Custom PC Magazine UK January 2013

WINDOWS8:WHERES THE START BUTTON?

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THE BEST-SST-SELLING G MAG G FOOR PC HARDWAWAW RE, OE, OVERCLOCKLOCKINGG, G, GAMING & G & MOODDINGG

AMD Trinity vs

Intel Core i3

and Pentium

Play Skyrim

without a

graphics card

BUDGET

CPUS

F

R

O

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7

2

AMD MOTHERBOARDS

HOW TO TURN

AN OLD CPU INTO

A USB THUMBDRIVE

SPECIAL REPORT: HOWQUANTUM COMPUTERSWORK

WorldMags.netWorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

3January 2013

Welcome to Issue 112Welcome to Issue 112

Editorial

EDITOR

BenHardwidge

[email protected]

TECHNICALEDITOR

HarryButler

GAMESEDITOR

JoeMartin

ARTEDITOR

BillBagnall

PRODUCTIONEDITOR

JulieBirrell

CONTRIBUTORS

AntonyLeather, CliffHarris,

GarethHalfacree,JamesGorbold,

JimKillock,LucySherriff,

PaulGoodhead,RickLane,

SimonTreadaway,TracyKing

PHOTOGRAPHY

AntonyLeather,

DannyBird

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CHEAP

ASCHIPS

54

BUDGETCPUs

Whetheryouwanttobuildthe

bestall-roundsystemonatight

budget,orifyournextbuildsimplydoesnt

needallthetop-endbellsandwhistles,

weveroundedupsixofthebestbudget

CPUstofindoutwhichdeservesaplacein

yourPC,andputfournewSocketFM2

motherboardsthroughtheirpacestoo.

4 January 2013

Welcome to Issue 112

14

INMODWETRUST

JoeMartindiscussesmoddingwith

JasonBrice,whorecruitedsomeofthebest

UnrealEngine3modderstomakeRekoil.

18

ROBOTBUTLERS

Howfarareweawayfromareal-life

RobbytheRobot?

20

READMYMIPS

GarethHalfacreeexplainshowan

alternativeCPUinstructionsetcouldrender

thesmartphonemarketARMless.

36

WINDOWS8

TheStartmenuhasgone,andanew

tile-basedsystemhasturnedup.Isthereany

pointinupgradingtoWindows8onadesktop?

42

NANOXIADEEPSILENCE1

Canyoubuildasuper-quietPC

withoutoverlysacrificingperformance?

86

XCOM:ENEMYUNKNOWN

Someremadeclassicssurpassthe

magicoftheoriginals,butnotallofthem.Joe

MartinplaysthenewXCOMtoseehowitfares.

92

TRULYSOCIALGAMING

Hardcoregamedeveloperscould

learnathingortwofromsocialgames

suchasFarmville,andsolveonlinegamers

attitudeproblemwhiletheyreatit,argues

CliffHarris.

98

WHERESMYQUANTUM

COMPUTER?

Howfarawayarewefromquantum

computing,andhowonearthdoyoubuilda

quantumcomputeranyway?RickLane

investigates.

3698 51


WorldMags.net

118

18

110

5January 2013

1ssue 112

104

MOREMONEY,MORE

PROBLEMS

Fromcrowd-fundingprojectsviaKickstarter

topay-what-you-wantsystems,JoeMartin

talkstothoseinvolvedwithnewgames

industrybusinessmodels.

116

HOWTOTURNANOLDCPU

INTOAUSBTHUMBDRIVE

DontknowwhattodowiththePentium4

stashedinyourdrawer?AntonyLeather

showsyouhowtoturnanoldchipintoa

thumbdrive.

36118

54

54

98

Reviewed this month

Hardware

OPERATING SYSTEM

36 Windows8

CPU

40 AMDFX

CASE

42 NanoxiaDeepSilence1

MOTHERBOARD

44 GigabyteGA-Z77X-UP7

NAS BOX

46 SynologyDS213+

Customkit

50 GrippyPad

50 BooqMambaCourier

50 EdifierSoundToGoPlus

51 ArcticP402

51 AmazonKindleFireHD16GB

BudgetCPULabs test

58 AMDA8-5600K

59 AMDA10-5700

60 AMDA10-5800K

62 IntelCorei3-3220

63 IntelCorei3-3225

64 IntelPentiumG2120

FM2motherboardLabs test

66 ASRockFM2A75Pro4-M

68 GigabyteGA-F2A75M-D3H

70 AsusF2A85-MPRO

72 MSIA85XA-G65

Games

84 XCOM:EnemyUnknown

87 HellYeah!WrathoftheDeadRabbit

88 TheAmazingSpider-Man

90 TombRaider

91 CompanyofHeroes2

25

PRODUCTS

REVIEWED

90 Tomb Raider

91 Company of Heroes 2

CASE

42

MOTHERBOARD

44

NAS BOX

46

Custom kit

50

50

50

51

51

58

59

60

62

Regulars

8 Fromtheeditor

11 TracyKing

12 Digitalrights

14 Interview

16 Incoming

18 Science!

20 Mobiletechwatch

24 CPCEliteproducts

48 Howwetest

82 Grumpygamer

92 Devperspective

94 Theengineroom

128 Retrotech

130 JamesGorbold

Community

110 Readersdrives

114 HowtomakeyourownUSB

thumbdrive

118 HowtomakeaUSBSSDcase

122 Letters

125 Folderof themonth

126 Yourfoldingmilestones

104

88


WorldMags.net


WorldMags.net

alongwithmyinabilitytounderstandmusicwithauto-tuned

vocals,andmyeyebrowstendencytosproutstray5inhairs,

oneofthemainfactorsIassociatewithgettingolderisthe

abilitysitbackandaskwhenyourewrong.Idontalwaysmanageit,

butitmustbeharderforatechcompanytoadmitthatitswrong,

especiallywhenitsinvestedsomuchmoneyinawrongproduct.

Itdoeshappenthough.WhenNvidiasGeForceGX5800Ultrawas

(rightly)slatedbycriticsforbeingahot,slothofaGPUwithafanthat

soundedlikeawindtunnel, it laterreleasedajokevideoshowing

peopleusingitasahairdryer.Similarly,afterafewyearsofseeingits

NetBurstarchitecturebeingtrampledby

AMDssuperiorAMD64architecture,Intel

eventuallywentbacktothedrawingboard,

canningitsroadmapandinsteadfocusing

itseffortsonthenewCore2architecture.

ThiswasntaneasydecisionforIntel.

Itwasnt justacaseofadmittingthatits

flagshipCPUarchitecturewasntupto

muchithadtocanhugeamountsofresearchanddevelopment,lay

offstaffandreallocateresourcesonaninternationalscale.Itturned

outtobetherightstrategy,butau-turnonthatscaleisnttakenlightly.

Assuch,ImnowwonderingwhatAMDiscurrentlythinkingabout

itsFXlineofCPUs.AMDhasaproblemhere.Itspouredahuge

amountofresourcesintodevelopingtheBulldozerarchitecture,

whichisalsothebasisforthePiledriverarchitectureusedinthenew

FX-8350(seep40).Piledriveriscertainlyanimprovementover

Bulldozer,butIntelhasalsoreducedthepowerconsumptionand

tweakedtheperformanceofitsownchipsinthemeantime.

Theresult isthatAMDsnewFXCPUsimplyisntworthconsidering.

Itstillusesanunhealthyamountofpower,anditsperformanceis

comparablyterribleinalmosteverythingexceptheavilymulti-

AMDs new FX chips still cant

compete with Intels equivalents,

and this should be a concern

threadedsoftware.Inparticular, itsspeedingamesiswoeful.This

shouldntcomeasasurprise,seeingasitsbasicallyatweaked

versionofBulldozer,butifthisisAMDshigh-endCPUstrategynow

thenImworried.

IrememberwhenAMDsFXCPUsrepresentedthepinnacleof

desktopCPUperformanceAMDcouldhappilycharge500for

them,andpeoplewouldpay.However,evenat 164,thenewFXchips

simplycantcompete.Thisisproblematicforenthusiastsbecause,

withoutstrongcompetition,Intelcouldsoonbeinapositiontotake

overtheentiremarketforenthusiastdesktopCPUs.

AMDcanthankfullyfallbackonsome

reallygreatproductsatthemoment,so

Imsureitsfutureisstillsafe.ItsRadeon

HD7000-seriesGPUsanditsnewTrinity

CPUs(seep60)arereallycompetitive.In

fact, ImplanningtoupgrademyHTPCto

aSocketFM2rigbytheendoftheyear.

However,FXisaworry.Whatcan

AMDdoaboutit?Itcouldeitherpulloutofthetop-endCPUmarket

altogether,oritcouldrepeatIntelsNetBurst-canningstrategy,admit

thatBulldozersimplyisntuptothejob,andreallocateitsresources

ondevelopinganewCPUarchitecture.Sadly,thelatterisprobablyfar

tooriskyinthecurrentfinancialclimate,butIalsodontwanttolose

AMDfromthedesktopCPUmarket. IreallyhopeAMDhassomething

reallystrongonitsfutureroadmap;ifnot,wecouldbelookingatan

Intel-onlyfutureasdesktopPCenthusiasts.

BenHardwidgeistheeditorofCustomPC.HelikesPCs,realale

andWarhammer40,000.

[email protected] @MANSHARK

Its basically a tweaked

version of Bulldozer, but if

this is AMDs high-end CPU

strategy then Im worried

THEAMD

WORRY

8 January 2013

from the editor


WorldMags.net


WorldMags.net

WouldyoutrustyourMPmoreifyouknewtheywerea

gamer?Iwould,becauseitseasiertotrustpeoplewho

arelikeme,andalsobecauseIdknowtheyhadapassing

clueabouttechnologyandtheInternet,andsomeinsightintowhat

millionsofpeopleofallagesdointheirsparetime.Idprobablybe

foolish,becauseasweallknow,beingagamerdoesntexcludeyou

frombeingajerk,butatleasttheydbea21stcenturyjerk.

