Maximumpc - April 2016 Mobile Muscle

Buy, rent, donate, rediSCoVer tHe adVanCed adoBe
or go Free? Control panel ligHtroom triCkS

is renting the future for Master Windows 10s settings Sort your workflow like the
games and software? pg. 54 with our special guide pg. 68 pros with our top tips pg. 70
minimum bs april 2016 www.maximumpc.com
MoBile
muSCle
Intels new Skylake CPUs
redefine power & gaming!
All the CPUs explained
Best graphics revealed
K-Series mobile CPU
Do It Yourself
Build a Virtual
reality pC
Play on a big screen or
a headset with this tiny
powerhouse pg. 72 HeadSet
HeaVen
Audiophile or
gaming? We
test the best
cans pg. 26
table of contents where we put stuff
APRIL 2016 QuIckstart

12 the news
Solving the password problem; Skype
hides IP addresses; a Brave new
browser; Windows 10 devices take off.
26 18 the lIst
Battle of The coolest things we saw at CES.
the cans
20 talkIng tech
We talk to HTCs Shin about Vive VR.
Build yourself the

perfect rig ready to
power Oculus Rift.
r&d
62 autopsy
We take apart the Fairphone 2 to see
whether we can put it back together.
64 how to
Use Raspberry Pi as a wireless print
server; rediscover the Control Panel;
pick up advanced Lightroom tips.
26 44 54 72 BuIld It
Build an Oculus Rift-ready VR rig.
Battle of skylake Buy, rent,
the cans goes moBIle or go free?
Were all ears as we put 12
headsets to the test.
A guide to Intels broadest ever
range of mobile chips.
How do youand how should
youget your games?
letters
22 doctor
94 comments
In the laB
90
78 83 86 rIse of the
hp spectre x2 mad catz rat pro x denon da-300usB tomB raIder
6 MAXIMUMPC APR 2016 maximumpc.com

Introducing the Most Powerful and
Customizable Small Form Factor
CHRONOS
13.75
Removable Magnetic Feet to Support Any Vertical or Horizontal Orientation
FEATURES
Exclusively Designed by ORIGIN PC
Up to an Intel Core i7 5960X Processor
ORIGIN FROSTBYTE Liquid-Cooling
Up to an NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X
Free Lifetime 24/7 U.S. Based Support
@originpc
a thing or two about a thing or two
editorial
Tuan
Nguyen
EDITORIAL
Editor-in-Chief: Tuan Nguyen
Executive Editor: Alan Dexter
Online Managing Editor: Jimmy Thang
Senior Editor: Jarred Walton
Associate Editor: Alex Campbell
Contributing Editor: Chris Angelini
Contributing Writers: Ian Evenden, Dan Griliopoulos,
Dave James, Jeremy Laird, Paul Lilly, Kevin Parrish,
Nick Peers, James Russell, Mayank Sharma, Zak Storey
Copy Editors: Katharine Davies, Mary Ricci
Editor Emeritus: Andrew Sanchez
ART
Art Editor: Fraser McDermott
Cover illustration: Simon Windsor, Gary Stuckey
SometimeS LeSS
Photography: Future Photo Studio, Mark Madeo
BUSINESS
Vice President, Sales: Stacy Gaines, stacy.gaines@futurenet.com
Vice President, Strategic Partnerships: Isaac Ugay,
iS indeed more
isaac.ugay@futurenet.com
East Coast Account Director: Brandie Rushing,
brandie.rushing@futurenet.com
East Coast Account Director: Michael Plump,
michael.plump@futurenet.com
West Coast Account Director: Austin Park,
austin.park@futurenet.com
West Coast Account Director: Brandon Wong,
It seems as though every company under gaming on the road, you should be
brandon.wong@futurenet.com
West Coast Account Director: Tad Perez, tad.perez@futurenet.com the sun makes headphones now. Ever gaming on laptops with the latest Skylake
South-West Account Director: Jessica Reinert,
jessica.reinert@futurenet.com since the rise of Beats headphones CPUs from Intel. Launched late in 2015,
Director of Marketing: Robbie Montinola
Director, Client Services: Tracy Lam
which carry a terrible reputation with Intel essentially made one big promise
Director, Retail Sales: Bill Shewey people who care about audio quality for laptop users: Incredible battery life
PRODUCTION the industry has gone headphone-crazy. for laptops would become reality. For the
Production Manager: Mark Constance
Production Controller: Vivienne Calvert
Companies that youd think would never most part, the dream is real. The worst
Project Manager: Clare Scott get into the audio market are making part of Skylake, though, might just be
Production Assistant: Emily Wood
headphones. The same is true now of that there are nearly 50 different models
FUTURE US, INC.
One Lombard Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94111
gaming headsets. to choose fromsome we havent even
Tel: (650) 872-1642, www.futureus.com There is an overwhelming number of seen in our Lab.
Global Chief Revenue Officer: Charlie Speight gaming headsets to choose from. Some Skylake also introduced a new
Vice President, Marketing & Operations: Rhoda Bueno
Vice President, Product Development: Bart Jaworski
are garbage, while others are pretty integrated graphics option. I know, I can
Finance Director: Frederick Alfredo decent. As you may have guessed, most already imagine you grinding your teeth.
Senior HR Generalist: Mary Mauck
are made with third-rate components on But honestly, Intels latest graphics
SUBSCRIBER CUSTOMER SERVICE
Maximum PC Customer Care,
the cheap. Recently, gamers have begun chops arent bad at all, and if you look
Future Publishing, PO Box 2024, Langhorne, PA 19047 using normal audio headphones for at the stats on Steam, a whopping
Website: http://myfavoritemagazines.com
Tel: 1-844-779-2822 (toll free) gaming, paired with a mic. 46 percent of people play their games on
Lines open Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. For people like me who enjoy Intel HD graphics. Whatever your case
and Sat 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. EDT
Email: contact@myfavouritemagazines.com listening to their favorite tunes through may begaming or workingwell sift
BACK ISSUES
headphones but also dabble with some through the mobile Skylake details and
Website: www.maximumpc.com/shop gaming, I find that the best approach is give you the lowdown on whats really
Tel: 800-865-7240
to pair my favorite cans with something worth buying.
REPRINTS
Future US, Inc., 4000 Shoreline Court, Suite 400, called a ModMic, which is basically a In the world of tech, there are times
South San Francisco, CA 94080
Website: www.futureus.com
high-quality voice microphone that can when plenty of options are available.
Tel: 650-872-1642, Fax 650-872-2207 be attached to any pair of headphones. Many brands, many products, and a sea
Next Issue on Sale April 5, 2016 Some Googling will reveal that more and of speeds and feeds. The old adage goes
more people are using this approach. something like, Competition is good
Right now, almost all gaming for the consumer. Sometimes, though,
Future is an award-winning international media headsets are made by companies with so much competition produces trash
group and leading digital business. We reach more
than 57 million international consumers a month
no serious audio experience, except for for products. Fortunately, were here to
and create world-class content and advertising a select few, namely Astro, Turtle Beach, help you sort through whats worth your
solutions for passionate consumers online, on tablet
& smartphone and in print. and Sennheiser. Out of those three, consideration, and your money.
Future plc is a public Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne Sennheiser is an exception, because its
company quoted Non-executive chairman Peter Allen
on the London Chief financial officer Penny Ladkin-Brand entire history as a reputable company is
Stock Exchange
(symbol: FUTR).
Managing Director, Magazines Joe McEvoy
based on making quality headphones
www.futureplc.com Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244 theyre essentially a reference name
2016 Future US, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine
for most headphone aficionados. Can
may be used or reproduced without the written permission of gaming headphones even compete? We Tuan Nguyen is Maximum PCs editor-in-
Future US, Inc. (owner). All information provided is, as far as Future
(owner) is aware, based on information correct at the time of press. find out in this months group test. chief, also known as the pointy end of the
Readers are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly
with regard to products/services referred to in this magazine. We
Headphones are perfect for when stick. Hes been writing, marketing, and
welcome reader submissions, but cannot promise that they will youre gaming on the road. And if youre raising hell in the tech industry for 19 years.
be published or returned to you. By submitting materials to us you
agree to give Future the royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive right
to publish and reuse your submission in any form in any and all
submit your questions to: comments@maximumpc.com

media and to use your name and other information in connection
with the submission.
maximumpc.com apr 2016 MAXIMUMPC 11

quickstart the beginning of the magazine, where the articles are small
Solving the
Password Problem
Is it time to move on from passwords?
Most of you reading this million leaked ones) contained
probably werent around in entries such as 123456,
the 1920s, but had you been password, and qwerty, to
alive, you might remember name three of the top five.
visiting a speakeasy, a secret The problem with stronger
establishment that served passwords is that theyre harder
alcohol during Prohibition. To to remember. Thats where
gain entry, youd tap on the door password managers such
and mutter a password, and if as LastPass can help. We asked
it was correct, you could enter. LastPass for its thoughts, and
It was a simple system, and although it thinks passwords
nearly a century later, were still will be around for a long time, it
using the same basic concept, acknowledged that its looking
though its not to keep alcohol at what comes next and new
under lock and keyits to ways to augment passwords.
protect our online accounts. One way is single sign-on
The question is, should we be? authentication, a process that
Username and password allows a user to enter a single
combinations grant us access The future of passwords could involve a combination of inputs, such name and password to access
to banking sites, healthcare as image recognition and traditional password entry. multiple applications.
portals, and other places on This is a viable alternative to
the web where we dont want measures, such as biometrics this will come down to ignorance the password because it passes
strangers poking around. and two-factor authentication. rather than negligence, because secure authentication data
The problem is, hackers are Theres even talk of devices that in many cases very little is done between the user and a service,
relentless in their pursuit of our can be ingested or injected into to actually educate users about while entirely eliminating the
digital data, whether its to steal the body to confirm a persons what good password practice element of a password. Any
our identities and commit credit identity, though not everyone looks like, Steven Furnell, cloud service provider can
card fraud, swipe industry agrees that passwords have professor of IT Security at offer single sign-on for their
secrets, or any other nefarious run their course. Plymouth University, told us. service with SAML 2.0 since it
purpose that drives them. All Passwords are much- Furnell puts some of the is an industry-wide standard, a
they need is the right password. maligned and with good blame on websites, pointing out LastPass spokesperson told us.
This is why some are reasonwe have a long-term that most of them dont provide Yet another alternative is
calling for the death of simple track record of using them users with proper password multifactor authentication.
passwords in favor of stronger badly. However, at least part of guidance. As such, it is perhaps A recent study by Plymouth
unsurprising to find that users University came up with a
can get away with making system called GOTPass, which
very weak choicessuch as uses a combination of an unlock
The problem is, hackers are those regularly revealed in the
annual list of worst passwords
pattern, image recognition,
and traditional username and
relentless in their pursuit of published by SplashData. password. The advantage of
our digital data.

SplashDatas 2015 list of the GOTPass is that its both easy
worst passwords (based on two and cheap to deploy. PL

quickstart
WindoWS 10
deviceS Top 200
Million MArk
Off tO a fast staRt
Brave isnt just a new browser, its a whole miCrosoFt reCently announCed that Windows 10 is now running on over 200 million
new payment model. devices. For those who think that figure is inflated by counting users who upgraded to
Windows 10 and then rolled back to a previous version, that isnt the case. In no uncertain
Ex-Mozilla CEo terms, Microsoft says, There are more than 200 million monthly active devices around the
world running Windows 10, with the key phrase being monthly active.
MakEs BravE One could argue that a monthly active count is a snapshot that could still be thrown off
by downgrades that wouldnt be factored in until the next month, but those would be offset
NEw BrowsEr by upgrades (at least partially).

The point is, Windows 10 is gaining ground without any number-counting shenanigans.
Reclaiming the web And to drive the point home, Microsoft says that engagement on Windows 10 is the highest
of any version ever, with Windows 10 users logging over 11 billion hours in December. Pl
Former mozilla Ceo and JavaScript creator
Brendan Eich has resurfaced in the news
with the launch of a new company called Skype HideS
Brave Software. Whats the new startup
focused on? An open-source web browser
ipAddreSSeS
called Brave. The browser, version 0.7, Vengeful gamers
launched to early adopters and testers on arethwarted
Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
attention, gamers and streamers:
According to Eichs blog, the browser
Go update your Skype installation. The
blocks ad-click confirmation signals,
reason why is because the latest build
impression-tracking signals, and signaling/
finally hides IP addresses by default.
analytics scripts. On a web page, Brave will
Starting with this update to Skype and moving forward, your IP address will
insert a few new clean ads into standard-
be kept hidden from Skype users. This measure will help prevent individuals
sized spaces that are found by a cloud robot.
from obtaining a Skype ID and resolving to an IP address, the Skype team
He also said that the browser will target
announced in a blog post.
ads that are based on browser-side intent
Microsoft is targeting gamers with this update. Why? Prior to this, it wasnt
signals phrased in a standard vocabulary.
that difficult for a sore loser on the Internet to discover a persons IP address
The use of re-identifiable cookies and
based on their Skype ID, and initiate a DDoS attack. There are several sites
persistent user IDs will not be permitted.
and services called resolvers that offer to do the dirty work, so even non-
The browser sees everything you do,
programmers could obtain a Skype users IP address with little effort. Pl
including actions to stop that annoying
phenomenon of retargeting where an
tech tragedies and triumphs

ad chases you around the web, often for
something you just bought or decided not to
buy, Eich writes. We keep user data out of a monthly snapshot of whats up and down in tech
our cloud Brave Vault by default. Its better
for you and us that we dont store any of your
data without your permission.
Brave promises faster browsing
because it blocks trackers and intrusive
triumPhs tragedies
ads. It also promises safer browsing due twiCe as niCe no love For detaChables
to its ability to block third-party tracking CyberPowerPC started selling a IDC reported that 2015 was the first
and malvertisement, and direct traffic setup with two PCs in a single case year since 2008 that PC shipments
one for gaming, one for streaming. dipped below 300 million, but didnt
to HTTPS sites automatically. Users can
No more sharing resources! include 2-in-1 devices in its tally.
also see ads that supposedly respect your
privacy, or pay sites for ad-free browsing.
KiCK-ass PriCe Cut more losses
Brave also aims to compensate websites
AMD gave small form factor builders AMD ended 2015 with a thud, posting
and content creators without the use of some love by cutting the price of its a $102 million loss in Q4, but hopes
ads. Our premise is that the web requires R9 Nano by 23 percent to $499. Polaris will lead to a profit in 2016.
ads for much of its funding, but not the
poorly performing ads and trackers that high on helium Power triP
drive users to ad-blockers. And we want to Seagate released a 10TB hard drive Microsoft and Apple issued recalls,
enable micropayments as an alternative, filled with helium. It doesnt float, but the former for certain Surface
without requiring infrastructure changes the 3.5-inch, seven-platter HDD will tablet power cords, and the latter
from websites and publishers, Eich said in help data centers store more files. for some Mac and iOS AC adapters.
a follow-up blog post. KP

Dave James
Tech Talk
AMD, Polaris, and the

Great GPU Arms Race
AMD DroppeD the first grAphics boMb of the year when it
announced the new Polaris GPU architecture. Promising the sort
of performance and efficiency gains we havent seen from AMD in
generations, Polaris is taking the fight to Nvidia with the full force
of the 14nm FinFET process.
This is going to be quite a year for graphics geeks. a whole new world of efficient
Its maybe 12 months later than we might have graphics architectures.
AD
hoped, but the big die-shrink showdown is about to The target we set was to do
drop, and both the red and green sides of the great console-class gaming on a thin
graphics divide are ready and waiting with new GPU and light notebook, explained Raja
technologies to help fire pixels down our eye tubes. Koduri, head of the newly minted
AMD got everyones geek glands swelling with the Radeon Technologies Group. He
announcement of its new Polaris architecture at this was demonstrating that lower-
years Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. GPU production processes stalled end, console-class Polaris GPU
The reason its so exciting is that AMD has finally recently, but thats set to change. and showing off a high-powered
got the smaller production process it desperately enthusiast GPU at CES. And the
needed to compete with the architectural efficiency AMD is giving the bird to 16nm and demo was impressive. Set against
gains that Nvidias Maxwell GPUs produced. going straight for a 14nm FinFET a GTX 950, the Polaris GPU was
Nvidia preempted the failure of the last drop process with GlobalFoundaries. running at 86W in total platform
in transistor lithography, from 28nm to 20nm, by The 20nm process was a power, with the green machine
making a real push for efficiency in its last-gen nightmare because of the physical topping 150W, both running Star
GPU, while AMD seemed to be putting all of its eggs effects of shrinking performance Wars: Battlefront on a 60fps limit.
in the production process basket without seeing parts to that level. The flat, 20nm If the high-powered Polaris nets
gains elsewhere. Well, apart from high bandwidth planar transistor suffered from the same efficiency gains, we are in
memory (HBM). electrical leakage, prompting the for a treat when Polaris drops in the
Anyway, the fabs making the 20nm chips made too jump to FinFET, or 3D transistors. summer. But its also a relief to hear
many broken ones, without the power and efficiency Remember when Intel shifted to about low- and high-end versions of
boosts needed to make the pricey GPUs viable. 22nm Tri-Gate transistors? The Polaris, given that weve been stuck
Now things are different. Everyones steering GPU industry is following suit. with so few new GPUs and so many
clear of those broken 20nm planar transistors, while The 3D transistorsused in rebrands over the last generations.
AMDs 14nm and Nvidias 16nm Now we just need the Zen side of
Pascal GPU architecturemake the AMD equation to balance up, and
it far easier to control electrical maybe AMD wont have to keep using
current and reduce leakage. By Intel CPUs when demonstrating its
significantly cutting the wasted new GPU architectures.
AMD is giving the bird to energy used simply by turning
16nm and going straight on a GPU, and coupling that with Dave James has been
the inherent efficiency gains of a building and writing about
for a 14nm FinFET process smaller production process, this PCs and their components
withGlobalFoundaries. years cards are going to introduce for the last two decades.
maximumpc.com APR 2016 MAXIMUMPC 15

Alex Campbell
OPEN SOURCE
Say Hello to the
Xenial Xerus
When someone Wants to get started and dive into the world of Linux,
it can be overwhelming. Theres a ton of new terminology, and plenty
of different distributions to choose from. But few of those distros are
as user- and newbie-friendly as the old orange-and-purple Ubuntu.
Ubuntu, in my mind, is one of the most important the OS makes up a huge share of the
distributions in the GNU/Linux world. (I say this Linux desktop space.
as an avid Arch user, by the way.) Ubuntu has Thats not to say there hasnt been
always prided itself as user-friendly, with a simple controversy over the OS. Ubuntus
and intuitive desktop environment called Unity. I implementation of web search in the
remember when I first installed Ubuntu (version Dash in 14.04 sent desktop search
AD
9.04), and felt at home with the familiar GNOME 2 strings to Canonical, not unlike what
desktop. When Unity came out with 11.04, it shook Cortana does for Microsoft. (Ubuntu
up my world. I despised the change, and the dock on 16.04 will turn this off by default.)
the left side of the screen. That upset privacy advocates, who
Love it or hate it, Unity has become one of the turn to Linux for its relative privacy
main faces of the Linux desktop, right there with The Dash has web search disabled compared to Windows. Then theres
GNOME, KDE, and now MATE. As much as some like by default in Ubuntu 16.04. the choice to use the desktop Mir
to complain about Unity (Im still on the fence about over Wayland or X, and Canonicals
it myself), even GNOMEs Activities panel feels an receiving support until April 2017. not-so-warm-and-fuzzy approach
awful lot like Unitys Dash. In an OS where people Likewise, 14.04 will be supported to licensing the code for Mir.
get really passionate about their desktops and tend until April 2019. But when youre the 800-pound
to do things one way for a decade (GNOME 2 was In case youre wondering, gorilla in the room, people tend to
released in 2001, while GNOME 3 didnt come out Ubuntus release numbers follow a pay attention and scrutinize your
until 2013), it takes cojones to push change on users simple formula: It uses a two-digit decisions. Had Canonical not been
who could still be easily scared back to Windows. year followed by a two-digit month such a big player in shaping the
Canonical, the for-profit company behind the (YY.MM). Ubuntu releases a new Linux ecosystem, this type of action
Ubuntu project, first released the Debian-based version every year, including an would not have gotten nearly as
Ubuntu 4.10 back in 2004. Ubuntu has flourished LTS version that ships every other much attention.
ever since, releasing new versions of the OS every year. In this way, Ubuntu mirrors When it comes down to it, you
six months or so. Long-term support versions are the tick-tock formula that Intel really cant talk about Linux without
recommended for most production servers and uses for its CPUs. This year marks a talking about Ubuntu these days.
desktop users, and LTS versions receive five years tock, with the arrival of 16.04 LTS And its actually not a bad OS
of updates and support. Ubuntu 12.04 (Precise (aka Xenial Xerus) . from a user perspective. If youve
Pangolin), released in April 2012, will continue Theres no accurate way to know never tried Linux, I suggest you go
how many users Ubuntu has, since download a copy of Ubuntu 16.04 to
theres no registration requirement, a USB stick and give it a whirl. It will
and raw download numbers arent literally cost you nothing more than
an accurate measure of install your time. Who knows, you might
In an OS where people get base. But reports keep pointing to just be motivated to learn more.
really passionate about their the fact that Ubuntus been killing
it in the cloud and server space. On Alex Campbell is a Linux geek
desktops, it takes cojones to top of that, if you count the derivative who enjoys learning about
push change on users. flavors such as Mint and Kubuntu, computer security.

quickstart
The CoolesT Things We saW aT Ces 2016
8
in-Win 805
ecs
H110su-02
ECS is working
on a new mini
Nicknamed the Black
STX form factor
Hole, In-Win uses mirrors
from Intel thats
to create the optical
roughly 5x5
illusion that the cases
inches in size.
darkness goes on forever.
7
ORigin Omni The Omni is a gaming all-in-one that
DeepcOOls liquiD-cOOleD psu
DeepCool is working on a liquid-cooled power supply
can house a Haswell-E CPU and a Titan X GPU! because well, why not?
ORigin pc
cHROnOs
We love small,
powerful gaming
systems, and it
doesnt get much Htc ViVe Dev kit
smaller and more powerful two adds a front-facing
than Origins Chronos. camera, improved
optics, and more
ergonomic controllers.
Oculus Rift
We got to try on the
msi VORtex MSIs final retail version of
trashcan-shaped PC might the Rift and its the
remind us of the Mac Pro, sharpest one yet.
but it houses two GeForce
GTX 980 GPUs in SLI.
18 MAXIMUMPC A P R 20 1 6 m a x i m u m p c .c o m
quickstart
BY Jimmy Thang
Shin from hTC

Discusses Vive VR
We speak to HTC about its latest iteration of
Vive VR and what differentiates it from the pack
With the Oculus Rifts launch price confirmed at $600, its not surprising that a vast swathe of
us were left a little disappointed at how far VRs prodigal son fell (thanks Mark Zuckerberg!).
Fortunately, VR isnt a monopolized medium, and the likes of HTC and Open VR are providing
alternative solutions to our virtual reality woes. We spoke to Shin from HTC about its latest
version of the Vive headset, and what makes it so different from the competition.
much smaller, compact design, Shin: It is an actual traditional

and a more ergonomic strap camerathere is a way to
for your head, so this will feel activate it so you can see the
more comfortable. Our gasket actual camera. So its actually
will allow you to fit your glasses just a normal camera sensor
even more comfortably, but with a very special lens, which
also on the tracking side, these is calibrated, so its at a 1:1
trackers are now much more perspective, and what it does
accurate, and along with our is it projects on to your hard
new bay stations, which are boundaries around the room. So
much more silent and provide an it gives you a kind of depth, but
even better tracking experience, its not actual depth, because its
it all provides a much greater just a single camera, but your
tracking experience. So now brain is tricked into thinking, yep,
we also have the front-facing thats depth.
camera, which will allow you to
have a peek into the real world, mPC: For the room
especially when you get too configuration, its really
Shin from HTC maximum PC: Maximum close to the edge, or you can interesting, because you still
speaks about the PC here at CES, and were in actually activate it manually. have the guidance chaperone
innovative new HTCs suite speaking with Shin. By double-tapping the system systemdoes that use the
camera included So, Shin, youre holding HTCs button, you get a rough outline camera at all?
in Vives second latest Vive headsetcan you of your front surroundings in
iteration. tell us what it is that makes real time. Shin: So in the first kit, you
it different and new this only had the gridlines that kept
time around? mPC: Can you tell us a little you safe. What weve done now,
more about that front-facing not only do you get the gridlines,
Shin: So this is our new camera? Weve had a go with but the input from the camera
headset, but we also have new this, and its almost like sonar also slowly fades in, so you
controllers, and also our new in a lot of ways. Its a different get a rough outline. What that
bay stations. Lets start off with type of cameracan it act as a actually provides you with
the headset. So now we have a traditional camera? when people set up their room

With refined
optics, the new
Vive VR feels a
lot crisper.
and the hard boundaries are then press all the way down panels and the optics, so now it Shin: We will have an
around tables or somethingis to grip harder, for instance, or will feel sharper and brighter. integrated audio solution, but
it will let you know which spaces something similar? The panels are still 1080x1200 we havent really talked too
you can actually extend outside pixels per eye, and still running much about that yet. We will
the hard boundaries, without Shin: Exactly. at 90fps. reveal more details about it. The
hitting anything. consumer edition will have a few
mPC: We know that HTC is mPC: Are you guys doing changesthis is still just the
mPC: And it tracks the working closely with Valve anything with the optics to help Vive Pre.
controllers, right, not just on this one. Is it going to have out with that? We noticed that
the headset? a large amount of Steam for a 1080p screen, its actually mPC: Will the audio be closed-
integration when it launches? pretty sharp. ear, or open-ear?
Shin: The camera doesnt
do any tracking, it just gets Shin: Well, this entire thing Shin: Were always refining Shin: We will talk about that
processed, and it shows up as is powered by open VR, and every part of the hardware. closer to launch.
part of your chaperone. one of the things that we use is
Steam VR, which is open VR with mPC: And this is the second mPC: Speaking of launch, do
mPC: Can you talk about the Steam integration. generationis the consumer you have a rough timeline for
new controllers? We can see version going to be like this? when that might be?
that theres a new button on mPC: Can you talk about the Are you guys going to have
thereI believe that enables you resolution and the optics at all? integrated speakers, or an Shin: So pre-orders begin in
to see your surroundings a little integrated headset for audio? February, and then we will begin
bit better. Shin: Yes. So with this Or are people going to bring shipping in April.
headset, weve refined the their own?
Shin: So with these mPC: And do you have a price
controllers, the input is almost set yet?
exactly the same as beforethe
only difference is with the two Shin: No, not yetbut we
buttons located at the bottom; are going to announce it closer
one of them has been moved to pre-orders.
to the top. So this used to be
the small black button, this is mPC: Have you announced
the system button. The biggest what kind of specs were going
change is that now these are to be needing to run Vive?
dual-phase trigger buttons, so
it will know when youre halfway Shin: No, we havent
pressed down and fully pressed announced minimum specs yet,
downit gives you a few more but our recommended specs
interaction possibilities. for a good VR experience are
something like a GTX 970 and
mPC: So you could lightly above, or any AMD equivalent
tap the button halfway, and The buttons have moved, and there are new dual-phase triggers. not just Nvidia.

