GEFORCE GTX 1070 Ti CLEANER, FASTER, INTEL 900P 480GB

Nvidia leaves no room & SAFER BROWSING Optane is here, and

for AMD’s Vega 56 PG. 72 Surf under the radar PG. 64 destroying records PG. 82

MINIMUM BS • FEBRUARY 2018 • [Link]

VALUE
UPGRADES
Breathe new life
into older PCs
PG. 66

Revealed Next-gen
hardware that will
transform your PC,
from AMD, Intel,
Nvidia, & more PG. 26
RELIVE THE
CLASSICS
Play Doom, Quake, Civilization,
and many more PG. 36
table of contents where we put stuff
SUBSCRIBE
TODAY!
see PG. 42

FEBRUARY 2018 QUICKSTART

12 THE NEWS
AMD and Intel collaborate; Apple AR
by 2019; gaming drains Surface 2.

18 THE LIST
Our favorite system testing tools.
26
2018
TECH One of the
magazine’s work
PCs got a few

PREVIEW edits of its own

this month.

R&D
54 AUTOPSY
It’s the turn of the Apple iPhone X
to go under the knife.

56 HOW TO
Make a kill switch for your Pi;
harden your WordPress security;
make perfect rips of CDs.

66 BUILD IT
How we breathed new life into
26 36 44 our executive editor’s PC.
2018 TECH RESURRECT THE SUPPLY
PREVIEW YOUR GAMING OF POWER
We sift through the hype CLASSICS Everything you need to know LETTERS
and discover what is going Want to run old games on about your PSU, and some
to make 2018 great. new Windows? Easy! things you probably didn’t. 22 DOCTOR

94 COMMENTS
IN THE LAB
74 86 90
ORIGIN PC LOGITECH MX ASSASSIN’S
NEURON MASTER 2S CREED
ORIGINS

79
AMD
RYZEN 3
1200

6 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

5IF IPNF PG UFDIOPMPHZ

WHFKUDGDUFRP
 a thing or two about a thing or two
editorial

Tuan
Nguyen
EDITORIAL
Editor-in-Chief: Tuan Nguyen
Executive Editor: Alan Dexter
Deputy Editor: Zak Storey
Senior Editor: Jarred Walton
Technology Editor: Bo Moore
Contributing Editor: Chris Angelini
Contributing Writers: Alex Campbell, Alex Cox, Nate Drake,
Ian Evenden, Phil Iwaniuk, Jeremy Laird, Chris Lloyd, Nick Peers
Copy Editor: Katharine Davies
Editor Emeritus: Andrew Sanchez

ART
Art Editor: Fraser McDermott

LEAPING FORWARD
Image Manipulation: Gary Stuckey
Photography: Future Photo Studio

BUSINESS
Vice President, Sales: Stacy Gaines, [Link]@[Link]
Vice President, Strategic Partnerships: Isaac Ugay,
[Link]@[Link] AS A YEAR ENDS, people get sentimental. we’ll see screens with higher resolutions
East Coast Account Director: Brandie Rushing,
[Link]@[Link] Review the past, see what went right and higher refresh rates. And higher
East Coast Account Director: Michael Plump,
[Link]@[Link]
and what went wrong. I say, to hell with refresh rates aren’t just for gaming. They
West Coast Account Director: Austin Park, looking back. It’s all about the future. make a huge impact on the desktop, too.
[Link]@[Link]
West Coast Account Director: Brandon Wong, While 2017 brought us some great If you’ve never moved a window at 120Hz,
[Link]@[Link]
West Coast Account Director: Tad Perez, [Link]@[Link]
hardware, 2018 is going to be even better. you’re missing out! In fact, the screen is
Director of Marketing: Robbie Montinola I feel this is the year when all the exciting our number one driver of the PC. And to
Director, Client Services: Tracy Lam
Director, Retail Sales: Bill Shewey innovation will happen. Case in point: drive the increased pixel density, GPUs
PRODUCTION
AMD’s Radeon chief jumped ship and will need to really up the ante.
Head of Production UK & US: Mark Constance went to Intel. Days after, Intel announced And wouldn’t you know—it’s all very
Production Controller: Vivienne Calvert
Project Manager: Clare Scott that it plans to work on discrete GPUs! convenient that we’re going to have three
Production Assistant: Emily Wood
Are we going to see three main players in major players making GPUs now. Good
FUTURE US, INC. the graphics market? I hope so. times ahead!
1390 Market St, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94102, USA
Tel: 650-872-1642, [Link] 2018 will also be the year when VR
Global Chief Revenue Officer: Charlie Speight
gets really serious. Headsets are going
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Maximum PC Customer Care, video standards to improve. I hope that Tuan Nguyen is Maximum PC’s editor-in-
Future Publishing, PO Box 2024, Langhorne, PA 19047
Website: [Link] once this happens, content will improve. chief, also known as “the pointy end of the
Tel: 844-779-2822 Other fantastical things I’m looking stick.” He’s been writing, marketing, and
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[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 11

quickstart the beginning of the magazine, where the articles are small

Intel and AMD Inside

Rivals to collaborate on hybrid mobile chips
AMD AND INTEL do not make die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB)
a habit of cooperating. That’s technology. This does pretty
putting it mildly; they enjoy a much what the name says—it
somewhat heated rivalry. It links together components on a
hasn’t stopped them cutting single die with high-speed die-
a deal, though—Intel is going to-die interconnects. Coupled
to put a Radeon GPU into its with the HBM2, it’ll give the GPU
mobile chips. Shock. Intel says real room to breathe.
the deal will bring together the Intel’s own efforts at
“Intel Core H series processor, onboard graphics have never
second-generation High really sparkled. This deal gives
Bandwidth Memory (HBM2), and it the missing piece it needs to
a custom-to-Intel third-party power mobile, NUC, and other
discrete graphics chip from skinny hardware that has the
AMD’s Radeon Technologies oomph to play games without
Group.” Intel has also managed the need for extra silicon.
to get hold of AMD’s top GPU On the surface, it may look as
architect, Raja Koduri, to be a if Intel is getting the better deal
senior VP, and lead its high-end here, getting much-needed GPU
graphics development team— technology, and giving its own Intel’s Kaby Lake H sharing silicon with an AMD GPU is as unlikely a
quite an acquisition. APUs an edge over the Ryzen pairing as in any sitcom, given how the two snipe at each other.
It is the first time since 1980 Mobile. However, Intel already
that the pair has collaborated has 70 percent of the integrated can compete in the lucrative how to build a modern GPU
over anything except writing GPU market, and current Ryzen server and AI markets. Here it’s from the ground up.
industry standards. It has also Mobile chips aren’t aimed at the Nvidia, rather than AMD, that is AMD and Intel have not
been some time brewing. A year gaming market. No, AMD and standing in the company’s way. suddenly become good friends
or so ago, rumors started that Intel both have another rival: How long this hybrid design will either; only this summer, Intel
the two were in cahoots over Nvidia, a company that has last is questionable. Intel has was trash-talking AMD as
GPUs, and both sides went to 70 percent of the discrete GPU just hired one of the world’s having a poor track record, and
the trouble of denying it. Issuing market. This deal does Nvidia best GPU architects, and being an inconsistent supplier
strident denials is, of course, no favors; sales that the hybrid created a new department for (despite making plans for it to
pretty suspicious, so this steals from the discrete GPU him to run: the Core and Visual become one of its own behind
announcement hasn’t exactly market are more likely to be Computing Group. Something the scenes). This move is an
come as a huge surprise. Nvidia’s loss than AMD’s, which is brewing here of much more expedient one by both parties.
The new hybrid design will will get a cut into the bargain. importance in the long run— The first fruits of the union
be the first mobile model to Intel has always lacked high- another attempt at an high- are expected in the first quarter
use Intel’s Embedded Multi- end GPUs, specifically ones that end GPU architecture is the of 2018, codename Hades
supposition. Intel has tried this Canyon. They feature a quad-
before. The last attempt was core Kaby Lake H, and have
Larrabee, which was canceled tentatively been put at running
in 2009, just as the first silicon at 68W and 96W. “Leaked”
A year or so ago, rumors appeared. It suffered from
being based around x86 cores,
benchmarks show performance
levels between a Radeon RX
started that the two were which just weren’t suited to
the job. This time around, the
560 and 570. Expect thin, light
laptops with some impressive
in cahoots over GPUs. company has a man who knows gaming abilities to follow. –CL

12 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

quickstart

APPLE AR BY 2019
FULLY STANDALONE
HEADSET PLANNED
APPLE IS WORKING ON an aggressive roadmap for
augmented reality headsets, which it is hoped will be ready
for 2019. It launched the developer’s kit, ARKit, in 2017. Unlike
existing platforms, this won’t be tethered, or running from a smartphone, but rather a fully
integrated standalone headset, complete with its own OS, and all the requisite hardware.
CEO Tim Cook believes that “AR is going to change the way we use technology forever.”
Apple has just spent $30 million on buying Vrvana, which produced the acclaimed Totem
BATTLEFRONT II’S headset. This was never officially released, and instead of the overlay system of HoloLens,
it uses cameras to capture the immediate environment, then mixes the results for display.
ONLINE BATTLE There’s no transparent overlay effect; you get a full mix of real and virtual in one, as on a
smartphone. This could be a clue to how the new kit will work. Apple might be a little late to
Developers misjudge the party, but it does has an enviable record of making cool stuff people want. –CL

gamers’ reactions
STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT II has caused a
disturbance in the force, and not in the way
GAMING DRAINS
that Electronic Arts wanted. It’s all down to SURFACE 2
how hero characters are unlocked. The likes Not enough juice to
of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader originally
required crystals, which you earned in play,
run full-on gaming
or bought. It took about 40 hours of play MICROSOFT’S SURFACE 2 is a nice bit
to unlock a single hero character. If you of gear, and its ability to run games
wanted to max-out on everything, it would is impressive. As it should be—the
take thousands of hours of play, unless you 15-inch model comes with an Nvidia
reached for real money. A system of Loot 1060 and costs $2,500. This ability comes at a price, though: The battery drains
Crates also attracted criticism for being, even when plugged in. Yep, turn the Power Mode slider up to max, and start
essentially, akin to gambling. These can also playing a demanding game, and the battery starts to drain by 10 percent or more
be purchased, but the contents are random, every hour. It transpires that the power supply (labeled as 102W) can’t cope with
making the process basically a slot machine. full-on games, which push the GPU into using 80W or more, leaving little power
Those unwilling to spend the extra for much else. It won’t run flat; it throttles back enough to keep you alive.
felt unfairly disadvantaged by richer or Embarrassing for a machine marketed as high-power gear, Microsoft says
less principled players who simply buy a it was designed to deliver “unmatched power and performance.” Only clearly it
bucketload of Loot Crates and start crafting wasn’t thoroughly tested at the limits running games, despite the promotional
high-power upgrades from the start. There material including images of hipsters gaming. –CL
followed an online storm. EA reacted poorly
at first, delivering an unconvincing rationale
that merely added fuel to the online fire. This
was followed by a reduction in the number Tech Triumphs and Tragedies
of points required. Finally, it dropped the A monthly snapshot of what’s good and bad in tech
in-game payment system altogether. In a
statement it said that it was “sorry we didn’t
get this right.” All upgrades and characters
now have to be earned through gameplay.
However, EA also said that the ability to
TRIUMPHS TRAGEDIES
purchase upgrades in-game may become SAMSUNG Z-SSD SURFACES UBER PAYS RANSOM
available at a later date. New NAND memory technology After hackers stole 50 million
Big games cost seriously big money to offers 3.2GB/s sequential data user details last year, it
make, and in-game micropayments can be rates—more than fast enough to transpires Uber paid $100K
challenge Intel Optane. to make the problem go away.
lucrative. However, they’ve previously been
a feature of mobile games that are very
NINTENDO DOMINATES FAKE CRYPTOCURRENCY
cheap, or free to play. If you have to pay to
Forget Xbox and PS4—Nintendo After raising $375K for an initial
win, having already paid, expect trouble.
has 66 percent of the console coin offering, Confido and its
We may well have Disney to thank for EA’s market, with Switch at number supposed CEO have vanished. A
climb-down; rumor has it that its executives one, and SNES Classic at two. classic exit scam.
were frustrated at the level of unhappiness
toward one of its prime assets. It’s still not 4K VIA THE ANTENNA GOOGLE SPYING AGAIN
fully fixed either. The Loot Crate system The FCC has approved broadcast Even if you turned off location
adds a randomness that doesn’t necessarily 4K TV, although you’ll need a new services, Google has tracked
reward dedicated play. You can still grind out box. First tests due in spring. your phone over the last year.
hours for little if you get the wrong drop. –CL

14 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

 Jarred Walton

TECH TALK
Intel Makes Major Moves
in Graphics and Learning
THERE HAS BEEN A SERIOUS SHAKEUP in the world of graphics technology
this past month, with three major announcements. First, Intel announced
a partnership with AMD, where it will integrate a custom Radeon graphics
solution on a future Intel Core CPU. It will use Intel’s Embedded Multi-
Die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB) for communicating with a mobile AMD
graphics solution. The goal is thinner and more powerful gaming laptops.
And this isn’t a low-end graphics solution. Current because Intel also announced that
indications are that the top configuration will have Knights Hill, the 10nm successor
1,536 AMD GCN cores, clocked at 1,000–1,150MHz. to the current 14nm Xeon Phi
That’s somewhat slower than an RX 570, but for a line (aka Knights Landing), has
laptop, it’s a huge step up from Intel’s previous HD been canceled. Knights Hill was
Graphics and Iris solutions. More interesting is slated for the Department of
that the solution will also utilize HBM2 memory, Energy’s Aurora supercomputer,
potentially 2–4GB, which will provide significant with a performance target of 180
VRAM bandwidth advantages compared to previous PetaFLOPS, but the contract has
integrated solutions. The only real question Intel’s mobile Core processors will been rewritten with a goal of being
remaining is what sort of power requirements the integrate AMD GPUs and HBM2. one of the first Exascale systems
chips will have, and how much the laptops will cost. (capable of at least one ExaFLOPS)
That’s a huge announcement, but it’s only the found in many of the world’s fastest in 2021. Whether that will come via
beginning. Days later, it was revealed that AMD’s supercomputers, including China’s Nervana or some other product
Raja Koduri, former head of the Radeon Technology Tianhe-2, which currently occupies isn’t clear, but it seems likely.
Group, was leaving the company. He will now be the the number two position on the Given the growth in machine
chief architect and senior VP of Intel’s new Core and Top 500. During the past year, Intel learning and supercomputing
Visual Computing Group. Raja says he’s “incredibly also acquired Nervana Systems, a applications, where graphics
excited to join the Intel team and have the opportunity company working on a custom ASIC technologies such as Nvidia’s Tesla
to drive a unified architecture vision across its for machine learning applications. solutions are major competitors,
world-leading IP portfolio that helps accelerate the Intel’s upcoming Nervana NNP part of Raja Kudori’s task may be
data revolution.” That sounds as though Intel wants (Neural Network Processor) will to unify the various solutions that
to use his talent to do more than just faster graphics, be focused on driving performance Intel already offers, helping to come
which brings us to the third piece of news. even higher, though Intel notes that up with fewer products that deliver
Intel already has products that compete in the standard performance metrics for higher performance. Or perhaps
machine learning and supercomputing arena, deep learning don’t tell the whole Raja won’t be doing much with the
specifically its Xeon Phi processors. These are story, and has thus far not revealed Nervana or Xeon Phi products, and
any specific performance figures. will instead work solely to improve
The performance expectations Intel’s graphics IP. Regardless, Intel
for the Nervana NNP are high, and has made a lot of waves, and we look
the retail products were slated to forward to seeing where this leads.
Raja Kudori’s task may be to begin shipping by the end of 2017.
Early hardware already exists, with Jarred Walton has been a
come up with fewer products Intel working to tune performance, PC and gaming enthusiast
delivering higher performance. and the results must be promising, for over 30 years.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 15

LET THE AMAZON ECHO CHANGE
YOUR LIFE TODAY
Discover everything you need to know to get the most from Amazon’s
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 Alex Campbell

OPEN SOURCE
Firefox Is Back With Its
Quantum Update
DEAR CHROME USERS: If you haven’t tried the new convenience features, making it
easy to save and recall information
Firefox, give it a go. Sure, some Chrome power users in your browser again.
While this update has a lot to enjoy,
might not be convinced, but for privacy-conscious it falls short in one key area: There
is little official support for offline or
users who grit their teeth and use Chrome for its “standalone” Firefox apps. One of
speed, Firefox 57 may upset the status quo. the coolest things about Chromium
is that I can “install” a web app,
such as Evernote or Spotify, add it
Despite the drama surrounding operating systems, related bugs alone. The UI remains
to my application menu, and launch
the web browser is central to today’s computing fairly minimalistic, though Firefox
it in a standalone window (without
experience. For most PC users, the majority of work adopted a flatter appearance that
tabs or a toolbar), so it feels like a
and social media use, and media consumption is helps unify the mobile and desktop
native desktop app. Work has been
handled by a web browser. For the Linux community, experience. Speaking of desktop,
done to be able to make Firefox
this has meant using one of the two good defaults that Firefox 57 looks great on HiDPI
compatible with Chrome apps,
come in most distributions: Firefox or Chromium. screens on GNOME with Wayland.
but the implementation is not as
For years, Chromium (and Chrome) have reigned One thing I find handy out of
simple as it is in Chrome. Support
supreme due to page loading speed and lower the box is Firefox 57’s screenshot
for standalone Chrome apps is
memory use. But while Firefox was slower than tool. If you’ve ever used a web
the main reason I will likely keep
Chrome, Mozilla’s browser focused on security and clipper from Evernote or OneNote,
Chromium around.
privacy. Users could be confident that telemetry data Firefox’s implementation will feel
I also noticed that Firefox 57
wasn’t being fed back to Big Brother in Mountain familiar, though much faster and
still mucked up my YubiKey
View to be used to generate ad revenue. Firefox’s more intuitive. Once you take a
authentication when logging into my
solid base is implemented in the Tor Browser, for screenshot, you have the option
Google account. After several tries,
instance. But for some reason, Firefox was plagued to save it on your local machine
I had to start Chromium in Incognito
by sluggish page loads and memory usage, that sent or upload it. Once uploaded, it
mode just to see if it was a bad USB
people scrambling back to Google’s warm embrace. is publicly available on a Mozilla
port, or if my YubiKey had gone
On November 14, Mozilla released Firefox 57—or server for 14 days by default. You
on the fritz. Sure enough, Firefox
Firefox Quantum—for mobile and PC platforms. No can set retention time to a custom
couldn’t handle Google’s two-factor
longer wishing to play second fiddle, Firefox is now value, or even make it permanent.
authentication. Logging into the
much snappier and easier on the RAM. Its blog says The screenshot tool integrates
LastPass extension presented no
that contributors triaged some 369 performance- with Firefox’s new library menu,
problems when the app asked for
which is a welcome addition.
the YubiKey two-factor auth.
This combines quick access to
I have to say, I’m impressed with
Pocket, your downloads, history,
the new Firefox, and I’m looking
screenshots, and bookmarks in a
forward to using it more as a daily
single menu. While this sounds busy,
driver. After all, if Mozilla’s zippy
it’s laid out pretty intelligently, and
new browser somehow manages to
keeps toolbar clutter to a minimum.
piss me off, Chromium will be there
I haven’t used a browser to save
to pick up the slack.
information for some time, instead
opting for apps such as Evernote
or Pocket for clipping and article Alex Campbell is a Linux geek
saving. With this new functionality, who enjoys learning about
Firefox looks great, loading pages lightning-fast. Firefox edges into some of those computer security.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 17

quickstart

TOP 8 SYSTEM TESTING TOOLS

8 4
3DMARK FIRE STRIKE Drive it hard and FRYBENCH A classic rendering test coded to
rank your graphical performance, with the leading both utilize every CPU cycle and hammer the cache
GPU/CPU combo benchmark. [Link] to within an inch of its life. [Link]

7 3
PRIME95 V2810 Stress-test every thread of CRYSTALDISKMARK Run this a few times,
your CPU by searching for Mersenne prime numbers particularly on SSDs, as results vary depending on
—run it for at least 10 hours. [Link] the random data generated. [Link]

6 2
OCCT Check the stability of everything from your 3DMARK TIME SPY 3DMark returns to our
CPU to your power supply with a fearsome foursome list with a DX12 benchmark that’s a serious task for
of time-honored tests. [Link] even the most recent GPUs. [Link]

5 1
CINEBENCH Based on commercial renderer UNIGINE SUPERPOSITION A gorgeous,
Cinema 4D, Cinebench’s raycasting CPU test can tax GPU wrenching and interactive benchmark—with VR
up to 256 simultaneous threads. [Link] benching on the $20 tier. [Link]

18 MAXIMUMPC F E B 20 18 [Link]
GET TO GRIPS WITH NETWORKING WITH THE
HELP OF OUR ULTIMATE HANDBOOK
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quickstart

BY ALEX COX

MP3 vs. FLAC vs. Ogg Vorbis

If you’re ill-of-ears, you may never have considered the point in a serious audio smackdown
between (arguably) the three major formats in digital tune management. But listen
up: There’s a lot to learn here. That dusty folder full of MP3s from the original Napster
days? That’s not the way music was meant to be heard, stored, or shared. So, let’s pull
apart those formats, and find the wins and losses in various categories, all while keeping
the underwater garble of WMA at arm’s length, conveniently ignoring the fact that it has a
lossless version that’s actually not the worst thing we’ve ever heard.

ROUND 1 ROUND 2 ROUND 3

File Size Compression Format Freedom

For the most part, this factor isn’t a FLAC’s lossless compression can be Compressed music really came into its
major concern now that we’re filling hard to get your head around—how can own with the popularity of MP3, despite
every available inch of our machines the file size of music be compressed a ton of other equally decent formats
with an extra terabyte or 12, but your with no loss of sound quality? Think of existing at the time. Blame WinAmp, the
primary use of discrete audio files likely it like ZIP compression; squashing office lousiness of WMA and RealAudio, and
won’t be on the desktop—it’ll be on files together reduces their size, but you the fact that MP3 was easy to decode
the move. And mobile devices, be they don’t lose chunks of your PowerPoint on the lesser processors of yesteryear.
smartphones or the new generation of presentation at the other end. Obviously, The problem is, MP3, for all its ubiquity,
dedicated players, inevitably offer up the fact that FLAC is digital means vinyl isn’t free. Or at least, it hasn’t been:
pathetic storage options. lovers will growl about the superiority The final patent is due to expire right
FLAC produces, by its nature, the of analog over the grainy waveforms of about now, and Technicolor’s licensing
largest files by far of the compression digital music, but FLAC’s one-to-one program for the codec ended in April
methods here. If you generate your own, replication means dedicated lovers 2017. There’s now no need to illegally
FLAC files are typically smaller than of needles bouncing around in dusty download the LAME encoder, no
directly copying a CD into a bit-for-bit grooves may question their direction. squabbles at trade shows, and the
WAV file, but not by a massive amount. MP3 and Ogg Vorbis put up a good potential for MP3 to make a proper
The usual ratio is around 10:6. Expect a fight. MP3’s method of perceptual noise comeback. Not that it should.
typical track to weigh in at around 30MB, shaping (chopping out frequencies your The other two formats are both
although commercial hi-res files tend to ear can’t hear) can compress audio by actually free. There’s a clue in FLAC’s
trend toward far larger sizes. around 10–12 times without a noticeable name: It’s the Free Lossless Audio
MP3 and Ogg Vorbis are equally loss in quality—you miss some subtlety, Codec. It’s free, as is Ogg. Both FLAC
miraculous when it comes to squashing perhaps, but it’s not the swirling mess and Ogg Vorbis emerged from the open
listenable music into a small space— of compressed WMA. Ogg Vorbis, if source community, and while they’re
tracks that are listenable tend to weigh anything, does slightly better, using a both venerable (the various technical
in at around 4–5MB, depending on the different psychoacoustic compression aspects of Ogg’s bitstream format, for
encoder used to compress them, and method from MP3, and concentrating example, were frozen some 17 years
the specific settings fed into it. Arguably, on quality ratings rather than bitrates, ago), you’re free to chop either protocol
Ogg Vorbis offers the best quality-to- which can make tracks of comparable up and create your own format if you’re
size ratio, but it’s a rather subjective win. size sound significantly better. a little bit crazy.

Winner: Winner: Tie:

Ogg Vorbis Ogg Vorbis Ogg Vorbis and FLAC

20 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

ROUND 4 ROUND 5

Resolution
Though technically lossy, MP3s encoded
Compatibility
MP3 has been around for a long time,
And the
at 320Kb/s, 48,000Hz challenge all
but the fussiest ears to pick out the
and it’s beyond rare for a device that
supports audio playback not to support
Winner Is…
compression; at the standard 128Kb/s or MP3—licensing fees and patents or not. It’s not a categorical win, because
192Kb/s resolution, though, MP3 creates There are MP3 decoder chips out there format use is a very subjective thing,
a much flatter sound. Check out Ryan that can be tossed into all manner of but we’re giving it to FLAC. It’s well
Maguire’s experiments in rendering electronics. Ogg Vorbis has moderately established, but flexible and powerful
the audio lost in MP3 compression at lower support, but only by a fraction— enough that it’s poised to be the de
[Link] for an you might find a few Chinese players facto audio format of the future,
audible example. Ogg Vorbis is also that can’t manage it. FLAC is, by a small and if quality is your goal, there’s no
lossy, but if quality settings are pushed margin, the least supported format, substitute for a lossless format. Ogg
up during compression, it’s much more although each FLAC file cleverly builds Vorbis’s open nature is to its credit,
adept at retaining subtle sounds. Both in the algorithm required to decompress and it’s certainly capable of some
can employ variable bitrate encoding it; so, barring DRM-locked tracks, future serious quality, but it’s always sat as an
to maximize compression, with a little FLACs should play back on any device alternative rather than a leader—it’s
extra attention paid to complex areas. that currently supports the format. MP3 for those who wouldn’t use MP3
FLAC is the king, and there’s a good It’s also worth considering sharing. because of its closed, patented nature.
reason it forms the basis of most hi-res Digital distribution services such as With that negative seemingly now
digital distribution networks. You can Bandcamp demand a lossless format crossed off the list, it’s likely that Ogg
push it far beyond the limits of human like FLAC on upload, since transcoding Vorbis will fade even further.
hearing, and as it’s lossless, beautiful to a different format is relatively simple MP3 itself probably isn’t going
compositions can’t be ruined by audible given a perfect master—so, if you’re anywhere, because it’s perfect for a
artefacts. It’s also built for accuracy; creating audio, FLAC is a must. However, number of practical uses, but its
tiny errors in rendering are contained podcasts tend to be distributed in MP3, position as a carrier for music might be
and don’t ruin the whole track, and the because that’s what most catchers/ endangered. Companies such as
checksums of compressed files can be players expect, it can be squashed Amazon are unlikely to stop distributing
compared against other copies to ensure small, and the effect its compression it any time soon, but consumer demand
they’re absolutely correct. If you’re not algorithms have on the spoken word is going to swing toward quality rather
using FLAC, you’re doing it wrong. isn’t quite as onerous as it is on music. than file size, and we see FLAC
moving in—particularly if labels think
Winner: Winner: they can charge a little more for
FLAC MP3 better quality audio.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 21

quickstart

THIS MONTH THE DOCTOR TACKLES...

