Custom PC UK 2012-11 PDF

INSIDE: NVIDIAS NEW GEFORCE GTX 660 Ti REVIEWED
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PC BUILDING
MASTERCLASS
L ASS
How to build
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in just a
few hours
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MEGATEST
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PLUS
HOW TO
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HOW TO: MAKE AN LED TEMP SENSOR
ISSUE 110
NOV 2012
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Welcome to Issue 110

Editorial
Publishing & Marketing
TECHNICALEDITOR
HarryButler
MARKETINGEDITORIALEXECUTIVE
PaulGoodhead
paul_goodhead@dennis.co.uk
EDITOR
BenHardwidge
editor@custompc.co.uk
GAMESEDITOR
JoeMartin
ARTEDITOR
BillBagnall
PRODUCTIONEDITOR
JulieBirrell
CONTRIBUTORS
AntonyLeather, CliffHarris,
GarethHalfacree,JamesGorbold,
JimKillock,LucySherriff,
PaulGoodhead,RickLane,
SimonTreadaway,TomMorgan
PHOTOGRAPHY
AntonyLeather,
BenHardwidge,DannyBird,
GarethHalfacree
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WorldMags.net
November 2012
Welcome to Issue 110
PC BUILDING
MASTERCLASS
92
Assembling the various

building blocks of your first
PC can be a daunting task if
you dont know how it all goes together.
Long-serving PC builder BenHardwidge
shows you how to build a neat and tidy PC
without being sent back to noob school.
52
12
40
DIGITALASSETS
Youdontowndownloadedbooks,
filmsorsongs.Instead,youborrowthem.
14
SAVEOURDARKSOULS
JoetalkstoDarkSoulsdirector
HidetakaMiyazakiaboutthedifference
betweenJapaneseandwesterngames.
20
CLOUDGAMING
OnLivemightbeinitsdeaththroes,
butcloudgamingcouldstillhaveabigimpact
ontabletgaming.
November 2012
36
36
PNYNVIDIAGEFORCEGTX
660Ti2GB
Notthecardyoumightexpectfromthe
modelnumber.Itcosts250,andhaslotin
commonwiththeGeForceGTX670,including
theGPUclockspeedandthenumberof
streamprocessors.
38
PRE-BUILTPINT-SIZED
POWER
Wetakealookatatinymini-ITXPCfromScan,
whichstillfeaturesanoverclockedIvyBridge
CPUandaGeForceGTX660Tigraphicscard.
42
LOW-VOLTAGEOVERCLOCKS
80
COUNTER-STRIKE:GLOBAL
OFFENSIVE
GigabytesGA-Z77X-UP4-TH
enablesustooverclockourIvyBridgeCPU
to4.8GHzwithavoltageofjust1.3V.
JoeexplainswhyhethinksthelatestCounterStrikemodhitsthesweetspot.
88
DEVPERSPECTIVE
AIishard.Reallyhard,itturnsout.
CliffHarrisexplainswhygamingAIoftenfails
WorldMags.net
1ssue 110
36
92
80
GRAPHICS CARD
36 PNY Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB
52
114
Reviewed this month
Hardware
PC
38
MONITOR
40 Philips C-Line 249C4QH
110
MOTHERBOARD
42 Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP4-TH
102
114
Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu
47
PRODUCTS
REVIEWED
COOLER
44 Thermaltake Frio Extreme
MOUSE
46 Razer Taipan
Custom kit
50
50
50
51
51
51
Breffo Spiderpodium
Versus Touchpad 7 8GB
Stronghold
Gigabyte Krypton
View Quest iDice Speaker
Zalman ZM-DS1000 Monitor Stand
PSU Labs test
104
Regulars
toliveuptoexpectations,andwhyweshould
sympathisewiththeAIcoder.
102 MODSONPARADE
Antonyreportsonthegreatest
modshespottedatCampusPartyEuropein
Berlinthisyear.
110
HOWTOMAKEANLED
TEMPERATURESENSOR
GarethHalfacreeshowsyouhowtogetyour
handsdirtywithanArduinomicrocontroller,
bymakingatemp-sensitivelightsystem.
8 From the editor

12 Digital rights
14 Interview
16 Incoming
18 Science!
20 Mobile tech watch
24 CPC Elite products
48 How we test
78 Grumpy gamer
88 Dev perspective
90 The engine room
128 Retro tech
130 James Gorbold
Community
104 Readers drives

110 How to make an LED
temperature sensor
114 How to paint inside your case
116 Letters
125 Folder of the month
126 Your folding milestones
WorldMags.net
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Antec Earthwatts EA-550 Platinum

Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 530W
Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 550W
Cooler Master GX 550W
Corsair GS600
Enermax Triathlor 550W
Fractal Design R2 Tesla 650W
FSP Aurum Xilenser 500W
In Win GreenMe 550W
NZXT Hale82-650-M
OCZ ZS 550W
Seasonic X-Series 660W
Silver Power SP-S650M
SilverStone Strider Plus 500W
XFX Pro 650W Core Edition
Xigmatek Tauro 500W
Zalman ZM500-HP Plus
Antec High Current Pro 850W
Be Quiet! Straight Power E9 680W
Cooler Master M2 Silent Pro 850W
Corsair HX850
Enermax Platimax 750W
FSP Aurum 850W
In Win GreenMe 750W
OCZ ZX 850
Seasonic Platinum Series 860W
Silver Power SP-S850M
SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 750W
XFX Pro 850W XXX Edition
Xigmatek Centauro 800W
Games
80
82
84
87
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Sleeping Dogs
Inversion
Death Rally
November 2012
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
from the editor
DOWESTILL
NEEDHIGH-END
NEED
HIGH-END
AIR COOLERS?
Now that liquid cooling is so easily
affordable, is there any need for
expensive blocks of fins?
henItellpeoplemyPCisliquid-cooled,theyoftenseem
tothinkIveinstalledsomekindofTesla-inspired
aquariuminit,sothatIcanstupidlygawpatthefirework
displaywhenIhitthepowerswitch.Isntthatreallydangerous?they
ask,asifImthesortofpersonwhodrelievehimselfontheliverailifI
hadntreceivedtheirwisdom.Liquidcoolingmightstillsitoutside
mostpeoplescomputinglives,butitsnowbecomesocommoditised
thatitsstartingtobecomeastandardinenthusiastcircles.
Forthefirsttimeever,forexample,thegenericPCIvebuiltforour
annualmasterclass(seep92),usesaCorsairH100all-in-oneliquid
cooler,withadual120mmradiatorinthe
roof.Theresnoneedtoworryaboutfinding
aplaceforapumpandreservoir,ordodgy
barbsandleakytubingitsallsealedina
verysimpleloopthatanyonecaninstall.In
fact,Idarguethatitseasiertoinstallthan
manyhigh-endaircoolers,andthisbrings
metomypoint.Whenyoucanbuya
CorsairH80for73,whywouldyoubuya72aircoolersuchasthe
ThermaltakeFrioExtreme(seep44).
ThatisnttosaythattheFrioExtremeisabadcooler.Itsan
incrediblefeatofengineeringforanaircooler,evenmanagingtotame
anoverclockedLGA2011CPU.Butitcosts72.Youcouldprobablyget
awaywiththe72pricetagwhenwatercoolingwasonlyanichehobby
enjoyedbyadventurousPCbuilders,butyousimplycantjustifyit
whenanall-in-oneliquidcoolercostsjustanextraquid.
ImnotforaminutesayingthatCorsairsHrangeofcoolersis
perfect,bytheway.Evenattheirlowestspeed,thefansonaCorsair
H80arelouderthanthoseonmanyaircoolers,andmostproper
water-coolingloopswillreduceyourtemperaturesfurther,and
giveyouthepotentialtocoolyourgraphicscardandchipsetaswell.
However,youdontspend72onaCPUcoolerbecauseyouwantit
tobequiettheArcticFreezeri30willdothatforafractionofthecost.
YoubuyitbecauseyouwanttooverclockyourCPU,andanaircooler
simplycantcompetewithanall-in-oneliquidcoolerinthisregard.
Thisisgoingtopresentaproblemformakersofhigh-endair
coolersinthefuture.Theyregoingtoneedtoperformadelicate
balancingactbetweencheap,quietandeffectiveaircoolerssuch
astheFreezeri30,andpowerfulall-in-oneliquidcoolerssuchas
CorsairsH-series.Ifyouraircoolercostsmorethan50,anditisnt
seriouslyamazing,thenyouregoingtostruggle.
Theseliquid-coolersalsohavethe
addedadvantageofnotbeingridiculously
tallyoucanscrewanH80radiatorintoa
free120mmfanmountatthebackofyour
case,anditwontinterferewithyourside
panel,butthesamecouldntbesaidfor
thetoweringFrioExtremeinourLGA2011
testsystem.
IdontwritethistocriticiseThermaltakesengineeringskills,or
thoseofanyotheraircoolermanufacturer.Imamazedattheamount
ofheatthatcanbeshiftedbyastackoffinsandacoupleoffanswith
therightdesignandmaterials,buttheresnopointiftheycostas
muchasadecentliquidcooler.Withsomanyofthesecompaniesnow
enteringtheall-in-oneliquidcoolermarket,oftenwithalittlehelp
fromAsetek,Icantseetherebeingamarketforexpensiveaircoolers
formuchlonger.
Isnt that really dangerous?

they ask, as if Im the sort of
person whod relieve
himself on the live rail
November 2012
BenHardwidgeistheeditorofCustomPC.HelikesPCs,realale
andWarhammer40,000.
EDITOR@CUSTOMPC.CO.UK
WorldMags.net
@MANSHARK
WorldMags.net
Gareth halfacree
THE PROBLEM
WITH PATENTS
Edison didnt invent the light bulb; he just
patented it, and patent trolling is still going
strong a century later
atentslikethemorloathethem,theyrealoomingpresence
inthefreemarket.Perhapsthemostrecentexampleof
patentwarfareintechnologycomesfromwater-cooling
specialistAsetek,whichhassuedrivalCoolITonthebackofapatent
grantedjustafewdaysearlierbytheUSPatentsandTrademarks
Office(USPTO).
Asetekspatentcoversanall-in-onewater-coolingsystem,a
productforwhichthecompanyisrightlyknown.Itsnumerouspages
anddiagramsgofurther,andcouldwiththerighthigh-pricedlawyer
beconsideredgeneralenoughtoputanymanufacturerofwatercoolingproductsatriskofapatent-infringementsuit.
Thatsaseriousthreat:thepenaltieshanded
downforpatentinfringementcanincludea
banonsales,andtrebledamagesbackdated
tothestartofinfringementfiguresthatcan
easilyputasmallercompanyoutofbusiness.
Therefore,itslittlesurprisethatpatentsare
bigbusiness,bothforcompaniessuchas
Rambusdubbedapatenttrollforitslitigious
tacticswhichspecialiseinbuyingand
licensingpatents,andforcompaniessuchas
Asetekwhichpatenttheirowntechnologyand
thenuseittostrong-armcompetitorsintopayingalicencefee.But
arepatentsgoodforinnovation?
BackinTudordays,thecrownwouldissuealetterspatentto
companies,givingthemamonopolyinaparticulartradeor
manufacture.Althoughoriginallydesignedtoensurethattheoriginal
creatorsofnovelinventionswouldbecompensated,thesystemwas
opentoabuse,withbothElizabethIandJamesIaccusedofgranting
patentsinexchangeforsomecashfortheroyalcoffers.
Today,almosteverycountryintheworldhasitsownpatentsystem
undertheauspiceoftheWorldTradeOrganisation.Althougheach
systemisindependentmeaningthatacompanyhastoapplyfor
multiplepatentstheyallhavecertaincommonalities,including
a20-yearlifespan,whichisdesignedtoprovideimmediate,yet
temporary,protectiontotheoriginalinventor.
AsinTudortimes,however,thesystemhascritics,whoclaim
abusesandignoranceofpriorarttheexistenceofpriorpatentsor
inventions-arerife.Themostcommontargetfortheseaccusationsis
theUSPTO,thegranterofAsetekspatents.Theseaccusationsarent
new:ThomasEdisons1880patentonthelightbulbwasgranted,
despitethetechnologyalreadyexistingcommercially.
Today,morepatentsaregrantedthaneverbefore,thankstothe
rapidgrowthoftechnology.Thisbringsthe
problemtoahead;largecompaniesare
applyingforincrediblygeneralisedpatents,
andusingthemtobullyandbankrupt
theircompetitors.
Inventorsandpatenttrollsarguethat
patentsarenecessarytoprotectthe
investmentoftime,moneyandexpertisethat
goesintothecreationofaninvention.With
companiesincreasinglyusingpatentsas
weapons,ratherthanlegalarmour,however,
itsperhapstimetoadmitthatthesystemisbroken.
ItwilltakeacleverermanorwomanthanItofixit,butthismayhelp.
Firstly,makeiteasierforcompaniestoobjecttoapatentonthe
groundsofpriorart.Secondly,rejectpatentapplicationsthataretoo
generalaswiththecommonreadingofApplesrecentlydisputed
rectanglepatent.Forthepatenttrolls,thesesimplechangescould
soundadeathknell.Notamomenttoosoon.
In Tudor days, the

crown would issue a
letters patent, giving
companies a monopoly
in a particular trade
10
November 2012
TracyKingiscurrentlyaway
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
Jim Killock
Digital assets
You dont own downloaded books, lms or songs when you buy
them. Instead, you borrow them, which presents a number of issues
twasrecentlyreportedthatBruceWillis
wasfightingApplenotoverfilmrights,
butoverhisdigitalmusiccollection.
Accordingtothepress,hewantedto
leavehisdownloadstohischildreninhiswill.
Rumourscirculatedanditwasreportedin
theMail,SunandGuardianthatBruceWillis
wantedtosueAppleoverhisrighttoleavehis
digitalmusictohiskids.Itwasnttrue,butthe
storycirculatedbecausetheresakernelof
factyoureallycantlegallypassonyour
digitalmusiccollectioninyourwill.Apples
positionisunjust,andasignificanterosionof
therightsweveenjoyedinthephysicalworld.
Traditionally,aCDorbookhasacopyright
licencefortheworkthatsembodiedinit.
However,thelawsayscopyrightisirrelevant
exhaustedwhenthegoodsareresold.
Thishaschangedinthedigitalworld.
Copyrightownersassertthatdigitalgoods
cantberesold,loaned,transferredorpassed
onatdeath.Licencesareusuallyprettyclear
aboutthis,buttheresultisthatdigitalgoods
aresignificantlyworseinvestmentsthantheir
physicalcounterparts.
Obviously,thereistheproblemthatdigital
goodsmightbesold,whiletheoriginalcopies
areretained.Forthisreason,copyright
holdershavepersuadedlegislatorsthat
resalesortransfersofdownloadsshouldnt
bepermitted.
Iexpectmostofuswillspendthousandsof
poundsinourlifetimesonmusic,booksand
films.Onthebasisthatafewofusmight
cheat,wereallbeingaskedtosacrificeour
investments.ArecentdecisioninEurope
hasmadethematterclearerandmore
consumer-friendly,butjustinthecaseof
software.ThisJuly,theGrandChamberofthe
EuropeanCourtofJusticetoldOraclethat
UsedSoftcouldindeedresellOraclelicences.
Thelawforsoftwareisratherdifferentto
thatforbooksandfilms.Thecourtsaidthat
12
November 2012
BruceWillisisntreallyfightingAppletoleavehisdigital
musictohiskids,butApplespositionisstillunjust
aEuropeansoftwaredirectivemakesitclear
thatsoftwarecanberesold,andcontractual
termssayingthatlicencesarenontransferablecantchangethis.Theruling
meansthatmanycompanieshavebeen
overstatingtheirrightsforyears.Quark,
forexample,usedtoclaimitssoftwareon
CD-ROMs wasnon-transferable.Notso.
Youcan,therulingsays(ifyoukeepyour
originalreceipts)legallyreselldigitalsoftware
downloadsinEurope.Thisisgood,asithelps
tokeeppriceslower,andpreventscompanies
fromcheating.However,thesameprinciple
doesntyetapplytofilms,musicandbooks.
Thesearearguablyproductsthatweremore
likelytowanttoresell,orleaveinourwills.
Software,afterall,goesoutofdate.
Thesameisnttrueforbooks,filmsand
music.Wemightkeeplisteningtothesame
songsforyears,andweliketokeepbooksfor
reference,oftenfordecades.Theymayalso
beofvaluetoourchildren.Inshort,weexpect
rightstolend,sellortransferdigitalgoods,
butlegallytheynolongerexist.Inthecaseof
digitalbooks,theresnosecondhandmarket.
Amazonhasmadetentativestepstowards
enablingpeopletosharebooksintheUSA
albeitonlyonce,andthenforonlytwoweeks.
Worseisthewaythatdigitalbooksare
restrictedwhenlicensedtolibraries.Sincethe
numbersofloanscanbecounted,publishers
wanttolimitthenumberoftimesalibrarycan
issuethem.Digitalmaterialcreatesgreater
abilitytocontrolusage,totheapparent
WorldMags.net
TheFBIaskedNicholasMerrilsISPtohandover
userdatahewenttotheAmericanCivilLiberties
UnionandElectronicFrontierFoundation,
whofoughtthecasewithhim
advantageofthepublisher.However,theres
whenhewastoldhecouldnttellanyonethat
somedangerthatpublisherswillthrottlethe
hehadbeenasked,andthattherewasno
market,assecondhandcopies,librariesand
legalmeanstochallengetheorder.Hewent
personallendingformalargepartoftheway
totheAmericanCivilLibertiesUnionandthe
peoplelearnaboutauthors.
ElectronicFrontierFoundation,andthey
Itwouldntbethefirsttimethatcopyright
foughtthecasewithhim.
ownershaveshotthemselvesinthefoot.
Eventually,in2007,afterathree-yearcase,
Informaladvertisingandexposureisbyfar
hewon.Onlyin2010washeallowedtoreveal
thebiggestpartofhowwelearnaboutartists,
hisidentity.Hestillcantsaywhathewas
frommusicontheradiotoborrowingDVDs.
askedtogivetotheFBI.However,hehas
Oncewebecomefansofanartist,wespend
resolvedtomakeitmuchharderfortheFBIor
moneyontheirstuff.Toomuchcontrolby
anyoneelsetogainaccesstocustomerdata
copyrightowners,andtheirrevenuescouldbe
throughimprovedprivacytechnologies,and
threatenedaswestopexperimentingforfree.
hascreatedanon-profitinstitutetohelpbuild
Wearentjustlosingcontroloverthe
thesoftwareISPswouldneed.
productswebuy.Thedigitalassetsyou
IntheUK,weseedifferentattemptsfor
personallycreateareatriskinotherwaystoo.
governmentagenciestograbaccesstoour
youpickup,thensittingathomewithyou
Storieshaveappearedaboutthedifficultiesof
readingandcommunicationspatterns,most
whileyoureadwhatyoubought.
accessinginformationthatpeoplestoreon
recentlyundertheproposedCommunications
Foryears,librariansdefendedourrightsfor
theInternetwhentheydie,suchassocial
DataBill.Oneofthemajorflawsunderthis
thestatenottoknowinformationsuchasthis.
mediaandemailaccounts.Theresno
proposalandourcurrentRegulationof
Yetitsnowveryeasilyaccessible,andthats
guaranteethatyourrelativescanaccessyour
InvestigatoryPowersAct(RIPA)isthatpeople
causingalarm.Californiahaslegislatedto
accountsitisntyourdecisiontomake.
areneverinformedaftertheyvehadtheir
restrictlawenforcementsaccesstodigital
Yahoo!forinstanceisclearthataccessto
informationaccessed.IntheUSA,priortothe
readinginformation.Onlyafewyearsago,
youraccountdieswithyou.Thecompany
PatriotAct,itwasnormalforsomeonetobe
Americanlibrarianswereforcedtofight
operatesFlickr,whichmanypeopleuseto
toldiftheirphonebillorpersonaldetailshad
attemptstocompellibrariestotelltheUSA
storehigh-resolutionphotos.Tome,itseems
beenrequestedbylawenforcement.
secretserviceswhatpeoplewerereading.
wrongtorefuseaccesstoFlickr
Protectionssuchasthatcango
accountswhensomebodydies.After
somewaytomakingsurelaw
SOMEONE INHERITS THE
all,someoneinheritsthecopyrights,
enforcementdoesntsimplygain
COPYRIGHTS, SO WHY CANT
sowhycanttheyaccessthefilestoo?
unfetteredaccesstoourpersonal
Whatsmore,whileweloserights
THEY ACCESS THE FILES TOO? information,placingusatriskfrom
overouraccounts,andthefilmsand
identityfraud,privateinvestigatorsor
bookswedownload,companiesgain
unscrupulousjournalists.Thisisimportant
Thelibrarieswereoutragedwhenthey
rightstospyonus.Digitalformatrepresents
forcompaniesandindividuals.IfAmazonor
realisedtheycouldbetoldtohandover
anunprecedentedsourceofinformation
Facebookwantustotrustthemwithdetails
readersinformationinnationalsecurity
abouthowweconsumegoods.Amazon
ofourlives,weneedtoknowthattheywont
lettersissuedunderthePatriotAct.
hopestolearnaboutthepointsatwhichwe
simplyhandoverourlifehistorywhenapolice
Theselettersdeniedtherighttoinformthe
putabookdown,whenwestopreading,or
officerdropsthemanemail.
borrowers,oreventosaythatinformationhad
whenwecantresistapage-turner.
beensoughtbytheauthoritiesatall.These
JoGlanville,theheadofEnglishPEN,
nationalsecuritylettershavebeenissued
saysintheGuardianthatcompaniessuch
hundredsofthousandsoftimestouniversities
asGoogleandAmazonseektoknowwhat
andISPsamongothers.
isexecutivedirectorof
webuy,whatwebrowse,theamountoftime
ThelibrariansandtheInternetArchive
campaignorganisation
wespendonapageandeventheannotations
wereamongthefewthatchallengedthe
TheOpenRightsGroup
wemakeinanebook.
constitutionalityofthesesecretorders.Oneof
(www.openrightsgroup.org)
Ascampaignershavequipped,itsthe
theotherchallengerswasNicholasMerrill,
equivalentofabookshophiringsomeoneto
whoseISPCalyxwasaskedtohandoveruser
@jimkillock
followyouroundtheshopnotingeverybook
databytheFBI.Hewaspersonallyshocked
JIM
KILLOCK
WorldMags.net
November 2012
13
Joe Martin
Save our Dark Souls
Joe Martin talks to Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki

amcoBandaishardcore
RPGDarkSoulswasnever
intendedtoseeaPCrelease,
butallthatchangedafteran
onlinepetitionfromPCgamers
illustratedcleardemand.Wetalk
toDarkSoulsdirectorHidetaka
Miyazakiabouttheportingprocess,
andthedifferencebetweenJapanese
andwesterngames.
DarkSoulsrichly
gothicworldisthe
stuffofnightmares
technologyimportantforinjecting
athemeorgameexperienceinto
developingtitles.Inotherwords,
theleveloftechnologydiffersin
Japaneseandwesterngame
developmentprocesses,sincethe
significanceandgameexperience
thatwesterndeveloperstrytoachieve
arestronglyassociatedwiththe
developmenttechnology.
CPC:Lastyear,youtoldIGNthatyou
CPC:Asidefromwidercultural
foundthesuddenattentionyouhad
differences,DarkSoulsisvery
fromjournalistsandfanstobea
differentfrommostothergames
50/50mixoftroublingandexciting
atthemomentinthewaythatit
(http://tinyurl.com/ctsregj),but
treatsdeathandfailureascrucial
hastherebeenanydifferencein
partsoftheexperience.Whatwere
theapproachofJapaneseand
yourinspirationsforthis,andwhy
THIS GAME IS DESIGNED TO
westernaudiencesandmedia?
doyouthinkmostothergamesin
HidetakaMiyazaki:Ifeelthatthe
PROVIDE PLAYERS WITH A SENSE theindustryhavemovedaway
approachofJapaneseandwestern
fromthisstyle?
OF ACCOMPLISHMENT CATHARSIS HM:Thisgameisdesignedto
audiencesandmediaisverysimilar,
althoughtheremaybeaslight
provideplayerswithasenseof
BY CONQUERING DIFFICULTIES
difference.Imsogladthatboth
accomplishment,orinotherwords,
Japaneseandwesternpeopleshowtheir
catharsisbyconqueringdifficulties.So
HM:Thatsadifficultquestion.Anexplanation
passiontowardsDarkSoulswithpositive
difficulty,andconceptsoffailureanddeath,
basedonthecategoryJapanesevswestern
orevennegativeapproaches.
asyoumentioned,arelaidoutinthegameas
developersdoesntalwaysclarifytheir
factorsthatenableplayerstofeelthesense
differencesaccurately.However,inmany
CPC:Isitfairtosaytherearedifferences
ofaccomplishment.
cases,Ifeelastylisticdifferencemayoccur
inthegamesproducedbywesternand
Iguessthereareseveralreasonswhyother
whenaJapaneseorwesterndeveloperadds
Japanesedevelopers,notjuststylistically
gamesdonthavethesameapproach;agame
itsownthemeorexperiencetoavideogame.
butalsoonamechanicallevel?Wheredo
aimstogiveplayerssomethingdifferentfrom
FromwhereIstand,Icanseethatwestern
youthinkthesedifferencestemfrom?
asenseofaccomplishment,orthemethodto
developersalsotendtoconsiderdevelopment
14
April 2012
WorldMags.net
providegamerswiththe
senseofaccomplishmentis
differentfromourgames.
CPC:Doyouthinkgames
nowadaysaretooeasythen?
HM:No,notreally.Iloveeasygamestoo,as
Imnotagoodgamer.
CPC:WhywasntthePCpartofyouroriginal
plan,whichpromptedapetitiontobesetup.
Andwhydidyoudecidetodeviatefromthat
planandannounceaPCrelease?
HM:Wechangedouroriginalplanand
decidedtodevelopthePCversionbecause
ofthepetitionthatyoupointedout,and
persuadingNamcoBandaiGamesIncafter
theysawthefanspassioninthecampaign.
DarkSoulsPC
versionincludes
newquests,bosses
andweapons
Iwasverysurprisedbythecampaign,and
gladofit,becauseIdidntexpectitatall.
CPC:DarkSoulsisinsomewaysabout
learningfrommistakes.Whatmistakes
were made during the development
weremadeduringthedevelopment
of the game, and have you been
ofthegame,andhaveyoubeen
able to provide any improvements
abletoprovideanyimprovements
inthePCversion?
During the development
HM:Duringthedevelopment
processwespottedalot
mistakes,bigandsmall,
andlearnedlessonsfrom
THE PC VERSION
WhilethefactthatDarkSoulsiscomingtoPCisundeniablygoodand
thatNamcopayssuchattentiontogamingcommunitiesisawonderful
precedentthedevelopmentofthegamehasntbeenwithoutissues.
From Software admitted to having limited experience with the PC platform
FromSoftwareadmittedtohavinglimitedexperiencewiththePCplatform
earlier
this year, and a preview version we played showed some definite frame
earlierthisyear,andapreviewversionweplayedshowedsomedefiniteframe
rateissuesontheprovidedlaptops.
How more capable machines will fare with the game remains to be seen, of
Howmorecapablemachineswillfarewiththegameremainstobeseen,of
course, but until then, From Software reckons the promise of new content over
course,butuntilthen,FromSoftwarereckonsthepromiseofnewcontentover
theconsoleversioniscompensationenough.Hmm
WorldMags.net
them.Icanttellyoueachofthemistakes
thatweremade,butweveaddedsome
detailedmodificationtothePCversion
wherewecould.
CPC: Are there plans to make a sequel for
CPC:Arethereplanstomakeasequelfor
this game, or do you intend to move on to
thisgame,ordoyouintendtomoveonto
new ideas? Also, what sort of games
newideas?Also,whatsortofgames
are you interested in creating in
areyouinterestedincreatingin
the future?
thefuture?
HM:
HM:Iactuallyhavesomanyplans
regarding future titles, but if I were
regardingfuturetitles,butifIwere
forced to specify one then Id say
forcedtospecifyonethenIdsay
that Im interested in creating a
thatIminterestedincreatinga
network-style game that doesnt
network-stylegamethatdoesnt
stick to the current game style
sticktothecurrentgamestyle
Ive developed network is an
Ivedevelopednetworkisan
unprecedented media, and you can
unprecedentedmedia,andyoucan
use it to form a complex society
useittoformacomplexsociety
based on the network itself. Finally,
basedonthenetworkitself.Finally,
I want to create something cute in
Iwanttocreatesomethingcutein
the future.
thefuture.
You can find out more about Dark
YoucanfindoutmoreaboutDark
Souls: Prepare to Die Edition for PC at
Souls:PreparetoDieEditionforPCat
www.preparetodie.com
April 2012
15
NEW HARDWARE
We take a look at the latest

newly announced products
PNY LAUNCHES GAMING SSDs
PNYhasjustlaunchedanewline-up
ofsolidstatedrives,whichitsaysare
targetedspecificallyatgamers.The
XLR8ProrangeisbasedonaSandForce
SF-2281controlleranduses3KP/E
multi-levelcell(MLC)NANDflash
memory(meaningitcanwithstandat
least3,000program/erasecycles)and
aSATA6Gbpsinterface.PNYsaysthe
newdriveswilloffersequential
readandwritespeedsof
550MB/secand520MB/sec
respectively.TheXLR8Pro
rangewillbeavailablein
120GB,240GBand480GBflavours.
OCZ VERTEX 4 PRICE CRASH
WatchingSSDpriceshasbeenlikewatchinganavalanche
lately.FirstwesawCrucialsM4seriesandSamsungs830
seriesplummetintothebargainbasement,andnowOCZs
Vertex4(seeIssue107,p44)rangehasjumpedofftheedge
too.Thisisofparticularsignificance,sincetheVertex4256GB,
whichisbasedonaMarvellcontrollerwithacustomIndilinx
firmware,isbyfarthefastestsolidstatedriveweveseen.So
fast,infact,thatitwonanExtremeUltraawardallthatheld
itbackwastheprice.However,nowthat
the256GBmodelhasdroppedto
165,wehavenohesitationin
awardingitaPremium
Gradeawardtoo,and
includingiton
theElitelistasour
SSDofchoice.
16
February 2012
ASROCK COURTS
OVERCLOCKERS
Takingitsinspirationfromeitherwaspsor1980sChristian
metalbandStryper,ASRockhascladitslatestZ77
motherboardinasharpyellowandblackcolourscheme.
TheZ77OCFormulahasaneight-layerPCB,completewith
four2ozcopperinnerlayers,andtheboardalsohasa12+4
powerphasedesignfortheCPU.Designedinconjunction
withrenownedoverclockerNickShih(seehisHWBotprofile
athttp://hwbot.org/user/nickshih),thenewboardeven
features15-caratgoldintheCPUsocketandmemoryslots,
andincludesGelidGC-ExtremeTIMtoo.Theresnowordon
pricingyet,butwedontexpectittobecheap.Findoutmore
atwww.asrock.com/microsite/OCFormula
ASUS UNVEILS HIGH-RES

27IN SCREEN
Finally,afteryearsofbeing
embarrassinglyshownupbyApples
Retinadisplays,werestartingto
seemoredesktopPCmonitors
goingbeyond1,920x1,080without
strayingintosuper-expensive
30interritory.Dellhaspretty
muchhadthatmarkettoitselffor
yearswiththesuperbUltraSharpU2711m,
butafewmoremanufacturersarenow
launching27inmonitorswitharesolutionof2,560
x1,440.ThelatestisAsus,withitsLED-backlitPB278Q WQHD,basedon
anIPSpanel,whichAsussayshasa5msresponsetime(grey-to-grey)
and178-degreeviewingangles.TheresnowordonUKpricingor
availabilityyet,butitonlyneedstocostlessthan500toundercuttheDell.
WorldMags.net
new gaming experience

with PNYs GTX 670.
Explore a
For more information: www.pny.eu

WorldMags.net
PNYTechnologiesEurope.RCSBordeauxB394790430-PNY,PNYTechnologiesandthePNYlogoareregisteredtrademarksofPNYTechnologies,Inc.Allothertrademarksandlogosarethepropertyoftheirrespectivecompanies.Copyright2012PNYTechnologies,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 United
States and other countries. All Rights Reserved.
Lucy Sherriff
Thespintronicswaltz
We revisit the exciting world of spintronics, following recent research

