneresearchThe mobile market is buzzing with news of Intel’s 48-core smartphone CPU.
We ask Intel Fellow Jim Held about the company’s mobile intentions
theotherthingsweenabledonthat
[SCC]researchchip.Oneofthethings
itwaslookingatwashowapplications
andruntimesoftwarecouldtake
advantageofmulti-core,andgain
controloverthepowermanagement
featuresinthechip.’
POWER MANAGEMENT
Modernprocessorshavepower
managementfeatures,ofcourse,
includingdesktopCPUs,butHeld
doesn’tthinkthesemeasuresextend
farenough.
‘Wewereputtingoutwhatyou
mightcallmoredirect,orraw
access,tothe[powermanagement]
behaviourtoseewhatsoftwarecould
makeofit,andexplorealittleabout
whatcouldbedoneoutsideoftoday’s
regime–P-statesandS-states–
andthesystemswenowuseto
acceleratethechip.
‘Oneofthemajorwayspower
managementfunctionstoday is
theoperatingsystemtellingthe
hardwarethatit’sidle,thatit’sgoing
idle,thatit’sgoingintoareducedlevel
ofactivityandalittleabouthowdeeply
thechipsleeps,’Heldexplains.
‘Wegavedirectaccesstosettingthe
frequency,dividingthefrequencybyjust
settingavalueinaregister.Wealsogave
accesstoeightdifferentvoltageregulatorsto
controlvoltage,sothatthesoftware–notjust
theoperatingsystem–couldcontrolthose
directly,ratherthangoingintopre-defined
powerstatesandthehardwareinferringwhat
shouldbedoneinagivencircumstance.
‘Theideaistohaveapplicationsoftware,
orruntimeattheapplicationlevel,thathas
alotmoreinformationaboutaparticularapplicationandwhatitneeds,andwhatit’s
centralprocessingcoresandaselectionof
graphicsprocessingcores,withsomeadding
afifth‘companion’coreforlessdemanding
backgroundtasks.Evenifyouadddigital
signalprocessors(DSPs)foraudio
reproductionorcapture,you’realongway
from48cores.WhyisIntellookingatsuch
adramaticshift?
Putsimply,itisn’t.‘Havinglookedatthat
[ComputerWorld]article,thepointdidn’t
comeacrossabouttheresearchthatwas
goingon,’Heldadmitted.‘Itreallywasn’t
focusedsomuchonhavinganextremelylargenumberofcores,butratheronsomeof
Intel’s48-coreSingle-chipCloud
Computerisset torevolutionise
mobiledevices,butnotintheway
thatsomehavepredicted
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21February 2013
GARETHHALFACREEisthenewsreporterat
www.bit-tech.net.He
knowsallabout the
latestnewsinPCandmobiletech.
@ghalfacree
greaterthan80percentinthedesktopand
laptopmarket,andaround90percentinthe
servermarket,itsshareofthetabletand
smartphonemarketiswellbelow5percent.
Itsfirstsmartphone-centricAtom
processor,asingle-coresystem-on-chip
(SoC)runningat2GHzinMotorola’sAndroid-
basedRazri,showsthecompany’sintentions,
butcanitreallycompeteagainstARM’snear
monopolyanddecadesoflow-power
computingexperience?
‘Idon’tthinkthere’sintrinsicallyany
advantagetotheinstructionset,ofthe
ARMinstructionsvstheIntelarchitecture
instructions,’Heldclaims,‘soitcomesdown
toourexpertiseatimplementingthem.I
thinktheshifttoenergyefficiencyandpower-
efficientperformancehasbeengoingonfor
sometime,andthatwillbeacontinuingtrend
thatwe’lltakeadvantageoftogrowour
marketshareinthatsegment.
‘ThisisanewmarketsegmentforIntel,
we’relearninghowtodoit,andIthinkthe
MotorolaphonereleasedinEuropegives
youanopportunitytocompare,allthings
beingequal,theabilityofourmicroprocessors
tocompete.Ithinkyou’lljustseeuscontinue
toimprove.’
like,ratherthanjustmonitoringthecurrent
stateofthesysteminthesamewayasmostof
today’spowermanagementsoftware.’
BALANCING ACT
DespiteHeld’sclarificationthatIntelisn’t
lookingtoreleaseamany-coreprocessorfor
smartphonessoon,headmittedthecompany
isinvestigatingtheproblemswithparallelism
inclient-centriccomputing–desktops,
laptopsandsmartphones.Amdahl’sLaw,
namedaftercomputerarchitectGene
Amdahl,statesthataprogramrunningon
multiplecorescanonlybespeduptothelimit
ofthetimeittakesthenon-parallelisablecode
torun–afterwhichaddingmorecoresdoes
nothingforperformance.
‘Amdahl’sLawisalimitingfactor,and
softwarecanbemodifiedtoincreaseits
parallelism,butthemoreyoutrytogetrid
oftheremainingserialcodethemore
challengingitis,’Heldsays.‘Sothat’sthe
reasonwhywe’recarefultocontinue
improvingtheperformanceforeach
individualcore.Wetrytobalancethatserial
performance,orthesingle-threaded
performance,inanygivenproductagainstthe
parallelismtomatchtheworkloadinthegiven
marketsegment.Sothat’ssomethinginthe
clientwhereyouwouldneedtomovemore
slowlytoparallelismthanperhapsin the
technicalcomputingspacewhereXeonPhi
isbeingapplied,andtheprocessorcoresare
beingdesignedaccordingly.
‘IntheclientIthinkthatextremelyhigh
degreesofparallelismwilltaketime,andwill
beonlyappropriateforcertainactivities.Wehavetomakesurewedon’tsacrificetoomuch
single-threadedperformanceinthemoveto
increasinglevelsofparallelism.’
Itisn’tallaboutthehardware,ofcourse,
asHeldexplains:‘Intheclient,andinphone
applications,toobtainmaximumbenefitthe
softwaredoesneedtoberedesigned,and
that’swhywe’redoingexperimentationin
programmingtocomplementtheworkwe’re
doinginhardware.Idon’tknowifyou’veheard
aboutourworkonParallelJavaScript,which
isawaytoextendaverywidelyusedweb
programminglanguagesothatitcan,inavery
straightforwardwaythatwebelieveisagood
matchforthethinkingandsophisticationof
theprogrammers,allowthemto usemulti-
coresgracefully.‘So,yes,softwaredoesneedtochangeto
exploitparallelismbeyondmulti-tasking.It
needstogobeyondhavingdifferentactivities
assignedby theoperatingsystemtocores,
andforanexistingapplicationtomakeuseofit
requireschanges.We’reworkingtoseehow
wecanmakethateasiertodoforabroader
rangeof programmers.’
T HE BAT T L E FO R MA R KE T SH AR E
Insmartphones,Intelisplayingfroma
distinctlyunfamiliarperspective:thatoftheunderdog.Whileitenjoysamarketshare
UsingtechnologyfromtheSCC,Intelisworkingonimprovingpowermanagementin
mobiledevices
Futuredeviceswillallowapplication-levelcontroloverthespeedandpowerdrawof
individualprocessorcores,accordingtoIntel’sJimHeld
IT REALLY WASN’TFOCUSED SO MUCH
ON HAVING AN
EXTREMELY LARGE
NUMBER OF CORES
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24 April 2012
Our choice of the best hardware available
You don’t have to spend an astronomical sum to get a decent PC.
Our budget PC includes a superb Trinity APU, with a built-in Radeon HD
7660D GPU, plus 8GB of 2,133MHz RAM to boost the on-board graphics
NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED PRICE (inc VAT)
A Xigamtek MidgardII www.overclockers.co.uk www.xigmatek.com Issue1 13, p74 £52
B Gigabyte GA-F2A75M-D3H www.novatech.co.uk www.gigabyte.com Issue 112, p44 £60
C AMD A10-5800K www.aria.co.uk www.amd.com Issue 112, p60 £92
D 8GBCorsairVengeance2,133MHzCAS11 www.cclonline.com www.corsair.com Issue112,p60 £51
E Gelid Tranquillo Rev.2 www.scan.co.uk www.gelidsolutions.com Issue 100, p86 £25
F Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 530W www.scan.co.uk www.bequiet.com Issue 1 10, p 55 £59
G 500GBSeagateBarracudaST500DM002 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue1 04, p72 £42
H Lite-On IHAS124-19 www.ebuyer.com www.liteonit.eu Issue 99, p108 £14
I Microsoft Windows7 H omeP remium6 4-bit www. scan. co.uk ww w. mi crosoft .com I ssue 7 5, p46 £119
TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE £514
B
MOTHERBOARD
F
PSU
G
HARD DISK
D
RA M
H
OPTICAL DRIVE
E
COOLING
I
OPERATING SYSTEM
C
AP U
U P D A T E D
A
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25April 2012
AsCore i7motherboards andhigh-end graphics cards command a
premium price, hereare somecomponents for a Core i5 PC that offer
great performance andwon’t break thebank
NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED PRICE (inc VAT)
A SilverStoneRavenRV03 www.scan.co.uk www.silverstonetek.com Issue103, p70 £104
B Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H www.scan.co.uk www.gigabyte.com Issue 108, p38 £78
C Intel Core i5-3570K www.scan.co.uk www.intel.co.uk Issue 106, p36 £172
D 8GBPatriotG2PGD38G1600ELK www.amazon.co.uk www.patriotmemory.com Issue106,p40 £37
E Arctic Freezer i30 www.dabs.com www.arctic.ac Issue104, p48 £28
F AMD Radeon HD 7850 2GB www.overclockers.co.uk www.amd.com Issue 111, p62 £150
G Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 530W www.scan.co.uk www.bequiet.com Issue 110, p55 £59
H SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104, p75 £70
I Asus Xonar DG www.dabs.com http://uk.asus.com Issue 99, p108 £24
J Samsung SSD 830 128GB www.scan.co.uk www.samsung.com Issue 104, p68 £79
K Lite-On IHAS124-19 www.ebuyer.com www.liteonit.eu Issue 99, p108 £14
L MicrosoftWindows7HomePremium64-bit w ww.scan.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue75, p46 £119
TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE £934
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
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26 April 2012
Our choice of the best hardware available
Award-winning qua lity. Award-winning performance. Crucia l - qua lity you can depend on
SATA III Interface, Read Speeds upto 500MB/s,Write Speeds upto 175MB/s TRIM Support 9.5mm Profile
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 £179
B Asus Maximus V Gene www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue 106, p64 £148
C Intel Core i5-3570K www.scan.co.uk www.intel.co.uk Issue 106, p36 £172
D 8GBPatriotG2PGD38G1600ELK www.amazon.co.uk www.patriotmemory.com Issue106,p40 £37
E Be Quiet! Dark Rock Advanced www.scan.co.uk www.bequiet.com Issue 91, p74 £47
F AMDRadeonHD79703GBGHzEdition www.overclockers.co.uk www.amd.com Issue111,p70 £340
G Seasonic X-Series 660W www.amazon.co.uk www.seasonic.com Issue 110, p59 £124
H SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104, p75 £70
I Asus Xonar DX www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue 80, p63 £57
JOCZ Vertex 4 256GB www.ebuyer.com www.ocztechnology.com Issue 104, p68 £155
K Lite-On IHAS123-19 www.ebuyer.com www.liteonit.eu Issue 99, p108 £14
L MicrosoftWindows7HomePremium64-bit www.scan.co.uk ww w.microsoft .com Issue 75, p46 £119
TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE £1,462
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
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Themost awesome components around,before reachingworkstation
territory.We’ve 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 £227
B Asus Maximus V Gene www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue 106, p64 £148
C Intel Core i7-3770K www.scan.co.uk www.intel.co.uk Issue 106, p36 £257
D8GBKingstonHyperXGenesis
KHX1866C11D3P1K2/8Gwww.overclockers.co.uk www.kingston.com Issue106,p40 £40
E Nvidia GeForce GTX 690 2GB www.scan.co.uk www.nvidia.com Issue 106, p46 £768
F Corsair H100 www.scan.co.uk www.corsair.com Issue 91, p74 £82
G Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850W www.scan.co.uk www.bequiet.com Issue 110, p 64 £167
H OCZ Vector 256GB www.ebuyer.com www.ocztechnology.com Issue 113, p44 £200
I Asus Xonar DX www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue 80, p63 £57
J SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM0001 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104, p75 £70
K MicrosoftWindows7HomePremium64-bit w ww.scan.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue 75, p46 £119
TOTALSYSTEM PRICE £2,135
B D
MOTHERBOARD CPU RAM
C E F
GRAPHICS CARD COOLING
U P D A T E D
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Our choice of the best hardware available
U ltra Quiet Trip le Fan High Performance C PU Coo ler
Suitable for Intel LGA2011, 1366, 1155, 1156 and 775and AMD Socket FM1, FM2, AM3+, AM3, AM2+ and AM2
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.amazon.co.uk
MANUFACTURER www.intel.co.uk http://uk.asus.com www.arctic.ac www.patriotmemory.com
REVIEWED Issue 106, p36 Issue 106, p64 Issue 104, p48 Issue 106, p40
PRICE(incVAT) £172 £148 £28 £37
TYPE GRAPHICS CARD GRAPHICS CARD GRAPHICS CARD
NAME AMDRadeonHD78502GB NvidiaGeForceGTX6702GB AMDRadeonHD79703GBGHzEdition
SUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk
MANUFACTURER www.amd.com www.nvidia.com www.amd.com
REVIEWED Issue 111, p61 Issue 111, p68 Issue 111, p70
PRICE(incVAT) £150 £264 £340
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TYPE CPU MOTHERBOARD COOLER RAM
NAMEAMDA10-5800K GigabyteGA-F2A75M-D3H GelidTranquilloRev.2
8GB CorsairVengeance2,133MHzCAS11
SUPPLIER www.aria.co.uk www.novatech.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.cclonline.com
MANUFACTURER www.amd.com www.gigabyte.com www.gelidsolutions.com www.corsair.com
REVIEWED Issue 112, p60 Issue 112, p68 Issue 100, p86 Issue 112, p60
PRICE(incVAT) £92 £60 £25 £51
TYPE CPU MOTHERBOARD COOLER RAM
NAME Intel Core i7-3930K Asus Sabertooth X79 Corsair H80 16GB Corsair Vengeance
1,600MHzCAS9
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
REVIEWED Issue 101, p32 Issue 101, p70 Issue 101, p86 Issue 101, p40
PRICE(incVAT) £450 £255 £70 £57
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Our choice of the best hardware available
Our best se l ling gaming PC evo lved - Better Graphics, Bigger Hard Drive - Better Dea l!
AMD FX-4100 3.6GHz CPU, 8GB DDR3 Memory, AMD Radeon HD 77701TB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Built-in Wi-Fi, 2 Year Warranty
TYPE BUDGET CASE MICRO-ATX CASE AIR-COOLING CASE WATER-COOLING CASE
NAME XigmatekMidgardII SilverStoneTJ08-E SilverStoneRavenRV03 SilverStoneTemjinTJ07B-W
SUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk
MANUFACTURER www.xigmatek.com www.silverstonetek.com www.silverstonetek.com www.silverstonetek.com
REVIEWED Issue 113, p74 Issue 98, p48 Issue 103, p70 Issue 63, p87
PRICE(incVAT) £52 £78 £104 £227
TYPE LGA1155 CPUWATERBLOCK
GEFORCEGTX 680WATERBLOCK
RADEON HD 7970WATERBLOCK
DUAL 120MM RADIATOR
NAMEXSPCRayStormCPU XSPCRazorGTX680
AquacomputeraquagrATIx
for HD7970
AlphacoolNexXxos UT60
Full Copper 240mm
SUPPLIER www.aquatuning.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk www.aquatuning.co.uk www.aquatuning.co.uk
MANUFACTURER www.xs-pc.com www.xs-pc.com www.aquacomputer.de www.alphacool.com
REVIEWED Issue 107, p60 Issue 107, p65 Issue 107, p67 Issue 107, p72
PRICE(incVAT) £51 £80 £76 £50
U P D A T E D
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TYPE HARD DISK SSD NAS BOX
NAME SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 OCZVertex4256GB SynologyDiskStationDS212j
SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.ebuyer.co.uk www.dabs.com
MANUFACTURER www.seagate.com www.ocztechnology.com www.synology.com
REVIEWED Issue 104, p75 Issue 107, p44 Issue 104, p50
PRICE(incVAT) £70 £155 £160
TYPE 530W PSU 660W PSU 850W PSU 1.2kW PSU
NAME BeQuiet!PurePowerL8
530W SeasonicX-Series 660W
XFXPro 850WXXX Edition
(Silver) Corsair AX1200i
SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.amazon.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk www.scan.co.uk
MANUFACTURER www.bequiet.com www.seasonic.com www.xfxforce.com www.corsair.com
REVIEWED Issue 110, p55 Issue 110, p59 Issue 110, p71 Issue 111, p40
PRICE(incVAT) £59 £124 £95 £240
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Our choice of the best hardware available
Our best se l ling Inte lgaming PC evo lved - Better Graphics - Bigger Hard Drive
Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz CPU, 8GB DDR3 Memory, NVIDIA GeForceGTX 560Ti, 1TB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, 2 Year Warranty
TYPE SOUND CARD 2.1 SPEAKERS HEADSET 5.1 SPEAKERS
NAME Asus Xonar DX Corsair SP2500 Asus Vulcan ANC Logitech Z906
SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.amazon.co.uk
MANUFACTURER http://uk.asus.com www.corsair.com http://uk.asus.com www.logitech.com
REVIEWED Issue 80, p63 Issue 92, p79 Issue 98, p57 Issue 102, p50
PRICE(incVAT) £57 £182 £78 £230
TYPE 24IN MONITOR 27IN MONITOR TRIPLE-MONITOR STAND
NAME Dell UltraSharpU2412M Dell UltraSharpU2711 XFXTripleDisplayMonitor Stand
SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk
MANUFACTURER www.dell.com www.dell.co.uk www.xfxforce.com
REVIEWED Issue 105, p64 Issue 81, p56 Issue 96, p58
PRICE(incVAT) £221 £536 £299
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TYPE KEYBOARD MOUSE STEERING WHEEL JOYSTICK
NAME Mionix Zibal 60 Mionix Naos 3200 Logitech G27 Logitech Flight System G940
SUPPLIER www.lambda-tek.com www.overclockers.co.uk www.dabs.com www.scan.co.uk
MANUFACTURER www.mionix.net www.mionix.net www.logitech.com www.logitech.com
REVIEWED Issue 108, p71 Issue 108, p60 Issue 92, p108 Issue 92, p109
PRICE(incVAT) £97 £35 £211 £228
TYPE RPG FPS STRATEGY UNDERDOG
NAME Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Dishonored Frozen Synapse Trine 2
DEVELOPER www.bethsoft.com www.arkane-studios.com www.mode7games.com http://frozenbyte.com
PUBLISHER www.bethsoft.com www.bethsoft.com www.mode7games.com http://frozenbyte.com
REVIEWED Issue 101, p100 Issue 111, p96 Issue 96, p92 Issue 102, p98
PRICE(incVAT) £30 £26 £19 for two £12
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36PALICOMPALPHA
BLADE
Anoverclockedgamingrig,completewithmonitor
38INWINH-FRAME
Anall-aluminium,fanlesschassisthatstandsoutfromthecrowd
40LIANLIPC-CK101P
AmodeltrainandPCcaseinone.Itevenhasatrackandmotors!
44OCZVECTOR
256GBOCZfinallyhasapropernewIndilinxcontroller
46BEQUIET!
SHADOWROCKTOPFLOWSR1
Idealforalow-profilecase
47ROCCATKONE
XTDGorgeouslightingandan8,200dpisensor
54HOUSEOF
MARLEYEXODUS
Headphonesmadefrom
renewablematerials
54BARNES&NOBLE
NOOKSIMPLE
GLOWLIGHT
CanitbeattheKindle?
52MINCEPIE
MEGATEST
PasstheDuchyfromthe
left-handside
34 February 2013
Our in-depth analysis ofthe latest PC hardware
36
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35February 2013
HOWWETEST,P50
DremelMoto-SawWecheckoutDremel’sattemptat
amulti-functionscrolltoseehowitfaresatPCmoddingtasks 48
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HOW MUCH?
Price£999incVAT
Supplierwww.palicomp.co.uk
Manufacturerwww.palicomp.co.uk
SKUnumberIVY8
IN DETAIL
CPU3.4GHzIntelCorei5-3570Koverclockedto4.6GHz
MotherboardAsusP8Z77-VLX
Memory8GB1,600MHzCorsairXMS3DDR3
GraphicsPowerColorAMDRadeonHD79503GB
SoundRealtekHDAudio
Storage2TBSeagateBarracuda7200.14,120GBOCZAgility3SSD
OpticaldriveLGBlu-rayreader
CaseThermaltakeV3BlacXEdition
CoolingCPU:ThermaltakeISGC-300;case:1x120mmrearexhaustfan,1x120mmintakefan
PSUPowercoolPC-850AUBA-M
PortsFront:1xUSB3,1xUSB2,2xaudio;rear:2xUSB3,4xUSB2,LAN,audioout,mic,headphone,opticalS/PDIFout,PS/2
OperatingsystemWindows
864-bit
t’stemptingtospendasmuchaspossibleon
anewPC,buttheproliferationofaffordable,
effectivecomponentsmeansyoudon’thave
tobreakthebanktogetplentyofspeednow.
Palicomp’sAlphaBladecosts£999but,onpaperat
least,ithasthepowertohandlethelatestgamesand
applicationswithoutbreakingasweat.
Aswithmanypre-builtsystems,it’sbasedona
Corei5-3570K,althoughhereit’sbeengivenaboost,
withanoverclockthattakesitfrom3.4GHztoa
formidablespeedof4.6GHz.Meanwhile,gaming
powerishandledbyaPowerColorRadeonHD7950,
althoughit’svirtuallyidenticaltoAMD’sreference
model.Thatmeansan 800MHzcoreclock,1,250MHz
shaderclockand4.3billiontransistors.
There’salsoareasonablysized120GBSSDfora
bootdrive,butit’sanOCZAgility3–amodelthat’snow
beensupersededbynewerhardware.There’salsoa
SeagateBarracuda7200.14harddiskoffering2TBof
space–plentyforahealthySteamlibraryandmedia
collection– andthere’saBlu-raydriveformovie-
watchingtoo.There’snosignofadiscrete
soundcardthough.
ThisisallpluggedintoanAsus
P8Z77-VLXmotherboard.Thisisastep
downfromAsus’high-endboards,andit
showsinthespec:noon-boardwireless,
only twoUSB3portson itsbackpanelandonlyone
full-speed16xPCI-Eslot–thesecondisrestrictedto
just4xmode, soit isn’t idealfordualgraphics.
Expansionis limitedelsewheretoo.ThefourDIMM
slotsareoccupied,withoneblockedbytheCPU
heatsink’s120mmfan,andonlytwoSATA3Gbps
portsarefree.There’soneUSB3headervacant,but
thebottomofthePCBonlyofferstwoUSB2headers,
andeventhosearecrowdedby trailingcables.
ThecomponentsareallhousedinaThermaltakeV3
BlacXEditionchassis,whichisamixedbag.Theblack
paintontheinsidelendstheinterioraclassyair,and
upgraderoomisreasonable,butthebuildqualityis
average,withthinside-panelsthatwobblewhen
flexed.Meanwhile,thelackofa motherboardtraymeanscablesarepainfullyvisible.
Despitethis,Palicomphasn’tdoneabadjobwith
cablerouteing;thepowercablesforthemotherboard,
CPUandgraphicscardaretiedthroughthemiddleof
thecase,andtherestarebunchedatthebottom.It
isn’telegant,butwehadfewproblemsworkinginside
theAlphaBlade,andthecablesdon’tdisruptairflow.
Thefansetupissimple:one120mmintakefan,a
120mmexhaustfan,a120mmfanontheThermaltake
ISGC-300andan80mmgraphicscardfan.
ThePCincludesa monitortoo.The AsusVS247H’s
24indiagonalservesupa1,920x1,080resolution,with
HDMI,DVI-Dand VGAinputs.Thescreen’squalityis
goodthroughout,withthestandardsettingsproviding
abrightnesslevelof293cd/m 2,ameasuredcontrast
ratioof915:1andaDeltaEof3.1.
Thesefiguresensurethescreenis morethanbright
enoughforgamesand movies,whilethecontrastratio
makesfora punchy,vividpanel.Meanwhile,the low
DeltaE meanstheAsusdeliversgoodcolouraccuracy.
There’satinybitofbacklightbleedalongthebottom
edge,butthisdidn’tmakeadifferenceineverydayuse.
Itsonlyshortcomingisthewobblystand.
AlsoincludedisaLogitechMK620wireless
keyboardandmouseset,whichis comfortableto use,
andtheformerincludesmediacontrols.However,if
youhaveyourownpreferredperipheralsandmonitor
already,PalicompsellstheAlphaBladeasabaseunit
too–dropthemonitor,keyboardandmouse,andthe
PCalonewillsetyouback£895incVAT.
PERFORMANCE
TheAlphaBlade’sCPUrunsat4.6GHz,whichis
significantlyhigherthanthe4.3GHzchipintheDinoPC
Tyrannosaur3570K(seeIssue107,p36),andthishada
notableimpactonperformance.TheAlphaBlade’s
2,285scorebeatthe2,023scoredbytheDinoPCintheimageeditingtest,andthePalicomp’sscoreof 3,674in
PALICOMP
RAZOR SHARP
Good
performance;
reasonable price;
decent monitor
BLUNT
Middling case;
noisy case fans;
sluggish SSD
THE ALPHA BLADE’S CPU RUNS AT
4.6GH Z, AND THIS HAD A NOTABLE
IMPACT ON PERFORMANCE
An overclocked gaming rig, includinga monitor, for less than £1,000
Alpha Blade
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37February 2013
PRE-OVERCLOCK ED GAMING PC
GIMP IMAGE EDITING
Stock speed Overclocked
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
2,329
2,246
2,285
2,023Dino PC 3570K
Palicomp Alpha Blade
HANDBRAKE H.264 VIDEO ENCODING
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
Dino PC 3570K
Palicomp Alpha Blade
MULTI-TASKING
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
1,778
1,797
1,740
1,641Dino PC 3570K
Palicomp Alpha Blade
OVERALL
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
2,630
2,613
2,566
2,360Dino PC 3570K
Palicomp Alpha Blade
SHOGUN 2 : TOTAL WAR DX9 CPU BENCHMARKDefault settings
0 25 50 75 100
fps37fps26
fps36fps22Palicomp Alpha Blade
Stock speed min Stock speed avg Overclocked avgOverclocked min
BATTLEFIELD 3 1,9 20 x 1 ,08 0, 16x AF, 4x AA, Ultr a s etti ngs
0 25 50 75 100
fps69fps56
fps58fps46Palicomp Alpha Blade
3,761
3,796
3,674
3,417
thevideoencodingtestalsobeatingthe3,417ofthe
Tyrannosaur.Likewise,in themulti-taskingtest,the
Palicomp’srespectablescoreof1,740trumpedthe
1,641ofitsrival.Italladdsuptoanoverallscoreof
2,566,comparedtothe2,360oftheDinoPC.
Meanwhile,intheCPU-heavyTotalWar
benchmark,thePalicompreturnedanunplayable
minimumframerateofjust22fpsandanaverage
framerateof36fps,althoughintheBattlefield3test,
thesystemaveraged58fps,withaminimumof46fps.
Overclockingreturnedmixedresults.Weincreased
thevcoreto1.4Vandraisedthebaseclockto4.7GHz,
butthisdidn’tgiveusmuchextra:theoverallscore
inourbenchmarksrosefrom2,566to2,630–just
abovetheDinoPC’soverclockedresult.Wewouldn’t
recommendoverclockingtheCPUanyfurther,
though:at4.6GHz,thecorehitapeaktemperature
of89°C,andthisincreasedto90°Cwithourtweaks.
Wetweakedthegraphicscardtoo,raisingitscore
clockfrom800MHzto1,000MHzanditsshaderclock
from1,250MHzto1,350MHz.Thisincreasewas
enoughtoraisetheTotalWarbenchmarktoaplayable
minimumof26fps,whileadding10fpstotheminimum
inBattlefield3–definitelyaworthwhiletweak.
TheOCZSSDdidn’timpressusinthebenchmarks
either.It’sanolderdrive,anditshoweditsagewhen
wetesteditinourAS-SSDbenchmarks.Itssequential
readresultof199MB/secislessthanhalfthespeed
ofthebestdrives,anditssequentialwritescoreof
142MB/secisn’tmuchbetter.Itwasslowerthan
averageineverytest.
ThemostdisappointingaspectofthePalicomp,
though,isitsnoiselevel.TheThermaltakeCPU
heatsinkandPowerColorgraphicscardaren’tloud,
01TheAMDRadeonHD7950
graphicscardprovidesa
decentamountofgruntingames
02The8GBofRAMisspread
overfour2GBDIMMs,
althoughoneslotisblockedby
thehugeThermaltakeISGC-300
CPUcooler
03Thereisn’talotofroom
forcablerouteinginside
theThermaltakeV3BlacX
Editionchassis,butPalicomp
hasstillmadeadecentjobofit
buttheintakefanandpowersupplybothmakea
racket;thismeansthatthePalicompdeliversa
consistent,noticeablerumble,evenwhenidle.
CONCLUSION
TheAlphaBlade’sloudcomponentsaren’tsubtle,and
itschassislacksfinesse,butitgivesgoodperformance
forthemoney,plusadecentmonitor. Ifyoudon’tmind
alittlenoise,anddon’twanttobuildyourownPC,this
isagoodroutetoreasonablegamingperformance.
MIKE JENNINGS
customPC
78OVERALL
SPEED 2 2 / 2 5
DESIGN 1 5 / 2 5
HARDWARE 1 8 / 2 5
VALUE 2 3 / 2 5
01
02
03
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HOW MUCH?
Price£266incVAT
Supplierwww.scan.co.uk
Manufacturerwww.in-win.com.tw
IN DETAIL
Dimensions(mm)220x545x524(WxDxH)
MaterialAluminium
AvailablecoloursSilver
Weight9.4kg
FrontpanelPower,reset,1xUSB2,2xUSB3,stereo,mic
Drivebays1xexternal5.25indrivebay,3xinternalhot-swap3.5in/2.5indrivebays,1xinternalhot-swap2.5indrivebay
Formfactor(s)ATX,micro-ATX
Cooling120mmfrontmount,120mmrearmount(fansnotsupplied)
CPUcoolerclearance155mm
Maximumgraphicscard
length350mm
hepremiumcasemarketistraditionally
reservedfor water-cooling-friendlybeasts.
CasessuchastheSilverStoneTJ11andLian
LiPC-V2120retailformoremoneythanmany
ofthecomponentstheyhouse,butareconstructed
fromthefinestaluminium,andhaveoodlesoffeatures
andexpandability.Everyonceinawhile,though,
comesacasethatchucksthemanualfortraditional
casedesignoutofthe(perspex)window.Standing
proudonitsorangesiliconfeet,theInWinH-Frameis
asighttobehold.
Althoughitsunusualstylingwillprobablyoffend
somepeopletotheircore,wethinktheH-Frame
looksfantastic.Itfeatures11sheetsofdiamond-cut
aluminium,sharplyangledandbeautifullyfinishedin
silverandblue.Thesesheetsarearrangedvertically,
separatedbygoldenspacersalongsomerods,
formingthecase’siconicopen-airdesign.
TheH-Frameisopenfromtoptobottomandfront
toback,andsealedonlybythetwoflatsidepanels.
Althoughthereareobviousbenefitsforairflow,this
designprovidesaneasyescapefornoise,andanopen
invitation,completewith champagnereception,for
dust.Themetalmeshfittedtotheroofalsospoils
theviewfromabove,anditisn’tverywellattached
either,butit’sprobablybeenincludedasa
necessaryprecautiontohelpprevent
hardware-destroyingobjectsfromfalling
intothecase.