> Dual Antivirus?

> Graphics Upgrade
> Tricky Hardware
Troublesome Gear of DDR3-1866 memory. A
Hi Doc, I have an issue with Samsung 850 EVO SSD has
my PC, where its screen goes Windows 10 on it, while a 2TB
black and all its fans start WD Blue mechanical hard
spinning at maximum speed. drive handles bulk storage
The system stays like this duties. My power supply is a
and is unresponsive until I Turbo-Cool 860W. Currently,
reset it. This seems to happen there’s a Radeon HD 6950
randomly; sometimes it goes graphics card installed, and
black while I’m gaming, but Check with EVGA to be sure your I know it runs well at up to
I’ve also seen it act up at idle. 1080 isn’t affected by a faulty component. 1080p. I was hoping to reuse
I checked the CPU and GPU as much of that hardware as
temperatures, and they look traced to your graphics card or should be willing to issue an possible, but I know the GPU
normal (low 30s C). I updated the power it’s receiving. One RMA. Contact the company is going to be an issue.
my graphics drivers, but to spec you left out was your PSU. at support@[Link] to I am a little confused about
no avail. But since the problem happens determine if your board might the TV’s refresh rate, which
Do you think this is a under load and at idle, it’s be one of the ones affected. LG claims is 120Hz. Of course,
software issue, or related to probably not a lack of capacity. Should this clear up your I want to make sure I pick the
hardware? I know the BIOS In general, the Doc would stability issues, definitely right graphics card to go into
hasn’t been updated, but I’m advise double-checking update your motherboard’s this computer. I play World
worried about the system the power connections to BIOS. Version 1008 was of Tanks, Fallout 4, and Call
crashing mid-upgrade. your GeForce GTX 1080 and released in May of 2014. Asus of Duty: Infinite Warfare, as
Otherwise, the PC ran motherboard, and ensure the has something like 12 newer well as online Steam games.
great since I built it in 2014. PSU is connected to a quality builds posted to its support I’m looking for the smoothest
The only upgrade I added surge protector or UPS. Worst site, the latest from April of experience possible with all
was a GPU about one year case, try another power supply 2016, most of which mention of the eye candy enabled. My
ago, and the problem started to see if the issue persists. improving system stability. budget is 800–1,000 bucks, so
about four months ago. Any In this specific case, since I don’t know whether I need
suggestions are appreciated. you did mention owning an New GPU one or even two graphics
The system includes a Core EVGA card, there’s another Dear Doc, my wife and I just cards. Any advice you could
i7-4790K, an Asus Z97-Deluxe possibility to consider. Last bought a new LG OLED TV give me, Doc, would be very
motherboard with BIOS 1008, year, the company confirmed (model OLED65C7P). My kids much appreciated.
an EVGA GeForce GTX 1080, a that a small number of 1080 have a PS4 Pro hooked up to –Christopher Leach
Samsung 840 EVO SSD, WDC FTW cards suffer this exact it, and I built a home theater
Red hard drives in RAID 1, problem. It’s caused by an PC about four years ago that THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: Your
16GB of Corsair DDR3, and ON Semiconductor VRM I’d like to connect as well. TV natively supports 1920x1080
Windows 10. –Chris component operating out of It contains an older AMD at 60/120Hz or 4K at 30/60Hz
spec, triggering over-current FX-8350 processor on an input. Regardless of whether
THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: It protection. If this turns out Asus Sabertooth 990FX you’re targeting the lower or
sounds like this issue can be to be your culprit, EVGA motherboard, with 16GB higher resolution, though, a

↘ submit your questions to: doctor@[Link]

22 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]
substantial graphics upgrade under a capable all-in-one
over the Radeon HD 6950 is liquid cooler. Alternately,
certainly warranted. Core i7-7820X gives you
The latest generation of the same eight cores as
DirectX 12-based games the 6900K for $500 less.
and VR experiences have Regardless of the CPU,
soured the Doc to multi-GPU ASRock’s Fatal1ty don’t worry too much about
configurations. He would X99X Killer is no longer a 4GT/s memory transfer
rather buy the fastest single- top-of-the-line. Try an rate. Intel’s high-end desktop
GPU solution possible, and LGA 2066 platform instead. platforms employ quad-
circumvent compatibility channel configurations. At
problems and issues with motherboard is to blame, but 2,666MT/s, you’re looking at a
frame time variance altogether. I’m not sure. –Jason Echelar theoretical peak in excess of
With that said, your budget 85GB/s. Jumping to a 128GB/s
leaves plenty of room for THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: apps, two Toshiba 6TB hard ceiling sounds huge, but your
high-end graphics. GeForce Although more information drives in RAID 0 for user data, critical apps would need to be
GTX 1080 Ti cards start around would certainly help the Doc a GeForce GTX 1080 graphics memory bandwidth-bound
$720. And in the games you’re narrow down your issue, this card, a 1,000W power supply before you saw any advantage.
talking about, they should easily certainly sounds motherboard (haven’t decided on the brand Rock-solid stability is more
hit 60fps at 4K using cranked- or memory-related. yet), and Windows 10 64-bit. important from a workstation,
up detail settings. If you’d prefer Do you have the latest That’s more or less the in the Doc’s opinion.
a lower resolution and higher BIOS installed? It’s common direction I want to go. I plan
refresh rate, one or two steps for updates to include on getting back into video and Two Antivirus Apps?
down Nvidia’s hierarchy would optimizations for memory photo editing, but am watching I have been told to never
probably be fine. compatibility. Make sure the my money like everyone else. install two antivirus programs
There’s something else memory isn’t overclocked from I did reach out to ASRock to on the same computer at
to think about, though. While within the BIOS, which could see if the [Link] memory the same time. Could this be
reusing old hardware is cause it to exhibit intermittent kit would run at 4,000MT/s achieved without issues if you
commendable, graphics cards stability problems. If you’re on my motherboard. But keep the one you’re not using
intended for 4K gaming are using a dual-channel memory company representatives zipped? I vaguely remember
meant to be paired with capable kit, try running with one module can only confirm a maximum doing this years ago with a
platforms. More than likely, an installed to determine if there’s of 3,400MT/s based on their program I believe was called
FX-8350 is going to bottleneck any difference between them. internal testing. Overclocking Oil Change. –Bob McElwain
high-end GPUs from AMD You might also want to try the Core i7 to 4GHz should be
or Nvidia. You’re better off running MemTest86, which easy, though. THE DOCTOR RESPONDS:
diverting some of your budget can help ferret out hard-to- I’m anticipating a price Security professionals agree
toward a new Core i5 or Ryzen- replicate memory faults. drop once the Skylake-X that it’s ill-advised to install
based CPU, corresponding chips become available. Any any more than one antivirus
motherboard, and DDR4 Building a Monster possible info you can pass utility at a time. Performance
memory. Then, snag something Doc, I’ll start off with a bit of along would be appreciated concerns are commonly cited.
like a GeForce GTX 1070, 1070 flattery. I’ve been a long-time and respected. If there’s any Even one security suite can
Ti, or Radeon RX Vega 56 with subscriber, and I remember way for you or someone else tie up significant processing
what’s left. The resulting the good ol’ days when you had to test that memory overclock, and memory resources. Worst
combination should be much two versions of the publication even better. –George Cora case, they’d trip over each
more balanced, enabling you to (magazine alone, and another other’s efforts. Not only do two
set aside the old configuration with an included software THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: As antivirus apps have their own
for another purpose. disc). But more importantly, you no doubt saw, George, policies for dealing with bugs
I truly look forward to finding Intel’s Skylake-X CPUs did have they find on your computer,
Stranger Things the magazine in my mailbox a big impact on pricing. This but they might also see each
Hi Doc, I have been trying to each month. was almost certainly related other as threats.
fix an issue with a friend’s My question concerns to newfound competition Modern A/V apps typically
computer, which came to me a new rig I’m building. The from AMD and its Ryzen get their hooks deep into your
pretty much dead. So, I started components are coming Threadripper models. operating environment, and
troubleshooting. Since the together slowly, and currently Today, you can get a can’t simply be compressed into
power supply seemed fine, I include: an Intel Core 10-core Core i9-7900X for an archive and tucked away.
pulled the RAM out and tried i7-6900K, which I’d like to less money than the i7-6900K There is a handful of portable
to turn the machine on. I got overclock to at least 4GHz, you were eyeballing. It’s not antivirus/malware scanners,
no response, not even a beep. a Corsair H100i closed-loop an overclocking beast by any such as ClamWin Portable, that
I shut the system off and liquid cooler, an ASRock X99X means. Intel’s use of thermal you can download and save on
reinstalled its memory. Upon Killer motherboard, 64GB of paste between its heat to a thumb drive for manual
hitting the power switch, the [Link] Trident Z DDR4-4000 spreader and die negatively detection. You wouldn’t have
PC booted up fine. (8x 8GB), a Crucial 512GB affects thermal transfer them installed on your PC,
Please help me explain the M.2-based SSD, a Crucial performance, causing the CPU though. Instead, they’d be part
cause of this issue, because 525GB SSD for my operating to run hot. But 4GHz shouldn’t of an IT toolkit for diagnosing an
it’s baffling me. I think the system, a Crucial 1TB SSD for be too much of a challenge infected machine.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 23

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2018 tech preview

2018
TECH
PREVIEW
Twelve months is all it took to see
revolutionary change in the tech
industry. With the race to greater core
counts in mainstream processing,
the release of Intel’s Optane SSD
drives, Ethereum mining pushing up
GPU prices, and more, 2017 was a
particularly interesting year. But that’s
in the past, and 2018 is the future, so
what do the next 12 months look like?
It’s time to sift through the hype, and
get down to the nitty-gritty of what is
going to make 2018 great.
By the Maximum PC staff

26 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018

2017 [Link]
[Link] FEB 2018
2017 MAXIMUMPC 27
2018 tech preview

REFINING SUCCESS
Intel may be rattled, but AMD needs to
cement its success with revision
IT’S A RARE OCCURRENCE for the hype train to be not
quite as overwhelming as the potency of the product
it represents. And with Jim Keller masterminding the
development of Team Red’s latest architecture, AMD’s Zen
CPU lineup was hardly going to be a dud. However, none of
us truly knew what to expect from the company that had
otherwise disappointed us on the computational front for
the previous six years.
Ryzen was, and still is, a masterpiece. A once-in-a-
decade reinvention of a product. Something that AMD
so desperately needed in order to assure its own future.
Its effect on consumer computing has been vast and
far reaching, pushing Intel to act, stop resting on its
laurels, and raise its core counts higher, if only to retain
anything like the market share it once had. And, at last,
after six long years of waiting, there’s finally a choice—
consumers actually have a decision to make once again. Zen is only the start of what Ryzen has to offer.
Both processor manufacturers now provide options more
than capable of succeeding the platforms of yesteryear. new X470 and B450 chipsets to accompany the retention of
Whether it’s Skylake X or Threadripper for workstations, the AM4 socket (allowing for backward compatibility with
Coffee Lake or Ryzen 7 in the mid-range, or Ryzen 3 or previous chipsets). All of which should bring up single-core
the Core i3s at the budget end of the spectrum, there’s a performance to Skylake and Kaby Lake levels, and in turn
processor for everyone. enhance multicore performance as well. On top of that, it
However, Ryzen certainly isn’t perfect, and even should also help refine the platform further, with enhanced
Don Woligroski, AMD’s Desktop CPU Marketing Manager, memory support, better overclocking, and improved
when speaking to YouTuber JokerProductions, stated motherboard design, and potentially also allow AMD to
that Ryzen was a “worst case scenario” for AMD. A new introduce more PCIe lanes to its newer chipsets.
architecture on a new node brings up a whole plethora It would also be highly surprising if we didn’t see AMD
of issues, including memory and BIOS bugs, power draw launch its range of Vega-powered Raven Ridge APUs
woes, and overall lower frequencies than what were some time around Q1 as well. Hopefully, they’ll bring
originally intended. more options to those interested in building a budget-
Ryzen 2, known as Pinnacle Ridge, looks to correct friendly low-spec gaming machine or media PC. Rumor
these issues. Rumored to be released some time in the has it, these should feature four Zen cores (or two Ryzen
first quarter of 2018, we’re expecting a drop to a 12nm core complexes, with support for 8MB of L3 cache, and
production node (down from Ryzen’s current 14nm), higher multithreading), and 11 Vega GPU cores, and should prove
base clock frequencies, lower power draw, and two brand to be quite the beast at 1080p low to mid-range gaming.

The genius of
Ryzen lies within
its Infinity Fabric
interconnect.

28 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018

2017 [Link]
DECIPHERING INTEL’S NEXT GEN
What exactly does Intel’s hunt for that elusive
10nm process node mean for us?
BUT WHAT ABOUT our dear Team Blue? Well, Intel’s hardly process shrink still falls under the “Eighth” generation
out for the count—it still holds on to a massive chunk of processors, according to Intel.
of that processor market share, and with that in tow, From this, we can predict two things. Firstly, that
pumping more money into R&D is an easy task for the chip- Cannon Lake’s 10nm processors should be backward
making giant. Combine that with its Core architecture still compatible with the Z370 chipset and socket; and secondly,
being far superior to AMD when it comes to single-core that process shrinks will no longer be defined as a new
performance, and all is not lost. Coffee Lake proved to generation, presumably indicating that a reduction in
us that Intel was willing to listen, and at last we’ve finally transistor size isn’t providing Intel with the individual core
witnessed more cores piled into its smaller form factor performance boost that it was hoping for, with it more likely
chips. With the 1151 socket now hosting up to six cores and leading to reduced power draw instead.
12 threads on its highest Core i7 flagship parts, the future That said, the drop to 10nm is intriguing, as it should
certainly looks bright for those looking to stick with Intel. reduce the overall size of the silicon die by 28.6 percent.
So, what’s next? Well, Coffee Lake is Intel’s fourth 14nm Combined with a lower power draw, Intel should be able
product, and the start of its eighth generation of processors. to incorporate more cores into its mainstream processors
Although the company has confirmed that Coffee Lake is without increasing the size of its chip, or changing the LGA Coffee Lake
the last of its 14nm product line (not including the Kaby 1151 socket design too significantly. Intel has stated that it’ll makes six cores
Lake R 14nm++ mobile refresh), confusingly, it’s not the be producing a “lower volume SKU” of Cannon Lake early the norm for
last of its eighth-gen chips. Cannon Lake will also fall in 2018, before ramping up production within the first half high-end Intel.
under the same categorical nomenclature, even though of the year to full capacity.
it’s a process shrink down to 10nm. Confused? You’re not Then, of course, there’s
the only one. Typically, when Intel still ran its Tick Tock the chipsets. Expect a new
methodology, it would release an architecture, then shrink one (likely Z390) before the
the process, with each step being a new “generation” end of the first quarter,
of processors. Although Tick Tock was recently retired tapping into the full
for PAO (Process, Architecture, Optimization, each step potential of these eighth-
still being a new “generation”), Cannon Lake’s 10nm generation processors.

Intel and AMD’s combined efforts reduce

the overall footprint significantly.

In Cahoots?
IT WOULD BE REMISS classy and compatible internal componentry single substrate, in that reduces power
of us not to mention with the Ultrabook significantly. We’ve yet very close proximity. draw, temperature,
AMD and Intel’s form factor, without to receive confirmation So, for instance, you height, and cost, with
recent partnership in compromising on as to whether this will could see a processor very little difficulty for
bringing one of the performance. To do be a Vega or Polaris using a 10nm process, the partners involved.
world’s first Radeon this, Intel’s taking powered GPU, but it with a graphics core We expect to see
and Intel powered advantage of its looks promising. at 14nm, and the Ultrabooks powered by
SOC Ultrabook combos EMIB interconnect EMIB is a multi-die dedicated I/O chip at this new technology
together. The aim is to incorporate HBM interposer technology, 22nm, all within a in the first quarter
to reduce the overall 2.0 memory stacks, a which allows Intel to single millimeter of of 2018, potentially
form factor of gaming bespoke Radeon GPU incorporate multiple each other, without revolutionizing
notebooks, from the core, and its own Intel individual dies, at issue. This leads to performance in the
usual 26mm thickness processors, to reduce varying processing a cheap, small-form- ultra-slim form factor
to something more the footprint of its node sizes, across a factor interconnect sector of the industry.

[Link] FEB 2018

2017 MAXIMUMPC 29
2018 tech preview

EVOLUTIONARY GREEN GPUS

Is Nvidia’s Volta architecture the revolutionary
GPU we’ve all been waiting for?
IT WOULD BE FAIR TO SAY that Nvidia has demonstrated found on both the current Pascal P100 GPU accelerator and
a good show of force when it came to the grand GPU war the GTX 1080 Ti are the same. If that’s the case, it’s likely
of the last two years. Pascal has been out for well over 18 that Volta’s V100 and the consumer-side 2080 Ti (whenever
months now, and still continues to reign dominant over its that launches; think 2019) will be identical. We can then
red competitor. Radeon’s Technology Group simply hasn’t calculate the percentage difference between the CUDA
been able to compete, either at the mid range, with its cores on the GTX 1080 Ti and the 1080, apply that to the
Polaris-based RX 400 and 500 series cards, or even more V100’s spec, and come up with a rough estimate of just how
recently at the very high end, with Vega falling flat on its many additional CUDA cores Nvidia’s next-gen flagship
face, far from the hype that surrounded it. But with little (the GTX 2080) might hold. The short answer is that it’s a
competition, what’s the next step for the great green giant? 33 percent increase in CUDA cores, and therefore pure
Well, that would be Volta. We’ve long been hearing GPU grunt over the last generation, and that’s not including
rumors about Nvidia’s latest and greatest architecture any architectural magic, or transition across to GDDR6 or
finally making it to the consumer market, and it’s only HBM memory. A 33 percent minimum increase in brute
now that we have any inkling as to what it might actually force performance, which is exciting enough, if current
include. We know that TSMC is manufacturing the core, we price points hold across the generational jump.
know that it’s operating off the 12nm FinFET production Nvidia’s co-founder and CEO Jen-Hsun hasn’t stipulated
node, and we also know that there are already enterprise- that we should expect an immediate response to Vega, so
grade accelerator cards in existence—powered, of course, it’s unlikely we’ll see these cards before the first quarter of
by the magnificent might of the GV100 core. So, what can 2018. However, with SK Hynix’s recent announcement of its
we expect from this new GPU lineup when it actually does latest GDDR6 memory standard being produced for high-
launch consumer-side? spec cards already, and Volta enterprise-grade GPUs now
We can’t say for certain, but looking back at the past being available to the public, we’d be very surprised if we
may give us a clue. We know the number of CUDA cores didn’t see these launch before or at Computex 2018.

Can Nvidia’s
GV100 show us
what its next-
gen GPUs might
look like?

HBM vs. GDDR

THE BATTLE for VRAM space than typical dedicated to memory be difficult to design standards, especially
dominance needs GDDR5X stacks, runs at reads, and the other to new GPUs around, from a bandwidth
settling this year. 1.2V, has an incredibly writes. Think of it as especially if the GPU perspective, and only
With both Nvidia and low latency, puts multithreading, but in question is used then when competing
AMD utilizing GDDR5X out an astonishing for memory, and solely across a range of alongside more
and HBM 2.0 in their amount of bandwidth dedicated to read and cards, at different price consumer-friendly
product lineups, which (242GB/s per stack writes, as opposed points, such as the dual-stack Vega GPUs.
is best, and what will versus GDDR5/X’s to processes. GP104, which covers However, latency is
we see on the GPUs 44GB/s), and, more That said, it has the GTX 1070, 1070 Ti, still an issue, and
of tomorrow? importantly, features issues: It’s expensive, and 1080. it lacks any form of
Each has its Pseudo Channel mode, in short supply (with GDDR5X did multi-channel support.
advantages and which splits a memory only Samsung and address some of Which is why Nvidia
disadvantages. HBM channel in two, with SK Hynix currently the discrepancies currently incorporates
2.0 takes up less PCB one pseudo channel producing it), and can between the two HBM 2.0 into its

30 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018

2017 [Link]
 Vega was disappointing, but
Navi should correct its mistake,
and step away from the
underwhelming GCN architecture.

AMD ON THE BACK FOOT?

Team Red needs Navi, and it needs it now
IT’S BEEN A ROUGH YEAR for AMD’s Radeon design stage out of the way. Sources suggest interconnected fabric bridging performance
Technologies Group. A really rough one. We that AMD may indeed showcase one of its between them, without increasing the
didn’t expect the slightly bashful underdog Navi GPUs at 2018’s SIGGRAPH event around complexity or cost of manufacturing the
of GPU technology to produce anything August this year, with a full commercial processors themselves.
astounding, but after delay, after delay, after release coming at the end of 2018. It’s worth noting that both AMD and
delay, we did expect more than we ended So, what can we expect from the new Nvidia are looking to move away from the
up with. Vega feels very much like a dud, architecture? Well, there are two exciting monolithic designs, as dropping down to the
especially as far as gaming is concerned. things to consider here. Firstly, there’s the next process node becomes too taxing a task
And although it powers through crypto- drop to 7nm. Secondly, there’s AMD’s recent to achieve in the current climate.
mining like a V8 through gasoline, when development of its new interconnect, aka Although we have no way of quantifying
your flagship card can’t compete with a Infinity Fabric. What does that mean? In what kind of performance increase we could
competitor’s 14-month-old solution in the short, Vega currently operates off the 14nm see here, the notion of adding more cores,
things that really matter, you know you’ve manufacturing process; 7nm equates to a at a fraction of the complexity and cost,
got problems. 50 percent increase in the overall number of may make Navi AMD’s saving grace, and is
Combine that with the departure of Raja transistors and, in turn, stream processors. certainly interesting when it comes to the
Koduri, AMD’s Radeon Tech Group Leader, On top of that, with AMD’s Infinity Fabric, we future of GPU development.
leaving for Intel, from the outside, at least, may see the end of old-school monolithic But what about that 14nm+ refresh we
things look dire. But are they really? We GPU dies from the company. Instead of keep hearing about? Well, our bet is we’ll see
doubt Raja would have left if things with having one hard-to-manufacture, massive a 14nm refresh of the RX 580, Vega 56, and
AMD’s next-gen architecture weren’t already GPU die, as we’ve typically seen from GPU 64, with a new low-power manufacturing
shored up. And much like Jim Keller leaving makers, AMD could do something similar process, being rebadged as new mid to
before Ryzen made it to market, there’s the to how it produces its Threadripper and high-end GPUs, followed by one or two Navi
likelihood that Navi itself may also be finally Ryzen processors. In brief, smaller, less 7nm cards in the same generation being the
on its way to completion, with the initial complicated GPU core complexes, with an flagships with the new designs.

HBM isn’t only seen on AMD-powered GPUs, but Nvidia ones, too.

high-end Tesla cards help combat HBM’s

available today. Pseudo Channel mode.
Fortunately, Micron For the time being,
has announced that it’s it seems we’ll still be
mass-manufacturing stuck in this memory
GDDR6 modules, to hierarchy, with GDDR5
be utilized by high- and 5X featuring on
end GPUs early next more budget-friendly
year. GDDR6 garners a cards, GDDR6 on the
4Gb/s bump in memory high end, and HBM
transfer speed, and, typically utilized
more importantly, also on Vega and more
features dual-channel workstation-oriented
support, which could variants instead.

[Link] FEB 2018

2017 MAXIMUMPC 31
 MAKE YOUR OWN PROJECTS WITH
THE RASPBERRY PI
Learn the electronics, computing and coding skills you need to make your own
projects with the Raspberry Pi, and let your imagination run wild

ON SALE
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Ordering is easy. Go online at:

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Or get it from selected supermarkets, newsagents or bookstores
STORAGE SUPERIORITY
Intel versus Samsung, Optane versus
Z-NAND, in a fight for the future
THE STORAGE WARS have been waging for quite some time
now. Samsung’s 960 series PCIe SSDs have comfortably
sat top and center of the non-volatile hill for the last 12
months. And with little challenge to the Korean giant,
there’s been no need for the company to reveal any new
devices designed to push the boundaries of solid-state
storage further. Even Intel and Micron have struggled to
put up any resistance to the dominance of Sammy’s 3D MLC The battle’s heating
V-NAND tech and its controller—at least, not until recently. up, but who will be
And then there are the connection standards, or the victor? Samsung
perhaps it’s more apt to just say M.2 at this point. Because or Intel?
that’s the only connection standard still worth its salt in
the PCIe board game. Intel’s U.2, like many—if not all—
closed-off proprietary connection standards, has fallen store on a single bit of V-NAND both increases its latency
by the wayside, with lots of motherboard manufacturers and reduces the number of total read and write requests
no longer supporting it. With few devices operating on possible on the cell itself. SLC is far superior, but comes
the standard, and the price-to-performance of Intel’s 750 at a far greater cost and, unfortunately, lower density,
SSDs being less than desirable, there just wasn’t enough meaning a larger PCB and, ultimately for Samsung, a PCIe
choice to see it used enough. add-in card, much like Intel’s 900 series drives.
This year hasn’t been a complete dud for storage Although, for the time being, Z-NAND is enterprise only,
tech, though. Intel and Micron’s design teams have finally we do have some figures for the drives, which can give
brought the true might of their Optane 3D XPoint memory us a bit of an idea about where the consumer equivalents
technology to market. First in the less-than-stellar Optane will sit. Samsung revealed that both sequential read
cache M.2 sticks, then in the phenomenal power of the and write speeds will operate at 3.2GB/s, compared to
900P series SSDs. Although sequentials were lower than Intel’s 2.4GB/s read and 2GB/s write; random read IOPS
the competition, the stellar low latency and incredible 4K will be up at 750K versus Intel’s 550K; write IOPS will be
random reads and writes made it leaps and bounds more 170K versus Intel’s 500K; random read latency should
powerful than the prestigious 960 Pro. be around 12–20 microseconds, compared to Optane’s
Intel has promised that there’s more to come from the 10 microseconds; and, lastly, the random write latency
fledgling resistive tech, but for the time being, the battle will be 16 microseconds versus Intel’s 10. Although not
seems to be shifting away from how fast a sequential figure competitive across the board, if Samsung’s drives arrive
you can get, and more toward low latency and higher IOPs. at a significantly lower price point than Intel’s (because
Samsung is well aware of this, too, recently announcing the they rely on already well-established technology), they
launch of its Z-NAND consumer SSDs. could render Optane redundant, unless you need it for very
Z-NAND is, as far as we know, a derivation of Samsung’s specific use case scenarios.
3D NAND technology. Still built off the existing 40nm There’s not been any confirmation of exactly when we
processing node, it’s expected to feature a brand new expect to see a Samsung Z-NAND consumer drive appear,
controller, and a single-level cell design, as opposed to but we do expect these to drop some time during the first
the 960 series multi-level cell. In short, the more data you half of 2018.

