Table of contents for October 2021 in Custom PC UK

The first promising glimpses of normality appear to be occasionally glitching back into the GPU matrix this month. I even briefly spotted GeForce RTX 3060 Ti and 3080 Ti Founders Editions going for normal prices at Scan, although they sold out shortly afterwards. That’s still rubbish if you didn’t happen to be online at that particular time, though, and we’re clearly still a long way from being able to regularly buy many PC components at normal pricing. This got me thinking. How could we possibly enable our readers to build a reasonably priced gaming PC in these bizarre times? I’d spotted that several etailers, including Scan, were offering some of these rare components in bundles that were more keenly priced than buying the components separately. I asked Scan if we…

When’s the next issue out? custompc Issue 218 on sale Thursday, 9 September Letters Tell us what you think of the mag, ask us questions and suggest your own tips and tricks for other readers! Send all your correspondence to custompc@raspberrypi.com RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE GETS FSR SUPPORT The latest patch for Capcom’s Resident Evil Village brings support for AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution to the game. ‘FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), the most advanced upscaling technology offered by AMD, is now supported in Resident Evil Village,’ says the patch notes. ‘Players who use FSR will now be able to experience higher frame rates on PC for an improved gaming experience.’ FidelityFX Super Resolution is a resolution scaling system designed to improve frame rates in demanding games. Nvidia’s DLSS tech has given the…

Corsair has added a distribution plate to its expanding line-up of custom water-cooling gear. The Hydro X Series XD7 RGB is designed to slot into a case’s 360mm radiator mount, and imitates the look of a trio of 120mm RGB fans, complete with 36 individually addressable RGB LEDs. The plate effectively acts as a 140ml reservoir, and features a Xylem D5 pump and three pairs of nylon-reinforced inlet/outlet ports for connecting waterblocks, radiators and other water-cooling components. There are also additional fill and drain ports, and the plate contains a temperature sensor, so you can easily set your pump and fans to respond to the coolant temperature. The Corsair Hydro X Series XD7 RGB is available to buy now for £250 inc VAT from corsair.com…

SUPPLIER scan.co.uk Corsair’s 7000D is the latest cathedral of a case to be added to the company’s arsenal, and it offers some benefits over the already excellent 5000D Airflow we reviewed recently (see Issue 212, p44). For starters, you get an extra fan, with three 140mm models included out of the box, two of which are mounted in the front to create positive air pressure. The water-cooling radiator support of this 60cm-tall and 55cm-deep case is substantial too, as you’d expect. As with the 5000D, there are side fan mounts that sit next to the motherboard tray, but here you get an extra fan mount, with room for a 480mm radiator. You can even squeeze a 420mm or 480mm radiator in the front too, where there’s space for a quartet…

SUPPLIER cyberpowersystem.co.uk The Infinity X115 GT isn’t expensive or flashy, but it’s a good mainstream gaming option at a great price. It’s built around the affordable GeForce RTX 3060, and this rig’s card comes from MSI. The Gaming X 12G card improves the reference boost clock from 1777MHz to 1837MHz. It’s also equipped with a whopping 12GB of GDDR6 memory and 3,584 stream processors, which is ideal for gaming at 1,920 x 1,080. The processor is an entry-level part too, but while the Intel Core i5-11400 can’t be overclocked, its six cores are Hyper-Threaded and the base clock of 2.6GHz rises to a boost peak of 4.4GHz. The rest of the specification follows suit, with 16GB of dual-channel 3200MHz memory and a 1TB Intel 670P NVMe SSD with decent read…

SUPPLIER razer.com The Razer Wrist Rest is a big chunky beast of a pad that keeps your wrists off the table when you’re typing, gaming or doing anything else with your keyboard. The cushion is made from memory foam, and it’s very thick and comfy, with a pleather covering. While the cushion is a formidable squodgy block, the body of the wrist rest is surprisingly lightweight, with a degree of twist and flex to it. It’s a wrist rest, of course, so it doesn’t have to be rigid or reinforced, but the flimsiness was unexpected when we set it up. On the underside, the Razer Wrist Rest has six rubbery feet that anchor it fairly well to your desk, although it relies on contact with the keyboard for it to…

