Computer Shopper -julkaisun June 2020 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

With the coronavirus outbreak, all our lives have changed – and no doubt will continue to change – immeasurably. As I write this, the Prime Minister has just announced unprecedented measures that have put the country in lockdown mode. To help fight this virus, we can only leave our homes if it’s absolutely essential, and thousands of organisations across the nation have been shut for the time being. The schools have now closed, meaning many of us will be trying to carry on working from home while home-schooling children; and we won’t be able to see our loved ones, or indeed have any social contact outside the people we share homes with, for many weeks to come. Fortunately, we live in an age where technology has advanced to a level…

Software guru and Shopper legend letters@computershopper.co.uk WITH A NAME like Ewbank, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that I come from a long line of sheep farmers. This means I know from bitter experience that counting sheep successfully isn’t easy; it’s certainly not a relaxing way to fall asleep. Sheep are natural rebels, and will do almost anything to avoid being counted. Shepherds, by contrast, are determined to work out how many sheep they’ve got in a field, largely so they can work out how many have escaped over the wall. It’s a battle between shepherd and sheep, and when I used to do it, the sheep usually won. Lose concentration for a second and the little beggars would have nipped round to be counted a second time,…

Hell’s Android Google is bringing its Android Auto car interface to motorcycles, with the software set to make its debut in Harley-Davidson bikes before the end of the year War never changes Call of Duty: Warzone, a free and new ‘battle royale’ mode for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, raked in a massive six million players in just 24 hours Bot bashing Microsoft managed to disrupt a botnet called Necurs that infected an estimated nine million computers across the globe On the horizon One-time PlayStation 4 exclusive game Horizon Zero Dawn is set to arrive on the PC this summer, potentially paving the way for more games that were once PlayStation-only titles to wing their way over to our platform of choice BT booted BT was fined a hefty £245,000…

£1,000 • From www.palicomp.co.uk VERDICT Top-class CPU performance helps ensure this PC isn’t just about its looks THE AMD ORION comes dangerously close to being describable as ‘ornate’. Although the innards lean towards luxury in places – the Ryzen 7 3700X CPU, for instance, is overclocked from 3.6GHz to 4.25GHz – it’s mainly the case that’s a bit of a show-off. The front panel is split by a wavy strip of RGB lighting, with the larger left side adorned with a carbon fibre-like effect. The right side is plain but the left is dominated by a tempered glass window, with vents for the intake fans near the front and honeycomb-pattern vents cut into the side of the PSU chamber. A similar pattern is cut into the roof, although it’s just…

£1,750 • From store.hp.com VERDICT Lightweight, sophisticated and long-lasting, the Elite Dragonfly is a joy HP HAS AN unfortunate knack of producing 2-in-1s that, while often fine devices in their own right, don’t quite meet the standards set by Apple or Dell. That might change, however, with the Elite Dragonfly: a rotating convertible with very specific designs on serious productivity usage. It’s an exquisitely designed laptop, from the water-based ‘dragonfly blue’ paint to its incredible lightness. The Elite Dragonfly weighs a mere 990g, so it’s one of a very small number of sub-1kg 13.3in laptops. Far from just a difference on paper, we could feel the impact this had on day-to-day use, especially while taking the laptop with us on commutes. HIGHER PURPOSE The Elite Dragonfly is available in a…

£99 • From www.istorage-uk.com VERDICT This innovative USB device encrypts your cloud storage with minimal fuss EVEN IF YOU ignore the horror stories of massive cloud storage leaks, all it takes to illicitly access files saved in the cloud is a username and password – it’s never been any safer than local storage. If anything, it’s worse, as that data can be accessed from anywhere in the world. This is the concern behind the iStorage CloudAshur, a plug-in USB device that aims to add a few more layers of protection to cloud storage. GUARD DRIVE The CloudAshur is not another of iStorage’s PIN-protected USB storage drives like the datAshur Pro2 (Shopper 383), even if it looks identical. Windows doesn’t even treat it as a removable drive, somehow labelling it as…

£631 • From www.centralcomputers.co.uk VERDICT This 165Hz display has one of the slickest IPS panels of any gaming monitor, but it will cost you IT WOULD BE fair to say that the world didn’t need another 27in, 1440p gaming monitor, especially one that costs as much or more than some 4K displays. To its credit, however, the ViewSonic Elite XG270QG manages to find a genuinely unique combination of IPS image quality and sheer competition-grade speed: this is the only IPS monitor that combines a 1440p resolution, overclocked 165Hz refresh rate and a 1ms grey-to-grey response time KNOW WHEN TO FOLD It’s well designed physically, with a very solid yet fully adjustable stand and a matt finish that helps repel glare. For even more light blockage, the Elite XG270QG also comes…