WhenitcomestoParliamentvotingonissuessuchasgamebans,

investmentinpublicWiFi,taxbreaksfordevelopers, introducing

codingtothenationalcurriculumandsoon,Idratherhaveagamer

inmycorner.

Iunderstand,though,thattogenerationsor

mindsetsignorantorscaredofgamesandour

increasinglyonlinelifestyles,theideathata

politicianwouldengageingamingisworrying.

ArecentUSstorythatsstillcausingupsetis

thatofColleenLachovicz,theStateSenate

candidatewhoseWorldofWarcrafthabithas

ledtoquestionsaboutherfitnessforoffice.

Somepeoplehaveleapedonthisas

evidencethatshesanawfulpersonandthat

shewastesvastswathesofhertimeplayinga

gamewhensheshouldbewell,thatswheretheyrequiet. Ihavent

seenanyofhercriticsstatewhattheydointheirsparetimeandjustify

whyitsmoreappropriateforapublicservant.

Itspossiblethatsomefolkbelievepoliticiansshouldspendtheir

sparetimeworking,butIdbeamazedifmanyactuallylivethatway.

Rather,Isuspecttheyvesimplyoverlookedthefactthatvideogames

arejustoneofmanysortsofplaying,andthattheyprobablydont

equatetheirweeklygameofgolforpokernightasanythingsimilar.

InBritain,wedonthavemanypoliticiansopenlyinvolvedingaming.

OneexceptionisMPandMurdoch-baneTomWatson,whohas

Being a gamer doesnt necessarily

make you a good politician, but at

least it shows youre in touch

appearedatgameeventssuchasGameCity. Inopposition,wehave,

amongothers,KeithVaz,whoseemsnotjustanti-gaming,butactively

campaignsforcensorshipandrestrictions,leadingthemediacharge.

Britainneedsanactiveandhealthygamingindustry.Gamesarean

increasinglyimportantpartoftheeconomyandweshouldbemaking

them,notbanningthem.NotjustPCorconsolegames,butcasual

gamesformobiledevices,becausetheyreonlygoingtobecome

morecommon.

IftheUSAcanuseapoliticiansgaminghobbyagainsther, itwill

happenheretoo.IcouldntfindanydataonMPsandgaming,andI

wascurioustoknowhowmanywouldadmittoaspendingaweekend

playingHalo,soIdevisedatwo-question

anonymouspollandemailedittoallthe

currentBritishMPs.

Sadly,only18MPscompletedthesurvey,

whichisntalargeenoughsamplesizefrom

whichtodrawanymeaningfulanalysis.One

formersportsminister(irony!)emailedtosay

shecertainlydoesnotplaygames,butonthe

plusside,tenofthemsaidthat,yes,theyplay

computergamesononeplatformoranother;

sixwerePCgamers.Sothatssomecomfort,

knowingthereareatleastacoupleofgamersinpower.

ThelastwordgoestoCharlieElphicke,MPforDoverandDeal,who

emailedmetosay,Iusedtobuildmyownhomecomputers.Iused

Zalmanwater-coolingbeforetheyworkedouthowtomakechipsrun

lesshot. It justgoestoshowyoucanbuildcomputers,enjoygaming,

designwebsitesandserveasahandson,in-touchMPtoo.

GamerandscienceenthusiastTracyKingdissectstheevidence

andstatisticsbehindsomeofthepopularmediastories

surroundingtechandgaming @TKINGDOLL

Games are increasingly

an important part of the

economy and we

should be making them,

not banning them

POLITICS

ANDGAMES

DONTMIX

11January 2013


WorldMags.net

12 January 2013

Jim Killock

spateofarrestssince2010has

landedaroundsevenpeopleincourt

orjail formakingshockingremarks

ontheInternet.Thesesocialmedia

trialshavecentredonindividualssending

grosslyoffensivetweetsorFacebook

updates.Theyvebeenprosecutedunder

Section127aoftheCommunicationsAct,and

thesentenceshaveleftmanyofuswondering

exactlywhatmightlandusintroublewiththe

law,merelyforexpressingopinions,serious

ornot,thatotherpeoplefindoffensive.

Internationallawisclearthatyouhavethe

righttobeoffensive.TheEuropeanCourtof

HumanRightstoldtheUKbackin1976that

youhavetherighttosaythingsthatoffend,

shockordisturbthestateoranysectorofthe

population.Ofcourse,thatsdifferentfrom

intimidatingorthreateningpeoplewith

violenceorlyingaboutthem.Therearelaws

thatdealwiththeseproblems,buttheydont

applytocaseswherepeoplearesimplytelling

jokesorperhapsbeingstupidontheInternet.

ItstartedwiththenowfamousTwitterJoke

Trial.PaulChambersjokinglythreatenedto

blowupNottinghamairport.Hesaid:Crap!

RobinHoodairportisclosed.Youvegota

weekandabittogetyourshittogether

otherwiseImblowingtheairportskyhigh!

Nobodyintheirrightmindwouldtakesuch

athreatseriously,yetitfilteredslowlythrough

securityandpolicesystemstothepointwhere

Chamberswasprosecuted.Heappearsto

havebeeninvestigatedasifhewasapossible

terrorist,howeverunlikely;presumablyit

beganasabox-tickingexercise,wherepeople

chargedwithmaintainingairportsecurity

felttheyneededtoinvestigatepurelybecause

itstheirresponsibility.Atsomepoint, law

enforcementchangedtack,andprosecuted

himunderSection127aoftheCommunications

Act,sayinghistweetwasgrosslyoffensive.

Ittookseveralappealstopersuadethe

courtsthathewasinfactjoking,andshould

beleftalone.Unfortunately,Chambersisjust

oneofmanywhohaverecentlybeenarrested

underSection127a.Othershaventbeenso

lucky.WhileChambersbecameacause

clbre,andwassupportedbycelebrities

includingStephenFryandAlMurray,other

peoplehavesimplyendedupbeingfound

guiltyandservingsentences.

Partofthisisbecausetheremarkspeople

havemadearedistasteful,andoftenthe

timingmakestheoffensivenessparticularly

bad.Andwhowantstodefendpeoplemaking

poorlyjudgedremarks?AzarAhmad,for

instance,toldhisFacebookfriends:

Peoplegassinaboutthedeathsofsoldiers!

Whatabouttheinnocentfamilyswhohave

beenbrutallykilled..Thewomenwhohave

beenraped..Thechildrenwhohavebeen

slicedup..!YourenemysweretheTalibannot

innocentharmlessfamilys.Allsoldiersshould

DIE&gotoHELL!THELOWLIFEF*****N

SCUM!gottaproblemgocryatyoursoliders

grave&wishhimhellbecausethatwherehe

isgoing.Hewassentencedto240hoursof

communityserviceand300fineat

HuddersfieldMagistratesCourt.

Whilefewpeoplewouldthinkthathis

statementwasparticularlyeloquentor

helpful,thenumberofpeoplewhomake

similarlyoffensiveremarks,eitherinpubs,

ontheInternetorelsewhereinpublicmust

bequitehigh.

Alsothisyear,MatthewWoodswasgiven

12weeksimprisonmentinayoungoffender

institutionafterpostingoffensivejokeson

FacebookaboutthemissingchildrenApril

JonesandMadeleineMcCann.JoshuaCryer

receivedatwo-yearcommunityorderfor

racisttweetsdirectedatfootballerStan

Collymore.AfakeDaleCreganfanpagefor

theaccusedmurdererofpoliceofficersNicola

HughesandFionaBoneresultedinthearrest

ananonymouspersoninGreaterManchester

inSeptember.

Careless talk costs lives

People often make horrible and misguided remarks on the Internet,

but that doesnt mean they should be prosecuted for it

A

PaulChamberswaseventuallyacquittedfollowingseveralappeals,and

celebritysupportfrompeopleincludingStephenFryandAlMurray

PhotobyPaulClarke


WorldMags.net

13January 2013

ThisApril, thebloggerOllyCromwellcalled

aBexleycouncillorac**tontheInternet,and

wassentencedtoa12-monthcommunity

serviceorderandafive-yearrestrainingorder,

preventinghimfromanycontactwithhislocal

councillors.Idontknowthedetailsofthe

case,butrestrainingordersoughttocome

fromaharassmentcharge,notfromaspeech

offence.Whenyourepreventedfrom

interactingwithyourlocaldemocratic

representatives,thatreallyoughtto

ringouralarmbells.

Theexceptiontothisspateof

prosecutionswasthecaseofDaniel

Thomas,whopostedahomophobic

tweetaboutswimmerTomDaley,and

wasinitiallyarrested.Thecaseseemsto

havehelpedtopromptthedirectorofthe

CrownProsecutionServicetoreviewthe

organisationsguidelinesaboutwhento

prosecute.Theirpublicconsultationis

makingtherightnoises,buttheresadanger

thatthisisjustpaperingoverthecracks.It

isntclearthattheCommunicationsActs

powerisdesignedfortheInternetandsocial

mediaatall.

Section127adatesbacktotheanalogue

era,andwasoriginallydesignedtostop

peopleabusingpublicnetworks,such

astelephonesorthepostalservice,to

communicateinwaysthatwerebeyond

acceptablenorms,andcrucially,thatwaste

publicresources.Therehavebeenmorethan

4,700prosecutions,butthevastmajoritydont

concernInternetcommunications.Itcarries

amaximumsentenceofsixmonths.Most

messagesthataregrosslyoffensiveorofan

indecent,obsceneormenacingcharacter

canbeprosecutedunderothermore

appropriateacts.Sothequestionis,whyis

section127abeingusedtopolicetheInternet,

anddoesitevenneedtoexist?