SUPPLIER box.co.uk We’ve looked at the wired version of the Viper before and been impressed by its compact, easy-grip design and effortless performance, so how does its wireless sibling hold up? Not surprisingly, it doesn’t disappoint. This is Razer’s most compact high-end mouse, with a small footprint and low 74g weight. That’s not the absolute lightest you can get but it’s impressively featherweight for a wireless rodent. Also, unlike some very light mice, Razer hasn’t opted to fill the Viper with lots of holes – instead, all the weight saving is internalised, reducing the potential for dust and grime working its way into the interior. One aspect of both the Viper and Viper Ultimate that stands out is that they’re not just symmetrical in design but are also truly ambidextrous.…

MOTHERBOARDS TEST PROCESSORS Intel LGA1200 Intel Core i9-11900K AMD AM4 AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, and AMD Ryzen 9 3900X for standalone reviews that require comparisons with older results. Common test hardware between our CPU test rigs includes 16GB (2 x 8GB) of Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3466MHz DDR4 memory, a 2TB Samsung 970 Evo SSD, a 1TB PCI-E 4 Corsair MP600 SSD and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition graphics card. All CPUs are cooled by a Corsair Hydro-X water-cooling loop, with two XR5 240mm radiators, an XD3 RGB reservoir and an XC7 RGB waterblock. We test with our RealBench suite and Far Cry New Dawn on Windows 10 Home 64-bit. We also test the board’s M.2 ports, and record the noise level and dynamic range of integrated audio…

As you probably know, getting hold of a graphics card is currently like trying to grab the proverbial pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Head to the website of any hardware retailer and almost every card will be either out of stock or ridiculously priced. There are various causes. Some are short-term, such as the pandemic. Some are long-term, such as the growing popularity in cryptocurrency mining and a general world shortage of semiconductors. We’ve investigated the causes of this shortage previously (see Issue 213, p88), but what are the potential consequences for PC gaming? This industry is always trying to push ahead in graphics development, as one of the best ways to sell your game is to ensure it looks nicer than anybody’s else’s, but what…

While the latest chipsets offer PCI-E 4 support, the benefits of spending more for this new standard are very limited. You’ll see next to no boost in graphics performance, and while PCI-E 4 M.2 SSDs offer higher sequential speeds than their PCI-E 3 counterparts, you’ll see few benefits in real-world use unless you’re regularly shifting around massive files around regularly. This means that, unless you have specific reasons for opting for a newer chipset motherboard, a B450-chipset model will do all you need while saving you a load of money. In fact, the Asus TUF Gaming B450M-Plus II costs under £85 inc VAT at retail, yet it supports the latest Zen 3 Ryzen 5000-series processors and has all the essentials. There’s an M.2 port for NVMe SSDs and a generous…

If your PC fails to show anything on the screen, it could be due to the BIOS that’s installed being too old to support the latest 5000-series processors. In this situation you’ll be met with a black screen. Power down the PC, grab the latest BIOS for this specific motherboard from Asus’ website (custompc.co.uk/TUFBIOS) on another system – borrow a friend’s laptop if you need to, then grab a blank USB stick. You’ll need to right click on the flash drive in File explorer, hit format and select FAT32 under the file system option. Click Start to format the drive and then drop both the files you just got from Asus onto the flash drive. Run the BIOS renamer program to configure the BIOS file name correctly so your motherboard…

TOTAL PROJECT TIME / 48 HOURS Over time, the components in your water-cooling loop can seep chemicals into your coolant, which can tarnish other parts and discolour tubing. The coolant can separate or stain tubing and components too. One option here is to rebuild your loop with fresh coolant and tubing and manually clean your components. However, there is an easier way to spring-clean your loop without dismantling everything and that’s using Mayhems’ Blitz cleaning kit. The latest version comes with two bottles, with one being used to clean a whole loop while the other comprises a highly acidic solution to clean radiators separately. This is different to flushing (see p98), which is only needed with new radiators. In this guide we’ll show you how to clean a whole loop…

/MEET THY MAKER Name Michael Dexter Age 36 Occupation Cleaner, dog walker, washer and stay-at-home parent Location Nottinghamshire Main uses for PC Gaming, which is even better now the kids get to take part too! Likes RGB, RGB and more RGB! Seriously, it can look great when set up correctly Dislikes Noisy neighbours – I should probably move somewhere more remote CPC: We’ve never seen a PC with a mechanical claw in it before – what was the inspiration behind this project? Mike: Some gaming sessions with my friends led to some banter, and we discussed various themes and ideas about would fit in such a small case. The claw machine idea sounded bonkers enough for me to attempt it – I like to be different when it comes to…