£750 • From www.johnlewis.com VERDICT The updated Qb packs an astonishingly big sound into a stylishly small box NAIM’S BLUETOOTH SPEAKER is back for a second go, and at first you’d be hard-pressed to spot the difference between the original Qb and this new model. That’s no bad thing: it’s a lovely piece of design, with soft waves of the wraparound fabric cover serving to soften the Qb’s stark, cuboid lines. One of the most welcome additions isn’t even part of the speaker itself: a remote control, which saves you the bother of having to keep your phone on hand to adjust volume or change inputs, or to traipse over and make adjustments with the onboard controls. The huge illuminated rotary volume control is still present and correct, but it…

£100 • From www.amazon.co.uk VERDICT Tough, lightweight and dirt cheap, the Kingkong Mini is an ideal backup smartphone THE THREE BIG problems with a lot of modern smartphones is that they’re big, delicate and expensive. Definitely not the kinds of things you’d want to risk dropping in the mud at a festival, or having bounce out of your pocket during a run. One solution is to have a backup phone: one that’s smaller, lighter, cheaper and much more rugged. A phone, indeed, like the Cubot Kingkong Mini. LITTLE MONKEY Measuring 119x58x12mm and weighing only 100g, the Kingkong Mini is minuscule compared to most of its contemporaries, and it’s a lot tougher, too. The top, bottom and four corners of the phone are protected by thick, deeply profiled rubber bumpers, while…

£5 per month (Founders membership) • From www.nvidia.com VERDICT Despite some teething problems, GeForce Now is the only streaming service avid PC gamers should consider IN THEORY, NVIDIA’S GeForce Now is an excellent idea. It’s a cheap game-streaming platform built by a well-known PC gaming brand that has access to an impressive catalogue of titles and some unique technology. This also raises the question of why Nvidia has been so quiet about it. GeForce Now was in beta testing for two years prior to its full release, during which time Google’s competing Stadia platform has been allowed to dominate the headlines. GeForce Now is distinct from Stadia in that you’re essentially leasing out an Nvidia gaming PC to stream games to your phone, tablet, laptop or desktop. There are a…

01 A network-attached storage (NAS) device lets you store documents, media, and other files on its hard disks so you can share them with other devices on your network. Some have disks already installed, while others are empty enclosures into which you install your own disks. Buying an empty NAS can often be the more cost-effective option, as they’re usually less expensive and give you the freedom to add disks at a later date. You should buy one with a Gigabit Ethernet interface, as these provide the highest transfer speeds. To use a NAS device at these speeds, you’ll need computers with Gigabit Ethernet network adaptors and a Gigabit Ethernet switch or router. Computers with Fast Ethernet adaptors can still access the NAS device, but only at the much slower…

01 A basic 24in LCD monitor costs around £100. It will be fine for typical Windows work but is likely to have poor viewing angles, so you’ll need to sit straight on for the best picture quality. Its colour accuracy may not be very good, either. 02 A VGA input lets you use the monitor with any PC, but the quality may not be as good as it is over DVI or HDMI. Both are digital connections and require a compatible graphics card but they avoid the need for digital-to-analogue or analogue-todigital conversions, which can reduce image quality. A digital connection achieves the best picture automatically, so you won’t have to adjust clock or phase settings as you do with analogue connections. Many DVI and all HDMI connections support HDCP,…

01 A smart thermostat can save you a lot of money by intelligently controlling your heating. Most smart heating devices are designed to be used with hot water central heating systems, with the boiler directly controlled by the system. These typically require a relay to be wired into your boiler, with a wireless thermostat giving you direct control. Smartphone apps then tie into the system to give you remote control. While it’s possible to fit controls yourself, you may want to pay an experienced plumber to do the job: expect to pay around £150 for a typical installation. If you have electric heating, there are very few choices, and the big names (Nest, Honeywell and so on) do not directly support these systems. 02 Want smart hot water control? If…

01 A 32in Full HD TV costs around £200, but premium larger 4K models can be closer to £2,000. TVs look much smaller in the shop than in your home, so measure the space available before you buy. Curved TVs are becoming increasingly more common, but bear in mind that these typically take up more floor space than a traditional flat set. 02 A 1,920x1,080-resolution TV can display a 1080p image. You can still buy TVs with a 720p (1,366x768) resolution, but they’re no cheaper and the image won’t be as sharp. 3,840x2,560 Ultra HD resolution, or 4K, TVs are finally available at reasonable prices, although you’ll still pay a premium for one over a 1080p model. 03 Consider the number of inputs you’ll need to connect the rest of…