Amajorreasonforthespateofrecent

Internetprosecutionsmustlieinthenew

powerofsocialmedia,andthevisibilityand

immediacyofthemessages.Peopleand

policemaybereadingthesemessages,

feeloutragedandthenreachforthelawbook.

Section127aseemslikeaneatcatch-all,and

perhapsisbeingusedwhereactualharmis

hardtoshow,soitwouldbedifficulttomake

otheroffencesstick.

Thatsbadenough,butcourtsseemtobe

playingalongtoo.Courtsdontlikelawsbeing

JIM

KILLOCK

isexecutivedirectorof

campaignorganisation

TheOpenRightsGroup

(www.openrightsgroup.org)

@jimkillock

broken,andapplytheideathatgrossly

offensivemeanswhatanormalpersonwould

findgrosslyoffensive.Thismeansthatthe

sectioncanfunctionasageneralarbiterof

tasteanddecency,ratherthanaserioustest

ofcriminality.Furthermore,whatwefind

offensivewillbeverymuchattunedtonew

cycles,soanyremarkaboutarecently

controversialtopic,oronethatsimplyraises

indignation,couldfallfoulofSection127a.

AnyteenagerwithaJimmySavilejokeright

nowreallyoughttokeepittothemselves.

Theresalso,perhaps,alackofunderstanding

ofthedifferencebetweenconsideredpublic

remarksandimmediatereactions

madeonsocialmedianetworks,which

maybepartiallyprivate.Mostpeople

treatthemasthelatter,andthelaw

needstoreflectoursocialattitudes,

ratherthancorrallingthepopulation

intotalkingandbehavinglikethe

editedmassmedia.

Thedangeristhatweendupself-policing

ourspeechwhenitmightbebesttospeakout.

Theworldwouldbeaboringandoppressive

placeifwehadtothinkabouthowthecourts

mightinterpretoureverythought.

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO

MAKE SIMILARLY OFFENSIVE

REMARKS IN PUBS OR

ELSEWHERE MUST BE QUITE HIGH

DanielThomas,whoposted

thishomophobictweet

aboutswimmerTomDaley,

wasinitiallyarrested

PhotoofTomDaleybyTheRamblingManandKimRatcliffeofThinkEquestrian


WorldMags.net

14 April 2012

JoeMartin

InModWeTrust

Jason Brice recruited some of the best Unreal Engine 3 modders to

make Rekoil. Joe Martin discusses the modding scene with him

tosavemoneyandsoon.Wesimplyarent

doingthat.Wefoundthebesttalentthatwas

availabletous,andit justhappenedtobe

spreadaroundtheworld.Currently,wehave

teammembersinGerman,Serbia,Sweden,

Irelandandotherlocationstoo.

CPC:Howdidtheteamshistoryofmodding

formthetypeofgameyouwantedtomake?

Canyoutellusaboutthephilosophybehind

Rekoilsdesign?

Jason:Well,wewantedtoensurethat

moddingtoolswouldbeavailabletoeveryone,

nomatterwhatwedid.Moddingishowwe

started,sonaturally,wewantedtoseepeople

getthetoolstocreatesomethingawesome.

CPC:Fewergamesseemtobelaunching

withmodsupportnow,evenwhentheyre

basedonenginesknownforsupporting

moddingelsewhere,suchasMirrorsEdge

onUE3.Whydoyouthinkthatis?

Jason:Webelievemoddingisafeaturethats

beenremovedfrommostgamesduetothe

factthatcompanieswanttomakemoney

fromdownloadablecontent(DLC).When

peoplecanmakepopularmapsforthe

communitythatarefuntoplay,whywould

peoplespend$15onamappack?

CPC:Doyouthinkthatshadaneffecton

themoddingcommunities?Itseemedlike

therewasagoldrushafewyearsago,when

ettingouttomakeablockbuster-

qualitymultiplayershooterisan

intimidatingtaskforbigstudios,let

aloneindieoutfits.Thatsthemission

forPlasticPiranhaCEOJasonBrice,however,

whohiredsomeofthebestUnrealEngine3

modderstomakePiranhasfirstgame,Rekoil.

CPC:TellusabouthowtheRekoilteam

cametoworktogether?

Jason:IstartedPlasticPiranhawithafriend

whowaslivinginSwedenatthetime.Having

justfinishedaprojectwithDICE,wewanted

tomakeanFPSgame,soweimmediately

begansearchingforpeoplethatcouldassist

us.Theteamhaschangeddrasticallysince

thattime,butwevenowassembledaworld-

classensembleofprogrammers,artists

andproducers.

CPC:Youreunusualinthattheteamis

spreadacrosstheworld,butyoupayaflat

salarysothatanemployeeinSerbiagets

thesameassomeonefromtheUSA,right?

Whatwasthemotivationbehindthat?

Jason:Allthisreallymeansisthatwearent

takingadvantageofanyoneduetotheir

geographiclocation.Youhearitallthetime;

howacompanysenttheiroperationsabroad

S

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t

e

r

v

i

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w

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:

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a

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d

C

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f

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h

a

Jason: Well, we wanted to ensure that

modding tools would be available to everyone,

no matter what we did. Modding is how we

started, so naturally, we wanted to see people

get the tools to create something awesome.

CPC: Fewer games seem to be launching

with mod support now, even when theyre

based on engines known for supporting

modding elsewhere, such as Mirrors Edge

on UE3. Why do you think that is?

Jason: We believe modding is a feature thats

been removed from most games due to the

fact that companies want to make money

from downloadable content (DLC). When

people can make popular maps for the

community that are fun to play, why would

people spend $15 on a map pack?

CPC: Do you think thats had an effect on

the modding communities? It seemed like

there was a gold rush a few years ago, when

who was living in Sweden at the time. Having the same as someone from the USA, right?

All this really means is that we arent

geographic location. You hear it all the time;

how a company sent their operations abroad

who was living in Sweden at the time. Having the same as someone from the USA, right?

What was the motivation behind that?

Jason: All this really means is that we arent

taking advantage of anyone due to their

geographic location. You hear it all the time;

how a company sent their operations abroad

I THINK ITS

NATURAL FOR

MOST COMPANIES

TO EXPAND, AND

FORGET WHERE

THEY CAME FROM


WorldMags.net

15April 2012

teamswerepickedupbystudios.That

doesntseemtohappensomuchnow.

Jason: Alotofthosemodteamsare

responsibleformuchofthegreatcontent

beingcreatedingamesthroughoutthe

industry.Onemightarguethatwithoutmod

toolsbeingreadilyavailable,theindustryis

limitingtheamountoftalentthatwillbe

availabletocreatethegamesoftomorrow.

Ifyoulookaroundnow,themoddingscene

hasdefinitelybeenreducedinsize.Ithinkthe

desireisstill there,buttherearentenough

titlesofferingthetoolsaspartofthegames

release.Wehopeourtoolscanprovidean

outletformoddingteams.

CPC: Itoftenfeelsasthoughgameshave

lostsomethingbytryingtoreachwider

audiencestoo.Isthatwhyyoutalk

somuchaboutRekoilbeingfor

coregamers?

Jason:I thinkitsnaturalformost

companiestoexpand,andforget

wheretheycamefrom.Because

ofthis, Ibelievegamersare

startingtofeelthatpublishers

aretakingadvantageofthem.

Asaresult,wevetakenthecore

gamerconceptveryseriously.Theseare

thepeoplethatwillplayourgamenightand

day.Thesearethegamersthataregoingto

telltheirfriendstocomeandjointhemfora

roundortwo,andwhosevoiceshaveopinions

andsuggestionsthatmattertheyre

fundamentaltowhatweretryingtodo.

CPC:Youvealsotalkedaboutthecompetitive

sideofRekoilandeSportsupport.

Jason: ESportshavebeenahighpriority

fortheteam,asseveralofusplayin

competitions.Wethinkthathavingagood,

straightforward,balancedshooterwillbe

widelyembracedbytheeSportcommunity.

Weplanonsupportingthegamebyhaving

asmanyLANeventsaspossible.Wellbe

sponsoringtournamentswithtop-tierplayers

andgivingserverownerstheabilitytosetup

gamesthewaytheywish.

CPC:HowdoyouliketoplayRekoil,and

whichpartsareyoumostproudof?

Jason:I lovethatRekoil isstripped

downtojusttheessentials. Its

justyouandyourweapon.Its

competitive,balancedandnot

agameofkill-streaks,level

upsandsoon.Imalso

pleasedtherewillbe

around14maps.Well

probablyreleasetenatthe

start,andtheotherfouras

freeDLC.Welovetheenvironments

wevecreated,andcantwaittoshare

themwitheveryone.

Findoutmoreinfoatwww.rekoil.com

Settoshipwithten

maps,Rekoilwillget

freeDLCafterrelease

Rekoiliscreatedbyan

internationalteamofmodders

straightforward, balanced shooter will be

widely embraced by the eSport community.

We plan on supporting the game by having

as many LAN events as possible. Well be

sponsoring tournaments with top-tier players

and giving server owners the ability to set up

games the way they wish.

How do you like to play Rekoil, and

which parts are you most proud of?

I love that Rekoil is stripped

down to just the essentials. Its

just you and your weapon. Its

competitive, balanced and not

a game of kill-streaks, level

ups and so on. Im also

pleased there will be

around 14 maps. Well

probably release ten at the

start, and the other four as

free DLC. We love the environments

weve created, and cant wait to share

them with everyone.