Thefrontpanelisnothingtoshout
abouteither,especiallyforacasecosting
£266,butthepowerandresetbuttons,audiojacksand
twoUSB3portsaresufficientformostpeople.The
recessedresetbuttonissmallenoughtorequireapin
(ortheendofapen)topress,andthepowerandhard
driveaccessLEDsareblueandorangerespectively,
matchingthecase’scolourscheme.Completingthe
externalconnectionsisaroof-mountedUSB2port.
Thisiseasytoaccess,andcanbeusedforcharging
phonesandgadgets,whichcanberestedonthe
slantedsectionoftheH-Frame’sroof.
Inaboldmove,InWinhaschosennottosupplyasinglefanwiththeH-Frame,relyinginsteadon the
case’sopen-airdesigntoprovidesufficientairflowto
yourhardware.Intheory,andwiththerighthardware,
thisleavesopenthepossibilityofasilentsystemthat
reliestotallyonpassivecooling.Single120mmfan
mountsareprovidedonthefrontandrearforthose
whowanttousethem,althoughthecasedoesn’tcater
forwatercoolingatall.
Looseningthefourgoldencapsoneachsidepanel
enablesyoutopullthemstraightoff–theydon’tneed
tobeslidandlockedinplacelikemostcasepanels.
Doingsorevealsthegorgeousanodisedblueinterior,
whichmakesuslamentthelackofasidewindow.
Withthumbscrewsforjustabouteverything,rubber
stripsonwhichthePSUrestsandalargeCPU
backplatecut-out,buildingasysteminsidethe
H-Frameisrelativelypain-free,althoughpre-installed
motherboardmountswouldhavehelped.
Withonlyfourinternaldrivemounts,storagespace
islimited–asacrificemadeinthenameofstyle.The
drivebays,aswellasthetwofanmounts,feature
spring-loadedthumbscrewsandcomeoutof thecase
completely whentheseareunfastened.Thisall-metal
designmeansthisprocesscreatesanunpleasant
grinding noise,butatleastitensuresthatfansand
drivesaremountedverysecurely.Eachbayhasitsown
hot-swapconnectortoo,makingdriveinstallationevensimpler.However,thewiringforthese
T
IN WIN
H LANDING PAD
Stunning build
quality; hot-swap
bays; stand-out
design
H FROM STEPS
Super-expensive;
noisy; attracts
dust; limited
expansion options
IN WIN DOESN’T SUPPLY A SINGLE
FAN WITH THE H-FRAME, RELYING
INSTEAD ON THE OPEN-AIR DESIGN
In Win chucks the case design manual out thewindow with this all-aluminium, fanless chassis
H-Frame
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ATX CASE
CPU LOAD DELTA T TEMPERATURE
0 20 40 60 80
54°C
45°C
42°C
53°C
53°C
61°CCooler MasterCosmos II (Low)
Cooler MasterCosmos II (High)
Lian Li PC-V2120
SilverStone TJ11
In Win H-Frame(two fans)
In Win H-Frame(default)
GPU LOAD DELTA T TEMPERATURE
Lower is betterLower is better
0 15 30 45 60
52°C
48°C
37°C
41°C
45°C
49°CCooler MasterCosmos II (Low)
Cooler MasterCosmos II (High)
Lian Li PC-V2120
SilverStone TJ11
In Win H-Frame(two fans)
In Win H-Frame(default)
connectorsis non-detachable andthushas the
potentialtoleaveyouwithabigsurplusofcables.
Meanwhile,thesingle5.25inbayisangledso
thatinstalleddriveswillslide around45degrees
downwards,addingtotheuniqueformofthe
H-Frame.It’ssecuredusingthumbscrews;aswith
the3.5inbays,thismeansyoucanremovetheentire
enclosurefromthecase.Interestingly,whenempty,
thedriveenclosure’s rear,whichhas a smallcutaway
sectionfordrivecables,facesforwards,actingas a
coverforthefrontofthecase.Withyouropticaldrive
inplace,youthenneedtoreplacetheenclosurefacing
theoppositedirectiontogiveyourdriveroomtoopen.
Forsuchagreat-lookingcase,it’sashamethefront
panelcablesaren’tpre-sleevedinblacklikethoseof
thehot-swap connectors.However,forthejobof
actuallytidyingawaycables,InWinprovidesthree
holesthatletyouroutecablesbehindthe
motherboardtray–onenexttothePSUandtwo
adjacenttothemotherboarditself,althoughthese
don’thave rubbergrommets.
Meanwhile,to preventthe sidepanelbulgingout
fromthe cableequivalentofa spaghettijunction
pressingonit,it’snecessarytospreadoutthewires
behindthemotherboardtray,soafewmorethanthe
fiveprovidedziptieswouldhavebeenhandy, aswould
someclipstowhichyoucouldtiethem.Thesearen’t
disastrousomissions, buttheyshouldbestandardin
thedesignofsuchanexpensivecase.
COOLING
Withnodirectairflowofitsown,itwasn’tsurprising
toseeboththeCPUandGPUdeltaTresultsriseto
relativelyhightemperaturesduringour stresstest.
TheGPU,whichhasitsfanspeedlockedto30percent
inourtests,sufferedconsiderably,posting
adeltaTof52°C.TheCPUdeltaTof54°C,
however, isveryrespectablegiventhe
circumstances.It’sjust 1°Chigher than
boththeLianLiPC-V2120andtheCooler
MasterCosmosII,withthelatterrunning
itsfansontheirfastestandnoisiestspeed.
Notwanting towastethe opportunity,
wealsochuckedinacoupleof
Thermaltakehigh-airflow 120mmfans to
filltheH-Frame’sfanmountsandrepeated
ourtest.Thefanshadtheeffectofknocking
amassive9°CofftheCPUdeltaT,and
4°CofftheGPUdeltaT.Althoughthis
demonstratesthe effectivenessofthe
open-airdesign,particularlyfor theCPU,
thenoise fromthecasewiththetwofans
wasalmost unbearable.Evenwithoutthe
fans,noiseleakagefromtheopencase
wasfairlyhigh.
CONCLUSION
Onpaper,theInWinH-Framecosts
over£260yetincludesnofans,hasfew
features,limitedexpandabilityand
below-average cooling –wewon’tbe
recommendingitforyournextbuild. It’s
equallyapparent,however,thatitisn’t
designedformassappeal,andismoreofan
exercisein styleoversubstance,geared
towardsthosewithcashtospendonsomethingthat
standsout. Withitsopen-air design,eye-catching
colour schemeand flawlessly cutaluminiumsheets,
that’sexactlywhat theH-Frameachieves.
MATTHEW LAMBERT
TE ST KI T
3.4GHzIntelCorei7-870CPU,AMDRadeonHD58702GB
Eyefinitygraphicscard,BiostarTPowerI55motherboard,
2GBOCZ1,866MHzDDR3memory,160GBSeagate
Barracuda7200.9harddisk,GelidTranquilloCPUcooler
withNoctuaNF-S12BULN120mmfan,SeasonicM12D
SS-850EMPSU
customPC
67OVERALL
COOLING 1 7 / 3 0
FEATURES 1 4 / 2 0
DESIGN 2 7 / 3 0
VALUE 9 / 2 0
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HOW MUCH?
Price£290incVAT
Supplierwww.oveclockers.co.uk
Manufacturerwww.lian-li.com
SKUNumberPC-CK101PB
IN DETAIL
Dimensions(mm) 185x515x258(WxDxH)
MaterialAluminium,plastic
AvailablecoloursBlack
Weight4.1kg
FrontpanelPower,2xUSB3
Drivebays1xinternal3.5indrivebay,1xinternal2.5indrivebay
Formfactor(s)mini-ITX
Cooling1x120mmmiddlefanmount(fansupplied)
CPUcoolerclearance
125mm
hefirsttimewelaideyesonthePC-CK101
wasattheComputextradeshowinTaiwan–it
wasprettydifficulttomiss,intruth,asitwas
chuggingupanddownthelengthoftheLian
Libooth,drawingdoubletakesand inquisitivelooks
fromeveryonewalkingpast.
Ifwe’rehonest,we’dwrittenitoffasapublicity
stunt–aconceptcasemadebysomeoneatthe
factoryin theirsparetime;a labouroflovethatwas
neverdesignedforafullproductionrun.Imagine
oursurprise,then,whenLianLigotintouchtosee
ifwe’dlikeareviewsamplesenttotheCustomPC
labinLondon.
Initsdefence,LianLihasalonghistoryofreleasing
outlandishcases–someofourmoreseasoned
readersmayrememberthePC-T1A,whichwas
modelledonaspiderandactuallywalked,andthe
companyisfamousforitsiconiclineofnautilus-
shapedcasestoo.
IntheUK,thePC-CK101isavailableintwo
flavours:astaticSmodel,withjustthe
caseandadisplaystand;andthelimited-
editionPmodel,whichaddsamotor,
axleassemblyandatomiser (which
unfortunatelyLianLicouldn’tprovide
forthisreview)forarealisticchugging-
smokeeffect.TheambulatoryPmodel
thatwe’rereviewingherecurrentlyretailsfor
amonstrous£290,meaningthatyou’llneedto
shelloutsomeseriousnotesforwhatis,afterall,a
noveltycase.Thankfully, theSmodelwillreportedly
retailforafarmoresedate£160,althoughwecouldn’t
findthismodelavailabletobuyanywhereatthetime
ofwriting.
Asyou’dexpectfromaLianLicase,thebodyofthe
PC-CK101is constructedentirely frompleasingly
chunkyslabsofanodisedaluminium.It’sincredibly
wellmadetoo–allthejoinsareslick,andthereisn’t
ahintofrattleorflexanywhereinthecase.
Giventhatthiscaseisobviouslyaimedatmodel
trainenthusiasts,itseemsappropriatethatLianLi
shipsthecasewithadegreeofassemblyskillrequired.Detailed,if slightlydifficultto follow,
instructionsareprovided,whichguideyouthrough
theactofmountingtheelectricmotor,assembling
andfixingtheaxles,andhookingthemalluptothe
batterypackthatsitsatthebackofthetrain.
Alsoinneedofcablingisthenattydirectionswitch,
whichhangsoutthefloorofthetrain.Thisgets
trippedbylugsmountedontheendsectionsoftrack,
reversingthemotor’sdrive,andmeansthatthecase
canhappilyrunbackandforthalongwhateverlength
oftrackyou’vesetupalldaylong.Itis,ofcourse,even
possibletousethePCwhileit’srunningupanddown
thetracks,butyou’llneedlotsof room,andlong
power,videoandaudiocables.
WhenwecametobuildingaproperPCinsidethe
PC-CK101,wewereimpressedbythewayLianLi
hasmadethebestofthespaceavailable.Youcan,for
instance,secreteaslimlineopticaldriveinthefront
bumperofthetrain,whilethedinkybundled300W80
PluscertifiedPSU(suitably)playstheroleofdriver,
sittinginthefrontcabin.
Fromhereon,however,PCbuildinginsidethePC-CK101becomesalittletricky,asyouhaveto
stashyourmotherboardintherearcarriage.This
meansallthePSUcables,front-panelcables,andthe
cablesforthetwoUSB3slotsthatrundowntheside
oftheengine,havetopassthroughanarrowchannel
betweenthebottomofthetwocarriages.
It’satightfit,anditmakesbuildingatidyPCinthe
PC-CK101achallenge,especiallywhenthereare
veryfewhidey-holesinwhichtostashunwantedPSU
cables.Thisisn’tautomaticallyanegativepoint–we
enjoyedthepuzzleandthechancetoexerciseour
cable-routeingskills,butitdoesmakethebuildprocesstakelonger.
T
LIAN LI
FLYING
SCOTSMAN
Unique;
beautifully made;
quiet
THOMAS
Impractical;
limited storage
mounts; no room
for a graphics
card; expensive
IT’S INCREDIBLY WELL MADE – ALL
THE JOINS ARE SLICK, AND THERE
ISN’T A HINT OF RATTLE OR FLEX
ANYWHERE IN THE CASE
The best motorised trainPC case we’ve ever seen
PC-CK101P
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CPU LOAD DELTA T TEMPERATURE
Lower is better
0 15 30 45 60
57°C
43°C
46°CFractal Node 304
BitFenix Prodigy
Lian Li PC-CK101
MINI-ITX CASE
Onetypeofcableyoudon’thavetoworryabout,
however,isthePCI-Epowervariety,asthePC-CK101
doesn’thaveanexpansionslottobuddyupwiththe
singlePCI-Egraphicsslotthat’sfoundonmanymini-
ITXmotherboards.
Thisisanunusualchoice,asthere’sroomonthe
rearofthecaseforasingleexpansionslot(although
itwouldrequirerelocatingthepowerswitch),andit
meansyou’llbelimitedtoon-boardgraphicswitha
CK101build.Thisisn’tthelimititusedtobe(wefound
AMDsnewTrinityAPUstobecapableperformerslast
issue),butitrestrictsflexibilityandfutureupgrades.
PERFORMANCE
Coolinginthecaseishandledbyasingle120mmfan
strappedtotheinsidefrontoftherearcarriageand
pointedtowardstheareainwhichtheCPUcoolersits.
It’sasimplearrangement,butthecrampednatureof
thecasemeansitisn’tveryeffective;thefactthatthis
singlefanhastodrawinairthroughthesmallgap
betweenthecarriagesdoesn’thelpeither.
Duringourtesting,whichwasconductedwithout
agraphicscard,wesawtheCPUtemperaturepeak
ata deltaT of57°C–significantlyhigherthanother
mini-ITXcaseswe’veseengracethesepages.
C ONC L U SI ON
We’dwagerthatyoualreadyknowwhetheryou’re
likelytobuytheLianLiPC-CK101,andwhatwesayhereisn’tlikelytomakeablindbitofdifferencetoyour
customPC
69OVERALL
COOLING 2 0 / 3 0
FEATURES 1 5 / 2 0
DESIGN 2 5 / 3 0
VALUE 9 / 2 0
decision.Youdon’tbuyacasesuchasthisbecause
youwantthebestcoolingorexpansionpotential,but
becauseit’saPCINATRAIN!Ifthisappealstoyou
thenyou’llbeabletooverlookthebelow-average
coolingandcrampedinteriorinfavourofhavinga
unique-lookingcomputer.
TheLianLiPC-CK101isn’ttechnicallythebest
mini-ITXcaseavailable,butit’swell-made,hasa
one-of-a-kinddesignandyoucanbuildaperfectly
functionalPCinsidethechassis.
However, it’salsoridiculouslypriced.If you’regoing
tobuyone,itwouldbebestnottoletyourotherhalf
knowhowmuchitsetyouback.
PAUL GOODHEAD
Thesingle120mmfanblowsair
directlyovertheCPUcooler,but
itstrugglestoescape,asthere’s
noexhaustfan.
Allthewiresfromthe
PSUandfrontpanel
connectionshavetorun
throughthissmallgap.
Themotorandaxlepartsaren’t
suppliedassembled,soyouhave
toputthemtogetherbeforeyou
cangetthecasemoving.
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SA TA 6GBPS SSD
AS SSDSequential read/write (MB/sec)
Rea d Wr it e
4KB 64-q ueue -dep th rand om read /wri te (MB/ sec)
0 140 280 420 560
517
497
521
498
Samsung SSD 840
Pro 256GB
OCZ Vector 256GB
CRYSTALDISKMARKSequential read/write (MB/sec)
0 135 270 405 540
529
505
538
514
Samsung SSD 840
Pro 256GB
OCZ Vector 256GB
4KB sing le-q ueue -dep th rand om read /wri te (MB/ sec)
0 20 40 60 80
80
66
25
31Samsung SSD 840
Pro 256GB
OCZ Vector 256GB
4KB sing le-q ueue -dep th rand om read /wri te (MB/ sec)
0 25 50 75 100
86
95
28
35Samsung SSD 840Pro 256GB
OCZ Vector 256GB
0 100 200 300 400
368
328
369
327
272
81
Samsung SSD
830 256GB
Samsung SSD 840
Pro 256GB
OCZ Vector 256GB
4KB 32-qu eue- dept h r ando m r ead/ writ e ( MB/s ec)
0 105 210 315 420
397
373
405
370
230
149
Samsung SSD
830 256GB
Samsung SSD 840
Pro 256GB
OCZ Vector 256GB
Lower is better
HOW MUCH?
Price£200incVAT
Supplierwww.ebuyer.com
Manufacturerwww.ocztechnology.com
IN DETAIL
InterfaceSATA6Gbps
Nominalcapacity256GB
Formattedcapacity238.47GB
Controller IndilinxISX500M00-BC
Cache2x256MBDDR31,600MHz
Memory16xOCZ(micron)16GB21nmMLCNANDflash
WarrantyFiveyears
ntilnow,OCZhasexpandeditsSSDempire
withthird-partycontrollers;firstwithIndilinx’s
BarefootintheoriginalVertex,thenthefirst
andsecondSandForcecontrollersforthe
Vertex2and3,andthenwithmodifiedMarvell
controllersfortheOctaneandVertex4.Withthe
Vector,though,OCZhasfinallygonein-house,with
itspurchaseofIndilinxin2011andthelateracquisition
ofSoC(system-on-a-chip)makerPLXenablingitto
produceitsowncontroller,theIndilinxBarefoot3.
Theresultisastunninglyfastdrive.AnAS-SSD
sequentialreadspeedof517MB/secisonly4MB/sec
behindtheSamsungSSD840Pro(seeIssue111,p43),
whileasequentialwritespeedof497MB/secisagain
levelwiththe840Pro.TheVectorisn’tquiteasquick
with4KBsingle-queue-depthreads;itsspeedof
25MB/secis6MB/secbehindthe840Pro.Itswrite
speedof80MB/secwiththesameworkloadismuch
fasterthanthe840Pro’s66MB/secthough.Meanwhile,
nomorethan1MB/secseparatesthetwodrivesin
64-queue-depth4KBrandomreadandwritetests.
InCrystalDiskMarktheVectorwasagainneckand
neckwiththe840Prothankstoasequentialread
speedof529MB/seccomparedtothe840Pro’s
538MB/sec.Again,theVectorlaggedalittlein4KB
single-queue-depthspeeds,though,witharesultof
28MB/seccomparedtothe840Pro’s35MB/sec.The
Vectorwasmarginallyfasterinthe32-queue-depth
testthough,withawritespeedof373MB/sec.
Whileperformancebetweenthe840ProandVector
isgenerallyevenlymatched,however,theVectorwins
handsdownwhenitcomestoitsapplicationofthe
TRIMcommand.Havingfilledthedrivetwice,we found
nosignofanyslowdown,whilethe840Pro’swrite
speedsdippedbyasmuchas50MB/sec.
CONCLUSION
TheVectorisaphenomenallyquickdrive,andwe’re
thoroughlyimpressedwithitsabilitytomaintainits
performance.However,ataround£200for238GB
offormattedcapacity,you’repayingaheftypremium
whentheVertex4256GB,whichisonlymarginally
slower,costsjust£155.HA RRY BUTL ER
U
OCZ
INDILINX
Really fast; no
performance
degradation after
full write cycle;
effective TRIM
OUT-DILINX
840 Pro has
quicker single-
threaded 4KB
read performance;
expensive
OCZ one-ups Samsung in the SSD arms race
Vector 256GB
scores
83OVERALL
FEATURES 1 9 / 2 0
SPEED 4 4 / 4 5
VALUE 2 0 / 3 5
results
TE ST KI T
4.2GHzIntelCorei5-2500KCPU,AsusMaximusVFormulamotherboard,
8GBKingston1,600MHzDDR3memory,NvidiaGeForceGTS250512MBgraphicscard,PCPowerandCoolingSilencer750WPSU,Windows7HomePremium64-bit,IntelRapidStorageTechnologydriver(iaStor.sys)
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C P U C O O L E R
HOW MUCH?
Price£34incVAT
Supplierwww.scan.co.ukManufacturerwww.bequiet.com
SKUnumberBK012
IN DETAIL
CompatibilityIntel:LGA775,LGA1156/1155,LGA1366AMD:SocketAM2,SocketAM2+,SocketAM3SocketAM3+,SocketFM1,SocketFM2
Weight650g
Size(mm)171x137x126(WxDxH)
Fan1x135mm
Statednoise9.6-24.4dBA
espitehavinganenviablereputation,BeQuiet!
hasn’tbranchedoutintoliquidcooling,like
ZalmanorCoolerMaster,anditscoolershave
previouslyfittedfirmlyinthepremiumtower
coolercategory.However,thecompanyhasjust
releasedtheShadowRockTopFlowSR1which,at
lessthan13cmtall,isshortenoughtofitintomost
HTPCcases.
Thelargealuminiumheatsinkisbentparallelto
yourmotherboard,withalarge135mmShadow
WingsPWM-controlledfanmountedblowingdown
ontoyourmotherboard.Thisshouldprovideexcellent
coolingforyourmotherboardtoo,althoughthe
exhaustairislikelytobedumpedinalldirections
inyourcase,ratherthandirectedtowardstherear
exhaustfan.Meanwhile,theheatsinkusesfour8mm
heatpipestotransfertheheatfromthenickel-plated
coppercontactplate.
TheboxstatescompatibilitywiththeusualCPU
socketsexceptLGA2011;thewebsitesaysthecooler
isLGA2011-ready,butoursampledidn’tincludethe
necessaryfittings.Thisisprobablyjustaswell,asits
onlyratedtoaTDPofupto160W–we’vegenerally
foundlargercoolersarethebestoptionwhendealing
withLGA2011systems.
Installationistypicallyfiddly,aswe’vefoundwith
otherBeQuiet!coolers.We’vedevelopeda knacknow
though;placethecoolerupsidedownonadesk,lay
themotherboardontopandsecurethefourmounting
screwsthroughthebackplatetothebracketsonthe
cooler.Foryourownsanity,it’sbesttoremoveyour
motherboardtoinstall it;oncewe’ddonethis,there
wasplentyofclearancefortallDIMMstoo.
TheShadowRockTopFlowSR1recordedadeltaT
of43°C,whichisequaltothevenerableDarkRock
Advancedandonly2°CwarmerthantheCorsairH80
onitslowestfanspeedsetting.ComparedtotheIntel
referencecooler,theShadowRockTopFlowSR1was
ina differentleagueentirely,betteringitby amassive
30°C.Meanwhile,inourAMDSocketAM3+test
system,itsdeltaT of55°Cwasafairwayoffthebetter
coolersbutstillsuperiortotheCorsairH80onitslowestfanspeedsetting.Noise-wise,theShadow
D
BE QUIET!
SR71
Low height;
good cooling;
plenty of room
for tall DIMMs
CESNA
Not particularly
quiet; tricky
to install
Be Quiet! goes top-down withthis low-profile CPU cooler
Shadow Rock Top Flow SR1
scores: Socket am3+
scores: lGa1155
results
74customPC
OVERALL
COOLING 3 0 / 4 0
DESIGN 2 2 / 3 0
VALUE 2 2 / 3 0
FITTING AVG
79customPC
OVERALL
COOLING 3 2 / 4 0
DESIGN 2 2 / 3 0
VALUE 2 5 / 3 0
FITTING AVG
INTEL LGA1155
0 20 40 60 80
43˚C
39˚C
5˚C
3˚C
73˚CReference cooler
Arctic Freezer i30
Be Quiet! Top Flow SR1
Lower is better
AM D SOC KET AM3 +
0 15 30 45 60
55˚C
52˚C
60˚C
12˚C
12˚C
11˚CCorsair H80
(low fan speed)
Be Quiet! Dark Rock 2
Be Quiet! Top Flow SR1
Lower is betterI dl e L oa d
RockTopFlowSR1wasfarfrombeingasquietasits
towersiblings,though,makinganoticeablethrumin
bothtestsystems.
CONCLUSION
TheShadowRockTopFlowSR1performedwellgiven
itsskinnyheatsinkandfourheatpipes.It’squieterand
coolsbetterthantheIntelLGA1155referencecooler.
Theonlydownside,apartfromfiddlyinstallation,isits
noise,especiallyasthetypicalhomeforapremium
low-profilecoolerisinanHTPC,butatleastthere’s
plentyofcoolingheadroomforafancontroller.
AN TO NY LE ATH ER
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February 2013 47
GAMING MOUSE
HOW MUCH?
Price£75incVAT
Supplierwww.overclockers.co.uk
Manufacturerwww.roccat.org
SKUnumberROC-11-810
IN DETAIL
ConnectionWired(braided)
MaterialPlastic
Buttons7,scrollwheel
Sensitivity200-8,200dpi
ExtrasWeights
amingmicehavealotincommonwithfilm
trilogies–they’rebothallaboutescalation.
Everythingalwayshastobebiggerandmore
intense,whilepackinginmorebells,whistles
andexplosions.Well,okay,maybethatlastoneis
limitedtofilms.Thepointstands,though,andthe
RoccatKoneXTDisagoodexample.Bothits
predecessors(theKoneandtheKone[+])claimed
tobethelastwordingamingmousetechnology,
sowheredoesthatleavetheKoneXTD?Well,not
surprisingly, it’sclaimingtobethenewultimate
standardingamingmice.
Toachievethisloftygoal,theRoccat’snewKone
XTDisequippedwithaheftyarsenaloffeatures,
althoughwe’veseenmanyofthembefore.Thefour
clip-in5gweights,forexample,arehelpful,butalso
featuredintheoriginalKone,andtheEasy-Shift[+]
button,whichactsasamouse-basedShiftkey,
doublingtheamountofavailablebinds,premiered
ontheKone[+].
Sowhat’sactuallynewabouttheKone
XTD?Well,ithasanall-new8,200dpi
Pro-AimR3sensor.Whetherthisis
actuallyanupgradeoverthe6,000dpi
sensorfoundintheKone[+]isdebatable
though;wedon’tknowanyonewhouses
adpisettinghigherthanaround3,200,as
that’swhenitstartstomakegamesuncontrollable,
evenforsniperplayerswithbigmousepads.
MoretangibleadditionsarethenewOmron
switchesunderthetwoprimarymousebuttons.
Thesefeelsatisfyinglycrunchytouse,withapleasant
snaptotheiraction.
Beyondthis,however,it’sbusinessasusualagain–
thefour-pointlightingarrangementdownthesides
ofthemouseisverypretty,andalmostinfinitely
customisable,butwe’veseenitbefore,andthe
shapeofthemouseisthesametoo.
Thelatterpointthereisdefinitelyapointinits
favour,though,asitmeanstheXTDhasthesame
supportive,hand-fillingshapeasitspredecessors.
Thethumbbuttonsarewelllocatedtoo,runningthatfinelinebetweenbeingconvenientlyplaced,while
alsostayingoutofthewaywhentheyaren’tneeded.
Theergonomicextravaganzaistoppedoffbythe
chunkyscrollwheel,whichisreassuringlyrobustand
makeswell-definedclicksasitrotates.Meanwhile,
theXTD’sbodyisapleasuretohold,withapleasantly
soft-feelingfinish.
Unusuallyforamoderngamingmouse,theXTD’s
softwareisalsoattractiveandwelllaid-out,although
it’sannoyingthatbothpartsofthesoftware(the
applicationandtheTaskbarmonitor)hadtobeopen
foranychangestobesavedtotherodent’son-board
memory.Asyou’dexpect,aplethoraoftweakscan
beapplied,withoptionsforeverythingfromlift-off
heighttobuttonbinds.Theobligatorymacrosupport
isalsopresent.
CONCLUSION
Makenomistake,theRoccatKoneXTDisawell-
designed,great-lookingmousethatfeelsjustright
inyourhand,whilealsoofferingloadsoffeatures.
However,italsosharesallitsbestfeatures(theshape,
lightingandsoftware)withtheKone[+],whichcanbe
foundforaround£55,andtheextraresolutionis
needless.Asaresult,there’snoreasonforyoushell
outanextra£20fortheXTD.
PAUL GOODHEAD
G
ROCCAT
ICE CREAM
CONE
Great shape;
good software;
gorgeous lighting
TRAFFIC CONE
Little benefit over
the Kone [+];
expensive
THE ERGONOMIC EXTRAVAGANZA IS
TOPPED OFF BY THE ROBUST SCROLL
WHEEL, WHICH MAKES WELL-
DEFINED CLICKS AS IT ROTATES
A great mouse, but it’s pricey andoffers little over its predecessor
Kone XTD
72OVERALL
DESIGN 3 6 / 4 0
FEATURES 2 6 / 3 5
VALUE 1 0 / 2 5
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SCROLL SAW
HOW MUCH?
Price£94incVAT
Supplierwww.tooled-up.com
Manufacturerwww.dremel.com
SKUnumberMS20-1/5
IN DETAIL
Maximummaterialdepth18mm
Maximumclamp/worktopdepth70mm
Speedcontrol1,500–2,250rpm
Weight1.1kg
henitcomestocuttingcurves
andotherdelicatedetails,a
scrollsawisusuallybetterthanarotary
toolandcuttingdisc.They’realittlemore
expensive,withbasicmodelsstartingataround£70,
butthey’remuchbetterforcuttingmaterialsquickly
andaccurately.Dremelreleaseditsfirstjigsaw-like
cuttingtool,theTrio,awhileback,butit’snow
launcheditsfirstproperscrollsaw.Calledthe
Moto-Saw,it’smoreakintoaminihand-heldscroll
sawthana fully fledged,worktop-bounddevice.
Itcomesinasmall,hardcaseandit’salsoeasyto
dismantle.Thisallmakesitworthconsideringifyou
don’thavethespacefora traditionalscrollsaw,as
thesegenerallytakeawhiletoassembleand
dismantle.Youcanalsouseitawayfromthemodestly
sizedbasetocutlargeorheavyobjectsyouotherwise
mightnotbeabletomove,suchasdesks,doorsor
largesectionsofmetal.
Withasimpleclick,thesawsection
clipsintoplaceinthebase,withalittle
over27cmofclearancebetweenthe
bladeandrearorthroatofthesupport
arm.Itincludestwomulti-purposewood
sawblades,twodetailwoodsawblades
andonebladeformetalwork,allofwhich
canbeswappedoverinafewseconds.Twoscrew-
clampssecurethebasetoaworktop,whileasimple
powerswitchontheundersideenablesyoutoturnit
on.Thespeedadjustmentdialrangesfrom1,500rpmto2,250rpm,dependingonthematerial.Onemajor
gripe,however,isthatswitchingitoffisn’tquickor
easy–anemergencystopbuttonwouldhavebeen
ausefulinclusion.
Sadly,thebladescan’tberotatedtoenableyouto
cutvery longsectionsofmaterialeither,although
you’reprobablybetteroffbuyingabandsawifyouplan
todoalotofthiskindofwork.There’sonly55mmof
clearancebetweentheadjustableguiderailandthe
blade,andthecutdepthcan’tbeadjusted.Itsprimary
purposeistoenableyoutocutedgesatspecific
angles,leavingyoutorelyonsteadyhandstocutstraightsections.
Thisprovedtobealittletrickyatfirst,butwesoon
gotthehangofit,andweresurprisedatjusthoweasily
thebladecandealwithcurvesandcorners.Ithandled
7mm-thickacrylicwithnoproblemsusingthemulti-
purposewoodsawblade,andthemetalsawblade
madeshortworkofour3mmaluminiumcaseside
paneltoo.
CONCLUSION
TheDremelMoto-Sawisclearlyquitelimitedinits
appeal. Itsbladescan’tberotatedandyoucan’ttiltthe
base,whilesimilarlypricedsawsofferthesefeatures
andmore.It’splainlydesignedfordealingwithsmall
sectionsofmaterial,ratherthanlargeareas,while
alsoboastingtheabilitytobehandheldtoo.Themain
benefitisthatit’smuchquicker,easierandlessmessy
tousethanaDremelrotarytoolandacuttingdisc.It
performsitsspecifictaskswell,butitalsohasits
limitations;youcanfindcheaperandbetter-featured
scrollsawselsewhere.