SPECIFICATION Samsung Z SSD Intel Optane

(SZ985) (P4800X)

Technology Z-NAND 3D XPoint

Capacity 800GB 750GB
Sequential Read (GB/s) 3.2 2.4
Sequential Write (GB/s) 3.2 2.0
Random Read (IOPS) 750K 550K
Random Write (IOPS) 170K 500K
Random Read Latency (μs) 12–20 10
Intel takes the advantage as the storage wars shift away Random Write Latency (μs) 16 10
from sequentials, and toward lower latency devices instead.

[Link] FEB 2018

2017 MAXIMUMPC 33
 THE FUTURE OF DISPLAY
Is 4K the new mainstream?
Bear in mind AS FAR AS SCREEN TECH is concerned, we’ve stagnated so development has tended to focus around higher refresh
that Asus, AOC, over the last 12 months. Although HDR was promised as rate monitors instead.
and Acer’s 4K the “next big thing” from manufacturers across the globe, Which segues nicely into a discussion of where we’re
144Hz panels its impact on the computing industry has been stifled. With going in the future. So, what can we expect from 2018? Well,
are made quantum dot, OLED, and RGBW panels occupying the price as far as flagships are concerned, we’re expecting high-
by the same point they do, and a lack of HDR content making it into the refresh 4K panels to finally arrive. Although DisplayPort
manufacturer. mainstream, the desire to invest in has been capable of handling 4K at higher than 60Hz since
the new tech has been slim. Much way back in 2014, as far as GPUs are concerned, it’s been
like 4K before, it’s taking time for nothing more than a far-fetched fantasy. AMD’s RX series
the uptake of both content and GPUs and Nvidia’s GTX 10 series were the first to support
screens to occur. DisplayPort 1.4, enabling enough bandwidth to go beyond
Speaking of 4K, not a lot has 60Hz at 4K. Technically, DisplayPort 1.3 supported that, but
changed in this arena either. not with HDR as well. In 2018, Asus, Acer, and AOC are all
Panels have reduced in cost producing 120Hz-plus 4K screens with HDR by default. We
as more manufacturers expect these to launch early in the year, presumably after
bump up their production CES. However, it’s likely that these will be priced out of the
lines, and we’re starting stratosphere, with most probably retailing close to the
to see an abundance of $2,000 bracket.
screens pushing the 30- Although not realistic for the majority of us, this does
inch barrier, but apart from give us hope that the next generation of 4K screens will
that, 2017 has been relatively quiet. come down in price. Combined with more powerful, more
We’ve not seen as much of an uptake into 1440p affordable GPUs, the dream of an affordable 4K gaming
and higher resolutions as was expected, combo is inching ever closer.

VIRTUAL RENAISSANCE
Does the resurgence of virtual reality lie
with the next generation of headsets?
AHH, THE JILTED LOVER of the computing three times greater than what we have today 2024x2200 resolution into a 3.5-inch form
world. The buzz word that was on every before VR becomes more akin to gaming on factor, it added over 86 percent more pixels
journalist’s lips. Was VR just another even a 1080p screen. However, with Oculus into the same space. That’s a pixel density of
gimmick? Or was it misrepresented? Ahead announcing it won’t be releasing a Rift 2 any 858, versus the 460 of the original.
of its time? It’s difficult to say for sure, as sales time soon, and with HTC’s latest Vive Focus Perhaps 2018 will be the year when we
have been reasonable, with both Oculus and concentrating on mobile, it’s unlikely we’ll finally see someone outside of the HTC
HTC profiting from the VR experience, but see these changes make their way into the and Oculus community bring a headset to
little has come out of 2017 with regard to the consumer ecosphere in the near future. market that actually makes sense for the
new way of consuming media. All that aside, early last year, Samsung’s graphically aware consumer. Or, better yet,
There have been price drops, for sure, screen manufacturing division showcased see Microsoft’s AR HoloLens project reach a
with both platforms being reduced by a total a new display designed specifically for more affordable level than the $3,000 price
of $200. And there’s plenty of content, too, VR headsets. Cramming an incredible tag it’s currently associated with.
from an army of indie developers, and other
games being made VR-compatible (there are Although
266 games and experiences currently listed exceptionally
in Steam’s Virtual Reality category). interesting,
But the headsets still have problems. The AR is just too
2160x1200 (1080x1200 per eye) resolution, so pricey right
close to your eyes, still features that visible now to justify.
screen door or grid effect, and the refresh
rate is still locked to a nauseating 90Hz.
Ideally, we need to see a pixel density two to

[Link] FEB 2018

2017 MAXIMUMPC 35
resurrect your gaming classics

36 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

RESURRECT
YOUR GAMING
CLASSICS
Want to run old games on new Windows? Here’s how
YOU PLACE A TREASURED CD-ROM into the disc pursue when you’re attempting to do so, and
tray, wistful about the good old days, and excited that in itself has its own pros and cons. That
to see the familiar pixels of an old favorite variety of approaches means it’s unlikely you’ll
game. Your PC reacts like a dog watching a truly reach a dead end, to stretch that avenue
magic trick. Autorun doesn’t work. [Link] metaphor to breaking point. But it does also
doesn’t work. InstallShield is looking for a long- mean the plethora of conflicting information
forgotten Windows 98 library file in perpetuity. found on message boards suggesting this
In a very real and upsetting way, your childhood method or that can make this a tricky task to
is no longer compatible with the modern world, go about in a methodical manner. So, let’s do
and you know that the only way to rekindle it exactly that: Let’s turn what would ordinarily be
involves hours of compatibility box-checking, an evening of directionless trial and error into a
Googling, and fiddling. A traumatic moment. scientific process. The definitive and exhaustive
But it doesn’t have to be. Getting software that guide to running old games on a new PC.
was designed for much older operating systems Lab coats are optional, but a willingness to
and hardware to run on modern machines offers install a few programs on your PC and a sound
its own intrinsic satisfaction. It’s like breaking awareness of abandonware law are mandatory
the rules, somehow, raising dead software that in this test environment. With those humble
was never intended to interface with silicon this tools, you should be able to run any old game on
powerful, and bending an operating system to a Windows 10 PC, however categorical the error
your will. There are many different avenues to messages seem upon the first attempt.

PHIL IWANIUK

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 37

resurrect your gaming classics

BEFORE GETTING STUCK into the many- in order to install itself correctly. The and Planescape Torment, but relies on
branched methodology of old game same goes for today’s graphics cards and Microsoft’s defunct DirectDraw API, and
necromancy, let’s examine why this processors: It isn’t that they’re inherently thus has all manner of issues on modern
problem exists. After all, if a PC can run too powerful for old software, but that the machines. Aqrit’s DDrawFix resolves
The Witcher 3 at a dreamy 60fps, why does old software can’t interpret and harness those issues in nine games with one 5MB
it struggle to render 1999 tactical shooter their power correctly, because they don’t download. There are other solutions, but
Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear at anything understand the drivers installed. this is certainly more elegant than running
above single figures? And why is it so hard The stumbling block for one particular an entire OS in a virtual machine just to
to get certain games even installed? vintage game might be DOS, driver support, access DirectDraw.
Essentially, it all comes down to missing libraries, security issues, or
operating systems. Whenever a piece of incompatibility beyond 16-bit systems, but COMPATIBILITY MODE OPTIONS
software or PC game is developed, its the root cause is fairly universal: It’s the Windows doesn’t have a great reputation
creators make a series of assumptions software environment. The obvious solution for the efficacy of its compatibility mode,
about the environment it’ll be used in. The is to modify that software environment but in certain circumstances, a checked box
developers of 1999, for example, might so the old game has enough information here and a drag-down menu option there
reasonably have expected that most users and security privileges to function. And might be all it takes to solve your problem,
would be installing their game on to a that’s something you can go big or small whether it be installing or running the old
Windows 98 or Windows 95 PC, both based with. Since we’re doing this methodically, game in question. When you right-click on
around the 16-bit DOS operating system. it makes sense to begin with the small a program or installer, and navigate to the
That, in turn, means an assumption about measures, such as patches and DOSBox, compatibility tab, you’ll see several options
the file libraries and drivers contained and work up to more drastic solutions, such to emulate different Windows versions and
within those operating systems, and the as running a virtual Windows XP machine. alter display settings. When you run an
kind of hardware that might be running it. application in compatibility mode, you’re
Those developers couldn’t anticipate that SCOUR FOR UPDATES telling your current version of Windows
later versions of Windows, from Win 2000 If a game installs on your PC but won’t run, to lie to that application, and it does so by
onward, would only emulate DOS, rather first check online for official developer placing a layer of alternate code, known as
than running it natively, and that the code patches, and unofficial patches created a shim, between the application loader and
that installs and runs the game on DOS- by users who experienced similar issues. Windows. File paths are translated from
based operating systems would eventually Perhaps you’ll strike lucky with a game like new to old, so C:\Users\You\Documents
become gibberish to Windows 10. And they Vampire: The Masquerade—Redemption. becomes C:\Documents and Settings\You\
couldn’t have known—how could anyone?— First released in 2004, it’s long since been My Documents. It modifies the functions
what a monumental pain in the posterior regarded as a cult classic, but shipped of certain .dlls so the application returns
UAC would prove in later, more security- with more bugs than a mail order ant farm. the expected information. For example, the
conscious Windows iterations. Developer Troika was still releasing patches GetVersionEx function used to determine
Generally, then, programs don’t work for it five years later, and the community which version of Windows an application’s
on modern machines because those took it even further with an unofficial patch, working with would return data from the
modern machines are running a recent OS. which still receives updates in 2017. Try the shim, rather than the true [Link]’s
Hardware tends to play only an indirect role original disc, and you’ll have problems, but information. In other words, when the
in incompatibility. For example, because 32- with those two downloads, it runs perfectly application asks “Which version of Windows
bit systems recognize only a 4GB maximum on Windows 10. is this?” compatibility mode steps in and
of memory, most of us run 64-bit operating Elsewhere, community modders have says “Windows XP, honest!” before your
systems to accommodate more RAM. But addressed issues pertaining to entire game actual OS has chance to blurt out “Windows
unlike 32-bit versions, 64-bit Windows engines, fixing a whole suite of titles in the 10,” and give the game away.
doesn’t include 16-bit emulation. That process. Black Isle’s Infinity Engine hosted In reality, setting the right compatibility
means it can’t fool a Windows 95 application many of role-playing’s all-time greats, mode options can often be part of the
that’s searching for recognizable libraries such as Baldur’s Gate I and II, Icewind Dale, solution, but it’s rarely your one-stop

1996’s Tomb Raider was among the first

games to need a discrete graphics card,
so it’s hard to run in a virtual environment.

38 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

shop. As a rule of thumb, it’s best to start
You pay more for “retro PCs”
by selecting the predominant OS at the
than for old beige boxes people
time the game was released (Windows 98
don’t know what to do with.
for Half-Life, let’s say), and running as an
Administrator. This helps the application do
what it needs to without Windows stepping
in and halting it at an unexpected juncture.
From there, you can experiment with 256
colors and 640x480 resolution limiting, but
it’s often best to move on and look for other
solutions, rather than troubleshooting
exclusively in the compatibility tab.

DOS AND DON’TS

Paradoxically, the further back you go with
PC games, the easier it becomes to run
them on modern machinery. That’s in large
part thanks to DOSBox, which emulates
an Intel x86-based system, complete with
graphics and sound cards, mouse support,
and a modem. DOSBox should be the first
port of call when running any pre-Windows
DOING IT THE HARD WAY
XP game, which means it opens up about 20 Depending on your only one thing for it: a retro for “Windows 98 PC,”
years of gaming, from the Commander Keen motivation for coaxing gaming PC build. for example, you’ll find
days to late-nineties gems designed for an old game back into A word of warning, listings for near-identical
DOS-based Windows. Since it’s effectively operation, simply getting though: This can be costly machines that don’t carry
a virtual machine, and you probably don’t it up and running on your if you’re not smart about a premium for their trendy
have a floppy disk drive in your machine, current machine might not it. Perhaps it’s not a big vintage appeal.
you need disk image files of the games satisfy. A 4K HDR display surprise that giant beige It is worth buying
you want to play. DOS games are generally might do wonders for boxes with Pentium IIs and entire PCs in one package,
considered abandonware now, so although your Steam library, but it Voodoo 2s are a thriving though, rather than trying
it isn’t legal to download them, it isn’t likely only serves to highlight cottage industry on to source everything
to get you into trouble (see “Abandonware, the shortcomings of a eBay—everyone has one component by component.
all ye who enter” over the page). game designed to run in their attic or garage, Unless you’ve been reading
DOSBox works by mounting a virtual C at 640x480. And there’s and for some people, up on motherboard/CPU/
drive created by the user, then navigating something a bit strange the only way to enjoy old RAM/GPU compatibility of
around using command prompts. For about playing Quake games is in situ. But their yesteryear in your spare
example, C:\DOSGAMES becomes your with an RGB mechanical appetite for tobacco- time, it can be a nightmare
DOSBox’s virtual root drive with the keyboard and a wireless yellowed Dell keyboards to find parts that play nice
command line “mount c c:\dosgames.” mouse, when all’s said and has driven prices well with each other, or even
For convenience’s sake, it’s worth keeping done. When you feel that beyond what one might function at all. Lastly, if
all your DOS game image files within this the modern technology reasonably expect, so avoid you’re buying a CRT screen,
directory, each in individual folders. The ensconcing your old searching specifically for look for photos of it in
“cd” command changes directory, which software is detracting from “retro gaming PC” items. operation to check it hasn’t
means you can type “cd [game name folder]” the experience, there’s If you instead search demagnetized over time.
to navigate to your chosen game, then type

Unfinished business Rogue Spear is in an awkward

on the last level? time bracket: too old for Win 10,
DOSBox makes games too new for DOSBox. Still, there
from the Commander are ways to coax it alive again.
Keen era easy to run.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 39

resurrect your gaming classics

Sid Meier probably isn’t going to

turn up irate at your door when
you download Civilization I.

ABANDONWARE, This is a copyright infringement notice.

Get clued in on abandonware rules to avoid

ALL YE WHO ENTER seeing one in the flesh.

Before even beginning to owner no longer supplies technically within your the executable name to run it. Of all the
wrestle it into working, the it for legal purchase or rights to download a methods available, DOSBox is one of the
act of acquiring an old PC supports it, it “abandons” cracked version online. But easiest and most reliable, and only requires
game can be tricky in itself. copyright enforcement. It’s since it can’t be purchased a few command lines to get things up and
Physical media drives are safe to assume Activision new elsewhere anymore, running. Its limitations make themselves
an increasingly rare sight doesn’t have a legal team the copyright holder is apparent when running 3D games that were
on modern machines, and pursuing all those who unlikely to penalize you. considered demanding at the time, such
there’s every chance you download ISOs of its 1998 If the company that holds as Tomb Raider, Quake, or Carmageddon.
threw all your old games shooter SiN, for example, the copyright no longer DOSBox runs these using its own software
out years ago. It might but that doesn’t mean exists, you’re on even safer renderer, so for more advanced graphics,
be tempting to hunt for it’s legal to do so. Real- ground, and if the original you need to seek out a 3DFX/Glide emulator
a disc ISO file of some world example: Since software was distributed designed for use in DOSBox. Some custom
forgotten treasure on an Microsoft officially stopped under a shareware license builds of the program, such as DOSBox SVM
abandonware site, but supporting Windows XP in (like the first third of Daum, come with Direct3D, Glide, and other
before you do, it’s worth 2014, numerous sites have Doom), well, the feds advanced features baked in, so are the
knowing the legality of offered it for free, and none probably aren’t tailing you best bet for running later DOS games that
those actions, and what the has faced legal action. day and night and preparing made use of graphics cards. Ah, the Voodoo
term abandonware means. So, if you own a to haul you off to San days—brings a tear to the eye. And just to
Essentially, the term physical copy of a certain Quentin. Shareware is fine. hammer the point home, don’t rule out
defines a legal no-man’s- abandonware game, but The important thing is to DOSBox if you’re trying to run a game that
land in which a product’s no longer have a CD- check whether something was released for Win 95 or Win 98—they
copyright might not have ROM drive with which to really is abandonware were DOS-based OSes, after all.
expired, but since its install it, you’re still not before downloading.
VIRTUAL INSANITY
If you want to take this vintage gaming thing
They really were the salad to a greater extreme, it’s time to consider
days, weren’t they? running a virtual machine with an older OS
installed. Broadly, this isn’t too different an
approach from running DOSBox, but if you
find yourself playing a lot of games from
that awkward post-DOS, pre-Win 7 era, it
might end up being more convenient. Plus,
there’s the heady nostalgia hit of seeing the
old OS’s desktop, and enjoying all the sound
effects—remember when performing
almost any action on a PC came with its own
bespoke sound effect?
VirtualBox is the go-to application
for this. It’s relatively easy to install
even dusty old Windows 3.1 on a virtual
machine, complete with the required

40 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

 Tekken 2: Best on the console
it was intended for, however
possible it may be to run on PC.

Classics like Doom don’t need much to get

running, thanks to Steam and community
CONSOLE YOURSELF
patches. Mouse support—what a treat!
(ACTUALLY, DON’T)
virtual hardware, although you either need Creating an artificial impressive, and there’s is not. There haven’t been
an install disc and product key for the OS, or software environment in a subversive thrill in many legal cases, but
a disk image. Once again, we’re in the murky which a program’s tricked seeing another platform when Sony tried to sue
waters of abandonware here, but you can into running successfully holder’s ident appearing two PS1 emulators in the
find Windows XP and older versions for free is one way to describe the on a PC monitor. The key 1990s, an uneasy accord
online, and Microsoft hasn’t pursued any resurrection of old PC difference between using was established: As an
legal action against their distribution. games. It’s also one way to old PC games on a new emulator doesn’t re-use
It’s certainly preferable to be greeted describe console emulation PC and using old console code, it’s not illegal. The
by a familiar old interface when booting up on PC, which has a history games on a new PC is that games, however, are.
games than it is to deal with DOSBox’s black as long as it is illegal. you’re breaking two sets The legality gets
and white prompt windows, but VirtualBox Its origins date back of copyright laws when trickier when considering
does have something of an Achilles heel: to 1990, when programs you do the latter. Consoles discontinued platforms.
3D graphics support. Its native support such as Family Computer are closed platforms, and Arguably, since the Sega
is “experimental” (read: doesn’t really Emulator v0.35 allowed their games are licensed Saturn was discontinued
work with games), and its developers have a handful of NES games strictly for use on that very long ago, it can be
long maintained that if the community to run on PC. Since then, specific hardware. What considered abandonware
wants 3DFX/Glide virtualization, it’s up to almost every console constitutes a PC is open to (along with its software
them to open-source it. Some members has been emulated on interpretation, when you library). But what if the
of that community have done exactly PC, and even Nintendo’s factor in the Raspberry Pi, platform comes back to
that (VirtualBox refers to this as Guest DS, with its unique Steam OS machines, office life, as with Nintendo’s
Addition content), but it’s not a simple task control options, joined workstations, and quad- SNES Mini? Steer clear, and
to install it, particularly when working in the ranks. As technical SLI gaming rigs. What concentrate on PC gaming’s
older operating systems. Having installed accomplishments, they’re constitutes a PlayStation 4 voluminous library instead.
your OS via disc or image, restart in safe
mode with networking, navigate to the
Guest Additions file on VirtualBox’s site, it might do the trick. This is overkill for the countless driver issues and ACPI conflicts.
then unzip and install it. Sounds simple, vast majority of troublesome retro games, You will have to spend hours getting it to
but if you’re on Win 95, there are many because it’s a complicated task that risks recognize your graphics card. But for some,
compatibility hurdles to overcome when data loss if performed incorrectly. But if the satisfaction of achieving a resolution
using an unzipper program or downloading you really want those old Win 98 themes beyond 640x480 when those issues are
the file. Even when successfully installed, and your favorite games, create a partition resolved is reward in itself.
3D acceleration can be prone to crashing on your chosen disk, and mark it as active Summoning the gaming greats of yore
in VirtualBox, and has major performance by navigating to the “Boot” tab in Windows can be a knotty problem, then, and there
issues that will impact your enjoyment System Configuration, highlighting the are many ways to untangle those knots. If
of the game. If you had your heart set on desired partition, and selecting “Set as the game in question falls under the DOS
experiencing old games through a trusty default.” Then reboot and use an old OS era, DOSBox should be the first port of call;
old OS, though, there is another way. disk to install it to the partition; [Link] if it doesn’t, try searching for patches and
info has a clear step-by-step guide on how fan fixes. Next, try compatibility mode. And
PARTITION LIKE IT’S 1999 to do this. Beware, though: Windows 98 if all else fails, well, your parents might still
Yep—partitioning your storage drive and and older won’t have a clue what to make have that hearing-aid-beige Packard Bell
installing an older operating system on to of your modern hardware. You will have tower in the attic.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 41

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the supply of power

44 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

Everything you
need to know
about your PSU,
and some things
you probably didn’t
YOUR RIG DRAWS every watt and volt it uses from one
power supply unit (probably). All being well, it will sit
quietly in a corner of your case and keep the magic
happening. There are only three reasons to buy a
new one: your existing one has gone bang or started
to smell funny; you are about to embark on serious
upgrading; or you’re building a new rig from scratch.
Its job may be vital, but the PSU is often left until
last on a component list, using the remaining budget
after you’ve picked out the good stuff. A power supply
is a power supply—as long as it’s big enough, you just
plug it in, and it works, right?
There’s a bit more to it than that. A good one
lasts a long time, stays cool, and enables future
expansion and stable overclocking. Get it wrong, and
you’ll be back ordering another, and possibly other
components, too, because when a PSU goes bang, it
can take other parts along with it.
The current standard for PSUs is ATX, which
surfaced in 1996, replacing the ancient AT. The latest
iteration is ATX 2.31, dating from 2008, which shows
how leisurely the development of PSU standards
is. That’s not to say PSUs aren’t evolving; the huge
appetite for power of the graphics sub-system, and
the world of overclocking, has put great demands on
the PSU. The latest ones are adding digital control
circuits; you can even get ones with Bluetooth, so you
can run them from a phone app. So, how many watts
do you really need? And why do prices vary so much?

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 45

the supply of power

THE ELECTRICITY FROM your wall outlet is

completely wrong for your PC. It delivers a
120V 60Hz alternating current (technically
it is 120V +/-5 percent; the median value
is actually 117V). This is great for chunky
electric motors or making toast, but inimical
for the delicate circuit boards inside your
PC—nothing can use this unmodified, it’s
way too powerful, and everything wants a
direct current instead. The PSU’s one and The 6+2 PCIe 12V power connectors. These With modular cabling, you only install
only job is to transform this supply into feed the appetites of GPUs. If your PSU has the cable you need. Better PSUs are fully
tech-friendly low-voltage DC varieties. The two of these, and two six-pin versions, it modular, mid-range ones are often partly
original IBM PC’s power supply delivered was designed to run two graphics cards. so; both reduce the colored spaghetti look.
63.5W—things are a little more taxing now.
A PSU is an SMPS—a switched mode proudly boast of Japanese 105 C rated lower a DC current. They are multiphase
power supply. It switches from full power electrolytic capacitors, the ones to look for. synchronous buck converters. Note the
to none and back quickly. The voltage is Good capacitors are expensive, and this is term “multiphase.” Each phase means
regulated by adjusting the switching ratio one area where budget PSUs cut corners. adding a set of transistors, which increases
between full-on and off. The idea has been A PC requires its juice in three strengths: the stability of the output, reducing ripple
around since the 1830s, but it took modern 12V, 5V, and 3.3V. The main 12V is used for (we’ll get to that). More phases doesn’t
transistors to put them into everyday the processor and PCIe cards, as well as mean more power—that depends on the
consumer electronics. An SMPS is smaller, fans, drive motors, and anything else that amperage rating of the transistors. More is
lighter, and more efficient than plain old needs a decent amount of power. The 5V definitely better, though.
linear designs, which waste excess power supply is used for drive controllers, parts of
as heat. Old-timers may remember when the motherboard chipset, including the BIOS RAIL REALITIES
transformers were heavy bricks; no longer. and CMOS, and other sub-systems—USB, To supply the main voltages, the PSU has a
The main drawback is that the switching PCIe control circuitry, and such. The 3.3V number of rails. A rail is a separate line of
introduces high-amplitude, high-frequency rail typically runs your RAM, some graphics connections, which has a set monitored and
interference, which needs to be filtered out. card functions, and other control circuitry. limited output, to avoid excessive heating
There are eight main stages in a The majority of the power requirement of and dangerous loads. There are 12V, 5V,
switched power supply. These are: input your PC falls on the 12V supply, and it’s this and 3.3V rails, plus a small 5V standby rail,
filtering, primary bridge rectifier, primary that needs the most attention. and a now virtually unused -12V rail kept for
capacitors, primary switching transistors, The motherboard also has a number compatibility. 2003’s ATX 2.0 spec calls for
transformers, secondary rectifiers, of VRMs—voltage regulation modules— two 12V rails: one for the processor, and
output filtering, and finally feedback and to supply the more delicate components. one for everything else. Originally, these
protection circuits. The bridge rectifier is The processor has its own 12V supply, were rated at 20A each. This is equivalent to
an arrangement of four diodes that only for example, but you couldn’t send that 240W (watts = amps x volts).
allows electricity to pass one way, thus the through any processor made since the Generally, a single 12V source was split
sine wave of an AC current is turned into a 1970s. VRMs use switching transistors to into two rails, with the lower voltage rails
saw-toothed DC one. This is then switched
on and off very quickly, and fed into the main
transformers to be stepped down to the
required voltage. And, yes, we have skirted
“A PC wants a steady voltage,
around some of these stages, because,
quite frankly, you don’t need to know, and it
but transforming and rectifying
may involve diagrams.
What every component in a PC really
wants is a steady voltage, but all the business
adds noise to the signal.”
of transforming and rectifying adds noise to
the signal. Enter the capacitors. These are
passive devices used in PSUs to smooth out
the ruffles in a current. They are rapidly
charged and discharged, but as they resist
rapid changes in voltage, the peaks and
lows of the signal are never reached. This
turns a jagged signal into a much smoother
one. You’ll find them both on the primary
side of the PSU, dealing with the incoming
AC current, and on the secondary side,
smoothing the DC current from the rectifier.
The Japanese have something of a
reputation here. Years of extremely high
production standards, purity of materials, The $450 EVGA SuperNOVA: 1,600W of Corsair’s flagship AXi PSUs were the first
and quality control have given them an power—far too much, of course. Unless to use digital control circuits, enabling
enviable reputation. Many spec sheets you really do want four graphics cards. you to remotely monitor and control them.