Find out more info at

being created in games throughout the

industry. One might argue that without mod

tools being readily available, the industry is

limiting the amount of talent that will be

available to create the games of tomorrow.

If you look around now, the modding scene

has definitely been reduced in size. I think the

desire is still there, but there arent enough

titles offering the tools as part of the games

release. We hope our tools can provide an

It often feels as though games have

lost something by trying to reach wider

audiences too. Is that why you talk

so much about Rekoil being for

I think its natural for most

companies to expand, and forget

where they came from. Because

starting to feel that publishers

are taking advantage of them.

As a result, weve taken the core

gamer concept very seriously. These are

and suggestions that matter theyre

fundamental to what were trying to do.

competitions. We think that having a good,

straightforward, balanced shooter will be industry. One might argue that without mod

tools being readily available, the industry is

limiting the amount of talent that will be

available to create the games of tomorrow.

If you look around now, the modding scene

has definitely been reduced in size. I think the

desire is still there, but there arent enough

titles offering the tools as part of the games

release. We hope our tools can provide an

It often feels as though games have

lost something by trying to reach wider

audiences too. Is that why you talk

gamer concept very seriously. These are

fundamental to what were trying to do. straightforward, balanced shooter will be

widely embraced by the eSport community.

We plan on supporting the game by having

as many LAN events as possible. Well be

sponsoring tournaments with top-tier players

and giving server owners the ability to set up

games the way they wish.

CPC: How do you like to play Rekoil, and

which parts are you most proud of?

Jason: I love that Rekoil is stripped

down to just the essentials. Its

just you and your weapon. Its

competitive, balanced and not

a game of kill-streaks, level

ups and so on. Im also

pleased there will be

around 14 maps. Well

probably release ten at the

start, and the other four as

free DLC. We love the environments

weve created, and cant wait to share

them with everyone.

Find out more info at


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WorldMags.net

18 January 2013

Lucy Sherriff

Robotbutlers

eveallbeenthere.Youpress

Ctrl-Ptoprint,butinsteadofthe

chunkingandwhirringofink

cartridgesandtherustlingof

paper,youjusthearthegentledronethattells

youeverythingisstillpluggedin.Cannotfind

printer!thecomputercheerfullyannounces

forthefourthtimeinarow.Youliftthemonitor,

pointitattheerrantdeviceandyell, Thereit is!

There!Icanseeit,whycantyou?!

Nowimagineaworldinwhichyoucould

askthisquestionforreal,andreceivean

answerthatdidntrequireGooglingoferror

codesoryourfamilyphoningyouforunpaid

techsupport?Thisisthemodestaimofthe

computersciencedepartmentatAberdeen

University,whichhasjustscoreda1.1m

grantfromtheEngineeringandPhysical

SciencesResearchCounciltogetcomputers

totalktousinasensible,ordinarylanguage.

Thebigideabehindtheprojectisthatitwill

increaseourfaithinautonomoussystems.

Itsveryhumblingtorealisethata

computercandosomethingbetterthanus,

saysDrWambertoVasconcelos,asenior

lecturerinComputerSciencefromAberdeen

University. Andeventhen,wehavethat

nigglingfeelingthatmaybeitdoesnt,and

thatitsmakingbaddecisions.

Researchers are currently working on robotic systems that not only serve

humans, but can also talk to them in an intelligible manner

Theideaisthatifthecomputerspeaksin

awaythatmakessensetous,weremore

inclinedtorespondtoitpositively.Theteamat

Aberdeenisseveralweeksintoitsthreeyear

project,andwhilethetechnologyitdevelops

heremightenduphelpinguspunyhumansto

disassemblenuclearpowerplants,thetest

bedisrathermoreeveryday:thehome.

Thedevelopmentlabisgoingtobeasmart

house,whereallthedeviceshavetonegotiate

withoneanothertoconserveasmuchenergy

aspossiblewhilenotupsettingthehumans

orMasters,asVasconcelossays.Thenthey

havetobeabletojustifytheirdecisionsin

naturallanguagewhenMastercomes

homeandwantstoknowwhytheyve

decidedtoswitchoffthefridge.

Theyllbeabletosay,There

wasnobodyinthehouse,and

thefridgewascoldenough

tokeepthefoodfreshforat

leastfourhours,sowe

switcheditofftosave

power,headds.

Vasconcelosexpands

onthetheme.Inthis

smarthouse,youmight

gooutandleavealight

on.Inthissituation,

thereareplentyofcompetingpriorities.The

lightswitchsaysitwantstoswitchoffthelight

tosavepowerbecausetheresnoonehome.A

secondcontrollermightsaythattheremight

bepeopleupstairsthatithasntdetected,and

itshouldleavethelightonalittlelonger.

Thisdiscussion,whichtakestheformof

formulaeandmathematicalproofs,will lead

toajointplaninsimilarlyincomprehensible

terms,saysVasconcelos.Thisisnt

greatforhumans,sowegetthe

appliancestomaketheirdecision,

butalsoturnthatinto

naturallanguagesothat

peopleotherthan

mathematicianscan

understandwhythe

lightshavebeenturned

off,Vasconcelosexplains.

Therearetwostrandsto

theresearch:workingout

howtogetthedevicesto

negotiatesuccessfully;and

developingamethodfor

translatingmachine-speak

intohumanlanguage.

Vasconcelossaysthatsome

informationwillalwaysbe

givenpriority.Forexample,

W


WorldMags.net

19January 2013

informationrelatingtosafetywillalways

outrankapreference.

Theteamdoesntyethaveasolutiontothe

latterproblem.Thisiswhatwesetouttodo

inourproject,saysVasconcelos.Well

exploretechniquestosummariseand

organisetheformallogicaswellasa

networkofargumentsattackingoneanother,

supportingothers,andsooncapture

notionsofimportanceandrelevanceinproofs

andarguments,andthencombinetextand

graphicrepresentationsoftheformallogic

toshowproofstohumans.

Extensiveexperimentswithhumanusers

willvalidateourapproachandhelpustowork

outwhatworksandwhatdoesnt.

Althoughthetestsetupishome-based,

theworkwillhaveapplicationsinindustry,

particularlyinauditingdecision-making

processes,andassigningblamewhenthings

gowrong.Itdoesntmatterif itspeopleor

componentsthathavefailed.Itmeansyoull

beabletofindapointofresponsibility.Maybe

ahumaniscontactedatsomepointinan

automatedprocessandgivesanokaytoa

decision.Thatsthecheckpoint,Vasconcelos

says.Itsveryimportantthattherearethese

entrypointsforhumanstointerferewith

machinebehaviour,eithertounderstandit

orchangeitforthefuture.

Aswellasteachingmachinestotalktous,

scientistsarealsobusilyworkingouthowto

makerobotsunderstandhowtoliveinour

world.AtCornellUniversity,assistant

professorofcomputerscience,Ashutosh

Saxena,recentlywona$200,000grantfrom

Microsofttofurtherhisworkdeveloping

personalrobots,whichcouldonedaylivein

ourhomes,andhelptheelderlyanddisabled

witheverydaytasks.

Couldwebeclosetohavingrobotbutlers?

Thatdependsonwhattaskithastoperform,

saysSaxena.Just[tohavethem]cleanthe

floor?Maybeafewyears.Todospecifictasks

suchasputtingobjectsinproperplaces,

maybefiveyears.Astasksgetcomplicated,

itbecomeshardertomakethemreliable.

Computers,asweknow,canbemind-

numbinglylinearitmaybetheirbiggest

strength,butitalsomakesuswantto

defenestratethemmorethananyother

object.Humans,ontheotherhand,arent.

Saxenaandhisteamaretryingtomerge

thesetwoworldsbyteachingrobotsto

operateautonomouslyinadisorderly

humanenvironmentusingapieceofgaming

technology: MicrosoftsKinect3Dcamera.

TheKinectcreatesadepthmapofthe

environmentoriginallysothatyoucould

controlaconsolewithjustyourbody.Butthe

datafromthecameracanalsogivearobota

mapofitsenvironmentandtheobjectsinit.

Thenextstepistoteachtherobothowto

recogniseandinteractwiththoseobjects.

Todothis,theyneedtobetrainedabout

theirenvironmentandmakeinferencesabout

itbasedonpastexperience.Forexample,

humanscanrecogniseamugevenif itdoesnt

lookexactlylikeamugweveseenbefore.

Saxenaisgettinghisrobotstodothesame.

Therobotisshownexamplesofobjects

withlabels.Forexample, itmayhaveseen

severalexamplesofmugs,soitlearnsto

identifythennotjustfromthemugs3Dshape

andappearance,butalsofromthelearning

context,suchaswhethermugsarefoundon

thetable,hesays.Moreimportantly, its

actuallylessimportantforarobotthatitsa

mug,andmoreimportanttoknowthatits

apickableobjectthatcancontainliquids.

LUCY

SHERRIFF

isajournalistwitha

degreeinastrophysics

whoknowsallaboutthe

latestscientifictech.

@lucysherriff

Theresearchersarealsoworkingon

gettingtheirrobotstounderstandourweird

behaviour.Thisisalittleharder,butcouldend

upbeingmuchmoreuseful.Forinstance,a

homehelpermachinecouldnoticethatits

personhadnottakenhispillsthatmorning,

andbringthemedicinebottletohim.

Saxenaexplainsthattherobotgets

multimodalcuesfromtheKinectcamera:

Therobotobserveshumansperforming

activitieswiththeobjects,andlearnshow

humansusetheobjectsandtheirpreferences

withthem.Moreinterestingly, inoneofour

works,therobotdoesntneedtoactually

observehumansusingtheobjects.Instead,it

canhallucinateabouthumansandfigure

out[ananswer]byimagininghumansinthe

environmentthatmakesthemostsense.