by IBM to extend the lifetime of a spin state by 30 times
herearethreeproblems
Ifyouwanttousespinfor
Themeasuredspatial
facingspintronics,saysDr
informationprocessing,youwant
andtemporalspreadofa
spinhelix.Startingfrom
GianSalis.One:tocreate
thespintobeinonedirection,and
alocalisedexcitationmay
spinpolarisation;two:to
nottomoveinspace.Amagnetic
spreadthespinsinspace
androtatesynchronouslyin
transportspinstoadrainand
fieldwillrotatethisspinand
theprocess
manipulatethemontheway;and
changethedirection,andyou
three:todetectthespinstateatthe
gethugemagneticfieldsinside
draincontact.
semiconductors.Electrons
DrSalisworksinIBMsPhysics
emerginginasemiconductor
ofNanoscaleSystemsresearch
seehugemagneticfields.
group,whereheandhisteamhave
Typically,theyrotaterandomly
foundawaytopreventthedecayof
sothataspinpointingupwillrotate
spinpolarisation,extendingthe
differentlyfromaspinpointing
lifetimeofaspinstateby30times.
down.Overtime,theylosetheir
Notonlythat,buttheyveachieved
commonorientation.Thisiscalled
itusingfabricationtechniques
spindefacing,anditsthedecayof
alreadyusedinindustry.
spinpolarisation.
Letsrecap:MooresLaw
Salislikensthemovementofthe
whichstatesthatthenumberof
spintoawaltz.Imagineallthepairs
Briefly,spintronicsexploitsthespinstateof
transistorsthatwillfitonagivenspacewill
ofdancerslinedupatthestartofthewaltz.
anelectron,ratherthanitscharge,tostore
doubleevery18monthshasbecomean
Nowthinkofthedirectionthewomenare
andtransmitdatawecoveredthistopicin
articleoffaithinthesemiconductorindustry.
facingasbeingequivalenttothespin.Each
moredetailinIssue107,p18.Ithasbeen
However,thefearstalkingthesemiconductor
ofthepairswillmove,rotatingthroughthe
shownthatyoucanapplyavoltagetoagate
industryisthatprogresswillslowdownand
dance.Overtime,thecouplesmoveoutof
andcreateanelectricfield.Youcandothis
graduallygrindtoahalt.Thescaleatwhich
alignment,andthewomenendupfacinginall
withaverysmallvoltage,waylowerthan
transistorsarenowbuiltmeansengineers
sortsofdifferentdirections.Thisisthedecay
CMOS,Salisadds.
havetodealwithenormousquantitiesof
ofthespinpolarisation.
heat,andthemessyweirdnessof
Whatsneededisamechanismthat
quantumphysicswillsoonstartto
willlockthecouplesinstep,sothey
YOU CAN APPLY A VOLTAGE
intrudeontheorderlybusinessof
rotateintimewithoneanotherandin
movingonesandzerosaround.
timewiththeirmovementaroundthe
TO A GATE AND CREATE AN
Spintronicsisoneofseveralways
dancefloor.Backin2003,therewas
ELECTRIC FIELD WITH A MUCH
(othersincludeFETandnanowires)of
aproposalthatitmightbepossible
LOWER VOLTAGE THAN CMOS toovercomethisbyengineering
gettingpasttheendofconventional
electronics,Salissays.CMOS
symmetryintotheinternalmagnetic
Thespinofanelectronanintrinsicquality
[complementarymetaloxidesemiconductor]
fieldsofasemiconductor.Ifthemagnetic
oftheelectronratherthananyreferencetoits
willsoonbelimitedbythevoltageatwhichit
fieldissymmetricalthenthespinsare
motionisoftendescribedasbeingupor
canoperate.Itcantdecreasemuchfurther,
synchronised.Andthisiswhatweve
down,andthesebinaryoptionsareequatedto
ordealwithalltheheat.Ifwecanfindawayto
demonstratedexperimentally.
theonesandzerosofdigitalinformation.This
lowerthevoltage,wecanstillincreasescaling
Sohowdoyouphysicallygaincontrolofthe
isusefulshorthand,butSalisexplainsthatin
anddealwithheattransport.Spintronics
spins?Thecrystalitselfisasymmetric.You
reality,thespinisavector,andcanactually
allowsustocreateswitchesthatoperateat
cantdoanythingaboutthat.Youbalancethis
pointinanydirectioninspace.
smallervoltages.
byapplyinganelectromagneticfieldinsidethe
18
November 2012
WorldMags.net
GianSalis(right)andMatthiasWalser
(left)haveobservedhowelectronspins
moveinasemiconductorchannel,
withtheirorientationssynchronously
rotatingalongthepathsimilartoa
coupledancingthewaltz
structure.Thefieldisappliedby
designingthequantumconfines
foratwo-dimensionalelectron
inalayerintheGaAs[gallium
arsenide]crystal.
Atwo-dimensionalelectron
gasisfreetomoveintwo
dimensionsbutconfinedbya
potentialinthethird.Tocreate
thisconfinementpotential,you
needtohaveveryfinecontrol
overthecompositionofyour
semiconductor,Salisexplains.
Theresearchersgrowthe
GaAsepitaxially(theprocess
ofgrowingonecrystalofa
particularformationontopof
another),sotheycandeposit
individuallayerstocreateabuiltinchargegradient;thisenables
themtobalanceouttheintrinsic
asymmetryofGaAs.
Thisisalreadyanindustrialprocessused
forLEDsandsoon.Itsslowerthantraditional
CMOS,butitsalreadyscalableandusedin
industry,headds.Goingbacktothedancing
metaphor,bybalancingtheasymmetryof
themagneticfieldintheGaAscrystal,the
researchershaveeffectivelydesigneda
perfectchoreography,lockingtherotation
speedofthedancerstothedirectioninwhich
theymove,sothatallthewomeninacertain
areaendupfacinginthesamedirection.
Ifyouputanumberofelectronsinavery
smallspot,theelectronswillgraduallydiffuse
fromthisspot.Thismotionisntchangedby
balancingtheGaAsfield.Thatonlyaffectsthe
spinitself.Youcanlabeltheelectronsand
watchwheretheygo.Thedevelopmentof
thespinpatterniscompletelydifferenttothe
developmentofthecharge.Itformsaspin
helixandwecanseethat.Thetheorysays
thatthespinsdisplayallprecess[changes
inrotationalaxis]synchronouslytoforma
stripe-likepattern,whichisexactlywhatweve
observed.Theadvantageofsuchaspinhelix
isthatthespindecayisswitchedoff,greatly
extendingthelifetimeofthespinstate.
Intheteamspaper(publishedinNature
Physics),theresearchersreportthatthe
spinstatepersistsfor30timeslongerthan
normalonceitslockedintothespinhelix.We
startedwithaspinlifetimeofmaybejustover
onenanosecond,butyoucanstartwithhigher
numbersthanpicoseconds,whichwould
improvetheendresult.
Inthisnanosecond(actually1.1ns,or
roughlythetimeittakesagigahertzprocessor
tomakeacalculation),thespinstravelten
micrometresinthesemiconductor.The
researchersdescribethisasuseful,which
weshallunderstandtomeanimpressive,but
dontaskuswhentherewillbeadevicebased
onthistechnology.
Thisworkisimportantforanotherreason
too.Aselectronsmoveinasemiconductor
crystaltheyseeallkindsofdisturbances
anddefectsroughnessofsurfacesandso
on.Theseallchangethedirectionofthe
electronsmotion.Thismotioniscalled
diffusiveifittakesplacefromAtoBandthe
electronsarescatteredbyinteractionswith
thematerialalongtheway.
Alotofthespintronicsworkpublished
reliesonwhatsknownasballistictransport
WorldMags.net
ofelectrons.Thismeansthat
theelectronmovesfromsource
todrainwithoutanyinteractions
tointerruptit.Thisrequiresa
verypuresemiconductor,with
nodefects.Diffusivetransport
ismucheasier,Salisexplains,
becausethematerialsneednt
besoperfect.
Asforcreatingadevice,Salis
advisesnotholdingyourbreath.
Heremindsusseveraltimes
thatheworksinasciencelab
onthefundamentalprinciples.
Nevertheless,henotesthatthe
workhasdemonstratedthatyou
canhaveamaterialthatserves
asaspintransportlayer.
However,thereareother
obstacles.Atapartyof
spintronicsresearchers,the
wordsroomtemperatureareprobably
groundsforexiletothekitchen.Allof
theseexperimentshavebeenperformed
at40K,whichisntwarmbyanystretchof
theimagination.No,butthisiswherewe
haveagoodsignal.Wedonthaveroom
temperature,butnothingsuggestsaproblem
atupto200K,Salissays.Eventhatlimitcould
justbeafunctionoftheequipmentused.
Areweabletodetectspinstatesatroom
temperaturewiththemethodweveused?
Theansweristhatwejustdontknow.Were
usinganopticalscanningmicroscope,and
itssensitivitydecreasesasyouincreasethe
temperature.Itdoesntgomuchbeyond
180-200K.However,itssomethingwere
workingon.
LUCY
SHERRIFF
isajournalistwitha
degreeinastrophysics
whoknowsallaboutthe
latestscientifictech.
@lucysherriff
November 2012
19
Gareth Halfacree looks at the latest mobile hardware
Cloud gaming
OnLive might be in its death throes, but others are serious about cloud gaming
too. We look at how it could affect mobile and tablet gaming
Althoughonlyrecently
hecomputationpower
announced,NvidiasGeForceGrid
ofmobilephonesand
hassomeseriousindustryweight
tabletsisincreasingat
behindit;contentpartnersrange
analarmingrate.ARMs
fromEpicGames,CDProjekt,THQ
latestGPUdesign,thesecondandNCSofttoconsolegiants
generationMidgard-architecture
Capcom,SegaandBandai
Mali,boastsa50percent
Namco.Epicsco-founderTim
performanceboostoverpreviousSweeneywasoneofthetalking
generationpartsagenerational
headstrottedoutatthelaunch
improvementofwhichdesktop
ceremony,claimingthatNvidias
graphicsdesignerscanonlydream.
Gridtechnology,withitslatency
Portabledevicesstilllag
ItsclaimedthatGaikaistechnologycouldrivalconsolesforlag-freegaming
reductionandimprovedimage
behindtheirlaptopanddesktop
quality,combinedwithhigherdensityand
counterparts,however.Theneedtopack
Cloudgamingplatformsworkinmuchthe
powerefficiency,aresignificantstepstowards
componentsintotinyspaceswithlimited
sameway:allthedifficultworkiscarriedout
makingcloudgamingatrueconsole-like
batterylifeandnoactivecoolingputsanupper
onacentralserver.Forgaming,thiscovers
experiencetoday,andbringingthathighlimitonthepotentialpoweroftabletsand
everythingfromphysicsandAIcalculationsto
qualitygamingexperiencetomorepeople.
smartphones.ARManditsmultitudinous
soundandgraphicsrendering.Theoutputa
licenseescanbeascleverastheylike,but
videoandsoundstreamisthencompressed
L ATENCY
high-powerdesktopandlaptopmachines
andsentacrossthenetworktotheclient
Sweeneyisntmentioninglatencyreduction
will alwayswin.
device.Theresultistheabilitytorundecenttechnologyfornothing.Latencythegap
Nowhereisthismoreobviousthaninthe
qualitygamesondevicesthatlacktheusual
betweenintentanddeedisthemajor
gamingmarket.Todaysmobilegames,while
graphicscardandprocessorcombinationthat
problemforcloudgaming.Twitch-gaming
afarcryfromNokiasoriginalSnake,arent
coststhesharpendofagrand.Atleast,thats
titlessuchasmultiplayerfirst-person
asimpressiveastheirdesktopequivalents.
theidea.
shootersrequireincrediblyaccuratetiming
Theresnodenyingthatsome,suchasEpics
GAIKAI AND NVIDIA
ontheplayerspartanydelaycanbeakiller
InfinityBlade,pushtheenvelopeofwhatis
Oneofthebiggestnamesincloudcomputing
andtheresplentyofpotentialfordelaywith
possiblefromamobiledevice,buttheyll
isGaikai.Foundedin2008byDavePerry,the
cloudgaming.
alwaysbehamperedbytherelativelackof
manbehindclassicgamesincluding
Ignoringtheactualrenderingofthegame,
memoryandprocessinggruntcomparedwith
EarthwormJimandMDK,Gaikaihasmadea
whichshouldnttakelongerthanahigh-end
PCorevenconsolegames.Atleast,untilyou
seriousnameforitselfinthefledglingcloud
PC,therearetwopathspronetodelaysin
begintothinkoutsidethehandset.
gamingindustrywithpartnershipsincluding
cloudgaming:thepathfromthegamertothe
CLOUD GAMING
ElectronicArts,SamsungandNvidia.
server,andthepathbackfromtheserverto
Theideaofcloudgamingisntexactlynew,
Thatlatterpartnershiphasresultedinthe
thegamer.Whentheplayerhitsakeyor
buildingonthin-clientnetworkingconcepts
launchingofanentireplatform,GeForceGrid,
tapsthescreen,inthecaseoftabletor
fromthemainframeera.Ratherthanhaving
whichequipsserverswithspeciallydesigned
smartphonethatinstructionhastoreach
expensive,energy-hungrymachineson
low-latencyNvidiagraphicsboardsdubbed
theserver,beprocessedintoanin-game
everybodysdesksandseeingtheprocessors
GridProcessors.FeaturingdualKeplerGPUs
action,getrendered,andthentheresulting
sitidleformostoftheirlives,youinsteadpush
with3,072CUDAcores,8GBofmemoryanda
videoandaudioreturnedtotheplayer.
theheavyliftingofftoapowerfulcentral
250WTDP,theboardsaredesignedtooffer
AccordingtoNvidiasmeasurements,
serverandputfarlesspowerfuldeviceson
lag-freerenderingofuptofourplayer
aconsolepluggedintoaTVthroughHDMI
thedesk.
sessionsperserver.
requiresaround100msforin-game
20
November 2012
WorldMags.net
Cloudgaming,viaGeForceGrid,
promisesthesameexperiencefrom
smartphonestodesktops
CONTROL IS KEY
processingandafurther66mstodisplaythe
resultantframe.This166msbest-casetarget
wassoundlymissedbyfirst-generationcloud
gamingplatforms,whichwereforcedtoadd
ona30mscaptureandencodepipeline,a
75msnetworkdelay,andafurther15msfor
theclientsystemtodecodethecompressed
videoandaudiostreamforatotalof286ms.
Giventhesamenetworkconditions,Nvidia
claimsthatGaikaisGeForceGrid-powered
platformcutsthegamepipelinestageinhalf
to50ms,thecaptureandencodestageto
10ms,thenetworkdelayto30ms,andthe
decodestageto5mswhileretainingthe
hardware-limited66msdisplaytimefora
console-matchingtotalof166ms.That
ratherconvenient-soundingfiguremeans
thatcloudgamingcannow,intheory,match
theexperienceofconsolegaming,butwithout
theneedforanexpensiveconsole.
WHITHER MOBILE?
Mobilegaming,however,isadifferentbeast.
Consolesmicroorotherwisehavethe
advantageofsittinginthehomeontheendof,
typically,ahigh-speedfixed-linebroadband
connection.OnLive,for
example,states
thatitssystem
requiredaminimum
1Mb/secconnectionto
work,with1.5Mb/secto2Mb/
secrecommended.Theslowerthe
connection,themoreheavilycompressed
thevideostreamresultinginanexperience
thatsmorelikewatchingabadlypiratedvideo
thanplayingaconsole-qualitygame.
Gamingontabletsaddsanother
dimension:wirelessnetworking.Some
tabletsthatcanacceptawirednetwork
exist,buttheyrerare;mostuserswillconnect
throughWiFi,eitherathomeorusingapublic
hotspot.Mostly,youmaybesurprisedtohear,
thisworksjustfine;aslongastheconnection
attheendoftheWiFiaccesspointisofahigh
enoughqualityandrelativelyuncontentious,
thestreamlargelyworksaspromised.
Smartphonesareacompletelydifferent
matter,however.Mostmobilegamersplay
theirgameswhenotherdistractionsare
unavailable,suchasduringlongpublic
transportjourneys.Inalargenumberof
cases,thismeansa3Gor,ifyoureinapoor
signalarea,EDGEor2Gmobiledata
connection.Withlatencyonmobile
networksrisingashighas500ms,
cloudgamingbecomesafar
moredifficultproposition,
leavingthosewithout
accesstoaWiFi-enabled
broadbandconnection
stuckwithgamessuch
asAngryBirds,rather
thanCounter-Strike.
TheWikiPadattemptstosolvethecontrolproblemwith
adetachablegamingjacket
WorldMags.net
Cloudgamingonmobiledeviceshasanother
hurdletojumptoo:controls.Withthemajority
oftodaysbig-budgetgameswrittenfora
consolecontrolleror
keyboardandmouse
combo,abuttonfreetouch-screen
deviceishardlythe
idealinterface.
BothGaikai
Mainstreamsuccess
andOnLive
mayhaveeludedOnLive,
haveattemptedto
butitsMicroConsole
provedcloudgaming
circumventthis
doesntneedbulky
issuebydeveloping
client-sidehardware
on-screenmultitouchcontrolsthatemulateacontroller,
completewithbuttonsandananalogue
stick.Thismeansthattheplayershands
obscurepartofthescreen,however,and
offerslittletactilefeedback.
OnepossiblesolutionistheTactusTactile
Layer(seeIssue108,p20),asurfacethat
raisestheshapeofagamepadondemandfor
amoretactileexperience.Sony,meanwhile,
hasgoneintheoppositedirectionwithits
XperiaPlayhandset,whichfeaturesaslideoutDualShock-inspiredphysicalcontroller.
TheupcomingWikiPadtablet,poweredby
NvidiasTegra3,usesathirdoption:a
removablecontrollerjacketthataddstwo
analoguesticks,adirectionpad,andbothface
andtriggerbuttonscomfiergaming.
OnLivesrecentfinancialwoesmighthave
setbackmainstreamcloudgamingforafew
years,butwithGakaiandNvidiainvestinga
lotintothetechnology,itsstilllikelythatPC
gamerswontbeabletosneeratmobile
gamersformuchmorethanafewyears.
GARETH
HALFACREE
isthenewsreporterat
www.bit-tech.net.He
knowsallabout the
latestnewsinPCandmobiletech.
@ghalfacree
November 2012
21
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
Our choice of the best hardware available

A
You dont have to spend an astronomical sum to get a decent PC.
Our stunning value build includes 4GB of branded memory and
a quad-core AMD Llano APU with integrated graphics
MOTHERBOARD
APU
RAM
PSU
HARD DISK
COOLING
OPTICAL DRIVE
OPERATING SYSTEM
UPDATED
NAME
SUPPLIER
MANUFACTURER
REVIEWED
PRICE (inc VAT)
Antec One
www.overclockers.co.uk
www.antec.com
Issue 108, p36
40
Gigabyte GA-A75M-UD2H
www.ebuyer.com
www.gigabyte.com
Issue 98, p34
69
AMD A8-3870K Black Edition
www.cclonline.com
www.amd.com
Issue 103, p38
80
4GB Crucial Ballistix Sport PC3-12800C9
www.crucial.com
Issue 100, p96
26
Gelid Tranquillo Rev.2
www.scan.co.uk
www.gelidsolutions.com
Issue 100, p86
25
www.scan.co.uk
www.bequiet.com
Issue 110, p55
55
500GB Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002
www.scan.co.uk
www.seagate.com
Issue 104, p72
48
Lite-On IHAS124-19
www.cclonline.com
www.liteonit.eu
Issue 99, p108
13
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
www.amazon.co.uk
www.microsoft.com
Issue 75, p46
102
458
TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE
Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB Hard Drive
An amazing storage drive for the price!
WERE
AWARD
WINNERS!
www.cclonline.com
24
April 2012
PC Pro 2011
Highly Commended
WorldMags.net
5,900 rpm Spin Speed

64MB Cache
2TB Storage Capacity
SATA 6Gbps Interface
CCL Code - HDD1137
77.56
P rices correct at time of goi ng t o publ i shi ng. I mages are f or i l l ust rat i ve purposes onl y.
A
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
MOTHERBOARD
CPU
PSU
RAM
HARD DISK
SOUND CARD
COOLING
GRAPHICS CARD
SOLID STATE DRIVE
OPERATING SYSTEM
UPDATED
NAME
SUPPLIER
MANUFACTURER
REVIEWED
PRICE (inc VAT)
SilverStone Raven RV03
www.scan.co.uk
www.silverstonetek.com
Issue 103, p70
104
Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H
www.scan.co.uk
www.gigabyte.com
Issue 108, p38
79
Intel Core i5-3570K
www.scan.co.uk
www.intel.co.uk
Issue 106, p36
173
8GB Patriot G2 PGD38G1600ELK
www.amazon.co.uk
www.patriotmemory.com
Issue 106, p40
39
Arctic Freezer i30
www.dabs.com
www.arctic.ac
Issue104, p48
28
Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB
www.amazon.co.uk
www.sapphiretech.com
Issue 105, p40
198
www.scan.co.uk
www.bequiet.com
Issue 110, p55
55
Seagate Barracuda 2TB ST2000DM001
www.scan.co.uk
www.seagate.com
Issue 104, p75
76
Asus Xonar DG
www.dabs.com
http://uk.asus.com
Issue 99, p108
24
Samsung SSD 830 128GB
www.scan.co.uk
www.samsung.com
Issue 104, p68
80
Lite-On IHAS124-19
www.cclonline.com
www.liteonit.eu
Issue 99, p108
13
www.amazon.co.uk
www.microsoft.com
Issue 75, p46
102
TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE
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
971
www.cclonline.com/cpc
08000 50 10 10
WorldMags.net
P r ices correct at time of going to publishi ng. I mages are f or i l l ust rat i ve purposes onl y.
April 2012
25

A
This PC has the potential to be the finest gaming machine you can find as
well as an excellent all-round computer for office work, digital photography,
video production and media playback
MOTHERBOARD
CPU
RAM
PSU
HARD DISK
SOUND CARD
UPDATED
COOLING
GRAPHICS CARD
SOLID STATE DRIVE
OPERATING SYSTEM
UPDATED
NAME
SUPPLIER
MANUFACTURER
REVIEWED
PRICE (inc VAT)
SilverStone Fortress FT02B-W USB 3.0
www.scan.co.uk
Issue 85, p88
188
Asus Maximus V Gene
www.scan.co.uk
http://uk.asus.com
Issue 106, p64
150
Intel Core i5-3570K
www.scan.co.uk
www.intel.co.uk
Issue 106, p36
173
8GB Patriot G2 PGD38G1600ELK
www.amazon.co.uk
Issue 106, p40
39
Be Quiet! Dark Rock Advanced
www.scan.co.uk
www.bequiet.com
Issue 91, p74
41
PNY GeForce GTX 680 2GB
www.scan.co.uk
www3.pny.com
Issue 105, p36
408
www.scan.co.uk
www.seasonic.com
Issue 110, p59
120
www.scan.co.uk
www.seagate.com
Issue 104, p75
76
Asus Xonar DX
www.scan.co.uk
http://uk.asus.com
Issue 80, p63
58
OCZ Vertex 4 256GB
www.ebuyer.co.uk
www.ocztechnology.com
Issue 104, p68
165
Lite-On IHAS123-19
www.cclonline.com
www.liteonit.eu
Issue 99, p108
13
www.amazon.co.uk
www.microsoft.com
Issue 75, p46
102
1,533
TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE
Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D2V Motherboard
Amazing price Socket 1155 motherboard!
WERE
AWARD
WINNERS!
www.cclonline.com
26
April 2012
PC Pro 2011
Highly Commended
WorldMags.net
Socket 1155 Motherboard

MicroATX Form Factor
Up to 16GB DDR3 Memory
Gigabit LAN
CCL Code - MBD0340
41.34
P rices correct at time of g oi ng t o publ i shi ng. I mages are f or i l l ust rat i ve purposes onl y.
A
The most 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
MOTHERBOARD
CPU
PSU
SOLID STATE DRIVE
GRAPHICS CARD
RAM
SOUND CARD
COOLING
HARD DISK
OPERATING SYSTEM
UPDATED
NAME
SUPPLIER
MANUFACTURER
REVIEWED
PRICE (inc VAT)
SilverStone Temjin TJ07B-W
www.scan.co.uk
Issue 63, p87
263
Asus Maximus V Gene
www.scan.co.uk
http://uk.asus.com
Issue 106, p64
150
Intel Core i7-3770K
www.scan.co.uk
www.intel.co.uk
Issue 106, p36
246
8GB Kingston HyperX Genesis

KHX1866C11D3P1K2/8G
www.saverstore.com
www.kingston.com
Issue 106, p40
40
Nvidia GeForce GTX 690 2GB
www.scan.co.uk
www.nvidia.com
Issue 106, p46
780
Corsair H100
www.scan.co.uk
www.corsair.com
Issue 91, p 74
82
www.scan.co.uk
www.bequiet.com
Issue 110, p64
167
OCZ Vertex 4 256GB
www.ebuyer.co.uk
Issue 107, p44
165
Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro
www.amazon.co.uk
www.uk.europe.creative.com
Issue 62, p61
84
www.scan.co.uk
www.seagate.com
Issue 104, p75
76
www.amazon.co.uk
www.microsoft.com
Issue 75, p46
102
TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE
Iiyama ProLite 24 LCD Monitor
True HD 1920 x 1080, incredible 2ms

response time with VGA, DVI and HDMI!
1x HDMI, 1x VGA, 1x DVI-D, Speakers
1920 x 1080 Full HD Resolution
2ms Response Time
Built-in Stereo Speakers
CCL Code - MON0249
129.97
2,155
08000 50 10 10
WorldMags.net
P r i c es correct at time of going to publishing. I mages are f or i l l ust rat i ve purposes onl y.
April 2012
27
TYPE
GRAPHICS CARD
GRAPHICS CARD
GRAPHICS CARD
NAME
Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB
Sapphire Radeon HD 7870
PNY GeForce GTX 680 2GB
www.amazon.co.uk
www.amazon.co.uk
www.scan.co.uk
www3.pny.com
Issue 102, p61
Issue 105, p40
Issue 105, p36
128
198
408
SUPPLIER
MANUFACTURER
REVIEWED
PRICE(incVAT)
CPU
MOTHERBOARD
COOLER
RAM
Intel Core i5-3570K
Asus Maximus V Gene
Arctic Freezer i30
8GB Patriot G2
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
Issue 106, p36
Issue 106, p64
Issue 104, p48
Issue 106, p40
173
150
29
38
TYPE
NAME
REVIEWED
PRICE(incVAT)
Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD 7770 1GB Graphics Card
Take your game performance to the next level
WERE
AWARD
WINNERS!
www.cclonline.com
28
April 2012
PC Pro 2011
Highly Commended
WorldMags.net
HDMI, DVI-I, Mini-DisplayPort

1GB GDDR5 Memory
5000MHz Memory Clock
1000MHz Core Clock
CCL Code - VGA0674
94.94
P rices correct at time of g oi ng t o publ i shi ng. I mages are f or i l l ust rat i ve purposes onl y.
TYPE
CPU
MOTHERBOARD
COOLER
RAM
NAME
Intel Core i7-3930K
Asus Sabertooth X79
Corsair H80
16GB Corsair Vengeance

CAS9 DDR3
www.novatech.co.uk
www.scan.co.uk
www.dabs.com
www.dabs.com
www.intel.co.uk
http://uk.asus.com
www.corsair.com
www.corsair.com
Issue 101, p32
Issue 101, p70
Issue 101, p86
Issue 101, p40
PRICE(incVAT)
435
257
72
80
TYPE
CPU
MOTHERBOARD
COOLER
RAM
AMD A8-3870K
Gigabyte GA-A75M-UD2H
Gelid Tranquillo Rev.2
4GB Crucial Ballistix Sport

PC3-12800C9
www.cclonline.com
www.ebuyer.com
www.scan.co.uk
MANUFACTURER
www.amd.com
www.gigabyte.com
www.gelidsolutions.com
www.crucial.com
REVIEWED
Issue 103, p38
Issue 98, p34
Issue 100, p86
Issue 100, p96
80
69
25
26
SUPPLIER
MANUFACTURER
REVIEWED
NAME
SUPPLIER
PRICE(incVAT)
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
82.99
08000 50 10 10
WorldMags.net
P r i c es correct at time of going to publishing. I mages are f or i l l ust rat i ve purposes onl y.
April 2012
29
LGA1155 CPU
WATERBLOCK
GEFORCE GTX 680

WATERBLOCK
RADEON HD 7970
WATERBLOCK
DUAL 120MM RADIATOR
XSPC RayStorm CPU
XSPC Razor GTX680
Aquacomputer aquagrATIx
for HD 7970
Alphacool NexXxos UT60

Full Copper 240mm
www.aquatuning.co.uk
www.xs-pc.com
www.xs-pc.com
www.aquacomputer.de
www.alphacool.com
Issue 107, p60
Issue 107, p65
Issue 107, p67
Issue 107, p72
51
90
76
50
TYPE
BUDGET CASE
MICRO-ATX CASE
AIR-COOLING CASE
WATER-COOLING CASE
NAME
Antec One
SilverStone TJ08-E
SilverStone Raven RV03
SilverStone Temjin TJ07B-W
www.scan.co.uk
www.scan.co.uk
www.scan.co.uk
www.antec.com
Issue 108, p36
Issue 98, p48
Issue 103, p70
Issue 63, p87
40
79
104
263
TYPE
NAME
SUPPLIER
MANUFACTURER
REVIEWED
PRICE(incVAT)
SUPPLIER
MANUFACTURER
REVIEWED
PRICE(incVAT)
tter Gra
Our best selling gaming PC evolved - Be
30
phics, Bigger Hard Drive - Better Deal!
AMD FX-4100 3.6GHz CPU, 8GB DDR3 Memory, AMD Radeon HD 7770
April 2012
1TB Hard Drive, DVD Drive,WorldMags.net
Built-in Wi-Fi, 2 Year Warranty
UPDATED
UPDATED
UPDATED
TYPE
530W PSU
660W PSU
850W PSU
1.2kW PSU
NAME
Be Quiet! Pure Power L8

530W
XFX Pro 850W XXX Edition
Antec High Current Pro

1200W
www.scan.co.uk
www.scan.co.uk
www.ebuyer.co.uk
www.ebuyer.com
www.bequiet.com
www.seasonic.com
www.xfxforce.com
www.antec.com
Issue 110, p55
Issue 110, p59
Issue 110, p71
Issue 96, p48
55
120
107
228
SUPPLIER
MANUFACTURER
REVIEWED
PRICE(incVAT)
UPDATED
TYPE
HARD DISK
SSD
NAS BOX
NAME
OCZ Vertex 4 256GB
Synology DiskStation DS212j
www.scan.co.uk
www.ebuyer.co.uk
www.dabs.com
www.seagate.com
www.synology.com
Issue 104, p75
Issue 107, p44
Issue 104, p50
76
165
160
SUPPLIER
MANUFACTURER
REVIEWED
PRICE(incVAT)
www.cclonline.com
10 10
WorldMags.net Call us on 08000 50
April 2012 31
M o n i t o r s a n d d e s k t o p b u n d l e s a r e a v a i l a b l e s e p a r a t e l y.
TYPE
24IN MONITOR
27IN MONITOR
TRIPLE-MONITOR STAND
NAME
Dell UltraSharp U2412M
Dell UltraSharp U2711
XFX Triple Display Monitor Stand
www.scan.co.uk
www.cclonline.com
www.scan.co.uk
MANUFACTURER
www.dell.com
www.dell.co.uk
www.xfxforce.com
REVIEWED
Issue 105, p64
Issue 81, p56
Issue 96, p58
227
512
299
SUPPLIER
PRICE(incVAT)
TYPE
SOUND CARD
2.1 SPEAKERS
HEADSET
5.1 SPEAKERS
NAME
Asus Xonar DX
Corsair SP2500
Asus Vulcan ANC
Logitech Z906
www.scan.co.uk
www.scan.co.uk
www.scan.co.uk
www.ebuyer.com
http://uk.asus.com
www.corsair.com
http://uk.asus.com
www.logitech.com
Issue 80, p63
Issue 92, p79
Issue 98, p57
Issue 102, p50
58
184
76
255
SUPPLIER
MANUFACTURER
REVIEWED
PRICE(incVAT)
d - Be
Our best selling Intel gaming PC evolve
32
April 2012
tter Graphics - Bigger Hard Drive
Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz CPU, 8GB DDR3 Memory, NVIDIA GeForce
WorldMags.net
GTX 560Ti, 1TB Hard Drive,
DVD Drive, 2 Year Warranty
TYPE
KEYBOARD
MOUSE
STEERING WHEEL
JOYSTICK
NAME
Mionix Zibal 60
Maonix Naos 3200
Logitech G27
Logitech Flight System G940
SUPPLIER
www.systo.co.uk
www.scan.co.uk
www.scan.co.uk
MANUFACTURER
www.mionix.net
www.mionix.net
www.logitech.com
www.logitech.com
Issue 108, p71
Issue 108, p60
Issue 92, p108
Issue 92, p109
PRICE(incVAT)
107
35
206
228
TYPE
RPG
FPS
STRATEGY
UNDERDOG
NAME
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Frozen Synapse
Trine 2
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
REVIEWED
Issue 101, p100
Issue 98, p96
Issue 96, p92
Issue 102, p98
30
30
19 for two
12
REVIEWED
PRICE(incVAT)
www.cclonline.com
10 10
WorldMags.net Call us on 08000 50
April 2012 33
M o n i t o r s a n d d e s k t o p b u n d l e s a r e a v a i l a b l e s e p a r a t e l y.
Our in-depth analysis of

the latest PC hardware
3XS FT03
38 SCAN
NANU
PHILIPS C-LINE
40 249C4QH
42 GIGABYTE
GA-Z77X-UP4-TH
Apint-sized,overclocked
high-endPC
Canthis24inVApanel
justifyits200price?
44 THERMALTAKE
FRIO EXTREME
RAZER TAIPAN
46 Everwonderedwhat
50 VERSUS
TOUCHPAD 7 8GB
Itcaneventamean
overclockedLGA2011chip
51
GIGABYTE
KRYPTON
Doesthishugemousemat
havetheKryptonfactor?
Only1.3Vrequiredfora
4.8GHzIvyBridgeCPU
75worthofgaming
mouselookslike?
51
AnAndroidtabletthat
costsjust90
VIEW QUEST iDICE

SPEAKER
Thatsthewayweroll
aroundhere
51
ZALMAN
ZM-DS1000
Brushedaluminiumto
stickunderyourmonitor
36
34
November 2012
WorldMags.net
HOWWETEST,P48
PNY GeForce GTX

660 Ti 2GB
1,533streamprocessorsanda
915MHzGPUclock.Isthis really
aGTX670for50less? 36
WorldMags.net
November 2012
35
PNY
Nvidia GeForce
GTX 660 Ti 2GB
Reasonably priced and quick, but not

the 200 card we really want
TITANIUM
50 cheaper than
GTX 670; only 7
per cent slower
than GTX 670 at
1,920 x 1,080
SCRAP IRON
192-bit memory
interface limits
speed; expensive;
cheaper Kepler
cards on the way
HOW MUCH?
Price240incVAT
Supplierwww.scan.co.uk
Manufacturer
www.pny.com
IN DETAIL
GraphicsprocessorGTX660
Ti2GB,915MHz-980MHz
guaranteed
Pipeline1,344stream
processors(915MHz980MHzguaranteed),
24ROPs
Memory2GBGDDR5,6GHz
effective
Bandwidth144GB/sec,
192-bitinterface
CompatibilityDirectX11.1,
OpenGL4.1
Outputs/Inputs2xDVI,
HDMI,DisplayPort,2xSLI
PowerConnections2x
6-pin,top-mounted
Size240mmlong,dual-slot
36
November 2012
ased around the same GK104 architecture

asedaroundthesameGK104architecture
astherestofNvidias6-seriesGPUs,the
GeForceGTX660Tihasthesamestreaming
multiprocessor(SM)disabledastheGTX670
2GB,resultinginastreamprocessorcountof1,344.Its
clockspeedsmatchthoseoftheGTX6702GBtoo,with
abaseclockof915MHzandaguaranteedboostclock
of980MHz,althoughyoucanexpectsomecardsto
boosttoupto1,115MHz,.
Whileitsounds,sofar,likeaGTX670for50less,
NvidiahasmadeacrucialcuttotheGTX660Ti2GBs
memoryinterface.Oneofthefour64-bitmemory
controllershasbeendisabled,alongsidetheeight
ROPsand128KBofL2cacheassociatedwithit,
reducingthecardsROPcountto32,L2cacheto
384KBandmemoryinterfacefrom256-bitto192-bit.
Thisinturnreducesthememorybandwidth,
alreadyarguablyGK104sweakpoint,to144GB/sec
thankstoa1.5GHz(6GHzeffective)memoryfrequency.
Whilethismightnotimpactperformancetoomuchat
lowerresolutions,highresolutions,suchas5,760x
1,080usedinthree-screengaming,hammeracards
memorybandwidth.Assuch,theGTX660Ti2GBis
unlikelytobeabletocompleteatthesesettings.
Otherwise,theGTX660Ti2GBissosimilartothe
GTX6702GBthattheyevenusethesamestockPCB
andcooler.ThismeansthatthePCBisstilljust
175mmlong,withtheblackdual-slotcooleradding
anextra65mmforatotallengthof240mm.Aradial
fanpushesairdownthelengthofthecard,througha
tightlypackedaluminiumfinstackontopoftheGPU,
beforebeingexhaustedouttherearI/O.Hereyoull
alsofindtwoDVIports,anHDMIconnectorandafullsizedDisplayPort.Meanwhile,twotop-mounted6-pin
PCI-Epowerconnectorssupplypower.
PERFORMANCE
Despitetheirsimilarspecs,theGTX660Ti2GBscuts
areobviousinBattlefield3.At1,920x1,080with4xAA,
itsminimumframerateof54fpsis10percentslower
thanthatoftheGTX6702GBinthesametest,but
thisisstillenoughtoconvincinglysurpassthenow
comparativelypriced250HD79503GBandslightly
cheaper 220 HD 7870 2GB. Once we get to 5,760 x

cheaper220HD78702GB.Oncewegetto5,760x
1,080,however,the192-bitmemoryinterfaceofthe
GTX660Ti2GBshows,withaminimumofjust16fps.
Crysis2withitsDX11andhigh-restexturepackisa
monstertorun;at1920x1,080,theGTX660Ti2GBs
minimumframerateof46fpswas3fpsslowerthan
theGXT6702GBand2fpsslowerthantheHD7950
3GB.At2,560x1,600,theGTX660Ti2GBduelledwith
theHD78702GB,whileat5,760x1,080,itsminimum
ofjust16fpsplacesitatthebottomoftheheap.
Happily,performanceinDirt3wasmuchbetter,
withaminimumof105fpsat1,920x1,080with4xAA
beingjust6percentslowerthantheGTX6702GBand
12percentfasterthanthe79503GB.Itwasmuch
closerat2,560x1,600with4xAAthough.Whilethe
GTX6702GBwasaround6percentfaster,theHD7950
3GBwasjust1fpsslowerthantheGTX660Ti2GB.
InSkyrim,however,theGTX660Ti2GBsminimum
of60fpsat2,560x1,600was11percentslowerthan
theGTX6702GB,butalso7percentfasterthantheHD
79503GB,andevenfasterat5,760x1,080.
WithitssimilaritiestotheGTX6702GB,theGTX660
Ti2GBdrewnearlythesameamountofpoweratidle
andload89Wand228Wrespectively.ApeakdeltaT
of64CindicatesthattheGTX660Tiusesadifferent
thermalprofile,though,anditscoolingfanwasnt
quieteither,revvinguptoaudiblelevelsunderload.
CONCLUSION
At1,920x1,080,theGTX660Ti2GBlooksstrong;its
generallyonly7percentslowerthantheGTX6702GB,
and50cheaper.However,itsperformancegapgrows
byasmuchas30percentathigherresolutions,andin
memory-intensivegamessuchasCrysis2.
Assuch,wehavereservationsaboutitsfuture
performanceinnext-gentitles.A250GPUshould
bealong-terminvestment,andtheGTX660Ti2GB
alreadyshowssomecracksinitsperformance.If
youreplayinggamesat1,920x1,080,though,theGTX
660Ti2GBisasolidchoice.Justbeawarethatcheaper
Keplercards,suchastheGTX6602GB,willbearriving
veryshortly,andmightbebetterfortightbudgets.
HARRY BUTLER
WorldMags.net
GRAPHICS CARD
CRYSIS 2 (DX11)
BATTLEFIELD 3 (DX11)
1,920 x 1,080, Ultra detail
1,920 x 1,080, 4x AA, 16x AF
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
54 fps
GeForce GTX 670 2GB

Radeon HD 7950 3GB
46 fps
Radeon HD 7870 2GB
72 fps
58 fps
44 fps
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
65 fps
60 fps
50
75
42 fps
35 fps
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
36 fps
29 fps
25
50
75
75
100
50
75
100
50
75
100
30 fps
27 fps
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
26 fps
100
5,760 x 1,080, 4 x AA, 16x AF
37 fps
29 fps
22 fps
37 fps
25
19 fps
23 fps
Radeon HD 7870 2GB 12 fps
22 fps
25
50
75
100
DIRT 3 (DX11)
24 fps
18 fps
Radeon HD 7950 3GB 13 fps
25 fps
19 fps
17 fps
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
29 fps
23 fps
GeForce GTX 660 2GB 12 fps
23 fps
16 fps
Radeon HD 7870 2GB
50
21 fps
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
Radeon HD 7870 2GB
32 fps
26 fps
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
55 fps
25
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
37 fps
31 fps
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
44 fps
73 fps
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
48 fps 63 fps
100
2,560 x 1,600, 4x AA, 16x AF
Radeon HD 7870 2GB
49 fps
Radeon HD 7950 3GB

Radeon HD 7870 2GB
54 fps
25
46 fps 61 fps
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
18 fps
25
THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM (DX9)
1,920 x 1,080, 4x AA, 16x AF
1,920 x 1,080, 4x AA, 16x AF
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
105 fps 120 fps
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
112 fps 130 fps
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
91 fps
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
93 fps 111 fps
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
71 fps 85 fps
Radeon HD 7870 2GB
93 fps 110 fps
Radeon HD 7870 2GB
25
50
75
100
2,560 x 1,600, 4x AA, 16x AF
71 fps 85 fps
25
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
100
Radeon HD 7870 2GB

25
60 fps
71 fps
50
75
68 fps 83 fps
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
74 fps
62 fps
100
66 fps
56 fps
Radeon HD 7870 2GB
5,760 x 1,080, 4 x AA, 16x AF
63 fps
53 fps
25
50
75
100
75
100
5,760 x 1,080, 4 x AA, 16x AF
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
53 fps
46 fps
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
49 fps
56 fps
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
48 fps
57 fps
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
Radeon HD 7870 2GB

