Custom PC Mag UK 08

INSIDE: WHAT THE PIRATE BAY BLOCK MEANS FOR US

CPC AWARD WINNERS – AS DECIDED BY YOU

11 waterblocks andradiators reviewedStep-by-stepinstallation guides

PLUS

COMPLETE 23-PAGE GUIDE

ISSU

E107

AUG20

12£4.5

0

WATER COOLYOUR PC

THE BEST-SELLING MAG FOR PC HARDWAWAW RE, OVERCLOCKING, GAMING & MODDING

HOW TO OVERCLOCKIVY BRIDGE CHIPS

GAME MARKETINGGGAAAAMMEE MMAARRKKEE

WorldMags.netWorldMags.net

http://worldmags.net/

3August 2012

Welcome to Issue 107Welcome to Issue 107EditorialEDITOR

[email protected]

TECHNICALEDITORHarryButler

GAMESEDITORJoeMartin

ARTEDITORBillBagnall

PRODUCTIONEDITORJulieBirrell

CONTRIBUTORSAntonyLeather, CliffHarris,GarethHalfacree,JimKillock,LucySherriff, MikeJennings,

PaulGoodhead,RickLane,RobertFlorence, SimonTreadaway,

TracyKing

PHOTOGRAPHYDannyBird

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WATERCOOLYOURPC54 Everbeentempted

bythecooltemps,overclocking

headroomorjustthesimple,awesomefactorofwatercooling,butdidn’tknowwheretostart?Thismonth,fortheveryfirsttime,we’vededicatedawholeLabstesttoseparatewater-coolingcomponents,reviewingthreeCPUwaterblocks,sixGPUwaterblocksandfourradiators.What’smore,we’veevenincludedtwostep-by-stepinstallationguides.

44

4 August 2012

Welcome to Issue 107

11 SPOTTINGAFAIRTESTIt’sgoodtodebunktechclaims,but

TracyKingarguesthatweneedtodoitfairly.

12 THEPIRATEBAYBLOCKTheUK’smajorISPshavebeen

orderedtoblockaccesstothePirateBay,butJimKillockasksifcensorshipistheanswer.

14 SIMCITYINTERVIEWJoeMartintalkstoMaxis’Ocean

QuigleyaboutthelatestinstalmentintheSimCityfranchise.

18 SPINTRONICSRepresentingdatawiththespinof

anelectronchangedharddrivereadheads,butcoulditdothesameforlogiccircuits?

38 IVYBRIDGEGRAPHICSTESTCanIntel’snewintegratedHD4000

graphicsprocessorbeatAMD’sLlanoGPUarchitectureatitsowngame?Weinvestigate.

44 INDILINXEVEREST2WecheckoutOCZ’sVertex4toseeif

theIndilinxEverest2controllerisanygood.

86 DIABLOIIIWecannowswimupforairinthe

swampofhype,butwas itworththewait?

94 REVIEWYOURGAMESCliffHarrisattemptstopersuade

youtopostonlinereviewsofyourgames.

96 THEENGINEROOMUNREALENGINE3

We’reintroducinganewsectionthismonth,wherewelookatapopulargameengineeachissue.ItkicksoffwithUnrealEngine3.

9840



14

96

18

5August 2012

1ssue 107

98 BUYNOW,PAYLATERWhendidgamesstartarrivingin

collector’seditions,andwhydowenowhavegamecharacterstatuettesandqueuesoutsideHMV?JoeMartininvestigatestheevolutionofgamemarketing.

108 HOWTOOVERCLOCKIVYBRIDGE

Weshowyouthequickestandeasiestwaytogeta3.4GHzCorei5-3570Kallthewayupto4.5GHz,usinganAsusMaximusVGenemotherboard.

1298108

5876

54

102

Regulars8 Fromtheeditor11 TracyKing12 Digitalrights14 Interview16 Incoming18 Science!20 Mobiletechwatch24 CPCEliteproducts50 Howwetest84 Grumpygamer94 Devperspective96 Theengineroom120 Retrotech122 RobertFlorence

Community76 HowtofitCPUandGPU

waterblocks80 Howtomountyourradiator

andpump104Readers’drives108 HowtooverclockaCorei5-3570K111 Forthewin!114 Letters117 Folderof themonth118 Yourfoldingmilestones

86

Reviewed thismonthHardwarePC36 DinoPCTyrannosaur

3570K

GRAPHICS HARDWARE38 IntelHD4000graphics40 PNYNvidiaGeForceGTX6702GB

SSD44 OCZVertex4256GB

JOYSTICK46 CyborgF.L.Y5

KEYBOARD48 CMStormQuickFireRapid

Customkit52 KeysonicKSK-320552 Memoir ‘4452 PicoGenieA10053 AntecAdvanceNaturalSpray

60ml53 AntecAdvance3xStrengthSpray

60ml53 AntecAdvanceDeepCleanGel53 EnermaxDreamBassAP001

WatercoolingLabs test58 AquacomputerCuplexKryosHF59 WatercoolHeatkillerCPU

Rev3.0CU60 XSPCRayStormCPUWaterBlock62 KoolanceVID-NX68064 WatercoolHeatkillerGPU-X³GTX

680HoleEdition65 XSPCRazorGTX68067 AquacomputeraquagrATIx

forHD797068 WatercoolHeatkillerGPU-X³

GTX79X070 XSPC Razor797071 AquacomputerairplexXT24072 AlphacoolNexXxoSXT60Full

Copper240mm73 PhobyaG-Changer240Ver.1.2

Black74 XSPCEX240MultiportRadiator

Games86 DiabloIII88 SniperEliteV292 Warlock:Masterof theArcane93 Crysis3

30PRODUCTSREVIEWED



O h,goaway!Notagain,click,click.Don’tcare!Atleast,that’stheusualmonthlyexchangeI’vehadwithmyPCforthepastfewyearsuntil IupgradedtoaGeForceGTX680.That’sbecause

I’vebeenusingAMDgraphicscards,fromtheRadeonHD4850throughthe5850toa6870.Theyweregoodcards,butthemonthlynagtoupdatemydriversniggledlikeabig,stupidflybuzzinginandoutofmyear.IprobablyevenshoutedoutloudtomyPC.Sometimes.Ofcourse,likeanyself-respectingenthusiast, I liketomakesure

thatmyPCisperformingaswellaspossible,butthatdoesn’tmeanIwanttogothroughthehassleofuninstallingmygraphicsdrivers,reinstallingnewonesandrestartingmyPCeverymonth.Itgratesevenmorewhenyoulookthroughthereleasenotesandseethattheonlyfixesareforagameyoudon’tevenown,ataparticularresolutionyourmonitordoesn’tevensupport,andthegraphicalglitchesyouwerehopingtoresolveinanothergamearen’tevenmentioned.Perhapsthemostannoyingmonthlyremindercamefrommy

mediacentrePC,whichhasaRadeonHD3450.Ihaven’tupdatedthedriverfor18months,becauseIhaven’tneededto–if itain’tbroke,don’tfix it,especiallywhenyouriskbreakingyourPCintheprocess.Everynowandthen,IfoundthatthepreviousversionofCatalystdidn’tuninstallproperly,andinstallingthenewversionmeantIcouldnolongeropentheControlCenter,requiringalongandtediousvoyagethroughthecheckboxbadlandsofRegedittogetitworkingagain.IcanseewhyAMDadoptedthisstrategy.ATIdrivershadaterrible

reputationforstabilitywhenCatalystwasreleased,andittookafewmonthsof.NETtweakingtomaketheCatalystControlCenterrunsmoothlyandquickly.AMDneededtoimproveitsreputation,andtheideaofmonthlyupdatesmusthaveseemedappealing,while

AMD has decided to stop issuingmonthly updates to its Catalystdriver updates. Good

alsogivingAMDbraggingrightsoverNvidia’scomparativelyirregularForceWareupdates.Itdidn’tworkthough.Inarushtogetanewupdateoutofthedoor

everymonth,AMD’sdriverteammusthaveundoubtedlyhadtoplacesomeissuesontheToDopile,andNvidiacertainlydoesn’tseemtohavesufferedfromnotknockingoutnewdriverupdateseverymonth.Thankfully,allthisisnowinthepast–thismonthAMDannouncedthatitwasnolongergoingtoreleasemonthlydriverupdates,butinsteadreleaseanewdrivereverynowandthenwithplentyoffixes,

muchlikeNvidia’sstrategy.Iwon’tbesadtoseethebackofit. I like

tokeepmyPC’shardwareandsoftwaremaintained,buttherecomesapointwhereitstopsbeingusefulandactuallyjustbecomesannoying.Goodcall,AMD.Idon’tcareif itwasamoney-savingdecision–itwastherightone.Inothernews,thismonthalsoseesthe

introductionofanewregularsectioncalledtheEngineRoom,inwhichwe’regoingtolookatagameengineeverymonth,andseehowit’schangedPCgaming,particularlywhenitcomestographicsandhardwarefeatures.ThefirstoneisallaboutUnrealEngine3(seep96).Finally,we’reteamingupwithourfriendsatbit-techtocreatea

techandgamingpubquiz.Asafanofbothaleandquizzes,Ifullysupportthisendeavour,andwillbepenningsomeofthequestionstoo.Ifyouthinkyou’vegotwhatittakestobeonawinningteam,thencheckoutthedetailsonp10andsubmityourentry.

BenHardwidgeistheeditorofCustomPC.HelikesPCs,realaleandWarhammer40,000.

[email protected] @MANSHARK

The monthly nag toupdate niggled like abig, stupid fly buzzingin and out of my ear

TOOMANYDRIVERUPDATES

8 August 2012

from the editor



For more information:www.pny.eu

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

Explore a new gaming experiencewith PNY’s GTX 670.



i t’sagoodjobthereareexperttechreviews–otherwisewe’dhavetoeithertakeachance,orbuyeverythingandperformourowncomparisontests.However,nowandagain,Iseeacomparison

testthatsetsouttotestaparticularclaim,fromquantummagnetsclarifyingsoundwaves,toexpensivedigitalcablesdeliveringsignalimprovements,andthesetestsaren’talwaysasrobustastheymightclaim.SoI’vedecidedtooutlinesomeofthepitfallswhentestingsuchclaims,usingmyfavouriteclaim-of-superpowers,HDMIcables.Firstly,whatistheactualclaimbeingtested?Inourexampleof

HDMIcables,whatdothemanufacturerssayisbetterabouttheir£200cables?Someclaimscan’tbetested,sincetheydon’tsayanythingspecific.OnecableIsawstatedthatit ‘deliversthefullexperience’. Nothingquantifiablethere.Aclaimthatcanbetestedideallyhasastandardofmeasurement.Forexample,‘world’sfastestcableforHDMI:HyperSpeed-highspeedratedat21Gb/sec’containsatestableclaim,oncewegetpastthe‘HyperSpeed’babble.Somecomparisontestslookforeffectsthat

themanufacturerhasn’tactuallyclaimed.Thisisaneasypitfall ifyou’retryingtoanswer‘whichcableisbetter?’,becausethequestionissubjective.Secondly, isthetesttrulylike-for-like?InourHDMIexample,the

testmightbewhetherthegoldcablesdeliverthesuperiorstandardtheypromise(howeverthat’sbeingmeasured)comparedtonon-gold.Asthetestfocusesononespecificarea,allotheraspectsshouldideallybeidentical.Cablelength,width,ageandsoonshouldallbethesame.Ifnot,theremaybeafactoraffectingperformanceotherthanthegold,andthetestwouldn’tbefair.Thirdly,theidealtestisdouble-blinded.Humansarefullofbias

andpreconceptions,andthiscancreepintotestsinmanyways,fromsomethingsimplesuchashandlingtheexpensivecabledifferently

It’s good to debunk seemingly false techclaims, but we also need tomake surethat we do it fairly and accurately

fromthecheapone,toseeingdifferencesthataren’treallytherebecauseyou’rebiasedtowardsaparticularbrand.Ideally,nooneinvolvedinphysicallydoingthetestshouldbeawarethatit’sforHDMIcables.Thepeopleevaluatingwhethersoundorpictureisclearershouldn’tknowwhatthey’relookingfor,onlythattheyhavetonoteifthereareanydifferencesand,ifso,whatdifferences.Thequestion‘whichisbetter,pictureAorpictureB?’isbiasedbecauseitprimestheviewertoexpectadifference,sotheymayfindoneregardless.Fourthly,hasthetestreplicatedcircumstancesthatleadto

problems?HDMIcableseitherdeliveronesandzeroesortheydon’t,butsomemaybebetteratshieldingfrominterference,ortheymight

lastlonger;ifyoudon’ttesttheminthesameenvironmentthataffectsperformancethenyouwon’tfindout.Twodifferentlypricedcableswillprobablyperformthesameoutoftheboxinthesamesetup,butdotheyperformthesameinmylounge,wherethere’snointerference,astheydoinmyofficewherethere’sloads?Dotheyperformthesameovertimeandstress?Withoutreplicatingwhatleadstoproblems,thetestmaynotbefair.Comprehensivereviewsshouldalsotest

morethanoneofeachcable.Youhavenowayofknowingifyourtestcablesaretypical

examplesoftheirmodelifyouonlyhaveone.Ofcourse,thisisallassumingthatweliveinanidealworld,butIhopethisgivesyouanideaofthesortofissuesthatcancropupwhentryingtogetthroughtechnobabbleorgold-platedquantumpricing.Thenexttimeyoureadatechreviewthatdebunksaclaim,askifthetestshavebeenperformedfairly.

GamerandscienceenthusiastTracyKingdissectstheevidenceandstatisticsbehindsomeofthepopularmediastoriessurroundingtechandgaming @TKINGDOLL

11August 2012

HDMI cables eitherdeliver ones and zeroesor they don’t, but some

may have betterinterference shielding,or they might last longer

SPOTTINGAFAIRTEST



12 August 2012

Jim Killock

ensorshipisanegativeandbluntresponsetoalmostanything,anditimpliesthatthecensordoesn’ttrustyoutomakeyourowndecisions.Past

experienceofcensorshiphasshownthatit’srarelyfullyeffective;theunwantedactivity islikelytocarryonregardless,andthetargetofcensorshipwilloftenlooklikeavictim.TheUKblockingofthePirateBayhas

followedthispattern.Evenbeforetheblocks,thesitehadasurgeoftraffic,mirrorsappearedandtheUKPirateParty’smirrordrewmoretraffic.AsthejudgeinchargeofthecasehasorderedwholeIPaddressestobeblocked,themirrormayleadtotheparty’smainwebsitebeingcutoff,whichwouldmeanUKcensorshipofapoliticalparty.It’stemptingtoconcludethatthisisa

planned,strategicvictoryforthosewhosetup

ThePirateBayblockThe UK’s major ISPs have been ordered to block accessto the Pirate Bay, but is censorship the answer?

thePirateBay,andhere’swhy.ThePirateBaywassetupasaSwedishlanguagewebsitein2003byathinktankcalledthePirateBureau,whichorganiseddirectactionarounddigitalcopyrightissues.ThePirateBaywaslikeadirectattackonthenotionthatcopyrightcouldbeenforceableinthedigitalage,andachallengetotheolddistributionmodels.Itwasfirstlyintendedtoshowthatpeople

coulddistributematerialbetterthanthetraditionaltop-downcompanies,andsecondly,todemonstratethatinanageofnear-zerocostindistribution,simplyrelyingonchargesforcopiesseemsredundant.Thissecondfactorispartlyacceptedby

manyconventionalbusinessanalysts,whoemphasisequalityofservice,curationandcustomerrelationships.However,thePirateBureau’smainaimwastopushthe

boundariesofwhat’sacceptable,anddemonstratethatthetypesofcopyrightenforcementpushedbyindustrygroupswouldquicklybecomeintolerable.ByblockingthePirateBay, ithasproveditspoint.Theacceptabilityofcopyrightenforcement

quicklybecamethefocusofdebate,startingwithraidsonthePirateBay’sserversin2006,andthefamoustrial in2007.Thelegalcaseendedwithfinalappealsinearly2012.Thefourdefendantsfacelargefinesandjailsentences,butthesitestillhasn’tshutdown.TherewasnevermuchdoubtthatthePirate

Baywouldbeseentobeinfringingcopyright.Itsfamouslysarcasticresponsestocopyrighttakedownrequestsleftlittledoubtthatitwaslikelytoobeythelaw.Theargumentthatitwasmerelyasearchenginedoesn’treallyabsolveitofresponsibilityforitswebpages,which

C

Whentheblockwasordered2May, 2012,forthestartofJune.

Whomustblockaccess?Sky,Virgin,TalkTalk,EverythingEverywhere,O2andBT.

WhythecourtorderedtheblockItrecognisedthatthePirateBaywasdoinglittleornothingtodealwithcopyrightcomplaintsandwasinfacthelpingtofacilitatecopyrightviolations.

Howisthesiteblocked?AnyrequesttothePirateBay’sIPaddresswillnotbefulfilled.

Thisblockshttpandhttpstraffic.Usually,thiswouldmeanthatmanysitesmightbeblocked,butonlyonesiteisservedatthisIPaddress.

Isthesiteillegal?No.Theactivitiesmaybeillegal,butit’sastretchtocallitan‘illegalwebsite’.

Isitillegaltovisitthesite?No.Visitingawebsiteisn’t(yet)acrime.

IsusingproxiesorVPNsillegal?No.Circumventiontoolsaren’tillegal.

Isdownloading.torrentfilesillegal?No.Merelydownloadingatorrentfileisn’tillegal.

Isdownloadingactualcopyrightfilesacrime?No,butitisawrong.It’ssimilartonotpayingabillinthatit’saprivatewrong,whichgenerallymeansyoumightfaceafineratherthanprison.

Issharingfilesacrime?Sometimes,butthedamagehastobeveryserious,suchasleakingapre-releaserecording.Otherwise,it’sacivilwrong.

Cancopyrightbeenforcedinthedigitalage?Yes.Thedebateiswhetherwide,publicenforcementisnecessary,orwhetherbusinesses’productsandinnovationaretheanswer.

WherecanIfindmoreinformation?StealThisFilmIandIIaregoodintroductionstothePirateBay’spolitics.Lookonhttp://vo.doforhigh-qualitylegaltorrents.Youcanalsofindmoreinformationbyvisitingwww.openrightsgroup.org/piratebay

THE PIRATE BAY BLOCK FAQ



13August 2012

pointtocopyrightinfringingmaterial.Theresultofthetrial,however,wasthe

spreadofangerinSweden.ThenverysuccessfulPiratePartieswereestablished,nowwithtwoSwedishMEPsandregionalrepresentationinanumberofGermanregionalparliaments.TheywerecreatedasaresultoftheperceptionthatactionagainstthePirateBaywastheheavy-handedagendaofforeignlobbygroups,andultimatelypointless.ThesegroupspushednotonlyforclosingPirateBay,butalsoformeasurestoidentifyindividualcopyrightinfringers.Exposingthisagendawaspretty

muchtheoriginalgoalofthePirateBureau.Ithadn’tonlyprovokedadebate,butactuallycreatedapoliticalmovementopposedtothecopyrightlobbies.Theresponseoftherecordingandfilmindustriessincethefirstmajorfile-sharingtool,Napster,hasbeentocloseservicesandstopinnovationthattheydon’tcontrol.Mostlyrunbylawyers,groupssuchas

theIFPI(InternationalFederationofPhonographicIndustries)andtheMPA(MotionPictureAssociation)lookforlegalsolutions.Theywanttoprotectthevalueoftheirhistoricassets,whichtheyworrycoulddepreciateifdigitaldistributionpushescheapaccessratherthanpremiumsales.It’sonlyreallybeenin2012thatthe

lobbyists’legislativestrategyhaslookedlikeit’scomingofftherails.Astringofinitiativespushedbythesegroups,includingtheACTAtreaty(seeIssue105,p10),HadopiinFrance

andtheUK’sDigitalEconomyActlookedsettosucceedintippingthebalancetowardscreatingnewresponsibilities,restrictions,punishmentsandliabilitiesdesignedtoincreasecontrolofthedistributionmechanisms.OnlySOPAandPIPAmanagedtofinallyoutragetheAmericanpublicandtipthelobbygroups’strategyoffcourse.Now,thankfully,ACTAisalsoindanger.Politicians,whoaresusceptibleto

argumentsaboutthedangersofcopyright‘theft’, tendtoviewthesemeasuresas

reasonable.Theycreateaninfrastructureofcontrolthatcanbeusedformuchmorethancopyright,anddamagelegalrightsofdueprocessasenforcementdutiesareplacedonintermediarieswithnointerestinwhetheraninfringementclaimisrealorvalid.Copyrightmonitoringisaconstantthreattoyourprivacy.Justasimportantly,theenforcement

agendatakesattentionawayfromthemajorquestion:howdodigitalmusicandfilmbusinessesmakemoneyontheInternet?Theanswerissimple–doabetterandquickerjobofprovidingcontentthanfilesharing.VeryfewpeopleintheUKwouldfile-shareBBCorChannel4programmes;whatwouldbethe

JIMKILLOCKisexecutivedirectorofcampaignorganisationTheOpenRightsGroup

(www.openrightsgroup.org)

@jimkillock

point?It’sbettertovisitthewebsitesandmaybewatchsomeadverts.However,therearestillveryfewfilms

publishedviawebservicesintheUKwhenyoucheckbackcatalogues,evenaward-winningfilms.Plus,downloadpricesareoftenhigherthanthecostofDVDs.Whilethepubliccryoutforentertainment,andtheindustriescontinuetodoverywelldespitetherecession,thelobbyistsmanagetocreateadoom-ladenatmosphereinwhichpolicymakersbelievecopyrightisfacinganexistentialcrisis.

Thelobbygroupsmanagetoturnmanyoftheirbestcustomersandsometimeinfringersintoavowedenemies.Theypushcensorshipmeasuresthatsendthesignalthatcopyrightcanonlyexist ifwesacrificefreespeechandprivacy.Theyhavealsosuccessfully

generatedthreecitizenmovementstoopposetheirgoals:thedigitalrightsmovement,includingORG;thePirateParties;andthelooseAnonymousgroupingsorganisingEurope-wideprotests.Whenyou’reinahole,stopdigging.

THERE ARE STILL VERY FEW FILMSPUBLISHED VIA WEB SERVICES INTHE UK WHEN YOU CHECK BACK

CATALOGUES, EVEN AWARD WINNERS

AccesstothePirateBayhasalreadybeenblockedbyISPssuchasVirgin,butisstillavailableviatheUKPirateParty’sproxy



14 April 2012

JoeMartin

Oh,soSim-peopleJoe Martin talks to Maxis’ Ocean Quigley about a PC franchise thatwe’re very happy to see being revived – SimCity

sendingagentstoandfro.Simsleavebuildingswithaparticulargoalinmind,tolookforatypeofjob,goshoppingortothehospital, lookforabuildingtorobandsoon.DifferentSimsarelookingfordifferent

goals,dependingonwherethey’vecomefrom.Iftheycan’tfindwhatthey’relookingfor,they’llchangetheirmindsafterawhile,andlookforsomethingelse.Eventually,they’ll findwhatthey’relookingfor,giveupandgobackhome,ormaybeevenleaveyourcity.Theycarrystuffwiththem,suchashealth,

education,happinessormoney.Whentheygettotheirdestination,that’shandedovertothebuildingthatreceivesthem,whichinturnsetsoffadditionalsimulationactivity.

CPC:WhyareyoumakingthisSimCitynowaftersolongawayfromthefranchise?Ocean:Wewantedtodoalotwith

SimCity4thatjustwasn’tpossiblethen.Overthepastdecade,wekeptcomingbacktothoseideas,andafterfinishingSpore,wefinallyhadanopportunitytorunwiththem.Oneoftheobviousimprovementsistheinclusionofafully3Dcity–untilrecently,wecouldn’tmakea3Dcitywiththelevelofvisualrichnessthatthegamedemanded.Inpreviousversionsof

SimCity,theywerealsofairlylow-resolutionsimulationsthatglossedoveralotofthedetailsthatmakeacityfeelreal.Wewanttoshowthebehaviorsthatmakeupcitieswithvastlygreaterfidelity,andwebuiltourGlassBoxenginetotacklealotoftheseelements.

CPC:Canyoutalkaboutthenewengine?Ocean:GlassBoxisn’tagraphicsengine,it’sasimulationengine.BeforeGlassBox,wedidn’thavethesimulationtechnologytomakecitieswhereeverythingwasalive.Thisiswhatwemeanwesay,‘EverythingyouseeweSim.’GlassBoxenablesustosimulateeverythingaplayerseeswithinthecity–the

thousandsofSims,vehiclesandbuildingsthatliveinit.

CPC:We’veseentheagentsinthegame,buthowdotheywork?Doallcitizenshavethesame

priorities,forexample?Ocean:Atthemostbasiclevel,agentsareusedbythesimulationtocarryinformationthroughthecity.Almosteverythingthat’smovinginthecityisanagent, includingtheSimsandtheircars,watermovingthroughpipes,electricitymovingthroughwiresandresourcesmovingthroughyoureconomy.Buildingscommunicatewitheachotherby

inclusionofafully3Dcity–untilrecently,we

webuiltourGlassBoxengineto

thousandsofSims,vehiclesandbuildingsthatliveinit.

CPC:

priorities,forexample?



15April 2012

CPC:TheabilitytoadddatalayerstothemaphasaGoogleMapsfeeltoit,buthowmanylayerscanplayerssee?Ocean:Beingabletovisualisewhat’sgoingonisabsolutelykey.Itdoesn’tmatterhowrichandsophisticatedthesimulationisifyouaren’tallowedtoseeit!Everygameplaysystem–education,crimeorgarbage–hasdifferentwaysofshowingyouwhatit’sdoing.Wehave‘heavy’datalayers,wherewe

makethecitylookprettyabstract,andsuperimposegraphsoverbuildingsshowingyouwhat’sgoingon.Intheheavydatalayers,you’refocusingononeparticularsystem,suchasfiresafety.Everythingthatmattersaboutfirewillbevisiblethere–wherefireshaveoccurred,whereyourfirestationsare,howaccessibledifferentpartsofyourcityaretoyourfiretrucksandsoon.Wealsohave‘light’datalayers,where

weoverlayinformationonyourcitywithoutchangingthewayitlooks.Thoseareusefulforfiguringoutwheretoplopsomething,orwhereyoumighthaveaproblem.

CPC:ThenewSimCitywillfeaturemultiplayertoo;howdoesthatworkwithasandboxstrategygame?Ocean:Inreallife,citiesdon’texist inisolation.They’reconnectedtoeachotherthroughtheflowoftrade,emigration,sharedresourcesandacommonenvironment.Inaddition,citiessharelarge-scaleregionalinfrastructure.Forexample,highways,internationalairportsandstrip-minesbenefit (orharm)citiesinawidearea. We’resimulatingthat,whichallowscitiestodifferentiate,specialiseandcarryoutdifferentrolesinthelargerregions.Whatyoubuildanddocanaffectthepeople

withwhomyouchoosetoplay.Yourcitymight

producesomethingthattheircityneeds,orworkersattheircitymightcometoyoursforjobs.Andattheregionalscale,thedifferentcitiescancollaboratetoconstructprojectsthatwouldbeoutofscopeforanindividual.

CPC: Inmultiplayer,canyouplayagainstothercitiesaggressively?Ocean:It’sprimarilyacooperativegame,whereyou’rebuildingwithyourfriends.However,there’sarealsimulationunderneathit,soifyouwanttogriefthemyou’llbeabletodoso.Forexample,youcouldmakethemdependentonyou,andthenyanktherugoutfromunderneaththem,oryoucouldpipepollutedwatertothemorcultivatelotsofcriminalsthatdriveovertotheircityto

commitcrimes.Therewillberegionalleaderboards,sodifferentcitieswillcompeteforpopulationandeconomy,ortobetheworstpolluterorthemostcriminal.Singleplayerscanplayagainstthemselves.

They’llbeabletohavetheirownregionandstillhavethesameexperienceofowningmultiplecities,aswellaswatchingtheircitiesgrowandchangedependingontheirchoices.

CPC:Willmoddingtoolsbeavailable?Ocean:WebuilttheGlassBoxenginetobemoddablefromtheoutset,andourdataformatsarethesameastheywereforSimCity4andTheSims.However,gettingmoddingtoworkproperly,witheverythingelsewe’redoing,isahugechunkofwork.Fornow,theteamneedstoconcentrateonfinishingthecoregameandmakingitgreat.Afterthat,wecanlookatthebiggerpictureagain,anddotheworktoallowmodderstobuildonit.

VISUALISING WHAT’S GOINGON IS KEY. IT DOESN’T MATTERHOW RICH THE SIMULATION ISIF YOU CAN’T SEE IT!



16 February 2012

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18 August 2012

Lucy Sherriff

pintronicsisoneofthehottesttopicsinscienceandtech,whetheritconcernslogiccircuitsbasedonthespinormagneticmomentofan

electronorqubitsinquantumcomputers.Withallthatexcitement, it’seasytoforgetthattechnologybasedonspintronicshasbeenapartofthecomputingexperienceforthebetterpartofadecade.Youknowitbetterasthereadheadofyourharddrive.Inthemid-1980s,tworesearchteams,

headedrespectivelybyAlbertFertandPeterGrünberg,independentlydiscoveredthephenomenonofGiantMagnetoresistance(GMR),aneffectfoundinthinfilmmaterialscomposedofalternatingferromagneticandnon-magneticlayers.FertandGrünbergobservedasignificant

differenceintheresistanceacrosssuchamaterial,dependingonthealignmentofspinsinadjacentlayers.Highresistancemarksaregionofantiparallelalignment,andlowresistancemarksaregionofparallelalignment–thedifferenceissignificantenoughtobeusedtoreaddatafromaharddrive.TheirworkwonFertandGrünbergthe2007NobelPrize,ledtoanexplosioninharddrivedatadensities,andpavedthewayforanewwayofthinkingaboutstorage,memoryandlogic.Attheheartofspintronicsisthe

ideathatwecanexploitnotonlythechargeofanelectron,butalsoitsspin,ormagneticmoment.Theinstantwestopthinkingaboutanelectronasamovingobject(partofaflowofcurrent),andconsideritasanentityinitself, itstartstobecomemoreinteresting.However,gettingfromthelabtothePCisn’talwaysaneasyroad.

SpintronicsRepresenting data with the spin of an electron transformed hard driveread heads, but could it do the same for logic circuits too?

‘Thefirstspintronicsdevicewentintoproductionjusteightornineyearsafteranewphysicaleffect–giantmagnetoresistance–wasdiscovered,’saysRolfAllenspach,headofIBM’sPhysicsofNanoscalesystemsresearchgroupinZurich.However,thereasonthetechnologymovedsoastonishinglyquicklyfromlabtoproductionwasbecauseitwasa‘drop-in’replacement,heexplains.Nothingneededtoberedesigned;thenewheadjustreplacedtheoldoneanddidabetterjob.Theroadaheadforotherspintronics

devicesmightnotbeassmooth,andcertainlyseemstobelonger,butstillpossibletonavigate.Oneofthemostactiveareasofresearchconcernssomethingcalled

magneticdomainwallsandspin-transfertorque,whichismostcertainlynota‘drop-in’replacementforexistingtech.Thephysicsisattheheartofbothnewtypesofmemory,androom-temperaturespintronicslogic.Botharebasedonthesamebasicidea.

‘Aconventionalfieldeffecttransistorworksbecausechargemovesaround,andwecanbreakthatflowofelectronstoproducethelogicstatesofoneandzero.Spintronics,meanwhile,encodesthelogiconeorzerointhespin-eitherupordown–ofanelectron.Insteadofdivertingflow,youflipthespintochangethelogicstate,’Allenspachexplains.‘Inanidealcase,youwouldn’thaveanycurrentflow,justtheflowofspin.Thisiswhatreducesheatdissipation.’Youcanflipthespinwithmagneticfield

(whichisdifficulttocontrolinsidedevices),orwithelectricfield(whichmaybeeasier,especiallyatasmallscale).Thiscanbedoneataverylowpowerdensity,whichisamajorreasonwhypeopleareinterestedinthistech.Significantworkisbeingcarriedouton

developingthesediscoveriesevenfurtherintotheholygrail:universalmemory.Areliableandnon-volatiletechnology

capableofhigh-densitydatastorage,fastreadandwritestimeswouldconsignthestandardharddrive,flashandallthefamiliaralphabeticalRAMvariantstothehistorybooks.Racetrackmemory, whichist

hebrainchildofIBMresearcherStuartParkin, isIBM’sstabatit.Thefirmfirstdemonstratedthetechnologyin2008,butattheendoflastyearitshowedoffaversionintegratedwithstandard200mmwaferCMOStechnology.