01 A basic digital camera will suit someone who wants to take pictures to view on their computer and create 7x5in prints. It should cost around £80, but there may be hidden downsides such as slow performance and very basic user controls. 02 Spend a little more and you’ll get a higher resolution. A 16-megapixel sensor has the potential to produce sharp prints up to A3 size, but only if it and the lens are of a suitably high quality. Very high resolutions in compact cameras tend to boost noise more than detail levels, so many of the best models strike a sensible balance by using a 12-megapixel sensor. Back-illuminated CMOS sensors tend to produce less noise than CCDs, but check our reviews to find out how a particular model…

Chat and Communication UPDATED Evernote 6.24.2.8919 Store your notes, ideas and plans in the cloud, and synchronise them between computers. Mailbird 2.7.13.0 A free desktop email client for Windows. Miranda IM 0.10.80 Chat with friends across multiple messaging platforms, including AIM, Facebook, IRC and MSN, all from one simple interface. UPDATED Skype for Windows 8.57.0.116 Make internet voice and video calls for free, and buy credit to make calls to mobiles and landlines. UPDATED Telegram 1.9.14 This free IM app syncs your conversations across multiple devices, and can spruce up chats with stickers and GIFs. UPDATED WhatsApp Desktop 0.4.1299 A free PC and Mac version of the popular messaging app, letting you chat from your desktop. Customisation iolo System Mechanic Free 19.1.4.107 Speed up your system with iolo’s PC optimisation…

Another must-have component is system memory, or RAM (random access memory). This enables the CPU to work at its best by ensuring the data it needs to process is always readily available. To this end, that data is first saved within the RAM’s incredibly fast memory then passed on to the CPU, saving the latter from having to fetch it itself, which is a much slower process. However, this still happens if the RAM becomes full, so making sure you have enough memory is important. For basic use, 8GB should suffice, but we’d suggest 16GB for more performance-minded systems, including gaming PCs. You may also wish to stretch to 32GB if you’re building a workstation-style PC for the most demanding multitasking. RAM comes in the form of small sticks that…

THERE’S NO GETTING around it: Windows PCs need a lot of storage. The operating system alone takes up several gigabytes, and once you’ve factored in all the software, games, photos, videos and documents that could feasibly fill up that same space, it’s clear that the storage drive isn’t the thing to be skimping on. At the same time, storage can have a tangible impact on overall performance. The time it takes to load programs, transfer files and even boot to the desktop when you power up is heavily dependent on how fast the drive can run. This presents a possible problem: do you allocate your budget to maximising capacity or performance? As with many PC parts, it’s all about finding a balance that works for you, and this section of…

Budget home PC A simple and inexpensive system for basic browsing and office software. We’ve only included a hard disk to make it as cheap as possible, but you can add an SSD for much better general performance. CPU: AMD Athlon 3000G £43 RAM: Team Group Vulcan T-Force 8GB £45 Motherboard: ASRock B450 Pro4 £76 PSU: Corsair TX550M £65 Storage: 1TB WD Blue £36 Graphics card: None £0 CPU cooler: Arctic Freezer 33 eSports One £25 Case: Kolink Stronghold £40 TOTAL PRICE: £330 Gaming PC This is an all-round capable system with fast storage and a dedicated graphics card for gaming. This configuration will run all modern games well at 1440p and especially at 1080p. CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X £186 RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB £72 Motherboard: ASRock B450…

clive@computershopper.co.uk LIKE MOST USEFUL technology, virtual private networks (VPNs) have got a bad reputation. They can allow you to delve into the dark web or dabble in hacking or piracy with impunity. However, VPNs also protect you from hackers, trackers, stalkers and other invasions of privacy. While some devices can be set up to use VPNs, others lack that ability, leaving them vulnerable. The solution is to have a dedicated VPN network for all devices to connect to, either permanently or as and when you need the extra protection. THE IDEA OF having a secure network within our homes might not seem so bizarre in a year or two’s time. As we spend more of our lives online – from banking and shopping to socialising and relaxing – we’ll need…

letters@computershopper.co.uk Hunguptodry Although you offered sound advice in your ‘Beat the Hackers’ article (Shopper 385), the piece on dealing with scam phone calls had one serious error. The advice to hang up and dial your bank was wrong. If the scammer had called you, by staying on the line they will hear your attempt to dial out and simply impersonate your bank answering your call. If you wait for the dial tone before dialling, which many of us rarely do, you may be actually dialling your bank, unless the scammer is particularly clever and mimics the sound of a dial tone. The accepted advice is to call your bank on a different device altogether to ensure security. Dave Sheppard Assistantmanager As a home automation enthusiast, I read the article in…