Minimum
50
75
100
29 fps
34 fps
28 fps
33 fps
25
Minimum
89 W
228 W
GeForce GTX 660 2GB 10 C
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
88 W
230 W
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
89 W
227 W
Radeon HD 7950 3GB
15 C
Radeon HD 7870 2GB
88 W 118 W
Radeon HD 7870 2GB
6 C
SPEED 34 / 40
FEATURES 26 / 30
50
Average
PEAK GPU TEMPERATURE (DELTA T)
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
50
100
Gaming
46 fps
38 fps
Average
PEAK TOTAL SYSTEM POWER DRAW
40 fps
32 fps
Radeon HD 7870 2GB
51 fps
43 fps
25
Idle
75
AcomparisonbetweentheGTX680
(above)andtheGTX660Ti(below)note
thereductioninL2cache,aswellasthe
missingROPs,memorycontrollerand
streamingmultiprocessor
60 fps 75 fps
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
80 fps
67 fps
50
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
74 fps
63 fps
GeForce GTX 670 2GB
112 fps
2,560 x 1,600, 4x AA, 16x AF
GeForce GTX 660 2GB
84 fps 103 fps
150
200
250
Lower is better
87
customPC
VALUE 27 / 30 OVERALL
64 C
11 C
55 C
57 C
40 C
20
Idle
40
Load
60
80
Lower is better
TEST KIT
3.3GHzIntelCorei52500K CPU,AsusP8P67
motherboard,4GBCorsair1,600MHzDDR3memory,
CrucialM225128GBSSD,Windows764-bit,Nvidia
GeForce304.48beta,AMDCatalyst12.7beta
WorldMags.net
customPC
November 2012
37
SCAN
3XS FT03 Nanu
Scan goes pint-sized with this
high-end gaming pocket rocket
PICO
Fast performance;
tiny size; low
noise; three-year
warranty
MICRO
Limited
overclocking
headroom
HOW MUCH?
Price1,279incVAT
Manufacturer
www.scan.co.uk
IN DETAIL
CPU3.5GHzIntelCore
i7-3570Koverclockedto
4.4GHz
Motherboard AsusP8Z77-I
Deluxe
Memory8GB
1,600MHzCorsairDDR3
Vengeance
GraphicsEVGAGTX660Ti
2GB
SoundOn-board
Harddisk128GBCorsair
Force3SSD,2TBSeagate
Barracuda7200.14
OpticaldrivesSonyBlu-ray
reader
CaseSilverStoneFT03Mini
CoolingCPU:CorsairH60;
case1x140mbottom
intakefan
PSUSilverStone450W
StriderSST-ST45SF
PortsFront:2xUSB3,mic,
headphone;Rear:4xUSB2,
4xUSB3,LAN,audioout,
mic,headphone,optical
S/PDIFout,2xDVI,HDMI,
DisplayPort.
ExtrasWindows7Home
Premium
WarrantyOneyearon-site,
plustwoyearsRTB
38
November 2012
hedinkyperformancePCmarketisrapidly
expanding,withnewenthusiastmini-ITX
motherboardsandcasesarrivingevery
month.Afterall,whydoesyourPCneedafulltowercasewhensomethingaquarterofthesizewill
do?AswesawinIssue109,amini-ITXPCcannowbe
justaspowerfulasafull-sizedone,andScanisoneof
thefirstPCmanufacturersweveseenofferingafullfullyconfigurableviaScanswebsite.Forinstance,you
fatgamingPCfocusedpurelyonmini-ITXhardware.
couldoptfora256GBSSDforanadditional66,or
The3XSFT03NanuisbuiltinsideSilverStonesFT03
ditchtheBlu-raydriveandsave32.Asstandard,the
Mini.Whenwelookedatit(seeIssue109,p60)we
3XSFT03Nanuincludesathree-yearwarrantytoo,
decidedthatthepricewasalittletoohightowarrant
withthefirstyearon-siteandtheremainingtwoyears
usingitforyourownsystem.However,withour
return-to-basewithpartsandlabourincluded.
preferredcaseforahomebuild,BitFenixsProdigy
Theaskingpriceof,1279maysoundalittlehigh
(seeIssue109,p54),lackinginthebuildquality
foraPCthatlacksadecentsoundcardandhigh-end
department,theFT03Minimakessenseforasystem
graphicscardtheDinoPCTyrannosaur3570K(see
builder.Ithassuperbbuildquality,itlookssleekand
Issue107,p36)costsjust20more,butitsimportant
unimposing,anditwasthesmallestcaseontesttoo.
torememberthattheGeForceGTX660Tiretailsfor
Infact,thatthe3XSFT03Nanuisthesmallestgaming
over250,andtheindividualcostofthecomponents,
PCwevereviewedthatusesoff-the-shelfhardware.
ThatdoesntmeanScanhasskimped
oncomponentsthough.Thepricetagof A SLIMLINE BLU-RAY READER RESIDES
1,279buysyouanAsusP8Z77-IDeluxe
IN THE SIDE, MEANING THAT THIS PC
(seeIssue109,p66)lastmonthsLabsCOULD SIT UNOBTRUSIVELY UNDER
winningmini-ITXmotherboardanIntel
Corei5-3570Koverclockedto4.4GHz
YOUR TV FOR MEDIA DUTIES TOO
usingavcoreof1.3V,8GBofRAMandan
shouldyoubuythemyourself,comestowellover
EVGAGeForceGTX660Ti2GB(seep36).Meanwhile,
1,100.Thepremiumsavesyouthetrickytaskof
forstorage,Scanhasoptedfora120GBCorsairForce
buildingaPCintotheFT03Mini,overclockingand
3SSDanda2TBSeagateBarracuda7200.14hard
installingWindows,aswellasnettingthepeaceof
disk,whileaslimlineBlu-rayreaderresidesintheside
mindofathree-yearwarranty.
ofthecase,meaningthatthissystemcouldhappilysit
unobtrusivelyunderyourTVandperformmedia
PERFORMANCE
centredutiestoo.
InourMediaBenchmarks,the3XSFT03Nanuwas
AstheFT03Minidoesnthavemuchroominside,a
extremelyfast.Infact,theadditional100MHzofCPU
largeaircoolerisoutofthequestion,asisahigh-end
frequencyovertheDinoPCTyrannosaur3570K made
all-in-oneliquidcooler.However,Scanhasmanaged
itfasterinallthesetests.Ithadtheedgeby99points
tofitaCorsairH60all-in-oneliquidcoolerinstead,
intheGimpimageeditingtest,23pointsinthe
whichwillbemuchbetterthanalow-profileaircooler.
HandbrakeH.264videoencodingtestand233points
Thereson-boardsoundforthesimplereasonthatthe
inthemulti-taskingtest,givingitaleadof118points.
motherboardhasnoadditionalexpansionslots.
Unfortunately,ArmaIIreceivedalargepatch
Basically,thespecificationismind-bogglinggiven
betweentestingpreviousPCsandthe3XSFT03Nanu
thetinysizeofthePC,andthe3XSFT03Nanuisalso
WorldMags.net
MINI-ITX GAMING PC
Thepricetagof1,279buys
youanAsusP8Z77-IDeluxe
lastmonthsLabs-winning
mini-ITXmotherboard
TheEVGAGeForceGTX660Ti2GBsitsverticallyinthecase,
exhaustinghotairoutthetop.Eventhoughtheresonlyonecase
fan,theGPUneverwentabove80Cinour24Clab
arrivinginourlab,soourgametestresultsarent
directlycomparable.Evenso,the3XSFT03Nanu
managedaminimumframerateof46fpsat1,920x
1,080atVeryHighsettings,sotheresplentyof
headroomifyougameathigherresolutionsorwant
toturnuptheeyecandytoabsolutemaximum.
Wealsoputthe3XSFT03Nanuthroughourusual
stresstestofPrime95and3DMark11tomakesure
thatitwasstable,andwealsonotedthetemperatures
andpowerdrawwhileitwasrunningthesetests.The
CPUtoppedoutat78Cinour24Clab,withthe
CorsairH60clearlydoingaverygoodjoband
remainingquiet.TheGTX660Ti2GBwasalittle
warmerat79C,butwasstillfairlyquiet,evenunder
load.Incredibly,thesystemonlydrew256Wfromthe
wallatpeaktoo,sothesmall450WSFXPSUsupplied
byScanwillusuallybeunder50percentload.
WecouldntpushtheCPUmuchhigherwithout
seeingthetemperatureskyrocket,butwesqueezed
alittlemoreoutofthegraphicscard,settlingona
70MHzcorefrequencyincreaseand100MHzmemory
frequencyincrease.Thisadded3fpstotheaverage
framerateinArmaII.Thesystemwasnoisieratthese
settings,mainlyduetothegraphicscardandPSU
whengaming,butitsnolouderthanotherPCsweve
seenrecently.
Althoughitsexpensive,the
SilverStoneFT03Minicase
makessenseforasystem
builder.Ithassuperbbuild
quality,itlookssleekand
unimposing,anditwas
thesmallestcaseinlast
monthsmini-ITXLabstest.
CONCLUSION
TheScan3XSFT03Nanuisafantasticminigaming
system.Despiteitssmallsizeandlownoise,the
temperatureswerewellwithinlimits,althoughyou
wontbeabletoapplycrazyoverclocks.Itsfasterthan
somefull-sizedoverclockedIntelIvyBridgePCs,and
youcanuseScansconfiguratortochoporchangetoo.
Thethree-yearwarrantyistheicingonthecake.
ANTONY LEATHER
ARMA II
GIMP IMAGE EDITING

Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu
1,920 x 1,080, 16x AF, 4x AA
2,122
0
Incredibly,thesystemonly
drew256Wfromthewall
atpeak,sothesmall450W
SFXPSUsuppliedbyScan
willusuallybeunder50per
centload.
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
1,000
2,000
1,000
2,000
1,000
2,000
25
Stock speed min
3,440
0
46 fps
0
HANDBRAKE H.264 VIDEO ENCODING

Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu
Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu
3,000
4,000
3,000
4,000
3,000
4,000
MULTI-TASKING
Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu
1,874
OVERALL
Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu
2,478
Stock speed
SPEED
DESIGN
HARDWARE
VALUE
22 / 25
23 / 25
23 / 25
23 / 25
57 fps
50
75
100
Stock speed avg
91
customPC
TheinsideoftheFT03Miniis
verycramped,andslimline
opticaldrivesandSFXPSUsare
theonlyoptions.Despitethe
PSUonlybeingratedat450W,
thiswasmorethanenoughfor
thesystem,whichdrew256W
atpeak
OVERALL
WorldMags.net
November 2012
39
MONITOR
PHILIPS
C-Line 249C4QH
A great-looking VA panel, but expensive
and lacking in features and adjustability
BLADE
Great picture
quality out of
the box
BLUNT
Lack of inputs;
few adjustment
options;
expensive
HOW MUCH?
Price201incVAT
Supplier
www.lambda-tek.com
Manufacturer
www.philips.co.uk
Productcode249C4Q
IN DETAIL
DisplaytypeAMVATFT
Dimensions(mm)569x180
x434(WxDxH)
AvailablecoloursBlack
ConnectionsD-Sub,HDMI
(HDCP)
Viewablescreensize24in
Maximumresolution1,920
x1,080
Contrastratio5,000:1
(20,000,000:1dynamic)
Brightness250cd/m
Responsetime6ms(greyto-grey)
WarrantyThreeyearsRTB
40
November 2012
PSmightbethedisplaytechnologytooptfor
inthehighendofthemarket,butthatdoesnt
meanyouhavetooptforabargain-basement
TNpanelifyoureonatightbudget.VA
(verticalalignment)panelssuchastheoneusedinthe
PhilipsC-Line249C4QHcanofferaveryreasonable
middlegroundbetweenpriceandpicturequality.
However,at201,the249C4QHwillhavetobeavery
specialVAmonitortojustifyitsprice,especiallywithits
minimalfeatureset.
The249C4QH doesntcaterforwall-mountingand
multi-monitorbracketstherearenoVESAmounting
holesandthebaseisnon-removable,asithousesall
theinputsandOSDbuttons.Meanwhile,thebezelhas
aminimal-3to15degreesoftilt,buttheresnoheight
orswiveladjustment.
Inputsareequallylimited,withjustoneVGAand
twoHDMIports,andthereisntevenaDVItoHDMI
adaptorintheboxforgraphicscardswithonlyDVI
ports.Ontheplusside,anauxiliary3.5mmaudiojack
actsasanHDMIaudiopass-through,soyoullstillbe
abletouseHDMIaudio,eventhoughthe 249C4QH
doesnthaveasetofinternalspeakers.
Atitsdefaultsettings,themonitorspeak
brightnessof249.2Cd/m2 wascertainlyhealthy,
althoughthecolourtemperaturewasalittlehigh
at6,875K,resultinginanoticeablebluetinge.
Meanwhile,theaveragegammawasanexact2.2with
littlevariance,andcolouraccuracywasonlyslightly
offourtargetwithanaveragedE94of3.1.Wealso
measuredanincrediblyhighcontrastratioof2,265:1,
althoughthisisstillwellbelowthe5,000:1typical
contrastratiothatPhilipsquotes.Basically,without
anycalibration,the249C4QHcanstillproduceagreatlookingimage,anditalsohasanevenbacklightthat
showednosignsofbleedaroundtheedges.
VApanelshavemuchbetterviewinganglesthan
TNscreenstoo,sothe249C4QHimpressedusinthis
respect,evenifitcouldntmatchanIPSpanelthere
wassomeminorcolourshiftatmoreextremeangles.
Themattfinishalsohelpstodiffuselightreflections,
althoughcoloursdonthavethesamevibrancyas
theymightonaglossyscreen.
Beyondtheslightlyhighcolourtemperature,
thereslittlenottolikeaboutthe249C4QHoutofthe
box,althoughtheresalwaysroomforimprovement
andtweaking.However,thismeantbattlingwiththe
awfultouch-sensitiveOSDbuttons.Theseareapain
touse,especiallyinthedark,astheyarentbacklit;the
basicmenusthemselvesofferverylittlecontrolover
imagequalitytoo.
Meanwhile,PhilipsSmartImagepresetsonlyseem
toalterimagesharpness,andnoneofthesixoptions
managedtoimprovethepictureatall.
However,withsomeperseveranceusingourX-Rite
i1colourmeter,the249C4QHcontinuedtoimpress.
Afterdroppingthebrightnesstoamoreeye-friendly
125Cd/m2 andusingacalibrationtool,weloweredthe
colourtemperaturetoamoreaccurate6,598Kand
reachedanimpressiveaveragedE94of0.6.
Theresulting contrastratioof1241:1wasalsostill
impeccablyhigh,evenifitwashalftheoriginalvalue,
whichmadeitveryeasytopickoutdetailsinourdark
testvideo.
CONCLUSION
ThePhilipsC-Line249C4QHmightbelackingin
termsoffeaturesandconnections,butitspicture
qualityisexcellentforaVAdisplay.Despitethis,
however,itstrugglestojustifyits201askingprice
whenyoucouldbuyasuperiorIPSmonitorsuchas
ViewSonicsVX2336s(seeIssue105,p74)for65less.
TOM MORGAN
IMAGE 46 / 50
FEATURES 12 / 25
WorldMags.net
VALUE 15 / 25
73
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WorldMags.net
GIGABYTE
GA-Z77X-UP4-TH
Thunderbolt hits the mainstream,
and its attached to a good board too
COOL
RUNNINGS
Stunning
looks; premium
components;
overclocks well
KOOL & THE
GANG
Thunderbolt yet
to fully take off;
pricey
HOW MUCH?
Price160incVAT
Supplierwww.dabs.com
Manufacturerwww.
gigabyte.com
SKUnumberGA-Z77XUP4H-TH
IN DETAIL
ChipsetIntelZ77
CPUsupportLGA1155Core
i3,Corei5,Corei7,Pentium
andCeleron
Memorysupport4slots:
max32GBDDR3(3,200MHz)
Expansionslots3x16x
PCI-E3slot(one16x,two8x
orone8xandtwo4x),one
PCI,three1xPCI-E2
SoundHDAudioviaRealtek
ALC892
NetworkingRealtekGigabit
Ethernet
OverclockingCPUclock80133MHz,CPUMultiplier
16-63;maxvoltages,CPU
1.85V,RAM2.8V,PLL2.2V
Ports4xSATA3Gbps,2x
SATA6Gbps,1xmSATA
3Gbps,1xPS/2,8xUSB3,
6xUSB2,LAN,2x
Thunderbolt,4xsurround
audioout,line-in,mic,
opticalS/PDIFout,DVI,
D-Sub,HDMI
Dimensions(mm)305x244
(ATX)
42
November 2012
twaswaybackin2009thatIntelfirst
the powerpassingthroughtheICsgetslostasheat,
demonstrateditsThunderboltinterface
sotheyllruncooler.
(thenknownasLightPeak),boastingthatit
Withlesspowerbeinglost,thisshouldalsoallow
wouldbecomeasingleunifyingstandardfor
theuseoflowervoltageswhenoverclocking,
everything,fromstoragetonetworkinganddisplays.
somethingwhichshouldinturnmakeanoverclocked
Now,inthethirdquarterof2012,thefirstproducts
IvyBridgeCPUruncooler.TheUP4Halsouseshighbasedonthestandardarefinallymakingitto
current60A-ratedferritecorechokesamovethat
Windows-baseddesktopPCs.Onesuchproductis
Gigabyteclaimsimprovesefficiencyandreducesthe
theGA-Z77X-UP4H-TH.
heatoutputoftheVRMsevenfurther.
TheresalottolikeabouttheUP4H.Forastart,it
OutsideofUltraDurable5,however,theUP4H
lookssimplybrilliantitsmatt-blackPCBexudes
couldbecriticisedforlookingalittleskinnyinterms
menace,andthegunmetalheatsinksdottedacross
ofoverclockingfeatures,especiallygiventhatitcosts
italsolookthepart,thankstotheirsubtleblue
160.Itlackson-boardpowerandresetbuttons,for
highlightsandmottledfinish.
example,andtheresnorear-mountedCMOSreset
Itsspecssheetalsomakesimpressivereading,as
switchorPOSTcoderead-outeither,allofwhichare
theboardnotonlyboaststwooftheaforementioned
totedbytheAsusMaximusVGene(seeIssue106,p64).
Thunderboltports,butalsoafullbevyof
displayoutputs,enoughUSB3portsto
THE USE OF LOWER VOLTAGES
sinkabattleshipandthree16xPCI-E3
WHEN OVERCLOCKING SHOULD IN
slots.Multi-GPUenthusiastsshouldwait
TURN MAKE AN OVERCLOCKED IVY
amomentbeforereachingfortheircredit
cards,however,asunlikethepairofhighBRIDGE CPU RUN COOLER
endboardswesawlastmonth(seeIssue
PERFORMANCE
109,p36),theUP4HdoesntsportaPLXsplittingchip.
Outofthebox,theUP4Hprovedtobequickinour
Thismeansthatthe16PCI-E3lanesprovidedbythe
benchmarks,althoughitlaggedbehindourcurrent
processorareallyouhave,sothesecondandthird
recommendedZ77board,theAsusMaximusVGene,
slotsarelimitedtofourlaneseach.
bya1-2percentinallourMediaBenchmarkstests.
Potentiallyoffarmoreimporttomostpeopleisthe
Thisaddeduptoadifferenceof77pointsbetweenthe
factthattheUP4HisalsooneofthefirstGigabyte
twoboardsoverallscores,asmalldifferencethats
boardstofeaturethefirmsnewUltraDurable5
barelynoticeableineverydayuse.
technology,denotedbytheUPsuffix.
Thiswasalsothecasewithgaming,withboth
Thisbringsanumberofnewpowerfeatures,
boardsproducingalmostidenticalresultsinour
includingimprovedVRMcircuitry.Gigabytehas
Shogun2:TotalWartest.
draftedinInternationalRectifiersIR3550PowIRstage
Withthestock-speedtestingoutoftheway,we
ICs,whicharespecificallydesignedtorunasefficiently
movedontooverclockingtheGigabyteboardtosee
aspossible.Intheory,thisshouldmeanthatlessof
Theresadecent
selectionofportson
theback,althougha
clearCMOSbuttonis
notablyabsent
WorldMags.net
LGA1155 MOTHERBOARD
whatitsfancynewVRMcircuitrycould
reallydeliver.Thismeantnavigatingthe
UP4HsEFI,whichisrelativelywelllaid
out;theonlynigglewasthefactthatthe
CPUfrequencyandvoltagesettingsare
ondifferentpages.Thismeansthatyou
havetotravelbackandforthifyourefinetuninganoverclock.
Afterafewminutesofpokingaround,
wehadourtestCPUrunningatits
maximum4.8GHz.Intriguingly,theUP4H
onlyrequiredavcoreof1.3Vtoachieve
thisoverclocklessthanthe1.34V
requiredbytheMaximusVGeneand
milesbetterthanthe1.37Vwehadto
pumpintoGigabytesownZ77X-UD5H
(seeIssue106,p70).
Thisaddssomecredencetothe
companysclaimsthatitsnewVRMsare
moreefficientthanthoseusedpreviously.
Thecoretemperaturewasalsoavery
reasonable81oCatthesesettings.
Outofcuriosity,wealsopushed
ourCPUupto4.9GHzbrieflytoseeif
GigabytesVRMcircuitrycouldmakethis
otherwiseunstableoverclockhold,butasusual,the
CPUcrashedduringthevideoeditingportionofour
MediaBenchmarks.
WiththeoverclockedCPU,theUP4Hperformed
brilliantly,evenoutstrippingtheMaximusVGeneto
romphomewithaMediaBenchmarksscoreof2,849
anewZ77record,albeitonlyby10points.
Gamingperformancealsosawanappreciable
jump,althoughitwasntenoughtodistinguishthe
boardfromthecompetition.
01
02
03
CONCLUSION
TheresalottorecommendtheGA-Z77X-UP4-TH.It
looksgreat,overclockswellanditsnew-fangledVRMs
havetangiblebenefits.Theonlyissueisthatthe Asus
MaximusVGenenowcosts150,and hasmore
overclockinghardwarefeatures.Thatsaid,theGeneis
micro-ATX,soitisntforeveryone.Ifyourebuildinga
newoverclockedPCandwantmoreexpansionspace,
weheartilyrecommendtheUP4H.
PAUL GOODHEAD
GA-Z77X-UP4-TH
1,860
Maximus Gene V
1,916
02 TherearethreePCI-E
graphicsslots,butnoPLX
splitterchip,sothebottomtwo
onlygetfourlaneseach
03 ThelackofaPOSTcode
reader,oron-board
powerandresetbuttons,makes
theboardlookalittleskinnyin
termsofoverclockingfeatures
1,000
1,920 x 1,080, Default settings, no AA, no AF
2,311
2,308
2,000
GA-Z77X-UP4-TH
3,000
4,000
1,000
2,000
29 fps
3,000
33 fps
4,260
0
3,461 4,229
4,000
Stock speed min
34 fps
35 fps
Maximus Gene V
3,328
Maximus Gene V
29 fps
GA-Z77X-UP4-TH
HANDBRAKE H.264 VIDEO ENCODING
GigabytesnewUltra
Durable5technology
enabledustooverclockourCPU
to4.8GHzwithavcoreofjust1.3V
SHOGUN 2: TOTAL WAR CPU TEST
GIMP IMAGE EDITING
01
41 fps
35 fps
40 fps
25
Stock speed avg
50
Overclocked min
75
100
Overclocked avg
MULTI-TASKING
GA-Z77X-UP4-TH
1,789
1,977
Maximus Gene V
1,831
1,971
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
OVERALL
GA-Z77X-UP4-TH
2,326
Maximus Gene V
2,403
0
1,000
Stock speed
2,000
Overclocked
2,849
FEATURES 27 / 30
2,836
3,000
SPEED 41 / 45
4,000
VALUE 20 / 25
88
customPC
OVERALL
WorldMags.net
TEST KIT
3.2GHzIntelCorei7-3770K
CPU,8GB1,600MHz
CorsairDDR3memory,
128GBPatriotWildfire
SSD,NvidiaGeForceGTX
6802GBgraphicscard,
Windows764-bit
November 2012
43
CPU COOLER
THERMALTAKE
Frio Extreme
The Frio receives a monstrous
update, but is it worth 72?
COLD
Good cooling;
variable fan
controller
COLDITZ
Very expensive;
large; noisy
HOW MUCH?
Price72incVAT
Supplierwww.ebuyer.com
Manufacturer
www.thermaltake.com
SKUnumber CLP0587
IN DETAIL
CompatibilityIntel:LGA775,
LGA1156,LGA1155,
LGA2011,LGA1366
AMD:SocketFM1/AM3+/
AM3/AM2+/AM2
Weight1.25kg
Size(mm)151x148x160
(WxDxH)
Fans2x140mm
Statednoise18-38dBA
44
November 2012
hermaltakesquietFrioruledtheroostin
manysituations,especiallyathighheatloads.
Assuch,theFrioExtremewillhaveatough
jobbetteringitand,at72,itcompeteswith
CorsairsH80toodangerousgroundforanaircooler.
TheenormousExtrememeasures151x148x
160mm(WxDxH)withitstwo140mmfans,and
weighs1.23kg.However,oneofthefanssitsoutsideof
thetwoheatsinks,makingitfoulevenshortDIMMsin
LGA2011systems,requiringyoutoraisethefan.Inour
system,thismeantthesidepanelnolongerfitted,so
wehadtosealittothecasewithtapetoensureafairtest.
Thecoolerssix6mmheatpipesareboundtogether
inapolishedcontactplate,althoughtheresnoeasyto-fitshroudforthetwo140mmfanstheseare
securedusingfiddlyclips.However,thecoolercanonly
beinstalledwithyourmotherboardoutsideyourcase,
asthecentrefanblocksthemountingmechanism.
Themountingmechanismisfairlystraightforward,
though,withplatesfixingtothemotherboard,which
areinturnsecuredbyahold-downplatestraddlingthe
heatsink.Afullyvariablefancontrollerisalsoincluded.
Atitslowestspeed,theExtremewas2Cwarmer
thantheArcticFreezeri30andequaltotheCorsair
H80atitslowestspeed.Atmaximumspeed,thedelta
Tdroppedfrom41Cto39CmatchingtheFreezer
i30,butslightlywarmerthantheH80.Ittamedour
toastyLGA2011system,though,andmanagedadelta
Tof60Catitslowestspeedand57Catfullspeed
coolerthantheFreezeri30.AM3+coolingwasfinetoo,
withadeltaTof46Catfullspeed.Sadly,however,
evenatlowspeed,theFrioExtremeisntparticularly
quietandfullspeedseesitmakeasubstantialdin.
CONCLUSION
TheFrioExtremeisacapablecooler,butthereare
betteroptionsavailable.LGA1155hastheArctic
Freezeri30,whichisfarcheaperandjustasgood,
whileLGA2011hastheoptionoftheFreezeri30orthe
evencoolerCorsairH80.Meanwhile,AM3+owners
willhearlessnoise,albeitwithslighterhigher
temperatures,fromBeQuiet!sDarkRock2.
ANTONY LEATHER
results
INTEL LGA1155
Frio Extreme
(high fan speed)
Frio Extreme
(low fan speed)
Arctic Freezer i30
5C
39C
5C
41C
3C
39C
15
30
45
60
Lower is better
INTEL LGA2011
Frio Extreme
(high fan speed)
Frio Extreme
(low fan speed)
Arctic Freezer i30
13C
57C
15C
60C
14C
59C
15
30
45
60
Lower is better
AMD SOCKET AM3+

Frio Extreme
(high fan speed)
Frio Extreme
(low fan speed)
Be Quiet! Dark Rock 2
9C
46C
10C
48C
12C
0
Idle
52C
15
Load
scores: lGa1155
30
45
60
Lower is better
76
COOLING 33 / 40 customPC
DESIGN 23 / 30
VALUE 20 / 30
OVERALL
FITTING AVG
scores: lGa2011
71
DESIGN 23 / 30
VALUE 20 / 30
OVERALL
FITTING AVG
scores: Socket am3+
77
DESIGN 23 / 30
VALUE 21 / 30
OVERALL
FITTING AVG
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
GAMING MOUSE
RAZER
Taipan
Well-built and hefty, but let down by
a high price and awkward shape
SOLID SNAKE
Well built;
satisfying weight
TROUSER
SNAKE
Ludicrous price;
awkward shape
HOW MUCH?
Price75incVAT
Manufacturerwww.
razerzone.com
SKUnumberRZ0100780100-R3U1
IN DETAIL
ConnectionWired(braided)
MaterialPlastic
SensorLaserandoptical
Buttons6,scrollwheel
(withrocking)
FormfactorAmbidextrous
SensitivityUpto8,200dpi
Weight132g
ExtrasNone
46
November 2012
azerisoneofthemostprolific
peripheralmanufacturers
around;ithasagamingmouse,
headsetorkeyboardforjustabout
everysingletypeofgame,playstyleandbudget.
Evenso,italwaysseemedtoneglectasmallbut
Asyoudexpect,theTaipanalsohasadownloadable
significantportionofthepopulationlefties.
softwaresuitethatenablesyoutotweakeverything
Infact,eventhespecialleft-handededitionofthe
fromthelightingtothesensitivitysettings.The
DeathAdderwasreleasedwellaftertheright-handed
sensitivitygoesupto8,200dpi,andthemouseisfitted
version.However,inabidtoappealtoeveryone,Razer
withbothopticalandlasersensors,althoughwe
hasrecentlyreleasedtheambidextrousTaipanand,
generallyfindanythingabove3,000dpiisoverkill
withapricetagof75,ithasalottoprove.
anyway.Intriguingly,though,yoursettingsaresaved
NotthatyoudimmediatelythinkRazerwhen
remotelyonRazersservers,meaningthatyoucanuse
lookingattheTaipan;itslow-slung,streamlined
themwithanyTaipanmouseanywhereintheworld.
shapeisworldsawayfromthebulbous,
curvaceouslookthatgenerallytypifies
THE MAIN BUTTONS HAVE A PLEASING
Razerrodents.Thankfully,theexcellent
buildqualityforwhichthecompanyhas
CRUNCH WHEN PRESSED, AND THE
becomeknownremainsintact,andthis
SCROLL WHEEL IS VERY SOLID, WITH
makesthemousefeelverysturdyand
WELL-DEFINED SCROLL POINTS
robust;youwonthearanyrattlesor
squeaksfromill-fittingparts.
WewerealsoimpressedbytheTaipansweight;
Thisisasnazzyidea,butnecessitatestheneedto
despitebeingasmallermouse,itstillfeels
createaloginandusername,whichsomepeoplemay
reassuringlyhefty.Themajorityofthisweightis
findslightlyoverbearing.
locatedlowinthechassistoo,givingthetrackingof
CONCLUSION
themouseadirectfeel.
TheTaipanissolidlybuiltandfeelssatisfyinglyweighty,
Unfortunately,ouroptimismwasshort-lived
butitsshapeandsizemakeitawkwardtousefor
actuallyusingtheTaipanforaprolongedperiodoftime
anyonewithoutelf-likedigits,andthepriceisludicrous
revealedittobejustalittletoosmallforouraverageforwhatsonoffer.Ifyoureafteranambidextrous
sizedmitts.Theissueisthelowprofileofthemouse,
mouse,saveyourself40andplumpforthe
asthismeanstheresverylittleroomoneitherside
SteelSeriesKana(seeIssue108,p66)instead.
forfingers.Thisleftourringfingerandlittlefinger
PAUL GOODHEAD
desperatelyfightingforthesametinypatchof
rubberisedplasticlikeapairofkidssquabblingover
thebestseatonthebus.
Thisisashame,asthemouseisotherwisea
pleasuretouse.Themainbuttonshaveapleasing
DESIGN 29 / 40
crunchwhenpressed,andthescrollwheelisvery
solid,withwell-definedscrollpoints.Theside
FEATURES 21 / 35
buttonsarealsoconvenientlylocated,althoughthe
aforementionedheightissuecanmakebuttonson
VALUE 10 / 25 OVERALL
theoppositesideofyourthumbalittletrickytofind.
60
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
Thorough testing and research is the key to evaluating whether a product

is worth buying, and deciding whether or not theres a better alternative
We judge CPUs on whether they offer sufficient speed for the price. Part of a CPUs speed score comes from
how overclockable it is. Every type of CPU is tested in the same PC, so all results are directly comparable.
Intel
LGA1155
AMDSocket
AM3+
AsusMaximus
IVGene-Z
4GB of Corsair
4GBofCorsair
1,600MHzDDR3
AsusCrosshairIV
Formula
4GBofCorsair
1,600MHzDDR3
AMDFM1
AMD FM1
NvidiaGeForce
GTX5903GB
MSI
A75MA-G55
4GB of Corsair
4GBofCorsair
1,600MHzDDR3
120GBPatriot
Wildfire
Windows7
64-bit
TESTS: WeusetheCustomPCMediaBenchmarks,CinebenchR11.5,WPrimeandCrysis.Wealsotesttheresultantpowerdrawofthetest
PCwiththeCPUinstalled.ThesetestsrevealabroadrangeofperformancecharacteristicsfortheCPU,fromimageeditingtogamingand
videoencodingto3Drendering.WerunallthetestswiththeCPUatstockspeedandagainwhenoverclockedtoitshighestfrequency.
Graphics cards are mainly evaluated on how fast they are for their price. However, we also consider the efficacy
and quietness of the cooler. Every graphics card is tested in the same PC, so all results are directly comparable.
3.3GHzIntelCore
i5-2500K
48
November 2012
4GBCorsair1,600MHz
DDR3
Asus P8P67 Rev 3

AsusP8P67Rev3
Windows 7 64-bit
Windows764-bit
SP1
WorldMags.net
The graphics card

Thegraphicscard
werereviewing
HOW WE TEST
2.66GHzIntelCore2
DuoE6750
2GBofCorsair
1,066MHzDDR2
250GBSamsung
SpinPointP120S
AsusP5KDeluxe
WiFi-AP
Motherboards are evaluated on everything from layout and features

to overclockability and value for money. Every motherboard is tested
with the same components, so all results are directly comparable.
Intel Core
IntelCore
i7-3770K
Motherboard
ontest
AMDPhenom Motherboard
IIX61100TBE
ontest
8GBofCorsair
8GB
of Corsair
1,600MHzDDR3
4GBofCorsair
1,600MHzDDR3
AMDA8-3870K
AMD
A8-3870K
NvidiaGeForce
GTX5903GB*
Motherboard 4GBofCorsair
ontest
1,600MHzDDR3
2TBWesternDigital
2TB
Western Digital
CaviarBlack
Windows
Windows7
7
64-bit
TESTS: WeusetheCustomPCMediaBenchmarksandseveralgames,andalsotest
thespeedsoftheboardsSATAports.Wetrytooverclockeverymotherboardwereview
bytestingforamaximumQPI,baseclockorHTTaswellasoverclockingtheCPUtoits
maximumair-cooledlevel.WerunourtestsatstockspeedandwiththeCPUoverclocked.
*Pleasenote:WetestedAMDFM1motherboardsusingtheon-boardgraphics,nottheNvidiaGeForceGTX5903GB
Ourbenchmarksuite
simulateshowpeople
reallyusePCs,anda
higherscoreisbetter.
Youcandownload
thesuitefrom
www.tinyurl.com/
benchies
Someproductsare
gloriouslyoverthe
top.Theseitemsof
excellentoverkill
earnourExtreme
Ultraaward.
PremiumGrade
productsare
utterlydesirable
wedeatnothing
butbeansuntilwe
couldaffordthem.
Productsworthy
oftheProfessional
awardmake you
andyourbusiness
appeareven
moreawesome.
Approvedproducts
arethosethatdoa
greatjobforthe
money;theyrethe
cannypurchasefor
agreatPC.
TESTS: ByusingthefastPCdetailedonthe
left,wecanbesurethatanylimitationswesee
areduetothegraphicscardontest.Wetestthe
fourgames(right)attheirmaximumdetail
settings,intheirhighestDirectXmode,andat
threeresolutions.High-endcardsshouldbeable
tosustainplayableframeratesat2,560x1,600,
while1,920x1,080ismoreimportantformidrangecards; wenolongertestat1,680x1,050
because1,920x1,080issocheap.Wealsotryto
overclockeverygraphicscardwetesttoseewhat
differencethismakestothecardsperformance.
Forthosegadgets
andgizmosthat
reallyimpressus,
orthatwecantlive
without,theresthe
CustomKitaward.
WorldMags.net
November 2012
49
Custom Kit
Written by Paul Goodhead

Seen something worthy of
appearing in Custom Kit?
Send suggestions to
paul_goodhead@dennis.co.uk
We check out the latest gadgets, gizmos and geek toys