I was recently sent an image that’s only available privately for JEDEC members. It shows that the memory standards body has already set out its road map up to 2030, with the memory data rate increasing steadily over the next ten years, where it tops out at an effective frequency of 24GHz, up from DDR4’s 3200MHz today. The graph shows the‘socket bandwidth’ target increasing by 20 per cent every year, which in this case alludes to server platforms with ultra-wide, 8-channel memory systems. However, while the big bandwidth numbers won’t make it into desktop PCs, we’ll benefit from the same tech as it trickles down into smartphones, laptops and PCs. As we roll into DDR5 this year at 4600MHz, JEDEC expects this tech to scale up to 8000MHz by 2024,…

We recently tested Thermaltake’s ToughRAM XG RGB memory, but since we wrote the original review we’ve found that our test system hasn’t been pushing memory modules to their limits when we were overclocking them. Rather than not having any overclocking headroom, when using different a test motherboard, we found the modules could reach 4133MHz and 3933MHz on our Intel and alternative AMD systems respectively. The modules now retrospectively get an overall score of 86% and an Approved award. If you held back buying the modules based on our overclocking results, rest assured that they actually overclock very well indeed. We’ve posted an updated review on our website at custompc.co.uk/toughram DESIGN 22/25 PERFORMANCE 27/30 VALUE 37/45 OVERALL SCORE 86%…

SUPPLIER chillblast.com Chillblast’s Fusion Kraken is a beast of a machine with a sensational design. The major components are linked by expertly curved hard-line water-cooling tubing with white coolant, and the processor and graphics card are topped by Corsair XC7 and XG7 waterblocks. A Corsair XD5 reservoir and pump unit sits in the front of the chassis, and an XR5 radiator lurks in the roof. Strips of RGB LEDs line the case, and the custom-spray white exterior looks fantastic against the black exterior. The front and side panels are also made of tempered glass to really show off the interior, and the materials used are robust. What’s more, the Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic Razer Edition case a features RGB LEDs that can be configured and synchronised using Razer software. Chillblast’s…

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SUPPLIER overclockers.co.uk The latest air and liquid coolers to come our way from be quiet! have been highly competitive with a mix of great cooling, build quality and reasonable pricing. However, with a similar price tag to other coolers on test, the fact that the Shadow Rock 3 only has a single 120mm fan and five heatpipes means it’s at a bit of a disadvantage. Most of the competition has an extra fan and heatpipe, and even with the most efficient heatsink and fan in the world, higher airflow and static pressure will usually win, although the Shadow Rock 3 does aim to make the most of its single Shadow Wings 2 fan. Its heatsink fins are widely spaced to provide less resistance to airflow, but is still 10cm deep…

SUPPLIER cclonline.com While Noctua is well known for expensive coolers, it has recently been trying to tempt in those with more modest budgets as well as those opposed to its familiar colour scheme of beige and brown. To address the latter, the NH-U12S opts for a black fan and grey surround, which is a combo that we think looks fantastic. The whole cooler is also supremely well-made, giving you a strong sense you’re looking at something that’s worthy of its £50 price tag, even before you even install it in your PC. However, the heatsink is relatively small compared with the competition and the single 120mm fan is also one fewer than half the others on test this month too. Noctua did kindly send us an optional NA-FK1 fan kit,…

SUPPLIER overclockers.co.uk Although Asus has been producing gaming mice for some time, its rodents haven’t made the biggest impact on the best gaming mice lists of the world. The ROG Keris Wireless, though, certainly makes a darn good go of breaking into the top tier. This tri-mode mouse supports Bluetooth, alongside wired and conventional 2.4GHz wireless modes, the latter via an included USB dongle. It also boasts a high-end PixArt PAW3335 16K DPI sensor, hot-swappable main button switches and conforms to the latest trend for keeping the design compact and light. With a footprint of just 118 x 62mm, it’s the shortest and one of the narrowest mice on test, and it’s not overly tall either. Its weight of 79g isn’t among the very lightest on test, but it just…