David Ludlow RAVES THE DAY THAT Boris Johnson announced the pubs were to shut, I took part in a pub quiz with a whole bunch of friends. Then, on Mother’s Day, Johnson said don’t visit your mum, but I did. And I saw my dad, my sister and her family, too, as we all shared an afternoon tea. So am I the most irresponsible person in the country? Well no, as everything that I mentioned was done using the power of video chat. In my case it was Google Hangouts Meet, but any other video chat service could have done the job. Stuck inside for however long the coronavirus pandemic lasts, video is a good alternative to being with other humans, and certainly better than a voice-only call. As it…

Alphabet’s Tidal team aims to monitor fish with artificial intelligence tech GOOGLE’S PARENT COMPANY Alphabet aims to use artificial intelligence (AI) technology created by its X experimental division to help reduce human impact on the world’s oceans. To do this, it has created the Tidal team and has a major project centred on a system that uses image recognition to recognise and monitor individual fish among the hundreds of thousands that make up the population of fish farms. Through the use of underwater cameras and AI-powered computer vision, the three-year project aims to better track farmed fish such as salmon and yellowtail, with the goal of cutting down on the amount of manual inspection, a process that’s time-consuming, unreliable and impossible to scale. “Our initial area of focus is on…

£750 • From www.cclonline.com VERDICT Other than needing a storage upgrade, this is a fine gaming PC for reasonable money GAMING PCs THAT target a 1080p resolution – a relatively modest aim in today’s hardware landscape – are hard to get right. They can’t be too expensive, but cut back too closely on parts and it can end up feeling underwhelming. Some high-end PCs may be awful value, but at least they’ll run all games smoothly. Fortunately, the CCL Vampiric gets the formula right – or at least enough of it. Named for its MSI MAG Vampiric 011C chassis, it admittedly doesn’t have much of a Dracula vibe (unless you think of the faux-wood strip running down the front panel as a rather impractical stake), but its specs are formidable…

£54 • From www.scan.co.uk VERDICT Cooling support and eye-catching design touches make the Forge 100R a good-value, if sometimes basic, ATX case CASES MIGHT BE one of the shorter points on MSI’s multi-pronged approach to hardware, but the new Forge 100R is an interesting one: not many other mid-tower models offer full ATX support, addressable RGB lighting and tempered glass at a price this low. DASHES OF COLOUR That big glass side panel and the two light-up 120mm intake fans instantly put this among the fanciest sub-£60 case designs. Other than a plastic front panel, it’s aluminium throughout, and although it’s not the thickest metal to ever form a PC chassis, it’s not too flimsy or flexible, either. There’s even a rather nice MAG motif etched on to the lower…

£280 • From www.currys.co.uk VERDICT A decent Wi-Fi 6 router with some neat protection features, but it’s not quite as fast as the competition THE LATEST WI-FI standard, Wi-Fi 6, is starting to take off in a big way, with more models becoming available. This time, it’s the turn of the TP-Link Archer AX6000, a big and powerful router hoping to wow you not only with its wireless performance but also with its range of family-friendly features. PORT OUT Unpacking the Archer AX6000, there’s no escaping that this is a big old box. A square with the corners cut off, and eight antennas sticking up, it’s not a particularly attractive router. You can place it on a table or cupboard if you have room, but there are wall anchors at…

£159 • From www.amazon.co.uk VERDICT Better sounding than ever, the Galaxy Buds+ are an improvement in every way THE GALAXY BUDS+ are a smart, compact set of true wireless earbuds, and now come with two-way drivers and iOS app support. Three sets of eartips and wingtip fittings are included to help achieve your desired fit. We found it easy to get the Galaxy Buds+ sitting comfortably and securely, and could wear them for hours without irritation. That’s particularly positive as battery life is excellent by wireless standards, so long-haul listening is on the cards. We got 10h 20m of continuous high-volume playback from a single charge, more than double what Apple’s AirPods Pro (Shopper 386) can do, and although its charging case is only good for one more full refill,…

£1,199 • From www.amazon.co.uk VERDICT The cutting-edge Galaxy S20 Ultra is as exciting as it is outrageously expensive WE’RE ONLY A few months in, but Samsung has already put forward a likely contender for the best Android phone of the year, not to mention the most expensive. The Galaxy S20 Ultra is an immensely exciting piece of hardware, with its 120Hz display, 5G connectivity and incredible 100x camera zoom, but at £1,200 it’s also even more expensive than the iPhone 11 Pro Max. SLIMMING REGIME Still, at least it looks and feels like a four-figure smartphone. The side bezels and pinhole notch for the 40-megapixel camera are smaller and more discreet than they were on the Galaxy S10+ (Shopper 377), and at 6.9in diagonally, the display is even bigger than…

