Indice dei contenuti per October 2016 in Custom PC UK

It’s not very far, but the extra frame rate seems to speed up my gaming abilities It must be great being paid to play computer games for a living, though, right? That’s what some people have asked me about the amount of time I’ve spent benchmarking graphics cards with all the recent GPU launches, well into the night,over the past few months.So I’ll get this out of the way first. When you’re playing the same 60 seconds of Doom 50 times a month,it stops being a game and becomes an exercise in data analysis that clearly has ‘work’ written at the top of the spreadsheet. It’s definitely a lot more fun than the job I had working in an egg box factory when I was a teenager, but it isn’t…

Nvidia unleashes Pascal Titan It was only a matter of time before Nvidia showed us the full potential of its new Pascal architecture, and the ultimate Pascal part has now been unveiled as the new Titan X, which the company claims has an ‘irresponsible amount of performance’. The top-end GPU has a massive total of 3,584 stream processors, representing a big jump from the 2,560 stream processors in the GTX 1080. The GPU will also be partnered by 12GB of GDDR5X memory running at 2500MHz (10000MHz effective) attached to a 384-bit wide memory interface. The clock speeds are slightly lower than those of the GTX 1080, though, with a 1417MHz base clock and a 1531MHz boost clock. There’s no word on UK pricing yet, but with GTX 1080 cards costing…

The keys are backlit with five-level blue lighting Gaming on the PC is still a hugely popular pastime, but most PC gamers are still confined to their desks. With the demise of Windows Media Center in Windows 10, it looked like lounge PCs were going the way of the dodo, but several peripheral manufacturers are trying to make the sofa a more PC gaming-friendly place, and one of them is Roccat with its new Sova. We describe the Sova as a lounge gaming device – it’s akin to a small desk that sits on your lap, providing an easy way of using a keyboard and mouse while you’re sitting on a sofa. It’s an identical concept to Corsair’s Lapdog, but the latter didn’t fare too well in practice. The Sova…

The STP1400’s four smart tyre caps monitor your tyre pressure and sound the alarm if any readings stray above or below pre-defined safe levels. The four caps connect wirelessly to a neat central LCD that fits into a lighter socket and shows all four of the tyre pressure readings. The display can be set to Bar or PSI, and this central unit beeps insistently if any of the settings go awry. The system worked flawlessly during our tests, recognising when we removed a cap and accurately reporting back to the central console. The only negative is that the batteries in the caps need to be replaced every year, and doing so is a fiddly process to say the least. SUPPLIER www.snooper.co.uk…

Free ISP routers rarely have a good reputation, but BT’s Smart Hub looks set to change that. New BT customers will get the Smart Hub for free, and current customers can upgrade for £50, which is good value when you consider the massive improvement the Smart Hub offers over the Home Hub 5 it replaces. It has more antennae (seven, in fact), and while both routers are dual-band, 802.11ac models, the Smart Hub uses the latest version of 802.11ac dubbed ‘wave 2’. The result is that the Smart Hub leaves the Home Hub in the dust. Transfer speeds peaked at 28.7MB/sec at short range on the 5GHz band – just shy of a 50 per cent improvement, and the range on the 2.4GHz band was dramatically better, rendering a Wi-Fi…

How we test In this Labs test, we’re comparing the very largest, widest monitors you can buy. With diagonals measuring 34in across or greater, and with 21:9 aspect ratios, they’re ideal for immersing yourself in movies and games. Many of these screens also include a gentle curve that helps to add to the sense of wraparound peripheral vision from these huge displays. A couple of models feature fast refresh rate panels, while some also have active sync tech for eliminating frame tearing and stutter, so of course, we’ll be testing that too. The first factor we consider is the design and build quality of the device. Does it look good on your desk and does it feel like it will stand the test of time? Not all the monitors on…