46 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

 configured as one big rail, or multiple lower
amperage ones. A neat solution.
And now back to those ripples. These
are tiny, rapid fluctuations in the voltage.
They are a consequence of the AC to DC
conversion, a harmonic distortion at the
switching frequency, and are expressed
as a deviation in mV (millivolts). The ATX
specifications lay down allowable levels:
CoolerMaster makes much of its fans, 120mV on the 12V supply, and 50mV on
as you might expect. This compact V650 the others. Excessive ripple can cause
comes in at about $180. Poky enough for a damage to hardware. Fortunately, not
very demanding single graphics card box. the burning and smoking kind, but it does
stress electrolytic capacitors in particular,
WHEN IS
running off the 12V supply, using VRMs to
drop the voltage. Building fully independent
lowering their lifetimes.
Good ripple suppression means better 200W
rails is expensive. A few specialist PSUs
boast “real” multiple rails—however,
overclocking potential. Faster clock speeds
mean less time for the VRM to reach the ACTUALLY
almost all actually run one and split the
output. The high demands of graphics
cards, all of which fell on a single rail, soon
required voltage; a ripple at the wrong
moment of a clock cycle can mean it never
reaches the required operating voltage, and
250W?
caused problems, and the power demands it becomes “unstable.” If you are intent on A 500W PSU uses 500W of power at
hit the buffers of the ATX specifications. some serious overclocking, look for a PSU full load, right? Nope, the work the
PSUs started to split out more rails to cope. with good ripple suppression on the 12V PSU does in transforming, rectifying,
These were configured (or should have rail. A lot of progress has been made here and smoothing has its cost, in heat
been; there were some early failures) to recently, and high-end PSUs can manage principally. This efficiency is expressed
spread the power-hungry PCIe loads. Each down to 30mV; the very best boast 10mV. as a percentage. If your rig draws 200W,
rail’s power rating is its limit before circuit a typical 80 percent efficiency PSU
protectors cut in. It does not mean the PSU FAILURE FACTS draws 250W from the wall to do it. The
can supply that level of power across all Decent PSUs are reliable, but like efficiency is not constant—running
the rails; there’s still a maximum 12V it can everything, they don’t last for ever. The flat out or at very low levels is more
deliver, which may be lower. In 2007, ATX 2.3 main reason for PSU failure is the fan. inefficient. The sweet spot is at a load of
finally dropped the 20A limit, one which was If this goes, your PSU rapidly overheats 40–60 percent. A good quality PSU tends
increasingly being breached. under load. A good PSU has a good fan—it to have a flatter efficiency curve.
Enter the one big 12V rail design. Gamers should be as good as or better than your In the early days, efficiencies were
have traditionally liked these—you don’t processor cooler and case fans. There’s no low; ATX 2.01 only required 60 percent
have to worry about spreading loads. Just point in a PSU with a life of 100,000 hours at a 20 percent load. To improve things,
connect everything, and let the hardware being cooled by a sleeve-bearing fan with a the 80 Plus program was launched by
draw what it needs from a common pool. life of 50,000. Single-fan PSUs always have the American Council for an Energy-
Job done. Splitting down is inherently safer, an exhaust fan, sucking air from inside the Efficient Economy in 2004. To earn the
though—if a part fails on a single rail PSU, case, across the PSU’s heatsinks, and out logo, a PSU must be a minimum of 80
it can potentially get a huge amount of the case. Look for designs that can run percent efficient at loads of 20 percent,
power sent through it, a hefty shock, and without a fan at low loads, known as Eco 50 percent, and 100 percent. Further
possibly a fire. The single rail design is in mode. Some don’t need the fan until loads standards followed: 80 Plus Bronze
favor these days, especially for enthusiast hit 40 percent—well above idle. takes us to 85 percent efficiency at 50
rigs, although the server room boys still Capacitors have a limited lifespan, too, percent loads, and 82 percent at 20
like their safer multiple rail designs. Some which is affected by how hot they get. They and 100 percent loads. Silver added 3
PSUs offer both, with the ability to be can leak, which gets nasty. At this point, percent and Gold another 2 percent. As
we approach 100 percent, it is harder to
engineer. In 2009, the first Platinum PSU
appeared, pushing efficiencies to 90,
92, and 89 percent. The highest current
rating is Titanium—it appeared in 2012,
and manages 92, 94, and 90 percent.
Efficiency costs. You need more and
better quality components. Electricity
costs, too. If your rig is on for long
periods, some calculations may be
required to pick the most cost-effective
PSU. A 500W Gold PSU over a Bronze
may cost an extra $50, but only earns
an extra 5 percent in efficiency, which
Of course, there are LEDs. Thermaltake’s A basic $30 PSU, here from EVGA. This still may take years to get back in savings.
$120 850W Toughpower Grand boasts a 14 delivers 400W in total, with 360W through However, high efficiency also gives a
RGB LED fan—plus some decent specs. a single 30A 12V rail. good indication of build quality.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 47

the supply of power

you may get some capacitor squeal—this any connectors you don’t require are left
is gas venting through a pinhole in the dangling about inside, and you may have to
casing, making a whistle. If you can hear start using adapters and splitters to get
this, failure is imminent. Less worrying, everything powered.
and more likely as a source of an annoying
sound, is coil whine. This is when induction MODULAR MERITS
coils start to vibrate under load; this varies Better PSUs now have either
in pitch and intensity with the current. If a partly or completely modular
these coils are inside your PSU, there is not cable system. The PSU has blocks
a lot you can do. They may “bed in” after a of sockets, and it comes with a
while; they may not. A good PSU will have set of separate cables, often snazzy
tested and damped its coils properly. rounded, flattened, or braided ones.
It may be tempting to use an old ATX You only need to install the cables you
power supply you happen to have hanging need. This looks good, improves airflow
around, doing nothing, in a new system—not and is much neater.
recommended. It may technically fall within PSUs only draw the power they are
ATX specifications, but these are pretty asked for, so over-specifying won’t cost you,
loose, and a lot has changed in the last other than the initial outlay. The chances of
few years, particularly the distribution of you putting too much strain on the 5V and
power requirements, which has moved off 3.3V rails is next to none. These components
the 5V and 3.3V rails and on to the 12V simply don’t draw much power, and any
one. A perfectly good, but old, ATX supply decent PSU allows more than enough. It’s
makes a poor partner for modern rigs. If it the 12V side you need to match with your
It’s usually not as many as you think. still has a 20A 12V rail, for example, you’ll hardware. So, where is the 12V power
A decent single graphics card gaming struggle if you load the PCIe system. going? There are two devices that soak
rig is happy with 500–600W. Put very Power is delivered to your system this up, and the culprits are the processor
roughly, a nicely specced modern rig through a set of cables with standardized and the graphics card. Compared to these,
with multiple drives needs 200–250W at connectors for each job. The wires are everything else is a lightweight.
most, plus the CPU and graphics card. color-coded (or used to be; it appears to be Processors have a TDP figure, expressed
We did consider offering a quick list going out of fashion): The +12V power line in watts. This is the thermal design power,
of what uses what—a 10TB hard drive, is yellow, the +5V is red, and the +3.3V is and is the maximum heat a processor
for example, needs 7–10W—but the list orange. Time was a PSU came with a mess generates under a heavy load. It can be
would be too long, and there are online of cables dangling from it, each hardwired exceeded in certain conditions, and isn’t the
calculators that can do this for you. with a connector. This is unruly, because same as electrical power consumption—
OuterVision has a good one that includes
processor and GPU overclocking, plus
it shows potential savings obtained by
using higher efficiency ratings.
“If your budget has scope, go
Plan ahead. Are you ever going to
fit two graphics cards, or overclock?
for a better quality PSU in
preference to a bigger one.”
Specify for the most extreme your rig
is ever going to get—you do not want to
buy twice. Given the graphics system
is where the pressure is, look for
recommendations from graphics card
manufacturers. For example, an Nvidia
GTX 1080 Ti or GTX Titan asks for 600W,
and 850W if you double up. Drop to a GTX
1060, and 450W will cover things.
AMD cards are more demanding—the
Vega 64 is notoriously power-hungry. A
single Vega 64 wants 600W, but a dual
rig asks for 1,100W. The most extreme
recommendations include a dual Vega
64 Liquid Edition or quad GTX Titan;
these want 1,350W. A four-card Radeon
R9 Fury X tops this at 1,600W. Yowsers.
If you plan to overclock, another 50–
100W should cover things, but you need
a good clean current, so go high quality.
There is no ideal value. It just needs to
be enough to run everything without
stressing the PSU—an extra 100W over
won’t hurt; much more means paying for
something you’ll never use. Some nice Japanese electrolytic capacitors help to smooth out the current.

48 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

 1 INPUT FILTERING
Switching introduces considerable
interference, which you don’t want
getting out into the mains supply.

3 2 BRIDGE RECTIFIER
1 An arrangement of four diodes that
2 converts the AC current into a DC one,
although a rather ragged one.
6
3 PRIMARY CAPACITORS
These smooth out the saw-toothed
5 unregulated signal from the rectifier.
The better quality these are, the
4 smoother and more reliable the signal.
8 9
4 SWITCHING TRANSISTORS
This switches power on and off at
7 very high frequencies—about 25kHz.
By adjusting the relative proportions,
you can modify the output levels, so
the PSU can deliver only the level of
power required.

5 MAIN TRANSFORMER
Two induction coils on a ceramic ferrite
core. These step down the input into
usable voltages. It also isolates the
mains power from your PC’s insides.
Its main job is making a 12V supply;
there may be a “tap” for 5V, too.

6 +5VSB TRANSFORMER
This provides the standby power.
however, it is a pretty good indication of to 300W. This pretty much matches the rest It is always active, even when
what you will need. For example, a Ryzen of the system, including processor, added the PSU is “off.”
1700X has a TDP of 95W. Under very heavy together. Some cards are going beyond the
test loads, it actually needs feeding about PCIe 3.0 specifications by using two eight- 7 SWITCHING REGULATORS
105W. An i7-6900K has a high TDP of 140W, pin PCIe connectors, for a maximum of More transistors and diodes working as
and needs about 148W at its absolute worst. 375W. PCIe 4.0 is expected to standardize switching regulators on the DC current,
These figures are enough to run the rest of this, or something similar, shortly. rectifying and filtering the current.
the system put together. The most extreme The novice mistake is to spend your
desktop chip is AMD’s Threadripper, which budget on a big wattage supply that you 8 SECONDARY CAPACITORS
has a TDP of 180W. don’t really need. One matched to your Also used to smooth out signals, this
The processor isn’t the big one, though— components, with a moderate amount of time on the regulated DC current, ready
that’s the graphic card. The technology has breathing room, is enough. If your budget to go outside the box to the case.
really bloomed over the last few years, but has scope, go for a better quality PSU in
so has power consumption. Originally, the preference to a bigger one. Look for better 9 TOROIDAL COILS
PCIe slot was enough; it carries 75W, taken ripple suppression, high-quality capacitors, An inductor made by wrapping wires
from the motherboard’s 12V feed. This was fan and energy efficiency, sophisticated around a donut-shaped ferrite core.
soon supplemented by a six-pin PCIe power circuit protection, and such, rather than The magnetic field generated by the
connector, which added more 12V just getting the biggest headline number current through the wire induces
power lines direct from the PSU, and 75W. of watts. It’s about supplying the power a current in opposition. This resistance
A second six or eight-pin connector added reliably, efficiently, and smoothly for the helps smooth out interference. There
up to another 75 or 150W, bringing our total whole life of your rig. Get it right, and you is quite a bit of this inside a PSU, and
to a potential draw from one graphics card won’t be buying another for some time. hence several of these in various sizes.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 49

 Aorus X9 Laptop
LET’S BE HONEST, this laptop is a lot X9 is currently one of the world’s better
of dollar. No, seriously: 3,650 of the specced slimline-yet-powerful gaming
smackers straight from your wallet and laptops, featuring dual GTX 1070s in SLI,
into a not-so-portable 17-inch, RGB-lit, a quad-core Intel Core i7-7820HK CPU,
behemoth of death. That aside, there’s 32GB of DDR4, and a whole bank of PCIe
good reason for the high price tag, and solid-state storage to boot. But the big
Gigabyte’s Aorus has certainly garnered sellers reside with the screen and the
a reputation recently for being quite keyboard (see below). Available with
the premium brand around the gaming either an IPS 4K panel or a 1440p 120Hz
sphere. Aorus is to Gigabyte as Shelby is VA panel, it’s entirely your choice as to
to Ford. Well, maybe that’s being a touch whether you want a faster refresh rate
too generous, but you get the gist. The or crisper visuals. –ZAK STOREY

1 Mech Heaven
The beauty of the X9’s design
stems from its mechanical keyboard.
With slim manufactured switches, these
genuinely feel like the real deal.
Impressively, Gigabyte has incorporated
this without shifting the hardware
around, or affecting the overall size of
the device.

50 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

 2 Screen
Mastery
It’s up to you what screen you
play with on the X9. You can
either go for a more color-
accurate IPS 4K 60Hz affair, or,
if you like your games buttery
smooth and vibrant, a 1440p
120Hz VA panel is available
instead. However, there’s no
sign of any form of sync here.

3 Subtle Lights
OK, so you can tell this
is a gaming laptop. Whether it’s
the hawk head on the trackpad,
the sports car style air vents,
or the angular design of the
body, there’s little about this
that says sophisticated. That
said, the included RGB lighting
is actually quite subtle. And
we’ve gotta say, we like it.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 51

 examining technology and putting it to use
R&D

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDES TO IMPROVING YOUR PC

TIP OF THE MONTH

ZAK STOREY
DEPUTY EDITOR

A NEW DESK
I love custom desks. I’m not talking
about crazy liquid-cooled gargantuan
super-desks, but something a little
more standard, yet still unique to me.
My current setup is a cheap and simple
reclaimed wood affair. Basically, I
grabbed a ton of free pallets from my
local wood recycling center, stripped
SHUTDOWN TIMERS and sanded them down, slapped them
across five feet of 2x4, distressed
Ever needed to run your rig for a specific length of time? If, like them a little, painted them white at the
us, your download ETAs run late into the night, sometimes it’s request of the wife-to-be, and then
sat them on top of two Ikea trestle
easier to run a shutdown timer to get the job done. There’s a ton legs, with a reinforced glass top. It
of free programs that do this, but we find good old command looks lovely, but a little haphazard.
Different pallets meant different-
prompt does the job best. Open a command prompt, and type height planks on top, and although the
“shutdown -s -t XXXX” where the Xs are the time in seconds glass alleviates the effect somewhat,
it’s starting to niggle at me, especially
that you want your system to wait before shutting down. after a year and a half of use. So, then:
new year, new desk, new build…. And
screens. Oh god!
The biggest expense with the old

MAKE – USE – CREATE desk was the glass top; this time, I’m
going to invest my money in better
quality wood, legs, and a few creature
comforts instead, in an effort to
make something that feels far more
premium than the last one.
I’d love to include one of Ikea’s
integrated wireless chargers, and
get some smart cable management
in as well. Warm LED backlighting is
a must, and with my plans to invest in
56 62 66 two 32-inch 4K screens from the likes
Make a secret kill Create artistic blur Discover how of ViewSonic, a dual monitor arm is
switch for your Pi in Photoshop and we invigorated a needed too. There’s a lot to it. I’m no
in case of attack bring images to life decrepit editorial PC carpenter, but I’m quite positive this
shouldn’t be too difficult to pull off….

↘ submit your How To project idea to: comments@[Link]

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 53
R&D

presents:

THIS MONTH WE DISSECT...

Apple iPhone X

Once you’re properly inside,

there’s not much to see beyond
a whole lot of battery.

About iFixit
iFixit is a global community of
tinkerers dedicated to helping
people fix things through free
online repair manuals and
teardowns. iFixit believes that
ever yone has the right to maintain
and repair their own products. To
learn more, visit www.ifi[Link].

54 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

 BACKGROUND
Ten years ago, Apple introduced the first iPhone. Now we’re
taking apart the 18th iteration—the iPhone X. With its rounded
edges and edge-to-edge display, we’re sure this is the iPhone
Steve imagined all those years ago—but now that his dream is
realized, will it be as influential as the first? Time will tell….

MAJOR TECH SPECS

• A11 “Bionic” chip with neural engine and embedded M11
motion coprocessor
The iPhone X has arrived!
Here’s the fillin’ inside that • 5.8-inch OLED multitouch 2436x1125 (458 ppi) Super Retina
glass sandwich. HD display
• Dual 12MP cameras (wide-angle and telephoto), with f/1.8
and f/2.4 apertures, and OIS
• 7MP TrueDepth camera with f/2.2 aperture, 1080p HD video
recording, and Face ID
• Support for fast-charge and Qi wireless charging
• Our A1865 global unit has broad cellular band support as
well as 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0, and NFC

KEY FINDINGS
• The iPhone has come a long way in 10 years—so long, that
the design has cycled back a bit, and this looks more like the
original than we’ve seen in a long time. As with the iPhone 8,
Apple has banished the unsightly (and environmentally
responsible) regulatory markings from the back.
• The pentalobe screws at the bottom look weirdly unfinished
—the bottom ones are more like pins. Luckily, they haven’t
rearranged too much else, as our typical trifecta of iOpener,
iSclack, and iFixit Opening Picks works, as in the past.
• Looks like sideways-opening iPhones are here to stay.
Inside, a single bracket covers every logic board connector—
we’ve never seen this kind of connector density. We’re faced
with tri-point screws standing sentry over any repairs once
you get past the pentalobe screws guarding the door.
Something tells us Apple doesn’t really want us tinkering.
• We finally free this most dense of logic boards to get a closer
Time to show off some
look—it is incredibly space efficient. Comparing the two
double tweezer action
boards, the iPhone X motherboard is about 70 percent of the
while removing the
size of the iPhone 8 Plus board—more space for battery.
lightning connector.
• The dual rear camera has a beefy bracket that looks like it
might offer some bendgate-proofing support for the delicate
components. The cameras are also secured to the rear case
with some foam adhesive to keep things from jostling out of
place. These cameras really need to stay put for Portrait
Mode and similar features to work their magic. Surrounding
the camera housing cover glass, you can see tiny spot welds,
likely holding the walls of the camera bump to the case.
• Repairability Score: 6 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair).
Display and battery repairs remain a priority. A cracked
display can be replaced without removing the biometric Face
ID hardware. Liberal use of screws is preferable to glue—but
you’ll need Apple-specific drivers (Pentalobe and tri-point),
in addition to a standard Phillips. Waterproofing complicates
some repairs, but makes difficult water damage repairs less
likely. Fussy cables tie unrelated components into complex
assemblies—expensive and troublesome to replace. Glass
on front and back doubles the likelihood of drop damage—
and if the back glass breaks, you’ll be removing every
component, and replacing the entire chassis.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 55

R&D

Make a Secret Kill

Switch for Your Pi
YOU’LL NEED THIS IF YOU’RE WORRIED about the somewhat Orwellian notion of a forced disclosure of passwords, this
coding project posits a rather radical solution to the dilemma: Create a second password for your
RASPBERRY PI user account, which, instead of logging you in, nukes your home folder using special tools.
Any model is suitable. As extreme as this sounds, it’s surprisingly simple to set up. A couple of disclaimers: Make sure
you back up your personal data to a safe place before going ahead with this project. Also, bear in
mind that it’s not an infallible method, because anyone with physical access to your machine may
seize it before you have a chance to flip this kill switch. –NATE DRAKE

A B

#Overwrite the /home folder with random data

#sfill /home
echo “Home folder has been overwritten”
#Clean RAM memory

1
#smem
CREATE YOUR NEW USER ACCOUNT echo “RAM is clean”
Although you probably already have a user account on your echo “User data has been nuked.”
Raspberry Pi, create a new one for this project by opening fi
Terminal on your Pi, or connecting via SSH, and running:
sudo adduser name exit 0

3
>> Add your new user as an Administrator with:
sudo adduser name sudo MODIFY THE SCRIPT
>> Substitute “name” with your chosen username [Image A]. In the code, you need to substitute “name” and

2
“nukepassword” for the username of your new
CREATE YOUR NUKE SCRIPT account and the desired nuke password. Make sure this is
You should stay logged into the “Pi” user for now, and run different from your current one. You also need to change
the following command: the line “srm -rvvv /home/name/” to reflect the path of
sudo nano /etc/security/[Link] your real home folder.
>> In the new window, enter the following [Image B]:
#!/bin/bash
read password HIDDEN EXTRAS
# If the username and password match... In addition to the “srm” command in the nuke script,
if [ “$PAM_USER” = “name” ] && [ “$password” = which securely erases the home folder, you may
“nukepassword” ] have noticed that there are two other commands:
then “sfill” and “smem.” Remove the # at the start of these
#Begin Nuke Process lines to overwrite the free space in the /home folder,
echo “Nuke is starting.” and clean any files in the Pi’s virtual memory (RAM)
#Securely erase the home folder respectively. This takes much longer than the “srm”
srm -rvvv /home/name/ command on its own, but is a good deal safer.
echo “Home folder has been erased.”

56 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

 E

C
6 MIGRATE YOUR DATA (OPTIONAL)
If you previously had personal data in another user
account, you should take this chance to move data
across from that account to another from your backup
drive. If you wish to delete the originals, do so using the
new secure-delete tools, for instance:
srm -r /home/bob/Pictures

7 TEST YOUR NEW ACCOUNT

Reboot your Raspberry Pi and log into your new
user account using the normal login password

4
[Image D]. Take a moment to check that your files are
RUN NUKE SCRIPT ON LOGIN where you need them.

8
Make your nuke script executable with the command:
sudo chmod a+x [Link] TEST YOUR NUKE SWITCH
>> Next, run If your data is backed up, there’s no harm checking
sudo nano /etc/pam.d/common-auth that your nuke password works. Reboot the
>> This opens the Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM). Find Raspberry Pi once again. Select your new username and
the line starting “auth [success=1…” and change this to “auth enter the nuke password. The system will hang while it
[success=2…” Immediately below this line, type the following: removes your files.

9
auth optional pam_exec.so expose_authtoklog=/tmp/[Link]
/etc/security/[Link] CHECK NUKE LOGS

5
You can still connect to the Pi via SSH while the
INSTALL SECURE DELETE TOOLS nuke script is running. Use the following command
Run the following command: to check the progress of the nuke:
sudo apt-get install secure-delete cat /tmp/[Link]
This installs the tools that are necessary to erase your home folder >> Any further attempts to log in just take the user back
securely [Image C]. to the login screen [Image E].

D
NUCLEAR DETERRENT
A nuke switch may appeal to your sense of
melodrama, but it’s likely that if an unscrupulous
person seizes your Pi, they will make a copy of the
contents of the SD card before trying to enter the
password. Ideally, you should encrypt your home
folder before using this script. Even if it does work,
the script cannot delete itself, so it will be obvious to
everyone that you have “gone nuclear.”

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 57

R&D

Harden Your
WordPress Security
YOU’LL NEED THIS A SELF-HOSTED WORDPRESS SITE —one not hosted on [Link] one of the easiest
ways to build and maintain an independent web presence, whether it’s a blog, online magazine, or
WORDPRESS even an ecommerce store. But one thing that’s often overlooked with WordPress is security.
INSTALLATION In this tutorial, we’re going to perform a security audit, and enact several additional layers of
In addition to the obvious. protection to “harden” your WordPress installation. Not only will you be surprised to learn how
vulnerable your WordPress-powered site has been up until now, but you’ll also be relieved to learn
FREE PLUGINS that, armed with the right settings and plugins, you can close most of its loopholes.
All referenced in the tutorial. There are plenty of other ways in which you can toughen your WordPress installation, too. First,
make sure everything—WordPress itself, and any plugins and themes you’ve installed—is fully up
SSL CERTIFICATE to date. Second, perform an audit of all the plugins you have installed: Search for reviews to check
Required to switch to they’re legit, make sure you only install through the WordPress website, and remove those you
HTTPS-only connections. don’t need or use to free up resources. Once that’s done, you’re ready to make your WordPress site
more resilient to hijackers and other malicious attacks. –NICK PEERS

A B

1 HARDEN LOGIN
Log in to WordPress, navigate to “Users > Your Profile,”
tab to make sure that your display name isn’t the same as
your username.