SUPPLIER currys.co.uk We were very impressed, if a little miffed, at the G Pro X Superlight when we first reviewed it a few months back. Here was Logitech refining its already superb G Pro Wireless mouse, making it even lighter and fixing the double-click problem of that first mouse. In doing so, however, it dropped its ambidextrous design and even ditched the bottom-mounted DPI button, all while not dropping the already high price. It still performed well enough to keep us happy at the time, but does it still impress? One fact that’s immediately highlighted when you’re reviewing over half a dozen other wireless mice at the same time is that the original G Pro Wireless’ original performance advantage, with its very low-latency wireless technology at the time, has now…

EXTREME ULTRA Some products are gloriously over the top. They don’t always offer amazing value, but they’re outstanding if you have money to spend. PREMIUM GRADE Premium Grade products are utterly desirable, offering a superb balance of performance and features without an over-the-top price. PROFESSIONAL These products might not be appropriate for a gaming rig, but they’ll do an ace job at workstation tasks. APPROVED Approved products do a great job for the money; they’re the canny purchase for a great PC setup. CUSTOM KIT For those gadgets and gizmos that really impress us, or that we can’t live without, there’s the Custom Kit award.…

BUILT THIS PC? Show us using: #ThanksCustomPC Whether it’s down to the pandemic, cryptocurrency mining, silicon shortages, shipping costs from China, lorry driver shortages or all of the above, the cost of PC components has rocketed up like competitive billionaires trying to beat each other into space over the past year. Can you imagine being able to buy an RTX 3080 for £649 or an RTX 3060 for £300? Currently, you’re looking at more than double those prices or more, which has made the prospect of building a new gaming PC highly depressing for lots of us. It’s been a while since we’ve done a build guide in Custom PC and for good reason – we simply wouldn’t have recommended buying a lot of components over the past year because…

Your average computer hobbyist usually wouldn’t care much about hardware security modules, unless the presence of one prevented them from doing something. Zymbit, though, has been trying to convince hobbyists that hardware security modules are of interest for some time – and its latest attempt piggybacks onto the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies. The Zymbit HSM6 is a direct successor to the earlier HSM4, which in turn is a designed-for-manufacture module based on the same technology as its Zymkey4. All three devices have one feature in common: an Arm Cortex-M0 microcontroller coupled with a Microchip ATECC608 secure element, which is accessible through application programming interfaces (APIs) for C, C++ and Python. The Zymkey4 is a stick-like board that attaches to the general-purpose input/output (GPIO) header of a Raspberry Pi 3 or…

ACTIVE USER MILESTONES TOP 20 PRODUCERS TOP 20 OVERALL WHAT IS FOLDING? Folding@home uses the spare CPU and GPU cycles for medical research, with a current focus on COVID-19. You can get the client from foldingathome.org/start-folding and our team’s ID is 35947. As interest in the folding team has dropped off sharply now, this is the last time we’re going to print this stats page. You can discuss folding with us and other readers online at the bit-tech forums (custompc.co.uk/FoldingForum).…

To enter your rig for possible inclusion in Readers’ Drives, your build needs to be fully working and, ideally, based in the UK. Simply send us a couple of photos on Twitter (@CustomPCMag) or Facebook (CPCMagazine), or email low-res ones to ben.hardwidge@raspberrypi.com. Fame isn’t the only prize; you’ll also get your hands on some fabulous prizes, courtesy of Corsair. Corsair Hydro X Series XD3 RGB Pump/Reservoir C The Corsair Hydro X Series XD3 RGB Pump/Reservoir Combo features a high-performance DDC PWM pump, integrated RGB lighting and in-loop temperature sensor to drive even the most compact custom cooling systems. It has a high-performance Xylem DDC PWM pump controlled via PWM to deliver the perfect flow balance for your loop. There are also 16 individually addressable RGB LEDs, which light up the…

The low-noise cooling experts at be quiet! have designed a new slimline air cooler that it says can cope with a CPU TDP of up to 160W. The Shadow Rock Slim 2 achieves this by building upwards rather than outwards, using a large 135mm fan with nine blades and a rifle bearing. According to be quiet!, even at full speed, the overall noise from the fan is 23.7dBA. The fan attaches to a slimline heatsink that’s fed by four 6mm copper heatpipes, which make direct contact with your CPU’s heatspreader in the contact plate. The cooler’s slim profile is designed to minimise interference with other components in your motherboard’s CPU area, so it shouldn’t clash with large memory modules. The be quiet! Shadow Rock Slim 2 is compatible with AMD…

