Computer Shopper - April 2016 UK

8/19/2019 Computer Shopper - April 2016 UK

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Reviews • Advice • Projects • Opinion • News

p143

Q 46 processors from £21 Q 6 hard disks from £40

Q 12 motherboards from £25 Q 6 PSUs from £65Q 7 graphics cards from £128 Q 6 cases from £35



C ntrol M S S



W ELCOM E PAGE

C T AC U SEditor Chris Finnamore [email protected]

FeaturesEditor Seth Barton [email protected]

NewsEditor Katharine Byrne [email protected]

SeniorStafWriterMichaelPassingham [email protected]

SeniorStafWriter Richard Easton [email protected]

DESIGN

ArtEditorColin Mackleworth

WHENWINDOWS10 certain tasks it’s a cool one million CONTRIBUTORS

Bill Bagnall, Gareth Beach, Mike Bedford, Ian Beeridge,

came out, the entire times faster than a regular PC. You can Mel Croucher, Kay Ewbank, Steve Haines, Simon Handby,Gordon Holmes, Nicole Kobie, Jane McCallion, Thomas McMullan,

Shopper team breathed read all about it on page 118. Rene Millman, Sarah Ratclie, Ben Pi, Heather Reeves,David Robinson, Clive Webster

a collective sigh of If you can forgo total power andADVERTISING

relief: Microso had would rather just have a computer Email [email protected]

banished the demons that’s small, cool and easy to manage, GroupAdvertisingManager Andrea Mason 020 7907 6662

AdvertisingManager Charloe Milligan 020 7907 6642

of Windows 8 and then you need to read our instructions COVERGIFT CONTACT

created an OS that was truly great and on how to turn your Raspberry Pi into a Chris Wiles [email protected]

SUBSCRIPTIONS

worth upgrading to. full computer on page 143. Tel 0844 844 0031 / 01795 592905 Webwww.subsinfo.co.uk

Now you’ve had time to play with it It’s been a great month for UK£44.99,Europe£70, Rest ofworld£90

PHOTOGRAPHY on your existing computer, why not technology in general, particularly as Adrian Volcinschi, Natalie Tkachuk, Svetlana Bardarska

build a brand-new computer that Ultra HD Blu-ray finally moves into LICENSINGAND SYNDICATION

you’ve designed for it? Starting on page production. With this new format, Ryan Chambers 020 7907 6132 [email protected], Reprints, Eprints: Wright’s Media 0800 051 8327

86 we’ve reviewed everything you need you’ll be able to watch lots of extremelyMANAGEMENT

to build a new computer, including high-quality films and TV shows on Tel 020 7907 6000

processors, RAM, motherboards, cases, your TV, as we explain on page 22. GroupEditor David Ludlow [email protected]

GroupManagingDirector Ian Westwood

power supplies, hard disks and SSDs. Finally, on page 124 we’ve taken a ManagingDirector John Garewal

GroupAdvertisingDirector Julian Lloyd-Evans

We’ve done our group test in a detailed look at the Minecra NewstradeDirector David BarkerFinanceDirector Bre Reynolds

dierent way, too. This time round, phenomenon. Although it tends to be GroupFinanceDirector Ian Legge

we’ve tested far more products than more popular with kids, there’s more to ChiefExecutive James Tye

CompanyFounder Felix Dennis

we could fit into the magazine, so we this game than you might think.PRINTING

can present to you only the very best Approaching it from the point of view Printed by Polestar, Bicester, Oxon

Distributors Seymour 020 7429 4000

products. The result is that you’ll easily of an adult, our guide will show youLIABILITY

be able to find the right products for what Minecra is capable of, as well as While every care was taken preparing this magazine, the publishers

your build, whatever your budget. taking you through some of the best cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information or any

consequence arising from it. All judgements are based on equipment

As good as your own PC is, the one worlds and builds it has to oer. available to Computer Shopper at the time of review. ‘Value for money’comments are based on UK prices at time of review.

thing we can’t promise you is that your Computer Shopper takes no responsibility for the content ofexternal websites whose addresses are published in the magazine.

computer will be faster than Google’s Chris Finnamore, Ed it orand NASA’s quantum computer. In

COMPUTER SHOPPER INCORPORATES UPGRADE SHOPPER,chris@ com pu t ershopper.co.u k GAMES SHOPPER, INTERNET SHOPPER, MOBILE SHOPPER, PC

SHOPPER, PORTABLE SHOPPER AND SOFTWARE SHOPPER

ADENNISPUBLICATION

QUESTION OF THE MONTH M

Computer Shopper is published by Dennis Publishing Ltd, 30 Cleveland

T

Street, London W1T 4JD. Company registered in England. All material© Dennis Publishing Limited licensed by Felden 2016, and may not be

reproduced in whole or part without the consent of the publishers.

W h ich 4K Blu-ray w ouldmak e you b uy T

H

ISSN 0955-8578

© Publishing Limited

a playe r anda ne w TV?

T

M

Copyright Dennis

Chris Finnamore Seth Barton Jet Li’s Hero – a truly My Lile Pony: Equestria

epic tale that’s full of Girls – it’s for my daughter,action and emotion honest!

David Ludlow Katharine ByrneTotal Recall (the Arnie The 1993 Super Mario

version). It’s the greatest Bros. movie, just to marvelfilm ever made at its sheer awfulness

Richard Easton Michael PassinghamBBC’s Planet Earth, for I’d love a 4K edition of the

a sense of continuity World Rally ChampionshipReview DVDs: high-def gravel! CALL 0844 844 0031

OR SEE PAGE 134

ISSU E 3 3 8 |COMPUTER SHOPPER |APRIL 20 16



Issu e 3 3 8 A ril 0 1

e a r n

13 6 Bu siness Help u r r e s i d e n t e x p e r t a n s w e r s t h o s e p e r s i s t e n t

s o w a r e q u e r i e s

R e g u l a r s N e w s

13 8 H elpfileS t e p t h i s w a y f o r a l l y o u r h a r d w a r e a n d

6 Let t ers 16 New sfile W i n d o w s p r o b l e m s

Y o u r r e g u l a r m o n t h l y m i s s i v e s o f w i t u r r o u n d - u p o f t h e l a t e s t t e c h n o l o g y n e w s ,

a n d w i s d o m i n c l u d i n g a n i n - d e p t h r e p o r t f r o m CE S 2 0 1 6 140 M u l t im ed ia ExpertP h o t o s o f s m o k e c a n l o o k a m a z i n g , t a k i n g

10 U n d erDevelopm ent 22 In Dept h o n a n o t h e r - w o r l d l y a p p e a r a n c e . W e s h o w

A t a g d o f u l l o f Ai G l o o k a l i k e s a n d a U l t r a H D 4 K B u - r a y i s fi n a l l y y o u h o w t o g e t t h e b e s t r e s u l t s

f o u l - m o u t h e d E ffi n ’ J t o d e a l w i t h a r e o n t h e w a y , b u t i s

j u s t t h e s t a r t o f David Robinson’s i t a n y g o o d ? A d 143 Ad van ced Project sp r o b l e m s t h i s m o n t h w h e n w i l l y o u b e W e s h o w y o u h o w t o t u r n y o u r R a s p b e r r y P i 2

a b l e t o g e t i t ? i n t o a f u l l c o m p u t e r , c o m p l e t e w i t h a c a s e ,

12 C yb ercop W e fi n d o u t p o w e r s w i t c h a n d f u l l o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m

I y o u ’ v e h a d y o u r c o m p u t e r a a c k e d ,t a k i n g o n l i n e r e v e n g e a g a i n s t t h e

p e r p e t r a t o r s m i g h t s e e m l i k e a g o o d i d e a

– b u t b e w a r n e d , y o u c o u l d b e b i t i n g o a

w h o l e l o t m o r e t h a n y o u c a n c h e w e a t u r e s

14 Ran t s & Raves 118 Qu ant u m LeapDavi d Ludl ow c a n ’ t b e l i e v e h o w s t u p i d Q ua nt u m c o mp ut in g m i g ht s e em b a i ng , b u t t h et h e g o v e r n m e n t i s w i t h i t s n e w s n o o p i n g technol ogy now w orks bri l l i antl y. We find out howl a w s , w h i l e Mel Croucher i s [ h a p p y f a c e ] , Googl e’ s and NASA’ s quantum computer performs[ t h u m b s u p ] , [ w i n k i n g ] , a s h e m a r k s t h e e n d some tasks one mi l l i on ti mes qui cker than yourso f t h e E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e a s w e k n o w i t

124 M inecraft : Th e G row n -u p’s Gu id e146 Zygot e It’ s the Lego-styl e bui l ding game that’ s taken the w orl dT h e s c i e n c e o f t h e b l e e d i n ’ o b v i o u s , t h e b y s t o r m , b u t M i n e c r a i s m o s t l y p l a y e d b y c h i l d r e n . I nt r a g e d y o f n o t b e i n g a b l e t o m o c k a d e a d t h i s g u i d e w e fi n d o u t h o w i t c a n a p p e a l t o a d u l t s , h o wd o g a n d t h e p r o b l e m s w i t h d r o n e s a l l c o m e y o u c a n e n j o y w h a t y o u r k i d s a n d g r a n d c h i l d r e n a r e u p t o ,u n d e r Zygote’s w a t c h f u l e y e t h i s m o n t h a n d t h e m o s t a m a z i n g M i n e c r a l o c a t i o n s y o u c a n v i s i t



R v w s G o u p T s t

8 Com o n e n t :2 4 Thi m o n t h’ ho t ro du c t Bu ild Yo u r O n PC e l l ’ s X P S 1 5 i s a s t u n n i n g W i n d o w s 1 0 p o w e r h o u s e w i t h a g o r g e o u s W i t h t h e q u a l i t y o f W i n d o w s 1 0 , t h e r e ’ s

I n fi n i t y d g e d i s p l a y . C n i t r i v a l A p l e ’ s M a c B o k P r o ? n e v e r b e e n a b e e r t i m e t o b u i l d y o u r

o w n P C b u t w h i c h c o m p o n e n t s d o y o u

n e e d ? T o h e l p y o u c h o o s e , w e ’ v e r o u n d e d

2 6 PC & La t o 5 2 Prin t e r & Sc anne r u p t h e b e s t p r o c e s s o r s ,

W i t h i t s g r e a t d e s i g n a n d f a n c y c o n v e r t i b l e Cn o n ’ s P i x m a M G 5 7 5 0 ( p 5 3 ) i s a n i n k j e t m o t h e r b o a r d s ,

d i s p l a y , A e r ’ s C r o m e b o o k R 1 1 i s o u r n e w m u l t i f u n c t i o n p e r i p h e r a l t h a t ’ s c h e a p t o r u n p o w e r s u p p l i e s ,

f a v o u r i t e C r o m e S m a c h i n e a n d p r o d u c e s g r e a t - q u a l i t y p r i n t o u t s R A , h a r d d i s k s ,

S S s a n d c a s e s .

3 2 H andhe ld 5 4 Ne t w o rk W i t h s o m e t h i n g

T h e n e P l u s 2 i s a fl a g s h i p p h o n e a t a r o c k M a k e y o u r h o m e s m a r t e r a n d c o n t r o l i t f r o m f o r e v e r y b u d g e t ,

b o o m p r i c e , a n d i t ’ s fi n a l l y a v a i l a b l e t o b u y a f a r w i t h D e v o l o ’ s H o m e C n t r o l S t a r t e r P a c k y o u ’ l l b e a b l e t o

i n v i t e - f r e e i n t h e U K ( p 3 3 ) fi n d y o u r p e r f e c t

b u i l d i n g b l o c k s

3 9 Pho t o g ra hy

T a k e S L R - q u a l i t y p h o t o s a n d s h o o t 4 Kv i d e o w i t h S o n y ’ s p o c k e t - s i z e d Cb e r - S h o t

R X 1 0 0 I ( p 4 0 ) 8 0 o u r s o f t w r e 4 2 Di la 5 8 So f w are B i n g y o u r c r e a t i v e i d e a s t o l i f e w i t h

P h i l i p s ’ n e w 3 4 i n m o n i t o r h a s c u r v e s i n a l l t h e T u r n y o u r p h o t o s i n t o d i g i t a l p a i n t i n g s a n d t h e p o w e r f u l y e t e a s y - t o - u s e T P

r i g h t p l a c e s – a n d f a n t a s t i c i m a g e q u a l i t y d r a w w i t h m u s i c a l a c c o m p a n i m e n t i n C r e l ’ s f a v o u r i t e , S e r i f P a g e P l u s X 4

P a i n t e r 2 0 1 6 s u i t e ( p 5 9 )

4 4 H o m e Cin e m aS a m s u n g ’ s J 7 5 0 0 - s e r i e s T V h a s a s u p e r b 6 0 Gam e4 K d i s p l a y a n d o n e o f t h e b e s t s m a r t T V L a r a ’ s b a c k f o r a n e w a d v e n t u r e i n t h e s n o w y

i n t e r f a c e s a r o u n d S i b e r i a n m o u n t a i n s i n R i s e o f t h e T o m b R a i d e r 6 F U L LP K G

4 7 A u dio 6 4 Be t Bu y E S

G e t t h e m o s t o u t o f y o u r L o o k i n g f o r t h e b e s t k i t w e ’ v e r e v i e w e d

h i g h - r e s a u d i o fi l e s w i t h r e c e n t l y ? I ’ s a l l i n o u r B s t B y s s e c t i o n

P i o n e e r ’ s p o r t a b l e

m e d i a p l a y e r , t h e 7 8 H o w W e Te t * F R E E S F T W A EE D I I L Y

X D P - 1 0 0 R ( p 4 8 ) u r t e s t s , r a t i n g s a n d a w a r d s e x p l a i n e d



LETTERS

6 APRIL 20 16 |C M P U T R S H O P P R |ISSU E 3 3 8

Le t t e rW e ’re he re t o he l w ih all ho e nig g l W indo w 1 0 q e rie – and ifw e c an’ he l ,one ofk no w le dg e able re ade r u re l w ill.The o nlt hing w e c an’ he l w ih i t ha Lady Gag a de k t o t he m e

0O T80TLETTERSl e e rs c om pu te rs ho pp er c o u k

“ H EROES”I wa nt to s a y a h ug e

t ha n k y o u t o C m p u t r

S o p p r a n d I an T ho mp so n f or

resolving my Windows 10

Upgrade problem

I s en t a n e ma il to h e lp

computershopperco uk in

December 2015 explaining t hat

t he Windows 10 checker s aid m y

C PU was n’t s upport ed, when it

i s I wa s p le as ed to s ee a fe ll ow

subscriber, Ian Thompson,

p os te d a r ep ly t o m y r eq ue s t f or

h e lp i n L r s , issue 3 3 7, w ith a

poss ible s olut ion Es s ent ially, he

s a id t ha t h e h ad p re vi ou sl y s e t

Data Execution Prevention

( D EP i n W in do ws 7 to a pp ly

only t o es s ent ial Windows

program s and s erv ices and t hat

s witching it t o ‘ All’ resolved his

s imilar is sue and t herefore

should resolve mine

I c he cke d a nd m y D EP wa s

s et t o es sential Windows

program s , s o I s elected t he

option for all program s by doing

t his : firs t , open Sys tem by

clicking the Start buon,

right-click C omputer and click

Properties, then click Advanced

s ys te m s e i ng s I f y ou ’r e

prompted for an administrator

password or confirmation, type

t he pas sword or confirm as

necessary Under Performance,

c li c k S e in g s a nd t he n c li ck t he

Data Execution Prevention tab,

a nd t he n c li ck ‘ Tu rn o n D EP fo r

all program s and s erv ices except

t hos e I s elect ’

I h ad t o wa it f or t he W i n do ws

10 upgrade adv isor t o check m y

s ys te m a ga in ( i t s ee ms to d o i t

o nc e a m o n th , s o I h ad t o wa it

until 1 th January , but my PC

was m arked as compatible So

m any t hanks again t o C m p u t r

S o p p r and Ian Thom pson

R o y a v i e s

ST8RM 8I read wit h interes t y our anti-virus

group t es t ( S o p p r 3 3 6 . Having

recently replaced Microso Windows

Defender with AVG’s free anti-virus

package, I was s urpris ed t o s ee AVG was

rated s o poorly According t o y our results

it has the lowes t “ prot ect ion breakdownr at in g a nd a l o w o ve ra ll “ p ro te c ti on r at in g ,

lower than Microso’s Security Essentials

Before replacing Windows Defender

wit h AVG, I had read AV-T s t ’ s r ep or t o n t he

performance of dierent anti-virus

packages, which showed AVG Internet

Security having protection performance on

a par wit h Kas pers ky L ab’s Internet

Securit y and Norton Securit y, both of

which received t op ranking in y our report

Additionally, it showed Microso’s

Windows Defender with the lowest

protection ranking, lower than Microso’s

Securit y Es s ent ials indicat ed in y our article

C learly y our report by Dennis

Technology Labs and AV-T s t use dierent

ranking s chem es however, it would be

interes t ing t o know whet her

these test methodologies

account for t he dierence

i n p er fo rm an c e I s t h e

protection oered by AVG’s

commercial and free anti-virus

packages t he s am e, and does

t he us e of Security Es s ent ials( W in do ws 7 o r W in do ws D ef en de r

( W in do ws 1 0 ) a cc ou nt f or t he d ie re nc es

In t he m eantim e, I’v e decided t o replace

AVG’s free anti-virus soware package

wit h Kas pers ky Internet Securit y, given it s

high prot ect ion ranking both in y our article

a nd t he AV-T s t report

S te p he n T r u e lo v e

O n e o f t h e b i i s u e s w i h t e s t i g s e c u r i y

s o w a e i h o w q u i k l y t h i g s c h a g e . A l l

t h e t e s t i g i e n n i T c h n o l o g y L a s u s e s

l i e v i u s e s f o u n d i t h e w i d , w i h t h e l a e s t

t e s t s t a i g p l a e b e t w e e n O c t o b e r a d

e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5 . U s i g r e a t h r e a s i g r e a ,

a i s h o w s h o w s o w a e r e a l y p e r f o r m s ,

b u t a t h e t y p e o f t h r e a s c h a g e , s o d o t h e

p r o t e c t i n s c o r e s . W h a o u r

r e s u l t s s h o w i t h a a l t h e

s o w a e o n t e s t i p r e y

g o o d a d e f e n d i g a ai s t

t h e c u r r e n t t y p e o f t h r e a s .

I n t e r m s o f w e i h t i g , w e

p l a e h i h e r r e g a d o n a p i c e

o f s e c u r i y s o w a e t h a b l o c k s at h r e a c o m p l e t e l y , r a h e r t h a o n e t h a

a l o w s i t o r u n , b e f o r e b l o c k i g a d

n e u t r a i i g i . o r t h i r e a o n , M i r o s o

W i d o w s e f e n d e r d i b e e r t h a AVG .

W c a ’ t s p e a f o r V - T est , a i s t e s t i g

m e t h o d o l o g y a d t i e o f t e s t w o u l d h a e

b e e n d i e r e n t t o o u r s , a t h o u g h w e c a

v o u c h f o r t h e q u a i y o f i s t e s t i g .

W t h i k t h e i p o r t a t t h i g t o p o i t

o u t i t h a t h e f r e e s o w a e ( AVG a d

M i r o s o ) t e n d s t o fl u c t u a e m o r e i

q u a i y , w h e r e a t h e p a i - f o r s o w a e , s u c h

a Ka p e r s k y , h a b e e n r o c k s o l i f o r y e a s

o n e n d . A s s u c h , w e r e c o m m e n d f r e e

s o w a e a a b a e l i e d e f e n c e , b u t t h e

u p g r a e y o u m a e t o Ka p e r s k y w i l

d r a a i a l y i p r o v e y o u r p r o t e c t i n .

S arle t t e r

W ’ r e g l a t h a I a ’ s i f o r m a i n

h e l p e d a d t h a y o u ’ r e n o w

r u n n i g W i d o w s 1 0 . o r a y o n e

e l s e w i h t h e s a e p r o b l e m , y o u

c a s k i t h e p a t w h e r e

M i r o s o h a t o c h e c k y o u r P C

f o r c o m p a i i i y b y d o w n l o a i g

t h e W i d o w s 1 0 U p g r a e T o l

( ti nyur l.com/ W i n1 0 up g rad etool)

a d r u n n i g i m a u a l y . I t w i l

c h e c k y o u r P C a d p e r f o r m t h e

u p g r a e a l i o n e g o .

SP80E ODDIT YThe lat es t build of

Windows 10 appears to

be m ore t olerant of hardware

p a



LETTERS

7ISSU E 3 3 8 |C M P U T R S H O P P R |APRIL 20 16

u p g r a d e s t h a n m a n y h a d f e a r e d .

I r e c e n t l y u p g r a d e d m y P Cs

m o t h e r b o a r d , p r o c e s s o r a n d

R AM . M o s t p e o p l e w o u l d a d v i s e

c a r r y i n g o u t a f r e s h o p e r a t i n g

s y s t e m i n s t a l l a t i o n a e r s u c h a

m a j o r u p g r a d e , b u t I d e c i d e d t o

b o o t t h e e x i s t i n g i n s t a l l a t i o n t o

s e e w h a t h a p p e n e d .

T o m y s u r p r i s e ( a n d d e l i g h t )

b o t h W i n d o w s 1 0 a n d M i n t

L i n u x b o o t e d fl a w l e s s l y fi r s t

t i m e ; W i n d o w s d i d p a u s e f o r a

f e w s e c o n d s t o r e c o n fi g u r e

s o m e d e v i c e s e i n g s , b u t t h a t

w a s i t . A u i c k t r i p t o D e v i c e

M a n a g e r t o u n i n s t a l l r e d u n d a n t

d r i v e r s ( t w o m i n u t e s ’ w o r k ) a n d

a l l w a s d o n e . o w W i n d o w s d i d

a s k f o r r e a c t i v a t i o n , b u t i t

a c c e p t e d m y W i n d o w s 7 l i c e n c e

k e y w i t h o u t a h i t c h .

T h e o n l y d i s a p p o i n t m e n t w a s

t h a t W i n d o w s X P ( w h i c h I r e t a i n

t o r u n a v e n e r a b l e o l d S o u n d

B a s t e r c a r d o c c a s i o n a l l y )

b l u e s c r e e n e d , b u t I c a n p r o b a b l y

r e i n s t a l l i t . W e l l d o n e M i c r o s o

( a n d M i n t ) f o r p r o d u c i n g

fl e x i b l e , r e s i l i e n t u p g r a d e -

t o l e r a n t s y s t e m s .

C r i s S e w a r t

0 H N G E S

A e r r e a d i n g R i c h a r d

S a n d e r s ’ l e e r i n

S o p p r 3 3 6 , I t h i n k I m a y h a v e a

s o l u t i o n . I h a v e u p g r a d e d a l o t o f

m a c h i n e s f o r m y s e l f , f r i e n d s a n d

f a m i l y t o W i n d o w s 1 0 . U s u a l l y

t h e u p g r a d e h a s g o n e s m o o t h l y ;

h o w e v e r , o n e p r o b l e m I h a v e

n o t i c e d w h e n u p g r a d i n g o l d e r

l a p t o p s f r o m W i n d o w s 7 i s t h a t

M i c r o s o t e n d s t o r e p l a c e t h e

m a n u f a c t u r e r ’ s W i - F i d r i v e r w i t h

a g e n e r i c o n e o f i t s o w n , a n d

s o m e t i m e s t h i s d r i v e r i s n ’ t v e r y

g o o d o r v e r y s t a b l e . I s u s p e c t

t h i s m a y b e R i c h a r d ’ s p r o b l e m .

I t h e l a p t o p m a n u f a c t u r e r ’ s

w e b s i t e d o e s h a v e a W i n d o w s 1 0

s p e c i fi c d r i v e r , t h e n I h a v e o e n

g o t r o u n d t h i s b y d o w n l o a d i n g

a n d f o r c i b l y i n s t a l l i n g t h e

o r i g i n a l W i n d o w s 7 d r i v e r ; t h i s

a p p e a r s t o s o l v e t h e p r o b l e m

i n m o s t c a s e s , n o t i c e a b l y

D e l l - b r a n d e d B o a d c o m

a d a p t o r s . o g u a r a n t e e s , b u t i t

d o e s s e e m t o w o r k .

Dav i d P n f o l d

W i - F i a a t o r s c a b e t h e

b i g g e s t p a n t o d e a w i t h ,

p a t i c u l a l y o n o l d e r h a d w a e .

M i c r o s o a p e a s t o b e t r y i n g t o

d e a w i t h t h e p r o b l e m f o r

u p g r a e r s b y f o r c i n g p e o p l e

t o u s e i t s d r i v e r , u n d e r t h e

i d e a t h a i t ’ s b e e r t o h a e

a i n t e r n e t c o n n e c t i o n t h a

n o i n t e r n e t c o n n e c t i o n . Y o u r

a v i c e i s e x t r e m e l y h e l p f u l

a d w e e n c o u r a e a l

r e a e r s t o l o o k f o r

u p d a e d m a u f a t u r e r

d r i v e r s f o r t h e i r c o m p u t e r

r a h e r t h a r e l y i n g o n t h e

M i c r o s o v e r s i o n s .

G O L E N Y E R S

M a y I n o m i n a t e t h e B

b i l l i n g p r o g r a m f o r t h i s

y e a r ’ s C r p o r a t e S o w a r e

F a i l u r e a w a r d ? A e c e n t b i l l h a s

d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t t h i s p r o g r a m ,

w h i c h i s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r b i l l i n g

m i l l i o n s o f B c u s t o m e r s e a c h

m o n t h , i s c a p a b l e o f c h a r g i n g

s i m u l t a n e o u s l y b o t h f o r

“ U n l i m i t e d B o a d b a n d ( B

I fi n i t y 1 ) ” a n d “ A d i t i o n a l

B o a d b a n d U s a g e ” . Y o u r

r e a d e r s w i l l u n d o u b t e d l y h a v e

o t h e r n o m i n a t i o n s .

o h n P o w s e

T h a c e r t a n l y g e t s a s l o w

h a d - c l a f r o m u s . I f a y o t h e r

r e a e r s h a e s i m i l a t a e s ,

p l e a e s e n d t h e m i n t o t h e

u s u a a d r e s s : l e e r s @

c o m p u t e r s h o p p e r . c o . u k .

T H E M N W H O S O L

T H E W O R L

M y A u s T F 7 0 1

T r a n s f o r m e r P a d i s t w o

y e a r s o l d a n d I a m l o o k i n g f o r a

r e p l a c e m e n t w i t h t h e l a t e s t

m o r e p o w e r f u l , p o w e r - e ffi c i e n t

p r o c e s s o r s a n d t h e l a t e s t

v e r s i o n o f A d r o i d .

.

t o



LETTERS


B t w h e r e c a n I fi n d o n e ?

o t h i n g I c a n s e e i n y o u r r e v i e w s

m a t c h e s t h e s p e c . T h e

2 , 5 6 0 x 1 , 6 0 0 s c r e e n h a s b e e n

i m p r o v e d , b u t i s t h a t r e a l l y

n e c e s s a r y o n a 1 0 i n t a b l e t ?

T h e 1 . 9 G H z q u a d - c o r e T e g r a

p r o c e s s o r c a n b e b e e r e d a n d3 G B o r m o r e R AM w o u l d b e

b e e r t h a n t h e 2 G B I h a v e , b u t

t i m e a n d a g a i n t h e l a t e s t t a b l e t s

l e a v e o u t a n y m i c r o S D c a r d s l o t .

A d t h e n t h e r e ’ s t h e

k e y b o a r d . o t j u s t a d o c k i n g

k e y b o a r d a s o p p o s e d t o a

B u e t o o t h c l i p - o n , b u t w i t h a

b a c k - u p b a e r y , a U S B p o r t a n d

a f u l l - s i z e d S D s l o t . A e r a d a y

o n t h e r o a d , b a c k a t h o m e o r m y

h o l i d a y h o t e l , I c a n c l i p o n t h e

k e y b o a r d t o b r e a t h e a b i t o f l i f e

b a c k i n t o t h e d e p l e t e d t a b l e t

b a e r y , p l u g i n a U S B t r a v e l

m o u s e , i n s e r t t h e S D c a r d f r o m

m y c a m e r a a n d r e v i e w m y

p h o t o s ; I c a n e v e n v i e w t h e m o n

a n y H D M I T V s c r e e n v i a t h e

t a b l e t ’ s M i c r o H D M I p o r t . I c a n

b a c k u p m y p r e c i o u s h o l i d a y p i c s

t o t h e m i c r o S D i n t h e t a b l e t ,

t h e n r e a d a n d r e p l y t o m y

e m a i l s . I i s s o m u c h e a s i e r t o

w o r k w i t h k e y b o a r d a n d m o u s e

t h a n i t i s t o j a b a t t h e s c r e e n .

S o t h e r e i s m y p r o b l e m . D o I

j u s t s o l d i e r o n a n d h o p e t h a t

A u s w i l l b e a b l e t o r e p l a c e t h e

b a e r y w h e n i t e v e n t u a l l y g i v e s

o u t ? r w a s t h e r e a n y t h i n g a t

CE S 2 0 1 6 t h a t w i l l b e c o m i n g t om a r k e t l a t e r t h i s y e a r ?

B D l e m e r e

You’re rig ht: there are few tablets

that do everything that yours

d oes at the moment, with many

of them b asically lile more than

a touchscreen However, there

are other suitable models, from

those that run A nd roid to full

Windows 10 computers We’ve

g ot a full tablet g roup test

coming up in two months’ time,

so stay tuned for more

L D Y G R I N N I N G S O U L

I h a v e j u s t u p g r a d e d

f r o m W i n d o w s 8 . 1 t o

W i n d o w s 1 0 , a n d a l l w e n t w e l l . I

t h e n s e t a b o u t d o i n g a c l e a n

i n s t a l l ( g u i d e d b y y o u r a r t i c l e i n

S h o p p e r 3 3 2 ) . A e r b e i n g t o l d

t h a t e v e r y t h i n g o n t h e h a r d d i s k

w o u l d b e w i p e d , I c a r r i e d o n .

W h a t a s u r p r i s e , t h e n , t o fi n d

m y L a d y G a g a d e s k t o p t h e m e h a d

s u r v i v e d t h e c l e a n i n s t a l l a n d w a s

s t i l l t h e r e . I k n o w s h e ’ s a s t r o n g

l a d y , b u t t o b e a t a d i s k w i p e a n d

M i c r o s o i s s o m e t h i n g e l s e !

I w a s a l s o s u r p r i s e d t o fi n d ,

a e r r e i n s t a l l i n g a l l m y s o w a r e ,t h a t m y m u c h - l o v e d P h o t o s h o p

E l e m e n t s 2 ( y e s , 2 ) s t i l l w o r k e d .

I ’ s b e e n w i t h m e t h r o u g h m a n y

c o m p u t e r a n d S u p g r a d e s

g o i n g b a c k t o W i n d o w s 9 8 S E .

I d o k n o w t h a t s o m e l a t e r

e d i t i o n s o f P h o t o s h o p E l e m e n t s

d i d n ’ t w o r k o n S u p g r a d e s ,

b u t E l e m e n t s 2 d o e s a n d , a s

a l w a y s , h a s d o n e t h e j o b w i t h

e x c e l l e n t r e s u l t s w i t h n o n e e d

f o r u p g r a d e s .

T o t h i n k w h a t I m i g h t h a v e

s p e n t o n a l l t h o s e E l e m e n t

u p g r a d e s , w h i c h m o s t p e o p l e

d o n ’ t r e a l l y n e e d . I h a v e t o s a y

E l e m e n t s 2 h a s u n d o u b t e d l y

b e e n t h e b e s t £ 5 0 I h a v e e v e r

a n d p r o b a b l y w i l l e v e r s p e n d

o n s o w a r e . Al t h i s n o w p o s e s

t h e q u e s t i o n o f w h a t e l s e

s u r v i v e s , b e i t a e r c l e a n i n s t a l l s

o r o l d e r s o w a r e ?

N i l R e

The most likely explanation for

Lady Gaga’s continuing

hab itation of your PC is that

your d esktop information was

synchronised to the cloud via

your Microso ac count Aer

you’d reinstalled and logg ed

b ac k in, the d ata was mostlikely pulled back down from

the internet and reinstalled as

though it had never g one away

It’s things such as this that

show how powerful cloud

computing can be

That’s brilliant news about

Photoshop Elements still

working You’re rig ht that many

people upgrade without

nec essarily having to In fac t,

soware is hard for us to rate:

we have to g ive a star rating

b as ed o n h ow g oo d a p ie ce o f

soware is tod ay, not how it

compares to a previous version

In other words, our ratings are

really for p eople new to the

soware however, if a new

version is not a g reat upg rade

for existing users, we always

mention this in the conclusion

in order to try to stop

unnecessary upgrades



LETTERS


W RI T E I8 D W ID o y o u w i s h y o u r c o m p u t e rw a s f a s t e r w h e n b o o t i n g a n dl o a di n g a p p li c a ti o n s T h a nk st o C r u c i a l , y o u c a n a c h i e v e

y o u r d r e a m o f a f a s t e r P C o rl a p t o p w i t h t h e B X 2 0 0 S S D .T h e w r i t e r o f o u r S t a r L e e rw i l l b e a w a r d e d o n e o f t h e s esol i d-state devi ces, w hi chc a n b e i n s t a l l e d i n a d e s k t o pP C o r a l a p t o p .

T h i s f a s t S S D i s 1 5 t i m e sf a s t e r t h a n a h a r d d i s k , a n dw i l l make your computerboot i ncredi bl y qui ckl y andmake appl i cati ons l oad faster.Wi th 480 GB of storage, there’ sp l e n t y o f r o o m f o r W i n d o w sa n d a l l y o u r a p p s , t o o .

STARPRI Z E4 8 GBSSD

❱ 2U I LD 8 2ETTERP0From the initial planning to the finished build,

we take you through all the steps you need to

make your own p erfec t Wind ows 10 PC We’rekicking everything o with detailed instructions

on how to c hoose the rig ht c omp onents for any

budget, showing you where to cut corners

safely and where to sp end a lile more

❱ M U LTIROOM 8 U DIODelayed for a month b ec ause of our hug e

components megatest, our guide will help you

find the p erfec t audio k it, so you c an p lay music

eortlessly throughout your house

❱ F TE0HWe take a look b ehind the sc enes of

Formula One, finding out how new

technology is powering drivers to victory

❱ IM PRESSIVE O2S0U RE TE0HOur intrepid reporter goes to the dark recesses

o f t he C ES s ho w i n L as V eg as t o fi nd t he t op

tec h that you’ve never heard of

❱ M 8 K E Y OU R OW 8 SWe show you how to build your own network

storag e from sc ratc h, and exp lain all the

p owerful thing s it c an d o

NEXT MONTH O

N S A L E

i n n e w s a g e n t s f r o m

1 0 t h M a r c h



U NDER DEVELOPM ENT

1 0 APRIL 20 16 |C M P U T R S H O P P R |ISSU E 3 3 8

Ef fi n’ Je f f in da h ou se

IT’S 7am AND pouring down

o ut si de I ’m f ac in g t he wa ll i n t he

gent s’ loo in Manchest er Airport

I n t he ‘ s pa ce ’ n e xt to me i s a m an

d re ss ed i n a b ab y b lu e a nd y el lo w

s hi ny s il k s he ll s ui t H e h as d a rk

hair, a fake t an, droopy ’tache

a nd a h e ad ba nd I r et ur n t o th e

rest aurant, where Mrs R is eating

breakfast, and report that I’ve

j ust h ad a we e ne xt to A li G Sh e

p oi nt s o ut t he re a re 1 mo re o f

t he m r ig ht b eh in d m e P lu s t he ir

mate Superman

W e’r e o n o ur wa y t o B ato n

Rouge, L ouis iana, Mrs R t o do an

accounting system upgrade and

m e to wo rk wi th a ‘ c us t2 me r’ ( a

customer’s customer automating

the electronic data interchange

( E DI on one of their pro ects It’s

a f ai r b e t t he A li G s a re o n a s ta g

t rip, and t hey’re already lined up

a t th e b ar I h op e t he y’re n ot o n

o ur fl i gh t to At la nt a, wh er e we

change for Red Stick The accounting soware

update is years overdue, not

because we don’t do t hese t hings

o n t im e b ut b ec au se o ur o ld

foul-mouthed friend Effin’ Je,

who owns t he company, does n’t

like s pending m oney on s tu like

soware, which is, apparently,

working OK When it comes t o

s qu ee i ng b lo od f ro m a s to ne ,

J e’s an Olym pic cham pion But

n ow i t’ s a b o ut to n ot wo rk O K

because t he old s oware won’t

run on Microso’s latest server

operating systems, and they’re

due a server replacement

The cust2mer, a multinational

engineering company, contracts

o ut a l ot o f i ts p ro du ct io n t o

relative m innows s uch as EJ They

do t he design work, t hen t ell t he

m in no ws to m ake i t O e n t he

finis hed item is huge, and lots of

sub-assemblies may have been

m ad e b y a v a ri et y o f m in no ws I n

t his ins t ance EJ Inc has s truck

lucky and gets t o m ake s ome

bits , plus has t he glory of bolt ing

i t a ll to ge th er B ut to d o t h is t he y

need lots of detailed information

on t he composition of t he whole

pro ect, including the bits they’re

not m aking, and t hey also hav e

to frequently report back their

p ro gr es s T he re a re l ot s o f b it s

and lots of protagonis ts , which is

where t he EDI s ys tem comes in

S P R E D 3 E T T I N G

I a sk fo r a s pe ci fic at io n o f t he

E DI s ys te m W ha t I g et i s a li st o f

spreadsheets that get emailed

b ac k a nd fo rt h T he p ro ce ss , a s

described, is v ague This is not

good Als o, s preads heets are

great for s ome t hings but not as

a systems component, because

it’s eas y t o enter data int o a

s heet s o it looks v alid butactually is n’t The bigger t he

s heet , t he harder errors are t o

d et ec t a nd t he se a re u p to 1, 00 0

r ows wi th 4 5 c ol um ns O ur t as k

is to create the spreadsheets

automatically from data in the

existing management control

s oware, which we s upply t o EJ

J ake from t he engineering firm

sends me a sample spreadsheet

Each row cont ains data for a

c omp on en t i n t he p ro e ct T he

first column contains a serial

number, which is supposed toidentify each component

u ni qu el y N ow, wh en I t hi nk o f a

s erial num ber I expect it t o look

s om et hi ng l ike 1 2 4 56 78 0 - 22

Lenny the Lenovo’s serial number

is 0 80 7 4 668 . N ot too diffic ult

The s hortes t in t he s ample

s pr ea ds he et wa s S NW P 9 8 64 -A

STU-77-51401122015-000000000

5 J GZ88 t hat’s 46 characters

J ake s ays t hey can be as m any as

80 characters long, which is nuts

Even worse is t he s eries of nine

z e ro s i n t he m id dl e I t’s e a sy to

r ec or d o ne z e ro to o fe w o r to o

m any And s erial num bers m aer

I f y ou we ld o n t he wr on g p ar t t he

whole t hing can blow up

Even worse, serial numbers

change during the course of t he

pro ec t Th e n umb er re e cts the

s tage it’s reached in t he progres s

o f t he wh ol e p ro e ct T hi s i s d umb

By all m eans s t ore progres s data

i n t he r ec or d o f a c om po ne nt b ut

not in a field t hat identifies t he

p ar t i ts el f T he n J ake te ll s u s we

can only send update information

back t o his company once for

e ac h p ar t I f we s en d i nfo rm at io n

fo r SN WP 9 8 64 -A ST U- 77 -

51401122015-0000000005 JGZ88

m ore t han once t he s ys tem will

a ss um e we h av e t wo o f t he m a nd

create t wo records Argh

2 O S T N L S I S

J e has t wo ques tions : when can

we implem ent t he s oware, and

ho w m uc h w ill it c os t Je h ad

assumed our custom soware

t hat runs t he operat ion would

a lre ad y d o all this ( why ) and

had promised the multinationalcompany it would be ready t o roll

“ by the end of the month . His

o wn s ta h ad p ut h im r ig ht o n

t his hence t he expens e of t he

v is it As t o cost , it was a ques tion

o f h ow m an y a rm s a n d l eg s

There are ways of geing

round t he long s erial num ber

problem and also preventing a

‘ double s end’, but t he m orphing

part ID is troublesome, not least

because J ake can’t t ell m e exactly

h ow a nd wh en i t c ha ng es

J us t as I’m beginning t o wis hI’d s wapped queues at t he airport

a nd t ag g ed a lo ng wi th t he A li G s,

I g e t a c al l f ro m J ake ’s b os s

as king howwe’re progres sing I

outline t he problem with t he

shape-shiing serial number

“ Who told you that crap ” he

wants t o know “ Er, J ake, I reply

“ We ll , t ha t’s b ul ls hi t, h e s ays ,

adding t hat J ake’s only been in

t he j o b t hr ee we eks a nd “ d oe sn’t

know his ass from his elbow .

At le as t I c an no w g et h im a

working s ys tem “ by t he end of

t he m onth , s o every one’s

h ap py U nt il J e g et s t he b il l,

t hat is, when I’m s ure he’ll liv e

up to his nickname

D V I D R O 3 I N S O N

S o w a e a d s y s t e m s d e v e l o p e r

l e e r s @ c o m p u t e r s h o p p e r . c o . u k

A b u n c h ofAliG lo ok alik e , ro d c t t ha m y t e rio u l c hang e t he iride n t iy and a o t t y -m o u t he d c u t o m e rare dri ing David Rob inson t o t he e dg e o fde air

T h e s y s t m u p d a t i s y e a r s o v e r d u e

b e c a u s e f fi n ’ J e f f d o e s n ’ t i k e s p e n d i n g

m o n e y o n s t f f l i k e s o f t a r e





C YBERCOP


Don’th ack b ackIfy o u ’ e b e e n t he v ic t im ofa c y b e ra t ac k y o u m ig h fe e llike e x ac t ing re v e n g e on t he e r e t ra o r ,bu t i w o u ldn’ be a w i e m o v e – e v e n ifi m a o o n be le g al

I WAS ONE of t oo m any people

packed uncomfortably into a hot

carriage when t he t rain pulled

into Vauxhall s tat ion A few new

pass engers m anaged t o s quee e

i n a nd th e tr ai n wa s j u st a bo ut to

pull out when one final, frantic

m an t hrew him self in t hrough t he

door Every one felt t he impact

and lost anot her fraction of t heir

breathing space and patience

“ Ass ” e xc laime d o ne vo ic e

The latecom er las hed out,

striking a nearby onlooker, who

a ske d, “ W hy did yo u h it me ”

“ Yo u c al le d me a ru de wo rd , s ai d

the ma n “ N o, he didn’t, I did ,

called out t he American v oice

who had s t arted t he exchange

The predominantly British

congregation broke t he firs t rule

of commuting, whereby everyone

ignores awkward situations by

staring at their newspapers, and

j eered loudly It was magnificent

There’s a connection betweenthis incident of mistaken identity

and t he problems inherent in t he

idea of aacking back against

hackers The Unit ed States is

currently looking into legislation

that supports US companies

retaliating against cyberaacks

Most countries’ laws forbid

hacking, whet her as an initial act

or in respons e t o an incoming

threat Now there’s a possibility

t hat companies can react in kind

against being hacked

If someone breaks into your

computers and steals data, who

do you punch back, virtually

T he o wn er o f t he s ys te m t ha t

l au nc he d t he a a ck T he ir I SP

O r t he ir g ove rn me nt To f ul ly

appreciate the problem with

fighting back y ou have t o

understand how most hackers

o pe ra te Fo r o ne t hi ng , t he y

rarely us e t heir own computers

t o l au nc h a n a a ck T he y a re fa r

m ore likely t o us e other v ict im s’

systems, or proxies, VPNs or

other anonymising systems, such

as t he Tor network

I f a n a a cke r i s c om in g a t y ou

from another victim’s computer,

and y ou break int o t hat s ys tem

in response, you’re punching the

guy in front of t he comm ut er

who oended y ou If t he aacker

i s u s in g A m a o n W eb S er vi ce s a s

a proxy y ou’ll end up launching

a n a a ck a ga in st o ne o f t he

l ar ge st c om pa ni es i n t he wo rl d I

h op e y ou r l eg al wa r c he st o f

funds can compete, s hould y ou

be detected and prosecuted

D I V I N E T T R I 3 U T I O N

Aribution, the process whereby

analysts decide who launched an

aack aer t he event, is hard t o

do well US-bas ed s ecurity firm s

oen claim t hat m os t aacks

against American businesses are

orches t rated by agents of t heC hines e government The basis

of t his analys is can be s omet hing

as s im ple as looking at t he

internet addresses of the

aacking systems or, in more

convincing cases, deep analysis

o f t he m al wa re u se d t o

compromise systems

The fact is t hat hackers launch

aacks from systems all over the

world If m os t aacks appear t o

originate from Russian cyberspace

i t s ee ms p ar ti cu la rl y l a y to l ea p

to the assumption that Russiancriminals or government agents

are behind t hem It’s m ore likely

t hat ot her nation s tates are

proxying through Russia to avoid

aribut ion They are in eect

pushing Rus s ia t o t he front of

t he t rain carriage t o face t he

aggressive commuter

There’s another downside to

fighting back: y ou m ight j ust

start something you can’t finish

Maybe you correctly identified

t he opponent and are confident

y ou’v e t arget ed t he appropriate

computer s ys tems And m ay be

y ou don’t believ e t he authorities

will become inv olved because

y our guilty t arget , who s tart ed it

in t he firs t place, probably won’t

te ll t al es B ut u nl es s yo u’r e a

s killed hacker wit h an ars enal of

advanced t ools for aack and

defence you probably won’t

c om e o ut o f t hi s fig ht we ll

You were hacked before, s o

clearly your defensive capabilities

a re n ot wo rl d c la ss Yo u m ig ht b e

beer o fixing t hat, rat her t han

punching back Don’t forget , t oo,

t hat once y ou s tart playing wit h

t he big boys t hings can quickly

e sc al ate Yo u ma y b e a n in a

behind t he key board, but y ou

can’t assume that hostilities will

r em ai n o nl in e A h om e v is it f ro m

y our opponent, or m ore likely his

associates, would bypass any

firewall and could end up being

painful at best

J U S T I 2 E O F T H E P I E 2 E

And whe re do es it e nd W ha t d o

y ou want t o achiev e by fighting

ba ck Is a se nse of ‘ j us tic e do ne’e no ug h a nd , i f i t i s, h ow m uc h

d ama ge d o yo u n ee d to i n i ct o n

the target’s systems before you

fe el v in di ca te d I f y ou r t ar ge t h as

backups y ou m ight need t o lurk

on his network for m onths ,

slowly damaging his files until his

backups become us eless If y ou

lost intellectual property in the

original aack y ou m ay want t o

s teal s ecret s in ret urn How m any

secrets will balance things out

Hacking back and exacting

rev enge t akes t im e and energy t hat m ight be beer s pent

improving your own security

E ve n i f t he l aw c ha ng es a n d i t

becomes legal t o fight back

against hacking aacks, it’s not

going t o be a feas ible or wis e

res ponse for alm os t any

individual or organisation You

need t he abilit y t o identify a v alid

t arget a goal t hat provides y ou

with v alue bey ond a s ens e of

revenge resources to achieve

y our goal and t he ability t o

protect your physical self against

a p hys ic al a a ck I f yo u c an d o al l

o f t ha t y ou m ig ht c on si de r a j o b

at GC HQ, which is always keen t o

expand its cyber capabilities

G O R D O N H O L E S

W i t h m o r e t h a 3 0 y e a s o f

e x p e r i e n c e i n l a e n f o r c e m e n t ,

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14 A PRIL 0 1 6 |C M P U T R S H O P P R | I SSUE 3 3 8

W hile sm art t echnology and sim ple people find new w ays t ocom m u nicat e,t he H om eOffice explains it s Invest igat ory Pow ers Bill t hrou gh t he m ed iu m ofcont rad ic t ion

A S M A T A our technol ogy hasbecome, almost every individual productyou use speaks i ts ow n l anguage thatnothi ng el se understands. Thi s l eaves us

w it h a c o nf u si n g m e ss o f l o gi ns , d i e r en tapps and mul ti pl e w ays of doi ng thi ngs.Woul dn’ t i t be great i f there w ere a si ngl ew ay for our gadgets to communi cate –an Esperanto for the technol ogy w orl d, i fyou l i ke, onl y not rubbi sh

That’ s exactl y w hat IF Thi s Then That(IFTTT, w w w . i . o m ) does. As the namesuggests, thi s w eb-based servi ce l ets youcreate scenari os w here a tri gger (the IFThi s part) l eads to an acti on (the ThenThat part). Wi th a l i l e support from themanufacturer, you can use the system tom a ke d i e r en t p i e ce s o f t e ch n ol o gy w or k together beautifully.

For exampl e, usi ng IFTTT w i th ani Phone, I can get the servi ce to moni torm y l o c a t i o n s o t h a t w h e n I l e a v e a

s pe ci fic a re a i t s wi tc he s o m y h e at in g(again, thanks to integration withHoneywell’s smart thermostats).Li kew i se, w hen I get back i nto the tri gger

zone, IFTTT can sw i tch the heati ng back o n . I c a n e v e n s e t i t t o c h a n g e t h eheati ng based on w eather reports – so i ft h e o u t si de t e mp e ra t ur e h i ts 1 6 C , f o re xa mp le , i t c o ul d t u rn o t he h ea ti ngcompl etel y, onl y turni ng i t back on w henthe temperature drops.

When you start to i ncl ude othersmart home ki t, you suddenl y expandw hat the program can do. For exampl e, amoti on sensor that turns on a l i ght coul dtri gger an al ert to tel l you that someonehas entered your house. And w hy botherwith a dusk-to-dawn sensor when youcan use IFTTT to fli ck your outsi de l i ghto n a n d o a t t h e r i gh t t i me a ut om at ic al ly.

Acti ons don’ t have to be physi cal ,either. You can monitor your Instagram

account, for exampl e, and post pi cturesto your Facebook and Tw i er pagesautomati cal l y. O r you can create a ToDol i st automati cal l y from emai l s that you

mark i n Gmai l . In short, you can preymuch l i nk any tw o servi ces together todo thi ngs that nei ther manufacturerw oul d have thought of or i mpl ementedthemselves.

Essentially, IFTTT breaks down theb a rr i er s t h at s t o p d i e r en t p i ec e s o ftechnology working together, without theneed for compani es to agree onpotentially restrictive standards. It alsomeans you’ re free to buy your ki t fromd i e r en t m a nu fa c tu re r s. W an t y ou rBel ki n MeMo l i ght sw i tch to turn on yourP h il ip s H u e l i gh t N o p r o bl e m. W a nt t ou se a n e m ai l t o s e t a n i OS r em in de r I t’ sdone. We need much more of thi s typeof i nteracti on, as i t bri ngs technol ogytogether and actual l y makes l i fe easi er.

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Lenovo’s new ultra-portable

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⬆ P an as on ic ’s D M P- U B 0 0 i s t h e c om pa ny ’s fi r st 4 K

Blu-ray play er and will be o ut late r this y e ar

APRIL 20 16 |COMPUTER SHOPPER |ISSU E 3 3 8



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M i c r o s o ’ s , b u t i t d o e s c o m e w i t h a f u l l - s i z e dk e y b o a r d c o v e r – s o m e t h i n g t h a t p r o s p e c t i v eS u r f a c e P r o 4 o w n e r s h a v e t o b u y s e p a r a t e l y .

I s i d e , t h e G a l a x y T a b P r o S h a s as i x t h - g e n e r a t i o n d u a l - c o r e I t e lS k y l a k e C r e M p r o c e s s o r w h i c hr u n s a t 2 . 2 G H z a n d 4 G B o f R A ,a n d i t s 5 , 2 0 0 m A b a e r y s h o u l dp r o v i d e u p t o 1 0 - a n d - a - h a l f h o u r so f b a e r y l i f e .

T h e o n l y d o w n s i d e i s i t s l a c ko f p o r t s , b u t S a m s u n g s a y s t h a t am u l t i - p o r t a d a p t o r , w h i c h i n c l u d e s

H D M IU S B a n d U S B T y p e - C

c o n n e c t i o n s , w i l l b e a v a i l a b l es e p a r a t e l y . S a m s u n g h a s y e t t oa n n o u n c e o ffi c i a l p r i c i n g f o rt h e G a l a x y T a b P r o S , b u t i t

w i l l b e a v a i l a b l e g l o b a l l y t h i s m o n t h .

SU P E R SI E D H U W E I

M o s t m a n u f a c t u r e r s s a v e t h e i r b i gp h o n e a n n o u n c e m e n t s f o r M W C i nF e b r u a r y , b u t H u a w e i t o o k t h eo p p o r t u n i t y a t CE S t h i s y e a r t o r e v e a li t s n e x t p h a b l e t , t h e M a t e 8 . I h a s am a s s i v e 6 i n s c r e e n , b u t s u r p r i s i n g l y

H u a w e i h a s o p t e d f o r a 1 , 9 2 0 x 1 , 0 8 0

r e s o l u t i o n r a t h e r t h a n t h e m o r e c o m m o n2 , 5 6 0 x 1 , 4 4 0 w e o e n s e e o n b i g - s c r e e np h o n e s . S t i l l , w i t h a p i x e l d e n s i t y o f 3 6 7 p p i , i ts h o u l d s t i l l p r o v i d e p l e n t y o f c l a r i t y a t an o r m a l v i e w i n g d i s t a n c e .

T h e M a t e 8 w i l l b e t h e fi r s t p h o n e t o u s e H u a w e i ’ s p r o p r i e t a r y o c t a - c o r e i r i n 9 5 0 c h i p ,

w h i c h i s m e a n t t o b e 3 0 % m o r e e ffi c i e n t t h a ni t s o l d i r i n 9 3 0 c h i p . A o t h e r i m p r o v e m e n tc o m e s f r o m H u a w e i ’ s r e d e s i g n e d fi n g e r p r i n ts e n s o r , w h i c h h a s a s h a l l o w e r c o n t a c t a r e a t oh e l p i n c r e a s e t h e s p e e d a n d a c c u r a c y o f i t sr e c o g n i t i o n s o w a r e .

F o r t h e r e a r c a m e r a , t h e r e ’ s a 1 6 - m e g a p i x e lS o n y s e n s o r a l o n g w i t h o p t i c a l i m a g es t a b i l i s a t i o n s u p p o r t a n d a d u a l - t o n e fl a s h ,a n d t h e 4 , 0 0 0 m A b a e r y s h o u l d p r o v i d e u pt o 1 7 h o u r s o f H D v i d e o p l a y b a c k . T h e M a t e 8w i l l s h i p w i t h A d r o i d 6 . 0 M a r s h m a l l o w o u t o ft h e b o x , b u t t h e d o w n s i d e i s t h a t i t c o m e sw i t h H u a w e i ’ s E m o t i o n U I s o d o n ’ t e x p e c t ap u r e A d r o i d e x p e r i e n c e l i k e t h e N e x u s 6 P .

T h e b a s e m o d e l w i l l c o s t € 9 9 ( a r o u n d£ 4 6 0 ) w h e n i t l a u n c h e s l a t e r t h i s y e a r , b u t aU r e l e a s e d a t e i s y e t t o b e c o n fi r m e d .

N IKO N DO E S 3 6 0

E v e r y y e a r CE S t u r n s u p a f e w u n e x p e c t e dr e l e a s e s f r o m o t h e r w i s e p r e d i c t a b l e b u tw o r t h y m a n u f a c t u r e r s . A o n t e n d e r f o r t h i sy e a r ’ s m o s t - u n e x p e c t e d a w a r d i s d e fi n i t e l yt h e N i k o n e y M i s s i o n 3 6 0 , N i k o n ’ s v e r y fi r s ta c t i o n c a m e r a . A p r e s e n t , m o s t 3 6 0 ˚ r i g sa r e e i t h e r t o o b u l k y o r u n s u i t e d f o r e x t r e m es p o r t s , b u t t h e t i n y e y M i s s i o n 3 6 0 i sp a c k e d w i t h f e a t u r e s .

W i t h t w o fi s h e y e l e n s e s , a 4 r e s o l u t i o na n d e l e c t r o n i c s t a b i l i s a t i o n , i t ’ s a b i g s t e p - u pf r o m o t h e r a l l - i n - o n e 3 6 0 ˚ d e v i c e s , a n d i t ’ sp r e y t o u g h , t o o , a s i t ’ s b o t h d u s t - a n d s h o c k -p r o o f u p t o d r o p s o f t w o m e t r e s , a n d i t c a n b eu s e d u n d e r w a t e r u p t o 3 0 m w i t h o u t t h e n e e df o r s e p a r a t e h o u s i n g . I h a s W i - F i , Bu e t o o t ha n d N F C a s w e l l , s o e x p e c t e a s y p a i r i n g w i t h as m a r t p h o n e a n d e a s y c o n t r o l o v e r s h o o t i n g .

T h e e y M i s s i o n 3 6 0 w i l l b e t h e fi r s t i n aw h o l e l i n e o f a c t i o n c a m e r a s f r o m N i k o n a n dw i l l l a u n c h i n t h e s p r i n g . T h e r e ’ s n o w o r d y e to n p r i c e , b u t i t ’ s c e r t a i n l y a s e r i o u s - l o o k i n gd e v i c e w i t h a n i m p r e s s i v e s p e c i fi c a t i o n .

b e a v a i l a b l e f o r $ 4 0 0 i n M a r c h , w i t h t h e Uh o p e f u l l y t o f o l l o w s h o r t l y a e r w a r d s .

S o n y i s g o i n g i t s o w n w a y , b u t t h a t d o e s n ’ tm e a n i t s 2 0 1 6 T V s a r e n ’ t w o r t h y o u r a e n t i o n .

T o p p i n g t h e r a n g e i s t h e X D 9 3 , w h i c h u s e sS o n y ’ s b r a n d - n e w S l i m B c k l i g h t D r i v et e c h n o l o g y t o d e l i v e r fi r s t - c l a s s p i c t u r e q u a l i t yw h i l e s t i l l k e e p i n g t h e T V ’ sd i m e n s i o n s d o w n t o a l m o s tO E D - s i z e d p r o p o r t i o n s .

A a i l a b l e i n 5 5 i n a n d 6 5 i ns c r e e n s i z e s , t h e X D 9 3 u s e s ag r i d - a r r a y b a c k l i g h t i n g s y s t e m t ob o o s t a n d d i m t h e b a c k l i g h t t oc r e a t e b r i g h t e r w h i t e s a n d d e e p e rb l a c k s , p r o d u c i n g u p t o t h r e et i m e s t h e b r i g h t n e s s r a n g e o f t h ea v e r a g e E D T V . S o n y s t i l l n e e d s

s o m e w h e r e t o h o u s e t h e b u l k o fi t s h a r d w a r e , s o t h e X D 9 3 i s af r a c t i o n f a e r t o w a r d s t h e l o w e rh a l f o f t h e s c r e e n , b u t i t ’ s s t i l l s l i me n o u g h t o l i e a l m o s t c o m p l e t e l y fl u s h a g a i n s tt h e w a l l i f y o u d o n ’ t w a n t t o u s e t h e s t a n d .

T h e X D 9 3 s u p p o r t s H D R a n d i s p o w e r e db y A d r o i d T V , s o y o u ’ l l b e a b l e t o a c c e s s m o s to f y o u r f a v o u r i t e G o o g l e P l a y a p p s o n t h e b i gs c r e e n . T h e X D 9 3 d o e s n ’ t h a v e a n e x a c t p r i c eo r r e l e a s e d a t e j u s t y e t , b u t S o n y e x p e c t s i t t ol a u n c h a c r o s s E u r o p e l a t e r t h i s s p r i n g .

S M S U N G K E S O N M ICR O S O F

e n o v o w a s n ’ t t h e o n l y c o m p a n y s h o w i n g o i t s l a t e s t W i n d o w s 1 0 d e v i c e s , a s S a m s u n ga n n o u n c e d i t s fi r s t W i n d o w s 1 0 t a b l e t , t a k i n gd i r e c t a i m a t M i c r o s o ’ s S u r f a c e P r o 4 .M e a s u r i n g j u s t 6 . 3 m m t h i c k a n d w e i g h i n g

S a m s u n g ’ s G a l a x y T a b P r o

S l o o k s s u p e r b , a n d i t s

b u n d l e d k e y b o a r d c o v e r

s h o u l d b e p e r f e c t f o r

w o r k i n g o n t h e m o v e

T h e U H D P r e m i u m l o g o

w i l l s t a r t a p p e a r i n g o n

p r o d u c t s a n d s e r v i c e s

t h a t c a n d e l i v e r t h e v e r yb e s t 4 K c o n t e n t

i k o n ’ s t i n y a c t i o n c a m e r a h a s d u a l fi s h e y e

l e n s e s a n d c a n b e u s e d u n d e r w a t e r u p t o

3 0 m w i t h o u t a d d i t i o n a l c a s i n g

t

ISSU E 3 3 8 |COMPUTER SHOPPER |APRIL 20 16



NEW S


8M D u nve ils n e w Polaris GPU arch ite ctu reAMD HAS ANNOUNCED its latest GPU

archit ect ure for 2016 C ode-nam ed Polaris , it

features several new features, which AMD

s ays s hould deliver a “ his toric leap in

performance-per-wa

Us ing a 14nm FinFET GPU as well

as AMD’s fourth-generation Graphics

C or e N ext ( G CN a rc hi te ct ur e, Po la ri s

s hould deliver a huge s tep-up in

overall power efficiency, meaninghigher performance levels at a much

lower cost Previous ly, AMD has used

a 28nm production process, but FinFET’s

s ma ll er ‘ 3 D ’ t ra ns is to rs wi ll a ll ow e ac h c hi p t o

t ake up less s pace, us e less power and

increase performance

M icrosof t’s ch e ape st Su rf ace2ook w illc ost £ ,MICROSOFT’S VERY FIRST lapt op, t he Surface Book, finally has a UK

price and releas e date Originally unv eiled last October at Micros o’s

Windows 10 ev ent , t he device is arguably one of t he m os timpressive laptops we’ve ever seen, but with prices

s ta rti ng a t a m as si ve £ 1,2 9 , yo u’l l n ee d to d ig d e ep i nto

y our bank account before y ou can call one y our own

Pre-orders for t he Surface Book are now liv e on t he

Micros o Store and four m odels are available, all s hipping by t he 18t h

Fe bru ary 2 01 6 T he £ 1,2 9 mo de l c ome s wi th a n In te l C or e i 5 p ro ce ss or,

8 GB o f R AM a nd 1 28 GB o f s to ra ge , b u t y ou c an a ls o g e t t he s am e s pe c

wit h 256GB of s torage and a dedicat ed Nvidia GPU for £ 1,5 9 .

C ore i7 m odels are even m ore expens ive, wit h t he 256GB of s torage,

N vi di a GPU a nd 8 GB o f R AM m od el c os ti ng £ 1 ,7 9 , a nd t he to p- en d

5 12 GB o f s to ra ge a nd 1 6G B o f R AM m od el c os ti ng a w ho pp in g £ 2 ,2 4 .

That m akes it a lot m ore expens iv e t han Micros o’s Surface Pro 4,

but t he Surface Book is a lot m ore aract iv e t han its t ablet-based

e st Su rf ace

, fina y ha s a UK

at Micros os

os t

t o

e

p in g b y t he 1 8t h

Core i5 processor,

get t he s ame s pec

r £ 1,5 9 .

⬅ Want one ofMicroso’s newSurface Book laptops? Startsaving now

s ibling Its s ilver m agnes ium body and

caterpillar-like Fulcrum hinge look stunning,

b ut t he fa ct t ha t yo u c an p ul l i t a pa rt a nd u se i t a s a

s ta nd al on e t ab le t a s w el l i s j u st t he i ci ng o n t he c ak e W e’ re h op in g i t

will finally give Windows 10 t he fl agship device it deserv es , but we’ll

bring y ou our full and final v erdict as s oon as reviews am ples arrive

8

To put that into perspective, AMD said

t hat one of its unannounced Polaris GPUs will

draw j us t 84W when running Star Wars:

Balefront at 1, 20x1,080 at 60fps , compared

t o N v id ia’ s G e Fo rc e G TX 9 5 0 c ar d wh ic h

requires 140W under the same conditions

W e s ho ul d s ee t he b en efi t o f Po la ri s i n

both desktops and laptops alike, as AMD says

it’s been designed for 1080p gaming, VR and

multimedia applications running on small

form-factor “ t hin and light comput er designs ,

which will be part icularly good news for t hos e

who like t o play games on t he go

The Polaris architecture also

c om es wi th H DM I 2 0 a a n d

D is pl ay Po rt 1 3 s up po rt , a nd i ts

media capabilities will receive a

s ignificant boos t wit h 4K H 265encoding and decoding, promising

4K res olutions at a s mooth 60fps

AMD expects its first Polaris GPUs to start

s hipping from t he m iddle of t his year, j us t in

t im e for it t o compete with Nvidia’s newGPU

technology, currently code-named Pascal

Ocu lu s Rif t to lau nch in M arch f or £ OCULUS HAS FINALLY announced t he price and release dat e for its

v irtual-realit y heads et , Oculus Ri L aunching on 28t h March, t he Ri will s et y ou back £ 4 9 plus s hipping cost s

Pre-orders for t he headset opened at t he s tart of J anuary, but it t ook

j u st 8 0 m in ut es fo r t he fi rs t wa ve o f h ea ds et s t o s el l o ut ,

pushing subsequent shipping dates back to May, then

J une, and nowJ uly at t im e of writ ing

There’s a limit of one headset per

customer, but those who pre-order

nowget t wo games for free: C CP’s

E VE V al kyr ie, a 3 6 0 s pa ce

shooter, and Lucky’s Tale, a

3 D p la tfo rm er a bo ut t he

adventures of a

cartoon fox

In t he boxy ou get an Xbox One cont roller, t he headset with built-in

headphones and m ic, t he camera s ensor and t he Oculus Remote TheRem ot e is a newinput device which will let y ou brows e apps including

t he O c ul us Sto re , vi ew 3 6 0 v id eo s, a nd e ve n p la y g am es

If y ou pre-order an Oculus Ri y ou’ll also s ecure a place t o pre-order

Oculus’s motion-tracking Touch controllers when they launch later this

y ear So far, Oculus has only s aid t hey will be releas ed in t he s econd half

of 2016, with pre-orders going liv e a few m ont hs prior t o launch There’s

c ur re nt ly n o wo rd o n h ow m uc h t he y wi ll c os t, b ut g ive n t he p ri ce o f

t he h ea ds et we wo ul dn ’t b e s ur pr is ed i f t he y we re a t l ea st £ 1 00

At the moment, the Touch controllers aren’t an essential purchase,

as all games will be playable with t he bundled Xbox One cont roller

However, for those who want a fully immersive VR experience, the

Touch cont rollers m ight be wort h cons idering, as t hey can t rack y our

h an d m ove me nt s i n 3 6 0 , a ll owi ng yo u t o m a ni pu la te o b e ct s, r ea ch o ut

and m ake life-like hand int eract ions in real t im e

Oculus als o announced t hat it will begin s elling Ri heads et and

Oculus-Ready branded PC bundles this month, with prices starting from

£ 1 ,4 9 , p ro vi di ng a n e as y, i f e xp en si ve , w ay fo r p eo pl e t o m ake s ur e

t he ir P C wi ll b e a bl e t o ru n g am es o n t he R i o nc e i t a rr ive s

⬅ At £500, the OculusRi is a lot moreexpensive than wewere expecting



NEW S

19ISSU E 3 3 8 |C M P U T E R S H P P E R |APRIL 20 16

MOTOROLA HAS PRODUCED s ome of t he best s mart phones we’v e

s een over t he pas t t hree y ears , m os t notably t he s uperb Moto G, which

has cons ist ently beat en every ot her budget s mart phone on t he m arkets ince it was introduced in 201 . However, Motorola’s chief operat ing

officer Rick Os terloh announced last m onth t hat t he Motorola brand

will be dis appearing from its handsets over t he coming y ear as it s tart s

to unify its smartphone business with its parent company, Lenovo

“ W e’ ll s lo wl y p ha se o ut M o to ro la a nd f oc us o n M o to , O ste rl oh s ai d

during an int erview with C NET at C ES

L enovo bought Motorola from Google in 2014 and until nowhas

kept Motorola’s logo and Moto branding on all of Motorola’s

s mart phones This will s till be t he case for Motorola’s high-end dev ices,

but Os terloh s tated t hat its budget dev ices will s oon be rolled into

L enovo’s Vibe brand The Motorola name will also liv e on as a corporate

divis ion of L enov o, but even Motorola’s fl agship devices will s t art

b ea ri ng t he n am e “ M o to b y L en ov o .

“ Motorola Mobilit y

continues to exist as a Lenovo

company and is t he

engineering and design engine

f or a ll o f o ur m ob il e

product s, a s pokes person for

Motorola UK told S o p p e r .

“ However, for our product

branding we will utilis e a

dual-brand strategy across

smartphone and wearables

us ing Moto and Vibe globally

‘ Motorola’ hasn’t been us ed

on our product s s ince t he

o rig ina l M o to X in 20 1 . ”

The news comes as a surprise aer Lenovo’s CEO Yang Yuanqings ai d i t wo ul d “ n ot o nl y p ro te ct t he M o to ro la b ra nd , b ut m ake i t

s t ronger when L enovo first bought t he company t wo y ears ago

According t o Os terloh, it won’t be long before we s tart s eeing Vibe

phones on s hop s helves , as he will be t aking over all m obile operat ions

at L enov o v ery s oon Where L enov o has a s trong m arket pres ence, it

will us e its connect ions t o push Moto-branded phones as as pirational

devices , but it will rely on t he s t rengt h of Motorola t o begin int roducing

s ub- 100 Vibe s mart phones where it has a weaker pres ence

“ I t d id n’t m ake a lo t o f s en se n ot t o c ove r t he m ar ke ts , t op to

b oo m, h e to ld C NE T

Os terloh also s aid he expect s t o t ake Vibe s mart phones t o t he US

at s om e point, but it’s unlikely t o happen t his y ear This s uggest s we

m ight s till get one last Moto G before it dis appears forever, but

Motorola UK t old us it cannot comm ent on any product-relatedques tions for t he t im e being

HTC HAS UNVEILED a second-generation developer edition of its Vive

V R h ea ds et K no wn a s th e H TC V ive P re , t h e n ew h ea ds et h as a n

all-new front facing camera, improved room-scale technology and a

lighter, more ergonomic headset and controller design

According t o HTC, “ each and every component has been redesigned

from t he ground up t o provide beer comfort, ergonomics and

performance , including a m ore compact heads et and a brand-new

s trap design t o provide greater s t ability and beer balance This

i nc lu de s t h e a bi li ty to a d u st t he s i e o f t he h ea ds et t o s ui t d ie re nt

t ypes of faces and, m ore import antly, being able t o fit it over glas s es

The dis play is als o brighter, wit h HTC s ay ing it ’s m ade “ image

refinem ents t o help increas e clarit y and s ens e of pres ence

Anot her new addition t o t he Vive Pre is a front-facing camera, which

lets users see certain parts of their physical environment without

hav ing to remove t he heads et It’s not quite clear howt he Vive Pre will

“ blend phys ical elem ents into t he v irtual s pace , but HTC s ay s y ou’ll be

able t o find y our s eat , drink and carry on conv ersations with fam ily

members while still being immersed in virtual reality

The Vive’s cont rollers hav e been redesigned for t he Pre, with s oer

edges , updated ergonomics and newt ext ured buons and grip pads for

comfort The newdual-s tage t rigger s hould m ake ob ect int eract ionm uch s moother, while hapt ic feedback s hould add t hat ext ra lay er of

immersion The controllers’ rechargeable baeries charge via Micro

USB to provide four hours of play t im e, and t he base s tations have been

redesigned t o be m ore compact , quieter and provide beer t racking

“ W h en we a nn ou nc e d V ive 1 0 m o nt hs a go we h ad a n a mb it io us g oa l

of fundamentally changing the way people communicate and interact

with t he world forev er, s aid C her Wang, C EO of HTC

“ Since t hen Vive has receiv ed a phenomenally positive recept ion

from media, industry commentators, consumers, and the partners and

brands we’ve been working with to deliver inspiring and dynamic VR

cont ent For t oo long, t he promis e of v irtual realit y has been lile m ore

t ha n a p ro mi se To da y w e s ta nd o n th e p re ci pi ce o f a n ew e ra V ive i s

creat ing a world where t he only lim it is hum an imagination”

Originally s cheduled t o launch at t he end of 2015, t he final v ersion oft he V iv e i s n ow e xp ec te d t o l au nc h i n A pr il 2 01 6

⬅ M i c r o s o S e c u r i t y E s s e n t i a s s t i l l i s n ’ t g o o d

e n o u g h t o b e y o u r o n l y p i e c e o f a t i - v i r u s

s o w a e , b u t i t s h o w e d a m a k e d i m p r o v e m e n t

i n t h e l a e s t r o u n d o f s e c u r i t y t e s t i n g

L n o v o t o p h a s e o u t

M o t o r o l a b r a n d

H T C a d d s f r o n t c a m e r a

t o V i v e V R h e a d s e t

R E D U C T I O N I N W A S T E

W I T H W O R K F O R C E P R O

For m ore in form ation v is itw w w .eps on .eu /in k jets av in g

T h e r e s u l t s s p e a k f o r t h e m s e l v e s

d e p e n d e n t t e s t s r e b s e d o n

c o m p r i s o n s w i t h c o m p e t i t i v e

l s e r p r i n t e r s

e p s o n c o u k / w o r k f o r c e p r o

NEW S

I t s l a n c h i s a f e w m o n t h s a a , b u t H T C h a a n o u n c e d

a s e c o n d V i v e d e v k i t w i t h a n e w f r o n t c a e r a



NEW S

APRIL 20 16 |C M P U T E R S H O P P E R |ISSU E 3 3 8

G o o g l e t o o p e n

VR d i v i s i o nC M P A E D T T H E heavy i nvestment by Facebook, Sony andMi croso i n vi rtual and augmented real i ty, Googl e has kept rel ati vel ydetached from the hi gh-end VR headset market. That now l ooks set tochange, as reports suggest parent company Al phabet w i l l be openi ng adedicated vi rtual-reali ty di vi sion and sel ecti ng a new VR boss.

Ci ti ng a number of sources fami l i ar w i th the maer, the US techw ebsi te R e/code cl ai ms that Googl e CEO Sundar Pi chai has chosenvi ce-presi dent for product management Cl ay Bavor to head up the VR arm. That l ooks to be the case, as Bavor has now changed hi s Tw ierp r ofi le t o r e a d “ V P, V i r t ua l R e a li t y a t G o o g le .

The move si gnal s a cl ear shi i n Googl e’ s approach to vi rtualreal i ty, as i ts current contri buti on to the technol ogy has extendedonl y as far as the Googl e Cardboard vi ew er. Thi s ul tra-cheap do-i t-

yoursel f vi ew er ai med to make VR accessi bl e to a l arger market, butw it h t h e O c ul us R i n o w fi rm ly o n t h e h o ri z on , t h e V R a n d A R r a c el ooks to have moved up a gear.

R e/code poi nts out that the move coul d be connected tocontinuing investment in augmented-reality firm Magic Leap, whichGoogl e acqui red i n 20 14. Whatever the case, i t show s Googl e reacti ngi n a bi g w ay to the i mmi nent w ave of vi rtual -real i ty devi ces set toarri ve over the comi ng months.

N e t fl i x t o c l a m p d o w n

o n p r o x y v i e w e r s

E T F L I X I S T get tough on vi ew ers w ho use proxy servers to accessshows avai l abl e i n other countri es. In a bl og post ti tl ed “ Evolvi ng Proxy

Detecti on as a Gl obal Servi ce , vi ce-presi dent of content del i veryarchitecture David Full agar cl aimed that the next few w eeks w oul d seethe rol lout of new measures targeti ng vi rtual pri vate networks (VPNs).

“ In comi ng w eeks, those usi ng proxies and unblockers w i l l onl y beabl e to access the servi ce i n the country w here they currentl y are,w rote Full agar. “ We’ re confident thi s change w on’ t i mpact membersnot usi ng proxi es.

The company di dn’ t expl ain how i t i ntends to bl ock VPNs, but i tcoul d si mpl y be a maer of bl ocki ng IP addresses ti ed to proxy servers.

El sew here i n the post, Ful l agar acknow l edged that proxy serversw oul dn’ t be necessary i f the content w as avail able gl obal l y. “ We aremaki ng progress i n l i censi ng content across the w orl d and, as of l astw ee k, n o w o e r t h e N e t fli x s e rv ic e i n 1 9 0 c o u nt r ie s , b ut w e h a v e awa ys [ s ic t o g o b e fo re we c an o e r p eo pl e t he s am e fi lm s a nd T Vseries everyw here, he w rote.

“ O ve r t i me , w e a n ti c ip a te b e in g a b le t o d o s o. F or n o w, g i ve n t h ehi stori c practi ce of l i censi ng content by geographi c terri tori es, theT V s h o ws a n d m o vi e s w e o e r d i e r, t o v a r yi ng d e gr e es , b y t e rr it or y.In the meanti me, w e w i l l conti nue to respect and enforce contentlicensing by geographic location.

C r o m e s p e e d s u p w i t h n e w a l g o r i t h m

G G L E H A A U CE D that i t w i l l berol li ng out a new compression al gori thm toi ts Chrome brow ser i n the near future,b oo st in g s pe ed s b y up t o 2 6 .

The so-called Brotli technology willcompress data, including font compression

and other i ntensi ve el ements commonl ysent to and from pages, to make them l oadfaster. It replaces the previous Zopflial gori thm Googl e w as usi ng to cut dow n thevol ume of traffic throughput, w hi ch w asrel eased tw o years ago.

Googl e expl ai ned that the compressi onengi ne w i l l have tw o other benefits for mobi l eusers: i t w i l l reduce data transfer l evel s andcut baery usage.

Fol l ow i ng the success of open-sourcealgorithm Zopfli, the technology was adoptedby a number of other compani es to compressdata traffic, i ncl udi ng PNG opti mi sers andpre-processing web content engines. Googlei s hopi ng the same w i l l happen w i th Brotl i .

Zoltan Szabadka, soware engineer forGoogle’ s Compression Team, sai d: “ Thesmal l er compressed si ze al l ow s for beerspace uti l i sati on and faster page l oads. Wehope that thi s format w i l l be supported bymaj or brow sers i n the near future, as thesmal l er compressed si ze w oul d gi ve addi ti onalbenefits to mobi l e users, such as l ow er datatransfer fees and reduced baery use.

Could we see another

Google Cardboard in

the near future

N et i x u s er s wo n’ t b e

able to watc h the US

v ersio n o f the se rv ic e

using a VPN any mo re

Google’s new Brotli algorithm will be particularly

be ne fic ial fo r mo bile Chrome use rs, as it will c ut

baery usage and reduce data transfer levels



ISSU E 3 3 8 |C M P U T E R S H O P P E R |APRIL 20 16

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t o g e t h e r t h e U K ’ s l a r g e s t fi x e d - l i n e t e l e p h o n e c o m p a n y a n d t h e l a r g e s t

m o b i l e t e l e c o m s b u s i n e s s . T h e m e r g e r w i l l fi n a l l y a l l o w B t o d e l i v e r a

f u l l ‘ q u a d - p l a y ’ s e r v i c e , o e r i n g fi x e d - l i n e t e l e p h o n e , m o b i l e , b r o a d b a n d

a n d t e l e v i s i o n d e a l s s i m i l a r t o V i r g i n M e d i a a n d T a l k T a l k .

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a c c o r d i n g t o f c o m fi g u r e s , a s w e l l a s 3 7 . 6 % o f h o m e p h o n e t r a ffi c .

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t h e c o m p a n y t a k e a n i m m e d i a t e a n d c o m m a n d i n g m a r k e t l e a d . E E h a s

d o m i n a t e d t h e i n d u s t r y t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t i n t h e 2 0 1 2 a u c t i o n o f 4 G

s p e c t r u m b a n d w i d t h s , f c o m h a d t o s t e p i n t o p r e v e n t s m a l l e r

c o m p a n i e s s u c h a s T h r e e f r o m b e i n g m u s c l e d o u t a l t o g e t h e r .