3
scroll down, and click “Generate Password” to create a strong
random password. Copy this somewhere safe (such as to your REDUCE BRUTE-FORCE ATTACKS
password manager), and click “Update Profile.” Return to the main dashboard and click “Login
>> Next, let’s set up two-factor authentication, which means Lockdown.” Start by checking the “Enable Login
that even if someone breaks your password, they can’t log in to Lockdown Feature.” This allows you to block specific IP
your account without your mobile device and a suitable app, such addresses when they attempt—and fail—to log in. You have
as Google Authenticator or LastPass Authenticator. Go to “Plugins control over the number of failed attempts, and the time in
> Add New,” and install Two-Factor Authentication from David which those attempts occur, plus how long the IP address
Nutbourne. Click “Activate,” click the plugins icon to enable it, then
scan the QR code into your mobile app [Image A]. C

2 INSTALL ALL-IN-ONE PLUGIN

Go back to “Plugins > Add New” to install All In One WP
Security & Firewall, a 100 percent free plugin from Tips
and Tricks HQ, which contains all the tools required to add multiple
layers of security to your account. Once activated, look for the
green shield icon in the left-hand pane, and click it. You’re whisked
to a dashboard with a handy Security Strength Meter. Chances are
its score is incredibly low [Image B].
>> Start by scrolling down to the Critical Feature Status. These
four switches need to be on, so click the first one, which allows
you to change your username from the unsafe default (“admin”) to
something more personal. Click the switch, then click “Edit User”
to change your username. Also, switch to the “Display Name”

58 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

 D F

is locked out. You can also instantly lock out attempts using invalid
usernames, although a safer bet may be to add “admin” to the
specific username list [Image C], now you’re no longer using it.
Click “Save Settings.” You can be notified by email whenever an IP
address is locked out, or just check the “Failed Login Records” tab.
6 SWITCH ON FIREWALL
Finally, click “Basic Firewall” to switch on the
firewall, but click the link allowing you to back up
your .htaccess file first—just to be on the safe side (this is
backed up to your web space, so you need to download it

4
using FTP or via your site host’s control panel). Review the
ELIMINATE BRUTE-FORCE ATTACKS other options, too—for example, blocking remote access to
Go further by restricting the opportunities for brute-force the debug log file still allows you to access it when logged
attacks. Select “Brute Force” under the WP Security icon, on through FTP. Also consider enabling the 6G Blacklist
where you’ll find several options for keeping hackers away from your Firewall Rules [Image E]. Note, if any plugins stop working,
site. Some can be potentially dangerous—”Rename Login Page” is either disable features or consider replacing them with
one such option, but so long as you remember the name you give similar plugins that do play nicely with your hardened blog.

7
your [Link] page, you won’t have any problems [Image D].
Other options include using cookies to block brute-force attempts, LIMIT USER ACCESS
and a “Login Whitelist” tab, where you can restrict access to specific If your blog is used by more than one person, make
IP addresses or ranges. If you’re tempted by this option, be sure sure you’re the only Administrator, and grant the
to check with your Internet provider that your public IP address is minimum level of access required to other users for them
static, or you’ll end up locking yourself out when it next changes. to do their jobs. WordPress supports a wide range of

5
user roles [Image F]—for those contributing to your blog,
MORE ESSENTIAL TWEAKS consider Author or Contributor to limit them to posting and
Click “File Permission” to review the current permission managing their own posts. For trusted users, Editor allows
settings of your WordPress installation files. Hopefully, them to manage other posts as well. Some plugins add
they’re correctly set to prevent outside interference, but if not, you additional levels—WooCommerce adds a Catalog Manager
can click “Set Recommended Permissions” next to any that require level, for example.
it. Also consider disabling PHP File Editing, if you don’t normally
edit these files.
>> Next, select “Scanner” to perform a check for file changes.
This is a benchmark scan, so no problems will be detected—going
forward, enable the automated file change detection scan to be
FORCE SECURE
alerted to any changes that could indicate the presence of malicious
activity. The “Malware Scan” tab merely redirects you to a paid-for
BROWSING
solution that provides a more robust scan for $6.95 a month. Protect yourself further by encrypting the connection to your
blog using the secure HTTPS protocol, insulating you against
E malicious scripts, protecting data submitted to your site by
visitors or customers, and improving search engine rankings.
You need an SSL certificate to encrypt the connection, and
this is done through the provider hosting your WordPress
blog. You can purchase an SSL certificate, but check to see if
your provider supports free certificates from Let’s Encrypt. If
it does, you can encrypt your website for free—note that Let’s
Encrypt certificates need renewing every three months.
Once set up—you may need to wait a few hours for DNS
servers to update—install the Easy HTTPS Redirection
plugin into your WordPress installation. Once installed and
activated, switch it on under “Settings > HTTPS Redirection.”
If you later get warnings about insecure content, install and
use the SSL Insecure Content Fixer plugin to resolve them.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 59

R&D

Make Perfect Rips

of Your CDs
YOU’LL NEED THIS OK, GRANDPA, it’s time to trash that dusty old CD collection, or at least consign it permanently to a
box in the garage, by shifting it all to a purely digital format. But if you’re going to go through your
AN OPTICAL DRIVE whole collection, it pays to do it right the first time, and that means ripping to a lossless format in
Most drives should work just a way that accurately replicates your discs. Once it’s there, you can do as you like with it; had you
fine—USB or internal. filled a hard drive with 128Kb/s MP3 files, you’d inevitably have to go through the whole task all over
again later on.
SEVERAL AUDIO CDS Our format: FLAC. Not only because it’s lossless and doesn’t introduce any compression
You need multiples to validate artefacts, but because a same-res rip is up to half the size of the PCM WAV files that raw CDs
your drive’s intricacies. carry. We’ll use Exact Audio Copy, which can both rip to FLAC and generate the relevant CUE files
to perfectly duplicate a CD. It can also compare your rips against a database of known good rips,
EXACT AUDIO COPY to ensure your captured sounds are 100 percent sound. Note that ripping CDs is neither explicitly
From [Link]. allowed nor disallowed by 1947’s copyright-defining Title 17 (funnily enough), but if you keep them
to yourself, you should be OK. –ALEX COX

A others online. This part’s a bit finicky—it asked us for three

subsequent “key discs” after the original, and summarily
rejected anything that may have been pressed more than
once. So, you might need to search the more obscure
corners of your collection to satisfy AccurateRip. It’s not
essential, but it’s worth doing.

3 FURTHER CONFIGURATION
With AccurateRip out of the way, EAC’s own drive
inspection can complete. Don’t panic if it looks as
though EAC has crashed at this point. It probably hasn’t;
give it a couple of minutes to complete. If it’s still spinning
its wheels after that, you have permission to panic. When
the results arrive, ideally you’re looking for caching to
be a “no,” accurate ripping to be a “yes,” and C2 error
information as “yes”—if these prerequisites aren’t met,
you can still rip, but your digital copies might not be as

1
accurate as they could be. Continue on through the wizard,
INSTALL IT and select FLAC when given the option of ripping formats,
Download Exact Audio Copy from [Link] insert an email address (literally any email address will do,
(making sure to choose the English-language version, rather it doesn’t have to be valid) to link EAC to the Freedb track
than the German default), and run the installer. Click through until metadata service, and set your track naming scheme.
you’re able to select which components to install, and deselect Leave EAC in beginner mode for now.
“GD3” [Image A], unless you’re OK with paying $8 for track
information that you can get for free from the other two services B
already built in to EAC. Finish clicking through the installer, then
run EAC when prompted.

2 WIZARDING WORLD
There’s a wizard to get through now, but it’s a good one—it
sets EAC up just about perfectly. First up: configuring your
optical devices. If you have more than one drive, you can select
which one to use for ripping, although we recommend allowing
EAC to configure both at this point. Different drives have different
characteristics, and one may turn out to be better than the other in
terms of stability and accuracy—given that an ultra-accurate rip is
our goal, the better your drive the better.
>> But wait: Configuring your drive involves inserting a disc, and
when you do, you’ll likely be interrupted by an alert [Image B] to set
up AccurateRip. This service calculates the specific offsets of your
drive’s laser, in order to compare the precision of your rips with

60 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

 D

4 TEST IT OUT
Before we rip our first disc, there’s a small amount
of additional configuration to do. Hop up to “EAC >
Compression Options,” and open the “External Compressor” tab.
FLAC should be set up by default; hit the “Test Compressor” button
6 CHECK, CHECK
There’s not much you can do but watch the bars
while the ripping process completes [Image D].
Don’t be concerned by the mention of .wav files at the top
of the ripping window, because EAC pulls these down
to ensure the FLAC encoder is properly installed and working, first before converting them to FLAC, and it does away
and to automatically set the appropriate value in the bitrate box. with them afterward. When everything’s complete, you’re
Note that this won’t affect your eventual rips, because they’ll shown your results, first from AccurateRip (if you’ve made
exactly match CD resolution. Next, head to [Link]/ it though the arduous testing process), and then from
EVHsFtWm and paste the parameters we’ve squirreled there into CueTools DB. Here you can discover just how well your rips
the “Additional command line options” box, to ensure that every file landed, and find out about any dropped frames or errors
is tagged properly with as much information as possible. encountered during the process. And that’s it, although if

5
you’re concerned about the discs more than the tracks on
LET HER RIP them, you may wish to try using the “CUE” button on the
Time to actually turn a CD into some FLAC files. Drop a left of the interface to generate a single massive .wav file
target disc into your drive, head back to the main interface, with an associated .cue that exactly replicates the contents
and check the button on the top bar that looks like a CD with a red and track spacing of the original CD.
plus button next to it. Click the drop-down button next to it, and
you’ll be able to select your metadata provider from one of two
Freedb sources (realistically, there’s nothing between them) and
CueTools DB. Select the latter for now, and click the button to drag
GOOGLE MUSIC
in a bunch of information about your disc, including the cover. If it’s
been released a number of times, you’ll want to select your specific
AND SPOTIFY
version here [Image C]. When your track information has populated, Good news: Google Music accepts FLAC files, as long
click the “CMP” button on the left of the interface to start ripping as your rips are broken up into tracks rather than in
your FLAC compressed files. one enormous file. Bad news: They’re converted to
MP3 as soon as they get there, and your source FLACs
C aren’t stored. It’s not the worst thing in the world,
as Google does keep perfectly listenable 320Kb/s
copies of your originals as long as the resultant file is
smaller than 300MB, but it’s not suitable for backup
if you’re concerned about staying lossless.
Spotify, which streams Ogg Vorbis files, doesn’t
play nice with FLAC. You need to double up and
convert your FLAC files to MP3 or Ogg Vorbis using
a tool such as FlacSquisher ([Link]
projects/flacsquisher) to add them to your library
locally, and the service is yet to make good supplying
its teased hi-fi streaming tier to all but a few select
testers. When it does, we expect local FLAC support
to roll in, too, but there’s nothing confirmed as yet.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 61

R&D

Create Artistic Blur

in Photoshop
YOU’LL NEED THIS PHOTOGRAPHERS SPEND A LOT OF TIME ensuring their pictures are sharp—thousands of dollars’
worth of autofocus system will help you out, but there’s slightly more to it than that, just as cranking
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP open your aperture may decrease your depth of field, but also introduce some softness to your
Subscribe to a suitable package subject, unless you’re using the latest lenses, which can be mind-blowingly expensive.
at [Link]. Blur is an aesthetic issue, and as such, is subjective. Where one person may see the beauty of
a small subject enhanced by a blurred background, others see a missed opportunity to show us
what’s there clearly. This is where post-processing comes in. Photoshop has many tools to add blur
to your images—some subtle, others less so—and even one to select areas of your image depending
on how sharp they are. You can get enormously artistic with them, creating a masterpiece of
blurred colors and details, or just ensure your subject pops out of a photo by blurring a distracting
background away. The choice is yours. –IAN EVENDEN

A for cell phone cameras whose depth of field capabilities

are limited by tiny sensors and short focal lengths, even
though some have pretty good light-gathering capabilities,
with lens apertures of f/1.8 or wider.

4 PIN POINTS
From the “Filter menu,” select “Blur Gallery,” then
“Field Blur.” This filter uses control points, or pins,
to differ the intensity of the blur in different areas of your
image. We’ve started at the top with a strong blur, then
lightened it as we proceeded down the side of our flower,
before strengthening it again at the bottom , but you can do
whatever suits your image best. Use the slider on the Blur

1
Tools palette to increase or decrease the intensity. You can
FIND YOUR FOCUS move your pins by dragging them with the mouse, or delete
Selecting the sharp parts of your image is achieved with the them by selecting one, and hitting Backspace.

5
Focus Area tool from the “Select” menu. This is a largely
automated tool, with just a couple sliders to fiddle with, and GET BUSY WITH THE BLUR
selectors to add and remove areas from the selection. Open your As we made a selection before applying the filter,
image file, and choose “Select > Focus Area.” It gives your CPU you can place a pin right on top of an area you want
fan a quick blast of speed, then settles down to show you the sharp to remain sharp, and as long as it’s outside the selected
areas of your image. You can choose how this is displayed from area, the blur has no effect—what does happen is that
the “View Mode” drop-down on the “Focus Area” pop-up window, the effects of that pin are felt in the area between it and
with the red of a Quick Mask or the checkerboard background of an
empty layer available, along with other options. B

2 IN A SNAP
The Add and Subtract tools to the left of the pop-up window
are for adding to or removing areas from your selection. We
left the two sliders on “Auto”—there’s a checkbox on the right of
them—and used “Add” and “Subtract” to fine-tune the selection
[Image A]. You can output the selection in a variety of ways, but we’ve
chosen the traditional selection with the marching ants outline. Hit
“OK.” You can then refine the selection further with “Select” and
“Mask,” perhaps softening the edge with a little feathering, or
turning on “Smart Radius” edge detection to snap the selection
more tightly to the edge of your subject [Image B].

3 GO POP-EYED
Invert your selection with “Select > Inverse,” and you now
have the unsharp areas selected. To make the sharp subject
pop out, we can blur the background as if we’d used a larger
aperture setting on the lens when we took the photo. This is useful

62 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

 D

C the next pin, anywhere that was selected. You can even
place a pin outside your image if needed, to draw the right
amount of blur across the corner of the photo. Hit “OK” at
the top when you’ve finished blurring, and a progress bar
appears while your blurring is rendered and finalized.

6 EYE-CATCHING EFFECTS
Another of Photoshop’s blur tools that’s worth
looking at is the Iris Blur, which is found in “Filter >
Blur Gallery,” just underneath “Field Blur.” It’s useful for
blurring the edges of an image, so attention is drawn to the
focal point or subject. In this way, the eye of the observer is
guided to where you want it to look, rather than catching on
some insignificant detail elsewhere.

7 ADD INTEREST WITH IRIS

Iris Blur places an oval over your image, and blurs
everything outside of it, plus a little inside, as
defined by a series of draggable spots. There’s only one
control slider, for the intensity of the blur, so it seems
THE ROLE OF PIXELS there’s not a great deal of depth to this tool—until you
discover that you can place more than one oval. These are
Pixels are, of course, the basic building blocks of any raster positioned using a pin system, just like Field Blur’s, each
display technology, but Photoshop uses them in a slightly with an oval surrounding it, which can be rotated, resized,
different way when it comes to blurring or sharpening your and repositioned as you like.

8
images. Tools such as Unsharp Mask measure the intensity
of their effect in pixels, because increasing the slider NATURAL BEAUTY
increases the distance the application looks for differences The outer ring of the oval marks the point at which
in contrast between pixels that may constitute an edge. the blur reaches 100 percent of its intensity, as set
Sharpening your image increases this contrast, and it in the Blur Tools palette [Image C]. The inner ring marks
becomes more obvious the greater the number of pixels that 0 percent, and there’s a smooth transition between the two.
are counted as edges. Blurring an image, on the other hand, This means you can have a sharp transition or a longer one,
evens out the contrast, and averages the pixels over a greater depending on the look you’re trying to achieve [Image D].
or lesser area, depending on how many pixels you have It’s easy to create something unrealistic here by using too
chosen to select via the slider. In brief, more pixels means much blur, or making the transitions between blurred and
more of an effect, no matter whether you’re sharpening your unblurred too sudden. To keep it natural, try combining
image or blurring it. both Iris and Field Blur, to gently soften the background of
a photo, while maintaining the sharpness of the subject.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 63

R&D

Stop Sites Tracking

Your Online Activity
YOU’LL NEED THIS MANY OF THE WEBSITES you visit are tracking you by placing small files, called “cookies,” on your
computer. This helps them gather information about your browsing habits, and target you with
WINDOWS 10 advertisements. Data collection tools (known as “trackers”) can be very intrusive. If you wanted a
You need the latest version of quote for life assurance, for instance, would you want an insurance website to know that you’d been
the OS, with Microsoft Edge. browsing books on Amazon about quitting smoking?
Luckily, a Microsoft Edge browser extension called Ghostery can help stop you being tracked
GHOSTERY online, blocking communications with such companies, while still enabling you to surf the web.
Grab this browser extension Better yet, it displays a handy purple list of companies that have tried to track you, as well as what
from [Link]. information they’re after. Install it today to make sure your web history stays private, and keep
monitoring it regularly. –NATE DRAKE

A C

1 UPDATE WINDOWS 10
Ghostery needs the most recent version of Windows to work.
Save and close any open files, and back up your data if possible.
Next, click the search button at the bottom-left of your desktop, and
enter “Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant.” Click on the desktop app to
Store now says “Acquiring License,” then “Downloading”
[Image C]. The Ghostery extension is small (0.1MB), so
this doesn’t take long. Finally, the Store tells you that the
product has been installed. The button below the Ghostery
logo now reads “Launch.” Click this to open Edge.

4
open it. Click “Yes” to confirm that you wish to open the app, then
“Update Now” to begin upgrading your system [Image A]. WELCOME TO GHOSTERY

2
A notification appears at the top-right, explaining
VISIT THE GHOSTERY WEBSITE that Ghostery has been installed. You still need to
Once the update is complete, open Microsoft Edge, and activate it, so click “Turn it on.” You now see a “Welcome
visit [Link]. Hover your mouse over “Our to Ghostery” splash screen. At this stage, Ghostery asks
Solutions,” and click “Ghostery Browser Extension.” A new screen you if you wish to share data about trackers you encounter
appears, listing various web browsers. Scroll down until you see while browsing. This is entirely optional, but helpful to
“Edge.” Click “Add to Edge” [Image B], and the Windows Store detect new threats. Choose “Yes” or “No” as you see fit.

5
opens. Quit Edge, then click the button marked “Free” to install.

3
CREATE AN ACCOUNT
BEGIN GHOSTERY DOWNLOAD Ghostery now displays the Create an Account
At this stage, Ghostery may ask you to confirm your date of window. You don’t have to do this, but it allows
birth and region. Enter this and click “Next.” The Windows access to extra features, such as synching settings across
your devices. You’re also allowed one free trackermap
B scan per month, to help you locate companies that are
tracking you across the Internet. If you don’t want to create
an account right now, click “Maybe later, let’s get started.”

6 CHOOSE YOUR TRACKER OPTIONS

Ghostery now launches the main Tracker Options
window [Image D]. Scroll down to see various types

64 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

 E

of trackers that Ghostery can detect, such as Advertising and Social trust. Hover over a website, and click the “X” to remove it
Media. The easiest option for now is just to click on “Block All,” to from this list at any time.

9
ban all trackers. If this causes issues later, you can return to this
screen by clicking on the “More” option in the Ghostery box, then TEST-PILOT GHOSTERY
“Advanced Blocking.” Once Ghostery has been set up, click the address

7
bar at the top, and visit a social media or news site
CHOOSE WHAT TO BLOCK to check that everything is in order. If the purple box doesn’t
Click on the word “General” next to “Blocking Options.” appear, click the ellipsis (…) button at the top-right of the
Most options can be left checked. However, you may wish to Edge window, then “Ghostery App” to view any blocked
scroll down to the Purple Box section. By default, Ghostery displays trackers [Image E]. You can enable individual trackers, or
a small box for a short time when you visit a new site, listing all the choose to trust the entire site, allowing all cookies.

10
trackers that have been blocked. You can switch this off, or change
the duration (default is 15 seconds) and position of the box here. INSTALL AN AD BLOCKER

8
Although Ghostery can prevent websites from
CONFIGURE TRUSTED SITES tracking you, it can’t stop all pop-up ads, or
Although you can visit sites individually, and click Ghostery’s those annoying ads that load when you’re trying to watch
“Trust Site” button, it’s easier to set this up here. Click the YouTube. Fortunately, Adblock Plus is also available for
“Trusted Sites” option at the top of the page. Once it loads, enter Microsoft Edge. Open the Windows Store, search for its
the name of the website in the white bar at the top, then click on name, then install [Image F]. This reduces the chance of
the green “+” button. Repeat the process for any websites you fully accidentally clicking a link, and downloading malware.

D F

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 65

R&D

ZAK STOREY, DEPUTY EDITOR

Editorial Upgrades
We’re not even sure what happened to this rig, but
with lots of TLC, we injected it with a new zest for life

LENGTH OF TIME: 1–2 HOURS LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: HAZARDOUS

THE CONCEPT
UPON OPENING THE CHASSIS and dodging the
cloud of dust containing every respiratory disease
known to man, we bore witness to the true horror
of an unloved PC. The panels, once standing proud,
pristinely showcasing the hardware within, sheared
off the side of the case with an eerie screech, the
filth and grime breaking free as the thumbscrews
gave up their long vigil protecting the beating
heart of the machine inside. Fan blades littered
the floor—the slow ravages of hard time in this
technological gulag had stripped the polypropylene
scythes from their housings. As once free-moving
bearings glinted in the ephemeral twilight of the
photography studio, we began to realize that this
was unlike any horror we’d witnessed before.
The executive editor’s PC lay in ruins. Working
hard, day in, day out, for years on end, to produce one
of the world’s best-selling custom PC magazines, it
was a rig that had suffered much. Yet all was not
lost; this was not the end for the BitFenix Shinobi.
Its pseudo Japanese-German heritage would live
on, we would make sure of that.
The challenge that lay before us was undeniably
daunting. Even though it was only five years of age,
this machine had been through a lot. And with its
vast arsenal of computational prowess within, once
the pride of its generation, now falling defunct in
its dotage, it stood in stark contrast to the other
mechanical mammoths beavering away in the
Maximum PC office. The task at hand was simple:
Sanitize it, gut it, and install the latest available
hardware, bringing the lumbering beast of burden
back to glory, to bear its might upon the transistor-
fused world once more.

66 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

CLEANING THE UNCLEAN INGREDIENTS
RIGHT! Now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about what
STREET
we’re replacing in our executive editor’s machine. This isn’t a PART
PRICE
simple new build, but more of a core upgrade to some legendary
componentry. And, while we’re at it, an attempt to retain that old, CPU Intel Core i7-7700K $315
beaten chassis—because, y’know, we’re sadists.
This machine once hosted an Intel Core i7-3820 quad-core Motherboard Gigabyte Z270X-Ultra Gaming ATX $155
32nm processor, 16GB of quad-channel DDR3, an Asus X9 X79
Pro motherboard, a Sapphire Radeon R9 390 GPU, a half-working Memory 16GB (2x 8GB) Kingston HyperX Fury 2666 $170
Thermaltake 240mm AIO CPU cooler, a 250GB Samsung 840 Evo,
and a 3TB WD Red hard drive. GPU PNY GeForce GTX 1080 XLR8 $540
To keep things fairly simple, and encourage good system
maintenance, we’ve opted for a few more industrially centered
Exhaust Fans 4x EK Vardar Evo 120ER Black $79
components to power the magnificent Shinobi and give it a bit
more processing grunt. It may be powering a 1920x1200 screen
(yep, one of those), but that’s no reason to deny it the juice to deal CPU Cooler Noctua NH-C14S $75

with more demanding titles destined to come out in the future.

We’ve gone for an Intel Core i7-7700K running at stock, a dual- CPU Fans 2x Noctua NF-A14 IPPC 2000 140mm $46
channel kit of 16GB DDR4, one of PNY’s GTX 1080 XLR8 cards, and
a Gigabyte Z270X-Ultra Gaming mobo. But the more important Tinned Air Dust-Off Compressed Gas Duster—2 Pack $9
changes come in the form of cooling. This time, instead of a liquid
cooler, we’ve gone for one of Noctua’s NH-C14S towers, paired Isopropyl
Swan Isopropyl Alcohol 99% $9
with two Noctua NF-A14 IP67-rated, dustproof, industrial-grade Alcohol
140mm fans. We’ve also included four 120mm EK Vardar Evos:
one at the front, in the 5.25-inch drive bay, as an intake; two in the
Total $1,398
roof, exhausting; and one in the rear, also acting as an exhaust.
We’ve also kept the massive 230mm BitFenix Spectre in the
front, because it’s still too good an offer to pass up.

1 SYSTEM MAINTENANCE

IT’S STAGGERING THAT this liquid cooler worked as long

as it did, diligently cooling the Core i7-3820 for almost
five years. However, it does illustrate how imperative it
is to give your rig a good clean once in a while. Dust,
grime, and condensation are major killers for hardware
like this, and keeping your CPU cool should be one of
your top priorities. We’re not saying go crazy on the
cleaning, but every three to six months, take your rig
outside, and take a can of compressed air or even a foot
pump to it, to get rid of excess dust inside the chassis.
In fact, this is why we recommend windowed cases, so
you can avoid the “out of sight, out of mind” philosophy.

2 STRIP DOWN

UPGRADING A CORE SYSTEM is much like building

a new rig. In this case, we started by taking a can of
compressed air and attempting to blow out as much
of the dust as we could. Then, we removed as many
panels as possible, before doing the same again, and
began to remove the cooling after that. This gives you
the opportunity to grab a microfiber cloth and clean up
any fans going back in, along with the areas on which
they were mounted. We replaced a lot of the fans, so it
was less of an issue, but if you’re reusing them, it’s not
a bad idea to clean off the blades in particular, before
installing them back into the chassis.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 67

R&D

3 OUT WITH THE OLD 5 CABLES GALORE

AND IN WITH THE NEW. Now we’re talking. Next up, you’re going WE’VE GOT TO GIVE CREDIT to BitFenix—the Shinobi XL is
to want to unplug everything from everywhere. You can leave nothing if not well equipped. With four USB 3.0 ports and a
the PSU installed in the chassis, especially in older cases. Then powered USB port on the front of the chassis, finding places
it’s a case of removing the old motherboard and installing a to route all of that front I/O was challenging. Fortunately,
new one. It’s often easier to install the processor outside of the the Z270X Ultra Gaming comes packing two USB 3.0
chassis first. Fortunately, thanks to the Shinobi’s massive CPU headers just south of the 24-pin. Impressively, we managed
cut-out, installing the backplate for the Noctua can be done to route those two cables, plus the 24-pin, and the single
after the motherboard is installed into the chassis. It’s also 8-pin PCIe power through a single rubber grommet—and,
imperative (with this cooler) that you install the memory now, to be honest, it still looks fairly tidy, too.
too, because the cooler will cover all the slots.