AN TO NY LE ATH ER
W
DREMEL
CHAINSAW
Compact; easily
dismantled; hard
carry case; very
effective
HACKSAW
Other scroll saws
are cheaper
and have better
features
THE MOTO-SAW HANDLED 7MM-
THICK ACRYLIC WITH NO PROBLEMS
USING THE MULTI-PURPOSE
WOOD SAW BLADE
A multi-function scroll saw,but it has its limitations
Moto-Saw
79OVERALL
FEATURES 24 / 30
DESIGN 3 3 / 4 0
VALUE 2 2 / 3 0
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50 February 2013
Thorough testing and research is the key to evaluating whether a product
is worth buying, and deciding whether or not there’s a better alternative
TESTS:WeusetheCustomPCMediaBenchmarks,CinebenchR11.5,WPrimeandCrysis2.Wealsotesttheresultantpowerdrawof the
testPCwiththeCPUinstalled.ThesetestsrevealabroadrangeofperformancecharacteristicsfortheCPU,fromimageeditingtogaming
andvideoencodingto3Drendering.WerunallthetestswiththeCPUatstockspeedandagainwhenoverclockedtoitshighestfrequency.
Graphics cards are mainly evaluated on how fast they are for their price. However, we also consider the efficacy
and quietness of the cooler. Every graphics card is tested in the same PC, so all results are directly comparable.
We judge CPUs on whether they offer sufficient speed for the price. Part of a CPU’s speed score comes from
how overclockable it is. Every type of CPU is tested in the same PC, so all results are directly comparable.
Thegraphicscard
we’rereviewing
4.2GHzIntelCore
i5-2500K
AMDFM2Intel
LGA1155
NvidiaGeForce
GTX6802GB
Gigabyte
GA-F2A75M-D3HAsusMaximus
VGene
120GBPatriot
Wildfire
8GBofCorsair
2,133MHzDDR38GBofCorsair
1,600MHzDDR3
Windows7
64-bit
8GBCorsair1,600MHz
DDR3
AsusMaximusV
FormulaZ77
Windows764-bit
SP1
AMDSocket
AM3+
AsusCrosshairIV
Formula
4GBofCorsair
1,600MHzDDR3
amdfm2
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HOW WE TEST
51February 2013
Ourbenchmarksuite
simulateshowpeople
reallyusePCs,anda
higherscoreisbetter.
Youcandownload
thesuitefrom
www.tinyurl.com/
benchies2.66GHzIntelCore2
DuoE6750
2GBofCorsair
1,066MHzDDR2
250GBSamsung
SpinPointP120S
AsusP5KDeluxe
WiFi-AP
TESTS:ByusingthefastPCdetailedonthe
left,wecanbesurethatanylimitationswesee
areduetothegraphicscardontest.Wetestthe
fourgames(right)attheirmaximumdetail
settings,intheirhighestDirectXmode,andat
threeresolutions.High-endcardsshouldbe able
tosustainplayableframeratesat2,560x1,600,
while1,920x1,080ismoreimportantformid-
rangecards; wenolongertestat1,680x1,050
because1,920x1,080issocheap.Wealsotryto
overclockeverygraphicscardwetesttoseewhat
differencethismakestothecard’sperformance.
Someproductsare
gloriouslyoverthetop.Theseitemsof
excellentoverkill
earnourExtreme
Ultraaward.
PremiumGrade
productsare
utterlydesirable–
we’deatnothing
butbeansuntilwe
couldaffordthem.
Productsworthy
oftheProfessional
awardmake you
andyourbusiness
appeareven
moreawesome.
Approvedproducts
arethosethatdoa
greatjobforthemoney;they’rethe
cannypurchasefor
agreatPC.
Forthosegadgets
andgizmosthat
reallyimpressus,
orthatwecan’tlive
without,there’sthe
CustomKitaward.
Motherboards are evaluated on everything from layout and features
to overclockability and value for money. Every motherboard is tested
with the same components, so all results are directly comparable.
TESTS:WeusetheCustomPCMediaBenchmarksandseveralgames,andalsotest
thespeedsoftheboard’sSATAports.Wetrytooverclockeverymotherboardwereview
bytestingforamaximumQPI,baseclockorHTTaswellasoverclockingtheCPUtoits
maximumair-cooledlevel.WerunourtestsatstockspeedandwiththeCPUoverclocked.
IntelCore
i7-3770K
AMDPhenom
IIX61100TBE
Motherboard
ontest
Motherboard
ontest
8GBofCorsair
1,600MHzDDR3
4GBofCorsair
1,600MHzDDR3
AMDA10-5800K Motherboard
ontest
8GBofCorsair
2,133MHzDDR3
NvidiaGeForce
GTX6802GB*
120GBPatriot
Wildfire
Windows7
64-bit
*Pleasenote:WetestAMDFM2motherboardsusingtheon-boardgraphics,nottheNvidiaGeForceGTX6802GB3GB
amdfm2
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52 February 2013
It’s the group test you’ve all beenwaiting for! This yearfeatures our biggest evermince pie test, with 16piesblind-tested by the team for your pleasure
Tasters: BenHardwidge,Joe Martin,Harry Butler, MatthewLambertandAlexWatson Words: PaulGoodhead
MORRISONSDEEP-FILLEDPrice£1forsix
27%Ifyou’relooking
forapietopopinyournuclearbunker,looknofurther;thesepiestasteasthoughMorrisonshaspumped
themsofullofpreservativesthatthey’lloutlastanynuclearwinter.Notthatyou’dwanttoliveoffthesepies,mind,astheflabbypastryhadaburnedtastetoitandthefillingwasstrangelychewy.Supplierwww.morrisons.co.uk
Manufacturerwww.morrisons.co.uk
DUCHYORIGINALSORGANIC
Price£3.99forsix
70%Long-term
readerscouldcharttheriseoftheDuchyOriginalmincepie–earlyversionshadabizarrecheesytwang,butthey’vesteadilyimproved.Thisofferinghaddeliciouslybutteryandfirmpastry,whilethefillingwastartandrich.Asmidgenmorefillingwouldbeappreciated,butthat’snitpicking.Supplierwww.waitrose.com
Manufacturerwww.duchyoriginals.com
ASDAEXTRASPECIALPrice£2forsix
65%Asda’sboxproudlyproclaims
thatthesepiesweredevelopedwiththehelpofLeith’sSchoolofFoodandWine,andthefillingcertainlybacksthisup.Itwasdubbeda‘propermince’byourpanel,beingchunky,thickandpleasantlytart.Annoyingly,though,it’sletdownbythethinandunremarkablepastry,whichneedsmorebiteandpresence.Supplier www.asda.com
Manufacturerwww.asda.com
MRKIPLINGPrice£1.79forsix
58% MrKiplingclaimstomakeexceedinglygoodcakes,but
we’veneverbeenbowledoverbyhismincepies.Thisyearisnodifferent–foreverythinggood(thespicy,rich,slightlystickyfilling),there’ssomethingbad(thedry,excessivelybulkypastrycase).Thisleftthepanelnonplussed,declaringthesepiesexceedinglyaverage.Supplier www.
sainsburys.co.uk
Manufacturerwww.mrkipling.co.uk
TESCOFINESTWITH COURVOISIERPrice£2forsix
47%DespitetheCourvoisierbrand,noonepickedoutanyboozy
notesfromthesepies.Instead,theynoticedthethickcaseofdrypastry,whichsucks
moistureoutofyourmouthasyouchew.Thisapity,asthefillingisgoodandfullofchunkypiecesoffruit.Supplier www.tesco.com
Manufacturerwww.tesco.com
FORTNUM&MASONST. CLEMENTSPrice
£9.95forsix
80%Thesegargantuan
pieshaveanairofquality,andsotheyshouldat£10perpack.Fortunately,theybackupthepricewithdivine,crunchy,goldenpastryandoodlesofcitrus-dominatedfillingwithapleasantlylongaftertaste.Notsuitableasaneverydaypie,butseriouslygoodforthoselookingtoimpressguests.Supplier www.fortnumandmason.com
Manufacturerwww.fortnumandmason.com
SAINSBURY’STASTETHE DIFFERENCE
Price£2forsix
61%Crunchyisthefirst
wordthatcametomindwhenbitingintothepastryinthesepies–it’smoreshortbreadthanshortcrust.It’stasty,though,andfilledtoburstingwithmincemeat.Ouronequibblewasthatthegenerousdollopoffillingwassimplytoosweet;anannoyingoversightinanotherwisesolidpie.Supplier www.sainsburys.co.uk
Manufacturerwww.sainsburys.co.uk
Custom Kit
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CUSTOM KIT
53February 2013
MARKS&SPENCERALL BUTTERPrice£2.49forsix
40%Theseareregularfavouritesinourannualtest,sowewere
shockedtofindthefillingtastedsharpandartificialthisyear.Ittastesasthoughcheapmedicinalalcoholwasusedinsteadofbrandy,whichisaproblem
eventhepleasantshortbread-likepastrycan’tmitigate.
Supplier www.
marksandspencer.
com
Manufacturer
www.marksand
spencer.com
LIDLSNOWY LODGEDEEP FILLEDPrice£1.89for12
38%At16pperpie,thesearethecheapestontest.
Theylookittoo,beingevensmallerthanotherbudgetpies.Thepastryis
average,andlacksbite,whilethefillinghasachemicaltwangandlookslikebrownbabyfoodratherthanchunkymincemeat.
Supplier www.lidl.co.uk
Manufacturerwww.lidl.co.uk
ASDAPrice£1forsix
10%We’reconcerned
thatAsda’sproductdevelopmentteammusthavetastedtheseandsaid,‘Yes,that’showmincepiesshouldtaste.’Thedrypastry
disintegratesintoahorriblesandytexturewhenyoubiteit,andtheonlyredeemingfeatureaboutthebrown,sludge-likefillingisthatitonlytasteshalfasbadasitlooks.
Supplier www.asda.com
Manufacturerwww.asda.com
SELFRIDGESDEEP FILLEDPrice
£6.99forfour
72%At£1.75each,these
arethemostexpensivepiesontest,althoughtheydon’tlookasfatasFortnum&Mason’sefforts.Bitingintothem,however,revealsdeliciouslycrumblypastrywithagentlealmondflavour.There’saheapoffillingtoo,althoughit’sgoodratherthanspectacular.Fortnum&Masonmakebetterpremiumpies.
Supplier www.selfridges.com
Manufacturerwww.selfridges.com
SAINSBURY’SSO ORGANICPrice
£2.25forfour
90%Fromthefirm,crunchy,shortbread-likepastrytothe
fruity,richfilling,thesegenerouslyproportionedpiesareadelight.Aslighthintofwarmingboozecanbedetected,whichisjustright,andtheratioofpastrytofillingisspoton.Theycostmorethanaverage,butthey’reworththeextrapennies.Supplier www.
sainsburys.co.uk
Manufacturerwww.
sainsburys.co.uk
HESTON FROM WAITROSEPrice
£3.29forfour
52%Hestoniswellknownforhisculinaryshenanigans,and
they’reinfullforcehere.Thepastryisheavilyspicedwithginger,andthefillingispleasantlychunky.Thereisn’tenoughofthelatter,though,andwhilethespicedpastryispleasant,itfeelslikeneedlessmessingabout.
Supplier www.waitrose.com
Manufacturerwww.waitrose.com
HARRODSLUXURYALMOND & BRANDY
Price£9.50forsix
37%Thesepiessplitopinion;somelovedthechunky,almond-
dominatedfilling,whileothersthoughtitwastoofarfromtraditionalmincemeat.Eitherway,thepastrywaslargelyforgettable,meaningthatthesumofthewholewaswellbelowwhatwe’dexpectfrompiescostingover£1.50apop.Supplier www.
harrods.com
Manufacturerwww
harrods.com
ALDIHOLLY LANELUXURY
Price£1.69forsix
42%Ifthefirstbiteiswith
theeyethentheHollyLanepiesarealreadyastepbehindmostoftheircompetitorsthankstotheiranaemic,unappealingpastrycases.What’smore,bitingintothemrevealsalightsmearingofsubstandardmincemeat,withafakeboozetasteandstrangearomasofbadperfume.
Supplier www.aldi.co.uk
Manufacturerwww.aldi.co.uk
WAITROSEALL BUTTER
Price£2.49forsix
50%Thesepiesarelikelytogracemiddle-classcoffeetablesall
overthecountry,soit’sashamethey’renothingmorethanaverage.Ourtastersfoundthepastrypleasantbutindistinct,andwhilethefillingexhibitedagood, jammyrichness,itwastoothinlyspread.Therearebetterpiesonofferhere.
Supplier www.waitrose.com
Manufacturerwww.waitrose.com
54
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54 February 2013
CUSTOM KIT
CustomKitWe check out the latest gadgets, gizmos and geek toys
Written by Paul Goodhead
Seen something worthy of
appearingin Custom Kit?
Send suggestions to
ON-EARHEADPHONES
HOUSEOFMARLEY EXODUS
01TheExodusheadphonesaremade
almostentirelyfromrenewable
materials,whichisallwellandgood,butit
doesn’tpreventthemfrombeingamong
themostpoorlydesignedheadphones
we’veevertested.Thesuede-clad,
elasticatedinnerheadbandisfartootightly
strung,meaningthecanscreepuptheside
ofyourheadwhileyou’rewearingthem.
Thiseffectwouldreduceovertimeasyou
stretchedtheelastic,but£90headphones
shouldworkperfectlystraightoutofthe
box.It’sapity,asthesoundonshowistop-
notch–highnotesarepickedoutwell,and
thebalanceispleasantlyalessbass-biased
thanmanyotherpriceyheadphones. PG
MARLEY & ME BOB MARLEY
Price £88 inc VAT Supplier www.amazon.co.uk
Manufacturer www.thehouseofmarley.co.uk
EBOOKREADER
BARNES&NOBLENOOK SIMPLEGLOWLIGHT
03It’sabravecompanythat
challengesAmazon’svice-like
gripontheebookreadermarket,but
Barnes&NoblethinksitsNookcan
takeontheubiquitousKindle.Fora
coupleofweeks,weagreed,asthe
Nook’silluminatedscreenmade
readingatnightpossible,anditcan
displaybooksboughtfromthird-party
ebookstorestoo.Unfortunately,
AmazonhassincereleasedtheKindle
PaperWhite,whichhasamoreeven
light,andahigherresolutionscreen.
OnceyouaddintheNook’sbloated
andchildishstyling,it’sclearthat
you’rebetteroffwithaKindle.PG
CRANNY NOOK
Price £109 inc VAT
Supplier www.argos.co.uk
Manufacturer www.barnesandnoble.com
CARDGAME
CPUWARS
02Wedon’toftenletouta
whoopwhenproducts
arrive,butwemadean
exceptionfortheconcentrated
geekinessinsideCPUWars.
BasedonthefamiliarTop
Trumpsrules,CPUWarsforceseverynotableprocessorfrom
thelastfourdecadestoface
offinasilicondeathmatch,
witheverythingfromthe
humbleIntel8080tothe
Core-i7rangerepresented.
Needlesstosay,playingthe
gamecausedmanyoftheteamtoslipintoanostalgia-soakedhaze,witholdCPUssuchas the
ZilogZ80or theCyrix6x86drawingwistfulsighseverytimetheychangedhands.Ifyou’renot
alreadyscramblingforyourdebitcardtoplaceanorder,thenfrankly,you’reoffourChristmas
cardlist. PG
BOTTOM T RUMPS TOP T RUMPS
Price £8 incVAT Supplier www.cpuwarsthegame.com Manufacturer www.cpuwarsthegame.com
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56 February 2013
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NomatterwhatpartsyouchooseforyournextPCbuild,
you’regoingtoneedacasetoaccommodatethemall.
Withevenmid-rangecasescostingcloseto£100,
though,splashingoutonanewonecanbeabitterpill
toswallow,especiallyifyou’reonatightbudgetandnotfussed
aboutfeaturessuchaswater-coolingsupport,showroomlooks
ortheabilitytohouseamonsterXL-ATXmotherboard.
However,theaffordablecasemarketisstrewnwithpaper-thin
steel wreckssportingbadlycutmaterials,below-parcoolingand
bodgedbuildqualitythatcanhaveyoucursingyourluckmid-
build.Despitepayingalittleless,youdon’thavetoexpectasteep
dropinquality,though.Evenabudgetcasecanoffereasybuilding,
decentcoolingandarichsetoffeatures.
Inoursearchforthebesthardware,whateverthebuild,we’ve
assembledtencasescostinglessthan£55,withahugevarietyin
priorities.Somehaveoptedformaximumcooling,othersfora
franklyunbelievablerangeoffeaturesfortheprice.Meanwhile,
afewhavechosentodrivethepricedown.Whichcasedeserves
tohouseyournextbuild?Readontofindout.
HARRY BUTLER
Werounduptenchassisunder£55 to find thebesthomefor abudgetbuild
58
58 Howwetested
59 AntecOne
60 AntecThreeHundredTwo
61 BitFenixShinobi
62 CoolerMasterElite
431Plus
64 CorsairCarbide200R
66 EnermaxOstrog
68 FractalDesignCore3000
70 NZXTSource210
72 SilverStoneRL01
74 XigmatekMidgardII
76 Featuretable
78 Graphs
CUT-PRICESCASES
57February 2013
BUDGETCASES
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howwetest
T
otestourarrayofsub-£55cases,we
usedaBiostarTPowerI55motherboard
andanIntelCorei7-870CPUoverclocked
to3.4GHz.WhilethisCPUisnowafew
generationsold,its95WTDPmatchesthat
oftheIntelCorei5-2500Kandis18Wgreater
thanthatoftheIntelCorei5-3570K,soit
remainsagoodindicatorofhowacasecan
dealwiththeheatfromamodernCPU.
AGelidTranquilloheatsinkisfittedtothe
CPU,combinedwithaNoctuaNF-S12BULN
fan.Runningatitsfullspeedof700rpmand
anairflow-rateof38.2m³/hour,thefanpushes
outenoughairtokeeptheCPUstableinan
unventilatedenvironment,whilebenefiting
fromtheadditionalairflowofcasefans.
TojudgeGPUcooling,weusedaRadeon
HD78502GB.This130WGPUismore
indicativeofthemid-rangegraphicscards
peoplewillbeinstallingintoaffordable
chassisthanahigh-endcard.Wealsolocked
itsfanspeedto30percentintheAMD
CatalystControlCenter,inordertoeliminate
thevariabilityofdriver-enforcedfanspeeds.
Alongsidethiscorehardware,wefitted
eachcasewitha2.5inSSD,a3.5inharddisk
anda5.25inopticaldrivetotesteach
associatedmountingmechanism.Fora
PSU,weusedaSeasonicX-Series660WGold
fullymodularPSU,withthe24-pin,8-pin
EPS12V,two6-pinPCI-E,twoSATAandtwo
Molexpowerconnectorsfitted.Thismodel
wasselectedduetoitssemi-passivecooling,
makingitsilentunderidleconditionsand
thereforeunabletointerferewhengauging
acase’snoiselevels.
Thishardwarewasbuiltintoeverycase,
withcaregiventorouteandtidyasmany
cablesaspossiblebehindthemotherboard
tray,orintodesignatedareas.Thecase’s
hardwarewasthenplacedunder30minutes
ofthermalloadusingPrime95’ssmallfft
testtoloadtheCPUandUnigine’sHeaven
BenchmarktostresstheGPU.Using
CoreTempandGPU-Z,temperature
measurementsweretakenthroughoutthe
30minutes,withthepeaktemperatures
beingrecordedandcomparedtotheambient
roomtemperaturetogenerateourresultsin
theformofdeltatemperatures(deltaT).
Weweren’tjustinterestedinhowthecases
performedoutofthebox,butalsoinhow
extracoolingfanscouldimprovecooling.As
such,wealsotestedeachcaseafteradding
apairof120mmScytheGentleTyphoon
1,850rpmfans.Eachiscapableofshifting
amighty98m³/hourofair,dramatically
boostingairflowinoroutofacase.Thesefans
werefittedtoeithertherearexhaust,roof
exhaust,sideintake,frontintakeorfinally
thefloorintake,inthatorderofpriority,
dependingontheavailablemountsineach
case,withthethermalteststhenrepeated.
Eachcase’sperformancescoreisacombinationofitsperformancewithand
withouttheextrafans,comparedtothe
otherchassisontest.Thefeaturesscore
iscalculatedviaapoints-basedsystem
awardedfordrivemounts,fanmounts,
includedfansandextrassuchasfan
controllersanddustfilters.Meanwhile,
thedesignscoreistakenfromourown
experienceswhenitcametobuildingour
systemineachcase,andtheoverallbuild
quality.Finally,thevaluescoreisaweighted
combinationofeachofthesethreescorescomparedtoacase’scurrentRRP.
The130WRadeonHD7850isindicativeofthemid-rangegraphics
cardspeoplewillbeinstallingintoaffordablechassis
TheSeasonicX-Series660W’ssemi-
passivecoolingmakesitsilent
whenidleandtherefore
unabletointerfere
whengauginga
case’snoise
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BUDGET CASES
HOW MUCH?
Price£41incVAT
Supplierwww.cclonline.com
Manufacturer
www.antec.com
ntec’strackrecordwithaffordablecases
isimpressive,andtheOnecontinues
thistradition.Itsblackcorechassisis
complementedbyaremovableplastic
fascia,withmeshedgrillsrunningthefullheightof
thecase.Meanwhile,afrontpanelequippedwithtwo
USB3portsisfittedtotheunderneathoftheroof,
ratherthanthefascia,soit’seasytopopoffthefront
toconnectfansandroutecables.
Despitebeingnarrower,shorterandshallowerthan
theThreeHundredTwo(seep60),theOnestilloffersa
decentarrayoffanmounts.Therear120mmandroof
120mmmountsarebothequippedwithAntec’sown
fans,whilea120mmleftside-panelmount,a120mm
frontmountanda 120/140mmfloormountallowroom
forfurtherimprovement.UnliketheThreeHundred
Two,though,there’snooptiontoadjustfanspeeds.
Meanwhile,theOne’sinteriorissensiblylaidout.
Thetrioof5.25indrivebaysareequippedwithtool-free
fittings,whiletheharddiskcagebelow,accessedonly
viatherightsidepanel,usesmountingrailstoclip
drivesintoplace.Apairof2.5indrivemountsisalso
provided–oneontheflooroftheharddiskcageand
onededicatedmountatthetopofthecage.
Therehavebeensomecompromisesthough;
theexpansionslotcoversarefixedinplacewith
steelfixingsandmustbesnappedoutbeforebeing
discarded,whileamaximumsupportedGPUlength
of275mmwillonlyjustaccommodatethelargest
cards.Thelackofadedicatedholethroughwhichtotuckthe8-pinEPS12Vcableisanannoyancetoo;
otherwise,cablerouteingisexcellentthankstothe
useofextrudedsidepanelbulges.
Withitspairoffans,theOneamazedusby
producingsuperbcoolingoutofthebox.TheCPU
deltaTof48°CandGPUdeltaTof35°Ceven
surpassedtheAntecThreeHundredTwo,andthis
wasachievedwithnoticeablebutstillpleasantlyquiet
fannoise.Withstockcoolingalreadysoremarkable,
addingtwoScytheGentleTyphoon1,850rpmfans
didn’tadvancetheOne’scoolingagreatdeal.Withone
fittedasasideintakeandtheotherasafrontintake,
theCPUdeltaTdroppedto46°C,whiletheGPUdipped
to33°C–a2°CdropthatplacestheOneamongthe
bestcasesontestintermsofcoolingability.
CONCLUSION
TheAntecOnepunchesaboveitsweightintermsof
cooling,andat£41,offerssuperbvalue.However,the
XigmatekMidgardII(seep74)andFractalDesignCore
3000(seep68)offerfancontrollers,morefanmounts
and,inthecaseoftheCore3000,morefans.Forjust
£10more,they’reworththeextrainvestment. HB
ONE VISION
Great stock
cooling; low price;
solid quality
ONE DIRECTION
Comparatively
lacking in features
ANTEC OneExcellent cooling and good value, but it’s worth spending a little more
A
60
81OVERALL
COOLING 2 8 / 3 0
FEATURES 1 8 / 3 0
DESIGN 1 7 / 2 0
VALUE 1 8 / 2 0
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HOW MUCH?
Price£50incVAT
Supplierwww.dabs.co.uk
Manufacturer
www.antec.com
ntheoutside,theThreeHundredTwo
hasthesametypicalAntecblackpaintjob
andutilitarianmeshedfrontpanelastheOne
(seep59),withthefrontpanelequippedwith
apairofUSB3portsandplacedatthetopofthefascia.
TheThreeHundredTwosportsagreaternumberof
fanmounts,though,with120mmrearand140mm
rooffansincluded.Therightandleftsidepanelseach
offera120mmfanmount,plusthere’sapairoffront
120mmfanmounts.Pleasingly,boththebundled
coolingfansarewiredintorear-mountedtwo-speed
fancontrollersaswell,andcanbeconnectedvia3-pin
orMolexpowerplugs.
Swingopenthesidepanel,however,andyou’llbe
surprisedtofindadrab,baremetalinterior.Whilethe
caselacksasidepanelwindowtoshowoffitsguts,it’s
surprisingtofindsuchblandnesswhenpaintedinsides
havelongbeenthenormwithenthusiastcases.
Theinterioroffersplentyofroom,though,witha
fixedharddrivecagecapableofhousingsix3.5in
drivesusingmountingrails.Meanwhile,thethree
5.25indrivebaysabovearetool-free,andtwo2.5in
drivemountsareavailable–oneatthebottomof
theharddrivecageandoneonthebackofthe
motherboardmount.
Cablerouteingissimple,buteffective,withahuge
26mmofspacebehindthemotherboardtohide
cables.Threecut-outholesarealsowellplaced,but
there’snoholeforthe8-pinEPS12Vcable,whichyou’ll
needtoroutethroughthelargeCPUcut-outinstead.Outofthebox,theThreeHundredTwocooledour
testhardwarewell,withaCPUdeltaTof50°Canda
GPUdeltaTof34°C.Switchingthefanstotheirlowest
settingsawthesetemperaturesriseby1°Ceach,but
eventhentheThreeHundredTwoofferedsomeofthe
mosteffectivestockcoolingontest.
AddingthepairofScytheGentleTyphoon1,850rpm
fans(asaside-panelintakeandfrontintake)hadlittle
impact,witha1°CdropinCPUtemperature.The
GPUdeltaTof32°Cwasthebestresultofanyontest
though.Withtwofanspeedsavailable,we’dchoose
thelowersetting;atfullspeed,thefanssoundeda
littleintrusive(andnotablylouderthanthoseof the
One),whilethenoisewasminimalatthelowersetting.
CONCLUSION
Withgreatcoolingandsuperbbuildquality,theAntec
ThreeHundredTwoisacapablechassis,butit’s
eclipsedbythecompetitioninanumberofways.Other
casesontestsportmorefanmounts,moredrivebays
andbettercablerouteing,whilematchingtheThree
HundredTwo’sstrengths.Althoughthere’slittleto
criticiseit,therearebetteroptionselsewhere. HB
SPARTANS
Easy to build
inside; capable
cooling; dual-
speed fan
controller
PERSIANS
Fewer fan and
drive mounts than
the competition;
drab interior
ANTEC Three Hundred TwoA decent case with solid build quality and great cooling
O
83OVERALL
COOLING 2 7 / 3 0
FEATURES 2 2 / 3 0
DESIGN 1 8 / 2 0
VALUE 1 6 / 2 0
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BUDGET CASES
HOW MUCH?
Price£50incVAT
Supplierwww.overclockers.co.uk
Manufacturer
www.bitfenix.com
itFenixhasnowfirmlyestablisheditselfasa
regularinthecasemarket,withitschassis
oftencladinitstrademarkSofTouchplastic.
TheShinobi,despiteits£50pricetag,isno
different,andlookssleekandstylishasaresult,with
itsminimalistdesignlargelyfreeofthemeshthat
dominatesotherbudgetcases.
Behindthesleeklooksaresixseparatefanmounts:
a120mmmountintherear,fittedwithoneofBitFenix’s
ownfans;apairof120mm/140mmmountsin theroof;
a120mmmountinthefloor;andapairof120mm
mountsatthefront.Boththedetachablefasciaand
floorareequippedwithdustfilterstoensuretheinside
remainsasattractiveastheoutside,whilethefront
panel,equippedwithapairofbothUSB2andUSB3
ports,sitsontheroof.
Inside,theShinobiiswellappointed,withcable-
routeingholeslocatedaroundtherightsideofthe
motherboardtrayandalargeholeinthetop-left
cornerthroughwhichtoroutethe8-pinEPS12Vcable.
With19mmofclearancebehindthemotherboardtray,
there’sloadsofroomtotuckandroutePSUcables,
althoughthere’sadistinctlackoftool-freemountsfor
either3.5inor5.25indrives,despitethe3.5inrack
carryingthefittingsforthem.Youwon’tbeshortof
diskspace,though,astheShinobicanaccommodate
uptoeight3.5inharddisksandthree5.25indrives,
alongsideasolitary2.5indriveviaa5.25inbayadaptor.
Whileitslooksmightturnheads,however,the
Shinobi’scoolingwaspoorincomparisontothecompetition.Ourtestgeardidn’tcomecloseto
overheatingunderload,buttheCPUdeltaTof57°C
wasthesecondhighestontest,whiletheGPUdeltaT
of44°Cwasjointhighest.
EquippingthecasewithapairofScytheGentle
Typhoon120mmfansasaroofexhaustandfront
intakesawabigimprovement,buttheShinobi
remaineduncompetitive;theCPUdeltaTof54°C
wasthehighestontestwhenusingtheextrafans,
whiletheGPUdeltaTof40°Cwasalsotheworst
resultwerecorded.However,theShinobi’ssingle
coolingfanwasincrediblyquietinoperation–aclue
tothecauseofthosehightemperatures.
CONCLUSION
TheBitFenixShinobiarguablylooksthe least
‘budget’ofanycaseontest,withitssharplines
andSofTouchexteriorreminiscentofmuchmore
expensivechassis.However, itspoorcoolingcan’t
beignored;evenwithanextrapairof120mmcooling
fans,it’sunabletomatchthestockCPUdeltaTofthe
FractalDesignCore3000.Ourmumswereright;looks
aren’teverything.HB
SAMURAI JACK
Great looks;
good cable
routeing; easy
to build inside
AKU
Uncompetitive
cooling, even with
extra fans
BITFENIX ShinobiAll show, but no go
B
62
64OVERALL
COOLING 1 5 / 3 0
FEATURES 1 9 / 3 0
DESIGN 1 8 / 2 0
VALUE 1 2 / 2 0
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HOW MUCH?
Price£45incVAT
Supplierwww.scan.co.uk
Manufacturer
www.coolermaster.com
oolerMaster’sElite431Plusspicesupits
aestheticswiththeadditionofa largeside
panelwindowtotheusualcombinationof
blacksteelandmesh,butsadlythisisthe
highlightofthiscase.It boaststhefewestfanmounts
ontest,witharear80/90/120mmmount,apairofroof
120mmmounts,an80/90/120mmmountinthefloor
andasingle120mmmounttothefront.
Bafflingly,thesinglebundled120mmfanisfitted
asafrontintakeratherthanarearorroofexhaust
whereitwouldbemuchmoreeffective,althoughits
blueLEDgivesasoftglowtotheElite’sfrontfascia
whenrunning.
Afrontpanel,includingaUSB3portandapairof
USB2ports,iscomplementedbyafront-accessed
hot-swap3.5inharddiskbay,fittedtothebottomof
thethree5.25indrivemounts.Whilethismightbe
usefulforthosejugglingmanydrives, itfeelslikean
unnecessaryluxuryforanaffordablecase.