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c o n c e r n s a b o u t t h e e e c t o n c o m p e t i t i o n . “ T h e e v i d e n c e d o e s n o t

s h o w t h a t t h i s m e r g e r i s l i k e l y t o c a u s e s i g n i fi c a n t h a r m t o c o m p e t i t i o n

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t h e r e h a v e b e e n o n g o i n g c o n c e r n s a b o u t t h e s t a t e o f e a c h c o m p a n y ’ s

f c o m c u s t o m e r s a t i s f a c t i o n r a t i n g s . B t h B a n d E E a r e r a n k e d

l o w e s t f o r c u s t o m e r s e r v i c e i n t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e fi e l d s .

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a v e r a g e o n s p e c i fi c c u s t o m e r s e r v i c e m e a s u r e s i n c l u d i n g s p e e d a n d

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i s s u e s a n d o e r i n g c o m p e n s a t i o n o r a g o o d w i l l p a y m e n t . ”

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c u s t o m e r s f o l l o w i n g t h e l a u n c h o f B S p o r t . A e m p t i n g t o i n t e g r a t e

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i n c r e m e n t s o v e r a p e r i o d o f u p t o f o u r y e a r s .

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m e a n i n g t h i r d - p a r t y g o o d s w o n ’ t q u a l i f y f o r t h e p a y - m o n t h l y o p t i o n .Y o u n e e d t o s p e n d a t l e a s t £ 4 0 0 t o q u a l i f y f o r 2 4 - m o n t h r e p a y m e n t s ,

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s p r e a d a c r o s s y o u r b a s k e t , s o y o u d o n ’ t h a v e t o s p e n d i t a l l o n o n e i t e m .

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o f y o u r m o n t h l y i n s t a l m e n t s . S i m p l y s e l e c t t h e fi n a n c i n g o p t i o n a t t h e

c h e c k o u t f o r a q u a l i f y i n g o r d e r , a n d t h e n s e e i f y o u p a s s t h e c r e d i t

c h e c k s f o r a l o a n o f o n e t o f o u r y e a r s .

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F i n a n c e , t o l d T e G a r d i a n : “ u r n e w t r i a l w i t h A a z o n i s a l l a b o u t

g i v i n g p e o p l e t h e f a s t e s t a n d m o s t s e a m l e s s e x p e r i e n c e w h e n i t

c o m e s t o p o i n t - o f - s a l e s c r e d i t .

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o r d e r a t t h e c l i c k o f a b u o n w i t h p r e - s t o r e d p a y m e n t d e t a i l s a n dd e l i v e r y a d d r e s s e s . T h i s i s p a r t o f b o o s t i n g t h a t c u s t o m e r e x p e r i e n c e

a n d c o u l d s i g n a l h u g e c h a n g e s f o r t h e o n l i n e r e t a i l i n d u s t r y . ”

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IN DEPTH

2 3ISSU E 3 3 5 |C M P U T R S H O P P R | JANUARY 20 16

A CE S ( s e e p a g e 1 6 ) , P h i l i p s a n n o u n c e d i t s

o w n p l a y e r , t h e P r e m i u m C m p a c t D e s i g n 4 K

U l t r a H D B u - r a y p l a y e r BD P 7 5 0 1 . T h i s b r e a k s

a w a y f r o m t h e u s u a l h i - fi c o m p o n e n t f o r m a t

f o r s o m e t h i n g t h a t ’ s o n l y a s b i g a s i t n e e d s t o

b e – a c h a n g e w e a p p l a u d b u t w h i c h m i g h t

n o t s i t w e l l w i t h t h o s e w h o l i k e t h e i r A r a c k s

o f s a m e - s i z e d k i t . T h e p l a y e r w i l l c o s t U S $ 3 9 9

a n d i s s c h e d u l e d f o r a M a y 2 0 1 6 l a u n c h ;

t h e r e ’ s n o n e w s y e t o n a U K r e l e a s e .

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e s s e n t i a l l y d o t h e s a m e j o b : t h e y p l a y U l t r a

H D B u - r a y d i s c s . T h e y a l l s u p p o r t h i g h -

d y n a m i c r a n g e ( H D R ) f o r b e e r c o l o u r d e p t h

a n d c o n t r a s t a n d w i l l a l l s u p p o r t s t r e a m i n g 4 K

s e r v i c e s s u c h a s e t fl i x , a l t h o u g h e x a c t

s e r v i c e s a r e t o b e c o n fi r m e d .

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t o U l t r a H D B u - r a y w i l l b e a d o d d l e c o m p a r e d

t o t h e t r i a l s a n d t r i b u l a t i o n s o f m o v i n g

c e l l u l o i d m o v i e s t o t h e o r i g i n a l B u - r a y f o r m a t

u p o n i t s r e l e a s e . T h a t m e a n s y o u c a n e x p e c t

t o s e e l o t s o f U l t r a H D B u - r a y fi l m s f r o m o ft h e o a n d q u a l i t y r e a l l y s h o u l d n ’ t b e a n i s s u e

w i t h t h e f o r m a t . S o w h o ’ s a n n o u n c e d w h a t ?

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t i t l e s b e f o r e t h e e n d o f 2 0 1 6 . T h e fi r s t t i t l e s

t o b e m a d e a v a i l a b l e w i l l b e Ma d Ma x : F r y

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f t h o s e , Ma d Ma x a n d L g o w i l l p r o b a b l y

s e l l t h e m o s t .

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r e l e a s e s w i l l i n c l u d e E o d u s : G d s a n d K n g s ,

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X- M n : Da s o f F t u r e Pas t , L f e o f P , T e

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s o m e t h i n g f o r m o s t p e o p l e t h e r e .

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S u r f s 2 a n d P n e a p p l e E p r e s s , w h i c h i s n ’ t

e x a c t l y a s t e l l a r l i n e - u p i n o u r e y e s

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M a r c h , a n d m a n y a r e a l r e a d y a v a i l a b l e t o

p r e - o r d e r f r o m A a z o n .

H O W M U . H W I LL 3 I S . S . O S T ?

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e x p e n s i v e t h a n r e g u l a r B u - r a y a n d e v e n m o r e

e x p e n s i v e t h a n D V D s . n A a z o n . c o m i n t h e

U S , T e Mar t i an i s l i s t e d f o r $ 3 0 ( d o w n f r o mt h e R R P o f $ 4 0 ) . B c o m p a r i s o n , t h e r e g u l a r

B u - r a y v e r s i o n c o s t s j u s t $ 1 5 . T h a t ’ s f o u r

t i m e s t h e p i x e l s f o r t h e d o u b l e t h e p r i c e ,

w h i c h w e ’ r e n o t s u r e i s a v e r y g o o d d e a l .

I ’ s a s i m i l a r s t o r y w i t h t h e o t h e r l a u n c h e s ,

a l t h o u g h s o m e t i t l e s w i l l s h i p w i t h a r e g u l a r

B u - r a y c o p y a n d a d i g i t a l e d i t i o n a s w e l l . I ’ s

n o t u n c o m m o n f o r n e w f o r m a t s t o b e m o r e

e x p e n s i v e t h a n o l d o n e s : B u - r a y s c o s t a l o t

m o r e t h a n D V D s w h e n t h e y l a u n c h e d .

I t h e c a s e o f U l t r a H D B u - r a y , t h e p r i c e

i n c r e a s e i s l i k e l y t o b e b e c a u s e f e w p e o p l e w i l l

h a v e t h e a b i l i t y t o w a t c h U l t r a H D d i s c s , s o

t h e r e ’ l l b e a s m a l l e r p r o d u c t i o n r u n , r e d u c i n g

e c o n o m i e s o f s c a l e . I U l t r a H D B u - r a y r e a l l y

t a k e s o , t h e c o s t o f t h e d i s c s i s l i k e l y t o d r o p

r a p i d l y , w h i l e m u l t i - b u y d e a l s i n m o s t s h o p s

s h o u l d h e l p r e d u c e t h e c o s t f u r t h e r .

. N I 1 U Y 3 I S . S O V 2 R S 2 S ?

I l o o k s a s t h o u g h U l t r a H D B u - r a y d i s c s w i l l

b e r e g i o n f r e e , w i t h n o g e o g r a p h i c l o c k i n g

s y s t e m c u r r e n t l y b e i n g d i s c u s s e d . T h i s m e a n s

y o u c a n b u t y o u r d i s c s f r o m w h e r e v e r y o u

w a n t a n d w o n ’ t h a v e t o w a i t f o r U K r e l e a s e s .

D o n ’ t r u s h o t o A a z o n . c o m y e t , t h o u g h , a s

w e ’ l l b e c o n fi r m i n g t h i s n e a r e r t h e r e l e a s e .

T h e r e w i l l b e c o p y p r o t e c t i o n , h o w e v e r ,

a n d d o c u m e n t s p u r p o r t e d l y f r o m S o n y h a v e

e v e n h i n t e d t h a t s o m e d i s c s m a y r e q u i r e a n

i n t e r n e t c o n n e c t i o n t o a u t h e n t i c a t e

t h e m s e l v e s o n fi r s t b e i n g p l a y e d .

⬆ The new disc boxes are clearly marked with4K and Ultra HD logos

The Philips BDP7501 isamong the first players andhas a smart, compact design

T r a n s f e r r i n g fi l m s t o U l t r a H l u - r a y w i l l b e a d o d d l e

c o m p a r e d t o m o v i n g c e l l u l o i d m o v i e s t o l u - r a y



24 A PRIL 0 1 6 |C M P U T E R S H P P E R | I SSUE 3 3 8

IT’S HARD NOT t o be wowed by Dell’s s lim

I nfi ni tyE dg e b e e ls , e ve n i f t he fe at o f

engineering is no longer anyt hing new Next t o

t he r a o r- th in D el l XPS 1 , h owe ve r, e ve n t he

slickest of laptops suddenly looks ungainly

This hasn’t changed with t he XPS 15, which

t ake s m uc h o f wh at we l ov ed a bo ut t he X PS

1 a nd a pp li es i t t o a mu ch l arg er l ap to p

W it h b e e ls m ea su ri ng j u st 5 7 mm , i t ’s a

beauty to behold and puts Apple’s 15in

MacBook Pro t o s hame Both laptops weigh

around 2kg, s o neit her is m ore port able t hant he ot her, but aer opening t he XPS 15’s lid,

we knew which one we’d rat her be carrying

Thos e s uper-s lim be els are complemented

by a gorgeous aluminium chassis and carbon

fibre compos ite key board and palm res t

Adm iedly, t he amount of s pace around t he

keyboard seems excessive compared with the

n ea t, c omp ac t b ord ers o f t he XP S 1 , b ut th e

key board is s ens ibly laid out and oers plenty

o f s pa ce t o r es t y ou r h an ds T he p al m r es t

became slightly warm during day-to-day use

but never uncomfortably hot

The key s provide a res pect able amount of

t ra ve l a nd we we re a bl e t o g et c lo se t o a ro un d8 0 o f o ur to p r ec ord ed t yp in g s pe ed

We t es ted t he 3 ,840x2,160 Infinity Edge

dis play, and t o s ay it’s s t unning is a huge

u nd er st ate me nt W ith 10 0 c ove ra ge o f b ot h

t he Adobe RGB and s RGB colour gamuts , t he

XPS 15 delivers t rue and accurate colours wit h

aplomb The panel reaches alm os t eye-s earing

brig htne ss l eve ls o f 3 6 . 4c d m2 t oo, s o y ou

won’t s t ruggle if y ou’re working outdoors

W e h ad t o d ia l i t d own a f ew n otc he s w he n

using t he lapt op indoors , as our eyes became

fat igued at m axim um bright nes s Black lev els

suer slightly, as the screen’s black

me as ureme nt of 0 3 4 cd m2

is fairly averageThe s ame goes for its cont ras t rat io of 1,065:1,

which is res pect able but nothing s pecial

Under m ore s ub ective t es ts , t he s creen

looks beautiful with plenty of sharp, crisp

d et ai l a nd v ib ra nt c ol ou rs T he r e e ct iv e

coating proved a lile irksome under certain

lighting condit ions, but no m ore s o t han other

re ective s creens we’ve t es ted L uckily, t he

XP S 1 5 l ac ks t he X PS 1 ’ s a da pt ive c on tr as t,

so it’s beer for creative professionals

The 3 ,840x2,160 m odels all come with

touchscreens, which respond brilliantly to all

m anner of s wipes and gest ures The lapt op’s

hinge is s trong and firm enough t o withs tand

constant prodding, too

To help make using such a high-resolution

display easier, Dell’s virtual monitor soware

can snap windows into dierent positions on

D E LL XPS15

£ 1 , 6 4 9 i c VAT • r o m w w w . d e l l . c o . u k

V E R D I 2 T

I ’ s e x p e n s i v e , b u t t h e D e l l X P S 1 5 i s t h e b e s t

S k y l a k e - b a s e d W i n d o w s 1 0 l a p t o p y o u c a n b u y t o d a y

R V W SR V W SO U R T R U S T E D G U I D E T O W H T ’ S N E W

compared with a

mechanical keyboard, which is

prey good for a laptopThe large t ouchpad also m akes good us e

of t he s pace available, and responded

beautifully to each stroke, tap and multitouch

gest ure There are no dedicat ed buons , but

l e a nd r ig ht c li ck s a t t he b as e o f t he

touchpad worked without a hitch

T O I N F I N I T Y N D 3 E Y O N D

All but t he lowes t-s pecification XPS 15 is

equipped with a glossy ,840x2,160-resolution

display That ’s a higher resolut ion t han t he

2,880x1,800 Retina panel on Apple’s MacBook

Pro, but t hos e who are looking t o s ave m oney

wit h t he lower s pecification will have t o m akedo wit h a 1, 20x1,080 non-t ouchs creen panel

P R EMIUMW INDOW S 0 LAP TOP

E ST UY



25I SSUE 3 3 8|C M P U T R S H O P P R |A PRIL 0 1 6

t h e s c r e e n w h e n y o u s t a r t m o v i n g t h e m , s o

y o u w o n ’ t h a v e t o m a x i m i s e t h e m o r m o v e

t h e m f a r a c r o s s t h e d i s p l a y . I ’ s p a r t i c u l a r l y

h a n d y i f y o u d o n ’ t h a v e a n y o f t h e W i n d o w s

1 0 s c a l i n g o p t i o n s e n a b l e d , b u t w e ’ d

r e c o m m e n d t u r n i n g o n s c a l i n g t o a t l e a s t

1 5 0 % t o r e a d t e x t c o m f o r t a b l y .

P 2 R F O R M N . 2 P O W 2 R H O U S 2

T h e X P S 1 5 i s a v a i l a b l e i n n u m e r o u s

c o n fi g u r a t i o n s , b u t o u r r e v i e w u n i t c a m e

w i t h a q u a d - c o r e 2 . 6 G H z I t e l C r e i 7 -

6 7 0 0 H Q ( w i t h T u r b o B o s t i n g u p t o 3 . 5 G H z ) ,

1 6 G B o f D D R 4 R AM , a 2 G B v i d i a G e F o r c e

G T X 9 6 0 M a n d a 5 1 2 G B P CI S S D .

o m a e r w h i c h s p e c y o u c h o o s e , e v e r y

X P S 1 5 i s c o m p e t i t i v e l y p r i c e d a g a i n s t A p l e ’ s

1 5 i n M a c B o k P r o w i t h R e t i n a d i s p l a y ,

e s p e c i a l l y a s A p l e i s s t i l l u s i n g I t e l ’ s 4 t h

g e n e r a t i o n B o a d w e l l p r o c e s s o r s . W e w e r e n ’ t

s u r p r i s e d t o d i s c o v e r t h a t t h e X P S 1 5

p e r f o r m e d b r i l l i a n t l y i n o u r b e n c h m a r k s . I

e a r n e d a n o v e r a l l s c o r e o f 1 1 1 , a c h i e v i n g

e x c e l l e n t s c o r e s a c r o s s t h e b o a r d i n o u r

i m a g e - e d i t i n g , v i d e o - e d i t i n g a n d m u l t i t a s k i n g

t e s t s , w h i c h p u t s i t r i g h t u p t h e r e a s a v i a b l e

d e s k t o p r e p l a c e m e n t .

f c o u r s e , i t s d e d i c a t e d G e F o r c e 9 6 0 M

g r a p h i c s c h i p w i l l n e v e r b e a b l e t o c o m p e t e

w i t h a p r o p e r g a m i n g l a p t o p , b u t i f y o u ’ r e

w i l l i n g t o c o m p r o m i s e o n i m a g e fi d e l i t y ( a n dp u t u p w i t h i t s r a t h e r l o u d f a n s ) , y o u c a n g e t

p l a y a b l e f r a m e r a t e s o n e v e n t h e m o s t t a x i n g

g a m e s . D i r t S h o w d o w n a t 1 , 9 2 0 x 1 , 0 8 0 , 4 x

a n t i - a l i a s i n g a n d U l t r a g r a p h i c s r a n a t 4 5 . 1 f p s ,

6 c e r Chrom e bo ok R 11 8 G o o g e Pi e lC S m s u n g UE4 8JU 5 0 0

a n d t h e X P S 1 5 e v e n m a n a g e d 3 1 . 6 f p s i n

M e t r o L a s t L i g h t R e d u x a t 1 , 9 2 0 x 1 , 0 8 0

w i t h g r a p h i c s s e t t o V e r y H i g h o n c e

w e ’ d t u r n e d o t h e s u p e r - s a m p l e d

a n t i - a l i a s i n g . D r o p p i n g d o w n t o

M e d i u m g r a p h i c s i n M e t r o

L a s t L i g h t s a w a j u m p t o

5 1 . 5 f p s , w h i c h i s v e r y

i m p r e s s i v e o n a l a p t o p

l i k e t h e X P S 1 5 .

A S S D h e l p s t h e

X P S 1 5 b o o t u p a n d s h u t

d o w n s w i l y , a n d W i n d o w s

1 0 f e e l s s u p e r - r e s p o n s i v e ,

p r o d u c i n g s e q u e n t i a l r e a d

s p e e d s o f 1 , 5 2 5 . 5 1 M B s a n d w r i t e

s p e e d s o f 5 4 1 . 5 4 M B s . C m b i n e t h i s

w i t h a n i m m a c u l a t e s c r e e n a n d y o u

h a v e a s u p e r b s y s t e m t h a t c a n b e u s e d

b o t h f o r w o r k a n d p l a y .

T h e o n l y d i s a p p o i n t i n g p a r t o f t h e X P S 1 5

i s i t s b a e r y , w h i c h l a s t e d j u s t 5 h 4 0 m i n o u r

c o n t i n u o u s v i d e o p l a y b a c k t e s t . I ’ s a f a r c r y

f r o m D e l l ’ s a d v e r t i s e d b a e r y l i f e o f 1 7 h o u r s ,

b u t c o n s i d e r i n g h o w w e l l - s p e c i fi e d t h e s y s t e m

i s , i t ’ s a c t u a l l y p r e y r e a s o n a b l e c o m p a r e d

w i t h o t h e r 1 5 . 6 i n l a p t o p s w e ’ v e t e s t e d .

1 2 T T 2 R . O N N 2 . T 2 3

L i k e t h e D e l l X P S 1 3 , t h e X P S 1 5 h a s a

T h u n d e r b o l t 3 m u l t i f u n c t i o n p o r t t h a t c a n b eu s e d f o r c h a r g i n g , d a t a t r a n s f e r a n d

c o n n e c t i n g a n e x t e r n a l d i s p l a y . T h i s u s e s t h e

f a m i l i a r U S B T y p e - C o n n e c t o r , s o i t w o r k s

fi n e w i t h U S B C e v i c e s . Y o u ’ l l a l s o b e a b l e t o

6 R s e o f t h e T o m b R d e r

u s e i t w i t h D e l l ’ s o p t i o n a l , y e t - t o - b e - r e l e a s e d

T h u n d e r b o l t D o c k , w h i c h w i l l a l l o w y o u t o

o u t p u t t o t h r e e d i s p l a y s a t 1 , 9 2 0 x 1 , 0 8 0 o r t w o

d i s p l a y s a t 3 , 8 4 0 x 2 , 1 6 0 .W i t h o u t t h e d o c k , y o u h a v e a f u l l - s i z e

H D M I c o n n e c t i o n f o r a n e x t e r n a l d i s p l a y , t w o

U S B p o r t s , a n S D c a r d r e a d e r a n d a h e a d s e t

j a c k . I y o u r e q u i r e a n E t h e r n e t p o r t , y o u ’ l l

h a v e t o b u y a n o p t i o n a l U S B T y p e - C o H D M I

V G A E t h e r n e t / U S B a d a p t o r . At e r n a t i v e l y ,

y o u c a n u s e t h e b u i l t - i n 8 0 2 . 1 1 a c M i M o W i - F i .

T h e D e l l X P S 1 5 i s a s t u n n i n g l a p t o p . I

d o e s n ’ t h a v e q u i t e t h e s a m e v i s u a l i m p a c t a s

t h e d i m i n u t i v e X P S 1 3 , b u t i t s m a r r i a g e o f h i g h

p e r f o r m a n c e w i t h s t y l i s h l o o k s m o r e t h a n

j u s t i fi e s i t s p r e m i u m p r i c e . W i t h t h i s a n d t h e

X P S 1 3 , D e l l h a s t w o s h i n i n g l i g h t s t h a t s h o w

o W i n d o w s 1 0 t o i t s f u l l e s t . T h e X P S 1 5 i st h e u l t i m a t e W i n d o w s 1 0 l a p t o p , c o m p e t i n g

w i t h – a n d i n m a n y a s p e c t s o v e r t a k i n g – t h e

1 5 i n M a c B o k P r o . I w i n s a B s t B y a w a r d .

R h a r Ea s t o n

S P 2 . I F I . T I O N S

W i n d o w s o v e r a l l

M u l t i t a s k i n g

i r t S h o w d o w n

B e r y l i f e

R e f e r e n c e + 5 0 + 1 0 05 0%

S e e p a g e 7 8 f o r p e r f o r m a n c e d e t a i l s

5 h 4 0 m

4 . 1 p s

1 0 7

1 1 1

P R O C S S O R Q u a - c o r e 2 . 6 G H z I n t e l C o r e i 7 - 6 7 0 0 H Q

R A 1 6 G

I M N S I O N S 3 5 7 x 2 3 5 x 1 7 m m

W I G H T 2 k g

S C N S I Z 1 5 . 6 i n

S C N R S O L U T I O N 3 , 8 4 0 x 2 , 1 6 0

G R A H I C A A T O R N v i d i a G e F o r c e G T X 9 6 0 M

T O T A S T O R A 5 1 2 G S S D

O P R A I N G S Y S T M W i n d o w s 1 0 H o m e E d i t i o n

P A T S A L AB U R W A R A T Y O n e y e a n e x t b u s i n e s s d a

T A L S w w w . d e l l . c o . u k

P A T N U M B R C N X 5 5 0 3

2 3 5 m m

1 7 m m

c l o s e d

2 k g

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1 5 . 6 i n

W i t 5 . 7 m m b e z e l s , t e D e l l X P S 1 5 i s a b e a u t t b e h o l da n d p u t p p l e ’ 1 5 i n M a c o o k P r o t s h a m e

O n e P u s 2



26 A PRIL 0 1 6 |COMPUTER SHOPPER | I SSUE 3 3 8

R E C M M E N E

C H R O M E B O O K S H A V E N E V E R b e e n w h a

y o u ’ d c a l ‘ p r e m i u m ’ l a t o p s , s o i t ’ s n o

s u r p r i s e t h a m a u f a t u r e r s d o e v e r y t h i n g

t h e y c a t o d r i v e d o w n c o s t s . D e s i g n i s o e n

t h e m o s t o b v i o u s c a u a t y , b u t c e r ’ s

C h r o m e b o o k R 1 1 b u c k s t h i s t r e n d w i t h a

g e n u i n e l y a r a t i v e a d r o b u s t - f e e l i n g l a t o p .

m a i n g l y , i t a s o p a k s i n a 3 6 0 ° h i n g e a d a

t o u c h s c r e e n t o t u r n i t i n t o a m a e s h i t a l e t .

T h e 1 1 . 6 i n c h a s i s i s a o u t a r e fi n e d a

b u d g e t l a t o p s c o m e , w i t h s h a p e d g e s , w h i t e

m a p l a t i c a d a l i d w i t h a c l a s y w e a e -

t e x t u r e d p a e r n t h a e l e v a e s t h e R 1 1 a o v e

i t s C h r o m e O S - p o w e r e d r i v a s . t 1 . 2 k g , i t ’ s

v e r y p o r t a l e , a d n o t t o o h e a y t o u s e a a

t a l e t . I t ’ s t h i n , t o o , a j u s t 2 0 m m .

I t ’ s a l i l e w a t i n g f o r p o r t s , w i t h j u s t o n e

U S 2 a d o n e U S 3 p o r t a a l a l e . T h e r e ’ s a

H D M I p o r t f o r c o n n e c t i n g a e x t e r n a d i s p l a ,

a S D c a d r e a e r a d a 3 . 5 m m h e a s e t j a k .

T h e r e ’ s n o E t h e r n e t p o r t b u t i t ’ s k i e d o u t

w i t h 8 0 2 . 1 1 a W i - F i f o r a f a t e r , m o r e r e l i a l e

c o n n e c t i o n i f y o u r W i - F i n e t w o r k i s u p t o i t .

T h e k e y b o a d s p a s n e a l y t h e f u l l w i d t h

o f t h e c h a s i s . S o m e u s e r s m a t a e i s s u e

w i t h t h e s l i m R e t u r n k e y b u t w e h a n o i s s u e s

w i t h l a o u t . K e y p r e s s e s h a e l o t s o f t r a e l ,

a d t h e k e y s h a e a f r i e n d l y c h u n k y f e e l t h a

s t o p s l o n g t y p i n g s t i n t s b e c o m i n g a d u o u s .

T S K M S T E R

T h e t o p r o w o f k e y s p r o v i d e s t h e s t a d a d

C h r o m e b o o k f u n c t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g a k ,

F o r w a d , a d v o l u m e a d b r i g h t n e s s c o n t r o l s .

T h e T a k V i e w b u o n i s p a t i c u l a l y u s e f u l i f

y o u h a e m u l t i p l e w i n d o w s o p e n , b u t w e w e r e

d i s a p o i n t e d t h a t h i s b u o n d o e s n ’ t a s o

s p l i t u p y o u r o p e n t a s f o r e a i e r a c e s s –

a e r a l , t h i s l a t o p i s b u i l t f o r t h e w e b .T h e t o u c h p a i s a m i x e d b a . I t ’ s

r e s p o n s i v e f o r s t a d a d s w i p e s , m u l t i - fi n g e r e d

C E R Chrom ebook R 11

£ 2 3 0 i n c V A • F o m w w w . p c w o r l d . c o . u k

V E R D I C TMinor touchpad issues aside, the Chromebook R 11 is a well-built bargain laptop

C O N V E R T I L E C H R O M E O O K

s w i t h L e n o v o ’ s W i n d o w s - b a e d Y o g a

l a t o p s , s u c h a t h e Y o g a 7 0 0 ( s e e p 2 8 ) , t h e R

1 1 ’ s 3 6 0 ° h i n g e d e s i g n m a h a e l i m i t e d a p e a

d e p e n d i n g o n w h e t h e r y o u w a t a s t a d a d

l a t o p o r o n e t h a d o u b l e s a a t a l e t . W e

w e r e r a e l y t e m p t e d t o s w i t c h t o t a l e t m o d e ,

b u t t h a ’ s l a g e l y b e c a s e w e p r e f e r u s i n g a

m o r e p r e c i s e c u r s o r a d k e y b o a d . C h r o m e

O S i s n ’ t r e a l y o p t i m i s e d f o r t o u c h c o n t r o l

e i t h e r , a t h o u g h n o w t h a m o s t m a o r

w e b s i t e s a e e a y t o n a i g a e w i t h a p r o d o f

t h e fi n g e r , y o u s h o u l d n ’ t h a e a y p r o b l e m s

o n l i n e . T h e r e ’ s a s o a o n s c r e e n k e y b o a d f o r

e n t e r i n g p a s w o r d s a d t h e l i k e .

T O U C H I N G D I S P L Y

T h e 1 1 . 6 i n d i s p l a i s b r i g h t a 2 2 6 c d / m , a d

i t s 1 , 3 6 6 x 7 6 8 r e s o l u t i o n i s a c e p t a l e , b o t h f o r

t h e s i z e o f t h e s c r e e n a d t h e p r i c e . T e x t i s

p e r f e c t l y l e g i b l e a d i c o n s a e l a g e e n o u g h t o

t a e a i l y o n t h e t o u c h s c r e e n . T h e I P S p a e l

d o e s n ’ t s e r v e u p t h e d e e p e s t , m o s t v i b r a t

c o l o u r s w i t h i t s s R G c o l o u r g a u t c o v e r a e

o f j u s t 6 6 % , b u t i t s t i l l h o l d s i t s o w n , t h a k s i n

p a t t o i t s 1 , 2 1 0 : 1 c o n t r a t r a i o .

T h e c e r C h r o m e b o o k R 1 1 i s t h e m o s t

a r a t i v e a d p r a t i c a b u d g e t C h r o m e b o o k

y o u c a b u y t o d a . I t m a n o t h a e t h e p o w e r

o r t h e b e s t s c r e e n f o r i n t e n s e m u l t i t a k i n g ,

b u t i t ’ s a s e r i o u s l y g o o d p i e c e o f k i t f o r t h e

m o n e y . T h e s u s C 2 0 1 C h r o m e b o o k c o s t sa o u n d £ 4 0 l e s s a d i t s b a e r y l a t s a f e w

m o r e h o u r s , b u t i t l a k s t h e R 1 1 ’ s e x c e p t i o n a

b u i l d q u a i t y , p r o c e s s i n g g r u n t a d I P S s c r e e n .

M i c h a e l P a s s i n g h a m

S P E C I F I C T I O N S

Baery life

Reference +5 +-5

8 h 4 2 m

S e e p a e 7 8 f o r p e r f o r m a c e d e t a l s

PROCESSOR D u a l - c o r e 1 . 6 GH z I t e l C l e r o n N 3 0 5 0 •RAM 2 GB • DIMENSIONS 2 0 x 2 9 5 x 2 0 3 m m • WEIGHT

1 . 2 k g • SCREEN SIZE 1 1 . 6 i n • SCREENRESOLUTION

1 , 3 6 6 x 7 6 8 • GRAPHICSADAPTOR I t e l H D Ga p h i c s •TOTALSTORAGE 1 6 GB e M M C• OPERATING SYSTEM

C r o m e S • WARRANTY n e y e a r R T B • DETAILS w w w .

a c e r . c o . u k • PART CODE N D . 2 0 4 1 1 . 0 7 Q

k

s c r o l l i n g a d t a s , b u t p h y s i c a c l i c k s r e q u i r e

a l i l e t o o m u c h f o r c e . I f y o u t e n d t o o p t f o r a

p h y s i c a c l i c k i n s t e a o f t a p i n g , y o u w i l l t a e

i s s u e w i t h t h e R 1 1 .

T h e l a t o p i s c o o l a d q u i e t i n o p e r a i o n ,

t h a k s t o i t s f a l e s s d e s i g n a d l o w - p o w e r

1 . 6 G H z I n t e l C e l e r o n N 3 0 5 0 p r o c e s s o r . T h i s

d u a - c o r e c h i p i s p a r e d w i t h j u s t 2 G o f R M ,

s o t h e R 1 1 i s h a d l y a p o w e r h o u s e , b u t i t c a

h a d l e m e d i a h e a y w e b s i t e s s u c h a T h e

G u a d i a w i t h o u t t o o m u c h f u s s .

W e u s e d t h e R 1 1 m a n l y f o r e m a l s , S p o t i f y ,

d o c u m e n t w r i t i n g a d Y o u T u b e , a d d i d n ’ t

fi n d o u r s e l v e s t o o c o n s t r a n e d b y i t s s p e e d . I t

w a o n l y w h e n w e o p e n e d l o t s o f C h r o m e

t a s c o n t a n i n g a s a d m u l t i m e d i a e l e m e n t s

t h a i t s t a t e d t o s h o w i t s l i m i t a i o n s , b u t i t

q u i c k l y r e t u r n e d t o n o r m a s p e e d o n c e w e ’ d

c l o s e d t h e o e n d i n g w e b p a e s .

I t s c o r e d a m i d d l i n g 6 3 6 . 5 m s i n t h e

S u n S p i d e r w e b - b a e d b e n c h m a k , a d 2 2 f p s

i n t h e d e m a d i n g W e b G L 3 D C u b e s

b e n c h m a k , w h i c h i s r e s p e c t a l e f o r a b u d g e t

l a t o p . I n J e t S t r e a , t h e c h a l e n g i n g w e b -

b a e d b e n c h m a k , t h e R 1 1 m a a e d a s c o r e

o f 4 7 , w h i c h i s a r e a o n a l e r e s u l t .

s i s a w a s t h e c a e w i t h C h r o m e O S ,

y o u ’ l l h a e t o c o m m i t t o a l i f e o f c l o u d - b a e d

s t o r a e a d w e b - b a e d a p l i c a i o n s t o g e t t h e

m o s t o u t o f t h e R 1 1 . I t s v e r y l i m i t e d 1 6 G o f

o n b o a d s t o r a e m e a s y o u ’ l l b e t r a s f e r r i n g

p h o t o s f r o m y o u r c a e r a s t r a g h t t o t h e

c l o u d , b y p a s i n g l o c a s t o r a e e n t i r e l y , w h i c hi s s o m e t h i n g e l s e t o g e t u s e d t o .

T h e l i n e - u p o f b a i c a p s i s s t r o n g , t h o u g h .

W i t h G o o g l e D r i v e a d i t s v a i o u s p r o d u c t i v i t y

t o o l s , p l u s G m a l , P o l a r , Y o u T u b e , S p o t i f y

a d N e t fl i x a a l a l e , i t ’ s e a y t o

f o r g e t y o u ’ r e w o r k i n g i n t h e

c l o u d a l o n g a y o u h a e a

g o o d i n t e r n e t c o n n e c t i o n .

G o o g l e ’ s o ffl i n e D r i v e a p s

a e a s o o n h a d i f y o u

h a p e n t o b e i n a W i - F i

d e a s p o t . T h e R 1 1 c a

l a t a l d a o n a s i n g l e

c h a g e , t o o , m a a i n g

8 h 4 2 m i n o u r t e s t ,

w h i c h i s a g r e a

r e s u l t f o r s u c h a

s m a l l a t o p .






CONVERTIBLE LAPTOPS HAVE been around

f or a wh il e n ow, b ut f ew h av e fo un d t he r ig ht

balance between price and performance At

£ 560, L enovo’s lates t s hape-s hiing Yoga 700

falls int o t he m id-range category, but it s t ill

m is s es t he m ark for overall v alue

Lenovo has actually made two Yoga 700

lapt ops t he 11 6in m odel we rev iew here and

a larger, m ore powerful 141in v ersion

Ot herwis e, t hey s hare t he s ame design and

are available in a range of colours , including

silver, white and an eye-catching orange

Like previous Yoga laptops, the Yoga 700

h as a s pe ci al h in ge t ha t l et s y o u fo ld i t b ac k

o n i ts el f a n d u se i t a s a t ab le t Yo u c an a ls o

us e t he Yoga 700 in what L enovo calls t ent

m ode an inv erted V-s hape t hat’s handy if

y ou want t o prod at t he t ouchs creen without

holding it for long periods of t im e

This makes the Yoga 700 incredibly

v ersatile The s creen does n’t detach from its

key board base, t hough, s o y ou can’t s hed t he

excess weight when y ou s witch t o t ablet

m ode It’s reas onably light at 1 1kg, but y ou’ll

s oo n g et t ir ed i f y o u h ol d i t i n o ne h an d fo rl on g W it h a t hi ckn es s o f 1 6m m, i t’s n ot t he

slimmest laptop around, either

S T I F F J O I N T

So-touch m at erial on t he outer lid and base

m ak es t he Yo ga 7 0 0 e a sy to p ic k u p a nd h ol d

b ut th e l id fl e xe s a l il e to o mu ch fo r o ur

liking Ot herwis e, it’s well put t ogether, with a

s olid hinge t hat s t ay s in whichev er position

y ou choos e You m ight s truggle t o find t he

s mall power and v olum e buons, which are

fl u sh wi th t he c as e, b ut a t l ea st yo u c an u se

the keyboard’s volume controls as a back-up

when y ou’re not us ing t he s ys tem as a t abletFor peripherals , t he lapt op has t wo USB2

p or ts a n d o ne U SB p or t I de al ly, we ’d p re fe r

m or e o f t he f as te r U SB p or ts , e sp ec ia ll y a s

o ne o f t he U SB 2 p or ts d ou bl es a s t he p owe r

L N O V O Yoga 7 0 0 (11.6 in)

£ 5 6 0 i c VAT • r o m w w w . l e n o v o . c o m

C O N V E R T I L E L P T O P

connector, leaving one

less port when it’s plugged in

You can connect an ext ernal dis play

us ing t he Micro HDMI port , and t here’s als o

a n S D c ar d r ea de r a nd h ea ds et j a ck

The key board is anot her s ource of

irrit ation Not only do it s keys lack t ravel, but

its half-height Enter and reduced-width Le

Shi keys were particularly irksome during

prolonged us e The s mall t ouchpad was n’t

m uch beer It handled m os t m ultitouch

gest ures well but occas ionally m is s ed an

input, which became more frustrating the

longer we us ed it Thankfully, t he t ouchs creen

was far m ore respons ive

The display’s 1, 20x1,080 resolution is

u nu su al ly h ig h f or a l a pt op o f t hi s s i e , b u t t he

quality of the screen itself was disappointing

The backlight bleeds from t he boom cornersand t he s creen ripples and dis torts when y ou

exert any pres sure on it This is exacerbated

b y t he fl e xi bl e l id , wh ic h i s s o me th in g y o u

certainly don’t want on a touchscreen

C olour accuracy le a lot t o be desired,

wit h s RGB coverage of j us t 61 6 , s o t his isn’t

a l ap to p t o u se f or c ol ou r s en si ti ve wo rk T he

s cr ee n’s p ea k b r ig ht ne ss o f 3 3 5 1 c d m2 is

good, but its black lev el of 0 3 6cd m2 is

a ve ra ge fo r a l ap to p o f t hi s p r ic e T he s am e

goes for its m ediocre cont ras t rat io of 744:1

T he 1 1 6 i n Yo ga 7 0 0 h a s a n I nt el C or e

M - 6Y 0 p ro ce ss or, whic h run s a t 9 0 0M H

b ut c an Tu rb o Bo os t u p to 2 2 GH , a nd 8 GB o fR AM W it h a b en ch ma rk s co re o f 4 7, t he Yo ga

700 is m ore t han capable of every day t as ks ,

but it was dragged down by a m ultitas king

s co re o f 3 1 , s o a nyo ne wh o wa nt s to r u n

several demanding

applications at once

will find t heir pat ience

tested Still, Windows 10 felt

responsive and web browsing felt suitably

slick without any noticeable slowdown

M I N E R I N 2 O N V E N I E N 2 E

You can’t expect anyt hing m ore t han t he

lightes t gaming, t hough The int egrated Int el

H D G ra ph ic s 5 15 ma na ge d a p a lt ry 1 . 9 f ps i n

Dirt Showdown at 1,280x720 resolution, 4x

anti-aliasing and High graphics, which is

c on si de re d a f ai l i n o ur b en ch ma rks I f yo u

want t o play s ome Minecra while y ou’re on

t he m ov e, t he Yoga 700 s hould s uffice,

alt hough its 128GB M 2 SSD does n’t leav e

m uch s torage s pace once it’s formaed andWindows 10 has been installed

The Yoga 700’s baery las ted 6h 54m in

o ur te st U nd er l ig ht u se, yo u s ho ul d j u st b e

a bl e t o e k e o ut a f ul l d ay ’s u se b ef or e yo u

n ee d to g o i n s ea rc h o f a p owe r o ut le t

As a mid-range convertible, the Yoga 700

is underwhelming It’s delightfully portable,

but its display does n’t do j us tice t o its Full HD

res olution and t he key board leav es a lot t o be

desired Acer’s 11 6in Aspire Switch 11V has

t he e dg e i n m an y a re as b ut i s i t se lf l et d own

b y p oo r b ae ry l ife I f yo u’ re n ot f us sy a bo ut

y our key board or t he qualit y of y our dis play,

t he Yoga 700 is probably t he s tronges tcont ender in a weak field, but t hos e who want

a more capable tablet-laptop hybrid should

b uy th e M ic ro so S ur fa ce 3 a nd a Typ e C ove r

i c h a r d E s t o n

V E R D I 2 TL e n o v o ’ s c o n v e r t i b l e Y o g a 7 0 0 i s a v e r y v e r s a t i l e

l a p t o p , b u t i t s d i s p l a y a n d k e y b o a r d l e t i t d o w n

S P E 2 I F I 2 T I O N S

W i n d o w s o v e r a l l

M u l t i t a s k i n g

D i r t S h o w d o w n

B e r y l i f e

R f e r e n c e + 5 0 + 1 0 05 0%

S e e page 78 forpe rformance de tai l s

6 h 5 4 m

ai

3 1

4 7

P R CE S S R u a - c o r e 9 0 0 M H z I n t e l C o r e M 3 - 6 Y 3 0

R AM 8 G B

D IM E S I S 2 9 0 x 1 9 7 x 1 6 m m

W E IG H T 1 . 1 k g

S C E E S I E 1 1 . 6 i

S C E E R E S L U T I 1 , 9 2 0 x 1 , 0 8 0

G R A H IC AD A T R I n t e l H G r a h i s 5 1 5

T T AL S T R AG E 1 2 8 G B SS

P E R A I G S Y S T E M W i d o w s 1 0 H o m e

W A R A T Y O n e y e a R T B

D E T AI L S w w w . l e n o v o . c o m

P A T C D E 8 0 Q E 0 0 0 S U K

1 9 7 m m

1 6 m mc l o s e d

1 . 1 k g

2 9 0 m m

1 1 . 6 i n

n)

nector, eaving one

p or t w he n i t s p u gg ed i n

can connect an ext ernal dis play

g t he Micro HDMI port , and t here’s also

severa demandi

pplications at once

will find t heir pat ience



29I SSUE 3 3 8|C M P U T E R S H P P E R |A PRIL 0 1 6

WE HAVE A LOVE-hate relationship with

stick-based computers Two previous eorts

Intel’s Compute Stick and the Hannspree Micro

P C fa il ed to wi n o ur h ea rt s T he y we re to o

s mall, t oo clunky and, for m os t people, had lile

obvious us e The Asus C hrom ebit is anot her

pocket-s i e PC s t ick, but t his one runs Google’s

Chrome OS, thereby placing greater emphasis

on web browsing and cloud-based computing

T he C hr om eb it i s no m or e fl e xi bl e t ha n i ts

Windows-based competitors for ports and

connect ions, as it’s hindered by t he s ame

p hys ic al l im it at io ns I t h as j u st o ne f ul l- s i e U SB 2

p or t a nd a p owe r c on ne ct or B lu et oo th 4 0 i s

also included, but you’ll need a Bluetooth-

compatible keyboard and mouse to take

advantage of it Alt ernatively, y ou can us e a

conventional wireless keyboard and mouse set

t ha t u se s a s in gl e d on gl e, b ut t ha t wi ll t ake u p

y our only USB port

Adding a USB hub does n’t m ake t hings any

easier, as the device starts to become unwieldy,

d efe at in g t he o b e ct o f i ts p oc ke ta bl e s i e I f y o u

need m ore USB port s you s hould probably buy a

m ini PC s uch as t he Dell Ins piron Micro inst eadThe C hrom ebit is powered by an ARM-based

Rockchip RK 288C proces s or It’s a quad-core

c hi p t ha t ru ns a t u p to 1 8 GH , a nd i s p ai re d wi th

2G B o f 1 ,066M H LPDD R RAM It’s not a

powerhous e by any s tretch of t he imagination,

b ut a s i s s o o e n t he c as e wi th C hr om e O S, t ha t

doesn’t necessarily hobble its performance too

m uch Google Docs runs sm oothly and we never

had any issues working on multiple documents

and switching between windows

Performance slowed when we were working

on larger Google Docs s preads heets , and

copying and pasting between them took longer

t han we’d hav e liked It never proved part icularly frustrating as we were able to do everything we

needed t o do, but t here’s no deny ing t hat we felt

a lile hamstrung by its sluggish progress

T H E 3 I G G E R P I 2 T U R E

Multimedia and ad-heavy web pages tended to

lag and s t uer when we s crolled down t hem,

and loading times weren’t exactly lightning fast

When y ou cons ider t hat t he C hrom ebit cost s

j u st £ 9 4 , t h ou gh , i t’s a ll p erfe ct ly a cc ep ta bl e We

were particularly impres sed with t he

performance of Polarr, a free photo editing

program t hat ’s available on t he C hrom e Web

Store Manipulating images from a 20-megapixel

camera was quick and easy t hanks t o t he

C hr om eb it ’s 6 00 M H A RM M a li -T 7 60 G PU W e

also t ried t o play a few web-bas ed Flas h games ,

a lt ho ug h m os t o f t he t it le s we t ri ed h ad h ug e

S U S Chrom ebit

£ 9 4 i c VAT • r o m w w w . e b u y e r . c o m

V E R D I 2 TA u p e r - c h e a p C r o m e S P C b u t n e t b o o k -

l e v e l p e r f o r m a n c e l i m i t s i t s a p p e a l

P C O N S T I C K

P R CE S S R Q u a - c o r e 1 . 8 G H z R o c k c h i R K 3 2 8 8 C •R AM 2 G B • F R T U S B P R T S 1 x U S B 2 • R E A U S B

P R T S N o n e • T T AL S T R AG E 1 6 G B e M M C • G R A H I C

CA D I n t e g r a e d A R M M a i T 7 6 4 • D I P L A N o n e • P E R A I G S Y S T E M C h r o m e O S • W A R A T Y O n e y e a R T B

• D E T AI L S w w w . a u s . c o m / u k • P A T C D E C h r o m e b i C S 1 0


advert s pres ent t hat m ade t he games alm os t

unplay able due t o lag

The GPU handled 1080p v ideo wit hout a

hitch, making the Chromebit a viable media

s tr ea me r i f y ou wa nt to p lu g i t i nt o t h e b ac k o f

y our TV J us t bear in m ind t hat if y ou plug it into

a device t hat has a res olut ion of m ore t han

1, 20x1,080, y our desktop will be s tret ched

because t he HDMI connect or on t he C hrom ebit

only supports Full HD resolution

The C hrom ebit comes with j us t 16GB of

onboard storage, and there’s no microSD slot

for expanding t his With C hrome OS ins t alled,

we had j us t under 10GB of free s pace That ’s not

m uc h t o wo rk wi th , b ut s in ce C hr om e O S i s

designed t o use t he cloud for s torage,

downloading files to your device as and when

y ou need t hem, t his s houldn’t be a problem

O U T O F T H E 3 L E

This way of working m ay t ake s ome ad ust ment

for t hos e who are us ed t o using a m ore

traditional PC, where everything is stored locally

With int ernet s peeds geing fas ter all t he t im e

and Google’s web-based applications improving,however, working on files that never really reside

on y our local device is beginning to feel like t he

n orm Yo u c an a ls o wo rk o n d oc ume nt s o i ne

u si ng t he s ui te o f o i ne G oo gl e D oc s a pp s on

t he C hr om e W eb St or e i f y ou h ap pe n t o t ake

t he C hrom ebit s omewhere t hat does n’t hav e a

stable internet connection

O n t he fa ce o f i t, t he A su s C h ro me bi t i s g o od

v alue You’ll need t o buy a Bluetooth key board

a nd m ou se s et o r a U S B h u b t o c on ne ct o th er

wired peripherals, but £ 9 4 for a relatively

capable PC is a bargain whichev er way y ou look

a t i t I t’s a g o od b uy i f y ou r d em an ds a re l ig ht

a nd y ou a lr ea dy h av e a m on it or wi th a n H DM Ip or t, a nd i t’s a f ra ct io n o f t he c os t o f a f ul ly

fl e dg e d C hr om eb oo k l ap to p Fo r e ve ry on e e ls e,

it’s t oo limited t o replace a genuine PC, both for

p owe r a nd fl e xi bi li ty A s a r es ul t, i t’s n ot m uc h

beer t han its Windows -bas ed riv als If y ou’re

looking for a proper t iny PC, we’d recomm end

s av in g up f or t he m or e p ra ct ic al M SI C ub i ( s ee

e v i e w s , h o p p e r 3 3 1 instead

M i c h a e l P a s s i n g h a m



3 0 A PRIL 0 1 6 |COMPUTER SHOPPER | I SSUE 3 3 8

IF YOU THOUGHT Alienware had the mark etf or outlandish gaming laptops covered, think a g a i n . T h e r e ’ s a l s o t h e A s u s R o G a n d H PO m e n s e r i e s , a n d n o w A c e r h a s n o w j o i n e dthe party with its gargantuan P redator 17.

T his is a genuinely impressive-look ingm a c h i n e , p r i m e d w i t h r e d h i g h l i g h t s a n d ab a c k l i t r e d l o g o , a n d t h e p a l m r e s t i s m a d ef rom top-quality ma-black plastic. It’s alsoo n e o f t h e b i g g e s t l a p t o p s w e ’ v e e v e r s e e n . I t s

1 7 . 3 i n s c r e e n l e a v e s a h u g e a m o u n t o f r o o mf or the k eyboard, macro k eys and touchpad,a n d i t w e i g h s a l i l e o v e r 4 k g , s o A c e r h a scompletely thrown portability to the wind.

E v e n s o , y o u c a n u s e t h e P r e d a t o r 1 7 o nyour lap without discomf ort, because despitethe powerf ul components inside, it remainsc o o l e v e n w h e n u n d e r l o a d . T h i s i s p a r t l y d u et o i t s e x t r e m e l y l o u d r e a r f a n s , w h i c h b yd e f a u l t a r e s e t t o s p i n a t m a x i m u m s p e e d n omaer what. Disabling this in Acer’sP redatorSense soware brings the noised o w n t o a m e r e w h i s p e r .

F N F R I 3 T I O N

T hank f ully, disabling the f ans doesn’t upsetperf ormance, as the P redator 17’s quad-coreIntel Core i7-6700H Q is an extremelycompetent multitask er. T he chip runs at ab a s e c l o c k s p e e d o f 2 . 6 G H z b u t c a n T u r b oB o o s t t o 3 . 5 G H z w h e n c o o l e n o u g h . I n t e l ’ sH yper-T hreading also allows Windows tot r e a t e a c h o f i t s f o u r c o r e s a s t w o c o r e s(one virtual, one physical) f or improvedperf ormance in multithreaded programs.

T h e 1 6 G B o f D D R 4 R A M i s a m p l e f o r t h elatest games and will aid perf ormance withhigh-end multimedia work . In our benchmark s,

i t s c o r e d 1 0 8 o v e r a l l , a c h i e v i n g 9 8 i n i m a g ee d i t i n g , 1 1 2 i n v i d e o r e n d e r i n g a n d 1 0 9 i n t h emultitask ing tests. We’d expect this level ofp e r f o r m a n c e f r o m a d e s k t o p C o r e i 5processor, so it’s prey impressive in a laptop.

3 E R Pred at or17

£ 1 , 5 0 0 i n c V A T F r o m w w w . s c a n . c o . u k

V E R 0 I 3 TBig and brash, the Acer Predator 17 is a powerful anddependable gaming laptop with an excellent keyboard

P R EMIUMGAMINGLAP TOP

T he P redator 17f eels incredibly snappy inW i n d o w s , a n d w e w e r e n e v e r l e w a i t i n g f o r i t t o l o a d w e b p a g e s a n d p r o g r a m so r t o r e s p o n d t o s e a r c h e s . I t s s t o r a g e i s q u i c k ,

t o o , w i t h a 2 5 6 G B M . 2 S S D b a c k e d u p b y al a r g e 1 T B h a r d d i s k .

F o r g a m i n g , i t ’ s e q u i p p e d w i t h a 3 G BNvidia GeForce GT X 970M – Nvidia’ssecond-best mobile graphics card. It’sextremely capable at Full H D resolutions,ploughing through Dirt Showdown with ana v e r a g e f r a m e r a t e o f 8 0 . 8 f p s . I n M e t r o : L a s tLight Redux with super sampling anti-aliasings w i t c h e d o n , i t a c h i e v e d a n a v e r a g e o f 3 1 f p s .T h e f a n s k i c k e d u p q u i t e a f u s s d u r i n g t h e s egames but were never uncomf ortably loud,a n d t h e p a l m r e s t d i d n ’ t e v e n b e c o m e w a r m ,l e t a l o n e h o t , w h i c h i s q u i t e a f e a t .

You can expect a lile over three hours ofusage time bef ore the P redator 17’s baeryg i v e s o u t . W e f o u n d t h a t i t l a s t e d 3 h 3 7 m i no u r t e s t , a l t h o u g h y o u m i g h t b e a b l e t o e k eo u t f o u r h o u r s i f y o u ’ r e c a r e f u l .

T here’s a generous selection of ports, too.Four USB3 connectors are present, along withH DMI and DisplayP ort outputs f or an externald i s p l a y , a n S D c a r d r e a d e r a n d a T h u n d e r b o l tport f or high-perf ormance storage and otherhigh-end peripherals. T here’s also GigabitEthernet, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, andt w o 3 . 5 m m a u d i o j a c k s f o r a m i c r o p h o n e a n dheadphone setup.

T he k eyboard deserves special credit, asi t ’ s b y f a r t h e b e s t l a p t o p k e y b o a r d w e ’ v e e v e ru s e d . I t s l a r g e , c h u n k y k e y s h a v e p l e n t y o ftravel and give excellent f eedback . It’s f ullyb a c k l i t , t o o , m a k i n g t y p i n g e a s y i n t h e d a r k .

T h e m a c r o k e y s a r e i n a s l i g h t l y a w k w a r d

p l a c e – o t o t h e s i d e , a w a y f r o m t h econventional k eys – and are shallower thant h e s t a n d a r d l e e r k e y s . W i t h fi v e m a c r og r o u p s , h o w e v e r , y o u h a v e a t o t a l o f 2 5customisable shortcuts, which you can set inthe P redatorSense soware to changes e i n g s s u c h a s f a n s p e e d a n d G P U u s a g e , a swell as more advanced user-defined macros.

T he touchpad is also excellent. It’sr e s p o n s i v e a n d i t s b u o n s a r e p l e a s i n g t o t h et o u c h . T h e r e ’ s e v e n a b u o n t h a t d i s a b l e s t h et o u c h p a d a n d t h e W i n d o w s k e y t o a v o i dunnecessary interruptions while gaming.

P N E L 6 E T E R

A n o t h e r p o i n t i n t h e P r e d a t o r 1 7 ’ s f a v o u r i si t s s u p e r b F u l l H D I P S p a n e l , w h i c h h a s l o v e l yw i d e v i e w i n g a n g l e s . I t d i s p l a y s 9 1 % o f t h es R G B c o l o u r g a m u t , r a n k i n g i t a m o n g t h ebest non-prof essional laptops we’ve tested,a n d i t s l o w 0 . 2 5 c d / m 2 b l a c k l e v e l s a r e a g o o ddeal beer than the competition’s. Bright,320cd/m 2 w h i t e l e v e l s a r e a l s o v e r y g o o d .

T h e A c e r P r e d a t o r 1 7 m a n a g e s t o j u s t i f y i t seye-watering price with top-level perf ormance,a n d i t s s u p e r b b u i l d q u a l i t y m a k e i t g e n u i n e l ydesirable. It’s in competitive company, though.T h e £ 1 , 3 8 0 G i g a b y t e P 3 7 W v 4 i s a l o t t h i n n e r

and lighter, mak ing it f ar more practical f orm o b i l e g a m e r s , b u t i f y o u d o n ’ t m i n d t h eextra bulk and you value an excellent display,t h e A c e r P r e d a t o r 1 7 i s a g r e a t c h o i c e .

M h a e l Pa s s i n g h a m

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3 h 3 7 m

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PROCESSOR Q u a d - c o r e 2 . 6 G H z I n t e l C o r e i 7 - 6 7 0 0 H Q

RAM 1 6 G B D D R 4

DIMENSIONS 4 2 3 x 3 2 2 x 4 0 m m

WEIGHT 4kg

SCREENSIZE 1 7 . 3 i n

SCREENRESOLUTION 1 , 9 2 0 x 1 , 0 8 0

GRAPHICSADAPTOR N v i d i a G e F o r c e G T X 9 7 0 M

TOTALSTORAGE 2 5 6 G B M . 2 S S D , 1 T B h a r d d i s k

OPERATING SYSTEM W i n d o w s 1 0

WARRANTY O n e y e a r R T B

DETAILS w w w . a c e r . c o . u k

PART CODE N X . Q 0 3 E K . 0 0 1

322mm

40mmclosed

4kg

423mm

17.3in



27 ’’24 ’’



3 2 A PRIL 0 1 6 |C O M P U T E R S H O P P E R | I SSUE 3 3 8

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SPECIFICATIONS

THE HTC ONE M 9 w a s o n e o f t h e b i g g e s ts m a r t p h o n e d i s a p p o i n t m e n t s o f 2 0 1 5 , b u t H T Csl a t e s t s m a r t p h o n e , t h e n e A , i s e v e r y t h i n g t h eM 9 s h o u l d h a v e b e e n a n d m o r e . A i g p a r t o f i t sa p p e a l l i e s i n i t s s t u n n i n g d e s i g n . I s c l e a n l i n e s a n dm e t a l c h a s s i s m a y b e e e r i l y r e m i n i s c e n t o f A p l e ’ si P h o n e 6 a n d 6 s b u t i t ’ s a w i n n i n g c o m b i n a t i o n . I ’ sn o t o n l y e a s i e r t o h o l d t h a n A p l e ’ s i P h o n e b u t a l s ov e r y l i g h t f o r i t s s i z e , w e i g h i n g j u s t 1 4 3 g .

T h e n e A i s i m m e d i a t e l y m o r e a p p e a l i n g t h a nt h e M 9 , n o t l e a s t b e c a u s e o f i t s 5 i n , 1 , 9 2 0 x 1 , 0 8 0AM ED d i s p l a y . C v e r i n g 1 0 0 % o f t h e s R GBc o l o u r g a m u t a n d p r o d u c i n g p e r f e c t 0 . 0 0 c d / mb l a c k s , i t ’ s f a r s u p e r i o r t o t h e M 9 ’ s d i s p l a y , a n d i t sc o n t r a s t r a t i o o f i n fi n i t y : 1 e n s u r e s t h e r e ’ s p l e n t y o fd e t a i l i n d a r k e r i m a g e s . W h i t e s a r e a l i l e y e l l o w ,b u t w e d i d n ’ t fi n d i t p a r t i c u l a r l y b o t h e r s o m e . T h es c r e e n ’ s p e a k b r i g h t n e s s i s a l s o l o w a t 3 4 7 . 1 9 c d / m ,b u t t h a t ’ s n o t u n u s u a l f o r a n AM ED d i s p l a y .

T h e n e A c o m e s w i t h A d r o i d 6 . 0M a r s h m a l l o w i n s t a l l e d , b u t w i t h H T Cs S e n s e 7 U Io n t o p i t w o n ’ t l o o k t h e s a m e a s G o g l e ’ s N e x u sd e v i c e s . T h i s i s n ’ t a p r o b l e m , a s S e n s e 7 i s v e r yc u s t o m i s a b l e . F r e x a m p l e , i t s T h e m e G n e r a t o r l e t s

y o u c h a n g e t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f i n d i v i d u a l a p p i c o n s ,f o n t s a n d t h e c a l l e r ID l o g o e i t h e r u s i n g o n e o f t h eh a n d f u l o f t h e m e s o n o e r o r o n e y o u ’ v e m a d ey o u r s e l f u s i n g i m a g e s f r o m y o u r g a l l e r y .

n c e y o u ’ v e c h o s e n a n i m a g e , t h e T h e m eG n e r a t o r a n a l y s e s t h e c o l o u r s p r e s e n t i n t h ep i c t u r e a n d s u g g e s t s d i e r e n t c o m b i n a t i o n s f o ry o u r h o m e s c r e e n , B l i n k f e e d h u b a n d s e i n g sm e n u , w h i c h y o u c a n t h e n t w e a k t o y o u r l i k i n g . I ’ sa b r i l l i a n t t o u c h , a n d e v e n p h o t o s c o n t a i n i n g o n l y af e w c o l o u r s g a v e u s p l e n t y o f o p t i o n s .

HAND SIGNAL

A n g e r p r i n t s e n s o r o e r s a d d e d s e c u r i t y . o c a t e d

a t t h e b o o m o f t h e h a n d s e t , i t ’ s f a s t a n d r a r e l ym a d e m i s t a k e s w h e n w e u s e d i t t o u n l o c k t h ep h o n e . At e r n a t i v e l y , t h e g r o o v e d p o w e r b u o n i sa t t h u m b h e i g h t a n d e a s y t o fi n d . n t h e o t h e r s i d eo f t h e p h o n e i s a m i c r o S D c a r d s l o t , w h i c h y o u c a nu s e t o e x p a n d t h e d e f a u l t1 6 GB o f s t o r a g e , j u s t 1 0 GB o fw h i c h i s a v a i l a b l e t o t h e u s e r .

T h e n e A i s p o w e r e d b ya n o c t a - c o r e 1 . 5 GH zQ u a l c o m m S n a p d r a g o n 6 1 7p r o c e s s o r a n d 2 GB o f R AM . I ’ s a s h a m e i t d o e s n ’ t u s e aS n a p d r a g o n 8 1 0 l i k e t h e n eM 9 , b u t i t ’ s s t i l l q u i c k . I o u rb e n c h m a r k s u i t e , i t s h o w e d as i g n i fi c a n t i n c r e a s e i n s p e e do v e r o l d e r S n a p d r a g o n 6 1 5h a n d s e t s , a s i t s G e k b e n c h 3

HTC OneA9★★★★

£42 0 inc V A T From www.c arphonewarehouse.c om

VERDICT A g o r g e o u s p h o n e w i h a s u p e r b s c r e e n a d c a e r a b u t

i j u s t i n ’ t f a t e n o u g h t o c o m p e t e w i h o t h e r fl a s h i s

s c o r e s o f 7 3 2 i nt h e s i n g l e - c o r e t e s ta n d 3 , 0 5 0 i n t h em u l t i c o r e t e s t w e r eo n a v e r a g e a r o u n d1 0 0 a n d 8 0 0 p o i n t sf a s t e r r e s p e c t i v e l y .

F r a p h o n et h a t c o s t s £ 4 2 0S IM - f r e e o r £ 2 8 . 5 0 p e r m o n t h o n c o n t r a c t ,h o w e v e r , t h i s i s r a t h e r s l u g g i s h . T h e S a m s u n gG l a x y S 6 c o s t s j u s t £ 3 5 0 S IM - f r e e o r £ 2 7 . 5 0 p e rm o n t h o n c o n t r a c t , f o r e x a m p l e , a n d i s v a s t l ys u p e r i o r t o t h e n e A – a p p s o p e n f a s t e r a n d t h eo p e r a t i n g s y s t e m f e e l s m o r e r e s p o n s i v e .

SHADOW PLAY

G m i n g p e r f o r m a n c e i s a l s o l a c k l u s t r e f o r a £ 4 2 0h a n d s e t . T h e n e A m a n a g e d j u s t 4 1 1 f r a m e s i nt h e o s c r e e n M a n h a a n t e s t i n GF B e n c h G ,w h i c h i s r o u g h l y 6 . 6 f p s . T h a t ’ s b y n o m e a n s a b a ds c o r e , b u t c o m p l e x 3 D g a m e s s u c h a s H e a r t h s t o n ea r e n ’ t a s s m o o t h a s t h e y c o u l d b e . T h e s a m e g o e sf o r w e b b r o w s i n g , a s i t s P e a c e k e e p e r s c o r e o f 7 9 3 i s

a l o n g w a y b e h i n d t h e G l a x y S 6 ’ s 1 , 2 5 7 . W e b p a g e sw e r e q u i t e j e r k y a t t i m e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i f t h e yc o n t a i n e d l o t s o f i m a g e s o r e m b e d d e d v i d e o s .

B a e r y l i f e j u s t a b o u t s c r a p e s i n t o d o u b l efi g u r e s , a s i t s 2 , 1 5 0 m A b a e r y l a s t e d 1 0 h 2 m i no u r t e s t . T h i s s h o u l d g e t y o u t h r o u g h t h e d a y , b u ti t ’ s a l o n g w a y b e h i n d o t h e r fl a g s h i p p h o n e s s u c ha s t h e GG a n d t h e G l a x y S 6 .

T h e n e A ’ s r e a r c a m e r a h a s r e c e i v e d s e v e r a li m p r o v e m e n t s . D e s p i t e a 1 3 - m e g a p i x e l s e n s o r( d o w n f r o m t h e n e M 9 ’ s 2 0 - m e g a p i x e l s n a p p e r ) ,i t s o v e r a l l p i c t u r e q u a l i t y i s m u c h b e e r . P h o t o s a r ea f r a c t i o n d a r k i n p l a c e s , b u t s w i t c h i n g o n H D Rq u i c k l y s o r t s t h i s o u t . I d o o r p h o t o s l o o k e d g r e a t ,

t o o . T h e o n l y m a j o r d i s a p p o i n t m e n t i s t h e fl a s h , a si t m a d e i m a g e s l o o k g r e e n .A a w h o l e , t h e H T C n e A l o o k s a n d f e e l s l i k e

a fi r s t - c l a s s h a n d s e t . S e n s e 7 i s a g r e a t i n t e r f a c ea n d i t h a s a b e a u t i f u l d e s i g n . T h e s t i c k i n g p o i n t i s

t h e p r i c e . A £ 4 2 0 S IM - f r e eo r £ 2 8 . 5 0 p e r m o n t h o nc o n t r a c t , i t ’ s u p a g a i n s t t h ec o m p e t i t i v e S a m s u n gG l a x y S 6 , w h i c h i s f a s t e r ,c h e a p e r a n d h a s a b e e rb a e r y l i f e . T h e n e Ai s n ’ t g r e a t v a l u e , b u t t h a td o e s n ’ t m a k e u s l i k e i t a n yl e s s . I ’ s d e fi n i t e l y a b e e rb u y t h a n t h e n e M 9 , b u t i td o e s n ’ t d o q u i t e e n o u g h t om a k e t h e b i g l e a g u e s .

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l i e d t h i s r e s t r i c t i o n t o m a k e i t s s e c o n d

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n e P l u s 2 i s a l m o s t h a l f t h e p r i c e . e e d l e s s t o

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a n d o u t o f a p p s q u i c k l y .

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1,920x1,080 • R E R C M E R 13 megapixels •S T O R G E 64GB • W I R E L E S S D T 4G • D I M E N S I O N S

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3 6 A PRIL 0 1 6 |C M P U T E R S H P P E R | I SSUE 3 3 8

LAST MONTH, WE t ried out Windows 10

Mobile and all its brand-new features ( s ee

S o p p e r 3 3 7 . Now we’ve had a chance to test

Microso’s official Display Dock, the optional

£ 8 0 a da pto r yo u’l l n ee d i f yo u wa nt to u se

Windows 10 Mobile’s biggest and most

exciting feature, Continuum, which in eect

turns your smartphone into a portable PC

At t he m om ent , C ontinuum only works on

the Lumi a 9 5 0 an d 9 50 X L pho ne s ( se e

R v i e w s , S o p p e r 3 3 7 , a s you need a USB

Ty pe-C port t o connect t he Display Dock It’s

likely that future Lumia handsets will come

wit h C ontinuum s upport, but t he Display

Dock is n’t compatible with older phones

The idea is s imple By connect ing y our

p ho ne to t he D is pl ay D oc k, yo u c an u se t he

Dock’s HDMI or Display Port output t o

connect an external monitor, allowing you to

run a full PC-like desktop us ing t he hardware

in y our s mart phone You can us e fulls creen

apps s uch as Outlook, Office, Edge and Maps

wit hout t he need for a PC or laptop, and y oucan even us e y our phone while it’s connect ed,

s o y ou won’t hav e t o s top what y ou’re doing

t o a n swe r a c al l o r r ep ly to a te xt

N E R V E 3 E N T R E

As well as t wo dis play outputs , t he Display

Dock has t hree USB2 port s for a wired m ous e

and key board Bluetooth is also available if

y ou want t o cut down on wires It’s a s ham e

t ha t n on e o f th e p ort s i s U SB , b ut o ne o f

t hem doubles as a charging port , s o y ou

could power anot her dev ice s uch as a t ablet

or baery pack while y ou work Even beer,

the USB Type-C connection charges yourphone while it’s connected

The Display Dock is s urpris ingly heav y for

i ts s i e , w e ig hi ng 2 0 g d e sp it e i ts s m al l

footprint of 64x64x26m m As a res ult , y ou

M I 3 R O S O F T

Display Dock

£ 8 0 i n c V A T F r o m w w w . m i c r o s o s t o r e . c o m

V E R 0 I 3 T

A l i m p s e i n t o t h e f u t u r e o f m o b i l e w o r k i n g ,

b u t y o u n e e d a s l u g g i s h L u m i a 9 5 0 t o u s e i t

W INDOW S MOBILE ACCESSOR Y

won’t need t o worry

about it s liding round y our

desk with every mouse movement,

as its rubbery, so touch underbelly stays

firm ly in place Alt ernatively, y ou can us e y our

smartphone’s display as a makeshi touchpad

i f y ou n ee d to f re e u p a U SB p or t, a lt ho ug h

we’d recomm end us ing a m ous e where

poss ible as t he lack of t act ile feedback on t he

screen meant we weren’t always sure we’d

tapped it correctly

This is exacerbated by the phone’s

hardware, as we found t hat even t he L um ia

9 5 0 XL’s o c ta -c or e 2 0 GH Q ua lc omm

S na pd ra go n 8 10 c hi p a nd 3 G B o f R AM

weren’t quite powerful enough t o run

Windows 10 on a big s creen wit hout any lag

Navigating the desktop was absolutely

fine, but trying to switch between multiple

t abs in Edge oen t ook a s econd, cont ribut ing

t o our uncert ainty as t o whet her our t aps had

regis tered when us ing our phone as at ouchpad Scrolling down pages could also be

rat her j erky at t im es , part icularly when t hey

included v ideo, and web brows ing in general

was s luggis h compared with a lapt op or PC

Another limitation is that Continuum only

works wit h Micros o’s univ ersal apps , s o y ou

m ay have s everal apps on y our phone t hat

y ou can’t us e t hrough t he Display Dock That

m eans no Net ix, Sky pe, Spotify, Twier or

X bo x a pp s, to n am e j u st a f ew a t l ea st u nt il

their developers make them truly universal

Thankfully, key apps such as Word, Excel,

OneNote, Outlook and OneDriv e are

s upported, and it’s t hes e t hat m akeC ont inuum s hine We had no performance

issues while typing out Word documents or

working on Excel s preads heets , and in m any

respect s it was j us t like working on a laptop

You can als o use

t he File Explorer app t o

open Full HD videos, pictures,

documents and music files from

y our phone’s internal s torage, or any files y ou

h ave o n a U SB s ti ck 1 08 0p v id eo wo rks a

t re at , a s w e we re a bl e t o p l ay t he Fu ll H D

v ersion of our us ual open-s ource t es t m ov ie

( T a r s o f S e e l ) wi th ou t a ny s tu e r o r l ag

R E V O L U T I O N R Y R O 0

Web browsing issues aside, Microso’s

Display Dock could potentially revolutionise

m ob il e o ffic e wo rki ng W he n y ou c an r un a ll

y our basic office apps from y our phone, t he

need t o carry a lapt op around all day becomes

practically nonexistent Of course, a fair

amount of infras t ructure would need t o be in

place before we reached a s t age when we

could s imply plug in our phones and get down

to work, but provided your workplace has the

correct monitor, cables and accessories,Continuum has huge possibilities

The only real problem wit h t he Display

Dock is t hat it es sentially forces y ou t o us e

e it he r t he Lu mi a 9 5 0 o r L umi a 9 5 0 XL a s y ou r

m ai n h an ds et A s we d is cu ss ed i n o ur r ev ie w

l as t m on th , t he L um ia 9 5 0’s o pe ra ti on i sn ’t a s

s mo ot h a s w e’d e xp ec t f ro m a £ 4 20 p ho ne ,

a nd e ve n th e £ 4 70 L umi a 9 5 0 XL i sn’t a s sl ic k

as its Snapdragon 810-based Android rivals

T he X L i s s t il l a g oo d p ho ne , a nd we fo un d

its dis play, camera and baery life equal t o, if

not beer t han, t hos e of t he regular L um ia

9 5 0 B ut wh en i t’s d og ge d b y s o m an y d a il y

irritations, we hesitate to recommend it andby ext ens ion t he Display Dock over other

fl agship s mart phones C ontinuum is certainly

a big point in its favour, but y ou’ll need t o be

prepared for a rat her rocky t rans ition if y ou’re

m ak in g t he j u mp f ro m A nd ro id o r i OS

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S E N S O R R E S O U T I N 2 0 m e g a p i x e l s • S E N S O R S I E 1 i n •V IE W F I D E R E l e c t r o n i c ( 2 , 3 6 0 , 0 0 0 d o t s ) • CD S C E E N

3 i n ( 1 , 0 4 0 , 0 0 0 d o t s ) • O P T ICA Z O O M ( 3 5 m m E Q U I A E N T

F O CA E N G T H S ) 4 . 2 x ( 2 4 - 1 0 0 m m ) • 3 5 m m E Q U I A E N T

A E R T U R E f / 4 . 9 - 7 . 6 • W E IG H T 3 7 7 g • D I E N S I N S

7 6 x 1 1 2 x 5 2 m m • W A R A T Y n e y e a r R T B • D E T AI S

w w w . c a n o n . c o . u k • P A T C D E 0 5 1 0 C 1 2 AA


T H E R E U S E D T O b e a g u l f i n i m a g e q u a l i t ybetw een compact cameras and SLR s, but nowi t ’ s l e s s c l e a r c u t . T h e C a n o n G 5 X h a s a 1 i nsensor – si i ng roughl y betw een the ½ i nsensors i n cheap compacts and the APS-Csensors i n consumer SLR s – and i t’ s mountedbehi nd a w i de-aperture l ens, starti ng at f/1. 8for w i de-angl e shots and f/2. 8 for tel ephoto.That’ s four ti mes bri ghter than the f/3. 5-5. 6ki t l enses suppl i ed w i th most SLR s and CSCs.

A key factor for i mage qual i ty i s the totall i ght that reaches the sensor, w hi ch i sdetermi ned by both the aperture and thesensor si ze. The G5 X i s equi val ent to f/4. 9-7. 6on a ful l -frame camera, w hi ch i s margi nal l ybeer than al most every SLR and CSC costi ngl ess than £1, 0 0 0 – w i th thei r ki t l enses, atl east. Not bad for a camera that w ei ghs 377gand i s si gni ficantl y smal l er than any SLR orCSC w i th a zoom l ens aached.

This impressive feat of miniaturisationcomes w ith surpri singl y few compromises.The most si gni ficant i s the 210 -shot baeryl i fe, w hi ch may not l ast a day’ s shooti ng.

Spare baeri es are expensi ve at £50 each.O ne savi ng grace i s that you can charge themei ther i n-camera or w i th the suppl i ed charger.

Bui l d qual i ty, control s and ergonomi cs areharder to faul t. The magnesi um body andmetal di al s feel reassuri ngl y sol i d, and therubber handgri p i s more substanti al thanw e’ re used to seei ng on thi s type of camera. Itdoesn’ t protrude further than the l ens (w hens wi tc h ed o ) s o w o n’ t a d d t o t h e d i m e ns i on s .

V I E W I N G P L T F O R M

T h e L C D s c r e e n f o l d s o u t t o t h e s i d e a n d c a nti l t or rotate for easy frami ng. The el ectroni c

vi ew finder i s pi n sharp w i th i ts 1, 0 24x768resol uti on and turns on automati cal l y as thecamera i s rai sed to the eye. The i mage coul dbe bi gger, though. The vi ew finder hump i sh o m e t o a h o t s h o e – a f e a t u r e a b s e n t f r o mSony’ s R X10 0 seri es. Pui ng a flashgun onsuch a smal l camera mi ght seem strange,but i t’ s i deal for w i rel ess flash uni ts.

The command di al si tsunder the forefinger,and the exposurecompensation dialfal l s under thethumb. There’s am o d e d i a l o n t h eother si de, as w el l asa l e n s r i n g a n d r e a rw heel . The l ens ri ng,command di al and

0 N O N Pow erShot G 5 X

£ 5 7 5 i n c V A • F r o m w w w . w e x p h o t o g r a p h i c . c o m

V E R I 0 TS o m e p e r f o r m a n c e i s s u e s , b u t t h e C n o n G 5 X h a s o u t s t a n d i n gi m a g e q u a l i t y a n d e r g o n o m i c s f o r s u c h a s m a l l c a m e r a

C O M P C T C M E R

rear w heel can be assi gned vari ous functi ons,w it h d i e r en t d u t ie s d e p en di n g o n t h eexposure mode.

There i sn’ t much room on the back forbuons, but key functi ons such as dri vemode, autofocus area and exposure l ock arecovered. Most other photographic controls

are accessed vi a the Q menu, but thi s i s qui ck to navi gate vi a the touchscreen.

The touchscreen is particularly welcomefor movi ng the autofocus poi nt, especi al l yduri ng vi deo capture. Vi deo mode i ncl udesonscreen buons for exposure lock, exposurecompensati on and manual focus. Ful l manualexposure control s are al so avai l abl e and canbe adj usted vi a the touchscreen to avoi dshaki ng the camera or spoi l i ng the soundtrack by usi ng the physi cal control s.

Video quality was generally excellent, withresponsive autofocus, pleasing colours, sharpfocus and l i l e noi se i n l ow l i ght. Fi ne detai l s

l ooked a l i l e coarse compared w i th 10 80 pvi deos from the Panasoni c R X10 0 IV andLX10 0 , and the G5 X l acks those cameras’ 4K vi deo capture and sl ow motion features, but10 80 p i s l i kel y to be enough for most peopl e.

Bui l t-i n Wi -Fi provi des remote control andw i rel ess transfers w hen used w i th an Androi dor i O S devi ce. Hol di ng our phone and cameratogether duri ng i mage pl ayback establ i shed aconnecti on betw een the tw o and i nvi ted us tosel ect photos to transfer at 4-megapi xelresolution. The remote viewfinder functioni ncl udes access to exposure sei ngs, andt h e r e ’ s a n o p t i o n t o k e e p a l o g o f t h e G P S

l ocati on i n the app and use thi s to geotagphotos based on capture ti me.The G5 X i sn’ t exactl y fast. O n first

i nspecti on, i t took 0 . 9 seconds betw een eachshot, but w e found that the

camera wasn’t refocusing orchecking the metering

betw een shots w hen w e

pressed the shuer buon agai n i mmedi atel yaer capturing a picture. To invoke autofocusand meteri ng, w e had to w ai t a l i l e l ongerbefore taki ng the next shot, sl ow i ng capturedow n to a di sappoi nti ng 1. 9 seconds.

Conti nuous mode started at 6. 7fps,sl ow i ng to 5. 9fps aer 15 frames, but thi s toofixed the focus and meteri ng. Sel ecti ng Servomode for conti nuous autofocus gave arespectabl e 4. 2fps but the camera struggl edto track movi ng subj ects and meteri ng w assti ll fixed. Sw i tchi ng to R aw mode sawperformance plummet to 1.2fps.

S E E T H E L G H T

Fortunately, image quality was excellentthroughout. Details were crisp, colours werelifelike and automatic exposures were well

j udged. The w i de-aperture l ens hel ped to keep

the ISO speed dow n i n l i mi ted l i ght, and noi sel evel s remai ned remarkabl y l ow at ISO speedsup to 160 0 . Wi th an aperture equi val ent tof/4. 9-7. 6 on a ful l -frame camera, thi s l i l ecamera not onl y performs w el l i n l ow l i ght, buta l so g i ve s a n a rr o w d e pt h o f fi e ld t o h e l psubj ects stand out from thei r backgrounds.