SUPPLIER scan.co.uk Recommending any motherboard that costs more than twice the price of your typical premium model is always tricky, but the Gigabyte Z590 Aorus Xtreme also has to justify this when the very latest mainstream flagship CPU from Intel only has eight cores. That’s not to say the Core i9-11900K is an easy beast to tame. Enabling Adaptive Boost Technology or overclocking it to its limit still requires high-quality power circuitry, and the Z590 Aorus Xtreme has eight PCB layers compared to six in many other Gigabyte Z590 boards. It also has 20 power phases rated at 100A. Comparatively, that’s eight more than Gigabyte’s Z590 Vision G. The VRMs are cooled by two massive finned arrays of heatsinks, linked by a heatpipe and further aided by a backplate covering…

G-LAB K-STAND / £19.99 inc VAT SUPPLIER amazon.co.uk The G-Lab K-Stand fills the roles of a headphone stand, a 2-port USB hub and a provider of random-coloured lighting ambience. It does a perfectly serviceable job in its first role as a headphone stand – it’s stable and weighty, with the centre of gravity in the right place, and it doesn’t take up a whole expanse of precious desktop. It also works nearly as a USB hub – you can power and run the K-Stand from any of the three ports, one of which is located on either side with a third at the back. This makes it a convenient base for your desktop peripherals, and the port placement mitigates any risk of cable spaghetti. Meanwhile, the lighting serves a vaguely…

SUPPLIER amazon.co.uk The MiiKARE Cooling Egg Stand is an odd yet surprisingly clever duck. Despite sounding like something you might use to ensure you don’t get burned by your breakfast, this egg-like device operates as a stand for a laptop and a smartphone. To use it, you simply open up the egg and the two halves of the outer shell act as risers for a laptop. The shells are lightly grippy on the outside, while the bottoms of the halves have little rubbery feet – between them they can lift up a laptop, providing reasonable stability and a gap underneath to help with airflow. Inside the egg is a little fold-out stand that holds a smartphone at two different angles; despite its size, this is easily stable enough for watching…

SUPPLIER scan.co.uk Rather than go massive like ARCTIC’s Freezer 50 or deep like be quiet!’s Shadow Rock 3, Deep Cool is the only cooler on test to opt for a lone 140mm fan design, with the AS500. The heatsink, as a result, stands 164mm tall and 142mm wide, but only 74mm deep, so unlike the ARCTIC cooler, you won’t run into any issues with tall memory modules. You’ll need to keep an eye on your case’s CPU cooler height limit, as some smaller, slimmer cases may struggle. Despite a fairly low peak speed of 1,200rpm, the fan produced a noticeable airflow noise and sat in the middle of the pack above the super-quiet be quiet! Shadow Rock 3 and Noctua NH-U12S redux. This is a shame, as we’d hoped the…

SUPPLIER watercoolinguk.co.uk If you were to pick a cooler you thought had it all this month, you’d probably pick the SilverStone Hydrogon D120 ARGB. It has RGB lighting and a dual heatsink design with a pair of 120mm fans, so it looks like it means business but can add some pizzazz to your PC’s aesthetics too. The RGB fans look great with their semi-opaque construction diffusing punchy and colour-accurate lighting across the blades. You’ll need a 3-pin RGB header to power them, though, and there’s no RGB controller in the box either, which you get with the ARCTIC Freezer 50 and Deep Cool AS500, so you’ll either need to make do with the standard rainbow effect or use your motherboards software if you don’t have a separate controller. Despite wielding…

SUPPLIER box.co.uk The two mice that flank this one in these pages could hardly be more different. While the G Pro X Superlight and Viper Ultimate have compact, symmetrical and lightweight designs that are laser-focused on high-performance gaming, the DeathAdder V2 Pro is a far more versatile beast, with a focus on a more relaxed palm-grip design. A stalwart of the gaming mouse world, the DeathAdder has been around in some form for over 15 years, and in all that time its core shape hasn’t changed a great deal. It’s one of the original ergonomic designs, with a large footprint, raised left side and low-profile back that just cossets your whole hand when you use it in a palm grip. That said, it does have a particularly high left edge…