GADGET STAND
BREFFO
SPIDERPODIUM
01 Thebestideasareoftenthe
simplestones,andthatmantra
certainlyholdstruefortheSpiderpodium.
Madeofrubber-coatedwire,theeight
legsofthecolourfularachnidcanbe
bentintopracticallyanyshape,making
itsusesalmostendless.Itcanclingto
handlebars,hangfromheadrestsor
standtoattention,allthewhilehaving
acoupleofarmsfreetoholdasmall
tabletoraphonesteady.Itsalso
verypleasingjusttoplaywiththe
Spiderpodium.Weparticularly
lovebendingitintocomplex
symmetrical3Dshapes,especially
whenweshouldbeworking. PG
MONEY SPIDER
FACEHUGGER
Price 15 inc VAT
Supplier www.breffo.com
Manufacturer www.breffo.com
TABLET COMPUTER
VERSUS
TOUCHPAD 7 8GB
02 Thesingle-coreprocessor,512MBRAMand800x480screen
oftheTouchpad7maynotsoundparticularlyimpressive,but
dontbetooquicktowriteoffthisdinkytablet.Forinstance,itsports
Android4.0,whichrunssmoothly,althoughitsresponsivenessis
compromisedbythepoorsensitivityofthescreenwefrequently
neededtouserepeatedjabstoregisterapress.Videoplaybackis
wherethedeviceexcels,however.Itsscreenisbright,andthemicro
SDcardslotmeansthatstoragewontbeanissueeither.The
batteryisalsoreasonable;itlastedafullsix-hourjourneywhile
playingvideoalmostnon-stop,anditspricemeansyoudonthaveto
betoopreciouswithiteither. PG
CHEAP
AFFORDABLE
Price 90 inc VAT Supplier www.laptopsdirect.co.uk
Manufacturer www.versusuk.com
BOARD GAME
STRONGHOLD
03 Initially,Strongholdlookslikeapigofagame.Theboardiscomplexandthereareoodlesof
countersandpiecestosort.Fortunately,onceyouunderstandthebasicturnstructure,its
relativelyplainsailing.Thisisgood,aslesstimedebatingrulesmeansmoretimescheminghowyoure
goingtoattack(ordefend)thetitularstrongholdthatdominatestheboard.Thegameiswellbalanced,
althoughitcanbeunforgivingforthedefender;onemiscalculationcanmeanalmost
instantdefeat.Wealsolikedtheelegantresourcemechanicwherebythedefender
receivesaportionofwhattheattackerspends,asthispreventseither
sidefromdominating.Ouronebugbearis itshighcost. PG
GOBLINS
TROLLS
Price 43 inc VAT Supplier www.gameslore.com
Manufacturer www.portalpublishing.eu
50
November 2012
WorldMags.net
CUSTOM KIT
iDEVICE DOCK
VIEW QUEST iDICE SPEAKER
WethoughtwedseeniDevicedocksineveryshape
05 possible,buttheiDiceswiftlyprovedusincorrect.
MOUSE MAT
GIGABYTE KRYPTON
Ifyoujudgedsomeonebythesizeoftheirmousematthenwhoever
04 ownedtheKryptonwouldhavetobeakingorqueenofsomedescription.
At425x287x6mm,itshefty,bothintermsofareaandsheerthickness.
However,itspartypieceisthatitsdouble-sided(themainreasonforthe
thickness),withonesidecoveredinmaterialandoptimisedforprecisionwork
whiletheotherisdubbedthespeedsidethankstoitshardPVCcoat.Bothare
pleasanttouse,butitssizelimitsitsappeal,andthethicknessmeansthereisnt
anyflexibilitytoallowanedgetoresideunderyourkeyboard.Addtothisthehigh
priceandweadvisebuyingamoresensiblemousematinstead. PG
CLARK KENT
SUPERMAN
ShapedlikeagiantD6,thedockiscompatiblewithanything
withanipreface(well,iPods,iPhonesandiPadsatleast)
andcanchurnoutasurprisinglylargeamountofnoisefora
relativelycompactspeaker.Theresalsoaline-insocketfor
playingmusicfromotherdevicesandaremotecontrol.
Unfortunately,thatswherethefeaturelistends,which
makesthe100askingpricelookalittlerich.Youcanteven
useitasanoveltyoversizeddice,asfourofthesixfaceshave
fivedotsonthem. PG
D12
D6
Price 100 inc VAT Supplier www.viewquest.co.uk
Manufacturer www.viewquest.co.uk
Price 24 inc VAT Supplier www.scan.co.uk Manufacturer www.gigabyte.com
MONITOR STAND
ZALMAN ZM-DS1000
MONITOR STAND
Themonitorstandmarketisntparticularly
06 glamorous,butZalmanhasdoneits
besttoinjectalittleclassintoitwiththe
ZM-DS1000.Madefromasinglesheetof
beautifulbrushedanodisedaluminium,the
standlookstheabsolutebusiness.Italso
sportsaUSBhubintegratedintotheright-handleg,andcablerouteingclipsrundowntheinsideofeachside.Thisisprettymuchasfaras
thehumblemonitorstandcanbetakenintermsofdevelopment,but56isalsoalot
ofmoneyforafancyblockwithaUSBhub.Infact,itsmorethanthecostofawholeAntecOne
case.Assuch,theZM-DS1000fallsintothelovely,butonlyonceIvewonthelotterypile. PG
ALUMINUM
ALUMINIUM
Price 56 inc VAT Supplier www.scan.co.uk Manufacturer www.zalman.com
WorldMags.net
November 2012
51
Balance of
POWER
Weve gathered a record-breaking
number of 31 power supplies, for
our largest PSU Labs test ever, to
find the perfect PSU for your PC
hepowersupplyisoftenoverlookedwhenbuilding
anewsystem;afterall,aslongasitdoesitsjob
correctly,ithasnoimpactonframerates,system
speedsorboottimes.Theresplentytodifferentiate
onePSUfromanother,though,andchoosingtherightoneis
particularlyimportant,asitsacomponentthatcanlastthrough
multiplesystemupgradesovermanyyears.
Thewiderangeofavailableefficiencylevelscanimpacton
yourelectricitybills,whileunstablevoltagescanresultinerratic
systemperformance,andanoisycoolingfancanruinthatsupersilentsystem.
Thearrayofcablesandconnectorsonoffercanlimityour
potentialupgradepathstoo;therearefewmorefrustrating
situationsthanunboxingashinynewcomponentonlytodiscover
yourPSUdoesnthavetherequiredconnectorstopowerit.
WithsomanydifferentPSUmanufacturersvying
foryourattention,wevepushedtheboatoutto
bringyouourbiggesteverLabstest,with31
PSUsputthroughtheirpower-providing
paces.Withthehardwareindustrys
continuedmovetolowerpowerconsumptionhardware,wevesplitthetest
intotwofieldsof500-660Wand661-860W,
enablingustofindthebestPSUsacrossa
widerangeofpricesandwattages.Each
PSUwassubjectedtoover50gruelling
teststoevaluateitsefficiencyacrossa
varietyofloads,aswellasvoltage
stabilityandnoiselevels.
HARRY BUTLER AND ANTONY LEATHER
52
November 2012
WorldMags.net
HOWWETESTED,PAGE54
reviewed this month
54 Howwetest
63 HowmuchpowerdoesyourPCneed?
72 Efficiencygraphs
500-660WPSUs
55 AntecEarthwattsEA-550Platinum
55 BeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W
56 BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10550W
56 CoolerMasterGX550W
56 CorsairGS600
57 EnermaxTriathlor550W
57 FractalDesignR2Tesla650W
58 FSPAurumXilenser500W
58 InWinGreenMe550W
58 NZXTHale82-650-M
59 OCZZS550W
59 SeasonicX-Series660W
59 SilverPowerSP-S650M
60 SilverStoneStriderPlus500W
60 XFXPro650WCoreEdition
62 XigmatekTauro500W
62 ZalmanZM500-HPPlus
661-860WPSUs
64 AntecHighCurrentPro850W
64 BeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10850W
66 BeQuiet!StraightPowerE9680W
66 CoolerMasterM2SilentPro850W
68 CorsairHX850
68 EnermaxPlatimax750W
69 FSPAurum850W
69 InWinGreenMe750W
70 OCZZX850
70 SeasonicPlatinumSeries860W
70 SilverPowerSP-S850M
71 SilverStoneStriderGoldEvolution750W
71 XFXPro850WXXXEdition
71 XigmatekCentauro800W
54
WorldMags.net
November 2012
53
how we test
T
estingPSUsproperlyrequiresaccessto
aspecialistloadtestingmachine,sowe
headedtoBeQuiet!sRMAandtestingfacility
inHamburg,Germany,tomakeuseofits
ChromaATS8000automatedpowersupply
tester.Itsamonumentallyimpressivepieceof
kit,equippedwithanarrayofChroma63303A
loadtesters,aChroma66202digitalpower
meter,aChroma61600programmableAC
powersourceandadedicatedripplenoise
unit.Theequipmentiscalibratedannually
byChromaitselftoensureaccurateand
reliablereadings.
EachPSUwastestedat100percent,50
percentand20percentofitsratedmaximum
wattageforcompliancewiththeATXpower
supplyspecifications.Thesecoveranumber
offactorsregardingthedifferentvoltagerails
overwhichthePSUdeliversitspower:+5V,
+12V,-12V,+3.3Vand+5VSB.
EachrailhasanATXspecification
maximumandminimumlevelatwhichitcan
safelyoperate(seechartbelow).However,the
PSUindustrysincreasedlevelsofscrutiny
fromhardwarereviewersoverthepastfew
yearshasclearlyhadaneffect;forthefirst
timeever,notasinglePSUontestfailedin
thisregard.Wealsoanalysedhold-uptimes
theamountoftimeaPSUcanoperateafter
alossofinputpowerbutagainfoundthat
everyPSUontestmettheminimumATX
requirementof16.6ms.Whiletherewas
somevariationbetweenindividualPSUs,its
unfairtomarkdownmodelswhentheymeet
theindustrystandards.
Wealsotestedforripplenoisevariationin
thePSUsDCoutputcausedbytheconversion
fromACtoDCpowerinsideatypicalswitching
PSU.RipplenoisealsohasstrictATX
specificationguidelinesof0.12mVforthe+12V
and-12Vrailsand0.05mVforthe+5V,+3.3V
ATX MINIMUM AND

MAXIMUM VOLTAGES
ATX MAXIMUM RIPPLE

NOISE
Rail
Minimum
Maximum
Rail
Maxripplenoise
+3.3V
3.14V
3.47V
+3.3V
0.05mV
+5V
4.75V
5.25V
+5V
0.05mV
+12V
11.4V
12.6V
+12V
0.12mV
+5VSB
4.75V
5.25V
+5VSB
0.05mV
-13.2V
-12V
0.12mV
-12V
54
and+5VSBrails,andsomeofthePSUsontest
failedtomeettheATXspecinthisregard.
Wealsotestedeachpowersupplys
efficiency.Referredtoasapercentage,this
detailstheamountofpowerlostduringthe
conversionofACtoDCpower.Forexample,a
PSUthats85percentefficientdraws100Wof
powerfromthesockettoprovide85WofDC
power.ThePSUindustryoperatesonthe80
-10.8V
November 2012
Plus(www.80plus.org)certificationscheme
forefficiency,withWhite,Bronze,Silver,Gold
andPlatinumlevelsofpowerefficiency
denotingincrementallyhigherlevels.The80
PlusClassificationismeasuredat100per
cent,50percentand20percentofthestated
wattage,sowetestedallthreelevelsofload.
Finally,wealsotestedeachPSUbackinour
labfornoiselevels,usingademandinghighendsystemcomprisinganIntel Corei7-3960X
Extremeoverclockedto4.3GHzandaGeForce
GTX5903GB,capableofpullingover750Wat
peak,or500WjustfromtheGPUunderload.
Withover1,300individualtestsperformed,
wereunabletoprinteveryresult,butweve
includedtheefficiencyresults(seep72),and
notedanyspecificfailuresintherelevant
reviews.WedalsoliketothankBeQuiet!for
allowingustouseitstestfacilities.
WorldMags.net
500-660W POWER SUPPLIES
ANTEC Earthwatts
EA-550 Platinum
Efcient, but pricey and lacks modular cables
Price80incVAT Manufacturerwww.antec.com Supplierwww.ebuyer.co.uk
ntecsEarthwattsEA-550Platinumisthe
onlysub-750WPSUontesttoboast80
PlusPlatinumenergyefficiencycertification,
puttingitatanimmediateadvantagein
comparisontothecompetition.At100per
centload,itdeliveredthehighestefficiencyof
anyPSUontest(includingthehigher-wattage
models)91.3percentatraititcontinuedat
50percentand20percentloads.Thisisa
hugelyimpressiveachievementconsidering
thePSUsdiminutive140mmlengthand
120mmcoolingfan.
However,whiletheEA-550dominatesin
theefficiencydepartment,itslesscapable
whenitcomestofeatures.Afullycaptive
designmeansthattheresnooptionto
disconnectunwantedcables,althoughthe
cablecollectionissparseanyway.
Apairof6+2pinPCI-Epower
connectorsrealisticallylimitsyouto
asingledecentGPU,butsixSATA
connectorsandatrioofMolexconnectorsare
sufficientformostbuilds.
Underheavyload,theEA-550sfanspun
up,butnottoanintrusivedegree,producing
alow-frequencyhum.Therewasclearly
discerniblecoilnoiseunderloadthough,
sowhilethisPSUwontintrudeonyour
electricitybills,itisntquiteasstealthywhen
itcomestonoiselevels.
At80,theEarthwattsEA-550Platinum
isundeniablyexpensiveforacaptive-cable
550WPSU,anditwilltakeanumberofyears
toseeareturnyourinvestmentfromenergy-
billsavings.Itsacommendableeffort,but
ultimatelynotworthit.Weadviseoptingfora
cheapermodularPSUinstead. HB
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 23/30
83
VALUE 20/30 OVERALL
Be Quiet!
Pure Power L8 530W
Efcient, semi-modular and well priced
Price55incVAT Manufacturerwww.bequiet.com Supplierwww.scan.co.uk
espiteits55pricetag,theBeQuiet!
PurePowerL8530Wofferssemimodularcabling,alongsideitscaptive
24-pinATXcableandpairof4-pinEPS12V
connectors.Thisenablesyoutochoosethe
numberofSATAandMolexconnectorsyoufit,
whichhelpstomakeinstallationandcable
routeingmucheasierwhenbuildingyour
PC.Cablesarebraidedinblackanduse
colour-coordinatedconnectorstosimplify
installationfurther.Thesecolour-coordinated
plugsalsohelptoensureevenloadingacross
thePSUstwo12Vrails.
Apairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectorswilllikely
limityoutoasinglegraphicscard,butthe
PSUs530Wratingismorethanenoughto
handleanoverclockedIntelCorei7-3770K
andtop-endGPU,suchasthe
RadeonHD79703GB,with
headroomtospare.
Havingsailedthroughvoltage
stabilityandripplenoisetests,thePurePower
L8deliversslightlymorethanits80Plus
Bronzeefficiencyrating,with83.69percent
efficiencyat100percentload,86.28percent
efficiencyat50percentloadand84.59per
centefficiencyat20percentload;theseare
allatleast1percentabovethe80Plus
Bronzespecification.
Meanwhile,a120mmSilentWingsbrandedcoolingfanprovidescoolingwhile
alsobeingpleasinglyquiet,ifnotentirely
silent.Evenatfullload,theunitexhibitedlittle
ornoaudiblecoilnoiseintothebargain.
Strikingasuperbbalanceofefficiency,
semi-modularcablesandacompetitiveprice,
thePurePowerL8530Wisoutstanding. HB
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 19/30
86
VALUE 27/30 OVERALL

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55
Be Quiet! Dark Power

Pro 10 550W
All the bells and whistles you could need,
but its expensive
Price96incVAT Manufacturerwww.bequiet.com Supplier www.ebuyer.co.uk
heDarkPowerPro10550Wboaststhe
featuresofahigh-endPSU,butwitha
sensible550Wpeakwattage.Apartfromthe
24-pinATXpowercable,alltherestofthe
cablesaremodular,andtheresahuge
assortmentofSATAandMolexconnectors.
Four6+2-pinPCI-Econnectorsoffergreat
scopeforGPUexpansionandthereare
plentyofextrastoo.Four2-pinfanconnectors
andaccompanyingSATApowerconnector
adaptorscantieyourcasefanstothePSUs
coolingfan.
Theresalsoarear-mountedjumper,
dubbedOCKey,thatcanswitchthePSUfrom
aquad-12Vrailsetup(twoat20Aandanother
twoat25A,withamaximumoutputof45A)to
asingle12Vrail(45A).While
theresnotechnicaladvantagein
doingso,itremovestheworryofload
balancingbetweenrails.
Despiteitslowerwattage,theDarkPower
Pro10isalsoverylarge,measuring18cmin
length.Thismeans thatitmaynotfitinto
smallercases,buttheblowissoftenedbythe
inclusionofrubberpaddingontheendofthe
PSU,helpingtoreducevibrationbetweenthe
PSUandthechassis.
Meanwhile,80PlusGoldefficiencyacross
theboardequatestoa10-12annualsaving
overan80PlusBronze550WPSU,whilethe
DarkPowerPros135mmfanprovedtobe
brilliantlyquietandwaspracticallyinaudible
evenunderheavyload.Stuffedwithfeatures
andboastinggreatefficiency,theDarkPower
Pro10550Wisafinechoice,buttooexpensive
formanypeople. HB
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 27/30
85
VALUE 18/30 OVERALL
Cooler Master
GX 550W
Phenomenal value, but lacks
modular cables
Price50incVAT Manufacturerwww.coolermaster.co.uk Supplierwww.scan.co.uk
hediminutiveCoolerMasterGX550W
measuresjust14cmlong,butstill
managestooffer80PlusBronzeefficiency
andloadsofconnectors,aswellasafiveyearwarranty.
Allthecablesarefullycaptive,sotheresno
optiontodisconnectunusedconnectorsand
makeyourcasethatmuchtidier,butapairof
4-pinEPS12Vconnector,sixSATAandthree
MolexplugsisplentyformostPCbuilds.A
pairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectorscaterstojust
asinglemid-rangetohigh-endgraphicscard,
though,sothoseponderingmultipleGPUs
shouldlookelsewhere.
TheGX550Walsomaintainedstable
voltagesatallloadlevels,andripplenoisewell
56
November 2012
withintheATXspecification.
Whatsmore,itsefficiency
surpassedthe80PlusBronze
specificationbyatleast1percentatevery
level,with83.1percentat100percentload,
86percentat50percentloadand85.38per
centat20percentload.
Whilean80PlusGold-ratedPSUwillsave
youaround10ayearincomparison,theGX
550srock-bottompricemeansthatitwilltake
anumberofyearsofheavyusagebefore
youreoutofpocket.
ThePSUs120mmfanspunupvery
noticeablyunderload,though,makingtheGX
550WoneofthenoisiestPSUsontest.While
itscheap,stableand80PlusBronzeefficient,
for5moretheBeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W
(seep55)isfarquieterandoffersmodular
cablesaswell. HB
STABILITY 40/40
WorldMags.net
DESIGN 15/30
83
VALUE 28/30 OVERALL
Corsair
GS600
Semi-passive cooling and

80 Plus Bronze-rated, but
lacks modular cables
Price64incVAT
Manufacturerwww.corsair.com
eplacingCorsairsoriginalGS600,which
onlyofferedbasic80Pluscertification,
thisnewmodelboasts80PlusBronze
efficiencyandanupdatedchassiswith
roundededgesandablue-LEDlit140mm
fan.Thefullycaptivecablebundleincludes
sixSATAandMolexconnectors,alongside
onlyapairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectorsthis
isalittlestingyconsideringthePSUs
600W-ratedwattage.
ThefansLEDcanbeswitchedoffviaa
buttononthePSUsrear,whilethefanitself
issemi-passive,onlyswitchingonwhen
needed.Wefounditonlyspunupatwattages
over250W,makingtheGS600effectively
passivewhenyourPCisidle.Athigherloads,
though,thefanisntsodiscreet,andspunup
totheextentthatitwasclearlyaudible;there
wasalsosomediscerniblecoilnoise.
Costing64,theCorsairGS600isfairly
pricedforastable80PlusBronze600WPSU,
butitlacksmodularcablesanditstoonoisyat
higherloadstorecommend. HB
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 15/30
79
VALUE 24/30 OVERALL
Enermax
Fractal Design
Triathlor 550W R2 Tesla
Lacks competitive pricing 650W
and features
Price68incVAT
Manufacturerwww.enermax.co.uk
Supplierwww.systo.co.uk
ithapriceofover67,theEnermax
Triathlor550Wisundeniablyexpensive
fora550WPSU.Theall-captivecablebundle
includessixSATAandfiveMolexconnectors,
whileapairof6+2pinPCI-Econnectorslimits
youtoasinglemid-rangetohigh-end
graphicscard.
WellwithintheATXspecificationintermsof
voltagesandripplenoise,the80PlusBronzeratedTriathlordeliveredefficiencyof84.78per
centat100percentload,87percentat50per
centloadand84.82percentat20percent
load,placingitmarginallybelowthe80Plus
Silverefficiency.
TheTriathlors14cmlongcasingmakes
itpleasinglycompacttoo,witha120mm
EnermaxTwisterfanhandlingcoolingduties.
However,athighloads(over450W),itspretty
noisy,andwasclearlydiscernibleover
backgroundnoise.
Despiteexcellentefficiencyforan80Plus
BronzePSU,theEnermaxTriathlor550Ws
lackofmodularcablesandhighpriceseeit
fallwellbehindtheBeQuiet!PurePowerL8
530W(seep55). HB
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 15/30
75
VALUE 20/30 OVERALL
Quiet and efcient, but

needs modular cables
Price88incVAT
Manufacturerwww.enermax.co.uk
Supplierwww.cleverboxes.com
ractalDesignsnewR2Tesla650W
boasts80PlusGoldefficiency,but
confusinglymatchesitwithcaptivecabling.
SixSATAplugsandtwoMolexconnectors
dontofferthegreatestamountofconnection
optionseither,andasinglepairof6+2pin
PCI-Econnectorslimitsyoutojustasingle
moderngraphicscard.
However,withits80PlusGoldcertification,
efficiencyisexcellent.The88.35percent
efficiencyat100percentloadissurpassedby
91.28percentat50percentloadand91.39
percentat20percentloadthelatteriseven
higherthantheAntecEarthwattsEA-550
Platinum(seep55).TheR2Tesla650Wisvery
wellbehavedacousticallytoo,withits135mm
spinningquietlyevenathighloads.
TheR2Tesla650Wisadecentpremium
PSU,butitslackofmodularcablesseesit
surpassedbytheSeasonicX-Series660W
(seep59),whichalsooffers80PlusGold
efficiencyandfarmorefeatures. HB
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 20/30
81
VALUE 21/30 OVERALL

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57
FSP Aurum
Xilenser
500W
In Win
GreenMe
550W
NZXT
Hale82650-M
Price130incVAT
Manufacturerwww.fspgroup.co.uk
SupplierTBC
Price52incVAT
Manufacturerwww.inwin-style.com
Supplierwww.cclonline.com
Price80incVAT
Manufacturerwww.nzxt.com
Supplierwww.overclockers.co.uk
Completely passive and

80 Plus Gold efciency,
but its pricey
SPsAurumXilenser500Wispassively
cooled,withnocoolingfanatall.With
acaptive24-pinATXcableandrubbersheathedmodularconnectorsforeverything
else,italsooffersplentyofflexibility,thanksto
sevenSATA,butonlytwoMolexconnectors,
plusfour6+2-pinPCI-Epowerplugs.
The80PlusGoldcertificationmeansan
efficiencyratingat100percentloadof89.61
percent,with91.29percentat50percentand
89.4percentat20percent,althoughthisonly
savesyouaround8ayearcomparedtoan80
PlusBronzeunit. Withnofan,theXilenser
wasnearlysilent.Wenotedjustatraceofcoil
noise,butotherwisetheFSPdelivered.
However,youpayahighpricefortheluxury
ofpassivecooling,highefficiencyandfully
modularcables,andtheXilencerspriceof
130meansthatonlythoseneedingsilence
shouldapply. HB
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 27/30
79
VALUE 12/30 OVERALL

58
November 2012
Just a single PCI-E

A well-rounded 650W
connector makes this PSU PSU, but its too noisy
largely redundant
under load
nWinsGreenMe550Wislightonfeatures,
buthasatemptinglylowpricetagofjust52.
Captivecablesareused,butwewereamazed
tofind justasingle6+2-pinPCI-Epower
connector;insufficientforalmostanymidrangeorhigh-endGPUwithoutaMolexto
6-pinPCI-Eadaptor.
Despiteitsbudgetlooks,theGreenMe
performedwellwithintheATXvoltageand
ripplenoiseguidelines,andcomfortably
managedits80PlusBronzeefficiencywith
84.92percentat100percentload,87.12per
centat50percentloadand83.96percentat
20percentload.
However,theInWinGreenMe
550Ws120mmcoolingfanwasverynoisy
underheavyloadtheloudestofanyPSUin
the500-660Wcategory.TheBeQuiet!Pure
PowerL8530W(seep55)costsjust3more
andisfarbetterequipped. HB
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 13/30
78
heNZXTHale82-650-Mpairs80Plus
Bronzeefficiencywithsemi-modular
cabling.The24-pinATXcable,apairof4-pin
EPS12Vcablesandtwo6+2-pinPCI-Ecables
arecaptiveandsheathedinblackcablebraid,
whilethemodularconnectorsoffersixSATA
plugs,sixMolexconnectors,an8-pinEPS12V
cableandanothertwo 6+2PCI-Eplugs.The
flattenedmodularcablescertainlylook
smart,andtheresplentyofflexibilityfor
multi-GPUsetupstousethe650Wofpower.
Efficienciesof82.91at100percentload,
85.97percentat50percentloadand83.96
percentat20percentloadareallcomfortably
insidethe80PlusBronzespecification,but
theHale82-650-M120mmfanspunupto
clearlyaudiblelevelsunderload.Whilethe
NZXTHale82-650-Misastable,efficient,
modularandkeenlypricedPSU,itsnoisyfan
seesitjustmissout. HB
STABILITY 40/40
VALUE 25/30 OVERALL
WorldMags.net
DESIGN 20/30
83
VALUE 23/30 OVERALL
OCZ
ZS 550W
Very cheap, but fails on

ripple noise at 20 per
cent load
Price48incVAT
Manufacturerwww.ocztechnology.com
Supplierwww.cclonline.co.uk
ncrediblycheapat48,OCZsZS550W
offersonlycaptivecables.Alongsidethe
24-pinATXconnectorandpairof4-pin
EPS12Vconnectorsarea6+2pinPCI-Eand
6-pinPCI-Econnector,whichissufficient
topoweranycurrentsingle-GPUgraphics
cards.TherearealsoeightSATAconnectors
andthreeMolexconnectors.
However,theZS550Wfailedtomeetthe
ATXspecificationwhenwetesteditforripple
noise.Its3.3Vrailat20percentloadreached
0.054mV0.04mVabovethatspecifiedbythe
ATXspec.Whileitsaminorinfraction,itsstill
atestthatmostotherPSUsinthistestpassed
withoutissue.
TheZS550Walsofailedtomeetthe80Plus
Bronzecertificationitclaims,managingonly
81.75percentefficiencyat20percentload,
ratherthan82percent.
Despiteitsbargainprice,theOCZZS
550Wsfailingsshowthatitsdefinitelyworth
spendingafewextraquidonasuperiorPSU
elsewhereinstead. HB
STABILITY 38/40
DESIGN 12/30
76
VALUE 26/30 OVERALL
Seasonic
Silver Power
X-Series660W SP-S650M
A premium PSU thats
worth the price
Price120incVAT
Manufacturerwww.seasonic.com
easonicsX-series660WPSUboastsa
featuresetconsistentwithits120price.
Thefullymodularcablesfeaturefour6+2-pin
PCI-Epowerconnectors,offeringplentyof
roomformulti-GPUsetups,andeightSATA
andfiveMolexconnectorsoverseveralcables
allowplentyofflexibility.
Withits80PlusGoldcertification,at100per
centload,theX-Series660Wdelivers88.58
percentefficiency,with90.77percentat50
percentand88.41percentat20percentload.
Incomparisontothe80PlusBronzeNZXT
Hale82-650-M(seeopposite),thiswillsave
youaround10peryearonelectricitybills
underfairlyhighusage.
Equippedwithjusta120mmcoolingfan,
theX-Series660Wiswonderfullyquiettoo.
ThePSUssemi-passivefanremains
motionlessbelow25Candisveryquiet
whenspinningupunderheavyload.
Feature-packed,highlyefficientand
exceedinglyquiet,theSeasonicX-series660W
justifiesitspremiumpricetag.Itsabrilliant
powersupply. HB
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 28/30
86
VALUE 18/30 OVERALL
Feature-rich and well

priced, but let down by
a noisy cooling fan
Price80incVAT
Manufacturerwww.nanopoint.com
heSilverPowerSP-S650Msslightly
tackyangryGorillabrandingbeliesits
impressivefeatures.Itusessemi-modular
cables,withthe24-pinATX,dual4-pin
EPS12Vandtwo6+2-pinPCI-Epower
connectorscaptive,whileanextratwo6+2-pin
PCI-Econnectors,fiveMolex,eightSATAand
an8-pinEPS12Vcablearemodular.
Itdeliveredonits80PlusBronzepromise
too,managing83.48percentefficiencyat100
percentload,86.15percentefficiencyat50
percentloadand84.13percentefficiencyat
20percentloadallatleast1percentabove
the80-PlusBronzespec.
However,theSP-S650Mprovedtobe
disappointinglynoisyunderload;itwaseasily
amongthemostaudibleon-testonloads
above500W.
Althoughitskeenlypricedatlessthan80,
andisequippedwithsolidefficiencyand
plentyofmodularcables,thenoisycooling
fanisthemonkeyontheSilverPower
SP-S650Msback. HB
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 20/30
82
VALUE 22/30 OVERALL

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59
SilverStone
Strider Plus 500W
Cheap and modular, but fails on ripple noise
Price59incVAT Manufacturerwww.silverstonetek.com Supplierwww.overclockers.co.uk
ilverStonesStriderPlus500Wlookslike
greatvalueformoneyatfirst,offering
fullymodularcablesforlessthanhalfthe
priceoftheSeasonicX-Series660W(see
p59).Theunits24-pinATXandapairof4-pin
EPS12Vcablesarejoinedbyone6+2pinand
one6-pinPCI-Epowerconnector,sufficient
foranymodernsingle-GPUgraphicscard.
TwotripleSATAcablesandatriple-Molex
cablewithafloppyconnectorallowfora
fairlyexpansivebuildtoo,althoughbafflingly,
theresnopowerswitchonthePSUsrear.
With80PlusBronzecertification,the
StriderPlus500Wdelivered82.84percent
efficiencyat100percentload,86.15percent
efficiencyat50percentloadand85.5percent
efficiencyat20percentload.However,we
foundripplenoiseonthe+5VSB
railtobeworryinglyhigh.At100per
centload,theripplepeakedat0.085mV,
0.035mVor70percenthigherthantheATX
specificationallows.
WhilenottaskedwithpoweringaPCs
corehardware,the+5VSBrailpowersthe
motherboardsstandbyandUSBports,and
theStriderPlus500Wfailedtoconformtothe
ATXspecinthisregard.TheStriderPlus500W
alsoprovedtobenoisyunderload,withits
120mmfanspinninguptoclearlyaudible
levelsasthepowerdrawroseabove400W.
TheStriderPlus500Wshighripple
noiseonthe+5VSBrailandnoisycooling
fanaremorethanenoughtowarrantlooking
elsewhereforyourPSU.
TheBeQuiet!PurePowerL8530W(see
p55)offersahigherpeakwattage,modular
cablesandquieteroperationforlesscash. HB
STABILITY 36/40
DESIGN 19/30
77
VALUE 22/30 OVERALL
XFX Pro 650W

Core Edition
Stable and affordable, but still unremarkable
Price67incVAT Manufacturerwww.xfxforce.com Supplierwww.dabs.com
heXFXPro650WCoreEditionlacks
modularcables,butstilloffersahealthy
arrayofcaptiveconnectors.Apairofboth6+2pinPCI-Eand6-pinPCI-Epowerconnectors
makeforsolidmulti-GPUsupport,while
sevenMolexplugs,sixSATAconnectorsand
apairof4-pinEPS12Vconnectorsroundoff
thebunch.Itsagoodassortmentand,with
650Wofwattageontap,theisunitenoughfor
almostanysingleordual-GPUsystem.
Unlikeitsbeefiersibling,theXFXPro850W
XXXEdition(seep71),thePro650WCore
Editiononlyhas80PlusBronzeefficiency
certification,butithadnoproblemsurpassing
thisclassification.
At100percentload,itproduced84.42per
centefficiency,at50percentload,itmanaged
86.63percentefficiencyand
at20percentload,the
efficiencywas84.08percent.
ThePro650WCoreEditionalso
exhibitednoissuesthroughout
ourvoltageandripplenoisetests,
performingwellwithintheATXspecification.
Meanwhile,Its17cm-longchassishouses
a135mmcoolingfan,whichspunupto
audiblelevelsunderhigherloads.Itwasnt
amongtheloudestontestthough.Pleasingly,
westruggledtonoticeanycoilnoisefromthe
uniteither.
Whileitticksmanyboxes,isperfectly
stableandhasahighlycompetitiveprice,
theXFXPro650WCoreEditionisstillalittle
unremarkable.Therearemoreefficient
andquieterPSUsthatalsohavebetter
featurestobefoundelsewhere. HB
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 14/30
78
VALUE 24/30 OVERALL

62
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WorldMags.net
Xigmatek Tauro 500W

Incredibly cheap, but fails to reach 80
Plus Bronze efciency
Price41incVAT Manufacturer www.xigmatek.com Supplierwww.overclockers.com
ehadtodoadouble-takewhenwesaw
theXigmatekTaurosprice,asits10
percentcheaperthananyother500WPSU
ontest.At41,youcantexpectagreatdeal
ofextras,sotheTauro500Wusesall-captive
cables.Theresareasonableselection,at
least,withapairof6+2pinPCI-Ecables
offeringenoughroomtopoweranyGPUout
there.AlsoincludedaresixSATAandthree
Molexpowerconnectors,alongsidetheusual
24-pinATXpowerblockandapairof4-pin
EPS12Vcables.
However,whilewefoundtheTauro500Ws
voltagestabilityandripplenoisetobewell
withintheATXspecification,itfellsorelyshort
whenitcametoefficiency.At100percent
load,itdelivered79.04percentefficiency,2
percentshortofXigmateksclaimed80Plus
Bronzerating,and1percent
shortof80PlusWhite.Similarly,
at50percentload,werecordedan
efficiencyof82.92percent,twoper
centbelowthe85percentrequired
for80PlusBronze.Finally,at20percent
load,anefficiencyof81.21percentagain
failedtoreachtherequiredlevelfor80Plus
Bronze.Sowhileitprovedstable,theTauro
500Wiswellbelowthepaceonefficiency.
Ontheplusside,theTauros16cmchassis
housesa140mmcoolingfan;despitethelow
efficiency,thisdoesntsoundtoointrusive,
evenwhenthePSUisrunningclosetoits
maximumload.
Despiteitsverylowprice,itsclearthat
somethinghasgonewrongsomewherealong
thelinefortheTauro500W,asitprovedunable
toproducethe80PlusBronzeefficiencyit
claims.Werecommendspendingafewextra
quidonsomethingelseinstead. HB
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 9/30
75
VALUE 26/30 OVERALL
Zalman ZM500-HP Plus

Semi-modular and very quiet, but too expensive
Price85incVAT Manufacturerwww.zalman.com Supplierwww.quietpc.co.uk
ikemanyZalmanproducts,theZM500HPPlusfocusisoncoolingandlownoiselevels,butitsalsowellequippedwhenit
comestocables,thankstoitssemi-modular
connectors.Acaptive24-pinATXcable,pairof
4-pinEPS12Vconnectorsandasingle6-pin
PCI-Ecablearejoinedbyamodular6+2-pin
PCI-Eplug,sixSATAandfiveMolexpower
connectors,grantingsufficientconnections
forthevastmajorityofsingle-GPUsetups.
Inside,thePSUusescopperheatpipesand
coolingfinstoeffectivelymoveanddissipate
heat.ItalsosportsinteriorblueLEDlighting,
whilea120mmcoolingfanprovidesthe
requiredventilation.
Withits80PlusBronzecertification,the
ZM500-HPhadlittleissuedeliveringonits
promises.Theefficiencyof84.02at100per
centload,86percentat50percentloadand
62
November 2012
82.88percentat20percent
loadareallwithinthe80+
Bronzespec.Voltagestability
andripplenoisewerefineacross
theboardtoo,andwithintheATX
specification.
WithZalmansfocusonlow-noise
cooling,weweredelightedtofindtheZM500HPPlusperformedverystronglywhenit
cametonoiselevelstoo.Evenunderafull
500Wload,the120mmcoolingfanwasallbut
inaudibleeveninaquietroom.
Despiteitsmodularcables,80PlusBronze
certifiedefficiencyandsuper-lownoiselevels,
however,theZalmanZM500-HPPlusislet
downsorelybyits85pricetag.TheBeQuiet!
PurePowerL8530W(seep55)maybealittle
louder,butits35cheaperandsimilarly
modular,whiletheSeasonicX-Series660W
(seep59)is40moreexpensiveandfarmore
capable.Botharebetterchoicesunlessnoise
isyourtoppriority. HB
STABILITY 40/40
WorldMags.net
DESIGN 20/30
76
VALUE 16/30 OVERALL
how much power does Your PC need?

W
hether
youre buying a PSU as part of a
hetheryourebuyingaPSUaspartofa
wholenewsystem,orasanupgrade
foranexistingone,theresnopointinbuying
aPSUthatsfarbeyondyourneeds.PCsare
remarkablypower-efficientthesedays,and
theirPSUsareactuallymostefficientat50
percentload.Itsusuallybesttoaimfora
PSUthatoffers between200-300Wspare
capacityunderveryheavyuseinyour
particularsystem,whereveryheavyuse
meansplacingthegraphicscardandCPU
underconsiderablestrain.
Thisisactuallyquiterareinmanygames,
astheyreusuallyeitherGPUorCPU
dependent, while carrying out tasks such as
dependent,whilecarryingouttaskssuchas
image editing or video encoding usually place
imageeditingorvideoencodingusuallyplace
theCPUunderfarmoreloadthantheGPU.
Withanextra200-300Watyourdisposal,
youllhaveplentyofheadroomifyouadd
another graphics card, a more powerful CPU
anothergraphicscard,amorepowerfulCPU
or if you want to try your hand at overclocking.
orifyouwanttotryyourhandatoverclocking.
ThePSUwillbequietertoothecloseritgets
toitsmaximumload,thefasteritsfanwill
havetospintokeepitcool.
Forexample,ifyourPChasaheavily
overclockedIntelCorei5-3570KandanNvidia
GeForceGTX6702GB,wemeasuredthisto
drawaround375Wusingthesmallffttestin
Prime95tomaxouttheCPU,andUnigine
Ahigh-enddual-GPUgraphicscard,suchas
theGeForceGTX690,requiresalotofpower
whenitsworkingflatout,particularlyifits
partneredwithanLGA2011CPU
Heaven to push the

Heaventopushthe
graphics card to its
graphicscardtoits
limits. This is a worst-case
limits.Thisisaworst-case
scenario, as no game will put your
scenario,asnogamewillputyour
PCunderthismuchload.Factoringinour
200-300Wsparepowerrule,youshouldbe
aimingforaPSUthatsratedbetween550W
and650Wforasystemsuchasthis.
Alower-endsystem,suchasanIntelCore
i3-2100withanAMDRadeonHD68701GB,
onlydraws225Winthesamestresstestsso
forthis,youllonlyneedaPSUof450-500Wto
provide ample headroom for your system. We

provideampleheadroomforyoursystem.We
found that only the most expensive systems,
foundthatonlythemostexpensivesystems,
such as an Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme
suchasanIntelCorei7-3960XExtreme
Edition overclocked to 4.7GHz with an Nvidia
Editionoverclockedto4.7GHzwithanNvidia
GeForceGTX6904GB,needanythingclose
toa1kW(1000W)PSU.Allthegraphsbelow
showmaximumpowerusageusingour
stresstestsinatypicalsystemwithcasefans,
anSSDandaCPUcooler.
HARRY BUTLER
Total system power draw

4.7GHz Core i7-3960X /
GeForce GTX 690 4GB
775W
4.818GHz AMD FX-8150 /

GeForce GTX 670 2GB
725W
5GHz Core i5-3570K /

GeForce GTX 690 4GB
525W

GeForce GTX 670 2GB
375W

Radeon HD 7870 2GB
325W
Intel Core i3-2100 with an

AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB
225W
AMD A8-3870K
160W
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
AsystemusinganAMDA8-3870K,withitsintegrated
GPUrunningatfullpelt,onlydraws160Wofpower
fromthemains
64
WorldMags.net
November 2012
63
Antec High Current

Pro 850W
A solid PSU with plenty of grunt,
but its a tad too expensive
Price130incVAT Manufacturerwww.antec.com Supplierwww.overclockers.co.uk
heHighCurrentPro850WisalargePSU
at180mminlength45mmlongerthan
theXFXPro850WXXXEdition(seep71)
whichisworthrememberingifyouonlyhave
asmallcase.Itsalsoquiteexpensiveat130,
anditonlyofferssemi-modularconnectors.
Thankfully,thatswhereourconcerns
ended.Itoffersawealthofconnectors,
includingfour6+2-pinconnectors,meaning
thatitcandefinitelypowertwohigh-end
graphicscards.
Theresatotalof840Wand70Aavailable
overfour12Vrailsatanyonetime,witheach
railabletosupportupto40Aand480W
morethanenoughtorunamodernhigh-end
systemonitsown.TheHighCurrentPro
850Wsfanalsoprovedtobe
closetoinaudibleinourquietlab,
althoughtherewassomecoilnoise.
Certifiedwithan80PlusGoldefficiency
badge,theHighCurrentPro850Wwas89.9
percentefficientat100percentload,whileat
50percentload,itprovedtobeafantastic91.2
percentefficient.
Thiswasonlyenoughtosecurefifthplace,
though,withtheBeQuiet!DarkPowerPro10
850W(below)claimingthe50percentload
efficiencycrown.Therewerenoissueswith
stabilityeither,withtopmarksonallrailsatall
testedloadlevels,whileripplenoiseandhold
uptimeswerealsowellwithintheATX
specificationrequirements.
ThisisanexcellentPSU,butothersoffer
similarfeaturesforlesscash,meaningthat
itnarrowlylosesoutonanaward. AL
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 24/30
82
VALUE 18/30 OVERALL
Be Quiet! Dark Power

Pro 10 850W
Awesome features and efciency,
but ferociously expensive
Price167incVAT Manufacturerwww.bequiet.com Supplierwww.scan.co.uk
eQuiet!sDarkPowerPro10850Wis
anothermonster,measuring195mm
fromendtoend.Italsohasoneofthelongest
listsofcablesofanyPSUontest,with32
individualconnectorsintotal.Theseinclude
six6+2-pinPCI-Econnectorsandone8-pin
EPS12Vconnector,alongwithtwopairsof
4-pinEPS12Vconnectors.
WithnineSATAandnineMolexconnectors
too,youwontbeshortofcablesandpower
plugs,whateverkindofmonsterPCyoure
building.Youcanevenconnectfourcasefans
totheDarkPowerPro10850W;thePSU
regulatestheirspeedbasedontemperature.
TheDarkPowerPro10850Wusesa
135mmSilentWingsfan,similartothemodel
usedinBeQuiet!sexcellent
CPUaircoolers.
ThePSUalsohastheunusual
abilitytoswitchbetweenfour12Vrails
andonesingle12Vrail.Infour-railmode,the
12V1 and12V2 railsoffer30Aeach,whilethe
12V3 and12V4 railscandishout45Aeach.
Theres70Aavailableintotalfromthe12V
rails,resultinginamaximum12Vpower
drawof840W.
WecouldbarelydiscernthattheDark
PowerPro10850Wwasrunningwhileunder
fullload,anditpassedallourtestswithouta
hitch.Ratedto80PlusGoldstandard,italso
recordedthehighestefficiencyontestat50
percentload92.6percent.
ItsafantasticPSU,butat166,its50
moreexpensivethantheXFXPro850WXXX
Edition,whichoffersbettervalueformoney. AL
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 28/30
83
VALUE 15/30 OVERALL

66
64
November 2012
WorldMags.net
Enermax 2012. All rights reserved. All trademarks are property of the respective proprietors. Reserve changes without prior announcement.
SYSTEM RIOT
JOIN THE REVOLUTION!