4 COOLER MANAGEMENT 6 FINISHING UP

SWAPPING OUT FANS on AND THERE YOU GO: one updated, cleaned-out system. We
these kind of coolers isn’t took some isopropyl alcohol to the soft-touch finish in an
ever going to be a picnic, attempt to try to remove some of the grime and damage
especially given the nature from the chassis, but there’s only so much you can do with a
of the clips that secure the case this old, unfortunately. And don’t worry about that old
fans in place. Because this quad-core Extreme Edition chip—it will be going off to work
is essentially a second- in a new home in our IT department, happily sauntering on
hand tower cooler, the toward retirement.
clips aren’t quite as rigid
now as they should be.
To counter this problem,
we used a single cable tie
between the top clip on
the top fans and the top
clip on the bottom fan,
to secure them on place.
Additionally, to generally
tidy up the cables, we’ve
wrapped them into small
loops, to reduce mess.
Because these fans are
technically designed for
radiators and case fans,
the cables are fairly long,
and so require a fair bit
of inventive management
to ensure they don’t get
caught on anything.

68 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

 1 1
We ended up using a three-
way PWM splitter to power
the two fans in the roof and the front
of the case, because the mobo didn’t
have enough headers.

The Shinobi still had an

2 archaic AC97 audio cable
attached to the HD audio cable—
take a pair of scissors and cut it off
to reduce clutter, and you should
be fine.

This 1,500W PSU is a bit OTT

3 (about seven times too much)
for this build, but it would be an
unnecessary expense to change it
2 over, and it still works a treat.
4
We moved both the hard drive
4 and the SSD to the lowest
3 rungs to allow for better airflow
toward the GPU.

IT LIVES!
IT’S ALIVE! OK, so it wasn’t really dead to and multicore performance saw almost a well. Hopefully, the IP67 ratings on the CPU
begin with, we’ll admit, but it was certainly in 50 percent improvement in performance, with cooling fans should ensure they last much,
dire need of some TLC. The Intel Core i7-3820 graphics performance stomping its way up by much, much longer than the Thermaltake
at its heart was an intriguing part for its time. a massive 100 percent in some cases. stock fans that came with the previous AIO.
Competing directly with the Core i7-2700K, it In its day, AMD’s Radeon R9 390 was an Things that are still due an upgrade?
made little sense in the PC ecosystem, much incredible piece of flagship technology, but Outside of the case, there’s not a lot. It fits
like Intel’s current Kaby Lake X parts do. A comparing it to Nvidia’s Pascal architecture the bill perfectly for the tasks we need it to
quad-core Extreme Edition processor, back is akin to comparing an ant to a cat. The do. Perhaps a Samsung 850 Evo would make
in the 32nm days? Odd. That said, it served its difference is staggering. It’s difficult for us, more sense as a primary OS drive, because
purpose, and played all the latest games and in the short term at least, to quantify just those read speeds are a little on the slow side,
the programs needed to produce a magazine how much of a change the additional cooling but aside from that, it’s all set for another five
without a hiccup. solutions have added to this build, especially years of hard labor. At least until the case
The build process, despite the excessive as we’ve swapped over processors as begins to rot away….
levels of dust and blackened hands we ended
up with during construction (we’re still not BENCHMARKS
sure what caused that; mold probably), was a
ZERO-
relatively painless process. Using compressed POINT
air helped a ton with the initial clean-up, and Cinebench R15 Multi-Thread 602 870 (45%)
after removing the fans and going over the
whole build with a microfiber cloth, it started Cinebench R15 Single-Thread 125 184 (47%)
to resemble a new chassis again. We have to TechARP’s X264 HD 5.0.1 (fps) 13.19 21.39 (62%)
give credit to BitFenix’s design team from back
CrystalDisk QD32 Sequential
in the day, because this case is still fantastic Read (MB/s)
532 526 (-1%)
to build in. Especially if you have a modular
CrystalDisk QD32 Sequential
power supply. Fortunately, our Shinobi isn’t Write (MB/s)
224 227 (1%)
the windowed version, so cable management
Rise of the Tomb Raider (fps) 37 77 (108%)
in this build was less about aesthetics and
more about function than anything else. The Division (fps) 63 112 (78%)
But it’s all about performance, and
3DMark: Fire Strike (Index) 57 108 (89%)
although neither storage nor memory capacity
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
have changed much with this upgrade, the
key components—CPU and GPU—have. Our zero-point for this build was the system prior to its upgrades, featuring an Intel Core i7-3820, 16GB (4x 4GB) of quad-
channel DDR3, a Sapphire Radeon R9 390, and a 250GB Samsung 840 Evo.
And what a difference they’ve made. Single

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 69






 





 

 





 
 



 


  



  



 

  

 

 reviews of the latest hardware and software
in the lab

TESTED. REVIEWED. VERDICTIZED.

AMD
RYZEN 3
1200
PAGE 79

INSIDE
72 Asus ROG Strix GTX 86 Logitech MX Master 2S
1070 Ti A8G Gaming
87 NZXT H700i
74 Origin PC Neuron
88 Photoshop
76 Asus ROG Strix Elements 2018
X370-I Gaming
89 Premiere Elements 2018
79 AMD Ryzen 3 1200
90 Assassin’s Creed
80 Philips BDM4037UW Origins

82 Intel Optane SSD 91 Wolfenstein II:

900P 480GB The New Colossus

85 Razer BlackWidow 92 Lab Notes

Tournament Edition
Chroma V2

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 71

in the lab

Hey, Asus! Naming

scheme—get one
that works, please!

72 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

Asus ROG Strix GTX
1070 Ti A8G Gaming
The card that should not be
WHY DOES THIS CARD even exist? Let’s get GDDR5. That’s a difference of 128 CUDA fact is, you can easily add 220MHz on to the
one thing straight: Unless you’re deep into cores between it and the GTX 1080. To core clock, and 350MHz on to the memory,
cryptocurrency mining, this generation’s put that into perspective, the difference without temperature issues, and end up
GPU war is over. Nvidia has won. Vega, between the GTX 1060 3GB and 6GB variants with scores and performance that actually
although powerful, can’t compete from is—you guessed it—128 CUDA cores. If surpass a stock GTX 1080.
a price perspective, and thanks to its you’ve followed us for a while, you’ll know So, is this just a really dumb overreaction
horrendous power draw and delayed we stand by the GTX 1060 3GB as being the to Vega 56? Well, yes and no. We can sort
launch, it’s not an attractive proposition for better value card, purely because, in our of see the logic behind the design of the
gamers. Vega 56 was the most intriguing tests at least, the difference between it and card. Firstly, GDDR5X is expensive to
offering, slotting between the GTX 1070 and its 6GB brother is just 1–2fps, and that’s produce and in short supply. Secondly, the
the GTX 1080. And that, presumably, is why with half the memory capacity. GTX 1080 has been out for near enough
Nvidia has brought this card to market. The 18 months now—if you were going to buy
problem, however, is that in its eagerness INSANE IN THE GAME one, you would have done so already. What
to secure every corner of the GPU market, It should come as no surprise, then, that you’re getting with this is a GTX 1080 at a
Nvidia has cut off its nose to spite its face. in our tests the GTX 1070 Ti and the GTX discounted price, which kind of makes
What do we mean? Allow us to explain…. 1080 perform almost identically, even sense. Nvidia gets to keep the prestigious
The best way to understand why this card when compared against some of our more nature of its product line, without calling
is such a confusing proposition from Team overclock-heavy aftermarket models. The it a cut-down or discounted GTX 1080, and
Green is to take a look at the basic specs of maximum disparity between the two at at the same time, it shores up that extra
the models either side of it. The GTX 1070 1080p was 3fps; 5fps at 1440p; and 4fps at acreage of market share. It’s a smart move,
touts 1,920 CUDA cores, 120 texture units, 4K. That’s insane when there’s about $90 but if you recently bought a GTX 1080, it’s a
and 8GB of GDDR5; the GTX 1080, on the difference in price between the two. bit of a slap in the face. –ZAK STOREY
other hand, features 2,560 CUDA cores, The lines become even more blurred
160 texture units, and 8GB of GDDR5X. when you enter the realms of overclocking.

9
VERDICT
Asus ROG Strix GTX 1070 Ti
That’s a pretty wide gap, especially with There were plenty of rumors concerning
A8G Gaming
the memory configuration. But when you Nvidia requesting that AIB manufacturers
consider that the 1070 essentially equates not produce “overclocked” variants of VEGA KILLER Impressive
to a Titan X of Maxwell’s generation, it’s its GTX 1070 Ti. And when you combine performance; price cut; good overclock
fair to say that both cards are attractive that knowledge with the fact that there’s headroom; fantastic AIB card design.
offerings for anyone looking to game at an “advanced” sticker covering the word
GTX 1080 KILLER Odd marketing strategy;
1440p or higher. “overclocked” on our Asus GTX 1070 Ti box
confusing spec.
The GTX 1070 Ti, then, features 2,432 (no, seriously), well, we’ll leave you to be
CUDA cores, 152 texture units, and 8GB of the judge of what’s really going on. But the $500, [Link]

BENCHMARKS SPECIFICATIONS

Asus ROG Strix GTX Nvidia GeForce GTX Nvidia GeForce GTX GPU Pascal GP104-300-A1
1070 Ti A8G 1080 FE 1070 FE
Lithography 16nm FinFET
Total War: Attila (fps) 24/40 23/40 21/34
Transistor Count 7.2 billion
Far Cry Primal (fps) 62/72 65/77 53/62
CUDA Cores 2,432
The Division (fps) 58/72 39/73 34/59
Texture Units 152
Rise of the Tomb Raider (fps) 21/42 16/42 13/33
ROPS 64
3DMark: Fire Strike (Index) 16,914 17,016 14,909
Core/Boost Clock 1,607/1,683
3DMark: Fire Strike OC (Index) 17,955 18,115 16,160
Memory Capacity
3DMark: Time Spy DX12 (Index) 6,684 6,537 5,542 & Type 8GB GDDR5
Power Draw Load (W) 291 252 288 TDP 180W
Best scores are in bold. Our test bed consists of an Intel Core i7-7700K, 16GB of Corsair DDR4 @ 2400,
Display Display Port 1.4,
an Asus Maximus IX Hero, and a 500GB Samsung 850 Evo SSD. All games are tested at their highest
graphical profile, with AA turned up, at 1440p. Connectors HDMI 2.0b

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 73

in the lab

a beast for gaming performance (more at only 1080p. The Neuron was up to the

Origin on that later), but also generate a ton

of residual heat under intense load. We
measured temperatures of 80–85 C both
inside the case (measuring the outer panel
challenge, but just barely, scoring 53fps
using the Ultra preset—at 4K, of course.
With a slight bit of tinkering, that number
should stay above 60 without a problem.

PC of the top GPU) and pouring out the blower

fans out back while playing games at 4K
Ultra. These are well within normal GPU
We also tested all three versions of 3DMark
Fire Strike: The Neuron scored 34,380 in
the regular Fire Strike test, 22,909 in Fire

Neuron range, of course, and won’t throttle your

performance, but it was still enough heat
to warm our office up a little. In a brief
moment of genius/insanity, we decided to
Strike Extreme, and 13,283 in Fire Strike
Ultra, corresponding to performance at
1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively.
Unrelated to performance, but very
Now we’re see whether we could cook an egg inside.
The easy-open tempered glass panels
impressive all the same, are the elegant
RGB touches Origin has added to the
cooking functioned like an oven door as we popped
an egg into a tin foil container on the GPU
already great Phanteks EVOLV case. All
the components are tucked away tidily,
WINTER IS HERE. Luckily, we have a new stack. It took about an hour, but the food did while a strip of LEDs adorning the viewing
heater to keep us toasty through the cook. You’ve had eggs over-easy—we call panel gives everything a cool, pulsating,
coldest months of the year. A nice little this eggs over-clocked. moonlit glow. This light show co-ordinates
space heater, and it’s even decked out with nicely with [Link]’s Trident Z RGB RAM,
some sweet RGB lighting. Oh, and it’s a POWER OVERWHELMING an application of RGB lighting we thought
massively powerful gaming system, too. While it can pull double-duty as a backup was ridiculous on paper, but actually looks
We’re talking, of course, about the breakfast oven, the Neuron’s primary pretty awesome in person.
Neuron, a high-end microATX custom function is that of an extreme gaming PC. All in all, we were very impressed with
build from Origin PC, outfitted in either a That should be expected, with a pair of top- the Neuron, even if it does run a little on the
Phanteks EVOLV or Fractal Design Define end GTX 1080 Tis handling GPU duties, but hot side. Boasting top-end components
Mini C case. The system we tested utilized it was still impressive to see in person. (and a price to match), it’ll do just about
the former, featuring tempered glass We ran all of our gaming benchmarks at anything you ask—including cook you
panels on convenient easy-open hinges. 4K, using the highest available graphics breakfast. –BO MOORE
Inside sits an Intel Core i7-8700K CPU preset, and the pair of monster cards did

9
VERDICT
overclocked to 5.0GHz, nestled in a nicely not disappoint. In Rise of the Tomb Raider, Origin PC Neuron
featured ROG Strix Z370 mobo from Asus. the Neuron averaged 99fps across the
EGG-SEMPLARY Overclocked
Intel’s Coffee Lake CPU shines here, able three-part benchmark, returning 125fps
CPU; insane GPU power; super-
to stably handle Origin’s overclock up to in the Mountain Pass, 91fps in Syria, and
quick storage; clean, beautiful design.
5.0GHz. Origin’s Frostbyte 360 liquid cooler 81fps in the Geothermal Valley. More
keeps CPU temperatures under control, demanding was Total War: Warhammer II, SULFURIC Excessive heat output;
hovering at just above 80 C during intense which we tested using DirectX 11 and the very expensive.
benchmarking load. Battle benchmark. The score there was $4,395, [Link]
It’s a good thing, because the rest of 76fps, again at 4K max settings.
this system is a heat monster. The main Most demanding was Ghost Recon:
SPECIFICATIONS
offender is the pair of GTX 1080 Ti GPUs Wildlands, a game that often cripples
stacked on top of each other in SLI. They’re single-GPU systems, even when running Processor Intel Core i7-8700K
@ 5.0GHz

BENCHMARKS Graphics 2x Nvidia GeForce

ZERO- GTX 1080 Ti SLI
POINT RAM 16GB [Link] Trident Z
Cinebench R15 (Index) 196 218 (11%) RGB DDR4-3000
Motherboard Asus ROG STRIX Z370-G
Cinebench R15 Multi (Index) 987 1,587 (61%)
Gaming Wi-Fi AC
PCMark 8 Creative (Index) 7,675 10,592 (38%) Primary Storage 512GB Samsung 960 Pro
CrystalDiskMark PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
4K Read (MB/s) 54.85 60.00 (9%) Additional 2x 2TB Seagate 2.5-inch
CrystalDiskMark Storage FireCuda Flash-
4K Write (MB/s) 171 240 (40%) Accelerated HDD RAID 0
Cooling Solution Origin Frostbyte 360
Far Cry Primal (fps) 33 85 (158%)
Sealed Liquid Cooling
The Division (fps) 34 94 (176%) PSU 850W EVGA
Rise of the Tomb Raider (fps) 9 99 (1,000%) SuperNOVA G3

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Case Phanteks EVOLV with
Origin PC RGB LED
Our desktop zero-point consists of an Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.5GHz, 32GB (2x 16GB) of Kingston HyperX
Warranty One-year part replacement
Savage 2666 DDR4, a 256GB Samsung 950 Pro PCIe SSD, and an AMD Fury X GPU.
All games are tested at 4K on the Ultra Preset. & 45-day shipping

74 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

 Dual GTX 1080 Ti GPUs crush
our most difficult benchmarks,
even at 4K Ultra.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 75

in the lab

Ryzen ITX done right.

76 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

Asus ROG Strix
Strix X370-I, where the PCB is entirely
separate and raised, is more often found in
prosumer-grade DACs, such as the Schiit
Gungnir, than in an A-grade motherboard.

X370-I Gaming
Now, we’re not saying the audio is going
to be that good (there’s still an M.2 PCIe
SSD on there, too), but it should equate
to normal levels of audio quality, while
freeing up space on the mainboard for that
Pure engineering genius massive VRM solution.
So, on to performance. The X370-I is
REMEMBER WHEN RYZEN first launched? The us the X370-Gaming ITX. Both suffered nothing short of a beast. We saw better
gaudy little underdog pulled the rug out from VRM throttling, however, especially scores here at stock than with any other
from under Intel’s feet with its eight-core when overclocking the eight-core parts. X370 motherboard we’ve tested, which
masterpieces. It was beautiful, although Finally, though, we are witness to Asus’s just goes to show how far the platform
not exactly smooth. The chips may have Ryzen ITX masterpiece: the ROG Strix has matured in such a short time. Memory
been legendary, but the platform was X370-I. It’s a true marvel of engineering. latency has plummeted as well. The only
not. Memory issues and motherboard The huge bank of VRM situated alongside cause for concern we have is with power
instability caused a lot of problems early and above the AM4 socket provides a draw, because it topped our idle figures
on, and the selection of high-end X370 wealth of voltage balancing, without the by 20 watts, and is the second highest
offerings was slim at best. need to include a large raised PCB, as motherboard we’ve tested under load.
One form factor that was missing seen in the company’s ROG Impact Intel But the biggy is overclocking, right?
was ITX. And with good reason: Ryzen’s ITX series. Instead, Asus has shifted its Well, it’s a mixed bag here. We only
a hungry beast. Those eight cores need focus away from repositioning the VRMs to managed a stable 3.9GHz on our Ryzen 7
feeding with a lot of juice, which means reworking the way it manages less integral 1800X across all eight cores. 4GHz was
most motherboards require a substantial motherboard components. In this case, it’s just too far out of reach, alluding to the fact
VRM solution to balance out the horrendous the audio and M.2 storage. Yep, that LED that even with all this motherboard magic,
level of power Ryzen draws from the wall. heatsink sitting just above the PCIe x16 slot ITX still has issues holding higher clocks
The issue, as is common with ITX, is a is actually a raised chunk of separate PCB, compared to its ATX rivals.
severe shortage of space. How do you which houses all the audio componentry, Asus’s ROG Strix X370-I is, ultimately,
accommodate such a power-hungry chip and supports the installation of a single an impressive entry point to the Ryzen
on a form factor that’s already so limited? M.2 PCIe SSD. It’s also situated above a ITX ecosystem. It does have its flaws,
There have been workarounds, of course, small heatsink that simultaneously cools but it’s easily the best ITX AM4 board you
typically from those manufacturers with the PCH chipset. This makes a lot of sense. can buy right now, and for that we have to
big R&D budgets. But, most of the time, Typically, to improve audio, motherboard applaud Asus. –ZAK STOREY
the ITX form factor is avoided for anything manufacturers introduce a polyethylene

9
VERDICT
featuring more than four cores. separator between the audio componentry Asus ROG Strix X370-I Gaming
That’s not to say ITX hasn’t already been and the rest of the motherboard’s PCB, to
OVERPOWERED Impressive
attempted with Ryzen; Gigabyte produced reduce interference from electrical signals
design; brilliant aesthetic;
the AB350N Gaming WiFi, and ASRock gave on the board. The design seen in the ROG
acceptable price; huge feature set; strong
memory support.
BENCHMARKS
OVERLOADED Power draw; overclocking
Asus ROG Strix X370-I Gaming MSI X370 Gaming Pro Carbon needs work.
X265 (Avg fps) 28.3 27.98 $185, [Link]
Cinebench R15 Multi (Index) 1,635 1,622

Fry Render (Seconds) 152 158 SPECIFICATIONS

AIDA64 Memory Latency (ns) 76 90
Chipset/Socket X370/AM4
Power Draw Idle (Watts) 81 56
Form Factor ITX
Power Draw Load (Watts) 168 147
Memory Support 32GB DDR4 @ 3,600MT/s
CrystalDisk Sequential Read (MB/s) 551 549
M.2/U.2 Support 2x M.2 PCIe x4
CrystalDisk Sequential Write (MB/s) 530 523
SATA Support 4x SATA 6Gb/s
Far Cry Primal (Avg fps) 42 42
Max PCIe Support 1x PCIe 3.0 x16
3DMark: Fire Strike Extreme (Index) 9,600 9,647
Rear I/O 1x Intel Gigabit Ethernet,
Maximum OC Achieved (GHz) 3.9 4.0
2x USB 3.1 Type A, 4x USB
3.0, three-channel audio,
Best scores are in bold. Our test bed consists of a Ryzen 7 1800X, 16GB (2x 8GB) of Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4
1x Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
3200, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080, and a 500GB Samsung 850 Evo SSD. Far Cry Primal tested on Ultra settings at 4K.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 77

 DISCOVER THE ALTERNATIVE
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AMD Ryzen
3 1200
The most budget-
conscious spin of
Ryzen highlights the
new multicore norm
IT’S TEMPTING TO START by saying you can’t although we haven’t had those in our labs up and running was a breeze. Gaming isn’t
always get what you want, and in lieu of yet, so instead we’ve compared it to the that big a differentiator anymore either,
being able to afford a top-flight monster, 8th Gen Core i5-8400, purely because with a mere 2fps drop over the more
a budget chip like this will have to do. But that’s the chip to beat in the desktop space expensive chip in Far Cry Primal.
questionable Rolling Stones references at the moment. On the face of things, that’s You’ll find a Wraith Stealth cooler in
aside, it’s not the whole story when it not a fair comparison, as the new Core i5 the box alongside the CPU, and it’s a fine
comes to AMD’s most affordable Ryzen is a six-core, six-thread chip, but it does cooler at stock performance. It’s worthy
chip. This isn’t just a chip to turn to when cost double what AMD is asking for this, of its “Stealth” moniker, too. When it came
forced to build on a shoestring; it’s a chip so bear that in mind when looking over the to overclocking, we reached for our AIO
that shows how far CPUs have advanced specifications and benchmark results. cooler of choice, the NZXT Kraken X62, but
in a year, and it’s a chip that punches far Speaking of benchmarks, we can report you should be able to hit decent numbers
harder than its $100 price tag suggests. there are no nasty surprises with the Ryzen with the Stealth as well. Overclocking the
That single Franklin nets you a true 3 1200—given the core count and operating Ryzen 3 1200 is simple—set the target
quad-core processor. Yup, the sort of frequency, it performs as expected. This frequency in the BIOS (up the voltage if
territory that was previously the preserve means that it’s bringing up the rear of the needed), and you’re done. In this case,
of a mainstream Core i5. The Ryzen’s base benchmark tables, but it does so at a great we hit a stable 3.7GHz, which saw the
clock nominally runs at 3.1GHz, but you’ll price. The Cinebench R15 result of 478, for Cinebench R15 score jump to 567 points.
rarely see it running the cores at that instance, may seem low compared to the Overall, this is a lot of chip for not much
speed; instead it’ll operate closer to the Core i5’s 949, but in the context of price, money. If you need serious power, you
Turbo of 3.4GHz. There’s no SMT included you’re looking at a score of 4.78 per dollar, should absolutely spend more, but if value
on AMD’s Ryzen 3s, presumably to help as opposed to 4.75 for Intel’s. Yup, you get is your main concern, there’s certainly a lot
separate them from the Ryzen 5 chips, but more bang for your buck from AMD’s chip. to love here. –ALAN DEXTER
it’s still a speedy chip, capable of handling It is worth noting that the latest BIOS

8
VERDICT
four threads at once for bang on $100. updates mean that the memory issues AMD Ryzen 3 1200
It should make for an interesting we saw at the launch of Ryzen have
BUDGET Great value for
counterpoint to Intel’s new Core i3s, evaporated, and that getting the system
money; good cooler; true
quad-core; easily overclocked.
BENCHMARKS
FUDGE-IT Lacks real raw grunt.
AMD Ryzen 3 1200 Intel Core i5-8400 $100, [Link]

X265 Benchmark (fps) 11.12 22.20

SPECIFICATIONS
Cinebench R15 Single (Index) 133 165

Cinebench R15 Multi (Index) 478 949 Base Clock 3.1GHz

Turbo Clock 3.4GHz

Fry Render (Seconds) 500 230
Cores 4
AIDA64 Memory Latency (ns) 79 69
Threads 4
Total War: Atilla (fps) 33 41
Lithography 14nm
Far Cry Primal (fps) 75 77
Cache 8MB L3
3DMark: Fire Strike (Index) 13,339 15,405
Memory Support DDR4
Power Draw Idle (Watts) 49 47
Memory Channels 2
Power Draw Load (Watts) 98 112
Max PCIe Lanes 20
Best scores are in bold. Our test bed consists of an MSI X370 Gaming Pro Carbon or Asus Maximus X Hero, 16GB
(2x 8GB) of Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080, and a Samsung 850 Evo 500GB SSD. TDP 65W
All games were tested at 1440p on the highest graphical profile.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 79

in the lab

Philips BDM4037UW
It’s big, but it ain’t beautiful
PC TECHNOLOGY is pretty mature these a gimmick than a practical feature. It’s a
days. That particularly applies to monitors. big old screen, so if you’re going to buy
Usually, even a cursory perusal of the spec into the curved panel proposition, why not
list gives you a good idea of what to expect. really go for it? The final image quality
So, it’s not all that often a screen comes demerit involves the viewing angles, which
along and blows apart your expectations, are merely mediocre. To all that, you can
but that’s exactly what the new Philips add a chassis and stand that look a little
BDM4037UW pulls off. Unfortunately, it cheap and chintzy, at which point you’re
does so for all the wrong reasons. probably thinking the BDM4037UW has no
On paper, it looks similar to its sibling, redeeming features. That isn’t quite right.
the BDM4065UC. That screen has been It boasts impressive contrast, with
knocking around for a few years, but offers plenty of detail in black and white scales.
the same 40-inch diagonal and 3840x2160 It also renders virtually perfect, smooth
UHD native resolution. Both panels also gradients. Moreover, it’s still a 40-inch
leverage VA technology, and Philips claims UHD panel, and that means it’s absolutely
similar specifications for everything from huge, and has literally millions of pixels.
contrast to pixel response. Indeed, the only Just over eight million, in fact. That means
really significant differences involve the oodles of desktop real estate, tons of detail,
BDM4037UW’s gentle panel curvature, and and an epic overall visual impact. What’s
the fact that it’s a couple of years newer. more, most of the time, that sluggish pixel
The former can be an acquired taste, response isn’t actually a huge drawback.
but is at least a known quantity; that known It’s often not even that noticeable in games.
quantity being a curvature of 3000R, and For those who want a very large screen
thus far less aggressive than most curved and lots of pixels above all else, the Philips
panels. The latter, you’d think, would, if BDM4037UW holds a certain appeal. It’s
anything, bequeath the BDM4037UW with a just not a terribly robust appeal in the
newer, more advanced panel, and perhaps context of its $750 price tag. To take one
some more refined electronics. That would example, Philips’ sister brand AOC offers
be no bad thing, given the old BDM4065UC the C4008VU8 with virtually identical specs
had its fair share of image quality quirks. for $250 less. Put simply, there are better
Alas, no. The new BDM4037UW is a bit options at this price point. –JEREMY LAIRD
of a disaster. The main problem is what,

6
VERDICT
in this day and age, can only be classified Philips BDM4037UW
as appalling pixel response. Philips rates
AHEAD OF THE CURVE Huge
the panel at 4ms, versus 3ms for its more
panel; massive pixel grid;
elderly sibling. But the gap feels more like a
loads of contrast.
minute than a millisecond. The blurring and
ghosting is absolutely grim. Unfortunately, JUST PLAIN BENT Awful pixel response;
ramping up the pixel overdrive setting not terribly accurate; pricey as hell.
in the on-screen menu barely puts a dent in $750, [Link]
the problem. Of course, VA panels have
long suffered from the worst response of
SPECIFICATIONS
any of the major panel types, but it’s a while
since we’ve seen anything this bad, and the Panel Size 40-inch
older, flatter 40-inch Philips has perfectly
Native Resolution 3840x2160
adequate response.
Another throwback to the bad old days Pixel Density 110 ppi

of VA panels is the overly warm color Panel Type VA

temperature. It’s the kind of thing you can Maximum Refresh 60Hz
mitigate to some degree via calibration. But
Response 4ms
this is far from the most accurate LCD panel
on earth, and you’re never going to achieve Contrast 4,000:1
anything really neutral when it comes to Display Inputs 2x DP, 2x HDMI, VGA, MHL
temperature and overall gamut. While
Connectivity USB
we’re sticking the boot in, the backlighting
isn’t particularly strong, either. VESA Mount 100mm

What’s more, that shallowness of the Warranty Three years

curvature is such that it feels more like

80 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

 Philips’ new 40-incher suffers
from poor pixel response.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 81

 in the lab

Intel Optane is finally

here in a form that we
can get excited about.