quickstart
THIS MONTH THE DOCTOR TACKLES...
> Win 10 Printers

> Storage Lore
> The 4K Blues
Windows 10 Printers platforms climax, and theyre a
Hello Doc. My default printer year and a half old.
in Windows 10 keeps switching Your best bet for an upgrade
to whichever device was used might be a Core i7-4930K, if you
last. I noticed this after a recent can still find one. Its a six-core
major update (I assume it was chip with 12MB of last-level
major because the computer cache, 40 lanes of PCIe 3.0,
did the same thing after I DDR3-1866 support, and a
upgraded from Windows 7). higher max Turbo Boost clock
I have an HP laser printer set rateall upgrades over the
to default, but I frequently print 3820K. And upgrading should
to PrimoPDF. When done, I want be fine under Windows 10.
to create a paper copy. Instead, If youre specifically looking
Windows brings up PrimoPDF to improve performance in
again. I have to go to Devices Pinnacle Studio, a graphics
> Printers & scanners to upgrade might be in order.
switch back. The only other way Corel does an incredibly
to change it is to manually print If you dont want Windows 10 to set your last-used printer as the poor job enumerating how
something to the HP. Can you default, tell it to stop in Printers & scanners. its software takes advantage
help please? Joel Gonzlez of hardware acceleration.
thinking I could upgrade it processor, although theyre very However, the latest version
THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: later, once the higher-end expensive. Can you suggest explicitly supports Intel
Microsoft added this behavior models came down in price. I any alternatives? And will I be QuickSync and Nvidia CUDA
in its November 2015 update. To also assumed that picking the able to upgrade the CPU if I run no mention of OpenCL. Further,
reverse it, go back to Printers Socket 2011 interface (instead Windows 10? Bob Kane it appears that rendering and
& scanners, and deselect the of LGA 1150) would future-proof exporting both utilize GPU
option at the bottom called Let the system for longer. THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: If it resources of supported cards.
Windows manage my default Well, the 1150-pin interface makes you feel any better,
printer. Do note, though, that if appears to be going strong still, Bob, LGA 1150 was supplanted Slow Skyrim
you print to a PDF, then want to while LGA 2011 was replaced by LGA 1151 last year when Hello Doctor, I use a PC that
create a paper copy of the same by 2011-v3. The CPU prices Intel launched its sixth-gen I built back in 2009 to play
document, PrimoPDF will show never did drop, and availability Core processors based on games and watch videos. Since
up as the printer of choice, even seems to be drying up, leaving the Skylake architecture. And then, I upgraded its graphics
though the HP is set to default. me few upgrade options. Im although certain fifth-gen card, added a soundcard, and
happy with the performance (Broadwell) Core CPUs do installed an SSD. I have an Intel
Upgrade Wisely of my Radeon HD 7900-series drop into LGA 1150, theyre Core i7-920 CPU, Asus P6T
I built a system two years GPU for gaming, but Id like to not particularly enthusiast- motherboard, 12GB of OCZ Gold
ago based on an ASRock X79 improve video rendering times oriented parts. Really, the RAM, a GeForce GTX Titan,
Extreme 6/GB motherboard. using Pinnacle Studio. One Devils Canyon Core i7-4790K an Asus Xonar Essence STX
I picked a Core i7-3820 CPU, option would be to buy a Xeon and Core i5-4690K were that soundcard, Samsungs 256GB
submit your questions to: doctor@maximumpc.com

840 Pro, a Corsair CMPSU- disks data reliable. There is too
850TX PSU, and Windows 10. great a risk of unrecoverable
When I upgraded to the read errors. RAID 1+0 is much
Titan in 2013, I could easily more dependable, and with just
play Skyrim at its Ultra preset. one more hard drive, the reader
Over time, I added the PCIe- could enjoy great performance
based soundcard and started and greater peace of mind.
experimenting with game mods. Kyle Wagner
I began to notice performance
degradation and had to tone THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: Thanks
down the detail settings. Id like for weighing in, Kyle. The Doc
to go back to playing at Ultra and admits to running a four-drive
Im worried about frame rates in RAID 5 array plus hot-spare in
newer/upcoming games. his own NAS. But you have him
The Asus P6T only has thinking about a change.
second-gen PCIe x16 slots and
I have the soundcard in one of The 4K Blues
them; could that contribute to Hi Doc. I want to build a new
the performance issues? Jay gaming machine and I have a
few requirements, such as an Sure, its old, but Intels X58 chipset still has enough PCI Express
THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: Intels M.2 NVMe-based SSD, water connectivity to accommodate multiple high-end graphics cards.
X58 Express chipset, which the cooling for the CPU and GPU,
P6T employs, offers 36 lanes and a 4K monitor. Im looking for bprz) and none with FreeSync. 4690K, 16GB of Crucial Ballistix
of second-gen PCIe. Asuss help in choosing the right video By the end of this year, AMD is DDR3, a WD Black 500GB hard
mobo taps into them through card and monitor. Id like to stick expecting 2160p120 panels with drive, a WD Black 1TB hard
two 16-lane links and one x16 with one GPU instead of using variable refresh technology. drive, and a Thermaltake 600W
slot wired up to four lanes. You CrossFire or SLI. I mostly play But thats still so far off. power supply. Eric Buck
have more than enough PCIe World of Warcraft and Fallout The Doc enjoys gaming on
connectivity. The soundcard 4, though I have one heck of a three 2560x1440 displays side THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: Thanks
probably isnt to blame. library on Steam waiting for me. by side, yielding a 7680x1440 for reading, Ericits good to
Its far more probable that The most demanding title in surface. There are several have you on board. The Doc is
the mods are slowing Skyrim there is The Witcher 3, I believe. great gaming-oriented QHD hoping he can help take your
down, though the Doc cant Can you offer any suggestions? options out there, so perhaps existing build and mold it into
say for sure without knowing Mike Steinmeyer thats an alternative until the 4K something even more potent.
whether youre enjoying segment matures a bit. To begin, your Core i5-4690K
higher-res textures, amped-up THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: The two is a competent performer,
weather effects, new gear, or fastest single-GPU graphics To SLI or Not? particularly if its overclocked.
some other game tweak. cardsAMDs Radeon R9 Fury Hi Doc. I want to thank you and Moreover, the Z97 Extreme4 is
Consider that you might have X and Nvidias GeForce GTX Maximum PC for the content. loaded with modern amenities,
a background process affecting 980 Ti (lets ignore the Titan X With the help of this magazine, and youve equipped it with lots
frame rates, too. Skyrim isnt for now)do achieve playable Ive built four PCs and repaired of DDR3 memory. Consider
particularly graphics-intensive. frame rates at 3840x2160, but two laptops. In one year. keeping those components to
In fact, it scales well, based on they dont leave much wiggle Im currently using an EVGA serve as the foundation for a
processor performance. So room. If youre building a new GeForce GTX 960 SSC with faster gaming PC.
if something else is going on PC with 4K in mind, youd be 4GB of RAM. Im planning a Your most glaring omission
while you play, that aging Core far better served by a couple of Skylake upgrade this year and is an SSD. Adding solid-state
i7-920 could be the culprit. Radeon R9 Fury or GeForce GTX was wondering, since Ill be storage will have a bigger
980 cards. swapping out motherboards, impact on your experience than
Getting Storage Right Graphics are quite cut and should I pick up a second 960 any other upgrade. Drop in at
Hey Doc, I read the letter in the dry; its much more difficult to run in SLI, or upgrade to a least 256GB. From there, youll
January issue from a reader to recommend a monitor. As GeForce GTX 970? My current want to think about graphics.
who described his powerful of now, theres one 4K display specs include an ASRock Z97 Given that you currently own
photo/video editing machine with G-Sync (Acers XB280HK Extreme4, Intels Core i5- a GeForce GTX 960, the Doc
with five WD Black 3TB hard assumes youre gaming at
drives in RAID 5, and I cringed. Two GeForce GTX 960sspecifically with 4GB of memorymake 1920x1080. A second 960 would
Im a systems administrator and quick work of ultra-quality gaming at 1920x1080, even 2560x1440. do wonders for performance
a performance PC enthusiast, at that resolution. Because
so Im passionate about you had the foresight to snag a
performance. But not at the model with 4GB of GDDR5, you
expense of reliability. I suggest could step up to a QHD display
that you dissuade people from and still enjoy smooth frame
using RAID 5. Its not a preferred rates. The two cards in SLI
configuration anymore because would be faster than a GeForce
hard drives are too large to GTX 970. Theyd even give the
make reconstructing a failed 980 a run for its money.

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high-end audio
Battle of
the cans

Finding the perfect audio solution for your PCs media
By Zak storey & James Russell
D
escribing audio is incredibly turn, each of us has developed a unique manufacturers are stepping up their
difficult. How do you evoke feel for what we like to listen to. game, improving the quality of their
something that is so subjective? What we can judge is the quality of headphone drivers, software decoders,
Theres no quantitative data sound. Here at Maximum PC, well be the and streaming services. Take Aspiros
here, no numbers or simple conclusions first to point out how badly audio quality Tidal, MSIs Z170A Gaming M9 ACK, and
as to what truly sounds better. Indeed, has suffered over the last 20 years. Audio-Technicas ATH-AG1Xall are proud
every pair of ears on the planet hears Fortunately for us, long gone are the examples of this trend, products designed
and experiences every song, every noise, days of poor-quality MP3 files and sub- to take advantage of that desire to listen to
every hum, differently from the last. Over par compression, designed to fit 100,000 something that truly makes the soul sing.
the last 50 years, the majority of us has songs on your iPod. In fact, its with a sigh Audio quality is intrinsically connected
had access to a phenomenal variety of of relief that weve at last begun to see to three major elementsthe holy grail of
sound. Whether thats music, film, video a resurgence in the number of people auditory perfection, if you will: your DAC,
games, or general noise located outside passionate about impeccable audio once your drivers, and your files. Read on to find
the reach of our PCs, each of again. As more of our community out how exactly this trinity of sound is put
us has experienced these steps away from cheap on- together, and decide whether you should
acoustic vibrations board acoustic solutions make that final jump to join the ranks of
differently. And in and gaming headsets, your HRA brothers and sisters.

high-end audio
audio affairs
Over the last five years, the PC combination with
enthusiast community has seen a a dependable pair
paradigm shift in how it enjoys audio. of headphones, youre not going to benefit Innovative yet successful, the ModMic is
It hasnt been an instant movement, from all that extra detail held within the widely known as the answer to a gaming
nor an unsuspecting avalanche gaining depths of each track. audiophiles woes.
momentum as it hurtles down the snow- For the gamers amongst us, this tends
covered peaks of auditory perception, to lead to one crucial problem. Dropping stick-on, headset microphone that
but a slow trickle. A step away from the headset for a pair of high-fidelity cans you could attach to any of your favorite
traditional gaming headsets in favor of leaves you sans microphone. Not good, headphones without a problem.
high-fidelity audiophile headphones. especially if you are into team-oriented Two more years, and Audio-Technica,
Thanks to the advancements weve gaming, or just want a quick blast at the Beyerdynamic, and Sennheiser all
made in networking and storage weekend with your friends. had their own lineups of high-fidelity
capacities, for the first time many of us Fortunately, the likes of Blue Yeti gaming headsets, designed to provide
are opting to forsake the cumbersome and Razer quickly jumped to the rescue, gamers with the audio they deserve,
ruggedness of MP3s and AACs in favor providing dedicated microphones for while still catering to their needs. High-
of lossless or HRA music files instead, those of us with the budget. And for those quality microphones, an ergonomic and
notably the FLAC file format. However, without, necessity once again became the comfortable design, and a slightly bassier
although the problem of file size is no mother of invention, and it wasnt long before sound signature than found in standard
longer an issue, if youre not running a Antlion came out with a fantastic solution headphones, these were the marks of the
suitable digital-to-analog converter, in in the form of the ModMican affordable, new and improved gaming headsets.
high-fidelity audio & MQa

lets face it, all this headphone palaver is
null and void if youre sitting there listening
to 96kbps MP3 files through iTunes. Whats
really important is the quality of the file
youre listening to. Looking back at the
original MP3 format, these were generally
one-eleventh the size of the files written to
CDs for sale. For clarity here, music was
usually sampled 44,100 times per second
while being recorded. Each sample would
take up two bytes of data, and separate
samples were taken for the left and right
speakers for use in stereo. What this meant
was you would end up with a phenomenally
large file for each track on a standard CD.
MP3, on the other hand, was a
compression format designed to counter
this predicament, providing listeners Tidal is one of the few services to support full FLAC 1,411kbps streaming.
with a good enough audio experience,
without taking up vast amounts of storage instruments, and treble-heavy percussion and is used in the vast majority of devices
space. To do this, the original sound was took the greatest hit, creating a sound that and streaming services online, from
compressed using a method known as was far less punchier than the original. iTunes to YouTube. The thing to take away
perceptual coding. Using psychoacoustic Depending on how much space you were from this is that the higher the bit-rate, the
models, the algorithm would remove any willing to part with, it was possible to use greater the resolution of your music, and
auditory components that were considered this lossy data compression at higher or the larger the file size.
inaudible to humans, or unnecessary, lower bit rates (128kbps being the average), However, these formats are less than
reducing the accuracy of particular parts ensuring a higher or lower quality, or ideal if youre trying to replicate every
of the sound within a track. This reduced resolution. MP3 was succeeded by AAC, nuance and sound found within the original
the overall file size without compromising or Advanced Audio Coding. This new file CD recording. For that you need FLAC, or
on audio quality too much. Although this format followed the same basic principles Free Lossless Audio Codec. As the name
sounds great, in reality it had a bad habit as the original lossy codec compression of suggests, this compression codec has
of deleting overlapping audio, and slicing MP3, while achieving greater sound quality littleif anyacoustic degradation. On top
up the upper and lowermost ranges of at the same bit-rates, all while maintaining of that, its open source and isnt held back
sound within each track. Guitars, string a similar file size. AAC is still around today, by any proprietary patents. FLAC provides

users with the ability to copy any CD track
at a far greater resolution than before
(1,411kbps), the only problem being you how headphone Drivers Work
have to endure the file size. Although FLAC what actually pOwers these marvelous sound wave pushers? It all comes down to
compresses the data from the original three types of driver. Located in each headphone cup, they all work off the same basic
recording by 20 to 40 percent, youre still principle. Each uses electricity and a diaphragm to compress and decompress the air.
looking at albums nearing 1GB apiece, Done fast enough, they create a vibrating pressure wave, which your ear drums pick up.
depending on the version of FLAC you use.
Whats the solution? Well, if youre not
interested in storing 400GB of music on
your hard drive for your own personal
library, Tidal is the obvious bet. A premium
subscription will set you back $19.99 a
month, but you can take advantage of its
massive archive, and stream FLAC files
over the internet to your PC and other
devices. On top of that, theres one little
gem Tidals about to support just around
the corner, which will blow FLAC and all
the other formats out of the water: MQA.
king of coMpRession
Standing for Master Quality Authenticated,
MQA is a unique take on file compression. Dynamic Planar magnetic electrostatic
It takes all the information recorded Drivers Drivers Drivers
before a track is written to disc, before any By far the most common Less common and often The electrostatic
preliminary compression is applied, and headphone driver, much pricier than their driver is the pinnacle of
folds it together instead. Think of it like dynamic drivers operate dynamic counterparts, headphone sophistication.
this: Take a traditional MP3 file. In that file by utilizing a coil of ultra- planar magnetic drivers Remember Sennheisers
you have peaks and lows across the entire thin wire. In short, the can provide a superior Orpheus headphones
spectrum of recorded sound. The overall electrically charged part listening experience by from CES? $55,000 worth
height and size of that file is always at a containing the necessary reducing the degree of of headphones? Yeah,
set point, and in that file youre going to data to create the sound non-linear distortion. those are what were
have all this extra space left over where is sent through the Dynamic drivers have a talking about. They arent
theres little to no sound being played at wrapped coil, which then habit of warping sound at cheap and theyre not
all, or where the song is far quieter than creates a magnetic field. higher volumes. Planar portable either. You need
its crescendos. MQA folds all of the extra This in turn reacts with magnetic drivers, on the to power them through
detail and nuance, which is usually cut out a magnet placed near other hand, forsake the an electrostatic amplifier
of the original recordings or slaughtered the center of the driver. single magnetic field or energizer, without
via MP3/AAC compression, and places it This then forces the coil, and coil of wire in favor which they become a very
into that dead space within the file. This which is attached to the of two magnetic fields expensive paperweight.
means you end up with a similarly sized file center of a diaphragm, to placed either side of the The difference? Instead
as an AAC, at a quality that far outstrips rapidly move backward diaphragm. The diaphragm of relying on conductive
anything weve ever heard from the likes and forward, depending is also far lighter and finer material to move the
of FLAC, CD, or even vinyl. The on the strength of the than its dynamic cousin, diaphragm (whether thats
beauty of MQA extends far electrical part. This and instead of being coiled wire or electrical
beyond this. Of course, then moves the attached to a wire coil in capacitors), the entire
youll need a special drivers diaphragm, the center, has a multitude diaphragm itself moves.
proprietary decoder to which the of flat capacitors across Its a super-fine sheet
to be able to access coil is attached. its surface. So instead of electrically charged
all of that additional By doing this in of pushing the charged fabric, measuring mere
sound, but if you quick succession, part directly through microns across, fitted
dont have a device the driver then the small wire coil to between two metal plates,
with access to one, compresses and produce the vibrations, one positively charged
youll still get exactly decompresses the it is pushed across the and the other negatively
the same quality as surrounding air, entire diaphragm. Thanks charged. This way the
you would if you were creating the sound to this increase in surface entire diaphragm can be
listening to an HRA waves our ears pick area, its possible to pushed or pulled toward
FLAC recording, but up as noise. It's the replicate sound at higher either plate, ensuring
at a far smaller size. simplest technology volumes without losing out the headphones produce
of the three types, as heavily to non-linear the vibrations needed
The Pioneer XDP- but dynamic drivers distortion, providing a to compress the air,
100R may set you provide some of the far cleaner and more creating sound waves with
back $600 but it best bass sounds. accurate soundscape. absolutely no discrepancy.
does play MQA files.

high-end audio
headphone impedance How we tested

& signal-to-noise Ratio
twO Other impOrtant factors to take as a resistance to dramatic change in if yOuve been reading Maximum PC
note of when looking at headphones are current; this is because were dealing for any length of time, youll know that
impedancealso known by the figure with an alternating current as opposed to in every supertest we ever work on, we
Z, and measured in ohmsand the a direct one. What this does is slow the always let you know how we tested the
signal-to-noise ratio, measured in dB. By flow of electrons passing through it. In gear. Usually this just involves a little
and large, impedance is the amount of short, the lower the impedance, the faster annotation below our benchmarks table,
electrical current necessary to operate the current can travel through the cable listing what hardware we used and
your particular headphones. Portable to the driver. Ultimately, this means that what tests we ran everything through.
music players, mobile phones, and the device you plug your headphones into However, weve already established that
devices functioning on chemical batteries has to pump a higher current at lower audio is an entirely different beast. We
tend to only operate headphones with an impedance to compensate for that lack could look at base specifications for each
impedance of less than 32ohms. Although of resistance. In turn, this can introduce headset but, in all honesty, that really
you can plug a pair of 300ohm headphones electrical noise into the process. doesnt tell you much, and the true nature
into one of these devices, the headphones Signal-to-noise ratio, on the other hand, of audio lies in the listener experience
themselves would sound incredibly quiet is a measurement used to define how much how the sound feels.
compared to the volume they are capable of the noise you want to hear is audible over That said, we wanted to ensure we
of producing. Generally speaking, higher the noise that is introduced by background had a fair and balanced test bed for
impedance headphones are, more often electrical signals and other interference. this roundup, so we decided on the
than not, found in music studios and Regardless of how clean you manage to following. Firstly, its analog only
hooked up to a DJs turntables, because get your audio, you will inevitably always we wanted to ensure that no single
thanks to that higher impedance, they end up hearing a faint crackling at louder company or manufacturer had any
can use more sophisticated and larger volumes. Think of it like useful information unfair advantage thanks to embedded
driver technologies, ensuring a greater on a forumthe first number in the ratio soundcards, USB connections, or other
sound scope and clearer signal, as a less indicates the number of useful posts; the such tomfoolery. Secondly, because this
intense AC current is used to power the second number indicates the number of is a test of some of the very best gaming
headphones drivers. trolls (ahh, what it would be to live in such headsets versus some of the strongest
Each type of headphone driver has a a world). So the higher the SNR, the less staples of hi-fi audio, we decided to
natural impedancethink of it as similar audible background noise youre going run each and every headset through
to resistance in a DC circuit, except instead to hear at higher volumes, and a clearer two separate external DACs. For this
of a flat block, impedance actually acts overall sound youre going to experience.
Audio-Technicas Thoughts
We talk to Kosumo Miyauchi from Audio-Technica
about what makes a great gaming headset
Maximum PC: What was performance of our consumer microphones for musicians.
it that made you decide to enter models but with the in-game Also, we offer the option of
the gaming peripheral market? communication element. open-back and closed-back
models, so gamers can choose
Kosumo Miyauchi: MPC: What kind of special which design suits their style
Some of our audiophile-grade considerations do you make of gameplay.
headphones, such as the when it comes to designing a
ATH-A900X, were popular high-fidelity gaming headset? MPC: What ideas and
among gamers but, of course, What do you think appeals most technologies have you taken
these models didnt feature to gamers? from your existing lineup of hi-fi
Kosumo Miyauchi, head of a microphone, so we started headphones and implemented
consumer product planning to design and manufacture KM: We combine our rich into your headset range?
at Audio-Technica. dedicated gaming headsets in heritage of designing consumer
2013. This allowed gamers to headphones, studio monitor KM: Our gaming headsets are
enjoy the high-quality audio headphones, and professional based around our consumer

LEFT: Although a little more pricey than the
X7, the Denon DA-300USB is a stunning piece of
audiophile hardware.
RIgHT: Creatives gaming sound heritage harks
back to before the dawn of the millennium.
we chose the Denon DA-300USB, a $500 TrACk TesTinG lisT

audiophile-grade headphone amplifier
and digital-to-analog converter, powered Genre Artist Track Played
by the Texas Instruments PCM1795 digital-
analog converter; and the Creative Sound
Blaster X7, $400 of gaming HRA DAC/ADC Heavy Metal August Burns Red The Eleventh Hour
perfection, powered by the Burr-Brown
PCM1794 digital-analog converter. On top
Rap Metal Rage Against The Machine Take The Power Back (Remastered)
of that, where possible we tested each pair
of cans with both on-board audio via an
Asus Maximus VIII Formula, and plugged Rock Audioslave Cochise
into an aging HTC One M7. After all, not
everyone runs an external DACfar be it Punk Flobots One Last Show
for us to assume that.
Now thats covered, we need to talk
about what we tested our headphones Indie Ed Sheeran Bloodstream
with. The first thing we did was listen to a
variety of music. We indulged our ear lobes Pop Shawn Mendes Stitches
with a range of different musical genres
(see right)streaming FLAC 1,411kbps
files from Tidal. Then it was straight into Epic Score Audiomachine Sura
gamesstill testing on both DACswith a
combination of Star Citizen, Project Cars, OST Hans Zimmer Rise
and Call of Duty: Black Ops III, to gauge
how exactly the headphones responded
Instrumental Rodrigo y Gabriela The Soundmaker
and felt under those scenarios. Ultimately,
were looking at three different categories:
comfort, style, and most importantly, Synthetic Jerry Folk Futura
overall soundscape.
on Gaming Headsets
headphone ranges, and feature KM: The AG1Xs design is does in your new lineup of MPC: Certainly for our
many characteristics of these based on our audiophile- gaming headsets? audience, gaming can be a key
models. For example, the 3D grade Art Monitor series. In hobby alongside the enjoyment
Wing Support feature was order to maintain the high KM: The DADS structure of high-fidelity audiois there
developed for home audio audio quality of these high- was developed to extend the any chance you can give us
listeners to provide comfort resolution headphones, the frequency range and provide any hints as to what your plans
during long listening sessions. microphone is designed outside richer bass. The space for air might be next?
This, of course, is something of housing, so that it doesnt behind the driver is limited,
that applies to gamers during adversely affect the acoustic so in order to maximize this, KM: The gaming market
extended gameplaythey space behind the 53mm large the system contains additional is huge, competitive, and
dont have to worry about dynamic driver. This enables smaller acoustic space inside challenging, but our rich audio
wearing fatigue or ache, so a smoother movement of the the housing to optimize airflow. heritage means we are able to
they can focus on their play, diaphragm, and therefore the It helps to create better damping offer headsets steeped in high-
performance, and audio. sound reproduction maintains than a standard structure, quality audio reproduction for
its quality. and reproduces deeper bass an immersive experience. We
MPC: Can you tell us a little sounds. DADS is also used in know this is a priority for todays
bit about the design process MPC: Can you tell us a little our Art Monitor range, and also gamers, and we will continue
that you go through for, say, more about what the Double our high-end wood-constructed to focus on this with future
the ATH-AG1X? Air Damping System actually ATH-W1000Z model. headset models.

high-end audio
All ABout
soundcARds
Once a vital component of any build, why is the soundcard
nowhere to be seen anymore? By James Russell
Sound iS a lot more complex, mysterious, many times per second to recreate the been introduced to carry out the sampling
and cooler than vision. There, its been waveform digitally (as shown in the process. By using a filter and removing
said! One unassuming conical speaker can diagram opposite). these frequencies from the signal, the
conjure up practically any sound, from a As youd imagine, the resolution of the result is a smooth wave, theoretically
human voice to a 100-piece orchestra, and recorded/sampled audio wave gets better identical to the original signal that entered
additional speakers can induce an auditory the more times per second its voltage is the ADC. The same effect can be seen by
hologram of a 3D space. But the truly captured, and the more possible voltage filtering a square wave in an oscilloscope,
devious thing is that what actually happens values that can be recorded. For example, as in the video at http://bit.ly/SinSqu.
when a speaker is operating is actually CD-quality audio has a bit depth of 16
diabolically simple. (65,536 possible voltage values), and a modeRn soundcARds
sample rate of 44.1kHz (44,100 samples Weve come a long way from the days when
ins And outs of sound taken per second). a soundcard would facilitate unheard-
The speaker vibrates, moving only forward Once the data describing the audio of sounds. Back in the day, the average
and backward, compelled to do so by an waveform is captured and stored, it can be PC couldnt meet the speeds needed
electrical current applied to it. The voltage manipulated and processed as any other to process decent-quality audio, and a
of the electrical signal travels above databut, of course, theres no point in dedicated card was required for anyone
zero, pulling the speaker cone one way, storing audio data without playing it back. who wanted to conjure music or speech
and then back below zero, pushing it the from video games. Such Sound Blaster
other way. The exact pattern of those in- the dAc cards didnt actually process that much
out movements over time determines the What goes in must come out, and just as audiorather, they used synthesis
sound that we hear. A pattern of voltage an analog-to-digital converter transforms and small sampled recordings to create
is turned in a pattern of movement, which a voltage to a digital signal, a digital-to- realistic sound.
compresses and decompresses the air analog converter (DAC) acts as a bridge Nowadays, though, even the most
around the speaker in that same pattern. between the computer and the physical rudimentary setup has enough CPU
The result: sound. world, reinterpreting a binary signal as an power and RAM to handle multiple
If you record that voltage signal, you can AC electrical signal. tracks of actual audio, and can do so as a
recreate the sound. This worked brilliantly The sampling done by ADCs and the background process. The soundcard is no
for decadesthe movement of a needle reinterpretation by DACs is where the longer necessary as a component in itself,
through a groove on vinyl, or a playhead idealistic audiophile often takes issue: and now takes its place as a permanent
on a reel of tape, recreates the voltage, How can an effectively squared sampled installation on the motherboard, or
and therefore the audio signal. But storing audio signal be a true likeness of the within external hardware, such as a USB
this voltage pattern as digital data on a original, smooth wave? headset, where it functions primarily as a
computer requires a different approach: In reality, the DAC applies a filter to DAC to convert digital audio signals into
an analog-to-digital converter, or ADC. the sampled signal in order to smooth the useful output audio ones, and partly as a
waveform again. In this way, the squaring headphone amplifier, depending on the
cRAmming Audio into dAtA of the signal can be seen as a form of converters output level.
Input an audio signal to an ADC, and its distortion, meaning that, practically, Indeed, it wouldnt be hard to believe
voltage is recorded (sampled) many, inaudible ultrasonic frequencies have that many people have never plugged
Universal Audios Apollo 16 has its own onboard processor.