S

Spintronicshasalreadybeenusedinharddrivereadheadsforthebestpartofadecade

RolfAllenspach,headofIBM’sPhysicsofNanoscalesystemsresearchgroupinZurich



19August 2012

Racetrackstoresdataasmagnetisedregionsonnanowiresthatcanbewritten,readandoverwrittenastheywhizzpastfixedreadandwriteheads.Sincethebitsthemselvesmovealongthenanowires,youonlyneedonetransistorperracetrack,asopposedtoonetransistorperbit.Youcanalsostackthewires,creatingdatadensitiesthatnotonlyequalbutsurpassconventionalharddrives.What’smore,thedataisnon-volatile: itpersistsevenwhenthepowerisswitchedoff.YoumayrecallfromGCSEphysicsthatin

aferromagnet,thespinsofalltheelectronsarealigned.Youcanhaveregionswithinamaterialwherespinsarealignedoneway,rightnexttoareaswherethespinsarealignedtheotherway.Theboundarybetweenthetwodifferentlyalignedareas,theregioninwhichthemagneticmomentoftheelectronschanges,isknownasthemagneticdomainwall.Onedirectionofthewall islogicstateone,theotherdirectionislogicstatezero.Thespinofagivenregioncanbe

manipulatedbyamagneticfield,butthisdoesn’tnecessarilymoveitalongthenanowire.Instead,youcanmovethedomainswithapulseofspin-polarisedcurrent.Generally,anelectricalcurrentisn’tpolarised–ithasanevenmixofupanddownspin-states.However, ifyouloadthecurrentwithmoreelectronsspin-up,forexample,whenithitsamagneticdomainwall,thespin–angularmomentum–oftheelectronsistransferred,switchingthepolarisationoftheregiononeithersideofthedomainwall.Thisworksbecauseangularmomentumis

aconservedquantity–youcan’tgetmorethanyoualreadyhave,andyouhavetokeepwhat

youhave.Soasthepolarisedelectroninthepulseofcurrenthitsthemagnetiseddomainandswitchesfrom0to1,anotherelectron–oneinthemagnetiseddomain–hastoflipfrom1to0.Thistransferofmomentumcanmovea

magnetisedbitalongawireatanimpressive150nmpernanosecondinidealconditions.Thisgivesyouanon-volatileformofhigh-densitymemorywithaccesstimesinnanoseconds;muchfasterthanharddrives.

It isn’tperfectthough.Allenspachacknowledgesthatthereal-worldperformanceisstillsomewaybelowwhattheorysuggestsshouldbepossible.‘Wefoundweneededmuchlongercurrentpulsesthanweexpectedtomovethedomains,’hesays.Whilewe’vehadyearsofperfectingsilicon

production,makingperfectferromagnetsisstillanewgame.Tinydefectsinthecrystallinestructurewerecausingthemagneticdomainstobecomestuck,meaningthatthecurrenthadtobeappliedformuchlongertoshiftthemalong.Inaclearstretchofpermalloywire,though,thetheoryheld,andpulsesofjustafewnanosecondswereenoughtomovethedomainsalong.

LUCYSHERRIFFisajournalistwithadegreeinastrophysicswhoknowsallaboutthe

latestscientifictech.

@lucysherriff

Therealworldgetsinthewayofspintronicsinlogictoo.Thisistoolargeatopictocoverindetailhere,butbasically,thisworkcanbedividedintotwomainavenues,eachofwhichhaspromise,butalsosomeveryobviousdifficultiesthathaveyettobeovercome.Thefirstavenueworksatroom

temperatureandisbasedonthesameunderlyingphysicsasracetrack:ferromagnetism.Thiswouldmeanatotaloverhaulofcomputerdesigntogetit intoPCs.Thealternativeapproach,whichis

compatiblewithcurrentmaterials,onlyworksbelow200°Kelvin.That’sabracing-73°Cinrealmoney,soit isn’tmuchcopinyouraverageair-cooleddesktopPC,andnotreallyappropriateforthemassmarket.Whilethesekinksstillexist inmemoryand

logicresearch,andcurrenttechnologyworks,theindustrywillbereluctanttomovefromcurrentstandardtechnologythathasprovenreliability.Theimplicationisthat,despitespintronics’potential, fornow,standardmemoryisdoingenoughtostayintherace.‘Whetherornotanyofthisbecomes

commercialiseddependsonthedifficultiesinthesiliconindustry,’Allenspachconcludes.‘It’shardtopredictifaningeniousengineerwillfindanewsolutionfortheproblemsfacingexistingtechnology,butwewanttobereadyifthestandardapproachfails.’

THIS GIVES YOU NON-VOLATILE, HIGH-DENSITYMEMORY WITH ACCESS

TIMES IN NANOSECONDS

Racetrackmemory,thebrainchildofIBMresearcherStuartParkin,storesdataasmagnetisedregionsonnanowiresthatcanbewritten,readandoverwrittenastheywhizzpastfixedreadandwriteheads



20 August 2012

Gareth Halfacree looks at the latest mobile hardware

e’vealreadylookedattechnologiessuchasmolecular-levelwaterproofing,whichaimtodramaticallyimprovethe

flexibilityofsmartphones,andeventhepotentialfortransparentdevices.Allthesetechnologieshavesomethingincommonthough:they’reevolutionary,notrevolutionary.Awaterproofsmartphoneisjustanormal

smartphoneyoucanusesafelywhenit’sraining;atransparentbatteryusesmuchthesamechemicalsasitsopaqueequivalent.Sometimes,however,acompanyreleasesdetailsofatechnologythat’strulyrevolutionary,andthismonthwe’reluckyenoughtohavetwosuchreleasestodiscuss.Whileoneisclosertocommercialisationthantheother,bothofferafascinatingglimpseofapossiblenewdirectionformobiledevices.

KYOCERA TISSUECONDUCTION AUDIOThefirsttechnologycomesfromacompanymorereadilyassociatedwithphotocopiersthansmartphones:Kyocera.AttheCTIAWirelesseventearlierthismonth,thecompanyrevealeddetailsofitsnewtechnologyfordramaticallyimprovingsmartphoneaudioquality.Thecompanywillsoonreleasethefirst

mobilephonedevelopedaroundtheconceptoftissueconductionaudio.Asaresult,thespeaker–themostfundamentalcomponentofanyphone–iscompletelymissingfromthedevice,asistheholeabovethescreenbehindwhichitwouldnormallysit.Withoutaspeaker,thephonewouldbeprettyuseless,butKyocera’stechnologypromisestoreplacethespeakerwithsomethingbettersuitedtomakingcallsinnoisyenvironments:aceramictransducer.

ChanginghumaninteractionWelcome to the future, where you don’t need a speaker to hear a phone,and you can control a device without even touching it

obviousstatement,butonethat’sdoggedmobilephonemanufacturersforyearsastheytrytocomeupwithnewmethodsforimprovingtheirdevices’usability incrowds.It’sthisproblem,alongwiththeusability

concernsforhard-of-hearingindividualswithmobilephones,thatKyocera’stechnologyaimstoaddress.Dispensingwiththetraditionalconceptofusingairasthemediumtocarrytheaudio,theprototypedeviceisequippedwithaceramictransducerthatusesyourownbodytissueasthecarrier.Thetechnologyworksbytransferringa

vibrationfromtheceramictransducertothetissue,boneandcartilagearoundtheear,whichisinturntransmittedtotheeardrumandperceivedassound.Bypassingtheusualairconductionofatraditionalspeaker,Kyoceraclaimsthatthetechnologyisinherentlyimmunetonoise:nomatterhowloudthesurroundingenvironment,thesoundfromthephonereachestheeardrumintact.Tissueconductionisn’tanewtechnology:

thesamesystemisusedinhearing-aiddevices.Asaresult,thetechnologynotonlypromisestovastlyimproveaudioqualityforusersinnoisyenvironments,butalsotomakesmartphonesusablebythosewithreducedhearingforthefirsttime.Asimilarsystemisusedtotunestringed

instruments–inanoisyvenue,it’simpossibletotuneaguitarbyear.Instead,musiciansuseatunerthatclipsontotheinstrument’sheadstocktopickupthevibrationsfromeachstring.LikeKyocera’stechnology,theresult isanear-immunitytobackgroundnoise:twomusicianscantunetheirinstrumentsalongsideeachotherwithoutaffectingtheaccuracyoftheother’sreadings.Tomakethemostofthetissueconduction

technologyinanoisyenvironment,Kyocera

Atraditionalspeaker-whetherit’sinasmartphoneorhi-fispeaker-vibratestheairaroundit,whichinturnenterstheearandvibratestheeardruminawaythehumanbrainperceivesassound.It’satechnologythat’sservedmankindwellforcenturies,butithasoneslightproblem:iftheairisalreadyvibrating,eitherbecauseyou’restandinginthemiddleofagale-forcewindorotherpeoplearecreatingtheirownvibrations,theparticularvibrationsyou’reaftercanbelost.Inotherwords,whenpeoplearebeing

noisy, it’shardtohearyourphone.It’san

W

Kyocera’stissueconductiontechnologyisalreadyupandrunninginprototypehandsets



21August 2012

recommendsthatuserswearear-plugsthatblockouttheextraneousairbornebackgroundnoisetransmittedthroughtheearintheusualmanner.Sincethetissueconductionsystemdoesn’trelyonhavingyourear-holesopen,theplugshavenoeffectonthesmartphone’sconductionvibrationsandtheaudiocomesthroughclearasday.

DISNEY TOUCHÉFromacompanynotreadilyassociatedwithsmartphonestoacompanyrarelyassociatedwithtechnologyatall:Disney,anditsresearchprojectthataimstoextendtouchawayfromthedisplayandintoeveryobjectwithwhichyoucouldpossiblywishtointeract.Thecompanymightbebetterknownfor

theanticsofacertainround-earedmouseandhisfriends,butDisneyploughsaconsiderableamountofmoneyintoresearchanddevelopment.ThelatestprojecttoseethelightofdayisTouché,anewsensingtechniquethataimstoexpanddevices’interactioncapabilitiesfarbeyondthatofatraditionaltouch-screen.Unlikestandardtouchtechnologies,which

relyoneitherresistivemeasurementofasurfacecoatingorconductionbetweenaspeciallymanufacturedsurfaceandhumanskin,TouchéworksthoughaprocessthatDisneycalls‘swept-frequencycapacitivesensing’. Initsmostbasicform,itcanactasanextensiontoexistingtouch-screen

technologies;takentoextremes,itoffersawholenewworldofinteractivityhithertoimpossiblewithtraditionaltechnology.TheworkofIvan

PoupyrevatDisneyResearchinPittsburgh,Touchémonitorsmultiplefrequenciesofcapacitanceinsteadoftoday’ssingle-frequencymonitoring.

Theresult,Poupyrev’steamclaims,isasystemthatnotonlytracksmultiplefingertouchesbutcanalsotell ifthefingersarebentoriftheuserisholdingthedeviceinaparticularposture.Touchépromisesmuchoutsidethetouch-

screentoo.DisneyclaimsthatTouché-enabledsurfacescouldenablesofastorespondtoyourbacksideandautomaticallyturnontheTV,thendimthelightswhenyou

leanbacktoenjoytheshow;liedownforanapandtheTouché-enabledsofawouldpauseyourfilmandswitchofftheTVoruninterruptedrest.TheteamevendescribesaTouché-enableddoorknobthatonlyunlockstoyourparticulargrip-patternorafinger-basedgesturepattern.Inthemobilearena,Touchécouldbethe

technologythatmakeshands-freeuseofsmartphonespossible.ByattachingTouchéelectrodestoauser’swrist,thesystemcanmonitorhandgesturesandrelaythemtoasmartphoneortabletoverBluetooth.Relativelycomplexgesturesarerecognisable,withDisneyusingtheexampleoftappingtwofingersintothepalmofyourhandtoadjust

GARETHHALFACREEisthenewsreporteratwww.bit-tech.net.Heknowsallabout the

latestnewsinPCandmobiletech.

@ghalfacree

mediaplaybackvolume–withouteverneedingtophysicallytouchthedevice.Combinedwithawearablecomputing

systemsuchasGoogle’supcomingProjectGlass–ahead-mountedAndroidsmartphonewithaugmentedrealitycapabilities–Disneymayhavestumbledonthebiggestinnovationinhuman-machineinteractionindecades.Despiteitswide-rangingcapabilities–

includingtheabilitytotransformliquidsintotouchsurfacesanddetectsubmersion–Touchéisclaimedtobesimpletoimplement,requiringjustasingleelectricalconductortobeembeddedintoanobject.TheTouchémoduleitselfmeasuresjust

3.6cmoneachside,butstillmanagestoaccommodateasmallyetpowerfulmicroprocessorfromNXP,awavegeneratorIC,abiasinductor,variousresistors,diodesandvoltageregulatorsplusaBluetoothwirelessmoduleand250mAh3.7Vlithium-polymerlong-lifebattery.Suchamodulewouldbeeasytointegrate

intoanexternaldevicesuchasaBluetooth-enabledbraceletforhands-freesmartphone

use,whilethesametechnologycouldbeintegrateddirectlyintoahandsetforenhancedinteractivitywhiletakingadvantageoftheexistingcomponentsalreadypresentinthedevice,suchasthebatteryandBluetoothmodule.

Sadly,whiletheteamisconfidentenoughinitscreationtodemonstrateitattheConferenceonHumanFactorsinComputingSystems,Disneyhasyettoindicatewhen–orevenif–theTouchétechnologywillbereadyforcommercialexploitation.

BY ATTACHING ELECTRODESTO A USER’S WRISTS, THESYSTEM CAN MONITORHAND GESTURES

Touché,fromDisneyResearch,isabletoturnanythingintoagesture-sensingsurface-eventhehumanbody



24 April 2012

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A AntecOneHundred www.lambda-tek.com www.antec.com Issue92,p59 £45

B GigabyteGA-A75M-UD2H www.lambda-tek.com www.gigabyte.com Issue98,p34 £64

C AMDA8-3870KBlackEdition www.aria.co.uk www.amd.com Issue104,p38 £85

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

E GelidTranquilloRev.2 www.scan.co.uk www.gelidsolutions.com Issue100,p86 £24

F ThermaltakeSP-530PCWEU www.scan.co.uk www.thermaltake.com Issue 97, p72 £52

G 500GBSeagateBarracudaST500DM002 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104,p72 £55

H Lite-On IHAS124-19 www.cclonline.com www.liteonit.eu Issue99,p108 £15

I MicrosoftWindows7HomePremium64-bit www.amazon.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue 75, p46 £110

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


A SilverStoneRavenRV03 www.scan.co.uk www.silverstonetek.com Issue103,p70 £105

B MSIZ77A-G43 www.scan.co.uk http://uk.msi.com Issue106,p74 £77

C IntelCore i5-3570K www.scan.co.uk www.intel.co.uk Issue106,p36 £168

D 8GBPatriotG2PGD38G1600ELK www.pixmania.com www.patriotmemory.com Issue106,p40 £37

E ArcticFreezer i30 www.dabs.com www.arctic.ac Issue104,p48 £30

F SapphireAMDRadeonHD78502GB www.scan.co.uk www.cclonline.com Issue105,p40 £187

G ThermaltakeSP-530PCWEU www.scan.co.uk www.thermaltake.com Issue97,p72 £52

H SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104,p75 £84

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

J CrucialM4128GB www.ebuyer.com www.crucial.com Issue104,p64 £83

K Lite-On IHAS124-19 www.cclonline.com www.liteonit.eu Issue99,p108 £15

L MicrosoftWindows7HomePremium64-bit www.amazon.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue 75, p46 £110

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


D 8GBPatriotG2PGD38G1600ELK www.pixmania.com www.patriotmemory.com Issue106,p40 £37

E BeQuiet!DarkRockAdvanced www.scan.co.uk www.be-quiet.net Issue91,p74 £40

F PNYGeForceGTX6802GB www.scan.co.uk www3.pny.com Issue105,p36 £420

G CorsairProfessionalSeriesHX650 www.dabs.com www.corsair.com Issue97,p79 £90

H SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104,p75 £84

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

J CrucialM4256GB www.ebuyer.com www.crucial.com Issue104,p64 £175

K Lite-On IHAS123-19 www.cclonline.com www.liteonit.eu Issue99,p108 £15

L MicrosoftWindows7HomePremium64-bit www.amazon.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue 75, p46 £110

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E NvidiaGeForceGTX6902GB www.scan.co.uk www.nvidia.com Issue106,p46 £880

F CorsairH100 www.scan.co.uk www.corsair.com Issue91,p74 £83

G AntecHighCurrentProHCP-750 www.scan.co.uk www.antec.com Issue 97, p78 £107

H OCZVertex4256GB www.ebuyer.co.uk www.ocztechnology.com Issue107,p44 £218

I CreativeX-FiTitaniumFatal1tyPro www.amazon.co.uk www.uk.europe.creative.com Issue62,p61 £103

J SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM0001 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104,p75 £84

K MicrosoftWindows7HomePremium64-bit www.amazon.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue 75, p46 £110

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08000 50 10 10

Win a Sandisk Ultra 120GBSolid State Drive with CCL-Tech.netEntering is easy, simplygoto our facebook pagefb.me/CCLOnlineand click “Like” WIN


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

4GBCrucialBallistixSportPC3-12800C9

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

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


PRICE(incVAT) £85 £64 £24 £26


NAME IntelCore i7-3930K AsusSabertoothX79 CorsairH80 16GBCorsairVengeanceCAS9DDR3

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

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


PRICE(incVAT) £444 £234 £72 £80



30 April 2012


500GB Seagate Momentus XT 2.5" Hard Disk DriveThe best bits of a hard drive and a SSD combined into one package

• Solid state hybrid drive delivers SSDlike performance with hard drivecapacity options.SATA II, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache•

• CCL Code - HDD1024www.cclonline.com

£69.99

WE’REAWARD

WINNERS!



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

NAME AntecOneHundred SilverStoneTJ08-E SilverStoneRavenRV03 SilverStoneTemjinTJ07B-W

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

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


PRICE(incVAT) £45 £83 £105 £276

TYPE LGA1155 CPUWATERBLOCK

GEFORCE GTX 680WATERBLOCK

RADEONHD 7970WATERBLOCK

DUAL 120MMRADIATOR

NAMEXSPCRayStormCPU XSPCRazorGTX680

AquacomputeraquagrATIxforHD7970

AlphacoolNexXxosXt60FullCopper240mm

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

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


PRICE(incVAT) £51 £94 £76 £50

UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED



31April 2012

Gainward NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Phantom 2048MBThe Gainward GTX 680 Phantom - A Low Noise Monster!

• GPU Clockspeed : 1150 MHz

• 2048MB GDDR5

• Memory Clockspeed : 3150 MHz• Dual DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort• CCL Code - VGA0594

£474.98


08000 50 10 10


TYPE HARD DISK SSD NAS BOX

NAME SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 CrucialM4256GB SynologyDiskStationDS212j

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

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


PRICE(incVAT) £84 £175 £160

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

NAMEThermaltakeSP-530PCWEU

CorsairProfessionalSeriesHX650

AntecHighCurrentProHCP-750

AntecHighCurrentPro1200W

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

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

REVIEWED Issue97, p72 Issue97, p79 Issue97, p78 Issue96, p48

PRICE(incVAT) £52 £90 £107 £228



32 April 2012


CCL Elite Hawk II Gaming PCOur best selling gaming PC evolvedBetter Graphics - Bigger Hard Drive!• AMD FX-4100 3.6GHz CPU

8GB DDR3 MemoryAMD Radeon HD 68501TB Hard Drive, Built-in-WiFi

•••

• CCL Code - CCL-EL-HWK2www.cclonline.com

£399.98

WE’REAWARD

WINNERS!



TYPE SOUND CARD 2.1 SPEAKERS HEADSET 5.1 SPEAKERS

NAME AsusXonarDX CorsairSP2500 AsusVulcanANC LogitechZ906

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

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


PRICE(incVAT) £58 £182 £72 £242

TYPE 24INMONITOR 27INMONITOR TRIPLE MONITOR STAND

NAME DellUltraSharpU2412M DellUltraSharpU2711 XFXTripleDisplayMonitorStand

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

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


PRICE(incVAT) £228 £529 £299



33April 2012

CCL Elite Griffon II Gaming PCNew Upgraded Version with SSD Drive,Bigger Hard Drive and Better Graphics• AMD FX-6100 3.3GHz CPU

8GB DDR3 MemoryAMD Radeon HD 78501TB HDD & 120GB SSD Built-in-WiFi

•••

• CCL Code - CCL-EL-GRF2

£949.99

CCL Elite Griffon II Gaming PCNew Upgraded Version with SSD Drive,Bigger Hard Drive and Better Graphics

1TB HDD & 120GB SSD Built-in-WiFi


08000 50 10 10


TYPE KEYBOARD MOUSE STEERINGWHEEL JOYSTICK

NAME CorsairVengeanceK60 CorsairVengeanceM60 LogitechG27 LogitechFlightSystemG940

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

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


PRICE(incVAT) £85 £49 £190 £262

TYPE RPG FPS STRATEGY UNDERDOG

NAME ElderScrollsV:Skyrim DeusEx:HumanRevolution FrozenSynapse Trine2

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

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


PRICE(incVAT) £30 £30 £19 for two £12



36 DINOPCTYRANNOSAUR

3570K21stcenturytoy

38 INTELHD4000GRAPHICS

CantheIvyBridgegraphicscorecompetewithLlano?

46 CYBORGF.L.Y5Aflightstickwith

dualthrottlecontrolforlessthan£30

40 PNYGEFORCEGTX6702GB

Takeawayonestreamingmultiprocessor

48 CMSTORMQUICKFIRERAPID

Adinkymechanicalkeyboardfor£66

53 ENERMAXDREAMBASSAP001

AUSBsoundcarddisguisedasavalve

53 ANTECCLEANINGPRODUCTS

Weputthreekitcleanersthroughtheirpaces

52 KEYSONICKSK 3205

Keyboard,mouseandremoteinoneunit

52 PICOGENIEA100Aprojectorthat’s

sosmallitfitsintoasmartphonecase

34 August 2012

Our in-depth analysis of thelatest PC hardware

36



35August 2012

HOWWETEST,P50

OCZVertex4256GBWetakeourfirstlookatthenew

IndilinxEverest2controllerinsideOCZ’snewSSD 44



36 August 2012

HOW MUCH?Price£1,299incVATSupplierwww.dinopc.comManufacturerwww.dinopc.comSKUnumber trex3570K

IN DETAILCPU3.4GHzIntelCorei5-3570Koverclockedto4.3GHzMotherboard AsusP8Z77-VMemory8GB1,600MHzCorsairVengeanceDDR3GraphicsAsusDirectCUIINvidiaGeForceGTX6702GBSoundCreativeSoundBlasterAudigySEHarddisk2TBSeagate7200.14,Corsair120GBForce3SSDOpticaldrivesLite-OnBlu-rayreaderCaseCorsairCarbide400RCoolingCPU:CorsairH100;case:1x120mrearexhaustfan,2x120mmfrontintakefansPSUCorsairTX650MPortsFront:2xUSB3,FireWireRear:4xUSB3,2xUSB2,LAN,audioout,mic,headphone,opticalS/PDIFout,PS/2ExtrasWindows7HomePremium

otsurprisingly,theappropriatelynamedTyrannosaur3570KsportsanewIntelCorei5-3570K.Thischoice,plusnumerousotherhardwareselections,meansthatthe

Tyrannosaur3570KcostssignificantlylessthantheScan3XSVengeanceZ77wereviewedlastmonth(seeIssue106,p44).ThelatterincludedaCorei7-3770Koverclocked

to4.5GHz,butthischipcostsalotmorethantheCorei5-3570K,mainlyduetoitssupportforHyper-Threading.Forthemajorityofus,thiswon’tmakeahugeamountofdifference,butit’sworthconsideringifyouperformalotofmulti-threadedvideoencodingorrenderingwork.LackingHyper-Threading,theTyrannosaur3570Kismuchmoreofagaming-orientatedPC.Itstillpacksapowerfulpunchthough.TheCorei5-3570Khasbeenoverclockedto4.3GHz,andit’scooledbyaCorsairH100dual-fan,all-in-oneliquidcoolerintheroof.DinoPChasoptedforaGeForceGTX6702GB(see

p40)ratherthanScan’schoiceofaGeForceGTX6802GB.Inourtests,though,therewasaveryslimmarginbetweenthetwo.ThecardisAsus’GeForceGTX670DirectCUIImodel,whichfeaturesalargedual-fancooler.Thiswasincrediblyquiet,evenduringourstresstest,andtheGPUcoreneverroseaboveadeltaTof25°C.AsiswithmostPCspricedaboveagrand

thesedays,8GBofRAM,a2TBharddisk,aBlu-rayreaderandSSDareincludedasstandard;thelatterisaCorsairForce3.Ouronlymajorgripeisthechoiceofsoundcard–aCreativeAudigySE.Thisisfineforbasicuse,andevenprovides7.1surroundsound,butwe’dexpectanAsusorCreativeX-Fisoundcardinthispriceleague.Thisisall installedinaCorsairCarbide400Rcase,

whichhasa120mmexhaustfanandtwo120mmintakefans,aswellasremovabledustfiltersasstandardforeasycleaning.TheH100cooleractsasafurtherintake,withthewarmexhaustairbeingremovedbytheadjacent120mmexhaustfan.DespitecostingalotlessthantheCorsairObsidian650DthatScanused,the400RsportsUSB3ports,sturdy

constructionandplentyofspaceforexpansion,whilebeingafewinchessmallerinalldimensions.Meanwhile,anAsusP8Z77-Vmotherboard forms

thePC’sbackbone.Asus’Z77motherboardsarepackedwithfeaturessuchasWi-FiGo,whichsupportsDLNAmediastreaming,anditevenenablesyoutoturntheTyrannosaur3570Kintoawirelessrouter.Youalsogetthehighlyuseful FanXpert2software.ThiscameinveryhandywhentuningtheTyrannosaur3570K’scasefans–moreonthatlater.DinoPChasalsodoneagoodjobofcablerouteingandtidyingtheinsides;italsoprovidesatwo-yearpartsandlabourwarranty,followedbyoneyearlabouronly.

PERFORMANCEWithacorespeed200MHzlowerthantheScan3XSVengeanceZ77,andlackingHyper-Threading,itwasn’tsurprisingtofindthattheTyrannosaur3570KwasslowerinourMediaBenchmarks.Itwasmorethan100pointsslowerintheimageeditingtest,400pointsslowerinthevideoencodingtestandnearly300pointsslowerinthemulti-taskingtest. Itsoverallscore

of2,360wasafairwayshortoftheScanPC’s2,639.ThedropfromaGeForceGTX6802GBtoaGTX670

2GBsawasmalldropinframeratescomparedtotheScanPCtoo.TheTyrannosaur3570Kmanagedaminimumframerateof57fpsinArmaII,whiletheScanwas3fpsfasterat1,920x1,080atVeryHighsettings.InourShogun2CPUbenchmark,theTyrannosaur3570Kwasalso4fpsadrift,withaminimumframerateof28fps.There’sstillsomeroomtomanoeuvrethough.The

Tyrannosaur3570K’s4.3GHzoverclockisachievedusingavcoreof1.15Vand,giventhemaximumCPU

N

DINOPC

T. REXFast; good choiceof components;overclockable;great value formoney

BAMBIRAPTORNoisy exhaustfan; low-specsound card;modest overclock

THE MAX CPU TEMPERATURE WAS AMEDIOCRE 75°C, SO WE DECIDED TOTRY TO PUSH IT A LITTLE FURTHER

The use of a Core i5-3570K enables Dino PC toreduce the price of a pre-overclocked gaming rig

Tyrannosaur 3570K



37August 2012

PRE-OVERCLOCKED PC

GIMP IMAGE EDITING

Stock speed Overclocked

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

2,246

2,165

2,023

Scan 3XS Z77 OC

Dino PC 3570K

HANDBRAKE H.264 VIDEO ENCODING

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

3,821Scan 3XS Z77 OC

Dino PC 3570K

MULTI-TASKING

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

1,797

1,931

1,641

Scan 3XS Z77 OC

Dino PC 3570K

OVERALL

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

2,613

2,639

2,360

Scan 3XS Z77 OC

Dino PC 3570K

Stock speed min Stock speed avg Overclocked avgOverclocked min

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

0 25 50 75 100

fps75

fps72

fps60

fps60

fps68fps57

Scan 3XS Z77 OC

Dino PC 3570K

3,7963,417

coretemperaturewasamediocre75°Cinourlab,wedecidedtotrytopushitalittlefurther.Byraisingthevcoreto1.25Vandthemultiplierfrom43xto47x,wehadthesystemstableat4.7GHz–a400MHzoverclock.Wealsoboostedthegraphicscard’spowerlimit

to120percent,thecoreby100MHzandmemoryby200MHz.ThissawtheTyrannosaur3570KbeattheScanPCintheimageeditingtestandnearlyequallingitoverallwithascoreof2,613–just26pointsless.ArmaIIsawtheminimumframerateriseto60fpsandtheaverageframerateshootupto75fpsfrom68fps–again,thisisfasterthantheScanPC.Ofcourse,youmakeanyoftheseadjustmentsat

yourownrisk,butitshowsthatthisspeciscapableofalotifyou’repreparedtopushit.Meanwhile,therearexhaustfanisbyfartheloudest

componentintheTyrannosaur3570K.StoppingitsawtherestofthePCchugalongatblissfullylownoiselevels.SettingthechassisfanprofiletosilentintheBIOSdidn’tmakemuchdifference,butthankfully,Asus’FanXpertIIsoftwareallowedustotweakthefanprofilecurvetopreventitfromgoingberserkevery

01 DinoPChasoptedforaquiet,fastand

overclockableAsusDirectCUIIGeForceGTX6702GB

02 Therearexhaustfanisbyfartheloudestcomponent

inthePC,butyoucantameitusingAsus’FanXpertIIsoftware

03 TheCreativeAudigySEisfineforbasicuse,butwe’d

expectanAsusorCreativeX-Fisoundcardinthispriceleague

timetheCPUwasunderload.ThissawtheCPUcoretemperaturerisebyjust2°Cunderload.

CONCLUSIONTheDinoPCTyrannosaur3570KisasolidPCthatcostsbarelymorethanthesumofitsparts.It’swellbalanced,fastandoverclockable.Onlythemeagredefaultoverclock,noisyexhaustfanandmediocresoundcardseeitmissaPremiumGradeaward.ANTONY LEATHER

customPC

88OVERALL

SPEED 21 / 25DESIGN 22 / 25

HARDWARE 22 / 25VALUE 23 / 25

01

02

03

TheCorsairH100all-in-oneliquidcoolerisperhapsoverkillforthemodestoverclock,butitprovidesplentyofheadroomforfurtheroverclocking



38 August 2012

LEFT 4 DEAD 21,280 x 720, High settings, no AA, 16x AF

1,920 x 1,080, High settings, no AA, 16x AF

0 25 50 75 100

fps48

fps31

fps55

fps36

fps28

fps18

fps31

fps22Radeon HD 6450

Radeon HD 6550D

Intel HD 3000

Intel HD 4000

0 25 50 75 100

fps30

fps20

fps38

fps26

fps22

fps15

fps27

fps18Radeon HD 6450

Radeon HD 6550D

Intel HD 3000

Intel HD 4000

Minimum Average

istorically,on-boardgraphicssystems–whetherbuilt intotheCPUorchipset–havebeenratherajoke,mainlybecausethey’vebeenmassivelyunderpoweredand,asa

result,haveonlyeverbeenusedformundanetasks,suchasbasic2DWindowswork.Manufacturershaven’thelpedtheirreputationeither,oftenoversellingtheirpotentialwithmassivelyinflatedclaimsabouthowtheirlatestarchitectureisgoingtorevolutionisegaming.Infact, itwasn’tuntil lastyear’sreleaseofAMD’sA-SeriesAPUsthatwesawanon-boardGPUthatpassedmuster.FastforwardtothepresentdayandIntelislooking

tosnatchsomeofthelow-endgraphicspiefromAMDviatheon-boardHD4000GPUinsomeofitsCorei5andCorei7IvyBridgeprocessors.Intel isobviouslyquiteexcitedaboutitschancestoo,asit’sseenfittodeemitsnewIvyBridgearchitectureas‘morethanatick’, indicatingthatithasdonemorethanjustsimplyshrinkthemanufacturingprocessusedtoproducetheprocessors.Thisclaimstacksuptoo,asthereareanumberof

significanttweakstotheunderlyingarchitectureoftheHD4000corecomparedwiththeHD3000corethatitreplaces.Theheadlinechangeistheincreasednumberofexecutionunits–thereare16intheHD

4000comparedtothe12ofitspredecessor.Arguably,amoresignificant(thoughlessglamorous)changeisthefactthatasecondtexturepipelinehasbeenaddedtothegutsoftheGPU.Thisenablesworktobefedtotheexecutionunitsmoreefficiently,andmeansthatdespitehavinga30percentincreaseinexecutionunits,eachonenowactuallyhas50percentmorepipelinebandwidthwithwhichtoplay.Intelhasalsotweakedthememorysub-

systemoftheGPU,grantingitadedicated256KBpotoftheprocessor’son-boardL3cache.Thisisalltheon-boardmemorythattheGPUcommands,however,soitneedstoborrowatrancheofsystemmemorytoo,asisusualforanintegratedGPU.