Wi th excepti onal i mage qual i ty from sucha smal l camera, anythi ng l ess than five starsmay seem harsh. The G5 X’ s performanceshoul d be beer, though, and i t w on’ t fitcomfortabl y i nto a trouser pocket. It al so hasthe formi dabl e Panasoni c LX10 0 to contendw i th. The LX10 0 i s bul ki er but has a bi gger

sensor for even beer i mage qual i ty i n l owl i ght, 4K vi deo and much faster performance.The LX10 0 remai ns our favouri te premi umcompact camera, but the G5 X i sn’ t far behi nd.

B n P i feature absent fromui ng a flashgun on

i ght seem strange,ss flash uni ts.

sits

hot, but w e found that thecamera wasn’t refocusing or

checking the meteringbetw een shots w hen w e




B e r y l i f e

R e f e r e n c e 5 1 5

28 0 shots

S e e p a g e 7 8 f o r p e r f or m an c e d e t a i l s

S E S R R E S L U T I 20 megapixels S E S R S I E 1 in

( 1 . 2 x8 8 mm V IE W F I D E R E le ctro nic ( 2, 5 , 2 6 d ot s L CD S C E E 3 i n ( 1 ,2 28 ,8 00 d ot s P T ICAL Z M

( 3 5 m m E Q U I AL E T F CAL L E G T H S ) 2 9 x ( 24 -70 mm 3 5 m m E Q U I AL E T A E R T U R E f 4 9 -7 6 W E IG H T 2 8g D IM E S I S 5 x 1 04x41mm W A R A T Y O n e year R TB D E T AI L S wwws on yc o u k P A T C D E DSC-RX100M4


T H E S O N Y R X 1 0 0 I V i s a c a m e r a f o r p e o p l ew h o s h u d d e r a t t h e t h o u g h t o f c o m p r o m i s e .W i t h a 1 i n s e n s o r a n d f / 1 . 8 - 2 . 8 l e n s , i t h a s t h esame light-gathering ability as a f ull-f ramec a m e r a w i t h a f / 4 . 9 - 7 . 6 l e n s . T h i s i s m a r g i n a l l yb e e r t h a n m o s t S L R s a n d C S C s w i t h t h e i r k i tl e n s e s , s o w e c a n e x p e c t i m a g e q u a l i t y t o b ei n t h e s a m e l e a g u e . I t ’ s f a r s m a l l e r t h a n a n yS L R o r C S C , t h o u g h , w e i g h i n g 2 9 8 g a n dm e a s u r i n g j u s t 4 1 m m t h i c k . I t s l i p s e a s i l y i n t o

a l l b u t t h e t i g h t e s t o f t r o u s e r p o c k e t s .While its closest competitors, the Canon

G 7 X a n d G 5 X ( s e e p 3 9 ) m a k e y o u c h o o s ebetween an electronic viewfinder and a trulypock et-size design, the RX100 IV incorporatesa high-quality viewfinder that retracts into thec a m e r a w h e n n o t n e e d e d . T h e r e ’ s a l s o a n L C Ds cr e en , w h ic h t i lt s d o wn b y 4 5 a n d u p b y1 8 0 f o r s e l f- p o rt r a it s . C o n t in u o us s h o ot i n g i sp h e n o m e n a l l y f a s t a t 1 6 f p s , o r 5 . 5 f p s w i t hcontinuous autof ocus. Video enthusiasts willa l s o l o v e t h e 4 K v i d e o c a p t u r e , t h e b u i l t - i nneutral-density filter f or wide apertures inb r i g h t l i g h t a n d t h e a b i l i t y t o s h o o t 1 0 8 0 p

v i d e o a t u p t o 1 , 0 0 0 f p s f o r 4 0 x s l o w m o t i o n .

T L E N T S H O W

I n f a c t , t h e R X 1 0 0 I V h a s s o m a n y t a l e n t s t h a ti t ’ s e a s i e r t o l i s t t h e t h i n g s i t c a n ’ t d o . T h escreen isn’t touch-sensitive, and there aren’tmany single-f unction buons f or quick accessto seings. Exposure compensation, drivemode and flash seings have dedicatedb u o n s , a n d t h e l a e r t w o , p l u s a C u s t o mb u o n , c a n b e a s s i g n e d t o v a r i o u s o t h e rs e i n g s . A r e a r w h e e l a n d l e n s r i n g p r o v i d equick access to manual exposure seings, butphotographers who lik e to tak e control will

s p e n d a f a i r a m o u n t o f t i m e n a v i g a t i n g t h emenus. T here’s no hotshoe f or externalflashguns and wireless triggers either. Baeryl i f e i s o n t h e s h o r t s i d e a t 2 8 0 s h o t s , b u tb e e r t h a n t h e r i v a l C a n o n s ’ 2 1 0 s h o t s .

V E R 0 I 3 TP a c k e d w i t h p r e m i u m f e a t u r e s a n d w i t h a p r i c e t a g t o

m a t c h , t h e S o n y R X 1 0 0 I i s a f o r m i d a b l e c o m p a c t c a m e r a

P R E M I U M C O M P C T C M E R

d r o p s a s t h e f r a m e r a t e g o e s u p . T h e 2 0 xa n d 4 0 x m o d e s a r e n ’ t r e a l l y u p t o s c r a t c h b u t1 0 x s l o w m o t i o n l o o k s s u p e r b .

Autof ocus and exposure must be primedb e f o r e r e c o r d i n g c a n s t a r t , a n d c a p t u r e i s

l i m i t e d t o t w o s e c o n d s , a e r w h i c h t h e v i d e op l a y s b a c k i n s l o w m o t i o n a s i t ’ s w r i e n t o t h em e m o r y c a r d . T h i s m a k e s t h e p r o c e s s p r e ylabour-intensive, but that’s not necessarily ab a d t h i n g . I t ’ s s t i l l w o r r y i n g l y e a s y t o fi l l y o u rh a r d d i s k u p w i t h s l o w m o t i o n v i d e o s .

T h e R X 1 0 0 I V ’ s i m a g e q u a l i t y i s e x t r e m e l yimpressive, too. T he 1in, 20-megapixel sensorcaptures enough detail f or A3 prints. Detailsl o o k e d c l e a n , s h a r p a n d n a t u r a l i n b r i g h t l i g h t ,except f or the occasional autof ocus error.W h e n a f a s t s h u e r s p e e d o r d i m i n i s h i n g l i g h tp l a c e d h i g h e r d e m a n d s o n t h e c a m e r a , t h ebright f /1.8-2.8 lens helped to k eep noise low.

O u r o n l y r e a l c r i t i c i s m i s t h a t t h e R X 1 0 0 I Vi s n ’ t a s g o o d i n l o w l i g h t a s t h e C a n o n G 5 X .T h e d i e r e n c e s a r e m i n o r , t h o u g h , a n d w ew o u l d n ’ t c h o o s e o n e o v e r t h e o t h e r p u r e l y o nt h i s b a s i s . B o t h c a m e r a s u s e 1 i n s e n s o r s a n df /1.8-2.8 lenses, and there’s lile to separatethem f or image quality.

T h e r e ’ s n o d e n y i n g t h a t t h e R X 1 0 0 I V i s ahugely impressive camera. It’s not perf ect, butt h e r e ’ s n o t h i n g h e r e w e ’ d c l a s s i f y a s adeal-break er. Its only real problem is somef ormidable competition. We pref er the CanonG 5 X ’ s c o n t r o l s a n d i m a g e q u a l i t y , b u t i f y o uwant the viewfinder, 4K video, 1080p slow

motion and blistering perf ormance, alls q u e e z e d i n t o y o u r p o c k e t , t h e S o n y R X 1 0 0 I Vi s u n i q u e l y p l a c e d t o d e l i v e r i t .

Be n i

r o p s a s t h e f r a m e r a t e g o e s u p . T h e 2 0 x

S O N Y Cyber-Shot RX10 0 IV

£ 75 inc VAT From www j ohnlewis com

0

T h e 2 . 9 x z o o m , w i t h i t s24-70mm equivalent f ocallength range, is relatively modest.I t ’ s s m a l l e r t h a n t h e C a n o n G 7 X a n d G 5 X ’ s2 5 - 1 0 0 m m r a n g e b u t n o t m u c h d i e r e n t t o a nS L R o r C S C ’ s k i t l e n s , w h i c h t y p i c a l l y h a s a27-82mm equivalent f ocal length range. T hat

b r i n g s u s t o i t s c h i e f l i m i t a t i o n : y o u c a n ’ t s w a pt h e l e n s . T h i s i s d i s a p p o i n t i n g f o r a £ 7 5 9c a m e r a , a s t h e R X 1 0 0 I V ’ s l e n s c a n ’ t c o m p e t ewith wide aperture, telephoto and otherspecialist lenses in similarly pricedc o m p e t i t o r s . T h e R X 1 0 0 I V i s n ’ t a s e a s y t o u s ea s o t h e r £ 7 5 0 c a m e r a s e i t h e r . T h e s m o o t hm e t a l f r o n t l e a v e s l i l e t o h o l d o n t o , a n d i t ssmall buons mak e basic adjustments trick y.

T h e R X 1 0 0 I V m a k e s u p f o r t h i s i n s p e e d ,c a p t u r i n g a p h o t o e v e r y 0 . 4 s e c o n d s i n n o r m a luse. Autof ocus speed was impressive, tak inga r o u n d 0 . 3 s e c o n d s e v e n i n v e r y l o w l i g h t . W enoticed more autof ocus errors than normal,

t h o u g h , a v e r a g i n g a b o u t 5 % a c r o s s o u r t e s t s .C o n t i n u o u s m o d e c a m e i n a t 1 5 . 5 f p s a n dlasted f or 47 JP EGs bef ore slowing to 5.1f ps,which is phenomenal. Raw capture was slowera t 8 . 5 f p s , d r o p p i n g t o 1 . 6 f p s a e r 2 7 f r a m e s ,b u t t h a t ’ s s t i l l f a s t e r t h a n m o s t c a m e r a s a tt h i s p r i c e m a n a g e f o r J P E G s .

F I N E R T

T his f ast perf ormance also benefits videoc a p t u r e . T h e 4 K v i d e o m o d e p r o d u c e s8-megapixel f rames and picture quality isf antastic. Details were much sharper thanf r o m a n y 1 0 8 0 p f o o t a g e , n o t j u s t w h e n

v i e w e d o n a 4 K d i s p l a y b u t a l s o w h e n r e s i z e dt o 1 0 8 0 p r e s o l u t i o n . T h e c a m e r a s w i t c h e s t o afl a e r c o l o u r p r o fi l e f o r v i d e o , w h i c h g i v e s ab e e r s t a r t i n g p o i n t f o r c o l o u r g r a d i n g i nediting soware. Autof ocus was smooth andreasonably responsive, although without a

touchscreen it’s not really f easibleto move the autof ocus point

around while recording.T h e R X 1 0 0 I V ’ s s l o w

m o t i o n m o d e i s t h e b e s timplementation we’ve used.

1 0 8 0 p v i d e o i s c a p t u r e d a t250f ps, 500f ps or 1,000f ps

f o r 1 0 x , 2 0 x o r 4 0 x s l o wm o t i o n . I t ’ s n o t q u i t e a sg o o d a s i t s o u n d s , t h o u g h .

V i d e o s a r e e n c o d e d a t 1 0 8 0 pb u t t h e s e n s o r r e a d o u t



M AKEOFIT

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s o m e t h i n g s p e c i a l .A h i e v e a b s o l u t e c o n t r o l o v e r h o w y o u r c a s e l o o k s a n d f u n c t i o n s t h r o u g h o u r p a t e n t e dFreeFo rm M o du la r Sy s tem .T e e x t e r i o r s t r u c t u r e a n d i n t e r n a l l a y o u t c a n b e c u s t o m i z e d , d j u s t e d , n d

u p g r a d e d t o m e e t y o u r n e e d s i n p u r s u i t o f t h e m a k e r s p i r i t .

G o a h e a d , i v e i n , n d e x p l o r e . h a t w i l l y o u m a k e o f i t ?

L a r n m o r e :C o l e r m a s t e r .o m / a s t e r C s e 5




S C E E N S I E 3 4 i n • R E S O U T I N 3 , 4 4 0 x 1 , 4 4 0 • S C E E N

T E CH N O O G Y I P S • R E F R E S H R A E 6 0 H z • V ID E O

I P U T S i s p l a y P o r t , 3 x H M I ( 1 x H M I 2 . 0 ) • W A R A T Y

T h r e e y e a r s R T B • D E T AI S w w w . p h i l i p s . c o . u k

SPE0IFI08TIO S

0O E0T IO PORT S

D i s p l a y P o r t H D M I 3

CURVED TVs HAVE been around for

over a y ear now, but t he Philips Brilliance

B DM 4 0 UC i s t he firs t c urve d mo ni to r we ’ve

te ste d I t’s a 3 4 in d is pl ay wi th a 2 1: a sp ec t

rat io, a 3 ,440x1,440 res olution and a v ery

gent le curv at ure radius of 3 ,800mm That ’s

about as shallow as curv ed s creens get t he

s maller t he radius , t he t ighter t he curv e

s o t he overall eect is actually v ery s ubt le

You’ll need a fair amount of room t o use t he

BD M 4 0 UC, tho ug h, as its 5 c m f ootprint is

o ne o f t he b ig g es t we ’v e s ee n

The m iddle of t he m onit or’s curv ed s tand

hous es its ot her headline feature, a pair of

integrated front-facing 7W stereo speakers,

which are hidden behind a grey m et al grill

They’re perfectly decent, although you might

expect m ore given t heir prominence and t he

p ri ce o f t he m on it or T he y’ re l ou d a nd c le ar

fo r t he mo st p ar t, a nd yo u c an a d u st t he

s ound us ing t he DTS Audio s eings in t he

o ns cr ee n m en us , b ut we we re u na bl e t o fi nd a

seing to improve their basic performance

SW EET W R8PPERC urved s creens divide opinion We happen t o

t hink t hey work well on v ery large TVs

because they surround the viewer, creating a

more immersive experience We’re less

conv inced of t heir wort h on s maller TVs , and

doubly s o for m onitors With an ult ra-wide

dis play, however, t he curv e has t he eect of

drawing y our eyes int o t he s creen and m aking

t he edges eas ier t o s ee It’s not a life-changing

eect, but it’s still appreciated

At t he b ac k, t he m on it or h as f ou r U SB

port s ( one of which s upport s fast charging for y our phone and can power larger dev ices s uch

as port able hard dis ks , a Display Port

c on ne ct or a nd t hr ee H DM I p or ts O ne o f

t hes e s upport s t he newer HDMI 2 0 s tandard

PH I LIPS r i l l i a n c e D M 3 4 9 0 U

£ 6 7 0 i n c V A • F r o m w w w . l a p t o p s d i r e c t . c o . u k

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c o n t a n s f o u r H D M I 2 . 0 i n p u t s ( a l o f w h i c h

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f r o m n e t w o r k e d c o m p u t e r s a d s t o r a e , i n

d i e r e n t r o o m s s i m u l t a e o u s l y . T h e r e a e

e v e n b a i c E Q c o n t r o l s f o r b a s a d t r e b l e ,

a t h o u g h i f y o u w a t t o a j u s t t h e s u b w o o f e r ,

y o u h a e t o u s e i t s r e a p h y s i c a c o n t r o l s .

W h e n w e t e s t e d t h e S o u n d b a b y w a c h i n g

a fi l m , i t o e r e d g o o d s t e r e o s e p a a i o n a d

t h e s u b w o o f e r ’ s i n c r e d i b l e b a s r e a l y m a e

s o u n d e e c t s c o m e a i v e . I t h a a w i d e r s o u n d

s t a e t h a m o s t s o u n d b a s ,

d e l i v e r i n g c l e a d i a o g u e w i t h a p r o p e r c e n t r e

c h a n e l . Y o u c a a s o c h o o s e f r o m r e n a

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c h a g e t h e p r o fi l e o f t h e s o u n d . r e n a a d

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i m m e r s i v e s o u n d s t a e u s i n g t h e s i d e - fi r i n g

s p e a e r s , w h i l e V o i c e e m p h a i s e s t h e c e n t r e

c h a n e l f o r d i a o g u e .

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p l a i n g m u s i c , h o w e v e r . W i t h i t s s i x 7 0 m m

f u l l - r a g e d r i v e r s , i t d e l i v e r e d a i n c r e d i b l y

c r i s p , e n c o m p a s i n g s o u n d t h a w a

d i s t r i b u t e d e q u a l y a o u n d t h e r o o m . T h e

s u b w o o f e r ’ s t h r e e a d i t i o n a h i g h - e x c u r s i o n

d r i v e r s a s o p r o d u c e d s o m e o f t h e d e e p e s t

b a s w e ’ v e h e a d . I n f a t , w e c o u l d s t i l l

f e e l i t f r o m a r o s s t h e r o o m e v e n a e r

t o n i n g i t d o w n a f a a i t w o u l d g o , s o i t

m i g h t n o t b e t h e b e s t c h o i c e f o r t h o s e w i t h

e a i l y d i s t u r b e d n e i g h b o u r s . S a l y , t h e r e ’ s

n o n i g h t m o d e t o d a p e n t h e s o u n d .

T h e R a m f e l d S o u n d b a i s w i t h o u t d o u b t a

g r e a s p e a e r a d s u b w o o f e r c o m b i n a i o n ,

b u t i t s s u p e r i o r m u s i c p l a b a k m a e s i t f e e l

m o r e l i k e o n e o f R a m f e l d ’ s m u l t i r o o m

s p e a e r s t h a a d e d i c a e d T V s o u n d b a . I t ’ s

a s o v e r y l a g e a d e x p e n s i v e . d m i e d l y , t h e

S o n o s P l a b a c o s t s m o r e w h e n y o u a d t h e

c o s t o f t h e S o n o s s u b , b u t i t g i v e s y o u t h e

o p t i o n o f a d i n g r e a s p e a e r s t o c r e a e a 3 . 1

o r 5 . 1 a d i o s y s t e m . R a m f e l d ’ s S o u n d b a o n

t h e o t h e r h a d c a o n l y b e u s e d a aa d i t i o n a m u l t i r o o m s p e a e r .

s a r e s u l t , i t ’ s h a d t o r e c o m m e n d

t h e S o u n d b a a a g o o d s t a t i n g p o i n t

f o r i m p r o v i n g y o u r T V ’ s a d i o u n l e s s

y o u a r e a y h a e a e x i s t i n g R a m f e l d

m u l t i r o o m s y s t e m i n p l a e . t t h i s p r i c e ,

t h e S o n o s P l a b a a d L G ’ s M u s i c F l o w

H S 9 p r o v i d e a b e e r f o u n d a i o n a d g i v e

y o u m o r e o p t i o n s f o r e x p a s i o n l a e r .

i c h a r d E s t o n

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s o u n d t h t w s d i s t r i u t e d e q u l l y r o u n d t h e r o o m



47

SPECIFICATIONS

S P E AK E R S 2 + 1 • R M S P W E R U T P U T 1 0W + 2 5 W •D CK C E C R No n e • W I E L E S S B l u et o o t h (SB C) •D IM E S I S 2 00x60x65m m (Cr u ze), 300x170x145 m m(Subwoofer) W E IG H T 45 0g (Cr u ze), 1. 9kg (Su b wo o fer) •W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B • D E T AI L S www.cowinmusic.

co m • P A T C D E COWINARK41

THE ARK IS a l i l e d i e r e n t f r o m o t h e rBluetooth speak ers. Rather than a singlep o r t a b l e u n i t , i t h a s t w o c o m p o n e n t s : t h eCruze, which is a rather standard-look ingBluetooth speak er, and a wireless base stationthat contains the Ark ’s subwoof er.

T h e t w o u n i t s a a c h m a g n e t i c a l l y a n d u s ethe same inductive charging technology you’llfi n d o n s m a r t p h o n e s t h a t s u p p o r t Q i w i r e l e s sc h a r g i n g . A s s u c h , w h e n y o u ’ r e n o t u s i n g t h e

b a s e s t a t i o n t o c h a r g e t h e C r u z e , y o u c a ncharge a compatible smartphone simply byp l a c i n g i t o n t o p o f t h e b a s e s t a t i o n – ah a n d y f e a t u r e t h a t f r e e s u p a p l u g s o c k e t .Alternatively, you can charge the detachableC r u z e u n i t u s i n g a M i c r o U S B c a b l e .

At 200x60x65mm, the Cruze is compacte n o u g h t o c a r r y a r o u n d w i t h y o u . I t c o m e sw i t h a t r a v e l b a g , a n d C o w i n g i v e s i t a b a e r yl i f e r a t i n g o f e i g h t h o u r s , m a k i n g i t a g o o dportable companion f or outdoor activities and

u s e a r o u n d t h e h o m e . I t s s h a r p e d g e s d o n ’ tf e e l p a r t i c u l a r l y r e fi n e d b u t a t l e a s t i t c o m e sw i t h a c l e a n i n g c l o t h t o h e l p y o u k e e p i t sbrushed-metal finish look ing pristine.

T h e s u b w o o f e r h a s a s i m i l a r b r u s h e d -m e t a l fi n i s h b u t i s s u r r o u n d e d b y w h i t eplastic edges, with f our white f eet protrudingf rom the base. We weren’t particularlyf o n d o f i t s d e s i g n , a s i t l o o k s m o r e l i k e at o a s t e r t h a n a p i e c e o f a u d i o e q u i p m e n t .

W i t h t h e C r u z e p l a c e d o n t o p , t h e w h o l ea s s e m b l y l o o k s a b i t l i k e a r o b o t t h a n k sto the two visible drive units inside.

P erhaps notsurprisingly, thesubwoof er is intendedf o r u s e a t h o m er a t h e r t h a n o n t h e

COW IN Ark

£99 inc VAT • From www.johnsmith.co.uk

VERDICTT h e C w i n A k i s a n o v e l c o n c e p t , b u t i t s

d e s i g n a n d e x e c u t i o n f a l l s h o r t o f i t s p o t e n t i a l

M O D U L R L U E T O O T H S P E K E R

o r t b l e s p e a k e r s c a n o f t n l a c k b a s s , s o a m o d u l a r

l u e t o t s p e a k e r i s a c l e v e r s o l u to n

move. It measures a substantial300x170x145mm, so it’s hardly somethingy o u ’ l l w a n t t o c a r r y f r o m r o o m t o r o o m v e r yo e n , a n d w i t h n o b u i l t - i n b a e r y y o u n e e d t ok e e p i t p l u g g e d i n v i a i t s D C j a c k .

T ouch-sensitive media playback buons ont h e t o p o f t h e C r u z e a l l o w y o u t o c o n t r o l y o u rm u s i c . Y o u c a n u s e e i t h e r B l u e t o o t h , N F C o rt h e 3 . 5 m m a u x i l i a r y j a c k t o p l a y t r a c k s f r o m

y o u r p h o n e o r t a b l e t . A u d i o p r o m p t s t a l k y o ut h r o u g h t h e p a i r i n g p r o c e s s b u t t h e s es o u n d e d r a t h e r c o m i c a l a n d a l i l e j a r r i n g(we’ll never hear the word ‘connecting’ thes a m e w a y a g a i n ) . T h e C r u z e d o e s n ’ tr e m e m b e r t h e v o l u m e s e i n g a e r b e i n g p u ti n t o s t a n d b y e i t h e r , s o w e h a d t o t u r n t h ev o l u m e b a c k u p w h e n e v e r w e s w i t c h e d i t o n .

Fortunately, the two parts of the Ark d o n ’ t n e e d t o b e i n c o n s t a n t c o n t a c t d u r i n g

music playback , as they pair themselveswirelessly. T his gives you some f reedom tom o v e t h e C r u z e a r o u n d , a l t h o u g h t h e u n i t s

can only maintaina connection

o v e r a d i s t a n c eo f a r o u n d 1 0 m .

You can also use

the Cruze to mak e hands-f ree conf erencecalls thank s to its built-in microphone,a n d i t ’ s s e n s i t i v e e n o u g h t o p i c k u p y o u rvoice comf ortably f rom around 2m away.

I n s i d e i t s c a s e , t h e C r u z e h a s t w o s p e a k e rdrivers with a passive radiator. It doesn’t f arep a r t i c u l a r l y w e l l o n i t s o w n , p r o d u c i n g a t h i ns o u n d t h a t d o e s n ’ t m a k e m u c h o f a n i m p a c t .Music becomes much livelier when it’s pairedw i t h t h e b a s e s t a t i o n ’ s 3½in subwoofer,creating a more f orcef ul sound.

W h i l e t h e b a s s i s n ’ t w a n t i n g f o r b r u t e

f orce, however, it lack s refinement. T he Ark struggled to play T i d h a r by T he T oure-RaichelCollective, which has a particularly unruly basspart. T he cabinet vibrated with each beat,which was distracting. Even less challengingt r a c k s s o u n d e d m u d d y a t t i m e s , b u t t h e A r k c o p e s r e a s o n a b l y w e l l f o r t h e m o s t p a r t . I t ’ srespectably loud too, producing enoughs o u n d t o fi l l a m e d i u m t o l a r g e r o o m ,a l t h o u g h i t b e g i n s t o d i s t o r t a t h i g h e r l e v e l s .

T h e i d e a b e h i n d t h e C o w i n A r k i s a g o o do n e . P o r t a b l e s p e a k e r s c a n o e n l a c k b a s s , s oa m o d u l a r B l u e t o o t h s p e a k e r i s a c l e v e rsolution. H owever, the execution leaves a lot

t o b e d e s i r e d , a n d i t s d e s i g n i s l i k e l y t o d i v i d eo p i n i o n . T h e b a s e s t a t i o n s h o u l d o n l y r e a l l y b eaugmenting the bass delivery f rom the Cruze,but instead the Cruze’s almost nonexistentb a s s l e a v e s i t s o u n d i n g t i n n y a n d fl a t w i t h o u ti t s c o m p a n i o n . G i v e n a c h o i c e , w e ’ d s t i l l r a t h e rbuy a separate Bluetooth speak er with beers o u n d q u a l i t y a n d n o s u b w o o f e r , s u c h a s t h eCambridge Audio G2 (see h o p p e r 325).

R i c h a r d a s t o n





SPEAKERS 1 • RMS POWEROUTPUT N/A • DOCK

CONNECTOR None • NETWORKING Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

(aptX) • DIMENSIONS 127x76x12mm • WEIGHT 181g •STREAMING FORMATS Bluetooth, SpotifyConnect •WARRANTY OneyearRTB • DETAILS www.pioneer.eu •PART CODE XDP-100R

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t h a c o u l d d a a e y o u r h e a p h o n e s . I t ’ s

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p l a e r s t h a r e l y e n t i e l y o n i t e r n a s t o r a e .

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s c r e e n i s w i c h e d o .T h e s c r e e n i n ’ t q u i e u p

t o t h e s t a d a d o f t h e r e s t o f

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g a u t c o v e r a e p a e b e s i e

a t y p i a £ 5 0 0 s m a t p h o n e .

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S n a d r a o n 8 0 0 p r o c e s s o r

i n ’ t e x a t l y c u i g e d g e e i h e r ,

P I O N E E R XDP-10 0 R

£499 inc VAT • From www.petertyson.co.uk

V E R I 0 TSuperb sound quality and room for expansion,but the XDP-100R is undeniably expensive

H I G - R E S M E D I P L Y R

b u t G e e k b e n c h 3 s i g l e - c o r e a d m u l t i o r e

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a i a i n s w e r e s m o o t h o n c e i h a l o a e d , .

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i s s o u n d q u a i y w a n ’ t u p t o s c r a c h .

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p r e s e n t a i n n o m a e r w h a y o u f e e d i . T h e

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l i e l i e . N u m e r o u s E Q p r e s e t s a e a ai a l e

t h r o u g h P i n e e r ’ s M u s i a p , b u t t h e y h a e a

r a h e r m i o r e e c t o n t h e m i

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p l a t h e b a i v e r s i n .

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t h e f a t e s t p o s s i l e d o w n l o a s o n a

c o m p a i l e w i e l e s s n e t w o r k .

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b u t y o u c a s e t t h e z o o m s p e e d t o p r o v i d e a

d e g r e e o f c i n e m a i c c o n t r o l . F i n a l y , t h e p o s t

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t h e a d i t i o n o f m o r e c o m p l e x s l o w - m o t i o n

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s e n s o r s t i l l p r o v i d e s w o n d e r f u l r e s u l t s . T h i s i s

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b e f o r e , a l o w s r e c o r d i n g a u p t o 4 K

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p r o v i d e d w e h a p l e n t y o f a e q u a e l i g h t i n g .

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w e l l i n b r i g h t l i g h t , t h a k s t o i t s f / 1 . 2 – 3 . 6

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t o 5 0 M b i t / s a d 4 K a 7 2 M b i t / s , b u t t h e

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c r o p p i n g f u n c t i o n . T h i s b e n e fi t s h u g e l y f r o m

t h e a d i t i o n a r e s o l u t i o n o e r e d b y 4 K a d ,

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p a s a r o s s . Y o u ’ l l a h i e v e t h e b e s t r e s u l t s

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YoucanpairuptothreesmartphoneswiththeH2-VX9usingitsbuilt-inWi-Fisupport






C A N O N ’ S I S E N S Y S M F 7 2 4 C D W i s a c o l o u r

l a e r m u l t i f u n c t i o n p e r i p h e r a ( M F P ) f o r t h e

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g o o d , b u t c o l o u r g r a h i c s w e r e g r e a , w i t h

s t r o n g c o l o u r s , a c o n s i s t e n t t o n e r fi n i s h a d

n o a t e f a t s o r j a g e d n e s s . U n f o r t u n a e l y , t h e

p r i n t e r ’ s t e n d e n c y t o w a d l i v e l y c o l o u r s w a

l e s s w e l c o m e o n p h o t o s , w h i c h s e e m e d w a m

a d a l i l e t o o s a u r a e d . T h e M F 7 2 4 C d w ’ s

s c a n e r i s b e e r t h a m o s t o ffi c e d e v i c e s .

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s c a s w e r e s h a p l y f o c u s e d a d p a k e d f u l l o f

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g r e a e x p o s u r e o n a r a g e o f o r i g i n a s .

U n l i k e D e l l ’ s c o m p e t i n g H 8 2 5 c d w ( s e e

h o p p r 3 3 7 ) , t h e M F 7 2 4 C d w h a j u s t f o u r

c o n s u m a l e s w h i c h e a h c o m b i n e t o n e r a d

d r u m . F a r l y t y p i c a l y , t h o s e s u p p l i e d i n t h e

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r e p l a e m e n t s s h o u l d p r i n t a o u n d 3 , 4 0 0 b l a k

p a e s a d 2 , 9 0 0 i n c o l o u r , g i v i n g r u n n i n g

c o s t s o f a o u n d 9 . 4 p p e r p a e . u y t h e b l a k

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5 3I SSUE 3 3 8|COMPUTER SHOPPER | A PRIL 0 1 6

CANON’S PIXMAMG5750 i s t h e l a t e s t i n along line of ink jet multif unction peripherals( M F P s ) d e s i g n e d f o r t h e h o m e . I t ’ s a s q u a t ,smart-look ing device, made f rom high-qualityb l a c k p l a s t i c s . I t c a n p r i n t , s c a n a n d c o p y ,p r i n t a u t o m a t i c a l l y o n b o t h s i d e s o f a s h e e t o fp a p e r ( d u p l e x p r i n t i n g ) , a n d y o u c a n s h a r e i to n a w i r e l e s s n e t w o r k . T h e r e ’ s n o f a x m o d e m ,however. As you might expect, there’s supportf o r p r i n t i n g f r o m o r s c a n n i n g t o c l o u d s e r v i c e s

including Google Drive, but signing the printeru p i s f a r m o r e i n v o l v e d t h a n i t i s f o r p r o d u c t sf rom rival manuf acturers such as H P .

A s a m i d - r a n g e d e v i c e , t h i s P i x m a g e t sCanon’s unusual five-ink print engine, whichcombines dye-based black , cyan, magenta andy e l l o w i n k s w i t h a b i g g e r , p i g m e n t b l a c k t a n k f o r b e e r t e x t p r i n t i n g . W h i l e t h a t ’ s a g o o dthing, we’re disappointed that the MG5750 islumbered with a clunk y control system.R a t h e r t h a n a t o u c h s c r e e n i n p u t , i t s m e n u sare navigated with a f our-way rock er switchpaired with three dedicated buons belowthe screen; we’ve long criticised this setup,

which can be inconsistent and conf using.T he MG5750 inherits another f eature

we’ve criticised bef ore. Its ink cartridges are

3 N O N Pixm a M G 5 7 5 0

£70 inc VAT F r o m w w w . a m a z o n . c o . u k

V E R 0 I 3 TThe right balance of features, performance andquality makes the Pixma MG5750 a winner

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reached by raising up the cantilevered controlp a n e l , b u t t h e a c c e s s i s a b i t r e s t r i c t e d a t t h er e a r o f e a c h s l o t . W h a t ’ s m o r e , a l t h o u g h t h es l o t s a r e c l e a r l y m a r k e d , i t i s p h y s i c a l l ypossible to insert the dye-based cartridges int h e w r o n g s l o t ; w e ’ r e n o t s u r e w h y t h e r e ’ s n ok eying to prevent this. T he printer’s papertrays have an unusual layout where printedp a g e s s p i l l o n t o a s t o p t h a t p i v o t s o u t o f t h ei n p u t t r a y ; i t l o o k s b a s i c , b u t t h e n e a t d e s i g ndoes k eep everything tidy.

Fortunately, these minor grumbles couldn’tspoil another great mid-range home MFP .While it isn’t exactly f ast, it delivered

standard-quality text at 11.5 pages per minute( p p m ) , a n d p r o d u c e d o u r c o m p l e x c o l o u rg r a p h i c s t e s t a t 3 . 6 p p m , w h i c h i s fi n e a t t h i sp r i c e . T h e s c a n n e r w a s q u i c k e n o u g h a t l o wr e s o l u t i o n s , w i t h a 3 0 0 d o t s p e r i n c h ( d p i ) A 4s c a n n e e d i n g j u s t 1 9 s e c o n d s , b u t e v e n u s i n ga U S B c o n n e c t i o n , w e n e e d e d 1 0 3 s e c o n d s t ocapture a postcard-sized photo at 1,200dpi. Ab l a c k p h o t o c o p y o f a n A 4 p a g e t o o k j u s t 1 3s e c o n d s , b u t i n c o l o u r t h i s r o s e t o 3 0 s e c o n d s .

T h i s M F P ’ s b e s t f e a t u r e i s t h e a l l - r o u n d

high quality of its results. T ext and graphicsp r i n t e d o n p l a i n p a p e r w e r e b o l d a n d c r i s p ,w h i l e i t s p h o t o p r i n t s w e r e a s g o o d a s y o u ’ l lg e t f r o m a m i d - r a n g e i n k j e t : f r e e o f g r a i n , a n dimpressively sharp. P hotocopies were f aithf ult o t he o r ig in a l, w hi le s c an s w er e a l so s h ar p, w it ha c c u r a t e c o l o u r s a n d a h i g h d y n a m i c r a n g e .

S t i c k t o C a n o n ’ s X L i n k c a r t r i d g e s a n d t h i sM F P w i l l p r i n t e a c h A 4 p a g e o f m i x e d t e x t a n dgraphics f or about 6.3p, which is competitive.While we’ve a couple of minor reservationsa b o u t i t s d e s i g n , t h e M G 5 7 5 0 i s a o r d a b l e t ob u y a n d r u n , h a s d e c e n t s p e e d s a n d d e l i v e r sgreat-quality results. It’s a great all-rounder

f o r t h e h o m e , a n d w i n s o u r B e s t B u y a w a r d .S i m o n a n d b y

e x t n d g r a p h i c s w e r e b o l d a n d c r i s p , w h i l e p h o t p r i n t

w e r e a s g o o d a s y o u ’ l g e t r o m a m i d - r a n g e i n k j e t

T h e M G 5 7 5 0 d o e s n ’ t h a v et h e b e s t c o n t r o l s , b u t i t sp r i n t o u t s a r e e x c e l l e n t

BSTBUY



5 4 A PRIL 0 1 6 |C M P U T E R S H P P E R | I SSUE 3 3 8

S M R T / O N N E T E D H O M E K I T

DEVOLOIS BEST k n o w n f o r i t s r a n g e o fP owerline H omeP lug network ing products, soi t w a s a s u r p r i s e t o s e e t h e G e r m a n c o m p a n yl a u n c h a r a n g e o f s m a r t h o m e k i t . T h e H o m eC o n t r o l S t a r t e r P a c k c o n t a i n s a c o n t r o l h u b , ad o o r s e n s o r a n d a p l u g a d a p t o r f o r c o n t r o l l i n gdevices such as lamps. Optional componentsinclude a smok e detector, motion sensors,

thermostats, wall switches and k ey f obs.Surprisingly, given that most lights are fiedinto ceilings rather than f ree-standing lamps,Devolo doesn’t sell compatible lightbulbs.

T h e c o n t r o l h u b c o n n e c t s t o y o u r r o u t e rvia Ethernet or P owerline; there’s no Wi-Fio p t i o n . I t c o m m u n i c a t e s w i t h a l l t h e o t h e rcomponents using Z-Wave, so basic f unctionsw i l l s t i l l w o r k i n t h e e v e n t o f a n i n t e r n e to u t a g e . I t s h o u l d b e c o m p a t i b l e w i t hnon-Devolo Z-Wave smart home products,b u t w e d i d n ’ t h a v e t h e c h a n c e t o t e s t t h i s .

T h e c o n t r o l h u b i s s e t u p u s i n g a w e bb r o w s e r o n a c o m p u t e r , a n d y o u h a v e t o

create an online Devolo account. Everything isthen configured and controlled remotely f romt h e w e b i n t e r f a c e , w h i c h i s e a s y t o u s e d e s p i t ethe occasional bit of untranslated German. Y ouc a n a l s o u s e t h e i O S , A n d r o i d o r A m a z o n F i r eM y D e v o l o a p p s , b u t t h e s e a r e n ’ t q u i t e a s w e l lorganised as the web interf ace.

T he setup wizards include videos showingh o w t o s e t u p e a c h c o m p o n e n t , a l t h o u g ht h e s e c a n b e v e r y s u p e r fi c i a l f o r t h e s i m p l e rd e v i c e s s u c h a s t h e k e y f o b . I t ’ s u s u a l l y s i m p l ya m a e r o f p r e s s i n g a b u o n o r p u l l i n g o u t ap l a s t i c t a b t o t u r n t h e c o m p o n e n t o n a n dw a i t i n g f o r i t t o r e g i s t e r w i t h y o u r c o n t r o l h u b

b e f o r e fi i n g i t w h e r e y o u w a n t . M o s tc o m p o n e n t s c a n b e fi e d t o w a l l s a n d f r a m e susing either screws or double-sided tape.

Once everything is configured and in place,i t ’ s e a s y t o s e t u p r u l e s e n a b l i n g y o u r v a r i o u s

T he smok e detector (£56, www.broadban d

buyer.co.uk ) i s r e a s s u r i n g l y l o u d a n d i t ’ stamper-resistant, too: aempting to remove itf r o m i t s m o u n t i n g b r a c k e t o r p r i s e o p e n t h ew h i t e p l a s t i c c a s i n g w i l l c a u s e t h e a l a r m t osound. Sadly, there’s no convenient way tosilence the smok e detector, such as through

t h e a p p , i n f a l s e a l a r m s ; y o u ’ l l h a v e t o p r o dt h e s m a l l b u o n o r w a a t e a t o w e l i n s t e a d .

T his general lack of real intelligence alsoe x t e n d s t o t h e t h e r m o s t a t ( £ 8 9 f o r t h ewall-mounted room control version, £67 f orthe individual radiator version, both f romwww.broadban dbu yer.co.u k) . W e c o u l d n ’ t t e s ti t e x t e n s i v e l y a s o u r h o m e a l r e a d y h a s a N e s tsmart thermostat fied, but the Devolothermostat doesn’t have any comparablelearning f eatures. While the ability to controlthe temperature remotely or schedule it areu s e f u l g i v e n t h e g e n e r a l l y p o o r s t a t e o fthermostat interf ace design, the lack of more

advanced capabilities means Devolo’s smarth o m e k i t f e e l s m o r e l i k e a n i m p r o v e d v e r s i o no f t h e h o m e a u t o m a t i o n k i t s w e ’ v e h a d f o ry e a r s r a t h e r t h a n t r u e s m a r t h o m e g e a r .

E T T E R T O G E T H E R

Another major issue, albeit one shared witho t h e r c o n n e c t e d h o m e k i t s , i s t h e l a c k o fcompatibility with rival smart home systemssuch as Work s with Nest, Apple’s H omeKita n d G o o g l e B r i l l o . D e v o l o s a y s i t ’ s l o o k i n g i n t ocompatibility with Nest and H omeKit, but f orn o w s m a r t h o m e k i t i s s t i l l f o r e a r l y a d o p t e r sw i l l i n g t o r i s k b u y i n g i n t o a s y s t e m t h a t m i g h t

n o t b e p o p u l a r e n o u g h t o h a v e a w i d e c h o i c eof compatible components in a f ew years’ time.A more immediate concern is Belk in’s

comparably priced ZigBee-based Wemo smarth o m e s y s t e m . A s w e l l a s h a v i n g c o m p a t i b l elightbulbs (albeit not with bayonet fiings),t h i s s y s t e m a l s o w o r k s w i t h I F T T T f o r m o r ecomplex rules. Devolo’s H ome Control StarterP a c k i s g o o d , b u t t h i n k c a r e f u l l y a b o u t w h a tyou want to achieve with it bef ore purchasing.

A a n L

components to work together. We quick lyc r e a t e d a r u l e w h e r e o p e n i n g t h e f r o n t d o o rw o u l d a u t o m a t i c a l l y t u r n o n a r a d i o p l u g g e di n t o t h e p l u g a d a p t o r . W e a l s o c r e a t e d a r u l ewhere any movement detected by the motions e n s o r ( £ 5 6 f r o m www.broadban dbu yer.co.u k)n e a r a w i n d o w t u r n e d o n a l a m p a n d s e n t a n

email notification. In another example, lightsplugged into the adaptor were configured toturn on automatically if the smok e detectorwent o, providing valuable illumination ofy o u r e s c a p e p a t h i n t h e e v e n t o f a fi r e . Y o uc a n a l s o s e t r u l e s t o r u n o n a s c h e d u l e .

J U S T F O R G O O D M E S U R E

T h e p l u g a d a p t o r s k e e p t r a c k o f p o w e r u s a g e ,s o y o u c a n a l s o u s e t h e m t o m o n i t o r a n ypower-hungry appliances. Many componentsalso measure temperature data, which youc a n t r a c k o n a g r a p h , s o y o u c a n i d e n t i f y h o to r c o l d s p o t s i f y o u ’ r e w o r r i e d a b o u t y o u r

home insulation. Oddly, many componentsa l s o t r a c k b r i g h t n e s s , b u t t h i s i s s h o w n a s ameaningless percentage figure rather thansomething more usef ul such as lumens or nits.

T he f our-buon k ey f ob (£40 f rom www.

m orecom pu ters.com) a n d t h e w a l l s w i t c h ( £ 4 3 ,www.kikatek.com ) c a n b e s e t u p t o m a n u a l l yr u n r u l e s w h e n p r e s s e d . T h e w a l l s w i t c h c a nb e c o n fi g u r e d e i t h e r a s a s i n g l e o r d o u b l erock er switch using the included plates. T hesec a n b e p r i s e d o g e n t l y u s i n g a s m a l l fl a t h e a dscrewdriver if you need to change the baery.O n e o f t h e s u g g e s t e d u s e s f o r t h e w a l l s w i t c h– m o u n t i n g i t o n y o u r b e d f r a m e – e l i c i t e d

much derisive chortling in the Sh opper office,b u t t h i s c a n s t i l l b e u s e f u l f o r t u r n i n g o n o r o devices plugged into adaptors without havingt o g e t o u t o f b e d , w h i c h i s h a n d y i f y o u ’ r ef orgetf ul or you have mobility issues.

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A d r o i d 4 . 0 + , i S 5 +

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o t q u i t e a s s m a r t a s i t s h o u l d b e , b u t t h i s

h o m e a u t o m a t i o n k i t h a s r e a l p r o m i s e

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V E R D I 2 TA router with a touchscreen, but it’s more ofa gimmick than a lifesaver

A l t h o u g h t h e P 5 i s n ’ t t h e f a s t e s t 8 0 2 . 1 1 a cr o u t e r w e ’ v e s e e n , i t d i d v e r y w e l l w h e n p a i r e dw i t h T P - L i n k ’ s o w n T 4 U H , a c h u n k y 8 0 2 . 1 1 a cU S B a d a p t o r . S p e e d s o f 2 7 9 . 6 M b i t / s a t 1 0 ma n d 2 5 6 . 3 M b i t / s a t 2 5 m a r e n o t t o b e s n e e z e da t , e s p e c i a l l y w i t h s u c h a s m a l l d r o p i n s p e e d i nt h e s u b s t a n t i a l m o v e f r o m 1 0 m a w a y t o 2 5 m .

E v e n i f y o u h a v e t o r u n a m i x e d 8 0 2 . 1 1 n / a cn e t w o r k o n b o t h b a n d s , i t ’ s w o r t h i n v e s t i n g i na n 8 0 2 . 1 1 a c a d a p t o r f o r y o u r o l d e r d e v i c e ss t u c k o n p r e v i o u s v e r s i o n s o f t h e W i - F is t a n d a r d . U s i n g t h e s a m e T 4 U H a d a p t o r o nt h e r o u t e r ’ s 2 . 4 G H z 8 0 2 . 1 1 n n e t w o r k ( t h e r e ’ s

n o w a y t o c r e a t e a 5 G H z n e t w o r k t h a t i s n ’ ta l s o 8 0 2 . 1 1 a c ) , w e s a w q u i c k s p e e d s o f7 3 . 4 M b i t / s a t 1 0 m a n d 3 6 . 8 M b i t / s a t 2 5 m .

T h e T P - L i n k T o u c h P 5 i s n ’ t a b a d r o u t e r ,j u s t a n o v e r p r i c e d o n e . W i t h f e w c o m p e l l i n gr e a s o n s t o f a v o u r t h e t o u c h s c r e e n o v e r m o r e

t r a d i t i o n a l w a y s o f r o u t e r c o n fi g u r a t i o n a n dm a n a g e m e n t , t h e r e ’ s l i l e r e a s o n t o p a y t h e£ 4 0 p r e m i u m o v e r T P - L i n k ’ s o t h e r r o u t e r s ,s u c h a s t h e A r c h e r C 9 ( s e e Go u p T e s t , h o p p e r 3 3 1 ) , w h i c h a r e a s f a s t o r e v e n f a s t e r .

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w e h a d t h e P 5 u p a n d r u n n i n g w i t h i n m i n u t e so f t a k i n g i t o u t o f t h e b o x . A l m o s t a l l t h er o u t e r ’ s s e i n g s , w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n o f I P v 6 ,N A T f o r w a r d i n g a n d U S B o p t i o n s , c a n b ea d j u s t e d u s i n g t h e t o u c h s c r e e n .

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d e v i c e . F o r b e e r o r w o r s e , m o s t r o u t e r s t e n dt o l i v e i n h a r d - t o - r e a c h n o o k s a n d c r a n n i e s ,s u c h a s o n t o p o f b o o k c a s e s , i n e n t e r t a i n m e n tc e n t r e s o r o n h a l l w a y s t a n d s . T h i s , c o m b i n e dw i t h t h e s c r e e n ’ s fl a t , h o r i z o n t a l o r i e n t a t i o n

a n d t h e f a c t t h a t t h e r o u t e r i si m p o s s i b l e t o s t a n d u p r i g h t , m a k e

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a t 1 0 m a n d 9 3 . 2 M b i t / s a t 2 5 m .

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t h e r o w s e r - s e d w i z r d s o f r i v l r o u t e r s . H w e v e r , i t i ss t r i g h t f o r w r d : w e h d t h e P u p n d r u n n i n g i n m i n u t e s






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f o r m a i p u l a i n g t a l e s , w i t h c o m m a d s t o

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d a a a r o s s m u l t i p l e t a l e s .

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t e m p l a e s , b u t a r a g e d a i n d i v i d u a

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a t h i s p r i c e . T h e s t r o n g e s t c o n t e n d e r i s X a a

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m ov e in complex ways as t hey apply colour t o

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explos ions, and also come in handy for fur

eects and other rich, organic textures

Combining particle brushes with Audio

Expression produces some richly dynamic and

expres sive brus hes t hat are a pleas ure t o us e

Various other new brush types combine

particle technology with more conventional

Painter features s uch as bris tle t hickness In

particular, the brushes in the Dynamic Speckle

category are among the most impressive

brushes for natural media eects

T K E T H E H I N T

A rev am ped interface is lis ted among t he new

features Brush Hints are welcome, providing

an explanation for a cont rol as y ou hov er over

i t T he se a re i nc lu de d fo r t he n ewe r a nd m or e

complex controls only it’s a shame they’re

not available for all A newPresentat ion m ode

clears t he s creen t o s how only t he canv as ,

and lets y ou change t he int erface colourOv erall, t he int erface is good, rat her t han

great Technically m inded us ers will appreciat e

direct cont rol over a v ast number of

parameters, while others will be content with

t he brus h pres et s and bas ic controls in t he

Property Bar We’d like t o s ee a m iddle-lev el

control system, where the detailed parameters

were m anaged v ia a graphical cont rol panel

t hat lets us ers s elect brus hes and paint, m ix

colours , add water and was h brus hes in a

m anner m ore in keeping with t he real t hing

Painter 2016 is extremely impressive The

new particle-based brushes in particular are

fantastic for computer game production andother forms of 3 D animation, where t ext ure

ma ps a re p ai nte d o n to 3 D mo de ls G ra ph ic

designers will appreciate the ability to add

s ome colour and t ext ure t o designs with

j us t a few well-placed s trokes Fine art is ts

will find a huge amount t o keep t hem bus y

N ot e ve ryo ne wi ll b e wo n o ve r b y A ud io

Expres sion, but we’re s old It’s a big

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B n P i

I SSUE 3 3 8| O M P U T R S H O P P R |A PRIL 0 1 6


O S S U P P O R T W i d o w s 7 / 8 / 1 0 • M I N I M U M C U P e n t i m 4

( C o r e 2 u o r e c o m m e n d e d ) • M I N I M U M G P U N o t s t a e d •M I N I M U M R A 2 G B ( 4 G B r e c o m m e n d e d ) • H A I S K

S P AC 7 5 0 M B • T A L S w w w . p a i t e r a t i t . c o m

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C I N D V E T U R E G E

L A AC F T H A c o me a l on g w a y s i nc e s h efirst appeared i n 1996, but the compl expuzzl es that defined her earl i er escapadeshave become progressively less importantw i th each new entry. Crystal Dynami cs’ l atestreboot seri es practi cal l y di tches the ti tul ar

tombs altogether. Instead, it’s followed in thefootsteps of its closest competitor, NaughtyDog’ s Uncharted seri es, w i th a greateremphasi s on shooti ng. It w as a potent mi xthat w orked w el l i n 20 13’ s Tomb R ai der, andthi s i nstal ment i n Lara’ s new , gri y ori gi nsstory fol l ow s very much the same templ ate.

Lara i s once agai n portrayed as a youngand inexperienced adventurer, but her aacksand fini shers are no l ess brutal than before.There’ s a greater emphasi s on steal th herecompared to her l ast expedi ti on, and you canoen cl ear out l arge groups of myopi c, i di oti cenemies w i th j ust a few w ell -placed arrow s.

Lara has al so taken l essons from NaughtyD o g ’ s o t h e r b i g h i e r , T h e L a s t o f U s , a n d c a nnow throw together a vari ety of i mprovisede x p l o s i v e s o n t h e fl y . I f y o u s e e a b o l e o r ati n can, you can qui ckl y bui l d a Mol otov orgrenade to fli ng at your opponents – al bei t at

the cost of the resources you carryw i th you. You can’ t store such i temsto use at w i l l , though, w hi ch cl everl y

S Q U R E E N I X

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al l ow s the devel oper to keep a rei n on thei ruse, even i f i t doesn’ t make much sense.

It’ s w orth noti ng that there’ s no auto-ai msystem on the defaul t di fficul ty l evel , w hi chcan make l i ning up shots w i th the bow rathertri cky under pressure. The Xbox O ne

control l er has excel l ent anal ogue sti cks butw e found survi val i n some encounters w asdow n to l uck rather than ski l l . PC ow ners havethe opti on of usi ng a mouse and keyboardi nstead, w hi ch w e found w as much moreaccurate and comfortable. However, we’d stillprefer a sl i ghtl y sti cki er ai m and tougheropponents gi ven the choi ce.

0 R O F T O R I G I N L

Betw een the fighti ng there’ s a heal thy dose ofexpl orati on, w i th l ots of opportuni ti es tocl i mb about on trees, roofs and rock faces.Most of thi s i s uerl y unchal l engi ng, but one

tricky platforming section, with jumps thatrequi re actual ti mi ng, proves the devel operscoul d have got more out of Lara’ s athl eti ci sm.

It’ s a shame the cl i mbi ng and shooti ngs e ct i on s d o n’ t q u it e g e l i t ’s l a rg e ly o n e t h e nt he o t he r, r at he r t ha n ha ng in g o a c l i f ac epopping bullets one-handed. From what we’veseen of the new Uncharted, Nathan Drake w i l lm ix i t u p m or e a nd t o g r ea te r e e ct .

There are some cracki ng puzzl es i n thegame, the best i nvol vi ng both w ater andLara’ s expanded abi l i ty to fire rope arrow sand aach them to vari ous obj ects, as w el las cut them free agai n usi ng a kni fe.

Unfortunately, most puzzles are restrictedto si ngl e, l arge rooms that aren’ t w oven i ntothe pl ot i tsel f, i nstead formi ng extra bonusmi ssi ons that dol e out extra practi cal abi l i ti es.

It’ s hard to know i f the strong si mil ariti esbetw een thi s game and the l ast are partl y duet o i t b e i n g a v a il ab l e o n t h e X b o x 3 60 a s w el la s X b o x O n e a n d P C , a n d w he t he r a p u re l y

current-gen ti tl e coul d have spreadi ts w i ngs a l i l e w i der i n terms of

scal e and depth. That sai d, theXbox O ne’s extra horsepowerh a s b e e n p u t t o g o o d u s e i n t h evi sual s, and the epi c backdrops,

dense, drivi ng snow and i ndivi dualfootpri nts l ook even beer on PC.Ice gl i stens and cracks j ust howyou’d expect, and Lara’s shiny,l uxuri ant hai r sl i ps and sl i des over

her shoul ders i n an uncanni l y real i sti c w ay,almost warranting its own Pantene advert.

The R PG el ements of the game return, w i thski l l s to upgrade and natural resources to findand cra i nto useful i tems. We made l i l ee o r t t o l o ok f o r t h e se o r h u nt a n i ma l s o t he r

than those that stumbl ed across our path, butw e sti l l found the game l argel y manageabl ebar a coupl e of di fficul ty spi kes i n certai nfights. O n harder di fficul ty l evel s, thesesystems no doubt come i nto thei r ow n asyou scrambl e around for resources, but foryour average adventurer i t’ s ratherdi sappoi nti ng that you’ re not requi red toe n ga g e w it h t h e m m o re e e c ti ve l y.

P 0 E M K E R

The pl ot i s a bi t so-so w i th an anci ent artefactto find and protect, and a hi dden val l ey w herew ar i s bei ng w aged betw een i nterested

facti ons, but the game’ s paci ng i s superb.Narrow spaces and short cutscenes di sgui seany l oadi ng ti mes, so each l evel flow sbeauti ful l y from one to the other, and w henthe acti on j ust keeps comi ng, you don’ t real l ymi nd that the narrati ve i s rather unsati sfyi ng.

Lara’ s al so more convi nci ng as a buddi ngarchaeol ogi st thi s ti me round, and she evencomments on i tems of i nterest. It’ s a bi t dathat you can ‘ l evel up’ her anci ent l anguageski l l s si mpl y by engagi ng w i th vari ous mural sand monoli ths, but at l east she doesn’t destroyevery si ngl e pot she w al ks near any more.

R i se of the Tomb R ai der may borrow many

trai ts from some of the bi ggest franchi sesaround, but there’ s no denyi ng Lara has herow n di sti nct take on the al l -acti on adventuregenre. It does re-tread a l ot of ol d ground, andi t’ s a shame the game’ s shooti ng, cl i mbi ngand puzzl i ng el ements aren’ t bl ended i nto asi ngl e, more sati sfyi ng w hol e, but i t’ s sti l l anincredibly slick, immensely enjoyable,thrill-packed ride that anyone will enjoy.

S t h Ba r t o n


A AI AB E F O R M A S X b o x O n e , X b o x 3 6 0 , P C • O S

S U P P O R T W i d o w s 7 / 8 / 1 0 • M I I U M C U I n t e l C o r e

i - 2 1 0 0 o r A M e q u i a e n t • M I I U M G P U N v i ia

G e o r c e G T X 6 5 0 2 G B , A M R a e o n H 7 7 7 0 2 G B •M I I U M R A 6 G B • H A D D I S P ACE 2 5 G B •D E T AI S w w w . t o m b r ai e r . c o m

E n e m i s a e n ’ t p a t i u l a l y i t e l l i e n t , b u t t h e

l a k o f a t o - ai o n n o r m a d i c u l t y s e i g s

c a s t i l m a e g u n fi g h t s a b i o f a c h a l e n g e

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6 2 A PRIL 0 1 6 |C M P U T R S H O P P R | I SSUE 3 3 8

W H E IT C M E S to tacti cal onl i ne shooters,i t w as al w ays goi ng to take somethi ng speci alto dethrone Valve’s juggernaut FPS, CounterStri ke, but the l atest i ncarnati on of theR ai nbow Si x series j ust breach-and-cleared i ts

w ay i nto the spotl i ght. Si ege i s a mul ti pl ayer-focused, 5v5 tacti cal shooter that borrow sfrom Counter Strike and, bizarrely, actions t r a t e g y g a m e s s u c h a s D o t a 2 a n d H e r o e s o fthe Storm. The combination shouldn’t work,b u t i t r e s u l t s i n s o m e o f t h e m o s t i n t e n s egunfights and strategi c pl anni ng of anyshooter rel eased over the l ast year.

Si ege i s asymmetri cal , w i th teams taki ngturns to pl ay as defenders and aackers. O ndefence, you have 30 seconds at the start ofeach round to board w i ndow s, barri cade w al l sand set traps to catch out the aacki ng team.Whi l e thi s i s happeni ng, the aacki ng si de can

use thei r remote-control l ed recon drones tosearch the map for enemi es and thei r mai nobj ecti ve. They can al so choose from mul ti pl epoi nts of entry, surpri si ng defenders w i th arooop breach, rappel through a w indow orsni per shot from an adj acent rooop.

There are 11 maps avai l abl e, w i th more tocome later this year, including inner-citybanks, suburban mansions, Swiss chalets,di pl omati c consul ates, an SAS trai ni ng groundand a grounded Ai r Force O ne. Most focus oncl ose-quarters combat, so pl ayers have tow o r k i n t e a m s t o c l e a r a s a f e r o u t e t o t h eobj ecti ve. Thi s coul d be a bomb to defuse, a

hostage to rescue, or room to control .It’ s the destructi on that trul y makes eachm a tc h a n a il - bi t in g a a ir. T h e d e f en de r s m i g hthave barri caded al l the w i ndow s, but the

hastily thrown together plywood panels can’tw i thstand more than a few hi ts beforespl i nteri ng apart. You can al so create yourow n entrances usi ng breachi ng charges, C4and nitrocells, demolishing walls, floors and

c e i l i n g s i n a s h o w e r o f d u s t a n d d e b r i s t o g e tthe drop on the opposi ng team.

I F L O K S 0 O U L K I LL

It al l l ooks stunni ng, w hether at 10 80 p and6 0 fp s o n t h e P S 4 a n d X b ox O n e, o r a t u p t o4K resol uti ons (w i th an opti onal Ul tra HDt e x t u r e p a c k ) o n a P C . M a n y m a p s a r eplayable as daytime or night-time variants,t o o, w hi c h l e t t h e l i gh t in g e e c ts r e al ly s h in e.How ever, Si ege doesn’ t have the same l evel ofpol i sh as other recent tri pl e-A rel eases. Thi sm ay b e a r es ul t o f t he d es tr uc ti on e e c tspl aci ng extra strai n on consol e hardw are, as

some maps l ook parti cul arl y bare w hen youturn your eyes aw ay from the acti on.

Pl ayers can take onl y a few shots beforefalling, and with no respawning mid-round,you’ re forced to ask your teammates to pi ck you back up to carry on fighti ng. O nce you’ reout, you can conti nue usi ng any fixed camerasor acti ve recon drones to spot enemi es,cal l i ng out thei r posi ti ons to your teammatesi n o r d e r t o t u r n a l o s i n g r o u n d i n t o a w i n .

It’ s the tacti cal chal l enge of pi cki ng theri ght operator for the task that makes Si egestand out from other shooters, parti cul arl yw hen i t comes to spectati ng and possi bl e

eSports success. There are 20 characters toc h oo s e f r om , e a c h w i th d i e r en t w e a po n s,perks, abilities and equipment. Electronicsspecialist Twitch, for example, is equipped

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w i th a remote-control l ed drone that can stunenemi es w i th an el ectroni c pul se. Smoke,meanwhile, can detonate poison gas canistersthat sl ow l y i ncapaci tate any foe that straysi nto the bl ast cl oud. O nce sel ected, you have

to use your chosen operator for the enti rematch – there’ s no changi ng at hal f-ti me. Thi se n co u ra g es t ea m s t o b a l an c e o e n si ve a n ddefensi ve rol es, and can force pl ayers tosw i tch from a preferred pl ay styl e i f i t doesn’ tsui t a parti cul ar map or mi ssi on obj ecti ve.

0 O M M S T O G E T H E R

When al l these el ements are combi ned, i tmakes communi cati on the key to success. Ifyou aren’ t spoi ng enemi es, sei ng updefences and resupplying your teammates,you can get qui ckl y overrun by a moreorgani sed opponent. Si ege i s at i ts best w hen

y ou p la y r e g u la r ly w it h a s q ua d o f f r ie n ds t h eki nd of qui ck, cl ear communi cati on that onl ycomes w i th regul ar pl ay i s cruci al .

However, this multiplayer focus will leavesol o gamers feel i ng l e out. There’ s nocampai gn mode, onl y a sel ecti on of ‘ Si tuati on’mi ssi ons that pl ay out as an i ntroducti on tothe game’ s many mechani cs. They can becompl eted i n under an hour, and aren’ t toochallenging. There’s a cooperative TerroristHunt mode as w el l , w hi ch can al so be pl ayedal one, but the constant w aves of enemi esquickly get repetitive, regardless of whetheryou’ re pl ayi ng as aackers or defenders.

Whether Si ege j usti fies a ful l -pri ce rel easew il l depend entirel y on how seriously i nvestedy ou p la n o n b e co m in g . T h er e’ s e e c ti ve l y o n lyone mul ti pl ayer mode, and w hi l e that i sn’ t ani ssue for MO BAs such as League of Legends,those are free-to-pl ay rather than £40 . Si egehas real potenti al as an eSports ti tl e, i f pl ayersand tournaments get behi nd i t, but unl essyou pl an on maki ng i t your mai n onl i neshooter, i t’ s one to w ai t for i n the sal es.

o m o r g a n

6 2

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U 2 I S O F T

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V E R I 0 T

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O N L I N E S H O O T E R

Interior walls are rarely safe;well-placed shots will rip rightthrough plasterboard and wood






P0s

0 1

A b a s i c P C c o s t i n g a r o u n d £ 3 5 0 w i l l

b e a b l e t o r u n e v e r y d a y o ffi c e ,mul ti medi a and educati on sow are and w i l le a s i l y c o p e w i t h s u r fi n g t h e i n t e r n e t . I t m i g h te v e n b e a b l e t o r u n s o m e m o d e r n g a m e s .

M a n y P C s c a n b e s o l d e i t h e r w i t h o rw i t h o u t a m o n i t o r . I f y o u d o n ’ t l i k e t h ed i sp l ay t h a t t h e m a n uf a ct u r er i s o e r i ng ,y o u c a n a l w a y s u s e y o u r c u r r e n t o n e , o rbuy another one separatel y.

0 2 I f y o u w a n t t o p l a y g a m e s , y o u ’ l lh a v e t o u p g r a d e t h e g r a p h i c s c a r d .

B u d g e t c a r d s s u c h a s t h e N v i d i a G e F o r c e G T X9 5 0 w i l l c o p e w e l l w i t h m a n y 3 D g a m e s , b u tt o p l a y t h e l a t e s t 3 D g a m e s s m o o t h l y ( a n d

enj oy the best-qual i ty graphi cs) i t’ s w orthu p g r a d i n g t o a m o r e p o w e r f u l c a r d s u c h a sthe Nvi di a GeForce GTX 970 .

Cho o ing a...P0 sy ste m

0 3

A l l m o d e r n P C s c o m e w i t h a t

l east a dual -core processor anda r e c a p a b l e o f m o s t t a s k s . A n y o n e w h oregul arl y undertakes demandi ng taskssuch as vi deo edi ti ng and encodi ngs h o u l d c o n s i d e r a q u a d - c o r e o r e v e n ahex-core processor.

0 4 T h e re a r e p l e n t y o f g o o d r e as o ns t ou p g r a d e t h e P C ’ s m e m o r y o r h a r d

d i s k . I f y o u ’ l l u s e y o u r P C f o r g a m i n g , v i d e oedi ti ng or other demandi ng tasks, you’ l ln e e d 8 G B o f R A M a n d a l a r g e h a r d d i s k 1 T B s h o u l d s u ffi c e . M a n y n e w P C s c o m e w i t ha n S S D , w h i c h s p e e d s u p t h e t i m e i t t a k e s f o ry o u r P C t o b o o t a n d p r o g r a m s t o l o a d .

0 5 H a vi n g p l en t y o f U S B p o rt s i sal w ays useful , as most computer

peri pheral s aach to these ports. Most

n e w P C s c o m e w i t h t h e l a t e s t U S B 3 p o r t s ,w hi ch provi de faster data transfers w henused w i th supported devi ces than theol der USB2 standard.

0 6 M o s t n e w P C s n o w c o m e w i t hWi ndow s 10 pre-i nstal l ed. Don’ t

b e t o o e a s i l y s w a y e d b y t h e i n c l u s i o n o fo t h e r s o w a r e , t h o u g h , a s i t m a y b e t h a ty o u ’ l l n e v e r u s e i t .

0 7 W h i l e m o s t P C s c o m e i n c a s e so f a s i m i l a r s i z e , s o m e h a v e m o r e

c o m p a c t m i n i t o w e r o r m i n i P C c a s e s .T h e s e s m a l l e r P C s w i l l fi t u n d e r y o u r T V

o r o n y o u r d e s k m o r e e a s i l y , b u t b e a r i nmi nd that they’ re si gni ficantl y harder toupgrade than ful l -si ze machi nes.

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l ab o u r R TB ) • T A L S www.yoyotech.co.uk • P A T C ER 0815 WR S10 F U L L R V I W N o v 2 0 1 5

P R O C S S O R Q u a d - co r e 4 G H z A M D A t hl o n X 4 8 6 0 K ( o v e rc l o ck e d ) • R A 8GB • F R O N T U S B

P O R T S 2 x U S B 3 • R A U S B P O R T S 4 x U S B 2, 2 x U S B 3 • T O T A S T O R A 1 T B h y b r i d h a r d d i s k •

G R A H I C CA 4 G B A M D R a de o n R 7 3 7 0 • O P R A I N G S Y S T M W i n d ow s 1 0 H o m e •

W A R A T Y T h r ee y e a r s R T B • T A L S www.palicomp.co.uk • P A T C KAV2 •

F U L L R V I W a n 2 0 1 6

8PPLE 27in iM ac w ith 5 KRet ina Display

S08 3XSZ170Perform ance G TK 6

£1,599 inc VAT • www.apple.com/uk £1,046 inc VAT • www.scan.co.uk/3xs

I t ’ s n o t o e n p p l e

r e p r e s e n t s b e s t - i n - c l a s

v a u e , b u t t h e 5 K i M a i s a e x c e p t i o n . I t h a t h e

b e s t s c r e e n w e ’ v e s e e n o n a a l - i n - o n e , a o n g w i t h t h e b e s t

p r o c e s s o r p e r f o r m a c e a d s o m e h a d y g r a h i c s c a a i l i t i e s .

n i n c r e d i b l y p o w e r f u l S k y l a e

s y s t e m t h a c a c o p e w i t h j u s t

a o u t a y d e s k t o p t a k a d

h a d l e g a i n g a 2 , 5 6 0 x 1 , 4 4 0 . T h e Z 1 7 0 m o t h e r b o a d i s f u t u r e - p r o o f

t o o , w i t h U S 3 . 1 a d a M . 2 s l o t f o r P C I - E x p r e s s s t o r a e .

P R O C S S O R Q u a d - co r e 3 . 2 G H z I n t el C o r e i 5 - 6 5 0 0 • R A 8GB • F R O N T U S B P O R T S 0 •

R A U S B P O R T S 4 x U S B 3 • T O T A S T O R A 1 T B f u s i o n d r i v e • G R A H I C CA AM D

R a d eo n R 9 M 3 9 0 • I S P L A Ap p l e 2 7i n i n t egr ated • O P R A I N G S Y S T M A p pl e O S X 1 0 .1 1

El Cap i t an • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B • T A L S www.apple.com/uk • P A T C 2 7-i n ch

i M ac • F U L L R V I W F e b 2 0 1 6

P R O C S S O R Qu ad -co re 4. 6GHzIn t el Co r ei 5 -6600K (o ver cl o cked ) • R A 8GB • F R O N T U S B P O R T S

4 x U S B 3 • R A U S B P O R T S 2 x U S B 3 .1 , 1 x U S B T yp e - C, 2 x U S B 2 • T O T A S T O R A 2 5 6 G B S S D ,

1 T B h a r d d i s k • G R A H I C CA 4 G B N v i di a G e F o rc e G T X 9 7 0 • O P R A I N G S Y S T M Windows

1 0 H o m e • W A R A T Y T h r ee y e a rs p a r t s c o v e r : f i r s t y e a r o n s it e , y e a r s t w o a n d t h r ee R T B •

T A L S www.scan.co.uk/3xs • P A T C P e r fo r ma n c e Z 1 7 0 G T K 6 • F U L L R V I W N o v 2 0 1 5

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L8PTOPS

0 1

A b a si c l a pt o p c o s t in g a r o un d £ 3 0 0

w i l l run everyday office, mul ti medi aand educati on sow are, but i t w on’ t besui tabl e for 3D gami ng or processor-i ntensi vet a s k s s u c h a s v i d e o e d i t i n g . M a n y l a p t o p s a tt h i s p r i c e h a v e a 1 5 . 4 i n s c r e e n a n d w e i g haround 2. 4kg, so they’ re best used aroundthe house and for occasi onal j ourneys.

0 2 I f y o u w a n t t o p l a y m o d e r ng a m e s , y o u ’ l l n e e d a l a p t o p w i t h a

dedi cated graphi cs chi p such as the Nvi di aGeForce GTX 960 M. Good gami ng l aptopst e n d t o h a v e l a r g e 1 7 i n s c r e e n s a n d w e i g ha r o u n d 3 k g , s o t h e y ’ r e b e s t s u i t e d t o u s eat home.

0 3 I f y o u w a n t a l a p t o p t h a t y o u c a ntake everyw here, l ook for a model

Cho o ing a...Laptopt h a t w e i g h s l e s s t h a n 2 k g . F o r t h e b e s t

p o r t a b i l i t y , b u y o n e t h a t h a s a n 1 1 i n o r 1 3 i ns c r e e n . I n g e n e r a l , t h e s m a l l e r a n d l i g h t e r t h el aptop, the more expensi ve i t i s, especi al l y i fi t has pl enty of processi ng pow er.

0 4 Baery l ife i s extremel y i mportantfor a l aptop, parti cul arl y i f you’ l l be

c a r r y i n g i t a r o u n d . W e ’ d e x p e c t a l l b u t t h eb i g g e s t a n d h e a v i e s t t o l a s t f o r a t l e a s t fi v eh o u r s o n a s i n g l e c h a r g e , b u t f o r a n u l t r a -portabl e that you carry everyw here, ei ghthours and above i s more desi rabl e.

0 5

Laptops use mobi l e versi ons ofprocessors to conserve pow er,

and these l ag behi nd desktop chi ps w heni t c o m e s t o p e r f o r m a n c e . F o r a b u d g e tl a p t o p , a n I n t e l C o r e i 3 p r o c e s s o r w i l l d o t h e

j ob perfectl y adequatel y, but i f you w ant

beer performance, you shoul d l ook for anI n t e l C o r e i 5 o r C o r e i 7 m o d e l i n s t e a d . W er e c o m m e n d a m i n i m u m o f 4 G B o f R A M ,al though 8GB i s beer for mul ti taski ng.

0 6 Most budget and mi d-range l aptopsu s e a m e c h a n i c a l h a r d d i s k f o r

storage. You’ l l w ant at l east 50 0 GB, but1TB or more i s beer. Sol i d-state dri ves(SSDs) have faster performance, maki ngy o u r c o m p u t e r q u i c k e r t o b o o t a n d m o r eresponsi ve. They have l ow er capaci ti es,though. You’ l l need at l east 128GB.

0 7N e t b o o k s a r e a t y p e o f s m a l l ,

low-cost ultra-portable laptop.T h e y ’ r e fi n e f o r l i g h t u s e , b u t a v o i d t h e m i fyou w ant to do compl i cated tasks.

DELL XPS13

£1,149 inc VAT • www.dell.co.uk

T h e l a t e s t D e l l X P S 1 3i s a s t u n n i n g p i e c e o fengineering. While

v i s u a l l y i t ’ s n o t c h a n g e d m u c h f r o mprevious versions, its InfintyEdge screen’s almostnon-existent bezels look beautif ul and there have been excellentinternal upgrades, including a new Intel Sk ylak e processor.

P R O C S S O R D u a l - co r e 2 . 5 G H z I n t el C o r e i 7 - 6 5 0 0U • R A 8GB • I M N S I O N S 304x2 00x15 m m •

W I G H T 1. 2 9kg • S C N S I Z 13. 3i n • S C N R S O L U T I O N 3, 2 00x1, 800 • G R A H I C

A A T O R I n t el H D G r a p hi c s 5 2 0 • T O T A S T O R A 2 5 6 G B S S D • O P R A I N G S Y S T M

W i n do w s 1 0 H o m e • P A T S A L AB U R W A R A T Y O n e y e a r c o l l e c t a n d r e t ur n •

T A L S www.dell.com • P A T N U M B R CNX9305 • F U L L R V I W M a r 2 0 1 6

E S T U Y

TOSH I28 Sat ellit e Rad iu s 15

£700 inc VAT • www.currys.co.uk

Recently updated withm o r e R A M a n d a nIntel Skylake

processor, the ref reshed Radius 15 retainsthe high-quality screen, great baery lif e ands t y l i s h c h a s s i s . I t ’ s a g r e a t w a y t o t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f W i n d o w s 1 0 ’ stouchscreen elements, too.

P R O C S S O R D u a l - co r e 2 . 3 G H z I n t el C o r e i 5 - 6 2 0 0 U • R A 16GB • I M N S I O N S 380x245x20mm

• W I G H T 2 . 3kg • S C N S I Z 15.6in • S C N R S O L U T I O N 1,920x1,080 • G R A H I C

A A T O R I n t el H D G r a p hi c s 5 2 0 • T O T A S T O R A 1 T B S S H D • O P R A I N G S Y S T M Windows

1 0 H o m e • P A T S A L AB U R W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B • T A L S www.toshiba.co.uk •

P A T N U M B R P50W-C-10P • F U L L R V I W D e c 2 0 1 5

TOSH I28 Chrom ebook 2(CB3 0 -B-10 4)

£270 inc VAT • www.johnlewis.com

T h e fi r s t b u d g e t C h r o m e b o o k o ns a l e i n t h e U K t o h a v e a F u l l H D s c r e e n i s ab i t m o r e e x p e n s i v e t h a n t h e c o m p e t i t i o n , b u t w e

t h i n k i t ’ s a b s o l u t e l y w o r t h i t . W i t h s o m u c h e x t r a s p a c e , y o u c a n fi tm o r e i t e m s o n t h e s c r e e n a n d g e t m o r e d o n e .

P R O C S S O R D u a l - co r e 2 . 1 6 G Hz I n t el C e l er o n N 2 8 4 0 • R A 4GB • I M N S I O N S 32 0x2 14x19m m •

W I G H T 1. 35 kg • S C N S I Z 13. 3i n • S C N R S O L U T I O N 1,920x1,080 • G R A H I C A A T O R

I n te l H D G r a ph i c s • T O T A S T O R A 1 6 G B S S D • O P R A I N G S Y S T M G o o g le C h r om e O S •

P A T S A L AB U R W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B • T A L S www.toshiba.co.uk • P A T C

P LM 02 E-00D003EN • F U L L R V I W M a y 2 0 1 5

R E O M M E N D E D

R E O M M E N D E D

M SI G E7 2 6 QF Apache Pro

£1,230 inc VAT • www.saveonlaptops.co.uk

T h e M S I G E 7 2 6 Q F A p a c h eP r o i s a n e m i n e n t l ypowerf ul gaming

laptop with top specifications, includingthe latest Intel Sk ylak e processor. T here’s atop-notch Nvidia GeForce 970M graphics card,w h i c h c a n t a c k l e e v e n t h e m o s t t a x i n g g a m e s .

P R O C S S O R Q u a d- c o r e 2 . 6 G H z I n t e l C o r e i 7 - 6 7 00 H Q • R A 16GB • I M N S I O N S

383x2 60x2 7m m • W I G H T 2 . 7kg • S C N S I Z 17.3in • S C N R S O L U T I O N 1.920x1,080 •

G R A H I C A A T O R N v i di a G e F o rc e G T X 9 7 0 M • T O T A S T O R A 1 2 8 G B S S D , 1 T B h a r d d i s k •

O P R A I N G S Y S T M W i n do w s 1 0 H o m e • P A T S A L AB U R W A R A T Y T wo y e a rs c o l le c t

return • T A L S uk.msi.com • P A T C G E 7 2 6 Q F - 0 14 U K • F U L L R V I W F e b 2 0 1 6

R E O M M E N D E D

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SM 8RT PH O ES

0 1 A smartphone’s operati ng system(O S) di ctates i ts basi c features and

w hi ch thi rd-party sow are you can i nstal l .There are three mai n contenders: Appl e’ si O S, w hi ch i s found on the i Phone, Googl e’ s

Androi d, w hi ch i s used by vari ous handsetmanufacturers, and Wi ndow s Phone 8,w hi ch i s mai nl y used on Lumi a phones.A p p l e i O S a n d G o o g l e A n d r o i d h a v e t h emost apps avai l abl e but Wi ndow s Phone i ssl ow l y catchi ng up.

0 2 Al l smartphones have col our screens,but thei r resol uti ons vary. Basi c

m o d e l s h a v e 8 0 0 x 4 8 0 p i x e l s , b u t t e x t c a n b ei n d i s t i n c t . L o o k f o r a d i s p l a y t h a t h a s a t l e a s t1 , 2 8 0 x 7 2 0 p i x e l s s o i t ’ s e a s y t o b r o w s e w e b

Cho o in g a...Sm artph on epages. Don’ t w orry too much about bui l t-i nmedi a pl ayers or O ffice document edi torsy o u c a n a l w a y s i n s t a l l a p p s t o r e p l a c e t h e s ew i th beer versi ons l ater.

The i mage qual i ty of smartphone cameras

has i mproved tremendousl y i n recent years,a n d r e s o l u t i o n s h a v e i n c r e a s e d t o a s h i g h a s20 megapi xel s.

0 3 Very few modern smartphones have aphysi cal keyboard for enteri ng text

they al most excl usi vel y use touchscreensnow . Physi cal keyboards can ai d heavyemai l i ng, but today’ s touchscreen keyboardsw ork j ust as w el l .

Androi d smartphones and i Phonesr u n n i n g i O S 8 o r 9 a l l o w y o u t o i n s t a l l a

vari ety of custom onscreen keyboards soy o u c a n fi n d o n e t h a t s u i t s y o u .