The low-end power supply era is over! Enermax calls for more safety, more
quality and more power for your system! Modern systems need a stable
power source that ensures a safe and efficient system operation. The new
Enermax Revolution87+ relies on the path-breaking DHT Topology and
achieves up to 93% efficiency. It will take your system by storm propelled
by a durable and silent Twister fan. No more empty rhetoric: Due to massive
12V rails, more than 98% of the power is reserved for the essential components such as CPU and GPU. This is about a long-term system build and a
stable and safe system for the future. Enermax grants 5 years warranty.
With 550, 650, 750, 850 und 1000W.
WWW.ENERMAX.CO.UK/REVOLUTION87
www.awd-it.co.uk www.scan.co.uk specialtech.co.uk www.yoyotech.co.uk
WorldMags.net
Be Quiet! Straight
Power E9 680W
Supremely stable and quiet,
but slightly too pricey
Price95incVAT Manufacturerwww.bequiet.com Supplierwww.ebuyer.com
eQuiet!sStraightPowerE9680Wis
certainlyagreat-lookingpowersupply.It
sportsthecompanysfamiliarnickel-plated
grillesprotectingthecoolingfanan
attractivetouchthatlooksbetterthanthe
standardmeshfangrilleusedbymostother
manufacturers.
Itsalsosemi-modular,withonlysome
ofitscablesdetachable,butitoffersa
considerablenumberofthem.Thefour6+2pinPCI-Econnectorsmeanthatpowering
multiplehigh-endgraphicscardswontbea
problem,andtherearesevenSATAandsix
4-pinMolexconnectorstoo.
Itusesfour12Vrails,withtwodishingout
upto18A,andtheothertwoabletohandle
22A,with55Aand660W
overthefourrailsintotalat
anyonetime.Despitethis
beingasimilarbutlessbeefysetup
thantheAntecHighCurrentPro850W(see
p64),forexample,wewerestillabletopowera
power-hungryGeForceGTX6903GBovera
pairof12Vrails.
TheStraightPowerE9680Wwasalso91.7
percentefficientat50percentloadagreat
result.Itreturnedsuperbresultsinthe
stabilityteststoo,notmovingmorethan0.1V
eithersideof12Vonallthe12Vrails,evenat
100percentload.
Itprovedtobeveryquiettoo,althoughit
exhibitedsomecoilnoise.At95,its
reasonablypricedaswell,buttheXFXPro
850WXXXEdition(p71)costsjust11more
andprovidesmorewattageforyourmoney. AL
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 24/30
83
VALUE 19/30 OVERALL
Cooler Master
M2 Silent Pro 850W
A decent PSU, but others
offer better value
Price124incVAT Manufacturerwww.coolermaster.com Supplierwww.yoyotech.co.uk
oolerMastersM2SilentPro850Wiswell
pricedat124,althoughthisisstillagood
dealmoreexpensivethantheXFXPro850W
XXXEdition(seep71).However,yougetplenty
foryourmoney.Thefirstbonuseswenoticed
werethecables,whichhavebeenflattened
andfinishedinblackrubber.Thislooksgreat,
andwillalsomakecabletidyingeasier,
resultinginaneatandtidyPCinside.
Ithasbothan8-pinandapairof4-pin
EPS12Vconnectors,alongwiththree8-pin
andthree6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors
enoughtopowerthreehigh-endgraphics
cards.Itsfairlylargeat180mmlong,but
thisisnoticeablyshorterthantheBeQuiet!
DarkPowerPro10850W(seep64).Italso
usesasingle12Vraildesign,
with68Aand816Wavailablein
totalovertherail.Theresa
sizeable180Wavailablefromthe
3.3Vand5Vrailstoo.
Withits80PlusSilvercertification,theM2
SilentPro850Wrecordedanefficiencyof89.2
percentat50percentloadthisisntbad,but
itcouldcostaround5-9moreoverthe
courseofayearincomparisontothemost
efficientPSUontest.
StabilitywasnoproblemfortheM2Silent
Pro850W,though,anditalsoprovedtobe
extremelyquietunderevenhighloads,
barelyregisteringoverthebackgroundhum
ofourlab.However,withsimilarfeaturesand
alowerprice,theXFXPro850WXXXEdition
(seep71)winsoutonvalueformoney. AL
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 23/30
81
VALUE 18/30 OVERALL

68
66
November 2012
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
Corsair HX850
Quiet and stable with loads of

features a great PSU
Price134incVAT Manufacturerwww.corsair.comSupplierwww.scan.co.uk
freputationsareanythingtogoby,Corsair
certainlyhasanenviableonewhenitcomes
toPSUs.Wevefoundafewfliesinthe
ointmentovertheyears,butgenerallybuying
aCorsairPSUisrarely,ifever,abadpurchase.
ThisisthelatestiterationoftheHX850,
nowboasting80PlusGoldefficiency,andthe
biggersiblingtotheHX650,whichpickedup
anApprovedawardreviewedinourlastPSU
Labstest.
TheHX850isanotherlargePSU,
measuring180mminlength.Itsalsosemimodular,withthecorecables,suchasthe
24-pinATX,EPS12Vandtwo6+2-pinPCI-E
connectorsremainingcaptive.Themodular
crewconsistsofanadditional8-pinEPS12V
connector,alongwithfourmore6+2-pin
PCI-Econnectorssixintotal.
UnliketheotherPSUs
ontest,allthecableshere
haveastandardlength,with
nosingleorreduced-length
optionstotailorthemtoyour
system.TheHX850alsoemploys
asingle12Vraildesign,with70Aand840W
available,andasizable150Wavailablefrom
thecombined3.3Vand5Vrailstoo.
StabilitywasacleansweepfortheHX850,
anditwas90.7percentefficientat50percent
load.Onefeaturethatreallyimpresseduswas
alsoitsabilitytopassivelycoolitselfupto
around500Wofload.Thefanonlyspunup
abovethis,whereadmittedly,itwasclearly
audible.Formostsystems,though,youll
beblessedwithasilentPSUformostofthe
time.DespitebeingpricierthantheXFXPro
850WXXXEdition(seep71),theCorsairHX850
comesaveryclosesecond. AL
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 25/30
83
VALUE 18/30 OVERALL
Enermax Platimax 750W

Super-quiet with post-shutdown
cooling, but the price is high
Price154incVAT Manufacturerwww.enermax.co.uk Supplierwww.pixmania.co.uk
nothermanufacturerwithanenviable
reputationintheworldofPSUsis
EnermaxthemakerofthelegendaryGalaxy
1000WPSU.Itsoneofthefewmanufacturers
tostillimplementpost-shutdowncoolingin
mostofitsPSUs.
AfteryouswitchoffyourPC,thePSUsfan
willcontinuetooperateforashorttime,
providingausefulchillfactortocoolyourhot
componentsthatwouldotherwisefesterin
toastytemperaturesuntiltheheatdissipates
ofitsownaccord.Enermaxclaimsthiscan
extendthelifeofthePSUandyourhardware.
ThePlatimax750Whasalonglistof
featurestoo,althoughthisistobeexpected
foritsprice.At154,itsnearly50more
expensivethantheXFXPro850WXXXEdition
(seep71).
68
November 2012
Loversoftriplegraphics
cardsystemswillalsobe
disappointed,asthereare
onlyfour6+2-pinPCI-E
powerconnectors,although
thiswillbeenoughforthevast
majorityofpeople.
Thankfully,efficiencyhunterswillbe
pleasedwiththefactitsan80PlusPlatinum
PSU,whichclaims90-94percentefficiency.It
usesfourrailstodishoutits12Vsupply,with
eachratedat25A;theresatotalof744Wand
62Aavailableatanyonetimefromallfour
rails.Itbreezedthroughourtestingtoo;itwas
incrediblyquietandrecordedanefficiencyof
92.2percentat50percentloadwellwithin
the80PlusPlatinumspecification,makingit
oneofthemostefficientPSUsontest.Sadly,
however,itshighpricemeansthereareother
optionsthatofferbettervalueformoney. AL
STABILITY 40/40
WorldMags.net
DESIGN 27/30
81
VALUE 14/30 OVERALL
FSP Aurum 850W

A fantastic PSU, but youll need a
fat wallet to pay for it
Price165incVAT Manufacturerwww.fspgroup.co.uk SupplierTBC
osting165incVAT,theFSPAurum850W
alreadyfacesasteepchallengeitcosts
nearly60morethantheXFXPro850WXXX
Edition(seep71).
Thankfully,FSPhasaddedsomeextra
featuresinanattempttobalanceoutthat
equation.TheAurum850Whasflattened,
rubber-sheathedcables,forexample,which
lookverygoodindeed,anditalsoincludes
re-usablecabletiestoaidinall-important
cabletidying.
TheAurum850Wusesasingle70A12Vrail,
whichcandishoutacolossaltotalof840W.
Amazingly,italsohasatotalofeight6+2-pin
PCI-Econnectorstoo,meaningthatitcan
theoreticallysupportfourgraphicscards.
Thiswillbealotofworkforan850WPSU,
though althoughwesuccessfullypowered
threeGeForceGTX
6702GBcardswitha
totalsystemdrawof
650W,addinganother
cardclearlywouldntbe
advisable.
Meanwhile,inourtests,the80Plus
Gold-ratedAurum850Wmanagedan
efficiencyof91.1percentat50percentload,
andpassedallthestabilitytestswithoutany
issuesaswell.
ItwasamongthequietestPSUsontest
aswell,althoughitwasntabletoshutoff
itsfanatlowloadslikesomeofthe
competition.Onlyasmallamountofcoil
whinewasdiscernibletoo.
Indeed,everythingabouttheFSPAurum
850Wlooksabsolutelygreatuntilyoucome
tothepricetagwhich,despiteitsstrengths,is
stillabitterpilltoswallow. AL
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 25/30
79
VALUE 14/30 OVERALL
In Win GreenMe 750W

Cheap and stable, but its noisy
and lacks features
Price60incVAT Manufacturerwww.in-win.com.tw Supplierwww.cclonline.co.uk
nWinsGreenMe750WPSUreallydoescost
just60,butreadonalittlemorebeforeyou
reachforyourwallet,asthewholestoryisnt
quitethatrosy.
Forstarters,theGreenMe750Wdoesnt
haveanymodularcablesonlycaptiveones,
andveryfewatthat.Itonlyhastwo6+2-pin
PCI-Econnectors,meaningitwontbeable
topowertwohigh-endgraphicscards.
Ifyoureatallconcernedwithlooksthenthe
GreenMe750Wprobablyisntforyoueither;
itsasplainasPSUsget.Itsalsofarfromflush
withconnectors,onlyofferingthreeMolex
plugsandsixSATAconnectors.
Itusesamulti-raildesignwhenitcomesto
dishingout12Vpower,withthreerailsoffering
upto25Aeachandatotalof540Wacrossall
threeatthesametime.
Withits80PlusBronze
certification,itrecordedan
efficiencyof88.4percent
at50percentloadafair
amountlessthanthebest
resultsontest.
However,itwillprovidelotsofstablepower
foryourPCtheGreenMe750Wpassedall
ourtests,never strayingclosetothelimitsof
theATXspecification.
Noisewasanotherstory,though.Withits
standard120mmcoolingfan,theGreenMe
750Wisanoisypieceofkitwhencomparedto
allotherPSUsontest,especiallyathigher
loads,andtherewassomeclearlyaudiblecoil
whineaswell.
Despiteitslowprice,wesuggestgiving this
PSUawideberth,andsavingyourpenniesfor
asuperiorPSU,suchastheXFXPro850WXXX
Edition(seep71),instead. AL
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 14/30
82
VALUE 28/30 OVERALL

71
WorldMags.net
November 2012
69
OCZ
ZX 850
Not bad, but you can get

more for your money
Price134incVAT
Manufacturerwww.ocztechnology.com
Supplierwww.yoyotech.co.uk
heOCZZX850iscertainlyadesirable
pieceofkitwithitsfully-modularcables.
Whilethesearebraided,however,thequality
oftheheatshrinkisntgreattheheatshrink
appliedtothe24-pinATXcable,forexample,
cameoffafteralittleuse.
TheOCZZX850hasagoodarrayofcables
atitsdisposalaswell,althoughyoullbe
limitedtoplayingwithjusttwohigh-end
graphicscards,asthereareonlyfour6+2-pin
PCI-Econnectors.
Harddiskhoarderscanrejoicethoughthe
ZX850hasatotalof12SATAconnectorsand
nine4-pinMolexconnectors.
Italsohasasingle70A12Vrail;combined
withthe-12Vand+5VSBrails,thiscanoutput
atotalof850W.Itwasfairlyquiettoo,andvery
efficientat50percentload91percenttobe
exact,anditpassedallourtestswithout
strayingoutsidetheATXspecification.
TheOCZZX850isbynomeansabadPSU,
buttheCorsairHX850(seep68)andXFXPro
850WXXXEdition(seep71)offerbettervalue
formoney. AL
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 24/30
81
VALUE 17/30 OVERALL

70
November 2012
Seasonic
Platinum
Series 860W
Feature-loaded, quiet and

efcient, but expensive
Price166incVAT
Manufacturerwww.seasonic.com
Supplierwww.aria.co.uk
easonicshigh-endPSUsarecertainly
highlydesirable,notleastfortheirability
toswitchofftheircoolingfansbelowcertain
temperaturestheyrethatefficient.
ThePlatinum860Walsohasthisability,
aswellasfullymodularcables,an80Plus
Platinumefficiencyratingandevena120mm
SanyoDenkifantoo.Itsabigboy,though,
needing190mmclearanceendtoend,andits
hideouslyexpensivetoo.
Youllbelimitedtopoweringtwohigh-end
graphicscardswithitsfour6+2-pinPCI-E
connectors,althoughthereare11SATAand
eight4-pinMolexplugs,whichwillbeenough
foreventhemostcrowdedsystem.Itdishes
outitspowerthroughasingle71Arail,with
852Wavailable.Itsreallyefficienttooour
testmeasured92.3percentefficiencyat50
percentloadanditwasstableinallouttests
andsupremelyquiettoo.
Thisisafantasticpowersupplyitsjusta
shameaboutitshighprice. AL
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 27/30
82
Silver Power
SP-S850M
A reasonable price, but

very noisy
Price96incVAT
Manufacturerwww.nanopoint.co.uk
ilverPowerhasaparentcompanyin
theformofNanopoint,whichalso
manufacturestheTaganPSUsthatonce
weretheenvyofall.TheSP-S850Misvery
reasonablypricedat96,butitofferssemimodularcablesaswell.
Italsohasfour6+2-pinPCI-Econnectors
andeightSATAconnectors,whichgivesyou
enoughheadroomforallbutthemost
hardcorePC.Itusesasingle12Vrail,rated
atupto70Aand840Wmandmeasuresjust
160mminlengthababycomparedtosome
oftheothermonstersontest.
TheSP-S850Machieveditsstated80Plus
Bronzeefficiencyinourtests,reaching84.87
percentat100percentload,butthisisstill
lowconsideringsomeofthecompetitionhave
80PlusSilver,GoldandPlatinumratings.
TheSilverPowerSP-S850Mwasalso
horrendouslynoisyunderload.Infact,it
waslouderthantheGeForceGTX5903GB
wehadrunninginourtestsystematthetime.
Needlesstosay,youcanbuyabetterpower
supplyelsewhere. AL
STABILITY 40/40
VALUE 15/30 OVERALL
WorldMags.net
DESIGN 17/30
78
VALUE 21/30 OVERALL
XFX Pro
SilverStone
850W XXX
Strider Gold
Evolution750W Edition
Great efciency and
cable braiding, but
too expensive
Price132incVAT
Manufacturerwww.silverstonetek.com
ullymodularcablesarealwaysapleasure
toseeonaPSU,butSilverStonesStrider
GoldEvolution750Walsoaddshigh-quality
cablebraidingtoitssetofmodularcables,as
wellasamagneticdustfiltertouseifyour
casedoesnthaveone.
Itlacksthealternative-lengthcablesof
otherPSUsontest,though,andtwoofits
fourPCI-Econnectorsonlyhavesixpins,but
thatsthelimitofourcriticismsintermsofthe
PSUshardware.
TheStriderGoldEvolution750Whasplenty
ofpowerontaptoo,withasingle12Vrailrated
at62Aand744W.Inourtests,thePSUhad
littleissueprovingits80PlusGoldcredentials
either,with89.1percentefficiencyat100per
centloadand90.66percentat50percent
load.Itwasalsoextremelyquiet,evenathigh
loadlevels.
However,theXFXPro850WXXXEditionand
CorsairHX850offerbettervalueformoney. AL
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 23/30
78
VALUE 15/30 OVERALL
Xigmatek
Centauro
800W
Efcient, well priced and

loaded with features
Noisy and not as efcient

as it claims
Price107incVAT
Manufacturerwww.xfxforce.com
Supplierwww.ebuyer.com
Price85incVAT
Manufacturerwww.xigmatek.com
Supplierwww.cclonline.com
oulleitherloveorhatethelooksofXFXs
Pro850WXXXEditionpowersupply,but
atjust107forasemi-modular,850WPSU
withmostofthetrimmings,itsanintriguing
prospectfromtheoutset.
XFXclaimsthatits80-PlusSilvercertified,
anditpacksatotalofeightSATAconnectors
andfour6+2-pinPCI-Econnectorsenough
fortwohigh-endgraphicscardswhichisa
gooddealforaPSUinthispricebracket.
Thankfully,itdeliveredonitsefficiency
ratingtoo,cominginat88.6percentat50per
centload,anditpassedallourstabilitytests
too.Asfarasnoisewasconcerned,therewas
somecoilwhineinevidence,butthefannoise
wasinaudibleonceoursystemsfanskicked
in,unlikesomeoftheotherPSUsontest.
Itmightnotbequitethequietest,most
efficientor best-equippedpowersupplyon
testthismonth,buttheXFXPro850WXXX
Editionisperfectlybalancedandoffersgreat
valueformoney. AL
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 23/30
84
VALUE 21/30 OVERALL
heXigmatekCentauro800Wiscertainly
well-pricedat85,anditalsooffersa
meansofconnectingyourcasefanstothe
PSUsfancontrolunitviatwo2-pinheaders.
Itsportssemi-modularcablestoo,which
includefour6+2pinPCI-Econnectors,along
witheightSATAconnectorsandsix4-pin
Molexplugs.Thisisplentyforpoweringtwo
graphicscards,andplentyofother
componentsaswell.
Whileitpassedourstabilitytests,however,
itfailedtoliveuptoits80PlusBronzeratingat
both100percentand50percentload,instead
onlymanaging79.6percentand84.36per
centefficiencyrespectively.Itwasalsoquite
noisyathigherloadlevels.
TheXigmatekCentauro800Wmighthavea
temptingprice,butwerecommendspending
afewextraquidandbuyingasuperiorPSU
insteadtheBeQuiet!StraightPowerE9
680W(seep66),forexample,costs10more
andisamuchbetterbuy. AL
STABILITY 40/40
DESIGN 15/30
77
VALUE 22/30 OVERALL

72
WorldMags.net
November 2012
71
POWER SUPPLIES
550W-660W EFFICIENCY (PER CENT)

50 per cent load
100 per cent load

Antec Earthwatts
550W
91.31
Be Quiet! Pure
Power L8 530W
83.1
Cooler Master GX
550W
90.76
Be Quiet! Pure
Power L8 530W
86.28
Be Quiet! Dark
Power Pro 10 550W
90.6
Cooler Master GX
550W
Antec Earthwatts
550W
92.86
Be Quiet! Pure
Power L8 530W
83.69
Be Quiet! Dark
Power Pro 10 550W
20 per cent load
Antec Earthwatts
550W
84.59
Be Quiet! Dark
Power Pro 10 550W
91.2
88.27
86.32
Cooler Master GX
550W
85.38
Corsair GS600
85.03
Corsair GS600
87.06
Corsair GS600
84.42
Enermax
Triathlor 550W
84.78
Enermax
Triathlor 550W
87.13
Enermax
Triathlor 550W
84.82
Fractal Design R2
Tesla 650W
FSP Aurum
Xilenser 500W
In Win GreenMe
550W
88.55
Fractal Design R2
Tesla 650W
89.61
FSP Aurum
Xilenser 500W
84.92
In Win GreenMe
550W
NZXT Hale82-650-M
82.91
OCZ ZS 550W
83.13
Seasonic X-Series
660W
91.39
91.29
FSP Aurum
Xilenser 500W
89.4
87.12
In Win GreenMe
550W
84.45
NZXT Hale82-650-M
85.97
NZXT Hale82-650-M
83.96
OCZ ZS 550W
85.15
Seasonic X-Series
660W
88.58
Silver Power
SP-S650M
91.98
Fractal Design R2
Tesla 650W
81.75
OCZ ZS 550W
Seasonic X-Series
660W
90.77
88.41
83.48
Silver Power
SP-S650M
86.15
Silver Power
SP-S650M
SilverStone Strider
Plus 500W
82.84
SilverStone Strider
Plus 500W
86.4
SilverStone Strider
Plus 500W
85.5
XFX Pro 650W

Core Edition
84.42
XFX Pro 650W

Core Edition
86.63
XFX Pro 650W

Core Edition
84.08
Xigmatek Tauro
500W
81.21
Xigmatek Tauro
500W
Zalman ZM500-HP
Plus
0
Xigmatek Tauro
500W
79.04
Zalman ZM500-HP
Plus
84.02
20
40
60
80
82.92
100
Zalman ZM500-HP
Plus
86
20
40
60
80
100
84.13
82.88
20
40
60
80
100
661W-860W EFFICIENCY (PER CENT)

100 per cent load
Antec High Current
Pro 850W
89.9
Antec High Current

Pro 850W
91.19
Antec High Current

Pro 850W
88.16
Be Quiet! Straight
Power E9 680W
89.75
Be Quiet! Straight
Power E9 680W
91.67
Be Quiet! Straight
Power E9 680W
88.92
Be Quiet! Dark
Power Pro 10 850W
90.93
Be Quiet! Dark
Power Pro 10 850W
92.62
Be Quiet! Dark
Power Pro 10 850W
90.97
Cooler Master M2
Silent Pro 850W
87.01
Cooler Master M2
Silent Pro 850W
89.22
Cooler Master M2
Silent Pro 850W
87.76
Corsair HX850
88.56
Corsair HX850
90.72
Corsair HX850
88.6
Enermax Platimax
750W
90.47
Enermax Platimax
750W
92.24
Enermax Platimax
750W
FSP Aurum 850W
89.31
FSP Aurum 850W
91.16
FSP Aurum 850W
In Win GreenMe
750W
In Win GreenMe
750W
85.43
88.7
OCZ ZX 850
90.96
OCZ ZX 850
Seasonic Platinum
860W
90.06
Seasonic Platinum
860W
92.23
Seasonic Platinum
860W
SilverStone Strider
Gold Evolution 750W
Xigmatek Centauro
800W
November 2012
40
60
80
100
40
60
80
88.98
91.14
85.85
88.15
XFX Pro 850W

XXX Editon
87.07
Xigmatek Centauro
800W
84.36
20
86.87
SilverStone Strider
Gold Evolution 750W
88.64
Xigmatek Centauro
800W
79.61
20
90.65
XFX Pro 850W

XXX Editon
86.25
89.38
Silver Power
SP-S850M
87.41
SilverStone Strider
Gold Evolution 750W
89.1
XFX Pro 850W

XXX Editon
Silver Power
SP-S850M
84.87
91.83
In Win GreenMe
750W
88.36
OCZ ZX 850
Silver Power
SP-S850M
72
20 per cent load
50 per cent load
100
WorldMags.net
83.28
20
40
60
80
100
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
Dragon
Commander
c
u
stom pc
EX
CLUSIVE IM
AGE
WhenweaskedDragonCommanderdeveloper
When
we asked Dragon Commander developer
LarianStudiostogiveusanexclusivescreenshot
ofitsjet-packingdragons,theteamsaidthe
in-developmentenginedidntcurrentlysupport
theresolutionswerequired. Neverfearthough,
saidtheteam.Giveusafewdaysandwelladd
thatfeatureintotheenginejustforyou.That
sortofthoughtfulnessisjustanotherreasonto
lookforwardtoDragonCommander.Asifthe
uniquefusionofaction,strategyandRPG
systemswasntenough!
76
November 2012
WorldMags.net
GRUMPYGAMER
78 What
you talking
about?
COUNTER-STRIKE:
80 GLOBALOFFENSIVE
CS: GO,go, go
SLEEPINGDOGS
82 Kung
phew
INVERSION
84 Upside
frown
DEATHRALLY
87 Crash,
burn
DEVPERSPECTIVE
88 Apoke
inthe AI
THEENGINEROOM
90 The
Dark Engine
78
Readers Night Wed, 3 October, 9 till late

Theplace OurCounter-Strike:Sourceserver
Whatyouneed Anup-to-dateCounter-Strike:
Sourceinstallation
GAMESERVERIPADDRESSES
32-playerBC2 85.236.101.22:16667
32-playerCS:Source 85.236.101.24:37015
FINDUSONSTEAM
Publicgroup http://steamcommunity.com/groups/
CustomPC
ModernWarfare2 http://steamcommunity.com/
groups/CustomWarfare2
WorldMags.net
November 2012
77
GAMING
FUNISA
BADWORD
Joe Martin dusts off his linguistics knowledge
and discusses our need for meaningful jargon
hat constitutes fun for you? I dont mean the

activities you find enjoyable, but rather the
components of an experience to which you might
refer when labelling something as fun.
Is it fun to investigate and explore a new world, for example, or is
it more fun to know that world so intimately that you could trace the
map in calm water? Do you find games more fun when theyre fast
and fluid like Doom, or intricate and cumbersome like Arma II?
Do games need to be pretty to be fun, or
would a text adventure suffice? Is fun
meaningful or disposable?
My point is that fun is a bad word to
describe a game. Its fine in a general,
informal way, but for the purposes of game
design and games criticism, its very hazy.
Is Diablo 3 fun? Pac-Man? Quake? Not all
games are fun to all people, and even when
two people agree, they might point to
different reasons.
So fun is a bad word. It isnt the only bad
word we use for describing games either.
There are dozens of borrowed terms and ambiguous meanings
crowding the games industry. Take the word game itself, for
example. Does that imply a competitive element or not? Is Tetris still
a game, even though you cant really win it? What does that imply
about The Path or Dear Esther? What makes a computer game
different from a toy?
Gaming is an activity full of bad words, and I honestly think it may
be preventing the industry from reaching its full potential. After all,
how can developers collectively decide on the way forward if they
cant communicate such basic concepts as what makes a game

such as Tetris fun? That would be like Nvidia or AMD trying to add an
enhancement to a graphics card driver that makes those lines a little
nicer on those see-through things that cover the whatchamacallit in
that game.
Ultimately, meaningful jargon is key to progress in this regard.
We need strong, specific words and names to describe games, and
the language to dissect our concepts succinctly; without that, were
stumbling in the dark. We already have
that in the technological hardware end
of the gaming industry, but we dont have
it in the creative or critical part of the
industry yet. Along with the proliferation of
console ports coming over to the PC, this
is perhaps another reason why PC gaming
technology is so far ahead of our ability to
use it meaningfully.
Jargon isnt just important for ensuring
clarity and shorter meetings either. Its also
crucial for securing games as a field of
serious academic and artistic study,
simply because it facilitates critical discussion.
The language used to describe gaming is important for
journalism; imagine articles that pinpointed the virtues of a game
without having to lazily resort to phrases such as my mind was
blown. Wouldnt that be something?
How can developers

collectively decide on
the way forward if they
cant communicate such
basic concepts as what
makes Tetris fun?
78
November 2012
WHAT IM PLAYING IloveFrozenSynapse,butIveonlyjust

startedtheRedDLC,whichaddsnewunitsandaco-opcampaign.
Myin-gamenameisCardjoechallengeme!
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
COUNTER-STRIKE:
GLOBAL OFFENSIVE
Runs fastest with a knife

1.6
Fast; variable;
intricate
SOURCE
No killcams;
radial menu
THE KNOWLEDGE
Price11.99incVAT
PublisherValve
DeveloperValve
Websitehttp://blog.
counter-strike.net
80
November 2012
hegoodnewsisthatthisisCounter-Strike
nowessentiallyfine-tunethesortofmultiplayer
justasyoushouldrememberit,withthe
experienceyouwanttoamuchgreaterdegree.
samemaps,thesameweaponsandthe
Want fast,no-frillsaction?PlayCasual.Wanttense,
samefantasticallyfreneticpace.Valvehas
fatiguingwar?PlayCompetitive.
developedthisnewiterationforconsolestoo,but
Thentherearethebotsand,whilethesesound
theconstraintsofthecontrollerhaventdamaged
likeabigdeal,theyactuallyarent.Theyplaywell,
thefinalproduct.Ifitwerentfortheonlyslightly
though,andtheyregreatfortraininginofflinemode
cumbersomeradialBuyMenu,youdthinkthiswas
andwillautomaticallypopulateunfilledservers.In
adedicatedPCgame.
somemodes,youcanevenreplacethemshouldyou
So whats the bad news? Well, it honestly
die early in the game.
Sowhatsthebadnews?Well,ithonestly
dieearlyinthegame.
doesnt appear that there is any. It may
Finally, the biggest additions are two new modes
doesntappearthatthereisany.Itmay
Finally,thebiggestadditionsaretwonewmodes
seem glib to say that Global Offensive
called Arms Race and Demolitions. Each of
seemglibtosaythatGlobalOffensive
calledArmsRaceandDemolitions.Eachof
these act as a sort of ladder-based twist on
isjustthesameoldCounter-Strike
theseactasasortofladder-basedtwiston
the normal modes, wheretherungsonthe
where the rungs on the
withprettierpictures,butthats
thenormalmodes,
ladder are all the different guns in the game;
mostlytrue.Thereareacoupleof
ladderareallthedifferentgunsinthegame;
alterations and expansions, but if all you
again, they essentially oppose each other. In
alterationsandexpansions,butifallyou
again,theyessentiallyopposeeachother.In
care about is whether the core game has
Arms Race, you receive a new gun for every kill
careaboutiswhetherthecoregamehas
ArmsRace,youreceiveanewgunforeverykill
been competently reiterated then you may
you make and the winner is whoever scores a
beencompetentlyreiteratedthenyoumay
youmakeandthewinneriswhoeverscoresa
as well stop reading and start playing.
kill with every weapon first.
aswellstopreadingandstartplaying.
killwitheveryweaponfirst.
Still reading? Good. So, those alterations
Demolitions
is Counter-Strikes new
Stillreading?Good.So,thosealterations
DemolitionsisCounter-Strikesnew
pice de rsistance, however. Its the
thenletsstartwiththenewdivide
picedersistance,however.Itsthe
same as Arms Race, except the bomb
betweenCasualandCompetitive
sameasArmsRace,exceptthebomb
games. This is simple: casual matches
also comes into play and the weapons
games.Thisissimple:casualmatches
alsocomesintoplayandtheweapons
giveyoushorterrounds,freeKevlar
withwhichyourerewardedbecome
andlimitedtimetobuyweapons;
progressivelyhardertouse.Everyone
competitivemodedoestheopposite
startsoffwithanassaultrifle,but
and,whiletheinitialresponsemightbe
thebestplayersquicklyprogressto
OVERALL
todismissthisasnobigdeal,youcan
shotgunsandpistols,whichmeansthe
95
WorldMags.net
REVIEW
Dust2inCS:GO
Dust2inCS:Source
matchesbalancethemselvesbasedonthe
skillofindividualplayers.Itsquitebrilliant.
DespitethestrengthoftheDemolitions
andArmsRacemodes,though,therearea
fewgapsintheformulathatweresurprised
Valvehasntplugged.Thelackofkillcams,
forexample,isasmallbutnoticeableflaw
foranyonewhohastolearnhowthemaps
arelaidout,althoughthebiggestproblemis
themapsthemselves.
Also,whileDemolitionsandArmsRace
aregivensomenewlevels,theclassic
modesdontofferanythingnew.Theresan
argumentagainstthisthatsaysCounterStrike:Sourceisstillgoingstrong,butthisis
counteredbyGlobalOffensivespriceand
moddability.Modsarealreadystartingto
appearandDemolitionsModealonemakes
GlobalOffensiveworththeinvestment.This
isCounter-Strikeasyouvealwaysknown
andlovedit,exceptbetterandprettier.
DUST OFF
Counter-Strike:GOmaynotaddanymapstotheclassicmodes,butithasrefresheda
bunchoftheoldclassics,suchasTrain,Office,DustandmostimportantlyofallDust2.
Mostofthesechangesarepurelyaestheticandhavelittleimpactonthegame,butthere
areafewnoticeabledifferences.Thebiggestisprobablytheadditionofafewsmallcrates
aroundBombsiteB,aswellassomeaddedclutterinthesniperalleybyBombsiteA.
Valvehasntrushedthesechangeseither.TheGlobalOffensivebetaranforthebest
partofayear,withValvetweakingeverypossiblevariabletoreproduceandenhancethe
oldcontent.TheofficialGlobalOffensiveblogevenfeaturesinteractiveheatmapsshowing
thedatausedtoinformthechanges.Inthatrespect,itsreassuringthatthemaps are
mostlythesamethecomparisonpicturesofDust2revealthesmallsizeofthechanges.
Valvehasalsostudiedthegamesoptionstoo.TheresanewTVcolourschemeand
supportforrunninginwindowedmode,nottomentionalaptoppower-savingmodethat
willlikelybehandyforhastilyorganisedLANsandgamingonthemove.Thesettings
menunowletsyoucontrolotherminutiaetoo,fromtheoverallscaleoftheHUDtothe
styleofcrosshairandthecornerofthescreeninwhichSteamnotificationswillpopup.
Again,thissoundslikeasmallchangebut,sinceitmeansthatyourhealthandammo
countsareneverobscuredinacompetitivematch,itmakesahugedifference.
Lotsofweaponshavebeenalteredtooand,whilethenewknifemodel looksalittle
wimpyatfirst,thelackofanimationandsmallersizemakeitlessdistracting.Thatswhat
makesGlobalOffensivesogreat;itsastreamlinedandhonedversionoftheoldideas.
JOE MARTIN
WorldMags.net
November 2012
81
SLEEPING DOGS
Pedigree choice
BITE
Stylish; gorgeous;
varied
BARK
Mini-games;
slow to start
THE KNOWLEDGE
Price25.99incVAT
PublisherSquareEnix
DeveloperUnitedFront
Games
Website
www.sleepingdogs.net
82
November 2012
appalling
karaoke mini-game) and as you progress,
owmuchdoesthestructureofagame
appallingkaraokemini-game)andasyouprogress,
determine
the overall experience? Thats
these
start to feel less like an interesting use of
determinetheoverallexperience?Thats
thesestarttofeellesslikeaninterestinguseof
what
we find ourselves asking after playing
whatwefindourselvesaskingafterplaying
your time.SleepingDogsisstillmorethanthe
SleepingDogs,andnotjustbecausewere
thoughtlessGTAcloneyoumightexpectfromthe
philosophicalnavel-gazerseither.Itsbecause,while
screenshots,butitstillmakesmistakes.
SleepingDogsunashamedlyemulatesthemodern
Wherethegamesuffersmostis whereitcopiesits
GTAtemplatewithprecision,itoffersadistinctly
forebearsmostbrazenly.WeiShensanimationslook
differentexperienceonthewhole.
slickenoughwhenhesbrawlinginthestreets,butfly
Thisisachievedbythedetails,suchasthewaythe
offyourmotorbikeandNikoBellicssuperiorinverse
focusonkung-fufightingmeansthatyouarenteven
kinematicsarenotablyabsent.
givenapistoluntilagoodsixhoursintothegame
Itsalltooeasytocrashtoo,asthecarhandlingis
andwhenyouhaveone,itsmoretemptingtouse
slightlyoutoftunewithrealityeverythingfeels
yourfistsanyway.UndercovercopWeiShenisunder
toofastandslippery.Thatsensationofspeedis
visiblestressasheingratiateshimselfwiththeTriad
somethingthatdeveloperUnitedFrontseemsto
gangs,butmartialartsseemtoclearhismind.
haveexplicitlytargetedinitsselectionofcarsand
Mostly,thesenuancesworkforthe
inclusionofparkour,butitsovershotthe
betterthemartialartssystem,for
markjustalittle.Navigatingthetight
example,ismorerobustand
cornersandnarrowalleysofHongKong
interestingthantheassault-rifletactics
isalittletooawkwardtofeelasfunasit
ofGTAbutthereareareasinwhichthe
could,whetheronwheelsorfoot.
variationdoesntpayoff.Therearea
Thesefewshortcomingsdonthold
fewtoomanyQuickTimeEventsand
backSleepingDogstoomuch,however,
OVERALL
mini-gamesforourtaste(includingan
andtheresplentyofcontenttokeepyou
85
WorldMags.net
REVIEW
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
occupiedregardless.Therearecollectibles
occupied
regardless. There are collectibles
stuffed into every corner of the city, and the
stuffedintoeverycornerofthecity,andthe
multi-tiered RPG elements warrant careful
multi-tieredRPGelementswarrantcareful
attention for the way they tie into Wei Shens
attentionforthewaytheytieintoWeiShens
dual identities too act like a cop and get
dualidentitiestooactlikeacopandget
better with guns; act like a Triad to increase
betterwithguns;actlikeaTriadtoincrease
yourmeleeskills.
The story of double-crossing and
Thestoryofdouble-crossingand
street-level
violence is infinitely
street-levelviolenceisinfinitely
more
interesting than the steady
moreinterestingthanthesteady
unveiling
of Niko Bellics past too,
unveilingofNikoBellicspasttoo,
keeping
you on the edge of your
keepingyouontheedgeofyour
seat as Wei Shen delves deeper
seatasWeiShendelvesdeeper
into the underworld and comes
intotheunderworldandcomes
closertothetruth.Theplot
remainsgrippingasittwists,
without
ever dominating the skyline;
withouteverdominatingtheskyline;
this
is still a sandbox game through and
thisisstillasandboxgamethroughand
through,
encouraging you to explore
through,encouragingyoutoexplore
thewealthofcontent.
Sleeping Dogs isnt our sandbox
SleepingDogsisntoursandbox
shooter
of choice; that honour lays
shooterofchoice;thathonourlays
with
Just Cause 2, but Sleeping Dogs
withJustCause2,butSleepingDogs
is
a decent midway point between
isadecentmidwaypointbetween
that
and the super-serious GTA. Its
thatandthesuper-seriousGTA.Its
an interesting and enjoyable niche
aninterestingandenjoyableniche
to occupy, even if it comes with a
tooccupy,evenifitcomeswitha
fewcaveats.
UnitedFronthasbundledaloadofextra
featuresintothePCversionthatwilltaxeven
decentrigs.Thelistofadditionsisntlimited
tojust3Dmodeandresolutiontweaking
either;itsextensiveenoughtoshowthePC
versionwasaseriousconsideration.
Thenagain,maybeUnitedFrontjusthad
solongtoworkonSleepingDogsthatthese
extraswerentmuchofastretch.SquareEnix
maybethepublishernow,butworkonthe
Meduim
gamestartedatActivisionin2008first
underthetitleofBlackLotus,thenTrue
Crime:HongKong.ItwasonlyafterActivision
cancelledthegamein2011thatSquareEnix
boughttherightstoagamethathadalready
beenindevelopmentforfouryears.
Regardless, the PC version boasts
Regardless,thePCversionboasts
performance enhancements for SLI
performanceenhancementsforSLI
and CrossFireX setups, as well as
andCrossFireXsetups,aswellas
support for Nvidia 3D Vision, and
supportforNvidia3DVision,and
both AMD EyeFinity and Nvidia
bothAMDEyeFinityandNvidia
Surround multi-monitor
Surroundmulti-monitor
Extreme
support. Theres also DirectX
support.TheresalsoDirectX
11 and 11.1 content, which
11and11.1content,which
includes the use of Direct
includestheuseofDirect
Compute and contact-hardening shadows.
Computeandcontact-hardeningshadows.
Beyondthat,theresaraftofoptionsfortweakinggraphicsthat
elevates the game over how it looks on consoles, but the biggest
elevatesthegameoverhowitlooksonconsoles,butthebiggest
feature is a high-res texture pack thats included for free.
featureisahigh-restexturepackthatsincludedforfree.
Youllneedastrongmachinetohandlethehighersettings,naturally.
A
quad-core CPU and a GeForce GTX 560 or Radeon HD 6950 are
Aquad-coreCPUandaGeForceGTX560orRadeonHD6950are
recommended. Our experience shows that youll need to go higher than
recommended.Ourexperienceshowsthatyoullneedtogohigherthan
this
if you want to make the most of those DX11 features, however, as even our
thisifyouwanttomakethemostofthoseDX11features,however,asevenour
mighty
system had trouble running smoothly on the top settings.
mightysystemhadtroublerunningsmoothlyonthetopsettings.
Our
standard gaming systems specs were very similar to those
Ourstandardgamingsystemsspecswereverysimilartothose
recommended
by the game (a Radeon HD 6950, 4GB of RAM and a Core
recommendedbythegame(aRadeonHD6950,4GBofRAMandaCore
i5-3570K),
so we ran the in-game benchmark on Extreme and Medium
i5-3570K),soweranthein-gamebenchmarkonExtremeandMedium
quality presets to find out how it coped. The minimum frame rate increased
qualitypresetstofindouthowitcoped.Theminimumframerateincreased
from just 9fps to a much smoother 42.5fps between the respective settings,
fromjust9fpstoamuchsmoother42.5fpsbetweentherespectivesettings,
and this was at the same resolution of 2,560 x 1,600. The full results and
andthiswasatthesameresolutionof2,560x1,600.Thefullresultsand
settings
are revealed in the screenshots.
settingsarerevealedinthescreenshots.
JOE MARTIN
WorldMags.net
November 2012
83
REVIEW
INVERSION
Flipping hell
UPSIDE
Unintentionally
hilarious
DOWN
Its terrible
THE KNOWLEDGE
Price29.99incVAT
PublisherNamcoBandai
DeveloperSaber
Interactive
Website
www.inversion.com
84
November 2012
oronce,wegenuinelydontknowwhereto
arareoccurrenceeither.Everyfewminutes,your
begin.Shouldwediscussthegravity-flipping
controlisstrippedsothatyoucanwatchananimation
gimmick,whichisInversionsonlyattentionoftheheroesencounteringenemies orstumbling
retainingfeature,orthestunningdullnessfor
throughanearthquake.Theinterruptionstakelonger
whichitwillundoubtedlycometobeknowninthe
thantheymeritandoccurtoooftentohaveanyimpact,
future?Doweexplainthatthegravitycontrolgoes
makingmuchofthegamefeellikeawasteoftime.
bothways,enablingyoutomakeobjectslighteror
Evenifyoucantoleratetheseconcerns,though,
heavier,ordowebreakapartthedullnessand
Inversionstillfailstoimpressoneveryotherfront.
examineitsrootcauses?
Environmentsareuniformlyunremarkable,even
Wewontdothelatterthereisntenoughroomin
whentraversedinzerogravitywhichisntfreeing
the
magazine. Its sufficient to say that Inversion is one
themagazine.ItssufficienttosaythatInversionisone
orfluidatallandyourarelyfindagunthatfeelsor
of
the most boring and badly designed third-person
ofthemostboringandbadlydesignedthird-person
soundsmorepowerfulthanablowpipe.
shooters
weve played in a while. Its litany of errors is
shootersweveplayedinawhile.Itslitanyoferrorsis
Thegravity-controllingfeaturesarealsotheonly
far
too long to expose in full, but includes
fartoolongtoexposeinfull,butincludes
aspectinwhichInversionmanagestodeviatefrom
issuessuchasneedlessQuick
thestandardthird-personshootertemplate,which
TimeEvents,repetitivelevel
wouldntbebadifitwasatallinteresting.Instead,it
design,
and a baffling and dull story.
design,andabafflinganddullstory.
basicallyboilsdowntoafewsimpleimplementations;
The
premise isnt all that convoluted youre a
Thepremiseisntallthatconvolutedyourea
youcanmakeobjectsfloatorsink,andsometimesthe
cop
whose life is turned upside down when gravitycopwhoselifeisturnedupsidedownwhengravityworldflipsupsidedown.Maybethissoundsdramatic
controlling
invaders enslave humanity but it ends up
controllinginvadersenslavehumanitybutitendsup
inconcept,butinuse,itdoesnthavemucheffectaside
feeling
just that, thanks to huge gaps in the timeline,
feelingjustthat,thankstohugegapsinthetimeline,
frombeingabletodragenemiesoutofcover.
massive
assumptions about player knowledge and an
massiveassumptionsaboutplayerknowledgeandan
Theresnothingwrongwithgimmick-drivengames
awkwardly
paced script.
awkwardlypacedscript.
orconventionssuchasturretsequences,aslongas
The
opening minute, for example, has
Theopeningminute,forexample,has
theyrepurposefulandinterestingenough
theprotagonistlosingallhopebefore
tojustifytheirpresence.Inversiondefies
pointlesslyflashingbacktoaturret
thisandfeelslikeachoreasaresult;the
sequencethatgivesyouinfiniteammo
gravitycontrolistoocumbersometo
andhealth.Notonlyisthisafunctionally
exploreproperlyandtheunderlyinggame
purposelessinterruption,butitalso
isapaint-by-numbersshooterthats
conflictswiththetonethatInversionis
outclassedbyitscompetitors.
OVERALL
JOE MARTIN
apparentlytryingtoestablish.Thisisnt
30
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REVIEW
DEATH RALLY
Back from the dead