Allthissoundsjustdandythen,buthowdoestheHD4000GPUstackupagainstthecompetition?Well,forastart, itcostsmoretogetholdofone,asthetwoprocessorsthatcurrentlysportthecorearethe£250IntelCorei7-3770Kandthe£170Corei5-3570K.Ofcourse,thesearen’tprocessorsaroundwhichyou’dbaseasuper-lowbudgetbuild,butit’sconceivablethatyou’dseethei5-3570KinamediaPCforthelivingroom.Thissituationshouldchangesoon,however,asIntel isduetoreleasethedual-core,Corei3-3225withaTDPof55W,whichwillsportaHD4000GPUandshouldretailmuchclosertothe£100priceofthecompetingAMDA8-3870K.

PERFORMANCEArguably,thisisareleasethat’sneededtoo–inourgamestesting,theRadeonHD6550DcoreoftheAMDAPUoutperformedtheHD4000convincingly,despiteitbeingpartofacheaperchip.At1,280x720inLeft4Dead2,theAMDprocessor

was20percentfasterthanIntel’soffering–agapthatremainedconstantevenwhenweincreasedtheresolutionto1,920x1,080.Thisisn’ttosaythattheHD4000wasacomplete

flop,however,asitoutperformedtheHD3000corethatitreplacesbyquiteamargin.Itsminimumframerateof26fpsat1,280x720wassome45percent

H

INTEL

HIGH-DEFINITIONGRAPHICSLow power;vastly better thanHD 3000; runscool; exciting formobile computing

HIGH-DENSITYFLOPPYStill outperformedby FM1 APUs;supporting CPUsare currentlyexpensive

A credible step up, but it still can’tquite catch Llano on the desktop

HD4000Graphics

Intel’sHD4000coreiscurrentlyonlyavailableinpriceyCPUssuchastheCorei7-3770K–notexactlythefoundationofabudgetbuild



39August 2012

DIRT 31,280 x 720, Low settings, no AA, DX11

1,920 x 1,080, Low settings, no AA, DX11

0 25 50 75 100

fps50

fps32

fps70

fps40

fps41

fps24

fps59

fps30Radeon HD 6450

Radeon HD 6550D

Intel HD 3000

Intel HD 4000

0 25 50 75 100

fps32

fps26

fps38

fps29

fps26

fps21

fps33

fps24Radeon HD 6450

Radeon HD 6550D

Intel HD 3000

Intel HD 4000

DIABLO III1,280 x 720, High settings, no AA, no AF

1,920 x 1,080, High settings, no AA, no AF

0 25 50 75 100

fps26

fps18

fps55

fps41

fps22

fps14

fps40

fps33Radeon HD 6450

Radeon HD 6550D

Intel HD 3000

Intel HD 4000

0 25 50 75 100

fps14

fps9

fps31

fps21

fps11

fps7

fps22

fps16Radeon HD 6450

Radeon HD 6550D

Intel HD 3000

Intel HD 4000

quickerthanthe18fpsreturnedbytheHD3000core,andhauledthegamefromastutteringmesstoaplayableexperience.Italsooutperformedthe£30AMDRadeonHD6450discretegraphicscardthatwetestedforcomparison.SwitchingLeft4Dead2infavourofDirt3toldmuch

thesamestory,withtheon-boardHD6550DoftheAMDAPUcontinuallybetteringtheHD4000.Again,though,theHD4000wasstreetsaheadofboththeHD3000andthediscreteRadeonHD6450,returningaplayableframerateat1,920x1,080–afeatnotmanagedbytheothertwoGPUs.DiabloIIIthrewaspannerinthesilicon,however,

asboththeIntelGPUsperformedparticularlypoorlyinthistest–theHD4000evenfellbehindtheAMDRadeonHD6450discreteGPU.Wecouldn’tdeterminewhetherthiswasadriverissueornot(DiabloIII isanewgame,afterall),buteitherway,thisishardlyanexcuse,especiallywhentheAMDdriverworkedfine.

CONCLUSIONIntel’son-boardGPUisstilloutclassedbyAMD’sGPUonthedesktop.TheA8-3870KanditsHD6550DGPUarefasterand cheaper,albeitatthepriceofahigherTDPandreducedCPUspeedHowever, inthemobileworld,where

AMD’sAPUshavevastlyreducedGPUcoresinordertosatisfyTDPandpowerconsumptiondemands,thissituationisreversed.ThisisalsoarguablytheareathatinterestsIntelthemostanyway,giventhecurrenttrendsinconsumers’PCbuyinghabits.Here,thefrugalpowerneedsandrelativelygoodperformanceoftheHD4000GPUmakemoresense.TheHD4000maybealetdownonthedesktop,butthatwon’tpreventitfrommakingwavesinthelargercomputingworld.PAUL GOODHEAD

ON-BOARD GRAPHICS

Processorsused:IntelHD4000–Corei5-3570K;IntelHD3000–Corei5-2500K;RadeonHD6550D–AMDA8-3870K

UnliketheHD3000core,andeventhediscreteRadeonHD6450,theHD4000managedtoproduceaplayableminimumframerateof26fpsinDirt3at1,920x1,080

Intel’sHD4000graphicssystemtakesupabigchunkoftheIvyBridgedie–we’vehighlightedthegraphicsportioninthisdieshot



40 August 2012

HOW MUCH?Price£320incVATSupplierwww.scan.co.ukManufacturerwww.nvidia.com

IN DETAILGraphicsprocessorGeForceGTX6702GB,916MHz-1,019MHzguaranteedPipeline1,344streamprocessors(916MHz-1,084MHzguaranteed),32ROPsMemory2GBGDDR5,6GHzeffectiveBandwidth192.26GB/sec,256-bitinterfaceCompatibilityDirectX11.1,OpenGL4.1Outputs/inputs2xDVI,HDMI,DisplayPort,2xSLIPowerconnections2x6-pin,top-mountedSize240mmlong,dual-slot

vidiahasbeencruellybludgeoningthecompetitionwithitsgiantbenchmarkstickrecently.First,theGTX6802GBcomprehensivelyoutclassedAMD’sRadeon

HD79703GB,thentheGTX6904GBdroppedintosnatchthefastestgraphicscardtitlebyacolossalmargin.However,whileAMDdeployeditsfull lineof7-seriesGPUsinafewmonths,withpricesrangingfromunder£100toover£400,Nvidia’sKepler-poweredcardsonlystoppedcostingnorthof£400recently,whencardssuchastheGTX6702GBturnedupwithits£320tag,alongwiththelow-endchips.Withthemodularnatureofthe28nmKepler

architecture, it’sbeenastraightforwardtaskforNvidia’sengineerstomakethereductionsnecessarytodrivedowntheprice.Afull-fatKeplerGPUsportsfourgraphicsprocessorclusters(GPCs)oftwostreamliningmulti-processors(SMs)each.TheGTX6702GBhassimplyhadoneofitsSMsdisabled,droppingthestreamprocessorcountto1,344andthenumberoftextureunitsto112(aGTX6802GBboasts1,536and128ofeachrespectively).NvidiahasalsochosentodroptheGPU’s

clockspeeds,althoughthisisrathercomplicatedbytheuseofNvidia’sGPUBoosttechnology,whichincreasesclockspeedsonthefly.TheGTX6702GBhasabaseclockof915MHz,atwhichitwillrunregardless,butalsohasaguaranteedboostclockof980MHztowhichitwillboostinthevastmajorityofgames.However,thisisonlyaworst-caseboost,withourstockcardcapableofboostingto1,084MHz–amuchlargerboostcurvethanthatoftheGTX6802GB,whichtopsoutat1,110MHz.Elsewhere,thememoryisunchangedfromthatof

theGTX680,with2GBofGDDR5runningat1.5GHz(6GHzeffective).The256-bitmemoryinterfaceisalsounchanged,givingatotalbandwidthof192.26GB/sec–notablylessthanAMD’scompetingcards.WhilethereductioninSMunitsandclockspeed

aren’ttoodrastic,theGTX6702GBishugelydifferentfromtheGTX6802GBphysically.Theentirecardmeasuresjust240mmacross(17mmshorterthan

theGTX6802GB),butpartofthisisthecooler–thePCBitselfmeasuresjust175mm.Apairof6-pinPCI-Epowerconnectorssitsalmostinthemiddleofthecard,whiletotherear,apairofDVIports,anHDMIportandaDisplayPortprovideplentyofflexibility.Aswiththerestof Nvidia’s6-series,the670supportsuptofoursimultaneousdisplaystoo.

PERFORMANCEArmaII istheleastfavourablegamefortheGTX6702GB,butitstillmanagedtomatchtheHD79503GBat1,920x1,080with4xAA,withaminimumof56fps.At2,560x1,600with4xAA,theGTX6702GBfellalittlebehind,though,withitsminimumof32fpscloseto10percentbehindtheHD79503GB.Thisistheexceptionratherthantherule,however–theGTX6702GBwasconsiderablyfasterinallourothertests.Theperformanceadvantagewasparticularlyclear

inBattlefield3.At1,920x1,080with4xAA,theGTX6702GBsurpassedtheHD79703GB–acardthat’s£40moreexpensive–thankstoaminimumof60fps.Itwas

muchcloserat2,560x1,600with4xAA,buttheGTX6702GBwasstillquickerthankstoaminimumof35fps,comparedtotheHD79703GB’s33fps.Impressively,there’slittlegapbetweentheGTX6702GBanditsbetter-endowedandcostliersiblinghere;theGTX6802GBwaslessthan10percentquicker.Dirt3alsosawtheGTX6702GBsurpasstheHD

79703GB.Itsminimumof67fpsat2,560x1,600with4xAAwas3fpsfasterthanthetop-endRadeon,and9fpsquickerthantheHD79503GB,whileagaincominginaround10percentslowerthantheGTX6802GB.TheGTX6702GBimpressedusinSkyrimtoo,

managingaminimumof66fpsat2,560x1,600with4xAA.Again,thissurpassedtheperformanceoftheHD79703GB,andwaslessthan10percentslowerthantheGTX6802GB.

N

PNY

70s ROCKFast performance;not much slowerthan GTX 680 for£100 less

70s HAIRStill too expensivefor most gamers

IMPRESSIVELY, THERE’S LITTLE GAPBETWEEN THE GTX 670 2GB ANDITS BETTER-ENDOWED SIBLING

Nvidia continues its assault, with this superb,but still rather expensive, GPU

NvidiaGeForceGTX6702GB



41August 2012

GRAPHICS CARD

ARMA II: OPERATION ARROWHEAD (DX9)

0 25 50 75 100

69fps

64fps

56fps

56fpsRadeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

1,920 x 1,080, high AA, 16x AF

0 25 50 75 100

39fps

40fps

32fps


GeForce GTX 670 2GB

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

0 25 50 75 100

24fps

23fps

19fps


GeForce GTX 670 2GB

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

BATTLEFIELD 3 (DX11)

0 25 50 75 100

72fps

56fps

60fps


GeForce GTX 670 2GB

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

0 25 50 75 100

41fps

35fps

35fps


GeForce GTX 670 2GB

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

0 25 50 75 100

28fps

25fps

24fps


GeForce GTX 670 2GB

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

DIRT 3 (DX11)

0 25 50 75 100

100fps

110fps


GeForce GTX 670 2GB

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

0 25 50 75 100

80fps

68fps

67fps


GeForce GTX 670 2GB

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

0 25 50 75 100

56fps

42fps

49fps


GeForce GTX 670 2GB

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

THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM (DX9)

0 25 50 75 100

84fps73fpsRadeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

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

0 25 50 75 100

82fps

61fps

66fps


GeForce GTX 670 2GB

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

0 25 50 75 100

45fps

36fps

37fps


GeForce GTX 670 2GB

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

Minimum Average

Idle LoadIdle Gaming

Minimum Average

Lower is better Lower is better

128fps 111fps89fps

TOTAL SYSTEM POWER DRAW

0 75 150 225 300

230W

227W

88W

89WRadeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

PEAK GPU TEMPERATURE (DELTA T)

0 15 30 45 60

55°C

57°C

11°C

15°CRadeon HD 7950 3GB

GeForce GTX 670 2GB

AswithotherKeplerGPUs,theGTX670’sspeedismatchedbylowpowerconsumptionandcooltemperatures.Apeakpowerdrawof230WwhilerunningUnigine’sHeavenbenchmarkis3WmorethantheHD79503GB,but16WbelowtheGTX560Ti1GB.Meanwhile,thepeakloaddeltaTof55°Cisfine,withthecard’scoolerspinningupthefantomaintainaGPUtemperaturebelow80°C.

CONCLUSIONTheGTX6702GBcomfortablysurpassesboththeHD79503GBandHD79703GBinthemajorityofourtests.

At£320foranon-overclockedcard,it’sfairlypricedtoo,performingjust10percentslowerthanaGTX6802GB,despitecosting25percentless.Plentyofcustom-cooledandfactory-overclockedversionsareavailabletoo,attheusualslightpremiums.However,whiletheGTX670isundeniablyagreat

card,its£320priceisstillunlikelytotemptthoseonmoreconservativebudgets–we’restillwaitingfortheinevitablebutstillunconfirmedGTX660.However, ifyourpursestringsstretchto£320thentheGTX6702GBisafantasticchoice.HARRY BUTLER

TEST KIT3.3GHzIntelCorei52500K CPU,AsusP8P67motherboard,4GBCorsair1,600MHzDDR3memory,CrucialM225128GBSSD,Windows764-bit,NvidiaGeForce285.62,AMDCatalyst11.12

customPC

92OVERALL

SPEED 37 / 40

FEATURES 28 / 30

VALUE 27 / 30

ThePCBonlyaccountsfor175mmofthecard’s240mmlength



44 August 2012

HOW MUCH?Price£218incVATSupplierwww.ebuyer.co.ukManufacturerwww.ocztechnology.comSKUnumberVTX4-25SAT3-256

IN DETAILInterfaceSATA6GbpsNominalcapacity256GBFormattedcapacity238.47GBControllerIndilinxIDX400M00-BCCache1GBDDR3-800Memorytype/amount16xIntel16GB25nmMLCNANDflashWarrantyFiveyears

heSSDworldisinupheavaloflate.HavingwaitedyearsforSSDstodipbelowthemagicalcostof£1pergigabyte,priceshavecrashedbyasmuchas40percentinthethreemonths

sinceourSSDLabstest(seeIssue104,p58),anddrivescannowbefoundatjust60ppergigabyte.OCZisalsolookingtofurtherupsettheapplecart

withitsVertex4,boastinganewIndilinxEverest2controller.Overthepastfewyears,OCZnaileditscolourstothegoodshipSandForce,withthecompression-baseddrivecontrollerusedinbothitsVertex2andVertex3drives.Now,though,OCZisexploitingitspurchaseofdrivecontrollerdesigner,Indilinx,toproduceitsowncontrollerchips,withtheIndilinxEverestcontrollerdebutinginOCZ’sratherdisappointingOctaneandPetrolSSDs.Thenewiterationlooksmorepromising,though,withsequentialperformanceclaimsofupto550MB/secreadand465MB/secwrite.However,OCZhasn’tdevelopeditsown

controllerfromscratch;itrecentlyrevealedthattheEverestcontrollerisbasedonadual-coreMarvellcontrollerchip,withcustomIndilinxfirmware.ThisisasimilartothecontrollerusedinCrucial’sM4andCorsair’sPerformanceProdrives(seeIssue104,p64),soithasaprovenreputationforperformanceandreliability,althoughitmakesyouwonderwhatIndilinxhasbeenuptoforthepastfewyears.Regardless,theresultingplatformisuniquetoOCZ.CrackingtheVertex4256GBopenrevealsthis

controllerchip,bearingthedesignationIDX400M00-BC.Arrayedaroundthecontrollerare1625nmIntelNANDmoduleswithtwo8GBdiespermodule,foratotalnominalcapacityof256GB.TheNANDandcontrollerarejoinedbyapairof512MB800MHzDDR3memorychips,actingascacheforthedrivecontrollertokeepperformancerunningsmoothlyandstutter-free.AsEverest2isa1:1drivecontroller,unlikethoseproducedbySandForce,ithandlesuncompressedandcompresseddataequally,meaningthatthedrivewillperformthesame,regardlessofyourdata’scompressionstate.

Aswe’vecometoexpectfromOCZ,theVertex4iswellsupported.Firmwareupdatesarealreadyavailable(we’vetestedusingthe1.4firmwarewithwhichmostdrivesnowship)andOCZ’sdownloadableSSDToolboxoffersextrassuchaspartitionmanagement,forcingTRIMandthesecureerasureofdata.Thecurrentfirmwareupdateisdestructive,though,sobesuretobackupbeforeinstallingit;theupdatecanbeperformedfromWindowswiththeVertex4connectedasasecondarydrive.OCZhasalsoextendeditswarrantytoamightyfive

years(comparedtothreefortheVertex3).WhileSSDsaretechnicallywrite-cyclelimited,OCZ’seffortsinreducingwritecycles,dubbedNdurance2.0,hasclearlymadeitconfidentenoughtoguaranteethat,evenunderheavyuse,theVertex4willremainhardy.

PERFORMANCETheVertex4startedwell inAS-SSDwithasequentialreadspeedof497MB/sec–amajorimprovementovertheOctane256GB’s432MB/secinthesametestandmoreinlinewithexpectationsfromahigh-endSATA6Gbpsdrive.However, itssequentialwritespeedhadusreachingfortheRestartTestbutton,aswecouldn’tbelievetheincreaseinperformance.Withasequentialwritespeedof461MB/sec,theVertex4256GBeveneclipsedtheCorsairPerformancePro256GB’sspeedof400MB/sec.OCZhasclearlyoptimisedthedrivefor4KBsingle-

queue-depthrandomreadstoo,withaspeedof27.18MB/secinAS-SSDbeingthefastestresultwe’veseen.A4KBsingle-queue-depthrandomwritespeedof87MB/secwasmorelikethespeedswe’reusedtoseeing,butstillamongthefastestwe’vetested.The4KB64-queue-depthrandomspeedsinAS-SSDwerealsoexcellent.Areadspeedof325MB/secis,again,

T

OCZ

PINNACLEFantasticperformance inevery sense; five-year warranty

ABYSSALMuch higher £/GBthan Crucial M4256GB

OCZ REVEALED THAT THE EVERESTCONTROLLERS ARE BASED ON

DUAL-CORE MARVELL CHIPS, WITHCUSTOM INDILINX FIRMWARE

A sumptuously quick SSD,but you have to pay for it

Vertex4256GB



45August 2012

SATA 6GBPS SSD

AS SSDSequential read/write (MB/sec)

Higher is better

Higher is better

Higher is better

Higher is betterHigher is better

0 150 300 450 600

497

461

513

293

513

279Crucial M4 256GB

OCZ Vertex 3 240GB

OCZ Vertex 4 256GB

AS SSD4KB single-queue-depth random read/write (MB/sec)

0 25 50 75 100

27

87

21

87

23

81Crucial M4 256GB

OCZ Vertex 3 240GB

OCZ Vertex 4 256GB

CRYSTALDISKMARK4KB single-queue-depth random read/write (MB/sec)

0 30 60 90 120

29

106

35

98

24

95Crucial M4 256GB

OCZ Vertex 3 240GB

OCZ Vertex 4 256GB

Higher is better

CRYSTALDISKMARKSequential read/write (MB/sec)

0 150 300 450 600

502

470

511

300

511

279Crucial M4 256GB

OCZ Vertex 3 240GB

OCZ Vertex 4 256GB

CRYSTALDISKMARK4KB 32-queue-depth random read/write (MB/sec)

0 75 150 225 300

237

242

200

230

194

238Crucial M4 256GB

OCZ Vertex 3 240GB

OCZ Vertex 4 256GB

AS SSD4KB 64-queue-depth random read/write (MB/sec)

0 100 200 300 400

325

309

205

238

153

212Crucial M4 256GB

OCZ Vertex 3 240GB

OCZ Vertex 4 256GB

Read Write

easilythefastestresultwe’veseeninthistest,whileawritespeedof308MB/secisalsooutstandinglyquick.MovingtoCrystalDiskMark,theVertex4256GB

repeateditssuperbperformance.Asequentialreadspeedof502MB/secandsequentialwritespeedof470MB/secagainhighlightthedrive’ssuperbwritespeeds.The4KBsingle-queue-depthrandomreadspeedswerealittlemundaneat29.32MB/sec,butthecorrespondingwritespeedof106MB/secisagainabest-everresultforasingledrive.Meanwhile,the4KB32-queue-depthrandomreadspeedwasalsoexcellentat237MB/sec,anda4KB32-queue-depthrandomwritespeedissimilarlycompetitive.What’smore,theVertex4256GBmaintainedits

performanceverywell.HavingfilledandemptiedthedriveanumberoftimesandthenforcedtheTRIM

command,itsreadandwritespeedswereunaffected,whichbodeswellforlong-termuse.

CONCLUSIONTheVertex4is extremelyquickacrosstheboard.Onlyitssequentialreadperformancelagsfractionallybehindthecompetition,anditstoweringwriteandrandomperformancemorethanmakeupforthis.However, whileCrucial’sM4256GBisslower, itcan

nowbefoundforjust£150(63ppergigabyte).TheVertex4256GB’s£218priceworksoutat92ppergigabyte–a50percentincreasethattheVertex4can’t justify,despiteitsspeed.Ifyou’relookingforthequickestsingleSSDonthemarket,thenthisisit,buttheCrucialM4256GBremainsourSSDofchoice.HARRY BUTLER

TEST KIT3.3GHzIntelCorei5-2500KCPU,AsusP8P67motherboard,8GBKingston1600MHzDDR3memory,NvidiaGeForceGTS250512MBgraphicscard,PCPowerandCoolingSilencer750WPSU,Windows7HomePremium64-bit,IntelRapidStorageTechnologydriver(iaStor.sys)

customPC

84OVERALL

FEATURES 18 / 20

SPEED 43 / 45

VALUE 23 / 35

ThenewiterationoftheIndilinxEverestcontrollerlookspromising,withsequentialperformanceclaimsof550MB/secreadand465MB/secwrite



46 August 2012

JOYSTICK

HOW MUCH?Price£30incVATSupplierwww.pixmania.co.ukManufacturerwww.cyborggaming.comSKUnumberCCB4330200B2/04/1

IN DETAILConnectionWiredMaterialPlasticButtons12(additional12usingshiftkey)ExtrasDetachablestick,collapsiblebase,adjustablesurfaces,scrollwheel,8-wayhat,dualthrottle,twistaction

t’sbeenawhilesincewe’velookedatajoystick,forthesimplereasonthatnotmanyhavebeenreleasedsincethe

demiseofMicrosoft’sFlightSimulatorseries.Thankfully,Cyborg,abrandofMadCatzInteractivethatalsositsbesidelong-timeflightsimperipheralmakerSaitek, isstillchurningouttheoddjoystick.TheF.L.Y5caughtoureyemainlybecauseitcostslessthan£30;however, italsohasdualthrottlecontrol–ararefeatureatthisprice.Thismakesflyingmulti-engineaircraftthatlittlemorerealistic,especiallyifoneengineisonfireatthetimeandyouneedtothrottleitbackinahurry.TheF.L.Y5ispackagedinanextremelysmallbox.

Thestickisactuallydetachablefromthebaseandthelatterhastwolargeflip-outsupports,onewiththethrottlecontrolonit.Combinedwiththeremovablestick,theF.L.Y5canbestoredinasmallplaceuntilyoufeeltheneedforspeedagain.Alternatively, it’sidealforstashinginabagandtakingtoaLANorfriend’shouse.AswithmanyofCyborg’sR.A.Tmice,thereare

severaladjustablesurfacesontheF.L.Y5, includingtheheadandhead-buttons,aswellasthestickheightandangle.Atoolforthejobisprovidedinastorageslotontherightleg–essentiallyahexkey.Thisismorethanwe’veseenonajoystickbutit’saverywelcomeaddition;youcanbuyalargerorsmallermousetofityourhands,butjoysticksareusuallymadetosimilarsizes.Thereare12buttonsintotal, includingtheusual

triggerandthumbbuttons,butaShiftbuttondoublesthisnumberifyou’repreparedtoinstalltheincludedsoftware.There’saneight-wayhatswitchandascrollwheelattheneckofthesticktoo,withthelatterprovidingtheperfectmeansforadjustingthetrimofyourcontrolsurfaces.Oneortwoofthebuttonsarealittleflimsy,butthethrottlecontrolsfeelexcellentlysmoothandpositive,withabuttononthesideenablingyoutolockthemtogetherifyourplaneonlyhasoneengine.

TheF.L.Y5isalsofairlysturdy,andwobbleorflexingaren’tanissue,despitethedetachablestick.Thisisparticularlyimportant,asthestickrotatesforYawcontrol. Sadly,wecouldn’tseeawaytodisablethis,though,whichisworthbearinginmindifyoudon’tlikeusingthetwistfunctionforruddercontrol.

CONCLUSIONTheF.L.Y5’sobviouscompetitionisThrustmaster’sT-FlightHotasX,whichcostsalittlemore.It’ssturdierandhasalockabletwistactiononthestick’sYawcontrol,butit’salsolarger,lacksdualthrottlecontrol,hasfewerbuttonsandnoscrollwheel.TheF.L.Y5 isathomeonadeskforlongperiods,butit’sequallyhappytobequicklydismantledandstored.Youwon’tbeleftwantingforbuttonsorfeatureseither–thefactthatit’sadjustableandhasdualthrottlecontrolisamazingatthisprice.Ifyouneedafully-featuredjoystickbutcan’tspendmorethan£30,buytheF.L.Y5.ANTONY LEATHER

CYBORG

ICEMANAdjustable; dualthrottle; plentyof buttons;collapsible; cheap

SLIDERNot as sturdy aslarger joysticks;no twist actionlock; some flimsybuttons

F.L.Y5

91OVERALL

DESIGN 36 / 40

FEATURES 32 / 35

VALUE 23 / 25

THIS MAKES FLYING MULTI-ENGINEAIRCRAFT A LITTLE MORE REALISTIC,ESPECIALLY IF ONE ENGINE IS ON FIRE

A collapsible, adjustable flight stickwith dual throttle control for under £30



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48 August 2012

MECHANICAL GAMING KEYBOARD

HOW MUCH?Price£66incVATSupplierwww.scan.co.ukManufacturerwww.cmstorm.comSKUnumberSGK-4000-GKCC1

IN DETAILConnectionWired,USBCableBraided,removableMaterialPlasticandmetalExtrasExtraredWSADkeys

echanicalkeyboardshavebeenaroundfordecades,andformostofthattime,they’vebeenrelativelyunfashionabledevices–reservedfortypingpuristsandthosewho

consideredcheapermembranekeyboardsuncouth.Recently,though,we’veseenmechanicalkeyboardsexperiencearenaissance,withmanufacturerskeentotoutthemasthenextmust-havegamingperipherals.Asever,alotofwhat’ssaidismarketinghyperbole,

buttherearebenefitstousingamechanicalboard.Theytendtobeextremelysturdyforastart,asthemechanicalkeysneedtobemountedtoametalchassis.ThismakesevenasmallmodelsuchastheCMStormQuickFireRapidsurprisinglyweighty,lendingitafeelingofqualityandstability.Theothermajorbenefit,andtheoneforwhich

you’repayingaheftypricepremium,isthekeyswitchesthemselves,whichhavelongertravelandmoretactilefeedbackthanmembranekeyswitches.ThesilverQuickFireRapidwe’relookingathereusesCherryBlackswitches,althoughthere’salsoablackversionofthekeyboardthatusestheRedswitchestoo(SKUSGK-4000-GKCR1).However,theQuickFireRapid’sBlackswitches

haveaslightlyhigheractuationforce,whichcanmakethemalittlelessresponsive,asittakesmoreforcetoregisterakeypress.Thedifferenceisminor,though,andtheresistancecanbewelcomeinlonggamingortypingsessions,asitmakestypinglesstiring.TheothermajorcharacteristicoftheQuickFire

Rapidisitssize–theboardeschewsthetraditionalnumberpad,makingitalmostathirdsmallerthanotherkeyboards.Somepeoplewillundoubtedlymiss

theextrasize,butwecertainlydidn’tfeelrestrictedatanypointwhenusingtheboard.Infact,weappreciatedtheextraroomonourdesk.Ourmajorgripe,however, isthelackofawristrest–

mechanicalkeyboardstendtositalittlehigherupoffthedeskduetotheheightofthekeys,sohavingawristrestisimportantandasillyomission.Asit’sagamingkeyboard,theQuickFireRapidalso

sportsn-keyrollovertechnology,meaningthattheboardcanrecogniseanynumberofsimultaneouskeypresses.ThisonlyworkswhenconnectingthekeyboardviathebundledPS/2adaptor,however–USBuserswillbelimitedtosix-keyrollover,whichisn’tidealwhensomanynewmotherboardsdon’tevenhavePS/2connectors.Italsosportsmediashortcutkeysthatareaccessedviaafunctionkey,andahandy

featuretolocktheWindowskey,toavoidaccidentalpresseswhengaming.

CONCLUSIONTheCMStormQuickFireRapid’sdinkyproportions,solidbuildqualityandaffordablepricemakeitanattractivekeyboard.It lackssomeoftheflairofthemoreexpensiveCorsairVengeanceK60(seeIssue101,p46)butifthisisn’t importanttoyou,andyoudon’tmindpurchasingaseparatewristrest,thenit’sasolidmechanicalgamingkeyboardforthemoney.PAUL GOODHEAD

M

CMSTORM

WOLVERINESmall withoutfeeling cramped;sturdy; well priced

STORMNo wrist rest; only6-key rolloverwhen using USB

THE BLACK SWITCHES HAVEA SLIGHTLY HIGHER ACTUATIONFORCE, REQUIRING MORE FORCE

TO REGISTER A KEY PRESS

Small, and very nearly perfectly formed

QuickFireRapid

79OVERALL

DESIGN 32 / 40

FEATURES 25 / 35

VALUE 22 / 25



50 August 2012

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

TESTS:WeusetheCustomPCMediaBenchmarks,CinebenchR11.5,WPrimeandCrysis.WealsotesttheresultantpowerdrawofthetestPCwiththeCPUinstalled.ThesetestsrevealabroadrangeofperformancecharacteristicsfortheCPU,fromimageeditingtogamingandfromvideoencodingto3Drendering.WerunallthetestswiththeCPUatstockspeedandagainwhenoverclockedtoitshighestfrequency.

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

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

Thegraphicscardwe’rereviewingThegraphicscard3.3GHzIntelCore

i5-2500K

AMDFM1IntelLGA1155

NvidiaGeForceGTX5903GB

MSIA75MA-G55

AsusMaximusIVGene-Z

120GBPatriotWildfire

4GBofCorsair1,600MHzDDR3


Windows764-bit

4GBCorsair1,600MHzDDR3

AsusP8P67Rev3 Windows764-bitSP1

Windows764-bit

AMDSocketAM3+

AsusCrosshairIVFormula


4GBofCorsair 4GBofCorsairAMDFM1

AsusP8P67Rev3



HOW WE TEST

51August 2012

OurbenchmarksuitesimulateshowpeoplereallyusePCs,andahigherscoreisbetter.Youcandownloadthesuitefromwww.tinyurl.com/benchies

2.66GHzIntelCore2DuoE6750


250GBSamsungSpinPointP120S

AsusP5KDeluxeWiFi-AP

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

Someproductsaregloriouslyoverthetop.TheseitemsofexcellentoverkillearnourExtremeUltraaward.

PremiumGradeproductsareutterlydesirable–we’deatnothingbutbeansuntilwecouldaffordthem.

ProductsworthyoftheProfessionalawardmake youandyourbusinessappearevenmoreawesome.

Approvedproductsarethosethatdoagreatjobforthemoney;they’rethecannypurchaseforagreatPC.

Forthosegadgetsandgizmosthatreallyimpressus,orthatwecan’tlivewithout,there’stheCustomKitaward.

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

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

IntelCorei5-2500K

AMDPhenomIIX61100TBE

Motherboardontest

Motherboardontest



IntelCore MotherboardMotherboard 4GBofCorsair AMDA8-3850 Motherboardontest


AMDA8-3850

NvidiaGeForceGTX5903GB*

2TBWesternDigitalCaviarBlack

Windows764-bit

Windows72TBWesternDigital2TBWesternDigital

*Pleasenote:WetestedAMDFM1motherboardsusingtheon-boardgraphics,nottheNvidiaGeForceGTX5903GB



PROJECTOR

PICOGenieA10002 We’lladmitthatwewereprettydismissiveofthe

PicoGeniewhenwefirstheardofit–aprojectorbuiltintoaniPhonecase,thathastobecrapright?Imagineourshock,then,whenitturnedouttobereallyratherexcellent.Granted,youneedthelightsturneddown,asthelampdoesn’thaveoodlesofpunch,butthepictureiscrisp,clearandeasilyfocuseduptoasizeofaround50inusingthefocusingring.The2Wspeakerbuiltintothecaseissufficienttoo,makingitidealfortravellingorimpromptubusinessmeetings.It’sexpensive,ofcourse,butifmoneyisnoobject(oryoucangetonethroughwork)thenyouwon’tbedisappointed. PG

ALADDIN GENIEPrice £200 inc VAT Supplierwww.theaccessoriescrowd.comManufacturerwww.thepicogenie.moonfruit.com

MEDIA CENTRE KEYBOARD

KEYSONICKSK-320503 InteractingwithmediaPCscanbea

clunkyexperience,whereyouoftenhavetoswitchbetweenyourkeyboard,mouseandremote,dependingonwhatyou’redoing.ThisiswhyKeysonichasdevelopedthe3205.It’saroundthesizeofaBlackberry,soit’shardlyanobtrusivepieceofkit,butitmanagestopackinmediacontrols,atouchpadandakeyboardwithouteverfeelingcramped.TheRangeisgoodtoo,andalthoughtypingonthekeyboardisfiddly,youshouldn’thavetodothistoooften.Ouronlygripeisthebuildquality–itfeelsextremelylightweightandinsubstantial,andweexpectbetterfor£40. PG

PLASTIC FANTASTICPrice £40 inc VAT Supplierwww.amazon.co.ukManufacturerwww.keysonic.de

52 August 2012

CustomKitWe check out the latest gadgets, gizmos and geek toys

Written by Paul GoodheadSeen something worthy ofappearing in Custom Kit?