0 4 Be careful when choosing a contract.L o o k f o r o n e t h a t i n c l u d e s a l a r g e

d a t a a l l o w a n c e i f y o u w a n t t o u s e t h ei nternet regul arl y or you’ ve set your phoneto synchroni se your contacts, cal endar andemai l through onl i ne servi ces.

B u i l t - i n W i - F i c a n h e l p y o u a v o i d h i g h d a t acharges by connecti ng to the i nternetthrough w i rel ess hotspots w hen you’ re out,or your router w hen you’ re at home. Androi dand i Phone handsets can operate as w i rel esshotspots, l ei ng you connect your l aptop tothe w eb over your mobi l e data connecti on.T h e r e m a y b e a n e x t r a c h a r g e f o r t h i s .

M OTOROL8 M ot oX Force

£480 SIM-free free on £31. 50-per-month contract •www.carphonewarehouse.com (SIM-free),www.idmobile.co.uk (contract)

With its incredible shaerproof display,y o u n e e d n e v e r w o r r y a b o u t d r o p p i n gy o u r p h o n e e v e r a g a i n w i t h t h e M o t o X

Force. It also has great baery lif e and a super-f ast processor.

P R O C S S O R O c t a - co r e 2 G H z Q u a lc o m m S n a p d ra g o n 8 1 0 • S C N S I Z 5 . 4i n • S C N

R S O L U T I O N 2 , 5 60x1, 440 • R A CA R A 2 1 m egap i xel s • S T O R A 32 GB • W I R L S S

A A 4G • I M N S I O N S 150x78x7.6mm • W I G H T 169g • O P R A I N G S Y S T M An d r o i d 5 . 1 •

T A L S www.motorola.co.uk • P A T C XT15 80 • F U L L R V I W M a r 2 0 1 6

E S T U Y

S8M SU G Galaxy S6

£ 3 80 S I M -f r e e f r ee o n £ 2 6- p e r- m on t h o n c o nt r ac t •www.carphonewarehouse.com (SIM-free and contract)

T h e a l l - m e t a l G a l a x y S 6 i s S a m s u n g ’ s b e s tphone yet. P erf ormance is f antastic andthe 2,560x1,440 screen look s gorgeous.

T he curvy Galaxy S6 Edge is a head-turning alternative.

P R O C S S O R S Q u a d - co r e 2 . 1 G H z q u a d- c o r e 1 . 5 G H z S a m su n g E x y n o s 7 4 20 • S C N S I Z 5.1in •

S C N R S O L U T I O N 2 , 5 60x1, 440 • R A CA R A 16 m egap i xel s • S T O R A 32 GB •

W I R L S S A A 4G • I M N S I O N S 143x70x6. 8m m • W I G H T 132 g • O P R A I N G S Y S T M

An d r o i d 5 . 0 • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B • T A L S www.samsung.com/uk • P A T C

SM -G92 0F • F U L L R V I W u l 2 0 1 5

R E O M M E N D E D

8PPLE iPhone 6

£459 SIM-free free on £32-per-month contract •www.apple.com/uk (SIM-free),www.carphonewarehouse.com (contract)

A l a r g e r s c r e e n , f a s t e r p r o c e s s o r a n di m p r o v e d b a e r y l i f e m a k e t h e i P h o n e 6 ah u g e i m p r o v e m e n t o v e r t h e i P h o n e 5 s , a n d

i t ’ s n o w e v e n c h e a p e r a s A p p l e m a k e s w a y f o r t h e n e w i P h o n e 6 s .

P R O C S S O R D u a l - co r e 1 . 4 G H z A p p le A 8 • S C N S I Z 4.7in • S C N R S O L U T I O N 1, 334x75 0

• R A CA R A 8 m egap i xel s • S T O R A 16GB • W I R L S S A A 4G • I M N S I O N S

138x67x6.9mm • W I G H T 129g • O P R A I N G S Y S T M i OS 9 • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B •

T A L S www.apple.com/uk • P A T C i P h on e 6 • F U L L R V I W D e c 2 0 1 4

E S T U Y

VOD8FO E Sm art U lt ra 6

£115 (PAYG) free on £17-per-month contract •shop.vodafone.co.uk (PAYG and contract)

A mid-range smartphone at an entry-levelprice. P ack ed with an octa-core processor, ah u g e F u l l H D d i s p l a y a n d a g r e a t c a m e r a , t h e

Smart Ultra 6 is unbelievably good value.

P R O C S S O R O c t a - co r e 1 . 7 G H z Q u a lc o m m S n a p d ra g o n 6 1 5 • S C N S I Z 5.5n • S C N

R S O L U T I O N 1,920x1,080 • R A CA R A 13 m egap i xel s • S T O R A 16GB • W I R L S S

A A 4G • I M N S I O N S 15 4x77x8. 4m m • W I G H T 159g • O P R A I N G S Y S T M An d r o i d 5 . 0. 2 •

W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B • T A L S www.vodafone.co.uk • P A T C S m a rt U l t ra 6 •

F U L L R V I W N o v 2 0 1 5

E S T U Y

M OTOROL8 M ot oG (3 rd Gen)

£150 (SIM-free) free on £13. 50 -per-month contract •www.carphonewarehouse.com (SIM-free),www.idmobile.com (contract)

T h e 3 r d G e n M o t o G h a s a n i m p r o v e dc a m e r a , l o n g e r b a e r y l i f e a n d a nall-new design, mak ing it our go-to

budget smartphone.

P R O C S S O R Q u a d- c o r e 1 . 2 G H z Q u a l c o m m S n a p dr a g on 4 1 0 • S C N S I Z 5 i n • S C N

R S O L U T I O N 1, 2 80x72 0 • R A CA R A 13 m egap i xel s • S T O R A 8GB • W I R L S S A A 4G •

I M N S I O N S 142x72x6.1mm • W I G H T 155g • O P R A I N G S Y S T M An d r o i d 5 . 1. 1 • T A L S

www.motorola.co.uk • P A T C XT1541 • F U L L R V I W D e c 2 0 1 5

R E O M M E N D E D

GOOGLE Nexu s5 X

£30 0 (SIM-free) free on £19. 50 -per-month contract •www.carphonewarehouse.com (SIM-free),www.idmobile.co.uk (contract)

I t m i g h t n o t b e t h e p r e i e s t p h o n ea r o u n d , b u t t h e N e x u s 5 X i s q u i c k , h a s a g r e a tcamera and comes with Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

P R O C S S O R H e x a - co r e 1 . 8 G H z Q u a l co m m S n a p d ra g o n 8 0 8 • S C N S I Z 5 . 2 i n •

S C N R S O L U T I O N 1,920x1,080 • R A CA R A 12 . 3 m egap i xel s • S T O R A 16GB •

W I R L S S A A 4G • I M N S I O N S 147x73x7.9mm • W I G H T 136g • O P R A I N G S Y S T M

An d r o i d 6. 0 • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B • T A L S www.google.com/nexus/5x • P A T C

N e x u s 5 X • F U L L R V I W F e b 2 0 1 6

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0 1 Al t a b l e t s r e l y o n a n o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m

( S ) t o r u n a p p s . Y o u h a v e t h r e e m a i n

c h o i c e s : A p l e ’ s i S , w h i c h r u n s o n t h e i P a d ,

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m a n u f a c t u r e r s , a n d W i n d o w s 1 0 , w h i c h i s

s l o w l y b e c o m i n g m o r e c o m m o n i n h y b r i d

t a b l e t s a n d c o n v e r t i b l e s . I y o u o w n a n A p l e

o r G o o g l e s m a r t p h o n e , y o u c a n d o w n l o a d

y o u r a p p s , m u s i c a n d s o o n t o a t a b l e t t h a t

r u n s t h e s a m e S , s o i t m a k e s s e n s e t o s t i c k

w i t h a c o m p a t i b l e d e v i c e .

0 2 I ’ s i m p o r t a n t t o p i c k a t a b l e t t h a t h a s

a g o o d - q u a l i t y h i g h - r e s o l u t i o n s c r e e n .

M a n y b u d g e t t a b l e t s h a v e 1 , 2 8 0 x 8 0 0 -

r e s o l u t i o n d i s p l a y s , b u t b e e r t a b l e t s h a v e

F u l l H D 1 , 9 2 0 x 1 , 0 8 0 p a n e l s , a n d w e ’ r e

Cho o in g a... b e ts t a r t i n g t o s e e t a b l e t s t h a t h a v e e v e n h i g h e r

s c r e e n r e s o l u t i o n s . S o m e a r e a s h i g h a s

2 , 5 6 0 x 1 , 6 0 0 o r e v e n 4 K . E n t r y - l e v e l t a b l e t s

t y p i c a l l y u s e T p a n e l s , w h i c h d o n ’ t h a v e

p a r t i c u l a r l y g o o d v i e w i n g a n g l e s . T h e v i e w i n g

a n g l e s o f I S p a n e l s a r e m u c h b e e r .

0 3 I y o u w a n t t o l i s t e n t o m u s i c , w a t c h

fi l m s a n d p l a y g a m e s , m a k e s u r e y o u r

t a b l e t h a s p l e n t y o f s t o r a g e . M a n y t a b l e t s

c o m e w i t h 8 G B o r 1 6 G B o f i n t e r n a l s t o r a g e ,

a l t h o u g h s o m e b u d g e t m o d e l s h a v e l e s s .

Y o u ’ l l t y p i c a l l y p a y m o r e f o r a h i g h e r s t o r a g e

c a p a c i t y . M a n y t a b l e t s a l s o h a v e m i c r o S D

s l o t s t h a t l e t y o u a d d e x t r a s t o r a g e , a l t h o u g h

y o u w o n ’ t fi n d o n e o n a n i P a d . T h i s i s a c h e a p

w a y o f b o o s t i n g s t o r a g e c a p a c i t y .

0 4 T a b l e t s r a r e l y i n c l u d e a S IM c a r d s l o t .

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l e t y o u a c c e s s t h e i n t e r n e t t h r o u g h y o u r

s m a r t p h o n e . I y o u w a n t m o b i l e a c c e s s t o

t h e i n t e r n e t , l o o k f o r 3 G - a n d 4 G - r e a d y

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t h a n W i - F i - o n l y m o d e l s b u t t h e y ’ r e g r e a t

i f y o u u s e y o u r t a b l e t w h i l e c o m m u t i n g

o r t r a v e l l i n g .

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a p p s y o u c a n u s e o n i t . Y o u m a y fi n d

t h a t s o m e o f t h e a p p s y o u w a n t a r e a v a i l a b l e

o n i S b u t n o t A d r o i d a n d v i c e v e r s a .

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d e s k t o p a p p l i c a t i o n s .

T 1 L T S

S O N Y Xperia Z4 Tablet

£ 4 5 0 i n c V A • w w w . e x p a n s y s . c o m

G O O G L Nexu s 9

£ 2 1 0 i n c V A • w w w . h a n d t e c . c o . u k

P P L iPad Air2

£ 3 9 9 i n c V A • w w w . a p p l e . c o m / u k

M I . R O S O F T Su rface 3

£ 4 9 9 i n c V A • w w w . c u r r y s . c o . u k

S U S ZenPad S 8


S M S U N G G alaxy Tab S2 9.7


I t ’ s e x p e n s i v e , b u t t h e Z 4 T a b l e t i s a s t u n n i n g b i t o fk i t . I t ’ s l i g h t e r t h a n t h e i P a d A i r 2 , h a s a s u p e r - h i g h -resolution screen with the most acccurate colours

w e ’ v e s e e n f r o m a n L C D p a n e l , r u n s A n d r o i d 5 b e a u t i f u l l y a n d h a sthe longest baery lif e of any tablet we’ve tested.

T h e N e x u s 9 i s t h e fi r s t G o o g l e -b r a n d e d t a b l e t t o h a v e a ni P a d - s t y l e 4 : 3 r a t i o s c r e e n , w h i c h w e t h i n k i s a b e e r

s h a p e f o r w e b b r o w s i n g . A n d r o i d 5 . 0 L o l l i p o p r u n s b e a u t i f u l l y a n d i t sbaery lif e is superb.

T h e i P a d A i r 2 i s e v e n t h i n n e r a n dlighter than its predecessor andstill f eels beautif ully made. It’s

t h e f a s t e s t i P a d y e t , a n d n o w h a s T o u c h I Dfingerprint recognition f or added security andmore convenient unlock ing.

I f y o u ’ r e a e r a W i n d o w s t a b l e tb u t t h e S u r f a c e P r o 4 i s t o o m u c h ,t h e S u r f a c e 3 i s t h e m o d e l t o g e t .

I t ’ s b e a u t i f u l l y m a d e w i t h a g r e a t s c r e e n , a n d w i t h t h e o p t i o n a lT ype Cover k eyboard it becomes a super-light laptop.

Cheap rarely means perf ect, butthe combination of high-resolutions c r e e n a n d l o w p r i c e m a k e s t h eA s u s Z e n P a d S 8 o n e o f t h e b e e rsub-£200 tablets on the mark et.It’s beautif ully styled, too, giving no indication it’s a budget device.

T h a n k s t o i t s a m a z i n gscreen, strong perf ormanceand slimline chassis, the

G a l a x y T a b S 2 9 . 7 i s t h e m o s t d e s i r a b l eAndroid tablet you can buy f or around £350.

P R O C S S O R c t a - c o r e 2 G H z Q u a l c o m m S n a p d r a g o n 8 1 0 • S C N S I Z 1 0 . 1 i n • S C N

R S O L U T I O N 2 , 5 6 0 x 1 , 6 0 0 • R A CA R A 8 . 1 m e g a p i x e l s • S T O R A 3 2 G B • W I R L S S A A

4 G ( o p t i o n a l ) • I M N S I O N S 1 6 7 x 2 5 4 x 6 . 1 m m • W I G H T 3 8 9 g • O P R A I N G S Y S T M A d r o i d 5 •

W A R A T Y n e y e a r R T B • T A L S w w w . s o n y m o b i l e . c o m • P A T C X p e r i a Z 4 T a b l e t •

F U L L R V I W A g 2 0 1 5

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R S O L U T I O N 2 , 0 4 8 x 1 , 5 3 6 • R A CA R A 8 m e g a p i x e l s • S T O R A 1 6 G B • W I R L S S A A

4 G ( o p t i o n a l ) • I M N S I O N S 1 5 4 x 2 2 8 x 8 m m • W I G H T 4 2 5 g • O P R A I N G S Y S T M A d r o i d 5 . 0 •

W A R A T Y n e y e a r R T B • P A T C e x u s 9 • T A L S w w w . g o o g l e . c o m / n e x u s / 9 •

F U L L R V I W F e b 2 0 1 5

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• R A CA R A 8 m e g a p i x e l s • S T O R A 1 6 G B • W I R L S S A A 4 G ( o p t i o n a l ) • I M N S I O N S

2 4 0 x 1 7 0 x 6 . 1 m m • W I G H T 4 3 7 g • O P R A I N G S Y S T M i S 9 • W A R A T Y n e y e a r R T B •

P A T C A p l e i P a d Ar 2 • T A L S w w w . a p p l e . c o m / u k • F U L L R V I W F e b 2 0 1 5

P R O C S S O R Q u a d - c o r e 1 . 6 G H z I t e l Ao m X 7 - Z 8 7 0 0 • S C N S I Z 1 0 . 8 i n • S C N

R S O L U T I O N 1 , 9 2 0 x 1 , 2 8 0 • R A CA R A 8 m e g a p i x e l s • S T O R A 1 2 8 G B • W I R L S S A A

4 G ( c o m i n g s o o n ) • I M N S I O N S 1 8 7 x 2 6 7 x 8 . 7 m m • W I G H T 6 2 2 g • O P R A I N G S Y S T M

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• F U L L R V I W A g 2 0 1 5

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2 , 0 4 8 x 1 , 5 3 6 • R A CA R A 8 m e g a p i x e l s • S T O R A 1 6 G B • I M N S I O N S 2 0 3 x 1 3 5 x 6 . 6 m m •

W I G H T 3 1 7 g • O P R A I N G S Y S T M A d r o i d 5 . 0 L o l l i p o p • W A R A T Y n e y e a r R T B •

T A L S w w w . a s u s . c o m / u k • P A T C Z 5 8 0 C F U L L R V I W Ja n 2 0 1 6

P R O C S S O R c t a - c o r e 1 . 9 G H z + 1 . 3 G H z S a m s u n g E x y n o s c t a 5 4 3 3 • S C N S I Z 9 . 7 i n •

S C N R S O L U T I O N 2 , 0 4 8 x 1 , 5 3 6 • R A CA R A 8 m e g a p i x e l s • S T O R A 3 2 G B •

W I R L S S A A 4 G ( + £ 9 0 ) • I M N S I O N S 1 6 9 x 5 . 6 x 2 3 7 m m • W I G H T 3 8 9 g • O P R A I N G

S Y S T M A d r o i d 5 . 0 . 2 • W A R A T Y n e y e a r R T B • T A L S w w w . s a m s u n g . c o m / u k •

P A T C S M - T 8 1 0 • F U L L R V I W D e c 2 0 1 5

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u l t r a - z o o m c a n o e r , a c o m p a c t s y s t e m

c a m e r a ( C C i s t h e n e x t l o g i c a l u p g r a d e .

W i t h i n t e r c h a n g e a b l e l e n s e s , m a n u a l c o n t r o l s

a n d s t e l l a r i m a g e q u a l i t y , t h e s e c a m e r a s g i v e

p r o p e r d i g i t a l S L R s a r u n f o r t h e i r m o n e y .

0 2 T h e r e a r e t h r e e c o m p e t i n g t y p e s o f

C C o u n t , a n d t h e o n e y o u b u y

d e t e r m i n e s t h e n u m b e r o f c o m p a t i b l e l e n s e s

a n d a c c e s s o r i e s y o u h a v e a v a i l a b l e .

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l i m i t e d i n t e r m s o f l e n s s e l e c t i o n , a n d t h e

c o m p a n y h a s c o n fi r m e d t h a t i t ’ s s h u i n g

d o w n i t s E u r o p e a n c a m e r a b u s i n e s s , s o i t ’ s

b e s t t o a v o i d t h e s e a l t o g e t h e r i f p o s s i b l e .

Cho o in g a... o m p c t s y s t e m c m e r S o n y ’ s E - M o u n t h a s a s l i g h t l y w i d e r

r a n g e , b u t M i c r o F o u r T h i r d s o e r s t h e

w i d e s t v a r i e t y . B t h P a n a s o n i c a n d l y m p u s

c a m e r a s u s e t h i s m o u n t , a n d t h e l e n s e s a r e

i n t e r c h a n g e a b l e b e t w e e n m a n u f a c t u r e r s .

0 3 M i c r o F o u r T h i r d s c a m e r a s a r e

t y p i c a l l y m o r e c o m p a c t t h a n o t h e r

t y p e s o f C C e c a u s e t h e i m a g e s e n s o r i s

p h y s i c a l l y s m a l l e r – w i t h a 2 2 m m d i a g o n a l ,

i t ’ s r o u g h l y 3 0 % s m a l l e r t h a n a n A S - C

s e n s o r . T h e A S - C e n s o r s t h a t S o n y a n d

S a m s u n g u s e i n t h e i r C C a r e t h e s a m e s i z e

a s t h o s e i n t r a d i t i o n a l d i g i t a l S L R s .

0 4 L i k e d i g i t a l S L R s , C C c o m e a t a

w i d e r a n g e o f p r i c e s . A a i l a b l e f r o m

a s l i l e a s £ 2 0 0 , t h e r e ’ s a C C o s u i t e v e r y

b u d g e t . M o s t c o m e w i t h a t l e a s t o n e k i t

l e n s , b u t i f y o u a l r e a d y h a v e l e n s e s f o r a

p a r t i c u l a r C C o u n t , y o u c a n b u y t h e b o d y

o n i t s o w n a n d s a v e m o n e y .

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m o u n t , y o u s h o u l d p a y a e n t i o n t o a

c a m e r a ’ s f e a t u r e s . A t i c u l a t i n g s c r e e n s a n d

i n t e g r a t e d v i e w fi n d e r s w i l l h e l p y o u c o m p o s e

s h o t s , w h i l e e x t r a p h y s i c a l c o n t r o l s a n d a

h o t s h o e m o u n t w i l l g i v e y o u fl e x i b i l i t y f o r

m a n u a l s h o o t i n g .

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r e p l a c e m e n t f o r p h y s i c a l d i a l s w h e n i t c o m e s

t o c h a n g i n g s h u e r s p e e d a n d a p e r t u r e . A

i n t e g r a t e d fl a s h i s m u c h m o r e c o n v e n i e n t

t h a n a d e t a c h a b l e o n e , a s y o u c a n n e v e r

f o r g e t t o t a k e i t w i t h y o u .

P H O T O G R P H Y

P N S O N I . Lu m ix DM C -G 7

£ 5 3 9 i n c V A ( w i t h 1 4 - 4 2 m m k i t l e n s ) • w w w . p a r k c a m e r a s . c o m

F U J I F I L X-T10

£ 5 6 9 i n c V A ( w i t h 1 6 - 5 0 m m k i t l e n s ) • w w w . j e s s o p s . c o m

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£ 4 4 9 i n c V A • w w w . w e x p h o t o g r a p h i c . c o m

. N O N EOS7 5 0 D

£ 5 2 9 i n c V A ( w i t h 1 8 - 5 5 m m k i t l e n s ) • w w w . c u r r y s . c o . u k

. N O N Pow erShot G 7 X

£ 3 7 2 i n c V A • w w w . j e s s o p s . c o m

N I K O N D7200

£ 7 5 1 i n c V A ( b o d y o n l y ) • w w w . j e s s o p s . c o m

With sophisticated autof ocus,s u p e r b c o n t r o l s a n d 4 K v i d e ocapture, the P anasonic G7 pack s

a s e r i o u s p u n c h f o r b o t h v i d e o a n d s t i l l s .

With superb controls, class-l e a d i n g i m a g e q u a l i t y a n d a l o wprice, the X-T 10 is an excellent

CSC that rivals many enthusiast digital SLRs.

A b r i d g e c a m e r a w i t h a h u g e2 5 - 6 0 0 m m z o o m r a n g e t h a tmaintains a f ast F2.8 aperture

across the whole f ocal range.

T h e n e w m a i n s t a y o f C a n o n ’ sSLR line-up has beer autof ocus,D5500-beating image quality

a n d d e c e n t v i d e o . I t ’ s t h e m i d - r a n g e S L R t o b u y .

With near SLR-quality stillsin a truly pock etable pack age,t h e P o w e r S h o t G 7 X i s a h u g e

s t e p u p f r o m m o s t o t h e r c o m p a c t c a m e r a s– a n d a t a n e x c e l l e n t p r i c e .

Best-in-class image quality andsublime ergonomics tak e the

N i k o n D 7 2 0 0 t o t h e t o p o f t h e p a c k f o renthusiast DSLRs, whether you’ve alreadyi n v e s t e d i n t h e N i k o n e c o s y s t e m o r n o t .

S N S O R R S O L U T I O N 1 6 m e g a p i x e l s • S N S O R S I Z 1 7 . 3 x 1 3 m m • F O C A L N G T H M U L T I P L I R

2 x • V I W F I N R E l e c t r o n i c ( 2 , 3 6 0 , 0 0 0 d o t s ) • L C S C N 3 i n ( 1 , 0 4 0 , 0 0 0 d o t s ) • O P T I CA

Z O O M ( 3 5 m m Q U I V A N T F O CA L N G T H S ) 3 x ( 2 8 - 8 4 m m ) • 3 5 m m Q U I V A N T A R T U R

f / 7 - 1 1 . 2 • L N S M O U N T M i c r o F o u r T h i r d s • W I G H T 5 2 5 g • I M N S I O N S 8 7 x 1 3 5 x 1 0 8 m m •

W A R A T Y n e y e a r R T B • T A L S w w w . p a n a s o n i c . c o m / u k • F U L L R V I W o v 2 0 1 5

S N S O R R S O L U T I O N 1 6 m e g a p i x e l s • S N S O R S I Z 2 3 . 6 x 1 5 . 6 m m ( A S - C • F O CA L N G T H

M U L T I P L I R 1 . 5 x • V I W F I N R E l e c t r o n i c ( 2 , 3 6 0 , 0 0 0 d o t s ) • L C S C N 3 i n ( 9 2 0 , 0 0 0 d o t s )

• O P T I CA Z O O M ( 3 5 m m Q U I V A N T ) 3 . 1 x ( 2 4 - 7 5 m m ) • 3 5 m m Q U I V A N T f / 5 . 2 - 8 . 4 • L N S

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S N S O R R S O L U T I O N 1 2 m e g a p i x e l s • S N S O R S I Z i n • V I W F I N R E l e c t r o n i c ( 1 , 4 4 0 , 0 0 0

d o t s ) • L C S C N 3 i n ( 1 , 0 4 0 , 0 0 0 d o t s ) • O P T I CA Z O O M ( 3 5 m m Q U I V A N T F O C A

L N G T H S ) 2 4 x ( 2 5 - 6 0 0 m m ) • 3 5 m m Q U I V A N T A R T U R f / 1 5 . 6 • W I G H T 7 0 3 g •

I M N S I O N S 9 3 x 1 3 3 x 1 2 2 m m • W A R A T Y n e y e a r R T B • T A L S w w w . p a n a s o n i c . c o m / u k •

F U L L R V I W J a n 2 0 1 6


M U L T I P L I R 1 . 6 x • V I W F I N R p t i c a l • L C S C N 3 i n • O P T I CA Z O O M ( 3 5 m m

Q U I V A N T F O C A L N G T H S ) 3 x ( 2 9 - 8 8 m m ) • 3 5 m m Q U I V A N T A R T U R f / 5 . 6 - 9 •

L N S M O U N T C n o n E F - S • W I G H T 7 7 1 g • I M N S I O N S 1 0 4 x 1 3 2 x 1 4 8 m m • W A R A T Y n e

y e a r R T B • T A L S w w w . c a n o n . c o . u k • F U L L R V I W c t 2 0 1 5

S N S O R R S O L U T I O N 2 0 m e g a p i x e l s • S N S O R S I Z 1 i n • V I W F I N R o n e • L C S C N 3 i n

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3 5 m m Q U I V A N T A R T U R f / 4 . 9 - 7 . 6 • W I G H T 3 0 1 g • I M N S I O N S 6 4 x 1 0 7 x 4 0 m m •

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M U L T I P L I R 1 . 5 x • V I W F I N R p t i c a l T T L • L C S C N 3 . 2 i n ( 1 , 2 2 9 , 0 0 0 d o t s ) • L N S

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DISPL8YS

0 1 A b a s i c 2 4 i n L C D m o ni t or c o s tsa r o u n d £ 1 0 0 . I t w i l l b e fi n e f o r t y p i c a l

W i n d o w s w o r k b u t i s l i k e l y t o h a v e p o o rvi ew i ng angl es, so you’ l l need to si t strai ghto n f o r t h e b e s t p i c t u r e q u a l i t y . I t s c o l o u r

accuracy may not be very good, ei ther.

0 2 A V G A i n p u t l e t s y o u u s e t h e m o n i t o rw i t h a n y P C , b u t t h e q u a l i t y m a y n o t

b e a s g o o d a s i t i s o v e r D V I o r H D M I . B o t hare di gi tal connecti ons and requi re acompati bl e graphi cs card but they avoi d theneed for di gi tal -to-anal ogue or anal ogue-to-di gi tal conversi ons, w hi ch can reduce i magequal i ty. A di gi tal connecti on achi eves thebest pi cture automati cal l y, so you w on’ t havet o a d j u s t c l o c k o r p h a s e s e i n g s a s y o u d ow i th anal ogue connecti ons.

Cho o in g a...DisplayM a n y D V I a n d a l l H D M I c o n n e c t i o n s

support HDCP, w hi ch l ets you w atchprotected vi deo content, such as Bl u-raymovi es. Di spl ayPort i s becomi ng morepopul ar, but you’ l l need a graphi cs card w i th

a Di spl ayPort output (mi ni or ful l -si ze) touse thi s i nput on your moni tor.

0 3 A l a r g e r m o n i t o r w i l l b e e a s i e r o n t h ee y e a n d m a y h a v e a h i g h e r r e s o l u t i o n .

M o s t m o n i t o r s h a v e a r e s o l u t i o n o f a t l e a s t1, 920 x1, 0 80 (10 80 p), w hi ch provi des l ots ofroom for w orki ng w i th mul ti pl e w i ndow s atthe same ti me. For even hi gher resol uti ons,you’ l l need a l arger di spl ay. Some 27i n and30 i n screens have 2, 560 x1, 60 0 or even 4K resol uti ons. You’ l l need a graphi cs card w i tha d u a l - l i n k D V I o u t p u t a n d a d u a l - l i n k D V I

c a b l e o r e i t h e r H D M I o r D i s p l a y P o r t t o u s e amoni tor at these resol uti ons.

0 4 If you w ant beer pi cture qual i ty,l o o k f o r a m o n i t o r w i t h a h i g h

contrast rati o. The hi gher the rati o, thew hi ter the w hi tes and the bl acker the bl acks. You’ l l al so be abl e to see more fine detai l i ni mages w i th hi gh contrast l evel s. Vi ew i ngangl es are i mportant, as w i der angl es meany o u d o n ’ t h a v e t o s i t d i r e c t l y i n f r o n t o f t h em o n i t o r t o g e t t h e b e s t p i c t u r e . W i d e rvi ew i ng angl es al so al l ow more peopl e tov i e w t h e s c r e e n a t t h e s a m e t i m e .

Fast response ti mes reduce ghosti ng,b u t d o n ’ t b e d a z z l e d b y t h e n u m b e r s . Ar e s p o n s e t i m e o f 2 5 m s o r q u i c k e r i s fi n efor al l appl i cati ons.

2E Q G W 276 5 HT

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VIEW SO I0 VX23 63 Sm hl-W

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IIY8M 8 ProLit e G B2488H SU -B1

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8SUS PB279Q


S8M SU G S3 2D85 0 T


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T his 27in 2,560x1,440I P S m o n i t o r i s o n e o fthe best-value screens

we’ve ever seen. With near-perf ects R G B c o l o u r a c c u r a c y o u t o f t h e b o x ,

i t ’ s a s t e a l f o r l e s s t h a n £ 3 0 0 .

T he 23in VX2363Smhl-Ws t a n d s o u t f r o m t h e c r o w dw i t h i t s w h i t e s t a n d , I P S

screen and great overall image quality.I t ’ s a g o o d b u d g e t b u y f o r t h o s e w h o h a v e

modest needs.

G a m e r s n e e d l o o k n of urther than the IiyamaP roLite GB2488H SU-B1.

I t ’ s a n o - n o n s e n s e F u l l H D p a n e l w i t h a

144H z ref resh rate f or lightning-f astgames perf ormance.

If you’re remotely seriousabout design, photography org a m i n g a n d w a n t a n U l t r a H D

s c r e e n , t h i s i s t h e m o n i t o r t o c h o o s e . I t ’ s p l a i n t o

l o o k a t a n d h a s n o U S B h u b , b u t i n t e r m s o f p u r e i m a g e q u a l i t y ,n o t h i n g b e a t s i t a t t h i s p r i c e .

I t ’ s n o t c h e a p , b u t t h i s32in monitor is actuallygreat value. Images are

s h a r p a n d v i b r a n t o n i t s 2 , 5 6 0 x 1 , 4 4 0p a n e l , a n d t h e s t a n d i s a m o n g t h e m o s taractive we’ve seen.

Ultra-wide monitors areb e s t s u i t e d t o t h o s e w h ow a n t t o m u l t i t a s k o n

t w o f u l l - s i z e w i n d o w s a t o n c e , b u t a l s o k i c k b a c k w i t h a fi l m o r g a m ei n t h e e v e n i n g . A O C ’ s U 3 4 7 7 P Q U i s t h e b e s t e x a m p l e w e ’ v e s e e n s of ar, with an incredible panel and excellent build quality.

S C N S I Z 2 7i n • R S O L U T I O N 2 , 5 60x1, 440 • S C N T C N O L O G Y IP S • V I O I N P U T S

V G A , D V I , H D M I , D i s p l a yP o r t • W A R A T Y Two year s o n si t e • P A T C 9H. LCELA. TB E •

T A L S www.benq.co.uk • F U L L R V I W a n 2 0 1 5

S C N S I Z 2 3i n • R S O L U T I O N 1,920x1,080 • S C N T C N O L O G Y IP S • V I O I N P U T S

V G A , H D M I , M H L - co m p at i bl e H D M I • W A R A T Y T wo y e a r s c o l l e ct a n d r e t u r n • P A T C

VX2 363Sm h l -W • T A L S www.viewsoniceurope.com • F U L L R V I W a n 2 0 1 5

S C N S I Z 24in • R S O L U T I O N 1,920x1,080 • S C N T C N O L O G Y TN • V I O I N P U T S 2 x

H D M I , D V I , D i s pl a y Po r t • W A R A T Y Two year s o n si t e • P A T C P r o Li t eG B 2 488HSU-B 1 •

T A L S www.iiyama.com • F U L L R V I W A u g 2 0 1 4

S C N S I Z 2 7i n • R S O L U T I O N 3, 840x2 , 160 • S C N T C N O L O G Y AHVA • R F R S H R A

60Hz • V I O I N P U T S 4 x H D M I , D i s p l ay P o rt , M i n i D i s p l ay P o r t • W A R A T Y T h r ee y e a rs R T B •

T A L S www.asus.com/uk • F U L L R V I W A p r 2 0 1 5

S C N S I Z 32in • R S O L U T I O N 2 , 5 60x1, 440 • S C N T C N O L O G Y VA • V I O I N P U T S

H D M I , D V I , D i s pl a y Po r t • W A R A T Y T wo y e a r s c o l l e ct a n d r e t u r n • P A T C S32 D85 0T •

T A L S www.samsung.com/uk • F U L L R V I W a n 2 0 1 5

S C N S I Z 34i n • R S O L U T I O N 3, 840x1, 440 • S C N T C N O L O G Y IP S • R F R S H R A

60Hz • V I O I N P U T S D i s p la y P or t , D V I , H D M I , V G A • W A R A T Y T h r ee y e a rs R T B • T A L S

www.aoc-europe.com • F U L L R V I W M a y 2 0 1 5

E S T U Y

E S T U Y

E S T U Y E S T U Y

E S T U Y

R E O M M E N D E D

r




H OM E 0I EM 8

0 1 A 3 2 i n F u ll H D T V c o s t s a r o un d£20 0 and w i l l sui t smal l er l i vi ng

r o o m s . T V s l o o k m u c h s m a l l e r i n t h e s h o pt h a n i n y o u r h o m e , s o m e a s u r e t h e s p a c eavai l abl e before you buy.

Curved TVs are becomi ng i ncreasi ngl ym o r e c o m m o n , b u t b e a r i n m i n d t h a t t h e s et y p i c a l l y t a k e u p m o r e fl o o r s p a c e t h a n atradi ti onal flat set.

0 2 A 1, 920 x1, 0 80 -resol uti on TV candi spl ay a 10 80 p i mage. You can sti l l

buy TVs w i th a 720 p (1, 366x768) resol uti on,b u t t h e y ’ r e n o c h e a p e r a n d t h e i m a g e w o n ’ tbe as sharp. 3, 840 x2, 560 Ul tra HD resol uti on,or 4K, TVs are final l y avai l abl e at reasonabl epri ces, al though you’ l l sti l l pay a premi um foro n e o v e r a 1 0 8 0 p m o d e l .

Cho o in g a...TV0 3 Consi der the number of i nputs

y o u ’ l l n e e d t o c o n n e c t t h e r e s t o fyour equi pment. Tw o HDMI ports shoul d bet h e b a r e m i n i m u m , b u t m a n y T V s e t s c o m ew i th four HDMI connectors. You’ l l need

H D M I 2 . 0 i f y o u w a n t a f u t u r e - p r o o f 4 K T V ,a s t h i s i s t h e o n l y w a y t o g e t 6 0 f p s v i d e opl ayback from external sources at sucha hi gh resol uti on.

I f y o u w a n t t o p l u g a P C i n t o y o u r T V ,y o u ’ l l n e e d t o u s e e i t h e r H D M I o r V G Ai n p u t s . B e a w a r e t h a t s o m e T V s o n l y l e t y o uu s e a P C o n a n a n a l o g u e i n p u t , a n d o t h e r sw on’ t di spl ay the Wi ndow s desktop at theTV’ s hi ghest resol uti on.

0 4 T h e c o n tr a s t r a ti o t e l ls y o u t h ed i e r en c e b e tw ee n t h e d ar ke s t

a n d t h e b r i g h t e s t s h a d e s t h a t t h e s c r e e nw i l l b e a b l e t o d i s p l a y . T h e h i g h e r t h en u m b e r , t h e d a r k e r t h e b l a c k s a n d t h eb r i g h t e r t h e w h i t e s . A s c r e e n w i t h a h i g hc o n t r a s t r a t i o i s m o r e l i k e l y t o s h o w a

w i der range of detai l .

0 5 H D c o n t en t i s n o w b e co m in g f a i r lyw i despread, but i f you w ant Ul tra

H D c o n t e n t y o u r o p t i o n s a r e m o r e l i m i t e d .M o s t U l t r a H D T V s h a v e N e t fl i x b u i l t i n t ot h e i r s m a r t T V s y s t e m s , b u t o n l y B T i scurrentl y provi di ng l i ve Ul tra HD vi deo,w i t h B T S p o r t U l t r a H D .

U l t r a H D B l u - r a y p l a y e r s a r e d u e t o a r r i v ei n 2 0 1 6 , b u t i n t h e m e a n t i m e A m a z o n ’ s F i r eTV set-top box w i l l stream i ts Instant Vi deoservi ce at Ul tra HD resol uti ons.

P8 8SO I0 TX-5 5 CX70 0 B


S8M SU G UE32J6300


S8M SU G BD-J7 5 0 0

£119 inc VAT • www.cramptonandmoore.co.uk

LG LHB725

£299 inc VAT • www.ao.com

Even bef ore Curryss l a s h e d t h e p r i c e b y £ 1 0 0 ,this was a great-value T V.

Outstanding 4K and Full H D image quality,a g r e a t s m a r t T V o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m a n d a b r i l l i a n t l i n e - u p o f

streaming and catch-up services mak e this T V a no-brainer.

I t m i g h t l o o k e x p e n s i v e f o rt h e s c r e e n s i z e , b u t t h eUE32J6300 is jam-pack ed with

f e a t u r e s , i n c l u d i n g o n e o f t h e b e s t s m a r t T V s y s t e m sa r o u n d a n d e v e r y m a j o r U K c a t c h - u p T V s e r v i c e . I t ’ s t h e i d e a l

s m a l l T V f o r a b e d r o o m , k i t c h e n o r o ffi c e .

4K upscaling,f antastic imageq u a l i t y a n d a w e a l t h o f

streaming service support mak es the BD-J7500 so

m u c h m o r e t h a n j u s t a B l u - r a y p l a y e r : i t c a n t u r n a n y T V i n t oa s m a r t o n e , o r r e p l a c e a s t r e a m i n g m e d i a s t i c k .

A 3D-capablehome-cinemas u r r o u n d s y s t e m w i t h a B l u - r a y p l a y e r t h a t h a s

f antastic image quality and speak ers that deliver powerf ul sound, all

housed in an aractive pack age.

S C N S I Z 55in • N A I V R S O L U T I O N 3, 840x2 , 160 • V I O I N P U T S 3 x H D M I ( 2 x A R C) , S C A RT ,

co m p o n en t, co m p o si te • T U N R F r eevi ew HD • I M N S I O N S 762 x1, 2 37x2 42 m m • W A R A T Y

O n e y e a r R T B • T A L S www.panasonic.com • P A T C TX-5 5 CX700B F U L L R V I W a n 2 0 1 6

S C N S I Z 32in • N A I V R S O L U T I O N 1,920x1,080 • V I O I N P U T S 4 x H D M I , c o m p o ne n t ,

composite • T U N R F r e ev i e w H D • I M N S I O N S 42 8x370x91m m • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B •

T A L S www.samsung.com/uk • P A T C U E 3 2 6 3 0 0A K • F U L L R V I W D e c 2 0 1 5

B U R A P R O F I L 5 . 0 • 3 CA AB Yes • I M N S I O N S 360x2 2 4x39m m • N T W O R K I N G

Et h er n et , 802 . 11ac Wi -F i • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B • T A L S www.samsung.com/uk •

P A T C B D- 75 00 • F U L L R V I W N o v 2 0 1 5

H M I I N P U T S / O U T P U T S 2 /1 • H M I 2 . 0 I N P U T S / O U T P U T S 2 /1 • O U T P U T R S O L U T I O N S 72 0p ,

1080p • W I R L S S S U P P O R T 802 . 11n, B l u et o o th • S P A R C N F I G U R A I O N 5 . 1 •

R M S P O W R O U T P U T T O T A 1,200W • I M N S I O N S 410x55x260mm • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r

R TB • T A L S www.lg.com/uk • P A T C LHB 72 5 • F U L L R V I W O c t 2 0 1 5

R E O M M E N D E DE O M M E N D E D

R E O M M E N D E DE S T U Y

S8M SU G HW -J75 0 0

£469 inc VAT • www.hificonfidential.co.uk

T his curved 8.1soundbar with wirelesss u b w o o f e r n o t o n l y l o o k s g r e a t , b u t

a l s o p r o d u c e s e x c e l l e n t s o u n d a n d h a s p l e n t y o f p o r t s . I f y o u h a v ea c u r v e d T V t h i s i s t h e s o u n d b a r t o p a i r i t w i t h .

S P A R S 8 • R M S P O W R O U T P U T 320W • O C C N N C O R No n e •

N T W O R K I N G B l u et o o t h 3. 0 • I M N S I O N S 1, 2 30x170x42 m m (so u n d b ar), 2 91x371x2 91m m

(subwoofer) • W I G H T 4kg (so u n d b ar), 7. 8kg(su b w o o fer) • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B •

T A L S www.samsung.com/uk • P A T C HW- 75 00 • F U L L R V I W u l 2 0 1 5

R E O M M E N D E D

PH I LIPS Fid elioXS1 Sou nd St age

£404 inc VAT • www.amazon.co.uk

T he Fidelio XS1 SoundStageis a beautif ul-look ingsoundbase with sound

quality that matches its stunning design. T hereare plenty of connections, including Bluetooth, and the wirelesssubwoof er delivers the lower f requencies with aplomb.

S P A R S 3 • R M S P O W R O U T P U T 60W • I M N S I O N S 730x331x40m m • W I G H T 5 . 3kg •

O C C N N C O R No n e • N T W O R K I N G B l u et o o th ( S B C , a p t X , A A C ) • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r

R TB • T A L S www.philips.co.uk • P A T C F i d el i o XS1/12 • F U L L R V I W a n 2 0 1 6

E S T U Y

ge




8 UDI O

0 1 I f y o u d o n ’t h a v e s p a c e i n y o u r h o m ec i n e m a s e t u p f o r a s e t o f s u r r o u n d -

s o u n d s p e a k e r s , a s o u n d b a r i s t h e n e x t b e s tt h i n g . W h e t h e r y o u o p t f o r a s o u n d b a r( w h i c h t y p i c a l l y s i t s i n f r o n t o f y o u r T V

stand) or a soundpl ate (w hi ch si tsunderneath your TV), you’ l l be gei ngsi gni ficantl y beer audi o than the w eedyspeakers today’ s flatscreen TVs provi de.

0 2 I f y o u w a n t t o c u t d o w n o n c a b l ecl uer, l ook for a soundbar w i th

m u l t i p l e H D M I i n p u t s a n d o u t p u t s a s w e l l a sAudi o R eturn Channel (AR C). Not al ls o u n d b a r s u s e H D M I , w i t h m a n y m a k i n g d ow i th di gi tal opti cal audi o connecti onsi nstead. Thi s means you’ l l have to connectBl u-ray pl ayers, games consol es and set-top

Cho o in g a...Sou ndb arb o x e s t o y o u r T V a n d r u n a l l a u d i o t h r o u g h as i n g l e c a b l e . A l s o l o o k f o r p h o n o i n p u t s f o rconnecti ng ol der devi ces and 3. 5mm audi o

j acks for tabl ets or smartphones.

0 3A s w i t h a n y s p e a k e r , t h e n u m b e r o fspeaker dri vers i nsi de a soundbar

s h o u l d g i v e a g o o d i n d i c a t i o n o f i t s a u d i ocapabi l i ti es. Al though thi s w on’ t tel l youeverythi ng about sound qual i ty, you shoul dsti l l l ook out for separate mi d-range dri versa n d t w e e t e r s , a s t h e s e s h o u l d b e a b l e t odel i ver a w i der frequency range thanful l -range dri vers al one.

0 4 B l ue t oo t h s u pp o r t i s a m u s t i f y o uw a n t t o l i s t e n t o m u s i c f r o m a

smartphone or tabl et w i thout w i res.

Most soundbars now i ncl ude Bl uetooth asstandard but, i f your devi ce supports i t, i t’ sw orth l ooki ng for a mobi l e soundbar thati ncl udes aptX. Thi s l ess-l ossy codec i scapabl e of hi gher-qual i ty streami ng than

the standard A2DP profil e.Ai rPl ay streami ng i s l ess common, buti P h o n e o w n e r s s h o u l d k e e p a n e y e o u t f o r i t .

0 5 F or a l i l e e x t ra b a s s , b e s u r e t ol o o k f o r a s o u n d b a r w i t h a s e p a r a t e

subw oofer. Many soundbars i ncl ude aw i red sub, but for extra conveni ence yous h o u l d l o o k f o r a m o d e l w i t h a w i r e l e s ssubw oofer i nstead. These can be pl aceda n y w h e r e i n a r o o m n e a r a p o w e r s o c k e t ,w i t h o u t h a v i n g t o r u n a c a b l e b a c k t o t h esoundbar itself.

PH ILIPS Fid elioM 2BT


R8U M FELD OneS

£200 inc VAT • www.raumfeld.com/uk

R8ZERLeviat han


U LTI M 8TE E8RS U E M egaboom

£230 inc VAT • www.ballicom.co.uk

8R08M m iniBlink

£100 inc VAT • www.petertyson.co.uk

SO OS Play:5


T he P hilips Fidelio M2BTare premium Bluetoothheadphones that sound

great, look f antastic and are supremelycomf ortable to wear. Baery lif e is prey

r e a s o n a b l e , t o o , a t a r o u n d 1 0 h o u r s .

T h e O n e S i s a g r e a tcompact speak er thats o u n d s g r e a t s o l o o r e v e n

b e e r a s a s t e r e o p a i r , a n d i t h a s a c l a s s ydesign that matches its refined sound.

Soundbars areusually built f orT Vs, but Razer’s

Leviathan is ideal f or sliding underneath a computer

m o n i t o r . I t s o u n d s g r e a t a n d i s m o r e t h a n l o u d e n o u g h t o fi l l a r o o m .It also has built-in Bluetooth streaming.

T h e U l t i m a t e E a r s U E M e g a b o o m i san intensely loud and powerf ulBluetooth speak er that provides a

warm and impactf ul sound. It’s waterproof , too, so

could provide some entertainment by the poolsideo r a t y o u r n e x t b a r b e q u e .

While slightly moreexpensive than somerival devices, the

miniBlink Bluetooth adaptor mak es up f or it with high-qualityc o m p o n e n t s a n d a n a r a c t i v e d e s i g n . T h e m i n i B l i n k m a k e s f o r ag r e a t m a t c h e v e n f o r h i g h - e n d a u d i o s y s t e m s i f y o u w a n t t o a d dwire-f ree Bluetooth streaming.

T he P lay:5 improves ont h e o r i g i n a l w i t h a m o r earactive design and beer acoustics. It delivers

room-filling sound with f antastic detail, and Sonos’s music-streamingcompatibility is second to none.

H A P H O N S S U B Y P On -ear B l u et o o t h • P L U G T Y P 3 . 5 m m j a c k p l u g • W I G H T 190g •

CAB L N G T H 1. 2 m • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B • T A L S www.philips.co.uk •

P A T C P h i l i p sF i d el i o M 2 B TB K • F U L L R V I W A p r 2 0 1 5

S P A R S 2 • R M S P O W R O U T P U T 30W • O C C N N C O R No n e • N T W O R K I N G 802.11n

Wi -F i , Et h er n et • I M N S I O N S 180x110x130m m • W I G H T 1. 4kg • S T R A I N G F O R M A S UPnP,

M esh Net w o r k • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B • T A L S www.raumfeld.com/uk • P A T C On e

S • F U L L R V I W N o v 2 0 1 5

S P A R S 4 • R M S P O W R O U T P U T 30W • W I G H T 2 kg (b ar ), 2 . 3kg (su b wo o fer) •

N T W O R K I N G B l u et o o t h (SB C, ap t X) • W A R A T Y T wo y e a rs R T B • T A L S www.razerzone.

co m • P A T C R Z05 -012 60100-R 3G1 • F U L L R V I W u l 2 0 1 5

S P A R S 4 • R M S P O W R O U T P U T No t d i scl o sed • O C C N N C O R No n e • W I R L S S

B l u et o o th (SB C) • I M N S I O N S 83x83x2 2 6m m • W I G H T 877g • W A R A T Y T wo y e a rs R T B •

T A L S www.ultimateears.com • P A T C U E M e g a bo o m • F U L L R V I W A u g 2 0 1 5

W A R A T Y T wo y e a rs R T B • T A L S www.arcam.co.uk • P A T C miniBlink •

F U L L R V I W A u g 2 0 1 4

S P A R S 6 • R M S P O W R O U T P U T No t d i scl o sed • O C C N N C O R No n e •

N T W O R K I N G 802 . 11b g Wi -F i , Et h er n et • I M N S I O N S 364x15 4x2 03m m • W I G H T 6. 36kg •

S T R A I N G F O R M A S So n o sNet • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B • T A L S www.sonos.com •

P A T C Play:5 • F U L L R V I W F e b 2 0 1 6

E S T U Y R E O M M E N D E D

R E O M M E N D E D

R E O M M E N D E D

R E O M M E N D E D

R E O M M E N D E D




VIDEO

0 1 M e d ia s t re a m er s h a v e c o m e a l o ngw ay from the hard di sk-based

s e t - t o p b o x e s o f a f e w y e a r s a g o . T h e y n o wcome i n tw o mai n forms: flash dri ve-si zedd o n g l e s t h a t p l u g d i r e c t l y i n t o t h e H D M I

p o r t i n t h e b a c k o f y o u r T V , a n d l a r g e rmi croconsol es that si t under i t. Whi chevermodel you choose, i t w i l l stream contentfrom the i nternet rather than stori ngmedi a fil es l ocal l y.

0 2 Most streamers use thei r ow noperati ng system, w hi ch you can

navi gate w i th a bundl ed remote control ,but Googl e’ s Chromecast dongl e requi res apai red smartphone, tabl et or l aptop tos t r e a m c o n t e n t o n t h e b i g s c r e e n . I f y o u ’ r el o o k i n g t o s e t u p N e t fl i x f o r s o m e o n e w h o

Cho o in g a...M e dia stre am e rdoesn’ t have a smartphone, you shoul d buya s t a n d a l o n e s t r e a m e r s u c h a s a R o k u o rAmazon Fi re TV devi ce.

0 3

A m e d i a s t r e a m e r i s o n l y a s g o o d a s

the servi ces i t supports, al though ad ev ic e t h a t o e r s m o re s er vi ce s w o n’ tn e c es s ar i ly o e r m o r e h i g h -q u al i ty c o n t e ntthan a medi a streamer w i th few er channel s.I n s t e a d , l o o k o u t f o r m a j o r c h a n n e l s s u c h a sNetfli x, Amazon Instant Vi deo, BBC i Pl ayer,S k y G o a n d Y o u T u b e . I f a n y o f t h e s e a r emi ssi ng, the remai ni ng channel s aren’ t l i kel yt o b e m u c h c o p .

0 4 Al though nearl y al l streamers nowpul l content from the w eb, they’ re sti l l

capabl e of pl ayi ng content stored l ocal l y

f r o m a n e t w o r k e d P C o r N A S d e v i c e . N o t a l lstreamers are capabl e of pl ayi ng al l medi a fil ef o r m a t s , h o w e v e r . I f y o u h a v e a l o t o f M K Vo r M O V fi l e s , c h e c k t h a t y o u r c h o s e nstreamer supports them before you buy.

These are typi cal l y the fil e formats devi cesstruggl e w i th the most.

0 5 Medi a streamers aren’ t j ust for vi deo,ei ther. Many support onl i ne musi c

servi ces i ncl udi ng Spoti fy, R di o and TuneInR adi o. O thers essenti al l y use the sameh a r d w a r e a s a s m a r t p h o n e a n d a r e c a p a b l e o fr u n n i n g a p p s o r p l a y i n g g a m e s . S o m e o f t h emost pow erful are compati bl e w i th dedi catedgame control l ers, but these are typi cal l y sol das opti onal accessori es rather than bundl edw i th the streamer.

8M 8ZO FireTV St ick


GOPRO H ero4 Black


H U M 8 XHDR-110 0 S 5 0 0 G B


VEH O M u vi K 2 NPNG


P8 8SO I0 H C-W X97 0

£612 inc VAT • www.photospecialist.co.uk

H 8U PP8U GE HD PVR Rock et

£85 inc VAT • www.maplin.co.uk

T his bargain media-streaming device excels f orAmazon P rime subscribers.

E v e n i f y o u ’ r e n o t , y o u ’ l l g e t g o o d m i l e a g e o u t o f i t w i t h p l a t f o r m ssuch as P lex. It’s our f avourite discrete streaming device.

T h e G o P r o H e r o 4 B l a c k d o e s n ’ tdeviate f rom the existing GoP rotemplate but it’s an excellent action camera

t h a t i n t r o d u c e s s t u n n i n g 4 K v i d e o a t 3 0 f p s . Y o u a l s o g e t s u p p o r tf o r a w i d e r a n g e o f m o u n t s a n d a c c e s s o r i e s .

T he H umaxH DR-1100S isan aractive

F r e e s a t + P V R t h a t ’ s e a s y t o u s e

and integrates catch-up T V seamlesslythrough Freetime.

T h e K 2 p a c k s i n p l e n t y o faction camera f eaturesf o r a b u d g e t p r i c e , a n d

c o m e s w i t h a g e n e r o u s n u m b e r o f a c c e s s o r i e s ,

including a usef ul hard transport case. Imagequality is very respectable, too.

T his twin-camera4K-capable camcorderlets you capture 8-megapixel

s t i l l s f r o m 4 K v i d e o . I t h a s s u p e r b i m a g es t a b i l i s a t i o n a n d i t s H D R v i d e o m o d e c a n h e l pwith exposing diffi cult scenes.

T h e H D P V R R o c k e tl e t s y o u r e c o r d y o u rgameplay whether you’re

p l a y i n g o n a P C o r g a m e s c o n s o l e , a n d y o u c a ne v e n r e c o r d y o u r o w n c o m m e n t a r y a s y o u p l a y t h a n k s t o i t s b u i l t - i nm i c r o p h o n e i n p u t . I t ’ s w e l l d e s i g n e d , w i t h a l a r g e , r e d R e c o r d b u o na n d t h e a b i l i t y t o r e c o r d d i r e c t l y t o a U S B d r i v e .

V I O O U T P U T S H D M I 1 . 4 • N T W O R K I N G 802.11n • I M N S I O N S 115x115x17mm •

S T R A I N G F O R M A S UP n P, Ai r P l ay, DLNA • I N T R N T S T R A I N G S R V I C S i P l ayer, Net fl i x,

S k y N e w s, S p o ti f y , T u ne I n R a d i o , A m a z o n I n s t a n t V i d e o , T V P l a ye r • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B •

T A L S www.amazon.co.uk • P A T C F i r e T V S t ic k • F U L L R V I W A u g 2 0 1 5

S N S O R1 /2 .3 i n C M O S • S N S O R P I X L S 12 , 000, 000 • M A R C R I N G R S O L U T I O N 4K

(30fps) • A C N N C I O N S M i c ro H D M I o u t p u t, 3 . 5 m m m i c r op h o ne t o M i n i U S B ( o p t io n a l) •

I M N S I O N S 41x59x30mm • W I G H T 8 9 g ( 1 5 2 g w i t h h o u s i n g ) • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B •

P A T C CHDHX-4-1-EU • T A L S www.gopro.com • F U L L R V I W M a y 2 0 1 5

T U N R S 2 x D V B -S 2 F r ee s a t • I M N S I O N S 280x48x200mm • N T W O R K I N G Gi gab i t Et h er n et ,

802 . 11n Wi -F i • I N T R N A I S K CA AC T Y 5 00GB • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B • T A L S

www.humaxdirect.co.uk • P A T C HDR -1100S-Wh i t e • F U L L R V I W D e c 2 0 1 5

S N S O R P I X L S 16, 000, 000 • M A R C R I N G R S O L U T I O N 1080p (60fp s) • A

C N N C I O N S M i n i H D M I • I M N S I O N S 40x2 3x60m m • W I G H T 84g • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r

R TB • T A L S www.veho-muvi.com • P A T C K2 NP NG • F U L L R V I W D e c 2 0 1 5

O P T I CA Z O O M 2 0x • S N S O R1 /2 .3i n B S I M O S • L C S C N 3 i n , 4 6 0 , 8 00 d o t s •

I M N S I O N S 73x65 x139m m • W I G H T 360g • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B •

T A L S www.panasonic.com • P A T C HC-WX970 • F U L L R V I W S e p 2 0 1 5

W A R A T Y T wo y e a r s R T B • T A L S www.hauppauge.co.uk • P A T C 1527 •

F U L L R V I W A p r 2 0 1 3

R E O M M E N D E D R E O M M E N D E D

R E O M M E N D E DE S T U Y

R E O M M E N D E DE O M M E N D E D

e




PRI TERS & S08 ERS

0 1 L a se r p r i n te r s u s e d t o b e m u chmore expensi ve than i nkj ets and

w ere typi cal l y restri cted to offices. Theya re n ow m u ch m or e a o r da bl e, h ow ev er,a nd o e r s e v er al b en efi ts o ve r i n k je t s,

i ncl udi ng l ow er per-page pri nti ng costsand faster pri nt speeds.

0 2 A decent l aser pri nter w i l l typi cal l ycost around £80 , and w i l l happi l y pri nt

hundreds of bl ack-and-w hi te pages per hour.If documents are your pri ori ty, you’ l l w ant ahi gh mi ni mum speed and l ow pri nt costs.How ever, you’ l l probabl y be l i mi ted tobl ack-and-w hi te pri nti ng at thi s pri ce.

0 3 A l t h o u g h y o u c a n s t i l l b u y s i n g l e -functi on l aser pri nters, mul ti functi on

Cho o in g a...Lase r printe rperi pheral s (MFPs) are now far morec o m m o n . T h e s e m o d e l s c a n s c a n a n dphotocopy documents as w el l as pri nt them,a n d s o m e o f t h e m a l s o h a v e f a x c a p a b i l i t i e s .L a s e r M F P s s t a r t f r o m a r o u n d £ 2 0 0 .

0 4 Heavy-duty office l asers desi gned forpri nti ng thousands of pages per

month can cost thousands of pounds. Theyuse l arge i ndi vi dual toner drums, w hi ch cancut runni ng costs. Automati c dupl ex(doubl e-si ded) pri nti ng i s al so common here.

0 5 Al though l aser pri nters are moresui ted to pri nti ng text than graphi cs,

many are sti l l abl e to produce hi gh-qual i typhotographs. Speed i sn’ t a pri ori ty here– i nstead choose a pri nter that reproduces

subtl e tones w el l . You can’ t determi ne thi sb y l o o k in g a t t h e s p e c ifi c at i o ns o n lyhands-on testi ng w i l l do, so remember tocheck our revi ew s before you buy.B o r d e r l e s s p r i n t i n g ( u p t o t h e e d g e o f t h e

paper) shoul d al so be possi bl e.

0 6 I f y o u w a n t t o p r i n t f r o m m u l t i p l edevi ces, make sure you l ook for

extended connecti vi ty. Decent l aser pri ntersc a n b e s h a r e d o n y o u r l o c a l n e t w o r k a n dhave USB ports for di rect pri nti ng, memoryc a r d s l o t s f o r p r i n t i n g i m a g e s f r o m a d i g i t a lc a m e r a , a n d i O S , A n d r o i d o r G o o g l e C l o u dPri nt support for pri nti ng from mobi l edevi ces such as smartphones or tabl ets.A n L C D p r ev ie w s c re e n o e r s g r ea te rcontrol for thi s method of pri nti ng.

RI0OH SP3600DN

£160 inc VAT • www.ebuyer.com

08 O i-SENSYS LBP77 80 Cx

£414 inc VAT • www.printerland.co.uk

EPSO Expression Phot oXP-7 60


08 O Pixm a M G6 6 5 0

£88 i nc VAT • www.viking-direct.co.uk

H POffic ejet ProX476 d w

£316 inc VAT • www.printerland.co.uk

PLU STEK eScan A15 0


T h e S P 3 6 0 0 D N c a np r i n t u p t o 5 0 , 0 0 0 p a g e sp e r m o n t h a t 3 0 p p m .

T h e q u a l i t y i s g o o d , a n d e a c h p a g e c o s t so n l y a b o u t 1 . 2 p . I t ’ s a g o o d c h o i c e f o r a

b u s y s m a l l fi r m .

It’s somewhat expensivet o b u y , b u t t h e C a n o ni-SENSY S LBP 7780Cx is

v e r y c h e a p t o r u n , a n d p r o d u c e simpressively high-quality prints.

It’s not brilliant f orprinting offi ced o c u m e n t s , b u t i f y o u

want great photos and brilliant scanning,

Epson’s good-look ing and compact XP -760 is perf ect.

T his well-specified MFPi s n ’ t t h e f a s t e s t , b u t i t sp r i n t , c o p y a n d s c a n q u a l i t y

a r e s u p e r b . I m p r o v e d t o u c h s c r e e n c o n t r o l s m a k e i t e a s i e r t o u s e t h a n

s o m e P i x m a s , a n d i t s i n k c o s t s a r e r e a s o n a b l e t o o .

I t m a y b e a n i n k j e t , b u t H P ’ sM F P b e a t s m a n y c o l o u rl a s e r s i n t e r m s o f s p e e d ,

p r i n t q u a l i t y a n d r u n n i n g c o s t s . I t ’ s i d e a l f o rhomes and small offi ces alik e.

A very easy-to-usedocument scanner thatc a n s c a n b o t h s i d e s o f a

d o c u m e n t a t o n c e , a n d l e t s y o u o r g a n i s eyour scans onscreen bef ore saving themt o a c o m p u t e r , U S B d i s k o r A n d r o i d d e v i c e .

T C N O L O G Y M o n o L E D • M A I M U M P R I N T R S O L U T I O N 1, 2 00x1, 2 00d p i • I M N S I O N S

2 68x370x392 m m • W I G H T 14. 5 kg • M A I M U M P A R S I Z A4/legal • W A R A T Y Tw o year s

R TB • T A L S www.ricoh.co.uk • P A T C 9062 31 • F U L L R V I W • O c t 2 0 1 5

T C N O L O G Y Si n gl e-p assco l o u r l aser • M A I M U M P R I N T R S O L U T I O N 600x600d p i •

I M N S I O N S 401x5 17x5 30m m • W I G H T 31kg • M A I M U M P A R S I Z A4/legal •

W A R A T Y O n e y e a r o n s i te • T A L S www.canon.co.uk • P A T C 6140B 010AA •

F U L L R V I W M a r 2 0 1 5

T C N O L O G Y P i ezo i n kjet • M A I M U M P R I N T R S O L U T I O N 5 , 760x1, 440d p i •

S CA N R R S O L U T I O N 2 , 400x4, 800d p i • I M N S I O N S 148x455x369mm • W I G H T 6.9kg •

M A I M U M P A R S I Z A4/l egal • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B • T A L S www.epson.co.uk •

P A T C C11CD96401 • F U L L R V I W M a r 2 0 1 5

T C N O L O G Y Th er m al i n kjet • M A I M U M P R I N T R S O L U T I O N 4, 800x1, 2 00d p i •

S CA N R R S O L U T I O N 1, 2 00x2 , 400d p i • I M N S I O N S 148x455x369mm • W I G H T 6. 4kg •

M A I M U M P A R S I Z A4/legal • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B • T A L S www.canon.co.uk •

P A T C 95 39B 008AA • F U L L R V I W A u g 2 0 1 5

T C N O L O G Y Th er m al i n kjet • M A I M U M P R I N T R S O L U T I O N 2 , 400x1, 2 00d p i •

S CA N R R S O L U T I O N 1, 2 00x1, 2 00d p i • I M N S I O N S 5 17x5 17x399m m • W I G H T 2 4kg •

M A I M U M P A R S I Z A4/l egal • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r o n s i te • T A L S www.hp.co.uk •

P A T C CN461A • F U L L R V I W M a r ch 2 0 1 5

S CA N R T Y P Do cu m en t scan n er • M A I M U M O P T I CA S C A R S O L U T I O N 600x600d p i •

I M N S I O N S 189x318x170m m • W I G H T 2 . 8kg • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B • T A L S www.

plustek.com/uk • P A T C 02 63UK • F U L L R V I W F e b 2 0 1 6

R E O M M E N D E D

U S I N E S S U Y E S T U Y

E S T U Y

E S T U Y

E S T U Y




ETW ORK S

0 1 A netw ork-aached storage (NAS)devi ce l ets you store documents,

m e d i a , a n d o t h e r fi l e s o n i t s h a r d d i s k s s oy o u c a n s h a r e t h e m w i t h o t h e r d e v i c e s o nyour netw ork. Some have di sks al ready

i nstal l ed, w hi l e others are empty encl osuresi nto w hi ch you i nstal l your ow n di sks. Buyi nga n e m p t y N A S c a n o e n b e t h e m o r ec o s t- e e c t iv e o p t i on , a s t h e y’ r e u s u al l y l e s se x p e n s i v e a n d g i v e y o u t h e f r e e d o m t oe x p a n d t h e n u m b e r o f d i s k s a t a l a t e r d a t e .

You shoul d buy one w i th a Gi gabi tEthernet i nterface, as these provi de thehi ghest transfer speeds. To use a NAS devi ceat these speeds, you’ l l need computers w i thGi gabi t Ethernet netw ork adaptors anda Gi gabi t Ethernet sw i tch or router.Computers w i th Fast Ethernet adaptors

Cho o in g a... 8S de vicec a n s t i l l a c c e s s t h e N A S d e v i c e , b u t o n l ya t t h e m u c h s l o w e r s p e e d o f 1 0 0 M b i t / s .

0 2 The amount of netw ork storage youn e e d d e p e n d s o n t h e t y p e s o f fi l e s

y o u u s e . I f y o u w a n t t o s t o r e W o r d a n d E x c e ldocuments, for exampl e, a 1TB devi ce w i l l befi n e . I n f a c t , a 1 T B d e v i c e s h o u l d b e s u ffi c i e n tfor a fami l y’ s enti re medi a col l ecti on,r e g a r d l e s s o f h o w m a n y m u s i c a n d v i d e o fi l e severyone ow ns. Smal l busi nesses shoul dconsi der hi gher storage capaci ti es,d e p e n d i n g o n t h e n a t u r e o f t h e b u s i n e s s .

0 3 I f y o u c a n s e e n o e n d t o y o u r s t o r a g eneeds, you shoul d buy an upgradabl e

N A S d e v i c e . M a n y h a v e a U S B p o r t f o raddi ng an external di sk. Devi ces such as

Synol ogy’ s barebones NAS ki ts have sparedi sk trays for cheaper and faster upgrades.

0 4 I f y o u w a n t e x t ra p r o t e ct i o n f o r y o urd a t a , l o o k f o r a d e v i c e t h a t s u p p o r t s

R A I D . R A I D 1 a n d R A I D 5 a r r a y s r e d u c e t h eavai l abl e capaci ty by dupl i cati ng data, buty o u w o n ’ t l o s e i t i f a d i s k f a i l s .

0 5 I f y o u n e e d a c c es s t o y o u r fi l es w h i leyou’ re aw ay, l ook for a NAS devi ce

w i t h a n F T P s e r v e r . S o m e c a n a l s o s h a r e aUSB pri nter across your netw ork.

A N A S d e v i c e w i t h a U n i v e r s a l P l u g a n dP l a y ( U P n P ) o r D L N A m e d i a s e r v e r c a ns t r e a m y o u r m u s i c , p h o t o s a n d v i d e o s t o anetw ork medi a pl ayer, so you can enj oy yourmedi a col l ecti on i n another room.

TP-LI K ArcherC 9


2T Du al-BandW i-Fi Ext end er120 0


DEVOLO d LAN120 0 + St art erK it

£110 inc VAT • www.scan.co.uk

8SUS EA-AC 87


08 8RYAll-In-One Secu rit y


ETGE8RArlo


I t d o e s n ’ t h a v e a m o d e m , s oy o u ’ l l n e e d t o p a i r i t w i t h y o u rI S P ’ s c a b l e , A S D L o r fi b r e m o d e m ,

b u t t h e A r c h e r C 9 i s a n i n c r e d i b l y c a p a b l e r o u t e rwith plenty of f eatures and f antastic wireless

perf ormance, at a very reasonable price.

T his f ast wireless extender is verye a s y t o s e t u p a n d i s t h e p e r f e c tcompanion to an 802.11ac router.

T h e w i r e d L A N p o r t l e t s y o u c o n n e c t a w i r e d d e v i c e t oyour wireless network , too.

T he f astest P owerlinenetwork ing k it we’ve seen, andeven though you’re limited to

a single Gigabit Ethernet connection, it’s the

ideal way to network a single computer. T hepassthrough sock ets are very convenient, too.

I t ’ s m u c h l a r g e r t h a nthe average rangeextender, but that’s only

t o m a k e r o o m f o r a w h o p p i n g fi v e G i g a b i t

E t h e r n e t p o r t s . T h e E A - A C 8 7 c a n a l s o a c t a s a n a c c e s s p o i n t ,replacing your router.

I t ’ s e x p e n s i v e , b u t t h e C a n a r y i s a g r e a t o n e - b o x ,cloud-based home security camera that’s easy touse and produces high-quality f ootage.

Incredibly flexible cameraplacement and great imagequality mak e Netgear’s

Arlo a f antastic home security system,e v e n i f t h e b a s e s t a t i o n i s a t a d e x p e n s i v e .

M O M None • W I F I S T A A 802.11ac • S T A S P 1,900Mbit/s • U S B P O R T S 1 x U S B 3 ,

1 x U S B 2 • W A L M O U N T AB No • W A R A T Y T h r ee y e a rs R T B • T A L S uk.tp-link.com •

P A T C A r c he r C 9 • F U L L R V I W S e p 2 0 1 5

W I F I S T A A 802.11ac • S T A S P 867Mbit/s • L A P O R T S 1 • W A R A T Y Th r ee

y e a rs R T B • T A L S www.shop.bt.com • P A T C 80462 • F U L L R V I W A u g 2 0 1 5

P O W R L I N N T W O R K I N G S T A A Ho m eP l u g • S T A S P 1,200Mbit/s •

A A T O R S I N B X 2 • W A R A T Y T h r ee y e a rs R T B • T A L S www.develo.com/uk •

P A T C 09378 • F U L L R V I W F e b 2 0 1 5

M O M No n e • W I F I S T A A 802.11ac • S T A S P 1,734Mbit/s • U S B P O R T S 0 •

W A L M O U N T AB Yes • W A R A T Y T wo y e a rs R T B • T A L S www.asus.com/uk •

P A T C 90IG01A0-B U9000 • F U L L R V I W S e p 2 0 1 5

S N S O R No t d i scl o sed • V I W I N G A G L 1 47 ˚ w id e a n g le • V I O R C R I N G F R A

R A S 1080p (30fp s) • N I G H T V I S I O N M O In fr ar ed LEDs • I M N S I O N S 152x76x76mm •

W I G H T 400g • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B • T A L S canary.is • P A T C CT100UKWT •

F U L L R V I W M a r 2 0 1 6

S N S O R C M O S ( s i z e n o t s t a te d ) • V I W I N G A G L Ho r i zo n t al 130 • V I O R C R I N G

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• W I G H T 110g • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B • T A L S www.arlo.com/uk • P A T C 131178 •

F U L L R V I W S e p 2 0 1 5

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0 1 A b a si c 1 T B i n te r n al h a rd d i sk s h ou l dc o s t a r o u n d £ 4 0 . T h i s w i l l b e f a s t

enough for general use and w i l l provi deenough storage for most users.

M a k e s u r e t h e h a r d d i s k y o u c h o o s e h a s

the appropri ate i nterface type for your PC.Some mechani cal hard di sks sti l l come w i thSATA2 i nterfaces, but new er model s andmost sol i d-state dri ves (SSDs) have fasterSATA3 i nterfaces. You’ l l need a motherboardw i t h a S A T A 3 p o r t i f y o u w a n t t o b e n e fi tfrom SATA3’ s faster speeds SATA3 di sks w i l lw ork w i th SATA2 ports but can onl y transferfil es at SATA2 speeds.

0 2 SSDs can make the most of SATA3’ sextra bandw i dth for fast fil e transfers.

T h e y u s e fl a s h m e m o r y s i m i l a r t o t h a t f o u n d

Cho o in g an...Inte rnalh ard diski n U S B fl a s h d r i v e s , a n d a l t h o u g h t h e y t e n dto provi de l ess capaci ty than mechani cal harddi sks, they’ re si gni ficantl y faster.

0 3

B u y a h a r d d i s k t h a t p r o v i d e s m o r e

c a p a c i t y t h a n y o u t h i n k y o u n e e d , a syour storage requi rements are l i kel y to grow .A 3 T B d i s k s t r i k e s t h e b e s t b a l a n c e b e t w e e nc a p a c i t y a n d l o w c o s t p e r g i g a b y t e , b u t i ng e n e r a l y o u s h o u l d a i m t o b u y t h e l a r g e s td is k yo u c an a o rd .

0 4 I f y o u w an t m o r e d i sk s p a ce o r y o uw ant to protect your data agai nst

di sk fai l ure, thi nk about buyi ng several hardd i s k s t o c r e a t e a R A I D a r r a y . T h e s e u s emul ti pl e hard di sks to create one l argel ogi cal di sk w i th beer performance, or to

dupl i cate your data for beer protecti on.R A I D a r r a y s r e q u i r e h a r d d i s k s o f t h e s a m es iz e. I n t h eo r y, t h e y c a n b e f r o m d i e r en tmanufacturers, but i t’ s beer to buy i denti cald i s k s i f y o u c a n .

0 5 A hard di sk’ s spindl e speeddetermi nes how qui ckl y i t can

transfer data. A spi ndl e speed of 7, 20 0 rpmi s c o m m o n i n d e s k t o p d r i v e s a n d i s f a s tenough for most purposes. Desktop harddi sks w i th 5, 40 0 rpm spi ndl e speeds areq u i t e s l o w b u t u s e l e s s p o w e r a n d g e n e r a t el ess heat and noi se.

To stri ke the best bal ance betw eens p e e d a n d s t o r a g e c a p a c i t y , u s e a n S S D a sy o u r s y s t e m d i s k a n d s t o r e y o u r fi l e s o n al arger mechani cal di sk.

S8M SU G 85 0 Evo5 0 0 G B

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S a m s u n g ’ s 8 5 0 E v o i s s i m p l ythe f astest SAT A SSD around,a n d i t ’ s a v a i l a b l e i n a w i d e

r a n g e o f c a p a c i t i e s . T h e 2 T B m o d e l m i g h t b ee x p e n s i v e a t a r o u n d £ 5 2 7 ( f r o m www.scan .co.u k ),

b u t i t m e a n s s a y i n g g o o d b y e t o m e c h a n i c a l s t o r a g e f o r g o o d .

T h e R e d 6 T Bcombines excellentperf ormance with a

high capacity and special firmware tom a k e a h a r d d i s k t h a t ’ s p e r f e c t f o r u s e i n N A S

enclosures. It’s guaranteed f or three years, too,w h i c h s h o u l d p r o v i d e p e a c e o f m i n d .

Synology’s latest NAS is f asterthan its predecessor thank s toa n u p g r a d e d C P U , a n d i s c a p a b l e

o f r a p i d fi l e t r a n s f e r s . D S M i s s t i l l t h e b e s t N A S

operating system we’ve used, too.

T h e T 1 i ssignificantly fastert h a n a n y U S B 3 fl a s h

d r i v e a s i t h a s i t s o w n S D c o n t r o l l e r .

C o m b i n e d w i t h a U S B 3 c o n n e c t i o n , i t ’ s a b l e t o t r a n s f e r fi l e s a tu n b e l i e v a b l e s p e e d s , t h e n s l i p s i n t o a p o c k e t f o r t a k i n g o n t h e m o v e .

CA AC T Y 5 00GB • C S T P R G I G AB T £0.26 • I N T R F AC SATA3 • C A M R A 540MB/s

• C A M W R I T 520MB/s • W A R A T Y F i v e y e a r s R T B • T A L S www.samsung.com/uk •

P A T C MZ-75E500BW/EU • F U L L R V I W O c t 2 0 1 5

CA AC T Y 6TB • P R I C P R G I G AB T £0.03 • I N T R F AC SATA3 • W A R A T Y T h r ee y e a r s

R TB • T A L S www.wdc.com • P A T C WD60EF R X • F U L L R V I W N o v 2 0 1 4

3 ½ i n H A I S K BA S ( F R ) 2 ( 2) • N T W O R K I N G 2 x 10/100/1, 000 Et h er n et •

L N A M I A S R V R Yes • P R I N T S R V R Yes • I M N S I O N S 165 x100x2 2 6m m •

W I G H T 870g • W A R A T Y T wo y e a rs R T B • T A L S www.synology.com •

P A T C DS2 15 • F U L L R V I W u n 2 0 1 5

CA AC T Y 5 00GB • C S T P R G I G AB T £0. 34 • I N T R F AC USB3 • C A M R A 450MB/s •

C A M W R I T 450MB/s • W A R A T Y T h r ee y e a rs R T B • T A L S www.samsung.com/uk •

P A T C M U-P S5 00B /EU • F U L L R V I W A p r 2 0 1 5

R E C M M E N E E S T U Y

E S T U Y E S T U Y h.

S8M SU G 95 0 Pro25 6GB


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T A L S www.samsung.com/uk • P A T C MZ-V5P256BW • F U L L R V I W a n 2 0 1 6

E S T U Y

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CA AC T Y 2 TB • C S T P R G I G AB T £0.04 • I N T R F AC USB 3 • W A R A T Y O n e y e a r R T B •

T A L S www.toshiba.eu • P A T C HDTC82 0ER 3CA • F U L L R V I W N o v 2 0 1 5

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Exploring a post-apocalyptic wasteland has neverb e e n m o r e f u n . B e t h e s d a h a s e x p a n d e d t h e F a l l o u t

universe with base building and craing mechanics,m a k i n g t h i s t h e d e fi n i t i v e e n t r y i n t h e s e r i e s .

T h e W i t c h e r 3 h a s a n i n v o l v i n g p l o t , a n a m a z i n g l ywell-realised world and beautif ully drawn characters.It’s the ultimate f antasy RP G f or anyone that pref ers

action to turn-based strategy.

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remains a mystery, but the P hantom P ain’s open-world stealth gameplay is simply without f ault.