£600 • From www.very.co.uk VERDICT Value for money meets easy usability and good image quality in this ideal starter DSLR EVERY PHOTOGRAPHER, PROFESSIONAL or otherwise, remembers their first DSLR. Making the right choice could determine whether photography is a passing hobby or a future obsession, so your first DSLR has to walk a fine line between cost and capability. Go too cheap and you’ll be hamstrung with a camera that’s too slow and gets in the way of your shooting. The EOS 250D therefore looks like a promising bit of kit. It sits almost exactly in the middle of Canon’s consumer range – not super-cheap, like the all-plastic EOS 4000D, but not bursting with expensive high-end features like the EOS 90D. Is it capable enough to keep ambitious beginners happy,…

01 A basic PC costing around £350 will be able to run everyday office, multimedia and education software and will easily cope with surfing the internet. It might even be able to run some modern games. Many PCs can be sold either with or without a monitor. If you don’t like the display the manufacturer is offering, you can always use your current one, or buy another one separately. 02 If you want to play games, you’ll have to upgrade the graphics card. Budget cards such as the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 will cope well with many 3D games, but to play the latest 3D games smoothly (and enjoy the best-quality graphics) it’s worth upgrading to a more powerful card such as the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070. 03 All modern…

01 It’s essential that you buy the right type of motherboard for your processor. For example, Intel’s Skylake, Kaby Lake and Coffee Lake processors all use the same LGA 1151 socket, but because each CPU generation introduced new chipsets, you’ll need to get a Z370 motherboard for a Coffee Lake chip, a Z270 board for a Kaby Lake chip and so on. 02 All current Intel processors have built-in graphics chipsets, so if you want to use your chip’s built-in graphics, make sure the motherboard has the video outputs, such as DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort. If you want to play the latest games, you’ll need to fit a dedicated graphics card in the motherboard’s PCI Express x16 slot, although this may block one of your other slots. 03 Normal tower…

01 Laser printers used to be much more expensive than inkjets and were typically restricted to offices. They are now much more affordable, however, and offer several benefits over inkjets, including lower per-page printing costs and faster print speeds. 02 A decent laser printer will typically cost around £80, and will happily print hundreds of black-and-white pages per hour. If documents are your priority, you’ll want a high minimum speed and low print costs. However, you’ll probably be limited to black-and-white printing at this price. 03 Although you can still buy single-function laser printers, multifunction peripherals (MFPs) are now far more common. These models can scan and photocopy documents as well as print them, and some of them also have fax capabilities. Laser MFPs start from around £200. 04 Heavy-duty…

01 A smartphone’s operating system (OS) dictates its basic features and which third-party software you can install. There are three main contenders: Apple’s iOS, which is found on the iPhone, Google’s Android, which is used by various handset manufacturers, and Windows Phone, which has few options, especially since Microsoft has discontinued support for its OS. Apple iOS and Google Android both have thousands of apps available. 02 All smartphones have colour screens, but their resolutions vary. Basic models have 1,280x720 pixels, but text can be indistinct. Look for a display that has at least 1,920x1,080 pixels so it’s easier to read text and watch Full HD videos. Don’t worry too much about built-in media players or Office document editors; you can always install apps to replace these with better versions…

01 Bluetooth speakers come in all shapes and sizes, so you’ll need to decide what you want to do with the speaker before you buy. If you don’t plan to take your music outdoors or around the house, look for a wired speaker. These are typically cheaper than speakers with built-in batteries. If you do want a portable speaker, however, pay particular attention to how much it weighs. Ruggedised models should be able to survive accidental drops, water spills and unexpected rain showers. 02 Many of the cheapest Bluetooth speakers use the lossy A2DP Bluetooth protocol, which is prone to compressing your music and discarding detail compared with the original recording. It’s hard to tell the difference when listening to pocket-sized speakers, but if you’re looking for a speaker to…

01 Wearable tech can include anything from chest-strap heart-rate monitors to augmented reality glasses, but the two most common types are smartwatches and fitness trackers. Both are designed to sit unassumingly on your wrist, and are almost always meant to be used in tandem with a paired smartphone. 02 Smartwatches are typically more complex and expensive, though more closely resemble a traditional wristwatch. You can use them to receive and reply to text messages and emails, quickly check maps and even play games – like a smartphone, most smartwatches allow you to install your own choice of apps. 03 Fitness trackers are much more dedicated to healthy pursuits. Step counters, heart-rate monitors and even sleep tracking are all common, and the data collected is fed back to you so you…