Inside,theEliteisratherplainand,shockingly,it
lacksanykindofcable-routeingspacebehindthe
motherboardtray,unlessyou’rerouteingribbon-SATA
cablesor3-pinfanwires.ThisleavesyoutuckingPSU
cablesandunusedwiresbehindorinsidethe3.5in
mountingrack,whichisn’tideal,asthiscanobstruct
airflowfromthefrontofthecase.
There’sroomforseven3.5indrivesanduptothree
5.25indrives,butthereareonlytool-freeclipsfortwo
5.25inandthree3.5indrives,andnomountfora2.5in
driveanywhere.Wewerealsodisappointedtofindthattheexpansion-slotblankingplateswerefixedtothe
caseandneedtobeforciblysnappedoff–aprocess
thatalarminglybendsthecasemetalattheback.
Whilemanyofthecasesontestarebelow£50,the
Elitewastheonlyonethatfeltcheap.
Withitssingle120mmcoolingfanfittedineffectively
asafrontintake,weweren’tsurprisedtofindthatthe
Elitedeliveredpoorcoolingoutofthebox.TheCPU
deltaTof64°Cwas30percenthigherthanthebest
ontest,althoughthestockGPUdeltaTof39°Cwas
slightlybetter.
Addingapairofextra120mmcoolingfansasarear
androofexhaustimprovedmattersconsiderably,with
theCPUdeltaTdropping13°C–thebiggestimpact
ourextrafanshadonanycase.
CONCLUSION
TheCoolerMasterElite431Plusleavesmuchtobe
desired.Alackofcable-routeingspacebehindthe
motherboardmakesforamessybuild,whileit’s
unabletomatchthestockcoolingabilityofotherson
test,evenwithupgradedcooling.Othercasesoffer
muchmoreforthesameprice.HB
CELITE
Adding extra fans
improves cooling
a lot
FIRST
ENCOUNTERS
Poor CPU
cooling; no cable-
routeing space;
no 2.5in mounts;
feels cheap
COOLER MASTER Elite 431 PlusNot part of the elite after all
BUDGET CASES
64
58OVERALL
COOLING 1 8 / 3 0
FEATURES 1 9 / 3 0
DESIGN 9 / 2 0
VALUE 1 2 / 2 0
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HOW MUCH?
Price£50incVAT
Supplierwww.ebuyer.com
Manufacturer
www.corsair.com
heCorsairCarbide200Reschewsthemesh
sportedbymanyofitscompetitors,witha
minimalistandsmoothfrontfascia,shifting
theventilationholestothesides.Itboasts
plentyoffanmounts,withapairof120/140mm
mountsintheroofcleverlyplacedtoallowthe
installationofCorsair’sH100liquidcoolerwithout
clashingwithmotherboardheatsinks.
Therearealsorearandfront120mmmounts,both
equippedwithCorsair’sfans,aswellasa120/140mm
mountintheflooranda pairof120mmmountsinthe
leftsidepanel.Thefrontfasciaisequippedwithadust
filtertoo,asisthePSU,courtesyofafilterthatslides
outfromtheundersideofthecaseforeasycleaning.
Inside,the200Rhasagreatlayout,withamodern
drivebayallocationboastingfour2.5inmountsand
four3.5inmounts,allofwhicharetool-free.Thethree
5.25indrivesaretool-freetoo,withagapleftbetween
thetwocagestoallowuninterruptedairflowfromthe
frontintakefantothehardwareinside.Cable-routeing
holesareplacedallaroundthemotherboardtray,
includingaveryusefulholeatthetopthroughwhich
toroutethe8-pinEPS12Vcable.
Meanwhile,the15mmofclearancebehindthe
motherboardtrayisenoughforevenfatcablessuchas
the24-pinATXsnake,andthefrontpanelconnectors
arealllongenoughtobecomfortablyroutedbehind
themotherboardtraytothebottom-leftcornerofthe
motherboard.AllofthismadetheCarbide200Roneof
theeasiestchassisintowhichtobuildourtestsystem.Sadly,the200Rtripsupalittlewhenitcomesto
cooling,though, withitsflatfrontfascialimitingits
airflow.ItsstockCPUdeltaTof54°Cisamid-table
result,whiletheGPUdeltaTof42°Cwas8°Chotter
thanthecoolestcasesontest.
Addingapairof120mmcoolingfansasaroof
exhaustandsidepanel intakehelpedconsiderably,
though,withtheCPUdeltaTdroppingtoacool47°C
andtheGPUdeltaTdippingto35°C.Whileitsstock
performancewasn’tclosetooverheatingour
hardware,it’sclearthataddingapairofextrasfans
makesthe200Rmuchmorecompetitivewhenit
comestocooling.Thepairofbundledfansareatleast
quiet,though,producinganondescriptgentlenoise.
CONCLUSION
There’salottolikeabouttheCorsair200R;it’swell
laidout,it’seasytobuildasysteminsideitandit hasa
healthy arrayof features,includinga numberof extra
fanmounts. However, thiscanalsobe saidofthe
FractalDesignCore3000(seep68)andXigmatek
MidgardII(seep74),bothofwhichoffersuperior
stockcoolingandarebetterchoicesasaresult.HB
TCARBIDE
Very well laid out;
excellent drive
mounts; great
cable routeing
CARBUNCLE
Lacklustre GPU
cooling
CORSAIR Carbide 200RIt’s a joy to build inside this case, but its cooling is off the pace
BUDGET CASES
66
77OVERALL
COOLING 2 1 / 3 0
FEATURES 2 3 / 3 0
DESIGN 1 9 / 2 0
VALUE 1 4 / 2 0
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HOW MUCH?
Price£44incVAT
Supplierwww.systo.com
Manufacturer
www.enermax.com
nboxingEnermax’sOstrog(whichisRussian
for‘fortress’,andalsothenameofasmall
villageinSlovenia–weassumethecaseis
namedaftertheformer),itlooksandfeelslike
amuchmoreexpensivecasethanits£44pricetag
wouldleadyoutobelieve.
There’splentyofgearbehindtheguisetoo,asthe
Ostrogboastsapairof120/140mmfanmountsinthe
roof,a120mmmounttotherear,a120mmmountin
thefloor,a120mmmountinthefront,andbothan
80/120mmand120mmmountintheside-panel
windowitself.Justasinglerear120mmfanis
includedasstandard,althoughthere’scertainlya
lotofroomtoexpand.Enermaxalsoincludesapair
ofexcellentexternaldustfiltersforyoutoattach
whereveryoufitintakefans,alongsideaslot-loaded
externalPSUfilter.
Sadly,theinteriorisratheramess,thankstoan
inconsistentapproachtodrivebays.TheOstroghas
threedifferentwaysofmounting3.5indrives:alower
tool-freecageholdstwodrives;amiddleremovable
cageholdsthreedrivesusingmountrails;anda
removablecagesportsapairofexternal3.5inmounts,
againusingtool-freeclips.Thequalityofthefittings
variestoo;therailmountsarefirmbutthetool-free
clipsandexternalmountcagearedecidedlywobbly.
Therearefour5.25indrivebaystoo,althoughoneis
occupiedbya5.25-to-2.5inadaptorforSSDs.
There’safairamountofcable-routeingspace,
althoughthe12mmofroomcanmakeslidingonthesidepanelasqueeze.However,tryingtocraman8-pin
EPS12Vconnectorthroughtheprovidedtop-left
holeprovedfutile,soyou’llneedtoroutethisviathe
motherboardtray’sCPUcut-outpriortoinstalling
themotherboard.
Despiteshippingwithonlyasingleexhaustfan,the
Ostroghandledourtesthardwarereasonably,witha
CPUdeltaTof52°CandaGPUdeltaTof39°C.Both
resultsare4°Cand5°Crespectivelywarmerthanthe
bestchassisontest,buttheCPUresultisimpressive
foracasewithjustonefan.Addinganextrapairof
fansasaroofexhaustandsidepanelintakesawthe
Ostrog’sCPUdeltaTdrop4°Cto48°C,whileitsGPU
deltaTdippedbyonly2°Cto37°C.
CONCLUSION
Withitssmartlooksandsidepanelwindow,the
EnermaxOstroglookslikeitshouldcostawholelot
morethanits£44pricetag.Therearesomelovely
touchestoo,includingthebundledpairofexternal
magneticdustfilters.However,othercasesoffer
bettercablerouteingandcoolingforaroundthesame
cost,withoutthebafflingdrivemountsetup. HB
UDEFENCES
Good array of fan
and drive mounts;
removable
magnetic
dust filters
BREACHED
Three different
3.5in drive
mount methods
of varying quality;
average cooling
ENERMAX OstrogA solid effort, but let down by a confused interior
BUDGET CASES
68
75OVERALL
COOLING 2 2 / 3 0
FEATURES 24 / 30
DESIGN 1 3 / 2 0
VALUE 1 6 / 2 0
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HOW MUCH?
Price£50incVAT
Supplierwww.scan.co.uk
Manufacturer
www.fractal-design.com
heCore3000mightnotsharethefancylooks
ofsomeofFractalDesign’sothercases,
thankstoameshedfrontfascia,butitoffersa
greatdealwhereitcounts,beneathitsblack
steelyhide.It’sbristlingwithfanmounts,withapairof
120/140mmmountsin theroof,a140mmmount
behindthefrontfascia,arear120mmmount,a
120mmfloormountanda120mmside-panelmount.
What’smore,FractalDesignbundlesthecasewith
threeofitscoolingfans:arear120mmexhaust,aroof
140mmexhaustandafront140mmintake.Whenyou
considerthatthesimilarlypricedBitFenixShinobi(see
p61)shipswithjustonefan,thisis extremelygenerous.
Nothappywithjustaboatloadoffans,theCore3000
alsoshipswithavariable-speedfancontroller,which
occupiesarearexpansionslot.Withthree3-pin
connectors,theMolex-poweredcontrollercan
regulatethespeedofallthreebundledfanstoyour
preference.However,withthecontrolsattherearof
thecase,itcanbewearisometoreachbehindyourPC
toadjustthemregularly.
Meanwhile,thefrontfasciamightlookutilitarian,
butithidesafoamdustfilterthat,alongwiththeslot-
loadedPSUdustfilter,willhelptokeepyourPC’s
innardsclean.Lesspleasingis theomissionof
USB3supportontheCore3000’sfrontpanel;
whilewecanappreciatethetrade-off
madehere,prioritisingcoolingoverUSB3
support,evenbudgetmotherboards
includeaUSB3headernow,sothelackof
supportisdisappointing.ThefourUSB2
ports,alongsidethe usualpower/reset
buttonsandheadphone/microphone
jacks,meanthatyoucanstillpluginplenty
ofperipheralsthough.
AccessingtheCore3000’sinteriorismoredifficult
thanyou’dexpect,however;theextremelystiffside
panelsonourreviewsamplerequiredagreatdeal
offorcetopryfree.Onceyou’reinside,you’llfindan
excellentarrayofdrivemountsthough.Six3.5in
mountsaresplitbetweentwocages;theloweris
rivetedintoplace,buttheupperisremovable(and
rotatable)shouldyouneedextraroom.
Eachmountusesaremovabledrivetraythatcan
mountboth3.5inand2.5indrives,withrubber
vibration-dampeninggrommetsusedtoreducedrivenoise.It’sagreatsystemthatmakesequippingthe
Core3000withevenalargearrayofdrivessimple,with
theadvantagethatitwon’tsoundlikeatinfullofangry
beesafterwardseither.
However,ifyou’reusingasuper-sizedgraphics
card,youmightnothavetheoptionoftheremovable
drivecage,astheCore3000offersonly270mmof
GPUclearanceoutofthebox.Whilethisisenough
forthevastmajorityof graphicscards,largercards
suchastheRadeonHD58701GB,HD69702GBor
GTX6904GBwon’tfitwithouttheremovalofthe
upperdrivecage.
Meanwhile,cable-routeingholesalongtheright
sideofthemotherboardtrayareinplentifulsupply.
Someareobscuredslightlybythe5.25inand3.5in
drivebaymounts,butnottotheextentthatthey’re
completelyblocked.
AswiththeEnermaxOstrog(seep66),therouteing
holeinthetop-leftcornerisunabletoaccommodate
an8-pinEPS12Vcable,though,soyou’llneedtoroute
thisthroughthelargeCPUcut-outpriortoinstalling
yourmotherboard.Spacecanbealittletightbehind
themotherboardtraywhenitcomestocablerouteing
too,althoughthe13mmof clearanceprovidedisenoughtoaccommodatethefat24-pinATXcable.
CORE
Includes three
fans and a
fan controller;
awesome cooling;
flexible drive trays
NETBURST
No USB 3;
frustratingly stiff
side panels; large
graphics cards
require removal
of drive cage
FRACTAL DESIGN Core 3000Loads of fans and extras make this a great £50 case
T
THE FRONT FASCIA MIGHT LOOK
UTILITARIAN, BUT IT HIDES A FOAM
DUST FILTER THAT WILL HELP TO
KEEP YOUR PC’S INNARDS CLEAN
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70
BUDGET CASES
86OVERALL
PERFORMANCE
Thankstoitstrioofstockcoolingfansatfullspeed,
theCore3000offeredsuperbcoolingforourtest
system,matchingthebestCPUcoolingontestwitha
deltaTof48°C.GPUcoolingwasalsogreat,withthe
deltaTof35°Cjust1°Cbehindthebestontest.Clearly,
there’sasignificantbenefittotheextrabundled
coolingfan.
Wealsotestedthefansattheirlowestspeed,which
sawboththeCPUandGPUdeltaTsriseby3°Cto51°C
and38°Crespectively.Evenatfullspeed,thethree
fanswerebynomeansloud,butthefannoisehada
slightlyharshedgetoit,sodiallingdownthespeeda
littleisadvisableiflownoiseisyourpriority.
WithourextrapairofScytheGentleTyphoon
120mmcoolingfanstakingtheCore3000’sfancount
tofive,coolingperformanceimproved,butnotbya
greatdeal.A3°CdropintheCPUdeltaTsawitoffer
thebestcoolingofanycaseontest,whileaGPUdeltaT
of33°Cwasjust1°Coffthetopspot.However,the
Core3000’sstockcoolingperformancewasenough
tooutcoolmanycasesontest,evenwhentheywerefittedwithextrafans.
CONCLUSION
TheFractalDesignCore3000isasuperbchassis,
thanksinparttotheinclusionofthreefans,enablingit
toofferfantasticcoolingforjust£50.However,despite
thepositives,there’sroomforimprovement.Thecable
routeingcanbetroublesomeandtheabsenceofUSB
3supportisfrustrating,consideringtheubiquityof
USB3headersonmodernmotherboards.
AstheXigmatekMidgardII(seep74) lacksthese
shortcomings,inadditiontomatchingthe Core3000in
manyotherareas,itsneaksahead.However,theCore
3000remainsabountifulpackageoffanmounts,drive
mountsandbundledfansandismorethanworthyof
anApprovedaward.HB
COOLING 28/30
FEATURES 26/30
DESIGN 15/20
VALUE 17/20
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HOW MUCH?
Price£40incVAT
Supplierwww.overclockers.co.uk
Manufacturer
cwww.nzxt.com
ithitsfaux-aluminiumdrivebayblanking
platesandmodestlooks,NZXThasmade
suretheSource210doesn’tfallfoulof
meshoverload,whilekeepingtheplastic
trimtoaminimum.Theresultisasmart-looking
chassisthat’salsodeceptivelywellequipped
consideringitssub-£40pricetag.
Thefrontpanelatthetopofthefrontfasciapacksa
singleUSB3andUSB2portwiththeusualheadphone
andmicrophonejacks,andthefasciaisremovableif
youwanttoaccessthepairof120mmfanmounts
behindit.There’salsoapairof120/140mmmountsin
theroof,arear120mmmount,a120mmfloormount
anda120/140mmsidepanelmount.
TheSource210mountstwocoolingfansas
exhausts,witharear120mmfanandroof140mmfan
included.Pleasingly,thecablesforthesefansarealso
pre-routedbehindthemotherboardandfittedwith
both3-pinandMolexconnectors,helpingtokeepthe
interiortidy.
Whilethere’splentyof fanmounts,theSource210
hasnodustfilters.Withoutfilters,theinsideofyour
caseandPSUcansoonbecomecoatedinmuck,so
theircompleteomissionisadisappointment.
Inside,theSource210sportsalarge3.5inharddisk
cagecapableofhousinguptoeight3.5indrivesusing
tool-freefittings.However,thetool-freeclipsare
decidedlyunconvincing,andonlyeightclipsare
included.There’sno2.5inmounteither,soanSSD
willrequirea2.5in-to-3.5inadaptor.Cablerouteingisgood,though,withfourcut-outsaroundthe
motherboard,andthefront-panelcablespre-routed
behindthemotherboardtray.Aswithmanycaseson
test,though,theholeforthe8-pinEPS12Vcable
wasn’tbigenough,soyou’llprobablyneedtoroute
thisthroughtheCPUcut-outinstead.
Withnodustfilterstoobstructairflow,andapair
offansclosetothecorehardware,theSource210
offersimpressivecooling,withaCPUdeltaTof48°C
matchingtheFractalCore3000andAntecOne,while
itsGPUdeltaTof35°Cwasalsoamongthebest.
Addingourtwoextra120mmfansonlydroppedthe
CPUandGPUdeltaTsby1°Cthough.Clearly,the
Source210’sstockfansareclosetoitsidealcooling
setup,andwerereasonablyquiettoo.
CONCLUSION
TheNZXTSource210deliversexcellentcoolingand
stylishlooksatarock-bottomprice,butitslackof
dustfiltersandadedicated2.5indrivemountarehard
toignore.Werecommendspendinganextra£10on
thebetter-equippedFractalDesignCore3000(see
p68)orXigmatekMidgardII(seep74)instead.HB
WOPEN SOURCE
Fantastic stock
cooling; low price
SAUCY
POSTCARD
Lacks dust
filters; no 2.5in
drive mount
NZXT Source 210 EliteExcellent cooling for only £40, but light on features
BUDGET CASES
72
77OVERALL
COOLING 2 7 / 3 0
FEATURES 1 6 / 3 0
DESIGN 1 6 / 2 0
VALUE 1 8 / 2 0
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HOW MUCH?
Price£40incVAT
Supplierwww.overclockers.co.uk
Manufacturer
www.silverstonetek.com
nlikemanySilverStonecases,whichuse
flippedorrotatedATXdesigns,theRL01has
atraditionalmotherboardlayout.There’s
stillsomeSilverStoneflairto it,though,with
mouldedsidepanelsandasmoothfrontfascia
avoidingtheblack-boxlooksofsomecompetitors.
Therearefivefanmountsonoffer,withapairof
120mmmounts,arear80/90/120mmmount,afloor
120mmmountandafront120mmmount.There’sjust
asingleredLED-lit120mmfanincluded,though,and
it’sfittedasafrontintaketogivethefrontfasciaared
glowwhenthePC’srunning.Whiletheinclusionofjust
asinglefanisdisappointing,SilverStonehasoutdone
itselfwiththeRl01’sdustfilters;thefrontfascia,floor
andPSUareallmesh-filtered,withtherooffan
mountsboastinganexternalmagneticdustfilter.
Meanwhile,apairoffront-panelUSB3portsisa
welcomeextra.
There’slesstogetexcitedaboutinside,though,
especiallywhenyounoticethelackofanycable-
routeingholesaroundthemotherboardtray.Instead,
therearebentmetalclaspsforsecuringcables,but
thesearetooweaktoholda24-pinATXconnector.
There’s6mmofroombehindthemotherboardtray,
andanextrudedsidepanel,butwithoutpre-cut
routeingholes,it’sdifficulttousethisspaceeffectively.
Thedrivemountsareunimpressivetoo,witharack
foruptofive3.5indrivesonlyofferingtool-freeclipson
oneside.Theotherisinaccessiblefromthefront,so
drivescanonlybesecuredononeside;notidealshouldyouwanttotransportyourPC.
Thecasedidn’tcoolwelleither.ThestockCPUdelta
Tof60°Cisthesecondworstresultontest,andlikely
duetothelackofanexhaustfan.TheGPUdeltaTof
41°Cisasimilarlypoorresult,withthemajorityof
casesdeliveringtemperatures2-7°Ccooler.
Addingapairofextracoolingfansasaroofand
rearexhausthelpedalot,though,droppingtheCPU
deltaTto47°CwhiletheGPUdippedto36°CdeltaT.
TheRL01iscapableofdecentcooling,butit
requiresatleastapairofextrafanstounlockit.
Therewasonemoredownsidethough:thebundled
redLED-litfanwasintrusivelyaudible,andeasilythe
noisiestofanyontest.
CONCLUSION
Otherthanitsraftofdustfilters,there’slittlewecan
commendabouttheRL01.Thelackofcable-routeing
optionsandinsecuredrivemountsmakesitapainto
buildinsidethecase,itsfanisnoisyanditsstock
coolingiscomparativelypoor.TheFractalDesignCore
3000(seep68)orXigmatekMidgardII(seep74)may
cost£10more,butthey’rebothfarbetterchoices.HB
URED LINE
Great dust filters;
good cooling with
extra fans
BLOW-OUT
Poor stock
cooling; little
room for cable
routeing behind
motherboard;
poor 3.5in
mounts; noisy fan
SILVERSTONE RL01Not a candidate for pole position
BUDGET CASES
74
64OVERALL
COOLING 1 9 / 3 0
FEATURES 1 8 / 3 0
DESIGN 1 2 / 2 0
VALUE 1 5 / 2 0
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HOW MUCH?
Price£52incVAT
Supplierwww.overclockers.co.uk
Manufacturer
www.xigmatek.com
igmatekmightnotbethefirstnameonyour
lipswhenlistingcasemanufacturers,but
ithasahistoryofputtingtogetherwell-
designedandextremelywell-pricedchassis.
Bothitsmid-rangeUtgardandE-ATXElysiumhave
earnedPremiumGradeawardsinthepast,withthe
MidgardIIlookingtobejustascompetitivethanksto
anexhaustivefeatureset,whichrivalsthatof cases
twicecostingtwiceasmuch.
TheMidgardII’sexteriormanagestostrikea
balancebetweenthemeshedsections,neededto
alloweffectiveairflowintothecase,andtherounded
plasticfascia,whichismadefromasoft-touchplastic
reminiscentofBitFenix’strademarkcoating.The
resultisacasethatlooksandfeelsreassuringlysolid
andstylish,despiteofferingahugetallyofeight
separatefanmounts.There’sapairof120/140mm
mountsintheroof,asecondpairof120/140mm
mountsintheleftsidepanel,athirdpairof120mm
mountsinthefront,arear120mmmountandafloor
120mmmount.Thisis morethananyothercaseon
test,anditallowshugescopeforupgradingthecase’s
stockcooling,apairof120mmfansfittedasafront
intakeandrearexhaust.
Withsomanyfanmounts,it’salsogoodtofindthat
XigmatekalsobundlestheMidgardIIwitha3-channel
variable-speedfancontroller.Occupying
oneofthecase’ssevenexpansionslots,
thecontrollerisidenticaltothatbundled
withtheFractalCore3000(seep68),andit
enablesyoutochoosewhetherthecase
shouldcompromiseonnoiseorcooling.
There’sampleprovisionfordustfilterstoo,
withanexternalfilterfittedalongthecase’sfloor, and
thinmeshfiltersinsidethefrontfasciaandoverthe
roofvents.
TheMidgardII’sfrontpanelissimilarlywell
equipped,withapairofUSB2portsalongsideasingle
USB3port,andtheusualheadphone/microphone
jacksandpower/resetbutton.Uniquely, though,
there’salsoa3.5in/2.5inexternalSATAdockingstation
builtintothecase’sroof.Whilethisisn’ta necessary
luxury,it’sbetterimplementedthanthesamefeature
ontheCoolerMasterElite431Plus(seep62)andwill
proveusefulifyou’rejugglingharddrives.
SwingingthesidepanelofftheMidgardIIrevealsanimpressiveinterior.LiketheFractalCore3000,the
MidgardIIboastsapairofthree-mount3.5indrive
cages,usingdrivetraystoeasilysecureuptosix3.5in
or2.5indrivesinplace.Thelowercageisrivetedin
placebuttheuppercage,fittedinfrontofthebundled
coolingfan, canberemovedto improveairflow.All
sixtraysarefittedwithvibration-dampeningrubber
grommetstocutdownondrivenoisetoo,although
thismeansthatyou’llneedascrewdrivertofitdrives.
Abovethe3.5inmountsisatriooftool-free5.25indrive
bays,withthewelcomeadditionofanadaptorto
mountaslimlineopticaldrive,completewithanappropriatereplacement5.25inblankingplate.
Alongsidetheexcellentdrivebaymountsisthe
surprisinglyroomy provisionfor cablerouteing, made
eveneasierbytheabilitytofullyremovetherooffascia
andfrontfascia.Thankstoacleverfan-mounting
mechanismintheroof,whichsecuresfanstotwo
platformsratherthandrilledmountholes,this
effectivelyallowsyoutoremovethecase’sroofand
gainaccesstoallthosepeskycornersaroundthe
motherboardforcablerouteing.
Assuch,routeingthe8-pinEPS12Vcablebehind
themotherboardisasnap,with19mmofclearancebehindthemotherboardtrayofferingenoughroomfor
THOR
Eight fan mounts;
great drive bays;
external SATA
connector;
removable roof
and front fascia
LOKI
Stock cooling
could be better
XIGAMTEK Midgard IIAn affordable chassis that’s fit for the gods
X
ABOVE THE 3.5IN MOUNTS IS A TRIO
OF TOOL-FREE 5.25IN DRIVE BAYS,
WITH THE WELCOME ADDITION OF A
SLIMLINE OPTICAL DRIVE ADAPTOR
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76
BUDGET CASES
87OVERALL
24-pinATXpowercables.Thereareplentyofcable-tie
pointsonthebackofthemotherboardtraytoo,
enablingyoutousethebundledcabletiestobring
ordertothecablechaos.Ouronecriticismisthatthe
frontpanelcablesareratheruntidyandunbraided,
butthisissoonrectifiedwithacabletieortwo.
PERFORMANCE
Withapairoffansfittedasarearexhaustandfront
intake,theMidgardIIproduceddecentcoolingout
ofthebox,witha CPUdeltaTof54°Cmatchingthe
CorsairCarbide200R(seep64).
TheGPUdeltaTof36°Cismorecompetitive,
however,withtheventilatedfrontpanelensuring
effectiveairflowtothefrontintakefan.Meanwhile,
diallingdownthefanstominimumspeedsawthe
CPUtemperaturerisetoadeltaTof58°Cwhilethe
GPUdeltaTincreasedto40°C.Bothresultsareless
competitive,butyou’llwanttoslowdownthefans,as
theysoundharshatfullspeed.
AddingourtwoScytheGentleTyphoon120mm
fansasaroofexhaustandsideintakeimprovedtheMidgardII’scoolingconsiderably,withtheCPUdeltaT
dippingto47°C–2°Cwarmerthanthebestresulton
test.TheGPUdeltaTof34°Cwassimilarlypleasing
and,again,2°Coffthebestcoolingonoffer.
CONCLUSION
WhiletheMidgardIIdidn’tbeattheFractalCore3000
inourcoolinggraphs,itscoolingcanbeimprovedwith
extrafans.It’stheMidgardII’sexpansivefeatureset
thatshinesthough;nootherchassisontestcantouch
itforfanmountsandextras,helpingtojustifythe£52
price.Theabilitytoremovetheroofandfrontfascia,
combinedwiththehigh-qualitydrivebaymounts,
makesPCbuildingeasytoo.Thesefactorsmakethe
MidgardIIthemostcompetitivecaseinthisleague.HB
COOLING 24 / 30
FEATURES 2 8 / 3 0
DESIGN 1 9 / 2 0
VALUE 1 6 / 2 0
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76 February 2013
FEATURE TABLE
Antec One Antec Three Hundred
Two
BitFenixShinobi CoolerMasterElite431
Plus
CorsairCarbide200R
Price*(incVAT) £41 £50 £50 £45 £50
Supplier www.cclonline.com www.dabs.com www.overclockers.co.uk
www.scan.co.uk www.ebuyer.com
Manufacturer Antec Antec BitFenix Cooler Master Corsair
Dimensions(WxDxH,mm)
195 x 478 x 440 220 x 487 x 470 205 x 490 x 460 192 x 499 x 427 210 x 497 x 430
Materials Steel, plastic Steel, plastic Steel, plastic Steel, plastic Steel, plastic
Availablecolours Black Black Black, white Black Black
Emptyweight (kg) 4.9 6.8 6.8 5 6.1
Features
Frontpanel ports 2 x USB 3, headphone,
microphone, powerbutton, reset button
2 x USB 3, headphone,
microphone, powerbutton, reset button
2xUSB3, 2xUSB
2, headphone,microphone, powerbutton, reset button
1xUSB3, 2xUSB
2, headphone,microphone, powerbutton, reset button
2 x USB 3, headphone,
microphone, powerbutton, reset button
Supportedmotherboards
ATX, micro-ATX,mini-ITX
ATX, micro-ATX,mini-ITX
ATX, micro-ATX,mini-ITX
ATX, micro-ATX ATX, micro-ATX,mini-ITX
External 5.25inbays 3 3 3 3 3
External/internal2.5in bays
2 2 1 0 4
External/internal3.5in bays
5 6 8 7 4
Numberofbackplates
7 8 7 7 7
MaxCPUcoolerheight (mm)
165 175 170 170 180
Maxgraphics cardlength(mm)
275 320 320mm 310 320/400mm
Clearancebehindmotherboard(mm)
7mm + extrudedpanel
26mm 19mm 2mm 15mm
Sidepanel window Optional
Extras None Dual-speed fancontrol
None Blue LED-lit fan,hot-swap 3.5in harddisk bay
None
Cooling
Fanmounts 1 x 120 rear, 1 x120mm roof, 1 x 120left side panel, 1 x120/140mm floor,1 x 120mm front
1 x 120mm rear, 1x 140mm roof, 1 x120mm right sidepanel, 1 x 120mmleft side panel, 2 x120mm front
1 x 120mm rear, 2 x120/140mm roof, 1 x120mm floor,2 x 120mm front
1 x 80/90/120mmrear, 2 x 120mm roof,1 x 80/90/120mmfloor, 1 x 120mm front
1 x 120mm rear, 2 x120/140mm roof, 2 x120/140mm left sidepanel, 1 x 120/140mmfloor, 2 x 120mm front
Suppliedfans 1 x 120mm rear,1 x 120mm roof
1 x 120mm rear,1 x 140mm roof
1 x 120mm rear 1 x 120mm f ront 1 x 120mm rear,1 x 120mm front
Dust filters PSU only Front and PSU Front, floor, PSU Front, roof and PSU Front, PSU
Fancontroller Two-speed
* Prices correctat time of going to press
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77February 2013
BUDGET CASES
78
Enermax Ostrog Fractal Design Core 3000 NZXTSource 210 SilverStone RL01 Xigmatek Midgard II
£44 £50 £40 £40 £52
www.systo.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk
Enermax Fractal Design NZXT SilverStone Xigmatek
200 x 480 x 460 200 x 480 x 430 195 x 495.5 x 440 192.5 x 485 x 440 205 x 488 x 458
Steel, plastic Steel, plastic Steel, plastic Steel, plastic Steel, plastic
Black, white Black Black, white Black Black
5.5 7.7 5.9 5.5 7.2
1xUSB3, 3xUSB2,
headphone, microphone,power button, reset button
4 x USB 2, headphone,
microphone, power button,reset button
1xUSB3, 1xUSB2,
headphone, microphone,power button, reset button
2 x USB 3, headphone,
microphone, power button,reset button
1xUSB3, 2xUSB2,
headphone, microphone,power button, reset button,2.5/3.5in SATA hot-swapdock
ATX, micro-ATX ATX, micro-ATX, mini-ITX ATX, micro-ATX, mini-ITX ATX, micro-ATX,mini-ITX ATX, micro-ATX, mini-ITX
4 2 3 4 3
1 6 0 1 6
6 6 8 5 6
7 7 7 7 7
175 175 165 165 170
280/405mm 265/410mm 320 275 295/410mm
12mm 13mm 15mm 6mm 19mm
Optional Optional
Magnetic, removable dustfilters
None None Removable magnetic dustfilter, red LED-lit fan
External hot-swap 3.5inhard disk mount, slimlineoptical mount
1 x 120mm rear, 2 x120/140mm roof, 1 x80/120mm left side,1 x 120mm left side,1 x 120mm floor, 1 x120mm front
1 x 120mm rear, 2 x120/140mm roof, 1 x120/140mm left side, 1 x120mm floor, 1 x 140mmfront, 1 x 120mm front
1 x 120mm rear, 2 x120/140mm roof, 1 x120/140mm left side,1 x 120mm floor, 2 x120mm front
1 x 80/120mm rear, 2 x120mm roof, 1 x 120mmfloor, 1 x 120mm front
1 x 120mm rear, 2 x120mm/140mm roof, 2 x120/140mm left side, 1 x120mm floor, 2 x 120mmfront
1 x 120mm rear 1 x 120mm rear, 1 x140mm roof, 1 x 140mmfront
1 x 120mm rear 1 x 120mm front 1 x 120mm rear,1 x 120mm front
Front, roof, PSU, side Front, floor, PSU None Front, roof, floor, PSU Top, front, floor, PSU
Variable speed Variable speed
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78February 2013
BUDGET CASES
STOCK COOLINGCPU delta T
0 20 40 60 80
Cooler Master Elite 431
BitFenix Shinobi
SilverStone RL01
Xigmatek Midgard II
Corsair Carbide 200R
Enermax Ostrog
Antec Three Hundred Two
NZXT Source 210
Fractal Design Core 3000
Antec One
64°C
57°C
60°C
54°C
54°C
52°C
50°C
48°C
48°C
48°C
UPGRADED COOLING (2 X EXTRA 120MM FANS)CPU delta T
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
BitFenix Shinobi
SilverStone RL01
Cooler Master Elite 431
Antec Three Hundred Two
Enermax Ostrog
Xigmatek Midgard II
NZXT Source 210
Corsair Carbide 200R
Antec One
Fractal Design Core 3000
54°C
47°C
51°C
49°C
48°C
47°C
47°C
47°C
46°C
45°C
UPGRADED COOLING (2 X EXTRA 120MM FANS)GPU delta T
0 10 20 30 40
BitFenix Shinobi
SilverStone RL01
Enermax Ostrog
Corsair Carbide 200R
Cooler Master Elite 431
Xigmatek Midgard II
NZXT Source 210
Fractal Design Core 3000
Antec One
Antec Three Hundred Two
40°C
36°C
37°C
35°C
35°C
34°C
34°C
33°C
33°C
32°C
STOCK COOLINGGPU delta T
0 10 20 30 40 50
SilverStone RL01
BitFenix Shinobi
Corsair Carbide 200R
Enermax Ostrog
Cooler Master Elite 431
Xigmatek Midgard II
NZXT Source 210
Fractal Design Core 3000
Antec One
Antec Three Hundred Two
41°C
44°C
42°C
39°C
39°C
36°C
35°C
35°C
35°C
34°C
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80 February 2013
82GRUMPYGAMER
PressReset
84FARCRY3
Thecryinggame
86007LEGENDS
YourEyesOnline
87HOTLINEMIAMI
BanthisFilth
88KAIRO
Fair-dohs
90SIMCITY
Don’tneedroads
92DEVPERSPECTIVE
Smokeandmirrors
93THEENGINEROOM
Avalanche
82
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81February 2013
Readers’Night Wed, 19 December, 9 till late
TheplaceOurCounter-Strike:SourceserverWhatyouneed Anup-to-dateCounter-Strike:Sourceinstallation
GAMESERVERIPADDRESSES32-playerBC2 85.236.101.22:16667
32-playerCS:Source 85.236.101.24:37015
FINDUSONSTEAMPublicgrouphttp://steamcommunity.com/groups/CustomPCModernWarfare2http://steamcommunity.com/groups/CustomWarfare2
Omerta:CityofGangstersCombiningbothturn-basedandreal-
timestrategyelements,Kalypso’sCityof
Gangstersfeelslikeaworthytributeto
theclassicswhenitasksyoutoplotthe
riseofamobbossinthemiddleof
prohibition-eraAmerica.Throughout
thecourseofthegameyou’llbuild
speakeasies,plotprisonbreaksandeven
stormpoliceheadquarterspersonally.Wetookalookatthegameearlierthis
monthandit’sshapingupasnicelyasthe
boxart,asyoucanseeinthisexclusive
lookatthelatter.