Theteamhasevenmanagedtoteacha

robottospotwhenahumanhasleftoutthe

milkandtidyitawaywithoutneedingspecific

instructions(http://pr.cs.cornell.edu/videos.

php).Saxenapredictsthatthetechnology

couldevenmakeitswayintosmartphones.

Werejustlookingforwardtothedaywhen

wedontevenhavetoinstructourrobotbutler

tothrowthemalfunctioningprinteroutofthe

window.Itwillbeabletofigureoutthatit

needstobedoneallbyitself,andthentellus

whywhenwegetbackfromthepub.

Saxenasteamhastaughtarobottospot

whenahumanhasleftoutthemilk,and

tidyitawaywithoutspecificinstructions

AshutoshSaxenafrom

CornellUniversity


WorldMags.net

20 January 2013

Gareth Halfacree looks at the latest mobile hardware

oundedin1984byresearchersfrom

StanfordUniversity,MIPShadsome

successfulearlyyears.Itshigh-speed

yetlow-powerinstructionsetwas

usedbySiliconGraphicsforitsworkstations,

withthecompanylaterbuyingwhatwas

thenknownasMIPSComputerSystems

Incorporated,andrebrandingitasMIPS

Technologiesinadealvaluedat$333million.

Thetargetofthedealwasthetechnology

behindtheR2000andR3000processors.

LaunchedtocompetewithIntels386and

Motorolas68000,theR2000wasthefirst

readilyavailablereducedinstructionset

computing(RISC)processorbeatingARMs

firstavailabledesignbytwoyears.

AsaRISCchip,thesamebenefitsofARMs

designssuchasreducedtransistorcount

comparedtoCISCandreducedpowerdraw

forsimilarperformanceappliedtoMIPS

processors,makingthemanobviouschoice

fortheburgeoninghandheldcomputer

market. IntheearlydaysofWindowsCE

palmtops,MIPSandARMwouldgoheadto

head,butonlyonewinneremerged:ARM.

WhenMicrosoftmovedfromWindowsCEto

WindowsMobileandWindowsPhone,MIPS

supportwasdroppedinfavourofadual-

architectureARMandx86approach.

Havinglostwhatwouldlaterberecognised

asthefighttobeattheforefrontofthe

smartphonerevolution,MIPSlickedits

woundsandconcentratedonotherareas.Its

high-performance,low-powerarchitecture

foundenoughtractioninnetworkingand

high-performancecomputing(HPC)markets

tokeepthecompanyafloat.NowMIPSisback

andit intendstoremindARMthat,whileitmay

havewonthebattle,thewarisntyetover.

SOFTWARE SUPPORT

ThefirsthintsthatMIPSwaslookingtoget

backintothehandheldmarketcameinJune

ReadmyMIPS

Discussions about the CPU battleground usually focus on Intel and ARM,

but MIPS is an exciting newcomer to themobile CPUmarket

mobilemarketafresh.

Undernewchiefexecutive

SandeepVij,Android-

relatedannouncements

camethickandfast,

includingthelaunchof

theAinol7inIceCream

Sandwichtablet,thefirst

suchdevicetoretailfor

under$100.Morerecently,

KarbonnMobileswasthe

secondcompanyinthe

worldtoannouncean

Android4.1JellyBean

device,basedagainona

MIPSprocessor.

AswithARM,MIPSdoesntmakechips,but

sellsdesignstothird-partymanufacturers.

Unlikeamanufacturingcompanysuchas

Intel,whichhastofindthecashtoproduce

enoughprocessorstomeetdemand,MIPS

andARMcansitbackandwatchthelicensing

feescomefloodinginleavingtheirvarious

partnersholdingmostoftherisk.Itsthisrisk

thatsslowingtheadoptionofMIPSoverARM

inthemobileindustry,withmostcompanies

stilloptingforthetried-and-testedBritish

option,butadesigniscomingthatpromises

tochangeallthat:theMIPSproAptivcore.

MIPS PROAPTIV

Designedfortheperformancemarket,the

MIPSproActiv ticksalotofboxes:availablein

single,dual,quadorhex-coreflavours,the

processorusesafusedtriple-dispatch

superscalarout-of-orderexecutionengine,

andahigh-performancefloating-pointunit,

all inabundlethattakesuplessspacethan

theequivalentdesignfromARMwhile

boastingequivalentorgreaterperformance.

2009,whenthecompanyannouncedthat

GooglesAndroidplatformhadbeenportedto

theMIPSinstructionsetarchitecture.Later

thatyear,MIPSwouldannouncemembership

oftheOpenHandsetAlliance,confirming,if

therewasanydoubt,thatitwaslookingatthe

F

MIPSproAptivdesign

includessomeneattricksto

keepdataflowing

TheproAptivIPscalesuptosixcores,eachofwhichis

claimedtobe50percentfasterthananARMCortex-A9


WorldMags.net

21January 2013

GARETH

HALFACREE

isthenewsreporterat

www.bit-tech.net.He

knowsallabout the

latestnewsinPCandmobiletech.

@ghalfacree

thelikesofAtmelandNXPthelatter,funnily

enough,usingARM-licenseddesigns.The

designsarenowreadilyavailable,meaning

thatitsuptothecompanyscustomersto

makeproductsbasedonthechips.

MIPS vs INTEL vs ARM

WhileIntelandARMhavebeenfighting,MIPS

hasbeenquietlyworkingontheproAptiv

design,anditsnowcomingoutofleft-field.

Suddenlythetwogiantsoneholdinga

near-monopolyinthesmartphoneand

tabletmarket,andtheotherholdingasimilar

positioninthedesktop,laptopandserver

marketsarefightingawaronthreefronts,

andshouldMIPSclaimsforthebenefitsof

proAptivswayOEMs,bothcouldloseserious

groundinanincreasinglylucrativemarket.

ThecomingfightissomethingofaDavid

vstwoGoliathsepicwhileIntelhasmore

than100,000employeesthroughoutthe

world,andARMhasaround2,000,MIPSis

amuchsmallerorganisationofaround160.

WhetherthatwillhelpMIPSwithincreased

flexibility,orhinderitwithalackofresources,

incompetingwithtwoofthebiggestnamesin

thechipindustryremainstobeseen.

UsingdetailsreleasedatARMTechCon,

MIPSpredictsthatadual-coreproAptivchip

with1MBofL2cachewillbejustoverhalfthe

sizeofadual-coreCortex-A15chip,soyoucan

packfourproAptivcoresintothesamespace.

Fordeviceswhereeverymillimetrecounts

buthighperformanceisdemanded,thatsa

powerfulargumentforamovetoMIPS.

Cortex-A15performancemetricsarehard

tofind,butarereadilyavailableforchipsbased

onARMsCortex-A9designandMIPSlooks

likeanearlywinner.UsingtheCoreMark

benchmark,theproAptivdesignachieves

ascoreof4.5perMHz,some50percent

higherthantheCortex-A9thatsattheheart

ofmostmodernsmartphonesandtablets.

ConsideringthattheCortex-A9designis

thebasisforhigh-performanceprocessors,

includingNvidiasTegra3andSamsungs

Exynos,thatsaprettyimpressivefigure.

JustincaseyouthoughtMIPSmightjustbe

bad-mouthingthecompetition,thecompany

isquicktopointoutthattheproAptivdesign

leavesitsownlast-generationproductsinthe

dusttoo,withaboostofaround60percent

comparedtoitsCoreMarkper-megahertz

resultsfromthepreviousMIPS1074Kseries.

UNDER THE BONNET

Theseperformancegainscomefroma

wealthofimprovementscomparedtoMIPS

earlierdesigns,includingsomeclevertricks

suchastheuseofinstructionbondingto

makeasinglememorypipelineappearastwo

tothehostoperatingsystem.Theresalsoan

EnhancedVirtualAddressing(EVA)system

forbetteraddressspaceutilisation,anda

sophisticatedbranchpredictionenginethat

promisesfewercachemisses.

Thefloating-pointunit isalsoparticularly

clever.Unlikepreviousdesigns,whichran

theFPUataslowerspeedthanthemain

processor,theproAptivdesignrunstheFPU

atthesamespeedastheCPU.Asaresult,

latencyisreducedandthethroughput

improved,whilethesmartuseofdedicated

schedulersandincreasedparallelismmeans

thatmoreinstructionscanwhizzthroughthe

systemthaneverbefore.

Asecond-generationcoherencemanager

alsoboostsperformance,boastingadesign

thatdropslatencyfromaround24cyclesto

11,andoffersarounddoublethesystem

bandwidthovertheprevious-generation

engine.TheresalsoadedicatedL2cache

controllerwithinthecoherencymanager

itself;thisrequiredaseparatecomponent

inpreviousdesigns.

ThefamilyofchipsenvisionedbyMIPS

coversawidespectrum;mobileandtablet

versionsrunningbetween1GHzand1.5GHz

willfeaturesingle,dualorquad-coredesigns

andanintegrateddigital-signalprocessor,

whileset-topboxversionsnotencumbered

bybatterylifewillreach2GHz.

Thesamearchitecturewillalsopower

futurenetworkdevices,withsingletohex-

coreimplementationsrunningatspeeds

between1GHzand2GHz.

TheproAptivdesignisjoinedbythe

interAptivandmicroAptivfamilies,each

cheaperbutlesspowerfulthanthelast.

WiththemicroAptiv,MIPSiseventargeting

traditionalmicrocontrollermarketsheldby

Adual-coreproAptivdesigncanfit1MBofL2cacheinto

thesamespacethatanARMsCortex-A15needsforthe

processorsalone

MIPSclaimsthattheproAptivdesigneasilybeststhecompetition,butwillOEMsbeconvinced?