15
14
Resolution
13 and data
12 When pressed to put a number on it,
11 the consensus between manufacturers
and associations tends to define high-
10 resolution audio as a signal sampled at
9 96kHz, with a bit depth of 24 per sample.
Sonys Hi-Res Audio standard is starting
8 to proliferate, but even this avoids
7 committing to a strict figure of 24/96.
This is equivalent to the standards
6 at work in professional recording and
5 production studios. Of course, without
a rigorously laid-down standard, its
4 possible for lower-resolution files to be
3 disguised in higher-res containers
equivalent to using a high-end camera to
2 take a photograph of a Polaroid picture.
1 Uncompressed raw files, such as
WAV, FLAC, ALAC, AIFF, and DSD, are
0 capable of containing audio at such high
An
Ananalogue
analogwaveform (pink)
waveform beingbeing
(pink) encoded as a 16-bitas
encoded digital signaldigital
a 16-bit (black) signal (black). resolutions, with the only drawback
being the impact on file sizes.
a microphone into their current PC, so means that a certain amount of jitter can One second of CD-quality audio
have left the onboard ADC dormant for its be practically acceptable. contains 44,100 16-bit samples
entire lifetime; the same would be harder The quality of the filter that smooths 705,600 bitsper channel. A stereo
to believe for its DAC, though. As its so the digitized waveform can make a large signal brings the total to 1,411,200 bits,
frequently used, isnt it a good idea to make difference to a DAC. Its construction from or roughly 0.17MB/s. The 24-bit/96kHz
sure youve got a good one? resistors, capacitors, and inductors means Hi-Res or HD standards weigh in at
that a certain amount of signal delay is 0.58MB/s, while the cagey ber-pro
WhAt mAkes A good dAc? involved. If the filter is built from good- resolution of 32/192 requires 1.54MB/s.
Of course, the resolution afforded by your quality components, this delay occurs only While multi-channel surround-sound
onboard DAC will have a bearing on its with high, inaudible frequencies; if not, the is a cinch for todays PCs, there is one
abilities. The larger bit depth and sample response of the highest frequencies in the bottleneck: Internet transfer rates. The
rate that the component can handle, the output audio signal may be unreliable. highest quality via a streaming service is
higher quality the audio it can interpret. A currently Tidals Lossless, at CD-quality
worthy DAC should be able to operate at a QuAlity on the cARds 1,411kbpsnot enough to necessitate a
sample rate of up to 96kHz and a bit depth The same factors that affect all audio soundcard with higher specs just yet.
of 24, exceeding CD quality and reaching components apply to a motherboards High-quality streamed audio is set
a standard at which most professional onboard sound components. A low level at about 320kbps. Rather than skimping
audio mastering engineers work. 32-bit of thermal/background noise is desirable; on sample rate or bit depth, MP3,
recording hardware is starting to appear the amount of distortion created across AAC, and other such containers use
in professional studios, and sample rates a broad range of signals should be as compression to remove data that would
of 192kHz have been possible for several low as possible; and gold audio jacks and have been imperceptible if left in.
years, but its currently very unlikely that ports have absolutely no auditory benefit
audio files would actually be exported for whatsoever, although they do look cooler.
public consumptionand hence have to be Today, the closest thing to a soundcard
read by your DACat this high a resolution as such is not a removable internal
anytime soon. component, but an external audio
Theres also little merit in having a interface. Standalone external DACs
high clock speed if the clock itself doesnt provide a dedicated option for processing
tick on time. The term jitter describes output sound, and look great while doing
inconsistency and aperiodicity in the it. Professional input interfaces, on the
sample rate. Missing the timing of digital other hand, are to be found mounted into
samples literally changes the waveform racks of high-end studios, where they can
that is interpreted, and this error is record up to 16 channels of audio at vast
further compounded by errors made at sample rates. Coming full circle, certain
the recording stage by an inferior ADC. high-end music studio interfaces contain
Realistically, though, jitter introduced at onboard processors, which specialize in
a high sample rate, such as 96kHz, only proprietary audio production tasks, taking Sonys Hi-Res Audio: still not fully codified.
changes the audio wave inaudibly, which the strain off the users CPU.

high-end audio
Corsair VoiD stereo

GaminG HeaDset
Budget audio but not without sin
At this price, the VOID Stereo is bound to The bass was more greatly. After all,
come with some caveats, although we didnt pronounced, as weve none of us really
expect quite the degree of plastic and soft come to expect with the X7, game 100 percent
fabric that besieged us. For the price, it is but otherwise thats about it. For of the time.
understandable. In fact, if it werent for synthetic dubstep and heavier genres Overall, theyre
Kingston offering up the HyperX Cloud IIs, that dont rely on the rising clash of string still fairly comfortable, and provide a
featuring an aluminum and leather design instruments and treble-based percussion, pretty average soundscape. For the price,
for $10 more, we wouldnt even question it. the VOIDs sounded good. Gaming was we would have liked to have seen a better
Under the Denon DA-300USB, the enjoyable, tooin fact, the VOIDs excelled frequency response (maybe to catch some
drivers sounded quite flat, muddiness in this area. But here inherently lies the of that missing treble), and use of more
shone through under heavy bass, and the problem. You have to want these just for premium build materials. After all, this
treble and high mids suffered from a lack gaming and nothing else. For accurate, is Corsair, a company that for the last few
of depth. They were OK, average at best. deep, acoustical representation, they just years has been the king of cool when it
Instrumental music suffered the most, fall flat on their face, and that saddens us comes to aesthetic design.
feeling deflated, with less bite, and empty,
as though each song had been recorded
7
SPECIFICATIONS verdict
Corsair VOID Stereo
while the microphone was muffled by a
pillow. It was a similar story with orchestral Driver Technology 50mm dynamic DaRk abyss Comfortable;
scorethere just wasnt enough in the affordable; quirky design; good
Frequency Response 20Hz20kHz
mids. The bass was certainly prominent, for gaming; solid bass signature.
Impedance 32 ohms
but it couldnt make up for the lack of
EmpTy Uninspired materials; flat
overall soundscape. Connectivity 3.5mm, 4-pole
soundscape; low frequency response.
With the Creative DAC, the VOIDs still Weight 12.4 oz
suffered from that lack of upper edge. $70, www.corsair.com
KinGston HyperX
ClouD ii HeaDset
Superior audio at a fantastic price
comfort is something Kingston truly classical scores, then hi-fi options, but then a lot of
understandsthe Cloud IIs are incredibly these dont cut it. The those are three to four times
soft on the old noggin. The closed back bass signature was the cost. The inclusion of a
design helps isolate you from the rest of the too heavy in contrast to USB soundcard is a gift to
world, and overall theyre very lightweight. the Denon, and as well those without an external
Long gaming periods are a breeze. as muddying up some of the DAC, and the removable
Under the Denon, the Cloud IIs were mids, it felt like the upper end of mic is a great feature to see
considerably bassier than our other the treble was stifled. Granted, that is included. On the flip side, they
headsets. The rumble when the bass kicked adjustable in Creatives software package. are a little bulky, but otherwise
in was immense, yet it did this without That said, we cant argue with the fact Kingston has really nailed it. If youre after
affecting the mids at all. Depth in the overall that these are some of the best value the best value for money headset, the Cloud
soundscape was shallower than some of headphones out there. For the price, theyre IIs represent the pinnacle of what you can
the more premium solutions, but still well stunning. Overall, theyre nicely balanced buy at this price point.
rounded enough for everyday listening. and well built. Of course, they do lack the
In game, the Cloud IIs were crisp and sound depth of some of the more premium
9
verdict
Kingston HyperX Cloud II
punchythe added bass signature ensured
you felt the explosions in Call of Duty, and SPECIFICATIONS HEavEnly sympHony Strong
the roar of the engines as they fired into life sound signature; enhanced
Driver Technology 53mm dynamic
in Project Cars. bass; great price; swappable earcups;
The Creative X7 was a different story. The closed back; comfortable.
Cloud II had a bad habit of overpowering the Impedance 60 ohms
RaIny Day Lack of clarity with X7; bulky;
mids just a fraction. It was still incredibly Connectivity 3.5mm, USB
gaming-centric.
satisfying to listen to the vast majority of Weight 11.3 oz
musical genres, but if youre into precise $80, www.hyperxgaming.com

CreatiVe sounD
BlasterX H5
Sound, thy name is mud
Lets stArt with the good. The Sound clarity needed for back here and opt for
BlasterX H5 is one of the comfiest gaming instrumental and something else.
headsets weve ever had the pleasure of classical scores just For the price, wed
using. The reassuring satisfaction you wasnt there. Interestingly, have loved to have seen
get as it fits gracefully around your lugs is although the bass was quite a better soundscape. It
second only to Audio-Technicas newest fierce on these, it didnt manage can be countered somewhat
AG1X. Its not heavy, nor bulky. It just sits to drown out the treble. Gaming, on the with a dependable DAC or
right. If only we could stop here. other hand, was good funalthough the soundcard, but if youre investing that
Right out of the gate, the H5s are soundscape wasnt very well rounded, for kind of money, youd probably want to drop
incredibly muddy. Theres an unbelievable the vast majority of titles, that shouldnt some cash into a better pair of headphones
degree of emptiness in the mids and treble. matter too much. This will entirely depend anyway. The H5s are comfortable and
Although the bass is prominent, the overall on what games you like playing, of course, light, and ergonomically theyre strong
sound structure is very limited, especially but if you enjoy music as much as your contenders, but alas, thats just nowhere
without a DAC. Unfortunately, even with games, you might want to take a step near as important as solid audio.
the Denons fantastic audio tomfoolery, its
still not enough to pull the H5s into auditory
6
verdict
SPECIFICATIONS Creative Sound BlasterX H5
good graces. Although they are smoother
on this particular DAC than the X7, they just Driver Technology 50mm dynamic blasTER Comfortable;
couldnt compete in contrast to any of the strong bass element;
other headsets in this group test for crystal- good connectivity.
Impedance 32 ohms
clear audio reproduction.
Connectivity 3.5mm, 4-pole blasTED Expensive; awful treble/mid;
With Creatives DAC solution, the bass
DAC needed for best sound.
was far more prominentdubstep, heavy Weight 9.4 oz
metal, and punk were better, but the $105, www.creative.com
sennHeiser Game one

Could these possibly be the new
kings of gaming audio?
out of the box, the Game One is impeccably boys just have a lends itself to those who
comfortable. Its a small design, but not really well-rounded are looking for almost
enough to compromise on comfort. Overall, soundscape, and it audiophile-quality drivers
it looks flash, and although constructed makes them a pleasure without giving up that
primarily from sand-blasted plastic, the to listen to. Perfectly microphone. That said,
Game One feels sturdy and secure. The balanced. As far as gaming they do feel like a very
open-backed design makes it airy, and goes, they do suffer a bit without niche product. If youre
helps to alleviate some of that sweatiness the extra bass found in most gaming a true audiophile, theres
often associated with closed designs. headsets, but if you tweak the EQ just a no doubt youll opt for a premium pair of
With help from the Denon, the Game Ones little, youll have more than enough power Sennheisers, such as the HD700s; if youre a
are surprisingly well rounded. The sound behind your ear drums. gamer, youd probably want something with
signature is really sharpreassuringly Ultimately, these are a great pair of cans. a little more meat to it. But if you do a bit of
accurate, in fact. Theres absolutely zero Theyre nicely priced, and theyre solid both, or simply fancy getting your feet wet,
mid smothering, and the treble remains for gaming. The crisp, clean soundscape the Game Ones are where its at.
sound and true. Bass is definitely there, but
its reassuring, as opposed to vibrating your
8
verdict
SPECIFICATIONS Sennheiser Game One
head off. One problem we can spot is there
does seem to be a cut-off on the treble; some Driver Technology 35mm dynamic FIRsT Crystal-clear
of the more audiophile offerings actually Frequency Response 15Hz28kHz
soundscape; good price;
provide far crisper trebles, especially at the nice design; strong microphone.
Impedance 50 ohms
high end for strings and percussion.
Connectivity 3.5mm, 4-pole sEConD Weaker bass; upper treble
Alongside the X7, the Game Ones are
cut off; still plastic.
more punchy in the bass department, yet Weight 10.6 oz
still not too overpowering on mids. These $180, www.sennheiser.com

high-end audio
loGiteCH G933
artemis speCtrum
We heard you like connectivity
the g933s reALLy are something else. you switch on the explosions in
Theyre hugegigantic, in fact. They headset, in which Star Citizen.
are comfortable, certainly, but by god, case they were just a Ultimately,
are they big! We simply cant stress that little subpar. the G933 Artemis
enough. On top of that, they are a little That said, it was still Spectrum is not
too flexible for our liking. Thanks to that an enjoyable experience meant to be used this
rather skinny headband, and an overall listening to metal or heavier way. Its a wireless headsetat
plastic construction, the fear of accidentally music genreshowever, they did worst, USB. With the headset switched
snapping these is all too real. have a habit of losing the crispness on on, theres plenty of audio balancing
As far as sound quality goes, well this the top end. Gaming was good fun as well. going on internally to ensure a solid
is a tricky one. Plugged in via a 3.5mm jack The bass was heavy, and the necessary soundscape. But for the price, youre limited
only, and ensuring the headset is switched treble and mids required to provide a rich by it, and you still have to plug them into a
off (turning the headset on enables an audio soundscape shone through just enough DAC to get anywhere near as good a sound
equalizer inside the drivers), brings us in to illuminate the gunshots, laser fire, and quality as some of the other units we tested.
line with exactly what we would expect a
gaming headset with these kind of specs to SPECIFICATIONS
7
verdict
Logitech G933
sound like.
Driver Technology 40mm dynamic Artemis Spectrum
With the Denon, the G933s were
incredibly bass-heavy, more so than with Frequency Response 20Hz20kHz THE HunT Great connectivity;
the balancer switched on. The mids were Impedance 39 ohms onboard balancing; comfortable.
a little damp, and the overall height of the Connectivity 3.5mm, 4-pole, THE HunTED Fragile; pricey; mids/treble
treble seemed reduced. They certainly pale USB, wireless
suffer; low frequency response; plastic.
in contrast to something like the Game Ones Weight 13.2 oz
we had in for testing. Unless, of course, $200, www.gaming.logitech.com
auDio-teCHniCa
atH-aG1X
Damn, that's comfortable
Audio-technicAs Ag1xs are by far the tracks love really fun to listen to. If youre after
comfiest headphones weve ever tried. these things. In perfect sound replication, you might
Theres very little maneuverability, but game, the AG1Xs want to opt for some reference
in all honesty, you dont need it. The two were stunning, studio headphones, but
pads located at the top rest on your head with such a broad if you just want to enjoy
gently and adjust to the fit and shape of soundscape and your music, the AG1Xs are the
your cranium, ensuring the least pressure no compromise in ticket. If it wasnt for the price,
is placed on top of your skull, and in turn the treble and mids, these would sell like hotcakes.
reducing the overall weight involved. not only could you hear the The sound quality is stunning,
On top of that, despite being a closed back punch of the explosion, but also the theyre beyond comfortable, and the
design, the AG1Xs have an wonderfully airy crackle as the sparks flew. oddly open/closed air design is joyous on
feeling to them. ATs DADS system ensures The X7 did lose out on some of that the lugs. They dont hug you, yet they isolate
that theres a thick layer of air surrounding soundscape, but the AG1Xs had a certain noise perfectly. Some of the mid is a little
the driver, and its noticeable. warmth about them, an earthy vibe. less crisp than we would have liked, but
All in all, they sounded impressive. Ultimately, these little beauties are just thats an absolutely minor detail in reality.
Under the Denon, they were very bass-
heavy, thanks to their gaming heritage and SPECIFICATIONS
9
verdict
Audio-Technica ATH-AG1X
design. Impressively, it didnt overpower
the treble, and thanks to that phenomenal Damn son Earthy feel; great
design; incredibly comfortable;
frequency response, they managed to keep
all of the upper-end treble. Metal, rock, and Impedance 50 ohms gaming sounds stunning; music is solid.
punk all sounded glorious. Classical music Connectivity 3.5mm
aWH man Price; mic in way occasionally.
did suffer, mostly because of that bass, Weight 11.3 oz
but otherwise it wasnt bad. Bass-heavy $300, www.audio-technica.com

auDio-teCHniCa
atH-m50X
The king of reference audio?
Ath-m50x: without doubt, the cornerstone wasnt perfect. In good for the crystal-clear
of reference audio. If you ask any audiophile game, sound was instrumental or classical
out there what headphones you should stunningly crisp score, where clarity of
buy if youre looking to get into the finer and not too bass- soundscape is key.
delicacies of aural life, theyre sure to point heavy. Star Citizen These are ultimately the
you this way. In our experience, we found the felt gorgeous as ships bread and butter of good quality
M50Xs to be incredibly light and a little bit darted around above you. audio, and it shows. Theyre
plastickyits only once you start listening Under the wily Creative cheap, affordable, and come with a
to them that you truly begin to understand X7, the bass was incredible well-grounded sound signature under the
where exactly that moneys gone, and its phenomenally intense. Yet on further right DAC. For gaming, theyre a strong
straight into the drivers. inspection, it had a bad habit of knocking all-rounder. Only downside? Well, theres a
With the Denon DA-300USB, we found out some of the more subtle mids, even little too much plastic for our taste, and they
the M50Xs were quite the bassy number; drowning out some sound entirely. Great could do with just a smidge of extra range
the overall sound signature was pleasant for metal, dubstep, and punk, but not so on that soundscape.
and warm. Those dynamic drivers provided
enough punch without compromising too
9
verdict
SPECIFICATIONS Audio-Technica ATH-M50X
heavily on the mids. Although the higher
treble frequencies were a little cut-off in Driver Technology 45mm dynamic mEloDIC Strong soundscape;
comparison to some of the other audiophile great price; awesome design;
options in this supertest, they were more bass-heavy.
Impedance 38 ohms
than a match for the best gaming headset
Connectivity 6.3mm, 3.5mm DIsCoRD Bass again; overall range;
around. Indeed, when there wasnt the
plastic construction.
rumble of bass behind you, its hard to Weight 10 oz
argue that the soundscape on these $120, www.audio-technica.com
yamaHa HpH-pro400
Its not all about looks
these Are, by fAr, the most striking pair of more reference it didnt compromise
headphones in this test. Depending on your HPH-MT220, theyre the overall quality and
taste, theyre either classy or just not for a little muddy. But range of acoustic accuracy.
you. They garnered a lot of talk around the thats to be expected Classical felt a little too
office as theyre quite large, and with that not everyone likes bassy, but was still well
bright white color scheme, you certainly the reference noise. rounded at the top end. RATM
do grab a lot of attention. Theres very little For gaming, these were sounded phenomenal here. That huge
adjustment available, bar shortening and perfect, providing finely tuned bass signature, working in conjunction with
lengtheningthe cups themselves move and precise audio. The bass was ideal for the trebles and strong mids, ensured you
very little. Because of this, we found them the long, drawn-out firefights, although didnt lose any of the crunch on the guitars.
a bit uncomfortable, but as we don't all have youd definitely want to pair them with the The HPH-PRO400s really do fall down
large heads, it might be different for you. Creative X7 if gaming is your jam. to personal preference. The style isnt for
Under the Denon, the PRO400s produced Talking of the X7, again the bass was everyone, we appreciate that, but the sound
a crisp, gorgeous soundscape, filled much punchier than before. Thankfully, quality is stunningly good for the price.
with an overwhelmingly beautiful bass
tone. Theres an urgency of warmth to
8
verdict
SPECIFICATIONS Yamaha HPH-PRO400
the tracks as you listen to them. All in all,
theyre incredibly well balanced, although Driver Technology 50mm dynamic bEauTIFul sWan Stunning
wed have loved to have heard more range Frequency Response 20Hz20kHz
bass; great soundscape;
in the mids. Instrumental and classical aggressively priced.
Impedance 38 ohms
scores sound light, crisp, and well placed.
Connectivity 6.3mm, 3.5mm ugly DuCklIng Questionable looks;
Something to bear in mind is that these are
mids can suffer; not hugely adjustable.
far bassier than youd think, but thats what Weight 10.2 oz
brings the warmth. In contrast to Yamahas $205, www.usa.yamaha.com

high-end audio
oppo pm-3 planar

maGnetiC HeaDpHones
The future is planar?
its hArd to Argue against the clarity of isnt overwhelming bass, but they
planar magnetic drivers, although this new- these cans focus are absolutely
found technology is admittedly pricey. Short more on the tone than perfect for rock
of electrostatic, it provides some of the best the feel of the bass. This and metal
audio reproduction on the planet. Oppo has doesnt mean there is vocals are crisp
managed to capitalize on this by reducing none, its just perfectly in and clean. In game,
the size and overall weight of the technology tune with the rest of the track. they were far meatier here in contrast
into something far more accessible and Theyre perfect for listening to all to the Denon; the hum of an explosion
stylish for the likes of us. types of music, and enjoying it. reverberating around your eardrum was a
Concerning sound, we need to discuss Under the Creative, they still had a nicely pleasure to experience.
something. Straight out of the box, the PM- rounded soundscape but with a far greater Needless to say, these are pricey. But for
3s are like a good pair of bootsthey need emphasis on the lower third of the EQ $400god, they're good. Theyre stylish,
wearing in. You wont get the full soundscape structure. You tended to lose out on a tiny comfortable, sound brilliant, and work well
unless you run these things for at least 12 part of the mids, thanks to the additional regardless of what you plug them into.
hours. The diaphragm inside moves in a
similar fashion to the piston in a combustion SPECIFICATIONS
9
verdict
Oppo PM-3 Planar
engine, and without that work-in time,
Driver Technology 55mm planar Magnetic Headphones
youre not going to get the same depth (trust
magnetic
us, we tried a worn-in pair and a fresh set). launCH Fantastic soundscape;
With the Denon, we found the PM-3s had a Frequency Response 10Hz50kHz comfortable; stylish;
fantastically well-rounded soundscape; the Impedance 26 ohms accurate bass.
audio was perfect. It managed to capture Connectivity 3.5mm
bETa Pricey; tonal bass; wear-in time.
and play all the little nuances and errors Weight 11.3 oz
that give music that human feel. The bass $400, www.oppodigital.com
sHure srH1540
HeaDpHones
Premium knows no limits
if theres one thing Shure knows, its of sibilance, we found it just a little
audio. The SRH1540s are a stunning piece depending on the too bassy. But the overall
of engineering. Out of the box, they have an title (and to be fair, soundscape was still very
incredible lightness, which is surprising this was in CoD). crisp and very rich.
given their size and shape. The feel and Under the X7, the Ultimately, these are
build quality is stunning. On top of that, the SRH1540s were still some of the best headphones
airy design helps alleviate sweaty ears, incredibly bassy, certainly weve tried. If youre just
and provides (in our opinion) a far better in contrast to the prior DAC. intending to use them at home, theyre
soundscape than more closed-off designs. But were certain weve said that perfect. Listening to music is a joyous
Plugged into the Denon DA-300USB, the enough at this point. Its good for music experience, and overall the fact these
SRH1540s took our breath away. The bass listening, but for the sake of getting the work straight out of the box to this degree
had a real heavy feel to it. Certainly a lot right feel, you really either need to tweak is great. The only downside is the price, but
grander than some other headphones the X7 in the software suite, or opt for a sacrifices need to be made if youre after the
even the gaming onesalthough it wasnt more music-oriented solution. In games, best, and unfortunately this is one of them.
enough to overpower the treble and mids to
any great degree. The soundscape is deep
9
verdict
SPECIFICATIONS Shure SRH1540 Headphones
and crisp in the songs that can afford it.
Rock, metal, and synthetic music suffers Driver Technology 40mm dynamic angElIC CHoIR Blissful sound;
very little. That huge bass signature is strong bass signature; great
much needed in games, and it sounds great. overall warmth; lightweight; premium.
Impedance 46 ohms
Admittedly, its a medium that can be hard
HElls lEgIons Pricey; might not want to
to balancefor instance, we found that Connectivity 3.5mm
wear outside.
some guns and weapons actually sounded Weight 10.1 oz
a little too sharp; we suffered a fraction $445, www.shure.com

sennHeiser HD700
Open-backed annihilation
sennheisers hd700s are a stunningly lower mids again. and V12 engines
crafted, premium pair of open-backed This was a little to life.
headphones. The build quality is solid, the disheartening, but In fact, the only
flexibility limited, but with enough leeway not something that real problem was
to fit them snugly around your ears. The cant be adjusted in the open-back design.
open-air design adds a fantastic listening the software suite. Testing these in the office was
experience, giving your ears plenty of room In game, they sounded a challenge, especially at higher
to breathe, and giving music a clarity you firm and strong. Not volumes. The amount of sound leakage
usually only get from 2.1 speaker setups. having that over-enhanced was astronomical, to the point that it caused
With the Denon, the soundscape was bass is a strength of the HD700s. It wasnt a colleague to throw stuff at us in retaliation.
exceptional, missing little of anything in pumped up too high, and that makes a huge Ultimately, the HD700s have a great design,
the mids or treble. The bass was quite difference. The treble was loud enough to strong soundscape, and premium feel. It
prominent but not in a bad way, avoiding ensure you could hear the rip of the engines just all depends on whether your household
rumble for the sake of tone, something more in Project Cars, really bringing those V8 can put up with that open-back design.
premium headphones seem to lean toward.
It wasnt as warm as some other audiophile
8
verdict
SPECIFICATIONS Sennheiser HD700
headphonespossibly due to a small loss in
the lower treble/bassbut for metal, rock, Driver Technology 40mm dynamic HIgH DEFInITIon Premium
or indie, these cans resonated well. Overall, experience; strong design;
the EQ felt like an inverted bow, peaking in comfortable; good soundscape; solid bass.
Impedance 150 ohms
the middle of the bass and the treble, before
sTanDaRD DEFInITIon Open-back design;
dropping down at the extremities. Connectivity 6.3mm
bowed EQ in places.
With the Creative X7, the bass signature Weight 9.5 oz
was enhanced, and we did lose out on the $450, www.sennheiser.com
BeyerDynamiC
Dt 1770 pro
The price of perfection
from the get-go the DT-1770 Pros scream it fully immerses its not enough to dampen
premium at you. The construction is you in the world. the Pros' magnificent
sublime, the build materials ravishing, You pay attention acoustic response. Its
and just taking a look at the specs sheet to the rattling of an easier kind of sound to
is enough to make your insides quiver. the hull, the burst of listen toyou could sit there
Leather, memory foam, steelits all there. your engine, and the listening for hours, and still
With the Denon, the 1770 Pros are damn sound of your pilots enjoy them thoroughly.
near perfect. Listening to any instrumental breathing, increasing Ultimately, the only criticism
music is akin to having the musicians and decreasing with the Gs we have is the price. The entire experience
in the room with you. That frequency hes pulling. Youll even fly better is exceptional but that price is going to stop
response, coupled with Beyerdynamics because of it, because it throws you out of a lot of people in their tracks. If you ever
intuitive tesla-dynamic drivers, provides this world and into the next. have the opportunity to listen to these, you
an absolutely pitch-perfect soundscape. With Creatives help, its a different story. really should. They provide some of the
Theres no compromise on bass, treble, The sound is earthier, that signature bass smoothest, well rounded, enjoyable audio
mids, nothing. If anything, the treble is weve come to critique is still prominent, but weve ever had the pleasure of hearing.
a little firmer than the rest, no doubt to
compensate for the phenomenal bass SPECIFICATIONS
9
verdict
Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro
these babies punch out, but theres still no
sibilance, and it doesnt unbalance the rest pRo Perfect soundscape;
of the audio either. Speaking of the bass, its Frequency Response 5Hz40kHz comfortable; build quality;
the perfect combination of tone and feel. Its Impedance 250 ohms phenomenal bass.
hard to keep the grin off your face. Connectivity 6.3mm
Con Price.
Gaming is a dream. Star Citizen was by Weight 13.7 oz
far the best experience; at high volumes, $600, www.beyerdynamic.com

high-end audio
And the winner is...
oppo pm-3 planar

maGnetiC HeaDpHones
picking A winner here is trickytheres gaming session? Yep. Its all there, and looking to have fun gaming, and still enjoy
a lot of great headphones in this roundup, thats the point. Essentially, you can use your music, the Cloud IIs are the way to go.
many of them ideal for specific audiences. these in almost every environment and be Finally, that brings us to ask what the
If were only talking about audio and build extremely satisfied. Granted, youll benefit point is of all this. In short, it all falls back to
quality, the Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro will from them most when sitting down at a PC, that same point we spoke about earlier. Its
always win hands down. If were talking with a dependable external DAC, but for all about high-resolution audio, pumping
best value for money, however, then Audio- everyday usage, even on your cell phone, it through a good DAC, and listening to it
Technicas ATH-M50X steals that spot. theyre still incredibly solid. with some fantastic headphones. Over the
Best gaming headset? Definitely the Audio- Going back to perfect audio a second, years, weve gained and lost a lot of quality
Technica ATH-AG1X. Best value for money Beyerdynamics DT 1770 Pros are in the hunt for convenience and more
gaming headset? Kingstons HyperX Cloud phenomenal. It would be easy to write impressive recording technologies. And at
II. The list goes on and on, but unfortunately volumes on how awesome that sound profile long last, the name of the game seems to
we have to settle on one definitive headset. is. It speaks to you, brings you to tears, and be changing. As hard drive capacities, file
One product to take the place as the best all- leaves you sitting in the corner wondering formats, and overall network capabilities
rounder. And ultimately, it falls to Oppo to what on earth youve been listening to increase, it appears its only a matter of
take that mantle upon its broad shoulders. your whole life. The overall build quality is time before high-resolution audio is the
The Oppo PM-3s are outstanding, the exceptional, while the added accessories only audio we listen to. We can't wait for that
build quality is fantastic, the accessories and the fact they can be used for studio and day to arrive.
and packaging incredible, and to be frank, personal use is great.
the audio is absolutely astonishingsecond
only to the DT 1770 Pros. The fact that Oppo
has managed to downsize the traditionally
press play
For gaming, by far the best value for
Oppo has
heavy and cumbersome planar magnetic moneyand, if were honest, if this were downsized planar
magnetic drivers,
drivers, and fit them into a small-form, gaming headsets only, the winneris
stylish pair of headphones is nuts. And in the Kingston HyperX Cloud IIs. For $80,
the end thats what it comes down to. These
headphones fill a multitude of roles, and
theyre exceptionally good value, the sound
signature is incredibly well balanced for the
and fitted them in a
they do it insanely well. Want to wear them price, and the fact Kingston has bundled in small-form, stylish
pair of headphones.
round and about town? Sure. Need to listen a miniature soundcard/USB adapter on top
to HRA tracks? Done. After a weekend-long of everything else is impressive. If youre

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Skylake
Intels range of CPUs has penetrated

every nook and cranny of portable
PCs. Which do you want? By Dave James
goes mobile
Intels new sixth-gen Core Skylake being the processor designed to Intel hasnt specifically designed
processors represent a really make use of all the goodness a 14nm consumer desktop CPUs for years, and
departure for the big blue production process can offer. Skylake is no different. Whatever the reason
chip-making machine in Launching the new Skylake architecture behind holding back the mobile launch, we
more ways than one. First desktop-first may seem a bit odd, given Intel are now seeing a staggering range of laptop
of all, it decided to deliver both a tick and has focused on efficiency since the launch and tablet processors arriving with the
a tock in the space of a couple of months. of Sandy Bridge. That push for efficiency sixth-generation Core in swathes of mobile
It also figured that it would rather get the means it has taken a mobile-first design devices across the world.
desktop chips out the factory door first, approach, and then essentially iterated From configurable TDPs of just 3.5W all
then follow them up later with a whole slew more powerful versions of the laptop chips the way up to 45Wand even overclockable
of mobile processors, rather than the other to make the standard desktop CPUs. K-series laptop CPUsIntel has created the
way around. Intel also has its enthusiast desktop broadest range of mobile chips it has ever
Last summer saw Intels Broadwell platform, of course, the beefy X99 boards made. Which presents a bit of a problem
desktop parts finally arrivewith more and Haswell-E processors that are packing for end users, with all the new naming
of a whimper than a bang, it has to be six or eight cores. But for those, Intel went conventions, and vastly different feature
saidonly to be followed shortly after by to the workstation guys making the Xeon and component sets. Which mobile Skylake
the debut silicon of its brand-new Skylake server CPUs, stripped out a few features, processor do we actually want to see as the
architecture, again on the desktop. unlocked the multipliers, and dropped them beating silicon heart of our next device? It's
Broadwell was the die-shrink tick, with onto the consumer market. time for some explanations.