Send suggestions [email protected]

BOARD GAME

MEMOIR ‘4401 Memoir’44hastheperfectlearningcurve, inthatit’seasy

topickup,buthardtomaster.AllthescenariosinthebundledbookarebasedongenuineWWIIbattles,andseeoneplayertakingtheroleoftheAlliesandtheothertheAxis.ActionscanonlybetakenwhenyouhavethecorrespondingOrderCard,however,makingitfrustratingifyou’reinagoodpositionbutcan’texploit it.Thisoftenleadstothefeelingthatit’stherunofthecards,ratherthangoodgeneralship,thatwillwinyouthegame. PG

WAR HUH?Price £39 inc VAT Supplierwww.amazon.co.ukManufacturerwww.daysofwonder.com



CUSTOM KIT

53August 2012

CLEANING SPRAY

ANTECAdvanceNaturalSpray60ml05 Antec’sAdvanceNaturalSprayismadefrom100percentnaturalingredients,andhasno

chemicaladditives.Afterall,everythingnaturalisgoodforyou,exceptdeadlynightshade,snakevenom,poisonoustoadstoolsand,well,yougetthepicture.Antecalsoguaranteesthere’snoammoniaoralcoholinthesprayand,unliketheothercleaningproductsontest, it’sscentless,soatleastitwon’tmakeyourroomstink.Itdoesitsjobwell,althoughitslowviscositymeansthatyou’llhavetobequickwhencleaningvertically-orientateddevicessuchasmonitorsorTVs.Italsosmearedeasierthanthe3xStrengthspray,meaningthatit’sonlyreallyworthconsideringifyouobjecttotheusualsmellofcleaningproducts. PGFAKE NATURALPrice £5 inc VAT Supplierwww.ebuyer.comManufacturerwww.antec.com

CLEANING GEL

ANTECAdvanceDeepCleanGel06 ThesecondofourtrioofcleaningproductsistheDeepCleaningGel,whichincludesacarry

pouch.Italsohasaposhercloththanthetwosprays.Asyou’dexpect, it’sthickerthantheliquidsprays,soit’snotgoingtorunawayorevaporatebeforeyoucanuseit.Thegelcleanedoursmartphonetoastandardthathasn’tbeenseensinceitwasnew,anditwasgoodatwardingoffourdirtyfingerprintstoo.Theonlydownsideisthatit’smoreexpensivethanthe3xsprayandonlysuitedtocleaningsmallgadgets,thankstoitsthicknessandlackofasprayapplicator. PG

HAIR GEL JELLYPrice £8 inc VAT Supplierwww.ebuyer.comManufacturerwww.antec.com

CLEANING SPRAY

ANTECAdvance3xStrengthSpray60ml07 Ifyoureallywantacleanerthatwilldothejob,weadviseoptingforthe3xStrengthSpray,

whichhasbeendevelopedbyAntectobearuthlessbacteriakiller.Aswellasitsantibacterialproperties, it’salsothickerthantheNaturalSpray,soitstickstosurfacesbetter,andwefoundittobelesssmearytoo.Theresult isareasonablypricedproductthatdoesagreatjobofcleaningyourkit,evenifyouaren’tparanoidaboutgerms.Costingonly£1.40morethantheNaturalCleaner,thereseemslittleexcusenottohaveoneoftheseinyourdeskdrawer. PG

KIM&AGGIE MARY POPPINSPrice £7 inc VAT Supplierwww.ebuyer.comManufacturerwww.antec.com

USB SOUND CARD

ENERMAXDreamBassAP00104 TheDreamBassisanaffordable

USBsoundcard,styledtolooklikeavalvefromanoldschoolamplifier.Bothheadphoneandmicrophonemini-jacksareprovided.Enermaxclaimsthatitwillprovideimprovedplaybackandrecordingqualitythankstotheon-boardVIAVT1620Achip,whichsupports24-bit/192KHzsamplingandhastwohigh-qualityDACs.However,theoutputoftheDreamBassAP001isdisappointinglybass-heavy,makingalmostalltypesofmusicsoundunbalanced–asthoughyou’rehearingitthroughawall. It isn’tadjustableeither–thereisn’tevenaTonetabintheWindowsSoundControlPanel,althoughthereisthebizarreoptionforanextrabassboostintheEnhancementstab.Ontheplusside,theextrabasswasmorewelcomeingames,whichtendtoemphasisebassinsoundeffects,butitsunbalancedperformanceineverythingelsemeansthat you’dbebetteroffstickingwithon-boardsound. PGBASE BASSPrice £23 inc VAT Supplierwww.systo.co.ukManufacturerwww.enermax.co.uk

05

06 07



54 August 2012 WorldMags.netWorldMags.net


HOWWETESTED,PAGE56

Eversincechildhood,we’retaughtthatelectronics+water=bad,justthesamewaywelearnthattoasters+forks=

dangerous.However,water-coolingyourPCneedn’tbearecipefordisaster.Infact,ithasthepotentialtoquietlyandeffectivelycoolallthehardwareinsideyourPCwithaminimumoffans.Overthepastfewyears,there’sbeen

ahugeincreaseinclosed-loopliquid-coolingsystems,suchasCorsair’sH100andPNY’sliquid-cooledGTX5801.5GB.However,whilesuchproductsofferaquickandeasyrouteintotheworldofwatercooling,theylackstyleandflexibility;there’snowaytoaddaGPUblockorswapoutthepump,andthey’llneverlookasgoodasawell-maintainedcustom-builtloop.Buildingyourownloopmightbemoreexpensive,butit’sfarmorecustomisableandalotmoresatisfying.However,withamultitudeofdifferent

waterblocksfordifferentCPUsockets,nottomentiondifferentdesignsforeverytypeofgraphicscard,choosingtherightpartscanbetricky.Thisiswhywe’ve

56 Howwetested58 AquacomputerCuplexKryosHF59 WatercoolHeatkillerCPURev3.0CU60 XSPCRayStormCPUWaterBlock62 KoolanceVID-NX68064 WatercoolHeatkillerGPU-X³GTX

680HoleEdition65 XSPCRazorGTX68067 AquacomputeraquagrATIxforHD797068 WatercoolHeatkillerGPU-X³GTX

79X070 XSPCRazor797071 AquacomputerairplexXT24072 AlphacoolNexXxoSXT60FullCopper

240mm73 PhobyaG-Changer240Ver.1.2Black74 XSPCEX240MultiportRadiator75 Graphs76 HowtofitCPUandGPUwaterblocks80 Howtomountyourpumpandradiator

55August 2012

COOLCUSTOMERPicking the rightwater-cooling parts canbe a shot in the dark, sowe’ve roundedup loads of blocks and radiators to helpyou build the perfectwater-cooling loop

56

roundedupseveralCPUandGPUblocksandradiators,sowecanfindoutwhichareworthyofyourplumbing.HARRY BUTLER



56 August 2012

how we tested

Testingwater-coolingpartsisadifficultprocess,andit’sfraughtwithaveritable

shed-loadofvariables.Thefactthatalmostnotwowater-coolingloopsarealikewhenitcomestotubinglength,pumpflowrateandchoiceofCPU/GPUblockmakestheprocessverycomplex.Forthismonth’sLabstest,wedeviseda

doubleelimination-styletest.First,wetestedthethreeCPUblocksontheirown,plumbedintoaloopladenwithcoolingcapacityandahigh-flowrate.Havingfoundthebest,wethenmovedontotheGPUblocks,testingthreeGeForceGTX6802GBblocksandthreeRadeonHD79703GBwaterblocksontheirrespectivecards.Withthebestagainfound,wethen

plumbedboththewinningCPUblockandwinningGTX6802GBblockbackintotheloop,thistimeswappingouttheradiatortodeterminethebestforuseinacombined

measureaCPUorGPUblock’seffectonwaterflowrateunderbothhigh-andlow-flowcircumstances.Tomeasureflowrate,weusedaCole-

Parmerflow-meter,withaminimumsensitivityof2litres/min(120litres/hour),plumbedintotheloop.Usingstandard1/2infittings,theflowofwaterthoughtheflow-meterforcestheweightinsideupwards,indicatingflowrate.Asacoolant,weuseddeionisedwater

throughout,asit’scheapandplentiful–idealwhenfrequentlychangingpartsandplumbing.However,forlong-termwater-coolinginstallations,it’simportanttoaddabiocidetoyourcoolanttopreventorganismssuchasalgaefromgrowinginthewarm,wateryconditionsinside.Alternatively,you

canusepre-mixedcoolants,whichincludeabiocideelementandareavailableinawholerangeofattractivevibrantandgarishcolours.We’rebigfansofMayhem’sPastelrange,althoughat£15/litre,it’sagreatdealmoreexpensivethanstandardwater.Forareservoir,weusedasimpleXSPC

5.25indrivebayunit,asithasaneasy-accessfill-port.ForboththeCPUandGPUblocktests,coolingfortheloopwasprovidedbya30mmthick,triple-120mmfanradiatorfittedwiththreePhobyaG-Silent1,600rpmfansblowingthroughtheradiator.ThiswaschosentoprovidecoolingpowerthatwasfarmorethanjustasufficientlevelfortheCPUandGPUblocks.Thisway,wecouldgaugetheirabilitytoremoveheatfromourtesthardwarebetterthanwecouldwithourdual120mmtestradiators.Fortubing,weusedclearMasterklear

1/2ininner-diameterPVCtubingthroughout,connectedtoourhardwarevia1/2inMonsooncompressionfittings.Weused1/2intubingtoremoveanychanceofit impactingonourcoolingorflow-ratemeasurements.Smaller1/4in(6mm)inner-diametertubingisstillaviablechoice,though,particularlyforlower-flowloops.Withjustthepump,radiator,flowmeterandreservoirplumbedin[inthatorder),werecordedaflowrateof9.5litres/minwiththepumpatfullspeedand3litres/minatitslowestspeed.

THE TEST BENCHThewater-coolingloopisonlyhalfthestorythough;wealsoneededatoastytestsystem

WeusedaSwiftechMPC655(LaingD5Vario)pump,whichiscapableofupto25litres/minofflow

WeusedasimpleXSPCdrivebayreservoir,asithasaneasy-accessfillport

FLOW RATEInadditiontothetemperatureresults,you’llalsonoticethatwemakerepeatedreferencetoflow-rateresults,butwhyisthisimportant?Basically,inorderforyourwater-coolinglooptowork,itneedstohavewaterpumpedarounditconstantly.Afasterflowratedoesn’tmeanthatyourloopisnecessarilycoolerthough.Afterall,thewaterisallthermallyconductive,howeverfastit’sbeingpushedaroundtheblock.Flowrateonlyreallybecomesaproblemifitstartsdroppingbelow1litre/min,which

meansthatallthekitinthisLabstestisfine.Thatsaid,ifyouwanttoaddmanyblockstoyourloop,perhapsformultiplegraphicscardsandchipsetcooling,thenit’sworthlookingforkitwithahigherflowratetobesurethatitwillbeabletosustainyourloop.Inshort,goodwater-coolingcomponentsshouldbedesignedsoasnottoimpedeflow,sowe’veincludedtheflow-rateresultsforyourreference,andaccountedforthemintheDesignscore,ratherthanthePerformancescore.

CPUandGPUloop;amuchmoredemandingtestthanonewithaloopthatsimplycontainseitheraGPUorCPUblockalone.

THE GEARThroughoutourtesting,weusedaSwiftechMPC655LaingD5Vario12Vpumpwith1/2in(13mm)fittings(suchpumpsarealsoavailablefromAlphacoolanddirectfromLaing).Oneofthemostprovenandpopularwater-coolingpumpsaround,theLaingD5-Vario,iscapableofupto25litres/minofflow,withaheadpressureof3.7matfullpower(4,800rpm),whilealsoallowingyoutodropitsspeedtoamorevibration-friendlylevelof1,800rpm.Thisenabledusto



57August 2012 57August 2012

WATER COOLING

toheatitup.WhileanewIvyBridgeCPUwouldseemliketheobviouschoice,itsthermalissuesarebelievedtobeinternal(rumoursaboundregardingIntel’sallegedchoicetousealow-qualitythermalpastebetweenthedieandtheCPU’sheatspreader).Assuch,we’veinsteadplumpedforanIntelCorei7-2600KrippedfromthebosomofourLGA1155heatsinktestsystem,fittedintoanAsusP8Z68-Vmotherboardalongside4GBof1,600MHzDDR3memory.However,whileour

heatsinktestsystem’soverclockedclockspeedof4.1GHzusingavcoreof1.325Visenoughtotestaircoolers,itisn’taschallengingtoagoodwater-coolingloop,soweknockeditupanotch,resultinginaCPUfrequencyof4.6GHzandavcoreof1.385V.Toremoveanothercommon

variablewhenitcomestocooling,allCPUandGPUblocksweremountedusingPhobyaHeGreasethermalpaste,althoughsuppliedthermalpadsandthermaltapewereusedassuggestedineachblock’sinstructions.TotestboththeGeForceGTX6802GB

andRadeonHD79703GBwaterblockperformance,weagaindidn’tsettleforstockspeeds.TheGTX6802GBwasoverclockedbyadding150MHztoitsbaseclock(increasingitshighestboostclockto1,260MHz),and

increasingitsenergydrawby32percent,whiletheHD79703GBwasoverclockedto1,125MHzwitha10percentincreasein

powerdraw.TheGTX6802GBwas

placedunderloadusingGPUstress-testFurMark,pushingthecardtothelimitofitsextrapower,buttheRadeon’smoreaggressivepowermanagementcircuitrymeantthatwehadtouseUnigine’sHeavenBenchmarktotesttheHD79703GBblocks.BoththeCPUandGPUblocksweretestedusingtheLaingD5-vario’smaximumandminimumpumpspeeds.Finally,totestthe

radiators,webuiltthesameCorei7-2600KsystembasedaroundthebestCPUandGeForceGTX6802GBwaterblocks,andswappedoutthetriple-120mmfanradiatorforeachradiatorontest.Sinceweonly

testeddouble120mm-fanradiators,wetestedeachwithapairofPhobyaG-Silent

1,600rpmcoolingfansrunningatfullspeedina‘push’configuration.We’dalsoliketosayabigthankyouto

www.aquatuning.co.ukforprovidingthesamplesandtestingequipmentforthismonth’sLabstest.Thefolkstherearealovelybunch,andifyouvisittheirforumonbit-techathttp://tinyurl.com/FreeAquaShipping,youevengetfreeshipping.Otherwater-coolingsuppliersareavailable,ofcourse,andasalways,itcanpaytoshoparound.

OurtestRadeonHD79703GBwasoverclockedto1,125MHzwitha10percentincreaseinpowerdraw

OurtestGeForceGTX6802GBwasoverclockedby150MHz

FurMarkisusedtoplacetheGeForceGTX6802GBunderload,whileUnigine’sHeavenBenchmarkwasusedfortheRadeonHD79703GB

WeusedaSandyBridgeCorei7-2600Koverclockedto4.6GHztotesttheCPUblocks

58

WARNINGWatercoolingcanbehazardoustoyoursystemifsetupincorrectly.CPCassumesthatyou’recompetenttofitthesecomponents,andtakesnoliabilityforspills,leaksordamagetoyourPCcausedbyincorrectinstallation.



58 August 2012

HOW MUCH?Productcode10378Price£67incVATSupplierwww.aquatuning.co.ukManufacturerwww.aquacomputer.de

quacomputerisoneofonlyafewwater-coolingmanufacturerstooffertop-to-bottomcoolinghardware,includingitsAirplexradiators,CPUandGPUblocks,

pumpsanditsAquaerofancontrollers.LiketheWatercoolHeatkiller(opposite),theKryos

isavailableinmanydifferentfinishes,fromaffordablePolyoxymethylene(POM)toasuper-expensivesilvermodel(yes,really).TheKryosHFsitsinthemiddle,andisfinishedinattractivesteelandpolishedcopper,withitssculptedmountingarmsslottedintoeitherside.At420g,theKryosistheheaviestCPUblockontest,

withalargecoppercontactplateandheatexchangerrestingbeneaththeheftytop-plate.ThelatterissecuredviafourAllenboltsthreadedthroughfromthecopperbase,whichisfinishedtoamirrorsheen.Sadly,thetwo1/4inthreadsintheKryos’top-plate

weren’tsufficientlyspacedtoaccommodateour1/2inMonsooncompressionfittings,butstraight1/2infittingsandsmaller1/4incompressionfittingsfittedwithoutissues.Thecentrethreadisclearlymarkedastheintake,withtheupperthreadtheexhaust.Whileitmightlookthepart,though,theKryoswas

extremelyfrustratingtofit. Itusesthecombinationofabackplateandabolt-throughmount,butcomplicatesthiswithnumerouswashers.Welostpatiencewithitnumeroustimes,tryingtobalancewashersbetweenthebackplateandmotherboardwhilethreadingmount-boltsthroughallthree.Havingfinallysucceededinattachingthemount,securingtheblockisachievedusingfoursprungscrews.However,

they’reallmanuallytightenedscrewswithnocutsforflat-headorPhillipsscrewdrivers,makingapplyingevenmountpressuretricky.Frankly, it’safiddlyandconvolutedmountingprocessandwhoeverdesigneditdeservesaneternityofhavingtoinstall it,Atlas-style.Plumbedintoourtestloop,theKryossurprisedus

bycominglastinthecoolingstakeswithadeltaTof42°C.Whilethisisbetterthananexpensiveall-in-oneliquidcooler, it’s2°CwarmerthantheXSPCRayStorm(seep60)and1°CwarmerthantheWatercoolHeatkiller.However,theKryosdeliveredwhenitcametohigh-flowperformance,withaflowrateof7litres/minwithourpumpsettofullspeed.However,thisdippedto1.5litres/minduringlow-flowtesting.

CONCLUSIONTheAquacomputerKryosHFmightlookthepart,butitsmountisawkwardandclunkytoinstall,anditscoolingpowerwasalsoafewdegreespoorerthantheRayStorm.WhenyoufactorintheKryos’£15moreexpensiveprice, it’sdifficulttorecommendcomparedwiththecompetition.HB

FONZYCapable cooling;decent high-flowrate

FOZZYHorrible to mount;some 1/2incompressionfittings won’t fit;expensive

AQUACOMPUTER CuplexKryosHFA convoluted mount and high price – you can find better elsewhere

A

scores

76customPC

OVERALL

COOLING 34 / 40

DESIGN 21 / 30

VALUE 21 / 30



59August 2012

CPU WATERBLOCKS

HOW MUCH?Productcode10320Price£52incVATSupplierwww.aquatuning.co.ukManufacturerwww.watercool.de

ermanmanufacturerWatercoolproducesmanydifferentversionsofitsHeatkillerCPURev3.0CPUwaterblock,allusingthesamecopperbase,butwithdifferenttop-plates.

TheCUversionseestheblockcladingleamingcopperandbrushedstainlesssteel,anditlooksabsolutelygorgeous.It’ssuretokeepitscopperygoodlookstoo,thankstoacoatofclearvarnishtopreventtarnishing.Beneaththetop-plate,theblock’scopperbaseplate

andheatexchangeraremassive,withsixAllenboltsaroundtheedgeofthebaseplatemakingiteasytodisassembleandclean.However,you’llneedtomakesurethatyourmotherboarddoesn’thaveanycapacitorsinsidetheLGA1155socketperimeter,asthelargebasemayfoulthem.Whiletheblock’spairof1/4inthreadfittingsareset

intoacopperplate,they’reveryclosetogether,makingithardtouse1/2incompressionfittings.Evenwhensecuringstraight1/2infittingswithjubileeclips,thefitwasstillverytight,makingtheHeatkillerhardertoplumbintoourtestloopthanthecompetition.Ratherthanbundlinganumberofdifferentmounts

withtheHeatkiller,WatercoolsellsspecificallyequippedversionsforeachCPUsocket.TheLGA1155kitwetestedisfittedusingasetofboltsthreadedthroughfromthebackofthemotherboard,ontowhichthecoolerismountedviaasprungAllen-keyscrewateachcorner.It’sasurprisinglysimpleprocess,moresothantheRaystorm(seep60)duetotheuseoftool-tightenedscrews.Oddly,though,Watercooloffersabackplatemountasanoptionalextra.Whilethe

standardbolt-mountisperfectlysolid,thedecisiontoomitthebackplateseemsratherstingyconsideringthe£52pricetag.Connectedtoourtestsystemandplacedunderload

for30minutes,theHeatkillerofferedgreatcooling,withadeltaTof41°C–just1°CofftheXSPCRayStorm.However, itwasalsothemostrestrictiveblockontestathighflowrates,withaflowrateatourpump’smaximumsettingof6.5litres/min.Atlow-flowrates,though,thiswasreversed,with2litres/minbeingthebestoftheCPUblockswetested.TheHeatkillerisclearlybettersuitedtolow-flowloops,suchasthosethatmakeuseofmultiplewater-blocks,althoughitshigh-flowperformanceisn’ttoofarbehinditsrivals.

CONCLUSIONTheHeatkillerisgreat-looking,goodatcooling,simpletoinstallandcompetitivelypriced.However,despiteitslargesize, itstruggleswithsome1/2incompressionfittings.Assuch,it justlosesouttotheXSPCRayStorm,whichofferssupportforawiderarrayoffittings.HB

CUSimple installation;looks fantastic

PBSome 1/2incompressionfittings don’t fit;comparativelyrestrictive athigh-flow rates

WATERCOOLHeatkillerCPURev3.0CULGA 1155Attractive and easy to fit, but it’s hard to fit 1/2in compression fittings

G

60

scores

84customPC

OVERALL

COOLING 35 / 40

DESIGN 25 / 30

VALUE 24 / 30



60 August 2012

HOW MUCH?Productcode10402Price£51incVATSupplierwww.aquatuning.co.ukManufacturerwww.xs-pc.com

akingXSPC’smulti-socketCPUblockoutofitsbox,weweresurprisedbyitssimplelooks.WhiletheWatercoolandAquaComputerblocksaremadeentirelyofcopperandsteel,

theRayStormsportsaplainblackacetalexteriorbuiltaroundacoppercontactplateandheatexchanger.XSPChasdoneitsbesttoimprovethelookswitha

plasticmountingbrackettoppedwithabrushedaluminiumfascia.Theresultstill lacksthepanacheofthecompetition,butit’shelpedbytheinclusionofpre-drilled3mmLEDholesonallfoursidesoftheplasticmountingbracket.WiththepairofblueLEDs,theblockiseasilylitupandimmediatelylooksgreat.DespitebeingthesmallestCPUblockontest,the

RayStormoffersapairof1/4inthreadfittings,spacedsufficientlytoaccommodateourMonsoon1/2incompressionfittingswithroomtospare–theonlyCPUblockontesttoofferthisleveloffittingsupportHowever,theRayStormmissesafewtrickswhen

itcomestoinstallation.BackplatesareincludedforLGA1155andLGA775sockets,witheachattachedbyasmallamountofdouble-sidedtape.Theblock’sfourscrews,threadedthroughthecornersoftheclearplasticmount,screwdirectlyintothebackplate.Frustratingly,eachscrewrequiresbothapairofwashersandaspringtoprovidemountpressure,andwehadtopickwashersoffourmotherboardseveraltimesduringinstallationaftersomescrewsslipped.Mountingpressureisalsoalittleimprecise,aseachscrewisheadless,soyoucan’tuseascrewdrivertoaccuratelytightenthem.Alowernut

oneachfittingcanalsobeadjustedtoapplyadditionalmountpressure,butagain,you’reonlyabletomanuallytightenit.Anyconcernsaboutmountingdisappearedonce

wehadtheRayStormplumbedintoourtestloop,however.ACPUdeltaTof40°Cunderextendedloadwasthebestontest(albeitbyjust1°C),whileamaximumflowrateof6.75litres/minwasonly0.25litres/minbehindtheleastrestrictiveblockontest.Whilethisisadropof2.75litres/minincomparisontoaloopwithoutaCPUblock,asignificantdegreeofflowratereductionisinevitableforanyCPUorGPUblock.Meanwhile,droppingthepump’sflowratetoitsminimumsawaflowrateof1.8litres/min.

CONCLUSIONWhilenotasflashyasthecompetition,theXSPCRayStormgetsitrightwhenitcomestoperformanceandcapability,withthelowestdeltaTontestandfullsupportfor1/2incompressionfittings.At£51,it’salsothecheapestblockontest,makingitthecomfortablewinner.HB

TSTORMBest cooling ontest; supportslarge compressionfittings; LED-litmount

TEACUPSlightly fiddlymounting

XSPCRayStormCPUWaterBlockMatches great performance with sensible design

CPU WATERBLOCKS

62

scores

91customPC

OVERALL

COOLING 37 / 40

DESIGN 27 / 30

VALUE 27 / 30



62 August 2012

HOW MUCH?Productcode12574Price£103incVATSupplierwww.aquatuning.co.ukManufacturerwww.koolance.com

oolancegenerallyfocusesonthemoreexpensiveendofthewater-coolingmarket,andtheVID-NX680isnoexception,weighinginatover£100.Thisfull-coverGTX6802GB

blockisanimposingbeast,platedinshinynickelandtoppedwithblackPOMacetal.TheVID-NX680comprisestwosections–alower

nickel-platedcopperbaseandheatexchanger,andatop-plateofacetalwithaninlaidnickelplate.Theuseofnickel-platedcopperwon’taffectaloopifmatchedwithcoppercomponents,butitshouldn’tbemixedwithsilverorunplatedbrasscomponents.Insideisamuchlargerareaofdenselypackedthin

channelsabovetheGPUblockthantheotherblocksontest,withasecondarrayoflessrestrictivechannelsabovethecard’spowercircuitry.Thefitting pointsarearrayedateitherendoftheblock,withfittingsscreweddirectlyintotheblockratherthanusingaseparateacetatemount.Thegulfbetweenthefour1/4infittings(twoupwards,twodownwards)alsomeansthatitcansupporteventhechunkiestcompressionfittings.InstallingtheVID-NX680tooklongerthanthe

otherblocksontest,duetoKoolancesupplyinglargesquaresofthermalpadsratherthanpre-cutlengths.Therearejusteightmountingscrewsrequiredtosecurethe680gVID-NX680toyourcard.Washersareincludedforeachscrew,asareapairofnickel-platedbrass1/2inblankingfittingsfortheunusedports.FittedtoouroverclockedGTX6802GB,runningat

abaseclockof1,156MHzanda32percenthigherTDPthanastockcard,theVID-NX680delivered

outstandingcooling.ItsdeltaTof23°Cwas2°CcoolerthanboththeotherGTX680blocksontestandanincredible31°CcoolerthanastockGTX6802GB’saircooler.Withsomuchcoolingheadroom,theGTX6802GB’sGPUismorelikelytoGPUboosttoo,resultinginhigherclockspeeds.Apeakflowrateof6litres/minwas0.8litres/minsuperiortothatoftheXSPCRazorGTX680(seep65),and0.3litres/minbehindtheHeatkillerGTX680(seep64).Theheftysectionofnarrowchannelsdoesn’tseemtonegativelyaffecttheflowratemuch,despiteofferingacoolingadvantage.

CONCLUSIONTheKoolanceVID-NX680isbig,brashandveryimpressive.Offeringa2°Ctemperatureadvantageoverbothotherblocksontestpluscompetitiveflowrates, it’sclearlythebestchoiceifyouwanttosqueezeeverylastdropofperformancefromaGTX6802GB.However, itspricetagmakesitthemostexpensiveblockontestthismonth,andtheXSPC’smulti-portfittingoffersmoreflexibilityandisonlymarginallyofftheVID-NX680’scoolingability.HB

B1-LANCERBest-on-testcooling for theGTX 680 2GB;nickel-platedshininess;supports 1/2incompressionfittings

BOIL-LANCERExpensive

KOOLANCEVID-NX680This huge block boasts great cooling, but it comes at a high price

GEFORCE GTX 680 WATERBLOCK

64

scores

85customPC

OVERALL

COOLING 37 / 40

DESIGN 24 / 30

VALUE 24 / 30

K



64 August 2012


artofWatercool’sHeatkillerwaterblockfamily,theGPU-X³GTX680isagorgeouscombinationofcopperandstainlesssteel. It’saverythinblockand,iftheGTX6802GBdidn’t

includeadual-slotPCI-EpowerconnectorsetupandrearI/O,wouldcomfortablymakethecardsingle-slot.Theblockcomprisesalowercoppercontactplate,

upperstainlesssteeltop-plateandaholedcopperplateattachedtothetop.ThecoppercontactplatealsohasextendedmouldingsonitsmilledbasetomakedirectcontactwiththeGPU,memorychipsandpowercircuitryoftheGTX6802GB,withtherequisitecut-throughholetoaccommodatethetwocapacitorstowardsthetopofthecard.Insidetheblock,adeepchannelrunsoverallthe

heat-producingcomponents,withmanynarrowchannelsovertheGPU.Watercoolclaimsitdevelopedtheblockwithafocusonminimisingflowresistance,andtheunobstructedchannelsinsidebackthisup.Toppingofftheblockistheholedcopperplatethatsitsontopofthestainlesssteeltop-plate.Thisisanentirelyaestheticaddition(youcanbuytheblockwithoutitfor£5less),butadds flairtothedesign.Theblock’squartetof1/2inthreadfittings(two

upwards,twodownwards)areattachedviaanacetalblockfittedtothetopofthecard.Twochromed1/2inAllen-keyblankingscrewsareincludedtoblockofftheunusedports,buttheportsaresoclosetoeachotherthatyoucan’tuselarger1/2incompressionfittings.Straight1/2infittingsand1/4incompressionfittingsdofit,however.

Installationissimple,with11screwssecuringtheblocktoastockGTX6802GB.Washersarealsoprovided,alongwithanAllenwrenchtofirmlysecurethesuppliedAllenscrews.FittedtoouroverclockedGTX6802GB,theGPU-X³

GTX680matchedthecoolingabilityoftheXSPCRazor680(seeopposite),withadeltaTof25°C.Thisisahugeimprovementoverthe54°CdeltaTofastockGTX6802GB,evenbeforeyoufactorinthemassiveoverclock,althoughtheKoolanceVID-680(seep62)offeredevenbettercooling,withadeltaTof23°C.TheHeatkillerprovedtobethekingwhenitcametoflowrate,however,withahigh-flowrateof6.3litres/minandalow-flowrateof2litres/min.

CONCLUSIONMatchingtheXSPCRazorGTX680withitscoolingpower,andsportingalowerpriceofjustover£81,theHeatkillerGPU-X³GTX680isastrongcontenderforyourcash.However, itsinabilitytosupportlargercompressionfittingsandtheXSPC’sflexibilityseetheHeatkilleredgedoutofthewinningspot.HB

T-100Good cooling; lowprice; unrestrictiveblock design

T-XLacks the fittingflexibility of theXSPC RazorGTX 680; 1/2incompressionfittings don’t fit

WATERCOOLHeatkillerGPU-X³GTX680HoleEditionGood cooling at a fair price, but it just loses out to the XSPC

P

scores

82customPC

OVERALL

COOLING 34 / 40

DESIGN 22 / 30

VALUE 26 / 30



65August 2012

GEFORCE GTX 680 WATERBLOCKS


SPC’sRazorGPUwaterblocksallsharethesamegeneralaesthetics,withacopper,CNC-machinedbaseandinternalcavity,toppedwithabrushedstainlesssteel

top.Theresult isasharp-lookingGPUblockthat’sincrediblythin,buttheRazorGTX680alsohasamulti-portmountblockthatstandsproudofthewaterblock.Themulti-portconnectorsportsseven1/2in

fittings;twoupwards,twodownwards,twostraightoutandaseventhata45-degreeoutwardsangle.Theresult isablockthat’seasytointegrateintoanyexistingsetup,withplentyofflexibilityforexpansionorconnectiontoasecondcardinSLI.XSPCevenincludesfivechromed1/2inscrew-inplugsandthenecessaryO-ringstoblankoffanyunusedfittings.Meanwhile,themilledcopperbasehasraised

sectionstoactivelycooltheGTX6802GB’score,memoryandpowercircuitry,withaholecutthroughtheblocktoaccommodatethepairofcapacitorsnearthetopofthecard.Insidetheblock,waterchannelsrunoverallheat-producingcomponentsandthrough1mm-thickchannelsfittedovertheGPUitself.FittingtheRazorGTX680toastockGTX6802GB

isstraightforward,astherearenowasherstoinstall.Havingremovedthestockcooler,you’llneedtoapplytheincludedstripsofpre-cutthermaltapetothememoryandpowercircuitry,beforeplacingtheblockontopofthecard.Ninecross-headscrewssecuretheblocktightlytothecard,andthere’snoneedtousethestockcard’ssquareGPUtensionbracket.WhileweusedPhobyaHeGreaseasthermalpastetotestall

threeblocks,XSPCalsoincludesasachetofitsownK2thermalpasteforfitting.WithourGTX6802GBrunningat132percentofits

standardTDPandoverclockedtoabaseclockof1,156MHz,werecordedapeakdeltaTof25°C–halfthatofastockGTX6802GB.ThisisthesamedeltaTastheWatercoolHeatkillerGTX680,but2°CwarmerthantheKoolanceVID-680(seep62).However,theRazorGTX680wasalsothemostrestrictive,withahigh-flowrateofjust5.2litres/min –15percentlowerthantheHeatkillerBlock–andalow-flowrateof1.5litres/min.However,weobservednotemperaturedifferencebetweenhigh-andlow-flowrate,sothisislittlecauseforalarm.