c u s t o m p c E X CLUSIV E IM AGE
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WhenIwasinprimaryschool,Iusedtoloverainy
days.Otherkidsusedtoprayforsunshineorsnow,
sotheycouldplayfootballorbuildigloos,butI
alwayswantedtostayintheclassroom.Wehada
BBCMicrointhecornerand,whenitrained,Icouldusuallyconvince
theteachertoletusstayinsideandplaywiththat,ratherthan
runningaroundtheplayground.
Iwasn’talone.Therewasagroupoffiveofus–allboys,all
football-phobes–andweusedtolovethat
BBCMicro.Therewasonegamein
particularwe liked:MartelloTowers.It was
awful.Itwasatextadventurelacedwith
educationalpuzzlesandafailedsenseof
mysteryand,becauseweneverfinisheditat
thetime,Igrabbedsomeemulatorsafew
yearsagoandgaveitanothertry.Ibestedit
inunderanhouranditwasterrible.MaybeIevenknewthatbackthen,butif
Ididthenitdidn’tmatter; whatmattered
wasthatIwaswithmyfriendsandwewere
inside,wherewewantedtobe.
Oneofuswould betakingnotesas weplayed,anotherwouldbe at
thekeyboardenteringcommandsandtheotherswouldbetalking
aboutthepuzzleswefaced.Shouldwegotothebasementnowor
later?Whatwouldwedoif aguardfound usbeforewesolvedthe
MagicRose?
Evenonthesunnydayswhenwewereforcedtogooutsidelike
normallittleboys,we’dsit andspendplaytimeponderingtheriddle
ofthetriangularhatsandotherpuzzles.Itmayhavebeenanawfulgame,butitwasafantasticexperience;onethatinformedalifetime
Single-player games can be fun to play
with friends too. JoeMartin remembers
the games that got him started
ofpassionaboutcomputergamesthatI’vebeenchasingeversince.
Afewyearslater,IplayedTheSecretofMonkeyIslandwithmy
brother;asateenagerI’dsitontheschoolbusanddebateroutes
throughDeusExwithmypals.As anadultI’mhere,talking toyou.
Gameshavechangedalotsincethosehalcyondays.Nowadays
whenwetalk about‘socialgames’,we imaginemanipulativeclick-
festssuchas Farmville,while‘multiplayergames’ meansCall of
DutyorBattlefield3–gamesthatfacilitateverydifferentcommunities
andstories.AndasforMMOs,well,where
doIstart?
There’snothingwrongwithmultiplayer
shootersandMMORPGs,ofcourse.Inmany
ways,thosegamesarethebestwe’veever
made,andtoevenimplythattheyshouldbe
wipedoutinfavourofold-schooltext
adventureswouldbesurefirefolly.
WhatIwouldsayfrommyownexperience,though,isthatthere’salotto
besaidforbackseatgaming,andsingle-
playergamingdoesn’thavetobeinterpreted
asalonelyexperience.
Infact,thenexttimeyou’resittingdowntoplayanewgamethat
you’vejustbought,I’durgeyoutoinviteafriendover.Getinsome
beers,pullupanextrachairandjustseeif playingthesingle-player
gametogethercanprovetobeamoresocialandcooperative
experiencethanyouexpect.
WHAT I’M PLAYIN GHonestly?Imightneverstopplaying
Dishonored,ever. Joetweets@JoeThreepwood
BACK TOLEVEL ONE
EVEN ON THE SUNNY
DAYS WHEN WE WERE
FORCED TO GO OUTSIDE
LIKE NORMAL LITTLE BOYS,
WE’D SPEND PLAYTIME
PONDERING THE RIDDLE
OF THE TRIANGULAR HATS
GAMING
82 February 2013
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THE KN OWLE DGE
Price£29.99incVAT
PublisherUbisoft
DeveloperUbisoft
Website
www.far-cry.ubi.com
bisoft’sFarCry2,hasgonedown
inhistoryasagameyou’lleither
loveorloathe,andFarCry3is
nodifferent.There’sbeena
smatteringofimprovementsbut,when
balancedoutagainstsomeoftheweaker
introductions,it’smostlyazero-sumgame
comparedwiththeimmediatepredecessor.
Whichisn’ttoimplythatFarCry3isaclonein
anythingbutathematicsense,however.Infact,most
oftherecognisableelementsoftheforebearhave
beendiscarded.Theplotis completelyseparate
fromthepreviousgames,forexample,castingyou
asanAmericantouristwhoiscapturedbypirates,
butthenescapesandisforcedtogoontheoffensive
inordertofreehisfriends.Thisinturnmeans
hookingupwiththeindigenoustribeoftheislandson
whichyou’replaying,adoptingtheirformofbushido
anddefendingthemfromthepiratethreat.
Inreturn,thenativeRakyatbestowsonyouallthe
majormechanicsofthegame–theskilltreeis
presentedasanetworkoftribalwartattoos,and
you’requicklytaughthowtoscavengeforsupplies,
mixyourownmedicinesandsoon.Huntinganimalsandrareherbsthereforebecomesabigpartofthe
gameforthefirsttimeintheseries,letting
youcraftholstersandupgradesforyour
gearinasystemthatworkswellonceyou
overlookafewincongruities.Progressis
gatedsothatyouneedthehidesofspecific
animalsforspecificitems,forexample,
whilecorpseswillbeleftwiththeirskinstill
intact,evenaftersupposedevisceration.
Besidestheselittleroadblocksoverwhatyoucan
unlockatwhatpoint,though,FarCry3isotherwise
anastonishinglyopenshooter,andtheRookIslands
arefullofcollectiblesandsidemissionstohunt
down.Fast-travelletsyouskiparoundtoliberated
camps,whichare
thankfullydevoidof
therespawningfoes
thatmadeFarCry2
suchachore,butwe
personallypreferto
travelbyfoot,
UHUNTER
Sprawling,
layered shooter
hybrid
HUNTED
Poor interface
design
Welcomebacktothejungle
84 February 2013
FAR CRY 3
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Stealthnowworksinthewayyou’d
expect,whilecombatisnolonger
forcedintoastaccatorhythmbyforcing
youtostopandun-jamweapons.
Instead,fightsareglorious
eventsofeitherplanned
subtletyorcareless,almost
majesticchaos.Wantto
sneakin,taggingenemies
withyourcameraandtaking
themdownwithabow?Youcan.
Prefertoforceapackoftigersinto
anenemybaseorchargeinwitha
flamethrower?That’sgoodtoo.
ThesheerscaleofFarCry3does
meanthatyouoccasionallytripover
creases,suchasrepetitivedialogue,
butit’simportanttokeepa
senseofperspective.This
isahugegameandthe
productionistop-notchfor
themostpart;itsfewflaws
mayholditbackfrommust-
playgreatness,butonlyjust. JOE MARTIN
REVIEW
wheel,hullorwing.Ubisofthasprovided
foreachofthese.
Whilethelushenvironmentsandnew
craftingmechanicsareworthyadditions,
FarCry3’sinterfaceoftenleavesmuchtobe
desired,mainlybecauseittriestoforceso
muchinformationonyouatonce.There’s
aHandbookthattracksinformationand
quests,amapthat’sweirdlyuselessuntilyou
disablethepirates’radiojammers,awhole
seriesoftutorialsandstoryguides,plusyour
inventoryandskillsystem.Eachoftheseis
badlydesignedconsideringtheamountof
timeyou’llspendinthem,andtheHUDisn’t
muchbettereither.We’reespeciallysadto
seeyoucan’tdrivecarswithamapinyour
lapanymoretoo.
Whatmakestheissueswith
theinterfacesonoticeable
though–beyondthefactthat
you’llspendagescustomising
yourweaponsandcollecting
pelts–isthatUbisofthas
ironedoutmostofthelargerissuesthataffectedFarCry2.
80OVERALL
85February 2013
THE CRYING GAME
Single-playerisn’ttheonlypartofFar
Cry3tobeexpandedwithnewfeatures
–there’sthemultiplayersidetoo,which
hasbeenheavilyupdatedfollowingits
hit-and-misssuccessinFarCry2.
Competitively,thebiggestchanges
arenodstotheclassicCallofDuty
formula.There’sanoverarchinglevel
system,meaningthatyoucanunlock
newweaponsandskillsasyou
progress,andsetupprofilestosuityour
style.Itseemsoddforthepower-ups–
inwhat’sreallyagameofguerrilla
tacticsandintenseraids–toinclude
helicoptersupportandsoon,butthe
biggerproblemisthesystems’familiar
feel.Evenwiththemoreunusualperks,
suchasnervegasthatprevents
enemiesfromdistinguishingfriends
andfoes,multiplayerdoesn’tfeel
hugelydifferentfromthestandardfare.
Thebigexpansionstothemultiplayer
sidecomeelsewhere,though,suchas
intechnicalimprovementstothemap
editorthat’sincludedwiththegame.
FarCry3usesanupdatedversionofthe
DuniaengineandtheeditorfromFar
Cry2,addingnewenvironment-
shapingtoolsforcreatinglevelswith
moretropicalterrain.Theleveleditor
doesn’tconstituteapropersetof
modtools,however–itworkson
consolestoo,ifthathintsatthe
complexityonoffer.
Theco-opmodeforms
themainbulkofthe
multiplayerportion,
however.Ithasitsown
storyline,withfournew
charactersseekingrevenge
afteracruise-shipcaptain
sellsthemout.Again,youcan
wadethroughtheusualload-
outcustomisation,butwhat
mattersthemostisthat
missionsaren’tlimitedto
takingplaceinre-jigged
single-playerareas,and
there’smorethanjustwave
defenceobjectivesonoffer;
there’sawholecampaignwith
allthevariationandscale
thatimplies.
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THE KNO WLE DGE
Price£29.99incVAT
PublisherActivision
DeveloperEurocom
Website
www.007legends.com
ewexperiencesaremorefrustratingthan
playingagamethathasalltherightideas,but
implementstheminallthewrongways.On
thatbasis,007Legendsispossiblythemost
frustratinggameevercreated.Ittrieseverythingfrom
stealthandRPGsystemstodrivinglevelsand
QuickTimeevents(QTEs),butbodgesupeveryone.
Itdoesn’thelpthatLegendsfeelslikeit’sbuiltfrom
mauledoff-cuts.Eurocomhasstructureditasa series
offlashbackstoenablethegametojumparoundthe
bestpartsofBond’shistory,butinreality,noneofthese
isframedconsistentlyorinterestinglyenoughto
warrantattention.SkyfallbleedsdullyintoGoldfinger,
andtheonlyconsistentthreadisthatBondseemslike
anutteridioteverywhere.
Thestartofthegame,forexample,hasBond
(DanielCraig)lookingdownonanupdateof
Goldfinger’smilitarybaseandbeingtoldtostay
undercover.Herespondsbydetonatingabombthat
destroysmostofthebase,thensuddenlyyou’rein
controlandrunningthroughtheexplosionswithno
explanation.Fiveminuteslater,Goldfingerandco
seemsurprisedtoseeyou.It’sdisjointedtothepoint
ofdiscomfort,evenifyou’veseenGoldfingerrecently.
ThisisallbeforeyougettothefactthatLegendsis
borderlineunplayablethankstotheterriblecontrols,
withmini-gamesusingrandomkeys,andmenus
withoutmousecontrol.Theweaponsarewimpier
thanspit-balls,theenemieslackconsistentlocation
damageandBondabsorbssomuchdamagethatwe
tookout50armedgoonswithjustthebuttofhispistol.
Theproblemsneverstopstackingup.
It’suglyaswell,toalevelwherethegameplayis
underminedbyhowharditistonoticetheparades
ofidenticalfoesagainsttheuniversallydrab
environments.Nomatterwhichresolutionyouuse,
thescreenlookslikeit’sbeenslatheredingrease,
andEurocom’sinterfacemakeslittleornosense.
Yourhealthandarmourarepresented
similarlytoGoldenEye64’s–exceptthe
coloursarechangedsothatyoucan’t
easilyreaditataglance,andit’sleft
unlabelledsoyoudon’tknowwhichbar
iswhich.Baffling.
It’samess,andwe’veonlyscratchedthesurface.Ournotesreadlikeahuge
listoferrors,includingtheinconsistentpaceandintrusionofQTEs;noareaisbeyondreproach.Theonly
pluspointisthatithasenoughcontenttofeedthefans,
andit’sfunctionalenoughforthosewhopersevere.
Whichisatragedy,really.Onpaper,Legendshas
allthehallmarksofagreatspygame,andwereally
wantedtolikeitintherun-uptorelease–
thescore-basedchallengemissionsand
heapsofunlockablecontentinparticular
soundedgreat.Inpractice,though,
Legendsissoshallowanddullthatit’s
almostunbelievablesomuchmoney
wasinvestedinproducingit. JOE MARTIN
F
007 LEGENDS
GOLDFINGER
Functional
BROWNFINGER
Utterly terrible in
every other regard
Double oh-no
15OVERALL
86 February 2013
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THE KNO WLE DGE
Price£6.99incVAT
PublisherDevolverDigital
DeveloperDennatonGames
Websitehttp://
hotlinemiami.com
fyoujudgeHotlineMiamibythescreenshots,
youmightthinkit’salow-fi,super-violenttop-
downactiongame.You’dberight,butit’smore
thanthat.It’sdeeper,darkerandangrier.
It’sbesttothinkofHotlineMiamiasamusicgame,
andnotjustbecauseofthepulsingchiptunesand
garishbrightlights,butalsothegameplay.It’sall
aboutrhythm;youenterahouseandimmediately
startchargingaround,punchingenemiesandgorily
splatteringthemacrossthepixel-artcanvaswith
worryingabandon.One-two,one-twoandsoon.
Whenyougettherhythmright,it’slikeplaying
GuitarHeroandnevermissinganote,butninetimes
outoften,it’slikeplayingapianowhilewearing
mittens.Youdie,youdie,youdie,youmanagetokill
twoguysandthinkyou’redoingwell,andthenyoudie.
ThismasochisticroutinedefinesHotlineMiami,and
it’smadeevenscarierbythesensethatthegameis
acaricaturisedreflectionoftherealworld.Inthis
warpedworld,aphonecallcandriveyoutoslaughter,
androoster-maskedmenhauntyourdreams.
‘Doyoulikehurtingpeople?’theroosterasksatthestart.Theanswerisimplicitintheblood-soakedlevels
anddiscardedweapons.Theseasick-swayingofthe
cameraagainstthedisco-lightbackgroundtellsa
moreimplicitstory.Thisisprobablywhattheworld
looksliketoaserialkiller;FrancisDolarhydemeets
FrozenSynapse.
It’sfast,brutal,brilliantanddeeply
disturbinginawaythattakesagesto
appreciate.It’sagamethatyoushouldn’t
wanttoexist,butcan’thelpenjoyplaying.
However,onamorepracticallevel,
HotlineMiamiisbynomeansgreatifyouseparateitfromthisgrand,warped
vision.It’satwitch-basedshooterinwhichmastering
thesmallsetofcontrolsisvitaltosuccess;thismakes
theinabilityaltermousesensitivityorrebindkeysa
pain.Likewise, it’sincrediblydifficultto conquer,
makingyouearneverystep,butitdoesn’tpreserve
yourprogressandthereforeforcesrepetition.
Thebiggestproblemistheenemydesign.Youcould
seeHotlineMiamiasa strategygamewhereyouplan
everystageindetail.Whowillyouknockdownwhen
youkickopenthedoor?Willyouthrowyourknifeatthe
machinegunnerinthedistance,or keepit totacklethedogatyourankles?Thesequestionsdominatethe
experience,sothegameneedstobepredictablefor
themtowork.Itisn’t.Enemiesveeroffpaths,weapons
randomiseandbugsappear.It’sapain.
However,onapragmaticlevel,theseflawsareat
leasttemperedbythelowpriceandretro
feel.HotlineMiami’srealredemption
liesinitsdepthandcomplexity.It’sa
deeplylayered,fascinatingand
uncompromisinggamethat’sworth
playingeveninspiteofoccasionalissues.
Itisn’tperfect;it’sglorious. JOE MARTIN
MIAMI
Fast; furious;
curious
VICE
Missing basic
options; buggy
Play angry
90OVERALL
REVIEW
HOTLINE MIAMI
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REVIEW
THE KNO WLE DGE
Price£8.99incVAT
PublisherIndependent
DeveloperLockedDoorPuzzle
Websitehttp://kairo.
lockeddoorpuzzle.com
t’shardtobaseagamearoundtheconceptof
emptinessbecause,byitsverynature,it’sa
littlecontradictory.Thegamesthatbest
explorevastemptinessarealsopackedwith
contentinotherplaces,suchasSTALKERorDear
Esther,tomaketheemptinessvisibleandinteresting.
Unfortunately,though,Kairotriestoemphasise
emptinesswithouthavingenoughstructuretomake
thatemphasisworthwhile.Itpresentsaseriesof
architecturallyinterestingenvironmentsand simple
puzzles,butnothingelse.Theeffectissupposedto
beintriguingandhaunting,butitendsuponlybeing
soporific.TheemptinessKairopresentsisultimately
prettyboring.
Andifsayingallthatdoesn’treallygiveyouafeelfor
Kairo,wesympathise,butthat’sbecauseKairoreally
isn’tmuchinparticular.There’slittlemoretoitthan
roomsandeasy,self-containedpuzzles.There’sno
explicitstorytofollow,nospecificinnovationtoprompt
interactions;justthestylisationandsimplicity.
Ofcourse, noteverygameneedsa gravity-flipping
mechanicoranepicplot,butthelargevarietyof
gamesalreadyavailablemeansyouneedareasonto
lookatoneinparticular.Itcanbeartisticnavel-gazery
orpuerileentertainment,butthatreasonneedsto
exist,anditdoesn’tinKairo.Thegamedoesn’tfeel
likeitsaysanythingwithitsemptiness,anditisn’t
entertainingonitsown.It’sjustthereforthesakeofit.
Thentherearethepuzzles,whichare
mostlyprettyeasy;theonlymomentsof
difficultyarisefromtheabstract
environmentssometimesmakingithard
toknowwhattodo.Overcomingthese
hiccupsneverfeltlikefun.Thepuzzles
don’tseemtocontributetoanarrativeorconsistentdesigneither.Theword‘Kairo’
isJapanesefor‘circuit’andrepairingbroken
electronicsiscertainlythethemeofmostofthe
puzzles,butwithoutanynarrativeormotive
consistencythepuzzlesfeelstand-aloneand
undirected.Oneroom’spuzzleisbasedaroundan
alienorrery,whilethenexthasafloorblanketedin
buttons,andthencomesaseriesofmonolithsthat
onlyformwhenyoustandinacertainplace.
Confusingly,noneofthesecriticismsmakesKairo
explicitlybadinthesamewayas007Legends(see
p86), it’sjustaflatandmostlytediousexperience.Somepeoplewillundoubtedlypeoplefindthemselves
sweptupinanesotericsenseofmysterybut,equally
undoubtedly,manypeoplewon’t.
Despiteitsambitions,Kairoisn’tSTALKERorDear
Esther;itdoesn’tchallengeyoutounderstanditor
evenmakeitclearthatthere’sanythingto
understand.Itmerelyoffersaselectionof
sometimes-prettyroomscontaining
buttonsforyoutopush.Thismaysound
facile,butit’sthegenuinefinalimpression
weformedaboutthegameregardless.It’s
styleoversubstance. JOE MARTIN
KAIRO
JUST
DESSERTS
Pretty architecture
JUST DESERTS
Dull; puzzles lack
narrative structure
Walk like an encryption
40OVERALL
88 February 2013
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PREVIEW
THE KNO WLE DGE
PublisherElectronicArts
DeveloperFiraxis
Webwww.simcity.com
ReleasedateMarch2013
henewSimCityislikeaPlaymobilset.No,
wait,it’slikeasandwich.Actually,it’smore
likeconsumeristnihilism.Ormaybeit’sall
ofthesedescriptionsmergedintoone,and
we’llhavetobreakitaparttoexplainitproperly.
It’seasiesttostartwiththePlaymobilpart,
becauseSimCityhasalwaysbeenmoreofatoythan
agame,andthelatestversion,whichusesthenew
GlassBoxengine,merelytakesthatideatoitsvisual
conclusion.Trytoplaceabuildingand,insteadof
placingatranslucentmarkerontothegrid,youhave
todragaphysicalmodeloftheendproduct.Movethe
cursortooquicklyanditevenleansinthedirectionof
movement,givingaconvincingimpressionofweight
whilethetoy-car-trafficwhizzesinthebackground.
Theinterfacehasatoy-likelooktoo.It’scleanand
simplistic,withthepreviousgraphsanddatafields
seeminglyreplacedbychrome-lookicons.It’sso
simplethatachildcoulduseit.However,thatisn’tto
diminishthecomplexityofthegameatallbecause,
basically,SimCityislikeareallygoodsandwich,with
thetoy-likeexterioractingasthebread.
Thebreadisallyouseeatfirst,buttakeabiteand
yougeta tasteofallthelayersbeneath.Literally,as
SimCity’sothervisualinnovationwastoremovemost
ofthegraphsandreplacethemwithvisual
representationsthatarelayeredoveryourmap.
Muchofthisiscontext-sensitivetoo,soifyouclickonapowerplant,youcanseearepresentationofthe
energyoutput–withelectricitypulsingoutalongthe
powerlinesandheadingtoindividualhomessoyou
canseethelocationsandcausesofshortages.Click
onapolicecar,meanwhile,andyou’llseeacolour-
codedviewofitsawarenesszones,whileclickingon
ahousewillshowyouthehappinessoftheresidents.
Thelatterisparticularlyinteresting,sinceoneway
tointerpretSimCityistolookatitasastatementin
supportofconsumeristnihilism.There’sno
endgametoSimCity,ofcourse,butwhatevervictory
conditionyousetforyourselfwilllikelyinvolve
keepingyourcitizenshappy–andwhatmakes
citizenshappy?Spendingmoney,mainly.They’re
alsobuoyedupbynearbyparks(andwillendupliving
thereiftheybecomehomeless),butmainlyit’s
spendingmoneythatbringsthemcheer.
Ofcourse,happycitizensaremoreproductive,
increasingtherateatwhichtheymakeandbreakthe
bank.Ultimately,thecyclesaysthat,whilespending
moneymakesyouhappy,italsobreedsahappiness
thattakesyounowhere–consumeristnihilism.
Sadly,there’snoenlightenmentdata-layerto
whichyoucanbackout–nowaytotellthemasses
they’dbebetterofflivinginthemountainsas
farmers.That’sgoodtoo;whileSimCitymaybea
philosophicalPlaymobilsandwich,it’salsoagamein
whichyouneedhappycitizenstomoveforwardsand
onethatwe’llbewatchingwithinterest. JOE MARTIN
T
SIMCITY
People inGlassBoxesshouldn’t throwstones
90 February 2013
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92 February 2013
Cliff Harris
theirmotivation,ortheirloveofgames.
Fearnot–I’mnotabouttoconfessto
hatinggamesorbeingboredwiththem.I
stillconsidermyselfagamer,andwilldefend
my‘hobby’aswellasmyjob,toanyoneand
everyone.No,themainreasonformylack
ofgamingpurchasesissimple:mostnew
gamesfrustrate,boreorirritatemeina
varietyofways,andit’salmostcertainly
nothingtodowiththeactualqualityofthe
games.Youdon’tsellamillioncopiesofa
gamewithoutithavingatleastadegreeof
goodquality,sowhyamInotbuyingthelatest
CallofDuty,adventuregameorRTS?
Right,I’mabouttocomparemyselfto
KeanuReeves.Thismightbeamusingif
you’vemetme,becauseyouwouldbeaware
thatouraccentsdiffer.Isay‘dude’significantlyless,andIamofcoursebetter-looking,maybe
ometimeswhenI’mreadingInternet
discussionsaboutSteamsales,Ifeel
likeI’minaparalleluniverse.Every
otherpostisavariationof‘mywalletis
goingtohateme,’or‘mybacklogisabout30
gamesnow’and‘lastsaleIbought25games!’
Ofcourse,Iknowthesubsetofpeoplewho
discussthisonlineisasmallfractionofthe
generalpopulationofgamers.Butevenso,
I’macutelyawareofavastgroupplayinga
lotmoregamesthanme,despitethefact
thatInotonlyworkintheindustry,andcan
thereforeputallmygamingpurchaseson
expenses(ohyes!),butamalsoa
passionategamer.Ishouldbeinthe
top10percentofgamebuyersand
players,not(asIsuspect)closertothe
bottom10percent.
Howcanagamedesignerand
programmerbuyandenjoyfewer
gamesthantheaveragegamer?It’s
morecommonthanyoumightthink,although
fewgamedesigners,especiallythe‘known’
ones,willadmittoitpublicly.Nobodywantsto
admittobeinganythingotherthanahardcore
gamerwhospendseverywakinghourplayinggames,incasetheiraudienceworriesabout
becausehe’sfiveyearsolderthanme.Inother
ways,we’reidentical.Or,tobemoreprecise,
I’mgoingtocomparemyselftoNeoinThe
Matrix.Onlyhalf-seriously, Imightadd.
TheveryendsceneinTheMatrix(the
original,notthehideouslydisappointing
sequels),showsthatNeocanlookaround
hisworldandseetheMatrix,ratherthanthe
simulationeveryoneelsecansee.That’slike
aglossy,highlypolishedHollywoodisationof
therealityofbeingagameprogrammerwho
isalsoagamedesigner.
Whenyou’reaprogrammer,youdon’t
‘literally’seecodewhenyouplayagame(althoughthatcouldbecool),
butyourecogniseitallovertheplace.
Inmycase,itusuallymakesits
presencefeltintheAI,butI’dimagine
thathardcoregraphicscodersare
farmoresensitivetodistantobjects
poppingup,orshiftingbetweenLOD
versions.I’dalsoimaginethatsound
programmersareacutelyawareofhowthe
footstepsneversoundright(still!),andthat
networkprogrammerscringewhenthey
detectrubber-bandingissuestoosubtletoriletheaverageplayer.
IN THE END SCENE IN THE MATRIX,
NEO CAN LOOK AROUND AND SEE
THE MATRIX, RATHER THAN THE
SIMULATION EVERYONE ELSE SEES
Smokeandmirrors–whygamedevsstrugglewithplayinggames
S
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93February 2013
Abigpartofyourjobasacoderistospot
what’swrong,unrealistic,toopredictableor
artificial-looking,andtofixitsothattheplayer
doesn’tnotice.Thismeanswe’reconstantly
alertwhenplayingagameforany‘glitchinthe
Matrix’.Inagamewedidn’tdevelopanddon’t
havetofix,italsomeanswefinditveryhardto
‘switchoff’andrealisethisissomeoneelse’s
problem.Wecanrelaxandhavefun,but
unlessyouspendmoretimegamingthan
working(andfewpeopleintheindustry
canreallyclaimthisistrue),then
you’reprobablymoreconditionedto
playin‘debugmode’than‘funmode’.