A p r o p e r t r e a t f o r P C g a m e r s : P i l l a r s o f E t e r n i t y i s ac l a s s i c R P G f o r t h e m o d e r n a g e , w h i c h a n y f a n o fBaldur’s Gate will f all in love with. Expect Beholders,

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A A L AB F O R M A S P C , X b ox O n e , P S 4 • O S S U P P O R T W in do ws 7 8 1 1 0 6 4- bi t •

M I N I M U M C U Q ua d- c or e 2 8 GH I nt el , q ua d- c or e 3 G H A M D • M I N I M U M G P U NvidiaG eForce

G T X 5 5 0 T i , A M D R a de o n H D 7 87 0 • M I N I M U M R A 8GB • H A I S K S P AC 3 0GB •

T A L S wwwfa llou t4c om • F U L L R V I W Feb 20 1 6

A A L AB F O R M A S P C , X b ox O n e , P S 4 • O S S U P P O R T W i nd o ws 7 8 1 6 4 - bi t • M I N I M U M C U

Q uad -co re 3 . 3 G H I ntel , qu ad -co re 3 G H A MD • M I N I M U M G P U Nvidia GeForce GTX660 , AMD

R a d eon HD 7 87 0 • M I N I M U M R A 6GB • H A I S K S P AC 40GB • T A L S wwwth ewitc her

c om witc h er • F U L L R V I W Au g 20 1 5

A A L AB F O R M A S P C , X bo x 3 6 0, X b ox O n e, P la yS ta ti on 3 , P S 4 • O S S U P P O R T W in do ws 7 8 1

64-bit • M I N I M U M C U D ua l- c or e 3 . 4 G H I nt el , q ua d- c or e A M D • M I N I M U M G P U NvidiaG eForce

G T X 6 50 , A M D R a de o n R 2 70 x • M I N I M U M R A 4GB • H A I S K S P AC 28GB •

T A L S wwwkon a mi j p mg s 5 • F U L L R V I W Dec 20 15

A A L AB F O R M A S P C , M a c • O S S U P P O R T W in do ws 7 8 1 6 4 -b it , M a c O S X • M I N I M U M

C U D ua l- c or e 2 5 GH I nt el , d ua l- c or e 2 8 GH A M D • M I N I M U M G P U Nvidia GeForce GTX

880 0 GT,AMD R a d eon HD 487 0 • M I N I M U M R A 4GB • H A I S K S P AC 14GB •

T A L S wwweternityob s id ia n n et • F U L L R V I W Ju l20 1 5

E S T U Y

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X8R8 W eb Designer11 Prem iu m

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8DO2E Phot oshopLight room 6

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STEI 2ERG Cu baseArt ist 8

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8DO2E Prem iere Elem ent s 14

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SERIFAffinit y Designer

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X8R8 Phot o& Graphic Designer11

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Web Designer was already excellent, but version 11

g e t s a s l e w o f i n c r e m e n t a l u p d a t e s t h a t e n s u r e i tremains our f avourite one-box web design tool.

L i g h t r o o m 6 m i g h t b e a r e l a t i v e l y m o d e s t u p d a t e ,but Adobe’s photography toolbox still sets theg o l d s t a n d a r d f o r R a w p h o t o p r o c e s s i n g a n d

image enhancement.

Music production soware usually saves the bestf e a t u r e s f o r t h e p r i c i e s t v e r s i o n , b u t t h a t ’ s n o t t h ec a s e h e r e , m a k i n g C u b a s e A r t i s t 8 a n e x c e l l e n t

investment f or musicians aspiring to the highest standards.

L o t s o f f e a t u r e s t o k e e p a d v a n c e d u s e r s h a p p y a n d

e v e n m o r e t o h e l p n e w u s e r s m a k e t h e m o s t o f i t .It’s the consumer video editing pack age to buy.

T he first real competition to Adobe’s Illustratorm i g h t b e a n O S X e x c l u s i v e , b u t A ffi n i t y D e s i g n e ri s a s e r i o u s l y p o w e r f u l g r a p h i c d e s i g n t o o l t h a t

costs an incredible £40.

P owerf ul new warping and brush toolst a k e P h o t o & G r a p h i c D e s i g n e r t o n e w h e i g h t s ,m a k i n g i t a g e n u i n e r i v a l t o A d o b e ’ s P h o t o s h o p a n d

Lightroom. It’s cheaper, too.

O S S U P P O R T Win dows XP or la ter • M I N I M U M In tel Celeron AMD Sempron • M I N I M U M G P U

DirectX 9 • M I N I M U M R A 500MB • H A I S K S P AC 3 00M B • T A L S wwwx a ra c om u k •

F U L L R V I W Sep 20 1 5

O S S U P P O R T W i nd o ws 7 8 • M I N I M U M C U In tel or AMD with 64-b its u p p ort • M I N I M U M

G P U 1 GB , O pe nG L 3 . 3 , D i re ct X 1 0 • M I N I M U M R A 2GB • H A I S K S P AC 2GB •

T A L S wwwa d ob ec om u k • P R O U C C 6 52 7 57 6 F U L L R V I W Feb 20 1 5

O S S U P P O R T Win dows 7 or la ter • M I N I M U M C U In tel Core AMD d u a l-c ore • M I N I M U M G P U

DirectX 1 0 • M I N I M U M R A 4GB • H A I S K S P AC 15GB • T A L S wwws tein b erg n et •

P R O U C C 45550 • F U L L R V I W Ma y20 1 5

O S S U P P O R T W in do ws 7 8 1 0 • M I N I M U M C U 2 GH w it h S SE 2 • M I N I M U M G P U DirectX 9 •

M I N I M U M R A 2GB • H A I S K S P AC 5 GB • T A L S wwwa d ob ec om u k • P R O U C

C 6 52 4 28 8 • F U L L R V I W Ja n 20 1 6

O S S U P P O R T A pp le O S X 1 0 7 5 • M I N I M U M C U C or e 2 D uo ( 6 4- b it • M I N I M U M G P U In tel HD

Graphics • M I N I M U M R A 1 GB • H A I S K S P AC 3 25G B • T A L S a ffin itys erifc om •

P R O U C C AffinityDesigner • F U L L R V I W Ma r 20 15

O S S U P P O R T W ind ows 7 8 8 1 10 • M I N I M U M C U Celeron , Sempron or n ewer • M I N I M U M

G P U N A • M I N I M U M R A 500MB • H A I S K S P AC 3 00M B • T A L S wwwx a ra c om u k •

F U L L R V I W Dec 20 15

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you’ re unhappy w i th an i mage,t h e b ui l t- i n P h ot o La b o e r s m o readjustments than many specialistedi tors. There are tw eaks forlighting, white balance, sharpness,shadows and highlights, plustools to fix l ens di stortion andchromati c aberrati ons, and ah os t o f s pe ci al e e ct s.

G E T T I N G S T R T E D

Th e d o wn lo ad in s tru ctio n s o n th e cardi n se r t ( a er p a ge 7 4 ) s h o w y o u h o w t oco n n ect to th e d o wn lo ad s ite. M akes u re yo u typ e in th e web ad d res s exactlyas s h o wn . Yo u ’ll n eed yo u r co u p o n co d eth e firs t time yo u lo g o n to th e s ite.

N Y P R O L M S

I f yo u n eed h elp with an y o f th e

s o ware th is mo n th , p leas e s en d anemail to l e e r s o m p u t e r s h o p p e r . o . u k .We ch eck th is in b o x regu larly. Pleasein clu d e th e is s u e n u mb er o f th emagazin e an d yo u r co u p o n co d e.

W H Y D O W N L D S

I n o rd er to p ro vid e u s with f rees o ware, p u b lish ers n o w req u ire u s too e r t h e a p p l ic a ti o ns a s a d o w nl o ad a n dto require online registration. You needto u s e th e u n iq u e co d e p rin ted in th eb o x o n th e card in s ert to regis ter an dd o wn lo ad th e s o ware in th is is s u e. T heunique code me ans we stop the de alsle ak ing online , so only S o p p e r readersget the soware.

N O C O D E ?

If you don’t have the card insert with the

unique code, you must buy the £4 .99‘Fr e e S owar e ’ pr int ve r sion of themagazine . If you have this e dition andstill don’t have a car d, ple ase contactl e e r s o m p u t e r s h o p p e r . o . u k .

R E G I S T E R Y U R S F T W A E

BY 1 7 t h M A CH 2 0 1 6

80

It’ s a si mi l ar story el sew here,

w it h t o o ls t o d r a w s h ap e s a p pl yt ex t e e ct s i ns er t t a bl es , h ea de rsand footers adj ust col ours,transparencies and styl es andmuch more. The well-designeduser i nterface ensures i t’ s al l veryeasy to use and, once you’ vefini shed, i t’ s easy to share yourwork with others.

R Q U I R M N T S WindowsXP,Vista,7,8,

10 32/64-bit, 50MB harddisk space

T A L S www.abelssoft.net

R G I S T R A I O N

Get your registrationcode withinthe application. Note that if

you’vealreadypreviously registeredan

Abelssoft application, youwon’tneedto

register a second time

G G L E CL E A 2 0 1 6 i s an easy-to-use securi ty toolthat checks i nstal l ed Googl e apps to ensure they’ renot gi vi ng aw ay your personal i nformati on. Launchthe program and i t l ooks for any supportedsoware, including Google Desktop, Google Chrome,Googl e Pi casa, Googl e Earth and Googl e Tool bar.

Googl eCl ean checks the pri vacy sei ngs for everyappl i cati on i t finds, then di spl ays a Securi ty StatusSummary hi ghl i ghti ng any probl ems. If you’ re i n ahurry, clicking ‘Optimize all Google Applications now’reconfigures every program for maximum privacy.

If you’ d l i ke more control , there are modul es tovi ew regular cooki es, Fl ash cooki es, del ete some oral l of them, and cl ean up form data and assortedother l eovers. Thi s w orks w el l , but as soon as youstart usi ng your appl i cati ons, the j unk fil es w i l l startto bui l d up agai n, and even your sei ngs mi ght bechanged back i f you rei nstal l or update somethi ng.

Fortunatel y, the devel oper has thought of that.GoogleClean 2016 includes a ‘GoogleRadar’ modulethat automati cal l y detects Googl e traces as theyappear and del etes them ri ght aw ay. ust cl i ck ‘Activate GoogleRadar’ to enable the feature.

b e s s o f t G o o g e l e n 2 0 1 6




R Q U I R M N T S W i n d o w s X P , V i s t a , 7 , 8 ,1 0 3 2 / 6 4 - b i t , 5 0 M B h a r d d i s k s p a c e

T A L S w w w . a s h a m p o o . c o m

N O T S G e t y o u r r e g i s t r a t i o n c o d e w i t h i n

t h e a p p l i c a t i o n

R Q U I R M N T S W i n d o w s X P , V i s t a , 7 , 8 ,

1 0 3 2 / 6 4 - b i t , 5 0 M B h a r d d i s k s p a c e

T A L S w w w . a u s l o g i c s . c o m

N O T S T o o b t a i n y o u r s e r i a l c o d e , g o t o

d d e f r a g 4 . d i s c . c o m p u t e r s h o p p e r . c o . u k .

I c l u d e s a f u l l o n e - y e a r l i c e n c e

AUSLOGICS DISK DEFRAG Pro4 is a powerful defrag t ool t hat

provides everything you need to

keep y our s ys tem running at

peak performance

The program provides multiple

defrag algorithms to boost disk

s pe ed I t c an o pt im is e a cc es s

according to file access time,

modification time, Windows’ own

prefetch lay out, or y ou can define

which files y ou’d like wrien t o

t he fas tes t part of y our drive

L eav ing a lile free s pace aer

specified files also helps to

reduce future fragmentation

There are even m ore ways to

defrag: y ou m ight choos e t o

defragment an individual file, a

folder, or an entire partition

t he program can run before

Windows launches, enabling it to

defrag system files which would

ot herwis e be locked a s cheduler

can run unaended defrags

ASHAMPOO CLIPFINDER HD 2

is a powerful desktop search

engine that finds, downloads,

plays and converts your favourite

web v ideos Geing s t arted is as

easy as typing a few keywords

and clicking t he Search buon

Ashampoo ClipFinder HD 2

then runs parallel searches on

YouTube, v im eo, Facebook,

Dailym ot ion, Mu u t v, v eoh,

Google Video, metacafe, bliptv

and m ore Matching v ideos aredisplayed as thumbnails on

C lipFinder’s 3 D v ideo wall Thes e

will s tart s mall, but s pinning t he

m ou se wh ee l z o oms i n

If you see something

interesting, double-clicking opens

it in t he v ideo player where y ou

c an wa tc h i t a s u su al ( p re vi ew o r

full-s creen , copy its URL t o t he

clipboard, open t he s ource page

in a browser or bookmark t he

m ov ie for easy recall later

A built-in Download Manager

grabs a local copy of t he clip on

demand Downloaded v ideos can

be stored in ClipFinder’s library,

where y ou can organise t hem

into playlists or categories

u s l o g c s D i s k D ef r a g

P r o f es s i o n a l 4

s h a m p o o C l i p F i n d er H D 2

whenever y ou like, or y ou can

leave Disk Defrag Professional

running in t he background, s o it

can eliminate fragmentation as

s oon as it appears

The program won’t s low y ou

d own , e it he r I n j u st a fe w c li cks

y ou can lim it t he m aximum us e

Disk Defrag Professional will

m ake o f y ou r C PU o r h ar d d ri ve

A nd y ou c an te ll t he p ro gr am n ot

to r un a t a ll wh en a d em an di ng

application is running, s o if y ou

launch your favourite games, say,

y ou can be s ure t hey ’ll get 100

of your system’s resources




R Q U I R M N T S W i n d o w s X P , V i s t a , 7 , 8 ,

1 0 3 2 / 6 4 - b i t , 2 0 0 M B h a r d d i s k s p a c e

T A L S w w w . p a n d a s e c u r i t y . c o m

N O T S S i x - m o n t h l i c e n c e

PANDA INTERNET SECURITY

2016 is a capable s ecurity s uit e

with protection for Windows ,

Android, iOS and Mac

The Windows module oers

accurate anti-virus, browser

P a n d a I n t er n et

S ec u r i t y 2 0 1 6

protection ( v ia an

o pt io na l t oo lb ar , a

firewall and Wi-Fi protection

to detect intruders on your

network The Data Shield

prevents sensitive data falling into

the wrong hands, parental

controls keep your kids

s afe online, and t here’s a v irtual

keyboard to bypass keyloggers

Mac and iOS protection is

more basic, with anti-virus and

an iPhone location service, while

t he Android t ools t ake t his a lile

further: anti-virus, device

optimisation, a location service,

a nd t he o pt io n to l oc k o r wi pe

y our dev ice rem ot ely

A ll t hi s i s e a s y to s et u p, b ut

look out for t he option t o ins tall

a brows er t oolbar: it will change

y our home and s earch pages

unless you clear some tickboxes

Aer that, the program

proves as reliable and accurate as

ever The 2016 edit ion brings new

checks for Wi-Fi vulnerabilities, a

new engine, and smarter

Collective Intelligence, oering

greater protection wit h less

impact on performance

POWERDIRECTOR 12 LE is a

comprehensive video editor

that’s extremely easy to use, and

gives y ou m any dierent ways t o

pres ent and s hare y our m edia

The capable slideshow creator

lets y ou import y our phot os , and

choos e a s lides how s t yle s uch as

C am era, Norm al or Motion

Previewt he s lides how t o s ee its

animations and eects, and when

y ou’re happy, export t he res ult sas a v ideo file

A n E as y E di to r wo rks i n a

similar way, only it accepts video

clips as well as photos C hoose

y our s ource files , drag and drop

t o reorder t hem, s elect a cust om

s ty le and preview t he results

Again, y our product ion can be

s aved as a v ideo, ready t o s hare

with ot hers, in j us t a few clicks

If y ou need m ore cont rol,

t ho ug h, t he r ea l p owe r i s i n t he

f ul l e di to r H er e y ou ’r e a bl e t o

import all t he images and v ideos

y ou need, before organising t hem

on a multitrack timeline

You can t hen t rim y our clips,

split them into separate scenes

C y b er L n k P o w er D i r ec t o r 1 2 Land improve t hem by fixing

lighting problems, stabilising

footage or removing noise

There are also t ools t o ad us t

exposure, brightness, contrast,

hue, saturation, sharpness,

v ibrancy and a whole lot m ore

Your pro ect can be previewed

a t a ny t im e, m aki ng i t e as y t o s e e

how you’re progressing, and

when y ou’v e finis hed y our film

c an b e e xp or te d a s a v id eo fil e o r

uploaded directly to Facebook,

YouTube, Dailym ot ion or Vimeo

R Q U I R M N T S

W i n d o w s X P , V i s t a , 7 , 8 ,1 0 3 2 / 6 4 - b i t , 5 0 0 M B h a r d d i s k s p a c e

T A L S w w w . c y b e r l i n k . c o m

N O T S G e t y o u r r e g i s t r a t i o n c o d e a t

p d r 1 2 . d i s c . c o m p u t e r s h o p p e r . c o . u k




i g s b y ( B i l d 9 2 ) A c e s s a l l y o u r i n s t a n t

m e s s a g i n g s e r v i c e s f r o m o n e a p p l i c a t i o n ;

t h e r e ’ s s u p p o r t f o r W i n d o w s L i v e ! , Y a h o o ! ,

AIM , G o o g l e T a l k , I C a n d J b b e r .

v e r n o t e 5 . 9 . 6 t o r e y o u r n o t e s , i d e a s a n d

p l a n s i n t h e c l o u d , a n d s y n c h r o n i s e t h e m

b e t w e e n c o m p u t e r s .

U P 3 T 2 3 M o z i l l a T h u n d e r b i r d 3 8 . 5 A

p o w e r f u l e m a i l c l i e n t f r o m t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n

b e s t k n o w n f o r t h e F i r e f o x w e b b r o w s e r .

U P 3 T 2 3 F r e e S t u d i o 6 . 6 T h i s s o w a r e

p r o v i d e s a n e a s y w a y t o c o n v e r t y o u r v i d e o

a n d a u d i o fi l e s i n t o d i e r e n t f o r m a t s .P a r a g o n P a r t i t i o n M a n a g e r 1 4 F r e e

Ce a t e , f o r m a t , s p l i t , m e r g e a n d r e o r g a n i s e

a l l y o u r h a r d d i s k ’ s p a r t i t i o n s .

P e a Z i p 5 . 9 . 1 A r e m e n d o u s l y p o w e r f u l

a r c h i v e - m a n a g e m e n t t o o l .

C r o t A 1 . 1 2 . 4

M a n a g e a l l y o u r o n l i n e s t o r a g e s e r v i c e s

w i t h o n e s i m p l e a p p l i c a t i o n .

C b e r d u c k 4 . 7 . 3

A o w e r f u l b u t e a s y - t o - u s e F T P c l i e n t f o ru p l o a d i n g a n d d o w n l o a d i n g y o u r fi l e s .

a s y W i F i 4 . 0

F i n d f r e e W i - F i h o t s p o t s w h i l e y o u ’ r e o u t

a n d a b o u t .

U P 3 T 2 3 CC e a n e r 5 . 1 3 R e m o v e u n w a n t e d

i n f o r m a t i o n , t e m p o r a r y fi l e s , b r o w s i n g

h i s t o r y , h u g e l o g fi l e s a n d e v e n t h e s e i n g s

t h a t u n i n s t a l l e d s o w a r e l e a v e s b e h i n d .

e f r a g g l e r 2 . 1 9 E n s u r e y o u r s y s t e m i s

d e f r a g m e n t e d p r o p e r l y a n d i m p r o v e i t s

p e r f o r m a n c e .

F i n e s t r a V i r t u a l e s k t o p s 2 . 5 S e t u p f o u r

o r m o r e v i r t u a l d e s k t o p s o n y o u r P C

h a t a n d o m m u n i c a t i o n

R e o u r c eP o s t b o x x p r e s s 1 . 0 . 1 A e m a i l c l i e n t t h a t

p r o v i d e s a c o m p r e h e n s i v e a r r a y o f t o o l s t o

h e l p y o u m a n a g e y o u r m e s s a g e s m o r e e a s i l y .

S k y p e f o r W i n d o w s 7 . 1 8 M a k e i n t e r n e t v o i c e

a n d v i d e o c a l l s f o r f r e e , a n d b u y c r e d i t t o

m a k e c a l l s t o m o b i l e s a n d l a n d l i n e s .

T r i l l i a n 5 . 6 U s e a l l y o u r i n s t a n t m e s s a g i n g

a c c o u n t s w i t h o n e a p p l i c a t i o n ; t h i s p r o g r a m

h a s s u p p o r t f o r W i n d o w s L i v e ! , AIM , Y a h o o !

a n d G o o g l e T a l k .

U P 3 T 2 3 R a i n m e t e r 3 . 3 C s t o m i s e t h e

d e s k t o p q u i c k l y a n d e a s i l y w i t h y o u r c h o i c e

o f i n f o r m a t i o n , t o o l s a n d s h o r t c u t s .

W i n d o w s 8 T r a n s f o r m a t i o n P a c k 9 . 1

E m u l a t e t h e l o o k o f W i n d o w s 8 o n a n e a r l i e r

v e r s i o n o f t h e o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m .

W i n d o w s 1 0 T r a n s f o r m a t i o n P a c k 6

B i n g s o m e o f W i n d o w s 1 0 ’ s n e w f e a t u r e s

t o y o u r c u r r e n t o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m .

S c r e e n s h o t C p t o r 4 . 1 6 Ce a t e a n d m a n a g e

s c r e e n s h o t s t h e e a s y w a y .

U P 3 T 2 3 S U M o 4 . 2 . 7 Q u i c k l y s c a n y o u r P Csi n s t a l l e d a p p l i c a t i o n s a n d fi n d a n y u p d a t e s

t h a t a r e a v a i l a b l e f o r t h e m .

Z i p G e n i u s 6 . 3 A e x i b l e fi l e - c o m p r e s s i o n

t o o l w i t h s u p p o r t f o r a h u g e n u m b e r o f

c o m p r e s s e d fi l e f o r m a t s .

N e t B l a n c e r 9 . 1 . 4 M a k e t h e m o s t o f

y o u r i n t e r n e t c o n n e c t i o n b y a s s i g n i n g

d o w n l o a d a n d u p l o a d p r i o r i t i e s t o

w e b a p p l i c a t i o n s .

T e a m V i e w e r 1 1 R e m o t e - c o n t r o l y o u rc o m p u t e r f r o m a n y w h e r e i n t h e w o r l d .

u z 5 . 7

AB t o r r e n t c l i e n t t o h e l p

y o u l o c a t e , s h a r e a n d d o w n l o a d

t o r r e n t fi l e s .

u s t o m i s a t i o n

G e e a l

I n t e n e a n d N e w o r k

T w e k i n g a n d P e f o r m a n c e

7 T a s k b a r T w e a k e r 5 C s t o m i s e t h e

W i n d o w s 7 t a s k b a r s o t h a t i t w o r k s

e x a c t l y t o y o u r l i k i n g .

M e t r o U I T w e a k e r f o r W i n d o w s 8

T w e a k t h e W i n d o w s 8 u s e r i n t e r f a c e .

M o s a i c e s k t o p B t a 1 R e f r e s h

A d W i n d o w s 8 ’ s m o s a i c - t i l e d

d e s k t o p t o y o u r c o m p u t e r w i t h o u t

h a v i n g t o u p g r a d e .

U P 3 T 2 3 I O b i t A v a n c e d S y s t e m C r e 9 . 1

A o m p l e t e c o m p u t e r s e c u r i t y , m a i n t e n a n c e

a n d o p t i m i s a t i o n s u i t e .

R e v o U n i n s t a l l e r F r e e 1 . 9 5 R e m o v e i n s t a l l e d

a p p l i c a t i o n s c o m p l e t e l y , i n c l u d i n g a l l t h e i r

f o l d e r s , s y s t e m fi l e s a n d R e g i s t r y e n t r i e s .

S i m p l e P e r f o r m a n c e B o s t 1 . 0 . 5 T w e a k t h e

W i n d o w s R e g i s t r y t o g i v e y o u r P C

p e r f o r m a n c e b o o s t .







???????????


B IL DIN G B L O K S o p o e n t sIfy o u w an t t o b u ild y o u r o w n c o m u t e r, he re ’ ne v e r be e n a b e t t e r t im e .W e t ak ey o u t hro u g h t he u lim a e c o m o ne n t t o he l y o u m ak e t he be t c ho ic e

ONE OFTHE b e s t t h i n g s a b o u t t h e h u m b l edesk top P C is its modular structure, givingy o u t h e fl e x i b i l i t y t o b u i l d a c o m p u t e r t h a tm a t c h e s y o u r n e e d s . M a k e t h e r i g h t c h o i c e sa n d y o u ’ l l h a v e a b r i l l i a n t P C t h a t w i l l l a s t f o ry e a r s , p l u s t h e a b i l i t y t o u p g r a d e i t i n f u t u r et o m a k e i t l a s t e v e n l o n g e r . W i t h W i n d o w s 1 0i m p r e s s i n g , n o w ’ s t h e p e r f e c t t i m e t o g e t an e w c o m p u t e r t o g o w i t h t h e n e w O S .

Mak ing the right choice isn’t always easy,t h o u g h , w i t h h u n d r e d s o f p r o d u c t s t o c h o o s ef r o m . I n t h i s i s s u e , w e ’ r e h e r e t o h e l p w i t h o u ri n - d e p t h g u i d e t o a l l o f t h e b e s t c o m p o n e n t s .B y t h e t i m e y o u ’ v e fi n i s h e d r e a d i n g , y o u ’ l l b ea b l e t o p u t t o g e t h e r a p e r f e c t s h o p p i n g l i s tt h a t m a t c h e s y o u r n e e d s a n d b u d g e t .

We’re doing things a lile dierently thisyear. A lot of product categories (graphicsc a r d s , c a s e s , h a r d d i s k s a n d s o o n ) h a v e a n

3 O N T E N T R E V I E W S

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P R O 3 E S S O R S

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R M

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3 S E S

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M O T H E R 6 O R 0 S

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G R P H I 3 S 3 R 0 S

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H R 0 0 I S K S & S S 0 s

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P O W E R S U P P L I E S

overwhelming number of products to choosef r o m . S o t h i s y e a r w e ’ v e t e s t e d h u n d r e d s o fp r o d u c t s , b u t t o m a k e t h e c h o i c e s s i m p l e i nmany categories, we’re only presenting youw i t h t h e b e s t p r o d u c t s t o c h o o s e f r o m , a n dw e ’ r e n o t g i v i n g o v e r p a g e s t o p r o d u c t s t h a tw e c a n ’ t r e c o m m e n d . T h i s m e a n s t h a t w e c a nr e c o m m e n d m o r e t o p p r o d u c t s t o s u i t a l lbudgets, rather than devoting pages to poorproducts. We’re still bringing you comparisontables and, where appropriate, perf ormanceg r a p h s , s o y o u c a n e a s i l y c h o o s e t h e p r o d u c tt h a t y o u w a n t , c o n fi d e n t i n t h e k n o w l e d g ethat we’re recommending the best.

W e h o p e t h e r e s u l t s a r e c l e a r e r a n d e a s i e rt o f o l l o w , m a k i n g i t q u i c k e r f o r y o u t o fi n d t h eright components. Don’t f orget to come back n e x t m o n t h , a s w e ’ l l h a v e o u r c o m p l e t e g u i d et o b u i l d i n g y o u r P C f r o m s c r a t c h .



PROCESSORS


H IP P IN G IN r o e s s o s

A g re a ro c e o ri ab o u t m o re t han t he e c y o u e e o n a e r.W e ’ e t e t e de v e r m ajor CPU from AMD and Int e l o find t he b e t on e t o m a c h y o u rn e e d

THEPROCESSOR IS arguably the mostimportant part of your computer. It dictatesh o w f a s t i t i s t o d a y a n d , a s a r e s u l t , h o w l o n gi t w i l l l a s t . T h i s i s o n e s e c t i o n w h e r e w e ’ r ep r e s e n t i n g t h e r e s u l t s o f a l l o f o u r t e s t i n g ,t o o . T h e s i m p l e r e a s o n i s t h a t p r o c e s s o rp r i c e s fl u c t u a t e a l o t a n d s i m i l a r m o d e l s t e n dt o h a v e v e r y c l o s e p r i c e s . A s a r e s u l t , ap r o c e s s o r w e r e c o m m e n d t o d a y c a n r i s e i np r i c e , w h i l e t h e m o d e l b e l o w , w h i c h m a y o n l y

b e a l i l e s l o w e r , m a y d r a m a t i c a l l y d r o p i np r i c e , m a k i n g i t t h e b e e r b u y . O u r m a i na d v i c e i s t o c h e c k t h e p r i c e s o f t h e m o d e l ssurrounding our recommended choices to seei f y o u c a n g e t a b e e r d e a l . T o m a k e s u r ey o u ’ r e c o m p a r i n g t h e r i g h t m o d e l s , u s e t h ep r o d u c t c o d e ( l i s t e d i n o u r t a b l e s o n p a g e s 9 2a n d 9 6 ) w h e n u s i n g p r i c e c o m p a r i s o n s i t e s .

N E W M O 0 E L R M Y

T h e r e a r e a l o t o f d i e r e n t p r o c e s s o r s o u tt h e r e , w i t h o l d e r r a n g e s s t i l l o n s a l e y e a r sa e r t h e y fi r s t c a m e o u t . H o w e v e r , a l o t o fo l d e r m o d e l s a r e n ’ t g o o d v a l u e a n d d o n ’ t

p e r f o r m a s w e l l a s t h e i r n e w e r s i b l i n g s . A s aresult, we’ve only reviewed ranges that arestill currently available and are worth buying.

Each manuf acturer and product range hasits own individual CP U architecture (ourr e v i e w s e x p l a i n m o r e ) , b u t a l l m o d e l s s h a r ecertain f eatures. Understanding these will helpy o u m a k e t h e r i g h t d e c i s i o n a n d c h o o s e t h em o d e l t h a t b e s t fi t s y o u r n e e d s .

First, there’s the processor’s clock speed,w h i c h i s o e n s e t a s a n i n d i c a t o r o f t h e C P U ’ sspeed. H owever, this can be misleading, asc l o c k s p e e d i s o n l y a u s e f u l g a u g e w h e ncomparing processors in the same range,

p a r t i c u l a r l y a s m a n y c h i p s h a v e a l o w s t a r t i n gc l o c k s p e e d , b u t c a n b o o s t h i g h e r w h e n t h e yneed to perf orm a demanding task . Instead,i t ’ s t h e p r o c e s s o r s ’ e ffi c i e n c y a n d n u m b e r o fc o r e s t h a t d i c t a t e h o w q u i c k i t w i l l b e .

A c o r e i s a p r o c e s s o r i n i t s o w n r i g h t , s ot h e m o r e c o r e s t h e r e a r e , t h e m o r e p o w e ry o u r c o m p u t e r h a s a t i t s fi n g e r t i p s . T o u s em u l t i p l e c o r e s y o u e i t h e r h a v e t o r u n m u l t i p l ea p p l i c a t i o n s a t o n c e , o r u s e a p p l i c a t i o n s t h a tt a k e a d v a n t a g e o f t h e m u l t i p l e c o r e s . T h elaer are called multithreaded applications,and are typically used f or processor-intensivet a s k s s u c h a s v i d e o e d i t i n g .

Multithreaded support has become beeri n r e c e n t y e a r s , w i t h a p p l i c a t i o n s a b l e t o u s ee i g h t c o r e s e a s i l y . E v e n i f y o u d o n ’ t r u n a l o tof these types of application, multiple coresa r e u s e f u l : y o u c a n r u n a v i r u s s c a n u s i n g o n e

c o r e , f o r e x a m p l e , w h i l e t h e o t h e r s a r e u s e df o r w e b b r o w s i n g a n d o t h e r t a s k s . A l l t h eprocessors we’ve reviewed here have at leasttwo cores, but quad-core, six-core andeight-core models are also here.

Some Intel processors use H yper-T hreadingtechnology, which doubles the number ofc o r e s a v a i l a b l e b y a d d i n g o n e l o g i c a l c o r e p e r

r e a l c o r e . V i r t u a l c o r e s h e l p s p e e d u pa p p l i c a t i o n s a n d l e t t h e p r o c e s s o r d o m o r e ,m a k i n g i t m o r e e ffi c i e n t , b u t t h e y ’ r e n o t a sg o o d a s r e a l p h y s i c a l c o r e s .

S o m e p r o c e s s o r s ( o u r t a b l e s o n p a g e s 9 2a n d 9 6 c o n fi r m w h i c h o n e s ) c a n a u t o m a t i c a l l yoverclock themselves when they’re coole n o u g h , g i v i n g y o u a f r e e s p e e d b o o s t . I n t e lcalls its technology T urbo Boost; AMD callsits version T urbo Core.

3 3 H E M 3 H I N E

All computers have system memory, which isu s e d t o s t o r e o p e n a p p l i c a t i o n s a n d d a t a .H o w e v e r , i t t e n d s t o b e r e l a t i v e l y s l o w ; t h a t i s ,t o o s l o w f o r a C P U . T h i s i s w h y p r o c e s s o r sh a v e c a c h e . L e v e l 1 ( L 1 ) c a c h e i s t h e f a s t e s ta n d s m a l l e s t , a n d e a c h c o r e h a s i t s o w n . L 2c a c h e i s a v a i l a b l e i n l a r g e r s i z e s a n d i s n ’ t a s

q u i c k a s L 1 . E a c h c o r e g e n e r a l l y h a s i t s o w n L 2cache, although some models share thisbetween multiple cores. Finally, L3 is thes l o w e s t t y p e o f c a c h e , b u t i s a v a i l a b l e i n m u c hbigger sizes. It’s shared between all cores.W h e n a c o r e n e e d s t o a c c e s s s o m e t h i n g f r o mm e m o r y , i t fi r s t c h e c k s t h e L 1 c a c h e , t h e n t h eL 2 c a c h e a n d t h e n t h e L 3 c a c h e , o n l y g o i n g t o

s y s t e m m e m o r y i f i t c a n ’ t fi n d w h a t i t w a n t s .T h e a m o u n t o f c a c h e , t h e r e f o r e , h a s asignificant impact on perf ormance, as itr e d u c e s t h e t i m e t h a t a p r o c e s s o r h a s t o w a i tf o r s y s t e m m e m o r y . T h e m o r e L 3 c a c h e y o uh a v e t h e b e e r , a s c o r e s o e n h a v e t o a c c e s st h e s a m e b i t o f m e m o r y , s o h a v i n g s h a r e dc a c h e h e l p s s p e e d u p a l l c o r e s .

S K Y L K E ’ S T H E L I M I T

Intel usually releases a new architecture ay e a r , b u t l a s t y e a r i t w a s s o l a t e w i t h t h eupdated Broadwell that these chips aren’tworth bothering with. Instead, the currentrange uses the new Sk ylak e architecture,w h i c h r e q u i r e a m o t h e r b o a r d w i t h t h e H 1 7 0 o rZ 1 7 0 c h i p s e t a n d t h e L G A 1 1 5 1 s o c k e t .

T he previous-generation H aswellp r o c e s s o r s fi t i n t o t h e L G A 1 1 5 0 s o c k e t a n d




w i l l w o r k w i t h a n y o f o u r r e c o m m e n d e d

L G A 1 5 0 m o t h e r b o a r d s t h i s m o n t h ; n o t e t h a t

s o m e o l d e r b o a r d s d o n ’ t s u p p o r t H a s w e l l , s o

c h e c k s p e c s c a r e f u l l y i f y o u ’ r e b u y i n g

s o m e t h i n g w e h a v e n ’ t l i s t e d .

W e ’ v e a l s o l i s t e d t h e D e v i l ’ s Cn y o n

p r o c e s s o r s , w h i c h a r e a n u p d a t e t o H a s w e l l

w i t h f a s t e r s p e e d s . T h e y ’ r e v e r y q u i c k , w h i c h

i s w h y w e ’ v e l i s t e d t h e m h e r e . T h e s e

p r o c e s s o r s u s e t h e L G A 1 5 0 s o c k e t , b u t

r e q u i r e t h e Z 9 7 o r H 9 7 m o t h e r b o a r d c h i p s .

H a s w e l l - E i s a l s o a v a i l a b l e , b u t w e h a v e n ’ t

r e v i e w e d t h e s e c h i p s a s t h e y ’ r e p o o r v a l u e

a n d r e q u i r e e x p e n s i v e m o t h e r b o a r d s w i t h t h e

L G A 0 1 1 s o c k e t . S i m p l y p u t , H a s w e l l - E i s f o r

h i g h - e n d e n t h u s i a s t s , b u t t h e y ’ r e a l i l e t o o

n i c h e f o r u s t o r e c o m m e n d n o w .

I t e l ’ s c h i p s a l l s h a r e s o m e c o m m o n

f e a t u r e s b a s e d o n t h e p r o d u c t n a m e : P e n t i u m ,

C r e i 3 , C r e i 5 o r C r e i 7 . P e n t i u m c h i p s a r e

d u a l - c o r e m o d e l s ; C r e i 3 a r e d u a l - c o r e w i t h

H y p e r - T h r e a d i n g ; Cr e i 5 a r e q u a d - c o r e a n d

h a v e T u r b o B o s t ; a n d C r e i 7 a r e q u a d - c o r e

w i t h H y p e r - T h r e a d i n g a n d T u r b o B o s t . I a l l

c a s e s l o o k o u t f o r c h i p s w i t h a ‘ K ’ i n t h e n a m e ,

a s t h e s e h a v e u n l o c k e d m u l t i p l i e r s , s o y o u c a n

o v e r c l o c k t h e m e a s i l y .

F i n a l l y , a l l I t e l c h i p s w e ’ v e r e v i e w e d h a v e

i n t e g r a t e d g r a p h i c s . T h e g r a p h o n t h e

o p p o s i t e p a g e s h o w s y o u h o w w e l l e a c h

g r a p h i c s c h i p s e t p e r f o r m s ; t h e s h o r t a n s w e r i s

t h a t i n t e g r a t e d g r a p h i c s a r e fi n e f o r o l d e r

t i t l e s , b u t i f y o u w a n t t o p l a y t h e l a t e s t g a m e s ,

y o u ’ l l n e e d a g r a p h i c s c a r d ( s e e p a g e 1 0 6 ) .

S P 2 . I L F X

AM D h a s n ’ t r e v a m p e d i t s p r o d u c t r a n g e a s

m u c h a s I t e l , b u t t h e r e a r e s t i l l a n u m b e r o f

g o o d - v a l u e o p t i o n s t o c h o o s e f r o m . AM D ’ s

p r o c e s s o r s a r e a v a i l a b l e r o u g h l y a s t w o t y p e s :

t h o s e w i t h g r a p h i c s a n d t h o s e w i t h o u t . T h e

l a e r a r e a l l F X c h i p s a n d a r e d e s i g n e d f o r

AM 3 + m o t h e r b o a r d s . C e a p e r F X c h i p s a r e

q u a d - c o r e , b u t t h e m o r e p o w e r f u l c h i p s h a v e

s i x o r e i g h t c o r e s . T h e c u r r e n t F X g e n e r a t i o n

i s k n o w n a s P i l e d r i v e a n d u s e s V i s h e r a c o r e s .

L o o k o u t f o r t h e s e , a s t h e y ’ r e s u p e r i o r t o t h e

e a r l i e r B l l d o z e r c h i p s w i t h t h e i r Z a m b e z i

c o r e s , w h i c h w e h a v e n ’ t r e v i e w e d .

F X c h i p s c a n ’ t m a t c h t h e f a s t e s t I t e l

p r o c e s s o r s f o r r a w p o w e r , b u t t h e y ’ r e a l o t

c h e a p e r a n d , p e r p o u n d , o u t s h i n e t h e i r r i v a l s .

T h e s i x - a n d e i g h t - c o r e m o d e l s a r e g r e a t c h i p s

f o r s e r i o u s c o m p u t i n g t a s k s .

F X p r o c e s s o r s h a v e u n l o c k e d m u l t i p l i e r s ,

s o y o u c a n o v e r c l o c k t h e m e a s i l y i f y o u ’ r e

f e e l i n g a d v e n t u r o u s a n d w a n t m o r e p o w e r .

Al t h e o t h e r AM D p r o c e s s o r s w e ’ v e t e s t e d

a r e c a l l e d A p l i c a t i o n P r o c e s s i n g U n i t s ( A U s ) ,

w h i c h m e a n s t h e y c o m b i n e g r a p h i c s w i t h a

p r o c e s s o r . T h e r e a r e t h r e e g e n e r a t i o n s o f

As e r i e s ( p r o c e s s o r s s t a r t i n g w i t h a n A A U

o n t h e m a r k e t . T r i n i t y a n d R i c h l a n d c a n b e

u s e d i n S o c k e t F M 2 m o t h e r b o a r d s , w h i l e t h e

n e w e r K a v e r i p r o c e s s o r s n e e d a n F M 2 + b o a r d .

As e r i e s c h i p s a r e n ’ t a s p o w e r f u l a s I t e l

c h i p s o r t h e F X r a n g e , b u t t h e i r i n t e g r a t e d

g r a p h i c s a r e v e r y g o o d . Al b u t t h e c h e a p e s t

p r o c e s s o r m a n a g e d o u r D i r t S h o w d o w n t e s t ,

p l a y i n g i t s m o o t h l y a t a 7 2 0 p r e s o l u t i o n . T h i s

m e a n s t h a t y o u c a n p l a y s o m e d e c e n t g a m e s

w i t h o u t h a v i n g t o b u y a g r a p h i c s c a r d , m a k i n g

As e r i e s p r o c e s s o r s b r i l l i a n t a l l - r o u n d e r s .

T h e s e c h i p s a r e e i t h e r d u a l - o r q u a d - c o r e .

F i n a l l y , t h e r e a r e t h e n e w e r F M 1 c h i p s ,

w h i c h a r e AM D ’ s b u d g e t o e r i n g . T h e s e

r e q u i r e a n F M 1 m o t h e r b o a r d . T h e s e c h i p s a r e

v e r y s l o w a n d t h e g r a p h i c s a r e o n l y r e a l l y

g o o d e n o u g h f o r p l a y i n g v i d e o . H o w e v e r , i f

y o u ’ r e l o o k i n g t o b u i l d a s m a l l c o m p u t e r f o r

l i g h t c o m p u t i n g t a s k s , t h e y ’ r e a g o o d o p t i o n .

IN PREVIOUS YEARS w e ’ v e r e v i e w e d R AM

k i t s , b u t w e f o u n d t h a t p e r f o r m a n c e w a s s o

s i m i l a r a c r o s s t h e b o a r d t h a t t h e o n l y r e a ld i e r e n c e s c a m e d o w n t o p r i c e a n d c a p a c i t y .

W e t h e r e f o r e d o n ’ t s e e t h e p o i n t i n r e v i e w i n g

R AM k i t s . I s t e a d , w e ’ l l g u i d e y o u t h r o u g h

c h o o s i n g t h e r i g h t R AM f o r y o u r s y s t e m .

P S T M 2 M O R I 2 S

D D R 3 i s b y f a r t h e m o s t c o m m o n t y p e o f

R AM a v a i l a b l e . I ’ s u s e d b y a l l AM D

p r o c e s s o r s a s w e l l a s I t e l H a s w e l l a n d D e v i l ’ s

C n y o n . H o w e v e r , i f y o u ’ r e b u i l d i n g a S k y l a k e

s y s t e m , y o u ’ l l n e e d t o u s e D D R 4 R AM . B f o r e

y o u b u y , c h e c k y o u r m o t h e r b o a r d ’ s s p e c s t o

fi n d o u t w h i c h m e m o r y i t r e q u i r e s , a s t h e t w o

s t a n d a r d s a r e n ’ t c o m p a t i b l e w i t h e a c h o t h e r . u r m o t h e r b o a r d g u i d e o n p a g e 1 0 0 c l e a r l y

l i s t s w h i c h t y p e o f R AM i s n e e d e d .

R AM c a n r u n a t d i e r e n t s p e e d s , w h i c h i s

u s u a l l y q u o t e d i n m e g a h e r t z , s u c h a s

1 , 3 3 3 M H z . H o w e v e r , R AM c a n a l s o b e s o l d

u s i n g a d i e r e n t n u m b e r i n g s y s t e m , w h i c h i s

e i g h t t i m e s h i g h e r t h a n t h e M H z s p e e d . F o r

e x a m p l e , 1 , 3 3 3 M H z D D R 3 i s a l s o s o l d a s

P C- 1 0 6 0 0 . T h e f a s t e r t h e M H z r a t i n g , t h e

f a s t e r t h e R AM , b u t i t m a y m a k e y o u r P C

o n l y a t i n y f r a c t i o n f a s t e r o v e r a l l : d o n ’ t

e x p e c t h u g e s p e e d i m p r o v e m e n t s f r o m

b u y i n g t h e f a s t e s t R AM y o u c a n fi n d .

Y o u r m o t h e r b o a r d s u p p o r t s a m a x i m u m

R AM s p e e d ; i n s t a l l a n y f a s t e r R AM a n d i t w i l l

s i m p l y r u n a t t h e s l o w e r s p e e d . F i n a l l y , y o u r

m o t h e r b o a r d m a y n o t r u n y o u r m e m o r y a t

t h e c o r r e c t s p e e d w h e n y o u fi r s t p l u g i t i n , s o

y o u s h o u l d e n a b l e t h e I t e l E x t r e m e M e m o r y

P r o fi l e ( X M P ) o r AM D M e m o r y P r o fi l e ( AM P )

i n y o u r m o t h e r b o a r d ’ s BI S o r U E F I t o u n l o c kt h e f a s t e r s p e e d s .

A c u r r e n t p r i c e s , D D R 3 1 , 8 6 6 M H z i s t h e

b e s t v a l u e a n d s u i t s e v e r y t h i n g f r o m

e n t r y - l e v e l t o h i g h - e n d c o m p u t e r s , r u n n i n g a t

1 , 6 0 0 M H z o n l o w e r - s p e c P CF o r D D R 4 ,

2 , 4 0 0 M H z i s t h e b e s t v a l u e , w h i l e 3 , 2 0 0 M H z

i s t h e b e s t c h o i c e f o r p e r f o r m a n c e .

F T 2 R 2 I G H T

Y o u n e e d t o k n o w h o w m u c h R AM y o u w a n t .

G e n e r a l l y s p e a k i n g , 8 G B i s i d e a l f o r a b u d g e t

s y s t e m . M i d - r a n g e o r h i g h - e n d u s e r s s h o u l d

o p t f o r 1 6 G B 3 2 G B w i l l b e o v e r k i l l f o r m o s t

p e o p l e . M o r e R AM w o n ’ t s p e e d u p y o u r P Cb u t i t m e a n s y o u c a n r u n m o r e a p p l i c a t i o n s

a n d o p e n b i g g e r fi l e s w i t h o u t a n y s l o w - d o w n .

I y o u p l a y l o t s o f g a m e s , e d i t v i d e o s o r r u n

l o a d s o f a p p l i c a t i o n s , y o u s h o u l d g o f o r 1 6 G B

M o s t m o t h e r b o a r d s s u p p o r t d u a l - c h a n n e l

m e m o r y , w h i c h m e a n s y o u i n s e r t m e m o r y i n

p a i r s . Y o u c a n b u y k i t s t h a t c o n t a i n t w o o r

f o u r s t i c k s o f R AM t o g e t y o u t o 8 G B 1 6 G B o rh i g h e r . F o r t h e m e m o r y s i z e s w e c u r r e n t l y

r e c o m m e n d , 2 x 4 G B ( 8 G B a n d 2 x 8 G B ( 1 6 G B

a r e g e n e r a l l y t h e b e s t o p t i o n s . C e c k p r i c e s

c a r e f u l l y , t h o u g h , a s w e ’ v e s e e n i n s t a n c e s

w h e r e b u y i n g t w o 8 G B k i t s ( f o u r s t i c k s o f

R AM ) w a s c h e a p e r t h a n o n e 1 6 G B k i t .

F i n a l l y , c h e c k t h e m a x i m u m a m o u n t o f R AM

y o u r m o t h e r b o a r d s u p p o r t s ( s e e t h e t a b l e s

o n p a g e s 1 0 2 - 1 0 5 ) a n d d o n ’ t g o o v e r t h i s l i m i t .

R 2 . O M M 2 N 3 T I O N S

F r o m l o n g e x p e r i e n c e , i t ’ s b e s t t o b u y b r a n d e d

R AM f r o m r e c o g n i s e d m a n u f a c t u r e r s . C r s a i r ,

Cu c i a l a n d K i n g s t o n a l l m a k e h i g h - q u a l i t yp r o d u c t s . B l o w a r e a f e w t o s t a r t w i t h .

3 3 R

P R O 3 U . T N M 2 P R T . O 3 2 S P 2 2 3 . P . I T Y P R I . 2 S U P P L 2 R

H y p e r X 8 G B1 , 8 6 6 M H z D D R 3 H X 3 1 8 C0 F R K 2 / 8 1 , 8 6 6 M H z 8 G B ( 2 x 4 G B £ 3 3 w w w . e b u y e r . c o m

H y p e r X Bu e F u r y S e r i e s1 6 G B 1 8 6 6 M H z

H X 3 1 8 C0 F K 2 / 1 6 1 , 8 6 6 M H z 1 6 G B ( 2 x 8 G B £ 6 4 w w w . e b u y e r . c o m

3 3 R

P R O 3 U . T N M 2 P R T . O 3 2 S P 2 2 3 . P . I T Y P R I . 2 S U P P L 2 R

C r s a i r V e n g e a n c e P X 8 G B3 , 2 0 0 M H z

CM K 8 G X 4 M 2 B 2 0 0 C6 R 3 , 2 0 0 M H z 8 G B ( 2 x 4 G B £ 6 6 w w w . e b u y e r . c o m

C r s a i r V e n g e a n c e P X 8 G B3 , 2 0 0 M H z x 2

CM K 8 G X 4 M 2 B 2 0 0 C6 R 3 , 2 0 0 M H z 1 6 G B ( 2 x 8 G Bk i t s a s a b o v e )

£ 1 3 2 w w w . e b u y e r . c o m

C r s a i r V e n g e a n c e P X 8 G B2 , 4 0 0 M H z

CM K 8 G X 4 M 2 A 4 0 0 C4 R 2 , 4 0 0 M H z 8 G B ( 2 x 4 G B £ 4 3 w w w . e b u y e r . c o m

C r s a i r V e n g e a n c e P X 1 6 G B2 , 4 0 0 M H z

CM K 1 6 G X 4 M 2 A 4 0 0 C4 R 2 , 4 0 0 M H z 1 6 G B ( 2 x 8 G B £ 7 8 w w w . e b u y e r . c o m

R A M R A I e m o r y

PROCESSORS/RAM

A

A






E IS S U E W IT H Intel’s Haswell processorsw as that they w eren’ t that much faster thanthe previ ous generati on. Intel l ooked to fix

that w i th i ts Devi l ’ s Canyon l i ne of CPUs.

R 0 H I T E 0 T U R E N

P E R F O R M N 0 E

Although the internal architecture of Devil’sCanyon CPUs i s the same as Hasw el lprocessors, Intel used a new thermal i nterfacemateri al . Thi s reduces the heat of the CPU,i ncreasing how far the cl ock speed can bepushed. Thi s i s parti cul arl y i mportant for the‘ K’ vari ety of the chi ps: w hen w e tested the4GHz Core i 7-4790 K, w e managed to push i tto 4. 7GHz usi ng the stock Intel cool er.

Turbo Boost technol ogy l ets the processoroverclock itself when there’s enough thermal

headroom w ith Devi l’ s Canyon, the chi ps canboost hi gher for l onger.

Usi ng Devi l ’ s Canyon requi res amotherboard w i th an Intel Z97 or H97 chi pset,al though the chi ps w i l l w ork on some 8-seri esmotherboards provi ded they have a BIO Supdate. Check your motherboardmanufacturer’s website for more details.

AF T E R B R AD W E L L W A late, Intel jumpedstraight to Skylake, it’s brand-newarchi tecture. As i t stands, Skyl ake i s the ranget h at m o st p e op le s h ou ld b u y, o e r in g t h ebest range and the fastest processors.

Skyl ake uses a 14nm fabri cati on process,w hi ch means chi ps run rel ati vel y cool and usel ess pow er than the Hasw el l equi val ents: j ust47W TDP for the l ow -end Penti um processors,r i s i n g t o 6 5 W f o r t h e l o c k e d C o r e i 5 a n d i 7processors. The unlocked and overclockable‘ K’ model s have a hi gh 91W TDP, as they’ redesi gned to del i ver the best performance.


P E R F O R M N 0 E

Skyl ake comes i n four versi ons. At the boomare the Penti um dual-core model s next comesthe l ow -cost Core i 3, w hi ch i s dual -core buthas Hyper-Threadi ng next are Core i 5 chi ps,w hi ch have four cores and Turbo Boost final l y,the Core i 7 has four cores, Hyper-Threadi ngand Turbo Boost. Intel has tw eaked the w ayTurbo Boost w orks, w i th the maxi mum boostchangi ng based on the number of cores bei ngused: a si ngl e core can be pushed hi gher thanfour cores together, for example.

O t h e r t h a n t h a t , t h e b a s i c s a r e t h e s a m e a sHasw el l , w i th 64KB of L1 and 256KB of L2cache per core, and betw een 3MB and 8MBof L3 shared cache, dependi ng on the model(see the tabl e on page 92 for detai l s).

I N T E L

Devil’sCanyon

I N T E L

Sk ylak e

O N 2 O R G R P H I 0 S

Devi l ’ s Canyon doesn’ t change the onboardgraphi cs, w i th al l the chi ps usi ng Intel HDGraphi cs 460 0 chi ps. Thi s i s fast enough forsome l i ght gami ng and vi deo pl ayback, butyou’ l l w ant to upgrade to a dedi catedgraphi cs card to pl ay the l atest ti tl es.

V E R I 0 T

Skyl ake has a sl i ght edge, but Devi l ’ s Canyonchi ps are fast and don’ t requi re DDR 4 R AM,

maki ng them a good choi ce for anyone w i thol d R AM they w ant to reuse. There are onl yfour model s of Devi l ’ s Canyon chi ps at themoment, w i th the Core i 7 range i ncredi bl y fastbut extremely expensive. The Core i5-4690K hi ts the sw eet spot betw een performance andpri ce, and i t’ s unl ocked so you can overcl ock i t. It w i ns a Best Buy aw ard.

It’ s the other parts of the processor w herethi ngs change. The on-chi p memory control l ernow supports DDR 4 memory, al though there’ sa DDR 3 controll er for the few motherboardst h at s u pp o rt i t m o st p e op le w il l n e e d t oupgrade to DDR 4. The ful l i ntegrated vol tageregul ator (FIVR ) i ntroduced w i th Hasw el l hasbeen removed, so overl cockers now have ful lvoltage control through their motherboard.To use Skylake you need a new motherboardthat supports the chi p: an LGA1151 socket andei ther a Z170 or H170 chi pset i s requi red.


M o s t o f t h e r a n g e h a s I n t e l H D G r a p h i c s 5 3 0chips, which is an improvement over Haswell’si ntegrated chi ps. The resul t i s that l i ght

E V I L S 0 N Y O N

M O E L F R E Q U E N 0 Y

( T U R 2 O )0 O R E S R T I N G P R I 0 E

2 E N 0 H M R K

S 0 O R E

C r e i 5 - 4 6 9 0 3 . 5G H z ( 3 .9 G Hz ) F ou r

£173 103

C r e i 5 - 4 6 9 0 K 3 . 5G H z ( 3 .9 G Hz ) F ou r

£189 103

C r e i 7 - 4 7 9 0 3. 6GHz (4GHz) F our p lus four l ogic a l (Hyper-Thread i ng)

£245 129

C r e i 7 - 4 7 9 0 K 4GHz (4.4GHz) F our p lus four logi c al (Hyp er- Threa d ing)

£ 269 143

E S T U Y

gaming is definitely a possibility withouthavi ng to buy an addi ti onal graphi cs card. O fcourse, medi a pl ayback i s compl etel y finew i thout a graphi cs card.

V E R I 0 T

If you w ant the best performance, theunl ocked Core i 7-670 0 K can’ t be beaten,al though i t i s qui te expensi ve. For mostpeopl e, the Core i 5-660 0 K w i l l do the j ob.Both w i n a Best Buy aw ard. If you’ re noti nterested i n overcl ocki ng, the Core i 5-650 0 i sgreat val ue and very qui ck. If you’ re l ooki ngfor a qui ck, l ow er-cost chi p, the Core i 3-6320i s great, w hi l e those on a ti ghter budgetshoul d go for the Penti um G450 0 . Al l of theseprocessors win a Recommended award.

S K Y L K E



2 E N 0 H M R K

S 0 O R E

P e n t i u m G 4 5 0 0 3.5GHz Two

£ 66 49

P e n t i u m G 4 5 2 0 3.6GHz Two

£74 50

C r e i 3 - 6 1 0 0 3.7GHz Two

£94 65

C r e i 3 - 6 3 0 0 3.8GHz Two

£117 67

C r e i 3 - 6 3 2 0 3.9GHz Two

£126 69

C r e i 5 - 6 4 0 0 2.7GHz (3.3GHz) Four

£ 147 87

C r e i 5 - 6 5 0 0 3.2GHz (3.6GHz) Four

£160 103

C r e i 5 - 6 6 0 0 3.3GHz (3.9GHz) Four

£177 107

C r e i 5 - 6 6 0 0 K 3.5GHz (3.9GHz) Four

£198 113

C r e i 7 - 6 7 0 0 3.4GHz (4GHz) Four

£ 263 131

C r e i 7 - 6 7 0 0 K 4GHz (4.2GHz) Four

£319 155E S T U Y

E S T U Y

R E O M M E N D E D

R E O M M E N D E D

R E O M M E N D E D

INTELPROCESSORS




INTELPROCESSORS

56

58

58

59

59

59

61

63

88

91

94

94

49

50

51

125

103

107

113

131

155

103

103

129

143

57

61

91

94

94

97

100

65

67

69

87

41

43

44

45

49

50

103

103

107

113

130

134

141

149

166

56

87

91

94

94

97

100

103

31

32

36

37

45

49

53

54

29

30

56

58

58

59

91

94

94

49

50

51

125

103

107

113

131

155

103

103

129

143

91

94

94

97

100

67

69

87

41

43

44

45

49

102

103

103

106

112

120

123

127

137

150

94

94

97

100

58

63

67

69

71

86

91

47

49

50

51

56

58

I N T E L Benchm ark s D P e r f o r m a n c e

O v e r a l li d e o M u l t i t a s k i n g

S k y l a k ea s w e l l D e v i l ’ s 2 a n y o n




H 8 SW E LL

RE0OM M E DED RE0OM M E D ED

I T EL I T EL I T EL I T EL I T EL I T EL I T EL I T EL I T EL

Pentium G 3420 Pentium G 3430 Pentium G 3450 Pentium G 3460 Core i3-4330 Core i3-4370 Core i5-4440 Core i5-4460 Core i5-4570

R a t i n g

S o c k e t LGA1150 LGA1150 LGA1150 LGA1150 LGA1150 LGA1150 LGA1150 LGA1150 LGA1150

C r e s Two Two Two Two Two plus two logical(Hyper-Threading)

Two plus two logical(Hyper-Threading)

Four Four Four

F r e q u e n c y ( T u r b o ) 3.2GHz (N/A) 3.3GHz (N/A) 3.4GHz (N/A) 3.5GHz (N/A) 3.5GHz (N/A) 3.8GHz (N/A) 3 .1 GH z ( 3. 3G Hz ) 3 .2 GH z ( 3.4 GH z) 3 .2 GH z ( 3. 6G Hz )

M u l t i p l i e r X32 X33 X34 X35 X35 X38 X31 X32 X32

x t e r n a l b u s 100MHz 100MHz 100MHz 100MHz 100MHz 100MHz 100MHz 100MHz 100MHz

P r o c e s s 22nm 22nm 22nm 22nm 22nm 22nm 22nm 22nm 22nm

L e v e l 1 c a c h e 2x 64KB 2x 64KB 2x 64KB 2x 64KB 2x 64KB 2x 64KB 4x 64KB 4x 64KB 4x 64KB


L e v e l 3 c a c h e 3MB 3MB 3MB 3MB 3MB 3MB 6MB 6MB 6MB

S u p p o r t e d m e m o r y

t y p e

DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3 DDR3

P o w e r r a t i n g ( T P ) 53W 53W 53W 53W 54W 54W 84W 84W 84W

I n t e g r a t e d g r a p h i c s HD Graphics HD Graphics HD Graphics HD Graphics HD Graphics 4600 HD Grap hics 4600 HD Graphics 4600 HD Graphics 4600 HD Graphics 4600

P r i c e i n c l u d i n g V A £54 £70 £66 £68 £116 £116 £148 £143 £159

S u p p l i e r w ww. eb uy er .c om w ww. cc lo nl in e. co m w ww. eb uy er .c om w ww.d ab s. co m w ww.d ab s. co m w ww. sc an .c o. uk w ww. eb uy er. co m w ww. sc an .c o. uk w ww. eb uy er .c o m

e t a i l s www.int el .co m www.inte l.c om www.inte l.c om www.inte l.c om www.i nte l.c om www.i nte l.c om www.i nte l.c om www.in te l.c om www.inte l.c om

P a r t c o d e B X8 06 46 G3 42 0 B X8 06 46 G3 43 0 B X8 06 46 G3 45 0 B X8 06 46 G3 46 0 B X8 06 46 I3 43 30 B X8 06 46 I3 43 70 B X8 06 46 I5 44 40 B X8 06 46 I5 44 60 B X8 06 46 I5 45 70

D EV I L’S 08 Y O SK Y L8 K E

BEST BU Y BEST BU Y RE0OM M E D ED


Core i5-4590 Core i5-4670 Core i7-4770 Core i5-4690 Core i5-4690K Core i7-4790 Core i7-4790K Pentium G 4500 Pentium G 4520

R a t i n g


C r e s Four Four Four plus four logical(Hyper-Threading)

Four Four Four plus four logical(Hyper-Threading)

F ou rplu s f ou r logical(Hyper-Threading)

Two Two

F r e q u e n c y ( T u r b o ) 3 .3 GH z ( 3. 7G Hz ) 3 .4 GH z ( 3.8 GH z) 3 .5 GH z ( 3. 9G Hz ) 3 .5 GH z ( 3. 9G Hz ) 3 .5 GH z ( 3. 9G Hz ) 3 .6 GH z ( 4G Hz ) 4 GH z ( 4.4 GH z) 3.5GHz (N/A) 3.6GHz (N/A)

M u l t i p l i e r X33 X34 X35 X35 X35 X36 X40 X35 X36







t y p e



I n t e g r a t e d g r a p h i c s H D G ra ph ic s 4 60 0 H D G ra ph ic s 4 60 0 H D G ra ph ic s 4 60 0 H D G ra ph ic s 4 60 0 H D G ra ph ic s 4 60 0 H D G ra ph ic s 4 60 0 H D G ra ph ic s 4 60 0 H D G ra ph ic s 5 30 H D G ra ph ic s 5 30


S u p p l i e r w ww. eb uy er .c om w ww. eb uy er .c o m w ww. eb uy er .c om w ww.e bu ye r. co m w ww.e bu ye r. co m w ww. eb uy er. co m w ww. sc an .c o. uk w ww. sc an .c o. uk w ww. sc an .c o. uk

e t a i l s www.int el .co m www.inte l.c om www.inte l.c om www.inte l.c om www.i nte l.c om www.i nte l.c om www.i nte l.c om www.in te l.c om www.inte l.co m

P a r t c o d e B X8 06 46 I5 45 90 B X8 06 46 I5 46 70 B X8 06 46 I7 47 70 B X8 06 46 I5 46 90 B X8 06 46 I5 46 90 K B X8 06 46 I7 47 90 B X8 06 46 I7 47 90 K B X8 06 62 G4 50 0 B X8 06 62 G4 52 0

RE0OM M E D ED RE0OM M E D ED BEST BU Y BEST BU Y


Core i3-6100 Core i3-6300 Core i3-6320 Core i5-6400 Core i5-6500 Core i5-6600 Core i5-6600K Core i7-6700 Core i7-6700K

R a t i n g


C r e s Two Two Two Four Four Four Four Four Four

F r e q u e n c y ( T u r b o ) 3 . 7GH z (N/A) 3.8GHz (N/A) 3.9GHz (N/A) 2 .7 GH z ( 3. 3G Hz ) 3 .2 GH z ( 3. 6G Hz ) 3 .3 GH z ( 3. 9G Hz ) 3 .5 GH z ( 3. 9G Hz ) 3 .4 GH z ( 4G Hz ) 4 GH z ( 4. 2G Hz )

M u l t i p l i e r X37 X38 X39 X27 X32 x33 x35 x34 x40







t y p e



I n t e g r a t e d g r a p h i c s HD G ra phi cs 530 HD G ra phi cs 530 HD G ra phic s 530 HD Gr ap hic s 530 HD G ra phic s 5 30 HD G ra phic s 5 30 HD G rap hic s 5 30 H D G rap hi cs 5 30 H D G ra phi cs 530


S u p p l i e r w ww. sc an .c o. uk w ww. sc an .c o. uk w ww. sc an .c o. uk w ww. sc an .c o. uk w ww. sc an .c o. uk w ww. sc an .c o. uk w ww. sc an .c o. uk w ww. sc an .c o. uk w ww. sc an .c o. uk

e t a i l s www.int el .co m www.inte l.c om www.inte l.c om www.inte l.c om www.i nte l.c om www.i nte l.c om www.i nte l.c om www.in te l.c om www.inte l.co m

P a r t c o d e B X8 06 62 I3 61 00 B X8 06 62 I3 63 00 B X8 06 62 I3 63 20 B X8 06 62 I5 64 00 B X8 06 62 I5 65 00 B X8 06 62 I5 66 00 B X8 06 62 I5 66 00 K B X8 06 62 I7 67 00 B X8 06 62 I7 67 00 K P r i c e s c o r r e c t a t t i m e o f g o i n g t o p r e s s

INTELPROCESSORS




AMD PROCESSORS

AM D ’ S AM 1 P R CE S S R S are desi gned forl ow -cost computers capabl e of si mpl e tasks.Pri ces are l ow : the top-end Athl on 5350 costs

l ess than £40 , maki ng i t an enti ci ng choi ce forthose l ooki ng to bui l d an everyday desktopPC. Al l the chi ps are i ncredi bl y frugal , rated at

j ust 25W TDP – a fracti on of the powerrequi red by the hi gh-end AM3+ chi p.

AMD has abandoned i ts usual cool ermount, creati ng a new one speci fical ly forAM1. Thi s i s l argel y because the ti ny chi psdon’ t need as much cool i ng, and the newdesi gn means i t’ s possi bl e to make smal l ermotherboards for smaller computers.

We’ re not i mpressed w i th the desi gn,though. It uses j ust tw o cl i ps di agonal l yo p po s it e e a c h o t he r t h ey d o n’ t m a k e t h ecool er feel as secure as Intel cool ers do, w hi ch

use four cl i ps. The i nstructi ons don’ t hel p,ei ther: don’ t try to push the enti re assembl yt h ro u gh t h e h o l es i n t h e b o ar d i n st e ad , p u s hthe cl i ps i n first, then the retai ni ng pi ns.Fortunatel y, once i n pl ace the stock cool er i sunobtrusi ve, smal l and i ts fan i s very qui et.

You’l l need a matchi ng AM1 motherboardt o g o w i t h t h e r a n g e . T h e s e a r e j u s t a s c h e a pas the processors, l ei ng you bui l d a verylow-cost computer. See our motherboardgui de on page 10 0 for more i nformati on.

W H I L E M S T F AMD’ s range has bui l t-i ngraphi cs chi ps, the AM3+ range doesn’ t havethi s capabi l i ty. That’ s no bad thi ng i f you’ rew i l l i n g t o b u y a g r a p h i c s c a r d , a s y o u g e t a l o tof pow er here for decent money. You can pi ck u p a n A M D H D 5 4 5 0 g r a p h i c s c a r d f o r a r o u n d£20 , so addi ng graphi cs i sn’ t expensi ve.


P E R F O R M N 0 E

AMD’ s FX-seri es use one or more modul es,e a c h o f w h i c h h a s t w o c o r e s a n d 2 M B o f l e v e l2 c a c h e . A l l t h e F X c h i p s w e t e s t e d h a v e 8 M Bof L3 cache apart from the FX-430 0 , w hi chhas 4MB. The modular approach i s i ntended toshare cache more efficiently, providing a largerp o o l o f L 2 c a c h e f o r e a c h p a i r o f c o r e s .

Power requirements vary wildly across theFX seri es, from 95W to a staggeri ng 220 W forthe l atest FX-90 0 0 seri es. In contrast, FM2+processors currentl y top-out at 10 0 W TDP.

Al l FX chi ps have unl ocked mul ti pl i ers, so aquick performance upgrade is potentially justa vi si t to the BIO S aw ay. Thi s i s not w i thout i tsri sks, though w e recommend boosti ng thespeed i n smal l i ncrements to ensure stabi l i ty.

The FX seri es goes up to ei ght cores. Youc a n i d e n ti fy h o w m a ny c o re s a n A M 3+ c h iphas by the number i n i ts name: the FX-430 0 i s

M

Sock et AM 1

M Sock et AM 3 +


P E R F O R M N 0 E

Currentl y onl y four processors use the AM1socket. Al l four are part of AMD’s Kabi ni fami l yand use i ts aguar 28nm mi croarchitecture,and al l have four cores apart from thecheapest Sempron 2650 , w hi ch has tw o.

It’ s common w i th modern processors fore a c h c o r e t o h a v e i t s o w n L 1 a n d L 2 c a c h e ,hel pi ng boost performance by reduci ng then u m b e r o f t i m e s a C P U h a s t o a c c e s s s l o wsystem R AM. Shared L3 cache si ts on top oft h is , f o r w he n d i e r en t c o r es h a v e t o a c c e ss

the same bi t of memory. Wi th the AM1 chi ps,there’ s no L3 cache and L2 cache i s shared.

AMD uses comparati vel y l ow cl ock speedsfor i ts chi ps: the fastest model , the Athl on5350 , has a cl ock speed of j ust 2. 0 5GHz. Thi sh a s a k no c k- o n e e c t o n p e r fo r ma n ce , a n dthe AM1 range i s the sl ow est w e’ ve evertested, particularly in our multitaskingbenchmarks. The chi ps cope w el l w i th si mpl e,everyday tasks, but you w oul dn’ t w ant to tryanything too complicated with them.

quad-core, FX-6350 is six-core and FX-8350 isei ght-core. The onl y outl i ers are the new l yreleased eight-core FX-9370 and FX-9590.

Windows applications increasingly takeadvantage of more than four cores, and ourtough 4K benchmarks tax every core to i tsl i mi t. If you’ re most i nterested i n appl i cati onperformance, AM3+ processors provide farbeer performance than FM2/FM2+ CPUs.

Even the cheapest FX-630 0 managed ascore of 73 i n our benchmarks, faster thaneven the qui ckest FM2+ socket processor.T he n um be r o f c o r es m ak es a d i e re nc e t operformance, with the eight-core processorsachieving by far the hi ghest scores i n our tests.

AMD FX chi ps use Turbo Core technol ogy,which automatically increases the clock speedwhen there’s enough thermal overhead.

Fi nal l y, model s that have an ‘ E’ i n the nameare low-power models, although they still havea 95W TDP rati ng, so aren’ t that effici ent.

V E R I 0 T

If you’ re prepared to add a graphi cs card, theAM3+ range gi ves you great performance forthe money. The FX-9370 and FX-9590,unsurprisingly, provide the best performance.The ei ght-core FX-9590 gi ves you the bestbal ance betw een performance and pri ce, andi t w i ns a Best Buy aw ard.

Further dow n the scal e, the FX-8350 i s onl ya l i l e sl ow er, but thi s ei ght-core model i s sti l lqui ck and excel l ent val ue. It w i ns a Best Buya w a r d . I f y o u w a n t a C P U f o r l e s s t h a n £ 1 0 0 ,i t’ s hard to beat the FX-630 0 . Thi s si x-coreprocessor wins a Recommended award.

M +



2 E N 0 H M R K

S 0 O R E

F X - 6 3 0 0 3.5GHz (4.1GHz) Six

£81 73

F X - 6 3 5 0 3.9GHz (4.2GHz) Six

£99 75

F X - 8 3 2 0 3.5GHz (4GHz) Eight

£114 85

F X - 8 3 2 0 3.2GHz (4GHz) Eight

£101 83

F X - 8 3 5 0 4GHz (4.2GHz) Eight

£137 98

F X - 8 3 7 0 4GHz (4.3GHz) Eight

£156 100

F X - 9 3 7 0 4.4GHz (4.7GHz) Eight

£161 109

F X - 9 5 9 0 4.7GHz (5GHz) Eight

£165 117

M

M O E L F R E Q U E N 0 Y 0 O R E S R T I N G P R I 0 E2 E N 0 H M R K

S 0 O R E

S e m p r o n 2 6 5 0 1.45GHz Two

£21 7

S e m p r o n 3 8 5 0 1.3GHz Four

£21 10

A h l o n 5 1 5 0 1.6GHz Four

£30 14

A h l o n 5 3 5 0 2.05GHz Four

£37 17


AMD has i ntegrated R adeon R 3 graphi cs i ntothe chi ps, w hi ch has 128 graphi cs cores. Thetw o Athl on processors’ graphi cs are cl ockeda t 6 0 0 M H z , w h i l e i t r u n s a t 4 5 0 M H z o n t h eSempron 3850 and 40 0 MHz on the 2650 .

You’l l need to keep your expectati ons i ncheck. Both Sempron processors fai l ed evento l oad Di rt Show dow n, w hi l e the Athl onc h ip s w e r e t o o s l o w t o p l a y i t a t o u r u s ua l1, 280 x720 resol uti on w i th 4x AA and Hi ghqual i ty sei ngs. The chi ps al so proved to be abol eneck w i th our di screte graphi cs card.

The i ntegrated graphi cs on al l chi ps are goodenough for Ful l HD vi deo, so these processorscan be useful i n a l ow -pow er medi a centre PC.

V E R I 0 T

It’ s hard to recommend any of the processorshere. They may be cheap, but they’ re verysl ow and feel l i ke a false economy. Unl ess youw ant to bui l d a very l ow -pow ered and qui etcomputer, the FM2+ range i s a much beerchoi ce and not a l ot more expensi ve.

R E O M M E N D E D

E S T U Y

E S T U Y






AMD PROCESSORS

8M D Benchm ark s v e r a l li d e o u l t i t a s k i n g

8M + FM + 8M

D Pe rformance

% 0 3

% 0 3

% 0

% % 3

% 3 0

% 3

% %

% 1

% . .

4

1 %

1

1

1

% 0 0

% 0 3

3 %

3 2

3 .

3

4

1

4

4

2 1

3 0

M M M

% 0

%

%

2

4

4

4

4

4

. 0

3

4

3

4

1

% 0 0

% 0 1

% %

M M

4

.

% .

4

4

4

4

. 4

0

1

2

1 %

% 0 3

% % %

M M M

% 0

%

2 2

2

3 %

4

44

4

. 0

. 2

. 2

%

2

1 0

% %

% % .

% 2 .

% 3 3




AMD PROCESSORS

S O C K E T M 1 S O C K E T M 3 +

M 3 M 3 M 3 M 3 M 3 M 3

Sem pron 26 5 0 Sem pron 3 85 0 At hlon 5 15 0 At hlon 5 3 5 0 FX-63 0 0 FX-6 3 5 0

R a t i n g

S o c k e t AM 1 AM 1 AM 1 AM 1 AM 3 + AM 3 +

C r e s T w o F o u r F o u r F o u r S i x S i x

F r e q u e n c y ( T u r b o ) 1 . 4 5 G H z ( / A 1 . 3 G H z ( / A 1 . 6 G H z ( / A 2 . 0 5 G H z ( / A 3 . 5 G H z ( 4 . 1 G H z ) 3 . 9 G H z ( 4 . 2 G H z )

M u l t i p l i e r x 1 4 . 5 x 1 3 x 1 6 x 2 0 . 5 1 7 . 5 x x 1 9 . 5

x t e r n a l b u s 1 0 0 M H z 1 0 0 M H z 1 0 0 M H z 1 0 0 M H z 2 0 0 M H z 2 0 0 M H z

P r o c e s s 2 8 n m 2 8 n m 2 8 n m 2 8 n m 3 2 n m 3 2 n m

L e v e l 1 c a c h e 4 x 3 2 K B 4 x 3 2 K B 4 x 3 2 K B 4 x 3 2 K B 3 x 6 4 K B 3 x 6 4 K B

L e v e l 2 c a c h e 2 M B 2 M B 2 M B 2 M B 3 x 2 M B 3 x 2 M B

L e v e l 3 c a c h e o n e o n e o n e o n e 8 M B 8 M B

S u p p o r t e d m e m o r y t y p e D D R 3 D D R 3 D D R 3 D D R 3 D D R 3 D D R 3

P o w e r r a t i n g ( T P ) 2 5 W 2 5 W 2 5 W 2 5 W 9 5 W 1 2 5 W

I n t e g r a t e d g r a p h i c s AM D R a d e o n R 3 AM D R a d e o n R 3 AM D R a d e o n R 3 AM D R a d e o n R 3 o n e o n e

P r i c e i n c l u d i n g V A £ 2 1 £ 2 1 £ 3 0 £ 3 7 £ 8 1 £ 9 9

S u p p l i e r w w w . s c a n . c o . u k w w w . s c a n . c o . u k w w w . s c a n . c o . u k w w w . s c a n . c o . u k w w w . s c a n . c o . u k w w w . s c a n . c o . u k

e t a i l s w w w . a m d . c o m w w w . a m d . c o m w w w . a m d . c o m w w w . a m d . c o m w w w . a m d . c o m w w w . a m d . c o m

P a r t c o d e S D 2 6 5 0 JAH M B X S D 2 6 5 0 JAH M B X AD 5 1 5 0 JAH M B X AD 5 3 5 0 JAH M B X F D 6 3 0 0 W M H K B X F D 6 3 5 0 F R H K B X

E S T U Y E S T U Y

M 3 M 3 M 3 M 3 M 3 M 3

FX-83 20 FX-83 20 E FX-83 5 0 FX-83 7 0 FX-93 70 FX-95 90

R a t i n g

S o c k e t AM 3 + AM 3 + AM 3 + AM 3 + AM 3 + AM 3 +

C r e s E i g h t E i g h t E i g h t E i g h t E i g h t E i g h t

F r e q u e n c y ( T u r b o ) 3 . 5 G H z ( 4 G H z ) 3 . 2 G H z ( 4 G H z ) 4 G H z ( 4 . 2 G H z ) 4 G H z ( 4 . 3 G H z ) 4 . 4 G H z ( 4 . 7 G H z ) 4 . 7 G H z ( 5 G H z )

M u l t i p l i e r x 1 7 . 5 x 1 6 x 2 0 x 2 0 x 2 2 x 2 3 . 5

x t e r n a l b u s 2 0 0 M H z 2 0 0 M H z 2 0 0 M H z 2 0 0 M H z 2 0 0 M H z 2 0 0 M H z

P r o c e s s 3 2 n m 3 2 n m 3 2 n m 3 2 n m 3 2 n m 3 2 n m

L e v e l 1 c a c h e 4 x 6 4 K B 4 x 6 4 K B 4 x 6 4 K B 4 x 6 4 K B 4 x 6 4 K B 4 x 6 4 K B

L e v e l 2 c a c h e 4 x 2 M B 4 x 2 M B 4 x 2 M B 4 x 2 M B 4 x 2 M B 4 x 2 M BL e v e l 3 c a c h e 8 M B 8 M B 8 M B 8 M B 8 M B 8 M B

S u p p o r t e d m e m o r y t y p e D D R 3 D D R 3 D D R 3 D D R 3 D D R 3 D D R 3

P o w e r r a t i n g ( T P ) 1 2 5 W 9 5 W 1 2 5 W 9 5 W 2 2 0 W 2 2 0 W

I n t e g r a t e d g r a p h i c s o n e o n e o n e o n e o n e o n e

P r i c e i n c l u d i n g V A £ 1 1 4 £ 1 0 1 £ 1 3 7 £ 1 5 6 £ 1 6 1 £ 1 6 5

S u p p l i e r w w w . s c a n . c o . u k w w w . s c a n . c o . u k w w w . s c a n . c o . u k w w w . s c a n . c o . u k w w w . e b u y e r . c o m w w w . e b u y e r . c o m

e t a i l s w w w . a m d . c o m w w w . a m d . c o m w w w . a m d . c o m w w w . a m d . c o m w w w . a m d . c o m w w w . a m d . c o m

P a r t c o d e F D 8 3 2 0 F R H K B X F D 8 3 2 E W M H K B X F D 8 3 5 0 F R H K B X F D 8 3 7 0 F R H K B X F D 9 3 7 0 F H H K W F F D 9 5 9 0 F H H K W F

S O C K E T F M 2 +

E S T U Y E S T U Y

M 3 M 3 M 3 M 3 M 3 M 3 M 3

A6 -740 0 K A8-7 60 0 A8-76 70 K A10 -77 0 0 K A10 -780 0 A10 -7 85 0 K A10 -7870 K

R a t i n g

S o c k e t F M 2 + F M 2 + F M 2 + F M 2 + F M 2 + F M 2 + F M 2 +

C r e s T w o F o u r F o u r F o u r F o u r F o u r F o u r

F r e q u e n c y ( T u r b o ) 3 . 5 G H z ( 3 . 9 G H z ) 3 . 1 G H z ( 3 . 8 G H z ) 3 . 6 G H z ( 3 . 9 G H z ) 3 . 4 G H z ( 3 . 8 G H z ) 3 . 5 G H z ( 3 . 9 G H z ) 3 . 7 G H z ( 4 G H z ) 3 . 9 G H z ( 4 . 1 G H z )

M u l t i p l i e r x 3 5 x 3 1 x 3 6 x 3 4 x 3 5 x 3 7 x 3 7

x t e r n a l b u s 1 0 0 M H z 1 0 0 M H z 1 0 0 M H z 1 0 0 M H z 1 0 0 M H z 1 0 0 M H z 1 0 0 M H z

P r o c e s s 2 8 n m 2 8 n m 2 8 n m 2 8 n m 2 8 n m 2 8 n m 2 8 n m

L e v e l 1 c a c h e 1 2 8 K B 2 5 6 K B 2 5 6 K B 2 5 6 K B 2 5 6 K B 2 5 6 K B 2 5 6 K B

L e v e l 2 c a c h e 2 x 5 1 2 K B 2 x 2 M B 2 x 2 M B 2 x 2 M B 2 x 2 M B 2 x 2 M B 2 x 2 M B

L e v e l 3 c a c h e o n e o n e o n e o n e o n e o n e o n e

S u p p o r t e d m e m o r y t y p e D D R 3 D D R 3 D D R 3 D D R 3 D D R 3 D D R 3 D D R 3

P o w e r r a t i n g ( T P ) 6 5 W 6 5 W 9 5 W 9 5 W 6 5 W 9 5 W 9 5 W

I n t e g r a t e d g r a p h i c s AM D R a d e o n R 5 AM D R a d e o n R 7 AM D R a d e o n R 7 AM D R a d e o n R 7 AM D R a d e o n R 7 AM D R a d e o n R 7 AM D R a d e o n R 7

P r i c e i n c l u d i n g V A £ 4 8 £ 6 7 £ 8 4 £ 9 2 £ 9 8 £ 1 0 0 £ 1 0 8

S u p p l i e r w w w . s c a n . c o . u k w w w . s c a n . c o . u k w w w . s c a n . c o . u k w w w . s c a n . c o . u k w w w . s c a n . c o . u k w w w . s c a n . c o . u k w w w . s c a n . c o . u k

e t a i l s w w w . a m d . c o m w w w . a m d . c o m w w w . a m d . c o m w w w . a m d . c o m w w w . a m d . c o m w w w . a m d . c o m w w w . a m d . c o m

P a r t c o d e AD 7 4 0 K Y B JAB X AD 7 6 0 0 Y B JAB X AD 7 6 7 K X B JCB X AD 7 7 0 K X B JAB X AD 7 8 0 0 Y B JAB X AD 7 8 5 K X B JAB X AD 7 8 7 K X D JCB X



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Y U R P CS CA E i s somethi ng you’ re goi ngto see al l the ti me, so i t’ s i mportant to makethe ri ght deci si on. The case al so defines thet y pe o f m o t h er bo a rd y ou c a n fi t , h o w b ig agraphi cs card you can buy and the number ofperi pheral s you can connect. Bui l d qual i ty i sal so extremel y i mportant, as a w el l -made casew i l l be qui eter and keep your PC cool er.