Skylake
It isn't an exaggeration to same basic Skylake architecture. So they of the Broadwell generation, is to drive
say that Intel has created its all have the same 14nm sixth-gen Core home the advantages that change in
broadest range of mobile design at their heart, and the same graphics production process can offer, and design
processors ever with the technology, but are differentiated by feature the overriding CPU architecture to match
new Skylake silicon. There set, CPU cores/threads, and the number of it. So Skylake is all about improving the
are nearly 50 different CPUs designed for graphics execution units they contain. overall performanceseemingly with a
tablet, 2-in-1, AIO, and laptop devices. It Thats an incredibly impressive place to focus on really beefing up the graphical
can be overwhelming at first glance, but it's start, if you think about it. Intel has created performancewhile at the same time
easier to talk about them in three classes, a Core architecture that is so scalable that making it far more efficient.
grouped by ascending TDP. it can go from a miniscule 4.5W dual-core When it comes to the mobile side of
At the bottom of the power-draw part, which will be used in tablets and the computing world, that efficiency is
spectrum are the Skylake-Y chips at 4.5W, be passively cooled, all the way up to a king. All-day battery life, generally around
then the Skylake-U series at 15W and 28W, powerful 45W quad-core gaming processor 10 hours, is the name of the game, as is
and finally the 45W high-end Skylake-H that can take on desktop CPUs. advanced stand-by modes that dont drain
series. They are designed to be dropped The main aim of an architectural tock, precious battery power unduly when the
into different devices but all share the as opposed to the 14nm die-shrink tick machine is not being used. And with the
The GX700s crazy

water-cooling loop.
mobile K-series
The launch of a new slew of starting base clock is a processors. That means, molten mess where its
mobile CPUs is rarely that modest 2.7GHz, with a with the right cooling array, internal components used
exciting, especially when maximum Turbo Boost of you can push well past that to be. We've seen the Core
Intel keeps back the highest 3.6GHz, making it not that 3.6GHz limita quick look i7-6820HK in MSI's GT72ST
end of its silky new Gen9 much different from the at HWBot and youll see its (MPC Holiday 2016, p76),
graphics cores until Krzanich rest of the Core i7s in the rated on there at 4.067GHz but the ASUS GX700 takes
knows when. But there really Skylake-H category. Its got right now, though some cooling to another level. It's
is one standout processor the same 530 series graphics demos have shown it going a desktop replacement with
from the latest list of laptop and the same iGPU clock as high as 4.2GHz. That a detachable water-cooling
processors, and its the first speeds as the others, and ought to give you proper loop for when you want to go
dedicated overclockable the same 8MB L3 cache. desktop levels of processor nuts with the clocks.
mobile CPU weve ever seen. But it just doesnt care performance from a simple The Core i7-6820HK, then,
The Intel Core i7-6820HK what the hell you do with 45W mobile part. is the enthusiast-level CPU to
is, on the surface, a relatively its CPU multiplier, with a Proper cooling is key, be seen with in your gaming
traditional quad-core, eight- healthy disregard for its own or your expensive laptop laptopwhether you bother
thread 45W processor. Its safety, just like all the best is going to find a soggy, tweaking its multiplier or not.

A mobile breakdown
Skylake-Y Skylake-U Skylake-H
Devices 2-in-1s, tablets, Compute Stick Thin and light notebooks, Performance laptops, workstations
portable AIOs, mini PCs
Cores/Threads 2/4 2/4 2/4 2/4, 4/4, 4/8 4/4, 4/8
Graphics GT1, GT2 GT2, GT3e GT3e GT2 GT4e
Package Size 20x16.5mm 42x24mm 42x28mm
TDP 4.5W 15W 28W 45W
Chipset Integrated sixth-generation Core chipset and platform I/O 100 Series chipset
increasingly visual nature of the computing it does is allow the operating system to instantly, and hit its 3.5GHz maximum
world, doing all that while also improving completely hand over step changes in speed in just 35ms.
the graphical performance of Intel silicon is processor frequency to the CPU itself. All told, Intel believes it can complete
absolutely vital. Basically, it allows the processor to govern some tasks in around 50 percent of the
its own clock speeds, with the goal of time it would normally take. By hitting top
making them happen much faster than if it speed faster, it doesnt need to run for as
Speed Shift. had to jump through OS hoops first. long. That improved efficiency means less
Skylake brings with it improvements to The whole idea is to improve efficiency drain on the battery, and longer up times
the clock management of its processors, by allowing the CPU to quickly ramp up to all round.
which effectively replace the old Speed maximum operating speed when a task is
Step feature, and were introduced via a delivered to the processor, which means it
Windows 10 update back in November. can be completed faster, and then return to
Skylake-y.
By an OS update? Speed Shift both is and its idle frequency faster. Intel estimates that Thats the codename, but the consumer
isnt a hardware-based featurein order it takes around 100ms for its processor to name is now Core m, and Intel is trying
for it to work, it needed operating system reach maximum frequency without Speed to bring the previously super-confusing
support, which meant it wasnt available at Shift; but with it, an example Skylake chip nomenclature more in line with its standard
the launch of Skylakes mobile chips. What can jump from 1GHz to 2.5GHz almost just-plain-confusing naming conventions.
Core m is still Intels premium low-power
The Skylake mini PCs, with Iris Pro graphics, processor, but it's now rocking a lower-case
could be little gaming powerhouses. "m" as opposed to Broadwells big-boy Core
M. The reasons will become clear soon
where the first Core M processors sported
names such as Core M 5Y70, Skylake is now
aping the Core i3, i5, i7 terminology it uses
with its more power-hungry silicon.
As such, we now have Core m3, m5,
and m7 to denote the varying levels of
performance to expect
from the respective power-
sipping CPUs. Beneath the
lot, though, just to keep
things really confusing, is
a single Pentium version

Skylake
Tick-Tock-Tock?
Kaby Lake has established
itself as the third generation
of 14nm CPUs.
It wouldnt be an article about Thats going to change physical limits of shrinking but we havent heard about its
a new processor launch with the upcoming Kaby its transistors. Initial 14nm codename yet. The likelihood
without a little future-gazing Lake line of Intel processors. yields were low and costs of that being followed by a
thrown in for good measure, The seventh generation will were high, which delayed 7nm part the following year is
and the next generation, essentially be built on the Broadwells appearance looking incredibly slim, then.
post Skylake, represents same architecture as Skylake (hence the Haswell Refresh Chances are that the two-year
an interesting shift in Intels and the same production chips), and the introduction of die-shrink cadence will be a
traditional design cadence. process, but should include Kaby Lake will give it time to thing of distant memory as it
The tick-tock model has generational performance get the 10nm process right for becomes harder and harder
been in use for a decade now, enhancements, as well as Cannonlake in 2017. to get transistors down
where the tick represents a new features to differentiate Cannonlake will keep further into the single-digit
shrink in production, using itself from the previous CPUs. whatever architectural nanometer world. But were
existing processor designs, This lengthening of a improvements are introduced not going to start predicting
and the tock sees a whole new production processs lifetime with Kaby Lake, but on a new the death of Moores Law just
CPU architecture introduced is the result of issues 10nm process. A whole new yetweve all been bitten by
at that lithography. Intel has run into with the architecture will follow that, that in the past.
of the Core m, with basic the key to Core m is the power of its Turbo Intel found with the Broadwell Y chips,
HD graphics cores and no Boost mode combined with the new Speed though, is that while they could potentially
Turbo mode. Theres a "Y" Shift feature. The Core m3s single-core go as low as 3.5W or as high as 7W, third-
in the codename to help Turbo Boost is a healthy 2.2GHz. There is party manufacturers werent designing the
denote the Pentium 4405Y a pair of Core m5 parts, but for all intents chassis to cope, which ended up hobbling
as a Core m part, though. and purposes, their only difference is a the burst performance of the chips.
All the Core m parts carry the same 100MHz advantage on one of their single- Intel says it is being more strict on the
dual-core, quad-thread design, and come core Turbo Boosts. They both have a base manufacturer guidelines this time around.
with the same Gen9 GT2 graphics core of 1.1GHz, with a Turbo of either 2.7GHz or
with 28 execution units (EUs) inside, and a 2.8GHz, and the GT2 graphics have a Boost
300MHz base frequency. Unlike the rest clock of 900MHz.
Skylake-U.
of the Skylake line, they also only operate The top Core m7-6Y75 has a base of Were back in more familiar straight Intel
with DDR3L memory, as opposed to the 1.2GHz and a single-core Turbo clock of Core territory now, with the Skylake-U
DDR4 standard the rest of the Skylake chips 3.1GHz, with a GT2 Turbo clock of 1GHz. series of chips. These come in i3, i5, and i7
interface with. These chips are designed to go into forms, in two broad categories: 15W and
The Core m3-6Y30 has the lowest 2-in-1 designs, tablets, and teeny PCs 28W. The raison d'tre for these parts is
operating frequency, at just 900MHz, but such as the Compute Stick. The difficulty to form the basis of the broadest range of

Intel-based devices. Compute Stick and Core m: CPUsthe Core i7-6820HK. Yep, a K-series
Were talking thin and light a mighty micro machine. mobile part (see Mobile K-Series"), the first
notebooks, portable AIOs, and of its kind, which means its a deliberately
mini PCs, such as the NUC, as well as version of the U-series overclockable laptop processor.
power tablets, such as the Surface Pro 4. Skylake CPUs by
Once more, the core configuration is checking whether there
pretty straightforward with both the 15W is a "7U" at the end of its model number.
Whither iriS pro?.
and 28W parts restricted to two cores and Thats going to be the question on the lips
four threads, no matter their i3, i5, or i7 of the graphics-obsessed amongst you
leanings. On the 15W end of the TDP scale,
Skylake-h. reading this far. Even though Intel has
the i5 and i7 variants have four discrete These are the big-daddy 45W CPUs of the officially launched almost 50 shades of
chips in each category, joined by a single i3. mobile Skylake game. They come with the mobile Skylake processors, not one of
Each is rocking either HD Graphics 520 or highest clocks, and represent the only them has come with the peak of its Gen9
Iris Graphics 540. option if you want the full quad-core, eight- graphical prowess.
Its interesting that youll be able to pick thread mobile processing enchilada. The GT4e, or Intel Iris Pro Graphics 580,
up a mobile Skylake CPU in the cheaper If you were hoping that this would be iGPU comes with a mammoth 72 execution
Core i5 bracket, which will still come with where you got the complete Iris Pro graphics units, combined with 128MB of eDRAM, and
the Iris Graphics component. The GT3e part package, you will be disappointed. All of the represents the pinnacle of Intel graphics.
of the Iris Graphics 540 silicon comes with Skylake-H parts come with the standard Its the Skylake graphics core with the
the same 48 EUs as the last generation Iris HD Graphics 530 core, with 24 EUs and potential for over 1.1TFLOPS of GPU power.
Pro parts, though only has 64MB of eDRAM, no eDRAM. Given theyre designed for top Thats an Intel CPU with the graphical
as opposed to the top Broadwell SKU of mobile performance laptops, these are the performance of an Nvidia GTX 950M. That
128MB eDRAM. processors that are going to get matched means processor graphics that can actually
The easy way to tell if a U-series chip with beefy discrete graphics cards. manage 1080p gaming.
has the Iris Graphics is that its name wont They are also the most familiar for any And yet theyre still nowhere to be found.
contain a double zero. A Core i5-6300U has of us used to dealing with the vagaries of Intel has teased that theyre to be used on
the base GT2 24 EUs graphics part, while processor names and die configuration. The the upcoming Skull Canyon platform, which
the Core i5-6360U comes with Iris Graphics. sole i3 chip, the Core i3-6100H, is a dual- is due to be a new NUC machine appearing
That works with the 28W U-series parts, core, four-thread CPU; the two i5 chips are early this year, but other than that, were
too, because all four come with Iris Graphics straight quad-core, four-thread parts; and clutching at rumors.
as standard, though they get the slightly the four i7 processors are the peak quad- Toward the end of January, a reported
higher-tier 550 version. It still has 48 EUs core, eight-thread CPUs. Intel OEM price list appeared showing an
and 64MB of eDRAM, but has a higher TDP They scale in a fairly linear way in terms upcoming set of Skylake-H processors all
and max potential clock speedthough only of base processor speeds and Turbo Boost sporting the new Iris Pro cores. Theres
the top i7 and top i5 chips in this bracket are clocks, with the i3 running at 2.7GHz, no supposedly a sole quad-core Core i5-
capable of it. The good news, however, is matter what, right up to the Core i7-6920HQ, 6350HQ, running at 2.3GHz, with three
that there is an i3 version in the 28W lineup, with a 2.9GHz base clock and a peak Boost further Core i7 models6770HQ, 6870HQ,
which comes with Iris Graphics, but without clock of an impressive 3.8GHz. Thats going and 6970HQwith base clocks of 2.6GHz,
the i5 or i7s Turbo Boost tech or the higher to need some serious cooling. 2.7GHz, and 2.8GHz, respectively.
GPU clock speed. Speaking of cooling, there is a bit of When these will actually arrive in
You can tell whether its a higher TDP an anomaly in the ranks of these Core i7 machines is anyones guess, though the
Skull Canyon timing of Q1 of this year should
mean we wont have to wait too long. The
Six Years of Processor Graphics prospect of an i5 Iris Pro could make for a
relatively powerful 1080p gaming laptop,
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 where the battery doesnt suddenly vanish
the instant you fire up a game.
Iron Lake Sandy Bridge Ivy Bridge Haswell Broadwell Skylake And, while the situation is similar with
Intel HD Graphics Intel HD Intel HD Intel HD 5200-4200 Intel HD Intel HD 530
3000-2000 4000-2500 6200-5500 the desktop chips, where there isnt really
Intel Core 2nd Generation Intel 3rd Generation Intel 4th Generation Intel 5th Generation Intel 6th Generation Intel a huge number of tangible performance
Processor Core Processor Core Processor Core Processor Core Processor Core Processor
improvements over the last few CPU
32nm 22nm 14nm generations, upgrading on the mobile
DirectX 10.0 DirectX 10.1 DirectX 11.0 DirectX 11.1 DirectX 11.2 DirectX 12.0
side makes more sense. The graphics
DX extensions improvements, boosts in efficiency, and
Up to 10 eUs Up to 12 eUs Up to 16 eUs Up to 40 eUs Up to 48 eUs Up to 72 eUs Speed Shift power states
eDRAm eDRAm eDRAm+ mean that the mobile parts
iris Pro, iris iris Pro, iris iris Pro, iris
are still making gains
43 GFLOPS 130 GLOPS 256 GFLOPS 640 GFLOPS 768 GFLOPS 1152 GFLOPS over their progenitors,
even if not in straight CPU
The inexorable rise of integrated graphics power is eating up the low end of discrete GPUs. performance terms.

Centerfold
MSI GS40 6QE

Phantom
We may have played with Intels Skylake
architecture first on the desktop, but as is now
the norm with processor developments, its on
mobile where Intels new silicon really shines.
Lower power draw, ever-improving integrated
graphics (no, really), and a host of features
designed to improve efficiency all make more
1 GTX 970M
The vibrant 1080p
sense on mobile. display relies on Nvidias
MSI has given mobile Skylake a great GTX 970M GPU to provide
showcase in the GS40 6QE Phantom. It isnt the raw pixel-pumping
just a one-trick pony either, as this capable power. This mobile GPU
little notebook boasts healthy graphical grunt is a good match for the
for the luscious 1080p screen in the form of 14-inch display, and lays
Nvidias GTX 970M. And theres love on the claim to 3GB of GDDR5 to
audio side as well, with the ESS Sabre HiFi call its own. The latest
Audio DAC, Nahimic Virtual Surround Sound, titles run smoothly on this
and sound by Dynaudio. machine, and look great.
Theres certainly a lot to love with this laptop,
whether its the comprehensive storage, the
SteelSeries backlit keyboard, or the different
performance profiles that help keep the fans
under control. No matter if youre looking for a
next-gen gaming system, or just a bloody good
laptop, the MSI GS40 6QE Phantom checks a lot
of the important boxes. alan Dexter
2 Skylake-M
MSI has used one
of Intels new sixth-gen
mobile CPUs to provide
the raw power for the
GS40 6QE Phantom. The
quad-core (eight-thread)
Core i7-6700HQ is clocked
at 2.6GHz, turboing up to
3.5GHz when needed. Its
roughly 20 percent faster
than the last-gen CPU.
50 MAXIMUMPC apr 2016 maximumpc.com

3 NVMe SSD
MSI has employed
the classic combo of SSD
and hard drive to provide
both capacity and speed
here. Theyre both quality
drives as well. The 256GB
NVMe M.2 SSD boasts a
theoretical maximum
throughput of 2,200MB/s.
The 1TB hard drive is a
7,200rpm model.

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buy or rent
Buy, rent,
donate, or
go free?
Electronic Arts shakes up the gaming
world with Origin Access, but is it any
good? Dan Griliopoulos finds out
H
ow should you get hold of a game? no guarantee of long-term accessneither
Depending on its age, there might the owners of subscriptions to the defunct
be a hundred ways to get itfrom OnLive streaming service or products
simple torrent or newsgroup bought on the changed Direct2Drive
piracy (which we dont advocate), to buying a digital download service can access
digital download on Steam or GOG, to hunting their games anymore, unlike players
out a rare physical-world shop and buying who bought physical copies of the same
it from an actual human being, to forming a games. Many of the game streaming
crack team of pro-gamers to break into the services that were on PC have closed, and
developers offices on the day of release, play their replacements are solely targeting
it extensively on location, then bug out before smart TVsa commercial decision we
morning (which doesnt count as piracy, were cant quite understand.
fairly surejust a whole lot of other crimes). There are also some problems
Or you could rent it. This month, EA with purely physical copies. Owners of
announced that Origin Access is coming to PC, 2004s Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines
following the successful run of EA Access on (like ourselves) will find that the physical
the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Rental is a strange game they own is now unplayable because of
fish among gamesit has a long history on the unpatched bugswithout the Steam version,
more commercially minded, copy-protected we couldnt play it at all. Indeed, in the last few
consoles, but has never really worked with years, most physical copies of PC games have
PC games. Yet now several firms are offering turned into marketing devices, not actually
game rental and streaming services, most of containing any code, which means their
which are monthly packages like EAs. supposed advantages vanish. Instead, theyre
But there are still huge problems with just designed to sit on shelves, to replace
renting games these days. Digital products are books as the wallpaper of our lives.

Streaming services
have come to every
form of media; now
theyre here for games.

buy or rent
Buying games
Buying a game seems simple enough. You go
into your local game store (if it still exists), or
go online to whichever retailer you normally
use (lets face it, its probably going to be
Amazon), and just order it. When the game
gets to your home, its straightforwardly
there for you to play.
If you buy a digital version, as we
mentioned above, there are a few more
problems. If you buy it from a digital
storefront servicesuch as Direct2Drive,
Steam, or Uplaythat later closes, youre
normally screwed. Some services, such
as Good Old Games, let players
download the entire game and
associated manuals, with no
DRM, to protect against this
kind of thing. Indeed, GOG
generally is where youre Battlefield 4 is free on
best placed to go for future- EAs Origin Access.
proofing, because it strives to
keep its library of (mostly ancient)
titles as compatible as possible.
Despite that, Steam is where youre most as collectibles. As soon as you open the if a company or creator has made their
likely to buy your games. Weve covered packaging, the resale value plummets.) game available for free (like EAs On The
the problems and boons of Steam many Remember also that by buying a physical House program, for its older titles) or as
times before, but as a platform for buying copy, youre giving a lot less money to the shareware, you can download that legally,
games to play, its difficult to be too critical. developer. To get into one of these shops, a as long as its still available for freeif they
With a few clicks and with verified payment developer needs a publisher. The shop itself take it down, youve missed your chance.
systems, you can get a game downloading takes a cutand they cant increase the Sites such as Abandonia.com and Home
immediately. If you dont play it, you can price to do that, because theyre competing of the Underdogs walk this thin line between
arrange a refund equally quickly. (And most with online purchases. The distributor takes legality by uploading the original code for
games you get through competing services, a cut, too, for the cost of shipping. A publisher many older games, and simply taking them
such as the Humble Bundle, tend to be takes a large chunk of the games remaining down if they receive any legal notifications.
Steam keys anyway.) revenue for packaging and marketing, Abandonia has been doing this for over 16
Even the physical versions have problems. and passes along a small amount to the years now. HOTU has games dating from
These days, they almost always need an developer. Where Steam takes 30 percent, 1979s mediocre Computer Quarterback and
Internet connection for the inevitable day a developer would be lucky to end up with Mychess, all the way up to 2005s excellent
one patch. Many physical boxes dont even 10 percent of a physical sale. Mount & Blade and The Ur-Quan Masters,
go that farthey hold no disc except for a Not that it matters, as most games sold while Abandonia has the original 1978 Space
Steam key, or if they do, its the code for a this way are from the big publishers, who Invaders and 1977 adventure games, up to
downloader, not the full game. wholly own their developers, which means 2004s Maniac Mansion Deluxe.
Collectors editions are nothing new, the creative individuals might get a bonus at Its notable that both the Library of
while at the same time being an innovation. mostif the game sells and/or scores well. Congress and the Internet Archive (http://
The digital copies allow fans, for a small Most indie games never become physical archive.org) have sought to preserve older
premium, to get improved versions of their games, so its not a big worry for them. games and vintage software. The Internet
gamesoften with exclusive content that Archive has uniquely received an exclusion
makes the game easier (health potions aBandonware from the US DMCA, which allows it to bypass
or armor, for example) or more fun. The Of course, for some older games, you copy protection for this purpose. Though
physical copies come with all sorts of dont even need to buy them. The law these games are not available to download,
goodies, from a slightly shinier box to fully on abandonware is clear; it is pretty you can play many of them on the Archives
functioning night-vision goggles with Call of straightforwardly illegal to download games website at http://tinyurl.com/kngkj4w.
Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition, or that are unsupported but still owned by a
a rubber facehugger with Alien Vs. Predator viable company. However, if the company no direct to dev
Hunter Edition. (Be warned, though, if longer exists, and no company has bought Another good tip for indie games youre
youre buying these, that theyre considered the rights, its fine to download. Similarly, looking forward to, such as Manifold Garden
Be warned, thoughtheyre considered

as collectibles. As soon as you open the
packaging, the resale value plummets.

tHe Biggest-
earning Pc
games of 2015
What makes the most
money on PC?
GAME IncOME
Tencent and
Riots free-to-
LEAGuE OF play co-operative $1.628
LEGEndS strategy game billion
is number
one again.
SmileGates
online FPS is
huge in South $1.110
crOSSFIrE Korea but mostly billion
Buying the Modern Warfare II unheard of here
in the West.
Prestige Edition is still the best way
to get cheap night-vision goggles.
dunGEOn An online arcade
fighter made by $1.052
FIGhTEr Neople, which is
Fancy a facehugger? billion
OnLInE huge in China.
Its yours, with the
right edition of Alien
Vs. Predator. Blizzards
fantasy MMO is
WOrLd OF $814
over 10 years
WArcrAFT old and still million
going strong.
Wargamings
online tank
WOrLd OF combat is $446
TAnkS keeping million
the players
coming back.
Hard to believe,
but NCSOFTs
boring fantasy $339
LInEAGE MMO is still
or Fantastic Contraption, is to crowdfund The legality of abandonware sites such as million
making money
them. The lower tiers tend to sell the game Abandonia is questionable. in Asia.
ahead of time at a very high discountso
high, it probably wont reach it again until a our appetite for gambling and limited free Nexons side-
Steam sale or Humble Bundle several years time, which might differ from yours. scrolling MMO
$253
down the line. Obviously, some kickstarts MAPLESTOry RPG is big in its
million
fail, but the saving you make on every PHysical rental home territory
of Korea.
kickstarted game outweighs that gamble, in Physical rental used to be a big market, from
our humble opinion. cornershop chains such as Blockbuster, Valves attempt
Or you could just go straight to the who had copied the model from the old to dethrone
developers website, where modern indies TV rental model. For a tenth of the games League of $238
dOTA 2 Legends is
often give discounts if you buy earlier in the cost, you could rent it for enough time to million
failingbut
development process. For example, Return complete it, then return it. It made economic not badly.
of the Obra Dinn is the next game from sense for the chainwhich could make the
Lucas Pope, the highly talented and reliable value of the game back and moreand for And Valves
cOunTEr-
creator of Papers, Please. Obra Dinn will the consumer, who paid much less for a STrIkE:
classic online
$221
almost certainly be brilliant, and Pope is new game. It was a disaster for the games FPS still pulls
GLOBAL in the western million
offering an early developer version of it for company, though, which would lose multiple OFFEnSIVE shooters.
free. Cogmind, by contrast, though it looks sales on every rented game.
like a fascinating science-fiction roguelike, This even affected certain game Finally, having
is from a developer weve not heard ofand companies behavior, especially in been released on
its offering the alpha of the game for $30. conjunction with sales lost to piracy. They GrAnd PC, Rockstars
$205
Source: SuperData
misanthropic
Were happy to wait for the latter, while well had to come up with tactics that meant that ThEFT open-world million
happily play the formerbut thats down to players could only use a physical game AuTO V game is the only
single-player
title in this list.