WHEREAS MOST PC components are dedicated to a particular role, the motherboard is distinctly multitalented. As the backbone of the system, all the other individual parts are connected to it, and so it acts as a conduit for the RAM to feed data to the CPU, or for the GPU to take over video output from integrated graphics, or for the PSU to deliver power to components that don’t have their own separate power connection. On top of all that, the motherboard is a series of mounting points, for the processor, RAM and certain types of storage, and also provides the panel of ports you see on the back of every desktop. Its chipset – basically a combination of the controller that handles data management, and the physical design of…

THE GRAPHICS CARD can be many things to many different PCs; it could be an inclusion of necessity, such as if the CPU lacks integrated graphics of its own, or it could be a luxury component that costs more than the rest of the system combined. Or it could just be ignored entirely. Indeed, unlike most of the other PC parts we’ve looked at in this guide, graphics cards can be totally optional. As long as your CPU has integrated graphics, that will be enough to connect to a monitor and do everything the average Windows user might do day to day: check emails, play videos and the like. A graphics card won’t speed up these processes or make the onscreen visuals any prettier in general. For more demanding software,…

YOUR PC’S CASE is far more than merely a vessel for other more technical or performance-impacting components. Just like the motherboard, it’s the kind of part that has a knock-on effect on what else you can use with it: a compact chassis might only hold smaller motherboards, for example, or its storage drive capacity might not support as many hard disks and SSDs as an image- or photo-editing PC might need. Luckily, it’s not just all about restrictions, as good cases are more like a presentation of possibilities: possibilities of future upgrades, possibilities for better cooling than you might have expected, even possibilities for better connectivity. If a case can do all that while also looking good – it’s always going to be on show, after all – then finding…

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Tech pioneer and all-round good egg letters@computershopper.co.uk ALL GREAT WARS are the same. They are the same because they start with a comedy moustache, then go horribly wrong. In 1914, there was a Bosnian with a baby comedy moustache who wanted to invent Yugoslavia. He believed that the main reason he couldn’t invent Yugoslavia was because of an Austrian with a waxed comedy moustache, and so he took a pop at him. The result was 40 million deaths. A few years later, there was another Austrian who had a comedy toothbrush moustache. He got annoyed about a missing testicle, and the personification of his annoyance was a Georgian with a droopy comedy moustache. So he took a pop at him. That resulted in 80 million deaths. Obviously, both world wars…

Don’t use bleach!” Among all the coronavirus concerns, Apple’s support page says it’s OK to disinfect your iPhone and iPad, just don’t go overboard I think college is basically for fun and to prove that you can do your chores, but they’re not for learning” Tech titan Elon Musk reckons university study isn’t the be-all and end-all Microsoft will always be an important part of my life’s work and I will continue to be engaged with Satya [Nadella, CEO] and the technical leadership to help shape the vision and achieve the company’s ambitious goals” Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft’s board of directors We know parts of the community are concerned about the safety of 5G and we hope the updated guidelines will help put people at ease” International…

£1,850 • From www.alphabetapc.com VERDICT This blazingly fast PC is a reminder of what a good CPU and GPU combination can do ANOTHER ALPHABETAPC SYSTEM, another colourful cube: this is the third desktop in quick succession from the UK-based builders with the same short, square chassis, dominated by the beaming RGB lighting of its two giant 200mm fans This time, however, it’s more interesting to see what’s inside. The AMD Ryzen 7 Pro Gaming Desktop PC is the first prebuilt system we’ve tested to use AMD’s octa-core, 16-thread Ryzen 7 3800X CPU. This isn’t a fundamental upgrade on the more common Ryzen 7 3700X – both have the same core/thread counts and even identical cache sizes – but the 3800X promises higher base and boost clock speeds of 3.9GHz and…

£1,443 • From www.lg.com VERDICT It’s not the fastest performer on the block, but this plus-sized laptop is astonishingly light THERE’S NO DEFYING the laws of physics, but it sometimes feels as if the Gram 17 is having a crack at it. It’s about as compact as a 17in laptop could conceivably be, and at 1.35kg, it’s even lighter than a 13.3in Apple MacBook Pro. That lightness comes, it must be said, at the expense of some sturdiness. The Gram 17’s casing is made of magnesium alloy, like Microsoft’s Surface devices, but it feels thinner and flimsier, with some noticeable flex in the lower half of the shell, and more around the display. The casing is also very plain, with almost nothing in the way of ornamentation. THUNDERBOLT IN LIGHT…