WorldMags.net


WorldMags.net

24 April 2012

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NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED PRICE (inc VAT)

A

AntecOne www.overclockers.co.uk www.antec.com Issue108,p36 37

B

GigabyteGA-F2A75M-D3H www.overclockers.co.uk www.gigabyte.com Issue112,p44 56

C

AMDA10-5800K www.aria.co.uk www.amd.com Issue112,p60 93

D

8GBCorsairVengeance2,133MHzCAS11 www.cclonline.com www.corsair.com Issue112,p60 47

E

GelidTranquilloRev.2 www.scan.co.uk www.gelidsolutions.com Issue100,p86 25

F

BeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W www.scan.co.uk www.bequiet.com Issue 110, p55 55

G

500GBSeagateBarracudaST500DM002 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104,p72 42

H

Lite-On IHAS124-19 www.dabs.com www.liteonit.eu Issue99,p108 14

I

MicrosoftWindows7HomePremium64-bit www.scan.co.uk www.microsoft.com Issue 75, p46 119

TOTALSYSTEMPRICE

488

A

B

MOTHERBOARD

F

PSU

G

HARD DISK

D

RAM

H

OPTICAL DRIVE

E

COOLING

I

OPERATING SYSTEM

C

APU

U

P

D

A

T

E

D

U

P

D

A

T

E

D

U

P

D

A

T

E

D


WorldMags.net

25April 2012

As Core i7 motherboards and high-end graphics cards command a

premium price, here are some components for a Core i5 PC that offer

great performance and wont break the bank

NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED PRICE (inc VAT)

A

SilverStoneRavenRV03 www.scan.co.uk www.silverstonetek.com Issue103,p70 104

B

GigabyteGA-Z77-D3H www.scan.co.uk www.gigabyte.com Issue108,p38 79

C

IntelCore i5-3570K www.scan.co.uk www.intel.co.uk Issue106,p36 173

D

8GBPatriotG2PGD38G1600ELK www.amazon.co.uk www.patriotmemory.com Issue106,p40 37

E

ArcticFreezer i30 www.dabs.com www.arctic.ac Issue104,p48 28

F

AMDRadeonHD78502GB www.overclockers.co.uk www.amd.com Issue111,p62 150

G

BeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W www.scan.co.uk www.bequiet.com Issue110,p55 55

H

SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 www.scan.co.uk www.seagate.com Issue104,p75 69

I

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

J

SamsungSSD830128GB www.scan.co.uk www.samsung.com Issue104,p68 80

K


L


TOTALSYSTEMPRICE 932

A

G H I J L

PSU HARD DISK SOUND CARD SOLID STATE DRIVE OPERATING SYSTEM

F

GRAPHICS CARD

B D E

MOTHERBOARD RAM COOLINGCPU

C

Fractal Design Core 1000 PC Case

A unique combination of design, features,

cooling performance and value

2x 3.5" Bays, 2x 5.25" Bays

2x Front USB 2.0

1x Front 120mm Fan

Supports up to 3x 2.5 SSDs

CCL Code - CAS0478

31.19

www.cclonline.com/cpc

08000 50 10 10



WorldMags.net

26 April 2012


Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D2V Motherboard

Amazing price Socket 1155 motherboard!

Socket 1155 Motherboard

MicroATX Form Factor

Up to 16GB DDR3 Memory

Gigabit LAN

www.cclonline.com

38.94

CCL Code - MBD0340

WERE

AWARD

WINNERS!

PC Pro 2011

Highly Commended

Amazing price Socket 1155 motherboard!


This PC has the potential to be the finest gamingmachine you can find as

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

video production andmedia playback

NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED

PRICE (inc VAT)

A

SilverStoneFortressFT02B-WUSB3.0 www.scan.co.uk www.silverstonetek.com Issue85,p88 180

B

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

C


D

8GBPatriotG2PGD38G1600ELK www.amazon.co.uk www.patriotmemory.com Issue106,p40 37

E

BeQuiet!DarkRockAdvanced www.scan.co.uk www.bequiet.com Issue91,p74 41

F

AMDRadeonHD79703GBGHzEdition www.overclockers.co.uk www.amd.com Issue111,p70 336

G

SeasonicX-Series660W www.overclockers.co.uk www.seasonic.com Issue110,p59 115

H


I

AsusXonarDX www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue80,p63 59

J

OCZVertex4256GB www.ebuyer.co.uk www.ocztechnology.com Issue104,p68 160

K


L


TOTALSYSTEMPRICE

1,453

G H I J L

PSU HARD DISK SOUND CARD SOLID STATE DRIVE OPERATING SYSTEM

F

GRAPHICS CARD

A

B D E

MOTHERBOARD CPU RAM COOLING

C


WorldMags.net

27April 2012

128GB Crucial M4 2.5" Solid State Drive

Amazing performance and reliability

One of the best SSDs you can buy today!

SATA III Interface

Read Speed: 500 MB/s

Write Speed: 175 MB/s

TRIM Support, 9.5mm Prole

CCL Code - HDD0532

78.16


08000 50 10 10


Themost awesome components around, before reaching workstation

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

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

G H

I

J K

PSU SOLID STATE DRIVE SOUND CARD HARD DISK OPERATING SYSTEM

A

NAME SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER REVIEWED

PRICE (inc VAT)

A

SilverStoneTemjinTJ07B-W www.scan.co.uk www.silverstonetek.com Issue63,p87 227

B

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

C


D

8GBKingstonHyperXGenesis

KHX1866C11D3P1K2/8G

www.overclockers.co.uk www.kingston.com Issue106,p40 40

E

NvidiaGeForceGTX6902GB www.scan.co.uk www.nvidia.com Issue106,p46 779

F

CorsairH100 www.scan.co.uk www.corsair.com Issue91,p74 82

G

BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10850W www.scan.co.uk www.bequiet.com Issue 110, p64 167

H

OCZVertex4256GB www.ebuyer.co.uk www.ocztechnology.com Issue107,p44 160

I

AsusXonarDX www.scan.co.uk http://uk.asus.com Issue80,p63 59

J


K


TOTALSYSTEMPRICE 2,101

B D

MOTHERBOARD CPU RAM

C E F

GRAPHICS CARD

COOLING


WorldMags.net

28 April 2012


Viewsonic VC310 Digital Video Camcorder

Captures Every Beautiful Moment

Full 1080p Video Capture

3 Touch Screen

16x Digital Zoom

HDMI Output

www.cclonline.com

49.99

CCL Code - CAM1738

WERE

AWARD

WINNERS!

PC Pro 2011

Highly Commended

Viewsonic VC310 Digital Video Camcorder


TYPE

CPU MOTHERBOARD COOLER RAM

NAME

IntelCore i5-3570K AsusMaximusVGene ArcticFreezer i30

8GBPatriotG2

PGD38G1600ELK

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

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

REVIEWED Issue106,p36 Issue106,p64 Issue104,p48 Issue106,p40

PRICE(incVAT) 173 150 28 37

TYPE

GRAPHICS CARD GRAPHICS CARD GRAPHICS CARD

NAME

AMDRadeonHD78502GB NvidiaGeForceGTX6702GB AMDRadeonHD79703GBGHzEdition

SUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk

MANUFACTURER www.amd.com www.nvidia.com www.amd.com

REVIEWED Issue111,p61 Issue111,p68 Issue111,p70

PRICE(incVAT) 150 276 336


WorldMags.net

29April 2012

Acer G6 Series 21.5 Full HD LED Monitor

Acer's gaming style Full HD LED monitor

1x VGA, 1x DVI-D Inputs

1920 x 1080 Full HD Resolution

5ms Response Time

LED-backlit Monitor

CCL Code - MON0937

79.96


08000 50 10 10


TYPE


NAME

AMDA10-5800K GigabyteGA-F2A75M-D3H GelidTranquilloRev.2

8GBCorsairVengeance

2,133MHzCAS11

SUPPLIER www.aria.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk www.scan.co.uk www.cclonline.com

MANUFACTURER www.amd.com www.gigabyte.com www.gelidsolutions.com www.corsair.com



TYPE


NAME IntelCore i7-3930K AsusSabertoothX79 CorsairH80 16GBCorsairVengeance

CAS9DDR3

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

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



U

P

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D

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D


WorldMags.net

30 April 2012


O

u

r

b

e

s

t

s

e

l

l

in

g

g

a

m

in

g

P

C

e

v

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l

v

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d

-

B

e

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r

G

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p

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ic

s

,

B

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r

H

a

r

d

D

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iv

e

-

B

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t

t

e

r

D

e

a

l

!

AMD FX-4100 3.6GHz CPU, 8GB DDR3 Memory, AMD Radeon HD 7770

1TB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Built-in Wi-Fi, 2 Year Warranty

TYPE

BUDGET CASE MICRO-ATX CASE AIR-COOLING CASE WATER-COOLING CASE

NAME

AntecOne SilverStoneTJ08-E SilverStoneRavenRV03 SilverStoneTemjinTJ07B-W

SUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk 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



TYPE

LGA1155 CPU

WATERBLOCK

GEFORCE GTX 680

WATERBLOCK

RADEONHD 7970

WATERBLOCK

DUAL 120MMRADIATOR

NAME

XSPCRayStormCPU XSPCRazorGTX680

AquacomputeraquagrATIx

forHD7970

AlphacoolNexXxosUT60

FullCopper240mm

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

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




WorldMags.net

31April 2012

www.cclonline.comwww.cclonline.com

Call us on 08000 50 10 10

Monitors and desktop bundles are available separately.