buy or rent
once, or would lose out. For example, EAs

Dragon Age game came with a one-use
code for a downloadable charactera
golemthat had a unique quest chain. This
soon became standard industry practice,
so much so that no one today even blinks
at bundled DLC on the first day of a games
release. It also allowed the companies to
start selling differentiated digital versions of
their games, enabling them to charge more
money to a games superfanssomething
well come back to later.
However, physical rental has pretty much
died. For example, Lovefilm (now Amazon
Prime Video) dropped its physical rental
system in many territories back in 2013. In the
United States, the much larger population
helped these firms to continue thriving, but
even so, theyve been in trouble. Blockbuster
has gone from 9,000 stores in 2004 to 1,700 The Sims 4 is on Origin
stores in 2011, down to 50 franchise stores Access, without its dLc.
in the most obscure corners of America. By
contrast, the online physical rental stores
such as GameFly supply physical games for Rights Management software, it was never stream their hardware-intensive games
almost all consoles, from $16 for one game a worth any game company getting involved. to users without large downloads or high-
month, to $37 for four games a month. spec machines. Kalydo, for example, is used
You might notice weve not mentioned PC digital rental extensively by F2P game companies such as
games in any of that, for obvious reasons. One form of digital rental is called cloud Wargaming.net, GameForge, and Gamigo.
Physical rental was never popular for PC gaming or streaming, and the previous GameFly is the only company we can
games because either the software worked market leaders in this model of digital find currently that operates a reasonably
against multiple installations or it didnt. If the rental were OnLive and Gaikai. The former complete PC game digital rental service,
software came with serial keys with online worked well, and allowed easy streaming through streaming from the cloud. However,
activation, then that was a one-time install to any devicebut lost money month after its only available internationally on
useless for rental. If it didnt, then players month, and closed ignominiously, unable to Samsung smart TVs, and has an extremely
never needed to uninstall the gamesso find a buyer. The latter showed a great proof limited number of titles, with a bizarre
rental turned into pirated ownership every of concept by embedding streamed games way of packaging them. GameNow offers
time. There were undoubtedly solutionsan in adverts on websitesbut was bought an even smaller number of titles, and is
online tracker that deactivated any existing out by Sony, and now works solely as its only available on LG smart TVs
installations, much like Steam locks down PlayStation Now game streaming service. and Google TVs. Similarly,
accounts to a single computer at a time Other streaming services seem to have PlayStation Now has
but with the already angry arguments about focused their efforts on acting as business a huge range of
privacy and player-tracking over Digital solutions, allowing game developers to old PlayStation 3
tHe state of internet Piracy

Does piracy cost the gaming industry big bucks?
If you read the music or film industry trade press, piracy is still rampant. Why
else would no one be buying music anymore? they ask, as they thumb open
Spotify on their phone. However, what of the pirate sites themselves? How
easy is it to get a pirated game these days?
Really rather easy. The big obstacles to piracy arent getting the product or getting
past copy protection; most big PC games are cracked and uploaded pretty quickly still,
and a quick Google normally throws up a few thousand hits.
No, the obstacles are often technical; you have to jump through many hoops to install
the title, which might leave your computer open to worms or viruses. Often, theres a
virus in a pirated file, just as a bonusbotnets dont build themselves, you know. So
serious pirates tend to join subscription-based or invite-only communities for safety.
That means you really have to be committed to pirating a game to do it these days.
And that means youre also highly unlikely to be willing to pay for it anyway, so logically, League of Legends is free,
youre probably not a lost sale. Whatever the MPAA says. popular, and hugely profitable.

tHe Best of
tHe free
games
What to play if you dont
want to splash the cash
GAME
This classic hack-and-

slash FPS is available
ShAdOW for free on Steam. Its
WArrIOr 1997 extremely cathartic and
a nice warm-up for the
modern version.
The community might be

toxic, and the learning
LEAGuE OF
curve like a cliff face, but
LEGEndS once you get into it, youll
The latest FIFA game is on Origin never get out.
Access, which for some people
could be worth it by itself. Valves groundbreaking
team FPS went free
TEAM
years ago, and now has
games, but only works on Sony consoles of games to make this viable. Valves focus FOrTrESS 2 a huge number of modes
(such as the PS4 and Vita), and Sony or seems to be very much elsewhere at the and maps.
Samsung smart televisions. And all of these moment, with forays into PC building, VR,
Blizzards collectible
packages are subscription-based, with and in-home streaming. GOG still mostly
card game is charming,
Sonys being very generous and having lots deals with older games, but is the likeliest huge, and mostly free-to-
of games, and GameNows having very few. company with the relationships to make hEArThSTOnE playyou can pay money
The biggest problem for us is that none this workif not the clout. And Itch.io only to get packs, enter the
arena, or unlock single-
of these systems works on PC anymore. If supplies the most independent indie games.
player dungeons.
you want to stream games to your PC, youre Simply put, a wider rental market seems
out of luck. unlikelyat the moment. Essentially, a really good
Diablo II clone (that is,
third-person, single-
PuBlisHer Platforms into tHe future PATh OF ExILE player, loot-oriented
The only other viable systems for digital EAs experiment will be good for a small hack-and-slash), which is
rental are the publisher platformsthat is, number of us, but it doesnt supply the giant totally free.
EAs Origin, Valves Steam, Ubisofts Uplay, smorgasbord of mid-ranked and older
The biggest battles take
and Blizzards Battle.net. Theyre really games that Netflix brings to the movie and place between tanks,
shell services, like Adobes Creative Cloud TV scene. Ideally, a streaming firm with PLAnETSIdE 2 jets, and infantry in this
subscription service, which allow users to good licensing relationships will spot this huge MMOFPS. Nothing
select from a handful of applications for niche and step into the spaceif the game else is like it.
download, and use them for a monthly fee, companies think it makes sense, which is an
then restricting access to those applications entirely different question. For the moment, A huge money-earner,
if your subscription is canceled. however, it looks as though most of us will WOrLd OF Wargamings PvP team
EAs steps toward making Origin a rental continue to buy games digitally as we have TAnkS tank sim is jolly good fun
platform seem to be along this line, but always done. to play around with.
theyre only small steps, which is why the
company is keeping the cost so lowjust $5 This cutesy mine-
for access to a middle-sized array of middle- exploration roguelike
platformer is on every
aged games. SPELunky system now, but the
Although Creative Cloud is a good original freeware
model, the ultimate goal is something game can be easily
closer to Netflixa streaming service found online.
with a low monthly subscription rate EA-Biowares ambitious
and a huge catalog. None of the major MMORPG didnt quite
STAr WArS: take off with a bang, but
publishers can do that, because they dont
ThE OLd its still the best way to
have a big enough range of gameswhile rEPuBLIc explore the Star Wars
the EA games are relatively recent (such as universeand now its
Dragon Age: Inquisition), the firm doesnt totally free.
have a huge array to offer. Moreover, DLC for A gothic multiplayer
these games is often still an extra cost. text adventure set in a
Only Steam, GOG, and possibly Itch.io version of London thats
FALLEn
sunk into hell. Whats
have access to a large enough selection LOndOn not to like? This is free,
but the superior spin-off
Sunless Sea isnt.

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examining technology and putting it to use
R&D
Step-by-Step GuideS to improvinG your pC
WindoWs Tip of The MonTh
ZAK STOREY
Staff writer
The PerfecT
STream
This issue has been particularly
interesting for me because Ive been
able to pursue one of my greatest
passions: high-fidelity audio. The
thing is, digital music is a holy trinity of
circumstance. It relies on three major
factors: the quality of the drivers, the
Remove Quick Access quality of the hardware processing

the digital signals, and the quality
Theres a lot to love and a lot to question in Windows 10. Despite of the music files youre listening to.
This brings us to a bit of a conundrum,
the changes to the Start menu, the introduction of Cortana, and it rests in that last factor. Most
and concerns over privacy, theres nothing that gets our goat of us have a vast library of music
littered over our hard drives, gathered
more than the changes to File Explorer. OK, that might be an throughout our computing lives.
exaggeration, but its still annoying. If youre sick of the new The problem resides in which
media service we should use in this
Quick Access tab, open a new File Explorer, click the View modern age of digital streaming.
tab, select Options at the top-right, select the drop-down box Finding the perfect service can be
troublesome. If you want the best
where it says Open File Explorer to, and select This PC. quality, Tidal is your answer. Although
the premium subscription comes with
MAKE USE CREATE a hefty price tag, the quality is second

to none, and with MQA streaming
promised next year, its definitely one
to watch. Choose Spotify, on the other
hand, and you pay half the cost for half
the quality but a far heftier library.
At this point, it all links back to that
holy trinity of sound. If you dont have
the right headphones and dependable
audio processing, youre unlikely to
notice the difference between FLAC
64 70 72 and MP3, making Tidals premium
Use a Raspberry Improve workflow Build an Oculus service seem ridiculous. Whats the
Pi as a wireless with our advanced Rift-ready VR answer? Luckily, these services have
print server Lightroom tips gaming rig free trials. Try them, see if you can tell
the difference, and go from there.
submit your How To project idea to: comments@maximumpc.com

maximumpc.com Apr 2016 MAXIMUMPC 61
R&D
presents:
THIS MONTH WE DISSECT...
Fairphone 2
Is this the worlds most repairable
phone? It sure looks like it.
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 Who needs
the right to maintain and repair their own tools when
products. To learn more, visit www.ifixit.com. you have your
fingers?
62 MAXIMUMPC APr 2016 maximumpc.com

BACKGROUND:
You may have heard a lot about the new Fairphone 2the
small Dutch company has been making waves with its
affordable, modular, conflict-free cell phone, and were one of
the first to get our hands on its latest device. When we tore
down the original Fairphone, we were pleased by its easy
access and modularity. Now were excited to see what this
second-generation, responsibly-designed device has in store.
MAJOR TECH SPECS:

5-inch 1080p LCD display (446ppi) with Gorilla Glass 3
Qualcomm Snapdragon 801
2GB LPDDR3 RAM
32GB internal storage with expandable storage via microSD slot
2,420mAh user-removable lithium-ion battery
8MP rear camera
Android 5.1 Lollipop
KEY FINDINGS:
The first item on our agenda is the translucent rear case. Its
snug and secure, but snaps off with no tools required.
Wheres all the adhesive? Is this a dream?
Remove battery before releasing screen. Is this a
disassembly tip on the battery? Nothing makes us happier
than when manufacturers include repair instructions.
Just like in the good old days, we lift out the battery and...
thats it. No glue, no plugs, no drama.
The lack of visible screws had us worried, but not for long,
thanks to the handily-labeled clips. Removing the display
assembly is just a matter of flipping the switches and sliding
the panel out. For those keeping score thus far, removing the
front panel keeps us at a grand total of zero tools required.
The Fairphone is designed to be separated into modular
components, but what if you want to fix an individual module?
The modules are held together with Torx T5 screws
presumably to deter casual users from delving too deepbut
are still easy to open up. We start with the top module: the
The icons here front-facing camera pops off thanks to a simple flex cable
make repairing connector. Spring contacts power the earpiece speaker,
this phone an making for easy replacement of that, too. The headphone
absolute dream. jack, the last component, is soldered to the board. Nothing
major remains, so a replacement board should be cheap.
Repairability Score: 10 out of 10 (10 is easiest). The LCD and
cover glass are fused, simplifying removal, but increasing
the cost of replacement. The most commonly failing
components, battery and display, can be replaced without
tools. Internal modules are secured with Phillips #0 screws
and simple spring connectors. Individual modules can be
opened, and many components individually replaced. Spring
contacts allow for upgrades and easy component swaps.
maximumpc.com APr 2016 MAXIMUMPC 63

R&D
Raspberry Pi as a
Wireless Print Server
youll need thiS A printer isnt the most convenient of peripherAls. They look out of place on most desks
and create a racket when spitting out pages. You could throw a few hundred dollars on a snazzy new
rAspberry pi 2 network printer that sits in a corner somewhere, and can receive print orders from any computer
The brilliant mini-computer on the local network. Or you could just hook up your regular USB printer to the Raspberry Pi and
costs under $45. See enjoy the same conveniences offered by top-of-the-line network printers.
www.raspberrypi.org. If you havent already used your printer on Linux, head to www.openprinting.org/printers to
check whether your printer is compatible with the CUPS printing server software. If your printer is
listed, hook it up to the Raspberry Pi using one of the USB ports. For this project, were using the
Raspbian distro, and the Pi is connected to the local network via a compatible wireless adapter.
However, you can also hook the Pi up to your network via the wired Ethernet port. Mayank SharMa
A B
1
from the local computer that its installed on. Because that
Access your rAspberry pi doesnt work in our case, we need to edit its configuration
You can follow the instructions in this tutorial by accessing the file to allow us to make changes to the server from a
Raspberry Pi [image A] remotely from any other computer on remote computer.
3
the network. Just make sure that the SSH server inside Raspbian
is enabled by using the raspi-config tool. Its also a good idea to Allow remote connections
assign a fixed IP address to the Pi. You can do this easily from within First of all, you need to create a backup of the
your routers admin page. For this tutorial, well assume that the IP original configuration file with:
address of your PI is 192.168.3.111. You can now access the Pi from $ sudo cp /etc/cups/cupsd.conf /etc/cups/cupsd.conf.orig
within Windows using the PuTTY client, or from any Linux distro >> Then open the file with the nano text editor:
with the SSH CLI command, such as: $ sudo nano /etc/cups/cupsd.conf
$ sudo ssh pi@192.168.3.111 >> Inside the file, scroll down to the following section:
2
# Only listen for connections from the local machine
instAll cups Listen localhost:631
Once youre inside Raspbian, update the repositories with: >> Comment out that line and add another to ask CUPS
$ sudo apt-get update to accept connections from any computer on the network.
and then install any updates with: Make sure the section looks like this:
$ sudo apt-get upgrade # Only listen for connections from the local machine
Now pull in the CUPS print server with: # Listen localhost:631
$ sudo apt-get install cups Port 631
>> When its installed, add your user to the group created by >> Then scroll a bit further down in the config file until
CUPS called lpadmin that has access to the printer queue. Unless you reach the Location sections, and add a new line
you have created a custom user, the default user on Raspbian is that reads Allow @local just before the close of the
named pi. Use the following command to allow it to interact with section. The section with the appended line should now
the printer: read like this:
$ sudo usermod -a -G lpadmin pi Location /
>> Here we use the usermod tool to add (-a) the pi user to the # Restrict access to the server
lpadmin group (-G). By default, CUPS can only be configured Order allow,deny

C visible to Windows and Apple devices requires a couple of
additional steps.
>> For Windows, install the Samba server on the Pi with:
$ sudo apt-get install samba
>> Then open its configuration file (/etc/samba/smb.
conf) in the nano text editor, hunt for the section labeled
[printers], and make sure it contains the following line:
guest ok = yes
>> Then scroll down to the [print$] section and change
its path to the following:
path = /usr/share/cups/drivers
>> Now scroll up to the Global Settings section at
the top of the configuration file. Modify the workgroup
parameter within to point to the name of your workgroup,
which by default is named WORKGROUP. Also enable the
wins support by adding the following line:
wins support = yes
Allow @local >> Now save the file and restart Samba with:
/Location $ sudo /etc/init.d/samba restart
6
>> Now add the Allow @local line to the other two Location
sections: Location /admin and Location /admin/conf . configure windows And Apple devices
Save the file and restart the CUPS server with: Then head over to the Windows machine, launch
$ sudo /etc/init.d/cups restart the Add New Printer wizard, and click the option
>> You should now be able to access the CUPS administration to install a network printer. Thanks to the modified Samba
panel [image b] via any computer on your local network by pointing configuration, the wizard detects and lists any printers
the web browser to your Pi. Then follow the four-step walkthrough hooked up to the Pi [image c]. If you have Apple devices,
over the page to add your printer to CUPS. you can enable support for Apples AirPrint system, which
4
allows you to print from the iPad and iPhone. For this, just
tweAk the firewAll install the Avahi daemon with sudo apt-get install avahi-
Some Linux distributions ship with a restrictive iptables daemon on the Pi, which will then make the connected
firewall policy that doesnt allow connections via the CUPS printer visible to AirPrint-compatible devices.
7
ports. Even if Raspbian doesnt have any such restrictions, make
sure it doesnt throw up any unexpected errors by punching holes print from python
in the firewall with: In addition to the ability to use our network printer
$ sudo iptables -A INPUT -i wlan0 -p tcp -m tcp --dport 631 -j from within graphical apps across all platforms, we
ACCEPT can also use it to print from the command-line interface.
$ sudo iptables -A INPUT -i wlan0 -p udp -m udp --dport 631 -j Furthermore, we can also interact with the printer using
ACCEPT the Python programming language.
>> If you connect to the Pi via Ethernet instead of a wireless >> The CUPS printing server installs a bunch of
adapter, modify the command and replace wlan0 with eth0. command-line tools (see box below) for interacting with
5
the server and any connected printers. You can send files
network-wide Access to the printer using the lp command, such as:
When you are through setting up your printer using the CUPS $ lp ~/docs/a_text_file.txt
administration panel, its time to make it accessible to the >> If you have multiple printers, you can print to a
other machines on your network. While Linux distributions will particular printer by specifying its name, such as:
have no trouble detecting your new network printer, making them $ lp ~/docs/another-text.txt -d EPSON_LX-300
cUps commAnd-line Utilities

The CUPS printing system ships with you specify in Step 2 of the walkthrough cups.org/documentation.php/options.
a number of nifty little command-line over the page. html#OPTIONS) for a list of options.
utilities. In fact, you can set up and If you have multiple printers, use the If you mistakenly print a large file
configure all aspects of your printer from -d option to specify the printer you wish and want to stop the print job before
the CLI. Lets run through some of the to print to. For example, lp -d HP-printer you waste too much paper, you can use
most useful commands that will help you file.txt prints the file on the HP printer, the lpq command to print a list of all
manage the printer better. which isnt set as the default. the print jobs currently in the queue.
Weve already seen the lp command, To influence the characteristics of The command also lists the file that
which queues a file for printing on the the printed output, use the -o option to each job is printing and its size, so you
default printer. The default printer is specify a variety of options. For example, can easily identify the job ID assigned to
specified in the PRINTER variable. lp -o landscape -o fit-to-page -o media each. Make note of it because you need
You can specify it with the command A4 file.jpg fits the image into A4 size it to cancel the print job. For instance,
export PRINTER=printer-name where specifications, and prints it in landscape. the command cancel 2 cancels the
printer-name is the name of the printer Refer to the CUPS documentation (www. job with the ID 2.

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D named printer_name. The third line uses the first two

variables and prints the file in the specified format.
>> A more interesting example is to use the wkHTMLtoPDF
toolkit to convert HTML pages into PDFs and pass them on
to the printer, from within a Python script.
>> Before you can install the toolkit, install the required
components and a set of fonts to process the web pages:
$ sudo apt-get install xvfb xfonts-100dpi xfonts-75dpi
xfonts-scalable xfonts-cyrillic
>> Then install the tool with sudo apt-get install
wkhtmltopdf before installing the Python wrapper with:
$ sudo pip install git+https://github.com/qoda/python-
wkhtmltopdf.git
>> You can now use the following to convert a web page
into a PDF file:
8
from wkhtmltopdf import WKHtmlToPdf
using python
When you use the commands with a PDF or image file, CUPS wkhtmltopdf = WKHtmlToPdf (
converts the files using the printer drivers. You can also use url=http://www.maximumpc.com,
Python to generate printer-friendly content. This is best done with output_file=/home/pi/docs/mpc.pdf,
the PyCups library, which provides Python bindings for the CUPS )
server. Install the library with: wkhtmltopdf.render()
$ sudo apt-get install python-cups. >> The code saves the main page of the Maximum PC
>> Then create an example.py Python script with: website as a PDF in the /home/pi/docs directory.
10
import cups
conn = cups.Connection() put it All together
printers = conn.getPrinters () Refer to the following code to see how the pieces
for printer in printers: fit togetherit converts a page into a PDF and
print printer, printers[printer][device-uri]
>> The script fetches details about all the printers managed by
E
CUPS and prints their name and device address to the screen.
When you execute the script, it produces an output like this:
EPSON_LX-300 usb://EPSON/LX-300+?serial=L010209081
RICOH_Aficio_SP_100 usb://RICOH/Aficio?serial=T382M977983
>> You can also print files from the Python script using the
printFile function, by specifying them in the format:
$ printFile (name of the printer, filename to print, job
title,options)
9 modify exAmple.py
Open the previous example.py script and add:
file = /home/pi/testfile.txt
printer_name=printers.keys()[0]
conn.printFile (printer_name, file, Project Report, {})
another
Pi tutorial
next
Month
>> The first line saves the name of the file you wish to print inside
a variable named file. The second fetches the list of printers and
saves the first name, which is the default printer inside a variable
Administering cUps
In addition to adding printers, the CUPS printers page has options under two other important tabs we should mention
web interface provides access to various pull-down menus labeled Maintenance as well.
other useful settings. You can administer and Administration [image e]. From For starters, you need to switch
most of the printing tasks from the under the Maintenance menu, you can to the Classes tab for printer class
Administration tab, which houses print a test page, a self-test page, clean management. A class is a collection
settings under various categories. Under print heads, and manage print jobs. of several printers. When you send a
the Server section, for instance, you can To customize the behavior of the print job to a class, CUPS automatically
find options to tweak the configuration of printer, use the Administration menu assigns the job to the next available
the server, as well as view various types to tweak its default options, set it as the printer, instead of waiting for a specific
of access and error logs. default printer, restrict user access, printer to be ready.
Using the Manage Printers button modify its settings, or delete it from Then theres the Jobs tab, which
under Printers, you can control the the CUPS server altogether. Beside the enables you to view and manage all print
settings for individual printers. Every Administration tab, theres a couple of jobs that are currently in the print queue.

prints it out. print printer, printers[printer][device-uri]
#!/usr/bin/env python file=/home/pi/tuxradar.pdf
import cups printer_name=printers.keys()[0]
from wkhtmltopdf import WKHtmlToPdf conn.printFile (printer_name, file, PDF Print, {})
wkhtmltopdf = WKHtmlToPdf( >> The script first converts the homepage of www.
url=http://www.maximumpc.com, maximumpc.com into a PDF. It then connects to CUPS,
output_file=/home/pi/maxpc.pdf, prints a list of attached and configured printers on the
) screen, and uses the default printer to print the PDF. The
wkhtmltopdf.render() PyCups library is full of methods (https://pythonhosted.
conn = cups.Connection() org/pycups/) to control all aspects of CUPS.
printers = conn.getPrinters() >> Note: All distros can access the USB printers connected
for printer in printers: to the Pi without tweaks [image d]. Happy printing!
Add A printer
1. The CUPS daShboard 2. add a PrinTer

The CUPS print server includes a built-in web server that Once logged in, switch to the Administration tab, and click
powers its configuration panel. Its running on port 631 on the Add Printer button, which brings up a list of printers.
the Raspberry Pi, which in our case is 192.168.3.111:631. Toggle the radio button next to your printer, and head to
Access the address from any browser on the network. You the next step. Here youre asked to add or edit the name,
have to accept its security certificate, and then log in to the description, and location of the printer. Make sure you enable
interface using the credentials of the user youve added to the the Share This Printer option to make the printer accessible
lpadmin group, which in our case is the pi user. all over the network.
3. SeleCT a driver 4. SeT defaUlT oPTionS

Youre asked to choose a driver for the selected printer. CUPS In the final step, CUPS enables you to set some generic print
shows you a list of drivers based on the make of printer. Chances settings, such as page size and source. The options vary from
are that several of the drivers are marked Recommended. one printer to another, and might spread over several sections.
However, scroll through the list until you find the driver for your When youve finished, click Set Default Options. Youre then
exact model. Alternatively, if you have a PPD file for the printers taken to the main administration page for that printer. Use the
driver, click the Browse button and navigate to it. Maintenance pull-down menu to print a test page.

R&D
Rediscover the
Control Panel
Youll need this Despite first appearances, Windows 10 hasnt killed off the Control Panel. Although youre
strongly pushed toward the newand admittedly improvedSettings dialog, which was first seen
WindOWs 10 in Windows 8, the old Control Panel still lurks behind the scenes, giving you access to just about
The old Control Panel is every system setting imaginable. And while a fair bit of its functionality has now been incorporated
still in there somewhere into Settings, there are still plenty of times when youll need to access the Control Panel to tweak
certain parts of your PC.
In some cases, direct links to certain Control Panel applets can be found in Settings itself
look for references to advanced settings to access them. However, in this tutorial, well focus on
revealing key settings that are hidden behind the scenesread on to find out more about them, plus
gain that all-important access. nick peers
A
2 aCCess system restOre
System Restore may be switched off by default in
Windows 10access its settings by clicking System
Protection on the System Control Panel, or by typing
recovery in the Search box, and clicking Recovery,
then Configure System Restore. Select your system
drive, then click Configure. Switch it on and allocate 5-10
percent of drive space before clicking OK [image B].
>> The Recovery applet also enables you to create
a recovery drive to help troubleshoot problems when
Windows wont bootleaving Back up system files to
the recovery drive checked means youll need a larger
USB drive, but will be able to reinstall Windows from the
drive. However, it wont always work. Leave it unchecked to
1
create a basic drive with troubleshooting tools only.
3
Open COntrOl panel and get system infO
The quickest way to open the Control Panel is to right-click the restOre pC and aCCess advanCed settings
Start button and select Control Panel from the Quick Access System Restore can be opened via the Recovery
menu, or make it even more accessible by typing control into the applet, too, and you can use it to roll your
Search box, then right-clicking Control Panel, and choosing Pin misbehaving PC back to an earlier point in time. Pick a
to Start or Pin to Taskbar [image a]. point, click Scan for affected programs to see what will
>> The System Control Panel reveals key information about be affected, then restore your PC. If it fails, try an earlier
your version of Windows and its system type (32-bit or 64-bit). Restore Pointclick Show more Restore Points to reveal
It can be accessed by right-clicking the Start button once again all supported pointsor just undo the change to try a
and choosing System, or by clicking Start, right-clicking File different tack.
Explorer, and choosing Properties. You can also review your >> You can access additional system tweaks via the
current network name and workgroupclick Change settings to Advanced system settings button under System, or by
edit these. typing advanced into the Search box. Click Settings
B C

D F
under Performance if your PC is struggling with graphics effects,

and you can also tweak virtual memory settings. Click Settings
under Start-up and Recovery to stop Windows automatically
restarting after a blue screen of death.
6 prOgrams and features
Need to repair or make changes to a program
rather than uninstall it? The Settings app doesnt
cut it. Instead, right-click the Start button and choose
4
Programs and Features to access the more powerful
find the Old aCtiOn Center and BaCkup feature Control Panel [image d]you can also manage (or remove)
The Notification Center appearson the surfaceto Windows Updates from here, plus switch on (or off)
have superseded the old Action Center, but in actual fact Windows features, such as the XPS viewer and services.
its simply been renamed Security and Maintenance, and the >> Wonder where Windows stores all those passwords it
quickest way to get to it is via the Quick Access menu (right-click saves automatically? Type cred into the Search box, and
the Start button). Youll find its still the go-to place for security click Credential Manager. Expand Web Credentials to
and maintenance messages, as well as accessing troubleshooters. see which passwords have been saved by Edge, Internet
>> While Windows 10 supports Windows 7s Backup feature, it Explorer, and other apps (as well as Windows)expand
favors File History via the Search box and Settings [image C]. If one to view or remove it, using your user account password
you prefer the older backup tool, type Windows 7 into the Search as collateral when requested.
7
box to access it. Once youve clicked Set up backup to start it,
right-click the Taskbar shortcut, and choose Pin this program to edit audiO settings and Bypass lOgin sCreen
Taskbar to give you easy one-click access to the tool in future. Theres no dedicated Sound section in Settings,
5
but the old Control Panel is easily accessible from
COmBine drives and manage default apps the Taskbar Notification arearight-click the volume
Storage Spaces lets you combine two or more smaller drives icon, and choose Playback to manage default playback
into one large virtual drive (or provide protection against (and recording) devices. Select an entry to make it the
data loss without having to set up a RAID array). Type storage into default, configure speaker settings, and tweak advanced
the Search box, and click Storage Spaces. Click Create a new properties, such as adjusting sound level and quality.
pool and storage space, select the drives you want to join (read the >> Type netplwiz into the Search box, and click the entry
warning about deleting data), and let Windows do the rest. that appears to access a hidden User Accounts Control
>> Type default into the Search box and click the Default Panel [image e]. If youre the only user of your PC, you can
Programs shortcut to manage your apps and autoplay settings. configure Windows to bypass the lock and login screen by
Click Set Default Programs to select an app, review what defaults selecting your username, then unchecking Users must
it has andif necessaryassign it all available defaults to ensure enter a username and password to use this computer.
it works correctly. Choose Change AutoPlay Settings to decide Click Apply, enter password (carefully!), and click OK.
8
what happens when you insert CDs or other media.
set up speeCh and add permanent shOrtCuts
E Type speech into the Search box and click Speech
Recognition under Settingsyou will need
to provide a headset or microphonethen click Start
Speech Recognition, which will take you step by step
through setting up your computer and training Windows to
recognize your spoken commands. Other options include
a training program that will help Windows to learn how
you speak.
>> Finally, add your favorite Control Panel items to the
Quick Access menu for easy access [image f]. Download
Win+X Menu Editor (http://winaero.com/download.
php?view.21), extract the program files, and run the x64
(64-bit) or x86 (32-bit) version, depending on your Windows
system. Choose Add a program > Add a Control Panel
item to add any Control Panel applet to the menu.