You’ll be pleased with the fantastic image quality if gaming isn’t a top priority SUPPLIER www.currys.co.uk AOC’s U3477PQU is the only display on test not to offer a curved panel, and as such, it’s one of the cheapest in this Labs test too. In fact, it’s among the cheapest monitors you can buy with a 34in IPS panel and 3,440 x 1,440 resolution, but that doesn’t mean it looks or feels cheap. It’s still a stylish display with plenty of features and good image quality. It all kicks off with a simple but effective physical design. The base sports fetching brushed metal with a clear plastic top, and the brushed effect is also seen on the back, though it’s brushed black plastic here. It offers just the right balance…

SUPPLIER www.debenhamsplus.com The Samsung S34E790C is one of two monitors in this month’s Labs test that doesn’t use an IPS, or IPStype display. Instead, it uses a VA panel that should provide it with a far higher contrast level than most other screens on test, making it potentially ideal for watching video. Before making a mark with its image quality, though, this monitor impresses elsewhere. It has a subtle, business-like style that marries a simple but elegant layout. The base that cleverly follows the same curve as the screen, with just the right balance of black and silver, and this finesse continues around the back, with a fetching brushed finish to the black plastic. Unlike the Philips Brilliance BDM3490UC, though, the ports aren’t neatly arranged in symmetrical rows. The…

A game isn’t doing badly just because it doesn’t have ten million players So far, 2016 has been a fantastic year for games, but there’s one event from the last six months that saddened me. Earlier this year, Daybreak Games (formerly Sony Online Entertainment) cancelled EverQuest Next – the most exciting MMORPG to be unveiled in years. The second sequel to the game that laid the template for all MMORPGs,EverQuest Next planned to shake up the genre with environments that the player could manipulate to extreme levels. Battles with monsters could create huge craters and valleys in the terrain, and players could found their own cities on the map. It was even possible to dig straight through the earthandenteranundergroundrealmpopulated by powerful demons. Daybreak claimed it cancelled EverQuest Next becauseitsimply‘wasn’tfun’,butthetermination of…

I’ve been doing a lot of shopping in China lately, typically via AliExpress – the consumer-facing version of business-to-business giant Alibaba, where there are plenty of bargains available, including a wealth of ESP8266-based microcontroller boards offering Arduinostyle features and integrated Wi-Fi for as little as £1.30 (VAT exempt as long as the total order value is below £18). These boards aren’t beginner-friendly though. They require a USB-TTL adaptor to program, and while these adaptors are cheap, using one isn’t as quick and easy as just sticking a micro-USB cable into a socket. Also, they’re not breadboard-compatible in their standard layout. Enter the WeMos D1. Initially, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s an Arduino: it has the same blue circuitboard, the same layout – even down to the annoying offset pin…

Expanding all-in-one liquid coolers This month we’ve revisited a guide to expanding an all-in-one (AIO) liquid cooler using some of the latest coolers to hit the shelves. Traditionally, these coolers have been sealed units, although in two previous guides, I’ve looked at how to extend or replace the tubing, as well as adding other components in the loop, looking at both standard kits as well as more flexible coolers such as Raijintek’s Triton. However, the process with the latter wasn’t particularly straightforward, as the barbs were tricky to remove and I even had to use a G1/4in tap to remove all the sealant inside. That isn’t entirely surprising, of course – the most important issue from a cooler manufacturer’s point of view is that leaks are prevented. However, the Triton…

1 / REMOVE PUMP FITTINGS Moving to Fractal Design’s Kelvin coolers, start by removing the pump fittings, which you can unscrew using pliers or molegrips. If you want to use the same fittings afterwards, place some kitchen towel between the grippers and fittings to protect the paintwork. 2 / REMOVE CONTACT PLATE As with the Corsair coolers, open up the pump section to check the condition of the waterblock. If necessary, flush it with distilled or deionised water and use a small brush to clear out any debris. 3 / DRAIN COOLANT The Kelvin coolers use similar coolant to Corsair’s coolers, which is clear and safe to handle. Drain the coolant out of the pump and radiator into a sink. 4 / REMOVE RADIATOR FITTINGS As with the pump fittings,…