F1
Simple; effective;
cheap
ALT-F4
Lacks variety
and pace
THE KNOWLEDGE
Price7.99incVAT
PublisherRemedy
Interactive
DeveloperRemedy
Interactive
Websitehttp://store.
steampowered.com/
app/108700
remakeoftheoriginalDeathRallyreleased
in1996,thenewDeathRallydebutedon
mobiledevicesfirstbuthasfinallyarrivedon
PC.Forthoseofyouwhodontremember
theoriginal,DeathRallywasatop-downracerinthe
sameveinasMicroMachinesasIgnition.
Whatmadeitstandout,though,wastheviolent
twist;carscouldbemountedwithRPGs,machine
gunsandflamethrowers.Thismodernremakehardly
deviatesfromthatsetupatall,andthatspartofits
appeal.Thepower-upsandexplodingbarrelsthat
littereachtracksupporttheanarchic,arcadefeel
andmakeitseemlikeagenuineblastfromthepast.
Thathalcyoninfluenceextendstothelightnessof
thestorytooentertheDeathRallycontesttodraw
outthechampionknownasTheAdversaryand
thenmostlyleavesyoutoit.Winmedalstoboostyour
fame,earncashandunlockmorecars,weaponsand
missions.Thatisntsobad,butitendsupundermining
thestructureofthegametoo.Therearenoleaguesor
formalladderstoclimb;justaseeminglyrandom
selectionofeventsfromwhichtochooseuntilyoufill
yourFamemeterenoughtounlockthenextbatch.
Theresultofthis,coupledwiththeinabilityto
customiseyourownracesintolongermatches,isthat
theentiregameisbasicallyalonggrindthroughshort
andverydisposablecontent.Theresnopunishment
forfailingarace,youjustdontgettoupgradeasmuch,
andtheresonlyrarelytherewardofnewcontent.Its
likebeingonatreadmilllotsofeffortandspeed,but
norealforwardsmovement.
TheslimnessandsimplicityofDeathRallys
approachonlymakesitmorevitalthatitspitchperfecttoo,especiallysinceitaimsmainlyforlaughs
withitsraftofcharacters.Therearecameosfrom
AlanWakeandDukeNukem,forexample,aswell
polishedfromtheearliermobilere-release,therest
asabunchofAmericangamejournalists,bafflingly.
ofthegameisjustthesameandPCgamesrequire
Noneoftheserolesfeelsasthoughithasanymeat
differentfeaturestothoseofmobilegames.Without
though;therearejustacoupleofshoutedone-liners
longerracesoramoreformalisedstructure,what
andalotofwastedpotential.
mightfeelaccessibleandbite-sizedon
Thecynicswithinusalsosuspectthe
aphonefeelsshallowandoftentedious
journalists(noneofwhomweknow)were
onaPC.Themoment-to-moment
includedasmarketingtoolstogenerate
gameplayisstillfunandthemultiplayer
coverage.Wecantfaultthegameforthat,
isasgoodasanytop-downracerweve
butwecancertainlyraiseaneyebrow.
seenbutwithoutbeefiercontent,Death
However,themainproblemisthat,
Rallystrugglestoremainrelevant.
OVERALL
JOE MARTIN
whilethegraphicshavecertainlybeen
60
WorldMags.net
November 2012
87
Cliff Harris
Why gaming AI sucks

nalmostanydiscussionofbig-name
PCgames(orevenindiegames),at
somepointsomeonesaystheAI
sucks.Sometimestheyreright;there
arecertainlygamesthathaveverypoorAI,but
inmanycasesthecomplaintisunjustified,
andIcanthelpfeelingsomesympathyforthe
poorAIcoderwhoisonthereceivingendof
gamersire.Imgoingtotrytoexplainwhy
youshouldfeelsorryforthemtoo.
01
AI IS JUST PL AIN HARD
Artificialintelligenceisatermbandied
aboutsocasuallythattheimplicationisthat
itsasolvedproblem,andeveryoneknows
howtoimplementconvincingAI,ifonlythey
couldbebotheredtotaketimeoutfromeating
doughnutslongenoughtodoso.
Infact,AIisanincrediblyhardandbroad
problem,andwereonlyjuststartingto
scratchthesurfaceofit.Thetermartificial
intelligencehasntevenexistedforthatlong,
andwerestillexperimentingwithwaysto
approachit.
GathertenAIprogrammerstogetherina
room,andyoullhavetendifferentapproaches
tosolvingthesameproblem.Youmightthink
thatstrueofallaspectsofgamecoding,but
AIisespeciallydivergent.
Graphicsprogrammerscanatleast
(generally)agreethatrenderingpolygonsin
batchesusingtexturemapsisthewaytogo.
AIcodingapproachesdivergeoverthebasic
principles.Therearestillnoclearwinnersin
solvingAIproblems.
AI ISNT SE XY
02 Gamershavebeenknowntophysically
whoopatthesightofamazinggraphicsand
very-high-particle-countexplosioneffects.
PeopleevencheeredatthephysicsofHalfLife2,butIcantrecallanyeventwherea
wholecrowdphysicallygaspedatthe
effectivenessoftheAIinagame.
Inshort,AIisntconsideredtobeafeature
thatopenspeopleswallets.Quitesensibly,
88
Big-namegamesaremarketedon
thebasisoftheirgraphics,butitsvery
difficulttoshowAIinascreenshot
November 2012
businesstypeswhofundgameswanttofund
oneswithwowfactor.Thesedays,that
generallymeansgraphics,notAI.
throughslongenoughtoshowthecapability
oftheAI.Thelatterisreallyonlyapparent
whenyouretheplayer.
TAKES TIME TO SPOT AI

03 ITTheAIinCompanyofHeroesisfairly
MANAGERS DONT EASILY

05 GET
AI
good,butyoudontrealisethatuntilyouve
playedquitealotofthegame.Yourfirst
impressionwillbethegraphics,thesound,
theuserinterfaceandthemechanics.After
yourtenthskirmishgame,youmighttipyour
hattotheAI,butfromagamesindustrypoint
ofview,atthatpoint,youveeitherboughtthe
gameoryouhavent.
AImight(atbest)beafeatureyoumention
tofriendsafewweeksafterbuyingthegame,
butitisntafeaturethatyoucaneasilyputon
thebox,whichbringsusto
Itsamazinghowmanyindustrypeoplein
suitsdontactuallyplaygames.Itsalsoquite
depressing,butthefactremainsthatthe
graphicscodercanturntotheirbossandsay,
CheckoutthecoollightingeffectIaddedthis
week,whereastheAIpersonhastosay,I
improvedthepath-findingandtargetselectionalgorithmthisweek,andunless
theirbossisplayingthegameforoverthree
hoursaday,theyllhavetotaketheAIpersons
wordforit.Asaresult,theAIisgivenlower
priority,asmallerCPUbudgetandfewer
programmerswanttheAIjob.Itshardtopitch
forapromotionwhenmanagementdoesnt
reallyunderstandyourjob.
YOU CANT SHOW A

04 SCREENSHOT
OF AI
Youcantshowascreenshotofsoundeither,
sosounddesignersdeserveoursympathy
too.However,wearentlivinginanageof
retail-boxsalessomuchnow.Thesedays,
thereareYouTubetrailersthatcanshowoff
musicandsound,butthemajorityofsurfers
onlywatchshorttrailersanddemos,notplay-
HAVE CRA ZY
06 WE
E XPECTATIONS OF AI
Thepopularpath-findingalgorithmforRTS
gamesiscalledA*.Itsagreatsystem,butit
breaksdownundercertainsituations,oneof
whichiswhatyoumightcallanelongatedC.
WorldMags.net
ReckonyoucouldplayHearts
ofIronIIIbetterthantheAIat
itsbest?Wedoubtit
ThebackoftheboxforDawnofWarII:Retributionits
areal-timestrategygame,butthereisntasingle
mentionoftheAI
ImaginetheletterCstretchedrightandleft
sothatitdescribesanelongatedcavernor
tunnelblockedattheleft.Nowimagineaunit
ontherightofthescreennavigatingtoa
positiontotheleftoftheletterC.A*willbe
convincedfora longtimethatheadingleftis
thebestroute,rightupuntilitreachestheend
ofthecavernandhastorethink.Whenunitsin
RTSgamesdothis,orspendagesthinking
howtoavoidit,wethinktheyrestupid.
Thisseemsstupid,butwefallforittoo.
Infact,anotherindiegamedeveloperand
myselfexperiencedthisproblemtryingtofind
ahotelonenight(Iassureyouweweresober).
Wewalkedforagesthroughafairlydodgylookingpatchofwastegroundtowardsour
destinationbeforerealisingtheoppositeend
ofthewastegroundwasblockedoff;wethen
hadtoretraceoursteps.Therewewere,
supposedlyintelligentgamecoderswithover
70yearsofcombinedexperience,andwe
couldntevenbeatA*inreallife.Butifarobot
scoutinanRTSdoesthis,peopleshoutattheir
monitorindisgust.CuttheAIsomeslack.
WE HAVE THE
07 SOMETIMES
OPPOSITE PROBLEM
AnyonewhoplaysamultiplayerFPSalotwill
havebeenaccusedofusingwallhacksor
aimbotsatsomepoint.Itisntfuntoplay
againstanopponentwhosmuchbetterthan
you,andgivesyounochance.Theproblemis,
sometimestheAIreallycanmasterthegame
betterthanyou,especiallyinturn-based
gameswheretheCPUhastimetomullover
itsstrategy.DoyouthinkyoucouldplaySim
CityorHeartsofIronbetterthantheAI?I
doubtit.Humansaregreatatsnapdecisions
andpatternrecognition,butwesuckat
masteringextremelycomplexsystemswe
justdonthavethememory.Sure,someofus
werockatchessbutchesshas64squares.
HeartsofIronIIIprobablyhas64differentunit
locationsinIslingtonalone.
Basically,sometimestheAIistoogood,
whichisjustasannoyingasnotbeinggood
enough.Thatsweetspotisextremelyhard
tojudge.Notonlythat,butgamersbecome
activelyannoyedifthegamecheatsupor
downtoadjusttotheirplayinglevel.AIis
damnedifitloses,winsorjugglesthe
numberstomakeitanevenmatch.
AI HAS NO CONSISTENT
08 PL
ATFORM
Oneofthereasonsgamedeveloperslove
consolesisbecausethehardwareisfixed.If
thegameworksfineonthedevkit,itprobably
worksfineonyourconsole.Withgraphics,
evenonPCs,youcanchoosethetenmost
popularGPUs,trythegameonallofthem
andworkthroughanybugs.However,with
AI,thehardwareyouneedtotestagainstis
effectivelytheplayingstyleandbrainofthe
player,andwith100,000players,thats
100,000differentsetups.Nobodyhasthe
samestrategy,tactics,expectations,reaction
times,motivationsandskilllevels.Thesame
WorldMags.net
AIcodewillkickoneplayerintothedust,get
slaughteredbyanotherplayer,andbetotally
bamboozledbytheapproachofathird.
NO HARDWARE SUPPORT
09 WhenIwasyoung,andwecommuted
toworkonhorses,therewasnoconsensus
aboutgraphicsrendering.Thenvarious
hardwaremakersdecidedpolygonswerethe
future,andmadededicatedgraphicschips
thattookthepoly-pushingburdenofftheCPU.
Later,somecleverclogsdevisedshadersand
movedevenmoregraphicscodetotheGPU.
DoyourememberwhenallthatspareCPU
horsepowerwasallocatedtoAI?NordoI,but
nobodydevisedspecialhardwarefortheAIto
makeitfastereither.Soundgetssoundcards
anddedicatedon-boardchips,multiplayer
hasLANcardsandnetworkchips,graphics
getGPUs,butAIhastositinthecornerand
looklonely.Inshort,spareathoughtfortheAI
coderthenexttimeyoufeelfrustratedwith
gamingAI.GettingAIrightisatoughjob.
CLIFF
HARRIS
istheone-mancoding
wizardbehindPositech
Games(www.positech.
co.uk),thedeveloperofGratuitous
SpaceBattles
@cliffski
November 2012
89
theengineroom
Rick Lane
Thiefwasoneofseveral
classicPCgamesbased
ontheDarkEngine
SystemShock2s
hardwareacceleration
showedtheDark
Engineslimits
The Dark Engine
The underlying tech of PC classics such as Thief: The Dark Project and System
Shock II, the Dark Engine ushered in a revolutionary new portal system
hestoryofLookingGlassStudios
isfamiliartomostlong-timePC
gamingenthusiasts.Alistofsomeof
gamingsmostrecognisednames,
includingWarrenSpectorandKenLevine,
plustitlessuchasThiefandSystemShock,
conjureupimagesofagamedevelopment
Utopia;ateamofyoung,ambitiousartists.
Similarly,whenpeopletalkaboutthe
studiosDarkEngine,thesameaspectsof
theenginearealwaysemphasisedthe
amazingsounddesign,theadvancedAI,
andtheingenioususeoflightandshadow.
Nodoubt,thesefeaturescametodefine
theDarkEngine,justastheydefinedits
flagshipgameThief:TheDarkProject.But
theoriginoftheengineisafarmorecomplex
andfrequentlymisunderstoodtalethathas
moretodowithQuakeandPortalthanthe
ideaofThief.Youoftengetthisnarrativethat
therewasthisskunk-worksproject,and
thenthisskunk-worksprojectturnedinto
thisawesomegame,saysSeanBarrett,a
formerprogrammeratLookingGlassand
themanresponsibleforcreatingthe
90
November 2012
graphicsrendererthateventuallyevolved
intotheDarkEngine.
Thisisntwhathappened,althoughthe
now-legendaryenginedidstartlifeasa
seriesofproblem-solvingexperimentsin
3Dgraphics.BarrettjoinedLookingGlass
duringthelatterstagesofSystemShocks
development,partlyoutofhisappreciation
fortheUltimaUnderworldgames.While
workingonthesquad-basedshooterTerra
Nova,Barrettbegantoresearchanenduring
problemofgraphicsenginesinhisfreetime.
CertainpeopleatLookingGlassalways
hadthisidealthatitwouldbegreattodoan
RPGwheretherewasanindoordungeon
environment,butalsoanoutdoorwalkabout
environmentinfirst-person3D,sothatwas
ourGrailinasense.Someofuswerealways
thinking,Ah,thatwouldbeawesome.Lets
doanUnderworld3somedayandmaybedo
itindoors/outdoors.
Thesolutionlayinanideacalledportal
rendering.Ratherthanhavingaseamless,
completelyrenderedindoor/outdoor
environment,whichwasdifficulttoperform
onhardwareofthetime,thoseenvironments
wererenderedseparatelyandconnectedvia
portals.Itlooksliketheresjustaconnection
betweenoutdoorsandindoors.Beinginthe
interiorspaceandlookingattheoutdoor
spacelookscontiguous,butunderthehood
theresarenderingenginethatsdoingmuch
morecomplicatedjobstobridgethegap
betweenthosetwoareaswithportals.
Ultimately,theportalconceptwasnt
usedinthismanner,butithelpedtosolve
severalotherproblems.Portalscould
significantlyimproveperformanceinindoor
environments,astheyreducedtheareathat
neededrenderingatanyonetime,and
allowedforbuildingswithmultiplestoreys.
Perhapsmostimportantly,portalrendering
enabledthecreationoflevelsnotbasedona
grid.TheUnderworldsandSystemShock
actuallyhadagrid,saysBarrett.
Everythingwasbasedonthesesquare
tiles.Theyhadangledwallsbuttheangles
werelimitedtotheanglesthatmatched
thegrid,soonly45-degreeangleswere
possible.Insomeofmysparetime,Itook
WorldMags.net
ANALYSIS
TheanglesofthewallsintheSystem
Shockgameswerelimitedtothose
thatmatchedthegrid,soonly
45-degreeangleswerepossible
thatideaandtriedtomakethetestbedfor
that.Anditworked.
Oncefreefromthegrid,theproblem
thenbecamehowtocreatelevelswith
thisengine.Barrettbeganworkingwith
designer/programmerDougChurchon
arudimentaryleveleditor.Withsome
assistanceviaprivateaccesstoJohn
Carmack,ConstructiveSolidGeometry
(CSG)technologywasimplemented,
enablingconstructionoflevelsusingsolid
objectsratherthandefiningthoseobjects
individuallythroughtheirvertices.
TheniDreleasedQuakeTestabasic,
playableversionoftheQuakeengineused
to testitonabroadrangeofmachines.
QuakeTesthadthistechnologycalledlightmapping,whichwestilluseinmodern
games,andmeansthatasinglepolygoncan
havedetailedshadowsacrossit,Barrett
explains.Weprettymuchimmediately
turnedaroundandstartedtoputlightmappingintoit.Thatsreallyimportant,
becauseThiefisabouthidinginshadows.
Atthispoint,LookingGlasshadacuttingedgegraphicsengine.Infact,itwasso
impressivethatwhenWarrenSpectorsaw
it,hewantedtoreleaseagameusingit
immediately.However,LookingGlasswas
adesigncompany,notatechcompany.
Consequently,itwasanothertwoyears
beforetheenginemadeitspublicdebut
withThief;forthefirst18monthsofits
development,thiswasbasedonArthurian
legendandcalledDarkCamelot.Frustrated,
BarrettleftLookingGlassattheendof1996,
althoughhecontinuedtoworkforthe
companyonandoffuntilitsclosurein2000.
Thedelaywasaconsequenceofeveryone
elseatLookingGlasswantingtopushthe
boundariesofmanyotheraspectsofengine
andgamedesign.Forexample,TheDark
ObjectSystem,createdbyMarcLeBlanc,
wasapowerfuldatabasethatmanagedthe
propertiesofin-gameobjectsandthe
relationshipsbetweenthem.Once
unitssuchasascreamsor,inthecaseof
Thief,theclashofswords.Again,thiswasa
novelandcomplexwayofusingsound,and
itrequireddesignerstobuildasecondary
databasethatrepresentedhowsound
emanatedthrougheachlevel.TomLeonard,
themanresponsibleforcodingThiefsAI,
admittedin1999thathedidntrespond
quicklyenoughtothechangeindirection
fromDarkCamelot.
Theendresultwasagamecrammed
withnewideas,butgraphicallytwoyears
outofdate.Thisbecameespeciallyclearin
SystemShock2,thefirstDark
EnginegametobehardwareTHE UNDERWORLDS AND
acceleratedonly.Thecoretech
SYSTEM SHOCK HAD A GRID;
Idmadeusingthoseportals
turnedouttonotworkvery
EVERYTHING WAS BASED ON
wellinhardware-accelerated
THESE SQUARE TILES
rendering,recallsBarrett,or
itworkedfinebut didntscale
completed,itgavethegamesdesigners
verywelltolargerpolygoncounts.The
significantcreativepowerwithouthavingto
Quakeengineturnedouttoworkbetteras
relyonprogrammerstocodeinchangesand
youscaleduptolargerpolygoncounts.
newfeatures.However,gettingittothat
AlthoughthiscausedproblemsforDark
stagewasalong,hardprocess.
Enginegamesatthetime,itmayalsohave
Similarly,theDarkEnginesmostfamous
benefitedtheminthelongrun.Graphics
feature,itssounddesign,wasoriginally
dontimprovewithage.Forlastingappeal,a
designedasamethodofcommunication
gamemustrelyonotherfactors.Asthetech
betweenAIunitsandfromtheplayertothe
wasworkablewhenLookingGlassstarted
AI.ThisenabledtheAItoactinamorehuman
onDarkCamelot, theteamcouldfocuson
manner,forexample,respondingto the
thoseotherareas,whichiswhyThiefand
playersfootsteps,noisesmadebyotherAI
SystemShock2remainsoengaging.
WorldMags.net
November 2012
91
PC BUILDING
Assembling the various building blocks of your rst
rst PC can be a daunting task
if you dont know how it all goes together. Long-serving PC builder
Ben Hardwidge shows you how its done
skabattle-scarredPC-buildingveteranwhetheritshardto
buildyourfirstPC,andyoumaybegreetedwithgrizzlytales
offiddlingwithjumperswitches,hidingribboncablesand
spray-paintingcases,followedbyalectureabouthowmuch
easieritisnow.Youwerentthere,man.Tobefair,PCbuildinghas
definitelybecomeeasierovertheyears,butthatdoesntmeanyoucan
justthrowtogetherallourElitelistparts(seep24)andexpectittowork.
Theamateurinstallstheirgraphicscardandmemoryinthewrong
slots,endsupwithajungleofcablesblockingalltheairflowandthen
short-circuitsthemotherboardwhentheypushthepowerbutton.It
doesnthavetobethiswaythough.Followouradviceandyoullnotonly
helptopreventcomponentfatalities,butwillalsobeabletoputtogether
anexpertlybuiltPCthatlooksliketheworkofaseasonedpro.
GETTING STARTED
Holdonthere!Beforeyougetyourhandsdirty,compileyourspecslist.
Givingyouafoolproofbuyingguideforyourexactrequirementsis
beyondthescopeofthisfeature,butaskwhatyouwantfromyourPC.
OurElitelisthasplentyofideasforvariousbudgetsandrequirements.
92
November 2012
Whenyouvesettledonthebasicspecsthestoragecapacity,CPU,
graphicscard,amountofmemoryandsoon,youllneedtomakesure
thattheyllallworktogether.Forexample,makesureyouhavea
motherboardthataccommodatesyourchosenprocessorcheck
thechipset,aswellasthesocket.Verifyeverythinghere,asitspossible
tomakeallsortsoferrors.Forexample,somemotherboardsare
optimisedforkitsofthreememorymodules,ratherthansetsoftwo,
andyoucantfitanATXmotherboardinamicro-ATXcase.
Oncethecourierarriveswithallyourboxesofgoodies,unbox
everything,layitoutonatableandthinkabouthowyouregoingto
assembleit.Youllneedtomakesureyouhaveallthecablesneeded
tohookupyourdrives(powerandSATA);thenremoveyourcasesside
panelsandtestfitafewpartssoyoucanseewhereeverythingwillfit.
Dontbetemptedtooverlookthisstage.Youllneedtoworkoutthe
orderinwhichtoinstallyourpartsbeforefittingheatsinksorrouteing
cables.Holdthemotherboardoverthecasesmotherboardtray,and
thinkabouthowyouregoingtogetthevariousplugsfromthepower
supplytotheirappropriatesockets,forexample.Onceyouhaveagood
feelforwhereeverythingisgoing,youcanstartconstruction.
WorldMags.net
CUSTOMISATION
APPLY TIM
Thisgoo,alsoknownasTIM
(thermalinterfacematerial),isthe
thermallyconductivegunkthat
youspreadbetweenyourCPU
anditscooler.Thismightseempointless,given
thatyoureessentiallyputtingtwometalsurfaces
together,butneitherofthesesurfaceswillbe
completelyflat,andtheyllalsohavemicroscopic
poresthatactasheatinsulators.
TIMbasicallyfillsinthegaps,ensuringthatthe
majorityoftheheatfromallareasofyourCPU
reachesyourcooler.IfyourCPUcooleralready
hasasquareofthermalmaterialonthebasethen
theresnoneedtoapplyTIM.Ifitdoesnt,however,
youllneedtoapplysomeTIM.Asimplewaytodo
thisistojustplaceablobinthemiddleofyourCPU,
andthenrelyonthepressurefromyourCPUcooler
tospreaditacrosstheCPU.
However,youllachieveamoreevenspreadby
placingasmallblobofTIMonyourCPUsheatspreader,puttingyourfingerinsideaclear
plasticbagandthengentlyspreadingitacrossthesurfaceofyourCPUsheatspreader,
workingitintothemetal.Youcansafelyskipthisstepifyourheatsinkorwaterblockhas
apre-appliedsquareofTIMonthebase.Ifyouaccidentallyspillanyonthecontacts
underneaththeCPU,oranywhereelse,youcancleanitupusing AkasaTIMClean(4.78
fromwww.scan.co.uk)andalint-freecloth.
01
02
INSTALL THE CPU COOLER

BACKPLATE
DontplacetheCPUinthe
socketyet.Yournextjobisto
takealookatyourCPUcoolers
mountingmechanism.Manyof
thesewillrequiretheinstallationofabackplateon
theundersideofyourmotherboard,andturning
overamotherboardcontainingaTIM-coveredCPU
isarecipeforamess.
Thisyear,wevedeviatedfromourusualchoice
ofastandardaircooler,andinsteadchosento
installoneofCorsairsexcellentall-in-oneH100
liquidcoolers.However,theprincipleforeitheris
thesameinthisstep.Readtheinstructionsthat
accompanyyourcoolerforyourspecificCPU
socket.Ifitrequiresabackplatetheninstallthis
nowand,ifappropriate,secureitonthetopofthe
boardinordertopreventitfromslipping.
01
Intheory,buildingaPCdoesntrequire
muchinthewayoftools.Infact,you
couldbuildaworkingmachinewith
somenimblefingersandaPhillips
screwdriver.However,therearealso
plentyoftoolsthatwillnotonlymake
thejobeasier,butalsoenableyouto
buildaneatandtidyPC.
CABLE TIES
Youcanbuyapackof100blackcable
tiesfromwww.scan.co.ukforjust
83p.Theyllenableyoutokeepyour
cablesoutofthewayofairflowpaths
andslots,whilealsomakingyourPC
lookasthoughitwasassembledby
anexpert.
WIRE CUTTERS
Apairofwirecuttersmakesitreally
easytosnipcabletieswithout
damaginganywires.Failingthat,a
pairofsharpandthinnailscissorswill
alsodothejob.
NO 2 PHILL IPS-HEAD
SCREWDRIVER
ThisisthePCbuildersequivalentof
a knifeandforkyoureallywontbe
abletobuildaPCwithoutthistool.Its
wellworthinvestinginamagnetictippedscrewdriverforthis,asitseasy
tolosesmallscrewsinfiddlyplaces.A
ratchetscrewdriver,whichenables
youtoturnitanti-clockwisewithout
looseningyourscrew,willalsomake
thejobquicker.
SNUB-NOSE PL IERS
02
Unlessyourelucky
enoughtohavenonslipmetalthumbs,a
pairofsnub-nosepliers
willbeessentialwhenit
comestoremovinganypartsthat
havebeenmachinedintoplace.In
particular,theymakeremovingreadyfittedstandoffsmucheasier.
94
WorldMags.net
November 2012
93
INSTALL THE
MEMORY
Thenextstepdependson
yourchosenCPUcooler.
Somelargeheatsinks,
particularlythosewith
big,forward-facingfans,canmakeinstalling
memoryapainiftheyreinstalledfirst.This
wasntaproblemwithourH100sCPUblock,
soweinstalleditfirst;however,withlargeair
coolersitswisetoinstalltheRAMfirst.
Mostoftodaysmotherboardssupport
dual,tripleorquad-channelmemory,which
enablesthememorycontrollertointerleave
thebandwidthbetweenmultiplememory
modules,resultinginfastermemory
performance.IntelsLGA2011systems
supportquad-channelmemory,whichcan
beboughtinfour-DIMMkits,whilemost
othersystemssupportdual-channel
memory,availableinsetsoftwomodules.
AssumingyouhavetherightRAM,you
needtodeterminewhichslotswillenable
dualorquad-channelmode.Consultyour
motherboardmanualforthisinformation,
asusingthewrongslotscouldresultin
losinghalfyourmemorybandwidth.
Onceyouknowwhichslotstouse,flip
downthetwoclipsateachendoftheslot(or
justtheright-handclipinthecaseofsome
boards,includingtheAsusMaximusVGene
weused),andthenmakesureyourDIMMis
positionedtherightwayaround.EachDIMM
hasanotchonthebottomconnector,which
alignswiththenotchintheslotoneendof
thebottomconnectorwillbelongerthanthe
other.Whenitstherightwayaround,slotit
carefullyintothenarrowslotandpushit
downfirmlyfromthemiddle.Whenitsin
place,theclipswillspringupautomatically
andholdthememoryintheslot.
94
November 2012
INSTALL THE CPU

OnbothAMDandIntelsockets
therewillbealevernexttothe
socket,whicheffectivelyopens
it.Thiswillusuallybeheldinby
anotch,soyoullneedtoslidetheleverunderthe
notch,andthenliftitup.OnanIntelLGAsystem,
youllnowbeabletoopenthesocketlid.Bevery
carefulwhenhandlingtheCPUsocket(orthepins
onAMDCPUs),particularlywhenitcomesto
IntelsLGAsockets,asitonlytakesasingle
damagedpintopreventyourprocessorfrom
functioningproperly.
YournextstepistoinstalltheCPU,holdingit
carefullybytheedges.OnanAMDsystem,there
willbealargetrianglesomewhereonthesocket
andtheCPUthatdenotespin1linetheseup,
installtheCPUandthenslidedowntheleverto
holditinplace.OnanIntelLGAsystem,therewill
benotchesintheCPUsocketthatlineupwiththe
pitsonthesideoftheCPUyoushouldonlybe
abletoinstallitonewayaround.Onceitsinplace,
pushdownthelidandslidetheleverbackdown
underitsnotchtoholditinplace.
01
02
03
INSTALL THE CPU COOLER