R&D
Discover Advanced
Lightroom Tips
Youll nEEd this Adobes rAw imAge workflow App is a powerful beast, but its modular nature can confuse
people, especially those who expect it to work just like Photoshop. Once youve got the hang of it,
adobE lightroom cc however, its an app youll find yourself spending a great deal of time using, especially if you take
Subscribe to various Adobe a lot of pictures. In this situation, you can find yourself applying the same edits time and again to
packages at www.abobe.com. subsequent frames, but there are many techniques to speed up or even automate this process.
Lightrooms strength lies in its non-destructive editingyour changes exist only as entries in
photos a database until you export the final file, so they can be quickly reversed, treating the original raw
To import and edit. file much like a photographic negative. In this way, its possible to produce markedly different end
results from the same exposure, opening up a new side to photography. If you arent shooting raw
images on your DSLR, you can get a free 30-day trial of Lightroom, so give it a try. ian EvEndEn
A B
1 Edit in camEra
Not strictly a Lightroom tip, but make use of that little screen
app to sort images into dated folders is a good way of
organizing them. Then hit Import as normal.
4
on the back of your camera, and delete the shots you know
you dont want before they even reach your PC. Raw files can be smart prEviEws
large, and most cameras and card readers still use slow USB 2.0, The downside to not using the Lightroom Catalog on
unless you bought yours very recently. The camera LCD gets a bad your PCs internal storage is that if youre a laptop
rap for its lack of sharpness and color accuracy, but its perfect for user and want to work on your photos while traveling, you
identifying those shots that just arent worth bothering with. need to drag your external drive with you. Smart Previews
2
get around this, at the cost of slightly inflating your
import prEsEts Catalogs size. Theyre a higher-res preview than normal,
If you find yourself applying the same alterations to every and you can make adjustments to them as though they were
single shot, why not get them applied automatically as the original fileyou just cant export the end result until
theyre imported into your Lightroom library? Create a new preset you reconnect your external storage, when the changes
with the adjustments you commonly make [image a], give it a are applied to the original raw file. Create Smart Previews
recognizable name, and save it. Next time you import images, drop by checking the box in the Import window [image b], or
down the Apply During Import menu, and select your preset from for an individual image, by clicking Original Photo under
Develop Settings. Every image thats imported will have the same the histogram in the Develop module. It doesnt make
preset applied. much sense but it works.
3 managE your library

By default, Lightroom wants to store your images in its
Catalog file. This is fine as long as your PC has plenty of
storage, your image files arent spread over a horde of USB archive
drives, and you never want to use anything other than Lightroom to
5 dng FilEs
Raw file formats are proprietaryif Canon makes a
change to CR2, or releases a new camera, it takes
the software makers a short time to catch up. In the future,
its possible support for old cameras could be dropped
develop your raws. As an alternative, you can tell the app to suck the from new software. Its unlikely, because the outcry from
files off your memory cards as usual, but store them in a sensible photographers with large collections would be deafening,
hierarchy on a hard drive, and only add a cross-reference to the but you can protect against it by converting your raws into
Catalog. Do this by selecting Add at the top of the Import screen, Adobes much more open file format, DNG, at import, by
and choosing a new home for your files on the rightallowing the selecting Copy as DNG.

C E
9 watch out For clarity as wEll

This slider can bring out skin imperfections in a
portrait or produce haloes around high-contrast
areas. While it certainly has its usesit affects mid-tone
6
contrast in the imageits one to apply with an adjustment
usE curvEs brush or mask.
10
Found just under Basic in the Develop module, the
Curves palette [image c] works just the way it does in bring cEll phonE pix into lightroom
Photoshop (note that the version in Photoshop Elements is cut- Although its marketed as a raw image editing
back and crippled, so if youve rejected it based on that, give the application, Lightroom will very happily edit
Lightroom version a try). Curves enables you to alter specific JPEGs in the same way. To easily get photos from your cell
groups of tones in your image without affecting others, and builds phone to a Lightroom Collection, install the Lightroom
on top of any edits youve already made in Basic. Mobile app (iOS/Android), sign in, and turn on Auto-Add
7
Photos in the settings (tap the LR icon) [image F]. Create
adjustmEnt brushEs can bE stackEd a new Collection, give it an obvious name, tap to bring
At first glance, it looks as though an adjustment brushan out its settings, and select Enable Auto-Add. Your cell
edit thats painted on specific parts of an imageis a one- phone photos should now be synched with your desktop
shot effect, but the New button at the top of the palette means app as long as you sign in to both with the same account.
you can have several [image d]. While its not as flexible or intuitive
a system as Photoshops layers, you can apply a great many F
adjustments this way.
8 thE saturation slidEr is not your FriEnd

Saturation increases the strength of colors globally, no
matter what they are [image E]. This can make a dramatic
sky or landscape look great, but conversely it can do terrible things
to a portrait. Try using Vibrance instead, because it boosts the
colors that are least saturated more than it does those that already
have plenty of punch. It also seems to recognize and protect skin
tones against the invasion of nuclear magenta, which you can get
from Saturation.
D
keyboArd shortcuts
A professional photographer once told us that the best
Lightroom tip was to maximize the screen area your photos
take up (Shift-Tab), and use keyboard shortcuts to move
around the app. And its true, it is a faster way to work. So
hitting G takes you to the library grid view, D opens the
selected photo in Develop, R takes you to Develop with a
crop box already in place, F makes the selected photo full-
screen, and L dims the interface if its getting distracting.
Theres more: F5 through F8 show and hide the various
panels, and Ctrl-Alt-Numbers 1-7 take you to the modules.
Ctrl-Alt-Up Arrow takes you back to the previous module, and
Shift-F11 puts your secondary monitor into full-screen mode.

R&D
Alex CAmpbell AssociAte editor
The VR Gaming
Rig Revisited
this rig will have you playing games on
screens or in a VR headset
Length of time: 13 hours LeVeL of DiffiCULtY: MediuM
Looking forward
to gaming
Last year, we built a PC based on the
recommended minimum specs for the
Oculus Rift. Now that the Rift is ready for
the public, we wanted to revisit the idea
of what youd need for a great virtual
reality experience. It turns out, we ended
up building a rock-solid gaming rig that
would be great for playing any game, not
just running Oculus VR.
We also wanted to keep this build on
the small side. For many people, theres a
big argument for going full-ATX. Air flow
is one big consideration, because Mini-
ITX form factors can often be starved
of cool air. Expandability is the other
concern, but not everyone has either the
want or need to upgrade with a second
video card.
We think VR is going to be one of the
most important new technologies of
2016. Sure, you could build a rig at the
minimum specification, but wheres the
fun in that? Didnt your teachers tell you
that just doing the minimum doesnt get
you anywhere in life? This rig goes above
and beyond what is required, and offers a
solid VR rig as well as the ability to play
some games at 4K resolutions.

going beyond the minimum INGREDIENTS
When We started thinking about this build, we were aiming for an
street
ideal VR experience. We also wanted a solid gaming PC that would part
price
show off the Intel Core i7-6700K Skylake processor, the successor to
the still-awesome i7-4790K Devils Canyon. We dont have anything case Phanteks enthoo evolv iTX $70
against the Haswell/Devils Canyon platform that Oculus VR had

motherboard Asus Maximus Viii impact $239
been specd to, but we wanted to use the latest technology we had.
The original Oculus minimum spec called for a Core i5-4590.
cpu intel Core i7-6700K $360
Last year, we went with the Core i7-4790K. That build also featured
Asuss GeForce GTX 970 DCMOC, a shorty card made with Mini- memory 16GB (2x 8GB) Corsair dominator
ITX builds in mind. We decided to jump up to a full-size GTX 980 Ti, Platinum ddr4 2666 $125
which is still only bested by the $1,000 GTX Titan X.
gpu Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti (reference) $630
We mounted the Core i7-6700K and the 980 Ti on to Asuss
Maximus VIII Impact Mini-ITX motherboard, which, while full of psu eVGA superNoVA NeX 650W 80 Plus Gold $90
great features, does lack an M.2 connector or any USB 2.0 headers.
To fit the full-size 980 Ti into a Mini-ITX build, we needed a special ssd samsung 850 evo 250GB $84
case. We turned to the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv, which offers lots of
room but still feels compact. For memory, we went with a pair of 8GB hdd Wd Black 1TB $75
Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4 DIMMs, clocked at 2,666MHz.
Not the cheapest kit but the DIMMS are reliable and look handsome. cooler intel oeM cooler $15
To store our OS and games, we went with a 250GB Samsung 850 Evo
and a 1TB WD Black. We had to go with the 2.5-inch SATA Evo (no total $1,688
M.2 port on the mobo), though wed have preferred M.2.
1 boLstering skyLake
when the new crop of skyLake cpus started hitting

the market, a few organizations noticed that Skylake
CPUs would bend under pressure. The issue comes from
the use of aftermarket CPU coolers. When too much
pressure is applied to the top of the CPU, its corners
can give way, rendering the CPU unusable. Intel claims
that Skylake CPUs have the exact same pressure specs
as Haswell chips, despite Skylakes noticeably thinner
substrate, while cooler-makers claim their products
conform to the standard, without directly blaming Intel.
The result is a stalemate. Luckily, some mobo makers are
shipping reinforcing brackets for their Skylake boards.
The Maximus VIII Impact ships with a plastic bracket that
helps spread the pressure of a cooler evenly.
2 a gLimpse into the future
when you instaLL the motherboard, you have to

push the rear I/O panel into the I/O shield. This can
be a struggle in some builds: You must line up all the
ports with the shield, while preparing to secure the
motherboard to the brass stand-offs with screws. A
magnetic screwdriver makes this easier, but it can still
be a pain. After we installed the Maximus VIII Impact,
we looked at the back panel. We knew the motherboard
came with USB 3.1 and USB Type-C, but the lack of USB
2.0 ports is odd. Its a signal that the old standard will
fade away as motherboards evolve. The board offers a
few other cool features. The error code LCD is visible
on the rear panel, so you dont have to crack open the
case to diagnose boot problems, and the audio ports on
the Maximus light up with color-coded LEDs, making
connecting your headphones in the dark a cinch.

R&D
3 the dark side of usb 3 5 heLLo, oLd friend
at first it sounds great: All USB 3, all the time. Speed, its been a whiLe since we used a 2.5-inch Samsung 850
speed, speed! Whats that? I cant hear you over the sound of my Evo in a build. The M.2 versions have the same spec for
blazing-fast file transfer, we imagine ourselves saying. Oh, we speed, have less cabling to worry about, and take up less
have to install a CPU cooler? No problem, lets find the USB 2.0 room. But the Maximus VIII Impact lacks an M.2 connector,
pins... Wait a minute. The i7-6700K doesnt come with a cooler. forcing us back into the old 2.5-inch form factor. Its not so
Most of the time, thats no big deal. We tend to use big air coolers bad. The Phanteks Enthoo Evolv has a few places to mount
or closed-loop water coolers on K-SKU CPUs. But as we went an SSD that are elegant and out of the way. We could have
to install a Corsair H80i, we noticed that there are no USB 2.0 mounted the drive in the motherboard compartment on
pinouts on the motherboard. Problem. When we tried to switch top of the guard that covers up part of the video card, but
to an aftermarket air cooler, none of them fitted between our we decided to put it on the back panel instead. We had two
RAM, the audio module, and the big row of capacitors just north reasons for this: Its one less thing to obstruct air flow,
of the CPU. We were left with finding an Intel OEM cooler. While which we needed due to a lack of water cooling for the CPU.
its not as sexy as a water cooler, Intel coolers generally do OK, And it allowed us to use a single SATA power cable, instead
and even allow for a little overclocking when done with care. of having to route a second one to the front of the case.
4 bring the noise 6 out of sight, out of mind
with most motherboards, onboard audio can seem one of the ways we tried to keep our storages footprint
very basic, and most of the time it is. But in a world where a as small as possible was to use some really thin cables. We
motherboard is going to offer many of the same core features had some thin SATA cables from SilverStone lying around,
as a competitor (USB 3.0, RAID, UEFI BIOS), audio is one way so we decided to put them to good use. If there was one
motherboards can set themselves apart. One of the great things problem with using these, it was that the cables came out
about the Maximus VIII Impact is that it brings a very respectable of the sides of the connectors. While this wouldnt be a big
sound package. What you normally get with onboard audio is deal in other configurations, it made for a tight fit on the
a run-of-the-mill Realtek chip. Asus decided to use an ESS Maximus VIII. The SATA connectors on the motherboard
ES9023P DAC instead. The audio board sits on its own dedicated are right next to the RAM slots, so our connectors ended up
(and shielded) PCB, away from other components. This can help being pushed up against the RAM DIMMs when they were
ensure that EM noise doesnt distort the audio. This separation inserted. This also made for tricky RAM installation, since
comes at a price, though: The audio modules PCB basically the wires could easily get in the way. It wasnt until testing
creates a wall that makes it harder to install larger aftermarket that we noticed that the left DIMM wasnt fully inserted, and
CPU coolers. In fact, we had a hard time attempting to attach was slightly obstructed from being fully seated due to one
any aftermarket heatsink to the CPU with this thing in the way. of the cables. It was easily fixed, but annoying, nonetheless.
74 MAXIMUMPC Apr 2016 maximumpc.com

2
asuss impact power
1 1 pcb may help regulate
power for the motherboards
components, but it sure did get
in the way when we tried to
install our cpu coolers.
the enthoo evolv has

2 plenty of room for a
4 120mm or 140mm cpu cooler,
3 with a removable rack at the top
for easy mounting.
while we mounted our

3 ssd in the back, theres
an alternate option to mount a
drive up front.
usb 3.0 is a great thing,

4 but the maximus Viii
impact didnt give us any usb
2.0 ports to power a water-
cooling pump.
Low on pressure
buiLding this rig represented more than its Haswell-E i7-5960X. Considering that this The Haswell-Es eight cores beat the smaller
just a dive into VR gaming. It was also a look CPU is half the price of whats in the other rig, Skylake by 39 percentbut bear in mind that
at what the current state of gaming hardware the performance is what wed expect. Its also the 5960X is a $1,000 part.
looks like as we start out 2016. helpful to keep in mind that a gaming PC with All said, were quite happy with this rig.
Without jumping up to Haswell-E, this the Oculus Riftrecommended spec claims a While the motherboard proved to be a little
combination of parts is the benchmark of what score of just 2,596 on the same benchmark. frustrating with its layout and features, this
most single-GPU gaming systems might look Our score of 3,923 bests the recommended little machine would be right at home with any
like. While we would have liked to have water specs score by 1,327, or 51.1 percent. gamer who wants to play the latest titles.
cooling for our 6700K, the CPU did just fine. In our timed benchmarks, the Skylake i7 The year is still young, and were likely
In terms of graphics, the GeForce GTX still pulled ahead of the Haswell-E 5960X in to see a lot of new architectures and
980 Ti is our current top pick. While we love single-core performance, but only just. Cores product announcements. But right now, this
the Titan Xs raw power, the 980 Ti offers count for a lot when encoding and editing combination of CPU and GPU is the best youll
significant amounts of power that can take video, which showed in the x264 benchmark. find that isnt on the X99 platform.
just about anything you throw at it, save for
aggressive antialiasing at 4K resolutions. bENchmaRkS
So how did we do at the races? Just
zero-
fine, thanks. The GTX 980 Ti cant compete point
with three GTX 980s by itself, but showed Stitch.Efx 2.0 (sec) 806 601 (25.4%)
impressive numbers when gaming at 4K.
In our two 4K tests, Tomb Raider and Lord ProShow Producer 5.0 (sec) 1,472 1,425 (3.1%)
of the Rings: Shadow of Mordor, we found an
x264 HD 5.0 (fps) 33.8 20.58 (-39.1%)
impressive frame rate that hit the mid-40s in
both titles. Keep in mind that these are run at Batman: Arkham City
204 116 (-43.1%)
maximum settings, so antialiasing is running 1440p (fps)
full-clip. If you plan on gaming on a 4K monitor Tomb Raider 2160p (fps) 87.5 43.5 (-50.3%)
that has adequate pixel density, antialiasing
can be turned down (or off), which will yield Shadow of Mordor 2160p (fps) 70.1 46.92 (-33.1%)
big improvements in frame rates.
3DMark Fire Strike Ultra 8,016 3,923 (-51.1%)
The rig also performed admirably in
3DMark Fire Strike Ultra. At just under 4,000, 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
the score is about half that of our zero-point.
Not bad, when the zero-point rig sports Our desktop zero-point PC uses a 5960X CPU, three GTX 980s, and 16GB RAM. Arkham City tested at 2560x1440 max settings
with PhysX off; Tomb Raider at Ultimate settings; Shadow of Mordor at Max settings.
three GPUs, and twice the CPU cores with

The home of technology
techradar.com
reviews of the latest hardware and software
in the lab
TESTED. REVIEWED. VERDICTIzED.
inside inside
70 Maingear Shift Super Stock PC 78 HP Spectre x2 86 Denon DA-300USB
71 Samsung Series 9 Notebook 80 Sager NP8675-S 88 Corsair Carbide 400C
72 3TB Hard Drives: Hitachi 82 Crucial BX200 89 Synology DiskStation
DS1515
Deskstar 7K3000 3TB and 83 Mad Catz RAT Pro X
Seagate Barracuda XT 3TB 90 Rise of the Tomb Raider
84 Samsung 950 Pro
74 Sony Vaio F21 Notebook 512GB 92 Lab Notes
Hp
Spectre x2
75 Blackberry Playbook
page Tablet
78
85 Gigabyte 980 Ti
Gaming-6GD
76 Videocard Roundup: Sapphire
Radeon HD 6790 and Zotac
GeForce GTX 550 Ti AMP Edition
78 Sentey Arvina GS-6400 Case
80 Intel 320 Series 300GB SSD
82 All-in-One Roundup: Sony
VAIO L Series VPCL214FX/W,
MSI Wind Top AE2420 3D, and
HP TouchSmart 610
84 Logitech Z906 5.1 Speakers
86 Zalman CNPS11X CPU Cooler
87 Harman AKG GHS 1 Headset
88 Razer Onza Tournament Edition
Gamepad
89 Portal 2
90 DCS A-10C and Thrustmaster
HOTAS Warthog
92 Lab Notes
xxx xx
xxx xxxxx
xxxxxx
page xx

in the lab
HP Spectre x2
Now that Microsofts Surface Pro
computers are catching some hype, HP is
jumping on the bandwagon with its own
convertible. Meet the HP Spectre x2. In
For those who want many respects, its similar to the Surface
Pro 4 we reviewed in the February issue.
a Surface Pro, but Its a 12-inch Windows 10 tablet, with

a kickstand and detachable keyboard.
cant afford one You can also buy a stylus for more input
choices. But perhaps the biggest difference
is in price. The unit we tested has a $1,150
price tag, which is $300 cheaper than the
Surface Pro 4 we reviewed. Unfortunately,
while this may sound great on paper, the
Unlike Microsoft, HP
actually includes
the keyboard.

Spectre x2 makes some compromises that the x2 had the habit of occasionally falling graphics, the x2 saw similar 2530 percent
help explain its more affordable price tag. on its back. Fortunately, it comes with a losses. One benefit of going with a low TDP
The Surface Pro 4 uses a super-sharp good keyboard, which snaps on easily via a part, however, is battery life. Here, the x2
2736x1824 resolution panel; HP opts for strong magnet, and the keys are about as showed a 20 percent longevity boost over
a more conservative 1920x1280. To the comfortable to type on as any Ultrabook. the Surface, with the device lasting 325
left of the HPs screen, theres a volume We werent as enamored with the trackpad, minutes in our run-down test. Boot-up
rocker and a USB type-C port. To the right though, which is really wide and often time was also great, with the convertible
of the screen are ports for a SIM card and couldnt distinguish right clicks from left. It launching in 14.6 seconds.
microSD card. We didnt like that you need also required a little more actuation force In the end, the x2 certainly has its
to use a needle to get these two ports open, than we would have liked. Finally, rounding blemishes, but if youre in the market for a
though. Finally, the last port is another USB out the design are the speakers by Bang Surface Pro 4style device, and cant afford
type-C slot. If youve done the math, youll & Olufsen, which we felt could use a little Microsofts version, the x2 can get the job
notice that we made no mention of any USB more volume firepower. done for a much lower price. JiMMy thaNg
type-A slots. Yep, the x2 doesnt include
one. The company did this to accommodate A quiet life
8
verdict
HP Spectre x2
for the thin form factor. While the 1cm-thick Our x2 unit rocks a 1.2GHz Intel Core M7-
chassis is nice, we would have preferred 6Y75 along with 8GB of DDR3 RAM. The X2 Good value; quiet; good
HP to make the convertible a little thicker CPU is only a dual-core/four-thread part battery life.
to house at least one type-A port. HP does that carries a 1.2GHz base clock. While that
X-Men: The LAST STAnD No integrated
include a USB type-A converter, although it doesnt sound too enticing, it is a 4.5-watt
USB type-A port; performance not great;
feels a little janky to have it dangling off the Skylake chip that is passively cooled, which
kickstand solution needs work.
side of the tablet when not in use. makes it silent.
Despite the thinness, the x2 is about a In terms of actual performance, you $1,150, www.hp.com
pound heavier than the Surface Pro 4. At can probably surmise that its not ultra
3.4 pounds, however, its still not super- powerful. Because its form factor is so SPECIFICATIONS
heavy. We didnt care too much for the x2s similar to Microsofts Surface Pro 4, we
CPU 1.2GHz Intel Core M7-6Y75
kickstand; in order to get it to pop out of the decided we would use that as our zero-
back, you have to press down on a physical point for testing. Now, we dont expect it to RAM 8GB
switch to unlatch it. While this is a little best Microsofts convertible, considering Display 12-inch 1920x1080 IPS
annoying, perhaps the biggest annoyance our Surface Pro 4 cost $1,430 and uses
here is that you cant get the screen to a 2.4GHz Intel Core i5-6300 CPU, but it Storage 256GB SSD
stand straight up or bend forward. The way should give you a good point of reference. 2x USB C, microSD card reader,
the stand is set up, you have to lean it back a In single-threaded CPU tests, the x2 ran Connectivity headphone jack, 802.11a/b/g/n,
Bluetooth 4.0
little. This is especially annoying if you want around 20 percent slower compared to
Tablet/
to lean it forward while watching movies the Surface, and lagged behind in the Laptop
2.7 lb/3.4 lb
in bed. And the times we did use it in bed, mid-30s against Microsofts solution. In
bENCHmArkS
Zero-
Point
Stitch.efx 2.0 (sec) 1,447 1,884 (-23.2%)
Proshow Producer 5 (sec) 2,343 2,947 (-20.5%)
x264 hD 5.0 7 4.4 (-37.1%)
Tomb Raider (fps) 33.4 23.6 (-29.3%)
3DMark 11 Perf 1,575 1,182 (-25%)
Battery Life (min) 270 325 (20.4%)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Our zero-point is Microsofts Surface Pro 4 with a 2.4GHz Intel Core i5-6300U CPU and 8GB of RAM, running
Windows 10 64-bit. 3DMark 11 was run in Performance mode; Tomb Raider was run using low settings.

in the lab
Sager When nvidia told us that it managed to

shrink its desktop GTX 980 GPU to fit inside
notebooks, we went through two stages of
NP8675-S
denial. The first was disbelief: The 980 is
a huge and powerful card, we thought.
The second stage was dismissiveness: Its
got to throttle tremendously. To prove us
wrong and to fan the flames of hardware
An engineering absurdity, Sager armed its NP8675 gaming

notebook (seriously, who names these
marvel things?) with both a desktop 980 and a high-

end Core i7-6700K Skylake desktop CPU.
Surprisingly, 980
GPU performance
wasnt throttled.