The dust had become so hot when passing through the PC that it had been burned black While complaining about the British weather is something of a cliché, it does have relevance to Custom PC, as this hot summer forced me to perform my first major system upgrade in well over a year. Before this point, I’d been enjoying the longest period of hardware stability I’ve ever endured without the upgrade itch getting the better of me. The problem emerged a few weeks back, when the health-monitoring software on my Asus motherboard started to flash up temperature alerts when I was gaming, with the temperature of some of my components starting to exceed 70°C. I then performed my usual quarterly PC spring clean,taking off the side panel,and giving the dust…

Stop making products that use Molex plugs. Just, please, stop it Every now and then, big players in the PC business show off their ideas for the ‘next-generation’ PC. They’re usually like the concept cars at the Geneva motor show: a bit radical, a bit implausible – it’s more about marketing companies as forward thinking than making a realistic product.Occasionally,of course,one of these concepts makes it through to production, such as Intel’s dual Xeon ‘Skulltrail’ platform. More recently, we’ve seen Razer’s Christine project; to me, this is very pretty but inherently flawed. Having components wrapped in tiny metal boxes hanging off a central column with simple and easy plugs, plus all-liquid cooling, would certainly make PC construction simpler. However, such a system is implausible when you consider the limitations of…

“I want bang for buck in my gaming PC; luxuries aside, I want speed, power, efficiency and VALUE!” Water-cooling Pascal A while back, Antony wrote a great piece on the merits of water-cooling AMD’s toasty Hawaii chip. In fact, I went on to water-cool my Radeon R9 290X after reading that very article! How about a similar write-up for the new GTX 1080? Reviews of third-party air cooled boards seem to show the chip is capable of much more, provided it’s well cooled. I’m perhaps more interested in the clock speed consistency in a real-world gaming session, rather than the average frame rate recorded over a 60-second benchmark, where the card has the time to cool off in between runs and the merits of water cooling won’t be highlighted. Keep…

SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk /SPECIFICATIONS Graphics processor Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, 1506MHz base clock, 1708MHz boost clock (stock version); 1620MHz base clock, 1847MHz boost clock (overclocked version – OC mode) Pipeline 1,280 stream processors, 48 ROPs Memory 6GB GDDR5, 8GHz effective (stock version); 8208MHz effective (overclocked version) Bandwidth 192GB/sec (stock version); 197GB/sec (overclocked version) Compatibility DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.5, Vulkan Outputs/inputs 2 x HDMI 2b, 2 x DisplayPort 1.4, 1 x DVI-D-DL Power connections 1 x 8-pin Size 298mm long, dual-slot The fruits of Nvidia’s Pascal architecture are trickling out, and this month brings the company’s new GP106 GPU with it, forming the foundation of the new GeForce GTX 1060. Using the same 16nm FinFET transistors as the high-end GTX 1070 and 1080 GPUs, the GTX 1060 features just two graphics…

SUPPLIER www.amazon.co.uk /SPECIFICATIONS Screen size 27in Resolution 3,840 x 2,160 Panel tech IPS Inputs 1 x DisplayPort 1.2a, 1 x mini-DisplayPort, 1 x HDMI 2, 2 x HDMI 1.4 USB 1 x USB 3 input, 4 x USB 3 outputs Audio 3.5mm in/out Power supply External OSD control Touch-sensitive buttons Extras AMD FreeSync support, headset hook ViewSonic’s XG2700-4K ticks most of the boxes we expect from top-tier gaming panels in 2016, including a huge resolution and support for AMD FreeSync. This active sync tech works similarly to Nvidia G-Sync, matching the monitor’s refresh rate with your GPU’s frame rate, eliminating tearing. In this case, FreeSync works over HDMI and DisplayPort at a refresh rate between 40Hz and 60Hz. The upper limit is standard for a 4K monitor at the…

The minimalist, brushed aluminium shell of the Ray is miles away from the usual rubberised, brightly coloured fitness trackers. Designed to target the casual crowd, it’s refreshingly simple to use; just fit the removable batteries (which last six months), pair it with a phone and you’re off. With no external buttons or screen on the tracker itself, the app offers the only way to see your daily stats, however, so it’s a good job that it’s intuitive to navigate and use. It’s an entry-level device, so there’s no GPS or heart rate tracking, but if you just want to generally track your activity from day to day, or measure how well you’re sleeping, it works well and fits easily into your everyday lifestyle. SUPPLIER www.misfit.com…