CONCLUSIONWhileit isn’tthecoolestorcheapestGTX680blockontest,theRazorstruckthebalancebetweenthetwobestblocksandisaidedbyitsexcellentmulti-portconnector,offeringunmatchedflexibility. Italsolooksfantasticinitsstainless-steelfinish,resultinginahigh-qualityandhighlyrecommendedGPUblock.HB

SHARPENEDSupports seven1/2in fittings andincludes blankingscrews; goodcooling; fair price

BLUNTEDNothing to report

XSPCRazorGTX680Capable performance, and an incredibly flexible choice of fitting points

X

67

scores

89customPC

OVERALL

COOLING 34 / 40

DESIGN 28 / 30

VALUE 27 / 30



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67August 2012


quacomputer’s79703GBwaterblock,deckedoutingleamingpolishedcopperandstainlesssteel,certainlylooksthepart.Thelowercoppercontactplateandheat

exchangercoversmostofthegraphicscard,andtheCNC-milledbasehaslargeflattenedsectionstomakecontactwiththe memorymodulesandGPU.DuetotheHD79703GB’suseofchunkycapacitors,there’salsoalargeindentcutintothebasetodirectlycoolthepowercircuitry–vitalforoverclocking.Meanwhile,astainlesssteeltop-plateisinlaidinthe

largecopperbase,andissecuredusing12Allenboltstoallowforremovalwhencleaning.There’salsoasecondcopperplatestandingproudofthesteeltop-plate,bearingAquacomputer’s3DFlowbranding.Thissecondcontactplateisvital,asitcontainsa

raisedflowchanneltoallowcoolanttoriseoverthetallcapacitorsandflowdownintoachannelplacedovertheVRMs,offeringdirectpowercircuitrycooling.Therestoftheblock’sinteriorisdominatedbyalargeareaoftightlypackednarrowchannelsarrayedontopoftheGPU,providingthemosteffectivecoolingforthelargeTahitiXTGPU,atthecostofflowrateimpedance.Cappingoffthedesignisanacetalfittings-block,

equippedwithfour1/4inthreadfittings–twoupwardsandtwodownwards.Bothsetsaresufficientlyspacedtoaccommodate1/2incompressionfittings,andtwo1/2inscrewplugsareincludedfortheunusedports.Theinstallationprocedureisalittlestrangethough,

asiteschewstheuseofthermalpadsforthememorymodules, insteadsimplyadvisingyoutodeposita

smallamountofthermalpasteontoeach(althoughnoneisincluded).AthermalpadisprovidedfortheVRMsandpowercircuitry,however.Meanwhile,securingtheblockisaccomplished

viatencross-headscrews,withnoincludedwashers,makinginstallationveryquick.FittedtoouroverclockedHD79703GB,running

at1,125MHzandaTDP10percentabovestock,theaquagrATIxofferedoutstandingcooling,withapeakdeltaTofjust14°C–afantasticdropof39°Cincomparisontoastockair-cooledHD79703GBandcomfortablythebestontest.Theblock’snarrowchannelsreducedflowrate,though,withahigh-flowrateof5.5litres/minandalow-flowrateof1.5litres/minbeingthelowestofthethreeHD79703GBblocks.

CONCLUSIONAswellasofferingthebestcoolingoftheHD79703GBblocksontest,theaquagrATIxforHD7970isalsothecheapest; it’sarguablythebest-lookingtoo,makingittheobviouschoiceforthoselookingtowater-cooltheirHD79703GB.HB

ATRONBest cooling ontest; low price;straightforwardmount

RINZLERNo thermal pasteor tape included;more restrictivethan other blocks

AQUACOMPUTERaquagrATIx forHD7970The cheapest HD 7970 block also delivers the best cooling

RADEON HD 7970 WATERBLOCKS

68

scores

89customPC

OVERALL

COOLING 37 / 40

DESIGN 24 / 30

VALUE 28 / 30



68 August 2012


haringmorethanafewdesigncueswiththeAquacomputeraquagrATIx7970(seep67),theWatercoolHeatkillerGPU-X³79X0issimilarlydeckedoutinstainlesssteelandcopper,and

warrantedanappreciativecoouponremovalfromitsbox.We’rejustsuckersforshinycopper.Despiteitsnamehintingatmultiplecardsupport,

theGPU-X³79X0isonlycompatiblewiththeRadeonHD79703GB,withthelargecoppercontactplateandheatexchangerprovidingthebasefortheblock.Apolishedstainlesssteeltop-platesitsontopoftheheatexchanger,withasecondcopperplatehousinganelevatedchanneltoallowcoolantflowtocleartheHD79703GB’stallcapacitors.Securedtogetherby15Allenbolts,theblockcanbefullydisassembledforcleaningwithsomepatience.Insidetheblock,thewaterchannelflowsdirectly

overthecard’sDDR5modulesandthroughacentralareaofnarrowchannelsplacedovertheGPUcontactplatetoensureeffectiveheattransfer.Meanwhile,aseparatechanneliscutintothesectiondirectlyabovetheVRMstoprovidedirectcoolingtothepowercircuitry,withwaterflowingtotheseparatechannelviatheraisedcoppersectionontheblock’stop-plate.Theblock’sfour1/4inthreadfittingsaresuppliedby

aseparateacetalblockfittedontopofthecard.They’renarrowlyspaced,however,andlarger1/2infittingsclash,evenwiththesupplied1/2inscrewplugs.InstallationoftheGPU-X³79X0isalittletiresome

too,thankstoitsuseofindividualsquaresofthermaltapeforeachofthe12GDDR5memorymodules.A

largerthermalpadisincludedtoensurecontactwiththeVRMs,buttheendresulthaduswringingourhandsinannoyanceatunwrappingyetanothertinysquareofthermaltape.Yousecuretheblocktothecardvia11Allenboltswithwashers,however,whichismucheasierthanfittingthermaltape.FittedtoouroverclockedHD79703GB,runningat

1,125MHzandat110percentofastockcard’sTDP,theGPU-X³79X0deliveredadeltaTof17°CunderloadinUnigine’sHeavenbenchmark.WhilethisisamassiveimprovementoverastockHD79703GB,whichpeaksatadeltaTof53°C,it’s3°CwarmerthantheaquagrATIx7970.TheGPU-X³79X0offeredhigherflowrates,however,withahigh-flowrateof5.5litres/minandalow-flowrateof1.5litres/min.

CONCLUSIONWhiletheGPU-X³79X0isahugeimprovementoverthestockcooler, it isn’tthecoolestblockontest. It’salsofiddlytofit,andslightlymoreexpensivethantheXSPCorAquacomputerblockstoo.It’sstillaqualityblock,butitfacesstiffcompetition.HB

SROBOCOPDecent coolingand flow rate

ED-209Many individualthermal pads;some 1/2incompressionfittings don’t fit

WATERCOOLHeatkillerGPU-X³ 79X0A solid block, but it’s outshone by the competition

RADEON HD 7970 WATERBLOCKS

70

scores

80customPC

OVERALL

COOLING 34 / 40

DESIGN 22 / 30

VALUE 24 / 30



70 August 2012


iblingtotheXSPCRazorGTX680(seep65),theRazor7970matchestheformer’sthincopperandstainlesssteeldesign,andsupportsboththeHD79703GBandHD79503GB.

ThecentralheatexchangerandcoppercontactplateissmallerthanthoseoftheWatercool(seep68)andAquacomputer(seep67)HD7970blocks,asitonlydirectlycoolstheGPUandRAM,withraisedmouldingsonthebasetomakingcontactwitheachGDDR5chip,whilearaisedsectionmakescontactwiththeGPU.Thebrushedstainlesssteeltop-plateisattached

tothecoppercontactplatewith13Allenscrews,enablingittoberemovedforcleaningifrequired.Theresult isaverythinblockindeed.Inside,waterchannelsflowoverthemajorityofthecard’smemorymodules,withanangledstackoftightlypacked1mmfinssetdirectlyabovetheGPU.UnliketheWatercoolandAquacomputerblocks,there’snoraisedchanneltodirectflowovertheVRMs;instead,theRazor7970hasaluminiumheatsinksattachedtoeithersideoftheblocktocoolthecard’spowercircuitry.Whilethisreducestheblock’seffectivenessatcoolingVRMs,ithastheaddedbenefitofreducingflowimpedance.Duetoitsthindesign,theRazor7970’sfittingsare

mounteddirectlyontheblock,incontrasttotheRazorGTX680’slargemulti-portconnector.Thefour1/4inthreadfittingsaresothinthatdeeperfittingswillactuallyblocktheinlet,soXSPCincludessmallstandoffstoensurecompatibility.Weinstalledourlarge1/2inMonsooncompressionfittingswithoutany

problems,andapairofscrewplugsisincludedtocloseofftheunusedports.FittingtheRazor7970wassimple,thankstothick

andeasilyappliedpre-cutthermalpadsfortheRAMandVRMs.Theblockissecuredusingtencross-headscrewswithaccompanyingwashers,andasmalltubeofXSPCthermalK2thermalpasteisincludedtoo.FittedtoouroverclockedHD79703GB,theRazor

7970producedadeltaTof18°C–4°ChigherthantheAquacomputeraquagrATIx7970butstill35°Ccoolerthanastockcard.WhileitscoolingwasinferiortothatoftheotherHD79703GBblocksontest,however,theRazor7970’sflowratewasbetter,withahigh-flowrateof6litres/minandalow-flowrateof2litres/min.

CONCLUSIONWhileit’scapable,theRazor7970lackstheflexibilityofitsGTX6802GBsibling.ItalsoprovidedtheworstcoolingoftheHD79703GBblocksontest,althoughit’sstillahugeimprovementoverastockcard.It’sagoodblock,buttheaquagrATIx7970ischeaperandofferssuperiorcooling,albeitatlowerflowrates.HB

KEENSupports both HD7970 3GB andHD 7950 3GB;easy to fit; littleflow impedance

DULLLacks directVRM cooling

XSPCRazor 7970Lacks the flexibility of its GTX 680 sibling, but still a solid choice

S

scores

87customPC

OVERALL

COOLING 33 / 40

DESIGN 28 / 30

VALUE 26 / 30



71August 2012

DUAL 120MM RADIATORS


quacomputer’sairplexradiatorsrunfromthebudgettotheludicrous(itsmodularradiatorscostwellover£150),withthe XT240fallingintotheformercategory.Atjust

£37,it’sthecheapestpieceofkit inthismonth’sLabs,butthatdoesn’tmeanit’slackinginqualityorability.Withdimensionsof275mmx123mmx45mm,the

XT240offersamid-pointbetweenhalf-andfull-height.Thismeansthatmanymorecasescanaccommodateit,aswellasthenecessarycoolingfans,withoutcompromisingtoomuchsurfacearea.However,therehavebeensomesacrificestogetthe

pricedown,withtheXT240offeringonlyapairof1/4inthreadfittingsinthestandard90-degreeorientationfromtheradiator.Eachportisfullyseparatefromtheother,forcingflowthroughtheradiatorfins.However,justhavingtwo1/4inthreadfittingslimitsthedirectionatwhichfittingscanentertheradiator,andmaynecessitatetheuseofangledor90-degreefittings,dependingonyourlooplayout.Thelackofanaerationportalsomeansyou’llneedtorotatetheradiatorfullyonceit’splumbedinandfilled,beforefittingit intoyourcase,toensuretherearenoairbubblesintheradiator.Despiteonlyshippingwithapairofports,theXT240

includesplasticscrewcapsforbothitsportstopreventoxidisationduringshipping.Aquacomputeralsoincludesapairof120mmrubbervibration-dampeningpadstoreducefannoise,andeight30mmscrewstomountapairof120mmfanstotheradiator.Plumbedintoourfullywater-cooledtestsystem,

usingtheXSPCRayStorm(seep60)andXSPCRazor

GTX680(seep65),theXT240delivereddisappointingcoolingabilityconsideringits45mmthickness.ACPUdeltaTof52°Cwasthehighestofthefourradiatorstested,aswastheGPUdeltaTof31°C.ThecoolantdeltaTtemperatureof12°Cwasalso2°Chigherthanthe60mmfull-heightradiators, indicatingtheXT240’sreducedthermalcapacity. Itshigh-flowrateof4.25litres/minwasalsolowerthanthatoftheAlphacool(seep72),butsurpassedthatofboththePhobya(seep73)andXSPC(seep74).

CONCLUSIONWewerehopingthattheAquacomputerairplexXT240wouldofferbettercoolingthankstoits45mmthicknessandincreasedsurfacearea.Sadly, itscoolingwastheworstontest,althoughtherewereonlyafewdegreesbetweenitandtheverybest. Itsno-fussapproachisstillsuretoattractthoselookingforacheaperloop,andinthisregard,itsbudgetpricetagalsomakesitstrong.However,aquality60mmradiatorsuchastheAlphacoolshouldstillbeyourfirstchoiceifyourcasecanaccommodateit. HB

AIRPLEXLow price; nounnecessaryextras

COMPLEXLacks flexibility;disappointingcooling ability

AQUACOMPUTER airplexXT240A basic, mid-height dual 120mm radiator that’s also cheap

A

72

scores

74customPC

OVERALL

COOLING 29 / 40

DESIGN 18 / 30

VALUE 27 / 30



HOW MUCH?Productcode35279Price£50incVATSupplierwww.aquatuning.co.ukManufacturerwww.alphacool.com

hilewe’reonlylookingatAlphacool’sradiatorinthisLabstest, it’sanotherwater-coolingcompanythatoffersawholerangeofgoodiesforyourliquid-

coolingneeds,frompumpstoreservoirs.TheNexXxoSXT60FullCopper240mmisitstop-enddual120mm-fanradiator,andit’scertainlyaheftybeast.Itweighs1,484gandmeasures280mmx124mmx

60mm,qualifyingitasafull-heightradiator(30mmradiatorsarehalf-height).Whilethisreducesthenumberofcasesintowhichitcanbemounted,thelargersizeandsurfaceareaoffersimprovedcooling.Theradiator’sfittingsaresplitbetweentwosealed

sections,withnoflowbetweenthemotherthanthroughthefinsoftheradiatoritself.Eachsectioncarriesthree1/4inthreadfittingsfacingup,downandstraightout,offeringavarietyofplumbingoptionsandtheabilitytomounttheradiatorinanyorientation.What’smore,thevarietyofthreaddirectionsalsoreducestheneedforflow-limiting90-degreefittings.Aseventhde-aerationport1/4infittingisfoundat

theoppositeendoftheradiator,whichcanbeusedtobleedairfromtheradiatoruponinitialfilling.It’sbestnotforgotten,oryoumightfillyourlooponlytodepositcoolantalloverthedesk.RumoursthatthisoccurredduringourtestingoftheNexXxoSXT60areunfoundedliesandwillbevehementlydenied.Alphacoolincludesfive1/4inthreadscrewstofill fiveofthesevenports,aswellasfullsetsofmatchingcopper-colour30mmand35mmAllenfanscrewstofullykitouttheradiatorwiththecoolingconfigurationofyourchoice.Meanwhile,

fin-spacingisfairlyopenand,accordingtoAlphacool,optimisedforfanswithlowandmediumairflow.TheNexXxoSXT60producedverycapablecooling

withourtestsystem’sCPUandGPUunderfullload.TheCPUdeltaTof51°CisnotablyhigherthanwithasingleCPUblockintheloop,butthisisduetothecumulativecoolingofboththeGPUandCPU.TheGPUdeltaTof29°Cis4°ChigherthantheGPUblockinalooponitsown,whilethecoolant’sdeltaTof10°Caboveambientis2°Ccoolerthanthetwohalf-heightradiatorswetested.Meanwhile,theNexXxoSXT60’simpactonflowratewasminimal,withaflowrateof4.5litres/minbeingonlymarginallylowerthanthesameloopwithnoradiatoratall (4.6litres/min).

CONCLUSIONTheAlphacoolNexXxoSXT60FullCopper240mmimpressedus withitsfittingflexibility,coolingandlowflow-rateimpedance.Atafewpenniesbelow£50,it’sthemostexpensiveradiatorontest,butit’sworththepremium.Ifyouhavetheroomforafull-height60mmradiator,thisistheonetobuy.HB

RADSeven 1/4inthread fittings;very low flow-impedance;good cooling

BADComparativelypricey; 60mmdepth limitscompatible cases

ALPHACOOLNexXxoSXT60Full Copper 240mmGreat cooling, loads of ports and very low flow-impedance

W

scores

88customPC

OVERALL

COOLING 35 / 40

DESIGN 27 / 30

VALUE 26 / 30



73August 2012

DUAL 120MM RADIATORS

HOW MUCH?Productcode35286Price£45incVATSupplierwww.aquatuning.co.ukManufacturerwww.phobya.com

hePhobyaG-Changer240Ver.1.2BlackispartofPhobya’s premiumfamilyoffull-heightradiators,basedaroundcopperfinsandbrasschambers(thesectionsinto

whichthefittingsrun).At1,151g,it’sslightlylighterthantheAlphacoolNexXxoS(seep72),anditsdimensionsof294mmx125mmx60mmmeanthatithasslightlymoresurfaceareatoo.TheG-changermatchesitschunkysizewithtwo

pairsof1/4infittingssplitbetweenitstwosealedchambers.Pointingdownwardsorstraightoutthebackoftheradiator,thelayoutprovidesplentyofflexibilityfortubinginstallationinsideyourPC,althoughtheAlphacooloffersanadditionalpairshouldyouneedthefull180degreesoffittingrange.AttheoppositeendoftheradiatorisableedingscrewfittedwitharubberO-ringseal,foruseasadrainportforairtrappedintheradiator.Remembertodirecttheradiatorupwardswhenlooseningittoavoidspillages.Includedwiththeradiatorisapairofblackplastic

1/2inscrewplugsforthepairofunusedfittings,alongwitheight30mmmountingscrewsandfourchassismountingscrews–everythingyouneedtogettheradiatorplumbedintoyourloop,baryourchoiceoffittings.Withtheradiator’ssetsoffittingssowidelyspaced,theuseofeven1/2incompressionfittingsisnoproblemeither.PlumbedintoourcombinedloopwithanXSPC

RayStorm(seep60)coolingaCorei5-2600Kat4.6GHz(vcoreat1.385V),andanXSPCRazorGTX680(seep65)fittedtoaGTX6802GBrunningatabaseclockof

1,156MHz,theG-Changer240wastaskedwithdissipatingcloseto400W.However,wewerepleasedtofindthatitofferedoutstandingcoolinginthisregard;aCPUdeltaTof50°Cwas1°ClowerthanthatprovidedbytheAlphacoolNexXxoS,whiletheGPUdeltaTwasagain1°CcoolerthantheAlphacool.Coolanttemperaturewasalsoverygood,withadeltaTofjust10°C–2°Ccoolerthanthe45mmand30mmradiatorsontest.However,whiletheG-Changerofferedthebestcoolingontest, it’salittlemorerestrictiveontheflowrate,withourloopreportingahigh-flowrateof4.1litres/minwiththeG-changer240fitted.

CONCLUSIONWiththebestcoolingofanyradiatorontestandapriceofjustover£45,thePhobyaG-Changer240Ver.1.2Blackiscertainlyimpressive.TheAlphacoolNexXxoS’greaterfittingflexibilityandlowerflow-rateimpedance,alongwithitssimilarlycapablecooling,seeit justsqueezeahead,buttheG-Changer240stillcomeshighlyrecommended,particularlyifyou’relessconcernedaboutfancyfittingangles.HB

FEARBest cooling ontest; well-priced;bleed port

LOATHINGFewer fittingsthan theAlphacool; pricierthan half-heightradiators

PHOBYAG-Changer 240Ver. 1.2BlackGreat cooling and price, although the Alphacool has more fittings

T

74

scores

86customPC

OVERALL

COOLING 37 / 40

DESIGN 21 / 30

VALUE 28 / 30




heEX240Multiportisthesmallestradiatorontest,withasizeofjust280mmx121mmx35.5mm.Itshalf-heightclassmeansthatit’smucheasiertofit inastandardchassis,andat

just527g,it’salsosurprisinglylight–closetoathirdoftheweightoftheAlphacoolNexXxoS(seep72).Duetoitssmallersize,theEX240doesn’thavea

separatechambersystem,insteadusingasplit-singlechambertohouseitsfittings.Inthepast,suchdesignshaveattractedcriticismduetomanufacturersnotfullysealingthetwochambers,allowingcoolanttoflowfromonechambertotheotherinsteadofthroughtheradiator.However,wewerehappytofindthattheEX240’schamberswerefullysealed,sothere’snothreatofcoolantbypassingtheradiator’sfins.Feedingintoeachhalfoftheradiator’schamber

arethree1/4inthreadfittingsat90degreestoeachother.Thisallowsforagreatdealofflexibilitywhenitcomestoinstallation,withthepotentialtomounttheradiatoreithersideup,orforyourfittingstorunstraightintotheradiator.However,XSPCsurprisinglydoesn’t includeanyscrewplugsforthesethreads–adisappointingomissionconsideringtheAlphacoolNexXxoSincludesfivesuchplugsandisstillcheaperthantheEX240.Apackofeight6mmchassismountscrews,aswellasasetofeight30mmfanmountscrews,areincludedthough.Plumbedintoourradiatortestingloop,comprising

anXSPCRayStorm(seep60)andRazorGTX680(seep65),theEX240managedtopunchsurprisinglyaboveitsweight,withitsCPUdeltaTof51°Cmatchingthatof

theAlphacoolNexXxoS.AGPUpeakloaddeltaTof32°Cislessimpressive,however,andis3°CabovethebestcoolingofferedbythePhobyaG-Changer240.Acoolanttemperatureof38°Cunderlinestheradiator’sreducedsurfacearea,andassuch,itsabilitytodissipateheatfromtheloop.Howevar,theendresult isstillveryclosetothatofthefull-height60mmradiators.Apeakflowrateof4litres/minfortheloopindicatethattheEX240isslightlymorerestrictivethantheotherradiatorsontestthough.

CONCLUSIONWhileweweren’texpectingthebestcoolingfromahalf-heightradiator,theXSPCEX240accountedforitselfwell,betteringthe45mmairplexXT240(seep71)andonlyfallingafewdegreesbehindthefull-heightradiators.However,withnoscrewplugsforanyofitssix1/4inthreadfittings,theEX240isexpensiveatover£50.Theairplexisabetterchoiceforthespace-constrained,whilethePhobyaandAlphacoolfull-heightradiatorsoffersuperiorcooling,aslongasyourcasehasroomforthem.HB

TEXTREMESix ports offerflexible fitting

MUNDANEPoorer coolingthan full-heightradiators; noscrew plugsincluded;expensive

XSPC EX240Multiport RadiatorVery expensive for a half-height radiator and lacks any screw plugs

scores

65customPC

OVERALL

COOLING 30 / 40

DESIGN 16 / 30

VALUE 19 / 30



75August 2012

WATER COOLING

??????

CoolantdeltaT°C

GPUdelta

T°C

CPUdelta

T°C

Flow

rate(min)

Flow

rate(max)

Flow

rate(min)

Flow

rate(max)

Load

delta

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Load

delta

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delta

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rate(min)

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rate(max)

CPUblocks

temperature

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2030

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Aqu

acom

puter

Kryos

Watercool

Heatkiller

CPU

rev3.0

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temperature

05

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7970

Watercool

Heatkiller

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18

17

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flow

rate

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02

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XSPC680

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Watercool

Heatkiller

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61.6

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flow

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02

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Watercool

Heatkiller

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rev3.0

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Heatkiller

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GTX

79X0

Aqu

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puter

Aqu

agrATIx

for7

970

62

5.5

1.5

51.5

GeForce

GTX6802G

Bblocks

temperature

010

2030

Watercool

Heatkiller

GPU-X_

GTX

680

XSPC680

Razor

Koolance

VIC-N

X680

2525

23

Radiatorstemperature

010

2030

4050

60

Airp

lexXT

240G1/4

XSPCEX

240

Alpha

coolNexXxoS

XT6

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40v.2

3131

29

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50



76 August 2012

ater-coolingyourPChasneverbeeneasier.Allthepartsareavailableofftheshelf,andinmanysizes

andcolours.However,notallthepartsareuniversallycompatible.ManygraphicscardmakersalterthePCBsfromthereferencedesign,makingithardforwaterblockmakerstoofferuniversallyicompatiblehardware.Thankfully,whichevergraphicscardyou

have,youcanwater-coolit,andwe’llshowyouhowtochoosetherightwaterblock,andavoidcompatibility issues.We’llalsobeshowingyouhowtofitbothfull-coverandGPU-onlyblocks,aswellasCPUwaterblocks.Inaddition,we’realsoshowingyouhowtomountpumpsandradiators(seep80).

IDENTIFY YOUR GRAPHICSCARD’S PCBAlthoughmanygraphicscardsuseidenticalGPUs,alotofmanufacturersalterthelayoutorsizeofthePCB,whichmeansthatmanyfull-coverwaterblockswon’tfitsomegraphicscards.Usewww.coolingconfigurator.com tofindoutwhichblocksfityourmodel,andseeif itdiffersfromthereferencePCB.YoucanalsocompareyourPCBwithimagesofreferencecardsonGoogle.

CHOOSE YOUR BLOCK – 2Ifyourgraphicscardisn’tareferencedesign,youcanstillwater-cool it,butyou’llneedaGPU-onlywaterblock.Theseareusuallycompatiblewithawidevarietyofgraphicscards,buttheyonlycooltheGPUcore–you’llneedseparateRAMheatsinkstocoolthememory.YoucouldalsofitheatsinksontheVRMs,buttheseshouldbeokayifyourcasehasgoodairflow.

CHOOSE YOUR BLOCK – 1Ifyourgraphicscardisunalteredthenit’sbesttooptforafull-coverwaterblock.Thesearesingle-pieceblocksthatcooltheGPUcore,memoryandveryoftentheVRMstoo.Thisistheeasiestwaywater-coolyourgraphicscard;allthehotspotsarecoveredandthere’slittle(ifany)needforadditionalairflow,asyourwater-coolingsystemwilldealwithallthewasteheat.

LOCATE THE HEATSINK SCREWSAllair-cooledgraphicscardshavefourlargescrewssurroundingtheGPU,andsometimesnumerousothersdottedaroundthePCB.TheseholdthecoolertothePCBandanyhotspots,suchastheGPUcore,RAMandVRMs.You’llneedtoremovethesebeforeattemptingtoremovethestockheatsink.

CPUand graphics cardwaterblocksFromwww.aquatuning.co.uk

RAMheatsinksFromwww.aquatuning.co.uk

Tube fittingsFromwww.aquatuning.co.uk

Self-grip pliersFromwww.halfords.co.uk

ScrewdriverFromwww.halfords.co.uk

W

Fit Graphics card &CPU waterblocksThinking ofwater-cooling yourPCafter thismonth’s Labs test?AntonyLeather showsyouhow to choose and fit CPUandgraphics card blocks

s card &s card &




HOW TO FIT WATERBLOCKS

78

REMOVE THE HEATSINKDisconnectanycablesbetweenthePCBandcooler,suchasthefan’spowercable.Removingthecoolercanbetricky,asthethermalpastebetweentheGPUcoreandheatsinkcanactlikeglue.Twistingitslightlyandthenliftingoneedgegentlyusuallydoesthetrick. If itreallydoesn’twanttoplayballthenholdahairdryerovertheheatsinkforaminuteortwo;thiswill loosenupthepaste.

MOUNT THE RAM HEATSINKSIfyourgraphicscardisn’tareferencemodel,you’llneedaGPU-onlywaterblock.TheseareeasytofitandareverysimilartoCPUwaterblocks.Astheydon’tcooltheRAM,you’llneedtoinvestinsomeRAMheatsinkstohelptodissipatetheheat.Don’tbetemptedtoignorethemunlessyouhaveafanpointingdirectlyattheRAM,asmemorychipscanbecomeveryhot.

TEST-FITPlacethewaterblockontopofthePCBandlineitup.MakesuretheblockissittingflatonthePCBandmakinggoodcontactwiththeGPUcore,andcheckthatthemountingholeslineupcorrectly.Moreimportantly,makesurethatit isn’tfoulinganycapacitorsorothercomponentsonthePCB.Thisshouldn’tbeaproblemifyouusedtheconfiguratorinstep1,butitneverhurtstobecertain.

CLEAN THE CORECleanofftheoldthermalpasteusingalint-freeclothormicrofibretowel–don’tusetissueorkitchenroll,asthesecanleavebehindparticlesthatwillhamperthermaltransfer. It’salsoworthapplyingthenewthermalpastebeforefittingtheblock(step7),asyou’llbeabletoseeif it’smadecontactwiththeGPUcorecorrectly.

INSTALL THE FITTINGSInstallthetubefittingsbeforeinstallingtheblock–doingsoafterwardswillresultinafairamountofstressbeingappliedtotheblockandPCB.Thisisespeciallyimportantifyou’reusingaGPU-onlywaterblock–full-coverwaterblocksaremuchmoreresilient.

PLAN YOUR TUBINGFull-covergraphicscardwaterblocksusuallygiveyoutheoptionofhavingtheinletandoutletoneithersideofthewaterblock.Thiscanmakematterseasierwhenconnectingthetubingtoyourcomponents.Forinstance,youmightwantonetubecomingfromtheCPUwaterblockabove,butthendowntoyourpumpinthebottomofthecase.Planyourtubingroutenowsoyougetthisright.



HOW TO FIT WATERBLOCKS

78 August 2012

LINE UP THE HOLESTofitthewaterblocktothePCB,it’susuallyeasiesttolayitonaflatsurfacesothatyoucanlineuptheholes.Makesureyou’veappliedthermalpasteandusedanythermalpadsaspertheinstructionsthataccompanyyourwaterblock.

MOUNT THE FITTINGSAswithgraphicscardwaterblocks, it’s importanttoinstallyourtubefittingsbeforeinstallingthewaterblock.Thiswillpreventanyexcessiveforcebeingappliedtotheblock, itsmountoryourmotherboard.What’smore, it’sfareasiertodothisoutsideofyourcaseandawayfromthemotherboard.

CHOOSE YOUR CPU WATERBLOCKTherearecountlessCPUwaterblocksfromwhichtochoosethesedays.Makesureyoucheckthemanufacturer’sdescriptionforanyincompatibilities,orusewww.coolingconfigurator.com.Also,consideriftheblockhasspacefortwocompressionfittingssidebysideifyou’replanning tousetheseratherthanthemoretraditionalbarbs.

SECURE THE SCREWSPlaceallthescrewsintheirappropriateholesandstarttighteningthem.Don’tdothisoneatatime–instead,tighteneachalittlewaythenmoveontothenext.ThiswillhelptopreventthePCBfromwarpingandensureanevenmount.Evenso, it’sworthcheckingthePCBasyoutightenthescrewstoensureitdoesn’tbecomewarped.

SECURE THE BLOCK TO THE BOARDInstallingawaterblockisusuallyeasierthanfittinganaircooler,butchecktheinstructionstoseeifyouneedtotightenallthescrewsequally,oriftheyhavelock-offpointsthatpreventyoufromtighteningthemtoomuchortoolittle–anevenmountisimportant. Ifnecessary,tightenthemasbestyoucan,thentweakthemwhenthesystemisrunningtoseeifyoucanloweryouCPUtemperaturefurther.

TEST FITAsalways,test-fittingisimportant.TherearegenerallyfarfewercompatibilityissueswithCPUwaterblocksthanthosemadeforgraphicscards,buttheystillexist.Whenyourwaterblockarrives,yourfirst jobistocheckthatit’scompatiblewithyourmotherboard.

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80 August 2012

e’vepreviouslycoveredmountingaradiatorinyourcaseroof,butradiatorstandsofferoneoftheeasiestways

tosecurearadiatorinyourcase.They’regreatifyoudon’thaveenoughspaceinyourroof,orifyoudon’tfancytakingaDremeltoit.Allyouneedisalargeenoughspaceandaventedsidepanel(ifyourcasedoesn’thaveavent,we’llshowyouhowtomakeoneinthefuture).We’llalsolookathowtomountyourpump.