On paper, its an abomination of a laptop, VRAM. Your reference 980 has 4GB VRAM, in peripherals for the drive to check, so it
but it actually friggin works. whereas this card rocks 8GB. Considering takes a little longer. That seems fair.
Of course, if youre going to squeeze that the notebook is relegated to a 1080p At $2,850, youll be paying a high price
desktop components into a laptop chassis, panel, youd be hard-pressed to actually for this kind of performance, but at the
you shouldnt expect an ultra-portable use up all that VRAM (or anything near it), same time, its kind of an engineering
package. The Sager here is of the big, bulky but its still nice to have. Compared to our marvel. To get this much power out of a
17-inch variety, and it has a hefty 14-pound Alienware ZP laptop, which is getting long chassis of this size boggles the mind. You
carry weight to match its size. If theres in the tooth with its GTX 765M GPU, we can max out pretty much any game at
one criticism we could levy against Sager saw a 106234 percent performance delta 75fps here. Whether youre looking for a
in the past, is that its gaming notebooks in our graphics benchmarks. Its really high-end gaming system, editing rig, or VR
were very bland-looking, but there are a not a fair comparison at this point, so we machine on the go, the Sager NP8675-S has
few aesthetic bells and whistles this time. decided to see how it stacks up against you covered. It might not be cheap, but its
In addition to the nice silver Sager logo on the 3DMark 11 Extreme numbers we ran still definitely Kick-Ass. Jimmy thang
the back, there are some pulsating LEDs, on CyberPowers Syber Vapor system we
which add a little bling (if youre into that). reviewed last year. If youll recall, the Vapor
9
verdict
Sager NP8675-S
The chassis also has some sharp lines and rocked a 4790K and GTX 980 desktop card
edges, giving it a slightly futuristic look. in a small Mini-ITX chassis, which makes it GTX 980 Desktop CPU and
More exciting is the 1080p display. a fair comparison point for the Sager. GPU performance; G-Sync, IPS,
While we would have preferred a 1440p high-refresh-rate monitor.
screen, the monitor here uses a 75Hz IPS Magic nuMbers GTX 980M Not very portable;
panel that supports G-Sync. Thats a lot The results? The Sager not only performed
gets a little loud under load.
of cool display tech in one sentence. The on par with the desktop PC, but actually ran
rest of the design is good. The speakers 3 percent better. Older drivers on the Vapor $2,850, www.sagernotebook.com
by Sound Blaster are competent, the LED- could explain some of this delta, but still,
backlit keyboard offers some nice travel, getting anywhere near close to the desktop SPECIFICATIONS
and the trackpad is solid with two discrete card in this form factor is insane. Consider
click buttons and a fingerprint reader. us believers in this Nvidia voodoo. CPU CPU Intel 4GHz Core i7-6700K
The notebook also sports enough ports to performance was also great. We saw up to RAM 16GB of DDR4/2,133MHz
warrant its desktop-replacement label, an 11 percent increase in single-threaded
Chipset Intel Z170
including: two Ethernet, five USB 3.0, one CPU tests compared to our ZP laptops Core
USB Type-C, two DisplayPort, an SD card i7-4700MQ laptop proc. In multithreaded GPU Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 8GB
reader, and an HDMI port. tests, we saw a huge 43 percent difference. Display
17.3-inch, 1920x1080 display
But you probably arent reading this Yes, it did get a little loud under load, but (matte)
review to hear about the laptops ports. its running top-tier desktop parts in a 5x USB 3.0, headset and
mic port, SD card reader,
How well does it perform? youre laptop chassis, so what do you expect?
Connectivity 2x Mini DisplayPort, HDMI
probably screaming. Cool your jets, were One performance hurdle that we ran port, 2x Ethernet port,
getting there. The 980 outfitted here has into pertained to boot times. It took roughly fingerprint reader, USB Type-C
the same 256-bit memory interface width 25 seconds to reach Windows, despite the Storage 250GB SSD, 1TB HDD
and 224GB/s memory bandwidth as its notebook using a premium Samsung 850
Weight
desktop sibling. One advantage that it has Evo SSD. Sager tells us that this is because (Lap/Carry)
10 lb, 1.6 oz /14 lb 14.4 oz
over Nvidias discrete card is double the the gaming notebook has so many built-
bENChmArkS
Zero-
Point
Stitch.Efx 2.0 (sec) 962 970 (-0.8%)
Proshow Producer 5 (sec) 1,629 1,459 (11.7%)
x264 HD 5.0 13.5 19.4 (43.7%)
Bioshock Infinite (fps) 36.1 74.6 (106.6%)
Metro: Last Light (fps) 30.4 74.6 (145.4%)
3DMark 11 Perf 4,170 13,926 (234%)
Battery Life (min) 234 124 (-47%)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Our zero-point notebook is an Alienware 14 with a 2.4GHz Intel Core i7-4700MQ, 16GB DDR3/1600, 256GB mSATA
SSD, 750GB 5,400rpm HDD, a GeForce GTX 765M, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. BioShock Infinite tested
at 1920x1080 at Ultra DX11 settings; Metro: Last Light tested at 1920x1080 at DX11 medium quality settings with
PhysX disabled.

in the lab
Crucial
BX200
960GB
An old-school SATA drive
in a PCI Express world
These are exciTing Times in data storage. image-editing that sometimes provide inconsistencies. Some test results are
That's right, storage is exciting. For proof, greater contrast. Anyway, the point is that great, others significantly less so.
observe exhibit A, namely the introduction if the new Crucial BX200, seen here in More relevant are the real-world file
of much faster PCI Express interfaces for 960GB specification, is a solid SATA SSD, compression and copy benchmarks, that
PC hard drives. Exhibit B involves radical it's going to be good enough for most of us show the BX200 miles off the pace of the
new memory technologies, such as Intel most of the time. Factor in the competitive opposition. And remember, that opposition
and Micron's 3D XPoint. Case closed? pricing, and the appeal of a near 1TB solid- is conventional SATA drives. A good PCI
Certainly, the overall upshot is that state drive is obvious enough. Express drive would tear the BX200 a new
storage is moving from what you might call one. Indeed, during our pre-benchmark
the megabyte era into the gigabyte era, in ExEcutivE swEEt setup procedure, the BX200 just felt slow.
terms of bandwidth or data shunted every It doesn't hurt that Crucial's Storage So while we could drill down into details
second. In that context, what to make of a Executive SSD management software is such as the BX200's Silicon Motion SM2256
new SSD from Crucial (the retail front of so slick. It runs in a browser, has a clean controller chipset or its triple-level TLC
the aforementioned Micron), which is and intuitive interface, and gives quick and memory cells, contrast them with the
based on the ancient SATA interface, and easy access to features such as firmware Marvell 88SS9189 controller and MLC
looks decidedly non-exotic on paper? updates (neither data destructive nor NAND in Crucial's quicker MX200, and
Luckily for Crucial, there's a counter requiring a reboot) and resetting the discuss how it feeds into the disappointing
argument to all of the above, and it involves drive to factory state. The last point being performance, it's probably futile.
diminishing returns. Rig up two otherwise particularly handy if one of your work Instead, better to invoke the sister clich
identical PCs, one with a conventional but colleagues has set the thing up with some to the diminishing returns spiel we trotted
best-of-breed SATA SSD, and one with very odd partitioning that you cant easily out earlier. Yup, it's ye olde false economy.
a newfangled PCI Express puppy, and undo within Windows. Naming no names. The BX200 is cheaper than many similarly
it's usually difficult to pick them apart The problem, however, is that this isn't sized SATA SSDs, including Crucial's own
subjectively. The SATA system feels pretty a terribly good SATA SSD. You wouldn't MX200, but you'll end up wishing you'd
much as snappy. Ultimately, isn't that what necessarily spot that from most of the spent that little bit more. jeremy laird
counts? How your PC feels, as opposed to benchmarks. The headline results from
6
verdict
somewhat arbitrary benchmark numbers? ATTO and AS SSD look decent enough. Crucial BX200 960GB
A lot of the time, yes, even if there are However, and as a for instance, the detailed
BlOCkBuSter Competitive
heavy duty applications such as high-end ATTO results show some fairly dramatic
pricing; plenty of capacity;
nice software.
BENChmArkS
Ball-BuSter Incredibly patchy
Crucial OCZ Samsung
performance; you'll wish you paid a
BX200 960GB Trion 960GB 850 Pro 2TB
little bit more.
aS SSD Sequential read (MB/s) 501 513 513 $299, www.crucial.com
aS SSD Sequential Write (MB/s) 453 436 499
SPECIFICATIONS
aS SSD 4k random read (MB/s) 28 31 41
aS SSD 4k random Write (MB/s) 109 92 126 Capacity 960GB
Chipset Silicon Motion SM2256

attO Sequential read (MB/s) 559 564 404
Memory Micron 16nm TLC
attO Sequential Write (MB/s) 492 517 427 NAND
Sequential 540MB/s read,
5GB Zip Compression (secs) 195 194 194
490MB/s write
30GB Internal File Copy (secs) 382 263 160 IOPS 66k read, 78k write
Best scores are in bold. The test platform consists of an Intel Core i7-6700K, Asus Maximus VIII Formula, and Warranty Three years
2x 8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-2400.

Mad Catz
RAT Pro X
You dont have to be Mad Catz to make it but it helps
The quesTion of how many dpi is enough mice have been unsuccessful as they cant and right, adding an analog dimension to
is one thats been batted around by tech know where they are and how fast theyre strafing controlsa really nice touch.
companies for as long as weve had optical going at the same time.) The rest of the body is customizable, too,
mice. Whether its 800, 1,600, 5,000, or Each module can store nine profiles, as is RAT tradition. A small tool is included
more, everyone has an opinionand set using the PC software, with an LED to adjust bolts (along with a cleaning brush
it often coincides with the maximum display showing which youve selected. for that hand-gunk), and the palm rest can
sensitivity of whatever pointing device There are no fancy lighting effects on the be raised so high it almost looks like a
theyre trying to sell you at the time. body, although it is such a horrific livid lime dragster version of a Lamborghini Veneno.
Mad Catza company that doesnt so green color, youre not going to lose it in a Even with this, however, we found it a little
much scratch the technological itches of hurry, even in the dingiest of dens. small for our meaty hands, and a few more
prospective purchasers as leave them The mouse body is made from a millimeters in height would have done
tearing at their heads with a baffled magnesium alloy, leading Mad Catz to it a lot of good. Replaceable plastic and
expression on their facesthinks that label this its lightest and strongest gaming ceramic plates, attached by magnets, live
it has solved the dpi conundrum once mouse. If you prefer a heavier device or like underneath, providing a low-friction slide
and for all, and invites you to splash the your weight distributed differently, youre over most surfaces.
price of a GTX 960 on a mouse with an out of luck, because theres no ability to If you love RATs, and never want to use
interchangeable sensor. add more mass. And it certainly is light anything else, this is for you. For anyone
Three sensors are available at launch. what you at first think is going to be a heavy else, approach with caution and consider
Ours came with a 5,000 dpi, 3.3m/s, PixArt metal frame feels so insubstantial it could the RAT 9its half the price. ian evenden
PWM 3310 optical sensor, about which we be made of plastic, until you squeeze it.
8
verdict
have no complaints, and they all snap into The buttons and wheel really are plastic, Mad Catz RAT Pro X
place rather satisfyingly as long as you get however, and have been left feeling a little
Potent Strong and light;
the alignment right. Magnets then hold flimsy in the race to shave off ounces.
choice of different sensors;
the sensor tight against a retractable pin- Prior experience with RATs tells us itll
highly adjustable.
grid array, which is just asking to be bent if probably be fine, and surely no one would
youre the type of person who cant resist design a future-proof mouse without RoDent Horrible color; bit too small;
taking things apart multiple times to shove giving thought to the longevity of the rest possibly too light.
them under your buddys nose, shouting, of the body. $200, http://madcatz.com
Look how cool this is!
Two laser sensors are also available, Wheely good
both topping out at 8,200 dpi: a Philips The wheel is also swappable, with three SPECIFICATIONS
Twin-Eye, with a tracking speed of up options included in the box. Flipping the
Sensor PixArt PWM 3310
to 6m/s, and a PixArt model that can do wheel up prior to replacement looks like
3.8m/s. All models cost the same, and the something from Robot Warsa circular DPI 5,000 dpi
idea is that, when the quantum mouse and saw blade poised to smash down on the
Buttons 10
the X-ray sensor are invented, Mad Catz competitionbut we found the thickest
can release an updated module, so you wheel to be the best in use, with its positive Weight 5 oz
dont have to give up your five-year-old, click and the thunks as it rotated leaving
Connectivity USB
hand-gunk-filled mouse body in order to no ambiguity about what youve just done.
upgrade. (Early experiments with quantum The whole wheel assembly pivots left

in the lab
Samsung
950 Pro
512GB
Now you're cooking with fire
ImagIne for a moment that you're the chefs communicate more effectively with to a healthy half-terabyte. That's more
manager of a fine restaurant known as their staff. They're overkill if you're running than enough room for a bunch of games,
your PC, and for the sake of analogies, your a small diner, but if your PC is a popular movies, your music collection, and several
storage subsystem is the kitchen area. If five-star restaurant, they're amazing. thousand photoswith room to spare.
you're using a hard drive, it's like having an Last year, Samsungs 950 Pro became All that speed does have a dark side,
overworked short-order cook running the the first retail M.2 NVMe drive to hit the however: At times, the controller needs
show, and to make matters worse, he has streets. The 256GB model (Holiday 2015, to throttle to keep temperatures in check.
arthritis. You could add a second cook to p.80) was fast while being more affordable We tested with and without a fan blowing
help out (RAID 0), but he also has arthritis, than the competition, but we wanted to test across the SSD. The cooling improves peak
and the diners are getting restless. the 512GB model. Unlike hard drives, SSDs performance by up to 30 percent in heavy
Moving to an SSD is like upgrading benefit tremendously from increased workloads, with overall performance
from your arthritic cook to a world-class parallelism, so by doubling the capacity, improving nearly 10 percent. But that's no
chef, who also happens to be hopped up Samsung also doubles the number of fly in the soup; the 950 Pro is so fast that
on speed. What's amazing is that orders NAND chips. That means its better able to storage is no longer a bottleneck.
are prepared in record time, in a smaller keep humming along at top speed, and as a Do you need this much performance?
kitchen, all while never dropping any food bonus, it has a lower price per GB. Perhaps not. But if you've covered all your
or dishes. Everyone is happy, and the new other bases and have cash to burn, this tiny
chef is easily worth his salarywhich Too HoT To Handle chef stands ready to overhaul your kitchen
happens to be 10 times what you were Samsung's 950 Pro 512GB is easily the in ways you never thought possible. Until
paying the short-order cook. Also, the fastest M.2 SSD we've tested, beating the next wave of M.2 NVMe drives arrives
smaller kitchen area sometimes runs out the 256GB version by 25 percent overall. later this year, along with a 1TB model of
of food before the night is done. Intel's 1.2TB SSD 750 is a little faster in the 950 Pro, this is the current king of the
We can carry the analogy too far, but the some tests, but the 950 Pro can go places SSD mountain. Jarred Walton
point is that SSDs are super-fast compared the SSD 750 can'tspecifically, laptops.
to hard drives. And NVMe gooses chefs to If you have a modern laptop, you could
9
verdict
Samsung 950 Pro 512GB
perform even greater feats of culinary upgrade from the weak-sauce 128GB
delight, with their own lingo that helps drives so many OEMs still insist on using FlAMEThROWER Great
performance; compact form
BENChmArkS factor; power-efficient; lowest
price per GB for NVMe.
Samsung Samsung Intel Samsung Kingston Samsung
950 Pro 950 Pro SSD 750 950 Pro HyperX 850 Pro FlAMEOuT Can throttle at times; needs
NVMe 512GB NVMe NVMe Predator 1TB M.2 NVMe support to use as a boot drive;
512GB No Fan 1.2TB 256GB 480GB
where's the 1TB model?
AS SSD Sequential $350, www.samsung.com
2,176/1,474 2,162/1,360 2,362/1,320 2,063/901 1,008/743 527/496
Read/Write
AS SSD Random
53/178 52/158 36/205 52/160 39/92 37/110 SPECIFICATIONS
Read/Write
AS SSD QD64 Random Interface M.2 PCIe x4 Gen3

1,144/382 1,142/319 1,446/1,041 1,021/254 446/247 352/279
Read/Write
Form Factor M.2 2280
IOmeter Mixed
1,570 1,231 1,605 1,008 580 502
Read/Write Sequential Capacity 512GB
IOmeter Mixed Controller Samsung UBX

388 361 454 267 84 180
Read/Write Random
Memory Type Samsung V-NAND
File Copy (20GB) 672 623 564 560 429 242
Max IOPS Read/Write 300,000/110,000
PCMark 8 Storage
5,100/743 5,099/730 5,069/511 5,089/622 5,010/324 4,987/284 Endurance 400TB
Score/Bandwidth
Best scores are in bold; all figures except PCMark 8 Score are in MB/s. The test platform consists of an Intel Core Warranty Five years
i7-6700K processor, Asus Z170-A mobo, and 2x 8GB G.Skill DDR4-3000.

Gigabyte
980 Ti
Gaming-6GD
Rigged for silent running
SometimeS the moSt powerful weapons case, you could use three or even four could achieve on your own. In fact, the
aren't the biggest and loudest; ballistic of the cards in SLI. Or you could take the Gigabyte card has the same MSRP as a
submarines can wipe out dozens of cities, sensible approach and use one or two standard 980 Ti, with frequent sales and
and part of their arsenal is the ability to cards, and still have space for a PCIe SSD. rebates bringing the cost down to $630
quietly sneak up on unsuspecting targets. or less. As a bonus, select retailers are
Gigabyte's Gaming-6GD graphics card Silent but DeaDly currently including a free copy of the new
takes a similar approach, by disabling the Being able to run silently doesn't mean this Rise of the Tomb Raider (reviewed p90)
fans when they're not needed, allowing for is a namby-pamby card that will struggle with the card, worth $50.
a truly silent GPU most of the time. when you fire up a game. No, this is still a While we wait for FinFET GPUs to
The card makes some noise when fully enabled GTX 980 Ti, complete with a appear, the 980 Ti continues its reign as
gaming, of course, particularly if you push factory overclock of 152MHz on the core the best high-end GPU. Thanks to factory
the overclocks, but it's a few decibels or 190MHz when you enable the OC mode overclocks and custom cooling, Gigabyte's
quieter than our stock 980 Ti. And that's in Gigabyte's OC Guru utility. That's only card is even faster than the mighty Titan
with the side of our case removed and our scratching the surface of what this card X, at roughly two-thirds the price. It's like
SPL meter 5cm from the GPU; close the can do, as further tuning enabled us to sinking a battleship with a single well-
case, and the other components usually push the base core clock to 1,255MHz, with placed torpedo. Just don't be too surprised
make far more noise than this quiet GPU. the GDDR5 running at 8Gb/s. Gigabyte's when the next-generation destroyers
There are compromises made to get factory overclock boosts performance retaliate later this year. Jarred Walton
here, such as the rather large 12-inch 11 percent over stock, and OC mode gives a
PCBputting the card in a standard ATX few percent more. Manual tuning enabled
9
verdict
Gigabyte 980 Ti Gaming-6GD
case required the removal of one of the an additional 11 percent improvement,
drive cages. This is also an open-air cooler, though we've seen similar results from RED OCTOBER Excellent
so it will vent heat into your case, where every other 980 Ti we've tested. performance; good factory
blowers help by exhausting air. Unlike Technically, Zotac still holds the overclock; quiet and effective
Zotac's ginormous Amp! Extreme (January performance crown with its triple-wide cooling.
2016, p80), at least this is a dual-slot card, monstrosity but, thankfully, you're not
DOWn PERiSCOPE Large card; stock RAM
meaning with the right motherboard and paying extra for a factory overclock you
clocks; 16nm FinFET is coming.
$650, www.gigabyte.com
QHD AND 4K BE
Gigabyte Zotac GTX GTX R9 R9
SPECIFICATIONS
980 Ti 980 Ti Titan X 980 Ti Fury X Nano
GPU GM200
Batman: Arkham Origins 119/65 124/61 114/54 112/54 115/58 102/51
Lithography 28nm
Grand Theft Auto V 62/52 63/55 58/49 58/49 50/46 46/40
Transistor Count 8 billion
Hitman: Absolution 66/33 70/35 64/33 64/33 64/35 61/33 CUDA Cores 2,816
Metro: Last Light 90/48 92/50 81/44 80/44 70/38 61/33 ROPs 96
Middle-Earth: Core/Boost Clock 1,152/1,241

94/53 98/55 85/48 84/48 81/47 74/42 (MHz)
Shadow of Mordor
OC Mode Clocks 1,190/1,279
Tomb Raider 103/51 106/53 92/47 91/45 84/45 72/37
(MHz)
The Witcher 3 60/37 63/38 54/33 53/32 50/31 43/27 Memory Capacity 6GB
Memory Speed 7,010Gb/s

Seven-Game Average 85/48 88/50 78/44 77/43 73/43 66/37
Bus Width 384-bit
Best scores are in bold. Results are average fps at 1440p/4K. Our test bed is a 4.2GHz overclocked Core i7-5930K
in a Gigabyte GA-X99-UD4 motherboard, 4x 4GB G.Skill DDR4-2666, 1TB Samsung 850 Pro, and EVGA SuperNOVA TDP 250W
1,300W G2 running 64-bit Windows 10.

in the lab
Denon DA-300USB
Unequivocal audio perfection? Close
Were sure youve noticed by this point, two TOSLINK/SPDIF inputs in the rear, enjoy, but if youre looking to blow your
but weve gone a little audio loco this one coaxial input, one RCA analog-out, eardrums up with those luscious ludicrous
issue. Yes indeedy, including this sweet andmore importantly for usone USB- low-frequency explosive vibrations, youre
little number herethe DA-300USBthis in (cable also not included). going to be a little disappointed, especially
issue alone will feature no fewer than 13 Its certainly enough to drool at. Denon for this kind of money. Other downsides?
different acoustic reviews. So what is it that has been manufacturing audio equipment The DA-300USB doesnt come with a USB
makes this little device so important? Well, in Japan for well over 100 years now, and 2.0 cable as standard, and it doesnt come
in short, its all about completing the holy it shows. Unlike the vast majority of options with a 6.3mm-to-4.5mm adapter either.
trinity of audio perfection. The Denon is a out there, the Denon DA-300USB is crisp The DA-300USB has a lot to say for
key ingredient, one that needs pouring into and classy, with a small overall footprint. itselfits a $500 music lovers dream. If
that mixture. In short, if you havent already It can be mounted horizontally or vertically, youre into high-quality music and sound,
digested our first feature this issue, its all with a low-noise OLED display reorienting the DA-300USB is the device for you. But
well and good having hi-fi headphones, but depending on which way you position it. if youre more of a gamer, ready to spend
if youre not powering them through a solid a weekend fragging noobs listening to
and dependable amp and D/A converter, No bass? Deadmau5, youre probably going to be
you may as well not bother. That said, the But surely, all this is null and void, techno- better off with Creatives X7 Sound Blaster
Denon DA-300USB is hardly cheapat jargon designed to lull the unsuspecting instead. zak storey
$500, you could easily buy an AMD R9 Nano into purchasing this audio black hole? How
8
verdict
for this kind of money. So the question has does it actually sound? That depends on Denon DA-300USB
to be put: What exactly goes into building a what youre using to test it with. For our
ARiA Plug and play; crisp and
DAC like this? testing purposes, we used a combination
well-rounded soundscape;
Well, first you start with the hardware. of different headsets, ranging from $25
strong SNR; classy looking device.
This little beauty features a total of seven Sennheiser ear-buds, all the way up to
separate PCBs, a high-resolution Texas $400 Oppo PM-3s. Overall, we found the DiRge Pricey; no included adapter/cable;
Instruments PCM1795 digital-analog soundscape was deep, crisp, and clear. could be bassier; no software package.
converter, and a grand total of nine isolator Classical and epic scores benefitted most, $500, www.denon.com
chips, ensuring as little noise as possible not suffering from any muffling, thanks
makes it between you and your audio. All to overpowering bass vibrations. It was a
SPECIFICATIONS
of this comes together to ensure you net joy to listen to. Punk, metal, and synthetic
yourself a nice 112dB signal-to-noise ratio music (heres looking at you, dubstep), on DAC Texas Instruments PCM1795
for squeaky clean listening. On top of that, the other hand, took a minor step back.
Signal-to- 112dB
the DA-300USB has a frequency response As these generally tend to be quite bass- Noise Ratio
between 2Hz and 100kHz, can sample dependent, they werent as enjoyable here
Headphone 50mW, 32 Ohms
music up to 24-bit 192kHz, and can decode as on Creatives Sound Blaster X7. Thats Amp
both 2.5MHz and 5.6MHz high-resolution not to say it was a terrible experience, as Connectivity 1x 6.3mm headphone jack;
DSD files. the DA-300USB has a habit of erring on the USB 2.0-in; TOSLINK/SPDIF-out;
As far as connectivity goes, this isnt side of tone as opposed to bass vibration. coaxial-out; RCA analog-out
your standard go-to PC audio component. However, it was a similar story in gaming Dimensions 4.5x6.9x7.2 inches
Theres a single 6.3mm headphone jack the treble and mids were crisp, and the (WxHxD)
in the front (3.5mm adapter not included), lower third was warm. Warm enough to

Audio. Audio, everywhere.

in the lab
Corsair
Carbide
400C
Mobos the right
way round?
What next?
We had a lot of good things to say about the
600C when we reviewed it last issue. It was
a chassis that addressed a lot of concerns
wed started to see in some of Corsairs
more traditional Obsidian lineup. And it
managed this without necessarily losing the case, the front panel hides away any the chassis out of aluminum, and given us a
any of that sleek elegance Corsair cases fingerprint stains with ease, making it a little more cable management room in the
are known for. So what does the 400C bring stunning feature on your desk. rear of this bad boy, it would be damn near
to the table that the 600C couldnt? Does For cooling, you have access to three perfect for any quick AIO reference build.
it extend beyond the simple fact of it being 120mm or two 140mm fans in the front, and Not to say it wouldnt be ideal for water-
the normal, not-inverted version? Well, an additional two 140mm fans or 120mm cooling, because this thing is an absolute
yes actually, and in a lot of ways, it makes it fans in the roof (with the obligatory 120mm monster anyway. If you did all that, Corsair,
somewhat more appealing. in the rear for good measure): plenty of and even slapped a $200 price tag on it,
Immediately out of the box youll notice airflow to satisfy all of your desires. No were damn sure it would be getting an
this chassis is considerably smaller doubt some of you will have concerns even higher score than we've awarded it
than its older brother. In fact, its quite regarding airflow for that front panel today. zak storey
noticeablelosing three inches in length, after all, it is very similar in a lot of ways
8
verdict
one inch in height, and two inches in depth, to NZXTs H440. Fortunately, you can rest Corsair Carbide 400C
it has a smaller overall footprint; not a bad easy, because theres a solid inch of fully
Carbonite Gorgeous
thing. The two 5.25-inch bays found on the ventilated side cut-outs before that front
windowed side panel; smaller
600C have disappeared entirely, no doubt panel even touches the case. You certainly
footprint than the 600C; strong airflow;
thanks to the standardized ATX layout wont be air-starved if you do choose the
great value; classy.
the 400C sports. What this means is that front intake route.
theres no front door panel either; in fact, So what are the drawbacks? After all, MUD It's still suffering from limited
all you get is a solid front panel instead, a this is a $100 chassis$50 cheaper than storage options.
nice step into 2016. Lets be honest here, in the 600C. Well, the materials found in the $100, www.corsair.com
the world of high-speed internet and cloud 400C leave something to be desired. The
storage, do we really need a CD drive any panels are constructed from steel, and feel
more? Even portable ones are becoming a little flimsy. That said, the windowed side SPECIFICATIONS
harder and harder to justify. panel is clean and straight, and the handle Form Factor ATX
latch mechanism is second to none. When
nicer, neater, smoother building, you can also lift the window off Dimensions 13.4x16.9x15.9 inches
What is interesting is how this case feels. its hinges entirely. Otherwise, theres not Cooling Front: 3x 120mm or
Its tidier and neater than the 600C, and a great deal of storage solutions for you to 2x 140mm;
it looks and feels classier. Perhaps its choose from, with support for a grand total Rear: 1x 120mm;
Top: 2x 120/140mm
because of that step back to the more of three 3.5-inch drives, and two 2.5-inch
CPU Cooler 7.9 inches
commonplace standard ATX layouteither drives. And then, of course, you do lose
Clearance
way, it just looks gorgeous. The powder- out on that gorgeous paint job that Corsair
Graphics Card 14.6 inches
coat finish inside and on the external steel threw on the 600C. Max Length
panels is lovely to the touch, and has a In other respects, its actually far
Storage Support 2x 3.5-inch HDD
more sandblasted feel than the usual greater value for money than the 600C, and mounts;
plain black interiors were used to seeing. that smaller footprint simply adds to its sex 3x 2.5-inch SSD
And although it doesnt feature the same appeal as far as were concerned. If Corsair mounts
aluminum finish that the 600C does outside had thrown in a fan controller, constructed
88 MAXIMUMPC apr 2016 maximumpc.com

Synology
DiskStation
DS1515
So much more than just a box of drives
Were big fans of nasesif you dont have system for holding your 3.5-inch hard are easily filled by the video, photo, and
centralized storage for all your data, youre drives in placedrop your drives in the audio stations, which make organizing
not living in our brave new world. We cradles, clip the side runners in place, your media wonderfully straightforward.
looked at entry-level, two-bay NAS units in then slot in the caddies. Youll need to Its decent value for a five-bay NAS drive
our Holiday 2015 issue (Vol. 20, No. 13), and reach for your screwdriver if mounting 2.5- with a huge list of features, but $600 is still
we also looked at the wonderfully powerful inch drives, but that's fairly standard. The a sizeable outlay for a device that isnt
QNAP TVS-EC1080+ a couple of issues caddies have a simple lock and key to help going to slash rendering times, or improve
ago. While its good to have access to the protect the drives from inquisitive fingers, frame rates. The lack of front-accessible
very best kit, we realize that $3,000 may be although that wont deter anyone who's USB ports is a pain tooespecially if
beyond some budgets, which is why were serious about getting at your hard drives. youre planning on tucking the unit out of
looking at this mid-range offering. the way. The real problem, though, is the
The DS1515 is a five-bay NAS, which Hip, Hip, ArrAy! lowly processor and lack of upgradable
boasts a number of impressive features We populated the unit with five Hitachi 2TB memorythese are fine for handling
that make it a tempting solution for use SATA Enterprise drivesnot the cutting- simple file transfers, but start to struggle
in a small office as well as the home. The edge helium-filled offerings we used when running web servers and other more
four Gigabit Ethernet ports support Link with the QNAP TVS-EC1080+, but capable exacting packages. You can opt for the
Aggregation for speedy access as well as enough for this. We built a RAID 6 array, as DS1515+ (which boasts an Intel Atom 64-bit
failover, in case a connection fails. It also it offers better redundancy compared to CPU and more memory) if thats an issue,
boasts a hardware encryption engine, and RAID 5, and is the preferred setup for this but it adds $200 to the price. alan DeXTer
supports the use of an SSD cache drive, many drives. You can, of course, build RAID
8
verdict
useful in an office. 0 or even eschew RAID altogether, if thats Synology DiskStation DS1515
Setting up the DS1515 is as easy it can your preference. Performance was strong
STORAGE Wonderful OS;
be: Slot your drives in place, power it on, but not rewriting the record books.
easy setup; seamless access;
connect it to your network, point your While the hardware forms a strong
stunning feature set.
browser at the device, and pick the RAID foundation, it's the software that really
setup that's best for you. You can create impressesthe DiskStation Manager is SNORE-AGE Cant upgrade memory; lowly
numerous shared folders, install an incredible; calling it just a NAS feels like a CPU; no HDMI port.
impressive array of software packages, disservice. Sure, itll take care of your files $599, www.synology.com
and access the NAS over the Internet, like any good NAS should, but it can also act
thanks to Synologys QuickConnect as web server, a mail manager, the heart of
systemwhich is an incredibly easy way to a comms setup, media server, and more. SPECIFICATIONS
access your data when out and about. There are pre-compiled, easy-to-install
CPU Annapurna Labs
The hot-swappable drive bays are tool- packages for WordPress and Plex, among Alpine AL-314
free and feature a simple but effective others, while more sober requirements
Cores 4
BENChmArkS Speed 1.4GHz
Installed Memory 2GB DDR3

