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http://worldmags.net/


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3February 2013

Welcome to Issue 113EditorialEDITOR

[email protected]

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.

Entirecontents©DennisPublishingLtdlicensedbyFelden.

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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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http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/custom-pc-2013-02 12/13212 February 2013

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,

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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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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’



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02




7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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

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E Gelid Tranquillo Rev.2 www.scan.co.uk www.gelidsolutions.com Issue 100, p86 £25

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G 500GBSeagateBarracudaST500DM002 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue1 04, p72 £42

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TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE £514

B

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AP U

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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

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26 April 2012


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27April 2012

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Call us on 08000 50 10 10M onitors and desktop bundles are available separately.

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


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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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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www.cclonline.com



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


PRICE(incVAT) £92 £60 £25 £51


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


PRICE(incVAT) £450 £255 £70 £57



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02



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


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


PRICE(incVAT) £51 £80 £76 £50

U P D A T E D




7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


www.cclonline.com


TYPE HARD DISK SSD NAS BOX

NAME SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 OCZVertex4256GB SynologyDiskStationDS212j

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

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


PRICE(incVAT) £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


PRICE(incVAT) £59 £124 £95 £240



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02



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


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


PRICE(incVAT) £221 £536 £299




7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


www.cclonline.com


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


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


PRICE(incVAT) £30 £26 £19 for two £12



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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


MULTI-TASKING

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

1,778

1,797

1,740

1,641Dino PC 3570K


OVERALL

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

2,630

2,613

2,566

2,360Dino PC 3570K


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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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

[email protected]

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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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




7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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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http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/custom-pc-2013-02 59/13259February 2013

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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


BUDGET CASES

HOW MUCH?

Price£50incVAT


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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


HOW MUCH?

Price£45incVAT


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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02




7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02




7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


HOW MUCH?

Price£50incVAT


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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


HOW MUCH?

Price£40incVAT


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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02




7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


HOW MUCH?

Price£40incVAT


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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02




7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


HOW MUCH?

Price£52incVAT


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,


2xUSB3, 2xUSB

2, headphone,microphone, powerbutton, reset button

1xUSB3, 2xUSB

2, headphone,microphone, powerbutton, reset button



Supportedmotherboards

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


microphone, power button,reset button

1xUSB3, 1xUSB2,

headphone, microphone,power button, reset button


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



Enermax Ostrog

Xigmatek Midgard II

NZXT Source 210


Antec One


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



Xigmatek Midgard II

NZXT Source 210


Antec One


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


Enermax Ostrog


Xigmatek Midgard II

NZXT Source 210


Antec One


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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http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/custom-pc-2013-02 87/132February 2013 87

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

99February 2013




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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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CUSTOMISATION

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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04 February 2013

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

105February 2013

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


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


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


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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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




7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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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7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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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7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02



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


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.

01

04

02

05

03

06




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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!



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


@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.





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Username Pointsmilestone


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



7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02


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 ) .

I m a g e s a r e f o r i l l u s t r at i v e p u r p o s e s o n l y . M o n i t o r s a n d d e s k t o p b u n d l e s a r e a v a i l a b l e s e p a r a t e l y.www.cclonline.com

www.cclonline.comCall us on 08000 50 10 10

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Connectors:

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Software:

Cherry MX mechanical switch technology

Full N-Key rollovervia USB

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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




7/30/2019 Custom PC 2013-02



Custom PC 2013-02

Documents

Transcript of Custom PC 2013-02