Whatmakesmattersworseis
thatthevastmajorityofgamesare
programmedinawaythat’slittlemore
thansmokeandmirrors.I’vewritten
aboutthisbefore,butit’ssufficienttosaythat
wecoders‘cheat’alot.Sometimesweknow
youwon’tseeatextureforverylong,sowe
usealowres-version;sometimesweknow
peoplewon’taskwherethatnon-player
character(NPC)camefromwhenthereisn’t
adoordownthatcorridor,sowejust‘pop’him
orherintoexistence.Sometimeswereuse
sceneryfromanotherlevel,butchangethe
colourtintsoyouwon’tnotice.Butwecoders
donotice.Wenoticeitall.
Whenyouplayagame,it’slikewalking
throughawonderful,realisticworldthat’s
immersive,completeandbelievable.
However,you’reeffectivelysurroundedby
atinyarmyoflittlecode-elvesbodgingparts
togetheroff-camera.Theirjobsinclude
unloadingimagesfrommemoryonceyouleavethatroom,loadinginnewtexturesfor
andit’sknowledgethatcanruinalotofgames
foryou.It’snoaccidentthatthegamegenreI
playthemost(multiplayerFPS)isthegenre
I’veneverworkedon.IcanplayanFPSwithout
scoffingatitsgraphicsengineor lamentingits
AI,andappreciateassomeoneimmersedin
aworld,takingthatsituationtobe‘real’and
treatingitasanadventure,ratherthana
systemtobedebuggedandanalysed.
Thecurseis especiallyirritatingbecause
oneofthemotivationsformaking
originalgamesisthefrustrationofnot
havingthegamesyou wanttoplay. You
workyourfingerstothebonetomake
one,andthenrealiseyoucannever
appreciateitinthesamewaythatyour
playersdo.WhenIplayGratuitous
SpaceBattles,Imentallyseeitin
wireframe,asaseriesofcohabitingsystems
competingforGPU/CPUtimetooptimisethe
rendering.There’sagameontopofallthat,
butIfindithardtopullbackandseeitlikethat.
Sodespitehavinggod-likepowersandcool
sunglasses,wecanprobablyconcludethat,at
leastonsomelevel,theMatrixreallydidannoy
Neo.Despitethekungfu.
CLIFFHARRISistheone-mancoding
wizardbehindPositech
Games(www.positech.
co.uk),thedeveloperofGratuitousTank
Battles
@cliffski
thenextroom,predictingwhereyou’llgonext
andpopulatingthatareawithNPCs,while
silentlydeletingonesthatwerebehindyou.
Underthehood,gamesaretheequivalentof
ahandfulofactorsrunningaroundthebackof
thesetandputtingonanewhattoconveythe
impressionofavastcast.Nothingisasit
seems;it’sallthrowntogether.
Nowimaginethat,suddenly,inthesame
wayNeofindsouthisworldisasimulation,
thatyoucansuddenlyperceiveallthatasyou
playagame.There’snomoreguesswork
andworkingoutwhetheryoucansneakpast
characterX,becauseyouknowtheexact
parametersfedintothatscript.WhenIplay
Dishonored,Itryhardtotellmyselfthatif
someonewalkspastmewhenI’minthe
shadows,Ineedtofreezeinplace,butIknow
asanAIcoderthatArkanehasn’tcodedan
effectthattrackstheplayer’sfieldofview,soI
canswingthemouseasmuchasIwant.Asa
player,Imightpanicthatblowingoutacandle
mightcauseasmellthatalertstheguarddog.
Asaprogrammer,Iknowitwon’t.
Ineffect,asaprogrammerordesigner,
you’regivenneargod-likeabilitiesto seethe
worldinitstrueform,ratherthantheworld
theplayerisdesignedtosee.Onceyouhavethisknowledge,it’sextremelyhardtolose,
SOMETIMES WE REUSE SCENERY FROM ANOTHER LEVEL, BUT
CHANGE THE COLOUR TINT SO
YOU WON’T NOTICE
InDishonored,you’resupposedtofreezeifsomeonewalkspastintheshadows,butAI
codersknowthegamecan’ttrackyourfieldofview,soyoucanswingthemouseanyway
There’sagameontopofallthis,butthisisGratuitousTankBattlesasCliffseesit–in
debugmode
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Rick Lane
herearemanybiggerenginesthan
Avalanche,butnoengine‘does’big
quitelikeAvalanche.Thepower
behindRenegadeOps,TheHunter
andtheJustCauseseries,Avalancheis
capableofcrankingout3Denvironments
onatrulycolossalscale.Sprawlingforests,
hugemountainranges,idyllicisland
archipelagos,vastdesertsandtowering
cityscapescanberenderedoverliterally
hundredsofsquaremiles,while
simultaneouslyensuringyourPCis
decidedlynotonfire.
ThestoryofAvalancheStudiosandits
eponymousenginebeganintheprimordial
daysofcomputergaming.In1981,Acorn
teamedupwiththeBBCtoreleasetheBBC
Micro,intendedtoeducatechildrenin
programmingandcomputerliteracyinthe
UK.Onesuchcomputermadeitswayto
Sweden,andthehomeofLinusBlomberg,
whowouldintimebecometheco-founder
ofAvalancheStudios.TheMicro’sgaming
capabilitieswereprettyrudimentary,and
Blombergfoundhepreferredtweakingcode
andcreatinggamestoactuallyplayingthem.
Then,in1984,theMicrobecamehosttoa
littlegamecalledElite.
‘Itwastotallydifferentfromanythingelse
I’deverseen,’saysBlomberg.‘Especiallyin
thatera,gameswerelikesimpleplatform
games,andallofasudden,herewasahuge
epicgamewith8,000planetsineight
galaxies,anditwasjustenormous.That
wasin32KBontheBBCMicro,andIwas
like“howthehelldidtheydothis?”’
ThesheersizeandscopeofElite,
comparedtothepowerofthehardwarethat
ranit,stuckwithBlombergthroughhistime
asaprogrammeratParadox,beforesetting
upAvalancheStudiosin2003alongwith
ChristoferSundberg.Blombergtookhis
fascinationwithEliteandgaveitground,reapplyingtheideaofvastspacesthat
theengineroom
The heart of Just Cause 2’s epic 400-square-mile landscape,
Avalanche uses fractals to procedurally generate terrain
pushedthelimitsofhardwaretogamesin
whichtheprioritywaslandscapes.
‘You’dthinkwithhardwarethat’smany
thousandsoftimesfasterthanbackthen,
thatyouwouldbeabletorelaxabitmoreand
notthinkaboutperformanceandsuch,but
that’sactuallynottrue,’hesays.‘Youcan
neverstopbeingsmartifyouwanttobeon
thecuttingedge,becausetherearealways
waysyoucanusethishardwaretoproduce
biggerandgreatergames.’
Togiveanindicationofthescalethat
Avalanchecanachieve,thelandmassofJust
Cause2isapproximately400squaremilesin
size.Bethesda’sSkyrim,meanwhile,clocks
inatapuny16squaremiles.Blombergalso
informsmethatJustCause2’sislandsare
coveredbyaroundtenmilliontrees.Avalanche’sabilitytocreatethisenormous
numberofassetsisdowntoprocedural
generationtechnologydevelopedbythe
companythroughoutthepastdecade.
Thisisachievedusingfractals–self-
similarpatternsthatcanbesubdividedto
createmoreandmorecomplexstructures.
Forexample,asimpleshapesuchasa
trianglecanbesubdividedoverandoverto
formassetssuchasameshoutlinefora
gamecharacter.Manynaturalphenomena
suchasmountainrangesexhibitproperties
thatcanbeaccuratelymodelled
usingfractals,makingthemapt
forprocedurallygenerating
terrain.Thisenablesdevelopers
tocreatenatural-looking
landscapesusingafractionof
thememoryusuallyrequiredto
storesuchinformationwhen
designedmanually.
‘Tous,it’sreallyaphilosophy,anditcomes
downtoeverythingwedointheengine,’says
Blomberg.‘Forinstance,ifthedesignersask
forasystemthatcanhandle20AIvehicles,
weaskourselveshowwewoulddesigna
systemthatcanhandle20,000AIvehicles.’
Suchaseeminglyastronomicaltaskforcesthedevelopmentteamtothinkcreatively.
Avalanche
T
THE SHEER SIZE AND SCOPE OF
ELITE, COMPARED TO THE
POWER OF THE HARDWARE
THAT RAN IT, STUCK WITH
BLOMBERG AS A PROGRAMMER
Avalanchecan
renderenormous
environmentsvertically
aswellashorizontally
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95February 2013
‘That’showwefindsolutionsthataremuch
morescalable.Eventhoughwemightnot
useallofthatcapability,westillhaveavery
scalablesystem.’
Theothermajoradvantageofprocedural
generationisthatitsignificantlyreducesthe
amountoftimeandmoneyneededtocreate
environments.Thatsaid,therearesome
limitations.Cityscapesarefarharderto
developprocedurally,ironicallyduetotheir
naturallyartificialconstruction.Avalanche
canprocedurallygeneratelimitedaspects
ofcityscapesasitstands,andtheteamhas
createdamuchmorepowerfulgeneration
tool,butithasn’tyetbeenmadecommercial.
Creatingthispowerfultechnologyalso
presentsitsownproblems,specifically
regardingthesizeoftheworldsthestudio
enjoysbuilding.‘Therewereperiodsinthe
developmentofJustCause2whereitcould
take48hoursforafullexportoftheworld,’
explainsBlomberg.‘Soanartistmighthave
updatedsometextures,buttheycouldn’t
thenseeitin-gameuntil48hourslater.
Obviously,thatdoesn’tworkrealwell.’
Iftheenginehasaweaklink,however,
it’sphysicsintegration.Likemanyengines,
AvalancheusesHavokmiddlewarefor
physics,butitsgameslackeithertheweight
ofCryENGINEorthetightnessofSource.
Blombergexplainsthatthisisn’tstrictlya
technicalissue,butlikesomuchelsewith
Avalanche,thecauseistheteam’semphasis
onscale.‘Ifyouhaveover100different
vehiclesthatallshouldbehandling
differently,thenthefocusbecomesvariety.’
There’salsoaflipsidetothis:ifAvalanche
sportedmorerealisticphysics,manyofthe
moreabsurdactivitiesthatmakeitsgames
suchariotmightnotbepresent.Agood
exampleisAvalanche’suniquegrappling
hooktechnologyinbothJustCausegames.
Combinedwithaparachute,thegame’s
protagonistRicoRodriguezcanessentially
catapulthimselfvastdistancesoverthe
game’senormousmaps.Thegrapplinghook
wasn’toriginallyintendedtobeafeatureof
thosegames,butinsteademergedfrom
playingwiththeengine’ssystems.
‘Oneofourprogrammerswasjustfiddling
aroundwithsomeideasintheengineonenight,andhecameupwiththisideathathe
wantedtotry,’explainsBlombergwhen
recallingtheintroductionofthegrappling
hooktechnology.‘Andwesaid,“Sure,have
twoorthreedaystodoafirstimplementation
andwe’llseehowitgoes.”Hedidthat,and
wewerehooked,nopunintended.Itbecame
thecentrepieceofthatgameseries.’
Asforfutureplansfortheengine,
Blombergisvagueregardingthedetails.
Asidefromthefactthathugelandscapesare
stillverymuchafocus,andthatitwilltakeadvantageofthelatesthardware
innovations,hedoesn’tgivemuchaway.
GivenhowAvalanchelooksinitscurrent
state,however,it’sexcitingtoconsiderhow
itmightmakeuseoftessellationor
displacementmapping.
Whateverhappens,we’llcertainlybe
seeingAvalancheagain.Blomberg’steam
hascreatedastunningsliceoftechnology.It
doesn’tquitehavethepinpointsharpness
anddetailofthealmightyCryENGINE,butin
termsofthescale/fidelityratioitcanachieve,it’scurrentlyunrivalled.
ANALYSIS
ThemountainsinJustCause2areall
procedurallygenerated usingfractals
Thevarietyoflandscapesin
JustCause2onfullshow
JustCause2’soceansare
equallyenormous
Unlikethelandscapes,thecitiesinJust
Cause2weremostlybuiltbyhand
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100
98 February 2013
nadventurousexpectationsmightleadyoutothinkthata‘dreamPC’simply
hasthreeorfourgraphicscardsandallthemostexpensivehardware,butwe
liketousealittlemoreimagination,soourdreamPCisn’tjustaboutbunging
themostexpensivegeartogetherforthesakeofit.
Accordingly,we’vewater-cooledeverymajorhotspotinourPC,meaningthatit’snot
onlyincrediblyquiet,butmassivelyoverclockableandamazing-lookingtoo.We’vealso
customisedourcasewithacrylicpanels,whichareeasytomakeathomewithaminimum
ofmoddingskills.WeemployednothingmorethanaDremel,heatgunandelectricdrill–
itemsthatcostlessthan£50–tosetourdreamPCapartfromtherest.
Ofcourse,adreamPCalsoneedstohaveasillyamountofpowerontaptoo.Assuch,
we’vehand-pickedspecificcomponentsthatweknowcanhandletoughgamesat
maximumsettings,notjustonsingle,high-resolutionmonitors,butonmultiplemonitors
too.We’vealsotakenintoaccounttheneedtopowerthroughrenderingandvideo-editingtasks,whileavoidinggoingoverboardonunnecessary,wallet-bustingpurchases.
Antony Leather delves into the lustworthy world ofsuper-premium hardware and customisation, fromoverclocking and water cooling, to case modding andlighting. We show you how to build a dream PC for afraction of the cost of a ready-made machine
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CUSTOMISATION
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00 February 2013
Withoutdoubt,thefirstconsiderationyou
needtotickoffyourto-dolistisyourchoiceof
hardware.IfyourPCcan’tdowhatyouneed,
orisn’tmuchquickerthancheaperhardware,
you’llendupwastingyourtimeandmoney
buildingmoreofanightmarePCthana
dreamPC(seewhatwedidthere?).Withthis
inmind,wefirstlookedatthebesthardware
toplaygames,butalsodecidedtoinclude
someoftheusualfavouritesfromthestart,
suchasa256GBOCZVertex4SSDanda2TB
SeagateBarracudaharddisk.
T HE GR AP HI CS CA RD
There’sonlyonegraphicscardavailablethat’s
comfortableplayinggamesatextremely
highsettingsandresolutionsinevery
gamewe’veplayedrecently,
andthat’sNvidia’sGeForce
GTX6904GB.More
importantly,itdoesn’t
exhibitmicro-
stuttering,a
problemwe’ve
seeninother
dual-GPUcardsandsetups
WealsoavoidedoptingfortwoGeForceGTX
6802GBsforthesimplereasonthat,when
youcombinethecostofthecardswithtwo
waterblocksandfourwater-coolingfittings,
theyactuallycostmorethanaGeForceGTX
6904GB,andaremuchmoredifficultto
plumbintoyourwater-coolingsystem.
DespitetheGTX690costingover£800,several
waterblockmanufacturerscurrentlyhave
coolinghardwareavailableforitand,judging
bythebenefitwesawfromArctic’sAccelero
TwinTurbo690recently(seeIssue111,p44),
water-coolingthismonstrousgraphicscard
shouldyieldhugebenefitstoo.
T HE CP U
WhileLGA2011CPUshaveperformance
advantagesovertheirLGA1155counterparts
insomeheavilymulti-threadedworkstation
software,Intel’sCorei7-3770Krunscooler,
costsconsiderablylessandisactuallyfaster
insometeststoo.Intel’sCorei5-3570Kisa
veryfastandoverclockableCPU,buttheCore
i7-3770KalsoboastsHyper-Threading,whichgivesitanoticeableboostinperformancein
multi-threadedapplications,
particularlyinvideo
encodingandrendering
tasks.Asahappy
mediumthatbalances
cost,coolingrequirements
andmulti-threaded
performance,weoptedforthe
3770KforourdreamPC.
T HE ME MO RY
Although8GBofRAMhasquicklybecomethe
standardnowthat64-bitoperatingsystems
aremorewidespread,weaskedourselvesif
therewasaneedformore.Weregularlysee
6-7GBinusewheneditinglargephotos,
orinsomerenderingoperations,
especiallyifwehaveseveralother
applicationsopenatthesametime.
Therefore,giventhecomparatively
lowcostofmemoryatthemoment,we
decidedtooptfor16GBof1,600MHzCorsair
DominatorPlatinumDDR3memory,bringing
ahealthyamountofheadroomandfuture-
proofingtoourdreamPCforaminimaloutlay.
Whilesetscontaining4GBsticksarecheaper,
we’vestucktotwo8GBsticks,asfillingall
theDIMMslotsonyourmotherboardcan
sometimeshamperoverclocking.Thisway,
wealsohavetwofreeslotstofillshouldwe
everneedmore.
T HE MO T HE RB OA RD
Aswe’dplannedonusingaverylargecase
tocraminasmuchcoolinghardwareaswe
could,wedecidedthatourcurrentElite-listed
favouriteLGA1155board,theAsusMaximusV
Gene,wouldleavethecaselookingempty,
whilealsolimitingexpansionoptions.What’s
more,wealsofoundthat
waterblockswereinshort
supplyfortheGene.
Thankfully,itsbiggersibling–
theMaximusVFormula–has
plentyofoptionsforwatercooling
andonlycostsaround£40more.
T HE PS U
Corsair’sHX850wonanApprovedAwardin
ourrecentPSULabstest(seeIssue110,p68),
soitwasalreadyonourshortlist.However,
whenwefoundthatCorsairmakespre-
moddedmodularcablesforit,we
immediatelyselecteditasourchoicePSU.
Braidingyourowncablesisoneofthemost
tediousandtime-consumingtasksyoucan
attemptand,whilewedon’tshyawayfrom
cable-braidingbyhand(we’llbetakingalook
athowtodoitinnextmonth’sHowTosection),
you’dbesillytooverlookpre-madecablesthat
havebeentailor-madeforyourspecificPSU.
T HE CA SE
WithanyPCfocusedonlownoiseandwater
cooling,thechoiceofcaseispivotal.Wehada
shortlistofseveralattractivecasessuchas
NZXT’snewPhantom820(fullreviewinnext
issue),SilverStone’sTJ07andCoolerMaster’s
CosmosII.Allhaveampleroomforplentyof
water-coolinghardware,lookgreatandare
easytomodtoo.Howeverweoptedfor
SilverStone’sTJ11,despiteitbeingthemost
expensivecaseonourshortlist,foracoupleof
reasons.Itspriceissteep,butwe’reindream
PCterritory,sowefeelourchoiceisjustified.
It’sveryaccommodatingtowardsmodding
andwatercooling,anditshugebottom
sectioncanhouseaquad140mm-fan
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101February 2013
102
radiator.The
radiatorsitson
itsside,drawing
incoolairfrom
onesideand
expellingitout
theother,without
pushingitback
intothecase.The
CosmosIIandTJ07candothistoo,butnot
withaquad140mmradiator.What’smore,
theTJ11canfitaPSUinthelowersectiontoo.
TheTJ11’ssleekcurvesandaluminium
bodyalsomakeitoneofthebest-looking
largecases.It’seasytospray-painttoo– the
entirecaseisscrewedtogether,ratherthan
riveted,soit’seasytodismantle.It’sbasically
theperfectblankcanvasforadreamPC.
TH E WAT ER -C OO L IN G HA RD WAR E
OneofthereasonswechosetheSilverStone
TJ11wasitsabilitytohouseahugequad
140mmradiatorinthebottom.Thisoffers
bettercoolingcapacitythanaquad120mm
radiatorbutonlycostsaround£5more–a
no-brainerifyouhavetheroomforit.This
shouldmeanwecanloweritsfanspeedsto
silentlevelswithoutsacrificingcoolingtoo.
There’sverylittlebenefitfromusingtwo
loopsortwopumpsinasystemwithoneCPU
andgraphicscard,sowepairedasingleLaing
D5pumpwithanEKWaterBlocksEK-D5
X-RES100CSQreservoir,whichattaches
directlytothepump.Whileaseparate
reservoirisn’tstrictlynecessary,weadded
anAlphacoolRepackDualBayres5.25in
reservoirtoo,sowecouldtopupthecoolant
withoutopeningthePC,andeasilymonitor
coolantlevels.
WealsooptedforEKWaterBlocks’
GeForceGTX6904GBfull-coverwaterblock,theMaximusVFormulawaterblockkitand
itslatestSupremacyCPUwaterblock,all
finishedinblackacetal.Weused1/2inID,
3/4inODtubingandalsomanagedtoget
holdofMonsoon’slatest
redanodised
compression
fittings,along
withsamplesof
itsnewrotary
angledfittings,
whichhaveinsertsforLEDs.
DREAM PC SHOPPING LIST
Hardware Model Price incVAT Supplier
CPU Intel Core i7-3770K £240 www.overclockers.co.uk
Motherboard Asus Maximus V Formula £203 www.dabs.com
Memory16GBCorsair1,600MHzDominator
DDR3£110 www.scan.co.uk
Graphicscard AsusNvidiaGeForceGTX690 £812 www.scan.co.uk
Soundcard AsusXonarDX £55 www.ebuyer.com
PSU CorsairHX850 £134 www.scan.co.uk
Case SilverStone TJ11 £470 www.scan.co.uk
SSD OCZVertex 4256GB £164 www.dabs.com
Harddrive SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 £77 www.novatech.co.uk
AccessoriesCorsairindividuallysleevedmodularPSU
cables£50 www.scan.co.uk
WATER-COOLING AND MODDING COMPONENTS
Hardware Model Price incVAT Supplier
CPUwaterblock EKSupremacyCPUwaterblock £56 www.aquatuning.co.uk
GPUwaterblock EK-FC690GTXwaterblock £110 www.aquatuning.co.uk
Motherboard
waterblock
EKFBAsusMaximusVFormula
waterblockkit£80 www.specialtech.co.uk
Reservoir1 AlphacoolRepackDualBayres5.25in £33 www.aquatuning.co.uk
Reservoir2 EK-D5 X-RES 100 CSQ £50 www.aquatuning.co.uk
Radiator PhobyaG-Changer560radiator £85 www.aquatuning.co.uk
Fans 4 x Corsair AF140 fans £52 www.aquatuning.co.uk
Compressionfittings3xMonsoonred1/2inID,3/4inOD
compressionfittingkits£87 www.aquatuning.co.uk
Lightingmodulesfor
water-coolingloop2x MonsoonG1/4inlightingmodules £14 www.aquatuning.co.uk
Adaptors 2x Monsoonrotaryangledadaptors £18 www.aquatuning.co.uk
Adaptors2xMonsoonrotaryangledlightport
adaptors£19 www.aquatuning.co.uk
Tubing 2xMasterkleertubing10ft £24 www.aquatuning.co.uk
Lighting 2xPhobyawhiteLEDflexlights £14 www.aquatuning.co.uk
MATERIALS
Hardware Price incVAT Supplier
Chrometrim £4 www.ebay.co.uk
Redacrylictintedsheet £18 www.sheetplastics.co.uk
Blacksatinspraypaint £6 www.diy.com
Plasticprimerspraypaint £6 www.diy.com
Stepdrillbit £7 www.ebay.co.uk
Dremel3000 £40 www.amazon.co.uk
Heatgun £10 www.ebay.co.uk
TOTAL COST INC VAT £3,048
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104
CUSTOMISATION
A I R - CO OL IN G PE R FO R MA N C E
Togetanideaoftheimprovementincooling
fromourwater-coolingkit,wefirstbuiltthe
systeminsidethecasewithjustthestock
GeForceGTX690coolerandArctic’s
Freezeri30CPUcooler.Wethensetabout
overclockingourCPUtoseejusthowfarwe
couldpushitonaircooling.Tomakethetesta
faircomparison,wealsoreducedthefansof
thecasetotheirlowestspeedtokeepnoiseto
aminimum. 01
However, thisdidn’tpreventthegraphics
cardandCPUcoolersfrommakingquiteadin
oncewestartedincreasingclockspeedsand
voltages.Wemanagedanoverclockof 4.6GHz
usinga vcoreof1.35V,althoughthisresulted
inaCPUtemperatureofover90°C,witha
deltaTof67°C.Meanwhile,thegraphicscard
wasalreadyhittingadeltaTof54°Catstock
speed,withMSIAfterburnershowing
temperaturesinexcessof 80°C,sowe
decidedtoleaveitalone.Thiswastheupper
limitofourexploitswithaircooling–wehope
ourwater-coolingsystemwilldomuchbetter.
P L A N N I N G A N D M O D D I N G
Wedrewupsomefairlyambitiousplansfor
modifyingourSilverStoneTJ11case.Thefront
sectionhasfartoomanydrivebaycoversfor
ourtastes,sowedecidedtofilltwowiththe
dual-bayreservoirandtherestwithacustom
illuminatedacrylicfrontpanel.Wealso
wantedtoaddalargeacrylicmid-section
platetothecase,separatingthelowerand
upperchambersandallowingtubingto
disappearintoit–thiswouldbetricky,but
worththeeffort.
Toaddalittlepizzazztoeachacrylicsection,
wemaskedupdesignsandthenpaintedover
themwithsatinblackspraypainttomatchthe
restofthecase.Removingthemasking
revealstheunpaintedacrylic,readytobe
illuminatedfromunderneath.
Weorderedenoughred-tintedacrylicto
completethetask,butothercoloursare
availabletoo.Weusedpenandpencil
sketches,andacardtemplateforthemid-
sectionplate,butit’sworthcreatinga3D
renderinGoogleSketchUpformorecomplicateddesigns.02
Westartedwiththefrontacrylicpanel,
measuringittofitneatlyinplaceoftheTJ11’s
numerousdrivebaycovers,andbeneathour
dual-bayreservoir.WeusedourDremel’s
flexibleshafttogetastraightcut,usingalight-
usecuttingdisconmediumspeed.03 04
It’svitaltotest-fitmoddedpartssuchas
acrylicpanelsbeforeyoupaintthem–ifyou
needtotrimtheedges,nowisthetimetodoit.Onceyourpanelfitsperfectly, it’stimetomask
itupandapplyyourdesign.Weusededging
trimfortheedgesofourgrille-shaped
designs,withmaskingtapeinthemiddle.
Don’tbetemptedjusttousemaskingtape,
asthepaintcanseepintotheedgesandend
upmakingyourdesignslookmessyand
amateurish. 05 06
Tomakethegrilledesigns,wecreatedan
ovalshapeinMSPaintandprinteditouttocreatethreeidenticaldesigns,measuringthe
05
07
03
01
06
08
04
02
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acrylictomakesuretheovalswerealigned
andcentredcorrectly.Withany painted
surface,it’salwaysbesttowashitwithmild
soapywatertoremoveanygrimebeforeyou
paintit.Asyou’vealreadymaskedtheacrylic,
useasmallclothorcottonbudstocleanthe
exposedareasyouintendtopaint,thenrinse
themwithwater. 07 08
Applyplasticprimerfirst–thisgives
adhesiontotheacrylic,allowingyour
standardspraypainttosticktoitlikeanyother
material.Allowthistodryforhalfanhour,
thenapplythecolourcoat.If thefinishisn’t
perfect,usefinewetanddrysandpaperto
smooththesurface,then applymorecoats.
Whenyou’vefinished,removethemasking
andinspectyourdesign.Youmayneedtouse
acottonbudtotouchupsomeedges.
Tomountourfrontpanelinthecase,we
usedplasticadhesivetosecurefourcustom
mountingarmstoit.Wecutthesefromanoff-
cutofouracrylicsheet,sandedthemtosize,
thendrilledholessowecouldmounttheminthecase’s5.25indrivebays. 0 9 1 0
Tobeabletofitallourcoolinggearinthe
TJ11,weneededtoremovethebottomdrive
cages,the180mmfansandthefanmounts.
Asallthecoolingwillbehandledbyour
mammothradiator,losingthesefans
shouldn’tbeanissue,andwe’llstillhave
the120mmrooffanforcomfort. 11 12
Ourfirsttargetforsomewater-cooling
treatmentwasourGTX690.Hatefully,Nvidia
hasusedstar-shapedscrewsinsteadofhex
orstandard–headscrewstofittheGTX690’s
stockcooler,soyou’llprobablyneedtoheadto
yourlocalhardwarestoretopickuptheright
toolforthejob.Withthestockcoolerremoved,
weaddedthesuppliedthermalpadsand
fittedthe newwaterblock. 13 14
Wethendidthesamewiththe
motherboard,fittingthecustomchipset
andVRMwaterblocksandmountedthe
motherboard,completewiththe CPU
waterblockandfittings,ontheTJ11’s
removablemotherboardtray. 15 1 6
Withallthebarbspointingintheirrespectivedirections,wethenworkedout
theroutethecoolantwouldtakebefore
beginningworkonthemid-sectionpanel.
Thetubingwouldcriss-crossthroughthe
panel,downtotheradiatorandbackupagain,
linkingallthecomponents.Wecreatedacard
mock-upofthemid-sectionpaneltouseasa
template,thencuttheacrylictosize. 17 18
Thepanelcanbesecuredtothecaseusing
themountingpointsattherear,whichwere
originallydesignedfor thecase’sfanmount
brackets.Withthepanelsecured,wethen
placedacardboardboxundertheacrylicto
provideabracetobenditintoshape.
Weappliedheatusingourheatgunand
graduallytheacrylicsaggeddown,enabling
ustoaddarightanglesothatitbenttowards
thebaseofthecase,allowingthesidepanelto
fitasnormal. 1 9 20
Weusedthedrive-cagemountingscrews
ontheothersideofthecasetosecurethe
oppositesideofthepanel.Onceitwas
trimmedtoshape,weworkedoutwhereall
ourtubingwouldneedtopassthroughandmarkedtheholes.Wecutthesewithastep
13 14
09
15
10 11
16 17
12
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CUSTOMISATION
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106
OneofthemainreasonswechosetheSilverStoneTJ11wasitsabilitytohouseahugequad140mm
radiatorinthebottom.
Thequad140mmradiatoronlycostsaround£5morethanthe120mmequivalent–ano-brainer
ifyouhavetheroomforit.
Asus’MaximusVFormulahasplentyofoptionswhenitcomestowatercooling,anditonlycostsaround£40morethantheGene.
Withsuchalargeradiator,youcanrunthefourfansatreallylowspeedsandstillhavegreatcooling,
makingforamuchquieterPC.
EKWaterBlocks’MaximusVFormulawaterblockkit,anditslatestSupremacyCPUwaterblock,areallfinishedinblackacetal.
The1/2inID,3/4inODtubingcriss-crossesthroughthepanel,downtotheradiatorandbackupagain,linkingallthecomponents.
WegotholdofMonsoon’slatestredanodisedcompressionfittings,alongwithsamplesofitsnewrotaryangledfittingswithLEDinserts.
TheEKWaterBlocksGeForceGTX6904GBfull-coverwaterblockmakesahugedifferencetothetemperatureoftheGPUs.
WepairedasingleLaingD5pumpandwithanEKWaterBlocksEK-D5X-RES100CSQreservoir,whichattachesdirectlytothepump.
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06 February 2013
CUSTOMISATION
OVERCLOCKING AND COOLING RESULTSUsingaircooling,wemanagedtooverclock
ourCorei7-3770Kto4.6GHzbeforeit
startedpushingpast90°C.However,our
dreamPC’scoolingpowerresultedina
deltaTof55°C,whichis12°Ccoolerthan
ourfavouriteCPUaircooler.Wethen
increasedtheoverclockto4.8GHzusing
avcoreof1.4V.ThisresultedinadeltaT
of59°C–stillnearly10°Ccoolerthanthe
temperaturewithouraircooler.
Ourgraphicscardcoolingbeggared
beliefthough.Thefull-coverwaterblock
shavedanenormous39°Cofftheload
temperaturecomparedtothestockcooler.
Armedwithsomeseriousheadroom,we
rampedupthemaximumpowerdrawin
MSIAfterburnerto130percentandtried
overclockingthegraphicscard.
Wetoppedoutat100MHzextraonthe
core,whichboostedtheUnigineHeaven
benchmarkscorefrom3,304to3,530.We
thenmanagedtoraisethememoryclock
by300MHzto1,800MHz(7.2GHzeffective),
resultinginafurtherboostto3,740.This
sawthepowerdrawtopoutat430Wunder
load,butthiswasstillhalfourPSU’srating.