82 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

 Intel
combine the best attributes of an existing this drive’s 480GB capacity. We have never
non-volatile technology like NAND flash seen anything like it.
memory, which include solid-state Firing up our test suite throws up
robustness, with the speed of volatile RAM. further impressive figures. The plain and

Optane
Unlike NAND memory, which depends dirty sequential numbers aren’t actually all
upon trapping electrons in an insulated that impressive. Don’t misunderstand us—
gate, 3D XPoint uses bulk property change two-point-something GB/s for both reads
to alter the resistance of each memory and writes does not constitute slouchy

SSD
cell, which in turn enables bits of data to be performance. It’s just we’ve seen similar or
stored. The “3D” bit comes in relation to the even bigger numbers before from several
stacked arrangement of the selector and conventional PCI Express SSDs based on
memory cells, which are then connected by NAND memory. Samsung’s 960 Pro can do

900P
layers of interconnects, the idea being that over 3GB/s in certain metrics, for example.
multiple layers increase memory density. Turn your attention to CrystalDiskMark’s
First-gen 3D XPoint involves two-layer 4K random results, however, and you’ll see
technology, but Intel says future iterations further evidence of what makes Intel’s new

480GB
will increase density both in terms of the drive so special. For writes, only Intel’s own
lithography or size of the individual cells, 750 NAND drive comes close. But for reads,
and the number of layers. the new 900P tears the entire market a new
Anyway, the upshot is a radically one—342MB/s is not far off an order of
new memory tech that offers massive magnitude quicker than any previous SSD.
Behold a bold performance advantages. On paper, at It’s also the fastest drive we’ve seen on our
least. With the new Optane 900P, we’re formal internal file copy test, which isn’t
new era in getting our first chance for a true feel of a huge surprise, given its performance
what 3D XPoint can achieve in practice. during our pre-benchmark prep.
data storage Right from the get-go, what it can achieve None of this comes cheap, of course. But
is stellar. One of our pre-testing routines— then nor do the fastest CPUs and graphics
GENUINE TECHNOLOGICAL revolutions don’t call it a habit if you like—is to completely cards. Considered in conventional GB/$
come along very often, but this might very fill a given SSD with data, then delete it terms, and where good enough suffices,
well be one of them. The new Optane 900P, all before beginning testing. It’s a crude this drive makes no sense. But if you want
seen here in 480GB specification, is not methodology, to be sure, but it does cut out the best, it doesn’t look bad value in the
the first product we’ve seen that’s based the possibility, albeit one that applies more context of $2,000 CPUs. –JEREMY LAIRD
on Intel’s radical new 3D XPoint memory to older drives, that an SSD only performs

9
technology. But it debuts 3D XPoint in a optimal writing to virgin cells. VERDICT
Intel Optane SSD 900P 480GB
form that allows a much better chance of This usually involves copying data
delivering on its massive promise. sequentially from a source drive over USB TEAR IT UP Sets new
This is 3D XPoint as a complete, self- 3.0 at about 300MB/s. Typically, attempting performance standards in
contained, high-performance storage to copy some files over to the test drive and many areas; based on radical
solution, rather than a small cache drive then multiplying them through internal file new storage technology.
designed to help add a little fizz to a copies results in a fairly dramatic drop in
IN PIECES Seriously expensive compared
larger but slower drive. But what is 3D performance, to 100MB/s or even less. But
to conventional SSDs; not the fastest by
XPoint? That depends on how you use it. not with the Optane 900P. It motors along
every single metric.
In this context, it’s a brand new variant with internal file copies at a full 1GB/s
of non-volatile memory that promises to indefinitely, or at least long enough to fill $600, [Link]

BENCHMARKS SPECIFICATIONS

Intel Optane SSD Samsung 960 Pro Intel SSD 750 Capacity 480GB
900P 480GB 2TB Series 1.2TB
Interface PCI Express
30GB Internal Copy (Seconds) 30 41 42
Atto Sequential Read (MB/s) 2,724 3,420 2,645 Control Protocol NVMe

Atto Sequential Write (MB/s) 2,303 2099 1,431 Controller Intel SLL3D
CrystalDiskMark Sequential Read (MB/s) 2,546 2,636 1,298 Memory Type Intel 3D XPoint
CrystalDiskMark Sequential Write (MB/s) 2,159 2,077 1,271
Sequential Read/Write 2,500/2,000MB/s
CrystalDiskMark 4K Read (MB/s) 342 57 37
CrystalDiskMark 4K Write (MB/s) 317 194 326 Read/Write IOPS 550/500K

Best scores are in bold. Our test bench consists of an Intel Core i7-7700K, an Asus Maximus IX Hero, an Nvidia Warranty Five years
GeForce GTX 1080, 16GB of Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4, and a Samsung 850 Evo 250GB OS SSD.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 83

CRAFT, BUILD, FIGHT AND EXPLORE IN THIS
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Razer BlackWidow Tournament
Edition Chroma V2
Yellow it from the rooftops!
RAZER’S YELLOW SWITCHES are paradoxical: silent, and mechanical may be your dream for just the right user. The expertise and
at once very cool and really odd, super combination; it absolutely wasn’t ours. care that’s gone into it shines through, the
practical and annoyingly finicky, luxurious The TE Chroma V2 has a lot going for upgrades from the previous generation
and squishy. We, frankly, didn’t like them it, even if those switches are contentious. all make sense. It’s an awesome thing.
one bit, but it’s not hard to tease out their It’s tenkeyless, giving it a tight footprint, Objectively, it’s a win. Subjectively, it really
practical benefits. They’re silent, for a but that amputation hasn’t left it lacking isn’t. The wash of post-review separation
start; the only sound you’ll hear is the on the scales, as this is a heavy, unmoving anxiety isn’t there. All because of a little
unavoidable tap of a key bottoming out, and slab of a keyboard. Its small size makes it keyswitch; had this thing thumped on to our
a little soft rubbing of the actuation shaft. inherently portable, as does the removable reviews desk with Razer’s loud, physical,
For those with nearby ears exasperated by USB cable, and your lighting preferences visceral, excellent green switches, or even
the audible click of, for example, Razer’s (set via Razer’s moderately awkward, the bumpy-yet-silent orange variety, it
own ridiculously loud green switches, this but generally very useable, Chroma app) would have been a whole different story.
is a boon. The springs don’t ring, even if you are stored onboard, so they’ll follow you Maybe if the yellow switched version hits
give the base of the board a solid whack— wherever you happen to be, and sync with your desk, the same will be true—but
one of our biggest keyboard bugbears your other devices when you’re at home. that’s for you to decide. –ALEX COX
slashed through on the list. They’re also Unlike earlier entries in the BlackWidow

7
VERDICT
incredibly sensitive. There’s no debounce series, the keyswitches are slightly Razer BlackWidow Tournament
delay, thanks to Razer’s upgraded recessed above a white background, which Edition Chroma V2
transmission technology, and the company makes the awesome RGB colors really
HUNTSMAN Solid engineering;
claims a 0.0mm distance between the pop. There’s a wrist rest, which carries
great lighting; super-sensitive response.
actuation and reset points, and just 1.2mm the spongy theme beyond the keyboard.
travel to actuation. With a meager 45g It’s fat—too fat, perhaps, depending on DADDY-LONG-LEGS Deeply unpleasant
pressure required to overcome the force the position your tendons have seized yellow switches.
of the springs, and no tactile bump, this themselves in after years of keyboard $140, [Link]
keyboard feels as though you could type abuse. Nonetheless, it’s very comfortable,
just by breathing heavily near it. and clicks soundly to the front of the TE V2
Damn, though, we did miss that bump. magnetically, as long as you don’t have the SPECIFICATIONS
While there’s still definite feedback keyboard’s fold-out feet extended. When
Switch Type Razer Yellow
coming from the springiness of the raised, the attraction isn’t as strong.
keys, their light nature means errant There are times when reviewing tech Form Factor Tenkeyless
keypresses are incredibly hard to avoid, feels a little cruel—sitting here as an
Media Keys Shared with F-keys
particularly if you’re sporting heavy unashamed fan of the clack, mashing
fingers and questionable motor skills. stoically away at a squidgy keyboard, Macro Keys Customizable
And the feedback that’s there really isn’t intensely disliking the experience of doing LEDs Full RGB
that great either. It’s spongy, bouncy, so, and having to crush the hard work of
N-Key Rollover 10-key
soft—everything mechanical keyboards some of the brightest engineers in the
shouldn’t be. If it weren’t for the light field by telling you so. Particularly when Pass-Through None
touch of its linear mechanism, we’d have the BlackWidow TE Chroma V2 is, in no
Dimensions 1.5 x 18.7 x 6.7 inches
whispered quietly that this was even uncertain terms, a brilliant keyboard,
moving toward the experience of typing brilliantly designed, brilliantly bright, Warranty One year
on a dome-switched keyboard. Smooth, heavy, and thick, and crafted to be perfect

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 85

in the lab

Logitech MX
Master 2S
A precision-pointing
desktop heavyweight
THIS IS THE IPHONE X of mice. Let us
explain: When a new Apple phone comes
out, packed with features, and highfalutin
suits get wind of their colleagues getting
one, IT departments the world over get
tickets demanding an upgrade. Denial
often results in mysterious breakages,
previously functional iPhone 7s making
their way down flights of stairs or under
Lexus tires. If the appearance of this mouse
on desks doesn’t cause a rise in fraudulent
pointing device button-snapping or latte
spillages, we’ll be surprised.
Not that it’s the perfect mouse for
everyone. For example, the MX Master 2S facilities with the knowing chunk of a clicky absolutely must use Options, and we had
lacks the Lightspeed connection tech that’s wheel feels really good. a couple of issues with software crashes
been exciting us so much recently, falling On the left edge, there’s a syrupy and incompatibility on our travels. Second,
back on Logitech’s older Unifying Receiver smooth thumb wheel, useful for scrolling something of a narrow focus. Those side
module—still perfectly speedy and OK side to side, or any other function you want buttons are almost unusable, and the
for gaming, but not the twitchy winner to configure it for. Behind that, realistically thumb wheel is of questionable value to
that gamers crave. Unless you configure too far behind to comfortably reach with all but a specific sector. The MX Master
it, there’s no DPI switching on the mouse your thumb, is a pair of sliver-thin buttons 2S does more than enough to deserve the
itself, with that function transplanted that we’ll skirt over, because this is the "Master" designation, but a few design
instead into Logitech’s Options software bit where we tell you what’s great about tweaks might have seen it earn an even
suite. The molding defiantly pitches it the Master MX, and they’re really quite stronger superlative. –ALEX COX
solely at right-handers. Fans of light mice awful. On the thumb rest, a hidden gesture
may also be dissuaded. This is a heavy thing control button. Down the wire—an entirely

9
VERDICT
Logitech MX Master 2S
that really feels it; it glides smoothly and optional USB connection, useful only really
calmly, responds in a slick manner, tracks when charging—is the aforementioned MASTERPIECE Flexible
almost deliciously. We’re not entirely sure Logitech Options driver, which lives up to software; great feel; highly
of the physical reason for its catamaran- its name with a cornucopia of configuration practical configuration.
style base, other than looking a bit cool, choices. Further on from that, Logitech
DISASTERPIECE Useless side buttons tied
and separating the sensor and associated Flow, a multiplatform rip-off of Synergy,
to software.
functions from the wing pieces—the MX which enables you to seamlessly move the
Master 2S moves perfectly well without MX Master 2S’s cursor between multiple $100, [Link]
any additional aerodynamics. machines, even going so far as to copy
and paste between them. You can hook up SPECIFICATIONS
WHEEL OF FORTUNE several devices without it, too—the mouse
It’s the features that’ll make it so business- itself saves configuration of up to three Sensor Logitech
attractive. Let’s move down from the individual machines, either via the Unifying
Sensitivity 4,000 dpi
top. Two acoustically independent main Receiver or Bluetooth.
buttons, completely separate from the It's an absolutely gimmick-laden Sensor Model Darkfield High Precision
main upper shell. A rubberized, but not package, then, in a well-built, attractive, Polling Rate 8ms (125Hz)
sticky, metal mouse wheel, weighted and comfortable shell. It’s easy to see how
Programmable
smooth, with the option to switch between those features would be highly attractive
Buttons 7
ratcheted and freewheeling modes. to creatives, professionals, and desktop
That ratcheting isn’t a physical thing, users, and inspire scurrilous envy in those LEDs One, on base
either—hit a button, and it electrically who don’t get to play with them. It really is an Battery Life 70 hours
activates a mild catch; spin the wheel iPhone mouse. But like Apple’s handsets,
Cable Length 1m Micro USB (optional)
fast, and the ratchet disengages, dropping it brings with it a couple of negatives.
back into place when you’re done spinning. First, the ecosystem: Unless you’re Weight 5.1oz
Sounds weird, but splitting fast scroll happy to stick with the stock settings, you

86 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

NZXT H700i
Enthusiast-grade case
with a CAM-do attitude
IT ONLY TAKES ONE LOOK at the H700i to
figure out that this case isn’t messing
around. Technically, you could build
a super-efficient Core i3 system on
a microATX board within its roomy
chambers, but you wouldn’t be fulfilling
the purpose for which it was designed.
A tempered glass side panel, flashy LED
strips, and a central CAM fan controller
are all intended for high-end systems
to be housed within, and shown off like a
gaudy museum exhibit. Unsurprisingly, the
pricing follows suit: At $200, is it worth the
outlay on your already expensive build?
First things first: It looks great.
Aesthetic judgements are never
unanimous, but the atmosphere of quiet
reverence in the Maximum PC office as we
unboxed the H700i speaks for itself. The panels. Three fans fitted to the front and

8
VERDICT
NZXT H700i
simplicity of its front panel and mesh-free one at the rear disperse the hot air amply.
top work well with the full tempered glass While we’re on the topic of airflow and WHAT’S NZXT? Superb build
side panel to create an unfussy, angular cooling, it’s time to touch upon the H700i’s quality, great looks; clever
look. Our review sample is plain black, but big selling point: a central fan and LED strip cable management.
white, blue-black, and red-black options controller. The four included fans are all
XT STAGE LEFT The fan controller is a
are also available should you wish to color connected to this controller, as are the LED
little problematic.
co-ordinate your GPU, motherboard, and strips along the glass panel side of the case.
the like. The roomy look of this model is The controller’s connected up by SATA and $200, [Link]
facilitated by some smart internal design— USB cables, and neatly positioned behind a
it’s easy to keep cables tucked away and central pillar on the far side of the case— SPECIFICATIONS
components positioned neatly. The PSU whose panel can be popped off with one
is fitted under a shroud at the base of handy button press. Connecting additional Form Factor Full tower
the case, which also has three mounting fans is therefore straightforward—hook
Motherboard Mini-ITX, microATX,
brackets for 2.5-inch SSDs. In fact, there’s them up to the controller rather than on Support ATX, and EATX
room for seven 2.5-inch drives in total— to the motherboard directly. Some users (up to 10.7 inches)
although, to our eye, installing a drive in have reported problems with the CAM Colors Available Black, white, black &
each of those bays would compromise the software since the H700i’s launch. Certain blue, black & red
clean look quite a bit. Two are on top of the firmware updates have rendered the Window Available Yes
PSU shroud, and another is on the side whole controller useless in some cases,
wall, facing out toward the glass panel as although by the time of publication, it’s 3.5-Inch Support 3

a showcase piece. entirely possible that subsequent firmware 2.5-Inch Support 7

It’s also a huge case. The CPU and updates will have remedied that. That said,
Radiator Support Front: 2x 140 or 3x
GPU clearance heights are 7.2 inches Corsair has been running similar systems 120mm with push/pull;
and 16.2 inches respectively, which is without the need for additional software Top: 2x 140 or 3x 120mm
about as roomy as you’ll find anywhere for several years now, although admittedly Fan Support Front: 3x 120 or 2x
in the market. In addition to giving plenty without LED support. 140mm (3 Aer F120
of space for multi-GPU builds without Happily, that’s the only stumbling block. Case Version included);
compromising airflow, it also allows ease Elsewhere, it’s plain sailing, from the ease Top: 3x 120 or 2x 140mm;
Rear: 1x 120 or 1x
of access when you’re building inside the of access when building to the quality of 140mm (1 Aer F140
case. We installed a 120mm air cooler its construction and overall appearance. Case Version included)
during our test build, but liquid coolers It’s right up in the nosebleeds when it
Dimensions 9.0 x 20.3 x 19.4 inches
are equally at home in the H700i, thanks comes to pricing, and does everything
to its many radiator mount slots. There’s you’d expect such an expensive model Graphics Card
Clearance 16.2 inches
room on the front and top panels for a to do. It’s worth researching the state of
radiator with three 120mm or two 140mm play on that fan controller before taking CPU Tower
Clearance 7.2 inches
fans, and plenty of elbow room to fit them, the plunge, though, and we only wish
too. Despite the sleek panels, absent of there were a cheaper variant, sans smart Weight 27lb
mesh, the airflow is decent within those CAM technology. –PHIL IWANIUK

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 87

in the lab

Photoshop Elements 2018

Adobe’s image-editing app gets yet another update
OFFERING PHOTO EDITING for newcomers, pause, followed by the familiar marching duplicates. Sure, they were good photos,
the enthusiastic amateur photographer, or ants outline of a selection. We tried to but we only needed to see each one once.
even those pros who don’t care about things confuse it with a brown bear against a Elements gets better every year, but
such as CMYK or 16-bit color, Elements brown backdrop, but it homed right in the changes are never big enough to make
has long punched above its weight. on what we wanted. There was a bit of current users upgrade immediately. For
Offering 90 percent of Photoshop’s most backdrop retained between the bear’s new users, it’s a compelling package, but
useful features for a fixed price, rather legs, but nothing we couldn’t sort out with Affinity Photo, the challenger to Adobe’s
than an annual subscription, and available a few clicks. crown, is less than half the price for a
as a standalone app or in a bundle with its Elsewhere, there’s the ability to open package that concentrates on editing,
video-editing brother, Premiere Elements, eyes that were blinking when the photo rather than organizing and automation.
Photoshop Elements is one of the best was taken—as long as you have another For its target audience, Elements 2018
ways to get into “proper” image editing, photo of the same person with their eyes is the best all-round photo-editing app,
rather than playing with filters and emoji. open—and a whole lot of guided edits for with the auto-selection tool taking away
The Elements interface remains replacing backgrounds, creating double one of the biggest frustrations many new
unchanged since version 11, released in exposures, and more. users find with Expert mode, and the
2012. The shift to a year in the app title, Then there’s Auto Curation. The new Guided edits enabling spectacular
rather than a version number, makes it a Organizer half of the app—which, as transformations of your photos, while
bit easier to tell how old your version is in you’ve probably guessed—organizes your gently teaching you how the app works. As
future, which can only strengthen the urge photo collection, has benefitted from face long as you can stomach the price, it’s hard
to upgrade to the latest annual release. detection in the past, but now gets new to go wrong. –IAN EVENDEN
So, you get the familiar troika of Editor powers to choose the best out of a group

9
VERDICT
modes—Quick, Guided, and Expert, plus of photos. It’s activated with a simple Photoshop Elements 2018
eLive for help and inspiration, and Camera checkbox at the top-right of the Organizer
SPECTACULAR Clever new
Raw for developing raw files—to choose interface, and as you might expect, is
features; tried and tested
from, depending on what you want to do quite processor-intensive, especially
basics; user-friendly.
and your own skill level. As is often the if you import a large photo library. The
case, new features are mainly found in app also creates a slideshow from the VERNACULAR Looks expensive when
Quick and Guided, although Expert does photos Auto Curate selects, so you can viewed against the competition.
benefit from a new auto-selection tool that show off your skills to family and friends
RECOMMENDED SPECS 1.6GHz or faster
should take some of the frustration out of with little to no interaction on your part.
processor with SSE2 support; 4GB RAM;
selecting areas with detailed edges. It’s worth reviewing the system’s choices
64-bit Windows 7 or newer.
It works well; dragging a square around yourself, however, as we found it tended to
an object in your image triggers a short choose pictures so similar as to almost be $100, [Link]

88 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

Premiere Elements 2018
Channel Howard Hughes with the latest video app
VIDEO EDITING is a skill that comes with over by human eyes, as the software can’t clips, and you can record narration directly
practice and study, but Adobe seems know what was important when shooting, into the app, rather than importing it from
determined to slacken the learning curve if but it does a reasonable job of discarding elsewhere. There’s a full suite of DVD
this latest release of its beginner-friendly bits where nothing much happens, and you menus, titles, and captions for you to play
movie editor is anything to go by. However, can customize the algorithm to focus more with, and the Time Remapping tool lets you
with a plethora of free apps available on people or action. experiment with slow or fast motion.
online, is it worth using a paid-for one? Then there’s Candid Moments, which Video editing can be daunting, and for
Much like its brother across the page, hunts through your footage for the best beginners and advanced amateurs alike,
Photoshop Elements, the additions to this single frames to pull out and treat as still the value of an app that holds your hand,
2018 addition are heavy on the automatic images, even opening them in Photoshop but isn’t afraid to let go when you want
processing and time saving. It even claims Elements for you. You’re probably going to run free, is huge. If you only shoot one
to be able to teach you video editing. to want to be shooting 4K footage to take or two movies on your cell phone a year,
The interface remains much the same, best advantage of this feature, and it’s a package like this may be overkill, but
with a preview window up top, timelines support for this high-res format, although for anyone with ambitions that include
below, and fixes and effects on the right— not a new feature, that marks Premiere multiple cameras, soundtracks, or
maddeningly for Photoshop users, who will Elements out above the slew of free editing animated graphics, you’re not going to find
want them on the left. It’s an old-fashioned apps, many of which top out at 1080p. much better out there, even if the price
look now, with the icons appearing too What Elements does well is to take may give you pause for thought in the face
large. The app is split in three, with Quick, the hassle out of video editing. Despite of free competition. –IAN EVENDEN
Guided, and Expert modes, plus eLive and strong showings from developers such as

8
the Organizer. Quick gives you a single Avid, Wondershare, and Lightworks, the VERDICT Premiere Elements 2018
video timeline, plus two audio ones, for beginner-friendly nature of Adobe’s app is
OSCARS Comprehensive
quickly chopping up a movie you’ve made one of its strongest features. The Organizer,
video-editing solution; new
with a single camera, such as your cell, shared with Photoshop Elements, makes it
automated features.
while Expert adds more video tracks, and easy to import and locate your raw footage,
opens up the number of effects available. then in Guided mode you can learn how to RAZZIES Expensive compared to
Adobe’s machine-learning and AI fix it up, be that by removing the distortion competition; interface looks clunky.
research is starting to come to fruition, inherent in movies shot on action cams (a
RECOMMENDED SPECS 1.2GHz CPU with
and it shows in this release of Premiere new feature), or improving a dull-looking
SSE2 support; dual-core CPU for HDV or
Elements. Similar to the Organizer’s Auto- clip with tweaks to brightness, color, and
AVCHD editing; Intel Core i7 for XAVC-S;
Curate, Auto Trim assesses your video and contrast. Adjustment layers, familiar to
4GB RAM; 64-bit Windows 7 or later.
cuts it into just the best bits. This is likely Photoshop users, make it easy to apply the
to produce a result that needs to be looked same adjustments or effects to multiple $100, [Link]

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 89

in the lab
Your camel, or horse, is an indispensable
friend for long desert journeys.

Matching your level The viewpoints

to that of enemies put Photo Mode
is essential. to good use.

This Greek has

marital problems
only you can solve.