Therearemanywaystodothis,butscrewingthepumpstraighttoyourbayreservoirorcasecanleadtosignificantvibrationandnoise.We’veusedoneofPhobya’spumpmountingsets,whichincludesneoprenepadsandanti-vibrationmaterial.Thesereducevibrationsfromyourpump,enablingyoutoreducenoise.Theyalsoenableyoutomountyourpumpjustaboutanywhere.

DOWNLOAD RADIATOR TEMPLATESHeadtowww.aquatuning.co.ukandgototheradiatorssection.Here,underAccessories,you’ll findasectioncalledRadiatorTemplates.You’ll findfreelydownloadabletemplatesofallthemajorradiatorsizes,whichyoucanprintouttodeterminewhichradiatorwillfitbestinyourcase.

CHOOSE YOUR RADIATOR STANDRadiatorstandsarefairlynewonthewater-coolingscene,buttheycanmakemountingradiatorsincrediblyeasy.They’reavailableinallsortsofshapesandsizes,andevenforexternaluse.It’sassimpleasmountingtheradiatortothestand,thenmountingthestandtotheradiator–that’sit.

TEST-FITTest-fityourfreshlyprintedtemplatetoseeif it fits inyourcase–inourexample,wewanttomakesureitfitsbetweenthebackofthecaseandthedrivecage.Alsocheckforclearancebehindandabovethetemplate–expansioncardsmightgetintheway,forexample.

SECURE THE RADIATOR ANDFANS TO THE STANDThereareseveralwaystoattachyourradiatorandfanstothestand.Ourstandwasjustthinenoughtoallowustoinstall itbetweenthefansandradiatorusingthestandardmountingscrews.However,youcouldalsoinstallthestandattherearoftheradiator,dependingonwhereyouwantittobepositioned.

Radiator standFromwww.aquatuning.co.uk

Radiator templatesFromwww.aquatuning.co.uk

PhobyaNoise Destructor V.1Fromwww.aquatuning.co.uk

3Mmounting tapeFrommosthardwarestores

W

mount pumps& radiatorsThere are plenty ofways tomount radiators andpumpsbutAntonyLeather showsyouaneasy route that also avoids unwanted vibrationsThere are plenty ofways tomount radiators andpumpsbutAntony




HOW TO MOUNT PUMPS AND RADIATORS

APPLY ADHESIVE TAPEThestandcanbesecuredinmanyways.Ithasmountingholesifyou’repreparedtodrillsomeholesinyourcase;youcouldalsouseVelcroifyouwanttoremoveiteasilyor, likeus,youcoulduse3Mmountingtape.Asmallamountoneachfootisenoughtofirmlyholdthestandinplacewithouttheneedfordrilling.

APPLY THE MOUNTProtectiveplastichidestheadhesivesidesofthepads,andthisneedstoberemoved,butleaveontheouteredgesfornow.Stickthepadstothefoamandpressdownfirmlytostickthemtogether.Nowremoveoneoftheouteredgesandpressthisontothebaseofthepump.

CHOOSE YOUR PUMP MOUNTNeopreneisusuallythepaddingofchoiceformountingpumps.ThisPhobyaNoiseDestructorV.1setincludesdouble-sidedadhesivepadsandalargefoammid-section.Thepadshavescrewholesformostmajorpumpbrands,butyoucanusuallyjustrelyonthepadstoholdeverythingtogether.

MOUNT THE STANDIfyou’reusing3Mmountingtape,youcansimplypressthestandintothecaseinthepositionrequired.Afirmpushisallthat’sneeded.Itmayhelptoinstallthefittingstotheradiatorpriortomountingit inthecase,butinanyevent,youshouldbeabletoremovetheradiatorfromthestandquiteeasily.

FIT IT TO YOUR PCPlacethewholeassemblyinthedesiredlocationand,whenit’s inplace,pressdownfirmlytoensurethateverythingstickstogether.You’renowfinished–withseverallayersofinsulatingfoamandnodirectcontactbetweenitandyourcase,yourpumpshouldnowonlybeenseenandnotheard.

TEST-FITPlacethepumponthemountinthedesiredlocationtomakesureitfits.Themountisover1inthick,soyou’llneedtoaccountforthisinyourplans–itdoesasterlingjobofabsorbingvibrationthough.Youmayalsowanttotrimofftheexcesspaddingandshapethemounttothebaseofyourpump.



DishonoredHonestly,it’samiraclethatwe’vewrittenanythingforthisissue,aswe’vebeenshakingwithexcitementsinceseeingBethesda’sDishonoredearlierthismonth.It’sanempoweringFPS/RPGstealthgamefromthedesignerofDeusEx,thestudiobehindDarkMessiah:OfMightandMagic,andtheartistsofHalf-Life2.Thisshotisfromanassassinationmissionbasedinanuptownbath-housefromDishonored’scompellingfantasyuniverse.

82 August 2012

84 GRUMPYGAMERDecisions,decisions

86 DIABLOIIIThedevilyouknow

88 SNIPERELITEV2Abandonallscope

92 WARLOCK:MASTEROFTHEARCANE

Saywhatyouciv

93 CRYSIS3Oldaliens,NewYork

94 DEVPERSPECTIVEReviewmirror

96 THEENGINEROOMInsideUE3



83August 2012

Readers’Night Wed, 4 July, 9 till late

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

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

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



i knowIreallyshouldn’thaveanythingtocomplainabout,butI’magrumpysodandIcan’thelp it.Lately, I’vefoundmyselfevenbecomingannoyedabouttheamountofchoiceavailableinthegamesmarket.Thingssurearen’twhattheyusedtobe,

bahhumbug!WhenIwasakid itneverseemedasif therewerethatmany

gamesavailableforeitherourAmigaorfledglingPC–orfewgoodonesanyway.Pocketmoneywouldbesavedupfor just thetwoorthreepresumeddecentreleasesoftheyearand,whilesomeofthemturnedouttobeduds, thatdidn’tmatter. Ifyou’reonlybuyingthreegamesayearthenyou’regoingtobeabletospeed-runthemall,evenif theyturnouttoberubbish.EvenwhenImovedawayfromhome,

thistrendcontinued.Asapoor,PotNoodle-devouringstudent Iwaslowonfundsandwouldonly forkoutmycashforthefewgamesthat Iknewwouldgivemevalueformoney–GTA:ViceCityandMorrowind, forexample.Nowadays, though, itseemstherearesomanymoregames

competingforourattention–therearedozensofsameyshootersandexplosiveracers,hundredsofJRPGsandenoughreal-timestrategytitlestobombabunker.Partly, this isbecausetheindustryhasswelledwithmoneyandtalent inrecentyears,buttheburgeoningandincreasinglycompetitive indiescenemakesasizeablecontributiontoo.Theresult is that it’sbecomingharderto identify theinteresting

titlesfromthemiasmaoftedium–there’salwaysamodernclassicorhiddengempassingmeby. Ialwayspledgethat I’llcomebacktotheseundoubtedlydeservinggames,but Ialmostnevermanage

Somany games are being releasednow, but few of themare actuallyworth playing

it. I’mtoobusykeepingpacewiththeconstantly incomingwaveofblockbustersandsleeperhits.Asif thatweren’t fatiguingenough, I’moftenparalysedbychoice

whenIdofindmomentsofdowntime.TherearejusttoomanygameswaitinginmyPileofUnplayed–Icanneverdecidewheretobegin. I’ve justspenttheentireweekendtellingSteamtodownloadgameswhich,bythetimethey’re50percentcomplete, I’llnolongerwanttoplay. I’lldeletethepartiallydownloadedgame,downloadanotherone–andthecyclerepeats itself.

EvenwhenIdomanageto installsomething, itneverholdsmyattentionfor long.Anythingthatdoesn’t instantlycapturemyinterest isusuallydisregardedasIcontinuesearchingelsewhere.Therearejust toomanygamestoplay,andwhat’smostfrustratingofall is thattheratiobetweenqualityandquantitydoesn’tseemtohavechangedasaresult.Therearemore

games,buttherearen’tanymoregamesactuallyworthplaying.Mysituationisprobablyalittlemoreextremethanthatofothers;

asajournalist Ireceivealotof freegames,butSteam’sregularsaleseventheplayingfieldbyoftenmakinggoodgamesavailableforafewpennies.SoifyoueverfindyourselfwithnothingtoplayonarainySundaymorning,despitetheraftofgamesavailable, thenfearnot;youaren’talone.FIND ME ON TWITTER: @JOETHREEPWOOD

WHAT I’M PLAYING I’vebeenbusyworkingonanewpodcastcalledUnlimitedHyperbole–findoutmoreatwww.joemartinwords.comandconsidertheimageaboveasahint

SPOILEDFORCHOICE

There are just too manygames waiting in my Pileof Unplayed – I can neverdecide where to begin

GAMING



THE KNOWLEDGEPrice£32.99incVATPublisherActivisionBlizzardDeveloperBlizzardWebsitehttp://eu.battle.net/d3

iabloIIIhasalotofexpectationsbuiltaroundit.Somebelieveditwouldbethebestgameever,whileothersthoughtBlizzard’s

onlinerequirementsandauctionhouses(seeopposite)spelledacynicalendfortheseries.SomethoughtBlizzardwouldinnovate,othersthoughtitwouldstagnate.Ultimately,nobodywasright.DiabloIIIis,much

likeStarcraftII, justmoreofthesamecomparedwithitsforebear.Youstillceaselesslyclicktohooveruprandomlootandturnhordesofdemonsintoarterial

mist;despiteaslewoftweaks,nothingmuchhaschanged.NewcharacterclassessuchastheWitchDoctorandalterationstotheskillsystemsultimatelydon’tchangethat,andthere’snothinginDiabloIII’scoresystemsthatmadeusgaspwithsurprise.Thisisn’ttotallybad,however.Blizzardhasn’t

fixedwhatwasn’tbroken,meaningthatDiabloIIIisjustasmuchfunasthepreviousgames.Almost.Unfortunately,notallofDiabloIIIisassembledwiththelevelofpolishforwhichBlizzardisusuallyknown.Theintroductionleavesseveralfundamentalissuesunexplainedtonewcomers,forexample,whilethemanualonlycontainsflavourtext–weoftenhadtoALT-Taboutofthegametoonlineguides.

Someofthenewfeatureshaveglaringoversightstoo.Followerscannowberecruitedtosupportyourheroinbattle,

forexample,butquicklybecomeannoyingwhentheyrepeatthesamestockconversations.

However,thefactthatthesetinynigglesare

DSHOUT AT THEDEVILAddictive;no-nonsense

DEVIL WOMANOnlinerequirement;poor tutorial

Thedevil youknow

86 August 2012

THE HELLFIRE CLUBBlizzardhasquietlydistanceditselffromthe1997HellfireexpansionfortheoriginalDiablo.HellfirewasanauthorisedexpansioncreatedbySierraOnline,butBlizzardwasn’tinvolvedinitsdevelopment.AmongthenewfeaturesitintroducedwasaMonkclass,whichthencuriouslydisappearedinDiabloII.Blizzard’sbroughtbackthemelee-based,spirituallypoweredMonkinDiabloIII,butsaystheinterpretationisn’trelatedtotheoneinHellfire.Eitherway,DiabloIII’sMonkisstillourfavouriteclass!

DIABLO III



definitivereasonforustorecommenditoverthecompetition.What’smore,theonlinerequirementandreal-moneyauctionhousesrepresentastepbacktoplayerswhodon’twanttheirexperiencesointensivelydefinedbyBlizzard.DiabloIIIisdefinitelyagreatgamewhenit

workssmoothly,anditworksjustaswellinsingle-playermodeasitdoeswithagroupoffriends.It’sexciting,addictiveandfuntoplay,butit’shardlyaground-breakingnewexperience,anditdoesn’tcomeanywhereclosetojustifyingtheamountofhypebuiltuparoundit.JOEMARTIN

REVIEW

DiabloIII’smainissuessaysalotabouttherestofthegame’ssolidconstruction.It’sfantasticatdolingoutasenseofsatisfaction,whilealsoofferingenoughpunishmentonthetougherdifficultylevels(annoyingly,thesehavetobeunlocked);hardcorefanswillhaveplentytoplanfor.It’sanincrediblyaccessibleclickfestandanoverwhelminglyin-depthRPGatthesametime–thedefinitionofbeingeasytopickup,yettoughtomaster.TheproblemthatDiabloIII

faces,though,isthatitdoesn’tdoahugeamounttoinnovateandisn’tquiteasperfectasexpectationsmayhaveledustobelieve;therefore,there’sno

BLIZZARD HASN’T FIXEDWHAT WASN’T BROKEN,

MEANING THAT DIABLO IIIIS AS MUCH AS FUN AS

ITS PREDECESSORS

80OVERALL

87August 2012

BATTLING BATTLE.NETOneareawhereDiabloIIIisdecidedlydifferentfromitspredecessorsisofflineplay;thereisn’tany.ToplayDiabloIII,youneedtosignupforaBattle.netaccountandlogin.Ifyoucan’tgetonlineortheservergoesdown,youcan’tevenplayinsingle-playermode.ThisapproachhassomeadvantagesforthosewhowanttoplayDiabloIIIonline,by

makingco-opacinchandcheatingimpossible,butitalsobringscaveats.Therewillneverbeanymods,forexample,andthegame’slaunchperiodwastypifiedbycrashingserversandunstablegamestoo.Thegame’sviabilitydirectlydependsonthecommercialsuccessofBlizzardandDiablotoo,althoughtheWoWdeveloperisunlikelytocollapsesoon.Blizzardclaimsthathavingthegamelinkedtoitsserversiscrucialforwardingoff

would-behackersandprotectingtheauction-housesystembuiltintothegame.Thisconsistsoftwotypesofmarketthatcanbeaccessedfromthemainmenu,throughwhichplayerscansellanyitemstheyfindinthegameandwhichtheydon’twanttoeitherselltoanin-gamemerchantorbreakdownformagicalcomponents.Oneoftheauctionhousesfeaturestransactionsthatdealonlyinin-gamegold,while

theotherhandlesreal-worldmoney–acontroversialdividethatmayunbalanceDiabloIII’smultiplayerfarmorethanafewhacks.Themoremoneyyouwanttoputintothegame,thebetteryourcharacterwillfare,itseems.WhileBlizzard’sintegrationofthesesystemsissmoothlyaccomplishedandaclear

stepforwardsintermsofhowitthinksgamesneedtobeprotectedandfinancedthesedays,itisn’tafeaturethatwe’rekeenon.Itfeelscrassandcynicallymotivatedtohavesuchfeaturesbuiltintoagamethat’salreadyexpensiveatlaunch,andwhichisonlyplayablethroughtheclosedBattle.netsystem.Ontopofthat,itdiminishesthefocusofthegameforthosewhowanttoplaysoloand,whileitprotectsDiabloIIIfromplayer-madehacks,italsoopensituptoothertypesofexploitation.It’scurrentlyworthtoleratingtheonlinerequirement,assumingBlizzardsortsoutits

overloadedservers,asDiabloIIIisamultiplayer-focusedgame.However,ifBlizzardexpectsustodropmoremoneyintothegamejusttounlockGatheringPantsofFire,thenit’sverymuchmistaken.



THE KNOWLEDGEPrice£29.99incVATPublisherRebellionDeveloperRebellionWebsitehttp://sniperelitev2.com

nipinggames,likepokergames,areoneofthemostdeceptivelydifficulttypesofgamestodesignbecause,whiletheideaofarealisticsnipingsimsoundsfun,theactual

ideaisboringandfrustrating.Realsnipersspendhoursordayssatontheirown,waiting–itisn’texactlyconducivetoanexcitinggame.SniperEliteV2thereforehasto provideenough

tensiontofeellikemorethanjustashooter-with-sniper-rifle,whilealsodeliveringenoughactionandmovementtostaveoffboredom.It’salinethatthegamewalksprettywell,althoughitleansmoreheavilytotheshootersideoftheequationduetotherecklessnessthat’spromotedbytheinclusionofregeneratinghealth.WefrequentlycaughtourselvesshoulderingourriflesinfavourofSMGs,orlobbinggrenadesinsituationswhereasilencedpistolwouldsuffice,purelybecauseoftheminimisedrisk.Thesniperrifleishugelyrewardingwhenit’sin

play,however,especiallyifyouincreasethebulletrealismlevelstomaximumandrecognisethattheheadshotisn’tactuallyalwaysthemosteffectivewaytokill.Atthatpoint,youcanstarttoweavesomebeautifulbullet-magic,detonatinggrenadesonenemies’beltsorinjuringfoesinsuchawaythattheirfriendsarecalledouttohelp.Theimpactofeachbulletishammeredhome

throughRebellion’snewx-raycamera,whichpansinslow-motionaroundyourvictimsandshowsthepath

ofthebulletthroughthebody.Likeallslow-motioncameras,thiscangrowtiresomeafterawhile,butitalsoencouragedustotryharderforspecificshots–suchaskillingtwoenemieswithasingleround.Whilethesnipingislotsoffun,though,thelevels

don’talwaysdojusticetotheunderlyingsystems.Thesecondlevelinthecampaign,forexample,startsbrilliantlywithacovertassaultonaGermanbasewhereyoucanuserockettestlaunchestodisguisethesoundsofyourshots.Barelyminuteslater,however,theactionshiftstolongundergroundtunnelsfilledwithenemiesthatpourfromnowhereonceyou’respotted.Thisisdisappointing,anditisn’thelpedbythepoorstorytelling.Supposedlyyou’reaUSsniperwhoiskillingorcapturingNaziscientists

SHEADSHOTCo-op; goodgunplay

SHOT-PUTRepetitive;awkwardlybalanced

Abandonall scope

88 August 2012

STUDIO PROFILE –REBELLIONWhileRebellionisstillfarfromahouseholdname,theOxford-basedstudiohasbeenoneofthemostimportantindependentUKstudiossinceitwasfoundedin1991.Thisispartlyduetothefranchisestheteamhasworkedon,includingthefirstAlienvsPredatorgame,butalsobecausefounderJasonKingsleyischairmanofTIGA,thetradeassociationforUKdevelopers.Asifthatweren’tenough,thecompanyalsopublishes2000AD!

SNIPERELITEV2



REVIEW

allonhisown,butthere’ssolittlecharacterisationthatthisjustificationisirrelevant.WhileSniperEliteV2hasitsfaults,italso works

brilliantlyattimes–whenyou’reshootingthetipsoffwarheadsordetonating vehiclefueltanks,forexample.Italldependsonjusthowartfulyouwanttobewiththetoolsthegameprovides,whichispartofwhatmakestheco-operativemodesomuchfuntoo;here,youcanhaveanallyeithersupportyoudirectlyoractasyourspotter.WhilethequalityofgunplayplacesSniperEliteV2

inourgoodgraces,though,itdoesn’tearnmuchbeyondthat.Thereareobviousfeaturesmissing,suchasafiringrangetotestnewweaponsandadvancedstealthoptionssuchasdisguises,whichleavethegamefeelingalittleempty. It’sworthalookforballisticbuffs,butlacksthescopetobeanessentialpurchaseforanyoneelse.JOEMARTIN

89August 2012

75OVERALL

GRAPHICS COMPARISONSniperEliteV2maybeheadedtoconsolesaswellasthePC,butRebellionhasalwaysbeenaPCdeveloperatheartandthat’ssomethingwhichmanifestsitselfpleasantlyinthelookandfeelofthegame.Notonlyisthereabunchofdetailedconfigurationoptionsthatletyouspecifyjusthowyouwanttocontrolthegame–suchashavingdifferentmousesensitivitiesoneachaxisorwhenscoped–butthegraphicsaresuperbtoo.Thismeansthattherecommendedsystemrequirementsareatouchhigher

thantheyareontheaverageconsoleport,butit’sgreatnewsforthoseofuswiththelatestgear.You’llneedaDirectX10cardwithatleast256MBofVRAMjusttoscrapeinundertheminimumrequirements,butthere’salsoalotoftessellation,andevenamorphologicalanti-aliasingmodethatusestheDX11compute

shader,soaDX11cardwillstandyouingoodstead.Forourpart,aRadeon6900letusplaysmoothlyatextremeresolutionswiththesettingsallpushedtomaximum.Whenitcomesto

customisingthegraphics,SniperEliteoffersahealthyselectionofpresetoptions,anditalsoauto-detectswhatyoursystemcanhandle.Ifyouwanttofiddle,though,there’sadecentselectionofoptionsthatletsyoupushtheenginefurtherbyenablingfeaturessuchasambientocclusionoralteringtheshadowandanti-aliasingsettings.PushingtheAAashighas

possibleshouldbeapriority,asthiswilleliminatethejaggededgesofverticesthatcanappearwhenlookingatlargescenes.However,theTextureDetailandDrawDistancesettingsaretheonesthatmake

thebiggestdifference,controllingtheamountofsurfacedetailandhowfaryoucanseedetailrespectively.WhileTextureDetailhasamajoteffectontheoveralllookofthegame–asyoucanseefromthescreenshotsaboveshowingtheextremeLowandUltrasettings–DrawDistanceactuallyimpactsonthegameplay.Simplyput,ifyoucan’tseeveryfarthenyoucan’texpecttolivelongasasniper,nomatterhowfastyourhealthregenerates.Asaresult,werecommendpushingDrawDistancetomaximum,evenifyouhavetoturndownothersettingsinordertoachievedecentperformance.

LOW

LOW

HIGH

HIGH

Distance

Textures



REVIEW

THE KNOWLEDGEPrice£14.99 incVATPublisherParadoxInteractiveDeveloperInoCoPlusWebsitewww.warlockmasterofthearcane.com

amessuchasWarlock:MasteroftheArcanedon’tneedintroducing–thescreenshotstellyou

what’sonoffer.Thisisatile-basedstrategygameinthesameveinastheCivilizationseries, inwhichyourtaskistocrushyourenemiesandestablishdominionovertheworld–thatmuchisobvious.Instead,it’sthenuancesthatshouldreceiveallthe

attention,suchashowParadoxhastransplantedtheCivformulatoafantasysettingandreplacedstandardarmyunitswithorcs, impsandtheundead.Warlockevencastsyouasanin-gamecharacter–anoverseeingGreatMagewhocandirectlyinvolvethemselvesinbattlesbycastingspellsusingharvestedmana.Thepurposeofthesespellsrangesfromhealingandbuffingthroughtocreatingfirestormsandsummoningallies–andyou’llneedthemall,asWarlockdoesn’tletyoustackunits,soit’seasytoendupinvulnerableformations.However,whileWarlockdistinguishesitselfwith

extra-dimensionalplanesandoptionalquests, italsodiffersfromCivinthattheonlywaytowinisthroughmilitaryconquest.There’snodiplomaticorscientificgoaltoaccomplishand,althoughyoucannegotiatewithotherplayersandresearchnewspells,bothsystemsarewoefullyundernourished.Forexample,wecouldn’tfindatechtoshowyouthepathtowhichyourcurrentspellresearchwill lead.ThebiggestissuesconcerntheAIenemiesthough:

theotherGreatMagesyoumustdefeattowin,andthewildmonstersthatlittertherealm.Thelatter’smainflawisthatthey’renumerousandunbalanced–aKrakenoncewipedoutourentirearmywithasingletentacle,whiletheTheGreatMagessufferfromoccasionallybrokenstrategies.It isn’thardtohavefoescaughtupinrepetitiveloopswheretheykeepsummoningthesameunit,onlytoberepelledeverytime.EithertheAIonlybelievesinvictorybyattrition,orthere’saflawintheunderlyinglogic.Despitethesesmall issues,however,

Warlockretainsthecoreappealoftheturn-basedstrategygenre.It’seasyto

findyourselfplayingfor‘justonemoreturn’asyouploughtowardsmagicaldomination;theattractivepresentation,streamlinedsystemsandaccessibleinterfacealldotheirjobwell.Thecomparativelylow

pricehelpstoo.Itmaynotbeasdeepandinvolvedas

bignamesinthegenre,andithasitsfaults,butWarlockneverthelessremainsafunandcompetentlyassembledgamethat’sworthalookifyou’readevoteeoftheseries,orwhenitgetsaSteamdiscount.JOEMARTIN

G

WARLOCK:MASTEROFTHEARCANE

DIRE CHARMStraightforwardstrategy;attractivepresentation

JUST DIREBuggy AI; difficultmonsters

Whatwe’re Tolkien about

65OVERALL

92 August 2012

YOURMAJESTYWarlockisn’tovertlylinkedtootherParadoxgames,butit’ssetintheMajestyfranchise’sworld,Ardania.Paradoxboughttherightstothisfantasystrategyseriesin2007,asitsCEOFredrikWesterwasafan.Sincethen,it’sreleasedaspateoftitlesintheseries,spanningPCsandtablets.However,youdon’tneedtoplaythepreviousgamestounderstandWarlock.

theCivilizationseries, inwhichyourtaskis



August 2012 93

PREVIEW

rytek,likeDavidBowieattheendofLabyrinth,isexhaustedfromlivinguptoourexpectations.Nobodyatthestudiowouldeveradmittothis,we’resure,butwhenlookingatCrysis3, it’s

hardtoseeanythingbutadeveloperaimingforacomfortablemiddlegroundafteryearsofthanklesslysupplyingPCgamers’demand.AfterFarCry,weaskedformoregraphical

splendourandtacticalfreedom.CrytekgaveusCrysis,andwerespondedbycomplainingaboutpoorperformance,fiddlycontrolsandlackofstructure.

CrytekgaveusCrysis2,placatingdetractorswithconsole

supportandamoreregulatedenvironment.WedismissedthesestepstooandCrytekhasofferedCrysis3

asacompromise.Thejungleofthefirst

gamehasmergedwiththecityofthesecond,the

CryEnginehasbeenimprovedtoofferagreaterspectaclethan

before,and there’s agreaterfocusonslower,moretacticalgameplaytoo.MuchofthisisembodiedinCrysis3’s

newsignatureweapon,acompositebowthatfiresmodifiedarrowstoeitherstun,explodeorimpaleenemies.ItcanbefiredwithoutlosingtheNanosuit’sinvisibilitycloak,andthebowisflexibleenoughtomeetalltypesof

encounter.Wieldingthebow,creepingthroughtherainforeststhathavetakenoverNewYork,

it’simpossiblenottofeellikeRambo.

RambofeelslikeanimportanttouchstoneforCrysis3inotherwaystoo,asCrytekhaspushedthestorydownanexplicitlyaggressivepath,castingyouagainasProphet.He’scaughtupintheescalatingwarbetweenCELLIndustriesandtheCephaliens,andhasgoneontheoffensive.Inthedemonstrationwesaw,Crytek’screativedirectormaderepeatedreferencestohowProphet,backedupbyPsycho,hadchangedfrombeingthehuntedtothehunter.IfProphetandPsychoreallyarethehuntersthis

timearound,youcanbesurethattheirpreyisthemostdangeroustypeimaginable.ThedemonstrationwesawtookplaceinChinatown,whichhadbecomeabug-infestedswampowingtothehugebiodomethatCELLIndustrieshadraisedoverthewholeofNewYork,andfeaturedahostofnewenemies.Someoftheseweremerelyalienvariationsonfamiliarthreats,suchastheCephScorcher,whichstridesaroundsprayingahoseofnapalm,whileothersweremoresubtleanddangerousfoes.TheCephDrone,forexample, isanon-aggressiveunitthatcandisableyourNanosuit’sstealthmodewithascanningbeam.Asthedemonstrationebbedfromstealthto

violence,wewerepleasedtoseethatCrysis3offersawiderarrayofapproachesthaneitherofthefirsttwogames,withyoursuitnowabletoremotelyhackenemysystemsorwieldCephheavyweaponry.Wewerealittledisappointedbythegraphicsinthe

demo–it’shardtoseehowthey’vemovedonsinceCrysis2.However,Crytekassuredusthiswasbecausethedeveloperwasconcentratingonimprovingperformance,ratherthanfidelity.We’llhavetowaittoseehowefficienttheseimprovementsarethough;we’lltellyoumoreassoonaswehavemoredetails.JOEMARTIN

C

CRYSIS 3Somewhere, over theRambo

THE KNOWLEDGEPublisherElectronicArtsDeveloperCrytekWebwww.crysis.ea.comReleasedateSpring2013



94 August 2012

Cliff Harris

hatwasthenameofthelastPCgameyoubought?Youcanprobablyrecall if itwasgood,whetheritliveduptoyour

expectations,iftheframeratesweresmoothandif ithadanyreplayabilityfactor.You’llalsoprobablyrememberthenegatives–if itwasgeneric,buggy,repetitiveandnotactuallythestyleofgameyouexpected.Nobodyknowsmoreaboutyourimpressionsofthegamethanyou,right?Butdidyoureviewthegame?Idon’tmean

professionally,foramagazinesuchasCustomPC,orforawebsite.I’mtalkingaboutuserreviewsandratings.Didyouwriteaforumcommenttofriendssayingwhetheritwasgoodorbad?Orgiveita1-5starratingbyclickingonawebsite(maybethesitefromwhichyouboughtit)?OrevenclickSteam’sRecommendtoFriendsoption,ortheubiquitousFacebookLikebutton?Thechancesare,youdidnoneofthese

(apologiesifyoudid).Thepercentageofbuyerswhorateandreviewgamesisstaggeringlylow.Itvariesbyplatform,andprobablybygenretoo,butit’sagiventhattheoverwhelmingmajorityofgamersneverpassanyinformationbacktotheworldabouttheiropinionsofagame.Thisislefttotheimpliedmarketforcesfromthesalesofsequels,DLCorothergamesbythesamedeveloper.I’mgoingtotrytopersuadeyoutochange

thisbehaviour,andencourageyoutopostonlinereviewsandratingsofgames,soheregoes.WhenItweetedaquestionaboutwhysofewpeoplerateagame,Ireceivedsomequiteinterestingreplies.Tome,theyoftenseemedfairlyself-defeatingandsurprising.Overwhelmingly,peopledidn’treviewor

ratetheirpurchasesbecauseofalackofperceivedpersonalgainfromdoingso.Thegeneralconsensuswasthatyoudidn’t ‘get’anythingforreviewingagame.Therewasnoincentive,andthereforenobodytookthetime.Therewerealsosuggestionsthatittooktoomucheffort,butgivenwe’retalkingaboutan

Reviewyour games

emailsignupatworst,andasingleclickontheLikebuttonatbest,wecanprobablywrapthisintothegeneral‘what’sinitforme?’justification.Iftherewasanyrealincentive,youwouldn’tletthebarrierofhavingtologin,orsignupafreeaccount,stopyouratingsomething(unlessyou’reterminallylazy!)SohowcanIpersuadeyoutoreview

games?Wellfirstly, Iproposethatit’sintheinterestofthecommongoodthatallnewgameshaveaverylargenumberofindependent,honestreviewsfromawiderangeofpeople.There’sageneral‘wisdom-

of-crowds’principleatworkhere.Ifagameonlyeverreceivestworeviews,andthey’rebothfrompeoplewholikeacertainstyleofgame(saythey’rebothpickyaboutrealisminfirst-personshooters),thenthereviewscoreforaperfectlyfun,playablebutslightlycasualFPS(thinkCallofDuty,ratherthanArma)canbetotallyoutofkilterwiththepotentialthatgamehastoentertainitstargetmarket.Somepeoplereadeveryreview,notethe

bylines,andgettoknowthereviewers’quirksandopinions.However,thesearetheminority.Thevastmajorityofusreadreviews‘blind’,assumingthereviewerisprettymuchlikeus.Thiscanneverreallybetrue.Whentheprofessionalreviews(andI’mnot

arguingagainstthem)arecombinedwithahugenumberofuserratingsandmini-reviews,yougetatotallydifferentpicture.Thegamemightbegiven3/5butmysteriously,theuserreviewscomeoutat4.7/5,with1,000userratings.Whenyouseethat, itpromptsyoutodigdeeper.Maybethosereviewers’tastesdidn’tmatchthegamedesignwell.Maybetheyplayedthegameonhardwarethatperformedunusuallybadlywithitsengine;whoknows?Inshort,morereviewsequalsmore

informationonapotentialpurchase.Moreinformedpurchasesnotonlymakehappier

W

NotusingtheRecommendtoFriendsoptiononSteam,orclickingthe1-5starratingonAmazon?Whythebloodyhellnot?