£510 • From shop.westerndigital.com VERDICT It’s expensive and uses a rare USB standard, but this hardy SSD’s high speeds are worth it WITH ALL DUE respect to the Black P10 Game Drive (Shopper 385), it was always going to be overshadowed by the Black P50 Game Drive. Being an SSD instead of a hard disk, it’s much smaller, lighter and faster, all good qualities to have in an external drive. While it isn’t truly tiny, the Black P50 Game Drive is shorter, narrower and only slightly thicker than most smartphones, so it’s perfectly portable. It’s tough, too: there’s no bending or flexing at all, thanks to the shock-proof metal casing, and a set of four rubber feet help prevent it being accidentally knocked off a table or from causing vibration…

£67 • From uk.insight.com VERDICT The Pixma TS5350 looks smart, but its wireless performance is a bit of a disappointment THE TS5350 INKJET multifunction peripheral (MFP) sits in what’s always been something of a sweet spot, roughly mid-way up Canon’s Pixma range. At first glance it looks to have a decent specification, with a screen, support for wireless networks, two paper trays and automatic duplex (double-sided) printing. Poke around a bit, however, and this new model seems somewhat lacking compared to its predecessors. The most noticeable change is that this printer loses Canon’s five-ink setup in favour of a more conventional four-colour print engine. It uses just two ink cartridges: one for black, and another for cyan, magenta and yellow. While two cartridges are undoubtedly less hassle than five, you’re…

£270 • From www.amazon.co.uk VERDICT These headphones look and sound wonderful, but ANC could be better GUITAR AMP TITAN Marshall has been keen to make its mark on consumer headphones, but the most interesting thing about the first set of Monitor headphones was that they had two 3.5mm jacks. This time, the big addition is more practical: active noise cancelling (ANC). Not that Marshall has put less emphasis on styling. Leather wraps around the headband, soft textured plastic coats the subtly sculpted earcups, and the white Marshall logo stands out starkly against the textured black. In keeping with the design-led ethos, the playback controls aren’t just plain buttons. Play/pause, skip and power all share one miniature joystick on the right cup, although ANC gets its own switch on the left…

£569 • From www.amazon.co.uk VERDICT The Galaxy S20 series is taking the limelight, but this is a high-grade alternative at a more affordable price WHEN SAMSUNG UNVEILED its all-singing and all-dancing family of Galaxy S20 smartphones, something was sorely missing: an S20e. The Galaxy S10e was a budget version of the S10, but no equivalent is present for the S20, with prices starting at a lofty £799. Perhaps that’s the role the Galaxy S10 Lite is supposed to fill. Despite being named for last year’s model, this is a brand-new device and – despite seemingly treading on the toes of the Galaxy S10e – is a rather brilliant one too. SQUARE PLAY At least one thing it has in common with the S20 family is the unsightly camera block up…

£160 • From www.amazon.co.uk VERDICT An attractive fitness wearable that looks stylish on the wrist and has great battery life THE MAGIC WATCH 2 has many hallmarks of a traditional smartwatch – a full-colour screen, stylish stainless-steel casing and an operating system that delivers notifications to your wrist from your smartphone – but under the skin, this is more of a fitness wearable with a particular focus on battery life. We tested the 46mm model – a 42mm version is also available for £10 less – and it looks superb, with a large, circular 1.39in OLED display and black steel bezel. It’s a big watch, but it sits relatively flat against your wrist and feels very comfortable. BIG STRETCH As far as features go, the Magic Watch 2 is pretty…

01 A basic laptop costing around £300 will run everyday office, multimedia and education software, but it won’t be suitable for 3D gaming or processor-intensive tasks such as video editing. Many laptops at this price have a 15.6in screen and weigh over 2kg, so they’re best used around the house and for occasional journeys. 02 If you want to play modern games, you’ll need a laptop with a dedicated graphics chip such as the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060M. Good gaming laptops tend to have large 15.6 or 17in screens and weigh around 3kg, so they’re best suited to use at home. 03 If you want a laptop that you can take everywhere, look for a model that weighs less than 2kg. For the best portability, buy one that has a…

01 Building your own PC is often cheaper than buying a pre-made system, and gives full control over the components. You don’t need any special computer knowledge: just a few spare hours, a screwdriver and your choice of parts. Even things such as liquid-cooling systems can be found in user-friendly, easy-to-install packages, and for the most part it’s as simple as inserting each component into a particular slot. 02 Arguably the most important component is the CPU. These days you can get a quad-core chip even on a tight budget, which should provide more than enough brainpower for simple tasks such as web browsing, but hexa-core and octa-core chips are better for tougher jobs such as media editing, gaming and content creation. The CPU will also determine which motherboards you…