TYPE

HARD DISK SSD NAS BOX

NAME

SeagateBarracuda2TBST2000DM001 OCZVertex4256GB SynologyDiskStationDS212j

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

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



TYPE 530W PSU

660W PSU

850W PSU 1.2kW PSU

NAME BeQuiet!PurePowerL8

530W

SeasonicX-Series660W

XFXPro850WXXXEdition

(Silver)

CorsairAX1200i

SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk www.scan.co.uk

MANUFACTURER www.bequiet.com www.seasonic.com www.xfxforce.com www.corsair.com

REVIEWED Issue110, p55 Issue110, p59 Issue110, p71 Issue111, p40



WorldMags.net

32 April 2012


O

u

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b

e

s

t

s

e

l

l

in

g

I

n

t

e

l

g

a

m

in

g

P

C

e

v

o

l

v

e

d

-

B

e

t

t

e

r

G

r

a

p

h

ic

s

-

B

ig

g

e

r

H

a

r

d

D

r

iv

e

Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz CPU, 8GB DDR3 Memory, NVIDIA GeForce

GTX 560Ti, 1TB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, 2 Year Warranty

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.amazon.co.uk

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



TYPE

24INMONITOR 27INMONITOR TRIPLE-MONITOR STAND

NAME

DellUltraSharpU2412M DellUltraSharpU2711 XFXTripleDisplayMonitorStand

SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk www.cclonline.com www.scan.co.uk

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




WorldMags.net

33April 2012

www.cclonline.comwww.cclonline.com

Call us on 08000 50 10 10

Monitors and desktop bundles are available separately.

TYPE

KEYBOARD MOUSE STEERINGWHEEL JOYSTICK

NAME

MionixZibal60 MaonixNaos3200 LogitechG27 LogitechFlightSystemG940

SUPPLIER www.lambda-tek.com www.overclockers.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk www.amazon.co.uk

MANUFACTURER www.mionix.net www.mionix.net www.logitech.com www.logitech.com


PRICE(incVAT) 101 35 200 249

TYPE

RPG FPS STRATEGY UNDERDOG

NAME

ElderScrollsV:Skyrim Dishonored FrozenSynapse Trine2

DEVELOPER www.bethsoft.com www.arkane-studios.com www.mode7games.com http://frozenbyte.com

PUBLISHER www.bethsoft.com www.bethsoft.com www.mode7games.com http://frozenbyte.com


PRICE(incVAT) 30 26 19 for two 12


WorldMags.net

44

GIGABYTE

GA-Z77X-UP7

Amotherboardwith

impressiveVRMcircuitry.

40

AMDFX-8350

CanAMDsnew

Piledrivercore compete

againstIvyBridge?

46

SYNOLOGYDS213+

Adual-bayNASwith

adual-coreCPU,butisit

worththeextramoney?

42

NANOXIADEEP

SILENCE1

Super-quietcooling

withoutsacrificingspeed?

50

GRIPPYPAD

Suspendyourtablet

orsmartphoneinmid-air,

ifyoutrustit.

50

EDIFIERSOUND

TOGOPLUS

Mmm,brushed

aluminium.

51

AMAZONKINDLE

FIREHD16GB

TheUKfinallygets

AmazonsAndroidtablets.

51

ARCTICP402

Is23enoughtobuy

youarespectablesetof

earphones?Wefindout.

34 January 2013

Our in-depth analysis of

the latest PC hardware

36


WorldMags.net

35January 2013

HOWWETEST,P48

Windows8Pro

Waitaminute,this

doesntlooklike

Windows.Wetryoutthe

newOStoseeifitsstill

appropriateforuseon

desktopPCs

36


WorldMags.net

36 January 2013

HOW MUCH?

Price24.99(download);

49.99(boxed)

Supplierhttp://windows.

microsoft.com/en-GB/

windows/buy

Manufacturer

www.microsoft.com

singWindows8forthefirsttimeisratherlike

goinghometofindsomeonehastakenaway

yourfrontdoorandbrickeduptheholewith

Duplo.Then,whenyougototheshedtosee

ifyoucanengineerabreak-in,youfindthatallyour

powertoolshavebeenreplacedbymulti-coloured

pipecleaners.Yourlandlord,whoswaitinginthe

gardenwithabigsmile,tellsyouthatyourlifeisnow

goingtobeawholeloteasierthankstoallthegreat

changeshesmade.Thenhestealsallyourchairs.

Bynow,youprobablyknowthatWindows8isnt,by

default,yourusualversionofWindows.Whenyoustart

theOS,youregreetedbyabrand-newtile-basedStart

menu,whichtakesupthewholescreen,andshows

youaselectionofbig-screenapps.Then,whenyou

findtheDesktopbuttonandclickonit,youretaken

toaWindowsdesktopthatdoesnthaveaStartbutton

inthecorner.

Bigdeal,youmightthink.Loadsofoperating

systemsdonthaveStartbuttons,sowhydoes

Windowsneedone?Itdoesnt,ofcourse,butif its

goingtoremovetheStartbutton,itneedstoreplaceit

withsomethingthatworkseitheraswellorbetter. In

thiscase,thereplacementisthetile-basedmenuwe

mentionedearlier,whichMicrosoftcallsMetro.

Why,Ihearyouask?Well,whenMicrosoftfirst

startedpreviewingWindows7,itreleasedallsortsof

videostoshowoffthenewmulti-touchfeatures,such

aspeopleplayingvirtualpianosonWindows7tablets.

Then,whenWindows7cameout,virtuallynopopular

tabletssupporteditbecause,basically,theWindows

desktopisreallyhorribletousewithjustatouch-

screen,asyoucantachievethenecessaryprecision.

Microsoftsawthetabletmarkethooveredupby

AppleandGoogle,andrealiseditneededtogetthis

rightnexttime.TheanswerisWindows8theidea

beingthatitgivesyouthebestofbothworldsinone

package.Ithasthetablet-friendlyMetrointerface,and

aloadofsupportingappsintheWindows8appstore,

butyoucanalsorunstandardWindowssoftwareinit

indesktopmode.Everyonesawinner,right?

No,atleastnotinthiscase.Flippingbetweenthe

MetrointerfaceandtheWindowsdesktopisfarfrom

anaturalexperience,andonethatquicklybecomes

achore.Thetwosystemsareclearlytargetedatvery

differentdevicesand,whenyouconsiderthat

MicrosofthasitsSurfaceprojectfortabletsanyway,

youhavetowonderwhyitthoughtcouplingthetwo

together wasagoodidea.

It isntthattheMetrointerfaceisbad.Infact,ona

tablet, itworksbrilliantlyandsmoothly. Itsjustthatits

socompletelyinappropriateforuseonadesktopPC

withoutatouch-screen.Microsofthastrieditsbestto

forcethetwosystemstogetherbyenablingyoutodock

Metroappsontheleftorrightofthedesktop.However,

theresnoreasontodothiswithmostoftheapps,as

theyreagaingearedtowardstablets,andhavea

limitedfeatureset.Wetriedoutseveralsocialmedia

apps,andtrieddockingthemtoonesideofthe

desktop,butnoneofthemwasanywherenearas

flexibleandusefulastheirdesktopequivalents.

Whenyoufirsttryoutthedesktopmode,youalso

havethenhavethefrustratingchallengeoffinding

everythinglikeanEasteregghunt,exceptyoucant

doyourjobuntilyoucompleteit.WheresthePower

button,forexample?Togettoit,youhavetomovethe

U

MICROSOFT

Windows 8 Pro

WINDOWS 7

Fast boot-up time;

Metro interface

great for tablets;

improved Task

Manager; better

multi-monitor

support

WINDOWS ME

Metro interface

inappropriate

for desktop;

generally slower

performance;

lacks Media

Center; no Aero;

no Start button;

struggles with

non-certied

drivers

All change as Windows gears up for the tablet

generation, but is it still appropriate for desktops?

YoucandockMetroappstotheleftorrightofthestandard

Windowsdesktop

WherearealltheWindowsapps?HeretheyareintheSearch

sectioninthenewMetrointerface


WorldMags.net

37January 2013

OPERATING SYSTEM

mousetothetop-rightcornertobringuptheCharms

menu,wherefiveiconsglidesmoothlyovertheright

edgeofthedesktop.Youthenneedtoclickonthe

SettingsCharm,andthePowerbuttonisatthe

bottom.YoullalsofindtheControlPanelhere.

TheCharmsmenucontainstheSearchfeaturetoo,

whichtakesyoubackouttotheMetroStartmenu.If

youwanttofindtheCalculator,forexample,typeit in

hereanditwillappear.IfyouclickonAppsinthe

Searchmenu,youllalsoseeabigarrayoficons,

showingwhatyouusedtogetintheStartmenu.

Tomakemattersworse,someofthesettingsforthe

wholeOScanonlybefoundintheMetroStartmenu,

andothersonlyinthedesktopmenu.Youcant just

ignoreMetro Microsoftforcesyoutouseit.

Forexample,Windows8hasaverylowtolerance

fornon-certifieddrivers.Wecouldnt installourlaser

printerdriveronthedesktop,aswekeptgettingan

errormessage,andthesetupprocessthenexited.If

youwantWindowstoinstallnon-certifieddrivers

(whichisessentialfortheaverageenthusiast),you

havetogothroughaseriesofmenusintheMetro

interfaceandthenrestartyourmachine.

Likewise,wethenfoundthattheWindowsUpdate

systemwasdifferentintheMetroanddesktopmodes,

andweactuallyhadtousetheMetroversioninorderto

updatecertainpartsofMicrosoftOffice.