SUPPLIER ebuyer.com Once at the forefront of gaming mouse design, SteelSeries has been slow to react to the latest trends, with its Rival 600 being overly complex and still including a weights system, while its recent Aerox 3 offers a lightweight design but doesn’t quite nail its shape. The Prime, then, is every bit the cut-down, simplified and focused gaming mouse that could put the company back on top. The simplicity starts with the design, which is reminiscent of the Logitech G Pro X Superlight in terms of offering just the basics. It’s just a whole lot of black plastic with an RGB-illuminated scroll wheel and a paintedon SteelSeries logo at the rear of the mouse. While it looks similar at first glance, the Prime Wireless doesn’t share the Superlight’s…

Core component bundles The fundamental specifications we recommend for various types of PC. Just add your preferred case and power supply, and double-check there’s room in your case for your chosen components, especially the GPU cooler and graphics card. We’ve largely stopped reviewing power supplies, as the 80 Plus certification scheme has now effectively eliminated unstable PSUs. Instead, we’ve recommended the wattage and minimum 80 Plus certification you should consider for each component bundle. You can then choose whether you want a PSU with modular or captive cables. Budget system with integrated graphics Quad-core CPU, basic gaming Needs a micro-ATX or ATX case. We recommend a 350W 80 Plus power supply. 1,920 x 1,080 gaming 6-core CPU, 1080p gaming See p74 for a superior spec in limited quantities Needs a…

NEWS AMID EVIL VR Indefatigable’s excellent shooter AMID EVIL is getting a VR version, although it’s being handled by a third-party developer known as Immersive. Details on what the VR version will contain are still fairly light, but it will include fully implemented VR controls, letting you swing your weapons around as you would in real life. Well, if swinging weapons around in real life was a regular occurrence, but fortunately we don’t live in such times any longer. Released in 2019, AMID EVIL is one of my favourite shooters to come out in recent years. It has a fascinating blend of retro-styled graphics rendering and level design, but with modern visual effects laid on top. It sees players exploring seven otherworldly realms and battling hordes of chunky polygonal enemies…

Case Fractal Design Meshify C TG As sub-£100 cases go, Fractal Design’s Meshify C is hard to beat, and it’s also available in decent quantities at the moment. Thecasecomeswith two120mmfansas standard, which are organised sensibly as an intake and exhaust, and you also get a decent amount of air pulled into the chassis, thanks to the perforated front panel. There’s plenty of space for an all-in-one liquid cooler, plus you get decent cable-routing options and you even get a tempered glass side panel, giving you a view of your handiwork inside. It’s a case we’d happily use for a high-end system, let alone a mid-range one, and it’s great to have it in this bundle. PSU 550W Corsair CV Series CV550 Mid-range PC hardware is pretty power-efficient these days, and…

Install the CPU The pins are very delicate on the bottom of AMD CPUs, so be extremely careful when unboxing it and moving it over to the motherboard. To install it, lift up the latch on the CPU socket and align the small gold triangle in the green coating on the top of the CPU with the small triangle on the CPU socket. This can be tricky to see, as both are small, so another way to align the CPU correctly is to ensure the model name sits vertically and next to the socket hinge as shown here 1. This will work for Ryzen 5000-series CPUs. Once the CPU is firmly sat in the socket, push down the latch to lock it into place. Install the memory Normally we’d install…

TOTAL PROJECT TIME / 2 HOURS PC water-cooling systems work a lot like a car’s cooling system, with coolant travelling from hot spots through tubing to a fan-cooled radiator. However, water-cooling loops don’t come pre-built if you’re buying off-the-shelf components. You have to build the whole system and fill it with coolant, which needs to be drained if you want to replace it. There aren’t any strict guides on how best to fill and drain your loop, though, at least not that are included with manufacturers’ components. Meanwhile, radiators can often have residue and particulates left over from the manufacturing process, which can come loose once you fire up your pump and potentially clog the fine channels in your waterblocks. In this guide, we’ll take you through radiators, as well…

Custom PC has always worked closely with selected partners in the tech industry to get access to hardware early for reviews, as well as the inside scoops on new developments. It’s one of the reasons that so many ex Custom PC contributors, myself included, end up working in the tech industry in one role or another. This issue’s cover feature is a case in point. As it’s not a review of a Scan system, but a guide on how to build an affordable gaming PC, it was the perfect opportunity for Custom PC and Scan to work together. We’re well aware that customers find it hard to buy many products at the moment, so we didn’t want the PC in the cover story to be impossible to purchase. The first…