Manyuserreviewscanformdifferentviewsofagamethanthoseofafewprofessionalreviews,asseenonsitessuchasMetaCritic



95August 2012

gamers,buttheyalsomakeforabetterindustryall-round.Itmeansthatgamedevsthatmakegoodgameshavemoresales,andcanre-investtomakemoregoodgames.Everybodywins.Well,notquiteeveryone.Intheabsenceofalargenumberofuser

opinionsonagame’squality,bigpublisherscansometimesstackthedeck–a$10millionadvertisingcampaignishardtoignore,andthehypemachinesforgamesgrowbiggereachyear.It’snotatallunusualtohearaboutgameswhosemarketingbudgetstotallydwarfedtheactualdevelopmentbudgets.Ifuserreviews,ratingsandopinionsbecomemorewidespreadandmorereliable,thentherelativepowerofthemarketingjuggernautrecedesslightly.Wouldthatbesobad?Ofcourse,asanindiegame

developer,Icomeatthisfromaspecificangle.BiggamessuchasCallofDutyreceivethousandsofprofessionallywrittenreviews,letalonealltheratingsandreviewsofordinarygamers.Atinypercentageofpeoplerategames,butwhenamillionpeoplebuyatitle,youtendtogetalotofclicksonthoseratingsstars.IfyouwanttoperformsomeresearchtofindouthowBattlefield3plays,youwon’tencounterashortageofopinions.It’sdifferentwithindiegamesthough.

Someindiegamesaremadebyoneperson,andachievemaybe1,000sales(orless)intotal.Suddenly,areasonableguessthatonein500gamersbothersspreadingtheiropinionsmeansthatanalysisof‘coolindieplatform

topollute.Thesituationcanneverchangewithouteithergovernmentssteppingin,orincentivesthatrewardindividualaction.Ican’tseegovernmentssteppinginto

ensurethatyourateDiabloIIIonafive-pointscaleanytimesoon,norwouldwewantthat,soI’mtryingtodomybitbyrationalargument.Facefacts;atsomepoint,you’vemadeapurchasingdecisionforagame,atleastinpartbasedontheopinionandscoregivenbyarandomstrangerontheInternet. Inaverysmallway,thatindividualgaveyousomethingforfree,whichisanunbiasedopiniononapurchasingdecision–youprobablyappreciateditatthetime.Atsomepoint,someonelikeyou,whowas

busy,orcouldn’tseethepoint,actuallydidspontaneouslydecidetofireuptheirbrowserandtypethewords‘justboughtGameX,here’smyopinion’ontheirfavouritegamingforum.Thatpersoncouldeasilybeyou;itcostsyounothingexcepttime,andbehonest,youcouldskipsomeofthoseYouTubecatvideosnowandthentomakethetime.

CLIFFHARRISistheone-mancodingwizardbehindPositechGames(www.positech.

co.uk),thedeveloperofGratuitousSpaceBattles

@cliffski

game#65’isthinonthegroundindeed.Thepercentageofindiegamesalesthatcomedirectlyorindirectlyfromcriticalanalysisinforumthreadsandpersonalblogsisveryhigh.Infact,theentirebusinesssurvivabilityofsomeindiegamesisattributablepurelytooneortwogamerswhostartathreadonwww.penny-arcade.comorwww.somethingawful.com.Grass-rootssharingofcriticalopinionistheindieequivalentofSuperBowladsforbillion-dollartitles.Let’sassumeyou’rewithmesofar.You

agreethatalargenumberofuserreviewsand

ratingsaregood,andwouldchangetheindustryforthebetter.Whyhassuchanobviouslygoodideanothappened?Well, ifyoureadanypop-sciencebooks,you’vealmostcertainlyencounteredthephenomenaofthe‘tragedyofthecommons’. Inshort,thetragedyofthecommonsisaproblemwhereeveryonecollectivelybenefitsfromacollectiveaction,butnobodyhasanypersonalincentivetocarryoutthataction.Aclassicexampleispollution.Societyis

betteroff ifnobodypollutes,buttheeffectofanysinglepersonstoppingpollutionisalmostzero.Mostpeoplecontinuetopollute,whilewonderingwhyeveryoneelseiscontinuing

IndiegamessuchasFrozenSynapseandAmnesia:TheDarkDescentaren’tavailabletobuyfromAmazon,anddon’thave$10millionadcampaigns–theirsuccessreliesonwordofmouthonline

IT’S NOT UNUSUAL TO HEARABOUT GAMES WHOSE

MARKETING BUDGETS DWARFTHE DEVELOPMENT BUDGETS



96 August 2012

Rick Lane

henitcomestoengines,Epiccertainlylivesuptoitsname.UnrealEngine3(UE3) hascapabilitiesfarbeyondthe

graphicshorizon.Thecompletepackagecatersforsound,physics,animation,input-managing,networkingandscripting,andit’sdesignedtobeflexible,scalableand,mostofall,powerful.Sinceitsdebutin2006,it’sbeenusedtocreateover150games.Youcouldwriteabookonthepreciseway

UE3packsinthatdetail,buttobebrief,thetwoimportantareasarematerialsandlighting.UnlikepreviousversionsoftheUnrealEngine,youcan’tsimplytexturean

theengineroom

Games have used UE3 since 2006, and Epic has kept updating it too. Rick Lanetalks to third-party developers about why this veteran engine is still so appealing

WobjectinUE3.Texturingwasassimilatedintothemorecomplexmethodofcreatingmaterialsinstead.Thisallowsformuchgreaterdetailandvarietyonsurfacesthroughvarious‘channels’,suchasnormalmapping,whichcreatestheillusionofbumpsanddentsontoaflatobject.Thisisarguablythemostvitalmaterialchannel,asitgivesroomsandobjectsmoresubstance.Intermsoflighting,UE3movedonfrom

theper-vertexlightingofUE2,allowingforlightingsubdivisionwithinpolygons,whichproducesamorenaturalblendingoflightandshadow,andhighlycomplexpost-processeffectssuchascrepuscularrays–lightshaftsthatappearwhenapowerfullightsourceispartiallyobscured.Morepracticallightingtechniquesincludedtheapplicationofshadowmapstostaticmeshes.Usingthis,shadowscastbyin-gamelightsarecodeddirectlyintotexturesandthenappliedtothebuildingblocksofthelevel,resultinginhighlyrealisticshadingatarelativelylowcosttohardware,astheenginedoesn’thavetoconstantlycalculatetheshadow’sposition.

DevelopingUE3wasn’tsimplyacaseoftakingadvantageofthelatesthardwareandAPIinnovations.WhileoptimisinglevelsinUE3isnowlessofaconcernthankstosixyearsofhardwareadvances,backin2006,itwasapriority.UE3madesomeleapsinthisarea.Acombinationoflevel-streamingsupportandtheautomaticremovalofoccludedobjectsintheplayer’sviewfromtherenderingpipelinehelpedtolightentheloadontheprocessorsofthetime.However,evenawell-optimisednew

enginewillalwaysrequirebettertechtorunitandadditionaltimetolearnit.‘Almosteveryonehadtolearnnewproduction

Normalmappingcancreatetheillusionofbumpsanddentsonaflatobject,asyoucanseeontheserooftops

UE3supportscrepuscularrayslightshaftsthatappearwhenapowerfullightsourceispartiallyobscured

UnrealEngine3

UE3hasareputationforalackofcolourvariation,butthat’salldowntoartdirection.Itenablesawidevarietyofcoloursfromdirtybrownandorangetobrightdaylightblue



97August 2012

pipelines–artistsespecially,’recallsTripwireInteractive(developerofKillingFloorandRedOrchestra2:HeroesofStalingrad)leadleveldesigner,AdamHatch.‘Initially,productivitywassloweddownbecauseofallthenewprocessesandstepsthathadtobemadetomakeasinglepieceofart.Ourdevelopermachineshadtogetasignificantupgradetobuildandprocessallofthecoolnewstuffweweremaking.’Inaddition,Epicconstantlyupdatesits

software.In2009,itrevealedmultiplenewfeatures,includingarevampedlightingsystemformoredetailedsoft-shadows(shadowswithblurred,dispersededges,asopposedtohardblacklines),soft-bodyphysicsformoreaccuratesimulationof‘deformable’objectssuchasclothandcardboardboxes,dynamicfracturingeffectsonsurfacematerialsandtheabilitytosimulatelargecrowdsofNPCs.Althoughalwaysexciting,theseupdates

havesometimesprovedtobeadouble-edgedswordforTripwire.‘Therealityaboutaddingallthenewstufftoourgameisthatwelosealotoftimemergingoverthecode,anddealingwithpotentialbugsandissueswedidn’tforesee.WehadtostopmergingtoEpic’slatestcodebaseaboutayearbeforeweshippedsothatwecouldkeepourversionoftheengineasstableaspossible.’Epic’ssupportenablesdevelopersto

concentrateonmakinggamesratherthanlearningalloveragainhowtomakethem.Theengine’sstabilitywithintheindustryisprimarilywhynewUE3gamesarestillbeingmade.OneofthenewestisTribesAscend.ToddHarris,COOofHi-RezStudios,explainswhythedeveloperchoseUE3forTribes:‘Asafastmultiplayershooter,wewantedTribestohavegreat-lookinggraphics,butalsofluidrun-timeperformance,andUE3isknownfordeliveringboth.’ComparingTribestoRedOrchestrais

intriguing.Despitebothbeingmultiplayershootersrunningonthesameengine,they’restartlinglydifferent.WhereasROisatactical,authenticandbrutalshooter,Tribesisadeadly,lightning-quicksci-fisport.ThishighlightsUE3’sadaptability–youcantinkerwithalmosteveryfacetoftheengine.HarrisdescribesafewofHi-Rez’sown

alterations.‘Wemodifiedthein-game

physicstosupportplayerskiing,jet-packing,andthebehaviouroffiredprojectiles,’hesays.‘Itwasimportanttoustopreservethe“feel”ofTribesandweadaptedtheenginearoundthatgoal.Tribesisn’tonlyfastandfluid,butitalsoallowstheplayertoseemanyotheropponentsoveralargewide-openbattlefield.Thisiswhyweperformedcustomserver-sidetechnicalworkaroundthereplicationofallthoseplayer-actors,andsupportingthosemanyplayersbeingvisibleon-screen.’Tribes alsosubvertsmanyofthecommon

criticismsdirectedatUE3,inparticularitstendencytowardsplastic-lookingcharactermodelsandadistinctlackofcolourvariation.However,thisismoredowntoEpic’schoiceofcoloursinitsowngames,ratherthanalimitationoftheengine–takealookatthescreenshotsofTribesandit’sclearthatneitherofthosecriticismsapply.‘TheTribesaestheticisduetodeliberateartassetcreationmorethananycustomtechnicalsolution’,saysHarris.‘Theenginecandelivermanydifferentvisualstyles,soit’ssimplytheresultofstrongartdirection.’

TheideathatUE3canonlyproduceboring,brownenvironmentsisamyth.UE3usesfloating-pointvaluestostorecolour,asopposedtootherdesignapplicationssuchasPhotoshop,inwhichcoloursrunonafixedchannelfrom0to255.Soif0.0isblackand1.0isalushsummergreen,thescalecanthenbemultipliedovertoproducefurthersaturationandeveneffectssuchascolour-basedillumination.UnrealEngine3’sfutureseemsstable.

AlthoughtherecentrevealofUE4probablymeansthatUE3willeventuallyberetired,UE3’sOpenGLcompatibilityandrecentdemoonFlashindicateamobileandtablet-basedexistencethatcouldextenditslifespan.Also,UE4isalongwayoff.Hi-Rezsaysit’s‘excitedaboutthepossibilityofmorereal-timelightingoptions’forUE4,butsaysit’salso‘realisticaboutthehardwarerequirements.’Tripwire,meanwhile,hopesthehardwarerequirementswilltakeintoaccountthelengthywaitforanewengine.‘IwouldliketoseeUE4continueto

bescalableandempowerustomakegamesthatwillworkonawidevarietyofhardwareandcomputers,’saysHatch.‘Whilewewantourfuturegamestohavepremium-levelgraphicsonhigh-end,top-of-the-linehardware,wewanttoabletosupportoldermachines,butwithreducedvisualfidelity.’Theseresponseshintatthelegacythat

UE3willleavewhenit’sfinallysuperseded.Itslonglifeandcontinuingsupportmeansthatmanydevelopershavebecomecomfortableusingit.Thisenduringsuccessalsomeansthatconvincingdeveloperstomoveonfromitmaynotbeeasy. Topplingthisking’sreignwon’tbeeasy.

Epic’s2009updatebroughtalotofnewfeatures,includingarevampedlightingsystemformoredetailedsoftshadows,whichyoucanseeunderneaththeship

UE3enabledtheapplicationofshadowmapstostaticmeshes,resultinginmorerealistictextureshadowingatarelativelylowcosttohardware



98 August 2012

Pre-orders. Downloadable content. Collector’s editions.Joe Martin doesn’t remember the games industry alwaysbeing this nakedly commercialised. Now, he sets out todiscover what’s changed

I tseemsstrangetoremembernow,butbackinthe1990sthesortofmarketingtacticsweseeallthetimenowweren’tcommon.Youcouldn’tpre-ordergames,andtheinfrastructureforsupplyingday-onedownloadablecontentwasn’tthereyet,

meaningthatinsteadwehadexpansionpacksreleasedsixmonthsdowntheline.Evenspecialeditionswererare;gamessuchasThief

andDungeonKeeperwouldbegiven‘Gold’releaseslong

aftertheirinitiallaunch,usuallycombiningastrategyguidewithanextralevelortwo.Theindustryworksalittledifferentlyinthe21st

centurythough.Pre-ordersarenowahallmarkoftheindustry,alongwithotherequallyinsidiousmarketingtechniques–day-onedownloadablecontentandexorbitantlyexpensivecollector’seditions,whicharriveassteeltinsstuffedwithtat.Gamershavecometoacceptthesestrategies



ANALYSIS

99August 2012

ascommonplace,althoughwhatisalittlemoresurprisingishowtheindustryitselfhascometorelyontheminordertostayviable.‘Pre-ordersarevitallyimportantbecausethey’rea

measuringstickforretailerswhentheydecidehowmuchstocktobuyinfordayone,’saysChrisThomas,anaccountmanagerforCBSInteractiveandexpertongamemarketing.Whilebricks-and-mortarretailersfaceavarietyofobstacles

tostayviableinanincreasinglydigitalmarket,guessingexactlyhowmuchstocktheyneedtosatisfydemandisperhapsoneofthehardesttoovercome.Buytoomanycopiesandyou’llcreateasurplusthat’shardtoshift,butstocktoofewandyou’llneedtoturncustomersaway.It’satoughbalancingact.Pre-ordering,however,makestheprocesseasier.Retailers

knowtheminimumamountofstocktoorder,whilealsogainingafirmindicatorofthepopularityofthefinalproduct.‘Around50,000pre-ordersisconsideredhealthyformost

games,’saysThomas,althoughthereareobviouslytitlesthatperformmuchbetterthanthis.CallofDuty:BlackOps2,forexample,receivedmorepre-ordersonthedaythatitwasannouncedthaneithertheoriginalBlackOpsorModernWarfare3intheirentirerun-uptolaunch,accordingtoActivision.Theprimaryfunctionofpre-ordersislogisticalthen?

Notquite.Pre-ordersmayhaveoriginallybeenconceivedtostabilisestockingissues,butthey’vebecomesocommonthatthey’vespreadtootherareastoo.DigitaldistributorssuchasSteamandGreenManGamingregularlyofferpre-orderdealstoo,eventhoughtheyaren’talwayslimitedinquitethe samewayasretailstores.Thisisn’ttosaythatdigitaldistributorscan’t

runoutofstock,ofcourse;in2009,ValvediscountedPreysoheavilythatitsoldoutitsentireallotmentoflicencekeysfasterthantheycouldbereplenished.Still,orderingmorekeysforadigitalstorewillalwaysbequickerthanrestockingshelves.Thepointisthat,eventhoughpre-

orderswereoriginallyintendedtoaidbricks-

and-mortarstores, justbecausewe’reheadedtowardsanincreasinglydigitalfuturedoesn’tmeanthatpre-orderswillbephasedout.DiabloIII, forexample,despitebeinganonline-onlygamethatneedstotieintoBlizzard’sBattle.netsystem(seep86), isstill themostpre-orderedgameinhistoryaccordingtobothBlizzardandAmazon.‘Publishersarealwaysgoingtowanttofront-loadthemoney

theyget,sopre-loadingonSteamwillstillbesuper-important,’saysThomas.‘Ifyoucantakemoneybeforeprovidingadeliverableproduct,that’salwayspreferable.’

GOTTA COLLECT ‘EM ALLIt isn’tonlythewaythatgamesaresoldthat’schangedinrecentyears,butalsothemannerinwhichtheproductsarepackaged.Gameshavealwaysbeencollectible,butit’sonlysince2000thatpropercollector’seditionshavetakenoff.Infact,particularlylong-runningseriessuchas

MaxPayneillustratethistrendexcellently,astheoldergamesarepresentedalotmoresimplythantheirmoderncounterparts.NeitherofthefirsttwoMaxPaynegameshadanysortofcollector’sedition,forexample,butRockstar’slatestinstalment?Well…TheSpecialEditionofMaxPayne3isasighttobehold.It

containsacopyofthegame’soriginalsoundtrack,exclusiveartprintsbasedonconceptartfromthegame,abullet-shapedkeyringwithasecretcompartment,apackofmultiplayerskins

basedontheoriginaltitles,aDLCpackofextraweaponsanda10instatuetteofMaxhimself.There’salsoacopyofthegameobviously–but

thatfeelslikeanafterthoughtcomparedwithalltheothergoodies.Nowonderitcosts£96incVAT.Unlikepre-orders,though,wherethemotivation

ismoreconcernedwithensuringbusinessefficiencyandminimisingwaste,collector’seditionssuchasthishaveamuchsimplerfocus–makingmoney.Theydon’t improvethewaythatretailersconductbusiness;theyjustofferbettermarginstopublishers.

Alduinisn’tasscaryinthisform,butheisexpensive

Therearesomeexpansionpackswedon’tmiss,however

HMVhasplayedhosttoanincreasingnumberofliveeventsandlaunches.LiveeventssuchasthosehostedbyMLGarethefuture,saysCBSInteractive’sChrisThomas

100



100 August 2012

‘Collector’seditionsarejustaquickwaytomakemorecashmarginforpublishers,’asourcefromamajorhigh-streetretailertoldusonconditionofanonymity. ‘ThatMaxPaynestatuemayaddabout£30totheperceivedprice,butitcostsonly£1.20perunittomake.’Again,though,digital

distributorshaven’tmissedatrickandhavestartedtooffertheirown‘digitaldeluxe’versionsofgames,eventhoughtheycan’tofferthephysicalgoodssuchast-shirtsandstatues.Thiscreatesevenbettermargins,ofcourse,whilealsoofferingplayersitemstheycanuseimmediately–exclusivemaps,weapons,skinsandsoon.‘Added-valuedigitalcontentisthemostprizedbythe

majorityofgamers,’saysHMV’sheadofpress,GennaroCastaldo.‘Itgivesyouamorerewardingexperienceandhelpsyougetmoreoutofagame.Itcanalsogiveyousomeadditionalcommunitystatus–[makeyouseemtobe]a‘serious’gamer.’ThisopinionissupportedbyGOG.comtoo,whotolduslast

monththatmanycustomersbuygamestheyalreadyownonitsstorejusttosupporttheteamandgainaccesstothedigitalextrasbundledwiththere-releases.Soundtracks,apparently,arethebestwaytoaddvaluetoanoldergame,whileextrain-gamecontentworksbetterfornewgames.

THE DOWN LOADProvidingin-gamecontentanddownloadablecontent(DLC)thatdoesn’tupsettheaudienceforwhichit’sintendedisoftenadifficulttask,however.Alltoooften,gamerswillreactbyaccusingdevelopersofusingDLCtoprofitfromelementsthat

shouldhavebeenincludedintheoriginalgame,orofgivingunfairadvantagestothosepreparedtopaymorefortheirgames.RichardWhitelock,aveteran

gamedeveloperwhohasworkedonDLCforgamessuchasAVP,offersadifferentopinion,however.Asheseesit,while

DLCmayhaveobviousbenefitswhenitcomestomarketinggames,it’salsoatremendouslyusefuldesigntool. ‘DLCcanbearefreshingchancetoshowoff,toperformanencore,and

respondtocriticismandpraise,’saysWhitelock.‘[DLCenables]adialoguewiththeplayersnottypicalforAAAsingle-releaseprojects.’Likepre-orders,whileDLCmaybeaboneofcontention

withconsumers,ithasbenefitsfortheindustry. Inpreviousdecades,progressionwasslowduetothetimeandresourcesrequiredtoiteratejustonegame;theonlywaytoimproveagamewastomakeasequel,whichonlyhappenedwithverysuccessfultitles.WithDLC,though,developerscanimplementideasmorequicklyandjudgetheirsuccessjustasfast.‘DLCfeelslikeanintermediarybetweenfinalboxedproducts

andfullyiteratedonlinedevelopment,’saysWhitelock.‘Sotobringtheadvantageofonetotheotherisusefulfordevelopers.’WhileDLCmayhelpdeveloperstoimprovetheirtitles,

however,someofthewaysinwhichit’sdistributedcanbeannoyingformanygamers–suchaswhenDLCisattachedtoaspecificretaileraspartofapre-orderbonus.Thisisincreasinglythecaseforbig,triple-AreleasesandgamessuchasMaxPayne3,whichalsoofferextramultiplayermapsifyoubuyfromcertainstores.They’reexcellentexamplesofhowthe

Whenyouleavethesefiguresaloneforafewhours,theybattleeachother. You’dbesurprisedhowwellinsultswordfightingfaresagainsttheNanosuit

Soundtracksarepopularwitholdergames,apparently



ANALYSIS

101August 2012

SAVY GAMER?Withtheeconomyinitscurrentstate,itisn’tsurprisingthatalotofgamersarelookingtosavesomecash,andit’sherethatwebsitessuchashttp://savygamer.co.ukstepinbyroundingupallthelatestdeals.‘There’splentyofopportunitytogetfantasticgamesatlowpricesthesedays,’saysfounderLewieProcter.‘Thevastmajorityofcollector’seditionscanbeboughtforreducedpricesifyouwaituntilafterrelease,forexample.‘Personally,Ithinkit’sdisgracefulhoweagerpublishersaretogetinto

bedwithretailers,’hesayswhenitcomestonewertypesofdeal,suchasretailerexclusives. ‘Itmeansthatretailersarelesslikelytocompeteonprice.Intheworstexamples,balance,gamedesignandpacingarecompromisedtoenablethegametobechoppedintobitsinthefirstplace.’

confluxofdifferentbonusesandincentivescansometimespullattentionawayfromthegameitself.Themotivationandreasoningforcreatingretailer-exclusive

contentisn’tasobviousasit isforpre-orders,however,andfewofourintervieweessaiditaddedgenuinevaluetoagameonanyfront.Theironlyrealpurposethatwecoulddivinewasasaformoffreeadvertisingforeachgame.‘I imaginethesearePRtools,’speculatedCBSInteractive’sChrisThomas,‘togiveeachretailerareasontoshoutabouteachgame.’Theproblem,ofcourse,isthatsomanytitlesareadopting

thisapproach,andevensomeofthebiggestreleasescanbecomelostintheshuffle;thisforcespublishersandretailerstomakeanevenbiggerefforttoattractattention.

LIVE AND LET LIVEIf there’soneaspectofamoderngamelaunchyoudefinitelywouldn’thaveseeninthemid-1990s,it’sthemidnightlaunch.TheveryideaofhundredsofpeoplequeuingupfordaysjusttogettheirhandsononeofthefirstcopiesofDiabloorCallofDutywouldhavebeenludicrousadecadeago.‘Overa1,000fansturnedupfortheDiabloIIIevent,’says

Castaldo.‘Somestartedqueuingthreedaysbefore,andtherewereevensomewhocamefromGermany…gamesincreasinglyputonthemorespectacularlaunches.’AccordingtoCastaldo,gamelaunchesarebecomingmore

ofafocusforHMV,perhapsbecauseit’sonedefiniteadvantagethatretailstoreshaveoverdigitalcompetitors.Asthecompanyseesit,HMViswell-placedtostagetheseeventsandaccommodatethelargenumbersofpeoplewhooftenturnup.ToThomas,though,theseliveeventsarereallyonlythe

beginning.We’llhavetothinkofeventsonanentirelydifferentscalewhenitcomesfuturegamemarketing.‘Thefuture,asfarasI’mconcerned,islivegamingandeSports,’saysThomas.‘It’shugeinAsiaandAmerica,whicharetypicallyayearahead

oftheUK.Therearemorepeopleinsomeofthesestadiumsthanatmostfootballmatches.’There’slittledoubtamongexperts–andgamers–thatlive

gamingeventsarebecomingamuchbiggerpartofthemarket.Thomaspointstogame-streamingsiteshavinghad230percentgrowthoverthepast12months,forexample,whileevenacasualglanceatorganisationssuchasMultiplayandMLGrevealaburgeoningindustry. IntheUK,though,thesuccessoftheseeventshascreptuponusslowly,ratherthaninanoticeablerush.Thebigquestionisn’tsomuchifliveeventswillbeimportant

topublishers,buthowthey’llchoosetocapitaliseonit inthefuture–andifgamerswillrespondaswellastheyhavetotheintroductionofpre-ordersandDLC.

Doesanyoneeveractuallyreadthoselittleartbooks?

TheeditionwiththeMaxPaynestatuemaycost£96,butguesshowmuchitcoststomake?



102 August 2012

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thosewhocamesecond,andwhoreceiveaHighlyCommendedaward.Anyway,withoutfurtherado,hereareyourchosenwinners.

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HIGHLYCOMMENDED WINNERAntec CoolerMaster



AWARDS 2012

103August 2012

to Slow

Say “No”

Amazon, Amazon.co.uk and the Amazon.co.uk logo are trademarksor registered trademarks of Amazon EU S.à.r.l. or its affiliates.Copyright © 2012 GFI Software. All products and company nameshereinmay be trademarks of their respective owners.

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Your chance to get involved in CPC and bit-tech

CPC:WhatoriginallyinspiredyoutobuildBlueHorizon?Keir:Thefuninvolvedwithcreatingscratch-builtPCswasmymain

inspirationthroughoutthebuild.It’sprovidedmewithcountlesshoursofentertainmentovertheproject’slongconstructiontime.Ialsosoughttomakeanimprovementovermypreviouscaseatthesametime,whileupgradingmyhardwareandfinallymakingtheleapfromaharddrivetoanSSD,asthesewereslowlybecomingaffordablewhenIstartedtheproject.Icurrentlyhavetwo

mods–SilentFiberglassandBlueHorizon.SilentFiberglasswasmyfirstattemptatmakinga

powerful,yetalmostsilent,computer,whilealsotryingtomakesomethingalittledifferentfromtheaveragecase.Itwasalsowheremyideaforacompletelycustom-built,case-mountedradiatorcametolife. Ididn’thavemuchtimetodesignandbuildSilentFiberglass,resultinginseveralflawsinthedesignaswellasfeaturesthatdidn’tworkasexpected.BlueHorizonwastherefore

designedasadirectimprovementtoSilentFiberglass,

whereIaimedtosolvetheflawsofmypreviousbuildandaddnewspecificationstothedesignrequirements.Tothatend,Ibeganbymakingthecustom

radiatormoreefficient,theinternalspacemuchneaterandprovidingroomforafullATXpowersupply. Ithendecidedtouseastandardcaseshapeinordertomakethemachineassmallaspossible,whilestillbeingabletoaccommodateanATXmotherboardandfull-sizedgraphicscard.Ialsoneededtobuildinanadequateamountofspacebehindthemotherboardtraytoaccommodateallthewiresandtubes,enablingthevisible

sectionstobeasneataspossible.OnceIhaddecidedonthebasic

specificationsforthedesign,Ibegantheconstructionoftheframeandmadesuretheoverallbuildqualitywasimprovedovermypreviouscase.Whiletheconstructionwastaking

NameKeirGrahamAge21OccupationCurrentlyacquiringcomputernetworkingcertificationsLocationTodmordenMainusesforPCMovies,music,gamingandtheInternetLikes Gaming,sci-fiandconstructingthingsDislikesUKweather,traffic,Brusselssprouts

KeirGraham’sdistinctive

modwasmadeusing

machine-milled raw

aluminiumanda

selectionof hand tools

– it even featuresa

custom-built radiator



105August 2012

place,theaestheticsofthecasecontinuallyevolvedasIcameupwithnewdesignsandmanufacturingtechniques.

CPC:WhatdifficultiesdidyoucomeacrosswhenbuildingBlueHorizon?Keir:ThemainproblemIcameacrossduringtheprojectwastheconstructionofthe

radiator,asthedesignIchosewasalittletooambitious,whichmeantthatIhadtocompletelyredesignit. Ioriginallyplannedtomaketheradiatorfromtwohollowaluminiumpanelsfilledwithcoolant,buttheyendedupbeingtoodifficulttomake,soIchangedthedesigntoanextrudedaluminiumheatsink.Fromthereon,thebiggestdifficulties

concernedfiguringoutwaysinwhichtocreatethevariouspartsofmydesign,whichcostmeafairamountoftimeandwastedmaterial insomecases.Ialsofellvictimtohumanerroronoccasion,whichrequiredmetomakeentirepartsagain.

CPC:Whatmaterialsdidyouusetomaketheshellofthecaseandwhy?Keir:Rawaluminiumwasmymainchosenconstructionmaterialthroughouttheproject.Aluminiumishasapleasantsilveryappearance,butit’salsostrong,light,easy

106

toworkwithanditdoesn’tcorrodeinmostcircumstances. What’smore,sincetheentirecaseismadefromrawaluminium,youcaneasilysandawayanyscratchesonthesurfaceofthemetal.AcrylicwastheothermaterialIusedthe

most;Iusedthisforallthelightstrips,aswellasthePSU,radiatoranddrivebaycovers.Ichosethismaterialbecauseithasahighresistancetoscratchescomparedwithotherglossyplastics,anditcanbepolishedaftermachiningtoo.Italsohasareasonablylowmeltingpoint,enablingittobeeasilybentintocurvesusingaheatgunandwoodenjig.

CPC:Howdidyouworktheheatsinkintothewater-coolingsystem,anddoesitworkasyouexpected?Keir:Theradiatorhasoutperformedallmyexpectations,maintaininganaveragetemperatureof32°Cwhenidleand47°Cwhile

ENTERYOUROWNPCATHTTP://FORUMS.BIT TECH.NET

SYSTEM SPECSCPU Intel Core i5-2500K overclocked to 3.3GHz, usingauto-overclocks with Asus EPU

GPU AMDRadeonHD 3850 overclocked to 705MHz

StorageOCZ Agility 3 SSD, and 1.5TBWestern Digital5,200rpmhard drive for data

MemoryCorsair Dominator 1,600MHz (CAS 8-8-8-24)

Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V/GEN3

PSUCoolerMaster GX RS-650

Cooling Laing DDC pumpmotor with customhousing,Zalman ZM-GWB3GPU block, EK-Supreme LTx nickel-plated CPU block, Bitspower 45-degree fitting, 10mmbarbs, Alphacool 90-degree rotary fittings, extruded 30 x30cmheatsink fromwww.birminghamaluminium.com asradiator, and Feser OneUV acid-green coolant

SEEMORE

ofKeir’sshiny,glowingmarvelinthefullprojectlogathttp://tinyurl.com/ProjectBlueHorizon



106 August 2012

under100percentstresstesting,andthisiswithanoverclockedGPUandaroomtemperatureof21°C.Italsorequiresalmostnoforcedconvectionfromthefanwhenidle,soit’sextremelyquiet–thePSUfanistheloudestpartofthecase.Ispecificallydesignedthecasetocontain

thislarge,side-mountedheatsink/radiator,whichmeantthatIcouldalterthecasedesigntoperfectlyaccommodateitbeforeIevenbeganconstruction.Thistechniquealsogavemetheopportunitytohideasmuchtubingaspossible,givingthecaseaneatandsimpleappearance.

CPC:Whattoolsandmachinerydidyouuse?Keir: Iusedavarietyoflargemachineryandhandtools,althoughtheBridgeportmanualmillingmachinewasmyfavourite,andtheoneI mostfrequentlyused.It’saverywell-designedpieceofmachinery,whichenabledmetodrill,cutandmillallthematerialsusedinmyprojectwithveryhighprecision.Ialsooccasionallyusedalathewiththe

millertocreatepartssuchasthepumphousing,whichrequiredaccurateshapingofaluminiumtoensurethateachpiecefittedtogetherperfectlytoavoidleaks.Althoughthemillingmachineandlathe

aregreatmachines,theyalsohavealimitedworkarea,soIusedajigsaw,palmsanderandanglegrinderwheneverthemachinesprovedtoosmall. I foundthejigsawtobethemostaccuratetoolforcuttingpanelsoutofsheetaluminium,andtheanglegrinderwasthe

quickestforcuttingorsmoothingoutanymetalsurface.Meanwhile,thepalmsanderprovidedthequickestwaytoachieveaverysmoothsurfaceaftergrinding.

CPC:Howlongdidittakeyoutocompletetheproject?Keir:Theentireprojecttook20monthstocomplete,althoughIwasonlyworkingonitwhenIhadsomefreetime,whichwasoftenjust16hoursaweekatthemost–Imadenoprogresswhatsoeverinsomeweeks.