We thought this puzzle would be simple. After all, it’s just colours, right? It has to be easier than desperately searching for another piece of cloud or grass in a normal jigsaw. Little did we know how about the arguments that could ignite over a piece’s exact shade of red. Made of 500 pieces, the Gradient Puzzle tested our eyes to the point where we could only work on it for so long before we had to step away and have a calming cup of tea. The issue is exacerbated by the fact that all the central pieces are the same shape, so there’s little certainty about whether you’ve got a piece right or wrong. Still, once assembled, the end image is quite beautiful – it was a wrench to…

Engage G-Sync, fire up a few games and this display is an utter joy to use SUPPLIER www.overclockers.co.uk As with our recent 27in monitor shootout (see Issue 155, p44), it’s Acer and Asus that lead the pack with the most expensive monitors on test. Both models cost the best part of £1,000, as well as offering a 100Hz refresh rate, G-Sync support and a premium design, on top of the already great expense of a 34in curved IPS panel with a 3,440 x 1,440 resolution. On paper, they’re simply the ultimate gaming monitors you can buy right now. As you would expect for the money, the Acer Predator X34 is everything you could want from a monitor that costs £950. Its design, for instance, is first-class. The striking angular…

Right out of the box, the Asus PG348Q nails just about every test SUPPLIER www.cclonline.com Asus’ ROG Swift PG348Q is currently sitting in our Elite list of top tech, but with us taking a look at the Acer Predator X34 and several other key competitors this month, it’s time to reassess it. Let’s start with the design, as it’s probably the most divisive aspect of this screen. For the most part, the PG348Q’s slim bezels and delicate tip-toe base gives it a slenderness that belies the sheer size of this display. However, the faux brushed metal trim on the lower bezel, the copper highlights on the stand and the whacky design on the back, while not looking out and out gaudy, might be a bit over the top for…

How we test Our trusty micro-ATX case test gear includes an Intel Core i7-875K overclocked to 3.4GHz with a 1.175V vcore and 1.86V CPU PLL, plus a Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 graphics card. The kit is installed into a Gigabyte GA-H55M0UD2R motherboard with 2GB of PNY DDR3 memory, a Corsair Force GT SSD and Seasonic M12D DD-850EM PSU. This kit might be a few years old now, but it’s ideal for testing the thermal performance of a case. The CPU cooler is a fairly modest Gelid Tranquillo, but with the fan replaced with a slow-spinning Noctua NF-S12B ULN, in order to highlight the poorest and best-performing cases. The graphics card’s cooler also dishes heat into the case, as well as through a rear vent – similar to most modern third-party…

SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk /SPECIFICATIONS Dimensions (mm) 211 x 405 x 375 (W x D x H) Material Steel, plastic Available colours Black Weight 5.5kg Front panel Power, 2 x USB 3, stereo, mic Drive bays 2 x external 5.25in, 8 x 2.5in, 1 x 3.5in Form factor(s) Micro-ATX, mini-ITX Cooling 2 x 120mm front fan mounts (fans included), 1 x 120mm rear fan mount (fan not included) CPU cooler clearance 165mm Maximum graphics card length 343mm At just £60, SilverStone’s Kublai KL06 is the cheapest micro-ATX case on test this month, and it’s one of two cases on test to use an inverted design. The CPU cooler is at the bottom of the case, which can aid cooling, although we’re a little disappointed that SilverStone hasn’t included a rear fan…

SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk /SPECIFICATIONS CPU 4Hz Intel Core i7-6700K overclocked to 4.6GHz Motherboard Asus Z170i Pro Gaming Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000MHz DDR4 Graphics EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Storage 256GB Samsung 950 Pro M.2 SSD; 2TB Western Digital Blue hard disk Case NZXT Manta Cooling CPU: EK-Supremacy EVO waterblock, EK-CoolStream PE 240 radiator, EK-X3 150 reservoir, Alphacool D5 PWM pump; GPU: EK-FC1080 waterblock; rear: 1 x 120mm fan PSU Corsair CX550M 550W Ports Front: 2 x USB 3, 2 x audio; rear: 4 x USB 3, 2 x USB 3.1 Type-A, 2 x USB 2, 1 x PS/2, 1 x Gigabit Ethernet, 1 x optical S/PDIF, 5 x audio Operating system Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit Warranty Three years parts and labour, with first year onsite, and second…

MILESTONES THIS MONTH TOP 20 OVERALL TOP 20 PRODUCERS WHAT IS FOLDING? Folding@home uses the spare processing cycles from your PC’s CPU and graphics cards for medical research. You can download the client from http://folding.stanford.edu and our team’s ID is 35947. Once you pass a significant milestone, you’ll get your name in the mag. You can also discuss folding with us and other readers online at the www.bit-tech.net forums.…

Staring at the horizon isn’t really an option in a VR game Virtual reality has had many false starts. Since the 1980s and the early days of VPL’s‘EyePhone’device (head-tracking ‘glasses’ that looked pretty much like an Oculus Rift and came with a comical black ‘Data Glove’),developers have been desperate for VR to take off,but it has stubbornly refused, despite the exciting potential. In the past few decades, there have been tonnes of VR headsets available to the public, from the Nintendo Virtual Boy to the VFX1 for PC. Playing Quake via VR should have propelled it into mainstream gaming, but it didn’t. The Samsung Gear VR has a version of Pocket Minecraft, with a full Oculus version currently in development, and since launch has sold 300,000 units in Europe alone.…

There’s even the option to connect two case fans to the card SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk /SPECIFICATIONS Graphics processor AMD Radeon RX480, 1310MHz boost clock (Gaming mode), 1330MHz boost clock (OC mode) Pipeline 2,304 stream processors, 32 ROPs Memory 8GB GDDR5, 8GHz effective Bandwidth 256GB/sec Compatibility DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.5, Vulkan Outputs/inputs 2 x HDMI 2.0b, 2 x DisplayPort 1.4 Power connections 1 x 8-pin Size 298mm long, dual-slot After just one month of sitting pretty, AMD’s new Radeon RX480 has already been knocked off its mid-range perch by Nvidia’s similarly priced but slightly superior GeForce GTX 1060 (see p20) – at least when it comes to stock cards. However, there are still good reasons to consider a good-quality third-party RX480 card, such as Asus’ new Strix OC Gaming card. For…

SUPPLIER www.aquatuning.co.uk /SPECIFICATIONS Compatibility Intel: LGA2011, LGA2011-v3, LGA115x, LGA1366, LGA775; AMD: Socket AM3+, AM3, AM2+, AM2, FM2+, FM2, FM1 Radiator size (with fans) (mm) 279x124x55(WxDxH) Fans 2 x 120mm Stated noise Up to 29dB(A) There’s a small revolution going on in the all-in-one (AIO) liquid cooler market at the moment. With most units being made by Asetek and CoolIT Systems, apart from a few aesthetic differences, most models look and perform very similarly. However, several companies are going beyond the usual sealed unit approach, with one prime example being Alphacool’s Eisbaer 240, which is essentially a pre-built custom kit rather than an AIO cooler. It comes in four flavours that cater for different radiator sizes. The 120mm model sports a 45mm-thick radiator, while the double 120mm, double 140mm and…

We think PCBs are beautiful, and Huddersfield-based Revolve agrees. The firm creates all manner of items from reclaimed PCBs, such as the four-piece coaster set here. Each mat has a sturdy PCB top, backed with grippy cork to prevent any slips or mishaps, and they do a good job of lending a coffee table a subtle, sophisticated edge of tech chic. The colour you receive is down to luck though – Revolve claims it’s rescued gold, red and even blue PCBs from incinerators in the past, so there’s no guarantee your good will match your furnishings. However, if that isn’t an issue for you, these coasters are great-looking and functional, plus they help to reduce tech industry waste. SUPPLIER www.revolve-uk.com…