01
Thisstepisoftenthetrickiest,so
prepareyourselfforashortburst
ofconcentrationandnimbleness,
whichmaybefollowedbynaughty
wordsandsorefingers.Thebondbetweenthecooler
andCPUhastobereallytightinordertotransferas
muchheataspossible,soitscrucialthatyou
patientlytakethetimetocorrectlyinstallyourcooler
ascrewoutofplacecouldruinthewholesetup.
Thankfully,theblockthatsincludedwithour
CorsairH100isnttoohardtoinstallitjustneeds
screwingintoplace.Whenscrewinginanycooler,
alwaysgraduallytightenupthescrewsindiagonal
pairstoapplyanevenamountofpressure.Onceyouvetightenedupthescrews
aroundhalfway,givethecooleralittlewiggletomakesuretheTIMisevenlyspread
betweentheCPUandcooler,andthenscrewintherestofthescrewsalltheway.
Ifyoureinstallinganaircoolerthatdoesnthaveafanalreadyattached,yournext
jobistoattachyourfan.Thefanneedstopullairfromthefrontofthecaseandexpelit
outtheback,somakesurethefansfrontfacesthefrontoftheboard,andanyairflow
indicatorspointtowardstheback.Youcannowplugyourfanintothemotherboards
CPUfanpowerconnector.Ifyoureinstallinganall-in-oneliquidcooler,suchasthe
CorsairH100, theninstalltheCPUblockandconnectitspower.
02
WorldMags.net
CUSTOMISATION
INITIAL TESTING
Congratulationsyouve
constructedyourPCs
basicfoundation,solets
seeifitworks.Doingthis
nowwillsaveyoualotoffiddlingwithscrews
andcabletiesifyourmachinedoesntfireup
onceitsinthecase.Weveplacedourskeletal
systemontopofthemotherboardbox,asthis
enablesyoutoinstallagraphicscardwiththe
endofitsbackplatecorrectlyhangingoffthe
edgeoftheboard.
Itwillneedsomepowerforthisstep,so
grabyourPSU,hookingupthebig24-pinATX
powerconnectortomotherboardssocket
(weveusedanoldEnermaxPro82+here,as
allthenewPSUswereinthephotography
studioatthetime).Therewillalsobea12V
socket,normallypositionedneartheCPU.Theseusuallyhave
eightpinsoncurrentmotherboards,butmostPSUsofferflexible
variationsforboardswith4-pinsockets.Eitherway,theplugforthis
socketshouldhavealabelalongthelinesof12VCPU.
Yournextjobistoslotyourgraphicscardintothe16xPCI-Eslot
(thelongslotswithnotchesontheend)nearesttotheCPU.Asa
generalrule,thisslotalwayshasthefull16lanesallocatedtoit,
whereassomemotherboardsonlyallocateeightorfourlanesto
slotslowerdown;ifindoubt,checkyourmotherboardmanual.
Onceitsinplace,pluginthegraphicscardpowerconnectors.These
eitherhavesixoreightpins,andnormallyfeaturealabelalongthe
linesofPCI-Epower.SomePSUsenableyoutousea6-pinplugas
an8-pinplugbyjoiningupanextra2-pinplugbytheside.
01
02
Afterthat,connectakeyboardandmonitor,
plugyourpowersupplyintothemainsand
flickitspowerswitchifithasone.Atthispoint,
wealsohookeduptheradiatortoourCorsair
H100cooler,andconnecteditspowerpoints
totheCPUblockandthepowersupply.
YournexttaskistoswitchonthePC.Some
motherboards,includingourAsusMaximusV
Gene,featureapowerswitch,buttheresno
needtofretifyoursdoesnt.Youjustneedto
locatethemotherboardspowerswitchpin
headers,socheckyourmotherboardmanual
fortheirlocation.Thenplaceyourscrewdriver
betweenthetwopinheaderstoshortoutthe
connectionandswitchonyourPC.
Ifnothinghappens,disconnectthepower
andtryreseatingallthecomponents.Ifit
works,yourmachinehaspassedthePOSTphase(power-onself
test).YournextjobistopresstheEnterSetupkey(usuallyDel),
whichwilltakeyouintothesystemsBIOSorEFIsystem.
Onceyourein,trackdownthesystemsPCHealthStatussection
(itmaybecalledsomethingelsesimilartothis).Youcancheckyour
CPUtemperatureheretoensurethattheheatsinkisinstalled
correctly.AstheCPUisperformingverylittleworkhere,youcan
surmisethatsomethingiswrongiftheCPUtemperatureishigher
than50C.Ifyourprocessorisbecomingtoasty,tryreinstalling
yourCPUcooler.
Ifeverythingisfine,makesureallthefansarespinning,switchoff
yoursystemandremovethepowerconnectorsandgraphicscard.
Youcansafelyleavetherestofthepartsinplace.
INSTALL THE PSU

01
Beforeyoufitanything
inthecase,remove
bothitssidepanelsto
gainfullaccesstoall
theavailablespace.Thefirstcomponent
toinstallisthePSU,asyouwantasmuch
freespaceaspossibleforrouteingitscables.Ifyouhaveamodular
PSU,considerwhichcablesyouneedforyourcomponents,and
thenlookatwheretheplugswillneedtobeavailable.
Dependingonyourcase,yourPSUfanmayfaceeitherupwards
ordownwards,butitwillonlyscrewonewayintotheholesatthe
back.Fititinplace,andtightenthefourscrewsfromthebackin
diagonalpairs.
ThePSUisthebiggestculpritformessycables,sousethe
nearestholesthroughtotheothersideofthecasetothreadlong
02
03
powercables,andthenbringtheplugsbackthroughtotheother
sideneartheirappropriatesockets.Forexample,wethreadedthe
12VCPUpowercablethroughtheholebythePSU,routeditup
behindthemotherboardandthenthreadeditbackthroughaholeat
thetop,rightnexttothe12VCPUsocketifyoursisntlongenough
todothis,youcanpickupextensioncablesformostpowercables
fromplacessuchaswww.kustompcs.co.uk.Itsalsotimetothread
yourcasesfront-panelconnectorsbehindthedrivebaystothe
areaswheretheyllconnecttothemotherboard.
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95
CUSTOMISATION
FIT THE DRIVES

Thewayinwhichyouinstallstoragedevicesvariesbetween
cases,withsomerequiringscrewsandothersfeaturingtool-less
designs.However,therearestillsomegeneralrules.Withour
FractalDesignDefineR4,wehadtoopenthefrontdoortoaccess
thefrontofthe5.25inbays,andthenslideoffaplastic5.25inbaycoverandslideour
opticaldriveintoplace.
Whenchoosingabay,youalsoneedtoconsiderthelengthofyourSATApowerand
datacables.However,somecasesalsorequireyoutoremovetheentirefrontfascia
(seep114)andthenremoveametalblankingplatebeforeyoucanperformthisstep.
Inthesecases,whenyouveslottedinyouropticaldrive,replacethefrontpanelso
thatyoucanlineupitsbezelwiththeedge.Youllthenneedtoscrewinthedrive
frombothsides.
Manycasesfeatureremovableharddrivecages,whichmakethenextinstallation
jobeasy.However,harddrivesbecomehot,soideally,youshouldpositionthemnext
toafanwithsomespacebetweeneachonesothattheydontblocktheairflow
completely.Ifpossible,mountthedriveswiththeconnectorsfacingtherightside
panel,asthismakeshidingcablesmucheasierthiswaspossibleinourR4caseby
slidingtheharddrive
rubbergrommetsdown
anotchandturningthe
SSDaroundtheother
way.Ifyourcasehas
rubbermounting
grommets,usethese
whenmountinghard
drives,astheyabsorb
vibrationsandminimise
noiselevels.
Ifyouhavea2.5in
SSD,youlleitherneed
toscrewitintoa2.5in
to3.5inbayadaptor
(sometimesprovided
withSSDs),orusethe
alternativescrewholes
inthebottomofhard
drivebaysortheactual
2.5inbaysthatsome
casesprovide.Then
hookupthepower
connectorsandSATA
cables.Routethese
behindthemotherboard
trayifpossible,and
connectthemtothe
IntelSATA6Gbpsportsif
possible.However, the
onlydrivesthatbenefit
fromSATA6Gbpsare
newtop-endSSDs.
INSTALLTHE
MOTHERBOARD
Takealookatthebottom
ofyourmotherboard,and
youllnoticethatits
coveredindelicate
circuits,tracesandsolderpoints.Assuch,
screwingitdirectlyintoametalcasewill
resultinshortcircuits,potentiallyfryingyour
newkit.Thesolutionistousestandoffs
littlescrewswithasecondscrewholeinthe
top;theseareincludedwithyourcase,and
sitbetweenthemotherboardandcase.
01
02
03
However,notallmotherboardshavethe
samescrewlayout,soexamineyourboards
screwholeseachonerequiresa
correspondingstandoff.Inourexample,
wereinstallingamicro-ATXmotherboard
inanATXcase,andtheDefineR4includes
labelsformicro-ATXstandoffs.
Thisalsoappliestocaseswithstandoffs
alreadyfitted,asoneinthewrongplace
couldstillshortoutacircuit.Youcaneasily
removestandoffsusingyoursnub-nose
pliers,andtightenupnewonesbyhand.
Youllalsoneedtoslotyourboardsrearport
panelintoitsplaceinthebackofthecase.
Makesureitstherightwayaround,andgive
itafirmpushatthetopandthebottomto
secureitinplace.Finally,removeyourcases
backplateswhereyouplantoinstall
expansioncards,suchasyourgraphicscard.
Youcannowputtheboardinplace,taking
carenottoscrapeitagainstthestandoffs,
andscrewitin,alternatingdiagonally
betweenscrewsatthetopandbottom.
Afterthat,pluginthe24-pinATXand12V
CPUconnectors,slotyourgraphicscardinto
thetopPCI-Eslotandthenhookupitspower
connectorsjustasyoudidduringyourinitial
testing(seep95).
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INSTALL THE RADIATOR

IfyoureinstallinganaircoolerforyourCPU,
youcansafelyskipthisstep.However,ifyoure
installinganall-in-oneliquidcooler,suchasour
H100thennowisthetimetoinstalltheradiator
doingthisbeforeyouinstallthemotherboardwillmakeitvirtually
impossibletohookupthe12VPSUconnector.Yourradiatorwill
eitherhavetositinavacantfanmount,orreplaceanexistingfan,
dependingonthedesignofyourradiatorandcase.
Inourexample,weregoingtoinstallitintheroofofourDefineR4
case,whichfirstnecessitatestheremovaloftwo140mmblanking
plates.Oncetheseareremoved,youcanworkoutwheretoroute
theradiatorspowercablesideally,theyshouldfacetherightside
panel.Thenthreadthepowercablesthroughaholetothebackof
themotherboard.
YoucantheneitherhookthecablesuptothePSUs4-pinMolex
connectorsbehindthemotherboard,orthreadthembackthrough
tothefanpowersocketsonthemotherboard.Ideally,thefansneed
tobepushingairoutofthecase,sothebacksofthefansshouldbe
directedtowardsthetoporbackofthecase.
CONNECT THE
FRONT PANEL
Nearlythere!Youcannow
hookupthebuttons,lights
andportsonthefrontofyour
case.Thesewillpluginto
specificheadersonyourmotherboard,
andtheirwiresareusuallygroupedina
bundle.Manymotherboardsfeaturean
on-boarddiagramshowingwhichpinsgo
withwhichconnectors,butconsultyour
motherboardmanualifyoursdoesnt.
YoullalsoneedtohookupyourUSBports
andaudiojackstotheboardsappropriate
pins.Theseareusuallyinblocks,but
sometimestheyhaveseparatewiresfor
eachpin.Ifthisisthecase,checkyour
motherboardmanualtofindoutexactly
whichwiresconnecttowhichpins.Some
newcasesalsoincludeabigbluecablefor
hookinguptothemotherboardsUSB3pin
headers.Whentheyreallpluggedin,group
allthewiresneatlytogetherunderneaththe
board,tiethemtightlytogetherwithcable
tiesandthreadanyexcesscablebackbehind
thedrivebays.
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November 2012
Withyourcablerouteingsorted,youcanthenscrewinthe
radiator.Thisisjustacaseofliningitupwiththeoriginalholesin
yourfanmountandscrewingitin,asdescribedintheinstructions
thataccompanyit.OurR4casehasmountingholesforadual
140mmradiatorasstandard,butalsohasholesforadual120mm
radiator(liketheonewiththeH100)justlocatetheseandscrew
theradiatorintoplace.
TIDY THE CABLES

Nowthateverythingisscrewedinplace,itstimetostarttidying
upthosecablessothattheyreoutoftheway.Bunchtogether
anycablesnexttoeachother,andtiethemtightlytogetherwith
cableties.Manycasesalsofeaturehooksonthebackofthe
motherboardtray,whichareperfectfortyingpowercablestothecase,and
preventingthemfromstraying.
Ideally,youwanttohideasmanycablesaspossiblebehindthemotherboardtray,
butthereisntalotofspacebetweenthetrayandthesidepanel.Assuch,youllneed
toensurethatyouarentstackinganyofthePSUcablesontopofeachother.
Makeuseofany
availablenooks
andcrannies,and
rememberthatno
oneisgoingtolook
undertheright
sidepanel.It
doesntneedto
lookneatandtidy,
butyouneedtobe
abletoreplacethe
sidepanelonthe
case.Pullany
cabletiestight,
andthensnipoff
theendswithyour
wirecutters.
WorldMags.net
CUSTOMISATION
APPLY THE FINISHING TOUCHES

YourPCisnowreadyfor
action,buttherearestill
afewfinalstagesbefore
youcanhitthepower
switch.First,makesurethatallyourcases
coolingfanshavepower,eitherviathe3-pin
connectorsonthemotherboardorthe
4-pinMolexconnectorsfromyourpower
supply.Also,haveagoodlookoverthecase
toseeifyoucanspotanythingthathasnt
beenconnectedtheprimecandidatesareyourCPUcoolingfan
andyourgraphicscardspowerconnectors.
OurH100CPUblockcan
beinstalledinpretty
muchanyconfiguration,
but ifyoureusinganair
cooler,makesurethe
fanfacesthefrontofthe
casesothatitspushing
airoutoftheback.
Makeuseofanyspare
holesforthreadingthe
front-panelconnectors.In
ourcase,thefrontpanel
audioconnectorisnearthe
backofourmotherboard,
sowevethreadedit
throughanotherholejust
abovethePSU.
Beforeyoureplacethesidepanels,
though,youllneedtorepeatstep6tomake
surethateverythingisworking.Hookupa
keyboardandmonitorandpushthepower
button.Makesurethatallthefansare
spinning,includingthecasefans,CPUfan
andgraphicscardfan.Listenforthehard
drivestelltaleclicksandpresstheEject
buttononyouropticaldrivetomakesure
itsworking.Ifyourmachinesuccessfully
survivesthePOSTprocessthenyourereadytoscrewontheside
panels,andproceedwithsettinguptheEFIandinstallingWindows.
MakesureyourRAM
isinstalledinthe
correctslotstoenable
dual,tripleorquadchannelmode,sothat
youobtainasmuch
bandwidthaspossible.
Theinformationwill
beincludedinyour
motherboardmanual.
Thefront-paneland
SATAdatacablescan
beneatlyroutedbehind
thedrivebays,andthen
threadedbackthrough
totheirpointsonthe
motherboard.
Threadallthepower
cablesbehindthe
motherboard,and
thenthreadthemback
throughtotheotherside
toaspotclosetotheir
correspondingplugon
themotherboard.
Ifpossible,install
yourharddriveswith
thepowerandSATA
connectorsfacingthe
right-handsidepanel
ofthecasetomakefor
easycabletidying.
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99
CUSTOMISATION
CONFIGURE THE BIOS OR EFI

MostmotherboardsincludeafancyEFIsystem,
ratherthantheoldtext-basedBIOSofyore,but
youllstillneedtoconfigurethesamesettings
witheithersystematthisstage.Youcanaccess
theBIOSorEFIbypressingtheSetupkey(usuallyDel)whenyour
machinestarts,andyoullthenbepresentedwithamenusystem.
StartbyheadingtotheStandardCMOSFeaturesmenuto
checkthatallyourdriveshavebeendetected.Afterthat,gotothe
Advancedfeaturessection,whereyoushouldfindanoptiontoset
thefirstbootdevicecheckyourmotherboardmanualifyoucant
findthissettingourAsusMaximusVGenehadanentiremenu
sectioncalledBootwiththesesettings.
SetthefirstbootdevicetoCDROM,andtheseconddevicetothe
driveonwhichyouregoingtoinstallyouroperatingsystemthis
willtellthesystemtobootfromyourWindowsdisc.Ifyouhavean
SSDthenenableAHCImodeontheSATAchanneltowhichits
connected,asthiswillenableTRIMinWindowsandprevent
performancedegradation.
Whileyourehere,itsalsoworthcheckingthePCHealthStatus
sectionjusttomakesurethatyourCPUisrunningatareasonable
temperaturebelow50Candthatyourmemoryisrunningatits
correctspeedandlatencysettings.Whenyouresatisfied,insert
yourWindowsdiscandselectSaveSettings&Exit(F10isusually
theshortcutkey).
INSTALL WINDOWS 7
Youcannowsitbackandeagerlywaitforthe
magictostart.WhenyournewlybuiltPChas
gonethroughitsPOSTphase,itwillpromptyou
topressanykeytobootfromtheopticaldrivedo
this,andyoullbepresentedwiththeWindowsinstallscreen.Select
thecorrectlanguage,timesettingandkeyboardlayout,andclick
Next.Inthenextscreen,chooseCustomandselectthedriveon
whichyouwanttoinstallWindowstheSSDifyouhaveone.
Windowswillnowinstallifitrestarts,dontpressanykeytoboot
fromtheWindowsdisc,asthemotherboardcannowbootfromthe
harddrive.
01
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November 2012
OnceWindowsisrunning,installyourmotherboardchipset
driver,thestoragedriverifyouhaveoneandthenyourgraphics
carddriver.Althoughmostcomponentsincludeadriverdisc,
alwayscheckthemanufacturerswebsiteforthelatestdrivers.
NowclicktheWindowsbutton,typeDeviceManagerintothe
SearchboxandhitEnter.Findadriverforanythingsportingan
exclamationmark,preferablyviathesearchonlinefeature.Younow
justneedtomakesurethatyourPCisstable,usingastresstest
suchasPrime95fortheCPUand3DMark11fortheGPU.IfyourPC
survivesthesetestsforseveralhours,youcancongratulateyourself
onajobwelldone.
02
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
BERLIN 2012
Antony Leather checks out some of the worlds nest

nest mods displayed
on the Galileo Stage at Campus Party Europe 2012
eBIT,Computex,E3thereareloadsof
techshowsthroughouttheyearthat
bringallmanneroftechnological
areastogether.However,fewareaimedpurely
attheyoungergenerations,withaprimary
focusoninspirationandknowledge.Anotable
exceptionisCampusParty,whichtakesplace
inalternatingcitiesacrosstheglobe.
ThismonthitwasBerlinsturntoplayhost
tothethousandsofCampusPartyattendees,
manyofwhomcampedoutattheevent,which
wassimilartoagiantLANparty.Aswellas
talksfrominfluentialsuperstarssuchas
authorPauloCoelhoandSirTimBerners-Lee
,scoresofPCmodderswereattheeventtoo,
showingofftheirweirdandwonderfulworks
ofart.Onthesetwopagesaresomeofthe
finestmoddingworkwesawondisplay.
FEEL IN LUCKY, STEAMPUNK?

Steampunkisalwaysapopular themein
modding,butitwasthestaroftheshowat
Campus
Party, with several steampunk PCs
CampusParty,withseveralsteampunkPCs
drawinghugecrowds.Mostwerescratch
forum user, thechoozen
builds,butbit-techforumuser,thechoozen
(whoalsomademodssuchasCosmos
Dragon),turnedastandardCoolerMaster
ATCS840intooneofthebest-looking
steampunkprojectsattheshow(seethe
third
image). You can see more of the project
thirdimage).Youcanseemoreoftheproject
athttp://tinyurl.com/cjqamwg
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EXTREME CUSTOMISATION
ON THE FLY
ALL WHITE
Anotherfantasticprojectwas
CT700(right)byforumuser
Paladin.Itlookslikeascratch
build,butunderneaththe
illuminatedacrylicexterior
arethebonesofaCougar6XR9
case.Theshellismadeupofseveral
layersofacrylicsandwichedtogetherwithLEDs.Seethewhole
buildlogathttp://tinyurl.com/ct700mod
YoumightrecogniseWhitebyforumuseralain-s(left)from
ourpagesbeforeitsoneofthemostspectacularSilverStone
TJ-07projectsweveseen.Aswellasincredibleattentionto
detail,itsportsnickel-platedcopperpipingforthewater-cooling
systemstubing.Seemoreathttp://tinyurl.com/cq992ey
Wearentsurewhomadethis
six-leggedPC(below),butit
wascertainlyoneofthemost
interestingprojectsattheshow.
Yetagain,thismachinefeatures
amini-ITXmotherboard,with
brushedaluminiumsheets
making up the distinctive shape of a housefly.
makingupthedistinctiveshapeofahousefly.
forum user p0Pes latest creation,
Wealsocameacrossbit-techforumuserp0Peslatestcreation,
M8(above),whichhousesitshardwareinsideahugeCaseLabsM8
workstationcase.Aswellasbeingpackedwithwater-cooling
hardware,p0Pehasenviableaccesstoa3Dprinter,whichheusedto
createmanyofthecustompartsinside,aswellasascalemodelofa
GermanMaustankfromWorldofTanks.Thatisntmilkinthetubing
eitheritsactuallywhitepastelcoolantfromUKcoolingmanufacturer
Mayhems.Headtohttp://tinyurl.com/project-m8toseemore.
OFF THE WALL

Forumuserthechoozenwasalsoresponsibleforthisfantastic
Wall-Escratchbuild.AswellaslookingtruetothelovablePixar
character,theprojecthousesamini-ITXsystemandcanevenmove
around,thankstoaremotecontrolsystemandelectricmotors
poweringthetracks.Seemoreathttp://tinyurl.com/wallemod
WealsosawanamazingdeskPCfrombit-techforumuserPaslis.
Fullywater-cooled,thetopflipsopenonhydrauliclevers.Youcan
seemoreofhisworkathttp://tinyurl.com/paslis
WorldMags.net
November 2012
103
Your chance to get involved in CPC and bit-tech
NameShaneFuga
Age25
OccupationNetworkadministrator
LocationPittsburgh,USA
MainusesforPCWindows
HomeServer
LikesModding,movies,rockmusic
andanytechIcangetmyhandson
DislikesApplecomputers
CPC:Whatinspiredyoutobuild
Honeycomb,andwhydidyou
water-coolit?
Shane:I'dwantedtobuildafast
WindowsHomeServerformymediaathome
foralongtime,andItriedveryhardtofinda
sponsortoprovidethecasebutdidn'thave
anyluck.IknewIwantedittobehousedina
double-widthcasethatcouldholdalotofhard
drives,muchliketheDangerDenorMountain
Modscases.Iwonderedwhatwouldhappen
ifIusedtheaspectsIlikedabouteachofthose
manufacturers'casesandmademyown,and
decideditwouldbefuntofindout.
Ialsowantedtolearn.I'veseenlotsof
peoplemakescratchbuilds,buttheyoften
haveaccesstolotsofmaterialsand
workshopswiththelatestmachinery.I
wantedtodothesame,butmyresources
werelimitedtotabletoptools.WhileI'matit,
104
November 2012
Using hand-cut
aluminium and lasercut acrylic, Shane Fugu
created this distinctive
honeycomb-inspired
PC, complete with two
water-cooling loops
Ithought,whydon'tIseeifIcanfindasponsor
towater-coolit?Water-coolingthisproject
waspurelyfortheeyecandy.
CPC:Wheredidthenamecomefrom?
Shane:IsawthePhinixNanoTowerbyMike
Krysztofiakonbit-techearlylastyear,and
thoughtits'honeycomb'designlookedreally
cool,soIthoughtI'dgiveitashotandusethe
honeycombideaforthewindows.Ialso
wantedtofeaturesomeilluminatedhexagons
onpartofthecase,butwasneverabletodoit.
CPC:Whatspecsdidyouchoose,andwhy?
Shane:TheGigabyteGA-X58A-OC
motherboardwaschosenpurelyforits
awesomeblackandorangecolourscheme.
Icouldn'tfindanyothermotherboardatthe
timesportingthosetwocolours.Ithenchose
theCorei7-950becauseitwasthebestIcould
affordwithmybudget.WindowsHomeServer
canonlyuseamaximumof4GBofRAM,so
Ipickeda2x2GBkitofCorsairDominator
RAM,aswellasanEK-DominatorRAMblock.
IalsochosetouseanEVGAGTX460SE
GPU,asithasmorethanenoughpowerifI
wanttowatchvideosontheserver,andit
WorldMags.net
ENTERYOUROWNPCATHTTP://FORUMS.BIT-TECH.NET
SEE
MORE
ofShane'sblackandorange
HoneycombPCinthe
fullprojectlogat
http://tinyurl.com/
ProjectHoneycomb
churnsoutarespectablenumberofpoints
forFolding@Hometoo.
Meanwhile,findingagoodRAIDcard
thatwouldn'tbreakthebankwashard,butI
foundabrand-newIntelSRCSAS18ERAID
controllerforagoodpriceoneBay.Ithen
optedforsix2TBWesternDigital2TBGreen
drives.Theyonlyspinat5,400rpm,butyou
reallydon'tnoticethedifference.Luckily,I
boughtallofthembeforethefloodinThailand
in2011,whichmadethepricesskyrocket.I
havespacefortenmoreinside,soIdon'tthink
I'llneedtoupgradethecaseanytimesoon.
CPC:Whichmaterialsdidyouuse?
Shane:Ireallywantedtousesteelforthis
project,butitcosttoomuchtohaveitshipped
andIdidn'thavethepropertoolstoworkonit.
Instead,Iusedaluminiumsquaretubingfor
theframeand1/4inacrylicforthepanels.
TheacrylicpanelsweretheonlypiecesI
couldhavecuttosizeinadvance,althoughI
hadtocutallofthedesignsandholesinto
themmyself.It'sprettyeasytoworkwithcast
acrylicand,sinceIhadthesheetslaser-cut,
theyhadevenedgessoIcoulduseaT-square
andmapoutmydesignontothem.Itwasalso
veryeasytoworkwiththealuminiumtubing,
anditdidn'trequiremuchefforttocutit.Itwas
alsocheap,soIwasabletomakemistakes
withoutworryingaboutthecost.
CPC:Whatdifficultiesdidyoucomeacross
whenbuildingHoneycomb?
Shane:Thehardestjobwasfiguringouthow
SYSTEM SPECS
CPU Intel Core i7-950
GPU EVGA GeForce GTX 460 SE
Storage 1 x 320GB Western Digital Black hard drive; 6 x
2TB Western Digital Green hard drives
Memory 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1,600MHz Corsair Dominator
DDR3
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-X58A-OC
PSU 1,000W OCZ
Cooling EK-Supremacy CPU block, Bitspower GTX 460
block, EK-RAM Dominator block, 2 x EK-Multioption 250
reservoirs, 2 x EK-DCP 4.0 pump, 2 x EK-CoolStream XTC
(420), 8 x 140mm Xigmatek orange LED fans, 1 x 120mm
Xigmatek orange LED fan
106
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November 2012
105
rightspots,becausethere'snogoingback
afteryou'vecutordrilled.Measurearoundfive
timesandcutonce.AsImadealotofpartsof
thisprojectbyhand,mymeasurementshad
tobeexactlyright.Luckily,Iboughtenough
materialfortheframetomakemistakes,but
thatwasonlybecausethealuminiumwas
cheap.Imadeahugemistakeontheback
panelandcostmyselfalmost20hoursof
workbybreakingthepanelinhalf.
tobuildtheframeandensureitwassturdy.
Lotsofpeoplewhohaveconstructedscratch
buildsfromsteeloraluminiumweldedthe
framestogether,butIdidn'thaveaccessto
aweldersoIhadtofigureoutanotherplan.
ImademyownLBrackets,andusedselftappingscrewstokeepallthebarstogether.
IalsousedsomeJBWeldonthejointsto
maketheframestronger.
Anotherissuewasmakingthedoorsstay
onthecase.Drillingaholeandputtingascrew
initiseasy,butwhatifyouwanttoremoveand
replacethepanelslotsoftimeswithout
strippingthehole?Ifoundsomepoprivets
withsteelthreadsinthemandtheyworked
great.Youjustdrillahole,andthenusethe
special'pop-rivet'tooltoaddthesteelthreads.
Ialsodidn'thaveaccesstoamachineshop,
soIhadtofigureouthowtomakemyown.I
wentonlineandboughtasmall,tabletop
drillpress(whichendedupbeingmoreofa
hindrancethanahelp),and120mmand
140mmcirclecutterstocutallthefanholes.
However,thesedidn'tworkwellwiththedrill
press,soIboughtahandheldjigsawandcut
themallbyhandinstead.
Thejigsawisthemodder'sbestfriend.As
longasyouusetherightbladeforthematerial
yourecutting,it'sapieceofcake.I'veuseditto
106
November 2012
cutintoseveraldifferentcasesandpiecesof
acrylicthatvariedinthickness.
Ialsopurchaseda10inmitresaw,which
provedtobeveryuseful.Iusedittocutthe
aluminiumtubing,andIwassurprisedbyits
precision.Icutthefirstfewpiecesalittle
short,buttherestcameoutperfectlyonce
I'dworkedouthowmuchtocutit.Thisalso
provedusefulwhenmakingtheLBrackets,
whichIcutfromasinglepieceofangled
aluminium.Anotherveryusefultoolwasmy
14.4Vbattery-powereddrill,whichwasmore
thanpowerfulenoughformyneeds.
CPC:Whatdidyoulearnfromthebuild
process?
Shane:Iaskedthemoddingcommunitymany
questions,andlearnedalotonmyowntoo.
Forexample,layingoutthedualwatercoolingloopsetupwashardIhadtomake
sureIdrilledholesinthecentreplateinthe
CPC:Areyouhappywiththeendresult?
Shane:Iam,butwithhindsight,Iwould
changeseveralparts.First,Iwouldusea
singleloopandremovetheharddriveblocks.
Itsnicetohavetwoloops,butonewould
sufficeandthere'ssomuchairflowthatthe
harddrivesdon'tbecomeveryhotanyway.I
wouldalsohavetheframelaser-cutfrom
steel,ratherthancuttingaluminiumbyhand.
Iwasoffbyafewmillimetresinplaces,and
youcantellbythesmallgapsinthepanels.
IalsothoughtI'dplannedwellenoughfor
thecablemanagementbutIwaswrong.You
canseeallthewiresthatgotothecustom
temperaturemonitor(12sensors),andthat
justlooksmessy.Finally,Iwouldmakethe
entirecaseslightlylonger.Thisway,Iwouldn't
haveputthereservoirsinfrontofanyofthe
motherboardhardware,andIcouldhavea
littlemorespacetoforapush/pullradiator
configurationtoincreasetheircooling
capacity.BymakingthesefewchangesI
wouldhaveamuchbetterendproduct.
BE A WINNER!
ToenteryourmachineforpossibleinclusioninReaders
Drives,yourmodneedstobefullyworkingand,ideally,
finishedbasedintheUK.Simplylogontowww.bit-tech.netandheadovertotheforums.Once
yourethere,postawrite-upofyourmod,alongwithsomepics,intheProjectLogsforum.Make
sureyoureadtherelevantrulesandadvicestickythreadsbeforeyoupost.Thebestentranteach
monthwillbefeaturedhere,wherewellprintyourphotosofyourprojectandalsointerviewyou
aboutthebuildprocess.Fameisnttheonlyprize; youllalso getyourhandsonafabulous
selectionofprizesseetheoppositepagefordetails.
WorldMags.net
HTTP://FORUMS.BIT-TECH.NET
Weve teamed up with some of the worlds leading PC component manufacturers and retailers to
offer this great range of prizes to each lucky Readers Drives winner. If your creation is featured in the
magazine then youll walk away all three of the prizes listed on this page, so get in your entries!
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES 300R CASE

AND 550W TX MODULAR POWER SUPPLY
Totalvalue142incVAT Manufacturerwww.corsair.com
CorsairbelievesthatagreatPCstartswithagreat
case.TheCorsairCarbideSeries300Ris
acompactexpressionofthiscore
philosophy.Itpacksina
remarkablenumberoffeatures
givenitscompactdimensions,
providesbuilderswithtonnesof
roomforexpansion,andhas
amazingcoolingpotential.And,
likeallCorsaircases,itsbuilt
usingthefinestmaterialsand
finishedtothehigheststandards,
soitwillwithstandseveralyears
ofupgrades.
Justasaqualitycaseis
essentialtobuildingaquality
PC,ahigh-performance,highqualitypowersupplyisalsoavital
ingredient.BasedontheawardwinningTXV2Series,thenew
EnthusiastSeriesModularPSUsadda
modularcablingsystemforimprovedinstallation
flexibility.TXModularpowersuppliesarebuilt
usingqualitycomponents,andarerigorously
testedandqualifiedat100percentloadatan
ambienttemperatureof50Cforunmatched
reliability.Theyredesignedtoasuperior
standard,sothattheynotonlymeettheATX
specification,butalsoexceedit.Inadditionto
unmatchedquality,TXModularPSUsarealso
power-efficient,offering85percentenergy
efficiencyorhigherat50percentload.
WithaCorsairCarbideSeries300Rcaseand
550WTXModularpowersupplyattheheartof
yourbuild,youllhavethefoundationsforatruly
awesomegamingmachine.
PHOBYA MODDING KIT
Value50incVAT Manufacturerwww.phobya.com,www.aqua-tuning.co.uk
ThePhobyamoddingkitisdesignedwiththemodderinmind,offering
greatvalueformoneyandqualityproducts.ThekitincludesNano-G
12SilentWaterproof1,500rpmmulti-optionfans,whichuse
aninnovativefan-bladedesign.As
standard,thefansincludebraided
blackcablestokeepyourcaselooking
asneataspossible.Thefansarealso
suppliedwithaspecialcablethat
letsyourunthefanat5Vratherthan
12V,reducingthenoiseemitted
inordertohelpyoutobuilda
silentsystem.
Thekitalsoincludesthe
60cmPhobya3-pinMolexto
4x3-pinMolexY-cable.This
pre-braidedextensioncablegivesyouextra
routeingoptionsinyourcase,anditalsoenables
youtorunuptofourfansfromonecompatible
motherboardheader.Meanwhile,the
PhobyaSATA3cablesincludedinthekit
offerthesamegreatqualitybraidingas
therestofthePhobyarange,whilealso
securingyourconnectionwith
latchedconnectors.Aswellas
this,thekitincludesthePhobya
SlimGuideController,whichgives
youtheoptiontovarythespeed
ofotherfansinyourcase,while
thePhobyaTwinLEDsletyou
shinealightonyourmods.
WorldMags.net
November 2012
107
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
make an lED
temperature
sensor
Gareth Halfacree shows you to how to get your modding hands dirty with
an Arduino-based PC temperature-sensitive light system
rduinomicrocontrollerssuch
astheArduinoLeonardo(see
Issue109,p44)offerplentyof
possibilitiesforPCmodders,
providingpowerfulcontrolandsensing
capabilitiesinacompactandaffordable
package.Usingtheeasy-to-learnWiring
library,itspossibletoquicklycreatesome
impressivedevicestoexpandyournextmod.
Inthisguide,wellshowyouhowto
combineanArduinowithanRGBLEDanda
cheaptemperaturesensortocreatealowcost,temperature-sensitivelightingsystem
foryourPC.Withcustomisabletriggerlevels,
andat-a-glancetemperaturemonitoring,its
averycheapadditionforacustombuild.
INSTALL THE ARDUINO IDE
INSERT THE RGB LED
Before getting started on the hardware, well need

to install the Arduino integrated development
environment (IDE.) This enables programs known
as sketches to be compiled and uploaded to the chip.
Download the latest version from www.arduino.cc and
follow the installation instructions on the site.
Takingthebreadboardor stripboard,if yourebuilding

something more permanent insert the RGB LED by
splaying the legs and pushing down gently but firmly.
Make sure that the longest leg the common anode is
the third leg down as you look at it from the bottom of
the board.
CALCUL ATE THE RESISTORS

REQUIRED
INSERT THE CURRENT-L IMITING

RESISTORS
Arduino or compatible
microcontroller
USB cable
Common-anode RGB LED
3x Current-limiting resistors
(270 Ohm)
TMP36 temperature sensor
Jumper wires
Breadboard or stripboard
Allfromwww.oomlout.co.uk
110
November 2012
If youre using the recommended RGB LEDs from

open-source hardware specialist www.oomlout.co.uk,
you can skip this step, as the correct resistors are
provided. If not, use the formula R=(VsVf)/I, where the
resistance, R, is calculated by multiplying the source
voltage 5V by the LEDs forward voltage drop and
dividing the total by the LEDs rated current in amps.
For most RGB LEDs, this works out at 270 Ohms.
To prevent the LED from burning out, it needs three

current-limiting resistors of around 270 Ohms or
the value from Step 3. These should be inserted into
the breadboard on legs 1, 2 and 4 of the LED the
blue, green and red cathodes so that they bridge
the breadboards middle gap.
WorldMags.net
INSERT THE TEMPERATURE SENSOR
WIRE THE LED
The 3-pin TMP36 temperature sensor needs to be added to the breadboard now,
away from the LED. As before, splay the legs and insert them gently but firmly so that
the flat side of the sensor is pointing to the left side of the breadboard as you look at it
from below.
Take three jumper wires and connect the resistors to the Arduinos Digital Pins 3, 5
and 6. Make sure the resistors, and not the LED itself, is connected to these pins if
you bypass the resistors, the LED will burn out in a short time.
WIRE THE SENSOR
THE SKETCH
CUSTOMISE THE SKETCH
SETUP
Make sure the sensor is the right way around, and connect its middle pin to Analog
Pin 0, its top pin to 5V and the bottom pin to Ground, then connect the LEDs common
anode to its own 5V connection, all using jumper wires. If youre using a breadboard
with power rails, connect both the sensor and LED to the red (positive) rail, then
connect the rail to the 5V pin on the Arduino.
At the very top of the sketch are some variables and constants. The first set of
variables can be adjusted to your requirements. UpperTemp and lowerTemp control
the maximum and minimum temperatures (red and blue, respectively), while
changeTime adjusts how long the system waits to adjust the light colour.
The sketch required to run the temperature-sensitive lighting system can be

downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/CPCSketch. Open the Arduino IDE, then paste
the sketch into the window that appears. If you want, you can click on the tick icon to
test the sketch at this point, but dont expect the LED to light up.
Every Arduino sketch has a setup section, which runs only once when the Arduino
is initialised. In this sketch, this section sets each of the LEDs pins 3, 5 and 6 as
outputs, while instructing the Arduino to use the temperature sensors pin 0 as
an input.
WorldMags.net
November 2012
112
111
11
12
TWEAK THE SETCOLOUR FUNCTION
The setColour function, as its name suggests, gives the Arduino the know-how
it needs to control the colour of the LED by adjusting the voltage given to each of
its cathodes. As a common anode device, some of the behaviour seems a little
backwards the more voltage on each pin, the less bright the colour.
13
TWEAK THE GETVOLTAGE FUNCTION
The getVoltage function reads the voltage on the middle pin of the temperature
sensor, adjusting it as required to obtain an accurate value. This voltage is converted
to a temperature in Celsius in the main part of the sketch, providing the cue for the
colour-change operation.
14
TWEAK THE LOOP FUNCTION
The loop portion of an Arduino sketch runs continuously as long as the device has
power. In this sketch, its responsible for working out the current temperature,
comparing it to the upper and lower limits set at the start, and then mapping it to
voltages that can be applied to the red and blue pins of the LED to control the colour.
UPLOAD THE SKETCH
With the sketch entered and understood, connect the Arduino to a USB port and press
the upload button located to the right of the tick button. This compiles the sketch and
uploads it to the Arduino; at this point, it will start to run. Try holding the temperature
sensor between your fingers to see the LEDs colour change.
15
E XPANDING THE PROJECT
While this is a start, one LED isnt a flashy light system. With easy expandability into
larger and brighter lighting rigs, this is a great way to get started with the Arduino
system though. Multiple LEDs could be run from the system, either as individual units
112
November 2012
or RGB LED lighting strips (http://tinyurl.com/LightingStrips) to make the lights

brighter, but youll need to tap into the PCs 12V power supply and use transistors to
switch the voltage as per http://tinyurl.com/12VTutorial
WorldMags.net
dLAN 500
triple your network
options
NEW!
3 Gigabit LAN ports
Any power socket can

become a network point
dLAN 500 AVtriple+

Powerline adapter for connecting up to 3 network-compatible devices
Home network via the power line with transmission rates of up to 500 Mbps
Connects computers and consumer electronics to each other and to the Internet
Simple and secure; can work in any room or building
Direct connection of up to 3 devices with the integrated Gigabit switch
The integrated socket ensures that no power socket goes to waste
The Network Innovation
More information:
www.devolo.co.uk
WorldMags.net
Tel.: +44 (0)1865 244141, Email: sales@devolo.co.uk
De-rivet and
paint Your
cases insides
Following on from last months painting guide, Antony Leather shows you
how to de-rivet and paint your cases interior
astmonthwelookedatpainting
yourcasesexterior(seeIssue109,
p108),butmakingyourPClookas
goodontheinsideissignificantly
moreinvolved;youcantjuststripitbacktothe
frameandspray.Thepaintwillprobablyrunin
thecorners,andaccessingeverynookand
crannyispracticallyimpossible,asispainting
differentsectionsindifferentcolours.
Thisguideshowsyouhowtodrilloutyour
casesrivets,enablingyoutoseparatethe
varioussections,andthen spraythem.The
endresultwilllookspectacular,andyoucan
mixandmatchcolourstoo.
INSPECT YOUR CASE
REMOVE FITTINGS
LOOSEN THE FASCIAS
REMOVE THE FRONT FASCIA
Before you hit the local DIY store, make sure your case
is easy to dismantle, and work out how youll do this.
Some cases have an overly complicated layout that
can make dismantling them tricky. After that, consider
colours. Your case has various sections and areas for
details such as expansion slot covers and drive bays.
These can all be painted different colours, so spend
some time planning your work for the best result.
Start by removing all the loose items from your case.