CPC:WhathaveyoulearnedfromtheprocessofbuildingBlueHorizon?Keir: I’vebeenlearningthroughouttheentireproject,particularlyintermsofgainingknowledgeaboutthebesttechniquestoproducecomplicatedparts,althoughI’ve

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

alsolearnedaboutnewmaterialsandtools.Alargeamountoftheknowledgegainedwassimplyfromhavingfirst-handexperience–Ispentaconsiderableamountoftimeandeffortdiscoveringhownottomakevariousparts,althoughthisisallpartoftheenjoymentofsuchaproject.

CPC:Areyouhappywiththeendresult,andisthereanythingyou’ddodifferentlyifyoubuiltitagain?Keir:I’mverypleasedwiththefinalresult–it’sperformingasIexpected,andinsomeaspects,evenbetter.Thelightingprovidesagentleglowbothinsideandoutsidethecase,aswellasbeingabletoprovideanevenUVsourceforallthecleartubing–preciselytheeffectforwhichIwasaiming.ThemajorityofthechangesIwouldmake

wouldconcerntheconstructiontechniques,andsomeofthematerialsIused.Mymainalterationwouldbetofindanalternativetobrazingrodstofastenthelargepanelstogether,asitturnedouttobeverydifficulttoevenlyheatallthepartsatthesametime.Iwouldalsomakethepumpfromatoughplastic,andthenhaveitcoatedinchrome–thiswouldgiveitthesameappearance,whileavoidinganygalvanicreactionswithoutrequiringpaint.TheonlydesignareaIwouldchangewouldbetoextendthesidepanelallthewaytothebottomofthecase,therebyhidingthepaintedstripalongthebottomandcreatingacleanerappearance.



HTTP://FORUMS.BIT-TECH.NET

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

60cmPhobya3-pinMolexto4x3-pinMolexY-cable.This

pre-braidedextensioncablegivesyouextrarouteingoptionsinyourcase,anditalsoenables

youtorunuptofourfansfromonecompatiblemotherboardheader.Meanwhile,the

PhobyaSATA3cablesincludedinthekitofferthesamegreatqualitybraidingastherestofthePhobyarange,whilealso

securingyourconnectionwithlatchedconnectors.Aswellasthis,thekitincludesthePhobyaSlimGuideController,whichgivesyoutheoptiontovarythespeedofotherfansinyourcase,whilethePhobyaTwinLEDsletyou

shinealightonyourmods.

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

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

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

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

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

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

550WTXModularpowersupplyattheheartofyourbuild,you’llhavethefoundationsforatrulyawesomegamingmachine.

107August 2012WorldMags.netWorldMags.net


108 August 2012

OVErClOCK an InTElCOrE i5-3570K

nourrecentoverclockingmasterclass(seeIssue105,p92),weremarkedthat itwasalmosttooeasytooverclockIntel’sSandy

Bridge-basedCore-i52500KCPU.Imagineourfaces,then,whenwefoundoutthatthesuccessortotheCorei5-2500K,theIvyBridge-basedCorei5-3570K,waseveneasiertooverclock.Theonlyadjustmentsyoushouldneedto

makearetothemultiplier (ortheturboratioif, likeourselves,you’reusinganAsusboard)andthevcore–youdon’tevenneedtomessaboutwiththePLLvoltageanymore.This is,ofcourse,great intermsofsimplicity,but italsotakessomeofthesenseofadventureoutoftheprocess.AswithotherLGA1155processors,we

don’tsuggestmonkeyingaroundwiththebaseclock,asthiscancauseinstability intheotherbusesthatrelyonit. It’salsoworthconsideringheat–IvyBridgeprocessorsoutputalotof it inaverysmallspace–much

PaulGoodhead showsyouhow to get your CPUup to4.5GHz

moresothanSandyBridgeprocessors.Asaresult,youneedtobesureyourcooler isuptothejobbeforeoverclockingtothislevel,and

makesureyoukeepaneyeonyourcoretemperaturesinCoreTemp(www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp) too.

GIMP IMAGE EDITING

Stock speed OverclockedHANDBRAKE H.264 VIDEO ENCODING

MULTI-TASKING

OVERALL

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

2,1891,862Intel Core i5-3770K

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

3,9553,160Intel Core i5-3770K

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

1,8651,721Intel Core i5-3770K

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

2,6702,248Intel Core i5-3770K

0 25 50 75 100

Intel Core i5-3770K

Stock speed min Stock speed avg Overclocked avgOverclocked min

ARMA II: OPERATION ARROWHEAD (DX9)1,920 x 1,080, Very high settings, no AA, no AF

fps118fps102

fps104fps92

WHAT WE USEDCPU: Intel Core i5-3570K MOTHERBOARD: AsusMaximus V Gene

RAM: 8GB 1,600MHz COOLER: Be Quiet! Dark Rock Advanced

STORAGE: 120GBPatriotWildfire SSD GRAPHICSCARD:Nvidia GeForce GTX 590 3GB

PSU: 800W SOFTWARE: CPU-Z, Prime95, CoreTemp, CPCMedia Benchmarks




109August 2012

pro tipWeknowwesaidwedon’t

recommendtweakingtheIvyBridgebaseclock,asevensmallchangescanaffectstability.However,ifyouwantevenmoremegahertz,oryouhaveamultiplier-lockedCPU,thenit’sworthtrying.Backupyourdatafirst,asyou’llbeoverclockingtheSATAbus,whichrisksdatacorruption.ThebeststableIvyBridgebaseclockwe’veseenis109MHz,butthatwaswithLN ,sothebestyoucanhopeforisaround105MHz,whichwillstillprovideanextra170MHzwitha34xmultiplier.

PressDeletewhenyourPCstartstoaccesstheEFI.Ourmotherboardsendsusdirectly intotheoverclockingoptions,butyoumayneedtofindyours–theyshouldbeclearlylabelled.Oncethere,settheoverclockingmode(calledAiOverclockTuneronourboard)toManual.

Nowscrolldowntothevoltageoptions(orswitchtothevoltagescreenifyou’reusingaGigabytemotherboard)andlocatetheCPUvoltage.Adjustthisto1.3(eitherbytypingitorpressingthe+button)andpressEnter.

YounowneedtosaveyourchangesandexittheEFI.Youcanusuallydothisbyscrollingtothemenuonthefarright,orbypressingF10andselectingtheappropriateoptioninthemenuthatappears.

Ifyou’reusingthesameboardastheonewe’reusing,settheTurboRatiooptiontoManualandchangetheoptiontitled1-CoreRatioLimitto45.Ifyouhaveaboardfromadifferentmanufacturer,locatetheCPURatioorMultiplieroptionandchangethatto45.

YoualsoneedtoturnoffCPUSpreadSpectrum,asitplayswiththeCPUclockslightly,whichcanaffectoverclocks.Onourboard,thisoptionwaslocatedbelowthevoltageoptions,butitmaybesomewheredifferentonyourboard.

CheckyouroverclockisstablebyrunningPrime95forawhile,andrunCPU-ZandCoreTempinthebackground,soyoucanmonitorwhat’sgoingon.Ifit isn’tstable,gobacktotheEFIandlowertheCPUmultiplieralittleandtestagain.

NowyouneedtomakeyourRAMrunatthecorrectspeed;inourcase,this was1,600MHz.OpentheMemoryFrequencymenuandselectthecorrectoptionforyourmemory.Thespeedofyourmemoryisusuallydetailedonthesideofthemodules.

Finally,makesurethatyourmotherboardisdeliveringthecorrectvoltageviatheLoad-lineCalibrationoption.Inourcase, itwaslocatedintheDIGI+PowerControlmenu,butit’susuallynearthevoltagecontrols.Setthistothehighestlevelyoucan–Extremeinourcase.

01

04

07

02

05

08

03

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111August 2012WorldMags.netWorldMags.net


114 August 2012

WHERE’S MYMOTHERBOARD?IwasinterestedtoreadtheIvyBridgemotherboard

comparisoninthismonth’sCustomPC. It justsohappensthatwithinthepasttwoweeks, IdecidedtobuildamonsterPCusinganAsusP877-VPromotherboard,anIntelCorei7-3770,8GBofCorsairRAM,a750WCorsairPSU,anNvidiaGeForceGTXG680andaSilverStoneRavencase. Iwasdisappointednottoseemymotherboardmentionedinthelistof thosetested,asIwonderedwheremyboardwouldbeplacedinthislist. Iwastoldthat itwasthetopoftherangewhenIboughtthepartsfromScan,andnowI’mworriedbecauseIthoughtIwasbuyingthebest.AnyIdeas?TonyPollock

Benreplies:SorryTony,butwesimplydon’thavetheresourcestorevieweverymotherboardwhenanewchipsetisreleased–Asusalonehasreleased14

Z77motherboards,nevermindeveryoneelse.However,we’vehadalookattheAsusP877-VthatwasincludedintheDinoPCTyrannosaur3570K(seep36)thismonth–it’sagreatboardforoverclocking,hasloadsofroomforexpansionandtheWi-FiGofeature(whichcaneffectivelyturnit intoawirelessrouter)isbrilliantaswell.TheProversionoftheboardbasicallyaddsacouple

ofextraUSB3ports,fourextrapowerphasesfortheCPUandacoupleof

otherbitsandbobs.Wehaven’treviewedit,butit’ssafetosayyouhaven’tmadeabadchoice.

BAD DATESGoodmorningandgooddaytoyou,ohpersonalcomputerwizardrymasters.Justaquickquestion–couldyoupleasesortoutthedatingsystemonyourmagazines?Mypoorlittlemindcan’tcopewithreceivingtheJulyissuemid-May.Whydoesthishappen?WhenIstartedreadingCPC, itwasafewweeksout,buttwomonths?!RobHickling

Benreplies:Here’salittlehistorylessonforyou,Rob.WhenwestartedCustomPC,wedecidedtoreleaseittwoweeksaftertheotherPCmags,sowecouldincludelater-releasedkitandgainanadvantageinthefirsttwoweeksonthenewsstand.Wealsodecidedtoputthedateonemonthahead,

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

CHI WITH EVERYTHINGI’vebeenreadingtheIvyBridgereviewinIssue106,andInoticedthatonp38,inthePerformanceparagraph,yousaythattheCorei53570Kis‘agreatgamingchi’.IsthisasimpletypingmistakeorareyouimplyingthatIntelhasmanagedtopackagethetraditionalChinese‘lifeforce’usedin

China’smartialartsandmedicineintoeach3570K?I’vejustboughtaPCwitha3570K(notbasedontheinclusionofChi)andI’mlookingforwardtonextmonth’smagazinewhereI’llfindoutjusthowgoodadecisionImadebyoptingforaGeForceGTX670overaGTX680.Greatmagasalways.AndrewTaylor

Benreplies:ThanksAndrew–youmadeagooddecisionwiththegraphicscard.Asfor‘Chi’,itcouldonlyhavebeenatypo–asaScrabbleplayerIonlyspellit‘Qi’anyway!

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

Wedidn’thaveroomtorevieweveryZ77motherboard,butthatdoesn’tmeantheAsusP877-VProisn’tgood



115August 2012

@carlosmunoz0885DoyouthinkaQ6600at3GHzwith4GBof1,066MHzDDR2wouldbottlenecka6870CrossFireXsystem?Thanks!

Benreplies:Thatdependsonmanyfactors–whichgamesyou’replayingand,moreimportantly,whichmotherboardyou’reusing.IfyouhaveanoldIntel965board,thanyou’reonlygoingtogeteightfirst-genPCI-Elanespercard,whichwilllimityourbandwidth.Thatwillalsobeapowerfulgraphicssystem,andyoumayfindyourselfgettingCPU-limitedathighresolutions,whichisn’twhatyouwantwhenyouhaveanoldCPU.OneRadeonHD6870inthatsystemwillbefine–twoispushingitifyouwanttogetthebestfromyourgraphicscards.

@PeterODonnellReallyenjoyedthe@[email protected]!

Benreplies:Thanks!Gladyouenjoyedit.

@BiggKennyMyfriendsallbelievethatyoumightaswellhavean850WPSUforaPCwithoneGPU.Isthisoverkill?

Benreplies:Yes.Infact,ourSandyBridgetestsystemonlydrewatotalof373Wwiththedual-GPUGeForceGTX690installed,andrunningatfullload.It’salwaysgoodtohavesomeslack,though,asyoucanthensafelyinstallextracomponents,andexperimentwithoverclockingyourCPUandGPU.TheThermaltakeSP-530PCWEUandCorsairHX650werecommendinourElitelist(seep31)aremorethanadequateformostsingle-GPUsystems.

FEEDBACK

Follow us on Twitter at @custompcmag

sothatitwasclearCPCwasn’treleasedatthesametimeastheoldermagazines,butalsosothatitstill lookedcurrentwhenthecompetitionturneduptwoweekslater.Asageneralrule,magazinedatesarealwaysamonthaheadofthereleasedateanyway,tomaximisetheirshelflife,butourmagisevenfurtherahead.Italwayshasbeen–it isn’tanewstrategy.There’snowayofgoingbacknowthough–withoutreleasingtwoAugustissues,forexample,andthatwouldbeevenmoreconfusing.

CORRECTIONHUMBLE PiIfyou’reoldenoughtorememberthehome-computingera, thenyoumayalsorememberspendingthebestpartofadaypunchinginhundredsof linesofcode,onlytofindoutthatafewbitsof itdidn’twork,andyouhadtowaituntilnextmonthtocorrectthem.Well,sadly,it looksasthoughthesedayshaven’tentirelydisappeared,asafewpartsofthecodeintheRaspberryPi featurewerebrokenintheeditingandlayoutprocess,andwon’tworkintheircurrentstate.Herearethecorrections:

MakeaRaspberryPimediacentre:Step6: Ignorethecarriagereturninthemiddleofthecode.

Step7:Thedoublequotesinthecommandneedtobestraightquotes,ratherthanopen-and-closequotes.

CreateaRaspberryPiNASbox:Step3:Thefirstcommandhasanunnecessary‘t’ontheend. Itshouldread:gksudo leafpad /etc/samba/smb.conf

Step6:Shouldread:Youshouldnowhaveaccesstothecontentsoftheattachedstoragedevice.Forhintsonsecuringaccess,gototheterminalandtype:man smb.conf

ProgrammingtheRaspberryPi:Step4:Shouldread:You’llneedtoput:import RPi.GPIO as GPIOatthetopofyourPythonprojecttousetheGPIO

library,afterwhichyoucanstarttouseyourRaspberryPiasanoverpoweredArduino-alike.

Step5:Shouldread:Configurewith:GPIO.setup(NN, GPIO.XX),where‘NN’ is thepinnumberand‘XX’either‘IN’or ‘OUT’.Readapinwith:input_value = GPIO.

input(NN)orturnonanoutput with:GPIO.output(12, True)



AVAILABLE AT:

Titanium Internet Security 2012April 2012

LABSWINNER

O N D E M A N DDETECTION TEST

ADVANCED+

AUG 2011AUG 2011

ADVANCED+

-REAL WORLD-PROTECTION TEST

JUL 2011JUL 2011

Here’s a sad truth. Most people who suffer from an online attack actuallyhave some kind of security software already running on their PC. It just isn’tgood enough. Trend Micro is different. We stop threats in the cloud beforethey reach you. So your entire digital life can be protected. What a relief.

Stop the Nooo! Face before it starts.trendmicro.co.uk/noface

© 2012 Trend Micro, Inc. All rights reserved. Trend Micro, Titanium and the t-ball logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Trend Micro, Inc.



117August 2012

Join our folding team and help medical research

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

CPC:Whoareyouandwhatdoyoudo?enigmo:MynameisRobMcCarthy,andI’manITsupportengineerforamajorLondonuniversity.

CPC:Whydidyoustartfolding?enigmo: Initially, Iuseditasahardwarestresstest,asI likebuildingnewsystems,andtryingtomakethemasfastandstableaspossible.However,asI learnedmoreabouttheproject,andhavingrunSETI inthepast, Idecidedtodedicateat leastonemachinetoitfull-time–anancien1.7GHzPentium4thatsqueezedoutaround600ppd.AssoonasIhadthosefirst fewworkunitsundermybelt,itwasarunawaything.

CPC:Whatexcitesyoumostaboutfolding?enigmo:Thefactthat it’s furtheringmedicalscienceplaysabigpart.ThinkingitcouldbeoneworkunitononemachinethatprovidesamissinglinktoacureforAlzheimer’s isthrilling,eventhoughyoucouldprobablyneverpinitdowntosuchspecifics.There’salsothesenseofcommunityandcompetition–youcanseesomeoneonyourthreatlistyoudidn’tseebefore,andhopontheforumandaskwhatthey’rerunning.Oryoucouldaskforadvicefrompeopleforaboutaextractingafewextrappdfromanewpieceofkit.

CPC:HowmanyPCsdoyouhavefolding?enigmo:Five,butthatchangesdependingonwhetherI’mgaming,howtheoverclockon

Wecatch upwith folder of themonth: enigmo

mymainrig isfaringandwhetherI’vebrokenaVM.Ihavetwoi7-2600Kboxes,twoolderCorei5s,andmyCore2QuadQ9550box.Atthemoment, I’manall-SMPfoldinghouse. Ihaven’t foldedonaGPUinmonths,afterexperiencingseveralstabilityandheatproblems. I’mtemptedtostartmy560Ti-448folding,but IdoubtIcouldaffordtheextraleccy!

CPC:What’syourbestpieceoffoldingkit?enigmo: MyoverclockedCorei7-2600K. Itpilesupthepoints–whenIcanstandthepowerandnoise.

CPC:Whichoperatingsystemsdoyouuseforyourfoldingmachines?enigmo:Amix, includingWindows7,UbuntuVMandNotFred’sDiskless.Theppd bumpIsawfrommovingtoaVMfromanativeWindowsconsolewasprettybig,soI intendtomovemoretowardsVMs–theymeanthatthemachinesarealittlemoreflexibleanyway.

CPC:Anytipsforfellowteammembers?enigmo:Noproblemistoo‘stupid’ toaskaboutontheforums.Whatever it is,someonehasprobablysolveditbefore,soaskaway.

CPC:What’syourworstfoldingexperience?enigmo: Infernal,damnableandinfuriatingcoreerrorsthatcouldonlybesolvedbyblattingtheinstallandstartingagain.Oh,andatoastedGeForceGTX460.

Teamrank56 Worldrank1,564Score18,144,391 Workunits 14,052Dailypointsaverage30,676

TOPFOLDERSThismonth’sshout-outsgotoBMHandfatchef.Ifyoufoldunderanyofthesenames,[email protected]

118

CPC:Andthebestexperience?enigmo:Hittingtenmillionpoints justbeforelastNewYearandseeingmynameintheTop20producers’chartataroundthesametime.Plusseeingmyusernameinthemagazineforthefirsttimeyearsago.




118 August 2012

MILESTONES THIS MONTH

Username Pointsmilestone




Bnorus 100000

edmundkong36 100000

EgAp10 100000

Evil_Pillsbury 100000

Filce 100000

Laguna2012 100000

McSpoon 100000

Millsy79 100000

Pickles 100000

Rosyglo 100000

siddallj 100000

SourDipRaita 100000

SystemOfDiscord 100000

the_kille4 100000

G0UDG 200000

JimmyMcRees 200000

emdal 300000

GarethFlatlands 300000

LittleTodden 300000

Munky 300000

RayCampbell 300000

Teflon 300000

YbrFinX 300000

Archaon88 400000

bastardo_bill 400000

CCHS 400000

ittoms 400000

SazD 400000

ForGrace 500000

kornvdd 500000

Osiris_Blue 500000

Andrew_Dixon 600000

Bigadz1 600000

cs278 600000

VasileiosZografos 600000

yes 600000

beads 700000

Eldorado-Bit-tech 700000

Igniseus 700000

Number14 700000

Scammelio 700000

ShortMunky 700000

Yattiaman 700000

8Core 800000

CheeZee73 800000

Dobbs2010 800000

geonectixs 800000

Pete 800000

GandalfDDUK 900000

sco0by 900000

CopperHead1960 1000000

CyberX 1000000

Desertbaker 1000000

Godfoder 1000000

hazza_t 1000000

Optimusprime1985 1000000

Slowlemon 1000000

SyLvEsTeR20007 1000000

Abomin81on 2000000

Daniel_Selley 2000000

DrJAG 2000000

FingAZ 2000000

meandmymouth 2000000

SicoAnimal 2000000

Sparkymatt 2000000

Andy_good_life 3000000

DrDaveSell 3000000

Mark_Skeldon 3000000

RabidMongoose 3000000

Votick 3000000

JediMasterJonny 4000000

luckybfocus 4000000

Scorpuk 4000000

Team_Thurlow 4000000

redironman 5000000

cave_diver 6000000

davidj2010 6000000

Dolphin(CPC) 6000000

Serpentine 6000000

m1rr0rMan 8000000

Worldrank

Teamname Points Dailypointsaverage

Timeuntilovertake

7 CustomPC&bit-tech 5,193,480,634 3,651,075 0

14 awachs 2,021,158,427 4,694,850 8.1Years

19 HewlettPackard 1,604,379,698 4,287,391 15.7Years

THE NEXT OVERTAKE

a5pin 20000

JoshEllie-17 20000

l1ghtm4st3r 20000

mwhhammond 20000

pitprop 20000

Raoul589 20000

blotty 30000

TacticalFluke 30000

FlamingWolfman 40000

Forquare 40000

Mecael 40000

Wispa 40000

KyralTim 50000

nsymons 50000

rob_woolcott 50000

Tom_Evans 50000

BaskB 60000

bigg 60000

Chrisz0rz 60000

darthvanman 60000

Glyn_Mason 60000

pj33val47 60000

anadir2 70000

KINGOFTHESWING 70000

pipnina 70000

ThreeFN 70000

dodgykeeper 80000

natwilford03 80000

Clotten 90000

mar_duke 90000

mattydinx 90000

Pausanias828 90000





TOP 20 OVERALLRank Username Points Workunits

1 Dave_Goodchild 379,590,470 106,787

2 phoenicis 223,349,417 93,954

3 DocJonz 216,658,218 139,234

4 zz9pzza 211,014,628 15,794

5 coolamasta 185,080,782 140,861

6 Lizard 129,923,269 59,810

7 StreetSam 102,894,737 70,354

8 Wallace 80,889,860 5,636

9 Christopher_N._Lewis 72,472,228 31,678

10 CustomBitChimps 68,650,154 35,891

11 BennieboyUK 61,155,216 3,077

12 saspro 56,930,297 45,029

13 fir3x 52,506,457 8,269

14 Standin_wave 50,493,352 33,463

15 greenfrog.biz 47,587,865 161,805

16 PS3/LanDi 47,227,013 85,905

17 One_Box 43,592,468 6,322

18 The_M2B 43,176,705 35,572

19 Justin_Wells 40,373,133 72,158

20 PeteBee 39,282,369 22,329

TOP 20 PRODUCERSRank Username Dailypointsaverage Overallscore

1 DocJonz 271,965 216,658,218

2 coolamasta 206,435 185,080,782

3 Wallace 139,937 80,889,860

4 Nelio 122,219 33,916,146

5 One_Box 116,414 43,592,468

6 StreetSam 111,739 102,894,737

7 The_M2B 90,069 43,176,705

8 Scorpuk 84,799 4,761,278

9 Lordsoth 79,175 38,701,215

10 fir3x 74,576 52,506,457

11 LordBadger 69,235 26,620,530

12 Abomin81on 59,217 2,644,686

13 JediMasterJonny 53,663 4,399,476

14 m1rr0rMan 47,516 8,162,636

15 BMH 46,935 14,859,340

16 FingAZ 46,524 2,575,340

17 fatchef 43,820 11,002,587

18 PC_Rich 43,663 38,442,919

19 SyLvEsTeR20007 43,335 1,699,344

20 Christopher_N._Lewis 42,941 72,472,228

tarka_dahl 8000000

Al_Bert 9000000

BeauchN 9000000

pompeyrodney 9000000

fatchef 10000000

Frank_Kehoe 30000000

Nelio 30000000

The_M2B 40000000

fir3x 50000000

Wallace 80000000

StreetSam 100000000

119August 2012

Onsale 19July, 2012*Pleasenotethatthesestoriesaresubjecttoproductdelays,kitnotturningupandtimespentstaringatHarry’sshortswhich,believeitornot,he’sbeenwearingforseveralmonthsnow.Also,oneoftheseisafake.

GamingperipheralsHarryiscurrentlyamassingahoardofgamingkeyboardsandmice,whichhe’sgoingtobeputtingthroughtheirpacesingamestoseewhichonesdeserveyourcash.

HotSourceRicklanecontinuesexploringgameenginesbyinvestigatingValve’shugelypopularSourceengine,thebackboneofmanypopulargamesfromCSStoLeft4Dead2.

SilenceyourPCIfthesuddensilencewhenyouswitchoffyourPCgivesyouasenseofreliefthenyouneedhelp. We’llexaminethemanywaysinwhichyoucanreduceyourmachine’sirritatingwhirrs.

Nunswith gunsFollowingtherecentHitmantrailer,nextmonth’sissuewillbepackedwithsexualisedviolenceandgratuitousboothbabeshotsfromE3,followedbyabizarreapologythatshowswestilldon’tgetit.

Comingnextmonth in



120 August 2012

luesky,greengrass,blackroads,whiteclouds,ayellowsunandaredFerrari.SimplerequirementsforaPCdrivinggame,youmightthink,

butsuchluxuriesweren’tavailabletoallPCgamersintheOutrun-era.LikemanyearlyPCgamers,IstartedoutwithaCGAmachine,whichcoulddisplayfourcoloursonthescreenatonce.Theyweren’tevenusuallygoodcolours–cyanandmagentaweretypicallytwoofthem.Ifyouwanted16coloursthenyouhadtohandoverseveralhundredpoundsforan8-bitISAcardsuchastheGenoaSpectra4800picturedontheright–anEGAgraphicscard.Introducedin1984,EGA(Enhanced

GraphicsAdaptor), finallybroughtnon-stupidcolourstoPCgraphics.Atabasiclevel,EGAenabledthePCtodisplayall16ofthecoloursinthestandardpalette(onlyavailableintextmodeinCGA)at320x200and640x200.Italsoaddedabrand-new640x350modewitha64-colourpalette(6-bitRGB),anditcoulddisplay16ofthesecolourssimultaneouslyifyourcardhadenoughRAM.Thisprobablysoundsprettyrubbish.Tobe

fair, it isrubbish,butitwassuchamassiveimprovementoverCGAthatitcompletelytransformedPCgamingfrombeinglaughablysub-Spectrumtobeingsomethingvaguelyrespectable.Itwasn’tcheapthough.Notonly

EGAgraphicsBen Hardwidge recalls his very firstgraphics card upgrade, when a hugecircuitboard bought you 12 more colours

that,butifyouwantedthe640x350modethenyouneededanewmonitortoplugintothe9-pinportontheback.ThetotalcostofanewEGA

monitorandgraphicscardstartedoffcostingthousandsofpounds,butgraduallycamedowntosanelevelsafterafewyears.Theotheralternativewasmyroute–usingasecond-handEGAcardwithanoldCGAmode,andatleastgettingall16coloursatCGAresolutions.Therewasjustoneproblem.

ThecardwassetupforanEGAmonitor,anditwouldn’tworkonmyoldCGAmonitoruntil IsettheDIPswitchescorrectly.Settingtheselittleswitchesinthecorrectorderenabledthecardtobootupinavarietyofresolutionsandcoloursettings, includingCGA,EGAandMDA.Thereweretenswitches,andnodocumentationwithmysecond-handcard.Inanagewhereyoucouldn’t justlookfortherightdiagramsontheNet,thismeant

thattherewerepotentiallyhundredsofdifferentcombinationstotrybeforeIcouldgetittowork.

Thecardpicturedhasonlytwojumperswitchesforselectingdisplaymodes,whichismuchsimpler,butyou’llalsonoticeanotherportonthebackplate.Thisisanothercuriosityfromthatera,whenexpansioncardsoftentriedtocovermanybasestomakethemmoreappealing.Thatextraportisaparallelport,enablingyoutoattachaprintertoyourmachineaswellasanEGAmonitor.Youusedtoseealotofthisthen–earlySoundBlaster16susedtohaveIDEconnectorstoo.EGA’sreignwasshort-lived.

Itstartedofftooexpensive,andwaslaterusurpedbythesuperiorVGA(generally640x480with16coloursand320x240with256colours),butitchangedthePCfromabusinessmachinethatcouldplaygamesbadly,toaversatilemachinethatcouldplaygameswithhalf-decentgraphics.EGAscreenshotslookslightlygarishnow,

withtheirlimitedcolourpalette,buttheimprovementoverCGAwasphenomenal.Upgradingagraphicscardnowmightenableyoutogofrom1,920x1,080to2,560x1,600,orenablesomeextradetailoptions,andthat’sgreat,butit’snothinglikethedifferencebetweenfourcoloursand16.I’mnowgoingtolookformycopyofCommanderKeen.

B

Phototaken

byKonstantinLanzet

Greengrass?Browntreetrunks?Yeah,that’sbetterthansplatteringmagentaandcyaneverywhere

EGA

CGA

EGA

CGA



a sIwritethis, I’mjustcoolingdownafterasessiononDayZ.AsI’msureyouallknowbynow,DayZisamodforArmaIIthatturnstheplayerintoasurvivorinalandfullofzombies.Let

metalktoyouaboutthisforamoment.Youspawnonabeachwithahandgunandafewsupplies.To

survive,youneedtofindfood,waterandbetterweapons.Thismeansthatyouhavetosneakintohouses,factoriesandtowns,stayingclearofthewanderingzombies, inthehopethatyou’ll findsomeofthatstuff.Andthereareotherplayersouttheretoo.Theymighthelpyou,ortheymayjustkillyouandtakeyourstuff. Ifyoudie,byzombieattackorcrossbowbolt,you’rebackonthatbeachagain.Allyourhard-earnedgearisgone.It’sadangerous,frighteninggame.It’salsoanincredibleexperience.Andit’sagamethatwouldnever,everbe

made.Noguyorgirl inasuit,makingadecisionbasedonprojectedsalesanddemographics,wouldeverputupmoneyforthedevelopmentofthisridiculous,cruelanimalofagame,yetitexists.Itexistswithinanothergame,becausethatothergameallowedit.Modsareimportant.Theycomefromapositiveandbeautifulplace.

Someoneplaysagameandthensays‘Wouldn’t itbecoolif..?’Thentheychangethatgametoseeexactlyhowcoolitwouldbe.It’stheultimateexpressionofwhatI’mnowgoingtocall ‘coolerism’.Modsaretheproductofacommunitythatwantstomakegamescooler.‘Wouldn’tArmaIIbeevencoolerifyoucouldplayamultiplayergamefullofzombies?’‘Wouldn’t itbecoolifHalf-Lifehadsomekindofmultiplayerteam-basedgamebuilt in?’Coolerism:Thepracticalpursuitofanimprovedgaming

experience,throughwish-fulfilmentand‘coolification’.Cooleristsneedtools though.PCdevelopersandpublishers

needtounderstandthatthere’saproudtraditionofmodsinthePC

Modders understand a philosophy that’shard for publishers to grasp. Let meintroduce you to coolerism

community.Theyhavearesponsibilitytomakethecoolerist’spursuiteasier.ModtoolsarethelifebloodofthePCgamingexperience–thebuildingblocksofnewgenresandnewexperiences.Thisbringsustoafundamentalcooleristbelief:allPCgames

shouldshipwithmoddingtools.Themodsshouldbeofficiallysupported,andthebestofthemshouldbechampioned.Basically,theuniquePCmodcommunityneedstobetreasuredandloved.Imean,lookatthegamesconsoles.There’snoplaceforthe

cooleristphilosophyinthatweird,restrictedworld.Ifagameisgreatonagamesconsole, it’sexactlythatgreatforever.Itnevergetsanycooler.Itcan’t.Andthegame’spublisherwillsay, ‘Oh,butwe’llmakeitcooler!We’llreleasenewdownloadablecontent!’Buttheydon’tknowcool. It’sallbottomlinewiththem.Coolisn’tevenafactorwiththesecreeps.CooleristsneedtobeataPC.That’shomeforthem,andtheyneedtofeelwelcomethere.

DayZhasbeensuchasuccessthatArmaIIhasrocketedbacktothetopoftheSteamsaleschart,andyouneedtogetluckytologonbecausetheserversarerammed.YoucouldeasilysetasideanhourforsomeDayZandthenspendthathourleapingfromservertoserver,hopingtogetconnected.Butyouknowwhat?Itdoesn’tmatter.Everyoneisstillthere,clickingaway,hopingtogetinvolved.Sure,it’samessrightnow,butif it’sanewexperience–wecandealwiththat.Letusin!We’repatient.Wegetit.We’reallcoolerists.

RobertFlorenceisthestarandwriterofBBCcomedyBurnistoun,co-writerofMocktheWeekandTheITCrowd,andanenthusiasticgamerwho’srediscoveringthejoysofPCgaming

@ROBERTFLORENCE

If a game is great on aconsole, it’s exactlythat great forever. Itnever gets any cooler

WHYPCGAMEMODSMATTER

122 August 2012

WHYPCGAMEMODSMATTER



Chillblast.comwww.chillblast.comwww.eclipsecomputers.comwww.aria.co.ukwww.ebuyer.comwww.novatech.co.uk WorldMags.netWorldMags.net


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