Thi s month w e’ ve l ooked at l ots of cases,but rather than bri ng you revi ew s of the poorones, w e’ ve di tched them. What’ s l e are casesthat are w el l made and durabl e, even the budgetones. Wi th our hel p, you’ l l be abl e to sel ect acase that matches your needs and budget.

L O K I N G G O O

You’re goi ng to be l ooki ng at your PC caseevery day, so you’ l l w ant to choose one that’ seasy on the eye and to your ow n taste. Cases

The re ’ no oint g o ing t o all he e ffor ofbu ildingy o u r o w n PC ify o u do n’ m ak e i lo o k nic e , o o .The e c a e w illg i e y o u lo o k and e rform anc e

can come i n al l manner of shapes and si zes,w hi c h c a n m e an t h e d i e r en c e b e tw ee n t h efini shed PC fii ng i nsi de a l i vi ng room AVc a b i n e t , o n t o p o f y o u r d e s k o r b e i n g s o b i g i tw i l l need to si t on the floor.

Cases come i n a vari ety of col ours andmateri al s as w el l as desi gns, and someti mes aparti cul ar model w i l l have numerous col ouropti ons, maki ng i t easi er to find one to yourl i k i n g . A P C i s a b i g i t e m , s o i t m a k e s s e n s e t ohave one you l i ke the l ook of. Bui l d materi al sand fini sh are al so i mportant. Some cheapercases aren’t always well finished inside,m ea ni ng e dg e s a r en ’t r ou nd ed o a nd a repotentially sharp, making working insidethem uncomfortabl e. A good-qual i ty PC casew i l l be w el l fini shed, easy to w ork i n, usequal i ty materi al s such as steel rather thanpl asti c, and al so l ook great.

S I Z E M T T E R S

The actual physi cal si ze of a case i sn’ t onl yi mportant i n terms of w here you can put i t,b ut i t a ls o a e c ts w h at c o m p on e nt s y o u c a nfi t i n s id e. M o th e rb o ar d s c o m e i n d i e r en tsi zes and w e’ ve revi ew ed cases that supportthe standard ATX and the smal l er mi croATX

motherboard si zes, as w el l as more speci al i stsi zes such as Mi ni -ITX. Al l ATX cases w i l l al sotake microATX and Mini-ITX boards, butmicroATX cases can only fit microATXmotherboards or smaller. All cases havemul ti pl e mounti ng poi nts for al l ki nds ofd i e r en t s i z es o f m o t he r bo a rd , b u t y o ushould always check the specificationsbefore you buy.

The i nternal si ze of a case w i l l al so l i mi tw hat graphi cs card or processor cool er youcan i nstall . In our revi ew s w e note how muchcl earance you have for a graphi cs card, asw el l a s h o w m uc h s p ac e i s l e a b o ve t h eprocessor for a cool er. Some graphi cs cardsare over 30 0 mm l ong and some cool ers aremore than 160 mm hi gh, so i f you’ re pl anni ngto fit some seri ousl y hi gh-speci ficati on ki t,make sure your case w i l l be bi g enough. A

A S E S T U I E SP c a e s




l a r g e , s p a c i o u s i n t e r i o r w i l l a l s o b e b e e r f o r

a i r fl o w , h e l p i n g t o k e e p y o u r c o m p o n e n t s

c o o l a n d r u n n i n g e ffi c i e n t l y .

3 R I V I N G F O R . 2

p t i c a l d i s c d r i v e s a r e i n c r e a s i n g l y l e s s

i m p o r t a n t i n c o m p u t i n g , s o m a n y P C a s e s

n o l o n g e r h a v e e x t e r n a l 5 ¼ i n d r i v e b a y s . I

y o u ’ r e p l a n n i n g o n i n s t a l l i n g s o w a r e f r o m

d i s c o r w a t c h i n g D V D s o r B u - r a y s o n y o u r

s y s t e m , m a k e s u r e y o u b u y a c a s e w i t h

e x t e r n a l d r i v e b a y s s o y o u d o n ’ t h a v e t o

r e l y o n a m e s s y e x t e r n a l U S B d r i v e .

W e m e n t i o n h o w m a n y e x t e r n a l d r i v e

b a y s e a c h c a s e h a s a n d h o w t h e y a r e

c o n fi g u r e d i n t h e r e v i e w s a n d i n t h e t a b l e

a b o v e . S o m e d r i v e b a y s c a n a l s o b e r e m o v e d

i f y o u d o n ’ t n e e d t h e m , f r e e i n g u p s p a c e f o r

b i g g e r g r a p h i c s c a r d s a n d i m p r o v i n g a i r fl o w .

A a i n , t h e t a b l e a b o v e e x p l a i n s a l l .

. O O L 1 R 2 2 Z 2

Al t h e c o m p o n e n t s y o u fi t i n s i d e y o u r s y s t e m

w i l l g e n e r a t e h e a t , w h e t h e r i t ’ s t h e p r o c e s s o r ,

m o t h e r b o a r d , g r a p h i c s c a r d o r h a r d d i s k s . I ’ s

d a n g e r o u s f o r t h e i n t e r n a l t e m p e r a t u r e i n

y o u r c a s e t o r e a c h h i g h l e v e l s , a s t h i s c a n

d a m a g e t h e s e n s i t i v e c o m p o n e n t s i n s i d e o r

c a u s e t h e m t o t h r o l e p e r f o r m a n c e i n o r d e r

t o k e e p t e m p e r a t u r e s u n d e r c o n t r o l . T h i s i s

w h y i t ’ s i m p o r t a n t t o c o n s i d e r h o w w e l l a c a s e

i s d e s i g n e d f o r c o o l i n g .

T y p i c a l l y a c a s e c o m e s w i t h a t l e a s t t w o

f a n s : o n e i n s t a l l e d i n t h e f r o n t o f t h e c a s e a s

a n a i r i n t a k e , a n d a n o t h e r i n t h e r e a r a s a n

e x h a u s t . T h i s w a y f r e s h a i r i s d r a w n i n t o t h e

s y s t e m a n d a c r o s s y o u r c o m p o n e n t s ,

r e m o v i n g t h e b u i l t - u p h e a t a n d e x p e l l i n g i t

t h r o u g h t h e b a c k o f t h e c a s e .

M o s t c a s e s h a v e m o u n t i n g p o i n t s f o r

a d d i t i o n a l f a n s i f y o u n e e d e x t r a c o o l i n g , a n d

m a n y a l s o s u p p o r t r a d i a t o r s f o r v e r y - h i g h -

p e r f o r m a n c e l i q u i d c o o l i n g s y s t e m s .

T h e s i z e o f f a n i s a l s o i m p o r t a n t . A a r g e

2 0 0 m m f a n w i l l b e a b l e t o m o v e m o r e a i r

w h i l e s p i n n i n g m o r e s l o w l y t h a n a s m a l l

8 0 m m f a n . T h i s m e a n s i t c a n d o t h e s a m e

c o o l i n g j o b w h i l e m a k i n g m u c h l e s s n o i s e .

1 2 S T 1 U Y

. O O L R M S T 2 R . O R S I R . O R S I R

Cosm os SE G raphit e 3 80 T Carbid e SeriesAir240

H R 3 W R 2

U S B p o r t s 2 0 0

U S B p o r t s 2 2 2

C s e t y p e A X M i n i - I X M i c r o A X

M o t h e r b o a r d c o m p a t i b i l i t y A X , m i c r o A X , M i n i - I X M i n i - I X M i c r o A X , M i n i - I X

F a n m o u n t s 3 x 1 2 0 / 1 4 0 m m , 4 x 1 2 0 m m 2 x 1 2 0 m m , 1 x 1 4 0 / 2 0 0 m m 2 x 8 0 m m , 7 x 1 2 0 m m

S u p p l i e d f a n s 1 x 1 4 0 m m , 3 x 1 2 0 m m 1 x 1 4 0 m m , 1 x 1 2 0 m m 3 x 1 2 0 m m

M a x 2 ½ i n d r i v e b a y s 1 8 2 3

M a x 3 ½ i n d r i v e b a y s 8 2 3

M a x 5 ¼ i n d r i v e b a y s 3 0 0

M a x g r a p h i c s c a r d l e n g t h 2 7 6 m m w i t h H D D b r a c k e t , 3 9 5 m m w i t h o u t 2 9 0 m m 2 9 0 m m

i m e n s i o n s 5 6 9 x 2 6 4 x 5 2 4 m m 3 5 6 x 2 9 2 x 3 9 3 m m 3 2 0 x 2 6 0 x 3 9 7 m m

W e i g h t 1 0 . 8 k g 5 . 5 k g 5 . 6 k g

1 U Y I N G I N F O R M T I O N

P r i c e i n c l u d i n g V A £ 1 5 0 £ 7 5 £ 7 8

W a r r a n t y T w o y e a r s R T B T w o y e a r s R T B T w o y e a r s R T B

S u p p l i e r w w w . e b u y e r . c o m w w w . s c a n . c o . u k w w w . c c l o n l i n e . c o m

e t a i l s w w w . c o o l e r m a s t e r . c o m w w w . c o r s a i r . c o m w w w . c o r s a i r . c o m

P a r t c o d e C S - 5 0 0 0 - K W 1 CC9 0 1 1 0 6 0 - W W CC9 0 1 1 0 7 0 - W W

V e r d i c t I y o u ’ r e b u i l d i n g a b e a s t o f a c o m p u t e r ,

t h i s i s t h e c a s e f o r y o u . I ’ s h u g e , b u t t h a t

m e a n s t h e r e ’ s p l e n t y o f r o o m i n s i d e f o r

e v e r y t h i n g t h a t y o u c o u l d e v e r p o s s i b l y

w a n t t o fi t .

T h i s m i n i a n d p o r t a b l e c a s e i s p e r f e c t i f

y o u ’ r e p l a n n i n g o n b u i l d i n g a M i n i - I X

P C T h e r e ’ s n o t a l o t o f r o o m i n s i d e , b u t

t h e P C i l l l o o k f a n t a s t i c w h e n y o u ’ v e

fi n i s h e d b u i l d i n g i t .

T h i s m i c r o A X c a s e i s e x t r e m e l y w e l l

m a d e . I ’ s c o m p a c t , b u t i t s c u b o i d d e s i g n

m e a n s t h e r e ’ s p l e n t y o f r o o m i n s i d e f o r a l l

y o u r c o m p o n e n t s . I ’ s a g r e a t m i d - r a n g e

c a s e a n d w i n s a B s t B y a w a r d .

PCCASES




PCCASES

RE0OM M E DED RE0OM M E DED

ZXT ZXT SI LVERST O E

Sou rce 3 40 Phant om 5 3 0 Qu iet Precision PS11

0 0 0

2 2 2

ATX ATX ATX

ATX, microATX, Mini-ITX ATX, microATX, Mini-ITX ATX, microATX

3 x 120 140mm, 1x 120mm 1x 200mm, 2x 140mm, 2x 120mm, 2x 200 140mm 2x 120mm, 2x 120 140mm

2x 120mm 1x 140mm, 1x 140mm 1x 120mm

2 6 2

3 6 3

0 3 2

3 3 4mm 3 1 0mm with HDD bracket, 444mm without 400mm

445x200x4 2mm 572x2 5x54 482x215x427mm

7 1kg 10 5kg 4 8kg

£ 5 £ 104 £ 3 5

Two years RTB Two years RTB One year RTB

wwwebuyerc om wwwk ik atek c om wwwscan c o u k

wwwn xt c om wwwn xtc om wwwsilverstonetek c om

CA-S 40W-B1 CA-PH5 0-W1 SST-PS11B-Q

This ca se is a great a ll-round er: it’ s well mad e, it hasa d ecent a mount of room insid e a nd it look s nea t,t oo I ts p ro bl em i s t ha t y ou c an g et c as es t ha t a rej ust a s well mad e for less, or b eer-looking ones

for a lile more

I f y o u wa nt a c as e t o s ho w o y ou r p owe rf ulnew comp uter, the Pha ntom 5 0 strikes the rightb alance I t’ s nea t, is a va ilab le in white, b la ck or red ,a nd the sid e wind ow lets you look in a t your tid y

b uild I t’s a grea t mid - to high-end op tion

Build ing a b ud get comp uter This is the p erfectcase for you Although it’s cheap, it’s surprisingly

well mad e a nd there’s p lenty of room insid e for a ll your comp onents The only rea l d ownside is tha t

it look s a lile p la in

ROU T E M 8 STERThe fans alone can’t deal with all t he build-up

o f h ea t i f y o ur s ys te m’s a ir o w i s p oo r T hi s i s

why proper cable routing is an import ant part

of a s ys tem build Without adequate routing,

a ir o w c an b e b lo cke d b y t he va ri ou s c ab le s

s t rewn around y our case, m eaning t he hot air

can’t be m ov ed efficiently out of t he s ys tem

This als o m eans fans have t o work harder and

spin faster, creating yet more noise

Many cases come with large v iewing

windows , s o y ou can s ee t he components

inside However, there’s nothing worse than a

large window s howing o a rat ’s nest of

c ab li ng A g oo d c as e wi ll o e n r ou te t he

c ab le s o ut o f t he wa y b eh in d t he

motherboard and provide cable ties and

ready-cut holes t o help y ou create a neat and

aract iv e build All t he m odels we’v e featured

this month have efficient cable routing

PORT 8U T H ORIT YHaving front- or top-mounted ports for

connecting your peripherals, such as USB

fl a sh d ri ve s, i s f a r m or e c on ve ni en t t ha n

having t o reach round and fum ble behind

y our s ys tem Mos t cases hav e front USB

port s, and all t he cases in t his m onth’s iss ue

h ave fa ste r U SB s oc ke ts T he se h ave to b e

connect ed t o t he relev ant headers on y our

motherboard, so you’ll need to make sure

y our board has t he neces sary headers

available Every case here als o has a front- or

top-mounted headphone and microphone

ack for connecting audio peripherals

POW ER PL8YNone of t he cases we’v e rev iewed comes with

a p owe r s up pl y u n it ( PS U . T hi s i s a rg ua bl y a

good t hing, as in our experience m any cheap

bundled PSUs hav e poor efficiency and can’t

deliver their rated waage

It’s important to pick a PSU with adequate

power for y our components a m odular PSU,

where unneeded cables can be detached, is

a ls o a g o od i de a fo r e ffic ie nt a ir o w a nd

general neat nes s For our recomm ended

P SU s, s ee p ag e 1 14

P r i c e s c o r r e c t a t t i m e o f g o i n g t o p r e s s



M OTH ERBOARDS

1 0 0 APRIL 20 16 |C M P U T R S H O P P R |ISSU E 3 3 8

CE Y U ’ V E CH S E the type ofprocessor you w ant, the next bi g choi ce tomake i s the motherboard i n w hi ch to i nstal li t . G e t t h e c h o i c e r i g h t a n d y o u ’ l l b e a b l e t oconnect al l the devi ces you w ant for yearst o c o m e g e t i t w r on g a n d y o u’ ll h a v e asub-standard build. Fortunately, we’re hereto hel p w i th our compl ete buyi ng gui de andour top recommendations.

A g ai n , w e’ re d o in g t h i ng s a b i t d i e r en t lythi s year. The range of processors avai l abl e,a n d t h e d i e r en t t y p es o f b o ar ds t h ey r e q ui r e,makes i t hard to fit al l the revi ew s i nto thi smagazi ne. Instead, w e’ ve tested new model s

A O V E O A R D

M o h e r b oa d sChoo ing t he rig h m o t he rbo ard c an be hard,

b u t o u r c o m le t e g u ide w illhe l y o u m ak et he rig h c hoic e foran y t y e of y t e m

and been through our archi ve of previ ousl yrevi ew ed products to find the top choi ces ata r a ng e o f d i e r en t p r i ce p o in t s. T h i s y e ar,w e’ re not pri nti ng any of the benchmark scores: al l motherboards of a set type usethe same chi psets, so performance onl yvari es by a percentage poi nt or tw o: i n otherw ords, i t’ s the processor that makes thed i e r en c e, n o t t h e m o t he r bo a rd .

What’ s real l y i mportant i s maki ng surethat your chosen model has al l the featuresyou’ l l need. O ur tabl es on pages 10 2-10 5 l i steverythi ng, so you can make the ri ghtdeci si on. Here’ s w hat el se to l ook out for.

M E M O R Y T E S T

DDR 3 has been the standard type of memoryused by al l processors for some ti me, andthat’s still largely true today. However, ifyou’ re pl anni ng on usi ng one of the l atestIntel Skylake processors in your system, you’llneed DDR 4 memory i nstead.

In al l cases, i t’ s i mportant to check thatyour motherboard has support for the

maxi mum amount of R AM that you w ant toi nstal l . A board w i th four R AM sl ots w i l l gi veyou more flexi bi l i ty i n terms of R AMconfigurati on and capaci ty than a board w i th

j ust tw o sl ots. In additi on, i f you opt for afour-slot board now, you’ll most likely haveroom for expansi on i n the future, too.

Most motherboards support dual-channelmemory, w here you eke a l i l e more speedo u t o f y o u r R A M w h e n y o u u s e t w o o r f o u rsti cks of memory. You’ l l need to consul t yourmotherboard’ s manual to ensure that you’ reusi ng the ri ght sl ots.

Fi nal l y, check the maxi mum speed of R AMthat your motherboard supports. By default,y o u r R A M w i l l r u n a t a l o w e r s p e e d u n t i l y o ugo i nto the BIO S and enabl e ei ther XMP(eXtreme Memory Profile, for Intel boards)or AMP (AMD Memory Profil e).




MOTH ERBOARDS

0 LO0 K I G OMost motherboards l et you adj ust the cl ock s p e e d s a n d v o l t a g e s o f t h e C P U a n d R A M t opush them further. Thi s shoul d be done w i thcauti on, as pushi ng components too far cancause damage. Whi l e w e haven’ t gone i ntoovercl ocki ng i n detai l here, our tabl es state i foverclocking is possible with a motherboard.

SIZE M 8TT ERSAl l the boards here fit i nto tw o form factors:ATX and microATX. ATX boards are larger,gi vi ng you more expansi on sl ots and a bi tm o re r o om t o w o r k o n m i cr o AT X b o a r ds a r esmal l er and general l y a l i l e cheaper. Makesure you buy a board that matches your case:an ATX motherboard needs an ATX case, as i tw il l n o t fi t i n a m i cr o AT X c a s e a m ic r oAT Xmotherboard w i l l fit i nto both case si zes.

STOR8GEAl l your storage, from hard di sks and SSDs toopti cal dri ves, needs to be connected to themotherboard via SATA cables. Look for SATA3ports (sometimes called SATA 6GB/s), ast h e s e l e t y o u g e t t h e m o s t f r o m a n S S D .

Some motherboards have an M. 2 port,w hi ch l ets you pl ug a smal l M. 2 SSD di rectl y

i nto the motherboard. As w el l as savi ng space,M. 2 i s faster than SATA. Some boards haveSATA Express ports for new PCI-Express-based SSDs. Al l these may be useful i f you’ rebuilding a super-fast top-of-the-range system,but the performance of SATA3 w i th a regul arSSD i s good enough for most peopl e.

Mechani cal hard di sks and opti cal dri vesdon’t benefit from the faster SATA standard,

so you can connect them to ol der SATA2ports, i f avai l abl e (they w i l l al so w ork w i thSATA3 if that’s all that’s available).

EXPRESS YOU RSELFPCI Express sl ots are the most common forexpansi on. The l arger x16 sl ots are forgraphi cs cards. Confusi ngl y, not al l x16 sl otsr u n a t x 1 6 s p e ed s i t’ s c o m mo n f o r o n e t o r u nat x4 or x8 speed. Al w ays use the fastest-r a te d s l o t f o r y ou r m a i n g r a ph i cs c a rd t h esl ow er sl ots are for runni ng mul ti pl e graphi cscards vi a Nvi di a SLI or AMD CrossFi re.

You’l l al so find x1 sl ots and, potenti al l y,some x4 sl ots for other expansi on cards, suchas a Wi -Fi card. Smal l er cards can be pl uggedi nto bi gger sl ots i f you’ re struggl i ng for room.Fi nal l y, i f you w ant to run some l egacy cards,l ook out for PCI sl ots.

SO0KETSIntel’s current s ocket s are L GA1150 ( for

H a swe l l a nd D ev il ’s C an yo n c h ip s a nd

L GA 11 51 ( S ky la ke . Yo u n ee d t o m atc h t he

p ro c es so r y ou b uy w it h t he t yp e o f

m otherboard y ou buy, as t he t wo s ocket saren’t compatible wit h each ot her

To make things more complicated, Intel’s

product ranges are all called C eleron,

Pe nt iu m, C or e i , C or e i 5 a nd C or e i 7,

r eg a rd le ss o f t he s o c ke t u se d I f i n d ou bt ,

y ou can us e a r k . i n t l . o m t o l o ok u p t he

exact s pecificat ions of y our proces sor t o

m ake s ure t hat y ou’re buying t he right

type of motherboard

0H IPSETSThere are ot her caveat s with Intel C PUs

Skylake requires any current LGA1151

motherboard using the Z170 chipset, with

H170 m otherboards coming s oon L GA1150

processors are a lile more complicatedFor Devil’s C any on, y ou generally need a

bo ard with an H 7 or Z 7 c hipse t o lde r

L GA1150 boards m ay not work, s o check

t he s pecs carefully Wit h Haswell chips y ou

can use H 7 a nd Z 7, but c an als o buy older

Z 87 a nd H 8 1 m ot he rb oa rd s a s w e ll T he s e

c an b e a b it c h ea pe r A ll t he L G A1 15 0

motherboards we’ve listed here support all

th e pro ce ss ors o n p ag es 8 - 0

SO0KETSOf t he AMD proces sors t hat we rev iewed,

t here are t hree t y pes of s ocket , each

incom pat ible wit h t he others They are

A M + , F M2 + a nd A M1 Fo rt un ate ly,

compatibility is eas y t o work out

W i th a n F M 2+ m ot he rb oa rd , y ou c a n fi t

any exis ting FM2+ proces sor, but y ou can

a ls o fi t o ld er F M 2 p ro c es s or s i f y ou h av e

o ne o f t ho se I n a s imi la r w ay, A M +

m ot he rb oa rd s w i ll t ak e A M + F X

p ro c es so rs , b ut y ou c a n a ls o fi t a n o ld er

A M p ro c es so r, s ho u ld y ou h av e on e yo u

want t o us e

Finally, AM1 is v ery s imple as t here’s j us t

t he one s et of proces sors t o choose from

Its advantage is that the motherboards and

processors are extremely cheap

0H IPSETSFM2+ has a range of chips ets available for

it , s t arting with t he cheapest A58 boards

( A M D r ec om me nd s A 4 a nd A 6 p ro c es so rs

a re u s e d w it h t hi s ; m ov in g u p, t he re ’s t h e

A 68 H ( A 4 an d A 6 r ec om me nd ed ; a bo ve

th is s its t he A 7 8 ( A 6 a n d A 8 a nd th e A8 8X

( A 8 a n d A 10 . T he to p- en d A 8 8X i sn’t t ha t

expens ive, s o check prices before y ou buy

A M + c hi ps h ave f ou r 9 - se ri es c hi ps et s

available: 9 70, 9 80G, 9 9 0X a nd 9 9 0FX We

t hi nk 9 7 0 b o a rd s s t ri ke t he b es t b al an c e

between value and performance

EED T O K OW In t e l ro c e o r

EED T O K OW AM D ro c e o r

GR8PH I0S OUT PU TSIf your CPU has i ntegrated graphi cs, l ook for a motherboard that has the graphi csoutputs you’ l l need. It’ s common to find amotherboard that has HDMI, DVI and VGAo u tp u ts H D M I c a n b e c o nv er te d t o D VI ( a ndvi ce versa) usi ng cheap adaptors i f you w antto run multiple monitors.

SOU DI G OFFAl l motherboards have audi o outputs through3. 5mm j acks, opti cal audi o (S/PDIF) or HDMI.If your board has onl y three 3. 5mm j acks, youcan output to 5. 1 surround sound systems,b u t y o u c a n ’ t c o n n e c t a n i n p u t , s u c h a s ami crophone, at the same ti me. The al ternati vei s a motherboard w i th si x 3. 5mm j acks, or youcan use a di gi tal S/PDIF or HDMI output.

PLU G 8 D PL8YAl l motherboards have USB connectors onthe back and have headers to connect theextra ports on your case. USB3 ports arefaster, but USB2 ports are fine for si mpl edevi ces, such as keyboards and mi ce. Weprefer havi ng l ots of USB3 headers, as i tmakes i t easi er to connect up USB3 ports atthe front of your case for fast external




2EST 2U Y RE0OM M E DED

8SRO0K 8SU S M SI

Fat al1t y Z17 0 G am ing K 4 Z17 0 -A Z17 0 A G am ing M 5

H 8RDW 8RE

P r o c e s s o r s o c k e t LGA1151 LGA1151 LGA1151

F o r m f a c t o r ATX ATX ATX

C i p s e t Z170 Z170 Z170

S u p p o r t e d m e m o r y t y p e DDR4 ( 3 ,866MH ) DDR4 ( 3 ,400MH ) DDR4 ( 3 ,600MH )

M e m o r y s l o t s 4 4 4

M a x i m u m m e m o r y 64GB 64GB 64GB

M o t h e r b o a r d p o w e r

c o n n e c t o r s

1x 24-pin ATX, 1x 8-pin 1 2V 1x 24-pin ATX, 1x 8-pin 1 2V 1x 24-pin ATX, 1x 8-pin 1 2V

P C - s l o t s 2 x P CI -E x1 6 ( o ne a t x1 6 s p ee d, o ne a t x4

speed , 3 x P CI- E x1

2x PC I- E x1 6 ( x1 6 s pe ed o r d ua l x 8 , 1 x

PC I- E x16 ( x4 s pe ed , 3 x PC I- E x1 , 1 x P CI

2x PC I- E x1 6 ( x1 6 s pe ed o r d ua l x 8 , 1 x

PC I- E x16 ( x4 s pe ed , 4 x P CI- E x1M o t h e r b o a r d f a n h e a d e r s 6 7 5

S A A p o r t s 6x S ATA , 2 x S ATA Express, 1 x M 2 6x S ATA , 1 x S ATA Express, 1 x M 2 6x S ATA , 2 x S ATA Express, 2 x M 2

W i r e d n e t w o r k p o r t s 1x Gigabit 1x Gigabit 1x Gigabit

M o t h e r b o a r d s o u n d ( p o r t s ) R ea lt ek H D Au di o ( 5 x 3 . 5 mm a na lo gu e,

optica l S PDI F

R ea lte k H D A ud io ( 5 x 3 . 5 mm a na lo gu e,

optical S PDI F

R ea lte k H D A ud io ( 5 x 3 . 5 mm a na lo gu e,

optica l S PDI F

U S B p o r t s 2x USB2, 5x USB , 1x USB Type-C 2x USB2, 4x USB 2x USB2, 6x USB

U S B h e a d e r s 2x USB2, 1x USB 2x USB2, 2x USB 2x USB2, 1x USB

V i d e o o u t p u t s DVI, HDMI DVI, VGA, HDMI, DisplayPort DVI, HDMI

O t h e r p o r t s 1x PS 2 1x PS 2 1x PS 2

2UYI G I FORM 8TIO

P r i c e i n c l u d i n g V A £ 107 £ 116 £ 1 3

W a r r a n t y One year RTB One year RTB One year RTB

S u p p l i e r wwweb uyercom wwwsca nco uk wwweb uyercom

e t a i l s wwwa srock com wwwa sus com wwwmsicom

P a r t c o d e Z170 Gaming K4 D Z170-A Z170A Gaming M5

VERDI0T

There aren’t really any budget

Skylake motherboards, but this one

is a s c lo se a s yo u c an g et Ple nt y

of expansion options and loads of

USB ports are great, but the s econdPCI-E x1 6 s lot run s at only x4 s peed

This motherboard has practically

everything, including lots of

expansion options, a legacy PCI

sl ot ( whi ch i s a ra rit y a nd a to ta l

of s ix U SB p ort s Fo r m os t p eo plebuildin g a Skylake PC, this is the

board to buy

This motherboard is a great choice

for anyon e wh o wants to u se the

latest technology: two M 2 slots

and two SATA Express slots are

great for future s torage n eedsHowever, you pay a chunk more

fo r t he p ri vi le ge a nd yo u c an g et a

similar range of features for less

I TEL M OTH ER2O8RDS

LG8

INTELMOTH ERBOARDS




INTELMOTH ERBOARDS

R 2 . O M M 2 N 3 2 3 1 2 S T 1 U Y

S R O . K S R O . K M S I

Z97 Ext rem e6 H 97 M Pro4 H 81M -E3 4

L G A1 5 0 L G A1 5 0 L G A1 5 0

A X M i c r o A X M i c r o A X

Z 9 7 H 9 7 H 8 1 E x p r e s s

D D R 3 ( 3 , 2 0 0 M H z C D D R 3 ( 1 , 6 0 0 M H z ) D D R 3 ( 1 , 6 0 0 M H z )

4 4 2

3 2 G B 3 2 G B 1 6 G B

1 x 2 4 - p i n A X , 1 x 8 - p i n 1 2 V 1 x 2 4 - p i n A X , 1 x 8 - p i n 1 2 V 1 x 2 4 - p i n A X , 1 x 4 - p i n 1 2 V

2 x P CI E x 1 6 , 1 x P CI E x 1 6 ( x 4 s p e e d ) , 2 x P CI E x 1 2 x P CI E x 1 6 ( o n e r u n s a t x 4 s p e e d ) , 2 x P CI 1 x P CI E x 1 6 , 2 x P CI E x 1

6 5 3

1 0 x S AA ( t w o o p e r a t e a s S AAE x p r e s s ) , 1 x M . 2 6 x S AA 2 x S AA , 2 x S AA

2 x G i g a b i t 1 x G i g a b i t 1 x G i g a b i t

R e a l t e k H D A d i o ( 6 x 3 . 5 m m a n a l o g u e , o p t i c a l

S / P D IF )

R e a l t e k H D A d i o ( 5 x 3 . 5 m m a n a l o g u e ) R e a l t e k H D A d i o ( 3 x 3 . 5 m m a n a l o g u e )

6 x U S B 2 x U S B , 4 x U S B 2 x U S B , 4 x U S B

4 x U S B , 4 x U S B 2 x U S B , 1 x U S B 1 x U S B , 2 x U S B

D V I H D M I D i s p l a y P o r t D V I V G A H D M I D V I V G A H D M I

1 x P S / 2 1 x P S / 2 o n e

£ 1 3 4 £ 7 1 £ 4 5

n e y e a r R T B n e y e a r R T B n e y e a r R T B

w w w . e b u y e r . c o m w w w . c c l o n l i n e . c o m w w w . b o x . c o . u k

w w w . a s r o c k . c o m w w w . a s r o c k . c o m w w w . m s i . c o m

9 0 - M X G T E 0 - A U A 1 Z 9 0 - M X G T A - A U A Z H 8 1 M - E 3 4

I y o u w a n t t o b u i l d a p o w e r f u l L G A1 5 0

s y s t e m , t h i s i s t h e m o t h e r b o a r d f o r y o u .

I ’ s g o t l o t s o f e x p a n s i o n o p t i o n s a n d a n

M . 2 i n t e r f a c e f o r s u p e r - f a s t S S D s t o r a g e .

T h e d o w n s i d e i s t h a t y o u p a y a h e yp r e m i u m f o r t h e s e f e a t u r e s ; i f y o u d o n ’ t

n e e d t h e m , y o u c a n s a v e a r o u n d £ 6 0 o n a

c h e a p e r b o a r d .

F o r a m i d - r a n g e L G A1 5 0 b u i l d , t h i s

m o t h e r b o a r d i s h a r d t o b e a t . I ’ s g o t a l l

t h e s o c k e t s a n d p o r t s y o u c o u l d n e e d a n d

s u p p o r t s t h e f u l l r a n g e o f H a s w e l l a n d

D e v i l ’ s Cn y o n p r o c e s s o r s . T h e s e c o n dP CI E x 1 6 s l o t r u n s a t o n l y x 4 s p e e d , b u t

i s u s e f u l f o r o t h e r e x p a n s i o n c a r d s , r a t h e r

t h a n a s e c o n d g r a p h i c s c a r d .

T h i s m o t h e r b o a r d i s a l i l e l i g h t o n

e x p a n s i o n a n d f e a t u r e s , b u t i t s u p p o r t s

a l l L G A 1 5 0 p r o c e s s o r s , i n c l u d i n g D e v i l ’ s

Cn y o n m o d e l s . I y o u w a n t a s m a l l a n d

c h e a p m o t h e r b o a r d f o r a n e w P Ct h e n i t ’ sa g r e a t b u y .

L




RE0OM M E DED RE0OM M E DED

M SI GI G82Y T E GI G82Y T E

AM 1M G A-F2A6 8H M -H D2 G A-F2A88XN-W IFI

H ardw are

P r o c e s s o r s o c k e t AM1 FM2+ FM2+

F o r m f a c t o r MicroATX MicroATX Mini-ITX

C i p s e t AM1 A68H A88X

S u p p o r t e d m e m o r y t y p e DDR ( 1,600MH ) DDR ( 2,1 3 MH ) DDR ( 2,1 3 MH )

M e m o r y s l o t s 2 2 2

M a x i m u m m e m o r y 3 2GB 64GB 64GB

M o t h e r b o a r d p o w e r

c o n n e c t o r s

1x 24-pin ATX, 1x 4-pin 1 2V 1x 24-pin ATX, 1x 8-pin 1 2V 1x 24-pin ATX, 1x 4-pin 1 2V

P C - s l o t s 1x PCI-E x16, 1x PCI-E x1 1x PCI-E x16, 1x PCI-E x1, 1x PCI 1x PCI-E x16

M o t h e r b o a r d f a n h e a d e r s 3 3 2

S A A p o r t s 2x SATA 4x SATA 4x SATA

W i r e d n e t w o r k p o r t s 1x Gigabit 1x Gigabit 1x Gigabit

M o t h e r b o a r d s o u n d ( p o r t s ) Realtek H D Audio ( 3 x 3 . 5mm analogue Realtek H D Audio ( 3 x 3 . 5mm analogue Realtek H D Audio ( 5x 3 . 5mm analogue,

o pt ic al S PD IF

U S B p o r t s 4x USB2, 2x USB 4x USB2, 2x USB 4x USB2, 2x USB

U S B h e a d e r s 4x USB2, 2x USB 4x USB2 2x USB2, 2x USB

V i d e o o u t p u t s DVI, VGA, HDMI DVI, VGA, HDMI DVI, 2x HDMI

O t h e r p o r t s 2x PS 2 1x PS 2 Mini PCI-E ( 801 11ac Wi-Fi

2uy ing information

P r i c e i n c l u d i n g V A £ 25 £ 42 £ 84

W a r r a n t y One year RTB One year RTB One year RTB

S u p p l i e r wwweb uyercom wwweb uyercom wwweb uyercom

e t a i l s wwwmsicom wwwgigab ytecom wwwgigab ytecom

P a r t c o d e 9 11-7865-005 GA-F2A68HM-HD2 GA-F2A88XN-WIFI

Ve rdict

AM1 hasn’t taken over the

world and there aren’t a lot of

motherboards, but this MSI modelis comparatively cheap and has all

the expansion options you need

for a good budget compu ter

If you ’re looking to build a budget

FM2+ computer, this is the

motherboard to buy It’s excellent value and h as lots of expan sion

options The down side is that

t he re ’s n o U SB h ea de r

I f yo u wa nt to b ui ld a ve ry s ma ll

PC, this Mini-ITX board could be

j u st wh at you ’re looking for It’srather compact, but there are

plenty of USB ports and h eaders ,

and you get built-in Wi-Fi, too

8M D M OTH ER2O8RDS

8M FM +

AMD MOTH ERBOARDS




1 2 S T 1 U Y 1 2 S T 1 U Y

S U S M S I G I G 1 Y T 2

A88XM -Plu s 970 A-G 43 G A-990 FXA-U D3

F M 2 + AM 3 + AM 3 +

M i c r o A X A X A X

A 8 X 9 7 0 9 9 0 F X

D D R 3 ( 2 , 1 3 3 M H z ) D D R 3 ( 2 , 1 3 3 M H z ) D D R 3 ( 2 , 1 3 3 M H z )

4 4 4

6 4 G B 3 2 G B 3 2 G B

1 x 2 4 - p i n A X , 1 x 4 - p i n 1 2 V 1 x 2 4 - p i n A X , 1 x 8 - p i n 1 2 V 1 x 2 4 - p i n A X , 1 x 8 - p i n 1 2 V

2 x P CI E x 1 6 ( o n e r u n s a t x 4 ) , 1 x P CI x 1 , 1 x P CI 2 x P CI E x 1 6 ( o n e r u n s a t x 4 ) , 2 x P CI E x 1 , 2 x P CI 4 x P CI E x 1 6 ( t w o a t x 1 6 , t w o a t x 4 ) , 2 x P CI E x 1 ,

1 x P CI

3 3 4

8 x S AA 6 x S AA 6 x S AA

1 x G i g a b i t 1 x G i g a b i t 1 x G i g a b i t

R e a l t e k H D A d i o ( 3 x 3 . 5 m m a n a l o g u e ) R e a l t e k H D A d i o ( 6 x 3 . 5 m m a n a l o g u e , o p t i c a l

S / P D IF )

R e a l t e k H D A d i o ( 6 x 3 . 5 m m a n a l o g u e , o p t i c a l

S / P D IF )



D V I V G A H D M I o n e o n e

2 x P S / 2 1 x P S / 2 1 x P S / 2

£ 6 0 £ 5 1 £ 1 0 9

n e y e a r R T B n e y e a r R T B n e y e a r R T B

w w w . d a b s . c o m w w w . b o x . c o . u k w w w . a m a z o n . c o . u k

w w w . a s u s . c o m w w w . m s i . c o m w w w . g i g a b y t e . c o m

A 8 X M - P l u s 9 7 0 AG 4 3 G A9 9 0 F X AU D 3

F o r m o s t p e o p l e b u i l d i n g w i t h F M 2 + , t h i s i s

t h e m o t h e r b o a r d t o b u y . I ’ s w e l l - s p e c i fi e d ,

h a s p l e n t y o f e x p a n s i o n o p t i o n s a n d i se x c e l l e n t v a l u e . A l o w e r s e c o n d P CI E x 1 6

s l o t m a y p u t o g a m e r s .

I y o u ’ r e l o o k i n g f o r v a l u e i n y o u r AM 3 +

b u i l d , l o o k n o f u r t h e r . W i t h l o t s o f e x p a n s i o n

o p t i o n s a n d p l e n t y o f U S B p o r t s , t h i sm o t h e r b o a r d t i c k s a l l o f t h e r i g h t b o x e s .

L o o k o u t f o r t h e s e c o n d P CI E x 1 6 s l o t ,

w h i c h r u n s a t o n l y x 4 s p e e d , t h o u g h .

I y o u w a n t a p o w e r f u l AM 3 + s y s t e m , t h i s

i s t h e r i g h t m o t h e r b o a r d f o r y o u . I ’ s g o t

l o t s o f e x p a n s i o n s l o t s , i n c l u d i n g t w o f u l l -s p e e d P CI E x 1 6 s l o t s . T h e b i g d o w n s i d e i s

t h e p r i c e , w i t h n o n - g a m e r s a b l e t o b u y a

m o t h e r b o a r d f o r a l o t l e s s .

AMD MOTH ERBOARDS

M +




AL T H U G H M S T P R CE S S R S n o w h av egraphi c chi ps bui l t i n, the si mpl e fact i s thatthey’ re not good enough to cope w i th today’ sgraphically intense games: they’re designedfor l i ght gami ng and for pow eri ng vi deo and2D di spl ays. If you w ant more graphi calprow ess from your PC, you’ l l need adedicated graphics card.

T h e b i g i s s u e i s t h a t t h e r e a r e l o t s o fd i e r en t m o d el s t o c h o os e f r o m, w i thmanufacturers seemingly filling in every pricepoi nt gap. It real l y i sn’ t hel pful and makeschoosi ng the ri ght model very di fficul t. Thi smonth, we’ve benchmarked every major

O N T A I N S G R A P H I

S E N E S

r a h i c s c a d sIfyou w ant t ot u rn you rnew com pu t erint oa pow erfu l gam es m achine,

you ’ll need a graph ics card t hat ’s capable ofd isplaying t he lat est t it lesin t heirfu ll glory.H ere’s w hat t olook ou t for

adj ustments to the card, such as overcl ocki ngi t, b u t i t r a re l y m ak es a b i g d i e r en c e. I n s te a d,y ou ’r e b e st o c ho os in g t h e t yp e a n d m o de lo f t h e g r a p h i c s c h i p , s u c h a s a n A M D R a d e o nR 8 3 7 0 , a n d t h e n fi n d i n g t h e b e s t d e a l o n t h a tcard. Thi s means that the real choi ce i s onebetw een Nvi di a and AMD.

T E M G R E E N

Nvi di a typi cal l y ai ms i ts cards at the hi gh end,w ith few mi d-range or entry-l evel cardsavai l abl e. If you demand the peak ofperformance from the most effici ent cards,then Nvi di a i s your fri end.

graphi cs chi p to w ork out the best hi gh-end,mi d-range and entry-l evel cards. O ver thepage, you can see our test resul ts and ouri n-depth tabl e w i th recommendati ons, so youknow w hi ch card to buy for your budget andneeds. Before w e di ve i nto that, though, here’ severythi ng that you need to know .

3 R 0 S O N T H E T 6 L E

Al though graphi cs cards are manufactured bythi rd-party vendors, such as Sapphi re andAsus, the actual graphi cs chi ps are made byNvi di a and AMD. Each thi rd-partymanufacturer i s free to make some




GRAPH ICS CARDS

Al v i d i a c a r d s s u p p o r t t h e P h y s X

h a r d w a r e - a c c e l e r a t e d p h y s i c s t e c h n o l o g y ,

a l t h o u g h f e w g a m e s a c t u a l l y s u p p o r t i t , a s

AM D c a n ’ t u s e t h e t e c h n o l o g y . A a r e s u l t ,

g a m e s d e v e l o p e r s w o n ’ t i m p l e m e n t a n

e x c l u s i v e t e c h n o l o g y .

M u l t i - F r a m e S a m p l e d A t i - Ai a s i n g

( M F AA u s e s a n v i d i a c a r d ’ s h a r d w a r e t o

p r o v i d e h i g h - q u a l i t y a n t i - a l i a s i n g , s m o o t h i n g

o j a g g e d e d g e s i n g a m e s w i t h o u t a b i g

p e r f o r m a n c e h i t ( s e e b o x , r i g h t ) . D y n a m i c

S u p e r - R e s o l u t i o n ( D S R ) r e n d e r s g a m e s a t a

h i g h e r r e s o l u t i o n t h a n y o u r m o n i t o r c a n

s u p p o r t , b e f o r e s c a l i n g t h e g r a p h i c s d o w n , i n

e e c t a d d i n g s u p p o r t f o r S u p e r S a m p l i n g

A t i - Ai a s i n g ( S S AA s e e b o x ) i n a l l g a m e s .

T h i s i m p r o v e s t h e l o o k o f g a m e s .

R 2 3 3 W N

AM D h a s s o m e o f t h e b e s t - v a l u e g r a p h i c s

c a r d s a r o u n d , t h o u g h i t h a s r e c e n t l y d r o p p e d

t h e 2 x x s e r i e s o f c a r d s , s o s o m e o f t h e b i g g e s t

b a r g a i n s a r e n o l o n g e r a v a i l a b l e . E v e n s o , i t s

3 x x s e r i e s i s r a t h e r g o o d f o r t h e m i d - r a n g e .

A w i t h v i d i a , AM D h a s i t s o w n r a n g e o f

p r o p r i e t a r y t e c h n o l o g i e s t h a t a p p e a r i n a w i d e

s e l e c t i o n o f g a m e s . T h e M a n t l e r e n d e r i n g

e n g i n e i s u s e d t o p r o v i d e a p e r f o r m a n c e

b o o s t o v e r D i r e c t X , w h i l e t h e T r e s s F X h a i r

s i m u l a t i o n i n T o m b R a i d e r w a s o p t i m i s e d f o r

AM D h a r d w a r e . A a i n , p r o p r i e t a r y

t e c h n o l o g i e s a r e n ’ t t h a t w e l l s u p p o r t e d , a s

g a m e s m a n u f a c t u r e r s d o n ’ t w a n t t o a l i e n a t e

p e o p l e w i t h d i e r e n t g r a p h i c s c a r d s .

AM D h a s i t s o w n s u p e r s c a l i n g t e c h n o l o g y ,

c a l l e d V i r t u a l S u p e r R e s o l u t i o n ( V S R ) . T h i s

r e n d e r s g a m e s a t a h i g h e r r e s o l u t i o n t h a ny o u r m o n i t o r s u p p o r t s , d o w n s c a l i n g t h e m t o

fi t , f o r h i g h l y a c c u r a t e a n t i - a l i a s i n g .

P O W 2 R U P

Y o u n e e d t o m a k e s u r e t h a t y o u h a v e a

p o w e r s u p p l y t h a t c a n h a n d l e y o u r g r a p h i c s

c a r d . T h e b e s t w a y i s t o u s e t h e p o w e r

r e q u i r e m e n t s c a l c u l a t o r a t o u t e r v i s i o n . o m /

p o w e r - s u p p l y - al u l a t o r . T h i s s i t e w i l l t e l l y o u

t h e p o w e r r a t i n g ( i n w a s ) o f t h e P S U y o u ’ l l

n e e d f o r y o u r p a r t i c u l a r c o m p u t e r .

P CI E x p r e s s s l o t s d o n ’ t p r o v i d e e n o u g h

p o w e r f o r g r a p h i c s c a r d s , s o y o u h a v e t o

p r o v i d e a d d i t i o n a l p o w e r f r o m y o u r P S U .M o s t o f t h e c a r d s w e ’ v e t e s t e d r e q u i r e o n e

s i x - p i n P CI E p o w e r c o n n e c t o r ; h i g h - e n d c a r d s

n e e d o n e e i g h t - p i n a n d o n e s i x - p i n , o r e v e n

t w o e i g h t - p i n c o n n e c t o r s . Y o u c a n u s e o u r

t a b l e o v e r t h e p a g e t o m a k e s u r e t h a t y o u r

P S U h a s t h e r i g h t c o n n e c t o r s . I y o u n e e d a

n e w P S U , s e e p a g e s 1 1 4 t o 1 1 7 .

G r a p h i c s c a r d s v a r y g r e a t l y i n l e n g t h a n d

h e i g h t , d e p e n d i n g o n h o w b i g t h e a c t u a l G P U

i s , t h e s i z e o f t h e c o o l i n g s y s t e m a n d t h e

n u m b e r o f p o r t s o n t h e b a c k o f t h e c a r d . u r

P C a s e r e v i e w s s t a r t i n g o n p a g e 9 7 s t a t e h o w

m u c h r o o m i s a v a i l a b l e i n s i d e f o r g r a p h i c s

c a r d s . Y o u m a y n e e d t o r e m o v e o n e o f t h ec a s e ’ s h a r d d i s k d r i v e c a g e s i n o r d e r t o fi t v e r y

l o n g c a r d s . o t e v e r y c a r d w i l l fi t i n e v e r y

c a s e , p a r t i c u l a r l y i f y o u h a v e a m i c r o A X o r

M i n i - I X c h a s s i s , s o i t ’ s i m p o r t a n t t o c h e c k

b e f o r e b u y i n g . u r s p e c i fi c a t i o n s t a b l e s h o w s

t h e l e n g t h o f e a c h g r a p h i c s c a r d w e ’ v e t e s t e d .

I c a n b e h a r d e r t o fi n d o u t a g r a p h i c s

c a r d ’ s w i d t h , w h i c h c a n b e a n i s s u e i n

M i n i - I X a n d h o m e t h e a t r e c a s e s . Y o u ’ l l a l s o

n e e d t o t a k e t h e p l a c e m e n t o f t h e p o w e r

c o n n e c t o r s i n t o a c c o u n t , a s s h a l l o w h o m e -

t h e a t r e c a s e s m i g h t p h y s i c a l l y b e a b l e t o fi t

t h e c a r d , b u t p o w e r c o n n e c t o r s o n t h e s i d e o f

t h e c a r d c o u l d s t o p y o u f r o m p u i n g t h ec a s e ’ s t o p p a n e l b a c k o n .

M o s t m i d - r a n g e g r a p h i c s c a r d s t a k e u p

t w o e x p a n s i o n s l o t s , i n o r d e r t o a c c o m m o d a t e

a h e a t s i n k a n d c o o l i n g f a n . T h e s e c a r d s a r e

k n o w n a s d u a l - s l o t , a n d w i l l o b s c u r e t h e s l o t

d i r e c t l y b e n e a t h t h e o n e i n t o w h i c h y o u p l u g

t h e c a r d ( i f t h e r e i s o n e ) .

F i n a l l y , h a l f - h e i g h t o r l o w - p r o fi l e g r a p h i c s

c a r d s a r e d e s i g n e d f o r u l t r a - c o m p a c t h o m e

t h e a t r e P C r d e s k t o p f o r m f a c t o r c a s e s .

T h e s e a r e t y p i c a l l y l e s s p o w e r f u l t h a n t h e i r

f u l l - h e i g h t c o u n t e r p a r t s a n d c a n b e n o i s i e r

d u e t o h a v i n g s m a l l e r f a n s , s o u n l e s s y o u

h a v e v e r y l i m i t e d s p a c e a f u l l - h e i g h t c a r d w i l ll i k e l y b e a b e e r o p t i o n .

P O R T S R 2 P O R T

Am o s t a l l m o d e r n g r a p h i c s c a r d s h a v e a t

l e a s t o n e D V I p o r t , f o r c o n n e c t i n g t o a

m o n i t o r . I y o u h a v e a n o l d e r m o n i t o r w i t h a

V G A n p u t , y o u ’ l l n e e d t o u s e a D V I t o - V G A

a d a p t o r ; o u r t a b l e o n t h e f o l l o w i n g p a g e t e l l s

y o u i f o n e i s i n c l u d e d i n t h e b o x . H D M I

o u t p u t s a r e n o w f a i r l y c o m m o n o n g r a p h i c s

c a r d s ; y o u ’ l l w a n t a t l e a s t o n e o f t h e s e i f y o u

p l a n o n c o n n e c t i n g y o u r P C o a T V .

B a w a r e t h a t m a n y H D M I c o n n e c t i o n s

l i m i t y o u t o a 3 0 H z r e f r e s h r a t e a t 2 , 5 6 0 x 1 , 4 4 0o r h i g h e r r e s o l u t i o n s , w h i c h w i l l m a k e t h e

W i n d o w s D e s k t o p f e e l j e r k y . As o , o n s o m e

c a r d s w i t h t w o D V I p o r t s , o n e p o r t m a y b e a

s i n g l e - l i n k m o d e l , w h i c h w i l l o n l y s u p p o r t

d i s p l a y s u p t o 1 , 9 2 0 x 1 , 2 0 0 p i x e l s ; d u a l - l i n k D V I

s u p p o r t s u p t o 2 , 5 6 0 x 1 , 4 4 0 a t 6 0 H z .

I y o u w a n t t o c o n n e c t t o a 3 , 8 4 0 x 2 , 1 6 0

( 4 K ) m o n i t o r o r o n e w i t h a v e r y h i g h r e f r e s h

r a t e , y o u ’ r e b e s t o u s i n g a D i s p l a y P o r t

o u t p u t , a s t h i s i n t e r f a c e s t a n d a r d s u p p o r t s

v e r y h i g h r e s o l u t i o n s a n d r e f r e s h r a t e s .

Am o s t a l l t h e c a r d s w e ’ v e t e s t e d h a v e a t

l e a s t o n e D i s p l a y P o r t o u t p u t ; s e e o u r t a b l e

f o r f u r t h e r d e t a i l s . Y o u m a y a l s o fi n d M i n i

D i s p l a y P o r t o r M i n i H D M I c o n n e c t i o n s , b u t

t h e s e a r e n ’ t a s c o n v e n i e n t a s t h e i r f u l l - s i z e

c o u n t e r p a r t s a s y o u ’ l l n e e d a d a p t o r s t o

c o n n e c t t h e m t o m o s t m o n i t o r s .

Call he AA:an t i-alia in g e x lain e d

Aliasing is the unavoidable eect that comes from using square pixels to draw diagonallines. As screen resolutions increase, the eect becomes less prominent, but on today’s1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,440 monitors aliasing (jagged edges) is still a major issue. A rangeof dierent anti-aliasing techniques reduce the eect, but these vary by game and bygraphics card manufacturer. We use three dierent methods when testing graphics cards:

Fast Approximate AA (FXAA), Multi Sampling AA (MSAA) and Super Sampling AA (SSAA).FXAA is the least intensive form of anti-aliasing, as it doesn’t actually analyse the 3Dmodels onscreen; instead, it applies a smoothing eect to the entire scene as a post-processing filter. However, this means it blurs objects and textures that should be lealone, reducing the sharpness of the image. If your graphics card is powerful enough, it’sworth opting for one of the other anti-aliasing modes.

MSAA requires more GPU resources, as it targets just the jagged lines for smoothingby detecting the edges of polygons. It’s the method you should use if your graphics cardcan’t cope with more demanding forms of anti-aliasing.

Finally, SSAA uses a brute force approach. At a basic level, the process involvesrendering the scene at a higher resolution than your monitor natively supports, thendownscaling it to display correctly on your screen. Enabling 4x SSAA on a game running at1,920x1,080 essentially forces the graphics card to render at 3,840x2,160, eectivelyquadrupling the workload. It’s the most intense anti-aliasing method out there, but itpreserves visual clarity and is worth turning on if your graphics card can handle it.

Re aliy b y t e :VR e cVirtual reality looks set to become a big deal in 2016, with the likes of the Oculus Rimaking a splash. The idea is simple: you strap on a set of goggles, giving you one screen pereye, for true 3D. Even beer, as you move your head, the world updates, leing you look around as naturally as you do in real life. In this way, games will become fully immersive.

While the idea is simple, powering this kind of technology is a lile harder: you need agraphics card that can produce double the number of frames, so each eye gets its ownview. You also need a PC that can handle real-time head movements and tracking.

Nvidia has released its minimum VR specs for a new PC. These are an Intel Core i5-4590processor, 8GB of RAM, two USB3 ports and a GeForce GTX 970 graphics card. For AMDgraphics cards you need a Radeon R9 290 or higher, with the R380 from the newergeneration proving more than capable.






VIDI8RE0OM M E DED 2EST 2U Y 2EST 2U Y

VI DI 8 VI DI 8 VI DI 8 VI DI 8

GeForceGTX 95 0 GeForceGTX 960 GeForceGTX 970 GeForceGTX 980 Ti

H 8RDW 8RE

S l o t s t a k e n u p 2 2 2 2

G P U c o r e s 768 1,024 1,664 2,816

G P U c l o c k s p e e d 1,1 0MH 1,27 MH 1,140MH 1GH

G P U c l o c k b o o s t s p e e d 1, 9 3 MH 1, 42MH 1,27 MH 1,075MH

M e m o r y 2GB GDDR5 4GB GDDR5 4GB GDDR5 6GB GDDR5

M e m o r y i n t e r f a c e 128-bit 128-bit 256-bit 3 84-bit

M a x m e m o r y b a n d w i d t h 105 76GB s 112 16 GB s 224GB s 3 3 6 5GB s

M e m o r y s p e e d 6,610MH eective 7,010MH 7,000MH 7GH

G r a p h i c s c a r d l e n g t h 256 5mm 257mm 264mm 267mm

O u t p u t s 1x D VI , 1 x H DM I, 3 x D i sp la yPo rt 1 x DVI, 1 x HD MI , 3 x D i sp la yPo rt 2 x DVI, 1 x HD MI , 1 x D is pl ay Po rt 1x D VI, 1x H D MI, 3 x D i sp la yPo rt

P o w e r l e a d s r e q u i r e d 1x 8-pin PCI E xpress 1x 8-pin PCI Express 1x 8-pin PCI Express, 1x 6-pin PCIExpress

1x8-pin PCIExpress,1x 6-pin PCIExpress

A c e s s o r i e s 2xMolex to 8-pin PCI-Express, VGAto DVI adaptors

DVI to V GA adaptor, Molexto 8-pinPCI-Express adaptor

DVI t o VGA a daptor DVI t o VGA a daptor, M olex t o 8- pinPCI-Express adaptor

2 UYI G I FORM 8TIO

R e c o m m e n d e d m o d e l EVGA GTX 9 50 SC Gigabyte GTX 9 60 OC MSI GTX 9 70 Gaming Twin Fro r 5 MSI GTX 9 80Ti Gaming 6G

P r i c e i n c l u d i n g V A £ 128 £ 167 £ 276 £ 545

W a r r a n t y Three years RTB Three years RTB Three years RTB Three years RTB

S u p p l i e r wwwsc an c ou k wwwebuyerc om wwwsc an c ou k wwwscan c o u k

e t a i l s wwwevga c om wwwgigabytec om wwwmsic om wwwmsic om

P a r t c o d e 02G-P4-2 57 GV-N 60WF2OC-4GD GTX 9 70 Gaming Twin Fro r 5 GTX 9 80TI Gaming 6G

V e r d i c t Budget graphics cards don’tcome much b eer tha n this

You might have to turn d owndetail seings in some high-end ga mes, b ut you get grea tperformance for the price

Ideal for mid-range gaming, with d ecent fra me rates a t1080p in a ll our test gamesI t’ s a grea t p rice, too, a ndcompetes with the RadeonR 3 80

F or most p eop le, this ca rd isthe high-end mod el to b uy I t will ea sily cope withhigh-resolution, high-detail

ga ming, mak ing it a greatchoice for enthusiasts

This ca rd will cope witheverything, even 4K gaming,b ut you’re going to have to p ay a l ot f or i t U nl es s y ou wa nta nd need the b est, a cheap erca rd will suit most p eople

H ow w e te stWe test all our graphics cards on an Intel DZ87KLT-75Kmotherboard with an Intel Core i7-4770K processor and 16GB ofRAM. This system is powerful enough to ensure the CPU ormemory isn’t holding back the graphics card and artificially slowingdown frame rates. We then use a range of dierent games, whichvary in graphical intensity, to measure performance.

Dirt Showdown is our least challenging title, so should play wellon mid-range GPUs without dropping below 60fps; racing gamesparticularly benefit from high frame rates. The game scales well to2,560x1440 and 4K resolutions when running on more powerfulcards. 2013’s Tomb Raider reboot uses very demanding SSAA,which will tax mid-range cards, while Metro: Last Light Reduxmakes heavy use of Tessellation to challenge all but the mostpowerful cards. We’ve printed the results of the graphics cards at1,920x1,080, so you can see how they compare to each other.

Dirt Showdown inall its filthy glory

GRAPH ICS CARDS



M OTH ERBOARDS


F E W T H I G S A E a s v i t a l t o a P C a s i t si nternal di sk dri ve. Not havi ng enough storagei s hugel y frustrati ng, as you have to uni nstal lprograms to make room for the l atest game,or copy fil es to external storage to dow nl oada rented fil m. Sl ow hard di sks can al so makeyour computer feel sluggish.

Both these probl ems can be sol ved w i th adri ve upgrade. Mechani cal hard di sks areastounding value, providing thousands ofgi gabytes of storage for l ess than 3p agigabyte. Meanwhile, solid-state drives (SSDs)are i ncredi bl y fast and can hel p your PC booti n seconds, as w el l as addi ng a w el come doseof operating system responsiveness. Hybridd r i v e s t r y t o b r i n g y o u t h e b e s t o f b o t h

S T O R A G E W A R S

H a d d i s k s a d S S s

W he t he r y o u w ant a lig h ning -fa t SSD t o m ak e y o u rPCbo o t fa t e ror a re g u larhard dik t o g ie y o u le n t y of ac e for all o u rfi le ,

w e ’ e g o t t he t o rag e ol t io n for y o uw orl ds, combi ni ng the speed of an SSD w i ththe capaci ty of a tradi ti onal mechani cal di sk.

Desktop PC bui l ders don’ t have to chooseb e t w e e n a h a r d d i s k a n d S S D , a s y o u c a n h a v ea fast SSD as your system di sk, and store yourfil es and documents on the sl ow er hard di sk.Thi s month w e’ l l hel p you find your perfectdri ve, w i th our gui de to the best storage outthere. O ver the page, our ful l performancegraphs and specs tabl es w i l l hel p you pi ck thecapaci ty and the dri ve you need from ourrecommended choices.

H R 0 L 6 O U R

Hard di sk dri ves have been around for aneterni ty i n technol ogy terms. They provi de by

far the hi ghest storage capaci ty and are muchcheaper than SSDs per gi gabyte, so i f youhave l ots of medi a and documents to store,they’ re your best opti on. If you’ re pl anni ng touse a hard di sk dri ve for your operati ngsystem and applications, don’t expect thesame fast l oadi ng ti mes and snappy systemresponsi veness as you’ l l get w i th an SSD,how ever, as even the sl ow est SSD i s overthree ti mes as fast as the qui ckest hard di sk.

Hard di sk dri ves are oen referred to as‘ mechani cal dri ves’ due to the w ay theyoperate. A hard di sk consi sts of a mechani calarm and, dependi ng on i ts storage capaci ty,one or more pl aers. The arm hol ds theread/w ri te heads that move across the pl aer




H ARD DISKS & SSD

a t e x t r e m e l y h i g h s p e e d s , a s t h e p l a e r s

t h e m s e l v e s r o t a t e a t h i g h s p e e d , a n y w h e r e u p

t o 1 0 , 0 0 0 r p m . D a t a i s s t o r e d o n t h e s u r f a c e o f

e a c h p l a e r , a n d t h e a r m m o v e s t h e h e a d s

o v e r t h e s u r f a c e o f t h e d i s k t o p i c k u p d a t a .

I ’ s b e c a u s e o f t h e m e c h a n i c a l n a t u r e o f

h a r d d i s k d r i v e s t h a t t h e y c a n ’ t c o m p e t e w i t h

t h e s p e e d o f fl a s h s t o r a g e f o u n d i n S S D s ,

w h i c h d o e s n ’ t r e l y o n d e l i c a t e m o v i n g p a r t s .

I ’ s a l s o w h y h a r d d i s k s a r e m o r e s u s c e p t i b l e

t o i m p a c t d a m a g e , m a k i n g d r o p p i n g a l a p t o p

w i t h a h a r d d i s k l i k e l y t o r e s u l t i n d a t a l o s s .

S O S O L 3 . R 2 W I s t a l l i n g a n S S D c a n b e o n e o f t h e m o s t

e e c t i v e u p g r a d e s y o u c a n m a k e t o y o u r

d e s k t o p o r l a p t o p . S S D s a r e a n e x c e l l e n t

c h o i c e f o r a p r i m a r y s y s t e m d i s k . T h a n k s t o

t h e i r s u p e r i o r r e a d a n d w r i t e s p e e d s , t h e y c a n

i n s t a n t l y s p e e d u p y o u r o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m ,

m a k i n g i t f e e l f r e s h a n d r e s p o n s i v e . B o t u p

a n d s h u t d o w n t i m e s w i l l b e s i g n i fi c a n t l y l e s s

t h a n w h e n u s i n g a m e c h a n i c a l d i s k , a n d y o u r

a p p l i c a t i o n s w i l l t y p i c a l l y o p e n m u c h f a s t e r .

S S D s a r e a b l e t o a c h i e v e s u c h b l i s t e r i n g

fi l e - t r a n s f e r s p e e d s b e c a u s e o f t h e l a c k o f a n y

m o v i n g p a r t s . R a t h e r t h a n t h e d i s k p l a e r s

f o u n d i n H D D s , S S D s u s e A D fl a s h

m e m o r y . A D c o m e s i n a n u m b e r o f

v a r i e t i e s b a s e d o n h o w m u c h d a t a e a c h o f i t s

c e l l s c a n c o n t a i n . T h e r e a r e t h e n o w l e s s

c o m m o n s i n g l e - l e v e l c e l l ( S L C t y p e t h a t c a n

o n l y s t o r e o n e b i t , m u l t i - l e v e l c e l l s ( M L C t h a t

c a n s t o r e t w o b i t s a n d t r i p l e - l e v e l c e l l ( T L C,

w h i c h c a n s t o r e t h r e e .

B i n g a b l e t o s t o r e m o r e t h a n o n e b i t o f

d a t a p e r c e l l a l l o w s m a n u f a c t u r e r s t o p a c k

m o r e s t o r a g e c a p a c i t y i n t o a s m a l l e r p h y s i c a l

s p a c e , a l l o w i n g t h e S S D s t o r e a c h e v e r - g r e a t e r

c a p a c i t i e s w h i l e s t i l l fi i n g i n t o e x i s t i n g d r i v e

b a y s . H o w e v e r , a b a l a n c e n e e d s t o b e s t r u c k ,

a s u s i n g m o r e b i t s p e r c e l l c a n r e s u l t i n

c o m p r o m i s e d s p e e d a n d r e l i a b i l i t y . T h e r e h a v e

a l s o b e e n s o m e t e c h n o l o g i c a l i n n o v a t i o n s

a l l o w i n g S S D s t o i n c r e a s e i n c a p a c i t y f u r t h e r ,s u c h a s S a m s u n g ’ s 3 D V - A D s y s t e m , w h i c h

s t a c k s c e l l s b o t h v e r t i c a l l y a n d h o r i z o n t a l l y .

H o w e v e r , S S D s a r e s t i l l c o n s i d e r a b l y b e h i n d

H D D s i n t e r m s o f s t o r a g e c a p a c i t y , a n d t h e

c o s t p e r g i g a b y t e i s a l s o a l o t h i g h e r .

A e p a r a t e c o n t r o l l e r a c t s a s a n i n t e r f a c e

b e t w e e n t h e A D m o d u l e s a n d t h e

o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m , a n d t h i s c a n h a v e a d i r e c t

i m p a c t o n p e r f o r m a n c e . F o r e x a m p l e , M a r v e l l

i s a p o p u l a r c o n t r o l l e r m a n u f a c t u r e r , a n d i t s

d e s i g n s c a n b e f o u n d i n m a n y S S D s f r o m

d i e r e n t m a n u f a c t u r e r s .

W h i l e a l o t o f S S D s c o n n e c t t o a S A A

p o r t ( S A A i s b e s t f o r s p e e d ) , s o m e n e w e rd r i v e s c a n p l u g i n t o a n M . 2 p o r t o n y o u r

m o t h e r b o a r d . T h i s w i l l g i v e y o u e v e n m o r e

s p e e d , i n a f o r m f a c t o r t h a t s i t s s n u g g l y

a g a i n s t y o u r m o t h e r b o a r d . T h e r e a r e f e w

M . 2 d r i v e s a v a i l a b l e a t t h e m o m e n t , b u t w e

l i s t o u r f a v o u r i t e m o d e l s o v e r t h e p a g e .

H Y 1 R I 3 V 2 H I . L

H a r d d i s k d r i v e s m a y s t i l l p r o v i d e t h e b e s t

b a n g f o r y o u r b u c k w h e n i t c o m e s t o s t o r a g e

c a p a c i t y , b u t t h e r e a d a n d w r i t e s p e e d s o f

S S D s s i m p l y c a n ’ t b e b e a t e n . T h e s o l u t i o n ,

t h e r e f o r e , w o u l d b e t o c o m b i n e t h e t w o .

T h a t ’ s w h a t m a n y m a n u f a c t u r e r s h a v e d o n e

w i t h s o l i d - s t a t e h y b r i d d r i v e s ( S S H D s ) .

At h o u g h m a n y d e s k t o p P C s e r s w i l l o p t

f o r a n S S D a s a s y s t e m d i s k t o h o u s e t h e i r

o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m a n d s o w a r e , w i t h a

s e p a r a t e s e c o n d a r y h a r d d i s k f o r t h e i r m e d i a ,

t h i s s i m p l y i s n ’ t p o s s i b l e i n m o s t l a p t o p s ,

w h e r e t h e r e ’ s a s o l i t a r y d r i v e b a y . T h i s i s

w h e r e a n S S H D c o u l d b e a g o o d c o m p r o m i s e .

S S H D s c o m b i n e b o t h t e c h n o l o g i e s i n t o a

s i n g l e p h y s i c a l d r i v e . M o s t h a v e a l a r g e -

c a p a c i t y h a r d d i s k p a i r e d w i t h a s m a l l e r S S D

A D c a c h e , t y p i c a l l y a r o u n d 8 G B i n s i z e .

Cc h i n g a l g o r i t h m s t h e n d e c i d e w h a t d a t a

s h o u l d r e s i d e o n t h e S S D a n d w h a t w i l l g o o n

t h e h a r d d i s k . T y p i c a l l y , d a t a y o u u s e m o s t

f r e q u e n t l y w i l l r e m a i n o n t h e S S D c a c h e f o r

q u i c k a c c e s s , s o t h e s e c o u l d b e o p e r a t i n gs y s t e m fi l e s o r s o w a r e a p p l i c a t i o n d a t a . T h i s

m e a n s p e r f o r m a n c e s h o u l d g r a d u a l l y i m p r o v e

o v e r t i m e a s t h e c a c h i n g a l g o r i t h m l e a r n s y o u r

u s a g e p a e r n s . u r t e s t s h a v e s h o w n t h a t

h y b r i d S S D s m a k e s o m e d i e r e n c e t o fi l e

t r a n s f e r s , a n d c a n d r a m a t i c a l l y r e d u c e

o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m b o o t t i m e s .

t h e r h y b r i d d r i v e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n s i n c l u d e

W e s t e r n D i g i t a l ’ s B a c k 2 D u a l D r i v e . I s t e a d o f

u s i n g a n S S D a s a c a c h e , a s e p a r a t e H D D a n d

S S D a r e p a c k a g e d t o g e t h e r i n a s i n g l e 2 ½ i n

d r i v e . T h i s m e a n s y o u c a n u s e t h e s m a l l e r ,

f a s t e r S S D a s y o u r s y s t e m d i s k , w h i l e s t i l l

h a v i n g p l e n t y o f m e c h a n i c a l h a r d d i s k s p a c ef o r y o u r fi l e s . T h i s i s a n e x c e l l e n t s o l u t i o n i f

y o u o n l y h a v e a s i n g l e d r i v e b a y .

S I Z 2 M T T 2 R S

S t o r a g e d r i v e s t y p i c a l l y c o m e i n t w o f o r m

f a c t o r s : 2 ½ i n a n d 3 ½ i n . Al S S D s a r e 2 ½ i n , b u t

m e c h a n i c a l H D D s c a n c o m e i n e i t h e r s i z e .

M o s t P C a s e s w i l l b e a b l e t o a c c o m m o d a t e

b o t h s i z e s , b u t l a p t o p s o n l y u s e 2 ½ i n d r i v e s .

W h e r e i t g e t s a l i l e c o n f u s i n g i s t h a t

t h e r e a r e d i e r e n t h e i g h t s f o r 2 ½ i n d r i v e s .

M o s t a r e 7 m m h i g h , b u t s o m e a r e a v a i l a b l e

i n a t h i n n e r 5 m m f o r m a t o e n u s e d i n

U l t r a b o o k s o r o t h e r s l i m l a p t o p s , o r a t h i c k e r

9 . 5 m m f o r m a t o e n s e e n i n l a r g e d e s k t o p -

r e p l a c e m e n t l a p t o p s . W e n o t e h o w t h i c k e a c h

d r i v e i s i n o u r r e v i e w s , b u t i f y o u ’ r e b u i l d i n g a

d e s k t o p P C h e t h i c k n e s s d o e s n ’ t m a e r .

O u r ts t h a v e s h o w n t a t y b r i d S S s m a k e s o m e

d i f f e r e n c e t fi l e ta n s f e r s , a n d c a n d r a m a tc a l l y

r e d u c e o p e r a tn g s y s tm b o o ttm e s

H o w w e t e s t

To test the read and write speeds of eachdisk drive, we use a script that copies files toand from the drive and measures the timetaken. We copy the files to the disk frommemory rather than from another disk drive, because RAM is faster than any harddisk or SSD so won’t act as the limitingfactor in the tests.

In our large-file tests, we copy a 100MBfile to and from each disk 100 times to seehow fast a drive is when dealing with bigfiles such as video clips. We repeat this testusing a selection of smaller files totalling100MB, to see how well a drive copes withthe many smaller files needed when loadingan operating system or application.





113I SSUE 3 3 8|COMPUTER SHOPPER | A PRIL 0 1 6

SSD

0 2 0 0 4 0 0 6 0 0 80 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 4 0 0 1 6 0 0

S a m s u n g 9 5 0 P r o M . 2

S a m s u n g 8 5 0 Eo

S a n i s k U l t r a

S a m s u n g 8 5 0 Eo M . 2 4 3 6 . 1

6 1 7 . 7

7 1 2 . 9

1 3 4 9

5 . 4

9 7 . 5

9 9 .

1 2 0 5

7 7

9 1 . 2

1 0 . 1

1 6 4 6

0 2 0 0 4 0 0 6 0 0 80 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 4 0 0

S a m s u n g 9 5 0 P r o M . 2

S a m s u n g 8 5 0 Eo M . 2


S a n i s k U l t r a 7 . 3

9 5 . 5

9 6 .

1 4 2 5 . 5

0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0

S a m s u n g 9 5 0 P r o M . 2

S a m s u n g 8 5 0 Eo M . 2


S a n i s k U l t r a 4 5 4 . 4

4 6 5 . 3

5 7 9 .

2 1 7 1

0 4 0 0 80 1 2 0 0 1 6 0 0 2 0 0 0

S a m s u n g 9 5 0 P r o M . 2


S a n i s k U l t r a

S a m s u n g 8 5 0 Eo M . 2 5 0

5 3 6 . 1

5 9 . 1

1 7 6 0

Large write (MB/s)

Small write (MB/s)

Large read (MB/s)

Small read (MB/s)

Large files overall (MB/s)

Small files overall (MB/s)

Benchm ark s

S S D s

E S T U Y R E C O M M E N D E D E S T U Y R E C O M M E N D E D

S M S U N G S M S U N G S M S U N G S N D I S K

85 0 Evo 85 0 EvoM .2 95 0 Pro(NVM e)M .2 U lt ra II

H R D W R E

Capacity 1 2 0 G B 2 5 0 G B 5 0 0 G B 1 T B 1 2 0 G B 2 5 0 G B 5 0 0 G B 2 5 6 GB 5 1 2 G B 2 4 0 G B 4 8 0 G B 9 6 0 G B

Cost per gigabyte £ 0 . 4 5 ( 1 2 0 G B , £ 0 . 2 6 ( 2 5 0 G B ,

£ 0 . 2 7 ( 5 0 0 G B , £ 0 . 2 6 ( 1 T B

£ 0 . 4 6 ( 1 2 0 G B , £ 0 . 3 2 ( 2 5 0 G B ,

£ 0 . 3 0 ( 5 0 0 G B

£ 0 . 5 7 ( 2 5 6 G B , £ 0 . 5 0 ( 5 1 2 G B £ 0 . 3 8 ( 1 2 0 G B , £ 0 . 2 9 ( 2 4 0 G B ,

£ 0 . 2 3 ( 4 8 0 G B , £ 0 . 2 1 ( 9 6 0 G B

Interface S AA M . 2 M . 2 ( V M e ) S AA

Claimed read 5 4 0 M B s 5 4 0 M B s 2 , 2 0 0 M B s 5 5 0 M B s

Claimed write 5 2 0 M B s 5 0 0 M B s 9 0 0 M B s 5 0 0 M B s

Controller S a m s u n g M G X C n t r o l l e r , S a m s u n g

M E X C n t r o l l e r ( 1 T B

S a m s u n g M G X S a m s u n g U B M a r v e l l 8 8 S S 9 1 9 0 / 8 8 S S 9 1 8 9

NAND flash type S a m s u n g 4 0 n m 3 D V - A D S a m s u n g 3 D V - A D S a s m s u n g V - A D 1 9 n m T L C

Mountingkit o o o o

U Y I N G I N F O R M T I O N

Warranty F i v e y e a r s R T B 5 y e a r s R T B 5 y e a r s R T B T h r e e y e a r s R T B

Price including VAT £ 5 4 ( 1 2 0 G B £ 6 6 ( 2 5 0 G B ,

£ 1 3 3 ( 5 0 0 G B , £ 2 6 4 ( 1 T B

£ 5 5 ( 1 2 0 G B , £ 8 0 ( 2 5 0 G B ,

£ 1 5 2 ( 5 0 0 G B

£ 1 4 6 ( 2 5 6 G B , £ 2 5 5 ( 5 1 2 G B £ 4 6 ( 1 2 0 G B , £ 7 0 ( 2 4 0 G B , £ 1 0 9

( 4 8 0 G B , £ 2 0 0 ( 9 6 0 G B

Supplier w w w . e b u y e r . c o m w w w . s c a n . c o . u k w w w . e b u y e r . c o m w w w . e b u y e r . c o m

Details w w w . s a m s u n g . c o m / u k w w w . s a m s u n g . c o m / u k w w w . s a m s u n g . c o m / u k w w w . s a n d i s k . c o . u k

Partcode M Z - 7 5 E 1 2 0 B , M Z - 7 5 E 2 5 0 B ,

M Z - 7 5 E 5 0 0 B , M Z - 7 5 E 1 T 0 B

M Z - 5 E 1 2 0 B , M Z - 5 E 2 5 0 B ,

M Z - 5 E 5 0 0 B

M Z - V 5 P 2 5 6 B , M Z - V 5 P 5 1 2 B S D S S D H II 1 2 0 G - G 2 5 , S D S S D H II

2 4 0 G - G 2 5 , S D S S D H II 4 8 0 G - G 2 5 ,

S D S S D H II 9 6 0 G - G 2 5

V E R D I C T

S a m s u n g ’ s 8 5 0 s e r i e s i sn o w e x c e l l e n t v a l u e . I ’ s

s t i l l e x t r e m e l y q u i c k , t o o ,

p e r f o r m i n g w e l l a c r o s s a l l o f

o u r t e s t s . T h e 1 2 0 G B d r i v e

i s n ’ t g o o d v a l u e , b u t t h e

o t h e r c a p a c i t i e s a r e .