ThePCwasalsosignificantlyquieter
thanitwaswiththeair-coolingequipment
installed. Apartfromtheoccasionalextra
whirofthePSUfanwhenunderheavyload,
thelowthrumofthefour140mmradiator
fanswasallwecouldhear.Thiswasafar
cryfromthenoticeablenoisemadebythe
graphicscard’sstockcoolerandtheCPU
aircooler,whilethecasefansweren’t
particularlyquieteither.
21 22
18 19 20
23 24
drill,usingthe18mmcutter,thensandedthe
holesalittletoallowthe19mmtubingtopass
througheasily.Wethenwentthroughthe
wholemaskingandpaintingmethodagain.
Ourpatternhasredlinesofacrylicrunning
fromtheedgeofthepaneltothetubing,which
wemadeusingedgetrimtape. 2 1 2 2
Finally,wefinishedpaintingthepaneland
installedit inthecase,beforeconnectingall
thetubingandfillingourwater-cooling
system.Toilluminatetheacrylicpanels,we
usedwhiteflexlights,whichcanbestuckin
placetoachievethedesiredeffect. 23 24
Thelastdetailsweresomeacrylicfascias
forourharddiskandSSD,andsomechrome
trim,whichweaddedtotherunnersthatpass
aroundthefrontofthecase.
GIMP IMAGE EDITING
HANDBRAKE H.264 VIDEO ENCODING
MULTI-TASKING
OVERALL
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4 ,000
2,323Custom PC dream PC
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4 ,000
4,233Custom PC dream PC
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4 ,000
2,010Custom PC dream PC
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4 ,000
2,855Custom PC dream PC
0 25 50 75 100
fps82fps59Custom PC dream PC
CRYSIS 2 2,56 0 x 1,60 0, Ultr a sett ings , no AA, DX11
0 25 50 75 100
Custom PC dream PC
1,92 0 x 1,08 0, Ult ra set ting s, no AA, DX11
fps 100fps87
CPULoad delta T
0 20 40 60 80
67°C
55°CCustom PC dream PC
Arctic Freezer i30
GP ULoad delta T
0 15 30 45 60
54°C
15°CCustom PC dream PC
Stock cooler
Minimum Average
COOLING AND PERFORMANCE RESULTS
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08 February 2013
CustomPC’sFinding yourself dumbstruck when your folks asks what you want
for Christmas? Let Custom PC point you in the right direction
TheslipperyslopeofPCupgradehabits
mighthaveareputationforemptying
bankaccounts,butyoucangetsome
surprisinglyusefulgizmosthat
arebothcheapandsmall
enoughtowarrant
stocking-fillerstatus.
Oneoldfavouriteis
theZalmanFanMate
2fancontroller
(£2.69incVATfrom
www.quietpc.com).Basicallya
variableresistorinabox,thisblackplasticboxcanmakethedifference
betweenanirritatingwhirringfromyourfan
andapleasantthrum.Ithasallthecables
neededtohookituptoastandard3-pinfan
andpowerconnector,andanadhesivestrip
soyoucanstickitanywhereonyourcase,
orevenonitsexterior,ifthewireshave
anescaperoute,foreasyaccess.
Anothergood
ideaisa
completethermal
compound
upgradekit.Abottle
ofAkasaTIM (£4.78incVATfromwww.scan.
If Santa can find space between the walnuts, satsumas and novelty pencils,
he should be able to squeeze one of these into your overgrown sock
co.uk)willmakelightworkofcleaninggunk
fromCPUsandGPUs,andatubeofArctic
MX-2 (£3.72incVATfrom
www.scan.co.uk)willdoafine
jobofsealingthethermal
connectionbetweenyourchip
anditscooler,whilealsobeing
electricallynon-conductive,
meaningitcan’tcauseshort
circuitsonexposedcores.
Thismeansit’salsoidealfor
replacingthethermalpaste
underanIvyBridgeCPUheatspreader(seeIssue111,
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CHRISTMAS WISH LIST
109February 2013
110
p114).Ifyouplantodo
thelatter,it’salso
worthcompleting
thekitwithaPhobya
two-component
thermalglue
(£3.25incVATfrom
www.aquatuning.
co.uk),whichwill
enableyouto
securelystickthe
heatspreaderbackonyourCPU.
ManyofMayhems’variouscoolantdyes
alsocomeinhandystocking-sized10ml
bottles(£5.99incVATfromwww.aquatuning.
co.uk),andenableyoutoaddstrikingcolours
toyourwater-coolingloop,includingblue,
pinkandpurpleand
UV-reactivevarietiestoo.
Meanwhile,therearealso
plentyofgeekygadgetsthat
havevirtuallynothingtodo
withPCs,butthatwe’dstillbe
delightedtoreceivefromthe
bigbeardymaninred.Atthe
topofthelististheHan
SoloinCarbonite
SiliconeTray (£9.99
incVATfromwww.
firebox.com),which
enablesyoutomake
miniversionsof
Jabba’sfavourite
wall-decorationthat
youcandropintoa
softdrink.Fireboxalso
pointsoutthatyoucanfillthebigmouldwith
chocolateforamoreaccurate(andtastier)
representationofthescruffiestnerfherderin
thegalaxy.
Wealsolikethe
heat-sensitivePac-
Manmug(£6.99inc
VATfromwww.
firebox.com);,which
showsanempty
mazewhenempty,
butrevealsNamco’spill-
gobblingpiechart,completewithghostsand
cherries,whenyoufilledwithahotbeverage.
Finally, ifyouhaven’treaditalready,we
can’trecommendErnestCline’sbookReady
PlayerOne (£5.59incfromwww.
amazon.co.uk)enough.Witha
compellingstory,genuinely
cleverideas,
detailedattention
totechnicalaccuracy
andmoreretrogaming
referencesthanacopyof
SinclairUser,it’stheperfect
page-turnerfortheseasoned
gamingandtechnology
enthusiast.
The sort of gifts you can proudly wrap and place under
the tree on Christmas Eve. Just remember to write
your thank you letters!
Areallysimplepresentthat canmake
amajordifferencetogamingis
anewrodent,andadecentone
doesn’thavetocosttheearth
either.Ourcurrentfavouriteis
theMionixNaos3200(£35inc
VATfromwww.overclockers.
co.uk),whichfeelsexactlyright
inyourhand,whilealsooffering
adjustablesensitivityandlighting,
nottomentionTeflon-coated
feetsoitglideseasilyacross
yourpad.
Meanwhile,forsouthpaw
readers,SteelSeries’Kana
hasagreatambidextrousdesign(£35.99inc
VATfromwww.overclockers.co.uk)andcosts
similarmoney.
Whatbetterwaytotryoutyournewmouse
thanwithoneof2012’smanygreatPC
games?We’veseenthereturnoftheclassic
hack-n-slashgenrewithDiabloIII thisyear,
whichhasacompellingcampaignthatyou
canplayincooperativemodewithyour
mates–makesureyoubindyourkeys
sensibly!Alsobackfromthegraveis
theclassicXcomseries,inthelatest
instalment–EnemyUnknown.However,whileresurrectingoldideasisallwelland
good,ourfavouritegameof
theyearhastobebrandnew
titleDishonored,withits
incrediblevoiceacting,great
useofsoundandfantastic
world-building.Ifonegamegoes
onyourChristmaslistthisyear,
makeitDishonored.
Meanwhile,wethoroughly
recommendgettingadecent
fancontrollertostashinafree
5.25indrivebay.Notonlywill
thesegiveyoueasy,tangible
accesstothespeedofallthefansin
yoursystem,butmanyofthemalsolook
absolutelylovely.Oursistersite,www.bit-
tech.net,recentlytookalookatFractal’s
Adjust108,whichoffersahugerangeof
controloverthespeedsofsixfans(and
headroomtocontrolmoreviasplittercables),
andits lightingsystemlooksgorgeous.
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10 February 2013
Ifyouwantareallystylishdrivebayfiller,
however,thenyoucan’taskformorethanthe
vintagenumericalnixietubesfoundinthe
LamptronFC10,whichgivethecontrollera
deliciouslyold-school,steam-punkflavour.
Thismighthavetobealatepresentthough;
it’snotoriouslyhardtofindintheUK,butyou
canpickoneupfor$99(£62)fromwww.
frozencpu.com
Ofcourse,it’sallverywellreducingyour
casefans’noise,butyoudon’twanttomess
aroundwithyourCPUcoolingfanunless
you’reabsolutelysurethattheslowfanwill
beabletohandletheheat.Ifyou’restill
perseveringwiththestockcoolerthatwas
includedwithyourCPUthennow’sagood
timetogetholdofadecentthird-partycooler.
IfyouhaveanIntelCPU,youcan’tgowrong
withtheArcticFreezeri30 (£28incVATfrom
www.dabs.com),whichknocksthesillynoise
onthehead,whilealsoimprovingcooling,
providingmoreoverclockingheadroom.
Ifyoureallywantaninterestingchallenge
forChristmas,though,ourcurrentfavourite
computerhobbyist’spieceofkitisthe
RaspberryPi (£29.95incVATforthe512MB
version fromwww.cpc.co.uk). Believeitor
not,thismoneybuysyouacomplete
computer, witha700MHzARM processor,
512MBofRAM,anOpenGL-compatible
graphicschip,whichcanalsohandleH.264
videodecoding,plusanetworkconnection
andallthebasicI/O,soundandHDMIports.
Itisn’tthelastwordinhigh-endcomputing,
butit’sagreatlittleboardforexperimenting
withprogramming,andyoucanevenuseit
asamediacentrerunningXBMC.
Forsomeideasofwhat
youcandowithit,check
outourguide(seeIssue
106,p98),orevenaskfor
theRaspberryPiUser
Guide(£9.74incVATfrom
www.amazon.co.uk),whichwasco-authoredby
ourveryownGarethHalfacree!
Ofcourse,noChristmasday
wouldbecompletewithouta
familyboardgame.Infact,ifyou
don’tcelebrateChristmas,orare
spendingthedaywithfriends
ratherthan family,thenthere
aremanygreatboardgames
andcardgamesavailableto
testyourstrategicprowess.
Ourparticularfavouritesthis
yearareAGameofThrones:
TheBoardGame(£40.99 incVAT
fromwww.gameslore.com),puttingyouin
chargeofoneofthemanyclansofWesteros.
Thesecrecyofthe
planning phasebreeds
aridiculouslevelof
suspicion–isthatreally
anaidtokenthatmyally
hasplaced,orawell
hiddeninvasionforce?
Wealsoparticularlylove
theWarhammerInvasion
LivingCardGame (£24.99inc
VATfromwww.gameslore.com),
whichis balanced,gloriouslyintense
andfiercelycompetitive.
Portal2mighthavebeenlastyear’sgame
oftheyear,butwestillhaveasoftspotforthe
loyalCompanionCube,whichloyallyfollows
youeverywherelikeastupid,squaredog.
Somehow,youfeelbadwhenyouhavetoburn
ittodeathinthefirstgame.Anyway,there’sa
lotofCompanionCubemerchandisedoing
therounds,butourpersonal
favouriteisthecookiejar
(£21.99 incVATfromwww.
forbiddenplanet.co.uk).You
couldfillitwithcookies,ofcourse,
butweplantofillourswith
cakeinstead.
Ifyou’vebeenlooking
longinglyatourdreamPC
(seep98),andfancyhaving
agoatthismoddinglark,but
don’thaveallthekityet,
thenthetrustyDremelisthe
perfecttooltogetyou
started.Therearelotsof
rotarytoolsavailable,
buttheDremelhas
suchawiderangeof
accessoriesthatit’s
worthpayinga
littleextracashfor
therealdeal.
Youcangetabasiccorded
Dremel3000setforjust£40,
butwerecommendthefull
Dremel3000SeriesMultitool
with25Accessoriesand
Flexishaftset(£66incVATfrom
www.amazon.co.uk),whichincludesahard
case,loadsofbitsand,formodders,theall-
importantFlexishaft.
For those of us lucky enough to have generous
relatives who don’t mind splashing some cash on their
pressies, and for those of us who just like to dream.
For£159incVAT(http://play.google.com/
nexus7),the16GBNexus7isanamazing
bargainforsuchapowerfulandflexible
tablet.Thedevicehasa7inback-litIPSscreen
witha1,280x800resolution,anNvidiaTegra3graphicschipandagorgeousfinishthat
makesitgorgeoustohold,eveniftheplastic
backisn’tasflashastheiPad’s.Unlikethe
WiFi-onlyiPads,theNexus7alsocomeswith
GPS,makingitidealforputtingonthe
dashboard,orforatouchofamateurastronomyviaGoogleSkyMap,plushiking.
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CHRISTMAS WISH LIST
111February 2013
scale IronThronefromtheseries(£20,000
incVATfromwww.firebox.com,and
modelledherebyBen).Whetheryou’re
pretendingtolaughlikeRobertBaratheon
orsneerlikeevilJoffreyLannister,thisisthe
perfectplatformfrom whichto ruleoveryour
ownfantasykingdom.
There’sawidevariety
ofgamesonoffer,butwe
particularlylikeplayingaround
witholdPCclassicsonthe
AndroidversionofDOSBox,
andtheSCUMMvirtual
machineforplayingold
LucasArtsadventures.If
you’reluckyenoughtosnag
yourselfaNexus7, don’t
forgetyoucanreadCustom
PC(http://tinyurl.com/
CPCZinio)onitviaZiniotoo!
ThereareplentyofPCupgradesthatcould
makeabigdifferenceinthiscategorytoo.At
thetopofthelist,ifyoudon’thaveonealready,
isasolidstatedrive.Thedifferencetheymake
toWindowsstart-uptimesis
amazing,andtheyalso
putastoptoallthe
tediousharddrive
chuggingthatprevents
youfromdoingwhatyou
wantimmediately.Ourcurrent
favourite,intermsofbangperbuck,
istheOCZVertex4256GB(£155inc VATfrom
www.ebuyer.com).
Nextonourlistwouldbea
GeForceGTX670graphics
card,providingthe
perfectbalance
betweenspeedand
valueformoney,plus
theabilitytoplayall
yourgameswithallthe
settingsmaxedoutat2,560x
1,600.Notonlythat,butthePNY flavour
(pictured)cancurrentlybehadforjust£264
incVATfromwww.scan.co.uk
Finally,weenterthedreamylandof
aspiration,maxed-outcreditcardsand an
inabilitytojustifyyour
purchases.Thesearethe
presentswe’dlovetoreceive,
butsimplycan’tjustifythe
pricetags.Let’sstartwiththe
LegoSuperStarDestroyer,
whichtookthreeofusaround
ninehoursoverfournights
toassemble,withits3,200
pieces.It’sanimmenseslab
ofStarWarsLegoparadise,
anditcosts£324incVATfrom
www.amazon.co.uk.Yes,it’s
justLego.Yes,it’sgivingmoremoneyto that
Lucasbloke.Yes,itisn’tremotelyworththe
money.Butit’sstillamazing.
InsimilarterritoryisForgeWorld’sReaver
titansforWarhammer40,000.Takingtheidea
fromtheoriginalepic-scalemodels, these
40K-scaletitansaremadefromresin-mix
thatenablesForgeWorldtomodelan
incredibleamountofdetail.Fromthetitan
crewsatinthegiantrobot’sheadtothe
detailedhull,thesearetremendous,notto
mentionhuge,models.Theonly
snagistheprice–the
bodyalonecosts£420
incVATfromwww.
forgeworld.co.uk,and
thenyouhavetobuythe
weaponstoo.Theseareclearly
for40K-enthusiastsonly, and
theirpriceinpoundsbearslittle
relationtotheirpriceinpointsbut,my
god,they’relovelytoys.
Finally,ifyouhappentohavesimilar
fundstoRichardBransonand,likeus,
you’reasuckerforallthingsrelatedto
GeorgeRRMartin’sASongofIceandFire
series(GameofThronesintheHBOseries)
thengiftsdon’tgetmuchbetterthanthis full-
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traditionallygamingrigs,with theoccasional
HTPCandhomeservertossedintothemix.
CPC:Whatdifficultiesdidyoucomeacross
whilebuildingBIO-A10?
Jeremy:Withanymodproject,unforeseen
issuesalwaysappear.Ienjoythosekindsof
challengesbecauseitkeepsmybrainsharp
andfocusedonthetasksathand.Ifaproject
isgoingreallysmoothly, Ibecomesuspiciousfairlyquickly,whichtendstobecomeaself-
fulfillingprophecy.Amazinglyenough,I was
surprisedbyhowsmoothlythisprojectwent.
However,duetopersonalstrife–getting
laidofffrommycareer,findingoutwehada
childontheway,housingproblemsandother
personalissues–Iputmoddingontheback
burnerforawhile.AftermywifeandI
purchasedahouseoverayearago,Idecided
toconvertthegarageintoanewworkshop.I
wasdonemourningthelossoftheoldshop
andneededtomoveforwards.Itackledthat
goaldiligently,buildingworkbenchesand
hanginghigh-outputlightingandsoonto
makeitalittlemoremod-friendly,especially
forphotographyandfilming.TheBIO-A10
projectwasthefirstmodprojectoutofthe
newE.E.L.mod-shop.
CPC:Whatmaterialsdidyouuse,andwhy?
Jeremy:IusedAluminiumfortheoccasionalstructuralbrace,ortocoverupareasonthe
112 February 2013
CPC:Whatoriginallyinspiredyouto
buildBIO-A10?
Jeremy:EveryfewyearsImodacase
formybestfriendasagift;hehappens
toenjoybiohazard-themedideas.Notin
reality,mindyou;Ihaven'tfoundhimplaying
withcolostomybagsoranything–atleast
notyet.IwasabletograbacoupleofLianLi
PC-A10chassisforareallyattractiveprice
throughdamaged-productclearanceat
work,soIfiguredI'duseoneofthemforhis
upcomingbuild.Theexistingdentsin the
chassisjustifieddestroyingitalittlemore.
CPC:Whatothermodshaveyoubuilt?
Jeremy:Quiteafewprojectsovertheyears.A
smallamounthadactualprojectlogs,andan
evensmalleramountofthosewerepublished
inoneformoranother.Mostofthemwere
eitherclientbuildsforgamingPCsorjust'dailydrivers'.Mypersonalprojectswere
Your chance to get involved in CustomPC
NameJeremyBirch
Age35
OccupationProfessionalmodder,freelancegraphicdesigner
LocationPalmBay,Florida
MainusesforPCGaming,websurfing
Likes Largeceramicmugsoffreshlygrounddark-roastblackcoffee,case
modding,PCgaming,classicliteratureDislikesSmallpapercupsofblandcoffee,brandedPCs,stockcases
Makingyourwork look
realistically rustyand
weathered isa fineart.
JeremyBirchexplains
theprocessheusedto
giveaLianLiPC-A10abiohazardtheme
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chassisthatnolongerneededtobeseen.I
usedacrylicaswell,whichismypersonal
favouritecanvasthat'susedinallmyprojects.
Ialsousedplentyofpaintingtechniques.
Attheriskofsoundingpretentious,I'vebeen
experimentingwithweatheringona fewrigs
inthepastandalwaysenjoyit.I tendtocome
upwithaformulaforeachprojecttofollow,so
Ihaveconsistentresult,buttheylookalittle
differentfrommypreviousweatheredbuilds.
Forthisparticularrig,Idevelopedamethodof
layingdownabrownish-redrattle-canprimer
(purposelylaidunevenly),followedbyrattle-
canflatblackandrattle-can'camouflage'
brownpaintinterchangeably,soitlookslike
it'sdarkerinsomeareas.
Ithenusedareallylarge-gritfoamsanding
blockandsteelwooltogivethecasea'used'
look.Meanwhile,additionalnicksweremade
withscrewdrivers,myownteeth,orwhateverIhappenedtohavenearme,toaddsomemore
'personality'tothechassis.I'veeventossed
abucketfulofscrewsandboltsacrosspanels
inthepast.
Meanwhile,Iusedcoppersulphateandiron
solutionstobuilduptheareasIchoseto'rust'
morethanweather,andappliedmorecopper
sulphatetotheironforamoreorangetone
andlessforabrownertone.Alittletrickto
114
readerswhowishtousethestuff–to
acceleratethereaction,useaheat-gunwhile
it'sdrying.Itsavesalotoftimeandreally
makestheorangetonespopout.Onsome
areasIbuiltupovertenlayersofeachuntilI
washappywiththeresults,especiallyaround
the'extremelydesiccatedhole'ontheupper
rightofthefrontdoor–itlooksasthoughit's
rustedthroughcompletely,showingthe
statusLEDshiddenbehindthedoor.
Additionalweatheringwasappliedwith
airbrushingtechniquesusingthreedifferent
earthytones.Finally,todarkentheoveralltone
andseal/clearcoatthewholecase,Ifinished
everythingoffwithacoatofmattclearpowder.
Thispreventspracticallyanyactualnickor
scratchfromoccurring,evenifitlooksas
thoughit'stakencountlessknocksalready.
Italsokeepsanypotentiallydangerous
materials(suchasrust)fromchildren'shands,whichwasaconsideration.
SYSTEM SPECS
CPU Intel Corei5-3570
GPUSapphireToxicRadeonHD6850
CaseLian LiPC-A10
StorageWesternDigital hard drive,SSDhybridboot
system
Memory CorsairVengeance DDR3
Motherboard AsusP67Sabertooth
PSUSeasonicPlatinum860Wwithcustomwiring
CoolingCustomwater-coolingloopconsisting ofXSPC
bay-reservoirandHighflex tubing,DDC18Wpump,EK420
radiator, EKwaterblocks (includingGPUandcustomisedSupremeCPUblock) andEnzotechcompression fittings
ENTERYOUROWNPCATHTTP://FORUMS.BITTECH.NET
SEEMORE
ofJeremy’sproject,
byheadingoverto
http://tinyurl.com/bio-a10
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CPC:Whattoolsandmachinerydidyouuse
whenbuildingBIO-A10?
Jeremy:Mytypicalmoddingarsenalalways
beginswithgoodplanning.Iusuallybeginwith
pencilsketches,andmoveontoactually
designingthefinalproductonthecomputer,
readytogoforone-offmanufacturing.After
that,therealfunbegins.Myshopmethod
includesuseofajigsawandrotarytoolwith
numerousattachments,plusoccasional
workwithascroll-saw,myownteeth,all
kindsofhandtools,sandingmiceandblocks,
powder-coating,lasercuttingand,most
importantly,mymind.
CPC:Howlongdidittaketofinish?
Jeremy:Roughly40hoursoveraperiodof
oneyearfrominitialplanningtotheactual
build,althoughalotofthosehourswere
packedintoatwo-monthperiod.
CPC:Whathaveyoulearnedfromthe
buildingprocess?
Jeremy: I'vereignitedmyloveforthe
weatheringprocessagain!ThelastoneIdid
wastwoorthreeyearsago,andbeforethat
probablyacoupleyears.It'salwaysfunto
intentionallybeatupstuff,andtheprocessis
occasionallymoredifficultthatbuildinga
cleansystem.Infact,I'dventuretosayit's
downrightcathartictoamindusually
obsessedwithcleanlinessandperfection.
CPC:Areyouhappywiththeendresult,and
isthereanythingyou'ddodifferentlyifyou
builtitagain?
Jeremy: I'mhappywiththeendresult.It's
aboutwhatIexpected,asI'msuchastickler
forpre-modplanning.There'salwaysgoing
tobesomethingthatendsupdifferenttohow
youanticipated,though.
Theproject,whencompleted,didleaveme
withwhatBillOwen(fromMNPCTech)andI
generallyrefertoas'post-modblues'. I'm
surehesuffersfromitalotmoreoftenthan
me,duetohissheervolumeofawesome
turnaround,althoughitcanbedifficultto
movepastitregardless.
Icanadmititwasdifficulttolethergowhen
shewasfinallydeliveredtotheowner(mybest
friend).Ikeptwalkingbackwardstowardsthe
frontdoorwhilelookingather,andhejust
laughedatme.Icouldn'thelpbutfeel
ridiculousthatIwasfeelingsadaboutleavinganinanimateobject,butit'soneofmychildren
inasense.Thatattachmentwillalwaysexist
becauseshewasbornfrommymind.
WouldIdoanythingdifferently?Always.
Beinganartist,Ialwaysfindflawswithmy
BEAWINNER!To enteryourmachine forpossibleinclusionin Readers’
Drives,yourmodneedsto befullyworkingand,ideally,
finished basedin theUK.Simplylogon towww.bit-tech.netandheadovertotheforums.Once
you’rethere,postawrite-upofyourmod,alongwithsomepics,intheProjectLogsforum.Make
sureyoureadtherelevantrulesandadvicestickythreadsbeforeyoupost.Thebestentranteach
monthwillbe featuredhere,wherewe’llprintyourphotosof yourprojectand alsointerviewyou
about thebuildprocess.Fameisn’ttheonlyprize; you’llalso getyourhandson afabulousselectionofprizes–seethe oppositepagefor details.
work,becauseI'ma perfectionistbynature
andI'mnevercompletelyhappywithanything.
It'simportanttoconstantlytrytoreachthat
unobtainableperfection,andrelyonthe
owner'sreactiontogaugethequalityofthe
work.Inthiscase,hewasspeechlessfora
coupleminutes,withasurprisedlookas
hewentovereveryinchofthecasewhile
mumblingincoherentcompliments,soI
supposemyworkwasgoodenough.
Makinglovedoneshappy,whetherthey're
familyorfriends,isreallywhatcountsforme.
IfIbringasmiletosomeone'sface,thenI
knowI'vedonemyjob.
Thanks fromJeremyI'dliketogivemydeepestthankstothebit-
techcommunityandallmyfriends,readers,
andsupportersforall thesupport,backing
andencouragement.Idon'thavetologmy
work,butIdobecauseofyou.Fromthe
bottomofthismodder'sheart,thankyou.
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HTTP://FORUMS.BIT-TECH.NET
ThePhobyamoddingkit isdesignedwiththemodderinmind,offering
greatvalueformoneyandqualityproducts.ThekitincludesNano-G
12SilentWaterproof1,500rpmmulti-optionfans,whichuse
aninnovativefan-bladedesign.As
standard,thefansincludebraided
blackcablestokeepyourcaselooking
asneataspossible.Thefansarealso
suppliedwithaspecialcablethat
letsyourunthefanat5Vratherthan
12V,reducingthenoiseemitted
inordertohelpyoutobuilda
silentsystem.
Thekitalsoincludesthe
60cmPhobya3-pinMolexto4x3-pinMolexY-cable.This
pre-braidedextensioncablegivesyouextra
routeingoptionsinyourcase,anditalsoenables
youtorunuptofourfansfromonecompatible
motherboardheader.Meanwhile,the
PhobyaSATA3cablesincludedinthekit
offerthesamegreatqualitybraidingas
therestofthePhobyarange,whilealso
securingyourconnectionwith
latchedconnectors.Aswellas
this,thekitincludesthePhobya
SlimGuideController,whichgives
youtheoptiontovarythespeed
ofotherfansinyourcase,while
thePhobyaTwinLEDsletyoushinealightonyourmods.
We’ve teamed up with some of the world’s leading PC component manufacturers and retailers to
offer this great range of prizes to each lucky Readers’ Drives winner. If your creation is featured in themagazine then you’ll walk away all three of the prizes listed on this page, so get in your entries!
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES 300R CASE
AND 550W TX MODULAR POWER SUPPLY Totalvalue£142incVAT Manufacturerwww.corsair.com
CorsairbelievesthatagreatPCstartswithagreat
case.TheCorsairCarbideSeries300Ris
acompactexpressionofthiscore
philosophy.Itpacksina
remarkablenumberoffeatures
givenitscompactdimensions,
providesbuilderswithtonnesof
roomforexpansion,andhas
amazingcoolingpotential.And,
likeallCorsaircases,it’sbuilt
usingthefinestmaterialsand
finishedtothehigheststandards,
soitwillwithstandseveralyears
ofupgrades.
Justasaqualitycaseis
essentialtobuildingaquality
PC,ahigh-performance,high-
qualitypowersupplyisalsoavital
ingredient.Basedontheaward-
winningTXV2Series,thenew
EnthusiastSeriesModularPSUsadda
modularcablingsystemforimprovedinstallation
PHOBYA MODDING KITValue£50incVAT Manufacturerwww.phobya.com,www.aqua-tuning.co.uk
flexibility.TXModularpowersuppliesarebuilt
usingqualitycomponents,andarerigorously
testedandqualifiedat100percentloadatan
ambienttemperatureof50°Cforunmatched
reliability.They’redesignedtoasuperior
standard,sothattheynotonlymeettheATX
specification,butalsoexceedit. Inadditionto
unmatchedquality,TXModularPSUsarealso
power-efficient,offering85percentenergy
efficiencyorhigherat50percentload.
WithaCorsairCarbideSeries300Rcaseand
550WTXModularpowersupplyattheheartof
yourbuild,you’llhavethefoundationsforatruly
awesomegamingmachine.
115February 2013
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16 February 2013
CUT YOUR TUBING PROPERLY Don’tuseaknifeorscissorstocutyourtubing,asthe
edgeswillprobablybeuneven,meaningthere’san
increasedriskofleaks,especiallyifit’sundersideways
stress.A tubecutterwillmakecuttingyourtubingfar
easier,aswellasmoreprecise.Theycostaround£5but
willmakeyour lifeconsiderablyeasier.
FLUSH YOUR RADIATORManyradiatorsusewater-solublefluxintheir
construction.Thiscangraduallydissolve,andmake
yourcoolantandtubingturncloudyasitspreads.To
removethis,runahottapandflushtheradiatorforten
minuteswithhotwater.Youmayevenseethewater
turncloudy.
RINSE WITH DE IONISED WATERAstapwatercontainsnastyimpuritiesthatcan
lurkinyoursystem,youneedtoflushyourradiator
immediatelyafterstepone.Youcanbuydeionised
waterfromHalfordscheaply,ratherthanusing
expensivepre-mixedcoolant.Forthebestresults,
connecttheradiatortoapumpandpassthecoolant
throughitat highpressure.
CHECK WATERBLOCKS FOROBSTRUCTIONSWaterblockscontainamazeof copperfinsandsmall
pathsthroughwhichyourcoolantwill flow.Anything
thatblocksthesecouldlimityourblock’sabilityto cool
yourCPU.Dismantleittochecknothinghasfoundits
wayinsideduringitsconstruction.Startby removinganysecuringscrewsandtakingtheblockapart.
Alphacool SyscleanFromwww.aquatuning.co.uk
PlastictubingcutterFromwww.aquatuning.co.uk
Deionised water (battery top-upwater)FromHalfords
Low-densityfoam filterMosthardwarestores
ATX jumperFromwww.aquatuning.co.uk
Mayhemscoolantdyeorcoloured coolantwww.aquatuning.co.uk
maintainawater-coolingsystem
oucannowbuyallthepartsyou
needforwatercoolingoffthe
shelf,andwith alittleresearch
onthevariousfittingsandtubing
sizes,it’seasytogetyoursystemupand
running.However, therearesome tricksto
avoidthepitfallsthataren’tmentionedin
manuals,suchas preventingforeignobjects
fromgettingstuckinyourwaterblocks.It’s
alsogoodtocleanyourloopperiodicallyto
removebuilt-upgrime.
Followthesestepsand you’llendupwitha
perfectlypreppedand tunedcoolingsystem,
andavoidthenightmareofcoolantleakstoo.
Water-cooling your PC is easier than ever.AntonyLeathergives you tips on
how to how to prepare, leak-test and clean your water-cooling system
Y
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18 February 2013
LEAK-TESTByfarthemostimportantjobbeforeyoupoweronyourwater-cooledsystemistoleak-testit.Thiscanonlybeachievedonceyou’veinstalledallyoucomponentsinto
thecasewiththepumprunning.Startbydisconnectingallthepowerconnectors,exceptyourpump,soyourcomponentswon’tbedamagedifthereisaleak.