01 Wireless routers each use a number of Wi-Fi standards, so you shouldn’t have any trouble connecting your computer or phone wirelessly if you get an 802.11n or 802.11ac router. Nearly all routers support 802.11n, so even a cheap model should provide decent performance. You can expect a transfer speed of around 40Mbit/s at a distance of 10m from any modern 802.11n router. The very latest routers use the 802.11ac standard, which provides tremendously fast transfer speeds. Some devices still don’t support the 802.11ac standard, so check the specifications before you buy. 02 If you subscribe to an ADSL broadband service, you should buy a wireless router that has a built-in ADSL modem. This will cost more than the equivalent cable router, but it allows you to connect your router…

01 All tablets rely on an operating system (OS) to run apps. You have three main choices: Apple’s iOS, which runs on the iPad; Android, which Google licenses to various manufacturers; and Windows 10, which has become common in hybrid tablets and convertibles. If you own an Apple or Google smartphone, you can download your apps, music and so on to a tablet that runs the same OS, so it makes sense to stick with a compatible device. 02 It’s important to pick a tablet that has a good-quality, high-resolution screen. Many budget tablets have 1,280x800-resolution displays, but better tablets have Full HD 1,920x1,080 panels, and we’re starting to see tablets that have even higher screen resolutions. Some are as high as 2,560x1,600 or even 4K. Entry-level tablets typically use…

01 Media streamers have come a long way from the hard disk-based set-top boxes of a few years ago. They now come in two main forms: flash drive-sized dongles that plug directly into the HDMI port in the back of your TV, and larger microconsoles that sit under it. Whichever model you choose, it will stream content from the internet rather than storing media files locally. 02 Most streamers use their own operating system, which you can navigate with a bundled remote control, but Google’s Chromecast dongle requires a paired smartphone, tablet or laptop to stream content on the big screen. If you’re looking to set up Netflix for someone who doesn’t have a smartphone, buy a standalone streamer such as a Roku or Amazon Fire TV device. 03 A…

AT THE HEART of every great PC build is a great central processing unit, or CPU. Just about everything you can do on a computer – from transferring files between drives to opening applications and running games – needs to be, quite literally, processed by the CPU, so it’s as crucial a part as it’s possible to get. This remains true even if other components have a larger overall impact on certain areas of performance, such as graphics cards. That’s why, even if not everyone needs high-end processing power, we still recommend getting as capable a chip as your budget allows. MANY HANDS The number of cores a CPU has can have a big impact on performance, especially when juggling several tasks at once. Think of cores as processors within…

THE POWER SUPPLY unit (PSU) is one of the least glamorous components in a PC, but that doesn’t make choosing the right one any less important. In fact, ensuring sufficient power flow to your system is one of the best things you can do for it; using a cheap unbranded model runs the risk of frying the entire PC. Standards have gone up in recent years, to the extent that most reputable manufacturers meet the 80 Plus standard, meaning it’s been thoroughly tested for safety and efficiency. WATTS OFF TO YOU The most pressing issue is making sure the PSU you choose has enough wattage to power all the constituent parts of your PC; it won’t be on full draw all the time, but you don’t want problems developing when…

EVEN THE LEAST powerful desktop CPUs run hot; were you to leave a chip running without any kind of cooling system, it would overheat and shut down the PC within minutes. It’s therefore essential to fit your CPU with an active cooler, with which heat can be drawn away from the silicon and dispersed. Some CPUs, such as the Ryzen 5 3600X and Ryzen 7 3700X, come with stock coolers – basic models of the chip manufacturer’s own design – in the box. For most purposes, it’s fine simply to use this, especially if you’re trying to save on budget, but you should also look to upgrade if you can. Stock coolers are essential cheap-to-produce freebies, so rarely excel on performance and quietness. Make the effort to swap in a…

CASE FANS Ideally your case should already come with a decent array of intake and exhaust fans, but if you want to beef up airflow even more, try adding some of your own. Standalone 120mm fans should fit in almost any chassis, and installing them is just a matter of screwing them on to one of the case’s predetermined fan mounts and plugging it in, either to a fan control hub or directly on to one of the motherboard’s fan connectors. You can add an extra fan at the front to increase how much cold air is drawn in, or squeeze one or two into the roof – case allowing – to aid the rear fan in exhausting hot air. A reliable low-cost model is the Be Quiet! Pure Wings…

Send your problems to help@computershopper.co.uk Back up a moment I backed up my previous computer to a Synology DS218j NAS using Goodsync. I’ve always liked the additional security of storing an image of the PC, so I also regularly used Macrium Reflect to image the primary SSD. I have a new PC with a 1TB disk, which is accelerated by Intel Optane memory. My understanding is that the current generation of imaging software may not yet cope with the different way in which Optane-accelerated drives store data. Specifically, they image what they find on the disk, but ignore data that’s only in the Optane storage. As a result, the disk images they create aren’t a true reflection of what’s on the accelerated drive as a whole, and wouldn’t be much…