Assassin’s Creed Origins

A leap into the unknown leads to revelations
WE DON’T KNOW what’s what. Assassin’s cult-like group, and end up traveling across Points. It’s starting to feel like we’re being
Creed is no longer an annual event, and no Egypt, getting into trouble with invading softened up for the day these are no longer
longer a game in which you hold down your Romans, before becoming—with your optional extras, and are only available in
controller’s right trigger, and run at things. sister, in a neat parallel with Syndicate—the exchange for real money, but for now, it’s
It might take us some time to get over this. first Assassins, and kicking off the whole a free way of getting additional gear, and
No more right trigger—that now series. It’s their fault, basically. doesn’t affect the game in a negative way.
unleashes a heavy attack capable of killing The inevitable modern-day sections are The extra year in development shows,
an unfortunate civilian in a single hit. You forgettable. Apart from confirming that AC and Origins is the best AC title since Black
now run at things while holding the A button and Watch Dogs take place in the same Flag. The new structure and minimal HUD
down, and this simple switch is just the tip universe, they add little other than acting mean an end to the clutter that got in the
of a whole iceberg of changes. as a framing device for the main action, way of enjoying the game, leaving you free
Ancient Egypt suits AC, what with all providing a rationale for why it’s happening, to hold down A and run, leap, and glide
those big stone monuments to run at, and the usual nonsense about orbs and about an intoxicating world. –IAN EVENDEN
holding A. It’s a wider environment than the Pieces of Eden continues to make everyone

8
cramped streets of Victorian London we shrug just as it did in last year’s movie. VERDICT Assassin’s Creed Origins
slunk through in Syndicate, bringing back Microtransactions are again liberally
CREED Beautiful; more like
memories of the dreadful ACIII’s forests. sprinkled through the game, although it
an RPG than ever; exhilarating
But in a good way. The weapons are suitably is possible to play satisfactorily without
world to run through.
deadly, too, all with extra effects such as troubling your wallet. There’s plenty
bleeding or poison baked into them. This, available for free, using your Ubibucks GREED The continued rise of the
combined with gaining XP to level up and from within UPlay to purchase equipment microtransaction makes us a little uneasy.
put Ability Points into a range of skills, and costumes, and Helix Points in the
RECOMMENDED SPECS Intel Core i7-3770
makes Origins feel more like an RPG than game to acquire more in-game currency—
or AMD FX-8350; 8GB RAM; Nvidia GeForce
the series ever has before. drachmas, as we’re in the Ptolemaic period
GTX 760 or AMD R9 280X.
Playing as the handsome Bayek, you when Egypt was run by Greeks—and “time
set about assassinating five leaders of a savers,” such as packs of extra Ability $60, [Link] ESRB: M

90 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

 The Nazis have upped their
robot count since last time.

Roswell’s parade provides

opportunities to eavesdrop.

An arcade machine plays a new The KKK aren’t that good

version of Wolfenstein 3D. at studying German.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Guns, grit, and Germans in a blazing, if familiar, sequel
MACHINEGAMES’ SUBLIME retrofuturistic and the United States has fallen to fascist the ever-present threat of bonkers sci-fi
reimagining of a Nazi-dominated 1960s domination, there are some imaginative creations to shoot at, but you’re not going to
has been screaming for another visit. The sights to see. A ruined New York City is find an open world here. It makes up for this
New Colossus moves things on five months starkly beautiful, picked out in shades of with guns that have heft, weight, and plenty
from The New Order, with BJ Blazkowicz brown and gray, and patrolled by enemies of ammo, enemies who are so evil it would
recovering from the injuries he suffered who have the good grace to wear yellow be a crime not to shoot them, and an actual
while taking out General Deathshead. suits. Roswell, New Mexico, is all sunny feeling of sympathy for BJ, who believes
Which explains why he’s in a wheelchair. skies and bright colors, as a parade passes he’s blown it, fears he is about to die, and
This doesn’t stop him from taking out Nazis, through, and jets stage a flypast overhead. worries about his pregnant girlfriend.
of course, even on a submarine. The opening Roswell is the “disguise” section, like While this is a suitable sequel to The
sequence—after cutscenes establishing the Nazi moonbase in The New Order, and New Order, it lacks some of the freshness
BJ’s father as a white supremacist, dog- is again marked out by your disguise being of that game. We’ve seen a lot of this before,
shooting scumbag—seems trickier than almost perfect until you take it off. It’s less but where The New Colossus does shine,
the previous game’s. The supersoldiers inexplicable than in the previous game— it puts up a blinding display. –IAN EVENDEN
make an appearance much sooner, and you do at least eventually get recognized

7
VERDICT
while you’re able to salvage a suitably large by a dolt of a Nazi officer—but the period Wolfenstein II:
weapon from their smoking biomechanical before this is one of the game’s best, as you The New Colossus
corpses, we do miss the armored dogs. admire the wonderfully designed cars, and
REVOLUTION Great looks and
The New Colossus keeps The New wonder why every book stall sells the same
sounds; imaginative enemies; fun blasting.
Order’s hub level structure, from where you books in the same order. Must be some
can initiate missions by talking to the right Nazi law. Later, something remarkable RETRIBUTION Can feel linear and familiar.
person, and carrying out activities such happens, but all in cutscenes—something
RECOMMENDED SPECS AMD FX-9370,
as the infuriating fueling of a helicopter by the entire game is guilty of.
Ryzen 5 1600X, or Intel Core i7-4770; 16GB
pumping gas from your own flamethrower. For the most part, The New Colossus
RAM; Nvidia GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 470.
Once you’re out in the world, one in is a linear corridor shooter. It mixes things
which Germany won the Second World War, up with some neat lighting changes and $60, [Link] ESRB: M

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 91

in the lab

BO MOORE, TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

Eggs Over-Clocked
Yes, we really cooked an egg in a PC
IF YOU READ OUR REVIEW of the Origin PC shelf. The temperatures there were hot, but
Neuron (pg. 74), you’ll notice a bit of an not quite hot enough to directly cook the egg Our egg-citing
oddity. That’s right, we cooked an egg inside from the bottom. What really did the trick eggs-periment.
a PC. No, this won’t be a regular addition to was putting a second piece of foil on top,
our testing suite, but it was a fun experiment creating a nice little mini oven within the
that really demonstrates how toasty it can larger oven-like enclosure of the system.
get inside our gaming machines. Even better, the Neuron’s Phanteks Evolv
Anyway, let’s talk about our egg-cooking case is equipped with easy-open doors on
methodology. I got the idea when I noticed hinges, making the whole process feel a bit
heat pouring out the blower-style fans on like opening an oven to check on a frittata.
the back of the Neuron. The rig sports dual Speaking of frittatas, that probably would
GTX 1080 Ti GPUs, each of which can get have been a better egg dish for our PC
pretty hot in their own right. I measured cooking adventure. The sunny side up option
temperatures around 80 C coming out of we went with here didn’t really play well
the air vents in the back, while the top of the with our double-oven situation. It did cook,
GPUs inside measured as hot as 85 C. This but wasn’t exactly the most palatable dish
was while running The Witcher 3 at 4K ultra on the menu. The top was cooked to a hard
settings (which looked amazing, by the way). shell, while the inside was a bit of a goopy
Using a little boat made of aluminum foil, mess. Edible, but not exactly tasty. Next
we cracked an egg and set it on the GPU time, I’ll opt for a baked frittata.

ZAK STOREY TUAN NGUYEN

Deputy Editor Editor-in-Chief

So, I’ve finally finished the genuinely felt like putty) with While the world cheers on 4K, than 4K, and 10K is four times
preparatory work for the liquid metal instead, and then and some manufacturers have as many as 5K. Then double
big build I’ve got coming up: gluing it back down again. The even introduced 8K displays, the requirements again to hit
another treacherous liquid- results have been incredible. a little detail slipped through 120fps. That would be over 14
cooled system. All the parts At a 4.4GHz overclock, with HDMI’s official 2.1 spec sheet: times as many pixels as 4K, or
have been requested, and the 1.2V in our testing suite, It’ll support 10K at 120Hz. The 55 times as many as 1080p. If
plans have been made (boy, temperatures dropped by an problem is driving that many we assume an increase in GPU
do I need to learn how to use average of 13.5 C. Don’t worry, pixels. Current GPUs can performance of 30 percent
CAD). I finally committed we’ll have more on this and usually maintain 4K at 60fps in per year, it will take 10 years
to delidding the Intel Core a DIY guide in a forthcoming current games, perhaps with before GPUs can handle 10K
i9-7900X, replacing the issue (in case you’re as insane a few tweaks to the settings. panels at 120fps in games.
stock thermal paste (which as I am.) 5K is 78 percent more pixels Your grandkids will love it.

92 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

 GEEK
TESTED &
APPROVED

Editors’ Picks:
Digital Discoveries
Jarred Walton, senior editor, and Alan Dexter, executive
editor, tell us about their top tech tips of today
GOPRO HERO6 BLACK

GoPro’s latest Hero6

FCIV UTILITY

I’ve been sniffing

Ecoffee Cup
Black takes everything around cryptocurrency CONTROVERSIAL DEP ED TIME. We don’t
you love about GoPro mining again. Mainly out really talk about climate change here at
and ups the ante. It can of curiosity, but also to Maximum PC. It’s one hell of a polarizing
do 4K60, 1440p120, see if it’s worth doing. topic. But what is hard to ignore is how
and 1080p240, all with the excellent image I found myself looking at NiceHash (www. much waste we produce as a species. In
quality and versatility we’ve come to expect. [Link]), with its promise of a simple particular, the trash that ends up in the
This is thanks to the new GP1 processor, interface and support for all the main mining oceans. Great for survivalists stranded
which also adds HEVC support, improving algorithms. You do get paid in Bitcoins, on a desert island; less great for the
image quality with better colors and regardless of what you’re mining, but as a things living in the sea.
dynamic range, and less noise. simple solution, it’s got a lot going for it. One of the things close to my heart,
The Hero6 has waterproofing to 10m, You may have noticed that NiceHash however, is coffee. I pick up a cup of the
and mount and accessory compatibility that isn’t my “pick,” though, and that’s because good stuff every day on my way to work,
includes everything you’d need. Its compact after downloading the NiceHash utility, I drink my beany beverage, and chuck the
size allows it to go places other cameras did something I don’t do enough. I decided not-so-biodegradable cup in the trash.
can’t, including drones, helmets, and more. to make sure that the file I downloaded was It’s a pretty shitty statistic, but an
For the perfect way to capture your sweet indeed the one that the originator intended. estimated 500 billion coffee cups are
aerial moves, look no further. Improved I verified the checksum. There are plenty thrown away each year worldwide, with
5GHz Wi-Fi also enables faster uploads. of stories of installers being replaced on more than 99 percent of them non-
There are a few caveats. First, battery life reputable sites, and malicious software recyclable. To combat this, I decided to
is short, so take a spare battery or three if finding its way into our systems. try out a more permanent alternative to
you’re planning on a lengthier session. The Windows 10 ships with a tool for checking my coffee conundrum: an Ecoffee Cup.
digital image stabilization also isn’t quite a file’s checksum, called certutil, and you Designed in the UK, and shipped to the
as good as optical image stabilization, so a run it from the command prompt. However, US by the power of Amazon, Ecoffee
good grip or clip is highly recommended. there’s another Microsoft tool called FCIV, Cups are predominantly manufactured
If you don’t need the higher resolutions or the File Certificate Integrity Checker, from recycled bamboo husk. BPA and
and frame rates, the Hero5 Black is more which is a bit easier to use. Download it from phthalate-free, they come with a food-
affordable, but if you want the best action [Link] then check the MD5 safe silicone lid and sleeve, and are even
camera this side of 2019, you’re unlikely to checksum with “fciv -md5 <filename>.” Just dishwasher safe (although you should
beat the Hero6. Just make sure you have a make sure the checksum you’re comparing dodge the microwave).
PC that can handle the demands of HEVC. it to hasn’t been compromised as well. All in all, it’s a nice cup. There’s no
$500, [Link] Free, [Link] plastic aftertaste, and the only downside
is the slight smell of silicone emanating
from the lid, which I assume will dissipate
over time. It’s not exactly cheap, coming
in at $16.31, but that said, I do now get a
discount with my local coffee shop, and
the satisfaction of knowing that I’ve cut
down on the amount of excess waste I
produce, too. –ZS
$16.31, [Link]

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 93

comments you write, we respond

WE TACKLE TOUGH READER QUESTIONS ON...

Cover Coolers
> Missing Safe Mode
> Bitcoin Clarification
Spare Gigabytes center, under the headline shortlisted to be included loop, from which I could not
In Zak Storey’s Build It for the lead story, “Today’s in the feature, because it recover. In trying to boot
article in the December Best Upgrades,” was a is certainly the case cooler into Safe Mode to attempt
2017 issue, on page 71, in picture of a Corsair ML120 we recommend, but then the removal of any bad or
the ingredients, he lists: Pro case fan. Except for an realized it didn’t fall under corrupt drivers, I could find
“Storage 1: 80GB Crucial enlarged photo of the cover the remit of being released no way to do so—not from
BX300 2.5-inch SSD shot printed on page 27, I in the last year. So, we still a recovery media or the
$145.00.” In the article, on found no mention in that definitely recommend it, but install media.
the same page, he states: article of the Corsair ML120 it didn’t make the feature on What is one supposed to
“a 480GB Crucial BX300.” Pro case fan, case fans in a technicality. do if they need Safe Mode? I
That’s quite a difference general, or any mention of As for the prices we aim ended up doing a complete
between 80GB and 480GB, the Adata XPG, or Crucial for on the builds at the back reinstall, losing all my
so which did he use? Ballistix Sport DDR4, also of the issue, they’re not activated software.
–Arthur Hazboun in the photo. actually set in stone, but –Lee Boszak
So, my question is: Did more nebulous ideas that we
EXECUTIVE EDITOR ALAN parts of the article that feel are right for the current EXECUTIVE EDITOR ALAN
DEXTER RESPONDS: Well may have covered these market. Today’s prices for DEXTER RESPONDS: Safe
spotted. That’s a typo on the components end up on the RAM and SSDs mean that Mode is still present, though
ingredients list—it should cutting-room floor, or was systems are a little higher it has shifted around quite
be 480GB. Normally, you’d this photo picked because than we would like, so we a bit in recent releases of
look at the price and realize the color red in these tend to fight harder to find Windows, so I’m not at all
what it’s supposed to be components went nicely good deals there, but the surprised that you think
from there, but $145 seems with the yellow and red figures we’re aiming for it’s disappeared. To find it,
low for a 480GB drive, and theme of the cover? are definitely subjective. Of type “Safe” into the Start
too high for 80GB, so we Also, I’d like it if your course, if there’s a price you menu to open the Recovery
see the confusion. We did writers could mention what really want us to build to, options page in the Windows
review the drive on page 86 the cut-off dollar amount is drop us a line to let us know. Settings panel. Here you’ll
of that issue, showing the for the budget, mid-range, find two sections: “Reset
right capacity, but normally and turbo builds for “The Stay Safe this PC” and “Advanced
we’d get the ingredients Builds” section located at I have not seen the removal Startup.” Click the button
list correct, and you the rear of the magazine. of Safe Mode from the Fall titled “Restart now” under
wouldn’t have to guess. The They seem to never mention Creators Update mentioned “Advanced Startup,” and
usual gremlins have been what that magic number is anywhere. Am I the only one then, after a reboot, press 4
blamed and given the boot. that they’re trying to stay who has noticed? to start Safe Mode. If you’re
Apologies for any confusion. beneath. –Michael Knight I recently plugged in a having problems getting into
second Bluetooth receiver Windows in the first place,
Cover Stars EXECUTIVE EDITOR ALAN by mistake, and then things rebooting your machine
On the front cover of the DEXTER RESPONDS: We went downhill. The PC got three times by holding
December issue, dead- originally had the ML120 Pro stuck in an endless boot down the power button

↘ submit your questions to: comments@[Link]

94 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]
forcing Windows to get to device is configured to
the same screen. [NOW ONLINE] use a 24-bit subnet mask
([Link]). Granted,
Bits of Coin
I read with interest your
WHAT THE THREAT that’s probably the most

article “The Rise of New AGAINST NET NEUTRALITY common configuration

out there, particularly in
Money” in the November MEANS FOR PC GAMING small and home offices,
2017 issue. I’m still having but it simply isn’t possible
a hard time getting my head to determine a subnet by
around how cryptocurrency looking at the IP address
works. I have two questions alone. –Phil Hoffman
I’ve never seen addressed: If
I don’t mine cryptocurrency, EXECUTIVE EDITOR ALAN
how do I obtain the DEXTER RESPONDS: You’re
currency? And let’s say I absolutely right in terms of
have obtained one Bitcoin, the bigger picture, but at the
and its value currently is same time, this was written
$5,000. Now I go to a retailer in fairly basic terms for
who accepts Bitcoin, and anyone trying to secure their
I buy a $1,000 TV. In what home network. And from an
form do I get my $4,000 internal perspective, this
On November 21, 2017, FCC chairman Ajit Pai announced
change? Are there fractional is enough to just know that
his intent to “repeal the heavy-handed Internet regulations
Bitcoins? –Jack Mangold you’ve set up a device on the
imposed by the Obama Administration and to return to the
right subnet (assuming, of
light-touch framework under which the Internet developed
EXECUTIVE EDITOR ALAN course, that you’ve set up
and thrived before 2015.” These plans to limit the FCC’s
DEXTER RESPONDS: The the subnets yourself).
power and remove regulations protecting Internet users
time to mine Bitcoins has
in the US will give companies like Comcast more power to
definitely passed, but you Sound & Vision
shape how we use the Internet, despite Pai’s claim that “the
can still buy and sell them I just installed GeForce
FCC would simply require Internet service providers to be
using a Bitcoin exchange driver 388.31, and my
transparent about their practices, so that consumers can buy
(such as Kraken, Coinbase, motherboard sound
the service plan that’s best for them, and entrepreneurs and
and so on). Once you do buy stopped working. I did all
other small businesses can have the technical information
Bitcoins (or a fraction of the usual things—changing
they need to innovate.”
a Bitcoin), they’re held on default sound device,
Read the full article at [Link]
the exchange in a wallet, uninstalling sound drivers,
and any leftover coins (or rebooting, and so on. I found
fractions of) are left in the a workaround by using
wallet. At the time of going are trying to warn me about see if anyone can show us the audio jack on my Asus
to press, Bitcoin is enjoying something. I have always a clear Events log. I’d even display, driven by my GPU,
another one of its volatile been told that all this can contribute to a prize. but hardly optimal.
moments, which has seen be fixed, and that all I had to –Len Babin –Rona Matllow
its price hit over $10,000. do was ask Mr Google. Well,
So, buying a TV would leave when I tell Mr Google that EXECUTIVE EDITOR ALAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR ALAN
plenty of coin left in your “The application-specific DEXTER RESPONDS: That DEXTER RESPONDS: It sounds
wallet for future purchases permission settings do sounds like a reasonable as though your audio drivers
or investment. We’ll be not grant Local Activation idea. While you should have defaulted to the HDMI
visiting cryptocurrencies permission for the COM always be able to find output supported by your
again soon, with practical Server application with responses for the more graphics, as opposed to
advice for dealing with them CLSID,” he coughs a bit, esoteric problems, common the one that was on your
on a day-to-day basis. then launches me into issues should be easily motherboard. The standard
complex, multi-option found. Leave it with us. response here is to go to
Viewing Events proposals for fixing this the Sound settings in the
Great article on speeding problem, which seem to be Secure Knowledge control panel, and make
up the PC in the December mainly suggestions from I believe that there’s a sure you have headphones/
issue. It made me think that, well-meaning folk. significant error in the speakers selected as the
aside from always trying to So, my question to you is: “Secure Your Network default playback device,
get more speed, one of the Would you write an article on Devices” article, which and not the Nvidia Output
things that has always driven the best way to get rid of all appeared in the December option. However, as you’ve
me crazy about Windows these errors and warnings? 2017 edition. When said you’ve already checked
is all the “administrative Tell us what the most discussing subnets and this, it is probably down
events” reported by Event common ones are, and how VLANS, the author claims to a driver conflict. The
Viewer. Ever since Windows to fix them. Tell us about the that “You can identify which solution here is to uninstall
and I have known each most serious. Let us know subnet a device belongs to your current audio drivers,
other, it says that my if it’s worth investing all the by the first three numbers then reinstall them again
DistributedCOM is not happy, time I have to fix these. Hell, in your IP address….” (you’ll find the drivers on
and my DNS Client Events why not start a contest to That’s only true when the Asus’s website).

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 95

MAXIMUM PC DIGITAL EDITION
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Sponsored by a part-by-part guide to building a better pc
blueprint

BUDGET MID-RANGE

INGREDIENTS INGREDIENTS

PART PRICE PART PRICE

Case Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX $70 Case NZXT S340 Elite $99

PSU EVGA SuperNOVA 550 G2 $90

PSU EVGA 450B Bronze $45
Mobo MSI X370 SLI PLUS $140
Mobo ASRock AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac $95
CPU AMD Ryzen 5 1600 $233
CPU AMD Ryzen 3 1200 $110
Cooler Enermax ELC-LMR240-BS Liqmax II NEW $90
GPU EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti SC Gaming 4GB NEW $158
GPU Asus GeForce GTX 1070 Ti TURBO 8GB NEW $450

RAM 8GB (2x 4GB) Patriot Viper Elite DDR4 2666 $105 RAM 16GB (2x 8GB) [Link] Ripjaws V Series
DDR4 3200 $215
SSD Team Group L5 LITE 3D 2.5-inch 120GB NEW $55
SSD Samsung 850 EVO M.2 2280 250GB NEW $106

HDD 1TB WD Blue 7,200rpm $50 HDD Western Digital Blue Series 1TB 7,200rpm $50

OS Ubuntu Desktop Linux 16.04 LTS 64-bit $16 OS Windows 10 Home 64-bit OEM $100

Approximate Price: $704 Approximate Price: $1,573

THE MEMORYPOCALYPSE has reared its ugly head again. Our Ryzen- BUY CLEVER, and this build could cost you a whole lot less. There are at
compatible DDR4, which gave us a saving last issue of $3, has leapt least $65 worth of mail-in rebates lurking in there, and we canvassed
in price by a worrying $30. The world needs more RAM, dammit, and prices (worst luck) just following the end of a big sale period. Times
soon. We’re not just going to sit here and take this gouging—we’re were not the kindest to us—they may be kinder to you. With our mid-
going to complain about it. But, equally, we can’t let memory tell range monster suffering price hikes across the board, we’ve bitten
us what to do, so we’re sticking with our recent switch to an easily the bullet and made a few switches. Zotac’s GeForce GTX 1070 Mini,
upgraded Ryzen 3 setup, the chip of which you may be able to pick up once a bargain, leapt up to $420, making spending an extra $30 and
for 10 or so bucks less if you check on the right day. To make up a little jumping to Asus’s nice-priced 1070 Ti far less worrying. To offset that
of the cash absorbed by that RAM, we tossed out our old MSI 1050 Ti and other rises (cough, RAM, cough), we’ve switched out the cooler for
GPU, and dropped in an equivalent superclocked EVGA version that’s the lowest-end AM4-compatible radiator we could find ($40 saving),
$5 cheaper. Then we cursed at the out-of-stock L5 LITE SSD, which and specced down the SSD just a little to save another $60. Not that
forced us to switch to its 3D version, and that cost an extra $7 on top. these changes will impact the grand vision of this machine: Ryzen 5
So, our budget system is less budget than before, but that’s still a hell and that 1070 Ti in tandem will tear through 1080 and 1440p games,
of a machine for the price. and you can push the clocks if you wish.

[Link] FEB 2018 MAXIMUMPC 97

blueprint

BACK DOWN MEMORY LANE AGAIN. Last issue, we complained about

having to pull our high spec rig down to using a lower spec RAM kit:
four 8GB sticks of RGB-flavored [Link] TridentZ that cost a whopping
$10 more than the RAM from our previous build. This issue, that same
kit has jumped up another $10. No, wait, missed a zero: $100. Our
solution, given there’s no other option, is to take the hit. Our PSU has
gone up in price, but staying modular and keeping the wattage up is
all but essential, so we’ve stuck with that, too. One saving grace: At
press time, the fantastic 12-core 1920X was on offer, absorbing pretty
much every cent of the additional outlay elsewhere, and if you see a
Threadripper for under $700, you are under orders to snap it up.
On top of that chip, we’ve finally switched out the NZXT Kraken
radiator for a more traditional air cooling solution. It’s a chunk
cheaper, but Noctua’s NH-U14S, finally available on Newegg, really
works—with the airflow of an additional 140mm NF-A15 fan, it drags
TURBO through enough air to quell the heat of even a fully clocked 4GHz 16-
core processor in the throes of epic rendering.
This machine can do just about anything. Its GTX 1080 Ti is nigh on
unstoppable, the Ryzen CPU is, though, being stared down by Intel’s
eighth generation crop—a real, ahem, bulldozer—and sticking with a
reasonably high-end RAM setup means we’re not going to be fighting
with any bottlenecks any time soon. Expect the lineup to change
significantly over the next few months, though, especially that case.

For more of our component recommendations,

visit [Link]/best-of-the-best

INGREDIENTS UPGRADE
PART PRICE
OF THE
Case Phanteks Eclipse P400S Tempered Glass
MONTH
Silent Edition $90

PSU Corsair RM750X Modular Gold $130

Mobo Asus Prime X399-A $350 NOCTUA NH-U14S

CPU AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1920X $650
Moving backward from liquid cooled AIOs is an odd thing to
do—we’d only just gotten comfortable—but the results of
Cooler Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3 140mm Noctua’s stand-up cooler, developed in the chilly mountains
+ NF-A15 PWM NEW $102
of Austria, really do speak for themselves. Given adequate
GPU MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti ARMOR 11G OC $720 airflow inside your case, you’ll see stability, you’ll see results,
and the fans are large enough that you likely won’t hear
RAM 32GB (4x 8GB) [Link] TridentZ RGB DDR4 3000 $460
about it even under heavy load, provided you have room for
SSD 512GB Samsung 960 Pro M.2 NVMe $330 the massive 140mm heatsink. Don’t let the taupe and brown
hardware put you off—this is PWM-controlled air movement
HDD 4TB WD Black 7,200rpm $185 that can’t be beat. Brown means good, see? Doubling up
OS Windows 10 Home 64-bit OEM $100 with a second, equally brown fan on the other side is highly
recommended, too—it’s a quick fit, and a cheap extra.
$80, [Link]
Approximate Price: $3,117

Maximum PC (ISSN 1522-4279) is published 13 times a year, foreign orders must be prepaid. Canadian price includes postage The Official Xbox Magazine, and PC Gamer. Entire contents copyright
monthly plus Holiday issue following December issue, by and GST (GST #R128220688). PMA #40612608. Subscriptions do 2017, Future US, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in
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by Curtis Circulation Company. Basic subscription rates: one year Returns: IMEX Global Solutions, PO Box 25542, London, ON of Maximum PC are trademarks of their respective companies.
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98 MAXIMUMPC FEB 2018 [Link]

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