This will include tool-less drive bays, fittings for
securing components and rubber grommets. Its also
worth taking a photo of your case at this stage, and
each time you remove a few pieces, so that you know
how it all fits back together.
Wet and dry sandpaper

1,000- to 1,600-grit
Frommosthardwarestores
Dust sheet, sponge and

microfibre towel
Primer, colour and lacquer

acrylic spray paint
Pop rivet gun and rivets

www.chilledpc.co.uk
Drill, Dremel or other rotary

tool
114
November 2012
Most cases have a plastic fascia on the front panel, and

sometimes the roof, which have to be detached. Most
fascias are held on with plastic flanges that clip into the
metal frame. If you squeeze these and pull the fascia,
it should pop off. There will be many flanges, but resist
the urge to rip off the panel, as the plastic can be brittle.
The front fascia should pop off easily once youve

squeezed all the flanges theyre designed to pop
off, so you can access the front area for cleaning and
removing drive bay covers. If it doesnt budge, check
there arent any screws holding it in place, or cables
from the front panel or fan controllers in the way.
WorldMags.net
REMOVE THE TOP FASCIA
REMOVE THE FANS
REMOVE RUBBER GROMMETS
REMOVE FAN FILTERS
REMOVE SCREWS AND FEET
DRILL RIVETS
In our case, the top fascia included the bunch of cables from the front panel. These
may well be cable-tied to the case or to each other, meaning that youll have to detach
them first. There may also be fan control modules attached to the case anything
thats screwed to the frame must be removed.
Most modern cases sport rubber grommets, either on the motherboard tray or at the
rear of the case, for easy and stealthy cable routeing. These must also be removed,
along with your cases rear expansion slot covers. Even if you plan to paint them the
same colour as your case, its best to remove them you can make sure they receive
a complete coat of paint if you spray them separately.
Our Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced hid further screws and fittings under the case
feet and rubber sound-absorbing pads. Be sure that you check over your case for
concealed areas such as this, especially if you cant find a way to remove the case feet
or PSU cage.
With the fascias removed, youll find it easier to reach the fans. You need to remove
all of them dont be tempted to spray around them. You can spray them separately if
you want to paint them too. While youre here, also remove any fan grilles or shrouds.
Fan filters can lurk in dark corners and between panels. Remove these too, but
store them carefully, as theyre quite fragile and easily punctured. Rubber generally
doesnt accept paint very well another reason to remove grommets from your case.
However, many filters are made from plastic or metal, and these can be sprayed with
a light coat if youre careful not to plug the holes.
You can now locate and drill out the rivets that hold your case together. Using a drill bit
slightly larger than the rivets inner ring, press firmly on the drill to eat into the rivet
until it pops through to the other side. You should be left with two pieces one on each
side of the case. If the rivet is still in place after drilling, try a slightly larger drill bit. If
116
you get stuck halfway, you could be drilling into the case, so try a smaller drill bit.
WorldMags.net
November 2012
115
11
12
USE PL IERS
We found that numerous rivets actually started to rotate as we drilled into them,
cancelling out our efforts and simply spinning in place. If this happens, use pliers to
grip the other end of the rivet so that the drill can bite into it. Alternatively, using the
same drill bit in a Dremel may also work, as theres less torque.
13
DISASSEMBLE YOUR CASE PARTS
15
November 2012
SAND THE PARTS
As with painting the outside of your case, youll achieve the best finish if you sand
the components first. This can be quite laborious, as the parts are smaller and more
angular than side panels. To do this, use 1,000- and 1,600-grit wet and dry sandpaper.
Wash the parts thoroughly when theyre smooth, then allow them to dry.
16
You can now apply the first coat primer. If you can, hang the components from a
suitable place while you spray them. This enables you to spray both sides at the same
time, which will be quicker; it also means that youre less likely to end up with lines at
the edges where the paint from both sides meets. Use sweeping strokes over each
section to prevent the paint from running, and apply just one or two passes.
116
If some rivets arent accessible with a drill, use a Dremel with either a drill bit or a
flexible attachment to reach into tight spots. Alternatively, a metal file can wear down
one edge of the rivet, enabling you to eventually pull it out. Cutting off the distorted
end also works, as does using a hammer and flat-head screwdriver to chisel it out;
however, its easy to scratch the surrounding metal so be careful.
14
Youll probably be surprised by just how many separate pieces are contained in your
average case. Once youve removed all the rivets, you should be able to dismantle the
case right down to its bare components. If you feel unsure about remembering what
goes where, you can always label the parts just remember to remove the label when
you paint each component, and then replace it afterwards.
APPLY PRIMER
USE A DRILL OR DREMEL
ALLOW TO DRY AND SAND
Allow the primer to dry for around ten minutes, sand it lightly to obtain a silky-smooth
finish and then wash the section to remove the dust. Repeat this step for four or five
coats of primer, until you can no longer see the colour underneath, and allow it to dry
thoroughly before proceeding with the next step.
WorldMags.net
17
18
SMALLER COMPONENTS
To spray smaller components, a cardboard crate or box makes an ideal mini spray
booth, although youll have to spray one side at a time. Its even more important not to
apply too much paint at once here doing so will make the paint run and fill any holes
for details such as text or logos.
19
You can now apply the colour coat four or five coats should do it. If the finish isnt
quite what you expected, try sanding each coat, as with the primer. This can also solve
issues such as insects or dust becoming trapped in the paint. Once youre happy with
the final coat, leave it to dry overnight.
20
APPLY L ACQUER AND ALLOW TO DRY
The next day, apply the lacquer. Dont sand this layer; instead, apply it liberally so that
it flows together, but only apply one or two passes between drying phases. Lacquer
can take at least a day to harden properly, so leave it to dry for as long as possible.
Putting your case back together will invariably result in the odd knock or scrape,
and this will gouge right through unhardened lacquer.
21
USE THE CORRECT RIVETS
APPLY COLOUR COAT
ARRANGE YOUR COMPONENTS
Arrange your components in roughly the same order you dismantled them this
will help you to put everything back together in the right order. This is particularly
important before riveting if you install any parts in the wrong order, youll have to
drill the rivets again, which will risk damaging your paintwork.
22
Rivets are available in many sizes, but they need to be the same size as the holes into
which theyll be inserted. If theyre too small, they wont hold the panels together,
leading to instability we used 3mm rivets. You may also need countersunk-head
rivets instead of the usual dome-head type these sit flush in a recessed hole.
GET THE RIGHT RIVET HEADS
A rivet gun will be compatible with most rivet sizes, but you may need to use
different heads depending on the size of rivets. Use a head through which the tail of
the rivet can pass with room to spare it shouldnt be a tight fit. Attach this head to
the rivet gun.
WorldMags.net
November 2012
118
117
23
24
PREPARE YOUR RIVET GUN
Insert the tail of the rivet into the rivet gun. When you squeeze the two handles
together, the tail will be gripped and pulled by plates inside the gun, distorting the
head and eventually pulling off the tail, leaving a neat rivet in place. Practise on a
small nut or spare piece of metal first so that you get the hang of it. Youll often need
to squeeze the gun twice for the rivet to be formed and the tail to snap off.
25
START ASSEMBL ING THE CASE
Assemble the cases base and rear panel. They should slot together with the rivet
holes lining up. Its best to do a mock-up assembly first some rivets may need to go
through three layers, meaning that three components will need to be lined up, which
isnt easy to foresee if you go headfirst into riveting.
26
START RIVETING
Push firmly against the case and make sure the rivet has passed through both the
sections to be locked together. Squeeze the gun hard it may need a fair amount of
force. The rivet head should deform and become a nobbled shape on the far side.
Squeezing the gun for a second time will cause the tail to snap off. If it doesnt, try
squeezing then fully releasing the handles, or removing it with pliers.
INSTALL THE FITTINGS
If youve removed any tool-free fittings, replace these before you assemble the drive
cages and the rest of the case. Dont be tempted to install the drive cages completely
outside of the case you may not be able to fit them back in.
27
28
YOURE DONE
ASSEMBLE AND INSTALL DRIVE CAGES
Leaving the drive cages until last, if possible, will make your life much easier. Make
sure you assemble them in the right order, and so that your hard disks will be facing
the right way its very easy to get these the wrong way around. Also, some areas
of your case, such as the drive cages, may well use slightly smaller rivets, so dont
worry if the ones youve used on the rest of the case dont fit.
118
November 2012
Check the case one

final time to make
sure that you havent
missed any rivet holes,
then assemble the rest
of the fittings, such as
expansion slot covers
and rubber grommets.
Your case is now ready
for its fascias to be
fitted.
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
for the
win!
WIN! A Fractal Design

Define R4 case
WORTH 90 EACH
fyoulikeyourPCtolooksmartandstylish
thenyoumayhavetakenafancytoFractal
DesignsDefineR4(seeIssue109,p42),and
wedontblameyouitsalovely-lookingcase.
Italsoboastssuperbbuildquality,withasolid
combinationofsteelandplastic,anda
lustworthybrushed-aluminiumfrontfascia.
Itsquiettoo,withthefoam-linedside
panelshelpingtodeadenfannoise,anditcan
Q
120
accommodateboth120mmand140mmfans,
soyoucanpushplentyofairthroughthecase
withouthavingtorunyourfansatsillyspeeds.
Thecaseincludesanintegratedthree-speed
(5V,7Vand12V)fancontrollerhiddenbehind
thefront,andtheresapairofUSB3portson
thetop-mountedfrontpanelaswell.
Meanwhile,theresplentyofroomfor
decenthardwareinside,includingclearance
WhatdoesATXstandfor?
a)AcceleratedThreadedXeon
b)AdvancedTechnologyeXtended
c)ArmouredTankXylophone
November 2012
UP FOR
GRABS
foraCPUcoolerwithaheightofupto170mm,
androomforeight3.5indrivesinthestandard
cages;theresalsoafurtherpairof2.5in
mountsbehindthemotherboardforSSDs.
FormoreinformationabouttheDefineR4,
visitwww.fractal-design.com
Tobeinwithachanceofwinningoneof
thesefantastic,stylishcases,answerthe
questionbelow.
Email your answer to
competition@custompc.co.uk
with Fractal Design Competition 110 in the Subject line.

Closing date: 12 October, 2012
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
Letters
Send us your feedback and correspondence to

editor@custompc.co.uk, with Letter in the Subject line
TOUCH-SCREEN MEDIA PCs
TheOrigenX15eperfectforaself-containedmedia
PCinahi-firack,butitstouch-screendoesntsupport
Windows8smulti-touchgestures,anditsanightmare
tobuildinside
Given that Windows 8 has proper

touch-screen functionality built in,
what are the chances of seeing a
Labs test of some media cases in the mag?
Surely these must now be a more attractive
proposition than in the past. I see your sister
website (bit-tech) has featured the Origen
X15e case in one of the blogs recently. It
looks good and Id love to see a full review
in the magazine.
Andrew Levick
Ben replies: We actually reviewed the
Origen X15e a very long time ago back in
2006 if I recall correctly. It was originally
called the DigN X15e, but its exactly the
same case. Its touch-screen isnt multitouch either, so it doesnt work well with
Windows 8 in fact, it doesnt support any
of the touch gestures at all (Ive tried it).
I bought one when it was released, and
it makes for a really good self-contained
media PC for example, its perfect as a
lossless audio jukebox in my hi-fi rack, and
I also use it to record TV too.
However, it also has its frustrations
its a total nightmare to build inside, for
example. The Windows 8 touch features are
really much more geared towards tablets
than media PCs, but were definitely still
keeping an eye on the media centre PC
business, and will be including a full feature
on it next month (see p127).
SOL ID STATE OF DISK

Im currently looking into upgrading my PC
for the first time in years. Ive upgraded the
odd part as time has gone by, but now SSDs
are becoming cheaper and since my
brother wont stop bragging about his
speeding up his computer Im considering
122
November 2012
my options. I would need at least 512GB

though. I use four 1TB hard drives for data
as well, but will an SSD make much of a
difference? Also would it be possible to just
copy whats on my hard drive to the SSD or
am I looking at a clean install?
Nicholas Lambourne
Ben replies: Youre definitely looking at a

clean install, as youll need Windows 7s
TRIM command to prevent your SSDs
performance from degrading over time.
Youll also need to make sure its running
in AHCI mode in your motherboards BIOS,
and install the latest Intel storage driver.
Its definitely worth it though the speed
difference is phenomenal. A 512GB OCZ
Vertex 4 currently costs 330 from www.
ebuyer.com good luck!
LOOPY LOOPS
I just received the latest edition in the post
today, and I spotted what looked to me like a
mistake with the mini-ITX water build. On the
Get a kick out of pointing out the shortcomings of others?

Its okay so do we
JAMES IS FALL ING APART AT
THE SEAMS
OneforPedantsParadise:Imvery
impressedthatJamesGorboldonp130
hasmasteredusinghisPCasasewing
machine:tweakingandoverlockingPCs
sincetheearly80s.Hashetried
overclockingthemtoo?
AaronMartin
PRICEY STICKEMS
45forStickemsscreencleanersseemsa
tadexcessive.
SteveRahr(viaFacebook)
INITIAL THOUGHTS
InyourPedantsParadisecolumnin
Septembersmag,younotedthatHDMI
isanacronym.HDMIisntanacronym,
becauseanacronymisawordthats
createdfrominitials(suchaslaseror
scuba).HDMIisinfactaninitialism(see
theOxfordEnglishDictionarywebsite).
PatrickClark
WorldMags.net
FEEDBACK
Was
Follow us on Twitter at @custompcmag

Shouldbe
XSPC 680 waterblock, the feed in and feed

out have been connected on the same port,
which means that theres no flow for the
GPU. Ive attached a photo.
Richard Poulter
Ben replies: I originally passed this on to
Antony to reply, but all I got was a bunch of
expletives in return! Yes, youre quite right
we apologise for any confusion this may
have caused.
HOW YOU TEST

In Issue 108, you reviewed the Gigabyte
GA-Z77-D3H with the 3.2GHz Core i7-3770K
and 8GB of 1,600MHz Corsair RAM.
However, in the How We Test section, you
say you test Intel LGA1155 motherboards
with a Core i5-2500k and 4GB of 1,600MHz
Corsair RAM. Although the memory size
may not have much effect on the
benchmarks, does using a better CPU
still make it directly comparable to other
motherboards reviewed? This makes it
slightly confusing for a recent subscriber,
such as myself, because during the review
you compared the D3H to the MSI Z77A-G43,
so Im not sure which CPU was used to
benchmark the G43.
Sam Tan
Ben replies: Sorry for the confusion, Sam
this is completely our fault for forgetting to
update that part of the How We Test page.
Rest assured that the G43 was indeed
tested with a Core i7-3770K and 8GB of
1,600MHz Corsair RAM, as are all the
Z7-based motherboards weve reviewed.
@DL8BBHowdoIgetissue109
inGermany?Idliketoreadabout
howtobuildaSinclair#ZX81from
scratch.Myfirstcomputerever.
Ben:Yourbestbetistopickupthe
digitalversionfromhttp://gb.zinio.
com,whereyoucanbuymostofour
recentbackissues.Issue109willcost
you3.50
@pageinarageTodayyoushould
bedoingultimateheatsink
testingGulfTowninthesun![senton
18August]
@BiggKennyIsitbesttohavemy
PSUfacingupordown?Ihavea
meshundermyPCandlegsmeaning
theresagap.
Ben:Italldependsonthecaseandthe
designoftheairflowsystem,butyour
PSUshouldonlygoinonewayaround.
Ifyourcasehasameshanddecent
ONE DAY, THE CORE i5 WILL BE

IN RETRO TECH
Ive just finished reading Issue 109, and Id
like to say first off that the best article was
Retro Tech. To put that kit into perspective,
its nine years older than me, but still pretty
cool. I remember when I was a little tiny
human, with the old PC that my granddad
had acquired from the power station at
which he used to work.
I recall using Windows
3.1, and having to
remember DOS
commands to search
for files and install
games, and this was
back when I could
barely write my
own name. Its
strange to
think it took me
WorldMags.net
legs,thenhavingthefanfacing
downwardswillbenoproblemforit.
@mbazalukManagedtodigout
myoldZX81amonth
ago#StillWorking#RockSolid.
@RealAaronMyersWelldone
onthereturnofJamesGorbold;
muchbetterthanthecolumnit
replaced.
Ben:Wevehadafewcommentssuch
asthis.IreallyenjoyedRabs
contributionwhilehewashere,but
ImverygladtohaveJamesbackon
boardtoo.
@TheHarryButlerWanttohelp
decidewhichgames@
CustomPCMagand@bittechusetotest
graphicscardsandmotherboards?
http://tinyurl.com/
CPCGraphicsBenchGothere!
nearly 15 years before I built my own PC.

I fear the day that I go into my room, open
my drawer and find my current Core i5 and
remember how it was once the top CPU,
when PCs had CPUs. Or motherboards. Or
components. Is this a fate that any lifelong
dedicated computer fan must face? I look
forward to more retro tech next issue. Keep
up the good work.
Michael Maher, aged 23
Ben replies: Now thats
food for thought one
day we probably will
look back at todays tech
with a nostalgic eye.
Were really glad you
enjoyed Gareths article
he certainly enjoyed
building the old ZX81,
despite the soldering!
November 2012
123
WorldMags.net
Join our folding team and help medical research
WHAT IS FOLDING?
Folding@homeusesthespareprocessingcyclesfromyourPCsCPUandgraphicscardsformedicalresearch.Youcandownload
theclientfromhttp://folding.stanford.edu/download.htmlandourteamsIDis35947.Onceyoupassasignificantmilestone,
youllgetyournameinthemag.Youcanalsodiscussfoldingwithusandotherreadersonthewww.bit-tech.netforums.
We catch up with folder of the month: Abomin81on

CPC:Sowhoareyouandwhatdoyoudo?
Abomin81on:My name is Mike Jorgeson,
and Im a coastguard rescue officer for HM
Coastguard. I also work with adults with
learning difficulties.
CPC:Whydidyoudecidetostartfolding?
Abomin81on:Id read about it inCPC, and it
stuck out as something in which Id like to be
involved. However, Id been running the same
hardware since 2005, and I wasnt sure how
much of a contribution I could make, so I put it
on the back burner. I built a new system at the
beginning of 2012, though, and decided to
give it a go.
CPC:Whatexcitesyoumostaboutfolding?
Abomin81on:Id be lying if I said the points
mean nothing. We all like big numbers and
climbing up tables. I like comparing the
points that Im producing to those of the
people around me too, although I find it more
of a motivational tool than a competition. The
main factor is actually using my hardware for
something useful.
CPC:Whatmachinesdoyouhavefolding?
Abomin81on:Im down to just one machine
at the moment a Core i5-2500K at 4.5GHz
with a GeForce GTX 560Ti. The processor can
run a little faster, but my rig is air-cooled and
running 24/7, so I take it easy on the clock
speed. Ive had to cannibalise two older rigs to
keep other peoples PCs up and running, and
I can no longer use my PS3 for folding.

However, I recently noticed that FingAZ was
pumping out an impressive number of points,
and hit the bit-tech forum to ask what
hardware was being used.
There was a post from FingAZ about the
HP Cloud Service (HPCS) private beta, and
I immediately signed up, enabling me to
produce a lot more points. My points dropped
after the HPCS private beta ended, but Im
now looking at building at least one more rig
to pump out more points. Im considering
multiprocessor options vs a couple of Ivy
Bridge setups. Im also currently using
Windows 7, but Ill probably change over to
a Linux-based system next.
CPC:Anytipsforfellowteammembers?
Abomin81on: The forum is your friend. Ive
found info there that meant I didnt need to
ask questions. Id also advise not putting it
off I wish Id started years ago.
CPC:Whatsyourworstfoldingexperience?
Abomin81on:Initially it was the lost gaming
time. I couldnt bring myself to play games
when my machine was pumping through
the work units. It turned out great in the end,
though, as it gave me more time for meeting
up with friends, and activities such as
kayaking, instead of gaming.
CPC:Andthebest?
Abomin81on:Hitting the milestones is nice,
but the best experience is checking the

project numbers, and seeing how Im
helping, no matter how small a part I play.
CPC:Isthereanythingyoudchangeabout
yoursetup?
Abomin81on:I might install a water-cooling
system the PC can be a little loud at 3am
when Im trying to sleep.
Teamrank157
Worldrank5,596
Score5,757,210
Workunits1,397
Dailypointsaverage27,368
TOPFOLDERS
Thismonthsshout-outsgoto
SyLvEsTeR20007,kirk_hobson,fatchefand
Slowlemon.Ifyoufoldunderanyofthese
names,emaileditor@custompc.co.uk
126
WorldMags.net
November 2012
125
MILESTONES THIS MONTH

Username
Points
milestone
Username
Points
milestone
Username
Points
milestone
Username
Points
milestone
Ayeska
20000
LboroSlider
80000
Munky
700000
kirk_hobson
3000000
Dalunar
20000
RandomDecoy
80000
Osiris_Blue
800000
ricky_eke
3000000
DoMiNiuS
20000
anadir2
100000
SkyTsar
800000
droyden
4000000
Padsta
20000
BaskB
100000
boiled_elephant
900000
Slowlemon
4000000
Skulldragon
20000
jpostlethwaite
100000
CheeZee73
900000
Abomin81on
5000000
Bob_D
30000
pipnina
100000
lazyhazie
900000
luckybfocus
5000000
pitprop
30000
th3_F15T
100000
the_kille4
900000
SyLvEsTeR20007
5000000
Berkan
40000
YoutubeBelgium
Press
100000
beads
1000000
Keith_Chung
6000000
Halldor
40000
bigg
200000
Ben_Lamb
1000000
debs3759
7000000
Anselm
50000
ForGrace
1000000
Dolphin(CPC)
7000000
Forquare
50000
GandalfDDUK
1000000
John_Naylor
7000000
GJBriggs
60000
Number14
1000000
kirk_1701
7000000
matthewj25
60000
yes
1000000
big-bert
8000000
Rrruby
60000
8Core
2000000
Serpentine
8000000
SzLvEsTeR20007
60000
Desertbaker
2000000
dd
9000000
TheManicGibbon
60000
Little_Willie
2000000
jona
9000000
breadbin123
70000
LittleTodden
2000000
Scorpuk
9000000
llb443
70000
DarrylJacobs
3000000
_Fanatic
10000000
matthewedward
cornish
70000
Fly_Boy_Rez
3000000
pompeyrodney
10000000
Rykard_Maximus 70000
tompdb
FlamingWolfman
126
November 2012
70000
80000
BordenGrammar
School
200000
Detsawm
200000
rjcman
200000
bbnsol
300000
JimmyMcRees
300000
MalecAndBrinn
300000
ReDeamer
300000
weebob
400000
Filce
500000
SourDipRaita
500000
maxrealism
600000
TokerRizla
600000
toxic43
600000
THE NEXT OVERTAKE

World Team name
rank
Points
Daily points
average
Time until
overtake
CustomPC&
bit-tech
5,547,093,710
3,954,159
17
HewlettPackard
1,876,758,760
4,690,809
13.7Years
WorldMags.net
TOP 20 OVERALL
Rank
Username
enigmo
Lau_Gar
Points
milestone
20000000
20000000
PlasmaBomb
20000000
Sean_Hayes
20000000
Slavcho
One_Box
Nelio
Christopher_N._
Lewis
Wallace
30000000
50000000
60000000
90000000
90000000
TOP 20 PRODUCERS
Username
Points
Work units
Rank
Username
Dailypointsaverage
Overallscore
Dave_Goodchild
385,685,763
107,682
Nelio
419,144
61,338,565
DocJonz
248,333,863
140,957
DocJonz
360,490
248,327,084
phoenicis
223,349,417
93,954
91,790,950
zz9pzza
211,014,628
15,794
Christopher_N._
Lewis
194,454
4
5
coolamasta
199,248,901
141,496
Lizard
131,598,973
60,078
StreetSam
106,943,250
72,267
CustomBitChimps
94,376,547
46,589
Wallace
91,817,783
5,708
10
Christopher_N._Lewis
91,790,950
32,362
11
Nelio
61,386,571
30,217
12
BennieboyUK
61,286,969
3,107
13
fir3x
59,469,269
9,015
14
saspro
57,534,603
45,372
15
One_Box
52,864,476
7,248
16
Standin_wave
51,114,756
33,634
17
The_M2B
49,969,387
37,297
18
PS3/LanDi
48,446,611
86,309
19
greenfrog.biz
47,768,712
20
Lordsoth
46,365,376
coolamasta
179,810
199,230,927
One_Box
164,326
52,859,694
Dave_Goodchild
144,390
385,672,562
fir3x
101,292
59,460,417
Lordsoth
94,335
46,351,446
Wallace
93,595
91,817,783
10
The_M2B
81,843
49,961,857
11
Scorpuk
78,437
9,204,068
12
PC_Rich
77,587
44,091,377
13
SyLvEsTeR20007
71,573
5,063,652
14
_Fanatic
70,526
11,521,655
15
LordBadger
66,253
32,575,248
16
kirk_hobson
59,964
3,146,249
17
fatchef
59,087
15,112,566
18
Slowlemon
54,599
4,482,624
163,014
19
Ben_Lamb
48,039
1,769,128
52,804
20
Keith_Chung
47,121
6,035,166
Coming next month in

Graphics cards
Mod your CPU
Build an HTPC
Replace your GPU fan
WanttostopyouroverclockedIvy
Bridgechipgettingsotoastyatfull
load?Antonyshowsyouhowto
replaceIntelsbudgetthermalpaste
andreduceyourCPUstemperature.
NowthatAMDandNvidiaslatest
generationsofGPUsareinfull
swing,weregoingtotestallthemidto-high-endGPUsonanewsuiteof
teststoseewhichdeserveyourcash.
Fedupwiththehissywhinecomingfrom
yourgraphicscardscooler?Wellshow
youhowtosafelyreplacethefanonyour
graphicscard,enablingyoutolivein
peaceagain.
HometheatrePC,mediacentre,
whateveryouwanttocallit.Weregoing
totakealookatthecurrentbest
hardwareoptionsforbuildinga
PC-basedhomeentertainmentbox.
On sale 18 October, 2012
*Pleasenotethatthesestoriesaresubjecttoproductdelays,kitnot
turningupandtheamountoftimespenttryingtosortoutconsistently
accurategamebenchmarksforgraphicscards.Wishusluck!
WorldMags.net
November 2012
127
Intel 440BX
Arguably the rst chipset that could be called a classic,

Ben Hardwidge recalls Intels rst mainstream chipset
with a 100MHz bus
omeonBen,really?Amotherboard
chipset?Itisntexactlysexy,isit?Its
okay,Iknowmotherboardchipsets
rarelyreceivetheinappropriate
droolenjoyedbynewgraphicscardsand
processors,butImgoingtomakeaspecial
exceptionfortheIntel440BX.Itsachipsetthat
wassogoodthatIntelfailedtobetteritfor
severalyears.Callitaclassicifyoulike.Its
thechipsetthatchangedeverything.
HopintheHGWells-styletimemachine,
completewiththespinningumbrellaatthe
The440BXa100MHzFSB,widespreadcompatibility
back,andletstravelbackto1998.Intels
andanenviablelifespan
slot-basedPentiumIIiscurrentlytheking
ofitsprocessorline-up,butthisrangehas
toa133MHzfrontsidebusandfurther,and
previouslybeenstuckwiththe440LXchipset.
technologiessuchasquad-pumpingto
ThefirstPentiumIIprocessorsuseda66MHz
multiplyit,butevennow,aCorei7-3770Kstill
frontsidebus,whichwasfinewhentheywere
hasabaseclockof100MHz.
released,becausethesupportingSDRAM
Perhapsthebiggestsellingpointfor440BX,
IntelsPentiumIIIprocessorswerejustashappywith
DIMMsand440LXchipsetalsoonlyuseda
however,wasitslongevityandstability.When
440BXastheirPentiumIIpredecessors
66MHzfrontsidebus.Thisallchangedwith
IntellaunchedthePentiumIIIthenextyear,
the440BX,whichfirstbroughtusthe100MHz
thechipsusedthesame100MHzbusand
RambusRDRAMmodules.The820snew
frontsidebus.
chipsetastheirpredecessors.Itbecamea
hardwareconfigurationalsobroughtawhole
Thespeeddifferencewasincrediblea
standard.Ifyouboughtanewgraphicscard,
newloadofcompatibilityproblemswithit.
350MHzPentiumIIonlylooked17MHzfaster
youcouldguaranteeitwouldhavebeentested
Thiswasaballs-upthatbackfired
thana333MHzPentiumIIintermsofpaper,
properlyona440BXchipset.Thesame
massively.Noenthusiastwanted810,
butits100MHzFSBactuallymadeit
becausetheywantedtoplaygames,
amazinglyquicker.However,inorder
buttheyalsoobjectedtotheoutlay
WE ASKED IF WE COULD JUST
toobtainthefullspeed,youfirst
requiredfor820.Instead,weaskedif
OVERCLOCK A 440BX BOARD AND wecouldjustoverclocka440BX
neededIntelsnew440BXchipset,
andyoualsoneededtobuyPC100
boardandrunthenewchipsonthat
RUN THE NEW CHIPS ON THAT
(100MHz)memory.Thiswasabig
instead.Itturnedoutthatwecould.
changeforthoseofuswhohadntreally
couldntbesaidforalltheothermany
NewsupportingBIOSesweremadeavailable
consideredmemoryspeedbeforeyou
chipsetsavailableatthetime.
formany440BXmotherboardstosupportthe
mighthaveconsidereddifferenttypesof
Thebigchancefor440BXtoproveitself,
newCPUs,andwestuckheatsinksonthe
memory(inthiscaseEDOorSDRAM),but
however,camewhenIntellauncheditsnew
chipsetstohelpthemcope440BXwasreally
thespeedwasalwaysthesame.Nowitwas
rangeofCopperminePentiumIIIchipswith
thefirstusefullyoverclockablechipset.
importanttohavememorythatmatchedthe
a133MHzfrontsidebus.Twosupporting
Notonlydid440BXgiveusthe100MHz
availablebandwidth.
chipsetswerelaunchedthe810,whichused
busandwidecompatibility,butitalsoeven
Amazingly,thisbasic100MHzclockhasnt
SDRAMbutdidnthaveanAGPslot(using
survivedaCPUerathatitwasntsupposedto
massivelychangedsincethen.Sure,weve
Intelintegratedgraphicsinstead),andthe820,
support.Ihaventseensuchawidelyadored
hadprocessorsandchipsetsthatraisedthis
whichhadtheAGPslotbutrequiredcostly
chipsetsince.
PhotobySwaaye
128
November 2012
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
james gorbold
WHATS IN
A NAME?
James Gorbold ponders how tech products
are named, and what those names imply
ackwhenIwasafull-timejournalist,oneoftheITindustrys
quirksthatamusedmethemostwastheapparentlychaotic
andnonsensicalwaythatmanycompanieswentabout
namingnewproducts.
Agreatexampleofconfusingnamingisthebrand-newGeForce
GTX660Ti(seep36)thatNvidialaunchedthismonth.Theproblemfor
NvidiawasthattheGTX660Tiistotallyunlikeitsforebears,theGTX
460TiandGTX560Ti;thesewerenewlydesignedGPUsthatdelivered
awesomeamountsofperformanceforlessthan200.Asaresult,
theywereNvidiasbiggest-sellingenthusiast
graphicscards.
Incontrast,theGeForceGTX660TiisaGTX
670TiwithsomeoftheROPs,textureunitsand
thememorycontrollerdisabled.Thisresultsin
asmallperformancereductioncomparedto
theGTX670Ti,plusapricetagthatsaround
50cheaperat240.So,despitetheGeForce
GTX660Tibeingsensiblypriced(forits
performance),itwasgivenanunwelcomereceptionbymany
enthusiastswho,basedonpreviousexperience,expectedittobea
newGPUthatcostlessthan200.
WithmoreGeForce600-seriescards,suchastheforthcoming
GTX660andGTX650,waitinginthewings,Nvidiahasbrokenitsown
namingconvention.Tobemorespecific,bylabellingtheGTX660Tiin
thisway,Nvidiahasgotitselfintoabitofapickle,asitcannolonger
usethewell-establishedpracticeofusingtheGTXx60Tinameforits
highest-volumeenthusiastgraphicscard.
Nvidiacouldhaveavoidedthisunfortunatesituationbynamingthe
GTX660TitheGTX665Ti,butananonymoussourceatNvidiatold
methatthecompanydidntdothisbecauseitwasworriedabout
associatingtheGTX660TiwiththewoefulGTX465.However,having
conductedastrawpollamongagroupoffriends,mostofthem
couldntevenremembertheGeForceGTX465probablybecause
Nvidiamadeandsoldfewofthem.
However,nowthatIworkintheITindustryandhavebeeninvolvedin
thenamingofseveralproducts,Ihavealittlemoresympathyforother
peoplewhohavetodothesamejob.Forexample,Iwasrecently
taskedwithnamingScansforthcomingrangeofgaminglaptopsthat
someofyoumayhaveseenindemosattherecenti46gamingLANin
NewburyovertheAugustbankholidayweekend.
Thetroubleisthat,thisbeingthe21stcenturywithhundredsof
yearsofindustryalreadybehindus,itcanbe
astruggletofindasuitablenameforyour
productthathasntalreadybeenusedby
anothercompany.Intheend,wedecided
tocallallthelaptopsGraphiteandusewhat
Ihopewillbeaneasilycomprehensible
modifiertodifferentiatethevariousmodels.
However,Illleavethatinthecapablehandsof
theCustomPCreviewteamtodecide,should
itwanttoreviewanyoftheunitswhentheyreavailable.
Thatsaid,ImstillnotsureitsagoodideaforInteltoinsiston
labellingeveryenthusiastCPUaCoreandcallingIvyBridgeCPUs
ThirdGenerationCore,blithelyignoringthefactthattherehavebeen
farmorethanthreegenerationsofCore-brandedprocessors.Italso
continuestobafflemethatIntelsprofessionalrangeofXeonCPUs
aresosensiblynamed,yetitsenthusiastCPUsareseeminglynamed
almostatrandom.
By labelling the GTX

660 Ti in this way,
Nvidia has got itself
into a bit of a pickle
130
November 2012
JamesGorboldfellinlovewiththeoriginalIBMPCintheearly
1980sandhasbeenbuilding,tweakingandoverclockingPCsever
since.HehaswrittenanarticleinalmosteveryissueofCustom
PCandnowhelpsScanComputerstodevelopnewsystems.
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net

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INSIDE: NVIDIAS NEW GEFORCE GTX 660 Ti REVIEWED

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

PSUs from 500W

HOW TO: MAKE AN LED TEMP SENSOR

Prices correct at time of going to publishing (29th August 2012).

Welcome to Issue 110

Publishing & Marketing

Dennis Publishing Limited

DONT TRY THIS AT HOME

Welcome to Issue 110

Assembling the various

Reviewed this month

Scan 3XS FT03 Nanu

PSU Labs test

8 From the editor

104 Readers drives

Antec Earthwatts EA-550 Platinum

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

from the editor

Isnt that really dangerous?

In Tudor days, the

Save our Dark Souls

Joe Martin talks to Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki

We take a look at the latest

OCZ VERTEX 4 PRICE CRASH

ASUS UNVEILS HIGH-RES

new gaming experience

For more information: www.pny.eu

We revisit the exciting world of spintronics, following recent research

Gareth Halfacree looks at the latest mobile hardware

Our choice of the best hardware available

PRICE (inc VAT)

Issue 108, p36

Issue 98, p34

AMD A8-3870K Black Edition

Issue 103, p38

4GB Crucial Ballistix Sport PC3-12800C9

Issue 100, p96

Gelid Tranquillo Rev.2

Issue 100, p86

Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 530W

Issue 110, p55

500GB Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002

Issue 104, p72

Issue 99, p108

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Issue 75, p46

TOTAL SYSTEM PRICE

Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB Hard Drive

An amazing storage drive for the price!

5,900 rpm Spin Speed

SOLID STATE DRIVE

PRICE (inc VAT)

SilverStone Raven RV03

Issue 103, p70

Issue 108, p38

Intel Core i5-3570K

Issue 106, p36

8GB Patriot G2 PGD38G1600ELK

Issue 106, p40

Arctic Freezer i30

Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB

Issue 105, p40