T h e M . 2 v e r s i o n o f S a m s u n g ’ sr e g u l a r S S D . I ’ s a l i l e m o r e

e x p e n s i v e , b u t i t ’ s a l i l e f a s t e r ,

t o o . I y o u h a v e a m o t h e r b o a r d

w i t h a n M . 2 s l o t , t h i s i s t h e

b e s t - v a l u e d r i v e f o r i t .

I c r e d i b l e p e r f o r m a n c e f r o mt h i s t o p - e n d M . 2 S S D . I ’ s

c o m p a r a t i v e l y e x p e n s i v e ,

b u t y o u ’ l l h a v e a r e a l l y q u i c k

P C f y o u b u y o n e . I ’ s b e s t

s u i t e d f o r u s e w i t h a n e w I t e l

S k y l a k e s y s t e m .

T h i s r a n g e o f S S D s i s g r e a t v a l u ea n d s t i l l c o m p a r a t i v e l y q u i c k .

I ’ s t h e i d e a l c h o i c e i f y o u v a l u e

c a p a c i t y o v e r r a w s p e e d . T h e

1 2 0 G B v e r s i o n ’ s n o t g r e a t v a l u e ,

b u t t h e o t h e r c a p a c i t i e s a r e .






PSU

c o m p o n e n t s u s i n g a d r o p - d o w n m e n u , s o y o u

c a n g e t a n a c c u r a t e p r e d i c t i o n .

G I N S T T H 2 R I L N G S

A S U o u t p u t s i t s p o w e r o n d i e r e n t r a i l s ,

w h i c h r u n a t v a r i o u s v o l t a g e s a n d h a v e

a r a t i n g i n a m p s t o s h o w t h e t o t a l

p o w e r t h e y p r o v i d e . D i e r e n t p a r t s o f

y o u r P C r a w o n d i e r e n t r a i l s f o r

t h e i r p o w e r ; p o w e r - h u n g r y

c o m p o n e n t s s u c h a s t h e p r o c e s s o r

a n d g r a p h i c s c a r d , f o r e x a m p l e , d r a w

a s i g n i fi c a n t a m o u n t o f p o w e r f r o m o n e o f

t h e 1 2 V r a i l s . T h e r a i l ’ s t o t a l r a t i n g fi g u r e i s

t h e a m o u n t o f c u r r e n t t h a t c a n b e d r a w n b y

t h a t s i n g l e r a i l : m u l t i p l y t h a t b y t h e v o l t a g e t o

fi n d t h e t o t a l p o w e r t h a t t h e r a i l c a n p r o v i d e .

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I t ’ s e x p e n s i v e , b u t t h i s P S U i s i n c r e d i b l y w e l lb u i l t a n d e x t r e m e l y e ffi c i e n t . I n t e g r a t e d f a nc o n t r o l l e r s a r e a n i c e t o u c h , b u t t h e p r i c e i sh a r d t o g e t o v e r .

A t 1 8 0 m m l o n g t h i s i s a b i g P S U , s o m a k es u r e y o u h a v e r o o m f o r i t . I f y o u d o , y o u g e texcel l ent effici ency and whi s per- qui et operati on,t h a n k s t o t h e l a r g e 1 3 5 m m f a n .

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a s t o n i s h i n g r a t e t h a t h a s c h a n g e d t h e w a y w e l i v e . S o

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c o m p u t i n g p e r f o r m a n c e , t h e p o t e n t i a l o u t c o m e i s

n o t h i n g l e s s t h a n w o r l d - c h a n g i n g .

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o f q u a n t u m c o m p u t i n g t o s o l v e t h e w o r l d ’ s t o u g h e s t p r o b l e m s .

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b a c k t h r e e y e a r s . I w a s t h e n t h a t t h e y s h e l l e d o u t a s e r i o u s

c h u n k o f m o n e y o n t h e o n e a n d o n l y c o m m e r c i a l l y a v a i l a b l e

q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r , f r o m c o n t r o v e r s i a l p i o n e e r s D - W a v e .

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n e w t o y i n t h e i r Q u a n t u m A t i fi c i a l I t e l l i g e n c e L a b ( Q u AIL ) .

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s t o r y a n d i t s p o t e n t i a l l y h u g e i m p a c t .

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c l o c k b a c k a b i t a n d l a y s o m e g r o u n d w o r k o f o u r o w n .

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c o m p u t i n g i s a r a t h e r s p e c i a l t y p e o f q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r b u t ,

t o s e t t h e b a l l r o l l i n g , w e ’ l l l o o k a t t h e u n i v e r s a l q u a n t u m

c o m p u t e r . T h i s s o r t o f c o m p u t e r h a s m o s t i n c o m m o n w i t h

t o d a y ’ s c o n v e n t i o n a l c o m p u t e r s , a n d h a s e x e r c i s e d t h e m i n d s

o f m a n y r e s e a r c h e r s o v e r t h e p a s t f e w d e c a d e s .

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y o u ’ r e n o t g o i n g t o u n d e r s t a n d i t ’ . W h i l e t h e r e ’ s a n e l e m e n t o f

t r u t h i n t h a t , b e i n g l e s s fl i p p a n t w e c o u l d s a y t h a t i n t h e

q u a n t u m r e a l m – t h a t i s , w h e n w e ’ r e d e a l i n g w i t h u n i m a g i n a b l y

t i n y t h i n g s l i k e i n d i v i d u a l e l e c t r o n s o r p h o t o n s – c o m m o n

s e n s e n o l o n g e r a p p l i e s , a n d t h i n g s b e h a v e i n s t r a n g e w a y s .

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a r e i n o n e o f t w o s t a t e s t h a t r e p r e s e n t t h e z e r o s a n d o n e s o f

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r e p r e s e n t a z e r o o r a o n e . A e l e c t r o n h a s a p r o p e r t y r e f e r r e d

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i m p o r t a n t p o i n t i s t h a t t h e y c o u l d , p o t e n t i a l l y , r e p r e s e n t z e r o s

a n d o n e s . B t h e r e ’ s w h e r e i t g e t s s t r a n g e .

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b y a p p l y i n g e n e r g y w h i l e i t ’ s i n a m a g n e t i c fi e l d . A p e c i fi c

a m o u n t o f e n e r g y i s r e q u i r e d t o c a u s e t h e s p i n t o fl i p , a n d i t ’ s

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s p i n c a n ’ t p a r t i a l l y fl i p b u t , i n s t e a d , i t e n t e r s a s o - c a l l e d s t a t e

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s i m u l t a n e o u s l y o r , i n b i n a r y t e r m s , 0 a n d 1 a t t h e s a m e t i m e .

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p r o v e n t h a t a e m p t i n g t o o b s e r v e i t w i l l c a u s e t h e s t a t e o f

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r e a d i n g t h e s t a t e o f a n e l e c t r o n w i t h a z e r o / o n e s u p e r p o s i t i o n

w i l l o n l y g i v e a v a l u e o f z e r o o r o n e . I a n e q u a l s u p e r p o s i t i o n

– o n e i n w h i c h z e r o a n d o n e h a v e e q u a l p r o b a b i l i t i e s – i f y o u

c a r r i e d o u t t h e e x p e r i m e n t l o t s o f t i m e s , h a l f t h e t i m e y o u ’ d

g e t a z e r o a n d h a l f t h e t i m e y o u ’ d g e t a o n e .

I w o u l d b e t e m p t i n g t o b e l i e v e , t h e r e f o r e , t h a t t h e s t a t e o f

s u p e r p o s i t i o n h a d n e v e r r e a l l y b e e n a c h i e v e d a n d t h a t t h e s p i n

s i m p l y fl i p p e d h a l f t h e t i m e . H o w e v e r , s c i e n t i s t s h a v e s h o w n

w i t h o u t d o u b t t h a t s u p e r p o s i t i o n d o e s e x i s t , a n d t h e y ’ v e e v e n

h a r n e s s e d t h e e e c t t o c a r r y o u t q u a n t u m c o m p u t a t i o n s . I m i g h t s e e m i n c o n c e i v a b l e t h a t t h i s e e c t c a n b e

h a r n e s s e d f o r c o m p u t i n g i f r e a d i n g t h e a n s w e r d e s t r o y s i t ,

r e v e a l i n g j u s t a s i n g l e r e s u l t . H o w e v e r , a l t h o u g h b i l l i o n s u p o n

b i l l i o n s o f c a l c u l a t i o n s m i g h t n e e d t o b e d o n e i n s o m e o f t h e

m o s t d i ffi c u l t t a s k s c a r r i e d o u t b y t o d a y ’ s c o m p u t e r s , o e n

o n l y a h a n d f u l o f a n s w e r s a r e r e q u i r e d . T h e s t r e n g t h o f a

q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r , t h e r e f o r e , i s i t s

s p e e d i n c a r r y i n g o u t a l l t h o s e

i n t e r m e d i a t e c a l c u l a t i o n s , a n d i t ’ s n o t

h a r d t o s e e h o w i t c o u l d a c h i e v e t h a t .

W e ’ v e s e e n t h a t a s i n g l e b i t – o r a

q u b i t , a s a b i t i n a q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r i s

c a l l e d – c a n h o l d t h e v a l u e s o f z e r o a n d

o n e s i m u l t a n e o u s l y . J s t a s a r e g i s t e r o fe i g h t b i t s i n a c o n v e n t i o n a l c o m p u t e r

c a n h o l d a n y v a l u e b e t w e e n 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

( 0 ) a n d 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ( 2 5 5 ) , i n a q u a n t u m

c o m p u t e r , a r e g i s t e r o f e i g h t q u b i t s c a n

h o l d a l l 2 5 6 v a l u e s a t t h e s a m e t i m e .

M o r e i m p o r t a n t l y , a n y c a l c u l a t i o n

p e r f o r m e d o n t h a t r e g i s t e r w i l l r e s u l t i n

2 5 6 p a r a l l e l c o m p u t a t i o n s a l s o o c c u r r i n g .

T h i s p a r a l l e l i s m i n c r e a s e s e x p o n e n t i a l l y

s o , b y t h e t i m e w e g e t t o t h e e q u i v a l e n t

o f t o d a y ’ s 6 4 - b i t p r o c e s s o r s , a q u a n t u m

c o m p u t e r c o u l d p e r f o r m 1 8 q u i n t i l l i o n

– t h a t ’ s 1 8 b i l l i o n b i l l i o n – p a r a l l e l

c a l c u l a t i o n s a t a s i n g l e s t r o k e .

A u a n t u m c o m p u t e r t h a t w o r k e d i n

m u c h t h e s a m e w a y a s t h e p r o c e s s o r i n

Th is d ilu tio n ref rigerato ris key to ach ievin g th esuper-low temperature

req u ired f o r D-Wave’sq u b its to o p erate



y o u r C b y e x e c u t i n g l o g i c a n d a r i t h m e t i c

i n s t r u c t i o n s s e q u e n t i a l l y , b u t u s i n g

q u b i t s i n s t e a d o f b i t s , w o u l d b e a

u n i v e r s a l q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r . L i k e

t o d a y ’ s c o m p u t e r s , i t w o u l d b e a b l e t o

c a r r y o u t p r e y m u c h a n y l o g i c a lp r o b l e m b u t , s o l o n g a s t h e r e g i s t e r s

w e r e a s l a r g e a s t h o s e i n t o d a y ’ s

p r o c e s s o r s , i t w o u l d d o s o i m m e a s u r a b l y

f a s t e r , a t l e a s t f o r s o m e a p p l i c a t i o n s .

T h i s h a s b e e n t h e g o a l o f m o s t q u a n t u m

c o m p u t i n g r e s e a r c h e r s s i n c e t h e 1 9 9 0 s , b u t

p r o g r e s s h a s b e e n s l o w . T h e d i ffi c u l t y l i e s i n t h e

f a c t t h a t , j u s t a s a n y a e m p t a t r e a d i n g s o m e t h i n g

i n a s t a t e o f s u p e r p o s i t i o n c a u s e s d e c o h e r e n c e , s o d o e s

a n y u n i n t e n t i o n a l i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h t h e e n v i r o n m e n t .

T o m a k e t h i n g s m o r e d i ffi c u l t , a q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r d e p e n d s

o n t h e q u b i t s i n a r e g i s t e r b e i n g ‘ e n t a n g l e d ’ . T h i s p e c u l i a r

q u a n t u m e e c t m e a n s t h a t n o n e o f t h e q u b i t s c a n b e t h o u g h t o f

i n d i v i d u a l l y . I t h i s e e c t w e r e s c a l e d u p a n d w e h a d t w o e n t a n g l e d

c o i n s t h a t w e r e fl i p p e d a t t h e s a m e t i m e , e i t h e r b o t h w o u l d s h o w

h e a d s o r b o t h w o u l d s h o w t a i l s , b u t n e v e r o n e o f e a c h .

H o w e v e r , b e c a u s e o f t h a t p r o p e r t y , m a i n t a i n i n g s u p e r p o s i t i o n

b e c o m e s i n c r e a s i n g l y d i ffi c u l t a s t h e n u m b e r o f q u b i t s i n c r e a s e s ;

i f o n e o f t h e m d e c o h e r e s , a l l w i l l s u e r t h a t s a m e f a t e . S c i e n t i s t s

h a v e t e n d e d t o u s e e s o t e r i c m e a n s o f p r e v e n t i n g i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h

t h e e n v i r o n m e n t , f o r e x a m p l e s u s p e n d i n g s i n g l e p a r t i c l e s i n f r e e

s p a c e u s i n g e l e c t r i c fi e l d s . I t h e e a r l y d a y s , t h e y m a n a g e d t o

r a m p u p t h e n u m b e r o f q u b i t s f r o m t w o t o a r o u n d a d o z e n , b u t

i n c r e a s e s t o t h e s o r t o f fi g u r e n e e d e d t o r e a l i s e t h e t r u e p o t e n t i a l

o f q u a n t u m c o m p u t i n g h a v e p r o v e d e l u s i v e – o r s o i t s e e m e d .

I ’ s i m p o r t a n t t o r e c o g n i s e t h a t a l o t m o r e t h a n 3 2 o r 6 4 q u b i t s

w i l l b e n e e d e d t o p r o d u c e a p r a c t i c a l q u a n t u m p r o c e s s o r , j u s t a s a

c o n v e n t i o n a l 6 4 - b i t p r o c e s s o r c o n t a i n s h u n d r e d s o f 6 4 - b i t w i d e

r e g i s t e r s , e v e n i f w e e x c l u d e t h e c a c h e . B t w h i l e t h e h e a d l i n efi g u r e s m a y n o t h a v e i n c r e a s e d m u c h , b e h i n d t h e s c e n e s

d e v e l o p m e n t s h a v e b r o u g h t t h e

p r o s p e c t o f u n i v e r s a l q u a n t u mc o m p u t i n g a l o t c l o s e r , a s a r a o f

r e c e n t a n n o u n c e m e n t s h a v e s h o w n .

W e ’ l l c o m e b a c k t o t h e s e d e v e l o p m e n t s

l a t e r t o c o n c e n t r a t e o n t h e k e y

c o m m e r c i a l p l a y e r i n q u a n t u m c o m p u t i n g

t o d a y , D - W a v e S y s t e m s i n C n a d a . D - W a v e fi r s t

i n t r o d u c e d a 2 8 - q u b i t c o m p u t e r i n 2 0 0 7 a n d t h e

c o m p a n y h a s i n c r e a s e d t h i s , i n l e a p s a n d b o u n d s , t o t h e

1 , 0 9 7 - q u b i t D - W a v e 2 X t h a t w a s i n t r o d u c e d l a s t y e a r .

G i v e n t h e h u g e d i s c r e p a n c y b e t w e e n t h e fi g u r e s r e p o r t e d i n

s c i e n t i fi c p a p e r s a n d t h o s e c l a i m e d b y D - W a v e , i t ’ s h a r d l y

s u r p r i s i n g t h a t t h e c o m p a n y h a s h a d i t s c r i t i c s . M a n y q u a n t u m

c o m p u t i n g e x p e r t s w e r e v o c i f e r o u s i n t h e i r d i s m i s s a l o f D - W a v e

c o m p u t e r s , c l a i m i n g t h e y d i d n ’ t r e a l l y e m p l o y q u a n t u m e e c t s ,

w i t h t h e m o s t o u t s p o k e n a c c u s i n g t h e c o m p a n y o f d e c e p t i o n .

W h i l e t h e w o r l d o f a c a d e m i a h a d i t s d o u b t e r s , NA A n d

G o o g l e t o o k D - W a v e ’ s c l a i m s e r i o u s l y . O r a t l e a s t s e r i o u s l y e n o u g h

t o s h e l l o u t $ 1 0 m i l l i o n o n a 5 1 2 - q u b i t D - W a v e T w o , l a t e r u p g r a d e d

t o a 1 , 0 9 7 - q u b i t D - W a v e 2 X s y s t e m . T o g e t h e r w i t h t h e U n i v e r s i t i e s

S p a c e R e s e a r c h A s o c i a t i o n , t h e y s e t u p u AIL a t NA As A e s

R e s e a r c h C n t e r i n M o e F e l d , C l i f o r n i a .

W e d i d n ’ t h e a r a l o t a b o u t t h e i n i t i a t i v e , h o w e v e r , u n t i l l a s t

D e c e m b e r , w h e n NA A n v i t e d t h e w o r l d ’ s p r e s s t o s e e i t s

a c q u i s i t i o n a n d G o o g l e p r o m i s e d a “ w a t e r s h e d a n n o u n c e m e n t ” .

u t s i m p l y , NA A n d G o o g l e r e v e a l e d t h a t t h e D - W a v e 2 X

h a d a c h i e v e d a 1 0 0 m i l l i o n - f o l d s p e e d i m p r o v e m e n t o v e r a s i n g l e

I t e l X e o n E - 1 6 5 0 c o r e r u n n i n g a t 3 . 2 G H z . T h i s i m p l i e d t h a t t h em a c h i n e g e n u i n e l y d o e s e m p l o y q u a n t u m e e c t s a e r a l l . W h i l e

Q u a n t u m c o m p u t i n g r e s e a r c h e r s h a v ep r e v i o u s l y t e n d e d t o i m p l e m e n t q u b i t su s i n g s i n g l e p a r t i c l e s s u c h a s e l e c t r o n s , i o n so r p h o t o n s , b u t D - W a v e h a s m a n a g e d t os c a l e t h i n g s u p s o q u a n t u m e e c t s c a n b eo b s e r v e d a t a m a c r o s c a l e . T h i s m e a n s t h eq u b i t s c a n b e i n t e r f a c e d w i t h c o n v e n t i o n a l

e l e c t r o n i c c i r c u i t r y a n d i m p l e m e n t e d a ss i l i c o n c h i p s . D - W a v e ’ s q u b i t s t a k e t h e f o r mo f d e v i c e s c a l l e d S Q U ID s – S u p e r c o n d u c t i n gQ U a n t u m I t e r f e r e n c e D e v i c e s .

T h e y ’ r e r i n g s o f t h e e l e m e n t n i o b i u m , i nw h i c h t h e d i r e c t i o n o f t h e fl o w o f a c u r r e n td e fi n e s a 0 o r a 1 b u t s u p e r p o s i t i o n c a n o n l yb e a c h i e v e d i f t h e y ’ r e c o o l e d t o w i t h i n af r a c t i o n o f a d e g r e e o f a b s o l u t e z e r o . T h en e c e s s a r y c o n d i t i o n s h a v e b e e n d e s c r i b e da s 1 8 0 t i m e s c o l d e r t h a n i n t e r s t e l l a r s p a c e .

A a n y i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h t h e e n v i r o n m e n tw o u l d c a u s e t h e q u b i t s t o l o s e t h e i r s t a t e o fs u p e r p o s i t i o n , D - W a v e h a s h a d t o g o t og r e a t l e n g t h s t o i s o l a t e t h e p r o c e s s o r f r o mt h e o u t s i d e w o r l d . F i r s t , b e c a u s e t h e

q u a n t u m p r o c e s s o r i s a d v e r s e l y a e c t e d b ys t r a y m a g n e t i c fi e l d s , e x t r e m e c a r e h a d t ob e t a k e n t o e x c l u d e t h e m . T h i s r e q u i r e s am a g n e t i c s h i e l d i n g s u b s y s t e m t h a t r e d u c e sa n y s u c h fi e l d s t o l e s s t h a n 1 n a n o t e s l a –a r o u n d 5 0 , 0 0 0 t i m e s l e s s t h a n t h e E a r t h ’ sm a g n e t i c fi e l d . T h i s i s a c h i e v e d u s i n g

m u l t i p l e s h i e l d s , s o m e o f t h e m m a d e o f u - e t a l , a s o m a g n e t i c n i c k e l - i r o n a l l o yt h a t n u l l i fi e s t h e E a r t h ’ s m a g n e t i c fi e l d .

E x c l u d i n g e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c n o i s e i s a l s oe s s e n t i a l , s o t h e s y s t e m s i t s i n a s h i e l d e de n c l o s u r e t h a t c u t s o u t a l l r a d i o f r e q u e n c i e s .T h e o n l y p a t h f o r s i g n a l s b e t w e e n t h e i n s i d ea n d o u t s i d e o f t h e s h i e l d e d e n c l o s u r e i s ad i g i t a l o p t i c a l c h a n n e l c a r r y i n g p r o g r a m m i n gi n f o r m a t i o n i n , a n d r e s u l t s o f c o m p u t a t i o n so u t , a n d t h e s e a r e h e a v i l y fi l t e r e d . A d t ot h i s t h e f a c t t h a t t h e p r o c e s s o r h a s t o b eh o u s e d i n a h i g h - v a c u u m e n v i r o n m e n t i nw h i c h t h e p r e s s u r e i s 1 0 b i l l i o n t i m e s l o w e rt h a n a t m o s p h e r i c p r e s s u r e , a n d y o u ’ l l g e ts o m e i d e a o f h o w s e n s i t i v e t h i s c i r c u i t r y i s .

H e r e t h e D - W a v e 2 X ’ s c r y o g e n i c r e f r i g e r a t o r i sb e i n g w i r e d , k e y t o c o o l i n g t h e p r o c e s s o r t o at e m p e r a t u r e o f 1 5 t h o u s a n d t h s o f a d e g r e e e l v i n

⬅ T h e p r o c e s s o r i n D - W a v e ’ sl a t e s t 2 X q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r

b o a s t s 1 , 0 9 7 q u b i t s





t h e i r c o m p a r i s o n o n l y i n v o l v e d a s i n g l e c o r e , i t s e e m s t o b e a n

i m p r e s s i v e r e s u l t , a s a f e w s i m p l e c a l c u l a t i o n s r e v e a l .

T o d a y ’ s f a s t e s t s u p e r c o m p u t e r , C i n a ’ s T i a n h e - 2 , h a r n e s s e s

t h e p o w e r o f o v e r t h r e e m i l l i o n c o r e s . H o w e v e r , i t c o s t $ 3 9 0

m i l l i o n t o b u i l d a n d y o u ’ d n e e d 3 2 o f t h e m t o g e t e n o u g h c o r e s

t o e q u a l t h e p e r f o r m a n c e o f t h e D - W a v e 2 X . T h e t o t a l c o s t ,

t h e r e f o r e , w o u l d b e i n t h e r e g i o n o f $ 1 2 b i l l i o n , c o m p a r e d t o

m e r e l y $ 1 0 m i l l i o n f o r t h e D - W a v e s y s t e m .

S o m e e x p e r t s a r e s t i l l t a k i n g t h e s e r e s u l t s w i t h a p i n c h o f s a l t ,

b u t t h e r e ’ s o n e v i t a l p o i n t w e n e e d t o m a k e a b o u t D - W a v e ’ s

a p p r o a c h t o q u a n t u m c o m p u t i n g : i t s m a c h i n e s a r e n o t u n i v e r s a l

q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r s . I s t e a d , t h e y s u p p o r t s o m e t h i n g c a l l e d a

q u a n t u m a n n e a l i n g a r c h i t e c t u r e , w h i c h i s d e s i g n e d t o s o l v e a

p a r t i c u l a r t y p e o f p r o b l e m t h a t p r o v e s t a x i n g f o r c o n v e n t i o n a l

c o m p u t e r s ( f o r m o r e o n t h i s , s e e t h e b o x o n t h e r i g h t ) .

G i v e n t h a t t h e e v i d e n c e p o i n t s t o t h e e x i s t e n c e o f a w o r k i n g

q u a n t u m a n n e a l i n g c o m p u t e r w h i l e t h e u n i v e r s a l e q u i v a l e n t i s s t i l l

o n t h e d r a w i n g b o a r d , l e t ’ s l o o k a t h o w t h e t w o a p p r o a c h e s

c o m p a r e – t o fi n d o u t w h e t h e r t h i s d i e r e n t a p p r o a c h r e p r e s e n t s

t h e f u t u r e o f q u a n t u m c o m p u t i n g , o r w h e t h e r i t ’ s j u s t a s t o p - g a p

m e a s u r e u n t i l s o m e t h i n g b e e r c o m e s a l o n g .

W e s p o k e t o A As D a v i d e V e n t u r e l l i , c u r r e n t l y i n c h a r g e o f

s u r v e y i n g t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n s p e r f o r m e d a t Q u AIL , a b o u t t h e s o r t s

o f p r o b l e m s t h e D - W a v e s y s t e m c a n b e u s e d t o s o l v e .

T h e a p p l i c a t i o n t h a t a c h i e v e d t h a t 1 0 0 m i l l i o n - f o l d s p e e d

i n c r e a s e w a s a s p e c i a l l y w r i e n b e n c h m a r k – s o w a r e d e s i g n e d

s p e c i fi c a l l y t o t e s t t h e h a r d w a r e . B t a c c o r d i n g t o V e n t u r e l l i ,

m a n y i m p o r t a n t r e a l - w o r l d a p p l i c a t i o n s h a v e s i m i l a r p r o p e r t i e s .

“ T h e f e a t u r e s o f t h i s a p p l i c a t i o n a p p e a r i n a l m o s t a l l l a r g e - s c a l e

u s e f u l ‘ h a r d ’ p r o b l e m s , ” h e s a i d .

G o o g l e h a s g i v e n s o m e i n d i c a t i o n o f w h a t t h e s e a p p l i c a t i o n s

m i g h t b e b y r e f e r r i n g t o m a c h i n e l e a r n i n g . T h e c o m p a n y s a i d :

“ M a c h i n e l e a r n i n g i s a l l a b o u t b u i l d i n g b e e r m o d e l s o f t h e w o r l d

t o m a k e m o r e a c c u r a t e p r e d i c t i o n s . I w e w a n t t o c u r e d i s e a s e s ,

w e n e e d b e e r m o d e l s o f h o w t h e y d e v e l o p . I w e w a n t t o c r e a t e

e e c t i v e e n v i r o n m e n t a l p o l i c i e s , w e n e e d b e e r m o d e l s o f w h a t ’ sh a p p e n i n g t o o u r c l i m a t e . A d i f w e w a n t t o b u i l d a m o r e u s e f u l

s e a r c h e n g i n e , w e n e e d t o b e e r u n d e r s t a n d s p o k e n q u e s t i o n s

a n d w h a t ’ s o n t h e w e b s o y o u g e t t h e b e s t a n s w e r . ”

B e r o n l i n e s e a r c h i n g w i l l b e n e fi t u s a l l , b u t q u a n t u m

a p p l i c a t i o n s t e n d n o t t o b e e v e r y d a y t a s k s . W e a s k e d V e n t u r e l l i i f

h e e v e r e n v i s a g e d a d a y w h e n w e m i g h t h a v e t h i s s o r t o f h a r d w a r e

o n o u r d e s k s . “ I d o n ’ t e n v i s a g e s u c h a d a y b e f o r e 2 0 5 0 , ” h e s a i d ,

“ b u t I t h i n k w e w i l l h a v e a c c e s s t o q u a n t u m c o m p u t i n g i n t h e

Co u d a s a S a a S ( s o w a r e a s a s e r v i c e ) m u c h b e f o r e t h a t . ”

G i v e n t h a t , f o r m a n y y e a r s , a l l t h e t a l k a b o u t q u a n t u m

c o m p u t e r s r e v o l v e d a r o u n d u n i v e r s a l q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r s b u t

D - W a v e g o t t o m a r k e t fi r s t w i t h a v e r y d i e r e n t q u a n t u m

a r c h i t e c t u r e , w e w e r e k e e n t o k n o w w h e t h e r t h e u n i v e r s a l

a p p r o a c h h a s b e e n m a r g i n a l i s e d o r w h e t h e r t h e r e ’ s a p l a c e f o r

b o t h . At e r n a t i v e l y , p e r h a p s , w h e n t h e u n i v e r s a l q u a n t u m

c o m p u t i n g c o m e s a l o n g , m i g h t i t m a r k t h e e n d f o r q u a n t u m

W h i l e t h e r e a r e l o t s o f t h i n g s t h e D - W a v e 2 X c a n ’ t d o – u n l i k ea uni versal quantum computer, shoul d one come to frui ti on,w h i c h c o u l d s o l v e a n y p r o b l e m t h a t c a n b e e x p r e s s e d i n

l ogi cal terms – i ts quantum anneal i ng approach i s w el l sui tedto opti mi sati on, an area w here ordi nary computers struggl e.E l s e w h e r e w e s e e s o m e e x a m p l e s o f h o w s p e e d i n g u po p t im i sa t i on p r ob l em s c a n o e r m a ny r e a l- wo r ld b e ne fi ts , b u tw h a t d o e s D - W a v e m e a n w h e n i t s a y s t h a t i t s c o m p u t e r s u s ea q u an t um a n ne a li n g a r c h it e ct u r e Yo u ’d p r o ba b ly n e e d aPhD i n quantum physi cs to understand ful l y, but hopeful l your l ayman’ s expl anati on w i l l gi ve you an i nkl i ng.

I t ’ s w e l l k n o w n t h a t t o g e t t h e b e s t f u e l e c o n o m y f r o my o u r c a r y o u n e e d t o d r i v e a t a n o p t i m u m s p e e d , w h i c h i sa r o u n d 5 0 m p h . I f y o u d i d n ’ t k n o w t h i s a n d h a d a n e q u a t i o nr e l a t i n g f u e l c o n s u m p t i o n t o s p e e d , i t w o u l d b e s i m p l e t o fi n db y w o r k i n g o u t t h e f u e l c o n s u m p t i o n f o r a r a n g e o f s p e e d sand sel ecti ng the l ow est. Thi s i s cal l ed opti mi sati on, and i ti n v o l v e s j u s t a s i n g l e v a r i a b l e – s p e e d – s o t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p c a n

b e s h o w n a s a n o r d i n a r y g r a p h . T h e t a s k o f o p t i m i s a t i o ni nvol ves findi ng the l ow est poi nt on that graph.

T h i n g s g e t m o r e c o m p l i c a t e d w h e n w e h a v e m o r evari abl es. If w e have tw o vari abl es, the rel ati onshi p can bet h o u g h t o f a s a n a l o g o u s t o a l a n d s c a p e i n w h i c h o n e v a r i a b l ei s the l ati tude and the other the l ongi tude. Now opti mi sati oni nvol ves findi ng the l ow est val l ey i n the l andscape. Tryi ng outal l the combi nati ons of the tw o vari abl es i s one possi bi l i ty,b u t i t t a k e s a l o t l o n g e r t h a n w i t h o n e v a r i a b l e a n d t h e t i m ei ncreases exponenti al l y as addi ti onal vari abl es are added.

We’ l l conti nue to thi nk, here, about tw o vari abl es becausei t’ s easy to vi sual i se a tw o-di mensi onal l andscape, but thesame pri nci pl es appl y w i th more vari abl es and, hence, w i th amul ti -di mensi onal l andscape. Wi th a cl assi cal computer, a

beer sol uti on than tryi ng out every combi nati on i s to starta t a r a n d o m s p o t o n t h e s u r f a c e , l o o k a r o u n d f o r a l o w e r s p o tt o w a l k d o w n t o , a n d r e p e a t u n t i l y o u c a n ’ t w a l k d o w n h i l l a n ym o r e . W h i l e t h i s c a n w o r k , i t ’ s a l l t o o e a s y t o e n d u p i n a ‘ l o c a lmi ni mum’ , bei ng unaw are that there’ s a l ow er poi nt overanother mountai n or ri dge.

C l e v e r a l g o r i t h m s c a n g o s o m e w a y t o o v e r c o m i n g t h i s b u tthey are hungry for computi ng pow er. Wi th a quantuma n n e a l i n g c o m p u t e r , y o u c a n ‘ t u n n e l ’ t h r o u g h a r i d g e t o s e e i ft h e r e ’ s a l o w e r v a l l e y h i d d e n b e y o n d i t . T h e p r o c e s s h a s b e e nl i kened to floodi ng the l andscape w i th w ater and l ooki ng forthe pl aces w here the w ater accumul ates, and i t’ s possi bl eb e c a u s e o f t h e s t r a n g e p r o p e r t y o f q u b i t s t o h o l d m u l t i p l eval ues at the same ti me. So, w hi l e a conventi onal computer

c a n l o o k a t o n e p l a c e a t o n c e o n a l a n d s c a p e , a q u a n t u mc o m p u t e r c a n s e e a l l p l a c e s a t t h e s a m e t i m e .

Th e p ro b lem to wh ich q u an tu man n ealin g is id eally su ited is fi n d in gth e lo west valleys in a lan d scap e.Un like th is o n e, th o se lan d scap escan b e mu lti-d imen sio n al



a n n e a l i n g , j u s t a s t h e d i g i t a l c o m p u t e r e n d e d u p m a r g i n a l i s i n g a n d

t h e n r e p l a c i n g t h e a n a l o g u e c o m p u t e r ( s e e h o p p e r 3 3 3 ) .

W e p u t t h e s e p o i n t s t o V e n t u r e l l i , w h o t h i n k s t h a t q u a n t u m

a n n e a l i n g m i g h t r e p r e s e n t a s t e p p i n g s t o n e . “ T h e a p p r o a c h t a k e n

b y D - W a v e i s o n e o f t h e m a n y p o s s i b l e r o u t e s t o a u n i v e r s a l

q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r , ” h e s a i d . “ T h e i m p o r t a n c e o f u n i v e r s a lq u a n t u m c o m p u t a t i o n h a s n o t d i m i n i s h e d , b u t t h e f o c u s t o

n e a r - t e r m a p p r o a c h e s i s j u s t i fi e d b e c a u s e , b e f o r e D - W a v e , w e

w e r e n o t r e a l l y s u r e w e c o u l d h a v e m o d e r a t e s c a l e d e v i c e s t h a t

e x p l o i t q u a n t u m e e c t s i n a u s e f u l w a y f o r c o m p u t a t i o n s o s o o n .

I h a v e a f e e l i n g t h a t q u a n t u m a n n e a l i n g w i l l e v o l v e t o a u n i v e r s a l

q u a n t u m c o m p u t i n g p l a t f o r m s o m e h o w , b u t i t i s h a r d t o t e l l . ”

W h i l e e a r l y e x p e r i m e n t s i n t o q u a n t u m c o m p u t i n g t e n d e d t o b e

c a r r i e d o u t i n t h e w o r l d o f a c a d e m i a , s e v e r a l w e l l - k n o w n c o m p u t e r

c o m p a n i e s a r e n o w t a k i n g a n i n t e r e s t , a n d a f e w h a v e n a i l e d t h e i r

c o l o u r s t o t h e m a s t i n p r e d i c t i n g f u t u r e t i m e s c a l e s . J s t a f e w

m o n t h s a g o I t e l t e a m e d u p w i t h t h e D e l U n i v e r s i t y o f

T e c h n o l o g y ( T U D e l ) a n d T NO , t h e D u t c h O r g a n i z a t i o n f o r

A p l i e d R e s e a r c h , i n a $ 5 0 m i l l i o n p r o j e c t t h a t a i m s t o a c c e l e r a t e

a d v a n c e m e n t s i n q u a n t u m c o m p u t i n g . M i c r o s o , m e a n w h i l e , i s

a l s o a c t i v e i n t h e fi e l d a n d h a s i n d i c a t e d t h a t a p r a c t i c a l q u a n t u m

c o m p u t e r m i g h t b e o n l y 1 0 y e a r s a w a y . IBM h a s b e e n m a k i n gi m p o r t a n t s t r i d e s i n q u a n t u m e r r o r d e t e c t i o n a n d c o r r e c t i o n , e v e n

t h o u g h i t m e a n s t h a t s e v e r a l p h y s i c a l q u b i t s h a v e t o b e u s e d t o

c r e a t e o n e l o g i c a l q u b i t . A d t h e n t h e r e ’ s G o o g l e . u i t e s e p a r a t e l y

f r o m i t s i n v o l v e m e n t w i t h NA A n e x a m i n i n g t h e p o t e n t i a l o f

D - W a v e ’ s c o m p u t e r s , G o o g l e h a s j o i n e d f o r c e s w i t h r e s e a r c h e r s

f r o m t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f C l i f o r n i a , S a n t a B r b a r a , t o d e v e l o p i t s

o w n q u a n t u m c o m p u t i n g h a r d w a r e .

W h i l e a l l o f t h e s e v a r i o u s r e s e a r c h i n i t i a t i v e s r e p r e s e n t t h e

w h o l e g a m u t o f q u a n t u m c o m p u t i n g t e c h n o l o g i e s , s o m e o f t h e m

a i m t o d e l i v e r t h e h o l y g r a i l o f u n i v e r s a l q u a n t u m c o m p u t i n g . W e

t a l k e d t o r o f e s s o r L i e v e n V a n d e r s y p e n a t T U D e l , w h o r e f e r r e d

t o s e v e r a l r e c e n t d e v e l o p m e n t s t h a t s e e m t o m a k e t h e u n i v e r s a l

M o o r e ’ s L a w i s w e l l k n o w n t o t h o s e w h o

t a k e a n i n t e r e s t i n t e c h n o l o g y . I n t e l p i o n e e r

G o r d o n M o o r e s u g g e s t e d i n 1 9 6 5 t h a t t h e

n u m b e r o f t r a n s i s t o r s i n m a i n s t r e a m c h i p s

w o u l d d o u b l e e v e r y y e a r , l a t e r a m e n d i n g i t

t o a d o u b l i n g e v e r y t w o y e a r s . A t h o u g h

t h e e n d m i g h t b e i n s i g h t , t h a t p r e d i c t i o n

h a s p r o v e d t r u e f o r 5 0 y e a r s . T h i s r a i s e s

t h e i n t r i g u i n g q u e s t i o n o f w h e t h e r a s i m i l a r

t r e n d m i g h t a p p l y t o q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r s .

A p a r e n t l y s o , a c c o r d i n g t o - W a v e

f o u n d e r G e o r d i e R o s e a n d , w h a t ’ s m o r e , i t ’ s

b e e n d u b b e d R o s e ’ s L a w . I n R o s e ’ s v i s i o n o f

t h e f u t u r e , w h i c h h e s u g g e s t e d i n 2 0 0 2 , t h e

n u m b e r o f q u b i t s i n t h e fi r m ’ s q u a n t u m

c o m p u t e r s w o u l d d o u b l e e v e r y y e a r , “ m o r e

o r l e s s l i k e c l o c k w o r k ” . A g r a p h r e c e n t l y

p u b l i s h e d b y - W a v e , r e p r o d u c e d h e r e ,

s u g g e s t s t h a t R o s e ’ s L a w i s o n t r a c k a n d

h a s n ’ t e v e n h a d t o b e s h i e d d o w n a g e a r ,

a s M o o r e ’ s L a w w a s 1 0 y e a r s o n .

I n o n e i m p o r t a n t s e n s e , R o s e ’ s L a w i s

d i e r e n t t o M o o r e ’ s L a w . I n f a c t , i t ’ s b e e n

r e f e r r e d t o a s M o o r e ’ s L a w c o m p o u n d e d ,

o r a n e x p o n e n t i a l o n t o p o f a n e x p o n e n t i a l .

M o o r e ’ s L a w r e f e r s t o a d o u b l i n g i n t h et r a n s i s t o r c o u n t i n a p a r t i c u l a r t i m e p e r i o d ,

w h i c h i s a d e s c r i p t i o n o f e x p o n e n t i a l

g r o w t h . r a w n a s a g r a p h a g a i n s t t i m e , t h e

n u m b e r o f t r a n s i s t o r s i n c r e a s e s w i t h t h e

l i n e h e a d i n g u p w a r d s e v e r m o r e s t e e p l y ,

u n l e s s i t ’ s d r a w n o n a l o g a r i t h m i c a x i s , i n

w h i c h c a s e i t a p p e a r s s t r a i g h t .

S i n c e t h e p o w e r o f a c l a s s i c a l c o m p u t e r

g o e s r o u g h l y h a n d - i n - h a n d w i t h t h e

t r a n s i s t o r c o u n t , p e r f o r m a n c e a l s o

i n c r e a s e s e x p o n e n t i a l l y . R o s e ’ s L a w a l s o

s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e q u b i t c o u n t w i l l i n c r e a s e

e x p o n e n t i a l l y , b u t h e r e ’ s t h e d i e r e n c e .

U n l i k e a c o n v e n t i o n a l c o m p u t e r , y o u d o n ’ t

h a v e t o d o u b l e t h e q u b i t c o u n t t o d o u b l e

t h e p o w e r : y o u o n l y h a v e t o i n c r e a s e i t b y

o n e . S o t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n q u b i t s

a n d p e r f o r m a n c e i s a l s o e x p o n e n t i a l , h e n c e

t h e r e f e r e n c e t o M o o r e ’ s L a w c o m p o u n d e d .

T h i s r e p r e s e n t s a p h e n o m e n a l r a t e o f

g r o w t h a n d p e r h a p s e x p l a i n s s o m e o f t h e

a s t o n i s h i n g p r e d i c t i o n s t h a t a p p e a r o n t h e

o r i g i n a l g r a p h o f R o s e ’ s L a w , r e l e a s e d b y

- W a v e ’ s S t e v e J u r v e t s o n i n 2 0 1 1 , r e f e r r i n g

t o t i m e s n o t f a r i n t o t h e f u t u r e , s o m e o f

w h i c h h a v e n o w p a s s e d . F i r s t w a s t h e c l a i m

t h a t q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r s w o u l d b e c o m e

f a s t e r t h a n c l a s s i c a l c o m p u t e r s a n d , n o t

l o n g a e r , t h a t a s i n g l e q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r

w o u l d b e f a s t e r t h a n a l l t h e c o m p u t e r s i n

t h e w o r l d . G o o g l e ’ s r e c e n t a n n o u n c e m e n t

s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e fi r s t o f t h o s e m i l e s t o n e s

h a s a l r e a d y b e e n p a s s e d a n d t h a t w e ’ r e

p r o b a b l y n o t t o o f a r f r o m t h e s e c o n d .

H o w e v e r , t h i s i s f o r a s i n g l e a p p l i c a t i o n o n

a s p e c i a l i s e d q u a n t u m c o m p u t i n g

a r c h i t e c t u r e . F o r m o s t a p p l i c a t i o n s ,

q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r s h a v e a l o n g w a y t o g o

t o m a t c h c o n v e n t i o n a l t e c h n o l o g y .

v e n s o , w e c a n ’ t h e l p p o i n t o u t o n e

p r e d i c t i o n f r o m t h a t 2 0 1 1 g r a p h t h a t

s o u n d s t o t a l l y b i z a r r e , n a m e l y “ f a s t e r t h a n

t h e u n i v e r s e ” . T h i s h a s b e e n t a k e n t o m e a n

t h a t i f t h e t o t a l a m o u n t o f m a t e r i a l a n d

e n e r g y i n t h e u n i v e r s e w e r e t o b e

h a r n e s s e d i n t o a c o n v e n t i o n a l s u p e r -

c o m p u t e r , i t w o u l d n ’ t m a t c h a s i n g l e

q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r . P e r h a p s y o u ’ l l e x c u s e

u s i f w e r e m a i n j u s t a l i l e b i t s c e p t i c a l .

R o s e ’ s L a w , a s p u b l i s h e d i n 2 0 1 1 , w i t h m o r e r e c e n t d e v e l o p m e n t s a d d e d , s u g g e s t s t h a t

p r o g r e s s i s s l o w i n g d o w n , b u t i s s t i l l a n e x p o n e n t i a l o n t o p o f a n e x p o n e n t i a l

4 qubit

28 qubit

128 qubit

D-wave Two512 qubit

D-wave 2X1,000+ qubit

16 qubit





q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r m o r e l i k e l y .

“ T h e r e w e r e t w o a d v a n c e s o f t h e l a s t

f e w y e a r s t h a t h a v e m a d e m e m u c h

m o r e o p t i m i s t i c t h a n a f e w y e a r s

b a c k , ” h e t o l d u s .

“ F i r s t , t h e e r r o r r a t e w e c a n t o l e r a t e

f o r q u a n t u m e r r o r c o r r e c t i o n h a s j u m p e d

s i g n i fi c a n t l y ; a n d s e c o n d , c o h e r e n c e

t i m e s f o r s o l i d - s t a t e q u b i t s h a v e g o n e u p

b y o r d e r s o f m a g n i t u d e b y n e w m a t e r i a l s

d e v e l o p m e n t s . ” H o w e v e r , h e d i d h a v e

o n e i m p o r t a n t p r o v i s o . “ I p e o p l e s a y

t h a t a p r a c t i c a l m a c h i n e m a y b e p o s s i b l e

i n a d o z e n y e a r s o r s o , t h e y a l s o c o u n t

o n p r o g r e s s i n a l g o r i t h m s f o r ‘ f e w - q u b i t ’

a p p l i c a t i o n s ; i e , o n fi n d i n g w a y s t o m a k e

u s e o f h u n d r e d s o f q u b i t s r a t h e r t h a n

m a n y m i l l i o n s . I t h i n k t h e r e i s g o o d

r e a s o n f o r o p t i m i s m h e r e . ”

A c o r d i n g t o P r o f V a n d e r s y p e n ,

t h e r e ’ s s t i l l a l o t t o b e d o n e . “ A u m b e r

o f s c i e n t i fi c c h a l l e n g e s r e m a i n t o b e

a d d r e s s e d , e v e r y s t e p w e t a k e h a s n e v e r

b e e n t a k e n b e f o r e a n d i t t a k e s t i m e t o

fi g u r e o u t t h e r i g h t w a y s t o d o t h i n g s .

T h i s i n c l u d e s m a k i n g l a r g e n u m b e r s o f

q u b i t s t h a t a r e a l l i d e n t i c a l , d e v e l o p i n g

c o n t r o l e l e c t r o n i c s – p o s s i b l y p a r t l y

c r y o g e n i c – f o r a d d r e s s i n g t h e s e l a r g e

n u m b e r s o f q u b i t s , c o m i n g u p w i t h s u i t a b l e i n t e r f a c e s a n d

i n t e r c o n n e c t s t o p a s s o n a l l t h e m e a s u r e m e n t a n d c o n t r o l

s i g n a l s , a n d d e s i g n i n g a f u l l q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r a r c h i t e c t u r e .

Q u T e c h ( a c o l l a b o r a t i o n b e t w e e n T U D e l a n d T ) i s w o r k i n g

o n a l l t h e s e a s p e c t s , t o g e t h e r w i t h I t e l a n d o t h e r s .

S o f a r , s o g o o d , b u t w h a t c o u l d a u n i v e r s a l q u a n t u m c o m p u t e rb e u s e d f o r ? A e r a l l , t h e u s u a l a n s w e r i s f a c t o r i n g l a r g e n u m b e r s

a n d , i n s o d o i n g , e n a b l i n g a l l t o d a y ’ s c i p h e r s t o b e c r a c k e d i n a n

i n s t a n t . B t p o t e n t i a l l y d e r a i l i n g t h e o n l i n e s e c u r i t y o n w h i c h

c o m m e r c e i s s o r e l i a n t s o u n d s m o r e l i k e a l i a b i l i t y t h a n a b e n e fi t .

W e a s k e d w h e t h e r t h i s a r c h i t e c t u r e t r u l y w i l l b e u n i v e r s a l a n d , i f

s o , w h a t t h e r e a l k i l l e r a p p s w i l l b e .

A c o r d i n g t o P r o f V a n d e r s y p e n , i t w i l l b e g e n u i n e l y u n i v e r s a l .

“ B u n i v e r s a l w e m e a n t h a t i t c a n b e p r o g r a m m e d t o s o l v e a n yp r o b l e m f o r w h i c h t h e r e e x i s t s a n a l g o r i t h m – q u a n t u m o r

c l a s s i c a l , ” h e e x p l a i n e d . H e t h e n w e n t o n t o r e f e r t o l i k e l y

a p p l i c a t i o n s . “ W h a t m o t i v a t e s m e m o s t a r e t h e q u a n t u m

a l g o r i t h m s a c h i e v i n g e x p o n e n t i a l s p e e d - u p f o r s i m u l a t i n g

m o l e c u l e s a n d m a t e r i a l s , w h i c h m a y c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e

d e v e l o p m e n t o f n e w d r u g s , t o d e s i g n i n g m a t e r i a l s f o r t r a n s p o r t i n g

o r s t o r i n g e l e c t r i c i t y w i t h o u t l o s s e s , a n d s o f o r t h ” .

H e w a s e v e n o p t i m i s t i c t h a t q u a n t u m c o m p u t i n g w i l l

e v e n t u a l l y g o m a i n s t r e a m . “ C r r e n t l y k n o w n a p p l i c a t i o n s a r e n o t

f o r i m m e d i a t e c o n s u m e r u s e , b u t w h o k n o w s h o w t h e fi e l d w i l l

d e v e l o p ? I a m h o p e f u l t h a t m a n y m o r e a p p l i c a t i o n s w i l l b e

d i s c o v e r e d , i n c l u d i n g m a i n s t r e a m a p p l i c a t i o n s . ”

S o i t s e e m s t h a t a n a p p l i c a t i o n - s p e c i fi c q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r i s n o w

w i t h u s – a l t h o u g h s o m e e x p e r t s r e m a i n t o b e c o n v i n c e d – b u t t h e

u n i v e r s a l q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r s t i l l h a s n ’ t e s c a p e d f r o m t h e

r e s e a r c h l a b s . A e r d e c a d e s o f p r o m i s e , t h o u g h , m a n y r e s e a r c h e r s

b e l i e v e t h a t i t w i l l b r e a k o u t i n t h e n e x t 2 0 y e a r s , a n d p o s s i b l y a

l o t s o o n e r t h a n t h a t . W h i l e y o u m i g h t n e v e r h a v e o n e o n y o u r

d e s k , h u g e b e n e fi t s t o h u m a n i t y a r e e x p e c t e d .

I t e l a n d M i c r o s o h a v e o n g o i n g q u a n t u m c o m p u t i n g r e s e a r c h

i n i t i a t i v e s , a n d w e m i g h t r e a s o n a b l y e x p e c t t h a t t h e s e m a j o r

p l a y e r s i n t h e w o r l d o f c l a s s i c a l c o m p u t e r s m i g h t l e a d t h e w a y

w i t h t h e q u a n t u m a l t e r n a t i v e . B t h c o m p a n i e s d e c l i n e d o u r

i n v i t a t i o n t o s u g g e s t w h a t t h e f u t u r e h o l d s . D o e s t h i s s u g g e s t

t h a t t h e m o o t e d 1 0 - t o 1 2 - y e a r t i m e s c a l e s a r e o v e r - o p t i m i s t i c

o r t h a t t h e y ’ r e j u s t p l a y i n g i t s a f e ? W e ’ d h a v e t o c o n c l u d e t h a t

t h e f u t u r e o f q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r s i s a s h a r d t o p i n d o w n a s a n

e l e c t r o n i n s u p e r p o s i t i o n .


IBM h as recen tly mad eimp o rtan t ad van ces inq u an tu m erro r d etectio n

an d co rrectio n , wh ich is keyto p reven tin g d eco h eren ce

Scien tist erry Ch o w con d u cts aquantum computing experimentat IBM’s research cen tre







T h e n t h e r e a r e t h e e n d l e s s w a y s t o a d a p t M i n e c r a .

l a y e r s ’ s k i n s ( t h e c o s t u m e w o r n b y t h e i r a v a t a r ) c a n b e

c u s t o m i s e d ; m o d s a l t e r t h e w a y t h e g a m e l o o k s a n d f e e l s ,

c h a n g i n g t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f b l o c k s a n d i n t r o d u c i n g n e w

r u l e s o r f e a t u r e s t o t h e g a m e ; r e s o u r c e p a c k s r e - s k i n t h e

e n t i r e e n v i r o n m e n t , t u r n i n g y o u r M i n e c r a w o r l d i n t o a

m e d i e v a l k i n g d o m o r C r i s t m a s w o n d e r l a n d . T h e r e ’ s a n

e n t i r e e c o s y s t e m b u i l t a r o u n d a l l o f t h e s e a n d a h u g e

c o m m u n i t y w i l l i n g t o s h a r e t h e i r c r e a t i o n s .

A y o n e w i t h c h i l d r e n i s p r o b a b l y u s e d t o w r e n c h i n g t h e

s m a r t p h o n e o r t a b l e t o u t o f t h e i r h a n d s , f o r c i n g t h e m t o

p e r f o r m t r i v i a l t a s k s s u c h a s e a t i n g a n d s l e e p i n g i n b e t w e e n

M i n e c r a s e s s i o n s . A u r v e y o f 2 , 8 0 0 c h i l d r e n c o n d u c t e d

b y t h e m a k e r s o f t h e D i n n e r T i m e l u s a p p , w h i c h r e p o r t s

o n k i d s ’ d e v i c e u s a g e , f o u n d t h a t c h i l d r e n s p e n d a n a v e r a g e

o f 5 2 m i n u t e s p e r d a y p l a y i n g M i n e c r a .

B t i t ’ s n o t o n l y k i d s w h o a r e o b s e s s e d w i t h M i n e c r a .

T h e g a m e h a s t r u e c r o s s - g e n e r a t i o n a l a p p e a l . W e i n v i t e d

m e m b e r s o f t h e M i n e c r a s u b r e d d i t ( w w w . r e d d i t . c o m / r /

m i n e c r f ) t o t e l l u s w h y t h e y p l a y e d t h e g a m e a n d t h e

T h e r e i s n o o n e w a y t o ‘ p l a y M i n e c r a ’ . T h e r e a r e t w o m a i n

g a m i n g m o d e s – C e a t i v e a n d S u r v i v a l – b u t h u n d r e d s o f

d i e r e n t w a y s t o p l a y e a c h . C e a t i v e i s t h e s a n d b o x m o d e ,

w h e r e p l a y e r s a r e f r e e t o b u i l d w h a t e v e r t h e y c h o o s e –

h o u s e s , f a r m s , p i r a t e s h i p s , a n a n c i e n t m e t r o p o l i s , t h e E e l

T o w e r , m o d e l s o f m o l e c u l e s – f r o m t h e h u n d r e d s o f b l o c k s

a n d o b j e c t s a v a i l a b l e . I a g i n e a m a s s i v e b o x o f L e g o t i p p e d

o u t o n t h e c a r p e t a n d y o u ’ r e g e i n g t h e g i s t .

C e a t i v e i s , a n e c d o t a l l y , t h e m o d e m o s t f a v o u r e d b y

c h i l d r e n , g i v i n g t h e m f r e e r e i n t o b u i l d w h a t e v e r t h e i r

i m a g i n a t i o n d i c t a t e s w i t h o u t t h e c h o r e o f h a v i n g t o fi n d ,

m i n e a n d c r a n e w r e s o u r c e s . l a y e r s c a n b u i l d i n d i v i d u a l l y

o r a s a t e a m , t h r o u g h l o c a l m u l t i p l a y e r g a m e s o r s e r v e r s .

S u r v i v a l i s m o r e o f a g r i n d , a c h a l l e n g e f o r t h o s e w h o a r e

b o r e d b y t h e e n d l e s s b u i l d i n g a n d d o n ’ t w a n t e v e r y t h i n g

h a n d e d t o t h e m o n p l a t e . Y o u s t a r t w i t h n o t h i n g , f o r c e d t o

b a s h y o u r s e l f a s h e l t e r , f o r a g e f o r f o o d a n d k n o c k t o g e t h e rs o m e b a s i c w e a p o n s b e f o r e n i g h t f a l l s a n d t h e s p i d e r s ,

z o m b i e s a n d i c o n i c c r e e p e r s c o m e l o o k i n g f o r y o u . T h e

u l t i m a t e g o a l i s t o m a k e i t t o T h e E d – a d e s o l a t e

u n d e r w o r l d w h e r e y o u m u s t s l a y a d r a g o n . H o w e v e r ,

d e s p i t e t h e n a m e , t h e g a m e n e v e r a c t u a l l y ‘ e n d s ’ – e v e n

w h e n t h e E d e r D r a g o n i s d o w n e d y o u ’ r e f r e e t o c o n t i n u e

r o a m i n g t h r o u g h y o u r M i n e c r a w o r l d .

S u r v i v a l c a n b e p l a y e d s o l o o r i n m u l t i p l a y e r m o d e s t o o ,

a n d a g a i n t h e r e ’ s n o e n d o f v a r i a n t s . H u g e p l a y e r v s p l a y e r

( v ) s e r v e r s o p e r a t e o n l i n e w i t h t h o u s a n d s o f p l a y e r s

c h o p p i n g a n d h a c k i n g a t o n e a n o t h e r . T w e n t y - s t r o n g c l a n s

r o a m m a p s , l o o k i n g f o r h i d d e n e n e m y b a s e s i n t h e s k y o r

u n d e r g r o u n d , a l w a y s o n t h e l o o k o u t f o r t r a p s m a d e u s i n g

t h e i n - g a m e ‘ e l e c t r i c i t y ’ , c a l l e d R e d s t o n e . T h e r e a r e a l s og a z i l l i o n s o f s e r v e r m i n i - g a m e s , t h a t t u r n M i n e c r a i n t o

m u l t i p l a y e r m a z e s , c a p t u r e t h e fl a g o r h o r s e r a c i n g g a m e s .

F a m o u s l a n d m a r k s a r e

a m o n g t h e c o u n t l e s s

o b j e c t s t h a t c a n b e

m o d e l l e d i n M i n e c r a

A su r ve y of 2,8 c h ildre n c on du c te d b yth e m ak e r s of th e D in n e r T im e Plu s appf ou nd th at ch ildre n spe nd an ave rag e of52 m inu te s pe r day playing M ine craf t




M INECRAFT

r e s p o n s e s r a n g e d f r o m 1 8 - y e a r - o l d s t u d e n t s k i l l i n g t i m e

b e t w e e n l e c t u r e s t o r e t i r e e s l o o k i n g f o r a c r e a t i v e o u t l e t .

n e 6 7 - y e a r - o l d p l a y e r , w h o fi r s t s t a r t e d p l a y i n g

t e x t - b a s e d g a m e s i n t h e 1 9 7 0 s , t o l d u s h e l o v e d t h e s e d a t e ,

o p e n - e n d e d n a t u r e o f t h e g a m e . “ T h e v a r i e t y o f t h i n g s t o

d o a n d b u i l d i s t h e m o s t f u n , ” h e s a i d . “ I l i k e c o l l e c t i n g

r e s o u r c e s , f a r m i n g , a u t o m a t i o n a n d o n m y c u r r e n t w o r l d

h a v e b e e n b u i l d i n g n e x t t o a n P C i l l a g e [ a n i n - g a m e

v i l l a g e i n h a b i t e d b y c o m p u t e r - c o n t r o l l e d v i l l a g e r s ] – k i n d o f

l i k e t h e c a s t l e s i n t h e L o i r e V a l l e y t h a t h a v e a s m a l l t o w n

o u t s i d e t o s u p p l y t h e c a s t l e w i t h s t a a n d s u p p l i e s . I

p r o b a b l y p l a y a b o u t s i x - t o - e i g h t h o u r s a w e e k , s o m e t i m e s

m o r e , s o m e t i m e s ( d u e t o w o r k ) m u c h l e s s . ”

A o t h e r fi y - s o m e t h i n g p l a y e r w a s o n e o f t h e m a n y

w h o t o l d u s h e h a d s e t u p a h o m e M i n e c r a s e r v e r t h a t

s e v e r a l m e m b e r s o f t h e f a m i l y p l a y o n . “ I h a v e a c u s t o m

m o d d e d f a m i l y s e r v e r r u n n i n g t h a t t h e w i f e g e t s o n o n c e

i n a w h i l e , ” h e s a i d . “ A t u a l l y w e ’ r e w a i t i n g f o r o u r

g r a n d d a u g h t e r t o s h o w i n t e r e s t i n t h e g a m e , a t w h i c h p o i n t

t h e w i f e a n d I m a y s t a r t a c l e a n w o r l d f o r u s t o a l l s h a r e . ”

F o r s o m e , t h e g a m e h a s b e c o m e a p r o f e s s i o n . M a r k , a

s y s t e m s a d m i n i n h i s f o r t i e s f r o m A s t r a l i a , s a y s M i n e c r a

h a s a u n i q u e a p p e a l . “ T h e t h i n g a b o u t M i n e c r a i s h o w t r u e

t o b e i n g a s a n d b o x i t i s , ” h e t o l d u s . “ G a m e s g e n e r a l l y h a v e

p a t h s , s o m e w i l l r a i l r o a d y o u . I ’ s a p r e y r i d e , b u t y o u t e n d

t o s t a r t a t s e t - p i e c e A n d fi n d y o u r s e l f a t s e t - p i e c e B t h e n

c h o o s e h o w t o g e t t o s e t - p i e c e Ca n d s o o n . M i n e c r a

d o e s n ’ t r e a l l y h a v e t h a t ; y o u h a v e t o b r i n g y o u r g a m e i n t o

i t . T h e ‘ h o w ’ y o u p l a y , a n d t h e t o o l s e t t h a t i s M i n e c r a , i s

o n e o f t h e g r e a t e s t s t r e n g t h s o f t h e g a m e i t s e l f . ”

H e d e s c r i b e s h i m s e l f a s a “ p r o f e s s i o n a l s t r e a m e r ” o n

T w i t c h . t v – a s i t e d e v o t e d t o l i v e s t r e a m i n g o f p e o p l e

p l a y i n g g a m e s – a n d h a s m o r e t h a n 1 6 0 , 0 0 0 f o l l o w e r s ,

p r e d o m i n a n t l y w a t c h i n g v i d e o s a b o u t m o d i fi e d v e r s i o n s o f

M i n e c r a . “ I m a k e p a c k s , t e s t m y o w n a n d o t h e r s , [ a n d ]

s h a r e m y ‘ m o m e n t s ’ w i t h t h o u s a n d s , ” h e s a i d . “ I u s e t h e

w o r d ‘ m o m e n t ’ s p e c i fi c a l l y . M i n e c r a a l l o w s m e t o c r e a t em o m e n t s . I t e r e s t i n g a n d i n - d e p t h , d a n g e r o u s a n d t h r i l l i n g ,

h u m o r o u s a n d e d u c a t i o n a l . A d s o m e t i m e s , I j u s t w a n t t o

b u i l d a m a c h i n e t h a t c a n d o , w e l l , n e a r l y a n y t h i n g . ”

T h e n t h e r e a r e t h o s e a t t h e o p p o s i t e e n d o f t h e

s p e c t r u m , w h o t r e a t M i n e c r a l i k e a c r e a t i v e h o b b y . “ I fi n d

i t m e d i t a t i v e , ” s a i d a 3 6 - y e a r - o l d r e s p o n d e n t w h o

i n t r o d u c e d h i s d a u g h t e r t o t h e g a m e , n o t t h e o t h e r w a y

r o u n d . “ I u s u a l l y p l a y w h i l e l i s t e n i n g t o p o d c a s t s o r

a u d i o b o o k s . I c a n k i l l t w o b i r d s w i t h o n e s t o n e t h a t w a y .

As o , I c o n s i d e r i t a n a r t f o r m . I m i g h t s e e m a s t r a n g e

m e d i u m f o r m a n y , b u t I r e a l l y e n j o y i t . I i s d i g i t a l s c u l p t u r e . ”

A d , p e r h a p s m o s t u p l i i n g l y o f a l l , t h e r e a r e p e o p l e

w h o ’ v e f o u n d a n o u t l e t i n M i n e c r a t h a t t h e y c o u l d n ’ t fi n d

i n t h e ‘ r e a l w o r l d ’ . “ I s t a r t e d p l a y i n g i n h i g h s c h o o l … b u t I c o n t i n u e t o p l a y b e c a u s e o f t h e f r i e n d s I h a v e m a d e a n d t h e

c o m m u n i t y I m p a r t o f q u i t e l i t e r a l l y s a v e d m y l i f e , ” w r o t e

o n e R e d d i t r e s p o n d e n t . “ I s u e r e d f r o m d e p r e s s i o n a n d

s t r u g g l e d w i t h s u i c i d a l t h o u g h t s d a i l y . L u c k i l y I h a d a

s e c o n d h o m e f u l l o f p e o p l e w h o r e a l l y a n d t r u l y c a r e d f o r

m e , a p l a c e w h e r e I c o u l d t a l k a n d b e m y s e l f , a p l a c e I f e l t

s a f e , a p l a c e I c o n t r o l l e d . T h a t i s s o m e t h i n g I c a n n e v e r

f o r g e t a n d t h a t ’ s w h y I c o n t i n u e t o p l a y . ”

A o t h e r p l a y e r i n t h e i r m i d - 3 0 s t o l d u s t h e y t o o u s e t h e

g a m e t o d e a l w i t h a m e n t a l d i s o r d e r , a l t h o u g h t h i s t i m e

s e e k i n g i s o l a t i o n r a t h e r t h a n c o m p a n y . “ I p l a y b e c a u s e I

h a v e s o c i a l a n x i e t y t h a t I h a v e t o k e e p u n d e r w r a p s a l l d a y

i n o r d e r t o f u n c t i o n i n h u m a n s o c i e t y , ” t h e y t o l d u s .

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b e t a i n 2 0 0 9 , M i n e c r a fi n a l l y r e a c h e d v e r s i o n 1 i n 2 0 1 1 .

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g a m e , c u l m i n a t i n g i n t h e r e c e n t r e l e a s e o f M i n e c r a 1 . 9 –

t h e s o - c a l l e d C m b a t U p d a t e – w h i c h b r i n g s a b a r r a g e o f

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e n h a n c e m e n t s t o t h e i n - g a m e w e a p o n r y .

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p a i d f o r M i n e c r a 1 . 0 b a c k i n 2 0 1 1 , y o u ’ v e n e v e r n e e d e d t op a y f o r a C v e r s i o n o f t h e g a m e a g a i n . ( I w i l l b e i n t e r e s t i n g

t o s e e h o w l o n g p a r e n t c o m p a n y M i c r o s o m a i n t a i n s t h i s

r e v e n u e - f r e e a p p r o a c h , b u t m o r e o n M i c r o s o l a t e r . ) O f

c o u r s e , d e v e l o p e r M o j a n g h a s f o u n d o t h e r w a y s t o k e e p t h e

m o n e y c o m i n g i n . T h e o c k e t E i t i o n i s a p e r m a n e n t fi x t u r e

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v e r s i o n f o r W i n d o w s 1 0 ; t h e r e a r e v e r s i o n s f o r X b o x a n d

l a y S t a t i o n a n d a b e l a t e d a r r i v a l o n t h e W i i U i n p r o s p e c t ,

a s w e l l a s e d i t i o n s f o r t h e M a c a n d e v e n t h e R a s p b e r r y i .

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c o n t a i n s m a n y o f t h e s a m e e l e m e n t s a s M i n e c r a : c r a i n g ,

m i n i n g a n d e v e n a l e a d c h a r a c t e r w i e l d i n g a M i n e c r a - l i k e

p i c k a x e . T e r r a r i a h a s r e p o r t e d l y s o l d o v e r 1 2 m i l l i o n c o p i e s

o n W i n d o w s , t h e c o n s o l e s a n d a p p s t o r e s , b u t t h a t ’ s s t i l l

d w a r f e d b y t h e 7 0 m + s a l e s o f M i n e c r a .

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r e l e a s e d M i n e c r a : S t o r y M o d e i s a c h i l d r e n ’ s p o i n t - a n d -

c l i c k a d v e n t u r e o f t h e M o n k e y I l a n d i l k , a l t h o u g h f a r l e s s

s a t i s f y i n g . I ’ s t o p p e d t h e a p p c h a r t s , t o o , t h o u g h h o u r - l o n g

e p i s o d e s t h a t c o s t £ 3 . 9 9 a p o p a r e r u b b i n g p l a y e r s a n d t h e i r

p a r e n t s u p t h e w r o n g w a y , j u d g i n g b y t h e t e p i d r e v i e w s .

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s h o c k e d j u s t a b o u t e v e r y o n e b y b u y i n g M o j a n g f o r $ 2 . 5

b i l l i o n i n 2 0 1 4 . I ’ s h a r d t o i m a g i n e t w o m o r e d i e r e n t

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l o v e d b y t h e M i n e c r a c o m m u n i t y f o r i t s o p e n a p p r o a c h

a n d s h e e r q u i r k i n e s s ; M i c r o s o w a s t h e s t a r c h - c o l l a r e d

c o r p o r a t e b e h e m o t h t h a t p r e d o m i n a n t l y b e l i e v e s i n c l o s e d

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a n d a p r e s s o ffi c e r h a v e r e a d t h e b l o g fi r s t .

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b e c a u s e o f t h e w a y t h e c o m p a n y f o r c e d d e v e l o p e r s t o

c e r t i f y t h e i r a p p s . “ I d r a t h e r h a v e M i n e c r a n o t r u n o n W i n

8 a t a l l t h a n t o p l a y a l o n g , ” h e t w e e t e d . “ M a y b e w e c a n

c o n v i n c e a f e w p e o p l e n o t t o s w i t c h t o W i n 8 t h a t w a y . ”

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M i c r o s o ’ s d o o r t o s e l l h i s c o m p a n y . H i s a p o l o g e t i c

p o s t - s a l e b l o g s t a t e d : “ I m a w a r e t h i s g o e s a g a i n s t a l o t o f

w h a t I v e s a i d i n p u b l i c . I h a v e n o g o o d r e s p o n s e t o t h a t . ”A d w h i l e M o j a n g h a s b e e n a b s o r b e d i n t o M i c r o s o w i t h

l e s s e n m i t y t h a n m a n y e x p e c t e d , t h e r e ’ s c l e a r l y l i n g e r i n g

r e s e n t m e n t f r o m e r s s o n ’ s f o r m e r s t a . “ W h e n w e s o l d t h e

c o m p a n y , t h e b i g g e s t e o r t w e n t i n t o m a k i n g s u r e t h e

e m p l o y e e s g o t t a k e n c a r e o f , a n d t h e y a l l h a t e m e n o w , ”

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a b o u t t h e l o n e l i n e s s o f h i s n e w l i f e a s a c a r e f r e e b i l l i o n a i r e .

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g i v i n g a w a y a f r e e c o p y t o o w n e r s o f t h e e x i s t i n g P C e r s i o n

a n d h a s s h o w n n o s i g n s t h a t i t ’ s a b o u t t o e x p l o i t M i n e c r a

a s a W i n d o w s 1 0 / X b o x e x c l u s i v e . I d e e d , M o j a n g r e c e n t l y

a n n o u n c e d i t w a s b r i n g i n g t h e g a m e t o i n t e n d o c o n s o l e sf o r t h e fi r s t t i m e , a n d h a s c o n t i n u e d t o p r o v i d e m e a n i n g f u l

u p d a t e s f o r t h e P o c k e t E d i t i o n o n A d r o i d a n d i S .

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a s M i n e c r a i s c o n c e r n e d – i n p u b l i c , a t l e a s t .

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f r o m S t o c k h o l m . A l a s t s u m m e r ’ s M i n e c o n e v e n t

i n L o n d o n – a e n d e d b y 1 0 , 0 0 0 M i n e c r a f a n s –

t h e r e w a s b a r e l y a M i c r o s o l o g o i n s i g h t .

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t h e r e s h o u l d b e n o f e a r w i t h a M i c r o s o - o w n e d

M i n e c r a , ” s a i d P a t r i c k M o o r h e a d , p r e s i d e n t a n d

p r i n c i p a l a n a l y s t o f M o o r I s i g h t , w h o a e n d e d

M i n e c o n . “ T h e t h i n g M i c r o s o n e e d s t o k e e p i n

m i n d i s t h a t i t n e e d s t o s t i c k t o t h e s a m e w a y o fm a n a g i n g M i n e c r a o r r i s k d a m a g i n g t h e

p r o p e r t y o r a l i e n a t i n g t h e c o m m u n i t y . I s a y

c o m m u n i t y b e c a u s e M i n e c r a e r s t r u l y h a v e a

m i n d a n d p e r s o n a l i t y o f t h e i r o w n w h e r e i t ’ s n o t

a b o u t i n d i v i d u a l s , b u t t h e c o l l e c t i o n o f t h e m ,

t h a t m a k e s t h e m a c o m m u n i t y . ”

S o w h a t o n e a r t h t e m p t e d M i c r o s o t o p a y £ 2 . 5

b i l l i o n f o r M o j a n g ? S u r e , M i n e c r a ’ s a c o n s i s t e n t

t o p - s e l l e r , a n d r e g u l a r u p d a t e s f o r t h e X b o x n e

w o n ’ t h u r t , b u t i t d o e s n ’ t s e l l a n y w h e r e n e a r e n o u g h t o

j u s t i f y s u c h a n e n o r m o u s p r i c e t a g o n s a l e s a l o n e . A d

t h o u g h M o j a n g d o e s d e v e l o p o n e o r t w o o t h e r t i t l e s , t h e y

a r e n e a r i n s i g n i fi c a n t .

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h a n d s o n M i n e c r a w a s t o g i v e i t a k i l l e r a p p f o r a r g u a b l y

t h e b i g g e s t g a m b l e i n t h e c o m p a n y ’ s e n t i r e h i s t o r y :

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h o l o g r a p h i c h e a d s e t i n 2 0 1 5 c a u g h t m o r e p e o p l e b y

s u r p r i s e t h a n t h e d e c i s i o n t o b u y M o j a n g , a n d M i c r o s o h a s a l r e a d y d e l i v e r e d s o m e s p e c t a c u l a r d e m o n s t r a t i o n s o f

h o w H o l o L e n s a n d M i n e c r a w i l l c o m e t o g e t h e r .

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c o n f e r e n c e s h o w e d t h e e n o r m o u s p o t e n t i a l , w i t h

t h e c o m p a n y ’ s H o l o L e n s - w e a r i n g p r e s e n t e r a b l e

t o o p e n a M i n e c r a w o r l d o n t h e o r d i n a r y ( r e a l )

t a b l e i n f r o n t o f h i m . T h e a u d i e n c e – s e e i n g w h a t

t h e M i c r o s o m a n c o u l d s e e o n t h e b i g s c r e e n s ,

c o u r t e s y o f a s p e c i a l l y a d a p t e d c a m e r a – g a s p e d

a s t h e b l o c k y m o u n t a i n s e r u p t e d o u t o f t h e

t a b l e ’ s s u r f a c e . T h e d e m o n s t r a t o r c o u l d

m a n i p u l a t e b l o c k s w i t h h i s h a n d s , s w i n g r o u n d t o

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t h e s u r f a c e . B e r s t i l l , h e c o u l d c o n t i n u e p l a y i n gi n t h e s a m e w o r l d a s h i s c o l l e a g u e u s i n g a n

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Ca i m e d t o b e t h e “ m o s t d e t a i l e d T i t a n i c o u tt h e r e ” , t h i s m a s s i v e f e a t o f s h i p b u i l d i n g t o o k ay e a r t o c o m p l e t e , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e c h a r m i n g l yn a m e d b u i l d e r , D e a d k o a l a s . W e k n o w t h a t ’ s h i sn a m e , a s h e ’ s p l a s t e r e d i t o n s i g n s a l l a r o u n d t h es h i p , b u t w e ’ l l f o r g i v e h i s a g g r e s s i v e c l a i m f o rc r e d i t b e c a u s e t h e d o w n l o a d a b l e b u i l d i sr e m a r k a b l y d e t a i l e d , f r o m t h e t r a i n j o u r n e y t ot h e s h i p w h e n y o u fi r s t l a n d , t o t h e i n d i v i d u a l l ym a r k e d c a b i n s a n d s t o r e s d o w n b e l o w . T h i s o n e ’ st r u l y u n s i n k a b l e , t o o . I c a n ’ t m o v e .


T h e s c r e e n s h o t b a r e l y d o e s j u s t i c e t o h o w b i g t h i s c a s t l ei s l a n d b u i l d i s . I’ s a n e n o r m o u s g o t h i c b u i l d t h a t p o k e st h r o u g h t h e c l o u d s – y o u ’ l l n e e d a P C w i t h a r e a s o n a b l el e v e l o f g r a p h i c a l p o k e j u s t t o t a k e i t a l l i n . E v e n m o r ee x t r a o r d i n a r y i s t h a t i t s c r e a t o r c l a i m s t o h a v e k n o c k e d i tu p i n o n l y fi v e h o u r s w h e n b o r e d a t C r i s t m a s . W e ’ r e n o ts u r e w e b e l i e v e h i m . T h e c a s t l e i s a n e m p t y s h e l l , w h i c h i so n e o f t h e m a n y r e a s o n s w e l i k e t h i s b u i l d : i t ’ s a w o r k i np r o g r e s s t h a t o e r s s c o p e f o r y o u r o w n a d a p t a t i o n .


T h e H e i s t i s a t e r r i fi c e x a m p l e o f h o w i t ’ s p o s s i b l et o b u i l d s t a n d a l o n e g a m e s w i t h i n i n e c r a . T h i si m m a c u l a t e l y m a d e e s p i o n a g e a d v e n t u r e h a s y o ud u c k i n g p a s t s e c u r i t y c a m e r a s , s e e i n g t h r o u g h w a l l sw i t h y o u r x - r a y v i s i o n a n d h a c k i n g i n t o c o m p u t e r s .T h e r e ’ s n o n e o f t h e n o r m a l i n e c r a m e c h a n i c s o fb u i l d i n g a n d c r a i n g : y o u j u s t b u n d l e t h r o u g h t h e

l i n e a r l e v e l s , t r y i n g n o t t o r a i s e t h e a l a r m a n d a l e r tt h e g u a r d r o b o t s .




M INECRAFT

t i n y u r l . c o m / 3 3 8 m i n e c r a 6

A t a g g e r i n g l y c o m p l e x r e - c r e a t i o n o f t h e S e v e n

K i n g d o m s , W e s t e r o s Ca p a y s g l o r i o u s t r i b u t e t o

G e o r g e R R M a r t i n ’ s Ga m e o f T r o n e s . T h e m a p i s

m a s s i v e a n d h u g e l y d e m a n d i n g : y o u ’ l l n e e d

d e d i c a t e d g r a p h i c s t o m a k e t h e m o s t o f i t . I h a s a l lo f t h e m a i n l o c a t i o n s f r o m t h e b o o k s a n d t e l e v i s i o n

s e r i e s , i n c l u d i n g K i n g ’ s L a n d i n g , W i n t e r f e l l a n d

C s t l e B a c k , a m o n g o t h e r s . J i n t h e m u l t i p l a y e r

s e r v e r a n d s t a r t e x p l o r i n g – i t ’ s b e w i l d e r i n g h o w f e w

p e o p l e a r e p l a y i n g t h i s i n c r e d i b l e b u i l d .