Inshort,Windows8sMetrointerfaceisaserious

improvementoverWindows7fortablets,butits

completelyunintuitiveonadesktopPC.Wewantedto

befairthough.Humansarefamouslyhostiletowards

change,anditmaywellbethatthisisjustanewway

ofworking,anditbecomesbetterwhenyougetused

toit.SowespentaweekusingitasthemainCustom

PCproductionPC,wherewehadtoworkwithall

ourdesktopappsoniteveryday,usingInDesign,

Photoshop,MicrosoftOfficeandplayingvarious

games,foraweek,toseeif itbecamebettertouse.

Actuallyitdoes,becauseyoulearntotweakit.One

essentialpurchasehastobeStardocksStart8app

(www.stardock.com),whichcostsjust$4.99(3)and

givesyoubacktheStartbutton.Cueamassivesighof

reliefasyoucansuddenlyfindeverythingagain.You

alsoquicklylearntojustignoretheMetroapps,as

theyregenerallycompletelyinappropriatefora

desktopcomputerwithoutatouch-screen.So,once

youveforcedittoacceptnon-certifieddrivers,pinned

yourdesktopappstothedesktoptaskbar,downloaded

properdesktopversionsofyourappsandgotyour

Startbuttonback,itsjustlikeusingWindows7again.

Infact, insomeways,itsbetterthanacleaninstall

ofWindows7.Theboot-uptimeismuchquicker,for

astartconsistentlyfivesecondsquickeronourtest

system.Theinstallationprocesshadnotrouble

detectingperipheralsconnectedtoUSB3portseither.

ThenewlydesignedTaskManagerisgreattoo,giving

youadetailedanduser-friendlybreakdownofhow

yourPCisusingitsvariousresources.

Multi-monitorsupporthasalsoimproved,with

extramonitorsnowgettingtheirownindependent

taskbarsifyouwantthem.

However,thenewOSalsoexcludesafewother

features thatyoumightbeexpecting.WindowsMedia

Center,forastart, isntbundledasstandardanymore

itsanoptionaldownloadthatwillsetyoubackan

extra6.99.TheWindowsBackupsystemhasalso

changedtoanewsystemcalledFileHistory,which

onlybacksupyourWindowsLibraries(documents,

pictures,musicandsoon),ratherthanspecificfolders

elsewhere.Ontheplusside,whilethisismorelimited,

itsmuchmoreuser-friendly,enablingyoutoeasily

browsethefilesstoredinyourbackup.Usefully, itcan

alsokeepahistory,asitsnamesuggests,offilesthat

youvechanged,soyoucanrollbacktoprevious

versionsifyouwant.

YoualsodontgetAero,withitstransparent

windows,anymore.Microsoftssaysitlooksgarish

now.Ofcourse,trendsaredifficulttopredictinthe

38

MissingtheStartbuttonand

menu?InstallStardocksStart8

apptogetitback

WelcometoWindowsthisisthe

newMetroStartmenu.Itlooks

lovely,anditworksgreatona

tablet,butitscounter-intuitive

onadesktop


WorldMags.net

38 January 2013

OPERATING SYSTEM

GIMP IMAGE EDITING

Stock speed

0

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

1,932

1,833

Windows 8

Windows 7

REBOOT TIME, INCLUDING POST (SECONDS)

0

7 14 21 28

50

50

26

21

Windows 8

Windows 7

SATA 6Gbps (MB/sec)

0

150 300 450 600

546

541

517

510

Windows 8

Windows 7

THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM (DX9)

0

25 50 75 100

47fps

50fps

38fps

42fps

Windows 8

Windows 7

HANDBRAKE H.264 VIDEO ENCODING

0

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

3,367

3,339

Windows 8

Windows 7

MULTI-TASKING

0

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

1,677

1,493

Windows 8

Windows 7

OVERALL

0

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

2,325

2,222

Windows 8

Windows 7

Stock speed min Stock speed avg

1,920 x 1,080, 4x AA, 16x AF. With Radeon HD 7850

0

25 50 75 100

74fps

73fps

60fps

55fps

Windows 8

Windows 7

1,920 x 1,080, 4x AA, 16x AF. With GeForce GTX 670

THE WITCHER 2

0

25 50 75 100

50fps

50fps

41fps

41fps

Windows 8

Windows 7

1,920 x 1,080, Ultra preset. With Radeon HD 7850

0

25 50 75 100

75fps

73fps

59fps

59fps

Windows 8

Windows 7

1,920 x 1,080, 4x AA, 16x AF. With GeForce GTX 670

Write Read

TEST KIT

4.2GHzIntelCorei5-2500K

CPU,AsusMaximusV

Formulamotherboard,

8GBCorsair1,600MHz

DDR3memory,OCZVertex

3128GBSSD,Nvidia

GeForce306.97,AMD

Catalyst12.10

customPC

64

OVERALL

future,Microsoftmaybeprovedright,and thesee-

throughwindowswill lookalittlecheesy,butatthe

moment,theflatcoloursandboxesthatoutline

Windows8swindowsareananticlimax.Wepreferred

Aero,andwedontcareifthatmakesusuncool.

PERFORMANCE

Aftergettingusedtothequirksofthenewinterface,

wethenwantedtoseehowitperformed.Everything

workedexceptCrysis2oncewedupgradedittotheDX

11versionwiththehigh-restexturepack.Thisisa

worry,butyoucanatleastgetitworkinginDX9mode.

Allourothertestsransmoothly,althoughtherewere

somenotableperformancedifferencesinsomeareas,

asyoucanseefromthegraphs.

Mostnotably,Windows8knockedaround100

pointsoffourimageeditingtestresult,and184

pointsoffthemulti-taskingresult.Similarly,theSATA

6Gbpsperformancealsodippedslightly,thoughnot

disastrously,withthenewOS.

Gamingperformancewasalsointeresting,aswe

testedthenewOSonbothanAMDandanNvidiaGPU

toseehowtheirrespectivedriversfared.AMDseems

tohavegotitright,withWindows8eithermaintaining

orevenimprovingframeratesinSkyrimandThe

Witcher2.

However,theNvidiaGPUdidntfarequiteaswell

ourtestGeForceGTX670 producedaminimumof

60fpsinSkyrimat1,920x1,080inWindows7,butthis

consistentlydroppedto55fpsinWindows8.Inshort, it

looksasthoughAMDsimplyhasbetterWindows8

graphicsdriversthanNvidiaatthemoment.

CONCLUSION

WeunderstandwhyMicrosoftmadeWindows8the

tabletmarketisbooming,andthedesktopmarketis

declining.However,thedefaultpackageofWindows8,

whichmarriesadecenttabletinterfacewithadecent

desktopinterface,butthenmessesitupbyforcingthe

twotoworktogether, isadisasterforanyonewho

properlyusesadesktopPC.AndasthisisCustomPC,

werereviewingitasadesktopoperatingsystem,

ratherthanatabletOS.

Aftersometinkering,youcangetWindows8todo

whatyouwant,butthisisahassleand,asidefrom

quickerboottimes,youdontgainanythingfrom

theupgrade.It isntlikeWindowsVista,whereyou

toleratedtheclunkydriversupportandharddrive-

hammeringsearchsystem,butatleastyouhad

DirectX10andtheAerointerface.Windows8doesnt

offercomparableperks.

Ifanything,ittakesawayperks,particularlywhen

youconsiderthegeneralnegativeeffecttheOShadon

ourperformancetests.IfyoualreadyhaveWindows7

HomePremium,dontbotherupgradingtoWindows8

onadesktopPC,evenforthecheapdownloadpriceof

24.99it isntworthit. IfyoubuyanewPCthathas

Windows8,however,dontworryitsintimidatingat

first,butyoucangetittobehaveifyoutinkerwithit.

BEN HARDWIDGE

37

ThenewPowerbuttonisburiedin

theSettingsoptionintheWindows

Charmsmenu


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40 January 2013

HOW MUCH?

Price164incVAT

Manufacturer

www.amd.com

Supplierwww.scan.co.uk

IN DETAIL

Frequency4GHz(4.2GHz

TurboFrequency)

CorePiledriver

GPUNone

Numberofcores

8xphysical

CacheL1:4x64KBshared

instructioncaches,8x16KB

datacaches(384KBintotal)

L2:4x2MBL3:4x2MB

PackagingAM3+

Thermaldesignpower

(TDP)125W

FeaturesSSE,SSE2,SSE3,

SSE4a,SSE4.1,SSE4.2,

256-bitAVX,AESNI,

PCLMULQDQ,AMD64,

CoolnQuiet3.0,AMD-V,

MMX,FMA4,XOP

hileAMDisconsistentlycompetitivewith

NvidiaontheGPUfront, itstop-endCPUs

havebeenconsistentlyoutperformedby

Intelscompetitioninrecentyears.Last

yearsBulldozerarchitecturewassupposedtobethe

shotinthearmAMDneeded,buttheflagshipFX-8150

CPUfellfarshortofexpectations,offeringpoorsingle-

threadedperformance,beforebeingagainsurpassed

byIntelsIvyBridgeCPUsthisyear.

TheFX-8350hasitsworkcutout,then,asitsnew

Piledriverarchitectureismoreanoptimisedversionof

Bulldozerthantheall-newarchitectureAMDarguably

needstoleveltheCPUplayingfield.Piledriverstill

usesthesamelayoutasitspredecessor,madeupof

uptofourmodules,eachcontainingtwox86integer

cores.Thecoresarentself-contained,though,and

shareresourceswithineachmodule,suchasthefetch

anddecodeunits,andthefloating-pointscheduler.

Eachindividualcorehas16KBofL1datacache,with

eachmodulesporting64KBofL1instructioncache

and2MBofL2datacache.The8MBL3cacheisthen

sharedbetweenallfourmodules.I

Custom PC Magazine UK January 2013

Documents

Transcript of Custom PC Magazine UK January 2013