Synology DiskStation DS1515 (RAID 6)
Memory Upgradable No
ATTO Read (MB/s) 118.8
OS DSM 5.2-5644
Update 2
ATTO Write (MB/s) 114.9
USB Ports 2x USB 3.0
CrystalDisk Mark 5.1.1 Read (MB/s) 17.5
HDMI Ports None
CrystalDisk Mark 5.1.1 Write (MB/s) 4.6
Ethernet Ports 4x Gigabit
50GB Write to NAS (MB/s) 103.5
Others 2x eSATA
50GB Read from NAS (MB/s) 95.9 Warranty Three years
maximumpc.com apr 2016 MAXIMUMPC 89

in the lab
The right lighting can make a
handsome game look even better.
Rise of the Tomb Raider

Aloft, in the loft, sits Croft. Shes not soft
DiDnt the tomb RaiDeR rise in the previous her slight figure with a good heart, as she there's almost always one behind the level's
game? Following on from 2013s reboot, pursues her goals as much out of love for starting position.
a rich kid with daddy issues once again her father as out of intellectual curiosity, Returning to locations with equipment
strikes from the shadows at wandering and the mass murderer capable of choking such as a combat knife (though youve been
goons. But this isnt Gotham City. the life out of men twice her size, setting skinning animals for ages by this point,
Rise begins with a trip to the mountains, them on fire, ambushing them with nail so cutting clearly isnt a problem) or rope
which is, dare we say it, thrilling. Completely bombs, and bringing the roof of an ancient opens up new avenues, and youre explicitly
HUD-less, and with a motion-captured Lara structure (surely priceless in its academic informed of this with a pop-up as well as
struggling against high winds and deep value) down on their heads was mentioned vocally by Lara, rather than becoming stuck
snow, the only threats are falling off the a few times around the launch of the first and frustrated, which is good game design
edge or not getting your ice axe out in time. game, but it bears repeating here, because even if it does break the spell.
Its a strong, if linear, opening that moves it hasnt changed. The level of hand-holding a player needs
into an actual tomb raid in SyriaLaras And thats not the only thing. This feels is a tricky balance to strike. Damage to
one pair of pants proving resilient against more like an expansion pack than a sequel Lara is shown by a gradual bloodying of
heat as well as coldthen on to the Siberian in many ways, as you do the same awful the screen, but on normal difficulty, she is
wastes and the game proper, which is split things to the same wildlife in slightly surprisingly resilient, even when faced with
between exploration and combat. different locations. There has been some a bear. Youre prompted to button-mash to
The platform and exploration sections streamlining: Items can be crafted on the fly, open certain chests or rotate mechanisms,
are the best, and Lara using her knowledge and as the game is almost completely linear, but not always to dodge out the way of an
and quick-thinking to get the drop on the a rhythm develops of entering an area, incoming paw with six-inch claws. When you
bad guys is much more believable than bringing up the Survival Instinct (essentially get it right, its satisfying to see Lara dance
the parts in which she becomes a one- Detective Mode, another Batman parallel), her way to safety, but it can occasionally be
woman army against heavily armed and which highlights interactive objects, then frustrating if your dying thought is, "Well,
armored opponents (although scoring sneakily running from one to another. There why didnt you tell me?"
headshots with a bow and arrow remains are lots of things to collect, from ancient You can get too involved in the stealth,
hugely satisfying.) The contrast between coins to crafting materials to ammo, and too. We distracted and quietly killed some

The Soviet gulag acts
as a hub, with lots to
explore and discover.
Ice axes make climbing

easier and can be used to
rip down unstable walls.
Domed structures are

common, often denoting
the top of the level.
Lara's map of Syria

has a sticky note on
it that says "Syria."
guards around an oil tank, only to blow it up only so Lara can get to them first. They are she wades through thigh-deep drifts, while
to exit the areawe could have just done suitably dastardly, if a bit dim, and provide the birds and rabbits that cavort in the icy
that first and saved the arrows. Theres no enough of a narrative urge to keep you landscape add to the atmosphere.
alternative to killingthis isnt Deus Ex, in moving forward. Even if you didnt play the 2013 game,
which ducts can be used to bypass enemy Optional "challenge tombs" offer many of you should definitely play this. Stick the
encounters completelyand with a body the best bits in the game. Their entrances difficulty on easy (Adventurer) and enjoy
count somewhere north of a small war, require a little bit of searching out, although the exploration if youre not getting into the
Laras surely a good fit for the FBIs Ten an on-screen prompt tells you when one is shooting. While not remotely original, the
Most Wanted list. She certainly seems to near, and you can ignore them to plow on systems are finely honed, the writing and
move in and out of war-torn countries with with the main plot. But to do this is to pass performances top-notch, and the world
the ease of Osama Bin Laden. over some wonderful sights and puzzles, artistically dense. ian evenDen
some taking inspiration from Nintendos
DastarDly anD military
9
finest work. verdict Rise of the Tomb Raider
This tomb raider is naturalistic and wears The game really is a looker. The world
RaideR Looks great;
her feelings openly, the excellently written of snow-covered wastes could be an
excellently written; many
dialog going a long way to underline her excuse for lackluster design, and some of
believable locations and characters.
personality. This is the grenade-launcher- the interiors tend toward the brown, but
toting Lara from the end of the first game, Lara explores places that feel genuinely FadeR Combat is the least interesting
given a whole new playground, rather than designed, an artists eye passing over the part; the best puzzles are sidelined in
the inexperienced and hungry castaway smallest details, be they the hooks that optional sections.
who wept over killing a deer. Playing the attach skeletons to walls, the patches of
Recommended specs Intel Core i7-3770
role of Nazis to this modern-day Indiana sunlight falling naturally on the right route
3.40GHz or AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz, 8GB
Jones is the mysteriously well-staffed to take, or the great war galley frozen
RAM, Nvidia GTX 970 or AMD R9 290x, 25GB
militaristic secret society Trinity, which vertically in ice. The invisible forcefield that
available storage.
likes to stamp its logo on things and is pushes the snow down just in front of Laras
pursuing supernatural artifacts that exist legs means she leaves a believable trail as $50, http://tombraider.com, ESRB: M

in the lab
Jarred walton senior editor
Oculus Rift
Costs $600
The price for VR early adopters
Since the OculuS Rift was Kickstarted One wireless controller, the
back in 2012, weve been eagerly awaiting price isnt that shocking.
the first consumer release (CV1). As we go But even with all of
to print, the final hardware is complete, those improvements, CV1
pre-ordering is available with a starting is still very much in the
ship date of March 28, and we now know early-adopter phase. There
the official retail price. Get ready for a kick arent many triple-A games
in the gut, as the formerly $300$400 Rift available yet, though there
will officially set you back $600. Thats 50 are quite a few indie titles.
percent over budget, and the resulting nerd There will inevitably be
rage on the Internet is hardly a surprise. future Oculus models, and
I get that, but I also wonder how many as more consumers buy One day, lad, all this can be yours! (Once youve saved $600.)
of these people actually tried the earlier the hardware, well see
DK1 and DK2 variants. They were finicky, more games, leading to more sales, and out, the prices should come down; hopefully,
uncomfortable, made of cheap plastic, and eventually we should see lower prices. well have more games by then. Meanwhile,
sported headache-inducing 720p and later Oculus may not sell as many CV1 if you really believed in Oculus during the
1080p 60Hz displays. When you consider the headsets at $600 as it would at $400, but Kickstarter campaign, and pledged enough
upgraded 2160x1200, 90Hz display, better CV1 pre-orders have already slipped to to get DK1, youll receive a special edition of
head-tracking, improved materials and shipping in July, so clearly the high price isnt CV1 as a thank you, which is pretty generous
build quality, plus the inclusion of an Xbox halting sales. Once inventory stops selling if you ask me.
Jimmy thang Zak Storey

Online Managing Editor Staff Writer
Every year, CES seems to on a path toward making the Once again I find myself on there that cater to my needs.
revolve around certain trends. world of Tron become a reality. the hunt for the perfect build. And there are even fewer that
In the past, it was all about Of course, as usual, we saw The thing is, when it comes support proper water-cooling.
mobile. Then it was all about a bunch of new, crazy things to desk space, I havent got Thankfully, NZXT has saved
wearables and Internet of at CES, tooa water-cooled a huge amount of room to my backside on this one. Its
Things, er, things. This year PSU, new tiny STX mobos, play with. ATX is out of the new Manta ITX chassis looks
saw the rise of drones and and a gaming AIO that enables question. Not a problemI divine. Featuring curved steel
Virtual Reality. Also, RGB LEDs you to squeeze in real desktop dont mind having one GPU, panels, support for up to two
were huge this time round. parts. Yep, it was CES all right, and Ive always had a soft 280mm rads, and a plethora
Pretty much everything glows and I look forward to seeing spot for ITX systems anyway. of other neat features, I cant
a radioactive hue now, and it where the industry is going to That said, in my eyes theres wait to get it into the office for
seems as though were moving take us next. a severe lack of ITX cases out review, and to build in.

Geek
tested &
Approved
editors Picks:
digital discoveries
Alan Dexter, executive editor, and Alex Campbell,
associate editor, discuss their latest finds
AdAtA Hd720 1tB LAstPAss
Luxa2 Lavi
Nearly everything I do Theres a slew of apps
O Wireless
Earbuds
these days involves and services I rely on,
storing data in the cloud. but few match the utility
Theres an important of LastPass. I tell pretty
word at the start of much everyone I meet to im alwayS on the lookout for good
that sentence, though: nearly is there use a password manager, because using the earbuds, mostly because I tend to lose
for a reason. Im loathe to trust everything same passphrase for multiple accounts can them. I also have small ear canals,
to the cloud, and there are plenty of things be downright dangerous. which makes it difficult to find a pair
that make more sense to store locally. An I like LastPass because it encrypts that fits well.
obvious one is video. If youre editing lots of your vault offline, before sending it to At this point, I generally prefer
home videos, you only really want to access the cloud. That means if you forget your wireless earphones so that I dont have to
them locally, at least until theyre finished. master passphrase, LastPass cant help. deal with detangling cables all the time.
Adata recently sent through its HD720 It also means that someone who breaks Thats why I was particularly excited to
for consideration, and its made me rethink into LastPasss servers cant get at your test the Luxa2 Lavi O Wireless Earbuds
how I move around data in these days of vault as long as you use a strong master from Thermaltake, which sounded as
always-on connections. Part of the reason passphrase. It also supports a bunch of though they might satisfy my needs (no
is speedhitting 110MB/s when copying multifactor authentication options, such as pun intended).
across chunky video files is great, and Google Authenticator and Yubicos YubiKey The Lavi O earphones use 8mm
theres a healthy 1TB of space, so plenty of U2F device. If theres one shortfall, though, drivers over Bluetooth 4.0, and they
room for my epic masterpieces. The fact its in the U2F. When I use my YubiKey NEOs sound... OK. Generally speaking, audio
its a physical drive means Im not reliant on NFC for multifactor auth, LastPass locks quality is lost over Bluetooth. Thats not
ropey Wi-Fi connections either. me out on my iPhone 5S (no NFC), and wont to say they sound bad, but its not as
Admittedly, I dont really need the let me use the add-on in Firefox for Android. crystal clear as I would like. The wireless
ruggedized side of the offering, but its Theres no such thing as absolute signal ranges from 10 feet outdoors to 30
reassuring to know that if I do accidently safety in the digital world, but using feet indoors.
take it into the shower, my files will be safe LastPass provides a good mix of security In terms of fit, the Lavi O offers three
it adheres to the IPX8 standard, so can be and convenience. It allows me to not have pairs of interchangeable earbuds of
submerged two meters down for up to two to remember complex passphrases, can varying sizes. In my special case, even
hours. Its also dustproof (IP6X), military- fill in forms, and can help me audit my the smallest ones were a little too big for
grade shockproof, and the cable clips nicely passphrases every so often. Its not perfect, my ear canals, and would occasionally
around the edge. I take it everywhere now. but Ill take it over having to keep a notebook. slip out when I wore them while
$106, www.adata.com Free, https://lastpass.com exercising. In terms of battery, the Lavi
O earphones have an 80mAh lithium-
polymer solution, which lasts two to
three days under heavy use.
So, while the Lavi O phones arent
perfect, and theyre not an especially
good fit for me, you can find them on sale
for $25, which makes them a steal as far
as Bluetooth earbuds go. Jt
$30, https://store.thermaltakeusa.com

comments you write, we respond
WE TACKLE TOUGH READER QUESTIONS ON...
> Wheres the EVGA Love?

> Review Scores
> Boot Order
EVGA FTW! being very similar. Ive requires a lot of specialized
Im a long-time subscriber to used and tested several equipment to do properly;
Maximum PC. I enjoy reading EVGA graphics cards its not something were set
the reviews and finding out (GTX 950/960/980/980 up to test right now. (Read
about the new stuff thats Ti), and theyre all good. Jonnyguru.com if youre
coming out. Ive noticed Are they substantially looking for detailed PSU
over recent years, though, better (or worse) than the reviews and information.)
that theres been no EVGA competition? Not really, so Motherboards are much
love. Back in the day, when most of our reviews use a more complex, so even if
I got serious about building reference GPU if available all the pieces appear to be
powerful machines, EVGA (from AMD or Nvidia) in place (chipset, features, [NOW ONLINE]
was the go-to company for all rather than a specific brand capacitors, and so on), its
your needs. I cant remember (though we do use brand still very easy to mess up How VR Is
the last time I read a review
of one of their video cards or
units for testing graphics
cards, as opposed to GPU
the firmware/BIOS, and end
up with a less-than-stellar
ReVIVIng
motherboards. It seems the launches). Basically, product. Despite its status 3D AuDIo
Best of the Best parts are EVGA is a great option for as an enthusiast brand,
between MSI, Gigabyte, and graphics cards, often with EVGAs motherboards have If youve been following
Asus. Yet the Dream Machines good pricing on base models been less consistent than PX 3D audio, you know
2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, and a good warranty. its graphics cards and that the medium has seen
and 2010 (2010 was an EVGA Power supplies are a PSUs; none are terrible, better days. As a matter
mobo)thats as far back as similar story. There is only but theyre often not of fact, 3D audio was
I lookedall housed EVGA a handful of companies worth the price premium. actually more promising
cards. Even the builds in the that actually make power In many cases, there are and impressive in the
back of the magazine use supplieseveryone else better boards from the 1990s than it is today. In
EVGA stuff, but I have yet uses these companies tier-one manufacturers our online story How
to read any reviews of its to build PSUs to their (Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI). VR Is Resurrecting 3D
products (EVGA makes power specifications. For its part, These three have the best Audio, we break down
supplies, but I havent seen EVGA uses FSP Group and QA and testing, the most the fall of the audio
any reviewed yet). Whats the Etasis on some models, and experience (theyve all been revolution, but also get
scoop on that? Can we please I believe its beefy 1,600W around for decades), their into the mediums bright
get some EVGA love and some Titanium PSU is made by firmware and BIOS code future. Because VR is
other brands? Eric Super Flower. Its a great has the fewest issues, and so heavily reliant on 3D
PSU, and it also costs a theyre more responsive. audio for immersive
Senior editor Jarred ton. In general, the vast Which isnt to say that all experiences, its due
Walton reSpondS : Hi, Eric. majority of 80 Plus Gold boards from the big three to come back with a
Our reviews are typically rated PSUs are very good, are great, or that all boards vengeance. For the
done with the hardware we and Ive rarely had issues from other manufacturers in-depth story, check
have on hand, and certain with even 80 Plus Bronze (ASRock, Biostar, ECS, out the web exclusive.
itemsgraphics cards or higher PSUs. And Ill be EVGA, Foxconn, and so on) http://bit.ly/MPC_3Daudio
in particularall end up honest: Reviewing PSUs are bad. However, many
submit your questions to: comments@maximumpc.com

Facebook Polls
of us have had some
poor experiences with
of them that we realized
just how good the BenQ
be a lot more variable in
how they do things, but
Do you use external
various motherboard really was. even if you can get into DACs for audio, or
brands, so we dont take
a lot of riskstheres
If youre in the market
for a display at the
the BIOS, theres usually
not much to change. are you satisfied with
too much that can go moment, this is definitely Modifying boot order to onboard audio?
wrong. The good news is the one to getgreat make it easier to get into
were working on putting image quality at a decent the BIOS only helps if the
Bob Malloy: I still use my Creative Extigy. Its
together some reviews of price. It may lack some system is built such that
the latest motherboards, of the headline-grabbing theres no boot option 15 years old and still works fine.
and all brands are features of others, but it menu available, which Michael tuzzolino: Onboard. With 5.1
welcome; the bad news does the fundamentals usually only happens Logitech speakers.
is that thoroughly testing very, very well. on corporate laptops in
Harold love: Sound Blaster ZX here. Works
a mobo can be extremely To be honest, we were my experience (in which
well, been happy with it and my AKG K240 MkII
time-intensive, and with gutted when we had to case, the IT department
so many boards (Newegg send ours back. doesnt want you headphones. I would like a Schiit Audio setup.
lists 200 Skylake- changing BIOS settings). darren lee: Give a try on the Magni 2 and
compatible boards), If you enable a boot Modi 2 combo. You wont regret it.
theres no way we can Get Boots in Order device menu, doing
Bryan a Flood: I use a PCIe card, as onboard
test them all. Good answer regarding this will often increase
audio just eats up CPU cycles needlessly and
So, in summary: booting with UEFI and the POST time by a
We do test EVGA, as SSD, but the problem is second or two. Then the audio gets distorted.
well as other brands, what you did not say. You again, how many of ed Silow: Schiit Modi 2/Magni 2 stack driving
but time is limited and should have advised the us really complain Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro headphones and a pair
space in the magazine writer (and other readers) about the difference of Mackie MR5mk3 studio monitors.
is even more limited. to go into their BIOS or between booting in
nick Holt: Creative ZxR but have upgraded to a
Check our website for UEFI and change the boot eight seconds versus
additional reviews, but order right now, before booting in 10 seconds? Fostex DAC/amp for my high-end headphones.
at best we only test a there is a boot problem. Its that dreaded law of Michael Green Xonar: STX soundcard, but I
small percentage of If the first listed boot diminishing returns wouldnt recommend it to anyone else. Software
the various brands and device is the internal HDD going from HDD to is just clunky and awful. External DAC next time.
models of hardware. or SSD, the PC/laptop will SSD and booting in 20
Zane Gaston: Im fine with onboard if shielded,
continue to have a boot seconds instead of two
problem due to the speed minutes was awesome; and Im using low-impedance headphones. If Im
Numbers Game of the boot. Now is the moving from a good SSD using bigger ones, Ill use a small USB amp/DAC
I have a quick question time to change the boot to a superb SSD with combo. I really want a Schiit stack, though.
regarding the monitor order to a recovery disc, an optimized BIOS and ahmed adel Habib: Quite content with my
roundup in the February external HDD, or USB, cutting boot times to onboard: Asus Maximus VI Formula z87.
issue (Flat-Panel before the internal HDD 10 seconds is still nice,
Perfection, p26). The or SSD, to have a chance but not quite so critical;
BenQ 2765 HT received an of an alternative boot going from ten to five
8 in the January issue, but method. Gerald Gibson seconds, even though Which VR system are you
got a 9 Kick Ass award in its twice as fast, isnt most excited about?
the February issue. Was Senior editor Jarred really that important
that a rating based on the Walton reSpondS : when most of us only
available 11 monitors it Hi, Gerald. Part of the boot their PC once a
was in competition with, difficulty in giving advice day (if that). 11%
or was it a different model is that there are so many But I digress again.
that Im unaware of? ways things get done on Im with you that every 8% 26%
Thanks for clarifying (it modern systems. I have laptop/system is easier
might be the 2560x1440p a few desktops where to troubleshoot if you
monitor I buy in the near even now, using UEFI can boot from a USB
15%
future). Chad F and Windows 10, I can drive when things go
easily access the BIOS bad. IT administrators,
eXecutive editor alan by pressing Delete or F2 on the other hand,
deXter reSpondS : Hi, after powering on. I dont tend to like laptops, in
Chad. Yes, it is the same know that Ive seen any particular, to be locked 40%
display, but we revised system where I couldnt down. The good news
the score upward to get into the BIOS after a is that if anything does
make it clearer which cold boot, though there go wrong on a company
screen we recommend probably are examples; laptop, and the IT 26% Oculus Rift 8% Razer OSVR
right now. There are lots my original response department locked down 40% HTC Vive 11% Not excited
of really great monitors was more directed at the the boot options, you can 15% PlayStation VR by any of these
available at the moment, problem of accessing the simply take the laptop to
but it wasnt until we sat advanced startup menu. the IT department to get like our page at
down with a whole host I know laptops tend to it fixed. www.facebook.com/maximumpc

Sponsored by a part-by-part guide to building a better pc
blueprint
Budget gamer midrange
INGREDIENTS INGREDIENTS
PART PRice PART PRice
case Cooler Master Elite 110 $40 case Phanteks Enthoo Pro M $70
PSU EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W $100

PSU Corsair CS450M 450W/80 Plus Gold $70
Mobo MSI Gaming Z170A Gaming M5 NeW $160
Mobo Gigabyte GA-H170N-WIFI NeW $120
cPU Intel Core i5-6600K $257
cPU Intel Core i5-6400 NeW $190
cooler Corsair H80i $88
GPU EVGA 1962-KR GeForce GTX 960 SC $200 GPU Asus R9 390 Strix 8GB $340
RAM RAM 16GB (4x 4GB) G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series

8GB (2x 4GB) G.Skill Ripjaws V Series DDR4 2133 $42
DDR4 2400 NeW $85
SSD 250GB Samsung 850 EVO M.2 NeW $92
SSD 500GB Samsung 850 EVO M.2 $168
OS Ubuntu 14.04.3 LTS 64-Bit NeW $16 HDD Western Digital Black Series 2TB 7,200rpm $128
OS Windows 10 (Download) $110
Approximate Price: $770 Approximate Price: $1,506

we made a Swap of mobos, opting for Gigabytes H170. It didnt SometimeS, we're SurpriSed by prices. We decided to upgrade the
cost much more but to offset the price we dipped down to a Core mobo to MSIs Z170A Gaming M5, which offers dual M.2 and two-way
i5-6400nearly the same chip as the i5-6500, but with lower clocks SLI, and three-way Crossfire support. That set us back about $30
and no trusted computing module. As were running Ubuntu, we more than last month's Gigabyte board, but it's money well spent. The
dont care as much about trusted computing. As for clock speeds, Phanteks case dropped $20, the Core i7-6600K came down about $13,
the CPU still gets a turbo of up to 3.3GHz. We held off jumping up to and the RAM came down, too. We got 16GB of G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series
a Z170 board. Some Z170 boards allow overclocking non-K Skylake DDR4-2400 for $85. The Samsung 850 Evo came down about $3,
CPUs by altering the base clock, instead of multiplier and voltage, but while our WD Black went up about $8. The Asus R9 390 Strixs price
you lose Intels integrated graphics, and the CPU can't regulate its didnt move; with the Crossfire support on this mobo, theres a clear
power. That means wed need water cooling or a big air cooler, which upgrade path through buying a second R9 390. Theres also plenty
adds to the cost. We also replaced the SATA Samsung 850 Evo with its of other places to upgrade. While the Core i5-6600K will keep most
M.2 cousin. This means less clutter. We used the latest LTS release happy, theres the option to upgrade to the Core i7-6700K. However,
of Ubuntu, too. It builds upon 14.04 with updated software packages the more interesting upgrade is another M.2 SSDthere are some
and even turns off much-hated web search in the dash by default. great read and write speeds to be achieved with software RAID.

blueprint
the turbo build isnt a place we always anticipate seeing savings,

but in this case, we saw quite a few. The first thing we noticed was
a price drop of $15 on the PSU. Thats not bad, and we made good
use of that later on while we were shopping. We also saw a $5 drop
on the price of the CPU. While weve expected to see Skylake prices
fluctuate, Haswell-E CPU prices have remained pretty stable.
Any price change (especially downward) catches our eye. Our
motherboard also dropped $5. For anyone whos counting, that puts
us $25 cheaper than last month. Of course, our twin GPUs always
deliver the pain to the wallet, but this month we found a couple of
PNY reference GTX 980 Tis on sale that collectively saved us another
$20. Were up to $45 in total now. Next, we ditched our twin 16GB
4x4 kits for a single 32GB 4x8 kit. We also decided to drop the speed
turBo to 2,666MHz, which rendered us some more savings. To be exact,

we pulled in $36 in savings. Like our Midrange build, the 500GB M.2
Samsung 850 Evo came down just a smidge as well. So what did we
do with these savings? We plunked down the cash needed to double
the storage space in our spinning HDD. Its not the most ambitious
upgrade, to be sure, but upgrades for core components on the X99
platform often run in the hundreds (upgrading to the i7-5930K, for
example, would have cost us an extra $195).
For more of our component recommendations,

visit www.maximumpc.com/best-of-the-best
INGREDIENTS UpGRaDE of ThE MoNTh

PART PRice SamSung 950 Pro 512gB
case Corsair Graphite 780T Black $180
PSU EVGA SuperNOVA G2 1,000W $165
Mobo Asus X99-A/USB 3.1 $265
cPU Intel Core i7-5820K $385
cooler Corsair H80i $88

Weve looked at the Samsungs 950 Pro before, but this time
GPU 2x PNY GTX 980Ti (Reference) NeW $1,280
we got to play with the 512GB version. If youre looking at
RAM 32GB (4x 8GB) Corsair Vengeance consumer NVMe SSDs, you really cant do much better than
LPX DDR4 2666 NeW $174 the 950 Pro.
SSD 500GB Samsung 850 EVO M.2 (SATA) $168 But this speed will cost you. For roughly the cost of one of
these, you can get two 500GB 850 Evo SATA M.2 SSDs. (We
HDD Western Digital Black Series found the 950 Pro for $328 on Newegg.) Coupled with the fact
2TB 7,200rpm NeW $128
that very few consumers could even make use of the speed
OS Windows 10 (Download) $110 the 950 Pro offers, this is an enthusiast part for sure.
$328, www.samsung.com
Approximate Price: $2,943
MAXIMUM PC (ISSN 1522-4279) is published 13 times a year, monthly prepaid. Canadian price includes postage and GST (GST #R128220688). Future US, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part
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Buy, rent, donate, rediSCoVer tHe adVanCed adoBe

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maximumpc.com apr 2016 MAXIMUMPC 11

our digital data.

12 MAXIMUMPC APR 2016 maximumpc.com

NEw BrowsEr by upgrades (at least partially).

tech tragedies and triumphs

14 MAXIMUMPC APR 2016 maximumpc.com

AMD, Polaris, and the

maximumpc.com APR 2016 MAXIMUMPC 15

maximumpc.com APR 2016 MAXIMUMPC 17

The CoolesT Things We saW aT Ces 2016

Shin from hTC

much smaller, compact design, Shin: It is an actual traditional

20 MAXIMUMPC APR 2016 maximumpc.com

maximumpc.com APR 2016 MAXIMUMPC 21

THIS MONTH THE DOCTOR TACKLES...

> Win 10 Printers

submit your questions to: doctor@maximumpc.com

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NP8677-S Notebook NP8657-S Notebook NP8640 Notebook NP7255 Notebook

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high-fidelity audio & MQa

28 MAXIMUMPC APR 2016 maximumpc.com

maximumpc.com APR 2016 MAXIMUMPC 29

headphone impedance How we tested

30 MAXIMUMPC APR 2016 maximumpc.com

we chose the Denon DA-300USB, a $500 TrACk TesTinG lisT

maximumpc.com APR 2016 MAXIMUMPC 31

Universal Audios Apollo 16 has its own onboard processor.

32 MAXIMUMPC APR 2016 maximumpc.com

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Corsair VoiD stereo

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sennHeiser Game one

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oppo pm-3 planar

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And the winner is...

oppo pm-3 planar

42 MAXIMUMPC APR 2016 maximumpc.com

Intels range of CPUs has penetrated

44 MAXIMUMPC APR 2016 maximumpc.com

The GX700s crazy

46 MAXIMUMPC APR 2016 maximumpc.com

Cores/Threads 2/4 2/4 2/4 2/4, 4/4, 4/8 4/4, 4/8

Graphics GT1, GT2 GT2, GT3e GT3e GT2 GT4e

Package Size 20x16.5mm 42x24mm 42x28mm