PERSISTENT LEAKSSomebarbsandwaterblocksjustdon’tfittogether,butyoucanusemolegripsonmetalfittings(notplastic)totightenthemwithonlyasmallamountofpressure.
Alternatively,youcanwrapPTFEtaperoundthethread,orevenuseLoctite.Don’tuseLoctiteonplasticreservoirs,though,asitexpandsandcancrackthecasing.
INSERT ATX JUMPERAnATXjumpercostsjustacoupleofquid,butithandilyjumpsyourPSU’spowerandgroundpins,forcingittopoweronwithoutaPCconnection.Thisallowsyoutojust
switchonthepumptoidentifyleaksundernormalconditions,butwithoutpoweringontherestofthePC.SwitchoffyourPSUandinserttheconnector.
CLEANINGOvertime,coolantcanbreakdownandsmallamountsofmaterialfromwaterblocks,reservoirsandtubingcangetin,buildingupinbottlenecksorsettlingintubing.
Thankfully,youcancleanyourloopwithouttakingitapart.Startbydrainingyoursystemandopeninguptwoendsateasilyaccessiblepointsfordrainingandfilling.
LEAVE FOR 24 HOURSLeak-testfor24hours,andleavethetissuesononceyoupoweruptherestofyoursystem.Slowleakscanstillmanifestthemselvesoncethesystemwarmsup,butthetissueswillhelptoidentifythem,whilehelpingtopreventthecoolantfromreachingunintendedplaces.Leavethetissuesonforafewdays,checkingthemeveryday.
A DD T IS SU E S AN D DYEWhilesomeleaksareobvious,slowleakscanappearafterseveralhours.Tospotthem,wraptissuearoundeachfitting,andbeneathyourCPUblockandpump,usingtapeifnecessary.Adddeionisedwaterandafewdropsofdyetoyourreservoirorfill-port,thenpoweronthesystem.Ifthereareanyleaks,thetissueswillsoakupthedye.
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119February 2013
FLUSH THE LOOPNowflushthelooponcewithdeionisedwater,whichwillclearoutanyremaininggunge.Ifyourpumphasmultipleinlets,keeponeopenbutattachafunneltofillit,and
attachtheprevioustubingasadrainer.Asthecoolantislikelytobedirty,emptyitintoabucket,ratherthanontoyourpatio.
MANUAL TUBE-CLEANINGSometimesyoumightneedtogetphysicaltodealwithblockagesorlargegrimebuild-ups.Sometubinggoescloudyovertimeand,whileit’sfairlycheaptoreplace,
it’sworthtryingto cleanitfirst.Youcandothiswithbathroomcleaner,whitevinegarorAlphacoolSysclean,andthenrunaclothortubebrushthroughthetube.
A D D T HE CL EA NE R TO T HE SY S T EMReconnectthedrainhosetoyourpumpandaddthecleaner,cleaningupanyspillsquickly.Fillyoursystemandbleedit,toppingupwithmorewaterifnecessary.Thewatermayturncloudy,duetooxidation,limescale,additiveandothersettlementsbeingdissolved.Leavethisinyoursystemfor30minuteswiththepumpon.
MIX YOUR CLEANERWe’reusingAlphacoolSysclean,whichneedstobemixedwithtenpartswater(onepartSysclean),orfivepartsifyoursystemhasn’tbeencleanedforyears.It’ssafeto
usewithrubberseals,plasticandothermetals,butitcanattackthecoatingofnickel-platedwaterblocks.Forthese,usewhitevinegarmixedwithtwopartswaterinstead.
CLEANING WATERBLOCKS AND RADIATORSTheremaybeclumpsofmatterstuckinyourwaterblocks’contactplatefins,whichcanberemovedwithatoothbrush,airdusterandAlphacoolSysclean.Meanwhile,
youcancleanradiatorsbyleavingthemfilledwithamoreconcentratedsolutionofSysclean,orwhitevinegarandhotwater,thenflushingthisthroughafewtimes.
DRAIN AND FLUSH THE SYSTEMYounowneedtoflushdeionisedwaterthroughyoursystem,sogetyourfunnelandfinda waytoleavethedrainhosein thebucketwhileyoufillit.Engagethe pumpandallow4-5litrestobeflushedthrough,thenaddcorrosioninhibitor,ifyourcoolantdoesn’tcontainit already, whichpreventsanyresidualcleanerfromcausingissues.
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121February 2013
Toolsyou’llneedDremelwith cutting discandgrinding attachments
GluegunMosthardwarestores
makealow-profileslotadaptorow-profilecasesmightbeidealfor
stashinginsideTVcabinets,and
plentyofUSB3cards,sound
cardsandTVtunercardshave
low-profilePCBstofitthemtoo.Sadly,
however,theydon’talwayshavelow-profile
replacementbracketstoenablethemtofit
securelyinyourcase.Withoutthem,they
couldcomelooseand,inaworst-case
scenario,theycouldevenshort-circuityour
motherboard.Thankfully, it’sveryeasyto
makeyourown.AllyouneedisaDremelwith
somereinforcedcut-offwheelsandgrinding
attachments,andagluegun.
Bought a low-profile case, but your expansion cards didn’t include
adaptors?AntonyLeathershows you how to create your own
L
HTTP://FORUMS.BIT-TECH.NET
REMOVE OLD BRACKETYoucaneithertrimandbendyourexistingbracketto
size,orcreatea newone.We’veoptedforthelatter,as
itmeansyou’llhavebothbracketsincaseyouswap
casesagaininthefuture.Inanyevent,you’llneedto
removetheoriginalbracketto avoiddamagingyour
cardortocreateatemplateifyou’remakinganewone.
CUT THE HOLESThebesttoolforcuttingsquareedgesisaDremelwith
asmallcuttingdisc,whileroundholesarebestcutwith
adrill.Becarefulnottochoptoomuchaway–youcan
alwaysfinishtherestwitha fileorgrindingattachment.
Mostblankingplatesaremadeofsteel,soyou’llneedtouseyourDremelonafairlyhighspeedsetting.
CREATE A TEMPLATEDrawaroundthebaseof theoriginalbracket,and
insidealltheports,so you’releftwitha templateof
theareasto cutaway.Thedistancefromthebase
ofeachbrackettotheportswillbethesame,as
low-profilebracketssimplyhavea fewcentimetres
loppedoff thetop.
SECURE NEW BRACKET TO CARDAsthere’snowaytosecureyournewbracketto your
card,you’llhavetouseglue.Weoptedforagluegun,
astheglueisstrongenoughtoholdthebracket,andit
setsquicklytoo–you’llonlyneedtoholdthecardand
brackettogetherforaminuteortwo.Applyit ontheundersideandedgeof thePCB,butavoidtheports.
MARK UP BRACKETYournewbracketcaneitherbeaspareblankingplate
fromyourcase,ora newone.Newlow-profileblanking
platescanbefoundoneBayforacoupleofpounds.
Don’tworryif yourcaseusesventedormeshed
blankingplates–we’lljustbecuttingholestoallow
theportstopokethrough.
CUT AWAY EXCESS GLUEThegunwillprobablyhavebequitegenerousin dishing
outcopiousamountsofglue,souseaStanleyknifeto
cutawaytheexcess.Besuretoleaveenoughtokeep
thebracketfirmlyfixedinplaceandtakecarenotto
scratchthePCB.Goaheadand fityournewlow-profileexpansioncardinyourcase.
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22 February 2013
reallythatbadat2D– Isawinthereviews
thattheA8sdidn’thavesuchgood2D
performance, butarethey stillgoodenough
for1080pYouTubevideos?He won’t be
overclocking, andthecheaperthe better.
Whatdoyouadvise?
JamesEdmonds
Benreplies: Ihavenoideawhathappened
withyourfoldingnameJames,butI’lltell
Simon(whodoesthefoldingstats)sothat
hecantrytofigureitout.Regardingyour
friend’sPC,I’mnotsurprisedthatit’s
struggling–thePentium4
isaveryoldarchitecture,
anditwasevenfamously
inefficientinitsday.
TheRadeonHD6450,
althoughrelatively
recent,isalso
seriously limited
in3Dpower.
Itsoundslikean
AMDTrinitysystem
isjustwhathe
needs.Thechips’2Dperformance
LettersSend us your feedback and correspondence [email protected], with ‘Letter’ in the Subject line
actuallyisn’tbadatall–it’sjustthat2D
performancefromIntelchipsisthatmuch
better.ForaveragePCuse,though,you’re
unlikelytonoticeahugedifference.Ihave
anA8-5600Kmediacentresystemmyself
now,andit’sabsolutelyfineforalittle
gaming,and1080pstreamingvideo–itwill
bemorethanadequateforyourfriend,and
ahugeimprovementoverhiscurrentPCin
everyrespect.
DUAL GRAPHICS
Greetings,ohgreatandwondrousPC
informationsupplier. I’vejustfinished
readingthe crackinggraphicscard write-up
inIssue111,whichwasgreatforme,asI’ve
builtani7system.However,Iranoutof
money sohave settledfor a cheaper
graphics card fornow.However, I’msoon
O V E R C L O C K I N G A N A M D
A 10 - 5 8 0 0 K
Notwithstanding your views on the
currentstateofAMDvsIntel,the
AMDA10TrinityAPUseemstohavehita
sweetspotinvalueformoney.Thatbeing
so,isthereanychanceyoumightruna
community overclocking article,focused
on thisprocessor, inan upcomingissue?
DavidWood
Benreplies: Indeed,AMD’sA10APUis
agreatchipforthemoney–thegaming
performanceisamazingwhenyou
considerit’salldonebytheCPU.Atsome
pointinthefirsthalfofnextyear,we’llbe
doingafulloverclockingmasterclass,
lookingathowtooverclockallthelatest
CPUs.Thiswilldefinitelyfeaturea section
showingyouhowtooverclockAMD’s
Trinitychips.
IS AMD 2D PERFORMANCE
REALLY THAT BAD?
WhilereadingmycopyoftheJanuary2013
issueof CustomPC,Icouldn’thelpbut
noticemyfoldingnamewasmentioned
twice inthefoldingsection (200,000points).
Also, couldI have
someupgrade
advice?My brother
hasaPentium4and
aRadeonHD6450
forgaming, andit’s
evidentthatitno
longerhasenough
powertoplaygames
ateventhelowest
detail settings and
resolutions. I was
wandering ifAMDtrinityAPUs are
Geta kickout ofpointingout the shortcomings ofothers? It’s okay– sodowe
ROBIN HOOD AIRPORT
Oneforpedantscorner(ifyoustillhave
thatinthemagatall).
YoumightwanttopointouttoJim
Killock(issue112,p12)thatRobinHood
AirportisinDoncaster,notNottingham.
AndrewLevick
Ben:Haha,Ican’tbelieveIdidn’tspot
that!I’lltellhimtostopconfusing
airportswithfictionaldo-gooders.
AMD’sTrinityAPUsoffergreatperformancefor
themoney
Argh,Pentium4,returntothefieryhellfromwhichyouspawned!
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@TigernosThelittletoolkitI
gotwithmy CustomPCMag
subscriptionhasnotonlybuiltmyrig
butthedeskit’ssaton!
@ThewizleonGreatmagguys.
Adviceplease:I’manAMD
RadeonfanandhaveanHD5850.It’s
timeforanupgrade,whereshouldIgo?
HD7850?
Ben:Thatreallydependsonyour
budget,thegamesyouplayandyour
resolutionrequirements.The7850is
certainlyagoodupgradefroma5850–
ifthat’syourbudgetthengoforit.
@RobertSzynalLMAO,@
CustomPCMagdescribed
using#windows8forthefirsttime
perfectly!
@tmxghostWindows8is
useless!GreatreviewinCPC112.
IhopeMicrosofttakesnoteandfixesit.
Ben:Heh,Ididn’tsayitwasuseless,
justthatthenewinterfaceis
inappropriatefordesktopsandtakes
sometweakingtomakeitusableon
anaveragePC.
@PaulWithoutTheELeafing
throughsomeoldissuesof@
pcproandcameacrosstwoyouthful
looking@CustomPCMageditorsside
byside.
@WorthingWebLastdayofhalf
term.Bestdustoffthelesson
plans...Lookoutkids,someone’sbeen
reading@CustomPCMag
@Baron_von_Stein Revisited
the80s,clearingacupboardat
mylategrandfather’shouse.
@craigthebeard84Looking
forwardtothemincepie
megatestnextmonth!
#highlightofthemag
@TobyJKing Ithinkyoushould
invitesomeofyourloyalreaders
toparticipateinthetest...
@dangrenfellCan’twaitforthe
DuchyOriginalsverdictagain-
that’salwaysentertaining!
@stephencgrant Howabouta
featureaboutcomedianswho
builttheirownPCoutofaQualityStreet
tin?Hmm?:)
Ben:Wemight,ifyoucansendusapic!
FEEDBACK
Follow us on Twitter at @custompcmag
goingtohaveenoughpenniestoupgradeto
VROOOMgraphics!
Iwaswonderingif,inafutureissue–
preferablywithina couple ofmonths– if it
woulditbepossibletohave a comparison
betweentwolow-endcardsina CrossFire/
SLIconfigurationagainstsingle higher-end
cardsfrom thesamemanufacturer, tofind
outifthetwooutweighthevalueoftheone.
IhaveanAsusP8P67Deluxethat
supportsSLIand CrossFire,butI only
havealowlyGTX460,whichhasdoneme
proudupuntilnow,butI’machingtotry
Battlefield3inallitsglory.Mybudgetis
approximately£250.
Cenydd
PSBringback themincepie reviews!
PPSAbsolutelybrilliantmag
Benreplies:Thanksfor yourkind
commentsCenydd–gladwecanbeof
service, andI’m sure you’ll be delighted
withthe hugemincepie megatest we’ve
gotinthisissue!
We’vehad a multi-GPUfeatureon thelist
forawhilenow–weareplanningtodoit,
butitmaynotbeasquickasyouwantit.
Anyway, theGeForceGTX 690has shown
thatSLIhascomealongwaysincethe
flaky days ofmulti-GPU systems, andthe
driversare much better than they usedto
beafewyearsago.
Personally, however, witha budgetof
£250,I’ddefinitelyput myoldcardoneBay
andbuy a fastersinglecard.Evennow, not
every game supportsSLI andCrossFire,
andthe performancedoesn’talways scale
asmuch asyou’d expecteither. Multi-GPU
systems arereally forpeoplewho wantthe
fastest systems possible.
Atthelowerendofthescale,I’dalways
buya single card,ratherthan adding
anothercard tomy existing setup, asyou
canthen atleastvaguely gauge what
performanceto expect.If youget another
GTX 460,and you play a gamethatdoesn’t
scaleproperly withSLI,thenyou’llbe back
where youstarted, except a little poorer.
Sellitandbuyanewcard,andyoucan
guarantee it willbe quicker in yourgames.
Ifyoucan stretch to£264 incVAT, youcan
currently buya PNYGeForceGTX 670fromwww.scan.co.uk.
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125February 2013
Join our folding team and help medical research
WHAT ISFOLDING?Folding@homeusesthespareprocessingcyclesfromyourPC’sCPUandgraphicscardsformedicalresearch.Youcandownload
theclientfromhttp://folding.stanford.edu/download.html andourteam’sIDis35947.Onceyoupassasignificantmilestone,
you’llgetyournameinthemag.Youcanalsodiscussfoldingwithusandotherreadersonthewww.bit-tech.net forums.
CPC:Whoareyouandwhatdoyoudo?
kirk_hobson:MynameisKirk,andIvalet
newBMWsatthemaindistributioncentre
inDoncaster.
CPC:Whatmadeyoudecidetostartfolding?
kirk_hobson: I lostmygreat-grandmato
cancer,andmyuncleis battlingParkinson’s
disease.I didn’tknowaboutFolding@home
untilIpickedupacopyofCPCbackin2008.
CPC:Whatexcitesyouthemostabout
folding?
kirk_hobson:ThefactthatonedayIwill
hopefullyplayapartincuringvariouslife-
threateningdiseases,andseeinghowmany
pointsIcansqueezeoutofmyhardware.
CPC:HowmanyPCsdoyouhavefolding?
kirk_hobson:Four.Threeofthemrun24/7,
andonerunswhenI’mnotgamingonit.
CPC:What’stheiraveragespec?
kirk_hobson:Mymaingamingrighasa
Core2QuadQ6600overclockedto3.6GHzand
aGTX560,whichkicksoutaround20-25kppd.
Meanwhile,thefoldingrigshaveaCore
i7-920overclockedto4GHz,andaCorei5-750
runningat3.4GHzwithaGTX460.These
machinesareallathome,butIalsohavea
serverwithtwoXeonE5420sinadatacentre.
CPC:What’syourbestpieceof foldingkit?kirk_hobson:Mostofmyfoldingkithas
We catchupwith folder of themonth: kirk_hobson
beenboughtfromtheCPC/bit-tech
marketplaceontheforums.Theresome
greatbargainsinthere,andtheforum
membersareareallygoodbunchofguys.
CPC:Whatoperatingsystemsdoyouuse?
kirk_hobson:Themain/gamingrigruns
Windows7,andtheother24/7folding
machinesrunnativeLinuxUbuntu.
CPC:Doyouintendtokeepupyourcurrent
productionlevel?
kirk_hobson:Yes.I’mgoingtodownsize
thefourmachinesdowntooneortwo,but
theproductionwillincreasewiththenew
hardwareI’llbegetting.
CPC:Anytipsforfellowteammembers?
kirk_hobson:There’sawealthof
informationontheCPC/bit-techfolding
forum,andthereplentyofmemberswilling
tohelpwithanyissuesoradviceyouneed.
CPC:Whatdoyourfriendsandfamilythink
aboutyourfolding?
kirk_hobson:Theythinkit’sgreatthatI’m
helpingwithresearchforvariouscancers,
anddiseasessuchasAlzheimer’sand
Parkinson’s.However,theythinkI’mmadto
spendsomuchmoneyonallthehardware!
CPC:What’syourworstfoldingexperience?
kirk_hobson:Whenevertheelectricitybillcomesthroughthedoor!
Teamrank94 Worldrank3,220
Score11,089,998 Workunits2,277
Dailypointsaverage94,397
TOPFOLDERSThismonth’sshout-outsgotoKevinWright,Keith_Chungand_Fanatic.Ifyoufoldasanyof
thesenames,[email protected]
126
CPC:Andthebest?
kirk_hobson:Hittingmyfirstmillionpoints
notlongago.
CPC: Ifyoucouldchangeonepartofyour
setup,whatwoulditbe?
kirk_hobson: Itwouldbetohaveonefolding
rigproducingthesameppdasthefour
machinesI’mrunningnow.However,that’s
happeningaswespeak-I’mplanningtobuy
anewrigwithtwoIntelXeonsrunning
bigbetaworkunits.
HTTP://FORUMS.BIT-TECH.NET
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Username Pointsmilestone
HTTP://FORUMS.BIT-TECH.NET
TOP 20 OVERALL
Rank Username Points Work units
1 Dave_Goodchild 401,543,724 109,944
2 DocJonz 278,868,156 144,678
3 phoenicis 223,349,417 93,954
4 coolamasta 217,852,937 143,123
5 zz9pzza 211,014,628 15,794
6 Lizard 131,878,662 60,132
7 Christopher_N._Lewis 107,595,529 33,071
8 StreetSam 107,003,868 72,296
9 Wallace 103,999,195 5,759
10 CustomBitChimps 94,389,094 46,592
11 Nelio 89,019,233 35,899
12 fir3x 67,165,172 10,818
13 One_Box 64,863,162 7,398
14 BennieboyUK 61,286,969 3,107
15 saspro 57,534,603 45,372
16 The_M2B 56,743,914 39,214
17 Lordsoth 54,827,743 58,823
18 Standin_wave 51,592,717 33,780
19 PC_Rich 50,639,205 53,464
20 PS3/LanDi 48,446,611 86,309
TOP 20 PRODUCER S
Rank Username Dailypointsaverage Overallscore
1 DocJonz 448,334 278,868,156
2 Ben_Lamb 402,226 24,504,139
3 Nelio 262,412 89,019,233
4Christopher_N._Lewis
234,530 107,595,529
5 Scorpuk 230,673 26,675,895
6 coolamasta 189,641 217,852,937
7Shetland_Overclockers
154,277 21,240,053
8 Slowlemon 147,785 15,682,077
9 Lambo_uk 136,863 7,152,272
10 Wallace 135,180 103,999,195
11 One_Box 121,861 64,863,162
12 Lordsoth 118,899 54,827,743
13 kirk_hobson 114,313 10,092,928
14 _Fanatic 111,332 19,000,882
15 Keith_Chung 109,363 10,905,665
16 Dave_Goodchild 108,799 401,543,724
17 fir3x 95,702 67,165,172
18 debs3759 89,735 12,622,759
19 KevinWright 82,704 10,029,225
20 The_M2B 79,736 56,743,914
apeman556 20000000
Ben_Lamb 20000000
Scorpuk 20000000
20000000
davebodger 40000000
PC_Rich 50000000
Wallace
Dave_Goodchild
127February 2013
Onsale17January, 2012*Pleasenotethatthesestoriesaresubjecttoproductdelaysandkit
notturningup,plusall thetimespentattendingcouriers’executions
andfinishingoffallthemincepies.
NZXTPhantom820TheSilverStoneTJ11usedinour
dreamPCbuildisn’ttheonlytop-end
casedoingtherounds.Nextissue
we’regoingtohaveaproperlookat
NZXT’slatestwater-coolingchassis.
GaminglaptopsLaptopsaremucheasiertotaketoLAN
eventsthandesktops,andsomeoffera
decentamountofgamingpowertoo.We
investigateseveralgaminglaptopstofind
thebestdeal.
ShineupyourPCAntonyLeathershowsyouhowto
applychromefilmtoyourchassis,
potentiallygivinganymaterialthe
appearanceofshiny,mirror-finish
metal.
PSUbraidingMulti-colouredwiresmighttellyou
whichwiregoestowhichpin,butthey
alsolookuglyinanotherwiseneat
build.Weshowyouhowtobraidyour
cables,makingthemneatandtidy.
Comingnextmonth in
Shetland_Overclockers
100000000
400000000
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vennow,wheneversomeonetalks
aboutputtingsomemoneyinanISA,
myimaginationinterruptstheflowof
sensibleconversationwiththeimage
ofsomeonewedgingawadofnotesbetween
thepinsofan8-bitindustry-standard
architecture(ISA)expansionslot.We’renow
sousedtointegratedcomponentsthatwe
forgetthattherewasatimewhendrive
controllers,harddrivesandevenmemory
wereoncemountedonseparateexpansion
cards.ThesepluggedintoourPCs’chunky
blackISAslots;withtheirgoldconnectors,
thesewereastapleofPCsfor20years.
Beginninglifeas8-bitslotsintheoriginal
IBMPC5150,theISAstandardgaveIBMan
easywaytoaddextrapartstothe5150’s
motherboard,andvarytherangeofoptions
onoffer.Eventhefloppydrivecontrollerin the
original5150wasmountedonanexpansion
card,ratherthanthemotherboard.Ofcourse,
therewereplentyofISAcardsthatwouldn’t
surpriseyou,suchasnetworkcards,
modemsandsoundcards,butI’mnow
amazedatsomeofthekitweusedtomount
onexpansioncardsintheolddays.
Ipaidparticularattentiontothis,asmy
firstPConlyhadtwo8-bitISAslots,which
meantthatmyoptionswere
limited,particularlywhenthePC
inquestiondidn’thaveahard
driveorsoundcard,andalsohad
awfulCGAgraphics,plusjust
512KBofRAMwhen640KBwas
thestandard.
Let’sstartwiththelatter,asthis
wasbeforethedaysofeasilyreplaceable
memorymodules–therewerenoDIMMs.
Infact,thiswasevenbeforeSIMMs.Ifyou
wantedmorememory,youeitherhadtobuy
DRAMchipstoputinyourmotherboard
yourself,oryouboughtaLIM(LotusIntel
Microsoft)card,whichgaveyouanextra
chunkofmemoryonanISAexpansioncard.
Itwasn’tassimpleasjustinstallingacardeither–youthenhadtotellDOSexactlyhow
youwantedthememorytobeaddressed.
Strangely, thisbizarresystemdidn’tcatchon.
Thesamealsogoesforhardcards.As
harddrivecontrollersweren’tincludedon
motherboardsasstandard,oneoptionfora
systemsuchasmine(whichhadnoharddrive
orcontroller)wastobuyahardcard,which
mountedboththemechanicalharddriveand
thecontrollerononeISAcard.Ofcourse,
manyPCshadharddrivecontrollersas
standard,makingthemeasiertoupgrade,
butthehardcardwasstillapopularoption.
PerhapsmyfavouritebizarreISA
contraptionofalltime,however,isthe
proprietarycardthatAmstradusedinits
MegaPCrangeofgamingsystems.Aware
ofthefactthat,atthistime,thePCwasstill
eclipsedbyconsolesintermsofthegamesonoffer,AmstradcameupwithanISAcardthat
enabledyoutoplugaSegaMegaDrive
cartridgeintoaPCandplaySoniconyour
Amstradmachine.
Basically,iftherewasawayofupgrading
yourPCinsomeway,thenyoucouldprobably
finditonanISAcard,andthiswasneeded,as
noteveryPCcamewithallthepartsyoumight
expect– yousometimesneededanexpansion
cardjusttogetaparallelprinterport.Heck,
evenCPUupgradescouldbe
suppliedonISAcards.
TheISAslotwentfrom8-bit
to16-bit,andthentovariations
suchasEISAandVESAlocalbus(basicallyaPCIslotwithanISA
slotontheend),whileIBMtried
tophaseitoutinfavourofMicro
Channel.Butthe16-bitISAslotlivedonfor
years,evenlongafterPCIwasintroduced.
ISAfinallydiedoffabouttenyearsagoin
PCs(it’sstillactuallyusedinsomeindustrial
applications),butitslegacyremains.We
mightnotbeputtingmemoryandharddrives
onexpansioncardsanymore,butwe’restill
verymuchusingtheideaofexpandingour
PCsviamotherboardslots,andthebackplatesarestillthesameheighttoo.
E
YOU EITHER HAD TO BUY DRAM
CHIPS TO PUT IN YOUR
MOTHERBOARD, OR BUY A LIM(LOTUS INTEL MICROSOFT) CARD
ISABen Hardwidge recalls the PC’s first expansion slot system, whenmemory,
hard drives and evenSegaMegaDrives could be put on expansion cards
The8-bitISAslotsinthe
originalIBMPC 5150
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Whileit’salltooeasyforPCenthusiaststogetcaughtup
inthenever-endingcycleofCPU,motherboardand
graphicscardupgrades,forthepastfewmonths,I’ve
hadmyattention(forcibly)drawntothestoragemarketinstead.
NotbecauseI’vesuddenlycontractedaseverecaseofcompulsive
hoarding,butbecausetwodrivesinmyhomenetworkdiedrecently,
promptinganear-ridiculousstringofknock-onpurchases.Itisn’tonly
gamingthatpromptsyoutoupgradeeverything;I’vefoundyoucan
justifywhole-systemupgradesviaalmostanymeans.
ThefirstdrivetodiewasanOCZVertex;as
anearlyadopterofSSDs,Iboughtthiswhenit
wasreleased.However,earlySSDssuchasthe
Vertexhadverybasicgarbage-collectionand
wear-levellingsystems,soafterhammering
thedrivethroughfouryearsofwritecycles,
filesstartedtobecomecorrupt.
Afteracoupleofweeksofthis,thedrivethen
startedtoreadveryslowly,takingaroundten
minutestobootintoWindows7.Finallyitdied
altogether,leavingmewitha2.5inlumpof
uselessplastic,metalandsilicon.
Fortunately,Windows7takesfarlesstimetoinstallandconfigure
thanpreviousversionsofWindows,soonceI’dboughtanewdrive(a
Samsung830)Iwasabletogetitupandrunningrelativelyquickly.
Except,asanygoodPCenthusiastknows,itwouldhavebeenrudenot
totaketheopportunitytoupgradetherestofmyrigatthesametime.
I thereforeendedupswappingouttheCPU,motherboard,RAM,
graphicscardandPSUtoo;oh,andIswitchedtoanewcaseaswell.
Still,atleastIcouldreducesomeoftheguiltofspendingsomuch
moneyonupgradingbyclaimingthatIhadtransferredatleastone
componentbetweenrigs–a1TBSamsungharddisk.However,justtwomonthslater,thedatadevilstruckagainand,withoutwarning,
It isn’t just new games that make you
want to upgrade everything
jamesGorBolDjamesGorBolD
killedthatdrive.UnliketheSSD,whichgraduallydiedoverseveral
weeks,theharddisksimplywouldn’tpoweruponeday,soIcouldn’t
retrieveanydatafromit.
IdidlookintothepossibilityofreplacingthePCBinthehopeof
resurrectingthedrivelongenoughtogetthedataoffit,butintheend,
Idecidedthatthecostwasn’tworththeslimchanceofsuccess.
Afterall, likeanysensiblePCenthusiast,Ikeepregularbackupsof
mymostimportantfilesonmyNASbox.Theonlyproblemisthatmy
NASboxkeepsrunningoutofspace.Ibrieflyconsideredtheideaof
subscribingtoacloudstoragehost,butIreally
don’tliketheideaofuploadingfilessuchastax
recordsandothersensitivecommercialfiles
ontosomebodyelse’sfilesystem.I alsospent
sometimespeccingupaWindowsHome
ServerPC,butdecidedthathavingyetanother
PCrunninginthehousealldayeveryday
wasn’tveryenergy-efficient.Instead,Iordered
four2TBdrivesandafour-bayNASbox.
Sothereyouhaveit–justtwodrivesdied,but
I’vemanagedtojustifybuyingawholenewPC,
andanewNASboxwithfournewharddrives.Youonlyneedtostart
browsingwhenyou’reonlylookingforonecomponent,andthen
you’reintrouble.Whoknows–havingasecondNASboxmighteven
preventmefromupgradingmymainrigagainshouldanything
happentoanyofthedrivesstillinmymainrig.Thenagain,itwould
berudenottoupgradeiftheopportunityarose,wouldn’tit?
JamesGorboldfellinlovewiththeoriginalIBMPCintheearly
1980sandhasbeenbuilding,tweakingandoverclockingPCsever
since.HehaswrittenanarticleinalmosteveryissueofCustom
PCandnowhelpsScanComputerstodevelopnewsystems.
As any good PC
enthusiast knows, it
would be rude not to
upgrade the rest of my
rig at the same time
THE UPGRADEBUG
130 February 2013
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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 ( 6 t h N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 2 ) .
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www.cclonline.comCall us on 08000 50 10 10
FeaturesKeyswitch:
N Key Roll over:
Keystrokes:
Lighting:
Lighting features:
Connectors:
Media keys:
USBHub:
Audio ports:
Cable:
Extras:
Dimensions:
Wrist pad:
Weight:
Warranty:
Software:
Cherry MX mechanical switch technology
Full N-Key rollovervia USB
50 Million
Individual LED backlight on every key for enhanced visuals
Four levels of brigthness allow you to locatekeys easily
Gold plated USB connectors for extremly lowlatency
Media keys for volume control, play,pause andskip tracks
Two high speed USB2.0 ports
3.5mm headphone-out andmicrophone-in jacks
1.8 meter braidedcable
4 extra orange key caps and key cap puller
Keyboard: 44,8 x 14,9x 3,5 cm(17,6 x 5,8 x 1,37 inch)
44,8x 6,6 x 1,7 cm (17,6 x 2,48 x 0,66inch)
1.27 Kg (2.8 LBS)
2 year
Customizableproles, programmable keys
and macro recording
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