SUPPLIER www.scan.co.uk The AOC C3583FQ is the only display on test with a diagonal that doesn’t measure 34in from corner to corner – instead it measured 35in across! However, it couples this extra size with a comparatively low resolution of just 2,560 x 1,080 pixels, while raising the refresh rate to 160Hz. The result is a display that feels much more like a cross between a monitor and a TV than a straight monitor. This hybrid feel is reflected in the design, which puts all the connections in the base, while the panel is kept clean and tidy – ideal for a living room-style arrangement where the back of the display is exposed. That said, the C3583FQ isn’t particularly stylish. It tries, with its tidy base, the shiny slender…

SUPPLIER www.laptopsdirect.co.uk The Philips BDM3490UC is the most obvious TV replacement-style monitor on test. It has a slick design that wouldn’t look out of place in even the fanciest designer home, plus it has a large set of prominent speakers in the base. Sadly, though, the speakers aren’t quite as impressive as you’d hope given their dominance of the design. They definitely have more power and depth than any of the other models on test but for a true cinema-on-your-desk experience, you’ll want a better sound system. Nonetheless, the Philips BDM3490UC remains a very stylish display. Its simple and glossy white back, slender solid metal stand and curved metal base gives it a real look of elegance. It also has a so-called ‘borderless’ panel, with super-slim bezels. Even the…

Build a home theatre PC The parts you’ll need to build an affordable, home theatre PC that’s ideal for putting in the lounge and playing back all manner of video formats. This machine will handle general computing and media tasks with no trouble, and its dual-core Skylake CPU can even handle 4K video playback. Meanwhile, its super-quiet Noctua CPU cooler prevents it from making a racket. Build a budget gaming PC The parts you’ll need to build a budget machine capable of playing the latest games at maximum settings on a 1080p monitor, and even some games at 2,560 x 1,440. The machine has a discrete graphics card, a Skylake dual-core CPU and DDR4 memory. The ASRock Extreme4 motherboard is also capable of base clock overclocking via a BIOS update.…

With its shift from historically authentic warfare to outright fantastical conflict, Total War: Warhammer marks the biggest evolution in the Total War series since the introduction of naval and artillery-based battles in Empire: Total War. From giant units that can straddle the ranks of armies, to devastating magical abilities, Total War: Warhammer introduces dozens of heretofore unseen systems to the venerable strategy franchise. Such radical alterations posed a formidable design challenge, but Total War: Warhammer is also a fascinating game from a technical perspective. While Total War has always been at the technical forefront for strategy games, the engine of Rome II simply wasn’t equipped for what the developers had in mind for Warhammer. ‘The Total War franchise has a long and rich history, and so too does the engine,’…

TUTORIAL Raspberry Pi time-lapse video The launch of the £4 Raspberry Pi Zero was a landmark moment for the affordable computing movement, but it certainly cut a few corners to hit that price. The launch of a new revision, which adds back the Camera Serial Interface (CSI) connector, albeit in a high-density format that requires a special cable, gave me a reason to revisit a classic project: Pi-powered time-lapse photography, now compatible with all Raspberry Pi models. When I originally built a time-lapse rig, for the Raspberry Pi User Guide’s first print run, time-lapse support was built into the camera software, but it was buggy; I needed to write a surprisingly lengthy shell script to fix it. That’s all changed now though – you’ll only need extra software if you’re…

1 / CLEAN CONTACT PLATE To prevent getting your hands covered with thermal paste, clean the contact plate of the cooler using a cloth and some TIM clean solution, or isopropyl alcohol. Otherwise, be prepared to get messy. 2 / REMOVE BASE SCREWS If necessary, remove the base screws and mounting rings from the cooler so that you can access the base of the tubes, and remove the top fascia of the pump section. 3 / CUT THROUGH PLASTIC COLLAR On Corsair’s recent coolers, there’s a plastic locking ring sitting over the tubing. You’ll need to cut off this ring with a Stanley knife to be able to remove the tubing. You won’t need it later, so it can be discarded. 4 / REMOVE COLLAR To remove the collar, cut…