A e p i c m o d e r n m e t r o p o l i s , T i t a n Ct y i s t h e s u m t o t a l o f

t w o y e a r s o f i t s m a k e r ’ s l i f e . I ’ s l i k e t a k i n g a w a l k t h r o u g h

C n a r y W h a r f : t h e r e a r e e n o r m o u s , v a r i e d s k y s c r a p e r s

w h e r e v e r y o u l o o k . I s m a k e r , Y o u T u b e u s e r C l o n i a l

P u p p e t ( w w w . y o u t u e . o m / u s e r / T o m B o k Ga m i n g ) , s h o u l d

b e s n a p p e d u p b y a r c h i t e c t s , s u c h i s t h e v a r i e t y a n d

e x c r u c i a t i n g a m o u n t o f d e t a i l i n t h e b u i l d , w h i c h c o m p r i s e s

4 . 5 m b l o c k s . I ’ s f r e e t o d o w n l o a d a n d t h e r e ’ s p l e n t y o f

s c o p e t o a d a p t t h e d e s i g n s y o u r s e l f .


A r e a t e x a m p l e o f a m o r e c e r e b r a l b u i l d , M y

M o t h e r ’ s H o u s e i s V i c t o r i a B n n e ’ s o d e t o h e r

d y i n g m o t h e r , a n i n t e r a c t i v e p o e m t h a t u n r a v e l s a s

y o u w a l k a r o u n d t h e v a r i o u s r o o m s . T h e p o e t r y i s

d e l i v e r e d i n m a n y f o r m s : s o m e t i m e s t h e n a r r a t i o n

k i c k s i n a s y o u m o v e f r o m r o o m t o r o o m , s o m e t i m e s

i t ’ s d i s p l a y e d i n t e x t , s o m e t i m e s t h e p o e m s a r e

t u c k e d i n s i d e b o o k s h i d d e n i n M i n e c r a c h e s t s .

T h e b u i l d i s e x t r a o r d i n a r y e n o u g h i n i t s o w n r i g h t ,b u t t h e m o v i n g p o e t r y i s e q u a l l y e n t h r a l l i n g .




The v ideo phon et i n y u r l . c o m / 3 3 8 m i n e c r a 7

T h i s p r o j e c t , s p o n s o r e d b y t h e U S m o b i l e n e t w o r k

V e r i z o n , r e - c r e a t e d a w o r k i n g s m a r t p h o n e w i t h i n

M i n e c r a , c a p a b l e o f m a k i n g a n d r e c e i v i n g v i d e o

c a l l s . a c h o f t h e s c r e e n ‘ p i x e l s ’ i s a r e g u l a r

M i n e c r a b l o c k , a l t h o u g h i t ’ s f a i r t o s a y t h e s c r e e n

i s n ’ t e x a c t l y R e t i n a r e s o l u t i o n . T h e p h o n e w a s b u i l t

u s i n g a w e b a p p c a l l e d B x e l t o t r a n s l a t e w e b p a g e s

a n d s t r e a m i n g v i d e o i n t o M i n e c r a b l o c k s t h a t c a n

b e r e n d e r e d i n r e a l t i m e .

The hard diskt i n y u r l . c o m / 3 3 8 m i n e c r a 8

I t m i g h t h a v e o n l y e n o u g h s t o r a g e s p a c e t o

s t o r e a t e x t m e s s a g e , b u t d o n ’ t u n d e r e s t i m a t e

t h e t e c h n i c a l a c h i e v e m e n t o f b u i l d i n g a w o r k i n g

1 K B h a r d d i s k u s i n g n o t h i n g b u t r e d s t o n e

c i r c u i t s . J u s t o n e l o o k a t t h e s c r e e n s h o t r e v e a l s

t h e t e c h n i c a l c o m p l e x i t y o f w h a t ’ s g o i n g o n i n

t h e b a c k g r o u n d . T h e c r e a t o r s u s e d t h o u s a n d s

o f m o v i n g r e d s t o n e p i s t o n s t o c r e a t e t h e

s t o r a g e , w h e r e a s o l i d b l o c k r e p r e s e n t e d a 1 a n d

a c l e a r g l a s s b l o c k a 0 . O t h e r s h a v e s i n c e b u i l t

h i g h e r - c a p a c i t y d r i v e s .

The play ableg u it art i n y u r l . c o m / 3 3 8 m i n e c r a 9

Y o u w o n ’ t b e p i c k i n g t h e s o l o f r o m L a y l a o n

t h i s w o r k i n g r e d s t o n e g u i t a r , b u t y o u c a n

n o n e t h e l e s s c h a n g e t h e c h o r d s b y s i m p l y

m o v i n g y o u r c h a r a c t e r . T h i s h u g e l y c o m p l e x

b u i l d u s e s r e d s t o n e p r e s s u r e p l a t e s – n o r m a l l y

u s e d t o o p e n d o o r s w h e n y o u r c h a r a c t e r s t e p s

o n t h e m – t o c r e a t e t h e g u i t a r v e r s i o n o f t h e

m a s s i v e p i a n o T o m H a n k s p l a y s i n B g . T h e l i n k

t o d o w n l o a d t h e g u i t a r i s f o u n d i n t h e

d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e Y o u T u b e v i d e o l i n k a b o v e .




M INECRAFT

t i n y u r l . c o m / 3 3 8 m i n e c r a 1 0

R o l l e r c o a s t e r s a r e a c o m m o n u s e f o r r e d s t o n e – t h e

M i n e c r a ‘ e l e c t r i c i t y ’ i s u s e d t o p o w e r a m i n e c a r t

a r o u n d t h e t r a c k s . F e w r o l l e r c o a s t e r s a r e a s i n t r i c a t e

a n d v a r i e d a s t h i s m o n s t e r , w h i c h w o n s e c o n d p r i z e

i n a c o m p e t i t i o n o n t h e P l a n e t M i n e c r a w e b s i t e ,

w h e r e m a n y p e o p l e s h a r e t h e i r b u i l d s . I ’ s a w i n n e r

f o r u s b e c a u s e i t d o e s n ’ t o n l y u s e r e d s t o n e t o p o w e r

t h e c a r t s , b u t f o r m i n i - g a m e s a n d fi r e w o r k s t h a t

a p p e a r a s y o u s h u l e a r o u n d t h e t r a c k .


M a k i n g t h i n g s t h a t m o v e i n M i n e c r a i s n ’ t e a s y . M a k i n g m a s s i v e

r o b o t s t h a t s t o m p a c r o s s t h e l a n d s c a p e d r o p p i n g T T b o m b s o n

y o u r e n e m i e s i s s o m e t h i n g e l s e . T h e m a k e r s o f t h i s m a s s i v e ,

c o n t r o l l a b l e b e a s t c l a i m i t t o o k m o r e t h a n 5 0 h o u r s t o b u i l d

C l o s s u s , a n d y o u c a n s e e w h y : i t ’ s a m a s s o f m o v i n g p i s t o n s t h a t

r e q u i r e s a n i n c r e d i b l e a m o u n t o f e n g i n e e r i n g s k i l l . T h e y e v e n h a d

t o b u i l d a r e d s t o n e e l e v a t o r t o g e t t h e p l a y e r i n t o t h e b e a s t .

D o w n l o a d u s i n g t h e l i n k i n t h e v i d e o d e s c r i p t i o n .


L i k e t h e g a m e i t s e l f , t h i s P a c - m a n b u i l d i s g e i n g o n a b i t

n o w – b u t i t ’ s s t i l l o n e o f t h e m o s t a m a z i n g u s e s o f

r e d s t o n e w e ’ v e s e e n . T h e r e a r e n o g h o s t s o r P a c - m a n

h i m s e l f , d e s p i t e t h e v i s u a l s . I s t e a d t h e g a m e s e n d s

y o u r c h a r a c t e r r u n n i n g a r o u n d a m a z e , c o l l e c t i n g g o l d

n u g g e t s ( i n s t e a d o f p e l l e t s ) a n d t r y i n g t o a v o i d

z o m b i e s , s k e l e t o n s a n d o t h e r M i n e c r a f o e s . A a s t

n u m b e r o f r e d s t o n e p i s t o n s a n d d r o p p e r s c o n t r o l t h e

a c t i o n , a n d t h e r e a r e e v e n s e l e c t a b l e d i ffi c u l t y l e v e l s ,

c h o s e n b y fl i c k i n g r e d s t o n e l e v e r s .


M INECRAFT








B s i n e s s H e l p

B e c a u s e m y e y e s i g h t i s n ’ t w h a t i t u s e d t o b e , I n e e d t h e t e x ts i z e i n m y d o c u m e n t s t o b e l a r g e . H o w e v e r , t h i n g s s u c h a scomment bal l oons al w ays reset to a smal l font si ze.

I k n o w h o w t o c h a n g e t h e f o n t , b u t m y p r o b l e m i s t h a t b e c a u s e Iu s e a l o w s c r e e n r e s o l u t i o n , t h e A p p l y b u o n i s n ’ t v i s i b l e o n t h es c r e e n , a n d I h a v e t o c h a n g e t h e o r i e n t a t i o n t o p o r t r a i t t o v i e w i t . I s

t h er e a w ay t o p e r ma ne n tl y a l te r t h e f on t s i z e f o r t h e c o m me nt s Iw o rk o n m a ny d i e r e nt d o c u m en t s f r o m a w id e v a r ie t y o f s o u r c es .

C a r l o e G a e s

AT h e fi r s t t h i n g y o u c a n d o i s t o m a k e s u r e t h e c o m m e n t f o n ts i z e i s s e t t o t h e s i z e y o u w a n t i n d o c u m e n t s b y m o d i f y i n g t h edef ault template seings. T o do this, create a new document,

and open the Styles pane by typing Alt-Ctrl-Shi-S. Y ou can also do thisf r o m t h e S t y l e s g r o u p o n t h e H o m e t a b o n t h e O ffi c e r i b b o n , b y c l i c k i n gt h e d i a g o n a l a r r o w a t t h e b o o m r i g h t o f t h e S t y l e s g r o u p . I n t h e S t y l eP a n e O p t i o n s d i a l o g , c l i c k O p t i o n s . M a k e s u r e t h e ‘ S e l e c t s t y l e s t os h o w ’ c h o i c e i s s e t t o A l l s t y l e s , a n d s e t ‘ S e l e c t h o w l i s t i s s o r t e d ’ t oA l p h a b e t i c a l . Y o u s h o u l d n o w b e a b l e t o m o v e t h r o u g h t h e s t y l e s u n t i ly o u g e t t o B a l l o o n T e x t . R i g h t - c l i c k t h e n a m e , o r c l i c k t h e a r r o w n e x t t o

i t t o o p e n t h e m e n u , a n d m o d i f y t h e s t y l e s o y o u h a v e a l a r g e e n o u g hf o n t . B e f o r e y o u l e a v e t h e M o d i f y S t y l e s d i a l o g , m a k e s u r e t h e c h a n g e sy o u ’ v e m a d e a p p l y t o n e w d o c u m e n t s b a s e d o n t h i s t e m p l a t e .

H o w e v e r , t h i s w o n ’ t w o r k f o r d o c u m e n t s y o u r e c e i v e b a s e d o n o t h e rt e m p l a t e s . O n e w a y t o a v o i d m a k i n g t h e s a m e c h a n g e t i m e a e r t i m ew o u l d b e t o s e t u p a m a c r o t o r u n w h e n y o u p r e s s a p a r t i c u l a r k e yc o m b i n a t i o n . T h e s t e p s y o u n e e d t o t a k e t o d o t h i s a r e a s f o l l o w s .

O p e n a d o c u m e n t t h a t h a s c o m m e n t s i n t h e w r o n g s i z e . I f y o u c a ns e e a D e v e l o p e r t a b o n t h e O ffi c e t o o l b a r , c l i c k i t . I f t h e D e v e l o p e r i s n ’ tvisible, you can mak e it visible using File, Options, Customize Ribbon,a n d p u i n g a t i c k n e x t t o D e v e l o p e r i n t h e l i s t o f M a i n T a b s . O n c e t h eD e v e l o p e r t a b i s v i s i b l e , c l i c k i t a n d s e l e c t R e c o r d M a c r o f r o m t h e C o d ea r e a o f t h e r i b b o n . Y o u ’ l l s e e a d i a l o g a p p e a r i n w h i c h y o u c a n g i v e t h e

o w d o I m a k e d o c u m e n t c o m m e n t s l a r g e r

?

I y o u h v e d t s e , o f fi c e p p l i c t i o n o r m c r o i s s u e s ,K a y w b a n k

c n

h e l p . S n d y o u r p r o l e m s t o u s i n e s s h e l p c o m p u t e r s h o p p e r . c o . u k

I m p o r t i n g c o n t a c t s i n t o O u t l o o k

I’ ve recentl y begun usi ng O utl ook 20 13, and I’ ve i mported myl i s t o f c o n t a c t s f r o m a t e x t fi l e . I c a n n o w s e e a l i s t t h a ta p p e a r s t o b e t h e n e w p e o p l e I i m p o r t e d a t t h e b o o m o f m y

o t h e r c o n t a c t s . H o w e v e r , w h e n I a e m p t t o w r i t e a n e m a i l a n d p r e s st h e T o : b u o n , t h e c o n t a c t s a r e n ’ t t h e r e . I s e e a n e m p t y a d d r e s s b o o k ,a n d n o m a e r w h i c h o p t i o n I c h o o s e n o c o n t a c t s a r e a v a i l a b l e .

Dan B e n t f o r d

macro a suitable name (BigComment, perhaps?) and, more importantlyi n y o u r c a s e , a a c h a k e y b o a r d s h o r t c u t t o i t . T h i s w i l l b e y o u r w a y o f

a c c e s s i n g t h e m a c r o i n t h e f u t u r e , a n d i t m i g h t b e a g o o d i d e a t o w r i t ed o w n t h e k e y c o m b i n a t i o n s o y o u h a v e a c h a n c e o f r e m e m b e r i n g i t .

You’ll see that the normal cursor has changed to be a cassee, and theRecord Macro menu item has changed to stay ‘Stop Recording’.

N o w w o r k t h r o u g h t h e s t e p s o f s o l v i n g t h e p r o b l e m i n t h e s i z e o ft h e c o m m e n t . O n c e y o u ’ v e d o n e t h a t , c l i c k o n t h e o p t i o n t o S t o pR e c o r d i n g . Y o u c a n n o w c l o s e t h e d o c u m e n t , a n d a l s o c l o s e W o r d . I fy o u ’ r e a s k e d w h e t h e r y o u w a n t t o s a v e c h a n g e s t o t h e t e m p l a t e ,a n s w e r Y e s . Y o u c a n n o w r e s t a r t W o r d , a n d t r y o p e n i n g a d o c u m e n tt h a t h a s p r o b l e m s w i t h t h e c o m m e n t s i z e . W h e n y o u g e t t o t h ec o m m e n t y o u w a n t t o a l t e r , p r e s s t h e k e y b o a r d s h o r t c u t a n d y o us h o u l d fi n d t h e c h a n g e s a r e m a d e w i t h o u t y o u h a v i n g t o fi d d l e w i t haltering the screen layout.

AO n e l i k e l y r e a s o n i s t h a t w h e n y o u i m p o r t e d t h e c o n t a c t s , t h e yw e r e p u t i n t o a n e w c o n t a c t s f o l d e r . I f y o u l o o k i n P e o p l e ( o r i ne a r l i e r v e r s i o n s i n M y C o n t a c t s ) , y o u ’ l l s e e t h e l i s t o f c o n t a c t s

f o l d e r s f o r y o u r p r o fi l e . T h e o n e O u t l o o k p u l l s t h e e m a i l a d d r e s s e s f r o mi s u s u a l l y c a l l e d C o n t a c t s . Y o u c a n e i t h e r m o v e y o u r n e w c o n t a c t s i n t ot h e m a i n c o n t a c t s f o l d e r , o r y o u c a n s p e c i fi c a l l y t e l l O u t l o o k t h a t y o uw a n t t h e o t h e r c o n t a c t f o l d e r s t o b e a v a i l a b l e f o r u s e w h e n e m a i l i n g .

T o d o t h i s , s e l e c t t h e f o l d e r t h a t c o n t a i n s t h e n e w c o n t a c t s y o u ’ v e just imported, right-click it, and select P roperties. Select the tab that’sl a b e l l e d O u t l o o k A d d r e s s B o o k , a n d p u t a t i c k i n t h e b o x l a b e l l e d‘ S h o w t h i s f o l d e r a s a n e - m a i l A d d r e s s B o o k ’ . C l i c k O K , a n d w h e n y o un e x t c r e a t e a n e w e m a i l a n d c l i c k t h e T o : b u o n , y o u s h o u l d fi n d t h a tt h e n e w c o n t a c t s f o l d e r i s d i s p l a y e d i n t h e d r o p - d o w n l i s t s o y o u c a nc h o o s e a c o n t a c t f r o m i t .

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BU SINESS H ELP

1 3 7ISSU E 3 3 8 |C M P U T R S H O P P R |APRIL 20 16

I ’ m u s i n g A c c e s s t o k e e p i n v e n t o r y d a t a , a n d I n e e d t oproduce a report that show s the most recent i nventory l evelf o r e a c h p r o d u c t . I ’ v e t r i e d c r e a t i n g a q u e r y t h a t fi n d s t h e

m o s t r e c e n t d a t e f o r e a c h p r o d u c t , b u t I c a n ’ t s e e h o w t o t i e t h i s t ot h e i n v e n t o r y a m o u n t t o g e t t h a t a s p a r t o f t h e o u t p u t .

La u r a T n s t a l l

AT h e a n s w e r i s t o u s e t w o t a b l e s . T h e fi r s t fi n d s t h e m o s t r e c e n tentry f or each product. Give this a name such as qryMaxDte:

S E L E C T M a x ( P r o d T a b . P r o d D a t e ) S M a x D a t e , P r o d T a b . P r o d I D

F R O M P r o d T a b

H o w c a n I g t t h e m o s t r e c e n t d a t a ?

G r a b b i n g d a t a f r o m a w e b s i t e a u t o m a t i c a l l y

I h a v e a s p r e a d s h e e t t h a t I u s e t omoni tor i nformati on pul l ed fromw eb pages for our company. Every

d a y I n e e d t o g o t o t h e s a m e s e t o f w e b s i t e s ,

a n d p u l l d a t a f r o m t h e m – e s s e n t i a l l y p r o d u c tname, product code, col our, and pri ce. I entera w e b a d d r e s s t h a t i n c l u d e s t h e p r o d u c tc o d e o f a p a r t i c u l a r i t e m , s o t h a t I s e e o n ei t e m a t a t i m e . I t h e n m a n u a l l y c o p y a n dp a s t e t h e d a t a i n t o m y s p r e a d s h e e t , t h e nc o p y t h e p a r t s I n e e d f r o m m y ‘ p a s t e z o n e ’ t othe l ocati ons i n my product tabl e.

Thi s i s qui te ti me consumi ng, parti cul arl yw h e n I h a v e t o d o i t f o r d o z e n s o f i t e m s . I ’ dl i k e t o a u t o m a t e t h e p r o c e s s , b u t I d o n ’ tknow anythi ng about macro programmi ng. Ih a v e t r i e d u s i n g t h e c o m m a n d t o G e t D a t afrom Web, but that bri ngs across everythi ngo n t h e p a g e , w h i c h i s n ’ t w h a t I n e e d .

G a h am S e e d

AT h e m a c r o b e l o w a s s u m e s y o u r l i s to f U R L s i n c l u d e s t h e p r o d u c t c o d e i nc o l u m n C , a l o n g t h e l i n e s o f w w w .

website.com/product_identifier/p/p12345678,w h e r e t h e p r o d u c t c o d e i s p 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 .

You’d have your list of URLs in column C,a n d t h e m a c r o w o u l d e x t r a c t t h e p r o d u c tn a m e , I D a n d p r i c e i n t o c o l u m n s D , E a n d F .T h e m a c r o a s s u m e s t h e d a t a s t a r t s i n r o w 2a n d e n d s i n r o w 1 0 ; y o u ’ l l n e e d t o c h a n g e t h ev a lu e s i n L a s tR o w 1 0 a n d S ta r t Ro w 2 t ot h e a c t u a l v a l u e s f o r y o u r d a t a . Y o u ’ l l a l s o

n e e d t o c h a n g e t h e s h e e t n a m e .T h e m a c r o p u l l s d a t a f r o m a w e b p a g e b y

c r a w l i n g i t , a n d y o u s h o u l d c h e c k t h a t t h eo w n e r s o f t h e s i t e a r e O K w i t h y o u c r a w l i n gt h e i r s i t e a n d e x t r a c t i n g d a t a . M a k e s u r eyou’ve ref erenced both the Microso H T MLObject Library and the WinH T T P library.

S u b G r a b W e b D a t a ( )

D i m G e t R o w s L o n g , L a s t R o w s L o n g ,

S t a r t R o w s I n t e g e r , T o t a l R e c o r d s s

L o n g

D i m h t t p r e q s N e w W i n H t t p R e q u e s t ,

h t m l d o c s N e w H T M L D o c u m e n t , h t m l e l e s

H T M L H t m l E l e m e n t

D i m U r l s S t r i n g , P r o d N a m e s S t r i n g ,

P r i c e s S t r i n g

D i m w b s W o r k b o o k , w s s W o r k s h e e t

S e t w b = T h i s W o r k b o o k

S e t w s = w b . W o r k s h e e t s ( " Y o u r S h e e t N a m e " )

w s . c t i v a t e

L a s t R o w = 1 0

S t a r t R o w = 2

F o r G e t R o w = S t a r t R o w T o L a s t R o w

U r l = w s . R a n g e ( " C " & G e t R o w ) . V a l u e

h t t p r e q . O p e n " P O S T " , U r l , F a l s e

h t t p r e q . s e n d

h t m l d o c . b o d y . i n n e r H T M L = h t t p r e q .

r e s p o n s e T e x t

F o r E a c h h t m l e l e I n h t m l d o c .

g e t E l e m e n t s y T a g N a m e ( " s p a n " )

I f h t m l e l e . I D = " P r o d u c t N a m e " T h e n

P r o d N a m e = h t m l e l e . i n n e r T e x t

E x i t F o r

E n d I f

N e x t h t m l e l e

F o r E a c h h t m l e l e I n h t m l d o c .

g e t E l e m e n t s y T a g N a m e ( " s p a n " )

I f h t m l e l e . I D = " U n i t P r i c e " T h e n

P r i c e = h t m l e l e . i n n e r T e x t

E x i t F o r

E n d I f

N e x t h t m l e l e

w s . R a n g e ( " D " & G e t R o w ) . V a l u e = P r o d N a m e

w s . R a n g e ( " E " & G e t R o w ) . V a l u e = P r i c e

P r o d N a m e = " "

P r i c e = " "

N e x t G e t R o w

M s g o x ( " fi n i s h e d " )

E n d S u b

T h e k e y p a r t s o f t h e m a c r o a r e fi r s t t h euse of the WinH pRequest, H T MLDocument,and H T MLH tmlElement. T hese are used tos e n d t h e r e q u e s t f o r t h e w e b p a g e a n d t o h o l d

t h e H T M L r e t u r n e d b y t h e r e q u e s t :

G R O U P Y P r o d T a b . P r o d I D

T h e n y o u u s e t h i s q u e r y i n a s e c o n d t a b l e , j o i n i n g i t t o t h e o r i g i n a l :

S E L E C T P r o d T a b . *

F R O M P r o d T a b I N N E R J O I N q r y M a x D t e

O N ( P r o d T a b . P r o d I D = q r y M a x D t e . P r o d I D )

N D ( P r o d T a b . P r o d D a t e = q r y M a x D t e . M a x D a t e )

T h e fi r s t q u e r y g e t s y o u t h e m o s t r e c e n t r e c o r d b y d a t e f o r e a c hp r o d u c t ; t h e s e c o n d q u e r y u s e s a n i n n e r j o i n t o p u l l t h e r e s t o f t h einf ormation. Y ou can then use this however you wish.

U r l = w s . R a n g e ( " C " & G e t R o w ) . V a l u e

h t t p r e q . O p e n " P O S T " , U r l , F a l s e

h t t p r e q . s e n d

h t m l d o c . b o d y . i n n e r H T M L = h t t p r e q .

r e s p o n s e T e x t

T h e F o r E a c h l o o p s t h e n g o t h r o u g h t h eH T ML document look ing f or relevant tags.K n o w i n g w h a t t a g s y o u ’ r e l o o k i n g f o r i s t h ek e y h e r e . I ’ d r e c o m m e n d fi r s t l o o k i n g a t t h eunderlying H T ML used by the website you’rework ing with. Y ou can view the underlyingH T M L b y r i g h t - c l i c k i n g i t i n y o u r b r o w s e r a n d

choosing the appropriate command: ViewP a g e S o u r c e i n F i r e f o x o r C h r o m e , a n d V i e wSource in Internet Explorer. Y ou can then look t h r o u g h t h e H T M L t o fi n d t h e d a t a y o u w a n t .

T h e s a m p l e w e b s i t e y o u s p e c i fi e d i n y o u rq ue st io n s to re s t h e d at a u s in g < s pa n t ag s,but o th er s ites m ight u se < p , < m eta , o ro t h e r t a g s . Y o u r d a t a m i g h t a l s o b e b u r i e di n s i d e o t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n w i t h i n a t a g , s o y o um i g h t n e e d t o d o s o m e t e x t e x t r a c t i o n .

O n c e t h e c o r r e c t d a t a h a s b e e n l o c a t e d ,i t ’ s c o p i e d t o t h e c e l l s u s i n g :

w s . R a n g e ( " D " & G e t R o w ) . V a l u e = P r o d N a m e

w s . R a n g e ( " E " & G e t R o w ) . V a l u e = P r i c e

⬆ Yo u c an v i e w HT ML i n w e b b ro ws e rs t o s e e t h ed ata yo u ’re aemp tin g to lo cate f ro m VBA





H ELPFILE


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i t i s n ’ t t o p o f t h e l i s t , c l i c k o n c e t o h i g h l i g h t i t

t h e n c l i c k M o v e u p u n t i l i t ’ s a t t h e t o p . Ci c k

p t i o n s ( t o w a r d s t h e r i g h t o f t h e l i s t ) a n d

c h e c k t h e i n p u t m e t h o d i s U n i t e d K i n g d o m .

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s l i g h t l y i n t h e l a t e s t u p d a t e t o W i n d o w s 1 0

( s e e ‘ W i n d o w s 1 0 f a l l i n g b e h i n d ? ’ , r i g h t ) . I

y o u ’ r e r u n n i n g b u i l d 1 0 5 8 6 , s e a r c h t h e S t a r t

m e n u f o r R e g i o n , t h e n o p e n R e g i o n a n d

l a n g u a g e s e i n g s a n d f o l l o w t h e s t e p s a b o v e .

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Windows 10 and have been happy

wit h t he changeov er I now wis h t o

u pg ra de m y P C b ut u nd e rs ta n d t ha t I ’l l n e eda bo ut 1 6G B o f f re e h ar d d is k s pa ce M y

current Windows 7 operat ing s y st em is

i ns ta ll ed o n a 6 0G B S S D w hi c h h a s o n ly 1 GB

f re e I ’v e t ri ed t o c l ea r s o me s pa ce o n t hi s t o

n o a va il , s o I s us pe c t t he b e st s ol ut io n w ou ld

b e t o b uy a n ew S SD o f a t l ea st 1 20 GB , a nd

transfer everything from the existing SSD to

t he n ew o ne a nd t he n u pd at e t o W i nd ow s 1 0

C an y ou a dvi se m e o f t he s te ps I n ee d to

t ake t o t rans fer t he data t o a new SSD

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d e t a i l e d w h a ty o u ’ v e t r i e d i n

o r d e r t o f r e e u p d i s k

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a l r e a d y , u s e t h e D i s k

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fi n d i t b y s e a r c h i n g f o r

d i s k c l e a n i n t h e

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c l e a n u p s y s t e m fi l e s

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u p 1 5 G B t h r o u g h Ce a n u p

a l o n e . Y o u m a y f r e e u p

m o r e s p a c e b y d i s a b l i n g

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‘ CM D ’ ( w i t h o u t t h e

q u o t e s ) , r i g h t - c l i c k i t i n t h e r e s u l t s a n d s e l e c t

R u n a s a d m i n i s t r a t o r . A t h e p r o m p t t y p e

p o w e r c f g . e x e / h i b e r n a t e o a n d p r e s s E n t e r .

Y o u c a n r e - e n a b l e t h i s b y f o l l o w i n g t h e s a m es t e p s b u t t y p i n g p o w e r c f g . e x e / h i b e r n a t e o n .

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m a y b e a b l e t o f r e e u p s t i l l m o r e s p a c e b y

c h a n g i n g t h e s w a p fi l e s e i n g s : o p e n t h e

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‘ E d i t t h e s y s t e m e n v i r o n m e n t v a r i a b l e s ’ .

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h e a d i n g ) , s e l e c t t h e A v a n c e d t a b , c l i c k t h e

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m a n a g e p a g i n g fi l e s i z e f o r a l l d r i v e s . S e l e c t

d r i v e Ci n t h e l i s t , s e l e c t o p a g i n g fi l e , c l i c k

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o t h e r d i s k , c h o o s e S y s t e m

m a n a g e d s i z e a n d c l i c kS e t , t h e n c l i c k K a n d

r e b o o t w h e n p r o m p t e d .

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e n o u g h s p a c e a n d y o u ’ r e

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n e w S S D , t h e b e s t o p t i o n

i s t o c l o n e t h e e x i s t i n g

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s u i t a b l e s o w a r e . S o m e

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b u t i f y o u h a v e T r u e

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m a k e a b o o t a b l e U S B

fl a s h d i s k , w h i c h c o n t a i n s

t h e Co n e D i s k u t i l i t y .

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f a l l i n g b e h i n d ?

Q

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c an I f or ce m y P C o n t o th e l at es t v er si on

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o v e m b e r 2 0 1 5 c o n t a i n s q u i t e a f e w

t w e a k s a n d m i n o r i m p r o v e m e n t s . I

s h o u l d h a v e b e e n i n s t a l l e d a u t o m a t i c a l l y b y

W i n d o w s U p d a t e , b u t o n m a n y m a c h i n e s t h i s

h a s n ’ t h a p p e n e d . Y o u c a n c h e c k w h i c h v e r s i o n

o f W i n d o w s y o u ’ r e o n b y o p e n i n g t h e S t a r t

m e n u , t y p i n g w i n v e r a n d h i i n g E n t e r : b u i l d

1 0 2 4 0 w a s t h e o r i g i n a l r e l e a s e , w h i l e t h e l a t e s t

v e r s i o n i s 1 0 5 8 6 . x x ( t h e l a s t t w o d i g i t s d e p e n d

o n t h e p a t c h l e v e l ) . I y o u ’ r e s t i l l w i t h i n t h e

o n e - m o n t h r e v e r t p e r i o d a e r u p g r a d i n g f r o m

a n e a r l i e r W i n d o w s r e l e a s e , i n s t a l l i n g t h e F a l l

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y o u r o r i g i n a l o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m .

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u p g r a d e , fi r s t r u n t h e W i n d o w s U p d a t e

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c h e c k t h a t W i n d o w s U p d a t e i s w o r k i n g . I

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n o w , a n d u p g r a d e u s i n g t h e W i n d o w s 1 0

M e d i a Ce a t i o n T o o l . Y o u ’ l l s e e a ‘ r e a d y t o

i n s t a l l ’ s c r e e n t h a t d o e s n ’ t m e n t i o n a n u p d a t e :

d o n ’ t w o r r y , i f t h e i n s t a l l e r i s s e t t o k e e p y o u r

p e r s o n a l fi l e s a n d a p p s i t ’ s s a f e t o p r o c e e d .

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h a v e r e m o v e d t h e s e c d r v . s y s s e r v i c e u s e d b y

S a f e D i s c c o p y p r o t e c t i o n o n s o m e o l d e r

g a m e s . I y o u ’ r e f o l l o w i n g o u r e a r l i e r a d v i c e t o

e n a b l e t h i s t e m p o r a r i l y o n a p e r - s e s s i o n b a s i s ,

b u i l d 1 0 5 8 6 w i l l b l o c k t h e w o r k a r o u n d a n d

r e n d e r t h e g a m e s u n p l a y a b l e . I m a y b e

p o s s i b l e t o c i r c u m v e n t t h e c o p y p r o t e c t i o n o ng a m e s y o u o w n b y d o w n l o a d i n g c r a c k e d

v e r s i o n s , b u t y o u ’ l l b e o p e n i n g y o u r s e l f u p t o

m a l w a r e . A o r e i n v o l v e d b u t l e s s r i s k y

s o l u t i o n w o u l d b e t o c r e a t e a v i r t u a l X P

m a c h i n e i n W i n d o w s 1 0 ( s e e H l p fi l e , S o p p e r

3 3 4 ) a n d u s e t h e V M t o r u n y o u r g a m e s .

N o r o o m f o r W i n d o w s 1 0

ISSU E 3 3 8 |C M P U T R S H O P P R |APRIL 20 16

D o n’t panic : j ust c hec k the Windo ws

v ersio n is c o rre ct and make sure

y our file s and apps are to be kept⬆ M ov in g t he p a ge fi le c a n f re e u p s e ve ra l

gigabytes o f disk spac e

Q I u pd at ed m y S on y Va io l ap to p t o

Windows 10, following the excellent

guide in Shopper T he o nl y p ro bl em I

h ave i s t ha t t he a nd “ ke ys h ave b ec om e

r ev er se d, a nd t he h as h k ey n ow p ro du c es abacks las h t he backs las h key works correct ly

T h e p o un d k ey n ow t yp es t he h as h s ig n, a nd

t rying t o t ype a t ilde produces t he pipe

Again, t he pipe key it self works correct ly

I as sum e t he keyboard is corrupted, but I

c a n’ t fi nd w he re I c an c he c k t he k ey bo ar d

language s eings I’v e checked for updates in

Device Manager, but t hat reports t hat t he

c o rr ec t d ri ve r i s i ns ta ll ed A ny h el p y ou c o ul d

oer m e would be great ly appreciated

P r y L e m a n , p e r y . l e e m a n m a i l . o m

A

I s o u n d s a s i f t h e k e y b o a r d t y p e o r

l a n g u a g e i s s e t i n c o r r e c t l y . T r y

o p e n i n g t h e S t a r t m e n u a n d t y p i n g

‘ k e y b o a r d ’ ( w i t h o u t t h e q u o t e s ) , t h e n r u n n i n g

t h e K e y b o a r d C n t r o l P a n e l a p p i n t h e r e s u l t s .

C e c k t h a t y o u h a v e U n i t e d K i n g d o m i n t h e

C u n t r y o r r e g i o n fi e l d , a n d E n g l i s h ( U n i t e d

K i n g d o m ) u n d e r L a n g u a g e s . o w c l i c k o n

Some Windows

10 upgraders

have language

problems: go

he re to fix them



M U LTIM EDIA EXPERT


Cre ating sm ok eph otog raph y

a s u b j e c t c a n b e i f s h o t w i t h a n f / 1 l e n s a t I S O10 0 . Chances are you don’ t have an f/1 l ens,so di vi de thi s stated di stance by the apertureval ue to cal cul ate the true range of the flash.For smoke and other macro photographyyou’l l w ant to use a narrow aperture ofaround f/16 or f/22 to keep everythi ng i nfocus. A flash w i th Gui de Number 30 or hi gherw i l l l et you posi ti on the flashguns a metreaw ay and they’ l l sti l l be pow erful enough.

A si ngl e flashgun can gi ve great resul ts,but tw o or three w i l l open up your creati ve

opti ons. Look out for Sl ave mode, w hi chmakes the flash fire w henever another flash i stri ggered. Thi s means you need onl y onetri gger devi ce to control a group of flashguns.Al so l ook out for flashguns that come w i th ami ni stand so they can be posi ti oned upri ghtw i thout addi ti onal equi pment. Most can ti l tthe flash head up and dow n, w hi ch i s usefulfor ai mi ng the l i ght. Some al so pan l e andri ght, but that’ s onl y real l y rel evant w henmounti ng the flashgun on a camera.

Another option is mains-powered studioflashes, or strobes, as they’ re know n. Theseremove the need for baeri es and are qui ckerto refresh betw een shots. Most al so i ncl ude amodel l i ng l i ght, a l ow -pow er l i ghtbul b that l etsyou see how the strobes are i l l umi nati ng thesubj ect before you shoot. Thi s i s parti cul arl yuseful for portrai t photography, and comes i n

handy for smoke photography too. There arel ots of accessori es for studi o strobes, froms o b o xe s f o r d i u s in g l i g ht t o b a rn d o or s a n dsnoots for di recti ng i t more preci sel y.

You’l l need to positi on the flashguns orstrobes aw ay from the camera and tri ggerthem remotel y i n sync w i th the camera’ sshuer. There are tw o w ays to do thi s: w i th acabl e or w i rel essl y. Some cameras andflashguns have a sui tabl e PC sync socket fortri ggeri ng flashes w i th a cabl e, but thi s i sn’ t socommon on consumer equi pment. You coul d

get a hotshoe-to-PC adaptor for around £10 ,b u t b e a r i n m i n d y o u ’ l l n e e d t w o – o n e t o s i ton the camera, another for the flashgun to si to n – p l u s a c a b l e t o c o n n e c t t h e m . I n o u rexperi ence, a w irel ess system i s j ust as rel iable,no more expensi ve and far more conveni ent.

The i Shoot model w e used i s no l ongeravailable, but searching Amazon for ‘wirelessflash tri gger’ bri ngs up l ots of exampl es, w i thpri ces from £10 . These i ncl ude one baery-pow ered transmi er that si ts on the camera’ shotshoe and one or more recei vers that theflashguns si t on. The base of the recei ver hasa t r i p o d t h r e a d , s o y o u c a n u s e a f u l l - s i z e o rmi ni tri pod to posi ti on the flashguns. You’ l lal so need some i ncense sti cks.

If you’ re usi ng tw o or more flashguns orstrobes, consi der gei ng some col ouredpl asti c fil ters, know n as gel s. These come i n

THISARTICLEWAS i nspi red by a bl og postby Paul Bonni chsen (see t i n y u r l . o m / CS m o k e ).In i t, Paul descri bes how he creates beautiful ,abstract i mages w i th mi ni mal equi pment anda l i l e pati ence. It i nspi red us to have a go,and you can see the resul ts i n thi s arti cl e.

These photos are someti mes recogni sabl ysmoke-like. Others look like flowers, shells,

si l k sheets, x-rays of bones, l andscapes,humans, dol phi ns or al i ens. For us, they w ork best w hen they straddl e the di vi de betw eenabstract and figurati ve. We al so l i ke theinterplay between simple, repeating paernsand the compl exi ty of chaoti c movement.It’ s possi bl e to exert some control over theshape of the smoke, but i t’ s oen theunexpected shapes that turn out best.

F L S H O F I N S P I R T I O N

S m ok e p h o to g ra p hy r e qu i re s a n o - c a me r aflash system. Thi s needn’ t be expensi ve, andthere are l ots of other ti mes w hen i t w i l l come

i n useful . You’ l l al so need a camera w i th ahotshoe i n order to tri gger the flash orflashes. Manual exposure control is essential,and you’ l l get far beer resul ts by shooti ng i nR aw and processi ng i mages i n Li ghtroom,Photoshop or another Raw-editing app.

A macro l ens i s useful but not essenti al .We used a Panasoni c 14-140 mm l ens at theful l zoom extensi on, posi ti oned 50 cm fromt h e s u b j e c t , b u t f o u n d w e h a d t o z o o m o u t al i l e to get the best composi ti ons.

Some cameras, such as the Canon EO S750 D, i ncl ude w i rel ess flash support, but thi srequires compatible Canon flashguns, which

can be expensi ve. We’ ve been usi ng a pai r ofcheap Yongnuo flashguns and iShoot wirelesstri ggers for the past si x years. Consi deri ngthey cost £95 for tw o of each, i t’ s amazi ngthat they’ ve l asted so l ong and w i thout anyreliability issues. Unlike most big-brandflashguns, these low-cost models don’tsupport automatic exposure and evaluativemeteri ng. Instead, w e si mpl y set the flashpow er on the back of the flashgun. How ever,for studi o photography thi s i s usual l y the bestw ay to w ork. Search for ‘ flashgun’ on Amazonand you’ l l find pl enty of choi ce, w i th pri cesstarti ng at £25. Fl ashguns are avai l abl e fromphotography shops and from moreestabl i shed brands such as Si gma and Metz,w i th pri ces starti ng at around £60 .

Fl ash pow er i s measured as a Gui deNumber, or GN, w hi ch tel ls you how far aw ay

A c am e ra,a c o u le offl a hg u n and o m e inc e n e are alli t ak e t o c re a e t u n ning ab t rac t ho t o . Be n Pitt’s ho u e w illne v e r m e ll he am e ag ain

T h e s e t u p f o r t h e s e p h o t o s

c o m p r i e d t h r e e l i h t s o u r c e s

a d t h r e e p i c e s o f b l a k c a d

t o c o n t r o l w h e r e t h e l i h t

c o u l d a d c o u l d n ’ t r e a h



M U LTIM EDIA EXPERT

1 4 1APRIL 20 16 |C M P U T R S H O P P R |ISSU E 3 3 8

v a r i o u s s i z e s , f r o m s m a l l r e c t a n g l e s t h a t c l i p

o v e r t h e f r o n t o f fl a s h g u n s t o r o l l s t h a t y o u

c a n c u t t o s i z e a s n e c e s s a r y . Al t h e c o l o u r s i n

t h e e x a m p l e s s h o w n h e r e w e r e c r e a t e d u s i n g

g e l s , w i t h a b i t o f p r o c e s s i n g i n L i g h t r o o m t o

b r i n g o u t t h e i r i n t e n s i t y .

D o n ’ t f o r g e t r e c h a r g e a b l e b a e r i e s f o r t h e

fl a s h g u n s a n d w i r e l e s s t r i g g e r s . T h e s e c o s t s

c a n m o u n t u p , b u t a w i r e l e s s o - c a m e r a fl a s h

s y s t e m i s a h u g e a s s e t f o r a l l s o r t s o f

p h o t o g r a p h y p r o j e c t s .

S 2 T T I N G T H 2 S . 2 N 2

T h e r e m a i n i n g e q u i p m e n t c a n p r o b a b l y b e

p i e c e d t o g e t h e r f r o m h o u s e h o l d o b j e c t s .

T h e o b j e c t i v e i s t o p h o t o g r a p h s m o k e a n d

n o t h i n g e l s e , s o y o u ’ l l n e e d a b l a c k

b a c k g r o u n d . I d o e s n ’ t n e e d t o b e h u g e t o fi l l

t h e f r a m e – a r o u n d 5 0 c m s q u a r e i s p r o b a b l y

e n o u g h . H o w e v e r , a b i g g e r b a c k d r o p m e a n s

y o u d o n ’ t h a v e t o w o r r y a b o u t m o v i n g i t o r

t h e c a m e r a t o e n s u r e t h a t i t fi l l s t h e f r a m e .

B a c k c a r d , a s h e e t , b l a n k e t o r c o a t s h o u l d

d o t h e t r i c k , a l t h o u g h b e a r i n m i n d t h a t

w h a t e v e r y o u u s e w i l l p r o b a b l y e n d u p

s m e l l i n g o f i n c e n s e f o r a f e w w e e k s .

T h e fl a s h g u n s o r s t u d i o s t r o b e s n e e d t o

b e p o s i t i o n e d s l i g h t l y b e h i n d t h e b l a c k

b a c k d r o p s o t h e y d o n ’ t i l l u m i n a t e i t . T h a t

m e a n s t h e y ’ l l b e p o i n t i n g s l i g h t l y t o w a r d s t h e

c a m e r a , a n d t h i s c a n r e s u l t i n l e n s fl a r e s . T o

a v o i d t h i s , u s e s o m e p i e c e s o f c a r d , b a c k s o f

c h a i r s o r w h a t e v e r e l s e y o u c a n fi n d t o c a s t a

s h a d o w f r o m t h e fl a s h e s o v e r t h e c a m e r a

l e n s . I t h e w o r l d o f s t u d i o p h o t o g r a p h y t h e s e

a r e k n o w n a s fl a g s , a n d y o u c a n b u y t h e m

s p e c i a l l y m a d e i f y o u ’ r e s o i n c l i n e d .A o t h e r w a y t o a v o i d l i g h t g e i n g o n t o

t h e b a c k d r o p a n d t h e l e n s i s w i t h a s n o o t .

T h i s i s a b l a c k t u b e t h a t l i m i t s l i g h t t o a

s p e c i fi c d i r e c t i o n . T h e y ’ r e a v a i l a b l e t o b u y

f r o m a r o u n d £ 1 5 , b u t a p i e c e o f r o l l e d u p

c a r d t a p e d t o a fl a s h g u n d o e s t h e j o b

p e r f e c t l y w e l l . M a k e s u r e i t ’ s b l a c k ; o t h e r w i s e

S e t t h e I s p e e d t o i t s l o w e s t s e i n g t o

m i n i m i s e i m a g e n o i s e , a n d t h e a p e r t u r e t o

f / 1 6 . L i g h t t h e i n c e n s e s t i c k , t a k e s o m e t e s t

s h o t s a n d a d j u s t t h e i n t e n s i t y a n d p o s i t i o n o f

t h e fl a s h e s a s n e c e s s a r y t o g e t a n i c e l y

b a l a n c e d e x p o s u r e . T h e s m o k e s h o u l d b e

b r i g h t b u t n o t s o l i d w h i t e , o r e l s e y o u ’ l l l o s e

t h e d e t a i l w i t h i n t h e s m o k e . Y o u m a y a l s o

w a n t t o s e t t h e w h i t e b a l a n c e t o t h e F l a s h

p r e s e t , a l t h o u g h t h i s i s e a s i l y c h a n g e d l a t e r i f

y o u ’ r e s h o o t i n g i n R a w m o d e .

A e r t i c a l s t r e a m o f s m o k e i s n ’ t s o

i n t e r e s t i n g , b u t b y i n t r o d u c i n g s o m e a i r

m o v e m e n t y o u c a n c r e a t e s o m e c o m p l e x

s h a p e s . T h e e a s i e s t w a y t o d o t h i s i s b y h a n d ,

a n d i t o n l y t a k e s v e r y s m a l l m o v e m e n t s t o g e t

r e s u l t s . W a y o u r h a n d a n d t h e s m o k e w i l l b e

s c a e r e d o u t o f s h o t , b u t w i g g l i n g a s i n g l e

fi n g e r a f e w i n c h e s f r o m t h e i n c e n s e s t i c kp r o d u c e s r i n g l e t s , s p i r a l s a n d o t h e r c o h e r e n t

s h a p e s . Ci c k i n g y o u r fi n g e r s c r e a t e s a s i n g l e

k i n k i n a n o t h e r w i s e s m o o t h s t r e a m .

n s o m e o c c a s i o n s t h e h e a t f r o m t h e

i n c e n s e s t i c k c r e a t e s i t s o w n p a e r n s , w i t h

e d d i e s a n d r i p p l e s a p p e a r i n g w i t h o u t a n y

i n t e r v e n t i o n . T h e k e y h e r e i s t o b e r e a d y t o

U LTIM EDIA EXPERT

t h e l i g h t w i l l r e fl e c t o t h e i n s i d e o f t h e s n o o t

a n d l e a k o n t o t h e b a c k d r o p a n d l e n s .

Y o u ’ l l n e e d s o m e t h i n g t o h o l d t h e i n c e n s e

s t i c k i n p l a c e . P a u l B n n i c h s e n r e c o m m e n d s

p l a c i n g i t h o r i z o n t a l l y s o t h e c a m e r a o n l y

n e e d s t o p a n l e a n d r i g h t a s t h e s t i c k b u r n s .

W e u s e d a b l o b o f B u T a c k s t u c k t o a m a r b l e

c h e e s e b o a r d , p l a c e d o n a c o e e t a b l e .

T h e fl a s h e s w i l l i l l u m i n a t e t h e s u b j e c t a s

y o u t a k e a p i c t u r e , b u t y o u n e e d s o m e l i g h t

b e t w e e n s h o t s s o y o u c a n s e e w h a t y o u ’ r e

d o i n g . I y o u ’ r e u s i n g s t u d i o s t r o b e s w i t h a

m o d e l l i n g l a m p , t h e y ’ l l d o t h e j o b p e r f e c t l y . I

y o u ’ r e u s i n g fl a s h g u n s , u s e a n a n g l e p o i s e

l a m p o r t o r c h t o s h i n e s o m e l i g h t a c r o s s t h e

s m o k e , b e i n g c a r e f u l n o t t o i l l u m i n a t e t h e

b a c k d r o p o r l e n s . T h e l i g h t f r o m t h e fl a s h e s

w i l l b e f a r s t r o n g e r t h a n t h i s l a m p o r t o r c h , s o

i t w o n ’ t a e c t t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e s m o k e .

P 2 R F O R M I N G W I T H S M O K 2

n c e e v e r y t h i n g i s i n p l a c e , f o c u s o n t h e t i p

o f t h e i n c e n s e s t i c k , e n a b l e R a w c a p t u r e a n d

s w i t c h t o m a n u a l e x p o s u r e . S e t t h e s h u e r

s p e e d t o t h e f a s t e s t y o u r c a m e r a w i l l a l l o w

w h i l e m a i n t a i n i n g fl a s h s y n c – u s u a l l y / 2 5 0 s .

Photographing smoke

i s h i t a n d m is s , b u t

take enough shots and

y o u’ll ge t a fe wge ms

Creating photogenic

smoke streams

requires nothing

mo re than a wav e

o f y our finge r




EXT M O T H

H IGH -SPEED PH OTOGR8PH YN e xt m on th w e’ ll b e u si ng o ur o - c am e rafl a s h s y s t e m a g a i n , t h i s t i m e t o c a p t u r eo b j e c t s a t h i g h s p e e d

reframe t he s hot t o capture t he m os t

interes t ing part of t he s moke Be careful t o

ensure t hat t he black backdrop fills t he frame

Sheet-like shapes were achieved by placing

a coast er direct ly over t he incens e s tick s o

t hat t he s moke gathered underneat h and

t he n fl o we d o ve r t he e dg e o f t he c oa ste r

C olours were created by adding a red gel t o

one s trobe, a green gel t o another and leav ing

t he t hird white Some s hot s were t aken with

j u st t wo s t ro be s, a nd a f ew wi th j u st o ne We

were ama ed at t he v ariety of colours t hat

came from s o few light s ources , although

L ig ht ro om h ad a b ig p ar t to p la y i n t hi s

POST PRO0ESSI GThe images s hown in t his article are t he best

examples from 9 71 frames that we capt ured,

a ll i n t he s pa ce o f a b ou t a n h ou r M os t o f

t he m we re p re y b or in g, a nd a k ey p ar t o f t heproces s is s electing t he best ones

It’s good t o hav e a s t rategy for t his, as

ot herwis e it’s easy t o lose y our s ens e of what

does and does n’t qualify Our preferred

m ethod is t o us e a five-s tar rat ing s ys tem,

whereby any half-decent image is given one

s ta r a nd t he n t he o th er s a re h id de n f ro m

v iew This proces s is repeat ed by upgrading

t he best one-s tar images t o t wo s tars and s o

on until we’re le with a handful of five-s tar

phot os Us ing t his t echnique, we were able t o

fi lte r t he 9 7 1 s ho ts t o 45 1 o ne - st ar, 2 0

two-star, 100 three-star, 54 four-star and 2

five-s tar phot os The final s election s hown

here was made from this shortlist

Various photo-management applications

oer this function, including our favourite,

Adobe L ightroom Import t he folder of images

a nd u se t he n um be r p ad to a ss ig n a r at in g t o

t he s elected image Select L ibrary m ode and

Grid v iew, click Aribut es at t he t op of t he

t hum bnail dis play and us e t he cont rols t hat

appear t o filt er t he folder based on s tar rat ing

At s ome point in t he s election proces s y ou

m ay want t o m ake a s tart on colour correction

If y ou’v e capt ured in Raw format it’s oen

poss ible t o reveal details t hat are hidden in

the shadows or highlights at default seings

Lightroom’s colour-correction controls are

t o b e fo un d i n D ev el op m od e, to t he r ig ht o f

t he image preview The background of y our

i ma ge s s h o ul d b e a p ur e b la ck I t m ay a lr ea dy

be, but Lightroom’s Blacks control provides

a n e as y wa y t o m ake t he d ar ke st p ar ts o f t he

frame even darker Experiment with t he ot her

colour-correction controls E xposure,

Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites to

b ri ng o ut t he s ha pe s i n t he s mo ke Yo u s ho ul dalso cons ider using t he C larity cont rol t o

accentuate details We’d recomm end us ing it

sparingly, though, as it’s easy to make images

look obviously processed

If y ou’v e us ed m ultiple light s ources wit h

coloured gels , t he Vibrance and Saturat ion

cont rols will help t o bring out t hes e colours

It’s also worth experimenting with the white

balance cont rols Thes e determ ine which t one

s hould be rendered as a neut ral grey colour,

and ad ust ing t he cont rols pushes colours

around t he s pect rum For example, a

combination of red and white light s ources

c an b e m ad e to l oo k wh it e a nd b lu e b y

s electing t he Whit e Balance Selector t ool and

c li cki ng o n a r ed p ar t o f t he i ma ge

This can work particularly well when

t here’s one dominant colour and hints of

o th er c ol ou rs i n a n i ma ge S et t he d om in an t

c ol ou r to b e g re y a nd t he n b oo st t he

Vibrance or Sat urat ion, and all of t hos e

subtle variations will be enhanced to

produce a richly multicoloured image

Dust s pot s are a com mon problem, as

s pe cks o f d us t i n t he a ir a re l it u p b y t he

fl as hes L ightroom’s Spot Rem ov al t ool

m ak es l i gh t wo rk o f t he se S et i t t o H ea l

mo de, a d u st t he s i e u si ng t he mo us e wh ee l

s o i t ’s a l i le l ar ge r t ha n t he s po t a nd c li ck t o

c lo ne f ro m a no th er p ar t o f t he i ma ge

We also applied heav y nois e reduct ion, notbecause t here was a huge amount of nois e,

but because t he s ilky s mooth, almos t

paint-like quality that comes with heavy noise

reduct ion s uit s t he s ub ect m aer well

It’s worth experimenting with dierent

orient at ions and crops Rot ating a photo on

t o its s ide or ups ide down helps t o disguis e its

true identity, and may hint towards other

recognis able s ub ects s uch as landscapes or

reclining figures Inverting the colours creates

a n i ma ge o n wh it e r at he r t ha n b la ck, a nd i s

anot her way t o reinterpret an image This

function isn’t supported in Lightroom so you’ll

need t o s end t he image t o a conv ent ionalbitmap editor such as Photoshop Elements

There are lots of ot her poss ibilities:

combining multiple images to create more

complex structures, overlaying them using

blend modes, combining them with other

photos or even drawing over t hem t o bring

o ut r ec og ni sa bl e s ha pe s y ou c an s ee i n t he

s moke paerns As wit h m os t creat iv e t asks,

t he best work oen comes from having a plan

and t hen s eeing where it t akes y ou

W e w e r e a m a z e d a tt e v a r i e t o f c o l o u r s t a t a m e

f r o m s o f e w l i g h t o u r c e s

⬆ L i gh t r oo m i s g r e at f or c l ea n in g u p n o is e a n d d u st s p ot s , a s w e ll a c c e n tu a ti n g t h e s h a p e s a n d c o l ou r s i n t h e s m o ke



ADVANCED PROJECTS


A E CE T U P D A E to the R aspbi anoperating system added user-friendly featuressuch as booti ng i nto a desktop, havi ng aGUI-based configuration system andpreinstalled LibreOffice. The combination ofthi s tw eaked O S and the much more pow erfulR a s p b e r r y P i 2 m a k e s i t p o s s i b l e t o t u r n a P i

i nto a proper desktop PC. How ever, w hi l e thePi 2 i s pow erful enough to be a real desktopcomputer, i t sti ll l acks a few PC basi cs, such asa power buon, soware-based shutdownand a real -ti me cl ock. In thi s month’ sA v an e d P o j e t s w e aempt to remedythese shortcomings.

We’ ve chosen a Pi Face R TC modul e (forthe cl ock) and a Pi Suppl y Sw i tch to add themai n mi ssi ng el ements to our Pi 2. We’ ve al soc h o s e n a c a s e w i t h V E S A m o u n t p o i n t s s o w ec a n fi x t h e t i ny P C t o t h e b a c k o f o u r s c r ee n .If your screen al ready uses i ts VESA mountsfor i ts stand, use sti cky-backed Vel cro stri ps

to sti ck a standard case to your screen, or el se j ust tuck i t away on your desk. The Pi Suppl y

Swi tch, w hi ch houses the new power buonsf o r y o u r P i 2 P C , d o e s n ’ t h a v e a c a s e , s o e i t h e ra a c h i t t o t h e s i d e o f y o u r s c r e e n w i t hsomethi ng non-conducti ve (and cl ai m i t’ s ‘ ani ntenti onal steampunk l ook’ ) or cra a caseusing your own ingenuity.

The u da e d Ra bian OS m ak e a Ra be rr Pi -ba e d de k t o PC a g e nu ine o ibiliy . C l i v e W e b s t er ho w y o u t he ac c e o rie y o u ne e d

M a k e a d es k t o p P C

f r o m a R a s p b er r y P i

t h e b o o m - r i g h t G P I O p i n i s p i n 1 a n d t h eboom-l e i s pi n 2. The Pi Suppl y Sw i tch i s asimple pass-through until some soware isi n s t a l l e d o n t h e P i , s o i t ’ s fi n e t o u s e t h e O nand O buon s for n ow t he S o- o bu o nw on’ t w ork unti l that sow are i s i n pl ace.

You can now bui ld your case. If you’ ve al soo p t e d f o r t h e V E S A c a s e w e u s e d ( s e e o u rS h op p in g L i s t) , fi r st p e e l o t h e p ro te c ti vefil m from both si des of each Perspex section,punchi ng out the hol es and sl ots as you go.ModMyPi ’ s assembl y gui de i s good ( i n y u r l .

o m / ap - v e s a- a s e ) but w e w ere convi nced theUSB-port secti on w as w rong unti l w e turned

a nd fl ip p ed t h e c a s e a f e w t i me s .

S S E M 6 L Y

A n y P C l a c k i n g areal-time clock (RTC) willforget the ti me and dateo nc e i t’ s po we re d o ,ruining date-specific taskssuch as sorti ng fil es by date

or scheduled backups. Insertthe ti ny CR 1220 baery i ntothe hol ster of the Pi Face R TCmodul e, w i th the smooth,posi ti ve si de up. To i nstal l themodul e, push i t dow n on to the 26GPIO pi ns nearest the Pi ’ s mi croSDc a rd s lo t i t d o e s n’ t r e q ui r esol deri ng. Ensure the Pi Face R TC i sw el l dow n on to the GPIO pi ns, butthat i t doesn’ t touch the motherboardo f t h e P i 2 i n a n y o t h e r p l a c e s .

Unl i ke the R TC modul e, the Pi Suppl ySw i tch modul e does requi re a sol deri ng

i r on w e r e c om m en d a fi ne t i p a s t h e c i r cu i tboard i s very neatly packaged. Foll ow theassembl y procedure on Pi Suppl y’ s w ebsi te( i n y u r l . o m / a p - p o w e r - s w i t h ), taking care tocorrectl y i denti fy the resi stor val ues andpositions. The 10K-Ohm resistors have colourbands of brown-black-orange, while 1K-Ohmresistors are col oured brow n-bl ack-red thed i e r en c e i s a n no yi n gl y s u b tl e, b ut t h e o r a ng eband tends to be thi cker than the red. Al sonote that onl y the 22K-O hm (red-red-orange)resi stors si t on the ci rcui t board as a pai r.

The doubl e-header cabl e from the pow eru n i t a a c h e s t o p i n s 7 a n d 8 o f t h e P i 2 ’ s G P I O

w i th the Pi 2’ s mi croSD card sl ot tow ards you,

⬅ T h i n e a m o d u l e a l o w s

t h e P i 2 t o a w a s t e l l t h e

t i e , a d d o e s n ’ t r e q u i e

a y s o l d e r i g

⬆ U s e t h e c o r r e c t r e s i t o r s i t h e c o r r e c t p o s i i n ; t h e o n e s w i h t h e t h i n e r r e d b a d ( t o p ) a e 1 K O h m

R a s p b e r r y P i 2 R P I - 0 0 0 7 £

2 9

9

92 9 . 9 9

w w w m o d m y p i c o m

P i S u p p l y S w i t c h G E N - 0 0 1 5 £

1

4

9 91 4 . 9 9


P i F a c e S h i m R T C F A E - 0 0 0 7 £

9

9 . 0 0


3 2 G B M i c r o S D c a r d £ 8

4 98 . 4 9

w w w m z o n c o u k

V E S A P i + c a s e M M P - 0 0 6 8 £

7 7 . 0 0


5 V 2 A P o w e r S u p p l y M M P - 0 0 1 9 £ 4

9

94 . 9 9


C R 1 2 2 0 b a t t e r y £

1

5 51 . 5 5

w w w m z o n c o u k

D e l i v e r y £ 2

9

92 . 9 9

T o t a l £ 7 9 . 0 0

S H O P P I N G L I S T



ADVANCED PROJECTS

T h e b i g g e s t u p d a t e i n R a s p b i a n Js s i e i s aG U Ib a s e d c o n fi g u r a t i o n t o o l ( l e ) r a t h e rt h a n t h e o l d - f a s h i o n e d c o m m a n d - l i n et o o l i n p r e v i o u s v e r s i o n s ( b e l o w )

4 4

G ET T I G JESSI E W I T H I TDow nl oad the l atest versi on of R aspbi an( e s si e ) f r om w w w . r as p e r r y p i . o r g / d o w n l o ad s /

r a s p i a n a n d f o l lo w t h e g u i de a t e l i n u x . o r g /

RP _ Ea s y _ SD Car d _ S t u p to install Raspbianon to your mi croSD card. Insert the card i ntot h e P i 2 ’ s s l o t , p l u g i n y o u r s c r e e n a n dperi pheral s, and connect the Pi Suppl y Sw i tcht o y o u r p o w e r s o u r c e a n d t h e P i 2 . P r e s s t h ePi Suppl y Sw i tch’ s O n buon and the Pi 2 w i l lboot strai ght to the R aspbi an desktop.

Click Menu, Preferences, Raspberry PiC o n fi g u r a t i o n a n d y o u c a n s e t u p t h e P i 2 .Fi rst cl i ck ‘ Expand the Fi l esystem’ and thencl i ck O K – don’ t restart yet. O pen theInterfaces tab and enabl e I2C (w hi ch enabl esthe GPIO pi ns). Cl i ck O K but don’ t restart yet.

O pen the Local i sati on tab and set theTi mezone as ‘ GB’ (or as appropri ate). Cl i ck O K , a n d r e s ta r t i f y o u ’r e n o t p r om p te d t o d os o, d o t h is v i a t he S h ut do wn o pt io n o f t h eRaspbian Menu.

O nce you’ ve rebooted you shoul d updatethe O S and appl i cati ons. The qui ckest w ay i s

vi a the Termi nal , soopen that from thesystem tray (i t’ s an

i con show i ng a bl ack screen, near theRaspbian Menu). Type‘ sudo apt-get update’ andhi t Enter, then ‘ sudoapt-get -y upgrade’ and hi tEnter. You’ l l need to beconnected to the i nternet toupdate Raspbian.

FOLLOW TH E 0ODEFi rst w e’ l l set up the R TC modul e. In thesame Termi nal w i ndow , and w i th the Pi 2still online, type the following commands,

followed by Enter:

w g t h t t p s : / / r a w . g t h u b u s e r c o n t e n t . c o m /

p i f a c e / P i a c e - R e a l - T i m e - l o c k / m a s t e r /

i n s t a l l - p i f a c e - r e a l - t i m e - c l o c k . s h

c h m o d + x i n s t a l l - p i f a c e - r e a l - t i m e -

c l o c k . s h

s u d o . / i n s t a l l - p i f a c e - r e a l - t i m e -

c l o c k . s h

If al l goes w el l , you’ l l be advi sed to reboot

the Pi and set the date. To reboot, type ‘ sudoreboot’ and hi t Enter. O nce rebooted, opent h e T er m in a l a g a in a n d t y pe ‘ su do d a te - s " D DMMM YYYY HH: MM:SS ’ (for exampl e: sudod at e - s " 1 2 F E B 2 0 16 1 3: 34 :2 3 ) . N o w h a lt t heO S by typi ng ‘ sudo hal t’ , and, once the O S hasdefini tel y stopped, unpl ug the Pi 2 from themai ns and the i nternet for 10 mi nutes. Pow ert h e P i 2 b a c k o n ( b u t d o n ’ t r e c o n n e c t t o t h ei nternet) and the ti me show n i n the top-l ew i l l be correct. If not, try rebooti ng the Pi 2.

Creati ng the code for the Pi Suppl y Sw i tchi s even easi er: connect to the i nternet andthen open Python 3 (IDLE) and the pre-

installed Epiphany web browser. In Epiphany,head to t i n y u r l . o m / a p - s o - o and copy thecode from the upper ‘ Interrupts’ secti on i ntoPython. Then cl i ck Fi l e and Save As, creati ng a

nd

hi t

n e t t o

U S2 W I -FI DO GLEP r i c e £ 6 i c VAT

S u p p l i e r t h e p i u t . c o m

R ather than route Ethernet cabl esaround the house, j ust pl ug i n thi sPi-compatible USB Wi-Fi adaptor.Larger 5GHz adaptors are rated at up to30 0 Mbi t/s rather than the 150 Mbi t/s ofthi s 2. 4GHz nano dongl e, but cost around£15. We’ ve al so seen nano adaptors w i thbui l t-i n 6i n antennas to i ncrease rangeand rel i abi l i ty. As yet thereare no Pi -compati bl e802.11ac Wi-Fiadaptors, only802.11n.

U s e a fi n e - t i p p e ds o l d e r i n g i r o nt o a s s e m b l e t h ep o w e r c i r c u i t



ADVANCED PROJECTS

1 4 5

N E X M O N H

M KE Y O U R O W N N S

T a k e a c h e a p , o - t h e - s h e l f m i n i P C n d

t u r n i t i n t o a n a w e s o m e A f o r a l l y o u r

fi l e - s h a r i n g a n d m e d i a - s t r e a m i n g n e e d s

fol der i n your ‘ pi ’ di rectory cal l edPi Suppl y and nami ng the fil e soshutbefore cl i cki ng Save. Next, open a Termi naland type ‘sudo nano /etc/rc.local’ (withoutt h e q u ot es ) s c ro l l t o t h e e n d o f t h e fi le a n dadd the lines ‘python /home/pi/PiSupply/soshut. py ’ and ‘ exi t 0 ’ aer the R TC code(i gnore the quotes). Press Ctrl -X, Y and thenE n t e r t o s a v e a n d e x i t . S h u t d o w n t h e P i 2 ,connect the Pi Suppl y Sw i tch and boot upusi ng the O n buon of the Sw i tch. If al l goesw el l , the Pi 2 w i l l hal t R aspbi an i f you presst h e S o - o b u o n , a e r w h ic h t h e h a r dw ar e

w i l l pow er dow n aer roughl y tw o mi nutes.

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Price £4.99 inc VATSupplierwww.modmypi.com

I t h e P i S u p p l y S w i t c h s o u n d s t o o t r i c k y

t o a s s e m b l e ( o r t o o e x p e n s i v e w i t h a

n e w s o l d e r i n g i r o n f a c t o r e d i n ) , t r y t h i s

U S B t o M i n i U S B P o w e r C b l e w i t h n /

S w i t c h . Y o u ’ l l h a v e t o s h u t d o w n

y o u r P i 2 P C a n u a l l y , b u t t h e n y o u c a n

k i l l t h a t a n n o y i n g r e d L E D b y

fl i c k i n g t h e r o c k e r s w i t c h .

F l i c k i t b a c k o n a n d y o u r P i 2b o o t s u p . U s e t h e c a b l e

w i t h a s p a r e 1 . 5 - 2 A S B

a d a p t o r o r b u y a n

U l t r a H Q P o w e r

S u p p l y f o r £ 6

f r o m t h e s a m e

s u p p l i e r .

y o u r P

k i l l t h a t a n n o y n

b o o t s u p . U s e t h e c a b l e

w i t h a s p a r e 1 . 5 - 2 A

d a p t o r o r b u y a n

U t r a H Q P o

u p p l y f o

f r o m t

u p p

➡ T h e f i n i s h e d P i 2 P Ci s c a p a b l e o f h a n d l i n g

e v e r y d a y c o m p u t i n g

t a s k s , a n d e v e n s o m e

c o m p l e x g a m e s

A d t h e s e l i n e s t o

r c . l o c a l t o e n a b l e

s o w a r e - b a s e d

s h u t d o w n s f o r y o u r P i 2

A

➡ T e i n i s e P i 2 P Ci s c a p a b l e o f h a n d l i n g

e v e r y a y c o m p u t i n g

t a s k s , a n d e v e n s o m e

o m p e x g a m e s

d d i t i o n l

s o f t w r e

T o m a k e y o u r n e w P i 2 P C v e n m o r e

u s e f u l a n d e n j o y a b l e , y o u s h o u l d i n s t a l l

s o m e a d d i t i o n a l s o w a r e . T o i n s t a l l

s o w a r e , o p e n M e n u , P r e f e r e n c e s , t h e n

c l i c k A d / R e m o v e S o w a r e . S e a r c h f o r

e a c h a p p l i c a t i o n i n t h e t o p - l e b o x . H e r e

a r e t h e b e s t p a c k a g e s t o i n s t a l l .

I y o u d o n ’ t f a n c y t h e LibreOffice

Writer w o r d p r o c e s s o r , i n s t a l l AbiWord .

D e s k t o p p u b l i s h i n g a p p l i c a t i o n Scribus i s

g r e a t i f y o u r e g u l a r l y c r e a t e n e w s l e e r s

o r fl y e r s . PDFEdit l e t s y o u e d i t P D F s

r a t h e r t h a n j u s t r e a d t h e m ( i n t h e

p r e - i n s t a l l e d Xpdf ) . T h e p r e - i n s t a l l e d

ClawsMail i s a b i t b a s i c , s o u p g r a d e t o

Icedove, a n u n b r a n d e d c l o n e o f M o z i l l a ’ s

T h u n d e r b i r d . I y o u w a n t G o o g l e C l e n d a r

s u p p o r t a n d d e c e n t M S E x c h a n g e s u p p o r t

f o r y o u r e m a i l c l i e n t , c o n s i d e r Evolution

– i t t a k e s a n a g e t o l o a d , h o w e v e r .

T h e r e a r e o p t i o n s f o r e v e r y t y p e o f

p r o g r a m m e r . Gedit i s a b a s i c e d i t o r , w h i l e

Geany h a s m o r e f e a t u r e s f o r e v e r y d a y

c o d e w r i t i n g . H T M L c o d e r s s h o u l d u s e

Bluefish w h i l e CC + a n d F o r t r a n e x p e r t s

n e e d Code::Blocks. I y o u n e e d a

f u l l - b l o w n d e v e l o p m e n t e n v i r o n m e n t ,

c o n s i d e r Eclipse. W h i l e w o r k i n g y o u

m i g h t w a n t s o m e m u s i c , s o i n s t a l l

Clementine. K e e p i n t o u c h w i t h

c o l l a b o r a t o r s w i t h t h e Pidgin IM c l i e n ta n d Hotot f o r y o u r T w i e r f e e d .

Ce a t i v e s h a v e a s m a n y o p t i o n s o n

L i n u x a s c o d e r s . E d i t a u d i o i n Audacity

a n d v i d e o i n Kdenlive, w h i l e v e c t o r - b a s e d

a r t i s t s w i l l a p p r e c i a t e Inkscape. I t h e

p r e - i n s t a l l e d P h o t o s h o p - l i k e G IM P i s t o o

c o m p l e x , Pinta o e r s a s i m p l e r i n t e r f a c e .

DigiKam b r i n g s y o u a d v a n c e d p h o t o

m a n a g e m e n t , i n c l u d i n g R a w fi l e h a n d l i n g

a n d b a t c h c o n v e r s i o n s . M e a n w h i l e ,

FileZilla i s a n e x c e l l e n t F T P p r o g r a m .

T o s p e e d u p y o u r w o r k fl o w , i n s t a l l

Synapse t o s e a r c h f o r a n d l a u n c h

p r o g r a m s w i t h a s e a r c h b o x . G o o g l eD r i v e u s e r s n e e d Grive, w h i l e e v e r y o n e

s h o u l d l o o k a t t h e Unison b a c k u p

a p p l i c a t i o n ( i n s t a l l u n i s o n - a l l - g t k , t o o ) .

Y o u ’ l l s t i l l n e e d t o d i p i n t o t h e T e r m i n a l

e v e r y s o o e n , a n d Terminator a l l o w s

f o r m u l t i p l e T e r m i n a l w i n d o w s .

Shuer h a n d l e s s c r e e n c a p t u r e s , w h i l e

RecordMyDesktop a l l o w s s c r e e n - c a s t i n g

a n d d e s k t o p v i d e o r e c o r d i n g ( i n s t a l l t h e

G T K g r a p h i c a l f r o n t - e n d m o d u l e , t o o ) .

Bleachbit c a n c l e a n y o u r s y s t e m o f j u n k

fi l e s a n d s h r e d s e n s i t i v e o n e s .

n c e t h e w o r k i n g d a y i s d o n e y o u

c a n e v e n p l a y s o m e c o m p l e x g a m e s o n

y o u r P i 2 P C t r y Cv i l i z a t i o n 2 c l o n e

FreeCiv . E q u a l l y , OpenTTD i s a c l o n e

o f T r a n s p o r t T y c o o n D e l u x e .



PART ING SHOTS


Zy g oteH u m an e nde a o u rha re ac he d t he innac le ofi ac hie v e m e n t , a Zyg ote ,a hew o nde r ho w w e e v e r li e d w iho u t v ibra ing m all and e e - o w e re d o c k

Spiderman. Computer-controlleddrones are regul arl y spoed overrestri cted areas such as ai rports,sports arenas and mi l i tary si tes,a n d o n e t h a t l a n d e d o n t h e r o o fof the Pri me Mi ni ster’ s resi dencew as found to have a payl oad ofradioactive cesium.

Now the Spi derman DroneSquad Department i s operati ng afleet of quadcopters. These areequipped with three-metre webs

desi gned to snare the rotors ofi l l egal drones and haul them back dow n to earth. Il l egal fli ers w i l l befined 50 0 , 0 0 0 yen (around£2, 90 0 ). Al though the dangers ofthese annoyi ng l i l e vehi cl es areno doubt true, Zygote suspectsthe w eb of publ i ci ty surroundi ngthe Spi derman pol i ce has beencreated by spi n doctors.

S M R T Y P N T S

Computerised clothing is changingthe w ay w e feel about oursel ves.

It al l began w i th Wi -Fi -enabl edvibrating knickers designed byBi l l i e Whi tehouse of theWearable Experiments company,f or w ha t s h e c a l ls “ r e mo tel ong-di stance rel ati onshi ps .Whi tehouse has now foll owed upher exci tabl e pants w i th a j acketthat’ s a real fashi on sensati on.That i s to say, the w earer feel s thesensati on of a vi rtual nudge onthe shoul der as a navi gati on ai d.

Meanwhile, Malcolm Xing hasdesi gned a w earabl e body sensor

made from ordinary chewinggum. Up to now , body sensorshave used specialist plasticsand si l i cones, but Xi ng hasdiscovered beer sensitivity andflexi bi l i ty can be achi eved byuni ts made from gum chew edfor hal f an hour, steri l i sed andthen mi xed w i th a mol ecul arl ayer of carbon nanotubes.These chew abl e body sensorscan al so detect temperature and

humidity changes, and Zygotel ooks forw ard to thei r use i nWhitehouse’s vibrating knickers,so w anderi ng w earers can tel l i fthey are comi ng or goi ng.

A n d w h i l e w e a r e o n t h esubj ect, l et us w el come thearrival of wee-fi. Urine-poweredsocks devel oped at theUni versi ty of the West ofEngland are proving remarkablyeffici ent. The w earer pees i ntothei r socks vi a a speci al tube tothe heel s, the acti on of w al ki ng

then pumps the uri ne through aseri es of mi ni aturi sed fuel cel l s,and el ectri ci ty i s generated.Enough el ectri ci ty to pow er awireless transmier and sendregul ar si gnal s to a computer.

Professor Ioannis Ieropoulos,head of the uni versi ty researchprogramme, sai d the socks coul dtransmit the wearer’scoordi nates i n an emergencysi tuati on, “ and i ndicate proof ofl if e , s e ei n g a s a p r er e qu i si te o fmaki ng fresh pee i s to be al i ve.

M O U S E R O P P I N G S

Thi s month’ s Zygote Aw ard forthe Bl eedi n’ O bvi ous goes to aninternational group of academicsstudyi ng how peopl e use theircomputer mice. Aer analysing ahuge amount of data, theeminent professors haveconcl uded that peopl eexperiencing anger, confusion orsadness are l ess preci se i n thei rmouse movements than peopl e

w ho are cool , cal m and col l ected.Coming soon: conclusive proof

that peopl e w ho do not movethei r mouse at al l are ei ther aw ayfrom base, asl eep or dead.

O G G O N E

It’ s great to see that respect forthe monarchy i s not onl y al i veand w el l i n Thai l and, but that i textends to the royal pets as w el l .Even dead ones.

Tiensutham Suijitseranee isa 58-year-old businessman, and

has been sentenced to a modest25 years i n j ai l for posti ng anamusi ng i mage of the monarch,King Bhumibol, on Facebook.Whereas Thanakorn Siripaibooni s a 27-year-ol d mechani c, and heh a s b e e n g i v e n a n e v e n m o r emodest 37 years for usi ngFacebook to i nsul t the ki ng’ smongrel bi tch named Thong andrecently deceased. Zygotew onders i f reverence show n tot h e d e a d d o g c a n o n l y b edescri bed as barki ng mad.

O F F Y O U R T R O LL Y

Spencer the robot i s bl ue andw hi te, seven feet tal l , hasbushbaby eyes, trundles aroundl i k e a D a l e k , a n d h a s b e e n o n avery useful work experience stintat Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

Spencer’ s mi ssi on i n l i fe i s tofind l ost passengers and gui dethem to w herever they w ant togo w i thi n the ai rport boundari es.The robot has bui l t-i n maps for

fixed obj ects l i ke w al l s and doors,and uses l aser beams to avoi dmovi ng obj ects such as peopl eand luggage trolleys.

The moti vati on comes fromKLM, w hi ch has been racki ng upl osses due to passengers unabl eto find the correct departuregate and mi ssi ng thei r fli ghts,and the ai rl i ne accountants hopethat Spencer can hel p sol ve suchprobl ems and save them money.

The robot recei ves i nstructionsvi a a l arge touchscreen bui l t i nto

i ts chest, w hi ch avoi ds anymisunderstanding frompassengers usi ng voi ce i nput forconnecti ons to Fort Di x.

S W E E T N O T H I N G S

Zygote ful l y endorses a proposedEU recommendati on to l abelbranded vi deo games asadvertisements. Two-thirds ofour primary schoolchildren playan internet entertainment thatfeatures sw eets, snacks or sugarydri nks at l east once a w eek, and

go on to consume an addi ti onal7 2 m o r e c a l o r i e s o f c r u d a s adi rect resul t each ti me. The morethey pl ay, the more they i ngest.

Unl i ke TV adverts, w hi ch areinstantly recognisable, only 6of parents and chi l dren are aw arethat the sol e purpose of vi deogameplay involving ‘edible’ treatsi s t o p r o m o t e s a l e s . O f t h e 7 4mi l l i on school chi l dren i n the EU,16 mi l l i on are obese, and over 4mi l l i on are so overw ei ght thei rheal th i s at ri sk. Bah humbug

W E 2 T R F F I 0

The probl em of i l l egal drones i sso bad i n Tokyo that apanesepol i ce have enl i sted the hel p of





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Computer Shopper - April 2016 UK